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: Local Talk's latest recruit Shaka (real name Kurt Spichiger) is something of an unsung hero - a Swiss house producer who has periodically served up deep and seductive slabs of musical goodness since the mid 1990s. His first EP for Mad Mats and Tooli naturally has a classic feel, with title track 'Theme From Riverwalk' layering luscious electric piano motifs and spacey chords atop a bouncy groove rich in tough drums, jazzy synth-bass and hazy, US garage style organ stabs. He opts for a far jazzier and more uplifting sound on 'New Relationship', where fluid piano solos and sparkling, Herbie Hancock style jazz-funk synths rise above a jaunty Latin-house groove. Both tracks come accompanied by solid, club-focused Dub mixes.
Review: Shaka, not to be confused with the UK reggae legend, lands on Freshly Squeezed with 5 nutty cuts that span the entire dance spectrum. The break-centric artist launches his aerial attack with the loopy-boogie bass of "Ultrafunk", before landing on the funkiest of territories via "Grow That Phunk" - and that's definitely 'funk' with a big 'PH'! "Fat Bad Beat" is a slower, more seductive lovers tune that still manages to unleash noxious levels of electro bass, while "Double Saxy" breaks the beats up into something reminiscent of early-era NYC hip-hop, and "Saxy" acts as its instrumental counterpart. Lovely stuff!
Review: Brazilian trio Shaka release their worldwide debut EP 'Spacefunk' on Brighton funk label Freshly Squeezed. "Spacefunk" is the kind of funked up acid jazz that reminds us of UK legends Corduroy. "Crumble" gets on the more hip-hop vibe with its crusty beat and scratched 70's psychedelic rock samples; it's wicked actually! "Freedom" gets more on the soulful tip and is epic, with it's diva vocals and dark bassline. Finally "Boogie" is a nice slab of funky breaks with a bossa influence, those steel drums get pretty funky and sassy, we're lovin' it!
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: Local Talk's packed release schedule means that keeping up with the label's releases can be tough. Happily, founders Mad Mats and Tooli found a solution long ago: the best-of style Talking House compilation series, which here notches up its 11th instalment. Packed to the rafters with high-quality deep, dusty, jazzy and soul-fired house, the collection's highlights are plentiful. Our picks include the hazy gospel-house hustle of Soulphiction's 'Niederbeat Gospel Dub', the jazzy Afro-house warmth of 'One Less (Main Send)' by Urban Sound Lab presents Miss Yankey, the extra-percussive, organic deep house positivity of Vick Lavender's spacey 'Shifting Gears', the bruk-up breeze that is Anthony Nicholson and Mark De Clive-Lowe's 'Another Story', and the sunset-ready, bossa-house breeze of Shaka's'New Relationship'.
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: 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!
