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An amazing new sound from Kokolo – one that takes their Afro Funk groove, and turns it on a host of James Brown classics – all with a result that's completely unique! The album's hardly a copycat of James' original style – and instead, it reworks his funky favorites with a complicated approach to rhythms – one that shows a rich criss-crossing between JB and Fela modes, almost an echoing amplification of the 70s influences that were passing back and forth between the US and African funk scenes! The vocals are something else entirely – as rhythmic as the grooves, with a quality that isn't as all-out soulful as James – but in a good way, as this helps them simmer down nicely with the instrumentation, and throw in a whole new level of counterpoint to the music. We're honestly stunned – quite surprised and impressed at this turn that Kokolo has taken, reaching forward for a sound that nobody else has touched. Titles include versions of "Mind Power", "The Popcorn", "Soul Power", "The Grunt", "Think", "Bring It Up", and "It's A New Day".

An amazing new sound from Kokolo – one that takes their Afro Funk groove, and turns it on a host of James Brown classics – all with a result that's completely unique! The album's hardly a copycat of James' original style – and instead, it reworks his funky favorites with a complicated approach to rhythms – one that shows a rich criss-crossing between JB and Fela modes, almost an echoing amplification of the 70s influences that were passing back and forth between the US and African funk scenes! The vocals are something else entirely – as rhythmic as the grooves, with a quality that isn't as all-out soulful as James – but in a good way, as this helps them simmer down nicely with the instrumentation, and throw in a whole new level of counterpoint to the music. We're honestly stunned – quite surprised and impressed at this turn that Kokolo has taken, reaching forward for a sound that nobody else has touched. Titles include versions of "Mind Power", "The Popcorn", "Soul Power", "The Grunt", "Think", "Bring It Up", and "It's A New Day".

The third in the Contemporary series from Tramp Records – this one focusing on the fertile modern international Afro Beat scene – with funky numbers by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, The Boogoos, Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, Express Brass Band, N'Ghare Hi Power Band and more! What's so impressive about the material on Contemporary Afro Beat is essentially how well it lives up to the title in such a great away. The spirit of Fela and classic Afro Funk inflects every drum beat, impassioned vocal and burst of brass, but it's done by combos who are not living in a timewarp, it's freshly done with modern relevance. Titles include "Crache La Douleur" by Fanga, "One Way" by Afromotive, "Every Woman Is A Good Woman" by Jojo Quo & Challengers, "Donkey" by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, "Theme For Isaac Kirya" by The Boogoos, "PDP" by Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, "Radio Kabul" by Express Brass Band, "Africa My Dear" by Afrodita and more.

B-sides, remixes and exclusive tracks from team Record Kicks – tracks by Third Coast Kings, Kokolo, Nick Pride & The Pimptones, Crabs Corporation, Diplomats Of Solid Sound, Ray Harris & The Fusion Exerience and more! Funk DJ and producer Smoove and picked the tracks, and the titles include "Spicy Brown" by Third Coast Kings, "Prophets Bound To Christ" by William Joseph Fowler & The Disciples, "Fuoco" by Trio Valore, "Give Me One More Chance (Lack Of Afro Mix)" by Diplomats Of Solid Sound, "Rags To Riches (Ray Lugo rmx)" by The Liberators, "Under My Skin" by The Hawk feat Little Hannah Collins, "Deep Fried Funk" by Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers, "Witness" by New Mastersounds and more. 18 tracks on the CD.

Plenty of soul, and plenty of shaking – a hip collection of contemporary funk and soul, all of it served up with a very classic groove! The work here is mostly new, but it echoes the best sounds of the 60s and 70s – those wonderful years for soul music that are being revived strongly by key combos from the global deep funk underground. The vibe here is even funkier than other Soul Shaker sets – a bit less mod, a bit more James Brown – and the package is a great testament to the ever-evolving groove of the hip Record Kicks label. CD features 16 tracks in all – including "One Day" by Kings Go Forth, "Deadly Corners" by Shaolin Temle Defenders, "Don't Wanna Change (Nostalgia 77 rmx)" by Unity with Lizzy Parks, "Time Wasting" by Baby Charles, "The Satisfier" by Eli Paperboy Reed, "Girls On Film" by Kokolo, "No Luck 2 Run" by Zamali, "Keep On Looking (Kenny Dope rmx)", "Heckuva Man" by The Sweet Divines, "Trouble Me" by The Diplomats Of Solid Sound, "Idle Time (Lack Of Afro rmx)" by The New Mastersounds, and "Little Miss Funky Sole" by Breakestra. Lots of tracks on CD for the first time ever!

A great Latin boogaloo set from Ray Lugo & his Boogaloo Destroyers – fulfilling Lugo's longtime ambition of modern take a the mix of Latin soul, rhythm & blues and more that were so inspiring to Lugo's childhood in NYC! Lugo is a veteran of the modern Afro Funk scene – having cut his teeth the the excellent Kokolo group – so the Boogaloo Destroyers isn't all that surprising of a stylistic leftturn, as all we've heard from Lugo suggest a depth of understand of myriad soulful styles. Here they cover classics by Mongo Santamaria, Hector Rivera, Roberto Valentin and others. Includes "Soy El Rey", "Swingy Boogaloo", "Combo", "At The Party", "Me And You Baby (Picao Y Tostao)", the excellent original cut "Lugo's Boogaloo", "My Shingaling", "El Bantu" and more.

A great Latin boogaloo set from Ray Lugo & his Boogaloo Destroyers – fulfilling Lugo's longtime ambition of modern take a the mix of Latin soul, rhythm & blues and more that were so inspiring to Lugo's childhood in NYC! Lugo is a veteran of the modern Afro Funk scene – having cut his teeth the the excellent Kokolo group – so the Boogaloo Destroyers isn't all that surprising of a stylistic leftturn, as all we've heard from Lugo suggest a depth of understand of myriad soulful styles. Here they cover classics by Mongo Santamaria, Hector Rivera, Roberto Valentin and others. Includes "Soy El Rey", "Swingy Boogaloo", "Combo", "At The Party", "Me And You Baby (Picao Y Tostao)", the excellent original cut "Lugo's Boogaloo", "My Shingaling", "El Bantu" and more.

The third in the Contemporary series from Tramp Records – this one focusing on the fertile modern international Afro Beat scene – with funky numbers by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, The Boogoos, Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, Express Brass Band, N'Ghare Hi Power Band and more! What's so impressive about the material on Contemporary Afro Beat is essentially how well it lives up to the title in such a great away. The spirit of Fela and classic Afro Funk inflects every drum beat, impassioned vocal and burst of brass, but it's done by combos who are not living in a timewarp, it's freshly done with modern relevance. Titles include "Crache La Douleur" by Fanga, "One Way" by Afromotive, "Every Woman Is A Good Woman" by Jojo Quo & Challengers, "Donkey" by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, "Theme For Isaac Kirya" by The Boogoos, "PDP" by Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, "Radio Kabul" by Express Brass Band, "Africa My Dear" by Afrodita and more.

Floor shaking funk, hard grooving soul and jazzy grooves – lucky Vol 7 in the Soulshaker series from Record Kicks – compiling a far reaching assemblage of modern funk tracks with 60s & 70s reverence and timeless soulfulness! The rhythms are nice and heavy, with a good deal of soul, jazz dance numbers, Afrobeat and more. A great assortment of some of our favorite funky 45 cuts of the past couple years, album tracks, and previously unreleased exclusives – tracks by Roy Ellis, Titles include "His Voice" by Elder William Smith, "I Know What Time It Is" by Shaolin Temple Defenders, Liberators, Kokolo Afrobeat Orkestra, 6ix Toys, Hi Fly Orchetra, Ray Lugos LES Express and many more. Titles include "His Voice" by Elder William Smith, "I Know What Time It Is" by Shaolin Temple Defenders, "Bring It Up" by Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra, "Let Me Take You Higher" by Roy Ellis & The Teenagers, "Do Your Thing" by 6ix Toys, "Real Tru Love" by The Pepper Pots and more. 12 tracks on the vinyl version.