The Witzard

Record Kicks presents Origin of Forms, the vibrant debut album by Moscow Funk band The Diasonics , a mix of Cinematic Funk, Instrumental Hip-Hop, and Soviet Psychedelia. Record Kicks is proud to present the mesmerizing psychedelic universe of The Diasonics. Origin of Forms is the startling debut full-length by the Muscovite band, coming out on January 28, 2022 on limited edition LP, CD, and digital. The album is preceded by the Instrumental Soul single, "Gurami," released on limited edition 45 vinyl and digital. Welcome to "Hussar Funk," that's how The Diasonics call their music: a style that blends infectious Deep Funk instrumentals, East European flavours, Hip-Hop rhythms, and Psychedelia. Firmly rooted in the late 60's and early 70's, their debut album, Origin of Forms, was recorded on an 8-channel Japanese tape recorder called an Otari MX-5050 MK III at The Diasonics' headquarters, Magnetone Studio, in Moscow and was mixed by Henry Jenkins (Th...

CREDIT: Ivan Scruby/NOBL (@noblphotos) Total Nonstop Action by The M-Tet "Growth is a slippery slope for musicians. Once you've become established for a sound and style, the expectation to adhere to what put you where you are looms overhead at every writing session, rehearsal, and show. Purists for Meters-style Funk would, probably, scoff at a band suddenly rolling out Yamaha DX-7's and double-neck guitars, no matter how stank the groove. But, then, there's the musician's inner itch for exploration, experimentation, and expansion that keeps the process that much more exciting at a time where most of us won't reach higher tax brackets through music. The incentive to keep going is growth. But, perhaps, the most difficult feat is straddling the line—to grow and build upon a trademark sound while managing to not alienate a core audience. Bay Area Funk quartet, The M-Tet, manage to pull off the ever elusive Option C on their sophomore long-player, TOTAL NONSTOP A...

Detroit -based Funk Night Records (Fnr) has continually released a slew of phenomenal records, over the years, including 45's and 12-inches from the likes of The Great Revivers , The Soul Surfers, Guilty Simpson & Musca , Phat Kat, Aeon Seven , Nico Collins & The Soul Chance, and Scone City Players . Founder and in-house DJ/producer Frank Raines has meticulously selected artists from as far reaching as Detroit, Germany , and everywhere in-between for touch-stone releases on Fnr . For their latest double-release, Funk Night Records quietly issued two separate 45's from San Francisco -based Instrumental/Classic Soul quartet, The M-Tet : "Redbone" B/W "Ray Ban, Part 2" and "Gotta Be with You" B/W "Shades of Joy." Yes, "Redbone" is, in fact, an impassioned Instrumental Hip-Hop/Soul cover of Childish Gambino 's break-out hit from 2016's "Awaken, My Love!" but, unfortunately, all 250 limited-press F...

"Shawn Lee is one of the most prolific musicians of his generation. A multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer/song-writer, and composer who has released [42] albums as an artist to date. He has played, produced, and written on hundreds of records. He has worked with a diverse range of artists, including Jeff Buckley, Kelis, Money Mark (Beastie Boys,) Amy Winehouse, Darondo, Adrian Younge & Venice Dawn, and Princess Superstar. Lee's music has been used extensively in both film and TV: Monuments Men, 20 Feet from Stardom, Oceans Thirteen, Eastbound & Down, Ugly Betty, Nip/Tuck, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Cinemax, Jaguar, BMW, Clarks Shoes, Head & Shoulders, and many many more. He has also, created bespoke music for Hermann Miller, Ace Hotels, and Wallpaper Magazine. As a composer, he has scored two documentary films: Elevate and Under The Sun. Lee also created the original soundtrack for the feature film Save Angel Hope and composed the original score for the Rock...

Heat & Shadow by Instrumental Heat & Shadow Instrumental Heat & Shadow is a Russian beat-maker, part-time DJ, and multi-instrumentalist whose music, I first got acquainted with a few weeks ago, after either he started Following me (matthorowitz87) or I started Following him (heatandshadow) on Instagram . In recent weeks, I've been corresponding back-and-forth with Radislav Titov AKA Instrumental Heat & Shadow AKA DJ Strange Man through both Instagram Direct Messenger and over email... making now, as good a time as any to feature a post on his music here at The Witzard . "A native of Russia . Voronezh City . One person creates music. The studio is located outside the city; near the forest, the real "underground." This is the debut album and record single. In the future, there will be many more releases: Library , Funk, and more Experimental stuff. The first release was sold [out] before the official release!" reads an Instrumental Heat ...

The Great Revivers Instrumental Band (крепчайший алкоголь инструментальный ансамбль) or just "The Great Revivers," for short, are a self-described " Instrumental Funk, Library, Organ Groove band" hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia . The Great Revivers was collectively formed by one-time members of Wake&Bake! and The Reggaenauts and consist of players Artem Beresnev, Roman Lebedev, Stanislav Rybochkin, Alexander Shtykov , and Roman Zyryanov . Since initially forming, The Great Revivers have released a staggering 10 7-inch singles on Mocambo Records , Detroit-based Funk Night Records (Fnr,) Magnetic Loft Records , and Elchrecords between 2013-18, as well as a 2015 full-length entitled Have a Drink with Great Revivers . The Great Revivers' latest Fnr 7-inch, "тутутру [Tuturu]" B/W "Ездок [Rider]" went on sale a mere seven days ago and has already, completely SOLD OUT. Shout-out to Skeme Richards AKA @hotpeasandbutta at Nostalgi...