Review: New-gen rare groove band Nautilus, operating out of Japan, deliver their latest 7" record, 'Life'. Just two crisp, piquant, fresh, and bubbly uncorkings in sound - 'Life', featuring vocalist Emi Tawata, and the instrumental 'Master Blaster'- are here heard sprayed like buckshot across the stereo system. The former is a candid admission by Tawata of her fear of the dark and ghosts, one which compels the listener to ponder the song's spiritual metaphor - "I'd rather have a piece of toast, watch the evening news" being the lyric of note - while the latter is a comparatively muted four-to-the-floor funk inflammation, held together by a phat but tricksy drum line and overgirding Rhodes.
Review: With an irresistible blend of broken beat and nu-jazz grooves, 'Chameleon' is a enjoyable smooth jazz gem driven by funky basslines, strings, lively percussive and catchy keys. The arrangement flows effortlessly, creating a sound both sophisticated and danceableia perfect balance of complexity and accessibility. Flipping to the B-side, 'Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong' takes a more laid-back approach. Led by a warm, soulful organ, the track exudes chill vibes with its subtle funk underpinnings and jazzy finesse. The addition of a vocoder adds a playful, retro-futuristic charm, rounding out a composition that's as soothing as it is engaging.
Review: Prolific Japanese jazzers Nautilus - made up of drummer Toshiyuki Sasaki, keyboardist Daisuke Takeuchi, and bassist Shigeki Umezawa - present their latest 7" release 'A Story About You'. It's an emotive A-and-B-sider of mournful mood, with the A-side cemented by rolling pianos and a central lyric-melody performed by Mariko's talkbox, and B-sider 'Sweet Power Your Embrace' coming as a cover of the 1977 classic by James Mason. Signaling news of a full-length album to come - you'd better fasten your seatbelts.
Review: Tony B Nimble's NeighbourSoul Edits Vol.4 is a journey through soulful rhythms and energetic grooves. Opening with 'Jesus,' Nimble sets the tone with gospel-infused house beats and a captivating bassline. 'Your Love exudes soulfulness with a great vocal, while 'Afrodemo' delivers an invigorating blend of funk and tribal beats, enhanced by captivating guitar riffs. Each track showcases Nimble's focus as a producer and we find the topic unique and refreshing in the world of house music.
Review: With members living between Denver, Colorado, the UK and Spain, the New Mastersounds are currently centred on the British city of Leeds, and bring their adept keyboard instrumental Hammond funk and r&b chops to us receptive fans in the form of a new ten-track back-to-school album, Old School. Composed in a short breath in a studio situated in the heart of the English Peak District during a rainy week in July 2023, all tracks here showcase the earthy essence of the band via their signature vocabulary of uncomplicated funk, soul-jazz, classic r&b and reggae-infused grooves.
The Way We Were/The Way We Were - Version/Love In Motion (12:28)
Track 5 (6:17)
Review: It would be fair to say that The New York Disco Orchestra's 1978 album Reverie - Get Up and Dance is not the most celebrated set around, though it has long been on the radar of many well-funded record collectors. The album was the work of brothers John and Rocco Giamundo and was originally released in miniscule numbers in the US, Belgium and Japan. If you dig high-quality orchestral disco, it's well worth a listen. Particularly impressive is jazzy opener 'Reverie', a solo-packed dancefloor interpretation of a Claude Debussy composition, heavyweight disco-funk workout 'Get Up and Dance' and epic B-side opener 'The Wat We Were', a wonderfully lengthy and over-the-top orchestral disco number that's just the right side of cheesy.
Review: Underdog Records is continuing to reissue some of its most standout albums, and Janko Nilovic's Soul Impressions from 2015 certainly fits the bill. The Montenegrin-French composer and arranger, is a mad skilled keys and percussion man as well as singer and producer who was born in Turkey. He put out more than 35 albums from the late sixties onwards and this one is a raw fusion of prog rock, jazz, edgy funk, blues and east listening. It's unpredictable but hugely absorbing and comes pressed here on heavyweight vinyl.
Review: Amerigo's The Big Payback series finds him bring together some fantasy all stars for his "J.B. and The Soul Mates" tribute concept. Here, James Brown's music is reworked, edited and chopped together with the work of hip hop giant Notorious BIG. It results in speaker blasting, floor filling, ass wiggling jams that mash up all the most iconic verses and choruses from each singer with their most recognisable guitar riffs, drum breaks and samples. It's a colourful collage that is as fun as it is funky.
Review: On their debut album, 2016's the Tony Allen Experiments, Naples twosome Nu Guinea re-invented tracks by the legendary Afro-beat drummer as synth-heavy chunks of deep jazz-funk and nu-Balearica. For this follow-up - their first full length entirely made up of their own compositions - the duo serves up a set of jazz-funk, disco and boogie cuts rich in both their trademark colourful analogue synthesizer sounds and live instrumentation. It's a formula that guarantees a string of memorable highlights, from the sun-kissed peak-time brilliance of "Disco Sole" and rubbery, funk-fuelled "Je Vulesse" (a killer vocal number), to the wobbly downtempo trip of "A Voce E Napule" and Mizell Brothers fizz of closer "Parev Ajare", the album's most synthesizer-heavy cut.
Speaking For Myself, Personally, In My Own Opinion, I Think (6:43)
Persephone's Jive (2:13)
Review: Headed up by the revered trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr, Nucleus have penned many a seminal album and Elastic Rock certainly is one of them. It was a real milestone for the jazz-rock fusion scene and marked a stunning debut in 1970 that has been hard to find ever since. Saxophonist Brian Smith, guitarist Chris Spedding - who wouold later go on to produce the Sex Pistols' first recordings - drummer John Marshall, bassist Jeff Clyne and sax, oboe and pianist Karl Jenkins all brought energy and invention in equal measure on this one with cuts like the title track offer lovely electric blues, '1916' featuring heavy drums and melancholic horns and 'Striation' being more serene. Be With have remastered this reissue from the original tapes.
Review: Not to be confused with the US electro outfit of the same name, Nucleus was - as many readers will know - a pioneering British jazz-rock outfit helmed by Ian Carr, whose releases frequently drew on a wide palette of influences (think funk, soul, pyschedelic and progressive rock). They made a lot of great albums during the 1970s, though few are quite as inspired as 'We'll Talk About It Later', a wonderfully laidback and atmospheric 1971 set that has now been given the reissue treatment by the consistently impressive Be With Records. The many highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the bluesy, slow-motion shuffle of 'We'll Talk About It Later', the wah-wah guitar sporting summer bliss of 'Sun Child', the gently unfurling brilliance of 'Oasis' and the pleasingly heavy jazz-rock pulse of 'Ballad of Joe Pimp'.
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