“Rebellious revolution – Is this the final solution?” asks Dr. John. The New Orleans legend, the hip alter ego of Mac Rebennack, has soaked up a lifetime of music from the southern melting pot and has been delivering his own take on (deep breath) voodoo-rock-and-soul-funk-R&B-swamp-blues-jazz-gumbo since 1968 – a potent mix. Now at 71, this latest collaboration with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach is just as potent as ever. Auerbach as producer and musician has got the exact sound needed – gritty and musical, organised and funky. It’s the perfect background for Dr. John’s wise and still ultra-hip voice to remind us of the point of view of a liberal minded American, considerably disillusioned by his government and the world around him in these times. Given what happened to New Orleans at the destructive hand of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent neglect of that city by the then incumbent Bush administration, I’m not sure there’s any one better placed than Dr. John to ask the question about revolution. He’s striking a chord with considerable precision and it fits the musical template perfectly, the sleeve notes somewhat correctly proclaiming that “It’s 1969, 1974, and 2012 all at once”. The parallels are perfect, with troubled times reflected by music that rises to the occasion, fuelling the creative fire of musicians and hitting home with the listener. And while it all sounds very influenced by 1968, its approach and production values are most definitely of now, this is exactly how a Dr. John record in 2012 should sound as a new generation of listeners get hip.

The roster is impressive too, garage guitar comes from Auerbach and Brian Olive, whilst a funk edge comes from Hot Pie & Candy’s Max Weissenfeldt on drums, Truth & Soul’s Nick Movshon and Leon Michels on bass and horns, whilst ghostly background vocals from the McCrary Sisters perfectly compliment Rebennack’s voodoo keyboards. It comes thick and fast from start to finish, reaching a head during the second half crescendo of “Getaway” as the band put on some serious thunder, a blistering guitar solo made me very excited that I was listening to something that had just been released, yet would stay with me for years to come.

Locked Down is a seriously potent gumbo, a cornerstone of Dr. John’s career, it is a vital record, delivering both the poison and then the antidote, as only Dr. John can.

www.nonesuch.com

Air. Space. Nothingness. These are some of the most important ‘instruments’ in music. Timing. Restraint. Elegence. Negative space. The things that sit in between the notes. Or rather the thmngs that don’t sit between the notes. These are the first things I noticed as I was gently eased, yet quickly submerged in the opening track of the “Jessica Lauren Four”. Like a train ride where the visuals become cinema, where your thoughts combine with the music. It’s only track one and I’m already under its spell. The track ends and the space continues. Its design is clearly a part of the experience. The second track melts in and it is clear that the segueing of tracks is also carefully considered, the experience has been gently mellow and now strings are welling up and I’m uplifted. Bliss. Track 3 again segues wonderfully and then quickly becomes intense. The “Happiness Train” rolls down the track, mimicking a train ride again, complete with train whistles and ascending percussive momentum. Then the booming voice of Jocelyn Brown comes in and the ride becomes an unstoppable classic R&B groove, thrilling, rolling, engaging, until it rolls off into the distance. We’ve arrived somewhere new. A gentle latin groove. The experience has been deep, stunning and intense so far and it continues in this vein.

And so, I could continue but hopefully you get the idea by now. From start to finish this album is quite an amazing journey. Wonderful. Sublime. There is just the right amount of everything, never feeling there is too much going on at any time. It’s finely played and considerably well put together with a huge dose of feeling. Towards the end, Jocelyn Brown comes in again with “I Believe”, deep, spiritual and hypnotic, leading into to the dreamy “Swamp Thing” before the journey ends with the one jazz track “Mr. G” that almost fits a convention. Almost.

I haven’t heard anything quite like this. And I doubt you will have either. It’s a wonderful album with the power to turn a stressful day into an escapist dream that’s a deep, deep groove, mellow and uplifting. Jessica Lauren Four is a blissful listen.

www.freestylerecords.co.uk

When Dojo Cuts gave us a very funky new take of “You Make Lovin’ Real Easy” last year, originally from their debut from 2009, I noted that the band were more comfortable with each other. Less trying, more just doing it, the Sydney band are fine musicians in step with each other. They were primed to tear into some new funk for their second outing. So, I was a little surprised on first listen that “Take From Me” is a mostly mid-tempo affair, albeit funky. Surprised at first.

Singer Roxie Ray was, as I understand, the final addition to the lineup in 2008 and as such an extra ingredient to a band that had seemingly already established a sound for themselves. They have flipped that on this album though and the results are clearly a band that has developed cohesively as a unit. The album is based around songwriting as a group, with Ray’s distinctive and athletic voice now a central part of the mix. The backing is solid, colourful and very together, with plenty of interesting playing to notice on further listens, and yes, Ray’s voice is working better than ever on top. It’s not all mid-tempo – we get some great upbeat funk, like the opening “El Entro”, the great “Mamacita” and the melodic instrumental thumper “Sonny’s Strut”, it all makes for some fine listening. The band’s decision to match music to voice is rewarded when the strongest tracks to emerge are the slower “I Can Give”, “Easy To Come Home” (check the rather nice video below), or the superb “Sometimes It Hurts” with some beautifully sunny instrumentation beneath a soaring vocal from Ray. Equally impressive is the title track with Ray further establishing an authoritative vocal presence. These songs grow and stay with further listens.

Dojo Cuts have more than traversed that second difficult album with success. By refocusing the way they make music and by choosing depth over bang-for-bucks, they have made their second outing more widely appealing in the process. The result in an impressive improvement of form that I hope will continue.

www.recordkicks.com

facebook.com/moonsetJuice

Okay so I’m swanning off to New Orleans for a couple of weeks to soak up some music. Poor me. So while this is the first ever Funkalicious I’ve ever missed, I’m very happy to leave it in the very capable hands of Funkalicious co-founder DJ Popcorn and guest Billy TFF who will be steering the good ship Funkalicious through some very choppy funk and soul waters. Should be a good ride.

Superheavy funk & soul will move you, groove you, improve you!

Friday 4th May
9pm-3am
The White Horse
94, Brixton Hill
Brixton SW2 1QN
FREE

How to get there

www.whitehorsebrixton.com

Lee Fields – You’re The Kind Of Girl (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Truth & Soul Records on Vimeo.

Lee Fields’ career stretches back as far as 1969, laying down rough vocals on various independent records worth seeking, such as the sessions he did with “Raw Soul” and of course his highly collectible solo album from 1979 “Let’s Talk It Over”. So when he made a comeback in the late nineties, he delighted those that knew him for “The Funky Screw”, by bringing back fire, grit and funk.

But Lee has traded his heavyweight funk gloves – for now that is – and has taken his place, with distinguished authority as the King of Sunday Soul. Expertly produced by Michels & Silverman at Truth & Soul in Bushwick NY, this is T&S’s second solo LP for Fields, following on from 2009s “My World”, which I positively plead you to buy, such is its quality. “Faithful Man” essentially continues that experience, sounding, warm and fuzzy, blending the rough with the smooth, this album will best be enjoyed with the sun on your face.

The young Brooklyn band, dubbed The Expressions provide soulful backing – beautiful melodies and soft strings sweep under Field’s honest delivery in the perfect blend of refined versus raw. Horns dance around the choruses and punctuate in sharp retort. The breath between words is frozen in stunned poise as the arrangements remind us of a peak James Brown in the reflective moments of “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”. Take the beautiful “You’re The Kind Of Girl”, its epic delivery providing an uplifting high. Another stand out track “I Still Got It” affirms how you can take his every possession but Fields will still have “it”. Now of that you can be sure. Before he leaves, “Walk On Thru That Door” builds into another epic that might have made Isaac Hayes proud to have arranged. T&S once again prove they are the production team to watch as they get the very best from Fields in a collaboration that, judging on the results, seems to inspire all involved.

Legends have been and gone – the ever-youthful Lee Fields has more than endured – he is still showing the rest how it should be done. True soul.

www.truthandsoulrecords.com/

Now this is what we like. It’s been a whole ten years since their last album but due to some very busy schedules, the Sugarman3 just haven’t had the time to make an album in all that time. So it’s just great that they have come back this strong, losing none of the hard edge that made some of their funk-laden jazz grooves the best around. On May the 15th, they will release their fourth studio album, “What The World Needs Now” – and what a record it promises to be! In the meantime you can groove along to “Rudy’s Intervention” one of the albums hot cuts, courtesy of rollingstone.com

Download on rollingstone.com

Joining us this month, Freestyle Records A&R man Greg Boraman, who will be spinning some fine tunes from his excellent compilation Sounds From The Soul Underground amongst other groovy things. In fact everything we play will be a groovy thing, as we spin funk, soul, latin, jazz, breakbeat and whatever else might take your dance floor fancy.

Friday 13th April
9pm-3am
The White Horse
94, Brixton Hill
Brixton SW2 1QN
FREE

How to get there!

www.freestylerecords.co.uk

www.whitehorsebrixton.com

Fans of Terry Callier, Gil Scott Heron, Curtis Mayfield or Bill Withers should most certainly switch on to Michael Kiwanuka if they haven’t already done so. “Home Again” is a stunningly beautiful album of gorgeously warm soul. If, like me, you’ve already fallen in love with the E.P.’s he put out last year, you will be delighted to learn that the album is just as strong as we’d hoped. Four tracks in, the beautiful lush strings kick in behind “Rest” and my heart melted, the arrangement is just amazing. It continued into “Home Again” which is just as jaw droppingly gorgeous, and the deep and haunting “Always Waiting” put this album into the stratosphere.

Born in North London to Ugandan parents, Kiwanuka claims an early love of Hendrix and Otis Redding sparked his interest in music. At only 24, he sounds experienced well beyond his years, having fortunately escaped the evils of session guitar for Chipmunk and the likes to become a fully fledged artist whose already impressive legacy has started. The quality of the songwriting and production is enhanced with beautifully restrained and delicate playing, sweeping strings and gorgeous flecks of guitar, while Kiwanuka’s voice pierces the air like a surefooted veteran.

Home Again is a truly wonderful record, emotionally charged with atmosphere and depth you can get blissfully lost in and easily one of the most impressive debuts I’ve ever heard. Yet critics, seem divided on Kiwanuka, some criticising him for delivering yet another retro soul album, something which to me sounds moot. Soul music is back and to me it’s not retro, it’s the way it is supposed to sound – but then, one thing the music industry has always been good at is eating its own hand. While the press squabble about how authentic it is or isn’t, or how it’s going to go hugely overground, the music lovers amongst us will most likely just be happy just to love the music.

http://www.michaelkiwanuka.com

Soul / Funk lovers will probably recognise the name Fanny Franklin as the lead voice of L.A.’s Orgone, with two superb albums on Ubiquity, their marvellous cover of “Funky Nassau” with Franklin on vox has been lighting up dance floors since its appearance in 2007. A big fan of both albums, my only gripe was that we were perhaps not hearing enough of Franklin’s talents (on record they are as much about instrumentals as vocal cuts). And so it seemed almost inevitable then, that after 7 years on the road with Orgone that she would depart their ranks to embark on a solo career – and after 11 months of writing and recording with like-minded musicians, her first solo offering “:GETWET:” is here – and it is a marvellous, positive, soulful record that showcases Franklin’s vocal uniqueness and talent for songwriting rather well. It’s that songwriting that really sits in the foreground here; a nice balance has been struck between an artist spreading her wings and accessibility, with songs taking hold on first listen and seeping deeper into your psyche with further listens. Soulfully Backed by original members of Orgone, Rebirth and Maintain, there is plenty of pleasing playing to enjoy here, benefitted by a group who seem to understand how to get the best from each other. Jason Gutierrez’s 8 track production at Enfield Studio also hits the mark too with considerable warmth, the group recording live to tape.

Worthy of high praise too is that Franklin and friends have created this record themselves, rather than take it to a label that might have given it an unwanted gloss veneer, it is instead proof that the result is not only achievable (given a lot of hard work), the result is often better and leaves the artist in full control of their output.

:GETWET: is an authentic, upliftingly, warm, soul-funk experience from an artist with a truly unique and versatile voice, bolstered with some great song-writing that will stick with you, it will not only please fans of her previous work, it should also hopefully gain her some much deserved new attention as one of the great soul / funk talents today.

http://soundcloud.com/fannyfranklin

http://www.myspace.com/fannyfranklin

Amsterdam’s Lefties Soul Connection play a gritty firebrand of funk with attitude – lots of raw heaviness that can give the listener a bloody nose, so to speak. Very apt then that the title of their third album is “One Punch Pete” which in places, packs the punch of their first two (mostly instrumental) albums. This time, they have chosen to augment their sound with more vocal collaborations that give their sound a more balanced listening experience, if less of a nose-bloodying hook.

New and regular contributor, Michelle David displays her powerful vocal on the potent opener “Shake It Up, Burn It Loose” – not strictly funk so much as funky, it still packs a heavy dance floor groove. David’s next vocal cut “She’s Not Answering” also grooves along very nicely with some choppy rhythm. With David’s subsequent vocal cuts, the funky “You Got Me” and “Baby Come Back” in a soulful, slower vein, I was left wanting more of the danceable funk of the opener but I certainly hope they stick with David as her vocal is really quite effective on all.

German singer, Flo Mega adds voice to their cover of “Have Love, Will Travel” which pertains more to The Sonic’s garage-rock version than Richard Berry’s original, then London’s own Corrina Greyson adds a smokey ballad and the excellent groover “You Don’t Know” with a mean guitar hook. Of the instrumentals, the powerful “Code 99″ stands out most, as any regular to the Funkalicous DJ spot will most likely recognise (we haven’t stopped playing it since its single release a couple of years ago). It’s a relentless slab of funk thunder built around “Tighten Up” and features wave after wave of breakdowns from drummer Cody Vogel, which starts heavy and just gets heavier – a ‘breaks’ fanatic’s dream come true and easily enough of a reason to buy the album alone.

Add to this more pleasingly heavy instrumentals in the shape of the New Orleans style funk of “Ridin’ On Candy” and “One Punch Pete”, plus the excellent surf-guitar of “Rimfire” and you have a well rounded album that nicely balances some energetic rough and tough with some more soulful sides.

http://leftiessoulconnection.com/

Bonus time! Check out this 48 minute live performance from Lefties and Michelle David in Oosterpoort, recorded in January 2012…