Funk | Soul 456 Items

Thus far, Zach Saginaw's releases as Shigeto have been fragments, albeit singularly satisfying fragments -- EP-length glimpses into the Detroit producer's creative psyche. After filling two EPs on Ghostly International, Shigeto's lush, sumptuous take on instrumental hip-hop has fully materialized. Full Circle, the artist's first full-length album, completes the journey begun with Shigeto's Semi-Circle EP, synthesizing the drummer/producer's signature themes of family, continuity, and musical boundary-pushing into a vibrant, fully unified artistic statement.The sounds on Full Circle come from four years of obsessive field recording and collaboration. Saginaw brought his Tascam mini-recorder with him everywhere, capturing the "glasses, chains, breathing, children, family meals, monks singing in cathedrals, walks in the south of France, and good friends offering their musical skill" that would all find homes in the record's compositional nooks and crannies. As a result of Saginaw's constant documentation, the songs on Full Circle play like chapters in an ongoing story--as in "Escape from the Incubator", whose initial rhythmic claustrophobia opens up into a boom-clap nocturnal chase, or "French Kiss Power Up", whose romantic digital strut gives way to discord and fragmentation as the waves of synthesizer give way to a shaky, neurotic coda. Full Circle is framed by the "Ann Arbor" diptych, a pair of beat suites named after Saginaw's hometown (one featuring a sample of Detroit MC SelfSays), all double-thick synths and triple-strength kick drums. Saginaw plays the majority of his rhythms by hand, and Full Circle's consistently deep pocket is the record's secret weapon, thumping and breathing like a living being.Having set the stage with Semi-Circle and What We Held On To EPs--twin treatises on Saginaw's Japanese grandmother's escape from a US internment camp--Shigeto is clearly ready to draw the tale to a close and take center stage. "This release represents the end of the beginning--or perhaps that there is no e...

Vinyl: Heavy Sleeves + Black Polylined Inner Sleeves, 180g Vinyl, Free Download Code.Prairie Is The Project Of Multi-Instrumentalist And Producer Marc Jacobs, Hailing From Brussels With Roots In The Netherlands. On Stage, Prairie Plays With Two Or Three Musicians And Together They Re-Create A Free Association Of Musical Ideas And Atmospheres. Prairie Has Played In Selected Venues And Festivals Across Europe And For Instance Toured With Apparat."And The Bird Said: Cut Me Open And Sing Me" Is The Second Full Length Album On Denovali Records.This Album Was Inspired By The Silence Of The Birds, By The Tone Between A Mother And Her Daughter, By The Sandsnipe Twins, By Constant Wailing Sirens, By The Memory Of A Vangelis Track. Composed In The City, In His Studio Les Lacs And In The Mountains Of The French Cévennes, Jacobs Integrates His Various Recording Locations Into His Magnificent Sound Design. By Using Various Recording Techniques, Analog Gear, Guitar Pedals, Synths, Amps And Human Voices, "And The Bird Said: Cut Me Open And Sing Me" Creates A Fountain Of Sound Layers Which Coalesce To Synthetic And Noise Infused Manipulations, Dramatic Crescendos And Subtle Field Recordings.Jacobs Focuses On Melodies, Sometimes Hidden Melodies, Or Straight Out Melodies That Took Him Back To Various Musical Influences, Current Ones But Also From His Past, Lurking Into Pop And Loving Imperfection. The Lyrics Of ""Cut Me Open"" Are The Spine Of The Record, The Scenario Where Various Species Of Birds Lead The Way, And Where Each Track Is A Short Chapter Of The Flight.Jacobs Once Again Showcases A Deep Sensitivity To Narrative And Rich Cinematic Textures By Creating A Technicolor Soundtrack.Some Words About Prairie: ""... His Cosmos Is Located Somewhere Between Bohren & Der Club Of Gore And Sunn O))), Ambient Is As Familiar To Him As Brachial Sounds, And He Is As Much Acquainted With Guitars As With Synths And Modern Technology"" (Groove)""... Sounds Like A Requiem For This Broken World."" (Spex)""... Like Ben Frost, (P...

“The only time you wear a Tuxedo is when it’s time to party.”

So says legendary West Coast player Snoop Dogg on the opening track of “Tuxedo II”. The blessing of the Doggfather is of special importance to Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, whose second album as a duo finds them at the forefront of a new wave of gangster boogie - one that owes as much to G-funk as P-funk.This is the territory of pre- and post-hydraulic low riders: a mélange of Cali boom-bap, analog synth bass and elegant disco that resonates truth and authenticity in an era where so many are faking the funk.

Bonding over a shared love of Chic, Parliament, and the other signs in the greater funk Zodiac, Mayer Hawthorne (Aquarius) and Jake One (Taurus) were early predictors of the sea changes that American music would undergo in 2016. Their first release of 2015 debuted at #1 on iTunes America’s RnB charts, christened as “Dance Floor Catnip” by the Boston Globe, and “Pure disco-funk hot fire” by Okayplayer. Considering their individual successes (Mayer’s four solo albums, Jake’s production work for the likes of Drake, Future, The Weeknd, and De La Soul) and five Grammy nominations between the two of them, it’s no surprise that their powers combined have yet again yielded a bevy of absolute slappers that are packaged perfectly for dance parties in 2017. The material here, while wholly original, is an exercise in honoring its forebears. “Tuxedo II” recalls the future funk wobble of Zapp, Gap, Jam/ Lewis and Junie Morrison, while nodding lyrically to Mtume, Jodeci and Cameo.The crystallization of the album’s concept comes courtesy of its message of universal love; thanks to the signature combination of soul and pop sensibility that have come to define Mayer’s hooks.

“You gotta do what you love...” says Mayer in a recent interview with Nordstrom’s style blog, one of the many fashion outlets to cover Tuxedo’s rise. After all - the transcendental ritual of the party and the rippling self affirmation of the funk are of one spirit: the spirit of self love...of self expression. “Tuxedo II” is a modern testament to unity and positivity in trying times. It is a reminder that the dance floor will always be there to welcome you, whoever you are.

Soopastole is back with anaother pair of amazing jazz-funk-reworks!

Repressed by popular demand!
Lauren Laverne's comp of the week on BBC Radio 6 Music w/c 11th Jan.
Guardian feature: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/12/a-thousand-teardrops-how-doo-wop-kickstarted-jamaica-pop-revolution-reggae-rocksteady
This collection of Jamaican doo wop from the late 1950s through to the early 1960s represents a period in which sound systems had begun to dominate the island, and were starting to step up their rivalry by beginning to record and release their own platters rather than rely on imported records to gain the competitive edge.
With the uniquely Jamaican ska explosion yet to completely catch hold, these tracks are largely imitative of the doo wop and R&B sound that had been reaching the island from American shores & radiowaves, albeit peppered with hints of what was to come ~ some of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae are starting to cut their teeth on these tracks, providing a great view into the fledgling record industry on the island.