With the whole world gone Stranger Things-crazy, it would be rude not to take musical inspiration from the 80s-inspired show – especially if your field is hip-hop. After all, it’s not like the series’ themselves don’t heavily ‘sample’ the 80s cinematic output of Messrs Spielberg and Carpenter. So it’s hardly surprising that rapper Mega Ran and producer Amerigo Gazaway have
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Monthly Archives: July 2022
MEGA RAN & AMERIGO GAZAWAY: STRANGERS: Back To The Lab
JOE STURGES & LUCAS DE MULDER: Instead Of Number Five
Did I say the sound of early 80s Miami was the one to evoke for a worryingly hot summer in Europe in the previous post about the single before this from the Golden Rules label? Actually, maybe instead, the super-mellow instrumental soul jazz on Instead Of Number Five by Joe Sturges & Lucas De Mulder is the thing. Less sweltering Florida heat than the desert-meets-the-
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TOYTOY: Tahin
Ok, let’s be honest – sometimes the monkey gets behind. For one, there’s the annual deluge of new releases in autumn that is difficult to stay on top of and then there’s Christmas with the novelty drops and, well, non-blog stuff like parties and family. After that? Well, after that is the annual deluge of spring releases which is as difficult to stay on top of as the autumn one and finally
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DONNOYA DRAKE: Only You (Vinyl 7″)
Rating: 
Must be dope early reggae release week or something for here is news of the second such drop – this time from the Original Gravity label in the shape of Only You by Donnoya Drake. Yes, that would be a cover of the synth-pop track by Yazoo, now re-imagined as a sister reggae cut in a kind of Joya Landis stylee. If you read the previous MB post on Mango Wood, you’ll note I
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MANGO WOOD: Bangarang/ Wanted (Vinyl 7″)
Rating: If you caught the 2020 debut LP Stomp You Down from Madrid-based early reggae outfit Mango Wood you’ll know two things – firstly, there’s no band on the planet who’ve nailed the boss reggae ‘sound of ’69’ more closely than they have which, secondly, means that any future Mango Wood release is cause for celebration. Which means it’s time to celebrate for here is new
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ANDY COOPER: P.A.R.T.Y.
Doin’ it for the kids this summer is indefatigable Ugly Duckling and Allergies mic manipulator, Andy Cooper, who it seems has a forthcoming LP out entitled Kid Hop, aimed at children with the intention (it says here) to inform, educate and entertain. Before the album release however comes the release of first single P.A.R.T.Y. which provides the sort of old school – well – party-vibes
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QUINN DEVEAUX & THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS: Very Best Thing (Vinyl 7″)
Fresh out is new single Very Best Thing on which renaissance soul man Quinn Deveaux teams up with The California Honeydrops for a very sweet retro groover. It’s all warm buttery bass, guitar chanks, organ licks, horns and of course our Quinn’s yearning voice. Turns out, his missus has up and left him and he’s speculating she’ll be regretting that at some point in the near future
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SOUL FLIP EDITS 14: A Solid Bond In Your Heart/ Cool Jerk (Vinyl 7″)
None of your guest productions for the fourteenth Soul Flip Edit 7″, for this one is helmed by the Soul Flip team themselves which amounts to a Del Gazeebo production as ‘conducted’ by Aldo Vanucci. But who’s getting the edit treatment this time? Turns out it’s Detroit soul crew The Capitols and – bit of a new direction – The Jam. The Jam?! Going Underground The Jam? The very same. And
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BIG BOSS MAN: Return Of Baron Samedi
How’s this for a triple return? Big Boss Man are back, with a heavy bongo n organ-laced track called Return Of Baron Samedi marking a return to things funky after a couple of LPs which have been pretty much exclusively sixties guitar fuzz and R&B-focussed. And that’s only the beginning of the good news for Return Of Baron Samedi is but the B-side to Juju Funk which the monkey has been given to understand will be teased in a
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GROUP MODULAR: Per Aspera Ad Astra (Vinyl 7″)
If you like your psych-funk to be retro-futurist, not to mention chunky, you’d better believe Group Modular have got you covered. Why? Because Markey Funk and Mule Driver’s outfit is back and damn if new 45 Per Aspera b/w Ad Astra isn’t a double beast. A-side Per Aspera opens with a hefty drum break emerging from ominous synth reverberations. As the track continues, additional percussion and
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