Tags: Afro Funk

Review: Niels Nieuborg has long been a player on Holland's live music scene, largely working with ex-pat musicians from Carpe Verde and Surinam. This superb three-track EP marks his first recorded output and includes collaborations with vocalists Americo Brito and Orlando Julius. The latter stars on two up-tempo chunks of boogie-era Afrobeat that sit somewhere between the Moog-driven brilliance of William Onyeabor and the up-tempo urgency of vintage Afro-disco. It's arguably A-side "Nos Magia", featuring Brito's distinctive vocals, that really stands out, though. Spacey and incessantly funky with fizzing electronics, urgent Clavinet lines and crispy Afro-funk guitars, it's not only a killer club cut but also a thing of rare beauty.

Review: Vladimir Sivc aka. Funky Destination has been cutting and chopping up house, funk and jazz since the late noughts, seeing multiple releases on outlets like Timewarp and Cold Busted since then. Sound Exhibitions finally team up with the Croatian crackajack for 'Jungle Bird Tree', which was originally released as an exclusive track on an obscure digital Summer 2023 compilation (seriously, it deserves better, and don't SE know), and here lend it a neat little Wicked Break rework from Louie. On the B-side comes the scruffier number 'Bar GoGo', which is our favourite of the two, not least for its sunkissed axe loops and heartfelt folk vocal sample.