New releases last four weeks: All genres

Review: Mr. Bongo presents the very latest album from Ana Frango Eletrico, one of the most exciting voices to emerge from Brazil's contemporary new wave. With two critically acclaimed albums and a swathe of award-winning production turns already under their belt, Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua promises to follow in very much the same wake, a ten-track delight of sophisti-disco productions and nimble, fey vocal performances from Eletrico themselves, this LP explores the depths of queer love and romance via some slick and snappy productions.

Review: Brazilian artist Lucas Arruda, is fast becoming a regarded figure in the Latin scene. 'Ominira' is his latest long player that once again, finds a home on the French label Favorite Recordings. An album full of rich sounding musical textures that cross boundaries and bridge many genres such as Latin, soul, house, jazz and pop. The vibrant summer jams 'The Bravest Heart' and 'Novos Planos' are A-side standouts that will surely excite veteran and new listeners alike, who are into World music. '4:28' and 'The Mountain' start the second side with some catchy instrumentals that give off memorable beachy 70s vibes. ' Projecoes' closes the album with one of the most soulful performances of the album. All and all, you have a wonderful sounding jazzy grooved piece that ups the expectation of what a Latin jazz album can be. Cafe Del Mar approved!

Review: Italian dance producer Gianni Bini debuts on Groove Culture with the House Of Glass LP, topping up his impressive discography with a solo studio effort, and bolstering the already massive stock of production credits attached to his bulging, insatiable name. Though his various monikers over the years have indeed propelled him in a many-a-direction, Bini's latest here centres on epic disco, and rewinds the tape to an earlier sound first explored in his formative days as a producer; retroactively, we hear a livelier, more contemporary take on the stabbing strings, bristling bass and bubblegum beats - all live-recorded - that first put him on the map.

Review: Diane Birch returns with that spellbinding voice - a transportive powerhouse packing a timeless quality that resonates through her music. The American recording world doing what it has always done so well, creating huge, heartbreaking, hopeful, and captivating mini operas disguised as pop. Or, if you want to get technical here: soft rock, country, folk, r&b and soul. OK, so there are elements of funk and jazz, too, and the result is a heady brew that's pretty inescapable. Harking back to the balladry heydays, with shades of Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, and Carly Simon, to name but a few - in delivery and performance, if not necessarily tone - no matter where you're listening from it's going to be hard to forget this one.

Review: Susan Cadogan is an esteemed reggae vocalist who has been since the 1970s. Now she continues her musical journey with this cover single which is taken from her excellent 2020 album Hurt So Good - Storybook Revisited, distributed by Burning Sounds. Side-A features a rendition of the reggae classic by Dawn Penn, while Side-B offers a sweet soul interpretation of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' track. Enhanced with Japanese-inspired artwork on the jacket, this release showcases Cadogan's timeless talent and versatility as it bridges the gap between reggae and soul music across generations.

Review: We for one are perfect happy to revisit this iconic debut solo album of the legendary singer Chaka Khan. Originally released in 1978 and now arriving once more as a deluxe edition, the record showcases the disco diva's incomparable vocal prowess and genre-defying style. With hits like 'I'm Every Woman' and 'Life is a Dance,' it solidified Khan's status as a powerhouse in the realms of funk, r&b, and disco. This deluxe edition has newly remastered tracks, rare bonus content, and further insights into Khan's artistic journey. It serves as a timely reminder of her unparalleled talent in one essential package.

Review: To any funk digger worth their salt, Cymande have been a staple since their 70s heyday, but the Brit funk cult legends are enjoying a renewed presence since their triumphant return with reunion shows which cemented their legacy after decades being overlooked. Their story tracks back to this seminal album, a scintillating fusion which could only have occurred in Britain in the 70s as communities and cultures joined together to create one harmonious groove the likes of which had never been heard before. The whole album feels like a run of hits, from the celestial swirl of 'Dove' to the life-affirming horn blasts of 'Bra'. If you don't already have this track in your bloodstream, now's the time to catch up.

Review: Dee C Lee has been singing and performing for over 40 years now, perhaps most famously with Paul Weller's Style Council although teaming up with Guru on his Jazzmatazz. This amazing soul singer has now released her most recent album Just Something which his her fourth album overall and her first since 1998. The tracks that are getting wide play and buzz include the beautiful and soulful single 'Walk Away'. Also, last year's double sided single with the positive and wonderful 'Don't Forget About Love' along with the more funky 'Be There In The Morning'. Each song is strong in their own right. Kudos to the Acid Jazz label for releasing this on vinyl for us to enjoy.

Review: The self-titled debut record from South Carolina soul septet The Entertainers first dropped in 1980 and laid claim to a distinctive quirkiness. The kernel of the album's success was its unabashed choice of subject matter - sexual attraction - which when combined with its bright mixes and burstingly clear compositions, helped propel the band out from their local beach scene roots and into increasing interstate acclaim. With members Earl Dawkins on vocals, Hugh "Tuff" Blanton on bass, Richard Robertson on trumpet andzz flugelhorn, Ric Sanders on keyboards, Danny Baker on guitar, Marc Goins on drums and John Franklin on trombone, the Entertainers did nothing but.

Review: When Keyon Harrold lists the influences that he turned to during the creation of his rich and evocative new album Foreverland, he cites the likes of Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Fela Kuti, John Coltrane, and, for a second, he becomes vulnerable; the list is too basic, too serious-music-listener-starter-pack. But, out of that moment of insecurity, he spins an indelible flex: "You are what you eat, and I have a pretty strict diet in dope shit. Taking in Keyon Harrold's career to-date, it's clear that the 'world-class trumpeter' (Essence) and composer is very serious about that diet. He's a jazz musician but in the most expansive sense, working with a list of dream collaborators: generational legends Keith Richards and Diana Ross; rap stars like Mac Miller and Nas; neo-soul icons Erykah Badu and D'Angelo; and modern soul stars Black Pumas and Leon Bridges. His circle of regular collaborators is formidable and includes his music industry mentor Common (who hired him for his first touring gig), his New School classmate Robert Glasper, and GRAMMY winners Maxwell, PJ Morton, Gregory Porter, and YEBBA. Even apart from its compositional intricacies and stylistic innovations, Foreverland is a triumph of resilience and empowerment. "What will be said when you're gone?", says Keyon. "If you're not living life - getting beat up, getting your heart broken, winning, losing - what are you doing? What about your life can people learn from? If you don't put yourself in the ring sometimes, there won't be anything." On Foreverland, Keyon takes life's challenges head-on - and emerges, in both music and in life, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Review: Wah Wah welcome the return of multi-talented Norwegian producer Espen Horne, following a 24 year hiatus. Sometimes, such resurfacings must happen - even after such long periods of time - if only to reaffirm the round-robin integrity of the label. The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence is thus the logical, LP-form follow-up to 1999's acid jazz single/EP 'Magnetica', which, though released only to furtive acclaim, launched the label's reputation as a pusher of delights. This new one, however, makes for a remarkably different turn in sound, coming as a full-length of ambient, tremolo-ing and glistening jazz-funk verging on hip-hop (though certainly cut from the same cloth as 'Magnetica'). Vocalists and instrumentalists such as Olav Wollo, Faye Houston and Aich are kept firmly in tow, squeezing the icing onto an already spongy, delicious sonic gateau.

Review: The self-titled name of the debut album featuring Luther Vandross is reissued for the first time by Sony. Originally released in 1976, Luther was a five person soul, disco and rhythm and blues ensemble with Luther Vandross as the lead vocalist. A popular session singer at the time, Luther eventually outgrew the band and went solo, but not before two full albums worth of material - this being the first. At the time, the record flew under the radar with the singles 'It's Good For The Soul' and 'Funky Music (Is A Part Of Me)' not making much of an impact on the charts. As the years have gone on and with the success of Luther as well as the resurgence in music of the period, the two albums have gained a lot of interest.

Review: With members living between Denver, Colorado, the UK and Spain, the New Mastersounds are currently centred on the British city of Leeds, and bring their adept keyboard instrumental Hammond funk and r&b chops to us receptive fans in the form of a new ten-track back-to-school album, Old School. Composed in a short breath in a studio situated in the heart of the English Peak District during a rainy week in July 2023, all tracks here showcase the earthy essence of the band via their signature vocabulary of uncomplicated funk, soul-jazz, classic r&b and reggae-infused grooves.

Review: Patrice Rushen's Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984 celebrates the unmatched talent of a jazz and r&b legend whose influence extends far beyond her chart success. Rushen's songs, including hits like 'Forget Me Nots' and 'Haven't You Heard,' have left an indelible mark on popular music, with countless artists sampling her work. Despite facing criticism and lackluster label support, Rushen's crossover into sophisticated urban pop paved the way for future R&B and hip-hop hits. This compilation shows Rushen's talents as a musician and arranger, with her production providing the building blocks for decades of musical innovation. Tracks like 'Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up' and 'Remind Me' highlight Rushen's electrifying performances and innovative sound. Rushen's timeless music remains as relevant and influential as ever, cementing her status as a true icon of musical innovation and creativity.

Review: Candi Staton's self-titled album is quality listen that showcases Staton's remarkable vocal range and emotional depth across a diverse range of tracks. From soulful ballads to infectious disco grooves, each song is imbued with the singer's signature charisma and passion. Standout tracks like 'Darling You're All That I Need' truly stir the soul with the impassioned vocals and big horns next to some uplifting melodies and heartfelt messages of love and truth. With impeccable production and Staton's powerhouse vocals at the forefront, this album is as potent now as ever and reminds us of Candi Staton's status as something of a great of the last 50 years.

Review: Broken beat hero Kaidi Tatham steps forth with the first in a series of all-star remix albums of the Reel People Music back catalogue. Over an impressive ten tracks, Tatham sashays between syrupy soul slo-jams, virtuosic broken beat trips, almost UK funky-esque live jams, and acoustic boom bap beats. Percies include the sweeter-than-molasses opening flip of Sebb Junior's 'All My Life', his sassy, stripped-back version of Daz-I-Kue and Hadiya George's 'Pedigree' and a dazzlingly technical re-run of the Monkey Brothers' 'Losin my Head.' With this anthology, Tatham proves that London's broken beat scene continues to flourish, and his boundary-hopping style is as relevant as ever.

Review: The Daptone label, renowned for its modern yet classically soulful sound, recently hosted the outstanding debut album from Thee Sacred Souls. Produced by Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth, the record exuded endless warmth and texture and combined 60s soul with 70s r&b with heartrending vocals and poignant rhythms. Now the whole thing has been stripped back to its instrumental core and gets served up here on a standalone limited red vinyl album. It's just as good in this format as the original and allows the skilfulness of the musicians to really shine.

Review: Cali soul supergroup Thee Sinseers premiere their next album Sinseerly Yours, strutting down the proverbial red carpet with ten new, contemporary rerubs of classic soul standards. Fronted by bandleader and son of East Los Angeles Joey Quinones, the group has quietly chipped away at the sounds of r&b and soul for the last half-decade; he and his crew are heard at the polished end of an extended studio session held in Rialto, California, the ineluctable Second Hand Sounds. Making unprecedented use of a converted studio space which used to be a dentist's office, the unique acoustics of which lent them a fuller sound than formerly heard, we hear the band expertly toggle between 60s pop vis-a-vis early Beatles records to obscure Jamaican dancehall here.

Review: Pyramid deliver a wonderful new compilation of deep gospel from the 1960s and 1970s. Named after the Holy Light Jrs' eponymous slow jam, featuring as the lead track here, all the songs featured come corralled from the vaults of Pyramid's very own DJ Jumbo. Doing well to shine a light on the unbeatably sentimental mood that hung heavy over the Mississippi-born genre that emerged in the postwar period, the likes of 'Beams Of Heaven', 'Lord You Are My Burden Brother' and 'When The Gates Swing Open' all function as faithful, ivory-fingered devotionals and effective paeans for a better world to come.

Review: 'Beehive Breaks' is a new curveball from the Numero label, pitting together 15 'feminine funk' fixtures for your listening pleasure. All sourced from the label's back catalogue, we're met with an impressive array of funky-drummed, double-X'ed ditties, from Sandy Gaye's Cruella-synched 'Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone' to James Brown's soul sister #1 Marva Whitney; from teenage girl gangs The Trinikas and Promise, to Miami's queen of soul, Betty Wright; and to top it all off, there's even a previously unissued belter from Chicago's Sonics Band on there.

Review: This double vinyl LP features 42 of the world's most superb Northern Soul anthems. It's a must-have collection for any fan of timeless music. The compilation celebrates the dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the late 60s and early 1970s. It transports listeners back to the swinging sounds of Northern Soul with soulful classics from iconic artists like Gloria Jones, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Dusty Springfield, and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. This record captures the essence of the Northern Soul era, showcasing the infectious rhythms and passionate vocals that made this genre so beloved. Prepare to be captivated as you immerse yourself in the nostalgic and exhilarating sounds of Northern Soul.

Review: Numero Group brings together a slew of desirable and very rare soul and funk songs together for one fantastic compilation. Many of these tracks in their original physical release form - you'd be looking at hundreds of dollars for the first pressings, so thank Numero Group for gathering these together and saving the fans from spending a lot of money and a lot of time finding them. Tracks like the amazing 'Mr.Lucky' by Betty Wright - which sounds fit for a blockbuster movie soundtrack - Trinikas' 'Remember Me' and the James Brown-like funk 'Good Things' by Pearl Dowdell are must have scarce tracks, but there's a host of yet to be discovered gemes here too, like Fay Cooper's 'Closer Together' and Betty & Angel's 'Everlasting Love'.

Review: One of four new vinyl issues, Numero Group deliver their compendium of regional funk and soul unknowns from Mel Alexander's Consolidated Productions label. The V/A forms a part of a new bundled volume of their longstanding compilation-compilation (yes!), made up of earlier funk cuts released by lesser-spotted interstate funk floggers throughout the 70s, including Tragar, Note, Saadia and Shoestring. Eccentric Soul is its name: first issued in 2004, this big splash homed in on the regional American delights in the genre, stretching as far as Wichita, Kansas, San Antonia, Texas and Norfolk and releasing an uncountable string of tracks by formerly unknown names based in small locales, who'd at that point only just caught onto the incipient funk movement. Here, you may dive into LA's cutthroat music business from 1961-1991, embodied in Mel Alexander's Consolidated Productions, which lay among the longest running Black-owned independent record conglomerates of the 20th century.

Review: Time Capsule exposes a few of the myriad pathways in Japan's 70s psychedelic soul wormhole, when a bountiful crop of music emerged from musicians inspired by homespun hero Haruomi Hosono's Happy End project, as well as the meandering ballads emerging from the dissolution of the 1960s protest movements. From the charming, Hosono-esque Francophile lounge funk of Hiroshi Kamayatsu's 'Have You Smoked Gauloise?' to the Tadashi Goino Group's strikingly sparse drum machine n' synth incantation 'Jikan Wo Koero Go Beyond Time', almost sounding like Goino is flanked by Vega and Rev at times, to the theatrical, almost duul-esque closing ballad 'Heya No Naka In The Room', the heads at Time Capsule assemble a compelling and kaleidoscopic anthology of forgotten Japanese gems.

Review: Originally part of the 2014 album I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy Without Me, 'Hit 'Em Like Ali' stands out as a vibrant and infectious track in Australian artist Chelsea Wilson's collection. Its energetic and riotous vibe has earned it a place as an unheralded modern deep funk classic. Spasibo Records now grants it a well-deserved single release on nice coloured vinyl. Co-produced by Jake Mason of Cookin' On 3 Burners, the heavyweight instrumental backing track, making its debut on the flip side, showcases Melbourne's top funk musicians. With blistering breakbeats, heavy horns, flanged guitars, and weighty bass, it's a track designed to captivate.

Review: Gone but never forgotten, The Best Of Amy Winehouse is a poignant testament to the late singer's incomparable talent. This collection curates her most iconic tracks, from the most famous and soulful 'Rehab' to the emotionally raw 'Back to Black.' Winehouse's unique blend of jazz, r&b, and pop is on full display, showcasing her raw vocals and lyrical depth and of course each song is a window into her turbulent life, filled with heartache, addiction, and unbridled passion. Despite her tragic passing, Winehouse's music continues to resonate and this album proves she remains the most influential voices of her generation.

Review: Some 20 years on from the release of her debut album, acclaimed vocalist Lizz Wright releases another instant classic album, Shadow. The Southern American heart-tugger is a specialist of gospel and soul, first earning her spurs as part of a Billie Holiday tribute act before earning increasing stars under the banner of Verve Records. Weaving influences from the Great American Church Songbook to Wright's own personal experiences of love, grief and kinship, Shadow is a moving album statement, channelling the recent memory of her grandmother through stripped-back and unprescribed deployments of acoustic guitar and bare vocals.