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"I'm Always Right“ by Imagination is an unreleased jazz rock LP recorded in 1977, 3 years before their sought after “Shake It” debut from 1980. Comprised of five tracks with a playtime of roughly 30 minutes, you will hear one of the finest German late-70s rock-tinged electric jazz albums of the era. The recording is a delightful stand-out with unique compositions, aspiring solo work, and a soulful spirit throughout. Additionally, the album veritably glows with exceptional sound quality, as it has been remastered from original tapes that were cut more than four decades ago at the WDR Funkhaus, Cologne.

Moscow's leading deep and underground house label Deepology presents a series of releases, Four Seasons. Four releases, vinyl only, each corresponding to a specific season of the year.

The first record, EP 1, includes four tracks by residents and friends of the label - an international team of the artists from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and Finland.

Limited edition of 300 copies. Spread the analogue love!


DJ Feedback:

Mark Farina, Sascha Dive, Luna City Express, Martin Landsky, Jimpster, DJ Linus, Charles Spencer, Nick Holder, Terry Francis, Jay West, Igor Marijuan (Ibiza Sonica FM), Glenn Underground, Jesus Gonsev, Robert Owens, Patrick Lindsey, Lars Behrenroth, Carlo Gambino, Mucho Soul, Finest Wear, Fer Ferrari, Sumsuch and more.

We’ve worked with Ian Willson to reissue his insanely good, self-released West Coast classic “Straight From The Heart”. Privately pressed and originally released in 1985, this is the only album Ian ever put out. A magical blend of AOR/sophisticated funk/synth-boogie/spiritual jazz and modern soul, it’s a spellbinding record of many colours.

You might already know “Straight From The Heart” for the dubby-disco paranoid-balearic anthem “Four In The Morning”, and it’s easy to assume this is probably just another one of those one-track LPs. But trust us when we say it’s definitely not. This is an impressively slick record from start to finish, just ask those modern soul DJs and AOR collectors who’ve managed to find a rare copy in the last 35 years. It could’ve (should’ve?) been number 1 all over the world back in 1985.

Album opener “Think About It” is all sorts of right. It’s emotional. It’s tops-off. It’s funk in its purest form. And take the proto-modern-funk of the title track (half Dâm-Funk / half Dâd-Funk).

The shimmering, spiritual Bossa-Jazz of “If I Were You” serves as the album’s soaring centrepiece. A gorgeous suite of Cosmic vibes to get Gilles frothing, it sounds like nothing else on the record which makes sense given that it was recorded a couple of years earlier, and is the only track on the LP that wasn’t recorded in Ian’s own studio.

Side B opens with the propulsive ode to love that is “Two Is Better Than One”. Wonderfully sparse when it needs to be, it’s also richly percussive and that special kind of California-warm. Frenetic, speaker smashing synth and horn workout “Funk Invasion” dares you not to dance and “A Game Called Love” is heavily indebted to Prince with its lush, deep funk stylings. The sweeping sax-drenched instrumental “Song For Katelyn” is head-nod, beat-heavy AOR for that melancholic magic hour we spend our days longing for. It all adds up to the ultimate BBQ record.

Almost all of “Straight From The Heart” was recorded over a few months between 1983 and 1984 on Ian’s brand new Otari 8 track in the Oakland, California studio he built just the year before. Only “If I Were You” was recorded elsewhere, at Bay Sound in 1982.

A “full time poor musician” at the time (and he says he still is), Ian produced the album himself and played all of the instruments, except for guitar. That’s Peter Fujii you can hear, his good friend from growing up together.

Tower Of Power, Average White Band, Earth Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder was the list of influences Ian gave us when we asked. No wonder the record’s just so easy on the ears.

And why did he put the record out himself? Simple, he had no idea how to go about getting a record deal.

When we first got in touch with Ian he had no idea that “Straight From The Heart” had become something of a cult record, let alone that there were those of us out there that thought the album deserved to be pressed again. The original tapes have long since been lost so this re-issue was only made possible by remastering Ian’s one and only pristine copy of the finished LP.

The end results have been worth the work, including reproducing the original’s unmistakeable sleeve. Ian Willson’s “Straight From The Heart” is yet another Be With release that will find an easy home on the shelves of those of you who up to now have only dreamt of finding a copy and also those of you who who never knew it even existed.

Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, just 500 copies of this double LP have been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

The Inhale/Exhale posse returns. For our 3 years anniversary and our 10th release we have prepared a super hot double 12 inch pack with shitloads of serious house cutz for your club, bar, living room and ears. With a bunch of love we like to present some common but also fresh faces to the Inhale/Exhale family and this compilation. Be prepared for endless nights full of dance pleasure. Including a wide range of House music from soulful to funky to bigroomesque.

We left them to take over,
to brake hopes,
to snatch any desire.

As distorted images on a screen,
They changed the balances of our lives.

They imposed false myths in our believes,
In our most intimate thoughts,
In the semantics of our meditations.

They chose the path of everyone,
As androids, they conducted us to the implosion,
Of souls, of rigid sentiments,
Of vitreous look.

They took the control of each decision,
Changing the order of priorities,
Changing the given meaning,
The significant and the significance.

They left us weak
In the bodies, in the spirits
On a slimy ground,
Sliding towards the loss of consciousness
Towards the end of our existences.

We pass away in our silent souls,
In a hibernation without return

- UTOPIAN SOUL -

Following on from an excellent debut in 2019, with ‘Karoussel’, Mow Records unveils its second album. A further exploration of label head Mowgan’s penchant for house music and authentic African sounds, ‘Soya’ features percussion and vocals from Solo Sanou, an artist whose roots lie in Burkina Faso - though he’s based in Toulouse, where the album was recorded.

Comprised seven Afro house cuts that utilise organic instrumentation and Solo’s raw, emotive voice, the album is the second installment in a series of five long-players recorded by Mowgan in the space of a year. This new LP goes deep into the heart of Africa’s rich musical culture, delivering contagious rhythms, rousing atmospherics and a pure, organic, unadulterated sound that has been cultivated through electrifying jam sessions at Mowgan’s studio. Also featured on ‘Soya’ are Yoan Hernandez and Yaya Dembele who play guitar, Gauthier Djalate on bass, alongside Mamadou ‘Madou’ Dembele, a multi-instrumentalist who plays flute and ngoni, while also handling backing vocals with Adama Coulibaly aka Demsi and teaming up for a duet with Solo on ‘Badenya’. Another vocalist, Fanta, was intrinsic to this LP. The granddaughter of renowned Malian performer Kandia Kouyaté, Fanta appears on ‘Fatanya’ and is a crucial component of the album’s conception…

The story goes that Mowgan was making an album with Fanta when he realised he needed a percussionist. Fanta brought in Solo Sanou, who was very timid to begin with. Mowgan liked his style and decided to work on some music with Solo separately. As the relationship blossomed, and they recorded more music, Solo brought more and more instruments to Mowgan’s studio. During those sessions Mowgan gently encouraged Solo to try using his voice, eventually he did and, when he heard how good it sounded, ended up singing across the whole LP. So, the beauty of this album, beyond the wonderful instrumentation, is the fact that you’re hearing Solo Sanou sing for the very first time.

With all the songs recorded in his native languages, Bobo and Bambara, ‘Soya’ is an exhilarating blend of electronic production and African influences that emanates a feeling of authenticity throughout. From the opening cut ‘Adamine’, which is about Solo’s first meeting with Mowgan, to ‘Badenya’ which refers to family bonds - “There may be quarrels, but it will never catch fire,” Solo says.

There is social commentary, such as that featured on ‘Fantaya’, which is about poverty - “While some people worry about what they will eat at night, others have fun without worrying about them,” he says.

A soul-nourishing, vibrant and utterly contagious collection of raw, authentic Afro house, ‘Soya’ marks another step forward for Mow Records and a triumph for all the artists involved. Look out for further installments…

Throughout the ‘REFRACTIONS’ EP, Close Counters further signify their skills in blending house, soul, funk and broken beat and to create their own blend of insatiable and infectious grooves through a polished comb-i nation of electronic and organic instrumentation. The duo harness the spirit and energy of the Melbourne soul scene and raise it to new levels in the four polished, dance-floor-ready tunes in REFRACTIONS.

‘The songs were written over the last couple of years following our move from Hobart to Melbourne and was made possible with the help of a number of collaborators, including our live band members Elle Shimada, Lucky Pereira, Paul Bender (Hiatus Kaiyote) on bass, and featuring vocalists Laneous and Wallace.’ – Close Counters

Outta Sight’s collectable ‘Classics’ series continues with two real heavyweight’s of the rare soul scene, face-to-face for the very first time. Together, these two icons helped define, not only Northern Soul, but the soul music genre… and now, almost sixty years on, they go head to head.

In the blue corner is former commercial artist and amateur heavyweight boxer Mr Roy Hamilton who set the dancefloors trembling across the North of England when his 1962 “Earthquake” was finally unleashed on the Northern Soul scene. Hamilton was already a huge star in America scoring two R&B No.1’s in 1954 and ’55 with the standards “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Unchned Melody”. But, he will forever be remembered in the U.K. for his Northern anthems “Crackin’ Up Over You”, “The Panic Is On”, “You Shook Me Up” and the explosive “Earthquake”.

In the red corner is the multi-talented actor, pianist, arranger, producer, songwriter and singer Mr H. B. Barnum who’s early belter “It Hurts Too Much To Cry” belies its 1962 recording date. Barnum also scored on the rare soul scene with “Three Rooms With Running Water”, “The Record” and the awesome “Heartbreaker”.

But his contribution far exceeds his personal output with writer, producer and arranger credits on a slue of floorfillers inlcuding Judy Street’s “What”, Earl Wright’s “Thumb A Ride” and The Magnificents’ ”My Heart Is Calling You”, to name but a few.

During a karaoke-fuelled haze in the seedy parts of Oslo, Legs 11 was formed based on a shared love of synth pop, post-punk, new wave and house music. Drawing on these influences, the band has created a diverse musical universe, ranging from dark repetitive guitar driven tracks, via infectious pop gems, to deep yet melodic dancefloor-orientated grooves. After exploring the indie-dance themes on their debut album "Another Wave" (2017), it's now time to dive into the world of (electro) pop!

Legs 11 have drawn on many different influences throughout their 15 year history. Still, at the heart of the band's musical universe, there has always been a deep love for pop-music! On their new ten-track album "The Colour Of My Heart", Legs 11 show us ten shades of their brightly pop-coloured heart.

Introducing this debut release on Reptile Dysfunction from Aniche. A
super exciting Graduate of Doorly's Orbit DJ / Production Academy
project and new member of the Reptile Dysfunction clan.
Taking inspiration from his cultural background of old school Hindi
cinema and 90s Dance music, his sound is what happens when Eastern
philosophy meets Western electronica. This unique approach is what
makes Aniche a niche.

NORTHERN SOUL ESSENTIALS!!! 2020 finally sees the long-awaited follow-up to the mega-succesful Frank Wilson 45 in our ‘Soul Essentials’ series. And they don’t come more “essential” than The Tempests “Someday”. What a fabulous record and a top notch dancer to boot! For many, “Someday” is the Northern Soul sound of the millenium, and it is! But we have to go much further back in time to find it’s roots on the scene. Back another twenty years in fact, back to the eighties to the “discovery-city” of Stafford where it was first played to an astonished and eager audience. It was originally released as an LP-only track on the album ‘Would You Believe’ on Smash Records in 1967. And what an incredible album it is offering up a number of potential B-sides for our single: the title track, plus a very credible rendition of “Ain’t No Big Thing”, “Happiness”, “I Cried For You” and “What You Gonna Do” – all totally fantastic. But, we went with the stunningly sublime and pleading “I Don’t Want To Lose Her” dripping in tortured emotion that sends shivers across the dance floor! The Tempests were originally an all-white 10-piece outfit formed in the early-Sixties in Charlotte, North Carolina. They went through a number of personel changes over the years but by the time they signed to the Mercury owned ‘Smash’ label their unique sound featured black vocalist, Hazel Martin. It is Martin’s implouringy desperate delivery that resonated instantly with the Northern Soul scene propelling the band to iconic status. Now, over fifty years on, the two standout tracks from the album are available back-to-back for the very first time! Also available the No.1 oldie “Do I Love You” by Frank Wilson.

Eglo Records are proud to present Fatima's highly anticipated debut album 'Yellow Memories'.

Featuring production work from the likes of Floating Points, Theo Parrish, Oh No, Scoop DeVille, Computer Jay, Knxwledge and more... the velvet toned Swede has truly crafted something special.

Offering a modern take on classic Soul and RnB, the album strikes a beautiful balance of cutting edge, contemporary production, soulful expression, melancholic introspection and vibrant, candy coated melody. An accomplished singer /song-writer with a stunning range, her prowess and versatility are a force not to be reckoned with. As powerful and mesmerising on stage as she is in the studio, Fatima possesses a talent heard all to rarely in todays musical climate.

Wan Chai Records is a Hong-Kong based label, specialized in rare Asian records and quality reissues.

For their first release, they wanted to highlight a promotional record released at 500 copies only in Hong-Kong for a famous Soda brand.
It was offered with a pack of bottles in 1977 and never been
released.

Produced and arranged by Noel Quinlan, this Album is a mix of
Funk and Soul covers. The result is an awesome LP including
groovy covers, from the classic Lowdown' by Bob Scaggs, to a
Funky I Shot The Sheriff' by Bob Marley with a deep Fender
Rhodes, and 12 other outstanding tracks.

After a 10 year absence Horizontal is back. 3 songs that revolve around Dinky’s pure musical dogma, arpeggiated basses bounce with the beautiful and contorted voices that play within this psychedelic party. Bathing in blue skies and a deep warm acid glow, this is music to capture your body and soul, made with love whilst dreaming of a brave new world within these innocent melodies.

REPRESS NOW IN

Played By Theo Parrish, 2 Deep Disco Classics on 45 for the first time.

Brand new master from Sony cut at Timmion Cutting Lab, Finland.

"G.Q" stood for "good quality", they were not joking. As well as a few top 10 hits G.Q also had a wealth of brilliant disco bangers across their 70s output. Here we present 2 favourites of my own,k 'Lies' and 'is It Cool?' . Not only of mine buy clearly Theo Parrish's also as he featured both on 'Ugly Edits' over a decade ago, great as it saved me from playing the LP in clubs and fighting the feedback. These track have always sat next to the best rare modern soul and Deepfunk classics with ease, they are some of the best records in the Genre.

To top it off we got a new perfect master from Sony and cut the 45 at Timmion cutting Lab in Finland and its sounds great. A personal favorite, im delighted to be able to put this out with the care it deserves. "See that there's a party going on……"

Criminally unavailable, home-recorded fully digital soul JAM from 1990.

Ed and Joe Wartts, the rowdy younger brothers of acclaimed gospel singer, Andrew Wartts, go hard here with a conscious approach to love and politics; a passionate plea for a more compassionate world. Agitated bass tones cascade only to vanish under a supernatural synth lead that floats somewhere between neo soul and phantom G-funk. Ed's idiosyncratic playing and Joe's raw, emotional vocals deliver an earnest commandment for any era. Electronic instrumentation and voice mingle in a noble and metallic way, giving the track a kind of tough, sophisticated, griminess. A spectral strangeness, rising up from somewhere …

Japanese artist Kosei Fukuda is back with his new series from his own platform. compilation of tracks with different approach towards experimental field in texture of sounds and beats. 5/5

Protoelectronics psychedelic Mexican Holy Grail rediscovered by Glossy Mistakes. Inspired by Vangelis, Tomita or Kraftwerk, this unknown rarity gets a second life sounding fresh and pioneering today.

Tito was born in 1946 in Ciudad de México, the son of two Spaniards. Since he was a youngster, he had felt the passion for music and instruments. In the meantime, he started a career as architect. Since his early years, he joined various teen rock bands, where he played bass and guitar. Slowly but surely, his interest in synthesizers started to grow. And the rest is history. Tito defines himself as an “electronic sounds fanatic”. Quetzalcóatl is a truly authentic cornerstone in those terms: an inspired and eclectic artist gives shape to a unique sound through legendary synthesizers such as the MiniMoog or the Arp Odyssey. His passion was so embedded that he even built his own guitars and equalizers; some of which appear on this LP.

Quetzalcóatl, his debut solo album, was originally recorded in 1977 (now remastered) in his bedroom using a four-channel Sony recorder in a truly DIY way. This álbum could be considered as a rarity. But if we listen hard enough, we find a pioneering treasure. Somehow, Quetzalcoátl anticipated the sounds of future decades with simple but inspired compositions. It is a mythological trip to the Pre-Hispanic México. This album is an allegory of the Aztec world. Quetzalcoátl is the most important God for Mesoamerican cultures: it represents the inherent human dualism between the body (represented by the snake) and soul (the feathers). In the song “Profecía”, Quetzalcoátl emerges, announcing the end of the world at the hand Spanish colonialism. Limited edition, 600 copies, remastered in Amsterdam by Wouter Brandenburg.

Scottish trumpeter Malcolm Strachan is a founder member of top UK funk/jazz-funk band The Haggis Horns as well as being one of the busiest session musicians in the UK today. In a professional career spanning 20 years, he's recorded with the likes of Mark Ronson, Amy WineHouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamiroquai, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Jesse Glynne, The Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band, Black Honey, The New Mastersounds and Blue Note saxophone legend Lou Donaldson. Now he's finally releasing his first solo album, aptly titled "About Time", on Haggis Records and he's going back to his original roots... Jazz.

The album is a collection of original compositions, all written and arranged by Malcolm, which are firmly rooted in the classic acoustic modern jazz style typified by the great 60's and 70's recordings on the legendary Blue Note Records label. A nice variation of themes and tempos feature throughout the album. From full-on latin vibes to beautiful ballads, soul jazz grooves to cinematic soundtrack flavours, all woven together by a great group of experienced musicians.

Malcolm's core quartet is himself on trumpet/flugelhorn, fellow Haggis Horns members George Cooper (piano) and Erroll Rollins (drums), plus Courtny Tomas on double bass. Featured guests are Atholl Ransome on tenor sax (The Haggis Horns), Rob Mitchell on baritone sax (Abstract Orchestra) and Danny Barley on Trombone. Strings are courtesy of Richard Curran and the percussionist is one of the finest session players in Europe, Karl Vanden Bossche (Incognito, Robert Palmer, Joss Stone, The Gorillaz, Sade, Blur - He and Malcolm met while touring with Mark Ronson)

Malcolm's love of jazz comes from his parents. Aged 7, his jazz musician father gave him a trumpet. From then on, jazz was his life. His musical education came via music teachers, youth jazz orchestras and jazz summer schools but mostly from his dad's record collection listening to Art Blakey and Dizzy Gillespie records and learning to improvise and solo by ear. At 18, he enrolled at Leeds College of Music and quickly immersed himself in the city's vibrant acid jazz, funk and soul scene and from making his recording debut in 1999 with The New Mastersounds, jazz was his musical passion but took a back seat to funk/soul/pop which were the day job. Until now.

Jazz is back. The wait is over. It really is "About Time" for Malcolm Strachan.