Back catalogue: Funk

Review: Headed up by Benin-born Kaleta - a guitarist who has previously worked with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and Lauryn Hill - Super Yamba Band is a New York collective whose decidedly psychedelic fusions of Afrobeat, Highlife and Afro-funk have been getting rave reviews. "Medaho" is their debut album and it more than lives up to the hype. With Kaleta's variously fuzzy, sun-kissed and flash-fried licks to the fore, the band trips its way through nine mostly dancefloor-friendly workouts that wrap heavy funk instrumentation, rousing horns and Afrobeat style organ riffs around polyrhythmic drums that recall the distinctive swing of Tony Allen. It's a stylistic blend that guarantees results, as the sheer volume of highlights triumphantly proves.

Review: When the two friends formed Malone & Barnes and Spontaneous Simplicity (named after the tune by Sun-Ra, whose band
Barnes regularly appeared with when in Washington, DC) the collaboration yielded 'Freedom Serenade' (Ubiquity), an album
of super spacey and spiritual jazz funk. Released in limited quantity in 1976, on their Humpin' International label, this rare and
underground album bears the hallmarks of contemporaries like the Blackbyrds, the Mizell Brothers and DC neighbors Oneness
of Ju-Ju. 'Warp Ten' features a solo battle between Barnes and trumpeter Curtis Pope (of the Isley Bros and Wilson Pickett bands).
Songs such as 'Moonstruck' and 'Journey To The Stars' are DJ-friendly futuristic funk tracks with a sci-fi flavored nod to peers,
Funkadelic and Parliament.

Review: It may only be January, but we already have a strong contender for 'compilation of the year'. Put together by devout crate-diggers and Cuban music enthusiasts Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker, Cuba: Music & Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana 1975-85 celebrates a particularly fertile moment in the Caribbean country's musical development - one in which the country's traditional salsa and mambo sounds were being fused with a variety of other styles, most notably Brazilian tropicala, and the funk, soul and disco sounds emerging from the U.S.A. The results, as showcased via 23 tracks stretched across two CDs, are incredible, pitching traditional Cuban vocals and percussion sounds with heavy bass, life-affirming horns, futurist synthesizer flourishes and wah-wah guitars. Throw in detailed, eye-opening sleeve notes, and you have a genuinely must-have compilation. Bravo!

Review: In recent years, demand for copies of Japanese keyboardist Hiroshi Sato's 1979 jazz-funk classic Orient has rocketed. Given that few have the means to pay several hundred pounds for an original vinyl copy, this reissue - the first on CD outside of Japan - is more than welcome. It remains a delightful set, full of fluid and ear-pleasing tracks that variously doff a cap to disco, Brazilian boogie, classic jazz-funk, low slung early electrofunk and the kind of woozy, laid-back soundscapes more associated with early '80s New Age and ambient sets. Naturally, Sato's playing takes centre stage throughout, but the standard of the musicianship elsewhere is incredibly impressive, too. Shigeru Suzuki's guitar playing, in particular, stands out.

Review: Let's just pause for one second; now, think about all that music that has so enriched your life down the years. All of it, without fault, and regardless of any strict genre definitions, is soul music. If it flicks a switch deep inside you, speaks to you, comforts you and makes you feel good about yourself, then that, my friend, is soul music. German DJ and producer Henrik Schwarz understands this musical truth more than most. A long-time aficionado of those musical forms that are commonly rooted in some appreciation of this sonic legacy - funk, house, disco, jazz, techno, and yes, the dictionary definition of soul (James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Motown etc, etc) - his adventures into hi-fi are testament to such a fact. And nowhere is this more readily apparent than on Schwarz's latest venture: a much-deserved foray into that Holy Grail of DJ mix albums, !K7's acclaimed DJ Kicks series. Across 23 tracks, Schwarz enthusiastically takes us on a musical journey that without wanting to get too chin-strokery about it, manages to entertain, enthral and educate all at once. And that he achieves this without losing sight of the style and sophistication that are the hallmarks of his unique DJ sets and his much praised productions and remixes is only added grist to his musical mill. Schwarz's background is jazz: free-flowing, improvisational and inspirational jazz, the likes of which set the pre-rock'n'roll years alight. And it's this mindset that initially informs his well-chosen mix. Rather than go for the latest bunch of tunes that are burning a hole on dancefloors across the globe, Henrik has paid homage to the music that he has loved down the years. Consequently, Moondog's jazz classic 'Bird's Lament' sets the scene for the journey we are about to undertake. When this segues into Double's blissful slice of Balearica, 'Woman Of The World', it's clear that we are in the hands of a rare talent. For Henrik Schwarz is a DJ who utilises all the tools of the modern sound sculptor - his usual sets are comprised of him jamming live via his trusty laptop - with a reverence for what has gone before. It's no wonder that Gilles Peterson is such a fan of his productions 'Supravision', 'Chicago', 'Jon' (which is featured here) and 'Leave My Head Alone Brain', nor that his music is lapped up by Manchester's hugely influential Electric Chair coterie. Henrik himself admits that he didn't want to think too much about his mix, rather he let the music dictate what direction he went in. "I just selected the tracks and then played them," he admits. "It was more about the feeling of the mix, creating those emotions and combining extremes." Such a case comes when he mixes the minimal techno of Robert Hood's 'The Core' with an African field recording. It's about creating layers and textures and in doing so it gives his mix a depth that is truly awe-inspiring. But this isn't all about intellectual grandstanding. Good times are audible at every turn: James Brown encourages us to get on the good foot with his dancefloor shimmy, 'Since You've Been Gone', and the psychedelic free jazz of Schwarz's own 'Jon' is both vibrant and hypnotic. Elsewhere, the stirring strut of Jae Mason's 'Let It Out' and the irresistible Afro-beat of Cymande's 'Anthracite' both compel you to fish out those dancing trousers. Undoubtedly though, the blue touchpaper is well and truly lit by Schwarz's 'Imagination Limitation', a track written especially for this mix. Placed next to Detroit legends Drexciya's 'Black Sea' - all crisp and muscular Motor City futurism - it ticks Schwarz's techno fetish with aplomb. Other dancefloor delights come courtesy of avant-garde nut job Arthur Russell's trippy cosmic disco 'Get Around To It'. Being a mix of untold seams, the funk flavours at the business end speak of Schwarz's cerebral qualities. Womack & Womack's 'Conscious Of My Conscience', Rhythm & Sound and Sugar Minott's 'Let Jah Love Come', Doug Hammond's 'Wake Up Brothers' and the incomparable Marvin Gaye's 'You're The Man' are all moving and literate pleas for a better world. And that in a nutshell is the mix you presently have in your hand. It's a CD that tells a story. It contains tracks that ooze class, that reek of history, that are imbued with style. It is a mix that speaks of life's rich tapestry. In short, Henrik Schwarz has delivered a mix with something for your mind, your body, and, most importantly, your soul.

Review: Although never as widely known as contemporaries Larry Levan, Tony Humphries, Frankie Knuckles or Ron Hardy, Tee Scott was hugely influential in the New York disco scene of the 1970s. The DJ/producer was resident at Manhattan club Better Days, after which this tribute CD is named. Opening with a long-lost radio advert for the venue featuring Scott on the mic, Better Days gathers together a bunch of classic disco and boogie tunes much-played by the smiling DJ. There's little than confirmed diggers won't have already, but plenty of stone cold killers for those in need of a disco, boogie and early garage fix ("I Specialize In Love", "Let Me Love You Tonight", "I Like (What You're Doing To Me)" etc).