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King Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi was one the great Sound Systems in Jamaica. It also proved a fantastic outlet for the Dub Plate Specials cut at Tubby's studio, providing exclusive cuts to be played out and to intice the dance's audience. The tracks at the time were mainly cut over producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee rhythms, that Bunny stored at Tubby's studio which was in fact his home, 18 Drumilly Avenue,Kingston, Jamaica.The versions were given exclusive plays at Tubby's sound
before some finding their way on to vinyl, as the b-side version cut to it's a-side vocal, proving so popular that the records were often brought for its version side over its vocal counterpart. King Tubby and Producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music, after discovering a mistake that made a 'serious joke' (more of which later...) they went on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely 'Dub Music'. Tubby's vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny's vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard... the Remix / Version cuts to an existing vocal tune. Osbourne 'King Tubby' Ruddock was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 28th January 1941 and grew up n the High Holborn Street area of downtown Kingston. He studied electronics at Kingston's

Source: Declaration of Rights / Johnny Clarke

Source: Top Ranking / Johnny Clarke

Source: The Stal-O-Watt / Cornell Campbell

Source: Power Of Love / Ronnie Davis

Source: African People / Johnny Clarke

Source: Pumps And Pride / Leroy Smart

Source: Girl I Love You / Johnny Clarke

Source: King Of The Arena / Johnny Clarke

Source: Stealing Stealing / Johnny Clarke

Source: Satta Dread Wayne Jarrett

Source: Crazy Baldhead / Johnny Clarke

Source: Dread A Dread / Johnny Clarke

Source: No Love / Leroy Smart

What's the connection between one of the rarest and most in-demand gargae rock records of the 1960s and Christina Aguilera, and why is it coming to Acid Jazz?
For many years and many a bootleg the snarling imperious Stones or Yardbirds influenced groove of The Illusions 'City Of People' has been sought after and coveted by garage rock collectors. The Illusions released one single, on the tiny Michelle label and today any copies that appear easily sell for North of £1000.

So far, so typically Garage. However there is a backstory to the release that explains why the record never sold at the time of release. The record was produced by Bobby Marin, a Nuyorican, who at the time was stationed in Michigan on his National Service, and who would later go on to record some of the biggest names in Latin Music, first for the cult Speed label and then for United Artists and various of his own labels. In the early 2000s his 'I'll Be A Happy Man' was sampled by Christina Aguilera on her smash hit 'Ain't No Other Man'.
At the end of 2020 Bobby found the master tape of The Illusions single - including the Byrdsian B-side. This legal reissue a fresh mastering from those tapes, bringing out the intensity of the recording, and we have released it on a look-a-like Michelle label.

"Mirrors & Smoke" is the first single by GÍO from the album of the same name, which will be released in September.
The Artist behind GÍO is the Cologne musician Johannes Stankowski. Stylistically you can classify GÍO between Yacht-Rock and Italopop. Some people prefer to call it yacht-pop, because the rock influences of bands like the Eagles or the Doobie Brothers can also be found in GÍO.
the Doobie Brothers have long since faded from GÍO's music. GÍO prefers to make music in the spheres in which even a pop star like Harry Styles moves. Pop with the really big gestures. Soft rock and blue-eyed soul with a slight disco and funk touch.
A world in which indie was mainly found in the 5-euro grab boxes of record stores, GÍO finds himself detached from contemporary trends to escape back into a world where the promises of pop were always lager than life. Not a place of dystopia, but a place to fly away. Highly hedonistic and escapistic. Mirrors & Smoke is exactly such a song. A declaration of love to pop. You can choose to listen to Fleetwood Mac or Lucio Battisti afterwards.

It's been already 10 years since the first DJ's Choice parties in basements and squatted social centers in Rome. Many things have changed, but the approach remains the same: using music as a form of expression and a means to affirm one's identity.

RM stands for "Rebel Music" (i.e., music by DJ's Choice founder The Rebel), but is also short for "Rome", a city represented in track one by the 'Jedi Master' of Roman hip hop: Danno, from the pioneering underground crew Colle Der Fomento.

Also performing on The Rebel's instrumental are New York hip hop duo The Good People in track two, ''Body Rockin''', remixed by another Italian hip hop legend, Ice One.

Rome and New York are two worlds, two styles, but two sides of the same coin. Our Rebel Music brings them together as if they were two stops on the same subway line.





e 05: Body Rockin' (Hip Hop Room Remix) feat. The Good People

A collective of forward-thinking "jazz" musicians from Australia. We owe our thanks and gratitude to the founding mothers and fathers of the music people call jazz. We respect and continuously study their legacy whilst embracing our current surroundings in making music that honestly reflects our time and space.

Few people have managed to become quite so celebrated worldwide, quite as quietly as JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ has. LOCAL VALLEY, his long awaited fourth album, serves as a relieving reminder that you don’t have to be loud to be heard.

Since his debut single ‘Crosses’ back in 2003, both he and his music have remained dependably quiet and unassuming. LOCAL VALLEY calmly exhibits his singular ability to communicate with such modesty and power.

Carwyn Ellis from Cardiff/Wales is a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He fronts Colorama, formed the Welsh folk group Bendith and hosts a regular themed radio show on Soho Radio. In 2019, Ellis embarked on the first project under his own name, Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18. Sung in Welsh and recorded mainly in Rio de Janeiro, the album, "Joia!" was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and followed by "Mas" in early 2020. The new album "Yn Rio" is a collection of new songs recorded in Cardiff together with The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales.

In 2017 Carwyn Ellis joined the touring line-up of The Pretenders. For Ellis, a record collector and fan of Brazilian music, the opportunity to tour South America would present opportunities he couldn't have possibly imagined when he accepted Chrissie Hynde's invitation. "The first place we went to was Rio and by the time I met Chrissie for breakfast the day after our gig, I already had a bag of albums I'd just bought. I'm sitting with her and she says, 'You should meet my mates, and do something in Welsh with them! Nobody's done a Welsh language album with Brazilian musicians?"

In 2018, when Alexandre Kassin, a leading light in that Brazilian scene announced a show in London, Hynde suggested that they see it. "I met him afterwards," Ellis recalls, "and we hit it off straight away." Within weeks, Ellis was on a plane to Rio with songs that would form the basis of the first album. This creative purple patch extended into another album released early in 2021 with Carwyn working once again with Kassin plus long-time friend Shawn Lee. The songs on "Mas" drew on the environmental threats that face both Wales and South America, spidering out around the central theme of water ("rains, no rain, droughts, rising seas and flooded valleys for corporate gain. We're screwed without it and screwed if there's too much").

With "Mas" recorded but weeks away from release, Ellis received a call from Gareth Iwan Jones, head producer of BBC Radio Cymru, offering a third album to be performed in March 2021. Ellis started to reflect upon the life-changing events triggered by his South American adventures. The Welsh word 'hiraeth' which describes the longing that Welsh people feel when they're far from home, was something that he was now beginning to feel for Rio de Janeiro: "'Yn Rio' is based around a day in Rio," he explains. "The events of 2020 influenced the record inasmuch as I wanted it to be a complete antidote to what was going on. If you couldn't go on holiday in real life, you could at least put this record on."

The first single "Olá!", incorporating Jorge Ben's spirit in the chorus and rhythmic breakdown, manages to sound languorous and euphoric. "Cariad, Cariad" was a Portuguese folk poem brought to Ellis' attention by Sonya from Quarteto em Cy and arranged by Christiaan Oyens. "Tristwch 20" is a nod to "Foot and Mouth 68" by Gorkys Zygotic Mynci from "The Blue Trees", 'one of the most beautiful albums of all time', while "Ynys Aur" is named after a 1929 book by Welsh missionary J. Luther Thomas written on returning from his travels to Papua New Guinea. With Kassin unable to participate, Ellis thanks him by translating his "A Paisagem Morta" to create "Y Bywyd Llonyd". For Carwyn Ellis "Yn Rio" is an extraordinary memorial to extraordinary times."There are some days so idyllic you just want tobe able to jump back into them at the touch of a button. That's what I was searching for when I was writing these songs."

Second release of the mountain people white label spinoff. Strictly limited.

Doppel-LP im Gatefold-Cover, recyceltes & zufällig gefärbtes Doppel-Vinyl, Müllsack-Innenhüllen und ein Coupon zum kostenlosen digitalen Download. Als Aesop Rock in den späten 90er Jahren mit Music For Earthworms und Appleseed debütierte, war auch Blockhead mit von der Partie, nicht nur als Produzent, sondern auch, um den Verkauf der CDRs an hungrige Hip-Hop-Fans zu koordinieren. Blockhead und Aesop setzten ihre Zusammenarbeit fort und schufen dabei eine beeindruckende Liste von Songs, darunter zwei von Aesops beliebtesten Liedern bis heute: "Daylight" und "None Shall Pass". In den letzten Jahren hatte Blockhead bei vielen von Aesops Solo-Veröffentlichungen und Gruppenprojekten Produktionen und Remixe beigesteuert, und Aesop im Gegenzug eine Handvoll Features bei Blockheads Soloprojekten, aber in all dieser Zeit haben Aesop und Block nie ein komplettes Album zusammen gemacht - bis jetzt! Garbology entstand im Laufe der Pandemie und auch zu der Zeit, in der Aesop den Tod eines engen Freundes im Januar 2020 verarbeitete. Anfangs gab es weder einen Plan für ein Album, aber es dauerte nicht lange, bis aus einem Song ein paar wurden, und dann eine Handvoll, bis schließlich ein Album geboren wurde. Garbology fängt den Soundtrack der heutigen Zeit ein, eine Momentaufnahme von Aes und Block, die sich - inmitten von weniger sozialen Interaktionen als üblich - entertainen wollen, "verankert in einem Gulasch aus Hüttenkoller, Angst, Wut und Langeweile", wie Aesop es beschreibt. Was den Titel des Albums angeht, erklärt Aesop: "Garbologie ist definiert als die Untersuchung des von einer Gesellschaft weggeworfenen Materials, um zu erfahren, was es über soziale oder kulturelle Muster verrät. Ich sehe viele Parallelen zwischen diesem Begriff und der Idee, nach einem Verlust oder einer Zeit intensiver Unruhe die Scherben aufzusammeln und zu sehen, was wirklich da ist. Es sind Informationen, die etwas darüber aussagen, wer ich bin, wer wir sind und wie wir vorankommen. Außerdem: in alter, oft vernachlässigter Musik aus einer anderen Zeit zu wühlen und diese mit einem Ohr zu durchforsten, das darauf eingestellt ist, diese Daten auf eine andere Weise aufzunehmen, als der durchschnittliche Hörer_ das ist genau das, was Tony tut. Geh die Informationen durch und sieh, was du findest."

When Aesop Rock debuted in the late 90s with Music For Earthworms and Appleseed, Blockhead was also a part of the process, not only as a producer, but also helping coordinate sales of the CDRs to hungry Hip Hop fans. Blockhead and Aesop continued to collaborate, creating an impressive list of songs along the way, including two of Aesop's most popular songs to date; "Daylight" and "None Shall Pass". In recent years, Blockhead has contributed production, as well as remixes, to many of Aesop's solo releases and group projects, and Aesop has made a handful of guest features on Blockhead's solo projects, but in all that time, Aesop and Block had never done a full album together, until Garbology!

Garbology came together over the course of the pandemic, and encapsulates the soundtrack of current times. As Aesop explains, "Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest, and seeing what’s really there. Furthermore - the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time — with an ear tuned for taking in that data in a different way than your average listener — is exactly what Blockhead does."

Following the success of the full Garbology album, it's only right to offer the instrumentals for further examination and repurposing efforts. Dive into the Garbology Instrumentals and see what you find.

Mystery Jets announce that their sixth studio album ‘A Billion Heartbeats’ will be released on 27th September on Caroline International. The band also release ‘Screwdriver’, the first single to be taken from the album.

Screwdriver is an uncompromising look at the rise of the rebranded alt-right in the UK, built around a powerfully positive message: "Fight them with love / then the world will be ours".

Lead singer Blaine Harrison says of the song, “Screwdriver is about the mechanics of intolerance. Looking back at times of economic instability in history, we see how easily deep chasms grow in society and the population seeks change wherever it is most convincingly promised. Conflict arises as cultures and belief systems clash, unwilling to accept one another’s place in society, because we are fed the rhetoric that our neighbours are those responsible for our problems: then inevitably nationalism once more raises its ugly head above the parapet. But whereas political agendas fuel divisiveness, music unites and reminds us of all that we have in common. The message of Screwdriver is not a pessimistic one - because perhaps faced with confrontation we can find understanding, and even maybe learn how to listen to, and love one another.”

Each room of the house in the video is a metaphor for the different sections of society in the UK. It wraps around the narrative of the song, that in order to overcome adversity, you have to “Fight Them With Love”. The visual showcases the song’s inherent message, clashing aggressiveness with tenderness, and culminates in showing after anger, we can always come together through love.
All great albums start from a unique perspective. But try a window on the Strand, in an abandoned office block, overlooking the kind of political upheaval London hasn’t seen in a generation. Blaine Harrison was living as a property guardian right around the corner from Trafalgar Square when he found himself witness to an entire year of protests. Every weekend from January 2017 on, people were marching for a different cause: "In the space of six months it was Black Lives Matter, the huge ‘Our NHS’ march, Unite for Europe," he recalls. "Then the solidarity sleep-out organised by Help Refugees, where we slept in Whitehall for the night... The protestors would wake me up in the morning. I’d just walk down and join in.”

Over the course of that year, Mystery Jets' sixth long-player, A Billion Heartbeats, was born. "This album wasn’t about making pointed opinions,” says Blaine. “It was about being a mirror for what’s going on, reflecting back the way people are feeling.” By turns tender and fierce, abstract and full of classic rock energy, A Billion Heartbeats achieves a balance of passion, fear and hope. Amid the colourful cavalcade of rich harmonies, heavy guitars and rallying cries, the album’s essential message - about personal responsibility, and the power in becoming engaged. In a sense, it's not just their "state of the nation” record but their “state of a generation” record too.

We increasingly hear from musicians that music should be an escape these days - that there’s enough suffering in the world, enough misery on the news, without writings songs about it too. A Billion Heartbeats makes all that sound like a bit of a cop-out. These are songs of protest that get the heart racing in joy; high on hope, and serious in their message. Proof, basically, that music speaks louder than words.

FEATURING REWORKINGS BY YANN TIERSEN, BILL RYDER-JONES, MALIBU, ELUVIUM and
PETER GREGSON.
140g black vinyl with lacquers cut by Alchemy, printed inner sleeve, limited to 500 copies.
Michael Price has announced a new album, The Hope of Better Weather - part reissue, part reworks - due out onThe Control Room on 15 October 2021.
The new album takes his 2012 EP, The Hope of Better Weather, originally recorded by Price alone in a room with a
piano improvising, and brings it fully to life with the addition of a series of reworkings by Yann Tiersen, Bill
Ryder-Jones, Malibu, Peter Gregson and Eluvium.
He explains, “I wasn't trying to control what anybody else was doing. Everybody that joined in with the project gives
their own little piece of freedom. I was really interested in what freedom we all give ourselves, as well as being
fascinated to see what a little germ of an idea can mean to somebody else.”
Listen to Yann Tiersen’s rework of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
Listen to the original version of ‘The Anatomy of Clouds’: LINK
The five pieces, alongside these new reworkings capture a stark beauty, tenderness and delicacy in their tone. But
they are also wind-like in their shifting, expansive and elemental essence - capturing an exploration of the natural
world. “Nearly 10 years ago when I recorded these improvisations, I felt like I was missing the natural world - things
like the weather, the beach at Scarborough and all those kinds of visceral things.”
When Price revisited the work in recent months - at a time when many of us found ourselves more aware of the
natural world - he reconnected with it in a way that looks to connect with his next artistic steps. “You start off with
listening to 10 year old piano recordings and then you go through the reinterpretations of people looking at that
material now through their own lens. The fixation with weather, coastlines and with people connected with nature, is
really strong all the way through this project. Coming out the other side of it, it's kind of like a Northern weather feeling
- coming out with your collar turned up with a hat on, a bit drizzly and shit outside, but with a kind of determination
that is the route forward.”
Most musicians, if they are lucky, will master one craft or field within their career. For Michael Price, he’s managed
three, with his music spanning across piano, orchestral and soundtrack work. The soundtrack work - for TV shows
such as Sherlock, Dracula, and Unforgotten, and films such as Eternal Beauty, Cheerful Weather and Just Jim - has
seen Price win an Emmy, as well as receive countless nominations (including a BAFTA nomination). His work as a
solo artist takes the form of beautiful improvised piano works, such as Diary (2017), or via lush, grand, hyper-detailed
orchestral work, as heard on critically acclaimed releases via Erased Tapes such as Entanglement (2015) and Tender
Symmetry (2018). His latest release, The Hope of Better Weather, is rooted in the piano world but also exists as a
bridge crossing into new terrain..
The process of putting together the release has been an emboldening and liberating one for Price, and he finds
himself feeling buoyant about the possibilities of what lies ahead – which includes a new solo orchestral album. “It is
super freeing and liberating,” he says. “There's these little green shoots of a freedom emerging.”

500 double lps ON BLUE / GREEN VINYL
VOLUME 1 IS sea blue
VOLUME 2 IS army green

Recorded between 2011 - 2020 by King Gizz

Mastered by Joseph Carra
Cover design by Jason Galea

LIMITED RED VINYL.

“I think my music provides space for me to say the things I can’t always say in real life.” says Virginia native songwriter and multi-media artist Corrinne James. “That’s what I love about songwriting—There’s room in music for all of the conversations that can’t exist in reality.”

While studying New Media and Cinematography at the University of Virginia, James created a secret Bandcamp under the alias Naomi Alligator, and began uploading her intimate home recordings online. Inspired by the sparse and confessional qualities of Liz Phair’s early portastudio recordings, James decided to create her own musical journal to share and process personal anecdotes.

Her modern folk production and poetic songwriting links the sounds of classic folk artists like Joan Baez and Steeleye Span to a 21st century context. James wrestles with guilt, purpose, and jealousy through vivid narratives in the songs that make up her vast self-releases. This fall, five years since her first upload and over a dozen releases later, James will share her new four-track EP, Concession Stand Girl, while making her debut on Carpark.

On the title track for Concession Stand Girl that opens the EP, James sings the inner monologue of an unappreciated ticket-taker at a high school football game. James plucks a sparkly banjo and sings details of the concession stand girl’s relationship to each of the spectators who must go through her to enter the game. “Although seemingly insignificant, the concession stand girl must interact with each spectator as they enter the football game. Despite being unable to physically see the game, inside of her head she narrates her relationship to the people at the game.” The track “Anywhere Else” sits in contrast to the rest of the EP, being the only song where James plays guitar instead of banjo.

The last song written for the EP, “Anywhere Else” describes the tense emotions that come from comparing yourself to others in the eyes of your partner. “The protagonist is convincing herself, as well as her partner, that she could leave at any moment. She doesn’t want to be taken for granted anymore.” “Big Blue World” is a touching closer to the EP, where James sings about finding her way back to the place that feels most like home. James examines the fleeting nature of ambition and asks what really creates the feeling of contentment. Describing the song’s lyrics James says, “You can achieve everything you want, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like anything compared to just feeling at home and feeling who you are deep down.”

Dieses Jahr kommt die 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe des zehnten Studioalbums von R.E.M., New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Das 1996 erschienene Album war die letzte Studioaufnahme von R.E.M. mit Gründungsmitglied Bill Berry, der die Band im folgenden Jahr einvernehmlich verließ. Als fünfte Zusammenarbeit der
Band mit dem langjährigen Produzenten Scott Litt (Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People und
Monster) experimentiert das Album mit neuen Klangtexturen, die von filmischen Bildern, dissonanten
Noten und eindringlichen Effekten geprägt sind. Der Platin-Seller enthält die Singles ”Electrolite”, ”E-Bow
the Letter” (mit Patti Smith) und ”Bittersweet Me” und ist mit einer Gesamtlaufzeit von 65 Minuten die
längste Studioveröffentlichung von R.E.M.. New Adventures in Hi-Fi erlangte Jahre nach seiner Veröffentlichung Kultstatus und wurde in mehreren Presserückblicken - und von den Bandmitgliedern selbst -
als eines der besten Alben im R.E.M.-Katalog eingestuft.

The brains behind People's Pleasure's soul classic, "Do You Hear Me Talking To You?", Bill Brown produced a slew of soul and funk hits in the 70s under a number of guises. For this release, P-VINE is releasing a rare singles collection of some of his most prized funk hits under his Bill Brown and the Soul Injection moniker. His rich multi-layered vocals are at the forefront of "Time after Time", the previously unissued opener to this collection, and the following tracks go from strength to strength with the pulsating modern soul track "Love Under The Apple Tree" and the cross-over title-track "Dreamworld Fantasies". Don't miss out on this opportunity to pick up a wonderful collection of rarities previously lost to the world from a master of funk and soul.

Long before John Brannon of Negative Approach cemented himself as a USHC icon, you
would hear rumblings about his pre-NA glam group, STATIC. Only a handful of people were
lucky/brave enough to see them live. Scenesters spoke of a tape but never seemed to have
one. Their most well-remembered song, Toothpaste and Pills, allegedly featured smashing
beer bottles against John’s mom’s basement wall as a percussion instrument. Could this be
real?

Fast forward to 2020 and a few months into the covid-19 lockdown, Brannon came across a
bunch of tapes he dug out of a box in his Mom’s closet - STATIC “DEMOS ‘78”, STATIC
“LIVE AT GROSSE POINTE SOUTH H.S.”, STATIC “LIVE AT PLEWA HALL”. Holy shit! The
legend is true! And best of all, STATIC rule!

John Brannon grew up in Grosse Pointe Park just a few blocks from the Detroit border. John
was always into music, but as soon as he heard T-Rex, The Stooges and Alice Cooper, he
was obsessed (and still is) and had to start a band to channel his obsessions. With the help
of neighborhood kid and collaborator Billy Daniels and a local drummer simply known as
“Red”, STATIC was born.

Before Negative Approach changed the face of punk and hardcore, before Laughing Hyenas
scared the world silly and blew everyone else off the stage and before Easy Action started
melting minds all over the world, there was STATIC. STATIC was real. STATIC was real as
shit.

Third Man Records is beyond ecstatic to be providing this long-missing piece of the
American Underground Music puzzle. We worked closely with John Brannon and Warren
Defever, one of Third Man Mastering’s resident wizards, to put together this essential
collection of demos and live recordings.

In 2020 Sunnyboys will celebrate 40 years since their inception (though a mere 12 years of actual existence) via a new release SUNNYBOYS 40 that brings together the first ever re-release of the band’s much loved 1980 eponymous debut 7” - featuring the original version of the classic Alone With You - alongside four new recordings culled from the archives of chief songwriter Jeremy Oxley.
Recorded over two days in October 1980 and released via independent Sydney label Phantom Records on December 31st the same year, the four songs featured on the EP were essentially the first songs Jeremy Oxley had presented to the band on his arrival in Sydney from Kingscliff just a few months earlier. Alongside Alone With You they included Love to Rule, What You Need & The Seeker.
The debut ‘yellow’ ep was an instant underground smash selling out its initial pressing of 1000 copies in just 2.5 weeks. A further pressing of 1000 would follow but then all further attempts of a repress were quashed when the ep master mysteriously disappeared after band signed to Mushroom Records in February 1981. The tapes having never been recovered these masters have been taken from the cleanest vinyl available and appear here for the first time ever outside the 7” ep format and that limited run of 2000.
Fast forward 40 years (as you do) and Sunnyboys are enjoying a renaissance rarely seen for any band from any era. In truth their popularity now eclipses what it did in 1980-1984 with each successive tour selling more tickets and faster than the tour previous. Why not then give the people new music?
Part 2 of Sunnyboys 40 was recorded between touring commitments in 2018 at Airlock Studios, Brisbane. Overdubs were added over the following twelve months at locations in Sydney & Brisbane and the mixing completed in the summer of 2019 by current in-demand producer Konstantine Kerstin. The idea being to tackle some material Jeremy had written for other projects post-1984 and to complete some unfinished business from back in the band’s original lifespan.

Can’t You Stop is a reworking of a song Jeremy recorded as The Fisherman in 1986. The short-lived trio were Jeremy’s immediate post-Sunnyboys band and the original version was released on the Waterfront label the same year. In this guise Can’t You Stop features an all new arrangement plus those trademark Sunnyboys harmonies.

Lovers (On Another Planet’s Hell) meantime, is a reworking of a track from the Sunnyboys third album Get Some Fun. The original version featuring a 4/4 beat often referred to as the “AC/DC beat” which never sat well with the band. The opportunity to readdress that all these years later proving irresistible. The added keyboards of Alister Spence and brass playing of Eamon Dilworth and young Nico Oxley (Peter’s son) also adding a new dimension to the original.

Strange Cohesion was actually written post-Get Some Fun in 1984 and was performed by the band regularly during their final tour. It would feature on the band’s swansong release, 1984’s Real Live but was never recorded in the studio. 40 gives the track its recorded debut and gives some small hint as to what Sunnyboys album no.4 may have sounded like.

Originally released as a solo recording back in 1991 under the banner Jeremy ‘Ponytail’ Oxley Way After Five shares perhaps the strongest relationship to the ‘40’ concept. Jeremy’s voice at times just a croak - a by-product of the life he has lead for much of last 40 years - adding further poignancy to the songs lyric; and it’s another Oxley classic.

And what better way to celebrate both the new release and the milestone anniversary than by doing what Sunnyboys do best - play live! And so Sunnyboys hit the east coast this February including first time ever shows in Torquay and for Sydney’s Twilights @ Taronga. Special guests Painters & Dockers will join Sunnyboys for the shows in Victoria while garage rockers Rocket Science will join the birthday boys in Sydney.
“We really didn’t think we would ever play again as a band. But wow, we have and we sure are having a bloody great time doing it.” - Peter Oxley

The Fabulous Counts were originally a teenage instrumental group of five musicians, Mose Davis (Organ and Piano), Demetrius ‘Demo’ Gates (Alto Saxophone and vocals), Jim White (Tenor Sax), Andrew T. Gibson (Drums) and Raoul Keith Mangrum (Percussion and Flute) who were later joined by the older, more experience Leroy Emanuel (Guitar and vocals). Emmanuel was invited into the group as it’s band leader by the groups manager Fred McClure, a former Detroit boxing champion who also happened to be the manager of another popular Detroit group the singing Metro’s of the hit recording “Sweetest One” fame and their subsequent respected RCA album of the same name. The Fabulous Counts would often perform at shows as the Metro’s backing band.

The Fabulous Counts first big break came after knocking several Detroit Record labels doors. They were eventually invited in by Ollie McLaughlin’s Moira studio to record, under the tutelage of Popcorn Wylie the one take hit “Jan, Jan (Moira-103). A further two Moira 45’s followed of which “Get Down People/Lunar Funk “(Moira-108) also scored high on the R&B charts. Through a deal arranged by McLaughlin The Counts released their respected “Jan, Jan” album on the Atlantic distributed Cotillion label in 1969. Moving on to Armen Boladian’s Westbound label, during 1970 the group simply changed their name to The Counts and charted with their 1971 “What’s Up Front” Westbound album, also releasing a solitary 45 “Thinking Single/Why Not Start All Over Again”. In 1972 while still part of the Westbound set up The Counts recorded two major label 45’s under the pseudonyms of Bad Smoke “Crawl Ya’ll Part 1&2” (Chess-2124) and Lunar Funk “Mr Penguin Part 1&2” (Bell 45-172), the latter being thier biggest hit. A subsequent move to Atlanta, GA saw The Counts sign with Michael Thevis’s Aware records where they recorded a further two successful albums “Love Sign” (1973) and “Funk Pump” (1975), plus a string of 45’s. In 1976 although officially never breaking up The Counts members went their separate ways to explore different life opportunity’s.



During 1978 and while still in Atlanta Leroy Emanuel borrowed money from his family and reuniting with his fellow Counts, Mose, Demo, and Jimmy Jackson Jr, they, accompanied by a local strings section recorded a session of material that spawned two songs “What’s It All About” and “Motorcity”. Which Leroy later made a deal with Terry Mendelson to release on a 45 on his TM label. The Counts had previously known Mendelson through his brother Bernie at Westbound. The TM 45 made very little noise with many of the copies having mispressed labels. Although later reissued and mistakenly credited as two previously unissued Westbound recordings on several latter Cd compilations it came to light that quite a few avid European soul collectors actually owned copies of this high quality, very elusive and desirable 45! With demand still seemingly high it seems a good time for Soul Junction to reissue it. The A-side, “What’s It All About” features its composer Leroy Emanuel on lead vocals with the other Counts adding to the backing chorus. The flipside of this 45 from the same session is the previously unreleased Mose Davis penned “Watch The Clock” which is more in keeping with the Counts traditional funk groove, enjoy.

'Dieser neueste Soundtrack aus seiner Feder fühlt sich an wie ein längst überfälliges Wiedersehen mit einem verloren geglaubten Freund: Sofort erkennt man die bekannten Züge wieder, es umgarnt einen und zieht einen hinein in eine Welt, die unverwechselbar seine ist – die Welt von N.O.W. Immerhin kann man dieses Mal drei Dinge identifizieren, die zusammenkamen und dieses Album ganz klar prägen sollten: ein persönlicher Schicksalsschlag, ganz viel Zeit (ein Nebeneffekt der Pandemie) und Black Lives Matter. Inzwischen eher eine Art Bandleader, streckte er seine Fühler aus und knüpfte Kontakte mit jungen Talenten, deren Ansatz irgendwie zu N.O.W. zu passen schien. Bald war er mit Leuten wie Shabaka Hutchings, Haile Supreme, Mara TK und Sabrina Mahfouz in Kontakt. Auch Greentea Peng, OSHUN und Pip Millett fragte er an, erklärte ihnen die Stoßrichtung: Sie alle sagten zu und nutzten die im Titel angedeuteten Freiheiten und Freiräume auf ihre Art, lieferten ihre ganz eigene, vertonte Definition von Freiheit ab.' - Don Letts aka The Rebel Dread

Written, programmed, recorded and produced throughout 2019/20 by Ed Wynne in ‘Blue Bubble Studios’ by the sea, this exploratory and diverse musical adventure comprises seven new tracks spanning 45 minutes.

Inspired by the Scottish hills, valleys and beaches surrounding his studio, Wynne feels that lockdown in a strange kind of way has provided ‘Space For The Earth’ to breathe for a while and for people to rediscover its resonant healing frequency. ‘This is space music for people from the Earth to enjoy’.

Ozrics’ synth player Silas Neptune and drummer Bal zs Szende join forces again with Wynne on the album which also features special guest appearances from former members synth player Joie Hinton, drummer Nick Van Gelder, flautist Champignon and percussionist Paul Hankin. Psychedelic voyager Gracerooms also contributes additional synth layers.

The album ebbs and flows through blissed-out soundscapes featuring incendiary guitar solos, space grooves and ambient atmospheres. Wynne plays his recently revived Ibanez Jem, a new 8-string guitar, all kinds of synths and bass. Van Gelder uses the original snare he played on the first six cassette albums and early live Ozric performances. One tune features Champignon playing kaval, a traditional wooden Balkan flute.

The album artwork was inspired directly by these seven tracks and realised by arboreal artist Kitty (Twisty-Trees) with help from Ed and cosmic artist Ivy.

One of the most influential bands to emerge from the UK’s festival scene, Ozric Tentacles formed during the solstice at Stonehenge Free Festival 1983 going on to become psychedelic staples at Glastonbury and other festivals. The creative vision of multi-instrumentalist Ed Wynne, the Ozrics’ uniquely trippy soundscapes connect fans of progressive rock, psychedelia and dance music culture.
‘Space For The Earth’ represents the next harmonic step in the unfolding Ozric
journey.

Quentin Tarantino’s WWII film “Inglourious Basterds” was released in 2009 to both critical and commercial acclaim. The movie won multiple awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe and, like all of Tarantino’s movies the soundtrack played a pivotal role. QUENTIN TARANTINO'S INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS: MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK – which itself was nominated for a Grammy Award – is a mixture of score from legendary Hollywood composer Ennio Morricone and a selection of quirky rare tracks, amongst them David Bowie’s theme from the 1982 film Cat People. It will be available on blood red translucent vinyl.

EVERY TIME I DIE is a loud rock institution committed to leaving an outpouring of chaotic passion and blissful malcontent all over their records and on the stage. With boiling charisma and unrelenting energy to spare, the Buffalo, NY band manages not one but two near-impossible tasks. They've survived two decades as an underground entity cherished for coloring outside the lines, and contrary to most career arcs, continually improving with each successive album as they charge ahead. EVERY TIME I DIE makes a glorious hardcore-punk noise. Alchemized by a swampy summoning of Southern rock and coarse poetry, the music swirls beneath sardonic and clever wordplay, cementing them as leaders, not followers. The band's ninth studio album, Radical, is 16 tracks of peak-EVERY TIME I DIE, including raucous new anthems. They deliver what you have come to know and love and then diverge into new paths. To say that "All This And War" featuring guest vocals by Josh Scogins from The '68 is absolute brutal heaviness is an understatement. It's an addictive punch in the face, you'll want on repeat. The boys then run off to explore the dark haunted woods of a more somber and melodic side in the track "Thing With Feathers" featuring Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra. Radical proves with every track that it is a distillation of the strengths of their past, injected with their unyielding revelry and signature sarcasm while cognizant - and fiercely combative - of the present state of world affairs.

Ragnarök will be HULKOFF's third solo album. The album's primary focus is to honor the courageous people who came before us and those ahead of us, the brave ones who will ultimately replace us. Repeating the successful duo- lingual approach of HULKOFF's previous album Pansarfolk, Ragnarök will be available in both English and Swedish; with the Svitjod Edition sung in Swedish and the Vinland Edition in American English.

EVERY TIME I DIE is a loud rock institution committed to leaving an outpouring of chaotic passion and blissful malcontent all over their records and on the stage. With boiling charisma and unrelenting energy to spare, the Buffalo, NY band manages not one but two near-impossible tasks. They've survived two decades as an underground entity cherished for coloring outside the lines, and contrary to most career arcs, continually improving with each successive album as they charge ahead. EVERY TIME I DIE makes a glorious hardcore-punk noise. Alchemized by a swampy summoning of Southern rock and coarse poetry, the music swirls beneath sardonic and clever wordplay, cementing them as leaders, not followers. The band's ninth studio album, Radical, is 16 tracks of peak-EVERY TIME I DIE, including raucous new anthems. They deliver what you have come to know and love and then diverge into new paths. To say that "All This And War" featuring guest vocals by Josh Scogins from The '68 is absolute brutal heaviness is an understatement. It's an addictive punch in the face, you'll want on repeat. The boys then run off to explore the dark haunted woods of a more somber and melodic side in the track "Thing With Feathers" featuring Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra. Radical proves with every track that it is a distillation of the strengths of their past, injected with their unyielding revelry and signature sarcasm while cognizant - and fiercely combative - of the present state of world affairs.

The Pineapple Thief, are one of the leading lights of Europe’s experimental rock domain, led by post-progressive mastermind Bruce Soord & reinforced by Gavin Harrison (King Crimson) on drums.
Following the release of their latest studio album ‘Versions Of The Truth’ in September 2020, the band were preparing to start the album’s live campaign, when like so many other artists, their plans were put on hold by the continuing global pandemic.
Eager to still perform & connect with their fans across the globe, in April 2021, The Pineapple Thief filmed an extravagant on demand live event entitled ‘Nothing But The Truth’ directed by band videographer George Laycock (Blacktide Phonic/Visual).
Bruce Soord explains” “The Pineapple Thief is equally about the studio & the stage, so it was hugely disappointing that we were unable to tour, especially as we were excited to be able to perform the
new album ‘Versions Of The Truth’ live for everyone. Being able to do this film, especially under the circumstances, was invaluable. We all knew we did not want to shoot a film of us standing on stage staring at an empty room. We wanted something special, something ‘cinematic’ so we have created something unique & something very, very special that I am proud to have been a part of. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Drummer, Gavin Harrison adds “Nothing But The Truth” is a highlight for this band in terms of captured performance.
The Pineapple Thief’s 2018 anthemic release ‘Dissolution’ garnered worldwide acclaim from both media & fans, earning them their first UK Top 40 album, #1 UK Rock & Metal album & #22 on the German album charts. It took them on two extensive sold-out European headline tours & their first ever tour of North America.
‘Versions Of The Truth’ raised the standard yet again by delivering, quite possibly, one of the most important rock albums of 2020.
‘Nothing But The Truth’ captures The Pineapple Thief at their very best performing songs from their illustrious catalogue including for the first time live, songs from ‘Versions Of The Truth’.
The release will coincide with the rescheduled UK & European live shows this autumn & continue into 2022 with more dates to be announced.
The soundtrack to ‘Nothing But The Truth’ will be released on a gatefold black vinyl double LP with an 8-page printed colour booklet.

FRAK IS BACK! ...and back they are, under a new moniker for Lost Control 2097 as dj Willie Oboe. Residing from Sweden, legends in acid and techno, countless releases spanning 30 years under the Frak alias, history, history, etc, etc. We don't need to give you a long bio for this EP, it speaks for itself. For the 2nd release on the label, we (& dj Willie Oboe obviously) are offering you 4 slices of plasma house and cybernetik techno served up with a slithered seasoning of mastering from audio demi-god 'Patrik Book'. This is for all the people that went to the space raves of 2088, this is for the people dancing in the fields of Mars in 2092 and this is for the people who built the plasma machines so we're able to bring these futuristic sounds back in time to 2021. WHERE WERE YOU IN 2092?

Bosconi welcomes Cosimo D'Amicis aka Cixxx J with his first EP on the tuscany's finest imprint.
The artist explains here the essential meaning of the release with his own words:
"Music gives people the gift of connection by making people mirror into each other. Here the recipe is simple: feed your sequencers all the feelings, and let them become grooves you can dance to. These four psycho-synthetic streams are deeply rooted in italo disco classics, and filtered through that whole culture that originated in Chicago and Detroit and that keeps un-becoming. All the ingredients are carefully selected to bring you to another dimension, because there is no such thing as glorious as love at first BITE"

bazaar mutant disco from the french collective "spaced out krew". timeless productions created for peoples potential unlimited during 2020, featuring spleen3000 and marius cyrilou from ceeofunk

Listening to the story of Canadian duo cleopatrick is a bit like hearing the plot of the best, most righteously validating coming-of-age film never made. Two friends meet aged four in Hicksville, Nowheretown (real name: Cobourg, Ontario, population 19,000), grow up completely inseparable, form a band and, against numerous obstacles, blossom into a genuine, global underground sensation. There are heroes and villains, highs and lows and, crucially, some of the most poetic plot twists that could seem almost too perfect, were they not completely true. Take the story of 2017 breakthrough track ‘hometown’ for example. “It’s one of the craziest, most ironic things that’s ever happened,” begins vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz. “I was going to college because I was too scared to put all my chips in the band pile, and that’s what ‘hometown’ is about: it’s a song about feeling like we’re doing all this stuff and we’re working so hard and we’re just never going to be heard. It’s literally a song about people probably never hearing our songs. And then by some act of the universe, that song ended up unlocking all the doors for us.” Today, cleopatrick has logged 77 million streams and counting - all from an increasingly dedicated fanbase who’ve found the duo, completed by drummer Ian Fraser, their own way: no major label, no big budget, just two best pals knuckling down, cementing a unique sonic alchemy and filling a space of honest, empathetic yet undeniably heavy-hitting rock music that they’d been searching for themselves for years. Between multiple sold out tours in Canada, the US and the UK/EU and appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Reading/Leeds, the pair have been crafting BUMMER: a debut album that sees cleopatrick harness all the magic they’ve been brewing over their two-decade friendship and funnel it into a record that aims to reinvigorate the rock landscape from the ground up. Taking the ethos of their New Rock Mafia collective - a group of friends and fellow bands, united in making a more inclusive, equality-driven space in rock music - and imbuing it with the sonic ambition and ferocity of a record designed to be played hard and loud, it’s an album about two friends, who’ve been with each other since the formative first steps that adorn ‘BUMMER’’s heartwarming cover image and made something that’s a testament to the power of sticking to your guns.

Coldplay release their ninth studio album on October 15th. Music Of The Spheres features 12 new tracks including recent no. 12 single Higher Power - the band’s highest charting single in seven years, which has currently spent 10 weeks in the UK top 30, amassing over 170m global streams to date, including 40m+ video views.

Launched alongside the album announcement is Overtura (Music Of The Spheres Album Trailer) a spectacular audio-visual journey through the album’s planetary artwork with short clips of the album’s twelve tracks.


This is followed on Friday 23 July, by the release of the album closer Coloratura – not a “single”, but an epic, 10-minute+ piano-led anthem! A new single is released in September.

Peter Sagar — also known as HOMESHAKE wrote the majority of his fifth studio album, Under the Weather, in 2019, when he was going through a long, unrelenting period of sadness. “I was in a deep, deep depression,” he recalls of that time period now. Sagar and his partner were living in Montreal, and while everyone was out being social, he was inside listening to ambient music, binging Star Trek, and writing songs. (Sound familiar?) “It was a bit of a dark pit,” he says. “That’s kind of what the whole album is about.”

Under the Weather is hazy and moody, the pace slow as syrup, and from beginning to end, a fog falls over every synth and guitar line. “Oftentimes when you’re in a dark place, you’re supposed to journal and that helps release the pressure,” Sagar says. “For me, it always found its way into the music.”

Capturing the cloudy sound of a depressive funk was no simple feat, especially in the headspace Sagar was in for over a year. For that reason, he decided to enlist his friend, Jerry Paper ’s Lucas Nathan, to help with production on the record. Having Nathan contribute helped Sagar dial back some of the “dry, pristine digital sound” that defined his fourth studio album, Helium , and add back personal analog touches that drew people to the HOMESHAKE project in the first place.

As Sagar readies for the album’s release this September, the record he wrote about feeling isolated, alone, and despondent has begun to seem eerily prescient. “I’ve been writing about feeling isolated my whole life,” he says — but with age, he has come to understand them better. “I had a fairly clear idea what the album was going to be like based on where I was emotionally at the time,” he says about Under the Weather . “I just try to make music that is honest about how I’m feeling.”

Welcome to the world of Dave Monolith! This is his 2011 debut album on Rephlex records, appearing on vinyl for the very first time! Smooth and funky melodic electro and warm synthy braindance. When this release just got released most people thought it was another project of Richard D James, but now,10 years later, we know better... Dave monolith is a master on his own! Quite amazing it is the 10 years anniversary of this release while it still sounds so fresh!

Luke Slater presents "Sky Scraping", a new Planetary Assault Systems album. P.A.S. has become a byword for hypnotic, funk-heavy Techno in a purist tradition. Toeing the line between heady, psychedelic material and all out main room fare - Slater's work as PAS captures the very best facets of the genre, with economically selected parts exquisitely arranged and engineered with a shrewd and uncompromising ear for what really makes people move.

Toolroom founder and Grammy-nominated producer Mark Knight announces his new album Untold Business: 13-track collection of vocal house music which aims to inject a much-needed dose of meaning and longevity into the world of dance music.

Mark Knight has gone back to his roots on his new album Untold Business, reprising the sounds and records that made him the artist he is today. Diving through his extensive collection of classic Funk, House, Soul and Disco records from the 1970s and 80s has provided the bedrock for the album, which is an homage to the soulful, vocal-led house music that Mark first fell in love with in the 90s.

Step forward Mark Knight with a collection of meticulously crafted, positive, life-affirming records with a focus on real instrumentation and properly crafted songs that will stand the test of time. Untold Business is the antithesis of the functional, cookie-cutter dance music that has become increasingly ubiquitous over the years, and it sounds absolutely glorious.

Lead single ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ features vocals from Beverley Knight as well as the London Community Gospel Choir, who together bring a powerful message of positivity, solidarity and hope: themes that echo throughout the rest of the album.

“I wanted to write a song of hope as we come out of this incredibly tough time. I feel that musicians and producers have a responsibility to provide the soundtrack to people’s lives, and with this glimmer of hope on the horizon, I wanted this song to be a moment of positivity for the future ahead.” Mark Knight

From the string section, to the 14-piece London Community Gospel Choir, to the incomparably brilliant Beverley Knight on lead vocals – Mark worked with some incredible musicians on the single: an approach that informs his approach for the entire album. Untold Business features further collaborations with the likes of Shingai (Noisettes), Michael Gray, Robert Owens and many more.

In addition to the 10 new tracks recorded especially for the album, Untold Business also includes three of Mark’s singles from 2020, including one of the biggest releases of his career to date. All 4 Love was a collaboration with Rene Amesz and Tasty Lopez which became firmly lodged on the Radio 1 A list for six weeks with worldwide success following soon after. Picking up more than 10 million streams on Spotify it was without doubt one of the biggest house records of the year. Also included here are ‘If It’s Love’ - a joyous celebration of a soulful house sound that came to prominence in the 90s – and ‘Tonight’, which took inspiration from the brisk, looping, filtered house music of the early 00s.

Through his dedication to the Los Angeles grassroots projects that gave so much stability and focus to many younger musicians, artists and the community, Horace Tapscott became a neighbourhood hero at a time when the world wanted his presence. He stayed in Los Angeles and focused instead on building a community, rarely giving interviews and instead focusing on passing on the message from his mentors. He shaped a unique sound with his arkestra and community minded musicians. It was a close-knit family that emanated a sound that was deep and unique, flowing with a creative spirit that definitely comes through on this album.

In 1961 he founded the Pan-African Peoples Arkestra, which aimed to preserve, develop and publicise African-American music through the ever-growing family that emanated within many of the deprived areas of Los Angeles. Through his subsequent collaboration with Bruce Albach, a producer and founder of Nimbus West Records, they sought to document the importance of this music alongside many artists who were energetically linked to the ethos and understanding which came from the collective dialogue.

Here the composer leads four extensive arrangements through his 16 piece orchestra, featuring many of the Nimbus West artists including Adele Sebastian, Jesse Sharps and Linda Hill. The music weaves the sound of afro-futuristic music through changing tempos and a relentless dynamic expressive sound that is complex and beguiling with a deep spiritual sound throughout all four tracks.

The ceremonial ‘Peyete Song no. III’ is a great swirling evocative piece from the large collective, with amazing solos from especially Horace Tapscott who seems to find a sound from the piano that is from another dimension. The arrangement airs an important message of a people and their rituals.

Horace Tapscott gives Cal Massey’s composition ‘Nakatini Suite’ a splendid futuristic big band interpretation. The composition had been earlier illuminated by both Lee Morgan on his ‘Lee-Way’ album and John Coltrane on his ‘Believer’ album titled ‘Nakatini Serenade’. Through the more expansive soundscape, the interpretation allows for some great interplay between saxophonist Jesse Sharps and drummer Everett Brown Jr. with the whole orchestra led by Horace Tapscott capturing the essence of Cal Massey’s message.

Vocalist Adele Sebastian opens up the free probing arrangement ‘Quagmire Manor at 5am’ composition with a similar delivery as with her ‘Day Dream’ from the classic ‘Desert Fairy Princess’ album before the music takes off onto the mothership adding a sense of what time and space within the manner was about amongst many great musicians and artists. Their journey and moments encapsulated within the music.

There are certain albums you hear something new every time you revisit the music and this is one of those albums. An important part of Afro-American history; the politics and art which surrounded the album. If you get a chance check out the film ‘Horace Tapscott, Musical Griot’, by filmmaker Barbara McCullough, or buy the book ‘Songs Of The Unsung’: The Musical & Social Journey of Horace Tapscott’. Mark Jones/UK Vibe

"Pianist Nate Morgan (1964-2013) was a central figure on the Los Angeles jazz undergound. A core member of the circle around the legendary bandleader, pianist and community organiser Horace Tapscott, Morgan had been part of Tapscott’s U.G.M.A.A. (Union Of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension) since he was just a teenager, and was a key member of the Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra, known as ‘The Ark’. Through the 1980s and 1990s he kept the PAPA flame alive, organising the Ark’s sprawling songbook, running legendary jam sessions, and keeping LA’s deep jazz roots well watered. By the early 2000s he was bringing hard won knowledge to a new generation as part of the Build The Ark collective. He was a musician’s musician, at the beating heart of the radical, community-minded Los Angeles jazz network that Tapscott and his associates had first put together in the early 1960s.

Retribution, Reparation was the second of the two LPs Morgan recorded for Tom Albach’s storied Nimbus West imprint. His first, Journey Into Nigritia had been a declaration of arrival laced with energies drawn from Cecil Taylor and Coltrane. One year later, with nods to Herbie Hancock (‘One Finger Snap’) and Ellington (‘Come Sunday’), Retribution, Reparation was a confident statement of purpose. Politically charged with pan-Africanist and Black nationalist sentiments inspired by Marcus Garvey, and titled with uncompromising directness, the album focusses the sound world of the Ark into a surging, restless masterpiece of spiritualised modal jazz. With Danny Cortez on trumpet and Ark stalwart Jesse Sharps on saxophones the frontline is explosive (this set is also one of the few places the extraordinary Sharps can be heard in a small group setting), while Fritz Wise and Ark regular Joel Ector hold down the rhythm section. Morgan’s forceful, Tyner-like chords and virtuosic solos and bind the music together. From the poised drama of the opening dedication to Tapscott’s U.G.M.A.A. (‘U.G.M.A.A.GER’) to the propulsive militancy of the title track, Retribution, Reparation spreads the word: ‘Advance to Victory, Let Nigritia Be Free!’"