Germany

Starting life as a small New York event aimed at raising awareness for Fela Kuti's musical message, Rich Medina's Jump N Funk party has now been rocking dancefloors across the globe for over 15 years. Honouring Fela's contribution to music as well as his political and cultural legacy, Medina has made his events a platform to celebrate Afro-Life across the Black Diaspora. With guests such as Wunmi, the cast of Fela! On Broadway, Asiko and Antibalas providing captivating live performances, Jump N Funk is so much more than a club night. In creating this compilation to represent the spirit of his events, Rich Medina has chosen an eclectic selection of undeniably afro-tinged, unashamedly life-affirming music. With most tracks either referencing, sampling or inspired by the great man, the record also includes material by Fela himself, as well as son Seun Kuti and long-time band member Tony Allen the inventor of the afrobeat set drum syncopation that is equally as notorious as Fela and his message... The album's artwork has been lovingly created by Lemi Ghariokwu, the fabled Nigerian artist who designed some of Fela's most iconic covers. From the record's sleeve to the music contained within, Jump N Funk is a cultural artefact with one foot in the past, the other in the future. An echo of Fela's message: a reminder to celebrate, to empower, to progress.

Hand-stamped 12" repressThis 12" marks the first release in German label Lehult's Lehultsub series of hand-stamped, limited-edition releases. It boasts contributions from two of Lehult's founding fathers, Liem and Lucky Charmz. The former impresses from the off, layering drowsy electronic piano chords and bluesy vocal samples atop a crunchy, kick-driven groove. It's a fairly simple concoction in the grand scheme of things, but quietly soulful and undeniably dancefloor-friendly. Lucky Charmz flip the script slightly on the B, with their "Buy Urself A Friend" delivering a quick dose of filter-heavy, soul-sampling disco house that gets just the right balance between low-end heaviness and loopy dancefloor abandon.

BACK IN STOCK !!!Give'n'Take is a new series on Uncanny Valley that focuses on favourite and like-minded producers from some of our core artists. For the start, Cuthead picked Max Graef, S3A and Moony Me and also contributed two tracks to the EP himself. Berlin's wunderkind Max Graef hands in "Tittenkuschler", a slow burner that will find a home on heartfelt dancefloors and sofas alike. Cuthead's follows up with a punchy house affair called "Braziliance" and the super-relaxing Hip-Hop-cut "Oef Oef". On the flipside we have S3A from Paris with the discoid "Theuz Hamtaak". He takes no prisoners with extensive sampling and an up and down bouncing arrangement. "Magergarten" from Vienna's Moony Me runs in the same vein with its string-heavy break and powerfull drumming. For the visual component Uncanny Valley asked Lucas Hunter aka Luca Lozano aka Luke to create one of his oldschool-praising artworks.

Two ultra fat slow house jamz outta Detroit by the man now better known as Ibex (Planet E). His legendary release from 1997 comes around with fresh mastering - special thanks to Mr. Terrence Parker! His stuff from this period is actually better than his Planet E releases smpling Detroit classics like Was Not Was etc. Classic Detroit house, which goes perfectly with Moodymann & Theo Parrish stuff. Super Tip!

Right for the warm season of the year comes an outstanding Island Funk compilation of some of the best funky & soulful tunes from Trinidad & Tobago, from the 70´s era.On this compilation the sunny Calypso vibe meets styles like Funk, Psychedelic Rock, Modern Soul, Afro-Grooves, Disco & Boogie with it´s percussive, charming & warm sound.As well on this selection are 2 special versions, that were never released before. On the digital side we have a special bonus track by the band WILD FIRE, that was never sounding so fresh. All songs are carefully analog remastered for a much fresher sound & enjoyable listening pleasure.Black Pearl is more than proud to present these forgotten & hunted Island Pearls in this selection to the worldwide - funk & rare groove - community for the first time and we like to thank all of the artists, musicians & all people which are involved in this project. Includes unlimited streaming of MESSAGE FROM THE ISLANDS via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Two years ago I played at Studio 9 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The following day I missed my flight home and ended up spending an extra day, which gave me a chance to explore the city with my friend Linus, who took me to the Contemporary Art Centre. It was there I spotted a book named 'Rojus', that Linus told me translated as 'Paradise'. The word and striking cover of the book stuck in my mind. A few days after returning home, I turned on to a National Geographic documentary named 'Designed To Dance', explaining the courtship rituals of Birds Of Paradise. As I watched, i jokingly began drawing similarities between these birds' attempts to captivate and impress the opposite sex with dance, and the way strangers try to attract one another in clubs and interact on the dance floor. This gave me the idea of creating a record of functional club music, sequenced as if it were a club night, from doors to closing, using samples of these Birds Of Paradise and their habitat. Thus, Rojus. Leon Vynehall 2016