DJ Vadim - U Can't Lurn Imaginashun

Stretching ever further from his Ninja Tune noodles and headlocks, the UK’s favourite Soviet stalwart and One Self commander looks to build on the all round phatness and greater warmth of The Soundcatcher. The immediate indication of carrying on from where Vadim left off comes from his dub rubs promising another contemporary cosmic cooking pot, no longer building tension in only two dimensions. The deadweight Solider opens, a midway measure of tentativeness (Under Your Hat)keeps the faith, and Hidden Treasure dovetails with great smiling springiness.

The touchingly dejected Beijos stars as a funeral march attended by mourners wearing black suits and spacesuits, dealing in sobriety and other worldliness like a heart-rending riposte to Cage’s Agent Orange. On a different level of grief, Game Tight nicks pianos from the trashiest of US soaps that might make you think twice about taking a tear-shedding moment to. But as the drum breaks are absolutely poppin’, benefiting from dub frequency and another intervention from outer space, feel free to blub away. For purer, loop-reliant hip-hop, That Lite featuring Juice Lee and RJay springs disco strings on a warm-weathered tilt back. And a boho bash ain’t a boho bash unless Vadim’s number one lady Yarah Bravo is involved, You Are Yours embarking on another round of digital squat thrusts.

That said, not many of the vocalists on hire are particularly wow-worthy or a cut above. Acknowledging Vadim’s continued realisation that he can’t stay dusty and the cause of drowsiness forever (aside from Tu He Ma Ne Toddy weaving black magic right at the death), you can normally rely on the wheeling in of a troubadour made for talking points. Or in days gone by, a sample to make your brain spin, like the jagged, needle-fluffed singers featured on Maximum, that highlights the overall move away from sourcing the obscurest of instruction manuals on wax. While there are bi-lingual digressions and strong sass throughout from Sabira Jade (I Want To Shout Out having her set off nightfall snuggles), no-one’s grabbing the mic and turning heads, less making the beat their own.

Resisting some unusually ordinary outings that crop up in the battle between organic and electronic (Saturday is especially guilty of phoning in a two-for-one of neo-soul and robo-vocals), Thrill 103 and the J-Stars-pitched Rock Dem Hot produce a spell of late p-funk star shapes and spangles. Though his 360 degree model is sometimes a little too dry, Vadim doing worthy, uncomplicated turns for club floor and couch won’t fluster followers of his career who think they know what his sound should stand for.

Should the sunshine beat its annual bout of chronic shyness, Imaginashun looks to become the party’s designated cool down zone, dabbling with due care without over-reaching for that extra piece of sonic gold.