Nuyorican Soul feat George Benson – You can do it (Baby)
Used to play this album to death and could choose a few off there but love this one as the album closer. Amazing guitar and vocals as you would expect from George Benson and a wicked groove lying underneath. Always a big fan of where Jazz meets club and electronic music culture and this is definitely a classic album in that respect, quality all through and amazing musicianship and production. – Ian
Super Discount – Super Disco (with Alex Gopher)
Etienne De Crecy alongside artists like Alex Gopher, Phillipe Zdar, Thomas Bangalter were responsible for kicking off the era of house music generically known as French Touch. The Super Discount album (Etienne’s first) is often credited as the first recorded album of the era. The whole movement was a huge influence for me and triggered what has become a lifetime obsession with collecting, playing and creating music.This album in particular was released on 10 inch Vinyl with a number of different sleeves that if you collected them all made up a larger picture of the super discount logo which was a nice touch. I recently watched a short documentary by Bill Brewster which talked about how this album was made and was surprised to hear that many of the tracks where rushed together to get to market for the deadline and had not heard the final result in many cases until they had them in the mastering suite. A testament to the genius of Mr De Crecy, because this work beautifully crafted and still holds up 23 years on – Rich
Stevie Nick’s – Edge of Seventeen
Stevie Nick’s is my queen!it was incredibly hard to choose just one song so I went with this classic. Theres something really raw and haunting about this vocal, Stevie always amazes me in the way she can bring sensitivity and a gritty edge to anything she touches . One of my all time favourite tracks to sing live – Megan
Chaka Khan – I Know You, I Live You (Danny Krivit edit)
Definitely a favourite Chaka track and this edit just lifts it even more, just love that chord progression into the chorus, the bumpy rhythm flows perfectly and that incredable voice on top mixed with the brass parts just makes it super intense! Even wth the edit at 9 mins long it’s still just one of those tracks that you wanna stick on again for more. – Ian
Snarky Puppy – Lingus
My favourite track from the album ‘ we like it here’ is a jazz funk fusion powerhouse, packed with plenty of tasty and virtuosic instrumental work and bags of feel . This track really keeps my ears on their toes – Megan
Prince – If I Was Your Girlfriend
If you come back to mine, you are going to be hearing this man at some point. There is not much I can say about Prince that hasn’t already been said. A genius and a huge influence. This track I have fond memories of hearing Pepe Bradock play as his last track in Manchester sometime in the late 90s. As you can imagine the place erupted – Rich
Cassius – Sound of Violence
Big fan of Cassius and had to get a Phillipe Zdar track in here, RIP. A big influence when getting into electronic music and production and this has always been one of their go to tracks. Super funky, gritty and soulful, love the vocals, guitars and the fat synth bass. Amazing production as always, tragic that Zdar’s life and career has been cut short but leaves an amazing legacy of work. The video is awesome too! – Ian
Aretha Franklin – Freeway Of Love
What is there not to love about a track that combines a killer beat, the queen of soul and a sexy sounding saxophone . Once again it was extremely hard to choose from Arethas extensive catalogue of gems , I’m a huge fan and have been from.a young age – Megan
Labi Siffre – I Got The…
A beautiful piece of UK Soul music that was way ahead of its time. Recorded in 1975 with songwriting from Labi Siffre who serves up such sweet vocals, and paired with a super slick and timeless arrangement from Big Jim Sullivan. I absolutely love to get this on in the summer, at home or cruising round in the car. You might recognise this from its use as sample material for various tracks, i think the most famous being probably Eminem. Beautiful music. – Rich
Chic – I Want Your Love
Just a perfectly made pop song for its time. Love the way it gently grooves along with that classic Niles and Bernard funkiness mixed with the lush orchestral parts and piano. The extended instrumental section and brass in the middle just takes it up that extra step beautifully. Never saw them in their heyday but this track kills it on their recent live tours too with the amazing Kimberley Davis vocals. Simple but stunningly arranged and could go on forever quite easily. – Ian
Paper Street Soul – Saurischian Dancers (Citizens of Vice)
The Citizen’s of Vice collective welcomes brand new collaborative production and live act, Paper Street Soul for a fresh three tracker.UK nu disco projects Cuz Electric (Rich Hall, Megan Jones) and Slync (Ian Stanford) make up this new outfit and bring disco, boogie, funk, soul, jazz, house and more to their grooves. With classy vocals, live instrumentation and years of expertise they are an act very much to watch.
Dreamt up in deepest darkest West Midlands, this EP came together over a couple of months. Collaborating over the ether, the trio have combined live guitars, bass, percussion and analogue hardware with a modern electronic edge. Opener ‘Fallin Down’ is a supersized cut with huge disco licks and diva vocals all complimented with big keys. It’s joyous and timeless and sure to get hands in the air. The equally excellent ‘Always (On My Mind)’ has cosmic pads and laser-like
chords with plenty of echo and effects all making it a retro-future gem. Closing out the package is the smooth and seductive ‘Moonpig’ with its deep drums and cooing vocals, trilling Balearic riffs and soul infused grooves.
Paper Street Soul – Saurischian Dancers (Citizens of Vice) Release: 22nd July 2019 Cat No: COV008
