Funk & Jazz

All posts tagged Funk & Jazz

Souleance

With the World Cup finally over, so finishes our month long hiatus from the Internet (well, predominantly this blog), but that’s not to say there’s not a little more Brazilian sunshine to enjoy before we get plugged in again and the clouds descend (although we expect the mood in Rio is still pretty overcast). When thoughts turn to sunnier climes, it’s always nice to pack a tropical tune or two, and whether it be South American or otherwise, it seems the French production duo Souleance share the same view as they’ve turned in a new four track EP of beat-orientated Brazilian edits for the First Word Records fam.

Since pairing up back in 2009 for the supremely well-received boom-bap mission that was the ‘Le Monde’ EP, DJ Soulist and Fulgeance have already released an album and several EPs for the London-based record imprint and here they pull together another quartet of beats that are this time heavily indebted to Bahia and beyond. Released last week on digital, the little collection packs a serious kick when it comes to all things Samba and things start promisingly with ‘Segrados do Samba’, a heavily filtered Samba rhythm giving way to snapping drums, percussion,  a nimble electric piano line and a choice vocal refrain that gives the tune a boisterous bounce. Elsewhere there’s ‘Vem Jogar’, a suitably smooth journey that comes some way to giving us an idea of what would happen if Maga Bo got hold of the Azymuth master tapes, while ‘Novo Mundo’ is another choice cut, underpinned by a funky breakbeat and a curious vocal hook. Finally, for the digital heads there’s ‘Dum Dum’ which so happens to be our preferred rhythm and one sure to cause a little damage on the dancefloor.

Preview all four tracks below via the wonders of Bandcamp and look out for a 7″ to drop later this month.

GUESTMIX004 | Neil Bopperson (Wah Wah 45s) (May 2014)

A little late in the month but no doubt we hadn’t forgotten. Just in time for the Bank Holiday break we present our fourth guest mix of 2014 and it’s a cheeky little number from Neil Bopperson of Wah Wah 45s fame. The third man behind the blazing London imprint does not disappoint either, digging in the crates for some lesser known gems that take us on a 50 minute journey of deep and funky grooves. As a permanent fixture on London’s club circuit, Bopperson has already shared bills with a varied array of talent including BBC Radio 6 Music’s Huey Morgan, Plan B, Debruit, as well as seemingly everyone’s favourite DJ Theo Parrish and Jazzanova! Kicking things off here with a little mellow Montana, you get raw soul, funk and jazz in abundance.

For a few more of Neil’s selections, make sure to check out his Mixcloud page and if radio is more your thing, it might be nice to know that he also also hosts a show on the excellent French online station Le Mellotron once a month. As part of the Wah Wah 45s collective, you can also find him regularly rocking an assortment of London’s venues – next up for him is this Friday’s Wah Wah South event at Brixton Jamm featuring a guest DJ set from edit king Yam Who?, as well as a June 20th date out East at The Hive Project / The Yard alongside Andrew Ashong, Josie Rebelle and a live PA from Lea Lea. Then it’s time to head out for this summer’s festival season where Wah Wah 45s will be making appearances at the Southern Soul festival in Montenegro and Bestival on the Isle of Wight.This year also sees the independent label celebrate its 15 year anniversary and on October 11th, amongst a glittering array of live talent, the boys will be flying in the legendary Kenny Dope to headline their birthday bash at Oval Space. You can pre-order tickets here.

On the label front, Neil helps out on the day to day running of the business and having just announced the signing of London’s Afrobeat king Dele Sosimi to their artist roster, it’s looking like another busy summer of releases. Look out for a brilliantly atmospheric cover of the Talking Heads classic (and Greg Wilson favourite) ‘Pyscho Killer’ by Lea Lea, as well as a reissued gem in the form of the rare ‘One More Step’ LP from Canadian pianist Henry-Pierre Noel and more new music from Paper Tiger, The Gene Dudley GroupHackney Colliery Band and Stac!

To stream this month’s mixtape click below and if you dig it, make sure to let Neil know over on his Twitter.

GUESTMIX004 | Neil Bopperson (Wah Wah 45s) (May 2014) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST

Montana – Warp Factor II (Atlantic)
The Soul Fantastics – Ain’t No Sunshine (Soundway)
Willie West – Fairchild (Josie Records)
Slide 5 – Outerspace (Ubiquity Records)
Alain Toussaint – Get Out Of My Life Woman (Bell Records)
The Lost Generation – This Is The Lost Generation (Brunswick)
Richie Phoe – I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You (Wah Wah 45s)
Gary Burton Quartet – Las Vegas Tango (Atlantic)
Teotima Ensemble – Gloves Off (First Word)
The Five Corners Quintet – Hot Rod (Ricky Tick)
The Soul Session – Horse With No Name (Bopperson Edit) (Free Download)