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 […]
Funk
“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 […]
