Review: It's a very tricky act to truly balance the rough with the smooth. Luckily party-orientated nu-funk producer Sammy Senior is a master at the art. Here he rustles up five new cuts that are refreshingly free of credibility, concentrating on simple good times instead. That said, they don't half pack a punch with highlights including the fizzy bounce of the vintage soul sampling "Mo Love", the tough squelch of "Fish Taco" and the cheery go-go influenced "Just Once" with its sax-heavy boogie.
Review: Nu-funk junior Senior delivers four cheeky party-bites, each one packing a flavoursome punch. "Don't Touch My Heart" spies on the 20s swing vibe through a futuristic telescope with MC Rayna adding a refreshing sense of authenticity. "Another Gangster Hit" meanwhile takes funk from both the 60s and 80s and mixes it up with a generous dollop of Cypress Hill. "Midnight Hour" takes Wilson Pickett's finest and gives it glitch-faster stripes while Counting Crows receive what must be their first nu-funking on the warped sludge pop jam "Long December".
Review: Originally released as part of his Party Bangers EP earlier this year, Sammy Senior's pant-flaying swing-hop joint gets the full remix treatment just in time for the summer. The B-Side adds a more aggressive wasp-like bass saw wave to proceedings, Defunk takes the original down a much jazzier, slinkier glitch funk path, MustBeat chew up the stems and spit them back out with a much trippier arrangement with a whole host of razor-sharp edits while DELimentary completes the set with a special dedication to the original's storming horns and some emphatically squidgy bass wobbles. One solid party track; five wholly different visions.
Review: Tru Funk are bona fide bringers of beats to soundtrack any good house party and this Essential Selection of Nu Party Break brings together a complete playlist for Saturday night. A whole load of scratching, sampling and cutting comes from DJs AKA, Axe, Kid Stretch and Rudd and Skandi, while it ain't only new school with more traditional funk jams coming from BMD's "Bad Man". There's also some Daft Punk-meets-DJ Shadow-meets-Stevie Wonder action on Funkanomics "One More Headache", while Funky Boogie Brothers bring back the big beat fun with "Street Jam" - and that's not even the half of it!
Review: Skimming the purist, fullest fat cream from the nu-funk crop, Scour's behaviour at the forefront of the party-minded movement is nothing short of commendable. Their most extensive compendium to date, vibes range of the Little Walter-sampling "Ain't No Coolin" to the filtered jazz funk chops and slaps of "The Program". Between these two disparate-yet-wholly-consistent flavours you'll find subverted swing (Father Funk & Howla's "Got Swing?"), stark Jackson Five string struts ("Soul Rocka") and classic rap ("Two For The Crates"). Whipped and unashamedly fresh, Scour really are the cream of the crop right now.
Review: There ain't no party like a Tru Funk Nu Party! Seriously now, not even S-Club could match the supersize funk flavours this label have been dishing up this year, and this latest compendium is no exception. Highlights include Sammy Senior's overhaul of Nelly's "Country Grammar", Lakeshore Drive's super laidback Q-Tipper "Funk'n Outta Bounds" and DJ Axe's percussion heavy sample-fest "Funky Town". Tru Funk have excelled themselves on this package.
Review: What in fresh hell is going on at Tru Funk Towers? Barely six weeks have passed since they gave us the 10-track strong Volume 1 and already we're looking down the barrel of eight more serious funk nuggets! Featuring some of the label's favourite faces we see the likes of mainstay Chudy rub shoulders with DJ Kid Stretch with party-starting glee. The former causes spine-tingle meltdown with his Aeroplane level of synth lushness on "See You Soon" while the latter gets jiggy with a classic Deborah Cox vocal and some full strength bass riffage. That's just two of eight; do you need any more convincing?
Review: There's no-stopping the Tru Funk crew this year; be it booties or original funk cuts, the collective have been dishing out some fine styles of late. This compilation is the current zenith of their achievements; 10 fresh tracks from the likes of Chudy, Jayl Funk, DJ Axe, Dastardly Kuts, Warson, Sammy Senior and more. Low swung slo-mo ghetto is the flavour of the day with dashes of disco, funk, hip-hop and booty bass liberally splashed throughout. Highlights include Nynfus Corporation's ragga-bassline bomb "Weekend In Budapest" (featuring classic Freestylers lyrics if we're not mistaken) and Robinson Grooves' eighties-tastic slap-bass heavy "Bounce". If you've not yet joined the Tru Funk club, now's the time to sign up.
Review: Bringing new levels of heat to the nu-funk fire, Rise Above returns with three more surefire party ruckuses. WBBL kicks off with a pitch-perfect update of Bomb The Bass's "Bug Powder Dust" on "Buggin", Sammy Senior looks further back and taps into the deepest pool of classic jams with a savage bass-scorched "Sweet Funk", and finally X Ray Ted closes the show with a cool homage to Al Jarreau, complete with a cameo from Mr Biggie Smalls himself. New blood? Bloody great, more like.
