Expansion Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Splash down to 1978-80: influential Philly funk troupe Breakwater gave the world two albums over two years.Full focus on slow jams and soulful fusion, the Breakwater melting pot is just as strong in jazz and Latin as it is soul and funk. Here we're treated to a selection of the best moments from Breakwater and Splashdown (minus the famous Daft Punk-sampled "Release The Beast") such as the unforgettable Floydian chorus of "That's Not What We Came Here For", the soaking wet bass and tight bright horns of the raunchy boogie jam "Do It Till The Fluid Gets Hot" and the sunshine soul of the sublime "Say You Love Me Girl". A sharp insight into a band that was criminally short-lived at the time..Rumour is there is a new album on the horizon and they still play live -there were two live uk dates in Jan 2017 already !

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: Composer, arranger, producer and pianist Webster Lewis is widely celebrated for his work with Epic Records from the seventies and on through the eighties. His sound is a luxuriant one that is hugely polished, dense and accomplished in its fusion of jazz, funk and soul. He recorded four albums during those years and this collection pulls the best bits including his well-known classic 'Barbara Ann' as well as the likes of 'Give Me Some Emotion' and 'El Bobo' as well as more newly uncovered gems from the vaults like 'Reach Out' and 'Japanese Umbrella.'

Review: At the tail end of the '80s, Sylvia Striplin quit Norman Connors' jazz-funk group Aquarian Dream in order to pursue a solo career. Joining forces with producers James Bedford and Roy Ayers, she recorded 1981 debut album "Give Me Your Love", a well regarded but largely overlooked set that has since become a sought-after item amongst soul collectors. This Expansion reissue presents the album on vinyl for the first time in two decades. As with many soul albums of the period, it sashays between jazz-funk, boogie and heartfelt slow jams, contrasting memorable dancefloor workouts (see stone cold classic "Give Me Your Love" and a stellar cover of Roy Ayers favourite "Searchin") with more saccharine, loved-up fare.

Review: When it comes to modern soul albums of the mid-to-late 1970s, you'll find fewer more rare or sought-after than Timeless Legend's 1976 debut album Synchronized. Here the little-known Colmbus, Ohio-based group's masterpiece is given a special Record Store Day 2020 reissue courtesy of the soul diggers at Ohio Records. It's full of musically detailed, immaculately produced treats, with highlights including the summery grooves, dewy-eyed vocals and jazzy electric piano solos of 'Checking You Out', the snaking horn solos and impeccable group harmony vocals of 'Lonely Man', the heavy funk-rock-goes-R&B flex of 'River Boat Queen' and the pleasingly dubbed-out, effects-laden psychedelic soul of 'Ghost of Love'.

Review: For those who don't always pay as much attention as they should to the contemporary modern soul scene, Expansion's annual Soul Togetherness compilations are a godsend. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing on the 2020 edition, including a bunch of killer modern soul and 21st century ER&B gems that have never before appeared on wax. Highlights include the slick '80s soul revivalism of DW3's 'Never Gonna Stop', the smooth soulful house warmth of Will Downing's 'Right Where You Are', the early '80s boogie flex of Cool Million's 'Keep On', the sparking '70s disco heat of Privat Projekt's 'Don't Walk This Way' and the head-nodding positivity of Carmichael Musiclover's 'Pure Sweetness'.

Review: Those in the modern soul scene should already be familiar with Expansions' "Soul Togetherness" series; after all, the label has been putting out annual compilations of the best contemporary dancefloor-focused soul jams under that name since the dawn of the century. The 2019 edition contains plenty of soulful heat, from the synth-sporting '80s soul revivalism of DCR's "Positive Vibes" and the head-nodding, boogie-flavoured R&B of Shaila Prospere's "Plus One", to the Loose Ends-inspired warmth of Magoo's "Still Really Love" and the anthem-like sing-along that is Rockie Robins' "Good Life". SolatiMusic's stripped-back and seductive "Tell Me" is also brilliant.