Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Top ambient electro music.

Review: Freestyle serve up 2 James Brown tributes as a sampler for the recent Modern Funk compilation. It has been argued that 2007
was the year that the underground funk movement finally started to make its presence known in the mainstream. Huge selling
artists such as Mark Ronson, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse spearheaded a movement towards a more organic and authentic
sound, selling thousands of records in the process and whisking bands, who have been gigging in small sweaty clubs in the UK
for years, off on world tours. The music itself harks back to the golden years of Motown, Watts and Stax, as well as hundreds of
unknown smaller labels, but given the all important production values of the 21st century, making it perfect for the dancefloor -
hence the tag 'Modern Funk'. The a-side finds The Fantastics (previously known as Reverend Cleatus and The Soul Saviours)
getting busy with The Godfather's 'Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose', sticking pretty close to the original but slapping their unique style
all over it. Over on the flip Speedometer and Ria Currie take on 'Answer To Mother Popcorn', originally a Vicki Anderson number,
giving it a update for the dancefloor in 2008.

Review: Fatboy Slim has recorded his own version of Kraftwerk's "Radioactivity". The b-side is by the one and only Bootsy Collins, written by Paul 'Beautiful South' Heaton.

Review: 'Roll On Arte' is the first single from the critically acclaimed album 'Tonight At The Arizona' (number 13 in The Guardian's Top Albums of 2008).
Features exclusive new track on the b-side. The Felice Brothers are Simone, Ian and James, born along the Hudson River in upstate New York,
plus an adopted runaway dice thrower called Christmas. Unschooled illegal street/subway musicians from the start, their distinct brand of songwriting
and the lawless sound they've forged has earned them comparisons to Woodie Guthrie, Neil Young, Walt Whitman, Dylan, early Bruce Springsteen and
even James Brown. They all live, tour, sing, write and gamble together in a 1987 special education bus and tour the endless highways of the United States.

Review: Fields release a new single "Song For The Fields" through Atlantic Records. The single is taken from the bands debut album "Everything Last Winter". Both the album and the single were produced by legendary producer Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden and Marilyn Manson) at Sun Studios, Dublin.

Review: Silver Ponds, the first offering from Ben Watt's brand-new Strange label, features Denmark's Figurines getting the remix treatment from Mr Watt himself. Ben reworks 'Silver Ponds', taking the original blend of Strokes/Pavement influences and turning out a pair of tripped-out Balearic rides, incorporating bits of modern techno disco and 70's German feel. Wicked.

Review: A six-headed funk/jazz group, The Filthy Six pluck one of the highlights of their second album The Fox for this here single for the venerable Acid Jazz label. A cover of Michael Jackson's "Girlfriend" would be hard to get wrong, but the crew make the song their own with a mix of Hammond organ, brass, Dap Tones drums and some raw and deliciously soulful vocals. Much needed 7" bad boy here!

Review: On his second album, "He Poos Clouds," as on the single Owen Pallet presents a clearly enhanced approach of his solo project Final Fantasy. The music sound of his 2005 debut, "Final Fantasy Has A Good Home," was mainly based on Pallet's violin and his virtuoso handling of the loop pedal. He now proves his skills as an arranger, working with a large chamber music ensemble, featuring a string quartet, piano, harpsichord and percussion (among others). Still, Owen shows an impressive ingenuity for melodic lines and surprising turnarounds. Regardless of the more extended scope for this album, "He Poos Clouds" was produced to maintain a certain intimacy. The overall atmosphere carries the ease of an afternoon dress rehearsal, as if the ensemble members played for themselves one last time before the crowd rushes in. Owen's mostly introverted vocals also express this mood of privacy. The musical language of The Final Fantasy is eclectic without letting its influences act as bare quotations for themselves. Traces were smeared with care and everything is consolidated and processed in such a peculiar way that we cannot designate the culprits any longer. He even integrates an amazing variety of stylistic spheres within the individual songs.

Review: Fresh from achieving their biggest hit to date with the #16 single 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song', The Flaming Lips will release 'The W.A.N.D.' as the second single to be taken from their widely praised album 'At War With The Mystics' that debuted at #6 on the album charts. One of the heavier and more vehement moments of the 'At War With The Mystics' set, 'The W.A.N.D' was described by the band's charismatic vocalist Wayne Coyne as being, "like Black Sabbath getting mashed up with Sly and the Family Stone or Stevie Wonder".

Review: "Count Me Out" is a groovy mid-tempo rocker. The b-side is "Glad To have You Back", a scorching cover of the Union Carbide Productions song.

Review: "Balloons" is from one of the hottest bands in the UK today, Oxford-based quartet Foals. These guys are going to be huge, so don't miss this Transgressive release.

Review: After a year in the wilderness, West Country alt-hop outsiders Aspects return with a new groundbreaking outfit, Folkdevils. As you'd expect, little is held sacred as genres are forced together (against their will) to form a mutant offspring. "Smallest Violin" is a dub/rap/garage rock soundclash - imagine the Beasties by way of the Kinks smoking a zoot with Lee Perry and you nearly there. Check for the Doherty bating lyrics, deconstructing the industries Heroin Chic! "Like Father" is a brooding slice of folk-hop where primitive instrumentation and sampling provide the perfect melancholic backdrop for a tale of a son's ascension to fatherhood.

Review: The band weren't going to release it, but their growing army of fans love it and 'Don't Go Gently' has been used by BBC Radio Five Live and Sky Sports as a backing track for over a month now so they decided to put it out. Available as a limited edition (750 only) numbered seven inch and download only, 'Don’t Go Gently' is taken from Four Day Hombre's searing debut album 'Experiments in Living'. 'Don't Go Gently' is a surging piece of emotionally complex guitar pop with relentless hooks. It expertly showcases the controlled abandon that makes Four Day Hombre so special: from its crashing entry to its gently waltzing coda, it is an uplifting joy from start to finish. 'Give Me a Rocketpack and Show me the Moon', the vinyl B-side, is a specially recorded track recorded mainly in the back of the van and between sound checks on their last Barfly tour. The release will be accompanied by a brand new animated video, produced in conjunction with the team for the two previous videos. Both previous videos have featured heavily on MTV2, VH2, The Amp, E4 et al.

Review: Neyo's r&b anthem gets the reggae treatment from Lee Francis.

Review: Classic old school reggae business.

Review: Original reggae action from Winston Francis.

Review: "Bright Tomorrow" was mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac and recorded by Mogwai's John Cummings no less. Fuck Buttons was conceived by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power in the winter of 2004. Initially the group was born as an outlet for their nihilistic-noise tendencies but quickly, the two Fuck Buttons realised they could harness the use of noise as a tool to immerse and evoke. No longer afraid of melody or rhythm, the group started fusing all these elements to the point when drone becomes melody becomes rhythm. With their electric live performances sealing the notion that the two Fuck Buttons are attempting some kind of transcendence between the listener and the Universe itself, one could easily envisage one's psyches being shaken by the very rumbles of the earth's motions. Tribal beats and subtle beautiful melodies weave amongst contorting Technicolor drone-scapes while preaching distorted-vocals scream for dear hope herself.

Review: Brighton-based trio Fujiya & Miyagi release "Uh", the first new material from the hotly-tipped act since last year's sleeper hit album "Transparent Things". Built on a solid funk backing and provocative, breathy vocals, "Uh" is a song about "space and time, the alphabet and girls", that comes across like Prince gone Kraftwerk. On the b-side "One Trick Pony" ups the tempo with a jogging beat and hushed vocals. Needless to say, it's another fine offering from the band that's currently conquering the world with their danceable, groove-oriented pop. Having toured the US with Peter, Bjorn and John, raised a storm at SXSW and had the track "Collarbone" used on the latest Jaguar car advert, Fujita & Miyagi are set to get bigger and bigger.

Review: Funeral For A Friend's "Walk Away" was produced by Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, The Pixies, Maximo Park etc). It is the second single to come from their smash hit new album "Tales Don't Tell Themselves",' the boldest statement the band have yet made. "We've never written anything like this before", says drummer Ryan Richards. "It's just the best music we've ever made. That's really all I can say."

Review: Funeral For A Friend's "Walk Away" was produced by Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, The Pixies, Maximo Park etc). It is the second single to come from their smash hit new album "Tales Don't Tell Themselves",' the boldest statement the band have yet made. "We've never written anything like this before", says drummer Ryan Richards. "It's just the best music we've ever made. That's really all I can say."

Review: Amazing reggae update of a classic r&b track.