Funk | Soul 176 Items

“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.

Two essential disco and soul cuts from Silvia Striplin orginally released in 1980. Produced by Roy Ayers.

A. 'Give Me Your Love' An umptemp disco groover for the more discerning dancefloor. Sylvia’s glorious vocals float over a sumptuous uptempo Roy Ayers tracj. Sampled by Armand Van Helden, Deepdown and Madd Rapper.

B. 'You Can't Turn Me Away' A soul breakbeat classic. Deep downtempo business, this shows Roy Ayers at the height of his powers and Sylvia more than does the track justice. Beautiful!

The instantly recognisable bassline was sampled by Notorious BIG/Junior Mafia on ‘Get Money’. Also sampled by Naughty By Nature and Backstreet Boys.

Limited edition for Record Store Day 2017!

Check out this in demand Latin Funk floor fillers from the group that launched the careers of Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, two giants in the field of Latin fueled jazz fusion playing tohether with one of the most prolific players of the day Bernard Purdie, providing the drums appearing here on 7-inch for the first time in full length versions

Fantasy (Shelter DJ Mix) / Can't Hide Love (MAW Album Mix)

Re-issued and remastered. Genre - Funk/Jazz/Soul/Psyche. 'Life & Love' is the third album from Skinshape (with 'Filoxiny' being his fourth). Written, Recorded and Produced by Will Dorey at the Arch Studio, London, and in his bedroom. Great melting pot of styles and tunes, D.I.Y. Funk Soul Jazz. Recommended if you're into Khruangbin. Skinshape is the project of British musician William Dorey. The sound has roots in many genres but in particular 1960s-0s Funk, Soul, Reggae, Psychedelic Rock, Afrobeat and Folk. Skinshape grew out of a love for old music and the way it sounded. Initially Dorey experimented with samples (especially drum breaks) to create instrumental Hip-Hop/Trip-Hop tracks but then later started to play around with tape machines as a means to create his own 'samples'. This process gave birth to Skinshape with all elements being recorded by Dorey since the first self-titled album released in 2014. Aside from the Skinshape project Dorey was bassist for the band Palace from 2014-2017 and runs a reggae label called Horus Records based in North London.

Check out this essential garage Zamrock/Soul/Funk single as the first official reissue of the celebrated band’s one and only album!

The musical style that became known as Zamrock came to embody the economic despair that followed the 1973-1974 oil crisis, which flung Zambia into recession and exacerbated a wide range of social tensions. Much of Zamrock also captured the controversy of wider politics in Africa and the world. Perhaps the finest example of this is Black Power by The Peace. - The Guardian The Boyfriends, from Kitwe’s Chamboli Mine Township, supplied the founding members for Zamrock’s most famous band, Witch, and kick started one of Zamrock’s best bands, Peace. Their sole Zamrock entry, “Black Power”, recorded at Malachite Film Studio circa 1973/4 and issued circa 1975, sounds like nothing else in the Zamrock canon: a lost message drifiting from the flower power era, imbued with a fiery Zambian voice.

Following up on the success of Lady Wray’s solo debut album Queen Alone, we are
proud to give you another 45 offering, this time showing another side of Nicole.
Known worldwide for her early career as a Hip Hop / R&B singer, then more recently
for her more matured Soul inspired writing, the A side of this one “Underneath My
Feet” shows just how hard it is to put Lady Wray in a box. If you haven’t seen her live
show, you may have no idea that she has a healthy bad ass Rock and Roll side to her,
commanding crowds with a raucousness that likens Betty Davis. Underneath My Feet
is a tough blend of glam rock drums and guitar stabs that Nicole takes to like a fish to
water. A self proclaimed voodoo woman, putting a spell on the listener, warning all of
her unbridled power.
The B side is the heart wrenching Guilty, a song Wray wrote to cope with the
incarceration of her brother. One listen and it is impossible to doubt the sincerity,
again showing Cole’s songwriting prowess with imagery of no one to cheers with, and
not wanting to experience the comforts of home knowing her brother was locked up in
a cell. A solid 2 sider showing a different side of Lady Wray than she is typically known
for all wrapped up in a beautiful picture sleeve cover.

After a strong debut in 2016, Durand Jones & The Indications are
hitting the road this spring with a new 45 from their debut LP. The
lead album cut, “Make A Change” is powerful message soul at its
fnest! Never more powerful and never more relevant! Meanwhile,
the B-side is a cookin’ lowrider soul jam featuring the sweet falsetto
of drummer Aaron Frazer. A two-sided burner.

Back in! It all started in a local club in Pine Bluff Arkansas where Mojo and Spider played in their first group together Zodiac in the mid 70s. Spider played lead guitar, and Mojo held the brass section. Sam "Spider" Rice was also the music director for a vocal group called "La Pinch" which included vocalist Gary Pinchom (Pinch). As the 80s approached La Pinch was looking for a new sound. After relocating to the East Coast "The Pinch" was born. New York and Jersey was quite a change. Spider wanted to write a song to address the drug abuse he was seeing all around him. "Shot Out was a street term we used to describe someone with an excessive drug habit", recalls Spider. "We built a voice box from a horn driver, a couple of switches, and some tubing". They had some money stashed from a Zodiac gig and picked up a Prophet 5 and Roland Drum machine. After recording the track in 1981, the song was mastered at the legendary Power Plant in NYC. That would prove to be the major limitation for the release, since they were out of money now and could only afford to press 200 copies of the 7". Distributed in Texas and locally on the east coast, "Shot Out" would be the only release from The Pinch. UNTIL NOW! Re-mastered for the first time on 12" vinyl, this 80s funk masterpiece is finally back on wax.

Side A's cover of "Tearz" is as much an homage to the Wendy Rene sample as it is to the Wu-Tang Clan track. The song starts as a glazed over cover of "after laughter, comes tears" with Shannon Wise of The Shacks singing Wendy Rene's timeless mantra. Halfway through, the mood dramatically shifts and the drums and organ that drive the original RZA sample take over. A dubbed out Lee Fields taps in like only he can, and the song spirals into outer space.Side B finds EMA dipping into the deeper side of the Wu catalog with Raekwon's "Verbal Intercourse." Mixing the grimy, gritty production aesthetic of the original with elements of dubbed out reggae, El Michels Affair once again pushes the definition of a "cover" and truly makes it a tune of their own.

The past few years have found Sean McBride, the artist behind Martial Canterel, in a state of flux, ebbing back and forth between material displacement and musical aestheticism. His expert pedigree in electronic sound and arrangement bridges the gap created by an undecidability between life at home and abroad His new album, Lost At Sea, is an attempt for the artist to locate this elusive common ground.The album's introductory track, Giving Up, has all of the hallmarks that Martial Canterel has utilized in the past_melodic chorus, upbeat rhythm and classic sequential dynamism. Where the song diverges is in its core theme of nature: nature's return to a period of restoration after the failures and recklessness of humankind.The slower pace of songs like Scampia and Puszta yearn for McBride's complex love affair with far flung destinations. Re-evaluating the political strife and social unrest in these historical locations, McBride delves deeper into political and geological reference points creating symbolic representations using mechanized percussion, white noise and various sine waves.The conceptual nature of Lost at Sea reaches even deeper depths within the waveforms of Astralize, a track based upon academic Donna Haraway's pre-civilized theories of human neglect after the `azstralization'.

Yet another highly in-demand 12" from the Philadelphia International stable and an artist whose records never go out of date! This is a killer double-sided beauty with the frenetic and jazzy "Life On Mars" from his debut 1976 album on the top-side and the mellow all-time classic and soul boy anthem "The Sweetest Pain" from 1979 on the flip.
Two very different sides of a great artist, both of which show the level of diversity that he was capable of producing. The last legitimate release of this was back 1999 and a Mint copy will currently set you back circa £50, if you can ever find one.
Fully remastered on limited edition 180 gram heavyweight vinyl.

The 7" comes with a free Funky Chimes 45rpm adapter.

Stix Recordings rounds up all those essential Mato 7" anthems onto this extended player, with all the cuts remastered for the occasion! Includes two unreleased hits featuring Blackstreet (No
Diggity) & Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre (The Wash). Woopiwoop, that's the sound of reggae-hip hop perfection!

Al Massrieen: Disco, Funk and modernized Arabic Pop from Egypt

In the beginning of Habibi Funk, our search was focussed on vinyl records. Around a year ago though, we got to the point where we realized that it became substantially harder to discover music, that we enjoyed and hadn’t heard before. It became apparent that it was time to start looking for other formats. Cassette tapes were the obvious alternative. These were introduced in the arabic world around the late 1970s. In some countries they took over a bit earlier, in others a bit later, but eventually they pushed the vinyl format out of the market in the 1980s. In Egypt this trend already even started in the late 1970s.

Al Massrieen was one of the first bands I learned about once I discovered the tape format for myself. They were really popular in Egypt in the 1970s and the more of their music I found on either tapes or Arabic pirate mp3 sites, the more I was becoming a fan. Only very few bands from the region can match the band’s versatility as well as their strive for innovation. Hany Shenoda is the man behind the Al Massrieen band. He is a reknown figure of the Egyptian music scene and has worked with everyone from Abdel Halim Hafez to Mohamed Mounir. Al Massrieen was his attempt to introduce his ideas of modernizing Egyptian music, heavily encouraged by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt's only winner of the Nobel Price for literature) after discussing his ideas with him.
Al Massrieen's sound goes from lush disco like “Sah” to psych rock like “Horreya” or incredible jazz fused pop on songs such as “Edba Mn Gded”. I was shocked to realize the band seemed to be hardly known outside Egypt, even though I feel they're at least on the same level as Ahmed Fakroun. An relative obscurity which I largely attribute to the fact that their releases never have been pressed on vinyl (apart from a Greece best of LP which wasn’t a strong compilation of the group’s songs). One way or another it felt like this band and especially their composer, band leader and overall brain Hany Shenoda was in need to get some recognition outside of Egypt. The release is fully licensed from the band and comes with an extensive booklet with liner notes, interviews and unseen photos.

As humans, we are aware of our inner beast and should therefore be able to control it. We understand our hard-wired primal urges and why they exist in an evolutional sense. We understand the relationship between mind and body. Highly evolved and intelligent, we should be able to recognize these genetic hangovers and control them as a means to act positively and move forward as a compassionate species. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Recent global eve...

The Afro Soul Prophecy project welcomes the Spring of 2017 with a series of two exclusive 7-inch records, for a total of four fully instrumental new compositions. This second 45rpm of the series consists of the main track “Daddy’s Groove”, a catchy funky song with wah-wah guitars and a long middle sax solo part, paired with the romantic slow-paced “Let Me Be Your Lover”. Once again Alex Puddu has lent his creativity and put his music signature on these tracks, for an exciting and charming result!

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.

Just 3 Words: Stone Cold Classic!

Nearly 40 years after releasing two of the greatest funk 7-inches of all time, the breakbeat masterpieces "Space Funk" and "Midnight Theme," the legendary Manzel is back on Fraternity Records with another sureshot double-sider. Originally comprised of Manzel Bush on keys, Larry VanDyke on guitar and late Steve Garner on drums, the 2017 incarnation of the group adds powerhouse Jay Mumford, p.k.a. J-Zone, in the drum chair and is lean and funky as ever. "High And Tight" is a classic party jam, complete with chanted vocals and a couple drum breaks that establish the new man in the trio is no joke on the skins. "Standing On Mars" continues the favored space-related vibe of Manzel's past releases, an uptempo jazzy instrumental dancefloor mover that simply cooks, with Manzel doing double duty on electric piano and organ.

In name, The Zone Identity sounds like a long forgotten band comprised of college students from the age of psychedelia that released one obscure 45 that lives on with a mortgage-busting price tag. It’s about 50 years too late for a story that cool – The Zone Identity is just the latest musical endeavor from producer, drummer, DJ, writer, multi-instrumentalist, (occasional) MC and music industry outsider, J-Zone.

After the unexpected cult success of The Du-Rites, J-Zone’s 2016 funk offering with guitarist Pablo Martin, the New York native follows with a different take on the funk for the inaugural offering of The Zone Identity. Working with a wide array of different musicians with different backgrounds for The Zone Identity makes for a more funk-jazz-inspired and solo driven take on J-Zone’s trademark drums and production. This debut 7” features jazz guitarist Ed Littman and Hammond B-3 organist Bennett Paster from Fraternity Music Group house band, The U.B.'s, as well as J-Zone’s go-to percussionist, Ray May, on congas. Littman and J-Zone split the bass playing duties. An avid funk 45 collector, J-Zone uses both sides of the release to pay homage to his musical heroes and favorite records with a spin on two of his favorite tunes. While the A-Side re-works “Funk-I-Tus,” an obscure late ‘60s offering from L.A.-based Warm Excursion, the b-side will be more familiar with its nod to “Let The Music Take Your Mind,” an early hit for J-Zone’s favorite band, Kool and the Gang. The original story is more exciting, but the reality is easier to believe. It’s also cheaper.

A few years ago, Melodies family members Floating Points and DJ Red Greg got their hands on a couple of original 70s obscurities. While these standout records shone brightly in their own right, the two DJs saw the potential to create their own edits behind the scenes, finely attuning the original versions to modern-day dancefloor standards. Of these new recordings, they cut only five copies for themselves and a few DJ friends of theirs.

Today, Melodies International is very proud to bring you MEL006 and MEL007. Fully licensed, lovingly mastered to the highest possible standards and carefully edited to dial up that dancefloor enjoyment, these two ‘You’re A Melody’ classics weren’t originally meant to get official releases. But due to popular request, they are now available to play and share in very special moments at parties around the world.

15 years ago, Ludovic Llorca was an up and comer in the French house scene but also somewhat adjacent to it, pulling his samples from low-key jazz instead of the glitzy disco numbers immortalised by Daft Punk. His critically acclaimed debut New Comer went largely under the radar but has retained a modest cult following, its chic, blissed-out mood something of an antecedent to the kind of sound now well-served by the folks at Mood Hut.
Longtime fans anticipating a fresh helping of jazz-oriented deep house will be surprised to the hear the The Garden is both stylistically and structurally different from Llorca’s earlier material. Funk and soul are to The Garden what jazz was to New Comer but rather than sample the classics, Llorca fashions new tunes in the style of the greats with the help of several guest vocalists, making this is very much a collection of songs rather than beats.
All Right conjures a sticky urban atmosphere with bluesy sustained piano chords that recalls Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On?, while Trigger Happy, with its squelchy synth lead, is an unmistakable nod to Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Add to that list You, a jaunty finger snapping homage to the Jackson 5, and it’s obvious that The Garden is less an experimental reimagining of familiar sounds than it is a retro revival project along the lines of Dâm-Funk, and a good one too.
The record’s standout moment and black sheep however, is Waiting. The only track without a featured guest, it’s a noir-ish swagger of a groove is built around an irresistible bassline that keeps on giving. With its icy strings and descending minor chords, it’s sinister and strange in a way unlike anything else on The Garden and yet oozes the very essence of the funk.

In 1980, during her run on Broadway in the musical, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and before being cast in “Dreamgirls”, singer, actress and Detroit native Roz Ryan teamed up with the legendary team of Dennis Coffey And Mike Theodore on a six song album that wound up being unreleased.

Recently, the folks at Super Disco Edits released this 45 featuring Roz’ taking on Preston Glass’ “Keep Shining / Put Love Back” composed by Eric McClinton.

Both tracks were from the Theodore and Coffey sessions and make their debut for lovers of dancin’ (“Keep Shining”) and romancin’ (“Put Love Back”). Enjoy!

Having had access to the longer version of the Northern classic ‘Gone With The Wind Is My Love’, this Kent 45 of Rita & the Tiaras’ masterpiece is the first time we have issued the Doré single as it was originally put out. We’ve added the glorious instrumental to the flip for lovers of that LA soul orchestral sound.

“Superbacana” marks the return of S-tone Inc., an EP that anticipates a new album due to release in autumn 2017. Produced by Stefano Tirone, who co-wrote all the tracks with Tomaz Di Cunto - alias Toco - it contains four tracks (one in two different versions) wi th a funky Brazilian flavour, inspired by the Black Rio sound that represents the encounter between sa mba and the American soul funk music since the ’70s. An outstanding groovy effort that raises the expectations on what S-Tone Inc. will produce in the nearby future...

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

Mirwood Records’ second release was Jackie Lee’s ‘The Duck’, an uptempo soul swinger that became a big hit and established the Mirwood sound. The house team of producer Fred Smith, arranger James Carmichael, songwriter and backing voices arranger Sherlie Matthews, along with contributions from veteran singer/songwriters Bobby Relf and Earl Nelson (Bob & Earl), made for uptempo soul perfection and they played that beat throughout 1965 and 1966.

More US chart action occurred for Mirwood with the Olympics and Bob & Earl but much of their superlative work fell on deaf American ears. It was the British soul aficionados of the early 70s who discovered these masterpieces and played them on the burgeoning Northern Soul scene with dancers revelling in the relentless beats, pleading vocals and sassy female backing. Virtually any Jackie Lee track was a worthy contender and although they never repeated his ‘Duck’ success, the company created soul classics like ‘Do The Temptation Walk’, the later master tape discovery ‘Anything You Want (Any Way You Want It)’ and the anthemic ‘Oh My Darlin’’.

Bob & Earl’s hottest number was actually the backing track to Bob’s speedy ‘My Little Girl’, discovered as an accidental LP track in the late 60s. Under the same alias, Bobby Garrett, he had another monster sound with ‘I Can’t Get Away’. Sherlie Matthews composed the hit ‘Mine Exclusively’ for the Olympics and, in a similar stomping vein, wrote ‘The Same Old Thing’ for the group. She penned ‘Don’t Pretend’ for mystery trio the Belles, a studio group consisting of herself along with the Holloway sisters Brenda and Patrice, who were moonlighting while under contract at Motown and Capitol, respectively.

Another Los Angeles stable under the auspices of Henry “Hank” Graham threw the Performers into the mix with ‘I Can’t Stop You’ and renamed singer Jimmy Conwell as Richard Temple for a 45 that epitomises Northern Soul ‘That Beatin’ Rhythm’; a credo for a cult. More indie productions came from Eddie LaShae with the Sheppards’ redoubtable ‘Stubborn Heart’ and Sonny Knight’s production of Curtis Lee on his own ‘Is She In Your Town’.

Ex-Ike Turner sideman Jimmy Thomas landed at Mirwood in 1966 where Bob Relf recorded him on his own ‘Where There’s A Will (There’s A Way)’. Thomas brought the Ikettes along with him; the company switched their name to the Mirettes for the Sherlie Matthews’ song ‘I Wanna Do Everything For You Baby’.

14 vital mid-60s dance records which exemplify why Mirwood is a byword for the best of Northern Soul.

Modernism goes vinyl! After two successful CD volumes, Kent’s look at the sort of R&B and club soul that could have been danced to by the original mods – if only they had known about it – arrives with a special vinyl edition.

Gathering up favourite discoveries from the CDs, this 14-track LP is augmented by other tracks culled from the mod jazz series together with a couple of exclusives.

This compilation is a selection of high spots, with something for every mod fan whatever the style. Classic club soul from Bob & Earl, Bessie Banks and Jeb Stuart jostles with jazzy R&B from Floyd White and Clarence Daniels plus some almost-funk from Chuck Higgins and Chet Ivey.

Three tracks are released on vinyl for the first time whilst many others are seeing their first reissue on the format. One of these is the super rare ‘Go’ by Little Johnny Hamilton and the Creators, a band that would go on to become 1970s chart-toppers War.

With their first two Daptone albums – Get an Understanding, and as featured singers on Como Now – The Como Mamas established themselves as three of the strongest voices in gospel music today.

In December of 2015, they cemented that reputation by taking their first trip from their home in Como, MS up to Harlem, NY to crush the Apollo Theater as part of the Daptone Super Soul Revue. Taking full advantage of their presence in town, the Daptone crew brought Ester Mae Wilbourn, Della Daniels, and Angelia Taylor into the House of Soul the week after the show to join forces for the first time with the musicians and studio that has defined their label’s sound. Jimmy Hill, Thomas Brenneck, Homer Steinweiss, and Bosco Mann, all stalwarts of the Daptone stable, came together as “The Glorifiers Band,” to put down a churning musical foundation for these amazing singers. The results are some of the heaviest tracks that Daptone has cut to date. If you don’t like raw, soulful gospel music, you’re really gonna hate this one. Move Upstairs is a real mother!

Back around the early 1970's Bell Telephunk was formed around the New Jersey area. Some members moved to Clevleand Ohio where the group performed in these early days at bars and clubs. The band disbanded early on and the name lie dormant for a few years. Around 1975/76 Michael Calhoun and a few others decided to rejuvenate the name again. They played often at the Kinsman grill located in Kinsman road Cleveland where they cut their teeth! They ventured into the studio just once to record a series of 6 songs. We are now pleased to bring them to light the newly formed Kinsman Record label. Once you hear these you will fall in love instantly with Ron Thatch's amazing vocals skills. This is crossover ghetto soul of the highest order...

Only 1 per customer!

The second part of the Jacob F. Desvarieux anthology on Endless Flight brings three more productions of the fabled french zouk veteran with roots in Guadeloupe. The song “Sika” by Georges Decimus, bass player of Desvarieux’s band Kassav, features outer-national synth works driven by salsa-like percussions and sweet steel-drum melodies, dancing around the seducing zouk guitar chords of Desvarieux. A truely moving psychedelic zouk gem, that is for the first available on vinyl only since its release on Georges Decimus’s solo debut mini-album “La Vie” in 1983.

Some twenty years after René Costy's passing, his work - finally - goes global. Moreover, this being a selection out of more than 400 tracks from a virtuoso, versatile andinsatiable artist, it is hard to underestimate the importance of this compilation, which focuses on Costy's library music production from the 70's.

/ Gifted Oh No Remix ... Lead single from the "Earthology" album with an extra gifted Oh No remix on the B.

Mayer music without his voice is still Mayer music!

Funkadelic were the most influential group to emerge from Detroit in the 1970s. Their early albums have cast a long shadow over everything that came afterwards in the city. It was music that understood the past but was firmly aiming towards the future and mixed soul, funk and rock into an almost unimaginable stew. Albums such as “Maggot Brain”, “Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” and “Cosmic Slop” are regularly featured in all-time greatest lists.

From the techno pioneered by the likes of Carl Craig and Underground Resistance, to the garage rock revival spearheaded by the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs, all have paid homage to the Parliafunkadelicment Thang. This album is a tribute from some of the most important recording artists currently working in the city to these most influential of forefathers. The very finest talent now active in Detroit appear on the record, being given free rein to work on the multi-track tapes, to rework in any way they see fit. We have full-on remixes, futuristic creations using the original track as an inspiration, disco-fied re-edits and skeletal dubs.

Spearheaded by Brendan Gillen of Interdimensional Transmissions, the set features names working across the musical spectrum. There is an appearance by those most mysterious of techno pioneers Underground Resistance, and by Kenny Dixon Jr and his alter-ego Moodymann. The Dirtbombs throw down a frenetic take on ‘Super Stupid’, whilst disco re-edit expert Gaye Marvine adds his magic to ‘Undisco Kidd’. Other contributors include Funkadelic alumni Amp Fiddler, Marcellus Pittman and Anthony Shake Shakir.

This is a worthy celebration by New Detroit of its most twisted and illustrious forebears.

Some records are timeless and never age - "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" by The Main Ingredient is one of those records. Originally released in 1974, "Happiness" was a record before it's time - had it been released a year later it would undoubtedly have been one of the first 12" discs - so as a result, most discerning DJs at the time chose to play the album cut.
The song is actually a cover of UK Prog-Jazz band Brian Auger's Oblivion Express's version from the year before but Main Ingredient took the song to a whole new level and, 44 years later, it has become one of the most revered dance tunes of all-time.
Main Ingredient were unlucky with 12" releases, which is why we're delighted to give "Evening Of Love" it's first-ever 12" release! Once again this was a 1981 album track which years later it would become a Modern Soul anthem and rightfully be regarded as one of their best records.

The 7" comes with a free Funky Chimes 45rpm adapter.

The 7" comes with a free Funky Chimes 45rpm adapter.

Big Crown Records presents another killer two sider pulled from Lee Fields & The Expressions instant classic "Special Night". With Lee touring the world from sold out show to sold out show supporting his album, we give the DJs and collectors another must have 45.

The A side "Never Be Another You" finds Lee & The Expressions taking another turn on the formula their success has been built on. An unorthodox track to find on a soul album made to fit perfectly, once again pushing the aesthetics of analog soul further into the present. Lee confesses his love and appreciation for his woman walking the fine line of vulnerability and strength.

The B- side "Lover Man" is equal parts rough and smooth. The production and the band come off with a thunderous backing track that takes it's time to get to full sail while Lee lays down some tell it like it is lyrics. Fields comes to the microphone with the confidence only a man with his track record could putting down what life is like with him if the woman he is after just let's it be that way.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' final studio album, Soul of a Woman is a lush, orchestral masterpiece. A true testament to the life and career of Daptone's fearless leader and one of the world's greatest performers.

Though we’ll never again see her electric form shimmy across the stage, Sharon Jones continues to give us her soul and her music. She died nearly a year ago, but only now can we hear her final creation. Soul of a Woman captures a singer and a band at the peak of their power. Cutting one last time to eight-track tape at Daptone’s House of Soul studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the band endeavored to create a record that stretches the limits of their soulful sound in all directions, giving us both their rawest and most sophisticated recordings to date. A final statement by one of the most influential rhythm and blues voices of the 21st century.

Originally scheduled to be the second Funkadelic 45, ‘Can’t Shake It Loose’ was cancelled before release. The song had been a single (and northern soul classic) by Pat Lewis, whilst the Supremes had recorded it for Motown. It’s fascinating to hear George and the boys’ treatment released on 45 for the first time. It is backed by one of the great breakbeats – Funkadelic’s actual second single ‘I’ll Bet You’. The opening break sounds amazing on this newly mastered 45.

First in a series of split 12inch singles, PPU-019 features the rare 80s funk recordings of Durham North Carolina’s Willie Hill and Milwaukee Wisconsin’s Roshell Anderson. “Delicate Rose” blossomed on the PPU Video Party DVD, due to many requests for it PPU decided to release the vinyl. “Wild Dreams” originally released in the late 80s only came out locally in Milwaukee on Deerfield Records.

From the archives of the legendary BELTER and DISCOPHON labels, essential to understand the birth of the Catalan Rumba and Flamenco-Pop genre in Spain, we’ve selected 14 dance-friendly tracks taken from overlooked LPs and 45s.
This is the real gipsy–funk sound, full of screaming flamenco vocals, funk drums, electric guitars, wah–wah, organ, electric bass, exotic percussions, soulish horns, latin and even oriental touches...
Featuring folkloric ye-yé singers, gipsy princes, teen rumba stars and groovy rumba–pop bands: DOLORES VARGAS “La Terremoto”, CHANGO, ROSA MORENA, RUMBA 3, EL PRÍNCIPE GITANO, EL NOI...