Deep Funk — All Formats  

A second helping of Latin Beat from Cesar's Salad – and a feverish, funky and tight set on Perfect Toy that's easily as strong its predecessor! Led by percussionist Cesar Granados – who really knocks us out on the congas – the group is a quartet with a raw approach and a live feel. Rooted in 60s and 70s Afro-Cuban jazz, soul and funk, they do it with a modern, hard-grooving immediacy. Hajo Von Hadeln is on drums, Jo Junghanss on the piano, and Jerker Kluge on bass – and we really love the big sound from this small combo! Titles include "Jenjere", "El Dynamico", "Watermelon Man", "Song For My Father", "Pushing Spaces", "Bahamas", "Recordame", "On Broadway" and more.

The long awaited sides C & D in Madlib's incredible blend of Bombay soundtrack-styled funk, blunted Eastern beats, and all round stunning Middle Eastern accented hip hop instros! This time out Madlib, er, Beat Konducta is conducting beats, strings & things from India and/or otherwise East – but the way in which the beats bluntly thump is quintessential Madlib – you know it and love it from the first beat! 'Lib really breathes fresh life into this approach – going miles deeper than anyone out there doing the Bollywood-hip hop hybrid – coming up with a sound all his own. Amazing! "Get It Right", "More Rice", "Indian Bells", "Club Scene", "Duel", "Organ Stroll", "In The Cave", "Malfunction", "Victory", "Smoke Circle", "Raw Ground Wire", "New Bombay", "Shah Sound", "Another Getaway", and more.

A solid duo instrumentals project from Georgia Anne Muldow and DJ Romes – working together as Blackhouse – and delivering one of the best records yet on the prolific Mello Music Group label! Georgia's a restless creative spirit, and true to form, the beats and production she delivers for Blackhouse are quite inspired. In some ways, it's a bit of a departure from her unique twist on dusty funk and soul beats that we've come to expect – and the crisp cuts of Lootpack DJ/producer Romes have a lot to do with that! Overall, the record is a trippy mix of leftfield hip hop and fonkie/spacey soul beatcraft – and a largely instrumental one – albeit with some hypnotically looped bits of vocals from Georgia and others. Titles include "Fonkie Journey", "Blackhouse", "Soundoff", "Somali", "Rap Hit", "G.R.O.O.V.E. Me", "Lectrivunkin", "Shana's Beat" and more.

The funky titans are at it again! "Deuces Up, Double Down" is a killer new track from the group – an original tune written by drummer Miles Tackett, with a heavy scattershot beat at the bottom, and lots of loud, fast, honking horns over the top. The guitar player's licking away at the cut too, and the whole thing's a delightful romping funky groove – offered up here in an extended mix! The 12" also includes a great cover of "Humpty Dump", the scratchy guitar groover originally cut by The Vibrettes – plus "Humpty Dump" bonus beats.

An amazing full length collection of work from Rickey Calloway – an artist we've really only known from individual singles, but one who packs a hell of a punch in the space of this rock-solid CD! Rickey's groove is right out of the James Brown camp of the glory days – tight tight tight instrumentation, filled with lots of riffing grooves that are right on the beat – topped with Rickey's amazing vocals, which feel like they're lifted from some obscure funky 45s from back in the day! Production is nice and raw on most numbers and there's a few mellower deep soul tracks which help round out the sound wonderfully – giving the set the full scope you might normally expect to hear from Lee Fields. The packaging on this one's a bit slim, but the music's totally great – and the set features 16 killer cuts that include "Tell Me", "Lose It", "Shed A Tear", "Groove Master", "Get The Groove", "That's The Way", "Paying My Dues", "Get It Right", "A Letter", "I'm In Love", and "The Feeling".

One of the greatest grooves from the legendary Desco Records years – a brilliant album of modern Afro Funk done by The Daktaris – in a groove that's just as hard-hitting as any of Fela's work from the 70s! The album was one of the first to bring back an older African style to current funk – and even years later, it's still one of the best examples of the sound – a razor-sharp session that helped set the stage for better-known Antibalas work to come! Percussion and guitar is super-heavy throughout – produced with that bare-bones Desco style, and handled in a way that makes you think the record might be some treasure from mid 70s Nigeria – a trick the label tried to pull when it was released! Cuts include a cover of Fela's "Upside Down", James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose", and the originals "Super Afro-Beat", "Daktari Walk", "Voodoo Soul Stew", and "Quiet Man Is A Dead Man".

One of the greatest grooves from the legendary Desco Records years – a brilliant album of modern Afro Funk done by The Daktaris – in a groove that's just as hard-hitting as any of Fela's work from the 70s! The album was one of the first to bring back an older African style to current funk – and even years later, it's still one of the best examples of the sound – a razor-sharp session that helped set the stage for better-known Antibalas work to come! Percussion and guitar is super-heavy throughout – produced with that bare-bones Desco style, and handled in a way that makes you think the record might be some treasure from mid 70s Nigeria – a trick the label tried to pull when it was released! Cuts include a cover of Fela's "Upside Down", James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose", and the originals "Super Afro-Beat", "Daktari Walk", "Voodoo Soul Stew", and "Quiet Man Is A Dead Man".

Reputedly, this is an African funk band recorded recently by the folks at Desco Records – but as with a lot of their projects, we're not entirely sure whether or not to believe them, since they're always a bit too mysterious about the origins of their material, and this may just be some new grooves, cut by a funk band of non-African origin. Whatever the case, though, the record kicks butt, and is a very tight batch of funky instrumentals that have a classic sound that hints at Fela, Manu Dibango, and other Afro Funk artists of the 70's. There's lots of choppy guitar grooves, heavy percussion, and raw blaring sax solos. Very nice stuff, and every bit as great as the other stuff on Desco! Cuts include a cover of Fela's "Upside Down", James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose", and the originals "Super Afro-Beat", "Daktari Walk", "Voodoo Soul Stew", and "Quiet Man Is A Dead Man".

The Alone Together project from producer, beatmaker and instrumentalist Karriem Riggins – who's a brilliant jazz drummer, when that's what he wants to do – and he's also a beat-heavy hip hop production guru when duty calls! Alone Together finds Karriem wearing his hip hop instrumentalist hat, and he wears it very well – in a way that reminds us a bit of fellow Detroit-raised maestro J Dilla. Karriem's pedigree as a live drummer informs his MPC 3000 experimentation very nicely, too – as he holds an insistent jazzy soul beat underneath boundless sampler atmosphere. Alone Together has 34 tracks in all: "Round The Outside", "Moogy Foog It", "Orbitz", "Forward Motion", "Esperanza", "Africa", "Double Trouble", "Ding Dong Bells", "Belle Isle Reprise", "Tom Toms", "Because", "Boy Is Doin It Right", "Back In Brazil", "Live At Berts", "Voyager 5000", "Matador", "Bring That Beat Back (Next Time)", "J Dilla The Greatest" and more.

Modern psych funk torchbears The Stepkids deliver once again for Stones Throw – a 12-inch tease for their 2013 record Troubadour! "Sweet Salvation" is one of the trippier tunes we've heard from the group – one that's anchored by a funky bass and stable beat – with some light, atmospheric bits of keys and percussion and some strange, but soul-steeped group vocals. It almost feels like that there's a Tom Tom Club influence to the more atmospheric bits of sound, which is never something we'd complain about! There's also a remix by Yacht and instrumental version – plus the crazier, but equally cosmic "Bitter Bug".

Massive sounds from the Dopebrother Studio – home to some of the funkiest Kenny Dope productions of the past few years! The grooves here are mostly older nuggets from the 70s – rare funk, soul, and club numbers – mixed by Kenny and the Undercover Brother in ways that really bring up the funkiest energy of the tunes – lots of hard drums, great breaks, and crisp instrumentation that actually sounds way more dope than if you were spinning a copy of an original funky 45! Most tracks on here have only ever been issued as singles, so the full length collection makes for a great way to dig into all these massive grooves in one place – at a price that's pretty damn hard to beat. Plus, there's even a few unreleased tracks on here too – sure to please even the folks who already own a few of the singles! Titles include "How You Gonna Do It (Undercover Brother edit)" by Lenis Guess & The Raw Soul, "Foxfire (Dopebrother rmx)" by Kenny Smith & The Fox Fire Band, "Party & Get On Down (Undercover Brother edit)" by BAB, "Creative Happiness" by Steve Marshall, "I Can't Dance (Undercover Brother edit)" by Jimmy James Thomas, "We Got To Get Together" by The Masterminds with Lady Bianca, "Your Chicken Ain't Funky Like Mine" by Dirty Red Morgan Group, "Skunkie (Undercover Brother edit)" by Kenny Smith & The Maximum Feeling, "Waiting At The Station" by Jimmy James Thomas, "Do What You Like (Undercover Brother edit)" by 400 Years Of What, and "It's Over Now (Undercover Brother quiet storm mix)" by Manzel.

Soaring, soulful sounds from Kylie Auldist – maybe the best so far from this up-and-coming singer! The vocalist gets superb help from Lance Ferguson, of The Bamboos – and together, they both explore a mode that's more swinging 60s mod than some of Lance's usual funk – an upbeat, joyous groove that's some of the best female blue-eyed soul we've heard in years! Instrumentation is filled with great grooves and lots of bouncy brass – and titles include "Still Life", "Counting On You", "Changes", "Daydream", "Nothin Else To Beat Me", and "All In You".

A solid duo instrumentals project from Georgia Anne Muldow and DJ Romes – working together as Blackhouse – and delivering one of the best records yet on the prolific Mello Music Group label! Georgia's a restless creative spirit, and true to form, the beats and production she delivers for Blackhouse are quite inspired. In some ways, it's a bit of a departure from her unique twist on dusty funk and soul beats that we've come to expect – and the crisp cuts of Lootpack DJ/producer Romes have a lot to do with that! Overall, the record is a trippy mix of leftfield hip hop and fonkie/spacey soul beatcraft – and a largely instrumental one – albeit with some hypnotically looped bits of vocals from Georgia and others. Titles include "Fonkie Journey", "Blackhouse", "Soundoff", "Somali", "Rap Hit", "G.R.O.O.V.E. Me", "Lectrivunkin", "Shana's Beat" and more.

Heavy funk from our friends at Colemine – great stuff from Cali combo Monophonics plus a different, but just as great psych funk styled cut by Destruments! "Like Yesterday" is solid as can be, a hard-hitting number with walloping drums, punchy horns, and powerhouse vocals – a track that starts out like it's going to slow cookin' jam highlighted by bluesy soul guitar, but it heats up quickly! "Freedom" by Destruments is an atmospheric gem that's not too easy to describe – which is a good thing! The beat and rhythm are stable, with densely atmospheric horns and spacey flourishes. A cool split single that demonstrates the far-reaching creative capabilities of the contemporary funk scene!

Hammond beat grooves from The Qualitons – representing funky Budapest! The Qualitons are a unique group in the funky organ underground, regardless of region – drawing from a well of influences that range from rave up funk to wild-eyed vintage R&B & garage rock. It's really exciting stuff, and feels no more or less authentic than the influences – generally with a hard driving undercurrent of heavy drums and thick washes of organ. The strains of beat group and garage rock give it them an incendiary edge that we just love, but they slow it down in spots that show quite a range, and these guys can seriously play! The group is armed with a couple vocal tunes and a bunch of great instrumentals. Titles include "C'mon Baby", "Get Heavy With Me", "Overdose", "Ejjel A Sotetben", "Wandering Will", "AC Blues", "Soul Bowl/Kekfeny", "Aua", "More Plutonium" and more.