Freestyle Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Albert "Alchemist" Thompson's Promise Land comes courtesy of Freestyle Records and has great appearances on the mic from reggae and dancehall greats Frankie Paul, Joseph Cotton, Prince Malachi and Anthony John. It has never before been released and has had a long maturation period over the last 30 years. Albert Thompson was chief engineer at I&I Sound Recording Studio once it left LA and head to Jamaica and he saw work with greats like Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer and Gregory Isaacs. He laid down these rhythms in 1991 during some downtime and then added the vocals 16 years later in London when working with talented local and touring Jamaican artists.

Review: While writing this album, Dan Berkson was based in London, and the city's vibrant jazz and broken beat scene was been a clear influenced on the music he made in that time. Dialogues is an accomplished artistic statement filled with virtuosos musicianship, vibrant drums and jazz chords that brim with life. The grooves are all rooted in jazz with elements of the rootsy blues and ragtime of his youth, cool 60s modernism and 70s funk fusions. Magical and mystifying in equal measure, this an immediately timeless record from a contemporary great.

Review: This is a crucial 45 from Freestyle Records which separates out two tracks from their recent Bunny Scott reissue project. It is a brilliant showcase of Scott's early-Black Ark debut LP with Blaxploitation-influenced funk track 'Kinky Fly' kicking off. It has backing band members from The Chi-Lites' on board as well as a nice horn section and Chinna Smith's wah-wah guitar. The whole thing is overdubbed with synths to add to the mood. 'Sweet Loving Love' is more upbeat, with sunny towlines and rolling rhythms.

Review: To Love Somebody is a great album from the rich cannon of reggae. It's the work of Bunny Scott and brings plenty of soul to Caribbean rhythms, and this is a first ever official reissue. Originally recorded in 1975 and produced by, who else, the great Lee 'Scratch' Perry, it rides through plenty of lovestruck laments, more upbeat and rump wiggling gems like 'I Am I Said' and slower, more heartfelt and tender tracks like 'Let Love Touch Us No.' Versatile and vital throughout, this is a richly rewarding reggae record from one of the greats.

Review: Rick Clarke was signed to Soul II Soul's Funki Dreds label, meaning he was contractually not allowed to release his music elsewhere. As such, he anonymously slipped out this album Guess Who in 1992, but now it gets a welcome reissue on Freestyle Records under the artist's given name. It is packed with creative ideas and sweet stripped back house grooves with a hint of garage swing. It features plenty of Rick's friends and collaborators who all came to his MJB Records studio in West Kensington where the LP was produced and recorded in just a few days. It's packed with raw drum machine sounds, great basslines and sweet melodies.

Review: It's a damn shame Cool Runners aka the duo of Paul Tattersall and Chris Rodel and was such a short-lived group because the tunes they made are next level. This reissue proves that with their 1982 single 'Checking Out' served up on a 12" with the sought-after 'High on a Feeling' on the flip. The open is lush street soul with boogie bass and twanging funk guitar riffs topped off with a gorgeous vocal. The second offering 'High On A Feeling' has leggier drums and more of a disco feel, but still plenty of brilliant boogie in the bass. Two cult classics, then.

Review: Freestyle Records has got a brilliant and rather rare bit of boogie here in the form of Eddie Capone's 'I Wont Give You Up.' This is the first officially licensed reissue of this 1985 gem by the reggae, funk and soul mainstay of that decade. He played with various noted outfits such as Chairmen of the Board, Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come and Edwin Starr and was also in the short-lived band Casablanca. He founded the Treatment band in the early 1980s and played with a rotating cast of musicians. The tunes included on this 7" are some of them with Diane Jones providing vocals on the A-side, which is the standout gem.

Review: Freestyle 'Turn Up The Music' courtesy of this new 12" from Roy Hamilton, Cosmo Bowen and Dennis Palmer. The trio worked together way back in the 80s and back then it was as part of a nine-piece outfit known as Breeze. Anyone who attended the iconic Ronnie Scott's in London back then will probably have heard them play upstairs with the likes of Hi Tension and Gonzalez. In 1984 they decided to lay down this one and only 12" on the HBS label they ran. It's a stomper but a laid-back one that is now well in demand on the funk and soul scene.

Review: Brit-boogie obscurity alert! You might not be familiar with La Famille - a short-lived group established by jazz guitarist Alan Weekes, whose members also included then future Soul 2 Soul singer Caron Wheeler and a pre-fame Cleveland Watkiss - but in 'Dancer', they made one of the loveliest jazz-funk/boogie crossover records of the early 1980s. Originally a white label-only release and near impossible to find since, the record has long been crying out for a reissue. It has all the ingredients you'd expect - squelchy synth-bass, soulful vocals, leisurely jazz guitars, drum machine beats and an overriding sense of musical sweetness - and is presented in equally essential vocal and instrumental mix variations.

Review: Omar is a real British musical institution and as such it's surprising but also not so shocking, he has recently completed a stint on BBC soap Eastenders. This cheeky 7" is a reissue of the title track from his album The Man and a fine example of his perfectly soulful vocals and mellifluous melodies over nice broken beat and nu jazz sounds. It represents some of his best work and this contemporary take uses the final few bars of the original track as its starting point in a "part 2" style.

Review: One of the UK's most distinctive, consistent and authentic male soul voices returns with his eighth album in 27 years... And it's a serious piece of work. Rich in range, warmth, creativity and a keen eye on the dancefloor, everything about him feels refreshed and energised. Highlights include the Dilla-meets-Iz & Diz style "This Way That Way", the glistening Balearic charm of "Feeds My Mind", the syrupy organs and harmonies on "Insatiable". Winding down with the almost filmic narrative "Grey Clouds", it's one of those records that will have you leaping up, flipping to side A and starting all over again. Feel the love.

Review: This week, Pause's two incredibly rare 12' singles have been officially reissued for the first time. Pause was a UK street soul group formed as a side-project of The Administrators, who achieved a series of hits on the lovers rock scene during the late 80s. The smooth space-age soul jam 'Got to Know' and the seminal electro-boogie of 'It's Just Amazing' represent the entirety of the group's output. Originally self-released in limited quantities, these 12"s is highly sought-after on the secondhand market, so don't miss your chance to grab this lost British soul classic.

Review: Street soul is one of the many short lived but vital in between genres that have emerged from the studios of the UK over the decades. Pause was an early act who excelled at the form as two incredibly rare and hard to find tunes that are both being pressed up bony Freestyle this month prove. The first one comes on this 12" in the form of 'It's Just Amazing' with various different mixes. The vocal mix pairs lo-fi drum breaks with shards of 80s synth stabs and a gorgeous vocal harmony finished perfectly by a melancholic bassline. The two instrumental mixes are even more dusty and lo-fi but the vocal version is the one that will always stand out and get the floor in a tizzy.

Review: Two stone cold legends on one unforgettable 45": Courtney and Omar build on their recent Black Notes From The Deep live collaborations with a stunning original and killer cover. "Rules" is a funk-based track that jumps and sizzles with a fresh contemporary energy that you might not expect from either party while "Butterfly" pays a very special homage to another stone cold legend Herbie Hancock. A beautiful release. You might say there's nothing like it.

Review: Freestyle delivers a gem from 1987 here with Purely Fizzycal's UK street soul sizzler 'Make A Move' , which was first released on their Pure Impact Productions label. Trish Langley of North London and Ash Kamat of South London first crossed paths in the mid-80s and came together over music with Kamat's programming and production inspired by London pirate radio sound of the time and and US influences like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also colouring their sound. Langley's vocals, shaped by her parents' reggae collection and brother's taste for artists like Brothers Johnson, Maze, and Janet Kay, merged with Kamat's raw drum machine sounds in perfect easy as heard here with this irresistible 12".

Review: This is a long overdue reissue of a lovely feel-good soul number from Sonja Richard. It is her one and only listed release on Discogs and landed back in 1987 on the Rock The House Records label. Why she didn't do more off the back of this one is anyone's guess but we wish she had: it's a lovely laid-back vibe with 80s electronic disco production, buffed metal chords, and naive melodies. As well as the standout original the flipside has a fine version that offers a slightly different look. A real must own for soul lovers.