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Soulful funk with Colombian touches – a real triple-header of talents that features Alice Russell on vocals, and Quantic leading his cool Combo Barbaro! "Magdalena" has a sound that's really wonderful – vocals from Russell that really surprise us – with a mix of soaring soul and warmth that's almost Stevie Wonder, somehow sounding perfect here with the cut's slight Latin jazz touches! "Look Around The Corner" is another great cut from the project – but given two more contemporary spins here in a gospel mix by Simbad and another by Behling & Simpson.

A beautiful collection of heavy grooves from Panama and Colombia – all put together by an artist we definitely trust when it comes to all things funky! Quantic's been spending plenty of time down near the equator in recent years – turning his initial funky ear to more Latin-styled rhythms – but always with the same hard and heavy feel of his best American-styled grooves! There's a massive blend of northern funk and equatorial rhythms here – really unique little tunes that are bound to please the ear of anyone who digs a collection of funky 45s – yet with styles that are more than complicated enough to also set fire to a lover of global grooves too! The package may well be the best so far in Nascente's Experience collection – and titles include "Getting It Together" by Mauricio Smith, "El Lobo" by Wganda Kenya, "Soul Cucaracha" by The Soul Fantastics, "Full Salsa (excerpt)" by Fruko, "Bayesa" by Wganda Kenya, "Hiko Iko" by Little Grancisco Greaves, "Puyalo Ahi" by Pedro Beltran, "Caracuche Che Che" by Los Autenticos De Garmo, and "Palo Bonito" by Pedro Beltran.

The most global grooves inflected slices of DJ Nu-Mark's Broken Sunlight project – with a Quantic collaboration that's as great as you would hope it to be – and an equally strong collabor with Laudir De Oliviera on the other side! "Tropicalifornia" is great mix of Quantic's love of Colombian, Latin American and African percussion flavors of the past couple years and DJ Nu-Mark's timeless Cali hip hop aesthetic. Lots of live instrumentation on this one – with steel drums and other percussion,Rhodes and other keys, horns, bass and more – but Nu-Mark's cuts are by no means buried in the mix. The flip is a Brazilian vocals and percussion heavy gem featuring lead vocals and by Laudir De Oliveira and some mighty chorus back up.

Mindblowing stuff – maybe the deepest album we've heard so far from Quantic, and a great step forward for Alice Russell too! After years of working in some of the best contemporary funk modes around, Quantic really expands his vision here – hitting a level of maturity that brings in richer arrangements with bits of strings and other righteous touches – all in a vibe that feels just like the Cadet studios at the end of the 60s! The approach is great – because at the bottom, Quantic's still got all his sharp funky edges intact – mixed in with these swirling soulful arrangements that Charles Stepney would have been proud of – all coming together in a mode that unlocks this whole new side in Alice Russell too – a vibe that's almost Stevie Wonder-ish at times, which really fits perfectly with the grooves. Sublime sounds throughout – a true instant classic – with titles that include "Magdalena", "Here Again", "Travelling Song", "I'll Keep A Light In My Window", "Look Around The Corner", "Su Suzy", "Boogaloo 33", "Road To Islay", and "Similau".

Soundway Records delves deep into the great history Colombian cumbia and porro – beautifully putting together an expansive set that traces the evolution of the sounds throughout 3 decades – and keeping it coming feverishly and furiously well paced the whole way through! They do a terrific job of making this set reverent of the history – it was very well researched by Will "Quantic" Holland – with one half featuring earlier Columbian cumbia and one half of the evolving sounds and instrumentation that came into play over the years. The sound is beautiful, even on the earliest recordings, and it's heated, intensely rhythmic all the way. Holland and Soundway's Miles Cleret here deliver as exciting and informative a set of benchmark cumbia as we could have hoped for – and it includes nice set of notes and photos. CD 1 features material culled from original Colombian 78s and CD 2 features original 45 & LP cuts: titles include "Cumbia del Puerto" by Conjunto Los Rumberos, "Judith" by Lucho Perez, "Senbrando Café" by Alberto Pacheco Y Su Conjunto, "Samoria" by Los Alegres Del Valle, "La Maragarita" by Los Ases Del Ritmo, "Cumbia Del Mar" by Los Hermanitos Ferreyra, "Sangria Goajira" by Los Indigenas, "Cumbia Del Carnaval" by Betoyep, "Rosa Y Mayo" by Andres Landero, "Guayabita Colora" by Alberto Pacheco, "Elionora" by Miguel Duran, "El Secuestro" by Celia Estremor Y Su Grupo De Baile Cantalo, "La Gaita Del Pato" by Lucho Yepez, "Tambo, Tambo" by La Cumbia Soledena and many more. 55 tracks in all!

Mindblowing stuff – maybe the deepest album we've heard so far from Quantic, and a great step forward for Alice Russell too! After years of working in some of the best contemporary funk modes around, Quantic really expands his vision here – hitting a level of maturity that brings in richer arrangements with bits of strings and other righteous touches – all in a vibe that feels just like the Cadet studios at the end of the 60s! The approach is great – because at the bottom, Quantic's still got all his sharp funky edges intact – mixed in with these swirling soulful arrangements that Charles Stepney would have been proud of – all coming together in a mode that unlocks this whole new side in Alice Russell too – a vibe that's almost Stevie Wonder-ish at times, which really fits perfectly with the grooves. Sublime sounds throughout – a true instant classic – with titles that include "Magdalena", "Here Again", "Travelling Song", "I'll Keep A Light In My Window", "Look Around The Corner", "Su Suzy", "Boogaloo 33", "Road To Islay", and "Similau".

Soundway Records delves deep into the great history Colombian cumbia and porro – beautifully putting together an expansive set that traces the evolution of the sounds throughout 3 decades – and keeping it coming feverishly and furiously well paced the whole way through! They do a terrific job of making this set reverent of the history – it was very well researched by Will "Quantic" Holland – with one half featuring earlier Columbian cumbia and one half of the evolving sounds and instrumentation that came into play over the years. The sound is beautiful, even on the earliest recordings, and it's heated, intensely rhythmic all the way. Holland and Soundway's Miles Cleret here deliver as exciting and informative a set of benchmark cumbia as we could have hoped for! Vol 1 of the vinyl features original 78s – with 29 titles that include "Judity" by Lucho Perez, "San Jacinto" by Anibal Velasquez, "Samaria" by Los Alegres Del Valle, "Me Quedo Con El Viejo" by Cresencio Salcedo, "Dulce Lamento" by Nacho Paredes, "Sangre Goajira" by Los Indigenas, and "La Muerte" by Tono Fernandez.

A great little set from salsa legend Sammy Ayala – an original member of the 50s born Cortijo Y Su Combo orchestra of Puerto Rico – singing warmly and wonderfully on this excellent self-titled set on the Candela label! An all star roster of modern producers and players indebted to Sammy and his style contribute – include Quantic, Nicodemus, Truth & Soul combo Bronx River Parkway, Mo'Horizons and others – but this feels like the work of an old school master, as it should. Timeless stuff and a worthy effort by all! Titles include "Otra Vez", "Invitacion Al Salon", "Corazon" feat Bronx River Parkway, "El La San Sebastian" feat Mo'Horizons, "Huellas De La Ilusion" and more.

Finally a strong full-length from Nu-Mark – the myriad strengths of which were amply hinted up via the epic 10" series that led up to it – and an album that packs plenty of diverse, timeless beatcraft and stellar guests on the mic! Nu-Mark's got a sharp, crisp edge with his beats – one that really seems to set a new sort of fire without ever being too overly-aware of its own style – often with these soulful undercurrents that help his music reach way past the usual, too! Vocals and rhymes are by a great batch of A-list talents – including Aloe Blacc, Charles Bradley, Bumpy Knuckles, Ernie Hines, Large Professor, J-Live, and Tiron – and one cut even features some sweet funky touches from Quantic. Titles include "Oya Indebure", "Tropicalifornia", "Tough Break", "Feel The Way About It", "Vengeance Is Mine", "Dumpin Em All", "Our Generation (re-edit)", "When You Sleep", "Never Be Wrong", "Times Is Rough", and "Tonight".

Finally a strong full-length from Nu-Mark – the myriad strengths of which were amply hinted up via the epic 10" series that led up to it – and an album that packs plenty of diverse, timeless beatcraft and stellar guests on the mic! Nu-Mark's got a sharp, crisp edge with his beats – one that really seems to set a new sort of fire without ever being too overly-aware of its own style – often with these soulful undercurrents that help his music reach way past the usual, too! Vocals and rhymes are by a great batch of A-list talents – including Aloe Blacc, Charles Bradley, Bumpy Knuckles, Ernie Hines, Large Professor, J-Live, and Tiron – and one cut even features some sweet funky touches from Quantic. This deluxe CD edition features the album Disc 1. Disc 2 is a CD-ROM – featuring the instrumentals and acapella versions of most tracks, plus some bonus beats – with 32t tracks in all! tour and in-studio photos, the cover images from the Broken Sunlight 10-inch series and more! Disc 3 is a DVD – featuring the mini-film/video Nu-Conduit with live and behind the scenes footage. Amazing! Titles include "Oya Indebure", "Tropicalifornia", "Tough Break", "Feel The Way About It", "Vengeance Is Mine", "Dumpin Em All", "Our Generation (re-edit)", "When You Sleep", "Never Be Wrong", "Times Is Rough", and "Tonight".

DJ Nu-Mark's Broken Sunlight – issued here on a USB Flash Drive that's shaped like a record needle – and features lots of bonus material! The USB itself just might be the coolest thing of its kind that we've ever seen! It's so well fabricated, if you look at it quickly enough, you're going to want to screw it onto your tone arm. That's not an exaggeration, either – it's a thing of beauty! The 1GB drive features the complete Broken Sunlight studio album plus the complete instrumentals and acapella versions, bonus beats, tour and in-studio photos, the cover images from the Broken Sunlight 10-inch series and more! Also includes the download link for the mini-film/video Nu-Conduit with live and behind the scenes footage. Amazing! Broken Sunlight album tracks include "Times Is Rough" with Tiron, "Tonight" with J-Live, M3 & Erica Dee, "Dumpin’ Em All" with Bumpy Knuckles, "Tropicalifornia" with Quantic, "When You Sleep" with Large Professor, "The Fever" with A-Skillz, "Don't Play Around" with Charles Bradley & Aloe Blacc and more.

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko, Anibal Velasquez, Alfredito Linares, and Michi Sarmiento – alongside Quantic's Combo Babaro, and the Frente Combeiro group of Mario Galeano! The sound is all classic throughout – no tricks or gimmicks, or modern remix modes at all – just old school instrumentation, filtered through a new school approach to funk – one that's come from years of digging older Colombian numbers, and finding a way to make new music that packs an equal punch. Every bit as smoking as older Central American grooves compiled by Soundway – with tracks that include "Bomba Tropica", "Dos Lucecitas", "Libya", "Punkero Sonidero", "I Ron Man", "Suena", and "Swing De Gillian". 19 tracks in all!

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko, Anibal Velasquez, Alfredito Linares, and Michi Sarmiento – alongside Quantic's Combo Babaro, and the Frente Combeiro group of Mario Galeano! The sound is all classic throughout – no tricks or gimmicks, or modern remix modes at all – just old school instrumentation, filtered through a new school approach to funk – one that's come from years of digging older Colombian numbers, and finding a way to make new music that packs an equal punch. Every bit as smoking as older Central American grooves compiled by Soundway – with tracks that include "Bomba Tropica", "La Tranca", "Cien Anos", "Papi Shingaling", "Mi Negra", "Dos Lucecitas", "Libya", "Punkero Sonidero", "I Ron Man", "Suena", and "Swing De Gillian".

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko, Anibal Velasquez, Alfredito Linares, and Michi Sarmiento – alongside Quantic's Combo Babaro, and the Frente Combeiro group of Mario Galeano! The sound is all classic throughout – no tricks or gimmicks, or modern remix modes at all – just old school instrumentation, filtered through a new school approach to funk – one that's come from years of digging older Colombian numbers, and finding a way to make new music that packs an equal punch. Every bit as smoking as older Central American grooves compiled by Soundway – with tracks that include "Bomba Tropica", "La Tranca", "Cien Anos", "Papi Shingaling", "Mi Negra", "Dos Lucecitas", "Libya", "Punkero Sonidero", "I Ron Man", "Suena", and "Swing De Gillian".

A pretty great multiple cover feature issue for Wax Poetics – this one with Lenny Kravitz on the front and Dam-Funk on the back – plus equally prominent features on Sade and Flying Lotus! Wax Poetics has always been a celebration of soul, funk, hip hop, jazz and otherwise crate diggers fodder – be they underground of not entirely forgotten heroes – or pop culture takeover engineers – and this issue personifies that as strongly as ever! It's also got pieces on Betty Wright, Gary Bartz, Quantic & Alice Russell, Cody Chesnutt, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Jamire Williams – plus NYC's 70s Roller Boogie scene and more – and as always, it's filled with great photographs of each and every figure!

The debut compilation from Hugo Mendez and the Sofrito collective on Strut – tropical dancefloor grooves from Africa, the Caribbean and South American – featuring Banda Los Hijos De La Nina Luz, Frente Cumbiero, Fair Nick Stars, Victor Uwaifo, "Dany Play", Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo, Roaring Lion and more! The basis is the Sofrito parties that began in East London in the mid 80s, where lovers of vintage Latin and African dance music got together and brought tropical grooves to an appreciative British club scene. It's great stuff all the way! Titles include "Quiero Amanacer" by Banda Los Hikos De La Nina Luz, "Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucomp" by Les Ya Toupas Du Zaire, "Arrete Mal Parle" by Fair Nick Stars, "Descarga Bontempi" by El Timba, "Fa'Waka (Pt 1)" by Dany Play, "Cumbia De Mochilla" by Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo, "Yiri Yiri Boum" by Gnonnas Pedro" and more. 15 tracks in all.

Deep deep funk from The Poets Of Rhythm – and a record cut at a time when all the world thought classic funk was dead! Apart from a few revivalist albums by older artists at the time, deep funk was plenty hard to come by at the start of the 90s – and often mis-recorded or badly mixed when it was tracked down. Enter The Poets, one of the first newer groups with a strong ear for the sound of the funky 45 generation – heard here in a rare full length set that presents the group in all their glory! The combo's got an approach to funk that mixes guitar, horns, and heavy drums with some slightly more psychedelic production – sometimes abstracting things slightly, in a mode that would be used much more heavily by the Quantic/Tru Thoughts camp in years to come. Most of the tracks on this set could easily pass for lost 45s from the early 70s – no surprise, given that the group was often putting out "fake" old cuts at the time – but the record proudly presents The Poets at their early best, with a smoking endorsement from Bobby Byrd to boot! Titles include "More Mess On My Thing", "Funky Runthrough (parts 1 & 2)", "Choking On A Piece Of Meat", "Saltin The Soup", "It Came Over Me", "Strokin The Grits", and "North Carolina".

A pretty great multiple cover feature issue for Wax Poetics – this one with Sade on the front and Flying Lotus on the back – plus equally prominent features on Lenny Kravitz and Dam-Funk! Wax Poetics has always been a celebration of soul, funk, hip hop, jazz and otherwise crate diggers fodder – be they underground of not entirely forgotten heroes – or pop culture takeover engineers – and this issue personifies that as strongly as ever! It's also got pieces on Betty Wright, Gary Bartz, Quantic & Alice Russell, Cody Chesnutt, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Jamire Williams – plus NYC's 70s Roller Boogie scene and more – and as always, it's filled with great photographs of each and every figure!

DJ Nu-Mark's Broken Sunlight – issued here on a USB Flash Drive that's shaped like a record needle – and features lots of bonus material! The USB itself just might be the coolest thing of its kind that we've ever seen! It's so well fabricated, if you look at it quickly enough, you're going to want to screw it onto your tone arm. That's not an exaggeration, either – it's a thing of beauty! The 1GB drive features the complete Broken Sunlight studio album plus the complete instrumentals and acapella versions, bonus beats, tour and in-studio photos, the cover images from the Broken Sunlight 10-inch series and more! Also includes the download link for the mini-film/video Nu-Conduit with live and behind the scenes footage. Amazing! Broken Sunlight album tracks include "Times Is Rough" with Tiron, "Tonight" with J-Live, M3 & Erica Dee, "Dumpin’ Em All" with Bumpy Knuckles, "Tropicalifornia" with Quantic, "When You Sleep" with Large Professor, "The Fever" with A-Skillz, "Don't Play Around" with Charles Bradley & Aloe Blacc and more.

The long-awaited return of the Whitefield Brothers – melding global funk and tripped out psychedelia as masterfully as on their massive In The Raw album – and tripping it out and funking it up even more this time! The psychedelic sounds get more pronounced play this time out, but it's still well within the funk realm – gritty drums and percussion under fuzzed out rhythms, keys that range from a jazzy funk groove to thick layers of fuzz and bubbling atmospherics, exotic string accents, heady bass grooves and more. Their reach is global, too, with influences from the east and the west – and a heck of an impressive guest roster – with leftfield MCs on a couple gems – Edan & Mr Lif on "The Gift" and Percee P & MED on "Reverse" – plus Bajka, Brooklyn funk revival masters the El Michels Affair, and fellow psych funk traveller Quantic. Titles include "Joyful Exaltation", "Safari Strut", "Taisho", "Sad Nile", "Ntu", "Pamukkale", "Alin", "Breakin Through" feat El Michels Affair, "Sem Yelesh", "Lullaby For Lagos" feat Quantic, "Chich" and more.