Back catalogue: Funk

Review: P-VINE present a limited box set from their popular "Groove Diggers'' reissue series. All tracks selected by DJ Muro, one of Japan's best known DJs/producers/diggers and pressed on 7" for the first time, featuring classics from Erik Tagg, Prince Billy Mahdi Wright, Billy Wooten, Spice, & 1619 Bad Ass Band.

Review: If you don't have love for Rahsaan then you don't have love for life. The American is a veteran of the edit scene and someone who can flip any joint into a joyous groove. Here, Hot Biscuit have assembled a limited double 12" that brings together some of his best 'Disco Edits, Versions & Dubs." 'Big Bisou' opens up with a jumble of Afro drums and loose limbed rhythms, 'Mamoe Lowe' then has tribal vocal chants and raw percussive energy, and 'Preto Velho' then brings a little more laid back soul to the party. '77' is a funky disco strider and 'Secondo' closes with some hard assed funk.

Review: Tucked away on Louie Vega's fantastic - and vast - Expansions in the NYC album were a handful of tributes to disco legends Patrick Adams and Larry Levan. This double-pack brings those tributes to the floor. Vega opens with his Elements of Live band cover of Sine's Patrick Adams-produced 1978 B-side 'Chimi', turning the four-minute cut into a driving-but-bouncy, near 14-minute disco epic rich in restless bass, attractive vibraphone solos and spacey synths. On 'Change Your Mind', which is presented in both full vocal and instrumental forms, Vega recruits the voice of the Peech Boys, Bernard Fowler, and turns down a sparse, heavily electronic workout reminiscent of Larry Levan's early '80s mixes. It's genuinely great, as is the DJ Spinna-sporting, hybrid disco/organic house cover of Adams' classic 'Atmosphere Strut'. In a word: essential!

Review: Owhaaou features four cuts taken from the incredibly hard-to-find and obscure Metamorphose album that was released back in 1984 by this legendary Benin soul star. He blends rare Afrofunk with digital soul as evidenced by the recent reissue of Dans le Tchink System. Now this label celebrates his work once more with this futuristic and expansive new record which was recorded on 24 analogue track channels with skilled backing musicians such as Hilaire Penda on bass, Poly Rythmo de Cotonou's Daniel Bentho and more. The title track is a big disco party starter then there are more sombre moods on 'Magnifiec' and a silky edit of 'Zemidjan' before 'Mi Tchinker' gets that booty shaking.

Review: Kay-Dee Records comes at us with a 45 double-hitter, presenting Bert Hector's 'The Phoenix' and 'The Kraken' with Kenny Dope on remix duties. On the first record, we're treated to 'The Phoenix', a sure-fire funk gem with a super-warm sound - beat is as cool as it gets, with a laid-back and funky attitude sitting beneath a joyous intermingling of sitar, flute, brass and guitar, all performed at expert levels. 'The Kraken', meanwhile, channels a killer groove, strutting at 85 bpm and incorporating a huge brass section which pumps loud, while flute solos and funky Wah-guitar chops take things up a notch.

Review: ,Joe Bataan has been busy in East L.A. with Orquesta Rene for this new Latin jazz double 7" courtesy of Steady Beat. It features four all new pieces drenched in soul and percussion, starting with 'So Fine' (feat Big Sandy), a mid tempo groove with vocal longing and languid horns. 'Mestizo' is a more steamy and intimate piece with sung-spoken lyrics and glowing, golden chords. 'Mom & Dad' (feat Claudia Lennear) has s steamy shuffle to its rhythms and classic Latin percussive sounds next to a call and response vocal and 'Time After Time' closes with a sentimental feel.

Review: Star Creatures' latest release titled The Chicago Boogie Volume 2: This Love Will Last picks up where Attack of the Chicago Boogie Volume 1 left off, with Tim Zawada and Kool Hersh curating more selections of rare Chicago boogie tracks in collaboration with the Munster Boogie crew. Originally released last year, this reissue includes music written, produced, recorded and pressed proudly in The Windy City itself, with this vinyl edition featuring art from Ben Marcus based on versions of compliment cards and flyers from the scene in the 80s.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the four choice tracks from Randolph Baker's privately pressed sought-after 1982 disco album 'Reaching For The Stars', plus an unreleased instrumental take of 'Party Life' sourced from the original 24-track analogue master tapes.

Originally recorded at Jim Morris and Rick Miller's Tampa-based Morrisound Studios, 'Getting Next To You' features both a mixture of both local Florida talent plus jazz superstar Nat Adderley and bassist John Lamb at their finest. Originally pressed in a limited run of just one-thousand copies, with no distribution and most copies being sold in the local city and on Randolph's own merchandise table at the back of live gigs, original copies have long been sought-after by both collectors and DJs alike, acknowledged as a true grail and masterpiece in the disco scene and deservedly demanding extortionate figures to those lucky enough to find their own.

Here, in collaboration with Randolph, Kalita Records have chosen to re-release the four choice tracks from the album: 'Getting Next To You', 'Jazzman', 'Callin' Me' and 'Party Life'. The former is an in-demand horn and chant-filled disco masterpiece, which, as Randolph explains, concerns unity and "everyone on the same level in other words, everyone just loving life". It is arguably the song that Randolph is most well-known for in the disco and funk scene and perfect for the modern discerning dance floor. 'Jazzman' is an instrumental track with prominent trumpet and saxophone solos working with funky basslines to produce a truly great jazz-funk groove. It was "a tribute to Nat Adderley and Duke Ellington's bass player, John Lamb, for being so generous and saying yes to the project". 'Callin' Me' is a soulful disco number featuring the lead vocals of Laurie Erickson and is "about being on the road and ensuring loved ones that you will always come back home no matter what. It was like a promise to ensure loved ones they didn't have to worry". Lastly, 'Party Life' is a joyous disco track with a strong funk bassline and horns. As Randolph recalls, it "was the joy like after an actor finishes a movie. There was nothing but joy. It's finished; let's celebrate big time. Where everyone in the studio yelled at the top of their lungs - The End!" Here, with access to the 24-track master tapes we have been able to include the original version plus an unreleased instrumental take, allowing us to focus on the infectious bassline and make it even more ready for the modern dance floor.

Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen photos.

Review: Veteran Newcastle-based producer Johnathan Watson aka Smoove is back with the third instalment in the Multitrack Reworks, a new series that will be putting out limited edition, hand-stamped white label 12's that are made from reworked tunes constructed from the original multitracks. This one features the deep down and dirty P-funk of A-side cut 'Deep', while over on the flip Watson lends his Midas touch to a solid reconstruction of a certain deep funk classic by Slave, as well as a spruced up soul classic for all the heads out there on 'Superman'.

Review: Limited edition, hand-stamped white label 12"s from Smoove, reworking as though each of its remixed originals were axiomatic expressions of sonic perfection. 'Dance', for example, has a well known 80s classic reworked to stomping, heavyweight perfection - stretching its vocals to breathy ecstasy. Meanwhile EWF's 'Can't Hide Love' and 'Playing Your Game, Baby' by a certain Mr White, unite over a similar subject matter; there's no point in hiding your love. All aboard the underground love train.

Review: Gustavo C's G.U.S label - short for 'Golden Unreleased Songs' - exists for one purpose: to offer-up limited-edition singles featuring previously unheard gems from the disco and boogie era. The label has already released buried treasure from Central Line and Kenni Rightout and here delves into the archives of obscure 80s electrofunk outfit Odyssey & Co, a band not to be confused with the far better-known Odyssey. 'It's On' was originally recorded and mixed in 1983, but for one reason or another never hit stores. It's a quality slab of soul-fired boogie-funk rich in rubbery bass guitar, spacey synths, eyes-closed vocals and post-electro machine drums. The A-side original mix is on-point, but we prefer the slightly stretched out and more dancefloor focused flip-side 'Dance Mix'.

Review: This reissue of The Jungle Rat is the second in a series from Names You Can Trust. The first was a doozy, as is this one, and suggests their Panama Gold Series is going to be totally essential. This is the first time this particular holy funk grail has ever been reissued. It's raw, expressive funk with big rhythms, bigger horns and impassioned vocals with plenty of florid melodic motifs. On the flip, things slow down and get more deep and pensive with 'Have A Little Faith.' The belting vocals are repacked with real power and backed with talkative horns.

Review: Summer is Dam-Funk season. The synth funk pioneer's sounds never seem more fitting than when cruising about on an early summer evening, top down (at least in your mind) with the sky turning burnt orange. He soundtracks that moment four more times here with 'Rise' being a more downbeat and pensive vibe, then 'Make It' getting a little more playful on the bump-n-grid beats and squelchy boogie bass. 'From A G Perspective' has low-riding Cali-funk in its bones and 'Free' closes with more lush analogue textures and shimmering chords on this vital, limited 12".

Review: Archeo know how to hunt down a rare jam and give it the kind of reissue it deserves, so who better to handle this job? Tonica & Dominante was a studio project conceived by Antonio Iglio and Antonio Moxedano, which yielded a couple of singles and an album at the end of the 70s. It's a warm, organic sound before Italo disco swerved hard towards synthesisers and drum machines, and you can see why anyone digging for the rarest grooves would go crazy for the two tracks on this previously rare-as-hell 7". This new Archeo version ports the original tracks onto 12" and folds in two tasteful, clubbed-up dub mixes from Leo Mas & Fabrice.

Review: A recreational offshoot of the band Pleasure, Portland's Lights Out were led by their trumpeter Tonmy Collins as a way of staying musically exercised, pushing the envelope and getting a few local bookings on the side when Pleasure weren't on the road. Their sound started out as jazz fusion but they soon developed into a monstrously funky synth/-led funk rollercoaster. as vocalist Andy Stokes and guitarist Greg "Gee Mack" Dalton fronted the band.
The four tracks here were recorded as a demo for Solar Records in 1982 at Wave Sound Studios - a facility more used to housing punk acts such as The Wipers and The Rats - but the label 'fumbled' it and the band fellow apart soon after. Some 40 years on, the likes of 'Surrender Your Love' and 'Tonight' still sound fresh as the proverbial daisy, and likely to lure feet onto the dancefloor.

Review: Discodelic obviously rates this latest 7" of theirs because they have released it in more than one format. As well as a straight back wax version you can also cop it on this pink & blue splattered vinyl complete with a booklet that provides some extra context about the music from Cizana and La Nueva Generation. Both tunes are flame-hot and bristling with energy. The A-side is all joyous flutes, hand drums and percussive Latin grooves then the flip slows things down and ups the brass. Two belters and this one looks as good as it sounds, too.

Review: Discodelic does not muck around when it comes to putting out their music on vinyl - they serve up a standard black version but often also a cured pressing alongside it. And that's what we have here - a yellow and red splattered vinyl 7" with a booklet featuring some backstory, and all heavily limited to just 100 copies. Musically this one packs a punch too with Wilson Boys opening up with 'Funky Bocas' - a busy Afro rhythm with tight interwoven guitar lines and big vocal cries. On the flip is Alma Fuerte's 'Baila Muchacha' with its hypnotic mix of aw rock guitars, shuffling samba rhythms and flamey vocals.

Review: Chicago outfit Wavelength tap into the funk traditions of bands like Parliament here with a seductive and rather sleazy new EP for Soulistic 360. The whole thing has been arranged by Windy City soul innovator Rahaan and comes on white marbled vinyl 12". Opener 'Can You Handle This Funk' is slow, steamy, sensuous with its languid kicks, live, raw drums and drawled vocals all luring you into the groove. The remix is a subtle teak of the original and on the flip is 'Kemetic Dance Party' which brings more Afro style drums and some bold sax lines to get things going in a more energetic way.

Review: Originally released in 1979 on Dominant Records, this double single features production by Italian composers and vocalists Antonio Iglio and Antonio Moxedano. 'Tigre' and 'Gennarino 'O Sioux'' saw extreme demand after becoming instant cult classics. The bass is tight and the vocal melodies are instant foot tappers, you'll be humming it for hours. The original 7" is one of the most wanted and rarest around, with very few copies ever going on the second hand market - reaching the hundreds in some cases - a huge leap forward for the Neapolitan Disco Funk scene, and a testament to the pure talent of these artists in what was arguably the beginning of a golden era for Italian funk and soul.

Review: Australian DJ and producer Dave Mathmos serves up an obscure edits entree, sampling/reworking a whopping seven disco cuts from the late 1970s and early 1980s, but adding just enough modern flair to essentially make them his own. A well-rounded, sticky quality is heard on this septagonal crock of heaters, with the downtempo slink-funk of 'Late At Night' and the equally sumptuous, string-backed plod of 'Wonderful Feeling' remaining our highlights.

Review: 'Maledetta Quella Notte' is the first EP by Il Mago del Gelato, a new band from Milan (IT) with a strong Mediterranean imprint. This first album of theirs runs through funk, afrobeat and jazz; all the divergent strands make up the project, later convergent and blending in a nigh-perfect balance. Warm, watery, jazz-futuristic and easy on the ears, it's all held together by the uniquely Milanese fusion of vocoder, percussion, 80s synths, and roots guitars.

Review: Discodelic has established itself well with its first ten releases and now the 11th keeps up the momentum with a pair of funky psychedelic jams. First up is the Wilson Boys with their 'Funky Bocas' which pairs busy Afro rhythms with tight interwoven guitar lines and their impassioned vocal cries. It's a full flavour jam with oodles of charm and then on the flip is something just as solid. Alma Fuerte's 'Baila Muchacha' is a brilliantly loose jumble of raw rock guitars, shuffling samba rhythms, flame vocals and synth magic that will electrify the 'floor.

Review: To mark the 150th episode of Oonops's Brooklyn Radio Show he invited some artists to record some tracks for his for Oonops Drops label. Slick Walk (Merse & DJ Robert Smith) and Fingathing's Sneaky steppe dup first with 'Bird's Lament', a nice cut up beat with twanging double bass and dark cello vibes. South Korean producer Avantgarde Vak says 'Keep Ya Eyes Up' and does so with a sparse beat and moody bass. Last of all is the tight drum funk of Toshiyuki Sasaki's 'Toshi Bonus Breaks.'

Review: Italian musician and producer Fabio Puglisi is behind the Soul Basement project which started back in 1997 as a four piece ensemble. They released a number of albums with Fabio at the centre and wowed fans and critics alike around the world. This is a brand new single that sees him link up with singer Alvin Le-Bass on 'Take Me Back' and then 'Trying Hard' features Lana Gordon. That A-side tune is a lush mix of downtempo lounge vibes and timeless soul vocals with clean electronic production. On the flip, there is more of a jazz feel with warming, glowing chords and meat little melodies as the lush vocal harmonies make your heart soar.

Review: It might be getting cold and dark and wet here in the UK but music will always be able to transport us to warmer, sunnier, happier climes. And so it is with this new 7", which includes a booklet, from Discodelic. It's a two tracker from Cizana and La Nueva Generation that is flame hot and bristling with energy - Cizana's 'She Sold Her Soul' kicks off with its joyous flutes, hand drums and percussive Latin grooves then La Nueva Generacion slow things down and up the brass with their carnivalesque Afro-funk workout 'Uhru Sasa'.

Review: Two years ago, Early Sounds Recordings co-founder Pellegrino S. Snichelotto dished up a debut mini-album that brilliantly joined the dots between Daniele Baldelli style Afro-cosmic grooves and jazz-funk. This is his first outing since and explores similarly sunny and meandering sonic territory, beginning with the languid guitar solos, jaunty electric piano riffs and Tullio de Piscopo style percussion of "Astri & Riflessi". Smoother and deeper dancefloor jazz-funk flavours are provided by "Zodyaco", "Libra Position" is a dub-driven affair rich in spacey synth solos and heavy bass, and "Genti Del Mediterraneo" is a riotous dancefloor workout rich in crunchy Clavinets, elastic slap bass and wild electric piano solos. It is, then, every bit as essential as its fine predecessor.

Review: Parisian jazz-funk, disco and boogie band Chatobaron - an outfit helmed by multi-instrumentalist Frank Chatona - have previously worked in the studio with house and nu-disco mainstay Art of Tones, so it's no surprise to see them recruiting the mighty Dimitri From Paris to mix their latest single. His A-side 'Club Vocal' mix is a genuinely riotous and celebratory affair, with strong group vocals (singing about how much they love 'your' music) and heady horns rising a jolly and joyous, piano-sporting disco-funk groove rich in low-slung bass and Cerrone style percussion. It comes accompanied not by one of Dimitri's deconstructed dubs, but rather an equally excitable 'Club Instrumental' mix that boasts all the goodness of his A-side mix minus the vocals.