Funk | Soul 481 Items

Bow down to the 'Screaming Eagle Of Soul'! Download code for the full album is included.

New Zealand-born, Brisbane-raised, and now London-based Jordan Rakei has stepped up to the plate since releasing Wallflower in 2017, stamping his authority as a talented songwriter, producer and live performer. Now, having undergone a process of evolution and reevaluation, grappling with big picture questions – namely, technological growth, and how it affects our sense of humanity – and responding to the changes in his personal life, he is back with a new album: Origin.

Origin is overtly inspired by dystopian visions of our future - notably Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return - combined with Jordan’s inner contemplation of humanity and our existence. To engage these themes, Jordan channels the musicality of his heroes Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan, while lyrically positioning the album to follow the journey of a protagonist threatened by the growth of technology and how it can alienate us from the experiences and people around us.

Original recordings remastered

Nat Turner Rebellion, the Philadelphia soul-music group release their long-awaited debut album, originally signed to local label Philly Groove Records, the group is made up of Joe Jefferson (who sadly passed away in July 2020), Major Harris, Ron Harper, and Bill Spratley - pioneers of the Philly Soul and protest music movements. For their debut track, 'Tribute To A Slave', NTR channeled the revolutionary spirit of the infamous 1831 uprising, after which the group derived their name. Starting in 1969, NTR wrote and recorded dozens of tracks with only a handful of singles released. Tensions with then-Philly Groove Records label head Stan Watson sidelined the project and the tapes went unheard for decades. Then, in 2012 when Reservoir Media acquired Philly Groove Records, they discovered the tapes in Sigma Sound Studios archive. Jefferson, lone-surviving NTR member, gave his blessing for the 14-track collection, Laugh To Keep From Crying, which made it's only US debut last year with a limited vinyl-only run via Vinyl Me Please. The themes they wrote about are still as relevant today as they were in 1969. Chrysalis Records are now proud to partner with Reservoir Media to do a full Worldwide release of the album, with a bonus track, new artwork and sleeve notes. There will also be a debut CD of the album. The vinyl has been newly mastered and cut by Alchemy in London. The packaging is a standard 3" spine sleeve with a 12" insert and the vinyl housed in a poly-lined sleeve.

Peter Brown is one of the ultimate in Harlem underground music business entrepreneurs. From the 70s, all through the 80s he had a stream of releases on a plethora of labels, but ultimately under the P&P banner. From soul, to disco to the birth of hip hop, he covered all the street sounds of New York and in a series of comps Demon are exploring his legacy. P&P soul and funk covers the 1970s with a number of rare, sought after masterpieces and some equally essential obscurities. From the former category we have the magnificent ESP by Four Below Zero, Dennis Mobley's Rare Groove instrumental version of Superstition and Florence Miller's soul floor filler 'The Groove I'm In' Super rare funk is present from Wild Honey, Smokey Brooks and Flame & The Sons. The roots of disco is well represented with Magnetic Touch's original version of Ain't No Big Thing and Ella Hamilton's I'm Gonna Fool You. Released on double 180g vinyl, if you bought the originals they would cost you many thousands of pounds.

Over Under Away - Volume I is the first compilation LP from Melbourne independent label Hopestreet Recordings and is released to celebrate their 10th anniversary. It features 10 tracks from Hopestreet’s first generation of artists: psych-Bollywood SciFi orchestra The Bombay Royale, cinematica pioneers The Cactus Channel, soul queen Emma Donovan and her mighty band The Putbacks and dusty country soul from The Meltdown, plus a couple of rarely heard gems, an afrobeat rap cut by One Sixth and a Marvin Gaye inspired environmental panic anthem by Zillanova feat. Cisco Tavares. Over Under Away is the label’s creation story. The material in Volume I was created in Hopestreet’s infancy, when the same people played in all the bands, and everyone who worked in the office was also making the records. If a compilation put together out of nine different albums sounds unusually cohesive, it’s because the same people performed, wrote and produced all the songs. Putbacks guitarist Tom Martin leads the charge, appearing on 8 out of 10 cuts. All production and engineering duties were shared by label founders Bob Knob and Tristan Ludowyk. These days are past, but the aim of Over Under Away - Volume I is to represent the seed that grew into the label as it is today. The compilation takes its name from a song on Emma Donovan & The Putbacks’ 2014 album Dawn. Over Under Away is a story of struggle, perseverance and, above all else, patience. About growing from small beginnings to “sing and shout and talk up loud.” Hopestreet began as a recording experiment, an afternoon goof between friends in a decrepit factory in Brunswick. The only ingredients were an Otari tape machine, some decent musicians and little bit of goodwill. When the label started, 7a Hope Street was surrounded by a desert of vacant industrial property. Now it’s surrounded by gleaming new apartment complexes. In that moment between decay and gentrification a little magic happened. Now the label, like it’s surroundings continues to evolve, but this compilation celebrates that fleeting point in time and everyth