Back catalogue: Funk/Reissues

Review: French label Boogie Butt gets us moving and grooving once more with a tasty new EP in the form of The Boogievison EP. It features a lead single from Ian Ash & Ella May, 'I Want To Thank You,' which pairs some jazzy chord work with a low-slung and warm house groove. The bass is funky and the vocals are seductive. It comes as an instrumental as well as a more direct and harder-edged Mr Doris & D-Funk remix. On the flip is Jessie Wagner & Fostin meet Ian Ash with 'Try Again,' a lovely soulful house groove with sublime and emotive vocals over another lush bass guitar. All very sweet tunes, these.

Review: Jamiroquai always had a unique sound that sat somewhere between pop, house, disco, funk and cosmic delight. His great singles were always ripe for remixing and few do it better than house man Michael Gray. Here he tackles the evergreen 'Space Cowboy' with a Good Vibe Zone - extended mix that layers in some nice funky, soulful drums and lavish cosmic melodies that make it perfect for cultured clubs. On the flip of this new 12" from Sultra is a dub mix that is a little more playful and party starting. Both tunes are sure to raise the roof.

Review: Jeroboam serves up the tongue-in-cheek title 'Brexit Funk' on Chuwanaga and is sure to get you moving as a result. There is some serious sunshine and Brit-funk loveliness to the title track. It is lit up with vibes keys and irresistible funk basslines that all brim with good-time fun. 'Peckham Night' is a more sultry and steamy sound for when the sun is setting thanks to its lazy drums and splashy cymbals all topped with some smoky trumpet soul. A dub mix rounds out with even deeper-cut grooves and romantic melodies. Three grown-up delights for sure.

Review: Over the years, France's Favorite Recordings has been very good at sniffing out lesser-known European gems from the disco and boogie era, mostly for superb and must-check compilations. Recently, they decided to make some of these licensed obscurities available on a series of 12" singles, where a louder, club-heavy cut is preferable to DJs. The latest sees them offer-up two lesser-known Belgian gems produced in the mid 1980s by future new beat don Tony Baron. Jonathan Jr's 'Hanging On To You' is warm, shuffling and synth heavy, with the artist's soulful and jazzy lead vocal sitting alongside squelchy synth-bass, Nile Rodgers style guitars and post-electro beats. Special Occasion's 'Flying To Santa Barbara', meanwhile, sits somewhere between 80s soul, AOR synth-pop and sax-sporting B-movie soundtrack goodness.

Review: Formative disco five-piece who've been sampled and re-edited to the max over the last 20 years, here we find The Joneses in their original form. And they still sound as relevant and timelessly funky now as they did when this arrived in 1981. The original is a tight Chic-style guitar and bass groove that's accentuated by occasional falsetto vocal hits and flurries of disco bubbles and street sounds. Flip for "Summer Groove (Moving On)" where the blistering tight bassline and guitar licks are complemented with a tiny bit more vocal majesty. Instant seasonal sounds, have you kept up with The Joneses recently?

Review: This second instalment in the Spring Revisited seriesia collaboration between Acid Jazz and Ace Recordsioffers two expertly handled edits from across the Atlantic rooted in the fertile legacy of 70s New York soul. London's modern disco institution Dave Lee reinvents The Joneses' 'Love Contest' with his trademark finesse, giving the track a full-bodied groove-up without losing its bittersweet heart. The strings soar, the rhythm section locks tight, and Lee's decades-deep knowledge of disco and boogie shines through in every detail. On the flip, New York-based Coleen 'Cosmo' Murphy brings lush new life to Street People's 'I Wanna Get Over'. With sun-drenched keys, crisp hand percussion and subtle delays, she transforms heartache into late-night liberation. Both sides feel like love letters from DJ to danceflooriclassic soul refracted through contemporary ears, pressed on wax that looks and feels like it just time-travelled from 1979.

Review: Just What The World Needs returns to their own self-titled label with a 14th outing of fiery disco heat. This is potent music that melds together jazz, funk and soul with a lashing of synth goodness. The opener is a real driver with emotive gospel vocals and mad jazz keys. Second is a slower jam with a more dreamy feel then the flip side comes on strong with jazz say leading the way beneath vaping chords and funky, smooth drums. Last of all is a supercharged leftfield bomb with explosive cosmic synths and the sort of energy that stands out in any set.