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: A typically varied three-tracker here from Flevans, whose output has spanned breaks, nu disco, soul and more. The EP opens with 'Dreamer', which brings the authentically 70s-sounding disco vibes. Next up is 'Carry Them', a sweeping, dramatic but hard-to-pigeonhole concoction made up mostly of breakbeats and delicate pianos that comes topped with a soulful male vocal. And then finally there's 'Where I Hide', which again has a piano front and centre but this time in much more sprightly fashion, accompanied by a female vocal and underpinned by a solid but unassuming 4/4 kick. 'Dreamer' takes the gold for yours truly.
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: Brighton-based DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist Flevans (known as Nigel Evans in real life) has been steadily turning out funk- and soul-inspired beats, breaks n' grooves for the past 20 years, working mostly on the Tru Thoughts and Jalapeno labels. Here, he returns to the latter stable clutching three new tracks: 'Starting Points' is quite overtly disco-fied by Flevans' standards, 'Biznizz' is a little bit more down n' dirty but still upbeat, while the stripped n' looped 'I Wanted You To Stay' is the housiest of the three and wouldn't actually have sounded out of place on a 'Disco Kandi' compilation.
Review: 2020 might have been a "dumpster fire" of a year (as our American cousins might say), but somehow Nigel Evans AKA Flevans has managed to remain positive. His new EP - the former Tru Thoughts stalwart's first of 2020 - is led by one of the funkiest, and most celebratory tracks he's ever made, the R&B vocal-sampling, disco and electrofunk revivalism of 'I'm Over Here'. With its' killer bassline, Chic-style guitars, bustling beats and squelchy synths, it sounds like a future peak-time anthem. He explores similar sonic pastures on the more shuffling, synth-heavy 'Uptight', before offering up a slightly deeper (but no less funky) take on early '80s disco via similarly superb closing cut 'Fade'.
Review: We were rather impressed by Flevans recent album "Accumlate" - his fifth in total over a career spanning almost two decades - and in particular its inherent funkiness and effortlessly soulful flavour. Here one of the LP standouts, "Realisation" with vocalist Laura Vane, is given the remix treatment. The EP-opening "Re-Tide Mix" brilliantly joins the dots between funk-fuelled disco-house and colourful, synth-heavy boogie, while Lonely Boy's "Isolation Mix" is a deliciously loose-limbed breakbeat revision that gives due prevalence to track's insanely funky bassline and jaunty Rhodes keys. You'll also find full-length and radio versions of Supermini's hot-to-trot remix, which may well be the funkiest and freshest of the lot.
Review: Jalapeno regular Flevans returns with an 11-track album that won't disappoint lovers of the label's trademark funk-breaks-soul sound one iota. It's actually his fifth, reflecting the fact that Flevans does this stuff better than most; if there's a criticism, it's that the album perhaps tries a little too hard to please everyone. Where cuts like 'Power Rocks You' have an authentic 60s/70s 'deep funk' feel, others such as 'Ambition Like Cream' (feat Scooby Jones) opt for a more commercial approach and end up in Radio 2-friendly pop territory. But even if you do find yourself hitting the Skip button once or twice, there's still much to enjoy here.
Review: Nigel Evans, or Flevans as he's more widely known, returns with his first new material since the 'Part-Time Millionnaire' long-player (his fourth) dropped earlier this year, also on Jalapeno. 'Mr Right' itself fuses a chunky 'new old' funk-soul groove with a more contemporary-style R&B vocal from Laura Vane, making for a cut that in a perfect world would be following the likes of 'Happy', 'I Need A Dollar' and 'Uptown Funk' into the pop charts. The accompanying 'Speculate', meanwhile, is a more stripped-back and percussive affair that'll suit the jazz-dancers and b-boys down to the ground - quite literally!
Review: Three remixes here of two tracks from Brighton boy Flevans' fifth studio album 'Part Time Millionnaire', which dropped back in March, with the Laura Vane-vocalled 'Invisible' getting the treatment twice. Flevans' own Back To The 80s Mix finds us in upbeat, accessible neo-soul/R&B territory, and as such crossover success certainly shouldn't be ruled out - though for more underground, squelchy nu-funk thrills the Basement Freaks Remix is the one. Completing the EP is Asta Hiroki's re-rub of 'Right On Time', a sparse trip-hop affair comprising ambient sounds, sampled spoken vox and clipped percussion - definitely one for the late-night herbalists.
Review: Funk, breaks and broken beat specialist Flevans returns with his fourth studio album, and his first for Jalapeno. This time around, straight-up nostalgic/retro grooves are the order of the day - if you dig the likes of The Dap Kings, Smoove & Turrell, Speedometer or Stone Foundation you'll find much to enjoy here. Vocals are supplied by Laura Vane and several other guests, and across tracks ranging from blistering jazz-dancer 'Take Your Money' to raw soul ballad 'Some Day' to the more pop /R&B-inflected 'Who's Got Me' you'll find all the scorching Hammonds, slap bass, soaring sax and wukka-wukking geetars you could possibly ask for.
Review: Jalapeno regular Flevans (AKA Nigel Evans) paves the way for album #6 with this new release. The first track features a full soulful vocal from Laura Vane (known for her work with MJ Cole and Robbie Rivera, as well as her own band The Vipertones) and would slot into a DJ set neatly somewhere between Crazy P and The Dap Kings, while the 2nd track "Take Your Money" Evans looks to the deep organ-fuelled funk of the 60s for inspiration but chucks in some 70s funk geetar for good measure, then tops the lot with a suitably raw n' scratchy sampled vocal.
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