Southern Groove

UK collection. This series looks at the convergence of southern soul and funk. Our first volume focuses on the sound of Atlanta labels Hotlanta and Aware and their sister operation out of Birmingham, Alabama - Clintone. A trawl through the tape vaults has unearthed a number of previously unreleased numbers compiled here along with some obscure released tracks and a few classics. From the latter category we have Loleatta Holloway's 'Only A Fool' and Ripple's 'I Don't Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky' - both guaranteed dancefloor monsters. Ripple also give us the unreleased 'Unknown Instrumental #2' - a delicious slab of funk. From the unreleased pile, David Camon's 'Keep On Doin' Your Funky Thing' and Johnny Jacobs' 'Ain't It Funky (Doin' Your Own Thing)' provide us with two of the best unknown funk cuts to be discovered in years. The Family Plann's two tracks show a blend of disco-fied funk that point the way to the latter part of the decade. The same is true of local - but under-recorded - Atlanta heroes Maggabrain, whose 'Down At The Disco' debuts here. Throughout the compilation we are reminded of the calibre of the music being made at the Atlanta and Birmingham studios, while the in-depth sleeve notes explain how funding from porn baron Michael Thevis ensured the quality of musicians, studios and songwriters involved.