Russian producer/musician Kedr Livanskiy returns with her expansive, timeless new record on which she pushes the boundaries of electronic songwriting. "Liminal Soul" plays like an opera as Livanskiy brings her crystalline voice to the forefront, channeling it into operatic choruses, looping falsetto, and one of her first full songs in English.
LTD SILVER COLORED VINYL. Russian producer/musician Kedr Livanskiy returns with her expansive, timeless new record on which she pushes the boundaries of electronic songwriting. "Liminal Soul" plays like an opera as Livanskiy brings her crystalline voice to the forefront, channeling it into operatic choruses, looping falsetto, and one of her first full songs in English.
Repress of the funky instrumental 45 by The Soul Investigators featuring Jimi Tenor!
For those into sounds from the deep dungeons of the soul jazz underground, the 2nd quarter of 2015 looks promising. Out of its mist come The Soul Investigators in a slick red convertible, featuring a mean flautist riding shotgun, a position we Finns like to call the seat for those in fear. The velvet smooth winds emanate from none other than Jimi Tenor, a person some might even describe as a renaissance man.
The sufficiently psychedelic jazzier exercise "Vulture's Prayer" should get your mind wondering into a turn of the 70's London, featuring a hippie gone bad, smacked out in furs in a hedonistic basement bacchanal, just before discovering himself at the opening desert scene of the "Holy Mountain". Flipping the disc over to "Bad Vibrations" we find ourself in a more funkier urban setting, possibly at a Yusuf Lateef inspired bar session in Chicago's South Side. Don't know, why they call them bad, because they sound so good. Better get yourself a slice and why not even a second helping.
Blind, Chicago soul singer Willie Williams was first discovered performing in clubs in and around the Windy City. He was signed to ABC records by their A&R Director for the Midwest Johnny Pate a former Jazz bassist, independent producer, arranger and songwriter in his own right. Pate was a friend and colleague of fellow musician, songwriter and founding member of one of ABC’s prolific vocal groups The Trends, Tom Dorsey. Pate and Dorsey would contribute heavily as writers and producer throughout Willie’s recording career, beginning with his first ABC 45 release in 1966 “Have You Ever Been Played For A Fool/With All My Soul”. The release’s b-side became a popular radio play at the time with Willie becoming known as Willie “Soul” Williams for a while. Two further ABC releases were to follow “It Doesn’t Pay/Just Because” (1967) and “I’m Through With You/Strung Out” (1968).
Willie’s next 45 release although recorded in Chicago under Johnny Pate’s supervision found it’s way to another major label, RCA, although credited as a GWP Production (Gerrard W. Purcell). The 45 in question being the excellent Tom Dorsey penned songs “Just To Be Loved By You/Name It” released during 1969.
Two Willie Williams 45 releases did appear on the Gamma label but I’m unsure if one or both of these are by the same Willie Williams in question.
Throughout his recording career Willie continued to work the clubs with his own band which was led by his bass guitarist and confidant Bradley (Brad) Bobo a man who featured as a session musician on many recording sessions including the creation of The Notation’s album of the same name for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom subsidiary label Gemigo.
On the 22nd of December 1970 a recording session was held in RCA’s Studio B, on North Wacker Drive, Chicago with sound engineer Russ Vestuto. The session was financed by Tom Dorsey who amongst other song writing gratuities had been paid handsomely for the 3 songs “Love Machine”, “My Baby’s Love” and “How Are You Fixed For Love” which he had wrote and contributed to the blue-eyed hit group, The O’Kaysion’s “Girl Watcher” ABC album. The result of this session yielded four Willie Williams tracks. Brad Bobo played bass guitar on the session, the composer of the four songs Tom Dorsey supplied the arrangements and Tom’s wife Carolyn (also a former group members of The Trends) joined both he and Brad on backing vocals.
The four songs were then offered to Eddie Thomas who chose two of them to release on a 45 single. The two songs being “Must Mean Love” which was later renamed “The Baa Baa Song “and “Psyched Out” which Eddie then released on his own Lakeside label, thus leaving the two other songs to remain unissued in the can.
Willie has now sadly passed away but in his later life once the opportunity’s for performing artists began to dwindle he chose a different path in his life, gaining a Doctors degree, he went on to become a College Lecturer. Tom Dorsey too turned his back on the music industry apart from his publishing company to concentrate on his family life as well as founding a very successful business involving one of his other great life passions, photography. Luckily for us he never lost the master tape of Willie’s sessions and after several years of tentative enquiries he graciously relented to my request to put them out. So now before you we have the two excellent previously unissued Willie Williams songs that Eddie Thomas passed on, the delightfully soulful “Give It All I Got” backed with the funky, social conscience themed “Do You Understand”, lost early 1970’s Chicago Soul at its finest.
Demon’s Souls (Original Soundtrack) is a modern reimagining of the incredible score composed by Shunsuke Kida for the original 2009 PlayStation 3 game, now updated for the 2020 PlayStation 5 remake. This soundtrack features that same amazing score but with dramatic new arrangements, great orchestral soundscapes and dramatic choral songs. Now available as a very limited vinyl set, pressed on a pair of gold LP's housed in a gatefold jacket featuring beautiful artwork by Ken Taylor. This soundtrack was recorded at AIR Studios in London, with a 75 piece orchestra, a 40 person choir and multiple vocal and instrumental soloists. Specialist marketing.
Meditative tropical soundscape of the Hawaiian Islands
Originally pressed in 1980 in limited quantities
Meticulously restored and remastered by Jessica Thompson
A lost gem from the exotica pioneer's catalog: the rarest of all Arthur Lyman releases — and his last recorded album — Island Vibes a meditative tropical canvas of the Hawaiian Islands’ natural beauty.
A welcomed sonic transport to paradise, much needed in these times of chaos. Originally recorded with Broad Records, who’s responsible for Phase 7’s Playtime and other important 1970s and 80s-era local records.
The UK’s love affair with American soul music blossomed in the
mid 1960s, with the launch of the Tamla-Motown record label in
Britain. But by the end of the decade this passion took on a
distinctly homegrown twist with a new movement that grew out
of the North of England and Midlands’ underground soul and
R&B scene. It was here at dancehalls and clubs such as
Manchester’s Twisted Wheel and the Wigan Casino that
devotees danced the night away to uptempo, joyous US soul
records that always came with a heavy beat. Pretty soon the
movement had a name: Northern Soul. This collection is the
next best thing and it is all on vinyl, exactly how the movement’s
fans originally heard them
Die südafrikanische House-Variante Amapiano geht bei ATFA mit "Teenage Dreams" in die dritte Runde. Nach TENO AFRIKA und DJ BLACK LOW schnappte sich das in New York beheimatete Label das 2019 gegründete Produzenten-Duo NATIVE SOUL, die mit "Teenage Dreams" ihr Debüt geben. Der Titel ist passend gewählt, schließlich sind Kgothatso Tshabalala und Zakhele Mhlanga (DJ Zakes) mit 19 bzw. 18 Jahren sozusagen selbst gerade erst den Kinderschuhen entwachsen. Obwohl die beiden in Pretoria aufgewachsenen Jungproduzenten zur Generation 'Ma2000' gehören, also nach Beginn der Demokratie geboren wurden und die Apartheid nie erlebt haben, überzeugt "Teenage Dreams" mit einer künstlerische Reife, die das jeweilige Alter der beiden Soundtüftler weit übersteigt. Die zwölf Tracks auf dem Debüt sind überwiegend moody, instrumental und mit Drums "made from basslines which stick out like a pocket turned outside of pants" versehen. Für Fans von BURIAL und MR. FINGERS!
Don Tiki, the leaders of exotica's turn-of-the-21st-century revival, bring their soundtrack for a Technicolor Polynesian pop paradise to Aloha Got Soul in 2021.
Each LP includes a pair of custom Don Tiki 3D glasses.
Don Tiki debuted from Honolulu in 1997 with the album, 'The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki', featuring the legendary Martin Denny in what would become one of his final recordings before his passing. The group, led by Fluid Floyd (Lloyd Kandell) and Perry Coma (Kit Ebersbach), draws inspiration from the original masters of the exotica sound, Denny, Arthur Lyman and Les Baxter, to bring such evocative music into the 21st century.
Following 'The Forbidden Sound', Don Tiki's recordings further deepened the group's reverence for and exploration of the poly-rhythmic, mid-century sounds pioneered by Denny, Baxter, and Lyman. Those albums, originally available on compact disc, include 'Skinny Dip with Don Tiki' (2001), 'South of the Boudoir' (2009), 'Don Tiki's Hot Lava Holiday Songs' (2012), and a remix album entitled 'Adulterated' (2004).
'Hot Like Lava' collects the group's top instrumentals for an exhilarating, paradisiacal ride through the world of tiki subculture on lava-colored vinyl.
About Don Tiki:
"Tiki supergroup Don Tiki knows the world, the subculture of tiki…it really doesn’t get much better than this!” ~ Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations
"Don Tiki is providing the soundtrack for this Technicolor projection of a Polynesian pop paradise." ~ Sven Kirsten/The Book of Tiki
"A great band from Hawaii, friends of ours...keeping the spirit of Martin Denny alive." ~ Jimmy Buffett
Don Tiki is:
Kit Ebersbach – keyboards, bandleader
Lloyd Kandell – producer, congenial host
Lopaka Colon - congas, bongo, bird calls
Hai Jung - bass, vocals
Sherry Shaoling – vocals, dancer
Abe Lagrimas, Jr. – vibraphone, percussion
Ryoko Oka - keyboards
Bonny B. - drums
Tim Mayer – reeds
Violetta Beretta – dancer, costumer, vocals
Over the last few years, NuNorthern Soul has established a number of traditions, most notably annual releases that provide a snapshot of the label’s output while also considering their suitability for certain seasons. Perhaps the most popular is founder Phil Cooper’s Summer Selections series, which each year showcases warm and sunny gems mined from a range of forthcoming releases.
The 2021 edition of the sampler, the third in total, may well be the best yet. Six tracks deep and as subtly varied as you’d expect, the entertaining set features tracks from a mixture of exciting newcomers, experienced producers and long-time members of the NuNorthern Soul family.
To kick things off, Cooper introduces us to Marshall Watson, an American producer who later in the year will release two five-track EPs on the label. ‘A Door To The Sky’, which will feature on the Sunsets On Larkin Part 1 EP, is sumptuously sun-kissed, with delay-laden electric guitar textures and sparkling electronics reclining over a tactile electronic groove.
LOVA’s ‘Echoes of Memories’, the track that follows, recalls the atmospheric, synthesizer-sporting new age Balearica popularised by Quiet Force in the late 1980s. The Italian producer was signed after bringing a USB stick of productions to one of Phil Cooper’s gigs in Ibiza; his Gypsophilia EP will be one to check when it drops later in the year.
Gusk’s ‘Sketch #4 - Anafi Nights’ is seductive and exotic. It’s a crackling and atmospheric musical painting that daubs starry stabs and yearning melodies atop a bubbly, lo-fi drum machine beat. It provides a perfect snapshot of the Greek musician’s Mediterranean Sketches EP, which gathers together home recordings made between 1997 and 2003.
Arguably even more immersive and enveloping is ‘Aqua Blancas Sunrise’ by Tambores En Benirras, the musical project of Cumbrian selector DJ Gripper. A slow-burning delight full of intricate musical flourishes –think drifting female vocalizations, Indian-influenced percussion, twinkling pianos and haunting clarinet motifs the track is one of the many highlights on the Barrow in Furness based producer’s forthcoming debut album for NuNorthern Soul.
To round things off, Cooper has chosen to offer-up cuts from two very experienced artists. George Solar (real name Georg Boskamp) is an Ibiza-based German producer who has been collaborating and releasing music since the late 1980s. ‘Infrared’, his contribution to Summer Selections 3, is a languid and glassy-eyed slab of slow-motion Balearic dub. His Los Ra-yos Del Sol EP will be one to look out for later in the year and is his debut solo release.
The sampler’s final missive fittingly comes from long-time friend of the family B.J Smith, a regular contributor to NuNorthern Soul releases who has reunited with Huw Costin – a vocalist he previously worked with on Smith & Mudd releases for Claremont 56 for a double A side single due later in 2021. ‘Sun When You Come’ is as warming and hazy as you’d expect and features Costin’s emotive, reverb-laden vocals and mazy electric piano solos rising above a suitably horizontal groove. It provides a stunning, sunset-ready conclusion to another superb set of Summer Selections.
1982's 'Heart And Soul' is a masterpiece of '80s soul funk with a pop edge that will excite fans of Chaka Khan, Sade, Luther Vandross, The Temptations or Marvin Gaye with well-crafted memorable songs that show a great production and lush arrangements that reveal many quirky only with further spins on the turntable. A holy grail for collectors finally made available again.
Originally released on the Ovide label from Houston, Texas in 1970 and currently going for around £175, if you can find a copy.
‘Get Your Point Over’ is a brass-led funky dancer that beautifully compliments Sebastian Williams’ soulful vocal style, while the flipside, ‘I Don't Care What Mama Said (Baby I Need You)’, is a slower
groove that lets that vocal really soar, arriving complete with a groovy psychedelic guitar break before Williams testifies to his lady amid some punchy brass stabs.
Two stellar tunes from Sebastian Williams (aka Roger Williams of no-hit wonders The Quarter Notes), whose solo recording career amounted to just three 45s, all five years apart, along with a couple of releases as Sebastian And The House Rockers and finally, in 1975, just Sebastian.
Imagine vintage Tavares lead singer Chubby Tavares at his gritty best with a funky brass section in a soulful Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes styled blast.
Both tracks mastered from the original sound source for maximum soul sound.
When his mother brought Stanley Turrentine’s Salt Song LP back from a trip to Canada, Julien Lourau, then a teenager, was impressed by the scope of the sound and the groove of the saxophone. He was also charmed by the lush arrangements and funky sound of the record, typical of releases on the CTI label. Created by producer Creed Taylor, CTI left an imprint in the minds of 70s jazz fans much like Blue Note did in the 60s, and it even ended up releasing work by artists who started out on this mythical label such as Stanley Turrentine and Freddie Hubbard. The two even shared the same sound engineer, the great Rudy van Gelder.
Yet CTI, though highly prolific during its 15 years of activity, has not benefitted from the same aura as its predecessor. “To breathe life into this album, I listened to a wealth of CTI releases and discovered some I had never heard before. I noticed, oddly, that many of today’s musicians know very little about CTI - a label unfairly considered as minor.”
The choice of tracks was determined by Julien’s personal tastes, always keeping in mind a desire to help people discover them yet focusing on the joy of actually playing them too.
"The album is made up of 9 pieces. Mathieu Débordes got everything down to the nearest note before we even attempted to play them. CTI didn’t hold back in fuelling their compositions with brass and violins, but I erased this aspect and pared things down to a bass, drums and two keyboards."
English drummer Jim Hart, someone Julien worked with during his London years, propels the group - from hard-bop polyrhythms with “drum & bass” inflections to a reworking of classic Red Clay.
Sylvain Daniel on the bass and Arnaud Roulin on the analogue keys are two musicians close to the saxophonist, and that he met when they were students in 1999 while organising a master class at the Conservatoire de Nantes. Since then, they have become his esteemed companions.
The collaboration with young pianist Léo Jassef began on this recording, where he also plays the Prophet 5. The dynamic and overlap of the many keyboards played by Arnaud and Léo bring the record a richness of timbre and harmony that the strings and brass provided on the CTI recordings.
For the final track on the record, Julien called upon his friend of 30 years, guitarist Bojan Z, for a fresh, Gospel take on Love and Peace, a track recorded by Quincy Jones in 1969, which here, is dedicated to Bojan’s recently departed brother.
“When it comes down to it, this album really is as I had imagined it, with, luckily, a few unexpected turns. I created a playlist I then claimed as my own. But in the end, I must admit that I would have loved to have composed some of these tracks.”
Fresh one on Music With Soul - a channel for hot 7"s that always fly out here. TIP!
"Two and a half frenetic minutes that sound like Aphex Twin and The Incredible Bongo Band dancing Capoeira in the early hours of an illegal rave, somewhere in the deep amazon forest. After the success of his first solo 45, Alex Figueira comes back to the aesthetics of the early Fumaça Preta, with an utterly bonkers 45 that can only be described as an “in-your-face acid macumba techno breakbeat funk freakout”.
The flip side contains a haunting Psychedelic ballad, with the sweet vocals of Maddie Ruthless, from NY’s leading Lovers Reggae sensation, The Far East. Equally trippy and beautiful, the soothing sounds of the Wurlitzer piano and the electric sitar will be bouncing in your head for hours after first listen. The kind of song that finds collectors dropping eye-popping sums, decades after the original release. Guarantee your retirement now by getting a few copies! The song “Maracas” is the main theme of the movie “Maracas, tambourines and other hellish things” directed by fellow record nerds Matteo Fava and Dave Potsma. They managed to convince Figueira to play the main character, and later on, to do the complete music score. The movie tells the story of a struggling underground musician / part time record store clerk, whose music career is basically going nowhere until an improbable encounter gives his life a dramatic turn. They asked Figueira to give them something with “a fresh tropicalized take on Blacksploitation”. One might argue, after listening to the insanity carved on the grooves of this piece of vinyl, that he certainly did deliver.
The characteristic mix of synthesizers and heavy percussion used by Figueira in almost all his projects, gains here a somewhat freer dimension, embracing the chaos openly, without ever neglecting the groove, nor the ancestry axis. Values that are at the core of the label. Even while laying down all the instruments himself, Figueira has managed to capture the same out of control tropical psychedelic spirit of his former band, Fumaça Preta. Fans of the group’s outfit will certainly be rejoiced by this new release.
The flip carries “Grasping & Wishing”, an evocative Psych ballad that retains the same tripped-out flair of the A side, while slowing down the tempo considerably with a decidedly african 6/8 beat. Sung by New Orleans’ own “Rocksteady Queen”, Maddie Ruthless, stepping out of her classic Reggae background, to grace the track with her beautiful voice, permeating the issues of belonging, doubt and introspective reflection portrayed in the lyrics, with a thin layer of exquisite fragility that will comfort your ears.
The production includes a significant number of sound effects, ranging from different types of percussion performed with liquids to bamboo flutes of different sizes and several layers of multiprocessed electric Sitar tracks. Listen carefully and you will discover new sonic nounces every time you put the record on."
Colkin, who is based in Wuppertal, is one of those guys who pushes things forward in the subcultural field and follows words with deeds. Together with Nico aka dont-call-him-molly and his other partners, he has been running the mauke_club in Wuppertal for several years. An ultimate melting point for dance culture, scene connoisseurs - as well as newcomers who want to be smoothly introduced into the things we love. Not to forget his considerable discography.
Besides the fact that he is a fine guy and we have been in exchange with him for a long time, we appreciate his taste in music very much. This seems to be mutual, as the ep he recorded fits us like a glove. Three what we find to be great, timeless house productions that forget the Covid circumstances for a brief moment and bring the dance floor to life with your eyes closed. These tracks will accompany us until the clubs reopen, That's for sure!
We are also pleased that Javonntte and melchiorsultana have been musical influences on these productions, which were recorded in Paris during Colkin's stay there. This obviously had a considerable influence on the naming. Whether in Paris, Wuppertal or Düsseldorf - we are actually looking forward to our fifth release with Colkin!
Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had already led nine dates for Blue Note Records by the time he arrived at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on February 7, 1960 with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, but on that day the quartet laid down what would become his masterpiece: Soul Station.
The crystalline six-song set was a showcase for Mobley’s lyrical flow from the breezy opening take on Irving Berlin’s “Remember” through bluesy originals like “Dig Dis” and the title track, and the swinging up-tempo numbers “This I Dig of You” and “Split Feelin’s.” Soul Station endures as a jazz classic for the ages..
This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Must have rare groove classic from Hawaii.
Original tracklisting includes full version of “Powerslide”.
Meticulously restored and remastered by Jessica Thompson.
First official reissue outside of Japan.
Highly coveted Hawaiian jazz/soul album. The debut album from Mackey Feary’s solo band after departing seminal contemporary Hawaiian group, Kalapana.
This LP reads like a who’s who in the local 70s music scene: Nohelani Cypriano (of “Lihue” cult fame), Azure McCall (of Lemuria), Jimmy Funai (who produced Hal Bradbury’s debut), and Gaylord Holomalia (who now runs the island studio where stars record, incl. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey).
Unlike other reissues, this Aloha Got Soul pressing includes the full version of “Powerslide” in all its 7-minute glory. An all-time classic must-have record from the Hawaiian Islands.
This is incredibly Trees Speak's third album on Soul Jazz Records to be released in the space of one year - and it's amazing! Trees Speak's new album 'PostHuman' once again blends 1970s German electronic and 'motorik' Krautrock instrumentals (think Harmonia, Can, Cluster, Popul Vuh, Neu!), haunting and powerful 1960s & 1970s soundtracks (think Italian prog-rock Goblin and John Carpenter horror movies, Morricone and existential John Barry spy movies), together with a New York no wave electronic synth and guitar analogue DIY-ness (think Suicide, anything on Soul Jazz's New York Noise series or Eno's New York No Wave)! Drawing further upon German krautrock high-concept albums from the likes of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze from the 1970s, Trees Speak create their own powerful new landscapes of sound that manage to be at once contemporary as well as both timeless and with a sense of science-fiction futurism. Trees Speak' segue together all these elements into 'PostHuman,' which follows on from their criticallyacclaimed debut LP 'Ohms', and 'Shadow Forms' released on Soul Jazz Records less than six months ago. This powerful new album is a high-concept collage of retro-futurist science-fiction music, fantastically illustrated by the artist Eric Lee, a dramatic vision of life after humanity. Trees Speak are Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz from Tucson, Arizona and their music often draws on the cosmic night-time magic of Arizona's natural desert landscapes. 'Trees Speak' relates to the idea of future technologies storing information and data in trees and plants - using them as hard drives - and the idea that Trees communicate collectively. The album includes an exclusive bonus 45 single 'Machine Vision' and 'Seventh Mirror' that will only be available with the first order of the vinyl edition of this amazing and ground-breaking new album. With 'PostHuman,' Trees Speak once again manages to take the listener deep into their unique musical world of unknown visions of the past and the future.
"Just Valance being Valance, I'm no underground glitch legend or pioneer as I never cared for a title, just an individual who puts sounds together and embraces the outcome whether it's light or dark. Capturing emotions from complex patterns. I don't betray myself. Not for status. Not for power. Not for money. Not to fit into a stereotype. Not to look a certain way. Not for approval as patience and sacrifice is required to build anything.
Some aspects of the world are getting uglier every day and every ray of hope is vital to tilt the balance."
- Valance Drakes
Mara TK, a golden voiced, Maori-Scottish world-wandering citizen of Aotearoa (New Zealand) announces his debut solo album 'Bad Meditation', released 7th May on Extra Soul Perception. Stepping out on his own, Mara TK is the former frontman of the acclaimed Kiwi future soul trio Electric Wire Hustle. Written and produced by Mara himself, 'Bad Meditation' is his 13 track opus, a deeply personal account of heritage, love, loss and healing.
An alumnus of Red Music Academy in Toronto, Mara TK's work beyond Electric Wire Hustle has seen him collaborate with critically lauded names including Om'Mas Keith of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Detroit producer and J Dilla collaborator Waajeed, and Steve Spacek.
Extra Soul Perception is a collaboration and community music platform that started life between the UK, Kenya and Uganda but is now continuing to grow and connect independent musicians worldwide. Now with Mara TK added to the roster, Extra Soul Perception has released music by Lex Amor, K15, Maxwell Owin, Lynda Dawn, Hibotep, Karun, Labdi, Faizal Mostrixx and more.
*Nb: The solo version of 'Met At The River' is a digital exclusive only.
