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Wan Chai Records is a Hong-Kong based label, specialized in rare Asian records and quality reissues.

For their first release, they wanted to highlight a promotional record released at 500 copies only in Hong-Kong for a famous Soda brand.
It was offered with a pack of bottles in 1977 and never been
released.

Produced and arranged by Noel Quinlan, this Album is a mix of
Funk and Soul covers. The result is an awesome LP including
groovy covers, from the classic Lowdown' by Bob Scaggs, to a
Funky I Shot The Sheriff' by Bob Marley with a deep Fender
Rhodes, and 12 other outstanding tracks.

Yuji Ohno is a Japanese jazz musician born in 1941. He's principally known for his musical scoring of Japanese anime-television series, of which Lupin III and the feature film The Castle of Cagliostro are his most well known works. Ohno is also well-known as a member of a jazz trio with bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Lenny White. The tracks collected here for Lupin The Third: TV Special are oozing with seventies cool, exemplified by opener 'Theme From Lupin III': the snares shuffle, the pianos tease and the upright bass walks with all the swagger of a French master thief. Great funky tunes from the Japanese jazz master!

,Future Development" ist das dritte Album von Del The Funky Homosapien und war nach seinem Weggang vom Major-Label Elektra sein erstes Solo-Album für sein Independent-Label Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings. Ursprünglich 1997 auf Kassette veröffentlicht und später 2002 auf CD und Vinyl neu aufgelegt, stützte sich das Album größtenteils auf Dels eigene Produktion sowie Beiträge von Hiero Crew-Mitgliedern A-Plus, Opio und Toure. Der einzige Gastbeitrag auf dem Album stammt von Crew-Mitglied Casual, der Del auf dem energetischen ,Checking Out The Rivalry" begleitet. Klanglich schlägt ,Future Development" eine Brücke zwischen den funklastigen Stilen von Dels Debüt und den dunkleren, futuristischeren Texturen, die er auf ,No Need for Alarm" erkundete. Textlich verfeinert Del sein rasantes Wortspiel mit einer schärferen thematischen Ausrichtung und beschäftigt sich mit dem Leben in Oakland, gesellschaftlichen Beobachtungen und der Hip-Hop-Kultur - alles mit einer Mischung aus Humor, straßenkluger Einsicht und mehrsilbiger Gewandtheit. Letztendlich fängt das Album einen Schnappschuss seiner Entwicklung vom rohen Talent zu einem konzeptionell gereifteren Songwriter ein. Es bleibt ein bedeutendes und unterschätztes Kapitel in Dels Entwicklung, das die frühen Keime der Kreativität und Unabhängigkeit zeigt, die einen Großteil seiner weiteren Karriere prägen sollten.

Originally released in 1986, Life Is Hard Then You Die was the debut
album from Liverpudlian indie-pop band It's Immaterial - Now reissued
and repackaged by Last Night From Glasgow, available October 2023
Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows
that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs - In fact everything else here is just
as inspired and original as their recent hit."
In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of All Music wrote, "Musically, the LP is
all over the place - new wave country, blues, folk, and synth pop - Somehow the
smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic
just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh
from beginning to end."

“The high priest of country cool” - Rolling Stone

“I like him very much. He’s very special. He’s singing with a voice I never heard before” - Townes Van Zandt

“A conscious, soulful brother” - Horace Andy

“He’s a brother to me - one of the best singer/songwriters I’ve ever met” - Adrian Sherwood

“Unearthed mine of gems from inner Wales - a songbook of ideas - that's Jeb!” - Gilles Peterson

Jeb Loy Nichols is a bonafide Country (Got) Soul legend. The Music Maker presents 21 incredibly deep, grooving and soulful songs from the cream of Jeb's catalogue; from its earliest days to his latest unreleased gems via countless rare and unbelievably good lost-classics. This 2LP set is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned artwork courtesy of Jeb himself.

In collecting these uncut, under-heard gems, we hope to do justice to Jeb's jaw-dropping artistic brilliance. A man who, in working with Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell, Dan Penn, Larry Jon Wilson and countless other legendary characters, has crafted some of the most deeply affecting folk, country, soul, funk, blues, dub, reggae, gospel, rap and electronic music, ever heard.

The first music Jeb really felt a connection with was southern soul: "I used to listen to the radio at night and fell in love with Bobby Womack and Al Green, The Staple Singers and Joe Simon – that whole Nashville/Memphis/Muscle Shoals thing.” But Jeb was so much more than a soul boy, Indeed, he "went to bluegrass festivals with my dad and come home and listened to jazz records with my mother.” And, when he was fifteen, he heard his first punk record: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols. “That and The Ramones completely changed me.” In 1979 he got a scholarship to go to art school in New York: “A great time. Punk was over but hip-hop was starting and I got into that in an obsessive way.”

His first recording, in 1980, was an unreleased rap song called "I’m A Country Boy". If that isn't an insight enough into Jeb's kaleidoscopic path through music, in 1981 he visited friends in London and found himself living in a squat with Adrian Sherwood, Ari Up (from the Slits), and Neneh Cherry. “Adrian put me to work immediately, moving boxes of records all across London. It was Adrian that was and is my biggest influence – in his complete disregard for genre purity.” So, presumably you're getting the picture? A veritable musical magpie with a voracious appetite and unimpeachable taste.

"Mine has always been a meandering career. I've done what I've done, and made the music I've made, due to chance meetings. I'm not particularly ambitious; it's more important to me that I work with friends and like-minded people. I've been a big fan of Be With for years. Everything they release is essential. When they asked about rereleasing "Countrymusicdisco45" I was both pleased and flattered. We began talking about how we'd do it; two years and twenty-one tracks later, here we are. I've always thought of the music I make as Country Music. Music conceived in the country, written in the country, recorded in the country. I left London and moved back to the country so I could live among the trees, the grasses, the animals, those things that don't go to war and get greedy. This compilation is the story of that life. Hand made, lo-fi, ramshackle, stripped down, real deal music. Heartworn and funky. Music made in the kitchen, not in the studio. As the great Skip Mcdonald said, Perfect ain't perfect. It's great to see all these tracks gathered together. It feels like a family reunion. Some older members of the tribe, some newer arrivals."

Opener "countrymusicdisco45" is a song Jeb wrote about how his crew lives, tucked up blissfully in the hills: "House parties full of country folk dancing to disco, reggae, soul, country, hip-hop. All night. I recorded it at home under the influence of Stevie Wonder." It's one of the funkiest records you'll ever hear. "Sometimes Shooting Stars" was recorded in Nashville and mixed by the legendary Dennis Bovell. It's deep, dubby, majestic. A thing of fragile, melodic beauty. The party ramps back up again with the undeniable groove of "Short Cut Home" before the profoundly moving "Disappointment" arrives. One of many songs he's recorded with good buddy Benedic Lamdin (aka Nostalgia 77): "We were going for a Leon Thomas meets Richard Brautigan meets Alice Coltrane kind of thing". We think they nailed it. "Days Are Mighty", like a lot of the tracks on this collection, "started life as a demo, an attempt to get something down while it was fresh. No frills, nothing fancy, just feel." And what feels!

The irrepressibly funky "Don't Dance With Me Tonight" is a deeply moving, slow-mo organ-drenched head-nod-funky country-ballad. Next up, the breezy "You Got It Wrong" was recorded in Wales with some of Jeb's good friends and neighbours, The Westwood All Stars, featuring Clovis Phillips and Will Barnes. Skanking fiddle-flecked gem "Ring The Bells" was the first thing Jeb recorded when he moved to Wales. A combination of all his loves; country, reggae, soul. It's followed by "Let's Make It Up", a truly sumptuous string-drenched emotional groover. "When Did You Stop Loving Me" is another Nashville track, written and recorded during a time Jeb was spending a lot of time with the Muscle Shoals crew, Donnie Fritts, Spooner Oldham, George Soule and Dan Penn: "It shows, I'm sure, their influence." Oh, you bet it does!

The swaggering country-funk of "Just Beginning" should grace many groove-focused DJs' sets whilst "Wintering Of The Year", again made with Clovis, is pastoral, campfire soul. The glacial, gorgeous "Let It Rain" is from an unreleased record Jeb made with the great British jazz bass player Andy Hamill and "We Tell Each Other Who We Are" is freaky country-soul made by a man with a love for strutting, wonky hip-hop stylings. Rounding out the side, "Trip To You" is pure, uncut amphetamine-propelled drum-machine soul.

The spare, beautiful "Dirt" is from an EP Jeb made with Julian Moore in his house in South London: "All first takes, straight to tape." Swoon! "Heaven Right Here" was a very minor league hit in America: "It was produced by the brilliant and much missed Wayne Nunes. It was started in the countryside of Missouri, finished in the countryside of Wales, and recorded in the countryside of Sussex." Double swoon! "If Later Ever Comes" is electronica meets J.J. Cale business whilst "Remember The Season" is truly wonderful and breezy guitar soul. "A Little Love" was made with Wayne Nunes as well, after a night of listening to Studio One and Northern Soul. Bouncy dub closer "Weary Traveller" was written by Bill Monroe, the hero of Jeb's youth: "Monroe's music was heavily influenced by black southern churches; I've tried to keep some of that feral feel." This was the final recording by Jeb's 1990s Country-Dub band, Fellow Travellers.

The name of this compilation comes from a time when Jeb lived in Peckham, south London and he used to DJ and sometimes perform at a local bar: "The owner of the bar, a Jamaican named Count Percy, once asked me what I called my music. I told him I wasn't sure, I guess just pop music. He thought about it for a minute and then said, 'no, more like mom and pop music'. Rather than call me a country singer or a folk singer he always referred to me as The Music Maker."

With the long overdue deluxe overview of his beloved music, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Jeb Loy Nichols. RIYL Larry Jon Wilson, Townes Van Zandt, Bobby Charles, country got soul artists, dub, deep soul, disco, dancing, heartbreak. This deluxe collection, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to ensuring Jeb reaches an ever bigger, ever more appreciative crowd of followers. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The artwork has been lovingly put together by The Music Maker, himself, Jeb Loy Nichols. "Be With is the perfect home for this mongrel music. I am forever in their debt." The pleasure is all ours, Jeb.

Lontra is the new project from Brazilian born, Colombian based producer, and musician, Guille Katorzi. The inspiration and influences for this particular project were drawn from diverse sources, including disco, house, Nigerian boogie & afrobeat.

The instrumentals were and produced in Bogotá with Guille laying down the guitar & bass parts which the songs were built upon. After sending the demos to vocalist Sir Jean (Voilaaa/Sir Jean & NMB Afrobeat Experience), with an invitation to collaborate, he was thrilled to receive a warm response to the songs from Sir Jean and so travelled to France in 2023 to record vocals in the singers' home town of Lyon. Returning to Bogotá, a selection of top brass musicians contributed their blazing horns to the project.

Opening up the EP, "Money, Money" serves up a lively disco beat with percussive Afrobeat highlights, funky guitar licks & Afrobeat inspired horn parts, backed by an irresistibly groovy bassline, setting the scene for Sir Jean's lyrical warning "money cannot buy your soul".

Dropping some of the Afrobeat accents and staying closer to the centre line, "Life Is Movement" is a dancefloor focused track where Katorzi's guitar hook pairs with a restless bassline over which Sir Jean's vocal delivery shines. The flipside begins with a sensuous overture on "Mysterious". A loose Afro-beat & guitar syncopation provides an inviting space for the horn section's refrains and solos. The arrangement allows plenty of room for the listener to become intoxicated by the groove, before Sir Jean opens his heart with the emotive ode to someone we learn of only as..."Mysterious".

Closing out proceedings is a more driving club track. The Lyon & The Hunter... where Sir Jean sings a warning wrapped in metaphors while Lontra throws down a club focused punch that deftly dances between funk, house and afro flavours while the scorching horns set the lot aflame.

The culmination of different inspirations and intonations imbues the project with a vivacity and richness in colour that reflects the multi-cultural assembly of players. Canopy is delighted to welcome the talent of Lontra to the family and are happy to say that this is the first in a number of exciting projects that this artist is serving up

Norman Connors' Mr. C is a masterclass in sophisticated modern funk and boogie-infused soul that was way ahead of its time. Originally released in 1981, the album finds the renowned jazz drummer/producer at a creative crossroads, boldly diving deep into street-level boogie-funk without losing his soulful, jazzy touch. What once might have puzzled jazz purists now delights soul/funk aficionados; it has quietly become a cult favourite and now, nearly 45 years later, Mr. C sounds fresher than ever. Brimming with infectious heavy funk, lush arrangements and soul-stirring performances, it's an album that flirts with perfection, ensuring its enduring significance in the boogie/jazz-funk-soul canon.

From its opening moments, Mr. C makes one thing clear: this is Norman Connors at his funkiest. The majority of the album is a straight-up party: think dancefloor-ready beats complemented by punchy horn riffs and slick early-80s boogie vibes. There’s heavy use of synths and drum-machines, demonstrating Connors' gleeful embrace of contemporary funk trends. Each track shines in uniquely thrilling fashion, showcasing Connors’ versatility and happy knack for blending genres whilst crafting unforgettable melodies.

Irresistible thumper “She’s Gone” opens the album with a dyno-Rhodes electric piano groove and a seriously thick boogie-funk rhythm. Lush string accents and horn stabs weave through the funky bassline, while the vocals (handled by a young Beau Williams) soar with gospel-tinged emotion. Over four decades later, it endures as a masterpiece. Living up to its name, the shimmering “Party Town” brings deep Electro-Funk Energy by layering bubbling synth bass and shiny lead synth lines. The groove is downright addictive, a brisk, brass-kissed jam that implores you to move. Up next, the sophisticated funk of “Keep Doin’ It” is a low-slung post-disco glider, propelled by a sleek vibe, leaning into the late-night boogie sound. Funky guitar, tight drumming (with Connors’ jazz-honed chops in the pocket) and smooth vocals urge you to “keep doin'” whatever it is that's working. “Stay with Me” works a bit of island flavour into the mix, riding a thick Caribbean groove complete with tropical percussion and an upbeat tempo that could almost be calypsoul. The fusion of Caribbean rhythm elements into an R&B context demonstrates Connors’ willingness to experiment with global sounds while keeping things soulful and danceable.

Side B opens with the sassy funk-deluxe workout, "Anyway You Want" dripping with that soulful strut. Bringing a real quiet storm swagger, “Sing a Love Song” slows the tempo ever so slightly into a sexy, swaying jazz-funk gem, featuring a young Glenn Jones on lead vocals. The arrangement is elegant, built on warm keys and an undeniable groove. The celestial “Love’s In Your Corner” is all about soulful uplift. Featuring the legendary Jean Carn's powerhouse vocals soaring over a brass-kissed driving funk, it's an R&B burner. The refined, jazzy instrumental “Mr. C” is a slinky, smooth, funk-filled mid-tempo groove, with sax and warm keys gliding effortlessly. Connors combines jazzy arrangements into the post-disco/boogie framework one last time, and the result is sublime. It’s sophisticated and cool and, as a finale, “Mr. C” wraps up the album in classy style.

On release, Mr. C flew under the radar but time has been exceptionally kind to this record. DJs, collectors and soul connoisseurs alike have since rediscovered its magic. As ever, this crucial reissue has been lovingly remastered by Simon Francis, cut by engineer of the year Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios and pressed to perfection by Record Industry in Holland. Norman Connors was something truly extra. He was a visionary. And Mr. C is proof.

The undisputed king of Disco House Purple Disco Machine returns to his club roots with retro-inspired release ‘Ghost Town’ ft. Rertosonix. Fresh off reworking the Hurts classic ‘Wonderful Life’ and delivering a huge remix for ‘Born Again’ (Lisa ft. Doja Cat & RAYE), the Dresden-born producer is once again ready to conquer the dancefloor with his signature sound. Tailor-made for that insatiable desire to dance, it’s a release engineered for movement, locking straight into the pulse of late-night energy and crowd euphoria. As such, the track is unsurprisingly becoming a favourite in Purple Disco Machine’s sets already, where dates in Mexico, the USA, and Spain have left the dancefloors anything but a ‘Ghost Town’. Armed with a dancefloor weapon, Purple Disco Machine drops the release early for DJs on Beatport.

A master of channelling the nostalgia of dance music’s beginnings and blending it with a modern-day flair, Purple Disco Machine has expertly crafted a record reminiscent of throwback disco cuts. The soulful vocals come courtesy of Retrosonix, successful songwriters who have come together to specialise in retro disco vocals that ingeniously feel straight from the archives. You’ll be sonically transported back to a time when disco was heard on every corner. Tactfully letting the powerful hooks and provocative lyricism lead the rhythm for the tune, Purple Disco Machine’s iconic groove-driven beats and mesmerising synths lay the foundation for a dancefloor classic. Crafting breakdowns dripping with funk, the disco maestro builds to a crescendo that will undoubtedly be a crowd pleaser for his many shows in 2025.

On the release, Purple Disco Machine said: “While a number of my recent records have referenced the more electronic 80s disco sound, I never lost the love for the classic funky disco of the 70s - which in many ways was the original blueprint - and so it has been equally inspiring and enjoyable to work with this palette again. I'm hoping that the listeners are as haunted (in a good way…) by Ghost Town as I am !”

J.E. Movement's groundbreaking ‘Ma Dea Luv’,

Toward the end of the 1980s South Africa's recording industry was booming. Searching for a sound that could cross over to all in the country's segregated society while also eyeing international success, a new duo emerged that quickly rendered its 'bubblegum' predecessors obsolete. Drawing on international trends and crafting lyrics for local ears, J.E. MOVEMENT — a duo made up of James Nyingwa and Elliot Faku — exploded onto the local scene with their debut album, 'Ma Dea Luv'. The future had arrived.

A talented bassist and composer, Nyingwa was at the time employed as an in-house producer at TRS Studios in Plein Street in downtown Johannesburg, run by two Greek immigrants, George Vardas and Chris Ghelakis. Together they formed a close bond as friends and musical partners at what would become CSR Records, recording original hits with acts like the NEW AGE KIDS and SIDNEY, while also cashing in on cover versions as BLACK BOX.

The six tracks on J.E. Movement’s 1988 debut give firm nods to UK Street Soul, New Jack Swing and Stock Aitken Waterman's 'Hit Factory' sound and infuse them with an African rhythmic flair and homegrown lyrical sentiment. Though not expressly political, the title track was received by many as a play on words referencing then-jailed and banned Nelson Mandela (coming after the similarly styled 'I'm Winning My Dear Love' by Yvonne Chaka Chaka in 1986 and 'We Miss You Manelow' by Chicco in 1987), giving it an added potency for those in the know. 'Jack I'm Sorry' was an underground hit in the townships, while 'Marco', 'Friends', 'Funkytown' and the eponymous closer are similarly bass and drum-driven, with hiphop-styled vocals.

Analog Africa doesn't do anything other than special releases really, but this one tracing the label's origins back to Zimbabwe over 20 years ago is a real standout. A carefully curated collection of 25 tracks with a fine booklet proving plenty of extra context, it captures the birth of the country's modern music scene and brims with the creative sound explosion of the 70s and 80s. Before genres were fully defined, artists blended rock, rumba, soul and traditional rhythms in bold, experimental ways that still stand up and get diggers and dancers excited in 2025. Included are never-before-released tracks from Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi and more and they all add up to rich and dynamic snapshot of Zimbabwe's peerless musical evolution during what was a transformative era.

THE VINYLBOX COLLECTION IS BACK REDISCOVER ALL THE BEST SONGS FROM THE CULT MOVIES OF QUENTIN TARENTINO. STARRING : JOETEX, ISAAC HAYES, DICK DALE, ELVIN BISHOP, JOHNNY CASH, AL GREEN, RICKY NELSON, LINK WRAY, ...

The story of So-Do is both familiar and completely unique. A classically trained multi-instrumentalist with a poet’s sensibility and a passion for folk music meets a worldly bar owner with a love for psychedelia, post-punk and dub in the small town neither could bring themselves to leave. Over two years, they play dozens of shows in independent live houses across Japan, cut and self-release three singles – two 7”s and a 12” – and leave behind just eight tracks, all of which are set to be reissued for the first time forty years on.

So-Do’s Studio Works ’83-’85 collects the full output of this iconoclastic post-punk phenomenon, whose sparse, syncopated arrangements were infused with a dubbed-out flair that owed more to Dennis Bovell’s productions of Orange Juice, the Jah Wobble basslines of Public Image Limited or Adrian Sherwood’s live dubs of Mark Stewart than even they knew at the time.

Because for lead songwriter Hideshi Akuta, music offered an escape from the existential malaise of small-town life, folding a melancholy nihilism into tracks like ‘Kakashi’ and ‘Hashiru’ (which translates as ‘run’), or taking aim at the inequalities and creeping apathies of the middle classes, as he does on ‘Get Away’ and ‘Nothing’.

And if Talking Heads had CBGBs, Sex Pistols had the Roxy, then So-Do had Buddha. Influenced by Buddha venue owner and amateur producer Atsuo Takeuchi, Akuta turned So-Do’s sound towards dub, crafting playful, ironic and funky compositions that crackle with live energy at the vanguard of Japan’s nascent independent music scene.“So-Do is hard to explain,” Takeuchi says. “It’s been a struggle for years to try to find the words for our music.” The answer perhaps, is just to listen.

Both familiar and completely unique, So-Do extend Time Capsule’s genre-defining exposition of Japan’s reggae-inspired music of the ‘70s and ‘80s, as collected on the label’s two critically acclaimed Tokyo Riddim compilations, and London-based live outfit Tokyo Riddim Band.

Embracing the rip-it-up-and-start-again ethos of the early ‘80s, So-Do burned bright for a short time and then burned out. Their legacy is about to be reignited. Expect it to catch alight once more.


All songs are written & composed by Hideshi Akuta

Produced by Atsuo Takeuchi

Artwork by Ben Arfur
Liner Notes by Anton Spice, Ayana Honma, Kay Suzuki

Curated by Kay Suzuki

Licensed from Atsuo Takeuchi (Oregano Cafe)

Tape Restoration and Mastered by Mike Hillier at Metropolis Studios, London, UK

Time Capsule | TIME023 | 1983-1985 → 2025

We have a subtly edit of “Soul Town” by The Motherhood, the psychedelic 1969 LP “I Feel So Free. Motherhood was the unlikely name of Klaus Doldinger's psychedelic fusion band, who eventually transmuted into the bands Passport (Klaus Doldinger, Lothar Meid & Udo Lindenberg) & Hallelujah (Paul Vincent & Keith Forsey). “Soul Town” appears as the B-side to the first single “Back In The Grass”, which fetches ~$275. It was produced by Siegfried E. Loch, & written/arranged by Paul Nero. Many will recognize it as the closing track on the Ocean’s 13 soundtrack. It’s a psychedelic, jazz-funk bomb that punches hard.



Pinball Number Count (Edit) by The Pointer Sisters b/w Soul Town (Edit) by The Motherhood | Galaxy Sound Company — GSC45-043, test pressing | You know the drill. It’s Galaxy Sound Co. It is cop-on-site. It is yet another GSC45 edit you need in your crates. & number 43 doesn’t disappoint. I have been wanting both of these jazz-funk nuggets on 7-inch for a minute now, so much love to the GSC crew!

Any of us who grew up on Sesame Street in the 1970s will know this A-side righ away. “The Pinball Number Count” (or Pinball Countdown) is a collective title referring to the 11 one-minute animated segments on the TV series Sesame Street that teach children to count to 12 by following the journey of a pinball through a fanciful pinball machine. These segments are notable for the colorful, imaginative animation as well as the funkysoundtrack with vocals by The Pointer Sisters. It was produced in 1976 by Imagination, Inc. in San Francisco, California for the Children's Television Workshop & debuted on Sesame Street during Season 8 .

Standard version on 2LP black vinyl in gatefold sleeve. ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."

We are thrilled to announce our 5th vinyl VA. This time with only Belgian Underground artists. All friends and amigos who met each other during their journey in the Belgian music scene over the years.
A diverse ensemble spanning the House-spectrum, on the A-side we take a more deep and funky approach with UC Beatz bringing his known groovy flavours. Followed by Rawdio with some piano house vibes and bendrik keeping it fresh and crispy as always.
The B-side takes a more clubby turn with Deeleegenz dropping the snares and shuffled percussion in his Deep Jackin tune. Followed by Max Telaer who shows a darker side from himself with an absolute stomper that will set fire to the dancefloor.

Very proud to have them all on board!

Bolina Records, born in Italy and based in Stockholm, is the brainchild of the Cerrado Studio crew, a dynamic team of artists and DJs who have been organizing events and innovative initiatives since 2008.

Veteran DJ-producer Sebra Cruz (formerly of Margot and A&R for Bolina Records), after releasing his debut album with Life And Death by Dj Tennis, has teamed up with his protégé, Giacomo Cancellieri. Over the years, Cancellieri has become one of Sebra's favorite artists, with Sebra often describing him as a truly brilliant mind, consistently impressed by the new tracks he produces. Giacomo has notable releases on Rebellion and Margot Records.

"Rollerball," titled after Norman Jewison's 1975 film, carries a powerful anti-war message. It includes 4 versions plus an acapella, the latter intended to encourage DJ-producers of various genres to incorporate it in their tracks, thereby spreading the anti-war message on dance floors worldwide.

The original mix captures the essence of intimate club settings — intense yet lucid, with a sound texture fitting for an underground label. It continuously and forcefully spreads the anti-war message with deep seriousness.

The Funky Vocal Mix offers an Italo-French vibe, blending the smooth ambiance of 2000s dance music with a raw vocal tone.

Buck's version, hailing from Otranto, a quaint seaside town in the extreme south of Italy and owner of Substrato label, is marked by solid, rolling grooves that complement a deep and refined atmosphere.

Delphi's remix, one half of Tiger And Woods with Marco Passarani, completes the set. Its arrangement skillfully connects Chill and Detroit styles, infusing the project with a sense of robustness and insight.

„The 90’s are back!“ – 30 Jahre später ist das beliebte Jahrzehnt musikalisch wieder voll im Trend! Auf der „FETENHITS - The Real 90’s“ sind die Originale der größten Party-Hymnen der Dekade vereint.

Ob die groovigen Sounds von „No Diggity“, der absolute Ohrwurm „Wannabe“ oder die Kult-Nummer „Mambo No. 5“ - Der bunte Mix der besten Party-Songs und Klassiker der 90‘s ist voller „Good Vibrations“!

Mit dabei sind u.a. U2, Britney Spears, Salt-N-Pepa, 20 Fingers & Gillette, Freddie Mercury, La Bouche, DJ Bobo, TLC, Backstreet Boys und viele mehr.

„We Bring It All Back“ mit den größten Party-Hits der 90er! Erhältlich als 4LP, 4CD und eAlbum ab dem 29. September 2023!

Red hot Italian DJ and production collective Aura Safari is back with a second full-length album, Island Dreams. It lands on Hell Yeah Recordings on September 15th and is another live and sun-kissed odyssey through balmy Mediterranean evenings, gorgeous sundown sessions and funky analogue grooves.

Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni, Nicholas Iammatteo, Lorenzo Francioli, Ruggero Bonucci and Nicola Pitassio are Aura Safari, and between them they play drums, percussion, bass, keys, and guitar. They contributed to the first volume of the Buena Onda compilation in 2020 on this label, a year after serving up a debut album on London's Church Records. Since then they have become ever more entrenched in their local scene in Perugia, playing summer sets at the Umbria Jazz Festival, winter warmers at the legendary Red Zone Club and host their own Tropical Climax parties each month in the town centre.

Aura Safari are also deep-digging music collectors who have extensive and far-reaching tastes. When cooking up their sounds they draw on everything from Afro to Italo, house to disco, 80s boogie to world music, jazz and Balearic beats. This new album shows that once more across four sides of vinyl that sweep you up and transport you to somewhere idyllic.

The title track kicks off with steamy Mediterranean grooves embellished with lush Rhodes chords and sprinkles of cosmic magic. 'Sur Mon Balconnet' then slips into dubbed-out disco territory with 80s synths and leggy drums while 'Riserva Naturale' is a new-age jazz house sound with majestic lead synths and heart-melting chords that speak of a sunset dance on the beach. 'Onda' has squelchy boogie bass with hip-swinging drums, 'Wave Riding' is a lo-fi funk excursion with hints of West Coast Californian swagger and 'Magic Malbe' is loose-limbed Balearica with clear blue skies and blissed-out chords.

'Dancing in the Moonlight' feat. Zeke Manyika has all the vibrant feelings of bubblegum pop with Afro vocals and steel drum sounds next to rich xylophone sounds. There is plenty of heat and exotic charm to the proto-Afro house of 'Tropical Climax' and as well as dub versions of 'Sur Mon Balconnet' and 'Dancing in the Moonlight' come the scuffed-up Dam-Funk style beats and boogie of 'Disco Mantra' before closer 'Patagonia' shuts down with elastic drums and bass and playful synth leads that send you home wanting more.

Island Dreams is a tropical escape to a rich world of fusion sounds that look back to go forwards. It's a feel-good record to accompany hot nights and lazy afternoons, cocktails at dusk and dancing till dawn.

After a very short break Daje Funk are back with a super fresh redesign. The label is also fully embracing the move from their previous 10” format to 12” with the obvious bonus that they are now able to cram just that little bit of extra music onto their releases.

Their latest release, the Slam Dunk EP, is their 9th since the label arrived and it’s been a memorable journey so far. Keeping things decidedly funk with a modern dancefloor twist for their latest instalment they have assembled and all-star cast of producers with Dutch edits wizard, Ronny Hammond, England’s Shit Hot Soundsystem and Uptown Funk and Italian producer Coldbeard all taking turns to vie for dancefloor gold.

Together they have turned in one mighty slab of black wax.

The EP opens with Ronny Hammond’s ‘Keep On Groovin’ and it’s a very serious club track. For those of you with long memories and deep collections the original used here was sampled for Screen II’s Hey Mr DJ, a 90’s house classic on Cleveland City and it feels just as essential right now in 2021 as it did in both the 70’s when the original arrived and in the 90’s. Keep On Groovin’ is a proper funk bomb and Ronny has taken it to town with the addition of a powerhouse bassline, ass shakin’ drums and cheeky ear worm vocal samples. Indeed there is no chance that you will be able to sit still when this one drops. Expect it to cause serious dancefloor mischief over the coming summer months.

Shit Hot Soundsystem is up next with ‘Woah’ with label co-boss De Gama adding some extra scalpel action. Another track with classic subject matter, this often sampled track has rarely sounded as good as on this monstrous funky outing. It still sounds as fresh and exciting as the first time you heard those vibrant and vital synths and beautifully layered vocals. ‘Woah’ is both immediate and essential and will be soundtracking parties for years to come.

Over on the flip Uptown Funk’s ‘South Side Boogie’ also has De Gama on edit duty and here things head off downtown 70’s funk style. Brass stabs, wah guitar, and spicy synth licks all combine for a track which has plenty of joyous zest as it combines disco edges with a funk packed groove combing to deliver serious club heat.

Seeing the EP out is Coldbeard and he takes up deeper still with a bubbling groove which captivates from the first notes of the dynamo synth bass before adding in electric guitar licks and a rhythm line to die for. A Funky Situation is a perfect example of how to build a track piece by piece until it becomes utterly essential. Once you have heard that Rhodes and the vocal stabs working together you just know that this one will need to be played religiously.

Four utterly essential tracks which perfectly bridge the gap from the 70’s to 2021. Nine releases deep Daje Funk delivers yet again on its mission to make funk as utterly essential in clubs again nearly 4 decades after it’s glorious genres beginnings.

San Francisco style driving techno tinged with dark dubs and disco from two of the town’s most explosive producers.

Brick & Zero Idea represent the same city, blazing their own paths in San Francisco’s heady techno scene. Both manage their own labels / parties, Brick with Perfect Dark and Vitamin1000 a la Zero Idea respectively, but are no strangers in the studio together.

First up, two full-bodied techno timebombs from the duo: a mega sub’n’dubchord special alert on A1’s “West End” paired with a more refined, smoother, slippier companion on the A2 “No Room For Error”. Combined-strengths banger collabs for different moments and moods of a night.

Sticking with the theme, we see contrasting solo tracks on the flip side as well. Brick’s “Sigil” spotlights the producer’s laser focus for darker, hypnotic, full force synths in impeccable arrangement, while “Xhale” ends this release on an upliftingly funky bassline disco tip showcasing Zero Idea’s ease at blending techno sensibilities with French House techniques.

Househead London launch their 2nd 12" release - a limited-edition Chicago Vs London sampler featuring Glenn Underground and Emmaculate Remixes.

Following a string of critically acclaimed events featuring Chi-Town royalty, Househead London further cement their relationship with Chicago on this vinyl release which features two of the city’s esteemed producers - Glenn Underground & Emmaculate - remixing two sterling new tracks from two of the UK’s most exciting producers - Prefix One and Wez Whynt.

Opening the EP is an artist who needs very little introduction, Glenn Underground. A leading international producer & DJ who seems to effortlessly slide between Deep, Soulful, Disco, Jazz and beyond, Glenn boasts an exceptional discography that very few could compete with. His Cosmic Disco Journey Mix here weaves its lo slung groove in a funky off-kilter disco style with piano ripples as Nambi’s voice shimmers on top. Nambi’s heartfelt soars across Glenn’s Cosmic Journey remix unfurling beautiful piano and taut Chi-town beats. Deep and vocal, it’s got that raw soul power that both Glenn and Chicago are known for.

Known for his exquisitely high attention to detail and quality, Emmaculate is one of the go-to producers and sound engineers in Chicago. Working closely with Terry Hunter on a multitude of projects and a shining light across the global soulful house scene, he’s regularly featured across impressive labels such as Dopewax, Yorubasoul, United Music, Soulstice Music and S&S Records. His lush, tough-edged Remix of ‘Feelin’, rolls on with melodic piano hooks to unlock the groove and boosted with extra keys and vocal refrains before the full vocal unfolds. Solid and deep, “Feelin’ is pure joy for the dance floor.

"One Hit Wonders" ist eine dynamische Doppel-LP-Zusammenstellung, die die unvergesslichen Songs feiert, die den Äther beherrschten und zu zeitlosen Klassikern wurden. Diese Sammlung vereint legendäre Hits aus verschiedenen Jahrzehnten und Genres, von den energiegeladenen Beats von "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" von Dead or Alive bis zum sanften Yacht-Rock von "Steal Away" von Robbie Dupree. Mit Tanzhymnen, gefühlvollen Balladen und genredefinierenden Titeln ist dieses Album eine nostalgische Reise durch Songs, die trotz der Tatsache, dass sie die einzigen großen Chartstürmer ihrer Künstler waren, in der Musikgeschichte unverzichtbar geblieben sind.

Diese sorgfältig zusammengestellte Auswahl umspannt die Welten von Pop, Rock, Funk, R&B und Hip-Hop. LP1 enthält Wohlfühl-Hits wie "Walking on Sunshine" von Katrina and the Waves, den Synthie-Pop-Charme von "Wouldn't It Be Good" von Nik Kershaw und die eindringliche Schönheit von "Only the Lonely" von The Motels. LP2 hält die Energie hoch mit funkgetriebenen Grooves wie "Play That Funky Music" von Wild Cherry, der filmischen Magie von "Neverending Story" von Limahl und sanften Balladen wie "Because I Love You" von Stevie B. Jeder Track auf dieser Compilation ist einkultureller Meilenstein, der von der ersten Note an erkennbar ist.

"One Hit Wonders", herausgegeben von MPO, ist ein Muss für Musikliebhaber, Sammler und Fans von klassischen Hits, die Generationen überdauern. Ob Sie diese Hymnen wiederentdecken oder zum ersten Mal erleben, dieses Album fängt die Magie von Songs ein, die Geschichte geschrieben haben, auch wenn ihre Schöpfer nie wieder denselben Erfolg in den Charts hatten. Sichern Sie sich noch heute Ihr Exemplar und lassen Sie sich von der Musik in die Momente zurückversetzen, in denen diese Titel die Charts beherrschten und und die Welt in ihren Bann zogen.
Tracklisting

"Chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams..."

December 25th, 2023 - an Instagram post. Stimulator Jones shared half a dozen FIRE tracks from his beat tape archive. We were immediately drawn to the rough hewn boom bap.

"I'd release that", Rob commented.

Hours of material was shared and the result is this: Cool Green Trees (1999-2005). A collection of beats and loops Stimulator Jones created between the ages of 14-20 at home in his basement, bedroom and computer room in Roanoke, Virginia.

You will not believe the profound soulful genius contained within these naive schoolboy melodies.

December 25th, 1998 - 25 years ago to the day and his much-coveted Yamaha SU10 sampler was finally bestowed upon young Stimmy AKA Sam Lunsford: "I immediately hooked up a CD Walkman to the input jack and looped the beginning two bars of Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mercy Mercy Me". I don't know what exactly was so thrilling about hearing two measures of music repeating over and over but it was so infectious and hypnotizing and enthralling to me. I'll never forget that ecstatic rush of making my first loop - an uncontrollable, gleeful smile plastered all over my face." When you hear the pocket breakbeat symphonies featured here on Cool Green Trees, you'll feel the same sense of frisson.

In the wake of his Stones Throw breakthrough - Exotic Worlds & Master Treasures - Stimulator Jones was pegged by many as a 90s throwback artist. However, he literally IS a 90s artist. He's been recording music most of his life and he's now 40. He created the bulk of Cool Green Trees as a teenager. Everything before 2004 was recorded when Sam was still in school. He was in 8th grade when he made the 1999 tracks - he didn't even have his learner's permit. This album is a snapshot of a young man in a simpler time. Things were still mysterious back then and he was flying blind, relying on his ears and having to figure things out for himself: "I had no road map for becoming a beatmaker. I have been collecting music since I was a kid, I am a lifelong digger and seeker of cool and interesting sounds. I was there in the golden age of Hip Hop, and while I may have been a suburban white kid in Roanoke, Virginia, I was tuned in and I bought so many classic albums when they came out. I was attracted to Hip Hop because of the musical and poetic quality. I was hypnotized by the rhythms, partially because I was a drummer. I didn't brag about collecting my breakbeat records or making beats - it was something I did in isolation. It wasn't something I generally wanted to bring attention to and it didn't really score me any cool points. I certainly wasn't flexing on social media about it."

Hell, he can do that now!

Opener "Pharoah Jones" was inspired by Yesterday's New Quintet and Madlib's ability to capture that classic 70s sound whilst playing all the instruments. Sam created this one stoned afternoon by laying down a 2 bar loop and a shaker loop on his Yamaha SU700 sampler. He hung a microphone from the ceiling and played his Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit over the top before adding ender Rhodes and playing his dad's Selmer tenor sax through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. Yes! Up next, "Ghost Gospel" utilises a dope loop from a gospel record and adds some soul-funk drums overtop, whilst working that filter knob. Says Sam: "The loop reminded me of something Ghostface would rap over. The sample was in 3/4 waltz time but I flipped it for a 4/4 groove, a technique I picked up from RZA. "Ill Feeling" uses sped-up pieces from a dusty old funk record and putting them over a classic NOLA drum loop; gain chopping up a slow, bluesy 3/4 time signature and bending it to a 4/4 groove. Classy shit. "Capital Punishment" features drums tapped in live, inspired by MF Doom's Special Herbs series. "Do Not Adjust" consists loops found on a compilation of 70s French music at Happy's Flea Market, a classic Roanoke digging spot.

The sublime, evocative title track, "Cool Green Trees" was created when Sam was still living at home. He dumped samples off his SU10 into the family desktop and arranged them in a demo version of Pro Tools: "This track was sort of my ode to the DJ Shadow style of sample based production. Super spacey, slow, and moody. The heavily filtered drums were inspired by Alec Empire's 'Low on Ice' album. I later added some scratches and sounds from a Spider Man storybook record." "Chill Scratch" snags the final bit of a bossanova record and pairs it with a drum loop before adding experimental scratching run through an Electro Harmonix Memory Man echo pedal. "Poisonous Fumes" was made using a sampler, mixer and a turntable; a kind of mixtape beat collage with added scratches and sounds from various records. Using dialogue from superhero records was a nod to Madlib. "Welcome Aboard The Starship" is dark, downtempo trip-hop with a spooky bent. Sam paired a slow, hard drum loop with a guitar sample grabbed off a psychedelic rock record. To finish, he added various backwards sounds and weird atmospheric effects and a little scratching. Swoon.

Side B opens with "Keep On Runnin", made on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler. Having always loved the sound of the Lo-Fi filter on those machines, reminiscent of the Emu SP1200, Sam always imagined Del or another of the Hieroglyphics crew rapping over this beat. You can certainly hear why. "Sounds Impossible" sees Sam experimenting with layering multiple kick samples at different volumes to create patterns similar to those heard by Showbiz and Lord Finesse during their God-level 1995 period. "Painted Faces" was made by chopping up a REDACTED record which he had gotten from Happy's Flea Market and paired it with a REDACTED drum loop. By the time Sam recorded "The Knew Style", he had acquired a shitty old 1960s portable turntable off eBay. It didn't function properly when he bought it but his brother opened it up, cleaned it out and got it working: "I remember he told me that there was a bunch of sand inside of it when he opened it up, as if its previous owner had taken it to the beach. I would take that turntable on my Happy's Flea Market digs so I could preview records...that's how I found this loop."

"Chicken Wing Blues Sauce" loops up a classic blues joint and pairs it with some REDACTED drums. A bit of filtering and arranging et voilà! "Kool Breeze", from 1999, is one of Sam's oldest surviving beats, as is "Sexx Bullets". The Roots sampled the same record, leaving Sam frustrated yet vindicated. "Soul Child" was an early SU10 creation, looping a dusty old Soul Children 45 and pairing it with 70s rock drum loops to great effect. "Take Off Runnin" was another loop found digging with a portable turntable. Paired with some boom bap drums it makes for a hypnotic head-nod groove. "Centurian" was intended to be a little beat interlude a la Pete Rock. The sample is from a sun-dappled soft-psych record and it's paired with a Robin Trower drum loop that just happens to fit perfectly. Sometimes you slap things together kind of haphazardly and magic happens. "Bozack" was the first beat Sam made using Pro Tools, his first foray into using chopped sounds instead of loops, an exciting new world. "Church" is beat interlude using a Phil Upchurch loop with the "Long Red" drums - a favourite break of Dilla et al. Sam was really on a tear in late 2004, probably because he was unemployed and phoneless and able to just make beats all day. He made "Splash One" on a borrowed Yamaha SU700 and again was experimenting with tapping the drums in live with his fingers, instead of using a loop or sequenced pattern. Channeling 9th Wonder, Sam used a water splash sound effect from a Batman record as a percussive element, hence the title (also a 13th Floor Elevators reference). The main loop is a backwards portion of one of his favourite Roy Ayers songs.

"Hank" is another fun little beat interlude thing, created on a borrowed Roland SP202 sampler with the fantastic Lo-Fi effect that resembled the Emu SP1200 at a fraction of the price. "73 goatee", from 99, is another of his oldest surviving beats, created in his bedroom with his Yamaha SU10 and his brother's Vestax MR-300 4-track recorder: "This one will always feel special. I can remember having a feeling all the way back then on the night that I created it that this was a solid beat with a catchy loop. There was something in the Fender Rhodes melody that resonated with me emotionally, and I had never heard a producer sample that portion before. I felt like I had found my own unique sound, my own unique loop. It came from an Ahmad Jamal '73. I actually even recorded myself rapping and scratching over this beat way back then, I still have that version in all its imperfect sloppy glory."

Sam explains just how much these tracks mean to him: "They all have immense historical and sentimental value and I'm proud of them. These beats come from an innocent, simple time when I was just figuring out how to craft these sounds. They're something very personal to me. They are the initial part of a journey that I really was taking *alone*. There was no YouTube. I couldn't Google shit. I didn't even know any other beatmakers, producers or DJs in my town that could teach me anything. It was always just me, alone, in a room with some equipment - chasing the funky symphonies that filled my head and my dreams. What I was doing wasn't cool. Most of my peers thought I was a weirdo and couldn't care less. Creating these sounds was an anti-social endeavour. In a sense, I felt like it was me against the world, and all I had to instruct and assist me were the recordings produced by my heroes - RZA, DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, Beatminerz, Showbiz, Diamond D, Beatnuts, Prince Paul, The Bomb Squad, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, E-Swift, Mista Lawnge, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Peanut Butter Wolf, El-P and so many more...I dedicate this collection to them, and to my older brother Joe who has always been a musical and technical guiding light for me.

This was a time before every kid was a self-described producer and beatmaker, before everyone had a DAW, before Kanye and "chipmunk soul", before Red Bull beat battles, before there was any social media beyond chat rooms and AOL Instant Messenger, before Soundcloud, before SP-404 mania, before lo-fi beats to study to, before Splice, before targeted ads for MIDI chord packs, etc. In 99 when I told people that I had a sampler and made beats I was mostly met with bewildered confusion and indifference. Kids and adults alike would wonder why I got this weird machine for Christmas instead of something worthwhile like a Playstation or a mountain bike or even a guitar for that matter because at least that could be used to make "real music". Back then, sampling was still not widely respected as an art form - it was seen as lazy, talentless and unoriginal at best and outright criminal theft at worst. I had gotten respect for playing drums and guitar and things of that nature but this was a step in the wrong direction in the eyes of many."

The cover photo is a picture of Sam standing on his back porch in the latter part of 1998, just before he got his first sampler. He was 13 years old, in 8th grade. His dad took the picture with his 35mm film camera: "I actually wanted to be pointing my dad's .22 pistol at the camera lens but he wouldn't let me. He gave me an old walking cane to use instead. The Tommy Hilfiger puffer jacket came from the lost and found at William Fleming High School where my mom worked as a secretary. I was thrilled when she brought it home because we never spent money on expensive name brand clothing like that - we were for the most part strictly a sale rack, bargain bin, thrift store, yard sale, flea market kind of family when it came to clothes. My watch is some cheap off-brand fake gold department store watch." Mastering for this vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry.

Khadim is a stunning reconfiguration of the Ndagga Rhythm Force sound. The instrumentation is radically pared down. The guitar is gone; the concatenation of sabars; the drum-kit. Each of the four tracks hones in on just one or two drummers; otherwise the sole recorded element is the singing; everything else is programmed. Synths are dialogically locked into the drumming. Tellingly, Ernestus has reached for his beloved Prophet-5, a signature go-to since Basic Channel days, thirty years ago. Texturally, the sound is more dubwise; prickling with effects. There is a new spaciousness, announced at the start by the ambient sounds of Dakar street-life. At the microphone, Mbene Diatta Seck revels in this new openness: mbalax diva, she feelingly turns each of the four songs into a discrete dramatic episode, using different sets of rhetorical techniques. The music throughout is taut, grooving, complex, like before; but more volatile, intuitive and reaching, with turbulent emotional and spiritual expressivity.

Not that Khadim represents any kind of break. Its transformativeness is rooted in the hundreds upon hundreds of hours the Rhythm Force has played together. Nearly a decade has passed since Yermande, the unit's previous album. Every year throughout that period — barring lockdowns — the group has toured extensively, in Europe, the US, and Japan. With improvisation at the core of its music-making, each performance has been evolutionary, as it turns out heading towards Khadim. “I didn’t want to simply continue with the same formula," says Ernestus. “I preferred to wait for a new approach. Playing live so many times, I wanted to capture some of the energy and freedom of those performances.” Though several members of the touring ensemble sit out this recording — sabar drummers, kit-drummer, synth-player — their presence abides in the structure and swing of the music here.

Lamp Fall is a homage to Cheikh Ibra Fall, founder of the Baye Fall spiritual community. The mosque in the city of Touba is known as Lamp Fall, because the main tower resembles a lantern. Soy duggu Touba, moom guey séen / When you enter Touba, he is the one who greets you. After a swift, incantatory start Mbene sings with reflective seriousness. Her voice swirls with reverb, over a tight, funky, propulsive interplay between synth and drums, threaded with one-two jabs of bass. Cheikh Ibra Fall mi may way, mo diayndiou ré, la mu jëndé ko taalibe... Cheikh Ibra Fall amo morome, aboridial / Cheikh Ibra Fall shows the way forward, he gives us strength, he gathers his disciples... Overflowing with grace, Cheikh Ibra Fall has no equal.

Interwoven with Wolof proverbs, Dieuw Bakhul is a recriminatory song about treachery, lies, and back-biting. Over moody, roiling synths and ominous, lean bass, Mbene throws out fluttering scraps of vocal, as if re-running old conversations in her head. The music shadows her despair to the verge of breakdown, at one moment seemingly so lost in thought and memories, that it threatens to disintegrate. Bayilene di wor seen xarit ak seen an da ndo... Dieuw bakhul, dieuw ñaw na / Stop judging your friends and companions... A lie is no good, a lie is ugly.

Khadim is a show-stopper; currently the centrepiece of Ndagga Rhythm Force live performances. The song is dedicated to Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, aka Khadim, founder of the Mouride Sufi order. Serigne Bamba mi may wayeu / Serigne Bamba is the one who makes me sing. The verses name-check revered members of his family and brotherhood, like Sokhna Diarra, Mame Thierno, and Serigne Bara. Though Islam has been practised in Senegal for a millennium, it wasn’t until the start of the twentieth century that it began to thoroughly permeate ordinary Senegalese society, hand-in-hand with anti-colonialism. The verses here recall Bamba’s banishment by the French to Gabon, and later to Mauritania, in those foundational times. During exile, his captors once introduced a lion to his cell: gaïnde gua waf, dieba lu ci Cheikhoul Khadim / the lion doesn’t budge, it gives itself over to Cheikh Khadim. Deep, surging bass, steady kick-drum, and simple, reverbed chords on the off-beat lend the feel and impetus of steppers reggae. A reed plays snatches of a traditional Baye Fall melody; the dazzling polyrhythmic drumming is by Serigne Mamoune Seck. Mbene compellingly blends percussive vocalese, narrative suspense, exultant praise, introspection, and grievance.

Nimzat is a devotional tribute to Cheikh Sadbou, a contemporary of Bamba, buried in a mausoleum in Nizmat, in southern Mauritania. Way nala, kagne nala... souma danana fata dale / I call upon you and wonder about you... If I am overwhelmed, come to my aid. The town holds special significance for Khadr Sufism. An annual pilgrimage there is conducted to this day. The rhythm is buoyantly funky; the mood is sombre, reined-in, foreboding. Punctuated by peals of thunder, Mbene sings with restrained, intense reverence; huskily confidential, steadfast. Nanu dem ba Nimzat, dé ba sali khina / Let us go to Nimzat, to seal our devotion.

Mbene Diatta Seck: vocals.
Bada Seck: bougarabou, thiol, mbeung mbeung bal, tungune.
Serigne Mamoune Seck: bougarabou, khine, mbeung mbeung, tungune.
Text by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons).
Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Everything else by Mark Ernestus.

"Ultravisitor" ist seit seinem Release im März 2004 zum Fanliebling und einem der beliebtesten Platten in Squarepushers gesamter Diskographie avanciert. Mit seiner einzigartigen Mischung aus Studio- und Live-Aufnahmen ist es gleichzeitig ein hervorragendes Beispiel für die Vielfalt seiner Musik: vom frenetischen Titeltrack über den funky Jazz von "Iambic 9 Poetry" bis zur sonnendurchfluteten Glückseligkeit von "Tommib Help Buss" und darüber hinaus.

Zum 20. Jubiläum präsentiert Warp eine erweiterte Deluxe-Version in einmaliger, limitierter Auflage, die von Jason Mitchell (Loud Mastering) unter der Ägide von Tom Jenkinson sorgfältig von den Originalbändern remastert. Tom hat die Gelegenheit genossen, die Bänder noch einmal zu überarbeiten und den Stücken neue Dynamik und Details zu verleihen.

Das beigefügte Bonusalbum "Venus No.17 Maximised" besteht aus ultra-raren Tracks einer Ultravisitor-Promo-EP, der "Square Window" 3"-CD (die bei Vorbestellungen über WarpMart gratis mitgeliefert wurde) sowie der "Venus No.17" EP (alle aus 2004). Das beiliegende Booklet enthält seltene Fotos, Flyer und Aufnahmedokumenten, darunter einer Anleitung zu allen Geräten, die Squarepusher damals verwendete.

Barbara Moore was a British singer, composer and arranger, best known for her work in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in jazz, pop and easy-listening music. She gained recognition as a session vocalist and arranger, working with artists and bands such as Jimi Hendrix and Dudley Moore. Barbara was a prominent figure in the UK’s music industry during the height of the "library music" era, where composers created music for television, film and radio.
One of her most notable works was her arrangement and vocal work for the *Vocal Shades and Tones* album, which became iconic in the world of library music. Her compositions, like "Hot Heels" and "Steam Heat," are renowned for their catchy, funky, and soulful elements, often featuring groovy bass lines, smooth vocals, and jazzy arrangements.

Barbara Moore’s work continues to be appreciated by fans of vintage and retro music, and her compositions have appeared in various films, television shows, and commercials, adding to her legacy as a significant contributor to the UK's music scene.

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.

South African Modern Soul/Jazz-Funk - Originally released in 1979, Cape Town – Re-mastered by Simbad

First time re-issued on vinyl, “Expressions” is the 3rd album from one of the greatest South African bands ever, I named Pacific Express. Now think Stevie Wonder and Weather Report, then take a serious established local band, and you have here a “Cape Town version” with their own talents. Between Modern soul and Jazz-Funk, no doubts, this record is a gem!!! Fred Spider*

“This name evokes awe and admiration in equal measure among musicians across the country. They became a crucible where budding local musicians built their reputations before going on to become recording artists, band leaders, and musical legends (like Jonathan Butler did on Expressions*).
The greatest Pacific Express legacy, apart from the memorable music they made and recorded, was their role in helping establish the distinctive sounds of South African music generally and Cape Town jazz in particular. When Producer Tully McCully wanted straight, solid drumming for the Expressions album, Momple delivered the groove, swing, and drive for a funky album.” Michael Britton

Artwork by Fred Spider – Graphist designer by Graeme Arendse
Vocals, Guitar: Jonathan Butler, Bass: Paul Abrahams
Drums, Percussion: Jack Momple, Vocals, Percussion: Zayn Adams, Keyboards, Trumpet, Arranged By String: Tony Cedras, Guest, Saxophone: Barney Rachabaney, Guest, Trumpet: Stompie Manana,
Executive-Producer: Paddy Lee Thorp, Producer: Tully McCully

4LP set containing 29 original / extended / full-length / 12” versions of Queer club classics – 1980-1989
‘More Sin’ features Pet Shop Boys, Sylvester, Divine, New Order, Eartha Kitt, Grace Jones, Hazell Dean, Desireless and many more.
Highlights include the hard-to-find 12” version of ‘Can’t Stop The Music’ by Village People and the rarely compiled underground club anthems ‘Pistol In My Pocket’ by Lana Pellay and ‘After The Rainbow’ by Joanne Daniëls.
All tracks fully annotated and with a foreword by Ian Wade – author ‘1984: The Year Pop Went Queer’. Following the success of the first ‘Box Of Sin’ in 2023, Demon / Edsel and Disco Discharge are proud to announce the sequel – ‘More Sin: Box of Sin 2’ will be released on 31st January 2025.

Over 4 LPs, ‘More Sin’ presents 29 choice selections from the music you might have heard on Queer dancefloors between 1980 and 1989 – a decade of dance in all its devilish delights. Meticulously researched from the published gay club charts at the time, the LP set encompasses full-length versions of Diva, High Energy, Alternative, Pop, Europop and House classics. Not only were the ‘80s Queer clubs where you were most likely to hear the latest groundbreaking developments in dance music, there was a lot of diversity on offer – on a given night you might hear a legendary soul singer’s new opus right next to some post-punks from Manchester and the latest European pop chart topper.

‘More Sin’ aims to reflect this. On ‘More Sin’, the space-age soulful club sound of Jean Carne rubs up against the widescreen Europop beauty of Desireless and cutting-edge house music from London courtesy of Wee Papa Girl Rappers… and along the way come some of the most important and era-defining artists of the decade – from Sylvester to Siouxsie & The Banshees, from Pet Shop Boys to Divine, from Hazell Dean to Grace Jones. Producing and mixing these classics is like a roll-call of the era’s studio giants – Trevor Horn, Larry Levan, Clivillés & Cole, Ian Levine, John Luongo, Bobby “O”, Martin Rushent and Stock, Aitken & Waterman to name a few. It’s time to give in to sin again.

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.

46 tracks on a 3-LP collection – including: Adam & The Ants, Kate Bush, The Jam, Madness, Diana Ross, Lipps Inc, Paul McCartney, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark,

Spandau Ballet, Ramones, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Odyssey, Kool & The Gang…

xd H2 Rockers Revenge - Walking On Sunshine feat. Donnie Calvin (12" Version)

"Ultravisitor" ist seit seinem Release im März 2004 zum Fanliebling und einem der beliebtesten Platten in Squarepushers gesamter Diskographie avanciert. Mit seiner einzigartigen Mischung aus Studio- und Live-Aufnahmen ist es gleichzeitig ein hervorragendes Beispiel für die Vielfalt seiner Musik: vom frenetischen Titeltrack über den funky Jazz von "Iambic 9 Poetry" bis zur sonnendurchfluteten Glückseligkeit von "Tommib Help Buss" und darüber hinaus.

Zum 20. Jubiläum präsentiert Warp eine erweiterte Deluxe-Version in einmaliger, limitierter Auflage, die von Jason Mitchell (Loud Mastering) unter der Ägide von Tom Jenkinson sorgfältig von den Originalbändern remastert. Tom hat die Gelegenheit genossen, die Bänder noch einmal zu überarbeiten und den Stücken neue Dynamik und Details zu verleihen.

Das beigefügte Bonusalbum "Venus No.17 Maximised" besteht aus ultra-raren Tracks einer Ultravisitor-Promo-EP, der "Square Window" 3"-CD (die bei Vorbestellungen über WarpMart gratis mitgeliefert wurde) sowie der "Venus No.17" EP (alle aus 2004). Das beiliegende Booklet enthält seltene Fotos, Flyer und Aufnahmedokumenten, darunter einer Anleitung zu allen Geräten, die Squarepusher damals verwendete.

** INITIAL 400 LPs CONTAIN A BONUS 7" SINGLE **

MOVEMENTS Vol.12 – A bag full of rare rhythm & blues, mod-jazz, and mid 70s funk.

Side A starts with rhythm & blues from the 1960s. Most of the tracks were pulled from hopelessly obscure 7" singles. The only names of which some of you might be familiar with are most likely Mat Mathews and Lu Elliott. However, both original 45 RPM singles are pretty hard to find these days, especially in playable condition.

Side B is all about deepfunk this time. "Hipper Snapper " is a prime example of that genre. Some say its groove is reminiscent of Charles Wright's "Express Yourself. Agreed! The Villagers are responsible for the first 'aha' moment. Their (previously unreleased!) version of "Funky Broadway" would have certainly astounded even Dyke & The Blazers. Representing Germany on this volume: The Rippers, also called the "Offenburg Beatles"! Back in the USA, John Fogerty has probably never heard of this heavy school-funk cover of "Proud Mary". Drum breaks galore!

Side C begins with another German contribution. Saxophonist Gus Brendel delivers a mod-jazz belter of the highest order as do The Hornets. Definitely sure-shots for any dance floors! High time for 'aha' moment #2. Many bands have tried their hands on a cover version of the Nat Adderley jazz classic, incl. vibraphone player Bret Breitinger! The perfect choice to finish this side is Downtown Trio's smooth and groovy cover of Gershwin's "Summertime ".

Side D is reserved for proper 1970s funk. ONYX's "Break It Loose " has become a certified Rare Groove classic. Here you can enjoy it for the first time with the blessing of the band! Glenn Doughty and his Baltimore Colts Shake and Bake Band of the 70's is the first musical group consisting of former NFL All-Pro players that Tramp Records has partnered with in its history! Watch out, "Shake and Bake " will be re-released on a good old 45 RPM single, too!

Those of you who have been enjoying the detective work of the people behind the label over the past 21 years know that the Movements series can be easily considered as the flagship compilation series on Tramp. So, after having listened to the entire selection of this brand new volume we sincerely hope that we will have achieved our aim to surprise, delight, and enlighten you once again!

Key selling points:

- initial 400 LPs contain a bonus 7" of a SUPERRARE funk 45

- incl. full album download code
- deluxe double-gatefold LP with detailed liner notes & unseen photographs

- ALL but three songs appear on CD, LP & digital for the very first-time

After releasing their debut album in 2022 that showcased their signature mix of psychedelic and funk, Neighbourly is returning with two EPs that explore new sonic territory. The first, “Outside 311” draws inspiration from bands like Wet Leg and Parquet Courts with more post-punk and garage rock styles. The second “Alla Discoteca” takes a sharp turn and draws inspiration from bands like Altin Gun, Nu Genea, Masayoshi Takanaka and Khruangbin, with more dancey, disco styles and all Italian lyrics. Both EPs offer the listener a sonic adventure, full of twists and turns but with the classic Neighbourly psychedelic, funky charm.

The records is released in two options. Both hvae 180g vinyl records. The first version has two black vinyls and the second limited edition (numbered 100 pieces) has one turquoise vinyl and the other red.

Over the last three decades, Auckland, New Zealand, has given birth to several generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who operated within the interzone between jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin music, hip-hop, house, boogie, and broken beat. Across two slow-cooked albums that sit at the intersection of machine funk and vivid live instrumentation, Odyssey (2016) and their forthcoming sophomore release Long Road (2024), After 'Ours - the group project of pianist and composer Michal Martyniuk and drummer, guitarist and producer Nick Williams - have comfortably located themselves within this antipodean tradition.

Born and raised in Auckland, Nick Williams grew up surrounded by music from a young age. At home, his mother, Mary Anne, a record collector and DJ with deep, diverse vinyl crates, kept his ear sharp. By the time he was eight years old, he was regularly joining his musician father on stages across Australia in his blues rock band Slippery Sam. In his early twenties, Nick began leading the eleven-piece Auckland Latin-dub-funk fusion big band Tangent, who performed regularly until the late 2000s.

Michal Martyniuk, on the other hand, grew up on the opposite side of the world in Szczecin, Poland. After playing classical music for twelve years and attending jazz school, he relocated to New Zealand with his family in his teens. While studying at Auckland University Jazz school, Michal came into the orbit of the legendary New Zealand saxophonist, composer, producer, and band leader Nathan Haines, who brought him into the same world as future collaborators like Tama Waipara, Batacada Sound Machine, Sola Rosa and Nick.

Inspired by the rich stories of jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the open-eared Auckland scene they emerged from, After 'Ours formed in 2011. Born out of a friendship cultivated through playing together at bars and nightclubs around town and home studio sessions. "Nick had family and work, so I had to wait all day," Michal says. "We'd come to the studio at 10 PM and go till 3 AM. That's how we came up with the name.

Session by session, After 'Ours revealed itself to be a creatively fertile meeting of minds. "We both have our angles, but it works well in the end," Nick reflects. "It takes the music to a place we can't get to by ourselves."

Between 2011 and 2016, they wrote and recorded Odyssey with a cast of musical collaborators that included KP, Sharlene Hector & Kevin Mark Trail (UK), Matt Nanai, Nathan Haines, Jakub Skowronski, Nick's partner Ange Williams (nee Saunders) and British producer Mike Patto from the lauded UK future jazz group Reel People. Influenced by the smooth yacht rock of Steely Dan and Donald Fagan, the warm midtempo bounce of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and the complex jazz/RnB bop of Robert Glasper, Odyssey was a labour of love that emphasised community, warm-hearted hospitality, and care.

Seven years on, they're finally ready to return with Long Road, an album that contains some of their best work yet. As well as reconnecting with past collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, Long Road sees After 'Ours calling on assistance from Louis Baker, Jakarta-based saxophone player Kuba Skowroński, bassist Dan Antunovich, Los Angeles-based drummer Chris Bailey and the journeyman British soul artist Omar Lyefook.

Across ten songs that plot a stargazed course through their antipodean spin on UK broken beat, jazz, modern soul, and blues rock, Nick and Michal build on everything they learned while writing and recording Odyssey. In the process, they take their joyful musical visions to sublime new heights.

The records is released in two options. Both hvae 180g vinyl records. The first version has two black vinyls and the second limited edition (numbered 100 pieces) has one turquoise vinyl and the other red.

Over the last three decades, Auckland, New Zealand, has given birth to several generations of musicians, DJs, and producers who operated within the interzone between jazz, blues, soul, funk, Latin music, hip-hop, house, boogie, and broken beat. Across two slow-cooked albums that sit at the intersection of machine funk and vivid live instrumentation, Odyssey (2016) and their forthcoming sophomore release Long Road (2024), After 'Ours - the group project of pianist and composer Michal Martyniuk and drummer, guitarist and producer Nick Williams - have comfortably located themselves within this antipodean tradition.

Born and raised in Auckland, Nick Williams grew up surrounded by music from a young age. At home, his mother, Mary Anne, a record collector and DJ with deep, diverse vinyl crates, kept his ear sharp. By the time he was eight years old, he was regularly joining his musician father on stages across Australia in his blues rock band Slippery Sam. In his early twenties, Nick began leading the eleven-piece Auckland Latin-dub-funk fusion big band Tangent, who performed regularly until the late 2000s.

Michal Martyniuk, on the other hand, grew up on the opposite side of the world in Szczecin, Poland. After playing classical music for twelve years and attending jazz school, he relocated to New Zealand with his family in his teens. While studying at Auckland University Jazz school, Michal came into the orbit of the legendary New Zealand saxophonist, composer, producer, and band leader Nathan Haines, who brought him into the same world as future collaborators like Tama Waipara, Batacada Sound Machine, Sola Rosa and Nick.

Inspired by the rich stories of jazz, neo-soul, electronica, and dance music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and the open-eared Auckland scene they emerged from, After 'Ours formed in 2011. Born out of a friendship cultivated through playing together at bars and nightclubs around town and home studio sessions. "Nick had family and work, so I had to wait all day," Michal says. "We'd come to the studio at 10 PM and go till 3 AM. That's how we came up with the name.

Session by session, After 'Ours revealed itself to be a creatively fertile meeting of minds. "We both have our angles, but it works well in the end," Nick reflects. "It takes the music to a place we can't get to by ourselves."

Between 2011 and 2016, they wrote and recorded Odyssey with a cast of musical collaborators that included KP, Sharlene Hector & Kevin Mark Trail (UK), Matt Nanai, Nathan Haines, Jakub Skowronski, Nick's partner Ange Williams (nee Saunders) and British producer Mike Patto from the lauded UK future jazz group Reel People. Influenced by the smooth yacht rock of Steely Dan and Donald Fagan, the warm midtempo bounce of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, and the complex jazz/RnB bop of Robert Glasper, Odyssey was a labour of love that emphasised community, warm-hearted hospitality, and care.

Seven years on, they're finally ready to return with Long Road, an album that contains some of their best work yet. As well as reconnecting with past collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Ange Williams, Long Road sees After 'Ours calling on assistance from Louis Baker, Jakarta-based saxophone player Kuba Skowroński, bassist Dan Antunovich, Los Angeles-based drummer Chris Bailey and the journeyman British soul artist Omar Lyefook.

Across ten songs that plot a stargazed course through their antipodean spin on UK broken beat, jazz, modern soul, and blues rock, Nick and Michal build on everything they learned while writing and recording Odyssey. In the process, they take their joyful musical visions to sublime new heights.

Previously Unreleased Recording. Limited to 1200 copies on transparent cherry vinyl. Tip-on jacket, Download code. Insert featuring LP sized original art by Grungie O'Muck. Includes the original recording of Richard Tucker's "Are You Leaving For The Country", later covered by Karen Dalton, and the only song co-written by Karen & Richard, "Sleeping In The Garden". "Richard, Cam & Bert seem to have grasped The Great Harmony. That is, ensemble singing that is at once sweet, precise, funky and a bit sardonic..." -Mike Jahn / New York Times (1970) "For a few years in the late sixties and early seventies Richard Cam & Bert ruled MacDougal St. walking a fine line between the increasingly commercialized demands created by groups like Crosby Stills and Nash and the fierce integrity of earlier folk performers, the generation to which Richard belonged. They managed this with great aplomb, producing original tunes of great integrity and obvious folkloric origins, as well as those which expressed the anarchic omnipresent psychedelia of the moment. They also never abandoned the idea of including some traditional material in their performances. But for the usual random application of luck they could have been very big." - Grungie O'Muck / Artist, Bluesman, Cover artist for their first album and contributor to this one. Richard Tucker, Campbell Bruce, and Bert Lee coalesced as a trio in the spring of 1968, and by the end of that year had become regular performers at fabled Greenwich Village nightspots - The Gaslight, The Bag I'm In, Cafe Feenjon, among others. But mostly they were street singers, busking regularly in Central Park. Their only LP, Limited Edition, was released in 1970, and sold mainly at gigs and on the street. Somewhere in The Stars compiles earlier, previously unreleased recordings, when all three members were signed with Peer-Southern Music publishers as writers and began using their studio to make demos and experiment musically. Beautifully recorded by house engineer Charlie Mack (supervised by Jimmy Ienner), the demos capture a back room casualness and rustic, homespun quality. For me, listening to their songs and harmonies is like entering a world you always hoped existed but had never experienced. Some of the songs were re-recorded the following year for Limited Edition, but many are heard here for the first time. Among them is the original demo for Richard Tucker's song, "Are You Leaving For The Country", which Karen Dalton covered on her seminal 1971 release, In My Own Time. Richard and Karen were husband and wife for much of the 1960s, performing as a duo (initially as a trio with Tim Hardin), and navigating their time on the Village scene while alternating living in a small mining town outside Boulder, Co. before splitting up in 1967. Also making its debut, is the only song Richard and Karen ever wrote together, the haunting "Sleeping In The Garden". Also contains two epic songs by Cam "One Of These First Nights", and "Stockholm") not on their LP, but staples of their live performances, and noted in a gig review by The New York Times, and in a column by future A&R hero, Karin Berg, who was an early champion. Another rarity is the only cover of "Sweet Mama" by Fred Neil we've ever heard. Campell Bruce came to New York in 1967 as lead singer with a band from Washington, DC, The Natty Bumpo. They'd recently signed a record deal with Phillips, but were falling apart. Cam landed in the Village with an acoustic guitar and first started playing and singing in the basket houses, and shortly thereafter at The Gaslight, as the "Cam Bruce Trio" (which included Collin Walcott). After opening for Mose Allison, Cam's hero, the trio went their separate ways, and Cam returned to regular solo gigs at The Flamenco, and the basket houses on Bleecker. Richard and Cam met up on that scene and quickly found a musical kinship as well as becoming best pals. Bert Lee arrived in New York as a runaway the following winter, and began playing and sleeping wherever he could. His sometime accompanist, Ron Price, introduced Bert to Richard and Cam just as Bert's own songs were garnering attention from publishers. According to Bert, "I arrived on the New York scene during a time of great change, and it was the notion of change that influenced me. All around me I saw there were two sorts of songwriters, on the one hand dedicated to the traditions that had inspired them, folk, jazz, the American songbook. On the other hand were songwriters influenced by the wave of experimentation that The Beatles were the perfect example of. Mixing genres, writing lyrics that weren't just about ordinary love and loss. Richard Tucker was a country blues player, with a relaxed and melodic approach to the craft. Cam wrote something more akin to soul songs, with a hint of jazz in the changes. I was writing tunes that sometimes drew on classical structures with a tendency toward what I suppose would be known as prog-rock. But I was rather adamant about not being pinned down stylistically, and so I would write, for example, a song based on some complex classical chord structure, and then go right ahead and write a simple folk song, like Evelyn. Our band was popular locally, and it was this variety that made it distinct." Delmore is excited to present this unearthed treasure, fifteen years in the making. In the words of Richard Tucker, "Tap on your knee, roll on the floor; if you aint free, what's it all for?" "The trio's singing, playing, and writing have all withstood the test of time. Believe me, because I was there. In 1969 R,C&B, myself, Charles John Quarto, David Bromberg, Ron Price, and Keith Sykes were just a few of that year's crop of song-slingers. We were young turks back then, out on the prowl in New York's Greenwich Village for record deals, gigs, and beautiful young women to sleep with and maybe even write a song about. I've lost the names and numbers of those lovelies and I'm not sure what happened to Ron Price, but Richard, Cam, and Bert are back! - Loudon Wainwright lll

The multifaceted Perth-based record label 823, founded by Australian producer and creative powerhouse Ta-ku, is gearing up for "All Things Considered Vol. 3." Committed to detail and a celebration of life's simple pleasures, this LP refuses to be confined to any single genre. Noteworthy releases from 823 include Cabu's "So Far To Go" EP, Ta-ku and Matt McWaters's collaboration "Black and White," featuring the Masego collaboration "Flight 99," and their debut project with Australian producer and instrumentalist Kuzich.

This time, The guest list includes Jakarta Records beat-veterans Alexander Flood, Lucid Green, and Cabu, bringing RnB with a soulful twist that's sure to warm the heart. Playfully melodic artists Makzo, falcxne & Seb Zellner blend jazz, soul, and sweetness creating a natural and playful sound for the LP. Den Brooks, Lovesome, and Tambala all contribute to the rhythmic neo-soul zest on the iconic 808 beat.

On the whole, "All Things Considered Vol. 3" embarks on a forward-thinking rhythmic journey into the creative minds behind the LP. It's as diverse and eclectic as those minds themselves and proudly follows up on its first and second volumes. Natural sounds blend seamlessly with electronic elements, from lush melodies to wintery vibes. Playful vocals adorn this 12-track gem, from Lucid Green's ethereal journey "Splash" twisted in UK garage vibes to the jazz-pop infused "Lost & Found" by Makzo & friends, echoing Jamiroquai-esque beats. The first single, "Babyslowdown" by MXXWLL, takes center stage with its strings, while Alexander Flood's James Bond-inspired melody receives a funky update.

Hot on the heels of our New Year’s smash, “Someday” by The Tempests, Outta Sight proudly presents the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose with their two most requested sides… back-to-back for the very first time!!!

The group formed in 1970 in their home town of Dania Beach, Florida. Original members were siblings Carter, Eddie and Rose Cornelius and friend Cleveland Barrett who was tragically killed in a car crash before they hit the charts. In mid-1970 they released their first single “Treat Her Like A Lady” which went to #3 on the U.S. Hot 100 earning the trio a Gold Disc. The follow-up single, “Too Late To Turn Back Now” (featured here),faired even better, hiting #2 on 22nd July 1972 scoring a second Gold Disc. Both tracks featured on their self-titled debut LP, a top 30 Pop hit in ’72. Despite the huge Stateside success of “Too Late To Turn Back Now” it failed to hit in the U.K. and even at the time, it resonated more with the easy-listening MOR audience than the soul fraternity who were tuned in to the harder-edged funky grooves of the likes of Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. It wasn’t until the Nineties that the Cornelius family finally caught the imagination of the U.K. rare soul scene and have remained a turntable favourite ever since.



Our chosen B-side, “Big Time Lover”, is the title track from the group’s second album released in 1973 and, wonderful as it is, it failed to break the Hot 100, and only dented the R&B Charts peaking at #88. Again, it was completely ignored by the U.K. and yet today it is the more popular of the two sides. Ironically, both original United Artist singles are actually quite hard to find in the U.K., despite the Gold Disc status of “Too Late To Turn Back Now”. A quick look on ‘discogs’ reveals only one copy currently available and zero copies of “Big Time Lover”!

Released only eight months after his exhilarating debut, Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle contains rousing dispatches from the boardwalk, the street, the beach, and the bedroom. It explodes with energy, dares to dream, teases with humour, crackles with tragedy, clings to hope, and overflows with discovery, youthfulness, and personality. It features an unforgettable cast of characters — corner boys, teenage hustlers, doomed lovers, jazz men, junk men, factory girls, fortune tellers, alley cats, pimps, escorts, and more — illuminated by vivid colour, breathtaking detail, and poetic action.

Musically, the heartfelt 1973 record is inhabited by sympathetic vignettes and cinematic arrangements steeped in rock 'n' roll, soul, jazz, and R&B. It finds the New Jersey native looking beyond the parameters of his preceding record and seeking to move on from environments he knows well (and chronicles here) by rushing headlong toward unknown territories, adventures, and people. Underpinned by the singer-guitarist's ambitious poetic enterprise and will to succeed, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the album on which Springsteen becomes the Boss.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's renowned mastering system, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen's sophomore record. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle plays with a clarity, energy, presence, and openness that complement the expressiveness, dynamics, and scope of the seven restless songs that comprise a work Rolling Stone ranked the 345th Greatest Album of All Time.

Beyond the audiophile sonics that practically place you behind the console at 914 Sound Studios — listen to the separation between the instruments, natural decay of the notes, interplay within the widescreen soundstaging, and nothing-to-lose youthfulness of Springsteen’s voice — this reissue takes seriously this record’s influential merit by presenting it in packaging that underlines its status. Tucked in a beautiful slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with the invigorating set that busted Springsteen loose from the club circuit and landed him on the radio

Determined to liberate anyone within earshot and unafraid to come on strong, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle serves as the debut of the E Street Band — not only heard but seen for the first time by most of the public courtesy of the back-cover photograph. This is where saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist-accordionist Danny Federici, and pianist David Sancious step out of the shadows — and drummer Vini Lopez and bassist Garry Tallent again stoke a fiery rhythmic engine that helps drive the untamed, reimagined big-band swing of “Kitty’s Back,” breathless R&B thrust of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and carefree dance steps of the funky “The E Street Shuffle.”

Of course, the main attraction remains a then-24-year-old visionary on the precipice of becoming a sensation and turning a then-bloated rock scene on its head. Recorded over three months while Springsteen and company were busy touring his debut LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle reflects the high-octane approach the vocalist embraced onstage and drifts away from the label-dictated acoustic-based frameworks of his debut. The set also witnesses Springsteen deepening his observational skills, with narratives such as the romantically tinged “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and redemptive epic “Incident on 57th Street” mirroring changes taking place in the singer’s own life, small towns, and America at large.

A thrilling collision of memories, reflections, and composites — Sandy, Rosalita, and the latter’s parents are all based on actual people Springsteen knew, as is the community depicted in the opening track — the aptly titled The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle resonates decades on due to its truths, authenticity, and spirit. Those characteristics — as well as the fact that many of its lengthy songs come on as the equivalent of sweaty, feverish soul revue that won’t stop until you’ve been exhausted — also explain how this now-iconic album triumphed over the reservations of industry “experts” that both demanded Springsteen re-record it and instructed deejays not to play it.



Yet there’d be no stopping a record that saw the past, present, and future, a band whose will would not be denied, and a phenomenon who was born to run. A never-ending invitation to act real cool and stay up all night, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle always feels alright.

Limted version on 2LP transparent violet vinyl in gatefold sleeve, 300 copies! ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."

It's the pair you've all been waiting for! FINALLY!

Alan Tew's Drama Suite Part II. What can we really say? Honestly? We guess the first thing that strikes you is how clean the drums are. Almost impossibly slick but dripping so, so heavy with the neck-snapping funk you'd expect from perhaps the most sought-after library funk set of them all! The cheapest on Discogs is, currently, £1300+. Now's your chance to remedy that. If you know, you know. And we think you know...

"The Rub" is a cool, low-slung heavy-funk roller with relaxed brass and alto flute phrases. Up next, "Money Runner" is another edgy funk glider, its easy-tempo moving in harmony with slinky rhythmic riffs and featuring a seemingly ad-libbed electric piano solo. Strutting along after, "White Elephant Walk" is another laconic, deeply stoned walking theme with electric piano and alto flutes. There follows a couple of brief "walking" links before the brilliantly tense "Master Plan" slowly builds. Expectancy grows to the main theme around a minute in and then a melodic theme builds slightly to the 3 minute mark before floating down gradually and elegantly to its climax. It's utterly fantastic. The smoky, after-hours "Night Watch" is a slow, cool gem featuring alto flutes and synths.

Now we're talking, "The Fence (a)" is just sensational and worth buying this album all on its own. It's likely the reason you're here, anyway. Another impossibly funky, slow and easy tempo with a bass riff to die for, dramatic guitar with gorgeous electric piano and alto flute phrases. It was sampled for "Action Satisfaction" by J5, way way back. "The Fence (b)" is a slower, more deliberate version of the previous heater, but it's no less essential. Indeed, it's absolutely jaw-drooping. Closing out this remarkable side, "Surveillance" is another horizontal masterpiece of relaxed yet dramatic jazz-funk. Vibes ad-lib in centre section and give you an idea of how Roy Ayers making library funk in the mid-late 70s might've sounded. Sensational.

Flip over for "Total Silence", a near-beatless and understated scene-setter featuring neat interplay of guitar and synthesizer themes over bass and hi-hats. The slow "Eyes" follows, a brief gem with subdued electric piano solo and a light climax. The fantastic "Drama Backcloth (1a)" is up next, a repetitive piano and bass refrain with guitar figures over the top. Its creeping crime-funk vibe was pilfered for "Outta Town Shit" by Ghostface Killah in 2006. "Drama Backcloth (1b)" is a short, subdued version without the guitar figure. "Drama Backcloth (2)" features an expectant, background marimba figure over light rhythm whilst the cool "Drama Backcloth (3)" centres around a relaxed riff and the angular "Drama Backcloth (4)" presents eerie progressions with piano interjections. It's decidedly non-rhythmic!

We're then onto 14 (!) different half-minute "Scenechanges", all jazzy and funky, some cool and dramatic, some slow and rhythmic. All ace and groove-fuelled. The aptly-titled "Final Statement" closes proceedings, a slow, pensive theme on guitar joined by cool brass and a solo trumpet to its climax.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Drama Suite Part II comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity. We're not quite sure what else to say about this landmark record, other than, GET IT!

Encore!? Say no more.. Plush number 4 is here!
Elusive local live hero JCow soft launches into the arms of Plush Records, bringing a modern day classique to the underground masses. The Berlin based producer & DJ has been humbly making waves amongst prancers and dancers; unless you’ve been living under a rock!

“Wish U Were Here W Me” is a pupil dilating, rump shaking sunrise anthem; a melodic masterclass with a bassline that puts funky town to shame. Vocals expertly extracted from Brandy’s “Long Distance'' which soar like silk over a breathtaking breakdown.. tugging at heartstrings across the globe. The Emotional Breakdown mix is catering to the softies out there, stripped back and filling up your cup, pure natural ecstasy.

Close your eyes and get lost in the groove.

Born in Roma in 1959, Guiseppe “Peps” Cotumaccio arrived in South Africa when he was two years old. He was the mastermind behind the band “Sweet Reaction”, singing and playing keyboards.

In the early 80’s, the group used to back various artists including one of the South African top singer “Neville Nash”. Both artists were on the same record label: Music Team. Throughout his lengthy career, Peps has collaborated with Johnny Clegg, Ronnie Joyce, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, P.J. Powers, Mark Alex, Neville Nash, and Mara Louw just to name a few.

The lead singer of the band, Dion Williamson, started performing in Johannesburg’s nightclubs and got quickly very successful, always in demand! People loved his gravel and sensual voice as he used to sing some of Joe Cocker’s popular songs. Unfortunately, during the Apartheid, the South African Government were not allowing black and white audiences, and the band split.

On this BIG5 Boogie#2, Enoch Ndlela produced 2 Modern Soul killer tracks.
Recorded in 1981, "Take it easy", where the music is evidently influenced by Willie Hutch (Easy does it - 1978) offers Dion a way to fully explain himself doing his own version of the tune. And what an explosive result!

On the same side of this 12”, our 2 Frenchies in Cape Town aka Simbad & Fred Spider enjoyed delivering us a fat broken beat version of the track, while the very “En Vogue” Aroop Roy from London turned it into a funky house summer hit.
Side B starts with a superb composition from the band: “African Sunrise” where Dion Williamson is on top, this tune is a bomb!
To finish this E.P, the well-known Kid Fonque from Johannesburg, who freshly moved to London working for the glorious house record label Defected, couldn’t wait to produce a super groove deep house refix. The result is a second essential dancefloor release from Voom Voom Records!

The continuing growth of Maik Krahl as a melodic improviser, bandleader, and composer is distinctly evident in this new release. In-Between Flow, Krahl’s third outing as leader, is a portrait of a young artist who has gone through many years of dedicated hard work, study, experimentation, and refinement in order to achieve this level of instrumental and artistic progress. Krahl belongs to a new generation of improvisers who have acquired a breadth of technical and theoretical facility, while not losing the spontaneity and rawness of this music we call jazz. As a bandleader, he chooses his colleagues wisely and for this date is joined on a few tracks by the visionary guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, whose brilliant playing adds a cherry on top of this already delicious line up.

The title In-Between Flow refers to ever evolving progression of our human condition. As in nature, the human spirit can expand and unfold, maturing to a new state where it may settle for a while until some new impulses inspires another transition. These transitions, sometimes subtle, sometimes abrupt; as well as the times of contentedness and serenity are the inspirations for this music.

The record opens up with an ode to the town Krahl calls home. Cologne 4 AM, begins with a haunting melody by Krahl’s soft yet powerful horn before settling into a perfect vehicle to display his command of melodic and motivic story telling. There is something about the time of 4 AM that seems to permeate literature and music, and this track will add to the canon of artistic references to this magical time where the night meets the morning.

Mr. Rosenwinkel joins the band for Slosetta, which is a great example of Krahl’s ability to craft a tune. As is to be expected, Rosenwinkel weaves through the changes with grace and mastery, obviously enjoying the communication with the rhythm section, who are undeniably inspired by his harmonic, rhythmic and melodic ingenuity.

Jakob Kühnemann, a Bandleader and composer is his own right, has been an in demand bassist on the German and European scene for several years, and his contribution to this record is proof of why that is. Although Krahl takes the lead on Drizzle Counter, in a great display of technical virtuosity, it is Kühneman who stands out on this track. It is not only in his improvisation, but more so in his poly rhythmic pulses dancing up from the deep and the harmonic insinuations in his accompaniment of Krahl’s solo that demonstrate his musical mastery.

Rosenwinkel joins again for No Claim Claim, a composition so balanced that I would not be surprised to hear other artists recording or performing it in the future. After Krahl’s melodically inventive statement, Rosenwinkel shifts the band to the next gear building the intensity towards the out head.

Constantin Krahmer has been Krahl´s piano player since his debut record, Decidophobia. His patience, ingenuity, and big ears make him a perfect accomplice to Krahl, and his sensitive yet powerful approach and accompaniment on Reconstruction of a Dream as well as his harmonic and melodic inventiveness on Vinaceous Clouds (where he plays Fender Rhodes) make it clear why he is an integral part of this unit.

Ms Ludgate is a funky composition with angular melody that is another feather in the cap of the band leader. Kurt Rosenwinkel is back, and seems more than willing to engage in some rhythmic dialogue with the spectacular young drummer on the date, Fabian Rösch. Throughout this entire record Rösch is subtly but strongly guiding the band, playing his role as a supportive and interactive proponent to the music. We will surely be hearing much more from this young man with such a refined sound and clear rhythmic conception.

Flawless Sunday, a perfect closing statement for this record. The melody is another great example of Krahl’s growth as a composer. The whole rhythm section really shines on Krahmer’s choruses, where the three colleagues push and dare each other rhythmically as well as harmonically before Krahl enters and brings the record to a close with his beautiful rich tone and melodic playing.

It is a great pleasure to hear the growth of a young artist with such dedication and vision. Hearing how Krahl and his band mates navigate through the vicissitudes of this music is an inspiration that can be mirrored in everyday life. A lesson in accepting the ever changing flow from one state to another. Growing, learning, and evolving into a new state, until the process begins anew. In-Between Flow.

After a ten year pursuit, Efficient Space finally presents Late, Late Show, the last recordings of influential Sydney-via-Newcastle band pel mel. Taped in the mid-’80s, these charmingly unvarnished sessions pare the combo back to their core, producing blue-collar sophisti-pop to a danceable LinnDrum beat. From the funky disco-not-disco of ‘Mr President’ to the effortless pop perfection of ‘Fool’s House’, the six tracks reveal a creatively open and well-oiled pel mel before they inevitably disbanded.

Formed in early 1979 as a misfit sextet from steel and surf town Newcastle, pel mel were inspired by New York and UK’s post-punk imports. Cutting their teeth speeding through originals and Joy Division, Wire and The Buzzcocks covers every Friday night to a regular turnout of dole bludgers, students and the under-age, the band would also cross-pollinate with electronic-leaning support act The Limp. In 1980, they decamped to Sydney to join the city’s flourishing alternative music scene alongside the likes of Laughing Clowns, Tactics, The Reels, Wild West and the M Squared crew, making an indelible mark with two albums and several singles as the only domestic signee of Factory’s Australasian licensee GAP Records. Catchy and intelligently experimental without being noisy, their musicianship and enduring legacy continues to be lauded by peers.

Undoubtedly some of their strongest output, this previously unreleased demo suite documents pel mel free from the pressures of a commercial outcome, naturally elevating them to a class alongside Orange Juice, Antena and Young Marble Giants.

Long out of print (10 years!), this new edition of Soul Jazz Records' classic Delta Swamp Rock, features a killer all-star line-up of seminal artists who all first blended rock, soul and country together to create a stunning new sound of southern American music in the 1970s.

Featuring the Allman Brothers, Dan Penn, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Johnny Cash, Bobbie Gentry, Big Star, Link Wray, Area Code 615 and loads more!

This album comes as a superb limited-edition gold vinyl double vinyl release complete with extensive original sleevenotes, interviews and exclusive photography, all spread over a 12-page full-size magazine and two bespoke inner sleeves. The works!

Delta Swamp Rock is an interstate southern road-trip through the United States of America where country, rock and soul met at the crossroads - an exploration of the musical and cultural links between the cities of Memphis, Muscle Shoals and Nashville in the 1960s and 70s.

At the start of the 1970s, a new type of music emerged out of the southern states of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. Southern rock, the creation of young blue-collar white Americans, blended rock, soul, country and blues music together to present a new vision of the south – a post-civil rights southern identity complete with a celebration of the regions natural landscape and its way of life.

The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd epitomised the definitive southern rock groups – a mixture of blues-rock and country with a southern rebelliousness and attitude. Unfortunately both The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd were to be struck by tragedy, which would affect the movement’s rise and fall.

The backstory to southern rock is the fact that a number of the people involved in its creation had been central to the production of southern soul music in the 1960s mainly in Memphis, Tennessee, and the small town of Muscle Shoals (population around 10,000) deep within the bible-belt, liquor-free, deeply segregated state of Alabama, creating 100s of R&B hits on an almost daily basis.

Here in Muscle Shoals, with its proximity to Memphis and Nashville, an all-white group of in-house musicians, (famously referred to by Lynyrd Skynyrd in the song ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ as the ‘Swampers’), created countless classic soul records for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Clarence Carter and more during the 1960s.

This album charts the rise and fall of southern rock from its funky swamp roots in southern soul to its phenomenal success in the first-half of the 1970s, including its influence on Nashville’s ‘outlaw’ country and tracing it right back to the arrival of rock and roll in the 1950s - the first meeting of black and white American music at the crossroads.

Safari In DLes Disques Bongo Joe are happy to announce the first official repress of L"Éclair acclaimed first album Cruise Control. Almost impossible to find a fair price, this album is the roots of L"Éclair well known poly-groove vibe. Back in the days, the guys were obsessed by afrobeat, funk and psychedelic music. Recorded live by Vincent Hänggi, Cruise Control has a totally unique sound. Witht this, you"ll understand everything you missed about the Geneva based crew! Released originally on Rock This Town, we"re happy to work with directly with L"Éclair to repress this gem. If you already missed it once, don"t sleep this time!

THE FRIIMEN MUZIK COMPANY (also known as FRIIMEN) was formed after the Biafran war in 1973-1974 in the town of ABA in the eastern part of Nigeria. Aba was the Number 1 Music Hub in the entire Eastern Region of Nigeria. While bands and artists like ‘Ofege’ and ‘Fela Kuti’ ruled the LAGOS scene, bands like ‘Friimen’ and ‘The Apostles’ were ruling the ABA scene. Before forming the band, most of its members were already working together as freelance session musicians backing up solo artists on several recordings and concerts (or were playing in military bands that gradually became civilian bands because the war had just ended). FRIIMEN members’ credits were numerous and they played, wrote or performed on recordings from well-known acts like The Funkees, The Jets, The Apostles…and countless others. When they started concentrating on writing their own songs, the group instantly took off and became an overnight hit that resulted in them doing multiple successful nationwide tours. FRIIMEN would go on to record three albums: Free Man (1976), We Can Get It On (1978) and Merry Man (1979). All three albums were released on the Aba based label Anodisc Records (THE key label to be on if you wanted your music heard and out there), Anodisc also released hit records by ‘Sweet Unit’ and ‘Voice Of The Cross’ but The Friimen Muzik Company was the label’s signature band. The album we are presenting you today (Free Man from 1976) was recorded at the famous Decca Studios in Lagos and comes swinging right out of the gate with a set of no less than EIGHT monster tunes. Expect nothing less than crazy afrobeat and over the top melodic funk influenced by a wide array of artists (both local and international). Mesmerizing solos, captivating grooves, impeccable sequences that turned many heads…everything you need to get a dancehall into a complete uproar. The musicians’ skills are just plain incredible! FREE MAN is a quintessential record that every serious collector or fan needs to have in his/her collection.

Fresh off the back of his highly acclaimed debut album on Astral Black, Footshooter returns to the WOLF Music pack following his ethereal remix of Velour last year, with an exquisite six track journey through his signature sound.

An amalgamation of genres, ideas and vibes blend seamlessly together throughout the record, showing a wealth of knowledge, alongside a production prowess to match. From the cinematic opener 'Welcome In' to the soulful, synth-laden broken beat of ‘Turning’ and 'Archetype 7' on the A side. Samples dance next to magical playing and programming, with hats tipped to legends of yester year whilst keeping things completely fresh at the same time.

Flip it for the B, where UK Funky feels mix with bumping house for the fresh to death, dress to impress 'Dojo'. Footshooter then dips the lights down low and and slows the tempo with the beatsy, piano shimmering brilliance of 'Angel(s)' and the eyes closed, soul healing sounds of 'Hold On'.

Six shots, no misses, Footshooter gets deep into the heart of what’s bubbling in London town right now.

"UNITED", Tristesse Contemporaine’s new album is like a space shuttle, full of metropolitan and eccentric music makers.

Inside the shuttle: Narumi, Leo & Mike, respectively from Japan, Sweden and Jamaican-British. All "united" behind the unique Tristesse Contemporaine flag and led since the start by French label Record Makers (Kavinsky, Sebastien Tellier, Cola Boyy…).

After three rock & post-punk infused albums: "Tristesse Contemporaine" (2012), "Stay Golden" (2013) and "Stop and Start" (2017), they’re off to a new start and open a new cycle with their new opus "UNITED".

Who other than young prodigy Lewis OfMan, the one-man band behind hits like "Attitude" and renowned collaborations including Rejjie Snow or Carly Rae Jepsen, to join the joyous ride?

After hearing "Sly Fox"'s first demo in 2019, they convinced him to produce a whole album for them and became the fourth member of sorts, adding his pop sensibility, mixing genres and emotions with funky basslines, strong hooks, and digital arrangements.

A free-spirited album filled with irresistible beat-driven tunes thanks to Mike's thunderous voice, Narumi's sparkling synths and Leo's gleaming guitar, conquering new territories from reggae to 90’s breakbeat or New-York disco. A unique and united style glued together by a rare ability to switch moods and dynamics in a gleam of light, like a skilled DJ would.

Lewis Parker continues to dig deeper and get stronger in ways, on his most recent addition to his impressive and wide body of work. 20 plus releases into his career, Parker goes in from the opening bars of his new LP ‘Frequency of Perception’. The veteran producer and rapper comes in hot, clearly rooted in his ideas and views, wasting no time dropping knowledge and his opinions on social issues, current rappers, and the rap industry itself.

First ever repress of the sought after psychedelic tinged funk rock private press album 'Eclipse of the City' from 1980 New York. Originally recorded between 1975 and 1977 in Manhattan's garment district. Eclipse of the City lay dormant on a reel to reel player whilst frontman Carlos Fire Aguasvivas muddled through life working as a data entry clerk away from his fellow band members. It wasn't till he rediscovered the tapes that a sudden life affirming moment drove him to get the music pressed. Putting pen to paper Carlos created the artwork as a homage to his love of comic art and brought the band to life on the reverse with his spindly characters engrossed in the jam. Only 300 copies were pressed at the time leading to eye-watering prices for a copy. with a recent digital re-release from Indian Summer's Anthology Records, Sticky Buttons stepped up to repress the record with a limited run of 500, lovingly manufactured in the UK in all its vinyl glory.

Arriving in the Bronx from the civil unrest of Santo Domingo in the early 60's Aguasvivas was surrounded by the raucous sounds of rock, jazz and prog. Absorbing the humdrum atmosphere of life in New York, Eclipse of the City came from the minds of close friends Carlos Aguasvivas, Steve Garcia and Eddy Garcia. Meeting at Monroe High School the three of them quickly formed a strong bond over their shared interest in music. It wasn't long after that they began rehearsing in a basement under a neighbourhood cleaners and in the attic of Steve and Eddy's family home piecing together their extended sessions of tripped out cinematic psychedelia.

Recording got off to a rocky start as a car accident left the three band members in A&E after taking an early morning cab ride through Manhattan to watch the sunrise on their way into the studio (a theatrical artistic statement of intent conceived by Steve Garcia) - as Eddy mentioned "Eclipse was forged from a lot of pain". Their recording sessions were postponed but a few weeks later they were back and with the added energy of John Ortega on Bass and Vincent Anderson on electric piano and organ - with just a few microphones and a reel to reel recorder, Eclipse of the City was laid down as the stark bold homage to New York's downtown.

Influences ranged from the cinematic behemoth Jaws to the UK prog rock bands of Genesis, Yes and Emerson Lake & Palmer but only could Eclipse of the City take its unique form in the attics and basements of New York with the full band adding their Puerto Rican and Dominican slanted New York energy. Side one includes 3 fully formed tracks breaking out into eerie moments of calm before diving into well timed jolts of reprise as each element weaves over the top of one another whilst side two presents a 30 minute narrative work following the night adventures of a young group of friends exploring the vibrant nightlife of downtown New York. A rumbling half hour of wobbling guitar, tight drumming and synth organ licks jutting out from the glistening lights of the night before the sun rises down Manhattan's East-West axis as the lilt changes and the organ lulls the friends back home. A truly idiosyncratic take on the heady world of New York in the 70's and one that still resonates with our urban landscapes and love for the nights they bring today.

a 01: Think Positive (Live) feat. Steve Garcia, Edward Garcia & John Ortega
b 02: Jennifer (Live) feat. Steve Garcia, Edward Garcia, Vincent Anderson & John Ortega
c 03: Try It All Again (Live) [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Edward Garcia & Steve Garcia]
[d] 04: Eclipse A (Beginnings) [Live] [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Edward Garcia & Steve Garcia]
[e] 05: Eclipse B (First Movement) [Live] [feat. John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]
[f] 06: Eclipse C (Hustle Bustle) [Live] [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]
[g] 07: Eclipse D (Funky Side of Town) [Live] [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]
[h] 08: Eclipse E (Midnight) [Live] [feat. John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]
[i] 09: Eclipse F (First Movement Continued) [Live] [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]
[j] 10: Eclipse G (Home) [Live] [feat. Vincent Anderson, John Ortega, Steve Garcia & Edward Garcia]

Best known for his work with CL Smooth, and his remixes for Public Enemy, House of Pain, Mary J Blige and Mick Jagger to mention a few. Hailing from the little town of Mt. Vernon, NY, right next to the Bronx, Pete Rock & CL Smooth pretty much got together in their local high school when Pete noticed CLs dope and unique voice. After high school, Pete hooked up a weekend hip-hop show on WBLS-FM and was considered one of NYs premier DJs during his four year stint on the show. All Souled Out was Pete & CLs debut EP, it was the phenomenal production by Pete Rock which really drew people to this EP. If the legendary DJ Mark The 45 King was the first producer to incorporate horns, Pete Rock was the first to really perfect this new style of production with his trademark echoing horns laced throughout his music. This was done very nicely on two of the cuts off the EP, Creator and Mecca & The Soul Brother, and people were taking notice in a big way.
After the solid Mecca/Creator 12 inch, the duo unleashed one of those all-time classic LPs every MC dreams of having, Mecca & The Soul Brother featuring the monumental: They Reminisce Over You, Straighten It Out, Ghettos Of The Mind, and Lots Of Lovin. Songs to make you cry - damn, they were playing TROY at funerals everywhere. One of the greatest hip hop records ever made ...it never leads my box man...- (Tim Westwood)

Pete Rock on hip hop: Hip hop to me today is still important but we are going through a phase right now. Hip Hop as been injected by a virus, and right now weve got to find a cure to this. Which brings along myself. (Frank 151)

The Press ...from downtempo, funkdified sounds to hypnotic hip-hop beats, this is a wonderfully crafted album - (BPM July 2001)
This hypnotic ... album represents hip hops incredible ability to morph and manipulate a hodgepodge of sounds to create something unique...although the sound is now industrial, electronic and everything but natural Pete's version of hip hop will remain a classy affair that merges the elements of an orchestra, the roots of black music and the cacophony of the streets. - (Mass Appeal July 2001)

23H23 is back in town... a superb Crystal Distorsion tune... One of the rare of a kind... Full out love of a music style creator... and all the other tunes trying, tiding and overfooding for more : Ixindamix in her funky live exercise... always surprised me and I luv that sound... Kindaz and his style too... Gravos bugging the tribe for more experimental groove : big 3rd type encounter ! Attention the extract we builded up does not show the end of the tune .. but finally you get 3 minutes of a round confortable kick... ahaha big I say again... 25D, Redge, Assolm System, Gravos... some other 23 heads of all kind will joice you up to the nirvana of the magic clock ! 23H23 of march or november 2023 !... ouuups... 2022 !

Rare Nigerian Afrobeat-Funk from 1976.

First vinyl reissue since 1976.

First Ever Release Outside Of The African Continent.
Comes With Insert/Liner Notes.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip) - Non-Returnable.
THE FRIIMEN MUZIK COMPANY (also known as FRIIMEN) was formed after the Biafran war in 1973-1974 in the town of ABA in the eastern part of Nigeria. Aba was the Number 1 Music Hub in the entire Eastern Region of Nigeria. While bands and artists like ‘Ofege’ and ‘Fela Kuti’ ruled the LAGOS scene, bands like ‘Friimen’ and ‘The Apostles’ were ruling the ABA scene.
Before forming the band, most of its members were already working together as freelance session musicians backing up solo artists on several recordings and concerts (or were playing in military bands that gradually became civilian bands because the war had just ended). FRIIMEN members’ credits were numerous and they played, wrote or performed on recordings from well-known acts like The Funkees, The Jets, The Apostles…and countless others.
When they started concentrating on writing their own songs, the group instantly took off and became an overnight hit that resulted in them doing multiple successful nationwide tours. FRIIMEN would go on to record three albums: Free Man (1976), We Can Get It On (1978) and Merry Man (1979). All three albums were released on the Aba based label Anodisc Records (THE key label to be on if you wanted your music heard and out there), Anodisc also released hit records by ‘Sweet Unit’ and ‘Voice Of The Cross’ but The Friimen Muzik Company was the label’s signature band.
The Friimen Muzik Company was so solid that every new group or artist wanted the Friimen to back them up in the recording studio. As a result, Anodisc Records received tons of demo cassettes from aspiring artists…the label would then first consult the Friimen members to see if these new acts were worthy of giving a chance to record and release an album for Anodisc. Over the course of the years the band went through several line-up changes…but in 1980 the band finally broke up and their story came to an end.
The album we are presenting you today (Free Man from 1976) was recorded at the famous Decca Studios in Lagos and comes swinging right out of the gate with a set of no less than EIGHT monster tunes. Expect nothing less than crazy afrobeat and over the top melodic funk influenced by a wide array of artists (both local and international). Mesmerizing solos, captivating grooves, impeccable sequences that turned many heads…everything you need to get a dancehall into a complete uproar. The musicians’ skills are just plain incredible! FREE MAN is a quintessential record that every serious collector or fan needs to have in his/her collection.
This reissue also comes with an insert featuring pictures of the band and extensive liner notes from band-member Arthur Freds.
Tracklist:
Release Yourself , Free Man , My Dreams , Funky Workshop , Word of the Lord , We'll Get Our Share , You Can't Change Anything , Gimme Some Time

Four Flies is delighted to present a super juicy treat for all 7-inch vinyl devotees: the first 45 single ever to feature tracks from Giuliano Sorgini's masterpiece Zoo Folle. To ensure maximum DJing pleasure, we've picked two of the grooviest tracks from the original recording session, never before released in this format.

The psychedelic funk number "Mad Town", on Side A, drags you in with its infectious drum breaks and the rapid yet hypnotic flute of Nino Rapicavoli. "Ultima Caccia", on Side B, is sheer afro-tribal bliss, with drums by Sorgini himself and massive funky percussion by legendary session player Enzo Restuccia.

If you want an ace up your DJing sleeve, look no further.

Upcoming new album release from JD Simo entitled 'Mind Control' will be released at the end of October while JD is on tour (9/28 - 11/21 & 1/7/2022 - 1/29/2022 JD Simo... The Chicago-born, now Nashville transplant is like a one-man crusade dedicated to keeping music real, raw, and honest. No matter the setting and no matter his role (whether it’s wingman or bandleader) J.D.’s presence infuses the situation of the moment with the music that’s been fueling him pretty much his whole life, spiced with influences that straddle both decades and dimensions. As a songwriter, guitarist, and producer, he has worked with Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel, Luther Dickinson, Dave Cobb, Blackberry Smoke, and even been a member of Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh' "Phil & Friends." Now he comes forth with his most unique, original, and rawest effort yet… “Mind Control,” which drops November 5th, 2021. During lockdown in '20, he started cutting tracks in his makeshift studio weekly. Joined by longtime collaborator Adam Abrashoff on drums and longtime friend bassist-producer-engineer Adam Bednarik (Justin Townes Earle), they mused a proverbial soup of shared influences - Hill country trance blues of Junior Kimbrough, RL Burnside, and Asie Payton, hypnotic Afro Beat of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, psychedelic warps of Captain Beefheart, Funkadelic, and Jimi Hendrix, the old school blues of John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, and Lightnin Hopkins and the raw, fuzzy rock of The Stooges and Nirvana. 'Mind Control' is the product of 3 like-minded buddies huddled in a humble setting, making music to make them feel good. The songs' stark, revealing nature is the product of them using the creative process for therapy and enjoyment. Because they had to, for no other reason than they couldn’t not! They love it too much. A positive theme of growth, self-help, and struggles with addiction and mental health lay alongside a haunting, low-down musical landscape. It's raw, funky, and real. Such is life.

Once again a ground breaking album, the first Afro Peruvian music heard outside of Brazil and the album to introduce Susana Baca to the world.

“This is secret music - a collection of beautiful songs and infectious grooves that’s been hidden for years in the coastal towns and barrios of Peru. It’s not the guys with flutes and drums in woolly hats - it’s music of the black Peruvian communities. Black Peruvians? Yes, Peru was involved in the slave trade too - and this wonderful,funky music is part of that legacy” - David Byrne

Outernational Sounds very proudly Presents The Mallory-Hall Band "Song of Soweto" & "The Last Special".
Limited, fully licensed digital and vinyl reissues of two crucial South African sessions led by Charles Mallory and Al Hall, Jnr., featuring Kirk Lightsey, Marshall Royal, Rudolph Johnson, Billy Brooks and more! Essential companion pieces to Kirk Lightsey’s legendary ‘Habiba’.
Featuring tracks:
Song Of Soweto: Side A – ‘Song of Soweto’, ‘Hamba Samba’; Side B – ‘Cape Town Blues’, ‘Moroka Rock’, ‘The African Night’
The Last Special: Side A - ‘The Last Special’, ‘Princess of Joh’Burg’; Side B - ‘Amafu (Clouds)’, ‘Blue Mabone’
Never released outside South Africa, and out of print since 1974, Outernational Sounds presents two long-lost Johannesburg sessions from the Mallory-Hall Band – an all-star review of West Coast jazz stars who toured apartheid South Africa in the mid-1970s.
Sanifu Al Hall, Jnr. is a musician’s musician. During a storied career stretching across six decades, Hall has recorded with the greats of the music including Freddie Hubbard, Doug Carn, and Johnny Hammond, and leads his own Cosmos Dwellerz Arkestra. But until recent years, the only records on which he had appeared as leader were a brace of rich, funky LPs, Song Of Soweto and The Last Special, issued only in South Africa under the moniker of The Mallory-Hall Band (named for Hall and his co-leader, guitarist Charles Mallory – musical director for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mallory was conductor for Dusty Springfield touring bands, and had worked with John Lee Hooker, Stevie Wonder, and many others). Neither LP had any wider release, and both have remained out of print since 1974. How did a young stalwart of the Los Angeles jazz scene end up in a recording studio in apartheid South Africa?
Al Hall, Jnr. and Charles Mallory had arrived in South Africa as part of the touring band for the singer Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. He never made it big in the US, but in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in southern Africa, and 1974 he hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – Hall and Mallory were part of the line-up, alongside Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, pianist Kirk Lightsey, tenorist Rudolph Johnson, drummer Billy Brooks, and Marshall Royal, musical director of the Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of the group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba was the first (reissued as Outernational Sounds OTR.013), and it was followed by two crucial sessions led by Hall and Mallory – Song of Soweto and The Last Special, issued on the local IRC imprint.
Visiting apartheid South Africa in 1974 was a controversial choice for any artist. Numerous artistic and cultural bodies around the world had already announced that their members would boycott the country in solidarity with the struggle against apartheid, and working in South Africa was severely frowned on by anti-apartheid activists everywhere. For a Black band, touring the country to play to mostly white audiences could have been seen by many both inside and outside South Africa as a questionable decision. ‘It was a batch of mixed reactions when I choose to visit South Africa whilst apartheid policies were in place,’ Hall recalls. ‘To me the choice was a simple one – “I wanna see for myself!” I also wanted to be a part of breaking down racial barriers, having been down some of the same roads in my own country.’
The albums were recorded by a twelve-piece band at Johannesburg’s Video Sounds Studios in December 1974, and feature the legendary pianist Kirk Lightsey, Black Jazz recording artist Rudolph Johnson, and the rest of the touring band. Both records are superbly arranged slabs of peak 1970s funky big band soul jazz, with tasteful Latin inflections and more than a nod to South Africa’s upful township jazz sound. They are the sonic traces left by a seasoned African American band who were touring South Africa in the depths of the apartheid era, and who immediately moved beyond the segregated hotels and ballrooms to build links with local South African players and audiences.
Never previously available outside South Africa, Outernational Sounds’ new editions of Song of Soweto and The Last Special (alongside our edition of Kirk Lightsey’s Habiba) represents the first time these albums have been in print for nearly fifty years. Fully licensed from Gallo Records and pressed at Pallas in Germany from Gallo’s original masters, they feature new sleeve notes from Francis Gooding (The Wire) based on interviews with Al Hall, Jnr., and a reminiscence from pianist Kirk Lightsey.

The sixth release on Phoq U Phonogrammen, the sordid and rash U-TRAX sublabel, may be from its least known artist, but it is our personal favorite Phoq U release. The style can perhaps best be described as acid funk. Though the drums and bass lines generally are rather tight, all tracks have these quirky synth lines that give them a rather funky, dark 'cyborg feel'.
Lynx is Reyer Caderius van Veen - and he didn't chose that name himself. Reyer is from Groningen, the mayor city in the most northern region of The Netherlands. It's a vibrant student town, with lots of music going on.

In the 90s, Reyer participated in a techno-foundation, together with Thee J. Johanz (Ballyhoo Records) and Johan Sagel, who released a 12" as Jo-I on U-TRAX in 1995. Together with Johan, Reyer also formed a band called L.A.P. 01 (Live Acid Performance), which released a 12", a 10" and a remix on Jan Liefhebber's Highland Beats and a track on Ballyhoo Records (BALL 100).
Harsh starts off with some terribly hard and high tones, that sound like a nuclear plant is going to melt down. The ferocious bassdrum and grunting acid bass line add to the uncomfortable mood.
What makes us really happy is Sex On Jupiter. It's a rushed track that completely opens up around the 1:20 mark with a desolate, yet funky sawtooth 303 bassline.

On the flipside, Changes brings a nice pumping rhythm combined with a rolling bassline with all sorts of disturbing sounds on top.
The EP closes off with another highlight of darkness: Dark Mission. The track has a lovely flow, but really starts to space you out as soon as a hoarse sounding pulsating synth spreads it wings across the deliciously bubbling 303.
To be short: this is an uncomfortable record, and we love it!

Original release date: August 1996.

Based in the Havana Nightclub, in the central plateau town of Jos, the Sahara All Stars of Jos weren't part of the Lagos scene or the one in the east. Their leader, Dan Satch Ayo, had played with Dr Sir Warrior in the Orientals. He'd jammed with Mohammed Ahidjo and Sonny Akpan from The Funkees. Together with the All Stars he took the best of both scenes and created his own tight, hypnotic groove. First released in 1978, Sahara All Stars of Jos is a musical journey through all of those influences. 'Freedom For Africa' is a potent rallying cry sugarcoated with a sweet reggae vibe. 'World People' is an Afrobeat gem that condenses a night out at The Shrine into 10 min 43 secs. You can almost feel the steam coming out of New York manholes on 'Take Your Soul.' And the Highlife-tinged 'Alikali Adajo' brings it back, full-circle, to the Jos Hotel, just off the roundabout, where it all began. Engineered by Fela Kuti's regular knob twiddler, Emmanuel A. Odunesu, Sahara All Stars of Jos is a tight, funky sonic gem and a timely reminder that, in 70's, the groove was strong all over Nigeria.

After a period of spending time in nature living in the Spanish coastal town of Dexo - producer Roi speaks of his experience of returning to city life on his second EP for Fanzine Records on Crunia EP. Set to drop this summer, Roi shares two tightly honed original tracks inviting Carl Finlow and The Exaltics to remix.

The EP is a counterpoint to Deixo EP - his 2019 EP on Fanzine that speaks from his opposite perspective of the self-knowledge born out of his isolation when he first moved to the coast out of the city. Crunia marks his time preparing the return to the jungle of the asphalt.

It's a new chapter moving from an introverted to extroverted existence and between nature and man's constructs in the city. Opening the EP Maianca works in deep breakbeats with shimmering synths with a jumping and uplifting feel. Carl Finlow's remix builds it into an ultra-funky electro boogie number that perfectly speaks of the carefree existence of living in nature.


Crunia takes the EP into a more frantic corner of urban life - to light up dark corners gritty warehouse dance floors. For their remix The Exaltics take's Roi's heavy handed lead and brings a heavily kicking version of Crunia to the mix ready to pump the city's sound systems.

Fanzine Records is part of Fanzine Project - promoters and educators based in A Coruna, Spain. They focus on developing and supporting local artists through Fanzine Records, Fanzine Fest and Fanzine School.