Mat Fink with his first solo EP, on new label, Funky Soul Creations, delivering driving bass-lines and jazzy melodics. 4 tracks telling stories of diversity and funkiness with touches of Detroit and Chicago energy. From a DJ for a DJ, the versatility of the release is for any environment whether peak-time in the club, at the afters, or just a Sunday afternoon listening. A Side opens with the title track, a raw funky tribal groove with an off-the-top one take vocal that was never written nor planned. That’s followed by a ‘Peace of Deep’, an early morning deep house mood that intensifies and inspires the sun to rise over the horizon. B Side is where the release becomes darker and quirky. The first track offers a hypnotic bass-line with deep textures and rolling percussion lines. The track is set in the environment of the long club night, managing the intensity and progressions.
The final track of the release is a cocktail party for the forest animals. Futuristic folk
Melody Of the Soul proudly presents its 10th vinyl release, featuring a stunning lineup of collaborations and solo works.
The A-side opens with the beautiful collaboration “Meera” by M.O.S., Serious Dancers, and Alexandra Savvidi, followed by a solo piece from Serious Dancers titled “Serenity.”
On the B-side, the journey continues with “Dikanda,” a powerful collaboration between Ranta, M.O.S., and Miroshin, before closing with a standout solo track by Ranta, “White Avadon.”
A carefully curated release that celebrates collaboration, atmosphere, and individual artistry across all four tracks.
DJ Support: Nick Warren, Andy Wilson, Bill Brewster, Max Essa, Simon Lee, Pete Herbert, Mark Broadbent, Be Lanuit, Coyote, Andy Pye, Andy Taylor, Steve KIW, Mike Bradbury, Pathaan, Steve Optix
NuNorthern Soul welcomes Lonely Deckchair, a deeply personal and nostalgic long-player shaped by memory, place and the passing of time. Rooted in a return to Aguadulce on Spain’s southern coast, the album reflects on childhood summers, family connections and the quiet beauty of life coming full circle.
Written as a dedication to the artist’s children, the record moves between reflective ambient passages, Balearic rhythms and gently propulsive grooves. Across the album, reversed guitar sequences, soft synthetic textures and field recordings create a dreamlike sense of revisiting the past—like flicking through faded photographs or Super 8 footage.
From the misty-eyed opener Rayman’s Kingdom through to the closing drift of Alhambra Space Station, the album captures moments of wonder, movement and stillness—sunlit coastlines, long drives, first experiences, and the emotional pull between leaving and returning.
Full sleeve notes from Robert Harris aka Dr Rob from BanBanTonTon
LP,180g, 2027 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
When Alan Parker recorded the killer library soul-funk LP The Voice of Soul with session vocalist Madeline Bell in 1976, some bright spark at Themes decided to also release all of the backing tracks as a separate, and equally innocuously title LP called The Sound of Soul. Thank goodness for bright sparks.
Released as a collection of unobtrusive musical backings in various rhythmic styles', the LP's original description dryly explains these tracks have been issued without melody and are therefore particularly suitable for use behind commentary. Female vocal versions of these tracks are issued on TIM 1021 The Voice Of Soul and it is possible to edit from vocal version to instrumental version or vica versa where commentary or scene changes occur'.Madeline Bell was backed by The Rhythm Section, who were for all intents and purposes the Themes International Music house band. So what we end up with here is entire album of instrumental work-outs by a band comprised of the formidable talents of Alan Hawkshaw on keyboards, Alan Parker on guitars, Barry Morgan on drums, Les Hurdle on bass guitar and Frank Ricotti on percussion.
Without Bell's vocals these backing tracks are given all the room they need to breathe. Each one more than stands up on its own.
The Sound of Soul is a real diggers' delight and, unsurprisingly, a must-have counterpart to The Voice of Soul.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for The Sound of Soul comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.
FreedomB Delivers Timeless Groove on 'Essence Of Soul EP'. FreedomB is an artist defined by groove and movement rather than place. Drawing influence from jazz, funk, soul, and the earliest house and electronic rhythms, his sound is rooted in timeless dance music traditions and built for long, immersive nights on the floor. Focused on rhythm, flow, and emotional energy, FreedomB's productions exist to make people dance without compromise. With releases on labels such as Knee Deep In Sound, Roush, Toolroom, Sola, ElRow Music, and Flashmob Records, FreedomB has earned support from leading names including Hot Since 82, Supernova, Hector Couto, Solardo, and Flashmob. Now joining the Definitive Recordings catalogue, FreedomB presents 'Essence Of Soul EP', a two-track release that captures his deep-rooted love for classic house, disco, and soulful dancefloor energy. On 'Mi House Es Tu House', FreedomB delivers pure house nostalgia. A groovy beat and subtle bassline form the foundation, joined by classic piano chords that immediately set the tone. As the track unfolds, disco samples, a 90s-style synth melody, and a soulful female vocal sample build toward a powerful breakdown before dropping back into full groove, introducing a second timeless house synth theme. It's uplifting, energetic, and perfectly designed for any house music dancefloor. The title track 'Essence Of Soul' shifts into a deeper, more disco-infused direction. A straighter, nu-disco- inspired rhythm sets the pace while layered synths evolve throughout the arrangement. An 80s-style bassline anchors the groove, accompanied by filtered vocal chants, disco effects, and a spoken-word vocal reflecting on the meaning of music and the dancefloor. As the track progresses, rich piano chords and classic high house strings lift the energy into an emotional, late-night crescendo. 'Essence Of Soul EP' is a celebration of groove, soul, and timeless house energy. A release that lets the music speak and invites you to dance.
Formed in 1969, Soul Media set out with a clear mission to fuse jazz and rock. That approach took a decisive next step with In The Groove, recorded in 1973. Here, the sharpness of jazz is brought to the forefront, rock elements are dissolved and refined to give a cutting edge, and funk is injected to add drive, elasticity, and physical force. The result is a body of music that transcends existing genre labels—jazz-rock, jazz-funk, or fusion—and stands instead as something simply, undeniably cool: strong yet sophisticated.
This album is often described as Soul Media’s response to The Crusaders, a band that saxophonist Jiro Inagaki was paying close attention to at the time. The aim hit its mark. With In The Groove, Soul Media acquired a “refined black feeling”, setting them firmly on the path toward their ultimate destination: Funky Stuff.
Marc Cotterell shows his A&R class here with another brilliantly assembled various artists EP on his Plastik People label, which is essential for fans of timeless house and garage fusions. The record kicks off with Deep South Soul's 'Harmonica Man' as remixed by Mellow Man and it has a touch of the bluesy Saint Germain to its lithe deep house and spoken words. Mellow Man then drops the 90s-coded 'So Deep', with warm organ chords and bubbly drums that have a New York swagger to them. Manhattan Project turns up the heat with a raw, hardcore garage-house swinger in the form of 'Turn That Up' and Reign Of Rhythm layers up neat stabs and leggy kick drums on the sleazy 'Cum Inside'. Essential and effective house.
DJ Support: Louie Vega, Mousse T, Terry Hunter, Joey Negro, Natasha Diggs, Todd Terry, Fouk, Tedd Patterson, DJ Deep, Moplen, Young Pulse, DJ Meme, Jade Edwards, DJ Disciple, Richard Earnshaw, Nathen Haines, Smokin Jo and Birdee.
A collection of some of the best releases on Big Love’s sister label Soul Love. Chicago’s Emmaculate gives a soulful touch to Haji’s ‘Nitelife’ feat the late Dianne Charlemagne aka D’Empress, Tokyo’s uber-cool couple offer their deeper interpretation of Odyssey’s 80’s classic covered by Belezamusica, the French disco don Art Of Tones creates a sublime version of Tokyo’s DJ Namy & Angela Johnson’s cut whilst Chi-Town legend Maurice Joshua re-works his own track as an ode to the fellow Chicago legend Ron Carroll who features on vocals.
What Soul Media, led by Jiro Inagaki, ultimately arrived at was a tight, cool, and ultimate groove.
As Inagaki himself has stated that he “played black funk” on this album, the explosive jazz-rock foundation he had cultivated up to that point is fused with the stickiness, elasticity, and physicality of black music—elevating his musical vision to an entirely new dimension. Combined with the masterful arrangements of Hiromasa Suzuki, the groove is polished to a high sheen, growing richer, more fluid, and subtly seductive.
Every track stands out: the vibrant, driving energy of “Painted Paradise”; the coexistence of funkiness and mellowness on “Breeze”; and the low-slung, razor-sharp cover of Kool & The Gang’s “Funky Stuff”.
Now regarded as a definitive classic, this album remains in constant demand from listeners around the world.
Melody Of the Soul are back with their 9th vinyl release, featuring Felix Raphael & Ghenwa Nemnom on Side A with “Roads” and “Miracle (M.O.S. Remix)”, plus Jiminy Hop & M.O.S. with “Alakea” and Jiminy Hop’s “Keuje” on Side B. A refined selection of melodic and deep grooves, made for both listening and the dancefloor.
London groover Sam Shelly plays everything from new jack swing to boogie, disco to soul, jazz funk to soulful house, and much of that feeds into his work in the studio. After outings on the likes of Midnight Riot, he now features on Soul Service Sabrosura with a new 7" full of love, life and soul. 'Spirit Love' is a life-enriching funk and jazz fusion with positive messages in the celebratory vocals, drama in the horns and killer groove in the drums and bass. On the flip, 'The Latin Strut' is a much quicker funk workout with shades of 60s styles and the narrative flow of a cop chase. It's a brilliant flip side to complete a gorgeous 45.
Revisiting Soul Of Hex's absolute banger of a release via Delusions of Grandeur, entitled Disco Permanente EP. This is an EP deeply rooted in the origins of house
music with a diversity, authenticity, and overall quality which makes for a true classic that will stand the test of time. Freshly pressed on Silver vinyl!
RAW SOUL returns with its twelfth release, welcoming Hamburg-based producer, multi-instrumentalist, and creative force FRAG MADDIN - also known as BERUS and FMN - to the catalogue.
Across four tracks, Maddin channels the energy of live improvisation straight into hardware, capturing each take in the moment before refining the best parts himself and passing them on to mastering engineer Matthias Heinstein for the final polish. The result is a tightly focused, floor-ready record: deep, cavernous basslines, raw drum programming, and a sound firmly rooted in the spirit of original Chicago house while remaining fully present in today's underground.
Since 2012, FRAG MADDIN has been active internationally, releasing on respected labels such as Kerri Chandler's Madhouse Records, DVS1's Mistress Recordings, Glasgow Underground, and Snatch! Records. As an artist, he moves fluidly between groove, experimentation, and cross-genre expression - something that also shines through in his projects BERUS and FMN.
A standout moment on the EP is "Excuse Me," on which Maddin provides his own vocals - unfiltered, direct, and perfectly placed in the mix.
LP,180g, 2027 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART
Veteran library musician Alan Parker recorded with session vocalist Madeline Bell for his Themes International Music label and the result was 1976's The Voice of Soul.
The sensational uptempo dancer 'That's What Friends Are For' is probably the most well known track on the record, and is a big hit on the rare groove scene, but it is by no means an anomaly. The Voice of Soul is essentially a perfect, sophisticated soul album with heaps of swagger and sass from beginning to end.
Its once generic-sounding title is now deservedly defnitive.
And the whole LP oozes sex. It oozes sex so much that it could have soundtracked a period porn flm. Indeed, parts of it did. 'Love Is All' and 'You've Got What It Takes' both featured on the infamously banned Pretty Peaches from the same year.
As is usual with library records, The Voice of Soul was hard to get even when it was frst released. It's next to impossible now. So here's your opportunity to own what is in our opinion one of the fnest rare soul LPs of the late 70s, and a superb example of Madeline Bell's superlative vocal talents.
But that's not the whole story. As well as pitching the record as 'a varied selection of modern female vocal features which are equally suitable for background or radio programme usage', the original release notes go on to explain that 'the corresponding backing tracks are issued on TIM 1022 The Sound of Soul. Therefore it is possible to edit from vocal to instrumental version and vica versa where commentary or scene changes occur.'
So yes, all of the backing tracks from The Voice of Soul were released as The Sound of Soul, and we couldn't re-issue one without re-issuing the other.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for The Voice of Soul comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.
The Soul Surfers join forces with Sunsay for a powerful new 45.
Led by drummer Igor Zhukovsky, the band stays true to its philosophy: fully analog, recorded and mixed to tape. Warm drums, deep bass and dusty guitars shape a raw yet soulful sound straight from the source.
Written during a difficult moment, “After The Storm” leans into a more soulful territory, carrying a message of peace and renewal.
Backed with its instrumental version, this 45 is built for DJs and anyone drawn to honest, analog recordings. Limted edition of 350 copies !
