Juno Recommends Funk / Rare Groove / Reissues : February 2023

Review: Cymande are a British funk group that released several albums throughout the early 1970s and reunited in 2014 with a European tour and a new album released in 2015. Originally released in 1972, this self titled debut album has long been regarded as a classic of the genre. Formed 1971 in London, it featured musicians from Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Vincent. The name Cymande is based on a calypso word for 'dove' and symbolised peace and love. Their style was described as 'Nyah-Rock': a mixture of funk, soul, reggae and African rhythms. The band achieved their greatest initial success in America and were actively recording and performing until 1975. Then Cymande reformed and have been playing live since around 2010.

Review: A big hello to new Montreuil-based label Mother I'd Like to Funk, which also wins our award for the best new label name of 2022. The 7" it kicks off with ain't too shoddy either. Harri Stojka Express's 'What A Funky Night' is a long-awaited reissue that was first released in 1983 by the Austrian producer and guitarist. It is some irresistible boogie-disco-funk goodness that came from the leftfield as he had previously dropped mostly jazz-rock-fusion-orientated records. On the flip side is a brilliant reggae and soul fusion that's all about the lovely green herb.

Review: While Last Poets are rightly regarded as the 'godfathers of rap', others would insist that Hustlers Convention - a 1973 solo album from member Jalal Nuriddin under the Lightnin' Rod alias - had more influence on the birth of hip-hop. In part, that's down to the funk backing he received on the album from his chosen backing bands, which included the mighty Kool & The Gang. Here, Dynamite Cuts prove the point by offering two killer cuts from the set on 7" for the very first time. A-side 'Sport' is a Blaxploitation style delight - all ear-catching horn motifs, shuffling funk breaks, weighty bass, wah-wah guitar and languid spoken word vocals - while 'Four Bitches Is What I Got' sees our hero make merry over a more stripped-back take on the same backing track.

Review: Composer, arranger, producer and pianist Webster Lewis is widely celebrated for his work with Epic Records from the seventies and on through the eighties. His sound is a luxuriant one that is hugely polished, dense and accomplished in its fusion of jazz, funk and soul. He recorded four albums during those years and this collection pulls the best bits including his well-known classic 'Barbara Ann' as well as the likes of 'Give Me Some Emotion' and 'El Bobo' as well as more newly uncovered gems from the vaults like 'Reach Out' and 'Japanese Umbrella.'

Review: The godfather of soul found himself dipping into jazz on this classic but lesser-known album, Soul On Top (Verse By Request Series). Now getting a proper reissue treatment it is sure to convert many new fans to his abilities across the six sizzling tracks from this 1969 album, which includes the classic 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World' and a new version of 'Papa's Got A Brand New Bag'. Brown provides the vocals to a 18-piece big band set up that was led by drummer Louis Bellson and arranged by Impulse! star Oliver Nelson. Brown always said he was a jazzman at heart and this goes some way to proving that, with saxophonist Maceo Parker adding plenty of vital swing.

Review: Who doesn't know this classic? Sampled by almost every hip-hop artist under the sun, and remixed many-a-time even by electronic artists and covers vultures, 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' is Roy Ayers' least deniable classic, often placed firmly in many 'greatest songs of all time' lists. In theme and sound, it is pure summer, capturing Ayers at his creative peak while in the company of his employ band, the Ubiquity. Peaking strings, lackadaisical melodies, and references to 'bees and things and flowers' paints an almost dizzyingly high-as-a-kite mood, as if Ayers wrote the song while under the effect of heatstroke. Whatever overtook him, it worked. Once more, the original releaser Polydor reminds us of the song's impact.

Review: Inner Space Quartet had a busy debut year in 2022: they put out three enthralling funk 7"s between the Far and Dime label and now they arrive on Funk Night outta the US of A. 'Holy Water' sure does have a religious feel to it during the break when some hypnotic chants arrive, but the rest of the tune is defined by psyched-out guitar, Thai funk grooves, and star-gazing cosmic feels. It's a lovely cut followed by 'Medicine Bag,' a dumpy and dubby cut with intoxicating eastern melodies and snaking flute leads.

Review: Misha Panfilov is an Estonian multi-instrumentalist and producer who is in several well-regarded groups and has put out a rather incredible 18 albums since only 2019. There have been nine EPs in that time and this new one on Funk Night is a real gem. The a-side is cosmic-tinged 60s psyche-funk and campfire rock with tight-as-you-like organic drumming and lush synth work. It's a real delight. On the flip is the more laidback and slow-motion lo-fi funk of 'Jogo', but it still has a nice spaced-out synth side to it that makes it so lush.

Review: Detroit-born jazz musician Wendell Harrison did a lot of seminal work with the likes of Phil Ranelin and Tribe in the early part of his career, but he's also slipped out some seriously funky wares like this rare joint originally from 1982 on Wenha Records. Athens Of The North are champions of such records, picking them up, showing them some love and getting them out to a fresh audience, and so it goes on this killer 7", which flips the A and the B so Harrison's version of Stevie Wonder's 'Rocket Love' gets up front in all its groovesome glory.

Review: DC label Peoples Potential Unlimited makes funk like no other. Central Ayr Productions have already dropped great EPs and albums on the label and are now back with this lovely new 7". The band record in various places, mostly around Orlando Florida and here they bring some modern soul and boogie vibes. It takes the form of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Anthony Cole at home multi-tracking layers of himself and making magic instruments and even better music out of just his own voice.

Review: Favourite Records' new reissues series come with a new concept; each classic track comes with an exclusive bit of artwork on each side of the 12" sleeve. This time, they compile two speedy funk tracks from Crystal and J.E.K.Y.S.; 'Funky Biguine' is an homage to the French ballroom style of the same name, from which it draws influence, while 'Looking For You' is a devotional dream from J.E.K.Y.S., a French band singing in English. Slick, quick, and affecting stuff.

Review: Occasionally a single comes along that shows off a contemporary group's samplework. 'Hustler's Convention' from Dynamite Cuts is one. This new 7" recalls funk supergroup Lightnin Rod's album of the same name - originally released in 1973, it is renowned for being one of the major influences on hip-hop, bringing a sociopolitical commentary to black music at the time. Here the original track 'Sport', named after one of the album's protagonist hustlers, is blended with the B-side 'Four Bitches Is What I Got', which builds a smoke-filled narrative story involving poker tables and underworld czars around the funk backing.

Review: The Wagram label continues to impress us with its well-researched collections that have focussed on a wide range of different niche genres and periods. The latest is Funk Music Gems From Vinyl Diggers with 11 top tunes here that are all gold-standard jams. These are tunes that mix up funk, soul and disco from the 70s and 80s and have been lovingly sought out for your listening pleasure. You may or may not know the tunes in question as they tend towards the lesser-known end of the spectrum and that in part is what makes them so good to hear.

Review: We aren't sure who Inner Space Quartet are be we are sure you will like them. This is the second new music from them this month and it follows a busy 2022 in which they put out three head-turning 7"s on different labels. They seem to be settling for Funk Night as their home this year but soundwise are harder to pin down - there is Thai funk, space rock, jazz, psyched-out guitars and much more all contained with these two expansive and immersive sounds. 'Paranoia Party' is the really 60s-tinged narcotic opener then 'Delay' brings more rock guitar sounds as if from some secret and tripped-out Stones concert in the desert back in the day.

Review: Astral Quartet was a group that changed their name and evolved into Centre El Muusa. They never played live nut managed to record just two tunes back in 2018. Now, five years later, they finally get to see the light of day. They could be 50 years old such is the quality of the musicianship - fusions of jazz and funk that brim with character. The band is made up of Monika Erdman, Rauno Vaher, Volodja Brodsky and Misha Panfilov who mix up cosmic Wurlitzer sounds, languorous synths and fresh drums, turning it into something laidback and psyched on the b-side and more funky and up-beat on the a-side.

Review: Los Angeles 12-piece Jungle Fire rarely fails to deliver the goods, offering a heatwave-hot fusion of Latin and African rhythms, rousing horns and infectious instrumentation. This was evident from their earliest releases, particularly debut album Tropicoso, which has now been given the reissue treatment (on pink vinyl, no less) after being out of print for the best part of eight years. It's packed to the rafters with inspired workouts, with our highlights including the glistening guitars and punchy horns of Afrobeat workout 'Comencemos (Let's Start)', the Fela Kuti-esque brilliance of 'Firewalker', the pitched-down dancefloor tropicala of the superb title track, and the toe-tapping, sweat-soaked heat of Afro-funk bomb 'Village Hustle'. In a word: essential!

Review: Freestyle Records has got a brilliant and rather rare bit of boogie here in the form of Eddie Capone's 'I Wont Give You Up.' This is the first officially licensed reissue of this 1985 gem by the reggae, funk and soul mainstay of that decade. He played with various noted outfits such as Chairmen of the Board, Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come and Edwin Starr and was also in the short-lived band Casablanca. He founded the Treatment band in the early 1980s and played with a rotating cast of musicians. The tunes included on this 7" are some of them with Diane Jones providing vocals on the A-side, which is the standout gem.