Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Athens Of The North can usually be found honing their expert craft of unearthing nigh impossible to find disco, and reissuing it in the utmost quality. However, the work of East Coast Love Affair (Euan Fryer and Nick Moore) is deceiving, as it adopts the image of one of said reissues while actually being fully contemporary music. 'Get Down' tops up a slew of master-quality releases for the label, expropriating a vocal line from obscure Minneapolis 'lo-fi' band Quiet Storm and putting it back into an entirely new, drunk-and-high instrumental context (think lasers, whistles, funk basses, an overall hazy sound). 'Can You Deal', on the flip, lends Quiet Storm a similar treatment, albeit for a cleverly hi-lo-fi disco house treatment.

Review: Mr Bongo's Brazilian 45 series hits it's ninth gear with two region-defining slices of sun-kissed samba soul. Doris takes the lead with delicate frontage. Leading from the front, all instruments follow her cues and mirror each vocal flourish with mild big band cheekiness. The instantly distinctive "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser" from sister quartet Quarteto Em Cy is a great twist on a Latin classic with its slightly rocky guitars and full bodied harmonies. Previously released in 1972, a return has been long overdue.

Review: QASB's Kono Machi De single, released on Soul Garden Japan, is a vibrant blend of Japanese soul with jazz funk and city pop influences. Side-1 features the Shuya Okino edit of 'Kono Machi De Aka In This Town,' which emphasises a groovy rhythm, enhancing the track's infectious energy. Side-2, has the original version which delivers a feel-good mix of disco strings and a lively horn section, reminiscent of Taste of Honey. Written by Moritaka as a tribute to her hometown Kumamoto, the song includes a nod to Tomari River, a location tied to collaborator Yuichi Takahashi. Having the option of both versions make this 7" a great little 45 to have.

Review: Q.A.S.B. is a Japanese funk and soul ensemble with a.yu.mi. handling lead vocals, a singer celebrated for her funky style reminiscent of James Brown but captured here in a more romantic and subdued mood here. 'Will' is a new single on Soul Garden that offers up soulful and pop-leading sounds with elegant vocals and graceful grooves backed by big band horns. Interestingly, the same tune gets served up again on the flipside, only sung in English. It neither improves nor detracts from the original but proves to be an interesting experiment for that reason.

Review: Soul and r&b are rich scenes that often cross-pollinate. Right now, few are doing it better than the organic creative partnership between LA's Jamma-Dee and London's Qendresa. Their new work 'Undercover Lover' finds its roots in Jamma-Dee's robust beat which anchors a tapestry of intricate rhythms and textures that define the West Coast soul-funk scene. Qendresa's adept songwriting adds seamless hooks and flowing vocal melodies that have true bold energy. Gary Gritness's live bassline, born from a spontaneous studio session, injects deep groove into the track while engineer K15 enhances the record with resonant richness.

Review: Stop us if you've heard this one before. Lee "Scratch" Perry walks into a Quasi Dub Development recording session somewhere in New York. He begins to freestyle in that surrealist, escapist, hallucinogenic kind of way we still love him for, and the results eventually make their way onto 2014's record, Little Twister. The rest, as they say, is history. Or maybe not quite. Four years after the world lost Perry's enigmatic poetry and pioneering contributions to dub, Pingipung, the label that carried that aforementioned LP, unearths the tape of one track from the collection the bosses clearly feel deserves more attention. 'Let's Communicate' is as intoxicating now as it was back then. Then contemporary UK dub don Elijah Minnelli steps up to deliver an alternative version that stands up on its own. No mean feat.

Review: Before Queen Latifah was a household name as an actress and singer, she was one of the most well-respected and popular names in New York hip-hop, collaborating with everyone from De LA Soul to Coldcut. 'Ladies First' turned out to be her first hit in a long line of successful singles for the queen. Featuring a vocal appearance from another legend in Monie Love and produced by the highly famed but recently passed away Mark Howard James aka 'The 45 King', this release has an even more special meaning. 'Ladies First' went on to be a top five hip-hop track in 1989 and ultimately, catapulting Queen Latifah into the limelight. With the desire for more 7" by the Hip-Hop community growing, Tommy Boy Records gives us a treasured piece of rap history.

Review: Joey Quinones and his band Thee Sinisters deliver a retro new one, testifying their ability to operate masterfully in an old style of soul while releasing new music all the while. This split 7" 45 finds the LA falsetto lending his services to lo-fi reggae on the A side (There Myst Be Something'), before giving in to the bittersweet past on the B-side ('Love Me Like You Used To'). Expect a pleasing foray through hurt, tripletty slow-jam soul.

Review: The remastered 7" reissue from Brazil 45s/Mr Bongo features two highly coveted tracks from Quinteto Ternura and their predecessor, Trio Ternura. This pressing revives two rare gems from the past with a fresh, high-quality cut. On Side-1, Quinteto Ternura delivers 'Baby,' a dazzling Brazilian modern soul track penned by Caetano Veloso and arranged by Arthur Verocai. Originally from their 1974 self-titled LP, this song is a smooth blend of tropical bliss and has long been a cherished rarity. Flipping to the Side-2, Trio Ternura's 'Filhos De Zambi' offers an upbeat samba-funk delight. Released in the same year, this track is filled with vibrant energy from the original trio, featuring a catchy chorus and a dynamic key change. Co-written by the siblings' father Umberto Silva and Jose Ribamar, it remains a dancefloor favorite. This reissue provides a valuable opportunity to own these classic tracks in their prime.

Review: First released way back in 1999, Raphael Saadiq's Q-Tip-sporting "Get Involved" is a warm and woozy, retro-futurist chunk of soul/hip-hop fusion that harked back to an earlier musical age. It remains an arguably underappreciated dancefloor bomb and here gets the reissue treatment courtesy of the freshly lauched 45 Jams imprint. It comes backed by another stone cold classic from Q-Tip, "Vivrant Thing" - a cut first featured on the flipside of the Tribe Called Quest member's much more celebrated "Breathe Don't Stop" single. It's a little more stripped back than the A-side, with Q-Tip delivering his distinctive flows over a crunchy and fuzzy, Jay Dee produced backing track crafted from samples from an old funk record.