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On Top Records is extremely proud to welcome back Smasher with his sophomore album, ‘Vibes In Motion’. due for release the 16/07/2021

Following the release of his debut album ‘Locked In Locked On' in 2020 which featured in numerous 'Album of the Year' lists Smasher has spent the past year offering a high level of consistency among a time which has been very difficult for creatives.

With live shows stopping to a halt Smasher has taken this opportunity with both hands building a home studio to sustain creativity a very important factor for an individual who has a burning passion to create music, he has used the time productively “Vibes In Motion” is 51 minutes of future classic British UKG encompassing Hip Hop, Grime, RnB, 2 step Garage all blended together seamlessly to bring a fresh approach to a genre he has gone extremely hard for. As with previous material, the album is produced by Smasher himself collaborating with long time friend Aaron Greenwood bringing his soulful smoothed-out keys and backing vocals the pair have a great working relationship which spans over a decade which can be heard through out the record.

Smashers journey began with a love for late 90’s UK Garage collecting vinyls from record shops and dj’ing on pirate radio, which lead him to Hip Hop, RnB, Reggae, Soul and many different uk underground music styles, followed by decades of producing records for some pinnacle uk artists most recent production credit for “Ghetts” on the critically acclaimed ‘Conflict Of Interest’ album charting at number 2 in the uk albums chart, Giggs - Landlord album, Klashnekoff - Iona to name a few, Smasher is a producer who can deliver a very high level of production no matter the genre. Over the past 2 years Smasher has gained props far and wide: from Todd Edwards to DJ EZ releasing a record under his Nuvolve imprint, to guest mix for MBE clothes designer Wale Adeyemi, comedy UKG faves Kurupt fm posting his “lockdown freestyle challenge” Numerous guest shows & live streams for Rinse fm, Kiss fm, Phaze Transition & Mind Charity, limited vinyl run presses to collaborating with Capo Lee & Ayo beats for film soundtrack “Against All Odds”

Since releasing “Locked In Locked On” the feedback for the project was so greatly received i knew how i wanted to approach this next album and with plenty of time on my hands to experiment i wanted to include more collaboration, a lot of the link ups came together organically.

I feel you get a nice balance of some new school artists like Local, Solo Jane & Hotch mixed with some UKG generals like MC Neat, Mighty Moe, Preshus, Creed & Troublesome and original “Knightz of the round table” member Luckie Luciano, i always feel a duty to pay homage but i also want to evolve the sound and take it to the next level.

Since march 2020 its been a tuff time for people i feel like there are some hidden messages in the album it leans towards the underdogs of this world and at times i feel like that but there is always this burning desire inside me to want to do better hopefully that comes across for the listener.

Already with a dedicated fan base and support from tastemaking DJs such as DJ EZ, Conducta (Kiwi Records), Toddla T (Radio 1), Heartless Crew (1xtra), Majestic (Kiss), Scott Garcia (kiss), Smokey Bubblin B (Rinse fm), DJ Redhot (Rinse fm), Dj Cartier, DJ Spoony, Artful Dodger, MattJam Lamont (Rinse fm) Shosh (Kiss Fm) Rudekid (Kiss fm) Ricky Chalrie & Melvin (BBC Radio 1) amongst others from the burgeoning UK Garage scene,

The Smasher sound especially in UKG has brought a well needed fresh flava to a genre which has had very few full album offerings, with that said its time to share “Vibes In Motion” with the universe, This will solidify Smasher as an artist in every sense of the word and undoubtedly concrete him as one of the UK’s finest talents.

Grey Marbled Vinyl

"Luca Agnelli is back on Etruria Beat with "THERMIONIC EP" after his latest deep and dark "Source Drops” album, while closing 2021 with the long awaited track "FREE ON THE DANCEFLOOR”.

Produced originally in march 2020, during the first pandemic lockdown, and patiently waited for the restrictions to be over, the 4 tracker ep contains " FREE ON THE DANCEFLOOR", a spoken words anthem for clubbers who want to get back to the free world of dark and sweaty dancefloors, unites all together, and that's what this one is all about.

The entire booming EP is a 4 on 4 mix of powerful grooves, arpeggiators, atmospheres and heavy stabs.
Followed by a brilliant hard techno remix by rising star Nico Moreno! "

Enter the Island is the new Concept EP of Daniel Monaco. Is the story of a group of friends who have ventured on a mysterious Island with the only mission to enter its infamous Reptilian Club. The tracks are a mix of Disco, Tropical and Dub an obscure psychedelic trip performed and recorded live at Daniel’s studio, but the adventure is not over yet because Enter The Island is not only a long trip into a mystical place is also a Board Game for two to four players. The idea was born during the first lockdown. Due to the big crisis brought by Covid-19 there were no chances to print Vinyl for this EP therefore Daniel thought to design a game made exclusively for this concept, its rules are unique as well as its design reflecting perfectly the spirit of the music.

Alessandro Rosa is the artist who made the design. The Board Game is the same size of a Vinyl cover made on Forex printed white on black. An unprecedented concept unique in its genre, a creative reaction against hard times.

Spoken word recordings from Gregory Corso, Tina May Hall, Sam Lipsyte, Christine Schutt, Gary Lutz, Allen Ginsberg, Dawn Raffel, Jason Schwartz, Kathryn Scanlan, Scott McClanahan, & Terry Southern. About 40 years ago, in a record shop on Long Island during a weekend visit there to see my parents, i found a double-LP that looked like something i should definitely buy. It was called "BIG EGO", by the The DIAL-a-POEM POETS. On the cover was a picture of John Giorno (a great poet Ed Sanders had turned me on to) on a NYC rooftop with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, and two kids. It cost $2. I bought it and rushed back to my parents house, where i still had my old turntable in the basement, not far from my Jimi Hendrix and Zappa Crappa posters, and my framed portrait of John Cage. My copy of Eno's "Discreet Music" was still on the turntable, having been left there years before, when i'd fled Long Island for good. I lifted it from the platter, gently slid it back into its sleeve, like a priceless religious artifact, and put Side A of the Dial-a-Poem LP on. I almost lost my mind while listening to it. The next day i went back to the same record shop looking for more DIAL-A-POEM LP's. i found two. One had a long list of names on the back, some famous, and some i'd never heard of before. I bought both LP's, and an hour later, for the first time in my life, i was exposed to the art of Laurie Anderson, whom i'd never heard of before. This was 1978. Her contribution was a piece called "Time To Go". It changed my life. Or at least, that’s how I remember it. I was just a kid, so there were a lot of moments like that, around then. Nowadays, these moments can be had in seconds, with a click of the cursor. That evening, as i sat alone by my imaginary campfire (ie; that record player in my parents basement), i promised myself that someday, somehow, i would embark upon a WORDS & MUSIC project that might move people the same way i was moved when i first heard Laurie, and Robert Wilson & Christopher Knowles, and Burroughs, and Ginsberg, and Corso, and Anne Waldman, and John Ashbery, and the great Charles Olson, and so many others. Words, for the very first time, had wielded the same power as music. And it was visceral. Just like music. It ran deep. It was a FEELING. John Giorno died in 2019, but he kept poetry alive like nobody's business. I was lucky enough to have spent some time with him in the early 1980's, when i was briefly a member of The Fugs, and often found myself surrounded by those Ginsberg called, "...the greatest minds of my generation". Ed Sanders (who'd ushered me into that scene) once told me that when he came to NYC, it was easy to go to a cafe, or to St Marks Church, and hear Burroughs, Corso, Ginsberg, and all the greats, reading their poetry. He said that even if you were just a bum on the street, you could just walk right up to them, and start a conversation. They were totally accessible, if they were in the right mood at that particular moment. So i was shocked when Sanders told me he didn't approach any of them, not even once, til he'd been going to their readings for nearly ten years. "For almost a decade, I went to every reading, every lecture, every panel discussion. But I never went near them. Never approached them. Not even once", Sanders told me. "For ten years, all I did, was listen." It took me four decades, but ... better late than never. I finally made WORDS & MUSIC, Book One.

By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal, Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output.
We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres.
Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do.
LINER NOTES:
Rapid Tears launch this series with the perfect christening. The Toronto, ON quintet’s 1981 single “Headbang” is such the pinnacle of heavy metal madness that it almost sounds like a spoof. There’s also enough of the rapid-fire sputum that inspired Metallica to bang the head that doesn’t, as such, engage in said practice, to be found on the band’s sole full length Honestly. But “Headbang” is a straightforward glammy anthem for the ages.
Air Raid’s “69 In A 55” may be lyrically so sophomoric that it’s actually pretty clever, but this 1983 Bay Area power metal single is loaded with sleek Judas Priest riffs and interwoven melodies that are downright sublime. The band’s sole release, the 2-song Rock Force 7” features a curious band photo in which 3 band members — dolled up in Crüe makeup and leather — are sexually menacing the lead singer/guitarist tied to a bed. Another low budget highlight is when singer/guitarist Tommy “Thrasher” Merry imitates a delay effect on his vocals as he sings, “tonight!...tonight...night.”
Hades’ “Girls Will Be Girls” has a real demo cassette feel to its vastly uneven mix, but the energy to the performance makes this an undeniable keeper. The long running Paramus, NJ quintet’s 1982 2- song debut 7” titled Deliver Us From Evil features this blistering thrasher dominated by shimmering leads and confident vocals that show why the band went on to near-fame on Metal Blade Records.
Resless don’t need no T to prove that they’ve got “The Power” with this 1984 driving mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The River Vale, NJ quartet’s tight crunch wails all over Bon Jovi posers but it’s the band’s unique and subtle deployment of background vocals that gives this rager its staying power.
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is home to Don Cappa, a band that pays tribute to the burgh, the metal, and the awesomeness of both with “Steel City Metal.” Their lone single, issued in 1987 with only 300 copies released, sounds like the work of some serious steel driving men, with a drummer who might’ve forgotten to wear a hard hat one too many times on the construction site.
The Beast has more of a punk feel to their aggressive “Enemy Ace” track from the 4-song Power Metal EP from 1983 — something like Dr. Know meets D.O.A. But their look, artwork and lyrics all prove that Heavy Metal is where their hearts lie. And this hook filled monster delivers repeated lines like, “I command them all in my lofty realm,” with commendable conviction.
Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, debuting in 1984 is not to be confused with Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, who also debuted in 1984. The former a workman’s hard rock bar band, the latter a political peace punk band and neither knowing of the other’s existence throughout their tenure. The pre-internet days were a marvel, indeed.This Dead Silence spits out a slick, Nugent tinged rocker called “Can’t Stop” about life on the road.
The Danger Zone is, by all accounts, not the place to be. And, Hazardous Waste of Boston, MA saw fit to add their two cents on the matter with this 1986 single that combines Van Halen’s flashy musicianship with NWOBHM aggression that sounds so awesome it teeters on itself entering the “Danger Zone.”
Czar’s heavy, doomy “Iron Curtain” single from 1982 hearkens to the sleazy sounds of Saint Vitus and Pentagram with its cranked up DOD Distortion pedal in a Peavey combo amp guitar tone and meaty, barking vocals. The upstate NY quintet only issued this 2-song single, but its driving rhythm, nosedive whammy-bar guitar solos and comparatively mature Cold War subject matter show they had real potential.
Not much is known about Real Steel’s majestic “Viking Queen” from 1987, other than it rocks hard and the 7” 45 sells for upwards of a grand on the collectors market. The Flint, Michigan band recorded at the home studio of local radio personality Bill Lamb, who primarily released Christian Gospel recordings. So, perhaps the band was struck down by a bolt of lightning shortly after this rare single’s release. Whatever the case may be, it’s a must have for fans of classic metal mayhem.

If The Fall truly is a cult band, then Slates both benefits from and reinforces such shrouded obsessions. In presenting these six particular songs as a 10-inch EP, the inherent and attractive difficulty of The Fall's sound is made physical, framing the urgency of their singles from this period (notably How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' and Lie Dream of a Casino Soul) alongside lengthy rumblings normally restricted to long players.

The tumbling and phased "Middle Mass" begins on an incredible high note, segueing into the snake-charm hypnotism of "An Older Lover Etc." "Slates, Slags, Etc." is built on stretched VU-inspired riffing, complete with ace feedback bleed that doubtlessly went on long after fade-out. Ultimately, it's the piercing chimes of guitar and marching drum grind of "Prole Art Threat" that elevates Slates beyond oddity. Truly one of Mark E. Smith's finest, busiest and most enigmatic performances, equally matched by a band at the peak of their powers.

Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Slates has been available on vinyl since its initial release in 1981. Liner notes by Brian Turner.

Apart from a series of successful studio albums and worldwide hit-singles such as ‘Wind Him Up’, ‘On The Loose’, or ‘How Long’, it’s mainly been SAGA’s haunting concerts that have inspired their fans and – as a direct result – have been the reason for the outstanding success of their live albums. ‘Detours (Live)’ was recorded over the course of eight shows in Germany, Austria and France, using a mobile recording studio. It was originally released in 1999 as a truly worthy SAGA live album that captures the fantastic atmosphere at the concerts and leaves nothing to be desired thanks to its captivating set list. For the first time ever, this brilliant live album is now available on vinyl – as a 3LP gatefold edition on heavyweight vinyl. The reissue also comes with enhanced artwork and personal liner notes by Jim Crichton.

From its founding in the late 14th century, the kingdom of Buganda has been celebrated through sound and nurtured a rich musical tradition in its royal court. Coming from across the kingdom, musicians would take turns in the palace to sound drums, xylophones, flutes, lyres, and more to praise and honour the existence of the kingship. In recent years however, the tradition has been more difficult to maintain, especially since 1966 where there was a violent attack on the palace that abruptly abolished the kingdom and during which royal musicians fled or were killed. And while the kingdom was re-established in 1993 as a cultural institution, many of the remaining musicians had since chosen to sideline their skills to deal with the issues of their day to day lives, the practice of the royal tradition waning in popularity, especially with younger listeners and players. But all is not lost. Scattered across the kingdom, a motivated team of older veterans and attentive young players are still keeping the tradition alive. Offering a transversal glimpse into the past and the present, "Buganda Royal Music Revival" collects recordings made in between the late 1940s and 1966 illustrating the older generation's skills, and presents them alongside recent recordings featuring old and young musicians who still carry on this musical tradition, some even performing for the current king, Muwenda Mutebi II. The later were made during the shooting of the 2019 documentary "Buganda Royal Music Revival" that presents through a film what this album conveys through sounds: a packed dive into a century-old tradition. The music displayed here is diverse and vibrant, presenting a variety of styles and highlighting instruments that illustrate the depth and sophistication that stemmed from the royal court experience of Buganda. As a starter, the album opens with 'Mujaguzo'. Often translated as 'The Drums of the Kingship', the mujaguzo is a crucial ensemble for the cultural tradition, made from drums collected by the kingdom throughout its long history and numbering around 100 drums (historical records suggest there were at some point over 300). They are the vitality of the kingship packaged into sound. From here, we're introduced deeper to an array of instruments and textures, like the buzzing Bugandan lyre (endongo) by contemporary royal player Albert Bisaso Ssempeke, the resonant akadinda xylophone with its 21 large wooden keys, Temutewo Mukasa's restless praise sung with his harp (ennanga), the hand-made gourd trumpet (amakondere), the entenga "drum-chime" and its core set of 12 drums tuned like the amadinda xylophone, or the tightly intertwined melodies of the flutes ensemble (abalere). With the music, the hissing and swishing sounds of old tapes reminds at times the listener of the long process, from the original recording to its archival digitization, that allows the talent of past musicians to still vibrate nowadays. This rousing selection of music and moods is a unique and all too rare exploration of sounds that celebrates the common history of generations of musicians, and the question remains open as to how this rich cultural tradition will shape and be shaped by the upcoming Bugandan future, and what engagement it will trigger among audiences within, but also beyond, the kingdom of Buganda.

To write these few lines, we spoke to saxophonist François Jeanneau, an old friend of Jacques Thollot who also played on several of his albums, including the “Watch Devil Go” which interests us here. He told us a story which, according to him, sums up the personality of Thollot. A noted studio had reserved three days for a Thollot recording session. The first morning was devoted to sound checks and putting some order in the score sheets which Jacques would hand out in a somewhat anarchic manner. Then everyone went for lunch. When the musicians returned to the studio, Thollot had disappeared. He wasn’t seen again for the three days. When he reappeared, he had already forgotten why he had left, The music of Jacques Thollot is in the image of its’ author: it takes you somewhere, suddenly escapes and disappears, returning in an unexpected place as if nothing had happened.

Four years after a first album on the Futura label in 1971, Jacques Thollot returned, this time on the Palm label of Jef Gilson, still with just as much surrealist poetry in his jazz. In thirty-five minutes and a few seconds, the French composer and drummer, who had been on the scene since he was thirteen, established himself as a link between Arnold Schoenberg and Don Cherry. Resistant to any imposed framework and always excessive, Thollot allows himself to do anything and everything: suspended time of an extraordinary delicacy, a stealthy explosion of the brass section, hallucinatory improvisation of the synthesisers, tight writing, teetering on the classical, and in the middle of all that, a hit; the title-track - that Madlib would one day end up hearing and sampling.

“Watch Devil Go” was in the right place in the Palm catalogue, which welcomed the cream of the French avant-garde in the 70s. But it is also the story of a long friendship between two men. Jacques Thollot and Jef Gilson had known and respected one another for a long time. Though barely sixteen years old, Thollot was already on drums on the first albums by Gilson starting in 1963 and would play in his big band (alongside François Jeanneau once again), ‘Europamerica’, until the end of the 70s.

In a career lasting half a century and centred on freedom Jacques Thollot played with the most important experimental musicians (Don Cherry, Sonny Sharrock, Michel Roques, Barney Wilen, Steve Lacy, François Tusques, Michel Portal, Jac Berrocal, Noël Akchoté...) and they all heard in him a pulsation coming from another world. (Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau)

Deepfunk / soul super rarity flipped with one of the best deep soul sides ever recorded, the family had some great images so we opted for a picture sleeve on this one, 400 copies only. forget about finding an O.G. Researched by our man, Brian Sears

Papa Bear And His Cubs were the brainchild of Eddie Disnute Sr., aka Papa Bear. A native resident of Hampton, Arkansas. Eddie started his music career in gospel then transitioned into secular music after moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1963. While living in Milwaukee with his wife and children, Eddie played with a group called the Fenders but eventually decided to start a group of his own with his kids aptly named Papa Bear And His Cubs.

Eddie Sr., a naturally gifted musician, taught his children how to play music. Creativity is a part of the Disnute DNA and before long Eddie's cubs were perfecting chops of their own. Papa Bear And His Cubs started performing together around the late 1960s. Although a few memorable gigs came their way, Wisconsin proved to be too cold for the Disnutes so they made their way back to Hampton, Arkansas.

The family continued to perform in Arkansas then made another move to Houston, Texas where they hoped to break into the music scene down south. They lived there for nearly three years and even recorded at SugarHill Studios, yet nothing materialized and the recordings remain a mystery to this day. For their final move, the Disnutes returned home to Hampton after Eddie's wife Christine (aka Mother Goose) received word that her father was ill.

In 1975 the group recorded their only vinyl record at Sam Griffith's home recording studio in Camden, Arkansas. Disnute Sr. recalls it only taking "one night, and one take" for both "Sweetest Thing On This Side Of Heaven" and "You're So Fine" to be born. Both songs have an entrancing quality that is inescapable and will surely resonate with listeners for years to come.

The group continued to perform until the early 1980s, at which point the cubs were bears themselves, who decided to go their own separate ways. When thinking back to their prime days, one thing will always remain clear in Eddie Sr.'s memory, "we could play, all it took was a countdown of 1, 2 ,3, 4 and we're gone".

The 20th milestone release in the Generation Series lineup, this 5-LP abridged set features 82 tracks that play in the first half of Shenmue III, which takes place in Bailu Village. Comes in a top lid box (similar to recent Generation Series releases from Brave Wave) with liner notes, archival artwork and a digital download code for all 196 tracks.

Haiku Salut, the acclaimed electronica trio from the Derbyshire Dales release their fifth album, ‘The Hill, The Light, The Ghost’ on Secret Name records on August 27th. Note the LP follows in November.

A beautiful study of ghosts and memory, the gestation of the record began when Haiku Salut’s Sophie Barkerwood was given a Tascam field recorder. “I carried it around with me in case anything interesting happened. I guess I wanted to capture little pieces of the world in the same way we all take photographs,” explains Sophie. “It wasn’t immediately apparent that we would begin to use these sounds as the architecture for an album but as our writing process evolved the textures of these memories became a bank of inspiration.”

“We then began actively searching for ghosts in the world and framing the songs around their qualities,” Sophie continues. “Gathering recordings, removing them from their context and building worlds around them. Capturing and preserving personal experiences, and evoking vivid spaces. You could say the record is a miniature exploration of sound in relation to memory. Each piece is intimately connected to a place in time.”

Musically, the album marries the expansive vision of their third album, ‘There Is No Elsewhere’, which celebrated identity and community, with the darker, more contemplative feel of their fourth album, the trio’s original soundtrack for Buster Keaton’s ‘The General’. Building on the lessons learned working on ‘The General’, ‘The Hill, The Light, The Ghost’ is a cohesive suite, nine songs that combine to tell a larger story – that of experience and memory, of precious moments and echoes of past lives.

After his first LP Stranger Já Catem Traboi, Tchiss decided to further experiment with reggae and funaná, inspired by the local rhythms of the island of Santiago. Gathering some of the best Cape Verdean musicians of the time, in 1984, together with Zé António on guitar, Bebethe on bass and Alírio on drums, he recorded his second LP Já Bô Corre D’Mim. An album that sings of a young man far from home, his unrequited love and saudade, the struggles of street life in a foreign land and a world of inequality. Recorded in just 3 days at the Pomodoro Studio in Sutri, the album fully expresses the deep and layered sound of Tchiss’ music, where upbeat tempo, powerful vocals and electrifying guitar solos tangle together in a dynamic mix of traditional melodies and cosmic reggae.

An hour of finely crafted grooves where cosmic atmospheres meet late night bangers !

While on a break due to a certain pandemic, L’Eclair threw itself in the making of a new album. Until that point recording sessions were usually really short. Former albums were made in only a few days and recorded mostly live on tape. That changed as the band decided to do four recording sessions over nine months, hence allowing the group and its sound engineer/manager Benoit Erard to spend more time and energy on the production. With the ability to step back and reflect on the work in progress, L’Eclair had the occasion to take things a step above in terms of arrangements, compositions and structures. The result is an hour-long 12 tracks record, which is more diversified and concise than previous efforts.

Titled “Confusions”, the album shows L’Eclair’s obsession with groove in all its forms. It blends club vibes with psychedelic grooves, rhythmic trances and ambient comedowns while retaining a true coherence. Produced and organic, danceable and ethereal, spontaneous and cerebral, joyful and melancholic, “Confusions” is always on the fence between very different moods without ever wandering off. The band’s never fading influences are still there: you can hear hints of CAN, Piero Umiliani or Tangerine Dream here and there. But it’s melted with different universes, such as late 80s Madchester or Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada’s textured worlds. There is also a strong Hip Hop feel with sampled-based tracks and non-binary beats that recall the likes of great producers like Madlib, MF DOOM, J Dilla or even Timbaland. The record also has its fair share of dub and house influences, which connect with the group’s attachment to the club vibe.

The Berliners present an unusual live album that is a testimony of strange times: their Phanerozoic concept album performed live in its entirety at a time when no shows were happening anywhere in the world. 3 LPs / 2 CDs plus DVD and access to HD video download and streaming. Phanerozoic I was streamed live from Pier 2, a big hall in the port of Bremen, on March 25, 2021. Phanerozoic II, recorded at "Die Mühle" studio, aired on April 16, 2021 as part of the digital edition of Roadburn Festival, this year abtly named Roadburn Redux. Both shows couldn't have been more different: where the first part boasts with a pompous, mesmerizing lighting production on a big stage, the 2nd part is quite the opposite: intimate, almost cosy, focused on musicianship rather than performance. A stripped down setup in a dark barn, with moody, minimal but not any less efficient lighting. "We wanted to give people 2 totally different experiences", says band leader Robin Staps. "In Bremen, we had the chance to record a proper Ocean live show, the way people know us. We played facing towards the front of the stage, to an invisible crowd, essentially to a huge empty room_ but we knew people were watching, even if we didn't see them. There was the same rush of adrenaline right before going on stage as you get before going on at any big open air festival_ maybe with a little extra anxiety added, because knowing that so many people are watching you without being able to see them yourself was super weird." This release is yet another master class of record packaging from Norwegian artist and long term friend and collaborator, Martin Kvamme: the trifold is made from thick, rough and incredibly fibrous cardboard, adorned with a filigrane copper foil embossing of a bitmapped live fotography from the Bremen event. It contains 3 vinyl records in printed inner sleeves or 2 CDs, plus a DVD and a concert ticket with a streaming and HD video download link to both concerts.

clear vinyl / incl. poster

The music of Parallax is part of the foundation of Zodiak Commune Records since 1998. With ZC002 - Sinister Projects EP- and ZC005 - Occult Technology EP, Parallax created timeless underground anthems which are being reflected in the Archive EP. With previously unreleased live recordings, this EP is a well-preserved document of the past whilst being relevant in today's underground techno and acid scene. Parallax his live set was recorded at the legendary "old" Effenaar (Acid City Eindhoven, The Netherlands) while the Zodiak Commune's 10th anniversary was being celebrated. With its massive and no-nonsense acid-techno sound, Parallax transformed the dancefloor into a vortex, fueling up people with positive energy while taking them on his musical journey. A nostalgic journey that will make you crave for more timeless underground bliss! With 2002 Live Pt1 being over 12 minutes long a true story is being told. Enjoy this fine release of the purest acid-techno around!

2003 Live Pt1
A dark entrance, heavy basses that make the roof rattle, the smell of stale beer and sweaty people who all seem to speak another language but listen to the same... Those of seemingly soulless beats, but which ultimately take you closer to one self and each other than most religions have managed to realize...
Enjoy 12:30 minutes of storytelling!

1998
Clashing raw 303's, brutal beats colliding mid-air, ear piercing percussion. The soundtrack of the battle of 1998 is all but merciful, sending shivers down your spine.

2003 Live Pt2
Time seizes to exist. Beats provide the energy needed on a journey so loud there is no choice but to join. Guided by musicians, they who make you walk but not go anywhere but inside. Rebel minds choose to renounce their disobey, for their worries to be taken far, far away.

London alt-rock outfit Curse of Lono share brand new single ‘Let Your Love Rain Down On Me’, a hypnotic widescreen teaser for upcoming album ‘People In Cars’, set for release 19th November via Submarine Cat Records (She Drew The Gun, Alabama 3, John Murry).

Recorded during lockdown with long-term collaborator and producer Oli Bayston (Spiritualized, Teleman, Boxed In) and engineer Iain Berryman (Wolf Alice, Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon), ‘People In Cars’ is a stunningly cinematic record that continues the band’s musical evolution and reinforces their trajectory as one of the most compelling lyrical voices of the British musical underground.

Keep training!
The Berlin Jazz duo Max Andrzejewski and Johannes Schleiermacher a.k.a. TRAINING and John Dieterich (of Deerhoof) in virtual vastness...
The Corona crisis has presented musicians with difficult tasks over the past year and a half. From album recordings to tour planning. From emergency aid programmes to improvised streaming concerts. There were few musicians who dealt with the difficult situation as playfully as the two jazz musicians Max Andrzejewski and Johannes Schleiermacher from Berlin.
Both have known each other very well for a long time and play together in different outfits. Max as a drummer and Johannes as a saxophonist. Both also like to play synthesizers or samplers. Preferably all at the same time. That's why in the Corona spring of 2020

It is highly likely that you will have hummed a song by
Charles Trénet at some point in your life. Thus ‘La Mer’
(aka ‘Beyond the Sea’), a song written on a train
between Narbonne and Montpellier in July 1943, is sung
in Tokyo as well as in Los Angeles and its popularity is
universal. And this is not the only one, among the 700 or
so songs that Charles Trénet submitted to Sacem during
a career of exceptional longevity: nearly seventy years.
 10 CD box set features 277 tracks, including 11 rarities.
This edition presents the complete studio recordings
1937-1962 plus several bonus titles from 1933-1936.
 2LP vinyl format offers a selection of 29 of his most
famous songs.
 What they said about Charles Trénet:
 “This new pulse, this extraordinary joie de vivre brought
by the songs that this dishevelled boy was throwing by
dozen, were born from the conjuncture of a remarkable
poetic gift and the vitality of jazz fully assimilated by a
fine sensitivity.” - Boris Vian
 “The Sun-King of songs” - Henri Salvador
 “He’s a giant … someone who brought everything to
French song. The ‘Singing Fool’ was not only a singerpoet, he was someone extraordinary who is part of the
heritage. He will be teached in schools, he will be talked
about in universities around the world” - Charles
Aznavour
 “Charles never asked for anything, but he knew exactly
which place was his, which is the first.” - Alain Delon

A Deep City Records release (one of five for Helene Smith) that
originally came out in 1965 on the Miami-based label, ‘True Love Don't
Grow On Trees’ is a gorgeous mid-tempo soulful heartbreaker, while the flipside and its wandering guitar line sounds like girl group buried
treasure that would have sounded fantastic covered by Dusty
Springfield. In the hands of Helene Smith, both tracks are nothing short of magnificent. These two tracks only previously appeared as a long-lost single that goes for £300 a pop these days. Acclaimed as the First Lady Of Miami Soul, Helene Smith came back into prominence with the issue of Numero’s 2006 ‘Eccentric Soul’ album of Deep City cuts.

‘Gather Up’ is the culmination of ten years on Acid Jazz for Matt Berry.
 ‘Gather Up’ comes as a beautifully packaged 4CD hardback book set with 28 pages of
illustrations and notes or a 5LP box set with a 64-page booklet and certificate of
authenticity signed by Matt.
 ‘Gather Up’ is also available as a standalone 21-track ‘Best Of’ on gatefold CD and red
coloured vinyl double LP.
 The 55 tracks on the 4CD / 5LP sets are split between an anthology compilation that
tracks the very best tracks from his eight albums and associated singles for the label over
the last decade, an album of unreleased tracks and rarities, a demo version of his 2020
album ‘Phantom Birds’ (titled ‘Phantom First’) and the previously unreleased ‘Live At A
Festival’ album, which showcases Matt and his band The Maypoles in full flight.
 The book included in both formats has an extended essay by Chris Catchpole which
reviews Matt’s musical career and an exclusive set of photo images culled from the
archive of Matt’s long time photographic collaborator Ben Meadows.
 Following the huge acclaim earlier this year for Matt Berry’s eighth studio album, ‘The
Blue Elephant’, Acid Jazz release ‘Gather Up’, a compilation album encompassing the
singular musical adventures this extraordinary musician has taken over the past decade,
offering a revelatory and fascinating insight into the working process of a genuine musical
maverick and sonic explorer.
 Over 10 years with Acid Jazz, Berry has released nine incredibly diverse albums
(including one live album). From the tangled-folk rock thickets of ‘Witchazel’ and ‘Kill The
Wolf’ (which features the song from which this release gets its name), to the out-there
explorations of ‘Music For Insomniacs’ or ‘TV Themes’’ retro-kitsch delights, through the
soul power in ‘Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live’ or the twilight grooves of ‘The Small
Hours’ to the classic pedal-steel songwriting of ‘Phantom Birds’ and the smorgasbord of
psychedelic sounds on ‘The Blue Elephant’, Berry’s journey has produced a feast for the
ears that twists and turns down more unexpected avenues than most artists could
manage over several careers.
 ‘Gather Up’ pulls together an excellent career spanning collection expertly compiled by
Berry, including non-album tracks such as ‘Snuff Box Theme’. No easy achievement
considering the sheer breadth, diversity and volume of his exceptional musical output.
















[p] 16 Music for insomniacs [Part 4]

‘Gather Up’ is the culmination of ten years on Acid Jazz for Matt Berry.
 ‘Gather Up’ comes as a beautifully packaged 4CD hardback book set with 28 pages of
illustrations and notes or a 5LP box set with a 64-page booklet and certificate of
authenticity signed by Matt.
 ‘Gather Up’ is also available as a standalone 21-track ‘Best Of’ on gatefold CD and red
coloured vinyl double LP.
 The 55 tracks on the 4CD / 5LP sets are split between an anthology compilation that
tracks the very best tracks from his eight albums and associated singles for the label over
the last decade, an album of unreleased tracks and rarities, a demo version of his 2020
album ‘Phantom Birds’ (titled ‘Phantom First’) and the previously unreleased ‘Live At A
Festival’ album, which showcases Matt and his band The Maypoles in full flight.
 The book included in both formats has an extended essay by Chris Catchpole which
reviews Matt’s musical career and an exclusive set of photo images culled from the
archive of Matt’s long time photographic collaborator Ben Meadows.
 Following the huge acclaim earlier this year for Matt Berry’s eighth studio album, ‘The
Blue Elephant’, Acid Jazz release ‘Gather Up’, a compilation album encompassing the
singular musical adventures this extraordinary musician has taken over the past decade,
offering a revelatory and fascinating insight into the working process of a genuine musical
maverick and sonic explorer.
 Over 10 years with Acid Jazz, Berry has released nine incredibly diverse albums
(including one live album). From the tangled-folk rock thickets of ‘Witchazel’ and ‘Kill The
Wolf’ (which features the song from which this release gets its name), to the out-there
explorations of ‘Music For Insomniacs’ or ‘TV Themes’’ retro-kitsch delights, through the
soul power in ‘Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live’ or the twilight grooves of ‘The Small
Hours’ to the classic pedal-steel songwriting of ‘Phantom Birds’ and the smorgasbord of
psychedelic sounds on ‘The Blue Elephant’, Berry’s journey has produced a feast for the
ears that twists and turns down more unexpected avenues than most artists could
manage over several careers.
 ‘Gather Up’ pulls together an excellent career spanning collection expertly compiled by
Berry, including non-album tracks such as ‘Snuff Box Theme’. No easy achievement
considering the sheer breadth, diversity and volume of his exceptional musical output.
















p 16 Music for insomniacs [Part 4]

Following this year’s hugely successful UK No. 1 album
‘As The Love Continues’ entering the US Billboard Chart
at No. 9, Mogwai went on to be nominated for this year’s
Mercury Music Prize. Now they reissue their 90’s EPs on
vinyl for the first time in over 20 years through Chemikal
Underground.
 Each EP was originally released in limited numbers
between 1997 and 1999 and quickly sold out. Although
packaged as the CD and download compilation album
‘EP+6’, this is the first time ‘4 Satin’, ‘No Education = No
Future (Fuck the Curfew)’ and ‘E.P.’ have been available
on vinyl since the initial pressings.
 A beautiful triple vinyl reissue of the three EPs originally
released in the 1990s, presented in their original artwork
inside a 7mm wide spine outer sleeve.
 ‘4 Satin’: Curacao vinyl, originally released in 1997.
 ‘No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew)’: Clear
vinyl, originally released in 1998.
 ‘E.P.’: Sun yellow vinyl, originally released in 1999.
 “I’m incredibly proud of these EPs,” says guitarist and
singer Stuart Braithwaite. “I think they’re interesting as
we were experimenting with so many things back then.
A lot of what we tried out on those records are things
that went on to define us.”
 A long time in the pipeline, Mogwai’s ‘e.p. x 3’ is both an
illuminating document for fans who came to the group in
more recent years and an essential purchase for
collectors of the group’s music on vinyl.

Whether it be on the banks of the Mississippi River or deep in the heart of the English countryside, rock 'n' roll lives, breathes, and burns on the outskirts. Hailing from Rome, GA, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, The Georgia Thunderbolts rise up with a scorching signature style steeped in soulful southern swagger. On, Can We Get A Witness, their full-length debut for Mascot Records, the quintet—TJ Lyle vocals, harp, piano, Riley Couzzourt [guitar], Logan Tolbert [guitar], Zach Everett [bass, keys], and Bristol Perry [drums]—conjure a tried-and-true spirit through a fresh fire.
“We all grew up on rock music,” Riley says. “Rock ‘n’ roll comes back around, but longevity depends on grinding it out. That’s what we want to do. We try to put in the work our favorite bands did. If I could think of three words to describe us, they would be ‘Hardworking, Determined, and Humble’.”




Gigging tirelessly, they cut their teeth by playing with Black Stone Cherry, The Kentucky Headhunters, Blackberry Smoke, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Molly Hatchet and The Cadillac Three. The band began when Bristol and Riley initially bonded over rock ‘n’ roll in high school. By sophomore year, they had a regular jam schedule, and eventually joined up Zack, TJ, and Logan to round out the group. They share a wide swath of inspirations, ranging from southern gospel to Hank Williams, Jr., Neil Young, Little Feet, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard to the hard rock of Ozzy Osbourne, Audioslave, Bad Company and of course, The Allman Brothers & Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band recorded at the iconic Barrick Recording Studio in Glasgow, KY, with producer Richard Young. The album comprises of thirteen undeniable anthems, beginning with opener “Take It Slow.” Distilling whisky-soaked riffs, wild harmonica, and pulse-pounding drums into a simmering groove, it struts out of the gate with confidence and charisma. “There’s a message to what we’re doing,” Bristol leaves off. “It’s okay to be yourself. If you’re going through hard times, the music will always be there. We’d love to remind everyone of that.” The Georgia Thunderbolts embody the blue-collar working man who has put their foot down on the accelerator towards the rock ‘n roll American dream.

The long awaited follow up to Osaka's Hibushibire 'Freak Out Orgasm!' debut album from 2017 is almost upon us ...
 
Who are Hibushibire ?
 
821 (Hani) on bass
Ryu Matsumoto on drums
Changchang on guitar and vocals
 
It would be fair to say Hibushibire’s 2017 debut album ‘Freak Out Orgasm!’ went down well with fans of psych-rock (call it what you will). So far it’s had three vinyl pressings, two cassette pressings and a CD run back in Japan. It garnered quite a few influential underground (if not mainstream) reviews and seemed to sell through on word of mouth alone - which in these times seems to be the way things are going: thriving social media groups sharing their love of recent purchases and fellow vinyl lovers going out and scooping them up without the need to buy a magazine or read an online review to make their mind up. My favourite review of ‘Freak Out Orgasm!’ came from UK based music blog Dayz Of Purple And Orange as I think he nailed it perfectly...
 
“Fuck me! I think I've died and gone to psychedelic heaven! If anyone had asked me what I would really want from a freak out, heavy-as-fuck psych band I would have to say I would want the sheer guitar pyrotechnics of Acid Mothers Temple, the hard-as-nails scuzziness of The Heads, the lead heaviness of a fucked-up Blue Cheer and the instrumental dexterity of Hendrix on speed. Guess what, that band exists and they are called HIBUSHIBIRE!"
 
That, to me, said it all. Nail hit hard.
 
But let's get onto 'Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out!'
 
Once again the album is produced by Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner) and for me it's the next logical step in the bands sonic development. As with its predecessor, side one consists of three tracks, "Ecstasy Highwaystar / Blow! Blow! Blow! / Overdose, Pussycat! More! More!", (they do like an exclamation mark). Some of these titles will be familiar if you've followed the band's live shows in recent times, and it's pretty much a guitar to the front, full gonzo-style hard-rocking psychedelic freak out from the first blast of Changchang's guitar panning from left to right before the main riff kicks it all off.
 
Again, as with their debut, side two comprises of just one epic length track. 'Rollercoaster Of The Universe' clocks in at seventeen minutes and is, in my humble opinion, the sound of the band moving onto the next level during its journey. It's a shudderingly beautiful piece, with many hypnotic twists and turns. I can't wait to hear how they play this live.
 
The band did initially attempt to produce this album by themselves, but got 'brain fever' in the studio and called their old friend Makoto to come down and help them finish it off. As he had no preparation in advance, he knew nothing about how the recording was going in the studio, and moreover there was little time left for adjustments to be made. But his technique of mixing was, as always, both mighty and almost destructive.

Originally released as a limited yellow vinyl LP in April 2021, this debut from Taiwan’s psych-heads Dope Purple quickly sold out and gained immediate cult appreciation. Now recut and reissued on swanky transparent lavender coloured vinyl. For fans of Acid Mothers Temple, Les Rallizes Denudes, Asian psych etc

'Grateful End’ in their own words ...

"Grateful End" is our album release in 2019 in the form of CD and cassette.

The title "Grateful End" clearly shows that this is our album with the theme of "End", such as "The Last Day of Humanity" and “Good Night, Good Death" are two of our songs with the theme of "End". However, this album also has another theme of " Live", in fact most of the songs on this album are based on our imagination of "Live". “End" is not the antonym of “Live”, "End" is just one of the stages of “Live”, in other words “End" is also our “Live”. “Grateful End" is a meaningful “End" for people struggling to “Live”. It is only when the “End" comes together with “Live” that we can find significance in it and pay attention to how people face the “End" of “Live”. The End of something enables us to understand “Live”.

Most of the tracks for Grateful End was recorded in 2018, before the epidemic, so our music doesn't reflect the situation of epidemic, but there was a time in 2020 when I thought about the reality that humanity was facing the last day of humanity. Thanks to the efforts of many people, humanity is not yet extinct, and thanks to the help of many people, we can now release this vinyl. We are very grateful to all of you.

But at the same time, the plight of the epidemic has re-emerged many humanity and morality issues that we have avoided looking at. Maybe we won't die out, but if we don't face our humanity squarely, we will lose our humanity in the future and will no longer be human. I don't know what our music can do about humanity, but it is true that music is one of the creations of humanity, and music cannot leave humanity. As music music lovers, our creations will always face humanity. I hope that in the future, after the epidemic is over, we can understand and inspire each other through our live and music.

Long a collector favourite, this early stereo recording presents a set of lively American light classics: ‘Mexican Rhapsody’ (Robert McBride); ‘Savannah River Holiday’ (Ron Nelson); ‘Kentucky Mountain Portaits’ (Lyndol Mitchell); ‘Joe Clark Steps Out’ (Charles G. Vardell Jr.). Recorded in the Eastman Theatre, Rochester NY, October 28, 1956 with a Schoeps M201 microphone in the centre and Neumann U-47’s on the left and right sides.

Gatefold double LP. Black Vinyl. No DL Code is out in January, 1000 copies available. Since 2006 Maybeshewill have released four full-length albums of towering, cinematic instrumental music. After a decade long career that saw them tour across four continents they bowed out in 2016 with a sold out show at London’s Koko. Having reformed briefly in 2018 at the request of The Cure’s Robert Smith for a show at Meltdown Festival, 2021 sees the band return with their first new material since 2014’s Fair Youth. Having worked on ideas separately in the intervening years, it was the sketches of music that would become ‘No Feeling is Final’ that pulled the band back together. Building on the songs that they felt needed to be heard, together. ‘No Feeling is Final’ was born from a place of weary exasperation. From the knowledge that we’re living in a world hurtling towards self-destruction. We watch as forests burn and seas rise. As the worst tendencies of humanity are championed by those in power; rage, fear, greed and apathy. We see every injustice, every conflict, every catastrophe flash up on our screens. We stay complacent and consume to forget our complicity in the structures and systems that sustain that behaviour. As the world teeters on the edge of disaster, we sigh and keep scrolling, the uneasy feeling in our stomachs eating away at us a little more each day. However easy it would be to switch off and pretend all is lost, there’s no choice but to remain engaged. To set that feeling of hopelessness aside and use the fear and frustration as fuel to make something positive. ‘No Feeling is Final’ is a message of hope and solidarity. It’s a story of growing grassroots movements across the world that are rejecting the doomed futures being sold to us, and imagining new realities based on equality and sustainability. It’s a reckoning with the demons in our histories and a promise to right the wrongs of the past. It’s a plea to take action in shaping the world we leave for future generations. It’s a simple gesture of reassurance to anyone else struggling in these troubled times: “Just keep going. No feeling is final.” Continuing and building on the self-sufficient, do-it-yourself ethos that has been core to their existence, ‘No Feeling is Final’ was once again recorded and produced by bassist Jamie Ward, and released on the bands own Robot Needs Home Collective Label, in collaboration with close friends Wax Bodega (North America), New Noise (Asia) and Birds Robe (Australasia).

Hearing Dominic Appleton take his voice in quieter, more intimate directions, exploring new textures and strengths, in combination with Matteo Uggeri’s flowing production, makes for a striking experience. Interesting and unexpected." – Ned Raggett (Bandcamp/The Quietus) // "Without exaggeration, Dominic Appleton is by far my favourite living male vocalist. He has such a beautiful, sad voice and comes up with melodies that do the same" – Ivo Watts-Russell (4AD founder). // "This Mortal Coil singer Dominic Appleton's crystalline voice and romantic lyrics set a mood of lonely grandeur” — Mojo (2013)

Lady Wray releases an instant classic two-sider with two certified bangers from her forthcoming album 'Piece Of Me'. Side A is the in your face, head nodding, "Through It All". A tune that rips out of the speaker from the first snare crack with Nicole's pitched up and infectious chorus. The tried and true chemistry of Lady Wray and producer Leon Michels is on full display here as they push the envelope of current R&B and Soul making a stark declaration of why they are out in front of the pack of any of their peers. Nicole sings a song about dedication through the ups and downs on a track that has so much energy it is sure to move crowds around the globe. Side B, "Under The Sun" is a feel good homage to the sun and summertime. Lady Wray encapsulates all things good and lovely about warm weather and where it puts our minds. The infectious good vibes of the tune will change your attitude and have you turning the volume knob up while the earworm choruses will stay on the tip of your tongue long after the song ends. Also Available From Lady Wray: Piece Of Me 7”, Guilty 7”, Queen Alone (Instrumentals)

"The Gurrumul Story" is the first ever anthology of the nine time ARIA award-winner's most enduring and popular songs. The collection contains alternate versions of two of Gurrumul's most popular tracks. 'Wiyathul (Longing For Place)' is a brand new, orchestrally-augmented version of 'Wiyathul' - the song that thrust Gurrumul into the limelight back in 2008. Also included on the album is a rare duet version of the song 'Bayini', from Gurrumul's sophomore album Rrakala, featuring a touching contribution by Australian singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko

A unique live performance at Issue Project Room gathered the former Sonic Youth member and artist Kim Gordon and the legendary minimal blues master and artist Loren Connors in 2014.

In December 2014, the Issue Project Room venue in New York City offered the first-time duo with the legendary Brooklyn- based guitarist Loren Connors and the rock icon Kim Gordon. From this almost 1 1⁄2 hour set, Kim and Loren decided to archive their favourite movement on a physical record which is a 12” vinyl now available from the french label Alara.

Through this long improvised session, Kim and Loren do dialogue and browse between installations of deep soundscapes at the limit of drone, and distorted, abrasive sonic attacks wrapped in reverberated harmonics. In this unprecedented exchange between two legends, the languages are as borrowed from one to the other: Kim Gordon plays on the land of the first inventions of Loren in rumbling / growling “unaccompanying” strings pinch, when Loren Connors envelops the entire hall of distorted harmonics that Kim would not have denied in her loudest attacks within her solo or group experiences from decades.

Just through the story of each of the protagonists and thanks to the quality of the recording and the mastering that bring the intensity of this meeting to life as if we were physically attending to the show, this album is a unique opportunity to witness the exceptional meeting between two legends of sonic and experimental music.

One of three MONSTER New Orleans Funk 45s released by Soul Jazz Records only ever exclusive available on their site on LONG out of print, these new 45s are limited edition pristine, loud dancefloor fillers housed in Soul Jazz recycled card house bag!

Seminal New Orleans party funk classic tune of all time! Featuring the phenomenal vocals of Juanita Brooks, the writing and production skills of Eddie Bo and the drums of James Black, the tightest funk drummer in the world! An absolutely stone-cold BOMB TUNE!

One of three MONSTER New Orleans Funk 45s released by Soul Jazz Records only ever exclusive available on their site on LONG out of print, these new 45s are limited edition pristine, loud dancefloor fillers housed in Soul Jazz recycled card house bag!

Surely one of the TUFFEST New Orleans Funk tunes ever made! The intensity of Marilyn Barbarin’s vocals are only matched by the super-tightness of Eddie Bo’s Soul Finders that accompany her – superb New Orleans wah-wah funk, locked in and in the pocket! A SUPERB Eddie Bo production, with original copies starting at £500!

One of three MONSTER New Orleans Funk 45s released by Soul Jazz Records only ever exclusive available on their site on LONG out of print, these new 45s are limited edition pristine, loud dancefloor fillers housed in Soul Jazz recycled card house bag!

Chuck Carbo’s Can I Be Your Squeeze, backed with Take Care Your Homework Friend are two of the most infectious break-heavy funk party tunes you will ever hear, written and produced by the legendary Eddie Bo and featuring the awesome syncopated drums of the phenomenal New Orleans drummer James Black.

Tape

SectorSept’s ‘954’ is a boldly original record, one which announces the arrival of a singular musical mind. Its creator states that he crafted this EP by trying to make tracks that were ‘a representation of how I believe music would sound in some distant land in the future’. On ‘954’ this vision takes flight in the form of eight multifaceted, genre-defying electronic productions.

To unpack this record one must first understand the myriad influences which feed into SectorSept’s style. The producer grew up between the UK and Florida - indeed, the record’s title references the area code he had while in the USA. His formative years were spent soaking in the dancehall sounds he heard around him in his Jamaican household as well as techno, jazz, Miami bass and the city’s ‘Love 94 Smooth Jazz’ radio station.

All of this and more can be heard in the fabric of ‘954’. The drum programming alone reveals SectorSept to be someone with extremely wide-ranging musical tastes. Cuts such as ‘Get Ready For The Programme’ and ‘Be There’ are powered by deft beats that have Miami bass, Jersey Club, juke and more in their make-up. Drexciya-adjacent machine-funk creeps into the mix in ‘954’s mid-section, ‘Golden Third Eye’ touches on trap, and closing duo ‘Tropic Universe’ and ‘Prize’ bring dancehall dembows to the fore.

The productions of ‘954’ are simultaneously driving and chilled, coasting nicely yet still plumbed with enough bite to do damage on the dancefloor. It’s a feeling which is heightened by SectorSept’s gorgeous textural work. Several of the tracks here soften up collages of vocal clips with wistful, dreamy synths - see the way that club-caller snippets orbit Boards Of Canada-esque keys on ‘Get Ready For The Programme’ or how closing cut ‘Prize’ works both the classic Warp/Planet Mu sound and the pitched-down stylings of DJ Screw. It’s a rich and fully-formed artistic aesthetic, something which is all the more impressive when you consider that ‘954’ is SectorSept’s first official release.

That said, while the overall flavour of ‘954’ is SectorSept’s and SectorSept’s alone, one also finds links to Gobstopper’s previous output here. Those dancehall influences on ‘Tropic Universe’ and ‘Prize’ line the record up with Gobstopper drops like Otik’s ‘Thousand Year Stare’ while the emotive, soulful synth work that has long been a Gobstopper calling card is also in evidence here. Perhaps the thing about ‘954’ which makes it feel most at home on Mr. Mitch’s label is SectorSept’s imaginative futurism. SectorSept is a keen scholar of anime composers Kenji Kawai and Joe Hisaishi, and as such it is no surprise that there is a slightly fantastical quality to ‘954’. This is most boldly expressed on ‘Intuition Segment’, a magic-realist vignette which looks to Oneohtrix Point Never.

Blending ethereal textures with hybrid electronic grooves, SectorSept’s ‘954’ EP uses the sounds, influences and cultural experiences that have shaped its creator in order to build a vibrant vision of the future.

Cleveland Parker, his birth-name, later changed to Lee McDonald was a phenomenal soul singer who sadly passed away in February 2018. His manager, producer, writer and friend, Ron Foster has been on a mission to gain wider recognition of his exceptional talent through various independent record label releases; this included one on IZIPHO - the gospel rouser 'How Long'. Lee McDonald was the lead singer of The Village Choir and we are thrilled to feature on a 7' single two much admired songs - 'All Purpose Love' and 'Sweet Hot Lips' (the 12" version). Please note all reasonable efforts to contact the copyright holder have been made and IZIPHO SOUL will not take any profit from this record; Lee's widow will financially benefit from this project.

Cleveland Parker, his birth-name, later changed to Lee McDonald was a phenomenal soul singer who sadly passed away in February 2018. His manager, producer, writer and friend, Ron Foster has been on a mission to gain wider recognition of his exceptional talent through various independent record label releases; this included one on IZIPHO - the gospel rouser 'How Long'. Lee McDonald was the lead singer of The Village Choir and we are thrilled to feature on a 7' single two much admired songs - 'All Purpose Love' and 'Sweet Hot Lips' (the 12" version). Please note all reasonable efforts to contact the copyright holder have been made and IZIPHO SOUL will not take any profit from this record; Lee's widow will financially benefit from this project.

Maurice Louca is one of the most gifted musicians and composers on Egypt's thriving underground music scene. This forthcoming full-length album draws voraciously on Arabic music, psychedelic folk. The title Saet el Hazz is a coded saying in Egypt to refer to a good time and usually implies a great deal of debauchery. “When you mention to someone that you’ve had a saet hazz, there are no questions asked. It is what it is.”

The initial spark for Saet El-Hazz (The Luck Hour) was Louca’s desire to collaborate with 'A' Trio, the Lebanese improvisational group featuring Mazen Kerbaj on prepared trumpet, Sharif Sehnaoui on prepared guitar, and Raed Yassin on prepared double bass. 'When the three of them come together they create a sonic cosmos entirely their own. I started by composing music that I wanted to have exist within this sonic world— at times in harmony, or clashing with it, and all the emotional ranges in between.' Just as 'A' Trio served as the spark, a commission from Mophradat, an arts organization based out of Brussels, was the tinder. The commission was for a new composition to be performed using instruments that Louca would modify to play microtonally. This led him to Turkey and Indonesia. In Istanbul, he worked with a Lutheran to custom-make a guitar. In Surakarta, he ended up with an instrument maker tuning a Serang—referred to as the Indonesian xylophone, part of the family of Gamelan tuned percussion instruments. These new modified instruments opened up the composition to new tonal possibilities which drove Louca to expand his line up to include Khaled Yassine, a longtime collaborator and versatile percussionist and drummer, Christine Kazaryan, a dynamic harpist whom he met via Praed Orchestra, and Anthea Caddy, a cellist who came highly recommended from the Berlin free improv scene.

'There is something about linking luck to decadence that resonates with me, and even if I can't fully articulate it in words, the drive behind the music of this album and how it came to be, and the energy between us at the studio rehearsing and recording it, was in a lot of ways for me a saet hazz.'

Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour) is a long form composition of six movements, recorded over the course of a week in August 2019 at A/B studios in Brussels.

Long a collector favourite, this early stereo recording presents a set of lively American light classics: ‘Mexican Rhapsody’ (Robert McBride); ‘Savannah River Holiday’ (Ron Nelson); ‘Kentucky Mountain Portaits’ (Lyndol Mitchell); ‘Joe Clark Steps Out’ (Charles G. Vardell Jr.). Recorded in the Eastman Theatre, Rochester NY, October 28, 1956 with a Schoeps M201 microphone in the centre and Neumann U-47’s on the left and right sides.