Home of Germany’s Malente, Englishman Travis Blaque, and Australia-based DJ Regal, this German label continues its contribution to the world of modern funk in all its manifestations with the fifth in its series of compilations. It contains eight unreleased tracks and three previously only available on vinyl.

If the pre-release copy’s tracklisting is correct, things open up with The Mooncakes Project’s heavy horns and mid-tempo rolling beats together with a way cool spoken female vocal matched with the chorus chants of a crowd and, from there goes in all sorts of directions.

There’s the slower, sexy soul of Oscar Madison, the almost cabaret drum ‘n’ bass of Swell Session, complete with horns, double bass and smooth jazzy vocals, the strolling house beat, funky guitar and jazzy keys of Bandura’s Lost Luggage, some of Malente’s trademark breaks stylings, and the Latin horns, hip hop beats, and casual lyrical flow reminiscent of Pigeon John that The Saint brings.

As well as that array of sounds rooted in funk, there are also some offerings that easily fit with that category. The Soul Snatchers provide some proper heavy funk that sounds a lot like something our very own Bobby Blackbird and the Bluejays would churn out to get a dancefloor going and The Sweet Vandals carry on that vibe with husky, strong female vocals thrown in to give a Sharon Jones flavour.

Then, just to make sure things aren’t all orthodox, the CD finishes off with Tim Wood’s faintly psychedelic broken beats plus sitar combo on Birdy Nam Nam.

In short, this compilation has something for everybody who is into funky dancefloor sounds, and is a treat for anyone with a taste that encompasses a variety of those styles and, while there is nothing overly experimental here, it does show the different directions that the label ‘funk’ can be pushed in.

Rating: 7/10

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Tracklist:
1. Feelin good   
2. Seven seven   
3. You'll never know what you can do (Give it a try)   
4. One man show   
5. Lost luggage   
6. Living phenomenons   
7. Cabaret (Cartoonfish Remix)   
8. Sniffin' & snatchin'   
9. Do it right   
10. For the revolution (Smoove Remix)   
11. Make's no sense   
12. Birdy nam nam 

This was a RTRFM Full Frequency album feature.

Label: Unique/Creative Vibes