Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Rhythm Rhyme Revolution, alongside DJ Tabu, delivers a fantastic EP with Summertime / Sunshine Girl. 'Summertime (nuacidfunk)' gradually escalates into a disco crescendo, enriched by Dan Lipman's jazz flute/sax and Gareth Tasker's steaming sitar riff. On the flipside, 'Sunshine Girl' boasts a slinky Afro percussive groove, with DJ Tabu's vocals celebrating love in the sunshine, complemented by Barrie Sharpe's infectious hooks. The ensemble work, featuring Kenny Wellington's jazzy trumpet and vibrant guitar, creates a dynamic sonic landscape. The EP also includes the original version of 'Summertime,' reminiscent of Motown classics. Sharpe's masterful tease and impeccable mood-building make this record a touch of class, leaving listeners thoroughly enchanted.

Review: Massive reissue incoming! BBE have answered many of our prayers with this long awaited repress of Roy's 1983 disco funk excursion "Silver Vibrations". A record that's currently fetching triple figures, this is the first time it's been repressed since it was released. Opening with the iconic whispered message of "Chicago", Roy takes us on a trip through his funkiest of quarters; the salubrious slap bass of "Lots Of Love", the Afrobeat staccato vocals and glock rocking vibrancy of "Silver Vibrations" and the dreamy cosmic jazz trip of "DC City" are just some of the highlights, all shared across the 12"s with no more than two tracks per side. Vibes that can't be slept on.

Review: This is the second part of Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981and is again packed with tracks that are far more than unreleased findings from the cutting room floor. Each one serves as another feather in the bow of the virtuoso Ayers, who combined jazz, funk, soul and disco in magical and unique ways throughout his career. In doing so he laid down a precursor to acid jazz and hip hop. These are tracks that show off his dynamic, liquid rhythm sections and mellifluous keys, as well as the vocal talents of a range of collaborators who touch on soaring and sensuous highs as well as more gravel and earthy lows. Essential.

Review: 'Strata Records: The Sound Of Detroit Volume 1' is a careful yet exquisite collection of soul, funk and jazz classics from Detroit's rich musical history, throwing back to a time before techno took the Motor City by storm. DJ Amir has curated a diverse selection of songs from the Strata Records catalog, showcasing the label's extensive roster of artists (the likes of Kenny Cox, The Soulmates, and Charles Mingus), and in some cases restoring tracks whose recordings have suffered a loss of quality over the years, for an ultimately soul-bearing listen.

Review: Bristolian turntablist and crate digger Andy Smith has long been renowned for the depth of his funk, soul and hip-hop selections, though it's only in recent years that we've discovered the quality and diversity of his disco collection. He continues to flex those credentials on the third instalment in his Reach Up - Disco Wonderland series. While there's plenty of obscurity on show, as you'd expect, Smith has chosen to include contemporary nu-disco cuts and fresh re-edits alongside vintage picks. So, while we cuts from The Sunshine Band, the disco-highlife of Orlando Julius and some late 70s electro-disco courtesy of French outfit Quartz, we're also treated to fresher tracks and edits from BB Soul, Birdee and Nick Reach Up, Yam Who and Full Intention. Throw in a killer DJ mix of the same material by Skratch Bastid and you have a genuinely essential collection.

Review: Andy Smith's Reach Up - Disco Wonderland Vol. 3 continues his exploration of the "Discosphere" with 16 more and one again carefully curated tracks. Featuring artists like Buscrates, Trailer Limon, and Rena Scott, the compilation also includes stellar edits and remixes by Full Intention, Yam Who, and Skratch Bastid. Initially curated during pandemic lockdowns and inspired by virtual DJ sets, Andy continues to share his superb collection via the legendary BBE Music label and once again this triple vinyl LP offers a treat for DJs, collectors and audiophiles alike.

Review: The concept behind this new collection on BBE is a simple but effective one: sommelier Frederic Beneix has picked out a selection of wines, and beat maker DJ Cam has dug deep to serve up some rare but fitting musical accompaniments that were produced in the same year. Wine4Melomanes, therefore, is a unique collection of sounds from all over Europe that connects the complexity and sensuality of a tipple with the rhythm and melody of a song. Most are lush and sophisticated jazz cuts that sound good whether you're drinking or not. Delicious.

Review: Japan's revered DJ Muro has put together his first ever compilation for BBE. Diggers Dozen is a real gem with 12 tracks of Japanese jazz-funk and Latin-jazz goodness that fuse traditional instrumental with traditional melodies. These tunes were originally made for the 70s for Nippon Columbia by legendary composers of the time such as Kiyoshi Yamaya, Tadaaki Misago & Tokyo Cuban Boys, Kifu Mitsuhashi, Toshiyuki Miyama and more. Finding these cuts on their original pressings is rare and expensive so don't sleep on this real collector's essential.

Review: The Grasso is greener in Bologna: home to two of the most well-connected collectors in Italy. Suppliers to the likes of Kenny Dope, Phil Asher and Dimitri, Gino and Federico have carved their crate craft to insane levels over the last 30+ years... As shown on this detailed, widescreen boogie, funk and disco collection for BBC. Splattering the vibrant collection with a handful of their own edits (TB Funk's salubrious struts on "Free Blow", fly-by boogie falsettos on Living Color's "Plastic People"), the Grasso bro's have put together a package that's eye-opening, enlightening and damn fine to party to. See you on the other side.

Review: Aderemi Kabaka's Roots Funkadelia is a magical bit of rather overlooked but classic Kabaka all the way from 1976. It was recorded at Island Studios London then mixed in L.A. during a golden period for the Motown studios. That quality shines through on the record, not least thanks to the appearance throughout of the 'mean machine' which was an alias of legendary Motown artists The Commodores' brass section. An original of this will cost you well over 500 quid so do not sleep on this quality reissue from BBE as it is a brilliant bit of Afro-funk for those who know.

Review: Almost entirely ignored at the time of its original release, Nigerian drumming maestro Remi Kabaka's legendary original LP Son Of Africa has gone down in legend as the defining solo statement of an incendiary drummer, whose contributions to music across the jazz and rock spectrums is credited and felt strongly to this day. A founding member of Afro-jazz band Osibisa, Kabaka is credited for his work with many a Rolling Stone and Beatle, but it's his solo work on this Afro-funk rare gem that really gets the least easy to please among us going. An Afrofuturist statement to the core, its jubilant vocal chants and defiant trumpet lines are but mere pepperings over the boxy, banging body that is Kabaka's live Afrobeat quads.

Review: One of the most remarkable things about Saturday Night Special, the 1975 debut album by the Lyman Woodard Organisation, is how two musicians - accompanied by various sessions drummers - could make such a rich and layered set. It still impresses that Lyman Woodard and Ron English could create so many superbly evocative and cinematic jazz-fusion workouts almost on their own. The set has long been regarded as one of the best musical commentaries on a particularly low period in Detroit's post-industrial history, and many of the tracks are suitably poignant - even those clearly aimed at the dancefloor. Critically, this reissue deals with one of the major issues with original copies - their poor pressing - by stretching the same tracks over two slabs of wax, rather than one.

Review: On the debut EP 'We Are The Ones/Fire/Forever', Chicago DJ and all-out living legend Rahaan collaborates with an equally talented group of musicians: Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals, Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, Carnell C. Newbill (also known as Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals, Todd Swope on guitar, and Lou Terry on bass. Together, the outfit known as The Ones create an extended three-track EP of transcendent proportions, drawing on the avaricious world-passion for music and life heard in the joyous chasms between psychedelia, Afrobeat and disco. Bridging these precipices by way of a vast, suspensory dancefloor held together by firmly mixable kick drums serving as rivets, Rahaan produces and mixes a viscerally eye-popping set of devotionals here. From the impassioned beatitudes and thanksgivings of 'We Are The Ones', to the desirous chic-funk drum circle envisaged on 'Fire' and the eternal gospel-rock-tinged disco-soul ablution 'Forever' (a special favourite of ours), this is a holy chrism in record form.

Review: Having re-released Rim Kwaku's long lost Rim Arrives album, BBE follow it up with more dusty disco treasures from the Ghanaian hit maker's repertoire. From the blistering horns and thundering drum rolls of the near-nine-minute romp "Shine The Ladies" right the way through the looser, more Afrobeat-focussed "Peace Of Mind" by way of the emphatic Stevie Wonder-style showmanship of "I'm A Songwriter" it's a collection that still sparkles with soul 30 years after they were recorded. If you're unaware of Rim's story, you'd be wise to check it; from Quincy Jones endorsements to homelessness in the space of 24 hours, Rim's tales are as serious as his music is funky.