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“ONE OF A KIND” enlarges the Cool Million sound universe and starts a new direction of contributions to a more diverse Boogie Funk style package. Cool Million’s “One Of A Kind”, the newest dancefloor happening features a longtime friend and vocal contributer by the name of Seest, a danish Soul singer, we have heard before. This single walks the funky walk on the path of jazzfull Boogie Funk sounds inspired by such like Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang, Crusaders and others and features rich and powerfull horn arrangements, cord changes and driving bass lines. Up-tempo Power-Funk at it’s best proofing that Cool Million is one of a kind ever since… This exclusive single release marks the first release of the next upcoming Cool Million album to be released in early 2026.

Singer James Ambrose Johnson, born on February 1, 1948, in Buffalo, New York, fled to Toronto, Canada, to avoid the draft. There, he started The Mynah Birds, a rhythm & blues band and changed his name to Rick James. In 1966, Neil Young joined the band, but their journey ended when James was exposed as a draft dodger and jailed. After serving his time, Rick James joined several bands, including The Great White Cane, and developed his unique funk style. In 1978, Motown signed him to their Gordy Records, releasing his debut solo album Come And Get It! featuring the hits “You and I” and “Mary Jane.” The album climbed to number 13 on the U.S. charts. Rick released multiple successful albums, such as Bustin’ Out Of L Seven and Fire It Up, with hits like “High On Your Love Suite' and “Bustin’ Out (On Funk).” His 1981 album Street Songs marked his internationally breakthrough, blending funk, rock, and new wave. It produced hits like “Ghetto Life,” the massive “Give It To Me Baby,” and “Super Freak,” earning gold records and Grammy nominations.

His follow-up albums included Throwin’ Down, featuring “Dance Wit’ Me” and "Standing On The Top" with The Temptations, and Cold Blooded, with “Ebony Eyes”a collaboration with Smokey Robinson. Furthermore Rick wrote and produced “Party All The Time” for Eddie Murphy, reaching number 2 on the Billboard charts. Also included on this Collected album are the hits “Glow”, “Loosey’s Rap” featuring the queen of hip hop Roxanne Shanté and his collaboration with Busta Rhymes of “In The Ghetto”

Rick James Collected includes most of his hits and early songs and the 2LP, is available on black vinyl and includes liner notes.

In an ever-expanding musical universe, Azymuth have long existed as a celestial giant, drawing countless artists, musicians and followers into their orbit. Marking fifty years since their 1975 debut album Azimuth, their new album Marca Passo proves that the band’s alchemic brew of Brazilian jazz-funk and cosmic samba soul remains as vital as ever, as the group honours the profound legacy of their departed founders.

Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Marca Passo is the first full-length release since the passing of founding drummer Ivan "Mamão" Conti in 2023, following the earlier loss of keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami in 2012. Alex Malheiros, the sole remaining original member, sees his stewardship of the band’s musical legacy as his spiritual duty. He is joined by the equally devoted Kiko Continentino (Milton Nascimento, Djavan) on keyboards, who has been with the group since 2016, and new recruit Renato Massa (Marcos Valle, Ed Motta) on drums.

Yet since their earliest recorded music, Azymuth have always been far greater than the sum of their parts. The "three-man orchestra’s" unmistakable sound is rooted in Brazil's MPB studio scene of the 1970s and early 1980s—a time when artists blended traditional Brazilian rhythms with global jazz, rock, and emerging psychedelic and progressive elements. Marca Passo continues this legacy, seamlessly fusing Brazilian musical traditions with global influences while showcasing the exceptional musicianship that powers Azymuth's distinctive, multi-dimensional sound.

The album is produced by studio mastermind Daniel Maunick, responsible for Azymuth’s two previous studio albums, Fênix in 2016 and Aurora in 2011. Daniel’s credits also include albums by Marcos Valle, Sabrina Malheiros and Terry Callier. Azymuth also invited Daniel’s father, British jazz-funk royalty Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick, of Incognito, to play guitar on a new version of Azymuth’s eighties classic “Last Summer In Rio”, in tribute to the song’s composer, José Roberto Bertrami. Equally, “Samba Pro Mamao” is a new composition dedicated to Azymuth’s beloved original drummer, Ivan “Mamão” Conti.

Credits:

Alex Malheiros - Bass, Acoustic Guitar & Vocals: 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Kiko Continentino - Keyboards, Organ, Vocoder & Vocals: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Renato Massa - Drums & Vocals: : 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Ian Moreira - Percussion: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Sidinho Moreira - Percussion: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
Dudu Viana - Keyboards & Vocals: 1
Victor Bertrami - Drums: 1
Mangueirinha - Repinique: 3
Jean Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick - Electric Guitar: 5
Jose Carlos Bigorna - Soprano Sax: 9
Daniel Maunick: Additional Percussion, Synths & EFX: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Produced, Engineered, Mixed & Arranged by Daniel Maunick
Co-Produced & Arranged by Alex Malheiros
Executive Producer: Joe Davis


Recorded by:
Daniel Maunick & Leonardo Vieira @ Estúdio Nos Trilhos, Santa Teresa, Rio, Brazil
Daniel Maunick & Amadeu Signorelli @ Sigstudio, Niterói, Rio, Brazil
Daniel Maunick & Alex Malheiros @ Estúdio Basslab, Piratininga, Rio, Brazil
Mixed by Daniel Maunick @ The Sugar Shack, Carluke, Scotland


Artwork & Design: Tyler Askew

For customers of the Rush Hour shop, this item ships for its may 23rd release date. Any items ordered along with this will ship then also

After five years spent largely confined to the United States, Ron Trent is set to return to global touring in 2025. To mark the occasion, he’s partnered with Rush Hour to release Lift Off, a brand-new album of music recorded at different points over the last decade.

Arriving almost 35 years since he wowed the world with his game-changing debut, the Afterlife EP, Lift Off was inspired by Trent’s desire to ‘let the imagination speak for itself’ while exploring the diverse influences that have shaped his unique musical perspective. A departure from his previous album, 2022’s downtempo masterpiece as Warm, What Do The Stars Say To You, the 10-track set features a mixture of epic instrumentals, inspired collaborations and vocal cuts whose music was written with certain singers in mind.

While it features music that ripples with the experienced producer’s familiar aural trademarks – rich rhythms, warm chords, impeccable instrumentation, inspired arrangements, and lashings of heady hand percussion – it also consciously explores a variety of sounds and tempos, in the process blurring the lines between dance music’s past, present and future. It’s a vision, in his words, of what dance music can become.

For proof, check the five impeccable cuts on part one. There’s the tactile, Wally Badarou-inspired wonder ‘Hot Ice’, the mind-soothing chords, lilting synth-strings and samba-soaked percussion of ‘Woman of Color’, the warming deep house jazziness of ‘Jazz Funk’ and the restless, far-sighted brilliance of ‘Sexstrology’, where relaxed electric piano solos dance atop an infectious, locked-in dancefloor groove.

Best of all though is Leroy Burgess collaboration ‘Let Me See You Shining’ – an inspired musical meeting of minds that cannily fuses Trent’s signature deep house sound with the soulful, vocal-driven brilliance of the New Yorker’s iconic boogie-era work. Even by the two artists’ dizzyingly high standards, it’s a very special song.

For customers of the Rush Hour shop, this item ships for its may 23rd release date. Any items ordered along with this will ship then also

After five years spent largely confined to the United States, Ron Trent is set to return to global touring in 2025. To mark the occasion, he’s partnered with Rush Hour to release Lift Off, a brand-new album of music recorded at different points over the last decade.

Arriving almost 35 years since he wowed the world with his game-changing debut, the Afterlife EP, Lift Off was inspired by Trent’s desire to ‘let the imagination speak for itself’ while exploring the diverse influences that have shaped his unique musical perspective. A departure from his previous album, 2022’s downtempo masterpiece as Warm, What Do The Stars Say To You, the 10-track set features a mixture of epic instrumentals, inspired collaborations and vocal cuts whose music was written with certain singers in mind.

While it features music that ripples with the experienced producer’s familiar aural trademarks – rich rhythms, warm chords, impeccable instrumentation, inspired arrangements, and lashings of heady hand percussion – it also consciously explores a variety of sounds and tempos, in the process blurring the lines between the past, present, and future. It’s a vision, in his words, of what dance music can become.

For proof, check the five tremendous tracks on part two. There’s the AM radio-ready warmth, guitar-flecked looseness, and eyes-closed bliss of ‘Just Another Love Song’, where Trent’s own multi-tracked vocals catch the ear, the slow-motion, head-nodding deep space bliss of ‘Juice’ and alternative Balearic love song ‘And Fly Away’.

Part two of the vinyl edition also includes two superb collaborations. Fellow Rush Hour artist Lars Bartkuhn lends his virtuoso guitar skills to ‘Street Wave’, a future house classic laden with nods to jazz-funk and fusion, while regular collaborator Harry Dennis (best known for his work as part of early Chicago house outfit Jungle Wonz) adds a poetic and emotion-filled spoken word vocal to the equally inspired ‘Her’.

Wairunga finds the Freddy juggernaut digging deep to debut five songs and revisit two classics captured in an outdoor performance sans audience but with wild weather elements playing an important creative role in producing this unique live album.

Recorded in Wairunga, high above Waimarama Beach in New Zealand, it is place etched into the DNA of Fat Freddy’s Drop who’ve roamed here for over 20 years; to party, relax between tours, make a song Wairunga Blues in its honour and even to get married. Farmed by the Parker family for a century, Wairunga is an oasis of green pasture and native tree filled valleys that fall away to the ocean below.

In inimitable Freddy's fashion the new tunes run a gamut of genre busting styles. Coffee Black is layered with cosmic hot buttered soul and cinematic wigged out psyche-blues while Shady continues Freddy's Afro-Acid adventures with Fitchie’s beat-making tapping into a South African township brand of techno Freddys experienced on tour.

Bush Telegraph is a reggae classic featuring MC Slave aka Mark Williams on the mic with freshly minted yum char spiced rhymes of hope. The other new tracks Leave Your Window Open and Dig Deep are loose rhythmic experiments that the band have been working on for a long time. Versions were developed, rehearsed, but then set aside – dismissed, demonised - only to be revived with new energy in some future moment of creative cohesion. The results are loose-limbed; broken and bruised beats smashing into subterranean bass and twisted up melodies.

Bones and Wairunga Blues are the two classics from Freddy's vast back catalogue. Off the Blackbird album, Bones has aged beautifully - like a fine wine - the song’s component parts matured and melded together in harmony and balance. DJ Fitchie rates this 2021 vintage superior to the 2013 original. Wairunga Blues has been a work-in-progress since it was released on Bays in 2015. Kuki dials up some appropriately off-kilter keys to match the wonky-funk laid down by Fitchie’s bass line and the horns. It’s a mighty comeback – and a fitting tribute to this magical place.

For customers of the Rush Hour shop, this item ships for its may 23rd release date. Any items ordered along with this will ship then also

A classic returns. Mystery, one of The RAH Band’s most beloved albums, celebrates its 40th anniversary with this long-awaited reissue - the album's first time on vinyl since its original 1985 release.

The RAH Band, the brainchild of producer and arranger Richard Anthony Hewson, has been synthesizing jazz, funk, and electronic pop into out-of-this-world tracks since the late 1970s. Mystery marked an important moment in Richard's career, following on from The Crunch & Beyond (1978), RAH (1980), and Going Up (1983). With this album, Hewson took his pop songwriting and commercial success to new heights while never compromising his unique and unbound production style.

At the heart of the album are eight perfectly crafted pop songs, each standing strong on its own, with no filler in sight. The lead single, Are You Satisfied?, set the tone for the album’s jazz-funk evolution, but it was Clouds Across The Moon, with its futuristic narrative of love and longing across the cosmos, that became a chart-topping phenomenon, reaching #6 in the UK. The track’s space-age storytelling cemented its place in pop history, with many still recalling that 1985 Top of the Pops performance as the moment they fell in love with The RAH Band - if you know, you know.

From the dreamy synth-jazz of Float, a club and radio favourite to this day, to the smooth saxophone solo on Out On The Edge, recently featured on Steven Julien (aka Funkineven)'s DJ Kicks mix, Mystery remains an essential album four decades later - a testament to the genius of one of the most quietly influential songwriter-producer-arrangers of our time.

„Bell Bottom Country“, passend benannt nach der Beschreibung ihres Sounds und Stils, ist typisch Lainey – Country mit besonderem Flair. Das Album spiegelt Laineys enorme Entwicklung der letzten Jahre, ihre Tiefe und ihren facettenreichen Charakter mit Elementen aus 70er-Jahre-Rock, Reggae und Funk wider – und bleibt dabei bis ins Mark Country.

Wilson gab ihr Schauspieldebüt in Staffel 5 der Erfolgsserie „Yellowstone“ als Musikerin Abby, wo sie erstmals „Smell Like Smoke“ sowie „Watermelon Moonshine“ und „Hold My Halo“ vom Album präsentierte.

Kalita is excited to present the third volume in their groundbreaking ‘Borga Revolution!’ compilation series, exploring the revolutionary phenomenon of ‘Burger Highlife.’ This unique style fused West African melodies with synthesizers, disco, and boogie, a sound that took Ghanaian airwaves by storm in the 1980s and beyond. With previous volumes receiving strong support by tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Antal, Tom Ravenscroft, and Hunee, Volume 3 takes a deeper dive than ever before into the world of Ghanaian digital dance music. This volume features rare, sought-after tracks from artists including Obibini Takyi, Osei Banahene, and Okyerema Asante, as well as Burger Highlife trailblazers George Darko and Lee Dodou. Borga Revolution! Volume 3 offers a curated mix of standout anthems and rediscovered gems, many of which are otherwise nearly impossible to find, making this collection a must-have for fans and collectors alike.

The 1970s and 80s saw Ghanaian musicians begin to incorporate Western sounds like funk and disco into their music, reflecting the changing global musical landscape. However, the country's political instability and economic hardships, marked by military regimes and curfews, forced many artists to leave Ghana in search of better opportunities abroad. In Europe and the U.S., these musicians fused their traditional highlife roots with emerging digital sounds, using cutting-edge technology like the DX7 synthesizer and drum machines to create the genre now known as Burger Highlife. With ‘Borga Revolution!’ Kalita offers a vivid exposition of this musical transformation, using rare interviews, archival photos, and detailed liner notes to bring to life the pioneering spirit of both well-known icons and unsung innovators of Burger Highlife, one of West Africa’s most exciting musical movements.

If you're reading this you will probably already know that this Cruise Music series has been full of gold over the previous instalments. Whoever is in charge for curation has pulled it off again with four more funky and disco infused house gems. Keller's opener is a classy mix of filtered vocals and drum loops with an aching soul edge. Mark Funk offers a more party starting disco bumper with classic vocal hooks and Danny Cruz takes things onto a summer terrace with glorious horns and uplifting grooves. Makito shuts down with the dusty deep house shuffles and party atmospheres of 'Jackin With Millie.'

The Freedom Affair hat von Anfang an tiefe Wurzeln in der Soulmusik geschlagen, aber nach fast einem Jahrzehnt gemeinsamer Arbeit konzentriert sich der Sound der Gruppe auf ihrem selbstbetitelten zweiten Album genau dort, wo Muscle Shoals und Memphis Soul aufeinandertreffen. Es ist eine Meisterleistung an leidenschaftlicher Message-Musik, die zeitlose Themen wie Ungerechtigkeit, Liebe und Zusammengehörigkeit erforscht. Eine schicksalhafte Begegnung mit dem Grammy-prämierten Toningenieur Boo Mitchell (Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, Al Green) in den Royal Studios im Februar 2023 löste einen Funken aus, der die Band mit neuer musikalischer Überzeugung zurück nach Kansas City schickte. Im November kehrte die Band zurück, um in dem legendären Studio in Memphis völlig neue, vom Southern Soul inspirierte Songs aufzunehmen. Das stets starke weibliche Trio an der Spitze der Band - Paula Saunders, Seyko Groves und Shon Ruffin - ist das Markenzeichen des Sounds und der Identität von The Freedom Affair, und ihr kollektives stimmliches Können ist in vollem Umfang zu hören - von hart bis zart, von Herzschmerz und Hoffnung. Die Erfahrung in den Royal Studios hat die Band davon überzeugt, dass es keinen besseren Raum gibt, um Bläser aufzunehmen. Die ,One-Take"-Bläser von Pete Carroll an der Trompete und Brett Jackson am Saxophon beweisen, dass sich ihre jahrelange Zusammenarbeit mit ihrer Präzision und den perfekt auf die Stimmung abgestimmten Linien ausgezahlt hat. Das Personal der Rhythmusgruppe ist das gleiche wie auf dem Debütalbum "Freedom is Love", aber Chris Hazelton wechselt vom Bass zu seinem Hauptinstrument, der Hammond B3-Orgel, sowie zu verschiedenen Keyboards. Branden Moser tauscht den Bass, der auch sein Hauptinstrument ist, mit seiner früheren Rhythmusgitarre aus. Cole Bales greift an der Leadgitarre weiterhin zu zeitlosen Riffs, und Dave Brick sorgt am Schlagzeug für das Rückgrat mit dem schweren Boom-Bap. Dieses Album hat den Sound von The Freedom Affair zementiert: beständige Melodien mit reichhaltigen Arrangements, unterstützt von einem düsteren Puls. Royal war der perfekte Ort für dieses Album, und die Band nutzte die Geschichte des Studios in vollem Umfang, indem sie Studiogeräte und Relikte während des gesamten Prozesses einbezog. Da die Band nur vier Tage Zeit hatte, um das zehn Songs umfassende Album aufzunehmen, bestand sie darauf, das gleiche Ampex 1"-Bandgerät zu verwenden, mit dem alle Hi-Record-Hits von 1974 und davor aufgenommen wurden, um die Authentizität zu wahren. Es war das erste Mal seit 1974, dass dieses Gerät für ein Album verwendet wurde. Die Einschränkungen und Macken, die sich aus der Verwendung alter, analoger Geräte ergeben, machten Platz für magische Momente, die den Charme des Albums ausmachen. Die Platte erweckt den klassischen Southern Soul zu neuem Leben, mit all der Gemütlichkeit und Wärme, die man erwarten würde, wenn man Al Green oder Ann Peebles Aufnahmen aus dem selben Raum hört. Abgemischt von Vince Chiarito (Hive Mind, Jalen Ngonda, Charles Bradley) und gemastert von JJ Golden (Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The James Hunter Six, Antibalas), ist dieses Album eine wahre Lektion in Sachen Soulmusik.

James Taylor has been writing/recording albums and touring for the past 43 years, starting with The Prisoners and then The James Taylor Quartet (JTQ) from 1986 onwards, to great acclaim. Taylor was the pioneering force that spear-headed the Acid Jazz movement in the 90's, which saw a renaissance in live music. He has also virtually single-handedly driven the rediscovery of the Hammond organ, his trademark keyboard. He has developed his composition and arrangement skills and with these has recorded over 20 library albums. The most recent of the library albums include the four tracks on this very EP, which feature Taylor's innovative horn arrangement skills, placing JB style horns over a funk groove, but in this case he had the novel idea of incorporating two guitars; one funky, one rocky. Sort of James Brown meets The Rolling Stones, and the result can be heard on this slab of vinyl. The current live line-up for The James Taylor Quartet is James Taylor (keyboards and orchestration), Mark Cox (guitar), Andrew McKinney (bass) and Pat Illingworth (drums).

This re-issue of World Machine, Level 42's 1985 breakthrough album, is presented with scrupulous attention to the detail of the original UK first pressings and available in audiophile 180g pink vinyl in celebration of the album's 40th anniversary.

By 1985, Level 42 – bassist and vocalist Mark King, keyboard player/vocalist Mike Lindup, guitarist Boon Gould, drummer/lyricist Phil Gould and studio-only keyboard player Wally Badarou – were on the verge of breaking big - After a string of well-received albums, such as their pioneering jazz-funk 1981 debut or the Ken-Scott produced True Colours, the group decided, rather than work up material through jamming, to sit and write some songs for their forthcoming album.

Producing themselves, with assistance from engineer Julian Mendelsohn, this new approach meant that World Machine was the quantum commercial leap they craved. And most of that was due to the album's towering lead single, the pop-funk of "Something About You". With its expensive video seeing the group styled for the 80s, it set radio alight, becoming a Top 10 hit and charting around the world, importantly in the US. Following up with the tender ballad "Leaving Me Now" and then the bouncy funk of the album's title track as singles, the album's success was guaranteed; it reached No 3 in the UK charts and spent an amazing 72 weeks on the listings.

"Released in 2007, Past Lives: The Best Of The RCA Years is a compilation album that highlights Level 42’s work during their time with RCA Records. The British band, renowned for their sophisticated mix of jazz-funk, pop, and rock, delivers a collection of tracks that showcase their musical versatility and technical brilliance. This compilation features hits and fan favorites from the RCA era, including songs like ""Guaranteed"" and ""Overtime,"" which reflect the band's signature blend of infectious grooves, smooth vocals, and intricate basslines by Mark King. The album captures Level 42’s ability to create catchy, yet musically rich songs that resonate with both longtime fans and new listeners. Past Lives: The Best Of The RCA Years is a must-have for anyone looking to explore Level 42’s catalog and revisit the band’s innovative contributions to the jazz-funk and pop genres. Past Lives: The Best Of The RCA Years is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on yellow coloured vinyl."

Web Web mit ihrem sechsten Album in sieben Jahren und mit einem neuen Touch. Mehr psychedelisch, mitunter krautiger als zuvor.

Dazu haben sich WEB WEB diesmal (wieder) in Originalbesetzung (ohne Max Herre) einen besonderen Gast ausgesucht: JJ Whitefield (The Poets Of Rhythm / Karl Hector & The Malcouns / Syrup), der den fantastischen Gitarrensound beisteuert. Seine Riffs sind manchmal funky wie bei den Poets Of Rhythm oder Syrup, oder psychedelischer wie bei Karl Hector & The Malcouns oder seinen vielen Live- und Studioaufnahmen mit Embryo. Die Soundfarbe seiner Gitarre gibt dem Album den Schub in die wunderbare Atmosphäre spaciger Jazz-Kraut Bands der Siebziger. Das Konzept des Albums sollte das exakte Gegenteil zum vorigen WEB MAX Album (WEB MAX II) darstellen: Wieder zurück zu den (WEB WEB-) Wurzeln, mit spontanen, improvisierten Stücken, Fragmenten, Ideen, die größtmögliche Freiheit und Live Spirit bedeuten. Und genauso unvorhersehbar und improvisiert war auch die Idee, JJ Whitefield mit ins Boot zu holen: Einen Tag vor der Session dachte sich Roberto Di Gioia: "JJ und ich leben seit jeher in München. Wir sind uns aber leider nie wirklich über den Weg gelaufen. Ich bin ein großer Bewunderer seiner Kunst, seiner Musik, seiner Art zu spielen. Er ist so inspirierend, weil er keine Kompromisse eingeht. Er spielt auf seine so eigene Art und Weise, er ist keine Kopie von irgendwem und irgendwas."

Die 14 Kompositionen entstanden an zwei Tagen, aufgenommen von Jan Krause (Beanfield) in München. Die energetische Live-Session ging über zweimal 10 Stunden, und alle - Roberto Di Gioia (Rhodes, Fender Precision Bass, Moog, Mellotron, Percussion), Christian von Kaphengst (Fender Precision Bass, Rhodes), Peter Gall (Drums, Percussion, Fender Rhodes), Tony Lakatos (Tenorsaxophon, Querflöte) - waren bis ins Mark "on fire". Dabei wechselten die Musiker die Instrumente, um einen vollkommen anderen Gesamtklang zu erzeugen: Kaphengst am Fender Rhodes klingt anders als Roberto, sein Spiel hat einen anderen harmonischen Aufbau, und Roberto am Bass kennt man von zahlreichen Max Herre Aufnahmen, oder von Till Brönners Album "Till Brönner", und natürlich auch bei dem von ihm produzierten "Let Yourself Be Loved" von Joy Denalane, das auf Motown Records erschienen ist.

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Hard Top assembles the previously unreleased 1975 recordings of legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moketsi (also spelled Moeketsi). The 2LP vinyl edition is presented in a gatefold sleeve featuring artwork by Mafa Ngwenya and comes from As-Shams Archive on the heels of the Tete Mbambisa's previously unreleased African Day album in 2024.

By 1975, at the age of 50, saxophonist Kippie Moketsi had already earned his stripes as a South African jazz figurehead. His tenure with the Jazz Epistles and the cast of the "South African Jazz Opera" King Kong in the late-1950s had not only marked his own rise to fame but also seen him help catalyse the ambitions of a younger generation of iconic artists who would go on to become the defining figures of modern South African jazz. While he didn't enjoy the same international attention as his protégés Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, his humble and challenging career on the local jazz scene until his death in 1983 saw him forge an enduring legacy.

Owing to the efforts of record producer Rashid Vally, Kippie Moketsi's journey through the 1970s is beautifully documented, most notably on the albums Dollar Brand + 3 (1973), Tshona! (1975) and Blue Stompin' (1977), in which he shares the spotlight with Abdullah Ibrahim, Pat Matshikiza and Hal Singer respectively. As a featured performer on Soul of the City's Diagonal Street (1975) and Dennis Maple's Our Boys are Doing It (1977), Moketsi is seen embracing the popular orientations of South African jazz in 1970s but, having come up in the 1940s and 1950s, he never forgot his roots as a dedicated admirer and scholar of traditional American jazz.

While Moketsi did write some memorable compositions, it was in the role of interpreter that he shone most brightly. With its title derived from a good-natured nickname that nodded to Moketsi's elder status by way of his receding hairline, Hard Top is a covers album that looks back in time to the era of rhythm and blues while also indulging 1970s pop and funk with a decidedly South African vibe. Officially joining Kippie Moketsi's catalogue 50 years after it was recorded, Hard Top provides an opportunity to celebrate the multiple dimensions of a South African jazz legend and reflect on the unwavering support of his fan, producer and friend Rashid Vally, who passed away in December 2024.

Visions Recordings is thrilled to announce the release of the fifth Various Artists EP from THE EVOLUTION series, showcasing a deep, soulful house anthem by the incredible Sean McCabe. We have a deep appreciation for Sean’s music and have eagerly anticipated this release. Joining him is Attias Brother, featuring Sohan Wilson on keys, contributing another captivating soulful house track.

On the B-side, we are excited to welcome back Detroit’s own Patrice Scott, who presents one of his deepest tracks to date. This musical piece unfolds beautifully, taking listeners on a journey that only Patrice can deliver.

To conclude the EP, we introduce the debut track from emerging DJ Eva May. Infused with an electro-techno vibe and a hint of funk, this track reflects her unique musical passion, marking a promising start for this talented newcomer from the Visions roster.