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Ajay Saggar is BHAJAN BHOY. "With BHAJAN BHOY, Saggar synthesizes all of the stylistic approaches he’s explored over the years, swirling them into an intoxicating musical blend, with an earthy spirituality. Even the project’s name reflects the dual aspects of Saggar’s upbringing coming together in harmony. In Hindi, a “bhajan” is a devotional song, sung in the mandir, or temple, while “bhoy” is a Scottish and Irish derivation for a young man. There’s a searching quality to Bhajan Bhoy, as if Saggar is still hunting for transcendence with each track, whether through an expansive drone, an orchestral facility on the piano, or an electronics-augmented raga that threatens to dip into noise” (Erick Bradshaw / writer and WFMU DJ). This album presents a rich and varied set of compositions that showcase Saggar’s skills as an incredibly talented and accomplished composer and musician. With each and every Bhajan Bhoy LP, you are are carried to a higher place. With ‘Bhoy On The Wire’, the 35 minutes laid out unfolds like a cosmic tapestry, an extraordinary exploration that shimmers and reverberates with newfound vibrancy. The songs were broadcast as part of a session on Steve Barker’s “On The Wire” radio show in April 2024. They were a gift to Steve and his team for 40 years of broadcasting. “On The Wire” is simply the greatest radio show in the world. As Ajay explains in his own words : “In September 1984, I started a degree course at the University of Lancaster. On a wet and soggy Sunday afternoon towards the end of September, I sat in my room staring out at the grey Lancashire landscape, and decided to alleviate the boredom by seeing if there was anything to listen to on the radio. Most of the stations I tuned into were as dull as the weather outside. However, as I neared the end of the FM dial (and was about to give up hope), I chanced upon a station where I was taken by the music being played. That show was “On The Wire”, introduced by Steve Barker. From there on in, every Sunday, between 2-5pm, I tuned into Radio Lancashire to listen. Steve’s shows had an incredible and wide reaching selection of music and genres, that thrilled your ears and left you wanting more. Tied to that, his deep knowledge of the material he played helped the listener dig into the sounds even more, and also left you in admiration of this trait. In 1985, I started putting on DIY shows in Lancaster (inviting the likes of Bog-Shed, bIG fLAME, The Membranes, The Wedding Present, etc etc) and Steve was kind enough to mention the shows on-air, which helped in getting people from different parts of the county to come to the shows. At the tail-end of 1985, he invited me to the studio to come and hang out. When in 1988, the group I was in, Dandelion Adventure, released our first (demo) cassette, it was Steve, who not only played tracks off it, but invited the group to the studio for an interview. Now if you’re a young band, that is a massive thrill! And in 1990, when Dandelion Adventure did a John Peel session, I actually used “On The Wire” jingles (that Steve had put on a cassette and given to me a few years before) on the track “All the World’s A Lounge”. Since then, the show has been a mainstay for me, and so many others around the world, to get turned onto incredible sounds from around the world. And over the course of 40 years, Steve has always supported my music. These six tracks are a 40th birthday gift to the “On The Wire” team (Steve, Michael “Fenny” Fenton (an absolutely critical part of the show), and Jim Ingham (engineer who keeps the technical side of things going)) for sharing so much amazing music, and making the world a better place. They were originally broadcast as an exclusive session in April 2024 on “On The Wire", and are here for your listening pleasure. Music like shower”. Artwork by Jake Blanchard

Following his contribution to FUSE’s Various Artist release last summer with the standout ‘Life’s A Bleep’, Melbourne-born, Berlin-based DJ/producer Reflex Blue returns to Enzo Siragusa’s renowned imprint with his first full EP on the label, ‘Fragments’.

His fusion of deep, sub-heavy house, heavily influenced by turn-of-the-90s UK tech house and forward-thinking electronic spheres, has welcomed releases on labels such as Limousine Dream, Kalahari Oyster Cult, and Craigie Knowes, while making appearances at the likes of Slapfunk, S.A.S.H. and more.

Now, with ‘Fragments’, he takes his sonic explorations to FUSE once more, delivering a high-energy selection primed for dancefloor impact. ‘Ruff City Dub’ brings heavyweight low-ends, shimmering textures, and UKG touches to kick things off , setting the tone for the EP’s dynamic and versatile feel. ‘Tightening The Screw’ follows with crisp drum programming and hypnotic, off-kilter synth work, offering a clever balance of wonk and precision. On the B-side, ‘Love 2 Rhythm’ oozes funk and fluidity with its rolling percussion, soulful vocals and rubbery bass licks, while ‘Freakin’ In The Neighbourhood’ merges influences from rave, electro and more with a modern, high-energy twist for a no-nonsense, late hours hitter.

Portland-based ambient architect and far afield sound technician Graintable, aka James Cooke returns with his debut outing on Music To Watch Seeds Grow By and his fourth in the R$N stable; 'Blue Flax'. Following his acclaimed and sold out cassette releases 'Herons', 'Universal Ash' and ‘The Rain In The Trees’ on Ransom Note Records, this new collection sees Cooke delving deeper into the intersection of natural processes and liminal organic electronics.

'Blue Flax', the resilient flowering plant celebrated for its delicate blue blooms and medicinal applications, is native to the Pacific Northwest - the region Cooke calls home. This plant has long grown on the ancestral lands of the Wasco, Klickitat, Warm Springs, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. Its connection to this landscape underscores the album’s themes, weaving together ten intricate ambient pieces that reflect the plant's dual nature of part healer, part object of wonder. Recorded during the transitional hours of dawn and dusk in his Portland studio, Cooke’s soundscapes capture both the meditative aspects of watching plants grow and the gradual transformation of organic matter into usable forms. The centrepiece of the album Cerulian FIelds, reminds of the early morning light, those inspiring hours before the rest of the world wakes and the first shoots break through the soil into the new dawn. It’s a beautiful crystallisation of what is Cooke’s most comprehensive collection of meditative compositions to date.

For fans of: Steve Roach, Alessandro Cortini, Suzanne Ciani, Davis Galvin

Early support including: Courtesy, Laurent Garnier, Massimiliano Pagliara, DJ Harvey, Domenic Capello

ALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale is a limited edition 3 LP vinyl set, that features Tyler, The Creator’s original critically acclaimed CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST album plus 8 additional songs, pressed on Geneva Blue colored vinyl.
The discs are housed in a triple gatefold jacket with embossed cover, and foil detail, and includes a 28-page booklet.

Mannequin Records is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of Chromium Industries, a double LP (MNQ 162) capturing the innovative spirit of two pioneers of electronic music: Andrew Lagowski and Paul (Howie D) Howard. This long-anticipated album marks a return to the seminal sounds of the Chromium Industries label, which emerged as a crucial platform for boundary-pushing techno and electronic music in the early 1990s.


Andrew Lagowski, a name synonymous with exploration in electronic music, has been at the forefront of sound innovation since the early 1980s. Known for his work under various aliases, including Lagowski, Legion, and S.E.T.I., his early output in experimental and industrial sounds paved the way for his later techno-focused ventures. Albums like Knowledge (S.E.T.I.) and Nadir (Lagowski) highlighted his pioneering approach to unconventional sound sources and production techniques. In the 1990s, his work with Chromium Industries brought him into the techno spotlight, with a series of influential 12” singles that helped shape the electronic music landscape. With over 60 albums and 10+ singles to his name, Lagowski’s versatility and dedication have garnered him a loyal following and lasting influence across genres.


Paul Howard, aka Howie D, brought his DIY ethos from the punk scene of the 1970s into electronic music. As a founding member of The Frames and co-founder of the Brain Boosters and Spacematic labels, Howard has consistently pushed boundaries. His early forays into hip-hop saw him release the genre-pioneering jazz-rap track Miller Light as Fission. The transition from punk and hip-hop to electronic music was a natural one, culminating in his creation of Chromium Industries after a fateful night hearing Lagowski’s Vermilion at a London party. The label brought some of the most unique techno releases to the scene, with tracks like Blue Anomaly causing near-riots on the dancefloor. Since then, Howard’s work has evolved to include multiple aliases, including The Legend That Is, Phase Collective, and Skulpture.


Chromium Industries 2xLP will be available for purchase from January 2025 through Mannequin Records and select distributors.


This is an essential release for collectors, DJs, and anyone who reveres the legacy of 1990s techno and early rave.

f11 FLRNTN, Benjamin Duchenne - "Last Man Standing" (feat Sivan) (1:08)
f12 Nicholas Gunn & Harshil Kamdar - "Here I Am" (feat Alina Renae - Richard Durand remix) (1:08)
f13 DJ TH X TH3 ONE X Sue McLaren - "Everything To Me" (1:08)
f14 Matty Ralph - "Te Adoro" (1:08)
f15 Armin Van Buuren & Vini Vici - "Sarabande" (feat Anna Timofei) (1:08)
f16 Lilly Palmer - "Hare Ram" (1:08)
f17 David Forbes - "Techno Is My Only Drug" (1:08)
f18 Armin Van Buuren - "Blah Blah Blah" (Lilly Palmer remix) (1:08)
f19 Armin Van Buuren - "The Road To Your Destination" (A State Of Trance Year mix 2024 outro) (1:14)

Blue Valentine Vinyl. Sometime in 2005, a lone box of master tapes escaped an estate sale and made its way through a network of collectors, record dealers, and "junkers" into the hands of leading Ohio soul expert Dante Carfagna, who linked them to Columbus, Ohio's mysterious Prix label (See: Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label). A bit of research turned up Prix proprietor George Beter, who identified most of the unlabeled material. All it took was an endless series of phone calls and letters and two fields trips in Columbus. But one complete mystery wended its way onto our final Prix compilation. "You and Me," a simple but irrepressible demo credited only to Penny & the Quarters, was found tacked onto a mixed studio reel. Our survey of every willing lifer left on the Columbus soul scene, including retired DJs, producers, and important local artists, produced not so much as a glimmer of recognition at the name Penny & the Quarters. Though we loved the song from the first play, it may've ended up a bit buried on our original compilation, as #18 of 19 tracks.Four years later, Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label hadn't exactly become a huge seller, although listeners had repeatedly told us that the unfiltered studio demos that fill out the record's back half were true diamonds in the rough. But neither Penny nor her Quarters had appeared to claim credit for their efforts. Then, completely out of left field, we heard from respected screen actor and avowed Numero fan Ryan Gosling that Penny's piercing bit of stripped down doo-wop was being considered for inclusion in Derek Cianfrance's indie-weeper film Blue Valentine. What we didn't know was that "You and Me" had won a major role in what became an indie circuit hit, and that Penny & the Quarters would instantly assume the role of world's most famous unknown doo-wop group.Every week is a slow news week in Columbus, Ohio, and early January 2011 found the city recovering from the thrill of elevating Ted Williams_the formerly homeless guy with the awesome voice for radio_into a national news sensation. But both major daily newspapers in town, as well as the city's alternative weekly, also ran stories about how a lost and unknown Columbus soul group had become the musical centerpiece of a film already garnering Oscar buzz. That mainstream spotlight aimed at Blue Valentine and Penny & the Quarters did the trick: we finally made contact with the widow of Jay Robinson, lead Quarters' singer and songwriter. Robinson, it turned out, had also been the leader of Columbus doo-wop pioneers The Supremes (later known as "The Columbus Supremes," for reasons which should be obvious). Jay Robinson never did give up on the dream of writing a hit record; even so, the posthumous realization of his dream is cold comfort for his widow and daughter. With their blessings, we returned to those estate sale masters and pulled down another neglected track ("You Are Giving Me Some Other Love") from the still-unknown Penny and her now-partly-known Quarters. "You and Me" is a song that could not be suppressed: not when Prix failed to release it; not when Penny & the Quarters were forgotten; not when Numero stuck it at the bitter end of a much overlooked compilation. Its evolution from estate sale trash to silver-screen gold has finally returned it to big-hole 45, where it probably should have lived all along.

In Mallrat’s (aka Grace Shaw’s) vision of the world, light is more than photons and electromagnetic radiation hitting the eye — it’s a moment of divine intervention. A bold swerve into the metaphysical, this is the premise of the prized Brisbane-born, LA-based pop songwriter and producer’s 2025 sophomore album: Light hit my face like a straight right. Set against a newly informed backdrop of expressive breakbeats and dance music, its 12 songs explore the intangible and mysterious allure of human connection, held together by curious investigations into light — “the closest thing to a concept this album has,” Mallrat says. She reunited with Butterfly Blue producers Styalz Fuego (Troye Sivan, Tate McRae) and Alice Ivy, while bringing into the mix indie electronic producers Chrome Sparks and Casey MQ. Mallrat serves up highs like “Hideaway,” a song where heart-racing garage clashes with her trademark candor: “I’ll be your lucky charm just let me hang around your neck,” she sings. Sleek and early standout “Pavement” gets a gritty underlayer with chopped up vocals from DJ Zirk’s “Born 2 Lose” and mid-album standout “Hocus Pocus” finds Mallrat singing about being pulled “under the spell” of someone new, borrowing a different part of the same DJ Zirk sample to build its shimmering, dancefloor-ready facade. It’s an endeavor that perhaps reaches a peak on “Horses,” the record’s gentle and organic closer which Shaw herself calls “objectively the best song.” Written after returning home to Brisbane and “feeling like an alien,” it gained new meaning in the wake of her late sister’s passing. For Shaw, it’s the convergence of the song’s minimalism, lyrics, space, and the way her voice cracks on the recording as she sings, “Hey, I’m right here, I look different now.” After years of solidifying herself as a master of well-crafted, timeless pop — fielding recognition from New York Times, NYLON, Teen Vogue, Billboard, The FADER, NPR, and more — Light hit my face like a straight right is a step into the art of world-building, bolstered by her intuitive songwriting and clever, studied production.

Generally regarded as the first true 'new age' record, Steve Halpern's 1975 private press LP has long been in demand by collectors. In particular, the very first pressing of the album included an extraordinary long-form jazz funk track called 'Something for Every Body Suite' that was removed from subsequent versions. Eating Standing is proud to reissue Halpern's classic long-lost original version of the album, officially licensed from Halpern himself that includes this heavy groove-laden masterpiece. This is the very first ever full reissue of the first press album with full reproduction of the artwork. Original copies cost over $700 (assuming you can even find one) but now this incredible landmark album is available once more to enjoy. "Reissued for the very first time since 1975 in its original format and track listing, a legendary album that is considered a game-changer in music. Steve Halpern's landmark album 'Christening For Listening (A Soundtrack For Every Body)' is considered by many to be a crucial and defining album that pointed the way ahead. Predating the ambient/experimental work of Brian Eno, Steve Hillage and even Mort Garson's 'Plantasia', Steve Halpern's 'Christening For Listening' was the first album to explore what became known as 'new age' or ambient music, exploring the effect of tones and rhythms on the human body and mind as well as plants and other organisms. Originally issued as a private pressing in 1975, the very first issue of this album had an extraordinary extended jazz funk track on the B side, a DJ/Samplers delight – DJ Gaslamp Killer is a huge fan. This track, 'Something For Every Body Suite', was never included on any of the subsequent represses making the very first pressing incredibly rare and almost impossible to find. It's reissued here for the very first time, with full repro of the original artwork plus a Q&A by Tony Higgins with Steven Halpern himself.

It's another 45 Rocafort treatment!

"If There's a Will, There's a Way" was written by Don Covay and Donny Hathaway and released in 1972 on the American Janus Records label. Covay, a key figure in the 1960s and 1970s soul scene, was known for his gritty voice and songwriting for artists like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. Hathaway, on the other hand, was an influential soul singer, composer, and pianist often celebrated for his collaborations with Roberta Flack. This song blends both of their distinct styles: Covay's raw, Southern soul vibe and Hathaway's sophisticated, jazz-influenced arrangements. Like Donny Hathaway's live album released that same year in 1972, this track grabs you from the very first notes. A classic soul groove, with a powerful vocal delivery!

Notably, this track was later sampled by Pete Rock in his remix of "Lots of Lovin'" with C.L. Smooth, bringing the soulful essence of the original into the realm of 90s hip-hop.

On the b-side, another track from the fantastic Janus Records catalogue. Harvey Mandel's "Baby Batter," originally released in 1971 is a blend of funky blues and psychedelic rock vibes representing another popular genre from the early 70's in the USA. Mandel's signature guitar work shines throughout the track and the drum break in the introduction will please the hip-hop heads and 45 DJs out there.

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.

Lost In Sound Recordings is back with the release of its second record, featuring a captivating EP from the talented DJ and producer Atree. His "Confused in Space" EP takes listeners on a journey through a dynamic blend of powerful house tracks and intricate melodies. The release seamlessly fuses punchy kicks, tight basslines, and organic sounds, creating an energetic and immersive experience for the dancefloor. Get ready for the arrival of LISR002, a release that promises to make a lasting impression.

Welcome into the world of scarse music for the ultimate connoisseurs, fine taste beatmakers and holy grails collectors.
You made a step close to The Edge.
From cult Italian soundtrack and 80's iconic anime, English and French library music, to tunes that made Hip Hop iconic anthem, Medline picked 10 compositions to cover, among his favorite crate diggers treasures.

With a 30 years Dj's culture, he unite on vinyl a collection of underground classics.
When other musicians sample, as former beatmaker, he found his fulfillment by playing the entire tracks, as homage to these composers.

In 2018 Solstice has set the corner stone of this unique artwork at the cross road of Jazz, Funk, Soul and Hip Hop worldwide culture.
With The Edge, the out of boundaries producer, placed the level even more higher.
The whole work is incredible, for a man alone, without music theory knowledge but playing flutes, horns, keyboard, guitar and many more instruments... creating in his little home studio the sound of a 70's orchestra.

Challenging and epic:
Epic for covers like A Day In The Life, Beatles cover by Les Demerle, took by Buck Wild for O.C. Time's Up and of course the eponym David Axelrod's The Edge on David McCallum album.

Challenging, for library anthem like Hot Dog, Ghetto or Keep Quiet by Jacky Giordano, sharp and definitely audacious.
Despite the variety of the ten themes, the man's touch is present each time, into the texture, sound taste and balance. Like a chef bringing up to date magical recipes.

The archetypal type of records My Bags loves to release, "The Edge" is built as a crate digger paradise, a timeless record linking past and present into a highly concentrate of divine grooves.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome aboard Takuya Kuroda.

A highly-respected trumpeter born in Kobe, Japan, Takuya is a forward-thinking musician that has developed a unique hybrid sound, blending soulful jazz, funk, post-bop, fusion and hip hop music.

After following the footsteps of his trombonist brother playing in big bands, he relocated to New York to study jazz & contemporary music at The New School in Union Square; a course he graduated from in the mid-noughties. It was here that Takuya met vocalist José James, with whom he worked on the 'Blackmagic' and 'No Beginning No End' projects.

Following graduation, Takuya established himself further in the NYC jazz scene, performing with the likes of Akoya Afrobeat and in recent years with DJ Premier's BADDER band (also including acclaimed bass player, Brady Watt). Premier said "The BADDER Band project was put together by my manager, and an agent I've known since the beginning of my Gang Starr career. He said, 'What if you put a band together that revolved around a trumpet player from Japan named Takuya Kuroda? He's got a hip-hop perspective and respect in the jazz field…"

Takuya Kuroda is already incredibly prolific, releasing five albums in the past decade and fortifying a solid reputation in the global jazz scene. 2011 saw the release of Takuya's independently-produced debut album, 'Edge', followed by 'Bitter and High' the following year and 'Six Aces' on P-Vine in 2013. Takuya was signed to the legendary Blue Note Records in 2014 for his album 'Rising Son', as well as appearing on their 2019 cover versions project, 'Blue Note Voyage'. He released his 5th album 'Zigzagger' on Concord in 2016, which also featured Antibalas on a reimagining of the Donald Byrd classic 'Think Twice'.

Late Summer 2020, Takuya Kuroda returns with his sixth album 'Fly Moon Die Soon'.

In his words, "this album is about the irony between the greatness of nature and the beautiful obsceneness of humanity. Melodies and grooves fly back and forth from being spiritual to being vulgar."

It took two years to make this album. In 2018, I decided I just couldn't make albums the same way I had been in the past anymore. As a birthday treat to myself, I booked a studio in Brooklyn for two days, with only myself and an engineer, Todd Carder. I brought along some tracks I'd been building at home to see if we could complete them within that time. We began replacing sounds and adding texture, sampling noises from all over the studio; me sipping coffee, hitting a 26" kick drum, speeding up snares. At the end of the two days we were like "wow, I didn't know we could make tracks this good in this way". This is how the process of the full album started. Everything was based on my beats I made at home, inviting musicians in one by one, adding or replacing parts. I was very careful when developing these tracks; just note by note, part by part. I wanted to make the music effectively from a blend of two different recording methods; one very slickly produced part and one very organic part played by live musicians. I remember mixtapes from when I was kid, and wanted to make an album that wasn't just a bunch of flashy singles, trying to catch people's attention in the first 30 seconds, or full of guest features. Instead, I'm essentially just trying to let the grooves breath."

The album consists of nine tracks of excellence. The uptempo jazz-funk of 'ABC' and 'Moody' sit alongside soulful jazz cuts like 'Fade' and 'CHANGE', also featuring Corey King on vocals. The title track is a downtempo groove lead by a heavy Moog bassline, whilst 'Do No Why' contains an infectious piano riff throughout. Aside from Takuya's original compositions, he revisits two classics from Ohio Players ('Sweet Sticky Thing' featuring Alina Engibaryan on vocals) and Herbie Hancock ('Tell Me A Bedtime Story') whilst the album closes with the epic 'TKBK'.

Takuya adds "this special cover was inspired by the Golden Moon I saw during a photoshoot in Death Valley with my homie Hiroyuki Seo".

Takuya Kuroda is a truly unique talent, and this album is a realisation of the evolution of his sound.

'Fly Moon Die Soon' is released on Worldwide Award-winning UK label First Word Records on vinyl & digital in September 2020.

Vintage-Pariser Jazz. Vintage-Pariser Ambiente. Paris hat schon immer Jazzmusiker aus aller Welt in seine Clubs & Cafés gelockt. Paris ist insbesondere die spirituelle Heimat des Gypsy-Jazz, wo viele Jazzmusiker in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts in den Bals-Musettes der Stadt spielten. Django Reinhardt machte sich in den 1930/40ern mit dem Geiger Stéphane Grappelli und seinem Quintette du Hot Club de France einen Namen, ebenso wie mit den Bands von Alex Renard, Alix Combelle, Ray Ventura, Claude Bolling und Jerry Mango. Dieser LP-Sampler gibt einen hervorragenden Überblick über die damalige Szene, als kurz nach dem Krieg die Viertel Saint-Germain des Prés und Latin zahlreiche berühmte Jazzclubs beherbergten. Alle Tracks wurden remastert.

CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale is a limited edition 3 LP vinyl set that features Tyler The Creator’s original critically acclaimed CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST album plus 8 additional songs, pressed on Geneva Blue colored vinyl. The discs are housed in a triple gatefold jacket with embossed cover, foil detail and includes a 28-page booklet.

The Sound System has become part of today’s musical/cultural heritage, playing the people’s favourite hits or just as important, breaking some new tunes.
But perhaps less known are the roots of the Sound System, which began way back when…in Kingston….

Around the late 1940’s the Sound System began to overtake the big bands that usually played at the dances in Kingston.

The American Rhythm and Blues records that were so popular at the time would find their way to Jamaica via the merchant sailors and migrant workers returning from their stints in America. For economical reasons alone it would pay to have a DJ on hand to play these hits rather than a 10 piece band that could eat and drink the promotor out of the house and on curried goat!!

The early Sound Systems were basic affairs built around a single record deck, a valve amp and a speaker.

But by the 1950’s they had grown to purpose built speakers the size of wardrobes that could be heard blocks away.

Record producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee would remember the time ‘Sound Systems was like our radio station…not many people on the island would own a wireless, so it was the way for the people to hear their music.

So this selection of Lovers, Ballads, Root’s classic’s made the Sound Sytems of Jamaica the place to be.

So sit back and enjoy the ride….SOUND SYSTEM ROCKERS …one and all

'Floating' by Monika Linges should be repressed due to its enduring popularity and influence in the jazz fusion genre. Original copies are rare and highly sought after by collectors, with the only repress coming in 1992 and now selling between £30 and £60. The repress aims to make this classic album accessible to new audiences and satisfy the demand from djs who have had this in their wants list for a long time. Repackaging the album in a limited lilac vinyl, with liner notes written by German DJ and tastemaker Rainer Trueby

This Is DJs Choice Vol. 4 brings you a great selection of Funk, Soul, Latin and Hip Hop.

Five years after the last installment of the series, Volume 4 is compiled by Gu, a long-time friend and DJ partner of Unique label founder Henry Storch, and the tracks represent the two decades they have known each other and played records together, as well as the music they enjoyed.

All choices are originally 7 Inch records from Gu's crates put together like a DJ-Set for you to enjoy: The Soul of The Sweet Vandals and Carlton Jumel Smith, the Deep Funk of Naomi Davis & The Knights Of Forty First Street, The Supersonics and Sharon Jackson & The Soul Destroyers, the Latin sounds of Diesler and Eli Goulart E Banda Do Mato and the Hip Hop grooves of Jay Are (aka J.Rawls and John Robinson), The Bamboos featuring Ohmega Watts and Daddy-O of Stetsasonic.

This compilation is a celebration of music from beginning to end.

About This Is DJs Choice:

The series started as a friendship project by Henry Storch, who wanted to immortalise friends and allies from the DJ scene, who picked vinyl as their format of choice. The genre didn't matter, as long as the vibe was right. In 2008 Vol. 1 featured a selection of organic Club Sounds and Break Beats put together by Soulinus & Pun, followed by Keb Darge & Lucinda Slim and their favorite Rhythm & Blues, Rockabilly and 60s Soul tunes on Vol. 2 in 2009. In 2019 Les Intouchables aka Marc Hype and DJ Suspect presented a variety of funky and soulful music with an addition of the occasional Boogie, Reggae and Hip Hop track.

About Gu:

Gu is a DJ, musician, label owner, producer, writer and producer from Northern Germany. His dedication to music started in his pre-teens in the late eighties and he is playing vinyl ever since. Over the years he has worked with a number of his favorite DJs and artists like Keb Darge, Andy Smith, Snowboy, The New Mastersounds, Osaka Monaurail, The Sweet Vandals, The Allergies, Andy Cooper of Ugly Duckling, Daddy-O of Stetsasonic and Chuck D of Public Enemy to name a few. His DJ career took him all over Europe again and again.

In 2005 he started Our Label Records with his brother Tom to release new Funk music on 7 Inch vinyl and added the Hip Hop 45 imprint Origu in 2015. Since 2009 and he is on air every week with his radioshow Home Diggin', which was also picked up by Chuck D's Rapstation in 2019. Additionally he is lead singer/rapper for the Songcore duo Sorry We're Closed and the Hip Hop outfit Alder Ego. He also does readings of his book of one-liners and competing on Slam Poetry stages.

Moody cacophonies, sonic dispatches from Japan, crystalline breakbeats that are more environment than rhythm: Jake Muir’s enmixed, described by Muir as a “(re)mixtape,” is a mind-bending deep dive into the enmossed archive. Besides reflecting the history of the label, Muir’s mix is a production in its own right. A Los Angeles native based in Berlin, Muir is a DJ and field recordist who “sees mixes as a vehicle to explore narratives outside of the album format.”

In Bathhouse Blues (2023), where Muir sampled various sources to explore gay cruising culture and sensuality, his more expansive, conceptual approach to the form is illuminated. Mixes are not just a linear succession of tracks with transitions—they’re excavations that also result in the creation of new audio artifacts. Inspired by the psychedelic impulses of illbient, Muir uses DJ and sound engineering techniques to melt down genre distinctions and create alien atmospheres.

From the enmossed community, Muir pulls from artists like bad lsd trips, Angelo Harmsworth, Nick Klein, Tetsuya Nakayama, and Patrick Gallagher to coalesce a super-compendium of the global sonic underground, all viewed through his own unique lens. Muir takes major liberties with processing and effects automation to carve new worlds from the soil of these preexisting works. Some of the tracks and material on enmixed are heavily edited, emphasizing specific harmonics or bass frequencies, and some portions contain three or four layers, putting artists in direct conversation with each other.

This heady approach—using the tools of both mixtape and remix—results in a super textual and dense palimpsest of the enmossed catalog. “Because mixes are more open- source,” Muir says, “it’s easier to express some ideas since there is more material to pull from.”

- Rob Goyanes

Silver foil printed j-cards on heavyweight iridescent ('Lapis Lazuli') recycled paper Duplicated at a carbon-neutral facility