No time for table games here – as Diazpora jump right in the groove from the very first note – working with a sweet 70s funk approach to their music, which means lots of riffing guitar, funky basslines, and horns punctuating the keys – all while lead singer Axel Maximilian Fiege sings in this very strong way – able to go deep one minute, inflect a falsetto the next – all with these twists and turns that make him way more than just another soul singer working with a funk band! Axel's strong presence in the lead really gives the whole thing a heck of a lot of power and shape – and titles include "Hit Me", "The Bachelor", "Hangin On", "Ready To Go", "Play The Ball", "The Olympians", and "You Shot Me Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A tight little quartet from the Hamburg scene – a combo who really get back to basics with a strong focus on organ lines and guitar! The groove is maybe a more complicated take on the territory of Booker T & The MGs – longer tunes, with more variation in the rhythms – but still served up with the kind of simplicity and focus that made that group so great! The organ tones and notes are perfectly chosen throughout – and the drums get nice and funky, with a few great break moments too. Titles include "Haschrebellen", "Der Optimist", "Pharisaer", "Der Kiezpanther", "Maries Mexickaner", and "Bambule In Der Thadenstrasse". LP, Vinyl record album

The Mocambos are back, and mightier than ever – thanks to help from a lineup of all-stars who include Lee Fields, Jswiss, Ice T, Gizelle Smith, and even German sci-fi legend Peter Thomas! The core sound of the group is as before – tight funk by a large ensemble of all-star players who've worked in a variety of other contemporary funk settings – but the addition of deeper soul and hip hop vocals to the record really opens things up – and maybe makes us appreciate the instrumentation at the core even more, since these guys do so a great job of moving around to accommodate the setting. And yet the whole thing is still strongly unified with Mighty Mocambos power – a great take on older funk modes, on titles that include "Stronger", "Return To Space", "Golden Shadow", "Take On The World", "Here We Go", "Bounce That Ass", "Where Do We Go From Here", and "Macumba". LP, Vinyl record album

Nick Pride's the guitarist, the arranger, and the songwriter of the group – but the lineup features equally strong lead presence from singer Eliza Lawson – whose vocals are at the core of the set, and provide a very strong grounding to the larger funky horns from the Pimptones! The group seems to have their chops down even more than before – very classic soul, with funk around the edges – maybe a few contemporary modes here and there, but plenty vintage overall – on titles that include "Woke", "Keep It In The Family", "Queens Are Stronger Than Kings", "Mama Got The Nasty Jams", "Gotta Shimmy", "Put It On The Record", "Four Leaf Clover", and "Unity". LP, Vinyl record album

Late 80s soundtrack that features tracks by Johnny Pacheco and Luis Perico Ortiz on the first half, and selections by Phoebe Legere, Dean & The Weenies, Manitoba's Wild Kingdom, Joey Arias, and John Sex on the flipside. LP, Vinyl record album