Now here’s an internationally-flavoured vinyl 7″ that can only be described as a raucous celebration of hip-hop culture. On the A-side – All Stars – a.k.a. DJ DSK, Whirlwind D, Chrome, Specifik and Mr Wonderful combine talents for a heavy dancefloor-flavoured celebration of Shanghai b-boy outfit Juice Crew whilst very much paying homage to MC Shan’s original ’88 classic Juice Crew Law. Over on the flip, DJ DSK (again –
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ALL STARS: Juice Crew Law b/w DJ DSK & GOBSHITE feat. AKIL & MYSTRO: Check Out The Technique (Vinyl 7″)
THE STANCE BROTHERS: On Top (Vinyl 7″)
Rating: 
The Stance Brothers are most definitely on top with forthcoming vinyl 7″ single – er – On Top, for which instant classic status is all but assured. I say ‘are’ – it’s actually ‘is’ since the ‘brothers’ is a nom-de-plume for Finnish jazz drummer (and multi-instrumentalist) Teppo Mäkynen who has not only produced a dope slice of psychedelically-tinged, vintage-sounding jazz-
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JOHNNYPLUSE: The Ultimate Breaks & Hiphop Toolkit
Back at the start of September, the monkey covered the fact that breakbeat producer Johnnypluse had released his Old School Hiphop Sample Packs – a kicks and percussion volume along with a breaks volume. Figuring that some folks might find two packs too fiddly, the ever-resourceful JP has now unleashed The Ultimate Breaks & Hiphop Toolkit. This monster includes more than 3Gb of breaks, synth, bass, cuts and
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BRONX SLANG: The Bronx Kill Mixtape (Free download)
Rating: Having judged the middle of an ongoing pandemic not quite the best time to be releasing an LP, Bronx Slang – a.k.a. Jerry Beeks and Ollie Miggs – nevertheless unleash more hip-hop commentary from the frontline with their straight dope Bronx Kill Mixtape. And it is a veritable verbal broadside against the racist hate, oppressive brutality and catastrophic
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SMOOVE & TURRELL: Never Wanted You More (DR RUBBERFUNK remix)
Dropping today is Smoove & Turrell’s Stratos Bleu Remixed – the long awaited LP of remixes for their recent late 80s/ early 90s disco-cum-electronica-cum-housey long player Stratos Bleu. While the original bore all the hallmarks of S&T quality we’ve come to expect – the fact remains that if you’re a funk and soul type person it possibly wasn’t for you and, as it goes, the remix LP probably still isn’t either for the same reasons
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NIGHT OWLS: Groovin’ (Vinyl 7″)
No sleep for L.A.-based, retro-reggae supergroup Night Owls who are back already following August’s Gossip single with new 45 Groovin’. As is their wont, the band have flipped an old soul classic – in this case, Groovin’ (though the Wu-Tang-sampled Willie Mitchell version rather than The Young Rascals’ original) into something rather more early reggae in style. Jungle Fire’s Jamie
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HAMBURG SPINNERS: Palmaillerennen
New from Légère Recordings is the debut single from Hamburg Spinners – Palmaillerennen. Which is excellent news if you dig a bit of Hammond action and the sounds of the sixties. The instrumental displays the combined talents of the Hammond-jazz quartet (I bet you can’t guess which city they’re based in) and joins the dots between original funky jazz and easy listening
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IKEBE SHAKEDOWN: Adonai
One of the last two cuts to appear as part of Colemine Records’ ‘Brighter Days Ahead’ series of weekly singles is new Ikebe Shakedown single, Adonai. The track is a cover of an Ennio Morricone piece originally composed for Silvano Agosti’s 1967 flick Il Giardino delle Delizie (a.k.a The Garden of Delights) and as such is also the band’s tribute one of their great musical inspirations, who
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LEXSOUL DANCEMACHINE: ‘Carambola Jelly’ video
Stand by for the Ugandan-Estonian funky disco-cinematic team-up that is ‘Ugandan Tarantino’ Nabwana I.G.G.’s new video for Lexsoul Dancemachine’s Lexplosion II LP track, Carambola Jelly. Carambola, is of course also known as ‘the star fruit’ and makes an early appearance in the video’s short tale of urban gangsterism with a ‘wife’ beginning to prepare
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EMMA DONOVAN & THE PUTBACKS: Don’t Give Up On Me
If you’d given up hope of a new single from Emma Donovan & The Putbacks before the arrival of the new album Crossover next month, it’s your lucky day for here is new single – er – Don’t Give Up On Me which finds the Oz psych-soul crew follow previous single Pink Skirt with a fuzzed-up slice of emoting. Donovan is in fine form, pouring out heartfelt lyrics and a hook that reads like a plea but gets delivered like a command. It’s an
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