Freestyle Vinyl & CDs

Review: Freestyle Records reissues The Apples Kings a full decade and a half after its first release. This version has been fully remastered and re-cut for an even more dynamic sound to remind why the landmark album was so special. It was a first for the band who crafted it with specific collaborators in mind and worked with funk legend Fred Wesley and Israeli world music icon Shlomo Bar In fusing elements of The JB's funky foundations, soul, dub, and Middle Eastern influences, they cooked up a genre-defying mix filtered through The Apples' unique decks-horns-bass-drums lineup. These unmistakable, floor-shaking grooves are just as potent today as they were in 2010.

Review: Freestyle Records presents reissued material by Contact-U, the electro boogie project by Rick de Jongh and Andy Sojka. Originally released via their Challenge imprint, which would quickly begin to focus on the emerging sounds of Hi-NRG and electro at the time, this material is taken from the duo's three EPs released between 1982 - 1984.. Many recognise these tracks as some of the greatest electro-funk sounds of all time; whether it's the electric boogaloo of 'Ecuador' taken from their first EP of the same name, the body rockin' beats of 'Dancing Inner Space' or the robotic p-funk of 'Break It Up' - this really is foundational UK dance music.

Review: Jazz-funkers Menagerie carry the torch of broken beat and jazzdance into the bleeding-edge present day with 'The Shores Of Infinity'. The Australian band, led by Lance Ferguson, is nominally guided by the spiritual jazz movement of the 1970s, but their sound reflects little of its usual beatless freakouts and croony, culty improvisations. Rather, this LP runs the entire gamut of what could be considered spiritual jazz, moving through, in their own words, myriad zones of "cosmic consciousness, transcendence, and interconnection". In fitting fashion for the genre, just six long-form tracks appear, three on each side, making for a neat, coin-flipped, symmetrical statement in jazz; the balance of the universe reflected in a cosmick vinyl void.

Review: Much loved and influential UK soul legend Omar Lyefook - who has been awarded an MBE for his contributions to the music world - put out his seminal 33 track anthology back in 2020. It came on Freestyle Records and now makes it to wax, with all of his classic collaborations incuded as well as his most notable hit, 'There's Nothing Like This,' as well as 'It's So,' the big, floor facing cut that always amps up any club with its bristling drum work taking cues from the sounds Omar heard at The Notting Hill Carnival. There are plenty of lesser known gems form the evergreen star, too, plus exclusive and previously unheard tracks 'Pass It On' ft Terri Walker and 'Long Time Coming.'

Review: One of the UK's most distinctive, consistent and authentic male soul voices returns with his eighth album in 27 years... And it's a serious piece of work. Rich in range, warmth, creativity and a keen eye on the dancefloor, everything about him feels refreshed and energised. Highlights include the Dilla-meets-Iz & Diz style "This Way That Way", the glistening Balearic charm of "Feeds My Mind", the syrupy organs and harmonies on "Insatiable". Winding down with the almost filmic narrative "Grey Clouds", it's one of those records that will have you leaping up, flipping to side A and starting all over again. Feel the love.

Review: 'Music & Time, 1983-1985' by Take Three brings together the soulful sounds of former South London vocal harmony group Alpha, fronted by sisters Jackie & Jean Heron and Marlene Richardson. This compilation, produced by the trio S.H.E. (Steve Sinclair, Peter Hinds, and Kevin Ellis), showcases their work during the mid-'80s, including both released and previously unreleased tracks. From the infectious groove of 'Tonight's the Night' to the reggae-infused 'Can't Get Enough (Nice Up Reggae Mix)', this collection captures a rich blend of UK soul, funk and dance, spotlighting an era of underground brilliance.

Review: Freestyle deliver a curate collection of overlooked UK street soul and boogie from the 80s and early 90s, with standout tracks from the label's recent 12" reissue programme. The collection houses a special mid-90s gem from Manchester's Gold In The Shade, with accompanying photos by Andrew Holligan and liners from Kevin Le Gendre. The sleeve was shot in Hackney, East London, where a vibrant street culture flourished despite the strictures of the Thatcher era. British music evolved at the same time, as larger ensembles shrank in favour of smaller groups with synths, letting boogie's smooth, bass-led sound find life. This transition, alongside the rise of street soul, budded and blossomed a uniquer blend of indie and studio projects, imprinting lastingly on the culture, now repackaged and again represented in The Way U Make Me Feel.