About

Happy enough listening to recommendations on YouTube and carry everything in our pocket – maybe never even owning a stereo – it’s a hard sell to have compilation albums out in this world. But I remain a fan of the curator’s choice. Sure, like almost anyone, I think I’m a dab-hand at the old selection but I always want to hear from someone else too.

And so I’m loving Sampled Groove – mostly for the mere fact that it exists. But of course also for the selections and sequencing. It’s been a minute since I’ve thought of George & Gwen McCrae’s Mechanical Body, I always want Joe Simon or Lafayette Afro Rock Band on a playlist or compilation and anything that features not one (Tappan Zee) but two Bob James (Nautilus) classics has already reclined my rocker, got me my slippers, a copy of the New Yorker and put my favourite beverage on ice.

So, quite apart from the fact that this double album is chock-filled with soul and funk bangers, these are all tunes that have been appropriated and live on in the sample-heavy world of hip-hop. So you maybe first encountered Blowfly’s Outro when Jurassic 5 made it really pop; you might know Patrice Rushen’s Forget Me Nots in and of itself but that’s not going to stop you from hearing Will Smith’s Men In Black to hum along with also.

The Fatback Band, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, Loleatta Holloway, Ohio Players and Betty Wright. Yes, I could just name everyone that’s listed – but this hopefully gives you a further snapshot of the diversity on offer, some new names mingling with the old classics. And just a solid 90-minute funk fest. – Off The Tracks