Jalapeno Records is at the epicentre of the UK’s funkiest labels. Formed in the late 90’s, Jalapeno is a label that has encompassed many genres from soul to funk, hip hop to blues, jazz to breakbeat, disco to house with one proviso – it’s got to be funky. Jalapeno is home to artists such as: The Allergies, Smoove & Turrell, Izo FitzRoy, Flevans, Sam Redmore, Dr Rubberfunk, Soopasoul, Skeewiff, Gizelle Smith, ephemerals, Kraak & Smaak and many more.
Review: Good news for all UK soul fans: there's a new Smoove & Turrell album called 'Red Ellen' coming soon. But it's not actually out until the end of October, so in the meantime you'll have to make do with this four-track taster EP. A couple of the cuts here - 'The Light' feat Ronnie Foster and 'IGOTCHA' - featured on a two-track release back in July, so of more interest today are the mid-paced, contemplative 'Echoes' and the considerably more upbeat 'Joy!'. The latter is as synth-y as this writer can remember any S&T track ever getting, and it all bodes well for the forthcoming long-player for sure.
Review: Mr Doris is an eclectic soul, as happy laying down jazz sets as he is working with reggae giant Sizzla or spinning house and disco for Defected in Ibiza. Here he teams up once more like-minded Sydney-based Brit D-Funk on a hip-hop-infused jam featuring Cantaloop that's served up in a choice of three mixes, with Krafty Kuts bringing the funk-breaks vibes, Thatmanmonkz dragging the track onto broader-minded house floors and George Solar giving it a dubbier makeover. Completing the package is the light-hearted 'Back In The Day', with West London rapper MysDiggi name-checking Thundercats, Bananaman, The A-Team, Grange Hill, SuperTed and Byker Grove.
Review: Jalapeno bosses Skeewiff have long been known for their love of all things jazzy, lounge-y and library music-ish, but seldom have they worn that heart so brazenly on their sleeves as they do with this EP, which packs four covers of easy listening classics. Dick Dale's 'Misirlou' many people will know from the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack, while The Winstons' 'Amen Brother' gave the world the Amen break; add to those Herb Alpert's 'Spanish Flea' and Keith Mansfield's 'Exclusive Blend', all respectfully but unashamedly reinvented in signature Skeewiff style, and you've got a surefire recipe for some unpretentious dancefloor fun 'n' frolics.
Review: Art Of Tones applies his remix magic to a track taken from UK soul singer Izo Fitzroy's third album for Jalapeno, 'A Good Woman', which dropped back in April. Fitzroy's original was a laidback, summery affair but here Art Of Tones gives it a little extra welly, maintaining the slow tempo and keeping both the full vocal and the gospel-style BVs intact, but sticking a heavyweight slo-mo funk bassline underneath and adding a hard-slammin' kick. For dancefloor play, though, we'd suggest heading straight for the Art Of Tones Dub, where the vocal gets stripped right back and strings and horns come to the fore.
Review: Two brand new cuts here from the northeast UK's finest purveyors of 'new old' funk and soul. 'The Light' features Blue Note legend Ronnie Foster on keyboards and is an uplifting and supremely funky cut that John Turrell describes as a reaction to "the last three years on this lonely island... rise above it and let the love shine in!" The accompanying 'I Gotcha', meanwhile, is a slightly more lilting and laidback affair that nevertheless exhorts us to "feel that music, rock that rhythm, dance until you can't sit down". Just the tonic if you're in need of some positive soulful vibes right now.
Review: Dutch boogie masters Kraak & Smaak mark two whole decades in the game this year, and to celebrate the occasion, Jalapeno bring us this best-of selection culled from releases both on Jalapeno and on their own Boogie Angst imprint. Kraak & Smaak have always neatly walked the line between straight-up funk, disco and boogie on the one hand, and more pop-oriented productions on the other, and so it is here: the first half of the album is packed with 'new old' funk and soul gems like 'Danse Macabre' and 'I Don't Know', while the second half concentrates largely on the more commercial side of their oeuvre, not to mention their collaborations with a wide array of guest vocalists. Fans will have most of what's here already, of course, but it's a fitting tribute to an impressive career to date - long may it continue.
Review: The Allergies have been, without a doubt, one of the most consistent outfits within the funk and breaks crossover space, with this new thirteen-track collection being a fabulous testament to both their consistency and creativity over the past few years. From the rave-ready horn toots of 'Mash Up The Sound' to the old school sampling flavour of 'Sometimes I Wonder', we see The Allergies unleash a full spectrum of what they can offer, alongside a host of collaborative guests including: Andy Cooper, Bootie Brown, Marietta Smith and more. Our highlights for this full project include the vibrant horn displays and steady drum builds of 'Hypnotise', along with the slow rolling bass swings of 'Treat You Right'. Lovely stuff!
Review: Over the past 20 years or so The Allergies have stretched out way beyond their Bristolian rap beginnings to (also) become a scorching live funk/soul outfit. This latest outing for Jalapeno is nevertheless something of a curveball as it reveals them to be quite capable, too, of transforming themselves into a shit-kickin' bar room blues band should they suddenly get the urge, with both 'Reconcile' and 'Treat You Right' rocking the same kind of raucous, rip-roarin' chicken shack vibes as the mighty John Fairweather. 'Sometimes I Wonder' and 'God Walked Down' find us back in more standard 'new old' funk/soul pastures, but rest assured there's not a dull moment in sight.
Review: If we've counted correctly then this is the fifth long-player from Jalapeno regular Nigel Evans, AKA Flevans. As such, fans should have a pretty good idea what to expect already, and while this album may not serve up much in the way of surprises, it's fair to say they're unlikely to be disappointed, as the Brighton-based producer serves up 12 tracks that blend funk, soul, jazz, downtempo and hip-hop influences into 42 minutes of very pleasant listening. If it's floor-burners you're after, start with 'Parasol' or the irresistibly infectious 'I Got Soul', though the standouts for yours truly are actually 'Digits' (check that jazz-funk geetar) and 'For A While' (always been a sucker for a chipmunk'd vocal).
Review: Veteran Brighton funkateer Flevans returns with two contrasting but complementary cuts, either of which'll please disco and funk lovers for sure. 'I Got Soul' is an energetic, uptempo roller featuring drawn-out female vocal samples, some truly euphoric brass and layers of crowd noise. 'Get To It', meanwhile, is a quirkier affair with a looped female vocal that's got a distinctly 60s cocktail bar kinda feel, which it places atop an equally quirky, jerky backdrop before adding a second, male vocal later on. Both are cool but the latter edges it for this reviewer, despite being perhaps one more for the bar than the nightclub.
Review: Sam Redmore is a DJ/producer from the Birmingham area who's known for his genre-hopping club sets. That electicism is well reflected in this, his debut album, which while sitting on our Funk pages actually takes in a wide range of styles, from sunny, summery nu-disco and disco-house (see 'Just Can't Wait') to fast n' furious African drum tracks ('One More Time'), and from classy soul/R&B ('Party', a clear standout for this writer) to Stereo MCs/Allergies-esque hip-hop ('On The One'). Featuring an array of guest vocalists and rappers, it's an album that sets out Redmore's stall nicely - and that bodes well for a long career in music.