Our latest audio offering spins up vintage acts O'Bryan, Linda Williams, Charles Earland, Mantra, Brick and Jean Terrell for the first time whilst pulling in some more great music from Dennis Coffey and The Blackbyrds. On the contemporary side we throw in some heavy grooves from the very talented Nate Williams and JD73. 

I was introduced to the music of Nate Williams by Pete Biggins, (drummer for PB Underground, Incognito, Level 42 etc.), who shared Nate's Soundcloud page on facebook, and boy I'm glad he did. I really like Nate's sound and I'm looking forward to featuring some more of his music in future mixes. Here's the tracklist for Mix Sixty Five:    

O'Bryan - Right From the Start
Nathan Williams - With The Sun In My Eyes
JD 73 Feat. Ella Mae - Think Twice
Linda Williams - City Living
Charles Earland - Mercy
Dennis Coffey - Theme From Enter The Dragon
The Blackbyrds - Time Is Movin'
Mantra - Boogie Just To Boogie
Brick - Stoneheart
Jean Terrell - Rising Cost Of Love

We also feature the brand new single from Daft Punk featuring the 'hitmaker' Nile Rodgers (and Pharrell Williams), which is catchy as hell and is already racing up charts all over the world. There's also fabulous cuts of funk from Sunburst Band, Chocolate Milk, Taste Of Honey, Stargard and Incognito featuring Mario Biondi. Finally, it's starting to feel like summer's coming.

Here's the tracklist: 

The Sunburst Band - Survivin' feat. Leroy Burgess (Joey Negro Boogietown Mix)
Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Chocolate Milk - Friction
A Taste Of Honey - Sayonara
Mystic Merlin - Haunting You
Donald O'Connor - Emergency
McKinley Jackson - Love Overture
Shotgun - Skate
Stargard - Take Me Back
Al Green - Truth N' Time
Incognito - Can't Get Enough (feat. Mario Biondi) 

A uniquely talented musician, writer and producer, Don Blackman's contribution to the genre is significant. Even though he only ever produced one album of his own, he wrote, composed and performed for many of the biggest names in jazz-funk and has left an outstanding body of work for young and old to enjoy. We're so so glad we got to see Don Blackman perform live in London back in 2010. It was a fantastic night of sublime jazz-funk and we got to see what a funny and warm man he was.  

So here's our tribute to Don Blackman, which pulls together a bunch of our favourite Don Blackman compositions and some tracks from Lenny White, Weldon Irvine, Bernard Wright and Tom Browne that Blackman either wrote, produced or performed on. Click the image to listen, or listen here

Tom Browne - Forever More (composed by DB)
Don Blackman - Heart's Desire (live) (from RezaJazzMix video on YouTube)
Weldon Irvine - I Love You (written/composed/keys performed by DB)
Bernard Wright - Haboglabotribin (written by DB)
Lenny White - Lady Madonna (vocals)
Don Blackman - Deaf Hook Up Connection
Lenny White - Big City (keys/vocals)
Don Blackman - You Ain't Hip
Don Blackman - Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
Don Blackman - Never Miss A Thing  

Voice sample from RBMA Radio's interview with Don Blackman

Tracklist:
 
Banzai - Runaway (12")
Real Thing - Can You Feel The Force
ADC Band - Funk On Fire
The Reddings - If You Feel It
James Brown - Body Heat
Chaka Khan - Fate
Roy Ayers - Touch Of Class
Brand New Heavies - Day Break
Herbie Hancock - The Trailor
Parliament - P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)

Firstly, there's now a fabulous (and free!) VibeRide app for Android devices with which you can listen to the ten most recent mixes, watch our youtube videos, read the blog, browse our flickr gallery and keep up to date with our social media activities - wherever you and your phone are! 

It's an absolute doddle to get. Simply scan the QR code on the front page of our website and the application file will be downloaded to your phone. Open the file and then agree to install the app and, hey presto, you're ready to funk. Combine our app with the free mixcloud app, through which you can get access to the entire VibeRide back catalogue of mixes, and you're all set. Don't delay, get it now! You'll never be without serious choonage again.

Secondly, our youtube channel has been spruced up and will now look just as fine on a big ass TV as it does on a web browser or smart phone. As part of the youtube revamp Google has introduced a new feature where channel owners can have a trailer for their channel that plays automatically to new visitors. We thought this sounded like a neat idea and so we put together a one minute video montage of clips from some of our gig videos - all to a funky soundtrack. Check it out. 

We've got Frank Hooker & The Positive People, T.C. Curtis, Tata Vega, Ozone and Park Avenue for your listening pleasure for the first time, blended with sharp cuts of classic funky stuff from Banda Black Rio, Don Blackman, Grey & Hanks, Ebonee Webb and Aurra. Enjoy.

Here's your tracklist: 

Frank Hooker & The Positive People - This Feelin' 
T.C. Curtis - Body Shake
Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love
Ozone - We Bad
Grey & Hanks - Prime Time
Banda Black Rio - Baiao
DOn Blackman - You Ain't Hip
Park Avenue - Looking Ahead
Ebonee Webb - Throw Down
Aurra - Are You Single

Please enjoy this mix of many of my favourite Donald Byrd compositions, which includes a couple of tracks by The Blackbyrds (a group he formed during his tenure at North Carolina Central University whom we saw perform live in London last year). 

This mix focuses mostly on the superb jazz-funk cuts he produced throughout the 70's, which came after his early work as a bebop jazz trumpeter, and so if more traditional jazz is your preference then check out his work from the late 50's and early 60's.  

Here's the tracklist for our special Donald Byrd tribute mix:

Donald Byrd - Christo Redentor
Donald Byrd - Onward 'Til Morning
Donald Byrd - Love's So Far Away
Donald Byrd - In Love With Love
Donald Byrd - I Love You
Donald Byrd - Thank For Funking Up My life
Donald Byrd - Love Has Come Around (12")
Donald Byrd - (Falling Like) Dominoes
The Blackbyrds - Rock Creek Park 
Donald Byrd - Giving It Up
Donald Byrd - Pretty Baby
Donald Byrd - Rock & Roll Again
The Blackbyrds - Mysterious Vibes
Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor (A New Perspective)

Aside from Arnie Love & The Lovelettes, Mix Sixty One also spins up The Reddings, The Exoutics, Winners, Waldo and 13th Floor for the first time. Rounding it all off are more multi faceted funk-gems from Fonzi Thornton, Side Effect, T-Connection and Patrice Rushen. 

Point of interest, The Reddings were a funk outfit formed in 1980 by Dexter Redding and Otis Redding III, both sons of 60's soul legend Otis Redding. Here's the tracklist for Mix Sixty One: 

Fonzi Thornton - I Work For A Living
Arnie Love & The Lovelettes - We Had Enough
The Reddings - It's Friday Night
The Exoutics - If You Can't Find The Funk
Winners - Get Up And Do It
Side Effect - It's All In Your Mind
Waldo - When It Comes To You
13th Floor - Steppin' Out
T-Connection - Everything Is Cool
Patrice Rushen - Hang It Up

But that's not all, for VibeRide proudly presents San Franciso Bay's Hoopty, who have recently started laying down some serious grooves for the good folk on the west coast of the US of A. If this is your neck of the woods, then go check them out! Hoopty find themselves in the company of Jamiroquai, The Sunburst Band, Gwen McCrae, Chaka Khan, Aurra, and the splendiferous Incognito.

Hoopty is a relatively newly formed funk-outfit made up of experienced and locally popular jazz-funk musicians from the San Franciso Bay area, who have a long history of playing together in other bands. According to Hoopty they sound like Maceo Parker, James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic, and "the result is an intoxicating elixir of 98 proof instrumental funk, sure to get the funkalites dancing and the funkadudes exclaiming, "Ah Yeah." That's what we like to hear!

To read more about Hoopty and hear more of their music, check out Hoopty on ReverbNation where they are currently one of the most popular in the jazz/funk category. It's not hard to see why. Once again, if you're in the San Fran bay area, then check out these guys live because with stage dancers, video projections and light shows, you're sure to have a blast. 

We hope you enjoy Mix Sixty. Here's the tracklist: 

The Sunburst Band - Sitting On Top Of The World
George Duke - Sugar Loaf Mountain
Jamiroquai - High Times
Hoopty - Hot Pants
Gwen McCrae - All This Love That I'm Giving
Rufus Feat. Chaka Khan - Once You Get Started
Aurra - Such A Feeling
Incognito - Restless As We Are
Foreal People - Love Begins With You
The Whispers - Headlights