Cerca:b beat girl

Whatever condition your condition is in, Soul4Real have huddled together a team of the finest soul physicians to make you feel good.

We scoured all the shelves in the soul pharmacy and discovered some potions that were only just through the trial stage. Just one listen to the brilliant Aretha, Gladys, Walter Jackson and the Purify’s tracks convinced us not to wait for FDA approval, so we took the plunge and shared them with the world on vinyl for the very first time.
Recorded in 1968, Arthur Alexander‘s magnificent “I Need You Baby” reached legendary status during the tape-swapping epidemic of the late 70s/early 80s. The first traces of Alexanderitus were linked back to a tape dispensed by a north London mod by the name of Randy Cozens, which went viral. Even today, the mere mention of the title to any of those C60-swap-survivors can cause severe heart palpitations.
Down in Memphis, they tend to practice the holistic approach to heartaches. Southern folk understand it’s about the voice and its natural healing powers, especially when it’s being administered by the likes of the Soul Children and Shirley Brown, who instinctively inject the perfect amount of ache, warmth and emotion to hit just the right spot. May we prescribe at least two listens a day, taken with or without food.
Helping with recovery we have included tracks by our care team Maxine, Gil Scott-Heron and the Isleys, whose gentle grooves will help nurse you back onto the dance floor in record time.
And finally, my personal favourite, Dr Johnnie Taylor. Frankly, it beats me how someone who delivers the lines "she don’t break no records when it comes to good looks” and “she burns up the food when she cooks" to his girlfriend manages to avoid a trip to A&E. We decided such foolish bravery should be rewarded by having his picture on the album cover.

12 tracks, all great examples of real soul music, a mix of well known classics, overlooked gems, and 4 original unreleased songs.

Reissue

''Early" brought together a series of formative recordings from the late 70s and early 80s, for an America-only vinyl release in 2005. The collection, accompanied by sleeve notes from Green Gartside, included the band"s debut single "Skank Bloc Bologna", along with seminal tracks including The "Sweetest Girl", "27/8/78" and "Lions After Slumber", and offered a stunning chance to enjoy the long-overlooked musical foundations of Scritti Politti again. Emerging from the scene around Leeds Art School, with fellow travellers The Mekons and The Gang Of Four, and recorded while the band were residing in a Camden squat organised along Marxist principles, these post-punk rallying cries which prefigured Green and co"s pop-leaning rebirth several years later, were the songs that grabbed the attention of John Peel, Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis and a generation of music fans who helped bring the indie music scene - and the labels that accompanied it - into existence. A musical community in which Scritti Politti played an influential and formative role.

Back in the 1990s video games were still largely seen as nerdy: fun, sure, but basically a guilty pleasure that you’d soon grow out of. The release in 1995 of wipE'out'', a lightning-fast, razor-sharp, futuristic racing game that helped to launch the PlayStation in Europe and North America, changed all that. This was a game that looked and sounded both adult and cool, the kind of game you would put on display in your living room, rather than hide away under your bed. Key to this was the fact that wipE'out'' borrowed unashamedly from the clubbing experience and electronic music, in a way that put it at the heart of progressive mid 90s culture. It soon became a phenomenon.

wipE'out'' looked sensational, with Sheffield agency The Designers Republic - known for their work with Warp - creating the visuals, packaging and manual for the game, drawing heavily on the bright colours and excitable geometric shapes of the rave and club flyers of the early 90s.

wipE'out'' also sounded like a new rave dream. The European version of the game included music from The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield and Orbital, the kind of fashionable game syncs that were almost unheard of at the time. Equally striking was the game’s original music, which came from Welsh musician Tim Wright, aka CoLD SToRAGE, by this point already a veteran in the video games world, having worked on the music for Amiga titles such as Lemmings and Shadow of the Beast 2. His music for wipE'out'' was, if anything, even more extreme than the big-name syncs, mixing the accelerated beats of drum & bass with the pure synth rush of trance to make music that sounded as breathlessly exciting as playing the game felt.

These tracks were burned into the brains of millions of gamers; the soundtrack to a generation of late-night anti-gravity racing, as the sun gingerly rose beyond the curtains. But they haven’t, perhaps, quite got the respect they deserve, something that this release will address. In 2023, video game music is finally getting its dues; here, remastered and repackaged –and also remixed by cutting edge producers such as Kode9, μ-Ziq, Brainwaltzera, Simo Cell, Wordcolour, James Shinra, Surgeons Girl and Dattassette– are some of the most important, thrilling, innovative and most fun songs ever committed to game release.

The Beatles 1962 – 1966 & The Beatles 1967 – 1970 (2023 Edition) 6LP BLACK

These landmark compilations have introduced generations of fans to the incredible history of the most storied band in music. For its 50th anniversary, the collections have been expanded: ‘Red’ has 12 additional tracks, including for the first time some of George Harrison’s earliest songs and some classic Beatles versions of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll hits that were so influential on the band. ‘Blue’ has 9 additional tracks including “Blackbird” and “Glass Onion” including the last new Beatles song, “Now And Then” for a total of 21 new additions which are all compiled onto the 3rd disc, effectively creating a ‘new’ LP for each set.

Together the 6LP’s contain 75 tracks, 36 of which have new mixes for 2023. The inserts contains new sleeve notes by journalist and author John Harris. For current fans and future generations alike, the new 1962 – 1966 & 1967 - 1970 collections are a joyous celebration of The Beatles’ timeless musical legacy.

Die legendären RED & BLUE Compilations der Beatles gehören seit fünfzig Jahren in jeden Plattenschrank und jedes CD-Regal. Um die Veröffentlichung des letzten Beatles-Songs "Now And Then" zu würdigen, erscheinen am 10.11. Neuauflagen mit erweiterten Tracklists im neuen Stereo- und Dolby Atmos Mix. "Now And Then" ist die Fertigstellung von John Lennons Gesangs- und Klavier-Demo aus den 1970er Jahren. Sowohl neu eingespielte Parts von Paul McCartney und Ringo Starr als auch alte Gitarrenaufnahmen aus den 90ern vervollständigen das emotionale Stück. Das RED Album („1962 – 1966“) wird mit 12 neuen Songs ausgestattet; mit dabei sind einige von George Harrisons frühesten Songs sowie Beatles-Versionen von R&B und Rock ’n’ Roll Hits, die prägend für die Band waren. Auf der BLUE Version („1967 – 1970“) werden 9 zusätzliche Songs zu hören sein, unter anderem auch "Now And Then".

Die Alben werden als Vinyl-Versionen, als CD und digital erscheinen. "Now And Then" erscheint am 03.11. als 7" und 12".

Moderner Club-Sound und groovige Beats aus UK: endlich erscheint Delilah Hollidays
erstes Soloalbum "Invaluable" über One Little Independent auf CD und LP. Die umtriebige
Londonerin war Teil der Supergroup B.E.D. gemeinsam mit Baxter Dury und Étienne de
Crécy und bildet mit ihrer Schwester Ursula die Polit-Punk-Band Skinny Girl Diet. Nun
erscheint ihr erstes Soloalbum, auf dem sie in Skinny-Girl-Diet-Riot-Grrrl-Manier
gesellschaftliche Themen wie Sucht, Paranoia und Kapitalismus in den Mittelpunkt stellt.
Es vereint zwei in diesem Jahr digital erschienenen EPs voller
Downtempo-Electronic-Art-Pop mit Trip-Hop-Einflüssen und einem Medley aus
berauschenden Synthesizern, durchdrungen von Dancefloor-Beats.
Das Album existiert im Raum zwischen Fantasie und Realität. Delilah Holliday spricht über
Themen wie Wachstum, Heimat und Wurzeln, aber auch strukturelle Ungleichheiten und
Armut. Vor allem aber geht es um Selbstakzeptanz und Selbstliebe. Zwischen industriellen
Clubhymnen und atmosphärisch produzierten Momenten der Euphorie mischt Delilah
glitchige Elektronik mit knackigen Rhythmen, die gemeinsam mit dem Komponisten
Raphael Ninot geschrieben und produziert wurden.

Moderner Club-Sound und groovige Beats aus UK: endlich erscheint Delilah Hollidays
erstes Soloalbum "Invaluable" über One Little Independent auf CD und LP. Die umtriebige
Londonerin war Teil der Supergroup B.E.D. gemeinsam mit Baxter Dury und Étienne de
Crécy und bildet mit ihrer Schwester Ursula die Polit-Punk-Band Skinny Girl Diet. Nun
erscheint ihr erstes Soloalbum, auf dem sie in Skinny-Girl-Diet-Riot-Grrrl-Manier
gesellschaftliche Themen wie Sucht, Paranoia und Kapitalismus in den Mittelpunkt stellt.
Es vereint zwei in diesem Jahr digital erschienenen EPs voller
Downtempo-Electronic-Art-Pop mit Trip-Hop-Einflüssen und einem Medley aus
berauschenden Synthesizern, durchdrungen von Dancefloor-Beats.
Das Album existiert im Raum zwischen Fantasie und Realität. Delilah Holliday spricht über
Themen wie Wachstum, Heimat und Wurzeln, aber auch strukturelle Ungleichheiten und
Armut. Vor allem aber geht es um Selbstakzeptanz und Selbstliebe. Zwischen industriellen
Clubhymnen und atmosphärisch produzierten Momenten der Euphorie mischt Delilah
glitchige Elektronik mit knackigen Rhythmen, die gemeinsam mit dem Komponisten
Raphael Ninot geschrieben und produziert wurden.

Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell remains the turning point at which hip-hop crashed through mainstream barriers and never left. Anchored by the crossover smash "Walk This Way," the 1986 blockbuster still sounds like a revolution unfolding in real time. It has everything – hard-rock riffs, turntable scratching, itchy rhythms, hit singles – not the least of which are the trio's invigorating raps and inseparable chemistry. And now it's the first rap record afforded audiophile treatment, courtesy of Mobile Fidelity.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, the reissue label's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP elevates Raising Hell to sonic heights on par with its musical and cultural significance. Ranked the 123rd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, 43rd on Pitchfork's Greatest Albums of the 1980s, one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time by TIME – and included on "Best of" lists by Spin, Paste, XXL, Entertainment Weekly, and basically every other significant media outlet – the triple-platinum effort rocks the house.

Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor and groove definition of SuperVinyl, Raising Hell unleashes a torrent of massive dynamics and tsunami of frequency-plumbing details underlined by Rick Rubin's taut, crisp, albeit raw and streetwise production. Just as the Queens-based group both defined what hip-hop could represent – and displayed just how big it could get – Rubin's work melded ear-worm hooks, savvy drum loops, metal-leaning guitars, and, of course, Run and D.M.C.'s cross-fire lyrical interplay into watertight frameworks bursting with ideas, tones, samples, and beats. Heard anew on Mobile Fidelity vinyl, Raising Hell is in every regard the aural equivalent of a direct-to-console 1970s classic. And it sounds as fresh as hell.

As for the music, it ranks among the most influential, inventive, and invigorating ever released – rap or otherwise. Vanguard artists such as Ice-T, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Public Enemy's Chuck D – who declared it his all-time favorite and "the first record that made me realize this was an album-oriented genre" – have testified on behalf of its brilliance. And never mind the presence of the Top 5 single "Walk This Way," whose power helped make Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry relevant for the first time in nearly a decade – and literally put Run-D.M.C. in bedrooms ranging from the Bronx to Bartlett to Bad Axe.

Look instead to the rest of the entirely filler-free set, be it the corkscrew turns, slippery wordplay, and "My Sharona"-meets-"Mickey" mixology of the boisterous "It's Tricky," the fat-but-minimized bass grooves and warped turntable wobble of the hysterical "You Be Illin'," chimes-accented inertia and boombox-on- shoulder thunder of the now-iconic "Peter Piper," or voice-as-percussion attack of the funky "Is It Live." With Raising Hell, the answer to the question is always affirmative – a sensation bolstered by the fact the group always had something to say.

The definition of Golden Age Hip-Hop in every way, Run-D.M.C. avoids the negativity and misogyny that later plagued the style, spinning assertive tales about identity (the biographical and culture-changing "My Adidas"), work ethics ("Perfection"), and, most notably, pride (the Harriet Tubman- and Malcom X.-referencing "Proud to Be Black"). Pavement-packed inner cities, tree-lined suburbs, and cornfield-rimmed rural areas would never again be the same. And rocking a rhyme that's right on time would become trickier than ever.

Dark Horse Records feiert den 20. Jahrestag von JOE STRUMMERs (The Clash)2003er Album Streetcore. Der Sound wurde von Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison) neu gemastert und die Grafiken wurden von der Originalveröffentlichung reproduziert.

Dem Vinyl liegt ein exklusiver Druck von Strummers handgeschriebenem Text zu "Coma Girl" bei.

Das dritte Studioalbum von Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, das die Single "Coma Girl" enthält, wurde nach Joes Tod im Jahr 2002 veröffentlicht. Daher wurden viele der Tracks als erste und einzige Gesangsaufnahmen veröffentlicht. Die bei den Fans beliebte Coverversion von Bob Marleys "Redemption Song" und der Track "Long Shadow" wurden von Rick Rubin produziert. Dark Horse feierte kürzlich den 70. Geburtstag von Strummer mit der Veröffentlichung von Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years.

Modernists loved the latest R&B, blues and soul sounds coming from US cities such as Chicago, Memphis and Detroit and when British groups started playing their own interpretations in clubs and dancehalls they gained their own mod followings, their music remaining popular on the mod scene today.

Side 1 of this bespoke collection spotlights the British R&B scene and features a founding father of British blues Alexis Korner with the rare ‘Taboo Man’ alongside ace mod tracks from The Bo Street Runners, The Others, Mickey Finn and The Blue Men (featuring a youthful Jimmy Page on harmonica) and more.

Side 2 starts with British R&B groups developing their own sound by turning up their guitars, employing distortion, feedback and fuzz pedals to take the music in a new direction. Highlights include the Joe Meek produced ‘Crawdaddy Simone’ by The Syndicats (described as proto punk because of its ferocity), The In Crowd’s snarling ‘Things She Says’ and The Artwoods’ fuzz drenched mod favourite ‘I Take What I Want’ featuring future Deep Purple organist Jon Lord on organ.

Denny Laine (later of Wings) sings with The Moody Blues calming things down with some soulful beat.

Side 3 focuses on UK soul music - Rod ‘the mod’ Stewart backed by The Brian Auger Trinity takes on Sam Cooke’s ‘Shake’, the godfather of ska Laurel Aitken proves he’s also a natural soul man with his floor filling version of The Mar-Keys’ ‘Last Night’ and the amazing Barry St. John sings the funky ‘Gotta Brand New Man’. Popular club acts Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound and Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede would regularly bring the house down at mod clubs and also feature.

Side 4 includes mod club dancefloor smashes from The Spencer Davis Group and Rupert’s People (AKA mod group Fleur De Lys) while mod heroes The Action go psychedelic with ‘Look At The View’. A moonlighting Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds plays on John’s Children’s ‘But She’s Mine’ and there are brilliant singles revered by freakbeat and psych collectors such as Double Feature’s ‘Baby Get Your Head Screwed On’ and The Drag Set’s ‘Day And Night’.

Rarities from The Trendbender Band and The Union (featuring Elmer Gantry) appear on vinyl for the first time.

Repress! We at Now-Again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our recently launched Soul Cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time. Well, following that line, the music contained on Loving On The Flip Side music is too damn good to be anonymously relaunched, decades after musical visionaries blended the best of heavy funk and sweet soul into a unified whole. And simply telling the stories of these vocalists and bands without allowing their lovelorn pleas to be heard again wasn’t an option. Thus, Loving On The Flip Side again offers the enthused a chance to listen to, read about and reflect on another great burst of black American creativity: the creation of the sublime
genre we like to call “sweet funk.”
It seems laughable to skip past Thomas East’s “Slipping Around” 7” for the cheesy funk of ‘Just A Trip,” or to listen obsessively to Lou Ragland’s instrumental funk on the Hot Chocolate LP and ignore his indolent-yet-stirring “We Had True Love.” Yet we did just that, until we first heard the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s beautiful
two-sider nearly ten years back. This was the record that set Loving On The Flip Side in motion, as the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s two songs precipitated the sweet funk genre: the dichotomy of Funky Heavy’s skull snapping rhythm section and the teenage Dears’ angelic harmonies didn’t sound like anything we’d heard before. That discovery set off a decade long search for the band and culminated in their discovery, the documenting of their stories, the emergence of their master tapes and the inclusion of their songs on Loving On The Flip Side.
The excitement we felt while listening to the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s masterworks forced us back into the field, in search of other sweet funk swooners and beat-heavy ballads to round out this anthology. The opportunity to present anew such wondrous soul music made the exhaustive process that produced Loving On The
Flip Side worthwhile, and allowed us to collect one-offs that escaped prior investigations into the deep funk and sweet soul genres.

Aesthetically, Hometown Vampire provides a guided tour through 50 years of guitar music, calling out to greats like a prayer, asking for the songs we love to act as guidance through the trouble around us. The characters labeled here as vampires refer to any of the lowlifes we see around us or in ourselves; the punisher at the bar, the chronic failure who's always got a new scheme, the kinds of people who live in the past and stew in bitterness. Hometown Vampire is a farewell to all the good and bad of music scene chicanery, late night shit-talking, and all the failed romances before.

For fans of:
The Beatles, Girls, The Lemonheads, Pavement, Real Estate, Death Cab for Cutie, Hovvdy, Mac Demarco, Vampire Weekend, Billy Joel

After collaborating together for more than a decade, Jenny Hval and Håvard Volden released their first album under the Lost Girls moniker in 2021: Menneskekollektivet. The record received rave reviews, including a Best New Music mark at Pitchfork. On October 20th, 2023, the duo will release their second album Selvutsletter.


Like its predecessor, the album title is a made up Norwegian word, a word that almost exists. The band’s own translation of Selvutsletter is «self-effacer»: Someone who tries to erase themselves. Someone who is cleaning out themselves. Performing exorcism. Or perhaps just getting older, less interested in their own present self.


In 2022, Lost Girls were booked to perform a concert at Les Subsistances in Lyon, together with a few Norwegian performing arts groups performing their pieces. The band decided to use the opportunity to create all new material, and think of it as a coherent piece. Working in tandem, with Volden creating beats and wild sets of guitar chords and Hval restructuring the parts, creating melodies, words and adding more sounds, they started spiraling into unchartered territory of shorter, more concise and melodic songs than their debut LP Menneskekollektivet.


As the material developed, words already embedded in the chords, guitar sounds and rhythms began to dance around. Lyrics about cities after dark, music rituals and band practices of the 90s, and the early days of the internet began to take shape. These were Hval's own memories of her hometown and her obsession with creating music as a way of leaving it behind or even setting it on fire. Selvutsletter is, in that sense, about retracing Hval and Volden's steps back to how it felt to discover music, the intensely physical and communal experience of creating something. Certain tracks even go back further, to discover possible happenings in Norwegian towns and cities before any of us were born, using elements of faux folk singing.


Where Menneskekollektivet was about exploring club beats, and expanding and trying out structures, Selvutsletter is about disappearing in experiences. It combines the intuitive, late night feel of Lost Girls’ previous work with experimental rock music as its object. The result is more adventurous than nostalgic: A fiery, bilingual whirl of colors, words, vegetation and electricity.

Dark Horse Records veröffentlicht das legendäre Live-Konzert von Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros in Acton Town Hall, neu gemastert vom Grammy-Preisträger Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison) erhältlich auf 2LP-Vinyl und CD.

Das am 15. November 2002 aufgezeichnete Konzert war ein Benefizkonzert für streikende Feuerwehrleute und war einer von Joes letzten Auftritten (er verstarb einen Monat später). Teil des Auftritts eine Reunion mit Mick Jones, Strummers ehemaligem Bandkollegen von The Clash, der zum ersten Mal seit fast zwanzig Jahren für drei Songs wieder mit Strummer auf der Bühne zusammenkam. Es war auch das letzte Mal, dass sie gemeinsam auf der Bühne standen.

Die Vinyl ist in einer Gatefold-Hülle verpackt, inklusive bisher ungesehenen Fotos von der Show sowie neue Linernotes vom ehemaligen Feuerwehrsekretär Andy Gilchrist, der die Band bei der Show vorstellte und die Streiks anführte, die Joe unterstützte. Dies ist das erste Mal, dass das Konzert mit einer umfassenden Verpackung auf Vinyl veröffentlicht wird. Die extrem limitierte vorherige Version, die 2012 exklusiv zum Record Store Day erschien, hatte nur eine DIY-inspirierte Klarsichthülle und war das erste Mal, dass es auf CD
veröffentlicht wurde.

„The 90’s are back!“ – 30 Jahre später ist das beliebte Jahrzehnt musikalisch wieder voll im Trend! Auf der „FETENHITS - The Real 90’s“ sind die Originale der größten Party-Hymnen der Dekade vereint.

Ob die groovigen Sounds von „No Diggity“, der absolute Ohrwurm „Wannabe“ oder die Kult-Nummer „Mambo No. 5“ - Der bunte Mix der besten Party-Songs und Klassiker der 90‘s ist voller „Good Vibrations“!

Mit dabei sind u.a. U2, Britney Spears, Salt-N-Pepa, 20 Fingers & Gillette, Freddie Mercury, La Bouche, DJ Bobo, TLC, Backstreet Boys und viele mehr.

„We Bring It All Back“ mit den größten Party-Hits der 90er! Erhältlich als 4LP, 4CD und eAlbum ab dem 29. September 2023!

Indonesian trio Grrrl Gang builds on their considerable worldwide buzz with Spunky!, their full-length debut album. Released on 22 September 2023 by Green Island Music in partnership with exclusive licensees Kill Rock Stars (United States), Trapped Animal Records (United Kingdom) and Big Romantic Records (Japan and Taiwan), the album is preceded by its title track and first single dropped on May 30, featured from the same title of the album, 'Spunky!' Spunky! arrives following some major life changes for Angeeta Sentana (vocals, guitar), Akbar Rumandung (bass, vocals), and Edo Alventa (guitar, vocals), including a switch in locale from Yogyakarta, the city where they formed the band while still in college. “This is Grrrl Gang’s first release after we graduated and got day jobs that made us have to move to Jakarta, which is undeniably 180 degrees compared to Jogja,” says Rumandung. “But moving to Jakarta enabled us to work with Lafa on Spunky! from start to finish.” The song itself essentially describes Sentana's experience during a manic episode. “I feel like I’m on top of the world, untouchable. I do things without thinking, always chasing after that feeling of instant gratification. I feel extra confident in myself to a point of grandiose thinking and that I could do anything,” Sentana explains. That would be Lafa Pratomo, the in-demand producer brought in to help shape the ten tracks that make up Spunky! With a resume that includes the likes of the chanteuse Danilla and legendary singer-songwriter Iwan Fals, Pratomo might not seem the obvious choice to take the Grrrl Gang producer’s chair. But according to Rumandung, “In terms of production, this was something new for us by working with someone outside of Grrrl Gang’s comfort zone.” Indeed, Pratomo considerably beefs up Grrrl Gang’s sound particularly Alventa’s guitar tones, Rumandung’s rumbling bass, and touring drummer Muhammad Faiz Abdurrahman’s muscular beats while preserving the band’s signature raucous energy, catchy melodies, and Sentana’s attitude-filled, equal-parts-honey-and-vinegar vocals. The music video for Spunky! premieres on the Grrrl Gang YouTube channel on the same day as the release of the song. The video, directed by Bathroom Girls, is part of a continuous movie, with Spunky! being the second chapter. It tells the story of an introverted girl who goes to a house party to validate herself among her peers. Despite facing challenges to her self-esteem, she manages to overcome her discomfort to survive the night. During the party, she watches Grrrl Gang perform Spunky! and is mesmerized by the confident performance of Angee, the lead singer. The girl imagines herself as Angee, a confident and cool person that she will never be. Hailing from the cultural city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Grrrl Gang is a rising force in the independent music scene with their infectious melodies, anthemic songs, and electrifying live performances. The power trio, composed of Angee Sentana on guitar and vocals, Akbar Rumandung on bass, and Edo Alventa on guitar, has been making waves in the Southeast Asian music scene since their formation in 2016. Grrrl Gang's music is a celebration of their collective roots and a testament to the power of pop music to connect people across cultures and borders. Their lyrics touch on themes such as feminism, mental health, and relationships with a raw honesty that speaks to a generation of young listeners. With their infectious energy, socially conscious lyrics, and unique sound, Grrrl Gang is poised to take the global music scene by storm and become a voice for a new generation

• Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra-modern music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house.

• Freestyle grew out of the electro sound of the early 80s, combined clean staccato rhythms with morse code synth hooks, and topped them off with emotive, usually female, frequently Latina vocals. There was plenty more going on besides: proto-house piano lines, Cuban percussion, high emotion and synth hooks to die for.

• Put together and annotated by Bob Stanley (who also compiled the acclaimed “The Daisy Age” and “Fell From The Sun”), “Latin Freestyle” is the first compilation to cover the whole gamut of Freestyle from its early 80s breakthrough to its early 90s revival. So many classics… Lisa Lisa made the UK top ten with the 808 joy of ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’. Stacey Q’s cosmically great ‘Two Of Hearts’ came out in 1986, while 1987 saw the likes of Company B’s ‘Fascinated’ and Exposé’s ‘Point Of No Return’ become huge UK club hits.

• Today, Freestyle is a scene with a solid collector’s market, and rarities like Janelle’s ‘Don’t Be Shy’ sell for hundreds of dollars. It’s a classic summer soundtrack, finally condensed in one Ace Records compilation – “Latin Freestyle”.

Written during a year of hedonistic isolation whilst exiled to a forgotten mining village, 'Alecs in Wonderland’ is the debut self-produced rap album by rap enigma and ‘one man band’ Alecs DeLarge.

Alecs navigates ‘Wonderland’ with a bulging backpack of references to 90’s Toonami imports, king skins and rap nerdology, multi-syllable boxing through beats in a smoked out stream-of-consciousness drawl. From the cartoonish braggadocio on ‘Scooby Snax’ and ‘AM To AM’, to proclaiming his love for his anthropomorphic MPC 2000 on ‘Girl Joint’, Alecs emphatically proving that he’s much more than just the man behind the boards.

Merging classic New York rap sensibilities with sarcastic British humour, 110’s and Berghaus coats taking the place of Timb boots and Lo sweaters.

Wonderland is Alecs’ custom built version of The Matrix, a perfect world created to escape the one outside his council flat window, idyllic living in Lynchian reality. A therapeutic outpouring of the lonely man’s psyche, or maybe just a slow descent into madness, polished and delivered to your ears in Long Play form.

It only took fifteen minutes for Bob Gaudio to pen the lyrics to Sherry,
which was originally named Jackie Baby as a tribute to First Lady
Jacqueline Kennedy. Producer Bob Crewe had suggested to Gaudio that he should write a song which exploited Valli's remarkable vocal range.

It reached Number 1 in America and stayed there for five weeks along with top-ten success in the British charts. Under his guidance, the group followed up with Big Girls Don't Cry and another Number 1 in the American charts ensued.

The Four Seasons were one of the few American acts to survive the British invasion of 1964. Indeed, they are the only act to have a US Number 1 hit before, during and after the Beatles successfully invaded the USA.

Toy Tonics going New Wave Disco with Baby’s Berserk’s self-titled debut album (to be released on 29 September).

There are many shades of funk in dance music. Berlin’s Toy Tonics label brings up artists that reflect many of these different aspects in dance music. Now the label comes up with a band! A band that is inspired by 1980ies New Wave as well as the Y2K Indie dance scene. Two guys and 2 girls from Amsterdam and Montreal called Baby’s Berserk.

Baby’s Berserk is about taking the freedom to be who you want to be, about being comfortable. Having played in all-girl punk bands since the age of 14, the bands singer Lieselot is an expert on female empowerment. “Dress like a girl and act like a boy,” is a catchphrase she lives up to every day and it clearly is a message that resonates with the band’s wild fans.

In the great tradition of Roxy Music, Throbbing Gristle and Malcolm McLaren, Baby’s Berserk is not just about the edgy music, but also about a very strong own visual style. They readily blend their sounds with underground fashion. What you see is what you get and seeing Baby’s Berserk is feeling right at home. Lieselot is a visionary when it comes to stage presence. Have you always wanted to see an electronic band with a punk attitude perform wearing a mix of haute couture and Flintstone-style rags? Look no further, it’s Baby’s Berserk.

Following on the critically acclaimed singles ‘What I Mean’ (2020) and ‘Toxic Kisses’ (2022), Baby Berserk’s highly anticipated self-titled full-length is now finally about to see the light on Berlin’s Toy Tonics records. Sonically designed for gritty rock venues as well as up-to-date edgy dance clubs, Mano’s lush compositions smoothly intertwine with the highly associative lyrics written by Puggy and Lieselot. Poets and literary addicts may think they’ve just discovered the rock & roll equivalents of Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut and Allen Ginsberg. To tell you the truth: their wild guess is pretty accurate as the works by these greats lie scattered around the Baby’s Berserk studio for inspiration.
The band was born in a laboratory back in 2019. Tired of being in bands with unruly and unpredictable humans, Mano Hollestelle set out to create a group of high precision robots to create the post-punk sound he had in mind. His outdated technology of floppy disks and cassette tapes worked well to program the androids, until one day a 90s rave mixtape was mistakenly entered into his computer. House music is a feeling and the punk bots instantly got hooked on it upon hearing it for the first time. They could never be reset to factory settings again. Mano worked tirelessly with his androids, currently known by their humanoid names of Lieselot Elzinga, Puggy Beales and Eva Wijnbergen, to fulfil his evil plan to make the rockers dance and the dancers rock. Baby’s Berserk is the fiendish extension of this plot. Beware, the band’s bass driven grooves and computerized beats have been known to cast a spell upon all within earshot.

So what do the songs on ‘Baby’s Berserk’ tell you? That it’s totally fine to have lots of fun in life! To have a boyfriend as an accessory (‘Accessories’), to get inspired by Sponge Bob (‘Dancing with the Fish’) and to blend your spirits with mixers whenever the hell you feel like it (‘Rum ‘n’ Kola’).

Baby’s Berserk member Puggy Beales on ‘Limousine’: “Decant the wine from my tip jar to yours. Soon we'll be on easy street, chauffeured home from the rat race each evening. Is it everything you'd hoped it would be?”

Check not only the debut album but also the forthcoming Remix EP with remixes by Each Other, Niklas Wandt, Sam Ruffillo, Kris Baha and Nicolini.

Punk pioneers Crass continue their vinyl reissue series, repressing their limited releases by adjacent artists through Crass Records, in association with One Little Independent. The series, including over twenty bands and solo artists recorded at the legendary Southern Studios and produced by Penny Rimbaud, continues with two more historic pieces from the Crass Records catalogue; ‘Farce’ by Rudimentary Peni and ‘Can’t Cheat Karma’ by Zounds.

Zounds are an English post-punk band from Reading, Berkshire, formed in 1977. Originally, they were part of the cassette culture movement, releasing material on the Fuck Off Records label, and were also involved in the squatting and free festival scene. The name of the band is derived from the old English ‘zounds’, a contraction of ‘God’s wounds’, referring to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, formerly used as a mildly blasphemous oath.

The band met up with fellow anarchists Crass when, legend has it, their van broke down on the road. They made their way to nearby Dial House, where Crass were based, who helped them with repairs. The two bands became friends, and although musically very divergent, they shared many common political views. Zounds shortly afterwards released their first EP, ‘Can't Cheat Karma’, on the Crass Records label in 1980. The EP featured possibly their most well-known track ‘Subvert’, a call to arms against the grind of daily life. The release of this EP and association with Crass led to an increase in the band's profile in the embryonic anarcho-punk scene, touring with both Crass and Poison Girls. They split in 1982 but reformed in 2007, and remain active today.

Penny continues; “Zounds could have made a fine pop group, but they were far too socially sassy to fall for that one. No, their commitment to radical political change, so abundantly clear in their lyrics, set them apart from the commercialism that had so blighted the likes of The Clash and other punkish pretenders. Having been drawn from the ranks of hippy bands like Here and Now, Zounds encouraged dissent and personal change, and, at their own cost, to pursue and promote them as ideologies. Can't cheat karma? No, nor ever beat it. Zounds were hip to this fine point. Want a better life?

Then make it for yourself. Ain't no one gonna help you out on that one. Find your own way, it's the only way there is.”

First released on 7” vinyl, limiting the sound, the new series has been remastered for 12” by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios, allowing them to be heard as never before. This, plus enlarged replicas of the original covers, brings new gusto to their already radical sound.

Dark Entries and Papi Juice Records team up for No Jack Swing, the solo electronic debut of multi-hype man Brontez Purnell. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based musician and writer has centered his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. On No Jack Swing, Purnell gives us a love letter to the most beloved (and secularized) of drum patterns - that is, the electronic 808 “Amen Break”. Beginning recording in 2020, Purnell conceived of No Jack Swing as an audio zine of found sound materials: chain letters of instrumentals recorded in bedrooms, poems from boys in France, found gospel tapes from his childhood family Baptist Choir, and the sound of records skipping on his bedroom turntable. No Jack Swing is as much a homage to No Wave and New Jack Swing as it is an answering to the gods of Indie, Electroclash, Disco, and Gospel. Amidst all this background noise, the unexpected occurs: all the niche pretensions collapse to a singularity - the sound of High Pop! No Jack Swing was produced by Nightfeelings. Each copy of includes a lyric sheet with a photo of Brontez.

One In A Million is the second studio album by Aaliyah. First released in 1996 by Blackground Records, the album features production from a variety of producers including Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Carl-So-Lowe, J. Dibbs, Jermaine Dupri, Kay Gee, Vincent Herbert, Rodney Jenkins, Craig King, Darren Lighty and Darryl Simmons. With countless accolades, One In A Million remains as one of the most influential albums in Hip-Hop & R&B and proved to be a major breakthrough in Aaliyah's career. Welcome to the new world of funk.

This song, co- written and produced by Jamie Safir (Kylie, Birdy, Will Young) is from the brand-new collection 'Greek Street Friday' released later this year on all formats. With an ace band, which includes drummer Ian Thomas (George Michael, Van Morrison, Celine Dion) and guitarist David Preston (Melody Gardot, Curtis Stigers), this collection will also feature, on a beautiful new take of Rickie Lee Jones' 'Blinded By The Hunt', the world-renowned saxophonist Iain Ballamy (Everything But The Girl, Hermeto Pascoal, Loose Tubes). 'To Be Held' is a lullaby for our times. The title, inspired by a Truman Capote interview, with Dick Cavett, expands into a beautiful tribute to lost friends, the power of connections, imperfections and navigates the strangeness and beauty of being alive 'on this beaten-up planet of ours'.

Ian Shaw is back with force and with 'the quirks and character tics of every day living, . . . brought into euphoric focus Shaw tours his smart and soulful show' (The Guardian)

Setting out to create a future Balearic anthem while doffing a cap to street soul and synth-heavy Italo-disco B-sides of the early 1980s, Orbs of Light’s debut single, ‘Billion Days’ lands on Leng after a tip-off from Mind Fair duo Dean Meredith and Ben Shenton, who booked the duo to play live at their Rotation festival last summer.

Orbs of Light’s Baz Bradley and A Girl Called Kate have been friends for decades and have collaborated musically in the past, though it was only a couple of years ago that they dreamed up this project. It was first trialled via a 2021 remix for Andres y Xavi on Hollis Recordings (‘Perfect Timing’) on which Kate added new vocals to Bradley’s interpretation of the track. Since then, regular recording sessions have taken place, with the duo first crafting tight instrumental tracks before – in Bradley’s words – “dream up the best songs we can” with “melodies that will hopefully stay in your head all day”.

It would be fair to say that they’ve achieved that goal on ‘Billion Days’, a hooky and addictive affair whose vocal hooks and strong chorus could well inspire Balearic sing-alongs in the months ahead. Their original mix (B1 on the vinyl version of the EP, track 2 on the digital EP) is joyous, cheery and kaleidoscopic, with steel pan style melodies, bouncy synth stabs, jaunty lead lines and Kate’s wonderful lead vocal riding a shuffling, post street soul beat and a bubbly bassline.

The accompanying remix package is naturally very strong too. San Francisco crew 40 Thieves, fresh from dropping a killer single of their own on Leng (‘The Gift’, with disco legends Gary Davis and Cinnamon Jones), step up first with a take that stretches out and builds on Orbs of Light’s original mix – think wobbly nu-disco synth bass, fresh flute sounds, dubbed-out vocal snippets and a locked-in groove that’s just perfect for sun-soaked alfresco dancing.

Fittingly, the second and final revision comes from Mind Fair, whose email to Leng HQ about Orbs of Light got the ball rolling. Opting for a rubbery, body-popping beat inspired by vintage electro, they deliver a joyful, effects-laden Balearic dancefloor ‘Dub Mix’ that somehow makes a genuinely life-affirming record even more loved-up and saucer-eyed – despite the presence of only a fraction of Kate’s addictive lead vocal.

The contributions of the late Detroit producer James DeWitt Yancey -better known to the world as J Dilla- to the world of hip-hop can't be overstated, and nowhere is his legacy more apparent than his work as a member of Slum Village. A founding member of the trio, (Alongside rappers T3 and Baatin) Dilla provided the group's distinctly esoteric, free-wheeling sound, built around winding basslines, quirky drumbeats, subtle low-end frequencies, and classic jazz & soul samples. Against the backdrop of Dilla's rich production, T3 and Baatin's free-flowing style of rhyming would also earn wide critical praise, leading to comparisons as the successors to A Tribe Called Quest. (A label they themselves have rejected.) After the success of Slum's 1997 studio debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1, the group went to work on their follow up. Though the project was completed in '98, label turmoil kept the project on ice until 2000. By the time Fantastic Volume II hit Dilla was well on his way to his status as a hip hop legend having produced cuts for Common, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest and many more. Later works from Slum Village may have had more of an impact sales-wise (in the immediate) but Fantastic Vol. 2 had fans and many critics saying that Slum Village, and Dilla in particular, may single-handedly save rap music.' Perhaps that statement is hyperbole but many consider Fantastic Volume II to be Slum Village's finest work ever to this day. Ne'Astra Media Group now presents the album reissued on vinyl, for the first time in several years. Every wobbling bass note of J Dilla's production has been preserved to maintain the legacy of this hip hop rap classic and maintain the legend of one of hip-hop's greatest beatsmiths.

First Word Records is very proud to welcome Ruby Wood to the label, with her debut solo EP 'Sincerely'.

Ruby is a vocalist & songwriter hailing from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Her soulful yet distinctive voice has enabled her to front numerous projects; perhaps best known as lead vocalist of the critically acclaimed Submotion Orchestra, since 2009.

She also toured as lead vocalist for Bonobo's live band, for Nubiyan Twist, and with hugely successful 1940's-esque vocal trio, The Sugar Sisters. There have also been features for dance outfits such as GLXY & Franky Wah, additionally to writing & recording for the likes of Krept & Konan, Alfa Mist, Roska, Hemai, Barney Artist and XOA, to name just a few.

In 2021, Ruby was awarded a DYCP Arts Council grant to fund her own creative project, which was taken as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board creatively, spending time working out how her own music would sound and what messages she wanted to convey.

After initial sketches on her Native Instruments Maschine, she began to work with fellow Submotion Orchestra member, Chris 'Fatty' Hargreaves; a long time friend and collaborator, and a revered musician in his own right, with his low-end theory science triumphantly stamped across his other projects, such as Pengshui and Outlook Orchestra. Ruby and Chris began bouncing ideas back and forth, and gradually this solo project started to take shape and form the bulk of this debut EP.

In Ruby's words "After years of working in big projects with lots of people, I often struggled to feel like my voice was being heard. Branching out on my own is an opportunity for me to make music that I would actually listen to myself! This process has been healing for me, and I'm so proud of myself for continuing to learn and develop my craft, whilst learning how to produce songs from scratch.


Becoming a mother also changed me for the better, and provided me with a wealth of experiences and challenges that have gone on to fuel my lyrics. I've grown a lot, and this EP gives a snippet of my life thus far".

'Sincerely' is comprised of five tracks, firmly based in the realms of hip hop soul and neo soul sonically, with an unashamedly '90s R&B vibe throughout. Throughout the EP, Ruby's story tells tales of motherhood, relationships, commitment, independence and inspirations. Further collaborations on the set come from vocalist Isaac Malibu (on 'Mr. Unavailable'), wind player Arran Kent (on 'My Favourite Song'), and assistance on a couple of beats from acclaimed hip hop producer, Pitch 92 and San Diego's Martel Howard, along with more Submotion alumni, Danny Templeman, Dom Howard and Bobby Beddoe and the debut performance from Ruby's daughter, Amber!

A truly triumphant body of work, this is just the start of a new chapter for Ruby Wood.

If you dig deep enough into the underground you will find the most precious jewels and it ain't that much of an effort these days to turn on the computer and trip through the colorful World Wide Web. But beware for not all the glitter is gold. I stepped by some dark and dusty back street club in Atlanta / Georgia, USA and some enchanting music tempted me to enter. A powerful raspy voice screaming out the pain of the world no matter if it were big or small affairs. "California dreaming on such a winter's day", wow, when the MAMAS AND PAPAS sang this in a sweet folk manner it was a light and joyful anthem for all hippies and hipsters back in 1966, like a call to love. Lee Moses' version is more of a desperate cry for sunshine and freedom. And it goes on this way. His voice has this special phrase showing determination, pain but also sheer joy of life. His 1971 album is a steady groover with a steaming hot band performing , which includes a brass section of divine greatness. These devoted players build up a massive wall of groove and melody on which Lee Moses can unleash his voice like a volcanic eruption. The groove itself stays quite relaxed but definitely hypnotizing throughout the whole album and clears up your mind for the message of love Lee Moses raves about. The high skills of Lee's backing band gets showcased in a steaming instrumental version of THE FOUR TOPS' "Reach out (I'll be there)", which appeared on an early 7" first and got added here as a bonus track. They don't stop for THE BEATLES' "Day tripper" either and next to "California dreamin'" you can find another heart warming version of "Hey Joe" on the regular album. Not as extraordinary outraging as Hendrix' turn on this classic Lee and his mates make it a slightly more epic effort. All in all this is a soul album with very few covers and even more classic anthems of this genre that should actually be worshipped by lovers of the late 1960s Motown sound. Especially the bonus tracks will drive you wild. Go for it, brothers and sisters.

'Easy' is the debut album by the Australian rock band The Easybeats, recorded in just a few days at the EMI Studios in Sydney. The album was originally an Australian-only release but became internationally available during the '90s.

As Wreckless Eric he needs little introduction - he wrote and recorded the classic Whole Wide World and had a hit with it back in 1977. Since then it"s been a hit for countless other artists including The Monkees, Cage The Elephant and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Eric"s version featured in the 2022 Expedia / Superbowl / Ewan MacGregor travel ad, and the Cage The Elephant version is the new theme tune for the podcast Smartless. This new album, Leisureland, marks a return to his more ramshackle world of recording - guitars and temperamentally unpredictable analogue keyboards, beat-boxes and loops in conjunction with a real drummer, Sam Shepherd, who he met in a local coffee shop in Catskill, New York. He was delighted to find that Sam lived around the corner and could easily drop by to put drums on newly recorded tracks. The recording methodology may have been Contemporary American but the subject matter is almost entirely British. It also contains more instrumentals than any of his previous albums.

As Wreckless Eric he needs little introduction - he wrote and recorded the classic Whole Wide World and had a hit with it back in 1977. Since then it"s been a hit for countless other artists including The Monkees, Cage The Elephant and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Eric"s version featured in the 2022 Expedia / Superbowl / Ewan MacGregor travel ad, and the Cage The Elephant version is the new theme tune for the podcast Smartless. This new album, Leisureland, marks a return to his more ramshackle world of recording - guitars and temperamentally unpredictable analogue keyboards, beat-boxes and loops in conjunction with a real drummer, Sam Shepherd, who he met in a local coffee shop in Catskill, New York. He was delighted to find that Sam lived around the corner and could easily drop by to put drums on newly recorded tracks. The recording methodology may have been Contemporary American but the subject matter is almost entirely British. It also contains more instrumentals than any of his previous albums.

Life On Mars is the 1976 debut album by the American R&B/jazz fusion singer, arranger, musician, composer and conductor Dexter Wansel. The album is considered to be a "space-funk" classic, inspired by David Bowie's "Life On Mars?". Wansel composed his own sci-fi sounds with swirling, ring-like oscillators, cosmic sub tones, and metallic, otherworldly leads using his signature ARP 2600 synthesizer. Wansel's pioneering synth sound was shared on numerous records with artists like MFSB, Billy Paul, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Teddy Pendergrass, and The Jones Girls. The album inspired other artists and Wansel's "Theme From The Planets" drum beat intro is hailed as being one of the first foundation beats of hip-hop. His sampled music has been used by Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, and Ice Cube amongst others.

Life On Mars is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl.

Factory Benelux presents a limited (500 copies only) orange vinyl edition of Retrofit, the seventh studio album from post-punk trailblazers Section 25, originally released in 2010. First time on vinyl.

Recorded before the untimely death of founder member Lawrence Cassidy in February 2010, Retrofit saw cult Factory Records group Section 25 revisit key tracks from their 1980s back catalogue, remade and remodelled for the 21 st century using an appropriate mix of new and old technology.

‘Gathered here is a selection of Section 25 faves, re-recorded and re-thought. The idea is born from their invigorating live set – compelling use of technology to lift them (almost) free from the familiar shards of 80s underground. Shockingly, this newattack works. All this tightening appears to have tugged the band into a sense of Now, gloriously at odds with the contemporary norm’ (The Quietus)

‘Audacious and innovative’ (Record Collector)

‘Section 25 might just be the best band in the world. Since 1980 they’ve been forging music that is as beautiful as it is challenging, from the monochrome psychedelia of their first album through Zen guitarscapes, electronic epiphanies, the arguable invention of Acid House, and on to an unexpected rebirth in 2006. Even within the narrative of such an unusual band, Retrofit is an odd confection: not a best-of or remix album, but a retrospective in which tracks are remodelled as gleaming technosculptures with the most human of hearts.’ (Glasgow Herald)

Now released on vinyl for the very first time, FBN 140 is limited to just 500 copies pressed on orange vinyl. The digital copy contains 5 bonus tracks, including a blistering re-boot of Looking From A Hilltop by Stephen Morris of Joy Division/New Order.

Whitney did more than turn Whitney Houston into a pioneering sensation known around the world by her first name. Originally released in June 1987, the singer's blockbuster sophomore record became the first album by a female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart — a position it claimed for a total of 11 weeks en route to selling more than 10 million copies in the U.S. The Diamond platinum effort also contains four No. 1 Hot 100 hits that, when combined with the three chart toppers from her 1985 debut, gave her seven consecutive No. 1 singles — an accomplishment that no other artist has accomplished. Commercially and creatively, Whitney stands on hallowed ground — especially now that the record plays with a sound that puts into perspective just how extraordinary, engaging, and vital Houston's music remains.


Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP of Whitney invites listeners to experience the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee's pivotal album in audiophile quality for the very first time. Free of the dynamic limitations and tonal flatness prevalent on prior vinyl and CD pressings, it lets the music breathe and reveals the copious detail, nuance, and texture within the immaculately produced songs. MoFi's SuperVinyl profile offers further advantages in the forms of a nearly inaudible noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition.

In addition to featuring extreme clarity and immediacy, this numbered-edition reissue does wonders for the attribute that inspired more than 20 million people around the globe to add Whitney to their record collections: that inimitable voice. Houston's trademark mezzo-soprano — an acrobatic instrument equally capable of taking off on fantastic flights and unwinding for hushed meditations — benefits from the fantastic airiness and transparency afforded by this meticulously restored edition. Whitney has never sounded or looked better. The crossover landmark deserves nothing less.

Issued just two years after Houston's breakthrough debut, Whitney immediately signalled the genre-defying singer's intent to continue to push ahead and expand her palette. Shot by photographer Richard Avedon, the album cover depicts an iconic image of Houston — captured with a gleaming smile, bright eyes, teased-out afro, toned arms, and a right hand that appears to wave a friendly hello — whose active, athletic profile stands in contrast to the extremely formal sit-down shot of her that graces her '85 record. The change is telling: Whitney overflows with unfettered joy, rhythmic vibes, and deep-seated emotions that forever endeared her to the hearts and minds of countless listeners — and which set the standard for the wave after wave of divas that followed in her footsteps.

It's no coincidence that the first track on Whitney is the declarative "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)." Like Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Madonna's "Material Girl," the feel-good smash is one of the quintessential '80s gems — a lithe, melodic, celebratory release of pent-up energy and loneliness that glides across club floors, shouts to the rooftops, and shrugs off any concerns about vulnerability or embarrassment. Houston's swooping voice moves in sync with the sleek beats and dipping-and-diving synths. She practically takes her fellow musicians by their hand and leads them in a blissful dance that nobody would dare sidestep. Focusing on Houston's singing — a task made challenging only because of the impossible-to-ignore hooks and grooves — showcases the virtuosic facets of not only her register but her control, discipline, smoothness, and warmth.

That she replicates those feats for the entirety of the nearly 53-minute-long album makes Whitney that much more special. Houston reaches back and channels her childhood gospel training on the R&B-flared "So Emotional"; effortlessly slips into Quiet Storm mode on the duet with her mother, gospel great Cissy Houston, on "I Know Him So Well"; flirts with smooth jazz and collaborates with tenor saxophonist Kenny G on the lush "Just the Lonely Talking Again"; conjures dreamscapes and shadow-boxes with supple funk on a romantic cover of the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You"; and, for the majestic power ballad "Didn't We Almost Have It All," displays the sky-scraping reach of her vocals amid a grand arrangement made even bigger by Houston's sweeping performance and triumphant finish.

Houston's once-in-a-generation talents weren't lost on the adoring public, radio deejays, or industry experts. In addition to harbouring four No. 1 hits and receiving nominations for four Grammy Awards, Whitney generated another Top 10 success in the guise of the Afro-Cuban-leaning "Love Will Save the Day." The album also netted Houston four American Music Awards; two Billboard Music Awards; back-to-back People's Choice Awards; a Soul Train Award; and various other accolades. It all makes the crux of the Washington Post's July '87 review of the album appear prophetic: "Her voice sounds stronger still and the songs are varied but so consistent she could garner 10 Top 10s out of a field of 11."


That claim still holds true. A brilliant fusion of pop, R&B, smooth jazz, and soul, Whitney is a showstopper – and one of the key reasons Houston is the most-awarded female artist of all time.

"Compiling 17 handpicked gems from across the Numeroverse, this album keeps the faith for both newcomers and veterans alike. Soaring vocals, driving beats, and syrupy strings... expect a blend of classic Motown-inspired sounds with a unique British flair that is sure to get your feet moving. The only northern soul record you’ll ever need. "

"Compiling 17 handpicked gems from across the Numeroverse, this album keeps the faith for both newcomers and veterans alike. Soaring vocals, driving beats, and syrupy strings... expect a blend of classic Motown-inspired sounds with a unique British flair that is sure to get your feet moving. The only northern soul record you’ll ever need. "

The latest single from The Kevin Fingier Collective, 'My Heart Is Burning’ is an astounding dance floor bomb, and the culmination of Kevin’s three year journey on Acid Jazz. Featuring the three singers - Diane Ward, Jo Ann Hamilton and Josi Dias - who have helped make the Fingier 45s so in-demand. Its an uplifting R&B track which combines an infectious rare-soul beat with a classic girl-group vibe. It will be a must have for any DJ session or house party during these sultry summer months.

Formed in Rochester, NY in 1976, New Math opened for the likes of the
Ramones, Pretenders, The Cramps, The Psychedelic Furs, The Damned,
and The Gun Club at now-extinct local clubs - Offering up an endless
supply of ascending guitar lines and catchy hooks of amphetaminefueled power pop
With ease, the band produced charming, should've- been hits like the adrenaline
rush of "The Restless Kind," the two- tone English Beat- inspired "Older Women,"
and of course the hyper-melodic anthem "Die Trying." The latter was produced by
Howard Thompson, who was known for working with John Cale and the
Psychedelic Furs. It was first released on Reliable Records in 1979 and then rereleased on CBS in England with the same B- side "Angela," a take on '60s girl
groups that juxtaposed its innocent pop leaning with a tragic story. "Die Trying"
did receive some airplay on John Peel's radio show and landed somewhere near
the bottom of the British Charts.
With a 7" on CBS in the UK (which now goes for a strong price on Discogs) and a
debut EP on US indie label 415 Records, the band rode the new wave. This
collection of out- of- print early singles and unreleased demos showcases why
they made fans both in the US and UK.

Formed in Rochester, NY in 1976, New Math opened for the likes of the
Ramones, Pretenders, The Cramps, The Psychedelic Furs, The Damned,
and The Gun Club at now-extinct local clubs - Offering up an endless
supply of ascending guitar lines and catchy hooks of amphetaminefueled power pop
With ease, the band produced charming, should've- been hits like the adrenaline
rush of "The Restless Kind," the two- tone English Beat- inspired "Older Women,"
and of course the hyper-melodic anthem "Die Trying." The latter was produced by
Howard Thompson, who was known for working with John Cale and the
Psychedelic Furs. It was first released on Reliable Records in 1979 and then rereleased on CBS in England with the same B- side "Angela," a take on '60s girl
groups that juxtaposed its innocent pop leaning with a tragic story. "Die Trying"
did receive some airplay on John Peel's radio show and landed somewhere near
the bottom of the British Charts.
With a 7" on CBS in the UK (which now goes for a strong price on Discogs) and a
debut EP on US indie label 415 Records, the band rode the new wave. This
collection of out- of- print early singles and unreleased demos showcases why
they made fans both in the US and UK.

[n] B7. Alain Goraguer – Les Hommes [La Grande Co-Existence]