Review: With 30 tracks to choose, there's no faulting the value for money on offer with this latest Salsoul collection, but a note of caution should perhaps be sounded: if you've only just discovered Salsoul and are doing some exploring, then this isn't the best collection to start with, because most of the label's best-loved tunes already featured on Volume 1, back in 2017. That potential commercial weakness is also, however, the album's greatest strength, because it's the more obscure cuts that will be of most interest to long-term fans... and there are plenty of both! With a mixture of ACTUAL original mixes plus a few contemporary rerubs from the likes of Dave Lee and Danny Krivit, this is a worthwhile and rewarding addition to the ever-growing roster of Salsoul comps.
Review: Strut's archival remit remains as international as ever, with their latest compilation squaring the focus on late '70s Hawaii on the delightful Aloha Got Soul: Soul AOR & Disco In Hawai'i 1979-1985. Across the backdrop of societal change on the island (statehood into America in '59 and the Vietnam War) Hawaiian youth found inspiration in the music of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and later Earth Wind & Fire leading to a truly vibrant scene by the mid-'70s. It's after this where Strut pick up the story, bringing together a glorious 16 track collection that spans the genres and suggests Hawaii to be a most fertile location for music during this era. Do take some time to check the detailed sleeve notes from Aloha Got Soul's Roger Bong which offer further context for the music!
Review: Germany's DJ Friction once more dons his Frico re-editor's hat and serves up another brace of reworks of classic tracks from days of yore - more specifically, in this instance, days of early 80s boogie yore. First to get the treatment is 'Never Let You Go', a 1982 cut by UK outfit Savanna. Frico's remake is very faithful to the original, but most importantly he leaves the fine scatting section towards the end intact... doo doo dah-dah! Frico then turns his attention to 'Sparkle', another 1982 jam, this time by veteran Japanese singer-songwriter and producer Tatsuro Yamashita. Boogie lovers will be in raptures.
Review: Liquid Pegasus's synth-funk focused 2016 debut album "What I Actually Do" was so good that many expected him to become a major force in the growing nu-boogie scene. His career seems to have stalled since then, with this outing on Clandestine Boogie marking his first outing in almost two years. It's a vibrant, colourful and sun-kissed affair that regularly reaches rush-inducing levels of positivity. Check the meandering synth-bass, sparkling stabs and eyes-closed jazz guitar solos of "Makin' It Hot". "Sparkle" is deeper, more laidback and a touch more disco-fied, with Dave Allison upping the tempo a little while increasing the Balearic factor on his accompanying remix. Matt Hughes' tidy take on "Makin' It Hot" is arguably sturdier and more club-ready than Liquid Pegasus' original version.
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