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On their new 45, Mako & The Hawk take you back to a time when breaks were funky and rappers knew how to rhyme for a massive double dose of fresh original boom-bap. With beats forged from previously un-sampled (and legally cleared!) vintage funk breaks and emcee Chima 'The Doctor' Anya delivering lyrical wisdom, The Devil Made Me Do It and Strut Your Stuff are a pair of block-rocking jams to turn any party out!Mako & The Hawk bio.They might sound like a seventies cop show but Mako & The Hawk are always on the cut, producing and spinning floor-filling dirty funk and soul, old school hip-hop, reggae and party breaks.Since forming in 2009, the pair have had vinyl and digital releases on Breakbeat Paradise, Freestyle Records, Funk Blasters and Tour of Booty, garnered frequent radio plays on Craig Charles' BBC Radio 6 Funk And Soul Show, supported the likes of JStar and The Bongolian and held down a never-less-than-packed seven year long residency at Mr Wolf's in central Bristol.The Hawk is bassist for mod-funk legends and BBC Radio 2 darlings Big Boss Man, while Mako also produces as one half of Mako & Mr Bristow and is the long-running editor of music site monkeyboxing.com.This autumn will finally see the long-awaited vinyl seven inch release of their throwback boom-bap double A-side featuring rapper Chima Anya on beats created from never-previously-sampled early 70s Stateside funky soul."I've got a real soft spot for what this pair get up to!" (Craig Charles, BBC Radio 6)Chima Anya bio.Chima Anya is an internationally renowned emcee who time and again has proven to be ahead of the curve while simultaneously staying true to the foundation. When not blessing mics worldwide, he moonlights as a medical Doctor in the depths of south London.

Japan's Sauce81 follows up on his modern boogie/funk gem 'Natural Thing', with the equally infectious 'Dance Tonight'. It may sound like it's been hiding in a dusty crate of unheard records all these years, but it was actually recorded last year in Tokyo, all vocals, instruments and production handled by the man himself. Forthcoming on 7inch in Feb 2017. Includes Dub version on the B-Side.

One of the best mid-tempo disco raritys (and we mean rare) to come out the Deepfunk scene. When Keb Darge first played 'Party & Get On Down' in the early 2000s in Soho it put a few noses out of joint as it was such a departure from the deepfunk driving take no prisoner sound. True to Keb's Scottish stubbornness and like any real DJ he stuck to his guns and created a dance floor favourite. Athens of the north bring BAB to 12" for the first time, not only that but its a nice wee extended cut transferred direct from the master tapes. No brainier if you got class.

First time the full version of the Jazz-Funk classic LP track 'Too Soon Your Old' has been cut to 45, essential.Penny Goodwin grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin singing in church with Al Jarreau, doing weddings, talent competitions and bar mitzvahs. When she left school she started singing in popular mob run clubs such as Alfie's, Sardino's, and King's Four graduating to clubs in Chicago and Caesar's Palace in Vegas. Despite her huge talent only this one studio LP exists, a mix of covers by Marvin Gaye, Gill Scott Heron plus original songs by herself and manager Sy Lefco. The LP also featuring strings by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and jazz guitar legend Phil Upchurch. One of the great american jazz vocal LP's by Milwaukee's unsung queen of jazz.

HUGE record if you're into disco, modern or just good fucking music and you probably don't own unless you work in the city or spend half you life looking for it. Frazelle is the party record that everyone wants, big support all round on this so don't be waiting around and then email us when they are gone. Licensed from Ken Frazzelle himself which always makes us happy.

The second release on the Excursions imprint, following on from 'A Soviet Disco Excursion Vol 1'; this time a trilogy of treats from French duo DJ Soulist and Fulgeance, aka Souleance. These guys have been busily producing a series of delectable releases for a decade now. Crafted primarily with the dancefloor in mind, Souleance weave together an assortment of grooves and genres to magnificent effect - disco, funk and beyond.'A Raw Excursion' proceeds to give you what you need, with something for all the family amidst this three-track EP. Setting it off, the heavily progged-out thump of 'The Ramble'; a solid mid-tempo floor-quaker, flipping the unmistakable weight of Jimmy Page and Bob Plant. This is followed by the 'C'est La Fête' edit of 'A Little More' - a cheeky flip of a classic late-seventies slow jam by Miss Brenda Russell, famously sampled by Big Pun. This one tried and tested over the past few years to crush a lot of dances, now available on wax for the first time for all you players out there.

First Word enters 2017 with a bang: a 28-track album courtesy of Eric Lau. This, his third instrumental album, is a veritable tapestry of vibes, ranging through Hip Hop, Soul, Jazz, Funk & Brazilian beats. A mere taste into the genius production skills of London's Mr. Lau, it's easy to understand why he's so revered by DJs, artists and producers across the world, including Rich Medina, 9th Wonder, Bobbito, Dam Funk, Gilles Peterson, James Poyser (The Roots), Phonte and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), amongst others.Eric has had previous outings for First Word as part of the Record Store Day beat-challenge trilogy, along with Tall Black Guy, Kidkanevil and Mr. Thing, and was recently initiated into Jazzy Jeff's star-studded annual Playlist Retreat. As a producer, he's worked with a host of artists, including Kaidi Tatham, Oddisee, Yussef Kamaal, Guilty Simpson, Dego, Tawiah, Rahel and Fatima, to name a few, whilst his DJ skills have seen him tour the globe with luminaries such as Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper and Questlove. Additionally to three instrumental LPs, he previously released his debut-proper for Ubiquity, 'New Territories', and the acclaimed 2013 sophomore album, 'One Of Many'.'Examples' really provides you with what it says on the tin - a mere taster of this man's talents, available digitally and on wax; black vinyl for the purists and limited edition yellow vinyl for the heads. Kicking off the new year with a bounce, it's unnecessary that we tell you that you shouldn't sleep on this.. Don't sleep on this.

'This is a journey into sound...,' These familiar words, accompanied by the rumble of a distant train, signal the opening of 'Let's Take A Trip', the sophomore album from Terrel Wallace aka Tall Black Guy. Since 2013's '8 Miles To Moenart' TBG has cemented his position as a standard bearer for the current hip-hop / beats scene. Born in Detroit and now residing in the UK, Wallace's signature style of incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops has won fans across the globe including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff and House Shoes.Since his debut release in 2011 (a daring and addictive flip of Fela Kuti), TBG has become revered for his unique take on soulful hip-hop production. The swing of the drums, the textures of the instrumentation as well as a fearlessness in taking on the classics (his Soundcloud page includes flips and chops of tracks from James Brown, De La Soul and Michael Jackson) have marked him out from the crowd. One of the best-kept secrets in the scene, his singular talent is now beginning to get the recognition it deserves. In the last 12 months he has remixed Little Dragon and been invited to take part in Jazzy Jeff's Playlist Retreat alongside the likes of Eric Lau, James Poyser, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Questlove and countless others.For this album Wallace had a simple inspiration: 'This album is all about taking a journey. As simple as that. Be it physical, emotional or spiritual. It's asking and answering personal questions from myself within some of the tracks and also touching on social issues i.e. racism, inequality and privilege...that have been at the forefront of my mind over last three years.' Sonically there is also a shift: 'Jazz has definitely been more of an influence in this project, as I have been really inspired by so many up and coming musicians who I've been blessed to connect with'. Some of these musicians, including Kenny Keys, Miles Bonny, Diggs Duke and Dee Jackson feature on the project as well as regular collaborators Ozay Moore and Mario Sweet and fellow Playlist alumni Daniel Crawford and Masego. But this is one man's vision, and for Tall Black Guy this trip is just the beginning...,.