Some big names feature on the second volume of ENSOULED's 'Freedom, Innovation, Resonance' series, and they serve up suitably profound sounds. Dutch mainstay Orlando Voorn gets the hairs standing on end with his 'Deeper', a sumptuous blend of soft synths, undulating rhythms and spiritual keys. The Cee ElAssaad remix has still soft edges but a little more upright groove, and then Chicago legend Boo Williams cranks it up further with his loopy, melodically intense 'Loose Cannon'. Lastly, Nawfel's 'Fight Or Flight' is a textural deep house affair with mechanical, rigid rhythms softened by the lush pads. It echoes greats like Omar S and Theo Parrish and closes in style.
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The faultless Is It Balearic? Crew keep summer alive a little longer with a new and blissed out offering from Simon Peter. The title track 'Souvenir ' sets the tone with dreamy electric piano and a Laurel Canyon-style vocal with folky overtones that help evoke hazy sunsets. 'Mystical Delight' drifts deeper into a desert-tinged folk trip, while 'Still Going' adds percussive layers and brings a perfect Balearic balance. On the flip, Peaking Lights rework the title cut into a nostalgic haze, spotlighting the vocals with lullaby warmth. Coyote bring their trademark dub touch to close with a groove that rolls deep into hypnotic territory. This EP feels like a postcard from a distant, golden horizon.
- A1: Java / Augustus Pablo
- A2: Hospital Trolly / I Roy
- A3: King Of Babylon / Junior Byles
- A4: Don’t Go / Horace Andy
- A5: A Little Love / Jimmy London
- A6: Cheater / Dennis Brown
- B1: For The Love Of You / John Holt
- B2: Too Late To Turn Back Now / Alton Ellis
- B3: Be Thankful / Donovan Carless
- B4: Women Of The Ghetto / Hortense Ellis
- B5: Children Of The Ghetto / Senya
- B6: Lonely Soldier / Gregory Isaacs
- C1: Going To Zion / Black Uhuru
- C2: Ordinary Man / Lloyd Parks
- C3: Ordinary Version 3 / Impact All Stars
- C4: Hold Tight / African Brothers
- C5: Created By The Father / Errol Dunkley
- C6: The Race / The Gladiators
- D1: My Guiding Star / The Heptones
- D2: Something On Your Mind / Hubert Lee
- D3: Country Boy / Charley Ace & Dirty Harry
- D4: No Jestering / Carl Malcolm
- D5: Knotty No Jester / Big Youth
- D6: Fatty Bum Bum / Carl Malcolm
Von Augustus Pablos bahnbrechendem „Java” bis zu Carl Malcolms UK-Pop-Crossover-Hit „Fattie Bum Bum” präsentiert Chapter Two einen Klassiker nach dem anderen von einer All-Star-Besetzung der Reggae-Größen der 70er Jahre, darunter Black Uhuru, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Heptones und Big Youth. Wunderschön verpackt mit Innenhüllen mit seltenen Fotos und Liner Notes des Reggae-Historikers David Katz.
- A1: Java - Augustus Pablo
- A2: Hospital Trolly - I Roy
- A3: King Of Babylon - Junior Byles
- A4: Don't Go - Horace Andy
- A5: A Little Love - Jimmy London
- A6: Cheater - Dennis Brown
- B1: For The Love Of You - John Holt
- B2: Too Late To Turn Back Now - Alton Ellis
- B3: Be Thankful - Donovan Carless
- B4: Woman Of The Ghetto - Hortense Ellis
- B5: Children Of The Ghetto - Senya
- B6: Lonely Soldier - Gregory Isaacs
- C1: Going To Zion - Black Uhuru
- C2: Ordinary Man - Lloyd Parks
- C3: Ordinary Version 3 - Impact All Stars
- C4: Hold Tight - African Brothers
- C5: Righteous Man - Keith Poppin
- C6: Created By The Father - Errol Dunkley
- C7: The Race - The Gladiators
- D1: My Guiding Star - The Heptones
- D2: Something On Your Mind - Hubert Lee
- D3: Country Boy - Charley Ace & Dirty Harry
- D4: No Jestering - Carl Malcolm
- D5: Knotty No Jester - Big Youth
- D6: Fattie Bum Bum - Carl Malcolm
Beginnend mit dem fröhlichen Ska von Lord Creators Unabhängigkeitshymne 'Independent Jamaica' zeigt das Chapter One Album den wahren Verlauf der jamaikanischen Musik in den 1960er Jahren mit einer virtuellen Who's Who der Reggae-Musik, darunter Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, Rico, Skatalites, John Holt & Alton Ellis. Wunderschön verpackt mit Innenhüllen mit seltenen Fotos und Liner Notes von Steve Barrow von Blood & Fire.
- A1: Los Mirlos - Sonido Amazonico
- A2: Juaneco Y Su Combo - Linda Nena
- A3: Los Hijos Del Sol - Carinito
- A4: Los Destellos - Patricia
- A5: Los Diablos Rojos - Sacalo Sacalo
- A6: Los Riberenos - Silbando
- B1: Compay Quinto - Diablo
- B2: Los Destellos - Elsa
- B3: Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical - Mala Mujer
- B4: Manzanita Y Su Conjunto - Agua
- B5: Los Destellos - Para Elisa
- B6: Juaneco Y Su Combo - Ya Se Ha Muerto Mi Abuelo
- C1: Los Ilusionistas - Colegiala
- C2: Los Diablos Rojos - El Guapo
- C3: Manzanita Y Su Conjunto - El Hueleguiso
- C4: Juaneco Y Su Combo - Vacilando Con Ayahuasca
- C5: Los Hijos Del Sol - Linda Munequita
- D1: Grupo Celeste - Como Un Ave
- D2: Los Destellos - Constelacion
- D3: Los Wembler's De Iquitos - La Danza Del Petrolero
- D4: Chacalon Y La Nueva Crema - A Trabajar
- D5: Los Shapis - El Aguajal
- D6: Los Mirlos - La Danza De Los Mirlos
The Roots of Chicha, compiled by Barbès Records, was originally released in 2007 and became the first recording to popularize psychedelic cumbia around the world.
From the late 60's through the 80's, Peruvians invented a new popular musical hybrid inspired by music from the Americas. In 1968, Enrique Delgado released his first record on Odeon with his new group, Los Destellos, single-handedly creating Peruvian cumbia. He codified the genre early on by using the electric guitar as the primary melodic instrument, and mixing cumbia rhythms with folkloric huaynos, criollo voicings, Cuban guarachas and guajiras, rock, boogaloo, surf, psychedelia, oriental music, classical music, and bits and pieces from Brazil, France, Chile... All Peruvian cumbia bands for the next thirty years would end up drawing from the exact same sources (Grupo Celeste, Los Mirlos, Juaneco Y Su Combo, Manzanita Y Su Conjunto...).
This new wave of Peruvian cumbia came to be known as chicha. Chicha is originally the name of an alcoholic drink, made of fermented maize, which the Incas were especially fond of. In the past thirty years, however, the word has taken on a pejorative connotation. Peruvian cumbia started being called chicha in the late 70s, around the same time that the music came to be viewed as the expression of the slums – the pueblos jovenes. Little by little, the word became an adjective, and people now talk of chicha culture, chicha press, chicha architecture, even of a chicha president, and none if it – you guessed right – is meant as a compliment. Chicha suggests corruption, shady deals, and cholos – a derogatory term for a person of Andean heritage that, of late, is being reclaimed and worn as a badge of honor by the very cholos it was supposed to demean in the first place.
Introduced by a discrete message online, at the beginning of 2024, SNR007’s opening track Gliadin snuck its way through the web and first tickled my eardrums. It immediately lightened the mood and caused a little living room dance after a boring and grey day.
K’s musical ingredients may be called sparse, or certainly peculiar. All elements have their purpose though, even if they won’t tell you exactly what that is. The resulting experience is rich, enveloping and darkly funny.
- A1: Piano
- A2: Eyes
- A3: 海のにおい - Umi No Nioi
- A4: Little Rascal
- A5: 天使はどこに - Missing Angels
- A6: こんにちは今日 - The Sun’s Song
- B1: 月光 – Moonlight
- B2: Kujira
- B3: 水と風のダンス - Dancing With Water And Wind
- B4: なみだのうみ - The Sea Of Tears
- B5: Birth
- B6: Fine
Towa Mafune is a rare singer-songwriter known for her gentle voice and warmly embracing melodic sensibility. As suggested by the title, means "Sleeping with the sea in my arms",
this record is a conceptual work inspired by Mafune’s upbringing in a seaside town and her lifelong connection with nature.
The album imagines a dialogue between the artist herself and natural elements such as the sea, wind, and light.
Layered arrangements featuring the album’s striking introductory piano, along with strings, horns, acoustic and nylon-string guitars, and rich vocal ensembles, create a liberating and
expansive soundscape. The album also marks new artistic territory for Mafune, supported by trusted musicians including paya (Yūtai Communications), Kota Yamauchi, and
Keitaro Kanamine.
- A1: Orchestral Intro (Feat. Sinfonia Viva)
- A2: Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (Feat. Snoop Dogg And Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
- A3: White Flag (Feat. Bashy, Kano And The National Orchestra For Arabic Music)
- A4: Rhinestone Eyes
- B1: Stylo (Album Version) (Feat. Mos Def And Bobby Womack)
- B2: Superfast Jellyfish (Feat. De La Soul And Gruff Rhys)
- B3: Empire Ants (Feat. Little Dragon)
- B4: Glitter Freeze (Feat. Mark E Smith)
- C1: Some Kind Of Nature (Feat. Lou Reed)
- C2: On Melancholy Hill
- C3: Broken
- C4: Sweepstakes (Feat. Mos Def And Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
- D1: Plastic Beach (Feat. Mick Jones And Paul Simonon)
- D2: To Binge (Feat. Little Dragon)
- D3: Cloud Of Unknowing (Feat. Bobby Womack And Sinfonia Viva)
- D4: Pirate Jet
- A1: Rage
- A2: More Real
- A3: Like No Other
- A4: Driving & Talking At The Same Time
- A5: Aeiou
- A6: Sahara
- B1: Europe
- B2: State-Of-The-Art
- B3: The Finish Line
- B4: Detroit Tonight
- B5: On The Run
- B6: Paceways
- C1: Law & Order
- C2: I Feel Tension
- C3: I Do
- C4: Dancing Out Of Time
- C5: Runaway Child (Minors Beware)
- C6: Detroit Tonight
- C7: Snake Dancing
- D1: Working
- D2: Back To You
- D3: My Baby's Explosive
- D4: Born Yesterday
- D5: Paceways
- D6: Big Sky
- E1: The Dark Side Of Me
- E2: Tachito In The White Meredes Benz
- E3: New Strangers In Town
- E4: Skylife
- E5: The Dancing Girls Of Windsor
- E6: My First Idea
- F1: 3Rd Generation
- F2: The Exterminator
- F3: A Detective Story
- F4: Jerry Leaves The Small Town
- F5: Mona Lisa On My Arm
- F6: The World Is Loud
“The group has no niche, it doesn’t fit in anywhere,” explains Necessaries drummer Jesse Chamberlain in a 1980 Melody Maker interview. “We just state the facts about life in America, like The Clash did about England, but we’re not so heavy about it.” The Necessaries rose from the ashes of Harry Toledo & The Rockets, a little-known New York art-rock band playing gigs at Max’s Kansas City during glam’s metamorphosis into punk. —From the liner notes by Michael IQ Jones The Necessaries came together in 1978 and in the too-brief lifespan of the band counted among their members, Ed Tomney (Rage To Live, Luka Bloom), Jesse Chamberlain (Red Crayola), Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), Arthur Russell (The Flying Hearts), Randy Gun (Love Of Life Orchestra). First championed by John Cale on the strength of Tomney’s songs, Cale produced their first single for Spy Records (under the I.R.S. umbrella) which was released in 1979. With the forward momentum brought about by the single, the band set about tracking demos intended for Warner Bros., but The Necessaries ultimately would sign to Seymour Stein’s Sire Records. These rough demo basic tracks lacked overdubs, mixes and any finishing touches that would have made them viable for commercial release, but due to tour commitments, the band had to put the sessions on hold to hit the road. While on tour, the band was shocked to discover that Sire had issued the unfinished tracks as their debut album Big Sky (issued in 1981). The band had Big Sky withdrawn and replaced with Event Horizon (issued in 1982) which included half the original tracks from Big Sky and continued to record throughout 1982 aiming for a follow-up. It was not to be and their final studio sessions remained unissued until now. Completely Necessary (Anthology 1978–1982) is the first authorized collection of recordings by The Necessaries and includes 37 tracks, 28 of which are previously unissued. Completely Necessary represents the most accurate musical history of the band laid out across three albums. Disc one is the band-approved first album Event Horizon, followed by Pilots Facing North, a disc collecting studio recordings spanning 1978–1981 and disc three finally sees the release of their final sessions, Songs From The Blue Colony. Album notes by Michael IQ Jones trace the history of the band for this compilation produced by The Necessaries’ Ed Tomney and Cheryl Pawelski (Omnivore Recordings). The audio has been restored and mastered by Michael Graves at Osiris Studio, and both the 3-LP and 2-CD sets feature previously unseen photos across the package. Finally, an essential missing piece of the late ’70s/early ’80s New York scene that was just slightly ahead of the college alt-rock soon to come, is finally available to rediscover—this time it’s authorized and absolutely necessary. BUY! HERE’S WHY! • The first authorized and comprehensive anthology by The Necessaries. • Mid-’70s/early ’80s New York rock/punk/art scene band included members: Ed Tomney, Ernier Brooks, Arthur Russell, Jesse Chamberlain, and Randy Gun. • 37 tracks, 28 previously unissued. • Liner notes by Michael IQ Jones, plus unseen photos.
This all French affairs finds the eponymous Politics Of Dancing label head hook up with deep house head Djebali for a quartet of kicking minimal tech sounds. The swirling, circular bass of 'The Moment' soon gets your fists pumping, then 'Question' is a little more loose and wobbly - the fleshy bass and snappy snares contrasting one another nicely. On the flip, 'Ball Lightning' starts off with ascending synth lines and urgency in the grooves that will ensure plenty of locked-in dancers with withering sci-fi motifs adding a little cosmic escapism. The closer 'Whip' is the most fun sound - characterful synths and drums that duck and dive make for fresh house with a relentless groove.
- A1: Design - Premonition
- A2: Vision - Lucifer’s Friend
- A3: Richard Bone - Alien Girl
- A4: John Howard - I Tune Into You
- A5: Ian North - We’re Not Lonely
- A6: Selwin Image - The Unknown
- B1: Harry Kakoulli - I’m On A Rocket
- B2: Rich Wilde - The Lady Wants To Be Alone
- B3: Billy London - Woman
- B4: Alan Burnham - Science Fiction
- B5: The Microbes - Computer
- B6: The Goo-Q - I’m A Computer
- C1: Gerry & The Holograms - Gerry & The Holograms
- C2: The Warlord - The Ultimate Warlord
- C3: Die Marinas - Fred From Jupiter
- C4: Dee Jay Bert & Eagle - I Am Your Master
- C5: Peta Lily & Michael Process - I Am A Time Bomb
- C6: Sole Sister - It’s Not What You Are But How
- D1: Alasdair Riddell - Do You Read Me?
- D2: Karel Fialka - Armband (The Mystery Song)
- D3: John Springate - My Life
- D4: Idncandescent Luminaire - Famous Names
- D5: Disco Volante - No Motion
- D6: Dream Unit - A Drop In The Ocean
2025 REPRESS ON TRANSPARENT GREEN VINYL
Compiled by Philip King “And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.” NICK KENT, NME. All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure. Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms, ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course) these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother of invention. At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records). The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased track You Will See, released April 12th 2025. There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk / underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now. Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP. Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7” and lost until now. The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the main refrain. The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive, robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner. All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?
Challenger was the debut and unique album from the iconic and unique italo disco band Baby's Gang. Altough oficially it had only two singles (Happy Song and Challenger), some other labels found extra tracks to be released as single (America) when Memory Records decided to focus on new releases. Produced by Anfrando Maiola (KOTO), Stefano Cundari and Alessadro Zanni, 'My LIttle Japanese Boy' is one of those tracks so it was worth buying the album. The album did not neither included the original version for Happy Song, but a 'Remix'. Probably someone back in the days should have made this EP including both track...now we have done it. This 12" included the original versions plus two Razor's Edit to make it more DJ Friendly.
Kings Of Leon aus Nashville sind mit ihrer ersten EP seit über zwei Jahrzehnten zurück. Das schlicht „EP #2“ genannte Projekt mit vier Titeln ist die erste unabhängige Veröffentlichung der Band auf ihrem eigenen Label Love Tap Records, und enthält ihre ersten selbst produzierten Aufnahmen. Die Musik erinnert an die Anfänge der Band, profitiert aber davon, dass sie musikalisch und textlich auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer Karriere steht. Erhältlich auf kirschrotem Vinyl.
2026 Repress
The ocean- the infinity, the beauty, the colour, the sound: a truly seductive place. With the sound of ocean waves Smallville's beloved artist Moomin invites us to enter his second full length album A Minor Thought". A selection of wonderful tracks initiate some exciting house music moments at our favorite clubs, improved at Panorama Bar, Robert Johnson and of course the Golden Pudel among many others.. Engaged with a fantastic collection of analogue synths and drum machines, Moomin is always on a hunt of the most delicate samples. After his big first album The Story About You' and a number of beautiful works on his own imprint Closer", he was already back on Smallville's new little baby Fuck Reality' to deliver a 12 for the 2015 summertime. Of course Moomin was also part of the Smallville 10 years Compilation Smallville Ways' and delivered again for Smallville 46. Now he appears with another string of beauty- A Minor Thought. There will be a lovely fullcover artwork package with printed Inlays for the vinyl version by Smallville's one and only Stefan Marx.
- A | Side A
- B | Side B
Another DINTE tape curated by cult WFMU show and blogger Bodega Pop; Gary Sullivan's long-running project rooted in a passion for digging for music in bodegas and cell-phone stores across NYC's boroughs. This edition focuses in on late 1990s and early 00s hip-hop & rnb from across Southeastern Asia.
"While on a work trip to Chicago in the mid-2000s, I was craving a bowl of pho. A bit of sleuthing led me to hop on the red line "L" up to Argyle Street, ground zero of Chicago's Little Saigon. In the 1960s, Chicago restaurateur Jimmy Wong invested in property on Argyle Street with a vision to build the city's new Chinatown, a kind of mall with pagodas, trees, and reflecting pools. In 1971, the Hip Sing Association, a labor/criminal organization, established itself in the area, and along with Wong, they bought up 80% of the buildings on a three-block stretch of the street. Wong reportedly broke both hips in an accident, leaving his dream to wither; in 1979, Charlie Soo of the Asian American Small Business Association brought it back to life.
Soo expanded the area into a vibrant mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian businesses, pushing for renovations, including an Argyle station facelift and the Taste of Argyle festival. At the time I exited the station and crossed the street to get a better look at a shop with a poster for A Vertical Ray of the Sun in the window, the area was home to some 37,000 Vietnamese residents.
Opening the door, I was gobsmacked by a cavernous Southeast Asian media store, bigger than any I'd been to in Dallas, Montreal, New York, or Seattle. I spent some time at the bins, pulling out collections by some of my then-favorite singers — Giao Linh, Khánh Ly, Phương Dung — before approaching the register to ask the young woman behind the counter if the they carried any Vietnamese rap. It was a longshot, I knew, but if such a thing existed on physical media and anyone carried it, it would be this place.
'Have you heard Vietnamese rap?' she replied, her tone of voice and facial expression betraying a comically exaggerated level of distaste. I admitted my ignorance but assured her that I had long cultivated a high threshold for cheesy pop music of all kinds and genuinely tended to like hip hop from around the world.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to an area I had missed. I walked toward a far corner of the store and knelt over a small box on the floor sparsely populated with CDs, VCDs, and cassettes. I pulled out half a dozen Vietnamese hip hop compilations and a strange-looking CD with a cavalcade of odd typefaces in a queasy multitude of colors: THAILAND RAP HIT, it boasted, with 泰國 "燒香" 勁歌金曲 below it. The information on the back provided an address in Kuala Lumpur and the titles in Thai and English translation. The first track included three simplified Chinese characters after the English-language version of the title, "The Chinese Association": 自己人.
WTF was going on here? Walking back to the register, I waved the CD, asking "What's up with this one?" She gave me a look. I placed it on the counter so she could bask in the cover's full glory. She shrugged. "I'm guessing it's Thai rap?" She looked disappointed in me when I said I'd take it.
It turned out to be a Malaysian pressing of half-Chinese Thai hip hop artist Joey Boy's third album, Fun Fun Fun from 1996, and it completely changed my sense what the genre could sound like. The rapper's self-assured, effortless, silly-but-cool rapid-fire delivery weaved in and out of the most bizarre, antic beats I'd ever heard. The six Vietnamese hip hop CDs were a mixed bag, mostly "serious" sounding mimicry of US rapping over predictable production, but the highs were very high. When I got home and listened to it all, I made a point to find as much hip hop from this part of the world as I could.
The tracks collected here provide a limited but potent reflection of the two-decade ascendency
and ultimate world-takeover of hip hop, as it displaced rock and its endless variants for millions of listeners. This not a fair and balanced overview of regional production: I've only included tracks from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nor is this a biggest or most important artists collection; instead, I've tried to recapture the pure visceral thrill of that first time I heard Joey Boy, choosing bangers that sound like nothing else, from nowhere else."
—Gary Sullivan
- 1: Cabin Talk (Album Intro) Feat. Giancarlo Esposito
- 2: Yuhdontstop
- 3: Sunny Storms
- 4: Good Health
- 5: Will Be Feat. Yummy Bingham
- 6: The Package
- 7: A Quick 16 For Mama Feat. Killer Mike
- 8: Just How It Is (Sometimes) Feat. Jay Pharoah And Gareth Donkin
- 9: Cruel Summers Bring Fire Life!! Feat. Yukimi From Little Dragon
- 10: Day In The Sun (Gettin’ Wit U) Feat. Q-Tip & Yummy Bingham
- 11: Run It Back!! Feat. Nas
- 12: Different World Feat. Gina Loring
- 13: Patty Cake
- 14: The Silent Life Of A Truth
- 15: En Eff Feat. Black Thought
- 16: Believe (In Him) Feat. Lady Stout And K. Butler & The Collective
- 17: Yours Feat. Common And Slick Rick
- 18: Palm Of His Hands Feat. Bilal
- 19: Cabin In The Sky
- 20: Don’t Push Me
Black Version[13,32 €]
For the first time on Little Beat More, Sweden’s Cumbiasound deliver a vibrant 7” that expands their ever-evolving exploration of tropical soundscapes. Led by Daniel Fridell, the band has long been pushing the boundaries of cumbia while keeping its analogue heart beating strong, blending classic Colombian and Peruvian sounds with Afrobeat, reggae, jazz, funk, and beyond.
The A-side Mas Paz (Rework) breathes new life into one of Cumbiasound’s most beloved tracks, originally featured on their album Cosas del Universo. Vocalist Lis Flores Varela brings her unmistakable smoothness, while Chilean rapper Boogie Castillo lays down thoughtful verses with his signature flow in a track that captures the essence of the band: rooted, soulful, and globally connected. And to top it off, this new version has a fresh new vocal feature by Congolese singer José Pereelanga.
On the flip side, Jinsei, is a collaboration with Japanese cumbia band Mumbia y Sus Candelosos, led by composer and percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi. With its breezy guitars, soft tropical groove, and the warm vocals of José Pereelanga, the track drifts like a slow river, effortlessly bridging continents and traditions.
With this 7”, Cumbiasound once again affirms its place among the most interesting projects in today’s nu-cumbia landscape with a vision that crosses borders with ease.
Made with Love by Little Beat More 2025 “We Dance We Think”
Crowns by The Rebel feat. Corey James Gray is out now on 7’’ via Little Beat More!
The Rebel, aka Tommaso Taroni, producer from Rome and Founder of DJ’s Choice label, delivers a raw, soulful track that opens the door to his debut album. Crowns features the sharp lyrics and smooth, magnetic delivery by Corey James Gray (FKA Ill Spookin), riding over a sturdy groove with crisp drums and deep guitar loops.
On Side B a further explosion comes: Clap! Clap! signs a Power Trio remix of the track that flips everything on its head. With thunderous syncopated riddim and wild brass stabs, this version hits like a futuristic brass band from New Orleans: unrelenting, joyful, and rhythmically overpowering. A bold reimagining by one of Italy’s most visionary electronic producers.
Packaged in a stunning disco bag illustrated by El Moro, this 7” is both a record to play and a piece to keep. A snapshot of a fresh project in the pipeline, ready to go!
Burnski's Constant Black continues to be a platform for producers keen to explore a cosmic world of tech house and minimalism. There is certainly a spaced-out vibe to opener 'In The Knoe' from ADR, which is tough and punchy, with tight drums and crystalline lines all making for a funky vibe. 'Freedom' is a little deeper and more balmy for late-night intergalactic travel, then 'I Remember When' pumps the party with loopy bass and psychedelic swirls of colour. Dan Goul steps up on the flip with 'Method', which is a full-fat tech sound with warm synth smears and wiggling motifs that make your ass move, then 'Passing Thoughts' shuts down with a cruising groove and sense of astral adventure.
- B2: Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975)
- D4: Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982)
- A1: Cinzia Peloso – Sciogli Le Catene (1980)
- A2: Linda’s Night – Cucciolona (19??)
- A3: Daniela Guerci – Non Ti Resisto Più (1979)
- A4: La Comune Idea – Cuore Di Serpente (1981)
- B1: Tony Ferri – Stella D’oriente (1979)
- B3: Sara Bongiovanni – Casablanca (1985)
- B4: Solimar – Veliero (1980)
- B5: Coscarella & Polimeno - Station To Station 2025 (2025)
- C1: Cap – Alla Porta Del Tempo (1982)
- C2: Francisca – Non Dico No (1983)
- C3: Hyper Drive Band – Hyper Mix (1985)
- C4: Linnel Jones – We’ll Cry Out (1986)
- D1: Jairo – Night Woman (1985)
- D2: Ilaria Berlato – Vincerò (1985)
- D3: Alex P.i. – Free Love (1985)
- D5: Miro – Tu Non Lo Sai (1984)
Everyone knows the story of American disco.
But few are aware that, between the late 1960s and the late 1980s, Italy wrote a parallel one — spontaneous, surprising, and incredibly creative.
It is a story that spans two distinct seasons: the Italian disco of the 1970s — melodic, handmade, sometimes naïve yet always original — and the emerging Italo Disco of the 1980s, electronic, futuristic, and lightheartedly projected toward the future.
Two different languages, yet both driven by the same desire for freedom and modernity. Discoteca Sound — Italian Discoteca Underground 1975–1986 brings together 18 rare tracks — including two previously unreleased — that tell this story of transition: from the orchestral and sentimental disco of Italian dance halls to the synthetic and visionary sound of the first drum machines.
A journey through private archives, local labels, regional studios, and forgotten voices — the sonic map of a country that has always danced, but to its own rhythm. From Mediterranean disco to the first Italo Disco, from the dim lights of provincial dance halls to the early home synthesizers, each track opens a window onto an Italy that dreamed of the dance floor as a universal language of connection during the brief season of revolutionary utopias.
This compilation celebrates ten years of work by Disco Segreta — a decade dedicated to the research, recovery, and appreciation of Italian disco and electronic culture. An act of justice owed to all those artists who had their moment yet were never remembered by history — bringing back to light an essential, still too little known part of our musical heritage.
Because dancing today remains, more than ever, a living act of memory.
Limited edition 2LP, features 2 previously unreleased tracks and a new 2025 version of Coscarella & Polimeno – Station to Station.
f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased
f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased
f B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]
[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]
[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]
[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]
[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]




















