Sounds From The Soul Underground is the first in a series from Freestyle Records, documenting the frontiers of soul, funk, jazz, afrobeat and latin from the contemporary scene worldwide. The exception here being one vintage rarity, which I thought is worth the comp’s admission price alone – “Movin’ On” by Ray Camacho & The Tear Drops, a slamming deep funk update of Brass Construction’s disco-funk stomper.
Back to today’s international grooves – and you may not necessarily associate Finland with the Northern Soul scene, that is until you hear Jo Stance’s “Hey Girl” which proves a definite dance floor winner. Equally you also mightn’t expect to hear some heavy funk from Hungary but the Qualiton’s bruising “Kekfeny” stings like a viper bite. Australia’s The Mighty Showstoppers’ ‘vintage library’ cover of Johnny Pate’s “Shaft In Africa” breaks the scales and scales the breaks; while authentic latin boogaloo from Spanish Harlem comes courtesy of Ray Lugo & The Boogaloo Destroyers, paying a fine tribute to the Fania label with “Sol El Ray”. The Ariya Astrobeat’s great take on afrobeat, “Put Leg To Road” comes from the savannas of…wait for it…Yorkshire; the The Haggis Horns, yep originally from Scotland, bring a suitably AWB-ish groove “Cockroach Grind”; whilst The Killer Meters pleasing cover of deep funk classic “Cramp Your Style” adds further dance floor fuel.
Sounds Of The Soul Underground successfully breaks into the frontier to bring us the freshest of today’s grooves – and with the rare version of “Movin’ On” reason enough to pay the admission, you essentially get the other 16 tracks for “free” and therefore no reason not to buy it.
















