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This album takes you back to Colombia of the 50s and 60s. In those days, the tropical music of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts took over the country's mainland music scene by storm. One of the key figures during this period was Edmundo Arias. Together with Lucho Bermúdez and Pacho Galán, Arias is seen as one of the ‘big three’ composers of Colombian tropical music.

He was a rather introverted person who avoided being in the spotlight at all cost, leading to his work being less known than his contemporaries. With this album we hope to highlight the amazing legacy Edmundo Arias has left us. Think of big bands with sharp dressed musicians playing the finest cumbias, porros and other tropical sounds in fancy ballrooms on a hot evening in Medellin or Bogota.

Liner notes:

Edmundo Dante Arias Valencia was born in Tuluá, Valle del Cauca, on the 5th of November 1925. He came from a family of musicians. His father, Joaquín Arias Cardoza was a band leader and composer who taught his children to play music. Arias learned to play many instruments such as the guitar, bass, bandola (pear shaped string instrument related to the mandolin), tiple (12 string guitar), clarinet and saxophone. He proved to be a very talented musician and together with his father and his older brother Ricaurte he formed the ‘Trio Arias’. The family lived in different cities across Colombia depending on where they found work. When his father died unexpectedly in 1948, Edmundo and Ricaurte had to support their family working as musicians. In 1951, Arias decided to move to Medellín, in those days the heart of the Colombian music industry and the city where the most important record companies and the best musicians were based. It didn’t take long before Arias made a name for himself as a musician, composer, arranger and band leader for Colombia’s leading labels at the time; Zeida, Ondina, Silver and Sonolux. For the latter, he would eventually become the artistic director. Over the years, he wrote hundreds of songs, recorded many albums with his own orchestras or with the Orquesta Sonolux and collaborated with a countless number of musicians, often uncredited.

Together with Lucho Bermúdez and Pacho Galán, Edmundo Arias is seen as one of the ‘big three’ composers of the tropical music of Colombia. But despite the fact that Arias was renowned, very little is known about his personal life. He was a humble man who preferred to work in the background and avoided being in the spotlight at all cost. He declined interviews and kept away from public life. On some live performances of the orchestra that carried his name, Arias asked one of his musicians to pretend to be him, so that he wouldn’t have to come on stage. You might think that Arias was shy or anti-social, but this was not the case. Most people he worked with described him as a very jovial, good humoured person and enjoyed working with him.

His invisibility in public life belied how present he was behind the scenes. If he wasn’t working on his own productions, he was regularly collaborating with other musicians. Arias had his hand in the work of many of his colleagues and was a mentor for young artists. Some even say that in those days all the musicians in Medellín had worked with Arias in one way or the other. He had a strict working regime: composing, arranging and recording at night while sleeping during the day. He was also very productive. The story goes that on one occasion, he wrote arrangements for a 16 piece band in just a few minutes while the band was recording another song. His hard work and productiveness resulted in hundreds of compositions and many records that carry his name.

Edmundo Arias’ career ran over 6 decades until his death on the 29th of January 1993. Over the years, he left us a huge legacy. The songs on this record are a selection of his work during the 50s and 60s. Many see this period as the absolute highlight of his career. We picked out the songs we consider to be the most outstanding recordings from this period. The title of this compilation Guepa Je! is Colombian slang often used in cumbia to express joy or to celebrate. A free translation would result into something like ‘yeah’, ’let’s go’ or ‘groovy’. I guess this title says enough. Enjoy the music. Guepa Je!

DJ Support: Louie Vega, Dimitri From Paris, Danny Krivit, Michael Gray, Dr. Packer, Terry Hunter, Kevin Yost, Reel People, Mr V, Bobby & Steve, Derrick McKenzie and many others…

Micky More & Andy Tee’s Groove Culture looks back to go forward as it offers up a spiffing new 7 Inch of contemporary reworks of 2 classics Jazz Funk cuts. The A-Side features a special cover dj-friendly of Lonnie Liston Smith’s HIT Expansions. The B-Side Showcases a beautiful remake, sung by Angela Johnson, of 'Time' by Light Of The World

Double LP in a gatefold sleeve designed by Simon Fowler. Long-awaited vinyl release for this critically acclaimed album. Featured in The Quietus (best albums of 2023), Mojo (4/5) and Louder Than War.

For their third limited edition release, LOK Records welcomes Techu with his first ever solo vinyl EP. He presents 3 strong tracks that perfectly showcase his style: powerful basslines, minimalistic drums, evolving pads and hypnotic synths. On remix duties we have Hungarian talent Pauli with a beautiful, dreamy reinterpretation on the B side.

Fledgling label Shadow Pressings already made a mark with their debut release in March entitled the Chicago EP, garnering love from Hunee, Terry Farley and Luke Solomon to name a few.

Striking while the iron is hot, the label are serving up four more heavyweight club tracks which include acidic edits, crunchy deep house, 808 electro grooves and dusty breakbeats.

Lead track Find A Friend jacks up the perennial classic with 808 rims and toms and additional synths but keeps things loopy and rolling.

Holding One Shoe continues with the 808 theme whilst injecting a healthy dose of acid resulting in what sounds like a long lost Yazoo B side filtered through a lysergic lens.

Train Of Fools decontextualises a well known acapella making for a deep and techy basement jam which will keep the floor moving and the speaker pumping.

Closing out the EP we have More Music In The Night, which chops up some familiar samples and layers up an 808 electro groove and breakbeats for a fresh take on early 90’s house.

Yu is in charge of the 9th release on Discarded gems. His unique and recognisable style defines these 4 cuts, each of it is ready to drive the dance floor!

2024 repress on pink vinyl

Boston is not exactly worldwide known for its coldwave or synth pop artists. Most of us know the Capital of Massachusetts because of its hardcore legacy that still continues today.

And yet, just like flowers in a rugged land, here comes House Of Harm, a post-punk trio whose new approach to the genre was showcased on their two tape EPs, earning them a cult international following as well as an imposing line up of supporting gigs opening for Editors, She Past Away, Lust For Youth, and The Cure’s Reeves Gabrels. Due on September 4 is their debut full-length Vicious Pastimes out on vinyl LP and digital format.
Nine songs where timeless melodies of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me-era Cure perfectly match French coldwave moodiness, enhanced by Cocteau Twins ethereal airiness and Creation Records seminal shoegaze sounds. Just enough light reaches House Of Harm’s base layer, giving life to infectious hooks and unforgettable mantras. The gritted core of every song makes expansive moments of release cathartic, always tethered by commanding drums.

Check out the very first single they wrote Isolator and its melancholic synth pop refrain, or Against The Night whose darkwave is as claustrophobic as One Hundred Years. Catch sounds almost like a Sarah Records hit, while the title-track hurls us back into the bleak realms of the Sisterhood. Different influences but everything is just in its place simply because House Of Harm are the rare band where you can feel every individual member’s devotion to each song’s world.

RIYL: The Cure, Depeche Mode, A Flock Of Seagulls, For Against, Drab Majesty.

DJ Support: Jamie Jones, Reboot, Dennis Cruz, Raresh, Reelow, Dimmish, Fabe, Archie Hamilton, Rich NxT, Chicks Luv Us, Christian Burkhardt, Terry Francis.

This EP is inspired by love and dreams and continues her quest to find the perfect blend of emotional yet minimal melodic beats. Opener 'L'Amour' radiates Lazic's signature sounds with a slick bassline and melodic chords that convey meaningful emotions under female spoken words. It's a seductive world of warm pads and silky beats that cast a hypnotic spell. The fantastic 'Todo El Universo' features the vocals of Lazic's Spanish friend Monica. The title translates as 'all the universe' and is a favourite line from Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist about accomplishing your dreams. It's a deep and comforting groove with soft drums and pillowy pads that soothe the soul and are perfect for more intimate dance floors.
Remixer Nu Eau is a pivotal part of Romania's minimal scene with a meticulously crafted sound that has taken him to the likes of Gettraum and Memoria Recordings and he also co-founded the Uvar imprint. His version of ‘L'Amour' is more up tempo but no less heady, with lush cosmic synths doing an elegant dance over the compelling beats.

Spanish pair Los Suruba have done it all over the last 20 years - released hundreds of tracks, played thousands of gigs, established their own network of record labels, held residencies everywhere from Ibiza to London and crafted countless underground hits. Their remix of ‘L'Amour' is serene and cerebral with paranoid voices drifting through the mix and rippling chords keeping you afloat in the cosmos.

‘Diré’, Idrissa Soumaoro new album, comes as a surprise to Malian and international audiences. Composer, singer, guitarist and master of the kamalen n’goni Idrissa Soumaoro presents here a beautiful collection of songs on his third album, Diré, named in honor of the town where he met his wife and where his first daughter, who is no longer with us, was born.
In 1971, after his studies at the INA in Bamako, Idrissa was transferred to Diré to teach music at the lPEG (Pedagogical Institute of General Education). He was 22 years old when he arrived in Diré. Idrissa has always been nostalgic for this beautiful place in the 333 Saints of Timbuktu region. As Idrissa sings in ‘Diré taga’ (Going to Diré), the track that opens the album, the city evokes deep emotions for the artist, as if it were a long-lost friend or lover. Celebrating the memory of the city of Diré leads the artist to retrace stories and lived situations that marked and animated him in years gone by: ‘I really miss the people, the colleagues, the friends and that period. Despite the time that has flown by, I would ardently wish to see Diré again’. Today, at the difficult time Mali is experiencing, remembering the city of Diré in the 1970s also means for the artist not giving up hope for peace: ‘The memory of Diré, a beautiful town in northern Mali, strengthens my hope for peace, union and real independence for the happiness of my people’; as he sings in ‘Sababou’, ‘Without hope, there is no life. Together we will succeed’.
The ten highly original compositions of the album are strongly based upon traditional music of Mali, but Idrissa’s life experiences, travels, education, collaborations and personal musical career have led him to compose and perform music with other influences. As Idrissa quotes: ‘My inspiration generally comes from the donso n'goni, a Bambara instrument played by and for hunters throughout Mali. This is a pentatonic instrument, similar to the blues exported to the USA by black African slaves. I've also spent so much time playing a variety of music that my music also reflects rumba, salsa (as well as Bamanan blues and a few derivatives: jazz, country, soul, rhythm and blues) etc. I have looked for and hope to have found my own form of expression from these influences’.
Throughout the album, his strong, clear voice sings in French, Bambara and English. It rides seamlessly upon a complex rhythmic sea of distinctly West African stringed instrumentation and percussion with accents of flute and balafon. There are keyboards in a few songs, but these, happily, do not dominate the music as we hear so often in today’s music. This album presents the music of a mature artist who has ‘been there, done that’ and returned to celebrate his country, his roots and his dreams in a flawlessly produced collection of songs of love, reassurance, fatherly advice and hope.
The album already has a long history: it was initiated in 2012 by Marc-Antoine ‘Marko’ Moreau, former producer and manager of Amadou and Mariam. Moreau had plans to produce the album and invited Idrissa Soumaoro to start recording in Manjul's studio in Bamako. When Moreau suddenly passed away, work on the album was still missing. The pandemic still added time for the production to continue. With the help of Climax Orchestra, arrangements and orchestrations were finalized in France. At the artist's behest, 'Diré' will finally be presented to the public by Mieruba, the independent label based in Ségou, the home of the blues in Mali. 'Let's stand together so that Mali can flourish': from conception to production and distribution, this is the message that 'Diré' carries.

A veteran of the great Malian orchestra, the Super Biton de Ségou, Mama Sissoko is an accomplished musician. His music traverses Mandingo, Bambara, Sarakolé, Songhai, Bobo, Peul, Malinke and Bozo traditions, all while flirting with jazz. On stage, Mama Sissoko is a purist who engages with the audience bringing his energy, urgent vocals and truly inspired guitar solos throughout the concert. ‘Live' brings together recordings from a concert given in Paris at La Villette in 1998 and takes us back to a high point in Mama Sissoko's career.

In ‘Live’, we find tracks from Mama Sissoko's second solo album 'Soleil de Minuit', which was released in 1999 by Buda Music. As on the album, the different guitars overlap without compromising the unity of the music, rendering an earthy atmosphere despite being very complex. The recording of this concert was superb. We can hear every note, every nuance, every instrument and voice in the many-layered compositions.

As on the album ‘Soleil de Minuit’, this live recording opens the session with ‘Diarabi’, followed by ‘Safiatou’. Both are up-tempo love songs in which Mama Sissoko's powerful voice sings with all of the passion that such love songs deserve over a clean rhythm driven by the percussion of several guitars. The heavy bassline of ‘Safiatou’ adds to the urgency of the song. After these two beautiful renditions, the energy continues with the guitar-driven ’Fisiriwale’ and then a surprisingly original version of Super Biton’s famous song, ‘Iri’. We are then treated to a lively version of his ‘Soleil de Minuit’, called out by the artist as a ‘salsa Africana’ with a shout out given to Cuban salsa mid-way through when he calls the song ‘El Sol de Medianoche’ in perfect Spanish.
Throughout this concert, Mama Sissoko’s deep and melodic voice seems to emanate effortlessly from his body and soul. Multiple guitars back up his signature solos adding depth to the music that harkens back to the traditional music of Mali. Perfect examples of this are given in the songs ‘Douga’, ‘Manssane’ and ‘Hommage a K’. The last song, before a rousing second version of ‘Soleil de Minuit’, is ‘Boma Ma’, a truly modern rendition of a traditional Malian hunters’ song with multiple guitars, shakers, lively djembe and an outstanding vocal duet with Toussaint Sainé, Mama Sissoko’s long time musical collaborator.

Accompanied by incredible musicians, including Toussaint Sainé, his partner in the Super Biton orchestra, "Live" plays in the timeless way of Malian music. What's more, it gives us the gift of its most direct and powerful dimension, that of live music, as if 20 years hadn't passed.

Glasgow based Seated Records return with more 1980s Scottish Post-Punk / New Wave material. In this 8-track mini compilation the label introduces the work of Stirling band 22 Beaches, offering a deep dive into music recorded between 1980-1984 - the majority of which has never seen the light of day!

22 Beaches formed in Stirling in the late 1970s as an evolution of the short lived group ‘Alone at Last’ - drummer Fred Parson’s and guitarist Stephen Hunter being the two who spanned the divide. Out of the six members of 22 Beaches, many were school friends, and the rest naturally fell together. The band toured extensively and played at a truly diverse set of venues across the UK: from a local swimming pool boiler room, to small nightclubs and university parties, to several fundraisers for the miners strike. Maybe most notably of all, drummer Fred Parsons described playing at what he calls “the Grangemouth International”, organised by local promoter Brian Guthrie and which featured an all-star lineup of 22 Beaches, The Exploited and the first incarnation of The Cocteau Twins. A coach was hired to ship the audience to Grangemouth from Stirling, the cost of which was included in the ticket. The gig then paused halfway through for a 'help yourself' buffet. Young promoters take heed. This is how it's done!

Over the course of the 80s the band released music on three different, and now sought after, various artists compilation cassettes. “What Day Is It?” and “Sadie When She Died” were released on a compilation of local Stirling artists 'The A.N.K.L.E File'. The track from which the current record takes its namesake - “Dust” - was initially released on a compilation-tape for the fanzine 'Another Spark'. And ‘‘Zoo” (also featured on this record) was first released on Glasgow label Pleasantly Surprised via compilation, 'An Hour Of Eloquent Sounds', where 22 Beaches rubbed shoulders with early music from Scottish names Primal Scream, Cocteau Twins, The Wake and Sunset Gun. Unfortunately, 22 Beaches never met the same level of commercial success as these others and decided to retire the project in 1984 - leaving their recordings and demos to gather dust (hehe)…until now!

This compilation, “Dust: recordings 1980-1984” follows the band's journey and the changes in their sound over the years. It moves from the raw, punk energy of early DIY recordings through to the A Certain Ratio style Balearica of their later pieces. The record's opener and title track “Dust” is perhaps the most shining example of the latter. Characterised by the plenitude of sonic space in the mix, “Dust” has an almost dub sensibility that is communicated through centrality of Parsons’ drums, McChord’s percussion, and Fildes’ Bass while the harmonising vocals of Sharkey and McGregor chant over the top to give the track its distinctive psychedelic edge. This is an atmosphere only exacerbated by the lofi quality of the recording which sits the vocals in the same aural realm as much 1960s psych-folk. On “Cartoon Boy”, the band strips things down further. A droning bass line persists through the tape fuzz and is accompanied by the sounds of a sole looping guitar chord sequence and McGregor and Sharkey’s vocals - respectively and carefully dancing around one another before harmonising in the most beautiful way. The result is a haunting and abstract Marine Girls style heartbreaker. ‘That Girl’ again delivers a dub adjacent rhythm section similar to that of “Dust”. However, on this instance crisp guitar chords, a distant, phased organ and blue-eyed soul vocal delivery, produce a track that could easily have been a lost Orange Juice recording from their sessions with Dennis Bovel. On “Somebody Got It Wrong” and “One Of Us” the band employ a more macro approach where a jangling guitar with an almost highlife-influenced tone, vocal ad-libs and syncopated percussion give the music a Talking Heads-esque swagger.

Taken together these tracks illustrate a clear trajectory in the band's sound, moving from from the high energy no-wave quality of early recordings towards a more dub influenced, and stripped-back sound - a sonic trajectory followed by so many bands of the time, not least those emerging from the diaspora of Manchester’s Factory Records.

On “Breathing’’ we hear the beginning of this transition, with the strong influence of the oddball NYC disco styles of Was (Not Was) and ZE records. All of this is meshed together with the residual punk rock energy of 1980s UK. This combination is employed to excellent effect with the addition of the distinctly Scottish (and what the band confirmed to me to be spontaneous) vocal delivery of: “Do you love me? Do you want me?” “Aye!” “Do you love me? Do you need me?” “Naw!”.

On the record’s closing tracks, “Zoo” and “Talent Show”, we hear early examples of the band’s work, playing with their rawest all-in-one-take live energy where Hunter’s spiralling guitar riffs and McGregor's distorted vocal exclamations lead the charge. The band recalls that these initial-forays did not always translate so well into multitrack recording and overdubbing: “the deconstruction took away some of the band's natural feel”. On “Talent Show” the record ends with Sharkey delivering an almost unintelligible spoken word section over the top of the track, making for one final, disorientating, almost manic slice of post-punk.

These tracks from 1980-1984 chart the progress of a unique contribution to the world of Scottish Post-Punk and New Wave, encapsulating not only the musical trajectory of 22 Beaches but also echoing the broader sonic landscape of 1980s UK, a testament to the adaptability and creativity of the UK’s underground music of the time.

Celebrating a monumental decade for music, birthing numerous timeless classics that pushed music to new heights Smash Hits The 80s takes the very best tracks from the decade across 2LPs providing the soundtrack to the era. This must-have collection contains hits from artists of all genres, featuring New Order, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Smiths & Talk Talk.

2024 Repress

2LP gatefold with liner notes, 180gr vinyl. 'Funky Chimes' is a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. It contains 27 of the most interesting yet long forgotten Belgian dance tracks from the seventies.

'Funky Chimes' is a two-hour collection of excellent and unique grooves. It contains 27 of the most interesting yet long forgotten Belgian dance tracks from the seventies, when a generation of extremely gifted and versatile musicians experimented with funk, jazz, latin and other grooves.
'Funky Chimes' is in many ways the logical follow up to 2014's highly acclaimed compilation 'Funky Chicken'. Uncovering a blind spot in Belgium's musical heritage and unearthing a diverse collection of hidden treasures. 'Funky Chicken' has induced a renewed interest in Belgium's rare grooves from the seventies, which until then had never been regarded a genre worth mentioning. Having said that, this second instalment is much more than just a fast sequel or a batch of leftovers. The music's quality matches that of its predecessor, but the treasure hunt was even more adventurous, and the stories behind some of the nuggets even more gripping.

Commissioned and curated by Flora Yin Wong for her label and publishing house Doyenne, ‘Venus Rising From The Sea’ is a collection of love-themed cover versions featuring Teresa Winter, Susu Laroche, Alex Zhang Hungtai, aya, Maria Minerva, Christina Vantzou, Spivak, Salamanda, clare rousay, Wild Terrier Orchestra, Dania and Flora Yin Wong herself covering songs by The Cure, Robert Wyatt, Mariah Carey, The Cranberries, Pentangle, The Carter Family, Spiritualized, Debussy and more.

‘Venus Rising From The Sea’ takes its cues from the classical deity Aphrodite - whose name literally means “sea foam” - for an ever necessary expression of love in the modern age. The label asked friends and collaborators to interpret “love” in whichever way they saw fit, be it obsession, self-love, unrequited, unconditional, whatever. But despite the open brief, and the vastly different modes of execution, all the artists involved somehow ended up linking hands with a shared determination to smudge the original songs into bleary-eyed, uncanny traces of the originals.

To open, Pentangle's jaunty 'No Love is Sorrow' is puffed into stormy clouds by Teresa Winter, who retains the original’s unmistakable bass twang and teases Jacqui McShee's siren song into a saturated buzz of layered, obfuscated words. Verses twist into verses, lines into echoed-out lines, capturing the song’s boundless yearning, rather than tracing its exact contours. Next, Susu Laroche yields one of the set’s highlights on a brilliantly nuanced, highly impactful version of Nina Simone’s take on folk standard ‘Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair’, turning the original’s multi-faceted Appalachian/Scottish routes into a heart-stopping, Nico-esque fuzz we haven’t stopped playing for weeks. Christina Vantzou (the CV ov CV & JAB) is joined by pianist Ezra Fieremans in the absorbingly filmic scenes of ‘Hot Springs’, while Maria Spivak's interpretation of Robert Wyatt's 'Just as You Are' finds her singing Brazilian vocalist Mônica Vasconcelos' words with reverence, smearing them into a hypnagogic fantasy.

Flora Yin Wong takes an inconspicuous approach on her love-letter to Mariah Carey's 'The Roof (Back in Time)', itself a melodramatic interpolation of Mobb Deep's Herbie Hancock-sampling 'Shook Ones, Part II'. The unmistakable piano line is frayed into a granulated gurgle, fleshed out by gauzy cries; Mariah's ecstatic diva logic haunts the edges like a furtive glance, hanging beautifully behind Wong's dense soundscapes. Alex Zhang Hungtai's take on the 1927 standard 'Me and My Shadow' is even more atomised, reduced to a disembodied vocal that oozes around a clattering woodblock.

Always a standout, aya's tribute to The Cure's 'Lovesong' infuses the 1989 classic with the same self-investigatory charm she exhibited on 'im hole', slowing it down to a giddy, infatuated lurch, and replacing the guitars with eerily-tuned oscillations and drums with hollowed-out, electrically charged thuds. "I will always love you," she moans through a wall of static, like some lost “Pop Artificielle” addendum. The album’s biggest surprise is saved for last, however, a cover of The Cranberries' 'No Need To Argue' from Paralaxe Editions boss Dania Shihab. Already a poignant memory of a faded romance, Dania's version is even more glacial, her tender voice gusting over inverted guitars and looping, wordless moans, guiding us ever so gracefully into the nether-world.

‘Venus Rising From The Sea’ is a gooey, emotionally raw set of recollections and affirmations from some of the scene's most open-hearted operatives. In the end, the love that's most evident is the love each of the artists has for their source material, somehow binding loose threads into a rich tapestry that will leave you gasping, perhaps a little tearful too.

"Deep Dancefloor Jams of African Disco, Funk, Boogie, Reggae & Proto Electro Music 1977-1986reggWhen a passionate DJ and crate digger intuitively selects music for a DJ compilation, without artistic compromise and without the burden of trends, AfroMagic vol.1 emerges from the depths of his soul. Herewith we present the new favorite phonomancer’s tool for all the DJs who experience the dance floor as a sanctuary and a source of freedom and love.

The most fundamental thing that defines African music is that it was created for dancing. In African dance, there is often no clear distinction between ritual celebration and social recreational entertainment – one can seemlessly merge with the other. Because dance and rhythm have more power than gesture and more richness than words, and because they express the deepest experiences of human beings, dance is in itself a complete and self-sufficient language. It is truly an expression of life with all of its emotions – joy, love, sadness and hope – without which there is no African music and dance. For the African people, dance and music are integral parts of the body and soul, thus depicting the expression of life, current emotional states, visions or dreams. Through hypnotic repetitive music and dance, people communicate with each other and with the souls of the dead, the animals, the plants, the stars, the Gods… They free the body and the spirit through ecstatic states, reaching a healing sense of freedom, happiness, and satisfaction.

Throughout history, this transcendental perception of rhythm and dance originating from Africa, influenced popular music worldwide, thus creating new living and breathing forms of musical genres – freeing them from their industrial mold. Funk, disco, soul, boogie, reggae, dancefloor jazz etc., developed in parallel all over the world. It is foolish to perpetually discuss where they originated from and who were the creators of all these fiery dance floor genres – being obvious that they directly or indirectly originate from the African continent and its people who were as well, over the centuries, influenced by disturbing socio-cultural factors of colonialism. However, no one can enslave the soul. The seeds of free and uninhibited dance and rhythm, true to their original form, initially first sprouted onto the USA’s fertile fields of clubbing and popular music while later evolving in other parts of the world.

The disco funk club culture manifested itself as a phenomenal explosion of artists and grooves in the second half of the 70s in the USA. Shortly it spread around the world continually reigning over charts in its various forms – to this day. Clubs emerged where the DJ is an almighty shaman and the dancers are a tribe united under one roof. This urban ritual had and still has a single goal: togetherness, freedom, and love. Clubs have evolved into temples where we free ourselves from the burden of a consumerist lifestyle and suppressed emotions – a place where we receive love and give love – to be who we really are.

Disco funk clubbing was such an influential global phenomenon that its influence can be observed in various other genres from the disco funk era i.e. progressive rock, which mutated by layering complex rock arrangements with a disco funk groove resulting in hybrids, highly sought by today’s diggers, producers and collectors. The profit-hungry music industry of the 80s very quickly commercialized the original disco funk sound by amputating of its original Afro groove to be able to easily ‘sell’ it globally. So, the original disco funk groove became underground again, and it has remained so until this day. Today, for a DJ to unearth that ravishing groove that will lead the dancers to the stars, he must dig passionately like a true musical archaeologist in search of that groove that picks you up after just a few initial beats. That groove which forces the atoms in your body to vibrate, that groove which unites the body and releases the burden.

The AfroMagic compilation series is created as a tool for real DJs who stick to the aesthetics and essence of clubbing.

This continuation of the Afromagic compilation by DJ Borovich was created in a private jam session which served as an escape route from intense and complex love problems.

Unconsciously driven by intuition and emotion and following a live mix tape framework where many tunes are arranged instantaneously, Borovich narrates his story with a strong rhythm that cuts loose even the most blocked off energy nodes and restores happiness to the spirit and the body.

The musical experience of the groove is completed by the lyrics of the songs, which symbolically give DJ Borovich universal answers to his questions arising from questioning the boundaries, nuances and other forms of love.

When considering that Borovich’s selection was created to facilitate an escape from the burdens of reality through rhythm and dance, we can be sure that Afromagic Vol. 2 will have a 100% uplifting, energized and spaced-out effect on the listeners.

The intro to A1, “Feeling Happy” by the Apostles, introduces us to an experienced and slow, cool and irregularly tight groove containing a confidently sung chorus that instantly gives a sense of freedom and hints at the remainder of Afromagic Vol. 2: “I’m gonna feel happy, ´cause I know I’m gonna be myself.” After the anthemic song mantra of the Apostles, Aigbe Lebarty uncompromisingly continues with a dirty disco rhythm. Acidified by accented synths that elevate it to shamanic levels and held together by a female tribal choir, we embark on an uncompromising ritual disco journey. Without a moment to take a breather the prog funk band Mighty Flames and their Road Man launch a highly vicious and raw, thick funk groove spiced with acid synths and dirty RnR breaks, raising the bar for the A side. Jimi Hendrix himself would surely praise it given the ultimate freedom and virtuosity in the solo sections. With the last tune on A side DJ Borovich decides to burn the floor with Geraldo Pino’s psychedelic, acid furious groove and lyrics which describe this HEAVY part of love problems: “The way she walk, the way she talk, the way she does a funky dances, she is really really heavy – that woman”.

While the A side represents a compact intoxicating afro groove machine that separates us from reality and lifts us up to the stars in over 23 minutes, the B side is a treasure trove of proto sub-genres gems. This selection represents the mission of the Afromagic: to find singular events in African recorded discography of popular music from the 70s and 80s that give evidence to the birth of new modern genres on the Dark Continent even before they emerged in the U.S.A. or Europe. The beginnings of electronic music influenced genres are represented back to back with 80s synth jazzy pop, all painted in African colours.

The B side opens big with Jake Sollo and a huge reggae blues number singing about the humiliation of a man – goosebumps guaranteed! “You think I’m nobody that’s why, you don’t know the way for me, I’m somebody I know, I found myself at last”. Adolf Ahanotu then enters the scene with a hard sliding tackle at B2 and an exotic rare disco funk dancefloor napalm. A ‘Sensation’ that would ignite even the coldest of introverts. While we approach the end of the compilation the narrative revolves again and takes a different turn. No less and no more than to the proto-electro that Baad John Cross serves us in “Give Me Some Lovin´”. The fat and repetitive broken electro synth groove, championing many early 90s electro tracks, is presented here without hesitation and with constant tension accompanied by a mantric chorus “Gimme some, gimme some, gimme some looooovin’, EVERBODY!!!”. Finally, we’re guided to the end of Afromagic Vol. 2 by Eji Oyevole’s 80s synth pop style presented in an authentic afro manner, giving us a glimpse at yet another released Afromagic edition, as well as giving an answer to DJ Borovich’s love problems. A smoothly broken electronic rhythm resembling electrified highlife sounds, carried on the wings of a virtuoso dreamy saxophone on top of which Eji presents the most intimate parts of himself. Finalizing the track with a symbolic chorus, on the surface referring to the dancefloor and simply having fun, but in actuality referring to the skill and happiness of living: “I´m a dancer, I can dance”. So, get up and dance among the stars with DJ Borovich and Afromagic.