Funk Night US レコード& CD

Review: Self taught, 70s- born London-based artist Mike Bandoni dropped his concept EP Lost Communication in 2020. It now finds its way to vinyl and invites listeners on a journey into "interstellar space and on towards a super massive black hole. A discovery mission in alien territory fraught with lost communication." It blends together heavy drums and more funky and organic drums, plenty of cosmic synth sounds and always with a strong groove at its core. While classic sounds of the 70s are referenced this remains a thoroughly futuristic album perfect for both close headphone listening or nice and loud on a proper good sound system.

Review: R&b and funk singer, rhythm guitar musician and songwriter Rickey Calloway hailed from Jacksonville, Florida but earned himself a global reputation. His style borrowed from James Brown but brought something new, inspired by his time playing in clubs from a relatively young age. He was active in the 70s and much of his music has been reissue do newer audiences since and now comes his King Of Funk album on Funk Night which, from the title down, pays homage to the aforementioned Brown. It features his most well known tune - the wonderful 'Tell Me' - as well as plenty of other big hitters like there particularly hard hitting 'Shake It Up, Shake It Down.'

Review: Estonian rock band Centre El Muusa hail from Tallinn and in vitally started out as experimental electronic duo Centre Electronique Muusa before evolving into the current set up in 2018. They have dropped a couple of tasty albums since 2020 and now contain with their explorations and fusions of the worlds of jazz, rock, folk, world and country with hints of kraut on the new 7" for Funk Night. 'Moonlight Horses' is a psyched out world of campfire guitars and star gazing riffs that leaves you feeling fully hippie-d up. 'Catching Stars' then heightens the trip with more angular guitars and a big wall of garage-rock sound.

Review: The Great Revivers have been mainstays of the Funk Night label for a decade or so now. They know how to serve up the most potent dancefloor bombs for DJs who like to make an impact and after countless 7"s to that effect, they now drop an entire album's worth of high-grade tackle. 3rd Drop from this Russian quartet takes in 12 of their most signature sounds, from the rolling and cosmic-tinged open 'Adventures Begin' via the bristling broken beats of 'Not Good, Too Bad.' There is a 60s American feel to many of these cuts as well as some more slow and sentimental moments like the organ-laced melancholy of 'From Darkness To The Light'.

Review: Detroit label and weekly party Funk Night rolls out another unmissable 7" here in the form of The Oscillators, who bring a late night and woozy sound to lo-fi production aesthetics. 'The Scoop' is a slow motion and psychedelic tinged groove with squealing guitar leads taking you into melon twisting territory while the flutes keep things in the here and now and the dusty drums rumble on. It is truly intense. 'Spare Cheeks' then has a more upbeat funk feel led by nice horns and a more silky and seductive groove, particularly the lithe bass.

Review: Following a near two-year absence from vinyl, the usually prolific Misha Paniflov is back on Funk Night Records with another nostalgic 45 rooted in deep funk, library music, cinematic soundtracks and psychedelia. The Estonian first offers up 'Dr Juvenal's Solution', a jaunty and genuinely heavy dancefloor work out marked out by sixties spy-movie guitars, bustling breaks, intergalactic synth sounds and warming bass. He opts for a more laidback, downtempo feel on side B, with stretched out, Peter Green style guitar solos and meandering Moog lines reclining atop a bittersweet backing track.

Review: What's important is to spread confusion, not eliminate it: Estonian production master Misha Panfilov knows this as much, running a carefully-curated imagecraft cartel, in which his many aliases confound and bemuse us into believing his many works are the doing of someone else. Case in point: At first glance, we were well-duped into believing Penza Penza were some kind of exotic psych supergroup lost to time, but a deeper investigation as to the origin of the alias indeed reveals the singular force of Panfilov to be the artist behind these tracks. It's no wonder the A-sider is called 'Deep Dive', affirming our propensity for curious, almost forensic suspicion as to its true origins. A serene groove of just-intoned riffs and sizzlingly offbeat hits, this one's certainly a solid accompaniment for your next mescaline dabbling. Meanwhile, we're happy to award the B-sider with "banger of the year so far" - 'My Friend Ash' is an ecstatic mover, as deceivingly retro as it is beguiling, with stabbing counterpoints and wild toppers, as suitable for the club as it is would've been for some kind of 70s hoedown.

Review: If you're after fresh workouts for body-popping break-dance sessions, this 45 from John Reed & The Automatics on Funk Night Records should be essential listening. While there's something undeniably alluring about the more suspenseful B-side, 'Space Break' - where effects-laden electric guitar licks and alien-sounding synths rise above a metronomic bassline and a relaxed funk break - it's the more up-tempo A-side, 'Stardust Break', that's the real winner. Based around drum-breaks that reference 'Apache' and a seriously squelchy synth bassline, it's an intergalactic club jam that's just tailor-made for headpins, windmills and caterpillars.