Review: Mr Bongo look back to the damn fine Latin funk and rock-infused soul sounds of Coke's 197 self-titled opus for their next well-chosen reissue project here. It is their only album, sadly, but is a brilliant mix of Miami Latin-funk, psychedelic garage rock and gritty soul sung mainly in English. It blends bright funk drumming, flavourful organs and zesty horn with Paul Garcia (guitar), Ariel Hernandez (bass), Ruben Perez (drums), Jose Rubio (keys) and Peter Fernandez (vocals) all produced by Mato. The record was popular in Miami but faded due to limited promotion and a Coca-Cola trademark dispute but was later rediscovered by collectors, with standout tracks like 'Na Na,' 'Got to Touch Your Face' and 'Te Amo Mas' all became staples of Latin sets.
Review: The third album from Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist Don Glori merges jazz, soul, funk and r&b and marks a confident leap forward in his songwriting journey. Anchored by a Chinese proverb about truth, Paper Can't Wrap Fire explores themes of honesty and introspection across standout tracks like the silky 'Brown Eyes,' the sharp-witted 'Disaster' and the meditative 'Flicker.' It was recorded with close friends and longtime collaborators and radiates warmth, spontaneity and rich musical chemistry. While nodding to influences like Azymuth, SAULT, and Jordan Rakei, Don Glori delivers a sound entirely his own and it is wonderfully intimate.
Review: Paper Can't Wrap Fire is the third album from Melbourne/Naarm multi-instrumentalist Don Glori, and it is a rich mix of jazz, soul, funk and R&B, but also marks a bold evolution in the artist's own songwriting. The title is based on a Chinese proverb about truth and underpins reflective tracks like the soulful 'Brown Eyes,' satirical 'Disaster,' and introspective 'Flicker' Recorded in Naarm with friends and past bandmates, these sparkling sounds are brimful of the sort of life-affirming harmonies and dynamic musical interplay that makes you smile broadly, while the heartfelt lyrics make this town mark. Influences from the likes Azymuth, SAULT, and Jordan Rakei are all clear, but Don Glori crafts his own take on those sounds that speaks to both emotion and intellect.
Review: During the late 1970s and early '80s, Miami was a hotbed of percussion-rich disco-funk that blended popular Black American grooves of the day with nods to the drum-heavy rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. Herman Kelly & Life were amongst the outfits at the vanguard of this movement, though unusually they only released one album, 1978's Percussion Explosion! Here it gets a remastered CD reissue. It's naturally best-known for boda-fide disco anthem 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat', but there are plenty of other hot, break-heavy classics on display - not least the low-slung, high-octane brilliance of 'Who's The Funky DJ?', the string-drenched disco-soul sweetness of 'Share Your Love' and the low-down, extra-heavy funk rinse-out that is 'Do The Handbone'.
Review: The good folk at Mr Bongo are reissuing Herman Kelly's seminal 1978 album that birthed the iconic breakbeat classic 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat.' This Miami-based disco-funk project headed up by the drummer and producer features Latin, funk and percussive grooves that have gone on to influence generations of hip-hop and dance music producers. It is thought to have been sampled over 125 times by legends like DJ Shadow, N.W.A. and Run-D.M.C. after initially gaining fame via Ultimate Breaks & Beats in 1986. This reissue presents the sought-after 4:12 Alston Records version and it is as infectious and irresistible as ever.
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