this, the third volume in the 'contemporary...' series is indeed very special as it is simultaneously the tenth album released on tramp records. when I founded the label in late 2003 I did not know that I would still be in the game eight years later. and though the uncharted waters of today's music business have been turbulent, this ship sails on.

I will continue to guide this label because my passion and desire is simply to spread honest music of independent artists. this is what I have always done with tramp and I am very proud of every tramp release. while at first tramp stood especially for funk and soul, my interest in related genres progressed. now, diving into the tramp catalogue, you will encounter every shade of soulful music: latin-jazz, afro beat, modern soul and everything in between.

afro beat, the original hybrid of jazz, funk and west african highlife created by fela ransome-kuti and tony allen in the late 1960s, is everything else than dead in 2011: open your mind and ears and enjoy the exciting sounds of odu, afromotive, jojo quo & his challengers and all the others. fela declared his music "the progressive music of the future." well, the future has come. this is contemporary afro beat.
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it's been a hard time for black people in the United States, especially in the 1960s when a series of unbelievable events took place that shocked not only the entire nation but the whole world. musically it was james brown who represented best what the black nation felt. his screams and shouts, his moans and groans helped to release the pressure in a peaceful way. music itself was actually one of the very few opportunities for afro-americans to express their feelings in a raw and uncut way. the music simply translated the conditions of the country that existed in those days. listen to james brown's powerful 'cold sweat' and you can still feel it today. thousands of musicians around the country followed brown's example and offered their own artistic contributions to spread confidence, hope, and peace for the black nation.
one of those many bands were the soul bros. inc. out of houston, texas. they were likely one of the most important funk/soul groups in the city in the late 1960s until they broke up in the mid `70s. I had the pleasure of spending hours on the phone talking to henry boatwright. boatwright played flute, saxophone and sang on many songs as well as composing many of the releases for the band's own S.B.I. records label. (S.B.I. stands for soul brothers inc.) now it's time for me to pass the word to mr. boatwright. he is eager to share the story of the soul bros. inc. with you to preserve their legacy for the next 40 years at least.
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the story of the qualitons began in 2007 when dj/producer kanada káosz was invited to dj at the berlin soul ascension festival (SAF). When he saw some of the greatest funk/soul/beat bands playing at the SAF (incl. the soul investigators, afrobeat academy) he went back to budapest inspired to organize such a band in hungary.

the band were named after the living memory of the former hungarian recording company "qualiton" - a record label which existed from the late 50s up to the 70s. at first the band's repertoire consisted of cover-versions from rare hungarian 7" singles but soon started to write their own songs. they released two 7" singles on tramp records and were featured on a compilation entitled contemporary funk (tr-9005).

in early 2010 legendary japanese dj muro placed mellbimbo by the qualitons right at the beginning of his afro-funk mixtape 'super afro funky breaks'. furthermore in may this year gil-scott heron and his band shared stage with the qualitons at the mediawave festival in szombathely, hungary. heron and the guys enjoyed themselves so much that they congratulated the qualitons personally for their authentic music and great performance
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movements 3 no longer focuses on the sound of raw funk only. kirmayer's goal is to please an open-minded audience with an exciting selection of funk, soul and jazz music. most of these tunes had been privately released and might have been forgotten if it weren't for aficionados like kirmayer securing them and bringing them back to life. nothing more needs to be said about movements 3 as we will now let the long-silenced music speak for itself. now is your chance to get your hands on this incredible collection of tunes. we hope this selection serves as a reminder and a beacon to today's music enthusiasts. may the great music never fade away!
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it was not long ago when tramp records founder tobias kirmayer discovered his love for jazz and its colorful varieties. his general affection for the analog recording technique is as evident as on the compilations predecessor‚ 'contemporary funk.' if you are familiar with the aforementioned album, you know that the focus is not only about the production/sound of the late 1960s but in at least the same extent on bands which have not yet had much musical output, if any.

this, however, has nothing to do with the quality of the songs or the abilities of the musicians. for example, the cultures of rrhythm was nominated as jazz ambassadors of the united states in 2007. or the sugarman 3 have been professionally working in the music business for more than 15 years. connecting all bands is the deeply rooted love for jazz. what counts for them is that it all comes from the heart. therefore it is not surprising that despite the rich history of jazz recordings, their creativity and songwriting skills lead them to beautiful musical endeavors. indeed, they come close to touching the garment of jazz giants like john & alice coltrane, pharaoh sanders or jimmy smith.

so the goal is quite obvious, this compilation is about to present a fine selection of handpicked songs to accomplish an even more unique mission: to prove that creative minds are still on this planet to keep real jazz alive - and 'contemporary jazz' is a testament to that.
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the funk on this compilation is contemporary but the message of funk is as old as humanity itself. funk as tramp records sees it is a vibrant and viable music that was born from a transformative period in american history - the sound of the growing pains of a young country. 'contemporary funk' gathers inspired bands from today whose hearts still beat for funk's timeless truth, and connects them with this rich legacy of american music.

today, the rhythm and earnestness of true funk can be found in all corners of the world. and this compilation is evidence that the innocence and purity of the original message remains strong. affectation and phoniness can't seem to take hold in funk as long as the unenlightened or uninitiated players aren't trying to wah-wah their way through one-dimensional cartoon-like clichés. afro wigs and 'booty' references only help to reinforce racist stereotypes and obstruct funk from realizing it's true potential as an uplifting music for all the people of the world.

'contemporary funk' assembles bands which hearts beat for the original, raw soul sound they want to keep alive in its original form. the sugarman 3, whose former musicians are now members of the famous dap-kings (of sharon jones fame) are included just as will holland (quantic soul orchestra). however, the aim was to focus on new bands on the scene such as derobert & the half-truths, the funk revolution or the ben martin trio, to name a few. original funk music lives on in the 21rst century - and ‚contemporary funk' is a great proof for that.
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"you're a jazz group. you have been together for two and a half years. you play here; you play there, you start happening. you've got a dancing, grooving beat that keeps people coming back. you're "out of sight". you're called the hi-fly orchestra (THFO).
only one and a half years after the successful debut album THFO strikes back. again, the tunes have been recorded live on a 16-track tape machine, delivering an authentic and original sound. although the band consists of six men, one man is responsible for keeping the group at performance peak when sideman leave and others take their place - one man holds everything together and was responsible for forming the group - the leader and sax/flute player, florian riedl. instrumentally, the sound effects and expressions are achieved by the use of flute, saxophone, trombone, piano, congas, double-bass and drums, a particularly good combination of instruments to gain a great effect.
this album is not completey jazz-oriented, but it displays the variety of the talents of the band. it will let you hear and feel what is to be expected from them. the hi-fly orchestra are happening … you can happen with them.
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"zozo," taken from the goun and fon word for "something hot," truly keeps the afrobeat fires burning. a 13-piece ensemble from new york city, zozo afrobeat features musicians from around the world and is led by african music luminary kaleta. born in the republic of benin and raised in nigeria, kaleta grew up recording and performing with legendary nigerian musicians fela kuti and king sunny ade. after moving to the U.S., kaleta toured with femi kuti and most recently with lauryn hill.

with zozo afrobeat, kaleta's music pays homage to the greats, and yet has its own distinctive sound and energy. like fela kuti, who used his music to challenge a corrupt nigerian government, kaleta has written songs that are socially and politically provocative. at the same time, his lyrics reflect a keen sense of humor and a message of hope. on zozo afrobeat's 2007 release, "country of guns", kaleta scatters pop-culture references and marvels of a country with "250 million people and 250 billion guns." on other songs, kaleta sings in yoruba, goan, fon and french.

on stage, kaleta displays remarkable energy - singing, dancing, playing guitar and percussion. the band responds accordingly, delivering cascades of horns, hypnotic benino-nigerian rhythms, and captivating solos. zozo afrobeat has played at the lincoln center "out of doors" festival, the brooklyn museum and various clubs in the new york area.
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after having released two impressive deep funk compilations (movements 1 & 2) on munich's perfect toy records, tobias kirmayer is back with a different batch of grooves for you. it's good to see that someone so well regarded in the 'deep funk' scene is also able to compile such a stunning and diversified selection. the styles stretch from hip-hop to latin-grooves, from jazz-breaks to afro-blue-eyed-soul! tobias proves once again that he should be regarded not just for his work in the deep funk field, but even more as an open-minded guy who is truly passionate about any kind of music done with soul.
so come on, press the 'play' button and immerse yourself into a totally stunning mix of tracks you may have not expected to hear. this is tobias other side, something you'll even be surprised by, selected tracks for your listening pleasure that show the widest of musical roots. fellows, join us, this is tobias doing HIS thing!

just to mention, all songs on this compilation have been fully licensed. also both cd and lp contain liner notes with interesting details about the featured songs. so, in case you dig the soundsnippets below we would really appreciate your support. we people who run small, independent labels need your help! please do not copy or download our releases illegally, simply buy them and give us the chance to continue our work. thank you!
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