After the incredible Foreign Exchange “Leave It All Behind” where we saw the collaboration of dutch producer Nicolay and North Carolina native Phonte from Little Brother, thus Foreign Exchange, change their direction in not only music but also vocals – Phonte and company actually sang on the entire album as opposed to the 2004 debut from Foreign Exchange “Connected” which saw Nicolay’s soulful musical chops and Phonte’s lyrical ability.

Simply put… just like the last Foreign Exchange, City Lights Volume 2: Shibuya is “grown folks music”. After taking a quick listen to the snippets on Amazon [ click here to sample ] I cannot help but think that Nicolay channeled George Duke and a few other musicians that you would not normally bring up when talking about a normally hip-hop producer.

A radical move on their part where two people… no, where two musicians are showing their talent and love for music that came before them – jazz, soul, funk, early hiphop, electronica, etc. – and doing it in a way that is distinctly their own music, not some watered down tribute or facade.

Bravo Nicolay. Bravo Foreign Exchange. That’s twice in a year y’all got my money on your music. Get “Lose Your Way” for free today too.

[ Amazon ]