Deep Funk -- Recently Added -- CD  

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Plenty of soul shaking out here -- a wicked collection of contemporary funk tracks that sound every bit as great as originals from the 60s and 70s! The set's filled with killer numbers that cook up heavy rhythms, searing instrumentation, and some sock-soul vocals that really round the whole thing ...

Funky keys, hard grooving southern steeped soul, and all around energetic grooves from Deep Street Soul -- uptempo, exciting instrumentals and a couple choice vocal numbers -- and another throwback funky win on Freestyle Records! The band really smokes, and takes a forceful approach to the funk ...

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 ...

Space funk specialist Mr Chop takes on the beatcraft genius of Pete Rock on For Pete's Sake -- blueprint Pete Rock singles and benchmark beats -- refashioned as fuzzed out psychedelic funk instrumentals! It works out masterfully, and very much in the mold of some of our other favorite material by ...

The funky first set from UK drummer Harbans Srih -- a wicked batch of jazz funk tunes with a very unusual twist! At some level, the sound here is very much in the mode of the London funk scene of the late 90s -- inspired by American roots, but taking things in a fresher, tighter approach overall. ...

Heavy funk from Speedometer -- one of the coolest combos cooking in the contemporary deep funk underground! The album offers a great chance to hear the group live -- playing with a sound that's every bit as sharp as on their studio records, with an edge that's even grittier -- proof that these ...

Great grooves from Jackson Conti -- not a dude, but a duo -- one that features Madlib teamed with Mamao, drummer from the legendary Azymuth! The album's got a really unique feel -- one that mixes Madlib's chunky, fuzzy style of production with some of the cleaner, jazzier Azymuth grooves of late -- ...

Real funk from an unreal film -- the rarest blaxsploitation gem never made -- the non-soundtrack to Bad Bad Jimmy Ruckus by Philly crew Big Pimp Jones! Bad Bad Jimmy Ruckus is an homage the lovably seedy funk sound of 70s soul cinema -- as well as the looping groove of breakbeat funk -- very well ...

The first full LP from Lack Of Afro -- a name that's been showing up on a fair bit of funky singles over the past few years! The tunes here are very much in the same territory as those great singles -- a slightly assembled approach to deep funk -- one that features some live instrumentation mixed ...

Hard grooving throwback funk, mod jazz, and 60s r&b flourishes from the mighty Fantastics -- a pretty deft mix of instrumental funk & soul with a mastery of classic styles! The core combo features organ & piano from Greg Boraman, who has roots in fellow UK funk combo the Soul ...

Nothing messy here -- as the Burners are tighter than ever, and bat this one out of the park with a massively funky groove! The core combo features organ, guitar, and drums -- with occasional horns added from time to time -- and most numbers here step off with a really badass instrumental groove ...

Dang! These guys just keep on getting better and better -- easily our favorite act on the ESL label these days, serving up a record that really furthers the promise of their previous efforts! As with their last release, there's a heavy dose of Afro Funk in the mix here -- a shifting of the ...

One of the most legendary albums of recent years finally gets an official release -- and about time, too! The set is a loving tribute to the genius of Stevie Wonder -- and features a batch of instrumental readings of Stevie's 70s classics, all performed by Madlib with a sweet mix of keys, vibes, ...

Funky madness! This one's exactly what is says -- a live mix, recorded by this hip funky combo, sort of a mixtape of classic funky tunes, all slammed together in one massive performance! Breakestra run through some of the biggest funky 45s of the 60s and 70s, jamming hard in one live to tape ...

Great stuff from one of those groups who just keep on grooving over the years -- always hitting hard with their own unique take on deep funk! We first loved Soulive back when the group were issuing music on self-produced CDs -- and they've really come a long way in their sound, and have learned a ...

Heavy Latin funk from Brownout -- a group who've really carved out their own unique space in the deep funk underground -- a rich blend of Latin rhythms, funky instrumentation, and razor-sharp production -- never slick, but totally tight all the way through! One of the group's key members is Adrian ...

A landmark album -- one that has the beat-heavy Quantic transform into the Quantic Soul Orchestra, for a stunning deep funk performance! The record sounds like nothing Quantic have done in the past -- and shares a sound with work from the Soul Fire/Daptone underground, with a tight blend of hard ...

Whomp! These guys bring it all down on the beat -- hitting harder than Cassius Clay at the Rome Olympics in '60, packing bass, guitar, and drums into one funky punch -- pounding out a hard heavy groove all the way through their entire debut LP! Of course, these guys have the talent to do it right ...

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 ...

A mighty take on the music of Isaac Hayes -- put together by the El Michels Affair! The album's every bit as funky as the combo's own work -- and it's an amazing rework of familiar funk favorites from the 70s -- redone here with a slightly leaner feel by the group, and without any vocals at all! ...

Funky soul galore -- all of it current, and all of it plenty darn great as well! Back when the first volume of this series was released, the idea of contemporary funk was a bit of a novelty -- but now, the deep funk underground is really getting some key exposure on a global level -- and a ...

One of the best ever sets of sprawling, spacey soul funk and jazz from the impossible to pen in Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber -- never an easy group to describe in a nutshell, and that's a good thing -- their best work in years and their first effort for the Livewired label! Making Love To The Dark ...

Hard grooving funky soul from the Australian scene courtesy Randa & The Soul Kingdom -- with powerhouse female vocalist Randa Khamis out from front a killer combo! The group rolls in the hard charging school of the international deep funk underground, but Randa's soulful, passionate vocals ...

Killer work from leading lights of the neo classic funk scene -- the mighty Breakestra -- their debut for Strut Records and some of the best work they've ever done! Music Man Miles & the crew knock us out each time, and the 4 years between the stellar Hit The Floor LP and this one was worth ...

A feast of funky mod instrumentals from the great Bongolian! This grooooooovy London combo takes the best bits of the 60s and 70s, rolls them into a tight retro approach that includes organ, clavinet, flute, guitar, timbales, vibes, and of course, plenty of bongo work -- with a sound that's lean, ...

Textural mood funk from the team of Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins -- the second collaborative batch from this dynamic and well matched duo! We loved Clutch Of The Tiger, but they take a profound step forward on Fascinating Fingers -- if they were feeling each others styles out on that set, and ...

Damn! Quantic really blows the roof off with this one -- taking us even farther on a musical journey than ever before, and making us bow to his mighty talents in ways we never expected! The album's a really unique session recorded in Colombia, with help from an international batch of musicians ...

The Dynamites come to town and burn it down -- once again getting some heavy help on vocals from Tenessee soul legend Charles Walker! The group seem even sharper than before -- tighter rhythms at the bottom, instrumentation that kicks things up a few notches than the last album, and production ...

A whole new sound for Quantic, and a great one too -- a mixture of his older funk with newer influences from Latin music -- all in a blend that's totally fresh, and very unique! This "Latin chapter" of the Quantic sound has been showing up a bit on remixes and singles over the past few ...

The debut full length from England's funkiest combo! The New Mastersounds are a current group -- but they've got a deep funk approach that puts them in the same camp as 60s funky 45 combos, or that of more recent acts in the new funk underground, like those on Desco or Soul Fire records. The ...

An amazing collection of furiously funky organ jazz from the JP's -- a Finnish combo schooled in the groovy Fender Rhodes and Hammond B-3 and C-3 jazz of Jimmy McGriff and likeminded figures -- and often played the with the funky intensity of the JBs! This 3 CD collection gives about as great of ...

Greasy grooves from The Grits -- a sackful of funk that more than lives up to its raw image on the cover! The group work in a very classic style here -- tight quartet jamming with a heavy instrumental groove -- clearly steeped in the best sounds of the funky 45 underground of the 60s and 70s, but ...

Contemporary funk, but with a groove deep enough to warrant the "rare" promised in the title -- as most of these numbers would stand strongly next to the best funky 45s from the late 60s and early 70s! The production is great throughout -- very hard-edged, and with a back-to-basics feel ...

The funky titans are at it again! "Deuces Up, Double Down" is a killer new track from the group -- an original tune written by drummer Miles Tackett, with a heavy scattershot beat at the bottom, and lots of loud, fast, honking horns over the top. The guitar player's licking away at the ...

A whole new dimension in deep funk -- Brazilian-tinged tunes served up by members of The Heliocentrics and Quantic Soul Orchestra! The sound here lives up to the best Samba Soul modes of 70s Brazil -- grooves that are rooted in American traditions of funk and soul, particularly those of the James ...

A strong step forward from Breakestra -- really moving out of the deep funk underground here, but never losing the groove that got them there in the first place! The set's got a depth that goes beyond most of the group's other work -- way more than just a funky cover band sort of feel, and instead ...

Shawn Lee's always been one to revive some of our favorite grooves from the past -- and this time around, he takes on the great 60s genre of the surf film -- a soundtrack mode that has a lot more to offer than just Ventures and Beach Boys tunes! Lee works beautifully here in a blend of some of the ...

These guys keep getting better and better -- and this album may well be their best set to date! The album's a massive double-length set -- broken down into 2 different discs, one titled London, the other titled Oakland -- both of them each with their own theme. The London set has a more laidback ...

Deep funk from the James Taylor Quartet -- back to basics after all these years, kicking it large with a small combo Hammond sound! James is still one of the best organists we can think of -- steeped in classic styles with a no-nonsense approach that goes beyond all the pretenders out there ...