Martin Hayes and Rose Records – the label he runs with M.ono and Luvless – should be familiar to regular readers of this here music rag. The Leipzig collective have won favour for their well-crafted and (as the label expands further) well-curated disco-infused deep house. Individually they’re all laying down roots throughout Europe, with releases on Banoffee Pies, Heist, Tsuba, Sleazy Beats and now Razor-N-Tape, the home of Martin’s latest, a four-track EP of edits.
Our pick from the bunch is ‘Ol’ Funky Music’, which you can take an exclusive first listen to here. The track steadies itself for the first three minutes, with an elasticated bass, psychedlic, blues guitar and clip-clop, equine percussion playing off each other like a band does before the lead singer first takes to the stage. This comes just after the three minute mark, in the form of a short vocal snippet, boldly declaring that “we got a hit record called Good Old Funky Music“. Spiritual keys then take us to church and the jam continues for the remainder. A track inspired by the musical heritage of the American south, this feels like the Jackie Brown soundtrack updated by an exciting German talent with a keen ear for slo-mo, funked out disco edit.
Martin Hayes Edits is out 1st Feb on Razor-N-Tape. Pre-order from Juno.
