Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Detroit mainstay John Beltran is back to present Sol Set having already impressed with their Ola de Novo album. This summery and soul-drenched outing opens with the florid flutes and shimmering rhythms of 'Through Fire' before a wonderful cover of Sade's 'War of the Hearts' with Taylor Taylor on vocals brings tropical percussive delights. South African house vocalist Earl Green brings expressive soul style to the feel good 'Love Revolution' while closer 'Maragogi' taps into an authentic Brazilian sound with feather drums and subtle samba shuffle.

Review: Matthieu Chedid and Seu Jorge's long-running collaboration reaches a new peak with this latest release. A-side, the track 'Parioca' brings together the duo's signature stylesiChedid's French flair and Jorge's Brazilian rhythms, resulting in a seamless fusion of groove and melody that invites listeners into a warm, joyful world where their distinct musical identities meet. The B-side's dub mix of 'Parioca' takes things in a deeper direction, layering hypnotic rhythms and atmospheric textures that open up the track, creating an expansive, dubby atmosphere. It's a perfect companion to the original, showing the depth and versatility of their musical partnership, which continues to evolve after more than a decade of collaboration.

Review: Japanese talent DJ Koco aka Shimokita is a hardcore 45rpm devotee. They are his chosen tools as a beat-juggling DJ who can do logic-defying things with his grooves. He is a regal on Bloom and already dropped serious heat in January with 'World Famous'. This time he is back with a fresh take on 'Made In New York' which is a 1985 classic by renowned Brazilian funk and jazz pianist Tania Maria. He brings his signature hip-hop flair and creativity with his trusted crew, 45trio, and enlists the dynamic saxophonist King TJ (DA-Dee-MiX) to elevate things further.

Review: Analog Recital's new album fantastically collides the worlds of lo-fi house and jazz-synth sounds on Inner Tribe Records. Clearly drawing inspiration from early jazz-house production but adding new ideas to that, the record combines dynamic dancefloor rhythms with crusty drums reminiscent of classic hip-hop and live horns as well as traditional African drums. It features Adrian M Nation from Antigua and Barbuda and Millicent from South Africa on vocals, while Aussie Horatio Luna is on bass to make this a truly pan-global and richly musical affair. By merging live instrumentation with late-night club vibes in this way, Analog Recital really impresses.

Review: British-born soul artist Eki Shola, resident variously between the US and Japan, is said to have spent much of her creative career in "enforced isolation", and her music bears all the great hallmarks of a true artist. The most recent LP Kaeru is true to said assessment, reflecting Shola's long and enduring multi-instrumental, Eastern hemispherical instrumental interests: curiosities such as shakuhachi, shamisen, and Morin Khuur were incorporated into her already brilliant electronica soul salutations, representing leaps in both geography and sound. This new Oonops Drops issue brings two fresh new interpretations to follow 2023's LP, evincing the same good headspace that birthed the first.

Review: The cultured creative minds of James Simonson and Blair French reunite for this new Realities Remix EP on MotorCity Wine which was, in original form, recorded by Simonson in hotel rooms across Europe and the Americas while touring with soul legend Bettye LaVette. As such it takes in myriad global influences as well as evocative field recordings which get reworked in style. Blair French adds his touch with three remixes, firstly the anthemic 'Realities (Projector Remix),' then the more dance-driven 'Elektronolux Overture (Sunday Remix)' and the lush and downtempo 'Hannah (Remix)' featuring violinist Sonia Lee. Two originals 'Realities' and 'Elektronolux Overture' also appear on vinyl for the first time and sound superb.

Review: Geordie one-man production line Smoove's Multitrack Reworks series consistently delivers the goods, with the popular funk, soul, breaks and disco DJ/producer dropping fine, Reflex style revisions of both classic cuts and lesser-celebrated gems. He begins volume ten by reworking Steely Dan's 'Peg', a cut beloved of hip-hop DJs thanks to its killer drum-break and use in De La Soul's 'Eye Know'. His version makes great use of the multi-track stems, teasing out the break and slowly building the instrumental elements before unleashing the vocals. It's a genuinely great rework, as you'd expect. Over on the flip, he gives 'Baby Be Mine', with its' crispy drums, glistening disco guitars and squelchy synth-bass, a similar treatment, before successfully chopping up a heavy, percussion-laden deep AOR soul number ('This Time').

Review: Vincent Semlinger, aka Snares, is next up in the revered Ilan Tape Beat Series. He hails from Augsburg, Germany, but taps into the golden era West Coast for this dusty and soul foray into hip-hop. 'Medusa' could well be a long-lost Dilla cut - as could many of these sketches, to be fair. There are plenty for loved-up sundown moments like 'Grim', more boogie-fried and neon lit sounds that call to mind a stoned XL Middleton like 'Must Go' while 'Waterpimp' (feat Roughmix) is all hazy, sun-kissed and blissed-out Dam Funk excellence.

Review: Echo Chamber Recordings launches its new sub-label, Echo Labs, with a killer debut 7" from Southside Sound Surgeons, aka a coming together of label boss Si Cheeba and longtime DJ partner WeeG. After years behind the decks, the duo finally commits their sound to wax, and it has been well worth the wait. The A-side, 'Hi-Jakarta,' is a high-energy, Afro-Brazilian b-boy bomb aimed directly at the rump with stomping beats and wildly expressive synths. The B-side, 'Rockin' Roots,' flips golden era hip-hop vibes with classic vocal chops and chunky beats, and it builds to a dancefloor-smashing climax.

Review: When this French producer released 'Rose Rouge' on his 2000 landmark album Tourist, it was more than a track. It was a manifesto. Built on hypnotic jazz loops, tight house rhythms and a sample from Marlena Shaw's 'Woman of the Ghetto', it was a vision of dance music that was cultured, expansive and deeply groovy. Its sophisticated blend of electronic textures and classic jazz sensibilities earned it a rightful home on Blue Note Records, elevating it beyond clubs and into the canon of genre-defying music. It remains a defining moment of jazz-house fusion. Two decades on, Jorja Smith brought her unmistakable voice to the track with a smoky, soulful reinterpretation that paid homage while casting it in a fresh r&b light. Joy Orbison's remix of her version on Side 2 injects another layer of evolution. It stretches the track into a deep, slow-burning cut, rich in atmosphere and bass weight, yet restrained and emotive. Together, these versions celebrate the enduring legacy and adaptability of Rose Rouge across generations and genres.

Review: A veritable wave-making machine in the infinity pool of British nu-jazz, producer Tom Funk rocks up with another 12" instalment in his The Sultan's Swing Project, linking with Colin Curtis Presents for a five-track EP to complement the three LPs reeled off the top so far. The usual grift of jazz, jazz-funk and acid jazz instrumentation - plus trip-hop, downtempo, dub, Balearica, and Latinesque beats - are heard in full swing here, with an extra linseed oiling for the dancefloor. Rapid club-bound bossa nova sets the scene on 'Thinking Of You', while 'Copenhagen Connection' suggests a potential sonic espionage link between London and Denmark, as a moment of Baltic dark jazz marks the only point of downtime on the record. A closing 'As I Walk On By', replete with guest singer, redrapes the Dionne Warwick hookline in looser jazz culottes.

Review: While he's not put out many re-edits of late, Luke Una has serious scalpel-job pedigree. Back in the 2000s, he and then DJ partner Justin Crawford released a series of largely disco-focused edit EPs on the hush-hush Electrik Souls series. Here he returns to the format with the first in a series of reworks focused on his popular, dusty-fingered E Soul Cultura project. He begins by teasing out and lightly toughening up a killer Caribbean cut from the 1990s, Ella Andall's 'My Spirit Is Music' - an insanely rare and hard to find number that the Sheffield-born DJ has naturally tweaked sensitively. Elsewhere, he emphasises the 'proto-house dub' feel of Slick Mission's early UK house number 'Time's Up', before going even dubbed-out and more percussive on Manu Dibango's lesser-known cover of Latin disco classic 'Jingo'.

Review: Dean Josiah Cover AKA Info's Sault collective has been one of the success stories of the last few years - a hard-to-pigeonhole outfit that manages to knock out inspired albums at a rate of knots. Their latest full-length, '11', is another brilliant and must-check excursion. Largely lo-fi, languid and laidback, it delivers a particularly loose and lo-fi take on soul - blessed with their usual nods to Afrobeat and soundsystem culture - whose instrumentation is deliberately sparse and laidback (think bass guitar, drums and guitar). The results are rarely less than impeccable, with the collective's vocals (both female and male singers feature) rising above vintage-sounding grooves and arrangements that variously doff a cap to Sly Stone, Cymande and - on the drowsy, warming and synth-sporting 'Higher' - the more tactile end of British 80s soul.

Review: Shawn Lee steps into untamed territory with Toe Rag Rhythms, a perc-ky odyssey trading in polish for pulse, spontaneity, and raw funk energy. Departing from his usual tightly composed fare, this session hears Lee, a seasoned multi-alias musician and composer from London, joined by four more percussionists, losing himself in a jungle of drums, shakers, bells, and earthbound textures. Lee adds tinkerbell piano lines to ground-lift the otherwise swirling, syncopated chaos, finishing each tracks with a loose-limbed, hypnotic charm. Whether the humid bounce of 'Tropical B Boy', the cinematic swirl of 'Dance Of The Pharoahs', or the laid-back snap of 'Rainforest Hum', this record easily earns its place alongside global groove rarities. Wild, rhythmic, totally addictive.

Review: The Situation collective, led by Mr. Mulatto and Frank Situation, returns with their new album Audio Proxemics. It's a rich, genre-blurring journey across nine tracks of soulful nu-disco, jazz-infused house and broken beat featuring global collaborators like Javonntte, Venessa Jackson and Faze Action's Robin Lee. The album highlights Situation's deep musical roots with live instrumentation that ranges from shimmering keys to brassy horns and guitars which elevate each track beyond mere tool status. From the club-ready sparkle of 'Mrs Donovan' to the sun-drenched groove of 'Bullit,' this is a warm, musical celebration perfect for summer days and late-night sessions.

Review: SoiSong, the collaborative project of Ivan Pavlov (CoH) and Brit industrial music royalty Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle, Coil), was a brief but enduring exploration of electronica's least charted realms. Coming to in 2007, the duo fused Pavlov's raw digital landscapes and Christopherson's dark, whimsical touch, bringing a bold debut and stark break from convention, blending artificial vocals with live drums, jazz noir with tropical textures, and synthetic sounds. The boundaries of genre are brushed up against, with tracks like 'Dtorumi' and 'J3z' pushing the limits of post-90s electronic experimentation. A new mix of 'Lom Tum Lai Kwee', meanwhile, adds a hallucinatory grandeur, while the closer, 'Ti-Di-Ti Naoo', evokes transformations from rehearsal to performance.

Review: When she started her career just over a decade ago, Cleopatra Nikolic AKA Cleo Sol was considered a singer-for-hire within the international deep house community. Now, with the assistance of beat-maker Inflo, she's decided to strike out on her own via a quietly impressive solo debut that re-casts her as a genuinely fresh and exciting soul talent. Beginning with the layered acapella vocals and deep, jazzy grooves of stunning opener "One Love", the album sees her brilliantly deliver heartfelt and thoughtful lyrics over hazy backing tracks that brilliantly join the dots between jazz, neo-soul and R&B. While she's undoubtedly the star of the show, Inflo's stripped-back, partially acoustic and largely soft-focus production is also worthy of high praise.

Review: We Carry Eden is an album so deep you can plunge right into it and forget the real world entirely. It comes from Son Of Chi, the latest project by Dutch ambient pioneer Hanyo van Oosterom, and it melds drones, field recordings, dub, jazz and fourth world influences across a two-part composition that features storytelling by West African vocalist Omar Ka. A founding member of CHI and Chi Factory, van Oosterom crafts textured soundscapes rooted in meditative grooves and spiritual depth and is inspired by Patmos and Hopi wisdom. He also weaves nature, myth and memory into a unified sonic journey with fine artwork by Michael Willis underlining the message of harmony.

Review: In December 2022, British soul and dance sound system favourites Soul II Soul returned to the iconic Roundhouse for a sold-out show and duly stepped up to deliver a masterclass in groove. Now captured on a limited-edition gold-coated double vinyl, this live recording celebrates 35 years since their seminal Club Classics Vol. 1 reshaped music. Featuring powerhouse vocals from Charlotte Kelly and Nadine Ceaser, the album radiates the signature Funki Dreds vibe that made the group legendary and has standout singles like 'Get a Life' and 'Jazzie's Groove' all sounding wonderful, raw and direct in a way that only live music does. It's a front-row experience of their timeless rhythms and positive vibes.

Review: James Donadio returns to Diagonal with Tinge Of Ascension, his first LP under the StabUdown banner in over a year. Written during a period of immersion in Krishna Consciousness and Dharma Yoga, the record filters Donadio's longstanding fascination with rhythm and repetition through a newly inward, psi attuned lens. Gone is the body music of his earlier output; these nine drift in and out of tempo, suspended in an unhindered, devotional murk. Lo-fi drum machinations ground various loop dissolutions and smear-structures, where things might otherwise lose themselves in an unfound pool of texture, this being true especially of the latter-record Charanjit Singh echo 'Singular Cobra' to the zooid drumming of 'Golden Firmament'.

Review: Greg Surmacz's latest LP finds him joined by a full live band and serving up jazz-inspired instrumentation with electronic styles like footwork, IDM and ambient, all enriched by deep, resonant bass that melds genres. It's a record that elevates both his musicianship and ambition and it flows with dynamic terrain, balancing tension and release while integrating both organic and electronic textures. Lead single 'Loft Music' captures this spirit with scattered percussion, urgent synths and bold horns and the whole thing is inspired by New York's 1970s loft jazz scene. Surmacz channels its freeform energy and builds something raw, direct and powerful where intensity only climbs as the album progresses.