Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: LA based Black Market Dub like to rework great artists of decades gone by through a new sound system lens. This time it is the great 80s pop duo Hall & Oates who get the treatment with six of their most well-known tunes all reworked at slower tempos, with natty guitars, horns and rolling rhythms bring a new and sunny perspective. 'Private Eyes' in particular sounds superbly laid back and sun kissed for Balearic sessions and 'Maneater' also does the business with the original vocals soaring over lazy chords and amidst oodles of echo and reverb.

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


The fourth ever solo studio album from the acclaimed electronic artist and composer Laurel Halo, Atlas is intended to guide the listener through their own subconscious mind, coming as an intense sequence of soaring ambiences and beatless jazz montages. Finding its footing in instrumental improvisation by Halo herself, plus featuring artists Coby Sey, James Underwood and Lucy Railton - and then blowing any assumptive connotation with jazz out of the park with its subtly effected vocal processing and electronic tinkerings and washes thereafter - fans can be sure that this is not going to be your stock experimental affair.

Review: An exceptional, almost entirely unreleased jazz-funk LP from Roland Haynes Jr., previously known only for a single 45 released in 1983 (included here). If you're thinking undiscovered James Mason, you're on the right track. This LP is huge, even by the highest standards. Until now, that rare single was the only material trace of Haynes and his band. However, Haynes meticulously documented his musical journey, recording both packed-out live gigs and studio sessions. The tracks on this release come directly from Haynes' personal archive, offering an incredible glimpse into his unreleased, carefully crafted studio work.

Review: Headnodic and Jazz Mafia, hailing from the Bay Area, bring a fresh yet nostalgic twist to the West Coast jazz-rap sound, combining the gritty pulse of boom-bap with the fluidity of jazz. From the outset, tracks like 'Rambissimo' and 'Zugulala' strike with a laid-back but engaging energy, fusing head-nodding beats made from SP-12s and MPCs with live instrumentation that radiates warmth and spontaneity. The resulting sound is both organic and meticulously crafted, effortlessly balancing sharp, loop-based hip-hop with the kind of loose, human groove that gives jazz its soul. The project came to life through an introduction from Thes One of People Under The Stairs, and it's clear why this collaboration is so electrifyingiheadnodding beats paired with smooth, clever bars that never take themselves too seriously. Tracks like 'Maiden Voyage' and 'All That You Could Be' capture the essence of jazzy hip-hop without ever feeling forced, creating a timeless vibe perfect for any occasion. This limited release is a gem, capturing a moment of pure creativity and musical synergy.

Review: Bashed out in no time at all, Andrew Hill's Andrew!!! drew on an astonishing creative upsurge enjoyed by many a musician in the early 1960s, which proved fortuitous for the pianist's storied early-career Blue Note run. Captured in 1964 with a distinctive quintet including John Gilmore, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers, this de facto debut showcases Hill's singular compositional voice across six dense, exploratory originals like 'The Griots' and 'Black Monday'; while his earlier Point Of Departure tends to attract the spotlight, Andrew!!! colours between the lines in a different shade. But like the former, it no less now benefits from BN's Joe Harley's audiophiliac oversight, preserving the subtle textures and telepathic interplay that define Hill's gauche-adroit playing.

Review: Billie Holiday's late career 1958 LP through Verve Records caught the legendary singer at a relatively intimate stage: substance abuse compounded financial difficulties, which imposed a toll on her already turbulent personal life, and Holiday's once-pure, all-powerful voice was showing signs of wear. A title like All Or Nothing At All would certainly seem to express the captive intensity of an industry that "breaks" artists in more ways than one, and despite the mixed reviews on release, this small combo-backed record is of one artist's broken but still functioning sensitivity. With Harry "Sweets" Edison and saxophonist Ben Webster, Holiday croons over 12 tracks, recorded over five sessions in 1956 and 1957, showcasing a more restrained vocal style that pierces clearly through and despite pharyngeal ills.