Some Atmosfear For Summer Friday

British funk from the late '70s!

The mix is overly hot in spots. Some breakdowns seem randomly placed and poorly optimized. But just bask in the agile, skittering energy of these grooves — which have been sampled a time or two and were clearly an influence on UK DJs and producers, especially in the early house era. This delightful underloved gem from 1979 catches a slice of the British reaction to ‘70s instrumental soul-funk from U.S. artists like Roy Ayers and Brass Construction. The title track’s the most well-known, but all of this Mr. Bongo reissue, which includes material from the arguably even-more-visionary 1981 En Trance, is endlessly propulsive, in that addictive “we really could let this loop forever” way.