Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Get yourself geared up for festival season with some fierce party starters certified with the Glitterbox stamp. Melvo Baptiste leads the charge with 'Sweat', a sizzling disco house stomper with Dames Brown giving the biggest diva energy on her show-stopping vocal. Lovebirds bring unbridled joy on the Philly string swoon and slinky b-line funk of 'Burn It Down', while Art Of Tones & Inaya Day keep it peak time on the sassy strutter 'Give My Love'. Young Pulse & Fleur De Mur complete the set with 'Smooth Sweet Talker', another bright and bold vocal cut par excellence.

Review: Stevie Wonder's 'Pastime Paradise' has thus far been less recognised as an original soul wonderwork, and more so as a sample by American rapper Coolio on the derivative 'Gangster's Paradise'. Though still having been covered by many artists over the years, Major Keys records highlights this enduring 1981 cover of Wonder's 'Paradise' by Latin percussionist Ray Barretto as among their favourites, if not their absolute favourite. Now the label reissue the gem, flaunting its up-to-date, nigh timeless feel; it's the opposite of a miracle that this has never before been released on a 12" single record, despite the fact that it is a favourite on the floors of jazz and soul rooms the world over. It also flips it with Barretto's own 'La Cuna' and 'Mambotango', taken from the same 1981 LP.

Review: This 2024 edition marks the return of Joe Bataan, via the same track that made his name in 2004. Vampi Soul first welcomed the Latin Soul king to the label two decades back, facilitating the release of his 2005 album Call My Name. The pre-release singles for the album were 'Chick-A-Boom' and 'Cycles Of You', packed onto a single 7"; these quickly became DJs' favourites and have thus since remained long out of print. As it was twenty years ago, 'Chick-A-Boom' is a simultaneously upbeat but ghostly track, with Bataan's vocals quadrupling up in a wall of sound while providing the vibe equivalent of a Jackie Chan flick. 'Call My Name', meanwhile, goes heavy on the clavichord and synth whistle, as Bataan revels in a funereal theme, dancing, thundersticking into the great beyond.

Review: Super Spicy's Super Spicy Recipe series is back with a sixth mouthwatering offering and once again it's a super hot outing of party-ready house and disco sounds. First up is the irresistibly colourful disco charm of Birdee with the freewheeling 'Underground' and its groove-infused piano. Label boss Monsieur Van Pratt then adds his own spin to a rare groove classic with a lung-busting soul vocal and Pato Watson is in edit mode as he tweaks 'Ella Fue' to perfection. Italian don Paul Older brings some funky jazz fusion sounds to his steamy 'Turkish Lights, C. Da Afro keeps it a party with his 'Nothing But The Funk' and Mexican Juan Soto slips into a more deep and loved-up funk-house vibe on 'All Is Full Of Love'.

Review: Funkyjaws Music is back with more music to make your jaw go funky, this time in the form of a second volume of its Let's Dance series. It features a quartet of esteemed tune makers starting with Frank Booker's 'Yes No Maybe' which is a horn laced and loose-limbed delight, while go-slow master Eddie C brings his classy touch to the funky licks of 'Love Dancing Theme.' There are plenty of cosmic synth waves to Black Truffle's 'Dancing Through The Night' while the LTJ Xperience close down with a super laid back and summery vibe on 'Sunny Groove.'

Review: After two well-received albums, BALTHVS comes out with their third, titled Third Vibration. The Columbian rock band plays a unique blend of exciting music,with songs often touching on psychedelic, funk, rhythm and blues and Latin, soul and rock music. Take their first song on the album 'All is One' for example - a cornucopia of influences mixing with a shimmering and crisp production that gives off a great 70s vibe to it. Whether you are relaxing by the pool, on vacation or you having a mellow get together at your house, Third Vibration is the perfect audio soundtrack and background music for a nice time.

Review: Italian dance producer Gianni Bini debuts on Groove Culture with the House Of Glass LP, topping up his impressive discography with a solo studio effort, and bolstering the already massive stock of production credits attached to his bulging, insatiable name. Though his various monikers over the years have indeed propelled him in a many-a-direction, Bini's latest here centres on epic disco, and rewinds the tape to an earlier sound first explored in his formative days as a producer; retroactively, we hear a livelier, more contemporary take on the stabbing strings, bristling bass and bubblegum beats - all live-recorded - that first put him on the map.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burton's commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.