Juno Recommends Funk / Reissues September 2018

Review: In the early '70s, Cymande made a trio of killer albums that remain stone cold classics to this day. For this reissue 7", Mr Bongo has dipped into two of those albums - 1973's Second Time Around and 74's Promised Heights - and dug out two of the best-loved, most-sampled cuts. On the A you'll find "Fug", a low-slung, bassline-driven party full of killer drum breaks, righteous horn solos and, and conscious lyrics that call for global action against inequality (little, it seems, has changed politically since). It's one of those you should really own, as is the ever more familiar flipside "Brothers On The Slide", which boasts one of the most recognizable grooves in the history of dance music.

Review: Mr Bongo recently served up a tasty 7" single featuring two of Cymande's best-loved tracks, "Fug" and "Brothers on the Slide". Here they repeat the trick, slapping the two most-played tracks from the British band's incredible 1972 debut album, Cymande, on one "45". The A-side boasts "Bra", a killer chunk of funk/soul/reggae fusion with one of the most recognizable grooves around. Hip-hop heads will know it inside out, since DJs have been doubling up with copies of "Bra" since the mid 1970s. On the flip you'll find "The Message", a sublime, slightly more spaced out reggae-funk workout rich in snaking sax lines, memorable vocals and a groove so distinctive it couldn't come from any other band.

Review: Dynamite Cuts come back with a bang with four sublime cuts taken from the criminally short discography of funk soul troupe Leo's Sunshipp. The first half of their only album, we kick off with their cult solar celebration "Give Me The Sunshine" before "I'm Back For More" shreds through the stratosphere with a swooning Average White Band sparkle, "Get Down People" salutes with an Off The Wall style shine and shimmy before "Madame Butterfly" drifts back into the atmosphere with velvet falsetto harmonies and a groove so laid back it drips off the wax. Feel the sunshine.

Review: If you're unfamiliar with the Ratgrave name, you're not alone: this this bustling, future funk LP marks the first time collaborators Max Graef and Julius Conrad have released anything under the alias. The set was apparently recorded at different times, and in different places, over a three-year period. Musically, it draws much inspiration from intergalactic jazz-funk, P-funk and otherworldly '80s boogie, but also feels instinctively loose, carefree and improvised. The result is a set of lo-fi cuts that sound like they were recorded straight to tape during improvisational jam sessions, but were probably far more polished and thought-out than you might expect. Either way, it's the kind of LP that gets better with each successive listen.

Review: For the latest instalment in their ongoing "Jazz Series", Funk Night Records has turned to Finnish outfit PLOP, a trio made up of world-renowned musicians Miko Innanen, Ville Herala and Joonas Riippa. With experienced Estonian producer Misha Paniflov at the controls, the trio serves up two fine cuts. A-side "Emu" is thrillingly wild, with free-jazz flute solos clustering around a bustling double bass-line and Tony Allen style Afro-jazz drums. There's a more psychedelic feel to flipside "Ume", a more radical, off-kilter exploration of Afro-funk-fusion rich in fuzzy, lo-fi organ solos, timpani drums and metronomic double bass. It's definitely freestyle in tone and delivery, but all the more alluring for it.

Review: The unstoppable Big Crown label is back with what is, once again, a rare find. In fact, we have two previously impossible tunes to get on this tidy 7" - first up, The Lively Set's excellent "Blues Get Off My Shoulder" roars a deep wave of glorious vintage soul, putting the very best of James Brown material to the test. As a follower, The Three Dudes' "I'm Beggin You" is one for the swings and the shakers, storming out of the speakers with that inimitable Mo-Town glory. An unmissable little 7" from the heart of the 60s!

Review: The Cuban Brothers drop some heat of their own with this surprising compilation that blurs the lines between original music and DJ composition. La Familia does have some odd their sounds on it, namely the opening "I Hate Hate", a funky-ass pop tune that kicks this thing off on the right foot, but the majority of it is made from the very artists who launched funk and pop onto the world stage. Inside, you'll fid some absolute classics from legends like Herbie Hancock, Teddy Pendergrass, A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo, and many more hot shots.