Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Dynamite Cuts' latest extra-special double "45" mines ones of the earliest albums from soul and funk legends Earth, Wind & Fire, a 1971 set that was notably more psychedelic in sound than many of their more celebrated later releases. Opener "C'mon Children" is fiery, weighty and driving in the style of San Francisco funk-rock heavyweights "Tower of Power", while "Bad Tune" more than lives up to its title in a "bad meaning good" way (it also includes some crazy solos, which is no bad thing). Over on disc two, "Help Somebody" is an insanely up-tempo, horn-heavy Boogaloo style romp, while "Momet of Truth" is a low-down funk number straight out of the top drawer.

Review: Big new jazzdance from Colin Curtis' new Earthsouls project, debuting for the UK's funk-soul-jazz outfit of the same name. Made up of Curtis in collaboration with Born74, ONJ and Mark Paul Norton, the Earthsouls permit an impressive range on an out-of-body leash, keeping us grounded whilst also laying down some essence, some gist, some spirit. From the opening jam of 'Cause & Effect', across which a deterministic drum daubing from Born74 takes centre stage and shines, to the mid-moment wonky-boxy disco charmer 'Desire For Hire' and the closing funk something-or-other that is 'Across The Tracks', this is a legitimately wicked new EP, one which should probably be suppressed for its propagation of such potent sonic alchemies - that is, if we lived in a more sensible world.

Review: Glenn Echo & Daniel Meinecke won plenty of acclaim with their last outing What Happened To Yesterday?! and now they quickly back it up with a third outing on MotorCity Wine Recordings What Happened To Yesterday? Vol 2 is another blend of heady, dubby sounds with cosmic dance vibes that span serval sub-genres with ease. 'World In My Head' kicks off with lo-fi and low-key depths, and further downtempo tracks like 'Explanation of The Funk' with Dre King's trumpet and DJ Stylus's cuts, and 'Three-Season Crank' with Raja Kassis's guitar further sink you into blissed-out beats. The flip side has dancefloor-friendly jam 'Off The Rails,' then moves into dubby, meditative territory and ends with the gorgeous 'Black Bird Dub' which allows Echo's eclectic production and Meinecke's keyboard mastery to shine.

Review: Glenn Echo and Daniel Meineck are back on Detroit label MotorCity Wine with their first new music in two years following their well-received Partly Cloudy album. What Happened to Yesterday? is, we are told, the first of two albums from the pair that will arrive several months apart. It finds the pair get super hazy and dubby, with psychedelic charm swirling around their absorbing grooves next to subtle cues taken from the diverse likes of DJ Premier and King Jammy. There is a superb Moog-based cover of De La Soul's 'I Am I Be', Afro-Carribean disco in 'Dancehall of Grandeur' and epic jazz-rock on Volcano Sound' so dig in and prepare to be wowed.

Review: Back in 1980, Roy Ayers assembled the Eighties Ladies - a soulful vocal quintet whose members included sometime Aquarian Dream vocalist Sylvia Striplin. Sadly the group didn't last long, but their vibrant "Ladies Of The Eighties" single - a fine disco-tinged slab of boogie/jazz-funk fusion - became a big club hit. Their debut album, which is here reissued for the first time, is equally as impressive, with highlights including the rushing, part-rapped, attitude-laden "Tell Him" - later covered in the bruk era by West London outfit BB Boogie - cheery "I Knew That Love" and the liquid slap bass-propelled intergalactic space funk jam "It's Easy To Move" standing out. Throughout, Roy Ayers' production and arrangements are as tidy as you'd expect.

Review: Madrid-based collective Danzon El Gato channel the city's restless creative energy into a vivid fusion of jazz, funk and roots music. Formed within Madrid's experimental scene, the group revolves around Javier Adan and Santiago Rapallo, longtime collaborators whose past projects range from jazz fusion to avant-garde film scores. This latest release sees them sculpt a kaleidoscopic sound, pulling from North African, Latin American and Mediterranean traditions while staying locked into the groove with a rhythm section indebted to 70s library music and golden-era hip-hop. Across the record, they explore an array of moods and textures. 'Ronda' pairs intricate guitar lines with a propulsive swing, while 'La lucha'ifeaturing Marina y su Melaoileans into percussive Latin jazz. 'Twangy Morocco' lives up to its name, weaving surf-rock guitar into an East-meets-West instrumental, whereas 'Chapoteo' ripples with aquatic, freeform interplay. 'Amambay' and 'Fuimos invencibles' showcase their knack for evocative storytelling through sound, shifting effortlessly between cinematic tension and unbridled release. Danzon El Gato craft music that reflects Madrid itselfidense with influences, rich in movement and ambiguousiin the best way. Their sound captures a city in flux, where past and present collide to create something unmistakably fresh.

Review: Over the years, Andrew Meecham's albums as the Emperor Machine have variously explored his love of the Radiophonic Workshop, synth-heavy dub disco, mutant boogie and electronic punk-funk. On 'Island Boogie', a set inspired by the annual Rotation Garden Party micro-festival and its' infamous custom-built soundsystem, he offers up colourful, synth-heavy takes on nu-disco and Balearic boogie with a sun-soaked jauntiness and plenty of analogue electronics. The results are rarely less than stunning, from the atmospheric, acid-flecked excellence of 'La Cassette' and a riotous cover of La Fox's 'S-s-s-single Bed', to the Chicken Lips-esque 'Devoilez-Vous' (a dubbed-out treat with added hand percussion), bubbly electrofunk number 'Wanna Pop With You' and the heady, slow-motion electronic psychedelia of 'Cha Murreh Etem'.

Review: Eramus Hall recorded their debut, and eventually only, album in 1980; the band was allegedly named after a building in Chicago, named "Eramus Hall", that George Clinton of Parliament saw in the street. The record evolved to become one of the most sought-after of the modern soul era, despite the flashpan profile of the band itself (as were many George Clinton P-funk offshoots). This owed in part to its clarion, crystalline production, held down by Clinton himself, and which served to spell out the nascent funk, soul and r&b sound bubbling over the broth pot's lip that was Westbound Records, Detroit. Now working from the original master tapes at the iconic 54 Sound studio in Detroit, the recordings have been restored and remastered, doing justice to a convergent, then not yet defined r&b sound.

Review: Issued on CD by Ace in 1999, Eramus Hall's Your Love Is My Desire was subject to instant popular scrutiny. Though it was recorded in late 1978 by the soul and funk group - who later went on to record another album, Gohead, and many singles - the lone figure on the album cover misleadingly implied that "Hall" was a single person. Despite its obvious stylistic derivation from Funkadelic and co., Hall's first album is still a landmark album; fans of smooth late-70s soul will love it for the title track, and 'Just Me 'n' You'.

Review: If you like your r&b soulful and your funk seductive then you probably already know this classic from Erasmus Hall. His Your Love Is My Desire encapsulates the essence of smooth 70s sound and came in originally in 1980. Now newly remastered, the album radiates infectious grooves and heartfelt lyricism with its silky vocals and the tight, funky instrumentation all full of undeniable charm and timeless appeal. Standout cuts like the titular track and 'Just Me and You' showcase his band's impeccable musicianship and knack for crafting irresistibly catchy hooks. With its lush production and soul-stirring melodies, Your Love Is My Desire is a quite gem in the realm of classic soul.

Review: Esperanto is widely heralded as a Venezuelan jazz-Ffsion masterpiece. It was first released in 1980 and is a real collector's item that is hard to find an expensive. French label Favourite now presents a first ever reissue of the eponymous LP that was recorded in Caracas by a number of talented musicians. It has strong Latin and funk overtones. Squelchy synth sounds and is a must-have for anyone interested in this fine fusion sound. The band started off playing jam sessions that grew ever more refined to the point that they eventually lay down this enduring masterclass.

Review: Seun Kuti has hailed Etuk Ubong as one of the best things to come out of Lagos. He's developed an original style called 'Earth Music' which is hugely popular in his hometown, where he has launched his own venue The Truth - the most prolific in the Nigerian capital since Fela Kuti's Shrine. Ubong was invited by Night Dreamer to record at Haarlem's Artone Studio, where he assembled an international ensemble of skilled musicians to record his compositions direct-to-disc, capturing his enigmatic live performance in its raw and unadulterated form. Ubong is joined by homeboy Michael Awosogo (also on trumpet) and a selection of UK and Netherlands-based musicians who recorded the whole album in one take, on the last day of a five-day session.

Review: Strut's reissue of Experience Unlimited's 1977 debut Free Yourself offers a fresh dive into a seminal record that paved the way for Washington D.C.'s go-go scene. Originally released in 1977, this album fuses soul, jazz, and funk-rock, showcasing the band's eclectic and pioneering style. Formed in 1973, Experience Unlimited caught the eye of Black Fire Records' Jimmy Gray after a school talent show victory. Bandleader Gregory "Sugar Bear" Elliott recalls their early days in the studio with a sense of youthful spontaneity, capturing their genuine selves. Free Yourself reflects this spirit with its vibrant and varied tracks. From the soulful reflections of 'Peace Gone Away' to the funk-driven 'Funky Consciousness' and the nascent go-go grooves of the title track, the album radiates positive energy and innovation. The reissue preserves the original artwork, including Malik Edwards' cover painting, and features remastering by The Carvery. Accompanied by a new interview with Sugar Bear and rare photos, this edition brings a crucial piece of music history back into the spotlight.

Review: Much celebrated new school jazz crew Ezra Collective finally unveil their highly anticipated new album Where I'm Meant To Be after a big summer single 'Victory Dance' got us all excited. This record is a life-affirming romp with their famous hybrid sound tasing in all manner of different styles, eras and scenes. Some high-profile features from Sampa The Great, Kojey Radical, Emile Sande and Nao bring extra goodness to this record which is certainly a product of the current London scene but also owes a debt to the sounds of southern Africa. It all adds up to a real doozy.

Review: The Mercury Prize-winning British jazz group returns this September with the greatly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning 'Where I'm Meant to Be'. The first jazz group ever to win the prestigious accolade, their unique blend of jazz, calypso, afrobeat and roots has carried over into the two singles 'God Gave Me Feet For Dancing' and 'Ajala'.The former features up-and-coming star Yazmin Lacey, whose sudden scouting has made her a necessary one to watch in the British soul scene. Interpolating Nina Simones's 1965 classic 'Feeling Good', the track proposes the group's manifesto of dancing not just as an activity confined to the club, but as a God-given ability - an act of spirituality and community. 'Ajala', by contrast, is a fast-paced afrobeat-cum-bebop jam named after the Yoruba slang for being unable to sit still. Lucky fans were able to hear the recording live at the 'Beyond the Bassline' exhibition at the British Library - with some of the live adlibs and crowd work being included in the single version currently on streaming. Pressed on an indie-exclusive deep red stain disc.

Review: One year on from making history as the first ever jazz band to be awarded the Mercury Prize, Ezra Collective are continuing to pump out their sensational, unique blend of jazz, roots, afrobeat and calypso. 'Dance No One's Watching' is the highly anticipated follow-up to the aforementioned award-winning 'Where I'm Meant to Be'. Set to release in September, the two singles 'God Gave Me Feet For Dancing' and 'Ajala' set the bar high. The prior is a jazzy, drum-led groove backing the buttery smooth Yazmin Lacey, a name to watch in the soul scene (famously she was scouted after being persuaded to sing on a drunken night out.) The track is a sunny interpolation of Cy Grant's 'Feeling Good' (though let's face it, Nina Simone truly made that record) with a quintessential British soul sound that brings to mind the stylings of Greentea Peng, early Jorja Smith work etc. To boil it down to 'easy listening' would feel reductive but, my God, it's easy on the ears for sure. Single number two, 'Ajala' is quite a stark contrast. Incorporating the hectic feeling of bebop classics, it's a blaring and fast-paced brass session with some great high-tempo percussive afrobeat. Taking its name from the Yoruba slang for fidgety, derived from the Nigerian journalist who one day decided to travel the world on a moped, the track does just that: it begs you to get up and move. If these two tracks are anything to go by, the world is set for a future award winner this Autumn.

Review: The Reflex's multi-track re-edits are always on point, but those he's created for Salsoul Records have generally been impressive even by his high standards. This third double-pack of 'ReVisions' (as he calls them) contains two of his best Salsoul reworks yet: a thrillingly stretched-out take on Gazz's 'Sing Sing' that sees him cannily showcase some of the track's key elements in turn before unleashing the familiar bassline, breaks and vocals, and a fabulously spaced out 'Cosmic Dub' of Rafael Cameron's early electrofunk classic 'Boogie's Gonna Get Ya'. That too, has a big build, making the introduction of the bassline and Cameron's chorus vocals a genuinely breath-taking moment. The EP also contains a solid take on a lesser-celebrated Cameron tune, the more disco-fied 'All That's Good To Me', and a Tom Moulton-esque take on Edwin Birdsong's 'Win Tonight'.