DJ support by Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique), XL Middleton & Moniquea
XL Middleton's “Tap Water” is considered by some to be a cult classic in the modern funk genre. Ten years after its release, MoFunk Records takes two fan favorites from the album (“Do Me Like That” featuring Moniquea & “High On Your Love”) and puts them onto one limited edition 45 – only 300 copies pressed!
Zackey Force Funk & XL Middleton return with cover versions of two tracks by Jonny Chingas, a legendary artist w/ a cult following in Chicano music scene on the west coast of the US. 'Hey MF' is a vocoder & synth drenched electro funk cruiser that's perfect for the dance floor or a boulevard cruise. 'Phone Home' was one of Chingas' breakout tracks that actually got heavy club play in the UK, and is given the modern boogie funk treatment by ZFF on vocals & producer XL Middleton.
DJ Support: Walla P (Voyage Funktastique), Zackey Force Funk, Soul Clap.
Moniquea brings it back to the west coast streets that shaped her. 'Womp In My Spirit' is a direct ode to the California g-funk sound that has also inspired much of her previous output in the modern funk vein – This time it's just in the form of a rap song, co-produced by Moniquea herself & XL Middleton, who is also featured on the track.
DJ support from Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique), Dam Funk
The original version of 'Serious' was included on Kazzey's 2022 album Voyage. The collaboration between him & LA modern funk mainstay XL Middleton became a favorite in the street dance scene, soon becoming used in innumerable videos & dance battles internationally. It also found its way into heavy club rotation thanks to forward-thinking DJ's who include the modern funk sound in their sets, from the west coast of the US, to Japan, and back to Kazzey's native France. Now, the track is finally being pressed on vinyl and included on the b-side is a bonus remix (the 'Midnight Drift Remix') bringing a silkier, late-night edge to this certifiable dance floor filler.
Music video premiering 2 October 2024.
Included on Spotify's 'Nu-Funk' playlist, garnering nearly 700,000 streams on Spotify alone
DJ Support: Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique)
Nearly a decade after the first 'Tap Water,' XL Middleton delivers the sequel to what many consider a true classic of the modern funk genre. Weaving between singing, rapping, and the robotic refrains of vocoder, XL's vocals glide over his synth-drenched production, which manages to be simultaneously polished yet grimy. It's a perfect meeting ground for those steeped in the raw, underground approach to hip hop production and the cleaner, more organized ethos of dance music. Whether your jam is 80's boogie, 90's g-funk, or R&B-flavored dance music of any generation, 'Tap Water II' is sure to keep your glass full.
Considered an underground classic by many, XL Middleton's “Tap Water” was released at the height of the fervor over 'modern funk' music, brought to life by Dam Funk & carried on by a small but dedicated cadre of artists including Middleton. Always in demand, “Tap Water” has become scarce in the aftermarket and demands collector-level prices when it does sell; thus a reissue was inevitable.
Mentions in LA Weekly, The Wire (UK), Washington Post
DJ support from: - J Rocc
- Soul Clap
- Dam Funk
- Walla P (Voyage Funktastique)
- Tim Zawada (Star Creature, Numero Group)
- WeFunk Radio
XL Middleton has continuously toured the US and internationally throughout Europe, as well as Japan, China, & Canada.
The boss and first lady of MoFunk Records take it back to their street funk roots with this split 7” & double single release. XL Middleton’s “I Can’t Believe It” & Moniquea’s “Get It Together” are two variations on one vibe - that uptempo, synth heavy modern boogie sound that feels right at home whether you’re cruising the boulevard with it or getting down to it on the dance floor.
XL’s “I Can’t Believe It” may come across like a dedication to a shady lady but is really a larger meditation on the world we live in, while Moniquea’s “Get It Together” is an exhortation not to pass good love by. Vinyl pressing limited to 300 copies. TRACKLIST: 1. XL Middleton - I Can't Believe It 2. Moniquea - Get It Together
A Compilation Which Pays Homeage To The Vocoder, Including Tracks By Sair, Xl Middleton, Liquid Pegasus, Bybo Funk, Lowmac, Adam Chini, Jordan Chini And Ivan Makvel.
Since the release of his first album in 2013, Lucas Arruda has quickly established himself as one of the most talented young artist and composer from Brazil. His music is filled with fusion style, mixing influences and elements from his Latin musical background, with his genuine admiration for Jazz, Soul and Funk music.
In spring 2015, it was also not surprising to find Lucas Arruda back with a new LP called SOLAR, receiving great supports and feedbacks from international medias and tastemakers. One of the highlight of SOLAR was the track 'Melt the Night', on which Lucas asked legendary producer Leon Ware for his help, reminding his collaborations in the 80s with Marcos Valle, when they perfectly merged together the sophisticated Boogie and AOR touch from California, with the blazing sense of rhythm from Brazil.
Willing to enlighten even more this timeless song, which could easily be produced in the early-mid 80s, Favorite Recordings decided to give it a brand new suit and found the perfect tailor with Nu-Funk raising producer, XL Middleton. Part of the modern-funk movement and based in Pasadena, XL has released volumes of work, the sound of which embodies the party feel, bringing music back to where it was before it found its way into upscale clubs, while at the same time mixing it with a futuristic brand of funk inspired by legends such as George Clinton, Roger Troutman, or Morris Day.
The result is a stunning remix, bringing 'Melt the Night' into a futuristic Boogie-Funk world with massive basslines and heavy beats!! This great vinyl 12inch comes with Original and Instrumental Versions on the B-Side, to finalize a perfect package for DJs and diggers.
DJ support: Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique), Moniquea
The first lady of MoFunk Records is also considered by many to be one of the queens of modern funk music. Her latest, “Womp In My Spirit,” fuses a wide range of styles within its ten tracks and shows the true versatility of funk music. On one end, the deep g-funk bounce of songs like “Womp In My Spirit” & “However You Are” show you Moniquea's west coast roots clearly, while uptempo boogie bangers like “Get It Together” sit in the lane that MoFunk is best known for. Tracks like “Red Light” go in a more dancey direction, welcoming the sleekness of house music to mingle with g-funk whistles and rubbery synth bass, a track that recently caught the ear of Soul Clap and was remixed by them on their recent “Soul Clap vs. MoFunk” EP. The majority of production on the album was handled by MoFunk head honcho XL Middleton.
“Round and Round” is a tale of depression and the brooding repetitious inner thoughts that drain us. Dubbed by producer Daniel David as “emo boogie”–partly as a joke–this newfound genre illustrates familiar personal struggles of the current age. This A-side rides the fine line of unraveling deep emotions, ultimately coaxing you to FEEL the groove.
Conversely, the B-side “Finely” feat. B.Bravo is a smooth rolling vocoder jam, a laid-back anthem perfect for a cruise or warming up a fresh dancefloor: a high to offset the low.
Zackey Force Funk
Born into this wild world in Tucson, AZ 1974, Zackey Force Funk found himself in and out of prison at the age of 17. Once released for good, Zackey ditched a life of crime to focus on raising his family and writing music. He thrived in the golden era of Myspace, producing eerie, gritty music on pirated software, and swiftly grabbed the attention of Kutmah–soon to be followed by a plethora of formidable producers. Zackey forged many collaborations later with the likes of XL Middleton, The Egyptian Lover, Salva, Lazer Sword, Lorn, Brian Ellis, Baron Zen, Daedelus and B. Bravo, as well as forming the group Demon Queen with Tobacco, and Delta Weapon with his brother N8NOFACE. As these tunes were scattered across various labels and on their respective collaborator's projects, ZFF continued to hone his style, delving deeper into the psychedelic future funk realm of which he has created for himself.
Daniel David
Daniel David is a Bay Area born multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer based in Dallas, Texas. 1/2 of boogie funk duo The Pendletons, Daniel’s solo music is a genre defying mix of organic and electronic elements including psych, dirty analog funk, hyphy, jazz, and more.
license
Following a string of sought-after singles, a twice-pressed debut LP and previous remixes from artists including XL Middleton and Qrion, Japan-based indie funk duo Milk Talk returns with “Medusa”, a tape-tinged track anchored by a fat Minimoog bassline. Milk Talk vocalist Q.i’s sensual Japanese lyrics seemingly emerge from a smoky cloud of phased-out guitars, courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Hair Kid. On the vinyl-exclusive instrumental flipside, the track’s vocoder layers come out on display.
Modern funk meets house on Moniquea's 'Red Light,' produced by XL Middleton. Bouncy synth bass and leads give this one a recognizably west coast feel, but the pulsating house beat and detuned chords give this one appeal for dance floors everywhere. The '97 Remix on the b-side nods to Moniquea's g-funk roots while the bonus Applejac remix of 'Hate To See It blends dance-oriented sensibilities with thick synth strings that hearken back to peak-era Neptunes productions from the 2000's.
From its modest beginnings as a university project, Anjuna has grown to become one of the most influential forces in electronic music. What began as, and remains, a passion project has evolved into a global electronic music powerhouse. Led by Jono Grant, Paavo Siljamäki, Tony McGuinness (better known as Above & Beyond) and label exec James Grant - Anjuna now spans three distinctive imprints: Anjunabeats, Anjunadeep and Anjunachill. To mark the label’s 25th anniversary, Above & Beyond and James have carefully curated a selection of picks from its rich catalogue that includes countless genre defining releases to present the label’s most expansive vinyl offering to date.
Covering the full spectrum of that 25 year journey, the ten vinyl box chronicles 84 of the label’s most iconic releases across all three labels, including a vinyl dedicated to label founders Above & Beyond. Encased in a custom outer slipcase box with a debossed foil Anjuna25 logo. Accompanying the ten vinyl is a 48-page perfect-bound booklet printed on premium art paper and textured cover stock, featuring track-by-track insights from artists and Anjuna HQ staffers delving into the stories behind each record and their reflections on 25 years of music. The Anjuna25 anniversary box set is a beautifully presented tribute to 25 years of innovation, artistry and emotional connection.
Jonny Tobin is a Grammy and JUNO-nominated artist based in Vancouver. His sound resides in an alternate dimension between 90's video games and 60's Blue Note records, where fat synth funk grooves playfully collide with abstract jazzy undertones. To date, Tobin has released 5 original albums, making numerous official Spotify editorial playlists to the tune of over 10 million streams. As a live performer, recently Tobin headlined the 2023 Vancouver Jazz Festival and opened for notable acts like Adi Oasis, CARRTOONS and Braxton Cook. After the success of his 2019 vinyl debut "Sunrise" on Austin Boogie Crew Records, Tobin began work on Steppin' Out, his new and exceptional LP full of catchy modern funk songs. On this magnetic album executive produced by Austin Boogie Crew (ABC), the label connected Tobin with vocalists from all over. Featured collaborators include XL Middleton, Shiro Schwarz, Maya Killtron, The Vapor Caves, Rojai and Daniel David (FKA Trailer Limon), many of whom made previous appearances on ABC. Driven by Tobin's stellar production and synth wizardry, this project is a testament to the familial strength of the modern funk community in both good times and bad.
People often ask why we started Soul Clap Records and I usually answer: “because we were receiving tons of unique demos by creative artists that we had to start a label.” 11 years later and that flowing faucet of incoming music is still the driving force behind the label. Sure, there is the Funk, House, Disco, and multi-cultural influences in all of the music that we release, but it’s always the artists themselves who guide us.” – Eli Goldstein (Soul Clap)
Having nurtured a community, built many a life-long relationship and brought together an extensive musical family over the past 11 years, Soul Clap showcase these deep bonds with their 11th Anniversary Remix Compilation across two 12 inch records in a beautifully designed picture sleeve. A real smorgasbord of flavours and feelings, from beaming boogie and dizzying disco to blissful broken beat, house and downtempo nuggets coming courtesy of a plethora of the finest artists on the planet right now including the likes of Zopelar, XL Middleton, Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, FSQ and many more, alongside the mighty Soul Clap themselves. There’s no denying that this compilation is one with community at it’s core.
DJ Feedback:
OSUNLADE / YORUBA
Very funky.
PABLO VALENTINO/ MCDE FACES
Love this comp
CROSSTOWN REBELS/ PAOLO BARTHOLEMEW
Oh yes! Big fan!
FRANCK ROGER/ REAT TONE
Dope compilation.. still in love with life on planets guy :-)
MR V/ SOLE CHANNEL
Dope. Love it.
AROOP ROY
Diggin the remixes from Zeynep, Cosmodelica, Zopelar and Charlie.
PONTCHARTRAIN/ WHISKEY DISCO
OH my, that Afriqua remix is absolute fire! Whole album is hot.
DJ ROCCA
All the remixes are great. Big fan of SC records, of course ;-)
THE SILVER RIDER/ MUSIC IS 4 LOVERS
Holy crap that Zopelar remix is amazing!
DICKY TRISCO
Love the Underground System remix by Zeynep Erbay. Class! Feeling the Mickey Lion too. Lovely.
FISH GO DEEP/ SHANE JOHNSTON
Phenomenal line up here with a great range of music. Standouts for me on first listen are Life on Planets and John Camp ft. Greg but it’s all quality from start to finish.
MARK BROADBENT/ PIKE HOTEL
This s a killer comp. I’ll be playing this for sure.
DAZ-I-KUE/ BUGZ IN THE ATTIC
Love this comp so dope.
WILLI GRAFF/ THE STANDARD IBIZA
What a killer compilation of remixes. Especially feeling the Cosmodelica Mix and Michael The Lion's mix.
Extra Soul Perception is a collaboration and community music platform which started life between the UK, Kenya and Uganda, and continues to grow and connect independent musicians worldwide. In November 2019, eight artists from Kenya, Uganda and the UK spent a week in Nairobi together exploring new tangents in soul music, the result was their 2020 debut EP 'New Tangents In Kampala, London & Nairobi Vol. 1'.
The growing collective is made up of Faizal Mostrixx (UG), Hibotep (UG), K15 (UK), Karun (KE), Labdi (KE), Lex Amor (UK), Lynda Dawn (UK) and Maxwell Owen (UK). Now with the with the addition of Itsmdnyt (UG), XL Middleton (US), Xenia Menasseh (KE), Sola (UK) and Azu Tiwaline (TUN), the collective are preparing to release their album 'New Tangents in Kampala, London and Nairobi', released 25th March.
Three years in the making, work started on the album at a writing camp in Nairobi, and was completed remotely over the course of the worldwide lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. The album celebrates the potential of collaboration, both in a physical and digital sense.
Innovators in their own fields, each artist brings unique knowledge and musical culture to the project, collectively they represent a broad spectrum of sound. The album reflects this via an inspiring mixture of beautiful soul, glitchy beats, spoken word and bumping instrumentals. Embracing the same values of the writing camp but through virtual collaborations, seeing 'soul' as much in the spiritual sense as the musical one, expanding the sound into new territories.
Lynda Dawn and XL Middleton collaborate on boogie 7" 'Roses' for Extra Soul Perception.
London soul singer Lynda Dawn returns with her first release since being tipped by The Guardian as one of their 'Ones To Watch' in 2021.
Following her participation in the first ESP writing camp in Nairobi 2019, 'Roses' was originally released on 'New Tangents…Vol. 1' EP alongside four other tracks with artists from the UK, Kenya and Uganda.
As part of the label's commitment to international collaboration, 'Roses' 7" brings two artists together for the first time, united by their love for boogie. To accompany the original, Lynda collaborated remotely with L.A. producer and record shop owner XL Middleton for an up-tempo flip, mixing g-funk and 90s RnB.
The 'Roses' 7" is Extra Soul Perception's second release of 2021, following on from 'Bad Meditation', the debut album from former Electric Wire Hustle frontman Mara TK.
a a1: Roses (7" Version) feat. BesKept
