Reissue of the only self-produced solo album by Barney "Blair" Perry, historic guitarist of the Blackbyrds, is a great production directed by Donald Byrd, "Nightlife" is a cult album, fusion sounds and midtempo funk disco, recorded in 1978, it is simply stunning, a powerful bass and wonderfully soulful sounds thanks to the superb guitar work of the masterful Mr Perry.
Kampana brings you two reworks from Aroop Roy's essential DJ Weapons series, on 7" for the first time. 'Cross the Tracks' brings a bumping house groove to the funk classic.
'Spooky' reimagines the soul hit with brand new bass, guitar and rolling drums, creating a magical dancefloor moment.
Gilles Peterson has partnered with Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick to reinvigorate the loose, protean energy of the early-80s Brit-funk scene. STR4TA sees them mine new musical possibilities outof that shared formative era. On “Aspects”, they revisit that
important period and the spirit that guided it: self-taught, DIY vitality, and a raucous energy built on live performance. Bringing a fresh slant to a sound first developed by groups like Atmosfear, Hi-Tension, Light of the World and Freeez – with Maunick, it should be noted, also a member of the latter two bands – it’s the first material that Maunick and Peterson have released together in over a decade.
It’s an idea that had been in the works for a while, but which was encouraged by a surprising catalyst: the award acceptance speech by Tyler, the Creator at the 2020 Brit Awards, where he shouted out the influence of “British funk from the 80s”. It was an acknowledgement of the particular sound that Maunick and his peers had honed, where their US influences were reoriented through their own circumstances. “Like everybody else who plays music, we tried to emulate our heroes,” Maunick says. “But we didn’t have the tools, we hadn’t studied music: were all playing by ear, and we were coming off bits and pieces that we liked off certain records.” This record is guided by the same ethos. An array of musical touchpoints have fed into the album’s direct, no-frills entries: each track’s parts are cut back to the bare bone. In writing and recording the album, the pair of them would work together to strike upon the point of departure – more naive, less considered – that had produced that killer Brit-funk sound. Peterson would dig out records that showed particular flashes or moods as jumping off points, and Maunick would then work with collaborators to build new directions out of those prompts or suggestions.
It’s the latest chapter in a story that started with Peterson interviewing Maunick in his parents’ garden shed, the first interview that the former had ever conducted. Later, they would reconnect to put out a string of celebrated Incognito albums on Peterson’s pioneering, now-defunct Talkin’ Loud imprint. Now, linking up once more, they unpick an under-appreciated flashpoint in a vital musical lineage, one which each of them has been instrumental in shaping.
Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new official single reissue of Music Madness by Beckie Bell: A killer disco anthem produced in 1980 by famous French producer, Pierre 'Berjot' Jaubert.
Pierre Jaubert has been one of the great producers from the Funk and Disco French music scene during the 70s and 80s, mostly known for his work with the group ICE, who he then transformed into Lafayette Afro Rock Band. During his long and prolific career, he's been involved with many artists and labels, including Motown, Chantal Curtis, Brenda Mitchell or Robert Helms to name just a few.
'Music Madness' is a brilliant disco track from Beckie Bell's rare album, In Need Of... After highlighting it in an extended version, on the compilation French Disco Boogie Sounds (2015), Favorite Recordings decided to reissue this killer song on a proper 12inch single. The package including the original album version and two hot remixes by Tom Noble and Voilaaa.
Bobby Rush (born Emmett Ellis Jr. in Homer, Louisiana on November 10th, 1933) is an American blues musician, composer, record producer, and singer. His style incorporates elements of blues, rap, funk, as well as a comic sense about blues tropes.
Rush has won twelve Blues Music Awards and in 2017, at the age of 83, he won his first Grammy Award for the album Porcupine Meat. He is inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, Mississippi Hall of Fame, and Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.
Earth Libraries is proud to share a glance back in Bobby Rush's incredible career with a track that shows off his funky side to the utmost degree. "She Put The Whammy On Me b/w Gotta Have Money", originally recorded in the 80s to be marketed towards DJs, are funky, disco inspired tracks you can't help but dance to.
Slow Dancer is the sixth album by Boz Scaggs. It was originally released in 1974, two years before ""Lowdown"" hit it big. Although the 1976 Silk Degrees was Boz Scaggs' big commercial breakthrough, Slow Dancer is already filled with songs as catchy as the follow-up album. Producer and Motown owner Johnny Bristol helped Scaggs give the album an urban soul sound that creates an exciting mix of soul and pop-rock. Slow Dancer is available as a 50th anniversary edition on yellow coloured vinyl and includes an insert.
Mr. K tackles a pair of extended 80's instrumentals down into his characteristic tight, DJ-friendly 7" edits. First up is Klein & MBO’s Italo-disco landmark 'Dirty Talk'. The Milan-via-New York production trio’s 1982 cut has long been recognised as one of the foundational Italo records, its stark, tightly locked bassline and 808 groove a foreshadowing of pop and house sounds to come (indeed, a year after its release the groove was lifted almost wholesale for New Order’s 'Blue Monday'). Mr. K strips the original’s down to the essentials, keeping the irresistibly hooky synth pulse front and centre while trimming the fat for maximum impact.
On the flip is Supertramp’s surprise 1985 club crossover 'Cannonball', a dancefloor curveball still in regular rotation with the deepest DJs. Intentionally written to stay entirely in one key as an experimental exercise by the band, the track’s hypnotic drive unwittingly echoed the tough, four-on-the-floor sound of early house and, via the original 12-inch single’s epic ten-minute instrumental mix, slotted in perfectly alongside underground cuts of the era. Mr. K’s edit leans hard into the pounding keyboard and the bursts of brass crescendos that build on top of it, giving the sought-after instrumental version its first-ever appearance on 7-inch. Impressive sound quality on both tracks!
In the early 90s, led by Nicola Conte, the Fez collective in Bari, Italy, reshaped contemporary jazz through groove, experimentation and a distinctly Mediterranean sensibility. Within this environment the earliest recordings associated with what would become Schema Records first appeared, released at the time through Right Tempo. With a series of three 45rpm releases Schema Records revisits some of its earliest productions, all newly remastered from the original masters. In this third 7”, The infectious pulse of “Sweat” contrasts beautifully with the refined elegance of “Fez Bossa”, together painting a vivid portrait of a scene driven by creativity, musicianship and an unwavering passion for groove. Newly remastered from the original recordings, this 45rpm edition brings these landmark performances back to life for a new generation of listeners while offering longtime collectors a beautifully renewed listening experience.
Pax Nicholas is one of the last living veterans of Fela Kuti’s Africa 70. Born in Accra, Ghana, he joined Africa 70 as conga player and backing vocalist in 1971, appearing on landmark recordings including Lady Shakara.
In 1978, he left Africa 70 at the Berlin Jazz Festival alongside drummer Tony Allen, and settled in Germany, where he built a remarkable second chapter — leading the twelve-piece Afrobeat ensemble Ridimtaksi, collaborating with Finnish jazz maverick Jimi Tenor, and reuniting with the African diaspora in Berlin for Ebo Taylor’s celebrated 2012 album Appia Kwa Bridge released on Strut Records.
In 2009, Daptone Records reissued his 1973 cult classic Na Teef Know De Road of Teef, earning him long-overdue global recognition.
Now signed to Paris-based Afrobeat imprint Comet Records, Pax Nicholas returns with his new single “Mind Your Business” — a heavyweight dancefloor Afrobeat cut built on thundering brass, interlocking percussion and a razor-sharp guitar riff. The release features an exclusive remix by Gabriel Belabbas, producer, DJ and co-founder of Parisian label Positive Future, who recasts Mind Your Business in deep, minimal territory — a sparse, tension-laced groove that channels the hypnotic darkness of Moodyman and Ricardo Villalobos. Stripping the arrangement back to its percussive skeleton, he lets the Afrobeat elements — brass, rhythm, heat — surface and recede like smoke, leaving just enough space for the tension to build and the dancefloor to fall. Slow-burning and devastating on a proper soundsystem.
Pleasurewood return with 'Electric Telepathy', their second full-length LP offering Simla Space Funk, Psych-Library and Vintage-Cinematic Raga-Rock grooves.
This new offering from the band embraces more of their vintage Hindi Cinema soundtrack influences — "Chump Change", "The Hoverfly" and "RAMMM" could easily fit into the middle of an R.D. Burman score, each with their incongruous synthesis of different genres, infectious percussion, classical modes and funk chops.
There is also a slight sweep across a too-slow-to-disco tempo and feel with the moody Johnny Guitar Watson-esque slow burn of "Good Falcon" up to the nonchalant four-to-the-floor of "Last Dance Saloon" with its lyrical warning of digital over-saturation in our social-media saturated world and a foreboding of the mini-monoliths sat in the palms of our hands that in a Kubrickian way threaten to cosmically absorb us all as a species into their individual jet-black abysses.
And then, coming into focus like a sweet slice of disjointed, lo-fi, 8 bit space disco, "Mojave Desert" is a slacker-strut with telephone vocals dub guitars, dry cosmic synths and futurist Farfisa organ driven by an almost Acid-Jazz meets Post-Punk Bass line. The song is autobiographical in its account of an excursion along the 29 Palms Highway reflecting on an escape from the City of Angels not so far away, up into the stark psychedelic desert realm.
There is a lot to unpack in this record and yet more to discover so it will be best to allocate 40 minutes in a comfortable dimly-lit room with eyes closed and maybe a cognac in hand, to have a deep-dive into its well-travelled and esoterically funky grooves.
Pursuing their explorations of international Funk and Disco music, Favorite Recordings and Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart present us Voilaaa. With this first 2 tracks single revealing the Afro-Disco inspiration of this new experience, Favorite also expands its new series of Disco 12inch singles recently launched with several fine reissues.
Under the imprint of the label and after their long years of collaboration in the achievement of projects such as The Dynamics, Mr President, Mr Day, Patchworks Galactic Project, or Taggy Matcher, the insatiable French producer therefore returns to his first love and specialty, Disco music, staring this time at the African and Caribbean influences.
Indeed, as everywhere in the 70s and 80s, Funk and Disco movements were extremely influential in these regions, and in most cases, the combination of the festive, yet sometime futile nature of Disco, and the instinctive, deep, sometimes rough nature of African music, sounds like a perfect balance. Aiming to respect this energy and specific sound, Patchworks quickly began producing a few tracks, Using his unique and ruling beats and bass lines as foundations, this time he dresses all with guitars, keyboards and brass distorted with vintage and DIY effects pedals and boxes.
Surrounded by a very dynamic music scene, where there is no shortage of artists with African origins, Patchworks decided to work with local singers, even if it means to accompany them on unusual musical paths. A more than successful bet with a result surprising of authenticity, as it's unveiled by these first two titles alongside Sir Jean and Pat Kalla, both from a musical background as rich than different.
With an album planned for the end of the year, that promises to be as explosive and magnetic, Patchworks and Favorite Recordings make a strike again... Voilaaa tout (Thaaat's all)!!
New Darius album, featuring Wayne Snow, Kadhja Bonet, Benny Sings...
After the release of his last EP "OASIS (Prelude) on Roche Musique, Parisian producer Darius reveals his second album "OASIS" with the powerful track "EASE YOUR MIND". A groovy dancing track reminiscing of his early trademark electro dance sounds with catchy R&B lead from Devin Tracy. The acclaimed and certified artist is now ready to unveil his new project, teased since the release of the +10 Million streams "EQUILIBRIUM" in 2020.
Wewantsounds it delighted to announce a deluxe reissue of Frank Foster's 'The Loud Minority' LP. Released on Bob Shad's Mainstream Records in 1972, it's a landmark album and one of the key political works of the 70s. Featuring an all-star cast of superb musicians including Elvin Jones, Stanley Clarke, Airto, Cecil Bridgewater and Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson, it is also Dee Dee Bridgewater's earliest full recordings. This special edition includes a 20-page booklet featuring amazing unseen session photos recently unearthed, an introduction by Judd and Mia Apatow (Shad's grandchildren), an essay by British journalist Kevin Le Gendre and an exclusive interview of Cecil and Dee Dee Bridgewater by Paul Bowler. The album's original artwork as been recreated with original photos and the audio newly remastered from the original tapes.
When he recorded "The Loud Minority" in 1972 for Bob Shad's Mainstream Records, Frank Foster had been a solid sax player for nearly twenty years, playing with the likes of Donald Byrd, Thelonious Monk and The Count Basie Orchestra. For this special session, he gathered a stellar line up of old fellow musicians like Elvin Jones and Harold Mabern and young turks including Stanley Clarke, 'Hannibal' Marvin Peterson, Cecil and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Cecil Bridgewater remembers: "Frank, his thing was, any group that he had he wanted to give young musicians a chance." As usual for Mainstream sessions, the studio was booked for two days and the record was cut live, supervised by Bob Shad's trusted men, arranger Ernie Wilkins and engineer Carmine Rubino.
What came out of these two days is now the stuff of legend, four long funky jams fuelled by two distinct line ups playing simultaneously augmented with a powerful 6-piece brass section led by Foster. The album kicks off with the anthemic "The Loud Minority" (sampled by United Future Organization and DJ Shadow) with its long brass introduction followed by Dee Dee Bridgewater fiery poem, a politically charged statement expressing the fight for civil rights, before the whole group comes together for a funky explosion clocking at 14 minutes. "That was a period where we were really into our African consciousness" reminisces Dee Dee in the interview.
The album continues with the funky uptempo "Requiem for Dusty" while "J.P.'s Thing" adopts a slightly more spiritual feel, with a beautiful Fender Rhodes solo and Foster's soprano sax improvisation. The album ends with "E.W. Beautiful People", a long dreamy improvisation climaxing with Dee Dee Bridgewater's poignant vocals.
The Loud Minority is a key militant jazz manifesto and one of the landmark jazz funk albums of the 20th Century. The album was recorded in two days but its legacy lives on and still resonates loudly in the BLM days. Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue this major works with newly remastered audio and a deluxe 20-page booklet full of breathtaking unseen session photos and insightful texts telling the whole story of this superb album.
A stylish selection of city pop, funk and modern soul from Japanese label Nippon Columbia, selected by DJ Notoya and featuring cult classics and rarities by Hiroshi Sato, Hatsumi Shibata, Hitomi 'Penny' Tohyama & many more.
Annotated by Notoya with journalist Nick Luscombe and artwork by Optigram.
Newly remastered audio.
The selection on ‘Tokyo Glow’ starts with 'Kimugare' a relaxed mid-tempo track by Kumi Nakamura, actually a famous actress who only recorded one album in 1980 for Columbia.
The set continues and flows effortlessly with the sunshine grooves of Miyuki Maki, Hatsumi Shibata and cult keyboard player Hiroshi Sato before the pace starts going faster and funkier with New Generation Company, Kengo Kurozumi - with his superb boogie, 'Juggler'
- and one of the queens of the genre, Hitomi 'Penny' Tohyama with 'Tuxedo Connection'.
Another fine example on the set is the mid-tempo groove of "I Wander All Alone Part III" by New Generation Company, an aggregate group of some of the best Japanese session musicians led by arranger Katz Hoshi and including Hiroyuki Namba (key), Kazuo Shiina (gtr) and Yutaka Uehara (ds) who all played with Tatsuro Yamashita among many others.
There are many other excellent examples in 'Tokyo Glow', showcasing the diversity and specificity of Japanese City Pop during the late 70s and 80s.
Nippon Columbia opened their much-guarded vaults to curator DJ Natoya. Tracks were remastered in Tokyo and the result, ‘Tokyo Glow’, is a unique insight into a most creative period in Japanese music.
Classic edits that place the funk upfront. Da Breaks brings that familiar flavour with a twist of Boom-bap, these timeless reworks are built for DJs. Trimmed, tightened and ready to mix.
Classic edits that place the funk upfront. Da Breaks brings that familiar flavour with a twist of Boom-bap, these timeless reworks are built for DJs. Trimmed, tightened and ready to mix.
Released in 1981& the last in a decade-long run of Top 50 R&B albums, ‘The Electric Spanking Of War Babies’ was the band’s twelfth studio LP & featured several players new to the Funkadelic line-up, notably Sly Stone. With its allusions to the Vietnam War & US imperialism, George Clinton’s project was destined to court controversy from the start, not least for its uncompromising sleeve art which original label Warner Bros. censored. Described by Robert Christgau as “the solidest, weirdest chunk of P-Funk since one nation gathered under a groove” & originally conceived as a double LP, many tracks saw release on Clinton’s later P-Funk projects. Arguably, it is better for having been précised down to a single album while still spawning two hit singles, the title track (US R&B No. 60) & ‘Shockwaves’ (US R&B No.53). FUNKADELIC Masterminded by the larger-than-life figure of George Clinton, Funkadelic was a key component of his influential P-Funk empire. Funkadelic’s unique combination of Rock, Psychedelia, R&B & Soul led to the band crossing over to the pop mainstream & gaining a vast international following, becoming one of the most important & influential groups in music. On 6 May 1997, Parliament / Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by Prince. To commemorate six decades of thrilling & delighting fans, George Clinton returned to the stage in 2022 for a series of concerts. To celebrate, Charly have reissued Funkadelic’s classic four albums ‘Hardcore Jollies’; ‘One Nation Under A Groove’; ‘Uncle Jam Wants You’; & ‘The Electric Spanking Of War Babies’ (originally released by Warner Bros during a golden period for the band between 1976-1981). Each album will be available as deluxe gatefold Digi-Sleeve CDs in PVC wallets + obi-strip & facsimile-edition gatefold LPs on 180-gram black vinyl & limited edition 180-gram colored vinyl + 1970s-style obi-strip in a protective PVC sleeve. “They played a HUGE role in creating the future of music.” PRINCE
JKriv’s long out-of-press Bukom Mashie Rework gets a king-size reboot in this tasty 7 Inch package with a fresh new acid dub! J’s original 8 min opus is nipped and tucked in all the right places to make for a streamlined A-side stomper, and a brand new version on the flip, with a tastefully reimagined arrangement, punctuated with spicy 303 acid lines and live flute performed by the inimitable Domenica (of Underground System). Big summer banger alert!
Introducing the first reissue project on Rocky Hill with a compilation of Jozeph Sefian's hard to find tracks from the late 1970s into the early 1980s. A culmination of Armenian funk, soul, pop, and jazz. We're calling it "Melodies". Jozeph Sefian emerged as a distinctive voice in Armenian music, blending heritage with the evolving sounds of his generation. Beginning on drums and later embracing his voice, he crafted a versatile style rooted in Armenian, pop, jazz, and soul. Traditional melodies and emotional storytelling met familiar harmonies, expressive phrasing, and the rhythmic energy of funk, creating a sound that was both deeply Armenian and contemporary. During his years in Iran, Jozeph recorded with accomplished musicians and operated a music shop serving the Armenian musical community. Despite restrictions following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, he continued performing for Armenian audiences. His career took him across the Middle East, the United States, the UK, and Armenia, while writing his tracks in Iran and recording in LA. In 1977, Parseghian Records labeled him, "one of the most distinctive voices in Armenian music." We agree with Parseghian, as Jozeph's recordings continue to bridge generations, preserving Armenian culture through a uniquely soulful musical voice.
On 24th May, 2024, the exact day of its Golden Jubilee, Diamond Dogs will be issued as a limited edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP. The first single from the album, ‘Rebel Rebel’, reached number 5 in the UK and the album would also reach similar heights on both sides of the Atlantic reaching number 1 in the UK and number 5 in the USA.
This new pressing of Diamond Dogs was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios
The writing of the album was influenced by Bowie not being able to secure the rights for a theatrical production of George Orwell’s 1984 and the work of William S. Burroughs, whom Bowie had interviewed for Rolling Stone in November 1973. The songs on the album created an urban apocalyptic scenario with Bowie appearing on the cover as a controversial half-man, half-dog hybrid painted by the Belgian artist Guy Peellaert from photos by the world-renowned photographer Terry O’Neill. Since its release, tracks from Diamond Dogs have been covered by artists such as Beck, Tina Turner, Duran Duran, Def Leppard, Joan As Police Woman, Dead Or Alive and The Struts.
Yes, yes funky people, another super sexy, soul groove makes it onto the DYNAMITE CUTS 7” series. Took a long time get this one across the line. Two versions of the timeless classic “Take me with you”. A – Side is the one we all know, Lyn Christopher - Amazing deep bass groove and vibe. This has been released as a 7” before but on Styrene. Also bootlegged many times over the years, but here at Dynamite cuts we do it right. This official release includes the iconic sleeve, which is a beauty. To top that, our B-side we have the UK version which was released the same year. Tyrone & Carr, first released on Jam records, part of the UK label DJM, now sell for big bucks £350 +
Almost 2 years after the success of the album The Tony Allen Experiments and a few months after the release of the 7inch Amore, Nu Guinea returns to the scene with a new LP published by their newborn label NG RECORDS.
After touring the world looking for sounds suitable for their vibrations, NU GUINEA decided to go back to square one, Napoli, where Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina were born and raised. They watched their city from a distance reconstructing its energy from their studio in
Berlin, calibrating the synths on the meridian of Vesuvius, the volcano that has always protected and threatened Napoli.
Nuova Napoli is the result of a long musical research that has become a historical investigation on the sound that shaped Napoli during the ‘70s and ‘80s, starting from the contamination of genres (disco, jazz-funk, African rhythms) which ended up in Nu Guinea’s DNA.
In this album the synthesizers fill the spaces between the past and the future, tightening in a single body acoustic instruments, electronics and voices in Neapolitan dialect. It is the first time that the duo has worked with such a large group of musicians, some of whom are exponents of the contemporary Neapolitan scene.
WARNING: We recommend listening to Nuova Napoli while walking in the alleys of Napoli’s
historic center, around wet clothes hanging and street vendors on tiny three-wheelers.
Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina even further.
Nu Genea's Bar Mediterraneo is an idea of a shared place where people meet and fuse together; a space that leaves its doors open to travellers and their lives, always exposed to the whims of fate. Some of this can be experienced through the multitude of sounds that come together in the tracks, layers of different acoustic instruments, voices and synthesizers merging in a unique musical blend.
Opening up to the voices of many different people, separated by languages but united by the sea and the music, Nu Genea's hometown, Napoli, becomes a true place of encounter.
You can hear this all along. In "Gelbi", a gorgeously deep and propulsive Ney flute plunges into murky waters of the melancholic Tunisian dialect sung by Marzouk Mejri. In "Marechia'", unbridled happiness and sun ooze from the delicate vocals of Célia Kameni and create an acrobatic bridge between French and Neapolitan language. In "Straniero", your soul is arrested from the moment the slow spell-binding mandolin ignites the hypnotic patterns recorded by the legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. In "Bar Mediterraneo", the title track, bittersweet guitar’s riffs, analog waves and choirs are overwhelming the song giving you what you would like to hear on a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast.
Nu Genea couldn't afford to overlook their firmly anchored roots into the Neapolitan culture and its dialect with "Tienaté", where the power of neapolitan language (interpreted by Fabiana Martone) supports those quarter-tone strings and the uncessant folk-disco groove that spreads to the entire song. In "Praja Magia", repetitive mandolin riffs lead the song, giving space to a choral yet tight vocal line that speaks of Varcaturo, a village close to Napoli. In "Rire", a volley of poetic, deceptively laidback, lyrical fury interpreted by Sicilian Marco Castello intimately combines with a highly musical, multi-textured instrumental backbone and the swoon of a chanson in its heart. In "La Crisi'', the lyrics of a Raffaele Viviani’s poem from 1930 have been adapted to a laidback jazz-funk groove in full NG style. In "Vesuvio", revaluing the evocative verses and powerful mantra of Vesuvio, Nu Genea re-adapted to the dancefloor a folk song by the working-class band E’ Zezi from Pomigliano D'Arco, combining the voices of a school choir with Jupiter-6 arpeggios and bold percussions.
Bar Mediterraneo is the place where people constantly return to transform curiosity into participation, tradition into sharing, unfamiliar into familiar. When travellers come through its “doors”, carrying their treasures of words and emotions, they aren’t strangers any more. They take part in a shared experience, enriching themselves and others by leading to unexpected musical journeys.
In their countless years of deep digging, Dark Entries has uncovered many curiosities, oddball Italo and synth-wave creatures too rare to live, too funky to die. Dark Entries’s conservationist efforts began with 2020’s Endangered Species Vol 1. Six years later, we are finally treated Endangered Species Vol 2, an even more ambitious effort which features eleven specimens previously deemed extinct, now safely preserved on vinyl. Things kick off with an extended mix of Palazzo di Danza’s “Play That Song For Me,” a lavishly produced German-Italo number propelled by a slinky bassline. Russian Olga Vosconyan’s “Cars” delivers what might be the moodiest song ever produced for a car commercial.
Fuzz Dance maestro Alexander Robotnick appears with a previously unreleased male vocal demo version of “I Wanna Believe,” a legendary track that would later appear under the name Gina & the Flexix. Canadian industrial royalty Dwayne R. Goettel (Psyche) and cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy) team up on the horror-sampling hit-heavy blaster “Bastards.” Belgian EBM progenitors à;GRUMH... report for duty with a slab of machine funk on “The Army.” UK DIY stalwarts Khmer Rouge bring Krautrock-inflected minimalism with “Take Me (Across the Floor Tonight) In Dub.” Endangered Species Vol 2 comes housed in a sleeve designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh, and includes a 16 page booklet featuring liner notes, lyrics, and photographs of each featured project. Please assist Dark Entries in their efforts to preserve the rarest of beasts (and beats).
Berlin-based edit specialist Voodoocuts knows exactly how to tease out the best bits of any of the source tunes he works with. He's been doing it for years now on labels like Juice on Wax and Uluru, and now heads to Ritmo for his latest 7" bomb. 'Riddim Freak' gets this one going with a reggaeton rework of a Missy Elliott classic. It's an inspired pairing that has elastic bass and trampoline-like kicks with rave horns, fat-assed brass band energy and plenty of that original Missy attitude. 'Work This' takes another of the rap queens' most welcome jams and flips and reverses it into an early electro and hip-hop blend with old school drums and many magnificent samples all bringing it to life in full colour.
Legendary London drummer Crispin “The Pump” Taylor releases his long-awaited debut album Licence to Fill on Monks Road Records, celebrating 35 years at the heart of the Soul, Funk, Rare Groove and Acid Jazz scenes.
A founder member of Push and former member of pioneering Acid Jazz outfit Galliano, Taylor has also toured and recorded with Zero 7, The Blow Monkeys, Dexys Midnight Runners, Seal, Paul Weller, The Funk Brothers, Marlena Shaw, Candi Staton, Carleen Anderson, Urban Species and many more.
Licence to Fill brings together original Funk, Soul and Jazz material, featuring acclaimed musicians including Mick Talbot, Angelo Starr, Joe Cang and Matt Deighton.
A heavyweight debut from one of the UK's most respected groove-driven drummers.
Working with sister label OST Recordings, Acid Jazz has reissued 'Family Tree' by Family Tree twice in the last few years, each time with the record immediately selling out, and whilst it will return on the 7-inch format at sometime in the future, they’ve decided to go bigger this time and present the record in the 12-inch format.
‘Family Tree’ is an all-time club classic made by ‘I Specialize In Love’ hitmaker Sharon Brown and her group Family Tree. Original copies of this record regularly sell at over £300. A floor filler, it was Norman Cook’s favourite disco record.
Presented on a smart-looking label and in an even cooler sleeve, both of which are based on the original Ananda label single release, this single couples the original 12-inch disco mix on the A-side, with a B-side that has both the original 7-inch edit and the OST Bonus Beats edit, which makes its 12-inch debut.
Jungle by Night Speaks Out on their latest full length album, Bar Dancing: An Ode to Friendship, the Dance Floor, and the Voice
Since their teenage years, the Amsterdam-based groove collective Jungle by Night has been conquering music venues and festivals with their ever-expanding mix of styles—krautrock, nu-disco, electro-pop. After six largely instrumental studio albums, the group—now consisting of six musicians—changes course on their seventh long-player. On Bar Dancing, set for release in early 2027 via the Amsterdam-based Rush Hour label, the band does something they have never done before: they sing.
Where brass, percussion, and synths previously told the stories, lyrics and vocals now demand their space as well. It gives the band room to put words to the topics that occupy their minds: the pitfalls of digital addiction, the dark sides of fake news, toxic masculinity, and the connection they experience while touring together.
The title Bar Dancing captures the essence of the album. It is an ode to friendship, connection, and the night. The record radiates the atmosphere of a pub where you sit at the bar discussing life, only to find yourself dancing in that very same bar moments later. Analog and warmly produced, the album builds on influences from '80s pop, krautrock, and Neue Deutsche Welle. Think of the playfulness of Talking Heads, the dub influences of UB40, the electronic layers of Air, and the tight "computer love" of Kraftwerk.
Band member Hy Tienson explains: "For the first time, we are literally giving a voice to our thoughts. It makes the music more personal, more direct, and more layered, without losing that signature, uplifting Jungle groove."
With Bar Dancing, Jungle by Night delivers an album that invites both listening and dancing. It marks a new phase for the band, taking another step forward with a renewed sound and their own lyrics.
A hot slice of Latin dance music — produced by the legendary Masters at Work, the house icons and masters of that Nuyorican sound, “Little” Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” González — from Los Amigos Invisibles, the Venezuelan band who have spent decades perfecting the art of getting away with everything.
Packed with raunchy songs (of course) that fuse every American genre under the sun — from salsa to acid jazz to disco to funk — this record tore up dance floors twenty years ago.