Ubiquity US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: With the passing of William Daron Pulliam last year, the music world truly lost a singular and unique talent. Here Californian soul daddies Ubiquity pay homage to his most recognised works "Didn't I See" with a limited edit-focused 12". There is of course the feeling one shouldn't mess with perfection - and this Darondo track certainly falls into that category - but each of the three edits that accompany the original are considered reworks that subtly add some extra character without losing any of its power to move. Kinjo Music founder Dave Allison perhaps excels the most in this regard, subtly nudging the tempo up and adding some extra percussive detail that soul selectors will appreciate.

Review: If you haven't got Ubiquity's 2006 Darondo collection yet, now is most crucially the time. Shucks, if you have got it, you might want this for the collection anyway. Criminally overlooked by funk tourists, the Bay Area legend was originally the soul preserve for serious collectors until Gilles Peterson, Jack Penate and even Breaking Bad brought him to our attention a few years before his death. With a stark vocal range that reaches falsettos Jack Splash could only dream of and a lyrical dexterity that sits solemnly between raw emotion and touching poetry, each track shows how helped shape the blueprint that the likes of Child Of Luv, Plantlife, Amp Fiddler and many others developed years later. Essential.

Review: The electrifying return of El Combo Batanga. The Afro-Cuban band and Ubiquity Records favourites descend upon us once more in a sallying storm of Isthmian lightning, bridging the spirit of classic Fania and Tico Records releases, and whipping them back around and through gales of Latin funk, son, timba and boogaloo. "Batanga" refers to the traditional Cuban instrument heard throughout their records, if you listen closely: new A cut 'La Cuota' brings an urgent, hyperbolic funk, while 'Darling' contrasts with nixie moods, a heart-burning Latin soul lament.

Review: Headed up by Benin-born Kaleta - a guitarist who has previously worked with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Lauryn Hill - Super Yamba Band is a New York collective whose decidedly psychedelic fusions of Afrobeat, Highlife and Afro-funk have been getting rave reviews. "Medaho" is their debut album and it more than lives up to the hype. With Kaleta's variously fuzzy, sun-kissed and flash-fried licks to the fore, the band trips its way through nine mostly dancefloor-friendly workouts that wrap heavy funk instrumentation, rousing horns and Afrobeat style organ riffs around polyrhythmic drums that recall the distinctive swing of Tony Allen. It's a stylistic blend that guarantees results, as the sheer volume of highlights triumphantly proves.

Review: Mistura Pura is an alias for Italian jazz funk artist Federica Grappasonni, who first came to light via the 2018 album Hollywood Spritz on Ubiquity. After a follow-up two years later, finally Grappasonni is back with this classy 7", which we can only assume precedes another long player for Ubiquity soon after. 'Vamo Vive' and 'Ed E' are everything you could wish for from her welcome return, bursting with infectious groove and exquisite musicality. Cop this smoking hot single now and be the first to spread the good word about this stellar artist and her latest sounds.

Review: Japanese gospel-funk-soul outfit Osaka Monaurail are on a determined mission to spread the word of the lord, usually through elaborate and funky orchestral collaborations. This time, on the single 'Whole Lot Of Lovin', they team up with James Brown collaborator Marva Whitney for a distinctly vocal affair. Straight to the point, hard-driven rhythms and unisonic grooves lend a shocking immediacy to this riveting song.

Review: Since taking up music production following a career-ending football injury, 20-something Leeds lad Reuben Vaun Smith has delivered two tropical-tinged, Balearic-inspired albums for Soundway. On his third full-length (his first for long-serving Californian label Ubiquity Records), the Yorkshireman refocuses a little more on the dancefloor, offering up a range of attractive cuts that combine his love of mid-tempo, dubbed-out disco with African, Latin and Middle Eastern vocals, rhythms and instrumentation - as well as a heavy dose of psychedelic sounds and trippy effects. It's a smart shift that's undoubtedly paid dividends, with our picks of a very strong bunch including 'Beams', the dreamy 'Mali' (a track inspired by that country's vibrant musical culture), and the life-affirming dancefloor shuffle of 'The Waxing Gibbous Moon'.

Review: Two years on from the release of his Ubiquity label debut, the hard-to-pigeonhole Balearic/global musical fusion set that was Da Cuckoo YaYa, self-taught producer and multi-instrumentalist Reuben Vaun Smith returns with a fresh full-length. Once again, the warming, colourful and effortlessly atmospheric set is both gorgeous and hard to pigeonhole, with the Yorkshire based artist variously doffing a cap to dream pop, yacht rock, blue-eyed soul, shuffling downtempo soundscapes, soft-focus AOR synth-pop and sun-bright Balearic beats. It's the kind of set that not only impresses on first listen but also grows on you with each successive listen. Few artists can achieve both of these things on one album, so congratulations are most certainly in order.