Juno Recommends Funk / Reissues May 2021

Review: DJ Soopasoul is back on his own Soopastole Edits label, this time paying tribute to the more great funk sounds and killer drum breaks. The artist is well versed in subtly reworking the classics, bringing them up to date and adding his own unique flavour. He opens this limited 7" with 'Damn Right I Hit Em Up' which rides rough over a tight bass riff, with biggie's raps up top and a big beat pumping the vibe. Flip it over for the instrumental version, which strips it right back to the bare essentials.

Review: Smoove is back on Friday's Funky 45 with another of his irresistible mash ups. Larger than life, hard hitting and designed for maximum impact on inebriated dance floors, the opener marries vocals from 'Juice' with 'Sunny', adds some hefty drums played by label mate Dr Rubberfunk and the results are real, if not subtle. Reverse it for a collision of Skee-lo's perma-anthem, 'I Wish' chopped up with the funky keys and soul of Stevie Wonder's classic of the same name. These are bait tunes, but we all need a bit of that from time to time.

Review: If you've ever been to a rare groove party - or a soul and funk one, for that matter - there's a fair chance you'll have heard Tommy Stewart's 'Bump & Hustle Music'. The song first featured on the American artist's self-titled debut album in 1976, but later became an anthem on the London rare groove scene. It remains an infectious, feel-good, life-affirming treat, with addictive female vocals, twittering flute motifs and much-sampled horn riffs riding a languid, rolling groove. Over on the flip you'll find another fine track taken from the same album: the sweeping, string-laden disco sweetness that is 'Fulton County Line'.

Review: Athens Of The North is unveiling a whole wealth of new 7"s this month and as usual, each and every one is an essential purchase. This one in particular will resonate with a wide audience thanks to the ubiquity of the source material - Luther Vandross's 'Never Too Much.' There have been many versions over the years but this reggae take from Derrick Cross is special indeed, and an OG will costs basically too much for any sane person. Now a fully legit repress makes it accessible to all once more, and hurrah for that.

Review: Portuguese label Mad About Records has dabbled with reissuing Brazilian music before, though this compilation from boss man Joaquim Paulo is by far and away their most in-depth dive into the South American country's rich dance music heritage. Disco E Cultura Volume 1 focuses on soul, funk, disco, boogie and jazz-funk released in the country during the 70s and '80s, offering up tons of colourful, floor-friendly jams featuring punchy, razor-sharp horn lines, MPB style vocals and grooves to die for. It's all excellent to be honest, though if you're looking for highlights we'd suggest checking Lafayette's brilliant 'Sol De Varao', the Barrio-funk of Franco, the hot-stepping breakbeats and mazy synth solos of Aloisio's jazz-funk gem 'Tema R', and the wonderfully smooth grooves of Grupo Natureza.

Review: Only a week after his last outing on this label, DJ DSK is making another return with more of his masterful edits. Volume 6 finds him open up with 'Remind Me,' which is a soulful and jazzy jam, with tumbling drums and nice wet claps. The vocal is the real winner, though, as it tugs at those heart strings. Flip it over and you'll find the much bigger anymore bumping 'Knee Deep' which has myriad recognisable samples all reworked into a party ready hip hop funk joint for the b-boys and girls out there.

Review: Jo Ann Hamilton hailed from Georgia and was brought up on a diet of soul, Motown and r&b. At the tender age of seven she joined the Gospel Choir from the Melton Chappel church and then got into the disco scene. Five decades later she has linked with Kevin Fingier in Buenos Aires, Argentina for this fantastic new 7" that is imbued with classic funk, soul and swing. Opener 'September' is a massive Northern Soul gem that would have slayed back then and still does now. On the flip is the more obscure 'I love Without A Love' which is funky, tropical and infectious.

Review: Juno exclusive with free additional wooden 45 adapter.This year, a number of labels - most notably Dynamite Cuts - have been digging in to the seemingly bottomless archives of much-sampled American-Trinidadian artist and producer George Semper, a man many consider to be "the Godfather of Bay Area soul". Here Mukatsuku gets in on the act by offering up a fresh pressing of Semper-produced funk band In One Piece's rare, self-titled debut the first time ever on a 45. The vocal version on side A is superb, and features Cindy Jones singing attractively over a bustling, loose-limbed, B-Boy friendly rhythm track and sweaty Hammond B3 solos from jazz organist Rodney Franklin. The latter's mazy, jazzy keys-work naturally comes to the fore on the flipside instrumental, which has never before been heard let alone released until now. A genuine must-have for funk fans and B-Boys searching for drum breaks alike....As played by Pete Rock...DJ Koco from Japan...DJ Spinna....DJ Muro...Mr Thing....Rob Life....Rob Manga....The Allergies....Smoove..Bobbito....Rich Medina... Evil Ed...etc

Review: If you've ever been to a rare groove party - or a soul and funk one, for that matter - there's a fair chance you'll have heard Tommy Stewart's 'Bump & Hustle Music'. The song first featured on the American artist's self-titled debut album in 1976, but later became an anthem on the London rare groove scene. It remains an infectious, feel-good, life-affirming treat, with addictive female vocals, twittering flute motifs and much-sampled horn riffs riding a languid, rolling groove. Over on the flip you'll find another fine track taken from the same album: the sweeping, string-laden disco sweetness that is 'Fulton County Line'.

Review: British reissue champions Soul Brother return to democratise a certified northern soul classic. Released 1969 (just three years before Linda died, aged 27), both sides hit hard with raw soul power. "I Just Can't Live My Life" stomps with Stax gutsiness while "My Heart" eases back off the tempo and gives the backing singers and soaring strings a chance to shine with Linda. Original pressings of this have previously passed for over 500 pounds Grab a double-sided slice of history.

Review: 51 years have now passed since Funkadelic dropped their first two albums, Funkadelic and Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. The latter album's numerous highlights included 'Funky Dollar Bill', a flash-fried funk-rock masterpiece that's as bonkers as it is low-slung and floor friendly. This anniversary edition of the song, which was released as part of a double A-side single in 1971, combines the pioneering Detroit crew's original vocal version (side A), with a never-before-heard instrumental take from the original recording sessions (B). This is particularly revelatory, as it offers a chance to hear everything that was going on below George Clinton's singing - and trust us, that's a lot! It's genuinely refreshing to hear an alternate take on a such a fantastic funk-rock gem, so we'd recommend giving it a listen.

Review: On the first instalment in the Wamono A to Z compilation series, released in September 2020, dusty-fingered diggers DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite.jp and Chintam focused on Japanese jazz-funk and rare groove gems recorded and released between 1968 and '80. For this speedy sequel, they've narrowed their focus further in order to showcase little-known Japanese funk slammers pressed to wax between 1970 and '77. As you'd expect, there's tons of absolute bangers amongst the 10 tracks on show, with highlights including the Blaxploitation movie soundtrack vibes of Mieko Hirota's 'Theme of Doberman Cop', the fuzzy, Hammond-sporting psych-funk of Fujio Tokita's quirky 'Watashi No Beatles', and the energetic, proto disco-funk of Hatsumi Shibata's 'Singer Lady'.

Review: Some compilations manage to both educate, inform and educate in equal measure; this fine collection from Japanese crate diggers DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite and Chintam is one such set. Comprising mostly little-known tracks recorded by Japanese artists between 1968 and '70, it offers up a wealth of cuts inspired by American jazz-funk "rare groove". There's much to admire across the ten tracks, from the mazy Rhodes solos, fizzing big band jazz grooves and traditional Eastern instrumentation of Toshiko Yonekawa's "Soran Bushi", and the languidly-slung brilliance of Tadaki Misago and Tokyo Cuban Boys' multi-faceted musical fusion "Jongara Reggae", to the Jimi Hendrix-goes-funk heaviness of "Incitation" by Monica Lassen & The Sounds, and the drums-driven dancefloor madness of Masahiko Sato Jiro Inagaki & Big Soul Media's "Sniper's Snooze". Recommended.

Review: Marina Bellini is credited with just the one release all the way back in 1978. But boy what an EP it is. It's reissued here, firstly with 'Satan In Love', which drips with sensuousness thanks to her airy vocal and the squelchy bass. The loose drum rotations also leave lots fo space for you to fall into and as she soundtracks moments of personal pleasure you can't help but be taken along for the ride. On the reverse is the less intimate and more expansive disco-funk groover 'Far L'amore Io Da Sola'. It's handy, but not as much so as that irresistible a-side.

Review: Even by the standards of the library music scene, where eccentricity seemed to be encouraged, Nino Nardini and Roger Roger's Jungle Obsession is brilliantly bonkers. Apparently designed as a musical version of The Jungle Book, the 1971 set saw the experienced multi-instrumentalists offer up a colourful, quirky and highly entertaining collection of cuts that variously drew on exotica, lounge music, early synthesizer soundscapes, Afro-funk, psych-funk, and the tongue-in-cheek oddness of Jean-Jacques Perrey. As this remastered, 50th anniversary reissue proves, the album remains hugely alluring and entertaining, delivering a string of off-kilter musical highlights that can't fail to put smiles on faces.

Review: Powerful belters from soul supernova Baby Huey. The only solo 45s he cut for Curtom Records before he passed away aged only 26, this was released posthumously and OG copies regularly go for over 200 pounds. Now reissued on Soul Brother, the two sides give you the full fat Huey; "Hard Times" hits with a raw Lee Fields style gravelly, story-telling delivery while "Listen To Me" shows Huey's deft ability to band-lead an all-out rock jam. Raw and emotional, Huey left this world far too soon.

Review: Recorded and released in 1980 in a small local press in North Carolina, it became a Modern Soul Holy Grail.
The original press is always sold over 1000 USD. Recorded and edited in 1980 in a small local press in North Carolina, it became a cult and a holy grail LP over the decades.

Review: DJ DSK is back with volume 5 of his DNA Edits series i the same month that he links with his All Stars for another red hot 7". This one kick off with a 90s style rework of 'That's the Way Love Goes' by J Jackson which has replayed bass and drums straight from the golden era. The whole thing has been reworked from the original stems and sounds and on the reverse is a DJ friendly edit of BB K's 'Thrill Is Gone' which has been beefed up for modern systems with a handy intro and outdo to make mixing easier.

Review: Times may change and life may evolve, but the Allergies will always be unashamed party-starters whose records are both pleasingly heavy and instantly accessible. By now, you shouldn't need further proof og their skills in this department, but if you do, the Bristol combo's latest "45" is a lesson is dancefloor-igniting goodness. 'Lean on You' is a live and funk-fuelled as you'd expect, with distinctive flash-fried funk-rock guitar riffs, bustling, interestingly slung breakbeats and a fine lead vocal from Dynamite MC. Over on the flip, 'Working on Me' is a more bluesy, cut-and-paste funk breaks number that's guaranteed to get feet moving out on the dancefloor.

Review: Soon, Cultures of Soul will release Greg Belson's Divine Funk, the British record collector's latest deep dive into the world of vintage, gospel-influenced dance music. First, they're treating us to a series of sampler 45s featuring select cuts from the compilation. This one opens with Preacherman Isadore Womack's 'I've Got Power On My Mind', a laidback slab of lightly funky soul from 1978 featuring great guitar riffs and a simply superb lead vocal. It comes backed with 'I Don't Want To Be Alone' by Allen Gauff Jr and His Combo, a more up-tempo slab of gospel funk rich in righteous church organs, bongo-laced breakbeats and another impassioned lead vocal. Stellar stuff all told.

Review: Given that Alexander Korostinsky's Whatitdo Archive Group project is a wholehearted tribute to 1970s library funk, it makes sense for this debut album to be marketed as a "long lost soundtrack to an Italian cinematic masterpiece". It isn't, of course - it's brand spanking new - but Korostinsky and company's grooves, instrumentation and production is so authentic that many will be fooled into thinking that they're purchasing a rare classic. Those with knowledge of both movie soundtracks and the library music scene will note the various nods to familiar and not-so-familiar composers (the swinging sixties work of Roy Budd and Ennio Morricone in particular), while the filmic nature of the music makes us wish The Black Stone Affair was a real film. Either way, it's a hugely entertaining album that's well worth your attention.

Review: Having previously championed rare and little-known gospel disco, crate digger Greg Belson has now turned his attention to the world of gospel funk and gospel sound. This must-check "45" boasts two obscure, hard-to-find gems from the British DJ and re-editor's forthcoming compilation, Greg Belson's Divine Funk. The A-side offers a chance to cop Birmingham Traveleers' [sic] ultra-rare, private press cut 'Call Me Answer', where guest vocalist Henry Burton spars with the male harmony group over a flash-fried-mid-tempo funk groove. It's really rather good all told, as is the Gospel Ambassadors' flipside cover of gospel staple 'This Little Light of Mine' - a rolling, breakbeat funk interpretation that's as groovy, righteous and life-affirming as they come.

Review: Classic jazz funk album from the legendary Johnny 'Hammond' Smith with a special version with six previously unissued bonus out-takes. Released in 1975 and his 32nd long player, it heralded a fresh chapter in his career that saw him exploring more electronic instrumentation and deeper shades of funk in a similar way to Roy Ayers or Bob James. The result was a timeless document that carries motifs of many of today's artists; the harmonies of "Can't We Smile?", for instance, smack of Plantlife while the punctuated piano work and mirrored squiggling synths on "Song For The Family" echoes with Flying Lotus-style whim. Also a key source of breaks for many junglists, Gears is a historic document that's not only played a strong role in electronic music but still sounds incredible today.