Tru Thoughts Funk

Keeping DJs and dancers on their toes and in their element with a steady flow of coveted funk 7"s, and bringing to light a diverse array of world class talent from Spanky Wilson and The Quantic Soul Orchestra to The Bamboos, Hot 8 Brass Band, Alice Russell and more, in its illustrious ten year history Tru Thoughts has served up some of the most acclaimed, memorable and downright incendiary funk releases of our era.

So - thus surrounded by incredible music - on setting out to compile 'Tru Thoughts Funk', A&R Robert Luis was faced with a serious case of kid-in-a-candy-store syndrome; after all, how would you distil the dazzling collective back catalogue of The Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Bamboos, Alice Russell, TM Juke, Natural Self, Nostalgia 77 et al into just one CD's worth of tunes? It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it, and the end result is this essential, super heavyweight compilation showcasing a consistently sky-high level of quality and, perhaps surprisingly for a genre-based compilation, a fresh, eclectic platter of varied aesthetics and international flavours.

From the soulful powerhouse vocals of the UK's very own Alice Russell and US legend Spanky Wilson to Kylie Auldist and the horn-led, straight down the line dancefloor punch of The Bamboos, through Saravah Soul channelling '60s Brazil via Noughties East London; the wry, jaunty, almost indie-pop shuffle of The Limp Twins; fast-rising Brighton producer Lack of Afro's boisterous wah wah treatment of New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band, and of course, Quantic's trailblazing fusion of funk and soul with Colombian and Caribbean rhythms - you'll find all this and more nestling happily under 'funk' in the Tru Thoughts lexicon.

To add to the classic cuts, Luis has found room for some fine exclusive material as well, including a first CD release for Nostalgia 77's "Thing"; and two brand new tracks, hot off the press and signed exclusively for this project, from Beta Hector, the solo side project of Simon Hill from adored UK funk band Baby Charles. "Payback" and "Creepin'", featuring Baby Charles colleague Dionne Charles on guest vox, see multi-instrumentalist Hill putting his own live recordings through an experimental electronic mill, to create an unusual, rough edged, synth-infused brand of raw funk.