Back in stock: Funk

Review: Leading Italian disco outlet IRMA is back with more irresistible and dazzling goodness, this time courtesy of Funky Destination with some pretty standout remixes. 'Take It Down' opens up as a new version by LTJ Xperience that has percolating funk lines and slow, sensuous grooves. 'Mr Bong' (Louie Beat Re-work) is a more percussive number with brilliant drumming and sunny melodies and 'Take It Down' offers a sensuous soul sound and some psyched-out guitar riffs. Last of all is the most streamy and busy of the lot with unresolved drum loops, disco percussion and rousing pads that will fill the floor.

Review: We aren't sure who Inner Space Quartet are be we are sure you will like them. This is the second new music from them this month and it follows a busy 2022 in which they put out three head-turning 7"s on different labels. They seem to be settling for Funk Night as their home this year but soundwise are harder to pin down - there is Thai funk, space rock, jazz, psyched-out guitars and much more all contained with these two expansive and immersive sounds. 'Paranoia Party' is the really 60s-tinged narcotic opener then 'Delay' brings more rock guitar sounds as if from some secret and tripped-out Stones concert in the desert back in the day.

Review: Their chops were already up thanks to their tenure as James Brown's backing band, but this album was the first time The J.B.'s stepped out on their own in 1971. It's enjoyed the odd vinyl repress over the years, but this is the first time These Are The J.B.'s has been released on CD. Any serious funk head should know what to expect here - foundational funk and soul from some of the most seminal architects of the genre, laying the blueprint for a mind-boggling amount of musical culture that was to follow. It doesn't get more seminal than this.

Review: In 1969, Bootsy Collins and his band were asked to record a demo for James Brown, who was looking for a new backing combo. As history proves, the recording they provided met with the Godfather of Soul's approval and the J.B's were born. This essential CD from Now-Again Records presents that demo recording, "Don't Mess On My Thing", for the first time. It's as heavy and energetic as you'd expect, though if anything the two accompanying unreleased tracks are even better. There's the deeper, jazzier warmth of "The Wedge" - all glistening guitar solos, low-slung grooves and fluid electric piano solos - and the complete take of "When You Feel It, Grunt If You Can", a 22-minute, jammed-out medley of two songs that's little less than incredible.

Review: First time on a 45 with a killer string laden funk instrumental on flipside

Review: On their debut album, 2016's the Tony Allen Experiments, Naples twosome Nu Guinea re-invented tracks by the legendary Afro-beat drummer as synth-heavy chunks of deep jazz-funk and nu-Balearica. For this follow-up - their first full length entirely made up of their own compositions - the duo serves up a set of jazz-funk, disco and boogie cuts rich in both their trademark colourful analogue synthesizer sounds and live instrumentation. It's a formula that guarantees a string of memorable highlights, from the sun-kissed peak-time brilliance of "Disco Sole" and rubbery, funk-fuelled "Je Vulesse" (a killer vocal number), to the wobbly downtempo trip of "A Voce E Napule" and Mizell Brothers fizz of closer "Parev Ajare", the album's most synthesizer-heavy cut.

Review: Soul-Direction Records recently had huge success with the release of the Decisions' 'We're In Love/I Love You' and now follow it up with another vital 45rpm after a conversation with Numero who gave their permission. As such this is the only 7" vinyl release of 'P's and Q's' and its instrumental version. These tracks were part of the quartet from Washington DC's recordings with DC International. The band generated plenty of local buzz but never quite got the major label deal they craved. On these evidence of these two, though, they should have. 'P's & Q's' is lively and funky work, with heart-melting vocals and super smooth grooves.

Review: The 80s Japanese pop culture is back with the re-release of Toyama 'Penny' Hitomi's two popular albums. Among them, the 1983 album Next Door is a perfect blend of American and Japanese city pop, making it a must-listen for music lovers. The black vinyl pressing of this limited edition album is of high-quality Japanese import, bringing back the nostalgia of a classic era. This is the first time it has been released on wax since 1983, making it a rare and valuable addition to any music collection.