Funk | Soul 268 Items

Lavender Vinyl.In the late 1970s, a peculiar sound began bubbling up from the land of 10,000 lakes. Buried beneath 50 solid inches of annual snow, Minneapolis made a Sound quite different than what the pop world foresaw. It issued forth as a slick, black, technologically advanced fusion, poised to storm the charts. Never known for sizable African-American populations, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in fact harbored a tight-knit community of musiciansworking feverishly through the late '70s and early '80s toward a radical manipulation of American dance music, coating futuristic funk with the glamorous sheen of guitar rock. Synthetic ebony and ivory met electricity, with sexed-up results sent shockingly across the pop heavens like violet lightning.

They have been known to deep soul, funk and disco collectors for decades for their sought after 7” “Watching Out/Dazed,” long thought to be the band’s only recordings.
Egon tracked down Split Decision Band’s vocalist and songwriter Gordon Starr Flipping in the hopes of more and got it – with Split Decision Band, Now-Again presents a never-before-released album of devastatingly good disco and boogie from the unlikely
city of Des Moines, Iowa. Flipping’s collaborations with Prince’s stable made him a Midwestern legend, but his band’s music is more than an urban tall tale – this album finally proves to the world their merits.

"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.

Thundercat presents “drunk”- a 23-track epic journey into the often hilarious, sometimes dark mind of the Grammy-winning singer/ bassist - featuring a few of his friends joining him along the way including: Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Michael Mcdonald, Kenny Loggins, Wiz Khalifa, Kamasi Washington and Brainfeeder Mastermind Flying Lotus.

Damon Albarn & Four Tet dig this gentleman, so you should dig this forgotten master of african synth-craze, too!

Hot on the heels of their release, Crush, funk futurists Lettuce return with Mt. Crushmore, a collection of tracks that are easily some of the finest they have produced. The seven-track effort includes a mix of new songs and b-sides from the band’s Crush sessions. Though a majority of the material on their new EP is from the Crush sessions, that speaks more to the amazing quality of that album than it does to the strength of the material here. In fact, with a focus on their spacier and more open and experimental facets, this will quickly become one of the most beloved parts of the band’s already impressive catalog.

Why you'll love it...
Musical Massage is of the body, and beyond the body. Far past merely the physical or the sexual, or even the romantic—the engine of Musical Massage is a spirit, a cohesion, a rhythm, a way of life, and a shared understanding.

The pop world lost one of the most important soul singers ever to grace the world on 1st April 1984. Marvin Gaye has left behind a series of fantastic hits plus a big handful of tracks which deserve the title of masterpiece, all Collected on this album.

Cosmic Chronic Records, in association with Peoples Potential Unlimited & Gangster Groove America, proudly announces Psychic Mirrors' debut LP, "Nature of Evil." Remastered for 2020 and available for a limited time..

Limited whitelabel 7-inch deejay press of 50 copies only!

Rare UK only modern soul/boogie release recorded 1979 in Los Angeles with Fred Wesley providing the horn section perfectly de-guitarized by BTO Spider b/w in demand sensational smooth '77 modern/crossover groover!

Why you'll love it...
The first notes Charles Bradley sings on Victim of Love, his 2013 sophomore release, are not words but moaned lamentations. A drawn out “ooh” reminds listeners who we are dealing with: The Screaming Eagle of Soul, who doesn’t simply sing. Bradley wails, pleads, begs and screeches his way through Victim of Love. Many tracks are love songs, but they’d be better described as songs of longing.

Orgone is one of the most exciting bands in the new generation
of funk bands; led by the powerhouse vocals of Adryon de Leon,
Orgone recalls such legendary groups as Rufus and Sly & The
Family Stone at their best! The band has backed Alicia Keys on her
As I Am album and Cee Lo Green on his Grammy-winning track Fool
for You.
Beyond The Sun is the most complete fulfillment of Orgone s full
spectrum of sound, ranging from the in the pocket funk of Don’t Push
Your Luck to the evocative balladry of No Pain to the clubby-jam
of the title track and the scorching instrumental workouts on Meat
Machine and Sabi. A highlight is a hot version of Rufus I m A Woman
(I m A Backbone).

2023 re-issue of Nai Palm (of Hiatus Kaiyote)’s debut solo album.

The album was mostly recorded at Dan Auerbach's (The Black Keys) Easy Eye studio in Nashville, as well as L.A. and Budapest, and was produced by both Dan Auerbach and Kevin Augunas (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Florence & The Machine).

Following a big indemand of my productions 2010 on CD & 2016 on VINYL,
this lovely LP was repressed again with another cover. This unreleased album is a project by Henry Horne from archive tapes recorded during 1982+1984

Classy jazzy soul from Caro.

What started as an idea 5 years ago now becomes reality with the release of SAIGON SUPERSOUND Vol.1, compiled by Jan Hagenkötter. A compilation about the story of a musical era in Vietnam that was almost lost, made of tracks from 1965 to 1975, the so-called “Golden Music” period in the south of Vietnam, where – under difficult circumstances – a lively pop culture had developed. This period is characterized by the fusion of Vietnamese music with western pop music. The compilation includes some tunes reissued for the very first time since they´ve been released originally. With the release of Saigon Supersound Vol. 1 on double gatefold vinyl and cd in May 2017 the story of this nearly unknown music will be reissued.
Jan Hagenkötter a music-lover and DJ who is also the mind behind the renowned music publishing company and record label INFRACom!, relocated to Saigon in 2012. In co-operation with the Vietnam based dOSe crew, Jan organized parties and shows, inviting guest and friends like DJ Spinna, Jazzanova, Alice Russell and many other artists. During this year as he was spinning tunes in Saigon and other parts of South East Asia the idea for this project was born. In 2013 Jan returned to Germany but has been swinging back and forth between Saigon and Frankfurt ever since.
In the following years he began to research and collect more seriously. He bought vinyl singles from around the world, often several copies of the same release, just to restore or rather “rebuild” one good recording from several sources. With the help of friends based in Saigon, he was able to navigate an almost impenetrable jungle of music websites. Thanks to invaluable support and translation assistance from Vietnamese friends, he came into contact with several collectors. The best recordings from this treasure hunt were then retouched, refined and remastered in the studio for this release.
Besides this amazing project, Vietnamese producers like Maqman from Saigon, DJ Yellow from Paris and others who also share roots in Vietnam have already started to work on edits and re-works of songs featured on Saigon Supersound Vol. 1. These will be released in a next step....the mission is not completed....it just started!

One of the great characters in rock and soul music is Jerry Williams, better known as the eccentric, idiosyncratic, and always entertaining Swamp Dogg (no relation to Snoop Doggy Dogg). A Virginia native, Williams invented his own legend by claiming that he had little proper schooling, only to wake up one day and find himself a musical genius (his words). Actually, Williams is very talented, and an early association with Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden led to him working for a number of years as a producer, engineer, and occasional songwriter with Atlantic in the '60s. At decade's end, however, he decided that the time was right to unleash Swamp Dogg's singular view of the world on an unsuspecting public. The initial result was one of the most gloriously gonzo soul recordings of all time, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The album's charm may have to do with Dogg's world view: part libertarian politics; part Zappa-style critiques of commerciality and capitalism; and part horny male, the latter defining for better and worse his view of women. Although he spent years working in the industry, Dogg was simply not the standard-issue soul type. And that was good. Dogg continued to make records, albeit infrequently, after 1969, some good, a few great, and most all extremely difficult to find. With contemporary soul sounding increasingly mannered and sterile, Dogg's yelling, screaming, and general craziness is missed. Thankfully, he hasn't disappeared for good, although he only makes records when he feels like it. It would be wise to not count him out; just when you think this Dogg is down and out, he sneaks up and bites you.

Great retrospective of Lil Bob And The Lollipops' discography. Classic Louisiana swamp soul / R& B, recorded in the early to mid 1960s. Includes the popular dance floor fillers "I Got Loaded" and "Stop," as well as some real beautiful obscurities. Ballads and stompers to make life better. Old school "tip on" cover.

Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American neo soul singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, social issues and personal relationships. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. The album contains the single "Bag Lady", a top 10 Billboard hit, nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song.

This 2-LP album offers fans the chance to experience Otis Redding's legendary performances from 1966. Featuring highlights from the historic 3-night stand, the audio on has been newly mixed and mastered from the original 4-track tapes.

2LP gatefold with liner notes, 180gr vinyl. 'Funky Chimes' is a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. It contains 27 of the most interesting yet long forgotten Belgian dance tracks from the seventies.

Betty Harris’ The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul collects together the steady stream of amazing soul and funk singles issued by Betty Harris from 1964 to 1969, under the musical guidance of legendary composer, musician and producer extraordinaire Allen Toussaint, a collection which truly captures the heart and soul of the city of New Orleans during this era.
Betty Harris’s powerful, fiery soulful vocals found a perfect accompaniment with the New Orleans’ players that Toussaint put together to back her, which by the time of her funk classic ‘There’s A Break In The Road’ were the legendary super-tight, super-funk New Orleans group The Meters.
With the extraordinary song-writing skills of Allen Toussaint alongside the powerful, soaring, confident and emotive singer and the groove of The Meters, you have an unbeatable combination. That Harris never in fact lived in New Orleans (she flew in from Florida for all her sessions with Toussaint’s local in-house players) seems almost an irrelevance, a geographical aside to the defining New Orleans sound captured on the recordings featured here.
All of these singles featured here were released on Allen Toussaint and his business partner Marshal Sehorn’s local New Orleans label Sansu, widely distributed in the southern city but in only limited quantities elsewhere. As a consequence, Betty Harris’ music failed to achieve the commercial success of other New Orleans artists such as Lee Dorsey (who she recorded with) and The Meters (who backed her). And so at the end of the decade she stopped recording, retired from the music business to raise her family in Florida.

This is the first ever vinyl release of Ikebe Shakedown’s debut release. The sound of the album is still as heavy as an angry herd of elephants! Recorded at Dunham Studios in Brooklyn with the help of members of The Budos Band, these tracks are rough and tough to be sure and offer a variety of different sounds from the band. Ikebe seamlessly blends the raw emotion and passion of ‘70s African Funk with the danceable horns and rhythms of American soul music! The records is housed in a heavyweight gatefold tip-on jacket and comes with a download.

The music of Magic Sword, crafted by two unknown individuals is a collaboration of sight and sound. Featuring the music. Part dance, part cinematic experience and a comic book (by The Harbinger). Which brings life to this tale of fantasy. Volume 1 is an introduction to the epic story of Magic Sword that will consist of several volumes set to be released over the next several years.So as it was, it shall always be. Whenever the need is great, we call upon the power of the Magic Sword.

As then, calypso carries the swing. There are four more Lord Kitchener songs — in consideration of his wife leaving him for a GI, cricket umpires, a fling onboard an ocean-liner and West Indian poultry — besides a hot mambo cash-in, cross-bred under his supervision, and an uproarious, teasing Ghanaian tribute to him in Fanti by London visitors The Quavers.
Other calypsos range compellingly from the devaluation of the pound through jiu jitsu, big rubbery instruments, football fans, heavyweight champ Joe Louis and the sexual allure of English women police. The Mighty Terror contributes the woe-begotten, cautionary tale of his beloved Patricia's change of heart: 'I cannot believe, not for one moment / She gone with Millicent... / You may think I am jocular / But this really happened in Manchester / I felt so ashamed, my friends laughed at me / I had to take a train for London city.'
Ambrose Campbell is back, with six more shots of prodigal, limber, melancholic, visionary West African highlife. Also the Rolling Stones' favourite Ginger Johnson, with a percussive Latin scorcher; and Mona Baptiste, with some wonderful, soulful exotica.
Jamaican mento makes its first entry in the series, with a brace by Tony Johnson: a drily witty drinking-song, and a love-letter to Marilyn Monroe. Also finally getting some dues, the path-breaking Latin-African-jazz experiments of Ghanaian drummer and percussionist Buddy Pipp, with spine-tingling playing by the great Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott.
Expert jazz idioms course sophisticatedly through all the selections, which include a straight-up, South London version of Duke Jordan's Jordhu, something from Dizzy Reece's soundtrack — brokered by Kenneth Tynan — to the British crime film Nowhere To Go, and a trio of magnificently hybrid, hard-swinging instrumentals led in turn by master-guitarist Fitzroy Coleman, Kitch's innovative arranger Rupert Nurse, and trumpeter Shake Keane — named after Shakespeare because of his love of poetry — from St. Vincent.

DaM-FunK is the kind of guy who seems like he’d make great company: laid-back, affable, personable. But to truly get the guy, to really understand him, is to know a deep love of music like no other. Dam’s contribution to the DJ-Kicks series gives you an opportunity to do just that. It’s a snapshot view into the mind of the pioneer of Modern-Funk music… DJ-Kicks invites you to get to know the man behind the shades.

Dam makes a lifetime of digging and absorbing music that feels as laid-back as the Santa Ana breeze. Years ago, he coined the term ‘Modern Funk’ to give context to his music. The elements of the synth-heavy and multi-layered style are gloriously displayed on DJ-Kicks. “Modern-Funk is a combination of all the sounds on the mix,” he explains. “Funk, Boogie, Electro, House, Modern-Soul, Ambient tones… a push and pull of nostalgia and progressiveness…”

At a satisfying 19 songs, DâM-FunK’s DJ-Kicks lets grooves breathe. This is a mix to happily get lost within; a document in vibe. Unexpected contemporary joints mingle with lost gems from unlikely places. The exclusive DâM-FunK production “Believer” makes its debut on DJ-Kicks, an extensive instrumental composition that on it’s own could only be classified as signature Modern-Funk. The mix also includes Dam’s excellent collaboration with Nite Jewel, as ‘Nite-Funk,’ on “Can U Read Me?”

Just 3 Words: Stone Cold Classic!