Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Back ion 2021, the relaunched Foliage Records imprint offered up a killer mix from NYC house legends Mood II Swing, the must-check Deep Rooted. Soon, the revitalised label will release a sequel, with long-serving British deep house don Atjazz at the helm. This sampler EP boasts six of the highlights from that set - all remixed and reworked by Atjazz himself. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the tense, slowly building deep-tech shuffle of Halo''s 'Glorty (Atjazz Galaxy Art Remix)'and the sun-splashed 6am bounce of Atjazz's remix of Dominique Fils-Aime's gorgeous 'Sun Rise', to the dreamy dancefloor wooziness of Ralf GUM's 'AWA' (re-imagined by Atjazz as an Osunlade-esque spiritual house workout) and the jazzy, bass-guitar-propelled broken house excellence of 'On The Road (Vocal Mix)', a three-way collab between Atjazz, Kelli Sae and The Realm.

Review: TakeFingz returns with its seventh release and offers up a double A-side 7" tailored for dancefloor devastation. On Side A, DJ Katch reworks classic funk breaks into a groove-heavy party igniter that betrays some seriously sharp turntable skills and crowd-moving instincts. It's a surefire weapon for any set in high-energy settings. On the flip, DJ Toby Gee drops a bass-driven boogie funk jam packed with vintage chants and break-heavy grooves. Both tracks are precision-crafted with nods to B-Boy culture among them perfect for bodypoppers and lockers alike.

Review: In a rare backwards castling and killer checkmate, Friendly Records boldly re-press one of J Dilla's most beloved cuts, 'Geek Down', which appeared on his landmark Donuts LP. Known for its sample of the 2001 dark funk tune 'Charlies Theme' by The Jimi Entley Sound, this indelible, ringed hors d'oeuvre was essential for the critics' collective assessment that the 2005 LP was his magnum opus. Trailing pink sprinkles behind it, 'Geek Down' made Dilla's name. Sadly, the title would seem predict the artist's death just three days after the record's release. Dilla was a true productive geekazoid, and it shows in this track, with its untameable, above-the-law Western guitar wahs and tense, lilting strings keeping the goosebump hairs stood aright. The originally sampled track appears on the B, still only part-revealing the magic trick.

Review: At legendary jazzdance hubs like London's Horseshoe and Camden's Electric Ballroom, one track ruled the floor: Hino Terumasa's 'Merry-Go-Round', pulled from the Japanese trumpeter's 'Double Rainbow' album. A bass-driven jass fusion storm, it sent dancers into a frenzy, tending fast down a psychedelic jazz mountain. A staple of BBE's J Jazz compilation, 'Merry-Go-Round' was Paul Murphy's top pick for a fresh rework, heard here from Niknak. Rising to the challenge, Takumi assembled top-tier musicians to craft an electrifying tribute; eight minutes of unrelenting, steam-hammer funk, pushing jazz dance energy to its limits.

Review: Talking Drums return with Volume 8, another leftfield disco delight from the Manchester-based crew known for their genre-hopping, floor-filling edits. This latest 12" twists vintage grooves into fresh, club-ready energy, blending Euro-NRG, deep disco cuts and Balearic euphoria with their usual offbeat charm. The A-side, 'Fever Dreams', is a full-throttle, sweat-dripping workoutisequencers throb, horns wail and twin basslines drive the track forward with an unrelenting urgency. A cheeky vocal and a breakdown primed for peak-time chaos make this one irresistible for late-night mischief. On the flip, 'Too Hot' dials down the BPM but keeps the heat on, its laid-back disco strut laced with silky strings, funky breaks, and shimmering Rhodes keys. Then there's 'Maximum Balearic Dancer', a sun-soaked closer that takes a fragment of Swiss fusion and transforms it into a hypnotic, flamenco-tinged groove, complete with breezy synths and a soaring piano solo. With their latest releaseiexpect this one to become a secret weapon for DJs who like their edits playful, punchy and a little bit unpredictable.

Review: Melbourne, Australia based sextet The Traffic, headed up by Ivan 'Choi' Khatchoyan, serve up a special MJ feature funk 45. Presented in a special pressing in red vinyl with black splatter, we get awesome renditions of Michael Jackson tracks 'Beat It' and 'Thriller' from his iconic Thriller album from 1982. The big band energy of the players make these cover versions worthy your attention, with a killer horns section imitating the king of pop's falsetto to great effect.

Review: Tweak's latest is another fine trip through rhythm, texture and atmosphere across three originals that are couched in broken beat. 'Generation' leads with lovely laidback grooves and a warm, gloopy bassline as precise electronics merge with a hint of vintage soul. The 'Red Rover' (Rework) is another sunny, horizontal sound with bubbly broken beats and lush flutes adding the hook, then 'Fathorn' explores darker, more tribal rhythms with deep bass and ritualistic percussion. Raw Deal's Freedom Time Remix of 'Fathorn' takes it further with some fluid grooves and expressive brass top notes next to glowing, golden Rhodes chords. A fantastically feel-good and fuzzy sound.

Review: This package of remixes of tunes from Translations is a real gem for lovers of Future Sound of London. plenty of familiar samples and textures are worked into the five Yage remixes as are cosmic overtones, sitars, drones, backward guitars and more. 'The Big Blue' is a woozy intergalactic sound on slow-mo beats, 'Requiem' is a worldly dub, 'The Lovers' has psyched-out lead riffs that bring prog energy and 'The Great Marmalade Mama In The Sky' has drunken tabla drums and mesmeric strings for a perfect retro-future comedown. 'Wooden Ship' is a spine-tingling sound with choral vocals bringing the celestial charm.

Review: The Ballistic Brothers were behind a great many infusion of breakbeat, jazz and Afro house during the 1990s, smashing onto the scene with the Junior Boy's Own twinkler of an EP, 'I'll Fly Away' (the lead track on which works just as easily at drum & bass speeds as it does at tapper-out tempos) as well as the complementary debut album, London Hooligan Soul. The Eccentric Afros were an early, assistive alias, used by an intermixing but not exhaustive list of some of the same producers involved in TBB before they assumed the latter name proper: Ashley Beedle, Rocky & Diesel (X-Press 2), Uschi Classen and Dave Hill. This second edition of "lost tape" reissues rediscovers some of the trio's best and most esoteric breaks-plates, which would've been heard on heavy rotation in the amalgamate days of the 90s London clubbing scene, yet not all of which have been put out properly until now.

Review: First Word Records thrill us with a brand new album from present-day jazz legend Kaidi Tatham. Miles Away marks his sixth solo full-length for the award-winning London label, with ten fresh tracks all performed by the multi-instrumentalist himself. This is a masterclass in forward-thinking, genre-blurring electronic jazz; Rhodes keys, pianos, synths, strings, horns, and flutes flow floridly over roomy percussion and drum intricacies, representing Kaidi's unmistakable sound. From the smooth funk of 'Misty Garden' to the infectious 'Sweet Cherry Punch', the album redshifts a kaleidoscope of styles: bruk, boogie, soul, and even reggae-steppers on the closing 'Ku Deh'.

Review: Jimi Tenor and Cold Diamond & Mink reunite for another cosmic soul voyage with July Blue Skies, a funk-infused, synth-drenched record out via Timmion Records. Compared to Tenor's previous work, Is There Love In Outer Space?, this one leans into a raw, mystical energy, blending mellow grooves with soundtrack-style funk. Over six immersers, we hear analogue synth extensions across hypothetical planes, evoking a romantic, gridded sky. The infectious 'Sky Train Baby', meanwhile, pulls listeners along a locomotive ride through rivered stars, while 'Venus Of Barsoon' launches into sci-funk territory with drums keeping to a fuzzier logic. On the B, Tenor's flute and sax shine on 'Ikuchi', while the previously released singles 'Summer Of Synesthesia' and 'Tsicroxe' dually release a formerly ambered preservative energy.

Review: For the first time, experimental saxophonist and composer Jimi Tenor finds Norweigan dance powerhouse DJ Sotofett, both teaming up for a collaboration: 'No Warranty Dubs'. Completing the trifecta is Berlin ensemble Kabukabu, the five-piece Afro-jazz-funkers whose original recordings - many of which were overseen expertly by Tenor himself - now come redistilled through a dubwise filter paper. The loose-limbed, lackadaisical energy of Kabukabu's live instrumentation merge fully with Tenor's genre-blurring composites, as Sotofett recasts fifteen tracks into rhythm-driven, bass-heavy versions. The original free jazz and Afro-influenced elements remain present, but they here serve as rawer material for layered studio treatments, channelling echo-drenched edit work and hypnotic repetition, where nothing ever rests to the point of complacency.

Review: The always innovative Emma-Jean Thackray's second album continues her tradition of exploring the edges of standard genres with a bold exploration of grief, selfhood and resilience. Created entirely by Thackray in her South London flat, it meshes jazz, pop, soul, p-funk and grunge into a personal journey in which tracks like 'Wanna Die' contrast frenetic beats with raw emotion while tackling mental health with humour and vulnerability. Featuring collaborations with Reggie Watts and Kassa Overall, the album honours individuality and neurodivergence while processing profound loss and results in Thackray's most intimate and daring work to date-an honest, chaotic, and cathartic celebration of surviving and thriving through pain.

Review: Originally released in 2002, this album remains one of Washington-based duo's most well-known albums, blending trip-hop, downtempo, and an eclectic mix of global influences. While it's often categorised as sophisticated lounge music, its world-fusion approach offers a real depth, from hypnotic opener 'Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes', featuring Emiliana Torrini's airy vocals over a light, looping keyboard melody and deep bassline, onwards. The track's ethereal quality sets a contemplative tone and back s it up with dynamic shifts that make it equally as engaging. 'Facing East' brings in Middle Eastern violin phrases and tribal drums, adding a richer texture. Here, Thievery Corporation excels, weaving together global sounds into a flowing, immersive piece. Tracks like 'The Outernationalist' and 'Un Simple Histoire' fall into the duo's familiar patternipleasant but formulaic dub and bossa nova elements that, while polished, don't push boundaries. However, 'Meu Destino' and 'Exilo' set themselves apart thanks to the authentic performances from Patrick de Santo and Vernie Verla, allowing the music to breathe without overproduction. Helping to validate Thievery Corporation's signature sound, this is a beautifully produced work and somewhat of a landmark in the history of downtempo lounge-hop.

Review: Mille Plateaux and Raster hero Andreas Tilliander meets Fire! Orchestra's Goran Kajfes somewhere deep - and we mean DEEP - in the jazz cosmos. The farthest reaches of a universe far, far away, but one that still seems to understand how joyful vast can sound when pierced by the haunting yet strangely alluring sound of brass. But simply defining this as jazz misses a point, then throws us well beyond the pale. In Cmin would be nothing without the electronic tricks and gadgetry that first made us feel as though we'd space-walked off the edge of the known galaxy, out past the Milky Way's stardust. Echoes, tape delays, things that add mood and timbre without necessarily shouting their presence. There's magic at work here. And, contrary to the 21st Century's obsession with under-the-hood, not knowing the how is the reason why you want this.