Juno Recommends Funk / Rare Groove / Reissues : Best of 2023

Review: Amerigo's The Big Payback series finds him bring together some fantasy all stars for his "J.B. and The Soul Mates" tribute concept. Here, James Brown's music is reworked, edited and chopped together with the work of hip hop giant Notorious BIG. It results in speaker blasting, floor filling, ass wiggling jams that mash up all the most iconic verses and choruses from each singer with their most recognisable guitar riffs, drum breaks and samples. It's a colourful collage that is as fun as it is funky.

Review:  It's always a fun game to see when you first hear someone drop Roy Ayers's ubiquitous warm weather classic 'Everybody Love's The Sunshine.' This year has been rather cold in early spring but soon as this one gets dropped you cannot help but feel rays o your face even if they haven't yet appeared. It's a stone cold gem with its lazy drum tumbles and arching synths. The keys even sound like they can't be bothered to really move properly boucle of the heat and the lush vocal is the umbrella in the cocktail, if you will.

Review: French jazz-fusion act Cortex's 1975 debut album Troupeau Bleu has long been in demand amongst record collectors and dusty-fingered DJs, not least because it's14 tracks contain all manner of killer drum breaks, fast-fingered electric piano solos, surprise 1970s synth sounds and nods aplenty to French lounge music. As this essential Trad Vibe issue proves, the album is every bit as good as you'd expect, with floor-friendly jazz-funk freak-outs sitting side by side with samba workouts, laidback jams of the kind associated with Bob James, piano jazz interludes, jazz-rock slam-downs and much more besides. Basically, it's the kind of freewheeling but impeccably produced set that deserves a place in any jazz-funk fan's record collection.

Review: Cymande are a British funk group that released several albums throughout the early 1970s and reunited in 2014 with a European tour and a new album released in 2015. Originally released in 1972, this self titled debut album has long been regarded as a classic of the genre. Formed 1971 in London, it featured musicians from Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Vincent. The name Cymande is based on a calypso word for 'dove' and symbolised peace and love. Their style was described as 'Nyah-Rock': a mixture of funk, soul, reggae and African rhythms. The band achieved their greatest initial success in America and were actively recording and performing until 1975. Then Cymande reformed and have been playing live since around 2010.

Review: Proper boogie-funk stylee from Rome Jeffries, first recorded in 1983 as a paean to confident, smooth loving. The sultry mood of the song is backed by its cut-up claps, bouncy synth piques, and weighty veneer, which all went on to contribute to its later status as a sought-after diggers' slab. As much is ever-more evidenced on the instrumental B-side, which has an unprecedented - dare we say cheek-slapping - grit to it.

Review: The inimitable BlackCash & Theo are edit masters who are well admired by those who know. Their next outing on the Galaxy Sound Co label is their take on the very rare 'Hey Joyce' by Lou Courtney. It was a favourite of the likes of Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow back in the day and is a real rare groove classic originally from 1967. It has an impassioned lead vocal from Courtney with some super sweet female backing and a beat that is heavy but not overly so. On the flip, lost funk jam, 'Soupy' by Maggie Thrett gets a sympathetic touch-up by these top boys. Another must-have for 45rpm lovers.

Review: The Selector Series has pulled out a big one for this year's Record Store Day celebrations. Both of these tunes are imagined classics reimagined that have a fresh West Coast jazz-funk feel and arrive on 45rpm together for the first time. The A-side has a rocky feel and is a version of The Beginning Of The End's 'Funky Nassau', while over on the other side Isaac Hayes' 'Shaft' gets a new psychedelic twist. This pari of covers by The Chuck Boris Trio are as brillaint as they are obscure and will cost you well over three figures if you can find an original. Both are remastered for this 7".

Review: Asha Puthli's 'Space Talk' is one of those quintessential diggers delights, hardly a secret weapon any more but widely recognised as a magical slice of misfit cosmic disco from the genre's golden era, fronted by Puthli's ethereal vocal. Now the track gets a remix package courtesy of Naya Beat, and the versions aren't to be trifled with. First up comes the mighty Dimitri From Paris, who ladles the funk on thick, trips out the atmosphere and sends the track even further away from terra firma. Flip the record over for Dimitri's even trippier dub when you really want to juice the dance up. There's also a neat and tidy 2023 mix of the track and the original extended mix, making this an essential purchase for those craving the beauty of the OG version as well as those hungry for a classy-as-hell new twist on a dead cert classic.

Review: Moar is an alias from French DJ and producer Jerome Potin, who has been gifting us groove-laden edit gear and his own original productions for decades now. His commitment to funk can never be in doubt, and so it goes on this drop for his 45 Loves label. It's a more recent venture which has carried a vast array of edits from the man's archives, championing less obvious grooves from hidden corners of Afrobeat, high life and elsewhere. The A-side offering on here is a slickly looped up strutter with a little filter house flair, while the B-side is a smoky, submerged affair for those subtler moments in a party.

Review: Mako & Mr Bristow are top stars of the Stank Soul Edits series and here they take care of a 15th release for the Soul Flip label. Its an imprint with a soft spot for new versions of classic sounds, as the title suggests, and here the pair turn their attention to Jimmy Hicks' reinterpretation of Jean Knight's classic 'Mr Big Stuff' and they draw out the rolling drums and iconic bass riffs then layer in the vocals and tooting horns. On the flip, Candi Staton's 'I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart' is in focus and again becomes a real dance floor heater with contemporary oomph.

Review: Si Cheeba is a veteran of Manchester's jazz dance and broken beat scene and on this new project he's going in hard on Latin grooves and giving them a serious cut and paste flair. This is the kind of record which should be kept in your back pocket for festival season, but it's got more than enough heat to light up a winter's night too. There's a little of big beat's sass in the madcap collage antics on both sides of this boogaloo-baiting bomb, with 'I Wanna Get High' taking the cake for holding down the groove for maximum satisfaction on the floor.

Review: In case you didn't know, Domo Domo are the duo of Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue and DJ Takaya Nagase, both based in New York. They both love of digging deep for source material to rework. Next up for them is 'Happening In The Streets' which looks to pay tribute to the 70s and 80s legends and jazz-funk supergroup The Voltage Brothers with two new reworks. This limited 7" is the same as a 12" offering the same tunes also on Vega and has two cleverly put-together edits of the eponymous rare groove original come with many filtrations, lengthenings, effects and sonic tweaks.

Review: Since launching the series in 2021, Smoove has served up a quintet of 'Multitrack Edits' EPs. As the title suggests, each sees the North-East-based DJ/producer deliver his takes on classic funk, soul, disco and boogie cuts using the multi-track tapes. This sixth volume in the series features two more tidy revisions. On side A he does a brilliant job in stretching out and building up a version of funk favourite 'Brothers on the Slide', layering up various instruments in turn before unleashing the backing vocals and, eventually, lead vocals. On the reverse, Smoove does a terrific job lightly tightening up and extending Sly Stone fave 'It's a Family Affair', adding a touch of hip-hop swing to the legendary musician's groove while showcasing some of the instrumental flourishes buried in the original 1970s mix.

Review: First released way back in 1980 on the album of the same name, 'Coming To You Live' is one of the most beloved dancefloor jams in the sprawling catalogue of sorely missed soul-jazz organist Charles Earland. Here reissued on seven-inch (and therefore presented in edited form), the track blurs the boundaries between Latin-tinged disco and jazz-funk - all heady female group vocals, heady horns, spacey Herbie Hancock synths and infectious grooves. Over on the flip you'll find original B-side 'Street Themes', a breezier, similarly Latin-tinged jazz-funk cut that features some sensational keys-playing from Earland. In a word: essential.

Review: DC based imprint Peoples Potential Unlimited have really cornered the market in highly collectable reissued boogie funk rarities in 2010 and end the year on a high note with the three vocal cuts lifted from Real Love, a mid 80s mini album from Michael Soward that mixes new gospel dynamics and heavy synthesiser funk. Dam Funk fans will delight in the vintage sounds spread across this dinky 45 with the dusted groove of "He's Alive" particularly impressive.

Review: Johny Pate is a soundtrack maestro who had his work flipped superbly by Archie Shepp here. He pulled off something superb with this one which is a much-loved funk and rare groove breakbeats anthem and made it to 7" vinyl for the first time back in February but soon sold out despite the high price because it was a Japan-only release. It now gets this much-needed reissue, again in limited quantities and is backed with a lovely soul gem from Bobby Womack. Do not sleep on this one cause it might not come around again for a while.

Review: They're best known for covering hip-hop classics in their unique, funk band plus steel pans vibe, but Germany's Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band show there are spookier arrows in their quiver when the time of year demands it. Two special halloween themed cover versions grace this 7", the first a rendition of the theme from TV show of the moment 'Stranger Things', the second their version of the title theme from the film 'Halloween', originally penned by the master soundtrack maker himself John Carpenter. Both have a slightly cheeky, quirky and rather joyful atmosphere, tending more towards the cute rather than the spooky side of all hallows, but don't let their lack of scariness put you off, they're both delightful.010920

Review: Jungle Fire's 'Together' was released digitally in July 2020. It is s superb version of a Ray Barretto Latin funk classic that has been performed as part of the Jungle Fire live show for a while now so you might well be familiar if you have caught them play anywhere. It is usually an instrumental but for this version they hook up with the talented Jamie Allensworth to sing and he brings a message that unites any crowd. The record is released in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign with "every cent generated on our end by this recording going to support the movement."

Review: Supersound Latinayres Orkestra's 'Froasted Or Fried' is a barbarian track and one for the breakbeats-diggers out there. Not normally noted for its drumming, the track nevertheless contains a distinctively crisp drum recording courtesy of an unnamed orchestra member. Something between jazz, salsa and funk, the B-side is equally soul-clutching, with the lead vocals on the track 'Hot Pants I'm Cumin' going criminally uncredited, yet aweing the listener with its jaw-dropping performance.

Review: After much work, Berlin-based reissue label Matasuna Records is finally able to fully and officially reissue these funk classics. After so many bootlegged versions of these it is great to have a high-quality vinyl pressing on nice loud 7". Both of these legendary funk tunes come from the vast vaults of Atlantic Records and have never had their own standalone releases before. On 'Getting Uptown (To Get Down)' United 8 cook up infectious sounds and mix up horns, guitars, drums and bass while on the flip 'Sexy Coffee Pot' from 'Tony Alvon & The Belairs' is an explosion of raw funk energy.