Jamiroquai 'Dynamite' album

It's thirteen years since Jamiroquai main man Jay Kay signed his unprecedented eight album deal with Sony's S2 label. While much is made of the short-sightedness of British record companies, it's only fair to credit Sony (now Sony/BMG) for the gamble. Back in 1992 Kay was a skinny white kid with a skateboard, a passion for vintage rare groove and a bizarre 'Buffalo' hat. Over twenty million albums, four world tours and 141 weeks on the UK singles chart later, it's safe to say the gamble paid off.

From poster boy of the early nineties acid jazz revolution to international music icon, a lot has changed for Kay in those thirteen years.

Thanks to five albums of consistently on-point, danceable grooves and mercilessly unshakable melodies - not to mention an undisputed reputation as an electrifying live act - Kay's as recognisable in France, Spain, Italy, South America, South Africa, Australia and Japan as he is to anyone who's ever picked up a UK tabloid. While in America his status as one of the UK's most respected exports is backed by an ever growing grass roots following, five MTV awards and a Grammy. Much to his amusement, of late Kay's also become something of a style icon, as confirmed by his collection of Elle and GQ style awards.

With all that and a genuine rockstar lifestyle – the Buckinghamshire Manor; the garage full of fast cars - it would be understandable if the singer who signed his historic record deal while living in a squat in Ealing, west London, had spent the four years since Jamiroquai's last album, 2001's chart-topping 'A Funk Odyssey', enjoying the fruits of his success. But then complacency is one thing Kay will never be accused of.

"I've still got so much to prove," he says of why he's spent the best part of two years writing, recording and honing sixth album, 'Dynamite'. "You've always got something to prove in this game. But the bottom line is I still love it. I love the thrill of seeing a track come together, and with this album we've been sitting with tracks, meticulously going through them, changing things, getting it right."

Written and recorded in Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Scotland, New York, Los Angeles and his own purpose built Buckinghamshire studio, 'Dynamite' is both a consolidation of thirteen years of Jamiroquai's trademarked sci-fi sound and a cocky, two fingers to anyone who thinks that at 35, Kay might be resting on his country pile.

Single 'Feels Just Like It Should' for one is a ramped-up, high-octane snarl; Jamiroquai's organic funk put through a digital grinder and pinned to a filthy groove. "Yeah, it's really filthy. And that bass groove came from me pissing about as a human beatbox. You hear it and think what the fuck's this? If you haven't had an album out in four years you want to have an impact, and this says it, I'm back with a vengeance."

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Tracklisting

Jamiroquai - Dynamite