The future's brighter than the recent past – thanks to the spirit embraced here by the folks at Colemine Records – one of many labels who weathered the storm of 2020, and who see much brighter days ahead in the years to come! Colemine survived by stripping things down, and digitally issuing weekly tracks from different sides of their label roster – a way of keeping things alive during the darkest days, and giving many voices a chance to be heard – a nicely diverse array of funk and soul artists who've always given the label a really special sound. This set brings together key cuts from that run of releases – a full 2021 statement after the smaller steps of the previous years – and makes for a set that mixes bigger Colemine names with some great up-and-comers. Titles include "Jackie" by Reverend Baron, "Espume" by Rudy De Anda, "Cloud Of Smoke" by Andrew Gabbard, "Baby Girl" by Young Gun Silver Fox, "This Life" by Kendra Morris, "Changes (demo)" by Neal Francis, "Who Could It Be" by The Soul chance, "Here We Are" by Dojo Cuts with Carlton Jumel Smith, "Inner City Blues" by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, "Winston Theme" by Winston Brothers, "Sunk In The Mist" by JR Thomas & The Volcanos, "Standing With You" by The Resonaires, "What's His Name" by Thee Sineers, and "Sommer" by Ironsides. CD

A really great contemporary soul group – one who've got a different vibe than some of the rest, and this warmly righteous spirit that really lives up to the title of the record! The group embrace themes of love and power equally – rising up with a quality that's a great change from some of the more offhand modes that sometimes grace records like this – a group who put their soul message first, then follow through with nicely funky backings. There's three different female singers in the group – Misha Roberts, Paula Saunders, and Seyko Groves – who each get to solo in the lead, but have strong harmony support from the others – on titles that include "Outta My Mind", "Move On", "Rise Up", "Don't Shoot", "One Nation", "Love Liberates", and "Make Me Surrender". CD

This one-man orchestra just keeps on getting better and better with each new record – working with the funk you'd expect from the name, but also all these cool and moody touches that mix together David Axelrod-like ambition with some of the sharper snap of hip hop production! This time around, Seth Applebaum has a fair bit of strings and horns in the mix – plus added voices, some strong lead singers – and an array of sonic touches that make for a richness that's much deeper than it is ghostly! Previous records were good, but Seth's really onto something great hear – and mixes together strands of sounds into something that's much richer than its parts – emerging as a surprising maestro for the underground, on titles that include "Stoop Talk", "Mourning", "Drop Me A Line", "Little Bird", "Fuzzy Logic", "Quiet Soul", "Tojours", "Queen Bee", and "Cost Of Living". CD

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

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". 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". LP, Vinyl record album

An organ trio, and one with plenty of soul – romping drums, riffing guitar, and some mighty sweet work on the Hammond by Delvon Lamarr! This is the first we've ever heard of the group, but they're rock solid and right on the money – working with a lean, hard style that's completely classic, but also a bit contemporary too – maybe swinging in the best sort of space between the Jack McDuff Quartet of the 60s and the Sugarman Three group of Desco Records fame! David McGraw handles the drums with a clear love of funk, and Jimmy James is wonderfully wicked on guitar – never trying to dominate too much, as there's no need – given how much he brings to the overall groove. Delvon's a hell of an organist too – the kind that knows that a little can often go much farther than a lot when handling the electric keys – which he does to set up some sweet solos on cuts that include "Ain't It Funky", "Al Greenery", "Can I Change My Mind", "Walk On By", "Between The Mustard & The Mayo", "Raymond Brings The Greens", and "Little Booker T". CD

The Monophonics sound better here than ever before – as if the group's gone through some great mutation that's got them coming across with a richer, more mature sound than we ever might have expected a few years before! Things are still pretty darn funky, but there's also strong currents of deeper 70s soul – both a fragile east coast harmony vein, and some fuller arrangements from time to time – almost as if All-Platinum Records were co-producing a set with Curtom – although with some of the sunnier Cali elements we've always heard from the group. Kelly Finnigan produced, and handled lead vocals and plenty of keyboards – but the set's definitely a group affair, and sounds different than Finnigan's other work – and has a sublime sound that's right at home on the Colemine label. Titles include "Tunnel Vision", "Last One Standing", "It's Only Us", "All In The Family", "Run For Your Life", "Day By Day", and "Suffocating". CD

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

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". CD

(Note: This item is not for sale online until noon on Saturday, June 12. It is in limited supply – and by nature of the Record Store Day rules it will be offered for sale first to customers who visit the Dusty Groove retail outlet in Chicago the morning Saturday, June 12. It will not be pre-sold or reserved in any way. However, after noon on June 12 we will offer up whatever we have left for sale online.) LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully heavy sounds from Black Market Brass – a group who started out with more of a global funk approach, but who emerge here with the intensity of some lost funky soundtrack – all with the sort of edge you might expect from the cover! The style here is really revolutionary – unlike anything else we've ever heard from a group with "brass" in their name – in part because the group has some very cool distortion on the keyboards and guitar, which gives those electric elements a very sinister sound next to the straight ahead fire of the horns – served up with really hard-driving rhythms throughout, in a way that seems to pull together older traditions of Afro Funk, Nola Brass, and even some of the southern college bands – but all with a very 21st Century vision. Titles include "So Who (parts 1 & 2)", "Into The Thick", "War Room", "Cheat & Start A Fight", "Undying Thirst", and "NBT". LP, Vinyl record album

Deeply funky work from one of the hippest Hammond organ combos around – just a trio, but one that's able to pack the punch of so many much larger groups! Delvon Lamarr took all the right lessons from Hammond heroes of the past – not that he's copying anyone's style, because he isn't – but he really knows the right way to make the instrument move between rhythm and melody, solo and groove – as he works here in ultra-tight formation with funky drummer Grant Schroff and guitarist Jimmy James! James gets in a few great licks of his own – and like Delvon, really knows how to move between staying on the rhythm, and getting loose – which makes for a wonderful album, through, filled with stone cold originals that include "Hole In One", "Call Your Mom", "Girly Face", "From The Streets", "I Don't Know", "Fo Sho", and "Aces". CD

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic funk from the Colemine label – a company who've given us plenty of great albums over the years, but who seem especially well-tuned to the funky 45! Along with Daptone, Big Crown, and a few others, Colemine is one of the labels who turn out top-shelf 7" singles again and again – most of which are in limited pressings, disappear fast, and are sometimes pretty expensive if you can find them! This set corrects that issue, and brings together 27 nuggets that originally appeared as funky 45s – all stacked together nicely as a massive LP set, with a nice price break from trying to track down the singles. Titles include "Gripsweats Them" by The Gripsweats, "Don't You Know" by Durand Jones & The Indications, "NUSAU" by Jungle Fire, "Supermoon" by Ikebe Shakedown, "What A Shame" by Jr Thomas & The Volcanos, "War Room" by Black Market Brass, "Aragon" by Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, "My God Has A Telephone" by Flying Stars Of Brooklyn, "He's On Time" by Harlem Gospel Travelers, "Happiness" by Wesley Bright & The Honeytones, "It Was Only A Dream" by Thee Sinseers, "America" by Soul Scratch, and "Sure Don't Miss You" by The Dip. LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully heavy sounds from Black Market Brass – a group who started out with more of a global funk approach, but who emerge here with the intensity of some lost funky soundtrack – all with the sort of edge you might expect from the cover! The style here is really revolutionary – unlike anything else we've ever heard from a group with "brass" in their name – in part because the group has some very cool distortion on the keyboards and guitar, which gives those electric elements a very sinister sound next to the straight ahead fire of the horns – served up with really hard-driving rhythms throughout, in a way that seems to pull together older traditions of Afro Funk, Nola Brass, and even some of the southern college bands – but all with a very 21st Century vision. Titles include "So Who (parts 1 & 2)", "Into The Thick", "War Room", "Cheat & Start A Fight", "Undying Thirst", and "NBT". CD

A really great contemporary soul group – one who've got a different vibe than some of the rest, and this warmly righteous spirit that really lives up to the title of the record! The group embrace themes of love and power equally – rising up with a quality that's a great change from some of the more offhand modes that sometimes grace records like this – a group who put their soul message first, then follow through with nicely funky backings. There's three different female singers in the group – Misha Roberts, Paula Saunders, and Seyko Groves – who each get to solo in the lead, but have strong harmony support from the others – on titles that include "Outta My Mind", "Move On", "Rise Up", "Don't Shoot", "One Nation", "Love Liberates", and "Make Me Surrender". LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Deep funk, but with a compelling twist – bits of South American styles filtering into the mix from time to time, but in subtle ways that never lose the groove! The album's a soundtrack, but works more like a funk album on its own – and is a great full length follow-up to some of the hip 45 work we've heard from the Colemine label – showing that they may well be on the deeper path of a label like Daptone! The added elements make for some hip exotic inflections from time to time – almost echoes of El Michels, but in a different way – and titles include "Pablo's Dilemma", "High Noon", "Sigamos El Sol", "El Conquistador", "Nadie Puede Escpar", "Andean Folk Song", and "Mirror Door". LP, Vinyl record album

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". CD

Mellow soul from the Windy City – served up by a group we first discovered on a Colemine funky 45, and who sound even better here in the space of a full length album! The group clearly have an influence from sweet soul of the 70s – but their presentation is more contemporary too – both at an instrumental level, where they seem to have winnowed down the best sonic elements of larger orchestrations – and at a vocal level, where they never try to push too hard for their range, or overstate their case too much. We really appreciate that subtle balance – and it resonates strongly throughout, on titles that include "Love Me", "Honest Man", "Long Weekend", "Telephone/Good Place", "Heart", "Life For Each Other", "Special", "Wander", "Alone In Love", and "Fat Night's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

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