Big Crown US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The gold standard Big Crown label excels at heartbreaking Americana, blue-eyed soul and downbeat pop. A 116th release of such sounds now comes from Holy Hive who are back with a new bunch of songs after their 2020 debut album, Float Back To You, won widespread acclaim. Their trademark folk-soul sound is in full view once more here with falsetto vocals bring real heart aching over slow, downbeat drums. It's beautiful stuff that takes the form of two only subtle different singles here. Both wallow in their own sadness and delicateness but leaving a lasting impression.

Review: Big Crown bring the beat heat once again with two raw funk / soul gems. The Sonics' rare-as-hens-teeth northern soul anthem "Find Myself Another Girl" gets liberated from its high ticket collector price with this much needed reissue while an old master tape prowls to life on the B as Texan troupe S.C.A.M's take on the well-covered Classics IV 1968 standard "Spooky" enjoys a release for the first time. Divine.

Review: The faultless Big Crown label revisits one of its biggest hits from back in 2016. New York City-based collective 79.5 is made up of seven musicians and singers and their gorgeous 'Terrorize My Heart' 45rpm reached some heart aching disco highs. Now it comes with in two new forms - the disco dub with its seductive drums and bass and airy, soulful vocal, and a remix from hip hop royalty Tall Black Guy. He deconstructs the tune and rebuilds it as a smoky, jazz tinged slow motion hip hop beat. The chords are warm and cuddly, the vocal is more meandering but still acts as the perfect icing on a delicious cake.

Review: Nicole "Lady" Wray has reinvented herself in recent years, swapping the contemporary, radio-friendly '90s R&B of her youth for a sound heavily influenced by vintage, 1960s and '70s soul and funk. It's a blend that was explored on last year's superb Queen Alone full-length. The two tracks showcased on this 7" were both featured on that album. "Underneath My Feet" is particularly potent, with Wray offering a rasping, impassioned vocal that seems to soar above the triple-time backing track. "Guilty", with its sweet guitars, harmony backing vocals and rock solid funk breakbeat, sounds a little like some of Sharon Jones' more poignant moments.

Review: Still scorching from the heat of their debut album 55, Hamburg's mysterious steel pan handlers return with a dope little 45 that features one of the excellent covers from their album plus an exclusive that we guarantee will drive your next floor crazy... Dennis Coffey's "Scorpio" takes the lead with its instantly distinctive break and pace. Flip for Sugarhill's "8th Wonder" that's riddled with confidently swung drums, smoky trumpets and a groove so funky you might just have to drop it twice. Give the drummer some.

Review: The world is full of heart-rendering electronic pop. So much so, you sometimes have to ask yourself if we can handle - or indeed actually need - any more. Rendered almost-immune to the emotionally barrage that seems to haunt our airwaves, playlists, and Made In Chelsea episodes, anyone who still has feelings in 2023 is doing well by all accounts.
Then along come Synthia, billed by the Big Crown label as a 'supergroup', comprising production don Leon 'El Michels Affair' Michels, and vocalist Claire Cottrill, AKA Clairo. Debate over what constitutes a 'group' aside, So Low, a startling double-A is enough to make you forget everything we just talked about, throw away the idea of overkill, and dive right in. As if born to score something cool, reflective, thought-proving and devastatingly romantic, fans of Electric Youth, Cocteau Twins and Almagris should be here already.

Review: A low-key 7" split single, this stripped back soul beauty is El Michels Affair's latest in a slew of new singles and EPs. The sultry A-side 'Stack The Deck' is a mood-resetting embrace of chance. The B-side, 'Things Done Changed', is a smooth, gorgeous take on The Notorious B.I.G.'s original, curtailing its suicidally string-laden confidence for a much more soulful, horn-laden rendition.

Review: Big Crown is one of our favourite labels here at HQ. The funk and soul they serve up is perfectly aged yet never overly nostalgic and this new one is another case it point. It's the latest from the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band and features two singles take from their latest and greatest album Expansions which landed back in June. As always they bring their own unique steel drum sounds and tropical Caribbean vibes to funk music. 'Raise It Up' is a deep cut joint with big horns and rippling steel drums puddles while 'Space' is a more lumpy groove with the drums more front and centre.

Review: Hamburg's Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band are as enigmatic and alluring as when they released their first single back in 2007, a tidy funk 7" that was to set the scene for a very particular sort of instrumental sound. "Jungle Fever", out on their own excellent Big Crown imprint, is a 2015 single that is truly hard not to play on repeat; the tune is a delicate yet funked-out blend of raw drums and tropical steel melodies, much like the name of the band already implies! The flipside "Tender Trap" is more broken and loose in its arrangement, something that makes it perhaps even more catchy and provocative than the title track.

Review: Throughout the 1960s and '70s, Sunny and the Sunliners were one of Texas's most successful groups. They specialised in "Tejano music", a Tex-Mex fusion of popular American and Latin American styles. "Should I Take You Home", which was first released on 7" single in 1969, is arguably one of the group's "straightest" tracks; a sweet, laidback soul ballad full of Stax style horns, close harmony backing singing and a sublime, emotion-filled lead vocal. Flipside "My Dream" is similarly heartfelt and saccharine in feel, with bandleader Sunny Ozuna's vocal alternating between impassioned sweetness and world-weary melancholy.

Review: We are big fans of New York label Big Crown here at HQ. It seems they rarely put out a dud and this one is no exception. Norwegian outfit Les Imprimes have kicked off a new collaboration with the crew here with new soul single 'I'll Never Leave' drenching you in musical warmth ahead of a full-length album to come. Romance is the lyrical subject and the vocals flow as freely as the arrangements. Producer and multi-instrumentalist Morten Martens is behind the band - well, it's just him right now - and this is a finer taste of the LP to come.

Review: Cinematic soul legend El Michels Affair has written a superb album Glorious Game which is due for release later in spring. Before that full-length with Roots co-founder and lyricist Black Thought - which is a meditation on the state of the hip-hop scene in the early 2020s - we get this taster single from it. 'Glorious Game' as you would expect as all the lush instrumentation and dark soul sounds you'd expect from this artist by now with the added extra of some superbly thought-provoking mic work. 'Grateful' is another heart-wrenching and alluring sound that more than gets us excited for the full length.

Review: Lady Wray's Piece of Me is a second sizzling album of superb soul. It marked something of a homecoming for the artist as she debuted on this label back in 2016 and found her leaning towards her usual soul and r&b as well as more hip-hop influences than ever: classic boom-bap drums and chunky bass hist loud and proud and for that reason the originals are ripe for remixing as they are here. Two legends of the game in Pete Rock and Ghostface Killah step up and bring their own signature sound and dusty drum beats to make for a crucial little 7".

Review: Thee Marloes are next up on the popular and brilliant Big Crown label with two seductive soul sounds. This is a 45rpm debut from this band and a fine one too that comes all the way from their homeland of Surabaya, Indonesia. As such this is a wide mix of sounds from American soul, jazz, and pop with plenty of local culture and influences. The A-side is an upbeat jam with dancefloor grooves and ear worm melodies while the flip is a different vibe entirely with wide open space used beautifully and great Indonesian vocals.

Review: Bobby Ozra was on tour back in 2019 and the final date was in New York City. He had some time before returning home to Finland so hooked up with El Michel's Affair and Diamond Mine to record some music. The pair hit it off immediately, and Bobby used the chance to write about more esoteric subjects with the pair soon deciding to work on a full length album together. They are now well on with that process but in the meantime offer up two new gems. 'Losing It' is sun in Spanish and English and is a dramatic and moving tune while 'Watcha Know' explores death with some philosophical ponderings.