craig charles presents a collection of news and classics from the funk and soul scene.

ft. amp fiddler

the beneficiaries aka jeff mills, eddie fowlkes, jessica care moore

dj andy smith is back on bbe for part 2 of his “reach up – disco wonderland” compilation series.

with his 3rd release on 4evr 4wrd featuring a heavy lineup of some of his fellow eastsiders, jon dixon returns with something very special. this ep features the smooth vocals of amp fiddler and dames brown and has edits from waajeed, jon dixon and hip hop producer darrius quince also known as inkredibeatz

the martinez brothers in the mix for fabric - here are 12 unmixed tracks from their set on double vinyl. housed in a gatefold sleeve with download code included.

2019 repress - echoes of this summer’s ‘shango’ still shimmer through systems as detroit’s waajeed continues to make good on his promise: to “put paint where it ain’t.” after years of soul, funk and hip-hop explorations as a founding member of the platinum pied pipers (among many other innovative escapades) and, most recently, a soulful remix of amp fiddler on kenny dixon’s mahogany music, waajeed is building on the fresh line of house grooves he commenced this summer. his first pedigree dancefloor tracks in almost 20 years, he taps directly into the source and builds with his own soulful bricks. it’s working, too, dj-wise he’s playing alongside moodyman, mr. scruff and carl craig this fall, while ‘shango’ has enjoyed heavyweight support by the black madonna, carl craig, jackmaster, gilles peterson and many notable selectors.

featuring his own singing and that of detroit legend (and moodymann collaborator) amp fiddler.

faster , speed up - acid techno

after metropolitan jazz affair, the dynamics and mr president, master of musical ubiquity bruno ?patchworks? hovart proudly presents uptown funk empire, a burning tribute to one of his all time greatest loves: funk. bruno ?patchworks? hovart, as a self-taught musician and typical teenager, started playling guitar, bass and keyboards at age 15, covering james brown, jimi hendrix and cream in his bedroom and, later in college bands. his first releases are in the mid 90s, with deep house and disco live bands and various electronic projects. he quickly develops and shows very special skills for vintage disco/funk productions with a contemporary flavor. this gifted boy?s been working with artists such as amp fiddler, archie shepp, mr day, paul randolph... and for many recording labels such as i still music (usa), favorite recordings (france), infracom (germany), further out (uk)... uptown funk empire is an exciting and ambitious project, worthy of its name. while the first album is simply called ?the empire strikes back?, it?s no joke... forget the whole revival thing, this sounds like an actual rebirth of the real funky stuff. it?s like being back to the better days of funk without a travel machine... the vibe is vintage but the sound is fresh...that?s not funky music, that?s funky music !
this album is huge and it covers all the golden age groove styles : boogaloo, soul, disco, boogie, funk... but the music flows in the hands of a gifted modern producer. bruno ? patchworks? hovart plays bass, keyboards, computers... handling with love all composition, programming, arrangements, vocals... with brilliant vocal featurings by silky juan rozoff, brit-soul legend noel mc koy at his best, high-voltage divas ange & janice... and the funkysoul brother bruno ?patchworks? hovart himself on the mic... it?s pure funkiness ! beware, ?the empire strikes back? and is kicking... so get up & dance !

detroit house tunes

fans of the berlin based nils frahm are by now familiar with his beguiling live shows where more often than not fellow touring artists are encouraged to join frahm on stage – the likes of rachel grimes, rob lowe of balmorhea as well as label colleagues peter broderick and Ólafur arnalds have all obliged with fascinating results. it will come as no surprise then that nils frahm, an accomplished composer and producer who signed to erased tapes in 2009, has extended his collaborative live musings to encompass the recording studio, working for the first time with noted cellist and fellow berliner anne müller to produce 7fingers.
with their first collective release frahm and müller have built a world where modern classical and electronica collide creating an intoxicating and delicious collection of songs. primarily a pianist nils frahm provides evidence with 7fingers that he can effortlessly turn electric throwing in loops, samples and glitches to accompany and showcase müller on cello. anne müller, a renowned musician noted for her work with the wolf-ferrari-ensemble, phillip boa and recent tours with agnes obel, proves an amp musical partner for frahm.
the vinyl release includes a download code.

future disco, pioneers in bringing 21st century disco to the dancefloors, returns with its highly anticipated latest edition, a disco fantasy

kingswood drive and accidental return were an early teaser of this new set. displaying their signature analogue sounds and arpeggios, alongside broken beats and soul, you wouldn t be alone in hearing the influences of dam funk, herbie hancock or bugz in the attic coming through on these two. elsewhere more jittery, playful rhythms underpin croydon rooftop café culture. as well as in the calming and ethereal prints on the heath, a subtle tribute to mutual hero prince, who passed away on the unusually prolific day this and two other, currently unreleased, tracks were written and recorded. throughout the ep the duo nod at their london home from the -heath- to kingswood drive and more obviously croydon itself. the sound of south london is threaded throughout this record with pride. even down to the mechanical sunset sound of ep finale thorns, capturing some of the essence of the studio view over london from their high point on the hill in thornton heath. the first ep from albert s favourites co-founders and synth-production duo modified man focused on throwing out heavy editing, recording music with as few processes as possible and grabbing performances as single takes. blending warped cassette recordings that touched upon early jazz-funk/brit-funk influences with the energy of broken beat and experimental electronica, won them support from patrick forge, osunlade, thris tian, yam who? and titeknots to name a few. since that release they premiered new track thorns live on boiler room, going on to deliver a full, three-hour live performance and dj set for the infamous global community. they also provided remixes for dele sosimi, amp fiddler, makadem & behr and hector plimmer, meanwhile, busily preparing a series of four, six-track vinyl eps which will be released over the next 18 months.

a four track ep from slum village co-founder, former bling47 label boss and current head of the dirt tech reck label, waajeed. the detroit native has worked previously with theo parrish, mad mike banks and amp fiddler, and in 2017 held a residency at detroit love parties across the globe. ‘mother’, featuring detroit singer-songwriter steffanie christi an, is driven by an arpeggiated synth lead above shuffling percussion and heartfelt vocals, whilst ‘earth’, a collaboration with the enigmatic blaktony, takes a moodier turn with stripped back drums and syncopated keys. ‘obba’ rides a melodic bassline into the cosmos, whilst ‘frances’ offers a soothing dose of otherworldly disco funk. additional mixing on the ep was provided by planet e head carl craig

to find lawkyz, follow the beat. it is here, in this vital part, this lighthouse which guides the route of the other instruments, which it prints in depth the low notes of his four strings. riveted on the drums. linking with it a rhythmic pact, ensuring the propulsion of the groove on stage with erik truffaz or guts, on records with uht °, anna kova, or versus, his hip hop project with full live band. when he puts his fetish instrument, when he lets cool his amp, then wakes up his evil twin: the waxidermist. one year after his last ep, the waxidermist comes back to tell his story.

the ep contains two solo tunes and one made in collaboration with jovia armstrong, keith beber, carolyn ferrari and craig huckaby. it’s parrish’s first release since last year’s gentrified love part 3, made with amp fiddler and ideeyah.

into the mystic. crank up the amp and drop the needle on the record. exclusively on vinyl only, it s the cross-genre collaboration everybody s talking about - between the don of drum n bass and one of the godfather s of grime.

slamming release from mike grants excellent moods & grooves imprint, proving that this is one of detroits top labels these days. dutch producer john consemulder comes up with a strong moody female vocal cut thats driven by a throwback kms-styled bassline and stripped-down drumwork. on the flip piranha head offer up a soulful, jazzy mix for the amp fiddler fans that fits nicely with their own recent moods & grooves release. essential dubapella included here as well.

hier kommt die jährliche -soul togetherness compilation mit den besten modern-soul tracks des jahres. 15 erstklassige soul-jams, die teilweise erstmals auf tonträger erhältlich werden. mit highlights von omar zusammen mit dem los charlys orchestra, tawatha agee (gastsängerin von mtume) zusammen mit aeroplane, kenny thomas mit thames river soul (produziert von und featuring incognito), wez und the groove association, beide ex-mitglieder der brit-funk-band second image, sowie leela james (bekannt aus der us-reality-show r&b divas: los angeles, amp fiddler, faith evans, trina broussard und lifford.

funkadelic have created an enduring legacy, and the power of their impact is visceral in detroit. their records not only played with genre, but possessed a diabolical sense of humour that led to music domination by the late 70s with parliament, funkadelic, parlet, bootsy’s rubber band and the brides of funkenstein all releasing albums the same year for two years in a row. the music itself is beyond stereotype, but equally huge is that they were a black band not allowing themselves to be limited by anyone else’s notions of who they could be, having a massive impact on the next generation of detroit music, detroit techno. but more than just techno, it is a freedom of thinking that extends beyond boxes, so we included all sorts of today s generation of detroit musicians and producers to show the wide range of music that was funkadelic and how these ideas are still contemporary, they endure and inspire.

hier kommt die jährliche “soul togetherness” compilation mit den besten modern-soul-tracks des jahres. 15 erstklassige soul-jams, die teilweise erstmals auf tonträger erhältlich werden. mit highlights von omar zusammen mit dem los charlys orchestra, tawatha agee (gastsängerin von mtume) zusammen mit aeroplane, kenny thomas mit thames river soul (produziert von und featuring incognito), wez und the groove association, beide ex-mitglieder der brit-funk-band second image, sowie leela james (bekannt aus der us-reality-show “r&b divas: los angeles”), amp fiddler, faith evans, trina broussard und lifford.

dj friendly double vinyl edition of altons brand new album. featuring 8 cuts from the cd including ever wonder featuring abacus, beautiful, the title track featuring amp fiddler, i can feel you all around featuring angel-a and more. full pic sleeve. raves from osunlade, atjazz and more.

new talent from detroit. hazmat s infinite silence ep is as deep as they come, and is the first release in a new series of detroit artist releases from third ear. following on from third ear s landmark detroit beatdown series, the new detroit deep series of releases is just that. hazmat has played keyboards for artists such as bilal and mary j blige, as well as detroit legends kenny dixon jr, amp fiddler and delano smith. along the way, he started to make his own beats and his own tracks and is now ready to take things to the next level. he also plays keys with motown legacy artists touring bands, such as the the four tops, the detroit spinners, the gap band. it s not all about the beats and the synths, though. hazmat s work using the talkbox is right up there.

deluxe, will sessions’ debut lp of original material, contains tracks previously available as limited press 7- records, freshly remastered for a full length album. the album contains guest appearances from detroit legends allan barnes (blackbyrds) and amp fiddler (parliament/funkadelic), as well as florida’s own king of funk rickey calloway, and relative new-comer coko (funk night records). the album is a collection of singles reminiscent of classic funk and soul with deep breaks, tight rhythm section, blazing horns, and raw vocal performances.

this is the third part of theos gentrified love series. incl. features of amp fiddler and ideeyah

special remarks 12 with printed deluxe 4c full cover sleeve yore proudly presents bxt a new superdupa group from detroit, consisting 3 legends: eddie fowlkes, amp fiddler and niko marks. talents which are no strangers to say the least. you know what to expect. detroit in the house at its best and this is just the beginning.

classic deep house , warehouse found

news of the record first broke back in december, when omar-s, real name alex omar smith, contributed a three-hour mix for ra’s 500th podcast. the lp will be smith’s fifth full-length release, and arrives three years after his most recent album, 2013’s thank you for letting me be myself. like almost all of the detroit artist’s catalogue so far, the best lands on smith’s own fxhe records. it comprises 11 tracks, featuring collaborations with fellow motor city acts such as norm talley, ob ignitt and kyle hall.

after nearly a year of studio silence, and 9 releases under their belt the painfully anonymous dj / production trio italojohnson finally reveal that they are in fact the ghostbusters. to mark the anniversary of their 10th release they ve decided to amp up their usual white labels to black. who you gonna call?

ndatl muzik continues with musical stylings of..... javonntte rarely seen but often heard this talented artist has toured with aretha franklin, been featured on tracks with andrés, amp fiddler, blake baxter & has had some very rare and sought after releases on now defunct label noveau riche. now he returns to detroit his track based roots for a dancefloor stompin 12-. we start with keep bouncin which say it all in the title with a very familiar sample, chaka s revenge will have them screaming for more. the b side he gives us my life very reminiscent of early prescription days and rounds it off with heart strokin tune these words that should easily capture the ears of your constituents! so press play and dance to the musical stylings of.......

late nite tuff guy is a new breed of disco vigilante, prowling the neon streets on a mission from god / david mancuso to reclaim the clubs and fuck shit up. the scandalous alter-ego of genuine techno legend hmc (known to his momma as cam bianchetti), late nite tuff guy (lntg) puts the acrimony in acronym, the oh in disco, the amp in camp and the dang in dangerous. his shit is controversial, but it doesnt stink.
peddling the most credible of disco edits – sexy and tasteful to a tight white tee – and accruing some serious acclaim from an illustrious roll call of heads in the know (including jeff mills, todd terje, richie hawtin, laurent garnier, ellen alien, steve lawler, carl cox, nic fanciulli, jackmaster, optimo and the don himself – sir greg wilson, who remixed lntgs one nite in a disco), the world is his and its about to blow up... 2015 pressing

last summer theo parrish toured europe with a badass band he calls the unit, comprised of himself on keys and vocals, lead vocals by ideeyah, amp fiddler on keys and backing vocals, myele manzanza on drums, mr. mensah on bass and keys, duminie deporres on guitar and dancers jade soul, mai le, dominique choreographed by gehrik. on stage they covered sound signature classics, cuts from theo’s latest lp and a selection of theo’s favorite dancefloor tracks, and the label are excited to be putting out a few of the recordings made during the tour. starting with this two track 12 inch, the a side is a cover of skye’s ain’t no need. for those who know, the b side is a rendition of walking thru the sky from theo parrish’s 1996 baby steps ep.

guy tavares answer/sequel to unit moebius kuiken part 1 en 2! pure industrial pain, dark fear, shady paranoia and swingin noise destruction/deconstruction for maximized intensity to cut you up to pieces, to burn you alive in the nuclear holocaust ovens! poi mi nascose nel foco que mi affina? the almighty juggernaut keeps on rollin and rollin warning: extreme production! please attenuate pre-amp input levels for better/wider sound and to maintain your speakers doing their proper job!

ltd 2016 repress
andres second ep on his own la vida label, following up the label debut new for u, which has been one of the biggest records of 2012. the second time around ep features the single skate this way, a house tune with epic strings guaranteed to bang the dance floor. on the flip is second time around and hart plaza both originally released on kdj records, but here we new versions with additional keys courtesy of detroits own amp dog knight. another essential release from andres...

hand stamped white label 12 inch featuring two unreleased, but dope as hell remixes/edits from chicago house legend, glenn underground: glenns jazzy and soulful nostalgic forever mix of amp fiddlers mornin backed with the his bumpy rewerk of raul midons sunshine. deep and wonderful!

12 inch vinyl e.p. from bunny on acid, featuring his *it s on* single, which has already gained support from maya jane coles, dam swindle, laurent garnier, tensnake and manik.

*friendly bacteria* ist das erste reguläre studioalbum von mr. scruff seit dem 2008 erschienenen *ninja tuna*. mitte mai wird das album via ninja tune erscheinen und am 31.05. im londoner roundhouse mit freunden und gästen inmitten eines besonderen abends präsentiert. gestärkt und erfrischt durch seine lange studiopause, zeigt *friendly bacteria* den weltweit hochgeschätzten platten-afficinado, dj und produzenten in einer eher reflektierenden stimmung. sein album beschreibt er kurz und bündig als *tough, sparser, less samples, more bass. more vocals and collaborations and shorter tunes*. *render me*, der erste vorbote aus dem album, ist exemplarisch für die atmosphäre auf *friendly bacteria*. ein schleichender und gefühlvoller groove unterlegt die stimme von denis jones. scruff traf jones vor etwa fünf jahren, während dieser amp fiddler in liverpool supportete. nach diversen treffen und einigen jam-sessions wurde beschlossen, dass der singer/songwriter und multi-instrumentalist denis jones einen erheblichen beitrag am album leisten wird. desweiteren kann das album mit hochkarätigen gästen aufwarten, darunter house-legende robert owens und vanessa freeman!
das doppel-vinyl erscheint im klappcover inklusive download-code.

one nycs brightest drops a beauty of a double lp on dekmantel. awesomely dope!

with the first release on subtil (sbtl001) you will meet vrac. vrac is a romanian music production duo from bucharest: vlad radu and andrei ciubuc. the the ep called pertu ep, a three track 3 ep with excellent grooves. this is a vinyl only release. so grab this dark groover while you can!

still music presents the second volume of the in the dark: detroit is back series showcases a wealth of the motor city taken including marcellus pittman, delano smith, rick white, amp fiddler and many more.

philadelphia’s _moonraker follow up on their late 2012 “m_type” release with “remota instruere,” their 2nd 12&#8243,,, for great circles. 5 tracks of psych noise techno deviations plus a remix by terrence dixon. cut by dietrich schoenemann. hand-stamped and limited to 300 copies !!

previous padded cell single releases have been championed by a wide range of djs such as harvey, james murphy, erol alkan and david mancuso. neil higgins and richard sen return with a brand new single, guardians of the night on different rec.!

with influences ranging from breakcore and jungle to techno and electronica, their sound is just as far-reaching with organic sample-based productions and synthetic, processed electronic beats. lakkers torann ep, their second release for blueprint, kick-starts with the dappling beats of summer rains, before moving onto the more experimental mustard crying. ciar takes us back to the dancefloor with ominous undertones, while static & amp is a simple but effective exercise. finally the diminutive but meticulous one note caps the ep off in fine lakker style.

limited kanzleramt classics!

so finally, a new flight facilities song. one in the form of a single, featuring the beautiful vocals of a local talent named jess. titled >foreign language<. a tune that looks back on the last year of adventures and experiences, swoons us with smooth walking bass lines, classic house strings, loads of guitar noodling and anthemic vocals. all the perfect ingredients for a timeless summer anthem. what happens on the wax? flight facilities go for an extended drum work out, will saul - founder of aus and simple records - dubs it out with production partner tam cooper, sydney new comer rocco raimundo puts the edit touch on it and the super clean sweedish producers drop out orchestra amp it up to jamiroquai level of funk with a brand new bass lines, solos and classy solo

it is with great pleasure that we announce the release of our very first vinyl compilation on acre recordings.
we are proud to present music from funckarma (djak-up-bitch, ad noiseam), ben milstein (touchin bass, pyramidtransmissions), phausis (rebel intelligence) and c. mantle (handsette, spacebar sentiments).
the release has been mastered by the highly regarded denis blackham of skye mastering and the audio quality is, as we wished, extremely high. the cutting is by mobineko - also excellent quality and not hyperloud. the 1950s influenced constructivist graphic design work is by lawrence clift.
this is a limited edition of 250 copies.

this latest lovebirds ep on winding road records is another absolute masterpiece of chilled house soul and deep rave. a really excellent package and a must-have lovebirds release. on the a-side track, >want you in my soul<, lovebirds teams up with vocalist stee downes. stees acclaimed debut album >all in a day< was released on sonar kollektiv in 2008, and who has worked and performed alongside the likes of motor city drum ensemble, amp fiddler, dj spinna, and bugz in the attic. their collaboration for winding road is a driving vocal house bomb that will rock your world. the b-side kicks off with the dirty tech tune >give me a dubf*ck<, an injection of dark rave that has been causing serious explosions on dancefloors for a few months now. perfect chemical material for the harder floors. the b2 track is hot toddys remix of >want you in my soul< - a chrome-plated disco dimension to the track by crazy p man chris todd, which was licensed to tensnakes >in the house< compilation before it even saw the light of day. hot stuff indeed.

part 2 of the trombipolution ep from nycs jerome sydenham