Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: 'Girassol' has long been one of the hardest-to-find gems in Brazilian great Marcos Valle's vast catalogue of sun-drenched musical treats. It was initially recorded and released as a promo-only seven-inch, with copies being handed out to customers of a Brazilian supermarket chain. This, then, marks the track's first ever commercial release. In its' original form (side A), 'Girassol' is a lusciously short, soft-focus affair - a two-minute chunk of laidback, jazz-funk influenced South American boogie bliss with the kind of high production values that you'd expect from Valle during his successful post-disco period. As with the original 7", it comes backed with the slightly more elaborate 'Playback' instrumental mix, where gentle, eyes-closed saxophone solos come to the fore.

Review: Two silky sides of Brazilian disco soul on Mr Bongo's perennial Brazil 45s series. First up, long-haired lothario samba fusionista Marcos teams up with Leon Ware for a pristine polished piece of early 80s disco funk. Golden harmonies, staccato vocals and a super juicy bassline; it's not hard to see why it was his best selling single. Flip for the equally smooth "Alleluia" from Brazilian boogie gospelist; this one is all about the percussion heavy breakdown. Proper sunshine block party business.

Review: Vaudou Game returns with a funky Afro Cumbia workout that marks the first single from their fifth album. The French Afro-funk band expands its influence here by blending high-life guitars with Cumbia rhythms and crossing into Afro-Latin sounds, especially elements of Colombian music. 'Raler' features the captivating vocals of Spanish-English singer Clara Serra Lopez and is a mix of fresh funk and traditional rhythms while 'Koliko' pays tribute to West African street food, particularly sweet donuts found in Lome and Cotonou. Delicious.

Review: Mr. Bongo's Brazil.45 continues with a repress of two highly sought-after tracks from earlier in the series, this time from Noriel Vilela and Juca Chaves. On the A-side, Vilela's 1971 cover of Tennessee Ernie Ford's '16 Tons' transforms the classic American folk song into a smooth, samba-infused groove. Vilela's version reimagines the track which was originally released on Copacabana Records, with a deep rhythmic flair. On the B-side, Juca Chaves' 'Take Me Back To Piaui' from 1970 featured on his 1972 album Muito Vivo delivers lush orchestration, velvety vocals and vibrant cuica tones. It's pure escapist bliss.

Review: The moment you put that needle down on "Ye Mele" you will know that you've lit a serious firecracker; that bold piano hook and silver harmonies have that instant classic appeal even if you've never heard it. A bona fide Brazilian classic. It's backed by a 68 track from the Golden Boys. A much more introspective fusion of late 60s American folk, Latin and Ennio-style original score music, full attention is arrested right until the stunning crescendo finale.

Review: UK producer and remix wizard Robin Perkins aka El Buho has collected together a land more of his works for this second volume of his Tributaries remix series. It shows there evolution of his style across the selections as he serves up his unique reinterpretations of traditional music in his own electronic-organic style. Along the way, he tackles Galician, Estonian, Colombian, Irish, Garifuna, Reunionnaise and French folk music, with the result ranging from club-ready bangers to more pensive and slow psychedelic jams.

Review: Those on London's crate-digging underground should be well aware of Tangent, an eclectic, anything-goes party created by esteemed record collectors John Gomez and Nick The Record. With a little help from Mr Bongo, they've curated this compilation featuring some of their favourite selections from the party - the vast majority of which are either obscure, rare or overlooked. It's a predictably impressive selection all told, with the pair bouncing between digital reggae-infused global grooves (Srirajah Soundsystem), mid-80s French jazz-funk-synth-pop fusion (an exclusive edit of Leo Basel), quirky riffs of the Pointer Sisters (Marc Thornhill's 'Automatic'-inspired 'No Way To Control It'), zouk, proto-house-era Balearic brilliance (Androo), squelchy AOR synth-disco (Hidrogenesse), heavy Latin percussion workouts (Conjuto Balurantes), dub (Lee Jackson Band) and much more besides.

Review: Guts is a renowned French producer, DJ and vinyl connoisseur known for curating impeccable selections of global sounds. He has done so three times before for this series on Heavenly Sweetness and now returns with a fourth volume that arrives just in time for party season. This essential compilation traverses vibrant Latin rhythms, dynamic Afrobeat, soulful grooves and infectious tropical rhythms to make for a far-travelling listen. Again it shows off Guts' unmatched ability to uncover hidden gems and present them with fresh energy in an eclectic yet cohesive celebration of music's global spirit.

Review: Always keen to break new ground, Strut's latest compilation comes not from a well-known European or American crate-digger, but rather Kenyan-born, Uganda-based DJ Kampire. A Dancefloor in Ndola sees her look back to her time growing up in Zambia and specifically the music she heard and loved during these formative years. It's a great idea, executed brilliantly, with Kampire showcasing an enticing and highly entertaining mix of East and South African music from the 70s and 80s, including Congolese rumba and soukous, bubblegum, and kalindula, a guitar-led style native to Zambia. It's a joyous an eye-opening collection all told and notable for - aside from the high quality throughout - Kampire's decision to showcase a high number of tracks from legendary and little-known female artists. A genuinely essential collection all told.

Review: A UK club culture icon for all the right reasons, Luke Unabomber has put in a helluva shift over the years bringing the best tunes to the best parties for decades upon decades. He might be just as visible these days as a social media raconteur-comedian, but his depth of knowledge is unfathomable and a compilation like this is the perfect vessel to realise just a little of what he possesses in his fabled record shelves. Away from direct dancefloor firecrackers, this is a chance for Una to show off some jaw-dropping mellow cuts spanning soul, jazz funk, spaced-out electro and scores more obscurities besides. It's a collection like no other, featuring fully fledged songs that will burrow into the soundtrack of your own life without even a shred of resistance.

Review: Given that Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker's Cuba: Music and Revolution - Culture Clash in Havana is one of the standout compilations of 2021, hopes are naturally sky-high for this speedy sequel. Like its predecessor, volume 2 focuses on music and made and released on the Caribbean island between 1975 and '85, this time round largely focusing on rare fusions of salsa, Latin jazz, disco, soul and funk, mostly licensed from records that have never been available outside Cuba. It's another stunning selection all told, with highlights including the heady Cuban disco/salsa fusion of Orquesta Los Van Van, the fiery disco-funk of FA 5, the heavily percussive hedonism of Luis Carobonell and the fuzzy psychedelic rock of Grupo De Experimentacion Sonora Del ICAIC. In a word: essential.

Review: Marcos Valle's illustrious career is nothing short of extraordinary. From becoming an international sensation overnight to navigating political turmoil, dodging the Vietnam draft, and shaping fitness trends, Valle's journey is as dynamic as his music. To truly grasp his impact, one must experience his diverse discography. Spanning from his 1962 debut to the present, Valle's work covers bossa nova, samba, disco, psychedelic rock, and beyond. With 22 studio albums, his music has been celebrated by legends like Frank Sinatra, Elis Regina and sampled by contemporary icons such as Jay-Z and Kanye West. Valle's twenty-third album, Tunel Acustico, marks a grand synthesis of his musical evolution. The album unifies Valle's varied styles with a natural, sincere touch. It features two tracks from his time in Los Angeles in the late seventies: 'Feels So Good,' a soulful gem created with Leon Ware, and 'Life Is What It Is,' a disco delight co-written with Laudir De Oliveira of Chicago. 'Feels So Good' was restored from an old demo with producer Daniel Maunick, who used AI to enhance the track, while Valle added Portuguese lyrics and new instrumentation. Valle's take on 'Life Is What It Is' boosts the tempo and groove for an infectious summer vibe. The album also showcases contemporary Brazilian talents like Joyce Moreno, Ceu and Moreno Veloso, alongside Valle's brother, Paulo Sergio Valle. Closing with 'Thank You Burt (For Bacharach),' a tribute to Burt Bacharach, Tunel Acustico promises to be a compelling addition to Valle's legendary career.

Review: South African jazz-influenced sounds take the lead on this new companion from the tireless Brownswood label. The collection explores the linage of the sounds and communities who helped it evolve as is spread across the country meaning plenty of subtle synths are taken in. The eclecticism is what makes this so essential as the music ranges from the hugely spiritual (from The Brother Moves On) to more late night and inmate (tasks to a fine entry from Sibusile Xaba) via the neo-soul drenched styles of Thandi Ntuli's beautiful 'Dikeledi' which is a particular highlight.

Review: International favourites on the boogie-and-beyond selection circuit, Horse Meat Disco deliver the first edition in a brand new compilation tracking yet more heat disco of a Brazilian flavour. Some 13 years in the making, much love and attention has been poured into this compendium, which unearths tracks from the seemingly endless urban goldmines of Brasilia and Rio, twin obsessive loci, nurtured by founding member Luke Eagle amid an extended exploration of the South American nation's dance music culture. Having learned to dance samba and paraded the Rio Carnival, this is a compilation rooted in worldly experience, made up largely of 7" finds. Chief among the brilliants are Ze Carlos' Italoesque wonder 'Venha' and the well-spiced 'Sol De Verao' by Lafayette, spanning years' worth of digging.

Review: By now, we should know exactly what to expect from Mr Bongo's superb Record Club series of compilations: inspired selections, across a range of complimentary styles, from the esteemed label's staff and roster of in-house DJs. Predictably, volume seven is another must-check treat, with the plentiful highlights including the sun-soaked samba shuffle of Yvette's 'Upa Neghuino', the jazzy MPB excellence of 'O Espaco' by Os Panteras, the joyous and spiritual dancefloor soul-jazz of Roman Andren's 'Captain's Sword', the gritty funk-rock of Truth & Devotion ('Bless My Soul'), the heavy disco of 'Come Inside' by The Shades of Love, the self-explanatory (but hard to pigeonhole) brilliance of Tony Wilson's 'Hangin' Out In Space (dub mix)' and the hard-to-find excellence of JC Lodge's 'In Between The Sheets', a far-sighted Jamaican street soul jam from 1993.

Review: Strut continues to explore the vast archives of Disque Debs, a long-running, Guadalupe-based label that, over the course of half a century, released a wealth of music from the Caribbean. In the process, Henri Debs imprint helped launch the careers of countless French-speaking artists while not only showcasing stylistic movements such as zouk, bouyon and merengue, but also bold, colourful and tropical takes on existing Caribbean, Amercian and European sounds. Highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the slowly unfurling, synth-heavy shuffle of Sadi Lancreot's club-ready 'Dou Se Vou Ki Siwo' and the horn-heavy tropical disco brilliance of Dominuque Parol's 'Come On Baby'.