Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

Originally conceived as a hip-hop scratch/battle record for turntablists, Do or Die is made up of short instrumental beats interlaced with sound effects and vocal snippets. Predominantly constructed from obscure vinyl samples, the record also features an Emu Drumulator, and live performance samples of cello, organ and percussion. Re-contextualized as home listening experience, the album sounds timeless and fresh, a musical journey rich with drama, romanticism, and humour.

Do or Die, was produced over the course of a year (2003-2004), and self-pressed by Milk & Beef as 1,000 vinyl LPs at the end of 2004. This pressing was taken on by short-lived label The Thin Man, and released in 2005 with catalog number TTM001.

Of the 1,000 copies pressed, 100 were distributed directly by Milk & Beef, and we believe a further 150 were sold through The Thin Man. So roughly 750 copies remained in stock, 50 of which were held by the artists, 700 by the label.

In 2009, Milk & Beef were approached by Bladud Flies! with a view to re-releasing Do or Die. The Thin Man were duly contacted to request the return of the 700 copies, but to our horror and disgust, confessed to having 'thrown them in a skip' a couple of years previous. They showed very little remorse, and we were left shocked, upset, and short of 700 records...

Not wishing to dwell on this distressing and acrimonious situation, we decided to go ahead anyway, individually screen-printing a new sleeve design for the 50 copies still in our possession, and releasing them as a now very limited one off edition: Do or Die (Resurrection). Vinyl purchasers will also receive a free download of a digital version re-mastered by The Bricoleur and featuring 2 bonus tracks, Louise and VW.
We suspect there are still copies of The Thin Man release of Do or Die out there somewhere, possibly in the back of a record shop, or maybe in a skip near you. However, it's safe to say that this limited run of 50 editions are all salvaged artefacts to be treasured.

Is this the end of the Milk & Beef story Or will there be 'Life After Death'...

- Milk & Beef

Balearic. Disco. Italo. House. These are the styles that forged Filippo Colonna Romano, aka Modula. The diverse musician has always drawn on a rich musical seam for inspiration. His latest album, Sounds from Montenuovo, calls upon a spread of sounds and styles. From the birdsong of the title piece, the listener finds themselves in the stripped electro-wave of “Party Crime” and “Night Warrior” with Pamina Chauveau offering impassioned vocals. The colder edges of emotions are exposed in the unsheathed funk of “The Anger” before the summer brightness and overarching warmth of “Looking At The Horizon”. Modula island hops from genre to genre, dipping into one sound before diving deep into another style to resurface with audio pearls. Tribal tones and melodic bursts come together in the exotic “Malicumbà”, a track which anticipates the pure synthesizer joy of the instrumental version of “Looking At The Horizon”. A vivid collection of imaginings from Romano’s studio, sounds that arrive via the clear waters of the Caribbean and the cinematic echoes of the 1980s. A voyage from beginning to end.

Paulius Kilbauskas is a highly-respected Lithuanian producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, a former member of “Empti”, a band called one of the most influential and forward thinking bands in Lithuania in the 90s.

In his most recent solo album Paulius has explored the world of Gamelan music by recording the ‘Elements’ together with local musicians in Bali. A product of deep creative explorations, ‘Elements' is the result of Paulius’s extraordinary talent in capturing and manipulating an ambient soundscape.

Be it Overtone, Dublicate, Bango Collective or any other Paulius Kilbauskas venture, it is approached with curiosity, natural feel and sincere fascination with Sound.

Paulius has made his name in the film industry by creating a number of noteworthy film soundtracks. Aubagne film festival 2019 nominated his collaborative work with Vygintas Kisevičius for the film ’Sasha Was Here' for the best film soundtrack award. Kilbauskas was awarded with the Lithuanian film award “Sidabrinė Gervė” award for best original score “The Gambler” (created together with Domas Strupinskas). Furthermore, movie “Redirected", which soundtrack was composed by P. Kilbauskas was acknowledged as the most popular movie in Lithuanian cinema history.

Racah is an on-going collaboration between South England based sound artists RSPTN (f.k.a. Rasputin) and The Bricoleur. Their Summoning / Edge Lands is the 6th entry into the Bladud Flies! Abhorrent Jukebox 7" series. Selected from over four hours of continuous music, these two short tracks are microcosmic distillations of the nighttime recording session as a whole, downbeat, fugue state ambience occasionally boiling over into pulsating blasts of noise.

The claustrophobic Summoning takes some cues from dub with a distant bass line propelled by a slow lurching beat and spluttering space age electronics, while Edge Lands is an even more disparate and dissonant affair. Murky, blown-out tones shift into pink noise as the childlike chimes of a carillon lullaby echo sinisterly in the background.

The 7" lathe comes housed in a beautiful screen-printed sleeve with yellow paper inner. A particularly elegant touch is the BF! logo and catalog number that has been engraved on side A.

RSPTN (formerly Rasputin) is a London based producer and one half of both Racah and Milk & Beef. North/South is his first solo release for Bladud Flies! and the fifth volume of the Abhorrent Jukebox 7' series.

On Planet North, the resonance of temple gongs and dreamy tape-reversed ambience are interspersed with snippets of dialogue before settling into an almost industrial middle section. Blown-out, slowed-down drumkit and an off-kilter guitar loop disperse into what could be a symphony of tambouras propelled by a fantastically heavy hip-hop beat of the Madlib/Dilla variety, of which there are many throughout North/South.

The melancholic tremolo of a minor-key classical guitar phrase opens Planet South, accompanied by beats and the nocturnal noise of a thousand crickets chirping in the background. The track shifts gears abruptly: field recordings and a Puerto Rican jazz double bass line give way to hypnotic, Congolese inspired rhythms.

SABROSA pays tribute to the BEASTIE BOYS with two instro-mental cuts that borrow elements from "Sure Shot" out of their classic album, "Ill Communication".

Sure Pow is a great fuzzy, wah wah guitar Grant Green-on-steroids soundtrack approach to "Pow" from "Check Your Head", while Tangerine Shot is a cover of Suco De Tangerina, an instrumental track out of their "Mix-Up" Lp that takes a twist into Dub territoire…Pure fiyah!

‘Gentle Persuaders’ is the Love Love debut from London based neo-noise-jazz outfit Sly & The Family Drone. In the form of a four track long player, Sly vomit forth a smooth serving of curious and clattering noise not devoid of fun.

With the ingredients of shattering baritone saxophone, splurges of analogue noise, rolling drum derangements and snarling feedback it is immediately clear that these formidable noise-mongers have honed their methods of ear-attack adeptly. Textural spaces are peppered with bouts of densely packed controlled-chaos creating a tension that builds almost imperceptibly until the crushing pay-off that comes with the final track.

The politest of bludgeonings, ‘Gentle Persuaders’ has a real sense of cohesion and style, at times subtle and at others shudderingly direct.

With their unusual and interactive live shows, the group cut their teeth stunning the audiences of punk and noise scenes across the UK and Europe. Now, Sly & The Family Drone present their most complete recording to date; a rush of sheer ataxia ushering in a new age of noise.

Purple Marbled Vinyl

Limited edition in random coloured vinyl and small centerhole. Each one unique mix between grey, red, pink with possible splatters from other colours.

Donut chiefs The Mighty Mocambos return with triumphant funk workout "The Take Off" out on limited edition 45.

On the instrumental A-side, crunchy drums and percussion set off into a 7-minute breakbeat extravaganza where dramatic horns and psychedelic, fuzzed-out guitars build up to an epic finale.

On the flip, Nichola Richards chants soulfully before passing the baton to Brooklyn MC JSwiss, whose spoken word poetry takes the listener to another level, ready for take-off!

Another sure-shotwinner from the Mocambo camp, for all funk DJs and aficionados.

TIGER TIGRE spearheads a musical expedition through a Technicolor jungle—even if it is a bit carsick. His first LP “GRRR?” is a safari-esque, off kilter album, sprinkled with just a smattering of Japanese sensibilities. Let’s label it “easy listening on steroids,” because this album is as if a Henri Rousseau painting was soundtracked by Wu-Tang and Steve Reich.

TIGER TIGRE is the solo project of drummer/percussionist Vincent Taeger. Being a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, author and director, this virtuoso is well known as the drummer of Poni Hoax, while also working with: Air, Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Jeff Mills, Foals, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Oumou Sangaré and Sébastien Tellier.

Moog bogie woogie music from Tim `Love` Lee and Eric LoPresti`s `Against Nature` sonic/visual exhibition in New York, July 20 - 26, 2005.

Tom Furse Digs - Nineteen exotic musical gems from the Southern Music Library.Tom Furse of The Horrors has long been known as a man of taste and distinction, so it comes as no surprise that he should follow in the steps of such musical adventurers as Luke Vibert and Barry 7 to create a collection of library music that is both esoteric and charming.
All tracks were picked from the Southern Library Of Recorded Music, a little known music library with a breezy and surreal sound. Like a Rousseau painting there is that sense of the exotic but also something 'other'. That's not to say it's not the ideal beach soundtrack for a person of discerning taste, but it could just as easily be the haunting backdrop to an opiated evening or deep reverie. The tracks were recorded between 1968 And 1979 and feature some of the library greats like Nino Nardini, Roger Roger and Johnny Hawksworth but also more obscure composers such as Anthony Mawer and Harihar Rao. Although the songs were recorded at different times, in different places, there is an unmistakable feeling that sets them apart from other library music. This is the also first time many of the tracks have been made widely available and great care was taken to find the best available recordings. But why not let Tom have the last word and tell us what he digs and why.
'Oh the curious world of library music, so tempting in the record shop and often so disappointing on the turntable. However there are gems here to be found; shining and unique oddities, the bastard sounds of pop fancy. The Southern Library of Recorded Music, to give it's full name, largely sits away from what has become known as the 'library sound'. Instead of sample-friendly beats and mutated versions of chart hits, there is something here that's all together different. A world of exotica-tinged jazz beat, calling up images of of sandy days and smoky nights in tropical climates. Despite the geographical and cultural differences of the composers featured, there is undeniably 'a sound' here all of it's own. Admittedly this is after a lot of filtering on my part, but such was my task and no stone was left unturned to find the diamonds amongst the rough. 'Digs' is my take on the Southern library, and I hope you enjoy it'.

limited to 300 copies

(feat TEK)

The Pharaohs only managed one release during their short lifetime, 1971's masterful Awakening. But when the San Francisco-based jazz-funk reissue label Luv N Haight reissued Awakening in 1996, they also came out with a brand-new CD of mostly previously unreleased material called In the Basement. Most of this album was recorded live in 1972, after the already enormous 11-piece band had grown to include four more players, including a sixth drummer. The live tracks are fascinating, because where Awakening sounds like an earthier and more Afrocentric version of Earth, Wind & Fire (which several members of the Pharaohs would go on to found in 1973), the much loopier and more jazz-oriented tracks here sound more like Sun Ra jamming with the P-Funk All Stars. The 11-minute take on the Stylistics' "People Make the World Go Round" is absolutely indescribable, a mix of otherworldly horns and psychedelic guitars over a non-stop African-style groove. Other highlights include the all-rhythm "Drum Suite," a hypnotic blend of organic polyrhythms and chanting. – AllMusic.

Laura Mvula’s new album ‘Pink Noise’ is set for release on July 2nd. ‘Pink Noise’ explores a side of Laura previously uncharted. As triumphant as ever, the album is a battle cry and stark reminder of the sheer talent of the critically acclaimed artist. This is Laura in a new found light - still reflecting her distinctive signature sound but showing the progression of an artist who has come into her own.

Contrasting confessional lyricism with compelling and infectious synth pop, ‘Pink Noise’ feels completely and uniquely Laura. Her artistic prowess knows no limits - take the neo-soul meets art pop of ‘Remedy’ for example, or the darker, pulsating ‘Conditional’ that injects bombastic funk into indietronica. She feels rejuvenated too, especially on electro pop stunners ‘Magical’ and ‘Before The Dawn’. This is Laura Mvula at her most ambitious to date, leaving no stone left unturned in this cosmic new realm.

As one of the most exciting musical talents to come out of the UK, Laura has previously won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Album, has been nominated for the Mercury Prize (not once but twice), BBC Sound Poll, the BRITs Critics Choice Award, two BRIT Awards in 2014 (British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act) and won an incredible two MOBO’s in 2013 (Best Female and Best R&B/Soul).

Having caught the attention of her musical hero Prince while performing for the first of two times on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, Laura has gone on to travel the world, selling out shows and captivating crowds at every destination. Crowned “Queen of the Prom” and given a five star review from the Evening Standard for her Proms 2014 Late Night performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Laura’s critically acclaimed career has led her to work with real-life inspirations Nile Rodgers and touring with David Byrne.

* A welcome reissue of The Disciples set `Infinite Density of Dub’.
* A cosmic trip into raw spacey dub territory with heavy rumbling, pulsating bass-lines
* Originally surfacing on the Dubhead label in 1999.
* Mixed and produced by Russ D.
* Limited to 500 copies only.

Representatives of Kyiv’s downtempo wave, Kostya Kottov and Techija, have long been probing the ground for launching their own label. The starting point was their joint promoter POVILNO, under the banner of which they’ve been running events for the past few years. Staking on eclecticism and musical diversity, they’re ready to present the first compilation of the newly minted imprint – a collection of slow-burning tracks inspired by the power of organic elements and psychedelic experimentation from artists around the world, including duo Stevie R and Parisinos, Roe Deers, Dan Bay, Colossio, LEONOR and ID_UA.

The compilation opener “Information Society” sees the massive bass lines of UK label bosses Inside Out, Stevie R and Parisinos, their sense of drama and epicism meet the chilling vocals from 70s videos about information overload. The result is a slow but weighty track for early dancefloors and late night hangouts. “People Know” from label mate, Ukrainian producer ID_UA, is a psychedelic stroll under a palm-crossed sky. A tight groove with tantalising synths and a splash of trippy guitar parts. The mood is picked up by the Mexican Colossio with the exceptional diamond collection “Shofar”, a perfect dancefloor piece where guitar and brass sounds intertwine to leave a mark, a constant intrigue and a mysterious atmosphere that hypnotizes you and keeps you moving.

At the helm of the B-side is Lithuanian nightlife powerhouse Roe Deers with “Monotony Killed Dinosaurs”: soft breaks and a tight beat laden with shifting percussion immerse you in the nighttime jungle. “The Darkside of Orgánica” by Frankfurt-based musician Dan Bay is a fusion of the tranquility of nature and a sense of danceable energy; a track that hangs on to raw and dynamic beats and a winding lead, providing a pulsating, hypnotic immersion. Closing the rotation is Guadalajara-based producer Leonor’s ‘RWandaS Bells’, which blends influences of folk music and primal rhythm with a special dub flavour. Close your eyes and embark on a fascinating journey to complete this compilation.

In the 1950s Chicago was the blues capital of the world. But by 1966 musical tastes had changed. R & B had morphed into hard soul and newer soft soul musical stylings had coalesced from earlier doo wop motifs, with bigger and more sophisticated productions. This was the era of the small independent owners / producers, all vying for airplay and sales in a hugely competitive marketplace. This landmark LP showcases many of the best of this output – the sounds that hit music listeners and buyers straight from the street. The mix here is a perfect blend of the tough hard soul style and the softer soul sounds. Just right for the feet and the heart. Enjoy!

Most southern soul fans will tell you that that the music produced in Memphis in 1967 and 1968 was the pinnacle of quality. So following on from our look at the River City’s soul output in 1967, we now turn our attention to an album covering the next year. As before, the singers here are a heady mixture of local Tennessee talent and welcome soulful guests who journeyed down south hoping that a little of the famous Memphis magic would rub off on their songs. There are soul genres to suit all tastes here – from the deepest ballads to upbeat tracks that will rock your socks off. Soul doesn’t get much better than the artists and their tunes on this LP!

First time on vinyl for this album. Proto Jazz-Punk multi-genre splatter album, released on CD in 1993, My Wife Doesn’t Understand Me is available on vinyl for the first time as a double LP, playing at 45rpm for superior sound quality. The accompanying download includes radio edits of live favourite 6-8-1 (The Burn-Up) and Blue Funk, plus Ructions (60s Stereo Mix) and Qualm-Free Zone. A statement of intent from the off, this is an album first and foremost. No singles, a piece of work to be listened to as a whole - from short shards of humorous observation (Cover Versions), politics (Margaret Thatcher We Still Hate You), straight-as-a-die covers (A Taste Of Honey and Jean-Pierre) to the closing Musique Concrete of the title track, prisoners were never taken. Terry Edwards and The Scapegoats look forward to the vinyl edition of My Wife Doesn’t Understand Me to bemuse, baffle and delight once again as it did on it’s release when Acid House was on it’s way out and Britpop was on it’s way in.

With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.

Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state on its sprawling east-coast, is home to pastel coloured colonial houses, white sand beaches and a brilliant young composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist named Bruno Berle.
With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.

“It’s an album that was built from my desire to find beauty”, Berle explains - his simple, graceful words mirroring the graceful simplicity in his music. But amongst the simplicity, the compositions, arrangements and productions on No Reino Dos Afetos tingle with nuance and detail.

On the contemporary R&B inspired lead single “Quero Dizer” - produced by Berle and longtime friend and collaborator Batata Boy - the swirling, lo-fi, kalimba and guitar-fronted beat is turned into a feel-good hit by the ingenuity of Berle’s honey-soaked vocal melody.

Powerfully intimate, “O Nome Do Meu Amor” (My Love’s Name) is a guaranteed tearjerker, with Berle’s stunning voice soaring over gently plucked acoustic guitar and the textural flutter of soft movement, as if we hear him writing the song in the moment.
Drawing upon a close-knit, collaborative scene of Maceió artists and musicians, (of which Berle and Batata Boy are vital members), Berle also recorded some of his friends songs on the album, including João Menezes’ “Até Meu Violao”, the album’s beautifully laid back sunshine soul opener, which has all the charm of early-70s João Donato.

Having cut his teeth in soft-rock group Troco em Bala, and more recently finding himself embedded in both Rio and Sao Paulo’s contemporary music scenes - collaborating with the likes of Ana Frango Eletrico, who took the photo for the album cover - No Reino Dos Afetos is as musically diverse as Bruno himself. It’s hazy indie rock (“É Preciso Ter Amor”), calming ambient and field recording (“Virginia Talk”) as well as Berle’s own take on West African High Life (“Som Nyame”).

Instantly recognisable as a truly special artist, Berle’s character fills every corner of the sound, which is unsurprising considering he played most of the instruments.

Daniel 2000 brings the chaos from Catalan to Mutual Please and the world via this trunk bumpin, booty dumpin and sexy humpin six track ep that is puttin nothing but smiles on your dials. It's ghetto inspired sexi house with a twist of Catalan freakiness.

The British composer, musician and audio engineer Daphne Oram was a pioneering figure in the use of electronic music. Coming to prominence through her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which she co-founded, Oram was one of the first British composers to feature electronic instruments in her work and has been rightly hailed as helping musique concrete to become accepted in Britain. Born in 1925 and raised in rural Wiltshire, close to Stonehenge and the ancient stone circle at Avebury, Oram eschewed a place at the prestigious Royal College of Music to take a junior engineering role at the BBC in 1942, she was often tasked with creating sound effects, leading to cut-up experiments with tape recorders and the development of synthetic sound; her composition Still Point, involving two orchestras, two turntables and five microphones, was deemed too radical by the BBC, though she was promoted to studio manager in 1950, leading to the gradual introduction of electronic music and musique concrete techniques on BBC soundtracks. In 1957, she composed the music for the play Amphitryon 38, using a sine wave oscillator and homemade filters, and this and other subsequent works led to the establishment of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop the following year, but Oram soon tired of the conservative constraints of the BBC, leading to her resignation in 1959 to pursue her own vision at the Oramics Studios for Electronic Composition, located in Tower Folly, a former hop kiln located at Fairseat, near the village of Wrotham in rural Kent. Oramics was a radical sound composition technique that sought to transform images to music, enacted by drawing onto 35mm film, which would then be read by photo-electric cells; in addition to its use in Radiophonic Workshop material, Oramics was also employed for sound installations, theatre productions and feature films, such as The Innocents, though financial pressures forced Oram to seek a range of commercial engagements in addition to creating her own artistic works. The Listen Move And Dance series of BBC programmes were devised as a radical new technique to help British schoolchildren learn how to dance; on the LP releases, Vera Gray arranged short adaptations of classical pieces by Bartok, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and others, designed for “stamping, punching, kicking and jumping” movements, as well as “running lightly, dancing on toes” and “shaking all about,” which contrasted sharply with Oram’s electronic abstractions, which seemed to have been beamed in from outer space.

Never released on vinyl before and pressed on black wax, an essential pressing from seminal songwriter Maria McKee. A lost gem, never released on vinyl, from the re-awakened singer/songwriter that falls between her Americana incarnation as Lone Justice and her near-operatic five-star stunner ‘La Vita Nuova’. From 2005, ‘Peddlin’ Dreams makes a vinyl debut in all its unbridled glory, as AllMusic mused, it’s “moving, utterly beautiful and carefully, artfully wrought. It is the work of a masterful songwriter whose senses of time, place and character are impeccable.”

'The City Needs A Hero' is the highly-anticipated sophomore album from Murkage Dave, following on from the critically acclaimed debut 'Murkage Dave Changed My Life' which cemented him as one of the UK's most exciting new singer-songwriters. Includes the singles 'Please Don't Move To London It's A Trap, 'Awful Things (feat. Caroline Polachek)', 'Us Lot', 'World I Want To Live In' and more.