The Soul Motivators have always been great, but this record really sends them over the top – stepping out with a force that's really well-conceived – and a richer soul vibe than just the usual sort of funk combo with a female singer! There's all these great touches in the instrumentation, arrangements, and production that really keep things interesting – almost future funk, but still very true to the roots – yet at a level that provides a wonderfully fresh showcase for lead singer Shahi Teruko – whose presentation of the lyrics really takes off and soars! The record is definitely a cut above – and titles include "It Is What It Is", "One For The Heads", "Raise A Glass", "Power", and "Let's Do It Together". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing second set from Souljazz Orchestra – easily one of the funkiest groups in the contemporary Afro Funk underground! The set's even sharper than their first – really tight on the rhythms, which are filled with skittish guitars that cut a groove strongly – vamping and quick-stepping with a wicked sort of feel that brings back plenty of James Brown influence to a 70s African sound! There's lots of great horns and keyboards too – again played with a sharpness that's wonderful – a meaningful approach to solos that's not as extended as on other records, but often much more powerful. Vocals are often shouted or called – second stage, next to the instrumentation – and titles include "State Terrorism", "Kapital", "Parasite", "Interested Benevolence", "Amen", and "Grasshopper & Toad". (Global Grooves, Deep Funk) CD

More Afro Funk than the soul jazz you might guess from the group's name – but that's OK with us, because the record's plenty darn great! Souljazz Orchestra are one of the best of the current wave of Afro combos to hail from Canada – and they manage to get an incredible full sound from a surprisingly small range of instruments – usually just 3 saxes, a trumpet, keyboards, and percussion – but played with a sense of power to earn them the "orchestra" in their name! There's a definite Fela influence going on here – grooves that move fast with very skittish rhythms – snaking out with great horn bits and keyboard lines. But the overall approach is a bit tighter too – much more focused at times, on slightly shorter tunes, about half of which are vocal numbers. The Latin-inflected "Little Habana" has the group breaking format a bit – and other tunes include "Mista President", "The Blind Leading The Blind", "Insurrection", and "Mojuba". 8 tracks in all! (Global Grooves, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

Johnny Benavidez hits it right on the money here – serving up a set of laidback soul that feels like the classic material that would play big on the scene in East LA – music that's heartbreaking, but deep at the same time – graced with these very personal vocals from Johnny, and given just the right sort of backing from Cold Diamond & Mink! The whole thing is nice and easygoing – sweet soul, of the variety that you'd be more likely to hear from a harmony group, but with Benavidez giving a lead presence that's a bit like Joe Bataan in a similar mode – which makes for the kind of record that's perfect to put on late into the night, windows open, breeze blowing in, when you just want to kick back and turn down. Titles include "Playing The Fool", "Dedicated To You", "Somebody Cares", "Your Last Song", "Let's Get Together", "Do What You Wanna Do", "My Echo Shadow & Me", and "Tell Me That You Love Me". CD

An unusual project from Butcher Brown – a set that was originally written as a hip hop project for MC Tennishu, and which only gets plenty of instrumentation from the Butcher Brown combo, in their best funky jazz mode – but also has an added large ensemble really bumping up the sound! There's still plenty of hip hop on the record, but instrumentation is all live jazz and in a mode that so many others tried to do years back, but maybe never got this right. Titles include "Lawd Why", "Breevin", "Cusian", "Unbelievable", "777", and "Git Along" LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing too comfy here, as drummer Tim Carman kicks up a gritty groove right from the very first note – working next to the organ of Ken Clark and guitar of Steve Fell – all in a stripped-down style that partly aims for the glory days of Hammond hero work on Prestige Records in the 60s, but which also maybe has a bit of a soul instrumental vibe as well! Tim's drums are nice and tight, leaving Clark's fingers on the keys and feet on the bass to really open things up – flowing and glowing with all these great changes, on titles that include "Cookin With Gran", "Southpaw", "If You've Got It Flaunt It", "First Mind", "Do That Thing", "Dumpty Dumb", and "Chicken Noodle Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad really sound fantastic here – stepping off their great work on the soundtrack for Luke Cage, and taking their music in an even stronger direction with help from an array of guest singers and musicians! Things are as rich and funky as you might expect – steeped in the same 70s traditions that Younge's used on all of his tremendous projects right from the start, but maybe given an even leaner, more crackling vibe here – as the duo moves through some wonderful soulful modes – with help from Bilal, Questlove, Keyon Harrald, James Poyser, Raphael Saadiq, Ladybug Mecca, Ceelo Green, No ID, Karolina, and others. Titles include "Possibilities", "Better Endeavor", "Mare", "Questions", "So Amazing", "Gate 54", "Do It Together", "Together Again", "Bitches Do Voodoo", "Dans Un Moment D'Errance", and "Feel Alive". LP, Vinyl record album

The New Mastersounds hardly need to go back to school – unless it's to become the teachers, which is a role they'd fit well – given how many years they've been giving the world funky music! The great Eddie Roberts is very much at the top of his game here on guitar – and there also seems to be even more force from the organ work of Joe Tatton – who's got this way of throwing out fast notes and clipping them in all the right ways to stay lean and funky, and really jounce along with the rhythms at he core! The quartet are nice and lean, with no added elements at all – on titles that include "Boogaloo Is Dead", "Breakfast T", "Down On The Farm", "Scrappy Doo", "Do The Sausage Roll", and "In Da Club". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic combination of funky grooves – the studio talents of Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and the Brazilian-tinged fusion of the legendary Azymuth! The jazzy trio are in great form here – tunes that are lean, and which really offer up all the best aspects that the group brought to their music back in the late 70s and early 80s – spun with a slightly different format by the lineup of Alex Malheiros on bass, Ivan Mamao Conti on drums, and Linklon Kiko Contentino on Fender Rhodes and keyboards – but handled perfectly by Adrian and Ali in the studio – with just the right sort of sound to avoid some of the slicker production that the group had on some of their other American recordings from years back. All tunes are new originals – and titles include "Pulando Corda", "Friendship Samba", "Apocolyptico", "Cat Jump", "Fall Afternoon", "Ao Redor Do Samba", and "Sumare". CD

The New Mastersounds hardly need to go back to school – unless it's to become the teachers, which is a role they'd fit well – given how many years they've been giving the world funky music! The great Eddie Roberts is very much at the top of his game here on guitar – and there also seems to be even more force from the organ work of Joe Tatton – who's got this way of throwing out fast notes and clipping them in all the right ways to stay lean and funky, and really jounce along with the rhythms at he core! The quartet are nice and lean, with no added elements at all – on titles that include "Boogaloo Is Dead", "Breakfast T", "Down On The Farm", "Scrappy Doo", "Do The Sausage Roll", and "In Da Club". CD

Easily one of the best deep soul albums we've heard in years – new work by a singer who hails from Indiana, but who's able to give the best from Memphis and Muscle Shoals a real run for their money! Durand Jones isn't one of these cats who's trying to fake it with a few retro touches – and instead, he gets right to the heart of the matter, right from the very first note – with a deep vocal approach that's rivaled by a rare few in the contemporary scene – maybe Lee Fields (and maybe that's it!) The vocals are perfect – never forced or cliched, and really right on the money – and the Indications do a great job, too – with these lean backings that never overwhelm, yet really help keep things funky. Hats off to drummer Aaron Frazier and guitarist Blake Rhein, who wrote most of the songs on the record with Jones – and titles include "Make A Change", "Can't Keep My Cool", "Groovy Babe", "Giving Up", "Now I'm Gone", and "Is It Any Wonder". CD

Mindblowing work from one of the greatest new groups we've heard in years – Michigan's mighty Nomo, easily one of the greatest Afro Funk combos going! Nomo's got a tightness that surpasses most other heirs to Fela's throne – an intensely focused energy that's really tremendous – and which soars out with some jazzy touches on the horns that move the group into deeply soulful territory! There's way more going on here than just guitar riffing, percussion, and blasting horns – as Nomo's musical vision is really expansive, and often echoes with cosmic touches you never would have heard back in 70s Ethiopia! Electric instruments are used subtly, but really effectively – so that keyboards are matched with weird guitar parts and some especially great electrified gamelan and kalimba lines, the last of which are almost worth the price of the record alone. The whole thing's great – classic in its roots, but creative enough to have a boldly strong voice of its own – and our hats are off to Nomo for blowing us away even more here than with their already-great debut! Titles include "We Do We Go", "Nutones", "Hand & Mouth", "Fourth Ward", "Reasons", "New Song", "Divisions", "Sarvodaya", and "Book Of Right On". (Global Grooves, Deep Funk) CD

A masterpiece in fuzzy funk from this large Estonian collective – a group who work here with sharp production from Misha Panfilov, with a sound that's every bit as weird and wonderful as all the other projects he's given us over the years! The group do a wonderful job of blending psychedelic guitar with heavy drums and heady basslines – music that's freaky in all the right parts, but never forgets to be funky either – and which sounds much more like the tight energy of a small combo than you'd guess from the large number of musicians on the cover! As with some of Misha's other recordings, there's some great electric moments here that really create a spacey sort of vibe next to the funkier energy at the core – on titles that include "Bullet Fast", "How Do You Swim At Night", "Stompin & Mortorikn", "5000 Hailstones", "Matti Pellonpaa", "Merman", and "Neanderthal Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Johnny Benavidez hits it right on the money here – serving up a set of laidback soul that feels like the classic material that would play big on the scene in East LA – music that's heartbreaking, but deep at the same time – graced with these very personal vocals from Johnny, and given just the right sort of backing from Cold Diamond & Mink! The whole thing is nice and easygoing – sweet soul, of the variety that you'd be more likely to hear from a harmony group, but with Benavidez giving a lead presence that's a bit like Joe Bataan in a similar mode – which makes for the kind of record that's perfect to put on late into the night, windows open, breeze blowing in, when you just want to kick back and turn down. Titles include "Playing The Fool", "Dedicated To You", "Somebody Cares", "Your Last Song", "Let's Get Together", "Do What You Wanna Do", "My Echo Shadow & Me", and "Tell Me That You Love Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Whomp! These guys bring it all down on the beat – hitting harder than Cassius Clay at the Rome Olympics in '60, packing bass, guitar, drums & percussion 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 – sporting a connection to the fellow early oughties funk standard bearers Poets Of Rhythm that you can certainly hear in some of the album's more stoned-out grooves – and like that hip combo, the Whitefield Brothers maintain a strong mix of classic funky modes, with just the right touches of professional trippiness to push the whole thing over the top. An instant classic from El Michels, Bosco Mann, Neal Sugarman, Jay Whitefield and others who fly the flag for classic style underground funk – with tracks that include "Rampage", "Prowlin", "In The Raw", "Sol Walk", "Eji", "Thunderbird", "Weiya", and "Yakuba". LP, Vinyl record album