Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Something a little different from G.A.M.M here, as Parisian DJ Afshin joins forces with the mysterious Kiss My Black Jazz to offer up two incendiary edits. The real surprise killer is A-side "Trouble In My Way", which subtly turns a blues-era recording of a traditional slave sing-along into a handclap-heavy chunk of infectious gospel-house brilliance. It takes a little time to build up, but when the heavier beats drop midway through you'll have dancers eating out of the palm of your hand. Flipside "The Riot" sees them make merry with a Hammond-heavy chunk of 1960s jazz-funk, extending and reworking the cut to make it suitably sweaty, heavy and life affirming.

Review: Earlier in the month, Parisian producer Afshin joined forces with Kiss My Black Jazz and served up a brilliant, two-track missive of jazz-funk and blues-house reworks on G.A.M.M. Here they reunite for round two. This time round, they begin by reworking a shuffling, chant-along Afro-Brazilian gem of unknown origin, extending the carnival-ready percussive intro before unleashing the shuffling, sun-kissed samba rhythm and some of the sweetest vocals this side of a sing-along in a chocolate factory. Over on side B they give a similar tune to a killer chunk of reggae-funk fusion rich in warm dub bass, bongo-laden beats, bluesy guitar solos, fuzzy horns and James Brown style guttural vocals.

Review: Australian band The Bamboos have been holding down things on the funky side of town since 2001, gaining fans all over the world with their authentic, dirty funk nuggets. In the same vein as bands like El Michels Affair or Breakestra, these guys are students of the classic breaks that underpinned the sample-hungry glory days of hip-hop. They've also had the incredible honor to back up some of funk's most revered names, notably New Orleans hit-machine Eddie Bo, Syl Johnson and Eddie Floyd.

Ahead of their new album 4 comes single "On The Sly", a perfect slice of mid-tempo joy, which has the same rollicking cowbell-driven vibe as classic UBB staple "Get Me Back On Time, Engine Number 9" by Wilson Pickett. Soulsides MC and singer Lyrics Born joins them on 2nd cut Turn It Up, another popcorn funk winner complete with chicken-scratch guitar parts worthy of James Brown stalwart Jimmy Nolen. Hanging out with the Aussies seems to have rubbed off on the Californian MC, as he even sings "Turn it up mate" at one point! DJ's get taken care of with an accapella and an instrumental too, making this release a good way to put some funk back in your trunk.

Review: First up on the freshly minted Bacalao imprint is Bosq, a Ubiquity Records contributor renowned for his blends of funk, soul and sweaty South American music. While the heavy horns featured on this release were recorded in Bogota, the producer's usual Colombian flavour takes a back seat as he joins forces with Kaleta to deliver two covers of Fatback Band classics. First up is "Goin' To See My Baby", which is re-imagined as a fuzzy funk workout rich in rasping horns, tropical guitar flourishes and woodblock-driven Latin disco percussion. Arguably even better is the duo's cover of "Backstrokin'", which is given a Barrio-funk flavour complete with prominent bass, heavy-hitting horn motifs and excitable lead vocals.

Review: You'd expect a collaboration between Columbia-based fusionist Bosq, Ibibio Sound System's horn section and vocalist Kaleta to be pretty darn good, and 'Song For Ehi' most certainly is. Inspired by a combination of classic Edo-funk, Afro-disco and reggae disco, the A-side original version delivers a near perfect mix of timbales-sporting dub disco grooves, reverb-laden lead vocals, Afro-funk guitar licks, Afrobeat-esque organ licks and punchy horns. The track's inherent dubbiness is further explored on the flipside revision, which adds extra layers of percussion and the kind of breathless dancefloor weight that marks out the greatest dub disco workouts. In a word: essential!

Review: Soul jazz fusion at its finest, the Whiskey Barons' Bosq teases us with two treats from his forthcoming album. The NYC 91 mix of "Up & Down" is an organic jam session that Masters Of Work would be proud to put their name to. With a magical meandering sax lead and just enough weight on the drums, it's an instant soul seducer. The Nigeria 76 mix lives up to its title in every way, too... Upbeat rhythm fusion, tight horn calls and a lush liquid wah wah effect on the guitars, it certainly wouldn't have gone amiss in Lagos back in its musical heyday

Review: American born/Colombia-based producer Ben Woods aka Bosq, and Benin-born vocalist/guitarist Leon Ligan-Majek aka Kaleta follow up on the success of their recent collaboration with Purple Disco Machine, and build on their nearly 10 years of working together with their new Afro disco number 'Ipade'. It features Kaleta's trademark chants and exclamations in a mix of Yoruba and English, over sleek rhythms, a ripping horns section and one funky bassline. Over on the flip, get down deeper into the groove with the lo-slung swagger of 'Ariya Tide'.

Review: The Sitar Beat series is built with the DJ in mind - collecting some of the wildest, heaviest and most psychedelic Indian funk recorded and presenting it loud, and ready for the turntable. The first four volumes were assembled by one Indian music aficionado... For the first time, a "guest compiler" was brought in to lace you with some obscure goodies for volume five. As always, we continue the dig into Indian deep funk and psycho-psychedelic masterpieces recorded for the Bollywood film industry. And this time we're even going straight to Indian VHS Videotapes to issue incidental music never before released on vinyl... Sitar Beat Volume Five offers up the sought after title track from RD Burman's "Burning Train" soundtrack alongside Indo-disco (including one helluva Kraftwerk rip off!) and promises to be the first time that many of these songs are heard by the record-buying public - at least in this form. Edits remove any bobbing and weaving, leaving funk that only flies straight ahead!

Review: Delfonic & Kapote makes a welcome return to their Illegal Jazz series. This is a seventh instalment and it's another bobby dazzler with four cuts all reworked for the dancefloor. Opening the party is 'Groove Head Rejam' with a low slung swagger, noodling guitar riffs and lovely glossy hi hats. 'Power Journey Rejam' is a deep one with chords to warm your heart and instrumental disco riffs to get you going before 'Imparable Rejam' brings a more steamy percussive vibe that is loose limbed and seductive. 'I Like Music Rejam' is a big party starter with horn stabs, lively vocals and wooden hits.

Review: The Fantastic Freeriding's "The Next Chapter EP" contains four flamin' new tracks by all Switchstance heads, painting the by now trademark collage of the label's various styles all anew in bright and shiny colours. Opening the EP is Gypsy Soul by Kabanjak - a dreamy yet percussive reflection that takes you right back to a campfire near the mediterranean shore. New March is pure Protassov: Beats, way fatter than his own bum, plus sounds, melodies and samples that go their own ways but always right forward. Deela here makes a glorious return (were they ever gone?) with Ghost Song, a fine specimen of broken beats that is sure to rock the more advanced dancefloors. Closing the EP is an uptempo funk track that was conceived right after Ancient Astronauts survived their first DJ trip to beautiful Greece - involving hardly any sleep, a near plane crash and totalling at a hectic 36 Hours. All tracks on the "The Next Chapter EP" are exclusives and not included on the album of the same name, to be released in July '06. "From spliffed up beats to jazzed out grooves, Switchstance is the source for dope tracks across the board!" - Fort Knox Five (USA) , "From Jazz to Cinematic sounds, from Rare Groove to Reggae and from Hip Hop to Post Rock: this is a trip and you'll go far beyond ! Congratulations for the album, this is really good!" - Kid Loco (FR), "Thank God for Switchstance! Mellow, deep, dubby freeriding for the folks out there that wonder what happened to Kruder and Dorfmeister. Now I've got my soundtrack for Summer!" - Gunnar Hissam (Om Records/USA), "I enjoy the many different shades & moods of the music presented here, hold together by a passion for funky hip-hop breaks & laidback atmospheres. Relaxed, soulful & deep while still danceable. I'm lovin' the whole compilation!" - David Borsu (Counterpoint Rec./B), "Switchstance Recordings continue establishing their unique sounds with another strong release. Respect!" - Karsten John (Vinyl Vibes/D), "Great label that always brings the funk!" - Rob Life (Breakin Bread Rec./UK), "Expect to see "36 Hours" as No. 1 in my next chart, it's a Jelly Jaz rocker cut!" - Pete Isaac (Jelly Jazz/UK), "Amazing EP!!! Chart: #1 This really really blew me away! All amazing tracks but will be caining the '36 Hours' track this time next year! Fast & funky! will be in the box for a few months!" - Diesler (Tru Thoughts/UK.)

Review: On this multi-artist bonanza, Aficionado owners Jason Boardman and Moonboots have decided to showcase contemporary talents from Manchester, in association with clothing brand Good Measure. Half Sink steps up first, gently unfurling the reverb-heavy guitar solos, booming bass and shuffling samba rhythms of "Tsukimi". King Clyde's loose, groovy and fuzzy "Request Line" is a bouncy disco-funk treat, while Dream Lovers' "For Belgian Friends" is an evocative chunk of meandering bliss. Arguably best of all, though, is "On A Whispered Way" by The Records We Never Made, a glistening, delay-heavy foray into cinematic, post-rock pastures. Clearly, Manchester's got (Balearic) talent.

Review: Limited edition Japan only issue 12'' of new versions of classic Blue Note tracks re interpreted by mostly Japanese cutting edge producers.

Review: The K-BONUS remix ep offers a delightful bouquet of all-around fresh, electronic funk flavours. DUBLEX INC introduce their mix with mighty organ tracks before kicking in with a bouncy broken boogie beat. The big break sounds like a nod to trance sounds in current house music but teases a bit more by falling into a skanking two step before bringing back the back. Everybody have a funky good time!

Review: Soundway is always there for our obscure afro-jazz needs and 2012 was no different. They did pull off something special on this collaborative effort 7", bringing you the sweltering body funk of K Frimpong & Super Complex Sounds' Ahyewa, edited here by bad boys Hide and Smile, where the dup create a real jumble out of that clicky percussion. On the flip, Quantic is called for remix duties on both jams, the first being The Uhuru Dance Band with "Untitled", a hand-clapping make-you-wanna-move sort of thing, followed beautifully by The Cranes' "Joy", another incredible touch on the original, adding a lil nit of extra oomph to that beat! Warmly recommended.

Review: German disco might be most closely associated with Boney M but in fact it offers so much more. The scene was initially influenced by the influx of American soldiers camped in the county during the 70s. They listened to far away radio sounds from the US which were always steeped in disco and the locals caught on. Black Pearl Records now showcase how the scene has evolved over the years: and t is vibrant and inventive with its own distinctive characteristics if this i anything to go by. This collection has a cross-section of sounds that go from the classic 70s disco years to cosmic, NDW, synth pop and more. Disco De:Light

Review: "Kane's Spanish Home", by Dennis Kane, has support from Ashley Beedle, Stuart Patterson and Terry Farley.

Review: Italo disco heads take note, here's a quintessential one-hit wonder from a mystery crew known only as Kash. Arriving in 1981, this particular release leans more towards the organic, band-led sound of the 70s with some choice synth flourishes on top, rather than the more driving sound which would catch hold further into the 80s. 'Supercool' is a bubbling, funky-as-hell joint which will loosen up any dancefloor with ease, but 'Percussion Sundance' might well be the popular pick here thanks to its outstanding drums and hazy ambience. It's an essential purchase for anyone who loves a proper disco curveball made the classic way.

Review: The Kat Edits label have scored a real coup here, licensing a pair of tweaks the legend Domu originally committed to a super-rare Japan only CD compilation for the ESP DJ Classics series back in 2009. Domu's always been a classy producer no matter what he turns his hands to and this pair of edits really do deserve to be preserved on the vinyl format - kudos to Kat! Up top, "Love Vibes" by The Emotions is given a slightly upwards pitch adjustment by Domu, with plenty of skilled filtering to boot, whilst the B-side sees Claudia Barry's classic 1978 jammer "Give it Up" is embellished with some extra raunch sauce.

Review: NuNorthern Soul take a brief respite from their BJ Smith series so boss man 'Phat' Phil Cooper can indulge his love for Ryo Kawasaki. Focusing on the period that the '70s met the '80s, Selected Works pulls together five delicious slices of Kawasaki bliss from a boundary pushing discography that spans writing, arranging, producing and playing. For an introduction to Kawasaki, this release is near perfect, taking in sublime jazz through heaving slabs of funk to out-there electronic vibes. Extra context is provided in the extensive sleeve notes from Marc Rowlands that pull from his 2015 interview with Kawasaki. Despite being five tracks long, this still feels like a generous rifle through the Ryo archives.

Review: Earlier in the autumn, obscure 1980s imprint Local Records - a label run out of the Tottenham-based home studio of London reggae and soul producer John Collins - sprung back to life with a reissue of Rick Clarke's sumptuous '80s soul slow jam "Love With A Stranger". Collins has decided to follow that up with a new edition of his 1984 production for Janet Kay, "Eternally Grateful". It's another electrofunk gem, with Kay's deliciously sweet vocal rising above reggae style horns, jangling pianos and a killer synthesizer bassline. As with the Clarke record, the flip features Collins' original dub revision ("Eternally Dubful"), a more stripped-back, echo-laden affair that's worth the entrance price on its own.

Review: Kaymany & Asestar hail from Rome, a city where many musicians spend most of their days producing sounds for the television industry and even shopping malls. That's part of the reason the country has such a reparation for great jazz-funk sounds and now adding to that cannon are Kaymany & Asestar. 'Effimera' is glossy and feel good disco with retro future chords, while 'Digressione' has a Bob James style energy to it with its high speed funky bass and incidental chords. 'Capao' closes in Latin fashion with manic keys and more plucked and funky bass slaps making you shake every limb.

Review: Jally Kebba Susso has already released two albums as a solo artist and both took him to new heights. He is a master kora player and afro-fusion pioneer who is base din London but brings the birch musical heritage of his Gambian homeland to all he does. His newest EP, Freedom, is "a heartfelt shout expressing the newfound joy of an African musician whose working conditions, despite his long-standing roots in the London music scene, have sometimes been precarious." He plays with accomplished band members and cooks up four fiercely funky pieces of world music with spiritual vocals.

Review: 
Irish Edits crew Keep Schtum deliver their second release with an expansive nine minute reworking of Odyssey's ''Hang Together'' stretched out across the A Side. On the flip Cymande's ''Getting' It Back'' gets some added oomph via a chugging beat and a dirt-funk bassline, whilst Willie Bobo's ''Roots'' receives a heavily percussive makeover.

Review: Another month, another freshly minted re-edit imprint. This one comes from Italy and appears to be the work of upstart editors Lego Edit and Bio. Fans of bossa revivalist Nicola Conte should enjoy A-side "Yeah Rhythm (Lego Jazz 4AM)", which brilliantly blends elements from a dusty bossa classic with what appear to be horns, vocals and other choice samples from a Fela Kuti classic. It's an interesting idea, brilliantly executed. On the flipside you'll find "Yeah Alright", a more traditional re-edit of the same source material with a few extra horn stabs here and there to keep the dancefloor bubbling.

Review: Motown presents Eddie's 'Girl You Need A Change Of Mind', a mind-blowingly anthemic number, the kind of cut that burnt up dancefloors
when it first came out, and which has continued to please countless generations, through house, hip hop, funk, and beyond!

Review: A stone cold classic, nothing else to say. A must for any disco aficionado, Kenton Nix's one and only production as Kenix Music featuring Bobby Youngblood 'There's Never Been' (No One Like You) on West End from 1980 receives a much needed repress here. Nix started out quite late in his career at the age of 25, but through his friend Larry Levan he got a record deal at West End Records where he wrote Taana Gardner's 'Heartbeat' and Ednah Holt's 'Serious, Sirius Space Party' and later went on to produce Gwen McCrae's 'Funky Sensation'.

Review: Glasgow's Ewan Kelly aka Al Kent returns to Swedish label G.A.M.M. for another nice bunch of disco goodies. On the first side, you've got the lo-slung psychedelia of 'Stranger Danger' which makes for a proper dancefloor heater right at the peak of the evening, followed over on the flip by the mellowed blues of 'Galaxy 21' that's perfect musical accompaniment for a Balearic sunset, and the delay drenched dub antics of 'Sugar Trip' closes it out.

Review: The second of this week's Million Dollar Disco EPs repeats the formula of previous waxual excursions from head honcho Al Kent: take impossibly hard to identify disco rarities and subject to a liberal dose of Walter Gibbons-style editing techniques. A simple yet very effective equation, you have to agree. Sliding across the A Side we have the fuzzy guitar-led brilliance of "The Get Down", a track punctuated by a relentless procession of shuffling snares. Pure instrumental disco heat! "The Strut" does just that on the B Side, some excellent melodies dribbling down the intricate syncopation and tight bass licks that propel the track beneath a swathe of vintage strings. "Heatwave" finishes the 12" in style with some heavy organ and synth funk outs chopped and looped to perfection over the chuggy beat.

Review: Flash your trash cans, the KCs have returned in remix form. Dusting off their second album Trash Or Treasure for others to have a play in the jazzy muck, they enjoy a whole range of recycles. Highlights include Sampology adding a warm thump and loopy twist to "Strawberry Fields" (while keeping the sitar shining), Two Dee switching up "Rabbit Hole" into a Miami bass style breakbeat serving session and the misty, spooked out wooden leg skank on "Kojak The Frog". Mystical, faithful, moorish.

Review: Sunshine booties from LA's cheekiest edit maestro, Gusto digests four Latin folk standards and spits them back out with contemporary mischief. Los Amaya's "Catalan Rumba" becomes "Zapatero", a track that zips and whistles with a fuzzy lo-fi pump. "Mochilla No Mas", meanwhile, takes a slo-mo militant Cumbia stomp, all horns and harmonised croons. The piano-splashed "Sorongo" (originally by Rafael Cortijo) is given a cheeky breakbeat massage while Dom um Romao's "Ginga Gingou" undergoes a percussive rub of carnivalesque proportions. Give your floor a Latin shoeing today... Literally - Zapatero translates to shoemaker!

Review: Well, what a way to inaugurate your label! The newly crowned Spacetalk comes through resolutely correct with this reissue of 1978's "To See One Eagle Fly" by Morrison Kincannon, a psyched-out funk bomb with a glorious blue-eyed soul twist, and a mystical sort of vibe that can proudly sit up there with the likes of Stills, Nash and Young - i.e. proggy but still groovy. There's an extended remix from Mudds, and the man goes for a kind of dub version approach; a new and different tactic to deploy over a rock tune, but effective nonetheless.

Review: King Of Town is originally from Johannesburg but now based in London, and he's back after a decade out of the limelight with four exclusive edits which prove his charm and killer groove instinct hasn't dulled at all with time. On this occasion he's turned his attention to Willie West's smouldering r&b joint 'Lord Have Mercy', threading some tasteful acid underneath the track and adding some weight to Pasteur Lappe's spaced-out cosmic joint 'Swimming In Your Eyes'. With additional upfront delights on the tweaking of 'Troubles Of This World' and a callback to his South African roots on Marumo's 'Khomo Tsaka Deile Kae', this is a record bursting with high-grade party energy sensitively embellished by an expert ear.

Review: The Konduko label was a gem of early 80s Miami groove, playing host to a range of projects from Noel Williams. "Rock Attack" was originally credited to J. Griffith, but resurfaces here on Emotional Rescue with Williams' King Sporty & The Ex Tras billed at the helm. It's a firecracker of a tune, revolving around a stuttering electro bassline and the loosest, funkiest set of drums, sounding fresh as a daisy with a new lick of mastering paint. Meanwhile Faze Action sprinkle a little contemporary magic on the track, making a beautifully tripped out "Discomix" that sounds more like a cosmic dub extravaganza to these ears.

Review: Way ahead of his time, King Sporty was in a league of his own when it came to Jamaican disco funk: "Get On Down" sounded nothing short of future in 1979. It still does today for that matter, but that hasn't stopped Wolf Music maestro Medlar extending it into an epic two-part suite for the iconic TK Disco. Removing nothing from the original at all and simply toughening the drums and adding occasional dubby reverb drops, our full attention is squared on the natural ease and flow of Sporty's house-like sense of groove. A very wholesome edit.

Review: Emotional Rescue returns with the third (and final?) King Sporty & The Ex Tras releases with the first ever-official reissue of the highly sought after cult boogie jam Do You Wanna Dance? Coming as remastered vocal and instrumental, plus again featuring a special Discomix, this time courtesy of acid-disco slayer Felix Dickinson.

Appearing shortly after the success of the band's only album, Extra Funky, Do You Wanna Dance? pointed the way forward, moving further from Disco and closer to the rising electro-boogie sounds that were sweeping the dance floors. The confident up / jump electro drum programming, slap bass and trademark Sporty guitar chops are propelled by a monster swamp inducing synth arpeggio that sings the funk electric, while hip-hop-shout-outs ride the rhythm. If the vocals are too much for some, then the original Instrumental (dub) is also included for those just wanting that infectious groove.

As many will recall, Do You Wanna Dance? featured on Felix's "Originals" compilation for Claremont 56 back in 2011, so when the King Sporty reissue project was coming together there was only one name to be asked for the Discomix. With a long history of DJing and music production, as well the man behind the Recycled Records, Fools Gold, Urban Myth and Bastedos labels, as well many, many releases on the long running and aptly titled Cynic Recordings, his remix arrives on point.

Teasingly drawn out, his mix switches back / forth between versions, the interplay between vocals, guitar, bass and electro-glide synths hypnotically building, with Dickinson's deftly dubbing tripping it out, making the title's question irrelevant, as mind and feet involuntarily move.

Review: New York City was the early block city foment of The Fatback Band, who would, on the official account, see their names written into history as some of the pioneers of funk at large. Aside from their disputed four-to-the-floor point-sourcings with 'Oops Upside Your Head', The Fatback Band were equally known for many a hit, including 'I Like Girls' and 'Yum Yum (Gimme Some)', and the formula for such repeated successes has been expertly localised by some as resting in the charismatic wiles of one Johnny King, the founding member whose proud, biped posture and wicked vocals brought to the group a firm and charismatic leading presence to the group. This originally 2004 cut by working Master Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez hears us lean into the funkier ends of the latter's remix-craft, as 'Peace, Love Not War' is given a profound kneading and planing across an excoriating final funk beat.

Review: Kissin Cousins is a new alter-ego of a certain suave record shop owner in Soho who is also one half a rather well known DJ/production duo. The debut release on Tinpot compiles some of his personal re-edits and breaks which have featured in his DJ sets over the past 30 years, rocking dancefloors across the world.

Review: We're used to Star Creature offering up authentically synth-heavy nu-boogie gems, but here they change tack with a little help from Chicago's Boogie Munster Crew. "Attack of The Chicago Boogie" sees them gather together some ridiculously rare private press gems originally recorded by Windy City musicians during the boogie and electrofunk era. They first offer up a fresh TJ & Hirsch re-edit of Andrew Kitchen's thrillingly squelchy and spacey "Attack of the Boogie", before TZ goes solo to rearrange J Parker Brown's deeper, warmer and more soulful lo-fi synth boogie treat "Live Lady". Over on the flip, Mister's "I Wanna Thank You" is a glossy, horn-sporting slab of polished boogie brilliance, while Henrietta Brown's "I Want You (Right Now)" is a bustling and up-tempo affair heavily influenced by jazz-funk.

Review: In 1981, a multi-cultural group of young musicians headed by local lad Harbans Srih headed into a tiny eight-track studio in Walsall to record what they hoped would become their debut single. 28 years later, that single, credited to Klimate, is finally getting a release thanks to the diggers at Super Disco Edits. A-side "ESP" is an inspired chunk of Brit-funk that wraps soulful vocals, delay-laden sax solos and intricate electric piano lines around a warm and heavy, jazz-funk inspired groove. Flipside "To See You" is equally as impressive, with the action focused on rubbery slap bass, meandering sax lines, twinkling keys, reggae-soul style vocals and the kind of flash-fried guitar licks that were so common on dancefloor cuts during the period.

Review: Absolute funk fire from Gladys and co; "Love Is Always On Your Mind" is arguably one of their most overlooked jams in history. Heavily swung and quite gritty in comparison to their other work, it's an instant floor display lavished with stacks of energy and groove. Flip for the heavily referenced, sampled and edited 1980 classic "Bourgie Bourgie". Silky soul disco at its finest. Another white hot reissue success from Buddah.

Review: Spanish label Rocafort specializes not only in reissues, but also fresh jams that sound like they could have been produced in the 1970s and early '80s. Here they offer up something that combines contemporary production chops, real instrumentation and classic influences. It comes from debutant Spanish trio Kokoro Disco San, a trio of experienced musicians with a passion for goodtime grooves. You'll find a particularly hot and heavy disco groove at the heart of "Isla Fantasia", a track marked out by tasty jazz-funk instrumental flourishes and the kind of spacey synth lines most often associated with the likes of Dexter Wansel and Herbie Hancock. There's more meandering deep space synths on flipside "Sonic Feeling", a lolloping disco-boogie number powered by a classic sounding walking bassline and layered percussion.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface mark on the record, but otherwise in excellent condition***


Spanish label Rocafort specializes not only in reissues, but also fresh jams that sound like they could have been produced in the 1970s and early '80s. Here they offer up something that combines contemporary production chops, real instrumentation and classic influences. It comes from debutant Spanish trio Kokoro Disco San, a trio of experienced musicians with a passion for goodtime grooves. You'll find a particularly hot and heavy disco groove at the heart of "Isla Fantasia", a track marked out by tasty jazz-funk instrumental flourishes and the kind of spacey synth lines most often associated with the likes of Dexter Wansel and Herbie Hancock. There's more meandering deep space synths on flipside "Sonic Feeling", a lolloping disco-boogie number powered by a classic sounding walking bassline and layered percussion.

Review: Disco don and edit king Kon is a real favourite here at Juno HQ. Here he assumes his King of Nothing alias for a super limited white label 12". 'Alright' is the gorgeously upbeat a-side tune with its funky bass riffs, hip swinging claps and big horns. It's an authentic slice of dance floor disco joy that is backed with 'Stars.' This one has a more playful side to it, with falsetto female vocals and chugging drums, swirling synths that bring the cosmic vibes and a uniquely characterful sense of charm.

Review: 80s mega classic getting a re-issue.

Review: This 12" includes 3 tracks. All edits and excavation done by the hands of the lil' big city's finest crate digger - Kool DJ Dust! When you listen to the sound you will soon notice that its not really an opera, but we like to call it an opera because its sounds so good! Kool DJ Dust is a part of the Swedish Grammy award winning trio Hundarna Från Söder, and has also released solo work.

Review: Picture disc vibes from veteran Dutch party starters Kraak & Smaak with "Dynamite" the prelude for a third album due out later this year on spiritual home Jalapeno Records. Seemingly occupying the previously unmined space where breaks, electro, deep house, funk and mainland European rap meet, "Dynamite" is idiosyncratically Kraak & Smaak in it's delivery, aided and abetted by the contribution of DJ Git Hyper and Sebastian (not thAt one!) A less flammable but equally danceable Boogie Funk remix from Kraak & Smaak driven by a funked out bassline occupies the B Side.

Review: Hot on the heels of his Discosaurs EP, which saw him expertly re-edit a swathe of obscure disco jams, Pascal Garnier AKA Krewcial delivers another hot-to-trot dose of dancefloor focused rearrangements. This time round, he's chosen to do a bit of (we think) multi-track "versioning", offering a trio of reworks of the same killer cut: Chaka Khan's 1980 disco hit 'Clouds'. The 'Extended Clouds' version is fairly faithful to the original, just longer and even more epic. Arguably more revolutionary and revelatory is the 'New Clouds' take, which opts for a denser, more freewheeling disco-funk sound with crunchy guitar licks aplenty and heavier bass. On the 'Acoustic Clouds' take he removes the groove entirely, instead showcasing Chaka's vocal and the original instrumentation. It's a real treat!

Review: Legendary New York DJ Danny Krivit follows up his recent Edits By Mr. K release on Strut with a third 12" plucked from the album featuring fat 'n' loud pressings of two of the exclusive edits featured on the Music Of The Earth LP. Milton Hamilton's "We Have All The Time" (from the Disco Madness album from '76 )is flipped with a new stereo, full length edit of Philadelphia International All-Stars' social commentary classic, "Let's Clean Up The Ghetto" from 1977. Danny's edit removes some of the vocal parts and beefs up the instrumentals. Limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.

Review: Wonky meets jazz in this impressive new jazz mini-LP from Japan. Takuya Kuroda is a highly respected trumpeter and arranger born in Kobe, Japan and based in New York City. 'Midnight Crisp' is Takuya's seventh studio album, entirely self-produced and following 2020's highly acclaimed 'Fly Moon Die Soon'. Learning jazz in a higher education environment, he's reapplied his skills to a new solo outing here, blending with his one true loves, afrobeat and hip-hop. The ensuing album is one of myriad midnight moods, tempered by many a virtuosic and mournful piano, digitally-edited drum brush, and trilling trumpet from the mouth of Kuroda himself.

Review: Boston DJ K Civ continues his obsession with all things Fela Kuti on this EP containing three reworks of the Nigerian afro beat pioneer. Across the A Side is an extended version of the polemical "You Gimme Shit I Give You Shit" that hits the spot at twelve minutes long. On the flip, the percussion heavy rework of "Eko Ile" works just as well.