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A focal point for the unique punk-funk that was coming together in Bristol as the bridge from the 70s to the 80s arrived, Maximum Joy was formed by Glaxo Babies multi-instrumentalist Tony Wrafter and 18 year old vocalist Janine Rainforth. Soon they drafted in additional Glaxo Babies in the form of drummer Charlie Llewellin and bassist Dan Catsis, along with guitarist John Waddington, fresh from The Pop Group. The group set about making a one-of-a-kind mix of funk, punk, pop, jazz, dub, soul, afrobeat and reggae; creating a brilliant burst of danceable tunes wrapped around elastic basslines and complex percussion, punctuated by melodic horns and stabs of guitar, all of it highlighting Rainforth’s naturally enthusiastic vocal style. They immediately took their place on the rosters of influential labels like Y and 99 with iconic debut single Stretch, as the band had clearly captured something special.

Entering 1982, Kevin Evans had replaced Catsis as Maximum Joy set out to make what would be their only full length LP. Recording at Berry Street and The Lodge with producers Adrian Sherwood (On-U-Sound legend), Dave Hunt (Flying Lizards, Pigbag, This Heat) and Pete Wooliscroft (Kate Bush, Talk Talk, Peter Gabriel, OMD, This Heat) the band would mix practiced grooves with imaginative improvisation. The results were absolutely jaw-dropping.

Station M.X.J.Y. kicks things off with Dancing On My Boomerangand promptly sets forth the blueprint for bands like !!! and The Rapture to capitalize on nearly twenty years later. In fact, those bands can only dream of the mix of driving percussion and spectral shards of guitar that Maximum Joy has clearly already mastered. Do It Todayannounces itself immediately with Rainforth delivering a looping and infectious vocal melody that the others dance around playfully, as handclaps keep the stomping groove intact, leaving a dancehall hit for outer space circling your turntable.

If you ever wondered what it would sound like if ESG and The Slits combined forces, Let It Take You There has the answer for you. Llewellin periodically delivers a cascade of marching band percussion while Waddington’s classic R&B riffs are transformed into a slithering snake trying to keep pace with Evans locked in groove as Rainforth’s singsong vocals are reduced to whispered echoes. They close out side one with the delicious slab of pop that is Searching For A Feeling. Clearly pronouncing the band’s intention to find the positives in a dire time for England, they look to rally those around them to focus on making real change in the face of opposing voices via one of Rainforth’s most delightful deliveries.

Side two sees Wrafter stretching out on Where’s Deke?, showcasing what had already been obvious, as he is the band’s secret weapon, often coloring each tune with his horns, sometimes in several styles just seconds apart. He underlines that feeling with the raucous and bouncy Temple Bomb Twist, before they hit a straight groove in Mouse An’ Me, like a dub infected Train In Vain. Well, if The Clash had ever allowed themselves to properly lose their minds on the dancefloor.

A funky afrobeat flute and guitar battle breaks out (way cooler than it sounds) before Rainforth rallies the troops to not only fill up the disco, but also the surrounding streets in political resistance to Thatcherism via All Wrapped Up. It is entirely genuine and their activism has none of the menace of the others in their scene, but rather a feeling of sharp optimism amongst this danceable masterpiece. It is that optimism that always set Maximum Joy apart, and makes their grooves all the more irresistible today.

Sadly, the upward trajectory of the band was cut short as Rainforth left the group, and soon afterwards seemed to stop making music altogether. The reasoning seemed destined to remain a mystery, until earlier this year when she gave a brave interview to The Guardian where she revealed that an assault by someone in the industry caused her to retreat entirely from music for nearly three decades. Luckily, Janine has embraced music once again, and she refuses to let the magic that was Station M.X.J.Y. be lost as well.

A soul-funk studio project for the Italian label S.P.Q.R. (Sound Production Quality Record) featuring vocals by Nathaniel Bush and arranged by Marco Colucci (aka Mark Owen). Comes on a 2020 re-edition of 300 copies!

This massive 12” EP combines some of Sublove’s rarest releases with a brand new surprise. Vexation is an AMAZING track that was recently discovered by Sublove sitting on a DAT. How this superb piece of amen mayhem wasn't released I just do not know, but finally it gets its day on wax, where it always deserved to be. A huge 1994 styled jungle Amen roller, truly amazing. This track sits next a bunch of other tough to find and mindblowingly good Sublove tunes. Get in!

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Essential comp of rare funk 45’s from the 70’s – original 1994 LP’s in pic sleeve

Oracolo is Skinshape’s second full length originally released in 2015 and now remastered for 2020. The album plays out like the soundtrack to a psychedelic Spaghetti Western. ‘Old Days’ is one of a handful of vocal-lead tracks on the release that along with ‘Summer’ and the cinematic album title track, ‘Oracolo’ conjure references to bands like Can, The Bees or modern pysch pioneers Tame Impala. The instrumentals peppered throughout like the Quentin Tarantino-esque gem ‘Mandala’ and Motown reminiscing ‘Rubber Gloves’ highlight Dorey’s superb talent as an arranger and composer. Don’t let the vintage sound fool you either. All of his magic is original, without a sample in sight. Every instrument either played by Dorey himself, or his array of guest friend musicians. For the Oracolo artwork, Skinshape joined forces with acclaimed New York based artist Jared Buschang. This is one of Buschang’s early pieces simply named ‘Untitled’. The Picasco-esqe style makes the perfect visual representation for the music within.

Last summer Liam Gallagher joined the list of all-time greats (Paul McCartney, Page and Plant, Nirvana and many more) who have filmed a prestigious MTV Unplugged session. Having missed Oasis’s 1996 session through illness, the show at Hull’s City Hall found Liam fulfilling some unfinished business entirely on his own terms.

Now Liam is set to release the ‘MTV Unplugged’ live album of the show on April 24th.

The show’s electrifying atmosphere is palpable from the very beginning with a phenomenal reaction as Liam takes to the stage with ‘Wall of Glass’. Material from Liam’s solo career such as his personal favourite ‘Once’ and the joyous ‘Now That I’ve Found You’ resonates in this stripped-back format, with his vocal shining alongside a trio of backing singers and string arrangements performed by the 24-piece Urban Soul Orchestra.

Oasis guitarist Bonehead features on performances of ‘Some Might Say’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Cast No Shadow’ and Liam’s first ever live vocal performance of the ‘Definitely Maybe’ bonus track ‘Sad Song’. The show concludes on a crowd-pleasing high with an emotive take on the classic ‘Champagne Supernova’.

Liam launches the ‘MTV Unplugged’ album by sharing the new version of ‘Gone’, which was one of the strongest performances of the night. Stripped of the force of the studio recording, ‘Gone’ instead reveals new-found bombastic dynamics and an evocative cinematic atmosphere.

New Syncrophone Recordings release by Trinidadian Deep with emersed in organics, obsessed with percusssion, sounds. Real Deep.

Fractura del SueNo is the debut album from the Catalan and Berlin-based artist Ameeva and his first big step into his musical path. With the purpose of creating a conceptual LP which develop the idea of transcendence, power of mind and self-interpretation of the individual, Alex Busse has created an album where different influences share the same environment. From ambient and drones to deep techno, going through broken-beats, distortions, organic percussions, field-recordings and even the human speech, he has created a progresion in the storytelling which ascends in energy nd comes back to the origin point, making it ideal for a calm and deep listening where the listener can focus on each sound.

After nine years of quality assured house music, FINA Records hits release number 30 with another of its forward looking offerings, this time from red hot young Frenchman Armless Kid.

Well known on his native Paris circuit, Armless Kid is now breaking out on the wider international scene. He's released his bustling, heart felt house grooves on Rekids and the legendary Classic Music Company, is a Rinse FM regular and has an anything goes approach that has won him high profile fans like DJ Harvey and The Black Madonna.

Opener Shadows is a superbly warm deep house cut with real drive in the silky smooth drums. It's perfect for cosy dance floors, while Lost Days picks up the pace with raw and hurried kick drums and dusty piano keys bringing real beauty to the groove. Brute Factor Disco pumps any party with its urgent drum programming, explosive sense of energy and dazzling disco chords and last of all, NaturaL FL Groove slips into a funky bass riff, with organic licks and authentic old school production values that make it a timeless classic in the making.

Repress

Vinyl Only

Acid Resistance is Back!

Repress
Following up on the mighty 'Eskimode' EP and his recent collaboration with Levela, Particle presents the 'Thermal EP', possibly his biggest release to date. Featuring the enormous lead single 'Business Techno' which had become a firm favourite at Critical events across the world before the lockdown and the chopped old school edge of 'Camberwell', this is one seriously good EP.

Inspired by Gibson's 'Neuromancer', Patrick Holland dives deep into the ambivalent future with Simstim. Also known for work as Project Pablo, Simstim uses familiar motifs with a more personalized touch. Pointillist melodies lay in a wash of noise artifacts, as pulsating rhythms fray subtly falling between sections, all delicately glued together with blissful harmonies. For the dancer and/or headphone listener alike.

Les Cooles De Ville is an Amsterdam based alternative Hip-Hop group creating soulful music using elements of Jazz, Bossa Nova and Pop. Recording and performing with live instrumentation and a mixture of samples and electronics they bring a unique, international vibe to the musical landscape quirky colourful, laidback and romantic they deliver a sound reminiscent of contemporaries like The Internet and Tom Misch.

Sometimes referred to as the Dutch equivalent of the Native Tongues the group's sound is inspired by acts like Digable Planets, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Lucy Pearl and Slum Village.

L.C.V.D.'s new self-titled album is available via digital platforms and vinyl via Season Five Records / Below System Records. The album includes guest appearances by Benny Sings, Roos Jonker, Randell Heye, Delaney Nelom, Benjamin Herman and MARNIX.

From "Tomorrow" and back to plus thirty years, more precisely in 1987, a teenager named Thomas, Thomas Barnett the full name, released the track "I Can Feel It" mixed by Juan Atkins, one of the first mix by who became the main DJ and producer from Thomas's hometown, Detroit.

Today "I Can Feel It" is a very hard to find record that finally will be available for an official reissue via Omaggio, after a skillful re-master from the original source by Andy Toth former member of Detroit Grand Pubahs.

History says that the '87 was a lucky year for Thomas Barnett, who also written "Nude Photo" the second ever release out on Transmat, credited to Rhythim Is Rhythim, definitely one of the moment to define the genre. Well, we all agree to consider Mr. Barnett an originator of Detroit Techno. From there Thomas travels across the world as DJ and live performer and when at home he is a busy managing multiple labels and still an illuminated recording artist.

In 1981, Nick Robson wrote Stars. The song can pretty much be described as a slow, cosmic disco song. It has an unusual feel, and it comes as Oslo-based Neppås third release. This 12" holds the 12" mix, the 7" mix, and the original B-side Eye To Eye. The original 12" is as rare as they come, and here you get the original material, fully licenced, and remastered. The process of recording the material back in 1981 was not an easy one, as Nick Robson recalls:

"Fame by David Bowie is one of my favourite songs, period. I was 18 when i wrote Stars and i wanted to write something that was my version of Fame and quite honestly, as a tribute to the song. If you listen to the bass lines, there is a hint of similarity in the two. Even the lyric of Stars has a passing reference to Fame.
Stars was one of four songs recorded at Gary's Rock City studio to supply the first two singles and form the basis of the first album. The other three tracks were Eye To Eye, Boys and She'a Like Ice. Although all four tracks were finished, for one reason or another, Boys never made it to pressing and i walked away from the business to pursue a career in film.
Stars itself, was the most ardous and problematic track that i've ever recorded. It took around 14 days to finally get an agreed mix when the budget probably only ran to three days. Part of the reason for this is the enormous quantity of music tracks recorded in the song. In those days, we only had 24 recordable tracks available on the Otari, so once you had recorded 23 or less actually, you had to bounce down sub-mixes to a single track to free up another batch of tracks. I think that there are around 46 tracks of instruments alone on Stars so although that kind of track usage is not uncommon now, back then it was rare. It remains the single most expensive song i ever recorded. The B-side Eye To Eye, on the other hand, was written, recorded and mixed in one day."

After much anticipation, our Belgian disco diamonds Rheinzand present their debut full-length album. On their self-titled record, The Belgian trio wraps the human heart in synthetic threads of modular electronic disco. 9 songs writhing on timeless dancefloors, morphing in and out of shapes of luxuriant melody and vivid instrumentation.

The album is full of classic disco and electro sounds, wielded with imposing prowess by multi-instrumentalist Reinhard Vanbergen. It’s both an exploration ofdance music’s electronic genealogy and the vintage cool that has defined its different eras. Still, an organic atmosphere pervades as the blend of real instrumentation fixes a sort of retro-futurism, imagining an alternative timeline that’s a bit more exciting, more sensuous and libidinal, maybe more human, too, than our current outlook.

We start the engines with Break of Dawn, a compelling beat rises from the basement and soon we’re submerged by the pulsing bassline. Dark sunglasses on, we cruise through the night, letting flashing city lights flow into unbroken torrents of color. Blind awakens us, a splash of handclaps in the face, vivid strings and Charlotte’s trademark slick vocals enter the stage. Tantalizing sunbeams power up circuits of electronic synths blipping and beeping away.

Later down the road, we hit the Latin part of town. Porque fits enchanting vocal spells in beautiful Spanish on playful flamenco rhythms. Fourteen Again is a throwback to early electro, playing around with knobs and buttons. An oscillating synth imagines new worlds of plastic emotion. Still disco and still very cool, though. A constant velocity is sustained throughout the album bythis recurring locomotive synth, trudging away beneath the action. Once in a while, we hear the deep, mighty, trembling voice of Mr. Rheinzand speaking to us in incantations. Someone’s pulling the strings here.

On Slippery People, the trio cover the Talking Heads classic in a characteristic procedure of bouncy funk. We’re swirled around by the delirious glasswork of You Don’t Know Me into the hypnagogic funk noir of Strange World. Drifting through the house of mirrors after the fourth mojito.

Obey collects all these threads in a full-bodied future classic disco anthem, before Queen of The Dawn wraps up the show with a sky-bound epic of operatic choirs and ceremonious drums that lands somewhere between Kate Bush’s Aerial and Peter Gabriel’s most bombastic.

Industries Of The Blend is the latest project from Dj Luna-C, and it a step back into the original sounds of 1990 and 1991 old skool. Slower bpm and all hardware lead to an entirely authentic sound for this EP, and that authenticity continues with the style of sleeve (Spined like an old Euro EP) and in the overall concept. Proper underground, original, rave music. For those who know.

Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

In 1981, London-based E.G. Records released the debut album from a young Ghanaian group called Edikanfo. Edikanfo quickly rose to international notoriety following the release of “The Pace Setters” because of the infectious, forward-looking highlife meets afro-funk synthesis the band committed to tape. But the album also caught an additional wind of publicity due to its producer, the already legendary British musician and sound conceptualist Brian Eno. During that time, Eno was researching and openly propagating West African musics. He often mentioned his love of Fela Kuti and called his own rhythm-driven experiments the search for a “vision of a psychedelic Africa.” He had recently been collaborating with The Talking Heads on their Avant-funk masterpiece “Remain in Light” and with The Talking Heads frontman David Byrne on “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts,” an album which foretold the sort of cross-pollination and global music interconnectivity that today we take for granted. Eno and Edikanfo’s work together at Studio One in Accra (Ghana) was yet another inspired morphing of soundworlds and processes and a significant touchstone for both artists. As Brian Eno recently noted: “the actual recording sessions were joyful - the band played with such verve that you couldn't resist.”



But just when the sky seemed the limit for Edikanfo, the coup d’état in Ghana on the last day of 1981, tragically put the brakes on the band’s quickly developing fortunes. For years after that, the country endured enforced curfews at night, which of course ultimately gutted the live music scene in Accra and elsewhere. Because of this and other financial setbacks, the band ceased activity and its members spread out in exile, all over the world. It clearly seemed as though the story of Edikanfo, one of Ghana’s greatest bands of that era, had come to a premature end.



Now, almost four decades later, Edikanfo has returned. And with its surviving members gearing up to reissue and tour their classic 1981 album, “The Pace Setters,” the band is once again excitedly pointed towards the future.