Sven Wunder
Sun-Kissed

Astral Black bossman Jon Phonics drops three cuts of dreamy new soul thump and psychedelia on Alex Nut's Hotep Records. The big one is 'Elevations', setting Yasine's belting vocal somewhere in the ether with swurling cosmic synths over a staggered soul swagger rhythm. Next to this, 'Naim' is a miore chaotic, frayed instrumental working with spannered claps and zig-zagging synth like some deep fried Om Unit joint, whilst the miniature 'Bazooka' blasts out between Sun Ra and Ras G.

Beautiful private gospel modern soul album, now hard to find. Finally available again, fully licensed and remastered, with original artwork.Recorded sometime in the late 1970s, and previously only available as a private press release on a tiny Maryland label, "Miracles" is the sole album from gospel preacher/singer Reverend Norman Weeks and his backing band, the Revelations. Little info is available, though if the modern soul end of gospel is your thing it's well worth picking up. As you'd expect, the vocals from Weeks and his collaborators are soulful and righteous, while the accompanying music is impeccably played and surprisingly well produced given the likely budget constraints. Highlights include the heavy funk-soul strut of "It Took A Miracle", the Bob James-influenced brilliance of "I Wanna Sing For You" and fizzing LP opener and bona fide dancefloor rocker "I Will Stand On It".