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When Torontonian singer Tanika Charles blew in the a couple of years ago with debut LP Soul Run, she made big waves on the underground soul scene and catapulted herself onto a global stage. Ask most people and they’d tell you that label Record Kicks had unerringly struck gold once again. Which they obviously had – given the fuss. Sadly the monkey wasn’t feeling
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Tag Archives: Record Kicks
TANIKA CHARLES: The Gumption
TANIKA CHARLES: Love Overdue b/w Remember To Remember (Vinyl 7″) + video
Rating: It’s turning out to be a vintage year for lovers of retro soul music and with this new 45, Record Kicks signing, Toronto-based soul sister, Tanika Charles unleashes her own double broadside by way of a lead single off her forthcoming second LP, The Gumption. On the A-side for example, we have Love Overdue a club mover with added clap-along appeal that harks back to classic early/ mid sixties Sugar Pie
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ALEXIS EVANS: I Made A Deal With Myself + video
Record Kicks’ new boy is the Anglo-French Alexis Evans and the label’s just released the video of his jaunty album-teasing northern soul-flavoured I Made A Deal With Myself. Deal with yourself eh, Alexis? And the nature of said deal? Oh, it’s to do with the missus – it’s over! Right? But how to represent such a matter in audio-visual format? Maybe you stick your earphones in when she starts
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CALIBRO 35 feat. ELIZA ZOOT: Travelers, Explorers (Vinyl 7″) + video
The new single from Calibro 35, Travelers, Explorer, finds the retro library music-inspired Italian outfit travel along and explore the path that is – well – less travelled – at least as far as they’re concerned anyway. Why? Because they employ the positively ethereal tones of Eliza Zoot to grace this previously unreleased vocal version of the album closer on their recent Decade LP. What was once something that negotiated a twisting
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THE FAITHFUL BROTHERS: Crossroads Of Love/ One More Time (Vinyl 7″)
It’s not just Daytoner keeping the faith with neo-northern soul cuts this year it seems, for here is an offshoot project of Israeli soul boys Men Of North Country, The Faithful Brothers (a.k.a men of northern soul country – see what I did there?), with a 45 in the classic mould – soul stormer on the one side, soul ballad on the flip. The soul stormer is titled Crossroads Of Love and finds Tel Aviv’s
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CALIBRO 35: Psycheground (video + ltd. Vinyl 7″)
Of course it was only a couple of months ago that Italian kings of cinematic funk, Calibro 35, dropped their umpteenth studio LP, Decade which, the monkey noted, “…starts innocuously enough with the afro-tinged lilt of Psycheground…[and]…in Calibro 35-land we’re in the title sequence of whatever film is in their heads…[which]…surely…features a lengthy single-take of a
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CALIBRO 35: SuperStudio/ Gomma (Vinyl 7″)
Rating: As the video teaser before Crimbo should have made clear, Dre and Jay Z-sampled Italian cinematic music fiends Calibro 35 are taking their crime-funk to the next level on forthcoming LP Decade. Why? Because those bad boys have added orchestral elements. You see how that works don’t you? You come at them with fists they bring a knife. You bring a knife, they bring guns. You bring guns, they bring, like
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Heavily influenced by sixties and seventies crime flicks and sci-fi movies, Italian retro-fiends Calibro 35 have spent the last decade honing their cinematically funky sound. They’ve even managed to get themselves sampled by the likes of Dr Dre and Jay-Z. Blimey. How do you get bigger than that? Well, (not that it’s all about size you understand) the boys have decided to expand their THE TIBBS: Lies (Vinyl 7″)(2017) + Video
Looks like there’ll be a new album from hot Dutch funk/soul properties The Tibbs next year then. Lies? No it’s all true – that’s just the name of the new single which applies a decidedly Daptones-ish aesthetic to create a horns-led chugger on which singer Elsa Bekman ponders the – well – lies that people live. But how to represent this via an
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MARTHA HIGH: ‘Mama Feelgood’ audio premiere (2017)
Rating: The monkey does like to line up a dope audio premiere for you and this one is a real treat – James Brown’s original funky diva, Martha High, covers Lyn Collin’s Mama Feelgood with Osaka Monaurail as her backing band. And damn if it ain’t as good as the original. The track is the highlight of Tribute To My Soul Sisters – a whole LP from High and Osaka Monaurail out later
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