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Many Worlds Interpretation is a collection of cosmic Americana for electronics, guitar, and percussion culled from Jon Iverson’s extensive home-studio archive. 1984, Los Osos, California. In a small cinderblock cottage, hand-painted with bright psychedelic flora, Jon Iverson created vibrant new worlds. He spent long days and nights immersed in sound, perfecting home recording on his 8-track reel-to-reel, combining his love for kosmische and Berlin School electronics with an infatuation with ethnographic sounds and expansive guitar music. In a duo with fellow sonic traveler Thomas Walters, Iverson released missives from the studio on a self-titled LP released on country legend Guthrie Thomas’ Eagle Records. That release featured
three electro-acoustic compositions (“Naningo”, “River Fen”, and “Fox Tales”) as well as a gathering of guitar duo tapestries. Many Worlds Interpretation re-imagines those interplanetary works alongside several unreleased compositions that also feature synthesizer, guitar, and percussion, creating a re-visioned album which leans into Iverson’s electronic studio wizardry.

All songs have been carefully transferred from analog tape to high resolution digital, retaining their vintage studio warmth, but mixed and mastered for modern ears and audio systems. The album is pressed at 45rpm, further enhancing the audiophile experience.

Artist Statement

I worked in a Harley Davidson parts warehouse in the summer of 1976 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal was to save enough money to buy transportation for college and a Teac 4 track 1/4" reel to reel tape machine. By September there was a rusting monkey-vomit green car in the driveway and shiny new Teac with a Sony condenser microphone in the bedroom. At this point I had been playing guitar for a dozen years and like most children of the sixties, dreamed of joining
a band.

Went to college instead to study business.

But all was not lost. 1978-1979 was spent as Weird Al Yankovic's roommate and we recorded and created enough songs to play shows around San Luis Obispo, California, where we were attending college. Many of those recordings have yet to be heard by the public, including the first performances of My Bologna and many other parodies of pop songs of the day. We sent tapes to Dr. Demento, we auditioned for The Gong Show and were barred from playing at the local college after one memorable performance. Wild times.

I, however, was more intent on working on "serious" music, with albums from Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre providing inspiration. DJing at the local college radio station and then public radio outlet provided exposure to an endless stream of obscure albums (Sky Records from Germany was a particular favourite). Most of them would never make it to the air, but my buddies and I would pass them around like exotic treasure.

Fast forward a couple more years and I had picked up a Mini-Moog and eventually a Prophet V synthesizer as well as starting a collection of instruments from around the world. The Teac and synths formed the basis for a growing DIY studio that had taken over a modest-size garage (pictured on the cover) that had been converted into a two room cottage in Los Osos, California.

The Teac was eventually joined by a rented Otari 1/2" 8-track and then finally a vintage MCI JH-100 2" 16-track. The compositions on this album were recorded on these three machines between 1982 and 1989. At some point an Apple II computer with Alpha Syntauri sound card and keyboard were added and then later the first personal computer sampling hardware/software kit, the Decillionix DX-1. The DX-1 forms the rhythm track for “Fox Tales” and the Alpha Syntauri was programmed to create the pulsing synth for “Naningo”. “River Fen” was tracked with both the Alpha Syntauri and the Prophet V.

I knew this music wasn't commercial, but didn't care. It was inspiring working with the first computer-based synths and semi-pro gear. Home studios were still rare in the early 80s until the Tascam Portastudio blew the DIY door wide-open. But I was more interested in sound quality so stuck with reels of tape instead of lower fidelity cassettes.

During the time these songs were recorded, I was also collaborating with my good friend and mandolinist, Tom Walters. “River Fen”, “Naningo” and “Fox Tales”, were solo recordings that also ended up on the first Iverson & Walters album, First Collection. The other four pieces on this new LP were never fully finished or released until now.

— Jon Iverson, September 2022

Founded in 2014, Katalyst Collective has never been one for labels. Rather than strictly a live act, they've acted as an incubator for a fresh crop of local talent, helping hone the voices and talents of individual members, while collectively advancing like a phalanx. Each 'Kat' writes their own solo material, and everyone contributes and works together on each project, feeding off the communal energy. Leading to the group's upping collaboration for Jazz Is Dead, Katalyst has poised themselves as the next breakout stars of Los Angeles' rapidly expanding Jazz universe - a small army of creative firebrands, each burning more brightly together.

Purple Vinyl

Founded in 2014, Katalyst Collective has never been one for labels. Rather than strictly a live act, they've acted as an incubator for a fresh crop of local talent, helping hone the voices and talents of individual members, while collectively advancing like a phalanx. Each 'Kat' writes their own solo material, and everyone contributes and works together on each project, feeding off the communal energy. Leading to the group's upping collaboration for Jazz Is Dead, Katalyst has poised themselves as the next breakout stars of Los Angeles' rapidly expanding Jazz universe - a small army of creative firebrands, each burning more brightly together.

Running Back regular Feater aka Daniel Meuzard puts his newly-transplanted studio through its paces for the first time since relocating from Vienna, swapping out the bustle of the city for the fresh mountain breeze of the West Alps. The Positive People EP proves that a change is as good as a rest, as the wide open nature not only had some rejuvenating effects on the creative process - it also gave Feater some room in his head to ponder questions about nature, nurture, and whether our inner morality is externally programmed.

The taut jazz funk of opening track Coding springs into action like the montage music of a lost ‘70s TV show, while the title track Positive People plays on the ambiguity of its title, with cascading synth notes, tastefully dubby 303 stabs, and an afro-cuban drum figure that forms the foundation for a spaced-out dancefloor workout. It's a combo of tracks that should appeal to chat room moderators and serotonin programmers alike.

Expensive Zeit kicks off sounding like grime maverick XTC had been brought up on Murder Capital electro rather than East London garage - before it morphs into a bumpin electrofunk and percussion session, with its sights set firmly on an aquatic worm hole. The EP rounds out with Decline All Cookies, which breaks out of a flanged-out half-time drum 'n' effects intro to reveal a lush chord progression, flipping a soul jazz piano mood into a trippy slice of modern instrumental funk.


Can man be the master of his own destiny? It seems with this change of location and musical direction, Feater might just have figured out the answer.

Tom Jenkins hails from the high country of the South Wales Valleys, surrounded by the ex-coal mining communities and rugged landscape where he works on a sheep farm. Having previously been signed to Xtra Mile with his rock band Straight Lines (released two albums and toured with Motörhead, The Presidents of the USA and many more) he’s back with his second solo album. Written and recorded during lock down Jenkins worked alongside life-long friend and producer Todd Campbell between an old barn on the farm and Todd’s studio in the local area. The album features guest appearances from Phil Campbell (Motorhead), Marc Ford (The Black Crowes) and Paul Mullen (YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO, The Automatic) , Elijah Ford ( Gary Clark Jnr) and a few others that he has shared the road with over the years. Various singles from the album to be released throughout the year.

"THE BEASTS OF BOURBON were scabby-knuckled, Australian blues-punk motherf*ckers, severely haunted, whiskey-twisted, savage, doomed, old hard-asses, ruined, fat, mean guys in filthy t-shirts... NOT yer local tattoo-shop fonzies singin' 'bout "Sin" and "Hell". These dudes weren't greasy kids, even back then. They were venomous and aching, former members of THE SCIENTISTS and HOODOO GURUS, and the talent pool of this revolving door operation remains astonishing. - Sleazegrinder Magazine Little Animals, the last album in the official canon of the Beasts of Bourbon, was originally released unexpectedly, after 9 years of total silence from the band, in 2007. What could have been a new century renaissance for the group was cut short, however, during the next decade with the death of founding member Spencer B. Jones. Over the Beasts’ decades-long career the Beasts put out six albums and managed to carve their name into the annals of Australian rock’n’roll. Little Animals is a fitting epitaph to a legend, ten tracks of vicious and dirty crash-and-burn rock’n’roll. Svart Records is proud to present an official reissue of this hard-to-find record on vinyl, the original format for rock’n’roll. Wrapped in a gatefold jacket and limited to 500 on black and 500 on red vinyl, this shines in striking hues of blood and gold.Little Animals, the last album in the official canon of the Beasts of Bourbon, was originally released unexpectedly, after 9 years of total silence from the band, in 2007. What could have been a new century renaissance for the group was cut short, however, during the next decade with the death of founding member Spencer B. Jones. Over the Beasts’ decades-long career the Beasts put out six albums and managed to carve their name into the annals of Australian rock’n’roll. Little Animals is a fitting epitaph to a legend, ten tracks of vicious and dirty crash-and-burn rock’n’roll. Svart Records is proud to present an official reissue of this hard-to-find record on vinyl, the original format for rock’n’roll. Wrapped in a gatefold jacket and limited to 500 on black and 500 on red vinyl, this piece of wax shines in striking hues of blood and gold.

"THE BEASTS OF BOURBON were scabby-knuckled, Australian blues-punk motherf*ckers, severely haunted, whiskey-twisted, savage, doomed, old hard-asses, ruined, fat, mean guys in filthy t-shirts... NOT yer local tattoo-shop fonzies singin' 'bout "Sin" and "Hell". These dudes weren't greasy kids, even back then. They were venomous and aching, former members of THE SCIENTISTS and HOODOO GURUS, and the talent pool of this revolving door operation remains astonishing. - Sleazegrinder Magazine Little Animals, the last album in the official canon of the Beasts of Bourbon, was originally released unexpectedly, after 9 years of total silence from the band, in 2007. What could have been a new century renaissance for the group was cut short, however, during the next decade with the death of founding member Spencer B. Jones. Over the Beasts’ decades-long career the Beasts put out six albums and managed to carve their name into the annals of Australian rock’n’roll. Little Animals is a fitting epitaph to a legend, ten tracks of vicious and dirty crash-and-burn rock’n’roll. Svart Records is proud to present an official reissue of this hard-to-find record on vinyl, the original format for rock’n’roll. Wrapped in a gatefold jacket and limited to 500 on black and 500 on red vinyl, this shines in striking hues of blood and gold.Little Animals, the last album in the official canon of the Beasts of Bourbon, was originally released unexpectedly, after 9 years of total silence from the band, in 2007. What could have been a new century renaissance for the group was cut short, however, during the next decade with the death of founding member Spencer B. Jones. Over the Beasts’ decades-long career the Beasts put out six albums and managed to carve their name into the annals of Australian rock’n’roll. Little Animals is a fitting epitaph to a legend, ten tracks of vicious and dirty crash-and-burn rock’n’roll. Svart Records is proud to present an official reissue of this hard-to-find record on vinyl, the original format for rock’n’roll. Wrapped in a gatefold jacket and limited to 500 on black and 500 on red vinyl, this piece of wax shines in striking hues of blood and gold.

Before Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes even had an album on the shelves, they were being played on the radio in Cleveland. That’s how far back the New Jersey band’s relationship goes with the city. As the “Jukes” part of their name would suggest, Southside Johnny and his group were spiritually a band from another time. They had a big sound (and a full horn section, courtesy of The Miami Horns) that conjured a vision of a large band, jammed together on the bandstand. Which was hardly far from the truth on a number of nights. Mixing carefully chosen blues and soul covers with their own originals (and some choice songwriting contributions from Bruce Springsteen), they had a live show that was even more potent than w hat had been laid to tape in the studio. This 1977 performance at the Cleveland Agora was the group’s second outing at the legendary venue in less than a year. Live in Cleveland ‘77, the recorded evidence of that night, presented here for the first time by Cleveland International Records, shows exactly why they would become frequent visitors and really, honorary Clevelanders. Songs like “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” Springsteen’s “The Fever,” “Havin’ a Party” and “Without Love” were already well-loved favorites with the local audience, thanks to frequent airplay on WMMS long before they even had an album. Cleveland got a special bonus round that other cities would have killed for. Ronnie Spector had joined the group in the studio as they recorded that debut and came to Cleveland to share the stage with the Jukes, sharing her soon-to-be-legendary take on Billy Joel’s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” with the Agora crowd. As she did with so many songs, Spector made it her own. Southside Johnny and the Jukes continue to thrill audiences with their live performances worldwide to this day. Now, thanks to the release of Live in Cleveland ‘77, you can be in the audience to hear a bit of the early magic as they were on their way to the top.

Tape

Dur-Dur Band emerged in the 1980s, during a time when Somalia's contribution to the creative culture in the Horn of Africa was visible and abundant. Seeking inspiration outside the impressive array of Somali traditional music that was encouraged at the time, everyone from Michael Jackson and Phil Collins to Bob Marley and Santana were fair game. This recording, which was remastered from a cassette copy source, is a document of Dur-Dur Band after establishing itself as one of the most popular bands in Mogadishu. The challenge of locating a complete long-player from this era is evidenced bythe fidelity of this recording. However, the complex, soulful music penetrates the hiss. In a country that has been disrupted by civil war, heated clan divisions and security concerns, music and the arts has suffered from stagnation in recent years. Incidentally, more than ten years after Volume 5 (1987) was recorded at Radio Mogadishu, the state-run broadcaster was the only station in Somalia to resist the ban on music briefly enacted by Al-Shabab. Dur-Dur Band is a powerful and illustrative lens through which to appreciate the incredible sounds in Somalia before the country's stability took a turn.

"Have you ever had this endless feeling of unconditional love for someone or music, between virtuality and reality, which seems to be eternal for your own heart... " — Nicolas Masseyeff French DJ and producer Nicolas Masseyeff shares his first album in almost a decade on Marc Romboy’s label Systematic. The release brims with lush tones, electronica-flecked rhythms and rich soundscapes, suitable for a club-based audience and home listening. Celebrated visual artist Yann Masseyeff—Nicolas’s brother—is responsible for the artwork of the release.
Raised on the French Riviera, Nicolas Masseyeff started out as a local record dealer before purchasing his own shop, Limelight, establishing it as the most respected vinyl haunt in the South of France. Pursuing music production full-time since the late noughties allowed Nicolas to follow his true path, shaping him into the multi-genre artist he is today. Having released on Herzblut Recordings, Systematic, KD Music, Mobilee and several other esteemed imprints, Nicolas has worked relentlessly to craft a sound that transcends house, electronica, downtempo and afro house. Collaborations with Kittin, Oxia and Parallelle wind throughout his back catalogue, as well as remixes for Frankyeffe, Pig&Dan, Nikola Gala, Hot Since 82 and many more besides.
Endless offers an insight into Nicolas’ spiralling world, detailing the artist’s lithe production skills and consideration when collaborating with other talents, like the interdisciplinary singer Kittin. The collection sums up where Nicolas is at now in his career—a storied producer who continues to evolve, sharing an aesthetic rich in melody while retaining a dance-driven flavour. It’s the kind of sound that comes with years of practice, patience and perseverance.

Swedish Meatballs Vol 2 - The Psychedelic Hard Rock
Underground 1970-1977
Way-out heavy psych mindblowers with blistering guitars and pounding
drums! Sweden " heaven and hell
Strictly limited edition of 500 copies only. Comes with a striking day- glow
coloured sleeve and a massive 16- page booklet cram packed with photos and
previously untold stories. Subliminal Sounds swings open the portals to the long
lost, ultra-rare, or previously unreleased, music and history of these loud and hairy
underground hard rocking champions. Possessed zit covered Viking teens going
berserk and blasting loud and heavy sounds at youth halls making the stoner kids
go meatball crazy. Mini skirt moose hunters. Mid-70s communal people parks
hedonistic punch- drunk all- night benders. Local biker club bacchanalias with
fierce lesbian bikers make out on stage as the band's rambles on. Heavy metal
greasers in their imported American muscle cars chicken racing with ice bears.
Hard rock glam rockers accompanying XXX live shows and a previously unknown
connection to all mighty Bathory goat. All in a day's work for the Swedish
Meatballs. This is a tasty new release in our series: The Swedish Hard Rock
Underground " A Smorgasbord of Heavy Sounds !

Whilst most of the North swung to the right in the 2019 General UK Election, the North West held onto their hope and long standing heritage of voting for what imagines itself to still be the ‘Left’. It’s 2022 and there are no political choices left, but to rise up and revolt to Stop the Rot. T.S. Warspite channel their message through a unique musical recipe that answers the question no one asked: What if Bad Religion grew up in Manchester in the 2000s? Made up of some long standing and productive members of the local scene, this sounds like friendship and experience, and some refreshing as fuck hardcore. Singer Marco Abbatiello weaves expertly through scenes of pulp reality where everything is fleeting and only some things stick. What’s left is a farcical montage of things that have rushed past you with no real sense of direction. Personally and politically, it’s all the same wretched soup of societal collapse and the rise of the technocracies. Do yourself a favour, and play this through your Tesla microchip whilst throwing a molotov at No.10. Members of Violent Reaction, Payday, Firearm, Arms Race, Rated X. T.S. Warspite is Paul Morgan, Tom Howard, Marco Abbatiello, Tom Pimlott and Miles Livingstone-Todd. Recorded and Mixed by James ‘Atko’ Atkinson at The Stationhouse. Mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios. Art by Chio. Photos by Meline Gharibyan

ZZ Top are readying a new album titled RAW that was recorded in connection with the band’s wildly popular and critically lauded 2019 Netflix documentary That Little Ol’ Band From Texas. The first track set to be released is “Brown Sugar”, one of the earlier recordings in the band’s career. The Grammy-nominated feature from Banger Films and director Sam Dunn includes an interlude that finds the group’s classic line up -- Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and the late Dusty Hill -- gathering for a very intimate session at Gruene Hall, “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas” located in New Braunfels, in the heart of Texas hill country. That performance provided the basis for the RAW album release.

If it's really a post-genre world, why does everything sound the same? The two halves of Tampa rap duo They Hate Change_Dre (he/him) and Vonne (they/them)_first came together in front of the apartment complex where they both lived as teens. Dre had just moved down from Rochester, NY; Vonne was trying to sell him bad weed. It was clear from the start that the two listen to music differently from most people_they're sonic omnivores, obsessive deep-divers, lovers of rare and radical sounds. Starting as kids trawling the internet for tracks, they've been collecting music from around the world and across the decades, amassing a shared sonic knowledge so deep that "encyclopedic" barely begins to cover it _ not just the East Coast hip-hop that Dre grew up on, or the hyperlocal bass-music variants like jook (the Gulf Coast's twerkably raunchy answer to house) and crank (think "Miami bass meets NOLA bounce"), but also drum `n' bass, Chicago footwork, post-punk, prog (they're, like, seriously into prog), grime, krautrock, emo, and basically any genre on the map. Once they graduated to DJs on the Tampa DIY scene _ which includes everything from punk rock house parties to the black "teen nights" that pop up in rec centers and ballrooms _ they figured out how to pull all these disparate sounds together into a cohesive style. More importantly, they figured out how to make it something people will actually move to. When they made the transition to rapping and making beats, they brought that pleasure-seeking approach to sonic experimentation with them. "With this album, Vonne says, "it's really like, okay, you know how you talk about the internet breaking down borders? Here's what that actually sounds like. It's not just a hip-hop record with a couple more weird sounds. You want homegrown DIY? This is a record that was written, produced, and recorded in a 150-squarefoot bedroom from the least cool city you could think of." Finally, New is what a truly post-genre musical landscape is supposed to be: building deep connections that transcend outdated distinctions between them, spilling over with the joy of exploration and possibility, and daring other artists to think broader, go deeper, take bigger risks. Let the rest of them keep playing by the old rules_They Hate Change will keep changing the game.

MUSTA presents an elaborate six track EP project, titled 'Tamburi
Parlanti' which translates to 'Talking Drums' in English. The body of
work marks a turning point in his career to make more than electronic
music, and delves into a plethora of live music and field recordings
recorded for the EP, ranging from polyrhythmic tribal drum-patterns to
Afro-funk bass chords, congas and jazz-keyboard, played by local
musicians as well as himself.

Musta's love for music began during his 11 years spent living in the
Dominican Republic. This encounter of Latin rhythms started the musical
genre contamination that to this day distinguishes his productions. In
this EP, like the rest of his releases, the music is diverse, tribal and
hypnotic. Respectful of the past yet constantly innovative. This love of
the past and future has led him to release edits and originals on staple
labels such as Nervous Records, Samosa Records.

Music aside the EP artwork has significant meaning, the mask shown is
that of the ancient Mamuthone icon of Sardinian folklore which goes back
further than 2000 years, defined as a representation of the collective
soul of Sardinia, the ancient ritual of the Mamuthone creatures is that
of a rhythmic dance where 12 of the creatures dance together,
representing the 12 months of the year. With this theme, Musta aims to
connect the dots of this pastime tradition into the EP, reflecting it
visually as well as through the music itself.

"Tamburi Parlanti EP is a collection of songs that I've made myself
around the world, recording and collaborating with various musicians of
many different nationalities. The music reflects my musical path in
recent years which draws strong inspiration from afro-funk and latin
disco from the 70s and 80s. My intent is to create music that presents a
journey between the hottest Latin sounds, over to more African disco
rhythms.

One of the rarest private pressings from the US, originally released in 1972 by this band from Mansfiel, Ohio. Psychedelic hard rock with a charming, homemade feel. Including the monster psych opus "Song Of A Sinner" plus more cool tracks with great guitar/organ interplay.

*Sourced from the original master tapes

*Hard cardboard sleeve + OBI

*Insert with liner notes by band member Steve Geary and photos

*Digital Download Card

"...one of the original legends of the private and local press scene..."
- Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives)

Repressed !

Early February 2011: Decided to make an album inspired by the Japanese post-war economic miracle. While searching for more information I found an old photo of the Mihama nuclear plant. The fact that this futuristic-looking plant was situated in such a beautiful spot so close to the sea made me curious. Are they safe when it comes to earthquakes and tsunamis? Further reading revealed that many of these plants are situated in earthquake-prone areas, some of them are even located next to shores that had been hit in the past by tsunamis. A photo of Mihama made me narrow down my focus only to Japanese nuclear plants. I wanted to make a soundtrack to some of them, concentrating on the architecture, design and localizations, but also questioning the potential radiation danger (a cooling system being destroyed by a landslide or earthquake, etc). As the head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the plants were so well designed that "such a situation is practically impossible." The album was finished on February 13th. On March 17th I received the following message from a FB friend: "Geir, some time ago you asked people for a photo of a Japanese nuclear powerplant. Is this going to be the sleeve of your new coming album? But more importantly: how did you actually predict the future?"


“N-Plants is a master craftsman's reaffirmation of a fundamental but lapsed tenet of electronic ambient: You set up a conversation between the machines, and then you step out of the way.”

Brian Howe — Pitchfork

Born to a Frafra father and an Akim mother, he grew up in the rainforest of southern Ghana before moving up to the land of the Frafra in the savannah of northern Ghana as a young boy. Growing up in Namoo, his father's village of origin, he was deeply impressed by the glorious moments he experienced during the services at the village's church. All that singing and drumming ensured he was thefirst at church every Sunday, long before the service even started.

His only wish at the time was to be old enough to join the church choir. When he turned thirteen his wish came true and he instantly had hisfirst studio experience, as the choir recorded a series of cassettes on which he performed.

After he hadfinished school he focused on his own career as a Frafra-Gospel artist. In 2007 he released hisfirst album, but it took anotherfive years for him to have his break through as a leading singer. Since the release of his third album in 2012, which contained the original version of "Mam Yinne Wa", he was booked for almost all of the festivals and celebrations in the region and was also invited to almost all of the countless Frafra communities which exist all over Ghana.

In 2013 Max Weissenfeldt visited Bolgatanga, the capital of the Frafra for thefirst time. When he stepped out of the bus at the main market a song by Alogte was playing loudly through some big speakers. He was immediately captured by the music and arranged to meet with Alogte. After a short introduction they both agreed to do some recordings.

Weissenfeldt had some instrumentals with him, so he charged his laptop well, packed his microphone and Alogte drove with him through the savannah into the backcountry of the Frafra land. When they had arrived in Namoo, Max set up his studio and Alogte assembled the Sounds of Joy. The result was "Zota Yinne", which became Oho'sfirst single released on Philophon in 2014. For some reason the song became a hit in Reggae sound system circles and is already a very sought after collectors item.

The same year Weissenfeldt returned to Ghana from Germany with some fellow musicians to play an extended tour through Ghana alongside Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy and Kologo master Guy One (Guy One - #1, released on Philophon in 2018). During that tour he learned a dozen songs by Alogte. Following this, 2016 saw the release of the follow up single "Mam Yinne Wa". In the same way as the locally released version pushed Alogte to the top of Frafra- Gospel singers, this newly produced version made him a global player.

Mam Yinne Wa - God, You Love Me So. It looks like that somebody has heard him!

Inspired by revolutionary efforts against oppressive hegemonies in Detroit, and in Black locales around the world, Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz is a sound score evocative of that resistance. It is also a reminder that although violence and injustice looms, it is not the only story: we are much more than what oppresses us. The album celebrates Black leisure and play; the mundane joys that persist in spite of the depleting realities of the world.

Movement, and the very mobility of the car specifically is integral to Memoirs of Hi Tech Jazz. Timed perfectly to match the duration of a round trip drive from Underground Music Academy in the North End, to Detroit’s island park, Belle Isle - the album is undoubtedly best experienced while driving.

That journey signifies the transition from labor to pleasure: from the neighborhood of the Techno Museum in North End to an outdoor park that has long been a destination for Black Detroiters to cookout, park their boats, play spades, and listen to local music.

Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz embodies the feeling this place engenders—a reprieve from the midwestern work ethic, and a reminder to ground in the pleasures of your body and the land.

Miles Away Records are proud to present our latest release Keep Holding On / You're The Best by Savoir-Flair.

Dallas, Texas in 1982, during the hot summer months Roger Boykin, John Miller and Cassandra Wright were working as session musicians at Precision Audio studios. They were put together to create soundtracks, jingles and idents for US TV commercials and, in what spare studio time the three of them had, would experiment with the studio equipment at their disposal - writing and developing what would become the Savoir-Flair sound.

In these secret, after-hours sessions the three would create a staggeringly good private press 80s modern soul album. A flawless collection of tracks with every one of them hitting hard. It would be released on Roger's own label SoulTex Records with the group touring locally. Alas though, this was to be their only album as Savoir-Flair disbanded a year later. The impact this album had however can still be felt today with the 45 and LP becoming highly sought after amongst modern soul collectors around the world.