Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

Beautiful double LP, gatefold packaging, heavyweight 180g + digital download card. The vinyl features an etching on side D

Musically, Ventriloquism has the hallmarks of all of Ndegeocello's work, lush and investigative, subversive and sublime. As always, she pays tribute to her diverse influences and in these eleven covers, we hear them layered over one another. Ndegeocello filters "Tender Love" through a folky, Californian filter and brings Vaudevillian accents to "Sensitivity". She recreates Smooth Operator in five, and turns "Private Dancer" into a sultry waltz. The reimagining affords not just a new musical experience but also a comment on the narrow expectations of sounds and structures for black artists and black music.

This album was recorded in Los Angeles with the familiar family of partners and players that Meshell has worked with for years. Chris Bruce plays guitar, Abraham Rounds is on drums, Jebin Bruni co-produced the album and plays keys. S. Husky Huskolds engineered while Pete Min mixed and mastered. Lasting and collaborative relationships with her fellow musicians is among the most important parts of music making for Meshell, prompting her to say on more than one occasion: "Meshell Ndegeocello is a band".

A final note to the listener, Meshell chose art for the album package that hints at what's inside: A graphic V, a hidden M, the artwork is symbolic, sexy, and calls on the language of protest of the era these songs were mined from. With no words or pictures, the artwork is itself a declaration that even when you cannot imagine what to say, if you come together to create, you can find transformation and reinvention, the old can become new, today can become tomorrow.

Having recently signed to Brownswood Recordings, announced via new track 'I'll Be On Your Mind', Skinny Pelembe lines up his first single proper for the London imprint. 'Spit / Swallow' spans pastoral pop, psychedelic textures and hip-hop-tipped, chopped and spliced guitar, interlacings samples with rolling drum breaks and echoed falsettos. B-side 'Toy Shooter' follows in similar fashion, bridging psych-rock exaltation with beat-head, synth-jamming production.

Born in Johannesburg and raised in Doncaster, Skinny Pelembe is based in London. 'I'll Be On Your Mind' has been receiving radio support from Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, Huw Stevens on Radio 1, Jamz Supernova on 1xtra and Tom Ravenscroft on 6 Music, with previous single 'Seven Year Curse' picking up airplay on Benji B on Radio 1 and Gilles Peterson on 6 Music.

Peterson has shepherded his rise, first through his Future Bubblers programme for new artists, followed by his inclusion on legendary compilation series Brownswood Bubblers. He's been profiled by Pigeons & Planes and Clash, and 'Seven Year Curse' was supported in record shops like Rough Trade, Sounds of the Universe, Phonica and Sister Ray.

Recorded at Camden Dingwalls London, 24th February 2002.

Featuring 4 hit singles: On My Radio, Three Minute Hero, Missing Words, The Whisper. Plus a nine minute version of Train to Skaville.

African Scream Contest 2

A great compilation can open the gate to another world. Who knew that some of the most exciting Afro-funk records of all time were actually made in the small West African country of Benin Once Analog Africa released the first African Scream Contest in 2008, the proof was there for all to hear, gut-busting yelps, lethally well- drilled horn sections and irresistibly insistent rhythms added up to a record that took you into its own space with the same electrifying sureness as any favourite blues or soul or funk or punk sampler you might care to mention.

Ten years on, intrepid crate-digger Samy Ben Redjeb unveils a new treasure- trove of Vodoun-inspired Afrobeat heavy funk crossover greatness. Right from the laceratingly raw guitar fanfare which kicks o Les Sympathics' pile-driving opener, it's clear that African Scream Contest II is going to be every bit as joyous a voyage of discovery as its predecessor. And just as you're trying to get o the canvas after this one-punch knock out, an irresistible Afro-ska romp with a more than subliminal echo of the Batman theme puts you right back there. Ignace De Souza and the Melody Aces' Asaw Fofor" would've been a killer instrumental but once you've factored in the improbably-rich-to-the-point-of-being-Nat-King-Cole-influenced lead vocal, it's a total revelation.

The screaming does not stop there, in fact it's only just beginning. But the

strange thing about African Scream Contest II's celebration of unfettered Beninese creativity is that it would not have been possible without the assistance of a musician who had been trained by the Russian secret services to "search and destroy" enemies of the country's (then) Marxist-Leninist president Mathieu Kerekou.

Already familiar to fans of the first African Scream Contest as a mainstay of ruthlessly disciplined military band Les Volcans de la Capitale, Lokonon André vanished in a cloud of dust at Ben Redjeb's behest with a list of names and some petrol money, only to return a few days later having miraculously tracked down every single name he'd been given. The source of this Afrobeat bounty-hunter's impressive people-finding skills - his training with the KGB - highlights the tension between encroaching authoritarian politics and fearless expressions of personal creative freedom which is the back-story of so much great African music of the 60s and 70s. Happily, in this instance, Lokonon was tracking the artists down to oer them licensing deals, rather than to arrest them.

Where some purveyors of vintage African sounds seem to be strip-mining the

continent's musical heritage with no less rapacious intent than the mining companies and colonial authorities who previously extracted its mineral wealth, Samy Ben Redjeb's determination to track this amazing music to its human sources pays huge karmic dividends.

Like every other Analog Africa release, African Scream Contest II is illuminated by meticulously researched text and eortlessly fashion-forward photography supplied by the artists themselves. Looming large - alongside Lokonon André - in the cast of biopic-worthy characters to emerge from this seductive tropical miasma is visionary space-nerd Bernard Dohounso, who laid the foundations for Benin's vinyl predominance by importing and assembling the turntables that would play the products of his Bond villain-acronymed pressing plant SATEL, a factory that would revolutionise the music industry in the whole region.

The scene documented here couldn't have been born anywhere else but in the Benin Republic , and the prime reason for that is Vodoun. It's one of the world's most complex religions, involving the worship of some 250 divinities, where each divinity has its own specific set of rhythms, and the bands introduced on the African Scream Contest series and other compilations from that country were no less diverse than that army of dierent Gods. At once restless pioneers and masters of the art of modernising their own folklore, the mystic sound of Vodoun was their prime source of inspiration.

One especially irascible Vodoun-adept was Antoine Dougbe, who styled himself The devil's prime minister' while turning ancestral rhythms into satanically alluring modern beats. As Orchestre Poly-Rythmo songwriter Pynasco has observed sagely, Evil is not elsewhere, evil extends into the house'. And African Scream Contest II is a gloriously cinematic road-trip through an undiscovered realm of music lore whose familiarity is every bit as thrilling as its otherness.

Written by Ben Thomson, March 2018

Cardboard Sleeve + Black under sleeve

Includes unlimited streaming of Wolves of the world via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

The brilliant second album from the legendary Cymande.
180 gram vinyl, mastered from original tapes, replica original artwork, official Mr Bongo reissue.
Licensed from John Schroeder Enterprises.

"Mad Blank" is a slow-mo reggae house groover! Recommended!
Emotional Rescue and Jamwax end their Capo Disco series by returning to Glen Adams and his cover of Bob Marley's classic. The early 70s Lee Perry produced original raw sound is taken to the disco reggae dancefloors of the early 80s with a bottom heavy jam, while his Capo Crew works a killer dub flipside. Fussing & Fighting' was originally released on the 1971's Soul Revolution album and for many came during the pinnacle of Bob Marley & The Wailers output, before the smoothing out of their sound during the later Island' years. Whichever, the guidance and collaboration with Perry transformed the Wailers from a successful Ska / Rocksteady group towards a visionary, conscious, crossover phenomenon. Actually released on both Capo Disco and Marley's own Tuff Gong, Adams' vocal marries a disco-dub and guitar groove, dropping, in the latter half, right down to tambourine into perfectly stretched Discomix.

Too Slow to Disco take a dive into an often overlooked side of Brazilian music: Brazilian soul, funk and AOR

We'd like to introduce you to the compiler of our new Too Slow to Disco release, a giant of musical endeavour, the young nephew of Brazil's legendary soul icon Tim Maia, the 'Colossus of Rio', as he's known: Ed Motta.

At the end of the 1980s Ed Motta burst upon the music scene as a major singer and one of the writers and producers in the band Conexão Japeri. He's now fifteen albums into a career that hops from genre to genre, perhaps one of the savviest music makers and curators out there. He is a refined practitioner of jazz, funk, soul, AOR and much else besides, having worked with everyone from Gilles Peterson to Roy Ayers, 4Hero, Seu Jorge, Patrice Rushen, Greg Phillinganes, Bo Diddley, Incognito, Ryuichi Sakamoto and many other insanely talented musos.

In this collector's compilation, you're coming on a kind of expert guided time travel mission - just picture yourself following Ed's fingers as they trace along the sleeves in that massive library-sized vinyl vault of his. So we dart back through over two decades of music making, dancing in one style then the next from soul to funk to AOR, you'll feel the air coming out of the horn section right the way through, and a mixologist's golden touch tying everything together.

The artists Ed has play-listed for you include über-obscure figures like Carlos Bivar or Gelson Oliveira & Luiz Ewerling - both of whose songs here derive from privately pressed albums - so rare they're not even listed on Discogs! He's also gathered together a real pantheon of Brazilian musical heroes like Rita Lee (who was part of the legendary Os Mutantes), Cassiano (one of the founders of Bossa Trio and Os Diagonais) and million sellers like Roupa Nova, lovingly referred to as 'the Brazilian Toto' (who would have thought that would become a compliment by 2018)! And as ever with the Too Slow to Disco series, the artists might be new to you, but they're always bringing a killer tune.

Before slipping this LP on, you need to nail the AOR modus opeara... That means: a Hawaiian shirt à la Magnum PI, loafers without socks as in Miami Vice, jump in your convertible and drive under the coconut trees. This is a sunset ride through Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Miami, Hawaii. Aloha!" Ed Motta

To find Lawkyz, follow the beat. It is here, in this vital part, this lighthouse which guides the route of the other instruments, which it prints in depth the low notes of his four strings. Riveted on the Drums. linking with it a rhythmic pact, ensuring the propulsion of the groove on stage with Erik Truffaz or Guts; on records with UHT °, Anna Kova, or Versus, his hip hop project with full live band. When he puts his fetish instrument, when he lets cool his amp, then wakes up his evil twin: The Waxidermist. One year after his last EP, The Waxidermist comes back to tell his story.

Originally unleashed back in 1964, 16 All-Time Greatest Hits delivers two fat album sides stuffed with Bo Diddley's electrifyingly unique rock 'n' roll, R&B and African Juba rhythms... Featured here are the iconic recordings of Bo Diddley,' I'm A Man, Road Runner, and Who Do You Love,' plus the monstrous first-waxings of Pretty Thing,' Hush Your Mouth,' and much, much more! These original Chess/Checker mono recordings sound better than ever. Pressed at RTI, on gorgeous colored vinyl!

The Diddley experience is a swaggering onslaught of syncopation that reflects the performer's own confidence and vision. Here are some of the most popular, award-winning and bestselling cuts from the artist's catalog - Bo Diddley's 16 All-Time Greatest Hits!

Louisiana Soul singer Bobby King first recorded as a solo artist in 1973 for the Reprise label where he also sang for Ry Cooder. In 1981 he switched to the main Warner Brorthers imprint and recorded what has become for soul fans a most highly regarded self-titled album. If You Don't Want My Love' became a single, an original pressing for this 'modern' dancefloor record recently onsale for £300. It is coupled with an exceptuional track from the album Lovers By Night' not previously available on 7' vinyl.

Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits is the first, original collection of THE pioneer's astounding work, a hard-hitting wallop that delivers all the pomp and power of Chuck's singular blend of rock 'n' roll, R&B, pop and poetry, all fueled by his iconic, ground-breaking guitar sound. First issued in 1964, every single cut here is legendary, and all are absolute cornerstones of rock 'n' roll. These original Chess mono recordings sound better than ever. Pressed at RTI, on gorgeous colored vinyl!

The legacy of Chuck Berry is nearly beyond description-Berry means originality, being the first true rock and rolling, gyrating guitar god, and the earliest rock and roll lyricist whose words are worthy of a poet's pedigree.

School Days,' Roll Over Beethoven,' and Sweet Little Sixteen' alone are career-making records, but are topped by several more sides contained herein that were big sellers, and are mile-markers in the expansion and development of rock and roll: Johnny B. Goode' and Brown Eyed Handsome Man.' Berry means business, and his business is being the real father of rock & roll. Here are a dozen of his monumental achievements: guitar-driven, rocking, rolling music with his hip, happening wit and genius wordsmithing-Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits!

(DIlla Inspired Beat Diggers series 45)
Dedicated to Late Great Jay Dilla.
Samples series.45s

Sightless

San Francisco in the late 1960. The hotbed of psychedelic and rock culture. The Dead, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and a host of others all gaining mainstream acceptance for their acid tinged work. But the City and the surrounding Bay Area had so much more going for them. A liberal political outlook and a large African American and Latino population, meant that musical and cultural reference points were wider and more easily assimilated there than (Almost) anywhere else in the United States.

Two of the biggest groups to emerge from this scene were Santana and Sly and The Family Stone, with their melting pots of sound that took in jazz, soul, rock and latin influence. For a while they were two of the biggest acts in the United States and scores of local bands tried to follow in their footsteps. They were hard acts to follow and very few got to the stage of making a 45, never mind a whole LP.

One of the best to do just that were Leon's Creation, whose debut LP This Is The Beginning' Acid Jazz are reissuing here. A native of San Francisco Leon Patillo led the group, whose multi racial line-up echoed that of his heroes on the local scene. Self contained and gigging locally they made their debut album at the tiny Studio 10 who also custom pressed the album in extremely limited numbers

The music is a perfect blend of acid soul, mixed with hippie sentiments that will get you dancing on the uptempo numbers such as the title track, 'Back Roads' - with its glorious harmonies and the soaring 'Power'. More thoughtful numbers such as 'Until You Were Gone' or 'Love' will touch your soul.

So impressed was Carlos Santana that he eventually asked Leon to join his band.

Released on Acid Jazz licensed directly from Leon Patillo, the package comes with in depth sleeve notes and is beautifully illustrated in both LP and CD formats.

Here is a chance to get a very limited edition of the sold out Mirage 7". This picture sleeve edition is limited to 100. Killer soulful blue eyed soul AOR from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Previously unissued.

7"

For our second release we may introduce the Rotterdam-based beatmaker The Soul Pilot. He is known for his funky, soulful and beats heavy productions. For Les Cidres he created two summer tunes Lawless and Craving showing more of his repertoire.
Lifting off with Lawless. In this hot, sweet, bassy piece of sexyness, being true to his name he shows his passion for vocalizing himself - letting you blush and sweat with him in this heat.
The journey continues with Craving - with this funkiness blowing through your hair, body and soul.
A summer must have! <3

It was chance that brought about the release of One/Three, Dabrye's debut album. Early demos were tucked on the B side of a cassette Tadd Mullinix passed to Sam Valenti in 2000 while working at the Dubplate Pressure record shop in Ann Arbor. Mullinix had spent the late '90s producing jungle, techno, house, hip-hop and more using the All Sound Tracker software as a primary instrument. Each style pulled from a similar sound palette as Mullinix used limitations to define the contours of di-erent musical personalities. Dabrye was his hip-hop wildstyle, a captivating collage of sparse instrumentals inspired by the laid back vibes of midwestern hip-hop and east coast boom bap, the futuristic funk of Umma-era Jay Dee, and the calculated subtlety of Detroit dance music. Released in 2001 as the first in an intended trilogy, One/Three announced Dabrye's arrival with an unavoidable contribution to Detroit hip-hop. Ghostly International is reissuing the album in 2017 for the first time, including a long overdue vinyl edition.

On its release One/Three was the rare album that appealed to both fans of Slum Village's smooth yet rugged hip-hop and enthusiasts of the distinct American IDM released by labels like Schematic. Over the following decade, the inadvertent demo submission turned into a body of work that placed Dabrye alongside innovators such as Prefuse 73 amid the cannon of a new generation of producers. Today, One/Three remains a concise and intriguing study in instrumental hip-hop that helps join the dots between J Dilla and Flying Lotus.

One/Three is a record that says much with little. There are no obvious hip-hop tropes. Instead Mullinix captures the ingenious minimalism of '90s hip-hop instrumentals to build tracks both supple and hard, joyous and melancholy, full of sharply angled rhythms and warm rubbery basslines: 'The Lish' throws a sickly sweet saxophone against digitally fragmented melodies, 'How Many Times (with this)' draws you in with an irresistible, clipped guitar groove, the rhythmic stutter of 'Smoking The Edge' makes your head spin with pleasure. Playing with his inspirations, Mullinix injects omitted downbeats for imagined rhymes and repurposes the intricacy of ragga jungle for breakdowns.

But what really defines One/Three is the rhythmic sensibility and metric modulation of Detroit's school of hip-hop production, which Mullinix was a fervent student of. The beats feel like they're constantly escaping a rigid tempo grid even though they are, in fact, pretty tight. A lot of it is nuance,' Mullinix explains. I've been known to say that I'm not impressed by spectacle. I think that nuance is what really captivates people.'

If you like your beats with a dash of class, do not miss this. An essential purchase of the highest order.' -BBC

- First time all tracks from the original 2001 release appear on vinyl.
- Remastered by Daddy Kev
- Standard weight black vinyl is inserted in to 3.5mm matte finish vinyl jacket.
- Download card includes free download of the Payback EP

When Ann Arbor's Tadd Mullinix began exploring hip-hop under the name Dabrye 20 years ago, he soon honed in on a startling vision of what the genre could be: ingenious, refined, daring. This vision came to life across two albums for Ghostly International — 2001's One/Three and its 2006 follow-up Two/Three— with each record further positioning the quiet Michigan producer as one of his generation's best, equally comfortable creating minimalist instrumental meditations or sharp rap salvos. In the late 2000s, following critical acclaim and accolades from both peers and inspirations (including the late Jay Dee with whom Mullinix collaborated before his untimely passing), Mullinix put the Dabrye moniker on ice and dedicated himself to other genres and ideas. All the while the influence of his work on a new generation of electronic musicians continued to make itself felt in subtle but meaningful ways.

All this changes in 2017 as Dabrye makes his long-awaited return with Three/Three, a razor-sharp rap album that brings to completion a prophetic trilogy. Mullinix's incisive productions provide the backdrop for equally acute rhymes that run the gamut from intergenerational observations and being your best self to back alley deals and having fun in the ride. Guests include indie rap legend DOOM, whose previous collaboration with Dabrye remains a point of reference for many, Wu Tang storyteller Ghostface Killah, L.A word fanatic Jonwayne, and Long Island's rugged surrealist Roc Marciano. Most importantly Three/Three is, much like its predecessor, an unfettered celebration of Detroit-area talent with Guilty Simpson, Phat Kat, Kadence, Quelle Chris, Danny Brown, Shigeto, Clear Soul Forces and more all lending their touch to Dabrye's return.

The blend of American and British dance music, hip-hop sampling, and Jamaican sound clash energy that underpinned Two/Three remains a quiet, guiding principle. At the same time Mullinix rejoices in a refreshed perspective, having had time to incubate ideas and find clarity in the distance between albums and the evolution of scenes.The beats are looser and less angular, more embracing of repetition. Organic techniques inspired by soul and jazz round off some of the harsher sonics. The resulting broad palette of tracks reflects both this evolution and the range of the Dabrye persona: relaxed headnod ("Tunnel Vision"), nervous, slow-motion electro ("The Appetite"), glacial motifs ("Emancipated"), jazzy, cut-up funk ("Sunset"), minimal brutalism ("Electrocutor"), intricate layering ("Culture Shuffle").

Three/Three marks the return of an innovator after close to a decade of silence. Despite what the title might imply, the album isn't the end of the story but rather the completion of a creative arc. Expect more Dabrye in the near future. The game is far from over.

- Final installment of the /Three series, started in 2001
- Guests include Ghostface Killah, Jonwayne, Doom, Danny Brown, Shigeto, and more.
- Media support from: The Wire, FACT Magazine, The Detroit Free Press, Pitchfork, XLR8R
- Past collabs with Jay Dee (J Dilla), MF DOOM, Beans & more
- Vinyl is housed in a matte jacket with black hot foil and includes 24-page zine designed by Michael Cina.

The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground and mainstream divide that had dened so much of the previous decade was showing the rst signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.

One such artist was Scott Prefuse 73' Herren, whose perpendicular MPC chops on his 2001 debut for Warp Records set curious minds racing with possibilities. That same year Tadd Mullinix released his debut as Dabrye on Ghostly International, a sonic wildstyle that appealed to both hip-hop heads and IDM nerds. Sometime that same year Herren and Mullinix met after sharing a bill in Detroit. CD-Rs were exchanged and a year later Eastern Development, Herren's newly launched label, released Dabrye's Instrmntl, a short album with a big impact. On its fteenth anniversary Ghostly International is reissuing Instrmtl on vinyl and making it available digitally for the rst time.

Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would dene Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the rest were newer or made specically for the album. Once again Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of Detroit.

Despite the similarities between Dabrye's debut and this follow up, Mullinix didn't simply replicate what had made One/Three so arresting. He pushed and pulled further between the two cornerstones of his approach to reveal more potentials. Instrmntl takes you deeper into electronic depths — the rugged synth stutter of 'Won', the tumbling, wobbling bass in 'No Child Of God', the electro get down of 'Prospects (Marshall Law)' — while also treading more organic grounds by letting samples breathe and moods unfurl at a gentler pace ('Take Me Home', 'Evelyn', and 'You Know The Formula Right'). And then there are the moments where this push and pull nds balance and the result becomes more, as it does on the mournful march of 'D-Town Tabernacle Choir' and the twinkling daydream of 'This Is Where I Came In'.

At just over 30 minutes, Instrmntl offers a snapshot of a time when potentials seemed innite, when lines could be drawn between jazz, ragga jungle, techno, and hip-hop and the resulting shape divined an exciting future.

- Reissue of the out of print 2002 album, available for the rst time on Ghostly.
- Includes previously Japanese-only bonus track, Gimme Lowlands'
- Standard weight blue vinyl is housed in a matte jacket.
- Dabrye's beats are like Jay Dee getting crunked up with Autechre.' — Prefuse 73

Arkansas native, Lee Moore moved to Memphis in 1975 with only one goal in mind: to make it big in the music industry and to release music that would be played in New York, L.A and everywhere in between.

As a singer and songwriter Lee Moore spent the 1980s collaborating in Memphis with the best of the best session musicians and vocalists from labels like Volt and Stax Records to record and release futuristic boogie, soul, and funk. Lee Moore unfortunately never got close to reach his goals of fame and fortune.

For the first time, Past Due Records is reissuing Lee's incredible 'Free & Easy' LP which was only released as a handful of test pressings in 1981 because Lee thought the record was too good to release on his Score Records label. It is a pure Memphis modern soul / boogie funk masterpiece that features countless artists from the Stax crew, Al Green's vocalists and even Herbie Hancock's keyboard player.
The 1981 test pressing has commanded huge sums of money on the used vinyl market and is one for the real Soul connoisseur.

Repress!

An original drum break record by Simon Allen of The New Mastersounds
16 x 4/4 grooves at 33 RPM
Single hits of kicks, snares, toms, hi hats & cymbals
Played on a vintage 50's kit & recorded with 60's analog recording gear on to 2" tape - then mastered by Lewis Parker
For fans of Questlove, Bernard Berdie, Billy Cobham, Max Roach, & library records An original drum break record by Simon Allen.
This record has been created as a resource for sample-based music producers and provides a selection of 4/4 grooves and breaks: from minimalist to intricate, straight to swung, and also includes single hits of vintage kicks, snares, hi-hats, toms and cymbals, all recorded at ATA Records Studio A with 1960s analog recording gear onto 2" tape before being mixed and mastered for vinyl.

The 20th volume of our flagship Eccentric Soul series has all the boxes checked: Gun-toting, skip-tracing record producers, child stars, rip-offs, the World's Greatest Bail Bondsman,' swindles, soaring falsettos, and a dwindling rust-belt cityscape offering mere glimpses of hope before the record industry escaped for the coasts. Helmed by the O'Jays Bobby Massey, Saru was a creative vortex that pulled Cuyahoga County's greatest talent in, making a strong case for Cleveland to contend with Detroit, Philly, and Memphis as America's soul music's capital. Includes obscure and unknown sides from the Out of Sights, the Elements, Pandella Kelly, David Peoples, Sir Stanley, the Ponderosa Twins + 1, Ba-Roz, Bobby Dukes, and of course, the O'Jays.

Willie Hutch wrote huge soul hits in the 60s and 70s (co-writing I'll Be There' for The Jackson 5) and released sixteen Motown, Whitfield and independent label solo releases between 1969 and 2002. From his period with Norman Whifield's label through Warner Brother in 1978/79 he is best known for Easy Does it'. Arranged by Gene Page, it was previously issued only on 7' as a B-side to Come On And Dance With Me', original copies now exchanging hands for large sums.

This limited edition Record Store Day release offers a much desired vinyl issue of a special collaboration between Betty Wright & The Roots. Only on CD since it's initial release in 2011, Betty Wright: The Movie' is considered among Betty's best albums after having not had a new release in nearly ten years. There is so much good music here Expansion have spread over a double LP at a time demand for such quality releases on vinyl is at a highpoint. The lead single was Grapes On The Vine' featuring Lil Wayne, other guests on the album including Snoop Dogg and Joss Stone. Betty has co-written most of the songs, her voice still at its finest after a 50 year career while triple Grammy Award winners The Roots add a magic touch to this incredible project. There will only be 1000 pressings of the album

In celebration of 20+ years since their classic debut Uptown Saturday Night, Bronx duo Camp Lo present a special double-album 2XLP with On The Way Uptown & The Get Down Brothers. On The Way Uptown features a collection of demos and unreleased songs made between 94' - 95', leading to their official debut in early 1997. Aside from the early versions of their hits Luchini (AKA This Is It),' Sparkle,' Black Connection,' and Coolie High', other standouts include World Heist', Coolie High Is Life' & A Piece of the Action'.

On The Get Down Brothers, Camp Lo completely pivot away from their 90's nostalgia into a much more futuristic and experimental sound. Although the production is different, their signature tongue-twisting and hype flows remain, creating a unique and seamless fusion packed into 10 dynamic tracks.

Very limited edition and well and truly deleted.

Kooley High has seen many acts come and go since their inception in 2008. This perseverance has led to several acclaimed releases, and the opportunity to craft their newest album with the assistance of Grammy award winning producer 9th Wonder. 'Never Come Down' is a testament to Kooley's growth sonically and serves as their most complete work to date. MC's Charlie Smarts and Tab-One have elevated their wordplay along with DJ Ill Digitz' scratch work. In house producers, Sinopsis and Foolery also show inspired progression on 'Never Come Down', which showcases production from 9th Wonder's production team, the Soul Council as well. Features on the album include Jamla Record's own Rapsody, along with long time collaborators Median and Carlitta Durand.

Ten years after starting their journey in music, Kooley High comes full circle. This new album serves as a reminder to the world that even despite the current climate you should evolve, stay true to yourself, and Never Come Down.

"Non semper erit aestas!" - wie Erasmus einst zu sagen pflegte, es wird nicht immer Sommer sein. Aber wir sprechen hier über Sommer mit einem s : Summers Sons! Ein aufstrebendes Hip Hop Duo bestehend aus den Brüdern Turt (Rap) und Slim. (Beats) aus London/Bristol. Charlie Tappin, der mit Turt auf Twit Ones letztem Album Hay Luv' vertreten war, steuert Keys und Vocals bei. Slim. hat bereits Beats über Brownswood Recordings, Benoffee Pies und KO-OP veröffentlicht.

Sweet California Soul with remnants of Philly and Chicago Doo-Wop make this new 45 from Transistor Sound a must have for fans of the slow and low sound. The Sentiments have composed in one song a companion for warm summer nights and long winter days. Let the sweet, soulful sounds of "She Won't Be Gone Long" wash over you. Lush strings and horns compliment a brilliant falsetto lead that pull on the heartstrings. This 45 encompasses everything you want a lowrider slow jam so don't sleep on it. Produced and Recorded entirely at the incomparable Transistor Sound Studio, featuring members of Monophonics, Gene Washington & The Ironsides, Paul & The Tall Trees, His Extraordinaire's Horns and The Sha La Das

Timeless Legend are a soul group from Columbus, Ohio. Their 'Synchronised' album from 1980 is one of the rarest 'rare grooves' and both original copies and the single 'I Was Born To Love You' currently sell for over £1,000 a copy.
For RSD, Love Vinyl in conjunction with Expansion bring you an earlier 1979 single 'Everybody Disco' (itself worth over £200), a remix and 'I Was Born To Love You' on a 12' single limited to 750 copies. The remix of 'Everybody Disco' is by The Mighty Zaf & Phil Asher who command major respect from the current disco scene and have transformed the song into what will become one of the most significant disco style dance releases of 2018. This is the first and only time for these tracks on 12' single.