Deep Funk -- Recently Added  

A platter of Madlib beats -- the first in a series of instrumental hip hop from 'Lib's Beat Konducta (formerly Beat Conductor) moniker! Madlib's production work has always had a filmic groove, and this set collects and assembles the most cinematic of said beats into an (unsurprisingly) incredible... read more

Madlib returns as Beat Konducta for the second volume of his Movie Scenes program -- a straight up aural film festival on wax -- and perhaps the most hotly anticipated sequel since Return Of The King! There's really no going wrong with Movie Scenes. Madlib's beats on both volumes are short, and... read more

Hazy beatcraft steeped in Indian soundtrack style funk, strings and percussion from the indefatigable Madlib -- Volume 3 in the increasingly adventurous and conceptual outings of the Beat Konducta! This time out Madlib, er, Beat Konducta is conducting beats, strings & things from India and/or... read 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... read more

A mad funky suite from the Beat Konducta -- Vol 5 in the evolving, unpredictable series of deep, crackling beatcraft -- this one a tribute to Dilla! Dil Cosby Suite is as solid as any of the volumes to date, compellingly funky and in more of Madlib's heady hip hop mode than some of the more... read more

Breaks, beats and funky drums from Bumps -- aka Dan Bitney, John Herndon and John McEntire of Tortoise -- a mightily thumping set that sounds very little like their much vaunted flagship operation -- serving up raw, funky beatcraft all the way through! Tortoise has always worked with bottom heavy... read more

The first album by this hip New York collective that lies somewhere at the crossroads between black rock, jamband, and avant modern orchestration -- featuring a lineup conducted by Greg Tate, no less! The album notes begin with the sentence "So this is our Bitches Brew" -- and we'd be... read more

This second part of Burnt Sugar's 2001 trilogy really picks up some energy from the first -- fiercely jamming guitars mixing with dark soundscapes and filtered rhythms, soaring out in a complicated mass of sound that's every bit as adventurous as it is soulful. Features rhymes by Mugabe, vocals by... read more

Burnt Sugar returns to the studio after a handful of live releases -- with a 2CD set of some of their most brilliant cosmic soul & jazz to date -- featuring an array of appearances by supporters and fellow celestial travelers such as Carl Hancock Rux, Beans, Vijay Iyer, Akiba Solomon, Kirk... read more

The first part in Burnt Sugar's 2001 trilogy -- a darkly jamming effort that's located somewhere at the "intersection of Stockhausen and Shorter"! The guitars are very strongly in the lead on this one -- sounding almost like a Glen Branca-driven jamband, as Vernon Reid, Rene Akhan,... read more

Cinematic funky soul instrumentals from the El Michels Affair -- the loose NYC collective's long awaited full length nod to the Wu Tang Clan! The crew brings their tried and true slow rolling and dirty funk to their interpretations of classic Wu Tang tracks, with some straight up beautiful... read more

Cinematic funky soul instrumentals from the El Michels Affair -- the loose NYC collective's long awaited full length nod to the Wu Tang Clan! The crew brings their tried and true slow rolling and dirty funk to their interpretations of classic Wu Tang tracks, with some straight up beautiful... read more

The debut full length from Heliocentrics -- the cosmic funk project from Malcolm Catto and a tasteful group of players -- touching on funky drummer hip hop beatcraft, hazy psychedelia, leftfield jazz and global accented grooves! The Heliocentrics have backed DJ Shadow on occasion, and Catto has... read more

Well, this turned out well! Session 2 from the Herbaliser Band -- which finds the Herbaliser style of beathead moodcraft turntable wizardry working live and direct with the Easy Access Orchestra! All in all, it's a grittier, funkier vibe than we were expecting for some reason, even the the... read more

A cool change for the great keyboardist Ino Hidefumi -- set that's still as spare and funky as previous releases, but in some very different ways! The keyboard groove here shifts a bit from the early 70s vibe of his start, into more of a spacey 80s sort of way -- not tinny or dance oriented, but... read more

The amazing full length debut of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble -- a cool combo from the Chicago scene who've been making some big waves around the world over the past few years! The brass-heavy group have a family legacy that links them to the Artistic Heritage Ensemble of Phil Cohran -- and an approach... read more

Fresh cuts from DJ J Rocc of the World Famous Beat Junkies -- his first (we think) effort for Stones Throw! "Play This (One)" is the kind of record that made DJs like Shadow and Cut Chemist saints of the sampler -- capital F Funky drums all over the track, plus a nice vocal sample from... read more

Plenty of drum magic here -- a highly rhythmic outing that's built from the talents of a battery of great percussionists, working without any other instrumentation at all! There's a romping, funky sensibility to the music on most numbers -- drums and percussion handling not just the grooves, but... read more

Wickedly tight funk from Magnificent Freedom -- and a sweet little co-production between Eddie Roberts and Keb Darge! The tune rolls along at a super-fast clip -- rattletrap drums snapping out the rhythm and hitting a nice break in the middle -- while soaring guitar (Roberts?) grooves along mighty... read more

An amazing deep funk combo from Japan -- one that almost rivals Osaka Monaurail for classic-styled grooves! These guys have a sharpness that reminds us of the late 60s James Brown Band at their best, touched with a bit of JBs instrumental riffing -- all produced with just the right gritty edge to... read more

One of our favorite funk combos take on a host of gems from the past -- all classic soul and funk numbers that really expand the sound of Osaka Monaurail! The group first got their start doing a great riff on the sound of James Brown -- but here, they move into Memphis soul, Chicago funk, and more... read more

One of our favorite funk combos take on a host of gems from the past -- all classic soul and funk numbers that really expand the sound of Osaka Monaurail! The group first got their start doing a great riff on the sound of James Brown -- but here, they move into Memphis soul, Chicago funk, and more... read more

Heavy funk from the Spanish scene -- really great little combo with hard-cooking organ from Carlo Coupe, and some wickedly soulful vocals from Mayka Edjole -- a singer who almost stands next to the best current deep funk divas from the US! There's a lean, stripped-down quality to the record we... read more

Heavy funk from the Sweet Vandals -- a bumping little number with lots of bass in the lead! "Thank You" has a romping groove that's totally great -- mostly the bass and female vocals for nearly the first third of the cut -- then a bit more Hammond and horns creeping into the mix! "L... read more

There's kind of a dodgy cover on this one that might make you think the set's the lowest ebb of James' 90s career, but the record's actually a pretty decent live set -- recorded in 1999, with tracks that mostly hearken back to the jazzed up glory of the early days. James wails on Hammond on a few... read more

A huge early moment for Hammond hero James Taylor -- and a key moment in both the deep funk and acid jazz worlds as well! Taylor's take on the theme to "Starsky & Hutch" brought back 70s funk at a time when nobody was expecting it -- and in a pretty darn great way too! Lots of sweet... read more

Heavy, classic styled funk & soul from Laura Vane & The Vipertones -- really killing it in a similar vein as some of our favorite female fronted, blue-eyed female fronted UK funk -- but it an even harder grooving, grittier and anthemic mode! It's pretty heavy on the bottom end, thanks to... read more

Heavy, classic styled funk & soul from Laura Vane & The Vipertones -- really killing it in a similar vein as some of our favorite female fronted, blue-eyed female fronted UK funk -- but it an even harder grooving, grittier and anthemic mode! It's pretty heavy on the bottom end, thanks to... read more

The killer funk anthem "Roof Off" from Laura Vane & The Vipertones -- the raw and heavy original, an extended version, and a remix by Diesler -- plus Part Time Heroes remix of "Mean Lover". The originals are neo classic funky stormers of the first order, while Diesler... read more

Funky soul from Laura Vane -- working here with some heavy backings from The Vipertones! "Steam" leaps out of the gate with some hard drums and a brace of tight horns -- letting the tune find its groove for a half minute before Laura comes in and blows things away with her vocals. "... read more

The deepest jazz funk material Madlib has ever laid down -- possibly the best album yet from Yesterday's New Quintet -- featuring turns at freewheeling avant funk, electro jazz groove, furious sound library styles, a few chill moments, and a boundless sound overall! Yesterday's Universe features... read more

A wonderful tribute to the genius of the late Weldon Irvine -- one of the greatest keyboard players in jazz funk history, and a masterfully cosmic talent who's touched our life for years! Weldon tragically took his own life in 2002, stunning any of us who'd met him, and who'd been touched by his... read more

A bit more than a Rough Guide, if you ask us -- actually a great little set that capable shows the range of Afrobeat and funk in a new generation -- featuring tracks by Souljazz Orchestra, Tony Allen, Kaleta & Zozo Afrobeat, Afrodizz and more! Compiled by Pablo "DJ Bongohead"... read more