We Want Sounds! is on a roll! They started off the year with a stunning collection of funk which I had the absolute joy of reviewing a coupe of weeks ago, and now this! Dixie Fever is a collaborative effort from guitarist Makoto Kubota, along with Takashi Onzo on bass, Yosuke Continue Reading
Funk
Bernard Purdie – Purdie Good!
Imagine having a resume working with the following acts: James Brown, The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Hummingbird, Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin,Gil Scott-Heron, King Curtis, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Brecker, Quincy Jones, Hall & Oates, Isaac Hayes, Cat Stevens, Hair and Larry Coryell among so many others. Bernard Continue Reading
Various Artists – Mainstream Funk: Funk, Soul, Spiritual Jazz 1971-1975
From the label’s Bandcamp site: Wewantsounds continues its collaboration with Bob Shad’s formidable label Mainstream Records, to present a selection of 12 turntable-friendly tracks recorded between 1971 and 1975 and showcasing the label’s superb blend of Spiritual Jazz, Funk and Soul by the likes of Buddy Terry, Sarah Vaughan, LaMont Continue Reading
Kiyoshi Yamaya, Toshiko Yonekawa, Kifu Mitsuhashi – Wamono Groove: Shakuhachi & Koto Jazz Funk ’76
Traditional Japanese instruments meet rare groove?? Yes, please! From Wamono’s Bandcamp site: Following the already classic Wamono A to Z trilogy, we are delighted to present an exceptional collection of jazz funk / rare groove tunes recorded in the mid-seventies at the Nippon Columbia studios by three giants of Japanese Continue Reading
Various Artists – Lèspri Ka : New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe 1981-2010
This compilation released by Time Capsule Records is going to be stunningly good. From the release’s Bandcamp site: The innovative, radical soul of Guadeloupe explored across thirty years of contemporary gwoka music, released by Time Capsule and Séance Centre. As Guadeloupean vocalist and composer Marie-Line Dahomay writes in her liner Continue Reading
The Scorpios – Let’s Go
The Scorpios are a Sudanese/British Afrobeat band with an incredible pedigree. Regia Ishag, the band’s singer, is the daughter of the guitarist of one of Sudan’s funkiest bands, The Scorpions (obviously not the German hard-rock band bearing the same name). This new generation band maintains the funkiness of their forefathers Continue Reading
Şatellites – Seni Sen Olduğun İçin Sevdim
Batov Records, based out of Tel-Aviv, Israel, is producing some funky and hard-hitting music, and this 7-inch by Şatellites simply rocks. The title song of this single is a cover from Arabesque rock legend Hakkı Bulut is a driving jam which is described as a tune “with the force of The Continue Reading
High Pulp – Motel Money (feat. Takuya Kuroda)
High Pulp hail from Seattle, Washington and are currently being published by Anti- Records, best known for releasing albums by Tom Waits, Neko Case and Antibalas. This sounds like none of them, and it caught my attention in a most pleasant way. Motel Money is a single track, and it’s Continue Reading
Various Artists – Cameroon Garage Funk
Analog Africa produces yet another astounding compilation. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a while for this one, because the release date is scheduled for September 3, 2021. Still, considering the high quality of pretty much everything this label has produced, I’m expecting some fine music. Over on the Bandcamp release Continue Reading
Muito Kaballa Power Ensemble – Mamari
Fiddling around on the Youtube stream today as I have the house to myself, I came across a video of this album, and within the first second or so, I got hooked into a mix of Malian blues, funk, Cuban rhythms and a general Afrobeat vibe. Muito Kaballa are a Continue Reading