Strut At Juno Download

Review: Bob Blank is one of New York?s most revered producers of all time. This compilation from Strut, is the very first retrospective on him and his work at his independent studio, Blank Tapes. This was one of NYC's most influential spots during the city's thriving art scene of the mid 70s and 80s. This exclusive compilation even includes the very first track ever recorded at the studio in addition to some hidden gems that have come straight from the studio's vaults.

Review: From the recent full-length collection on Strut, these two examples of Danny Krivit's editing skills are promoted onto their own release. Digging Milton Hamilton's "We Have All The Time" out of the vaults is a masterstroke. Produced by the legendary Bob Blank, it's a jazzy disco joy with a vocal that bursts through octave ranges and stays there for an unfeasible length of time. Philadelphia International All-Stars' "Let's Clean Up The Ghetto" is another funk-disco fusion that gets the benefit of Mr.K - both tunes bearing those trademark looped mix-in/mix-out points that DJ's love so much.

Review: Wow. Not only have Strut coaxed legendary funk guitarist Dennis Coffey into recording a new album, but he's also linked up with singer Mayer Hawthorne for this cover of Parliament's "All Your Goodies Are Gone". Coffey, best known as one of the original Motown Funk Brother session players and for b-boy funk anthems like "Scorpio" lends his brittle, multi-tracked style perfectly for this cover, as well as album teaser "Miss Millie", which sees him jamming with Milwaukee funk band Kings Go Forth and laying down some incredible drum breaks of their own. Classy stuff from a titan of funky rock.

Review: On the back of his recent surprise studio album for perennial crate diggers Strut, original funk guitarist and Motown house band member Dennis Coffey drops a new single. As you might expect, "Ubiquitous" is a pretty heavyweight jam - all hard-wired funk rock grooves, hectic drumming and, naturally, some seriously full-on guitar trickery. It's got heaps of natural funk, of course, as well as a large dose of caffeine-fuelled anger. For those with funk coursing through their veins, it's essential stuff. One-time cut-and-paste hero turned marketing man Steinski provides the obligatory remix, layering Coffey's white hot guitar playing over some more dubbed-out beats.

Review: Following last year's long overdue 'best of' collection, Ghanaian highlife guitar legend Ebo Taylor returns to Strut with a brand new full-length. Named after a landmark in his hometown, Appia Kwa Bridge features both Tony Allen and Berlin-based band Afrobeat Academy. With Taylor's sweet guitar solos and emotive vocals to the fore, it's a thoroughly enjoyable set. The songs and grooves are traditional enough to impress authentic highlife fans, but suitably new enough to breathe new life into the genre. There are, for example, a couple of great acoustic moments (check, in particular, "Yaa Amponsaah") amongst the celebratory dancefloor jams and high-on-life anthems.

Review: In afrobeat circles, Ghanaian highlife guitarist Ebo Taylor has long been regarded as one of the scene's most undervalued talents. During his golden period during the 1970s, Taylor was responsible for some landmark recordings - not just as an artist, but composer, arranger and producer. This comprehensive set from serial crate-diggers Strut revisits that fertile period, gathering together the best of Taylor's solo, collaborative and production work. For those with a passing interest in afrobeat and highlife, it's near-essential. Highlights come thick and fast, from the strangely spaced-out grooves of "Peace On Earth" and lazy afro jazz-funk of "Ohiana Sua Efir" to the deep fried highlife disco-funk of "Yes Indeed" and epic American R&B stylings of "Aba Yaa".

Review: Well-respected compilation label, Strut, know a thing or two about putting a good collection together. This time however, instead of their typical disco/house excursions, they've explored further into more exotic lands. "Fangnawa Experience" attempts to draw parallels between Gnawa (the sacred music of Morocco and North Africa) and West African Highlife and Afrobeat. Over the course of the six tracks on offer we get feverish, guitar funk of "Noble Tree", bass frenzies "Kelen" and percussion overloads "Dounya" and even blistering space-rock, "Wouarri".

Review: After a gap of 10 years, New York's self-proclaimed "tropical gangster" is back with a brand new album, from which this taster single is taken. In typical Kid Creole fashion, "I Do Believe" is a quirky, swinging groover - all oddball lyrics, low-slung walking bass, swishy noises and bouncy pianos. It was produced by New York nu-disco veteran Brennan Green, who provides an epic dub that sounds like it could go on forever. There's also a pair of powerful, clav-happy chuggers from 40 Thieves (check the instrumental in particular) and two 'everything but the kitchen sink' disco smashers from the ever-reliable Faze Action.

Review: Strut present this excellent addendum to Sofrito's killer compilation of the afro, Caribbean and Latin music you can hear if you've ever ventured down to one of their warehouse parties. This release has one of the highlights from that compilation in African disco heat of "Je Ne Bois Pas Beaucoup" from 70's Zairian troupe Les Ya Toupas Du Zaire. Accompanying that is an exclusive edit from the Sofrito camp of a Soca classic from Lord Shorty. His 1976 track "Sweet Music" gets a bumping tweak that maximises the brilliant electric organ flourishes.

Review: Although not a particularly well-known name, Trinadadian vocalist Singer Francisco is arguably the greatest calypso artist of all time. Since launching his career in the late 1950s, he's amassed a colossal catalogue that includes over 300 albums and a wardrobe full of awards. It's about time, then, for a career retrospective. Sparrowmania, from perennial crate diggers Strut, collects together a wealth of material from his most productive period, 1963-'74, offering an insightful glimpse of an artist at the peak of his powers. As well as calypso floorfillers, Sparrowmani also includes Singer's impressive takes on hard-edged soul, fiery boogaloo and heart-aching ballads.

Review: Generally accepted as the father of Ethio jazz, Mulatu Astatke releases his first studio album in over twenty years through Strut. Mulatu Steps Ahead signals somewhat of a new approach for the veteran who also engages with western jazz in favour of his more familiar, native style that has made him such a pioneering artist during the 60s and 70s. Having been making jazz music for the last 50 years, Mulatu Astatke has worked with some of the greats of the jazz world. On this album, he recorded with members of the Either/Orchestra in Boston, with members of The Heliocentrics and some of the UK's leading jazz and African players whilst also adding contributions by traditional Ethiopian musicians in Addis. The album follows on from the success of both the acclaimed Inspiration Information collaboration and recent Strut compilation, New York "Addis " London.

Mulatu Steps does not focus on his past roots however, indeed much of it was recorded in the States. The result is a more traditional sounding jazz record than we are used to from him. But that is not to say there is less intrigue and personality woven into it though. In fact, each track on the album tells its very own story. Opener "Radcliffe" reflects on his time as a lecturer at Harvard University.

"Assosa" adapts traditional music from the Assosa tribes of North-Western Ethiopia, "Mulatu's Mood" re-works a Mulatu jazz fusion composition from the early 1990s into a new swinging Afro high life arrangement and "Derashe" deals with the traditional diminishing scales of the Derashe people of Southern Ethiopia. Although different from his previous work, Mulatu Astatke continues to keep jazz fresh, contemporary and up to date whether it's African or American. Let's just hope it's not another twenty years until his next studio album.

Review: For many Londoners, it wouldn't be summer without the Notting Hill Carnival and Norman Jay's long-running Good Times Soundsystem. The hat-wearing MBE owner is celebrating 30 years of carnival parties this summer. What better excuse, then, for another breezy, party-centric trawl through the veteran DJ's epic record collection. As usual, the unmixed Good Times 30th Anniversary Edition features a selection of festival-friendly grooves, from dusty old disco, flute-sporting funk and classic soul to bouncy disco-house, head-nodding hip-hop and Red Stripe-swigging reggae riddims. By now, we all know what we're getting, but it's still great fun.

Review: Until recently an obscure footnote in the history of 70s Afrobeat, Benin's Orchestre Poly Rhythmo have undergone a spectacular revival of late (much like Senegal's Orchestra Baobab) culminating in this "new" album on Strut. Made up mostly of re-recordings of older songs, it's a fascinating and very funky record. Guitar-driven gems like "Tegbe" show off the poly-rhythmic side to their name, while softer, less percussive songs like "Ma Vie" are instantly heart warming. Two of Franz Ferdinand even show up on closer "Lion Is Burning", not that it meddles with their huge, brass-drenched funk one bit - if anything, it ends up sounding like Eno-produced Talking Heads.