Funk/Soul

David Versace is an Australian multi-genre keyboardist, composer and producer based in Meanjin, Queensland. Growing up in a very musical household it was always important to express and embrace all types of music and sonics. His sound ranges from Jazz and Samba to ambient works and the odd dance-floor heater. David also plays in Meanjin nu-jazz dance outfit First Beige.Since late 2019, he has self released around 20 different tracks and with the most recent signing to La Sape Records David is excited to announce his debut solo album 'Okra' a conceptual body of work that flows through a culmination of raw organic concepts conceived In The Moment, and his most elegant & articulated work yet.

Reissue of the sought-after deep/spiritual jazz album - the first time it’s been pressed from the master tapes. All analog lacquer by Bernie Grundman.Spiritual Jazz meets spiritual yearning: pianist and songwriter Bobby Hamilton’s magnum opus, his secret, his raw love letter to the music that didn’t seem to love him back.Bernie Grundman resequenced Bobby’s long lost master tape and lacquered this album in an all-analog transfer.Extensive liner notes by Torii MacAdams tell Bobby’s story of battling for deep jazz in the paranoiac polyester-and-cocaine 1970s. He founded the band Anubis in Syracuse, New York, and they put out the single “Ecology” on Charles Bazen’s Salt City imprint (later reissued on Now-Again's Soul Cal anthology). Shortly after issuing that single, Bobby put together the Bobby Hamilton Quintet Unlimited and recorded and issued Dream Queen in 1972.The last clean copy Bobby Hamilton had, he sold to the musician Jamie XX in 2021 for a princely sum. Few originals will ever surface again – its original run of 500 units having disappeared into the ether decades ago. We hope music fans are ready to dream again.

The word asterism comes from astḗr (ἀστήρ), the Ancient Greek word for star. In astrology, an asterism is a pattern of stars (that is not a constellation) and can be seen in the night sky. In meteorology, an asterism indicates light snowfall. In typography, an asterism is a symbol consisting of three asterisks placed in a triangle: ⁂. The symbol is a type of dinkus that can be used to divide text to emphasize a passage or a sub-chapter in a book.Sven Wunder celebrates this space in-between by offering a brief hiatus in a gently tinkling jazz-waltz comprised of two variations for small ensemble, that calls attention to the starlit sky and the light falling snow, before resuming.

The long dusks of summer can give you a fleeting glimpse of eternity with the happy reminiscence of life that is beginning over again. The sunshine opens a door that lets you out into a world scented by roses and with a great burst of leaves growing on the trees. Everything is on pause and yet happens at the same time.”Sun-Kissed”, an uplifting mid-tempo number with a ’pop’ rhythm featuring brass and woodwind flavored with sitar and a soulful feel throughout, celebrates the feeling of ease when the sun is warming your skin, a feeling that is unlike any other sensation a human being can experience…credits

Woke rhythms and high-spirited grooves from the vaults of two seminal Italian jazz labels, between the 70s and 80s. Intensely curated by Khalab.Hyperituals is part of the new research path undertaken by Hyperjazz Records. Entirely curated by Khalab - Raffaele Costantino, HJ’s founder and head of A&R - Hyperituals is a philological investigation that delves deeply into the musical influences and cultural roots of the young Italian label. The theme that runs through Hyperituals is the exploration of the possibilities of sound, rhythm, remix, and endless sampling. Inspiring listening, interpretation, and insight. Is it an exercise in crate-digging that explores the past of some of the most important yet sometimes forgotten record labels and aims to bring to light music that is contemporary both in its sound and its message. The first stage of this journey is represented by Black Saint/Soul Note, an Italian ‘double’ label based in Milan that, since the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, established itself as one of the most important imprints for international jazz.Founded respectively in 1975 by Giacomo Pellicciotti and in 1979 by Giovanni Bonandrini (to whom Pellicciotti sold Black Saint in 1977), Black Saint and Soul Note have represented a safe haven for incredible and brilliant artists who were unable to find their space elsewhere. By combining jazz tradition with the political vanguard sentiment of the time, the two sister labels were able to press and produce more than five hundred records (still available today - the catalogue is now owned by CAM Jazz), many of which are by some of the brightest names in creative jazz or the ‘avant-garde’ of the era. Black Saint and Soul Note always placed the artists, their visions, and their music at the center, giving them total freedom of creative expression. It is thanks to this constant, cutting-edge and meticulous commitment that today we have some of the shiniest musical gems by Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Max Roach, Anthony Braxton, David Murray, and many others. And it is this long list of jazz gods and idols that led the two labels to be recognized as the best in the world by critics, winning the DownBeat Critics Poll for Best Record Label for six years in a row, from 1984 to 1990, conquering the American market.This first double gatefold vinyl volume is entirely dedicated to the Soul Note catalogue. Khalab’s selection - focused on rhythms, grooves and Afrocentric traditions - demonstrates how this music, through its sensibility, can renew our connection to the present in unexpected ways. As the curator and music critic Enrico Bettinello writes in the compilation’s liner notes, in this volume “we find moments of ecstasy, irresistible percussive webs, fiery solos, poetic awareness, and magical ritual lyricism.”

Created around a conversation with his brothers, Alfa blends melancholy Jazz harmony with alternative hip-hop and soul.

Hailed by none other than Seun Kuti as “one of the best things to come out of Lagos”, Nigerian trumpeter, composer and bandleader Etuk Ubong has developed an original style he calls “Earth Music”.Weaving together a unique combination of not only afrobeat, highlife and jazz, but also the ritualistic drumming of Ekombi, the result is urgent and highly energetic, yet spiritual; his compositions reflecting his heritage and life philosophy of goodwill, peace and love for humanity. Ubong’s music is so vibrant and propulsive that one can easily make comparisons with leading lights of the UK scene, such as the Shabaka Hutchings-led Sons of Kemet, but at the same time it is distinctly Nigerian.Ubong was invited by Night Dreamer to record at Haarlem’s Artone Studio, home to an enviable collection of vintage mastering and recording equipment and situated right above a pressing plant. He assembled an international ensemble of the highest calibre to record his compositions direct-to-disc, avoiding the interference created by widely adopted recording techniques and capturing his enigmatic live performance in its most natural and explosive form. Ubong is joined by another Lagos-based musician, Michael Awosogo, also on trumpet, and a hand-picked group of UK and Netherlands-based musicians who finally after an impromptu show the night before, recorded the whole album in just one sitting on the last day of the five-day session.Much of the music is incredibly fast-paced, and politically charged, particularly on titles such as “African Struggle” and “Mass Corruption'', with Ubong featuring on both trumpet and lead vocal, leading a five-piece brass section over the percussion-heavy rhythm section and soulful keys supplied by Vels Trio’s Jack Stephenson-Oliver. Etuk uses music to address not only injustice but also humanity and spirituality, most notably on “Spiritual Change”, a deep cut on which Etuk reflects on Africans need for internal change before they can address the problems around them, stands-out among the rest of the album.

Lake Minnetonka have crafted a slick contemporary Melbourne take on the Minneapolis Sound.

Sydney space funk trio, The Goods, are Badmandela, Rosario & Black Tree. With the help of some friends, The Goods capture the energy of jamming and improvisation to create music that transports the listeners to a moment in time shared together on their new album 'II'.Musically and lyrically ‘II’ is about living in the moment. Each track harnesses the mood or vibration in the room at the time of its inception. The album features 20019's breakaway hit “Let’s Roll” featuring Touch Sensitive (Future Classic), a reminder that mood is about choice...if happiness is a state of mind then why not chose it? “Last Chance” is an invitation to take life by the horns because, in these uncertain times, one can’t take anything for granted. “Voodoo” is that one flame, whose flaws you overlook because they got the mojo while “Walking On Fire” is a nod to band's 80s heroes mixing the likes of Luther, D-Train, and Jam with a future club feel. "Peach" is an anthem for sexual liberation & at the same time being a cheeky funk jam. “Shots”, the album single was born at a jam at Touch Sensitive’s studio - Disco J rocks up a drum loop and turns it into a party! The Beastie Boys meets Marvin Gaye meet Anderson Paak in “Cassandra” resulting from a hang with The Goods’ friend Elliot Hammond of well known Australian band The Delta Riggs, while “Tell Me” is a sexy late night joint for those nights on the prowl. “Che Boog” is an ode to the sleazy funk of Parliament, Funkadelic and Prince , and lastly the Black Mirror inspired “Supersonic” is a tale from a time-travelling consciousness stuck in a dystopian 2020.

The Cactus Channel’s third album Stay A While takes the orchestrated soul futurism that has become their signature sound and adds silvery vocal dimensions, as the band’s own Lewis Coleman steps up to the mic.

Daptone celebrates 20 years of soulful music with the release of The Daptone Super Soul Revue "LIVE at the Apollo". Performed and recorded over three nights in front of a sold out crowd at The World Famous Theater in Harlem, NY (December 4th - 6th, 2014), this album brings the electrifying performances that helped put Daptone on the map directly to your living room! Featuring live sets from: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, Antibalas, The Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, Saun & Starr, The Sugarman 3, as well as our em-cee, Binky Griptite. This album is lovingly dedicated to the memory of our dear friends Sharon, Charles, Naomi and Cliff.

The fourth studio album from Melbourne’s 7-piece heavy groove combo is an abstruse journey into the darker fringes of instrumental music, drifting from funk to spiritual jazz and through to psychedelic fuzz rock.Inspired by the catastrophic year that was 2020, the bands recording sessions were rescheduled three times due to extended Melbourne lock downs, before finally being recorded in November 2020. The album’s title, The Old World, refers to life before the onset of the pandemic which shattered 21st century humanity’s sense of stability and invincibility. Arcing back to the simplicities and blissful ignorance that existed before the grim onset of empty supermarket shelves, deserted streets and a world locked down.The album begins with psychedelic-soul lament, Death of the Old Gods, before rolling into apocalyptic-dancefloor-fillers Hold Fast to the Void and Abode of the Clouds, then momentarily mellowing out on laid-back number, Never Again. Side 2 opens with Harry Cooper pt II (a tribute to the bands sax player and a follow up to part I from their 2017 album Drinking Water) before launching into brutal and fiery, The Beast, then finally closing with the epic 12 minute spiritual-jazz titletrack, The Old World. The astute listener may also hear sprinkled across the album hints of Afrobeat, Free-Jazz and Stoner-Doom (yep, Stoner-Doom), along with plenty of the bands new favourite instrument, the goat bell.

Well versed in poetry and performance, Allysha Joy’s potent lyricism, unique musicianship and killer vocals have garnered legions of attentive fans the world over. She’s an integral member of the Melbourne soul jazz scene, known as part of the acclaimed 30/70 Collective and for her own equally revered solo work.‘Light It Again’ is a 4-part expedition across a variety of grooves and deep lyricism that marks a defiant statement of intimacy and hope. Produced and engineered by twice Grammy nominated artist Clever Austin, the EP features accompaniment from an all-star set of Melbourne artists; Horatio Luna, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Danika Smith and Josh Kelly. This EP marks a new sound for the young artist, transmitting her honest and raw expression through the signature crunch and sonic landscape of Clever Austin.

After a steady rise to international recognition through 2 LPS and several EP’s already since 2018, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange joins the Get Together family for their first recording session in Europe. “Prayer For Peace” — An 8 track journey through atmospheric scenes, broken to deep four on floor rhythms and colourful top lines. From the Jazz-funk inspired 'Prayer For Peace' to the infectious Boogie twilight of 'Cadillac’ this is a record that is equally well suited to dance floor applications as it is to an intimate night with the turntable spinning and the sensual herbs burning.This Recording represents the Berlin chapter of the Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange. The curated jam band moniker of Ziggy Zeitgeist, the experiment having emerged from the murky depths of the Melbourne underground. Zeitgeist arrived in Berlin in summer 2019 wasting no time in assembling a talented and diverse group of assorted freaks from many corners of the world to bring their own languages, melodies, rhythms and swagger on this cross continental meeting point.

“Irene” is the debut album from Izy (pronounced eye-zee), a Melbourne-based trio originally hailing from Cairns in Australia’s tropical North. A deeply mature album from a very young band, Irene is a 10 song collection of raw neo-soul grooves, rich vocal harmony and subtle jazz guitar. A stripped back, simple recording of a band killing it in a room. There’s a deep understanding of the canon of soul music on display here, with echoes of D’Angelo and Curtis Mayfield, but also a uniquely individual sensibility, rarely so clearly articulated on a debut record.Deeply connected to their roots and their families, both the band and the album are named after Irene, Guitarist Ryo Montgomery’s paternal grandmother; an important source of support and comfort in the band’s formative years. Ryo, bassist Warrigo Tyrrell and drummer Maru Nitor Zamatarro each cut their teeth young, playing with their parents in three very different musical families. Ryo grew up shifting between his mother’s home in rural Japan and his father’s blues bar in Cairns where he watched legends of guitar ply their trade and did his first shows. Maru was playing guiro in his parent’s cumbia band Los Caracoles before he turned five. Warrigo grew up jamming on Shadows covers and Aboriginal protest rock with his fathers and brothers, members of the Kalkadoon and Waanyi nations. Heritage is important to Izy and they bring these musical and cultural influences together proudly.So that’s Izy, humble and hard working Gen-Z virtuosos who love their grandmas, representing an optimistic post-colonial version of Australian identity and music. In their own words: “This album is a tangled culmination of interpersonal relationships; love, society and land. “We three are super blessed to share stories and when we connect, we amplify and respond to each other, which makes it easy to create music and get our message across for our family and our community.”