Crucial Material – Best Releases Of The Week (November 16th, 2018)

New music! Get yer new music!

From Jazz to Hip Hop, Soul to House, Funk to Psych Rock, Experimental and beyond. Allow us to listen to the hundreds of brand new releases and distill them to the best. Let’s get into it!

NEW ALBUMS & EPs

Insólito UniVerso “La Candela Del Rio”

Genres: Venezuelan Traditional / Psych Folk / Post Rock
Label: Olindo Records
Purchase

Sit back and absorb the latest offering from Paris-based Venezuelan quartet Insólito UniVerso! In the space of 8 tracks, the band fuses traditional Venezuelan styles, such as joropo, merengue caraqueño, or tambores de San Millán with psych, chanson, and contemporary electronics. It’s a wonderful ode to the group’s roots while facing forward.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Garrett “Private Life II”

Genre: Electronic
Label: Music From Memory
Purchase

Following last year’s first volume of under the radar (almost) ambient synth funk jams from Garrett (aka Dam Funk), vol. 2 continues in the same vein. Warm, absorbing and an essential purchase. 100% guaranteed to glide you away to another dimension.
-Selected by Oli Brunetti (Colectivo Futuro)

Nanna.B “Solen”

Genres: Soul / R&B / Electronic
Label: Jakarta Records
Purchase

Let Danish artist Nanna.B soothe your soul with her latest LP! Through various trips to LA she linked up with players like Iman Omari, Anderson .Paak, MNDSGN, and Low Leaf to aid with production and instrumentation. This gives the LP a warm familiarity while remaining in the style of Nanna.B’s signature otherworldliness.
-Selected by Mike Jones

V/A “Brainfeeder X”

Genres: Electronic / Experimental / Beats / Jazz
Label: Brainfeeder
Purchase

Ohhh ya buddy. Really no words are required to describe this behemoth! A wonderful way to celebrate 10 years of a fantastic label / collective / movement. Here’s to a gajillion more!
-Selected by Mike Jones

Reissues & Archival Releases

 

Natural Hi “Fame”

Genre: Brit-Funk
Label: Backatcha
Purchase

Natural Hi’s 1981 Brit-funk classic ‘Fame’ is released for the first time on 7” featuring radio edits by Sean P. The track blends funky percussion breaks, heavy bass grooves, with rhodes, spacey synths melodies, dubbed-out horns, and reverb drenched vocals.
– Selected by TJ Gorton

Kashmere Stage Band “Kashmere”

Genre: Jazz-Funk
Label: Athens Of The North
Purchase

Athens Of The North has just released an incredible new forty-five single featuring two heavy-hitting funk jams from the now legendary seventies-era Houston-based high school group, Kashmere Stage Band. This is the first time that both ‘Kashmere’ and ‘Scorpio’ have been released on 7” format.
– Selected by TJ Gorton

Harry Case “In A Mood”

Genres: Jazz / Funk / Fusion
Label: Cool Cult
Purchase

Some folks piss and moan in response to the high-octane pace at which ‘holy grails’ get reissued as of late. Their goal? Can’t say for certain, but their posturing is a distraction. Ignore the haters. Music of this quality deserves to be shared. Case in point: Harry Case’s “In A Mood”, recorded in ‘89, setting the mood in 2018. A smooth-jazz-meets-machine-funk masterpiece and well-deserving of a proper reissue. Thank you Cool Cult, thank you.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Mary Stevens “Find Your Love”

Genres: Boogie / Funk / Soul
Label: Backatcha
Purchase

Doing the Lord’s work, Backatcha dishes out another hot plate – Mary Stevens’ “Find Your Love”. Released on the 7-inch format for the first time, “Find Your Love” comes with the original version and the Jarford (Boyd Jarvis & Timmy Regisford) remix, as edited by none other than Sean P. In keeping with previous Backatcha reissues, I anticipate this soul-soaked boogie bomb will move quickly, so act fast.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Preface “Palace Hotel”

Genres: Jazz-Funk / Pop
Label: Discomatin
Purchase

Preface’s ‘Palace Hotel’ is a guilty pleasure no more; I’m now owning my love for this cheesy-in-a-good-way French synth-pop song. And, thanks to Parisian label Discomatin, I can now own the record too. Playable versions of the original release are unjustifiably priced, but this carefully produced reissue is within reach for mere mortals such as myself. Added to basket, checked out and in my bag – no shame whatsoever.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell