Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Yet another addition to the pile of new music from a Penrose soul singer who has been active since the mid 1970s and has not stopped since, Lee Fields' latest 7" single 'Waiting On The Sidelines' is a paean to pining, a song for sad hollowness. The star sings heartbreakingly of having been reduced to 'waiting on the sidelines' while the object of his affection goes off gallivanting with someone else. It's a beautiful new one from the singer-songwriter and producer, effortlessly showing off his undying penchant for the 7"s format and neatly following up his 2022 album Sentimental Fool.

Review: Here comes Emotional Rescue and Konduko's last in their series of Noel Williams/King Sporty reissues, this time looking at later electro productions and the hip-hop/boogie influenced 'Sun Country'. Vocals and co-production come from Williams' long-time partner Betty Wright and as well as a vocal and instrumental mix there's a longform remix by Bay Area disco dub stalwarts, 40 Thieves.
By this point in his career, the godfather of Miami Bass had travelled a long way from his Jamaican roots in reggae and soul, paying homage to the warm climbs of the Sunshine State and laying down a much copied template using the TR-808 drum machine create the electronic emulations of the breakbeat, claps accenting the backbeat and trademark low frequencies shaking the floorboards. The instrumental stretches the arrangement, emphasising the interplay between electronics, bass, vocal samples, scratching and fx, the voice transformed into a percussive element in its own right. The flip sees 40 Thieves flexing their understated understanding of electro funk, making for a rounded, generation-jumping package.

Review: The Fabulous Courettes' 'Shake!' unleashes a whirlwind of retro-inspired rock 'n' roll energy in a compact package. This Danish-Brazilian duo ignites the airwaves with their electrifying blend of garage rock and 1960s girl-group aesthetics. 'Shake!' is a sonic explosion of fuzzy guitar riffs, infectious drumbeats and irresistible vocal harmonies that compel listeners to move. With its raw, unbridled energy and infectious hooks, this track embodies the essence of rebellion and liberation and makes for a sonic adrenaline rush that transports listeners to the heyday of rock 'n' roll, leaving them craving more of its infectious charm.

Review: Winston Ready has played a big part in the evolution of reggae booth as a solo artist and as the mic man for The Cimarons. He has had plenty of hits in his time and is now a regular on this label, Room In The Sky, with a couple of tunes dropping this month alone. 'Cool It Amigo' is first up and is an earthy one with shakers and fat horns over deep bass. The Inn House Crew then appear as usual with a head-twisting dub and on the flip are two more cuts that rework the original, firstly Fawda Don's 'Warrior' then Barry Issacs's 'So Mi Get It.'

Review: Baltimore-born US songwriter Aaron Frazer's 'Bring You A Ring' has the sort of timeless quality to it that so much of the soul dropped on this label comes with. It is a superbly velvety sound that is both easy to listen to yet hugely emotive. Vocally it celebrates love and connection and is a real heart melter. On the flip side you get something just as groovy in 'You Don't Wanna Be My Baby.' This one has harmonies that float high in the sky and plenty of nice strings to add further richness.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Original outer sleeve missing, otherwise in excellent condition***


The last Rhythm Section release came from Vancouver man Local Artist, but number 6 sees Peckham man Bradley Zero actually looking to local artists in the shape of FYI Chris. The production handle of Chris Watson and his namesake Coupe, this Peckham duo have already impressed with the No Hurry stealth drop on Church late last year, but it's clear they've learnt a few new tricks since then. Nestling snugly into the SE London beatdown sound Bradley has been cultivating through the label, Back In The Millenium is pleasantly hard to pin down with bits of house, hip hop and acid thrown into the mixer. We are quite impressed by "Jeru" which desiccates a famed '90s Primo sample with some dextrous MPC work, whilst MCDE fans will be all over "Need I Say More". A big 12" Nik!

Review: Following on from Running Back's much-needed reissue of their seminal, saucer-eyed early 90s deep house gem 'Mermaids', Ali Tillett's Re:Warm label has decided to serve up a fresh retrospective of the sprawling career of Hull twosome Fila Brazillia. Tillett has done an excellent job too - not an easy task given the sheer size of the pair's catalogue - opting to mix kaleidoscopic early favourites (the dreamy, sunrise-ready brilliance of 'The Sheriff') and bona-fide chill-out classics (the superb 'A Zed and Two L's' and 'Harmonicas Are Shite') with stoner funk numbers from later albums ('Throwing Down a Shape', 'Airlock Holmes') and lesser-celebrated treats (the dense, slow-motion excellence of 'Neanderthal'). There's even a previously unreleased gem recorded last year: the return-to-their-roots brilliance of 'Toro De Fuego'.

Review: First released in 1976, Never Gonna Leave You was the name of both album and single, both of which fell under the shared credit of Satin Soul and Maryann Farra (aka. De-lite-ful), an instrumental soul group and singer both signed to Brunswick Records at the same time, and whom together collaborated for the entire decade. This new Japanese reissue of the full album via Solid highlights the group's success as purveyors of proto-disco, with the title track returning to our ears in all its glory, and with all its best hallmarks - sultry syncopations for rhythm guitar, breathy exhalations for voice - while complements such as 'You Got To Be The One' also amount to a rare - and stellarly-mixed, might we add - prototype of the cross-section of disco and latter-day neo-soul.

Review: Dolphin is a new collaboration from UK jazz keyboardist Greg Foat and treasured Venetian ambient maestro Gigi Masin. The album was recorded in those strange years of 2021-2022, as both artists pooled their talents into mutual compositions which they then developed and embellished through the thoroughly modern practice of online file exchanges. There was time for some final recording sessions in person at a studio on the Isle Of Wight, where Moses Boyd, Tom Herbert and Siobhan Cosgrove lent their various instrumental talents to some of the pieces and the end result is a gorgeous, expansive trip through elevated musicianship and patient songwriting - a truly exquisite feast for the ears and mind.