VINYL KITCHEN RECORDS News

A serious private-press rarity gets its long-overdue reissue here for the first time ever. Formed in California in 1979, Freeway blended soulful grooves, jazz melodies and powerful horns into something that stood apart from the era's contemporary Christian scene. The cut just one self-released album in 1981 for New Born Records before disbanding. Originals now regularly fetch upwards of £400 on the resale market and this 45th Anniversary Edition marks a reissue that is going to fly off the shelves, complete with newly written liner notes and rare photographs telling the band's story. From funky jazz to boogie-inspired grooves, this is a previously hidden treasure now getting the light it deserves.

Freeway was a California outfit that first formed in 1979 and set about fusing jazz, soul and outreach-driven purpose into a sound that sat outside the norms of the contemporary Christian scene at the time. Their sole album, this self-title gem, was cut in 1981 for New Born Records has since become an underground rarity, often changing hands for upwards of £400. Now, 45 years on, Vinyl Kitchen brings Freeway back to vinyl for the first time ever, complete with new liner notes and rare photos. It's a glorious, life-affirming work of bright jazz sounds, celebratory energy, boogie grooves, funky horns and prog licks. Perfect for listening and dancing alike.

Omega Sunrise was a US funk and soul outfit made from several members of the Seawind Horns and spent around eight months a year on the road from 1979 to 1986. They recorded a debut album in 1983 that charted well nationally and years on, Feel The Change remains a favourite of deep diggers. It was a 1983 private press release that had it all, from tight, snappy drums with mellow soul vocals and jazzy melodies drenched in spiritual vibes to more slow funk cuts with more defined drums. Brass tones, synth glows and a devotional energy all pervade the 11 cuts and this is its first-ever vinyl reissue, so do not sleep.