CD: Mute N Muse

Surprisingly, it's hard to find any information on who Sans Chichi is (or are), though we now know rather a lot about a French racehorse with the same name. Whoever's behind it, Mute N Muse is a charming, smoking jacket-sporting fusion of twinkling restaurant jazz, fireside grooves and emotion-rich downtempo groovery. While there's the odd uptempo cut - see the fuzzy instrumental soul of ""Dolly's Run"" and snappy ""Pauline"" - the overall feel is much more languid, downbeat and lounge-friendly, with extensive piano solos and hissing jazz cymbals to the fore. Music like this can sometimes get a bit ""lift muzak"", but Sans Chichi sidestep this potential pitfall with effortless ease."