A sweet little number with a sunny California vibe – equal parts rock and soul, with a guitar line that fades in to echo the waves of the surf – while Rudy De Anda delivers a vocal over romping drums! "Los Canarios" is slower, with plenty of echoey guitar tripping over slow beats – while Rudy's vocals lurk more in the background, especially when a stronger fuzz guitar comes into the lead! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A set that's definitely funky, but which maybe has a lot more going on as well – richer production moments that move between ambitious soundscapes and fuzzier freakouts – but all without losing the groove at the core! The record's billed as "mysterious", but really seems to come from the talents of Seth Applebaum – a great producer and arranger who manages to keep all the tight elements at the core, including some great bass and drums – while also letting things freak out up top a bit more – almost as if David Axelrod were given the chance to work with some of the younger funk combos in recent years. There's a bit of trippy vocals, but most of the set is instrumental – and titles include "Seven Eight", "Spirits In The Distance", "Broken Boogaloo", "Isaac Hayes", "Slow Down", "Kaddish", and "Modern Scene". CD

The fantastic full-length group of The Harlem Gospel Travelers – a quartet trained on the male group gospel modes of older acts like the Soul Stirrers or Violinaires – but one who really shine strongly with a voice of their own, thanks to a set of all original material, and some nice funk-based currents in the instrumentation! The album's definitely a gospel record, but it resonates with those rare efforts on labels like Stax or Jewel, which could bring in musical currents from the secular world, to really help shape the spiritual message – opening things up way past the doors of the church, so that the positive spirit and sense of rebirth can spread out and touch the rest of the world. These guys are still very young, and we expect that we'll be hearing great things from them in years to come – but we're already plenty pleased with the results here, on tunes that include "Am I Doing Enough", "Oh Yes He Will", "Motherless Child", "Shine On Me", "Brighter Day", "Wash Me Lord", "On The Right Road", and "If You Can't Make It Through A Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to imagine these kings being left behind, as the sound of Ikebe Shakedown just keeps getting bolder and more majestic with each new release – a very special strand of deep funk, with a blend of horns that you might find in a more Afro-styled band, mixed with tighter rhythms at the core – and dosed throughout with a really cool, very twangy guitar! The mix of elements is great – almost as if a chicha guitarist wandered into sessions for an Afro Funk record, and convinced the rest of the guys to work in more small combo modes, in a way that allows the guitar a great presence in the sound, as it washes over most of the tunes with a strong sense of color! Titles include "Hammer Into Anvil", "Horses", "Mary's Corner", "Not Another Drop", "Unqualified", and "No Going Back". CD

It's hard to imagine these kings being left behind, as the sound of Ikebe Shakedown just keeps getting bolder and more majestic with each new release – a very special strand of deep funk, with a blend of horns that you might find in a more Afro-styled band, mixed with tighter rhythms at the core – and dosed throughout with a really cool, very twangy guitar! The mix of elements is great – almost as if a chicha guitarist wandered into sessions for an Afro Funk record, and convinced the rest of the guys to work in more small combo modes, in a way that allows the guitar a great presence in the sound, as it washes over most of the tunes with a strong sense of color! Titles include "Hammer Into Anvil", "Horses", "Mary's Corner", "Not Another Drop", "Unqualified", and "No Going Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Man, these guys just keep on getting better – and this time around, Durand Jones & The Indications deliver a record that's way more than just another funk band with a lead singer! Instead, there's a depth and complexity to this set that takes us back to our favorite indie soul albums at the start of the 70s – particularly ultra-hip work from the Philly and New Jersey scenes, where sweet and funky soul modes could exist in equal space – and come up with results that are every bit as great! The core funky instrumentation from the group is still in place - but there's also larger arrangements with a bit of strings and vocals – really opening up the tunes, and somehow underscoring their more righteous currents in a way that smaller instrumentation would never do. Jones sounds better than ever – as if he's been waiting for a chance like this to really take off – and titles include "Morning In America", "Circles", "True Love", "Walk Away", "Long Way Home", "Sea Gets Hotter", "How Can I Be Sure", "Listen To Your Heart", and "Court Of Love". CD

Man, these guys just keep on getting better – and this time around, Durand Jones & The Indications deliver a record that's way more than just another funk band with a lead singer! Instead, there's a depth and complexity to this set that takes us back to our favorite indie soul albums at the start of the 70s – particularly ultra-hip work from the Philly and New Jersey scenes, where sweet and funky soul modes could exist in equal space – and come up with results that are every bit as great! The core funky instrumentation from the group is still in place - but there's also larger arrangements with a bit of strings and vocals – really opening up the tunes, and somehow underscoring their more righteous currents in a way that smaller instrumentation would never do. Jones sounds better than ever – as if he's been waiting for a chance like this to really take off – and titles include "Morning In America", "Circles", "True Love", "Walk Away", "Long Way Home", "Sea Gets Hotter", "How Can I Be Sure", "Listen To Your Heart", and "Court Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful single from Durand Jones & The Indications – very righteous, with a slow-stepping funk current at the core, which lets Durand really soar with the message in the music! "Cruising To The Park" has a warmer, softer sort of glow – mellow soul, with harmony vocals alongside the lead – which may be why the label logo here replicates the style of an old New Jersey group soul single from the 70s! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great combo, in a really great setting – the trio of organist Delvon Lamarr, captured in a sweet live radio performance! The tunes are long and open – very much in the group's killer blend of soul jazz and deep funk – with plenty of room for Delvon to soar out on the keys of the Hammond, and remind us again what a massive younger talent he is on the instrument! If you like the group's funky 45s, you'll find yourself really loving this live set – and the whole thing's only got us eager to keep on following the great growth of this group. Titles include a sweet remake of the Curtis Mayfield tune "Move On Up" – plus "Concussion", "I Don't Want To Play That", "Tacoma Block Party", "South Leo St Stomp", and "Memphis". CD

A great combo, in a really great setting – the trio of organist Delvon Lamarr, captured in a sweet live radio performance! The tunes are long and open – very much in the group's killer blend of soul jazz and deep funk – with plenty of room for Delvon to soar out on the keys of the Hammond, and remind us again what a massive younger talent he is on the instrument! If you like the group's funky 45s, you'll find yourself really loving this live set – and the whole thing's only got us eager to keep on following the great growth of this group. Titles include a sweet remake of the Curtis Mayfield tune "Move On Up" – plus "Concussion", "I Don't Want To Play That", "Tacoma Block Party", "South Leo St Stomp", and "Memphis". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soul set by a singer we're betting will have a long run in the funky underground – a relative newcomer, but one who comes across with a power that really belies his time in the studio! Ben Piriani's music has this righteous, full-on groove that reminds us a lot of that moment when Chicago soul was cusping at the end of the 60s – hitting more progressive themes, and really exploding with power – which is definitely what Ben and the group do here, thanks to sharp, soulful backings – and lots of backup vocals that almost put Piriani's lead in the company of groups like The Artistics or Lost Generation. Unlike other singers who try to go back, but usually just go for the easy marks, Ben's really got his sound just right here – and is one of the best blue-eyed soul singers we've heard in years. Titles include "How Do I Talk To My Brother", "Light Of My Life", "Try Love", "Not One More Tear", "Can't Get Out Your Own Way", "You Brought The Rain", and "Dreamin's For Free". CD

Guitar, bass, and drums all really seem to love each other to death at the start of "Rugged Walk" – coming on with a unified groove that's peppered with horns in just the right way – while the guitar kind of wangles a bit of a solo next to a trumpet, and the whole thing bristles in just the right mix of trippy and funky! "Take Me With You" has a cool keyboard glow next to the breaking drums – kind of a slow sparkle that brings a slight dose of class to the spare funky tune! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are tighter than ever, and have really perfected a trademark sound – a style that's got the breaking drums of a vintage funky 45, the moody horns of an Ethio funk group, and the kind of organ and keyboard lines that would be right at home on a vintage album by The Meters! The blend is wonderful, and carried off to perfection here – touched with some added percussion and other surprises over the course of the record – but all with this lean, sharp instrumental style that never needs any vocals, nor any other added elements to hold our interest! The set begins with a cover of the Roy Ayers tune "Aragon" – then moves through originals that include "Build Bridges", "Roxy Funk", "Gloria's Anthem", "El Nino", "Sucker Punch", "Costa Blues", and "Campus Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet second album from Jr Thomas & The Volcanos – a contemporary group, but one who get the sound of late 60s Kingston just right! These guys are to reggae and rocksteady what the Dap-Kings are to classic funk – younger modern artists who are completely devoted to finding the right style of performance and production to hit the sorts of great grooves that just about nobody makes anymore! The Colemine label has been a bastion of contemporary funk acts of top quality – and The Volcanos are a perfect fit with their sound too – vintage for the present, and more proof that some of the best sounds around can be found when you're willing to go back in time. Titles include "Mr Harriott", "What A Shame", "Chin Up", "Till You're Gone", "Rockstone", "Brian Wilson", "Cold Smiles, and "Forever". CD

A killer debut from soul singer Kelly Finnigan – an artist who's got years of experience under his belt, working on other folks' projects – finally out in the spotlight on his own! Kelly's a blue-eyed singer, but has a voice that crackles with a classic soul rasp – set up here in the kind of deep soul, funk-based backings you'd expect from the record's placement on the Colemine label! Drums are heavy, arrangements are full, horns are tight, and there's some great organ lines that burn alongside Kelly's vocals – to really give the whole thing a deeply-rooted southern soul quality. Finnigan produced the whole thing himself – and titles include "I Called You Back Baby", "Freedom", "Can't Let Him Down", "I Don't Wanna Wait", "I'll Never Love Again", "Smoking & Drinking", "Every Time It Rains", and "Since I Don't Have You Anymore". LP, Vinyl record album

Blue-eyed southern soul from Neal Francis – a set that feels like one of those great rock/soul albums that were captured during the height of the Muscle Shoals scene – although with maybe a bit more contemporary funk at the core as well! Neal's songs are super-catchy – and take us back to that moment when the right rock artists were picking up plenty from soul styles in Alabama and Tennessee – then turning the music into well-crafted hits for the better side of the 70s scene. Titles include "Change (parts 1 & 2)", "Put It In His Hands", "Can't Live Without Your Love", "This Time", "She's A Winner", "These Are The Days", and "How Have I Lived". CD

Blue-eyed southern soul from Neal Francis – a set that feels like one of those great rock/soul albums that were captured during the height of the Muscle Shoals scene – although with maybe a bit more contemporary funk at the core as well! Neal's songs are super-catchy – and take us back to that moment when the right rock artists were picking up plenty from soul styles in Alabama and Tennessee – then turning the music into well-crafted hits for the better side of the 70s scene. Titles include "Change (parts 1 & 2)", "Put It In His Hands", "Can't Live Without Your Love", "This Time", "She's A Winner", "These Are The Days", and "How Have I Lived". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic full-length group of The Harlem Gospel Travelers – a quartet trained on the male group gospel modes of older acts like the Soul Stirrers or Violinaires – but one who really shine strongly with a voice of their own, thanks to a set of all original material, and some nice funk-based currents in the instrumentation! The album's definitely a gospel record, but it resonates with those rare efforts on labels like Stax or Jewel, which could bring in musical currents from the secular world, to really help shape the spiritual message – opening things up way past the doors of the church, so that the positive spirit and sense of rebirth can spread out and touch the rest of the world. These guys are still very young, and we expect that we'll be hearing great things from them in years to come – but we're already plenty pleased with the results here, on tunes that include "Am I Doing Enough", "Oh Yes He Will", "Motherless Child", "Shine On Me", "Brighter Day", "Wash Me Lord", "On The Right Road", and "If You Can't Make It Through A Storm". CD

A rare non-album track from Barbara Howard – and a completely badass bit of female funk that may well be one of the heaviest tunes we've ever heard from the singer! The cut moves nice and fast – congas working with organ lines and quick-riffing guitar – while Howard trades fierce lyrics with her backup singers! "The Man Above" is a slow-stepping number with a great mellow vibe – spiritual, but secular slinky too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A lost Ohio soul treasure – the initial effort by a singer with a hell of a voice, but one who languished in obscurity after the poor response to this debut LP! Barbara Howard really knocks it out of the park here – singing like a deep soul diva with a hell of a lot of power and focus – but also moving effortlessly through material from a variety of modes, often given a bit of a jazzy twist in the backings – almost as if Howard's trying to be the southern soul answer to Nancy Wilson on Capitol Records! There's maybe a Spanky Wilson vibe to the whole thing – with a similar punch in the arrangements – and titles include "The Man Above", "Save Your Love For Me", "Light My Fire", "My Song", "I Need You", "Welcome Home", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", and "For Once In My Life". CD

The much anticipated full length debut of Brooklyn Afro Funk and psych soul-influenced combo Ikebe Shakedown – following up their tight, promising EP on the Colemine label with an excellent self-titled set on Ubiquity! One of our favorite things about Ikebe Shakedown's style is the way they blend signature elements of classic Afro Funk and soul with more broadly influenced grooves. Heavy horns and pummeling drums, vamping guitar licks and elastic basslines are prominent and funky – but they work with more measured and spaced out material, too. It's roomy enough to let the individual musicianship shine, and the production is really great. Includes ""Tujumba", "Kumasi Walk", "No Name Bar", "Tame The Beats", "Don't Contradict", "Refuge", "In Circles", "Asa-Sa", "The Hold Up", "The Viking" and "Five Points". 10 tracks on the vinyl. LP, Vinyl record album