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.