Review: Dutch breakbeat/funk producer Arjen Flipsen, better known as Niles Philips, returns to his regular home of Timewarp Music with four tracks of dusty, lo-fi hip-hop. 'Other People' takes extensive samples of spoken vocal that sound like they've come from a 1950s/60s educational film, and places them atop a backing that wouldn't sound out of place on a western soundtrack. 'Lovers' Battle' marries chipmunk'd R&B vox, crunchy beats and wonked-out strings, 'Compassion Level' loops up smoochy 70s soul vox over a hefty midtempo breakbeat, while closer 'When It Comes Down' is similar in style to the rest but with a more dubwise feel.
Review: Dutch producer Niles Philips has been active on the "new old" funk scene since the mid-00s. He's released a string of EPs on the Timewarp label, along with a collection of his remixes for other artists, and it's to Timewarp he returns with his debut artist album. His particular brand of funk is scuzzy, fuzzy and quite guitar-heavy, more redolent of late 60s/early 70s bands like War, Rare Earth or Sly & The Family Stone than glitzier outfits like Earth Wind & Fire or The Ohio Players. But if searing Hammonds battling their way through a psychedelic haze are your idea of fun you're gonna love it, while 'So Good So Tight' veers towards future R&B territory and 'Whiskey Wool & Fireplaces' adds a twist of jazz.
Review: Dutch culinary dabbler Niles Philips is back with an album that compares his remix skills to his cooking abilities. Compiling a selection of his finest reworks of artists such as Afternoons In Stereo, MustBeat Crew, Timewarp Inc and Trotter, he certainly serves up a tasty big beat buffet. Highlights of the 14 tracks include the bluesy afternoon haze of "Passion", the electronic spikiness of Latin lounge classic "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" and the hip-house/ ska-hop party anthem, "Cop Dat Shit".
Review: Dutch beat-wrangler Niles Philips gets his breaks out on this latest release from Timewarp Greece. Recalling the Daptones or even Amy Winehouse's production on the vintage soul of "Ill At Ease", Philips enlists singer Tonkin to provide some dramatic, lovelorn vocals to the mix, repeating the formula on the Smoove & Turrell-esque "Nose Dive", while the studio funk of "Rascals of Funk" is given a scratch 'n' cut remix from the Timewarp crew.
Review: Philips' slick live funkery gets the rubdown from a few familiar Timewarp players. With Tonkin's stark, emphatic voice still very much the primary focus throughout, all manner of dub vibes are carefully laced around his talents. Ranging from horn-heavy, synth-squiggling p-funk (MustBeat Crew's remix of "String Pusher") to super-smooth digi soul dub flavours (Auditors Domination remix of "Ill At Ease") via ruder, bass-heavy rubs by both Jazz K-Lippa and Maikon, Timewarp have excelled themselves commissioning such a rich tapestry of party joints. There's no snobbery around this badboy.
Review: Here we have Timewarp Inc, the in-house production team at Athenian funk/nu-disco label Timewarp, and they've decided to delve into their mighty back catalogue and well, remix it. Hence, "The Remix Session Vol 1" - a collection boasting 14 prime cuts including the moodily hypnotic funk loops of "Anti Pop Song" by Ancient Astronauts, the forlorn Two Tone vibes of "Smile On Your Face" and the machine-like breaky funk goes synthy disco sizzler "Da Gypsy Groove" by Leon.
Review: Another 16-track V/A from Timewarp, this time with a slight change of emphasis. Where previous installments in the 'Freestyle 4 Funk' series have largely ploughed a party-hearty, faithfully 70s-sounding funk furrow, Volume 8 operates in slightly more leftfield/eclectic territory, taking in everything from space age jazz-funk (Afternoons In Stereo's 'City Of The Future') and looping lo-fi Balearica (Teddy Presberg's 'Passion') to conscious female-vocalled dancehall (Timewarp Inc's 'Restart') and out-and-out jazz-fusion (Ivan Blanusa's aptly titled, uber-mellow 'Sunday Chill'). If you've picked up any of the earlier volumes, this latest might not be quite what you were expecting - but we think you'll enjoy it just as much. If not more!
Review: 'Funk' is what it says on the tin and funk is what you'll find inside it, as Timewarp serve up a 16-track best-of compilation paying homage to the squelchy, sleazy sounds of the 70s - tracks like Apedroid's 'Enter The Apedroid' or Basement Freaks' 'Soul Men' could have been lifted straight from the OST of some obscure Blaxploitation flick. Timewarp Inc's own 'Breakbit' is a car chase funk masterpiece, my reviewing notes for Leon's futuristic, sci-fi-ish 'Sexy Toy' read simply "aliens!", while special mention should be made of Koka Mass Jazz's opener 'Play The Game' - a new-old soul/funk jam par excellence, and a consent anthem for the post-#MeToo generation.
Review: If it ain't broke don't fix it as they say, and this Euro party edits producer is certainly living by this maxim. Here we find the talented producer providing Greek label Timewarp with a selection of his reworks of disco obscurities. As usual it's hard to not want to get up dance to his infectious remixes including the pulsating, arpeggiated 80s night drive of "Yull Disco Breaks (instrumental)", the wah-wah heavy hip-house of "Blast" and the chaotic acid funk of "Nose Dive".
Review: Greek nu-funk label Timewarp Music's annual compilation series reaches Volume 7. Fans of the label will know what to expect, then, but for everyone else it's the perfect chance to get acquainted. Indeed, you'll struggle to find a better 15-track snapshot of the contemporary funk scene this month, with tracks spanning the spectrum from Hammond jams like Streamer's 'Mamma's Funky Life' to the sunny jazz-funk of Ivan Blanusa's 'Loungin', with detours into Afro-funk (Vito Lalinga's 'African United Rhythm' and 'Fela Mania'), Latin grooves (JazzProfilactika's 'Calle De Cubo'), acid jazz (Koka Mass Jazz's 'Play The Game') and more.
Review: Greece's Timewarp label continues to plunder their disco reserves whilst flashing the proverbial funky cash willy-nilly. Yes we have another 16 fresh cuts (admittedly down from the last instalment's 31 so they should maybe think about tightening their wallets a little) on Freestyle 4 Funk 5. Timewarp is once again selector and some the many highlights he chosen here include the digi dancehall headnodder "Fyah Fyah" by Balkan Riddims, Jyal Funk's pulsating breaky electro rework of "Jamaican" by Funky Destination and the breathy jazzy shuffle of "Sensitive Kind" by Truez.
Review: There's no need for a funky bailout for Greece's Timewarp label as they have more than enough in reserve. So much so in fact, that they have rustled up another 31(!) fresh cuts for this, their latest compilation. Highlights include Niles Philip's quirky stop-start nu-funker "What'Cha Doin", the Euro/reggaeton hybrid weirdness of the Congo Sanchez remix of "Choices In Life" by AfroQBen and the bonkers electro-pop skank of "Blast" by good old Quincy Jointz (as remixed by Kowalski).
Review: It seems that Timewarp's rare funk compilations are like buses: you wait ages then three arrive at once. Well, not quite - the second instalment in this series arrived two years ago, precisely half the time between that and the first one. So by our calculations the next one should arrive in a year's time. That gives us just enough time to fully absorb all 31 bangers featured here, including the backbeat swagger of "Ghetto Drunk", the shimmering '70s glamour of "Soul Sugar" and the lush, luxury disco of Timewarp's own remix of "Afrofunk".
Review: Canadian producer, Afternoons In Stereo, has been on hiatus since 2011, but it hasn't stopped his name appearing on a host of remixes of other acts ever since. Now the Athens-based Timewarp label has decided to collect the best of all these appearances in a one-stop-shop release. There are 11 top-notch tracks here. Some choice picks include the loungey bass grooves of "Growth Strategies", the reggae funk of "Jamaican", the retro ghetto stomp of "Step On", the almost electro-Bhangra of "Rose Of Ispahan" and the authentic disco workout "Funky Dog". A perfect stopgap release whilst we wait for this prolific producers new studio album, due 2013.
Review: Weighing in at a whopping 28 tracks, this follow up to Timewarp's hip-wigglingly funky debut compilation will take about four years to digest - as long as the follow up took to arrive. From bongo boogie-woogie ("Elpuma" - Afternoons In Stereo) and jazz-flavoured sunshine house (Trotter - "At The Pool") to low-swung sleazy breakbeat funk (Timewarp Inc - "Start With An A") and woozy Latin wig-outs (Auditors Domination - "Rempeto") this hefty party compendium more than makes up for the wait.
Review: It's been four years since Timewarp Inc main man Angelos Stoumpos last offered up a remix retrospective. This fourth volume in his "Remix Sessions" series is therefore long overdue. As usual, you'll find tons of killer cuts to set the pulse racing, from the Sitar-laden mid-tempo skano of Stoumpos's remix of Supersan's "Suez" and the dubbed-out warmth of his version of "Some Melodic Jazz" by Erkos Quartet, to the Afro-infused bounce underpinning a superb rework of Banderas's punk-funk-tinged "Handbrake" and the sun-kissed trumpet solos and crunchy funk breaks of Mr Gagun's "Funky Dog". In other words, it's another hugely entertaining collection of remixes from the Athens scene stalwart.
