Funk Generation

Funk45 label boss Jazzman Gerald and obsessive collector Malcolm Catto present 21 rare and unreleased slices of heavy funk from the Alligator State! Having spent the past 3 years travelling the length and breadth of Florida - trekking through the everglades, sampling the dubious delights of 'swamp deer' and snatching rare 45s from the jaws of 20ft gators - they escaped back to the UK with an amazing selection of music that highlights Florida as one of the funkiest states in the USA! From driving percussive instrumentals by obscure small-town groups, to heartfelt slabs of soul; from tropical Latin grooves to funk so raw that James Brown himself gave his personal blessing, Florida has a little bit of everything! All the tracks have been fully licensed from the original artists, and the CD (and double gatefold vinyl) come with previously unpublished photos and meticulous, in-depth liner notes from 100% original research telling the story of funky soul music in Florida.

With 21 slabs of pure, joyous funk complete with huge drums, blistering horn charts, pulsing basslines, stacks of wah-wah fuzz guitars, and enough energy and rhythm to rearrange the stratosphere, this delightful set of rare and independent California funk releases from the late '60s and early '70s is as much a nonstop dance party as it is an affirming revelation. It never stops grooving – from the opener, Water Color’s “All Bundled into One,” a release so rare only one copy is known to exist, to the closer, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” by Mr. Clean & the Soul Inc., this is one powerful document. None of these sides was a national hit, and most didn’t even crack the local airwaves, but it’s not because they lack quality. There is so much to marvel at here, including the above-mentioned tracks as well as Arthur Monday’s thundering and slightly spooky “What Goes Around Comes Around” and the charging horns and percolating guitar of J.G.D. & the New Breed’s “North Richmond Breakaway.” It’s joyous funk as deep as the ocean is blue. You can’t go wrong with this one. – Steve Leggett

With 21 slabs of pure, joyous funk complete with huge drums, blistering horn charts, pulsing basslines, stacks of wah-wah fuzz guitars, and enough energy and rhythm to rearrange the stratosphere, this delightful set of rare and independent California funk releases from the late '60s and early '70s is as much a nonstop dance party as it is an affirming revelation. It never stops grooving from the opener, Water Color’s “All Bundled into One,” a release so rare only one copy is known to exist, to the closer, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” by Mr. Clean & the Soul Inc., this is one powerful document. None of these sides was a national hit, and most didn’t even crack the local airwaves, but it’s not because they lack quality. There is so much to marvel at here, including the above-mentioned tracks as well as Arthur Monday’s thundering and slightly spooky “What Goes Around Comes Around” and the charging horns and percolating guitar of J.G.D. & the New Breed’s “North Richmond Breakaway.” It’s joyous funk as deep as the ocean is blue. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Funk came of age in the 1970s when a term used in jazz circles for the previous two decades crossed over to the dancefloor. Our 16 slices are served up by acts ranging from Parliament -one of the genre's undisputed trendsetters, led by the irrepressible George Clinton- to Afro-rockers Osibisa and Cymande, taking in acts as diverse as girl group Honeycone and legendary 'Hustle' hitmakers The Fatback Band. Chairmen of the Board are one of five artists featured from the Invictus/Hot Wax stable, founded by the writing/production trio of Holland, Dozier and Holland. They struck out on their own after scoring hits with innumerable Motown acts; you can hear a touch of Stevie Wonder in 'Finders Keepers'. From Detroit we travel to New Jersey for our collection's title track, performed by female vocal duo Positive Force, which wrote their name in the last UK chart of the decade. If it's dance music with a heavy bass line and layered guitar, keyboard and vocals you're after, look no further - 'We Got The Funk'!

Ministry of Sound presents Downtown Funk, a brand new collection of one our most loved music genres. With the sun just around the corner what better album to get your groove on and heat things up for the imminent summer ahead than the 3 disc offering of Downtown Funk. A major influence on disco, funk music is a sound familiar to all which has been heavily sampled in dance related genres including hip hop, house and drum & bass not to mention featuring in countless iconic film soundtracks (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Shaft to name but a few). Of late, the sound has had a huge pop resurgence and looks set to be one of the sounds of 2015.

Wow! Amazing compilation of rare disco funk from unbeatable disco connoisseurs Dave Lee and Sean P! This two CD set has nothing but great tracks and you won't have heard of any of them! Twenty five tracks of the rarest and best disco funk from go go jams to boogie rap to jazz funk disco to straight up boogie! We highly recommend this CD! Tip!

'The Masters Series: Jazz Funk Vol. 1' is a collection that strays beyond the beaten path and takes you to the dancefloor of the future age that would come to inspire many of the acid jazz generation. It includes songs like Idris Muhammad's 'Could Heaven Be Like This', which served as a direct inspiration to Jamiroquai's hit 'Alright'. But it doesn't shy away from vintage boogie-disco, either, with tracks like 'Spring High', composed by Stevie Wonder and performed by Ramsey Lewis or 'Doctor Jackyll And Mister Funk' by Jackie Mclean. Willie Bobo's rendition of 'Always There' is a definite floor-filler, while Herbie Hancock's much sought after Latin-disco classic 'Saturday Night' makes this a compilation you can't miss!

Funk war der syncopierte Groove, der Mitte der Sechziger von James Brown oder Dyke & The Blazers eingeführt wurde. Es war eine natürliche Weiterentwicklung des Rhythm & Blues. Tausende Bands versuchten dem Erfolg James Browns nachzueifern und erschufen damit einen unendlichen Fundus an raren Singles und Albumtracks, der seit Jahrzehnten von DJs und Sammlern erforscht wird. Während diese 20 Tracks einen Tausende an Euros als Original kosten würden, ist das jedoch nicht der entscheidende Punkt hier, sondern die großartigen Grooves, die viele Funk-Fans nun erstmalig hören können. Die Compilation erscheint als eine von dreien, die ein Auge auf die afro-amerikanische Musikgeschichte durch die Brille der englischen Club-Kultur wirft. Zusammengestellt wurden sie vom DJ und ausgezeichneten Komplilierer Dean Rudland. Das beeindruckende Artwork stammt von seinen langjährigen Kollaborateuren The Unknown.

Habibi Funk is back with another album from Casablanca. Completely unreleased album which was recorded in Morocco in 1973 by three generation family band. A unique blend of Gnawa, Funk and Rock. Traditional Moroccan music meets electronic guitars and dense layers of percussion by a band that used to run in the same circles as Fadoul (And actually wrote one of his songs).