COMING APRIL 2006

Beyond The Rains is made in the best traditions of the long lost art of album making. With its affinity with the past, a lust for the future and plenty of natural soul, Mitchell & Dewbury have created a modern classic.

It's an essential blend of soul, jazz, funk and Latin united by a positive spirit. Russ Dewbury is the sole power behind the Jazz Rooms, Britain's longest running club session, attracting aficionados from the farthest corners of the earth with its unique blend of deep jazz, cosmic soul and Afro-Latin rhythms mixed together with the current musical mores. He is also the man responsible for Brighton's world famous Jazz Bops. As a DJ, Dewbury is also one of Britain's leading antiquarians of black music. His compilations of forgotten treasures, carefully dusted down and lovingly restored, have become must-own material for music lovers everywhere. He has worked with such jazz luminaries as Art Blakey, Pharoah Sanders and also folk-jazz legend Terry Callier, whom Dewbury managed.

Ben Mitchell is a producer, remixer and DJ playing worldwide. He records under the guise of Sao Benitez, also remixing Masters At Work, Seu Jorge Jimi Hendrix, and Hammond legend Jimmy Smith. Mitchell is the founder member of Mr Hermano, whose second album “Free As The Morning Sun” was released in 2002 and also produced a track with Dom Um Romao. As a musician and engineer he has recorded with Arthur Baker, Dusty Springfield and The Harlem Gospel Singers, and has also worked with Faze Action and Lo-Fidelity All-stars to name a few from a career spanning more than 18 years. Recent work in the production chair includes Terry Callier, Beverley Knight and Bukky Leo's Black Egypt albums.

This album features an International line up including Terry Callier, Navasha Daya and James Collins of Baltimore soul-jazz outfit Fertile Ground, cult Philadelphian-born jazz flautist Lawrence Jones; vocalists Billie Godfrey and Lizzie Rendall, bass player Jeff'The Funk'Walker, pianist Mark Edwards, Nigerian saxophonist Bukky Leo (one-time student of Fela Kuti), Brazils Drumagick and Germanys Hypnosis & Marc Frank. Beyond The Rains is one of those rare albums that succeeds in bringing clarity and relevance out of a melting pot of diversity - united and driven always by an uplifting theme and an optimistic view.

Above all, Beyond The Rains evokes memories of the way albums used to be lovingly written and constructed and should be listened to from start to finish. The spirit of an old album, a journey, with a beginning, a middle and an end. From when you put the first track on, you should know that you can't cherry pick this album. The much mourned album art is not lost - it is alive and well, and living in Brighton.