Review: An Australian based in London, producer Frankee More gives the occasional instalment of frothy party fun. There's no fear of groundbreaking sounds here or deep navel gazing, it's all about cheeky giggles on the dancefloor. Here we have another two such sizzlers to enjoy. First up, "This Feeling" fuses a laid-back electro-funk bassline with an impassioned soul vocal and a sax solo. On the digital flipside lurks "Dance Now", basically an update of C&C Music Factory's Everybody Dance Now that, if played at the right time, will blow the roof off any self-respecting house party. Job done.
Review: German groove aficionado Freethinker Funk Essence plays a mean sunshine game with two delicious bossa blends. "Emanuelle" is built up around two distinct elements; a sparkling nylon string arpeggio and a snake-like conga roll. The result is a beautiful sunset jam that should keep you warm as the temperatures drop. "Raspberry Jam" taps into the soulful house roots for inspiration. Coming on strong like a Reel People jam with its dominant piano riff and flickering guitar tones, it's quite similar to Marcus Nikolai's "Bushes" from way back in the turn-of-the-century day. Remix-wise Stereo 77 and Mister T fire shots. The former gets their acid house stutter on with some shimmering churchy tones while the latter adds a juicy organic funk swing and array of dubby effects. Tasty.
Review: Freethinker Funk Essence takes his time, never rushing to release stuff, nice n easy, totally chilled in a 70s sort of way. Unsurprisingly these 70s attitudes don't stop there, with the music firmly planted in the era of giant flares, chopper bikes and polyester shirts. Pretty every song on this here EP sounds like incidental music from classic cop show Starsky & Hutch: "The Spy Of Mrs Lee" is a suspense-filled shuffle with chiming keys, echoey wah-wah and baggy drums. Elsewhere "Record Store" is swaggering boogie strutter and "Quentin's Lost Movie" is a soft n' sensual see-through-negligee of a tune.
Review: We've not heard from German funkateer Freethinker Funk Essence since March. Perhaps he was as his own song goes, Too Drunk To Funk. Anyway its great to have him back rustling up three slices of steaming retro pie, with grooves excavated straight from the 70s. "Haight Ashbury" is all night walkin' in old San Francisco to the strains of wah-wah heavy funk, the stomping "Walk In The Park" incorporates bluesy slide guitar riffs and a brooding Tex Mex atmosphere, before "Saturday Morning Traffic" is more of a rolling jam with vintage organ chugs and layers upon layers of live instrumentation.
Review: Germany's funk fanatic Freethinker Funk Essence has cooked up four new steaming slices of boogie pie for all the groove starved souls out there. "The Revenge Of The Pusher" kicking things off with some accelerated rock guitar riffs, undulating organ work and Sly Stone style vocal snippets. Elsewhere "Too Drunk To Funk" is the sound of trumpets, bass and clavinets having a threesome whilst a funky drummer looks on and "Hot Sole Funk" updates the formula with sparse beats and plenty of modern attitude. Finally "Funky Bitch" is an all-out 60s Austin Powers style boogie down.
Review: Hanzee is a Budapest-dwelling 'funkbreak, breakbeat, ghettofunk and glitch-hop' DJ (amongst other genres). Here he delivers his second EP, HaleLuisa, which contains three slices of what he does best. The title being a groovy slice of breaky electro funk: all moody synths pads and tough drums, "American Dream" adds more retro guitar licks and raw vocals to the funky mix and "Jive Step" is an intriguing mix of dubsteppy production and swingy rhythms. Scottish master of the live remix, Andy Taylor, also pops up to give the title track a delicious acoustic Balaeric overhaul.
Review: Hungarian breaks producer Laszlo Zizics might boast the nickname 'Fanta', but he doesn't like too much fizz in his tunes. Instead he's more about the head than the feet and there's nothing wrong that. "The Time Will Be" is a fuzzy lo-fi breaks jam with added electronic moodiness. "Future Underground Nation" is an old skool ravey shuffle with Tubeway Army synths. Heavy.
Review: Here we have a true rarity indeed: back in the late '90s the Mustbeat crew briefly had a side-project called Les Biens. They were responsible for a few cult hip hop jams and memorable live shows too! Now they've gone through the archives and uncovered two unreleased tracks from back in the day - the Shadow-esque slow crackler "Park 44" and the trippy, trip hop dub of "The Chase". One for vintage loving B-Boys everywhere!
Review: Known for his cheeky sample art, Mr Bird has delivered serious party vibes with every release so far. The cheekily titled "Champignon Sound" is less of a floor jammer and more of a mood setter with what could quite possibly be a low-swung, head nodding homage to Mark Farina's Mushroom Jazz project. The end result is a super smooth vibe that's perfect for headphones and warm ups alike. If you need more pep then jump on Jayl Funk's slapbasstastic remix that comes complete with a flutter of flutes. DJ Tzinas' remix pays respect to Bird's original vibe but with more jazz sensibility. There's plenty more we could write about this release but there's not mushroom left to fit the text!
Review: A Hungarian posse of promoters, designers and beat makers, Mustbeat Crew return with three forward-thinking and pleasantly accomplished breakbeat smashers. "Punani" is a filthy trawl through some futuristic textures and deep, acid-style bass, while "Mutha Phunkin' Reel" gets its gangster on courtesy of an Easy E acapella. On a more funky tip, "Take Your Time" takes roots reggae vocalisms and winds them over a heady mix of nu-funk guitars and brain-squishing beats.
Review: Swiss funk and breaks star Pulpfusion reloads for another banging collection of raw funk drums and wicked bass on this second edition of "Headbanger Funk". Tracks to watch out for include the fast-paced and hectic psych-funk of "All Hell's Breaking Loose", the sublime mix of dub and rock on "Cockaine" and the heavy rumpshaking bass of "Fat Ass".
