$48.00
Brighter Days Ahead has its genesis in the Covid lockdown, as described on the cover by label owner Terry Cole: “We knew we wanted to continue to release new music, but proceeding with our heavy 2020 release schedule as planned seemed ill-advised. So the idea was to release individual tracks from many of our artists on a weekly basis and as a musical family, we could all help shine a light on each individual artist weekly. Strength in numbers! So throughout the summer and into the fall, that’s what we did. We released several dozen tracks and the weekly announcements certainly garnered a strong sense of community for our artists and fans alike”
This 22-track two-LP set compiles the digital singles which the label released during the 2020 pandemic. One LP features Colemine artists and the other featured artists on their sister label, Karma Chief. – Audiophile Reviews
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Musicians and labels have had to dig deep in adjusting to the financial and cultural challenges of the Covid pandemic. The Ohio-based cult independent soul label, Colemine, has responded to the disappearance of gigs, the enforced closure of its store and the subsequent hit taken to income streams by issuing a weekly digital singles releases campaign showcasing the breadth of quality on its roster. Housed in yellow and blue vinyl, Brighter Days Ahead is a sumptuous twenty-two-song double LP set consisting of this music released by the label in 2020; one featuring artists on the Colemine roster and the other showcasing artists on their sister label, Karma Chief.
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Brighter Days Ahead unfurls like a gilded and hyper-evolved mix-tape effortlessly joining the dots between obscure yacht-rock, psych-funk, West Coast singer-songwriter, roots reggae, lowrider soul and quivering psychedelics; Colemine resists any notion of a house sound and focuses on firing up the sensibilities of jazz, funk and hip-hop breaks in a way that’s never wilfully eccentric or tainted by parody. – Vinyl Chapters
$48.00
“Over the years there has been so much action back at mine, so many friends, lovers and lunatics who would congregate after the clubs had closed to laugh, share and swap ideas and tunes and generally put the world to rights… this is a collection from the soundtrack of those sessions” - Fatboy Slim
Next in the compiler hotseat for seminal mix series ‘Back to Mine’ is the legendary DJ and producer Fatboy Slim. Having sold over 10 million records and embarked on a number of sold out arena tours, the esteemed record collector and all round great selector delves deep into his weighty collection at his home to create a heady journey of funk and soul. The collection opens with Dave Barker & Ansel Collins ‘Monkey Spanner’ – a reggae single released in 1971 from the Kingston based duo working for the infamous producer Lee “Scratch” Perry.
There are a few rare finds, Donal Leace ‘Today Won’t Come Again’, Wind ‘Grooving With Mr. Bloe’ and Googie Rene Combo ‘Smokey Joe’s La La’. And the most recognisable for many no doubt is Betty Chung’s 1968 classic ‘Bang Bang’ thanks to the vocals of the Nancy Sinatra cover being sampled in the Audio Bullys rework in 2005.
The 1975 classic ‘Take Yo Praise’ from Camille Yarbrough which Fatboy Slim used to sample the iconic ‘Praise You’ in 1998 is found in the first half of the mix, and not forgetting his group Beats International, which Norman sampled lyrics from the featured track ‘Jam Hot’ by Johnny Dynell for ‘Dub Be Good To Me’. A track that became the best-selling single in the UK in 1990. – Bandcamp
$48.00
The title supposedly referred to the band's personalities: Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes brought the crazy, having recorded her vocals on day release from court-mandated rehab, after burning down her boyfriend's house in a jealous rage. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, with her no-damns-given demeanour and raspy vocals, was effortlessly cool; while Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas was, for the sake of this anecdote, "the sexy one" (she also had an incredible voice and no shortage of attitude).
Propelled by the hit singles Creep and Waterfalls, it became the first album by a girl group to reach diamond status (representing 10 million sales) in the US. Globally, only the Spice Girls' Spice has sold more. - BBC
Label: Sony Music Commercial Music Group – 88725499401, LaFace Records – 88725499401, Arista – 88725499401
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Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
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Country: US
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Released: 2012
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Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
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Style: RnB/Swing
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$48.00
Soul Jazz Records
$48.00
Cuba: Music and Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana: Experiments in Latin Music 1975-85 Vol. 1 is the new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that explores the many new styles that emerged in Cuba in the 1970s as Jazz, Funk, Brazilian Tropicalia and even Disco mixed together with Latin and Salsa on the island as Cuban artists experimented with new musical forms created in the unique socialist state of Cuba.
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The album is released to coincide with the massive new deluxe large format book Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90, published in November, which is also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records), and which features the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution.
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The music on this album features legendary Cuban groups such as Irakere, Los Van Van and Pablo Milanés as well as a host of lesser known artists such as the radical Grupo De Experimentación, Juan Pablo Torres and Algo Nuevo, Grupo Monumental and Orquesta Ritmo Oriental, groups whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba owing to the now 60-year old US trade embargo which remains in place today and which prevents trade with Cuba – and thus most Cuban records were only ever available in Cuba or in ex-Soviet Union states.
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The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s – who were all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms that reflected both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music - and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album have never been heard outside of Cuba.
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Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades – Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records. – Sounds of The Universe
Label: Soul Jazz Records – SJR LP461 |
Format: 3 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation |
Country: UK |
Released: 22 Jan 2021 |
Genre: Jazz, Latin, Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: Afro-Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz, Rumba, Son |
$39.00
“Garrett III is more of a swan project. A final installment, if you will. Garrett is now retreating more deeply, as evident by the album cover by @GangCulture into obscurity. The time has come for a landing via this 3rd installment of his ‘private life’. After surviving a lockdown x worldwide pandemic in 1 piece, without going insane, he has finally decided 2 conclude this phase of his tightrope walk between lush Ambient touched Modern-Funk & the choice of no vocals / strictly instrumental aural experiences, for listeners of all hues, backgrounds & taste. The hope is that it’s enjoyed in whatever way feasible for all human (& alien) kind.” – Music From Memory
Label: Music From Memory – MFM051 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: Netherlands |
Released: Dec 2020 |
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul |
Style: Ambient, Downtempo, Funk |
$50.00
It's safe to say that starting a jazz album with a version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" was quite a daring deed, to say the least. In Argentina -- back in 1977.
And yet this is something a musician with the career of Jorge Navarro could afford. Navarro belongs to a generation of musicians who shaped the history of jazz music in Argentina, starting already in the mid-50s alongside other renowned jazzmen such as Lalo Schifrin, Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, "Baby" López Furst or Jorge López Ruiz.
This tightly-knit group of musicians often looked abroad and followed the dominant current in the US, going through swing and be-bop phases, but towards the end of the sixties many started to develop their own identity, a tendency that intensified in the early 70s.
In Argentina, "con polenta" is an expression used to describe something with great energy or strength -- which perfectly defines the mood for the album. As many other musicians, most notably Schifrin and Barbieri (who enjoyed a huge international success and would only sporadically return to Argentina), Navarro had just left the country and spent several years in the USA, returning to his homeland full of energy and new ideas, which translated into his debut solo album. A rocking blend of Jazz and Funk, the album unexpectedly kicks off with a groovy cover of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" and includes equally wicked takes on compositions by Eumir Deodato, Keith Jarrett and Joe Farrell, as well as two self-penned originals and a funky number by Roberto Valencia, who's in charge of percussion in the album.
Label: Altercat Records – ALT011 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue |
Country: Germany |
Released: 27 Nov 2020 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Jazz-Funk, Jazz-Rock |
$30.00
Such was the warmth of reception granted NuNorthern Soul's debut EP of Ryo Kawasaki music, the label's Phat Phil Cooper has decided upon a follow up. And having made over 25 albums in his almost five decade long career, there's plenty of Ryo's music to choose from. Once again, Phil Cooper has chosen to concentrate on Kawasaki's mid 1970s to early 1980s period, a time which saw the guitarist living in New York, surrounded by and often playing alongside some of the finest jazz players of the era. It was a time of much experiment with jazz music and few things propel Kawasaki more than experimentation.
His mid 1970s period saw him explore what was to become known as jazz fusion music, a sometimes heavy-sounding variation, wild with revolutionary, new electronic sounds and steeped in funk and rock influences. From that period Kawasaki lead several album projects and the band Golden Dragon, upon whose recordings Kawasaki's famous, personally modified guitar synthesizer really comes to the fore. – Bandcamp
Label: NuNorthernSoul – NUNS010 |
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Compilation |
Country: UK |
Released: 22 Apr 2017 |
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Fusion, Disco, Downtempo |
$75.00
“The Sojourner” was released on Strata-East in 1974 and is well known as one of the label’s rarest recordings. Most tracks are focused on a soaring, spiritual groove, and some of them expressed their soulfulness.
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A massive album and one of the best Strata-East releases. A Japanese P-Vine re-issue of The Ensemble Al-Salaam's spiritual jazz masterpiece 'The Sojourner' from 1974. Highly recommended. – Mr Bongo
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Another fine deep spiritual Jazz reissue on Japanese label P-Vine that came out on Strata East originally in 1974. Soaring vocals are charismatic of this album and it features the track Optimystical which Andres previously sampled. – HHV
Label: Strata-East – SES7418, P-Vine Records – PLP-6950 |
Series: Groove-Diggers – |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue, Remastered |
Country: Japan |
Released: 16 Dec 2020 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Modal |
$45.00
After advising the listener to turn off the lights, unplug the phone and essentially lose themselves within the context of the music, the album settles into a series of warm analog grooves that touch on psychedelia, funk, soul and sound library recordings that harken back to an age nearly a half century now gone. It’s a warm, wholly immersive listening experience that calls to mind hazy, warm summer afternoons when the world was a much different place. “Little Bird” kicks the record into high gear with its vaguely Latin groove and swirling atmospherics that slowly mutate into a unison line melody, the bass doubling the guitar and horns before ceding control to the vocals. There’s a hypnotic quality that begins to settle in right about this point, one which lasts the remainder of the album, each track flowing into the next with a fluid ease. – Spectrum Culture
Label: Karma Chief Records – KCR-12009 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: US |
Released: 13 Nov 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Funk |
$39.00
Dark Entries is humbled to continue digging through the archives of legendary producer Patrick Cowley. While best known for his production on chart-topping cybernetic disco anthems such as Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” or his own “Menergy”, Cowley, who passed away from AIDS-related illness in 1982, left us with a substantial body of work. Since 2009, Dark Entries has been working with Cowley’s friends and family to shed light on the lesser known facets of this singular artist’s output. This has resulted in a string of celebrated archival albums, including Catholic (featuring Jorge Socarras), School Daze, Muscle Up, Afternooners, and the recent Mechanical Fantasy Box. Some Funkettes, the latest addition to this series, is a collection of previously unreleased cover songs recorded from 1975-1977. These raw, unembellished tributes both showcase Cowley’s early musical interests and chart the development of his production techniques.
Some Funkettes opens with Cowley’s sauntering instrumental rendition of “Do It Anyway You Wanna”, the disco classic by People’s Choice. Next is a psychedelic reworking of the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, here hazily retitled “Papa Wuzza Rollinston”. Over its 7 minute runtime, the track’s metronomic, minimal groove builds to a frantic synth solo - this is pure Bay Area motorik. “Spiked Punch”, a curious riff on Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” follows. Cowley’s lurching, minimalist reimagining of Hancock’s opus prefigures the work he would later do on Sylvester’s masterpiece “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight”. Side B opens with a truly important historical document: Cowley’s cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. The Moroder-produced disco anthem was a critical influence on Cowley - he would later resculpt the original song into arguably its highest form with his 15-minute-long remix. The instrumental cover version here is sparse and euphoric, brimming with classic Cowley synth signatures alongside the infectious Moroder bassline. A relatively faithful take on Bazuka’s 1975 funk classic “Dynomite” follows. The record closes with the dub version of “Spiked Punch”, which highlights developments in Cowley’s recording and synthesis techniques by way of its resonant burbles and spring reverb-laden passages.
Some Funkettes was made possible with help from Patrick's brother Jim and his former studiomate Maurice Tani. All songs were mastered for vinyl by George Horn. The sleeve is a collage designed in 1975 by Cowley’s former roommate Francesca Rosa that was found covering a reel to reel box. It features a yin-yang symbol and a photograph of a scruffy 24 year old Patrick, to which we added his original handwriting. Each record comes with an insert featuring a four page essay by Francesca as well as a postcard featuring liner notes and a photograph by Cowley’s roommate and best friend, Theresa McGinley. This peek into Cowley’s formative years arrives just in time for what would have been his 70th birthday. – Dark Entries
Label: Dark Entries – DE-283 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: US |
Released: 19 Oct 2020 |
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul |
Style: Disco, Funk |
$45.00
Daylight Savings is the second full-length album by Melbourne's cinematic soul journeymen Surprise Chef. Recorded over a weekend in Surprise Chef's DIY analogue studio (dubbed The College Of Knowledge), Daylight Savings expands on the dramatic 1970s cinematic soul sound established on their acclaimed first album, 2019's All News Is Good News. Created in Spring 2019, just as the jasmine bush in the backyard of the College Of Knowledge was coming to full bloom, Daylight Savings is filled with the optimism and hope that comes with the impending long, warm evenings after a dreary Melbourne winter. - Bandcamp
Label: Mr Bongo – MRBLP208 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: UK & Europe |
Released: 15 Oct 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Funk |
$48.00
Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold-out. The book unveiled a myriad of beautiful and rare records from a highly prolific, but still then unknown, Japanese groove scene.
After many years working as a record buyer for several stores, DJ Chintam opened his own Blow Up shop in 2018 in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. A member of the Dayjam Crew and a specialist of soul, funk, rare groove and disco music, Chintam is also an expert of the home-brewed Wamono grooves. He supervised and wrote the Wamono A to Z records guide book together with Yoshizawa.
With this first volume of the Wamono series, our two DJs here guide you through some of the best and rarest jazz funk and rare groove tunes produced in Japan between 1968 and 1980. Put the needle on the record, turn up the volume and dig right now into the Wamono sound - the cream of the Japanese funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan! - Bandcamp
Label: 180g – 180GWALP01 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 180g |
Country: France |
Released: 11 Sep 2020 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz |
$48.00
Jake Sollo (Born in Nigeria as Nkem Okonkwo) started his career in the 1960s as a member of The Hykkers, a popular band that drew large audiences across the country (even during the turmoil of the Biafra civil war). After The Hykkers disbanded, Jake joined the Aba-based super-group The Funkees…a musical outfit turned into instant superstars due to the State Broadcasting Service’s heavy rotation of their demo tracks. The Funkees became a phenomenon that spread across the country fast (and eventually to England where they were championed by the legendary John Peel). By 1976, due to creative and personal tensions, The Funkees slowly started disintegrating. Jake Sollo was soon offered the golden opportunity to join the ‘crème de la crème’ of Afro-rock groups: Osibisa. Jake’s distinctive rhythm guitar graced their hits, but his tenure with them was short-lived…in 1977, Sollo and two other members left the band because of financial disagreements.
Jake Sollo quickly moved on and did just fine after his experiences with said bands…he got steady work as a session musician and became a hot producer in the London scene. Eventually, that chapter came to a close as well (with budgets and visas to record in the UK becoming increasingly scarce at this point). Jake returned to Nigeria where he started recording and producing albums, during this period he became the MOST in-demand producer in Nigeria. – Light In The Attic
Label: Tidal Waves Music – TWM48 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue |
Country: USA & Europe |
Released: 29 May 2020 |
Genre: Reggae, Funk / Soul |
Style: Boogie, Disco, Reggae |
$39.00
On ‘Sewele’, Peters explores different themes on four extended juju workouts, showcasing his incredible guitar work and his sense of fun as the odd Bob Marley and Abba riff pops up in the grooves. The title track means ‘shower of blessings’: “it’s like a prayer for my fans throughout Nigeria and the diaspora.” The funky Afrobeat of ‘Yabis’ is about being proud to be African and not to follow American ways and ‘Agbe’ere De’ states proudly that Peters is coming again with something different: “I always wanted to get the message across to my fans that I was keeping things fresh and creating melodies and music that people would enjoy.” The final track, ‘Late Aboderin’, is a moving tribute to Peters’ mentor, the late Chief Aboderin: “He helped me in many ways including legal aid in a court case against a record label. He also bought a van to carry the band to concerts. - Bandcamp
Label: Strut – STRUT202LP |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue |
Country: Germany |
Released: Jan 2019 |
Genre: Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: African, Psychedelic |
$39.00
Black Savage was a short-lived mid-1970s Afro Rock group of young college-age Kenyans, namely Barrack Achieng (bass), Job Seda (a.k.a. Ayub Ogada) (percussion), Noel Drury Sanyanafwa (drums), Jack Odongo (keyboards) and Gordon Ominde (Golden Simone) (guitar), most of them were from the Luo tribe. Outside of Kenya their output has been mostly invisible until a recent reissue and spreading through the internet, but they were quite popular among Nairobi youngsters in the 1970s. Their music was released on an LP and three singles between the mid-'70s and the early 80s, and has remained out of print ever after. The early years of the band, whose members met during their secondary school years in Nairobi, are well described in the liner notes to the current reissue compilation by Afro7. – Discogs
Psychedelic / Raw / Funky / Afro-rock | Truly a special LP compiled by Afro7, Highly recommend checking this out!
Label: Afro7 Records – AFR7-LP-03 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Limited Edition |
CD, Compilation |
Country: Finland |
Released: 10 Jun 2018 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: African |
$45.00
Afro-Rock + Funk + Disco + Psychedelia = Sweet Spot
Ofege was formed in the early 1970s by a bunch of teenagers at the St. Gregory’s College in Lagos Nigeria. They were largely influenced by the guitar solos of Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page while closer to home, they were influenced by the music of ‘BLO’ (Berkley Jones, Laolu Akins and Mike Odumosu), ‘Monomono’ (led by Joni Haastrup), The Funkees, and Ofo The Black Company. Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various psychedelic music compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and the ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band!
Their debut album (Try And Love, EMI 1973 – also reissued by Tidal Waves Music) was recorded while the band members were still in high school (average age of 16) … their follow up ‘The Last Of The Origins’ (Recorded in 1975 and released on EMI in 1976) took some years to come out because some band members had to finish school first. ‘The Last Of The Origins’ is an exceptional record with a deep psychedelic approach. Complex rhythm sections, African inspirations, huge breaks, wah wah guitars and cosmic synths …it’s all there! Easily one of the best Afro-funk albums recorded in Nigeria in the 70s. – Tidal Waves Music
Label: Tidal Waves Music – TWM24 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue |
Country: US |
Released: 23 Nov 2018 |
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul |
Style: Psychedelic, Funk, Disco |
$45.00
The original band consisted of five members, three from South Africa and two from Nigeria: drummer Louis Moholo, trumpeter/flautist Mongezi Feza, alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, tenor saxophonist Bizo Mngqikana, and guitarist/bassist Fred Coker — the latter, according to Rob Fitzpatrick in The Guardian, "helped guide Assagai into position as the only real West African competition to the super-star firepower of Ghana's Osibisa" before Coker left Assagai to replace Spartacus R in Osibisa. Canterbury scene keyboardist Alan Gowen and King Crimson percussionist Jamie Muir were also briefly members (1971-72). - Wiki
Assagai were one of the few (if any other) black bands signed to the Vertigo label. The band's sound was a mixture of psychedelic rock, Nigerian afro beat, and funk. Their self-titled debut is most widely known for the track "Telephone Girl" which is an infectious uptempo dance floor funk cut. The beginning beat also served as an inspiration to hip hop producers like DJ Premiere. Other tracks like the afro burners "Cocoa" and "Irin Ajolania" show they are no one trick pony, either. – Soul Strut
Label: Prog Temple – PTLP8027 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue |
Country: UK |
Released: 01 Oct 2016 |
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: Afrobeat, African, Tribal, Funk |
$39.00
Harleighblu X Starkiller is a formidable link-up between British soul/electronic singer Harleighblu and LA duo Starkiller (the production outfit of C.E. Garcia & Alfredo E. Fratti, members of Adrian Younge’s Venice Dawn). A science fiction film in sonic form, the ‘Amorine’ LP tells a tragic future love story in which high drama collides with a cool, clean, sci-fi atmosphere via hip hop sensibilities that draw on musical references from psychedelic funk to DJ Shadow to Portishead. – On Bandcamp
Label: Tru Thoughts – TRULP336 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: UK |
Released: 2016 |
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul |
Style: Electro, Soul |
$38.00
The team of Booker T. and William Bell is one of the great music matches of all time, and it's a real shame that label politics led to each of them getting fed up with the system and heading their separate ways. Bound To Happen stands tall, however, as defiant proof that Stax could have had the same magic after the Atlantic deal ended had they simply done what they always used to do - put the artists first, and let the Stax family flourish as a result. I guess that Stax becoming a business first and a record label second was Bound To Happen, but that didn't stop the partnership between William Bell and Booker T. from delivering one last urgent slice of that good ol' Memphis soul sound. – Rate Your Music
Label: Stax – STS 2014, Stax – STS-2014
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Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
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Country: US
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Released: 28 Oct 2016
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Genre: Funk / Soul
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Style: Rhythm & Blues, Soul
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$38.00
Ollie & The Nightingales started their life as a gospel group called the Dixie Nightingales. At the urging of Stax executive Al Bell, they went secular in 1968, recorded this album, and never looked back. – Vinyl Me Please
Label: Stax – CR00060 |
Series: Vinyl Me, Please. Classics – 003 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Club Edition, Reissue, Remastered, 180g |
Country: US |
Released: Aug 2017 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Soul |
$30.00
Thomas Wilkinson Coppola (aka Tom Coppola) is a pianist and arranger, known for being a principal member of the funky prog-jazz group Air (not to be confused with the French duo). He began working as a musician in Manhattan in the 1960s, where he met Carolyn Brooks (aka Googie Coppola). If they only released one self-titled album with Air in 1970, and Shine the Light of Love as a duo in 1980, these two amazing talents have collaborated with artists such as Herbie Mann, Lenny White, Flora Purim, Ray Barreto or Jeremy Steig to name just a few.
Shine the Light of Love was also released in 1980 on Columbia, after the couple left Air to become born-again Christian. A real lack of promotion from the label caused the record to disappear, however it was, in many ways, years ahead of their contemporaries. Googie's vocals are an absolute delight – with a Minnie Riperton-esque sort of feeling – and the overall album's got some nice jazzy touches and a sublime, sophisticated approach to the overall sound, while never falling into commercial. – Favourite Recordings
Label: Favorite Recordings – FVR115LP |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue, Gatefold, vinyl 180g |
Country: France |
Released: 15 Jan 2016 |
Genre: Funk / Soul, Pop |
Style: Soul |
$45.00
Sparkle was a female vocal trio from Connecticut, assembled by the producer Harold Sargent, erstwhile drummer of the sterling funk band Wood, Brass & Steel, and creator of manifold drum breaks that would go on to be sampled for decades. Originally released in 1979, the album and the group are fittingly titled as the music is a scintillating, radiant collection of shimmering disco and dazzling funk, performed by Too Much Too Soon—the multiracial R&B band that featured Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, the writing/production team that would discover Rihanna and power her career to global dominance fifteen years later.
Also on hand is musical prodigy Rahni Harris, whose Sargent-assisted club classic “Six Million Steps” is also included on the album. The result is an album that by far exceeds the sum of its parts, delivering a truly transcendent disco experience. – Bandcamp
Label: Cultures Of Soul Records – COS 030 LP |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Gatefold |
Country: US |
Released: 31 Jan 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Disco |
$39.00
Disco ditty from Patrice Rushen remastered and reissued for a fresh bit of feel-good dosage in 2020!
1980 and ‘Posh’ represented a year of consolidation for Patrice Rushen. Her studio reputation as a go-to pianist and arranger among other artists and musicians was well established and was growing exponentially. Although never originally planning a career as a solo artist, she had built this side of her work through three Prestige albums and two sophisticated soul and disco albums for Elektra, ‘Patrice’ and ‘Pizzazz’. "I was lucky to have a group of musicians that I knew well by the time of these recording sessions," remembers Patrice. "I had my pick of really incredible players because of all of the studio work I was doing. I also played with Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason and others almost on a weekly basis at the The Baked Potato club in L.A." – On Bandcamp
Label: Elektra – 6E-302 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, AR |
Country: US |
Released: 1980 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Disco, Funk, Soul |
$39.00
There is something simultaneously both brand-new and retro about 'All News Is Good News’ - the debut album from Melbourne's instrumental soul group Surprise Chef. It sounds like something dreamt up by lo-fi cousins of David Axelrod and Janko Nilovic, with dramatic Library-music-esque cinematic arrangements echoing both light and dark, delving into moments of dissonance and positivity. There is a meticulous education of 1970’s soul on display that touches on the legacies of the great composer / producers, yet at the same time, this is a truly contemporary record that could have only been made now.
Formed at the end of 2017, Surprise Chef have grown within the fertile, creative, and supportive Melbourne music scene. Whilst the band is comprised of four core members, the album features friends and family as guest instrumentalists on flute, saxophone, vibraphone, congas, and assorted percussion; all adeptly recorded by engineer Henry Jenkins from the band Karate Boogaloo. The warm-raw-authenticity of the album was captured in the recordings live to tape over a handful of sessions in the band’s home studio in Melbourne’s inner-northern suburb of Coburg. As band member Lachlan Stuckey explains “All of the music we record is tracked live to tape, simply because so many of the records we love most were made that way". – Mr Bongo
Label: Mr Bongo – MRBLP202 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Reissue |
Country: UK |
Released: 10 Jul 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
Style: Funk |
$39.00
Language, the full-length debut from Starchild & The New Romantic, is the sound of Bryndon Cook occupying his space with unapologetic eloquence, envisioning a world where the crimson qualities of sensitivity and softness aren’t shamed, they are celebrated as magic.
“Black boys have a whole world of complexity that society makes us stomp out of ourselves.” Language communicates Cook’s refusal to do so. Describing himself early-on as a “young romantic boy from Maryland,” he’s long been a dreamer, a student of black music’s rich lineage and its intersection with pop. Cook is drawn to landmark moments where artists have found truth in darkness; the diverse language of music living in their core. These records in which phrases and motifs are deployed to document worth and define perspective, identity, calls to action. The pop album as artistic statement, as thesis. This record is his; lifting off from the monochrome world of Crucial, his 2016 EP on Ghostly International, up towards a dazzling blood-rush of sky-high defiance and autonomy. On Language, Cook refines his phonics for funk, electro, and R&B, and arrives at a revelation, best summarized by a single motto: “my sensitivity is my strength.” - Bandcamp
Label: Ghostly International – GI-310 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: UK, Europe & US |
Released: 12 Mar 2018 |
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop |
Style: Contemporary R&B, Funk, Synth-pop |
$38.00
Some new generation singers do manage to step into the spotlight of course. Rita Ora parlayed her big hit with DJ Fresh into megapop ubiquity; Katy B, of course, has managed to outshine her producers consistently, as has Jessie Ware. But acts where the singer gets equal billing with the production are an interesting balancing act, and are few and far between. The ongoing partnership between SBTRKT and Sampha comes close, as do Alunageorge (although the latter feel like their personality has been workshopped out of them rather), but new duo Anushka on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label feel like the closest we've come yet to the nineties glories of, say, Moloko.
Max Wheeler and Victoria Port's songs fizz with the textures of modern house music – with occasional diversion into tougher or stranger rave territories – but their songs bubble over with something extra at every turn. Whether it's Port's massed jazz harmonies on “Never can Decide”, the casually sassy nineties R&B feel of “I Have Love 4 U”, the churchiness of the slow jam “This Time” or the raging social awareness underpinned by snarling bass in “Mansions”, these are complete constructions where the song is integral to the groove and vice versa. If the current wave of dance is to consolidate its success, bands like this are what we need. This is a brilliant album. – The Art Desk
Label: Brownswood Recordings – bwood0124lp |
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: UK & Ireland |
Released: 02 Jul 2014 |
Genre: Funk / Soul, Pop |
$39.00
Grant Green always brought out the best in Big John Patton. Almost any record that featured the guitarist and organist was dominated by their scintillating interplay, and it always sounded like they were trying to top each other's blistering, funky solos. Patton and Green rarely sounded better than they did on Got a Good Thing Goin', a 1966 session that functioned as a showcase for the pair's dynamic interaction and exciting, invigorating solos. In particular, the duo's mastery is evident because there are no horns to stand in the way -- only drummer Hugh Walker and conga player Richard Landrum provide support, leaving plenty of room for Green and Patton to run wild. All five numbers -- two originals by Patton and Green, two pop covers ("Ain't That Peculiar," "Shake"), and Duke Pearson's "Amanda" -- are simple blues and soul-jazz songs that provide ample space for the guitarist and organist to stretch out. And they do stretch out -- as a pair, they have never sounded so fiery or intoxicating. – All Music
Label: Elemental Music – ERLP 1029, Blue Note – ST-84229 |
Series: Blue Note Collection – |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, 180 Gram |
Country: Europe |
Released: 2016 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Jazz-Funk |
$36.00
A Periplus around mediterranean savors from Pellegrino on his debut mini-album, a multi-flavored cocktail of fast-moving disco groovers, spacey jazz-fusion experiments and sun-bleached funky melters
Label: Early Sounds Recordings – EAS011 |
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Mini-Album, Repress, Green Sleeve |
Country: Italy |
Released: Mar 2020 |
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Afrobeat, Tribal, Disco, Funk, Fusion |
$39.00
Double white vinyl. Features the Cd. Remastered from original tapes. This LP+CD will be the only physical edition (no cd available for sale) . For the 1st time ever, the best Kongas tracks are collected through this best of vinyl+cd.
Kongas were the band Cerrone’s started to play music with, as a drummer. Famous french A&R Eddie Barclay saw them & signed the 2 first albums. Cerrone left Kongas to start his solo carrer, and produced & signed on his label Malligator the next Kongas’s albums. – Phonica Records
Label: Because Music – BEC5161938 |
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation, White CD, Compilation |
Country: France |
Released: 2014 |
Genre: Electronic, Latin |
Style: Disco |
$45.00
“Oneness of Juju’s classic African Rhythms is a bold, badass concoction of Afrobeat, soul, jazz, and funk, held together by an undeniable sense of cool. Originally released on the Black Fire label in 1975, the album was first reissued by Strut in 2002. Now, the label has reawakened African Rhythms with a new edition that comes with two additional cuts, “African Rhythms (45 Version Parts 1 and 2)” and “Afrobeat.” Led by James “Plunky” Branch, a brilliant musician and activist, the New York band forged a riotous set with a power that refuses to wane.
Take the title cut, for instance: Blaring horns recall the work of Fela Kuti, while the sound of rowdy bystanders clapping along—bellowing to the music—imbue the song with a spontaneous festivity that feels totally appropriate. From there, the album shifts subtly, to the upbeat jazz of “Mashariki” and its peppy sax work. There are shades of Sun Ra’s Afrofuturism on “Incognito,” and traditional West African percussion on the bongos-laden “Chants.” The meaner funk of “Don’t Give Up” could soundtrack a night drive through 1970s New York.” – Bandcamp
“From a trailblazing band featuring members well-versed in jazz, funk, gospel, and African music, the debut album by the Oneness of Juju displayed a group playing with the dexterity of Kool & the Gang, the forward-thinking musical ideas of Herbie Hancock, and the social consciousness of Gil Scott-Heron. The title track is fiercely kinetic, with vocal choruses prodding listeners to dance and Plunky's echo-drenched saxophone floating serenely over the top of a funky space-jazz backing.” – All Music
Label: Now-Again Records – NA 5179, Now-Again Records – NA 5179-LP-ST |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue |
Country: US |
Released: 2020 |
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Jazz-Funk |
$39.00
In the last 10 years, Calibro 35 have released 12 albums inspired by the 1970s ‘Poliziotteschi’ Italian crime film genre. This year the cinematic funk cult combo release their highly anticipated 7th album Momentum. Dr Dre and Jay-Z have both sampled Calibro 35 and the band have shared the stage with Robert Glasper, Muse, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, The Headhunters and many more.
“Italian cult combo CALIBRO 35 release their highly anticipated 7th studio album “MOMENTUM” on January 24th 2020. “Momentum” follows “DECADE” their previous studio album released in 2018 that has marked 10 years of Calibro 35 and it stands out as a new starting point for the project. In the last 10 years Calibro 35 have dug the golden age of soundtracks and they’ve been to the future with “S.P.A.C.E.”, “Momentum”, as the band stated: "represents a look at nowadays and a reflection about making music right in the time that we’re living” - Calibro 35 on Bandcamp
Label: Record Kicks – RKX074 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album |
Country: Italy |
Released: 24 Jan 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
$58.00
Gilles Peterson presents a time capsule of musical magic on this exclusive. Taken from a day of live sessions in London’s legendary Maida Vale Studios – studio MV4 to be exact, it was originally intended just for Peterson’s BBC radio show broadcast on 20th October 2018. Struck by what a special moment the sessions captured, Peterson has decided to mark the results with a release proper on his Brownswood imprint.
A limited special double vinyl release, it features a diverse, all-star cast of some of the acts celebrated by Peterson in recent years, in a series of freewheeling and off-the-cuff recordings, several of the tracks backed by the group of Brownswood signee, Joe Armon-Jones. Featuring Dylan Jones, James Mollison, Mutale Chashi, and Marijus Aleksa as well as guest turns from Fatima, Asheber, Nubya Garcia, Hak Baker, and Oscar Jerome, plus a double track special from Bristol based collective, Ishmael Ensemble. – Music Is My Sanctuary
Label: Brownswood Recordings – BWOOD0218LP |
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition, Stereo |
Country: UK |
Released: 17 Mar 2020 |
Genre: Hip Hop, Jazz, Reggae, Funk / Soul |
Style: Contemporary Jazz |
$39.00
Classic LP
Marcos Valle is one of the few artists you cannot miss if you have the slightest interest in Brazilian music. Whether your taste is focused on bossa jazz, samba, psych folk or soul, Valle has surely recorded a great album for you. By the late 60s he had already put out enough quality records to secure a place within the top Brazilian songwriters of all time, but his career luckily did not stop there and he continued releasing amazing music over the following decades until this day. He settled in Los Angeles in the mid-70s, tired of living under Brazil’s military dictatorship, and started to collaborate with such talented artists as Leon Ware or Chicago.
This self-titled LP from 1983 is the follow-up to the great “Vontade de rever você” (1981) and his second album after moving back to Brazil. It shows all the music influences received during his US years, especially boogie, soul and funk, featuring stellar collaborators: Lincoln Olivetti & Robson Jorge on keyboards and guitar and Leon Ware on backing vocals.
The opening track, the Brazilian boogie anthem ‘Estrelar’, is Marcos Valle’s biggest hit from the 80s and one of the most celebrated songs in his entire career, making clear that what he accomplished while in LA would now make its way into Brazil. ‘Estrelar’ is devoted to workout exercises under the sun and Valle pictures a beach lifestyle and summertime vibe across the entire album that pretty much describes his surfing days in Southern California. – HHV
Label: Vampi Soul – VAMPI215 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue |
Country: Spain |
Released: 2020 |
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Funk / Soul |
Style: Boogie, Funk |
$39.00
Ajate is a Japanese band who plays a unique blend of afro-groove dance music mixed with Japanese traditional festival music called "Ohayashi". Formed in 2011 by the band-leader John Imaeda, Ajate consists of 10 Japanese musicians.
Another unique feature of the band is the use of hand-made bamboo instruments as well as traditional Japanese percussion. The "Jahte" is a bamboo-made xylophone or balafon with a piezo pick-up mic attached to each key, connected to a pre-amplifier to obtain a loud sound and to add some touch of dirty distortion to its warm and natural acoustic sonority. The "Piechiku" is also a bamboo-made string instrument inspired by the west-African "Ngoni" or Moroccan "Guembri" instruments. The Piechiku uses strings of the Japanese traditional "Shamisen". This instrument is also played through a pre-amplifier and John sometimes adds some wah-wah effect to it. All these bamboo instruments are designed, made and named by John Imaeda himself.
On Alo you will also be amazed by the exceptional sound of the Japanese Shinofue flute, which was not on the previous Abrada LP.
Now, add to this unique sound some well-crafted Japanese female and male singing and you get a killer mix of Afro-Funk flavored grooves with traditional Japanese music! – Bandcamp
Label: 180g – 180GLP04 |
Format: Vinyl, LP |
Country: France |
Released: 27 Feb 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: Afrobeat, African |
$39.00
José James spent a decade reshaping jazz with the genre-blurring verve of a crate-digging beat guru, before becoming a solo R&B star. The last couple years he lived in Bill Withers' shoes - recording and touring his legendary songbook for the Lean On Me project. Now, the satin-voiced songwriter's latest is No Beginning No End 2, a sequel to his 2013 album that resurrects the bold eclecticism audiences first fell in love with. After the Bill Withers tour, James recalls: "I wrote a thing on Instagram saying I was thinking about No Beginning No End 2 and people went insane. They wrote thousands of comments about how the first one changed their life. I don't sit around and think 'my work is so important' so that was kinda nice."
Things are a little different this time around. For one, while the prequel was James' Blue Note debut, this is his first set of new music for his own label/collective Rainbow Blonde Records. Secondly, the album is full of collaborators who are auteurs in their own right: Laura Mvula, Aloe Blacc, Ledisi, Lizz Wright, Erik Truffaz, and Hindi Zahra, to name a few. Thirdly, with the backing of a wildly talented band held down by rhythm sections in Los Angeles and Brooklyn (befitting Rainbow Blonde's bicoastal status), the songs are warmer and more defined than ever. – Broadway World
Label: Rainbow Blonde – BLONDE022V |
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold |
Country: Europe |
Released: 06 Mar 2020 |
Genre: Funk / Soul |
$48.00
Recorded in May 1970, this smoldering set of funky soul-jazz by the great organist Lonnie Smith went unreleased until 1995. Captured live at Club Mozambique in Detroit just 5 months after Smith recorded his excellent Blue Note album Drives, this live date featured a similar line-up with tenor saxophonist Dave Hubbard, baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, and drummer Joe Dukes, with the notable difference being the presence of guitarist George Benson here.
On this 2LP set the band stretches out on 6 Smith originals including “I Can’t Stand It” & “Play It Back” along with covers of the Sly Stone song “I Want To Thank You” & Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven.” This Blue Note 80 Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. - Blue Note
Tracklist:
A1: I Can't Stand It
A2: Expression
B1: Scream
B2: Play It Back
C1: Love Bowl
C2: Peace Of Mind
D1: I Want To Thank You
D2: Seven Steps To Heaven
Label: Blue Note – 0822932, UMe – 0822932, Blue Note – 00602508229329, UMe – 00602508229329, Blue Note – 31180 |
Series: Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series – |
Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo, 180g |
Country: USA & Europe |
Released: 13 Dec 2019 |
Genre: Jazz |
Style: Fusion, Jazz-Funk |