Funk | Soul 296 Items

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

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.

The Norman Connors produced Aquarian Dream first appeared in 1976 with their debut album on Buddah, featuring the extremely popular 'Phoenix' along with the club dancer 'East 6th Street'.
Both tracks were only released previously on 12" in the UK and quickly became a huge collector's item with the release averaging £50 on Discogs some 38 years later.
Fully remastered on limited edition 180 gram heavyweight vinyl, officially reissued for the first time since its original release.
A much loved & timeless disco track sampled many times in the house music community.

Record Kicks presents 2 incredibly hard to find and super hot deep funk & x-over soul pearls out of Macon, Georgia on a super limited edition 45. Recorded at Phil and Alan Walden's Capricorn Studios and produced by Tad Bush, "Freedom" and "Think it Over" by Early Clover & The Georgia Soul Drifters were originally released in 1977 on a super scarce 45 by legendary "northern soul" label Dove Records.

“New” album recorded 1988-1992 ... At the request of Peanut Butter Wolf, Dam went through many of these recordings, all made on cassette, going back to his teenage years. As Wolf tells it, “Dam told me, ‘this is your project Wolf. Do whatever you want with it. I leave it in your hands. I don't even wanna see it til it's done. Have fun.’” ... so have fun, people! LP is limited to 1000 copies!

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.

Truth & Soul is proud to present the second volume of our Fallin' Off The Reel compilation on double long playing vinyl.

In-Demander By The 12-Piece Ensemble From Milwaukee Taken From Their Self-Titled Lone 1976 Brunswick LP!

Curtis Harding's new album Face Your Fear is out October 27 on Anti-. New York Magazine already named the forthcoming album one of their most anticipated fall releases lauding Harding’s “scorching voice” while Clash UK hails recent new track “On and On” as “a blistering slice of dancefloor soul that recalls prime Curtis Mayfield and late 60s Motown.” The new album follows 2014’s Soul Power, on which Rolling Stone called Harding an “artist you need to know.”
Harding fuels his psychedelic sound with the essence of Soul but isn’t bound by it. Instead, the 12 songs on the new album convey an eclectic blend of genres leaping from the many musical lives he has lived from following his evangelical Gospel-singing mother on tour as a child in Michigan to rapping in Atlanta, forming a garage band with The Black Lips’ Cole Alexander to singing back-up for Cee Lo Green. Through these experiences he fully embraces life’s darkest intricacies conjuring dynamic, addictive melodies.
Face Your Fear features production by Harding, Sam Cohen, and Danger Mouse and was recorded in New York at Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Studio.

Here's a fine 7-inch by the Danish soul/r&b band, rooted in Copenhagen's garage rock underground. 'Soul Sound System' was mixed by Gabe Roth, co-founder of Daptone Records.

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.

As one of the most enigmatic figures of the 1970s Italian soundtrack and library music network Emma De Angelis and her short recording career provides thirsty fans of speedball psychedelic rock and drum heavy instrumental funk with a tight discography rivalling many of the long-standing bastions of the otherwise male-orientated business.
Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, into a flourishing musical environment, Emma was the younger sister of future award winning composers Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, a duo who, under names like Oliver Onions and Dream Bags, would write chart-topping lyrical theme tunes for a wide range of Italian crime, Giallo and Spaghetti Western films featured alongside full scores by Ennio Morricone and the Magnetic System composers (Bixio Frizzi Tempera).
With encouragement from her brothers, Emma, who would also write music under the pseudonym of Juniper, would record a tight clutch of solo-penned material and seldom credited studio contributions to Guido And Maurizio’s film commissions, such as the score for Giuliano Carnimeo’s ‘Simone e Matteo: Un gioco da ragazzi’ (aka ‘Convoy Buddies’). While simultaneously pursuing a career as an illustrator and set designer the De Angelis family contacts would lead Emma to the offices of Romano Di Bari, whose up-and-coming Flirt label was finding success providing custom-built mood music for use in TV and film. Alongside important composers like Alessandro Alessandroni, Gerardo Iacoucci and A. R. Luciani, the young Emma Di Angelis would record a small number of tracks for a compilation called ‘Underground Mood’ (credited in the small print to E De Angelis - not to be confused with Italian singer Edoardo De Angelis). It is from this rare LP that the record you are now holding is compiled. Within the Flirt family of labels Emma De Angelis would also share schedules with other important female composers such as Daniela Casa and Giulia ‘Kema’ De Mutiis - both of whom have appeared on dedicated Finders Keepers releases.
The tracks on this record provide us with a rare glimpse into Emma De Angelis’ short musical career before she became a full time visual artist. With an unknown personnel or studio date it is easy to speculate a potential family jam in Piero Umiliani’s Sound Workshop studio in 1972. One only has to take a listen to Guido And Maurizio’s instrumental theme ‘Gangster Story’ from Enzo G. Castellari’s 1973 thriller ‘High Crime’ (which later appeared on Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’ soundtrack) or the trippy title theme to Paolo Poeti’s kinky 1976 drama Inhibition to spot the family resemblance.

This might be the Gil Scott-Heron track next to 'The Bottle' that lights up dancefloors everywhere. Now reissued on a handy 45!

For almost 45 years a complete album of Vic Pitts & The Cheaters tapes has been forgotten, waiting to be released until now. In the late 1960s, Vic Pitts & The Cheaters were one of Milwaukee’s top R&B bands. They had their own TV show, played some of the city’s biggest clubs, and backed up big name acts. Between 1969 and 1970 they recorded over a dozen songs with producer Andre Williams at Chess’ Ter-Mar Studio. The results show why they were such a popular live act; some tracks reveal their roots as James Brown fanatics, others relate the happening sounds of Sly & The Family Stone and Chicago’s first record.

It is fitting to have Eddie & Ernie on both sides of a Deep Soul single as they were original label founder Dave Godin’s ultimate Deep Soul act. Both tracks were recorded in the late 60s but first came out on our Eddie And Ernie CD in 2002. It is a tribute to their excellent quality that we release them on this vinyl series now.

After two hip-hop albums (Got To Get Down in 2016 and Impact in 2017), the unpredictable Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra comes back to its fundamentals with a new instrumental album: MORPHEUS which repositions the band in the spirit of their previous spatial, almost cosmic albums Last Odyssey (2012) and Pulsion (2015), both released on Ubiquity Records and acclaimed by spiritual and fusion jazz lovers, library music fans, as well as rare grooves diggers (ALVO’s first 4 vinyl albums now being out of stock).
Each new ALVO new release is a millesimal which evolved and learned from its predecessors. Masta Conga, who’s still leading the herd, has for main purpose to explore the musical space-time, gaining ground on never before revealed tracks, followed by his now faithful team of atypical and farseeing musicians.
Compared to Miles Davis and his On The Corner by Wax Poetics, the band dives again in this “realm of psychedelia and beyond”, in particular with the contribution of Indian musicians. Twirling around violins, superimposed patchy keyboards and effects, just as if their conductor wasn’t already sufficiently influenced by Pierre Boulez and others such as Hiroshi Murakami…
The result is however more uncluttered and loaded with multiple vibes than its predecessor Pulsion, which already carried the ceremonial characteristics of cult movie soundtracks. Tracks “Moksha”, “Air” and “Morpheus” are the perfect demonstration, and far beyond their names. Simple grooves, lunar, but terribly efficient, emphasized by a mix that puts focus on these fiddly contributions of ethnic instruments, on percussions and horns on a drip of delay, reverbs and other space-echoes.
On the other side, the very rhythmic “Descarga Uno”, “Descarga Dos” and “Super Dopamine” show that the Parisian crew hasn’t lost its good habit to look around latin, ternary, and syncopated rhythms, in the ALVO only style!
A new millésime, a Grand Cru maybe, but for sure to taste and appreciate in all weathers including space ones.

Wan Chai Records is a Hong-Kong based label, specialized in rare Asian records and quality reissues.
For their first release, they wanted to highlight a promotional record released at 500 copies only in Hong-Kong for a famous Soda brand. It was offered with a pack of bottles in 1977 and never been released.
Produced and arranged by Noel Quinlan, this Album is a mix of Funk and Soul covers. The result is an awesome LP including groovy covers, from the classic “Lowdown” by Bob Scaggs, to a Funky “I Shot The Sheriff” by Bob Marley with a deep Fender Rhodes, and 12 other outstanding tracks.

The Tibbs return with with their new 7inch "Lies".

The latest mash up from AMERIGO GAZAWAY is a scorcher! You loved FELA SOUL and BIZARRE TRIBE, now YASIIN GAYE: 13 tracks that perfectly blend MOS DEF and MARVIN GAYE. Features TEDDY PENDERGRASS, KANYE WEST, TAMII TERRELL,TALIB KWELI and BLACK ASTRONAUTS. Full picture sleeve, double vinyl!

St. Petersburg gets funky again!

180g Colored Vinyl with heavy-duty card sleeve!

We could get some more copies for a lower price, so we also lowered your price. A bargain! /

In the early seventies, Hank Swarn and Shirley Nanette collaborated to form Never Coming Back. Swarn had been on the road for five years, lending his guitar-backing talent to Earl Grant and his band. While on tour, he wrote some tunes that were ultimately released on the Never Coming Back album. Al Nanette approached Hank about putting together a record with Shirley, who was also keen on getting in the studio. Luckily, Swarn already had songs to bring to the session. With the support some talented local musicians, the album was recorded–mostly in one or two takes–in a little over a week. Unfortunately, the album saw little exposure. Needless to say, this tremendous effort by Nanette, who continues to sing and perform in Portland, has touched the hearts of many who’ve recently heard the album for the first time.

A Super rare disco / modern Banger to end the year. Star Quake came out ofColumbus,Georgiaand that's about as far as they got. 'Don't you know I love you' is A Relatively recent spin with O.G copies easily going for over $1000 and with good reason. A disco floater over some brilliant bass, I also edited the B side to remove the fade in so it can now be dropped easily in a club. Happy new Year.

Instrumental … more sweet funk from Detroit!

One of the finest voices in Southern Soul, George Jackson’s success as a writer meant he wasn’t pushed as an artist and so his vinyl output is disappointingly small. Kent Records is rectifying that with this 12-track LP.

Otis Junior & Dr. Dundiff release the follow up album to their critically acclaimed “Dubplates from Jakarta #5” release.

Otis Junior & Dr. Dundiff have a special bond. They met one year ago at a local R&B contest in Louisville. Dr. Dundiff was the DJ of the night and Otis Junior happened to be the only contestant he had never heard of. He took the stage just playing piano and singing and Dr. Dundiff was so blown away that they ended up in the studio together shortly after. They released their debut EP “1moment2another” on Jakarta Records only very few months after they had first met in early 2016. And it's was widely appreciated with heavy daytime rotation on french gate keeper radio station Nova, many appreciating blog as well as a feature on Radio Nova's “le grand Mix 2016” compilation.
Despite the fact they have not been working together for a long time they managed to create their very own and unique take on hip hop production influenced soul music. While Otis comes from a classic soul background, Dundiff's previous release were classic underground leftfield hip hop records that even had him handle mic duties. “Consider each of us as one hemisphere, the world we create together is new, different, and unexpected.” is how Otis Junior summarizes their approach of bringing their two worlds together musically.
Dundiff's organic yet hard hitting productions compliment Otis Junior soulful timbre perfectly while they were able to perfect their style even further comparing their debut EP to their debut album “Hemispheres”. Dundiff sums this development up: “Otis and I have this mutual agreement that we want to continue pushing our music in different directions. Hemispheres is a perfect embodiment of that approach."

All Hail The Mighty Sceptres! boldly announces the arrival of the band and is also the rightful title of their debut album. Nick Radford and Angeline Morrison have crafted an extraordinary collection of songs showcasing their love of all things “Soul”, from funk, R&B, jazz, and doo-wop with just a bit of rock, all informed by the sound and attitude of the ‘60s.

26 early Rock'N'Roll songs by Ike & Tina Turner, Ruth Brown, Bo Diddley, John lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, etc.

One of their most classic songs, a highly sought-after track on original 7" first recorded and released in 1973 having all the hallmarks of a Leroy Hutson composition and an established audience that crosses the boundaries of Northern, crossover and Modern Soul backed with another highly regarded and sought-after Modern Soul room dancefloor track previously never released on 7” single until now!

Check out this official pressing from Record Shack of this Soul classic!

Eccentric Soul: The Bandit Label takes a look at the underside of Chicago soul through twenty tracks of blistering R&B, sweet soul, and discofied funk. Hundreds of hours were spent researching, interviewing, re-mastering, and compiling the history of Bandit and the life of Arrow Brown. Unearthed in the process were two cassette tapes worth of acappella rehearsals that we've done our best to preserve in their lo-fi, in-the-red state. Numero 003 might be the deepest we'll ever dig. No map, no shovel, just a stack of 45's and a city of three million people.

Limited vinyl edition!

Although best known in the global music world for his four years (1984-1988) as the music director and bandleader for Whitney Houston, John’s tenure in the soul music field began when he was a member (with his brother Edmund ‘Butch’ Simmons) of The Reflections, a New York City-based quartet who toured from 1972-1975 as the backing group for the legendary Melba Moore. In 1975, The Reflections had a Top 10 R&B hit with “Three Steps From True Love.”

In 1978, John began touring with Stephanie Mills, at the same time collaborating with Phillip Ballou, a member of another New York-based vocal group, Revelation and UK soul music journalist David Nathan (who he met when Nathan did an interview with The Reflections for Britain’s “Blues & Soul” magazine in 1975). The trio wrote a number of songs for Ballou’s demo as a solo artist and while nothing transpired in that regard, John recorded his own version of one of the tunes, “Ain’t Nothing Like The Love” for a small independent Michigan label, Sabrina Records in 1981. John had worked with Cissy Houston at New Hope Baptist Church in New Jersey where she was the minister of music was asked by her to do some initial promotional dates with her daughter Whitney after Arista Records released her first single in 1984; he continued doing world tours with Houston until he passed away at the age of 45 in March 1989.

The Ballou sessions (held mostly in Montclair, New Jersey) expanded into recording dates for both Nathan and Simmons. None of the original recordings were released commercially – until now. In the wake of the interest among rare groove collectors in John’s version of “Ain’t Nothing Like The Love,” Nathan – himself a recording artist since 2003 – has uncovered the tapes of all the material he, Phllip and John recorded in 1978 and 1979.

Gaining its first-ever release now on Nefer Records via Super Disco Edits is the coupling of John’s solo composition, the upbeat gospel-infused “Safe” and the midtempo, “I Wanna Be Closer,” another one of the songs also recorded (and thus far unissued by both Ballou and Nathan).