Released in 1985 on The Specials’ Ghost Town’s producer John Collins’ Local Records imprint, Love with A Stranger is a cult classic early street soul jam released when […]
Funk
A Neapolitan jazz, disco, and rock bomb from Pugliese band Milords. Fans of Nu Genea will recognize the classic characteristics of the Neapolitan sound with beautiful melody-driven compositions, […]
A city pop classic, Communication was originally released in 1985 by Junko Yagami, a talented singer-songwriter who has released over 20+ albums across a number of difference genres […]
Another favorite of 2023 – local hero Dyami O’Brien, aka Jamma-Dee, comes through big with his debut album for Nothing But Net, Perceptions. A masterclass of modern funk and […]
Part of Jazzman’s limited Holy Grail’ series, LaVice And Company’s Two Sisters From Bagdad is a legendary lost Detroit album of jazz and gospel infused funky soul. Originally […]
I’m Just A Prisoner is the debut album from Candi Station aka the first lady of southern soul. Born in 1940 in Alabama, Candi made a name for […]
A truly unique private press record from Martinique, Claude Rodap’s Syn-Ka sounds like “Jean Michel Jarre getting fruity on sabbatical in the Caribbean.” Filled with various cosmic synthesizers […]
Neapolitan Power legend Tony Esposito started his career as a session musician playing percussion on classic albums by Italian icons like Alan Sorrenti, Francesco de Gregori, Lucio Dalla, […]
William Earl “Bootsy” Collins, of course, needs little introduction. “Bootzilla” aka “The Funky Tooth Fairy” aka “Casper the Funky Ghost” is undoubtably one of the greatest and most […]
The Main Ingredient was a Harlem based soul group composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They got their name came from […]
Isis was a pioneering all-female rock band from New York formed in 1972 by Carol MacDonald (vocals/guitar) and Ginger Bianco (drums), former members of 1960s rock band Goldie […]
The other Herb Alpert bargain bin classic, Keep Your Eye on Me is the trumpet legend’s ’80s comeback and essentially a Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis record. Feeling […]
Formed in 1976 by the great drummer Norman Connors, Aquarian Dream brought together a collective of talented musicians who effortlessly blended soul, funk, jazz, and disco to create […]
By far the most sampled female artist of all time, Lyn Collins was discovered by James Brown after he heard a demo recording of her powerful and commanding […]
In release notes accompanying his surprise-released 2014 masterpiece, D’Angelo describes his third album as being “about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to […]
Excuse the G- sleeve, this one’s hard to come by in good condition! I Want To Feel Your Love is a remarkable album from the daughter of the […]
A seminal ’70s soul album, Back Stabbers not only solidified The O’Jays’ place in soul music history, but also helped define the Philadelphia Sound. With silky vocal harmonies […]
Doug Lucas moved from Arkansas to Europe in 1968 and would go on to release his first solo record in 1976. He played in the ethnic Africa-orientated jazz […]
Faze-O was a mellow funk group that emerged in the late ’70s from Dayton, Ohio. Produced by Clarence Satchell of the Ohio Players, their 1977 debut album Riding […]
Gino Soccio released his third album in 1981 titled Closer, consisting of 6 major tunes that hit every emotion. The opening song “Try It Out,” is a disco […]
Chicago-born singer-songwriter Euegene Record released his first solo album titled The Eugene Record in 1977 showcasing his impressive range and musicality. The album was recorded after Record’s departure […]
Dr. John’s seventh studio album In The Right Place features a number of classic tracks, including the hit single “Right Place Wrong Time,” which is one of the […]
Dynasty’s second album Adventures In The Land Of Music is a ’80s R&B and funk classic filled with catchy hooks, danceable rhythms, and strong vocal performances. The album […]
Active in the 1970s, Allspice was a funk/soul band from Hartford, Connecticut composed of nine members, including five vocalists and a horn section. Their self-titled debut album was […]
Co-compiled by Left Ear Records and Jerome Qpchan, In Praise Of Mitochondria presents the self-released works of a true Japanese original, Minoru Hoodoo Fushimi, who set out to […]
Greg Perry had a highly successful career writing and producing hits for other artists including Chairmen of the Board, Freda Payne, and his wife Edna Wright, the lead […]
Los Angeles native Micheal Wycoff started his musical journey at just three years old playing piano at home and the church close by. Hearing Donny Hathaway’s voice inspired […]
Don “Minister of Funk” Blackman had an illustrious musical career starting when he was only 15 years old with Charles McPherson, who was his neighbor growing up in […]
An Afrobeat classic from “The Black President” Fela Kuti, Expensive Shit was inspired by a peculiar incident with the police in 1974. While it wasn’t uncommon for Kuti […]
With a four-octave vocal range and multiple Grammy’s to her name, Deniece Williams is one of the greatest soul singers of her time. Williams started out as a […]
International disco-funk group Heatwave was founded by Johnnie Wilder, an American serviceman who was stationed in West Germany and sang in nightclubs and taverns. After being discharged from […]
“Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo […]
Jeannie Reynolds was the sister of L.J. Reynolds, a member of The Dramatics. Though her career wasn’t as significant in comparison to her brother’s, Jeannie made some truly […]
L.J. Reynolds started his recording career at the age of 11 and didn’t stop after that. He was in a band with some family members called The Relations, […]
McCoy Tyner’s saxophonist and early Pan Afrikan Arkestra member Azar Lawrence steps confidently into the mid ’80s with Shadow Dancing, his first solo album in almost a decade […]
Played at the Paradise Garage by Larry Levan, Aretha Franklin’s “Jump To It” is an instant party starter produced by Luther Vandross with his songwriting partner Marcus Miller. […]
MFSB, which stands for Mother Father Sister Brother, was the studio band for Philadelphia International Records. The collective of over 30 musicians worked closely with production duo Gamble […]
“Pre-dotcom electro-funk from the long-running S.F. collective New World Music” reissued by the great Numero Group. The three tracks featured here were compiled from the group’s highly sought […]
One of Ghana’s greatest producers and arrangers, Ebo Taylor delivers a perfect fusion of African highlife and afrobeat with American soul, jazz and funk on his 1980 classic […]
The AB’s debut album is a collection of soulful fusion jazz that’s often looped in with other “city pop” releases on Moon Records, but transcends many of the […]
A classic from legendary British R&B group Loose Ends, A Little Spice is perfect ’80s boogie for dance floors of yesterday and today. Much like their contemporaries S.O.S. […]
Leroy Hutson might not be a household name, but you might’ve heard his work through another great soul singer, Donny Hathaway. Hutson was Hathaway’s roommate at Howard University […]
Gil Scott-Heron was barely twenty-one years old when he signed a record deal with legendary Impulse! producer Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman imprint. Thiele had gotten a hold of […]
Originally released with a waving red, white, and blue flag on the cover, Sly & the Family Stone’s essential classic There’s a Riot Goin’ On speaks to a […]
Featuring a classic breakbeat that’s been used by Madlib, Big Daddy Kane, Rodney P, The D.O.C, Pete Rock, and countless others, Foster Sylvers is the self-titled debut LP […]
Yukihiro Takahashi may not have had as prolific a solo career as the other two members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, but that’s a hard comparison to make as […]
Minneapolis Genius is one of the earliest Prince recordings. Released in 1985 but actually recorded in 1977 when Prince was just a teenager, the album showcases the raw […]
Produced by the great Norman Connors, Back For More is the major label solo debut of Al Johnson from Washington D.C. soul group the Unifics. Johnson had spent […]
Nobody can be you, but you! The powerful and positive opener on Steve Arrington’s Hall Of Fame Vol. I contains a classic drum break and was a favorite […]
Considered the bridge between his punk-funk experiments on Dirty Mind and his first mainstream hit 1999, Controversy sees Prince take a step out of the deep eroticism of […]
One of the giants of Japanese pop music, Taeko Ohnuki began her career as a founding member of Japanese pop band Sugar Babe alongside Tatsuro Yamashita. Though the […]
A roller disco classic from one of the founding members of the great SoCal jam band War, Lee Oskar’s Before the Rain is a pleasant harmonica funk album with […]
One of the more underrated Prince side projects released on Paisley Park Records, The Family’s self-titled debut is, like many Prince projects, essentially a collection of Prince songs […]
This recently reissued cult classic from Mexico’s ’70s psych movement is an effortless gem. Manuel Alejandro concocts one intoxicating arrangement after another putting this record squarely between sounds […]
A story gone wrong… Mythical funk goddess Betty Davis’ Nasty Gal was meant to catapult her into superstardom. Instead, it practically ended her career. Davis had just signed […]
The last EWF release before the group broke into superstardom with That’s The Way Of The World, Open Our Eyes is a stripped back, jazz, funk and R&B classic […]
Produced by the legendary Eumir Deodato, Intimate Connection by New York City–based ensemble Kleeer is a groundbreaking boogie funk masterpiece and roller disco favorite. The album was released […]
Compiled by Egon (Now Again) for Stones Throw Records, The Complete Works by Bay Area soul-jazz singer/songwriter Matthew Larkin Cassell comes with a bit of a story. Hip-hop […]
This oft sampled record by drummer Idris Muhammed is a cinematic jazz funk classic. Opener “Could Heaven Ever Be Like this” is as joyous as its name sounds […]
Tommy McGee never got a chance to make it in his day, but this comp by Numero Group has made a classic of McGee’s soulful funk. I’m A […]
After spending most of the 70s in Los Angeles and a number of incredible jazz fusion laced records with Azymuth, Marcos Valle returned to Brazil to record this […]
Cymande’s sound is equally exploratory as much as it is soulful. Formed in London in 1971, the band had their roots in a handful of former colonies of […]
J.O.B Orquestra’s Open the Doors to Your Heart is a highly underrated album from the 1970’s New York afro-spiritualist movement that would later become a favorite amongst hip-hop […]
Kevin “Mr. Groove” McCord had his hand in a lot of 70’s and 80’s Detroit records… With almost 300 writing credits, he wrote, performed, or arranged a wide […]
Ghanian band Edikanfo’s manager had the idea to get Brian Eno on board to produce the the group’s debut album. Eno had some visibility in the West African […]
Legendary Motown songwriter Leon Ware’s sensual masterpiece Musical Massage is a soul classic that should honestly be a lot more popular than it is. Some say its failure […]
Gris-Gris by Dr. John is an invocation of the spirit of Bayou Funk and Louisiana Blues mixed with playful psychedelic rock. What’s most exhilarating is being able to […]
It’s hard to pick a favorite out of the many classic albums by the “king of city pop” Tatsuro Yamashita, but if we absolutely had to, we’d probably […]
Celestial Sky is an underrated disco-funk gem by Norman Connors’ Starship Orchestra. Connors is a brilliant composer/producer and one of the more unsung jazz greats even though he’s […]
Perhaps the most significant thing about Seasons for Pete Jolly was that this album broke away from the more traditional approach that Jolly had been familiar with in […]
A masterpiece of uncanny soul, In a Mood is a holy grail find and one of only two albums by the late-great outsider guitarist Harry Case. A bit […]
Recently reissued by Far Out Recordings, the 1974 debut LP from Ana Mazzotti is a little known Brazilian classic. Dubbed a “Super Musician” by fellow Brazilian virtuoso Hermeto […]
He may be a household name in Brazil, but Erasmo Carlos never quite made it to the level of international stardom like contemporaries Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal […]
A truly transcendent crossover gospel album by Chicagoan pastor and activist T.L. Barrett and his beloved youth choir. Barrett was the pastor at the Mount Zion church, whose […]
Another archeological music discovery by Numero Group, Edge of Daybreak’s Eyes of Love was a long lost prison letter and portrait of incarcerated soul. It was recorded entirely […]
Arthur Verocai’s eponymous 1972 debut album is considered one of the greatest Brazilian albums of all time. Copies of the original are known to go for more than […]
A great way to travel when you’re stuck at home is to listen to Houston-based trio Khruangbin, whose band name is the Thai word for “flying engine” or […]
Echos Hypnotiques is one of those transportive, uplifting records you want to keep handy for days when you need something enjoyable and easy to digest from start to […]
A highly underrated gem, and one of my first five Discogs purchases when I first began collecting vinyl, mainly for the funky, hypnotic, head-turner “Marabayasa” – a fun […]
Ever wonder how many amazing unreleased or unheard acetates currently sit in total obscurity, on a shelf somewhere, with decades’ worth of dust, unreleased, or perhaps even completely […]
All Keyed Up by keyboardist Ben Tankard is not what you’d expect from a gospel artist… In fact, there’s not much expected or “normal” to Ben Tankard’s life […]
A true summertime album, whether you’re melding the sunshine of the Lijadu Sisters’ sound with real life Vitamin D, or need to dial in the feeling of sunshine […]
Though released to little fanfare in 1981, like all bizarre and wonderful records Point of View has gained an underground following over the years, with record collectors spending […]
