Review: Marc Hype, boss of German 7-inch label Dusty Donuts, mixes up this seventh volume in Bomb Strikes' 'Funk N' Beats' series. It's an eclectic, funked-up selection that ranges freely through hip-hop from The Nextmen and Red Astaire, 'new old' funk and soul from Speedometer, Soopasoul and the Hot 8 Brass Band, nu-jazz from Nicole Willis and Jazzanova and more besides. Highlights include The Traffic's funked-up cover of Daft Punk's 'Harder Better Faster Stronger', Speedometer's cover of The Chi-lites' 'Are You My Woman?' (AKA 'Crazy In Love'), and Hype's own take on electro classic 'Al Faafyish (The Soul)'.
Review: Having spent much of their nine-year existence blazing a trail for good-time party breaks and ghetto funk, the crew behind Goodgroove Records has decided to turn their attention to disco. The first Disco Series release comes from Glaswegian party-starters Shaka Loves You, whose punchy, horn-heavy take on nu-disco owes much to their funk breaks background. There's much fun to be had throughout, from the electric piano heavy, organic disco-house bump of opener "Make It Last", to the toe-tapping, 107 BPM disco-funk-meets-ragga goodness of closer "Shake". In between, they stroll further towards summery funk territory on "Turn It Loose", and layer snaking saxophone lines over a rolling groove on the tasty "If You Give".
Review: Hailing from Glasgow, where their scorching, party-hearty blend of funk, soul, hip-hop, breaks and D&B goes down a storm, Shaka Loves you are a trio of ski and snowboard instructors-turned-DJs and producers. Here, they flex their party-rocking skills with a quartet of tried-and-tested bootleg mash-ups for the Radical Mixtape crew. There's plenty of gargantuan, speaker-shaking fodder on display, from the rave pianos, heavyweight breaks and electro bass of "Get Up & Dance", to the hip-hop-to-jungle hip-hop soul madness of standout cut "I Wanna Be On You". "Got The Feeling", with its' A Skillz-esque swing, and the chunkier "Bounce", are also predictably fun (and funky).
Review: Just over a year ago, Glaswegian party-starters Shaka Loves You joined forces with festival-friendly funk breaks imprint Goodgroove to launch the Disco Series. This belated follow-up is as on-point as its predecessor and contains four-more chunks of fun-time, disco influenced workouts smothered in live instrumentation. We're particularly enjoying the hard-wired funk guitars, rising horns and insatiable vocals of "Dance, Dance, Dance", though throaty edit-not-edit "Ridin' High" - all hard-wired synth bass, shuffling house beats and P-funk flourishes - is also superb. The bouncy, dance-until-you-drop craziness of "In My Soul" (a largely instrumental edit of a well loved early '80s disco smasher) and jaunty opener "My Love" complete a fine package.
Review: Bomb Strikes are back again with a potent punch as they bring forward the return of Shaka Loves You with his groovy new EP project entitled 'Boogie'. The title track is a smokey bag of grooves alongside Fullee Love, with 'Livin For Tonight' with NattySpeaks & Profit providing us with a more stripped back soulful feel. Following this, JFB joins the party for a super uplifting horn driven madness on 'So Funky', before we take a second to round the project off in style as Ant Thomaz joins the party on 'Flippin' Ya Mind', a slower soul number, driven by it's smooth vocal leads and expressive guitar riffs.
Review: Over the last few years, disco and boogie loving funkateer Shaka Loves You has proved to be one of the most reliable artists on Bomb Strikes. Further proof arrives in the shape of "Tonight", a two-track single that's as summery as rain-soaked festivals, abandoned backyard barbeques and post-work beer garden drinking sessions. Vocalist Amunda stars on "Tonight", a unique blend of R&B, synth-driven reggae and Balearic boogie that has all the makings of a smile-inducing radio hit. If it's heavy dancefloor thrills you're after, virtual B-side "Disco Weapon" will do the trick; its' low-slung bassline, razor sharp horns, fizzing synth lines and rousing horns are tailor-made to guarantee dancefloor devastation.
Review: Bomb Strikes stalwart Shaka Loves You can usually be relied upon to bring the goods, as anyone who has heard their all-action blends of disco, funk, breaks and boogie will attest. The producers' first outing of 2020 is predictably impressive, too. Lead cut "Love Is True" is as infectious a contemporary disco cut as you're likely to find, with waves of snappy, handclap-heavy percussion, rubbery bass guitar and Chic style guitar riffs combining to create a suitably celebratory mood. "Disco Weapon 2", seemingly a tooled-up, horn-heavy re-edit of a lesser-known everything-but-the-kitchen-sink 1970s disco-funk jam, is also impressively potent.
Review: As one of the most established brands within the sphere of future funk, Bomb Strikes have a real nack for presenting us with fresh, vibrant and tasteful new school breakbeat originals. Their latest drop comes courtesy of Shaka Loves You, who brings the smooth vibes of 'Boogie' to life through thick basslines, catchy drum grooves and some seriously enjoyable vocal work, making this one a instant favourite for sure!
Review: It's a great sign of the state of music when the tenth installment of Tru Funk's Tasty Beats series, which normally features about five tunes, boasts 21 fresh new cuts! It's a veritable feast of party mash-up bangers, with something for everyone. Highlights include the funky Khia/Snoop blend of "Gangsta Lick", the cut-up electro-funk of "Golden Ass" and the hands-in-the-air Stevie Wonder madness of "Party Like We Do".
Review: Crate digging in the Northern Soul scene is the gift that keeps on giving - an endless quest for rarer and rarer gems. Here Beatnik present a new collection that features nine classic Motown and Northern Soul cuts which have been sensitively retouched by some contemporary talent. Highlights include the celebratory, fizzy soul jam "Soul On Fire" by Shaka Loves You (yes, the one sampled by Beyonce), a Junkie XL-style makeover of Martha & The Vandellas on "Nowhere To Go" and Mak & Mr Bristow's muscled up take on The Rascals - "Olympic Lovin".
Review: Welcome to the sunkissed and free world of Swing Set Sounds, a label committed to sunshine melodies and grooves. Having cleverly built interest in this, their first artist compilation, by revealing a track at a time, the album is set to put the label (and the artists!) firmly on the map. Highlights include the slow and low organic hip-hop grooves of "Imagine This" by Shimi Sonic, the big drummed funky breaks of "Watch The Man" by D-Funk and the sparse Latin grooves of "La Majeur" by The Fritz. Once you visit this world, you won't want to leave.
Review: A brand new label dedicated to the nu-funk crusade, Funk Fusion are launching with a serious statement of booty-shaking intent. With concentrated mid tempo party vibes littered throughout the set, there are some genuinely unique examples of creativity here... Including the harmonica and slap-bass mischief of "Seems Like A Dream", the rich crooning dancehall vocal of Waykin Bakaman on "The Scury", the haunted house-level scratchy bass on "Monster". With other highlights coming from X-Ray Ted (a discofied version of Junior Senior) Phunk Sinatra (Busta Rhymes goes Bollywood) and Rory Hoy (gritty horn heaven that nods to Exit Planet Dust), this really is a fantastic way to launch a label.
Review: Fledgling label Funk Fusion have quickly hit the ground running - pushing their nu-funk agenda with joyous abandon. From the Sesame Street vibes of their promo pic, it's clear from the start that this label is all about having fun and their latest mash-up compilation "Fused Funk Vol 02" delivers it big time. There's 12 tough party tracks packed on here including the electro-hip-house of "Get Your Boogie On", the bleepy jump-up funk of "Hold On, I'm Comin" and the smooth retro closer "Danceflaw".
Review: Danish label Breakbeat Paradise are really starting to branch out with an increasingly broader approach to the styles and sounds of their roster. This new compilation sees them veer further into disco territory than we could ever have imagined. There are 10 cuts by some big re-edit names, with highlights including Dr Packer's Rappers Delight-style glitter-boogie stomp "Rollerskating Jam", Morlack's sizzling hiNRG jam "Party Til You Broke" and the serene, stonewashed-disco and Miami Vice vibes of "Turn The Music Up" by Shaka Loves You.
Review: Tru Funk have cooked up yet another funk feast, and there's plenty at the table for everyone. Maars kicks off proceedings with a skank-soaked ode to Biggie's "Machine Gun Funk". Chudy, meanwhile, presses the disco button with a series of well-known disco licks and piano hooks. Further on we find Shaka Loves You fusing Stevie Wonder and DJ Kool with infectious results and we get lively to Mako & Mr Bristow's firing Motown jungle flavours. Finally Warson maintains the 170 vibe for the EP climax as "Feel Good" rolls with sizzling soulful charm. Yummy.
Review: Bomb Strikes, the UK hip-hop/funk/soul/breaks label headed up by Mooqee & Beatvandals, celebrated their 15th birthday in 2019 with a fantastic compilation album, and to further celebrate the success of the label in 2019 they're releasing another compilation featuring 15 of their best cuts from the past 12 months. What's most impressive is the variety on offer, ranging from straight-up hip-hop from Alexander Norman Prosper & Stabfinger, to party breaks from Ali B and Krafty Kuts, to 'new old' soul from Flevans, to the fairly self-explanatory 'Disco Weapon' and 'Mirror Ballin'' (by Shaka Loves You and X-Ray Ted, respectively. Tons of fun for festive season funkateers of all ages!
Review: For the second volume in their ongoing "Disco Funkin" mix series, the Bomb Strikes crew has handed over the controls to former Tru Thoughts artists Flevans. While his DJ mix is naturally superb, it's the quality of the 23 unmixed, full-length tracks included in the package that makes the compilation a must-check. There are naturally a few recent disco-centric club hits present - see Lance Ferguson's terrific cover of Pleasure's "Joyous", Dimitri From Paris and Cotonete's remix of Izo FitzRoy's "I Want Magic" and Purple Disco Machine's warm and toasty revision of Kraak & Smaak's "Alone With You" - alongside lesser-known nu-disco, boogie and disco-funk treats from the likes of ATOA, Hotmood, Fouk, Michael The Lion and, of course, Flevans himself.
Review: Fun loving Party Breaks and Beats label Bomb Strikes serve up a retrospective collection curated by label bosses Mooqee and Beatvandals. With 31 full-length cuts plus a one-hour DJ mix, there's no faulting the VFM as we move through breaks, funk, hip-hop and the occasional gnarlier nugget. Standouts include Andy Cooper & The Allergies' rework of Run DMC's 'Mary Mary' and Beatvandals & A Skilz's 2007 cut 'Sunshine', which mashes up Roy Ayers and Indeep. But the one we keeping back to is Mooqee's 'Supacat Police' (2006), which makes devastating, ragga-fied use of chunks from a certain KRS-One classic that we won't insult your intelligence by naming!
Review: Glasgow's Shaka Loves You has rightly earned a reputation as disco-centric duo on the rise. Because of this, it's little surprise to see them at the controls on Bomb Strikes' first foray into the disco-focused compilation market. The Scottish pair have naturally pulled out all the stops for the occasion, selecting 20 hot-to-trot cuts that aptly blur the boundaries between disco, funk, nu-disco, electro and boogie. Highlights include, but are in no way limited to, the hazy, sun-kissed soul of Lack of Afro's "Back To The Day", the thickset P-funk revivalism of Kraak & Smaak's "Dynamite" and the rubbery disco-house-meets-UK soul flex of the Reflex's remix of Omar's "Vicky's Tune". Throw in a tasty selection of the pair's productions and you have a suitably strong collection.
