Review: There's not a lot of information out there about Arcade of Serpe, so let's skip the back story and cut to the chase. If that's really an appropriate turn of phrase here. Nothing about Cave Adventure feels rushed. Nothing. In fact, it's quite the opposite, opening on dub-wise bass and playful organs, the atmosphere - somewhere between lackadaisical, come down, BBQ, and psychedelic - subtly rises, although not to a crescendo as much as a delicate fade out after a few minutes strutting to the funk-laden groove. Flip it to find more explorations in the sonic ether, with 'Unicorn Rider' smoothly stepping out into a surreal track that uses space and emptiness to accentuate the noises that are there, which mirror, if not directly reflect, the opening title tune. It's quiet, but you won't forget it in a hurry.
Review: Astral Quartet was a group that changed their name and evolved into Centre El Muusa. They never played live nut managed to record just two tunes back in 2018. Now, five years later, they finally get to see the light of day. They could be 50 years old such is the quality of the musicianship - fusions of jazz and funk that brim with character. The band is made up of Monika Erdman, Rauno Vaher, Volodja Brodsky and Misha Panfilov who mix up cosmic Wurlitzer sounds, languorous synths and fresh drums, turning it into something laidback and psyched on the b-side and more funky and up-beat on the a-side.
Review: Bamma Gamma returns with a sizzling slab of funk in the form of 'Omelette' via Detroit's renowned Funk Night Records. This one is a digger's dream, raw, gritty instrumental funk with break-heavy drums, tight guitar licks and basslines so greasy they practically drip off the record. True to Funk Night's underground sound, Omelette is unapologetically retro and authentic and serves up irresistible dancefloor heat that feels like a lost '70s cut that has been newly rediscovered. For DJs looking to inject some analogue soul into their sets, it's a no-brainer.
Review: Self taught, 70s- born London-based artist Mike Bandoni dropped his concept EP Lost Communication in 2020. It now finds its way to vinyl and invites listeners on a journey into "interstellar space and on towards a super massive black hole. A discovery mission in alien territory fraught with lost communication." It blends together heavy drums and more funky and organic drums, plenty of cosmic synth sounds and always with a strong groove at its core. While classic sounds of the 70s are referenced this remains a thoroughly futuristic album perfect for both close headphone listening or nice and loud on a proper good sound system.
Review: Originating from Hameenlinna, Finland, the DJ and producer duo Tuure Tammi and Juha Sarkkola are The Blassics. What started as a small instrumental funk project has since grown into a nine-piece instrumental band and that aims to distil the energy of their live shows into equally captivating records. Their style harks back to rough original funk 7" and draws on Afrobeat and jazz. Breaks & Juicy Takes is their new LP and one with 11 brilliantly infectious blends of broken beat, dub and nu-jazz and it's a lively, vibrant blend of hooks, basslines and melodies that will never grow old.
Review: R&b and funk singer, rhythm guitar musician and songwriter Rickey Calloway hailed from Jacksonville, Florida but earned himself a global reputation. His style borrowed from James Brown but brought something new, inspired by his time playing in clubs from a relatively young age. He was active in the 70s and much of his music has been reissue do newer audiences since and now comes his King Of Funk album on Funk Night which, from the title down, pays homage to the aforementioned Brown. It features his most well known tune - the wonderful 'Tell Me' - as well as plenty of other big hitters like there particularly hard hitting 'Shake It Up, Shake It Down.'
Review: The on point Funk Night label returns with these raw and emotive jams from Rickey Calloway & The Tennessee Band. The tidy two track 7" opens with the raw soul jazz sounds of 'Everybody Say Yeah' with its blasts of horns, expressive vocals and rolling rhythm section all cutting deep. Flip it over for the slightly more loose feeling 'Mr Meaner,' an instrumental version with the backing singers left in place to inject some human warmth to the lo-fi grooves.
Rickey Calloway & His Tennessee Band - "Do It On The One (Stay In The Pocket)" (3:10)
The Tennessee Band - "Ain't It A Crime" (instrumental) (3:06)
Review: Funk Night cop a couple of fine funk gems here from Rickey Calloway. He is an r&b singer, as well as a rhythm guitar musician and songwriter from Jacksonville, Florida. His Tennessee Band helps him serve up funk that comes direct from the 70s, James Brown style. Both of the singles here are [rimed to fire up the floor, with 'Do It On The One (Stay In The Pocket)' the more direct of the two and the flip side 'Ain't It A Crime' (instrumental) going deeper.
Review: Estonian rock band Centre El Muusa hail from Tallinn and in vitally started out as experimental electronic duo Centre Electronique Muusa before evolving into the current set up in 2018. They have dropped a couple of tasty albums since 2020 and now contain with their explorations and fusions of the worlds of jazz, rock, folk, world and country with hints of kraut on the new 7" for Funk Night. 'Moonlight Horses' is a psyched out world of campfire guitars and star gazing riffs that leaves you feeling fully hippie-d up. 'Catching Stars' then heightens the trip with more angular guitars and a big wall of garage-rock sound.
Review: This dynamic duo delivers an incredible set of funky psych rock on Funk Night that blends retro fuzz with their unique modern twist. Drawing on a mix of vintage and eclectic influences, they've crafted a fresh, lean sound all their own. The production shines with crackling drums anchoring a vibrant mix of vocals, guitar and keyboards which all keep you moving. While leaning more to rock than some releases on Funk Night, the tracks remain irresistibly funky and full of energy with standout tracks like 'Amor Fatigue,' 'Hermit Song,' 'Sleeping Couch' and 'Walls Were There' showing the quality of their inventive style.
Review: Tenth 45 release from Producer/Song writer/Arranger/Musician/D.J. Andrew Gillespie from Gloucester, UK who has also released three other 45s as The Aries Vibration and La Glosta Nostra
This is Andrew's seventh release for Funk Night Records, Detroit run by D.J./producer Frank Raines
This time we have a driving Gospel flavoured sister funk cover version featuring Gloucester based Church singer Tricia Bailey covering the famous English Anglican hymn All Things Bright And Beautiful written by Cecil Francis Alexander first published in her Hymns For Little Children in 1848
THE LINE UP
Andrew Gillespie - Congas/Flute/Producer/Arranger
Chris Lujan - Hammond Organ/Guitar/BassGuitar /Mixer
Tricia Bailey - Vocal
Sam Fryer - Drums
Manuel Trabucco - Tenor & Baritone saxes
Tim Kersey - Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Review: A fifth slab of 7" shaped funk live and direct from St. Petersburg arrives with the Great Revivers offering another Funk Night release that will invariably keep themselves busy on the turntables of funk establishments everywhere. Lead cut "Rhino's Walk" should be titled "Rhino's Strut" in truth given the sheer confidence the Revivers display as it progresses along driven by a killer drum break. Flip the Rhino over and Great Revivers are on more of a downbeat funk flex with "Dead Dipping" which is all about that frazzled organ. Big up Frank Raines and the Funk Night crew for this one!
Review: The Great Revivers continue their unassailable 2014 assault on the record boxes of funk selectors everywhere with yet another killer seven for the Funk Night label. Brashly titled "Don't Mess with GR" may be, but this Russian quartet always prefer to let their musicianship do the talking and you can't fault the Great Revivers funk here as three odd minutes of prime dirtiness unfolds driven by a killer drum beat. It's complemented well by the more uptempo jam that is "Hard Way To Go" and lays down a marker for what to expect from the Great Revivers forthcoming album.
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: This new album from Les Truffles is as delicious as the thing they are named after, and as classy too. It's a deep dive into their smoky and seductive late night instrumental funk sound. The drumming is deft and feathery, the chords like puddles of bliss and the melodies hypotonic. Sometimes there is caution in the stick work to make for an unsettling mood, at others these sounds are warm and controlling for evening relaxation. Fans of El Michels Affair and Bad Bad Not Good will surely lap up this double album on Funk Night.
Review: Misha Panfilov, the Estonian contemporary jazz mover whose many Janus faces amount to more than just two, resulting in many album avatars - here shares a live recorded rendition of a recent pair of shows, played back to back in Stockholm, then Tallinn. The first recorded at Fasching, Stockholm, on August 16, 2023, and the second recorded at Paavli Kultuurivabrik, Tallinn, August 19, 2023, this live record is composed of pieces otherwise heard on Panfilov's earlier albums, and they're chopped and changed to an exclusive running order here. Every track herein brims with a moonwalking lackadaisy, with Panfilov's live sensibility shedding light on his odic borrowing of classic bop and modal, and lending them a lunar reverential twist.
New Orbits: There Are No Ice Cubes In Space For My Stagliato (3:46)
New Orbits: La Mantra Du Cratere (4:06)
New Orbits: Mothership (2:25)
Review: Misha Panfilov's septet showcases his intricate harmonic palette in their second album, To The Mesosphere And Beyond. Filled with optimism, the album features airy, space-age voicings reminiscent of Terry Riley and Raymond Scott, all centered around jazz. The unique addition of a lap steel guitar, inspired by cosmic country music, adds fresh, innovative layers to the music. The album was created during an intense two-week period, with the band rehearsing and performing live in Tallinn and Stockholm, followed by a spontaneous two-day recording session. Despite challenges, the album was completed in just four days. The compositions are structured into four vignettes, transporting listeners beyond temporal and spatial boundaries. The album does well with blending psychedelic elements with jazz. Sasha's passionate saxophone and Ilja Gussarov's flute, paired with Volodja's synthesizer, create an enchanting soundscape due to their desire for exploration and innovation.
Review: Detroit label and weekly party Funk Night rolls out another unmissable 7" here in the form of The Oscillators, who bring a late night and woozy sound to lo-fi production aesthetics. 'The Scoop' is a slow motion and psychedelic tinged groove with squealing guitar leads taking you into melon twisting territory while the flutes keep things in the here and now and the dusty drums rumble on. It is truly intense. 'Spare Cheeks' then has a more upbeat funk feel led by nice horns and a more silky and seductive groove, particularly the lithe bass.
Review: Fresh from dropping another essential seven-inch with his regular Sound Combo band, Misha Paniflov has joined forces with fellow multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee for a string of collaborative singles. This "45" sports two genuinely impressive cuts, each full to bursting with quality live instrumentation. It opens with 'Sigmund Jahn Bossa', a superb fusion of late 1960s library jazz (think Roy Budd's score for Get Carter and you're in the right ballpark), bustling bossa-nova and spiralling psych-funk. Over on the flip the pair continue to deliver lounge, influenced, tongue-in-cheek thrills via the cheap, Sideman drum machine rhythms, tumbling guitars, elongated Hammond organ chords and hazy backing vocals of 'Aquaria'.
Review: Following a near two-year absence from vinyl, the usually prolific Misha Paniflov is back on Funk Night Records with another nostalgic 45 rooted in deep funk, library music, cinematic soundtracks and psychedelia. The Estonian first offers up 'Dr Juvenal's Solution', a jaunty and genuinely heavy dancefloor work out marked out by sixties spy-movie guitars, bustling breaks, intergalactic synth sounds and warming bass. He opts for a more laidback, downtempo feel on side B, with stretched out, Peter Green style guitar solos and meandering Moog lines reclining atop a bittersweet backing track.
Review: Earlier in the year Misha Paniflov impressed with a library music and laidback 1970s funk-rock-inspired soundtrack for a Janno Jurgens-directed movie called Rain. Both of the tracks featured on this "4e5" are taken from that soundtrack album. On side A you'll find 'Road Home', a relaxed and effervescent affair that fuses drifting, wordless female vocals, snaking saxophone lines and rising orchestration with grooves reminiscent of Roy Budd's work for the original Get Carter soundtrack. Over on the flip there's a chance to savour soundtrack album opener 'An Unexpected Journey', where Paniflov more expressively explores his easy listening and library music influences. It, too, is a calming treat for the ears.
Review: What's important is to spread confusion, not eliminate it: Estonian production master Misha Panfilov knows this as much, running a carefully-curated imagecraft cartel, in which his many aliases confound and bemuse us into believing his many works are the doing of someone else. Case in point: At first glance, we were well-duped into believing Penza Penza were some kind of exotic psych supergroup lost to time, but a deeper investigation as to the origin of the alias indeed reveals the singular force of Panfilov to be the artist behind these tracks. It's no wonder the A-sider is called 'Deep Dive', affirming our propensity for curious, almost forensic suspicion as to its true origins. A serene groove of just-intoned riffs and sizzlingly offbeat hits, this one's certainly a solid accompaniment for your next mescaline dabbling. Meanwhile, we're happy to award the B-sider with "banger of the year so far" - 'My Friend Ash' is an ecstatic mover, as deceivingly retro as it is beguiling, with stabbing counterpoints and wild toppers, as suitable for the club as it is would've been for some kind of 70s hoedown.
Review: Penza Penza is one of many aliases used by funk-fuelled musical polymath Misha Paniflov. This "45" showcases two tracks from the project's recently released debut album, which added heavy funk vibes to a hallucinatory stew of flavoursome psychedelic rock. A-side 'Mad Madis Twist' is gnarly, rugged and impressively heavy, with Paniflov and company wrapping squally, Jimi Hendrix style guitar solos and flanged funk-rock riffs over a cacophonous, all-action rhythm track. 'Shulz' Thing' is a little tighter, more bass-heavy and undeniably funkier, though the wild guitars and acid-fried attitude remain front and centre.
Review: Penza Penza, led by Misha Panfilov, is back with a fourth LP, Alto E Primitivo, which was recorded at private events in Funchal, Portugal, and Tallinn, Estonia. The album underscores Panfilov's genre-blending prowess on Detroit's Funk Night Records across 14 tracks that blend deep grooves, intricate guitars, and soulful rhythms from psychedelia to garage rock. The dynamic tracks showcase the groups' newly matured sound with refined production that will find favour with fans of Khruangbin and The Budos Band. Tracks like 'Wacky,' 'Pterodactyl,' and 'Boo Hoo Boogaloo' highlight their instrumental prowess while occasional distorted vocals add texture. Alto E Primitivo then is another gem from Penza Penza.
Review: Modern psych master Misha Panfilov unleashes yet more fresh psych heaven under his new outfit Penza Penza, laying down the unbridledly satisfying new album Electrocolorized. In the words of its chief endorser Matt Chandler, the album is chock-full of Stax, Motown and Blue Note-esque notes, circling in and around the thematic cornerstone that is the funk jam, though not succumbing to its cliches and pratfalls. Finding joy in the imperfect - the sonic wabi-sabi - the likes of 'Der Himmel Uber Kakumae' and 'The World Of High Voltage Badgers' are instrumental exemplars of the vintage, basking in the style's psychic, sun-beaten buzz.
Review: A stunning showcase of Pu Poo Platter's ability to craft infectious, captivating grooves, Funk Night Records proves again here that is never disappoints in delivering top-tier funk from all eras. The A-side, 'Pbppbp,' features loose, live-sounding drum breaks paired with haunting chords creating an eerie, late-night vibe, complemented by soulful guitar lines. On the B-side, 'Pbpbppbb' slows things down with a laid-back groove, offering a relaxed, rolling rhythm enhanced by exquisite keys and smooth chords. This 7" is a perfect blend of energy and soul.
Review: You can never go wrong with the music put out by US label Funk Night. It covers all aspects of funk from across the ages and here we have some hot shit from Pu Poo Platter. First up on the highly effective 7" is 'Pbppbp' with its loose, rolling, live-sounding drum breaks and rather haunting chords which bring an eerie late night edge next to the soulful guitar lines which worm in and out. 'Pbpbppbb' then cuts back and chills you out with a more lazy rolling groove and some exquisite keys and chords.
Review: If you're after fresh workouts for body-popping break-dance sessions, this 45 from John Reed & The Automatics on Funk Night Records should be essential listening. While there's something undeniably alluring about the more suspenseful B-side, 'Space Break' - where effects-laden electric guitar licks and alien-sounding synths rise above a metronomic bassline and a relaxed funk break - it's the more up-tempo A-side, 'Stardust Break', that's the real winner. Based around drum-breaks that reference 'Apache' and a seriously squelchy synth bassline, it's an intergalactic club jam that's just tailor-made for headpins, windmills and caterpillars.
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