Back catalogue: Funk/Reissues

Review: Fresh from dropping another essential seven-inch with his regular Sound Combo band, Misha Paniflov has joined forces with fellow multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee for a string of collaborative singles. This "45" sports two genuinely impressive cuts, each full to bursting with quality live instrumentation. It opens with 'Sigmund Jahn Bossa', a superb fusion of late 1960s library jazz (think Roy Budd's score for Get Carter and you're in the right ballpark), bustling bossa-nova and spiralling psych-funk. Over on the flip the pair continue to deliver lounge, influenced, tongue-in-cheek thrills via the cheap, Sideman drum machine rhythms, tumbling guitars, elongated Hammond organ chords and hazy backing vocals of 'Aquaria'.

Review: Earlier in the year Misha Paniflov impressed with a library music and laidback 1970s funk-rock-inspired soundtrack for a Janno Jurgens-directed movie called Rain. Both of the tracks featured on this "4e5" are taken from that soundtrack album. On side A you'll find 'Road Home', a relaxed and effervescent affair that fuses drifting, wordless female vocals, snaking saxophone lines and rising orchestration with grooves reminiscent of Roy Budd's work for the original Get Carter soundtrack. Over on the flip there's a chance to savour soundtrack album opener 'An Unexpected Journey', where Paniflov more expressively explores his easy listening and library music influences. It, too, is a calming treat for the ears.

Review: Following a near two-year absence from vinyl, the usually prolific Misha Paniflov is back on Funk Night Records with another nostalgic 45 rooted in deep funk, library music, cinematic soundtracks and psychedelia. The Estonian first offers up 'Dr Juvenal's Solution', a jaunty and genuinely heavy dancefloor work out marked out by sixties spy-movie guitars, bustling breaks, intergalactic synth sounds and warming bass. He opts for a more laidback, downtempo feel on side B, with stretched out, Peter Green style guitar solos and meandering Moog lines reclining atop a bittersweet backing track.

Review: Penza Penza is one of many aliases used by funk-fuelled musical polymath Misha Paniflov. This "45" showcases two tracks from the project's recently released debut album, which added heavy funk vibes to a hallucinatory stew of flavoursome psychedelic rock. A-side 'Mad Madis Twist' is gnarly, rugged and impressively heavy, with Paniflov and company wrapping squally, Jimi Hendrix style guitar solos and flanged funk-rock riffs over a cacophonous, all-action rhythm track. 'Shulz' Thing' is a little tighter, more bass-heavy and undeniably funkier, though the wild guitars and acid-fried attitude remain front and centre.

Review: What's important is to spread confusion, not eliminate it: Estonian production master Misha Panfilov knows this as much, running a carefully-curated imagecraft cartel, in which his many aliases confound and bemuse us into believing his many works are the doing of someone else. Case in point: At first glance, we were well-duped into believing Penza Penza were some kind of exotic psych supergroup lost to time, but a deeper investigation as to the origin of the alias indeed reveals the singular force of Panfilov to be the artist behind these tracks. It's no wonder the A-sider is called 'Deep Dive', affirming our propensity for curious, almost forensic suspicion as to its true origins. A serene groove of just-intoned riffs and sizzlingly offbeat hits, this one's certainly a solid accompaniment for your next mescaline dabbling. Meanwhile, we're happy to award the B-sider with "banger of the year so far" - 'My Friend Ash' is an ecstatic mover, as deceivingly retro as it is beguiling, with stabbing counterpoints and wild toppers, as suitable for the club as it is would've been for some kind of 70s hoedown.

Review: A stunning showcase of Pu Poo Platter's ability to craft infectious, captivating grooves, Funk Night Records proves again here that is never disappoints in delivering top-tier funk from all eras. The A-side, 'Pbppbp,' features loose, live-sounding drum breaks paired with haunting chords creating an eerie, late-night vibe, complemented by soulful guitar lines. On the B-side, 'Pbpbppbb' slows things down with a laid-back groove, offering a relaxed, rolling rhythm enhanced by exquisite keys and smooth chords. This 7" is a perfect blend of energy and soul.

Review: You can never go wrong with the music put out by US label Funk Night. It covers all aspects of funk from across the ages and here we have some hot shit from Pu Poo Platter. First up on the highly effective 7" is 'Pbppbp' with its loose, rolling, live-sounding drum breaks and rather haunting chords which bring an eerie late night edge next to the soulful guitar lines which worm in and out. 'Pbpbppbb' then cuts back and chills you out with a more lazy rolling groove and some exquisite keys and chords.

Review: Penza Penza, led by Misha Panfilov, is back with a fourth LP, Alto E Primitivo, which was recorded at private events in Funchal, Portugal, and Tallinn, Estonia. The album underscores Panfilov's genre-blending prowess on Detroit's Funk Night Records across 14 tracks that blend deep grooves, intricate guitars, and soulful rhythms from psychedelia to garage rock. The dynamic tracks showcase the groups' newly matured sound with refined production that will find favour with fans of Khruangbin and The Budos Band. Tracks like 'Wacky,' 'Pterodactyl,' and 'Boo Hoo Boogaloo' highlight their instrumental prowess while occasional distorted vocals add texture. Alto E Primitivo then is another gem from Penza Penza.

Review: Modern psych master Misha Panfilov unleashes yet more fresh psych heaven under his new outfit Penza Penza, laying down the unbridledly satisfying new album Electrocolorized. In the words of its chief endorser Matt Chandler, the album is chock-full of Stax, Motown and Blue Note-esque notes, circling in and around the thematic cornerstone that is the funk jam, though not succumbing to its cliches and pratfalls. Finding joy in the imperfect - the sonic wabi-sabi - the likes of 'Der Himmel Uber Kakumae' and 'The World Of High Voltage Badgers' are instrumental exemplars of the vintage, basking in the style's psychic, sun-beaten buzz.