This 43 minute video was originally broadcast on Santa Monica radio show “Morning Becomes Eclectic” on KCRW, Monday November 9th 2009. Sounding great, Orgone play a mix of funk, soul, rock, jazz and afro beat. Click the yellow play button to watch.

It has been a three year wait to find out if L.A. based Orgone could deliver a satisfying follow up to their first release on Ubiquity, 2007′s excellent “The Killion Floor”. An epic album at 17 tracks and over 76 minutes that reflected a wide range of all things groovy, It might have seemed a little over ambitious for an album were it were not for the fact the meandering journey and change-up in the styles kept it sounding fresh and groovy until the very last note.

“Cali Fever” was recorded at the same Los Angeles analog recording studio, KillionSound – a studio that grew out of Orgone’s original need to have a rehearsal space. The new album is only slightly less epic than its predecessor at 12 tracks and 55 minutes long and once again we are treated to a fantastic journey through the bands many influences, expertly produced with a suitably raw and warm sound, resulting in an album of very high quality that I think surpasses the high quality of The Killion Floor.

The structure of each track is solid rhythm and tight brass punctuation, whilst on top is more loose playing, often drifting out into a dream-like trip. It is definitely a nice balance between the raw and refined here, whether they are playing afro beat, rock, soul, funk or a mix of all, the band handles with competence and flair. This is altogether a much funkier affair, in fact I’d have to say it is pretty damn funky throughout. Singer Fanny Franklin is certainly one to watch at the moment, if it seemed she was perhaps underused on the last album, then she is perhaps also a little underused here. I say perhaps because I just love the instrumentals too. The big difference here is all the material is Orgone’s own penned – and mighty fine it is too. An excellent showcase for Fanny’s strong vocals are the very funky cuts “Got To Give It Up”, “Overtime” and “Doing Me Wrong”, I think I will be spinning these a few times. Even the more club disco influenced “It’s Time Tonight” grew on me. A lot.

From the strorming opener, everything in-between and then closing a sturdy set with an epic instrumental, soundtrack styled “The Cleaner”, I was certainly set back down to Earth a happy funkonaut. In fact I had to make the journey another several times just to make sure it was as good as I thought the first time. It was.

http://www.myspace.com/orgone

Dear friends everywhere

Please enjoy this free funkie cookie mix, a recipe of crunchy funk and solid soul sounds made from golden, tasty grooves. All you have to do is download, listen and get dancing to bake it to perfection. Om nom nom nom!

See artwork for track listing.

Enjoy!

Philster

Download here (right click to save) 192kb/s 85.3mb

HOT track from L.A. based Breakestra’s equally hot album Dusk Till Dawn. Funky!!

Get ready for an extra groove-some Funkalicious party. This month, DJs Philster & Popcorn are joined by Randa Khamis, performing a live vocal set of songs from her funky, funky album “Randa & The Soul Kingdom”, available now on Freestyle Records. Hailing from Perth, Australia, Randa has supported the likes of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, the Bamboos and Speedometer and with her latest release, delivers an infectious dose of 21st Century funk & soul that will have you up and dancing in an instant.

http://www.myspace.com/randaandthesoulkingdom

Randa & The Soul Kingdom at Freestyle Records

Friday 6th August
9pm-3am
The White Horse
94, Brixton Hill
Brixton SW2 1QN
FREE

www.whitehorsebrixton.com

How to get there

As big fans of Mr Lee Fields, we are so pleased to hear of his return to the London stage. Ok so it was only February that he was last here but it was some eight years prior to that that he last made an appearance over here. Well known for a slew of deep funk singles and a killer album from the late seventies, the North Carolina born-and-raised soul singer enjoyed a career revival in the late nineties when Philip Lehman and Gabriel Roth at Desco Records tracked him down and recorded a new album, “Let’s Get A Groove On”, much to the delight of enthusiasts. A second, equally heavy album, “Problems” later appeared on Soul Fire Records and Fields has been recording sporadically ever since.

Over a period of three years, Truth & Soul Records, fronted by Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman recorded a handful of new singles with Lee that took him in a new direction. Finally garnering enough material for an entire album “My World” in 2009, it actually sounds like a suite of songs designed to flow into each other and not a collection of sporadic recordings spanning three years. With an overall summery vibe that certainly benefits from its roots in the Brooklyn music scene, the new record is sometimes straight-talking grit but mostly shows the sweeter soul side of Mr. Fields. The result is arguably the finest Lee Fields album ever and high praise goes to Michels, Silverman and the musicians involved for crafting such a beautiful, modern take on soul.

So don’t miss this show then, as this might well be your only chance to hear Lee perform these songs live.

Lee Fields & The Expressions
Friday 16th July 2010
7pm-10pm
£18.50 in Advance

Scala
275 Pentonville Road
London N1 9NL
020 7833 2022

http://www.scala-london.co.uk/scala/event.php?id=1377