There are very special records that achieve mythical status amongst collectors and vinyl diggers. THE SHARPEES GO ON AND LAUGH is top of that tree.
Welcome to the strange world of Nothern Soul…
The story began some years ago when legendary UK record dealer John Anderson discovered an acetate in Chicago with the record title GO ON AND LAUGH scrawled on it but no artist name.
He sold it to cutting edge Northern Soul DJ John Vincent who credited the track to THE JUST BROTHERS when playing out.
The acetate, by now popular amongst the Rare Soul cognoscenti, was traded back to John Anderson who passed it on to Mark Dobson, aka Butch. His DJ sets around the World made it an in-demand dance floor filler and a subject for many years of much conjecture as to the ID of the mystery artist who had recorded this masterpiece which was not just a one-off uber rarity but also the epitome of Nu-Northern Soul cool.
Fast forward to 2016 when USA record label Secret Stash gained access to 200 plus master tapes recorded in the 1960’s by the Windy City’s ONE-DER-FUL set up.
They were forwarded to UK Soul entrepreneur Mark Bicknell who to his amazement found GO ON AND LAUGH in the haul. And finally the whodunit mystery was over with the artist identified as THE SHARPEES, who far from being obscure unknowns aee fondly well known in Soul circles for their much loved DO THE 45 and TIRED OF BEING LONELY singles. Secret Stash promptly issued GO ON AND LAUGH in America but demand far outstripped simply and it quickly sold out with copies now fetching northwards of £150.
ANORAX - living up to its #eatsleepcollect mantra - have snapped up the rights and are delighted to issue it as a 500 run limited edition 7”.
GO ON AND LAUGH is coupled with the timeless classic TIRED OF BEING LONELY. It follows the release by ANORAX of gems from DRIZABONE, JAY. J Feat. BIG BROOKLYN RED and DON CARLOS
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'BOSTICH PT.1' – A hot Chicago House flip on this legendary classic by Swiss synthpop band Yello! Some unexpected editing surprises in this one! The groove will have you from the start! 'OPTIMO' – A highly energetic rework of this classic from American dance-punk band Liquid Liquid, with a percussion section that uses the snare drum, bass kick drum, cowbell, and claves that all combine for insane repeated drum rolls! A hot sure shot for the dancefloor!
Cratebug is a Chicago Dj, Producer & Remixer. His remixes and edits are hot gold and have found their way into the mixes and live sets of COUNTLESS djs all over the world. Most notable and well-known among fans & supporters of Cratebug’s work include: Derrick Carter, Jamie 3:26, Honey Dijon, Frankie Knuckles (RIP), Louie Vega, Scott K., Kenny Dope Gonzalez, Dimitri From Paris, Boris Dlugosch, Francois Kevorkian, Danny Krivit, Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.), Theo Parrish, Master Kev, Moon Boots, Jackmaster (Jack Revill), The Martinez Brothers, Doc Martin, Mark farina, KON, Detroit Swindle, Radio Slave, Moodena, Luke Solomon, Jimpster, Alton Miller, Juan McClean, James Murphy, Alton Miller, Horse Meat Disco, Gene Farris, Jack The Box (Tyree Cooper & Bobby Starr), The Black Madonna, Jojo Flores, Marques Wyatt, Terry Hunter, Ricardo Villalobos, Kiko Navarro, Ted Patterson and MANY MORE!…
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Since 2013 - Brighton & Barcelona duo PAYFONE have been releasing records on respected NYC and UK labels GOLF CHANNEL , LENG and DEFECTED.
Now releasing on their own OTIS imprint - PAYFONE deliver another deep 12 in preparation for their debut album.
In September 2024 PAYFONE released their WILD BUTTERFLY EP which appeared in many best of 2024 end of year DJ charts whilst gaining the support from the likes of Richard Dorfmeister, Leo Mas and Daddy G.
Phil Passera and Jimmy Day's productions continue to gain fans across the disco world with a template of synth and bass that equates to a heady and intoxicating excursion into early electronic soul disco circa late 70's / early 80's.
Known for their atmospheric, mid-tempo sultry selections, PAYFONE offer up another deep dive of synth-driven drum machine pleasure with remix duties courtesy of San Francisco trio 40 Thieves: Corey Black, Layne Fox and Jay Williams.
Latest offering VOLT to VOLT is a moody meltdown of Moog bass and full frontal vocals featuring the talents of North Carolina's JO GABRIEL HARRIS and New York City's TERI JACKSON.
Always a cut above, this Payfone release will be VINYL ONLY.
Get with it !
Payfone have released over 16 individual 12" releases, including Phonica's 'Record of 2023 - 'I Feel You'
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Big Crown is proud to present Crown Jewels Vol. 3. As we are approaching seven years as a label these compilations have given us an opportunity to put the different artists on the label together on the same release. These compilations are something of a calling card for the "Big Crown Sound" where we get to put the most well established next to the newest on the roster and through that paint a picture of the overall ethos of the label. It's been extremely satisfying for us when the fans of one Big Crown artist discover another one because they are label mates. We put out these Crown Jewels comps with the hope that it will continue that process. Even though not all BCR artists can be found in the same aisle of the record store, after listening to Crown Jewels Vol. 3, it should be clear how they all fit on the same record label. When we started Big Crown we wanted to have a label that's only boundaries were defined by our taste, not by genre. Seven years later, we can say we have been able to do that. There is a sound, but that sound stretches into a lot of different directions, but that sound is uniquely ours. Thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far and please stay tuned as we continue pushing our sound and putting out tunes we believe in.
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As soon as Martin Circus was born in 1969, the band laid foundations for the French "Pop Musique" genre, deliberately turning its back on both French yéyés and rock'n'roll to better embrace psychedelia and the French language. In 1971, they were a pioneering, innovative group moving as fast as a speeding train, building upon everything they found on the way. However, faced with band members changing often, management issues and music evolution, Martin Circus ended up trying to fit in every style: soul, R&B, glam rock, disco, new wave, 80s mainstream music. To follow their journey is to listen to the world shifting along music charts. Behind the scenes, since the very first days of the band, one man had been pulling all the strings. Manager and artistic director Gérard Hugé used to work for both the band and the label - this has never been good news. What he cared about the most was getting records out, no matter who played on them. In the mid-70s, he registered the Martin Circus name, granting himself full power over the band. Deciding that it no longer had either a lyricist or a composer, he made the remaining musicians embark on a series of American 60s hits adaptations. As a result, they made tons of money : "Marylène" was a huge hit and gave them a new impulse. The Martins adopted a new look by wearing shiny Courrèges-style suits and platform boots, and on stage they performed dance moves choreographed by the eccentric Amadeo. They completely fit into the disco craze which was about to take over. Still, their music blended doo-wop and rockabilly with glam rock and funk music. They eventually hit disco with a soundtrack in the mannerof French disco groups such as Space and Voyage. Effortlessly, they released the epic 14- minute "Disco Circus", a track which was to become a real underground gem. DJ and remixer François Kevorkian then released it on the American Prelude label in a self-edited version, shortened to 7 minutes while retaining all the dazzling passages of the original track. It came to be a hit in the clubs of New York and Chicago, making a lasting impression on everyone who heard it. It got sampled on at least 40 tracks over the following decades and featured in dozens of bootlegs and prestigious compilations - by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Joey Negro, The Beatnuts, The Rapture, and by Danny Krivit in the DJ culture film Maestro. As the 80s arrived, Martin Circus once again changed the way they looked and their style. Inspired by Devo and their cold dance music, by Buggles' synthpop and Plastic Bertand's postpunk. Throughout their career full of ups and downs, Martin Circus nonetheless managed to keep up with one stable element: contrary to what they seemed, the musicians never took the easy way out. Their playing and arrangements were consistently flawless and polished, they relentlessly dedicated themselves to playing quality music and this can only compel admiration. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does."
Free jazz poetry by a spry, 85 year old Joe McPhee, adapting his renowned improvised practice to words - juxtaposed with Mats Gustafson’s sparing brass and electric gestures. It’s an utterly timeless and transfixing salvo, another shiny notch for Smalltown Supersound’s Le Jazz Non Series.
As a common ligature to the OG free jazz scene of ‘60s NYC, with formative binds to its European offshoots and the experimental avant garde, Joe McPhee is a true force of nature who has represented jazz at its freest over a remarkable lifetime. In duo with Swedish free jazz and noise standard bearer Mats Gustafson, he upends expectations with an astonishingly vivid and upfront example of his enduring contribution to freely improvised music. In 11 parts he variously reflects on everything from the neon sleaze and scuzz of NYC to contemporary US politicians and laugh out loud imitations of his previous sparring partners such as Peter Brötzmann, with a head-slapping immediacy that leaves you reeling, spellbound.
McPhee’s flow of rare, organic cadence, ranging from urgent to contemplative and dreamlike, is blessed with a unique turn-of-phrase that surely mirrors his decades of instrumental work. Gustafsson, meanwhile, dextrously takes up the mantle with a multi-instrumental spectrum of sounds, leaving McPhee unbound and able to float and sting on the mic. There’s obvious wisdom in his perceptively penetrative observations, as derived from a rich cultural life well spent, but also a playful naivety and levity in his ability to veer from almost melodic speech to explosive aggression and a knowing, bathetic wit. It’s perhaps hard to believe that McPhee only started incorporating and performing spoken word in his work in the past ten years, a half century since his declaration of “What Time Is It‽” announced his arrival on a legendary debut ‘Nation Time’ (1971), ushering in one of free jazz’s most singular characters in the process.
Oscillating between discordant reflections on life as a touring musician, set to Gustafsson’s skronk and culminating in a snort-worthy imitation of Peter Brötzmann’s gruff German accent, on ‘Short Pieces’ or the glowering growl and noise exhortations of ‘Guitar’, he evokes a more sweetly consonant calm in ‘When I Grow Up’ and eerie threat of ‘The Dreams Book’, and viscerality of ‘Disco Death’, where Gustafson’s tonal versatility comes into hugely mutable play, whilst McPhee’s extraordinary, unaffected voice is a constant. It’s perhaps McPhee’s balance of cool measuredness and wellspring of barbed energies that allows us, at least, to get the most out of this one; not stifling with mannered or manicured enunciation that can trigger certain icks; keeping close to the nature of spoken word in a way that avoids cliche and becomes inherently critical of it within his purposeful, non-hesitant clarity and unflinching approach.
Berlin based label "Matasuna Records" kicks off the new year 2025 with a soulful 7inch featuring songs by Barcelona's "The Blaxound" and singer "John Vermont". Their common love for vintage soul from the 60s and 70s brought them together for this project to compose and record classic soul sung in Spanish. This 45 shows that the concept worked out wonderfully: Spanish Soul at its best, sounding authentic and contemporary at the same time!
Matasuna Records, known for its reissues of musical treasures from the past, also has an eye for exciting new discoveries in contemporary music. With "The Blaxound & John Vermont" the label has once again found an interesting project for soulful & contemporary music that fits perfectly into the label's sound spectrum and will appeal to lovers of authentic soul music.
The two songs "No Es Por Ti" and "Qué Más Te Da?" from their recently released album will be released for the first time as a 7-inch vinyl single on Matasuna Records. The instrumentation and the lovely harmonies are the ideal basis for John Vermont, who with his versatile voice, sometimes powerful, sometimes smooth - but always soulful - can fully develop his vocal spectrum and fill the songs with his presence. Instrumental and vocal arrangements are beautifully balanced and harmonious. Beatific!
Artist info
"The Blaxound" is a Barcelona-based music project with deep ties to the city's Funk and Soul sceney. The project started in 2003 under the direction of musician, songwriter and producer "Marta Roman". The Blaxound has released four studio albums between 2007 and 2024 on different labels.
Years ago, Marta focused on the idea of recording a classic soul album sung in Spanish, respecting as much as possible the original production and sound of the late 60s and early 70s. Luckily, she met singer "Ivan Espejo" aka "John Vermont", which was the turning point and led to the full vocal album "Déjalo Ir" released on "Love Soul Productions" in 2024.
All songs were composed, recorded and produced by Marta Roman in her own studio, Black Flamingo Recordings, in Barcelona, Spain.
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2023 was a whirlwind year for Oracle Sisters. The trio—Julia Johansen, Chris Willatt, and Lewis Lazar—followed the release of their debut album Hydranism with a globe-spanning tour that captivated fans and critics alike. From the highways between Knoxville and Nashville to sold-out clubs in rain-soaked Seattle, and festival stages across the UK, they logged countless hours on the road. Their journey was a tapestry of exhaustion and exhilaration, falling apart, brawls and disputes, love and acceptance. By the year’s end, just two days before Christmas, they found themselves in Tokyo, reflecting on the fleeting nature of time and the fragments of inspiration gathered along the way. It was there the seeds for their next album, Divinations, began to sprout. Composing as a true trio for the first time, Oracle Sisters pieced together sketches formed during stolen moments on tour. These fragments coalesced into Divinations, an album shaped by the band’s nomadic existence. The recording sessions spanned cozy Parisian studios, a barn in northern France, and the storied Valentine Studios in Los Angeles. Their creative process embraced experimentation—swapping primary instruments, playing with toy drum machines, and crafting melodies on quirky tools like the OP-1 and a baby Casio keyboard. This spirit of discovery lent the album a sense of spontaneity and wonder. At its core, Divinations channels mysticism and timeless storytelling. The band’s songwriting draws on diverse influences, from the surrealist poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud to the introspective philosophies of Carl Jung. Musically, echoes of Talking Heads, Air, and Leonard Cohen resonate throughout the album and tracks like “Riverside” delve into existential questions— “How far are you going? Is it more than money can buy?” Elsewhere on the album “Marseille,” born in the city that gave the song its name, kicks off as a trance with lyrics that play between the sincere and desperate self-help affirmations, we give ourselves while trying to find a bridge between our individual lives and a universal feeling. Lead-single “Alouette” is Oracle Sisters at their most direct; propelled by a driving bassline and exuberant strings, the track summons the sound of 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s rock n roll as they sing about “getting out of dodge, finding a pirate ship and sailing home.” Inspired by the book Caliban and the Witch, “Blue Left Hand” is a lyrical tapestry weaving together history, philosophy, and cultural critique. The lyrics, “It’s in the harbor of every page / It’s in the corner of the playwright’s stage / And every player and every fake / And every witch that we burned at the stake,” reflect on the forces that shaped the capitalist society we know today. Across Divinations’ 11 tracks it’s not only geographic boundaries that were crossed but also the boundaries of time and circumstance. While their work may not consciously reflect specific worldly events, they seek to embrace the universal and offer a space for healing. “Good music would make sense to a farmer in 17th century France as it would to a pastry chef in Slovenia in the 21st century,” shares Lazar. “It’s not written for any temporal powers that be. It’s about expressing our common humanity and taking it from there.” This intuitive approach fuels Oracle Sisters creative process - whether composing in a frozen French farmhouse or performing live with an ever-expanding lineup of collaborators, the band remains committed to exploring the unknown. Through Divinations, they hope to leave listeners feeling transcendent, levitating on waves of intuition and discovery.
Do Your Own Dance! VARIOUS ARTISTS
Chic’s Nile Rogers is lauded as an international star and the recently departed Patrick Adams is acknowledged as one of the most important pioneers of disco music, but behind them were an army of lesser-known musicians, producers, and arrangers including one of the founding-fathers of New York Dance, the enigma Lonnie Johnson.
Scorpgemi Records and Lonnie Johnson, the man behind the label, will be unknown to most, but he was an important figure at the birth of dance music. His label featured work by several leading voices of the New York scene and provided one of New York’s most instantly recognisable dance music records— “Keep In Touch (Body To Body)”—one of the greatest club cuts ever.. But Johnson himself leaves hardly a trace, a behind-the-scenes person, and a friend of Patrick Adams who is only known to those who study the small print on record labels.
So, Lonnie Joel Johnson proves to be both highly influential, and almost completely elusive. A backroom person, who created an anthem across the Atlantic from his home base in New York. A man who was instrumental in the development of Patrick Adams’ career from producer of vocal groups to the go-to producer for dancefloor gold. Yet, for all this there are no biographical details, no interviews and almost nothing left behind except for a small but fantastic catalogue of music.
The first ever curated works of the Broadway based Scorpgemi label Produced by Lonnie Johnson, one of the founding-fathers of New York Dance Dancefloor Gold from the enigma that is Lonnie Joel Johnson, the man behind the career of the legendary Patrick Adams.
Techno phenomenon Charlotte de Witte today announces her brand-new EP “Power Of Thought”, out October 19 on her own KNTXT label. The trio begins with the title track “Power Of Thought” - which immediately erupts into a hypnotic techno beat interspersed with spoken mantras of mindfulness. This is followed by “Pria”, a pulsating journey featuring hypnotic, mantra-like vocals. The EP ends with ambient track “Abada”, punctuated with the occasional drum and chanting vocals before it quickly strips away to silence.
“For ‘Power Of Thought’, I wanted to create an EP that touches deeper emotions and captivating the meditative trance you have when you let go on the dance floor,” says de Witte. “‘Pria’ has already brought me a lot of joy over the last few months when I have played it during my sets. It offers a moment of reflection and a chance to catch your breath during the rougher, more peak time tracks I play. ‘Abada’ is a track that I really enjoyed making. I discovered these magical chanting vocals and I just knew I wanted to use them in a track. Though this track is maybe less playable in one of my sets, I feel that Abada found its home on this EP and completes the ‘Power Of Thought’ circle.”
Best known for her “dark and stripped-back” brand of techno and crossover to other sounds of the underground, Charlotte de Witte pushes the boundaries of the electronic genre with music that has a distinct and unforgettable sound that is uniquely her own. De Witte’s innovative ability allows her to seamlessly blend genres and styles that
have won her a dedicated fan base and critical acclaim.
“Power Of Thought” is the followup EP to de Witte’s “Overdrive” EP, campaign and tour, which recently wrapped with a Los Angeles takeover last month and included performances at Brooklyn Mirage, Primavera Sound, Rock Werchter, Super Bock Super Rock, Lowlands and Rock En Seine. The “Power Of Thought” release will include an exclusive apparel drop as well and will coincide with the opening day of KNTXT Turbo Club, de Witte’s epic 3-day pop-up event series taking over Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) from October 19 - 21, 2023.
With a different “KNTXT” each day, the turbo-charged pop-up will feature a massive lineup of performances, a dedicated KNTXT shop, immersive music experiences and other surprises at an undisclosed location in Amsterdam. Capacity will be very limited and tickets can be purchased now at https://kntxt.be/events/ade.
Following ADE, de Witte will embark upon the KNTXT Latin America Tour on October 26, which will take her to Mexico City, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
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Produced by Dynazty themselves and mixed by Swedish pioneer Jens Bogren, Game of Faces takes you on a journey exploring the essence of the human mind and existence with lyrical themes such as self-discovery, spiritual death, rebirth and re-invention.
Formed in 2008, Dynazty has over the years evolved from its humble beginnings rooted in the Scandinavian Hard Rock scene into now being a powerhouse and formidable force to be reckoned with on the top shelf of the modern melodic metal scene.
Career milestones include the 2020 chart breaking album The Dark Delight, certified for gold status in the bands home country Sweden and neighbours Finland. With single tracks Heartless Madness reaching platinum status and Presence of Mind featured in DC comics and HBO’s Peacemaker series.
Tours in recent years together with bands like Sabaton, Powerwolf, Battle Beast, Pain and Kissin Dynamite has showcased and established the band on the European continent as one of the most prominent live acts of its generation. Fast forward to August 2024 where Dynazty concluded an extensive run of European summer festivals with releasing a new song, Devilry of Ecstasy as a precursor and first taste of a yet unannounced new album
Diamond Dogs may be a bunch of renaissance rockers deeply rooted in the early 70s British rock and roll, but just like our forerunners, we owe
almost everything to Little Richard, the architect of it all! It's impossible to even imagine rock and roll without him.
Little Richard is the soul, spirit and passion of the Diamond Dogs lifestyle, and I was six years old when I first heard 'Rip It Up' with love at first feel.
The raw energy and the blood screaming lyrics over that manic hammering piano embodied everything I craved in music, straight from the speakers to my young heart. Even if I discovered a lot of other influences later on in life, I always kept Little Richard close to where he once hit me. One of Diamond Dogs' early tunes is called 'Lunatic Eye-Rolling Delivery' which is a line nicked from a concert review of Little Richard, and we believe it sums up the essence of his greatness pretty well. He was much more than a rock pioneer, the way he dressed up and spoke was something the world had never experienced before.
Little Richard got Paul McCartney to write 'I Saw Her Standing There', got James Brown a new haircut, and put a silly little mustache on Prince!
So, the idea of recording a homage to the true king of rock and roll had been with all of us for many years when Chris Spedding one day called me
and asked if we should record something together. Of course, I immediately said yes, and then asked him to join Diamond Dogs in the upcoming
studio session to record some well selected Little Richard gems for an LP. All said and done, and Chris was extra thrilled that his favorite 'Send Me
Some Lovin'' was among the songs we picked.
And on a cold and windy January day we gathered the Dogs and the new old puppy in the sweet premises of Dog Pound Studios, along with our
beloved friend and engineer Jonas Åhlén.
So, when the room is geared up, we do our melodies as we normally do it, no rehearsals, all live, straight to tape. One hour per track is usually a
good thing! An amazing energy and swagger filled the atmosphere as Diamond Dogs and Chris fulfilled my dream.
Now that I'm listening through the vinyl, I must say that I've never been prouder of anything we've achieved with this shady bunch so far. It's like
walk the full circle, like I've been graduating from the 12-bar rock and roll academy.
Sulo, Stockholm/Sweden, 2024
Sound Like: The Faces, Rod Stewart, Frankie Miller, Elton John, Mott
The Hoople, J Geils Band, The Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Little
Richard
Diamond Dogs may be a bunch of renaissance rockers deeply rooted in the early 70s British rock and roll, but just like our forerunners, we owe
almost everything to Little Richard, the architect of it all! It's impossible to even imagine rock and roll without him.
Little Richard is the soul, spirit and passion of the Diamond Dogs lifestyle, and I was six years old when I first heard 'Rip It Up' with love at first feel.
The raw energy and the blood screaming lyrics over that manic hammering piano embodied everything I craved in music, straight from the speakers to my young heart. Even if I discovered a lot of other influences later on in life, I always kept Little Richard close to where he once hit me. One of Diamond Dogs' early tunes is called 'Lunatic Eye-Rolling Delivery' which is a line nicked from a concert review of Little Richard, and we believe it sums up the essence of his greatness pretty well. He was much more than a rock pioneer, the way he dressed up and spoke was something the world had never experienced before.
Little Richard got Paul McCartney to write 'I Saw Her Standing There', got James Brown a new haircut, and put a silly little mustache on Prince!
So, the idea of recording a homage to the true king of rock and roll had been with all of us for many years when Chris Spedding one day called me
and asked if we should record something together. Of course, I immediately said yes, and then asked him to join Diamond Dogs in the upcoming
studio session to record some well selected Little Richard gems for an LP. All said and done, and Chris was extra thrilled that his favorite 'Send Me
Some Lovin'' was among the songs we picked.
And on a cold and windy January day we gathered the Dogs and the new old puppy in the sweet premises of Dog Pound Studios, along with our
beloved friend and engineer Jonas Åhlén.
So, when the room is geared up, we do our melodies as we normally do it, no rehearsals, all live, straight to tape. One hour per track is usually a
good thing! An amazing energy and swagger filled the atmosphere as Diamond Dogs and Chris fulfilled my dream.
Now that I'm listening through the vinyl, I must say that I've never been prouder of anything we've achieved with this shady bunch so far. It's like
walk the full circle, like I've been graduating from the 12-bar rock and roll academy.
Sulo, Stockholm/Sweden, 2024
Sound Like: The Faces, Rod Stewart, Frankie Miller, Elton John, Mott
The Hoople, J Geils Band, The Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Little
Richard
Comes with an insert with exclusive pictures and condensed interview about the serie with Lloyd Miller made in March 2022 printed on 300 gram Favini "Remake" paper, plus exclusive goodies!
Personnel:
Manucher Paydar - Tar Drum
Lloyd Miller- Drum (Zarb), Lute (Oud), Lute (Kamanche), Lute (Sehtar)
Marilyn Miller -lute
Jan Otterstrom - Guitar
Stan Wood - Percussion
Anna Claire Eastmond - Vocals
Notes:
The second and last chapter of Dr Miller's journey between cultures and its uses, which began with "The Far East", dissected and looked into the root of the sound of distant Asia, continues with this new chapter dedicated instead to the countries bathed by the Mediterranean and contiguous to Central European history. From Spain to Arabic sounds, a new compendium that takes us back to other places and times, Dr Miller is once again able to dissect and encapsulate sounds and spices from distant places and spaces in a time machine. Thanks to these historical documents, we have the opportunity to discover feelings that are impossible to find 50 years later, sucked up and watered down by globalization and social capitalism.
Back in the day, when he was the drummer for Poni Hoax, Vincent Taeger would sing in French whatever came to his mind backstage after concerts, just for fun, to amuse his friend the late Nicolas Ker. Since then, time has flown by, undoubtedly bringing its share of ups and downs. Nonetheless, today, this artist with a long career is finally releasing his debut album as a singer, OK Crooner. It's indeed an album for a singer, but also one for a musician. For this part, Taeger doesn't come alone; he brings along the Jazz Kamasutra, a sexy sextet that knows how to play everything and will later accompany him on stage. To get to this point, Vincent Taeger had to stop playing around with big names like Air, Damon Albarn, Justice, Lenny Kravitz, Skepta, Tony Allen, Oumou Sangaré, Jeff Mills, Archie Shepp, Sampa the Great, Andrea Laszlo de Simone... More than half of the major artists with whom he once collaborated, contributing to their albums or simply laying down a drum, bass, or any other heavy instrument line. Before OK Crooner, he also transformed into Tiger Tigre. This roaring alias was used for a first solo album, instrumental and so deep that one might have thought the ghost of François de Roubaix had taken shape. But that was before, before this exceptional musician decided to dive into the vast ocean of French variety to give a sequel, a culmination to this project. During COVID, Vincent Taeger started frantically listening to Souchon, Chamfort, Gotainer, and Christophe. Inspired by his elders, while not renouncing his attachment to the meticulous arrangements reminiscent of Alain Goraguer's soundtracks, he picked up a pen to jot down snippets of songs to accompany his increasingly sophisticated compositions. And the worst part is that he enjoyed it! Coming from rap, he has a knack for punchlines. Throughout the album, he delivers just as many harsh or soft words as good ones, alternating between risqué humor, Gaulish wit, and poetry. Partially recorded at Studio Ferber, but mainly at home with his partner, known by the alias La Plongée, who co-produced the album for the occasion, OK Crooner is a key album in Vincent Taeger's discography. Besides being the one where he finally unveils his voice to the public, without pretense as it is prominently featured and minimally, if at all, retouched, Taeger also offers music that suits him perfectly. Sharp yet accessible, jazz, pop, baroque, classical, modern, and resolutely marked by Tony Allen's legacy, which he daringly mixes with Beethoven in the Fifth Symphony. His alter ego, Vincent Taurelle, with whom he has produced many albums, took care of mixing this one.
JORDY arrived as a pop disruptor with the 2018 breakout “Just Friends,” gathering tens of millions of streams in the process. He continued to progress from Mind Games 2021 to the critically acclaimed BOY 2023. Huffington Post hailed the latter as “an introspective listen that doesn’t skimp on sonic joy,” and Rolling Stone applauded its lead single “Story of a Boy” as “a welcome twist with lyrics that speak to JORDY’s all-too-relatable experience as a queer person coming of age.” Meanwhile, JORDY not only shined on stage at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Firefly, OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride, and Bottle Rock, but he also ignited television on NBC’s TODAY and The Kelly Clarkson Show. And during his ascent, his diaristic, authentic voice earned him nominations at the GLAAD Media Awards (Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist), the iHeartRadio Music Awards (Social Star), and the Queerty Awards (Favorite Music Video i get high + Best Anthem [Story of a Boy]).
JORDY's third studio album, SEX WITH MYSELF, is a bold and uninhibited exploration of love, pleasure, and self-discovery. Packed with danceable, retro-infused tracks that delve into hookups, heartbreak, and unapologetic self-love, the LP showcases JORDY’s signature diaristic lyricism, creative evolution, and newfound artistic confidence. SEX WITH MYSELF includes the singles, “NICE THINGS,” & “SECOND MINUTE HOUR.” Pressed on Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl.
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Watch out! You are holding the 125th (one-hundred-and-twenty fifth!) album on Tramp Records in your hands! We are honored to celebrate this impressive anniversary with the tenth volume in the Praise Poems series. This time, too, we go on a journey to discover previously unheard regions of jazz, folk and AOR from the 1970s and 80s.
Praise Poems Vol.10 presents sixteen (almost) forgotten rare groove gems, all released between the years 1970 and 1984. One of the many highlights is the opening track: "Fields of Laughter" by Color Me Blu - originally released on an acetate only of which two copies exist worldwide. But there is much, much more to discover. This brandnew volume features a wide range of genres, from AOR (Whiz Kids, Ross Miller, and another previously unreleased track by Harve & Charee) to Latin-Rock a'la Santana (Color Me Blue, Tribal Sinfonia, and Apple) to Soul-Jazz (Ernie Lewis Trio, Joe Bozzi Quintet or Dutch saxophonist Frits Kaatee). Right at the end, one track in particular stands out: the wonderful "It's Good Not To Forget" by George Melvin and his quintet - a fabulously dreamy, thoughtful instrumental piece in the style of Ramsey Lewis with catchy tune potential.
Not many compilation series make it to a tenth edition. And if they do, then you often notice that the quality of the songs goes in the opposite direction to the increasing number of series: namely decreasing. Not so with Praise Poems Vol. 10, which the creators prove in an impressive new way. They have found tracks that were originally either a) pressed by the musicians themselves in very small editions or b) released by small, regional labels. It is understandable that neither the musicians nor these small labels had the necessary knowledge or budget to market their albums or singles professionally. The majority of the bands therefore did not manage to reach a large audience - although they certainly had the potential for the big stage.
"Praise Poems 10 - A journey into soulful jazz and funk from the 1970s" makes these almost 50-year-old treasures accessible to a new audience. We hope that you enjoy discovering your personal favorite song(s) and we are already looking forward to many more releases!
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Mehr als zwanzig Jahre ist es her, dass das Hamburger Trio
SONO mit dem Clubhit „Keep Control“ die nationalen und
internationalen Charts enterte und so seinen Weg in die
Dance- und Popwelt ebnete. Zwei Dekaden, die der Band
um Lennart A. Salomon, Florian Sikorski und Martin Weiland Zeit gaben, ihren ganz eigenen Stil zu erfinden: eine
Mischung aus clubtauglichen Beats und lupenreinen Popsongs. Eine Hommage an eben diese Clubs ist nun der neue,
neunte SONO Longplayer „In The Haze“. Für „In The Haze“
haben sich SONO mit angesagten Größen der Club-Szene
zusammengetan, wie beispielsweise dem Hamburger Techno-Produzenten André Winter, dem italienischen DJ Rafael
Cerato und der Hamburger Drum ’n’ Bass Größe Phace.
— Das Album erzählt von dem, was in den undurchsichtigen, vielschichtigen Schwaden der Nebelmaschinen
eben so passiert: Liebe, Tanz, Trennung, Verunsicherung
— Ein emotionales Album, das genauso zum Tanzen wie
auch zum Zuhören und Mitsingen einlädt
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Hidden Harmony presents the first full-length LP from Estonian composer and keyboardist Volodja Brodsky. The six compositions on 'Whispering Ln.' were entirely recorded during Brodsky's trip to the USA in 2018-2019 and showcased his passion for the transformative power of minimalism as an art form. The follow-up to his keyboard duties on psych funk/rare groove Estonian outfits Estrada Orchestra, Centre El Muusa, Misha Panfilov Septet, on ‘Whispering Ln’ Brodsky reinventing himself as a minimalism evangelist in his own right. From space age pop shimmering sonatas to the monolithic drone/overtone hypnotics, Brodsky created an ascetic yet complex sonic landscape where less is more.
"During this period, I was deeply engaged in the study of this art form. The compositions are meticulously distilled to their most primitive form, crafting an immersive experience that beckons to embark on a journey into the very core of emotions and thoughts. Every pause and each meticulously chosen sound within the album serves a purpose, orchestrating a delicate interplay between simplicity and depth. I hope this music carries you to a place of introspection and serenity, where you may discover the profound beauty within the plainness of life" – Volodja Brodsky
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Moshe Fisher-Rozenberg returns to Altin Village & Mine with his second album as Memory Pearl. »Cosmic-Astral« reimagines a music programme used by psychotherapists in the 1970s in combination with LSD. While the original album was designed to take the listener on a cosmic journey of personal discovery through classical music, Fisher-Rozenberg draws on the sounds of electronic instruments and a collage-like approach: he converted the scores of the original pieces by Richard Strauss, Alexander Scriabin, and others into MIDI files, manipulated those into entirely new shapes and sounds using a variety of techniques, while also combining them with improvisational input from artists such as Sam Prekop, Joseph Shabason, Moritz Fasbender, Alec O’Hanley, Bram Gielen, and Brandon Valdivia.
Besides his work as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and collaborator of bands such as Alvvays as well as a member of the group Absolutely Free, Fisher-Rozenberg is also a registered psychotherapist and certified music therapist. »Cosmic-Astral« is hence marked by his expertise in both fields while also displaying the conceptual rigour and aesthetic playfulness that had already been in full effect on his Memory Pearl debut, 2021’s »Music for 7 Paintings« for Altin Village & Mine. Aiming to create his own version of the »Cosmic-Astral« programme, but making it more »delicate and tender,« as he puts it, Fisher-Rozenberg combines the ethereal with the terrestrial, abstraction and concretion, synthesization and the organic across these nine tracks.
As a whole, the resulting album is quite literally trippy. »Each piece is meant to bring the listener deeper into their journey,« explains the Toronto-based artist. »You can think of it in terms of space travel, with each tune taking you further out of yourself and deeper into a cosmic realm.« Think about »Cosmic Astral« as a map through which you can find your way towards sonic healing.
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Volume 1 of this expertly curated project of 90s Italian House - put together by Don Carlos.
If Paradise was half as nice… by Fabio De Luca.
Googling “paradise house”, the first results to pop up are an endless list of European b&b’s with whitewashed lime façades, all of them promising “…an unmatched travel experience a few steps from the sea”. Next, a little further down, are the institutional websites of a few select semi-luxury retirement homes (no photos shown, but lots of stock images of smiling nurses with reassuring looks). To find the “paradise house” we’re after, we have to scroll even further down. Much further down.
It feels like yesterday, and at the same time it seems like a million years ago. The Eighties had just ended, and it was still unclear what to expect from the Nineties. Mobile phones that were not the size of a briefcase and did not cost as much as a car? A frightening economic crisis? The guitar-rock revival?! Certainly, the best place to observe that moment of transition was the dancefloor. Truly epochal transformations were happening there. From America, within a short distance one from the other, two revolutionary new musical styles had arrived: the first one sounded a bit like an “on a budget” version of the best Seventies disco-music – Philly sound made with a set of piano-bar keyboards! – the other was even more sparse, futuristic and extraterrestrial. It was a music with a quite distinct “physical” component, which at the same time, to be fully grasped, seemed to call for the knotty theories of certain French post-modern philosophers: Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Paul Virilio... Both those genres – we would learn shortly after – were born in the black communities of Chicago and Detroit, although listening to those vinyl 12” (often wrapped in generic white covers, and with little indication in the label) you could not easily guess whether behind them there was a black boy from somewhere in the Usa, or a girl from Berlin, or a pale kid from a Cornish coastal town.
Quickly, similar sounds began to show up from all corners of Europe. A thousand variations of the same intuition: leaner, less lean, happier, slightly less intoxicated, more broken, slower, faster, much faster... Boom! From the dancefloors – the London ones at least, whose chronicles we eagerly read every month in the pages of The Face and i-D – came tales of a new generation of clubbers who had completely stopped “dressing up” to go dancing; of hot tempered hooligans bursting into tears and hugging everyone under the strobe lights as the notes of Strings of Life rose up through the fumes of dry ice (certain “smiling” pills were also involved, sure). At this point, however, we must move on to Switzerland.
In Switzerland, in the quiet and diligent town of Lugano, between the 1980s and 1990s there was a club called “Morandi”. Its hot night was on Wednesdays, when the audience also came from Milan, Como, Varese and Zurich. Legend goes that, one night, none less than Prince and Sheila E were spotted hiding among the sofas, on a day-off of the Italian dates of the Nude Tour… The Wednesday resident and superstar was an Italian dj with an exotic name: Don Carlos. The soundtrack he devised was a mixture of Chicago, Detroit, the most progressive R&B and certain forgotten classics of old disco music: practically, what the Paradise Garage in New York might have sounded like had it not closed in 1987. In between, Don Carlos also managed to squeeze in some tracks he had worked on in his studio on Lago Maggiore. One in particular: a track that was rather slow compared to the BPM in fashion at the time, but which was a perfect bridge between house and R&B. The title was Alone: Don Carlos would explain years later that it had to be intended both in the English meaning of “by itself” and like the Italian word meaning “halo”. That wasn’t the only double entendre about the song, anyway. Its own very deep nature was, indeed, double. On the one hand, Alone was built around an angelic keyboard pattern and a romantic piano riff that took you straight to heaven; on the other, it showcased enough electronic squelches (plus a sax part that sounded like it had been dissolved by acid rain) to pigeonhole the tune into the “junk modernity” section, aka the hallmark of all the most innovative sounds of the time: music that sounded like it was hand-crafted from the scraps of glittering overground pop.
No one knows who was the first to call it “paradise house”, nor when it happened. Alternative definitions on the same topic one happened to hear included “ambient house”, “dream house”, “Mediterranean progressive”… but of course none were as good (and alluring) as “paradise house”. What is certain is that such inclination for sounds that were in equal measure angelic and neurotic, romantic and unaffective, quickly became the trademark of the second generation of Italian house. Music that seemed shyly equidistant from all the rhythmic and electronic revolutions that had happened up to that moment (“Music perfectly adept at going nowhere slowly” as noted by English journalist Craig McLean in a legendary field report for Blah Blah Blah magazine). Music that to a inattentive ear might have sounded as anonymous as a snapshot of a random group of passers-by at 10AM in the centre of any major city, but perfectly described the (slow) awakening in the real world after the universal love binge of the so-called Second Summer of Love.
For a brief but unforgettable season, in Italy “paradise house” was the official soundtrack of interminable weekends spent inside the car, darting from one club to another, cutting the peninsula from North to centre, from East to West coast in pursuit of the latest after-hours disco, trading kilometres per hour with beats per minute: practically, a new New Year’s Eve every Friday and Saturday night. This too was no small transformation, as well as a shock for an adult Italy that was encountering for the first time – thanks to its sons and daughters – the wild side of industrial modernity. The clubbers of the so-called “fuoriorario” scene were the balls gone mad in the pinball machine most feared by newspapers, magazines and TV pundits. What they did each and every weekend, apart from going crazy to the sound of the current white labels, was linking distant geographical points and non-places (thank you Marc Augé!) – old dance halls, farmhouses and business centres – transformed for one night into house music heaven. As Marco D’Eramo wrote in his 1995 essay on Chicago, Il maiale e il grattacielo: “Four-wheeled capitalism distorts our age-old image of the city, it allows the suburbs to be connected to each other, whereas before they were connected only by the centre (…) It makes possible a metropolitan area without a metropolis, without a city centre, without downtown. The periphery is no longer a periphery of any centre, but is self-centred”.
“Paradise house” perfectly understood all of this and turned it into a sort of cyber-blues that didn’t even need words, and unexpectedly brought back a drop of melancholic (post?)-humanity within a world that by then – as we would wholly realise in the decades to come – was fully inhuman and heartless. A world where we were all alone, and surrounded by a sinister yellowish halo, like a neon at the end of its life cycle. But, for one night at least, happy.
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This compilation is more than a selection of songs from Willy Nfor’s solo career in Nigeria—it’s the story of a man’s determination to live his dreams. Known as Willy Ngeh Nfor, he was a founding member of the Mighty Flames. One morning, Willy and his bandmates packed their instruments, grabbed a few clothes, and headed from Cameroon to Nigeria. Crossing the border on foot, they made their way to Onitsha.
“We left Cameroon with no contacts in Nigeria—it was an adventure. We’d heard about the FESTAC Arts Festival and felt we had to be part of it. Our first band in Nigeria was Pentagon Funk Band, sponsored by the 5th Brigade in Port Harcourt. Later, we moved to Onitsha and signed with Right Time Stores, recording Sweet Love (RTLPS 011) as The Mighty Flames. The sessions were at Decca Studios in Lagos, with a 16-track analog system. It was intense—no room for mistakes. We rehearsed endlessly before recording each take.” (Vincent Ekedi, Drummer, Mighty Flames)
Willy’s journey was shaped by his resilience and talent. Losing his mother early and facing family struggles, music became his escape. Inspired by funk and jazz-rock greats like Bootsy Collins, Jaco Pastorius, and Stanley Clarke, he honed his skills on bass and composition, playing with local bands alongside musicians like Vincent Ekedi. Together, they refined their grooves, dreaming of brighter futures.
After his time in Nigeria, Willy moved to Paris, becoming a session bassist for legends such as Manu Dibango, Mory Kanté, Tony Allen, Akendengue, Ray Lema, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Kanté Manfila. Touring extensively, he lived the “Star Life” (Star Life, Cornerstone Records, Feel So Fine, 1981), playing funk grooves with giants in grand venues, fulfilling his dream of the spotlight.
Jazz & Milk-Labelhead und Freestyle-DJ-Koryphäe Dusty aus München meldet sich mit seiner neuen EP "As Above So Below" zurück, die gefühlvoll, warm und grenzüberschreitend Deep-House-Grooves mit Elementen aus Jazz, Dub und westafrikanischen Rhythmen kombiniert, die einen Sound erzeugen, der ebenso introspektiv wie dancefloortauglich ist. Die EP ist eine berauschende Mischung der rohen Stimmkraft und den perkussiven Rhythmen des ghanaischen Künstlers King Owusu (Jembaa Groove), der die Bühne mit Legenden wie Ebo Taylor und Pat Thomas teilte, und erscheint zum 20-jährigen Labeljubiläum in 2025. Support kommt von Peter Kruder, Severino, Don Letts, Opolopo und dem jüngst verstorbenen DJ Harvey. Dusty legt weiterhin weltweit - Johannesburg bis Istanbul, Manila bis London - auf, veranstaltet die Jazz & Milk-Labelabende in München und Köln und eine Radiosendung auf dublab.de moderiert.
"Full support of EP!" - DJ Harvey, Klymax Bali, International Feel, Pikes
"Very nice! Thank you!" - Peter Kruder, Kruder & Dorfmeister
"Great EP! Love it!" - Ruff Stuff, Shall Not Fade
"SEXY... DEEEEEP." - Severino, Horse Meat Disco
"Warm and deep - very nice!" - Opolopo
"Good to go on Culture Clash Radio!" - Don Letts, BBC Radio 6 Music
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Last delivered 19 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Bakermat’s upcoming album, Grace Note, is a heartfelt tribute to the powerful connection between House music and Gospel. Celebrating the joy and spiritual essence of these genres, the album invites listeners to rediscover the magic of the dancefloor, where Bakermat's music has fostered moments of joy and connection for over a decade.
HTRK step into their 21st year on reflective terms, launching a series of collaborations, covers/remixes, installations, and performances alongside the new repress of their full-length debut, Marry Me Tonight. First released in 2009 via Blast First Petite, the album saw its first vinyl pressing in 2015 via Ghostly International and has since been out of stock. In late 2024, Marry Me Tonight becomes available in limited edition pink and black vinyl, also finally on streaming services. Few groups in history elevate mood to such singular, smoldering supremacy as the Australian duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, aka HTRK (or "hate rock" if informed). Across two decades of work and wounds, HTRK’s sound has shape-shifted between densities and intensities, noise and nakedness, but never wavered in its delicate poetic gravity. In HTRK’s sound world, cavernous reverberations of dub techno are mixed with frosted post-punk motifs and the gravelly imperfections of industrial, reimagined in the setting of a dingy basement. Like all HTRK albums, Marry Me Tonight was singular in sound and circumstance. It's the only album the outfit recorded from start to finish as a trio, and it's the only HTRK record that bears the co-production stamp of Rowland S. Howard. Breathy, caustic, and rife with contradiction, Marry Me Tonight took the raw material recorded on 2005's Nostalgia and transformed it into a pop record — pop that buckled and warped beneath the glare of Howard, fellow producer Lindsay Gravina, and the HTRK trio: Jonnine Standish, Nigel Yang and Sean Stewart. Howard died at the end of 2009; Stewart died the year after. Things would never be the same. The band would carry on and reach new heights despite it all, but as a trio, this is their definitive document.
Veyl is pleased to welcome Harlem back to the label with a new 8 track LP titled Cage. The Stockholm-based duo of Martin Thomasson and Johan Skugge last appeared on the imprint with 2021’s, Bait, and the project now returns diving deeper in to their infectious cocktail of menacing electronics.
Bringing with them a vast body of work, ranging from dub to minimal techno, with Harlem the pair fuse electro, no wave, post-punk, disco, proto-body, dub, hip-hop, and grime, creating a unique sound that cannot be categorized. Cage opens with “Shut Your Body”, a muscular piece which drills into the surface, setting the stage for what’s to come. Next up is “Fantasy Scan” a dance floor ready jam that picks up the pace and lures us into the pleasure dome. “Blow by Blow” brings a nihilistic energy to a fictional scenario that takes its cues from the past while remaining firmly in the now.
“Kiss The Steel” continues on the slow burning path, dropping us into a dream like state, blurring the lines of reality and plunging us into a surrealist nightmare or reverie? “Dummy Up” comes roaring back, injecting a dose of electro and body that sounds like a soundtrack to your favorite cult gathering. With “Sleuth”, we hear the repetitive grind of a man at work, searching for the unknown, unlocking new mysteries along the way. As we head toward the finale, “Contact High” brings back a seductive dance, ready to movie bodies and stir emotions. Closing things out is “Wiggle Walker”, returning us to a drifter’s journey, a wanderer’s melody that carries us to the end, or is it just the beginning?
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Described by Rolling Stone magazine as “a glam rock triumph,” the multi-faceted rocker Gyasi (Jah-See) delivers his second studio album, “Here Comes The Good Part,” a glittery and fun universe filled with infectious hooks and searing guitar riffs, alongside songs of self-transformation. Teaming up with co-producer Bobby Holland, Gyasi expands his sound, exploring a wider palette of musical ideas. Mostly recorded with his touring band, it also features guest appearances by drummer Daru Jones. “Here Comes The Good Part” is a bold exploration of theatrical rock n’ roll, through the lens of a small-town West Virginia kid seeking self-discovery.
Groovin Recordings move forward with the unreleased series focusing on rising Italian producers. It is now the moment for Peter LC, one of the most interesting young artists in the new italo-house scene.
Born with a distinctive passion for Disco and House music, Peter loves to experiment with all the shapes of house from Italo, Deep Tech, and Classic House genres, continually evolving his unique sound.
This new EP called "Il Letto. La Porta. La Musica." starts with a journey into early 90’s Italian Riviera, also featuring a remix by legendary Italian producer Don Carlos. On the flip we find "Losing my Feelings", which meets Deep house at its finest, echoing the timeless grooves of Chicago and Detroit, and "Love Calling", a classic piano house anthem, driven by soulful female vocals and pure 90’s vibes.
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DJ Support: Carlita, Dar Disku, Disco Arabesquo & Moving Still
Melbourne-based producer Rami Imam unveils Safara, the latest release on his own label, Ponda Records, which he founded in 2020 as a platform for his cross-cultural sound explorations. Drawing from the rich traditions of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean, Safara is a six-track odyssey of energetic and euphoric house and disco house, deeply rooted in both nostalgia and innovation. Safara is the culmination of Imam's immersion into the golden eras of global music, channelling the soulful rhythms and melodies of Afro-Funk, West African Highlife, Arab Disco, Bollywood, Afro-Cuban Jazz, Libyan Reggae, and Algerian Rai. By blending these timeless influences with a modern, dancefloor-oriented focus, Imam creates a sound that is both steeped in history and refreshingly new.
With a sonic palette that includes iconic synths such as the Juno 106, Super 6, SH 101, Moog Model D, and the 303, Imam weaves the analog warmth of these instruments into lush, modern productions. Piano and strings—his favourite classical instruments—add an organic layer of emotional depth, connecting the pulse of the dancefloor with the timeless elegance of traditional composition.
Safara is more than a collection of tracks; it is a journey across continents and eras, where the pulse of the past meets the driving force of the present. Recorded in Melbourne but influenced by sounds from around the world, Safara invites listeners to traverse vast musical landscapes—from the hypnotic grooves of North African rhythms to the sun-drenched melodies of Mediterranean shores—culminating in a transportive experience that lingers long after the final beat fades.
By balancing the ancient with the futuristic, Imam has crafted a record that feels both comfortingly familiar and daringly innovative. Safara is a testament to the endless possibilities of blending cultures, genres, and eras into something that is not just heard but felt—music for the soul as much as for the dancefloor.
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Last delivered 62 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Here it is, the sixth chapter in the sonic journey of Mr. Mangiadischi.
Continuing the dance-floor assault, MD006 delivers four tracks, each with a unique story but all with the same aim: to make you move to the rhythm.
• A1 - Mamma
A Balearic groovy deep house nostalgic tribute to the most important person we have in our life. This track blends warm melodies with heartfelt emotions, making it the perfect homage.
• A2 - Genug Vans
Intergalactic soul/post-disco space-tech. A cosmic voyage through pulsating rhythms and celestial sounds, designed to take you on a dancefloor odyssey.
• B1 - Fenel
A very modern interpretation of this '76 Algerian artist's funk/pop/world/country mesmerizing masterpiece. This track merges elements of funk, pop, world, and country in a blend that transcends genres and eras.
• B2
A disco/funk/pop-rap in its most modern and groovy version. Infectious beats and catchy hooks make this track a surefire hit for any set.
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Last delivered 24 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
HTRK step into their 21st year on reflective terms, launching a series of collaborations, covers/remixes, installations, and performances alongside the new repress of their full-length debut, Marry Me Tonight. First released in 2009 via Blast First Petite, the album saw its first vinyl pressing in 2015 via Ghostly International and has since been out of stock. In late 2024, Marry Me Tonight becomes available in limited edition pink and black vinyl, also finally on streaming services. Few groups in history elevate mood to such singular, smoldering supremacy as the Australian duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, aka HTRK (or "hate rock" if informed). Across two decades of work and wounds, HTRK's sound has shape-shifted between densities and intensities, noise and nakedness, but never wavered in its delicate poetic gravity. In HTRK's sound world, cavernous reverberations of dub techno are mixed with frosted post-punk motifs and the gravelly imperfections of industrial, reimagined in the setting of a dingy basement. Like all HTRK albums, Marry Me Tonight was singular in sound and circumstance. It's the only album the outfit recorded from start to finish as a trio, and it's the only HTRK record that bears the co-production stamp of Rowland S. Howard. Breathy, caustic, and rife with contradiction, Marry Me Tonight took the raw material recorded on 2005's Nostalgia and transformed it into a pop record _ pop that buckled and warped beneath the glare of Howard, fellow producer Lindsay Gravina, and the HTRK trio: Jonnine Standish, Nigel Yang and Sean Stewart. Howard died at the end of 2009; Stewart died the year after. Things would never be the same. The band would carry on and reach new heights despite it all, but as a trio, this is their definitive document.
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Last delivered 13 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Oslo’s Sex Judas feat. Ricky announces 2 x LP for Norway’s Snick Snack Music
The band’s varied concept album portrays a break-up of epic proportions and releases Jabnuary 2025
Digital Release Date: 3rd May 2024
Vinyl Release Date: Jan 2025
“Are you ready for the big disaster? The moment when everything unravels?
On their third album, Sex Judas feat. Ricky portrays a break-up of astronomical proportions. The band's mascots, Sex Judas and Ricky, embodied by artist Sindre Goksøyr, find themselves in the midst of a separation, and their feelings are sprayed all over the big screen.
But what is actually going on? Sex Judas feat. Ricky consists of the musicians Tore Gjedrem (Ost & Kjex), Sidiki Camara, Ivar Winther, Tracee Meyn, Tore Brevik, Kristian Edvardsen and Linn Nystadnes, a stellar team part of Oslo's musical underground. Together, they play a mixture of funk, disco, post-punk, traditional music from Mali and electronica that always moves the dance floor, with two previous critically acclaimed albums on the Scottish Optimo Music and a Norwegian Grammy to show.
Sex Judas’ third album, ‘The Book Of Dreams / After Sex’, is a double disc and a two-part musical affair. In the first part, Sex Judas' version of the breakup is depicted in a band format, with music inspired by the alternative 80s. Think Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, DAF, No Wave, and the Compass Point Studio backing band in a blissful cocktail.
In part two, depicting Ricky’s breakdown, the band has created their most experimental music to date in close collaboration with contemporary composer Ole-Henrik Moe. The songs influenced by Ole-Henrik's tones are fluid and beautifully ambient, with inspiration ranging from 30s and 40s film music, Norwegian folk, contemporary electronica and IDM topped with Moe’s modern string arrangements.” - Snick Snack Music
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Last delivered 20 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
F.U.N. Is Now Available In A Limited Frosted Shadow Colored Vinyl Pressing!
The latest full length album from Detroit mainstays Slum Village, F.U.N., has now made its way to vinyl. The 12-track project is their first album in nearly ten years and includes fresh collaborations with Larry June, Cordae, Eric Roberson, Robert Glasper , Karriem Riggins, Abstract Orchestra, Sango, Phat Kat, Daru Jones, Earlly Mac, The Dramatics and more. 2015's critically acclaimed Yes! further cemented T3 and Young RJ's ability to effectively carry on the legacy of the seminal rap group, retaining its essence while evolving its sound with fresh new energy. However, with last year's sold out tour in Europe, and the release of the Larry June and The Dramatics-assisted "Just Like You", it was revealed that the duo was back in the lab together working on a new Slum Village album. F.U.N. finds Slum Village expanding on their signature certain sound, but still staying close to their hometown roots: Young RJ explains- “We wanted to just try something new, so we focused on making Disco-inspired music,” and T3 notes that the recording process all “began with collecting old Disco records.” For fans who wonder why the sonic shift, and why the long hiatus between proper albums, T3 says “Slum is still here. We’re still relevant and we’re still trying to push the envelope. Sometimes people put too many rules on music, and without sounding cliche, we wanted to just have fun with this album.” F.U.N., indeed.
“Okie Dokie It´s The Orb On Kompakt“ is already the 13th album of one of Britian's most prized cult bands. We feel it's better that way, because the music of The Orb only has an intensive effect when taken in as a long playing full length. And it proves with this lovingly conjured collection of songs brought together like a collage. The first half of Okie Dokie showcase The Orb´s love for minimal Techno and Schaffel/Shuffle as it is so obviously present in the foreground, while the second half is only reserved to the classic Orb-ish ancestral domain. There are wonderful guest appearances by Schneider TM and Kompakt´s ambient-guru Ulf Lohmann. As many of you know, there is so much history about The Orb you could write a book. Since Jimmy Cauty and Alex Paterson, in the flush of euphoria invented Chill Out and Ambient House in the first summer of love 1988, an incredible amount of things have occurred. The following timeline should give you a rough idea. - Alex Paterson gives up his job as roadie for Killing Joke. - “A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld” is not only the record with the longest title of the world, but it also marks the departure into the new sonic worlds of post-Rave Ambient. - While Cauty goes different ways with The KLF, The Orb re-form themselves and have a big hit with Little Fluffy Clouds in 1990. - The debut album “The Orb´s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld“ hits the Top 30 in England. - The Orb produce “Higher Than the Sun“ for Primal Scream. - The Orb perform “Blue Room“ as chess-playing aliens at Top Of The Pops. Everything goes. - “Blue Room“ clocking in at 39:58 minutes goes into music-history as the longest time for a chart single ever. - The Orb achieve great success in Glastonbury '92 + '93. - The Copenhagen double concert “to the sunrise and sunset” is eternalized on record: “Live 93“ - Previously a floating member of The Orb, Thomas Felmann becomes a fix member in 1997 - No joke: Robbie Williams takes part of The Orb for a short time. The collaboration “I started A Joke“ is released on a benefit compilation - After 2002 The Orb found with Kompakt a new ambient-loving partner and release a row of singles and play live, as the trimmed-down version as Le Petit Orb. And one more for the extra hush-hush: The Orbs first album “A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain...” was actually a Kompakt release. You can check it out. Besides the actual label Wau! Mr. Modo you can read... Kompakt Discos. Ha!!
Mit „Okie Dokie It´s The Orb On Kompakt“ liegt nun das circa 13. Album der britischen Kultband vor. Das ist gut so, denn The Orb's Musik wirkt eigentlich erst im Longplay-Format so richtig intensiv. Die Stücke sind, wie man das von ihnen kennt, liebevoll collagenhaft miteinander verwoben. In der ersten Hälfte tritt The Orb's Liebe zu Minimaltechno und Schaffel in den Vordergrund, während die zweite Hälfte ausschliesslich der Orbschen Ur-Domäne Ambient vorbehalten ist. Es gibt wunderbare Gastauftritte, wie etwa Schneider TM und Kompakt's Ambient-Guru Ulf Lohmann. Zur Geschichte von The Orb könnte man ganze Bücher schreiben, denn seit Jimmy Cauty und Alex Paterson im Rausch der Euphorie des ersten Summer of Love anno 1988 Chill Out und Ambient House erfunden haben ist viel passiert. Extrem viel. Die folgende Auflistung soll einen ungefähren Eindruck davon vermitteln. -Paterson hängt seinen Job als Roadie für Killing Joke an den Nagel -„A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld“ ist nicht nur bis dato die Platte mit dem längsten Titel der Welt sondern markiert den Aufbruch in die neuen sonischen Welten des Post-Rave Ambient. - Während Cauty mit The KLF andere Wege geht, reformieren sich The Orb und landen 1990 mit “Little Fluffy Clouds“ einen Riesenhit. -Das Albumdebut “The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld“ geht Top30 in England -The Orb produzieren „Higher Than The Sun“ für Primal Scream -The Orb performen „Blue Room“ als schachspielende Aliens verkleidet bei Top Of The Pops. Alles geht. -“Blue Room“ geht mit 39.58 Minuten als längste Chart-Single ever in die Musikgeschichte ein - The Orb legen 92 + 93 Glastonbury flach - Ein Copenhagener Doppelkonzert zum Sonnenauf- und Untergang wird auf Platte verewigt: „Live 93“ - Bisheriges „floating member“ Thomas Fehlmann wird 1997 festes Mitglied - Ohne Scheiss: Robbie Williams wird für kurze Zeit The Orb-Bestandteil. Die Kollaboration „I Started A Joke“ erscheint auf einer Benefiz-Kompilation. - Ab 2002 finden The Orb mit Kompakt einen neuen ambientverliebten Partner und veröffentlichen eine Reihe wunderbarer Maxis und treten live, vornehmlich in abgespeckter Form als Le Petit Orb in aller Herren Länder auf. Ein kleiner Treppenwitz am Rande für Erbsenzähler : Schon The Orb's erste Platte („A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain...“) war eigentlich eine Kompakt-Veröffentlichung. Ihr könnt nachschauen. Neben dem eigentlichen Label Wau! Mr. Modo stand nämlich folgendes ...Kompakt Discos. Ha!
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Florence-based DJ and producer Ricardo Baez, known for his Tropical Animal party series, presents Tutto Passa—an album that blends deep house, disco, and Balearic influences into a vibrant sonic journey. The digital release features 10 tracks, alongside Johannes Albert’s electrifying remix of “La Isla De Margarita”.
The 4-track vinyl edition distills the album’s essence with standout selections: “Tears of Joy”, “My Thursday Night”, “Arroz Con Leche”, and the Johannes Albert remix, offering a perfect balance of melody and rhythm.
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Defected’s vinyl series continues to commit the label’s biggest digital releases to wax, delivering the best house music previously unavailable on vinyl, and this nineteenth edition collates four unmissable releases from 2023’s incredible summer season. Opening the compilation, British house favourite Jansons delivers old skool vibes with ‘Hypnotic’, championed by 90s hip-hop and RnB inspired vocal vocals courtesy of Dope Earth Alien. Next up, LP Giobbi’s long-awaited Defected debut came in the form of ‘Giodisco’, a joyful, vibrant club cut that showcased the live musician and producer’s disco-adjacent sound. On the B-Side, the First Lady of Defected Sam Divine presents her long-awaited dancefloor release ‘Take My Hand’ featuring Josh Barry on vocals. After teasing the track for nearly a year in her live sets, the heavenly house release did not disappoint. Closing out this esteemed collection is the addictive collaboration between Parisian underground favourites and London singer-songwriter Camden Cox, ‘Lady Love’, which dominated the summer season with its undeniable energy and earworm vocal.
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Sarang Bang Records proudly presents Eternal Afternoon, the latestfull-length offering from Auckland-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Joe Kaptein. Drawing inspiration from the 70s jazz-funk innovations of Donald Byrdand Lonnie Liston Smith
and elements of dub and disco, Eternal Afternoon is an uplifting collection of five original Kaptein compositions - a joyful antidote to these troubled times.
Featuring Kaptein’s intricately layered keys and tight ensemblearrangements, the album is augmented by masterful touches of flute and saxophone by Aotearoa New Zealand jazz icon Nathan Haines and backed by local heavyweights Elijah Whyte (drums) and Wil Goodinson (bass), the backbone of Kaptein’s regular working band.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Kaptein appeared on the Auckland scene a few years ago and quickly made a name for himself owing to his versatility, impeccable taste and musicianship, and has established himself as thego-to keyboardist for the likes of Nathan Haines, The Circling Sun, Princess Chelsea, The Situations, and Muroki.
Before recording Eternal Afternoon, Kaptein somehow managed to channel his unrelenting creative energy into three low-key, but brilliant self-released digital albums in between his hectic international touring schedule and session work. These exploratory recordings touch on drummachine and synth-driven psych-lounge, Krautrock, experimental jazz, and Bacharachian pop, allowing the listener a glimpse into the depth of Kaptein’s vision and his wide-ranging musical interests.
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"KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE have landed at Waxwork Records! After much anticipation, we are thrilled to present the official 1988 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by John Massari! In this '80's cult classic, teens Mike Tobacco (Grant Cramer) and Debbie Stone (Suzanne Snyder) have to fight both the diabolical bozos and the local law enforcement's disbelief to save themselves and their community from becoming victims of intergalactic killer klowns! The original score to Killer Klowns From Outer Space is kicked off by the classic 80’s horror movie theme track, Killer Klowns (From Outer Space) by California punk band, The Dickies. The ‘nightmare merry-go-round’ continues with a smattering of menacing electronic brass sections, electric guitar, bombastic drum machine beats, & harpsichord combined with sci-fi synth elements to capture the ultra-specific origins of the antagonists. Massari's score to Klowns is a retro-synth joyride from start to finish featuring immediately recognizable cues from the beloved 80's cult-classic! Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the official Killer Klowns From Outer Space double LP, released for the first time on vinyl. Complete with “Killer Klown” handpoured colored vinyl, deluxe packaging, new artwork by Ruiz Burgos, heavyweight gatefold jackets with matte coating, a heavyweight 12”x12” art print, and liner notes by composer Massari and Klowns co-creator Stephen Chiodo!
**Including 12-page booklet including liner notes and artwork made by Vormlust** Lush house, electronic and italo tracks ready for club use. A beautifully produced album with absolute floor killers and emotional set-enders. FIGI's debut album, "fig.1", is a meticulously crafted compilation of 11 tracks that have been made and woven together over a span of three years. The album delves into the intriguing realm of figures, both in the context of shapes and language, where they possess the unique ability to evoke emotions and connections without being the exact representation of those sentiments. Each track on "fig.1'' originated in moments of creativity, allowing the smallest of ideas to sprout and grow into full musical compositions. Drawing inspiration from the serene landscapes of the Jura in Pays de Gex and the energy of club nights in Amsterdam, Berlin, London and The Hague. Throughout the album, FIGI skillfully captures the essence of pure bliss in some tracks, while others ignite extreme dancefloor excitement. "fig.1" marks an exciting new chapter in FIGI's musical journey, serving as a blueprint for innovative approaches to music creation. It is a demonstration of the artist's dedication to crafting a rich and diverse sonic landscape that resonates deeply with the listener.
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Celebrate two decades of lyrical genius and innovative sound with this 20th anniversary re-press of Eyedea & Abilities' seminal album, E&A. Originally released in 2004, this album is a masterclass in expressive ingenuity and sonic experimentation. Eyedea's profound storytelling and introspective themes resonate deeply, inviting listeners on a journey through the complexities of identity, existence, and the human experience. Paired with DJ Abilities' exceptional production and turntablism, E&A creates a soundscape that is both rich and original, making it a standout in the genre. Critically acclaimed upon its release, E&A garnered praise for its unique blend of styles and thought-provoking lyrics. Tracks like "Now" showcase the technical precision of each artist_with Eyedea's reflective depth complemented by Abilities' infectious rhythms and razor sharp cuts. Together, the pair masterfully blend introspection and energy, making "Now" a powerful anthem for anyone seeking to navigate life's complexities. Meanwhile, "Paradise" is a mesmerizing exploration of the pursuit of happiness and the nuances of human desire. The song balances vulnerability with an impactful message about the human condition, evoking a wide range of emotions and making it both relatable and impactful. E&A stands out as a highlight in the duo's discography, showcasing their unique ability to blend profound lyrical content with inventive production, and solidifying Eyedea & Abilities' place as innovators in the hip-hop genre. A must-have for anyone who appreciates the art of storytelling and the power of music_grab your copy of E&A and join the celebration!