Golden Rules drops compilation sampler ‘The Originals Vol.1’

Oct 11th, 2021

Category: news

Golden Rules drops compilation sampler ‘The Originals Vol.1’

Golden Rules’ mission as a label has always been to shine a spotlight on the contemporary funk & soul scene, so they connected with a lovely network of musicians, labels and passionate music lovers to create their first sampler, The Originals Vol.1. From Moscow to Hamburg, over to Paris and New York, from London to Barcelona to Nashville: this compilation is a colorful bouquet of epic soul smashers, psychedelic grooves and funky breaks from many talented artists from all over the world.

Opening track “Jonny” by UK soul siren Gizelle Smith is an uptempo stormer with funky guitars and horns over a driving drum break, originally released exclusively on limited edition 45 by Mocambo Records in 2012 and immediately sold out. The Mocambo squad make another appearance with track “Find My Way” by The Mighty Mocambos, a soulful number with an Isaac Hayes-like groove and the wonderful voice of Nicola Richards. Also out of Hamburg are The Drawbars, an instrumental trio consisting of drums, bass and B3 organ, who lay down a funky, psychedelic jam on “Shinjuku Strut”.

Nashville, Tennessee is present in three tracks; warm-sounding soulful earworm “Thievin & Robbin” by DeRobert & The Half-Truths, HipHop-flavored heavy instrumental “Diggin Dirt” by Magic In Threes, and psychedelic midtempo burner “This City” by The Gripsweats featuring Oliver James. Psych overtones and echoes of Library music are also on the menu on “Aphalt Homeland”, a fuzzy and moody instrumental by NYC trio Ghost Funk Orchestra, while Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra provides a spaced out groove based around a heavy drum break on “Rocket Ship”.

Out of Paris, France come Laura Llorens & The Shadows of Love with “All Or Nothing”, a folksy number with inflections of 60s soul. Whereas Long Island twins The Brothers Nylon take us back to the golden era of funk with a JB’s-inspired funky groove called “Three Ears”. From Russia with love, The Soul Surfers‘ new single “Rhythm 2” is a mellow and dreamy instrumental with beautiful piano.

Rounding off the compilation are instrumentals “Magnetic Monster” by Barcelona-based band Outer Space, blending afrobeat, ethio-jazz, funk & soul in the style of The Budos Band, uptempo tropical disco mover “Fresher Under Pressure” by London-based band Hot Border Special, and laidback jazzy number “Sweet Extasy” by French band The Supertights. 14 tracks made with passion and 100% true notes, bringing soul back to the people!

“The Originals Vol.1” out on LP, Cassette & Digital on Oct 15th via Golden Rules