One thing that is written in stone even in these days of near endless uncertainty is that when Topical Disco unleashes one of their vinyl releases they are a no questions asked, must have. For a label which regularly dominates the top spot of the download charts they still consistently manage to up the ante for their vinyl drops. It’s no wonder at all that the previous editions have gone on to become collector’s editions, disappearing from the shelves as quickly as you can say here today, gone tomorrow.
Volume 24 easily keeps this incredible run of club vinyl masterpieces going strong. Packed across two side of black gold are tracks from newcomers and scene heavy hitters alike Toscana, Toby O’Conner, Charly Angelz and Frank Virgilio.
The mysterious Toscana leads the way with the wonderfully enigmatic ‘The Girl With The Red Hair’, a six and a half minute slice of pleasure packed Balearic disco. Incessant, warm and inviting it combines a divine groove heavy bassline, funky guitar licks and a subtle percussive backbone with a rather brilliant stand-out guitar solo. This is a track which is guaranteed to fill those summer dancefloors.
Next up is Toby O’Conner who is returning to Tropical Disco after his lauded ‘The Heist / 1920 EP’ with another high energy slice of disco goodness in the shape of ‘Cave Of Gold’. Again this is classic Tropical Disco, combing both live chops with jazz overtones as throbbing club ready drums provide the framework for a bubbling bassline, subtle keys and sax solo’s aplenty to weave their magic. Expect jazz inspired shapes to be thrown on dancefloors across the globe when this one drops.
Over on the flip is Charly Angelz, another artist who has been making a considerable swirl on the disco scene of late. ‘Mother Phunk’ is very aptly named with an absolute gem of a bassline front and centre as classic funk vocal chops, vibey pads and guitar stabs all combine perfectly with earworm strings for anther sure fire floor filler.
Closing the EP out is scene stalwart Frank Virgilio. Hailing from Napoli Frank has been behind a virtual disco smorgasbord over the five years including regular chart bothering appearances on Tropical disco. ‘What We Love’ tips its hat to the golden era of house music, think 90’s Soulfuric meets MAW. Vibes abound here from the classic drum sounds right through to the divine ethereal percussion which adds that touch of class. This is another track which will sound just perfect on the golden Isle this coming summer, did some-one say Ibizan boat party? We’re onboard!
• Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” is one of the most important albums in the history of black American music. Although it didn’t set the charts alight, it stands as a masterpiece alongside contemporary works such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Curtis Mayfield’s debut LP, Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain” and Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft”. All were brilliant in their way, but lyrically Scott-Heron was on a different level from almost every other writer.
• It was a landmark album with its bold, poetic lyrical content allied to progressive and melodic music, and it saw producer Bob Thiele help Gil and his musical partner Brian Jackson paint the picture they needed to get their message across. Thiele put Gil and Brian together with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws and Bernard Purdie, giving them the musical heft they wanted.
• For many years the focus was on ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which was included in the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014, but this focus sometimes overshadowed the heights which Gil reached throughout the album. Today ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’ are also considered standards, whilst the album’s title track is a prescient and heart-breaking warning about the way in which big business dehumanises its workers.
• The album reached its landmark 50th year in 2021 and we decided that we would create this special edition to celebrate its incredible sound. The original master tape was taken to Frank Merritt at The Carvery in London, who cut it as a double disc 2 x 45 RPM record, in an all-analogue chain. The original record - especially side two - was long, and serving it up this way allowed the music a greater level of fidelity.
• The release is packaged in the original album’s gatefold sleeve.
(Produced, Arranged and Conducted by Claus Ogerman)
Not long after the dawn of her career, as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro, Joyce was declared “one of the greatest singers” by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Yet despite reputable accolades and the fact that she has since recorded over thirty acclaimed albums, Joyce never quite achieved the international recognition of the likes of Jobim, João Gilberto and Sergio Mendes, all of whom became global stars after releasing with major labels in the US.
There was a moment when it seemed she might be on the cusp of an international breakthrough. While living in New York, Joyce was approached by the great German producer Claus Ogerman. Ogerman had already played a pivotal role in the development and popularisation of Brazilian music in the 1960s, recording with some of the all-time greats like Jobim and João Gilberto, as well as North American idols like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Bill Evans.
"I met him in New York City, in 1977”, recalls Joyce. “I was living and playing there, and João Palma, Brazilian drummer who used to play with Jobim, introduced me to Claus. We had an audition, he liked what we were doing and decided to produce an album with us.”
Featuring fellow Brazilian musicians Mauricio Maestro (who wrote/co-wrote four of the songs), Nana Vasconcelos and Tutty Moreno, and some of the most in-demand stateside players including Michael Brecker, Joe Farrell and Buster Williams, the recordings for Natureza took place at Columbia Studios and Ogerman produced the album, provided the arrangements and conducted the orchestra.
But mysteriously, Natureza was never released, and what should have been Joyce’s big moment never happened. As Joyce remembers, “I returned home, but Claus and I remained in contact, by letters and phone calls. He was very enthusiastic about the album and tried to hook me up with Michael Franks. He wanted me to go back to NYC in order to re-record the vocals in English with new lyrics, which I actually wasn’t too happy about. But then I got pregnant with my third child and could not leave Brazil. And little by little our contact became rare, until I lost track of him completely. And that was it. I never heard from him again."
While Claus was known to be something of an elusive character, the album’s disappearance might also have been a result of timing. The Brazilian craze was coming to an end, making way for disco and new wave at the end of the seventies, and Ogerman struggled to find a major label interested in a new Brazilian sensation. Additionally, as Joyce mentions, it wasn’t quite finished. Ogerman wanted to add finishing touches to the mix and to record alternative English lyrics for the US and international markets - a critical artistic difference between Joyce and Ogerman.
As the military dictatorship’s grip on Brazil began to subside in the 1980s, Joyce had a handful of hits in her home county, including a tribute to her daughters ‘Clareana’, and the iconic ‘Feminina’ - an intergenerational conversation between mother and daughter about what it means to be a woman. But already a feminist pioneer, these successes were hard fought. Joyce had caused controversy as a nineteen-year-old when she became the first in Brazil to sing from the first-person feminine perspective, and the institutional sexism she faced was worsened by the dictatorship who would often censor her music. Even once the Junta was out of the way, Joyce found herself up against the male-dominated major record companies in Brazil, who sought to dictate her career and sexualise her image, before dropping her for refusing to play along.
A few years after the success of her albums Feminina and Agua E Luz in Brazil, Joyce’s music began to find its way to the UK, Europe and Japan, and “Feminina” and “Aldeia de Ogum” became classics on the underground jazz-dance scenes of the mid to late-eighties and early-nineties.
The full-length version of “Feminina” from the Natureza sessions was first heard on a Brazilian Jazz compilation in 1999 and “Descompassadamente” was licensed for a CD compiling the work of Claus Ogerman in 2002. Following these, word began to get out about an unreleased Joyce album with Claus Ogerman and the legend of Natureza grew.
Forty-five years since it was recorded, Natureza finally sees the light of day, as Joyce intended: with her own Portuguese lyrics and vocals. Featuring the fabled 11-minute version of ‘Feminina’, as well as the never before heard ‘Coração Sonhador’ composed and performed by Mauricio Maestro, Natureza’s release is a landmark in Brazilian music history and represents a triumphant, if overdue victory for Joyce as an outspoken female artist who has consistently refused to bow to patriarchal pressure.
***Disclaimer! While “Feminina” and “Descompassadamente'' were mixed by legendary engineer Al Schmitt and mastered from the original master tapes, the remaining five tracks are unmixed. Due to significant deterioration of the master-tapes, the best audio source for these tracks was an unmixed tape copy Joyce had kept of the recordings. The best care has been taken in the restoration and mastering of this release, but the sound quality may differ from other releases on Far Out Recordings. We advise listening to sound clips before buying where possible.
This almost lost treasure from 1993 was heavily supported by Sven Väth during his Omen times and was released by the label Ongaku which was run by Ata and Heiko M/S/O. It was produced by the Frankfurt based techno mentors Kay Praag and Jörn Elling Wuttke (Alter Ego, Sensorama) and celebrates its 30 year anniversary. „What is soul?“ is one of those classics which has not been played to death and comes along with brand new interpretations by no one else than Joris Voorn and Joseph Ashworth. Now we recall what soul really is…
If the ideal greatest hits collection captures the fundamental truth about an artist, Eric Kupper’s – 'A Lifetime In Dance Music' highlights an envious catalogue, extraordinary production skills and ultimately reveals a passionate maven of house music.
The 24-track compilation celebrates the vast work and revered career of Eric Kupper and is a collectable occasion to re-acknowledge his influence and golden touch as a remixer for over five decades.
Within this first volume you’ll find signature and standout remixes for all-time greats such as Diana Ross, Depeche Mode and Degrees of Motion alongside Kupper classics both new and old under his own name and the legendary K-Scope alias.
'A Lifetime In Dance Music' will be available across three separate vinyl and digital release packages including a full collectors CD release in 2023.
Emblematic of an iconic nightlife and reflecting on the sheer scale of his work for seminal artists including Curtis Mayfield, Diana Ross, Earth Wind & Fire, Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer, this ultimate collection serves as a reminder of Kupper’s astounding blend of studio power, control, and agility as a producer and remixer. As the writing and production partner of the late godfather of house music, Frankie Knuckles, Kupper is a true musician and multi-instrumentalist who has played on, remixed, produced or engineered over 2,000 records spanning a wide range of contemporary musical genres.
Having worked on over 100 Billboard #1 ‘Dance’ records and mixed two records that have received the ‘Dance Record of the Year’ Grammy award, it is safe to say Eric Kupper’s hugely successful career underpins house music.
A vibrant and powerful performer, Danny Toeman seamlessly blends the classic vibes of Funk and Soul's golden age with his own inimitable London edge that modernises his work, giving it a fresh 'neo-vintage' flavour. His gravel tones combined with an altitude-defying falsetto set him apart, creating a sound oozing with character and emotion. With his backing band 'The Love Explosion', Danny Toeman stages an electrifying show filled to the brim with feel-good funky soul, designed to make everyone get on up! Born in London, Danny was well acquainted with the Soul, Funk, and Rhythm and Blues of artists such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles from an early age, before graduating onto the hard hitting Souther Soul of artists like Wilson Pickett and Bobby Womack, and the refined uptown Philly Soul of artists like the O'Jays and the Spinners. A guitarist since the age of seven, and a singer before that, he grabbed any opportunity to perform his songs on stage for an audience. Danny Toeman truly set out to on his musical career after graduating University (where he won the regions official Battle of the Bands contest). Soon after, he was in demand as a supporting act for a number of great Soul artists, including Charles Bradley of Daptone, Michael Kiwanuka, Queen of Rare Groove Betty Wright, and 4-time Grammy winner Robert Cray. Around the same time, Danny's music reached a worldwide audience when a song of his was discovered on Soundcloud by scouts, and placed on the in-store playlists of Abercrombie & Fitch. Since then, his music has appeared in film and television shows around the world, most notably Saturday Night Live (NBC). Danny continued to perform nonstop around the UK, occasionally travelling to continental Europe for appearances. From 2019-2021, he hosted and promoted a series of headline shows at the famous Pizza Express Jazz Club, which garnered sold out crowds every night. The pinnacle of the support slots came in 2019, when Danny was chosen as the primary support act for Kool and the Gang at their o2 Arena show in London, in front of 10,000 spectators.
In Mid-2020, as the world was shutting down, Danny was approached by LRK Records to release his track 'She's Got Something About Her' on vinyl.
Within 3 months of release, the disc completely sold out due to demand, taking the European Soul Scene by storm. It garnered multiple radio plays, including from BBC 6 Music's Craig Charles, and veteran BBC DJ Robert Elms pronounced it 'his new favourite song'.
In 2022, Danny received his first spin on BBC Radio 2 for the single, 'Shake the Blues Outta Your Shoes', and was chosen out of thousands of competitors by industry professionals to act as the opening act for the legendary Diana Ross at one of her rare UK performances!
As the world starts to open up, Danny looks forward to releasing more new music, and taking his show across Europe and around the World.
This boxset features remastered versions of all of Sade’s studio albums to date, on pure 180 gram black vinyl the first complete collection of their studio work up to the present day All six of the band’s acclaimed albums Diamond Life 1984 Promise 1985 Stronger Than Pride 1988 Love Deluxe 1992 Lovers Rock 2000 and Solder Of Love 2010 are packaged into the beautifully finished, white case bound box Revisiting the audio, the band worked from high resolution digital transfers of the stereo master mixes, from the original studio recordings, remastered at half speed at Abbey Road Studios The elaborate, half speed mastering process has produced exceptionally clean and detailed audio whilst remaining faithful to the band’s intended sound No additional digital limiting was used in the mastering process, so the six albums benefit from the advantage of extra clarity and pure fidelity, preserving the dynamic range of the original mixes for the very first time The six album sleeves have been meticulously reproduced in exact detail with authentic paper and printing methods, perfectly replicated for the first time since their original release.
Over an exceptional career spanning more than three decades, Sade’s six albums have amassed over 60 million worldwide sales and have been certified platinum 24 times over Producing singles such as ‘Your Love Is King’, ‘Smooth Operator’ and ‘By Your Side’, Sade have gone on to achieve Number 1 albums across the world, collected several Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards, and a BRIT Award along the way, quietly taking their "place in the pantheon of cultural influence” New York Times, October 2017. Their most recent studio album, Soldier Of Love, charted at number one in 15 countries, including the US, upon release in 2010.
Amadou Kuyateh is hailing from Frankfurt am Main and we are happy to welcome him aboard for our label. This record is his first release ever and it reflects his talent in a good way. Three lasting tracks, with different moods, but all of them with a lot of personality and we recommend to keep an eye on this young man, as for sure there will be more stuff coming from him in the near future.
Joseph Capriati is to release a selection of remixes of his epic 2020 album Metamorfosi. They arrive on limited edition triple vinyl on April 29th 2022 on his Redimension Music label, and feature the likes of DJ Stingray, Frank Wiedemann & Toto Chiavetta, Steve Rachmad, Dave Clarke, Carl Cox, Francois K, Masters at Work and more.
‘Cranes In The Sky,’ was originally written by Beyonce’s baby sister Solange alongside Raphael Saadiq, for her album back in 2016 that was cited by Rolling Stone as one of the most important 500 records of all time. The words exploring a fearless journey inward, pulling up the root of a problem, and the first glimpse of blue sky after the storm has passed.
Fast forward to 2022 - Ross Allen and Andy Thompson’s Foundation Music Productions enlist the expertise of Baltimore club legend, Dj Oji, together with Tracy Hamlin (Pieces Of A Dream), to take Solange’s breakout delivery to the dancefloor. Soulful vocals will heal you, while the mid-tempo moments will mellow the masses, and UK Funky grooves will keep the shuffle moving along way into the early hours. Three remixes come in the form of the ethereal DJ Pope Funkhut Reprise, a signature Joe Goddard groover and the Star One. KDA. Meltdown Dub.
Press:
Gazza Premiere
House Salad Music Premiere
Madoras Premiere
Music Is 4 Lovers Review
Le Visiteur Review
Hot House Picks
Faith In The Defected Basement - Livestream play
DJ Feedback:
FRANCOIS K
Yes! I played the vocal version the other day again.
KAI ALCE
Dope re-interpretation from Baltimore stalwarts OJI, POPE & Tracy!
GREG WILSON
What's not to like? Love the orig Solange jam!
DANNY KRIVIT
Nice, I like a lot of DJ Oji.
SOUL CLAP/ ELI GOLDSTEIN
Fire right here
DAZ I KUE/ BUGZ IN THE ATTIC
Yea I love this one…cool vibes.
THATMANMONKZ
Oh yeah, love the Solange original, and I’m a big Oji fan! That reprise version might come in very useful for the right set!
TERRY FARLEY/ FAITH
Got to be contender for single of the month with that story x
HOT TODDY
Simply beautiful.
CRAIG SMITH/ 6TH BOROUGH PROJECT
Loved the original of this from Solange a few years back, this is a real nice interpretation of it. Liking the reprise and Dub, handy tools
CHARLES WEBSTER
Nice soulful groover. Like this.
FISH GOO DEEP/ GREG DOWLING
Lovely re imagining of one of my favourite tracks of all time
FRANK BOOKER
Love this package. Reprise mix is the one for me. Very cool!
NICK V/ LA MONA
Thanks a lot I actually prefer the dub version :)
JIMPSTER/ FREERANGE
Killer groove on this and really nice to hear a housed up version of Cranes which is such a stunning song in it’s OG form. Def something I’d like to play out.
FELIX JOY/ SWU.FM
Yes ! I flippin love a good reprise mix and this one is doing it for me. Love the original version by Solange and this is a really great rework!
STEVE PARRY / FOR SASHA
Really Smoove love it.
GROOVE ARMADA/ TOM FINDLAY
THIS IS LOVELY!!
RALPH SESSION/ HALF ASSED RECORDS
Wow the dubstrumental really gives it new life.
QUENTIN HARRIS
I love this package.
GRAME PARK/ THE HACIENDA
This is tremendous
HECTOR ROMERO/ DEF MIX
Good to see this one got picked up. I’ve played this a few times since 2018 but will get it back in rotation. Glad to see this song is getting some traction. I look forward to the unreleased versions.
ANDY BUCHAN
What a sun-dappled slice of beauty! Full support on this, what a gorgeous EP. And those drums are ace, really propulsive.
DANIELLE MOORE/ CRAZY P
Yeah I really like this. I mean I love the original but theres something quite interesting about this. Nice yeah x
MARC MEISNERE/ SOL POWER SOUND
Yes please! Can’t wait to play this one!
STEFANO TUCCI/ HELL YEAH
This is one of the best best vocal of recent times, I love It, the crescendo towards half of the track is nothing but gorgeous!
TREVOR FING/ GRAFITTI KINGS
Love these remixes.
MAX P/ HELL YEAH
Yeah, full pack is what I needed !
HORSE MEAT DISCO/ SEVERINO
Really into this!
SEAN JOHNSTON/ ALFOS
I wouldn't play it, but it's a beautiful piece of work
GRAEME PARK/ THE HACIENDA
I’m gonna enjoy playing this its lovely.
NICK V/ LA MONA
Thanks a lot I actually prefer the dub version :)
TREVOR FUNG/ GRAFITTI KINGS
Love this !!
QUENTIN HARRIS
Being a fan of the Original I love everything about this.
ALAN DIXON/ MIDNIGHT MAGIC
Killer!!!!
DAVE JARVIS/ FAITH
This is amazing! Absolutely love xx
NICK V/ LA MONA
This is a fantastic track!
MAX P/ HELL YEAH
Oh yeaahhhh
RICK GILL/ OUTLAWS YACHT CLUB
Beautiful soulful house. Quality production and top draw vocals.
MICKEY JUKES/ 1BTN
Ooof! Such a strong record to step to but i love this. Classy production, vocals are killer. All round winner!
TOMMY TURBO JAZZ/ JAXX MEDICINE
I was a fan of the OG but I really needed this cut!!
RUSSELL FORMAN/ PIKES/ HARRYS KEBABS
This is great .... I'm writing an article on the Coney Island Boardwalk house parties atm.
JIM LISTER/ 1BTN
Loving the reprise and the dub!I'm a big fan of the Solange original, so it's nice to hear a new angle on it
CHRIS DE BEURRE/ THE EAGLE
Gorgeous vocal! And such a deep production - really like this! Infectious x
DAIRMONT/ ROOM WITH A VIEW
Amazing track. Loving it!
STEVE PARRY/ FOR SASHA
Beautiful super smooth.
LES CROASDAILE/ FREIGHT ISLAND
Tune this, reminds of Southport weekender!
Like every record Superchunk has made over the last thirty-some years, Wild Loneliness is unskippably excellent and infectious. It’s a blend of stripped-down and lush, electric and acoustic, highs and lows, and I love it all. On Wild Loneliness I hear echoes of Come Pick Me Up, Here’s to Shutting Up, and Majesty Shredding. After the (ahem, completely justifiable) anger of What a Time to Be Alive, this new record is less about what we’ve lost in these harrowing times and more about what we have to be thankful for. (I know something about gratitude.
I’ve been a huge Superchunk fan since the 1990s, around the same time I first found my way to poetry, so the fact that I’m writing these words feels like a minor miracle.) On Wild Loneliness, it feels like the band is refocusing on possibility, and possibility is built into the songs themselves, in the sweet surprises tucked inside them. I say all the time that what makes a good poem the “secret ingredient” is surprise. Perhaps the same is
true of songs. Like when the sax comes in on the title track, played by Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, adding a completely new texture to the song. Or when Owen Pallett’s strings come in on “This Night.” But my favorite surprise on Wild Loneliness is when the harmonies of Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley of Teenage Fanclub kick in on “Endless Summer.”
It’s as perfect a pop song as you’ll ever hear sweet, bright, flat-out gorgeous and yet it grapples with the depressing reality of climate change: “Is this the year the leaves don’t lose their color / and hummingbirds, they don’t come back to hover / I don’t mean to be a giant bummer but / I’m not ready / for an endless summer, no / I’m not ready for an endless summer.” I love how the music acts as a kind of counterweight to the lyrics.
Because of COVID, Mac, Laura, Jim, and Jon each recorded separately, but a silver lining is that this method made other long-distance contributions possible, from R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Sharon Van Etten, Franklin Bruno, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, among others. Some of the songs for the record were written before the pandemic hit, but others, like “Wild Loneliness,” were written from and about isolation.
I’ve been thinking of songs as memory machines. Every time we play a record, we remember when we heard it before, and where we were, and who we were. Music crystallizes memories so well: listening to “Detroit Has a Skyline,” suddenly I’m shout1singing along with it at a show in Detroit twenty years ago; listening to Overflows,” I’m transported back to whisper-singing a slowed-down version of it to my young son, that year it was his most-requested lullaby.
Wild Loneliness is becoming part of my life, part of my memories, too. And it will be part of yours. I can picture people in 20, 50, or 100 years listening to this record and marveling at what these artists created together beauty, possibility, surprise during this alarming (and alarmingly isolated) time. But why wait? Let’s marvel now. - Maggie Smith
Von der erfolgreichen Vinyl-Compilation-Serie. “Golden Chart Hits Of The 80s & 90s” gibt es jetzt bereits die dritte Ausgabe. 12 ausgewählte Hits für alle Fans der 80er und 90er Jahre, u.a. mit einem der legendärsten Titel überhaupt : „Relax“ von Frankie Goes To Hollywood“.
Desweiteren mit dabei: Camouflage „The Great Commandment“ , Gigi D’Agostino „Bla Bla Bla“, Black “Wonderful Life” , Rednex “Old Pop In An Oak”
DJ Frankie, future reality: LNCY001 is music for the megalopolis. After a brief but bloody desynchronisation in ‘Cobwebs of Blood’, we are back to life. Welcome to the club, welcome to the slaughterhouse – this feverish dreamspace of inverted nightmares is a divine comedy of lacerated lust. A visceral affair, the A2 invokes the fleshy body horror Cronenberg without breaking stride. Young’uns take note: this is a masterclass of retrograde futurism. A high NRG macro trip ‘Sweet Chainsaw’ is the coronary artery of the bustling cityscape capturing the pulsating romance of the underground: a frenzied maze of industrial estates, a reclamation of the forgotten spaces, and above a call to arms – let’s be having ye.
This is a feeling which DJ Frankie continues to thread on the flipside, in equal measure sexy and sentimental, balancing the serious futurism of US electro with the nostalgic optimism of UK hardcore. Re-historicising seemingly disparate strands of electronic music into something of ‘Ravers Guide’ – The Future Sound of the Past.
In essence, ‘Cobwebs of Blood’ is an ode to dunted dancefloors – for those looking to escape & those looking to connect. Big luv to all the original party crews and dancefloor young teams who have kept the fire at 38 Gower Street burning for seven years.
"Phantom Seance Ballett is a boombox orchestra, Nō mimes, Vicky’s protection spells, Detlef’s psychic shuffles, a smoke machine, a strobe light chamber, painting, Margit Carstensen’s chiffre, Susie Greene’s insults, Schleim, Ebichu’s echoes and Anna Oppermann’s limbo."
Thus we welcome Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny's ethereal Phantom Kino Ballett project to Utter with 'Phantom Seance Ballett', an unusually tangible manifestation of what has become an on-going series of live performances and installations that incorporate sound, video, costume, still imagery and beyond. The themes explored weave in and out of grasp, touching on the otherworldly and mysterious, on hypnotic rites and ceremonies, on the fetishisation of cultural tropes and curios.
While carefully documented, these happenings had not been distilled or presented in a cohesive format until now. Of course, an attempt to harness and package such an experience required an imaginative leap beyond the traditional 'record-in-sleeve' approach and Lena and Sarah have overseen every aspect of this remarkable collection themselves.
Working with designer Till Sperrle, Lena and Sarah have conjured up a fold-out box containing an LP, a riso-printed credits poster detailing the samples and snippets collaged into the sound, a 36 page book with imagery from various shows and an essay by Thomas Vorreyer plus sticker pack. The limited 50 copy artist edition contains an additional 10 special riso-prints within an artist stamped hand-numbered box. For all, the LP contains twenty hidden locked grooves cut into the run-out on each side presenting snippets from the artists' archive.
The first of these pieces - 'Identikit Arkaden Seance' - took place on the 2nd of October 2019 at NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein and is a live recording. This performance was part of their exhibition "Chambers of Phantom Kino Ballett", where they showed new video works and displayed the now infamous costumes and slippers worn by Lena, Sarah and a rotating cast of guest phantoms.
At this performance, the seven performers carried boomboxes playing individual audio tracks inside and outside the Kunstverein, while Viktoria Wehrmeister and Detlef Weinrich improvised music alongside the phantoms' moving soundtracks of sonic snippets, poetry, field recordings and soundscapes.
The second piece - 'Studio Chamber Seance' - contains diverse audio tracks of performances that were held by Willikens and Szczesny in collaboration with Wehrmeister and Weinrich. It has been deconstructed and rearranged with additional sound material from the Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny archive, then edited and mixed by Lena and Sarah in Amsterdam and Cologne last year. Additional music by Detlef Weinrich and Viktoria Wehrmeister features throughout, recorded live in Aachen 2019 and Frankfurt 2020.
Mastered by Gordon Pohl. Transfer, additional mastering & lacquer cut by Helmut Erler at D&M.
So strong was EPMD’s epochal debut album ‘Strictly Business’ that it spawned three all-time classic singles, providing part of the soundtrack to, arguably, the height of the original Golden Age. When discussing the landmark artists of that era – Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B & Rakim – the duo of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith are certainly in the conversation. And when it comes to all-time duos, they might be at the head of the table.
The original release of ‘I’m Housin’ came in 1989, and the only previous 7” release was confined to the UK – it now fetches sky-high prices. Hence this reissue couldn’t be more timely, showcasing just how fresh E Double E and PMD sound over even the most rudimentary but feverishly catchy of beats.
That was their genius – trading ‘slow flow’ punchlines over deceptively simple backings – and that’s exactly what you get here. The loop of Aretha Franklin’s indelible 1971 gem ‘Rock Steady’ does all the heavy lifting musically, the only adornment a brief vocal snippet taken from their own ‘It’s My thing’ – EPMD is a world premiere.
At a time when sampling was still in its infancy, and before producers started to pride themselves on obscurity, and on chopping up samples creatively, this was the approach of many a hip-hop song, and rap was none the poorer for it. When you have voices as distinctive and strong as EPMD, less is more.
New inductees to the Permanent Vacation congregation, say hi to Reznik & Mikesh. To be precise, Mikesh left his mark on the PV backcatalogue in conjunction with Filburt a couple years back already, but in pairing with Keinemusik's mainstay Reznik, it is a premiere for the label. They've previously been dropping joint EP-releases on Mike Simonetti's 2MR imprint and on Keinemusik respectively, now following up with this three chapter spanning "Number Done" EP. And frankly, it is quite a ride.
From the roughed up groove monster that is the opener "Number One" - straight forward in arrangement, yet keeping a tongue in cheek attitude. Rave launching leads, breakbeat climax, pads to fire up frenzy heaven - it is all in place. Followed by "DT64" - in title hinting towards the real-socialist upbringing of the lads, in sound leaning even into Detroit admiration and Techno realms, yet adding their very own take while flashing that subtle piano line and keeping things utmost catchy. To the closing "Almost Wanted", the House-anthem in this batch, building up floor wreaking, piano driven 808 patterns to follow up with glorious string-shaped euphoria in a break that is bound to cause numerous dancefloor meltdowns.
LET’S be frank, it was only a matter of time before we nabbed Dan Piu. Many years in the game with his own uber-respected labels Moto Music and deepArtSounds, in demand as an artist under his many guises (Allstarr Motomusic/George Btp) and collaborative projects (The WineLambs, Zarenzeit and Theory Of Movement, which he shares with deep house don Grant aka Anthony Collins), Piu may be old school but his recent renaissance has turned many heads including ours. His analogue alchemy is right up our strasse so we are beyond thrilled to be able to present the Zurich-based producer’s Technological Singularity EP here at Hizou.
From the celestial groove-heavy Quantum Computing to the angular electronica of Robots In Rage and from the melodic techfunk of A Machine Will Never Do X to the soul-warming F#uk The World To The Core, aficionados, followers and fanboys will not be disappointed.
Maxx Mann were the gay New Wave duo of Frank Oldham Jr (vocals, lyrics) and Paul Hamman (music) from New York City formed in 1981. Frank studied voice and acting at the Herbert Bergdorf School idolizing Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis and Shirley Bassey. Paul was playing piano for a cabaret singer at a bar in Greenwich Village where Frank met him and their friendship began. Paul and Frank worked together 3 to 4 times a week recording their debut self-titled album released in 1982, limited to 500 copies.
Songs provide interesting insights into the homosexual experience before the AIDS crisis: cruising backroom bars, BDSM and one-night stands. The music is "Neo-realistic rock" heavily influenced by punk, titillating, synthesized body and soul with Frank’s dramatized vocal stylings. The original press release sent to radio stations stated, "Because this is a completely innovative sound, we hope you will give it several listenings. It is adventurous, daring, and certain to cause reactions from your listeners.” For this first time vinyl/CD reissue we’ve added two bonus instrumental tracks, so the album now contains all four original vocal cuts and their corresponding instrumental versions. Paul sadly passed away in 1986 aged 33 from AIDS-related illness and we dedicate this reissue to him. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in an exact replica of the 1982 jacket and includes a fold-post poster with photos, lyrics and notes by Frank Oldham Jr.
INVŌKER just recently appeared on Innervisions' highly anticipated 'Secret Weapons' compilation - now he is back with this four-track EP on Frankey & Sandrino's 'Sum Over Histories Imprint'.
This is the debut release from Frankyeffe on Noir Music and something we have spent a lot of time putting together. Three original tracks have been crafted perfectly over time. Two of them (Determination and Out Of Focus) are banging acid tunes and the last one (Seriousness) has a little more laid back and melodic vibe.
Tauchen has done an excellent remix of “Determination” making it
more industrial underground and Industrialyzer has brilliantly made
“Seriousness” a prime time stomper. In short a fantastic package from which you will probably end up playing more than one track/version.
As the liner notes in this special Anniversary Edition of DUB SIDE OF THE MOON begin: This is the reggae record that changed it all. Some day music histortians may look back and divide a time in reggae before Dub Side and after. Celebrate a decade plus of this timeless and ingenious musical experiment with this release, which includes two new bonus tracks (including a new version of 'Breathe' that features Rebelution's Eric Rachmany along with Metric Man, Ruff Scott and Sluggy Ranks), new artwork, and a 12 page booklet that tells the history of the project and catches fans up on what the people involved have been up to in the years since.
Shot At Dawn is a scintillating return for a band who have been collectively quiet (but individually busy) for a few years, and (once again) sounds like the music of tomorrow. Lyricist Leon Mayes wills the real revolution to come, Morris's uneasy keys and driving, bittersweet production embodies the UK's collective anxiety/apathy coupled with an impending sense of doom, as we all obediently troop off the cliff like lemmings, while vocalist Michelle Manetti's melancholy delivery is the perfect foil both, recalling Tracey Thorn at her best.
It's a genuine wake-up call for the dance floor that's dropping well with club DJs but clearly has the potential to shine fully on radio. A2 track Warm Your Love is an equally forward-facing slice of sci-fi dance music sonically and already turbo-charging the dance floor with its futuristic feel.
The remixes come from Edinburgh/London duo Leonidas & Hobbes and are the first productions they've released since 2017's summer anthem and Release Of The Year, Web Of Intrigue (from their Rags of Time EP), as voted by some 400+ DJs on Bill Brewster's DJ History podcast back in January. Their Electro mixes doff a cap to Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo) and Daft Punk/Thomas Bangalter, with some Compass Point era Grace Jones/Sly & Robbie thrown in for good measure on the electro dub, while the Deep House variations are more Pepe Braddock's Deep Burnt meets Frankie Knuckles/Jamie Principle's Your Love and Orbital...
The Frankonia (EP) is the result of the collaboration between Nils Weimann and Martin Glowacz, which started many years ago.
Side A serves two different, powerful tracks. Frankonia comes with warm atmospheres and spaces. Driven by the interaction of bass and synth lines, wrapped in some subtile delayed textures.
Lower has a rollin bass structure, combined with smashing vocals and surrounded by resonating marbles.
Side B belongs Paul Agripa's interpretation of Frankonia. (He's also known as a part of Comoji.)
The remix takes you on a 13 minutes trip, carried by a harmonic baseline, extended spaces and melodies. Play it loud! Support by Cezar, Sedee, Vlad Arapasu.
Following the success of the last Parquet Most Wanted EP´s, here comes the 10th volume with four beautiful melodic-techno hymns by SOLEE, RANCIDO, MARIUS LEHNERT, SUPACOOKS and DOUGLAS GREED! Already massive international DJ support by STEPHAN BODZIN, , KÖLSCH, KOLLEKTIV TURMSTRASSE, GUY J, MACEO PLEX, FRANKEY & SANDRINO, HERNAN CATTANEO, EELKE KLEIJN and many more...100% Must-Have!
The Viennese label forTunea finishes 2017 with another rendition of their forTunea Cookies recipe. The ingridients on the A-side were added by Klaus Benedek and the newest member of the forTunea bunch, Lukas Poellauer. - Splattered is another typical melancholic KB trip. A chopped hookline, heavy reverbed synths and a vocoder are the signature features in this track. Lukas delivers us on the other hand his interpretation of - Underground house music with Chicago and UK influences. The B-side gets a little spicier. Jakobin & Peletronic serve with - Morning Glory some funky seeds on the plate. Last but not least the Schampus Ghost teams up with Anemona to the baking session. What they are adding to the cookies What they are adding to the cookies Well, it is certanly not sugar. ;-) It is for the better not to unveil the secret ingridient. But lets just say, their tune has some cool disco-techy vibes innit. All in all an enjoyable treat
Already support by Iron Curtis, Blueshift, Dubble D, Paul Cut, Rainer Trüby, Manuel Sahagun, Roman Rauch, Franksen, Claudio Ricci. Tyree Cooper, Sarah Wild, Bart Ricardo, Janefondas, The Soulbrozerz, Eric Davenport, BTO Spider, Jaymz Nylon, Snooba
Meander turns 10! Beautiful representation of the past 10 years with previously unreleased music. The label celebrates their first decade with their second compilation, 5 years after the initial Family Jubilee. The result is a collection of 3 x 180g vinyl records. All discs are available individually, with limited special artwork. As a package it forms a distinctive reflection of Meanders momentum.
Palto Flats & WRWTFWW Records are ecstatic to announce the highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient / minimal album "Through The Looking Glass", originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan.
Considered a Holy Grail of Japanese music by many, "Through The Looking Glass" is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring contemplative ambient sounds with an admirably precise use of marimba. The result is alternatively ethereal and vibrant, always precise and mesmerizing, and makes for an atmospheric masterpiece and an unparalleled sonic and spiritual experience.
The fully licensed reissue is available as a single 33rpm LP and a limited 45rpm DLP, both cut directly from the original studio reels (AAA), at Emil Berliner (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon) for the 45rpm DLP, and at the equally famous Frankfurter SST Studio for the LP. It is also available in CD format for the first time. All versions come with extensive liner notes.
On his own Ladies and Gentlemen imprint, Green Supreme is the fourth studio album from house music veteran Phonique: a collection of 11 remarkable songs from one of the scene's most revered producers. To describe Phonique as prolific would be something of an understatement. To date, he has amassed a discography of more than 500 original tracks and remixes - as well as three previous studio albums - for acclaimed labels such as Dessous, Poker Flat, Crosstown Rebels, Systematic, Souvenir and of course his own label Ladies and Gentlemen, a collection which includes some runaway successes. Despite working on Green Supreme, Phonique's fierce production rate has continued unabated in 2016, with highlights including 'T Groove' on Katermukke and his stunning remix of Frank & Friedrich 'Coming Home' which landed on Universal earlier this year.
Australian label Nightime Drama, run by Peter Fincher (aka Vibrio) and Shaun Franklin (aka Trebek) now serves up its second standout release of 2016. This four track affair comes hot on the heels of the last by Yoshihiro Arikawa, and is a second release on the label by Aussie live act, DJ and producer Trinity, with Steven Tang and Italian based Andee on the remix. Trinity has also released on OOC, Coincidence and Android Muziq and regularly performs all round Europe. His sound deep and cosmic, heady and hypnotic, as the fresh tracks here prove. Cascade Drive is seven minutes of direct and elastic house with spacey pads and driving drums carrying you through the cosmos. From the Earthmothern label and one half of RK's, Andee strips it back to a slick rubber kick drum then layers in a forceful acid line and icy hi hats to really get you under its spell. The longform groove is physical and cerebral in equal measure. The next original is Expansion, and again finds Trinity serving up a hi tech and soul infused deep techno sound that is lithe and liquid, smeared with great pads and truly timeless. Emphasis boss Steven Tang is the perfect man to remix given his style, and his version flips the cut into a more heavyweight and banging techno effort, but one that is just as littered with sci fi sounds, spaceship trails and intergalactic energies.
Eclectic, raw, diverse and deeply driving - these 4 tracks are pure hypnotic Hreno vibes. New Life! That is what has inspired and influenced this EP on many levels. New life brings new inspiration and new energy often in beautifully diverse and unpredictable ways. Everest. Positivity throughout, heights, strength, light, potential and future instantly come to mind, when listening to these songs. We are happy to present Hrenos second release on Meander as the follow up of his well received 2012 Frank Barns record. 180g vinyl release, comes with fullcover artwork illustrating traditional indigenous art from Borneo.
Naya Beat presents ‘Select Remixes and Reworks 2', a selection of new and exclusive dancefloor remixes featuring Thomaas Banks (Psychemagik), Dino Soccio (Pleasure of Love), Turbotito & Ragz (Naya Beat), and Woolfy vs. Projections. Putting a South Asian twist on the classic disco 12” remix format, Naya Beat have given some of dance music’s most exciting producers access to their storied back catalogue. Torchbearers of West Coast balearic, the California duo Woolfy vs Projections deliver an infectiously groovy electro funk version of Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya by Turbotito & Ragz and Say She She’s Piya Malik. Label cofounders, Turbotito & Ragz add some Naya Beat house flavour to Greek duo Boys’ Shorts Going Out Hoping To See You adding vocals by Australian Indian actress Pallavi Sharda. Thomaas Banks, one half of the celebrated UK duo Psychemagik, provides a scintillating dark wave remix of Tu Aaja by British Asian new wave pioneers Pinky Ann Rihal. And finally, Dino Soccio, head honcho of the LA-based disco edits label Pleasure of Love brings us a smooth as butter extended disco remix of Asha Puthli & Say She She’s recent classic Pawa! Cut to vinyl for the discerning DJ and listener by multi-Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at The Carvery, the EP comes in a beautifully designed 12” disco sleeve with centre label cutout.
Brazilian artist Rubel isn’t one to be pigeonholed and typecast into staying in one sound. Casas, the follow-up to his debut album Pearl from 2015, brought a bigger, more epic, and richer production quality to the table. Fusing the worlds of MPB and hip hop, Rubel’s sophomore LP built on the momentum of its predecessor, gaining a Latin-Grammy nomination along the way. Mr Bongo is proud to be giving Casas its first worldwide release on vinyl and CD outside of Brazil and Japan.
The cliché they say is that the second album is always the trickiest; however, Rubel doesn’t seem to have had any problems on Casas. It’s a fountain of creativity and originality, marking an artist in full flow.
Conceived after Rubel spent six months living in Los Angeles, Casas is MPB-leaning at its core but is also driven by a hip hop inspired pulse. There is a clear influence from hip hop’s aesthetic across the 2010s woven subtly but fundamentally throughout. Nods to Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator can be heard across an album full of playful edge and personality. Luscious string-led arrangements and tracks that explore the rich folkloric rhythms of Brazil, sit next to songs with low-fi drum machines and features from acclaimed Brazilian rappers.
One of the highlights of the album, ‘Mantra’, starts with a traditional Brazilian rhythm that morphs into a hazy hip hop beat. A sublime song with a hooky call and response chorus, it features a guest appearance and verse by the Brazilian MC Emicida. Another highlight is the epic ‘Colégio’ (College) which further showcases the melding of stripped back drum machine beats with cinematic, sweeping arrangements. Elsewhere, ‘Partilhar’ is a swaying, heartwarming hug. A tale of longing and love that has become a singalong fan favourite at Rubel’s concerts.
Casas also shines a light on a string of key players in Brazil’s new vanguard, such as Pedro Fonte, Gus Levy, and Brazilian rapper / poet Rincon Sapiência to name a handful. The record has pop sensibilities yet also feels underground. It beats with the heart of a singer-songwriter, a feeling that was felt so strongly on Pearl, yet this time is bolstered by a level of arrangement and richness of sound that take it to another dimension - soaring horn and string sections elevating the songs from home recording to stadium-ready anthems. Keeping that intrinsic beauty and simplicity of a well-constructed song yet reframing it within a pop context is the true gift of this album.
Casas cemented Rubel’s status as one of Brazil’s leading contemporary talents and a key figure enriching the country’s already effervescent scene.
out of Stock
Last delivered 15 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Die legendäre „The Italo Disco Collection“ geht in die vierte Runde! Vol. 4 präsentiert erneut eine exklusive Auswahl großer Italo-Disco-Klassiker der 80er Jahre – zeitlose SynthesizerSounds, treibende Beats und unverwechselbare Melodien, die das einzigartige Lebensgefühl einer ganzen Ära verkörpern.
Auf 4 LPs versammelt die Box zahlreiche Highlights der ItaloDisco-Geschichte. Mit dabei sind unter anderem Ken Laszlo, Valerie Dore, Radiorama und Koto – echte Kultnamen und unverzichtbare Vertreter des legendären Genres.
Als besonderes Extra wartet auf alle Italo-Disco-Fans neben der hochwertigen Vinylbox ein exklusiver „Italo Disco“-Fischerhut. Damit wird die Collection nicht nur zum musikalischen Highlight, sondern auch zum echten Sammlerstück.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 days ago available to reorder, subject to availability
With Elvis Presley wishes you a "Blue Christmas", the Drifters wishing you a "White Christmas", a "Christmas Prayer" by Billy Fury, a "Christmas Present" from Solomon Burke, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" with Brenda Lee, "Twistin' Bells" by Santo & Johnny, and the "Jingle Bell Rock" with Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell. The Cadillacs sings "Rudolph The Red- Nosed Reindeer" and Chuck Berry "Runs With Rudolph", Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons "Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", Johnny Cash with his "Little Drummer Boy" and finally David Seville and the Chipmunks with "The Chipmunk Song".
Christmas Crooners vereint die schönsten Weihnachtsklassiker, interpretiert von den größten Stimmen des Goldenen Zeitalters der Unterhaltungsmusik. Mit Legenden wie Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby und Eartha Kitt sorgt diese Sammlung für die perfekte Mischung aus festlicher Nostalgie und zeitloser Eleganz. Ein stimmungsvoller Soundtrack für die Weihnachtszeit, der Wärme, Charme und die Magie klassischer Crooner-Klänge in jedes Zuhause bringt. Erhältlich als exklusives Transparent Red Vinyl.
Creole Culture is the triumphant return of Dawn Richard’s King Creole era. Steeped in history but with its flag planted firmly in the future, Creole Culture pulls elements from Richard’s heritage as a Black and Native American woman who has spent a lifetime making and engaging with music. Following New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021), Creole Culture is akin to a panel of a triptych: a fully-realized sonic and narrative universe in which Richard, as King Creole, rebuilds her hometown of New Orleans in her image. She not only honors her city for what it was or what it gave her, but stakes a claim for it as a cradle of global culture now and for all time.
Creole Culture follows two acclaimed avant-garde R&B albums with composer Spencer Zahn — the later of which, 2024’s Quiet in a World Full of Noise, found Richard exorcising the specters of grief and trauma in the wake of her father Frank Richard’s health struggles and the killing of her cousin Cisco. It is a softer take on the brass-soaked swagger of Richard’s previous King Creole efforts, an evolution brought about when she realized she had left a crucial viewpoint out of her exploration of New Orleans: her own. “New Breed was the story of New Orleans through my father’s eyes,” Richard explains. “I used his samples, his music, his cultures, his work with Chocolate Milk, his side of the family. Second Line was my mom — her interludes riddled the album with her depiction of what is meant to be a Creole woman in New Orleans. The masculine and feminine sides of King Creole had expressed themselves through them, but the story felt unfinished, like my version of the story was untold.”
That story is, for lack of a better word, complex: at turns triumphant and tragic, sexy and mournful, braggadocious and contemplative. Creole Culture presents Richard’s New Orleans as a utopian soundscape — an intoxicating blend of R&B, soul, hip-hop, pop, and jazz — that’s survived and thrived despite the dystopian circumstances visited upon it. Richard presents the melange of influence and artifact on Creole Culture with the care of a botanist nurturing new hybrids in a rose garden.
What emerges from that care is at once delightful and unexpected, enlisting a crew of guest stars including Big Freedia, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and Durand Bernarr for features that play against type. Tank’s turn at spoken word verse on “l v r” serves to add dimension to King Creole’s New Orleans, as does Joseph’s undeniable voice on “chuuuurch.” “I’m not normally a features girl,” says Richard, ”but King Creole can’t build a world from scratch without help. What’s beautiful about the features here — which is also true of my band and producers — is they come from people who understand the materials of the world they’re from, they’re people I love, and they’re people who are just extraordinary at what they do. They’re part of the atmosphere of this place. You need them for the record to breathe.”
In the end, that’s what King Creole creates: a space where Dawn Richard can breathe, can be at peace with herself, and let loose with others. From finding love in opening single “enough” to relishing in the Afrocaribbean futurism of “fiesta,” Creole Culture is a tremendous, freeing breath of fresh air. It captures the resolve of a woman and a place who’ve survived the unimaginable and sees the future not as something to be endured, but as something to be created. Dawn Richard has been making that future one album at a time over the course of her career. Creole Culture is her most stunning one yet.
Creole Culture is the triumphant return of Dawn Richard’s King Creole era. Steeped in history but with its flag planted firmly in the future, Creole Culture pulls elements from Richard’s heritage as a Black and Native American woman who has spent a lifetime making and engaging with music. Following New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021), Creole Culture is akin to a panel of a triptych: a fully-realized sonic and narrative universe in which Richard, as King Creole, rebuilds her hometown of New Orleans in her image. She not only honors her city for what it was or what it gave her, but stakes a claim for it as a cradle of global culture now and for all time.
Creole Culture follows two acclaimed avant-garde R&B albums with composer Spencer Zahn — the later of which, 2024’s Quiet in a World Full of Noise, found Richard exorcising the specters of grief and trauma in the wake of her father Frank Richard’s health struggles and the killing of her cousin Cisco. It is a softer take on the brass-soaked swagger of Richard’s previous King Creole efforts, an evolution brought about when she realized she had left a crucial viewpoint out of her exploration of New Orleans: her own. “New Breed was the story of New Orleans through my father’s eyes,” Richard explains. “I used his samples, his music, his cultures, his work with Chocolate Milk, his side of the family. Second Line was my mom — her interludes riddled the album with her depiction of what is meant to be a Creole woman in New Orleans. The masculine and feminine sides of King Creole had expressed themselves through them, but the story felt unfinished, like my version of the story was untold.”
That story is, for lack of a better word, complex: at turns triumphant and tragic, sexy and mournful, braggadocious and contemplative. Creole Culture presents Richard’s New Orleans as a utopian soundscape — an intoxicating blend of R&B, soul, hip-hop, pop, and jazz — that’s survived and thrived despite the dystopian circumstances visited upon it. Richard presents the melange of influence and artifact on Creole Culture with the care of a botanist nurturing new hybrids in a rose garden.
What emerges from that care is at once delightful and unexpected, enlisting a crew of guest stars including Big Freedia, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and Durand Bernarr for features that play against type. Tank’s turn at spoken word verse on “l v r” serves to add dimension to King Creole’s New Orleans, as does Joseph’s undeniable voice on “chuuuurch.” “I’m not normally a features girl,” says Richard, ”but King Creole can’t build a world from scratch without help. What’s beautiful about the features here — which is also true of my band and producers — is they come from people who understand the materials of the world they’re from, they’re people I love, and they’re people who are just extraordinary at what they do. They’re part of the atmosphere of this place. You need them for the record to breathe.”
In the end, that’s what King Creole creates: a space where Dawn Richard can breathe, can be at peace with herself, and let loose with others. From finding love in opening single “enough” to relishing in the Afrocaribbean futurism of “fiesta,” Creole Culture is a tremendous, freeing breath of fresh air. It captures the resolve of a woman and a place who’ve survived the unimaginable and sees the future not as something to be endured, but as something to be created. Dawn Richard has been making that future one album at a time over the course of her career. Creole Culture is her most stunning one yet.
