Deep Funk — CDs  

It's been a few years since we last heard from Big Boss Man – but it's been well worth the wait, as these guys know how to cook up a mod groove better than just about anyone else! Winner's got a sound that takes us back to the swinginest days of London in the 60s – Hammond wailing over some snapping mod rhythms – sometimes instrumental, sometimes topped off by slightly psychedelic vocals that expand the sound even more. In the past few years, these guys have really grown a heck of a lot – and have managed to pick up some Latin influences that sit nicely alongside their straighter inspirations from jazz, soul, R&B, and 60s mod rock – making for an album of many surprises, and an expansive sound that's way more than just a quick retro-styled groove! Titles include "Kelvin Stardust", "Fall In Fall Out", "Complicated Lady", "Reach Out", "Oh My Gawd", "Boogaloo", "Fever Special", "Everybody Boogaloo", "The Hawk", and "Got It So Bad".

Funky grooves from Basque country – an unlikely location, but one that turns up some surprisingly great work from this sharp-edged little combo! The Cherry Boppers have a name that might be a little hokey, but they hooked us in right from the start with their tight version of classic funk – one that swings nicely between the grit of the funky 45 generation, and some of the sharper modes of the mid 60s mod years – a blend the group uses to keep things fresh throughout the record, in a blend of heavy sax, flute, Hammond, and guitar! Things are almost all instrumental here – and titles include "Play It Again Funk", "Black Lolita", "Groovy Groovy", "Midnight Walkers", "Blues De Los Colores", "El Cairo", and "Four Little Catties".

A killer funk group – with one hell of a soulful singer! Roxie Ray's a newcomer to our ears, but she belts it out here like a classic funk diva from way back – working perfectly with the tight acoustic grooves of Dojo Cuts, who themselves have an equally classic groove! Ray goes way past obvious cliches in her singing – and manages to swing the tunes with a range we really love – a depth that might have most folks guessing she's a much older singer with experience from back in the day. Instrumentation includes guitar, tenor, trumpet, bass, and drums – and titles include "The 123s", "I Know You Didn't Mean It", "Love Me Right", "Say What You Mean", "You Make Lovin Real Easy", "Uptight", "The Bing", and "Something Going On".

A slinky set of organ jazz & soul by The Filthy Six for Acid Jazz – modern combo with a profound love for and mastery of mid-to-late 60s funky organ combos – as sly as can be The Fox! This is a group that knows what they want and what they can do – delivering vintage style, though modern relevance. The originals are great for showing the group's skill at a number of classic Hammond organ styles, be it jazzy or funky – and there's a couple of cool covers, including adaptations of Off The Wall and J5 era Michael Jackson – Girlfriend" featuring guest vocalist Brendan Reilly plus "Never Can Say Goodbye". Other tracks Include "Midnight Boogaloo", "Down Frenchmen Street", "Prattle In Seattle", "The Rum Diary", "Getting Better", "The Fox", "Jukebox" and "Get Down". 12 tracks on the CD version.

One of the coolest projects we've heard from Bongolian in years – a great collaboration with vocalist Fay Hallam, who really helps his grooves find a great sense of focus! Unlike other efforts of this nature – the usual "soul diva with funk group" outing – Fay and Bongolian have gone for a sweet approach that's somewhere in the best mod modes of the 60s, but which also have some nice early 80s touches too – almost the kind of mod revival energy you'd find filtered through the London scene in the years after punk – but put together with the kind of deeper contemporary sound we'd expect from Bongolian – a real respect for the right recording styles for Hammond organ, bongo beats, and other key instrumental touches. Fay is great, too – with a vocal approach that almost has a Swing Out Sister kind of ear for really classic inflections, but without ever sounding like a copycat style at all – a rare balance that really makes the music sparkle! Titles include "Shallow Moon", "Lost In Sound", "Freefall", "Dancing", "Lights Are Coming Down", "Get Off The Bus", "I Can't Cry", and "Gathering".

One of the hippest albums from the funky empire that includes Poets Of Rhythm and The Whitefield Brothers – a set of Afro-exotic grooves that really blows our minds – and which opens the group up into whole new territory! There's echoes of Mulatu, Salah Ragab, and other older exotic funk artists in the mix – but as usual for the Poets, the whole thing's put together with a sharp edge of its own – a keen ear for catching the best elements of the original music, and distilling them down to a super-powerful essence – then re-presenting and oddly-producing them with some very unique sounds! Karl Hector joins the group on vocals and percussion – and other instrumentation includes ballaphon, metallophon, horns, and keyboards – all used in really enigmatic ways, and with other-worldly sounds that are simply amazing! Titles include "Followed Path", "When The Sun Breaks Through", "Sahara Swing", "Jabore (part 3)", "Debere", "Transition", "Mystical Brotherhood", "Toure Samar", and "Passau Run".

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too.