Sick of all the modern R&B that never seems to go anywhere? Check this great collection of some of the best indie NuSoul from America – put together by the folks at London's Soul Brother record shop – and prepare to be impressed! The Soul Brother crew selected tunes by 5 of today's best underground soul acts – all fiercely independent artists who are working from the fringes to transform the sound of soul music, bringing in a much needed infusion of quality, and a firm commitment to holding up the standards the genre maintained back in the glory days of the 70s. We sell work by all these artists on individual CDs, but the package itself is a great way to sample their work before dipping in – and the vinyl version marks the first time most of this stuff's ever been on wax! Titles include "Keep Your Head Up", "Just A Little", "Groovin"', and "You Are My Friend" by Laurnea; "Good Lovin" and "I've Got It" by Ledisi; "Soul From The Abyss", "What's Wrong With You", and "See Ya In My Dreams" by N'Dambi; "Do Ya Wanna Do", "The Pocket", and "Spirit" by Karen Bernod; and "Treat You Right", "Rise", and "Thank You" by Ian. CD

Really wonderful work from Jazzhole – a record that goes far beyond some of the simpler modes bubbling around the Neo Soul underground these days! Lead vocalist Marlon Saunders will be familiar to Dusty Groove customers for his other great solo work – but here his sound is somewhat different – a bit more introspective and sophisticated, with a warm rasp in his voice that sounds beautiful alongside the flowing keyboards and jazzy phrasing of the backings. The style is one that's really all its own – certainly inspired a bit by the classics, but hardly a simple copy of them – and Jazzhole prove once again that they're a great little combo who don't need to hit you over the head to hook you into their soul! Titles include "Poet's Walk", "All The Ways", "Jonesing", "One More Time", "Do It Right", "Timeless", and "It Would Have Been Enough" – plus a surprisingly great cover of Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown". CD

The group's second real album, and one that never manages to totally capture the groove of the first – but which still has some pretty great writing and playing that set it apart from most of the soul of its generation! The cut "Dream On Dreamer" is one of those early 90s groovers that we still delight in hearing on the radio, or in a surprise mix at a club – and the record's got lots of other nice moments, too, like "Snake Hips", "Fake", and "Keep Together". CD

A killer collection of work from a group who are very near and dear to our hearts – a soulful combo who emerged from the UK scene at the end of the 80s, and really helped bring back a classic sort of warmth to soul music! Brand New Heavies were a funk combo at the core, but they were also graced with two great female singers – initially Jay Ella Ruth, then the mighty N'Dea Davenport, the singer who really helped the group soar over here on the US scene! These days, well-crafted, non-programmed soul music is a common thing – but were it not for BNH, and their contemporaries Incognito, the style might have fallen out of favor altogether – especially during that early 90s era when R&B was still pretty heavy on keyboards, samples, and beats! This double-length set is filled with classics from the group – titles that include "Spend Some Time", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", "Saturday Nite", "People Get Ready", "You Are The Universe", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Mind Trips", "You Can Do It", "Brother Sister", and their great take on "Apparently Nothin" – and their hip hop cut "Bonafied Funk" with Main Source and Large Professor. LP, Vinyl record album

London's Total Refreshment Centre has been one of the world's hippest musical venues in recent years – a fantastic showcase for all the sorts of groundbreaking, genre-busting work that's been happening in the city – as well as host to some equally free-thinking artists from around the globe! There's not set styles here – music moves easily between jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, and some more cosmic styles at times – similar to the energy of the International Anthem label's more inventive projects – one of whom appear on the set. Many of these artists have not gotten the full exposure they're due, either releasing material on small labels or just online – and it's wonderful to have all this material pulled together in such a great statement on the forefront of jazz in the 2020s! Titles include "Closed Circle" by Byron Wallen, "Visions" by Soccer 96 with Kieron Boothe, "Crescent (city swamp dub)" by Jake Long, "Eloquence" by Matters Unknown with Miryam Solomon, "Isa"by Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange with Noah Slee, "Black" by Neu Grafik with Brother Portrait, and a nice reworking of the Stanley Cowell classic "Plight" by Resavoir. (Jazz, Neo Soul) CD

A killer collection of work from a group who are very near and dear to our hearts – a soulful combo who emerged from the UK scene at the end of the 80s, and really helped bring back a classic sort of warmth to soul music! Brand New Heavies were a funk combo at the core, but they were also graced with two great female singers – initially Jay Ella Ruth, then the mighty N'Dea Davenport, the singer who really helped the group soar over here on the US scene! These days, well-crafted, non-programmed soul music is a common thing – but were it not for BNH, and their contemporaries Incognito, the style might have fallen out of favor altogether – especially during that early 90s era when R&B was still pretty heavy on keyboards, samples, and beats! This double-length set is filled with classics from the group – titles that include "Spend Some Time", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", "Saturday Nite", "People Get Ready", "You Are The Universe", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Mind Trips", "You Can Do It", "Brother Sister", and their great take on "Apparently Nothin" – and their hip hop cut "Bonafied Funk" with Main Source and Large Professor. 2CD set comes with a full bonus disc of remixes including "Stay This Way (Bob Sinclar rmx)", "Dream Come True (Heavies mix)", "Back To Love (GP club mix)", "Close To You (Masters At Work rmx)", "Saturday Nite (full intention club)", "You Are The Universe (Tuff Jam's 2 in 1 rmx)", and "Sometimes (Monsieur D's underground behavior mix)". CD

London's Total Refreshment Centre has been one of the world's hippest musical venues in recent years – a fantastic showcase for all the sorts of groundbreaking, genre-busting work that's been happening in the city – as well as host to some equally free-thinking artists from around the globe! There's not set styles here – music moves easily between jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, and some more cosmic styles at times – similar to the energy of the International Anthem label's more inventive projects – one of whom appear on the set. Many of these artists have not gotten the full exposure they're due, either releasing material on small labels or just online – and it's wonderful to have all this material pulled together in such a great statement on the forefront of jazz in the 2020s! Titles include "Closed Circle" by Byron Wallen, "Visions" by Soccer 96 with Kieron Boothe, "Crescent (city swamp dub)" by Jake Long, "Eloquence" by Matters Unknown with Miryam Solomon, "Isa"by Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange with Noah Slee, "Black" by Neu Grafik with Brother Portrait, and a nice reworking of the Stanley Cowell classic "Plight" by Resavoir. (Jazz, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A great soul set from the Italian scene – mellow-stepping and easygoing, with a gentle groove that really makes the whole thing sparkle! The singer Sabreetha Vee has a great style – slightly accented, which gives her approach a quality that's a bit like that of Sade on some cuts – maybe more like Corinne Drewery at others – and the grooves are served up by the Lombaro Brothers, who have a way of taking American roots filtered through a UK soul approach from later generations – which creates this classic sound that nicely spans decades! Titles include "So Strong", "Summer Memories", "Shooting Star", "Like Glue", "My Time", "Everything Is Alright", and "Nobody Like You". CD

The Faithful Brothers are an Israeli duo, but one who come to their debut after years of collecting Northern Soul 45s – decades of listening, learning, and absorbing – all of which really shows through in this well-done debut! The pair work with a very full lineup of musicians – horns, Hammond, and even a bit of vibes – used like you might hear on some late 60s Detroit indie soul single, with soaring sounds over the romping grooves – all of which really do a great job of elevating the vocals! Yet since the Faithful Brothers themselves just handle instruments, they're also not slavish to the singer – and the album's equally strong on the instrumental tip as it is on the vocal one. Titles include "So Low", "Downtown Uptown", "Night Man", "The Town I Live In", "Joy", "They Don't Know", "Let's Break The Curfew", and "Tell Me One More Time". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly deep batch of pop soul from Joss Stone – one that manages to live up to the title! Joss goes way out with her strong, deeply 70s influenced vocal histrionics on a batch of tunes that stretch all over the songwriting landscape. She tackles tunes by as far-reaching a group of writers as Harlan Howard on the opening "The Chokin' Kind" to the Isley Brothers' "For The Love Of You" and many points in between, with the same extroverted approach. She kind of comes off as a female equivalent of Remy Shand – and she's enlisted an all star cast of support players and producers including ?uestlove, Angie Stone, Little Beaver and others. Other tracks include "Super Duper Love", "Dirty Man", "I've Fallen In Love With You", "Victim Of A Foolish Heart", "I Had A Dream", "Some Kind Of Wonderful" and others. CD

A hell of a classic from UK singer Lewis Taylor – one of the best blue-eyed soul albums recorded in the 90s, and a record that's still years ahead of its time! In a stretch when so many others were putting out fake soul – or breathing heavily on downtempo records – Taylor found a way to really deliver something new and unique, yet also come across with the classic mellow flow of 70s work by artists like Marvin Gaye or The Isley Brothers! Taylor's vocal delivery here owes plenty to both, but the production is very crisp and individual – handled by Lewis himself, and in a spare mix of modes that's quite different than some of the more stock "beats and keys" modes that would take over underground soul in the next decade! Instead, there's this great range of subtle tones and textures that work beautifully alongside Taylor's sublime vocals – all to suit some beautifully-written tunes too. Titles include "Lucky", "Track", "Betterlove", "Right", "Spirit", "Bittersweet", and "Whoever". 2CD set is wonderful – and includes 12 more bonus cuts from singles and other projects – including "Asleep When You Come", "You Got Me Thinking", "Waves", "Trip So Heavy", "A Little Bit Tasty", "Lewis III", "Pie In The Electric Sky/If I Lay Down On You", "I Dream The Better Dream", "Bittersweet (ext)", and "Lucky" in three different mixes by Kruder & Dorfmeister! CD

An excellent bit of modern soul – a smooth seductive album that fits perfectly with an older mellow groove, but which also sparkles with the best recent efforts of the past decade. Maxwell's got a wonderful vocal style – reminding us a bit of classic Isley Brothers, Leon Ware, or O'Jays in a ballad mode – and it sits perfectly amidst warm jazzy arrangements by Musze, filled with all the subtle instrumental touches (keyboards, sax, and guitar) you'd find on a late album by Marvin Gaye, or some of the slow jams by the Isleys. The vibe is warm and acoustic, and the record's a wonderful return to a classic mellow midtempo soul style – and did quite well upon its initial release. Also interesting was the fact that the record was pressed up heavily on vinyl – something that was rare for a mainstream soul album at the time, and which was particularly ubiquitous in our hometown of Chicago, where DJs on the steppers scene were snatching up the record like hotcakes! Includes the titles "Ascension", "Whenever Wherever Whatever", "Lonely's The Only Company (parts 1 & 2)", "Reunion", and "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)" – but the whole thing's great! CD

A key addition to any collection of The Brand New Heavies! The set features remixes of some of the group's best tracks, plus a few older and rarer cuts, and some other favorites. Titles include "Mind Trips (BNH rmx)", "Bang", "Brother Sister (Angel rmx)", "Keep Together (Jan Kincaid version)", "O Fa Fu", "Keep It Coming", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Worlds Keep Spinning", "Close To You", "Country Funkin", "Dream On Dreamer (Angel rmx)", and "Forever (Soulpower rmx)". CD