Hip-Hop News

Two early R&B sides from Detroit's legendary Tamla stable, and two tracks which shed some light on the foundations of the then undefined 'Motown sound'.

When Barrett Strong recorded 'Money' in 1961 it became Tamla's biggest seller to date and set a ball rolling whereby Berry Gordy's small enterprise would soon become the lead player for soul and R&B, first in Detroit and then nationally and indeed internationally, scoring hit after hit. Prior to that recording, however, Tamla's output was rather more exploratory, and here we find on 'Misery' a beautifully downbeat piece of soulful melancholy with superb instrumentation. Earlier still, 1959's 'Let's Rock' is a low-fi, uptempo soul rocker, one of those transitional songs which sit in the Rock & Roll of the 50s but contain somehow an echo of what was to come in the 60s as soul music took over...

Without doubt, there are only a handful of contemporary bands who can really nail the authentic, gritty and soulful feel that so many groups attempt to create, and Australia's Deep Street Soul are one of those outfits leading from the front.
One vital factor in creating genuine 21st century funk & soul is having top notch vocalists with the prerequisite spirit of real soul and DSS suffer an embarrassment of riches in that respect - having both Mighty May Johnston and Shirley Davis strut their stuff on either side of this cracking 45 single.
Taken from the recent DSS album 'Look Out, Watch Out' (FSRCD092), the A side 'Hold On Me' was screaming out for release as a kicking 7 inch single, as May and the band push the big funk button on this original composition. We suggest you wallow in the chunky horns, diamond hard drums and growling organ riffs and let your knees be knocked bandy by Warren Hunters thundering bass lines!
Residing on the flip side is DSS's respectful take on a quite recent modern funk classic, namely Charles Bradley & The Bullets 'This Love Ain't Big Enough (for The Two Of Us) Shirley Davis puts a feminine slant on this super hard funky soul gem, and rounds off Deep Street Souls' latest addition to the modern funk lexicon.

Electric Guest is a Los Angeles based rock band formed in 2010. Their music is a melding of R&B, funk,
pop, and classic rock. With meditative lyrics, catchy choruses, and dance inspiring rhythms the band brings
a feel-good experience direct to the eardrums.
Side A:

ike Fabulous (The Black Seeds/Lord Echo) and Lawrence Arabia are two of New Zealand's young musical titans. The pair have been quietly collaborating since 2009 - their first and only physical correspondence being two CDs of instrumental soul/funk/lounge/popthat Mike sent from Dunedin to Lawrence's mum's place in Christchurch.

Album was recorded at Wondaland Studios in Atlanta, but written all over the world. F/ Big Boi of OutKast, renowned poet Saul Williams, psychedelic dance-punk troupe Of Montreal, punk prophets Deep Cotton, and the Wondaland Arch Orchestra.

The premier R&B club album featuring huge chart toppers, exclusive remixes and collaborations

REPRESS 04/12

In 2010 Ministry of Sound introduced - ONE - The most anticipated album in recent years featuring the biggest dance hits of all time, amassing a quarter of a million copies!

The Artist that brought us such glorious hits as 'Kiss' or even 'Purple Rain', a man that went on to become one of THE biggest influences on a worldwide scale earning him Seven Grammys and ten Platinum albums selling over 90 million copies... !

US only vinyl pressing of their 3rdd album, released on CD in Japan only, Expect a flood of amazing vibraphone & keys, next-level hyper-lush dub w/hints of shoegaze, indie, & a base of hip hop beat making. F/Shing02,. 4 previously unreleased tracks.

Fresh after the success of his superb Sarah Vaughan & Marvin Gaye edits, Marc Rapson comes correct with his amazing debut 7 track EP entitled "Dark vs Light".
Beautiful hip hop/soul grooves combined with lush keys and sublime bass lines create an EP of rare quality. From the forthcoming album.

super clubby rnb remixes from irie farhot / wonderful rnb/pop track like natasha bedingfield

The First Word Records debut from Tall Black Guy Productions - the Detroit based producer much lauded by Gilles Peterson for his soulful hip hop production.

Irish beat maker Krystal Klear and Washington DC soul star Olivier Day Soul team up for the anthemic winter love song 'Never Thought You Would'.

PillowTalk continue to impress with their unique body of sounds on the latest Wolf + Lamb release. Masters of weaving a variety of styles and influences with sumptuously nostalgic live vocals, this debonair San Fran trio is fast becoming a prolific force on the global scene.

Cadillac is an Australian luxury vehicle marque signed to Future Classic. If you like guitar solos, slow mo piano jams and the sounds of baleric, disco, pop and rock then we might have just the vehicle for you

Duke Slammer is, if you might wonder, Luke's Anger in tight lycra pants who is suddenly making something between boogie and
skweee. Heavily infected with the purple and the disco funk vibe this sweetness is funky as hell!' (Lowriders Blog)

The Artist that brought us such glorious hits as 'Kiss' or even 'Purple Rain', a man that went on to become one of THE biggest influences on a worldwide scale earning him Seven Grammys and ten Platinum albums selling over 90 million copies... !

BIGGEST MODERN SOUL DANCER EVER !!!!!.Available On A 45 For The First Time This Cd Spin Has Been Packing Dancefloors For 15 Years,A Real Hands In The Air ANTHEM

First up is Blow Your Horn Remix which has been given a full on Latin Breaks Boogaloo twist from Scottish Label mate DJ Andy Taylor.

NYC's #1 Japanese dub vendors go up against veteran German singer Dorothea Tachler (HiM, Mice Parade). The Chimps deliver their usual high-octane dubsploration while Ms Tachler mines as more trad-pop vein.

Eight of the coolest dudes west of Barcelona's coast line got together and came up with these here two delicious pieces of Funk with a capital F. The deep-fried jam 'The Sooner' is a laid-back but heartfelt, Hammond-laden serenade to that one special lady, while flipside 'Slingfunk' is just that: uptempo and dirty funk for you to get down on the dancefloor. Unbeatable!

Insane exotica-style lyrics and chanting ('Ya ya-ya-ya ya!') over fantastic upbeat sax led backing from
New Orleans legend Art Neville's early days. Hard to find nowadays on original because the contagious
rhythm of the flip has resulted in most known copies having been bought up by popcorn
heads and shipped to Belgium.