A brazenly irresistible blend of unlikely secret weapons and stone cold classic killers, Soul Jazz style and fashion.
Deliriously creative wordplay overflowing some of the mightiest reggae rhythms of all time.
Surely a must.

‘Venomous Tex-Mex R&B and early rock n’roll from San Antonio’s West Side scene. From 1961-67, Bexar county kingmaker Abe Epstein cut every teen combo to grace the Patio Andaluz stage, launching the careers of Doug Sahm, The Royal Jesters, Sonny Ace, The Dreamliners, and hundreds more throughout the decade.’

A terrific compilation of vintage UK street soul — at its nexus with rare groove and lovers rock, so intensely nostalgic for us at HJ — by the same crew which put together the excellent For The Love Of You volumes.
A dozen gems here: treasurable DIY labels and whites teeming with raw longing and overproof sincerity, riding limber Soul II Soul-style grooves, wannabe Jam & Lewis, and crunchy, synthy, electro-soul. (The System were the US overmasters of this.)
Just a touch of cheese, a smidgen of sublimely out-of-tune singing, splashes of sploshy beatbox and dodge sampling, a brazen Roy Ayers pinch… components of loveliness.
Calling all midnight ravers and undercover lovers. You know who you are.

Two teenagers’ amapiano music from Gauteng province in South Africa, drawing on jazz, folk, afro, deep and tech house, kwaito, and dibacardi… but sounding like none of them.

‘From a humble storefront studio located in a shoeshine parlor on Norfolk, Virginia’s Church Street, Noah Biggs built a world. Hustler by day, gambler by night, the always-in-a-suit Biggs took a gaggle of off-brand singers and combined his connections and charisma to forge timeless soul music during a period of deep upheaval. Compiled here are 25 of Shiptown’s most compelling sides recorded between 1965-1977, spread across 2 LPs, from the likes of Ida Sands, The Soul Duo, The Anglos, Dream Team, The Grooms, Positive Sounds, Barbara Stant, Wilson Williams, Art Ensley, and yes, Flip Flop Stevens.’

An uncompromisingly deep, rugged, rootical collection of dubs and instrumentals; funky to the max.
A terrific compilation. It’s a must.

Hotly recommended by our friends Rush Hour in Amsterdam: ‘Starting off with the positively upbeat Umgababa by Kippie Moketsi and the infectious soul jazz of Pat Matshikiza’ s Dreams Are Wonderful (also featuring Kippie Moketsi) proceedings mellow out on side B, only to get extra heavy on the C-side with the sample-ready fusion groover Night Express off their crazy rare 1976 album of the same name and the irresistibly funky Blues for Yusef by Lionel Pillay, two of the many highlights on this action-packed thriller.’

Reviewing Ellis Taylor’s Kansas City imprint — from prime Marva Whitney all the way through to Sharon Revoal’s ace, slinky, early-eighties disco-funk.

‘A sonic snapshot of America’s steel capital, probing the fertile cavern between the departure of the Jackson 5 to Motown and the collapse of U.S. steel… a love letter to Gary, Indiana, salvaging twenty-plus lost songs from the southern-most tip of Lake Michigan. Housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket, with a 16-page booklet crammed with photos, ephemera, and an in-depth essay, Skyway Soul connects the dots between The Spaniels, Michael Jackson, and Freddie Gibbs.’