Producer Okzharp and vocalist-artist-dancer Manthe Ribane both hail from South Africa, where Manthe still resides, while Okzharp lives in the London where he is a DJ and producer, initially cutting his teeth in LV, who in 2007 were one of the very first acts signed to Hyperdub. Manthe has been at the forefront of South Africa's cutting edge fashion, art and dance worlds for over a decade. After leaving LV, Okzharp and Manthe started collaborating, going on to release two well-received EPs on Hyperdub, 'Dumella 113' and 'Tell Your Vision', recorded in Joburg and London respectively. The recording of 'Closer Apart' reflects the title. Okzharp says 'Most of the music came out of headphone moments in hotel rooms, planes and airports in the brief periods of time that we spent together.' Describing Manthe as a co -producer, he continues 'She selected instrumental sketches and we developed them together, sometimes just keeping the bare bones or a melody or rhythm, or trying different elements or sounds.' Even though the album was built long distance, the short periods they spent together were the ground zero for creativity. Okzharp recalls 'One particular moment in Milan last year, we had a whole free day before our flight so we visited the Salone di Mobile design show. We were so inspired by an installation there just walking around, listening to the amazing soundtrack. That evening our flight was delayed, so we sat on the floor of the airport terminal putting musical ideas down for 'Time Machine' on the laptop speakers and writing the lyrics. "Tic Toc time, we'll be fine / Airport queues, cerulean blues / Viper trails cross the skies / Lights reflect in your eyes...' ' 'Closer Apart' has a softness and openness that contrasts the tougher sound of the EPs. Manthe explains, 'The new music is a 360 turn, an expression of my 'Lady' side. I grew up listening to Jazz, Classic and Gospel, I am a very soft spoken person, and it resonates with being confident with that. It's been crazy finding balance and finding a smart way to strengthen my weaknesses, I had to trust the process.'
Buscar:dancer
Blair French returns to Rocksteady Disco after last year's brilliant Standing Still IsAn Illusion for another 12' of mind, body, and soul music. Public Park' starts off the release, with flutes, guitars, and African marimbas abound, presenting itself as the song of the summer. Spirit Guides' follows, taking listeners and dancers on a spiritual afro jazz odyssey. The flip features two versions of Public Beach', a communal ecstatic dance meets Detroit Jit footwork cut with a massive bassline, pulsing percussion, and harmonized chanting, constructed for openminded dance floors and deejays. Limited to 300 vinyl, TIP!
While notorious in the Chicago streets, RP Boo's music had been unfairly confined to a few white labels and self-released mixtapes until his two archival Planet Mu LPs Legacy and Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints introduced broader audiences to his sonic history, some of it fifteen years after it was first recorded. I'll Tell You What! is the next step in his mission, and the first time he's released an album of contemporary material. The title, a favorite maxim of his, welcomes listeners to sit down and let him narrate in the unforgettable abstract fashion he's known for. He explores familiar motifs such as the cosmos, movement, and opposition, using densely interwoven vocals, unpredictable percussion, and evil humming bass as his tools of choice. RP Boo's music doesn't follow the traditional rules that most compositions do. Layering decades of samples from yesteryear to the present over his commanding vocal cut-ups, he transports the listener to their own realm of the space-time continuum. The main difference between this record and his prior work is now we hear Boo tell new stories about preaching his gospel outside of Chicago, from his experiences frantically touring the globe over the last five years. The words 'things ain't been the same / since I hopped the plane' are repeated on top of engine sounds and rumbling bass on Flight 1235, a glorious paean to his new jet-setting adventures. The spirit of competition runs through RP's veins as much as blood does, something you can't unlearn when you've been making music for Chicago's footwork circuit as long as he has. The local culture has served as a shelter from the violence that has plagued the city, pitting kids against each other with their feet rather than weapons. On At War Boo reminds us 'we are at war in the streets', a double meaning to both the mayhem in this world and the sweetness of rivalry on the dance floor. Another battle-themed track Cloudy Back Yard, one of the spacier moments on this album, is an abstract on the state of footwork's home. Chicago remains the backyard of this artform even though it's left the porch and traveled to new neighborhoods worldwide. Back at home though, competition among the DJs and dancers continues, and as the man himself says, 'with all this hate, there's smoke, and it's cloudy'. I'll Tell You What! throws more than a few curveballs into the mix. Footwork has always borrowed from hip-hop, and many vocal tracks are almost condensed raps, dating back to the street chants pioneered on Dance Mania Records in the ghetto house days. On Bounty, Boo grabs the mic and brazenly lays down a full-on verse of terror over a thick atmosphere of his signature sweltering low-end and erratic Roland R-70 patterns. While he's most famous for his confrontational battle anthems, his melancholy moments are just as powerful. You get the best of both of those worlds on U-Don't No, with soulful samples finishing his own cocky sentences, one of the most elegant tracks RP has made to date. Deep Sole closes the record out, with the words 'It's always beautiful at the end' looping over waves of hypnotic synthesis, confidently looking death straight in the eyes.
Peter Croce takes the baton back from Blair French for Rocksteady Disco's 9th release entitled Agape. It's vision is similar to Standing Still Is An Illusion, with Peter's unique take on this Afro-Brazilian deep house three-tracker. The a-side holds "Agape (Love Wins)", a deep and emotive house cut, with driving drums and lush strings that tease until they climax. Kicking off the b-side is "Maracatu Detroit", an upbeat love letter to Peter's home city produced through a bouncy Brazilian-funk lens, a track that is sure to bring a smile to the dancers. "Bufe Bufe" closes the release, featuring Peter on live electric bass/guitar and afro-stomp drum execution, brought to a peak with Yoruban talking drum + vox. Mr. PC roots the growing effervescent world beat sound with an explicitly Detroit and Chicago voice.
Quarion is back on Drumpoet with an enchanting new EP that leaves nothing to be desired. Cobblestone takes the dancer on a deep sensual journey, builds up continuously and subtly into a truly emotive peak. Sunday Night Pt. 2 tops it by captivating with rhythmic chords, which remind of the early 90ies. Jamaican Morse is a driven drum track, spiced with dubby sounds and a higly addictive beat. Once again, Quarion proves his outstanding quality.
Swinging Flavors is BACK! After releasing material from names such as Simon Off aka Sun People, Moresounds, DJ Madd, Ticklish, Sully, Addison Groove, Itoa and Lynch Kingsley our 7' vinyl series devoted to Bass Culture and dancefloor vibes is back again with the the Sixth One aka BMRSF006. After having a Japan vs USA Chicago Footwork sound clash with DJ Fulltono and DJ Earl's 'Tribal Dancer', now it's time for an atlantic connection - in the name of Bass Music obviously.
On the A Side you'll find Sinistarr's '55555': the Detroit bass producer - with a 10yrs experience in sound design and recently appeared with an astonishing work on legendary dBridge label Exit Records - gives us a pure example of his sonic craziness with a minimal-but-high-impact work, with chopped vocal samples, magic flutes and heavy basses.On the B Side '55555' gets a full treatment by Philip D. Kick: Cosmic Bridge honcho Jim Coles - well known in the worldwide bass scene as Om Unit - surprisingly comes back with his iconic footwork moniker giving to the original vibes a more accentuate rave touch, with hyper speed drum patterns, amen breaks and piano notes.
Smoove & Turrell's second single outing from their album 'Mount Pleasant' is a double helping of up-tempo dancers for those that like to shake it...
Never one's to stop experimenting and pushing their musical boundaries, this single is a perfect example of exactly that, featuring two tracks with massively contrasting styles but with a quality of song writing and production that these guys have got down to a fine art in their years together.
'I Feel Alive' is a tasty electro disco cut inspired by a hedonistic night in Paris. It's the perfect blend of Smoove's trademark groovy productions with Turrell's sweet tones and honest relatable lyricism. Keys man - Mike Porter gets a chance to engage the arpeggiator function on his synth collection as he and the rest of the band create a host of spacey sounds to form the backdrop of this catchy number.
On the B side is 'Mr Hyde' - a beast of a track that opens with energetic live drums and a memorable guitar riff that form the backbone of a rocking tune that sees John Turrell manically singing through a distortion effect delivering the lines "I'm Jekyll and baby you need to hide" in a suitably menacing style...
Fusing garage rock, psyche, northern soul and pop sensibilities it's a Frankenstein's monster of a track that works on multiple levels with the lyrical subject matter.
Favorite Recordings proudly presents Combattant, first EP by Pat Kalla produced by Bruno Patchworks' Hovart (aka VOILAAA).
PAT KALLA is a musician, singer and storyteller. Patrice of his birth name, in tribute to the great Lumumba! Lover of words, French language, and music of course. Born in Lyon, from a Cameroonian father, musician and political activist, and a French and literary mother, he explores from his childhood the Soul, the Slam, the Funk ... and the art of telling stories, life being a great one...
After years of touring alongside many bands (Conte & Soul, Legend of Eboa King, Mento Cloub, Voilaaa Sound System), and several acclaimed titles on the two albums by Voilaaa, he comes back with this project to put a bit of primordial lightness in a rainy world: A tribute to the African culture in honor of a father with "Sawa" origins, the tribe from the people of Makossa.
Jojo Ngallé, Moni Bilé, Pain, Manu Dibango, Franco, Rochereau, Kabaselé, Fela, François Nkotti & The Black Style, all these legends' vinyls have turned on the family turntable and the collection has whetted the child's appetite. Through this new trip, he revisits styles that are sometimes little known to Western audiences, such as High-Life, Makossa, Angolan Music, Afrobeat, Afro-Disco and others. We could talk about Franc CFA', we could talk about Jacques Foccart, but we will rather dance, because "the dancer seems naive, but his feet must be connected with earth to understand history..."
Backed by the "Super Mojo Disco", a hyperactive band from Lyon with deep groove and positive energy, Pat Kalla offers us an anti-crisis project, where swaying and feel-good humor is mandatory! An album soon in the crates, beware « c'est médicament » (it's medicine)!!
Not to be confused with the 80s heavy rock/funk band from the US, this Living Color track was written, produced and released by Tony Kalangis on his Sophisticated Funk label in 1974. Kalangis, who sadly passed away in 2017, was a man of many talents who could not only write a great tune but also novels, poems, and film scripts.
'Plastic People' has one of those faultless grooves that goes where you want it to go and does what you want it to do. Small but perfectly formed, somewhere between mellow funk and a mid tempo 2 stepper. A great niche if ever there was one.
The clavinet riff is gently twangy and instantly funky, the horns punctuate an uplifting melody, while the backing vocals float in and out celestially. The relevant lyrics are carried off with a vocal style full of emotional urgency. Pure joy.
"Plastic people, better make some changes soon, or you'll never find a dancer for your tune". Thankfully not the case on this groove! Clavinet freaks will love the instrumental on the B side.
Two northern soul dance floor destroyers that rocked the dance halls of the 1970's. Roscoe & Friends powerhouse instrumental Broadway Sissy' has been a perennial favourite for the last 40 plus years and can rightly lay claim to being regarded as a northern soul classic. While Robert Tojo' Barnes falsetto dancer Broken Hearted Lover' rose to prominence under the cover name of Ann Perry Have You Ever Been In Love' in the later days of Wigan Casino but fell away during the ensuing years. That is until recently when some of the more adventurous northern DJ's who look to reactivate titles which still have some life in them are giving Broken Hearted Lover' it's well deserved second coming. The Broadway Sissy' too is enjoying more widespread popularity having crossed over and found a new audience with the funk scene.
Love Over Entropy returns to Lossless in joyful anticipation of his new 'Marka EP'. LL1217 assembles four versatile pieces of shimmering and floating pieces of modern house music. These cuts will certainly move and rapture dancers under the open skies or under the roofs of sweaty nightclubs alike.
For its seventh offering, Sol Power Sound taps into the pulse of the French Antilles for Tambours de Martinique, a blistering EP of original and remixed versions of rare, drum-centric dance floor workouts. Licensed directly from the legendary Martiniquan label Hibiscus Records, the EP features cuts by Eugène Mona and Max Ransay, two of Martinique's most storied musicians. With reworks by Spanish DJ and producer Kiko Navarro and the Sol Power All-Stars, this one will be in the record bags of discerning DJs all summer long.
The A side features 'Lizo' by Eugène Mona, an essential figure in the folkloric music of Martinique based on the bamboo flute, bèlè drums, and the island's specific variant of Antillean creole. Lizo was originally released in 1990 on Mona's Blanc Mangé Blan Manjé LP and is anchored by frenetic percussion, a driving bassline, and house-evocative key stabs. Kiko Navarro's remix takes an already dynamic cut to deep Afro-space with thumping drums and a bubbling synth-bass groove that will put dancers through their paces.
With its powerful combo of urgent brass and ensemble vocals, Max Ransay's 1988 recording of the traditional Martiniquan folk song 'Ti Kanno' fills the B-side. 'Ti Kanno' was previously recorded by Ti Émile, Ransay and Mona's legendary forebear. Full of surprises, Ransay's version is a sonic melting pot of hand percussion, horns, unexpected synth lines, and bass. The Sol Power All-Stars edit fills out the low-end thump and teases out the groove for maximum impact.
Recorded in Philadelphia in 1969, The Deirdre Wilson Tabac's sole album is a beautiful blend of funk, jazz and soulful pop. Possessing the complex grooves, thrilling breaks and ethereal weirdness that The Rotary Connection pedalled so brilliantly, the LP failed to connect with audiences upon its original release.
In the decades since, it has deservedly attracted a considerable cult following. However, almost inevitably, it has become increasingly tricky to pick up a copy in good condition for anything less than eye-watering sums. As such, we're delighted to present the first officially licensed vinyl reissue of this undoubted masterpiece of freaky funk-rock, limited to just 500 copies.
The Tabac were, in fact, a trio. Discovered, managed and produced by Svengali Sonny Casella (who'd earlier managed garage band The Magic Mushrooms), they comprised Deirdre Wilson, Stu Freeman (formerly of said Mushrooms) and Barbara Payne (formerly with the James Brown Revue). They were backed by session players including jazz guitarist Chuck Anderson, bassist Hugh McDonald and keyboardist Roy Bittan (who went on to be a long-term Bruce Springsteen sideman).
Their first single coupled two fine Casella compositions, each featuring powerhouse vocal workouts, the supremely funk-fuelled blues beat of "The Other Side Of Life" and the psychedelic-flavoured "Look In My Face" - both of which are featured here. This 7" picked enough up airplay to merit an album, which duly appeared early the following year, but, as is often the way with these lost classics, it received barely any press. Correspondingly, sales where low and the trio didn't last long.
And herein lies the real tragedy. The rest of the LP deserves to be heard from start-to-finish - it's that good. A beguiling mix of funky folk and rocky jazz tracks, with some deep, string-drenched harmony soul ballads and a handful of remarkable covers elegantly presented througout. Indeed, they put some sauntered head-nod funk into The Beatles' "Get Back" whilst tearing through a version of "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" which gives Otis' original a real run for its money.
But the real standout cut for most - with its soulful, haunting vocals, swinging hammond organ and stabbing horns, is the incredible 6/8 time jazz dancer "I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes." Staggering.
Following the release of Baba Commandant's debut album "Juguya" in 2014 on the mighty Sublime Frequencies label, Mawimbi is proud to present Wasso, one of the best cut from the
album in brand new mixing shape alongsides killer electronic remixes from the likes of Mawimbi signee Loya and Mr. Boom.
A rather eccentric and mysterious character from the Ouagadougou underground scene, Baba Commandant started out as a traditional Bobo dancer, before engaging in a rich musical career and joining Burkinabé star Victor Démé as one of his touring musicians. Influenced by the likes of Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé and Moussa Doumbia, Baba Commandant plays dozo n'goni, an instrument associated with traditional Donso hunters, bridging the gaps between different generations and strata of Burkinabé society. Recorded at the notorious Ouaga Jungle Studios, "Wasso" is a prime example of the band's unpolished and raw sounds, merging Mandinka blues, dub and Nigerian afrobeat with a punk feel. The A-side also features a remix by Mawimbi signee Loya, whose leftfield reinterpretation moves at
a much higher pace with epic modular synth motifs and subtle organic layers of sounds. The B-side of the record is made of two DJ-friendly remixes with impressive mixing work from Toulouse-based producer Mr. Boom. Stripping the original track down to its most lively elements, both mixes are perfect club-ready weapons for tropical-minded and house DJs alike.
DJ Katapila's Aroo EP is the latest addition to the iconoclastic producer's catalog of fast-paced, pan-West African-influenced dance music. From a young age, Ishmael Abbey was a beloved local DJ in Accra, Ghana's competitive and rapidly-evolving music galaxy. DJ Katapila's debut release with Awesome Tapes From Africa, 2016's reissue of Trotro, ignited international acclaim for the Ghanaian DJ and producer: The New York Times, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor and FACT heaped praise on his work. Katapila launched a touring career beyond his grueling schedule of all-night parties around Ghana's southern coast and neighboring countries, heading to Europe and the UK, where he performed at festivals and clubs the pasty two years. Katapila brought Ghana's street party culture to audiences overseas, a wave of joy and happy dancers were left in his wake. The song Aroo' uses his earlier song Cocoawra' as a jumping off point and expands upon its endearing quick-rhythmed interplay of vocal hiccups and percussive clinks. Katapila thinks of Aroo' as a simple math equation: Francophone rhythms plus techno equals so hot and danceable.' While traveling this past summer in Europe, he continued to work on the minimalist electronic music steeped in his hometown rhythms that has made him a growing and singular voice in West African music. Having never travelled outside his region before, the contemporary sounds of London impacted his sonic palette, triggering new song African Techno.' He explains, In Europe and the UK they like these techno songs and house music. They have songs that sound like African music, and we have songs that sound like house music and techno music.' Ghana Baby DJ' references his ongoing development of Ga dance music style gbe ohe. It also conjures his daughter's voice and inimitable vibe and blends it with the characteristic clave rhythm of this. The EP's final cut is a track released with a an eye-catching music video this summer called "Monkey." Following radio play in Ghana and demand from fans online, this track makes its debut on vinyl. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to present new music from this unmistakably original artist with an honesty and unpretentiousness that feels good at this current point in history.
Gabber Eleganza was born as a curated blog archive in 2011, an open research about rave subcultures mainly focused on the gabber and post-rave aestethic. The central ambition of the web archive was to become a source of research material on different topics: contemporary folklore, suburban euphoria and post-rave phenomena, revaluing a denigrated subculture through a new cultural lens.Over the years, the magnitude of the project has reached individuals far beyond the hardcore scene. Alberto Guerrini, the Italy and Berlin based founder, has since taken his project offline by producing zines, radio podcasts and garments. He currently tours as a DJ act or with a live performance dubbed The Hakke Show - an old-skool rave/hardcore DJ set with gabber dancers performing onstage: fast, air cutting moves, powerful thanks to their primitive intensity.In the past year Guerrini has brought the Hakke show to festivals: Club to Club (Turin), Resonate (Belgrade), performed as a DJ alongside Lorenzo Senni (Warp Records) and toured cities including Oval Space in London, Niebo in Warsaw, Janus/Berghain in Berlin, Ex Dogana in Rome, Empty Gallery in Hong Kong, etc. Guerrini has hosted radio shows on three London stations: RinseFM, NTS and Radar Radio.
Three clean-cut anthems for the studio debut of Gabber Eleganza, the anticipated new form for the archival and performative project created by Alberto Guerrini in 2011. Now updating the contemporary folklore with his analog grit. Try not to get your attention diverted once again. And keep calm under pressure.First volume of the Never Sleep series. Limited edition vinyl. Includes DL card.




















