Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

2 track Single from Junior Murvin / Delroy Smart released by King Tubby's Dub Plate/Dub Store Records

Babe Roots are a relatively young duo from Turin, Italy, making a unique brand of atmospheric, techno-infused dubwise. On our radar since their splendid debut 7' on Rohs! Records in early 2016, we are very pleased to invite them into the ZamZam fold with two mesmerizing and contrasting tunes. 'Be Still' is a deeply meditative yet driving dub techno trek in classic fashion, featuring rastaman Kojo Neatness intoning on righteous living, working the land, guarding the tongue, and avoiding Babylonian schemes and traps laid by the wicked. Maternal bass and shimmering reverbs envelop a heartbeat rhythm of kick, shaker and distant snares for a timeless vibe that shows mastery of the idiom while updating it for contemporary sound systems. 'Rawness' is an extraordinarily deep 140 journey that opens with rich pads and swirling atmospherics, creating a psychoactive ambience that builds into a steady kick. The full riddim hits and plunges us even deeper with restrained, syncopated drums and percussion. Churning bass powers us through the dense, hallucinatory fog as tendrils of electricity probe and zap, and serrated snares cut through the tape haze and studio clouds in the last third. Carving out a gorgeous edge between deep dubstep and dub techno, 'Rawness' hits all the marks and will find a home in a huge range of sets.

- First-ever high-quality vinyl reissue

- 180-gram vinyl pressed at QRP, the trusted source for audiophile-quality records

- Lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

- Vinyl housed in an old-school style heavyweight jacket

- Includes Jazz Dispensary Authorized Dealer' window cling

Flanked by a who's-who of exceptional talent, which includes Bernard Purdie on drums, Jimmy Lewis on electric bass, Grant Green on guitar, and Houston Person on tenor saxophone, Charles Kynard turns in a soulful and sublimely understated set of purely grooving soul-jazz fare. Long out of print and never reissued in the U.S. on vinyl since its original release in 1970, Afro-Disiac just might be the musical panacea you've been looking for. Features the smoldering, deep-pocket Purdie showcase, Sweetheart.'

In a world without hope, a world with no appetite for sonic adventures, there's only one man who can save us all. He is... the Sample Jesus! From behind the enchanted pyramids of Egypt comes a man that has nothing to prove but a lot to give. Taught by a legendary Pharaoh, he has lived the life of an eremite for decades. Exhausted after years of asceticism there was only one goal on his mind: to blow all the misery out of our heads. On the constant search for the perfect sample he listened to the finest Mongolian folk to experimental Tuvan Throat singings. It was only recently that he was returning from his self-imposed exile to come up with a record that hits deep in everybody's soul. Hallelujah, House-heads and Hip-Hop-kids, be prepared. Listen to the word of the Sample Jesus!

Floppy disc versions of the infamous TTW005 - floppy and proper bendy!

Comes as a pair of dope floppiness!

Weighing in at minimal gms.

Please note: The way floppy discs are manufactured, the center hole for the spindle is usually quite tight. You may need to adjust the hole to suit.

Shaped Picture Disc...

With the celebrated return of Dr. Octagon (Dan the Automator, Kool Keith and DJ QBert) in 2017 - including their first-ever live performances - fans are sure to keep gobbling up the space weirdness that first surfaced more than 20 years ago. Get On Down presents a unique picture disc, featuring the original Octagon album artwork by the legendary artist Pushead. The infamous doctor's head and lower torso reach above and below the actual 45 rpm playing surface, as if trying to escape their two-dimensional status. On the A-side is a brand-new Dr. Octagon song, Octagon Octagon,' which picks up where the original energy left off. It's a dark and grooving glimpse into Keith's rubberband mind, jumping abstractly from line to line, chock full of equal parts charisma and dementia. On the flip is the song for which the group is most well-known, Blue Flowers.' The version presented here is the amazing Prince Paul's So Beautiful' remix, which first appeared on a Mo Wax 12' in the UK in late 1996. It was the first meeting of the two great production minds from different eras - Dan the Automator and Prince Paul would go on to collaborate many more times over the next decade, most notably as the group Handsome Boy Modeling School. This is another great trophy for any self-respecting Kool Keith and Dan The Automator fan, combining the old and the new in triumphant fashion.

Same as the Black Friday LP but this time on black vinyl with new cat number and barcode.Two decades after it was pulled from stores by Disney-owned Hollywood Records, pop culture icons Insane Clown Posse's notorious "The Great Milenko" is back...and still casting its horrorcore spell over millions of fans worldwide. Featuring underground hits such as "Halls of Illusions" (featuring Slash on guitar) and "Hokus Pokus" with Steve Jones of Sex Pistols' fame, "The Great Milenko" makes its vinyl appearance on the occasion of its 20th birthday. Still shocking, uncompromising, and unforgettable, "The Great Milenko" brings the magic of the Dark Carnival to your turntable!

More instro dance insanity with a dance themed vocal on the flip.

Two clubbing crazy instro's back to back

Get On Down presents an often overlooked crucial reggae release from the 1970s with Johnny Clarke's Rockers Time Now.' The record is a mix of covers and originals, including ethereal versions of the The Abyssinians Satta Massagana' and Declaration of Rights,' smash hits on the island just the year before. Rockers Time Now' was first issued in 1976, Clarke had just been named artist of the year in Jamaica for the second year in a row. This is just one of three full lengths he released that year as this was a very prolific period for Clarke, in particular from 1974 onward when his output was directed by legendary producer Bunny Lee. The pairing resulted in a creative energy that resonates to this day. The release was recorded at Channel 1 with Bunny Lee producing, which of course means the band backing the popular Jamaican vocalist was The Aggrovators, which at the time included Robbie Shakespeare, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Augustus Pablo, and Aston Family Man' Barrett. The release was mixed at King Tubby's by Osbourne Ruddock...aka King Tubby. Crucial all the way around. Now is the time to rediscover a classic of the genre, Rockers Time Now'.

Massive club floorfiller

One of soul music's great female voices, Millie Jackson's reputation was made by the release of Caught Up' and Still Caught Up', released in 1974 and 1975 respectively.

Here we reissue Caught Up' on vinyl. Both albums deal with infidelity - and see it from both the wife's and the lover's point of view. The combination of spoken word raps and forceful, risqué lyrics was to become Millie's trademark for several years to come

Side One belongs to the lover and gives us an eleven-minute plus version of 'If Loving You Is Wrong'.

Superb backing from the classic Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section line-up of Beckett, Johnson, Hood and Hawkins features throughout, with long-time Millie Jackson producer Brad Shapiro at the controls.

Planet Asia helped jump-start the West Coast independent hip-hop movement, and has solidified himself as one of the most consistent and respected MCs in the game over his 20+ year career. He dropped his debut EP with producer Fanatik in 1998, and followed up quickly with the singles "Definition of Ill" (Stones Throw) and "Place of Birth" (ABB Records). In 2001, The Source Magazine gave him the 'First Round Draft Pick' and 'Independent Album of the Year' awards for 'How the West Was One', which was recorded with fellow CA rapper Rasco under the group name Cali Agents. This landed him a deal with Interscope Records, where he was signed until 2003 without releasing an album. Planet Asia was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2002 for his feature on the song "W" by Mystic, and was later signed to Avatar Records, which released his official debut album, 'The Grand Opening,' in 2004. It earned him another 'Independent Album of the Year' award from The Source. Later, he started his own imprint Gold Chain Music, on which he has churned out multiple projects. He has also collaborated on albums with the likes of DJ Muggs ('Pain Language'), Evidence ('The Medicine') and Madlib ('Cracks In The Vinyl'), among others, and released songs with artists such as Linkin Park, Bun B, Talib Kweli and Ghostface Killah. The Fresno MC is fresh off of a strong 2017 which featured well-received collaborative albums with producers DirtyDiggs ('Dirty Planet') and Apollo Brown ('Anchovies'). For 2018, Asia teamed up with Bay Area producer izznyce for this true solo project, sure to be considered the next classic in his vast catalog. 'The Golden Buddha' was produced entirely by izznyce (producer for Superstar Quamallah and more) and features AZ, Hus Kingpin, Turbin, Marvelous Mag, Killa Kali, TriState, Xiomara and The Architect. Speaking on the project, Planet Asia says: This album represents the foundation of what Planet Asia is about and that is 'balance'. Me and izznyce also took our time with the record, and had a chance to really vibe out and make the type of music we personally like that will stand the test of time!'

Black Friday LP now made a regular catalogue item. When it comes to authentic, ride-or-die hip-hop, few crews have as much resonance as Mobb Deep. Featuring two double-threat MCs who also produced - Havoc and the sadly-departed Prodigy - the crew changed the hardcore rap game in 1995 with their sophomore classic The Infamous, and went on to rule the dark corners of hip-hop for the second half of the 90s and well into the 2000s. After multiple Mobb Deep platters in the '90s, Prodigy entered the 2000s as a solo artist with force, rolling over a stomping, piano-freaked backdrop laced by producer The Alchemist, with Keep It Thoro.' It has held up over time, proving itself as an anthemic classic that the streets and clubs still respect. Flaunting a smooth-but-menacing flow, Prodigy's no-nonsense lyricism on Keep It Thoro' is prototypical modern age brag rap. Countless MCs have followed his flow, from Fabolous to Joey Bada$$. The song is short and sweet, clocking in at just over 3 minutes. There are no wasted verses, just hardcore rhymes that stay with you. But Thoro' was the tip of the iceberg on what proved to be one of the more coveted rap full-lengths of the era. The album boasted other charting singles, including Rock Dat Shit' and Y.B.E.' (featuring B.G.), but it can be argued that the album's real gems are buried deeper. Genesis,' What U Rep' (featuring Noreaga) and Three' are all sinister yet pensive. Wanna Be Thugs' and Delt With The Bullshit' are strong and evocative Mobb Deep cuts, featuring production and vocals by Havoc. And alongside other standouts, perhaps the deepest cut of all - especially in light of Prodigy's way-too-soon passing due to complications from Sickle Cell Anemia - is You Can Never Feel My Pain,' which details the health issues and challenges this talented MC and producer had been facing his whole life. H.N.I.C. was Prodigy's first solo album, but it is perhaps his best. Among fans he will never be forgotten, for his skills, his storytelling and his no-B.S. approach to the art of MCing.

And so, steadily, Roberto Musci's works are being made available for our listening pleasure. Soave's edition of 'the complete sessions' of The Loa of Music, Musci's debut album from 1984, is now flanked by Urban and Tribal Portraits, another milestone from 1988, a key collaboration with fellow sidereal world traveler Giovanni Venosta, whose essential and amazing debut album Olympic Signals was also recently repressed. While a number of the recordings that comprise this particular work have been (relatively) available --through a ReR anthology that also included tracks from the other Musci/Venosta collaboration, Water Messages on Desert Sand as well as some integrated in the Music From Memory compilation, Tower of Silence, released under Musci's name only—this is indeed the first time one can listen to this fundamental work as it was meant to be heard. Not a minor detail for a work that was obviously conceptually and narratively rigorously conceived by Musci and Venosta.

And what a listen it is.


Urban and Tribal Portraits reaffirms the idea of postmodern pastiche as a multimedia multisensory experience and sound as an ecosystem that is both aleatory and concrete, ephemeral and durable. In these binary paradoxes, a radical notion of the nature of collaboration, that is both chance induced and conversely conceptually worked out, is also established. The result is a work that exposes the fixed assumptions about the constructed boundaries and flows between musical traditions and practices. On its own this is the ultimately problematic place where many of the so-called musics concerned with the world reach an impasse, incapable as they are of questioning their own basic assumptions and ultimately end up strengthening those very same boundaries and flows that they had apparently set out to challenge. Musci and Venosta go further, principally and more fundamentally, by picking away at the margins of pure sonorous events and musical material, noise and sonance. In doing so,Urban and Tribal Portraits repoliticizes the notion of pastiche, engaging as it does in a kind of ecopractice, turning the process rather than the musical object into the poetic focus of the work. Fixed categories are rendered ephemeral, temporal and spatial categories including the margins, so hard to overcome, between composition, improvisation, authorship, recordedness and live performance are deconstructed. In the end, where one would expect seriousness there is levity and where one might see some postmodern appropriative ironic juxtaposition there is intensity and respect of the magical organicness of the material sources.


Like much Italian experimental music from that magical decade of the 80s this is not your dad's fourth world music, with all of its ambiguous aestheticism of 'unifying' some not so well defined primitivism of 'world ethnic styles' with the futuristic sounds of whatever 'advanced electronic techniques' were the platter du jour. In this sound the 8-bits of the E-Mu Emax is as primitive as the Jews Harp while the electronically treated Pygmy chants turn out to be as futuristic as the multi-timbral capacities of the OB-8.


From the funk ostinatos of El Lamento de Los Ayatollah' where Venosta showcases his straight piano playing to the rarefied queer guitar arpeggios in Tamatave', the peaceful ripples in Dialogue Between a Dreamer and Others', the playfulness of Starfish & Kangaroos' or the post-punkish This Heat/Cabaret Voltaire aggression in The Fear of a Soldier' this is destabilization as praxis, a shifting of the ground. The new cover image, that replaces the ethno patchwork of the original sleeve (beautiful as it was) is indeed more to the point: Sven Hedkin's photograph of early 20th century Tibetan death masks is at once urban and tribal, surrealist in its uncanniness. Just like in surrealist praxis these sounds offer some kind of redemption: sounds used in alternative ways, distinct from their usual connections, deconstructed. A DIY bricolage: a destructuring of everyday sound objects towards new uses fed by local ecosituated experiences, transformative of performance and listening. Surrealist 'musicking' indeed.

-Peter Sarram

- 180-gram vinyl pressed at Quality Record Pressings (QRP)

- Back in print after 40+ years

- Vinyl housed in an old-school style tip-on jacket

- Includes Jazz Dispensary "Authorized Dealer" window cling


An unsung monster in the pantheon of exceptional soul-jazz outings from the Prestige catalog, Fire Eater finds Bryant grooving hard in a combo that featured Idris Muhammad on drums, Wilbert Longmire on guitar, and both Bill Mason and Leon Spencer Jr. on organ. Included in this stretched-out, funky set of four originals is the title track, Fire Eater,' which was sampled for Swing Set' by Jurassic 5 (2000) and appeared on the 1999 collaboration between DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, Brainfreeze. While not as instantly recognizable by name as other greats of the tenor saxophone such as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Bryant's fiery and athletic approach on this set sets him apart from his peers as a force to be reckoned with. In the strident groove and funky underpinnings of Fire Eater is the blueprint for generations of future groovers and funkateers. Essential.

Black Friday LP now available as catalogue. When it comes to living legends in the Texas and Latin Music pantheon, few have been at it longer and are more revered by their fans and peers than vocalist, songwriter and bandleader Sunny Ozuna. Born and raised in San Antonio, where he still resides, Sunny became a star right out of high school in the late '50s and hasn't looked back in the six decades since. After releasing dozens of albums since the mid-1960s (in Spanish and English), Sunny still keeps a busy schedule and loves performing as much as he did as a teenager. His classic 45s regularly change hands for hundreds of dollars among collectors around the world, affirming his timeless appeal. As a logical next step after Big Crown's excellent (and Sunny-approved) Mr. Brown Eyed Soul compilation from September, the label has started digging into the vaults of Sunny's Key-Loc Records label to unearth some legit soul classics - which are hard to find even in San Antonio, and clean originals will cost you a pretty penny if you ever luck into one - and have not been on vinyl since the late '60s. Each has been remastered and includes original album art. First up is Smile Now, Cry Later, a 12-song platter which first hit in 1966. As with most Sunny LPs, this is a mix of soulful originals - most notably, Smile Now, Cry Later' and Put Me In Jail' - and provocative, wide-ranging covers. Cases in point on the tributes side of this great album include the Sam & Dave shouter Hold On I'm Comin'', Forever,' made famous by both the Marvelettes and Marvin Gaye, and a song that Sunny performs to this day, and the '60s Louis Prima crooner special Just A Gigolo.' The band is tight, the sound is honest, the vocals are dusky and deep, and the album is an undeniable soul and Texas music classic, ready to be discovered by a whole new generation of music fans. Dive in and be ready for a permasmile, thanks to that patented Sunny sound.

Black Friday LP now available as catalogue. Texas funk music is amongst the highest regarded styles in the genre, a unique mixture of jazz, blues, R&B and James Brown's syncopation that evolved in metropolises like Houston (Kashmere Stage Band), San Antonio (Mickey and the Soul Generation), Austin (James Polk and the Brothers) and Dallas. Dallas birthed a variety of independent labels, Soultex and Doin Our Thing amongst them. But no one in Dallas, Texas or America, created a run of 7' singles like Timothy McNealy did on his Shawn imprint. When it comes to heavy, funk music, in Dallas - in Texas - Timothy McNealy is king. This means that when it comes to funk music, in general, McNealy is hallowed. Yet McNealy's music has never been collected as an album, nor reappraised in its totality. A series of 7' single reissues have come out in the past 15 years, including his masterpiece Sagittarius Black,' a psychedelic funk instrumental that has been a cornerstone in every fan's rediscovery of the genre for the past 20 years. But this is the first time that his music is presented in its totality, giving the enlightened fan an opportunity to hear the breadth and depth of his Funky Movement.

We are glad to announce the official repress in Limited Edition in Colored Vinyl + free CD and insert of Scorie, Tiziano Popoli and Marco Dalpane's minimal wonder from 1985. Long coveted and hunted by collectors, Scorie falls among the strange and definition resistant artifacts of Italy's remarkable avant-garde music scene of the 70's and 80's. An emblem of sonic diversity rendered through electronic sound, distilling a daunting number of traditions and ideas, while sculpting its own world of creative singularity, standing apart from the rest.

While a great many of Italy's avant-garde and experimental music practitioners began within the spectrums of popular music, slowly pushing into more explicitly ambitious and challenging realms as the years wore on, Tiziano Popoli and Marco Dalpane represent a change in the directional tide. Scorie is a part of movement toward, and the incorporation of, popular forms, within avant-garde music which swept across the globe during the 1980's. As challenging and uncomfortable as it is seductive and inviting, Scorie weaves a world without boundary, of collision and harmony. A vision of possible futures, rendered in its present day. A melodic realm, almost entirely constructed through the use of synthesizers, with subtle interventions of electronic rhythm generators, bridging the metronomic territories explored by Terry Riley and Steve Reich and the drifting harmonics of New Age, with the moodiness of New Wave and the adventurous spirit of the avant-garde.

RENDS L'ARGENT C'EST TOUT, FREE RAZZLE

'Oonops Drops' is the eponymous name of DJ Oonops' monthly broadcast on Brooklyn Radio (NYC). It's not your average radio show without talk and comments for which he invites renowned guests with their exclusive mixes from around the globe to create timeless and thematic episodes. In the last sixty shows he got visited by artists like Morcheeba, Guts, Nickodemus, The Herbaliser, Nostalgia 77, Boca 45, Blundetto, Chinese Man and many more.

Born in 1977 he got in contact with music at an early stage and soon discovered his medium of choice: vinyl. Oonops is a dj, selector, digger and is known for his smooth mixing skills to rock parties in his unmistakable wildstyle of jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, beats, edits, reggae, dub and afro. He shared the stages with acts like Nightmares on Wax, The Beatnuts, Jeru The Damaja, Ebo Taylor, Myron & E, Akua Naru and The Artifacts to name just a few.

As a longtime friend of the label and as a resident of its own club night he now gets his own compilation series to showcase his manifold taste in digging, selecting and mixing. His matter was to create a compilation of manifold genres of undiscovered, previously unreleased and for the first time on vinyl delicacies for any avid and discernable listener and dj. Especially for the vinyl lovers he dug many tracks which are treats for every set from warm-up until peak time. This compilation will stay for a long time in the bags.

In May 1976 a record was released that would have an unforeseen and lasting impact on the music industry Ten Percent' by Double Exposure was an early release on the New York independent label Salsoul Records. America was in the grip of a disco explosion with new clubs opening on a weekly basis, Salsoul saw what was happening and swiftly created a sound for their label, heavily influenced by the music then coming out of Philadelphia, aimed directly at New York's dance-floors. Records like Salsoul Hustle,' Tangerine' and You're Just The Right Size' by The Salsoul Orchestra borrowed heavily from the beautifully orchestrated Philadelphia International records but added a more percussive, bass heavy depth that New York's DJs loved. So what was so special about this particular single then Double Exposure was, after all, just another band, Ten Percent' just another song, one of many disco' records released that week. First of all Salsoul became the first record label to make a twelve inch single available to Joe Public - the exotic format was previously only available to DJs as promotional items or bought under the counter at certain record stores. Not only that though, the extended version was created by Walter Gibbons, a DJ at New York's Galaxy 21 who'd built his reputation making exclusive versions of tracks to play in his sets. In 1976 it was unheard of for a DJ to set foot in a recording studio, being seen as little more than living jukeboxes by the serious music industry. Recording studios were strictly the domain of recording artists and producers so Walter found himself in a unique position, gaining access to a world no DJ had been granted before. Or so we thought...
The Men In The Glass Booth tells the full story. Featuring ground breaking re-edits and remixes by some of the Disco era's most influential DJs including Walter Gibbons, Bobby DJ Guttadaro, Tom Savarese, Jellybean Benitez, Tee Scott and John Luongo, this opulent release also includes a 40 page book which features exclusive photos and insights from some of the story's key figures.

Special 2LP set comprising the 1972 chart-topping soundtrack album together with a bonus disc of alternate takes, demos, radio spots, an interview and additional score.

The death of Curtis Mayfield in 1999 robbed the world of popular music of one of its finest performers, writers and producers. By the time he made his solo debut in 1970 he had already achieved much more than many artists do

in a lifetime career. He had already enjoyed a string of hits as lead singer of The Impressions, for whom he was the principal songwriter, had produced successful recordings for other artists and was owner of his own record label

and several publishing companies. The solo albums he recorded between 1970 up until the time of his tragic accident in 1990 and which were released on his own label, Curtom Records, remain as testament to his genius. Curtis' songs on these albums deal in the

main with two themes, those of love and political consciousness. His influence on American black music and culture has been immense and his thought provoking lyrics and musical style are unique in their field. The soundtrack to the 'blaxploitation' movie Superfly stayed in the U.S. album

charts for almost a year, topping it for four weeks in 1972 and earning Curtis a gold disc. Two singles taken from the album, the title song and the million selling Freddie's Dead', both went Top 10. These two songs, along with the

stark and sinister Pusherman', worked brilliantly in the context of the film, delivering a potent anti-drugs message. This special 2LP reissue presents the original soundtrack album together with a bonus LP of demos, alternate versions, a track which did not appear on the

original album, two anti-drugs radio spots recorded by Mayfield and Curtom labelmates The Natural Four's lesser-heard version of Eddie You Should Know Better'.

World Champion turntablist DJ Woody's innovative 7" Flexi-disc scratch record series 'Flexicuts' gets a vinyl release. 'Flexin Hard' consists of all the scratch samples from Flexicuts 1 and 2, but this time on 12" yellow vinyl. Includes 20 original skip-proof scratch phrases plus 2 longer scratch sentences combining the samples.

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

I first heard Etta James as a young teenager when she had a hit with "Tell Mama," a tune that has easily stood the test of time. She recorded this album a quarter-century later and sounded even better.

For "The Right Time" she returns to the Muscle Shoals studio where she recorded "Tell Mama," this time with producer Jerry Wexler, and it's an outstanding match. She hits nary a forced or false note and is backed with a stellar band that includes saxophonist Hank Crawford, guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Willie Weeks. They plow ahead like a great offensive line blocking for an all-star running back -- one who isn't afraid to lower the shoulder and knock somebody over.

There's plenty of manufactured emotion on records, but you won't find any of it here. Etta just rocks naturally. It's like sitting next to a seasoned story teller in full command of the narrative. Nothing for you to do but sit back, close your eyes and listen.

A sign of great singers for me is how they put a stamp on songs that have been done many times. In that regard, Etta makes "Love and Happiness" and "Ninety and a Half Won't Do" her own. She tears up "The Night Time Is the Right Time" with the help of Crawford's sax. Of course she has the blues well covered, my personal favorite being "Down Home Blues," and flashes her humorous side with the trash-talking "Wet Match." She hits any note she wants without straining and with total conviction.

But all the songs are top-notch. The best advice for anyone reading this is to just pick up the album and discover the old-school glory of Etta James.

Tyler Smith

Our fifth release is the Las Vegas Connection, who were a New Orlean band from the 1970s that released two singles on Senator Jones 'Hep Me.' This will be a limited press of 500 units only which has been licensed through Warren Hildebrand and Mardi Gras Music. 'Running Back To You' is a glorious soulful dancer that has received plays in recent years on the rare soul scenes across the globe. On the flip is the uptempo disco grooved 'Give Me Your Love' with a luscious vocal delivery from Jackie Pettis.

This is available for pre-order and is a Love Vinyl DRS Ltd distribution title.

3x 180g heavy weight black etched vinyl. Triple gatefold sleeve.

JAMES HUNTER had already established himself as a permanent fixture in the world of Rhythm and Soul with his five previous albums, each more poignant and well-executed than the last. However, Whatever It Takes has buried them all. His voice has never been more compelling, his songs never more elegantly crafted. Recorded to tape at Daptone's Penrose Studios in Riverside, California, Bosco Mann's production elevates Hunter's arrangements to the altitude they deserve.

The needle drops on "I Don't Wanna Be Without You." Saxophones grabbing your collar, pulling you close. Moving you over the undulating curves of a rhumba. The coquettish bubbling of the organ. James words curl casually into your ear, When we met, I was pretty well set in my ways... There is an effortless intimacy here. The casual confidence of a song-smith who has honed his craft beyond reproach. Not just the lyrics, but the melodies, the harmonies, the rhythms, phrasing, all locking into perfect synchronicity. A unified devotion serving only their master's voice. And his voice. Almost violently tender, plucking lyrics off a seemingly endless vine and feeding them to you with the eager patience of a lover.

There is a common theme here. It's not a record about infidelity, shallow seductions, fleeting backdoor trysts, or any of the other common clicheìs of R&B. These are poetic testaments to truer love. Loyalty, devotion, humility, and the inevitable regret of those who take love for granted. Clearly inspired by his new bride, Hunter is singing about the preciousness of a love he plans to keep, Whatever It Takes.

James Hunter has certainly paid his dues. Over the span of 30 years, he's worked on the railway, busked in the streets of London, provided backup vocals and guitar for Van Morrison, played clubs and theatres all over the world, written scores of original songs, and recorded some of the most original and honest rhythm & soul albums of the last two decades.

DJ Legend U Roy / Features The Wild Bunch, Kofi,Sister Audrey and Sandra Cross / Mad Professor Produced.

Recorded in London and Los Angeles this ARIWA release breaths some fresh air into the ever wonderful DJ Reggae sound created by DJ legend U Roy. Cuts like 'True Born African' and 'Ghetto Youth' have a fresh feel to them as U Roy lays

it down in his inevitable wild stylee! U Roy aka Ewart Beckford toasting career started in the early 1960's where he hadDJ stints with some impressive sound systems like Dickie Wongs Sound System, Sir Coxone Dodds Sound System

where he worked along side DJ legend King Stitt aka The Ugly One before moving onto King Tubbys Hometown Hi Fi System. Early singles produced by the likes of Keith Hudson and Duke Reid saw U Roy make the mark and he

became one of the top toasters. 1975 saw the relese of the classic Dread In Babylon LP which concreted his status as a true talent. True Born African once again sees U Roy deliver a striking DJ album with Mad Professors production

and guidence. Album features The Robotiks, The Wild Bunch, Sandra Cross and Kofi.

Die zweite Runde von Remixen zu dem selbst betitelten Album von Urbs ist eine fesselnde Zusammenstellung von zeitlosen HipHop sowie Downtempo Nummern.

Marc Mac: Gibt es zu dieser Person etwa noch was zu sagen Als Teil des UK Duos 4Hero hat er Musikgeschichte geschrieben und sein Visioneers Projekt setzte neue Standards in Sachen organischem HipHop. Sein Remix zu - Get Wid It featuring Tyna aus Neuseeland, besitzt alles, was man sich von diesem Musikgenie erwartet. Ein souliges, harmonisches Meisterwerk, welches auch auf einem seiner legendären Visioneers Alben hätte veröffentlicht werden können.

Peter Kruder hat als Teil von Kruder & Dorfmeister sowie mit seinem Projekt Peace Orchestra Musikgeschichte geschrieben. Sein Remix zu - Happy Days feat. Bagi und Sarah Ann ist eine Reise zurück zu seinen musikalischen Wurzeln, welche ihn berühmt gemacht haben - eine relaxte Downtempo-Nummer. Der Remix weckt Erinnerungen an die Zeit, als seine Musik Millionen von Menschen berührte.

Patrick Pulsinger ist der dritte im Bunde aus der Riege der Helden der 90s. Gemeinsam mit Sam Irl, seinem derzeitigen Komplizen, zeigen die beiden was herauskommen kann, wenn ein Studio-Zauberer mit Techno Wurzeln auf ein Musikgenie mit HipHop Wurzeln trifft. Ihr Remix zu - Code Of The Snake feat. Blabbwona ist eine trippige HipHop-Tech-Dub Nummer mit viel Bass und als solches absolut einzigartig.

Jstar aus London hat sich bereits einen Namen gemacht als Produzent von unzähligen Remixen und Edits auf seinem eigenem Label Jstar. Seine Spezialität sind Dub und Reggae Remixe von HipHop Classics. Er ist ein Großmeister des Digital Dancehall und transformierte den Golden Era Sound von - Why We feat Ward 21 (aus Kingston Jamaica) in etwas absolut Futuristisches.

Flip: Rapveteran von Texta aus Linz, der zuletzt durch sein Soloalbum auf dem New Yorker Raplabel Ill Adrenaline Records aufgefallen ist, bringt einen Remix zu - Holdin' Back feat Wordsworth. Mit einem genialem Chuck D Sample und einem funky Beat setzt dieser Remix Tanzflächen von Alaska bis Auckland in brannt.

Trishes: Last but not least: Moderator der legendären HipHop Radioshow Tribe Vibes auf FM4 und integraler Bestandteil der Wiener HipHop Szene. Für seinen Remix zu - Concussion feat BluRum13 von Oneself, setzte er auf einen heftigen Groove mit lauten Becken um einen Underwater-Funk-Beat zu kreieren und somit einen neuen Hintergrund für diese echt verrückte Geschichte zu gestalten.

Über das Album 'Urbs':
Ganze elf Jahre sind seit - Toujours Le Meme Film', dem letzten Album von Urbs vergangen. Auf Kruder & Dorfmeisters G-Stone Label lieferte der Wiener Musiker, DJ und Producer damals den Soundtrack zu einem fiktiven Film Noir, zog sich aber nach einer Europa-Tournee fast gänzlich aus der Öffentlichkeit zurück. Er sieht sein Schaffen nicht als Karriere, sondern als Teil seines Lebens, welches in den seltensten Fällen einer konkreten Planung unterliegt, und deshalb hat Urbs sich auch bewusst viel Zeit gelassen für sein aktuelles -unbetiteltes - Album.

Urbs: - Der Vorgänger "Toujours Le Meme Film" kam bei sehr vielen Leuten extrem gut an, und über die Jahre habe ich mitbekommen, daß es manchen Leuten richtig viel bedeutet. Das war eine gewisse Belastung, weil man diese Leute natürlich nicht enttäuschen will. Mittlerweile denke ich, daß genug Wasser die Donau runtergeflossen ist, um vielleicht den einen oder anderen mit etwas ganz Neuem zu überraschen. Die Leute, die mich kennen, wissen ja, daß ich im Grunde immer dopen HipHop produziert habe.'

Konsequenterweise handelt es sich diesmal nicht um ein Instrumental-Album sondern um eine Sammlung von 12 souligen HipHop Nummern, die mit handverlesenen Vokalisten der internationalen Rap-, Dancehall- und Soul-Szene aufwarten. Neben den New Yorkern Wordsworth von EMC sowie R.A. The Rugged Man, finden sich unter anderem Ward 21 aus Kingston, Jamaica, Voice Monet aus New Orleans, Blu Rum 13 von One Self aus Washington DC, als auch alte Weggefährten wie dem Wiener Skero oder dem Wahl-Münchner Blabbwona von Abstract Art auf dem Album.
Auf die Frage, wie es sich anfühlt, nach mehreren Instrumental-LPs erstmals ein Album mit Vokalisten aufzunehmen, erwidert Urbs mit einem Augenzwingern: - Generell war es für mich schwierig die Songs loszulassen und mich den MCs auszuliefern. Man verbringt viel Zeit mit einem Stück und baut eine gewisse Beziehung auf. Die Musik erzeugt Bilder im Kopf und hat oft eine schwer fassbare Bedeutung für den Producer. Dann geht ein MC drüber und es ist ein bisschen als würden die brutalen Freunde deines älteren Bruders dein Kinderzimmer verwüsten- in deiner Anwesenheit.'

Wieso das Album keinen Titel trägt, ist auch schnell beantwortet: - Dieses Album ist nun sozusagen meine Leistungsschau auf diesem Gebiet und durch den unendlich langen Reifeprozess, ist es auch schön intensiv eingekocht und auf dem Punkt. Deshalb auch keine Intros, keine Interludes, kein Titel, no Gimmicks, einfach 12 gute Songs - Punkt.'

Neben dem Album werden auch zwei EPs mit Remixes von Retrogott, Brenk Sinatra, Visoneers (Marc Mac von 4 Hero), Peter Kruder, Cookin' Soul, J*Star, Flip (Texta) und anderen veröffentlicht. Für das Artwork zeichnet DJ DSL verantwortlich.

Alexx A-Game makes his return to Swing Ting after last year's 'A-Game Everyday' & 'Gangsters' with the soulfully poignant 'Braver'. The 7' is the 1st physical drop on FACT magazine's label of 2016, following well-received Equiknoxx & Madd Again! releases in 2017.

In 2015 Swing Ting's Samrai & Platt received a tune from Alexx's manager, 'Braver' asking if they'd be able to contribute to the production on the track. Listening to the stems, it became apparent how amazing Alexx's vocal delivery sounded stripped to just the Rhodes & bassline played by frequent A-Game collaborator & fellow Jamaican Vern Hill. After adding effects and flourishes the crew began playing the 'Smooth Edit' on Swing Ting radio shows and at DJ sets around the globe.

Requests to release the track followed from revered selectors, followers, and musical peers alike. The bittersweet number seemed to particularly resonate with Manchester-based DJs and crews such as Konny Kon (Children of Zeus/Broke'n'£nglish), Murlo & the Levelz family who've championed the tune over the last 12 months.