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Purple Vinyl 2023 Repress


For the inaugural vinyl release of Psycho Bummer, we bring an EP from one of our label founders, DJ Scam (Brandon Ivers). Jungle and drum'n bass was the starting point for us as DJs, friends, and collaborators, so it seemed fitting to begin the story here.

The EP's opener, "Darkside Geezer", is a tribute to the transition point right before hardcore morphed into jungle in 1993. Although producers worked with a small palette of sounds back then, the emotion and freshness they were able to pull out of their limitations remains unrivaled. "Darkside Geezer" imagines an alternate reality of that period, drawing parallels between it and the transitions that 2020 brought us.

"Sodium Pentothal" is the roughest tune on this release, adopting the sonics of modern drum'n bass production, but channeled through the tropes of the music in its early stages. DJs like Sherelle, Tim Reaper, and Coco Bryce played a tremendous role in inspiring us (and keeping us sane) over the last year, so we wanted to stick to the tempo they helped rekindle.

The closer, "Black Swan", focuses on the simplicity of early hardcore and jungle, but breaks away with glassy chimes and a folding, geometric structure. Made with old samplers and tracker software, "Black Swan" was the first track Scam did for this release and it helped set the tone for what followed.

Psycho Bummer loves the feel of weighty vinyl, so we've opted for 180 gram pressings with a brilliant purple color. The album art, created by Canadian artist Ben O'Neil, is printed on a higloss laminant sleeve, which retains the striking colors of the original digital art.

Mr Bongo presents a reissue of one of the rarest releases on the illustrious and now ultra-rare tax scam label TSG Records. A label with a checkered past, operated by Lloyd Price and with alleged ties to boxing promoter Don King. The album in question, Disco Party by Reality, is a stunning journey through ‘70s dancefloor-focussed funk into early proto-disco grooves. Back in mid-‘70s Manhattan, Dr. Otto Gomez and a group of fellow New York musicians including Tony Dixon, Norman Drayton, Tony Dupree, Al Jones and Fred Nanton were brought in for a recording session by songwriter and producer, Billy Nichols. Laying down one of Nichols' songs and a selection of the group's own, they were paid as session musicians and thought little of it. The tapes came to the attention of Lloyd Price who struck a deal with Nichols unbeknownst to Gomez and the rest of the band. Price then pressed the album and put it out in 1976 on a newly formed subsidiary label, TSG Records, that would later be documented as one of the US tax scam labels of the ‘70s. Such labels were created to exploit a loophole in the US tax system, running up inflated production costs / losses that investors or the parent label could write off against their tax bills. Releases on these labels were never intended to have commercial success. They would usually be produced in incredibly limited pressing numbers and have little to no promotion or distribution. As such many of these records instantly fell into obscurity, becoming mythical amongst DJs and record collectors. Sadly, this meant that artists like Dr. Otto Gomez and friends never had the chance for their record and their talents to shine at the time. In fact, it was only when Jazzman reached out for their 2022 reissue that Dr. Otto Gomez became aware that the album had ever been released and heard the story behind it. Disco Party is a time capsule where ‘70s instrumental funk edges and intertwines into an early disco sound. The sessions are for the dancefloor, minimalist and groove-based. The bass and drums are at the forefront, providing the pulse of the album. Driving funky guitar licks, and a brilliant horn section weave their way in and out of the productions. Highlights include the uplifting feel-good ‘Let's Party People’, the early disco swagger of ‘Reality’, and ‘Disco Party (Let's Have A)’ with its wah-wah groove and percussion break, which could easily have found its home on a Blaxploitation film soundtrack of the period. It’s not just rarity that makes this record so sought after, but rather the fact that it is a superb example of dancefloor-focussed mid ‘70s funk and disco.

Two Lisbon mainstays from contiguous generations join forces as Scam Dust for the new Paraiso record: Tiago, Lux Fragil resident, world-renowned DJ's DJ and all-round music whizz plus Shcuro, Paraiso's co-founder, scene documenter and impeccable selector & producer. Funnily enough they also live in contiguous beach towns in the outskirts of the capital, Parede and Carcavelos. That's where they zig-zagged amid home-studios and, four hands in various machines, concocted this refreshingly to-the-bone record. Like a non-local entanglement between Lisbon, Sheffield, The Hague and somewhere in the American Midwest, 'Gastric Pulse' EP opens with a saturated, modulated acid line over a tight, industrial-tinged techno beat, peppered with sonic dirt of the highest order. It sounds like music projects like Downwards and Mathematics would put out. 'Enzyme Breaks' follows suit with a comparably raw spirit, adding some mysterious atmospheric scintillation and drum variations. A certain recluse techno (is that a thing?) comes to mind (and heart), Unit Moebius style. Toms abound in 'Pepsin Drive' - always a promising sign in our book - and the playfulness continues in the cheeky bassline and the intricate clap work. Soulful stabs give the tune extra magic via the mantra-like structuring power of repetition. The final track in the record comes from Pacific North-West transplant Doc Sleep and her collaborator Elias FS step in for remix responsibilities and flip the B1 into a hypnotic, dubby - and yes, jazzy - piece complete with a dive into glitchy, sonic sculpture territories towards the end of the arrangement. Quite the brilliant take. Music still counts (and always will), after all is said and done - and nothing like two hard-working music-makers to remind us of that.

This October Jamiroquai celebrates the 30th anniversary of ‘The Return Of The Space Cowboy’. Their second album, it will be reissued as a double-LP set on 140g “moon grey” vinyl and includes Michael Gray’s Good Vibe Zone edit of ‘Space Cowboy’ - which has never been released on a physical product. The packaging has also been re-designed for this anniversary release including foil enhancement of the original cover design.

‘The Return Of The Space Cowboy’ is the follow up album to the band’s huge 1993 debut, ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’. Selling over 3 million copies globally, ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’ put the band on the map with their distinctive sound standing them apart from other popular acts of the time.

‘The Return Of The Space Cowboy’ was released just one year later and was met with great critical and public acclaim. Certified Platinum in the UK, Japan and France, it achieved chart success in multiple countries and spawned the single ‘Space Cowboy’ which remains one of their biggest tracks to date. Critically the album was lauded with Rolling Stone saying "Jamiroquai parlay jazzy soul pop so tight it crackles… Nowadays, when most funk comes out of cans, Jamiroquai's live spark glows", The Guardian said “... this second album sounds like vintage Stevie Wonder and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, but Kay's vocals are as snappy and engaging as his extrovert persona" and Q magazine said it “combines intricate arrangements with several long, free-form workouts crammed with virtuoso performances".

For many, this album is defined by some of the most complex songwriting the band have ever produced and Jay Kay called it “one of our most creative and accomplished albums”. The process of making the album came with many challenges. Having to recruit a new drummer (after Nick Van Gelder failed to return from holiday), the band were met with second-album syndrome with Kay proclaiming since that lyrics weren’t coming "... because suddenly I wasn't homeless, I had everything I needed. So I found myself creating problems to write about." The songwriting process was complex for the band as Jay Kay was often dissatisfied with the results, leading songs to be scrapped or rewritten, but half-way through recording Kay wrote ‘Space Cowboy’, a song which reflects darker times during the recording session, and it became the catalyst of creative inspiration helping them finish the record. On this 30th anniversary edition of the album Space Cowboy gets a modern dance makeover courtesy of DJ Michael Gray, shedding new light on the track and emphasising it’s already infectious groove.

The album built on the success of ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’ and Jamiroquai have become one of the UK’s most pioneering and ground breaking bands of the past 30 years. Pushing boundaries and bringing jazz and funk to a mainstream audience, their sound is not only unique, but immediately recognisable.

Mr Bongo presents a reissue of the 1619 Bad Ass Band’s self-titled album, originally released in 1976 on the ultra-rare tax-scam imprint TSG Records. Formed by Khalid Abdul Shalid, the record was the only album released by the group, and has since become a mythical, highly sought-after prize for collectors and DJs, ranking among the most coveted albums on the 1970s rare soul scene.

This New Jersey soul-funk gem captures the raw energy of mid-‘70s underground funk and soul. Its journey began in relative obscurity having been released on TSG, one of several US “tax-scam” labels operating at the time. These labels exploited loopholes in the tax system by inflating production costs to create write-offs against their tax bills, meaning commercial success was never the objective. Records were often pressed in extremely limited quantities, with little to no promotion or distribution and in many cases, artists were unaware their music had even been released. While this led to the 1619 Bad Ass Band’s album slipping into obscurity upon release, it later cemented its status as a holy grail for diggers and DJs. Unfortunately, like many releases of its kind, it also meant the band never received the recognition they deserved at the time.

Musically, the album is a unique listen with a varied palette that will appeal to fans of a broad range of tastes. From the luscious, dreamy ballad ‘Rain’, which will melt even the stoniest of hearts, to the raw, drum-heavy funk of ‘Love To Love’, it showcases the group’s depth and versatility. Highlights include the string-laden, floaty stepper ‘Just From You’, and ‘Nothing Can Stop My Loving You’, with its spacey synth lines, which will be a joy for modern soul fans. Elsewhere, ‘Step Out’ opens with a heavy drum break (later sampled on Latyrx’s ‘Interlude’ from their 1997 debut) before unfolding into a brilliant male-female vocal exchange.

Every track on here is a winner and it’s criminal that the band never received the publicity or credit they deserved when it was first released. Alongside the TSG Records release in 1976, the album was later released again in 1978 with alternate cover art on another tax-scam label, Graham International. Both versions have since become highly collectable and over time, the album has steadily gained the recognition it always deserved. This reissue by Mr Bongo offers a wider audience the chance to experience a truly special record, one that stands as a testament to the overlooked brilliance of the era’s underground soul and funk scene.

Planet E looks to the heart of Detroit’s club culture for the debut appearance on the label from Motor City mainstay, Mister Joshooa. A DJ and sound engineer closely intertwined with the city’s music scene, regularly found behind the decks at clubs like TV Lounge and Lincoln Factory and having previously appeared on Carl Craig’s celebrated Detroit Love compilation, ‘Settle Down’ introduces four tracks that cement Mister Joshooa’s lucid, far-out take on house.

Lead track ‘Settle Down’ distills the energies and influence of the scene into a rubber-jointed, rolling introduction that vibrates with energy and anticipation, nailing a bassline that could run for hours and injecting trippy effects, live percussion and out-there vocals drawing in dancers. ‘Snake Oil’ meanwhile strips things way back, squeezing plenty of juice for the floor from a tunnelling, lightly psychedelic arrangement, offering bang-for-buck deepness that’s no scam.

‘Stop Me’ continues to drive Mister Joshooa’s productions in even wonkier, even mysterious directions, its oscillating crawl and hypnotic melody primed to create a heady atmosphere, giving surreal or even sinister, depending on each dancer’s perspective. Finally, ‘Step Up’ offers the roughest, readiest ride to close, where classic drum machine programming reverberates against throbbing sonics and all manner of analogue weirdness, transforming into an outsider techno stepper from the darker side.

We’re happy to cordially invite you to the REGRESSION SESSION, hosted by eternal Philadelphia scene flag bearers ZILLAS ON ACID!

And if you think this sounds awfully lot like a scam, you’re probably right: „Regression Session“ is just a front of their illegal black market operation, trading raw uncut gems on a large scale. Just listen to the opener and title track and you won’t exactly have a strong case for the Zillas selling out, but rough as it is, this thing is capable of destroying any dancefloor it touches.

Looking at their recent releases it’s fair to say the Z’s are on quite a run, putting out music on labels like Permanent Vacation, Throne Of Blood, Multi Culti or Ivan Smagghe’s Disques de la Mort. Tunes like the sneaky rough slow burners „Underling“ or „Start Digging“ sound like they could be lifted from the latter’s infamous DJ sets, while the deceptively titled „Cha Cha Cha“ or closer „Casual Observer“ justify the „Acid“ in the artist name. „Shining Snakes Across The Lake“ is what some years might have been called a mid-tempo house roller and probably counts as downtempo these days. Speaking of tempos, the penultimate „Sweet Days Of Discipline“ starts of masquerading as reaaally downtempo, but ends up throwing 155bpm kick drums at you, so better watch out, all you k-hole ravers! Let’s not forget to talk about „bquiet“, which is what you’d call mid-tempo house these days (125bpm) and uses the eternally banging combination of a jacking beat, a polyrhythmic bass line, some lead-synth stabs and talking vocal slices. You can practically smell the sweat.

So what’s left to say? What you see is what you get: They are Zillas, and they are on Acid. And they provide a collection of eight tunes that probably each don’t necessarily have a double-digit amount of tracks in their DAW projects, and that’s exactly what makes them so forceful. Join the regression session!

(Physical release only, Limited edition of 300 hand numbered copies + insert) Psyched Out Grooves from Hungary compiles ten of the most outstanding singles recorded by the underdogs of this period.



The psychedelic scene that never was – the perfect subtitle to this compilation. There were barely any drugs in Hungary to begin with. In this era, alcohol, music, and imagination have served as the primary means of mind alteration among the youth. The Communist party had a firm grip on culture through monopole control over venues, the media, and the recording industry, western records were not available, clubs enforced a strict dress code of suits, shirts, and longer skirts, and the police harassed young men for not more than having long hair or wearing blue jeans.



There was, however, an undercurrent of smaller semi-professional bands striving to succeed in the shadow of the very few stars privileged by the sole state owned record company. Given their chances to release music were at best limited to a few 7“ singles at the mercy of said record company powers. Psyched Out Grooves from Hungary compiles ten of the most outstanding singles recorded by the underdogs of this period. Some of the bands featured on here have eventually reached wider success by switching to more commercial styles, like Bergendy, Neoton, and Apostol. Most, like Echo, Meteor, Kék Csillag, Non-Stop, were temporal formations that dissolved after a few years due to personal conflicts, lack of success, or both. Others, like Scampolo or Juventus, lasted a longer time without an actual break through. Most of these bands never had a consistent, lasting ’psychedelic’ repertoire or identity at any point. These tracks were the exception, not the norm. That coherence - the illusion of a scene - comes from the curation and sequencing of Budabeats head honchos Von Yodi and Gandharva. It is the arrangement of these puzzle pieces that makes them fit together.



Limited edition of 300 hand numbered copies. Edited excerpt from the liner notes written by Gábor Vályi (Dj Shuriken)

Roy Porter's classic 1975 album Inner Feelings has long been a treasure trove of sample sources for hip-hop artists over the years. DJ Spine is one of those who made use of parts of the album's opener 'Party Time' in his own tune 'Rock.'

Now for the first time that single gets reissued on 7" along with DJ Spinna's edited version on the flip. The original is a real funk classic with fat bass grooves and hefty drum breaks. This track was once released on the famous tax scam label with the artwork which is presented here. It makes for a package with a great backstory and an even better sound for lovers of rare grooves and hip-hop.

This performance by Waylon Jennings was no April Fool's joke. This was the "new" Waylon, both personally and professionally. He had kicked a 20-year drug habit, split with RCA and signed a new deal with MCA Records. He discovered a passion for songwriting, teamed with legendary producer Jimmy Bowen, and produced some of the best work of his 30-year-plus career. He credited his wife and soul mate, Jessie Colter, for much of his inspiration. This was Waylon's second trip to the ACL stage, but the one that best captures the raw edge and driving urgency that pushed country music way past its Nashville boundaries starting in the mid-1970's. He was described as the leader of the country "Outlaw" movement, which he often dismissed as just another marketing scam, but there's no denying that he turned the music on its head and took it way beyond its rural southern roots. This West Texas boy who worked as a DJ and started his own band at 14, then later played with Buddy Holly, left an indelible mark on the music he loved. He was a class act, this man called Hoss. -Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits®)

This performance by Waylon Jennings was no April Fool's joke - This was the "new" Waylon, both personally and professionally - He had kicked a 20-year drug habit, split with RCA and signed a new deal with MCA Records - He discovered a passion for songwriting, teamed with
legendary producer Jimmy Bowen, and produced some of the best work of his 30-year-plus career

He credited his wife and soul mate, Jessie Colter, for much of his inspiration. This was Waylon's second trip to the ACL stage, but the one that best captures the raw edge and driving urgency that pushed country music way past its
Nashville boundaries starting in the mid-1970's. He was described as the leader
of the country "Outlaw" movement, which he often dismissed as just another
marketing scam, but there's no denying that he turned the music on its head and
took it way beyond its rural southern roots. This West Texas boy who worked as a
DJ and started his own band at 14, then later played with Buddy Holly, left an
indelible mark on the music he loved. He was a class act, this man called Hoss --
Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits).