Sly Stone, aka Sylvester Stewart, has passed away at eighty two. Raise a glass to a true icon, whose multiracial, mixed gender band Sly And the Family Stone influenced everyone from Prince to Primal Scream. Even Pee Wee Herman covered ‘Stand’! Having formed the band with his family in San Francisco, he expanded the line-upContinue reading “Goodbye Sly”
Tag Archives: Funk
Overlooked Classics: Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different
In her spacesuit collars, hot pants and big boots,prowling around the stage, Betty Davis made Tina Turner look something of a shrinking violet. With her wild, hard -living reputation and unrestrained presence, Davis was allegedly too much for husband Miles, from whom she divorced after just one tempestuous year in 1969. This second studio album,Continue reading “Overlooked Classics: Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different”
Album Review: Sinkane-We Belong
Sudanese- American Ahmed Gallab, who records as Sinkane, reflects the global village in this glorious new album, his eighth. Whether joyful and gospel inflected (Come Together, We Belong) disco workouts (the campy How Sweet Is Your Love) or songs of resistance (Everything Is Everything, and the fiery standout track Invisible Distance) which feel like anContinue reading “Album Review: Sinkane-We Belong”
Neo-Soul in 2023
Something glorious is going on in music right now. Soul and funk is back in a big way. It’s never really gone away, but the likes of Cleo Sol (main picture) Say She She, Gabriels and Black Pumas have soundtracked this year with soul and funk -infused tunes that are evocative of the greats: thinkContinue reading “Neo-Soul in 2023”
Lost In Music: Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation
Before the all-time conquering Beyonce, there was Janet Jackson. Prior to Rhythm Nation, she’d been something of a sweetie pie, the wholesome, apple- cheeked kid sister to Michael, forever in his shadow. A few good singles aside, she hadn’t really resonated in the UK . But, teaming up again in 1989 with super-producers Jam andContinue reading “Lost In Music: Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation”
Lost In Music: A Certain Ratio- 1982
Already one of the finest albums of tthe year, A Certain Ratio ‘s 1982 is a series of neon squiggly graffiti lines – not least because it references Jean Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol in ‘Samo’ , an old school funky jam named after Basquiat’s graffiti tag. But that very specific nod to the 80sContinue reading “Lost In Music: A Certain Ratio- 1982”
The Future’s Here Today: Say She She
Now this is something potentially incredible. A female -led seven piece band from Brooklyn, Say She She fuse the sass of Luscious Jackson with the rhythms of ESG and the ethereal fluttering harmonies of Cocteau Twins. Three amazing singers- Nya Gazelle Brown, Priya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham- make up said harmonies, and the restContinue reading “The Future’s Here Today: Say She She”
Lost In Music: Kelis- Midnight Snacks
Sex and food are two pleasures that are (for the time being, at least) still legal. This is the first single from Kelis in seven years, a fridge raid that satisfies. Inspired by the seventies funk of Millie Jackson and Donna Summer, Kelis, in a squidgy synth bath, coos,”Guilty pleasures I just can’t deny”, asContinue reading “Lost In Music: Kelis- Midnight Snacks”
Album review: Joan As Police Woman/ Tony Allen/ Dave Okumu- The Solution Is Restless
What an ambitious, gorgeous, sexy record. Soul pop goddess Joan Wasser, aka Joan As Police Woman, recently teamed up to collaborate with drummer Tony Allen and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu to create a jazzy, funky soul epic pulsing with the ghosts of Aretha, Curtis, Laura, Prince and Isaac.This is the result, and it’s a triumph.Continue reading “Album review: Joan As Police Woman/ Tony Allen/ Dave Okumu- The Solution Is Restless”
Hit The North 