Juno Recommends Funk / Reissues May 2020

Review: Best known amongst house heads for being the source of the lilting orchestral sample in Pepe Bradock's "Deep Burnt", Freddie Hubbard's 1979 version of "Little Sunflower" is a soul-jazz classic and a half. Since the full version of Hubbard's vocal re-make (the trumpeter first recorded an instrumental take in 1968) only ever appeared on a hard-to-find promo 12", this Record Store Day reissue should be an essential purchase. It remains a gentle, breezy and sunset-ready jazz-dance gem, with Hubbard's emotion-rich vocals and mazy trumpet solos riding Latin-tinged percussion, elastic double bass and some suitably jammed-out jazz pianos. In other words, it's the kind of life-affirming treat that's capable of spreading sunshine on even the cloudiest day.

Review: Brit-funk combo 52nd Street are undeniably best-known for their 1983 single on Factory Records, "Look Into My Eyes", which came accompanied by some killer remixes from John "Jellybean" Benitez and sailed closed to the NYC electro sound. The Manchester outfit's roots were in jazz-funk though, as this essential reissue of their 1982 debut single proves. "Look Into My Eyes" is simply superb: a warm, woozy and gently groovy affair full of attractive lead vocals, elastic slap bass, colourful synthesizer lines and dreamy chords. If you're after some more up-tempo dancefloor pressure, check out flipside "Express" - a riotous affair rich in hammered-out Clavinet lines, jaunty lead lines and energetic percussion.

Review: Dynamite Cuts & The George Semper Music Archives present the first official re-issue of the Funk and Soul band The Perfect Circle from their 1977 self titled The Perfect Circle, LP. The peak of George Semper's music legacy as a "Godfather of Bay Area Funk" and "Hammond B3 Hero" Semper produced, performed on, and released the LP on his Los Angeles based Inner City Records label. The Perfect Circle band is known for their "Bay Area Funk" San Francisco/Oakland sound a unique fusion of funk, jazz, soul, & rock akin to bands Tower of Power and War. The Perfect Circle, LP has since become rare-vinyl grail among DJs, music lovers and collectors worldwide! A superb work, we chose our two favorites leading with the disco-funk dancer title track introducing the band The Perfect Circle. On the flip side is the rare groove The Hands of Time, a b-boy, disco, jazz-funk floor shaker. Don't miss out on The Perfect dancer, DJs tool and one for the collectors!

Review: It's been a while since Timmy Thomas's big stepping funk smash "Why Can't We Live Together" on TK Disco but the wait has been worth it. This new three tracker is a steamy and full flavour offering of afro tinged cosmic disco, gospel and more. "Africano" has bass to die for and tripped out guitar riffs that keep things freaky. "Funky Me" is a more lo-fi jam straight from the heart of a steamy jungle but the winning tune for us is the heartbreakingly bare and honest gospel lament of "Why Can't We Live Together". It's drenched in melancholy and is beautifully raw.

Review: Having enjoyed a help in hand courtesy of the Arts Council-funded "Future Bubblers" project and mentor Esa (whose Afro-synth band he played in), Forest Law has graduated to the Brownswood Recordings roster. The producer and multi-instrumentalist has a wide palette of influences, but is particularly interested in West African and Brazilian music. These inspirations naturally come to the fore on this inspired debut, which gathers together three tracks bristling with effervescent Latin-percussion, Afrobeat-influenced grooves, Afro-synth electronics and vocals - presumably provided by the artist himself - that sound a little like Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor. It's an alluring blend that results in three fine cuts, of which A-side "New Thoughts New Eyes" - a future dancefloor classic, we reckon - being the pick of a very strong bunch.

Review: "What About The Child" by Avelino Pitts' obscure band GOLD has long been a sought-after deep funk rarity, with copies of the 1977 seven-inch single being extremely hard to come by these days. Helpfully Athens of the North's Euan Fryer knows the score and has decided to offer-up a much-needed reissue. The track is a fine slab of psychedelic soul in the vein of leading San Francisco groups of the period - Vehicle, Tower of Power and so on - with plenty of rhythmic shuffle and fine group vocals. Fryer has unearthed a gem for the flip, too: a previously unreleased cut that's on a similar sonic tip to Rotary Connection. It's worth the entrance price on its own.

Review: Nearly five years after the first seven-inch appeared, the seventh volume in J Rocc's on-point "Funky President Edits" series lands. As with the tracks contained on previous volumes, the showcased cuts have long been staples in his DJ sets and should be considered "tried and tested bombs". First up on side A is "Flight #2", a shuffling, ear-pleasing affair that combines jangling elements from a semi-acoustic Afro-Soul cut with borrowed chorus vocals and languid, laidback percussion. "Greddy Foot", on the other hand, is a low-slung funk bomb -a slightly dubbed-out revision of a James Brown original with additional vocal samples from other Godfather of Soul workouts.

Review: Zulu Men hail from New Orelans and bring plenty of that famous musical city's history to their work. The southwest of Louisiana has birthed greats like Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Trombone Shorty, all of whom loom large over this new 45. Both sides of the record brim and bristle with big horns, live percussion and shuffling drums that come with dancing keys that will get you up on your toes as the parade rolls by. The B-side houses a cover of one of the legendary Toussaint's biggest hits, "Sweet Touch Of Love".

Review: The Kalakutasoul label launches with something rather special: a must-have"45" featuring two of the standout tracks from Montego Bay outfit the Golden Sunshine Steel Drum Band's self-titled 1980 reggae-calypso fusion album, a set which now changes hands for vast sums online. A-side "Drum & Steel Song" is superb, with the band layering hand percussion and ear-catching steel pan melodies atop a sturdy, dub-wise reggae groove. Flip-side "Sunshine Steel" explores similar sonic territory, peppering a weighty, dub-style rhythm track with waves of attractive style pan melodies. It's not quite as celebratory as the A-side, but it's still very, very good.