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Review: The Psychedelic Breaks & Beats label isn't hard to get the measure of - they make their MO pretty clear in their name after all. It's a fairly safe bet you won't have heard the kind of obscure wonderments they dust down from the history of funky nuggets on the far out fringes, and so it goes on this opening gambit - a split 7" from Capprells & Soul Brothers Band and The Inner Thumb. The Capprells were a Pittsburgh-based family group who released a string of singles in the 70s, all of which are hard to come by but with 'Close Your Eyes' quite possibly being the pick of the bunch, still carrying a little of that 60s magic and more than deserving of a fresh airing on this release. On the flip we get 'Soul Submarine' by The Inner Thumb, an appropriately deep-diving joint originally released on the Soul Ecstasy soundtrack in 1999.

Review: While he lived a musical life that spanned from boogie to gospel before he passed away in 2016, Nairobi's David Waciuma didn't get to record much. He was known much more for his live performances with bands such as The Monks Experience then, later, Rapture Voices who he recorded these two records in the mid-70s. "Devil Go" is a thumping rhythm and blues call and response piece while "Jesu Kristo" hits with more of a frazzled bluesy funk. Both make you wish he recorded much more.

Review: Pressed for the first time on 7" vinyl, two killer rock club tracks from the legendary Colloseum, track 1 and 2 from their sophomore 1969 album 'Valentyne Suite' - 'Elegy' and 'The Kettle'.
The powerful and up-tempo 'Elegy' is a funky love song, with steaming guitars and heavy groove, an absolute home run of a funky club banger. On the flip is the 'The Kettle', featuring a heavy rock groove that the attentive ear will recognise as sampled by Fatboy Slim for 'Ya Mama'.

Review: Food Stamps is a great example of a record that fell between the cracks on its original release back in 1982. The one and only release from Baltimore-based funk-rock explorer Billie Senger, it has achieved cult status amongst record collectors due to its obscurity (finding original copies is notoriously tough). This reissue - pressed on green vinyl with new cover artwork - should, then, prove popular. "Food Stamps" - a riotously loose and floor-friendly chunk of funk from the Rare Earth school of white funk-rock - is the real killer, though the MC5-influenced flipside "How Do I Know" impresses with its fuzzy, recorded-in-a-shed feel and extra-cosmic production.

Review: 51 years have now passed since Funkadelic dropped their first two albums, Funkadelic and Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. The latter album's numerous highlights included 'Funky Dollar Bill', a flash-fried funk-rock masterpiece that's as bonkers as it is low-slung and floor friendly. This anniversary edition of the song, which was released as part of a double A-side single in 1971, combines the pioneering Detroit crew's original vocal version (side A), with a never-before-heard instrumental take from the original recording sessions (B). This is particularly revelatory, as it offers a chance to hear everything that was going on below George Clinton's singing - and trust us, that's a lot! It's genuinely refreshing to hear an alternate take on a such a fantastic funk-rock gem, so we'd recommend giving it a listen.

Review: New Orleans funk outfit The Wild Magnolias were active in the mid 70s, releasing two albums and then regrouping in the 90s. Their sound is in step with their more renowned Louisiana peers, but certainly running hotter than the likes of The Meters. "Handa Wanda" is a stirring, effervescent call and response epic that shows the band at their best, rocking a wall of sound approach that keeps the pressure up the whole way through. "(Somebody Got) Soul, Soul, Soul" is a more fluid track, but it's certainly no slouch in the energy department either. This is hi-octane funk to get people shaking and sweaty.

Review: John Fitch & Associates were a one-shot curio from the tail end of the 60s who, on the strength of this record, should have ridden their wave of heavy, funky blues long into the 70s. What they did on their sole single was as strong as any of the more established and successful groups of the era, but of course the dusty archives of music history are littered with such mysteries and near-misses. Either way it's a treat to see this one get a fresh pressing, with the laid back but beautifully overdriven soul of 'Romantic Attitude' facing off with the hopped-up fuzz of 'Stoned Out Of It'.

Review: ** REPRESS ALERT ** This timeless classic by American singer-songwriter Shuggie Otis is an instantly recognisable masterpiece of soul. 1971's "Strawberry Letter 23" from his album "Freedom Flight" has endured and become a rare groove touchstone. Flecked with elements of psych and breakbeat, it is prescient, and stuffed with neat tics and tricks. Turn to the flip for an added bonus - "Ice Cold Daydream" is a funk bomb full of bouncing organs and squelching wah wah guitars with Shuggie's trademark vocal tones laid over the top.

Review: Montenegrin-French composer, arranger, conductor, keyboardist, percussionist, vocalist and producer (nuff skills!) Janko Nilovic & The Soul Surfers have already turned our ears this year with a super 7" on Funk Night. Now they're back with another limited bit of 45rpm heat on Broc. Noth sides of this one makes for impossibly funky listening, with skilled instrumental solos getting deep under your skin and making you move. They are packed with charm and mark another noteworthy outing for this outfit.

Review: Osei Korankye hails from Accra, Ghana and is a talented musician known as one of his homeland's last remaining seperewa musiciana. These tracks throw it back to the heyday of the sound in 1970 but were recorded in Brooklyn, NY as well as Accra when Korankye linked up with Super Yamba bandleader and drummer Daniel Yount for a few gigs in New York City in 2017. It was an effortless collaboration that resulted in some super psychedelic funk tunes that are designed for carefree dancing.