Selected: Real Love Seeker choose highlights of broken beat to accompany I Want You ft BB. James

London-based duo Real Love Seeker is made up of Stevie Titmus and Dan Marston, cultivators of a distinctive jazz meets club culture sound. Their latest release is a collab with multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter B.B James, entitled I Want You – listen here and don’t forget to BUY ON BANDCAMP:

To celebrate the release of the track, Stevie and Dan have compiled a selection of their definitive broken beat tracks. Enjoy…

Real Love Seeker
BB James
Soul Quest Records

DKD – Future Rage

The archetypal Broken Beat track for me.

It features all the genre’s signatures: syncopated beats, hazy chords, wonky synths, and jazz-funk vocals that make the style undeniable.

DKD was a collaboration between Dego, Kaidi Tatham, and Daz-I-Kue, released on Bugz In The Attic’s label—bringing together all of Broken Beat’s big names. The record consistently works on a dancefloor, and despite countless listens, I still discover new elements in the haywire synth lines that whizz through the track.

Phlash – 1471

You can’t tell the story of Broken Beat without mentioning Phil Asher.

He co-founded the Co-Op label and party—a truly foundational name in the genre. His vast range of influences—New Jersey house, spiritual jazz, and rare Brazilian music—created a sound that was uniquely personal.

This track, a collaboration with the fantastic saxophonist Nathan Haines, sounds like Lil Louis and Pharoah Sanders jamming together in a West London rave.

Universal Love – Ritmo Da Rua

I first started playing in London clubs around 2004-5. At that time, there was strong appeal for music that bridged house and UK Garage—tracks like “Cure And The Cause” by Fish Go Deep, “Attend 1” by DJ Gregory, and the emerging UK Funky records.

This track by Italy’s Universal Love was one I reached for frequently. Its skippy drums, jazzy Rhodes, and soaring strings make it truly stand out. Masters At Work also favored this track, including it on one of their Defected compilations where I discovered it.

MAW – Our Time Is Coming (The Guestlist Remix)

Masters At Work essentially invented Broken Beat with “The Nervous Track”—a record inspired by jazz dancers at the UK’s Southport Weekender.

This remix transformed a MAW rendition of a Roy Ayers classic in the most outrageous way, brilliantly incorporating the best moments from Ayers’ stunning back catalog into a single track. The blend of jazz-funk vibe and stuttering house beats is absolutely perfect on this one. 

Real Love Seeker – Real Love Seeker

This was my first attempt with Dan Marston to capture the energy of Broken Beat. We created it simply, using just an MPC with Marston recording his sax solo.

It’s primarily built from samples of old hip hop, boogie, and house records, which helps retain that old-school vibe. Our sound has evolved since this first release, but you can still hear the intention that’s guided our work so far.