Search results: Cool James

Review: It is that time of year when the same very limited selection of Xmas songs get piped through every PA in the land. But you can now improve your Christmas soundtrack by at least some percent with this heavyweight double album on translucent magenta and clear vinyl featuring a weird and wonderful array of festive-themed rock, soul and pop songs. Chances are many of these will be new to you - but there are some real gems here, such as the gentle tiny of sleigh bells on Marvin Gaye's 'Purple Snowflakes,' Booker T & The MG's funky 'Jingle Bells' and The Kinks rock licked 'Father Christmas.'

Review: One of four new vinyl issues, Numero Group deliver their compendium of regional funk and soul unknowns from Mel Alexander's Consolidated Productions label. The V/A forms a part of a new bundled volume of their longstanding compilation-compilation (yes!), made up of earlier funk cuts released by lesser-spotted interstate funk floggers throughout the 70s, including Tragar, Note, Saadia and Shoestring. Eccentric Soul is its name: first issued in 2004, this big splash homed in on the regional American delights in the genre, stretching as far as Wichita, Kansas, San Antonia, Texas and Norfolk and releasing an uncountable string of tracks by formerly unknown names based in small locales, who'd at that point only just caught onto the incipient funk movement. Here, you may dive into LA's cutthroat music business from 1961-1991, embodied in Mel Alexander's Consolidated Productions, which lay among the longest running Black-owned independent record conglomerates of the 20th century.

Review: FlySiifu is a new collaborative project by Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin that aims to reflect the musical community around them. This debut long player brings together the fine styles of two top rappers with extra guests including Liv.e, Foushee and $ILKMONEY backed by beats made from talents such as Madlib, Jay Versace, Ohbliv, Awhlee and Budgie. It makes for attention grabbing music that takes in raps which range from soul to punk, and at times will swell your heart with sweetness, at others get you on edge with their confrontational sound.