Bembe Segue - "Mother Of The Future" (live version)
Review: Serious jazz dance fusion from 1974, Norman Connors' cover of Carlos Garnett's "Mother Of The Future" drives with shamanistic fury before the firing keys, heaving horns and deep soul vocals fly into the mix. For a more contemporary jazz take, flip for Bembe Segue's emphatic live version. Lavished with her distinctively rich vocals and stern spoken word and complete with wild bass runs and a thick bed of percussion, it's an instant show-stopper. Two incredible covers, one special 10".
Don't Play Around (feat Aloe Blacc & Charles Bradley - main)
Don't Play Around (instrumental mix)
Tough Break
Don't Play Around (acappella)
Review: Nu Mark's been teasing his fans since May, releasing selected cuts from his new album Broken Sunlight in coloured vinyl 10" instalments. With the attention reaching fever pitch, he's unleashed one of the biggest cuts on the LP. Hooking up with the dollar-hungry Aloe Blacc, it's a horn-heaving slice of hip-hop funk that pushes all the right buttons. "Tough Break" is a double-time deal sealer. With more horns and a frenetic rhythm, it's Nu Mark at his very best. Essential.
Review: It's been five years since Truth & Soul's octet gave us the incredible Wu Tang version album. It's been two years since they last dropped a single, too. However the band is back and their trademark cinematic soul is richer and more emotive than ever. From the instant the trembling flute and guitar open with the cuddly, ultimately positive "Kiddy Ditty" we're whisked on a largely instrumental journey that flings us through the wild west ("Little House"), soul's early JB chapters ("This Song For You") and straight up NY low-slung funk ("A Little Sloppy"). Climaxing with a Lee Fields featured "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", Loose Change is a kind reminder of just how accomplished and creative El Michels Affair are. No change there, then.
Review: A really cool concept from Expansion here; one side is a reissued seminal classic, the other is a contemporary version. And what a way to start the start the series; hard bop hero Johnny Hammond influenced pretty much every soul, jazz, rare groove and funk artist who've followed in his path, and the joyously unpredictable "Los Conquistadores Chocolates" is one of his best. Naturally Japanese jazz outfit Quasimode are an ideal remix choice. Known for their wildstyle riffage and signature switches, they've paid the utmost respect to Hammond.
Review: Australian DJ and producer Dave Mathmos serves up an obscure edits entree, sampling/reworking a whopping seven disco cuts from the late 1970s and early 1980s, but adding just enough modern flair to essentially make them his own. A well-rounded, sticky quality is heard on this septagonal crock of heaters, with the downtempo slink-funk of 'Late At Night' and the equally sumptuous, string-backed plod of 'Wonderful Feeling' remaining our highlights.
Review: The Barefoot Beats crew return with outing number 14 and once more it is music for sunny climates. Aroop Roy takes care of the A-side of this 10" with 'Fankiando Taniador', the Latin flavoured deep cut disco and funk roller with 80s horn stabs and rumbling bass all topped with a red hot vocal full of flair. It's pure Brazilian heat that is perfect for outdoor dancing and Bernardo Pinheiro's 'Expresso Amor' then brings more sunshine goodness with its slinky disco house beats and swinging hand claps all irresistible to anyone with a heart.
Review: Last year, the Expansions label kicked off a wonderfully intriguing 10" series featuring classics from soul music's rich canon complemented by contemporary cover versions and so far it's seen Blue Note troupe Quasimode tee off against Johnny Hammond and Bembe Segue challenge Norman Connors. A third edition duly arrives and hints Expansions are really enjoying the creative challenge the concept allows them with the jazz funk classic "Zaius" from Eddie Russ joined by a cover from the celebrated UK funk veterans Incognito. Originally appearing on the 1976 LP See The Light, "Zaius" is a blinding example of why Russ is described a master of the keyboard and it's complemented well by Incognito's B Side cover which appears on vinyl for the first time. Don't sleep!
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