Funk charts

Review: Described by Austrian retroverted Record Shack as one of the funkiest pieces of wax to come off of Canadian label Heart back in 1970, "Mr Fortune" features ex-Jamaican talent Earle Heeedram aka 'The Mighty Pope' providing vocals alongside esteemed American trumpet player Frank Motley. With no industry or promotional support, the disc disappeared into obscurity, but has now become one of the most in demand 'northern funk' tunes on the rare soul scene and available here on a great sounding 45" reissue with original B side "I May Have Been A Fool" replaced by the obscure but infectious, groovy "Sissy Strut".

Review: At the tail end of the '80s, Sylvia Striplin quit Norman Connors' jazz-funk group Aquarian Dream in order to pursue a solo career. Joining forces with producers James Bedford and Roy Ayers, she recorded 1981 debut album "Give Me Your Love", a well regarded but largely overlooked set that has since become a sought-after item amongst soul collectors. This Expansion reissue presents the album on vinyl for the first time in two decades. As with many soul albums of the period, it sashays between jazz-funk, boogie and heartfelt slow jams, contrasting memorable dancefloor workouts (see stone cold classic "Give Me Your Love" and a stellar cover of Roy Ayers favourite "Searchin") with more saccharine, loved-up fare.

Review: Another jewel for all the deep diggers out there produced by Calvin Arnold aka Billy Byrd - soul and funk singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Georgia, USA. "Lost In The Crowd" is a solid funk workout, featuring an intense rhythm and a powerful vocal. On the flip, there is a more chilled-out soul jam titled "Silly Kind Of Love" for the connoisseurs out there. Reissued due to public demand here on a nice great-sounding 45" by Vienna's always reliable Record Shack.

Review: Two years ago, Early Sounds Recordings co-founder Pellegrino S. Snichelotto dished up a debut mini-album that brilliantly joined the dots between Daniele Baldelli style Afro-cosmic grooves and jazz-funk. This is his first outing since and explores similarly sunny and meandering sonic territory, beginning with the languid guitar solos, jaunty electric piano riffs and Tullio de Piscopo style percussion of "Astri & Riflessi". Smoother and deeper dancefloor jazz-funk flavours are provided by "Zodyaco", "Libra Position" is a dub-driven affair rich in spacey synth solos and heavy bass, and "Genti Del Mediterraneo" is a riotous dancefloor workout rich in crunchy Clavinets, elastic slap bass and wild electric piano solos. It is, then, every bit as essential as its fine predecessor.

Review: Harlem-raised Gloria Barnes got her big break after a couple of her early recordings became big hits on the UK Northern Soul scene. Her sole album, 1971's Uptown, has long been an in-demand item amongst collectors, regularly fetching four-figure sums when copies do occasionally change hands. Here the album gets reissued for the first time, allowing those without money to burn to enjoy its rich and evocative mix of Northern style dancefloor stompers, heart aching torch songs and downtempo soul shufflers. The quality of Barnes' vocals naturally impresses throughout, but the musical backing - provided at different points by the Hustlers, the Disciples and Ohio Players - is every bit as beguiling.

Review: Frankfurt label Infracom presents the second edition of Saigon Supersound. The bustling Vietnamese capital at the time was often depicted as the 'Pearl of Southeast Asia' and it is here that the label presents more interesting tunes from a musical era that has long been obscured. Label boss Jan Hagenkoetter is delighted to dig deeper and share with you the beautiful music of this short but significant period in the country's history between 1954-1965. Its diversity explores Vietnamese bolero music, rock and roll influenced by American troops who brought their music to the city, plus traditional folk crossover, latin influences and satirical musical theatre.

Review: A key accelerant in the early 70s MPB melting pot; decorated sessionist, composer and band leader Salvador's 1971-released album is a fizzing brew of bossa, samba, funk, carioca brought together with energy and a fused rawness that has led to OG copies regularly going for around 200. The range is everything in this fourth album; from the sudden floor filling party flourish of the opener "Uma Vida" to the Beatles-like narrative oddity "O Rio" to the orchestral boogaloo of "Number One", this is Salvador at the peak of his fusionista powers.

Review: As an Afrobeat-influenced band, you know you're onto something when Tony Allen starts singing your praises. Dutch nine-piece Jungle By Night has received plenty of plaudits from the Fela Kuti sticksman over the years, and it's easy to see why. Although there's very little straight-up Afrobeat on their latest must-have LP, "Livingstone", there's plenty of rasping, Fela-style horns, polyrhythmic grooves, Highlife-esque guitar riffs and vintage synthesizer motifs. Combine these with an impressive range of influences - boogie, jazz, Giallo horror movie soundtracks, jazz-funk and disco - and the result is a wonderfully expansive, impeccably played and produced set of tracks that entertain and inspire in equal measure. They might be hard to pin-down, but the Amsterdam band is at least consistent: consistently good, that is.

Review: Boom: three years, three albums. No biggie for Bristol duo The Allergies, Jalapeno's biggest success story since Kraak & Smaak. Each album shows them getting deeper into the groove, creeping away from the cheeky samples and sculpting their own pedigree funk originals. With Ugly Ducking Andy Cooper onside through the mix from the wild ride vibing "Fade Away" to the white knuckle lyrical fire of "Run It Back", there's a real band feeling to the whole album as familiar voices thread throughout the jams... including that of UK hip hop legend Dr Syntax.

Review: Tim Maia's 1968 debut single, "What You Want To Be", has long been a favourite of dusty-fingered Latin music enthusiasts. Original copies, though, have long been out of the price range of most DJs and collectors. Happily, Mr Bongo has struck a deal to reissue it. The title track is something of a scorching dancefloor-treat - a boogaloo-era slab of Latin funk in which Maia and chums sing in English atop a bustling rhythm track and some seriously heavy horns. B-side "These Are The Songs" is a much more relaxed and laidback, samba-soaked affair, closer in tone to early 1960s U.S soul songs of the sort regularly covered by the Beatles early in the career.

Review: After forming from the ashes of a lauded jazz group in 1972, Sierra Leone's Afro National went on to release countless killer singles and albums that effortlessly joined the dots between jazz, highlife, funk and more traditional West African sounds. Here, the laudable Africa Seven label celebrates the band's legacy not by gathering together their most famous tracks, but rather cuts with the most insatiable dancefloor chops. The hits come thick and fast, from the punchy Afrobeat/highlife fusion of opener "Jokenge" and the rolling, low-slung goodness of "Mr Who You Be", to the jaunty, celebratory brilliance of the Juju-influenced "Sonjo" and fuzzy sweetness of the compilation's closing track, "Mother In Law" (which, incidentally, is far more enjoyable than any weekend visit from the in-laws).

Review: Astonishingly, original copies of Energize's 1979 private press single "Piece of Class" have changed hands for over 500 quid online. Helpfully, Rain & Shine have decided to save us all a few bob by slinging out this licensed reissue. The title track is something of a bustling disco-funk gem - a genuinely wonderful fusion of hazy vocals, dueling horn solos, spacey synthesizer flourishes and driving bass guitar. B-side "Star of the Disco" is an even more up-tempo affair, with mazy saxophone solos, rasping horn stabs and starry jazz-funk keys riding a walking bassline and high-octane disco drums.

Review: Even by the consistently high standards of Analog Africa, this release is something special. It consists entirely of previously unheard music by Orchestre Abass, an obscure outfit from Togo who released a handful of singles on Polydor Ghana in the early 1970s. Remarkably, all bar one of the tracks on "De Bassari Togo" were found on a long forgotten reel of tape that had sat on a shelf in a Ghanaian warehouse for the best part of 35 years. That was ten years ago; it's taken that long to track down the remaining members of the band and license the material. In truth, the tracks have aged exceptionally well, with the band's infectious, organ-led sound adding distinct Arabic influences (a result of the band members' time spent studying in Islamic schools) to their heavy funk rhythms and riotous Afro-funk vibes.

Review: Original copies of T.Z Junior's bubblegum-boogie cut "Sugar My Love" are hard to come by outside of the artist's home country of South Africa. It's been that way since the single was first released on Roy B Records in 1985, hence this tidy reissue from the on-point Jamwax label. The title track remains a breezy, melodious, cheery and soul-flecked treat, with T.Z Junior delivering a brilliantly evocative lead vocal over bustling bubblegum synths, delay-laden machine drums and an inspired electrofunk bassline. "Are You Ready For Love", meanwhile, may not be quite as celebrated but is equally as impressive. It's the kind of sun-kissed "bubblegum" treat that would sound perfect blasting out of a soundsystem on a hot summer's day.

Review: Destination 78/79: Expansion take us deep into the illustrious back cat of revered boogaloo fusionist Willie Bobo for two of his many fiery delights. Side A is his feel-heavy cult instrumental take on Ronnie Laws' disco classic "Always There" while Side B throws us into the heart of his 1979 album Bobo with gutsy raw soul power (and just a few cheeky funk slap bass twangs for good measure) Two stone cold classics together for the first time on 45.

Review: George Semper's 1984 album Themes For Television, Sports and Aerobics is one of the most brilliantly bonkers you're ever likely to hear. It featured the veteran jazz-man reach for the most intergalactic-sounding electronic instruments he could find and lay down a series of short, library music style missives that still sound like the product of some kind of demented acid trip. The people behind Dynamite Cuts are obviously fans, because they've decided to stick a small selection of cuts from the hard-to-find album on this tidy 7" single. On the A you'll find the deep space, jazz-fired electro-lounge madness of "Pretty Lady", while the flip boasts two shorter cuts: jazzy synth-scape "Universe" and spacey ambient doodle "Extraterrestrial Search Contact Tones".

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the four choice tracks from Randolph Baker's privately pressed sought-after 1982 disco album 'Reaching For The Stars', plus an unreleased instrumental take of 'Party Life' sourced from the original 24-track analogue master tapes.

Originally recorded at Jim Morris and Rick Miller's Tampa-based Morrisound Studios, 'Getting Next To You' features both a mixture of both local Florida talent plus jazz superstar Nat Adderley and bassist John Lamb at their finest. Originally pressed in a limited run of just one-thousand copies, with no distribution and most copies being sold in the local city and on Randolph's own merchandise table at the back of live gigs, original copies have long been sought-after by both collectors and DJs alike, acknowledged as a true grail and masterpiece in the disco scene and deservedly demanding extortionate figures to those lucky enough to find their own.

Here, in collaboration with Randolph, Kalita Records have chosen to re-release the four choice tracks from the album: 'Getting Next To You', 'Jazzman', 'Callin' Me' and 'Party Life'. The former is an in-demand horn and chant-filled disco masterpiece, which, as Randolph explains, concerns unity and "everyone on the same level in other words, everyone just loving life". It is arguably the song that Randolph is most well-known for in the disco and funk scene and perfect for the modern discerning dance floor. 'Jazzman' is an instrumental track with prominent trumpet and saxophone solos working with funky basslines to produce a truly great jazz-funk groove. It was "a tribute to Nat Adderley and Duke Ellington's bass player, John Lamb, for being so generous and saying yes to the project". 'Callin' Me' is a soulful disco number featuring the lead vocals of Laurie Erickson and is "about being on the road and ensuring loved ones that you will always come back home no matter what. It was like a promise to ensure loved ones they didn't have to worry". Lastly, 'Party Life' is a joyous disco track with a strong funk bassline and horns. As Randolph recalls, it "was the joy like after an actor finishes a movie. There was nothing but joy. It's finished; let's celebrate big time. Where everyone in the studio yelled at the top of their lungs - The End!" Here, with access to the 24-track master tapes we have been able to include the original version plus an unreleased instrumental take, allowing us to focus on the infectious bassline and make it even more ready for the modern dance floor.

Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen photos.

Review: Following 2012's fourth volume that celebrated the existential work of Tim Maia, here we find Luaka Bop exploring the legacy of William Onyeabor. A high chief and Kenyan diplomat who allegedly refuses to discuss his music, he self-released eight albums in the 70s and 80s and these are some of the many highlights. Stretching from the New York-influenced post-punk synth funk of "Good Name" to the most authentic Afro fusion of "Why Go To War", Onyeabor's range not only reflects his clear creative skill, but also the ever-developing international language of music during the fruitful period he was active. Who is William Onyeabor? Press play and find out yourselves...

Review: According to the unusual press release accompanying Safe Trip's latest release, Ben Penn's second EP for Young Marco's imprint was the result of vivid hallucinations brought on by the ingestion of an experimental drug provided by agents from a "shadowy" secret organization. "Not Very Important EP" is actually pretty darn trippy. Opener "Nix" is a gently psychedelic, delay-laden trip into outer space with just a clutch of synthesizers for company, while "Not Important" layers alien melody lines over polyrhythmic electro drums and rubbery synth-bass. Elsewhere, "Ben" is a trippy chunk of sleepy alien funk smothered in quirky synth samples and madcap electronics, while "People" is as warm, woozy and as loved-up as they come.