Simian Mobile Disco, Cee-Lo, and Telephoned

Dance and funk numbers from last month's playlist.

Telephoned is an awesome combo of DJ Sammy Bananas and vocalist/party maven Maggie Horn. They remake and rework common pop tracks that stand on their own as dancefloor anthems.

Their eponymous EP could be played as a mixtape at your next party, but I particularly enjoy Rockin That Thing and Dancin' On Me. Though they are technically remixes, they might as well be completely different songs. I'd almost rather call them homages. Whatever you call, them they will make you want to move!





My next recommendation is a smooth, funky dance track. It's a fun tune, and it's free! Dance impresarios Simian Mobile Disco team up with diva Beth Ditto, of Gossip fame, for this one.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto) (Heartbreak's Slow Action Remix)

Finally, everyone loves and is familiar with Cee-Lo's 100% pure hit, Fuck You, but the 2nd best song off the album is Love Gun. Check it out.

Madcon - Soul Hop

Madcon is a hip-hop group with a huge dose of soul production. If the Roots went all out with the funk soul music, you'd pretty much have Madcon. There are keys, horns, and soulful choruses. Beggin' is an immediate hit that you may have already heard. The question is will these guys be the next Black Eyed Peas, the next Outkast, or more tragically, the next Pharcyde?

I also like Wholehearted, Liar, and Shine.



Admittedly, this video is not so great with the respecting of the women, but what can I say, I like the song.

Galactic, Ozomatli, and Daniel Merriweather

I always believed that New Orleans funk outfit, Galactic, is at their best when they have vocals and a full horn section. Witness this amazing song, You Don't Know, from their latest, Ya-Ka-May. I dare you not to move, in particular when the horns start really hitting it hard. I also recommend Boe Money, Cineramascope, Double It, Heart of Steel, and Bacchus.




Ozomatli's new album, Fire Away, is strong through and through with radio-friendly gems like 45, It's Only Paper, Elysian Persuasion, Malagasy Shock, and All Around the World. It's sort of surprising and expected at the same time to hear such a mature, strong album from a group that's been around for so long, but if anything, they're getting better. My favorite track, though, is Love Comes Down; it bends one's expectations of Ozo, showcasing a slower, more melodic, emotionally weighty side of their music. The only place I found online where you can hear the whole track is on myspace.


Daniel Merriweather is the latest English soul singer to benefit from Mark Ronson's slick and solid soul production. They collaborated on both of Ronson's solo albums. Their cover of The Smiths' Stop Me was about a million times better than the original. On Merriweather's solo debut, his duet with DC MC Wale, Change, is of note, as well as Not Giving Up, Water and a Flame (another duet, this time with fellow Ronson collaborator Adele), and Chainsaw. I'm not a lyric fans, but I do love when Merriweather sings, "Giving myself to you is like giving myself to a chainsaw. You keep cutting me open wide. Is that the only thing that you're good for?" It seems like a heavy metal lyric, but it fits perfectly in this sweet little number.

Bibi Tanga & The Selenites

Bibi Tanga & The Selenites have a signature sound, combining afro-pop, funk and trip-hop dance grooves. Tanga's vocals moan and pump over the polyrhythmic beats and the chorus of female singers.

They only have an EP out now, but I'll definitely be looking out for the full length coming out soon.

Recommended if you like: Michael Franti and Spearhead, Fela/Femi Kuti, Anjelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, etc.

It's The Earth That Moves - Bi...

Wax Tailor - In the Mood for Life

Hip-hop may have started off as a distinctly American style of music, but some of its most innovative practitioners are coming out of Europe. Witness the French DJ Wax Tailor's latest album, In the Mood for Life, a classic hip-hop album chock full of excellent tracks from beginning to end. It has all the elements of the best of hip-hop: skits, obscure jazz and funk samples, expert cutting and scratching, tricky MC flows, sultry female vocals, and most importantly, dope beats.

Wax Tailor has put out some good tracks before, but with no qualifications, I can recommend this entire album. If you like Cut Chemist, RJD2, DJ Shadow or the Herbaliser, this album is not one to miss.

In The Mood For Life - Wax Tai...

Dragon Chasers is an eerie slow jam featuring vocalist Charlotte Savary. B-Boy on Wax is an old-school track featuring MC Speech Defect, who channels Fatlip and The Pharcyde. No Pity evokes Play-era Moby, with what sounds like a gospel vocal track, masterfully mixed with a slamming beat, strings, horns and subtle cuts and scratches. Until Heaven Stops the Rain is composed of the classic story-telling lyrics set over evocative strings. This track in particular reminds me of Soul Position, RJD2's project with the rapper Blueprint. Wax Tailor showcases his amazing range on Leave It, essentially a neo-soul track a la Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, interlacing Dionne Charles funky vocals with a honking baritone sax. This Train features MC Ali Harter, who reminds me of the rapper Jean Grae, and I think it includes an uncredited Beth Orton singing vocals in the background. On Sit & Listen, Wax Tailor shows off his DJ chops with an instrumental track overflowing with samples and beats that compete comfortably with Cut Chemist's best. Near the end of the album, I Own You takes the whole album to another level, serving as a sort of Wax Tailor anthem. It's a soaring soul track with vocals by Charlie Winston.

Rarely does an artist produce a great album in these days of the disposable single, but Wax Tailor comes pretty darn close. Check it out.

J Crew Plays the Good Tunes - Spearhead and The Lions

Mindless consumer that I am, I buy most of my clothes in one or two shopping frenzies each year at the outlet stores in Manchester, VT near my parent's house.

This summer, while in the midst of my lust to be liked by virtue of buying the right clothes, I was in the J Crew store and heard two great tunes playing in the store. I used my handy-dandy Midomi iPhone app to figure out what they were and later bought the songs. In my mind they're linked by J Crew, but they happen to be similar musically as well, so that's why I'm giving you a twofer here.

Michael Franti and Spearhead have a new album out called All Rebel Rockers, and this one is heavier on the reggae than their previous albums by far. The J Crew track on the album is Say Hey (I Love You) featuring Cherine Anderson. Anderson's island accent serves as a call-and-response partner to Franti's growling, earnest rap-singing. They trade turns at the mic over a reggaefied version of the Not Fade Away beat. As with the best Spearhead songs, the chorus is a catchy sing-a-long that sticks with you.

The second track is Think (About It) by The Lions, another reggae soul outfit, who hail from LA. Once again, the song features a female vocalist. In this case she's a neo-soul singer named Noelle Scaggs whose voice is a dead ringer for Beyoncé's. I kept wondering why Beyoncé would be singing on this small band's album with no credit. Finally I did some actual research and figured out that Mrs. Jay-Z was not slumming. I was pretty clueless about the origins of the song as well until a friend heard it and started singing along even though she'd never heard of it. You'd think when Scaggs sings, "It takes two to make a thing go right," something would have clicked in my head. As it turns out, it's a cover of a James Brown produced song performed by Lyn Collins in 1972. The original is one of the most sampled songs of all time, most famously in the dance-floor staple, "It Takes Two", by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. The "woo! yeah! da-na-na!" is instantly recognizable.

The Lions' version is looser and jazzier, featuring the horns more prominently, and adds some reggae flavor while Scaggs belts out the classic soul diva's lament about the no-goodnik men she's forced to deal with. The original is tighter than tight as you'd expect from James Brown, and Collins' vocals sound subdued and prim compared to Scaggs' full-on attack.

PS - Jungle Struttin', the title track, is also a funk flex-fest that's worth a spin.

Quantic and his Group of Barbarians!

I don't know exactly what Will "Quantic" Holland does. I don't know if he writes, plays, produces or all three. All I know is that anything with the Quantic name is going to be interesting. A few years ago, he moved to Cali, Colombia and began soaking up the local sounds. This summer he released his latest project, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro's Tradition in Transition. It's a melange of latin jazz, soul and funk. All 13 tracks are worth a listen, but my favorites are:

The Dreaming Mind, Part I
Mas Pan
Linda Morena
Un Canto a Mi Tierra
I Just Fell in Love Again

The Dreaming Mind, Part 1 has an amazing string section and harp backing up a slow, breezy tune inspired by beaches and sunsets. It reminds me somewhat of Cinematic Orchestra.

Mas Pan is a Latin jazz jam. The expert horns blast a contrapuntal melody over a basic Latin jazz rhythm.

Linda Moreno is the centerpiece of the album. It's an eight minute epic of Afro-Cuban rhythms and traditional story-telling lyrics.

Un Canto a Mi Tierra is the "single". It's short and punchy. The female vocalist croons smoothly in Spanish backed by a salsa rhythm.

I Just Fell in Love Again shows Quantic's soul side. It sounds like a Sam and Dave song, complete with hot organs, plaintive soul vocals, doo-wop girls and those funky horns.