This 7-inch two-track single is pure funky joy to listen to! Malaaz were a band out of Reunion Island, of all places, and is considered to be a solid funk gem. The backstory of the band is here, at their label, Babani Records’ Bandcamp site: “Malaaz was initiated by Patrick Continue Reading
Funk
The Traffic – Fire/Bangarang
The first thing that came into my mind hearing The Traffic was that they have mastered the psych-soul formula to a tee. The first track, Fire, is a Jimi Hendrix cover where the flute takes the place of Hendrix’s legendary guitar playing, and it sounds damn solid. The second track, Continue Reading
Ajate – Abrada
Ajate are a Japanese band who have the Afrobeat sound down. They’re one of the best bands working in this style while seamlessly blending Japanese percussion, funk and soul into their milieu.
Stephen Mallinder – tick tick tick
With the death of Richard H. Kirk last year, my hopes are dashed for new material from Cabaret Voltaire. However, Stephen Mallinder is carrying the torch of mid-period Cabs by combining a dark soundscape with rough electro-funk. From his Bandcamp website: “Cabaret Voltaire co-founder Stephen Mallinder’s second solo outing for Continue Reading
The Mossad – The Sleeping Dragon/’Stunt Queen’
The Mossad are a project out of Lansing, Michigan, which reminds me of a slower, dubbier, late-period Tackhead or even Gang of Four with less funk, but far rawer. I haven’t heard a sound this crunch since the late 1980s, so for music ability and nostalgia, I give this single Continue Reading
Les Dynamites / Radio Trip – Pop Oud #2 / No Oud
This snazzy 7-inch features two Israeli bands, Les Dynamites and Radio Trip, who mix the best of hipster-inflected bellydance music, surf, funk and psych with Greek, North African, Yemenite and Mizrahi styles of music. Worth donning a fez and smoking a hookah pipe for.
Various Artists – Sharayet El Disco – Egyptian Disco & Boogie Cassette Tracks 1982-1992 – LP with 2p col Insert (Black Vinyl)
Though I don’t think this banger will be available as a digital download (my friends at Wewantsounds will be happy to clarify this), Sharayet El Disco is going to be an indispensable part of your world disco collection! From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Wewantsounds is delighted to release ‘Sharayet el Continue Reading
Golden Hands – Golden Hands
Sdban Records, a magnificent Belgian imprint I came across recently, is releasing some absolute bangers in the field of jazz, library music and funk. This particular album, which has its roots in Morocco’s hardly-ever-discussed funk scene, was first available as a cassette in 1978 on Disques Gam. The reissue is Continue Reading
Vis-A-Vis – The Best Of Vis-A-Vis In Congo Style
Even in the midst of war and apocalypse, you should find ways to feel a sense of joy. Hope trumps all, and Ghanian music, like that of Vis-A-Vis, makes for a good remedy. Cheerful vocals, lo-fi production and a pulsing beat cures many ills.
Daniele Baldelli – Back My Funky Side
Beefy, gritty, nasty funk. That’s what you will hear from this monster by DJ Daniele Baldelli. There are elements of tribal funk, Afrobeat, and soundtrack music that wouldn’t be out-of-place in old German or Italian krimis or Poliziotteschi. Calibro 35 would be the most apt comparison to Daniele’s work, but Continue Reading