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Brazil Nuts
Now that more and more adventurous funk headz are turning to Brazil for a more sophisticated boom-boom, the Mochilla label has stepped up to meet the growing demand for 70s samba grooves and bossa funk with the crankin’ Cultura Copia mix from DJ Nuts . The São Paulo bad boy is hip to the sort of bold breaks that should appeal to hiphop fans who know what they like, even if they don’t know their Seriginho from their Simonal. There’s no track listing, and you can forget about master tape sources, but the uptempo blast of beat-heavy swingers from Ed Maciel , Trio Mocoto , Tony Bizarro , Gershon King and others makes for a killer party set.
Deep Roots
Since the Roots are one of the few hiphop acts who can actually cut it live, Philly’s finest have had no shortage of bootleg recordings issued throughout their impressive career. That said, the three-disc Do This Well (Dysfunctional Youth) collection is the first serious attempt at a comprehensive gathering of their essential remixes, crucial live performances, session outtakes, compilation tracks and television appearances. Even long-time Roots fans who think they’ve heard it all will get a jolt out of the Roy Ayers and Joe Sample collabos, the New Year’s At Jay Dee’s freestyle foolery (kids, don’t drink and rhyme) and that nutty Sprite commercial.
Gold Diggin’
Sure, the Nuggets, Pebbles and Back From The Grave comps have done a decent job uncovering North America’s buried 60s garage rock riches, but the equally dazzling contributions from European and Antipodean snotty delinquents with fuzz pedals haven’t gotten nearly the attention they deserve. That is, until the Diggin’ For Gold series came along a few years back to present a head-turning assortment of Scando-punk scorchers and Australian acetate-only absurdities that even the most dedicated collectors missed. Luckily, the fab first four volumes of Diggin’ For Gold (Way Back) are now on disc and readily available wherever vintage teen dementia is unloaded.
Them’s the Breakestra
Originally formed as a funk repertory group to play the tunes behind the breaks from their favourite hiphop joints, Breakestra inauspicously released their recording debut, The Live Mix (Part 1), on cassette back in 96 and didn’t tell anyone. Despite the lack of public demand, they’ve gone ahead and reissued it on disc through the Root Down label. So now other people besides Cut Chemist and B+ can enjoy Breakestra’s spirited runs at the Outlaw Blues Band ‘s Deep Gully, Billy Brooks ‘s 40 Days and Herbie Hancock ‘s Fat Mama, along with a few extra jams from the Live Mix (Part 2) tacked on as a bonus. Root Down also released Miles Tackett ‘s Funky Sole DJ set on disc for those who like their old-school classics by Delores Ealy , Marcus Kelly and Otis Goodwin with a little crackle.
