Doesn‘t matter which part of the world you call home, Japanese-New Zealander Mark de Clive-Lowe has got you covered with this tremendous album of funk in all its flavors. MdCL welcomes a host of vocalists-including regular coconspirators like London‘s Bembé Segué and Abdul Shylon (who voiced the Co-Op Club smash “Relax…Unwind”), plus aloof SF wallflower Capitol A, who steps to the mic on the jamming “Traveling.” But the real star of Tide‘s Arising is MdCL himself. His ease with the keys (check the rolling flow of “Pino + Mashi”) and MPC (feel the irresistible grinding broken beat of “Quintessential) is matched only by a clear vision, which makes this album into something more than just a collection of virtuosos. MdCL is here to freak the funk.