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From director George Miller, originator of the post-apocalyptic genre and mastermind behind the legendary Mad Max franchise, comes Mad Max: Fury Road, a return to the world of the Road Warrior, Max Rockatansky. An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken and almost everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life.

The film’s epic score is written by Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, a Grammy nominated and multi-Platinum producer, musician and composer. Junkie XL’s versatility puts him on the cutting edge of contemporary music, as well as in the vanguard of exciting film composers. He is able to draw on his extensive knowledge of classical forms and structures while keeping one finger planted firmly on the pulse of popular music. When this eclectic background is paired with his skill as a multi-instrumentalist (he plays keyboards, guitar, drums, violin, and bass) and mastery of studio technology, a portrait emerges of an artist for whom anything is possible.

Highrise & Peaky join forces to create 4 huge tracks for PBR005,
Written in the PBR studio over a mad weekend in Leeds.
The A side brings 2 big energy UKG & Speed garage tracks, with the B side stepping up the pace for the slick & bass heavy ‘Listen’ and ending with some spacey, breaky, dubstep. ‘Marsha’s Champers’.

Limited to 1000
No repress
Hand stamped with love
140g vinyl

One of the holy grails of ‘70s soul-funk collectors
finally gets a proper reissue (and yes, original copies
of this 1974 release on the Money label will cost you
a lot of, er, money)! Don Julian was a Los Angelesbased doo wopper who got his start leading The
Meadowlarks, who recorded a number of sides for
Dootone Records. The Meadowlarks then became
The Larks, who, like so many other R&B groups of
their era, achieved one hit wonder immortality with
a dance craze song, 1964’s “The Jerk.” They spent
the rest of the ’60s trying to recapture that magic
with tracks like “Soul Jerk” and “The Penguin”
(on Jerk Records, natch) before resurfacing with
a couple of longplayers on the Money label. But
this is where things get a little murky. The group
also recorded a soundtrack for a long-rumored, never seen blaxploitation film called Shorty the
Pimp (supposedly Quentin Tarantino has the only copy). In 1998, Ace Records assembled tracks from
the Shorty the Pimp score on a CD release, but while seven of the ten tracks on Super Slick appear on
that collection, many of them differ markedly from their soundtrack incarnations. So, the how, when,
and where of this recording remain very much a mystery. But no matter; with its blend of Isaac Hayes,
Curtis Mayfield, “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”-era Temptations, and ‘70s sweet soul (e. g a cover of
David Gates & Bread’s “Make It with You”), Super Slick wears its influences very much on its sleeve
while transcending them with soaring, falsetto-filigreed harmonies, percolating bass, and note-perfect
arrangements. Trivia note: that’s Richard Berry of “Louie Louie” fame doing the deep-voiced spoken
word parts on “Super Slick” and “Shorty the Pimp.” We’re pressing this in blue vinyl to match the album
cover…this is a reissue that’s been a long time comin’!

For his 1973 debut album as a bandleader,
Lonnie Liston Smith assembled a killer
band of Cecil McBee on bass, George
Barron on sax, James Mtume and Sonny
Morgan on percussion, David Lee, Jr. on
drums, Badal Roy on table, Geeta Vashi
on tamboura, and Joe Beck on guitar.
Such a multifaceted ensemble was
perfectly suited to explore the spiritual
jazz that Smith had encountered while playing
with Pharoah Sanders (“Let Us Go into the House of the Lord” appears here
and on Sanders’ 1970 album Summun Bukmun Umyun which featured Smith),
all presided over by Flying Dutchman label owner and former John Coltrane
producer Bob Thiele. We’ve re-created the original gatefold artwork with Nat
Hentoff’s liner notes…one of the great jazz albums of its era!

Magnum II is the eponymous second studio album by English hard rock band Magnum. Originally released in 1979, the album highlights the band’s trademark harmonies and punchy instrumentals. Magnum II is a diverse record, as it features ballads and adult contemporary rock, but also hints of prog rock and heavy metal. A track like “Great Adventure” contains catchy vocals, dynamic guitar riffs and inspired keyboards, while the acoustic “Reborn” showcases a more mellow side of the band. Magnum II was produced by Ten Years After bass player Leo Lyons.

Hitting hard with funk, rap, and soul, paired with powerful messages throughout, Lack of Afro's I'm Here Now (aka Adam Gibbons), his seventh studio album, continues his style of funky, bassline-rich tracks combined with perfectly chosen features and collaborations.

New school techno pioneer Avision will release his debut album ‘In My Mind’ on Ellum Audio this winter.

Avision grew up around the rich club culture of New York City and is now part of a new wave of artists defining the contemporary techno landscape. In just a couple of years, the American has become an absolute mainstay on labels like Drumcode, Machine, and We Are The Brave. His hard-hitting productions have found their way into the record bags of tastemakers like Adam Beyer, Maceo Plex and Chris Liebing. At the same time, he has been featured everywhere, from The Brooklyn Mirage and Time Warp in New York to festivals like Elrow, The BPM Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival and Dockyards. Now he offers up ‘In My Mind’, a widescreen artistic statement across 13 immersive tracks.

Says the artist, “I’m truly proud to share ‘In My Mind’ with the world, as I feel like this is another side of music that people haven’t heard from me. This album touches on a little bit of everything, and I wanted it to represent where I’m from. 90% of the album was written during the time we couldn’t be ourselves and do what we love, but I turned that frustration and disbelief into an album with emotion and meaning. I couldn’t be happier with the final outcome, and I hope everyone enjoys it.”

The LP kicks off with ‘Real Talk’, wasting no time getting going on a lush wave of Detroit-style techno full of hi-tek soul. 'Cut The Rope' features Robert Owens, the legendary house vocalist who lights up the deep, driving house drums with a typically impassioned vocal. The energy levels stay high on 'No Disco' with its oversized hi-hats, nimble bassline and chattery claps, while 'Baby' traps you in metallic techno loops with a playful vocal sample. After the bright lights of lead single 'Contrast,' and grinding peak time weapon 'In My Mind' is ‘Ground Rule’, an atmospheric spoken word interlude about NYC.

The album’s second half kicks off with the far-sighted cosmic pads of 'I'll Take You' with Xander and has you lost in another world. There is angst in the tense synth loops of interplanetary techno cut 'Your Soul' and hands-in-the-air trance energy on 'Where I Want To Be.' The monstrous 'All Night' is another wall of rich synth sound over big drums, and 'Lost Symmetry' then releases the pressure with a more dreamy melodic vibe built on tumbling breakbeats. 'In Your World' closes in an uplifting fashion across eight minutes of cantering techno and epic synth work.

‘In My Mind’ is an accomplished and adventurous album that takes melodic techno in bold new directions.

Heavenly Recordings announce the release of ‘Heavenly remixes 3&4 - Andrew Weatherall volume 1&2’, a brace of compilation albums collecting together some of the finest remixes from the label’s long-time friend, collaborator and go-to remixer. These compilations follow ‘Heavenly remixes 1 & 2’, which showcases some of the label’s other great remixes.

 By the time Heavenly was born in the spring of 1990, Andrew Weatherall was already an inspirational sounding board, as well as a fellow traveller on the bright new road that stretched out ahead, thanks to the massive cultural liberation of acid house. Back then every energised meeting could be turned into a fortuitous opportunity in this burgeoning new underground economy. Bored of your job? Start playing records out! Start a club night! Get in the studio!
Start a label! Just don’t stand still. Commandments Andrew would follow for the rest of his life.

 At the start of things, Andrew was a regular visitor to Capersville - the pre-Heavenly press office run by label founder Jeff Barrett (soon to become Andrew’s manager). It was there that he famously picked up a copy of Primal Scream’s unloved second album and singled out a
track that would later become ‘Loaded’, after being given an instruction to “fucking destroy” it by the band’s Andrew Innes; it was there too that the idea to remix the first Heavenly release
came about.

 Andrew’s mix of that first Heavenly record is very much a product of its time. ‘The World According To Sly and Lovechild’ is a swirling bass punch topped with a hypnotic marimba line and the kind of ecstatic diva vocal that you’d hear coming out of the speakers all night at postShoom clubs like Yellow Book.

 His take on the label’s next release - Saint Etienne’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix of Two Halves’) - would set the template for his next three decades of audio exploration. A drawn-out imperial dub, the track builds and builds with a moody intensity (partly down to the
melodica played by Weather Prophets legend Pete Astor) that’s far more Kingston JA at dusk than Kingston-upon-Thames at kicking out time. It’s both a dancefloor record to get lost in and
headphone psychedelia of the highest order - a perfect example of what he did better than anyone else.

 Between 1990 and his untimely death in 2020, Andrew fed more Heavenly bands through the mixing desk than those of any other label. Consistently, he returned visionary music to the
office, often in person for (at least) one ceremonial playback - a ritual that would involve the volume cranked up high and Andrew rocking back on his heels, eyes closed, lost in the alchemy of it all.

 Each time, he would warp and twist originals into beautiful new shapes - elasticated club records that might evoke Detroit techno one second and Throbbing Gristle the next, before wheel-spinning into something akin to The Fall produced by King Tubby.

 Andrew’s studio adventures would always be guided by that early advice to destroy the source material. It’s why he was the first name that came up when remixes were discussed; the first number on the speed dial. Listening back to these remixes now - to thirty years of glorious outsider sounds - it bangs home again just how fucking good Andrew was.

"Stanley Turrentine’s 1966 soul jazz classic Rough ‘N Tumble finds a deep and bluesy groove that doesn’t let up from start to finish. Joining Turrentine are the crème de la crème: Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, James Spaulding on alto saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Grant Green on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums.
Highlights include soulful covers of Ray Charles’ “What Could I Do Without You,” Burt Bacharach’s “Walk On By,” and “Feeling Good,” which Nina Simone had recorded the year before.
Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI)."

" Joe Pass’ For Django, recorded for Pacific Jazz in 1964, has long been considered a classic of the jazz guitar repertoire with Pass paying tribute to Django Reinhardt without in any way attempting to emulate him. Rather, Pass honours Django using his own masterful guitar style joined by fellow guitarist John Pisano as well as bassist Jim Hughart and drummer Colin Bailey.
Highlights in this program of tunes either composed by or associated with Django include “Rosetta,” “Nuages,” and “Fleur D’ Ennui.”.
Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI)."

Panthers prowling through a desert. Cowgirls swaggering into a saloon and kicking up dust. Riding shotgun with a Tarantino heroine. Having the fiesta of your lives under a giant piñata with all your friends. Los Bitchos’ hallucinatory surf-exotica is as evocative as it is playful: the London-based pan-continental group could well be your new favourite party band with their instrumental voyages that are the soundtrack to setting alight to a row of flaming sambucas and losing yourself to the night. They’ve got a bun-tight knack for a groove – and they’ve got the best fringes in rock’n’roll too.

Serra Petale (guitar), Agustina Ruiz (keytar), Josefine Jonsson (bass) and Nic Crawshaw (drums) hail from different parts of the world but met via all-night house parties, or through friends, in London. Their unique sound binds them together, though, taking in a

retrofuturistic blend of Peruvian chicha, Argentine cumbia, Turkish psych and surf guitars. They are London’s answer to Khruangbin, if Khruangbin spent all weekend getting slammed on cheap tequila in
a Dalston dive bar.

Mit der Veröffentlichung ihres selbstbetitelten Debütalbums veränderten KORN die Welt. Es war ein Album, das für ein ganzes Genre wegweisend war, und der anhaltende Erfolg der Band beweist, dass es nicht nur eine Momentaufnahme war. Seit ihrer Gründung haben KORN weltweit 40 Millionen Alben verkauft, zwei GRAMMYS erhalten, sind unzählige Male um die Welt getourt und haben dabei unzählige Rekorde aufgestellt, die wahrscheinlich nie mehr bertroffen werden.

Sänger Jonathan Davis, die Gitarristen James ”Munky” Shaffer und Brian ”Head” Welch, Bassist Reginald ”Fieldy” Arvizu und Schlagzeuger Ray Luzier haben die Grenzen des Rock-, Alternative- und Metal-Genres immer wieder neu ausgelotet und halten ihren
Einfluss auf ihre Fans und ganze Generationen von Künstlern rund um den Globus bis heute aufrecht.

Das vertritt auch ihr neues Album „Requiem“. Die Band setzt sich hier mit dem Loslassen alter Laster auseinander, dem Auferstehen aus der eigenen Krise und zerschmettert diese mit gewohnt harten Riffs und
Texten. Das dunkle Ablegen und ins Helle treten, sich aus der Krise bewegen und gestärkt heraustreten sind Motive, die wie Symbolbilder unserer gegenwärtigen Welt scheinen. Korn bietet einen unpathetischen Soundtrack für genau diese Zeit nach einer Krise, die uns alle kollektiv und individuell bewegt.

Pressing on with their popular vinyl-only release series, Hospital Records are bringing 'Classic Symptoms' straight on through to 2022 with an exciting new twist This time around, each instalment of their widely- loved wax presses will be curated by one of the label's artists who will select four of their favourite cuts from the NHS catalogue. They'll be pressed onto a super-limited-edition vinyl run which only a handful of lucky collectors will be able to get their hands on.

Kickstarting this year's series in all its glory is the original bass music champion Flava D!

Following up on 2021"s highly acclaimed Hologram EP, the rebooted lineup'
vocalist/guitarist Oliver Ackermann plus drummer/vocalist Sandra Fedowitz and
bassist John Fedowitz (both of Ceremony East Coast)' delivers an overclocked
set of futuristic electronic punk music encoded with punishing industrial rhythms,
swirling voltage- starved guitars and unclassifiable auditory annihilation. Across
thirteen tracks recorded in seclusion throughout the nihilistic absurdity of the
coronavirus pandemic, See Through You is proof-positive that the group hailed as
'The Loudest Band in New York' is still finding new ways to push the needle
deeper in the red

Pompeii, Cate Le Bon’s sixth full-length studio album and the follow up to 2019’s Mercury-nominated Reward, bears a storied title summoning apocalypse, but the metaphor eclipses any “dissection of immediacy,” says Le Bon. Not to downplay her nod to disorientation induced by double catastrophe — global pandemic plus climate emergency’s colliding eco-traumas resonate all too eerily. “What would be your last gesture?” she asks. But just as Vesuvius remains active, Pompeii reaches past the current crises to tap into what Le Bon calls “an economy of time warp” where life roils, bubbles, wrinkles, melts, hardens, and reconfigures unpredictably, like lava—or sound, rather. Like she says in the opener, “Dirt on the Bed,” Sound doesn’t go away / In habitual silence / It reinvents the surface / Of everything you touch. Pompeii is sonically minimal in parts, and its lyrics jog between self-reflection and direct address. Vulnerability, although “obscured,” challenges Le Bon’s tendencies towards irony. Written primarily on bass and composed entirely alone in an “uninterrupted vacuum,” Le Bon plays every instrument (except drums and saxophones) and recorded the album largely by herself with long-term collaborator and co-producer Samur Khouja in Cardiff, Wales. Enforced time and space pushed boundaries, leading to an even more extreme version of Le Bon's studio process – as exits were sealed, she granted herself “permission to annihilate identity.” “Assumptions were destroyed, and nothing was rejected” as her punk assessments of existence emerged. Enter Le Bon’s signature aesthetic paradox: songs built for Now miraculously germinate from her interests in antiquity, philosophy, architecture, and divinity’s modalities. Unhinged opulence rests in sonic deconstruction that finds coherence in pop structures, and her narrativity favors slippage away from meaning.

In the years between 2018’s BAMBI and LP3, Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus -- made up of vocalist/guitarists Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson -- has grown up and into itself. Although the five-piece has been friends since middle school and put out a number of studio releases since its inception, it’s the new record, LP3, that’s the most honest portrait of who Hippo Campus is. It’s also a study in the nuances of growing up -- coming to terms with mortality, the confusing journey of sexuality, bottoming out, seeing decisions from the night before in the harsh morning light; finding your identity as a person and as an artist -- how that can be a collision of elation and shame, painful and joyful all at once. LP3 marks a sort of ego death -- and ultimately feeling okay with that. So much of LP3 was written in the chasm between grappling with the value of your own art and the larger, chaotic context of the world. It traverses the end of relationships, of careers, and the chance of meeting yourself as a brand new person. If you take the signifier of “musician” away, what does it mean? And how do you expand your identity outside of work? Here, it’s something the band works through. And, in the end, it happens with the same ride-or-die crew at your back to hold you down -- or up -- the entire time. Over the last few years, the Hippo universe has expanded outward. Luppen and Stocker both put out solo records as Lupin and Brotherkenzie respectively, and the two also teamed up with Caleb Hinz to put out the debut Baby Boys record while DeCarlo Jackson founded, and collaborated with multiple bands around the Twin Cities, including DNM, Arlo, and FPA. Navigating solo projects and new dynamics and the spotlight alone is humbling, bringing up new insecurities and defense mechanisms. It was challenging in its own way to branch outside of Hippo -- and it made the eventual return to the project feel like coming home. “With LP3, Hippo felt like a very safe space to express those things because you have your best friends around you, rallying behind you,” Luppen says. “And each person could chime in with their own experience. I felt like it was a very safe space to be earnest.” Here, Hippo Campus killed what they knew and started again.

In the years between 2018’s BAMBI and LP3, Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus -- made up of vocalist/guitarists Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson -- has grown up and into itself. Although the five-piece has been friends since middle school and put out a number of studio releases since its inception, it’s the new record, LP3, that’s the most honest portrait of who Hippo Campus is. It’s also a study in the nuances of growing up -- coming to terms with mortality, the confusing journey of sexuality, bottoming out, seeing decisions from the night before in the harsh morning light; finding your identity as a person and as an artist -- how that can be a collision of elation and shame, painful and joyful all at once. LP3 marks a sort of ego death -- and ultimately feeling okay with that. So much of LP3 was written in the chasm between grappling with the value of your own art and the larger, chaotic context of the world. It traverses the end of relationships, of careers, and the chance of meeting yourself as a brand new person. If you take the signifier of “musician” away, what does it mean? And how do you expand your identity outside of work? Here, it’s something the band works through. And, in the end, it happens with the same ride-or-die crew at your back to hold you down -- or up -- the entire time. Over the last few years, the Hippo universe has expanded outward. Luppen and Stocker both put out solo records as Lupin and Brotherkenzie respectively, and the two also teamed up with Caleb Hinz to put out the debut Baby Boys record while DeCarlo Jackson founded, and collaborated with multiple bands around the Twin Cities, including DNM, Arlo, and FPA. Navigating solo projects and new dynamics and the spotlight alone is humbling, bringing up new insecurities and defense mechanisms. It was challenging in its own way to branch outside of Hippo -- and it made the eventual return to the project feel like coming home. “With LP3, Hippo felt like a very safe space to express those things because you have your best friends around you, rallying behind you,” Luppen says. “And each person could chime in with their own experience. I felt like it was a very safe space to be earnest.” Here, Hippo Campus killed what they knew and started again.

Abhoria was created by guitarist Vor (aka, Trevor Portz of Ashen Horde) as a way to satiate his appetite to play classic, aggressive black metal. Recruiting some top-notch players from the L.A. metal underground to join him, he rounded out the band with vocalist Walthrax (ex- Catheter) and bassist Koszmar (Vimana). The band quickly got to work on their debut album with engineer Shane Howard (Vale of Pnath, Martriden, Helleborus), and the result is a black metal album that harks back to the 90s black metal scene, but with modern production. While rooted in the more brutal side of black metal, the album blends the requisite blast beats and tremolo picked guitars with many melodic passages, doom-inspired detours and a variety of tempos. While “Mountebank” is a relentless blitz of high-speed black metal, closing track “Sunless” is a seven-minute epic that incorporates mid-paced, atmospheric grooves and clean vocals. Though the energy never relents, the album is not relentless. Abhoria is hellbent on carrying on the musical torch of the genre’s founding fathers Immortal, Dark Funeral and Emperor.

A definitive STAR CREATURE sound LP, this one hits all corners - Super classy, electronic proto-jazz funk. Philly's very own M. HOOK has some serious chops, most notably the bass riffs throughout. Don't sleep on this.

Chicago’s dynamic duo Al & Tone (B. Nimble) return with 2 funky disco grooves on a limited 7 inch. The AL side features "All the time" a primetime dance floor tune showcasing serious brass. The Tone side offers the disco funk jam "Run it" which rides a wicked bassline

For Reflection 3 we give a warm welcome to Suddi Raval who has had releases previously as one part of Together on FFRR, Thumbs Up Magic, Gorgeous Records and his own imprint T-Wax Records. He has always been involved in the music scene over the years and although known for his love of Acid House, here we see him delve in to the world of Electro.

Suddi re-ignites his passion and serves up 2 Electro jams that are packed with heavy beats, bleeps, big basses, modulated leads and have that authentic original 1980s Hashim-like feel.

Scott works his magic on 2 Electro cuts with rich pads, reverses, modulated leads, crisp drums, panning keys, warm basses, eerie soundscapes, processed and gated vocal samples, Mantronix-esque bass sequences and rolling toms.

All 4 cuts reflect on how Electro was in the 80s and remain as pure as the stuff being made then.

Brooklyn-based musician and producer Varsity Star makes his Small Pond Records debut with ‘More Than Anything’, a mini-album of deeply moving and emotive electronic music.

Varsity Star is an electronic musician and upright bassist who grew up in Boston and spent time playing with various bands as a multi-genre sideman. After deciding to go it alone and produce music on a synth and Ableton, he had a spell living in Berlin. Now back in Brooklyn, he has become a prolific artist who, in just a couple of years, has put out various singles, remixes and LPs. As a programmer by day, he has put together high spec live shows involving 3D printers, soldering together LEDs and writing his own programs that read Ableton and output light patterns, he is a truly creative mind.

There is a soft and warm late-night melodic glow to the beautiful opening ambiance of 'Christmas Lights' which then makes way for the prickly live drums of 'Mixtape.' Littered with off-grid hits and detuned synth sounds, it's a modern and electronic take on jazz that is deeply absorbing. 'Bedroom' is a gorgeous affair that floats on airy pads and scuffed up, organic drum sounds while the most innocent of melodies play out.

Matasuna's latest tidbit takes us back to the South American continent once again - to Venezuela to be exact. The song "Zambo" by the band "La Retreta Mayor", which was released in 1976 on the self-titled LP, is now available as an official reissue and the very first time ever on a 7inch vinyl single! The 45 is complemented by an excellent rework of the American producer & DJ "King Most" from San Francisco.

The A-side features the original of the song. "Zambo" is a furious mix with versatile influences of Latin, Jazz & Funk. The rich horn section and percussion of the guest quartet bring pure heat to the track - the drums, bass and piano intensify this even more. An absolute heater for any dance floor!

The B-side features the "King Most" Redirection. The talented producer gently takes on the song, keeping the organic vibe of the original but still giving it a different, new side. His re-arrangement and additional in/outro and a new passage in the middle of the song fit exquisitely. Also his crunchy drums and own piano passages are very tasty and give the song an own flavour!

"Alexandro Rodríguez" was born in Caracas in 1952 and is considered one of Venezuela's most important jazz guitarists of the seventies. He studied classical guitar in his early years, played electric guitar in various rock groups and performed at various national music festivals. He also had the opportunity to play as a musician for renowned orchestras such as "Onda Nueva", "Renny Show's Orchestra" on Venezuelan Television and "Radio Caracas TV's Orchestra".

In the late 1970's he recorded two significant works that may be considered a reference in Venezuelan music history. He formed the short-lived band "La Retreta Mayor" to record a self-titled album, which was released as an LP on the Venezuelan label "Discomoda" in 1976. The 10-piece band and numerous guest musicians created a jazz-funk & fusion gem. The band unfortunately broke up right after the recording and did not play live or record any more music.

His self-released album "Busqueda", released in 1978 under his name, was recorded between New York and Caracas and has an excellent reputation not only in connoisseur circles. In 2012, the album was reissued on CD by a Japanese label, proving the influence Alexandro's music still has in the jazz scene today.

Between 1979 and 1982, Alexandro lived in "New York", where he worked as a composer, arranger, performer and orchestrator in the jazz scene with renowned orchestras before returning to Venezuela. Subsequently, his musical career turned to the classical guitar, both as a composer and performer. In 2013, he settled in "Pittsburgh", Pennsylvania (USA), where he continues his activity as composer, arranger, guitarist, bassist and teacher to the present time.

Soul Jazz Records new ‘Life Between Islands’ collection coincides with the launch of Tate Britain’s exhibition of the same name. This landmark exhibition explores the links between Caribbean and British art and culture from the 1950s to now.

Soul Jazz Records album, sub-titled “Soundsystem Culture – Black Musical Expression 1973-2006,” focuses on the most important Black British musical styles to emerge out of the distinctly Caribbean world of sound systems. The album features an all-star line-up including Dennis Bovell, Shut Up and Dance, Cymande, Digital Mystikz, Brown Sugar, Funk Masters, Janet Kay, Ragga Twins and more.

The album is a lightning-rod journey across Roots Reggae, Jungle/Drum & Bass, Jazz-Funk, Lovers Rock, Jazz, Dubstep and more. Much of Soul Jazz Records’ catalogue comes out of these genres and this album is partly an overview of some of Soul Jazz’s earlier releases (including Digital Mystikz’ long-deleted groundbreaking and now highly-collectible single, ‘Misty Winter’) alongside some choice rare and classic tunes that span over 30 years of sound system culture.

Many of the tracks represent how Black British artists defined their own identity with songs such as Brown Sugar’s righteous ‘Black Pride’, ‘I’m In Love with A Dreadlocks’ and Tabby Cat Kelly’s powerful ‘Don’t Call Us Immigrants’. Aside from being musically rooted in the distinctly Jamaican-born phenomenon of the sound system, much of this identity is also shaped by the triangular relationship of being British-born, of Caribbean heritage, and with an equal love of African-American Jazz, Funk and Soul, as evidenced with many Lovers Rock tunes reggae covers of American soul tunes (such as those of Jean Carn, William de Vaughan and Rose Royce featured here). This stateside influence can also be heard in groups such as the Funk Masters, a group formed by reggae radio DJ Tony Williams, whose jazz-funk music successfully crossed over into New York’s clubland, as well as the great Cymande, whose unique street-funk became staple material for numerous US hip-hop artists in the years that followed.

In the early 1990s, jungle and drum and bass artists took the essence of reggae’s soundsystem culture – MCs, dubplates, crews – and applied them to their own music, applying heavy reggae bass lines to intense double-speed drum breakbeats. At the forefront of this new movement were the duo Shut Up and Dance, working closely with The Ragga Twins, aka Deman Rocker and Flinty Badman, both MCs for North London’s infamous Unity reggae soundsytem. In the early 2000s, dubstep, spearheaded by Digital Mystikz, became the latest instalment in this ever-evolving soundsystem culture.

Berlin’s NIKK drops ‘Paradize EP’ on Radio Slave’s Rekids this January.

Fresh from releases on FJAAK’s Spandau20 and Unknown To The Unknown, Berlin-based DJ/producerNIKK prepares to release ‘Paradize EP’, his latest collection of funky yet hard hitting techno cuts for Radio Slave’s Rekids.

Leading the release, title track ‘Paradize’, played to a raucous response at Printworks by Radio Slave,combines meaty drums, emotive chord stabs, and floating breakdowns for a track sure to cause many more memorable club moments. ‘Mylove’ brings punchy bass and sizzling percussion alongside subtle vocal chopsfor a chunky 4/4 number to round off the A side.

On the flip, ‘Flakes’ brings bubbling low end, pumping drum work, and choppy stabs for a pacey slice of breaks-laden techno, before ‘Give A Funk’ brings together swinging percs and rolling synth lines atop glistening pads and leads to close out the release.

Dusky’s Life Signs project for Running Back remixed! The Londoners and their distinct hallmark of euphoric, yet multilayered dance floor dynamite get treated by Cinthie, KiNK and Rumu. Similar to the scope of original artists themselves, their interpretations are a wide choice of styles and suitable for different usages. Berlin’s true school house head Cinthie delivers her tried, tested and desired method of disco bass lines and deep house melodies on „Static“, while everyone’s favorite live act from Sofia turns the sounds of „Fridge“ into a lost mid-90ies techno classic. KiNK’s high-octane take would fit perfectly on every fantasy mixtape of Derrick May or Laurent Garnier of those days. Last, but not least, Dusky very own discovery and 17Steps artist Rumu uses „Lea Valley“ to punch his ticket with the UK bass and breaks fare. These goods sell well!

Compiled by Katie, the Ultimate Collection LP features 26 tracks from her studio albums as well as her cover of ‘Fields of Gold’ and two brand new recordings of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and Shirley Bassey’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’.
Singles on the album include her worldwide hit ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, ‘The Closest Thing to Crazy’, ‘If You Were A Sailboat’ amongst others
The double LP also include liner notes written by Katie.

* A welcome reissue of a deep digital bass-rumbling excursion from the Sounds `n’ Pressure crew with 3 mixes of `Once Inna Dubtime’.
* Highly sought-after UK dub, originally released on the Sounds `n’ Pressure label in 1996.

R.I.P MF DOOM…
MANUFACTURED EARLY 2020 AND HELD BACK FOR RESPECTFUL REASONS IS THE REMASTERED 7” VINYL OF THE GREEDY FINGERS TRACK.
I SELL RHYMES LIKE DIMES, TAKEN FROM THEIR SEMINAL 1999 HIP-HOP ALBUM SHADY SIRENS.
THE ALBUM FEATURED TWO TRACKS WITH MF DOOM & MEGALON, IT ALSO HAD TWO TRACKS
EACH WITH CAGE & NECRO AND FEATURED SCRATCH PERVERT TONY VEGAS. GREEDY FINGERS WERE THE FIRST TO COLLABORATE A FEATURING WITH MF DOOM. THIS EARLY RELATIONSHIP WITH MF GRIMM & MF DOOM ALSO LEAD TO
GREEDY FINGERS PRODUCING MONSTA ISLAND CZARS DEBUT 12” SINGLE RUN THE SPHERE.
THIS TRACK WAS REMASTERED DUE TO BASSLINE MASTERING DISPUTE AND NOW SOUNDS EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD HAVE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO…
ON THE B-SIDE IS AN ALTERNATE INSTRUMENTAL TO THE LP VERSION.
THE 7” SINGLE IS LIMITED IN SHRINK WRAP WITH IN A STICKERED SLEEVE AND ACCOMPANIED BY A UNIQUE MUSIC VIDEO SHOT BY HMM COOL MOVIEZ.

Rocksteady Disco returns with a package of officially licensed remixes of Brasilian master percussionist Dudu Tucci. As you’ve come to expect from the Rocksteady Disco family the release is a diverse one, starting with the peak hour acid vibes of “Luana (Pontchartrain Tuluminati Dub)”. Rounding out the A-side is the pensive and moody driving afro house of “Pai Benedeto (Kiko Navarro Remix feat. Carlos Mena)”, complete with a monologue reminding us why we get together in front of soundsystems and dance. On the B-side Blair French puts his foot in “Luana” only the way he can, with tons of drums and a dread bassline for the after hour freaks. Peter Croce closes out the release with his sensual Balearic-meets-Donald-Fagen remix of “Shakehands” featuring a stellar synth solo from Topher Horn. Cut loud to high quality wax, don’t sleep.

Brand new in name but certainly not in heritage: Bass player Fatty is a founder member of Submotion Orchestra and has played with the likes of Newham Generals, Andreya Triana and Outlook Orchestra. Illaman is one of the fizziest, most versatile MCs in the game with a previous that flexes from Goldie’s live band to Flux Pavilion co-labs. Pravvy Prav, meanwhile, has a long career smashing tubs for Foreign Beggars, Jorja Smith, Gentleman’s Dub Club, Maverick Sabre and Jehst.

PENGSHUi is the latest project in this shared line of credentials. And quite possibly the heaviest, too. A raucous fusion of punk, grime, metal, bass and beats, PENGSHUi adds to a slow-cooking piquant gumbo of uncompromised sonic fire that’s been bubbling since 1986 when Run DMC and Aerosmith advised us to walk in a certain direction. Always bubbling but never over-boiled into a flavourless formulaic gloop, the fusion of metal and electronics still feels fresh, unruly and energetic over 30 years later.

Young LA star, Justin Jay, has already caught the ears of DJs and fans worldwide and released on the likes of dirtybird and Culprit. Last year, Jay shared an EP of deep house gold on Shall Not Fade sister label Lost Palms. Now he returns on their bass-oriented sublabel Time Is Now.

Hypnotized EP is a fun, breaks heavy romp featuring rave powerhouse trio Denham Audio and a remix by jungle mainstay Tim Reaper. From the off the energy is high, the title track rolling out pitched vocals and dramatic drops. "I Know" is ever more frenetic, breaks cascading over one another to a fever pitch, while Denham Audio collab "Swarm" brings out 303s and dramatic sub bass wobbles for a tour-de-force of hardcore dance vibes. Rising lofi house producer Angelo Jsn gives a euphoric, breathless edge to "Burgundy", an emotive space age trance number. Tim Reaper's untameable refix of "Swarm" keeps the heart racing to the end.

New York trio Sunflower Bean announce their second record Twentytwo in Blue. The album will be released on March 23rd when all members of the band - Julia Cumming, Jacob Faber and Nick Kivlen - will be 22 years old. The album comes almost two years and two months after the release of their critically acclaimed 2016 debut album Human Ceremony.

Co-produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Jacob Portrait (who also mixed the record) and HC-producer Matt Molnar of Friends, Twentytwo in Blue shows Sunflower Bean stay true to their guitar band core and classic rock-inspired roots, while exploring new sonic textures with more direct and progressive themes. Unlike their debut, which was essentially a compilation of songs Sunflower Bean wrote while still in their teens, Twentytwo in Blue was made in the year between December 2016 and December 2017 and showcases how far the band has come since playing together in their high school days.

To celebrate the album announce, Sunflower Bean share a new single and follow up to I Was A Fool' entitled Crisis Fest.' 2017—we know/ Reality's one big sick show/ Every day's a crisis fest,' vocalist and bassist Cumming sings. This last year was extremely alarming, traumatic, and politically volatile,' explains the band about the track. While writing this album, we often reflected back on the people we met while on tour. We felt a strong kinship with the audiences that came to see us all over the country, and we wanted to write a song for them - something to capture the anxieties of an uncertain future. 'Crisis Fest' is less about politics and more about the power of us, the young people in this country.'

Sunflower Bean find a sublime maturity and progression to their sound and songwriting on Twentytwo in Blue. If there was a ragged beauty in the gauzy, groovy wall of sound of Human Ceremony, there's a new directness to these songs, a product of the band's growth and the insanity of the times we're in. Sunflower Bean have gained a newly confident voice that they bring to the second album, one that doesn't shy away from addressing the other events of those two years—political changes and cultural shifts that have left America and the world stupefied. This has been such an unbelievable time,' says Kivlen. I can't imagine any artist of our ilk making a record and not have it be seen through the lens of the political climate of 2016 and 2017. So I think there's a few songs on the record that are definitely heavily influenced by this sort of—whatever you want to say what the Trump administration has been.' A shit show,' offers a helpful Faber.

Ultimately, this record is much more than a political statement or piece of commentary on today's political climate. I think one word that always comes to mind when I think about this record is lovable,' says Cumming. We want the songs to be something that someone can get attached to, and have be a part of them. Because that's what I look for in songs myself, and that's the kind of experience we want to give to others.'

Beyond their highly sought after 1978 album Festa Para Um Novo Rei­ - home to the mystical jazz-funk classic ‘Vidigal’ and released on Philips’ iconic Musica Popular Brasileira Contemporanea series (MPBC) - little is known about Marcos Resende & Index, even to aficionados of obscure Brazilian music. Far Out Recordings is immensely proud to present their previously unreleased self-titled debut album from 1976, contributing a crucial missing work from the glory days of progressive Brazilian instrumental music.

Born in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil in 1947, Marcos Resende was a prodigious child who learned to play the accordion at the age of two, and the piano aged six. In spite of his immense musical potential, he travelled to Lisbon in the 60s to study medicine. Yet continuing to explore his musical passion on the side, he formed a trio which went on to open for Dexter Gordon at the Cascais Jazz Festival in 1971. From here he formed the electronic oriented prog-jazz group Status, who opened shows for the likes of Elton John, Phil Woods, Stan Getz, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but in spite of their relative live success they have no known recordings.

Now established as a highly regarded keyboardist, composer, and innovative electronic musician, Resende returned home to Brazil following Portugal’s Revolução dos Cravos in 1974. Inspired by US jazz and British progressive rock he’d experienced while residing in Europe, Resende went all out acquiring a keyboard arsenal to be reckoned with, which included the Prophet 5, Yamaha CP-708 and Mini Moog. Determined to integrate his newfound inspirations with Brazilian rhythms and jazz traditions, he formed a new quartet with Rubão Sabino (bass), Claudio Caribé (drums) and the late great Oberdan Magalhães, of Banda Black Rio and Cry Babies fame. Marcos Resende & Index recorded their self-titled debut at Sonoviso Studios with the legendary sound engineer Toninho Barbosa, known as the ‘Brazilian Rudy Van Gelder’ whose impressive resumé includes the era defining classics Light As A Feather by Azymuth, Previsão Do Tempo by Marcos Valle, and Quem É Quem by João Donato. Marcos Resende & Index fits perfectly amongst these masterpieces, sharing both the timeless ethereal qualities as well as the progressive and futuristic ideals of Light As A Feather in particular.

Vinyl Only

iO (Mulen) is ready with his 4th album. Now he's coming back to the home of his special releases - Mulen Records. This time - with "Oldivibes". And, no, we're not talking about his label - we're talking about his vision of "oldie vibes". Prepare for the superhot meal of iO (Mulen)'s signature basslines, double dose of energy, premium collection of chords and a delicate pinch of those "oldie vibes" that are at the background of every single track in this 3x12". 1992, 1996 or 2005 - you'll decide the date of retro journey by yourself - the year doesn't really matter here. What does - we're having one more album, designed straight for the dancefloors. 12 tracks that could make any dancer happy - no less.

Outernational Sounds very proudly Presents The Mallory-Hall Band "Song of Soweto" & "The Last Special".
Limited, fully licensed digital and vinyl reissues of two crucial South African sessions led by Charles Mallory and Al Hall, Jnr., featuring Kirk Lightsey, Marshall Royal, Rudolph Johnson, Billy Brooks and more! Essential companion pieces to Kirk Lightsey’s legendary ‘Habiba’.
Featuring tracks:
Song Of Soweto: Side A – ‘Song of Soweto’, ‘Hamba Samba’; Side B – ‘Cape Town Blues’, ‘Moroka Rock’, ‘The African Night’
The Last Special: Side A - ‘The Last Special’, ‘Princess of Joh’Burg’; Side B - ‘Amafu (Clouds)’, ‘Blue Mabone’
Never released outside South Africa, and out of print since 1974, Outernational Sounds presents two long-lost Johannesburg sessions from the Mallory-Hall Band – an all-star review of West Coast jazz stars who toured apartheid South Africa in the mid-1970s.
Sanifu Al Hall, Jnr. is a musician’s musician. During a storied career stretching across six decades, Hall has recorded with the greats of the music including Freddie Hubbard, Doug Carn, and Johnny Hammond, and leads his own Cosmos Dwellerz Arkestra. But until recent years, the only records on which he had appeared as leader were a brace of rich, funky LPs, Song Of Soweto and The Last Special, issued only in South Africa under the moniker of The Mallory-Hall Band (named for Hall and his co-leader, guitarist Charles Mallory – musical director for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mallory was conductor for Dusty Springfield touring bands, and had worked with John Lee Hooker, Stevie Wonder, and many others). Neither LP had any wider release, and both have remained out of print since 1974. How did a young stalwart of the Los Angeles jazz scene end up in a recording studio in apartheid South Africa?
Al Hall, Jnr. and Charles Mallory had arrived in South Africa as part of the touring band for the singer Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. He never made it big in the US, but in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in southern Africa, and 1974 he hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – Hall and Mallory were part of the line-up, alongside Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, pianist Kirk Lightsey, tenorist Rudolph Johnson, drummer Billy Brooks, and Marshall Royal, musical director of the Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of the group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba was the first (reissued as Outernational Sounds OTR.013), and it was followed by two crucial sessions led by Hall and Mallory – Song of Soweto and The Last Special, issued on the local IRC imprint.
Visiting apartheid South Africa in 1974 was a controversial choice for any artist. Numerous artistic and cultural bodies around the world had already announced that their members would boycott the country in solidarity with the struggle against apartheid, and working in South Africa was severely frowned on by anti-apartheid activists everywhere. For a Black band, touring the country to play to mostly white audiences could have been seen by many both inside and outside South Africa as a questionable decision. ‘It was a batch of mixed reactions when I choose to visit South Africa whilst apartheid policies were in place,’ Hall recalls. ‘To me the choice was a simple one – “I wanna see for myself!” I also wanted to be a part of breaking down racial barriers, having been down some of the same roads in my own country.’
The albums were recorded by a twelve-piece band at Johannesburg’s Video Sounds Studios in December 1974, and feature the legendary pianist Kirk Lightsey, Black Jazz recording artist Rudolph Johnson, and the rest of the touring band. Both records are superbly arranged slabs of peak 1970s funky big band soul jazz, with tasteful Latin inflections and more than a nod to South Africa’s upful township jazz sound. They are the sonic traces left by a seasoned African American band who were touring South Africa in the depths of the apartheid era, and who immediately moved beyond the segregated hotels and ballrooms to build links with local South African players and audiences.
Never previously available outside South Africa, Outernational Sounds’ new editions of Song of Soweto and The Last Special (alongside our edition of Kirk Lightsey’s Habiba) represents the first time these albums have been in print for nearly fifty years. Fully licensed from Gallo Records and pressed at Pallas in Germany from Gallo’s original masters, they feature new sleeve notes from Francis Gooding (The Wire) based on interviews with Al Hall, Jnr., and a reminiscence from pianist Kirk Lightsey.

As Could Change begins, you'll notice how little audio material is really needed for your brain to start turning things into things. The merest slice of a plosive becomes a beat. The notes buried in every vowel are a bass line that nobody's fingers can reach. And of course the lyrics are the music: a synthetic voice, stripped of its humanity, that will relentlessly call to your brain like a siren and beg you to make sense of what doesn't. This piece isolates your perceptive abilities in the audio realm the way an optical illusion works on your eyes. Its melody is the amount you'll struggle to turn sound into sense. On top of that, it's delightfully fucking annoying. Marc Matter first came around as part of Institut fuer Feinmotorik, The Durian Brothers and Salon des Amateurs and has been politely shoving vocal recordings through various sorts of blenders ever since. (Angela Sawyer)

Recorded in 2012 following their breakthrough LPs for Freestyle Records - and stored in The Apples vault maturing ever since!
It seemed like the band were a ways past due a return to the label, and what better way could there be than to release this powerful, uplifting & headbanging Blur cover.

Wherever you are and whoever you're with, whenever you feel like screaming on the edge of a cliff or to simply dance like the end of the world is coming (all imminently possible!) this one is for you. Backed up with the irresistible klezmer-funk energy of The Apples' 2009's take on The Power, because we just couldn't resist giving it another blast on wax.

Produced By Yonadav Halevy
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered By Uri "MIXMONSTER" Wertheim
Executive Producer: Erez Todres
Arthur Krasnobaev – Trumpet
Yaron Ouzana – Trombone
Oleg Naiman – Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Yakir Sasson – Baritone Saxophone
Erez Todres – Turntables
Ofer Tal – Turntables
Alon Carmely – Double Bass
Yonadav Halevy – Drums
Uri "MIXMONSTER" Wertheim – Sound Console, Tapes, Effects
Recorded At Luna Studios, Tel Aviv With Roy Nadel, 2012.
Art by The Bitterman Sisters. Thanks To Fada Zach Bar.

Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins follows-up his acclaimed debut Omega (NY Times Best Jazz Album of 2020) with another striking album featuring his remarkable quartet with Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums plus special guest appearances by flutist Elena Pinderhughes and the Farafina Kan Percussion Ensemble The album consists of an hour-long suite comprised of seven movements that strive to bring the quartet closer to complete vesselhood by the end, where the music would be entirely improvised, channeled collectively. The title is derived from a question steeped in Biblical symbolism: If the number six represents the extent of human possibility, Wilkins wondered how it would sound to invoke divine intervention and allow that seventh element to possess his quartet. “It’s the idea of being a conduit for the music as a higher power that actually influences what we’re playing,” he says.