Back catalogue: All genres

Review: This orange 7" is a miniature monument to one of soul's most quietly influential figures. Roy AyersiLos Angeles-born, jazz-schooled, funk-mindedicrafted 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' not to dazzle but to dissolve. It moves with a drowsy clarity: shimmering synth, near-whispered vocals, and a lazily tumbling bassline that never quite lands. Released during a golden run of Ayers' mid-70s material, the track has since become shorthand for warm-weather introspection, equal parts ease and ache. The instrumental version on the reverse keeps the spirit intact, offering a meditative glide through the same terrain. Limited to 300 copies, this orange pressing pairs a low-lit groove with a deepening sense of legacyiAyers' influence isn't just heard, it's felt in the space he leaves behind.

Review: Few recordings capture the easy intensity of a summer afternoon like 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine'. Released in 1976 and wrapped in slow-drifting synths and soft falsettos, the track became a touchstone not just for Roy Ayers, but for 70s soul and beyond. Born in Los Angeles, Ayers helped define the jazz-funk crossover, placing the vibraphone at the centre of a sound both hazy and sharply detailed. The original vocal take on the A-side still melts under its own warmth; the instrumental on the flip uncovers the careful architecture beneath. Issued here on 7" black wax following Ayers' recent passing, this reissue feels like both a keepsake and a quiet honouring of an artist who shaped a whole way of listening.

Review: Roy Ayers at his most transcendent. 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' is more than a summertime anthemiit's a spiritual moodboard that's shaped jazz-funk, soul, r&b and hip-hop for nearly 50 years. Ayers, born in Los Angeles and raised in its fertile fusion scene, places the vibraphone at the music's heart, coaxing heat-haze tones from sparse chords, synths, and that honeyed chorus. Flip it over and the instrumental version unlocks a deeper layer: stripped of vocals, it becomes a pure groove, drifting and hypnotic. What lingers is the balanceibetween melancholy and bliss, rhythm and release. A rare track that feels entirely unhurried yet quietly radical, now preserved in a limited pressing that looks as golden as it sounds.

Review: A double dose of dancefloor bliss is administered (subversively without doctor's orders) by Kent Soul. These two numbers have been faved by fans from several scenes and the world over: first, there's The Cheques' 'In The Groove', a longingly upbeat homage to a groovin' place by the obscure Louisianan organists. Lead organist Tony Nardi, would later go on to form the Thai funk group Salt & Pepper, famously recording 'Man Of My Word', but for then and now, this 60s manoeuvre would serve to transcend its mod origins, attracting the Northern soul crowd in the years to come. After, 'Arabian Jerk' by The Merits rehears a Goldwax production out of Memphis: mod and exotica collide in a steaming instrumental excitation of backbeat accents and parping 2-4 guitars, making a mod belly dancer's anthem.

Review: The new soul project by ex-members of Silver Skylarks, Dorrington Drive, hears lush productions and distinct melodies channelled into the self-revelatory spirit of early 70s AM pop and soul. This cut could've easily been heard on one such radio station, a staple of the time. With the track named after the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Brooklyn, we find ourselves embarking on a thoroughly enjoyable Atlantic coastline jaunt here, through bombastic funk bass and slapping toms.

Review: New York City was the early block city foment of The Fatback Band, who would, on the official account, see their names written into history as some of the pioneers of funk at large. Aside from their disputed four-to-the-floor point-sourcings with 'Oops Upside Your Head', The Fatback Band were equally known for many a hit, including 'I Like Girls' and 'Yum Yum (Gimme Some)', and the formula for such repeated successes has been expertly localised by some as resting in the charismatic wiles of one Johnny King, the founding member whose proud, biped posture and wicked vocals brought to the group a firm and charismatic leading presence to the group. This originally 2004 cut by working Master Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez hears us lean into the funkier ends of the latter's remix-craft, as 'Peace, Love Not War' is given a profound kneading and planing across an excoriating final funk beat.

Review: US American soul singer and songwriter Barbara Lewis had a smooth style that very much influenced rhythm and blues during her 60s heyday. She began writing songs at the age of just nine and as a teen, recorded with producer Ollie McLaughlin. Her best known tunes club high in Billboard charts and include 'Hello Stranger' and 'Baby I'm Yours' but here it is the swinging sounds and swooning stings of 'Baby What Do You Want Me To Do' which gets pressed up alongside Tony & Tyrone's Northern Soul gem 'Please Operator' which is more raw and urgent soul.

Review: Junior Scaife delivers two ensouled sides, produced and co-written by Penrose mainstay Anthony Masino. One of the most gifted vocalists in the soulscape of today, Scaife infuses every note with a shrill sprechgesang, a longing, heaving intonation heard between the runs. 'Nobody Gets My Love' is an ode to tensions of love and pride, wielding the late-60s Hestor and Wylie Detroit sound as a listless instrument for impudence. On the B, 'Too Much Too Soon', offers a slow-burning ballad laced with wah guitar and a comparatively elegance, marking a standout for the lowrider soul crowd.

Review: West Coast soul outfit Thee Baby Cuffs keep the slow-burning romance alive with 'There Ain't Enough Roses', a tender ballad drenched in harmonised falsettos and vintage charm. Now composed of Joe Narvaez and Reality Jonez, the group channels classic lowrider soul, working once again with Finnish production outfit Cold Diamond & Mink. Their signature downtempo style remains intactilush instrumentation, delicate grooves, and a melody built to sway. Previous Timmion singles like 'My My Baby' and 'You're My Reason' cemented their status as torchbearers of group soul, and this latest offering only deepens that legacy. On the flip, a flute-led instrumental nods to Steve Parks, sealing the track's timeless appeal.

Review: South London's Trambeat return with a double punch of funk and soul on LRK Records 13 years after first being formed by Graham Potter and Des James. The Croydon-based band brings classic Northern Soul energy with sharp modern flair to their latest 7", featuring 'Blow Up The Groove' and 'All Killer, No Filler'. Both channel dancefloor euphoria with turbocharged horns, breakneck grooves and bold vocals over strutting basslines and all-nighter anthems. Trambeat's shift from DIY collective to stage-commanding soul machine is great, and if their debut 'Don't Hold Back' teased their potential, this release kicks the doors wide open.

Review: Famously featured on NY Style Vol. 46 by DJ Masaru, Tranzit's 'Necessary Love' is a rare boogie gem from the 1980s that deserves more shine - and will not get it with this reissue. Smooth and soulful to its core, it delivers a mid-tempo groove wrapped in dreamy chords, lush textures and heartfelt vocals. With its romantic message and mellow energy, it's perfect for slow dancing or late-night reflection and is more than just a love song. It captures the emotional essence of 80s modern soul, so if you love overlooked r&b treasures, 'Necessary Love' is a crucial pick up.

Review: On 'Good Weed And Red Wine', Seattle funk and soul group True Loves let on as to their favourite substantive combo. It's a potent pairing indeed. Their first release since 2021's album Sunday Afternoon finds the band revitalised and funky as ever, with leading saxophonist Skerik providing pleated heat, embossing his signature brass instrument over a Morricone-ish funk maunder. The legendary Nigel Hall joins on keys, impressing both whites and blacks with warm-bodied but firm fingertip hammerings. Mature, at peak, and munchy, without either a hint of paranoia or gone-offness, this unlikely fusion of vint and splint sure doesn't turn up skint!

Review: Kent Soul continue in their efforts to 100% faithfully replicate the works of old soul greats from the 60s and 70s, sustaining the everlasting flame of Northern soul and its various splinter hubs across the UK. Now Cincinnatian blues legend Albert Washington gets his due: a highly productive recording artist, active from the 60s all the way through to the 90s, Washington's 'I'm The Man' seizes the a short window moment in which a new spinster might be met with an opportunistic proposition after a bad breakup. "You don't have nobody to call your own / darlin', I'm the man / I share your pain, I do / I can make all your dreams come true / now, come on / yessir, you need me..."

Review: In 1970, soul icon Carla Thomas recorded a full album at Memphis' American Sound Studio for Stax Records. While two tracks were released as a single, the complete project was shelved and remained unreleased until it surfaced in a 2013 compilation. Now, 55 years later, the long-lost album finally sees its vinyl debut. Featuring songs penned by songwriting legends such as James Taylor, The Bee Gees and the duo Goffin and King, this record offers a long-overdue spotlight on a hidden gem from one of Stax's most beloved voices and captures a soulful moment in time that nearly slipped through the cracks.

Review: Irma Thomas, born Irma Lee in New Orleans, is routinely hailed the Soul Queen of the city. Once billed among Aretha Franklin and Etta James, Thomas eventually found her own recognition as an originary light repping New Orleans, less an international, commercial success story. Beginning her career in 1959, she was one of many voices who sung for a watershed moment r&b and soul, as labels like Minit and Imperial helped solidify the genre's identification with Louisiana, with its designs on the Southern soul genre at large. In 1966, Thomas released her second solo album, now reissued here through MOV. Including the iconic song 'Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)', which was co-written by Randy Newman and country star Jeannie Seely, the track became a hit, finding a toehold on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyond its commercial success, the ballad has garnered widespread recognition, notably appearing in several episodes of the hit series Black Mirror. But it's the record as a whole that really stirs our guts, obviating Thomas' early-career openness to romance and excess: "oh-oh, take a look at this girl, I'm the girl that wants you..." goes the title track...

Review: Also known as "Portland's Pillar Of Soul", Ural Thomas is a widely esteemed Portland based r&b singer-songwriter and musician, active since the 1950s. Still going strong over almost three-quarter century's worth of performing and releasing, Thomas' breathtaking oeuvre comes to a recent head on this latest LP+7" via Cairo, 'Nat Ural'. Eschewing his latest incarnation with backing The Pain (making up Ural Thomas and the Pain), which was formed after a long hiatus, we return to Thomas' solo sensibility here. A new LP backed up by a sneaky extra 7", Thomas' distinctive, homely brand of strutting vocal soul is once more put on display here.