A great step forward for the Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra – even better than their previous album, and a set that beautifully mixes together jazz, Latin, and African elements into one seamless groove! Percussionist Masta Conga is at the head of the group – leading the ensemble with a unique vision that's less of the overdone Afro Funk you might know from other contemporary combos – and more of a classic 60s blend of elements – especially that unique hybrid of Latin modes you'd get from west coast groups – like the Afro Latin Soultet or Afro Blues Quintet – both clear choices of inspiration, given this group's name! Yet there's also some 70s elements moving through the grooves too – thanks to great Fender Rhodes lines, and bits of other keyboards too – often used in these cool spare ways that work perfectly with the mix of funk and Latin in the rhythms, and occasional bits of strings as well. Most tracks are instrumental, although there are a bit of vocals on the set – and titles include "Requiem Pour Un Grooveur", "Petrof Sublimination", "Onze De France", "Gibbon's Dub", and "Dimension 7". (Comes with bonus dowload of whole album!) ~ Dusty Groove
Reel-y great grooves from Shawn Lee – perhaps his funkiest record in years, and one that has a definite cinematic feel too – as you might guess from the title! The style here is blacksploitation funk at its finest – stripped down to its best core elements, and served up by Lee with a lean, mean groove that shows that he really understands the roots of the genre – and knows how to get the sound just right – while still bringing in some of his own core touches too! As we've come to expect from Shawn, the beats are mighty nice – and the album's overflowing with breaks – plenty of funk to drive along the album's heavy keyboards and guitar riffs in the lead. Titles include "Boomwack", "The Definition Of Funk", "Big Ben", "Rocks On Rocks", "Soho Chase", "Straight To Video", "Piano Milano", "Daylight Robbery", and "Biker Chick". ~ Dusty Groove
Mongoloid drum break gives way to crispy west coast jazz-funk on "Moondial" (notably sampled by DJ Shadow and De La Soul). This 1978 album released on the short-lived (but rather potent) Dobre label is diggerous wall material, exchanging hands in the 2 hundy range in the original. And aside from "Moondial", there's some excellent moody jazz numbers (almost like a midwest soul-jazz meets west coast fusion scene), check out "My Woman, Bacchanal," and "Kaballa." You'll also find some extra breaks on "Funk It" if you got the itch. It all adds up to one of these digger pieces that lives up to the hype in an odd, all-frequency type of way. Exact pic sleeve reissue, recommended. ~ turntablelab.com
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