After his debut album for Discrepant (Papillon, 2013) and a couple of tapes for Dinzu Artefacts (Aqueducts, 2017) and Sucata tapes (Cercueill Flottant, 2019) Papillon aka Gonçalo F. Cardoso returns to the wax treatment for one last hurrah into the depths of tropical disquiet.
Taking liberties from Henri Charriere’s book sequel of the same name, Banco, the audio reader here dives straight up/down into a world of random dream logic. The same themes of Nightmare vs paradisiac dreams are present here yet with more nuance than the first volume. The adventure here is more subdued, less spiritual as most of it is lived outdoors, free from the states shackles of abuse. A lighter tone then, for what will probably be the last Papillon adventure. As with the first volume the album counts with contributions from fellow label artists, Mike Cooper, Cédric Stevens, David Daan and Yannick Dauby all feature in a way or another, raw or cooked into a boiling pot of irreverence.
All tracks were composed and edited by Gonçalo F Cardoso in the island of La Gomera, Lisbon and London between 2017-2019.
Composed & Performed by Gonçalo F. Cardoso with guest appearances by Mike Cooper, Yannick Dauby, David Naan and Cedric Stevens*
Special vinyl one time pressing to 300 copies
Mastered by Rashad Becker
quête:fir ya
They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and going by 'Jazz Rock', nor a record by its title. Though entering into jazz territory and featuring some distorted guitar, 'Jazz Rock' is more a beautiful marriage of funky breakbeat drumming and spiritual jazz instrumentation, combined with traditional Min'y music performed on the koto and shakuhachi.
Originally released in 1973, the record sounds simultaneously vintage and contemporary. It is akin to something Madlib might dream up whilst lost in Japan collaborating with Min'y players at a recording session. The record features some amazing shakuhachi (bamboo flute) playing by Hozan Yamamoto, which gives the music a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere. You can almost visualise the long grass blowing in the wind, and ear the bamboo rustling in the distance on a long hot summer's day. Takeshi Inomata, Tadao Sawai and Kazue Sawai anchor the session. Takeshi's exceptionally funky-drum work will almost certainly get some producers dusting off and firing up their MPC's. Whilst Kazue and Tadao work their magic on the koto (a traditional string instrument). Though certainly not an ambient record, 'Jazz-Rock' has the same meditative, other-worldly quality that invites you to sit back, listen and be transported somewhere else. Unfortunately, until now the 'Jazz Rock' album is a scarcity that commanded a high price-tag only for the most hardened of record collectors. So it is pleasure to make it accessible to all, and we hope you dig this lost, obscure future classic as much as we do.
Legendary labels Decca Records and Blue Note have joined forces for Blue Note Re:imagined; a brand new collection of classic Blue Note tracks brought together for the first time, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the jazz scene’s most exciting young talents today. Representing a bridge between the ground-breaking label’s past and future, the project will feature contributions from a rollcall of internationally acclaimed jazz, soul and R&B acts-Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith.
This is the next 7’’ singles installments with Steam Down’s version of Wayne Shorter’s Etcetera (ft. Afronaut Zu) and Yazmin Lacey’s version of Dodo Greene’s - I’ll Never Stop Loving You.
Emma-Jean Thackray, an outstanding figure in the UK jazz scene, releases Um Yang, her long-dreamed project dedicated to the Taoist philosophy of duality and harmony. Ahighly ambitious and personal record that sees Thackray leading a septet featuring
Soweto Kinch and Steam Down’s Wonky Logic, recorded straight to vinyl. An accomplished trumpeter, beat-maker, singer, composer and DJ, Thackray draws on far wider influences than jazz. Her sound is distinctive; in the words of The Guardian like “Bitches Brewera Miles entering the dub chamber with a New Orleans marching band – in a good way”. Since debuting in 2016, Thackray has directed the London Symphony Orchestra, performed at the NY Winter Jazz Fest, played Glastonbury five times in 2019 alone, and launched her own record
label, Movementt (in association with Warp). Championed by Gilles Peterson, Theo Parrish and Jamie Cullum, Thackray has firmly cemented her place among a new wave of exciting young
musicians, collaborating with Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul and Angel Bat Dawid, and still finds time to host her monthly radio show on Worldwide FM. Raised in Yorkshire, Thackray inherited a grounding in Taoism from her father, and approaches her music with the same pursuit of harmony between Um & Yang (the Korean Ying & Yang), balancing melody and rhythm, groove and free improvisation, cerebral and physical. For this one-off recording, Thackray has applied this ideology in every sense, even down to the ensemble itself featuring not one but two percussionists. Um commences with ethereal interplay between keys, percussion, and Thackray’s trumpet, recalling the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane’s classic records. As the piece builds, an earthy groove emerges. On both trumpet and vocals,
Thackray leads the ensemble further out until the piece peaks with an epic breakdown. On the flip, Yang starts on the same cacophonous note but progresses to a joyful groove before returning to a peaceful state again, balance restored.
The Kenyan music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in Africa. However, ask any Kenyan which pop music style truly represents Kenya as a nation and there is only one possible answer: benga.
Benga is a pop style with its roots in traditional rhythms, instruments, and melodies. Luo musicians from western Kenya brought the style to prominence in the late 60s but other cultural/linguistic groups in other parts of Kenya quickly developed their own localized variants. With its pulsing beat, interlocking guitars, extended solos, and rapid-fire bass, benga music has dominated the Kenyan music scene over most of the post-colonial period.
Kakai Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development, and more.
The songs on this compilation are taken from across Kakai's recording career, spanning from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, shortly before his illness and untimely death in early 1987, aged only 33. No Wahala Sounds are proud to present this selection of hard-to-find 45s from Les Kilimambogo Brothers, which are being released on vinyl here, for the first time outside Kenya.
The vinyl version includes a free CD copy of the album.
Due for release on 31 July 2020. Interest for airplay from Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe from BBC 6 Music, DJ Ritu from Resonance FM/SOAS Radio, Roger Hill from BBC Merseyside and Steve Barker from BBC Lancashire.
A creative partnership between Tom Laroye and Yam Who, Qwestlife is a trans-continental boogie trip between the two producers' respective homelands of Paris and London. Fulfilling the Glitterbox philosophy by crafting great songs the old school way with analogue and weird electronic gadgetry, Qwestlife's 'Give Me A Minute' appeared first on Glitterbox's Disco Revenge compilation and now graces vinyl for disco connoisseurs everywhere. Featuring the vocals of a frequent Yam Who collaborator, soul diva Jacqui George, 'Give Me A Minute' is an instant party anthem. Disco-fuelled synths and strings plus live sax, trumpet, guitars and bass give a glorious saturated dancefloor vibe rolled into one by sticky hooks and a timeless catchy chorus. Accompanied by the Dubbed Out Version, plus an Accapella and Bonus Beats, this sweet vinyl release provides all the good stuff that Qwestlife have to offer.
- A1: Fireflies & Palmwine
- A2: Big Man (Feat Shungudzo)
- A3: Patty Cake
- A4: Rebosando (Feat Chico Mann)
- A5: Body Yako (Feat Kongo Elektro & Thornato)
- A6: Ghost Dance
- B1: Fly Where You Want (Feat Jesse Royal)
- B2: Mi Poni (Feat Zuzuka Poderosa)
- B3: Makubenjalo (Feat Ongx & Epplesauce)
- B4: Yalla (Feat Karenbe)
- B5: Come Along (Feat Sye Elaine Spence)
- B6: Ghazal (Feat Alsarah)
- B7: New Story
The globetrotting beat maestro is back, with a truckload of tropical vibes and the irresistibly danceable soundtrack to your Summer! 3 years after releasing his groundbreaking collaborative album with singer Chico Mann (which landed him live sets on Boiler Room & KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic as well as a feature on NYTimes "Best Songs Of The Week") DJ/producer Captain Planet returns with NO VISA, set to drop June 26th on Bastard Jazz Recordings. In his trademark "Gumbo Funk" sound, the album mixes rhythms and musical styles from the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, over highly danceable electronic beats, all firmly rooted in the hip hop, dancehall and house music that the Captain grew up playing as a DJ. Seamlessly bouncing from Brazilian Baile Funk, to Afrobeat, to Roots Reggae and Latin House, the entire record delivers the uplifting feel of one of the Captain's legendary boundary-crossing DJ sets. Building on these traditions he draws from, the Captain has created something fully original and unique.
NO VISA, the 5th full-length album from producer Charlie Wilder (aka Captain Planet), is both a return to form and a launchpad into the future. With 13 songs that feature vocalists from around the world, long-time fans will recognize several previous collaborators as well as the global influences that have always been central to Captain Planet's music. New friends, like prolific Zimbabwean-American singer Shungudzo (who has recent hits with Oliver Heldens & Rudimental), and Jamaican reggae star Jesse Royal, bring powerful subversive messages to the music as well. Showcasing the Captain's production chops and songwriting talents equally, the album unveils a unique musical landscape, a place where our political boundaries and cultural hierarchies begin to dissolve, where foreign languages mingle together and deep rooted traditions dance with the future.
With NO VISA, Captain Planet unveils a fully matured and truly unique form of electronic music- one that bridges gaps between worldwide cultural diasporas as well as contemporary dance music sub-genres (house, hip hop, dancehall & global bass). Throughout every Captain Planet song, it's clear to hear his inspired appreciation for breaking the boundaries between genres and bridging continents through rhythm.
Black Truffle is pleased to announce a new solo album by Eiko Ishibashi, her first for the label, following on from the duo recording Ichida alongside bassist Darin Gray. Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) was produced for the ‘Japan Supernatural’ exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney focusing on ghost stories and folklore from the Edo period onwards. As with The Dream My Bones Dream (Drag City, 2018), the album is a response to troubling questions about Japanese history, and the influence of the past upon the present, but finds Ishibashi shifting further away from her earlier piano-led songwriting and showing a deepening interest in electronics and audio collaging.
The two sidelong parts of Hyakki Yagyō feature layered synthesisers, acoustic instrumentation, recited verse and field recordings, at times densely mixed but always with a subtle interplay of changing elements. The influence of European and American forerunners as diverse as Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Strafe Für Rebellion can be traced, yet at the same time Ishibashi evokes the flute and string sounds associated with Japanese storytelling, and draws directly on the subversive literary tradition of Kyoka (‘mad poetry’) with a verse by the 15th-century poet Ikkyū Sōjun repeated throughout the album. Revisiting what has gone before, re-thinking what is possible musically, as a way of articulating what else might be possible in the future.
As Ishibashi’s liner notes make clear, the album reflects an attention to persistent dangers, myths and evasions in Japanese culture – as well as the lurking uncertainties that might threaten positive change. This would seem to be manifested in the emerging melodies soon met by dissonance, erratic collisions and near silence, as well as the eerie manipulation of the double-tracked vocals. Ishibashi’s underlying concerns ring true more widely of course. Hyakki Yagyō is a work of multiplicities, and mystery, a landscape where nothing is as it seems at first, and everything is vulnerable to sudden violent interruptions.
The album was produced with regular collaborators Jim O’Rourke (double bass) and Joe Talia (percussion), and features dancer and choreographer Ryuichi Fujimura performing Ikkyū’s satirical tanka. O’Rourke’s immersive mix creates a three-dimensional effect, with Ishibashi’s various sound sources enmeshing and interacting in captivating ways.
Pressed on coloured vinyl and presented in a deluxe package with an inner sleeve featuring and artist portrait and liner notes from Eiko Ishibashi. Cover and label design by Shuhei Abe.
Back cover design by Lasse Marhaug. Mixed and mastered by Jim O’Rourke.
key selling points:
- Black Truffle is pleased to announce a new solo album by Eiko Ishibashi, her first since her acclaimed 2018 Drag City release The Dream My Bones Dream.
- This album finds Ishibashi shifting further away from her earlier piano-led songwriting and showing a deepening interest in electronics and audio collaging.
- Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) was produced for the ‘Japan Supernatural’ exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney focusing on ghost stories and folklore from the Edo period onwards and is a response to troubling questions about Japanese history, and the influence of the past upon the present.
- Produced with regular collaborators Jim O’Rourke (double bass) and Joe Talia (percussion), O’Rourke’s immersive mix creates a three-dimensional effect, with Ishibashi’s various sound sources enmeshing and interacting in captivating ways.
- The two sidelong parts of Hyakki Yagyō feature layered synthesisers, acoustic instrumentation, recited verse and field recordings, at times densely mixed but always with a subtle interplay of changing elements, hinting at an influence of European and American forerunners as diverse as Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Strafe Für Rebellion.
- Pressed on coloured vinyl and presented in a deluxe package with an inner sleeve featuring an artist portrait and liner notes from Eiko Ishibashi. Mixed and mastered by Jim O’Rourke.
Mr Bongo presents a new and exciting collaborative project with Swedish label Piano Piano Records.
Hearing the Swedish outfit Sven Wunder for the first time is as refreshing as an ice-cold Limoncello after an Italian meal. One of those bands that feel instantly familiar like an old friend, yet simultaneously fresh and new. Straight away we fell in love with their sound and knew we had to work with them.
The Sven Wunder 'Wabi Sabi' 7" is the second collaborative release between Mr Bongo and Piano Piano Records. 'Wabi Sabi' is Sven Wunder’s follow up to the already contemporary cult-classic album 'Doğu Çiçekleri (Eastern Flowers) from 2019. Not one to be complacent and recreate a carbon copy of their previous works, Sven Wunder switched from the psychedelic-Turkish-funk sounds of 'Doğu Çiçekleri' to the Japanese inspired ethereal funk of 'Wabi Sabi'. We have selected the tracks ‘Hanami’ and ‘Shinrinyoko’ for this collector’s edition 7’. Japanese artists such as Hozan Yamamoto, Tadao Sawai, Kazue Sawai, spring to mind, but also David Axelrod and Dorothy Ashby on the beautiful string-led 'Hanami' with it's laid-back funk breaks. 'Shinrinyoku' has a slightly more raw cinematic-funk sound, yet is cushioned with warm strings and tripped-out keys - pure, rare-library music vibes.
We are delighted to be able to release these amazing tracks, cut at the Timmion Records Cutting Lab in Finland.
ANNA HOMLER & ALESSIO CAPOVILLA - VASI COMUNICANTI
Vasi Comunicanti is the oneiric record born from the collaboration between L.A. performer and avant-garde artist Anna Homler and Alessio Capovilla, co-founder of Gang of Ducks.
Alessio Capovilla (1985, Turin, Italy ) is an Italian composer interested in sound modelling.
Imperfect sounds, unpunctual distortion and unsuitable atmospheres are constantly researched by Alessio.
A dialogue between ancient tools and new technologies through synthesis, computer music and field recording, crossing beats and genres towards something not easily definable.
Co-founder of the collective Gang Of Ducks, on which he's published two releases ("NO" and "Eocity") under the moniker of XIII, alter-ego through which he mainly examines the most tactile and digital part of his sound.
Anna Homler is a multy-disciplinary artist working on a blurred line between music, performance, spiritual and visual arts and giving birth to several different projects.
In 1985 she released, in collaboration with composer Steve Moshier, the seminal album "Breadwoman & Other Tales", shamanic and meditative songs brought to life with astonishing live performances.
The record was then re-released in 2016 by NYC label RVNG Intl, bridging the gap with a new generation of listeners, discovering the universal and unique world of Homler.
Capovilla, who was born in the same year of the original release, is one of them. His work focuses on imaginary landscapes and oneiric feelings. He has released two records on Gang of Ducks with his XIII moniker, dedicated to his digital and more computer-oriented sound.
The two of them met for the first time for an improvised live performance in Torino in 2017, after which they decided to spend studio time together exploring where this connection could lead.
The record flows along 5 tracks, with Capovilla taking care of synths, drums programming and audio engineering, and Homler singing in her melodic phonetic language, mixing unique voice and sound effects .
"De'la cocce" moves around on a slow quasi-dub rhythm accompanied by whistle and vocal interventions. In "Ricordo" Anna's voice is more prominent, travelling through a digital dimension made of flutes, Buchla Music Easel sequences and rainsticks.
The B side starts with "Bread Dance", where different layers of vocals and drums repeat themselves in an obsessive and haunting atmosphere.
"Be'ya Sa'di" is an ambient and cinematic piece, which quietly introduces "Mem", the most emotionally and intense song of the collection, transporting the listener into a different dimension.
The whole record creates a world with no geographical coordinates, where humans meet their primary feelings in a suspended time, escaping the present and the intelligible world.
Back in February Risk Assessment hit the headlines via a high-profile outing on Glitterbox Recordings that proved the fast-rising artist's ability to create fresh and funky revivalist disco-boogie jams. This four-track missive on Midnight Riot showcases the producer's re-edit skills.
No messing around, "Bad Times" is an '80s wonder dripping with sleazed up synthwork. Yam Who? straps it to a rocket and fires it into the stratosphere with those punchy basslines and beefed up percussive hits that knock you straight for six.
On the B side "You Must Be The Girl" powers through, with Risk Assessment turning a colourful early '80s synth-disco jam into an attractive, tooled-up disco-house romp. "Bionic Lover" closes out proceedings with a house style revision of another low-slung, guitar-laden chunk of disco-rock funkiness.
Siti of Unguja tells the story of pioneering women, of the ‘golden
voice’ of Siti Muharam, heiress to the singular legacy of her great
grandmother, the mother of taarab, Siti Binti Saad.
On the Corner teases this first taste of a landmark recording that the
label embarked upon two years ago on Zanzibar. Siti of Unguja has a
transformative atmosphere, brimming with romance, passion and
protest.
Zanzibar is an Island archipelago that lies 6 degrees South of the
equator and 30 miles off the East African coast out in the Indian
Ocean. Known for its spices, traditional Dhow sailing boats and being
a mercantile trading capital of Swahili culture.
The modern history of Zanzibar can be animated through the life and
legacy of one artist, Siti binti Saad. Born in 1890 in the small fishing
village of Fumba, on Unguja (Zanzibar’s largest island), she became
the first Zanzibari recording artist and her recordings sold in tens of
thousands across the swahili world.
The tracks recorded for Siti of Unguja demonstrate Siti Binti Saad’s
eclectic influence on Zanzibari taarab and her great granddaughter,
Siti Muharam imbues the compositions with feeling. Siti Muharam’s
golden voice carries the poetry and invects a timeless passion. It is
Muharam’s deep humility and love that brings the spirit of these two
women together.
With Sam Jones at the controls, taarab’s conservative layers were
opened up and given more than a little wiggle room. Under the
direction of Matona, the recording of this album paid homage to Siti
Binti Saad’s innovations by bringing back the percussive Kidumbak
style of music that originated on the streets of Zanzibar. By strippping
back the typically dense string section of taarab a space was created
for Muharam’s beguiling timbre that is gilded with emotion.
During the 1970s George Jackson made a series of sublime southern soul recordings at Sounds Of Memphis studios. This LP gathers together rare singles and tracks that were unreleased at the time to showcase this golden period in the soul singer-songwriter’s career.
Recorded using many of the players from the Hi house band, who were at the time being featured on the recordings of Al Green and Ann Peebles.
Four tracks are making their first appearance on vinyl, whilst the compilation features both sides of his rare 1975 Chess single ‘Macking On You’ b/w ‘Things Are Getting’ Better’ and his ER single ‘Talking About The Love I Have For You’, which regularly sells for over $1000 on auction.
Jackson had a long career that saw him write hit singles for artists such as Candi Staton, Clarence Carter, the Osmonds and Bob Seeger, whilst covers of his songs have been UK hits for both Yazz and Joss Stone. However, his success as a writer somewhat obscured his talent as a performer, something that our series of releases focused on him has sought to rectify.
Sought-after eponymous Indonesian album by the Yanti Bersaudara (which means the Yanti sisters: Yani, Tina & Lin Hardjakusumah), released in 1971 and reissued for the first time. It is a very spiritual and magical Sunda album with haunting vibes based on a unique,
creative and strong Sundanese cultural heritage.
Active only for less than a decade (from the 1960s until the early 1970s), the three sisters originally from Bandung (West Java) sang traditional Sundanese songs with beautiful voices & harmonies, creating a trippy oriental exotic psychedelic sound.
The latest project by belgo-moroccan producer Reda Senhaji, alias Cheb Runner, focuses on breeding a new style of music between electronics and Gnawa. Taking inspiration from New Beat to Techno, Acid House and Gabber, the grooves are relentless, stiff and club oriented, relying heavily on analog synths and drum-machines. The sound is darker, more experimental and mature than his previous Gan Gah project.
Cheb Runner digs into the acoustic sounds of his youth, for an organic feeling of warmth and celebration. The syncopation of the classic Gnawa percussions, the “Tagnawit”, its groove is undeniable. Featuring two traditional Gnawa singers based in Brussels, Mâalem Driss and Mâalem Hicham, the EP is a reunion for the belgian Gnawa scene, keeping the vibe alive.
In a world of dematerialized culture, we tend to forget where we come from : by putting Gnawa music at the center of his production, Cheb Runner creates a bridge with the past. The young producer is a son of Gnawa himself, this is the music he grew up with and played as a kid.
Now he brings it to the club scene; Cheb Runner’s first EP is experimental, brutal, innovative. Getting past definitions and genres, it opens new horizons for North-African producers, showing them how to use their roots to make new beats. It encourages both tradition and modernity in Music. In 2019, Gnawa music, dance and culture was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural
Heritage list, demonstrating both the relevance of the genre and the necessity to preserve it.
of the genre and the necessity to preserve it.
Cheb, the Arabic word for “young boy”, is traditionally used to describe the young generation of Raï singers – like Cheb Hasni, Cheb Mami or Cheb Khaled. It means the new generation is here, to create something new with something old. The reference to the Ridley Scott movie Blade Runner is just that: while the Cheb comes from the bled, a moroccan village in the Agadir region, the beats come from the club scene of an industrial city, like Berlin, Detroit or Molenbeek/Brussels.
Cheb Runner takes you on a trip through space and time, as well as to pass on ancient rhythms to inspire the next generations.
Porridge Radio grew out of Dana Margolin's bedroom, where she started making music in private. Living in the seaside town of Brighton, she recorded songs and slowly started playing them at open mic nights to rooms of old men who stared at her quietly as she screamed in their faces. Though she eventually grew out of them, for Margolin these open mic nights unlocked a love of performing and songwriting, as well as a new way to express herself. She decided to form a band through which to channel it all, and be noisier while she was at it - so Porridge Radio was born. Inspired by interpersonal relationships, her environment - in particular the sea - and her growing friendships with her new bandmates (bassist Maddie Ryall, keyboardist Georgie Stott, and drummer Sam Yardley) Margolin's distinctive, indie-pop-butmake-it-existentialist style soon started to crystallise. Quickly, the band self-released a load of demos and a garden-shed-recorded collection on Memorials of Distinction, while tireless touring cemented their firm reputation as one of UK DIY's most beloved and compelling live bands. The band's sound - bright pop-rock instrumentation blended with Margolin's tender, open-ended lyrics - has developed and refined. Now, they are taking that development a step further, as they put out their label debut, Every Bad.
Interstellar digital dancehall with stunning synth, superb vocal by Robert Ffrench in extended mix & mad style by obscure DJ Shortie Ranks. Recorded at Creative Sound Studio (Kingston, JA) in 1985.
"On “I Am Wondering” – a lovers of sorts – Ffrench is Dennis Brown in the high notes, and Gregory Isaacs in the song`s playboy sentiments. A guitar gently wah-wahs, while the synths do a giddy glissando. Midway through this discomix the bass becomes boss – throwing everything else – chopped piano chords and all – into echo. Then it`s rewind for the DJ cut – a brag and boast toast from Shortie Ranks – recounting his triumphs at legendary Kingston reggae venue, Skateland”. (Ban Ban Ton Ton - April, 21 of 2020) Robert French grew up in central Kingston and attended Kingston College. He recorded his first singles in 1979, at the age of 17. He achieved success in 1984 with his performances at the Festival Song Contest and the Reggae Sunsplash festival. He had a combination hit with deejay Clement Irie with "Bun & Cheese", and his first two albums were released in 1985. He had another hit in 1989 with "Modern Girl", a collaboration with
Courtney Melody. In the mid-1990s he relocated to New York City, where he teamed up with rapper Heavy D, with whom he had a hit with "More Love", with an album following on Ras Records, featuring collaboration with several artists including Lady G and General Degree. He has since returned to Jamaica, where he runs the
Ffrench record label and distribution company. He released the album Yesterday and Today in 2001, collecting many of his earlier singles. After a period of inactivity as a recording artist, he returned in 2009 with the single "I Do". As a producer he has worked with artists such as Dennis Brown, Buju Banton (he produced Buju's first single
"Ruler" on Stamina riddim), Beres Hammond, George Nooks, Luciano, Jah Cure, Yami Bolo and Sizzla to name a few. Robert French was the cosin of the late great Pat Kelly. As a french label, big fan from Ffrench productions, i'm very proud and happy to start a collaboration with Robert Ffrench, the most french jamaican. Stay tuned for many many more.
Four peak time, dancefloor remixes of tracks housed on SIRS outstanding debut LP ‘Banana Hard & Disco Kisses’ from the likes of Austin Ato, Yam Who?, Danilo Braca and SIRS himself.
First up on remix duties, Scottish goldenboy Austin Ato takes the sunset funk stylings of ‘Nightwind’ and flips it into a club ready house bumper, fitting perfectly with Hava Izmailova’s dreamy vocals. Rework don and Midnight Riot head honcho Yam Who?, then gives the Stee Downes vocal number ‘Forever’ a first pumping disco makeover that’s got future anthem written all over it.
On the flip side SIRS offers up a new tribal interpretation of ‘Turkish Disco Folk’, doubling down on the Middle Eastern influences yet with a tougher rhythmic side that will spice up any set its slipped into. Finally, NYC-based Danilo Braca inserts an acid injection into ‘If I Can´t Have You’ alongside a dose of sultry strings, ready made to warp any dancefloors out there.
WRWTFWW Records is excited to announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase’s remarkable ambient/environmental/minimalism project #Notes of Forestry, available for the first time since 1988. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl and CD with liner notes from the artist. This marks the third release from the ESPLANADE SERIES which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase and Satsuki Shibano. One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo’s Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by Jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process’ Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase’s quest for musical freedom, he explains: “Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album". Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way, and Yutaka Hiros’s Nova. #Notes of Forestry is reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase’s Technodrome and Anecdote albums,




















