Contemporary Funk Vinyl 378 Items

The Menahan Street Band includes members of The Roots, Budos Band, Lee Fields and The Expressions and The Dap- Kings...an all star Brooklyn line up and a veritable supergroup of some of today's most prolific songwriters, arrangers, and producers. Their unique brand of instrumental soul has not only been the foundation for some of modern hip-hop's most successful beats, it has also become the perennial soundtrack and veritable vibe-generator for countless parties, art shows, and restaurants throughout NYC and abroad. Menahan Street Band has received critical praise for their oft-sampled 2008 debut album "Make The Road By Walking" and for backing Charles Bradley. "Vibe is a quintessential element in what I'm going for," says MSB co-founder, multi-instrumentalist and producer Thomas Brenneck. "Vibe, mood and emotion." Here MSB teams up on two songs with Latin Grammy-nominated and Brazilian Music Awards-winning artist Rogê.

Warm and harmonic, this four-piece Scandinavian soul act deliver nostalgia steeped tracks with a timeless feel. Described as the bastard lovechild of Fleetwood Mac, Khruangbin, obscure Motown singles, hip-hop duo Eric B & Rakim seasoned with a bit of Stevie Wonder, Selda Bagcan, Elis Regina and Ted Gärdestad, Dina Ögon borrow across decade, country, and genre, ultimately delivering cohesive and homely retro pop from a laidback Nordic horizon. With two critically acclaimed albums under their belt and backing from the likes of Tyler The Creator, many sold out tours and and an organic growth and word of mouth build up on a global level in just two years, they are gearing up to release their third album "Orion" in February 2024.

I spent a while thinking about the title for this album; it was quite hard to pin down the feeling I felt it represented. At a certain point I realised it was nostalgia, for everything; our life passed by, childhood, moments of happiness and sadness, where we grew up”. - Skinshape Will Dorey aka Skinshape has proven himself time and again as a connoisseur for the cosmopolitan, across a prolific career expertly exploring understated sounds and theatrical textures. Taking his place alongside the likes of Khruangbin, Tame Impala, Bonobo and Madlib, Skinshape’s global kaleidoscopes are loaded with warmth and wisdom created on vintage analogue equipment applying a perfectionist’s touch. As a former member of indie band Palace, he has played everywhere from Glastonbury and BBC Maida Vale to headlining Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Conversely, as a solo artist Skinshape has never played live preferring to record, releasing an album a year (two in 2020’s lockdown) and keeping away from the trappings of stardom.

The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series Entry #6: Gabriel Rowland (Los Yesterdays) brings out Eastside LA’s Chicano Soul and Funk Grooves. Orale, vato! This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs – listen, ponder, repeat.

After their debut album Space Voyage for Warner Chappell, Eleven76 are back with a new album commercially available for the first time entitled Occhio Occhio. The album contains insect-themed outernational grooves with tropical and arabian flavours and smooth and buttered tunes with soulful vibes that are reminiscent of classic european library music. Vintage synthesizers and hot tape-recorded drums continue to lead Eleven76's mystique, with travels through funk territories and all the while frenzied percussion-heavy break beats keep b-girls and b-boys moving on the floor. Including the sold out first two singles "The Scarab’s Quest" & "The Hornet’s Nest" plus 3 exclusive tracks for this vinyl edition

Repress! Returning after their Last Transmission collaborative album with Melvin Van Peebles, the Heliocentrics finish off their trawl through the vaults of tracks recorded at their old digs – Quatermass Studios – with psychedelic tinged funk and jazz instrumentals Rolling Stone describes as “…sprawling, with percussive patterns that suddenly morph into extraterrestrial sound blasts and opaque, detouring patterns.”

The 12 track collection features previously unreleased tracks, alternate versions of existing classics as well as a couple of brand new Amy compositions, and has been compiled by long-time musical partners Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson in close association with Amy’s family, management and record label Island Records.

Colours collects ParyNextDoor's 2014 EP Colours 1 - long heralded as a contemporary classic - with his critically acclaimed Colours 2. Both rank among the most memorable works in PND’s stellar catalog. The first volume showcases emotionally raw, true-to-life narratives and the range of his arresting vocals. Whether it's songs like "Girl From Oakland" or the Travis Scott-assisted "Jus Know," PND proves himself one of this generationís most gifted songwriters. He confirms as much with each subsequent record, including slow jams like "Freak In You" from Colours 2. Now that both EPs are side by side, listeners can trace PND’s artistic growth by revisiting these early classics, and for the very first time, fans can listen to this joint project on limited edition white vinyl!

Shawn Lee’s classic Ping Pong Christmas album is now available for the first time on colored vinyl! The limited LP version is randomly pressed on red and green vinyl.

Cosmic Analog Ensemble is the brainchild of prolific Lebanese music producer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane, a one-man musical force who writes, performs and produces all of its creative output. With a DIY music ethos, Megarbane has crafted an inimitable style of instrumental music, a melting pot of global sounds that effortlessly glides between 1960s Italian library music, Spaghetti-Western soundtracks, afrobeat, Middle Eastern psychedelia and hip-hop breaks. In little more than a decade, Megarbane has released over 100 albums, offering an experimental musical diary of his late-night improvised sessions, recorded across Beirut, Nairobi, Paris, London and Lisbon – the various cities he’s called home. Released under CAE and multiple other aliases such as Trans-Mara Express, Tapeman No.1, Free Association Syndicate and Monumental Detail, Megarbane’s vast discography is archived on his own independent label and digital platform Hisstology, a window into his expansive yet insular musical universe, in which he plays (almost) every part.

Since 2009, Megarbane has released 31 albums under the Cosmic Analog Ensemble moniker, through which he’s developed his trademark sound of abstract analog library music for the 21 st century, soaked in the golden sunshine of the Mediterranean coast. ‘Expo Botanica’ is CAE’s latest offering, due to be released on vinyl via Hisstology Records on June 24th 2022 with a global physical distribution through Big Wax Records. Expo Botanica completes a trilogy of CAE albums, following the critically-acclaimed LPs ‘Une Vie Cent Detours’ and ‘Les Sourdes Oreilles'. ‘Une Vie Cent Detours’, was dubbed by Pitchfork as 'A major landmark on Megarbane’s musical travels' . The 2017 full-length ‘Les Sourdes Oreilles’, CAE’s first vinyl release, was hailed by Bandcamp as ‘a crate-digger’s dream, a magnum force of infectious grooves and sample-ready melodies that feel rare and familiar at the same time.’

Fronted by an abstract painting by Megarbane, ‘Expo Botanica’ features 16 instrumental tracks, each one the theme for the imagined life of a plant. Capturing the carefree innocence of the playground in its meandering melodies, ‘Expo Botanica’ could easily be the soundtrack to a 1970s children’s film, harking back to an era when they were scored by legendary composers like Piero Umiliani. The album illustrates Megarbane’s mastery of beautifully simplistic melodies with the kind of hypnotic hook that sticks in the mind for days. An album of two parts, Side A sets a tranquil atmosphere with whimsical European-style cinematic soundtracks, while Side B serves up infectious organ grooves, funk-laden breaks and tumbling Oriental psychedelic pop melodies. A master sonic illusionist, Megarbane is the maestro of his own fictional orchestra.

San Diego's own The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble is back with their sophomore LP “Out On The Coast”. Cinematic soul is the order of the day from this west coast group. Covering a lot of soulful territory here: deep funk, soul jazz, breakbeats, and more! The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble is a heavy, original, instrumental soul band based in San Diego. They draw influence from the masters of the style from the past and modern day, including: The Meters, Isaac Hayes, El Michels Affair, Mulatu Astatke, Budos Band, The Nite Liters, Menahan Street Band, Fela Kuti and The Poets of Rhythm. In June of 2015 they released their debut self titledalbum on Colemine Records. The band has shared the stage with Lee Fields and the Expressions, New Mastersounds, Monophonics, Kamasi Washington, and many other touring bands. They perform live regularly all over California and worldwide.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Do It Again the first single from Lady Wray’s new album Queen Alone. The 45 and upcoming album is produced by Leon Michels and Thomas Brenneck.

Roots Underground kicks off 2024 with a bang, presenting the EP of one of the most fascinating living legends of Detroit techno: John Beltran. Although he has never stopped producing music (luckily for us!), this EP represents a more than welcome return of John Beltran to those more classic techno sounds that have made him one of the most iconic producers of this musical genre in the world.

Coming after many years of songwriting, beatmaking, MCing, live performances and collaborations, this new album by Banda Maje co-founder Tonico 70 connects the dots between past, present and future, presenting him as a fully-rounded artist rather than just a rapper, and one aware of his own many facets. Co-produced with Peppe Maiellano, Banda Maje’s other founder, Antonico offers an intimate portrait of Tonico 70, who has put his ‘tough-music-smuggler’ persona aside to let his soulful side shine through, giving us a warm, funk-inspired and very original take on the so-called ‘Napoli power’ sound.

The only track with vocals on Steel City electro-funk wizard Buscrates' second full-length album is "On My Way," where Soraya Watti's smooth and soulful tones prove to be the perfect addition to the Buscrates machine. This is exactly the kind of cut that used to cause rewind buttons on boomboxes to get their wear back in the day. It's a great indicator of the mostly-instrumental delights which await you on Crates' much-anticipated album release.

The seeds of the collaboration were planted in 2017 when Anderson. Paak and Bruno Mars toured together on the European leg of his 24K Magic World Tour. One late-night jam session on the road unlocked immediate chemistry. Just before the world slipped into quarantine, Bruno called Anderson: "Remember that idea we had back in 2017? Let's do it. " One studio session grew into to a months-long collaboration, culminating the "setlist of doom. " Legendary Bootsy Collins christened Silk Sonic and came in as the "special guest host" for An Evening With Silk Sonic, their debut album. Silk Sonic was finally set free on March 5th, 2021. Within less than a month, their debut single "Leave The Door Open" cracked over 230 million streams, and currently sits at 1. 2 billion streams with over 346 million official video views. It reeled in rave reviews, including Variety who noted it "could be a Best R&B Song Grammy winner from 1974."

Includes 60 x 60 cm poster of the album artwork! The poster is only available at HHV!

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later - all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry - Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective - Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax - are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and Covid lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy." Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and uctuate enough for Black Thought to ex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories.

Middle Eastern groove masters Sababa 5 take on the unthinkable for Batov Records. "Popcorn" and the "Birdie Song" are reworked into psychedelic dancefloor smashes laden with synths, surf guitars and Hammond licks.

Following the mighty rendition of "I Want You", Soul Sugar (a.k.a. Guillaume 'Gee' Metenier) is back with another massive Soul-Reggae version, this time taking on Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much".
Fearlessly taking on such timeless classics is serious business, and Leo Carmichael delivers, once again, with a maximum dosage of finesse and feeling. Seductively delicate backing vocals from Carl Lee Sharshmidt and Karene Brown keep it as warm and intimate as one would hope, while Thomas Naim's tasteful guitar licks and Gee's minimal production allow the song to breathe and flow steadily on its own.
Recorded in Paris, Kingston, Miami and London, the resulting blend of Soul and Reggae riddims has rarely felt so natural. On the A-side, Gee's "Discomix" dubs a generous dose of the sultry backing vocals over a minimal, bassy groove that dips, dives and flows on into the sunset. UK producer Adam Prescott lets loose with an infectious 90's dancehall rerub, aiming straight for the dancefloor... ladies' choice! Finally rhythm legends Sly & Robbie drop the BASS with a heavy dancehall treatment, taking it low, letting it ride, while the vocals float on... Never Too Much!

Alex Puddu will be releasing the brand new album ”Night People” with his record label Al Dente Music. A great record written and produced by Alex Puddu that follows his latest album ”Love After Dark” Night People is a truly soulful piece of work in style with classic R&B groove and retro 80’s synth-pop. The Album was recorded in Rome in Italy at the Tube Recording Studio where Alex Puddu collaborated with legendary session musicians from the pop and Italo-disco scene from the early 80’s such as bass player Dino Kappa (Libra, Franco Micalizzi, Alan Sorrenti, Loredana Berté) and drummer Agostino Marangolo (Goblin, Pino Daniele, Enzo Carella, Mike Francis).and Giovanni Guerretti one of the best italian Piano and keyboard player of the new musicscene. Night People includes the six singles that had allready a great airplay across the nations ” If You Desire” featuring Vincent Bates, ” Leaving This Town” and Don’t Stop The Music” Feat. CaiNo, ”Call Me” feat. Simone Miller and ”Victim Of Love and Future Woman” Feat . James Knights. Agostino Marangolo: Drums Dino Kappa: Bass Giovanni Guerretti: Piano Synthesizer, clavinet., electric piano Alex Puddu: Synthesizers, piano, electric guitar, organ, drums, percussion with Hendrik Jørgensen (Trumpet) Mikkel Fleron (Sax) Morten Grønvad (Vibrafon) Bburny Pelsmajer Synthesizer strings,Moog Gavino Congiatta : BassRecorded in Italy at Tube Recording Studio, engineered by Francesco Lupi , and recorded by Alex Puddu at Sexy Lady Studio Copenhagen, all tracks mixed by Kamilo Kratc exept track A2,B2,B3 mixed by Morten Trøst, mastered by Kamilo Kratc in N.Y.C - Horns arrangements on B1,B3 by Hendrik Jørgensen exept b4 horns arrangement by Hendrik Jorgensen and Alex Puddu Music and lyrics by A. Puddu Produced by Alex Puddu

South London’s hottest young producer, Ed Black, known around the world as edbl, has teamed up with session legend and Youtube guitar sensation (his cover of Just the Two of Us has amassed over 5.5 million views!) Kazuki Isogai to create the perfect modern soul album!

As the first chords on album opener “Worldwide” warble, and Kazuki’s twinkling guitar starts to play, you can almost picture the two musical masterminds sitting across from one another, smiling as they recognize a riff or chord shape. It’s almost impossible to imagine that this album was created by two musicians on opposite sides of the world, in the middle of a pandemic. Their chemistry is undeniable, as Kazuki’s jazzy, slinky guitar solos dance across beats created by the singular talent that is edbl.

Yet, tracks like “Lemon Squeezy” show just how adaptable Kazuki is, as he backs down, letting “Nostalgia” (from South London Sounds) vocalist Taura Lamb take the spotlight. A riff here, and a reverb-drenched lick there is enough to showcase Kazuki’s talent, elevating edbl’s mellow beats to a whole new level.

Kazuki’s sweet guitar, and edbl’s soulful, mellow beats. What more could you possibly want? Don’t miss the long-awaited collaboration between two of modern soul’s most talented musicians, available on limited edition vinyl, only from P-vine Records.

Five albums, sixty tracks and still counting. Cool Million are back with a new album!
Ten years ago the euro soul duo Cool Million released their first album 'Going Out Tonight' on UK soul label Expansion Records. The album took the soul crowd by surprise, cause who were these guys that out of the blue, could recreated the soulful sound of the 80's hey day like no other?
The answer to that question is; Rob Hardt and Frank Ryle. One a super musician from Germany with skills you can only dream of. The other a Dj/musicfreak from Denmark with a masterplan – both of them with tons of dedication and passion for thier craft.
Thier passion and ambition have kept them in the came for a decade and they have worked with a long list of artists, some known some not, some forgotten some on their way up! The list include names such as: Jean Carne, Keni Burke, Shirley Jones, Eugene Wilde, Meli'sa Morgan, Rena Scott, Leroy Burgess, Peggi Blu, Yvonne Gage, Marc Evans, Alton McClain, Kenny Thomas, Lisa Stansfield, Tom Moulton, Joey Negro, Dimitri From Paris and John Morales, Glenn Jones, Marc Sadane, Tim Owens, Gavin Christopher, Michael Jeffries.
Cool Million tells that they feel privileged and humble when they look at the list of names they have worked with over the ten years. Futhermore they add; 'Who would have thought that two dudes from northern Europe would be able to create music with people that talented, we hope we could do it, when we started but that we actually done it, is amazing and wonderful'.
Reflecting on the first decade of Cool Million it's fair to say that Rob & Frank are two determined and ambitious gentlemen with extraordinary talent.
So what can Cool Million tell us abouth their new album? 'It's a classic Cool Million album where we work/collaborate with various artists, staying true to our original concept both in terms of genre and how we think a album works best. Having say that we think that our fans will be a little surprised with the fact that this is our slowest album to date. We believe we have more variety than ever and it's a fact that the music on the new album is slowed down in terms of more ballads and mid-tempo songs compared to our other albums'.
'The reason for this development is that we wanted to try something that was a little out of our comfort zone. Also we felt that we wanted to prove that we can do quality slow jams aswell. You could also argue that is's beause we both turned fifty this year.. haha'.

Sababa 5 continues their musical journey following the success of their acclaimed self-titled debut album, which fused deep funk and Middle Eastern grooves. Their latest offering, still under the Batov Records label, ventures into more explorative and experimental instrumental compositions. While evolving their musical direction, "Aspan" delves into the realm of psychedelic rock while retaining the essence of the band"s signature Middle Eastern groove.

After the success of “Navegar” (2021) Joao Selva continues to spread wings, taking us on a journey into his musical universe, always as sunny as it is abundant. His new album “Passarinho” span a generous palette of musical influences: from Angolan semba to Cape Verdean funaná, via Caribbean zouk or Congolese rumba – João Selva's music channels the musical pulse of the Black Atlantic. In the most (im)pure Brazilian tradition, he also digests the contribution of North American music and freely incorporates elements from elsewhere into the irresistible rhythms of Brazil.

This new album transposes the elegant melodies and magnetic vocals of Joao Selva into unexpected musical universes, each producer having had complete freedom to add their own soundscapes. Patchworks present a sublime acoustic version of "Passarinho" mixing Caribbean percussion and captivating vocal harmonies. Art of Tones brings its sense of fiesta, transforming the infectious optimism of “Cantar cantar" into exuberant Afro-Latin euphoria. Voilaaa serve us his raw afro-disco grooves on “Vai te curar” adding smooth horns, sparkling funky keys and acid basslines. Canadian dancefloor killer Poirier takes "Chuva" to another dimension, adding his science of beats and a powerful bass to keep us dancing all night long (and even in the rain!). Uptown Funk Empire delivers an additive version of the irresistible "Menina me encanta", while Ireke elegantly revisits “Sete Ventos”.

Joao Selva and his crew distill lively and joyful music, full of good vibes and perfect for fully enjoying the summer. Take your caipirinha and go dance!

Tracklist

The highly anticipated follow-up to Thee Sacred Souls's breakout 2022 self-titled debut, Got A Story To Tell, features 12 all original new songs, a soaring statement of exquisite craftsmanship from this young band from San Diego whose story grows bigger by the day. Recorded and produced by Gabriel Roth at Penrose Recorders, in Daptone’s Riverside, CA studio, and written in the throes of supporting their 2022 album, which was met with significant excitement and major touring that brought them across the world. What swirls together on Got A Story To Tell is an appreciation of decades of soul music, and beyond - a sound and feel that is timeless, lived in, and very much in the now. Album opener “Lucid Girl” champions independent women, set to some of the toughest sounding drums and bass the band has yet to put to tape. “Waiting On The Right Time” slinks with a touch of slow-burning psychedelia. A plea for empathy punctuates “One and the Same,” with Lane singing: “We’re one and the same, I feel one day / We learn to live with each other / In love, not fear / Just for a moment, why can’t we be together.” “On My Mind” is a sweeping orchestration, with Lane navigating the complexities of finding happiness while balancing the good with the bad. The album is punctuated with strings and squelching guitar, trundling piano, pops of conga, horns - it makes for a thrilling, layered listen that rewards with multiple spins.