SOULDYNAMIC Vinyl & CDs

Review: Italian label Samosa continues to deliver re-edits with "Funk Purpose". Volume three is every bit as strong as its predecessors, with a quartet of experienced re-editors offering up fresh reworks. Get Down Edits set the tone with "Comin' At Ya", a riotously beefy, tooled-up house revision of an urgent funk-soul gem, before Monsieur Van Pratt gleefully dances into disco-funk territory via the spacey synths, groovy bass guitar, crunchy Clavinet licks and fluttering flute solos of "UFO". Over on side B Souldynamic provides some rubbery disco bounce via "Better", while De Gama goes all samba-house with the cowbell-propelled South American style Hammond funk of "Groove On".

Review: Italian duo Souldynamic have been releasing a steady stream of work on respected labels from King Street and Tribe to BBE, with support from industry heavyweights like Louie Vega and Dennis Ferrer. Their latest release the 'West Side of Afrika' EP see's them land on Samosa Records, comprising of four tracks of Afro-centric house. From the spiritual life music of opening track "Guinee" to the uplifting sunshine vibe of "Faranah" with its uplifting group vocal harmonies, while closing cut "Beyla" is an evocative deep house number with the most killer bassline you will hear on a record this year. Terrific work by these Neapolitan scene veterans!

Review: Daje Funk Records invites us to their funky dance floor once again with a fourth volume of the Slam Dunk series. It's a various artist affair with the sort of sun kissed sounds we all want to hear as the days get longer and the rays beat down. Souldynamic opens up with 'Tales From QJ' with its florid strings and soul-train beats. Musta's 'Soup' has a fatter low end and wobbles along with dub swagger then Les Inferno build the heat with 'Hot Burn', a tropical and percussive shuffler before the purposeful funk of Groovemasta's closer bring loose limbed percussion and epic riffs to a disco house groove.