Back in stock: Funk

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Brazilian electronics are back in vogue, and Tony Bizzaro might have just snaffled up said new wave's crown. All the way from 1976 comes 'Que Se Faz Da Vida', a strutting, suave, emotionally cool EP of only the most DJ-able and collected soul-funk. This reissue is, bizarrely, Bizarro's first ever.

Review: P-Vine Japan does great work once more here by bringing back into print some hugely sought-after sounds from the blues and r&b world. The first release in their new series revives Larry Davis' 1969 Kent Records single, which was originally written by Sherwood Fleming. The A-side, 'For 5 Long Years' delivers a gritty mid-tempo funk-blues groove while the B-side, 'I've Been Hurt So Many Times' (a classic subject for a blues tune) channels Willie Cobbs' signature sound. These will be familiar to anyone who has danced at a Northern Soul event and cannot be slept on.

Review: Wow! Of all the melancholic modern disco we've come across this year, this has to be the best so far, though we're surprised its popularity hasn't metastasised in size since its original Rysque Records release back in 2013. Ben Johnson and Tim Tucker make up Love Cryme, and their works combine a localist Sacramento slapper sound and a hissing, reel-to-reel feel. Compared to their Star Creature debut which brought measured but still potent titrations of purple sizzurping G-funk, 'Get It On' goes for a more minimally classic disco-soul cruise, with a sloppily gated snare and two-tone tearjerker preluding a neurotic but decadent vocal line from Tucker, as libidinous synths swell out uncontrollably from below.

Review: Holy grail alert! This gem from the 80s boogie scene is an ultra-rare 1983 release on Starville Records that is now finally reissued after decades of scarcity. Long coveted by collectors and often fetching €800-€1000 a pop, the standout track of the two is 'I Wanna Thank You'. It's a bona-fide boogie-funk gem with silky vocals, rich synths and an irresistible mid-tempo groove. Flip it over for 'Lover's Holiday,' a soulful, harmony-laced slow jam that showcases Starville's signature sophistication with aching vocals and a sense of yearning that stays with you for a long time. This is a limited press, so don't hang about.

Review: Chicago multi-genre music collective Patchwork Inc. offer a distinct, subtle blend of pianistic soul and cinematic warmth on their latest 7" for Colemine. Elusively cryptic and seemingly not entirely willing to divulge their membership, we do know that North Carolina native Taylor Williams and Chicago journeyman Wyatt Waddell are nonetheless involved: their conjoined hands craft heartfelt ambles through smoothly arranged backbeats and ride-tsking R&B phrases, evoking farewell-bidding moods and last-ditch begs for togetherness.

Review: Two cornerstones of rare Amazonian (!) cumbia appear together on 7" for the first time, as Vampisoul resurrect these wildly sought-after versions of 'Sonido Amazonico'. On one side is a hypnotic, percussion-heavy take by Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical, first and only released on LP. Led by Raul Llerena, this Iquitos band helped forge the sound of psychedelic cumbia through Llerena's Producciones Llerena imprint, now a holy grail label for collectors of such trove-bound tropical rarities. On the inverse comes Los Wembler's de Iquitos - of equal stature as one of the genre's most enduring groups - bringing their stomping rhythmoids to the same track; it also just so happens to remain one of their most defining anthems. The UK's not the only "jungle scene" out there - just listen to these killer, understoried sonic forests.

Review: Australia's Choi Records drop their second release in the shape of two powerful cover versions either side of a devilish little 7" by The Traffic. The A-side, "White Lines", is a funky, horn-led reinterpretation of Grandmaster Flash's original tune : an instrumental brass ode to the original beast. On the flip, there's "Smack My Pitch Up", another mighty instrumental rework of The Prodigy classic, complete with a string of trumpets that imitate the original's inimitable vocal loop.