Funk / Reissue Recommendations May 2016

Review: When it comes to the very best in motown and vintage, Michigan-schooled soul, there are very few betteer than the late, great Erma Franklin. Here, we have what is possibly the artist's best and most powerful tune "Hold On, I'm Coming", one that you'll instantly recognise and warm to thanks to that lovely, powerful crescendo on the chorus. On the B-side, another absolutely timeless bomb, the wonderful "Light My Fire" - made famous through The Doors - in all its original glory and style. What a song.

Review: Seen on the regular alongside fellow colluder Jim Dunloop, dusty-fingered German funkateer Marc Hype returns for another round of 7" action on the ever-dependable Dusty Donuts label. Up top, Hype teams up with Naughty NMX for a heavy duty tweak of James Brown classic "The Get Down" with the added weight to the drums really sounding fresh on a good system. "Pays the cost to be the boss" indeed! Naughty NMX goes solo on the B side, retreating another J Brown standard "I Got Ants In My Pants" with some added Public Enemy - the results speak for themselves. Good work all round.

Review: UK funk outfit spearheaded by drummer Mike Bandoni returns to the source with a pressing of the original version of "The Strut". A sweaty, Hammond-snapping, break-busting jam with slippery wah wah guitars all laid down by Mike himself. It was a freaky gem when first dropped on the band's debut album in 2008 but this previously unheard and unreleased version is even heavier! Flip for a brand new original: "Spiritual Interlude II (The Heist)". A deeper groove driven by Bandoni's stately breaks and laced with ghostly organs care of co producer Nino Auricchio that rise like voodoo spirits throughout the track. Serious stuff. And only 300 pressed, too.

Review: The Foster Jackson Group are one of those forgotten but highly coveted one-hit disco wonders that exist in the bottomless pit that is often classed simply as 'soul'. All that aside, these people made an incredible 12" back in 1979 that has been going for serious bucks on the second-hand market, but thankfully the prodigious P&P Records have saved the day yet again. "Feel The Spirit" is a devilish, inimitable disco jingle that is split between the more percussion ridden "Long Disco Version", and a more contained, more floor-focussed "Disco Version" They both contain that instantly addictive dose of piano, though. Check it out, you'll know what we mean...

Review: LA's Orgone crew are specialists in smooth, seductive soul music, and you could say that the band is waving the flag very high in the air for the continuation and health of the genre. It was their original material on Ubiquity back in the early 2000's that gave them their fame, but these two new nuggets on Colemine are pretty on-point in terms of dancefloor destruction: "Do What You Came Here To Do" is a rough and twisted sex bomb that sounds like it was made in '76 - a tune that would make a great addition to a Quentin Tarantino flick - and the "Ronin" instrumental is simply a great, devastating piece of instrumentation for you to get DOWN to.

Review: One doesn't usually associate Italy with funk music on a gospel tip, but this is exactly what's happened on the third outing from fledgling label Cannonball. The Jackson Bros, a still mysterious outfit on our end, throw down the absolute truth on the vocal edit of "Thank You", a glorious and majestic pseudo disco ride that'll please everyone from dad to grandma. The instro cut is firmly in place for all your dance floor needs.

Review: In amidst a veritable deluge of seven inch-shaped sharpness from Japan's crucial Soul Garden label this week comes this absolute must grip 45 session from Q.A.S.B. The nine-piece Tokyo funkateers have been holding it down since 2005 and this seven picks out a horn heavy highlight from last year's Q.A.S.B. III LP in the shape of "Good Guy." Throwing down a similar vibe to the Quantic Soul Orchestra, this track is all about the lead vocal from Amy A and those warm, tooting horns. Face down and QASB engage flipmode, slowing the tempo down and cranking the sass up on "Bad Boy". If seven inches were vegetables this would be one hot pepper!

Review: Fans of Osaka funk fusionists Stepak Takraw are spoilt this week with a deluge of musical goodness by the band arriving courtesy of Soul Garden. After spending an hour or so assessing the respective charms of these records from the crew, it's this Slugfest 7" that stands out in particular. Up top the title track pulls no punches, a slick lick of funk guitar riffage acting as the lead for the band to follow and lay down a taut, fast paced funk composition that leans on their well-honed talent for throwing cumbia elements into the mixer. "Yellow & Green" is there for those who prefer their funk to sound a bit more traditional.