Now Again US レコード& CD

Review: Karl Hector and the Malcouns are an interesting proposition. While ostensibly a funk band, their output regularly touches on Afrobeat, exotic Indian instrumentation, trippy psychedelic rock, atmospheric soundtrack fare and wonky, drum-Laden sci-fi weirdness. This sophomore set - their debut, Sahara Swing, dropped in 2008 - includes all these influences and more, offering a vivid, off-kilter journey taking in psychedelic jazz-funk, Arabic instrumental soul and Hammond-laden psychedelic freak-outs. It's hard to pin down, for sure, but that just adds to its' humid, kaleidoscopic allure.

Review: Their chops were already up thanks to their tenure as James Brown's backing band, but this album was the first time The J.B.'s stepped out on their own in 1971. It's enjoyed the odd vinyl repress over the years, but this is the first time These Are The J.B.'s has been released on CD. Any serious funk head should know what to expect here - foundational funk and soul from some of the most seminal architects of the genre, laying the blueprint for a mind-boggling amount of musical culture that was to follow. It doesn't get more seminal than this.