Juno Recommends Funk / Reissues: March 2022

Review: Delvon Lamarr has been working his magic on the organ for years, backing up artists from Lucky Brown to Dog Shredder and The True Loves, but these days he puts his keys front and centre with his own sure-shot trio. Hot on the heels of 2021's widely celebrated I Told You So, Lamarr and his band are back once more with Cold As Weiss. As well as the sweet organ flexing, Jimmy James holds the groove down on drums while Daniel Weiss chops it up on the guitar. Seriously smooth and funky as hell, Lamarr brings it full force on this latest crucial cut.

Review: The Mighty Mocambos follow on from their well recovered and futurist 2066 album from last summer with another vital new 7". This collection of musicians also records on Brooklyn's Big Crown Records in a more tropical guise known as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band but are back in their original form for this one. 'The Take Off (part 1 - instrumental)' is a funky jumble of drums, organic percussion and ass-shaking rhythms. On the flips part two featuring a vocal from JSwiss that is even more ready to blow up your spot.

Review: Delvon Lamarr has been working his magic on the organ for years, backing up artists from Lucky Brown to Dog Shredder and The True Loves, but these days he puts his keys front and centre with his own sure-shot trio. Hot on the heels of 2021's widely celebrated I Told You So, Lamarr and his band are back once more with Cold As Weiss. As well as the sweet organ flexing, Jimmy James holds the groove down on drums while Daniel Weiss chops it up on the guitar. Seriously smooth and funky as hell, Lamarr brings it full force on this latest crucial cut.

Review: As the title suggests, this fantastic re-edit EP of jazz-funk and fusion workouts was created in tribute to the UK's most renowned jazz-loving DJ, Gilles Peterson. We could certainly imagine dancers at his legendary Dingwalls sessions of the 1990s dancing enthusiastically to all three cuts. A-side 'Happy' is a fast-tempo slab of guitar solo-laden jazz-fusion positivity full of Latin-tinged percussion, twinkling pianos and spacey synths, while 'Desde El Mar' is a breathless, percussion-rich samba-dance monster blessed with some of the most life-affirming vocal improvisations we've ever heard. Closing cut 'Wings', meanwhile, is a synth-splashed, solo-sporting chunk of obscure jazz-funk whose rhythmic complexity will delight dedicated jazz dancers.

Review: John Fitch & Associates were a one-shot curio from the tail end of the 60s who, on the strength of this record, should have ridden their wave of heavy, funky blues long into the 70s. What they did on their sole single was as strong as any of the more established and successful groups of the era, but of course the dusty archives of music history are littered with such mysteries and near-misses. Either way it's a treat to see this one get a fresh pressing, with the laid back but beautifully overdriven soul of 'Romantic Attitude' facing off with the hopped-up fuzz of 'Stoned Out Of It'.

Review: The Preservation Project is a reissue label which focuses on especially obscure and unreleased music from the annals of funk and soul. Presented with care and offering music that genuinely needs a proper release, they've become a trusted source of discovery for devoted diggers. On this 7" you can hear the sound of WHLS, who have a classic 60s sound with all the dust and crackle of the recording techniques intact. It's a portal into another era as well as a fine, soaring piece of beautifully composed, richly orchestrated soul. You might think some reissues could well be left alone, but these singles are gems for those eternally hunting for sounds unheard.

Review: Theo Bijlhout is a Surinamese gospel singer from Paramaribo. It is there that he owns his own record shop in the centre of town and there where he recorded his small but well-formed discography in the late 1970s. This is one of the standout tunes from it and was his first-ever release in 1977. A good quality original copy is hard to find and relatively pricey but this reissue helps you out there. 'Get Down Cause Ain't Funky' is the real gem with its afro drumming, smooth grooves and lively vocals next to the big horns. 'It's Gonna Be Different Now' is a slower, more sentimental sound with a tender vocal and deeper sense of remorse.

Review: Fools Gold serve up a mega limited 7" here that is pure dynamite for the club. It's a single from Small-town DJs featuring some big vocal work from the legendary Bootsy Collins. The bass is impossibly elastic and rubbery, bouncing about the mix with goey goodness. Add in slapping hits and big broken beat drums, withering sci-fi effects and some party-amping raps and you have a real crowd pleaser. The Adam Doubleyou & Nick Bike remix smooth things out and is a little bit more of a low slung funk sound.

Review: 2 more gems from the ever growing Dynamite Cut 7 inch series. First up and first time ever on a 45 featuring Linda ''Tequilla'' Logan on vocals on a dirty funk drenched groove. On the flip the rare super sexy 7 inch version of the infamous Turn Off The Lights taken from the original tapes is presented here. Infectious essential classic funk for the nu & old generation alike.

Review: There is no rest for the good people at Super Disco Edits - they ended 2021 in fine fashion and kick off 2022 on just as strong a footing. This time out they serve up a superb slice of soul originally recorded in 1971 by The Michicgans, who crafted it in the Don Davis studios and had it engineered by the late great Ed Wolfdrum. 'Look At My Back Wheels' has drums to die for - they're dumpy and well defined yet loose, with unique vocals up top with a raw blue eyed funk. Flip it over and you will find the slower, more romantic soul sounds of 'It's All Coming Back to Me.'

Review: Fans of library music may have heard of Janko Nilovic, a veteran composer whose jazz, funk, soul and easy listening-inspired works of the sixties and seventies have been extensively sampled by hip-hop producers including Dr Dre. Now 80, last year he joined forces with Russian funk combo The Soul Surfers to record this surprise album. He still appears to have something of a Midas touch, because Maze of Sounds really is rather good. Starting with the heady breeze of 'Prelude', the set sees the Soul Surfers delivering impeccable instrumental cuts that variously draw influence from Hammond-laden downtempo grooves, string-laden easy listening soul, stripped-back down-low funk, sun-kissed Sunday afternoon jazz-funk and the deep back catalogue of Bob James.

Review: Following up their first edition of the comp, Original Gravity Records here offer up the second instalment of the Latin Fever series, charting the talents of many underappreciated Cuban artists - or at least, so it seems. In reality, the artists 'Luchito' and 'Nestor Alvarez' don't exist; they're deft fabrications of personality, envisaged by OG label boss Neil Anderson, who aims for a pitch-perfect emulation of Cuban salsa music and fusion. In gathering every instrument, musician and lo-fi aspect of production, it's a feat he impressively achieves: Luchito's two tracks are both move-on-up Latin heaters (listen closely, and you'll realise they're perfectly on-grid for club play). The Alvarez tunes are no less energetic, although the B-side closer 'El Relojero' is a particularly cool slower jam, with blue noted Hammond organs and trumpets nailing a rumbling rumba.

Review: Don Beto was born in Uruguay and became one of the most forerunners of Soul Music in Brazil in 1979, he recorded "Nossa Imaginacao" LP wich featured arrangements by the legendary producer Lincoln Olivetti, and where we can listen to classics such as "No quero Mais", "Tudo again" and "Renascendo em mim". This album was awarded the Golden Globe in 1979.
Don Betto's "Nossa Imaginacao" attracts not only Brazilian Music Fans but also Soul, AOR.

Review: Anduze is a new school vocalist with an old school soul sound. He has that rare quality of being able to bring to mind greats like Marvin Gaye and James Brown while also having his own sound. He reimagines the greats on this new album that was written during the pandemic and blurs the lies between jazz, soul, funk, R&B and pop similar in fashion to the likes of Prince or Lenny Kravitz. Raised on the native land of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, Anduze draws also on reggae sounds on the deep cut 'Helen' while picking up the funk on cuts such as 'How To Love A Good Man.'