Contemporary Funk 55 Items

produced by Rick Rubin & Paul Epworth

Twenty-eight years ago, pissed-off twelve-year-olds around the universe discovered a new planet, a Black Planet. Public Enemy’s aggressive, Benihana beats and incendiary lyrics instilled fear among parents and teachers everywhere, even in the border town of Laredo, Texas, home of the future founders of the Latin-Funk-Soul-Breaks super group, Brownout. The band’s sixth full-length album (out May 25th) Fear of a Brown Planet is a musical manifesto inspired by Public Enemy’s music and revolutionary spirit.

Chuck D., the Bomb Squad, Flava Flav and the rest of the P.E. posse couldn’t possibly have expected that their golden-era hip hop albums would sow the seeds for countless Public Enemy sleeper cells, one that would emerge nearly three decades later in Austin, Texas. Greg Gonzalez (bass) remembers a kid back in junior high hipped him to the fact that Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” is built on James Brown samples, while a teenaged Beto Martinez (guitar) alternated between metal and hip-hop in his walk-man, and Adrian Quesada (guitar/keys) remembers falling in love with Public Enemy’s sound at an early age. “When I got into Hip hop, I was looking for this aggressive outlet . . . and I didn’t even understand what they were pissed off about, because I was twelve and lived in Laredo . . . but I loved it and I felt angry along with them.”

Joseph Abajian (Fat Beats’ owner) must have sensed the deep hip-hop well lying beneath the versatile band’s Latin-Funk veneer. “I thought their sound would work covering Public Enemy songs,” Abajian says, and, “it was good to know they were P.E. fans . . . We came up with a track listing and they went to work.” Despite the band’s eagerness to work on new original material (an album of original songs is slated for next year), they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pay homage to this iconic and influential posse.

Translating sample-based music to a live band turned out to be more of a challenge than they anticipated. Adrian tried to get inside the Bomb Squad’s [Public Enemy’s producers/beat-making team] head in order to find the inspiration to reinterpret P.E.’s songs: “imagine the Bomb Squad going back in time and getting the J.B.s [James Brown’s funky backing band] in the studio and setting up a couple analog synths and then playing those songs.” While some songs closely follow the original musical blueprint, others use the source breakbeats as jumping-off points later sweetened by Trombonist Mark “Speedy” Gonzales’ horn arrangements, synth wizardry courtesy of friend-of-the-band Peter Stopschinski, and DJ Trackstar’s turntable scratches. But don’t listen expecting to hear paint-by-numbers recreations of classic Public Enemy jams. “Our approach is never in the tribute sense,” Adrian explains. “We’ve always taken it and made it our own, whether it’s the Brown Sabbath thing or this Public Enemy thing.”

Coming off numerous tours as Brown Sabbath and even a stint backing the late legend Prince, Brownout is arguably the tightest and funkiest band on the road today and they’re psyched to bring this revolutionary music to the people. For a band without an overt political agenda, they collectively couldn’t resist the opportunity to play this music live, especially now. “If there’s any way that we can use the already political and protest nature [of P.E.’s music], we would like to try,” Beto says. “The album’s title, Fear of Brown Planet is definitely a relevant idea today and we’re not afraid to put it out there, because we want to speak out.” By reinterpreting these hip hop classics in their unique style and channeling the spirit of Public Enemy that first echoed around the world and captured their imaginations all those years ago, Brownout is doing exactly that.

While Bobby was the track that sparked the idea for Caserta to start BridgeBoots, Diana was always in the back of his mind. Diana started off as a release on the long since defunct LegitMix platform. Now it gets new life remixed and mastered by Caserta @TheBridge StudioLA, with a more concise 7 inch edit as well as a brand new Sing A Long dub on the flip, it's sure to be a main stay in the crates for years to come.

Available for the first time on vinyl, the debut album by Deborah Jordan is a classic set of neo-soul and broken beat gems featuring amazing production work from Atjazz, Marc Rapson, Simbad, Jniero Jarel, Rise/Mecca:83 and more. Originally released on CD in 2009 to critical acclaim, the album was supported by many taste makers and DJs worldwide and is considered a classic UK soul album. Still sounding incredibly fresh, The Light has a deep and mature sound with brilliantly arranged tracks moving through various soulful genres from nu-soul, broken beat, deep house and hip-hop with Deborah’s own unique vocal delivery and song writing skills on full display. Over the years, Deborah has worked with many fine producers including 4hero, Bugz In The Attic, Soundspecies, Domu, Ty Macklin and continues to produce incredible work with her contemporaries including the recent collaboration album Human with the excellent K15.

The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio may have this Kexp session to thank for much of the notoriety they have received since it first premiered. Since then, they've secured a record deal, a world renowned booking agent, a publishing deal, international sponsorships, and will be embarking on a national tour this spring. This session was released on vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day 2018, marking the first full Kexp session ever to be pressed on vinyl.

/ Hurt Me So Lack Of Afro Remix

Over 10 years ago, Leon Michels released his first full length record, Sounding Out The City. It was Michels' first full length record under
the moniker El Michels Affair. At the time, the budding retro soul scene consisted of mostly organ quartets a la The Meters and of course,
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings were in the early days of their ascent to world domination.
Leon Michels, who was 18 when recording Sounding Out The City began, had just released Thunder Chicken, the first record by his high
school band The Mighty Imperials. At the time of SOTC, Michels was just discovering early rocksteady, afrobeat, and 60's garage rock,
which inevitably crept its way into the songwriting. He purchased a Tascam 388, an 80's 1/4" reel to reel 8 track intended for home
recordings, and began recording music in a 10x10 box with no windows that also doubled as his childhood bedroom. Along with fellow
Mighty Imperials Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, and Sean Solomon, and Michael Leonhart, Thomas Brenneck, and some of the
musicians from The Dap Kings, Michels recorded the LP over a two year period.
Upon it's release, it received some rave reviews and the small deep funk community ate it up, but due to the lack luster promotion and
distribution the rest of the world was slow to catch on to the instrumental gems featured on SOTC, which Michels appropriately labeled
as "cinematic soul". However, in 2005 it found it's way into the hands of the people who were organizing a series of concerts for Scion
that paired bands with MC's. El Michels Affair was contacted about playing one show with Raekwon The Chef of Wu Tang Clan fame. The
show was such a success it led to a tour, and then to another set of concerts that featured multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan. This
eventually led to the release of El Michels Affair's second record, "Enter the 37th Chamber" which introduced them to a much larger
audience and has been their most successful release to date.
Michels has since gone on to produce and co-produce numerous records for powerhouse soul artists like Lee Fields. He shares
songwriting credits with Adele, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Aloe Blacc, and has played on records by Ray LaMontagne, Lana Del Rey, The
Black Keys and Dr. John.

RSD Limited Run / Regional Focus, Limitation: 1000

Eramus Hall was a soul/funk group from Detroit, whose debut “Your Love Is My Desire" became one of the most sought-after records of the modern soul era, coveted by DJs and record collectors alike. The group only recorded the one album for Westbound Records, home of funk heavyweights Funkadelic and Ohio Players, before moving to Capitol for their second and final album in 1984.
After a definitive reissue of Eramus Hall's debut album, ORG Music and Westbound Records have teamed up again to release a full LP worth of rare and previously unreleased tracks, including some of their earliest demos. The record will be pressed on color vinyl with a package that features never-before-seen photos, exclusively for RSD Black Friday.

Limited to 300 copies. Ultra-rare private press boogie originally released in 1983 known to change hands for big $ on all top collectors wants lists! High quality 2nd pressing!

This is a repress. Multi - instrumentalist with rare elegance, FKJ unveils its first album French Kiwi Juice, and invites us in his world.

Originally released in 1978, the title Mean & Dirty describes this album to a T. Let this record play with any 70’s cop drama, spy-thriller, or blaxploitation film and it will act flawlessly as the soundtrack. Dramatic funk rock dominates this album (Moving Target, Flying Squad, Arrival Time), but room is left open for the mellower pieces (Slow Fuse, Blue Mood, Night Moves), the super-fast (Dragster), and the surprisingly jaunty (On Yer Bike, Guv).

Founded in 1909, de Wolfe Music’s legendary production music catalog has gained cult status among vinyl collectors and crate diggers worldwide.

Featuring music from a roster of composers including Reg Tilsley, Roger Webb and duo Frank McDonald & Chris Rae, it also includes performances from iconic musicians such as Jimmy Page and Herbie Flowers. De Wolfe Music has provided the soundtrack to countless feature films including Monty Python and The Holy Grail, The Witchfinder General, Dawn Of The Dead, and more than twenty of the Shaw Brothers’ Kung Fu classics. Major recording artists who’ve sampled the collection in recent years include Beyonce, Drake, Jay Z, Lily Allen, Gorillaz, K. Michelle, Jay Electronica, Cam’ron and Ja Rule, to name just a few.

2014 re-mastered edition of Sinatra's classic cut!

Thirty years after it was released on CD and cassette, Fuemana’s cult classic New Urban Polynesian album is finally available on vinyl. Born from the blood, sweat and tears of the late great Polynesian renaissance man Phil Fuemana and his family and friends, Fuemana’s music transports the listener back to the autumn and winter days of 1994 in the antipodes, where they turned love, loss, grief and acceptance into the finest R&B/street soul album ever recorded in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Fuemana spent several late nights tracking one-take sessions at The Lab Recording Studio with engineers Simon Taylor, Chris Sinclair and Mark Tierney. From there, New Urban Polynesian came together quickly. Across the album, Phil showed off his prodigious skills as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, playing most of the smooth, sophisticated, and heartfelt music himself. In the studio, he shared the lead with Christina and Matty J, supported by a cast of backing vocalists, musicians and guest vocalists, including a young Carly Binding.

From the lush openings of their soulful Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder covers ‘Closer’ and ‘Rocket Love’ to the misty new jack swing serenade of his original ‘Seasons,’ Phil’s goal was to craft material that would let the music industry know the Fuemanas had arrived while also inspiring the next generation.

In 1995, the Fuemana family’s youngest sibling, Pauly, borrowed the initials from Ōtara Millionaires Club and began performing as OMC. Not long after, he changed everything for New Zealand music by recording the feelgood guitar-laced Polynesian pop global mega-hit ‘How Bizarre’ with producer Alan Jansson.

Consumed by a desire to do more musically, Phil established Urban Pacifika Records, where he launched the careers of a new wave of Pacific hip-hop and R&B talent, including Lost Tribe, Moizna, AKA Brown, and Sani Sagala, aka Dei Hamo.

In 2005, Phil tragically passed away from a heart attack aged 41. Five years later, Pauly, equally tragically, joined him after an extended battle with a rare neurological disorder, leaving Tony and Chirstina to grieve and make sense of their family’s extraordinary story.

When New Urban Polynesian first hit record store shelves in 1994, the Fuemanas dedicated the album to their father, Takiula Fuemana. Three decades later, it has expanded in meaning to become a remembrance of their youngest brother Pauly and a celebration of the life and times of their big-hearted big brother, Mr. Fuemana, Mr. Phil Fuemana.

Words by Martyn Pepperell in conversation with Tony & Christina Fuemana.

Gazebo Records feel honoured for the opportunity to share this important album for our inaugural release, now available for the first time on vinyl with remastering by Mikey Young.

All proceeds from this record flowing to the Fuemana family.

On Seeds, Georgia Muldrow takes a step back and leaves the beatmaking to Otis Jackson Jr., aka Madlib. As producers, Muldrow and Jackson are not worlds apart, so the switch requires no adjustment on the part of the listener. That said, this is one dense and tight set, barely over half-an-hour in length, and it's definitely in contention for Muldrow's most focused, funkiest, and (somewhat ironically) personal release to date. Throughout the record, the emphasis remains heavily fixated on her family as a unit of salvation and purpose. The most direct track of the lot is "Husfriend," where she honors her relationship with Dudley Perkins (a/k/a Declaime, who appears on “The Few”). Muldrow can't quite divorce the planetary and personal issues, heard vividly on "Best Love," which sounds just like a simple, sweet, straight-ahead love song until she starts asking her other half for money to build water wells on three continents ("We can make a difference if we try now"). Overall, Seeds is another left-field deviation in Muldrow's career: it's one of her most captivating and immediate front-to-back statements of purpose as a singer, but it's also the first album where she's handed over all the production duties to somebody else. In celebration of this album’s decenary run, Someothaship Connect is pleased to reintroduce an anniversary edition repress of this captivating release in partnership with Fat Beats.

Top tier tackle from Heels & Souls Recordings for their fourth reissue as they let loose a much anticipated double header, Gold In The Shade’s 'Over You' backed with 'Shining Through'. Rough, tough, straight-from-the-heart ‘90s street soul, coming courtesy of TSR bossman Robert Roper and the Gold In The Shade ladies Arletta Davis and Sonia Johnson. One of the most sought-after cuts of this scene, it encompasses much of what made street soul special - heavy bass, gritty breaks, emotive chords and off-kilter vocals, marrying together to form a snapshot of a raw DIY scene with optimism at its heart.

The trio’s first single from 1990, ‘Shining Through’ is a no nonsense, bassbin-rattling love song from the underground, seeing long-term friends Sonia and Arletta pulling on the heartstrings from the mic as Robert works his magic behind the studio controls.

Lovingly remastered from the DAT by Cicely Balston, if only ‘Over You’ had been so easy. Two years of endless searching for the tape and subsequently a clean copy of the record, Heels & Souls even went to the lengths of having the multitracks restored so that Robert could attempt to recreate the original mixdown in the studio – but the magic of ‘91, unfortunately, can’t simply be conjured at the drop of a hi-hat.

After all but losing hope, Sean P (by way of Backatcha’s Aiden Leacy), came to the rescue with a mint condition copy of the record that he had from running in the same circles as Robert and Duval back in the day, ripping and restoring it with a precision he’s rightly famed for. And so (finally!) here it is: distorted samples, low-fi hits, speaker rumbling bassweight and all. Raw to the core, but that’s the point – pure, unbridled emotion from the depths of North West London.

Fully licensed from Robert Roper, 20% of profits from Heels & Souls Recordings and Prime Direct Distribution will be donated to Lives Not Knives, a youth-led London-based charity, working to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence and school exclusions.

Famed painter Jean Michel-Basquiat was one of the co-founders of the band Gray. This anthology features reissue of their previously limited self-release plus unreleased material, and remixes from: Todd Rundgren, Hank Shocklee, King Britt, Sal P (Liquid Liquid), Deantoni Parks, Tewz, Free The Robots, and The Gaslamp Killer, along with features from Amir Yaghmai and Kool Keith. 1979, Downtown New York, Gray was making industrial music with sound. Jean-Michel Basquiat played the guitar with a metal file, Michael Holman played masking tape and steel ball bearings, Justin Thyme abstracted the keys, as Nick Taylor played his guitar with historical restraint.

Some heavy Afro-funk stuff that was recorded with the help of The Budos Band!

Limited to 500 Copies!

20 years HHV: our team has selected an album from each of these years that is particularly relevant and precious to us. On a monthly basis we release exclusive and limited pressings of these records in collaboration with some of our favorite labels.

Originally released in 2011 with a limited pressing and repressed once a few years later in 2016. “Right now in cities across the globe, there are plenty of great Afrobeat revivalist bands aping the sound and groove of Fela Kuti’s legendary sound. Yet, surprisingly few of the new groups have strayed from an orthodox interpretation of the genre or done much real innovation. ..Ikebe Shakedown is here to change that. The band takes signature Afrobeat elements—big unison horns, slinky bass lines, tight little guitar licks—and blends them with tasty grooves culled from '70s-style horn-driven funk”. -Marlon Bishop, Wnyc

Ikebe Shakedown, the self-titled album and Ubiquity Records debut from the Brooklyn-based band, plays with elements of Cinematic Soul, Afro-funk, Deep Disco, and Boogaloo in all the right ways. Pushing their globally-informed sound and eclectic approach to tune-writing into new territory, “Self-titling the album is a way to introduce the audience to the many facets of the band -- to provide a more complete understanding of what we do,” bassist Vince Chiarito says. “Our sound has grown to incorporate our influences without overtly representing any one in particular. It just sounds like us," he adds.

/ The Jive Turkeys Remix

Far Out Recordings proudly presents laid back Brazilian groove maestro Joao Donato's synth-heavy collaboration with his son Donatinho. Sintetizamor sees the father-son duo jovially hurtle through space and time across ten tracks of sparkling pop, Brazilian boogie and club friendly disco-funk.

RSD First, Limitation: 1800

afrodelic kraut-funk from the minds behind Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers on Stones Throw's sister label, they have previously recorded for DJ Shadow, Mo Wax, Ninja Tune, BBE, Daptone & Compost

Taking influence from 1960's Thai funk - their name literally translates to "Engine Fly" in Thai - Khruangbin’s debut album ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ is steeped in the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration, Tarantino soundtracks and surf-rock cool. The Texan trio is formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums.

‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ was recorded at their spiritual home, a remote barn deep in the Texas countryside where their first rehearsals took place. The band listened to a lot of different types of music on the long drives out to the country but their favourites were 60s and 70s Thai cassettes gleaned from the cult Monrakplengthai blog and compilations of southeast Asian pop, rock and funk. This had a heavy impact on the direction of the band, the scales they used and the inflection of the melodies; which coupled with the spaciousness of the Texan countryside culminated in Khruangbin forming their exotic, individual sound.

Repress on black vinyl in regular sleeve.

"We Are King" is the debut album by R&B trio King (currently named We Are King), released on February 5, 2016. It was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 59th Grammy Awards, making them the first independent artists to be nominated in that category. As soon as this debut album was released in 2016, it attracted tributes from many artists, including Prince, Kendrick Lamar, Robert Glasper, Erykah Badu, Quest Love, Giles Peterson and Avicii. The original version and even the 2017 reissue of the album is currently highly priced on the second-hand market. The entire album is a neo-R&B masterpiece, with the three's endlessly beautiful and sweet chorus work dancing over a nostalgic and futuristic sound that connects soul's past and future.

Dynamite Cuts is proud to release this mighty afro funk 7” double by the mighty Matata band. Both tracks taken from the Mega rare and collectable “Independence” LP. On the A side is “I Feel funky” the perfect club dancer, with its up-tempo groove and catch chorus, win, winner. On the flip is the hidden treasure, and for the first time on 7” vinyl the massive!! “Talkin’ Talkin”, a killer afro funk mid-tempo groove with a great lyric plus an almighty old school drum break, just perfect.

All but one tracks written and produced by Mayer Hawthorne himself. Classic new / old school soul album!

Special heart shaped 45 - Mark Ronson, Gilles Peterson, Benji B and many others already spin it!

Due to incredible demand, another immensely popular record from from Sababa 5 gets a re-release with a new limited edition version. Crossroad of Love Limited Edition Transparent Green Vinyl

City Pop meets Modern Funk on the newest Austin Boogie Crew (abc) release by intergalactic artist Saucy Lady! Originally from Japan and based in Boston, singer-songwriter/DJ/producer Saucy Lady exudes an attitude of confidence and sensuality in her music, channeling the free self-expression celebrated in the Disco era. Her newest 7" single Hoshi no Suna (Stardust) is a catchy mid-tempo dancer with alluring Boogie influences. Poetically written in Japanese by R&B artist Lisa Yamaguchi. Warm production by U-key and Saucy Lady, layered with slapping drum machines, funky bass, pretty chords, ear candy leads, and a floating mysterious bridge. Given City Pop’s tremendous resurgence in the States and Japan, this lovable record has strong international appeal. 45 comes in a sleek anime influenced pic sleeve jacket with lyrics printed on the back for the fans. Includes an instrumental version, the ideal soundtrack for a starry night drive!

Limited edition of 1000 copies!

20 years HHV: our team has selected an album from each of these years that is particularly relevant and precious to us. On a monthly basis we release exclusive and limited pressings of these records in collaboration with some of our favorite labels.

The fourth album by Sault scored 97/100 at Metacritic and is the most beloved album at HHVs Supreme 100 of 2020 list, chosen by 150 journalists, musicians, label makers and record collectors.

Diving once more into the forgotten corners of the electronic Spanish music scene from the 80’s and early 90’s, Soundway reissue Scan Man’s full single Arabian. Bringing together a Furious Five retro styled bounce & rhyme and a bite of UK street soul, the track is taken from Soundway’s hugely popular compilation Ritmo Fantasía. Expect soulful American expat rap layered over sitarlike sounds, and a tumbling, rattling, 808 pattern. Along with the original track and instrumental, DJs Trujillo and Ray Mang serve a souped up instrumental primed for modern dancefloors. Recorded at the CEV Studios in Madrid, Arabian was the first composition and production of Marcos Manzanares to get an official release. Using an Ensoniq Mirage Sampler (one of the early, affordable synth samplers), and with Stephen Sutton providing the vocals for the track, he first made his entry into the Spanish music scene. A short while later he would go onto make a career for him self under the name of Tension808, releasing with major labels like Sony Music and EMI Chrysalis.

Sharon Benson’s lost album Sunshine was originally unearthed by P-vine in 2015 having gathered dust on Polydor shelves since the early 90s. In 1992, following in the footsteps of the lead single release of which the album shares its name, plans to release the original ten track album grew increasingly unlikely, and eventually the project was abandoned.

The London-based singer would later return in 1995 for a fresh set of songs on a self-titled album before returning to acting and signing in the West End, but the mystery of Sunshine would linger. Uncovered and unwrapped, it’s easy to see why. Upon playing, it’s an album that immediately brushes aside its neglected state, and launches into some of the most slick and sweet sounding R&B and new jack swing at the turn of the decade. P-vine is excited to be reissuing the album on LP for the first time.

mited Pressing.

Invisible City Editions returns with an official repress of a fantastic double-sided private press rarity from 1989 Detroit. Featuring two legendary Inner City alumni Producer/keyboardist Engineer Art Forest and Inner City background vocalist dancer/singer Shawn Pittman. On the A side a lush slow modern soul slow burner “Dreams'' features a deep,spatial throbbing bass line with glistening synths floating underneath cool angelic hypnotic vocals by Ms Pittman.” 'Dreams are only Dreams till you make it real' chants Shawn Pittman and we’re lead down a dazzling maze of mirrors. With “I'm Losing Control (Extended Bass-ment Club Mix)” on the flipside a wild late night warehouse dub remix features sci-fi vocal effects,fostex tape loops and ultra-heavy bass and driving drum machines. Minimal lush soul perfect for early mornings and the post-club world and a wild sci-fi house winner for late night club sessions. An IC fave! Remastered by Brandenberg/The Carvery (Note: we’ve also removed the drum machine going out of sync that was on the original press) Official Repress via Art Forest and his label Wildboy.Essential stuff!

Art Forest is an Electronic Engineer and production wizard from Detroit Michigan. He originally recorded 2 of Inner CItys’ Biggest Hits “Good Life” and “Big Fun” and continues to record to this day. Art Forest still finds and repairs equipment to add to his studio today. He also recorded for Paula Abdul “Straight Up” and Madonnas’ “Justify My Love” Shawn Pittman was a singer and dancer from Detroit who was a good friend of Inner City vocalist Paris Grey. Shawn Pittman sang backing vocals and harmonies on “Good Life” and “Big Fun”.

Described as "an audiovisual production and performance duo," Shiro Schwarz is truly a complete multimedia experience. The bright, 64-bit aesthetics of their visual style are a perfect compliment to their synth-heavy tunes, which blend elements of boogie funk, synth-pop, and new wave, while wrapping it all in an air of digital mystery, which lends deeply to the allure of their sound. This 12" maxi single includes "Electrify," originally released in 2015 on their "Street Beat" album, and "Breeze" from 2013's "Exoplanet Love." Originally pressed to wax in 2016, it sold out quickly and has become a scarce find in the aftermarket. This 2021 reissue includes a full picture cover with art designed by Pammela Rojas of Shiro Schwarz.

Although all three tracks offer the listener valuable insight into the level of music production ingenuity that was going on in Japan at the time, it's "Electric City" that really stands out as an unmistakably unique dancefloor track, where the then teenage female vocalists from Shohjo-Tai are left out and a galloping 120bpm beat sets a blank canvas for a number of unexpected elements to present: completely unorthodox accents in a wide range of unidentifiable sounds, a very enthusiastic electric guitar solo, the Ennio Morricone-esque Spaghetti Western vocal moments, all of which get contrasted with a blissful chorus that reminds one that this is somehow still a collaboration with a Japanese female idol band from the 80s. A hard track to forget even in the less sober dancefloors, it is no surprise that it would be a fundamental secret weapon in the repertoire of diggers such as Dea Barandana. Can't go wrong, buy on sight. Remastered with new artwork.

This rare Brit Funk 12” was originally released in 1984 and is now officially reissued for the first time. Licensed from producer Lindel Lewis, the 12” was heavily influenced by US Boogie and Disco and there’s a Dub influence at play as Lindel was also producing a lot of reggae around this time, most famously ‘Night Over Egypt’ by Mystic Harmony.

The 12” includes a previously unreleased Dub Version of ‘I Need You’ and was produced on two Analogue classics, Lindel says “I used a Linn Drum for the drums and played all synth parts using a Roland 106. I’m a classically trained musician and also a sound engineer, I worked at Mark Angelo Recording Studios for 18 years and have produced a great many artists. Steve Jones real name is Steve Myers, but I didn’t like the surname so changed it to Jones which felt more soulful. The name The Fat Boys came about because of the big bellies of myself the flute player Mike Appoh, my trainee engineer at the time. Ray Carlass played the sax solo, they have both now sadly passed”.

This long overdue reissue revives a standout moment in Brit Funk history, making it an essential addition for fans of classic Boogie and Disco. A 140 gram pressing in 3mm spine disco sleeve with labels and sticker designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

The critically acclaimed 2005 solo debut from the British visionary polymath Steve Spacek, originally released on Sound IN Color, is now finally reissued. A mix of soulful r&b, phuture soul and beat driven electronica with Spacek’s dreamy falsetto vocals. The album features a previously unreleased J Dilla track along with all the originals. Original front cover artwork recreated here. This garnered a 4/5 star review from the Guardian when released. Lauded on release for its seamless blending of soul, hip hop, and intricate electronics, it's as influential today as it was then. Limited edition of 500 copies on colored vinyl released in time for Record Store Day 2024. (spa) Soul Nujazz Headz “Steve Spacek offers a smoother, more soulful version that channels a futuristic Al Green. It‘s all sexy stuff, with softer trip-hop edges than Spacek‘s eponymous London group a few years ago. Bouncy funk creeps through minimalist beats on “Slave,” conjuring visions of sashaying hips, but it‘s Spacek‘s falsetto croons and broken beats on “Rapid Rate” that could retrace the disjointed, stop-go paces of any urban romantic.

Jungle x Library grooves on this latest Cold Diggin’ release introducin’ the Dude!
Limited one-off pressing, black vinyl, colored silk screen print.

repress, black vinyl, black silk screen print

file under drumfunk, hip hop, meters

repress, black vinyl, black silk screen print

file under pfunk, hip hop

Limited edition of 500 copies, only available at HHV!

20 years HHV: our team has selected an album from each of these years that is particularly relevant and precious to us. On a monthly basis we release exclusive and limited pressings of these records in collaboration with some of our favorite labels.

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 Jive Turkeys are made up of four musicians who have been playing together for the better part of the last five years in a hip-hop group called Soundscape. Soundscape is a group based in Oxford, OH, home of Miami University. This is where Matt Amburgy (organ), Terry Cole (bass), Andrew DeRoberts (guitar), and Rob Houk (drums) first met. And while Soundscape has always provided all of them the opportunity to grow and develop as musicians through the group's unique fusion of genres (hip-hop, funk, jazz, rock).

First vinyl re-issue of their 2001 classic, Discern/Define, 20 years after its initial release. Featuring new reimagined artwork, LP includes MP3 DL card

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.

RSD First, Limitation: 1250

For RSD Black Friday 2024, Soul Jazz Records is reissuing Tribe’s ‘Dedication’, a superb rare 1970s funk/soul/jazz album, as a one-off pressing special limited-edition Orange Vinyl edition, fully remastered with exact reproduction artwork.
In a similar vein to groups such as Mandrill, Jimmy Castor Bunch, The Blackbyrds, Pleasure, and Kool and the Gang, Tribe blend together elements of funk, jazz, rock, latin and soul music into a unique sound (their first album was aptly named ‘Ethnic Stew’). Dedication is a fantastic long-lost album of deep funk, soul and jazz from the group, originally released independently in 1977 and out-of-print for over 45 years.
Tribe was the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Earl J Foster, who put together the band along with producer Big Dee Ervin in 1974. Aside from Earl Foster the band features Clyde Jardine Powell on bass, Billy Soto on guitar, Jimmie A. Clapper on sax, Benjamin Taylor and Harold Clayton on vocals and Harold Davis on drums. The group made three albums, but ‘Dedication’ remains their tour de force, a fantastic slice of spaced-out funk, jazz and soul.

The mysterious Tuxedo Funk Crew drops it in full length in 2015!