Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Shawn Lee steps into untamed territory with Toe Rag Rhythms, a perc-ky odyssey trading in polish for pulse, spontaneity, and raw funk energy. Departing from his usual tightly composed fare, this session hears Lee, a seasoned multi-alias musician and composer from London, joined by four more percussionists, losing himself in a jungle of drums, shakers, bells, and earthbound textures. Lee adds tinkerbell piano lines to ground-lift the otherwise swirling, syncopated chaos, finishing each tracks with a loose-limbed, hypnotic charm. Whether the humid bounce of 'Tropical B Boy', the cinematic swirl of 'Dance Of The Pharoahs', or the laid-back snap of 'Rainforest Hum', this record easily earns its place alongside global groove rarities. Wild, rhythmic, totally addictive.

Review: A collection that blends classic soul, jazz, and rhythm & blues with a touch of British mod flair, this is the 11th album from the British veterans. From the outset, the album demonstrates the band's ability to capture emotion with the haunting saxophone and reflective vocals on 'How Many Times', which sets a powerful tone for what follows. The title track delivers an uplifting, seventies-inspired anthem, combining brass, hand percussion and heartfelt harmonies that evoke the essence of Isaac Hayes and Stevie Wonder. Tracks like 'Everything & All I Want' and 'Cut Me Loose' highlight the band's versatility, drawing influences from artists such as Paul Weller and Fela Kuti. The latter, featuring JP Bimeni's stunning vocals, delivers a funky, rhythm-driven groove. Meanwhile, 'Close To Where You Are' is a beautiful love dedication with its soulful brass arrangements and dreamy trumpet segments. The album also explores more introspective moments with 'Fix You Up', which exudes a relaxed, jazzy vibe, while 'The Beat I Know' offers a peaceful, bass-driven composition with serene vocals from Sheree DuBois and Carmy Love. Other tracks like 'When Worlds Collide' and 'Reach Out' deliver elegant slices of rhythm and blues. The band's ability to mix emotion with impeccable musicianship is on full display. The closing track, 'Summer Song,' featuring the legendary Omar, is a poignant tribute to overcoming life's challenges, closing the album on a deeply reflective note. The Revival of Survival is a stunning, soulful journey that will leave listeners eagerly demanding more.

Review: Also known as "Portland's Pillar Of Soul", Ural Thomas is a widely esteemed Portland based r&b singer-songwriter and musician, active since the 1950s. Still going strong over almost three-quarter century's worth of performing and releasing, Thomas' breathtaking oeuvre comes to a recent head on this latest LP+7" via Cairo, 'Nat Ural'. Eschewing his latest incarnation with backing The Pain (making up Ural Thomas and the Pain), which was formed after a long hiatus, we return to Thomas' solo sensibility here. A new LP backed up by a sneaky extra 7", Thomas' distinctive, homely brand of strutting vocal soul is once more put on display here.

Review: In full gatefold LP form comes the latest Brazilian boogie compilation by Horse Meat Disco, selected selectors of the best rarities in the disco genre. Curated mostly by founding member Luke Howard and with added consultations from crewmates James Hillard, Severino Panzetta and Jim Stanton, a lifetime of frolicking among samba troupes, carnival processions and yearly Rio visitations went into the choices you hear here, consummating one man's intuitive taste for a sound whose appeal stretches far wider than its nation of origin. Mr Bongo invited Howard to their Brighton HQ for an extended on-site selection, proving its off-the-cuff expertise: early electronica experiments from Ze Carlos blend voluminously with Jorge Ben pennings and mouth-watering Luiza Maura 7" cullings, proving a hand-picking that is at once eclectic and unifying.

Review: Heavyweight champions of the compilation world, Numero Group, defend their undisputed title once more with this collection of greats from San Antonio mogul Abe Epstein's Dynamic label. In its heyday, it became a hub for soulful music with its flagship band the Commands scoring a hit in 1966 with 'No Time For You.' Their success led to 20 more singles over 30 months and Epstein's inclusive studio welcomed a diverse racial mix of Texas talent which in turn created a melting pot of sound. This collection reflects that across 28 gems from groups like the Tonettes, Little Jr. Jesse & the Tear Drops and Bobby Blackmon & His Soul Express all exploring different soul niches.

Review: It's been a while since the last one but finally, the fourth volume of the Mighty Mellow collection is here. It is another delight from the editors of The Mood Mosaic series and this time out, they explore mushy funk and abstract jazz while featuring tracks from a diverse range of artists including Pete Jolly, Annette Peacock, Dusty Springfield and more. Across the four sides of vinyl are an eclectic mix of soulful grooves and experimental sounds that span genres and eras. It's largely laidback, gentle funk and jazz for those occasions when you want to kick back and get lost.

Review: International favourites on the boogie-and-beyond selection circuit, Horse Meat Disco deliver the first edition in a brand new compilation tracking yet more heat disco of a Brazilian flavour. Some 13 years in the making, much love and attention has been poured into this compendium, which unearths tracks from the seemingly endless urban goldmines of Brasilia and Rio, twin obsessive loci, nurtured by founding member Luke Eagle amid an extended exploration of the South American nation's dance music culture. Having learned to dance samba and paraded the Rio Carnival, this is a compilation rooted in worldly experience, made up largely of 7" finds. Chief among the brilliants are Ze Carlos' Italoesque wonder 'Venha' and the well-spiced 'Sol De Verao' by Lafayette, spanning years' worth of digging.

Review: This special Anniversary Edition celebrates the groundbreaking band War's 55th year with a remastered version of the original album by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman. The iconic, multi-million selling, Billboard 200 Top Ten original has plenty of seminal WAR classics such as 'Low Rider' and the title track 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' and next to this eon disc one is a second disc filled with unreleased tracks from the original sessions, along with unedited mixes that offer deeper insight into the group's creative process. Blending funk, soul, jazz, pop and Latin influences, this genre-defying band has remained a cornerstone of Los Angeles's scene for over five decades.

Review: Paul Weller is perhaps one of the best non-soul musicians to ask to compile a rare soul compilation. Rather than documenting soul music as it proliferated in the 1960s, Ace Records' soul aim was to capture a genre, fashion and style as one man saw it in retrospect, in light of his involvement in the mod revival of the mid 1970s. Weller would later go onto form and front The Jam, but in late 1974, shortly before his involvement in the punk movement, he was about none of that business at all. Punk partly grew on febrile tissues of mod, which was in turn an offshoot of 60s soul; and it is true that we may hear a foetal form of the sound in the brasher cuts on this record, be it Billy Stewart's 'Summertime' or James Carr's 'Pouring Water'. Also clock Brother To Brother's 'In The Bottle', a super-early drum machine blues gem perfect for the house heads.