Back catalogue: All genres

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: ,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: BDQ Records is the outlet for jam quintet BunnDebrettQuintet, who emerged out of 90s acid jazz titans Mother Earth. Their sound has refocused on a raw and rasping strain with a live, in-the-room electricity which comes through brilliantly on this new single with Lydia Sharpe. Taking a few cues from a Led Zeppelin classic, Sharpe strikes a fierce, sultry figure on top of the sizzling hot Hammond organ vamps and low slung rhythm section. It sounds dangerous like a niche 50s cut, but there's plenty of meat on the bones of the production, while the familiar vocal hooks will go down a storm with a busy dancefloor.

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: BDQ's next limited 7" is a superb three-way collab between Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity. Their long-lost version of classic dancer 'Jeannine' is powered by wandering basslines and swinging Hammond Organ chords that bring warmth to the free-flowing jazz vocals up top. It has never before been on 45rpm and has been all but unknown for the last 50 years but was recently rediscovered while the label head was looking for something else for the recent 'Auger Incorporated' compilation on Soul Bank Music. On the flip is a mod jazz dancer who is just as hip and ready to make an impact.

Review: German funkateer Bjorn Wagner launched the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band in 2007 following months spent learning to play steel drums during an extended stay in Trinidad and Tobago. 11 years on, Wagner and his trusty backing band return with album number two, "The Serpent's Mouth". As usual, the set sees them gleefully combine killer grooves - a mix-and-match fusion of funk, soul, hip-hop and jazz-funk - with a hint of humid tropical music and the distinctive melodies of oil barrel steel drums. There are, of course, nods to reggae and calypso (see "Real Hot") and a few eyebrow-raising cover versions, of which their rendition of Jan Hammer's "Crockett's Theme" from "Miami Vice" stands out.

Review: Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outfit from Hamburg, have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7"s and three critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one which they clearly intend on pushing to even higher heights with this new offering. On their fourth album BRSB, Bacao return with more of the same, but more of the same with them is of course inherently different. Covering songs that span genres, and range from mega-hits to underground album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. While part of the allure of a new Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band album is finding out what covers they choose, it is equally intriguing to see what original tunes they've cooked up alongside these, and this record is foul of standout originals. from 'In The Crosshairs' to 'Grilled' to 'Treasure Quest'.

Review: It's no mean feat to win awards with your debut album, but Bala Desejo did just that when they scored big at the Latin Grammys. As soon as you hit play on Sim Sim Sim you'll understand why, as the Rio de Janeiro band demonstrate their canny blend of 60s tropicalia, 70s psychedelia and MPB. It's pure pleasure music, full of wistful escapism and aching beauty, and in drawing so naturally on the best of Brazilian music culture through the ages, they've made something truly woven into the fabric of their home country. Spearheading a new wave of music and art from Rio de Janeiro, Bala Desejo have everything you could possibly want from a new Brazilian project, and more besides.

Review: After two well-received albums, BALTHVS comes out with their third, titled Third Vibration. The Columbian rock band plays a unique blend of exciting music,with songs often touching on psychedelic, funk, rhythm and blues and Latin, soul and rock music. Take their first song on the album 'All is One' for example - a cornucopia of influences mixing with a shimmering and crisp production that gives off a great 70s vibe to it. Whether you are relaxing by the pool, on vacation or you having a mellow get together at your house, Third Vibration is the perfect audio soundtrack and background music for a nice time.

Review: Melbourne funk and soul talents The Bamboos have now been blazing their own trail for almost a quarter of a century. This Is How You Do It makes their 11th studio album and shows the nine piece collective still has plenty to say for itself. Although at times this hints at a new direction, the album also bares all the hallmarks fans have come to love and expect from the group with Lance Ferguson's soulful production and effortless groove paired with the potent vocals of Kylie Auldist. Guest MCs from the US (Ozay Moore and Ohmega Watts) feature as do some boogie and disco tinged singles like 'Ex-Files'.

Review: Banda Black Rio were and still are an incredibly influential jazz-dance band from Brazil. Their three albums have been in any serious digger's back since then and, more recently, they've seen a renewed interest thanks to iconic British collectors and DJs such as Gilles Peterson and the rest of the London fusion crew. Maria Fumaca's tracks are the perfect balance between funk, jazz and disco, blending all three in one perfect shape for both the dancers and the armchair listeners. Tunes like "Na Baixa Do Sepateiro" focus on drums and hypnotic guitar solos, while others like "Caminho Da Roca" go deeper into the jazz end of the spectrum but still retain enough Brazilian tropical flare to make them an absolute pleasure on the dancefloors. A much recommended reissue, and one that would have cost you a fortune up until now. Mr Bongo in the place.

Review: Brazilian heavyweights Seu Jorge, Marcio Local, Elza Soares and Cesar Camargo Mariano all make up the legendary Banda Black Rio band. This was their much anticipate comeback album originally put out in 2001. Far Out have now secured reissue rights and serve up a special edition with two tracks that have never previously been on vinyl. They are 'Irere (feat. Gilberto Gil)' and 'Aos Pes Do Redentor (feat. Caetano Veloso)' and they sit with silky jazz-soul gems like 'Louis Lane' and contemporary samba jams like 'Samba Nova' with some exquisite guitar playing.

Review: Hailing from Salerno in Southern Italy, Bando Maje present their debut album on Four Flies Records. UFO Bar paints a picture of the pair's interests and experiences such as the local landscape, Neapolitan music, Italian soundtracks from the 70s, as well as B-movies, a passion for vinyl and cassette mixtapes, and afternoons spent watching third-division football. Peppe Maiellano (composer and keyboards) and Tonico Settanta (producer, rapper and DJ) head up the collective, featuring a revolving cast of members, all of whom are a bit like the lively port city they are from.

Review: Harlem-raised Gloria Barnes got her big break after a couple of her early recordings became big hits on the UK Northern Soul scene. Her sole album, 1971's Uptown, has long been an in-demand item amongst collectors, regularly fetching four-figure sums when copies do occasionally change hands. Here the album gets reissued for the first time, allowing those without money to burn to enjoy its rich and evocative mix of Northern style dancefloor stompers, heart aching torch songs and downtempo soul shufflers. The quality of Barnes' vocals naturally impresses throughout, but the musical backing - provided at different points by the Hustlers, the Disciples and Ohio Players - is every bit as beguiling.

Review: Spanish funk-rock group Barrabas formed in the 70s and had big success through that decade and the next. Drummer and producer Fernando Arbex lead the band and fomented a fusion of Latin rock and jazz-funk initially, before moving into a more disco orientated sound later on. Power was the band's second album and it came in 1973 with country-tinged tunes such as 'Boogie Rock', high speed funk workouts like 'Keep On Moving' and then more jazzy library sounds such as 'The Horse.' The second half of the album touches on busy dance floor funk like 'Casanova' and more stripped back and deep cuts like 'Children.'

Review: Spanish Harlem, New York native Joe Bataan is a king of Latin soul and boogaloo who has brought plenty of freshness to those genres over the years. His Salsoul album found him breaking down new borders with American soul fused to Latin rhythms to compelling effect. The title comes from the fact the music mixes salsa and soul and marked a high watermark in the NuYorican scene. Standout cuts like 'Latin Strut' and 'Aftershower Funk' are included and more straight-up Latin jazz like 'Sunny Gets Blue Mambo' is also featured.

Review: BCUC aka. Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness are a South African band working in a highly specific niche: political psychedelic music with an African twist. Six long, energetic opuses hear the collective band intone in multiple languages, embracing Babel, while paying due homage to the anti-apartheid movement, as well as indigenous peoples, through many an ecstatic, multifaceted, hedonic trance.

Review: Library music maestro and original member of The Shadows Brian Bennett has a raft of sought-after records to his name, but this is surely one of the most prized. As with the best library music, the execution of the compositions is impeccable - like slipping on silken luxury leisurewear for your ears. The record has been a rich source for sampling over the years, so half the joy is in spotting licks and loops from your favourite tunes, but equally these disco-fied delicacies funk all on their own. Lovers of the Black Devil Disco Club vibe will be more than happy getting down to these tasteful cosmic groovers, unbelievably repressed for just the first time on Isle Of Jura since the original release in 1978.

Review: Following the recent release of the outstanding 'Top Brass' single, Matt Berry releases a further unique collaboration with esteemed Library Music label KPM: the full-length album Simplicity, on which he follows in the footsteps of library music giants such as Keith Mansfield, Alan Hawkshaw and John Cameron, and presents a worthy successor album to complement them. Embodying the form of KPM's original LPs, geared towards film and television pitching, the album consists of 11 sharp and vibrant instrumentals, all of which will no doubt be heard in productions for many years to come.

Review: Don Beto was born in Uruguay and became one of the most forerunners of Soul Music in Brazil in 1979, he recorded "Nossa Imaginacao" LP wich featured arrangements by the legendary producer Lincoln Olivetti, and where we can listen to classics such as "No quero Mais", "Tudo again" and "Renascendo em mim". This album was awarded the Golden Globe in 1979.
Don Betto's "Nossa Imaginacao" attracts not only Brazilian Music Fans but also Soul, AOR.

Review: Vocalist and jazz and soul pianist Andy Bey worked with a range of celebrated talents such as Horace Silver and Gary Bartz but his debut solo album in 1974 takes some beating. It is an otherworldly offering of cosmic jazz and soul that is truly unique. The tone of Bey's voice always conveys a certain sense of pain, while the instrumentals around them range from deep and pensive to funky and playful. It is an album that takes a long time to parse and understand if you ever really do, and it has a superb cover, too. Do not sleep on this reissue.

Review: Italian dance producer Gianni Bini debuts on Groove Culture with the House Of Glass LP, topping up his impressive discography with a solo studio effort, and bolstering the already massive stock of production credits attached to his bulging, insatiable name. Though his various monikers over the years have indeed propelled him in a many-a-direction, Bini's latest here centres on epic disco, and rewinds the tape to an earlier sound first explored in his formative days as a producer; retroactively, we hear a livelier, more contemporary take on the stabbing strings, bristling bass and bubblegum beats - all live-recorded - that first put him on the map.

Review: Italian crooner Mario Biondi is well revered amongst those who know and for his new album, for the first time, he fully embraces the style that inspired his career. He does so by serving up a mix of great covers and plenty of superb unreleased songs that are embellished with help from plenty of friends and peers from both the Italian and international jazz scenes including Paolo Fresu, Stefano Di Battista, Rosario Giuliani, Francesco Cafiso. It was all recorded in Palermo with local players and the whole thing has a noir edge but warm vibe that plays out coherently from front to back despite the range of sounds touched upon.

Review: Black Market Brass are back on Colemine with a third full length that once again finds them offering up an all new take on Afrobeat that mixes the traditional sounds of the genre with heavy, hypnotic and sci-fi influences. Saxophonist Cole Pulice has said of the record: "We didn't leave the traditional Afro-beat sound behind, but we did allow ourselves to pull from different places with less hesitation." The nine piece album was recorded live to tap which lends it a lived-in feel and mixes organic instrumentation with heavily processed synthesizers, harsh glitches, fuzzed out guitars and raw percussion. It is a truly arresting and infectious listen.

Review: Black Pumas made the decision to widen their sonic sphere when they began the sessions that would ultimately end up forming their second album, Chronicles Of A Diamond, which is presented here on cloudy red vinyl with a booklet full of extra context. As such it includes a unique fusion of soul and symphonic pop with plenty of expressive excursions into jazz, gospel tinged vocal moments and even some jazz-funk, psychedelia and plenty of romantic love songs steeped in cosmic energy. A full expression of their vast musical potential that marks their best work to date.

Review: Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burtons commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.

Review: Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burton's commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burton's commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.

Review: Black Sugar was a relatively short-lived but influential Peruvian Latin rock, soul and jazz group. They got together in 1968, dropped two albums and several singles, then disbanded in 1975. Their eponymous Black Sugar album was the debut in 1971 and it has stood the test of time, to be sure: mixing up all forms of jazz, funk and soul, it's a richly layered album of instrumental sounds that range from the steamy and tropical bliss of 'This Time' to the more dance floor facing 'Understanding' which has high-speed 60s-spy cop theme tune vibes.

Review: Blue Lab Beats have got their game down when it comes to that neo-soul-meets-hip hop sound. They first stepped onto the radar around five years ago, and since have released two albums and a string of singles showing off a refined and fully realised sound. Think smoky Rhodes, laid back lyrical flows and beats deep in the pocket. Now Blue Note have snapped up the duo, and following a couple of singles last year they're back with their third album Motherland Journey. The message is enlightened and empowered, and the music just gets deeper with every passing bar. Check the guest list too, with Major9 and Kofi Stone, Emmavie and Ghetto Boy and so many more folding into this stunning opus from a duo you'd be mad to miss.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Radio Nova programmer Max Guiget steps out under his well established Blundetto guise for another masterclass in mechanical dub-funk stuff, this time to provide a soundtrack to Canal+'s series VTC. Centred on a night driver for a ride share company, Nora, and her addiction to amphetamines, the show presents the mess that has become her life in all its vivid and uncomfortable details. Debts, divorce, and a bed on the backseat of the car she uses to pick customers up.

Faced with this kind of quietly disturbing realism, and a world that exists predominantly as a nocturnal realm, Guiget's work is steeped in brooding atmospheres, but rather than simply looking to build feelings through long refrains and deep dive ambience, there's often a slow but definite, forward-motion rhythm to what's here, with tracks like 'La Chapelle' an eerie yet groovy case in point.

Review: If you know Blunt's story then you'll already know how genuinely cool, exciting and creative he is. If you don't, look it up - he didn't even start learning to playing music until his mid-30s and he regularly touted his lo-fi, wonky community-spirited fuzzy funk by busking and performing at old people's homes. A big influence on Luka Bop founder David Byrne, Dean Blunt, Dam Funk and many more, this is the first time his work has been available since his highly sought after self-released album Gentle Persuasion. Scuffed, scratched and strangely mixed down, his status as an 'outsider funk' spokesman makes complete sense when heard in all his glory. Genuinely unique.

Review: Discom continues to unearth genuine gems from the former Yugoslavia. The dusty-fingered reissue imprint's latest pick comes from 1983. It's the sole, self-titled album from Boom Selekija, a relatively short-lived eight-piece made up of funk and soul musicians from other Belgrade bands, who disbanded shortly after the LP was released. Musically, the album pairs vibrant and authentic disco-boogie instrumentation - with some Eastern European flourishes - with impassioned Serbian-language vocals. It's a quietly impressive set all told, with our picks including the spacey and loved-up stomper 'Studentski Stan', the rubbery bass guitar, rock-style guitar solos and intergalactic synth textures of 'Vladina Gitara', the subtly jazz-funk-infused, slap bass-propelled 'Juljaz Me', and the almost beat-free jazz-funk sleaze of 'Frizerka Naja'.

Review: Dial up the doctor for a dose of P funk heat, and you won't need a spoonful of sugar to help this particular medicine go down. Bootsy Collins is one of the true fundamentals of the Parliament-Funkadelic phenomenon, and he delivered some equally essential entries into the canon as any of the George Clinton classics. This Boot Is Made For Fonk'n' beamed down to earth from the mothership in 1979, when the collective's talents were at their peak, as proven by the presence of Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Garry Shider and Bernie Worrell on the credits and Clinton on the mixing desk. From the slippery psychedelia of 'Under The Influence Of A Groove' to the low sung sleaze of 'Jam Fan (Hot)', this is P funk at its best.

Review: Rome label Maledetta Discoteca Records encouraged a bunch of talented local musicians to get together and play live, embrace spontaneity and do their improvised best. What results is this new record, which is funk at its core, but which is coloured by so much more around the edges. Recorded in the historic Auditorium 900 studios with sound engineer Fabrizio Piccolo, the record takes in everything from 70s instrumentals to progressive funk, Hispanic rock and more with all manner of wah wah guitars, synths and organ bringing each groove to life in tiles fashion.

Review: French producer and multi-instrumentalist Antoine Bourachot is back just 12 months after his last release with another expansive and immersive album of groove driven espionage. Inspired by fusion and disco classic from days gone by, Bourachot has help from guitarist Jim Grandcamp and Shoko Igarashi who provides soprano saxophone and flute. The storytelling album has cinematic tracks, meandering musical narratives and some virtuoso solos full of funk, all recorded in a sanctuary full of analogue gear somewhere in Paris. What a fantastic and fantastical trip.

Review: The UK has had many distinct and hugely influential different musical scenes and acid jazz back in the late 80s and early 90s was one of them. Brand New Heavies were right at the heart of it. Their Original Flat album from 1994 very much captures the best of that time - coming of course on Acid Jazz Records - and to this day is a superb fusion of energetic jazz and retro funk with big hooks and great vocals. This reissue comes on limited white vinyl and includes material from before their seminal, self-titled 1990 debut.

Review: Surely one of the most iconic of all the British funk bands of the 90s, The Brand New Heavies split the difference between the heads-down seriousness of the rare groove scene with a sharp pop instinct which found them great success. This best of collection gives you hit after hit, and as soon as the irresistible groove of 'Never Stop' kicks in you'll be taken right back to that era. There's a house sensibility to some of the tunes which speaks to their proximity to Soul II Soul, but this is a funk band first and foremost, and their dynamic flow as a group is what resulted in such evergreen hits as 'Shelter' and 'Apparently Nothing'.

Review: Splash down to 1978-80: influential Philly funk troupe Breakwater gave the world two albums over two years.Full focus on slow jams and soulful fusion, the Breakwater melting pot is just as strong in jazz and Latin as it is soul and funk. Here we're treated to a selection of the best moments from Breakwater and Splashdown (minus the famous Daft Punk-sampled "Release The Beast") such as the unforgettable Floydian chorus of "That's Not What We Came Here For", the soaking wet bass and tight bright horns of the raunchy boogie jam "Do It Till The Fluid Gets Hot" and the sunshine soul of the sublime "Say You Love Me Girl". A sharp insight into a band that was criminally short-lived at the time..Rumour is there is a new album on the horizon and they still play live -there were two live uk dates in Jan 2017 already !

Review: Athens of the North have done plenty of work with the excellent catalogue of Brief Encounters, including albums of singles as well as some tasty 7"s. Next up from a band that broke up way way too soon is this album on P-Vine which first came in 1981. It is a private press holy grail that takes in modern soul, disco, sweet soul and more and is well worth having on vinyl not only for its commercial value but the musical goodness within. An essential one for soul loves with standouts like 'Since I Met You Girl' and 'If You Want My Love'.

Review: Brother Jack McDuff's Moon Rappin is one of those records which sets off a thousand sample-spots. The prolific jazz man made an incredibly catchy kind of jazz funk on this record, with the title track making for something of a peak of the genre in its cool and deadly groove. It's got soul for days and plenty of compositional chops to keep you locked in for the duration. Equally, if you're looking for hot breaks, they're smattered all over this record thanks to Joe Dukes holding it down on the skins and McDuff working his magic on the organ. A timeless classic, repressed by the good folk at Blue Note with their high quality standards present and correct.

Review: The Brothers Johnson's 'Strawberry Letter 23' sone of the most iconic soul tunes of all time, not least because of its well-placed inclusion in some killer movies. The 1977 original is included here with an instrumental version, as well as a couple of versions of a remix by Charles J. The American R&B group's other biggest hit, 'Stomp!' also makes the cut as do two others - 'I'll Be Good To You' and 'Get The Funk Out Ma Face', all of which get pressed onto a red and yellow splattered vinyl.

Review: The godfather of soul found himself dipping into jazz on this classic but lesser-known album, Soul On Top (Verse By Request Series). Now getting a proper reissue treatment it is sure to convert many new fans to his abilities across the six sizzling tracks from this 1969 album, which includes the classic 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World' and a new version of 'Papa's Got A Brand New Bag'. Brown provides the vocals to a 18-piece big band set up that was led by drummer Louis Bellson and arranged by Impulse! star Oliver Nelson. Brown always said he was a jazzman at heart and this goes some way to proving that, with saxophonist Maceo Parker adding plenty of vital swing.

Review: Athens of the North originally contracted obscure 80s boogie artist Billy Bruner about reissuing two of his rare, sought-after singles - "The Tulsa Song" and "The Dream" - but instead raided his tape archives and putting together what's effectively his debut album. Combining previously released tracks (including some made as part of similarly obscure outfit T'Spoon and the gospel-leaning band The Davis Family), unheard extended versions and previously unreleased songs, the album is warm, soulful, slick and summery. Highlights include the stuttering P-funk flex of "Cats Meow", the sizzling dancefloor heat of "School Dance" and the deliciously extended version of glassy-eyed '80s soul jam "Never". If sparkling, synth-heavy '80s soul is your thing, this is one surprise retrospective you won't want to miss.

Review: .They don't come much tighter than the legendary New York City outfit, Budos Band. The acclaimed funk outfit has long been associated with Daptone Records - for over two decades, in fact - but here they land on new label Diamond West with latest EP Frontier's Edge. Across five cuts it has their famously tight grooves under pining each track and the whole thing is said to have been written in just a few days. The lead single and title track is a menacing head banger with bone rattling guitar and tejano-flavored horns.This one comes on lovely opaque lime vinyl.

Review: They have been staples of the Daptone Records label for some 20 years but now the legendary funk outfit The Budos Band are finally stepping away to pastures new. They do so with new album Frontier's Edge on the newly launched label Diamond West. It comes on both nice opaque lime vinyl, and here as a plain black slice of wax. Across five cuts it has their famously tight grooves under pining each track and the whole thing is said to have been written in just a few days. The lead single and title track is a menacing head banger with bone rattling guitar and tejano-flavored horns. Another fine outing from this golden group.

Review: Steel City electro-funk wizard BusCrates shows that not only American counterparts like Dam Funk can lay down seductive funk smoochers with his second full-length album, Control Center. Soraya Watti is on hand to provide smooth and soulful tones on 'On My Way', the only track with a voice, and its beautifully downbeat gem that harks back to classic Erykah Badu tunes from days gone by. Elsewhere there are whimsical synth laced daydreams like 'Four Track Mind' and sax-led slow motion funk wigglers like 'Prisms'. It's a gorgeous album for both background play and up front listens.

Review: Blue Note are on a reissuing roll, not shying from revisiting the work of their most treasured jazz acts this year. The latest in their Classic Editions comes by way of Donald Byrd, whose timeless 1975 album Places And Spaces documents the trumpeter's fearless jazz-funk fusion era. This being Blue Note, you can expect only the best rendition of this orchestral jazz-funk suite that a vinyl pressing has to offer. This version is an all-analog remaster, by legendary cutting engineer Kevin Gray, from the original tapes. Expect a thorough justice-doing of the hits, 'Dominoes' and 'Wind Parade', which boast production credits from the infamous Larry Mizell.

Review: Some 30 years after rising to prominence via a now legendary NYC radio show, veteran hip-hop DJs Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia have finally made a debut album. It sees them join forces with specially created nine-piece combo The M19s Band to serve up fresh covers of a range of well-known and obscure "dance floor bangers" (as the accompanying press release puts it). There are some superb interpretations, with the Police's dub disco jam "Voices Inside My Head" becoming a sweet soul-jazz treat, the Clash's "Magnificent Dance" reborn as a Latin jazz number (complete with Rich Medina spoken word vocal) and Womack & Womack's "Baby I'm Scared of You" a seductive, shuffling Afro-Cuban jazz standard. In a word: brilliant.