Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: TLM celebrates its 50th vinyl-only release with an exceptional offering of jazz-lounge house intonations. Legendary Canadian Mike Perras knocks down the first domino with 'Life Goes On', a jazzy house cut driven by a captive Rhodes groove. Craig Bratley follows with a deep houser featuring Tim Hutton on trumpet, while Mark Turner honours the legacy of Blaze on the A. The AA, meanwhile, introduces DFRA Experience Jazz Band from Argentina with 'Isolation', a smoothened pure jazz cut composed by Diego Ruiz and featuring Pablo Raposso on piano, Hernan Cassibba on double bass, Gonzalo Rodriguez De Vicente on sax, Joaquin Muro on trumpet, and Bruno Varela on drums. 'Sober' by Markus Enochson closes things out on a double bass boomer 'Sober', effecting a truly loose bonhomie.

Review: In the mid 1990s, Kent Soul uncovered Joe Evans' master tapes and were thrilled to discover the unreleased gem 'A Broken Heart Cries' by The Pretenders - note, no relation to Chrissie Hynde and co. The track quickly caught the attention of Crossover DJs, who picked it up from Kent Soul's CD release, precipitating an avalanche of demand. This soul quartet is mostly recognised these days as but a wooden limb on Evans' everlasting music-mogul marionette, but their brilliance spans many an exquisite 7" and 12" released during the late 60s and early 70s, mostly on the Newark label Carnival Records. The boy-girl group commanded loose but masterful drumming and vintage, summery harmonies, with the A-side especially seeming to reflect a mood of hidden satisfaction in heartbreak. Now seizing the opportunity to bundle it in with the group's equipotent ballad 'For The Rest Of My Days,' Kent Soul do well to support both songs' first-ever UK vinyl release.

Review: Gilles Peterson remains a man with his finger firmly on the pulse and this is another album to prove it: International Anthem is a special double compilation highlighting the renowned DJ and curator's deep connection with Chicago's celebrated contemporary jazz label. Featuring selections drawn from Peterson's BBC 6Music, Worldwide FM and syndicated shows, the collection showcases standout tracks from the label's first decade and also included is an exclusive, previously unreleased live recording from Worldwide FM. Pressed on "Frozen Lake Michigan" coloured vinyl, this Record Store Day exclusive is part of International Anthem's "IA11" series-celebrating 11 years by honouring their past while shaping the future of boundary-pushing global sounds.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


A fresh compilation album documents the best of the late 70s disco-funk-jazz-everything band Phyrework, synthesising a pyrotechnist's hand and a cutting engineer's ear. The Texan group were signed to Mercury in 1978 and released a hotly acclaimed debut album, and while their talents matched the likes of Sly And The Family Stone and Earth, Wind & Fire, they remained criminally under-world, resulting in the band's disbandment after the release. So this is a salvaging effort worth your while; a whopping nine of the songs have never been heard before, and only a complementary two appeared on the original early 80s single. All produced by Michael Cooper of Con Funk Shun, the likes of 'My Funk', 'Never Felt Like This' and 'What Happened To Us' command an extra jerkiness and synthweight bolshiness not nailed by many of their much-more-famous contemporaries.

Review: Pianist. Conductor. Composer. Impressario. Extraordinaire. We could probably leave it at that with Piero Piccioni, but for the sake of clarity let's get clear. One of Italy's most prolific film composers of the mid-late-20th Century, this monolith of big band and jazz wrote more than 300 movie scores in his career, and also lays claim to membership of 013, the first jazz outfit broadcast in his home country following the fall of Fascism in 1944. Born in Turin, one of the epicentres of Italian music, Cadaveri Eccellenti was a 1977 crime thriller about Lino Ventura, Italy's top homicide detective, who is investigating the assassination of a judge. Full of intrigue, mystery, and tension, not to mention that underlying sense of sexiness which seems to pervade European flicks of this era, by now you can probably imagine how cool the score is.

Review: French house DJ and record producer Stephane Pompougnac adds another tranche of slick, DJ-able downtempo to the Hotel Costes series, which has carried on strong on Wagram Music since 1999. The lounge compilation series is named after the Paris hotel in which Pompougnac first cut his teeth, and this sixth edition was released way back in 2017, albeit with a different front cover (though swapping the exact image out, Pompougnac has kept consistent in his penchant for featuring nubile young feminine visages on his front covers). 'The Brazilian Hipster' and 'Work That Body' kick off this edits comp with a fiery steeze-before-sleaze, emphasising slung downtempos and unbuckled grooves.

Review: By 2005, this series solidified Stephane Pompougnac's role as the maître d' of cosmopolitan lounge culture. Curating the chic ambience of the iconic Parisian venue into disc form, Pompougnac once again blended downtempo, deep house and nu-jazz with effortless finesse. This volume, now reissued on vinyl for the first time since its original release, remains a prime example of turn-of-the-century sophistication in sound. The type of music for velvet interiors, slow cocktails and stylish retreats from the world. The tracklist is an expertly balanced affair. From Mark Farina's 'Dream Machine' to Parov Stelar's smoky electro-swing 'Kisskiss', the selections drift seamlessly between seductive grooves and breezy rhythms. Michael Mayer's minimal yet sensual 'Lovefood' and Soulstice's lush Fila Brazillia remix of 'Wind' add tasteful depth, while Pompougnac's own 'Last Night' is an organ-laced, quirky detour. Zuco 103's 'Love Is Queen Omega' enlists dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry for a track rich with brass and riddim. Meanwhile, Ralph Myerz and The Jack Herren Band's sly, funk-laden take on Donald Byrd's 'Think Twice' reveals its source material only as the vocal lands. Throughout, Vol. 8 cultivates a soulful, urbane mood that speaks to both jet-setting lounge enthusiasts and deep crate diggers alike. It's a soundtrack where deep house meets jazz and subtle rhythms feel equally suited to a luxury rooftop or twilight drive. This reissue is a gem not just for nostalgia but for timeless listening.

Review: Helping define the sound of luxury lounge music in the late 90s and 2000s, Stephane Pompougnac's Hotel Costes series merged downtempo, house, and chillout music with blase sophistication. Synonymysing his sound with the Paris venue's opulent yet intimate atmosphere, the Place Vendome adjacent venue proved a hit for its chic bar-lounge a and stylish international crowd, offering an indulgent escape into dimly lit, decorous elegance. Arresting and pinning the historic tail on the works of such artists as Thievery Corporation and Gatan Project, the series, started in 1999, was instrumental for the apres-coup recognition of a sound. Highlights on the ninth edition including the minimal swing hop of 'One' and the brass-led dub derelictions of 'Con Mi Sombra'.

Review: NPG Records and Paisley Park Enterprises, in partnership with Warner Records, are pleased to announce the release of a brand-new audiophile Blu-ray featuring 2024's Dolby Atmos mix of Prince and the Revolution's iconic 1984 album, Purple Rain, as well as Prince's original 1984 stereo mix, in high-definition 24bit / 96kHz audio.

Prince shattered all expectations and made music history when he released the album Purple Rain, followed by the hit movie of the same name weeks later. The 9-track LP went on to win two Grammy awards ("Best Rock Performance by a Group" & "Best Album of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture"), two American Music Awards, a Brit Award, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. In 2012 the Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry, which only accepts sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." Purple Rain spent 24 weeks at #1 on the Billboard album charts, sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and appears on countless 'Best Of' polls, most recently achieving the #4 spot on Apple Music's Top 100 Albums Of All Time.

The 2024 Atmos presentation of Purple Rain featured on this Blu-Ray, was meticulously mixed from the original multi-track master tapes by Prince's protege and Best Engineered Grammy nominee Chris James. It was released via all participating Digital Service Providers on June 21, 2024. "In 2024 we started our year-long celebration of the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain, we are thrilled to present Prince's masterpiece in ATMOS, providing an immersive, surround auditory experience of Prince's legendary album. This highly crafted release will present Prince's iconic work with more space and depth while preserving the beautiful songs that have shaped music and popular culture, and touched the lives of countless fans around the world." - Paisley Park Enterprises

Region code: universal