Funk | Soul 393 Items

Reissue of these sampled to death classics! Should be in every decent collection…

In demand New Orleans R'n'B/Soul floorshaker which is very in demand on the mod scene b/w tune heavily sampled by the likes of Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist and others through its heavy drums!

Big Crown Records presents the second single “Smiling” from Lady Wray’s “Queen Alone” album. The single is an instant feel good anthem, “Smiling” finds Lady Wray reminding us to keep our heads up and keep a smile on our faces through whatever life deals us. With production from Leon Michels and Thomas Brenneck that rides the line between bubblegum pop and lo fi tough grit, Nicole lays out with a voice as encouraging as the lyrics she is singing. Listeners will be hard pressed not to find themselves singing along after the first listen. A proper good vibe tune guaranteed to move dance floors the world over. The B-side “Make Me Over” is a lushly scored tale of letting your guard down and letting the one who loves you take care of you when you are down and out. A relatable tale of having expensive taste and empty pockets, Nicole finds herself asking for a little help so she can get a break from being strapped for cash promising to take care of her man as soon as her check comes in.

For the fourth edition, the duo left behind their perennial favorite, Trinidad and Tobago, and headed for Jamaica and Brazil, trekked across South America to Peru, navigated across the Pacific to Japan, down to Australia, and then set sail for South Africa, went overland up to Tunisia, and finally put down their bags in France.
Along their perambulations around the globe, they handpicked a number of rare and often unique pearls that they found, at times in damaged shells, at others barely surviving in abused, large record collections. Guts and Mambo patiently selected these tracks with the intent of creating a vinyl barrier reef, an atoll of sound safe from the rising tide of noise pollution that the music industry spews forth every summer.

The 2016 edition once again treats listeners to an incredible diversity of styles and ambiences, ranging from jazz-funk to samba-rock, disco, soul, and reggae. Because in the end, the geographic origin matters little. Even if the golden triangle of Brazil, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago remains the largest supplier, “Beach Diggin’” is above all a way of being, a way of living the moment and life in general to the fullest. Permanent coolitude on the BPM, fast or slow, an epicureanism that is equally at ease whether its produced with a sense of Amazonian luxuriousness or the sparse comfort of a deserted beach, a reserve of a few degrees of heat to put on the turntable when it gets cold outside.
So, it’s not surprising that tracks from Eastern Europe, North Africa, or the US have quickly received their stamp of approval. In this fourth compilation, just as in the previous three, the rule remains: “Beach Diggin’” still is a state of mind.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the first single from El Michels Affair's forthcoming full length "Return To The 37th Chamber".

West Coast singer Lynn Varnado is known for her northern soul masterpiece ‘Wash And Wear Love’. The record is so expensive that its flip, ‘Tell Me What Is Wrong With The Men’, rarely gets the exposure it truly deserves.
To make this release irresistible we have added the sister funk masterpiece ‘Staying At Home Like A Woman’, which makes its 7” debut here.

Two of the classic floor fillers from the Acid Jazz age released on 7” single for the very first time. Pianist Mabern’s take on the Jackson 5’s US #1 is propelled on a non-stop rhythm courtesy of Idris Muhammad and fiery trumpet from Lee Morgan.

‘Sister Janie’, clearly influenced by James Brown’s ‘Sex Machine’, is as funky as jazz ever got. This Indianapolis group show why they are so highly rated by DJs everywhere. A 33 1/3 rpm release.

Top Originally Unissued Killer Sixties Northern Soul Mover Outta Philadelphia For Upfront Deejays Which Is Taking No Prisoners!

/ She Loves Me So

Here is the second lot of songs from the reels the SDE crew found last year. Its almost criminal to think these two beautifully crafted soul songs, where musicians have put all their time and efforts into, were shelved because so called executives thought them "ahead of their time". Essential!

After recording various psych soul and funk tracks on the Whiz record label, The Real Thing carried on after leaving the label to record more studio cuts with musician and producer Stu Gardner. Here they let it rip with an incredible fast version of James Browns "Give it up, turnit loose" and they left in that all important secret ingredient of a lovely long drum break. Stu Gardner himself took to the microphone on this track, with various background vocals and screams, and did the vocals for the amazing b-side "It's A Family Thang"!