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Rain/Water is the fourth album by Tokyo's Kariu Kenji. Following 2021's Sekai, also on Bruit Direct Disques, rain/water is a gorgeous haze of song, a modern driftwork that's creatively rich, and full of fleeting sensation. These twelve lush pop songs point in multiple directions, outwards to bossa nova, modern R&B and soul, ambient bliss-outs, city pop confections, and electronica. But rain/water also has a sly experimentalism at its core, the kind of experimentation that doesn't need to call attention to itself, but that exists 'between the cracks' of the songs - in small, curious gestures of arrangement, in a sudden twist in melody, or an unexpected detour in a song's narrative. In this way, they share something of the stylistic free range in other great recent avant-pop moments - think, perhaps, of the music of Maher Shalal Hash Baz; Stereolab's more late-night, hermetic moments, or High Llamas' recent Hey Panda.

Following their 2020 collaboration on "Real Bad Boldy", prolific Detroit rapper Boldy James and LA producer Real Bad Man are back at it with their new album "Killing Nothing". Picking up right where they left off, the two are creating a music score to a gritty, grimy and filthy street tale, recruiting accomplices CRIMEAPPLE, Knowledge The Pirate, Rome Streetz, and Stove God Cook to add further depth and diversity to the album's sonic landscape. Each guest artist brings their own unique style and perspective to their respective tracks, enhancing the album's richness and variety.

The collaborative masterpiece between rapper Boldy James and producer Real Bad Man blends gritty lyricism with innovative production. Boldy James, known for his intricate storytelling and vivid street narratives, brings his raw authenticity to every track, painting vivid pictures of urban life and survival. Real Bad Man's production style, characterized by its eclectic mix of boom-bap beats, soulful samples, and experimental soundscapes, provides the perfect backdrop for Boldy's wordplay.

Following their ground breaking "Wet Dirt" album from 2019, CRIMEAPPLE and DJ Skizz are back to take you on a worldwide flight starting off in Hradec, Czech Republic. The New Jersey rapper and Brooklyn producer step up their game once again on this new offering, with CRIMEAPPLE solidifying yet one more time his position as one of the best lyricist out there, painting perfect pictures all by himself over Skizz's top-tier productions, with an extra soulful and vintage touch added to it. Fasten your seat belts as this one is yet another classic to listen up above the clouds!

We are proud to announce the 20th anniversary of "The True Meaning", the 2nd studio album by legendary Queensbridge MC Cormega. This critically acclaimed album was the first Independent Hip Hop album to win the prestigious "Independent Album of the Year" at the Source Awards in 2003. This is a true classic featuring Mega's sharp and heartfelt rhymes over tight well-crafted beats produced by The Alchemist, Large Professor, Buckwild, Hi-Tek, DR Period, J. Waxx Garfield, J-Love and others. Standout tracks include "The True Meaning", "The Come Up" Produced and featuring Large Professor, The Alchemist produced "The Legacy", "Built For This" produced by J. Waxx Garfield and the J-Love produced "Love in Love Out".

Going solo while still keeping intact his devotion to RS Produções, Nuno appears as a true heartbreaker. Silky, space soul, why not even risk the patented future r&b? But this music exists and manifests itself apart from the established production centres, the golden arches of hype edifices and synthetic promotion regurgitated by a thousand cloned fingers. "Sai Do Coração" is a very brave, romantic improbability, shying away from DJ bravado and dancefloor top speed. Through these grooves comes a pure distillation of love, an alchemical sublimatio resulting in the much sought-after "higher substance", a bright globe issuing rays of affection all around.

With love we most likely also buy into a degree of suffering, and though this is not at all the ID of the album, Nuno explicitly connects the two sentiments in "N'Dengue", a cathartic cold cut one grows to cherish intensely by the time it is over. It's a key moment, grief pours out, liberation achieved in the dance - "I will love, I will suffer, I will shout, I will dance". Flip to the other side for "Confusão No Ghetto", another gritty expression, a richly percussive, slow tempo observation of things gone wrong. All the rest in the album feels simple, direct and yet sophisticated like photosynthesis. Like the soil, through which geological becomes biological. Nuno whips up a variety of textures and flavours into the invisible form of Music, romantic fiction into action.

Introducing a limited edition of Eyedress's 2018 album, "Sensitive G", pressed on transparent lime green, with only 1000 copies available worldwide.

Sheffield's hugely talented producer Hedge Maze lands on Selvamancer. Years in the making after a long search to decipher an unreleased tune from an unknown alter ego found online (title track Riding The Wave), we're excited to finally bring it to the masses. Morphed industrial violence, tearjerking post-dubstep-trap and the ruthless title track bounce off the walls. Let's commence! Face to the glass. "You use a mirror to see your face, you use a work of art to see your soul." G.B.Shaw... but if you stood with your breath appearing on the canvas what would you say to a Mane or a Rothko three inches away from it. As you push your nose up to the mirror of your soul, what to say to it in response. To listen to one's soul is to hear its depth, for it has many voices, but which voice to listen to. Fear be a man's best friend, he will accompany you should you wish. Forever on your coattails, a whisperer of half unseen truths: distorting perceptions. grief, illness, disappointment, pain, struggle, poverty, loss, terror, heartache, All to be feared. Yet, all features of a life lived! Courage then is simply to live and to live well, choose the voice that gives light. Throw the house out of the window so some say, throw yourself too, say I. Mark Warren. - written whilst listening to Strukku's Beat on Hedge Maze EP

Leisure Group Recordings, a side label project of Razor-N-Tape’s JKriv, drops their first vinyl release with a 7inch slab of trippy dance-floor dub by Kings Of High Speed. Launched earlier in the year with J’s pensive balearic 'Within EP,' Leisure Group now delves further back into J’s personal archive for a pair of tracks that he began over a decade earlier with his Tortured Soul bandmate, the late keyboardist Ethan White. A huge lover of dub reggae, Ethan showered these tracks with tasty and authentic organ and synthesizer stylings. The tunes sat unfinished on an old drive for many years, until J recently excavated, arranged and finished off the productions with a healthy dose of dub via a Space Echo, Eventide and other hardware delay units. Dedicated to the memory of Ethan White, one of the grooviest humans to ever walk the earth.

As Klasse Wrecks enters the second chapter of our century of releases, we're happy to welcome the sounds and skills of Nicola Cruz to the roster. The Ecuadorian producer masterfully turns in a perfectly tuned handful of tracks for his 'Data Passenger' EP, the overiding soundscape being one of Electro, Breaks and infiniteless cosmic exploration.

Sonically the tracks are as much for the soles as they are the souls, a heady mix of intricate rhythms and vibrations await the listener and dancefloor. Plug in to the console let the soundwaves carry you across the spectrum.

DJ Support: Martin Garrix, Don Diablo, Nic Fanciulli, Chris Lake, Claptone, Mark Knight, David Penn, Tini Gessler, Marco Lys

Renowned Curacao-born electronic music duo Shermanology drop a 4 track EP on their own cutting-edge label, D'EAUPE, inc My World, Boys In Da Club, U Got Me and Hijos De La Noche.

Known for their dynamic sound and ability to seamlessly fuse various genres, Shermanology has consistently been at the forefront of the electronic music scene.

Infectious beats and soulful vocals showcase Shermanology's mastery in creating music that transcends genres and brings people together on the dance floor. This release marks a significant milestone for Shermanology as they continue to make waves in the industry with their forward-thinking approach.

alphacut sets off into brushy tribal jungle

the early 2010s have been a prosperous era for a lotta fast dance and bass music. dubstep's magic was fading due to brosounds taking over but the idea of some fresh air inbetween drums and basslines was thankfully carried on into the jungles too. not only halftime but also tribal beats grew strong, whether it being in warm dubby or cold darker reincarnations.
speaking of living on, this plate is not only a sequel to that era but also a tribute to the one like morphy, who brought dubby tribal brushy jungle onto alphacut around that time. it light up a spark to head for new territories, its soul is vibing on in 45seven and especially in this new alphacut - post morphem!

rude operator are opening with a minimal dancehall feel, wriggling from 8bar to 8bar, switching tensions with patterns with a slice of footwork dna inside - zero chances to freeze!
rainforest is stepping on with enlightening skanks and mystic basses under a riddim one simply can't escape as well.
paradox effects is not only flipping sides but vibes pretty much too. keeping it tribal and one-seventy but much darker with an amen from the vaults in a bunker-conrete jungle - the raw and free sound of leipzig.
dreadmaul is closing with a masterpiece which could have been executed by the homaged dubbing don himself. moody pads meet distant dub sirens and robotic amen leftovers step up into a hypnotising groove, taking you back down in the woods.

we are happy to be back with a solid round-up package which should never leave your tribal crates again, zooom!

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HERBERT HUNTER will be forever worshiped by the UK Northern Soul scene for his anthemic 45 'I Was Born to Love You', recorded in the home of country music, Nashville, in 1967. Sometimes things are just meant to be and they collide in perfect harmony. 'I Was Born To Love You' is a case in point. The perfect lyric - 'I Was Born To Love You, You Were Born To Tear My Heart Apart' - the perfect beat, and perfect timing as it crashed onto these shores in the summer of '76 when Northern Soul was at its zenith and Wigan Casino owned the All-Nighter scene! But, Hunter is no one-trick pony, as his list of collectable 45s bears testament, not least 'Happy Go Lucky', also on Spar. Hunter was part of Ted Jarrett's roster of artists and, under Jarrett's stewardship recorded a string of cover versions under the pseudonym Leroy Jones for the neighbouring budget label 'Hit'. He learnt much of his trade from established artists and label mates such as Gene Allison who he toured with as minder and nursemaid, due to Allison's drink problem. Often, when they arrived a venue, Allison was too drunk to perform and Hunter would step in for him.
For our B-side we've chosen a lesser known, but no less wonderful and gritty Northern Soul dancer 'I Know The Feelin'' by THE JADES. Currently very much in demand with a mint copy selling earlier this year for over $900. We know little about The Jades who recorded this incredible slab of up-tempo soul for Ted Jarrett's Poncello label in 1964 featuring, of course, Herbert Hunter's booming lead vocal.
Many thanks to Fred James for making this superb double-sider possible.

Next Polyamore Recs release comes from Costariva, a really interesting project from Bologna (ITA).

‘Pantera’ intended to transport the listener into the midst of the vibrant paths of a dancing journey to the sound of Italo-disco rhythms, bringing body and soul back to the belle époque of Italian disco music.

“Miscela originale” is a blend of Catchy bass lines and shimmering melodies, amalgamated by the colours of strings and synths, the track is the result of the artistic blend between the music produced and arranged by Federico Franciosi and the words skilfully framed with an ironic and boisterous vein by Giorgio Michele Longo (aka Giargo) and Francesco Zaniboni (aka Dj Rou).

“Rivisitazione adriatica” has a catchy, sexy groove and a horns part that let you go on summer nights.

“Sam Ruffillo Rework” is a dancefloor ready track for your best peak-time in the next summer season festival.

‘Pantera’ is also intended as a veiled homage to one of the greatest and most underrated innovators on the Italian and international music scene, Pino D’Angiò.

With its infectious rhythm and playful spirit, ‘Pantera’ promises to make listeners dance and smile, instilling a little healthy and amused nostalgia in all travellers of the night.

Among the most famous husband-and-wife soul duos of all time, Ike & Tina Turner scored an incredible array of hits in the 1960s and 70s, before Tina finally exited the partnership. The debut LP on the Pompeii label, So Fine dates from 1968, a couple of years after a support slot on a Rolling Stones tour boosted their profiles; in addition to a remake of early hit ‘A Fool In Love,’ there’s an awesome take of Johnny Otis’ ‘So Fine’ and a competent rendition of ‘Shake A Tail Feather.’ Tina is fully in her element, the Ikettes keep up the harmonic pressure, and producer Ike handles the rest. Recommended listening for all soul fans!

Introducing "Azerbaijani Gitara vol. 2" by Rəhman Məmmədli, the eagerly awaited sequel to Bongo Joe’s acclaimed debut featuring Rüstəm Quliyev. Born from the vibrant streets of Baku, Azerbaijani gitara culture has evolved into a mesmerizing fusion of indigenous traditions and global influences. From the oil boom era to Soviet rule, musicians have embraced the electric guitar as a symbol of cultural expression.

Rəhman Məmmədli, a legend in his own right, revolutionized the sound with his innovative techniques and impassioned performances. Drawing inspiration from mugham music, Məmmədli's compositions resonate with soul-stirring melodies and electrifying solos.

Join us as we honor the pioneers of Azerbaijani gitara culture while celebrating the continued evolution of this rich musical tradition. "Azerbaijani Gitara vol. 2" promise to captivate listeners with its depth, diversity, and unbridled passion, inviting you on a journey through the heart and soul of Azerbaijan's musical heritage.

First ever reissue of this excellent self-titled South African jazz album by Spirits Rejoice.
Check out tracks like 'Woza Uzo Kudanisa Nathi' or 'Papa's Funk' !

The 1970s is regarded as a period of experimentation, boundary-breaking and hybridization in modern music and this spirit certainly informed the mushrooming of ideas that occurred in South African jazz during this time. In the shadow of more commercial township jive and soul, South African jazz evolved on the fringe, nurtured by passionate and enterprising independent producers who courted the interest of the mainstream with enchanting concoctions of jazz with folk, rock, soul and funk.

With a lineup hailing from far flung regions of South Africa, the mercurial sound of Spirits Rejoice and its willingness to weave a patchwork of different influences into its recordings is not hard to account for. More difficult to reconcile is that the band didn’t manage to level up to the status enjoyed by its peers in larger music markets abroad. Nevertheless, Spirits Rejoice has maintained its revered status in the collective memory of South African jazz for over four decades and their recorded artifacts return in the 2020s with the group’s vitality and energy undiminished.

Whereas before all jamaican recordings were made for 7-inch single releases, this recording session was held to release the longplay album “The Best Of The Wailers“, the very first album by The Wailers, and the very first album in reggae at all.
Recorded before their involvement with Lee Perry but not released until 1971 this is The Wailers at their soulful best. The songs are simple yet powerful. There are great harmonies between Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and unlike their later releases with Island records the sound isn't embellished. Each and every song is memorable, they are all classics.

Husband-and-wife soul duo Ike & Tina Turner produced an astounding string of hits during the 1960s and 70s, before Tina found the will to go solo. Unjustly overlooked at its time of release, the duo’s first blues album finds Tina’s passionately powerful voice holding plenty of grit and Ike’s guitar a restrained accompaniment throughout; the take of Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Crazy ‘Bout You Baby’ has gripping electric piano and buzzing blues harp and Ike’s ‘Grumbling’ is a killer guitar groove. A good mix of covers and originals, it shows how well the duo could work in the blues idiom. Another great LP for all Ike & Tina fans!

Expansive & emotional ambient techno tracks spin into some Detroit techno ‘Shambles’. Hi Tech Soul threaded into an introspective cocoon that seems nostalgic and futuristic in the same breath.

Initially formed in southeast London in the mid-1960s as the Coloured Raisins, obscure black rock quartet Black Velvet infused their sound with soul and reggae undercurrents, a testament to the Caribbean origins of the group members, and the pervasive styles inspiring the black communities that inhabited London’s marginal outskirts. Produced by Don Lawson for the Beacon label, which was launched by the Antiguan businessman and future politician Milton Samuel, Black Velvet’s powerful debut is a snapshot in time of London’s black underground that will appeal to anyone interested in the black British music scene of the early 1970s.

Exact Repro OF THE Original With 4 Bonus Tracks. Japanese country rock act Gypsy Blood must be heard to be believed. Released on Vertigo in 1971, their sole LP showed the group simply bursting with talent, Kiyoshi Hayami’s mandolin exceptional and the masterful soft-rock production courtesy of Miki Curtis; drummer Eiichi Tsukasa had earlier been in the Helpful Soul, organist Katsuo Ohno had been in the Spiders, and guitarist/vocalist Hiroaki Nakamura later played in Buzz with future YMO member Yukihiro Takahashi, while none other than Alan Merrill of ‘I Love R‘n’R’ fame completes the picture on piano. A beautiful album, and a very rare beast!

Following his tenure fronting British psychedelic rock act The Web, who cut a couple of likeable albums featuring his bluesy, soulful lead, US-born vocalist Mississippi John L. Watson went solo, working with Pete Wingfield on his 1970 debut, White Hot Blue Black. Superior sophomore set Let’s Straighten It Out was released on Bob Kingston’s Spark label in 1975 and credited to John L. Watson and White Mouse, with Watson headed in a funk direction; along with the potent title track, there’s a fine cut of Gwen McCrae’s ‘Rockin’ Chair,’ making the set a sure-fire winner for Watson fans and lovers of British funk and soul.

Proto-prog act Titus Groan came together in London from disparate influences: drummer Jim Toomey, who later played in the Tourists, had a trad jazz background, and then played in a soul act with saxophonist/flutist/oboist Tony Priestland; bassist John Lee had played with jazz saxophonist Dick Morrissey, and guitarist/keyboardist Stuart Cowell was a blues fan, hence the diverse directions of their sole LP. Rare 12-inch ‘Open The Door Homer’ features their cover of the unreleased Bob Dylan song that was also tackled by Fairport Convention, originals ‘Woman Of The World’ and ‘Liverpool’ between blues rock, jazz rock and prog.

Although For The Longest Time She Has Been A Chicago Resident, Ruby Andrews's Wonderfully Dramatic Vocals Sounds Like Straight From The Deep South Of The Usa. Actually, That Is Where She Was Born In Hollandale, Mississippi, In 1947. She Recorded At Least Six Albums That Are Each Highly Treasured By Soul And Funk Fans All Over The World. Black Ruby, The Brilliant Second Lp From This Marvelous Soulsinger First Appeared On The Zodiac Label In 1972. Just One Minor Nationally Charted Hit Came Off The Lp. But As A Whole It Is Even More Revered Than Her Hit-laden Predecessor Among Soul Aficionado's. It's Considered An Exemplary Classic Of A Deep- And Chicago-soul Album. The Music Has Re-appeared Some Times In One Form Or Another But The Lp Was Never Before Fully Reissued On High Quality Vinyl! Everland Is Thus Very Proud To Re-present The Black Ruby Album In Closest To Original Format With That Beautifully Designed And Shiny Psychedelic Album Cover. A True Gem Indeed.

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THE KING CASUALS – were originally named The King Kasuals and were founded in 1962 by the late great Jimi Hendrix. Little wonder that in the late Sixties Jimi’s replacemet, Johnny Jones, would lead the band in a raucous, stomping interpretation of the Hendrix classic. It had everything necessary to propel you to the dance floor and it certainly lit the Torch in Stoke-on-Trent, shook the floor at Wigan Casino and wobbled the pier at Cleethorpes. This outrageous powerhouse has grown in stature over the years and sounds every bit as a weird and wonderful as it did over 50 years ago.
GENE CHANDLER – needs no introduction to the UK Northern Soul scene thanks to his numerous floorfillers and UK appearances. As with our flip-side, “Purple Haze”, “There Was A Time” is a definitive ‘soul’ cover-version of an R&B original, in this case by the “Godfather” James Brown. This stomping, adrenalin-fueled dance cover was propelled to classic status in Mr M’s at Wigan Casino and cemented Gene “Big Shot” Chandler’s place in the Northern Soul Hall of Fame.

SALES POINTS:
MIND BLOWING NORTHERN SOUL courtesy of The Exciters, Willie Kendrick and Cindy Lynn
Featuring new-to-vinyl couplings, rarities and in-demand current favourites
The Outta Sight Northern Soul library continues to build, start collecting the series today!

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2 Classic 6Ts Northern Soul/Mod Sides From The Legendary Philly Label Cameo-Parkway Reissued For The First Time

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2 Classic 6Ts Northern Soul/Mod Sides From The Legendary Philly Label Cameo-Parkway Reissued For The First Time

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More Classic Northern Soul Sides From The Legendary Cameo-Parkway Label Transferred From The Original Master Tapes And Reissued For The First Time Ever

Repressed for the first time in 2 years, Note price change. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy/Roc-AFella era of nihilistic excess in the late 90's, Dead Prez also signed to a major label (Loud/Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel. The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo’s music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990's.

By later that decade, the duo had started making significant waves, having their music heard on the soundtracks to “Soul In The Hole” and “Slam,” as well as appearing on albums by Big Pun and The Beatnuts. By 1998, they released their first official single, the serious, stark “Police State,” on Loud, appropriately brought to the label by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian. After building a solid rep over the next two years with fiery live performances, in 2000 they unleashed their debut album, Let’s Get Free.

The album was a welcome return to provocative and often radically political rhetoric that hearkened back to hip-hop forebears including The Coup, Public Enemy and KRS-One (as well as poetic descendants like the Last Poets and Watts Prophets). Let’s Get Free was critically acclaimed and benefited from multiple singles, including the infectious, thick analog drive of “Hip-Hop” “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” with a remix co-produced by a young Kanye West; “Mind Sex” (with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets); and the poignant “I’m An African.”

But the singles weren’t the only worthy songs, as just about every cut here has deeper meaning than most full albums by their early 2000's peers. Highlights: the thought-provoking, anti-drug album opener “Wolves”; “We Want Freedom” “They Schools” and “Propaganda” . All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time.

Jaqee's last album with the promising title "Fly High" leads the inclined listener into a sometimes idiosyncratic fermentation of street-ready R'n'B, pop aesthetics, jazz intellect, world music earthiness, chanting Afro soul and sensitivity and softness of classical music and orchestral warmth, which is defined by Jaqee's voice throughout all tracks, but never overridden. Thilo "Teka" Jacks, who produced "Fly High", is looking for musical salvation and the courage to change things up in order to illustrate unity, also in busy, heated, African sub-currents like High Life, but also in European dancefloor stereotypes and even traces of soca and merengue, all of course always only thought of, because the real main actor is and remains Jaqee's sustained singing, her unique intonation and her voice, which sometimes sounds clear and angry, other times fragile and sensitive - that's the way it should be. Despite or precisely because of this immensely expressive character of the album, it is advisable to listen to the work several times: Jaqee makes music with sophistication and expression and a look that also allows for sheer black music entertainment, "Fly High" proves this with lasting effect. "Fly High" is now available on vinyl for the first time.

For the fourth time now Jaqee introduces herself to the World with her impressive voice and her unique attitude. Born in Kampala, the Capital of Uganda, she began her vagabond like life the moment she was born. During her childhood, she travelled the rural areas of her home country with her parents. This is where she collected her first impressions of the life as a nomad. From birth on, wandering the earth became a part of her destiny. In the early nineties she undertook a huge step and immigrated to Sweden. The City of Gothenburg would become her adopted home from where she was able to access all the different destinies and directions, which were on offer to her. Through all the borders Jaqee crossed, music has always been her steady companion whereas it never was a stereotype thing that let her get down with any special genre, than more like a special feeling. “To do what I want in a particular moment is my motivation. I like to express myself in all kind of sounds.” So above all, she became a true nomad in the world of music. After several successful co-operations with numerous artists, in 2005 Jaqee made an impact with her debut album “Blaqalixious”, which was mainly a Soul and R&B album. “That was my direct contact to the music that a rural community in the Diaspora plays” she explains. But it did not end up there because a nomad like Jaqee does not settle anywhere. After further creative and fruitful collaborations, Jaqee released her second long player “Nouvelle d´ amour” in 2007. This time, the sound was more of a rocking, bluesy vibe. It seemed to be the total opposite to her debut album but for Jaqee it was only the next step on her path in the circle of life. “Everything is possible as long as it is real. I never wonder about things like genre as long as the vibe fits.” One step further on, she encountered the songs of Billie Holiday, which lead to the album “A letter to Billie” recorded together with Bohuslänbigband, a lovely homage to the great American Jazz Singer. Both of her first two albums each received a Swedish Grammy nomination and several appearances in the Swedish national television increased her standing as a passionate and soulful Singer. So Teka, producer and creator of many successful riddims for his co-found German label, Rootdown Records considered her to be part of his new project “Koala Desperados“, which link Caribbean vibes like Cumbia to Reggae, and while working on it a totally new idea was born. Jaqee and Teka decided to combine both their talents into one album. The results of which you can now hear on “Kokoo Girl” a refreshing mix of Old School Reggae sounds from the seventies combined with up-to-date Beats, electronic twists and turns and of course the amazing voice of Jaqee. For her, this means that she has achieved some of her ambitions. “I grew up with African Gospel, in sad and turbulent environment, so for me, this means I grasp and totally understand the reggae and its non ending struggle for the common man.” No sooner said than done and “Kokoo Girl” will become Jaqee’s fourth and newest release. All the paths she followed, countries she crossed and influences she absorbed are a part of this album. She sings with the freedom of spirit of the travelling people. The word “Kokoo” is the only memory that remains everlasting. It is just a word but its impact is so huge that Jaqee does not really like to explain it. “It implies irony and seriousness as well as sarcasm and fun.” It is more than a gimmick. “Kokoo” is a very special feeling and a clear view of the world from an artist who has seen more of it than all the people that have settled down.

Old Saw, the enigmatic New England collective led by Henry Birdsey (Tongue Depressor), return with their third long-playing record, Dissection Maps. It is not enough to trace the fields. The choreo-cartographic demands the casting of stone, a grassfire, a carnival; something with which to rupture the horizontality of existence and imagine the vertical. Earth is the eighth morning, folded against the week's work. The field is a line drawing of oblivion. The house is a forest in the shape of a womb. America is a quarry in the image of god. (Aidan Patrick Welby – 2024) “The band captures the American stretch, the spaces in-between and the hollowness that haunts us along those routes…fades the radio to static to let the nothingness linger among the soul.” (Raven Sings the Blues) “evokes an ambience of prayer-like solemnity that celebrates something decidedly terrestrial, what the label describes as “a rusted and granular shadow world where the dive bar meets the divine.” It recalls one of those junkyard shrines built by some sincere eccentric, improbably wonderful forms of weathered stone and scrap metal standing like totems to an unrecognised religion rooted in the earth around us.” (Various Small Flames)

SWE is back with another NOLA gem, this time around with Lokee and his album Voodoo Gangsta Funk originally released in 1996. Production by DJ Tee, Ice Mike, Lokee, and Real Roc, and a guest feature by the late great Soulja Slim.

"Reissued for the first time on vinyl here’s the second album of Jamaican reggae singer George Faith, originally released on Hollywood records back in 1979.
"Wonderful soul reggae melodies backed by the likes of Sly & Robbie, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett, Tommy McCook, Earl 'Chinna' Smith and more. Produced by the one and only Bunny Lee at Harry J Studios and mixed by Scientist at King Tubby’s Studios!"

MERMAID'S TAILS ist ein kraftvoller Mid-Tempo-Track mit Deep-Soul-Flavour, Psyche-Einflüssen und einem starken Hip-Hop-Feeling. Der Song führt die Hörer durch die verträumten Sehnsüchte der perfekten Liebe. Die Melodie und der Text sind sowohl poetisch als auch trivial. Der Track verschmilzt Fantasie und Realität in einer Psyche Soul Stimmung. Der Bass ist schwer und tief, das Schlagzeug klingt wie ein Hip Hop Sample, während das Rhodes und die Gitarren satt sind. Zusammen mit dem Fuzz-Gegengesang und den Flötenimprovisationen bilden sie die perfekte Musik zu Rachel Yarabous intensiver und doch sehr sanfter Stimme.

KICK OFF THE ROAD ist ein Uptempo-Song mit bluesigen Strophen, einem starken, treibenden Beat und einem schweren, stampfenden Bass.
Sie führen uns zum funkigen Refrain voller Orgelschläge und Drum-Breaks. Das Stax-Feeling der Band vermischt sich mit den Einflüssen von James Brown bis zur Bridge, die den Song in eine erhabene, psychedelische Klammer treibt. In diesem Song singt Rachel Yarabou die Geschichte eines Mädchens, das seinen eigenen Weg gehen will und es vorzieht, die Straße zu verlassen, bis sie am Ziel ist. Christelle Amoussou, die Songwriterin der Band, schenkt uns eine weitere Soul-Hymne für die Freiheit und die Emanzipation der Frau.

• Freda Payne’s Band Of Gold is the debut album for Invictus Record's’ first lady of soul
• Features a slew of hits including; ‘Band Of Gold’ (UK no.1 for 6 weeks), ‘Unhooked
Generation’ and ‘The Easiest Way to Fall’
• Soul masterpiece reissued on 180gm heavyweight classic black vinyl with printed inner sleeve
• Recorded for Holland-Dozier-Holland’s Invictus Record label, under former Motown
powerhouse writers and producers