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We're glad to be back with our latest reissue, a couple undercover soul gems from the Midwest originally self-released in 1984: LaVerne Washington's "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For".

LaVerne has dedicated her life to the arts in every possible way. As an artist herself but also behind the scenes, helping and supporting her contemporaries fulfil their callings. Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams - LaVerne grew up in Kansas City listening to the all time jazz greats, and soon discovered she was blessed with a keen sense for playing music by ear, playing the piano to what she would hear on the radio. In her teens whilst the 60s transitioned to the 70s' disco and funk era, LaVerne was there to witness it all, and she would go on to study music at the Charlie Parker Academy where she was inspired to become an entertainer.

At Langston University, LaVerne kept studying music where her career blossomed, founding and touring the US with the gospel group "Emery Shaw and the Voices of Praise", singing in several college bands and with her choir "The Voices Of Bethel". LaVerne would go on to perform notably with her bands "LaVerne Washington and Rococo" and the "LaVerne Washington Quartet", and record several songs in KC including "The Promise" and "I Found What I've Been Searching For" in 1984 before moving to Washington DC.

In DC, LaVerne was offered a position as a Program specialist with the National Endowment For The Arts where she started supporting other artists through her work. Over the next couple decades, LaVerne became an associate producer for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the Pioneer Awards Ceremonies held in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, which saw the likes of Prince, Aretha Franklin and Jerry Butler attending among others. She has also managed and was mentored by DeeDee Sharp and consulted with artists including Bonnie Raitt (who acted as a mentor to Laverne as well), Kim Weston, Kathy Sledge (SisterSledge), Smokey Robinson and G.C Cameron (Spinners). During that time, LaVerne has kept singing, on her own and as a backing vocalist for DeeDee Sharp and Freda Payne and has never stopped her lifelong dedication to music and the Arts.

The Promise original 7" was LaVerne's last recording in Kansas City before her move to DC and the beginning of her involvement behind the scenes. Channelling her gospel roots - with impeccable arrangement, a contagious drum machine led rhythm section, soaring vocals and relatable lyrics, "The Promise" is guaranteed to bring back smiles to dancefloors and living rooms alike! "I Found What I've Been Searching For" on the flip is a beautiful soul ballad which really showcases the strength and emotion in LaVerne's voice.

Back again in it's original 7" format, we've had the audio transferred and restored from the original 24 track tape provided by LaVerne, and got the recordings re-mixed for the best possible sound! Floating Points behind the mixing desk for this new iteration of a lost classic, comes with a 14"x14" poster of the original picture

"Auf dem schwarzen Kanal" ist eine der herausstechendsten und gesuchtesten Veröffentlichungen in Conrad Schnitzlers umfangreichem Katalog. 1980 als einzige von Schnitzlers Platten bei einem Majorlabel veröffentlicht, war diese Maxi und insbesondere das Titelstück ein Flirt mit dem zeitgleich aufkommenden experimentellen New Wave und klang dennoch so eigenwillig wie keine andere Musik zu jener Zeit. Die zusammen mit Wolfgang Seidel entstandenen und in Peter Baumanns Berliner Paragon Studio aufgenommen vier Tracks sind ein bissiger, dissonante Mutant Disco Trip, der bis heute nichts von seiner Faszination eingebüßt hat. Bureau B freut sich dieses lange vergriffene Werk endlich wieder verfügbar zu machen!

SNK, Brave Wave Productions and Limited Run Games are proud to reveal their fifth collaboration, Generation Series 012: Fatal Fury for both CD and vinyl. Known as Garou Densetsu (餓狼伝説) in Japan and originally released for NEOGEO in 1991, Fatal Fury is one of SNK’s earliest, but also most popular 2D fighting games. The soundtrack, composed by TARKUN (Toshikazu Tanaka), features catchy and exciting tunes for each character in the iconic SNK fighters lineup.

This release marks the first time the soundtrack of Fatal Fury will be made available on vinyl. As with all Generation Series and other Brave Wave releases, this release will be remastered specially for vinyl, CD and digital (via a free download code included with the vinyl edition) and restored to the highest possible quality. The rest of the package will include our usual offerings, including high-resolution artwork and liner notes contained in a full-color booklet.

As a special bonus, Side B of the vinyl (the final track on the CD) will contain the track The Hero Raiden -ROF Arrange ver.-, which was originally featured in the 2015 mobile title The Rhythm of Fighters. The bonus track, an arrangement of the original song from Fatal Fury, was composed by TARKUN.

we are very happy to announce this killer remix package. our dear friend superpitcher(aka pachanga boys) made three versions of remix.

studio mule’s original version which is produced by kuniyuki takahashi and sung by miyako koda (aka dip in the pool) is a cover version of japanese 80’s dance classic by taeko onuki.

superpitcher’s main mix is just for your peaktime set. it’s much more groovy and dance floor friendly than original version. it might be this summer anthem(if the party will be restarted…).

dub mix is more stripped down version and for more disco oriented dj. we love this version so much since superpitcher have been playing at his dj set.

ambient mix sounds like a japanese kankyo ongaku,it’s simply beautiful meditative music. beautiful cover design is by lily fei in new york, she is our new favorite illustrator.

Als Re-Release lässt Conrad Schnitzlers legendäres "Con" eine Ära wiederauferstehen. Conrad Schnitzler steht heute nicht nur für seine bahnbrechende Musik, sondern eigentlich für eine ganze Ära - er verkörpert einen gewissen Künstlertypus, wie ihn so nur die legendären 1970er Jahre hervorbringen konnten. Als in einer nie dagewesenen Abriss- und Aufbruchsstimmung eine junge Kunstszene allem Alten und Überkommenen - und in ihren Augen politisch korrumpierten - eine kategorische Absage erteilte, den Kunstbegriff generell in Frage stellte und die Forderung einlöste, dass Kunst und Politik immer zusammengehören. In diesem Klima entstand die Idee der Konzeptkunst, die Auffassung, dass das eigentliche Kunstwerk der immaterielle Gedanke ist, der ihm zugrunde liegt und nicht seine Ausführung. Eine Idee, die antikommerziell weitergedacht wurde, denn nun durfte, ja sollte, Kunst beliebig oft vervielfältigt werden, billig sein und war für alle. Zugleich darf Kunst fast alles und fast alles kann Kunst sein. Conrad Schnitzler ist Konzeptkünstler und verkörpert seine Zeit, wie kaum ein anderer - sein Lebenslauf liest sich wie ein Manifest der Unabhängigkeit, seine Musik ist radikal neu, mutig und zuweilen regelrecht antikommerziell. Der legendäre von ihm gegründete Zodiac Club war der vielleicht wichtigste Schmelztiegel und Motor der subversiven Kunst- und Musikszene Westberlins. Als einer ihrer Helden und Gallionsfiguren, nahm Conrad Schnitzler im Paragon Studio das 1978 veröffentlichte "Con" auf, eines der raren Kleinode, dieser Epoche und seiner Karriere. Stärker als in anderen Arbeiten ist der Einfluss von Tangerine Dream zu hören (deren Mitglied Schnitzler von 1969 bis 1971 war) und als professionelle Studio-Arbeit ist "Con" nicht zu sperrig und artifiziell, sondern setzt stattdessen auf klarere Songstrukturen und musikalische Eingängigkeit. Zu Recht gilt "Con" manch einem als Schnitzlers beste Arbeit. Fast 40 Jahre später erscheint das Werk nun als Re-Release auf CD, LP und digital.

• Busi Mhlongo’s chart-topping, award-winning 1999 album
• Heavyweight 180g vinyl with remastered audio, inner sleeve with photographs and new notes by Kwanele Sosibo

Urban Zulu changed South Africa’s music forever, rewiring Zulu migrant roots music for the 21st Century. Busi Mhlongo’s powerful voice and challenging lyrics soar over driving bass lines and glittering guitars of an all-star South African maskanda line-up, backed by a multi-national cast including Lokua Kanza, Brice Wassy, Jacques Djeyim and Will Mowatt.

With this album Busi Mhlongo subverted and then claimed Maskanda music’s previously patriarchal space, voicing a new social blues narrative. Her songs cut to the essence of simple joys, unrequited love, abuse in the name of love, and month-end money blues.

Topping charts in Europe and South Africa, Urban Zulu struck critical and commercial success.

Yehlisan'umoya Ma-Afrika “creates a sensation of being inevitable because the riffs are so organic, it feels like it would be a crime against nature if they fell together any other way” (AllMusic).

'We Baba Omncane' became the sound track for a global Adidas campaign, while a later re-mix became a smash hit for Black Coffee.

Neil Young has said this album is “the unheard bridge between Harvest and Comes a Time”, which perfectly describes the warm, semi-acoustic feel of these twelve songs. Originally intended to be released in 1975, the album has remained unreleased since then, and has a legendary status among Neil’s fans.

Seven of the songs are previously unreleased on any album, and different versions of the other five songs would appear on later Neil Young albums. Neil plays guitar, piano and harmonica on the album, and is accompanied by a stellar group of musicians including Levon Helm, Ben Keith, Karl T Himmel, Tim Drummond, Emmylou Harris and Robbie Robertson.

Gigs vor 60.000 Menschen, 2,5 Millionen verkaufte Singles, vier Mal für die 1LIVE Krone nominiert, drei Mal für den Echo, 2017 den Echo in der Kategorie Dance National gewonnen, dreimal am Stück die Pole-Position der Airplaycharts: Die Karriere des international erfolgreichen DJs Alle Farben hat ihren Zenit noch längst nicht erreicht. Doch wie legt man einen solchen Senkrechtstart hin und schafft es, dass die Flamme immer weiter brennt?

Alle Farben ist ein Künstler, der vielleicht in Farben denkt. Ganz sicher aber nicht in Grenzen. Verschiedene Genres, Live-Musiker, Sänger, Orte: es gibt nichts, dass er sich nicht vorstellen kann. Er hat Shows im Dschungel von Thailand gespielt oder im Flugzeug über den Wolken. Ebenso legendär sind seine 6 Stunden Sessions. Der Name ist ein Versprechen: 8000 Menschen tanzen, während Alle Farben sechs Stunden ohne Unterbrechung auflegt. Unterstützung bekommt er von verschiedenen Künstlern, die er sich stündlich auf die Bühne holt: ob Sänger, klassisch ausgebildete Musiker oder unerwartete Instrumente Alle Farben liebt es, sein Publikum zu überraschen. Alles kann, nichts muss, aber eines wird es sicher nie: langweilig.

Überraschen wird Alle Farben auch mit seinem dritten Studioalbum. Sticker On My Suitcase zeigt einen großen, und inzwischen auch wichtigen Aspekt in seinem Leben: das Reisen. In den letzten Jahren immer on tour hat er gelernt, dass nicht immer das Ziel das Ziel ist. Und Reisen mehr als nur Fortbewegung. Unterwegs zu sein, ist genauso mein Leben, wie irgendwo anzukommen. Das Video seiner neuesten Single Fading drehten Alle Farben und sein Team in einer aufwendigen Produktion in Los Angeles. Wieder ein Sticker mehr auf dem Koffer, wieder eine Reise, die zeigt: Das Ziel ist die Reise selbst auf der Route Richtung Erfolg.

Mameen 3 are soFa and Cheb Runner from Brussels. Both versatile players in the rather niche scene of oriental electronic music in the European capital, they only ran into each other at the Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda two years ago. They clicked and after a first jam session they immediately launched Mameen 3.

Cheb Runner is the young Moroccan producer previously known as Gan Gah, now focussing on giving a modern outfit to various MENA music traditions. soFa is a true digger between all crates (his Pingipung Podcast is a gem!), as well as the curator behind the highly recommended Elsewhere vinyl compilations, released on labels such as Emotional Response or Music For Dreams. Following the Mameen 3 debut singles on Bongo Joe with excellent spaced out reggae- disco hybrids, Pingipung proudly unearths the Collapse EP featuring two collabs with legendary musicians.

A side: "Impostrazione" is a collaboration with Claudia Radulescu and Walter Hus. Radulescu is a Romanian visual artist who has written the lyrics for the song, boldly interpreted by the legendary Walter Hus on the occasion of her exhibition 'Hit' in Kanal - Centre Pompidou Brussels in 2019. Hus gained international reputation as a pianist in the 1980s and works as an avantgarde composer today, among many projects he created an opera for the graphic novel “Lint” by Chris Ware. Walter Hus performs an effusive vocal style accompanied by his modified Decap organ which became his trademark sound in the past decade. This jam delivered the material which Mameen 3 subsequently transformed into a hypnotic oriental slow-mo banger.

B side: "Wireless C" features another music veteran, Rodion GA, who describes himself as „Romania’s first one man band". He produced a remarkable electro-prog output in the 1970s and 80s. “Rodion GA sounds like he learned about music from hearing someone describe it in their second language, drunk. It sounds like nothing else: wrong in all the right ways,“ says The Guardian about his music. His collab with Mameen 3 turns out as a balearic, space reggae trip, with dreamy vocals by Rodion and solid bass, definitely a hymn in this year’s festival season, if only there was one...

The third release from Night Dreamer’s essential “Direct-to-Disc” sessions sees an incredible meeting between legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz and leading UK spiritual jazz ensemble, Maisha, featuring two Bartz classics and three brand new joint songs written by both Bartz & Maisha in close collaboration. Having cut his teeth playing with the likes of Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Art Blakey and finally in 1970, Miles Davis at the peak of his electric period, Gary Bartz became a leading figure of the early-to-mid 70s spiritual jazz movement, releasing a string of ground-breaking albums on legendary NYC jazz label Prestige Records with his NTU Troop, featuring classics such as “Celestial Blues”, “Uhuru Dance” and “I’ve Known Rivers”, before collaborating on Blue Note Records with the Mizell Brothers on the anthemic jazz funk of “Music Is My Sanctuary”. An oeuvre much loved by soul jazzers and hip hop fans alike. Led by drummer Jake Long, Maisha have been central to the UK’s jazz explosion, and have fast become the UK’s most exciting and in-demand young spiritual jazz ensemble, from steller shows at Jazz re:freshed, Total Refreshment Centre & Church of Sound and supporting the Sun Ra Arkestra, to releasing their critically acclaimed debut LP, “There Is A Place” on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings in 2018. Theirs is an organic & explosive sound that blends influences from afrobeat and broken beat to Persian music, with a deep love and understanding of jazz, particularly the heritage of spiritual jazz led by titans such as Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and of course, Gary Bartz. Which makes this collaboration even more special. Bartz was first invited to share a stage with Maisha by Gilles Peterson to headline the inaugural We Out Here festival. Their chemistry was rich and instantaneous, certainly a two-way street, with the young musicians reinvigorating the legend’s performance and wowing the intergenerational festival audience. A European tour followed, including a London Jazz Festival highlight at the Royal Festival Hall, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album “Another Earth”, originally featuring fellow legends, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, and John Coltrane’s own bassist, Reggie Workman. Now the relationship has evolved into a special straight-to-disc recording for Night Dreamer Records, that captures the vitality of their collaboration. Whilst Bartz and Maisha reinvent classic Bartz compositions “Uhuru Sasa” and “Dr Follows Dance”, extending the pieces into long piece improvised grooves, their recording session gave birth to three brand new joint compositions, written the very same day. These include the propulsive “Leta’s Dance” that magically combines the Bartz’ soulful musical lyricism with Maisha’s African-jazz influences, and the organic jazz funk of “Harlem to Haarlem”, featuring a hot solo from guest trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom of Cykada & Levitation Orchestra fame. Like previous Night Dreamer efforts from afrobeat star Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and the beautiful
collaboration between Brazilian stars Seu Jorge & Rogê, the album was recorded in Haarlem’s Artone Studio, a stones throw from Amsterdam, in just one-take, straight-to-disc, avoiding postproduction embellishments and retaining the purity of the performance lost in modern recording techniques. This record really is an event, in and of itself, a meeting of talents, minds, generations and zeitgeist moments, captured in a unique and pure manner. The music does not disappoint, as Maisha have been inspired to reach new heights whilst we find Bartz truly reinvigorated, and both artists in tune to the spirit of the other.

Repress

Leading lights of the neo ambient rhizome alongside Huerco S’ West Mineral label, Experiences Ltd has already amassed a cult following after just one release - ULLA’s ‘Tumbling Towards A Wall’, now returning to relay a sublime, probing debut of crackling, cross-continental communications from mdo, Ultrafog, and Nikolay Kozlov, aka Folder.
Weft from dematerialised ambient tropes spooled between their respective bases in Kansas City, Tokyo, and Samara in Russia, ‘New Path’ slots fuzzily into an expanding prism of contemporary ambient music which echoes the purpose and effect of the original thing via traces of ‘90s/‘00s experimental techno and minimalist rhythms. Their sound effectively recalls K. Leimer’s systems music as much as the Pole’s eerie dub malfunctions; running a lushly frayed and decentralised style that embraces a gently psychedelic sort of chaos and lysergic, hallucinatory vision in an up-to-the-moment way shared by the likes of Huerco. S and uon.
If original ambient was analogous to THC and LSD, and in the ‘90s MDMA, then the effect of Folder’s music, and that of their peers, adds the putative, lushly dissociative effect and non-linearity of Ketamine and psilocybin to that formula. As such ‘New Path’ attempts to follow new routes through your neurons, sparking at new junctures of style and form that better reflect and counter a current psychic state of stasis and anxious anticipation.
Coming from the label behind those cult ‘bblisss’ volumes of 2016-2018, listeners can trust their needs for relaxation and otherworldly curiosity will be sated by ’New Path’, as it courses from iridescent ambient noise in the titular opener, to the laminal diffractions of ‘Plasma’, and soothing textural abstraction of ‘Reset’, shoring up in ‘Node’ as though oceanic ambient currents have individually lead them to this bobbing buoy inthe middle of a noumenal ocean.

Der in Berlin lebende Komponist und Produzent Ben Lukas Boysen meldet sich mit seinem bislang progressivsten Album zurück: Mirage ist ein wahrer Formwandler. Zuvor unter dem Alias Hecq bekannt, handelt es sich bei Mirage um den mit Spannung erwarteten dritten Longplayer, den Boysen unter seinem eigenen Namen veröffentlicht, und Nachfolger zu den Alben Gravity (2013) und Spells (2016). Letzteres bescherte ihm nicht nur sehr viel Kritikerlob, sondern begeisterte auch die Fans und viele seiner Kollegen: Es gab u.a. Remixe von Max Cooper und Tim Hecker, während Jon Hopkins einen Titel von Spells zum Eröffnungstrack seiner Late Night Tales-Compilation machte. Wie schon auf seinen Alben Gravity und Spells, wird Ben im Verlauf von Mirage von mehreren Gästen unterstützt: Mit dabei sind unter anderem die Cellistin und Komponistin Anne Müller sowie der australische Saxofonist/Komponist Daniel Thorne. Beide sind auf dem ersten Vorboten "Medela" zu hören, der die Zuhörer*innen auf eine Reise durch kaleidoskopische Klangräume führt, in denen verschiedene Genres ganz spielerisch ineinander übergehen. Das geht so weit, dass man hinterher kaum noch sagen kann, was man da eigentlich gerade gehört hat: "Ich wollte experimentieren und versuchen, diese Aufnahmen mit 100% künstlichen Elementen zu verbinden. Dabei ging ich oftmals so weit, dass ein Instrument zu einer Abstraktion seiner selbst wurde, dass sich der Beitrag eines Musikers an einem Song eher wie ein zentraler DNA-Strang des Stücks anfühlt, aber nicht mehr wie eine deutlich erkennbare Spur." Insgesamt fühlt sich Mirage, wie im Titel bereits angedeutet, wie eine klangliche Illusion, eine vertonte Luftspiegelung an: Jedes Stück vereint Klänge und Techniken, die dermaßen bearbeitet und verändert wurden, dass sie wie überbelichtet wirken. Das allzu filzig wirkende Klavier von "Clarion" etwa, Daniel Thornes Saxofon auf "Medela", die einzelne Gesangsnote von Lisa Morgenstern, die sich im Verlauf von "Empyrean" in unterschiedliche Akkorde aufspaltet. Man kann diese Elemente durchaus erfassen, kann sie aber auch ohne weiteres übersehen - wie auch die beiden Klaviere von "Kenotaph", die man für ein einziges Instrument halten könnte. Genau genommen sind es zwei Instrumente, die sich in unterschiedlichen Räumen, ja sogar in unterschiedlichen Ländern befanden. Eins ist digital, das andere akustisch.

Coastlines is the self-titled long player from the new Japanese production unit of DJ and producer Masanori Ikeda and solo artist, session musician and Cro-Magnon keyboard player Takumi Kaneko.

Masanori and Takumi have been part of the Japanese dance music scene for years and Coastlines was born out of their working together on soundtracks for video projects. The pair wanted to make laid-back listening music for now, laying Takumi’s playful keys over Masanori’s widescreen balearic jazz-fusion to conjure beautiful and breathtaking “coastlines”.

A couple of two-track 7"s put out in late 2018 and early 2019 on Japanese house music label Flower Records soon sold out. Those four tracks were expanded to a full album of music, “a joyous, relaxing, summery soundtrack for everyone’s after hours wind down” that was released just in time for summer. It soundtracked many a Be With BBQ in 2019.

The album opens in the horizontal with the sophisticated, cocktails-by-the-pool groove of “Sunset Reflection”. A lush, beatless wonder. Their re-imagining of Ralph MacDonald’s “East Dry River” removes all the original’s bells and whistles (quite literally) and re-gears it with a subtle balearic chug. The result is a percussive gem.

“Coastline” is a beach-jazz noodle. “Drifting Ice” is as chilled and glacial as its title would suggest, yet Masanori’s head-nod slo-mo house beats throb not far below the surface. “My Fire” is another soft killer, all swelling, swirling organ over muted kicks and snares. An elegant boom-bap.

A pair of insistent tunes of the deeply balearic variety raise the tempo, but not by too much of course. On “Woods And My Guitar” a half-heard vocal refrain breathes life into the synthetic xylophone and guitar. Deft piano-work turns “Half Moon Shadow” into lounge-house for the sophisticated beach bum. A classy duo.

The self-assured re-work of Azymuth’s “Last Summer In Rio” is arguably the album’s centrepiece. Ten minutes of casually propulsive slapped bass, steel pans and slick 80s soul beats. Cue the steel drum interlude of “Maracas Bay” before album closer “Down Town” transitions us one with a shuffling, string-hinted hit of ethereal, euphoric piano bliss. Gentle disco for the new decade.

As former Test Pressing scribe Dr. Rob observed on his ever-reliable Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, the Coastlines fusion is very much in conversation with their 80s counterparts, both at home and along the coastlines of different continents. So among the nods to revered Japanese artists like Hiroshi Sato, Sakamoto and Casiopea, there are also hints of Marcos Valle and Mtume, of the aforementioned Azymuth. “The production though is very much now, not then. Not retro, just proper”. We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Coastlines was originally a CD release only available in Japan, with HMV putting out a super-limited vinyl version a few months later for Japanese Record Store Day. But this music is just too good, so when Be With was asked via Ken Hidaka to take care of a vinyl version for the rest of the world it wasn’t a tough decision.

Mastered by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman, just 500 copies of this double LP have been pressed by the good people at Record Industry.

Following on from an excellent debut in 2019, with ‘Karoussel’, Mow Records unveils its second album. A further exploration of label head Mowgan’s penchant for house music and authentic African sounds, ‘Soya’ features percussion and vocals from Solo Sanou, an artist whose roots lie in Burkina Faso - though he’s based in Toulouse, where the album was recorded.

Comprised seven Afro house cuts that utilise organic instrumentation and Solo’s raw, emotive voice, the album is the second installment in a series of five long-players recorded by Mowgan in the space of a year. This new LP goes deep into the heart of Africa’s rich musical culture, delivering contagious rhythms, rousing atmospherics and a pure, organic, unadulterated sound that has been cultivated through electrifying jam sessions at Mowgan’s studio. Also featured on ‘Soya’ are Yoan Hernandez and Yaya Dembele who play guitar, Gauthier Djalate on bass, alongside Mamadou ‘Madou’ Dembele, a multi-instrumentalist who plays flute and ngoni, while also handling backing vocals with Adama Coulibaly aka Demsi and teaming up for a duet with Solo on ‘Badenya’. Another vocalist, Fanta, was intrinsic to this LP. The granddaughter of renowned Malian performer Kandia Kouyaté, Fanta appears on ‘Fatanya’ and is a crucial component of the album’s conception…

The story goes that Mowgan was making an album with Fanta when he realised he needed a percussionist. Fanta brought in Solo Sanou, who was very timid to begin with. Mowgan liked his style and decided to work on some music with Solo separately. As the relationship blossomed, and they recorded more music, Solo brought more and more instruments to Mowgan’s studio. During those sessions Mowgan gently encouraged Solo to try using his voice, eventually he did and, when he heard how good it sounded, ended up singing across the whole LP. So, the beauty of this album, beyond the wonderful instrumentation, is the fact that you’re hearing Solo Sanou sing for the very first time.

With all the songs recorded in his native languages, Bobo and Bambara, ‘Soya’ is an exhilarating blend of electronic production and African influences that emanates a feeling of authenticity throughout. From the opening cut ‘Adamine’, which is about Solo’s first meeting with Mowgan, to ‘Badenya’ which refers to family bonds - “There may be quarrels, but it will never catch fire,” Solo says.

There is social commentary, such as that featured on ‘Fantaya’, which is about poverty - “While some people worry about what they will eat at night, others have fun without worrying about them,” he says.

A soul-nourishing, vibrant and utterly contagious collection of raw, authentic Afro house, ‘Soya’ marks another step forward for Mow Records and a triumph for all the artists involved. Look out for further installments…

Voice of the Kano project and former percussionist of Eric Clapton, George Benson and Chaka Khan, Glen White in 1982 wrote and arranged "Be Free", one of the most intriguing and elegant Italian disco / boogie song together with the producer Louis "Gigi" Figini (former member of project "Koxo" alongside the unforgettable Leonardo Re Cecconi). An overlooked gem by the West Indian artist brought back to the musical community!

Snips is the founder of Barbershop Records and co founder of Livin Proof, with over 15 years experience as one of Londons most prolific DJs and over 10 years worth of production credits across Hip Hops underground. 2018 has seen Snips emerge as a budding solo artist, fusing the production styles of Hip Hop, House, Soul and Funk in the same fashion as he is known to do behind the turntables.

With his debut album "The Barbershop" making waves on both sides of the Atlantic and his Single "The Product" On Classic Records garnering support from a cross genre selection of heavyweights such as Karizma, Benji B, Eli Escobar, House Shoes, J Rocc, DJ Spinna and Henry Wu, Snips returns on his own label Barbershop Records and delves into Edit territory for his second instalment of the "Snips Edits" series. This time cleverly turning a handful of Hip Hop classics into club ready anthems over Snips' original productions.