Funk | Soul 307 Items

Paul Tillman Smith is a significant figure within in the music community of Oakland/Berkeley, California. His connections and collaborations read like a who’s who of famous musicians. As leader of 70s Buddah Records group ‘Vitamin E’ and then onto ‘Bridge’, the subsequent band cut an album in 1981 for the CBS distributed Bang label that never saw the light of day. It was released by First Experience Records as a double LP and CD in 1999 and is recognised as being one of the finest unreleased discoveries within its genre. Izipho Soul are thrilled to release on a 7” for the first time two gems from this magnificent body of work. Crying FOR Love written by Paul Tillman Smith and Michael Robinson is perfection personified, from the production through to the lyrical content - and of course the sublime vocals of Debravon Lewis (rip) the tone of her voice will move you to tears. On the flip is Listen, penned by Paul Tillman Smith - a tour de force rendition by the late great Freddie Hughes with Sonny Lewis on sax, adding that extra touch of class.

Jalapeno Records is a label that prides itself on providing the finest eclectic music. No other artist embodies this spirit more than founders Elliot Ireland and Alex Rizzo, collectively known as Skeewiff.

They're legends in the underground funky scene, finding themselves the delighted proprietors of worldwide number one hits, running their own Pedigree Cuts library music imprint, working with heroes like Alan Hawkshaw and amassing a high-quality body of work that would be the pride of any ambitious musician.

Their joyous blend of impeccable production, astonishing taste and rare ability to not take yourself too seriously is captured in the two tracks that appear on this new 7" release. Big beats? country & western? sitars? funk? soul? And more? It's got everything that will guarantee to make you Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya!

In the Spring of 1978, Aaron McCarthy Jr, a.k.a. ‘Jelly’ was invited to Miami by local producer, Thomas Fundora to assist Herman Kelly with his forthcoming album, ‘Percussion Explosion!’. Herman, who was studying at the University of Miami at the time, had met Jelly whilst studying Music Theory together at Henry Ford Community College in Detroit. Both Detroit natives, Jelly had founded the group the Soulful Sonics, later to be known as Pure Pleasure whilst Herman transferred to Miami. The group Life consisted of Jelly on Vocals, Percussion & arrangement, Oliver Wells on Keys, John DeMonica on Bass, Michal Cordoza on, Guitar, Travis Biggs on Horn Arrangements and Keys. ‘Percussion Explosion!’, which included the infamous ‘Dance To The Drummer Beat’, was recorded at ‘Miami Sound Studios’, as a forthcoming release on Fundora’s Electric Cat label, distributed by RCA. On reviewing which tracks made the album, there was a track recorded during those sessions that Herman decided to leave out, a song Oliver Wells had been working on and completed once Jelly arrived called ‘Everybody Needs Lovin, Now’s The Time’. Originally known as ‘Now’s The Time’, Jelly finalised the lyrics and arrangement and cut a deal with Fundora to transfer the master for an independent release on a joint label ‘fu-ja’, made up of FU (Fundora) & JA (Jelly). Jelly had started performing professionally after joining the Navy in 1970. Stationed at Naval Air Station Glynco in Brunswick Georgia, he was part of the Navy band as well as working the clubs with local groups. ‘Hey Look At Me’ was written whilst in boot camp, a song that when he performed & won with at a Whcb talent show upon returning to Detroit. The song was recorded using a 4 track in 1976 at Richard Wells Studio, Detroit. During the late 70s, Jelly was pursuing a successful career in music locally in Detroit by hiring spaces and hosting cabarets. A graduate of local teacher & Motown Orchestra player Ernie Rodgers, Jelly would hire musicians from his class to perform with him at these events. The majority of players who would become Jelly’s group, ‘Skybirst’. Both ‘Hey Look At Me’ & ‘Everybody Needs Lovin, Now’s The Time’ were mastered by Greg Reilly at Super Disc in Detroit and sent to Nashville to get pressed as a quantity of 200. Jelly released his single in July of 1978 as part of a show he had lined up at ‘Mr Kelley’s Lounge’, an exclusive venue in downtown Detroit. Fast forward 30+ years, Jelly was reminded about this single after Brad Hales of Peoples Records played this track at a European Soul Weekender that, needlessly to say, saw a regained interest in this elusive single. Jelly’s currently working on his biography so be sure to look out for that, it’s a pleasure to be able to present to you these two timeless tracks.

A few copies arrived with a damaged Cover. We're therefore selling it on a reduced price.

Join us as we welcome back New York Underground Funk Band with “Funk & Soul” and “Wanna Be Free” — a more psychedelic take on their funk sound. Funk & Soul states, “I’ve got funk and soul...don’t have to worry about a doggone thing” — and we’d have to agree. Yet another excellent track from NYUFB, though a little more psyched-out this time: imagine Sly and the Family Stone getting Jimi Hendrix for a session, then asking him to drop a fuzzed-out guitar solo. You might then end up with “Funk & Soul” — the heaviest, fuzz-driven Sly track you’ve never heard. Though it’s also NYUFB from start to finish.
Now that you’re in the right frame of mind from side A, you’re ready for “Wanna Be Free” — the deep funk B-side that trades out the spirit of Jimi Hendrix for the spirit of Jim Morrison. With all the respect that is due to these greats, NYUFB crafts their own psychedelic sound in this raucous cut that features thunderous drums and alluring interplay between organ and guitar. This was certainly designed to free your mind, and we believe the group succeeds.
These two tracks comprise one of our most exciting releases yet, as that promising band from the New York or New Jersey area further displays their remarkable range. These songs simply cannot remain buried. They’ve finally found their way to you on PP007, and we hope you’ll get a hold of it while you can.

2022 reissue.

From the deep south in Louisiana comes a new debut on Gamm from producer Koichi Toyama.

Over this four-track EP Koichi has selected some of his favourite Japanese Jazz-funk and Jazz-fusion tracks from the 70's and 80s'. With tasteful editing skills, the tracks are re-arranged and sometimes remixed into heavy Jazz club jams. No pump, just thump of course!

The Ray Alexander Technique were four gifted musicians from Harlem led by Raymond Alexander Jenkins, they recorded their solitary LP ‘Let’s Talk’ in 1974. Amongst 70s soul and funk albums it is in the exalted status category.

Selected as a first time on a 45 is ‘Taking The Long Way Home’, a wonderful mid-tempo opus conveying the message of never giving up.

Featured on Side 2 is the band’s final and hideously rare LU JUN 45. Ray’s friend Chris Bartley was enlisted and was the featured vocalist on both songs - ‘I Am In Love With You’ is a stunning sweet soul ballad, whilst ‘I Wonder Why’ takes the tempo up a few notches and packs an equally emotional punch thanks to the great arrangement and Bartley’s achingly wistful performance.

Dynamite cuts are again proud to be the first label to release one of the all-time Funk and soul club classics. The famous Video man break as it was known back in the day of hip hop djing. “the Assembly Line” by Commodores is not only a superb drum sample but it is also a banging tune with the great story of life!

On the flip is the super funky “Gonna blow your mind” which believe me if you like it funky, Hold on!!

These amazing track are all Must Have 45s Cuts! Loaded with classic B-Boy break, Loops and club dancers.

Their ‘Synchronised’ album from 1980 is one of the rarest ‘rare grooves’ and both original copies and the ‘Northern Soul’ single “I Was Born To Love You” still sell for over £1,000 a copy. Of the two sides “You’re The One” has become the most enduring and in demand, again an original reach which has been sold for £1000 on the collectors scene. In this edition the release has been restored to how the original first looked and sounded on Pendulum Records artwork from Expansion.

It's always summer somewhere, but especially so wherever Cheryl Glasgow's carefree clubber "Glued To The Spot" plays. An absolute ear-worm from its first nylon strums, Glasgow's Sade-adjacent, jazz vocalese sweeps into a warm-up tempo groove and never quite breaks a sweat. Issued on Ross Anderson's short-lived, London-based Live label, "Glued To The Spot" swept through the club scene briefly in 1987, disembarking for warmer shores when the season changed.

Perhaps one of the most exciting and anticipated projects in the world of heavy instrumental music is Parlor Greens, a fresh organ trio on Colerine Records! You could say that Parlor Greens are greater than the sum of their parts.. however, the individual parts are simply stellar on their own. Tim Carman (ga-20) on drums, Jimmy James (True Loves, formerly Delvon Lamar Organ Trio) on guitar, and Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ. Parlor Greens started off as an idea before it even had a name. Carman had been chatting with Colemine label boss Terry Cole about their shared love for organ combo records of yesterday on labels like Blue Note and Prestige. Cole said he'd love to have an organ trio be the first project at the label's new studio, Portage Lounge, located in Loveland, Ohio, So when Carman tapped James and Scone for the session, the stage was set. Carman and Cole had started work a day early to dial in the drum sound, so when the rest of this murderer's row arrived they hit the ground running. It was instant chemistry, Within the first ten minutes of everyone plugging in, a song was written and recorded, "West Memphis". And over the next three days, these three maestros conducted a beautiful and soulful symphony straight to tape. As natural and fun as three old friends getting together after a long absence, only this was the first time they had written and performed together. True magic. So this is the result of that session. Eleven outs. Ten originals. Two sides. All killer, no filler. Straight to the old reliable Tascam 3BB tape machine, mixed up nice and dirty for your enjoyment. Parlor Greens are proud to present their debut long player, in Green / We Dream.

Limited to 300 copies

UK label Wisdom Teeth closes out 2021 with a synchronised double drop from label heads Facta and K-LONE. Having retreated to more low-lit, pensive territories on his debut LP, Blush, In Bloom marks Facta's headlong return to the dancefloor. At its core, In Bloom is a house record, albeit one bearing all the usual eccentricities of a Facta release: bleeping off-kilter melodies, glitching FX, warped subs and fizzing neon synths. Up top, C Sequence follows on from 2019's Doves in exploring a future-facing and experimental take on mutant tech-house. Centred around a writhing, modulating FM bassline, the track undulates and builds gradually to a soaring mid-section before collapsing back in on itself. On the flip, In Bloom drops the tempo to a dubby stomp, with a reversed synth hook playing out over ricocheting chords and a phasing, blown-out sub line.

Mega Rare 1974 Jazz Funk Rock Album Recorded By Argentina's Top Jazzmen Pocho Lapouble, Ricardo Lew And Adalberto Cevasco (Also Members Of Quinteplus, Jorge Lopez Ruiz's Band And Gato Barbieri's Group Among Many Others).Includes The Irresistible Fast-Paced Funk Rock Track 'Se Acabó El Recreo' And The Ethereal 'Todo En Su Medida Y Armoniosamente' And 'Haceme Shaft', Featuring Patricia Clark On Vocals And Unexpected Moog Arrangements.First Time Reissue, With Remastered Sound And Original Artwork. -Info: Those Into World Jazz Will Be Aware Of The Amazing Modal, Big Band And Post-Bop Jazz Recordings Released In Argentina In The '60s. The Body Of Work Produced By The Likes Of Chivo Borraro, Jorge López Ruiz Or Enrique Villegas Would Be Able To Rival The Recordings Of Their American Counterparts.The Following Decade Would See A Great Openness To The Exploration, With A Jazz Language, Of Other Musical Genres, With A Certain Preponderance Of Rhythm. The Members Of El Trio Are Part Of A Jazz Generation With A Greater Propensity To Experiment With Electricity And With What Could Be Considered An Avant La Page Exercise Of What Soon Afterwards Would Be Called Jazz Rock -It Is Music Composed And Played, In The Faraway Buenos Aires, At The Same Time Miles Davis Adventured Into New Fields, With Such Records As "In A Silent Way" Or "Bitches' Brew"."Todo En Su Medida Y Armoniosamente" Reflects That Same Spirit Of Experimentation And Fusion Of Diverse Influences With An Eye On Both Rock And Local Folklore. It's Not Surprising That The Protagonists Of This Recording -Pocho Lapouble (Drums), Ricardo Lew (Guitar) And Adalberto Cevasco (Bass) - Had Accompanied Gato Barbieri Himself In His Project "Latinoamérica" Shortly Before The Release Of This Album Where The Presence Of Rhythms From The Southern Hemisphere Infused The Avant-Garde Jazz Of The Argentine Saxophonist. Drummer Pocho Lapouble Had Also Created Quinteplus, Which In 1972 Released A Single Studio Lp Inspired By Those Same Premises Of Fusi...

A few copies arrived with a damaged Cover. We're therefore selling it on a reduced price.

The incredible psych funk from June's PP-005, with two additional, EP-exclusive tracks. The companion to the limited 7" (PP-005), our new 180g 12" EP plays at 45RPM, has the same awesome unreleased tracks as PP-005, but also includes a couple extra unreleased tracks that you won't find on 7". This 12" 180g EP ships in July, following the 7" (PP005) which ships in June. The 7" (PP005) will contain 2 of the 4 tracks found on this EP, with the remaining 2 tracks exclusive to this EP (PP12005).