OrderingOrdering ProblemsFAQContact Us (Customers)Contact Us (Suppliers)Gift certificatesAbout JunoManage accountMy ChartsJuno Download PlayerFeedbackPrivacy PolicyTerms and ConditionsJuno Marketing and PR departmentArtist / Label Profile SubmissionPromote your label / releasesHow do I download via Dropbox?
Filter
Mr Bongo
Browse the latest digital releases on Mr Bongo
Played by: Juno Recommends Broken Beat Nu Jazz
Review: The Brighton-based duo of Glenn Fallows and Mark Treffel follow up 2021's 'The Globeflower Masters, Vol 1', which they described as a tribute to the great soundtrack and library composers of the 60s and 70s: think Ennio Morricone, Serge Gainsbourg, David Axelrod et al. Unsurprisingly, Volume 2 treads a similar path, though exactly what that path is, is hard to pin down: there are influences here from jazz, sci-fi film scores, lounge, psychedelia, various forms of world music and more besides - sometimes all in the same track! The tempo never really gets beyond walking pace so these cuts seeing any dancefloor action is unlikely, but if melancholy piano pieces, floaty Balearic excursions and moody film noir-esque sketches are your bag, this is a very pleasant way of whiling away an hour on the sofa.
from $1.89
MRB 261X
22 Sep 23
Broken Beat/Nu Jazz
22 Sep 23
Broken Beat/Nu Jazz
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.
from $1.89
MRB 257
27 Jan 23
Broken Beat/Nu Jazz
27 Jan 23
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'.
from $1.89
MRB 248
16 Sep 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
16 Sep 22
Disco/Nu-Disco
Played by: Flash Atkins, Juno Recommends Funky House, Fred Everything, 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.
from $1.89
MRB 12054
05 Nov 21
Funky/Club House
05 Nov 21
Funky/Club House
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.
from $1.89
MRB 7159
06 Mar 20
Funk
06 Mar 20
Funk
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.
from $1.89
361593 6659313
01 Mar 19
Disco/Nu-Disco
01 Mar 19
Disco/Nu-Disco
from $1.89
361593 5470353
01 Mar 19
Funk
01 Mar 19
Funk
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.
from $1.89
361593 5469029
18 Jan 19
Funk
18 Jan 19
Funk
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.
from $1.89
MRBCD 181
19 Oct 18
Funk
19 Oct 18
Funk
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.
from $1.89
MRBCD 162
01 Jun 18
Funk
01 Jun 18
Funk
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!
from $1.89
MRBCD 167
01 Jun 18
Funk
01 Jun 18
Funk
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.
from $1.89
MRB 7133
25 May 18
Disco/Nu-Disco
25 May 18
Disco/Nu-Disco
from $1.89
MRBCD 147
23 Jun 17
Balearic/Downtempo
23 Jun 17
Balearic/Downtempo
from $1.89
3610156 971610
23 Jun 14
Hip Hop/R&B
23 Jun 14
Hip Hop/R&B
from $1.89
MRBCD 112
12 May 14
Roots/Lovers Rock
12 May 14
Roots/Lovers Rock
from $1.89
MRBCD 044
15 Jan 14
Broken Beat/Nu Jazz
15 Jan 14
Broken Beat/Nu Jazz
