Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Son of Todd Osborn (Soundmurderer/Ghostly) Kaito Ian makes a hugely impressing first outing on the Galaxy Sound Co label with a series of lo-fi hip-hop beat-strumentals that cannot fail to get your head nodding. He is a dedicated music lover and skater with a deep knowledge of his craft and that shows here with some refined sounds starting with the soul drenched 'Revert', then on to the warped angelic vocal samples of 'Sequoia' and the percussive jumbled and scratching of 'Trek'. 'Wait Up' is another excellently blissed out joint and 'Sloan' is a sunny, laid back, lazy vibe to close down a superb EP.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever and official reissue of Kallaloo's sought-after 1982 disco single 'Star Child', accompanied by interview-based liner notes. Originally released on Jeffrey Turpin's Trinidadian record label IDA, 'Star Child' has since become highly sought-after by both DJs and collectors alike as an invisible, yet astonishing piece of Caribbean disco. Unable at the time to gain the traction and success that it deserved, we hope that this re-release provides an opportunity to bring such a great record to a much wider audience.

Kallaloo consisted of various Trinidadian musicians including Keith Alexander and Peter Wayne Barkley. Keith had been well-respected as a member of the Trinidadian group Impact, and was later to become an in-demand producer and composer under the name of Keith Diamond, responsible for various hits by Billy Ocean, Donna Summer, Starpoint and Melba Moore. In contrast, Peter was a well-known recording session drummer, but after 'Star Child's' release he moved to North Carolina to pursue other interests and "was never heard from again".

'Star Child' was recorded at Right Track Recording, in mid-town Manhattan, New York. As Jeffrey recalls, the atmosphere in the studio was "great", with "everyone upbeat, the cream of the crop just looking for that break... everyone was talented and just wanted the chance to express their own ideas". Five hundred copies of the record were released on IDA with a white label design, and they were sold both in Brooklyn, New York and Port of Spain, Trinidad. It was also released on a red label, however this was not to Jeffrey's knowledge at the time.

Jeffrey explains that the reason why the record didn't fare well at the time was because of the difficulty in getting the song played on the radio. As he recalls, radio stations were much more likely to play 'radio versions' of songs which lasted for a couple of minutes, rather than five or seven minute 'extended' versions such as 'Star Child', which were more suitable to a club environment. In addition, as Jeffrey explains, radio airplay is a "political business", and also within a short while band members such as Keith got their own breaks, and the Kallaloo era was over as quickly as it had started.

Review: Kaymany & Asestar hail from Rome, a city where many musicians spend most of their days producing sounds for the television industry and even shopping malls. That's part of the reason the country has such a reparation for great jazz-funk sounds and now adding to that cannon are Kaymany & Asestar. 'Effimera' is glossy and feel good disco with retro future chords, while 'Digressione' has a Bob James style energy to it with its high speed funky bass and incidental chords. 'Capao' closes in Latin fashion with manic keys and more plucked and funky bass slaps making you shake every limb.

Review: Funk, soul and jazz-funk reissue specialists Dynamite Cuts are particularly good at offering up seven-inch singles featuring album tracks that have never previously appeared on "45". They're at it again here, delivering a killer seven-inch featuring the much-sampled two-part track that bookends K.C & The Sunshine Band's self-titled, 1975 sophomore LP. "Let It Go (Part 1)" is a low-down Miami funk treat featuring a hot-to-trot-mix of bustling drums, heavy percussion breaks, rousing vocals, fiery (and familiar) horn riffs and impassioned lead vocals. The slightly shorter "part two" mix is an even heavier, vocal-free take that deftly showcases the quality of the band's hip-shaking, rabble-rousing instrumentation.

Review: Taken from the album of the same name, this 1976 classic from Temptations frontman Kendricks was a huge disco anthem when released. Only, apparently, to be overshadowed by Donna Summer's "Love Trilogy". Kendricks' trademark falsetto rings with emotive insistence and with a tight guitar and bass backbone, big strings and bold horns, funk oozes out of every single beat matching his soul bar for bar. An excellent reissue.

Review: Dewey Kenmore clearly knows the pains of unrequited love and irrelationship better than most artists. The enigmatic soul singer's new single 'Before We Say Goodbye' channels the denial stage of grief: "you know it's just you and I, do or die", he opines, desperately grasping after the former ecstasy of a now fading relationship. The song is full of doomy minor chords and Hammond organ-ic reverie, laying on thick the mood of irreversibility around life's milestones.

Review: Fingier Records is a new Acid Jazz sub-label that is back with a brand new 7" from The Kevin Fingier Collective. It's a real dance floor heater that is perfectly aged and authentic as it mixes up Northern Soul and r&b with driving guitar rhythms and steamy piano chords. The horns are killer but the vocal is the icing on the cake. On the flip things get Latin flavoured with the bossa-tinged mod jazz of 'The Great Akerman' which is defined by lush flute and organ vamps. This is a great taster of the full length to come from The Kevin Fingier Collective.

Review: It's always a good day when a new Burning Soul 7" drops in our laps and this new one is another standout that comes in very limited quantities on either black or white vinyl. It's the great work of Kidding and opens with 'Seriously' which is a Hammond-organ laced and flame hot funk workout with low-slung bass and lots of great grit riffs. The flipside picks up the pace with 'Komet Ride' which has even more energetic drums and even more mad finger action on the organ. Frenetic funk of the highest order.

Review: Well, what a way to inaugurate your label! The newly crowned Spacetalk comes through resolutely correct with this reissue of 1978's "To See One Eagle Fly" by Morrison Kincannon, a psyched-out funk bomb with a glorious blue-eyed soul twist, and a mystical sort of vibe that can proudly sit up there with the likes of Stills, Nash and Young - i.e. proggy but still groovy. There's an extended remix from Mudds, and the man goes for a kind of dub version approach; a new and different tactic to deploy over a rock tune, but effective nonetheless.

Review: Emotional Rescue closes out another brilliant year with one final hot drop. This sorting 7" Safari by King Sporty was the artist's first ever single back in 1976. It comes after the label has served up plenty of reissues of the man known as Noel Wiliam's tackle but this one might be the best. It's from his album Deep Reggae Roots and is nice tropical excursion with steamy hits, wooden percussive sounds and funky bass over a low-slung groove and chanting vocals. This one is backed with a special disco mix by Lexx that reworks the tune for more lively moments.

Review: KPM Music might just be one of the most expansive music libraries out there, boasting a whopping 30,000 exclusive music tracks for licensing. Some of their earliest pieces are being reissued by Measured Mile, the latest of which appears here in the form of a split 7" by four of the label's most treasured contributors. 'Viva La Tamla Motown' helms up the A-side with wonky, laboured drumming and an excitable rock n' rolly guitar and harmonica. 'Main Chance' brings up the B with a more loungeified flutey strutter.

Review: There is some class edit and mash up business going on here with the latest one from the Disco Bits crew. The 45 takes the form of of classic cuts reworked with an all new and contemporary edge with the dancefloor very much in mind. First up, a Patti Job classic gets taken apart and rebuilt with new vocals and a more stepping beat. The Chopper's 'People Hold On' is a more smoochy sound with classic vocal refrains singing out and twanging guitar riffs powering along a groove that is suited for everything from weddings to late night shenanigans.

Review: This delightful 7" features a collaboration between two Star Creature veterans from Northern and Southern California who deliver a raw, uncut boogie track. The wonderful 'Girl Ur Freaky' is both breezy and laidback but irritably dance. The vocal harmonies are heart-melting, the wispy synths bring cosmic cool and the drums and squelchy bass sit together perfectly. The vocal version really is where it's at with this one but if you want it more subtle then the flip-side instrumental is the one for you.

Review: Kiko jean & The Tonics is a four-piece soul, r&b and rock n blues band based in Barcelona. Their funk sounds come steeped in classic 60s references as highlighted by this new 7" on Buenritmo. 'Sick & Tired' has nice elastic rhythms with warming Hammond organ chords and dancing keys all forming a foundation for the soulful vocals. On the flip side, 'Let Me Be Free' gets much slower and more sentimental with epic guitar solos ringing out. The Hammond chords are more muted but the vocals grow even more impassioned.

Review: For the 29th instalment in their ongoing series of seven-inch singles, Demon Singles Club has decided to offer up a 45rpm pressing of Komiko's 'Feel Alright'. First released on legendary disco-boogie imprint SAM Records back in 1982, the track has long been a favourite with boogie DJs and with good reason. Built around a memorable bassline, squelchy electrofunk synths and unfussy machine drums, 'Feel Alright' boasts a fine female lead vocal whose lyrics extolls the virtues of dancing all night with happy strangers. As it did back in 1982, the vocal mix comes backed with an instrumental take in which producer Darryl Payne's killer bassline and synths rightfully take centre stage. If it's not in your collection already, you need to grab one of these copies pronto.

Review: Spanish reissue label Rocafort present this wonderful slice of highlife from Konkolo Orchestra, this time on nice blue wax as well as a plain black version. It's not exactly clear where, or indeed when, exactly the band came from, but their sound is all you need to worry about. 'Blue G' is a lilting, shuffling message of love and support for future generations, and from the message to the effervescent musicality, it's a no-brainer. On the flip, 'That Good Thing' is an instrumental that spirals outwards on the sweetest keys, joyous brass and dreamy guitar, driven by a pattering drum section to radiate good vibes wherever it's played.

Review: Martin Reeves aka Krafty Kuts was a key player in the breakbeat explosion at the turn of the millennium. Like many of his peers in the scene, he was of course also a deep digging DJ with an extensive knowledge of breaks and funk and it is that which he twisted into his own contemporary style. Now he returns to those roots somewhat for a seance time on his FF45 label with a pair of hard and hella funky hitting beats. The first is 'Street Hop which is a raw, Nas-style hip-hop joint with tough bars and beats. 'You Got It' then takes the energy levels down a touch for a deeper vibe with bars that remind more of Biggy.

Review: Mega-sick big breaks from Brighton's Krafty Kuts, flipping undocumented verses from an earlier collab between the producer and verbalist TC Izlam, 'Ill Type Sound'. Every beat hits with huge plantar weight here, with kicks and reverso-claps rooting themselves in sonic continual soils. The original mix features here too, with twisty scratches, pan pipes and turntablist's kick rolls bringing a distinctively kitsch, jazzy, De Wolfe samply feel. "We got the groove, we got the sound, we got the vibe to make you get down!"

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Funkyjaws Music is back to make your body move with the latest instalment in its ongoing edit series, Let's Dance, this time with a sixth sizzling volume. Monsieur Van Pratt's loose and languid 'Besame' opens up with some gorgeous strings and funky guitar licks then Kiko Navarro brings a rich Afro flavour with the shuffling and percussive rhythms of 'Bosinga'. Bogdan Ra's 'Get On The Floor' is a fresh take on a disco classic with irresistible vocal charm and swooning pads. Last of all, Zaffa demands you 'Shake It' and you surely will as he layers up wet claps, sliding hi-hats and lively drums into a big-hearted party starter.

Review: Always keen to break new ground, Strut's latest compilation comes not from a well-known European or American crate-digger, but rather Kenyan-born, Uganda-based DJ Kampire. A Dancefloor in Ndola sees her look back to her time growing up in Zambia and specifically the music she heard and loved during these formative years. It's a great idea, executed brilliantly, with Kampire showcasing an enticing and highly entertaining mix of East and South African music from the 70s and 80s, including Congolese rumba and soukous, bubblegum, and kalindula, a guitar-led style native to Zambia. It's a joyous an eye-opening collection all told and notable for - aside from the high quality throughout - Kampire's decision to showcase a high number of tracks from legendary and little-known female artists. A genuinely essential collection all told.

Review: Journey Through Life witnesses Afrobeat pioneer, pallbearer and powerhouse Femi Kuti's very latest transformation in sound, as we witness the artist turn vividly, self-reflectively inward. The LP proposes a rare self-produced window into Femi's personal evolution, spanning childhood memories to fatherhood and, of course, the unshakable presence of family. As he puts it: "At the end of the day for me family is all that matters. The essence is to manage such events and let love prevail." Long celebrated for his uncompromising political voice, Femi leans evermore into an already evident vulnerability, revisiting earlier material through several, pylonic stylistic anchors: his signature horn-laced grooves, not to mention themes of personal legacy and posterity.