As always, the Breakbeat Paradise team are bang in form as they unveil yet another top quality drop, this time welcoming the explosive sounds of Boydex inside, who delivers a weighty five track collection. We open up with the bulbous bounces of 'Push it', which sees the team link up with Sully Sax & Pecoe for an old school funkadelic freak out, followed by the horn-driven title track 'Funk Fam' and disco-laced delights of 'Cosmic Funk', which also sees Stabfinger move into the collaborative harness. Two more corkers to round off then as 'Party' lets fly another dizzy display of brass and guitar combos, before the stuttered drum taps and distant vocal sampling of 'Ease Your Mind' gives us a crunchy landing to close out with. Lovely work!
It's testament to Ben J Worrall's skill as a musician and producer that his soulful, jazzy deep house productions can be mentioned in the same breath as those by all-time-greats Larry Heard and Ron Trent. Yet unlike those producers, he's yet to deliver an album so good that it will be considered a true great. Until now, that is. Evergreen, his first set for Freerange, is simply sublime: an unapologetically soulful, life-affirming set that blends effortlessly brilliant vocals and jazz-funk inspired instrumentation (think incredible horn arrangements, smooth bass, twinkling keys and glistening guitars) with the luscious, often Latin-tinged deep house beats that have long been his calling card. If there's any justice, it will end of being regarded as one of the electronic albums of 2022.
Formed in 2019 by DJ Nikolay 'Marcon' Markov and guitarist Yanko Argirov, DJ Marcon & The Palo Santos are an Afrobeat-inspired outfit from Bulgaria who made their debut on Timewarp Music with 'Parara' just a few months ago. Now they return to the Greek label with another Fela-tastic two-tracker that you just know is going to be big with the likes of Gilles Peterson and Mr Scruff. The saxophone takes centre stage on the lively, upbeat 'Still Here' itself, while a trumpet does more of the heavy lifting on the accompanying 'Journey South', which could find favour with the bruk beat crew.
Gramophone Soul is a relative newcomer from the Glasgow area whose output to date has mostly been offered to the world as free downloads. Hopefully that'll change soon because as 'For Your Soul' demonstrates, the man has a finely honed pop sensibility that suggests bigger things are surely possible. In its Original form, 'For Your Soul' sits roughly in the 'new old' soul territory mapped out by the likes of Speedometer, Smoove & Turrell et al, with a nagging "get up and dance" male vocal, parping sax and some reggae-ish guitar chops, while Daytoner's remix provides a slightly mellower variation on the theme.
Label newcomer Canopy Records, compiled and conceptualised by label head Sumosui, sends out some super Afro transmission for this first release. 'Africa No 1' is a single that features a superb tune from Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria, which was first put out locally in 1987. It is by the late great Nigerian reggae artist Ehi Duncan and his The Africa Army Express band and next to the uplifting original are two new mixes from Captain Planet. He brings the tune into the modern day with some tight key, horn and synth sounds for the first mix, and the second is a slower, more mid-tempo bit of afro disco. Lovely vibes.
A couple of years back, Leng welcomed Greek DJ/producer Lex to the label roster. Real name Alex Andrikopoulos, he's well known in his home city of Athens where he ran the Radical Soundz record shop. Now the Athenian has returned with his debut album for the esteemed London nu-disco label titled Waving, which appears on the back of a handful of EPs for a variety of labels (Samosa, B2, Frole). Whether it's the blissed-out balearica of last year's well received first single "Punta Alien", the late night boogie-down vibe of "Window Spells" (feat Max Giovara), the lo-slung dance floor heater "La Di Da D"i, to the sultry and deep mood music of "Angels Of Rhythm" (Still Bouncing - feat Harriet Summer) or the lovely closer "Keep Mashing" with its classic UK broken beat influence - Waving is his boldest and strongest statement yet as a producer.
