Back catalogue: Soul

Review: Some serious gospel-soul action here from one of the most storied gospel groups in history, the Clark Sisters. The album, which was co-produced by their mother, the legendary choir director Mattie Moss Clark, first landed in US record stores way back in 1980. It's a stunning album all told, with the sisters' incredible vocals rising above backing tracks marked out by interesting arrangements, changes of mood and tone, and plenty of authentic soul and jazz instrumentation. The superb title track and the infections 'Ha-Ya (Eternal Life)' - the latter the subject of a number of re-edits over the years - are the best-known cuts, but other highlights include 'Pure Gold', the epic 'Speak Lord' and 'Salvation Means More To Me'.

Review: Unlike most disco re-edit EPs, Salsoul's latest instalment of 'Reflex Revisions' are "proper" remixes, making full use of original master stems and session tapes sourced from the parent artists themselves. With all four tracks handled by French producer and remixer The Reflex, we know we're in good hands here - he's been at it since 2012. Reflex Revisions don't just add a janky kick beneath a beatgridded 16-bar loop, but rather, they move and sway with the tracks' original feels. Our case in point: 'A Little Love' completely reimagines the drum section found on Aurra's 1983 original, making the whole sonic experience much clearer and brighter. As much can be said for Metropolis' downtempo 'I Love New York', on which Reflex here makes the song grander, wider. Compared to most re-editors, this is an impressive feat occurring in a different ballpark.

Review: Portablist Lounge have put together this special 7" scratchsafe™ battle record which also includes a sticker. The record has a narrow head-gauged and has been deep cut which means it won't skip no matter how hard you work it, and it' features standard scratch samples with AI generated voices from well-known celebrities including Alex Jones, Bart Simpson, Kermit the Frog, Stan Marsh, Angry Male, Adam Sandler, Alan Partridge, Cleveland Brown, Jerry Springer, Rick Sanchez, Snoop Dogg, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Eric Cartman, Stewie Griffin, Greta Thumburg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joe Rogan, Limmy, Peter Griffin, Peter Kay and Simon Cowell.

Review: Get ready to revisit the magic of Miki Matsubara's seventh album, Cool Cut, which is now reissued for the first time on stunning coloured vinyl. Originally released on May 21, 1984, this edgy masterpiece captures the vibrant sound of an era and features the unparalleled production of charismatic guitarist Katsutoshi Morizono who is known for his groundbreaking work with Yonin Bayashi and Prism. Morizono's influence shines through in every note and this reissue brings back the cool, electrifying band sound that made the record a standout.

Review: Charles Maurice shows off his digging skills once again with a collection of tunes that does exactly what it says on the tin. He delves into the album oriented rock archives of countries as far and wide as France, the United Kingdom and Venezuela to come up eight rare and hidden gems. The series started back in 2015 and still makes for essential listening now with gems like 'Don't Take It Away' by Westside - a love song about a new relationship, recorded in Minnesota and mastered on Sunset Bld. Sugar Cane's 'What You Do To Me' is another loved up gem with real romance in the chords.

Review: Legendary neo-soul man Maxwell tends to take his time over albums. He recently released the acclaimed blackSUMMERS'night, a belated follow-up to 2009's BLACKsummers'night (which originally appeared eight years after his previous full-length). Here, the latter gets a timely reissue on Legacy Vinyl. It remains a fine set, with Maxwell's brilliant vocals - occasionally fragile and heartfelt, sometimes bolder and breezier, and always dripping in soul - perfectly complimenting his backing band's warm, rich and evocative soul grooves. Highlights include the horn-heavy punch of "Bad Habits", the bustling, hip-hop soul beats, rising instrumentation and belted out vocals of "Help Somebody", and the grandiose ballad, "Fistful of Tears".

Review: KC

Review: South Africa's Letta Mbulu has put out a vast amount of quality material in her lifetime, and although the singer was based far away from Europe, her music was picked up by the London massive during the mid '80s at clubs like Dingwalls and featured heavily in the rare groove digs. The opener "Sweet Julu" is now a London two-step classic, while other tracks like "Nomalizo" or "The Village" are more on the disco side, all of them filtered with a distinctly tropical edge! A top reissue!

Review: Still active on the scene, McKenzie & Gardiner are a UK-based electro, funk and boogie duo. Prior to the turn of the century, they'd only released one single, 'From Time' - an impeccable-quality UK boogie tune meditating on the passage of time and its mediation on an important romantic relationship. Ironically, lots of time has passed since then, and the pair's obsession with time doesn't seem to have stopped them from biding it. Now, after honing their craft for so long, we finally get their first official album, 'Timestamp', unveiling the official and mastered versions of precious songs that otherwise existed as raw demos.

Review: Over the last few years, German deep funk heroes the Mighty Mocambos have taken to capturing their live performances - not just at concerts, but also record shop 'in-store' sessions and soundchecks - via a mobile recording studios. Scenarios, their self-proclaimed 'live album with a twist', features some of their favourite recordings. What makes it extra-special - aside from the quality of the music, of course - is that it features acoustic and semi-acoustic fare (composed for and performed in a lockdown live stream) as well as the heavyweight, floor-friendly jams that we know and love them for. Of course, there's loads of highlights in the latter category, including killer covers of 'Axel F' and 'Let The Music Play' and the squally funk-rock treat that is 'Munich Pyscholympics'.

Review: Christmas is a joyous time of year but it can always be that bit more special, loved up and warming with the right soundtrack. And they don'y come much more heart rending than this limited edition translucent red vinyl version of The Miracles's A Soulful Christmas album. It's a selection of classics all served up in sophisticated, slow and sentimental fashion from 'The Christmas Song' to 'The Little Drummer Boy' via a brilliant closing mash up in the form of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas/Auld Lang Syne Medley'.

Review: The Modulations released their album It's Rough Out Here in 1975, not only impressing both industry and laity with the singles 'Rough Out Here and 'I Can't Fight Your Love', but also spurring the considerable career of a funk quartet whose merit outdoes their reputation alone. The Modulations recorded extensively with MFSB, the house band of the famed record label Philadelphia International; these sessions yielded this album, one considered a gem of 1970s soul music. Exemplary of the long, wistful titles of the Philly funk era and beyond, the titular roughness of the record is also nonetheless embedded in a sea of audible Romance; the Modulations' hard knocks don't exclude the necessity of letting emotion in, with 'Head On Collision With Heartbreak' being an indelible example of this sense of being swept up in one's own emotions in the face of heartbreak, away from the perseverance aesthetics of "gritty" realism one might expect from a title like this.

Review: Pianist and composer Alex Monfort debuts his new album here and delivers a beautifully contemporary array of soul-jazz songs influenced by rap, hip-hop, alt-r&b and neo-soul. The album is denied by a blend of tightly broken beats and lovely Rhodes chords, soothing harmonies but most of all the rich vocals of Franco-Cameroonian singer Nina Tonji. Fans of the likes of Moonchild, Erykah Badu, Fatima and Eglo Records are sure to soak up the soothing sounds of 'Hypnotized', the romantic feels of 'Attitude' and late-night intimacy of 'Saison' amongst much more.

Review: Since it was first reissued a few years ago, Steve Monite's Only You album has gone from being a stupidly rare Nigerian boogie "holy grail", to an easy-to-access "must have" for anyone with even a passing interest in African disco and electrofunk. If you've yet to acquire a copy, we'd recommend picking up a copy of this officially licensed Soundway repress. It contains two different takes on the now anthemic 'Only You' - an infectious Lagos boogie delight - plus the pleasingly dubbed-out, piano-heavy electrofunk gem 'Things Fall Apart (Disco Jam)' (the original mix is also included at the end of side B), the slick and sweet 'Welcome My Love' and the more downtempo 'I Had a Dream'.

Review: Kendra Morris's Babble album reflects her deepest pains and excitements, subconscious anxieties and willing distractions as she intertwines them all into lilting lyrics and fervent tones then feeds them to you. The oringal album came in 2016 as a self released EP and has gone on to become a real fan favourite. Now it is expanded for this reissue with three extra tunes in 'Playing Games,' 'Dial Back' and 'Ride On' as Karma Chief Records (a division of Colemine Records) serve it up as the official vinyl release it deserves.