Urban Discos (Japan), 2024. New Copy
Nautilus sound every bit as great here as on previous albums, but they've also added a difference too – the use of vocals on many tracks, in a way that really helps expand and open up their sound! The singers vary, as do their approaches – one track has a vocoder filtering the vocals ...
Cherry Red (UK), 2015. New Copy
Keyboard James Taylor works here in a very unique setting – but one that's totally great, as well – and which really seems to give his music a very fresh vibe! The title's no lie – as Taylor's working in a mass-like format, complete with a large vocal choir – but the result ...
Karma Chief/Colemine, 2024. New Copy Gatefold
A really majestic album from this mighty nice group – a set that references older space-themed albums from the postwar years, but which serves up the sound in the best style of the Ghost Funk Orchestra! There's cool use of NASA dialogue between some tracks – and rather than burst out ...
Big Crown, 2023. New Copy
Rapper Black Thought was on the vocal version of this project – but this time around, El Michels get to shine in the lead – and turn out a sweet set of grooves that continue their legacy as one of the best underground funk groups on the planet! Leon Michels has given us plenty of hip ...
Colemine, 2024. New Copy
A contemporary group, but one who bring out a classic Cali soul vibe – particularly that sound that played very well in East LA back in the day – when mellow sweet soul was the biggest thing on the scene! The sound here is wonderful – fragile but strong at the same time – ...
Desco/Daptone, 1999. New Copy (reissue)
A stunning return to form by Lee Fields, one of the 70s' lost funky geniuses – heard here in the initial set that would catapult him back in the spotlight for a whole new generation! The record was issued by Desco Records – the key precursor to Daptone, Soul Fire, and other modern funk ...
Daptone, 2022. New Copy
The extra "e" in the name of Thee Sacred Souls really takes us back – to the legendary Thee Midniters of the scene in east LA – a scene whose sound clearly had a big influence on this contemporary trio! As with the best work of that older generation, there's a heartbreakingly ...
Daptone, 2010. New Copy
A great third album from Staten Island instrumental funk titans The Budos Band – who've brought eclectic inspiration all along and have always colored from a much broader palette of styles than most of their peers – going even further this time out and delivering their best yet! The ...
Schema (Italy), 2011. New Copy
Classic-styled funk from Alex Puddu – not only the greatest record we've heard from him so far, but a set that's definitely worthy of its "golden age" claim in the title! The music is all new, but it was done for a series of short Danish porno films from the 70s – and Puddu ...
F Spot, 2024. New Copy
A second set of funky Latin grooves from Mestizo Beat – a combo who work here in styles that take us back to the LA sound of the early 70s – which is maybe no surprise, given that the album was recorded in Topanga! Latin rhythms work together with funk instrumentation – all at a ...
F Spot, 2024. New Copy
Guitar, bass, and drums – all used in a style that's lean and funky – and which mixes elements of 60s soul jazz with some of the hipper modes of the 70s underground! The guitar of Addison Rifkind has this warmly chromatic vibe – and a way of wrapping chords around a groove that ...
Dead Oceans, 2019. New Copy
A trippier version of Khruangbin than we're used to – but that's maybe no surprise, given that the whole album's a dub version of the Con Todo El Mundo record – with all the best funky currents of that sweet set, and some wilder modes as well! Drums and bass really get a great workout ...
Jazz Is Dead, 2023. New Copy
Spiritual keyboard giant Lonnie Liston Smith joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – and the result is maybe one of the deepest records in this wonderful series! As you can imagine, Lonnie is on keyboards, and delivers some wonderful solos throughout – very much in ...
Record Kicks (Italy), 2022. New Copy
The Diasonics may not be the first funk band we've heard from the former Soviet Union – but they're definitely one that will help put their scene on the map – thanks to some tight funky instrumentation and really great production styles that make the whole thing sound all weird and ...
Toyokasei (Japan), 2024. New Copy
An excellent funk group from Japan – one who pick up some of the fuller horns of the Stax Records or Afro Funk generations, mix it with some leaner rhythms at times – and also make a strong nod towards contemporary funk modes as well – but all without sounding like anyone else at ...
Heavenly Sweetness (France), 2023. New Copy 2LP Gatefold
A fantastic second album from this ultra-hip French combo – a group who effortlessly mix up jazz, funk, and global elements in the best cross-cultural tradition of the Parisian scene! Cotonete have been around for many years, even though they haven't given us many records – and it's ...
Now Again, 2004. New Copy 2LP (reissue)
A damn funky little album – and one of the best Stones Throw albums of the past 20 years! Connie Price & The Keystones are a modern group – but one who's steeped in all the older messed-up funky styles of their Stones Throw labelmates – even some of the offbeat psych and rock ...
Jahari Massamba Unit (Madlib & Karriem Riggins)
YHWH Is Love
Laws Of Rhythm, 2024. New Copy
A further fantastic pairing of drummer Karriem Riggins and production genius Madlib – a set that really seems to open up the flow of both musicians, with a vibe that's deeper, richer, and more sophisticated than most they've given us in the past – quite a claim, considering the great ...
Avantgroidd, 2021/2024. New Copy
Wonderfully righteous work from Burnt Sugar Arkestra – a group who've been giving us great records for years, but who are maybe even more important to the scene than ever before! The core of the record is the long title track – a very jazzy tune that builds up over loops set down by ...
Maledetta Discoteca (Italy), 2023. New Copy
These guys are definitely Latin Freaks – of the sort who like to mix heavy percussion with some clubbier instrumentation – all at a level that would make 70s salsa disco giants like Joe Bataan or Eddie Drennon mighty proud! This Italian group have a great way with the music, and have ...
Colemine, 2024. New Copy
Hard to hold your horses with music this great – a really great moody take on deep funk territory – nicely laidback, and served up in a way that really lets the group enjoy all the rich tonal colors they produce along the way! The lineup is spare, and nicely kicked back – ...
Record Kicks (Italy), 2024. New Copy
The True Tones provide soul singer Michelle David with some great backings here – a romping sort of groove on most tracks, and one that bristles with plenty of old school instrumental touches that seem to really spur the vocalist forward! Michelle's got a dynamic style that owes a lot to ...
Gee (France), 2024. New Copy
A great mix of classic covers and original tracks – all served up with a mellow groove and plenty of influence from Jamaican music! Years back, Soul Sugar were more of a jazzy funk combo – but over the years, they've evolved into more of a reggae/rocksteady mode – one that's a ...
Legere (UK), 2023. New Copy
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 – ...
Concord, 2023. New Copy 2LP
Butcher Brown move past their roots as a core funk combo here – opening the door to contributions from a whole host of guests, and moving even more strongly into the world of soul music than on their album with Triple Trey! There's an expansive sound here that seems to have the hardworking ...
Normaltown, 2024. New Copy Gatefold
Wicked funky sounds from Boulevard – singer Jamil Rashad, who's an artist with a great ear for a bass-heavy old school groove! Jamil's got this confident swagger to his vocals – somewhere in the Bootsy Collins neck of the woods – and he works here with great live funk backings ...
Jazz Is Dead, 2024. New Copy
Key tracks from this long-running series – taken into new territory by a whole host of contemporary remix talents! The set's heavy on producers and musicians from the London scene – so that the earlier LA efforts of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad are given new cosmic ...
Daptone, 2023. New Copy
A stripped-down take on the debut album from this excellent group – almost like finding a stack of sweet soul 45s that all have instrumental b-sides! The great vocals of the group are gone, but that also brings the spotlight on the wonderful grooves that set the whole thing up – slow-st ...
Funk Night, 2023. New Copy
There's plenty of electric colors here – a great blend of the many elements from this large European funk ensemble, all filtered down into a mighty nice groove from Misha Panfilov! Penza Penza are one of Misha's most lively projects – and the group have this energy that draws on ...
Beatsqueeze (France), 2024. New Copy
The second installment in the Videoclub – and like the first, a set of tracks that definitely lives up to the vintage action styles promised on the cover! The tracks are heavy on influences from classic crime, cop, and kung fu soundtracks – served up as shorter instrumental tracks that ...