A real moment of breakthrough from Will "Quantic" Holland – a set that really expands his sound, deepens his ties to funk roots, and makes the whole thing feel a lot more live than some of his previous work! Will's at the helm and handles most instruments – but there's also guest vocals from Aspects, EQ, and Allice Russell – the last of whom was just at the start of her mighty run, and really gains plenty by matching up with the funky Quantic style of production! There's a lot more tuneful, catchy moments than before – and titles include "Off The Beaten Track", "Sweet Calling", "Primate Boogaloo", "Apricot Morning", "Search The Heavens", "Brand New Watusi", "Transatlantic", and "Blackstone Rock". CD

A masterpiece from Will "Quantic" Holland – an artist who always surprises us with new sounds, but really blows us away with the depth in this set! Quantic started out groovy, then got funky and soulful, then embraced a range of Latin cultures in later work – and throughout that long musical journey, he's never failed to keep on growing – always stepping forward towards new sonic horizons, rather than be content to serve up the same sounds that got him attention in the first place! Subtle strings are added to beats (both acoustic and electric), keyboards, and just the right use of vocals from Nidia Gongora, Alice Russell, Denita Odigie, and Holland himself – so that the album's got this balance between instrumental activity and lyrical passages – the shifting voices never taking the spotlight away from the larger musical vision that Quantic uses to guide the whole proceedings. Sly5thAve also adds in some great work – and titles include "Tierra Mama", "Incendium", "Divergence", "Is it Your Intention", "La Reflexion", "Orquidea", "September Blues", and "Now Or Never". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece from Will "Quantic" Holland – an artist who always surprises us with new sounds, but really blows us away with the depth in this set! Quantic started out groovy, then got funky and soulful, then embraced a range of Latin cultures in later work – and throughout that long musical journey, he's never failed to keep on growing – always stepping forward towards new sonic horizons, rather than be content to serve up the same sounds that got him attention in the first place! Subtle strings are added to beats (both acoustic and electric), keyboards, and just the right use of vocals from Nidia Gongora, Alice Russell, Denita Odigie, and Holland himself – so that the album's got this balance between instrumental activity and lyrical passages – the shifting voices never taking the spotlight away from the larger musical vision that Quantic uses to guide the whole proceedings. Sly5thAve also adds in some great work – and titles include "Tierra Mama", "Incendium", "Divergence", "Is it Your Intention", "La Reflexion", "Orquidea", "September Blues", and "Now Or Never". CD

A landmark album – one that has the beat-heavy Quantic transform into the Quantic Soul Orchestra, for a stunning deep funk performance! The record sounds like nothing Quantic have done in the past – and shares a sound with work from the Soul Fire/Daptone underground, with a tight blend of hard drums, fast-riffing guitar, and all-solid 70s funky grooves. The one element that we would say the record shares with Quantic is a real talent for picking up neat instrumental twists – like the odd flute fill, string wash, or off-kilter drum sound – all of which make for a record that really opens up the genre of deep funk, and makes for one of the freshest releases we've heard of its type in a while! Includes a great deep funk cover of 4 Hero's "Hold It Down", plus the tracks "Terrapin", "Something That's Real", "South Coastin", "Stampede", "Raw Ingredients", "Babarabatiri", and "Take Your Time Change Your Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

A real moment of breakthrough from Will "Quantic" Holland – a set that really expands his sound, deepens his ties to funk roots, and makes the whole thing feel a lot more live than some of his previous work! Will's at the helm and handles most instruments – but there's also guest vocals from Aspects, EQ, and Allice Russell – the last of whom was just at the start of her mighty run, and really gains plenty by matching up with the funky Quantic style of production! There's a lot more tuneful, catchy moments than before – and titles include "Off The Beaten Track", "Sweet Calling", "Primate Boogaloo", "Apricot Morning", "Search The Heavens", "Brand New Watusi", "Transatlantic", and "Blackstone Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Will "Quantic" Holland – easily one of the hardest working men in the groove business! Will's work under the Quantic and Quantic Soul Orchestra name is well known from a few key albums over the past few years – but he's also got a resume that spans far beyond those full length sets, and runs into dozens of rare singles, remixes, and related projects. This overdue collection brings together the best of that extra Quantic work – pulling together a nice range of differently-flavored tunes that further expand our understanding of Will's funky genius – a good portion of which have been out of print for awhile! 2CD package is overflowing with great work – the Quantic titles "Archipelago", "Quick Sand", "En Focus (Pilooski mix)", "Departure", "Giraffe Walk", "Perception (Nu:Tone mix)", "Off The Beaten Track (Carmel mix)", and "Don't Joke With A Hungry Man (Seiji mix)" – and remixes that include "Girl Who Wasn't There (Quantic mix)" by Victor Malloy, "Where's Vicky (Quantic mix)" by Bathysphere, "So Sudden (Quantic mix)" by Handpolished, "1958 (Quantic mix)" by Skalpel, "In Your Own Time (Quantic mix)" by Dynamoe, "Secrets (Quantic mix)" by 3 Mins with Mark Murphy, "Transworld (Quantic mix)" by UFO, "Bababatteur (Quantic mix)" by Awa Band with Tony Allen, and "Bukom Mashie (Quantic mix)" by Oscar Sulley & Uhuru Dance Band. CD

An orchestral homage to Dr Dre spearheaded by Brooklyn's Sylvester Onyejiaka, aka Sly5thAve – fleshing out hooks and melodies from throughout Dre's career, from classic singles to deep cuts, into large scale jazzy soul – with a stellar roster of guests including Mark De Clive-Lowe, DJ Center, Quantic, Jimetta Rose and more! It's pretty diverse, capturing timeless Cali funk & soul backdrops as well as slightly more stripped down live band hip hop-style versions, and mostly, but not entirely instrumentals. One exception is "Let Me Ride" with singer Jimetta Rose, who delivers some great, spontaneously emotional vocals – but the whole set is excellent – and titles includes "Shiznit" with Jessie Fisher, "California", "Drelude For Woo" feat Mark De Clive-Lowe, "No Diggity" feat Sydney Driver, "The Jam" feat Matthias Loescher, "Who Am I" feat Paul Wilson, "Still Dre", "My Name Is" feat Robert Searight, "Guilty Conscience", "Nuthin' But A G Thang" feat Brad Allen Williams, "The Edge" feat Quantic, "Next Episode", "Peace" and more. CD

An orchestral homage to Dr Dre spearheaded by Brooklyn's Sylvester Onyejiaka, aka Sly5thAve – fleshing out hooks and melodies from throughout Dre's career, from classic singles to deep cuts, into large scale jazzy soul – with a stellar roster of guests including Mark De Clive-Lowe, DJ Center, Quantic, Jimetta Rose and more! It's pretty diverse, capturing timeless Cali funk & soul backdrops as well as slightly more stripped down live band hip hop-style versions, and mostly, but not entirely instrumentals. One exception is "Let Me Ride" with singer Jimetta Rose, who delivers some great, spontaneously emotional vocals – but the whole set is excellent – and titles includes "Shiznit" with Jessie Fisher, "California", "Drelude For Woo" feat Mark De Clive-Lowe, "No Diggity" feat Sydney Driver, "The Jam" feat Matthias Loescher, "Who Am I" feat Paul Wilson, "Still Dre", "My Name Is" feat Robert Searight, "Guilty Conscience", "Nuthin' But A G Thang" feat Brad Allen Williams, "The Edge" feat Quantic, "Next Episode", "Peace" and more. CD

The long-awaited return of the Whitefield Brothers – melding global funk and tripped out psychedelia as masterfully as on their massive In The Raw album – and tripping it out and funking it up even more this time! The psychedelic sounds get more pronounced play this time out, but it's still well within the funk realm – gritty drums and percussion under fuzzed out rhythms, keys that range from a jazzy funk groove to thick layers of fuzz and bubbling atmospherics, exotic string accents, heady bass grooves and more. Their reach is global, too, with influences from the east and the west – and a heck of an impressive guest roster – with leftfield MCs on a couple gems – Edan & Mr Lif on "The Gift" and Percee P & MED on "Reverse" – plus Bajka, Brooklyn funk revival masters the El Michels Affair, and fellow psych funk traveller Quantic. Titles include "Joyful Exaltation", "Safari Strut", "Taisho", "Sad Nile", "Ntu", "Pamukkale", "Alin", "Breakin Through" feat El Michels Affair, "Sem Yelesh", "Lullaby For Lagos" feat Quantic, "Chich" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent modern take on the Afro Funk genre of the 70s – one that's filled with work by current groups who really get the classic sound right! As in the older work of Fela, there's plenty of percussion, keyboards, and horns in the mix here – often played straight and live, as on the older records, and with a solidly soulful sound that would be bound to make the great one proud! A few tracks go for a slightly more modern production approach, but always still keep the overall feel of the tune just right – and the set's one that you'll proudly put next to your older Afro Funk records, as proof that the sound lives on today, when placed in the right hands. Titles include "Mama Don't Want No Gun (Beatfanatic rmx)" by Kokolo, "NESTA 75" by Antibalas, "Diggin" by Ras, "Elephant" by Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, "Lagos Sound System" by Les Barons, "Un Tour Du Monde (inst mix)" by Love & Salt, "Cheney Lane" by Nostalgia 77, "The Name Of Fela Will Always Stand For Freedom" by The Jetsons with Jessica Lauren, "Take Time To Change Your Mind (Faze Action rmx)" by Quantic Soul Orchestra, and "See Line Woman" by Femm Nameless. CD

The Savoy jazz catalog gets the remix tradition – following nicely in the mode of similar projects on Verve or Blue Note! The work here is all pulled from classic bop sessions of the late 40s and 1950s – key tracks that defined the sound of Savoy back in the day, but cut down here to their core elements – then laid out over more contemporary rhythms for the modern dancefloor! The best numbers actually preserve some sense of jazz soloing – an approach that we like better than other too-abstract remakes of older jazz on the market – and titles include "Moose The Mooche (Quantic rmx)" by Charlie Parker, "Night In Tunisia (DJ Jazzy Jeff rmx)" by Duke Jordan, "Lover Man (King Britt's Speakeasy mix)" by Dizzy Gillespie with Sarah Vaughan, "Minor Vamp (Basement Boys 12")" by Curtis Fuller, "Yardbird Suite (St Etienne mix)" by Herbie Mann, "Bohemia After Dark (Diamond D rmx)" by Cannonball Adderley, "Caravan (DJ Smashish rmx)" by Dizzy Gillespie, and "Movin Nicely (Eclipse rmx)" by Modern Jazz Quartet. CD

A mighty nice entry in the Shapes series – and like recent efforts, a vinyl package that follows up a previous digital-only release – featuring the best cuts in a physical package! As with other collections in the Shapes series, the music here is from a much wider version of the Tru Thoughts universe than has been issued on record – up-and-coming artists, under-recorded talents, and some of the label's bigger names featured in exclusive or unreleased mixes. Titles include "Original Nutta (DJ Madd rmx)" by Magic Drum Orchestra with Bunty, "Traveller (VB Kuhl rmx)" by Rabil Harnoune & VB Kuhl, "All About Life (Wonky Logic rmx)" by Bryony Jarman-Pinto, "Life Is Not A Crime" by Tiawa, "The Edge (Swarvy rmx)" by Sly5thAve featuring Quantic, "RAM Generation" by sUb_modU, "Cant' Nobody Get Down (Kabuki rmx)" by Hot 8 Brass Band, "Work It Out (west Loop Chicago mix)" by Soul Central with Jennifer Wallace, "Mind Up (Werkha rmx)" by J Felix with Andrew Ashong, "Vitruvian Man" by WheelUP, "How Deep (Nuff Pedals rmx)" by Rhi, and "Nom Wah Tea Parlour" by Strategy. LP, Vinyl record album

A bumping thumping assortment of grooves from the great Tru Thoughts label – a British imprint that's slowly changing the face of modern funk! The 12 track set features work by some of the label's best acts, and has a nice chunky feeling overall – with quirky rhythms, unique production twists, and some great grooves that are fresher than the usual modern modern work! Titles include "Singalong" by Treva Whateva, "Moving Closer To The Sofa" by The Limp Twins, "Form To Follow" by Al Stylus, "Messin Around" by Capoeira Twins, "Sweet Calling (Bears In The Woods mix)" by Quantic, "Raise The Game" by Natural Self, "Terrapin" by Quantic Soul Orchestra, and "All Or Nothing" by Unitone. CD

A gleaming batch of remixes based largely on tracks from Sabrina Malheiro's great Equilibria album on Far Out – featuring some of the best remix work in years from Nicola Conte, Kenny Dope, Incognito, Roc Hunter and others! Sabrina's classicist approach to modern bossa vocals made her debut one of our favorite albums on Far Out in a long time – and the remixers are respectful enough of that warm, breezy charm to make sure to never overpower that bossa groove with overdone electronics. The tunes are mostly in the 5 to 6 minutes range, with stepped up, bouncier, and sometimes funkier production touches and crisper keys – but Sabrina's still the star of the show. A wonderful re-imagining of/companion piece to a wonderful album! Tracks include "Terra De Ninguem (Nicola Conte remix)", "Passa (Quantic remix)", "Saudade Rio (Kirk Degiorgio's As One remix)", "Estacao Verao (Kenny Dope remix)", "Passa (Venom remix)", "Maracatueira (Incognito remix)", "Capoeria Vai (Roc Hunter remix)" and more – plus the bonus track "Iemanja". CD

Music from Sabo, Nickodemus, Marzebian, Candela Allstars, Nickodemus + Osiris, Marzebian, Dinksuoitinrev, Richard Khuzami, Nickodemus + Quantic, Zeb, Pleaser, and Sabo + Zeb. CD

The debut compilation from Hugo Mendez and the Sofrito collective on Strut – tropical dancefloor grooves from Africa, the Caribbean and South American – featuring Banda Los Hijos De La Nina Luz, Frente Cumbiero, Fair Nick Stars, Victor Uwaifo, "Dany Play", Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo, Roaring Lion and more! The basis is the Sofrito parties that began in East London in the mid 80s, where lovers of vintage Latin and African dance music got together and brought tropical grooves to an appreciative British club scene. It's great stuff all the way! Titles include "Quiero Amanacer" by Banda Los Hikos De La Nina Luz, "Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucomp" by Les Ya Toupas Du Zaire, "Arrete Mal Parle" by Fair Nick Stars, "Descarga Bontempi" by El Timba, "Fa'Waka (Pt 1)" by Dany Play, "Cumbia De Mochilla" by Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo, "Yiri Yiri Boum" by Gnonnas Pedro" and more. 15 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko, Anibal Velasquez, Alfredito Linares, and Michi Sarmiento – alongside Quantic's Combo Babaro, and the Frente Combeiro group of Mario Galeano! The sound is all classic throughout – no tricks or gimmicks, or modern remix modes at all – just old school instrumentation, filtered through a new school approach to funk – one that's come from years of digging older Colombian numbers, and finding a way to make new music that packs an equal punch. Every bit as smoking as older Central American grooves compiled by Soundway – with tracks that include "Bomba Tropica", "La Tranca", "Cien Anos", "Papi Shingaling", "Mi Negra", "Dos Lucecitas", "Libya", "Punkero Sonidero", "I Ron Man", "Suena", and "Swing De Gillian". LP, Vinyl record album

The long-awaited return of the Whitefield Brothers – melding global funk and tripped out psychedelia as masterfully as on their massive In The Raw album – and tripping it out and funking it up even more this time! The psychedelic sounds get more pronounced play this time out, but it's still well within the funk realm – gritty drums and percussion under fuzzed out rhythms, keys that range from a jazzy funk groove to thick layers of fuzz and bubbling atmospherics, exotic string accents, heady bass grooves and more. Their reach is global, too, with influences from the east and the west – and a heck of an impressive guest roster – with leftfield MCs on a couple gems – Edan & Mr Lif on "The Gift" and Percee P & MED on "Reverse" – plus Bajka, Brooklyn funk revival masters the El Michels Affair, and fellow psych funk traveller Quantic. Titles include "Joyful Exaltation", "Safari Strut", "Taisho", "Sad Nile", "Ntu", "Pamukkale", "Alin", "Breakin Through" feat El Michels Affair, "Sem Yelesh", "Lullaby For Lagos" feat Quantic, "Chich" and more. CD