Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

Shy FX huge remix of Protoje and Chronixx' anthem 'Who Knows', as playlisted by BBC Radio 1, champi- oned by Annie Mac and David Rodigan. Who Knows is the smash hit single by Protoje and Chronixx, taken from the 'Ancient Future' album. Shy FX remix takes the track up a gear into tmeless, classic reggae/drum & bass territory. The track has already received tons of radio play and was Annie Mac's Hotest Record In The World at the end of January 2016. Accompanied on the B-side by another of the albums strongest tracks - Sudden Flight, featuring the
talents of Sevana and Jesse Royal.
Cut loud at 45rpm.

After releasing the first single Voodoo Jazz end of 2016 the journey of Dem Juju Poets keeps on with Barabara, the first single taken off their forthcoming album Liberated Thoughts out due early 2017 on Matasuna Records.David Hanke aka Renegades Of Jazz, brainchild behind Dem Juju Poets, keeps on with his distinctive Afro sound and delivers a great 45 in various styles. As the Renegades Of Jazz journey will take a step away from Afrofunk music, Dem Juju Poets will be now the main outfit for Hanke to release more Afro driven music in the future.Barabara is a heavy piece of dancefloor Afrojazz goodness, decent horn sections, tough drums and rich percussions combined with vintage vocals. People's Republic is a organ and flute driven Afrosoul tune with a heavy brass riff, thriving percussions and flute solos galore.

Totó's music has been sampled and remixed by countless DJs and producers from Timbaland to Michel Cleis - indeed the trance-like grooves of her tambores and the majesty of her voice continues to be an irresistible formula.
The Garabato Sessions brings influences from Bristol to Bogotá, with new remixes of Totó's classic Adios Fulana. DJ, musician and remixer, Rob Smith (RSD), best known for making and playing breakbeat, drum & bass and dubstep, and as half of the duo Smith & Mighty (with Ray Mighty) provides the Bristol connection with his remixes.
Bogotá-based Richard Blair - from the band Sidestepper - retains the earthy Colombian sound of the traditional African-influenced drums and adds his own dub twist

Das Berlin seit Jahren zum Sammelbecken für Kreative aus aller Welt wurde, ist hinreichend bekannt. Umso schöner, wenn sich die richtigen Individualisten zusammenfinden und aus unterschiedlichen Charakterköpfen eine gemeinsame Vision entspringt, die konsequent verfolgt und gelebt wird. So im Falle Bakery. Manche werden vielleicht Vergleiche zu alt-J, James Blake oder gar Radiohead heranziehen, jedoch ist dies zu kurz gegriffen - Bakery sind viel mehr als das, denn sie sind eigenständig, überraschend wie auch mutig. "Lucy" ist diese Art von Album, die dem Hörer etwas Geduld abverlangt. Befinden sich auf dem ersten Blick keine sicheren und offensichtlichen Hits darauf, nimmt die Platte diejenigen, die der Platte etwas Zeit schenken, mit auf eine erstaunliche Entdeckungsreise durch schillernde Klangwelten genommen, die auch nach zahlreichen Durchgängen immer noch neue Details bietet.

This is the new 2015 edition of Soul Jazz Records' long out of print first New York Noise collection, Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-82.
New York Noise is the story of the intersection between experimental dance music and art in downtown New York. This ground-breaking release gave rise to a series of three albums featuring the likes of Snatch, Glenn Branca, Rhys Chatham, Sonic Youth, Ut, Jim Jarmusch and many more downtown figures as well as a deluxe photography book that featured everyone from David Byrne to Madonna (now out-of-print).
This new 2015 edition features classic New York post-punk, punk funk and no wave tracks from Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L, James White and the Contortions, The Theoretical Girls, Mars, Konk, Material, Bush Tetras, Lizzy Mecrier Descloux as well as new tracks by Alan Vega (Suicide), Chain Gang and Implog.

Dean Ween bringt seine Liebe zum klassischen Gitarren-Rock mit 14 Original-Kompositionen (darunter vier Instrumentals), die alle Einflüsse von Classic Rock bis Country, Soul, Funk, Metal und Punk widerspiegeln. Sein persönlicher Geschmack ist eher mainstreamig, er liebt Jimi Hendrix, Santana und Led Zeppelin. Aber er hatte immer ein offenes Ohr, und so rangiert der P-Funk Sound von George Clinton gleich neben den Beatles an der Spitze. Alle diese Einflüsse sind auf dem "The Deaner Album" präsent, für das er einen Ensemble Ansatz bei den Aufnahmen wählte. Neben den Ween-Tourband-Mitgliedern Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, und Glenn McClelland spielen befreundete Musiker wie Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets), Chuck Treece, Bill Fowler, Scott Rednor und Mike "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton auf der Platte mit. "The Deaner Album" ist ein Muss für alle Ween-Fans, klingt es doch wie ein Ween-Album ohne Gene Ween.

The Apostles were disciples of a heavy kind of psychedelic soul/rock fusion. After The Funkees left for London, they stepped into the breach to become the champions of East Nigeria's flourishing post-war music scene. Based in Aba, and led by guitarist and charismatic chancer Walton Arungwa, they laid down a couple of singles with the city's newly-formed BEN label. EMI liked what they heard and in 1976 whisked the band to Lagos to record The Apostles with the legendary Emmanual Odenusi at the controls. A heavy mix of wailing guitar, swirling organ and James Brown-style vocals, it became a fixture in every east Nigerian home. 'Never Too Late' sets the stage with a scorching lead break that most believe was played by guitar-slinger-for-hire, Felix 'Feladay' Odey. Drummer Joel Madubuike and bass player Henry Tandu lay down the rock solid groove for Benji Davidson's righteous organ lines in 'Inflation' and 'Highway to Success.' And each is invested with an urgency from battle-hardened vocals of Chyke Fussion, a vetran of the Biafra war. Don't be fooled by the angelic white outfits worn on the cover of The Apostles. These guys were BAD. And 'Never Too Late' could well be the best Afro Rock song ever recorded.

After years of presenting their high energy, broadly appealing show to stages across the world, the ensemble had settled into a deep groove. This dramatic evolution and solidification of their musical interaction is clearly evident on Monistic Theory, which features a selection of tight, catchy, and funky songs.

Second album from Isasa (aka Conrado Isasa) released on Spain's La Castanya label. Again soaked in flamenco, but through the prism of the American Primitive scene - both its originators (Fahey, et al) but also modern exponents like the greatly missed Jack Rose - Los Dias' 9 songs are primarily acoustic but with lap and electric guitars in the mix too. Shifting from lyrical flights to more atonal moments, I've spent hours lost in Los Dias and I recommend you do the same.
Narc Magazine.

Madrid's Conrado Isasa is another composer and musician in deep thrall to the allure of American Primitive. Using acoustic, electric and Weissenborn guitars and banjo, his worldless narratives reveal both an impresive technical dexterity and an innate molodicism with hints of European folk and Indian classical music.
fRoots Magazine

One of the chief pleasures of schlepping a guitar through Europe and the UK over the years has been the opportunity it's afforded me to meet and hear other musicians.

When John Fahey made his first recordings in 1958 he could not possibly have foreseen how far-reaching his influence would be. Today the path that John hacked through the musical wilderness of the latter part of the 20th Century has snaked its way across the whole planet, to countries, cities, and backwaters he never set foot in. It's more than just a little astonishing how widely the style of guitar music John created has traveled, taken up by people he never laid eyes on or imagined might exist.

Which brings me to Madrid's Conrado Isasa. Conrado sent me his first album, Las Cosas, a year ago. It was a good first effort, I thought. Not everything worked, but I could hear in it the stirrings of a musician of depth, one who had obviously spent hours, days, years absorbing the works of the players who had come before him and countless dusks and dawns alone with a guitar, learning how to let it speak for him.

With Los Días ("Days") Conrado has more than come into his own. His technique has matured to the point where you don't hear technique anymore, just what he has to say.

Commenting on each song would be pointless -this is an album after all, not just a collection of individual pieces- but whether he's employing acoustic, lap steel or electric guitar, there is a unity of purpose here and an underlying sense of calm and flow (and drama -- Los Días Have Gone By) that is irresistible and compelling.

This is inner music -more for Sunday morning than Saturday night- born of solitude, of a love of the sheer sound of the guitar as a means of personal expression and exploration. I'm impressed by how unforced Los Días feels, how willing Conrado is to let his music take him -and us- where it will.

It's a captivating voyage, one I hope you'll relish as much as I do.

Glenn Jones - Cambridge, MA. August, 2016

Strut present the first in a series of essential original LP reissues exploring rare and under-rated African, Latin and Caribbean music classics, curated by Duncan Brooker. In January 2017, the series kicks off with 'Sugar Daddy', an experimental highlife / disco outing by Nigerian highlife guitarist Joe King Kologbo.Building his career as a composer and player with Eastern Star Dance Band at their residency at the Atlantic Hotel in Aba, Eastern Nigeria, Joe King Kologbo was forced to flee to Ghana when the Biafran War broke out in 1967. As his son Oghene recalls, when war came, everything just scatter. He lost his house, everything.'Joe King played with a variety of bands in Ghana including Real Ruby's, a jazz highlife big band, before returning to Lagos in 1971. By the time he recorded the 'Sugar Daddy' LP for the tiny Electromat label in 1980, he was one of the older musicians on the circuit. Oghene Kologbo remembers, My Mum used to say, 'I hope you don't go and play guitar everywhere and play around, don't go and be Sugar Daddy!' All my father's friends nicknamed him 'Sugar Daddy' so he did the song in a fun way. He was a nice man. He never did 'playboy'.Since he was based in the East during his early days, he was not as well known nationally as some of the other highlife players of the time,' continues Oghene,'so it's nice that this album is coming out again. It brings back good memories.

For fans Of: - Stone Throw records - Analog experimental sample based music - Psychedelic rock - Afro Ancestral "I may have no possessions, but here lies everything one needs" This is Alexandre Francisco Diaphra's motto as governor of his own life. A multifaceted artist from Guinea-Bissau, based in Lisbon: rapper, poet, edutainer & beatmaker, creating music based on improvisation in which he blends his psychedelic, black music, afro ancestral influences and love for the non-quantized beats in the same way as with experimental jazz, mixed contemporary and urban styles. Last year Diaphra wons the 3rd place at the 1st International Poetry Slam in Rio de Janeiro (Flupp). In 2012 Diaphra featured & toured Europe as MC/performer for Angolan/Portuguese project Batida's eponymous debut album (Soundway),"a record that could change the african electronic music on the 21st century" (Songlines) - their live show was also "one of the best 10 acts from Womex" (NPR Radio). Diaphra's Blackbook Of The Beats is following the idea of building instrumental bases on the outside environment wherever Diaphra feels inspired. A backpack, some vinyl records, a portable turntable and a sampler for self deconstruction / recreation from which resulted this (mainly) instrumental album and which is documented in form of musical videos in the dvd. The particulary of this project resides in the non-quantized beats over which the enlightening poetry is spoken, rapped and chanted in portuguese, where trial and error take part of the compositions which are enhanced with the use of instruments played by invited musicians and sometimes by Diaphra himself. Add to this various carefully handcrafted editions " including a silkscreened reproduction of the real Diaphra's Black Book Of The Beats " and you get the kind of artifact we love to bump into. Available as CD also.

Placed within legendary reggae producer Lee Scratch' Perry's prolific discography, The Upsetters Chapter 1 stands out as one of the eccentric genius's most interesting, adventurous works. Using a combination of established collaborators and new musicians, Perry creates a classic dub record that pulses with deep bass, echoing percussion and dissonant sound effects. Spiritual cuts ( When Jah Come') are balanced by grand dub productions ( Tighten Up'), creating a cohesive, infectious sound that rivals the Upsetter's finest material.

Ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey made 35,000 recordings across Africa between the 1920s & 70s, in an epic bid to preserve the music of Africa for future generations. Sixty-five years later, artists are being allowed to access the archives of the International Library of African Music (ILAM) for the first time, with contemporary producers putting a fresh perspective on the never-heard-before sounds to help bring them to a new generation. Beating Heart is a music initiative which seeks to use sounds of the past to address problems of the present - money raised will go directly to help communities where the music was originally recorded.

Der nigerianische Musiker Fela Kuti gilt als Begründer des Afrobeat. Das Label Knitting Factory legt nun verschiedene Werke aus dem Backcatalogue als neue Vinyl-Edition vor. Diese entstammen ursprünglich dem von Brian Eno zusammengestellten Set "Vinyl Box 3/Compiled by Brian Eno" und waren einzeln nicht erhältlich. Schwarzes Vinyl / 180g. Das 1976er Album meint mit dem Begriff "Zombie" einen Soldaten. Denn insgesamt 1000 Soldaten marschierten auf die Gebäude der Kalakuta Republic, den Aufnahmestudios von Fela Kuti zu. Bei dieser Aktion wurde nicht nur das Equipment zerstört, zudem Aufnahmen beschlagnahmt und Fela Kuti schwer zusammengeschlagen, sondern Fela Kutis Mutter wurde aus einem Fenster im ersten Stock geworfen. In der Folge lag sie über Wochen im Koma. Ein gewaltiger Einschnitt in Fela Kutis Biographie und die heftige Reaktion eines Staates auf seine Musik!

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The original Buena Vista Social Club album became a surprise international best seller and the most successful album in the history of Cuban music.

It was recorded for World Circuit Records by Ry Cooder over seven days in Havana in 1996,

bringing together many of the great names of the golden age of Cuban music in the 1950s, several of whom were coaxed out of retirement for the sessions.

In the years that followed the original release, Buena Vista veterans toured the world and were the subject of a celebrated feature film directed by Wim Wenders.

2015 REMASTERED 180g VERSION

Istanbul has a deep, layered history. From its beginnings as a fishing village to one of the pillars of the Roman world. Across the centuries the city drew in cultures and blended them. Growing up there, singer-songwriter Gaye Su Akyol breathed all that in every day. Those rich traditions combine to form part of the sound she's developed on her album Hologram Imparatorlugu (Hologram Empire), where sultry Turkish melodies twine around spiky, twanging guitars and insistent rhythms.



But that, and the old music on Turkish Radio Television that she internalized, were only parts of the mix that helped shape her sound. She was constantly seeking out the new and the different, something to set off sparks in her emotions.



When I heard Nirvana's Nevermind for the first time, my mind blew up. I discovered other Seattle bands, then people like Nick Cave, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, and Einstürzende Neubaten. A bit later I heard Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit.' The dark, mellow mood of the music, the use of the instruments and the vocal technique of Grace Slick greatly inspired me and led me into psychedelia and then surf bands. What they all did seemed to fit with older Turkish singers I loved like Selda Bagcan and Müzeyyen Senar.'



By then Akyol was already part of a new underground music scene that had sprung up in Istanbul. A military coup in the 1980s led to a repression of rock across the country. After a decade the government's grip was beginning to loosen, and Akyol became part of the new wave of music, exploring the mix of old Turkish music and rock that she heard in her head.



That first disc seeded the ground. The new album, Hologram Imparatorlugu, bears the full fruit of the partnership. It digs deeper, fired with a seductive, shadowy passion. The thick swirl of Oriental strings on Hologram' plunges towards the heated boil of Fantastikir Bahti Yarimin.' The dark lullaby of Dünya Kaleska' weaves a haunted post-punk spell before building to the album's climax Berdus,' where spaghetti western guitar cracks over a propulsive rhythm and a sensuous Anatolian melody. The sound is cinematic and gorgeous and Gaye's luminous voice brilliantly orchestrates these shifting moods.

Wenn man als Sohn des indischen Jazz- und Worldmusic-Percussionisten Ramesh Shotham in Köln, Indien
und auf Tour aufgewachsen ist wie Keshavara, bietet es sich an, sich mit seiner musikalischen Herkunft
auseinanderzusetzen. Als Sänger der stets stilsicheren Band Timid Tiger hat er mehrere Alben veröffentlicht
und erfolgreiche Touren in ganz Europa gespielt. Um den Übergang zum Soloprojekt halbwegs flüssig zu
gestalten und nicht plötzlich ganz auf sich allein gestellt zu sein, hat er den personellen Bogen für seine
ambitionierte musikalische Spurensuche vom musizierenden Vater zurück nach Köln gespannt und setzt den
hohen Anspruch von Timid Tiger an künstlerische Freiheit fort. Daraus ist Musik entstanden, die vom
Fingerspitzengefühl eines vielseitigen Musikers und von einem Rückgrat aus Pop und HipHop getragen wird.
Indische Percussion, eiernde Synthesizer, diverse kleine Geräusche, die akkurat programmiert oder zufällig
entstanden sind. Diese Fähigkeit zur Erzeugung von Sounds und Arrangementperlen auf stabiler Songbasis
hat Keshavara schon in den Dienst diverser Filmsoundtracks und solch etablierter Künstler wie Casper, Cro
oder Haftbefehl gestellt.

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

Compiled for the LA CONCHA resort in San Juan this features 12 Latin jazz & nujazz cuts featuring: QUANTIC, NICKODEMUS, BRONX RIVER PARKWAY, LOCAL 12, and more.Incls many of the out of print and hard to find CANDELA 12"s (like "MI SWING ES TROPICAL" used by APPLE in one of its IPOD TV commercials). Club music infused with salsa.

Limited edition 7" single from Puerto Rican 12 piece vintage salsa band, who have taken the PR underground by storm with thier authentic vocals and instrumentation. Definitely in league with WILLIE COLON, SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA, or JAPAN's ORCHESTRA DEL SOL. 2 tracks picture sleeve.

The debut CD from the 12 piece band with a punk rock background that took the Puerto Rican underground scene by storm. They call themselves Rockeros and play salsa for people who don't know how to dance salsa. They write and produce all their own songs. Their fans include TEGO CALDERON.

Das originelle und kreative Duo Oy, bestehend aus dem ghanaisch-schweizerischen Sänger und Musiker Joy
Frempong und Produzent Lleluja-Ha, ist zurück mit Songs aus einer anderen Welt. Oys neues Album ist eine
Weltraum-Oper mit sehr tanzbarer Avantgarde-Musik. Sie basiert auf einem Kern von Gesangsloops,
Elektronik und Trommeln und erzählt die Geschichte der prosperierenden Zukunft der Menschheit auf dem
Planeten "Space Diaspora", auf dem die Bewohner schließlich eine Fähigkeit entwickelt haben, an der es auf
der Erde immer haperte: aus Fehlern zu lernen. Eine Vision, die genauso zu Tränen wie zum Lächeln rührt.
Diese Fabel ist ein Rahmen, der Oys vielfältige Talente zum Strahlen bringt. Der daraus resultierende Sound
könnte als eine futuristische Mischung aus aufständischem Tribal-Jazz und Electronica beschrieben werden,
die Band nennt das "Oyxploitation". Erste Aufführungen dieser Oper in Paris, Fes und London haben
staunende Besucher und jubelnde Kritiker hinterlassen.

An album of traditional salsa music from an original member of CORTIJO Y SUCOMBO, an all black Puerta Rican orchestra that started in the 50s. Stillgoing strong in his 70s SAMMY tours regularly and played with NY's ZON DELBARRIO. QUANTIC and NICKODEMUS guest. FANIA fans will love it! (CANDELA)

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

the smashin new mixes of this burner !!

Bristol based Afro-beat band, Matuki are releasing their debut 7 single on December 2nd via Stutter & Twitch, featuring an exclusive remix by Shunya. As each side of the record paints a juxtaposing image, Matuki drives forward as they make a name for themselves as Bristol's most engaging afro-funk band. Side A 'Sanimenteren' showcases fiery horn melodies and liquid guitar riffs, whereas Side B 'INJO' changes direction completely, as Manchester producer Shunya takes the reins. By morphing Matuki's steadfast rhythm into a lucid downtempo glitch, Shunya creates a unique and mesmerizing new perspective towards the urban band's signature style. Likened to the legends Fela Kuti and Afro Manding the authentic Afro band punctured Bristol's music scene after an exceptional debut performance at Glastonbury's Glade Stage, blending jazz & psychedelic influences with urban-funk. The result Mesmerizing tracks and heavyweight horn lines that reflect on how the 12-piece collective are never afraid to venture out of their comfort zone, to create something special.Turbo-boosted grooves and fusing Afro Manding with intoxicating Fela Kuti horn lines, Matuki creates a rhythm so deep and hypnotic, it takes you on a journey' - Rhythm Passport'Matuki mix the classic ingredients - brass, beats, vocals and electricity - into something suitably hot'n'spicy..., If Bristol's Afrobeat scene gets any hotter we might as well move to Lagos' - Canteen Bristol. Fronted by master drummer and vocalist, Abraham Ebou Sanyang (Savanna, Magoma), Matuki mixes traditional afro-beat sounds with heavy doses of contemporary urban funk, into an exciting concoction of world music. The ensemble recently expanded after merging their sound with the Bristol Jazz Student ensemble Jamba Horns, and has previously collaborated with an array of versatile musicians including the Bristol Samba community. After the success of their debut performance, Matuki saw airplay from Bristol based DJ Hiphoppapotamus, and Miles Chambers of Lyrical Minded as well as BCFM, Bristol City Radio, Radio Ujima and Radio Helsinki, as an energizing sound bled into the airwaves. Touring the UK festival circuit, performing at Secret Garden Party, Green Man, Farmfest, Kendal Calling, Glastonbury to name a few, saw Matuki turn unassuming audiences into dancing frenzies, wherever they play.

Yet more Italians on Optimo Trax! Josè Manuel delivers 4 unique exotic, fourth world, tribal slabs of ritual music.
A1, "The Great Beast in Outer Space" is actually an Andrew Liles track that Jose has completely reworked and sprinkled his magick on. Mr. Liles is one of my favourite producers in the world, both for his solo work and for his input into my all time heroes Nurse With Wound. For those who know his work, having something by him that will work on a dancefloor may bring a smile to your face. Thankfully I know him a bit and he was more than happy to grant permission for this to be released.
A2, "Folklore" is Fourth World exotica reimagined for late night dance rites.
AA1, "Ritual", is exactly what the title says it is.
AA2, Sisi leaves the dance floor completely and even though Optimo Trax is 100% aimed at DJs, was simply too lovely to leave off.

Five years ago Sven Kacireks released his legendary album "The Kenya Sessions" on Pingipung. The drummer's collaboration with musicians from Kenya connected electronic, instrumental and field recordings in a unique manner and received kudos from various scenes between techno and world music. For the fifth anniversary Kacirek delivers two more songs with previously unreleased material: The Kenya Encores.
"Siguera" on the A-side is a beautiful gem featuring the voice of the 80-year-old singer Ogoya Nengo. The song has been recorded in Rangala Village at the Viktoria Lake, the exact location where Kacirek had recorded her contributions to the original Kenya Sessions. In the course of her collaboration with Kacirek, Ogoya Nengo has established an international career herself and released two solo albums. The voice on "Siguera" originates from recordings for her first album which was released on the English label Honest Jon's. It has been produced by Sven Kacirek and Stefan Schneider (To Rococo Rot).
The B-side, "Gonda", is built upon a recording which Kacirek had made in the process of the "Kenya Sessions" five years ago. It was meant to be a part of the album but has found its final shape only now.

Nahe dem Place de la Concorde begann vor ziemlich genau 20 Jahren und mitten im Herzen der französischen Kapitale die klangvolle Geschichte der Buddha-Bar. Seither ist der Club aus dem Pariser Nachtleben nicht mehr fortzudenken. Nicht allein deshalb, weil die stilvolle Fusion-Gastronomie in Kombination mit nicht minder geschmackssicheren DJ-Sets eine perfekte Grundlage für so ausgelassene wie atmosphärische Partys schafft. Hinzu kommen unzählige Veröffentlichungen mit Lounge-, World- und ElectroSounds, die den Vibe der Buddha-Bar in die ganze Welt hinaustragen, und von Thailand über Melbourne und San Francisco bis London und Berlin einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Erfolgsgeschichte dieser Pariser Institution leisten. Zum zwanzigjährigen Jubiläum bringt das Label George V mit "Twenty Years" eine 3CDBox heraus, in der sich die größten Hits und beliebtesten Stücke der Buddha-Bar-Historie finden. Doch nicht nur das: Während zwei CDs Ravin, seit den Anfangstagen Resident-DJ der Buddha-Bar, in Fluss bringt, besorgt der französische Star-DJ Bon Sinclair den dritten Mix. Fulminant!

REPRESSED !!
After 14 years of close collaboration Tony Allen stopped working with Fela Anikulapo Kuti. After breaking from the band during the gigs at Berlin's festival in 1978, Tony Allen returned to Lagos to start working on new compositions. His independence inspired him to break-away from his regular routine of putting 2 tracks on every single album. The tracks on No Discrimination are also focussed more towards subjects of tolerance, brotherhood and peace. This was his final work during the 70's, after which he started to move beyond the border of Nigeria by collaborating with artists worldwide. Till this day he remains on of the greatest kit drummers alive. Part of the Tony Allen reissue series on Kindred Spirits, featuring remastered versions and original restored artwork. A must for afro-beat fans around the globe.

REPRESSED !!
In 1976 Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Afrika 70 released a total of 8 albums including the hit 'Zombie'. At the time of their height Tony Allen, Fela's drummer, decided to release a follow-up album to 'Jealousy'. Progress was the result of a series of studio sessions, featuring Fela himself with a tenor solo on the title-track. The b-side contains the dancefloor filler 'Afro Disco Beat'. Part of the Tony Allen reissue series on Kindred Spirits, featuring remastered versions and original restored artwork. A must for afro-beat fans around the globe.

REPRESSED !!
1978 was without a doubt one of the most disturbing years in the history of Fela and the Afrika 70. Just a year before the army had raided Fela's compound destroying his house, his club, his brothers free medical clinic and fatally injuring his mother. With their houses destroyed they had to squat the former Decca offices. Somewhere in between the madness they managed to record Fela's Suffering and Schmiling album and Tony Allen's third solo-project: 'No Accomodation For Lagos'. Without a doubt his most political orientated record of all. After the record came out Tony Allen dropped from the Afrika '70 band as he felt that too many people were sapping Fela of his creative mind. Part of the Tony Allen reissue series on Kindred Spirits, featuring remastered versions and original restored artwork. A must for afro-beat fans around the globe.

REPRESS OF 2003 LUAKA BOP CLASSIC ALBUM

Moreno, Kassin and Domenico were childhood friends from school. They formed a band and made three albums, each one under a different one's name. Their records are different and very influential in Brazil. Morneo is the son of legendary Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. You can hear him at age 8 on the first Luaka Bop release ( Beleza Tropical') singing the words Ilê Ayê' on Caetano's song of the same name.

Moreno's record is to some extent the most conventional of the three, even though Domenico, the drummer, plays drums on a sampler and cymbal sounds using sand paper. The next release, Domenico's, had the greatest success in the indie world, while Kassin's album is the most produced (which makes sense as he has become one of the most successful producers in Brazil).

Assagai's debut for Philips' progressive subsidiary Vertigo was realised in 1971 to quiet applause. Critics soon became favourable as Afro-Rock gained a foothold as the 'next big thing' and it wasn't long before they would make their (only) appearance on Top of The Pops.Their journey in London's predominantly progressive underground music scene was brief, but also established a further chapter in the annals of afro-rock alongside Black Velvet, Osibisa, Thors Anvil, Uhuru and the Cosmic Grass Band. Numerous musical figures were assembled from the South African and Nigerian communities resident in London at the time with contributions from Dudu Pukwana, Fred Coker, Ayinde Folarin (Demon Fuzz) and Fred Fredericks (Jimmy James and The Vagabonds). An unlikely partnership with progressive-folk legends Jade Warrior would provide backing on their Zimbabwe LP, co-writing material for their self-titled debut. Unbeknown to Jade Warrior at the time, they were part of a combined contract with their labelmates.Assagai is as fresh and alive as it was when it was recorded in 1971, hypnotic in it's rhythm and tantalising in its mix of punctured brass and provocative vocals. Their ruthless brand of handsome rhythm offers copious potent vibes, but simultaneously employs a simple narrative achieving an elementary perspective of London's rapidly changing times.

With Music with a Message a new chapter has been opened in German music history. Actually, this is the first official compilation of it's kind which documents how rock, soul and funk have found their way into German churches in the course of Christian movements of the late 1960s and early '70s. Call it Xian (kraut-) rock or religious funk - these 12 tracks by almost totally unknown bands will convince rare groove lovers as well as the beat and rock collectors.

The set opens with Eingangslied (Die Rocker) by legendary Peter Janssens whose name was first introduced to the funk and soul collectors secne in 2010 when his song Grito Pidiendo was first re-released on the third volume in the classic Movements series. Siegfried Fietz is another well known figure in this genre, obviously no regular music buyer has ever heard of him. Our austrian neighbours are presented here with two songs, a sweet latin-ish soul tune by the Golems and an outstanding psych-rock cut by Kaplan Schwarz. Other contributions are the thrilling groovy rock track by the Light Of Light Group, the progressive and heavy beat instrumental by CT Four Plus, "Du bist die Stimme" from the sought after psychedelic mass by Oratorium, a charming lo-fi rock track by the Church Band, two perfect disco tunes by Salvation and Heike Tittman, and finally a monstreous and one of a kind funk track with some glorious vocals by a boys choir from Overbach. Pure Xian awesomeness!

The album was compiled by John Raincoatman aka DJ Scientist, who released two mixes in 2009 and 2010 together with his partner DJ Arok entitled Godly Grooves in which this sort of new genre in religious music was documented first. And the awesome cover artwork of Chrisse Kunst from Berlin is without question as creative as the music. Hallelujah!

Key selling points:

- deluxe vinyl LP including full album download code, housed in original 1960s old school tip-on cover

- the vinyl LP contains a booklet with lots of information about the artists

The Apostles were disciples of a heavy kind of psychedelic soul/rock fusion. After The Funkees left for London, they stepped into the breach to become the champions of East Nigeria's flourishing post-war music scene. Based in Aba, and led by guitarist and charismatic chancer Walton Arungwa, they laid down a couple of singles with the city's newly-formed BEN label. EMI liked what they heard and in 1976 whisked the band to Lagos to record The Apostles with the legendary Emmanual Odenusi at the controls. A heavy mix of wailing guitar, swirling organ and James Brown-style vocals, it became a fixture in every east Nigerian home. 'Never Too Late' sets the stage with a scorching lead break that most believe was played by guitar-slinger-for-hire, Felix 'Feladay' Odey. Drummer Joel Madubuike and bass player Henry Tandu lay down the rock solid groove for Benji Davidson's righteous organ lines in 'Inflation' and 'Highway to Success.' And each is invested with an urgency from battle-hardened vocals of Chyke Fussion, a vetran of the Biafra war. Don't be fooled by the angelic white outfits worn on the cover of The Apostles. These guys were BAD. And 'Never Too Late' could well be the best Afro Rock song ever recorded.

Set up by producer Ben Okonkwo in 1973, the BEN label, and its offshoot Clover Sounds, broke some of the biggest bands outside of Lagos. The Apostles, Akwassa, The Doves, Mary Afi Usuah and Aktion all got their start in the cramped studio in the commercial heart of Aba. The least known - and arguably one of the best bands on the label - was The Visitors. For a short, sweet time between 1975 and 1978, The Visitors were creating the most righteous sounds in the East. We're talking deep afro-funk with generous dollops of rock psych fuzz synth madness. My Good Friends, their second album, find them at the height of their powers. The musicianship throughout the album is extraordinary. Check out the synth and guitar wig out on 'Here We Come Brothers' and the searing guitar break that scorches the slinky groove of the title track. This album is impossibly hard to find and selling for high prices, one seller justified the high asking price by arguing that once you let this record in your bones, it's not coming back out.' Thanks to the good guys at PMG, your bones can now get the good stuff for considerably less.