Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Captain Planet is a globe trotting DJ and producer who mixes up worldly roots music with his own fresh take on hip-hop and dancehall. For this one he joined up with Zuzuka Poderosa & Raphael Futura for a brilliant Brazilian disco and funk song that harks back to the 70s and 80s with influences like Tim Maia, Sandra Da Sa & Gilberto Gil. 'Moqueca' though also has some nice dance floor weight to it as well as the richly tropical percussion, steamy horns and seductive chords. On the flip is an instrumental and the good news is this is a taster of a full album to come.

Review: Faze Action's Afro series hits a fourth and final volume with Zeke Manyika and Faze Action themselves at the helm of two new singles. The vibes on this one take their cues from Afro Latin and Balearic worlds with opener 'Maswera' bringing nice open-air festival sounds, rich horn work and expressive drum funk. Manyika's chants are the icing on the cake for this one. Then comes a nice dubbed-out remix of 'Rugare' by Faze Action with lively disco drums and loose-limbed percussion. The original on the flip is a more straight-up and dazzling disco cut while a paired back instrumental of 'Maswera' closes things down in style. Timeless Afro bombs for sure.

Review: ukuoka-based band MuchaMuchaM, known for their breakthrough debut album Qantikala, returns with a collaborative EP featuring Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi. After performing together at The Creators' Co-Write stage in 2023, the two artists have crafted a unique sound that blends their distinct Asian influences. The EP features the modern acoustic track 'Day By Day', a cover of 'Sad and Unfulfilled' and the Asian dance number 'Oyasumi na Sayang', sung in Malay. The EP's cover artwork, inspired by Borneo, was designed by Fukuoka-based illustrator TOYAMEG, further enhancing its cross-cultural appeal.

Review: Mr Bongo offers up an incredible 86th volume in the Brazil45 series, and this time it's Black Rio funk from two mainstays of the sound, Toni Tornado & Zeca Do Trombone. A-side 'Sou Negro' is from Tornado's 1970 EP on Odeon Records. It's a sought after number that despite lasting only just over two minutes still makes an indelible impression. Zeca Do Trombone & Roberto Sax join forces on the flip for 'Coluna Do Meio,' which is a more smooth, easy going jazz laced tune compared with the raw and direct a-side. This one has an acrobatic vocal and sunny riffs bringing pool-side vibes under clear blue skies.

Review: Brazilian producer Zopelar is a real wizard when at work in the studio. He has done disco-tinged full lengths, synth-laced house sounds, deeper than deep grooves and now steps up to Sudd Wax with another brilliantly musical EP. It opens with the shimmering pads and free-flowing keys of 'Papaia' which then gets a Byron The Aquarius Jazz Twist mix that cuts even more free and gets even more cosmic. 'Jazz Class' is a funky one with golden chords and astral pads and the flip brings three more house gems laced up with the sort of meaningful melodies you don't often hear in this genre.

Review: 18 months after a fantastic launch instalment courtesy of the mighty Danny Krivit, Mr Bongo's Edits series returns. This time round, it's Manchester legend and 'E Soul Cultura' specialist Luke Una at the controls. On the A-side he handles 'Love Games', an obscure slice of mid-80s South African disco by Thandi Zulu and The Young Five, cannily focusing on the warm, gently funky groove and the track's spacey synth solos. Over on the flip, the Electric Chair co-founder takes on Lionel Pillay's percussion, synth-and-organ classic 'Plum', stretching out the most dancefloor friendly sections before unleashing waves of solos and the original's saucer-eyed, sun-splashed instrumentation.

Review: Spain's Zanja Records is a new label dedicated to the promotion of Cuban music and culture. Its inaugural EP The Zanja All Stars: Cuban Jam Session Vol 1 features singers El Indio, Maria Victoria, El Nene, and Ondy, under the musical direction of Julito Padron. All are top Cuban talents who perform "Descargas, Montunos, Instrumental Jazz, and Son" with authenticity and great charm. These percussive, shuffling grooves are alive with wandering basslines and expressive vocals that take you to the heart of the country in an instant. Big horns and jazzy keys, orchestral grandeur and street-wise realness all make them brilliantly irresistible.

Review: Isle Of Jura's latest on-point release is a new edition of Zann's sought-after 1990 set "Strange Ways/Inside Jungle", a self-released album of experimental, left-of-centre musical fusions produced in the band's basement studio in Dortmund. The record's genius lies in the band's mixture of Eno/Byrne style ambient motifs, delay-laden electronic beats, densely layered African and South American percussion sounds and chiming instruments from South East Asia. There are some suitably trippy tricks employed here and there - backwards vocals, layered field recordings and so on - but also snaking sax lines and cheery synthesizer melodies. In other words, it's an inspired, hard-to-pigeonhole album that just gets better with each successive listen.

Review: The Zawose Queens' debut album Maisha is a captivating blend of traditional Gogo music from Tanzania with modern electronic elements, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the Zawose family while pushing boundaries. Produced by Oli Barton-Wood and Tom Excell, the album features 11 original tracks that seamlessly fuse ancestral rhythms with contemporary production techniques. Drawing on their deep roots in Gogo music, Leah and Pendo Zawose deliver powerful vocals and masterful instrumentation, accompanied by the percussive rhythms of the muheme drums and the resonant sounds of the illimba thumb piano. Songs like 'Lule Lule' and 'Kusekala Kwa Nyungu' capture the essence of go go tradition, while tracks like 'Fahari Yetu' and 'Sauti Ya Mama' celebrate themes of heritage and maternal love. Maisha is not just an album; it's a statement of empowerment for women artists in East Africa and beyond. The Zawose Queens have boldly stepped into the spotlight, reclaiming their place in the musical landscape and inspiring others to follow suit.

Review: Latin funk music's best and brightest recollector-reissuers Vampi Soul continue to do what they do best with this latest reissue of the debut self-titled album by Zulu. One of the last great albums of the first wave of Peruvian rock,and originally released in 1974, Zulu was infamous for its linking of psych-tinged rock with Afro-Latin American beats and folk pop. The enigmatic Zulu (real name Miguel Angel Ruiz Orbegoso) was best known during his lifetime as a member of the bands Traffic Sound and Los Nuevos Shain, but his only solo album commands a unique aura as a numinous rarity, immediately pre-dating his latter-career immersion in the religious community. Reissued for the first time with the collaboration of Zulu, including extensive liner notes and one extra track, the likes of 'Si en el cielo yo viviera', 'Laberintos' and 'Candela' are pastoral gems of folk-cumbia and salsa, playing back with a level of sensitivity and texture that could only be born of a worthy spirit.