Various - The Nickel & Penny Labels
(CD/2LP) Numero Group NUM039, 2012-01-23

Esteemed Chicago-based reissue label Numero Group has been raising the bar of the soul/funk/blues/rare groove compilation standards ever since 2004 and their first Eccentric Soul collection. They even managed to get 2 albums in our 10 Reissues Of Old Stuff That's Been So Cool To (Re)Discover in 2011 selection. Their latest release, Eccentric Soul: The Nickel & Penny Labels is the brainchild of Richard Pegue, a Chicago DJ/producer/writer/arranger of soul records in the 60s and the 70s, and might suffer from the comparison with previous volumes in the label's flagship series - for example the Boddie Recording Co. boxset from last october... But don't let the tracklisting fool you, this new compilation is a new fabulous one, with most of its best tracks to be found in the second half of the CD! Special flavors are indeed to be found in The Halleluiah Chorus' soulful gem I've Got to Find A Way, South Shore Commision's James-Brown-meets-The Jackson-5-on-The-Blues-Brothers-set You Got Me Hummin', Brothers & Sisters's psychedelick shack Don't Let 'Em Tell You or Joyce Williams' flute-heavy The First Thing I Do In The Morning, just to name a few. We couldn't resist playing the two latter one in our january Bag of Goodies mix recorded last weekend which you should be able to download in the coming days...

Various - Nirobi Edits
(limited 12 inch) Square Records SQRC104, 2011-11-16

Summer 2012, Square Records were right there on spot at the start of the current re-edits craze, with amazing reworks from Onur Engin. The latest edition of their highly collectable 12 inches has arrived at the end of last year and as usual it's a 1000 copies worldwide, no re-press and no digital release affair, on which we advise to jump on before it's too late. This time Robert Luis aka Nirobi, A&R and co-founder of Tru Thoughts Recordings and a world-renowned DJ is the guest of honor, with 4 new edits of choice and their augmented dancefloor boogieness. You might be surprised, but even though there's fantastic re-edits from Soho, St Tropez or Paul McCartney in there, for us the revered treasure of the lot is the Mick Hucknall one (yep, the singer from Simply Red!), whose Farther Up The Road originally found on his 2008 Tribute to Bobby (a tribute to the blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland), should turn all soulful dancefloors upside down, each time, guaranteed! We'll be playing this gem in the upcoming Bag of Goodies mix we've cooked for you last weekend...

Various - Movements 4
(CD/2LP) Tramp Records TR-9015, 2012-03-12

Just like with some the best Paris DJs mixes, some selections take a long time to gather. This 4th volume in the Movements series happens 7 years after the first one and took Tramp records founder Tobias Kirmayer two years to complete, chasing lost treasures and privates pressings of funk, soul and jazz tracks all over the globe. So don't expect familiar names, semi-hits or any kind of already-compiled-over-and-there kind of grooves, this is real diggin' business, each track to be found here has been carefully brought back to life, thoroughly annoted and properly referenced with full-color label scans and band photos. Most intense findings include Carl Westmoreland stunning early 70s political burner Shakers and Movers, Iris Bell's funky piano on the aplty titled Honky Games, the Gershwin classic Summertime covered by Polish Old Metropolitan Band, the irresistible and stamping unedited Discotheque Soul from blind drummer and piano player Ricky Williams, and the amazing heavy funk of I Don't Think We Are Going Back Again by The Soul Brothers Inc. that was already available on The Story of The Soul Brothers Inc. anthology released on Tramp Records in 2010. A real treat for music lovers in search of discoveries to be released march 12th 2012.

BBE Records and Million Dollar Disco Present - The Best of Disco Demands
A Collection Of Rare 1970s Dance Music - Compiled by Al Kent
(5xCD boxset/Digital/Digital with bonus mixes/2xLP/2xLP) Barely Breaking Even Records BBE173, 2012-01-23

Al Kent has been releasing tons of good stuff in the last ten years, wether on his on Million Dollar Disco label, or on Barely Breaking Even (BBE), under his own name or as the Million Dollar Orchestra… Singles, albums, re-edits, compilations… The man is just one of the disco kings out there today, so when we stumbled upon the details for this upcoming 5-CD boxset release, which looks like an absolute must-have for Disco lovers, we contacted BBE right away and thanks to their PR girl we managed to get in touch with Al Kent who's cooked a fantastic Disco mix just for the elitist Paris DJs ears. The mix will be aired early december and should please all the Paris DJs fans who download mixes for their end of the year private parties… The boxest itself (also available as two double vinyls LPs) will be released late january 2012.

Various - Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party
(Gatefold LP/CD/Digital) Tramp Records TR-9013, 2011-11-28

The Christmas album is a concept many artists and labels have tried to achieve, and most of the time those attempts fall flat. With our own Xmas compilation (Noelectro) released in 2004 on T.I.M.E.C. and 7 annual Xmas mixes on Paris DJs in 6 years (yep, there's a catch), we felt we had gained quite some expertise on the subject. This year our friends at Tramp Records in Germany (yes, that cool label run by Tobias Kirmayer who we invited for a superb Freestyle mix more than 4 years ago) have taken the matter in hand and have just released a very funky xmas compilation, Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party, with a selection by record collector and DJ Jan Kohlmeyer of 13 raw funk-soul rare and hard-to-find Xmas tracks. An absolute must-have if you're a xmas music collector like us! And an excellent reason for inviting Jan Kohlmeyer and Tramp Records for our annual xmas mix, which we'll publish tomorrow evening (dec. 6). The CD booklet and LP sleeve contain scans of all the 45s featured in this compilaton, as well as liner notes to each song. The vinyl comes with a gatefold cover and is limited to 500 copies. A gatefold vinyl edition of rare funk/soul xmas music released in 2011: happiness is that simple. (Djouls)

Various - The Original Sound of Cumbia
The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948-79
Compiled by Will 'Quantic' Holland
(2xCD/3xLP/Digital) Soundway Records SNDW032, 2011-12-05

Soundway set sail for Colombia once again, delving deeper into the South American country's rich musical past. Boasting 55 tracks spread over two CDs and two triple LPs, The Original Sound of Cumbia: The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948-79'is Soundway's definitive guide to the origins of Colombian cumbia and porro and the result of five years pain staking re-search by Will 'Quantic' Holland. Disc 1 tells the story of some the earliest Colombian cumbia recorded, a genre that captured a nation, spreading from its birthplace on the Caribbean coast in land to central Colombia and the capital Bogata. Disc 2 sees the evolution of cumbia. Greats of Colombian music like Alberto Pacheco, Toño Fernandez & Anibal Velasquez brought the genre forward, bringing new influences and instruments to the genre. What had once been considered the music of the underclasses had risen up as the new sound of a nation. Both vinyl versions are limited to 1500 copies.

Various - Sticky Soul Fingers: A Rolling Stones Tribute
(free CD with magazine) Mojo, 2011-11-30

The Rolling Stones' classic 1971 album re-grooved by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Aloe Blacc & Joel Van Dijk, Black Joe Lewis, The Bamboos, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, Alice Russell, The Sugarman 3, Beta Hector, Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band, Lee Fields and more! On paper, this is a kind of a dream come true. Can't wait to get my hands on this new issue of Mojo Magazine… especially to get my ears on what's on the CD!! For people in Paris, the mag is to be found in places such as Gibert Joseph or WH Smith

Various - World's Funkiest Covers
(CD/LP) Cultures of Soul Records, 2011-11-15

Carefully selected by Deano Sounds, World's Funkiest Covers features some of the funkiest covers from around the world and throughout time. The album includes a wide range of styles including deep funk, latin soul, hard salsa, soul, afro beat, and cumbia. From the Ebony Rhythm Band's deep funk cover of Light My Fire to the soulful version of Purple Haze by Johnny Jones and the King Casuals, the unforgettable tracks keep on coming. There's also plenty of hard pounding salsa with Ray Barretto's cover of Pastime Paradise, Mongo Santamaria's cover of Cloud Nine and Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra's cover of Spoon's I Turn My Camera On. More recent artists include Mighty Mo and the Winchester 7 and Nostalgia 77 covering The Message and Seven Nation Army, respectively. This Cultures of Soul collection features unique versions of classics songs not easily found in the marketplace today and we'll publish tomorrow (nov 22) the free companion mix to this compilation, because this labl nicely knows how to Molest Laura the Paris DJs way!!

Various - When Shapes Mix Together - Compiled and mixed by Rob Luis
(Mixed CD/Digital) Tru Thoughts Recordings TRUCD244, 2011-11-21

Produced as a giveaway mix for the huge Tru Thoughts night at Koko in London, this mix was so good they had to offer it for general sale. This mix shows the future direction of the label, with new signings alongside the long-standing Tru Thoughts family. It opens with a hip hop influence: Hint goes space-age hip hop with rapper T Fly; Quantic's Cumbia project covers Missy Elliot; and London legend Rodney P drops a track with a positive message (which we released after the UK riots in 2011) featuring Mighty Moe and other big hitters in the scene. Anchorsong takes us into slow disco/boogie territory before Beta Hector roughs it up with his psychedelic bass basher (helped by an Alice Russell classic scream) followed by Nirobi dropping the Bollywood beats. Sleepin' Giantz is a heavyweight project from Zed Bias, Rodney P and Fallacy, and the track you hear in this DJ mix has been a huge anthem in club sets for the DJs who have managed to get hold of an advance copy. The album it is taken from is one of the best hip hop albums you will hear! Zed Bias is then joined by Mark Pritchard (Warp / Harmonic 313 / Global Communications) for a bass anthem before we move into Debruit taking the Brazilian groove of Saravah Soul down a heavy club route. Hint shows his versatile production styles with his remix of Lanu before we hit drum & bass territory with A Sides' remix of Mark de Clive-Lowe. The set finishes off with the more mellow side of Tru Thoughts. Ambassadeurs take Nostalgia 77 through some synths and basslines; Kinny shows her powerful voice to full effect, and then Belleruche unveil their new style. I just had to include a snippet of the title track off the Quantic & Alice Russell album (you need to check the full version to appreciate those strings) and we finish off with a classic from Maddslinky's influential first LP. Please make sure you check out the other releases by any artists whose tracks you are particularly into on this DJ mix, as there is plenty more good music to be heard from them all." (Rob Luis)

Various - Boddie Recording Company : Cleveland, Ohio
(promo CD/3xCD/4xCD limited/5xLP/6xLP limited) Numero Group NUM035, 2011-10-25

The Numero Group has been releasing totally amazing rare soul compilations these last years. They're back with a new boxset to be released on october 25th, celebrating the Boddie Recording Company run by Thomas & Louise Boddie between 1958 and 1993. The boxset is a 5LP or 3CD one, gathering 58 tracks of eccentric soul, grainy funk and funky doo-wop or gospel. Something you should absolutely get your hands on? Surely! But if you consider buying the boxset (maybe for a christmas present?) you'll might be a little disappointed. A little. Because the pre-order period is over, and you won't get either the bonus 6th LP or the bonus 21 tracks CD... One could debate about the dark side of bonus material for early consumers for hours... but if this boxset's as luxurious as the previous Sly johnson Complete Mythology or the Light - On The South Side 70's Chicago blues boxsets, then it's another absolute must buy!