Review: No prizes for guessing what's going on here, as Leeds based Bomb Strikes label round up some of the best bits from their 2023 catalogue. The Niceguys' distinctly Prince-esque opener 'Strip It' sets the tone for a collection that draws mostly on hip-hop, funk and breaks for inspiration, with the emphasis firmly on uptempo, party-hearty vibes - see the fast 'n' furious rapping on Boca 45's '45s', the fat, squelchy funk of Tom Booze's 'T-Funk' (a track that wears its influences proudly in its title), or Nat Tate's charmingy, organic take on Gala classic 'Freed From Desire'. But there's room, too, for Bazza Ranks, Turnstyle & Venessa Jackson's cheesy-but-irresistible disco-houser 'Back To You', as well as Kraak & Smaak's driving, euphoric 'Get Live, Get Down', making for a strong, varied package overall.
Review: Featuring 22 full-length cuts plus a 42-minute mixed version, there's no faulting the VFM on offer from this Jim Sharp-helmed Bomb Strikes comp. Featuring tracks and mixes from the likes of The Allergies, The Nextmen, Ugly Duckling, Alice Russell, Lack Of Afro and Sam Krats, the emphasis here is on the kind of dusty funk/soul grooves that sit well alongside hip-hop and breaks - as opposed to the stack-heeled, silver-jumpsuited kind that goes better with disco - with standouts for this writer including Sly5thAve's moody, cinematic 'Shiznit' (think Shaft staring broodily out of a rain-streaked diner window) and Skill's 'Break It Down', a stuttery, stop-start gift for the jazz-dancers.
Da Chick - "Chick-A-Boom" (Pete Herbert remix) - (6:35) 118 BPM
Dan Shake - "Wake, Bake & Shake" - (4:51) 119 BPM
Javi Frias - "Keep On" - (5:51) 118 BPM
Birdee - "Thinking About You" - (5:56) 118 BPM
Review: Birdee is a rising star of the nu-disco and re-edit scenes, so it makes perfect sense that Bomb Strikes has recruited him to curate and mix the latest volume in their excellent Disco Funkin' compilation series. As you'd expect, it's a thoroughly and joyous affair, rich in colourful synth sounds, funky disco basslines and beats that flit between housed-up heaviness and more organic-sounding, less pumped-up grooves. There are tons of essential cuts amongst the 25 unmixed tracks on show, with highlights including the sun-bright rush of Pete Herbert's remix of Da Chick's 'Chick a Boom', the crunchy Clavinet-sporting disco-funk of Shaka Loves You's 'Let's Move (SLY Disco Rub)', the slick French Touch style warmth of Birdee's own 'Thinking About You' and Ray Mang's celebratory revision of Smoove & Turrell's 'Do It'.
Review: Bringing a select bevvy of the best Bombstrikes tracks the label has released in 2020, it's enjoyed an explosive year of tunes from Krafty Kuts, Jet Boot Jack, Lack Jemmon, Shaka Loves You and more! They feature here with "Blow Your Whistle", a funked-out "Let's Move" and the lowdown swing-track "I'm A Boss". Other highlights include the Cypress Hill style hip house track "Stir It Up Sister (feat K MI & KDS)" to Prosper & Stabfinger's squelchy, space bubble cruise down mainstreet: "Down In The Basement (feat Awoke)". With some tear-out bass, horns and synths coming out of Ninjulas' "You Know I Like It", check out some lo-fi and slamming funk, disco and house from X-Ray Ted's "On The Floor'' alongside The Nice Guys' Godzilla-themes "Turn It Out" and Jet Boot Jack's strings in "Straight To My Head". Boom!
Review: Following the success of Shaka Loves You's previous compilations on Bombstrikes, the label has offered them the chance to launch a new series all of their own. Named in honour of their radio show and regular parties in Glasgow, Joints & Jams offers up a hugely entertaining (and largely floor-friendly) mixture of funk-fuelled hip-hop (Bastien Keb, Fort Knox Five, Andy Cooper), skanking reggae (The Nextmen and Gentlemen's Dub Club sing-along 'Done It Again'), flash-fried funk breaks (the Allergies), tropical goodness (DJ Nu-Mark's hook-up with Quantic), and various fusions of disco, boogie and funk (see the cuts from Kraak & Smaak, X-Ray Ted, Pablo & Shoey and Shaka Loves You themselves). The result is a brilliantly mixed-up collection of tried-and-tested dancefloor bombs.
Review: For the latest volume in their popular Disco Funkin' compilation strand, Bomb Strikes has handed over curation duties to rising star and Midnight Riot regular Natasha Kitty Katt. The Edinburgh DJ/producer's selections are undeniably addictive and on-point, moving between heavyweight re-edits (see her collaboration with Twisted Soul Collective, 'Twisted Katt', solo disco-funk tweak 'Edgarr!' and Oliver Boogie's slamming 'Dance Band'), superior nu-disco originals (Phoenix's piano-heavy 'Nature Dance', Fouk's sample-heavy 'Cat Lady' and the slick boogie revivalism of Lovebirds' 'Give Me a Sign') and loopy disco-house treats (the contributions from Shaka Loves You, Birdee, Hotmood and Mark Lower). Those looking for fresh dancefloor ammunition will find much to enjoy, while the Scottish DJ's accompanying mix is as entertaining and excitable as they come.
Review: Krafty Kuts & Bomb Strikes, two names that when combined leave us with potentially incredible results. They join forces here to curate and design the fifth edition of 'Bass Funk', showcasing some of the most prominent faces across the entire breadth of breaks. The tracklisting for this one looks pretty monstrous, featuring the likes of A Skillz, Dubra, Arteo, Fort Knox Five, K+Lab & more. There are a couple of immediate stand outs however, with the latin horn melodies and vibrant rhythms of Ninjula's 'Spanish Princess' and the pure rawcus devilry of 'AI' from the legendary Delta Heavy both standing out!
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: 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: 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.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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".
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