Ring The Alarm playlist, October 28

OJays - The big gangster
Staple Singers - We the people
Philadelphia Intl Allstars - Let's clean up the ghetto
Oriental Express - Sexy Bus stop
Phil Upchurch Combo - I Can't sit down pt1
Johnnie Taylor - I am somebody
The Emotions - Boss love maker
Glass House - Crumbs off the table
Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure - Don't mess up a good thing

Freddie Scott - The Slide

Jackie Mittoo  - Stereo freeze

Lennie Hibbert - Village soul

Skatalites - Coconut rock

Andy and Joey - You're wondering now

Delroy Wilson - I want justice 

Joe Dukie and DJ Fitchie - Midnight marauders (El Head version)

Overwash vs Megalon - Apopo

Coldcut x On U Sound - Divide and rule

AMJ meets RSD - Serious signs

The Simonsound - It's 1984 on Mars

LL Cool J - Goin back to Cali

EU - Da Butt (b-boy dub mix)

Bill Withers - You

Como Mamas - Move upstairs

Bobby Womack - Looking for a love

The Triads - If you're looking for love

Marvin Gaye - Trouble man

Manu Dibango - Africadelic

Manasseh  - Skenga (12" mix)
Mala - Revolution

Kind & Kinky Zoo - "Released!" debut album

Via Legere Recordings: "In 2005, a new zoo opened in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its wild animals have been going bananas in their quest to create a more dancefloor-friendly world. Now released, the zoo residents can be tracked by their heavy funk smells. Follow their scent past retro-psychedelia and turn left after organic garage.

A 4-piece instrumental funk band from Lausanne, Switzerland, Kind & Kinky Zoo has been gaining global exposure from radio DJs, club DJs and record labels since 2005. Armed with drums, a bass, a flute and a Fender Rhodes, the band has battled its way into the funkiest b-boy cyphers and dance-floors worldwide.

"Released!" is the Kind & Kinky Zoo's debut album and is a collection of brand new tracks, early singles as well as remixes and features a guest appearance by rapper Afu-Ra."

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Soul of a Woman LP out Nov 17

After Sharon Jones passed away last year, I was watching some of her fantastic live shows on Youtube, including one from early in 2016, at a benefit for radio station KEXP. During that set, Jones introduced a new song that they were recording. I remember watching that and wondering if that recording would ever see the light of day. The answer is yes. Saw this email today from Daptone....

"We are proud to announce Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' final studio album, Soul of a Woman - a lush, orchestral masterpiece. A true testament to the life and career of Daptone's fearless leader and one of the world's greatest performers.

In the year prior to her death from pancreatic cancer in 2016, Sharon Jones toured and performed tirelessly, and was also the subject of Miss Sharon Jones!, an acclaimed documentary by Oscar-Winning director Barbara Kopple.

Yet somehow, the beloved and heroic soul singer found time to complete a studio album. Soul of a Woman features eleven songs which reveal that the emotion, dynamics, and drama of Jones' voice remained at full power until her final days."

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Soul of a Woman LP out Nov 17, preorder at Daptone store

Pre-order options include:

• Limited Turquoise color vinyl LP
• Turquoise Color Vinyl LP with choice of slipmat (single)
• Men's Grey and Navy Blue T-shirts w/Standard Black Color Vinyl LP
• Soul of a Woman Slipmat (Single / Pair)
• Sharon Jones High School Portrait Slipmat (Single / Pair)
• Soul of a Woman + It's A Holiday Soul Party Album Bundles
  

Ring The Alarm playlist, October 7

Tall Black Guy - Tale of two
The Headhunters - God made me funky
Gil Scott Heron - Inner city blues
Amerigo Gazaway/Fela Brown - Funky black president
Willie Mitchell - Percolatin'
Cliff Nobles - Judge baby, I'm back
The Supremes - Love is like an itching in my heart
Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure - Don't mess up a good thing
Detroit Emeralds - Showtime
The Esquires  -You've got the power
The Impressions - Rhythm
Menahan st band - The contender
Antibalas - Che che cole makossa
Woima Collective - Woima
Segun Bucknor - La la la
Sahara All Stars of Jos - Take your soul
Puzzle People - French fried boogie
Recloose - Why I otta
Nextmen vs Joe Dukie - Blow wind blow
Benny Tones feat Mara TK - Firefly
Shogun Orchestra - Mifune
Quincy Jones - Hummin'
Eartha Kitt - I want to be evil
Brute force and his drum  - Weird and wonderful
Blackfeather  -The rat suite (main title)
The ID - Feel awright
Chi-lites - Stoned out of my mind

Martha High x Osaka Monaurail - album drops November 17

"Martha High has been an integral part of James Brown’s life and career for more than 30 years. After a lifetime spent shoulder to shoulder with the Godfather of Soul, she flew to Tokyo and teamed up with Japanese funk ambassadors Osaka Monaurail to record her new album “Tribute to My Soul Sisters” that hits the streets worldwide next November 17 on Record Kicks.

You can now listen to the first single from the album “A Little Taste Of Soul”, originally recorded in 1962 by her soul sister Sugar Pie, available on digital download and limited edition 45 vinyl on October 20.

“Tribute to My Soul Sisters” was hatched back in 2014, when Martha High was visiting the producer Dj Pari, head honcho of the Soulpower organization and tight collaborator of soul legends like The Impressions, Lyn Collins and Marva Whitney.

"I looked up to these ladies of soul" says Martha, "Given the opportunity and the pleasure to perform their songs, is my way of saying: thank you, you're not forgotten. To record the music of the Funky Divas would mean a lot to Mr Brown. He always wanted the world to know he had powerful women on stage that could hold his crowd while he was off the stage; they were just as powerful and funky as he was."

Without further ado, following DJ Pari’s advice, she partnered up with one of the hottest name of the new funk renaissance: Japan’s Osaka Monaurail. Deeply influenced by the work of James Brown, Bobby Byrd, Curtis Mayfield and with nine albums under the belt, Osaka Monaurail have been leading the international funk scene for more than two decades, appearing at festivals such as Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and Womads, as well as recording and touring with funk legends like Marva Whitney and Fred Wesley.

Born in Victoria, Virginia and discovered by Rock & Roll pioneer Bo Diddley, Martha took off her career with the soulful, legendary doo-wop group "The Four Jewels”, with whom she scored the national hit "Opportunity" in 1964. Soon, The Jewels caught the attention of James Brown and joined the “James Brown Revue” in 1966.

The Godfather of Soul recorded and released several songs featuring The Jewels until the group disbanded. Nevertheless, Martha stayed with James Brown and continued to work with him as his personal vocalist for 32 years.

She was with him at the Boston Garden during the iconic 1968 gig after Martin Luther King’s assassination, she was by his side when he performed at renowned ‘Rumble in The Jungle’ event in Zaire."

Remembering Charles Bradley

Shot and cut by Living On Soul filmmakers Jeff Broadway and Cory Bailey.

"Cory and I arrived in London in late June 2014 to meet up with the Daptone Super Soul Revue. We'd just recently met Neal Sugarman in New York, and knew almost no one on the tour. Upon touchdown, we were told we'd be riding with Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires for the next 10 days on their tour bus. Some of the guys in the band were a bit skeptical, and understandably so. We were a couple of unknowns with cameras, eager to use them. Charles was not one of the skeptical ones, though. He immediately embraced us and made us feel welcomed on his bus.

We shared some long rides together over that week and a half. The longest of which was Paris to Vienna - a 12-hour cruise that took us through France, Germany and eventually into Austria. It was on that bus ride that Cory and I played the most epic card game of our lives against Charles and his Spades partner, Extraordinaires saxophonist Freddy DeBoe.

Charles and Freddy won the first game handily and Charles quickly challenged us to a rematch. This time, though, he wanted to raise the stakes (and play to 1,000). He'd been trying to get Cory to stop smoking cigarettes, so he said: 'Cory - if we beat you this game, no more cigarettes on tour. And Jeff - well you don't smoke cigarettes, but no more Buddha (marijuana) for you if Freddy and I win.' We took that bet, but told Charles that if he and Freddy lost, that he'd have to sing a song in Vienna at a location of our choosing, a cappella. He agreed. The stakes were high.

Fortunately, Charles and Freddy lost that marathon game of Spades; and on July 1, 2014, Cory and I took Charles to St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of Vienna. We walked the church together; Charles marveled at its beauty and antiquity. You could just tell that no matter where he was in the world, Charles felt at home inside a house of worship.

We walked back outside and could tell he was a bit nervous. We gave him an out, telling him if he needed to save his voice for the gig that night, that we understood. But he wasn't interested. A bet was a bet and he'd lost. He was singing in that cathedral plaza. So we set up our cameras in front of St. Stephen's and gave him a cue to begin.

'I'm a victim, of loving you,' he belted out. People began stopping dead in their tracks. 'I'm a victim, of wanting you,' he continued. A crowd gathered. His voice must have carried a square mile. He concluded his a cappella performance with a signature scream. Applause filled the cathedral plaza. We hugged Charles, thanked him for such a special performance, and took him for a glass of white wine before returning to the hotel."

- Jeff Broadway