Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

Grammy-winning singing sensation Gregory Porter - one of the most successful jazz artists of his generation - is back with a new album, 'Nat King Cole & Me', to be released on Decca/Blue Note on 27th October. It is a deeply personal tribute to Nat King Cole - the legendary crooner who ignited Gregory's love of music. It's only natural that I go to the root of my inspiration and where I come from. And that root would be my mother and gospel music and Nat King Cole,' he says.

Recorded at London's AIR Studios, the 12-track album features some of Gregory's favourite Nat King Cole tunes including 'Smile', 'L-O-V-E' and 'Nature Boy'. There is also a Nat-inspired arrangement of Gregory's own song 'When Love Was King', originally released on his million-selling hit album, 'Liquid Spirit'.

For Gregory Porter, the influence of Nat King Cole on his life and music runs deep, a through-line that reaches back into some of his earliest childhood memories, and culminates in the release of his new album 'Nat King Cole & Me'. Gregory explains, At five or six years old, Nat's music filled a void in me. My father wasn't in my life and wasn't showing interest in me or raising me and Nat's words were the life lessons, words of wisdom and fatherly advice I needed.'

Gregory's love for Nat's music blossomed so much that he wrote a semi-autobiographical musical, also called 'Nat King Cole & Me', which premiered in 2004. After the play, I felt a lighter feeling about my father and a deeper appreciation for both my mother and the great music of Nat King Cole,' says Gregory. He also found his voice through his own songwriting - It wasn't until I wrote the musical that I was fit to call myself a songwriter. Before that, I would write different poems but they had no music.'

'Nat King Cole & Me' is the follow-up to his Grammy-winning albums 'Liquid Spirit' (2013) and 'Take Me to the Alley' (2016). 'Liquid Spirit' took Gregory from being the biggest name on the jazz scene to being one of the most sought-after singers around today, performing sell-out shows across the UK and being invited to perform on high profile TV programmes including The Graham Norton Show, Strictly Come Dancing and the BBC Music Awards. He has become an adopted national treasure in the UK, having sung for the Queen multiple times, as well as major music festivals including Glastonbury, where he performed on the Pyramid Stage alongside the likes of Muse, Adele and Coldplay. Gregory's ability to transcend genres even extends to his surprise dance hit 'Liquid Spirit Claptone Remix' which became one of the most popular tracks in Ibiza.

After winning over audiences with his rich and soulful voice, there can be no better time for Gregory to return to the music which first inspired him to become a singer. On Nat's legacy and influence Gregory affirms, He was one of a kind. He left such great music - such beautiful things to listen to that you can't help but be influenced by that extraordinary timbre, style, and ultimate cool.'

Jeph1 uses hand-made spring reverb devices, East African traditional instruments, tube delays and field recordings all amalgamated in order to create a piece of music that pays tribute to the principles of UK Sound System Culture.

MC Trooper adds a layer of energy with his conscious lyrics praising the positivity of Roots Music to exalt the King & chant down Babylon. Grand Ancestor s tenth release is sure to be a fixture pon di circuits.

What started out as a simple email exchange between a young, hungry beatmaker and a seasoned player in the worlds of jazz and midwestern indie hip-hop, has resulted in a vibrant record nearly a decade in the making. On one side of Let It Out sits Miles Bonny, a long time musical collaborator who spent his youth soaking in powerful musical moments in NYC under the tutelage of his trumpet-slinging father, Francis Bonny, and later as a teen immersed in New York's busy indie-hip-hop scene. As he grew up Miles cemented himself a niche in the Midwest, most notably in Lawrence, Kansas where tireless forays into beatmaking led to the founding of the much-loved INnatesounds Crew and record label, as well as a series of solo releases and collaborative projects.

Eventually shifting his focus to his own vocal stylings, it wasn't long before Miles caught the attention of the international music community, including the young, curious ears of the at time unknown, soon-to-be future R&B sensation Ta-Ku. Through a series of emails and conversations, Ta-Ku asked to send Miles beats and the two planned to work on a series of tracks. From there the pair developed a friendship that was built upon mutual encouragement and a creative admiration between two artists both navigating their own personal and professional responsibilities.

The Let It Out EP, released on Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz Recordings, acts as the culmination of such an intimate and organic journey. Recorded by Miles in Kansas City during a time he was experiencing the oft-turbulent tasks of true adulthood, the record focus on the life of a young father, underpinned by how we often bottle up difficult emotions and creativity when the pressures of today's complicated world reach fever pitch. Brimming with emotive, intimate lyrics from Miles spread amidst Ta-Ku's soul-drenched beat work and syrupy future grooves, the EP will hit close to home for anyone whose daily lives calls for a much needed dose of personal reflection and chilled-out decompression.

In defying the laws of tradition, Los Angeles based music sound designer
Mono/Poly (born Charles E. Dickerson) has managed to outstrip the
logics of multi-genre producing. Known for his distinct madness of face
melting bass, paired with his dreamy astral soundscapes of glitch-based
hip-hop, Mono/Poly has proved himself to be a natural phenomenon.
The new six-song self-released 'Union' EP produced by Mono/Poly and
featuring stunning soulful UK vocalist Alyss includes the awe-inspiring
singles 'Footprints', 'Violet Ray' & 'Golden Light', as well as the stand-out
track 'Choices'. Out now on digital download, with instrumentals due out
in October and the limited-edition metallic gold & black colored 12' vinyl.

10 more classic UK roots and steppers tracks from Pablo Gad...

Recorded at the band's sold out Islington Assembly Hall show in May 2017. Features special guest appearances from Paul Weller on "Your Balloon is Rising" and "What's Going On", Dr. Robert (of The Blow Monkeys) on "A Love Uprising" and Danny Champ (of Danny & The Champions of the World) on "Pushing Your Love".

For decades, if you wanted to listen to great music all you needed to do was stare at a screen! TV and film soundtracks were often the work of US legends such as Lalo Schiffrin, Oliver Nelson & Quincy Jones, and their Uk counterpartsRonnie Hazelhurst and Alan Hawkshaw, provided the soundtrack to the 60's & 70's at a time when film and TV music was unashamedly funky and featured the ensemble of choice for the jazz arranger.. the big band!

A 21st century musician with comparable skills is Andy Tolman - an astounding bass player, but also highly adept at writing & arranging for a big band and who is heavily influenced by those greatest practitioners of the art. Andy met to Nick van Gelder (the original Jamiroquai drummer) and keyboard guru Carl Hudson whilst doing a run of gigs backing artists like Leon Ware and Jean Carne. Andy played Nick You What! and he asked if he could lay a drum track down and at around the same time Carl offered his services on the record also. Nick went on to drum on the entire album and produce the recordings too.

At the tail end of 2011, when Freestyle Records A&R man Greg Boramans' compilation 'Sounds From The Soul Underground' was released the glorious noise of The Andy Tolman Cartel first came to public attention. The amazing track You What! had one foot in jazz-funk & the other in film & TV themes of the 60's and 70's, found champions in Jazz FM's Peter Young and BBC 6 Musics Craig Charles who both featured it on their radio shows heavily.

Andy himself takes up the story, "After You What! found it's way onto Gregs' compilation he asked me how many more tracks I had, I kind of lied (sorry Greg!) and said a whole albums worth. Having shot my mouth off I thought I had better set about delivering... a daunting prospect, and a promise I probably wouldn't have made had I been sober at the time. So I called upon the services of some of the amazing musicians I have worked with over the past few years. Move Over was the first song I heard Jo Harman sing and Stevie Watts award winning Hammond organ playing seemed like a natural fit too"

'Cypher' is indeed the perfect example of a natural fit of like minded musicians and their natural talents and the delightfully natural sound of a big band cutting loose that has not been heard for a long time making a welcome and long overdue return.

**INITIAL 400 LP COPIES INCL. BONUS 7" OF A PREV. UNRELEASED DEEP-FUNK BANGER**

Tramp's Feeling Nice series has positioned itself as a universally accepted essential cultural and historical document of some of the greatest unknown local vernacular American Black music of the sixties and seventies. The Feeling Nice series has been dedicated to filling in the blanks between the more well known cuts of so-called Deep Funk canon and drawing out the relationships and stories behind and between the tunes and the artists, and ultimately creating a dialogue that serves to enlighten and enliven a true anti-racist discussion of American Popular music specifically and of Global human music in general. With Feeling Nice Vol. 4, Tramp continues this important conversation, and having spent over 700 days unearthing a rousing selection across the board, offers it to you, now, as a double LP with full-color label scans, never before seen promo shots, and detailed biographical information - in some cases in the words of the artists themselves!

Believe me when I tell you, Feeling Nice 4 has got it all: Brilliant B-sides: (Donald Ray - "Strut Your Stuff"), Concealed covers: (Combined Forces - "Feelin' Alright"), Tittyshakers: (Big Bear Revue - "Big Bear"), Dance crazes: (Donnie Sanders - "Shing-A-Ling Baby, Mr. Clean & The Cleansers - "Karate"), Obscure cuts by well known R&B stars: (Frederick Knight - "Steppin Down"), Retro German rave-ups: (Take 5+2 - "Get Your Love"), Weirdo deep funk one-offs: (Moony Moon - "Walking On The Moon"), Killers from the Caribbean: (Al Sinclair - "No That Ain't Groovy), Basement Jams: (TNT Powerhouse - "Basement Jam"), Most talked-about new discoveries: (Living Funk - "Silver Black Summer Day"), and more and more and more...

As a special incentive for you to be first in line for this freakishly fantastic funk feast, Tramp Records will include a special BONUS 45 of an unpressed acetate of "I FEEL A GROOVE COMIN' ON" by "SOUTH SIDE" with the first 400 copies of Feeling Nice Vol. 4.

- Lucky Brown, 2017

Key selling points:
- all but one song get re-issued for the very first time
- the double gatefold vinyl LP contains detailed liner notes and unseen photographs
- the vinyl LP comes with a full album download code
- incl. 2 previously unreleased tracks

Biga * Ranx, the young prodigy of the Dancehall scene, delivers the last volume of the serie of three maxis entitled "THE WORLD OF BIGA * RANX". It is with the famous producer KANKA that he chose to collaborate with on this Volume 3. The two companions are not in their first test since they had already worked together on the massive tune "Make It This Time". Welcome to the wonderful world of "DUB STEPPA"!

Following up the release of his first album "On Time" (2011), the serie of 3 maxis entitled "THE WORLD OF BIGA*RANX" started in 2012. Each maxi reveals 4 tracks composed in collaboration with one beat maker. To launch this series Biga*Ranx decided to present his friends, the Danish producers Maffi, already present on the album "On Time" on two titles. The crew Maffi is considered one of the best producers of digital reggae currently. He collaborates with Jahtari and Pupa Jim. As he says on the first track, "Dancehall is my life and singing is my vocation ..." he certainly sings his autobiography, but not only. With a sharp pen, Biga*Ranx castigates a world of indifference on the title of the same name but always keeping this faith which gives rise to a perpetual hope. On the B side of the vinyl two other compositions much lighter in a "Party Time" atmosphere with the titles "True Romance" and "Do not Go". An unstoppable and melodic flow on an effective beat blended with Blues guitars. In the end a dynamic and modern reggae served by the amazing voice of Biga*Ranx both suave and devastating! An artist who has not finished to surprise you...

Young Dancehall MC Biga*Ranx delivers the second volume of the serie of maxis entitled "THE WORLD OF BIGA*RANX". After meeting the digital reggae of the Danish producers Maffi, Biga * Ranx returns in force in collaboration with Ondubground. From the city of Tours (France), just like Biga, this trio imposes itself as the dubstep revelation of the French scene. The crew ODG led by their charismatic leader Olo, has already participated in productions of the first album of Biga * Ranx "On Time" on the tracks Gipsy Rock or Brigante Life. Long-time friends, they shared the stage several times and worked regularly in the studio together. This maxi begins hard with the title "Set Me Free", a name more than evocative. Biga * likes to play codes and oscillates between the genres he likes without ever cataloging. It once again demonstrates its incredible flow on the track "Depense On My Ting". Two reggae classics revisited with Ondubground sauce with the titles "Mawdness" and "I Shoot the Dubstep", to conclude this foray into the wonderful world of stepper!

DMC World Champion and IDA World Champion. A deep cut non skip 7" DJ scratch tool by Ritchie Ruftone, with one side at 83 bpm and the flip-side at 133 bbpm. Weighing in at 40 gms.

Following up on the smashing success of El Michels Affair's Return To The 37th Chamber, EMA drops one more 45 for the collectors. The A side is the crushing cover of the Wu classic Shadowboxin' off GZA's cinematic masterpiece Liquid Swords. El Michels Affair takes the tune and makes it their own with dancing guitar licks, floating organ notes, and their signature heavy drums. The B side is a treat for the fans, a non album cut, they cover Ghostface's Iron Maiden', the tune that opened up and set the tone for his debut classic Ironman. El Michels smashes this one with a frantic off beat intro that drops into a heavy duty cover of the tune. The inimitable studio prowess of Michels is higlighted all over this track in the nuances and arrangements. Play it loud, and also smoke something and play it in your headphones. Another Big Crown sureshot.

The third release for Toronto, Canada's Sweet Sensi Records! FeYder On the A-Side brings you a classic reFix of '54-46 Was My Number' - An amen smasher sure to smash the dancefloor. For the B-Side DJ Clear gives you a jungle sound-clash style tune for your arsenal.

Afro funk and Political Soul from Togo.

Recorded in the beginning of the 80's and self-produced by Itadi in 1983 , this obscure album contained deep soul and controversial rare grooves backed by the 5 band members called the 'Afro Funk Band de Lomé'.

Itadi's music is unique, in his second album, he kept the same recipe: a mixture of soul, reggae, hi-life and Funk, with heavy lyrics which sounds like slogans and caused him big trouble after its release. He was obliged to escape the country to USA. A real definition of a revolutionary musician!

This deluxe LP contains also two unreleased tracks, interview, and photos and was fully licensed with his family.

Remastered by Frank Merritt at Carvery Studio.

A dynamic presence on every bandstand she graces, singer Kennedy brings a capti vati ng soulfulness to the proceedings on the Kennedy Administrati on's self-ti tled debut.

Whether it's the funk-laden opener It's Over Now', her smouldering take on Al Green's Let's Stay Together' or energised interpretati on of Billy Preston's Will It Go Round in Circles', her own nostalgic Mama's Kisses' and other compelling originals like the alluring Finally', the anthemic Victory Song' or the group's old school throwdown Let's Party', the Michigan native and Brooklyn resident makes a stunning impression on her fi rst recording.
The group is led by keyboardist-musical director and songwriting partner Ondre J. Pivec, who is touring with Grammy-winning singer Gregory Porter.

The minute we started playing together three years ago, something clicked right-away. It seemed like we both knew what to do to make things work. It was like magic.' That magical connecti on developed on their longstanding Wednesday night residency at Groove, a strictly covers club in the heart of
New York's Greenwich Village. And while the Kennedy Administrati on delivered on that gig with the kind of crackling intensity of a modern day Rufus & Chaka Khan, Ms Kennedy and Ondre J also proved to be a potent songwriti ng team when they began collaborati ng on their originals.

The group alos includes bassist Chelton Grey and veteran drummer Nathaniel Townsley, who has played with Joe Zawinul, Richard Bona, Will Downing and Alejandro Sanz. Together with Ms Kennedy, Ondre J, superb backup vocalist Stephanie Fischer and special guest harmonica ace Gregoire Maret, who appears on the alluring bossa nova Don't Forget to Smile', they create an
irresisti ble vibe on their groove-heavy debut.

Les Cidres. The new sublabel of ANUS Records. We start fresh with our own 7' by Panda Lassow and Compliment aka Les Cidres. They put their strenghts together and combine their bass, electro, dub, house, synth and disco sound with a touch of bedroom and DIY attitude.

Rhoda Dakar came to prominence as lead singer with multiracial all-girl band The Bodysnatchers on the legendary 2Tone label in 1980. 35 years on, she has recorded what is being described as the lost 2Tone album'!

It's been four years since Zach Saginaw, aka Shigeto, returned home to Michigan from a stint in Brooklyn, NY, and since then, the multi-faceted musician has become a part of the fabric of Detroit's music scene. While always having a personal approach to his projects, Saginaw's influences for his third album, The New Monday are more about the community of Detroit than anything else. Named after a weekly DJ event called Monday is the New Monday that Saginaw does at the unassuming Motor City Wine with a group of friends, The New Monday is the result of Saginaw diving into the city's deep record culture, where there legacy of artist's of the past help Saginaw embrace his own contributions.

It's focused on a couple things and they all kind of come together to represent different things,' explains Saginaw. My time back in Detroit, back living in Michigan and spending time with a lot of kind of original people who have always been here, learning from them, hearing stories from them, being influenced by them, and inspired by them.'

While, in the past, projects like Lineage or No Better Time Than Now were rooted in strong personal messages, family and relationships respectively, The New Monday represents a communal eort where solidarity is the key. Going for a simplified approach of just trying to make good tracks, The New Monday is diverse in its styles leaning more into a dance music direction - new ground for a Shigeto project. A new air of confidence in Saginaw has expanded his horizons since his return to Detroit, but traces of his past work will continue to be present.

I don't want people to think I'm leaving anything,' says Saginaw. I'm still me. It's a result of me being immersed in the culture, and inevitably making music that is influenced by that culture whether it be house, techno, jazz, rap. It doesn't matter. It's all coming from what I love about Michigan.'

While The New Monday still features the jazz textures long associated with Shigeto projects, the varied elements that make up the album cohesively come together to show the distinct inspiration that Saginaw has drew from since his return home to Detroit. Like on Barry White', which features Detroit hip-hop artist ZelooperZ (a member of Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade crew who Saginaw also has a side project with called ZGTO), Saginaw captures everything he's been doing all on one track. As much as it's hip-hop influenced, it's a mutant that encompasses elements of dance music, jazz, and ambient sounds

Throughout The New Monday, Saginaw poignantly references the musical influences that have either always been with him or newly discovered. It is Saginaw's interpretation of Detroit's rich culture of innovative artistry, but done so with respect for the history and to contribute, not disrupt.

I think over the past four years, I can confidently say that I found my place here,' describes Saginaw. I'm happy here and I feel that I have the respect from the people I need respect from, that I want respect from. It's all of the result of embracing it and embracing, not Detroit, but embracing community, embracing family, being closer to my parents, being closer to my oldest friends.

- Shigeto's third full length, his first album since 2013's No Better Time Than Now
- In between has remixed Anna Wise, Hundred Waters, Su-an Stevens, U.R. etc.
- Media support from BBC Radio, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Fader, THUMP, Resident Advisor,
- Vinyl is housed in a matte gatefold jacket with purple foil

Another 90s classic hip hop banger liberated to 7" wax, finding DJ Premier's timeless remix of Showbiz & AG's "Next Level" remastered and recut. On the flip, the original sample as always - the blissed out "Mr Mellow" by legend Maynard Fergusson. Don't sleep - as always, these are limited to 300 copies.

Essential dub album, with Albert Malawi on drums, Earl Bagga Walker & Michael Ashleyon bass, Earl "Chinna" Smith & Tony Chin on guitars, Pablove Black on piano.

Mixed by The Scientist, produced by Sugar Minott, reissue of 1980 album on the Black Roots label.

LP + CD
Ska (or bluebeat) marked the true rise of Jamaican popular music, finding the most popular in the first half of the years if "60. It was the forerunner of other major genres such as rocksteady and reggae, and as these featured a rhythm with accents on raising the musical joke. Fundamental to the English contribution from the last years "70 which gave the exotic rhythm a cultural connotation as well as musical giving rise to rude boys, skinheads and mods. The fascinating Italian street at Ska begins in the second half of the 80s, albeit sometimes embarrassed with punk, when many bands first underground on the Lombardy-Piedmont axis begin to have a national resonance, Bluebeaters, Statute, Matrioska, Royale Casino, Persiana Jones, Shandon etc. With the time and bandwidth of this period, they mistakenly united to each other without having the requisite chronological or stylistic requirements and hybrid music left for what they were not, the genre faded, deflated, imploded even if a hard-core musician continued to operate "in the shadows" and with a discreet personal follow-up. In the last decade, the rhythms of the ska Italian were mostly abandoned by the 2-Tone-ska, with its ska-core and ska-punk dances, and back to the origins of the traditional Jamaican ska. MAGNETICS : Today something finally begins to move. And this is something very high. Leave behind the ingenuity of the past, so that a new generation of musicians stand out in the Italian landscape. High-tech musicians whose first references are Jamaica of the origins and the New York scene of recent years. THE MAGNETICS of "lifting" movement do so much, and quality material to be heard alike. It is surely early to talk about the rebirth of the Ska, primarily because at the public and local level there is still a bit of the prejudice that the genre has brought back from the '90s. But with groups such as THE MAGNETICS, the new formation led by Olly Riva and Mr.Massa, with their early reggae could finally be the right mood.

Few funk groups have had as far-reaching an influence as New Orleans band The Meters, the project of keyboardist/vocalist Art Neville, and the famed house band of Allen Tousaint. During their mid-60s-to-late-70s heyday they released a heavy mixture of instrumental and vocal albums and singles of Louisiana-inflected soul, R&B, and funk music that continues to inspire and marvel, and get covered by groups and artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jaco Pastorius, Widespread Panic, and even The Grateful Dead. In 1969, The Meters released Look-Ka Py Py, which would cement their reputation in New Orleans music history as one of the greatest. Produced by Allen Toussaint himself, Look-Ka Py Py featured Art Neville and his sinuous keys leading the four-piece of George Porter Jr. on bass, Ziggy Modeliste on drums, and Leo Nocentelli on guitar 12 instrumental numbers of world-class funk, dripping with style and precision. Acclaimed to this day as a classic of the genre, The Rolling Stone gave the album a spot on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time, while songs from Look-Ka Py Py found new life decades after its release as a treasure trove of hip-hop sampling. (The title track alone has been sampled by Cypress Hill, DJ Shadow, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, 2 Live Crew, and even Kriss Kross, just to name a few.)

2016 repress. 180 gram LP."Reissue of the second Josie LP (#4011, January 1970), recorded out of state in Atlanta without fucking up the formula ..

Hay Luv' the new album by Twit One contains Cool Bap. For those who want to put a name tag on the versatile sound of the Cologne based Dj and producer, are free to use it. Hay Luv' is the follow-up to The Sit-In' from 2015. In the meantime Twit One has released a Keats'-record on HH V, put out Timing & Effekte' together with Retrogott as Echomann & 4Track Boy and uploaded 154 episodes Radio Love Love. And he also played a gig in your town, if you happen to live in Hildesheim, London or Tokyo.
Hay Luv' contains 15 tracks and will be available on LP, MC and digital. Special guests are C.A. Ramirez on the beat and Retrogott on the cut. Vocal features come from spoken word artist PBLouison and MCs/singers Turt & Charlie Tappin (aka Summer Sons) from Bristol.

While Soul Togetherness' on Expansion continues to feature the best new floor fillers of each year, Soul Festival' is here now with a collection of music reflecting the label's love of 70s soul.
    
Soul Festival' spans the period from when new soul music took influence from the Northern soul we enjoy here at UK clubs and events. As the decade progressed, records became more lavish in their arrangement and grander in production, always with that essential soul feel, and that's what you will find here on this compilation.

The boogaloo is an infectious and little-defined dance that dominated American dance records in the mid-60s. It was the joyous place where young black and Latin youths met and made sweet music. All previous Boogaloo compilations have focused on the Latin aspect, Let's Do The Boogaloo' looks at how the music crossed over between the two.

The boogaloo craze started in Chicago with a record by Tom & Jerryo, but it proved to have an enduring legacy with its hit-making potential running from 1965 through to 1968 - much longer than any other comparable dance. Our earliest records - The infectious 'Ready Steady Go' by Prince & Princess, produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller - kicks us off with a frenetic beat and some Latin horns. It is the perfect boogaloo crossover.

Elsewhere we feature big sounds from both the soul and Latin side of the music. Club classics by the likes of Hector Rivera and Roy Lee Johnson, and obscurities by The PS 54 School Yard and Shirley Butler. The musical aspects of this compilation hail from as far apart as Texas and Detroit and Philadelphia and LA, where we found the previously unreleased Bob & Earl Band 'Boogaloo'.

The extensive sleeve notes explain the story of the dance and how the music adapted to it. Bringing together the many strands and explaining what connects Chubby Checker, Charlie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria and Jimmy Castor. This is musical and dancefloor dynamite that brought together communities, and Let's Do The Boogaloo' is the definitive compilation from the genre.

This double A-sided 7" features two new cool, sophisticated and funky melodic pop songs from Bank. Tight bass lines, multi-hued percussion, snappily intertwining guitars, yearning melodies and clever production touches abound. These Tokyo veterans evince their love of all varieties of funky pop from recent decades in these two sweet sides."

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Keyboardist Eddie Russ hailed from Pittsburg and played with many of the greats including Sarah Vaughn, Benny Golson, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. Eddie is somewhat of an enigma, but he has always been held in high regard in the UK, and he finally was able to perform here in London at the Jazz café in the early 90's a few years before his untimely demise. His debut album 'Fresh Out' was recorded for the Jazz Masters label and includes the jazz dance classic 'The Lope Song', he also contributed heavily to Sonny Stitt's 'Tornado' album on that label. His band The Mixed Bag also made an album for the Detroit Tribe label. In 1976 he signed to John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label and made two great jazz funk albums which were released on the Nashville's Monument label and like his debut were produced by Bob Crawford. From the 1978 album 'Take A Look At Yourself' the title track is a monster percussive jazz funker on which Eddie's keyboards really shine through and Jackie Holiday's soulful vocals really top it off. She also does a great job of the Emotions 'Don't Ask My Neighbours', and Renee Coles adds her vocals to the infectious rare groove version of Quincy Jones 'I Heard That' . The Monument albums include some great musicians including on this album Motown's Eddie Willis, a very young Kenny Garrett and the funk group Quazar.

Keyboardist Eddie Russ hailed from Pittsburg and played with many of the greats including Sarah Vaughn, Benny Golson, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. Eddie is somewhat of an enigma, but he has always been held in high regard in the UK, and he finally was able to perform here in London at the Jazz café in the early 90's a few years before his untimely demise.

His debut album 'Fresh Out' was recorded for the Jazz Masters label and includes the jazz dance classic 'The Lope Song', he also contributed heavily to Sonny Stitt's 'Tornado' album on that label. His band The Mixed Bag also made an album for the Detroit Tribe label. In 1976 he signed to John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label and made two great jazz funk albums which were released on the Nashville's Monument label and like his debut were produced by Bob Crawford.

From this first album 'See The Light' the title track is a great take on the Earth Wind And Fire song, 'Poko Nose' is a great funky groove oriented track, but it is the magical 'Zaius' that has become an all time jazz funk classic, a track that has maintained its popularity over the past 40 years.

The Monument albums include some great musicians including Marcus Belgrave and Larry Nozero, and on the Take A Look At Yourself' album Motown's Eddie Willis, a very young Kenny Garrett and the funk group Quazar.

Suncut make release number four and rediscover a brace of essential, rare soul cuts, both originally released via Henry Stone's TK offshoot, Glades in the mid-70s. Jerry Washington's elusive, uptempo, party-stater 'Don't Waste My Time' features alongside Timmy Thomas' soulful heart-breaker, 'It's What They Can't See'.

New Release by Django Django´s own Kick + Clap label. 12'' EP kitted in Kick & Clap House Sleeve and white dust jacket

Lady Chann & Rapha team up for 'Hard Drive'... The UK's 'number one dancehall queen' returns with a storming Carnival heater called 'Hard Drive'. 'Back it up, hard drive' is the command from the Lady on this minimal dancehall rhythm, which packs in solid sub-bass, a bark, and some well-placed/spaced-out percussion. The producer is the Bern, Switzerland born and raised Raphaël 'Rapha' Gasser, who became hooked on dancehall after hearing a mixtape by Berlin-based Supersonic Sound and has gone on to collaborate with the genre mainstays like I-Octane, Sheba, Kiprich and more. On the flip B-side is the remix by Newark-based Jersey Club original R3LL, upping the BPM and sure to keep forward thinking dance-floors bubbling. Kick N Clap is the record label founded by Django Django's Dave Maclean.