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Mr Bongo
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Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Review: Mr Bongo reissue an album that first landed a full 50 years ago. Daniel Salinas is a Brazilian composer, conductor and pianist whose career dates back to the 1950s, and this 1973 long player is comprised mostly (bar 'Bai?o') of Latin jazz-flavoured cover versions, with the standout by far being 'Straussmania', a Deodato-inspired jazz-funk take on 'Also Sprach Zarathustra'. Elsewhere, you'll find more very fine jazz bizniss on opener 'Like A Rainy Night' and 'Bai?o', both of which showcase some truly phenomenal keys work, not to mention a string-led instrumental cover of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and, to close, a version of Donovan's 'Atlantis' that starts out as flute-y folk whimsy and somehow ends up in a smoky jazz club.
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Played by: Juno Recommends Downtempo
Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Played by: Juno Recommends Disco
Review: Marxist Love Disco Ensemble may have chosen their name playfully, but the inspirations behind this debut album - primarily disco's rapid journey from being a musical form created by and for oppressed minorities, into a major-label backed symbol of rampant dancefloor capitalism - are surprisingly thoughtful. It's the music that matters, though, and on that score MLDE scores highly. Composed and performed by a collective of musicians who love obscure Mediterranean and Balkan disco of the late '70s and early '80s, it's gorgeous grooves, life-affirming musical movements and glassy-eyed vocals manage to bring something fresh to the table despite their vintage inspirations and presence of spacey 1970s synths. The plentiful highlights include, but are not limited to, the saucer-eyed sunshine of 'Brumaire', the piano-sporting cheeriness of 'Manifesto', the Cerrone-influenced '1905' and the energetic 'Hide & Seek'.
Played by: Juno Recommends Downtempo
Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Played by: Craig Charles Funk And Soul
Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Played by: Problematic Disko
Played by: Juno Recommends Deep House
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Played by: Shan
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: A slightly confusing release here, in that it ostensibly features two versions of the same track, but credited to two different artists. Quite how that works we're not entirely sure, but the two are really rather different in any case: the first take on 'The Positive & The Negative', credited to Surprise Chef, is a moody, cinematic affair for most of its life before breaking out into a jazzier groove towards the end, while the Minoru Muraoka/Mr Bongo Edit version has a more Afro-inspired hypnotic, tribal feel, with breathy flutes a-gogo. One for those whose tastes veer towards the leftfield.
Played by: Flash Atkins, Juno Recommends Funky House, Fredeverything, Stephane Attias, The Magic Track
Review: Straight outta Melbourne's deeper northern suburbs comes Surprise Chef, a typically aussie band clad in earthly tones, sporting the odd longer mane and a touch of facial hair. And seemingly out of nowhere the band's take on 'instrumental cinematic soul and funk' has connected with listeners across multiple scenes and genres - none less than legendary cross-genre pioneers themselves Masters At Work - and - Harvey Sutherland! Thanks to Mr Bongo's connection with MAW, get some true-school New Yorkian rhythms from a hornsy, jazz flecked and broken mix, next to a straight up club beat in the main mix. Sexier still is the undeniable Master's At Work dub, with Sutherland himself dropping in with a burning cosmic soul mix of "New Ferrari" in his attributed 'Weird Flex'. Summer has arrived people.
Played by: Secret Soul Society
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: Australian band Surprise Chef are all flatmates and have formed a close camaraderie, in addition to running their own label called College Of Knowledge Records. 'Daylight Savings' is the follow-up to the group's debut album which earned the band a much deserved following across the world, and comes courtesy of London's Mr Bongo label. The result is a sound recorded in their Melbourne-based studio that incorporates the influences of late '60s Capitol Records, '70's jazz funk and soul (particularly legends such as David Axelrod and Isaac Hayes) plus a stronger focus on the rhythm section. Highly recommended.
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: Straight outta the Northern suburbs of Melbourne comes Surprise Chef! Eschewing their normal College Of Knowledge Records for an expanded release on Mr Bongo, the band delivers a unique sound of instrumental post-rock while channeling the earthly tones of 1970s synthopia and new skool Australiana through instrumental jazz, funk and post rock leanings. Inspired by a DIY mentality, summer heatwaves and healthy doses of antipodean irony, Surprise Chef turns in something between Four Tet's early sample material to the more analogue and live sounds of Throbbing Gristle inspirations in "Blyth Street Nocturne". Recorded live to tape, All News Is Good News brings to the surface a fresh session of unconventional jazz-funk for a new audience.
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: A Mr Bongo re-release here for one of just two singles ever released by Solat, a Dutch funk group from the 70s made up of musicians from Surinam and the Antilles (both former Dutch colonies). Originally released on Dutch label Poker in 1976, 'Change The World' is an uplifting, conscious funker that's plenty good enough to hold its own alongside the likes of Brass Construction, War or Rare Earth, whlle 'Try Try' is a bit more overtly discofied, and has something of a Crown Heights Affair-ish feel. Either/both will keep specialist soul and funk floors more than happy.
Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Review: Kit Sebastian are English multi-instrumentalist Kit Martin and Turkish vocalist Merve Erdem. Their 2019 debut album 'Mondo Moderne' (also on Mr Bongo) fused psychedelia, jazz, 6Ts pop, Middle Eastern music and hip-hop/funk beats, and now here comes the remix package, with the Natureboy Flako Remix of 'Senden Baska' coming on like 60s lounge music with a breakbeat while - by way of a complete contrast - the Baris K Dub of 'Durma' takes us into experimental techno/minimal territory. Completing the EP is 'Kit Sebastian Vs Halal Cool J', a lazy, dusty groove that finds the pair teaming up with UK hip-hop producer Aly Jamal.
Played by: Craig Charles Funk And Soul
Played by: Faze Action
Review: Earlier this year, Mr Bongo served up an essential reissue of "En Trance", the killer 1981 debut album by British jazz-funk pioneers Atmosfear. It's little surprise, then, to see them offering a fresh edition of one of the band's lesser-celebrated but nevertheless seriously sought-after releases: 1982 single "Xtra Special". First up is the sun-kissed mid-tempo breeziness of "Xtra Special (Dry Mix)", where Chic style guitars, cascading synthesizer lead lines and super-strong female lead vocals rise above a bubbly boogie groove. There's an altogether more spacey feel to the "Wet Mix", where stretched-out synthesizer sounds and delay-laden electronics bubble away atop a groove that amply showcases the track's killer slap bass motifs.
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: Earlier this year, Mr Bongo reissued the 1975 eponymous debut album from Spaceark, an obscure rock and soul outfit from Los Angeles who operated in the years 1973-1979. 1978's sophomore effort 'Spaceark Is' is due to get the same treatment next month, but in the meantime it's the turn of his non-album single from 1975. 'Don't Stop' fuses raw funk with something of the glitz and glamour of a late 50s/early 60s ballroom and features some fine sax work as well as Ms Way's heartfelt, pleading vocal. Like the original release, it comes accompanied by a simple Instrumental.
Review: Now aged 82 and still recording, Ebo Taylor is a true giant of the Ghanaian music scene whose career goes all the way back to the 1950s. Along the way he's worked with Fela Kuti and been widely sampled by hip-hop producers, and here Mr Bongo bring us four new mixes of three cuts from his 'Yen Ara' album, which was released earlier this year. Ron Trent's take on 'Krumandey' and Nick The Record's rub of 'Mumudey Mumudey' will go down well on house floors, while the Nature Flako remix of the latter and the Black Fan mix of 'Mind Your Own Business' are more geared towards specialist Afro jocks.
Played by: Juno Recommends Funk
Review: Spaceark spent considerable time and money recording their eponymous 1975 debut album at Sunset Sound Studio in Los Angeles, yet released it as a self-distributed, private-press LP. Because of that, this brilliant West Coast soul set has become an in-demand item amongst collectors, with original copies changing hands for vast sums online. Here, it finally gets the reissue treatment courtesy of Mr Bongo. Undeniably dreamy, poignant, warm and musically expansive, the album's ten tracks sit somewhere between Steely Dan style jazz-rock, up-tempo soul, all-action jazz-fusion, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. It's genuinely a forgotten and overlooked gem, with the album sounding as timeless and evocative now as it did back in 1975.
Played by: Juno Recommends Disco
Review: First released in 1981, this classic album gets remastered and reissued by Mr Bongo. Recorded by a group of musicians led by guitarist Andy Sojka and based out of his All Ears record shop in Harlesden, En Trance put the band well ahead of the Brit-funk pack with its forward-thinking fusion of jazz-funk, disco and dub influences. The reissued version of the album includes selected cuts from the single releases "Motivation", the "Invasion" EP and of course "Dancing In Outer Space", the 1979 hit which you probably know already. Rest assured there's plenty more good steppin' where that came from...
Played by: Craig Charles Funk And Soul
Review: Vocally-led by child sensation, Foster Sylvers, The Sylvers family grew into their own throughout the 70s, and 1973's The Sylvers II really instilled their sound as the gold standard fo funk music. We're talking about a family of kids who were all incredible musicians, truly offering the world a heartfelt performance, whichever aesthetic they were going for. Mr Bongo has delivered the goods once again with this reissue, and we are totally stoked about the fact that we are receiving the sort of funk and soul which still has not been experienced by everyone. It is about the mystique, it is about the charm, and it's most certainly high time for some soothing soul direct from the source - oh, and check that bassline on the magnetic "Handle It". Recommended.
Review: Foster Emerson Sylvers was a member of the Sylvers when he was just a kid, and his debut LP form 1973 preceded what the Jackson Five achieved towards the end of the decade. At the time of his self-titled debut, Sylvers was only 11 years old, and the kid from Philly already had enough elegance and panache to perform on any stage across the globe. This magnificent album, reissued by the trusted Mr Bongo, is a pleasure in every single way...for the artist's voice, for the diversity of these soul ballads, and for their irreplaceable charm. There is so much love, so much passion, and so much (true) soul across these 11 tracks - not to mention the fact that tey have been near impossible to find until now! What a corker - do not let this one slide!
Review: Disco Dub Band's "For The Love of Money", a one-off collaboration between producer Davitt Sigerson and reggae musician Mike Dorane, has long been considered something of a classic by those who like their disco to come with a big dose of dub-wise flavour. Here the instrumental O'Jays cover, which originally appeared on the Movers label in 1976, is given the remix treatment by long-time fans Mr Bongo. The first track, in which Dorane's instrumental talents take centre stage, naturally comes accompanied by the frequently played Dub interpretation, a typically wild and bass-heavy affair that sounds like it was mixed "live" in one take in true Lee Perry/King Tubby style. If it's not already in your collection, it should be.
