When hip-hop producer Tony Simon takes a break from working with acts like Aesop Rock, DJ Signify, and Murs he is a member of the hip hop / comedy group Party Fun Action Committee. When he’s not doing that he puts out solo music projects on the Ninja Tune label as Blockhead. He has just released his third studio album, “The Music Scene,” and it’s a tightly produced, mainly instrumental album laden with funky grooves, international flavors, and many bizarre vocal samples.

“The Music Scene” opens with the nearly 6-minute ‘It’s Raining Clouds,’ featuring a relaxed beat, mellow horns, and soulful vocal samples. The next track keeps the same feel, though it’s a little more up-tempo and has some Middle Eastern flavor mixed in the background. The disc ranges around a lot from there, often featuring complex percussion and a variety of national influences, including some flamenco guitar, reggae-influenced horns and some good American 70s funk.

“The Music Scene” has a fairly consistent feel for all ground it covers, and there are several highlights. ‘Attack the Doctor’ has plinking strings and a laid back, head-bobbing beat setting the stage for some good melodic guitar work and Russian-sounding vocals. Halfway through the disc, ‘The Daily Routine,’ is the darkest song on the disc with an oozy minor key groove backing a disturbing recording of two drug addicts engaged in a heated argument.

The second half of the disc is packed with good songs. ‘Tricky Turtle’ uses organic percussion and some beat boxing, horns and guitars to back cleverly used vocals. ‘Four Walls’ is a slow and deliberate tune that features a talk box and cunningly mixed flutes and guitar. After a long and distracting vocal sample ‘Hell Camp’ starts off and it settles down to a smoky chillout groove with some dreamy keyboards. “The Music Scene” ends with my favorite song on the disc, ‘Farewell Spaceman.’ A little harp, stand-up bass, and big, fat horns set the mood for some vintage vocal samples. The song evolves over it’s 6 ½ minutes, becoming bigger and busier until it is a full-on techno song by the end.

Simon is an accomplished producer and it almost feels like he’s showing off for us a bit except that almost every fill, loop, and sample is right in the pocket, serving the song. He does have a tendency to pick a few unfortunate vocal samples that are distracting (‘Hell Camp’) or too goofy (‘Tricky Turtle,’ 'Goodbye Spaceman'), but for all the tricks and technique employed in the mix, it never feels gimmicky. This is a strong release that you will enjoy in the background with some friends or sitting in the corner with headphones on.