Hip-Hop Vinyl New Releases - News

Chicago's Low-End legend follows releases on Blank Mind & Planet Mu & his first album, Last Bus to Lake Park on Duck n' Cover Records w/ his 1st vinyl on his Beatdiwn House label.

Ghostface Killah is an American rapper and critically acclaimed for his loud, fast-paced flow and his colourful storytelling rap. His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing and he is the founder of his own label Starks Enterprises.

He was a prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan and after the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the members went on to pursue solo careers on which Ghostface Killah was the most successful one of the group.

The rapper started of his solo-career with Ironman (MOVLP1451) in 1996, which was well received by music critics. He has continued his success over the following years with critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000), Bulletproof Wallets (2001) and Fishscale (2006).

Bulletproof Wallets is the third studio album by Ghostface Killah. Its feature single, Never Be the Same Again', featured Carl Thomas and Raekwon. He had another club hit with Flowers', which featured guest vocals from fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man and Raekwon, and a popular single Ghost Showers' which featured Madame Majestic, who also sung on the popular Wu-Tang track Gravel Pit'.

Kicking off with 8 Days (Of Hanukkah)' - the band's ode to The Festival of Lights - the 11-song set of original and classic holiday songs is the group's first holiday record and follows their Grammy-nominated 2014 album Give The People What They Want.



There is no other band around today that plays with the rhythm, feeling, or explosive power of the Dap-Kings. Since releasing their first album in 2002, the band has performed all over the world, had tremendous success on TV and Sharon has collaborated with some of music's biggest names including David Byrne and Michael Bublé.



In addition to the new album, the Toronto International Film Festival just announced that documentary Miss Sharon Jones' is set to premiere at the esteemed festival on Friday, September 11. Directed by Academy Award Winner Barbara Kopple, the film follows the dynamic frontwoman through her 2013 battle with cancer, and her triumphant return to the stage around the release of Give The People What They Want.

Kicking off with 8 Days (Of Hanukkah)' - the band's ode to The Festival of Lights - the 11-song set of original and classic holiday songs is the group's first holiday record and follows their Grammy-nominated 2014 album Give The People What They Want.



There is no other band around today that plays with the rhythm, feeling, or explosive power of the Dap-Kings. Since releasing their first album in 2002, the band has performed all over the world, had tremendous success on TV and Sharon has collaborated with some of music's biggest names including David Byrne and Michael Bublé.



In addition to the new album, the Toronto International Film Festival just announced that documentary Miss Sharon Jones' is set to premiere at the esteemed festival on Friday, September 11. Directed by Academy Award Winner Barbara Kopple, the film follows the dynamic frontwoman through her 2013 battle with cancer, and her triumphant return to the stage around the release of Give The People What They Want.

After the band's 2014 debut album, I'm Still Here, came to fruition quicker than anyone expected, Sonny Knight and The Laker's released a live double album the following year. Since then they've been crisscrossing the globe bringing their hard-hitting sound to theaters, performing arts centers, festivals, and night clubs. Now, the band's sophomore studio set, Sooner Or Later, explores themes of overcoming adversity, love found, love lost, and societal observation.



By focusing less on so-called groove makers and more on the songwriting process, Knight and company harnessed the power of the different genres that came together to shape what we have come to know as soul music over the last 50+ years. Gospel, country, and blues were all melded into a record that takes you on a journey through life's questions and emotions via nine originals and a cover of Lonnie Mack's 'Why.'

Knight's vast array of life experiences inform a worldview that give him a unique perspective on the song writing, expressive, and storytelling process. While he was enamored with gospel music during his youth, which eventually led him to recording his first single in 1965, he soon found himself exploring other opportunities. From a deployment in Vietnam to a job as a long haul trucker, that it hasn't been a linear path has made him a more attuned performer. Combining this hard-earned experience with a vivacious band whose members are half his age, the songs and performances captured on Sooner Or Later are a perfect blending of observation, promise, and energy.

[] 1. Sooner or Later
[] 2. How Long Until Someday
[] 3. Stronger In The End
[] 4. Help Me
[] 5. I Could Never Get Tired
[] 6. It's Over
[] 7. The Cry
[] 8. It Had To Change
[] 9. Why
[] 10. Oh, Mary

After the band's 2014 debut album, I'm Still Here, came to fruition quicker than anyone expected, Sonny Knight and The Laker's released a live double album the following year. Since then they've been crisscrossing the globe bringing their hard-hitting sound to theaters, performing arts centers, festivals, and night clubs. Now, the band's sophomore studio set, Sooner Or Later, explores themes of overcoming adversity, love found, love lost, and societal observation.



By focusing less on so-called groove makers and more on the songwriting process, Knight and company harnessed the power of the different genres that came together to shape what we have come to know as soul music over the last 50+ years. Gospel, country, and blues were all melded into a record that takes you on a journey through life's questions and emotions via nine originals and a cover of Lonnie Mack's Why.'

Knight's vast array of life experiences inform a worldview that give him a unique perspective on the song writing, expressive, and storytelling process. While he was enamored with gospel music during his youth, which eventually led him to recording his first single in 1965, he soon found himself exploring other opportunities. From a deployment in Vietnam to a job as a long haul trucker, that it hasn't been a linear path has made him a more attuned performer. Combining this hard-earned experience with a vivacious band whose members are half his age, the songs and performances captured on Sooner Or Later are a perfect blending of observation, promise, and energy.

Nach neun Jahren sind die Blue States, die nichts anderes sind als der Name für Andrew Dragazis
musikalische Werke, zurück. Zum größten Teil alleine eingespielt, aufgenommen und produziert von Dragazis
in seinem Studio in Stoke Newington, London, schlägt "Restless Spheres" den Bogen von den Soundtracks
von Budd und Morricone, über griechische Sixties-Bands wie The Forminx, die deutschen Elektronik-Pioniere
Dieter Moebius und Michael Rother bis zu den amerikanischen Minimal-Komponisten Steve Reich und Phillip
Glass. Blue States entstanden vor fast zwanzig Jahren, als der junge Dragazis in seinem Elternhaus in
Sussex seine Faszination für Filmmusik entdeckte. Im Jahr 2000 nahm der Sohn sein erstes Album "Nothing
Changes Under The Sun" auf, wurde allerorten hoch gelobt und tourte mit seiner eigenen Band um die Welt.
Auf "Restless Spheres" stützt sich Dragazis auf alle seine vier früheren Alben und kreiert doch etwas ganz
anderes: Eine Platte voller subtiler Erhabenheit und hoffnungsvoller Melancholie.

Megastar Bruno Mars has unveiled his new album 24K Magic (pronounced twenty-four karat magic), with lead single of the same title. Written and produced by Shampoo Press & Curl, with additional production by The Stereotypes.
The last time Mars dropped an album was December 2012 - four years ago, an eternity for a pop star. He's surfed the intervening years like a pro, with two Super Bowl halftime performances (headlining in 2014, and a cameo last February with Coldplay and Beyoncé), not to mention the biggest-selling song of the past few years, his collaboration with Mark Ronson, "Uptown Funk", spending 14 weeks at Number One - tying for the second-longest run in chart history - and winning the Grammy for Record of the Year. To date, it's sold more than 12 million copies, been streamed nearly 2 billion times and made several dragons want to retire.
This is Bruno Mars. Six Number One singles. Thirty combined weeks at the top of the chart (44 if you count "Uptown"). Two albums, 26 million in sales worldwide, four Grammys and counting.
Throughout 24K Magic , Bruno Mars re-creates the R&B he fell in love with as a child - the likes of Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, New Edition, Bobby Brown, Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Teddy Riley, and Babyface.

Simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, George Benson is an amazingly versatile musician, whose adept skills find him crossing easily between straight-ahead jazz, smooth jazz, and contemporary R&B. Blessed with supreme taste, a beautiful, rounded guitar tone, terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, always, an unquenchable urge to swing, Benson's inspirations may have been Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format. Yet Benson can also sing in a lush, soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, and it is his voice that has proven more marketable to the public than his guitar. Benson is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat King Cole -- a fantastic pianist whose smooth way with a pop vocal eventually eclipsed his instrumental prowess in the marketplace -- but unlike Cole, Benson has been granted enough time after his fling with the pop charts to reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.

In the wake of "This Masquerade," the balance of power shifted for the first time toward George Benson's suddenly marketable voice, four of the six tracks on In Flight are vocals. By this time, Benson was tailoring his tenor toward soulful pitch-bending à la Stevie Wonder on tunes as diverse as "Nature Boy" and "The World Is a Ghetto," and the unison scatting with the guitar that caught fire with the public on Masquerade is now pulled out whenever possible. Benson's backing band from Breezin', still set in its funk mode, is intact, and Claus Ogerman again contributes gentle orchestral cushions. The two instrumentals, particularly Donny Hathaway's "Valdez in the Country," prove that Benson remained a brilliantly inventive melodist on guitar, in full possession of his powers. Yet there is every indication here that Benson was set upon becoming primarily a pop star. By Richard S. Ginell/AMG

Night Train serves both as a marvellous offering for James Brown completists, and, on another level, as a brilliant on-record
instrumental jukebox, full of booting saxes, guitar sounds that practically force you to get up and dance, and all propelled by a
beat that's spanned the years without ageing one little bit.
So there you have it... a great album that proves what James Brown and his friends were doing at the start of the '60s still
sounds amazingly fresh.

A singular artist who has made an indelible mark on the pop music landscape with a string of street-level releases and mixtapes, Mykki Blanco releases his debut album 'Mykki'. Produced by Woodkid and Jeremiah Meece, the album finds Blanco simultaneously at his most fearless and his most accessible.
'I realised as an artist I need to focus on myself and on my work. Arguments with people online distract from that. I used to have a problem with the media trying to define me,either as a drag queen, or a transvestite, as a homosexual rapper, a transsexual or an HIV positive pop star, but most people need labels and my true fans know who I am and what I'm about".
Mykki Blanco's referential framework is both archival and futuristic, a myriad of culture references, spiritual anecdotes, designer labels, make-up brands, hippie jargon, Fendi here and Snapchat there, all perfectly reflecting the creative dialogue digital landscape we live in.

The sounds of Brazil in the late 60's were thriving with creative growth in thought and world minded values. The age of fusion was alive and well and a lost hidden gem from this era comes in the sole Pedro Santos 1968 LP Krishnanda. Tracks include "Ritual Negro", "Água Viva", "Um Só", "Sem Sombra", "Savana", "Advertência", "Quem Sou Eu", "Flor de Lótus", "Dentro da Selva", "Desengano da Vista", "Dual", "Aranbindu".

Mukatsuku sets up the ongoing winter months with a couple of hot dance floor burners of gems from the legendary vibes master, Mr Roy Ayers. First up an monster club instrumental in the shape of 'Funk In The Hole' with driving driving electronic keys accompanied by a funky breakbeat ,brass stabs and strings. On the slipside is the sultry personification of sexy soulfulness that is ''Liquid Love'' ...,..Both tracks issued here for the first time on a single in their own right.

A Tribute To Sun Ra" & "Latino In Cairo". This record represents The Cairo Jazz Band responding to the American Jazz scene of the 60s & 70s with influences from Mongo Santamaria to Randy Weston and Sun Ra. These tracks were first presented by The Ministry Of Culture in Cairo as a Prism Music Production and released with an additional disk by the composer Soliman Gamil Musical Images. This release marks the first time Salah Ragab and The Cairo Jazz Bands definitive works are presented to the west. Salah Rageb R.I.P

SHIRO SCHWARZ, the Galactic Moon Duo from Mexico City make their return orbit to the STAR CREATURE Universe with 12" of Vibrations in tow. The gang drops 6 cuts of moody love funk ripe for the dancefloor to the bedroom floor and all earthly spaces in between. Sum up 1/2 a dash of SADE, 1 moon unit of RENE & ANGELA, a rocket boost of PATRICK ADAM's synth juice plus 5 liquid hectagon phasers of Purple carbon samples and you got yourself a STAR CREATURE EP!

The vitality you hear on Antique Blacks is a testament to the unique energy of the community around The Foxhole Cafe in Philadelphia, as Ra honed his unique brand of Afro-Futurism through the late 60's and 70's. Cosmic theatre, spiritual chants, and experimental electronics make this record an essential document that was ahead of its time. Ancient to future! BIG TIP !

The Gold Play is a compilation of all Tangram-related artists to date.
Tangram Records is an independent Belgian-based record label. It was founded 4 years ago by Up High Collective and Mophito to promote a batch of unreleased beats and live-show by Up High. Throughout the years their releases got picked up by Gilles Peterson, Lefto, XLR8R, Boiler Room, Kutmah...amongst others. Now 4 years later Tangram have introduced a wide-range of talented musicians to the world. Without wanting to limit them to a certain genre you might say their releases are a celebration of electronics and hip-hop.
The compilation itself holds 6 previously unreleased tracks by Up High Collective, Faisal, LTGL, LoneBlue x Halibab Matador (aka YellowStraps), Le Motel and Sokoto. Each side of the vinyl ends with a previously released track on Tangram by Day Fly and Moodprint blending the entire release nicely together.

The artwork release is beautifully crafted by Dzia. Dzia is a graphic artist from Belgium and fine artist in every sense for that matter. His creations range from paintings, through sculpture to taxidermy and street works. This gatefold holds two versions of a fox and a play-full scenery of dear.

Wally Badarou was at the cutting edge musically with his fusion of African grooves with the emerging electro sounds of the early 1980s. His debut album 'Back To Scales' in 1980 has been long out of print and is considered a treasure by many connoisseurs. 
Wally plays synthesizer, co-writing and performing Level 42 often considered their 'fifth member'. He also played with Robert Palmer, Talking Heads, Foreigner, Grace Jones and Manu Dibango. He also known for a later hit single Chief Inspector', and Mambo' from the same year (1984) was sampled by Massive Attack
This is a great album deserving appreciation by a wider audience with such an amazing collection of important songs. It was recorded in France, the country of his birth, originally released on French label, Barclay

CZARFACE (Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck & 7L & Esoteric) is back! Fresh off the heels of their collaboration with Marvel Comics the trio continues to combine music and art with their latest release "A Fistful of Peril." The back story of this album begins in the summer while Deck and Esoteric were in the studio recording some new Czarface material. During this time Marvel Comics had reached out to Czarface wanting some music to soundtrack their Black Panther web series, promoting their breakout comic of the same name. This Marvel meeting spawned the lead track "All in Together Now" and served as the primary inspiration for a fleshed-out album that nobody saw coming. The group camped out in the studio playing beats, talking comics, video games, and pop culture....what came about was "A Fistful of Peril." Starting the album off with the ARP keyboard odyssey of "Electric Level 1" is like entering the vortex of color and light in Kubrick's 2001. The aptly titled "Two in the Chest" showcases Deck & Eso's ability to deliver punchlines and pop culture references with ease over an exceptional bass and guitar combo. "Czar Wars" has the two sparring back and forth bringing that 'X-Men/Danger Room' mentality that Deck often to refers to when in Czar-mode. Psycho Les of The Beatnuts steps in on "Dust" while "Lizard City" introduces 'Czarface Pajamas'. Yes you read that correctly. The off-kilter "Steranko" has Meyhem Lauren and Rast join forces with Czarface as they weave their way through a mind-bending array of varying beats. Other features on the album are Conway on "Machine, Man & Monster" and AOTP's Blacastan on "Tarantulas." Another one of the album's highlights is "Dare Iz A Darkseid" which along with "Talk That Talk" is the perfect balance of wit and humor that make up the core of Czarface. Building on an already rock solid foundation with two critically acclaimed albums, "A Fistful of Peril" features some of the groups most cohesive material. The chemistry between the hungry-as-ever Deck and Eso overflows as the two mc's trade lines, humor and plenty of razor sharp lyrics over the backbone of 7L production. "A Fistful of Peril" in a word "Excelsior!"

Folowing their 2015 release of That's All Right, an introduction to Arthur-Big Boy-Crudup, EALZ! Records is presenting the female side of the early Rock'n'Roll genesis. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was responsable for a tremondous amount of gospel & blues rockin' tunes beetween the 40's and the 60's.

Her soul-infused singing, the fervor she preach & the way she played guitar influenced directly the path of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and many others. She was the favorite singer of Johnny Cash and Aretha Franklin and 15 years before Angus Young and Frank Zappa, she already played the emblematic Gibson model SG.

The 12 tracks compiled on this brand new volume, include some never vinyl re-released material.

This gatefold 10inch, handprint cover and beautifully remastered is about to give Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the first female rockstar of history, the consideration she deserve... and not only from above. Amen!

Limited edition, hand-numbered to 1000.

Miraculously rare and seriously obscure killer dubs..., one of the very few hard core seventies dub albums mixed by Errol Brown.

A selection of solid dubs originally recorded by BB Seaton at Duke Reid's legendary Treasure Isle studio and mixed in-house by the Duke's nephew Errol Brown. A radical departure for all concerned this bold dub album was never officially released although a few clandestine copies reputedly did the New York rounds at the time

Frank Nemola release for next Christmas. His Rasta Claus collects, in a new interpretation of reggae, some of the most famous international Christmas songs and hit having in common the simplicity and the desire to feel good characterizing Christmas. Frank Nemola, trumpeter and producer recognized through its numerous collaborations (by Vasco Rossi Frankie HI-NRG, by Luca Carboni to Aeroplanitaliani with which already in '92 he won the Critics' Prize at the Sanremo Festival) from a project initially conceived as an event live in support of ANT Foundation, in an album, involving friends and stage of life, from the voices of Simona Galeandro, Marco "El V" Old and Francesca Taverni, the guitars of Paul La Ganga and Dario Comuzzi. At eleven proposed again hit album (from Last Christmas to What a Wonderful World by Frosty the Snowman in Love Is in the Air) is the brand-new Christmas Time in Jamaica written for the occasion by the same Frank and Marco "El V "and he dedicated to all those people in the world who do not have the good fortune to celebrate Christmas

Nach längerer Auszeit ist der Albumklassiker von 1977 im Originalcover wieder erhältlich. Horace Andy hat sich von seinem ersten Album an ("Skylarking" für Studio One 1969) über die 70er & 80er Jahre hinweg (mit großen Erfolgen u.a. für Bunny Lee und Bullwackie), bis zu seinen Gastbeiträgen bei allen Massive Attack Alben, einen Ehrenplatz in der genreübergreifenden Musikhistorie erworben. "In The Light" gehört zu den besten Reggae Longplayern der 70er Jahre und wurde von Everton DaSilva in Kooperation mit Horace Andy produziert und von Prince Jammy in King Tubbys Studio abgemischt. Diese Edition für das VP Records Sublabel 17 North Parade wurde von Kevin Metcalfe remastered!

The period of the 1960s and 70s was so fertile that the speed with which tastes changed left a colossal amount of incredible music to gather dust - perhaps most famously a profusion of funk, soul and rock. Countless of local artistsw released their music independently, such as Mr. Holiday. And what a dope double-sider it is! Check the drum & flute break, something to die for!

MC Juju Rogers and producer Bluestaeb are LIT (Lost In Translation).

"Realtà Aumentata" is the new album Mistaman available from Friday, November 4 for Unlimited Struggle Records and Believe.
Mistaman is among the most popular rapper and estimates of the scene, an artist who over the years has gained an increasingly large and affectionate, managing to impose his personal language characterized by incredible word games that make her lyrics about as the technical Italian rap has to offer. An unmistakable style supported by a vast cultural imagery and multifaceted, far from the stereotypes of the genre. "Realtà Aumentata" is his new album, thirteen tracks produced by some of the best Italian beatmaker as Roc Beats a.k.a. Dj Shocca, Big Joe, Gheesa and producer of international renown such as the Austrian Fid Mella and the Canadian Marco Polo

GA008 sees another 7" release from the label, this time, Spain and Norway collide to give you Joy! On vocal duties, Spanish rub-a-dub Queen, Ponchita Peligros delivers a powerful and personal message of triumph as only she can. Norwegian 8-bit aficionados, Helgeland 8-bit Squad provide a melodic steppas riddim featuring a twangy nylong guitar and nuff bass to move tings forward inna proper 80s digikal style.

Seraleez's debut album, "Good Life" is a soulful collection of poetic revelations and personal experiences set in an eclectic soundscape of hypnotic Hip Hop grooves and iridescent Jazz harmonies. Their songs reveal and confess the essences of inner and outer revolutions as one strives towards the "Good Life". With sophisticated harmonies, soulful vocals, heavy hip hop beats and electronic nuances, Seraleez defines a new and unique flavor for the genres of Jazz and Soul. Through the fusion of classic and contemporary influences, Seraleez creates it's own sound for the future. In the spring of 2010, four young German Jazz musicians in Dresden were brought together by their untypical love for hip-hop beats. Finding inspiration in bands and artists like Robert Glasper, The Roots, RH Factor, J. Dilla, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill these four musicians began experimenting with Jazz and Hip Hop fusion. With the addition of electronic
sounds and a powerful vocalist from NYC, Seraleez evolved into the style of future soul. Christine Seraphin (also known as Sera Kalo) is a Caribbean-American singer and songwriter born to St. Lucian and Dominican parents and raised on the east coast of the United States. After studying classical piano for nearly 12 years, she began singing and later went to college in New York to begin her musical studies in piano and voice. Parallel to her studies that introduced her to jazz and classical vocal
styles, at home, Christine grew up listening to calypso, reggae, soul, rock and pop music. After graduating and moving to Germany in 2009, she founded and performed with musically diverse ensembles and has made solo performances on international television programs, in stadiums and arenas
across the country. Her most current band, Seraleez was founded in 2010 celebrating Future Soul (a fusion of Soul, Hip Hop and Jazz).

Re-Release des dritten Albumklassikers der Singers & Players, einem losen Kollektiv um Prince Far I und Bim Sherman. "Staggering Heights" gilt als Höhepunkt ihres Katalogs und als UK-Dub-Meisterwerk, an dem diesmal Mikey Dread (frisch nach seiner Arbeit mit The Clash), Ashanti Roy (The Congos) und Mitglieder von Dub Syndicate und Roots Radics mitarbeiteten. Mit den beiden legendären Tracks "Bedward The Flying Preacher" und "Snipers In The Streets". Re-cut by Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. LP auf schwarzem Vinyl mit Downloadcard und 24x12" Poster.

Yeah, we know. Every day is recordstore day.
But this year we deliver something special. Two old downbeat tracks from Spätes Frühstück. Remastered and on white marbled 7 inch. The record comes with recyceled an stamped innersleve and peripherally fullcover by paulizia. Limited to 100 copies.
Old Stuff from Old Dirty Dessau.

'I Will Never Know' is the first single from Tall Black Guy's sophomore album 'Let's Take A Trip'. Since 2013's '8 Miles To Moenart' TBG has cemented his position as a standard bearer for the current hip-hop / beats scene. Born in Detroit and now residing in the UK, Wallace's signature style of incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops has won fans across the globe including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff and House Shoes. For this lead track he has enlisted the talents of LA soul group Moonchild. The trio (signed to UK label Tru Thoughts) consist of reed / horn players Andris Mattson and Max Bryk and vocalist Amber Navran. Check their 2015 album 'Please Rewind' for evidence of their singular take on modern soul music that has earned praise from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Robert Glasper, James Poyser and 9th Wonder.

This collaboration is a very natural one, with Tall Black Guy's deft drums and soulful instrumentation perfectly combining with the sultry vocals and muted horns of Moonchild. 'I was a fan of their music as soon as Texas based DJ, Pepper Thomas had put me onto them a few years back. I really wanted to collaborate with them and so I reached out to them - I liked the completed track so much that I asked them if they would like to be a part of my next album. I particularly like the fact that all three of them equally contribute to the group's sound.' On the flip of this limited edition 7" is TBG's own alternate mix of the track (exclusive to this release). With beefed up drums and subtly altered bass notes it's the perfect accompaniment to the handclap-fuelled and understated original. Look out for the full album later this month on First Word Records.

'This is a journey into sound...,' These familiar words, accompanied by the rumble of a distant train, signal the opening of 'Let's Take A Trip', the sophomore album from Terrel Wallace aka Tall Black Guy. Since 2013's '8 Miles To Moenart' TBG has cemented his position as a standard bearer for the current hip-hop / beats scene. Born in Detroit and now residing in the UK, Wallace's signature style of incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops has won fans across the globe including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff and House Shoes.

Since his debut release in 2011 (a daring and addictive flip of Fela Kuti), TBG has become revered for his unique take on soulful hip-hop production. The swing of the drums, the textures of the instrumentation as well as a fearlessness in taking on the classics (his Soundcloud page includes flips and chops of tracks from James Brown, De La Soul and Michael Jackson) have marked him out from the crowd. One of the best-kept secrets in the scene, his singular talent is now beginning to get the recognition it deserves. In the last 12 months he has remixed Little Dragon and been invited to take part in Jazzy Jeff's Playlist Retreat alongside the likes of Eric Lau, James Poyser, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Questlove and countless others.

For this album Wallace had a simple inspiration: 'This album is all about taking a journey. As simple as that. Be it physical, emotional or spiritual. It's asking and answering personal questions from myself within some of the tracks and also touching on social issues i.e. racism, inequality and privilege...that have been at the forefront of my mind over last three years.' Sonically there is also a shift: 'Jazz has definitely been more of an influence in this project, as I have been really inspired by so many up and coming musicians who I've been blessed to connect with'. Some of these musicians, including Kenny Keys, Miles Bonny, Diggs Duke and Dee Jackson feature on the project as well as regular collaborators Ozay Moore and Mario Sweet and fellow Playlist alumni Daniel Crawford and Masego. But this is one man's vision, and for Tall Black Guy this trip is just the beginning...,.

Mit elf ausgezeichneten Coverversionen von Bob Marley Songs. Hier finden sich u.a. "Slave Driver" (vom Album "Catch A Fire") in der Version von Bob Marleys Lieblingssänger Dennis Brown, "I'm Still Waiting" (im Original als Studio One 7"-Single) in der definitiven Version von Delroy Wilson, "Heathen" (vom Album "Exodus") in einer superben Version von Cocoa Tea, produziert von Bobby "Digital" Dixon, "Forever Loving Jah" (vom Album "Uprising") in der Hitversion von Marcia Griffiths & Tony Rebel, produziert von Donovan Germain, "Waiting In Vain" (vom Album "Exodus") in der jamaikanischen Version von Leroy Smart, produziert von Joseph Hookim für Channel One, "Crazy Baldhead" (vom Album "Rastaman Vibration") in der Version von Luciano & Beenie Man mit einem sensationell tiefer gelegten Bass von Sly & Robbie. Tipp!

"Shanghai'd Soul: Episode 4" versammelt eine robuste Sammlung von Numero Group-Klassikern. Die dreizehn Kammern von "Shanghai'd Soul: Episode 4" sind durch schwere Drums, launische Akkorde und packende Melodien gefüllt und haben eine Generation von Rappern und Produzenten inspiriert, ihren ominösen Hip Hop zu komponieren.

!K7 are proud to announce the next single of Will Sauls moniker CLOSE.
My Way feat. Joe Dukie + remixes from UK based producers Midland & Dusky
The new project sees Will, step away from the deeper house and bass sounds that have characterised his own discography and the in#uential labels Aus and Simple he has run for the best part of the last decade. Will, has slowly seeped CLOSE into the public consciousness over the past 12 months with remixes of Fink, Little Dragon and Hot#ush boss Scuba (as co-produced with TANSTAAFL boss Julian October Smith).
"For me Joe Dukie has one of the best voices on the planet so it was a bit of dream come true to get to work with him. I worked with Fink in his studio in Brighton where we recorded his band (drummer and bass player) - the instrumental is all live and one take. We then sent this over to Dallas (Joe Dukie) and he sent back his vocals. Midland and Dusky are part of my core crew at Aus and really hitting their stride at the moment so
natural choices for remixers for this single. I wanted Tanner to work with this vocal as I could imagine him taking it to a completely far out place."