Chairman Maf is a producer from Sheffield that has been averaging an album a year since 2013. His last album, Alcoholic Soul, came out June of last year. If you’re doing the math, that means it is time for a new one, and Chairman Maf knows that, so he now presents Ginger for your listening pleasure.

One of the things I’ve appreciated about Chairman Maf over the years is that not only has he given us several enjoyable instrumental albums with fully formed songs, not just beat tapes, but he’s given us a variety of albums as well. His beats are always soulful, but they aren’t always downtempo, and they’re not always the same style. On Ginger, we get a gritty, soulful, funky album that will sound great as you drive around in the waning autumn sunlight, nodding your head, enjoying all of the amazing uptempo grooves that Maf has put together. One of the skills that’s on great display on Ginger is the way in which Maf is able to both literally and figuratively make his samples talk to each other, and how these sometimes disparate elements can come together to make some great funk. To find an example of this, look no further than “Pear Tree,” which finds all these different vocal clips having conversations with each other, all while this great piano sample bounces over this fantastic drum beat, while Maf sprinkles in all of these other elements here and there just to add that little touch of flavor to take things over the top. My only real problem with the album is that he titled a track “HUGH HEFNER,” presumably because it’s a sexy track, making great use of a Johnnie Taylor sample, but there are so many other things that are actually sexy that the track could have been named after, namely the music of Johnnie Taylor.

Chairman Maf has been on a nice run of albums since 2013, and Ginger is no exception. It’s full of gritty soul, great grooves, and has enough variety and flow to keep rewarding you on multiple listens.