April 2nd, 2008 by niwa | posted in compilation, download, free music, funk, jazz, soul |

They call themselves the “archeologists of sound”‘, and they certainly live up to that self-proclaimed title.

The men behind “Now That Is What I Call Shhhhh…” are Charles II and Mr. Beatnick. Hailing from the United Kingdom, the duo exudes a deep and thorough knowledge of funk, soul, latin and other groovy music from all corners of the world.

The website is minimal and next to their own compilations also a host to guest-releases of people I’ve never heard of. Not that it matters, since the choice of records of the guests is as well-balanced as the resident sets. Website or MySpace links can be found at the Shhhhhh News blog, as well as show and party news.

Mind you, we’re really talking _compilations_ here, not mixes. And as much I enjoy a smooth mix, it’s somewhat of a relief for once to hear something else than just 2 minute excerpts of songs. Like the monotape sets, be prepared to be indulged in oldies only, ranging from the occasional classic, the rare cover, to the previously unknown. Every set is accompanied by a nice cover, and the tracklist can be found online.

Aside from compiling these nuggets, Mr. Beatnick is also an awesome samplemaniac and has done a fine reconstruction of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”.