Review: Royal Soul bring us an EP featuring five remixes of three tracks from two French producers. 'Big Bamboo' gets two re-rubs: Cupcake Project's mix sits somewhere between Zapp-esque electrofunk and shimmering Nang-style nu-disco, while the Trotter Remix is a more uptempo funk-breaks pass. There's a dark, wonky nu-disco/Italo nouveau flavour to Cupcake Project's take on 'Time To Go Back', too, while Adam Polo's remix of the same track is a more straight-up disco-house affair. The EP's then completed by a Boogie Remix of 'So Classy, So Nasty' from Austrian producer Shantisan that does exactly what it says on the label...
Review: Eleven months have passed since the release of Patrick "P-Sol" Sullivan's last collection of "Excursions", so this return to Royal Soul is well overdue. He eases us in gently via "Running Out of Time", a string-drenched shuffle through sun-kissed slo-mo disco territory that underpins swirling orchestral loops and summery grooves with the most subtle of house style drums. "Fire Quiet" is even deeper and more loved-up, offering up a chugging, head-nodding take on a trumpet-laden groover rich in hazy guitars and toasty bass guitar, while "Break An Egg" is an all-action version of a busy disco-funk track full of insanely heavy bass, clipped funk guitars and jangling piano motifs. Arguably best of all is the soulful smoothness of lolloping closing cut "Outside My Love", where cute guitar licks and sun-soaked pianos catch the ear above another locked in, filter sporting groove.
Review: Canada's Darren Woodhead, who's released previously on labels including Body Language, Masterworks and MSLX, comes to Royal Soul with two contrasting cuts. 'All The Thrills' is an authentic-sounding homage to first-generation disco and funk of the 70s, complete with parping brass fanfares and a vocal that's reminiscent of Ohio Players or early Cameo. The accompanying 'Body Dance For You' operates at a higher tempo and rides a more straight-up 4/4 beat, placing it more in the nu-disco category, and sports an 80s boogie-style treated vocal. Both cuts come highly recommended for funkateers and disco dollies of all persuasions.
Review: When it comes to serving up cheery, funk-fuelled dancefloor workouts, Trotter has an exemplary track record. The prolific producer is at it again here, joining forces with San Francisco-based DJ/producer Duserock for a single-track missive that's worth its weight in gold. Underpinned by warm bass and rolling mid-tempo beats, "Hashbury" grooves along on waves of cosmic synthesizer chords, hazy male vocal samples ("this is disco punk...this is disco rock and roll") and the kind of crunchy funk guitar riffs that were once a staple of San Francisco's bustling 1970s music scene. The whole thing is beautifully imagined and executed, delivering a near perfect balance between glassy-eyed goodness and club-ready heaviness.
Review: Self-proclaimed "funkmaster" Prosper is a keen collaborator, with each of his previous releases being made in cahoots with another producer. Given this history, it's little surprise to find that his latest outing is collaborative affair, too. Lead cut "So Classy, So Nasty" sees him join forces with Adam Polo for the very first time, with the duo wrapping choice rap vocal samples around rubbery synth-bass, Chic style disco-funk guitars, swirly synths and mid-tempo nu-disco beats. Elsewhere on the EP, Propsper is in collaboration with regular studio buddy Stabfinger. They offer up "Big Bamboo", a bouncy, Kraak & Smaak style fusion of fuzzy funk horns, fizzing P-funk electronics, talkbox vocals, big builds and slap-bass-happy grooves, and the cheery, bongo-driven trip into dancefloor funk territory that is "Time To Go Back".
Review: If you're a lover of hip-house vocals then the Sweet Tee-esque title track here will definitely give you a 'Happy Feeling'! Elsewhere on the EP, 'Corrupt' is a looping, Latin-tinged affair with chorused female vox, there are more Latino flavas on 'You Choose', 'Arab Money' is an uptempo, brassy joint atop which another rapped vocal (a male one this time) and some Middle Eastern chanting go head-to-head, while 'Heartbeat' is essentially a rework of Jimmy 'Bo' Horne's 'Is It In?' from 1980. Five sample-tastic cuts that'll keep disco floors moving for sure.
Review: New Yorker Patrick Sullivan aka P-Sol strikes back on Sao Paulo's Royal Soul - the first 100% Brazilian based nu-jazz/Nufunk/downbeat label since 2006. P-Sol runs the imprint Wall Of Fame, which has seen many of his own releases and has put out music on various labels such as Editorial, Hot Digits, Groove Democracy, Masterworks Music, Discodat and Los Grandes. Dealing with Viennese downbeat influences crossing his typical disco way - this dude goes straight to the point with these classy leftfield beats. From the soulful urban blues of "And You Say", the lo-slung deep disco jam "East New York" or "Wonderfool" with its evocative and sun-kissed groove which perfectly soundtracks this fabulous summer in The Big Apple at present.
Review: Rodrigo Ulson "a.k.a. Trotter", one of the leading name on the Brazilian groove scene is joining force with compatriot Marcelo V.O.R to celebrate Royal Soul's 70th release. They dug their crates and came up with this fresh, tropical, yet nostalgic groove to keep your summer on
Review: Royal Soul Records is the First 100% Brazilian based nu-jazz/funk and downbeat label since 2006. Pioneer NYC DJ Soul Slinger and legendary drum player from Trio Mocoto Joao Parahyba meets Trotter in the studio in Sao Paulo Brazil and the soulful bossa breaks of "SOL" is the result. Featuring remixes by the North American Izzy Wizzy Wise - whose rendition gets deep and jazzy, the Austrian Shantisan gives it a sexy deep house makeover on his club mix and the Brazilian Tahira takes the track down a traditional route.
Review: This time last year, breakbeat maverick Morlack was banging out some Rick James business, a sweet reinterpretation of the legend's most infamous moments, but right now he's up on Royal Soul with some sweet-ass, electro-swinging gear of the highest calibre. "Ripa Na Chulipa" takes the boogie beats on a Brazilian tip, before the sounds of "Farther Imagination" blast it all down to classic US levels - what a master-blaster of a tune! "It Should Have Been You" is a sweeter, more soulful West-Coast sort of number, perfect for kicking back and smokin' a number, whereas "Try My Lovin" takes the groove way down below, somewhere closer to traditional hip-hop levels. Don't mess with dat bass doe!
Review: It is over to Trotter & Zel from Sao Paulo, Brazil. This dynamite duo have been performing at every Burning Man for the last seven years and have released on Timewarp, Tru:Funk and Fort Knox Recordings to name but a few. Returning on Royal Soul with the sweet and sultry G-funk influenced R&B of "My Path" featuring some sexy skills on the microphone by the one and only Awoke & Smoothie. This one is going to we well received during the festival season: just like everything else they do so keep your ears peeled!
Review: Given the EP's title, you'd expect this latest split EP from the Royal Soul camp to be full of the kind of fun-time fare that makes you want to shake your ample assets. Happily, that's exactly what's on offer. P-Sol gets things rolling via the bouncy disco-funk-goes-house shenanigans of "Shape Up's", before fellow experienced producer Trotter expertly throws together samples from all manner of familiar tunes on the party-starting funk breaks explosion of "Trotter vs Sahntisan & Foo". Zel's tasty midtempo shuffler "Disco Speech" - all undulating disco bass, punchy ska horns and lolloping drums - offers a pleasingly groovy alternative to the full-throttle fare elsewhere on the EP, while Cupcake Project steals the show via the rubbery P-funk re-edit action of "Hey Baby". In summary: rock solid party jams.
Review: Brazil's premier re-edit guy Trotter hasn't been as prolific of late as he used to be. However he's treated us here to a stop gap one-track, suitably-tilted "One". The track is classic Trotter, being over five minutes of party breaks, rolling basslines, cheery brass and hippy-era voice samples. Remix-wise Pilots On Dope deliver a super chilled out Latin-tinged dubby incarnation of the tune, whilst Badboe ups the vibes for a party-friendly go-go style romp with added lashings of electro-funk fun.
Review: Brazil's favourite purveyor of re-edits that fell off the back of a lorry, Trotter, is back after a long hiatus with another example of the kind of light hearted party fodder that he's best known for. Yes "Let it Rock" features feet shuffling rolling beats with a poolside aura and tropical lilting guitar. E1sabr delivers a more contemporary mix with melodic electronic disco melodies and emotion, Ursula 1000 also provides some dream-like sun kissed electrohouse vibes and finally P-Sol gets nice and deep, with a Balearic-style smoochy wonder that's teased out over the duration of six minutes. Pure summer sounds.
Review: For the first time in just over six months, Brooklyn's premier disco fiddler returns to Royal Soul. This time round, his swag bag is full to bursting with a quintet of tidy, soul-flecked revisions. While it's all of a high standard - we'd expect nothing less - there are three tracks that are really floating our metaphorical boat. There's the sweet, rolling, delay-laden disco-soul shuffle of "One Of A Kind", the metronomic, house-flavoured twinkle of "All Wrong" (think swirling strings, hazy trumpets and party atmosphere), and the bongo-laden bounce of "Relax Your Mind". This latter scorcher boasts a bassline not too dissimilar to "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", handclap-heavy house beats, baggy piano riffs and urgent vocal samples.
Review: Latin Del Boy, Trotter, is an expert in producing tracks that fell off the back of a lorry. Yes, cheeky disco edit confections are his forte and there are four of them here and going fast. All Good Funk Alliance's tune "Ain't It True" is transformed into a seven-minute electro house epic, whilst he goes all-out crowd pleaser on the tight, live disco-funk jam "Da Gypsy Groovy" by Leon. "Never Let No One" by Afrolicious is a mid-paced Afro/Latin funk workout and finally "Pump It Up" sees Umbo's tune rewired into a slinky late night soul sizzler.
Review: A former punk who had a disco epiphany, Darren Woodhead hasn't looked back since. Here on Call My Own we get two versions of the deep and soulful title track, all mellow chords and warm bounce, one featuring a retro rap by Dios Cozsmic Astro and one without. "Express Yourself" is more abrasive with a boogie sample given a lo-fi makeover, "Start The Show" is a fun venture into early hiNRG territory and "Too High" is perfect for afterhours parties. Finally "Want To Know" is a killer boogie-house slam down with enough thump to get everybody on the dancefloor.
Review: Those who enjoy horn-heavy funk breaks/P-funk fusions should already be familiar with Warson, who has been releasing high quality material - mainly on Tru Funk - for the best part of half a decade. Here he makes his first appearance on the similarly vintage Royal Soul imprint with the fun-time blast that is "My Time". It's a typically cheery, floor-friendly affair, with thickset funk breaks, heavy horns, vocoder vocals and tactile blasts of synthesizer combining to create something enormously playable. He ups the tempo a little on "Soul Train", with punchy saxophone lines catching the ear alongside rubbery boogie bass, tasty vocal samples and more swinging, loose-limbed breakbeats.
Review: "Since launching five years ago, Brazil's Royal Soul Records has provided party-minded DJs with a wealth of good grooves with which to entertain their crowds. Here, boss man Trotter marks a half-century of releases by gathering together some of his favourite musical moments from the imprint's bulging back catalogue. As the label has done from the beginning, Celebrating 50th Solid Grooves flits between shuffling breaks, nu-funk, disco-fuelled house and P-funk inclined nu-disco. Along the way, there's a chance to revisit Lyrics Born's heavyweight hook-up with Motion Potion ("Funky Hits Wrecked"), the spiraling dancefloor badness of Timewarp Inc's "To The Bone", and the revivalist P-funk-meets-breaks goodness of Quincy Jointz's "Cosmic Funk". Oh, and loads more besides."
Review: Budapest man DJ Clairvo touches down on Royal Soul with his first non-collaborative EP, and as you'd expect, it's pure break-driven fire. "Do You Wanna Be Cool" is choc-a-bloc with samples and slap-up beats, while "Funk Is" goes in harder on the melodies and brings forth that Brazilian carnival swagger. "No No No" takes focus on utterly screwing the vocal chops into a stop-start dancefloor pulveriser; but it's the title track "Rally In Rio" which truly brings out the samba funk among half-step kicks and bodytonic breaks. Class.
Review: Roll up, roll up! Get your cheeky re-edits here! Yep Brazil's answer to Del Boy has set up stall to shift his latest retweaks. "It's Only Disco" is a raucous funky jam with Senor Oz doing his best to channel those live celebratory vibes a la Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up". DJ Smash also provides a remix that is all about the percussive breaks, while "Eclipse" on the other hand is more your 4/4 melodic electro-house with an extra sprinkling of funk, which is turned into some half time synthy off-kilter funk by Audit.
Review: Brazilian DJ Trotter runs his Royal Soul label with a total passion for Latin sounds - often looking as far afield as Austria to find those perfect red blooded vibes. Here he combs South America for the freshest sounds around, which here can range from the reggae-tinged to the jazzier side of things. Highlights include the loungey guitar and drum machine jam "Meu Esquema" by Mundo Livre SA & DJ Bruno, Trotter's laser dubby funk collab with Greek producer Basement Freaks, "Hang Out & Hustle With My Friends" and Otis Tiro's "Azuma", a live, meandering 15-minute laconic wander through jazzy late night clubsville.
Review: Latin-obsessed Viennese radio DJ Herbert Bachofer, aka Shantisan, presented us with his single Avenida Atlantica back in March. Now he's back with full-length debut LP, Conexao, boasting 19 tracks to sink your teeth into. It covers a wide breadth of global styles and influences - including Bachofer's own bossa nova horn-fest remix of "Control Of Your Mind" by Carlos Reisch, his Chic-esque rework of "Favela Funk" and the summery party vibes of "Meninas & Meninos" which boasts the additional talents of Micheline Cardoso, Luiz Antonio Gomes and Stefan Obermaier. An impressive debut.
Review: Shantisan - real name Herbert Bachhofer - may live in Vienna (where he also hosts a weekly radio show), but his heart seems to be in Rio. Both of the original tracks here - the wonderfully breezy, samba-meets-broken beat jam "Avienda Atlantica" and chunkier (but no less jaunty) "Conexao" - have a strong Brazilian flavour, with live chords, guitars and electric pianos complimenting Bachhofer's summery production. There's a similar Latin feel to the remixes, which range from samba-house (DJ Farappo's version of the title track) and glassy-eyed deep house (Stefan Obermaier's rework of "Connexao") to straight-up, early noughties style bruk (Frolocker's brilliant, electric-piano heavy revision of "Connexao").
Review: We get two sides of the disco coin here: traditional string-laden retro euphoria and 21st century disco-tech - both on the same track! Pako & Loko's "Night Flight" is a sublime ocean of deep, techy soulful house, that beautifully seques into a vintage Philly soul sample. Flawless. If you want something a bit tougher though, Trotter's stomping mix will be the one for you.
Review: Could Morlack be the funkiest man to ever have come out of France? Quite possibly. Listen to the Troutman-meets-Biggie EP title track and you'll see where we're coming from. A juicy jacking throwback to the '80s and '90s it's a one-way-ticket to Party Central. And there's no turning back. "Funky Thing" meanwhile takes a Meters-esque refrain from The Unemployed and throws in a bunch of chicken noises and series of soaking wet basses to great effect. Elsewhere we're bombarded by synth swoonery and old school hip-hop on "Hit Directly" while "In Brasilia" showcases Morlack's penchant for disco.
Review: Although it can't be confirmed that he tours his native Brazil in a battered yellow Reliant three-wheeler, this Trotter also specialises in shifting slightly dodgy second hand goods. Although rather than peddle stuff off the back of a lorry, this guy peddles retweaked old classics. Here KC & The Sunshine Band's Get Down Tonight gets a honky tonk breakbeat work over, Will Smith's Boom Shake The Room is turned into a chunky funkster and a lean, instrumental rework of a Sweet Charles' classic wraps things up nicely.
Review: For his latest release, Spain's Angel Funke dips his toes in the still waters of collaboration, teaming up with the less flamboyantly monikered Alex Brinken. It's all about the party for these producers, they don't really do the chin stroking stuff. Instead they prefer to make music to have fun to. "Disco Bologna" combines 'Ring My Bell'-style musical motifs and Speak & Spell vocals, two retro sounds that you would never had heard at the same time (unless you brought your kids out clubbing. If so, bad parent!). Elsewhere the best remix the most intense one, supplied by The Funky Factory.
Review: "Killer Tits" eh? One shudders at the thought. Luckily there's not a brutal bosom in sight as Neighbour and Trotter remix "I Told You" with breakbeat class. Adding just a touch of UKG sophistication, and oodles of reverb on the insistent snare drum, it's the perfect fit for Julia's breathy vocal work. "Together Always", meanwhile, sees the pair taking the refrain from Oakey's "Electric Dreams" and giving it a cheeky electro filter treatment.
