Back catalogue: Soul

Review: Jalen Ngonda shares two 7"-incarnated selections from his debut album Come Around and Love Me. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Jalen perform live knows that he is one of the most captivating performers on today's soul scene. His voice, equal parts raw feeling and elegance, exudes confidence and charm - disarming packed rooms of rowdy concert-goers, leaving them silent as they hold fast to every syllable sung. For his studio project, however, Ngonda and his team at Hive Mind Studios in Brooklyn developed skulful blends, heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics with a Motown sophistication, leaving the listener in a blissful wash of wonderment. Ngonda creates a classic approach that is rooted in the sounds of revered pioneers, without falling into imitation; most symptomatic of this is the beautiful cinematic soul echoer 'What Is Left To Do', a song sure to dazzle for years to come.

Review: Wales-based American Jeb Loy Nichols is the latest singer-songwriter to join forces with Timmion Records' insatiable house band, Cold Diamond & Mink. He has already turned out some fine results earlier this month and now comes back with another sizzling 7". This one opens with the breezy, jazz tinged surf-pop funk of 'I Just Can't Stop' that is a real sing along. On the flip is the more slow soul of 'Help Me Along' with its roomy rhythms and sombre trumpets.

Review: A double-barrelled shot of classic soul and Motown, LA-based soul flippers Night Owls are back again after their LP earlier this year with their first 45 transforming songs with their unique Jamaican flair. Side A steals the show off the bat, with 'Cramp Your Style' pricking up hip-hop fans' ears as the groundwork for Cypress Hill's 'Real Estate'. N'Dea Davenport's vocals are silky smooth against the grooving instrumental - you can't help but smile. Side B's 'Your Old Standby' is a slower, more emotional affair with vocals from Trish Toledo that hearken back to the original in magical fashion.

Review: The Brasileiro Treasure Box Of Funk & Soul gems keep flying out from Cultures Of Soul: Novos Baianos' 1970 rarity "Juventude Sexta E Sabado" is a heartfelt, yearning slice of psychedelic soul peppered with urgent Plant-level vocals while Dom Salvador & Abolicao's "Uma Vida" is the ultimate feel-good song: what begins as a funk soul tracks suddenly rips into gospel with so much gusto you genuinely can't stay still. One of the best 45s to come from the collection so far.

Review: If this fine 7" is anything to go by, the crate digging and detective skills of Athens of the North founder Euan Fryer are as sharp as ever. The two tracks featured here originally appeared on a private press single that currently changes hands for large sums online. Fryer manager to track down the original writer/producer, Chicago-based George Riviera, who not only have his blessing to the reissue, but also sent over the master tapes. Stylistically, A-side "The Time is Right" sits somewhere between Latin soul, jazz-funk and sumptuous downtempo disco, with blue-eyed soul vocals and subtle vibraphone solos rising above superb had percussion. Fipside "Feelin' Funky" is a more up-tempo affair: an undulating chunk of jazz-funk/disco fusion laden with neat musical touches.