A Discoveries Mixtape Pt. II: Soul Train

Lee Fields and the Expressions - Love Comes and Goes
More often than not, Lee Fields' name is preceded by a qualifier such as 'deep funk legend' or 'Southern soul stalwart,' but on his 15th studio record, 2009's My World, he's not content to let his legacy do the lifting. Fields delivers such an impassioned performance on this spirited soul slow-burn that you'd hardly guess it was recorded nearly 40 years after he first start cutting records.

Ofege - It's Not Easy
Recorded by a band of Nigerian high schoolers in 1973, this Velvet Underground homage more than makes up for it's striking similarity to Oh! Sweet Nuthin with so much bright-eyed vigor and optimism that you can't help but see the world as a slow-motion summer road-trip sunset to a land of satisfied smiles and arms around shoulders.

The Dirtbombs - If You Can Want
While Lee Fields serves up his R&B/Soul cocktail neat, The Dirtbombs include a generous splash of brine in their mix, as they hijack a Smoky Robinson classic and take it up to 11, running it through a filter of high-voltage garage riffs and belted-from-the-diaphragm vocals.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Gibbous
These eight brothers from Chicago give the traditional brass band sound an infusion of funky hip-hop beats and weave a complex web of intricately woven melodies that makes it as satisfying on headphones as it is irresistible on the dance floor.