Sunshine, Shadows and Luck is a snack sized album more akin to an EP but with more tracks but what it lacks in length it certainly makes up for in flavor. Mark Scanlan, the beat scientist behind Kobra Audio Labs, works out a series of tracks that possess a sort of dystopian, sci-fi funk. They can be often rubbery in sound but lurch about unexpectedly like the charmingly creaky “War All The Time” with its heavily chopped and spliced guitar line that stumbles through fields of lo-fi drums that stretch and snap or the psychedelic “Down To The Dozens” with its breathy flutes and vague steel drums floating in the background.

Parallels could be drawn between Kobra Audio Labs and DJ Shadow, Pete Samples, and DJ Spooky but Scanlan draws on a wider body of material than just the world of recombinant music. “In Opposition” sees him dipping a toe into a dirge like ballad that comes closer to the work of the psych-folk music found in the work of Guido Möbius and Bibio though in a more traditional manner. Brushing against Ambient soundscape is “We Have The Strength But We Don’t Have The Will” which floats on lazy synth pads and loping drum beats, a blissful head nodder that will have your eyelids dropping and a slow smile spreading across your face.

Overall, Sunshine, Shadows and Luck is worth grabbing; short but sweet. You can sample some free tracks at the Kobra Audio Labs website.

DJ Mag calls him a “a right fucking find” and I am inclined to agree. The Fix sets up the bomb and delivers. Flamgirlant calls it as it is when she simple states over at the albums page at eMusic that Moschella is what you’d get “[i]f Prince and Stevie Wonder had a love child,” but I would say that he was conceived with Lenny Kravitz sitting in on the session back when he was still fresh and relevant. It is short, sharp, fun, funky, and delivered with a genuine passion for the music.

The Fix opens up with a sweetened little funk number that has Moschella channeling Prince on vocals with Stevie Wonder backing him on keys and will assuredly put a skip in your step and a shake in your sway. The beauty is not that he is aping these artists, which he is not, it is that he is so much in tune with the feeling and tradition of that brand of stripped down, tightly crafted, R&B that is rubbed down with a spicy jerk of Funk. Moschella like to surprise you by pulling in references out of thin air. With the foot stomping back beat of “Strong Man”, sounding like an outtake of “When The Levee Breaks,” he brings a tight little burner that will bring a smile to even the most dour face.

While the album, for the most part, is upbeat and feel-good Moschelle does take a moment here and there to throttle the energy and slow things down for a more traditional number. “If You Believe (You Will Be Strong)” dials it back, offering a simple and raspy electric piano line back by simple rhythm section while he offers up words of support, “If you believe in yourself, no one else will steer you wrong.” It is earnest if not a little trite but it fits with overall mood of the album and his optimism is infectious enough that you might find yourself singing along after a couple of bars.

The Fix is on my Best of 2006 list just for it refreshing stew of soul and funk. Moschelle has proven himself to be a talented multi-instrumentalist and someone worth waiting for their next album to drop. Very highly recommended. You can grab the album over at eMusic or Amazon or if you want scope out the free track, “Moved On,” over at his website or over at The Mark Out , which a couple of more posted as well.