Year one of Facel Vega Soul is at an end; and just like any good concert, we're currently at an intermission; everyone's buggered off to the bar for a couple of cheeky halfs (hic), an overpriced Cornetto and a sly fag out the back. Merry Xmas, a painlessly stoned New Year and then get back 'ere in January where we do it all again, once more, with feeling.
With various funk labels turning out new age jazz funk in the last couple of years, there was only really one thing for the label best known for that practice to do. Start releasing dirty soul and funk. In The Basement, originally sung by Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto, is the first single out from Jasmine Kara, from the album Blues Ain't Nothing But A Good Woman Gone Bad.
Iranian born, Swedish native Kara has an ability to bare her soul vocally, quite a feat in a young voice. Not surprising then why it wasn’t long before she was brought to the attention of legendary records man Marshall Chess of Chess Records fame. Mr Chess became Jasmine's mentor and produced her debut album mentioned above, initially released through Tri-Sound Records, Marshal's other label.
In collaboration with Tri-Sound, Acid Jazz have released this track as a single from the album, with the equally dancefloor filling flip-side In The Basement. Pt 2. Dunno what’s going on with the release schedule for the album; although the single came out September 19th on Acid Jazz, no date seems to have been set for the album.
The spectacularly-voiced Kara performs a version of In The Basement that isn’t wildly different from the original - slightly heavier and faster - but nonetheless a dead ringer for a sixties soul session 45.
Off the hook singing, peerless production and a b-boy-featuring video should imbue Kara’s career with a credibility that prevents it ending up where Duffy’s has. In the basement.
As a multi instrumentalist, in-demand producer and re-mixer, a DJ with his finger on the cutting edge of contemporary sounds, and an ear tastefully cocked to the hippest soul, jazz and funk music from the 60´s and 70´s, Adam Gibbons, the man at the centre of the Lack Of Afro phenomenon, has already established an unrivalled reputation as one of the most crucial names at work in funk and dance music today.
The Lack Of Afro story began back in 2006 after excited word spread to the Freestyle Records offices about the sounds Adam was creating, Freestyles´ head honcho DJ Adrian Gibson instantly signed him and released the stunning debut single Wait A Minute. One of the labels fastest selling 12”s ever, it has gone onto sell massive numbers worldwide and appeared on countless compilations. The subsequent 2007 album Press On fulfilled his early promise, with Adam playing nearly all the instruments himself. Hailed by iDJ magazine as “one of the greatest albums of the modern funk era” the release passed into contemporary music folklore.
This track takes it's cues from latin funk: Roderigo is a stomping, horn led dancefloor monster - once again illustrating the unique production style of this young producer and giving us a memorable track into the bargain.
Diesler's first release was Cotton Wool, part of the Tru Thoughts Shapes One compilation: despite being written when he was only 20, the song still found its way onto Radio 1, a massive achievement for a debut track. This success was followed with the Ladies and Gentlemen Get Your Engines Ready EP in June 2004; a mixture of smooth, laid-back vibes and up tempo beats, from jazz and funk to Latin rhythms, it showcased Dieslers globe-trotting sound, and magpie-like ear for the best samples, to devastating effect.
He followed that up with his debut album & double vinyl EP releases Diggin It Somethin Rotten in April 2005 and a calendar year later with Keepie Uppies, both of which are on the Tru Thoughts label. His 3rd album, The Rhythm Station, was released in October 2007 on Freestyle Records and a remixes compilation, Tracks On The Rocks in 2009.
Aside from his own work Diesler has been remixing all over the place for labels including Ninja Tune (UK), Jugglin/Raw Fusion (Sweden), Hi Top (Spain), Schema (Italy), Tru Thoughts (UK), Catskills (UK), Freestyle (UK) Sunday Best (UK), Soultage (Japan), Record Kicks (Italy). Samba Magic, the opening track from the album Tie Breakers, is a funky slice of samba-infused soul, with a fantastic horn that keeps spinning round in your head hours after listening, and of course features the vocals of the wonderful Laura Vane. Tie Breakers was released May 2010 on Unique records; recommended listening.
Yes, this is the theme music you will be thinking of everytime you see McQueen up on the silver screen. Even when he is kissing Natalie Wood in Love With A Proper Stranger you'll be asking yourself when he will pull out his pistol or ride off in his 1968 Ford Mustang.
The heart of this album is Shifting Gears because it leads into the famous streets of Frisco car chase scene that made this movie so famous. There is an air of brooding menace about it, that even without seeing the visuals attached to it, you're aware of the fact that it's leading up to something.
A word about the composer; Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor, best known for his film and TV scores, such as (deep breath) Mission: Impossible, man From U.N.C.L.E., Enter The Dragon and a ton of stuff with Clint Eastwood in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, particularly the Dirty Harry films. Oh, and has four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations. If you haven't heard of him before, you've probably heard his work. Check out his discography, it's legendary. Shifting Gears, as well as the Bullitt soundtrack is late 1960's acid jazz at its peak and somehow, after all of these years, it does not veer off into absurdity (or cliche) the way many of its contemporaries did. Who knew that it would remain stylish several decades after its debut? Apparently Schifrin had good instincts. And while the movie's staying power has certainly helped the soundtrack, one could argue rather persuasively that the music enhanced the film's reputation as well.
If you like greasy horns, clomping bongos, rolling maracca lines and lots of high hat stings accentuating the measures, this is your kind of music. It will make you wish you had your own cop drama where you had the time and money to become your own stunt driver.
It's sinful pleasure.
