Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller Present On The Corner

After a five-year break, Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller return with their latest compilation: ‘On The Corner’. While previous albums have shone a spotlight quite specifically on jazz and soul, the latest iteration takes a more panoramic approach, taking in those loves, but adding in some British Mod stomp, NeoLibrary music and some Ye-Ye, as Martin says in his note.

Martin is of course the multi-award-winning actor famed for The Office, The Hobbit, Sherlock and The Responder, but also for his deep love of music, which brought him to us with these compilations. On this volume he has chosen well, with obscure cuts from Santana and Neo-Soul from Kadhja Bonet, and Indo-Funk from Ashal Puthli. These sit alongside jazz from Gary Burton and Buddy Rich as well as favourite Soul 45s, all topped with the wonderful stew of Traffic’s ‘Medicated Goo’.

Eddie founded Acid Jazz in 1988 and even before then was a well-known and successful DJ. His sides show the excitement that he still finds in discovering and playing music. Opening with the synth-led Main Theme from UK cult film The Long Good Friday, he selects beautiful soul and jazzy disco, before entering the world of Brit-Funk with cuts by Hi-Tension and Light Of The World. He brings it home via Ace’s ‘How Long’ and some Brian Auger, which sets us up for the Ye-Ye beat of Jacquelin Taieb and Jacques Dutronc.

Showing our modernist roots, the album comes sharply dressed in its Dean Chalkley-photographed Unknown partnership sleeve on Double LP or CD, with notes by both Ed and Martin. The perfect end-of-year present to yourself or the one you love.