[ aquarius records — Soul Funk ]

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Showing results 701 through 750 of 794.

"Soul, funk, and jazz from a revolutionary era." '60s Black Power / freedom oriented tracks from the likes of The Watts Prophets, Nikki Giovanni, The Voices of East Harlem, James Brown and others.

Volume ten, if anyone's keeping count, in Soul Jazz's homage to Coxon Dodd and his Studio One recording studio / label / school / cultural institution. We already heard Studio One Soul, and we know how much Jamaican music was influenced initially from sounds up north in the states. Dodd himself used to make regular forays up to the US to pick up the newest, hottest singles to play on his sound system early in his career. So why not put together a collection tracing funk through Jamaica's most influential music stable? Studio One Funk is a little different from its Soul counterpart in that there's much more original material here, less covers, than the previous collection. Studio One Funk does have its share of cool versions of American funk tunes including a great instrumental reworking of the theme from "Shaft" by our beloved Cedric Im Brooks, Alton Ellis doing "It's A Shame", Booker T. & The MGs' "Melting Pot" is given a twist by the Underground Vegetables (no doubt just a creative moniker for whatever the studio group happened to be that day) and "Funky Broadway" done here by Delroy Wilson. Lloyd Wilson's "Reggae Feet", while not technically a cover, is about as close a James Brown impersonation you can expect from Jamaica!

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If there were any doubt how deep and rich the vaults of Studio One were, Soul Jazz has shown that it's pretty much a bottomless well of amazingly rich sounds. This time it's the second in their Studio One Soul series, which shows the influence of American soul & funk on the roots of Reggae. The way that the sounds of folks like Curtis Mayfield, Al Green and early Roberta Flack influenced the music coming out of Jamaica, played itself out so nicely in the delivery from artists in Studio One. The mixture of classic soul melody and roots reggae instrumentation made for a sound that perfectly incorporated two so very important movements in black music in this century. Hearing Jerry Jones tackle the Eugene McDaniel's penned "Compared to What" or The Heptones taking on Curtis Mayfield's "Choice of Color" doesn't sound as much like an homage or cover as it does a solidarity of soul and spirit that makes so much sense and sounds so totally wonderful.

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There has not been a shortage of amazing soul reissues recently and we sure as heck aren't complaining. But we gotta say that the two new comps of golden era soul and funk we're listing this time out are two absolute must haves for vintage soul and funk lovers! You'll hear about the great "Florida Funk" comp elsewhere on this list but now we're talking about this collection from Luv N' Haight, an essential chapter in the history of California soul from 1966-1982. We've been playing this in the store pretty much every single day since its arrived (along with that Florida Funk), sometimes sneaking it on multiple times cause it just sounds so damn good! Starting off with the Gow Dow Experience's version of the Eugene McDaniel penned "Compared To What" which was first made famous by Roberta Flack on her essential recording First Take. The next fifteen tracks keep the fire alive with the kind of spirited soul that's pretty much impossible to resist. Whether it's the Bay Area's own Darondo turning on the sensual heat with his slow burner "Such A Night" or Spanky Wilson getting all sassy with her take of "Fancy" or Johnny Morisette getting super raw singing about being hungry. The perfect collection to be blasting at all summer bbq's and get togethers. Sounds that are so warm, so bold and still sound so alive today!

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Great comp of rare funk tracks from Texas (naturally). DJ Shadow contributes to the liner notes.

Fab collection of rare, groovy tracks dug up and dusted off from back in the sixties/seventies heyday of such funky goodness. It's wide-ranging but carefully curated comp, chock full of soul, gospel, disco, soundtrack and library music of diverse geographic origin: Brazil, England, France, and the USA.... Included is Nina Simone's classic put-down "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter" but that's not the only highlight. Library disco diva Madeline Bell's title track is another. (By the way, in case you're wondering, "library music" is music recorded to be sold for commerical purposes, like in advertising, as opposed to music released to the public on its own.) We also were taken by French teen pinup France Gall's samba/jazz confection "Zozoi" also, and library music "mad scientist" Nino Nardini's "Poltergeist" too. Heck it's hard to pick favorites, all of these are definite DJ droolers. These cuts are all selections derived from the Jazzman label's series of 7" vinyl reissues, but handily enough for those of us who missed those collectables (or prefer the convenience of a cd) they've compiled some of the choicest tracks here. And we must give props to Jazzman for the well-researched linernotes complete with full-color photos, that's the way to do it!

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The Numero Group and their Eccentric Soul series have helped usher in a new era of comprehensive and well thought out reissues of amazing long lost soul music that so deserves the chance to reach more ears. And we couldn't be happier Since that music totally hits the spot for us. We're also happy that other labels like This Rabbit Factory are popping up to help preserve more of the sounds of artists and labels that otherwise would just be erased from history. This collection is a look into the soulful sounds that came out of Birmingham, Alabama. Best known as being the center of the Civil Rights struggle this compilation puts its focus on The Sound of Birmingham studio run by a plumber named Neal Hemphill. In his studio the best and brightest of the Birmingham soul scene had the opportunity to record inside a real studio that was dedicated to the sounds of soul. Many of these musicians never even performed live but got to lay down some seriously warm and solid soul tracks in Hemphill's studio. A very welcome addition to the recent soul reissue explosion.

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The fourth installment of The Breaks comps is fantastic. Not only are most of the tracks rare collectibles that you'd be hardpressed to find elsewhere, so coveted by DJs are they, but after one listen you realize that these original tracks are stone Another nice thing about The Breaks comps is that the liner notes are detailed and inspiring, they give you just enough substantial info to make you wanna find out more about each artist, plus they namedrop all the many musicians who love this music too and have sampled these very tracks -- on this album alone are tracks used by Wu Tang, NWA, Del, the Beastie Boys, KRS-One, Raekwon, Limp Bizkit (!), Gang Starr, Massive Attack, etc., making the listening experience both new and pleasantly familiar.

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Super rare funk cuts from the golden late '60s/early '70s era. 22 tracks, with notes on each in the booklet, from the obscure but funky likes of Kashmere Stage Band, Ernie and The Top Notes, The Highlighters, Carleen and the Groovers, Soul Vibrations, and

Subtitled: "Hip shaking grooves from Germany 1966-1974". Hence the "kraut" in the title -- nothing to do with the "krautrock" of Can/Faust/Amon Duul/etc., though. Nope, this very entertaining collection of twenty obscure cuts culled from rare soundtracks, singles, and library music sources is all about swingin' stuff for lounge pad hipsters, with a Teutonic twist. It starts off with the Marlene Dietrichish "From Here On It Got Rough" by Hildergard Knef, which could be a campy cabaret classic, and then ventures on into red light district funk, stoned jungle soul, and big band psychedelia, a lot of it performed by middle aged German jazz and pop musicans cashing in on the younger generation's trends. The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra even does a cool cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash", believe it or not (never thought I'd really enjoy hearing that particular song again so much). And there's definitely a spirit of the age, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor on display, from Kuno & The Marihuana Brass's "Marihuana Mantra" to Vivi Bach and Dietmar Schonherr's "Molotow Coctail Party". And (applause, please) the compilers have provided a cd booklet full of detailed notes on each track, full color cover pictures of the original records, and bad puns like the title ("kraut-pleasers").

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

The Rustler is this legendary British record collector who's compiled this look at super rare funk 45s. The sort of no-name, lost-gem stuff that DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist spin on their all-45s tours, including a single that someone offered the Rustler a

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Exciting new compilation for you "kosmigroov" folks, put together by Kirk DeGiorgio and Ian O'Brien. Lots of great old and new electronic jazz-groove-funk is in the mix, including a super rare and sought after unreleased 1973 Herbie Hancock cut called "The Spook Who Sat By The Door". Also: David Axelrod, George Duke, The Players Association, Shuggie Otis, Be Bob Dawg, Lonnie Liston Smith, more.

Whoo-hoo! Awesome to have this on dvd at long last, in a nice, complete "collector's edition" with various bonus features. One of the most exciting rock/R&B audio-visual documents ever, The Teenage Awards Music International Show live concert film was originally screened in theaters in 1964, and has never been on dvd before. It features James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Jan and Dean, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, Lesley Gore, and more... including, in footage cut from most previous versions of this film, the Beach Boys. Watch Mick Jagger trying to cop James Brown's moves, watch James Brown do stuff that Mick could never do in a million years, watch garage band The Barbarians bash out their mop topped pop backed by a drummer with a hook for a hand, it's all here... an all time classic, now you can take in the whole thing rather than just watching individual clips on YouTube! Restored and remastered. Bonus features include director's commentary, the original trailer with commentary from John Landis, and radio spots.

Record Store Day alert! Here's a 2013 RSD release that we thankfully managed to get enough copies of to list... Please don't ask us to pronounce Theppabutr, but do ask us why this is so awesome - though the best answer is: just listen to it! International vinyl diggers, seeking out vintage grooves in far flung parts of the world, have made Molam music from Thailand into something that's now definitely a 'thing' in our world music section - we've had some other great Molam collections on the Sublime Freqencies label, for instance, so of course it's exciting to hear from 'The Man Behind The Molam Sound', Theppabutr Satirodchompu, responsible for the production work on the 17 tracks collected here from a variety of Molam artists. It's Molam of the modern variety (modern circa 1972-1975 that is, in this case), a form of electrified vocal music from Northeast Thailand that combines traditional folk melodies and ethnic instrumentation with electric guitars and electronic keyboards. Great stuff, all of it, lively and rhythmic, emotive and ear-wormy. Even though we don't understand a word, it's still immediately captivating. We love the keening singers and warbly organs, groovy beats and exotic vibes. If you haven't yet given Molam and closely related genre Luk Thung a try, this would be a great place to start. Seventies Molam like this is mighty fine stuff, up there with those 'Ethiopiques' recordings and certain Jamaican reggae of the same vintage, though we'd imagine the vocal stylings here might work for some folks and not so much for others. This limited vinyl version is a Record Store Day 2013 release - there is also a (presumably less-limited) non-RSD compact disc edition too, that we'll be stocking and will list next time, but we wanted to get this RSD vinyl listed now before they were gone! Especially since the double vinyl includes two bonus tracks not found on the cd version - as well as a 12"x14" poster, and download card for mp3s of all the tracks. Gatefold sleeve in faux woodgrain wrapper, liner notes, foldout poster inside.

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This is the kind of kid's music compilation that is as much (or more) for the adults, who are really buying it for themselves, though your little one will like it too - we tested it out on Allan's 18 month old Josie, and she started happily dancing immediately, probably finding it a nice respite from the sort of weird sounds her dad usually subjects her too. With tracks from a bunch of classic artists (Van Dyke Parks, Carole King, Harry Nilsson, Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, Donovan, Vashti Bunyan, and more), it's a diverse and entirely delightful selection of material, not all of it originally intended for children. There's lots of gentle folk, some freaky funk (The Pointer Sisters doing a counting song from a 1977 episode of Sesame Street!), and sentimental soft pop - heck, the last track here is none other than "Rainbow Connection", and that sweet song, sung by Kermit the Frog, is the perfect capstone to this neat-o collection, which also comes with a specially illustrated story booklet, all about some critters in the woods who find a mysterious object (this record). Btw, Third Man also put out a kid's portable turntable, the Third Man Mini Record Player that's sorta supposed to go with the vinyl of this, we have one in stock if you're interested in the complete package!

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Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on... Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia. And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo. The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines. So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy. Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex. Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!! Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. The song titles say it all: "Ghetto Boogie", "Countdown To...Soul", "Cold Sweat", "Loaded To The Gills", "Do It", "In The Pocket". Rare 70's funk 45s for y'all to get down to. Haven't heard of many of the artists who performed these lost classics (with James Brown being of course the exception) but they've all got the funk all right.

Sometimes guilty pleasures are the most pleasurable ones. Are we right? Take this comp for example, a collection of smooth-groovy, soft rock and disco tunes from the ''70s that the compilers consider "too slow" for the dancefloor (but perhaps just fine for the bedroom?). We were prepared to scoff, as "yacht-rock" is not usually our thing, but dang, these are some very earwormy, catchy tracks indeed, also full of a lot of kitschy charm, evoking nostalgia for the champagne, cocaine, shag carpet '70s! "Late 70s West Coast Yatchpop you can almost dance to" is their slogan, and that's pretty accurate. Some you could definitely slow-dance to. Mellow moody discotheque vibes galore! Some of the songs here we were familiar with (like Chicago's "Saturday In The Park"), others not so much, but they all still sorta SOUNDED familiar, that's how good they are. Ferinstance, the very first track, "Get It Up For Love", by SoCal singer-songwriter Ned Dohney. Sounds like a hit to us, should have been anyway. (And if you like that one, Numero Group has just released a collection of Ned Dohney's dreamy discopop, called Separate Oceans, "Get It Up For Love" is on it too, and is one of his best.) So it's a mix of one-hit (?) wonders and better known names too. The Doobie Brothers are on here, and Fleetwood Mac, also the Jan Hammer Group, Rupert Holmes, Tony Joe White, and many more� no Steely Dan but some of the "unknowns" here come close. It's possible that those of you of a certain age may dimly recall hearing some of the tracks here on the radio - or maybe you even had 'em on 45 - back when you were a kid. Do the bump once more to Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away", get down to the laidback funk of David Batteau's "Spaceship Earth", enjoy Micky Denne and Ken Gold's soulful "Let's Put Our Love Back Together", take some fashion tips from the lushly orchestrated "Deco Lady" by Rupert Holmes, sample the funky breaks on the Alessi Brothers "Do You Feel It?"... There's 19 tracks in all, packed with disco strings, groovy bass lines, fusiony guitar noodle, saccharine singing, sexy saxophone, and sappy, soaring synths. Some songs sad, some sunshiney; and all so very, very seventies. Take a chance, you might be surprised how much you'll dig this! It sure surprised us, but we're lovin' it. Ariel Pink fans at least ought to give it a go. Just turn the lights low, and turn this up, to a moderate volume. Nicely packaged slipcased cd or double vinyl lp.

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Watch your back Numero Group, as Now Again has also been releasing some amazing soul reissues over the last few years. With this compilation they put their soul discovery focus on the True Soul label from Arkansas during the 1960s and 1970s. Much like the US punk/hardcore scene that would arise in the early '80s, the underground soul scene embodied a similarly DIY spirit, and thus shared many parallels, regional labels, record stores being magnets for the scene, sharing practice spaces and recording time, playing in unusual venues, and doing it all for the love of the music, even if fame and fortune never came, no matter how much these fellas sound like James Brown! Billed as 'Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax', this really is deep hitting, nitty gritty soul and funk that isn't about flash and appearance as much as it is really getting to the heart of things. We blast this in the store, imagining being in some musty, smoke filled lounge in Arkansas as folks like Thomas East, Albert Smith, Ren Smith, and The Leaders play sweat dripping sets. Don't worry if none of the above mentioned names don't ring a bell for you, they didn't for us either. But this collection further proves how much amazing soul was created during this special era that never got the wide attention it so totally deserved. Super swank packaging, in a thick hardback book with tons of text, color photos, and record graphics, definitely giving these musicians their due! Plus there's a whole dvd disc featuring local TV performances by a bunch of these artists, 1973's True Soul Review, wow, amazing they dug this up too, way cool to see.

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The UK label Harmless collected a rowdy bunch of funkified covers here, from Dick Hyman doing "Give It Up or Turn it Loose" to a moaning diva version of "Light My Fire," the Staple Singers doing Stephen Stills, and of course one of the all time greatest covers ever -- Isaac Hayes' simmering twelve-minute rendition of Bacharach's "Walk On By" (which was recently sampled by Wu Tang Clan). Very extensive liner notes make reading and listening at the same time a great pleasure.

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Been listening to this non-stop since we got it. And selling 'em too, as soon as customers hear it (or even just hear about it, if they're like us). Wow. Now, you probably know that here at Aquarius we're partial to the prog. So, when we heard that a DJ mix of obscure tracks from the catalog of '70s UK label Vertigo, who specialized in prog, heavy psych, and weird-ass jazz rock was to be released, we were, well, psyched. And jazzed. And, uh, progged? Indeed. We were thinking that this could be something really great, as after all there were a lot of great records released on Vertigo (home of the famed "swirl" label). And great it IS, both in terms of the source material and the "60 course psychedelic smorgasbord" medley-like sound-collage approach taken to putting it together, which maximizes the amount of brilliant hooks and grooves that could be packed into one cd, while making for one dizzying, "swirl" worthy ride. The story there is that DJ Andy Votel (who compiled the Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word disc we listed last time, among other things) was asked, in a dream-come-true moment, to put together a "best of Vertigo" collection. But since, in his own words, progressive rock tracks are "not short, they're EPIC" he was faced with a dilemma. How to fit more than just three or four songs on the cd?? His solution was to boil down his favorite Vertigo LPs to short excerpts, stitching together these many "vinyl snippets" into a 68 minute mega-mix. The overall effect is still very "prog" indeed, as it's definitely a prog move to jump around from one motif to the next, dynamically or schizophrenically changing things up in a short span of time. Yet it all flows well together, this could almost be one tour-de-force album from one AMAZING band!! The credits list 38 songs by 29 artists, all from Votel's personal Vertigo vinyl collection -- Aphrodite's Child, Gracious, Colosseum, Affinity, Juicy Lucy, Uriah Heep, May Blitz, Warhorse, Gravy Train, Baker Gurvitz Army, Cressida, Patto, Flied Egg, Nucleus, Atlantis, Frumpy, Freedom, and many more, most of 'em hailing from the UK but also some from overseas, including Japan and Greece. Vertigo's best known signing has to be Black Sabbath, and while they don't appear in the credits I trust you'll hear something from 'em on here too, first thing (and later on as well, when Votel mixes the harp blowing from "The Wizard" into a May Blitz tune). Thusly loaded with heaviness, groove, and Mellotrons, you get everthing from (old school) acid jazz to flutey prog to raw proto-metal -- all kinds of what gets called "hairy funk" here. Votel also makes use of interjections from what might be radio promo spots for Vertigo -- voices exclaiming "Vertigo! Vertigo!" and the like -- in order to smooth up his segues. In some ways, this might remind you a little bit of DJ Shadow's Entroducing, actually, not that these tracks have been fully edited into new compostions. But the love of dusty old prog grooves is the same. Votel provides liner notes elaborating his enthusiasm for Vertigo (the label's role in his musical development, as a hip hop DJ with a fondness for prog) and his agonies over this project. Also you get a profile of Barry Winton, famed as the world's foremost Vertigo vinyl collector. And in addition, a portion of the cd booket is devoted to an appreciation of Keef, resident cover artist/graphic designer for Vertigo...which makes us think it would have been cool if they also presented a selection of covers here to look at, ah well. Could be the best comp/DJ mix we've heard in ages. Boiling down an entire label to its essence over the span of one cd has got to be a tough task, and of course what Votel has selected is only a portion of the whole Vertigo story. But we can't nitpick with what he's done, this is a classy piece of work and deserving of kudos from all lovers of ye olde prog/psych. It might even convert some new lovers too! Recommended!!!

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It's hard to argue with this one. Indeed, we're gonna do quite the opposite and make it a Record Of The Week! This collection, the third in the World Psychedelic Classics series on Luaka Bop (David Byrne's "world music" label), after an Os Mutantes collection and that incredible Shuggie Otis album, is further subtitled: "The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa". Stress on the funk we thinks. Yup, authentic '70s West African funk with a 'delic bent. Really really hard stuff not to like. The dozen tracks here have got it all: Afro-centric chants, polyrhythmic percussion, James Brown style raspy yelps, wicked organ workouts, and even hard wah-wah acid fuzz jams (Ofo & The Black Company's bad-ass "Allah Wakbarr" is about the last word in that department, though we'd like to hear more). Though some come closer to the compilers' stated concept than others, all the tracks are winners, from the moody, marimba-based soundtrack theme of Manu Dibango's "Ceddo End Title" to the Cuban stylings of No. 1 de No. 1's "Guajira Van" to the percolating political space-funk of William Onyeabor's "Better Change Your Mind". And Alison simply says that "Ifa" by Tunji Oyelana and the Benders is her favorite. Probably because it sets itself apart from the other tracks by utilizing a more scrappy electronic sound to back its stripped-down politically-bent Afro-pop-style lyricism. All the tracks come from the decade of the '70s, and the bands that recorded them hail from the West African countries of Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Benin, and Nigeria (but only two tracks overlap with the now-out-of-print 3cd Nigeria 70 compilation). And we think the compliers did a damn fine job, though it seems any survey of West African psych shoulda included a track by Blo, the closest thing to Cream the continent produced as far as we know. Ah well... we can hope for a second volume someday perhaps. Meanwhile, anyone who digs James Brown, Fela, Funkadelic, Orchestra Baobab, or more recent AQ reviewees Konono No. 1 and Black Merda, for instance, will certainly find that love IS a real thing when it comes to how you're gonna feel about this compilation!! The liner notes go on about the psychedelic aspect of these bands, and while this stuff is definitely far out and groovy it's way more James Brown than brown acid. Mention of Haight-Ashbury seems a stretch, and the music of these bands has got as much or more to do with their motherland than, say, the generally more Western-derived psych we've heard from Thailand, Cambodia, or Turkey on various other comps we've carried. Then again, when you look at rock music influencing African music, you've got a full-circle phenomenon to examine. And when we reviewed the (currently unavailable) Love Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music compiliation some months back, the stuff on this new comp is exactly what we felt was missing and should have been included. In any case, proper psych or not, and with or without much fuzz, this is definitely FUNKY. The attractive cd booklet includes notes on each track/artist, complete with color album sleeve art where available. Nicely done. Furthermore, this is an "enhanced cd", allowing those with the appropriate computer technology to witness a video of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey's track "Minsato Le, Mi Dayhome".

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MPEG stream: Allah Wakbarr

The seminal New York label at the forefront of the collision between disco and punk turns 30 this year, and the Strut label has compiled a great compilation to celebrate. Strut has already dipped into the vast Ze records catalog for their Disco Not Disco series of compilations and with the Ze reissues of the Mutant Disco and N.Y. No Wave comps, Strut can be forgiven for not making a "Best of" collection. Instead Strut focusses on some of the labels not so well known gems. Tracks by label underdogs Michael Dracula, Casino Music, Garcons and Sympho State are mixed with obscurities by label mainstays, Christina, Lizzie Mercier Descloux, Kid Creole, Suicide, and James Chance and The Contortions (not doing "Contort Yourself" for a change!) among others. A fine compilation for freaky left-field disco connoisseurs! Happy Birthday Ze!!!

MPEG stream: Tell Me What I'm Dreaming
MPEG stream: Things Fall Apart
MPEG stream: Hard-Boiled Babe
MPEG stream: Dream Baby Dream (Long Version)

It's no secret that many of us here at AQ are huge fans of Daft Punk. In fact Matt, Irwin and Antaeus all went to their concert in Berkeley this summer and still light up when talking about what an amazing night it was. The fact is Daft Punk have perfected their unique strain of dance music, executed in a way that almost anyone can get into, without losing any of the electricity and spirit that makes their sound so special. So it's always been obvious to us how fun it would be to be able to go through their gigantic record collection. This compilation features tracks that they have sampled on their three albums, so it's no surprise that it's filled with all sorts of rare funk, soul and disco gems. While this works a just a killer comp, it's especially fun if you're a Daft Punk fan as we've gotten so much pleasure hearing such unmistakably Daft Punk moments in their original incarnations. We also think it's so cool that they made sure to give full props to their source material and the wealth of vintage dance music that they have borrowed so heavily from. Dance gems from folks we know and love like Karen Young, Cerrone and Sister Sledge to more obscure burners from the likes of Little Anthony & The Imperials, Edwin Birdsong and Breakwater this is a collection that's been making us dance and smile so wide.

MPEG stream: Cola Bottle Baby
MPEG stream: Hot Shot
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First Jack Palance, now Melvin Van Peebles...the what's Water label trying to do?? Flood the 'exotica' market with reissues of records that maybe should never have been made in the first place, upsetting the kitsch levels of the universe. But hey, you gotta like Melvin. Sweet Sweetback, y'know?

Wow, when we reviewed those two J.P. Massiera Psychoses compilations, a couple of years back, we somehow assumed that this eccentric French producer recorded so prolifically under so many monikers that many of the groups (especially the space disco ones) were probably just single releases and not complete full length albums. Well, the Mucho Gusto label has proven us wrong once again, by reissuing the full length albums of both Venus Gang and Herman's Rocket, two of the zaniest freakout space disco-funk outfits that Massiera ever created. Commissioned in 1977 and 1978 by an Italian producer to jump on the European Space Disco craze, Massiera teamed up with his half-brother, Bernard Torelli and the singers Mickey and Joyce to create these two amazing groups. Amazing also in the sense that while he used what is basically a cookie-cutter disco template (he blatantly borrows lots from American funk and disco - but really who didn't? And at least he borrows well!), he managed to create such a crazy, unique sound with lots of Moogs, strange vocal effects and lots of spacey noises and sounds. Considered too crazy at the time for marketable appeal (check out the great covers!), both records have gained a cult following over the years and sound so good right now especially with all the modern throwbacks of Italo-disco trying to sound like this, these two groups are by far way freakier and so worth your time. We're curious if all of Massiera's disco incarnations released full length albums, and if we'll be soon gifted with reissues of The Human Egg, Sex Convention and The Starlights too. Here's hoping! Both albums were only reissued on vinyl, not on cd, but do come with mp3 download cards!

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With hip hop and dance DJ culture having totally spread to the mainstream, labels like the amazing Strut have been steadily putting out records that illuminate the roots of this culture, records like Disco Not Disco (which explored the shared NY roots of

RealAudio clip: Apache

Somewhere in France, sometime in the '80s: a radical independent underground micro-scene peopled by creative teenagers who grew up listening to Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, A Certain Ratio, Metal Urbain, and Cabaret Voltaire, making their own synth- and sample-based music, with heavy beats and noisy dubbed out FX, that's like a post-punk/industrial hybrid of old school hiphop, Detroit electro, and tape-splicing musique concrete experimentation, releasing it themselves on artfully packaged cassette tapes and occasional pieces of vinyl, in limited editions heard only by the most dedicated international networkers in that pre-internet age. Sound good? It is! That's what this release documents, remarkable DIY music that's been aptly described as "like Wild Style on dust". Or imagine some other underground '80s industrial experimentalists from France, like Le Syndicat, toning down the noise (a little) and trying to make tracks like Afrika Bambaataa. And please don't get confused, either, 'cause noted turntablist, producer and crate digger Cut Chemist's name is on the cover. This isn't a DJ mix, or remix, or collaboration, or anything like that. Cut Chemist doesn't himself have anything to do with the music of the two closely related bands on here, Vox Populi! and Pacific 231, other than having discovered 'em on one of his record-buying excursions (specifically via finding Vox Populi!'s track "Megamix" on a rare compilation LP called Alternative Funk, released by VP!'s own Vox Man label), and then making it his mission to find out more about them and get their stuff reissued - which he did, after many years of research, and friendships forged with both Vox Populi's leader Axel Kyrou and his colleague Pierre Jolivet, whose own project Pacific 231 ran parallel to Vox Populi!, and was also an important part of the collective described above. So, thanks to Cut Chemist, whose imprimatur will hopefully help get this music some additional well deserved attention, we've now got this fantastic anthology of twenty VP! and P231 tracks rescued & remastered from rare cassette and vinyl comps, eps, etc., with plenty of previously unreleased material too. It's a real treasure trove of headnodding, mindblowing, utterly rad stuff, what could be indeed called, "alternative funk". Make that, alternative WTF? funk. These wide-ranging tracks contain, in varying combinations and degrees, all manner of frizzled blip bloop electronics, propulsive drum machine rhythms, subversive cut-ups, spanking funk bass, gothic cold wave vocals, ambient synth trances, crazed echoing dub effects, and reel-to-reel tape manipulation (the DJ "scratching" sounds you'll hear). All we can say is, upon hearing this, we immediately understood Cut Chemist's obsession! Musically, the French always seem to have their own unique, unusual take on things, whether it's disco or prog or black metal, and the hard-to-define genre this represents is no exception. The thick cd booklet (or big lp insert) is full of detailed liner notes, graphics and photos, which should give one a good sense of the exciting artistic/cultural/musical milieu these folks inhabited. Highly, highly recommended. (Note, the double vinyl version comes with a bonus 7" of extra tracks, which are also included on the cd.)

MPEG stream: Bala Mala
MPEG stream: Mind
MPEG stream: Funk Off
MPEG stream: Radio Moscou/Satyriasis

A while back we reviewed the self titled debut from Ethiopian-Finnish guitarist/vocalist Mirel Wagner, released on local label Friendly Fire, and we were pretty smitten, a haunting collection of lush, almost murder ballads, the sound crystalline and clear, but the vibe and the mood murky and ominous. Not sure what we were expecting, but it definitely wasn't something nearly that bleak and dark. And with a jump to Sub Pop, we were perhaps expecting Wagner to deliver something more polished, less intimate, less sonically harrowing than that debut, but we're beginning to think this is just where she wants to be, and while it sounds like a frightening, heart breaking place to be, she manages to make it sound strangely inviting. Right from the opener, Wagner conjures up a mysterious world of sound, one that's mostly just guitar and vocals, the guitar generally spare, the vocals deep, and smokey, "1 2 3 4" is almost like a lullaby or a nursery rhyme, but one of those cautionary tales, that warns children what terrible end awaits if they disobey. "The Dirt" is a bit folkier, but has the same sort of sinister vibe, a dark slo-mo folk-blooze, that again, seem to be all about loss and death, the sounds as spare as they are, wreathed in clouds and shadow, and emotionally overcast, and soul baring threnody. And even later in the record, when the sound blossoms, and the production follows suit, the music stays dark and mournful, every track some kind of lament, and when the subtle strings surface, it only adds to the pretty pathos. The rest of the record finds an uneasy balance between darkly psychedelic dreamfolk ("The Devil's Tongue"), haunting chamber folk ("Dreamt Of A Wave"), and moody almost country ("What Love Looks Like"). The more we listen, the more it makes sense that this record ended up on Sub Pop, as it wouldn't be entirely out of place on your shelf somewhere in-between Fleet Foxes, Red Red Meat, Iron & Wine and Codeine, although wherever it ended up, would darken that corner of your collection considerably. Haunting, harrowing and pretty goddamn fantastic.

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MPEG stream: The Dirt
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Bill Withers ("Ain't No Sunshine") is the cover star on this latest installment of Wax Poetics, the magazine of hip-hop, jazz, funk, & soul for those of us who appreciate all that good old music (and how it factors in to all the cool new stuff we're hearing). The art and design of how that music was packaged back in the day is also celebrated by Wax Poetics, with tons of vintage photos and album graphics reproduced. Besides the cover story on Bill Withers, stuff in this issue ranges from a colorfully-illustrated article about Blaxploitation cinema lobby cards to an interview with Cut Chemist to a look back at Herbie Mann's career to a really cool feature on "mom's record collection" -- a bunch of well known producers like Peanut Butter Wolf, Hank Shocklee, and Prince Paul, talking about the records they heard their mothers playing when they were kids! Always a good read, and visually appealing as well.

Bobby Byrd, Devin the Dude, Barrington Levy, the Osaka Monaurail, a look back at Kurtis Blow's 1979 single "Christmas Rappin'" (not just a novelty, but a historical milestone)... All that and more is to be found in the 138 colorful pages of this new issue of the wonderful Wax Poetics, essential reading material for all fans of cool old (and new) hiphop, jazz, funk and soul!

Al Green on the front, Q-Tip on the flip. It's another as always awesome issue of Wax Poetics, our favorite magazine covering hiphop, jazz, funk and soul. 128 pages, lots of the usual beautiful photography and vintage album art. And text too: features on Estonian Rare Groove, the Afrobeat of Orlando Julius, King Britt on soundtracks, afro-jazz trombonist Phil Ranelin, Headhunters drummer Mike Clark, the two cover stars, and of course much more. Dig!

Another awesome issue of one of the best music magazines around. This time out, AQ favorite Shuggie Otis is on the cover and there's a really interesting interview with him inside. Also featured are MF Doom, Slick Rick, Larry Coryell, Mickey Dread, Os Mutantes, and Patrick Adams. Nice memorial pieces on Isaac Hayes, Roy Shirley and Jerry Wexler. We could go on and on as we really do read Wax Poetics cover to cover and it's one of the few music magazines we always keep around as they lend themselves to repeated reads and second looks.

Sly Stone makes the cover (did he really have to wait 'til issue 32?), and inside there's the usual profusely and colorfully photo-illustrated, deep-digging stuff about the likes of Jean Grae, Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince, Jimmy Cliff, Large Professor, Houston rappers HSID, and even South Korean B-boys! Among other things. In case you didn't know already, or figure it out from that run-down, Wax Poetics is THE magazine of cool hiphop/soul/funk/reggae/jazz hipness old and new, for vinyl fetishists and general groove-hounds, and as usual this issue is a must-read if you're at all into that stuff, and why the heck wouldn't you be?!

Yo, it's the "Philly Issue". Soul masters Gamble & Huff on the cover. ?uestlove from the Roots. Radio DJ Sonny Hopson. Vibraphonist Vincent Montana Jr., and the whole Philly jazz scene back in the day. The Stylistics. And plenty more!! (But wait, where's Schooly D?) As usual, this magazine of all things groovy (jazz, funk, hiphop, soul, disco...) and worth diggin' delves deep with extensive interviews and colorful pictures.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.