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For many years now, the comparative of epic has simply been EPICA. Since their formation in 2002 and their quick ascension to stalwarts of symphonic metal noblesse with trailblazing masterpieces “The Divine Conspiracy” (2007) or “Requiem for the Indifferent” (2012), Dutch metal titans only knew one way: Up. Especially with their last three releases “The Quantum Enigma”, “The Holographic Principle” and this years’ “Ωmega”, forming a metaphysical trilogy that’s both alpha and omega of all things symphonic metal, EPICA became rightful monarchs of a genre they themselves helped made become a global phenomenon.

Yet, as every other band, EPICA couldn’t take their latest installment of breathtaking cinematic grandeur to the seven corners of the world as they would have normally done. You know why. Thus, plans have been made and visions fulfilled to produce a once-in-a-lifetime event that couldn’t be further away from yet another streaming show. What EPICA unleashed upon the world on Saturday, June 12th, 2021, was a monument to their music, their career, and their enduring legacy as forebears of a whole genre. Now finally being released on Blu-ray and DVD and various audio formats, “Ωmega Alive” is the EPICA show of your wildest dreams, brought to life by blood, sweat, tears and a healthy dose of megalomania. Think Marvel meeting Cirque de Soleil in a Tim Burton universe.

Celebrating the release of their gargantuan new opus magnum, „Ωmega“, the streaming event saw fans from over a 100 countries flock to the screens to witness a show that has proven to be the defining moment in EPICA‘s concert history. A show that’s nothing short of the band’s most explosive performance to date, brought to life with an enormous production on an ever-evolving stage setting that’s full of visual surprises. For the first time ever, EPICA performed songs like ‘The Skeleton Key’ or the insanely monumental “Kingdom of Heaven Part 3” from “Ωmega”, alongside the band’s most popular songs, rare songs, fan favorites and huge surprises. “What started as a basic idea to do an online release show for “Ωmega” quickly spiraled out of control and became our most ambitious project to date,” creative director and keyboard wizard Coen Janssen says. “As usual, we wanted to push the boundaries, explore the limits, and think outside the box. We found ourselves back in our happy place. This concert film, our ray of light for you in the dark times that we have all been living in.”

For half a year, the band worked tirelessly on a show that’s been setting a new standard for concert films and streaming events. “What we wanted to do was the ultimate EPICA show where we could fulfill every dream we ever had, where there was room for all the ideas, effects and props that are just too big to be taken on tour.” Far from your usual streaming concert, the band developed a trademark feature called a “living backdrop.” Coen explains: “We built another stage right behind our stage where lots of things were going on the whole time. And we meant that very literally,” he laughs. “Every song got something extra, something unique that was fitting its world.”

He can say that again: Elaborate visuals, tailor-made videos and graphic effects, fire, and flames on a Nibelungen level, dancers and actors, artistic performances or fire performers all add to the aura of symbolism and cinematic splendor, setting the stage for a band that can’t be happier to finally bring their new album to life, harmonizing wonderfully and giving their A game for a show to remember. “It was so great finally playing with the band again, actually standing on stage with them. Boy, did we miss this,” Coen emphasizes and adds: “We also built a pretty cool new stage with some fire-breathing snakes and lots of rotating elements. Good thing is, we might also take it on the road when we can finally tour again.”

Until then, “Ωmega Alive” will be a more than efficient remedy against no-concerteritis – for bands, fans, and crew alike who all look back on an extra-long dry spell. Divided into five acts as there are letters in EPICA and “Ωmega”, each part gets a different theme, look, and feel, complemented with references to the history of EPICA, the symbolism of the band and the videos they did. It’s, in short, the best show they ever did, a two-hour spectacle spanning their storied career up to their latest endeavors and graced by Simone Simons’ breathtaking a-cappella rendition of ‘Rivers’ from “Ωmega” complete with choir, easily the most emotional and achingly beautiful moment in their entire career. Frankly, you don’t see this on a normal tour.

What EPICA brought to life here with the help of 75 artists and crew members is a testimony to their burning will to take their band ever higher – even now, in the darkest of times we ever had to endure. Let “Ωmega Alive” be your ray of light as it was theirs, a journey into the heart, body and soul of one of the most passionate and visionary metal bands alive today.

"The Tragically Hip announce they will be releasing a special version of their sophomore album, Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe, on Friday, October 15. The album is available in comprehensive physical deluxe CD and Vinyl and Pure Audio blu-ray audio box set editions.
Created to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s second studio album which became their first record to hit #1, the Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe editions were carefully crafted with input from each living member of the band. The outcome is a deep dive behind the scenes of what made this album one of the most beloved in The Tragically Hip’s vast catalogue. With all tracks completely remastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville, for the first time, fans will hear music from the band with all the grit, vibrancy, and passion of their original recordings, second only to being in the recording studio with them. The physical box set editions, (CD and Vinyl), of the release will contain special Dolby Atmos, 7.1, 5.1 and binaural mixes by Richard Chycki of Road Apples and 5 cuts from Saskadelphia, ensuring fans have a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Fans and collectors will also appreciate the brand-new artwork for each of the packages within the physical box sets.
The expansive deluxe editions of the release are jam packed with rare and more previously unreleased and never heard before pieces of music chronicling The Tragically Hip’s Road Apples era, including:
• Road Apples, the original album re-mastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville.
• Saskadelphia, as released earlier this year.
• Live At The Roxy Los Angeles, May 3rd 1991, originally recorded for a Westwood One radio show, often bootlegged and sought after by fans for many years. It has been re-mastered and expanded and includes the rare “Killer Whale Tank” version of New Orleans Is Sinking. This legendary Roxy show is now a double vinyl album. This album is available exclusively in physical product.
• Hoof-Hearted, an album of previously unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate versions."

Infamous Southern wrecking crew return with an all country & western album, marking their 25th anniversary. Features numerous guest legends from the Grand Ole Opry along with Jello Biafra. Join those Legendary Shack Shakers as they mark their 25th anniversary as a band on Planet Earth to celebrate the occasion, they’ve invited former members to help them record an all country & western album! From spaghetti western to bluegrass, western swing to rockabilly, Tex-Mex to country folk, the variety of the genre is on full display. Always ones to respect their history, the Shack Shakers have also included some Kentucky local legends to “pick and grin”. Hotshots such as Stanley Walker (Grand Ole Opry band leader for Jean Shepard and guitarist for Sun Studio’s “Rockin’ ” Ray Smith) and Jack Martin (dobro-player for Lester Flatt) really give those “young ‘uns” a run for their money. And the always-ornery “Hillbilly” Bob Prather (Louisiana Hayride fiddler and running buddy of Opry star Onie Wheeler) pitches in too. Just add The Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, hillbilly royalty Chris Scruggs and an Old Crow Medicine Showman and you’ve got a recipe for what could only be a Legendary Shack Shakers masterpiece. Titling it Cockadoodledeux was done, admittedly, to bookend 2002’s Cockadoodle-Don’t, an album by which many fans were first made aware of the group. However, it also serves to signal the start of another twenty-five years! Just as the plucky, two-headed chick emerges from the egg on the cover, so too begins a fresh start for the band’s creative energies. Once again, generations of fans both young and old get to lean in, listen and expect the un-expected.

Recorded in Havana’s famed Egrem Studios, the group displays a cohesion forged by an intense performing and touring cycle. The musical conversation that began in the Areito studios three years earlier blossomed into an easy, intimate dialogue between good friends - allowing full, fearless musical expression and risk-taking outside of their comfort zones.

Building upon Perez Prado’s dissonant, near avant-garde vision of the mambo, and highlighting the Lucumí subtext of Cuban rhythms and styles, the band continues to explore, develop and expand the island’s rich rhythmic palette and repertoire - pushing the conventions of what is considered “mambo” - and drawing deeply from folkloric and religious traditions seldom heard in popular music. 16 Rayos is here to shine its musical rays on us, warm our hearts, and irresistibly move our bodies.

When Orquesta Akokán burst onto the global music scene a mere three years ago, their no-holds-barred 21st century take on the venerable Cuban mambo lit up stages around the world with a fierce and unremitting joy. Singer José "Pepito" Gómez, Chulo Records producer and multi instrumentalist Jacob Plasse, and arranger Michael Eckroth joined forces with a carefully curated selection of Havana’s most extraordinary musicians as Orquesta Akokán, polishing Cuban mambo’s golden sound to a luminous, contemporary sheen. Along the way Orquesta Akokán imbued these legendary Cuban grooves with a renewed vitality and powerful sense of akokán ---the Yoruba word used by Cubans to mean “from the heart” or “soul.”



On the Cuban side of the equation the Orquesta boasts some of the island’s greatest instrumentalists culled from members of near-mythical groups such as Los Van Van, NG La Banda, and Irakere (notably César Lopez, Orquesta Akokan’s point man in Havana). The ensemble for 16 Rayos shines a light on Cuba’s musical families and multigenerational legacy with the participation of two fabled Vizcainos on percussion - Roberto "Tato" Vizcaino Jr. and his father Roberto Vizcaino Guillot, a member of Chucho Valdes’ seminal 90’s quartet. Another family duo added their masterful legacy to the recording, with trumpeter Reinaldo “Molote” Melián bringing in his son, Reinaldo Melián Zamora, to play trumpet on several tunes alongside lead trumpet Harold Madrigal Frías. The winds and brass are rounded out with a rich saxophone section made up of young lion Jamil Shery and Germán Velazco (musical director for Pablo Milanés)on tenor, with Evaristo Denis on baritone and César López on alto, along with Yoandy Argudin and Heikel Fabián Trimiño on trombone. Coros were sung by Eddie Venegas and Luis Soto. Significantly, Orquesta Akokán added strings to the ensemble for the first time, with the participation of violinists Amelia Febles Díaz, Jenny Peña and Anabel Estévez Acosta, whose virtuosity stems from the classical training for which Cuban musicians are so renowned. The power and grace of Pedro "Tata" Francisco Almeida Barriel’s vocals lead the way on “4 de Octubre” and “Llegue con mi Rumba,” evincing why he is considered one of the Cuban rumba’s premier exponents. Another highly recognized singer, legendary guarachera Xiomara Valdés - who’s shared the stage with legends such as Beny Moré and Omara Portuondo and received the Ministry of Culture’s Distinción por la Cultura Nacional de Cuba as a significant contributor to Cuba’s musical legacy - is the featured guest on the title track.

A much needed reissue of another obscure Afro-Jazz piece of vinyl. This is legendary percussionist and activist Olatunji's classic album originally released in 1961 and featuring Jazz heavyweights such as Yusef Lateef - Clark Terry, George Duvivier, and master percussionists like Ray Barreto and Montego Joe among others. "Zungo" sounds as some sort of an ongoing orgy in Afro percussion grooves with Olatunji at the head of a large and varied group including horns, guitar, bass, multiple percussion and drums, plus a 13 piece choir.

The Kniteforce Complete Collection Volume 4 does exactly what it says on the box, giving you the full Kniteforce Vinyl releases of the tracks from KF61-KF80, fully remastered, in both Wav and MP3 format. These tracks have NEVER been released on the digital stores, and until now have never been avaialbel in any digital format. All the tracks here are from the beginning of the new vinyl era, and as such feature some of the names that have made themselves in recent years, such as Mannik, Nicky Allen and Shadowplay, not to mention tracks from old skool masters such as Hyper-On Experience, Billy Bunter and The Fat Controller, right beside Kniteforce’s legendary roster of Dj Ham, Dj Force & The Evolution, Luna-C, Alk-e-d and many more…

Club / DJ Support
Jay Cunning, Ray Keith, Nookie, El Hornet, Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Liquid, Hyper On Experience, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

"The Tragically Hip announce they will be releasing a special version of their sophomore album, Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe, on Friday, October 15. The album is available in comprehensive physical deluxe CD and Vinyl and Pure Audio blu-ray audio box set editions.
Created to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s second studio album which became their first record to hit #1, the Road Apples 30th Anniversary Deluxe editions were carefully crafted with input from each living member of the band. The outcome is a deep dive behind the scenes of what made this album one of the most beloved in The Tragically Hip’s vast catalogue. With all tracks completely remastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville, for the first time, fans will hear music from the band with all the grit, vibrancy, and passion of their original recordings, second only to being in the recording studio with them. The physical box set editions, (CD and Vinyl), of the release will contain special Dolby Atmos, 7.1, 5.1 and binaural mixes by Richard Chycki of Road Apples and 5 cuts from Saskadelphia, ensuring fans have a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Fans and collectors will also appreciate the brand-new artwork for each of the packages within the physical box sets.
The expansive deluxe editions of the release are jam packed with rare and more previously unreleased and never heard before pieces of music chronicling The Tragically Hip’s Road Apples era, including:
• Road Apples, the original album re-mastered in 2021 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in Nashville.
• Saskadelphia, as released earlier this year.
• Live At The Roxy Los Angeles, May 3rd 1991, originally recorded for a Westwood One radio show, often bootlegged and sought after by fans for many years. It has been re-mastered and expanded and includes the rare “Killer Whale Tank” version of New Orleans Is Sinking. This legendary Roxy show is now a double vinyl album. This album is available exclusively in physical product.
• Hoof-Hearted, an album of previously unreleased demos, outtakes, and alternate versions."

500 double lps ON BLUE / GREEN VINYL
VOLUME 1 IS sea blue
VOLUME 2 IS army green

Recorded between 2011 - 2020 by King Gizz

Mastered by Joseph Carra
Cover design by Jason Galea

The second edition of Freakadelle’s ‘44’ series. ’44-2‘ is inspired by the collective’s annual Space Night event – an open-air event happening in front of the club, which aims to push genre boundaries and question the notion of what is nowadays considered the soundtrack of club culture.

Freakadelle residents and associated artists present themselves across nine diverse tracks ranging from free-floating and experimental electronics to more concrete experiments in leftfield club music. 


Mastering by Mattias Fridell, A3 mastered by DJ Buzz
Artwork by rochus.design
Print by Unschuldig Verdorben

Cult jazz soundtrack to supernatural Soho
strangler epic ‘Der Wurger Vom Tower’ by Swiss
electronic pioneer Bruno Spoerri that has been
locked away since 1966.
 Translated as ‘The Strangler In The Tower’, this
lesser-known thriller possibly stretched the
imaginations of cinematic crime buffs beyond the
genre’s parameters before disappearing into
obscurity.
 Liberated from Bruno Spoerri’s meticulous master
tape vault this, his first-ever feature-length
soundtrack commission, can finally take its place
alongside other recently resuscitated oblique jazz
scores by the likes of Basil Kirchin, Krzysztof
Komeda (Cul-De-Sac), Roger Webb and Jonny
Scott.
 The real sacred jewel in Bruno Spoerri’s crown as
the leader and pioneer of Switzerland’s electronic
underground (not to mention sample source
amongst rap royalty) and a mysterious monarchial
figure in European jazz and music technology

30 years since their creation, the unreleased Frankie Knuckles remixes of Electribe 101’s deep cut ‘Heading for The Night’ are finally unvaulted, available on 12“ vinyl

UK based electronic group Electribe 101 and their one album, Electribal Memories hold a legendary place in the annals of house and dance music. The band met after vocalist and writer Billie Ray Martin had placed an ad in Melody Maker in 1988: “Soul rebel seeks musicians – genius only”. Billie headed to meet the four responding musicians (Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, and Roberto Cimarosti) at their studio in Birmingham.
“I took three songs with me, one of which was the lyrics and melodies to (Electribe 101’s first single) ‘Talking with Myself’, as well as a copy of Julian Jonah’s ‘Jealousy and Lies’,” says Billie. “I told the guys: “I’ve heard the future, and this is what I want to do.” I had heard Julian’s track at the WAG Club and I still remember the moment I stopped my shimmying and just stood there, staring, then turning on my heels and going straight to the DJ to ask what this record was. The guys had already experimented with some more dance orientated tracks and were instantly sold on the idea.”
Originally self-released on white label and championed by pirate radio, ‘Talking with Myself’ caught the imagination of the UK club scene and saw the band sign to Phonogram Records. With the re-issue and its follow up, ‘Tell Me When the Fever Ended’, becoming bona fide pop chart hits, with daytime radio play, Top Of The Pops appearances, and magazine covers from Melody Maker to MixMag, i-D, the label were keen to galvanise the band’s success and for them to deliver an album quickly.
“Because we weren’t yet used to writing together, we tried different approaches,” explains Billie.” I brought along a few songs I’d already written with others. Other songs we wrote from scratch. ‘Heading for The Night’ is one of those songs. The guys had developed the music and I wrote and sang the melody and lyrics straight onto the track, without making any arrangement changes.”
The band had also found ardent fans in the US, with chart-topping success on the US club charts and mixes from some of the most in-demand remixers of the day, including Chicago House doyennes Frankie Knuckles and Larry Heard.
“Frankie had already done such an incredible job with ‘Talking with Myself’ and he was smitten with ‘Heading for The Night’”, recals Billie. “He enjoyed mixing it so much that he did six mixes, each one brilliant and soulful in its own way. His effortless and perfect vocal production while creating a more danceable version makes this another Knuckles masterpiece.”

While 'Heading for The Night' had been considered for single release, these legendary remixes never saw the light of day. Finally, Frankie’s work on this song finds its rightful place in both his and Electribe 101’s legacy.
This EP of remixes precedes the release of Electribe 101’s fabled second, never before released album Electronic Soul, later this year.

Laura Nyro's masterpiece, New York Tendaberry, remastered by Ray Staff on 180g Vinyl! The tapestry of great beauty and painful images found here is not for the pop-oriented crowd who only are familiar with the aurally digestible versions of "Save The Country" and "Time And Love" sung by other people. Laura herself had a voice both comforting and full of despair, and both of those tones are wonderfully represented on this complex journey.

Guitarist Kenny Burrell debuted on Blue Note Records in 1956 and over the following seven years made a series of excellent albums for the label that culminated with his masterwork Midnight Blue. Recorded in 1963, the album waded deep into the blues, conjuring an alluring late-night vibe with a profoundly soulful cast including tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, bassist Major Holley, Jr., drummer Bill English, and Ray Barretto on congas. Burrell originals including “Chitlins con Carne,” “Midnight Blue,” “Saturday Night Blues,” and the stunning solo guitar piece “Soul Lament” set the tone for this timeless classic adorned by one of the all-time great Reid Miles cover designs This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

With the Buena Vista Stars, including Candido Fabre. Based on a true story and filmed in the exotic countryside outside Havana, this remarkable and engaging film will move both your spirit and your feet with its unforgettable passion and intoxicating music. The soundtrack and live performances in the film include some of the legendary Cuban artists who appeared in the box office smash, Buena Vista Social Club.

MAMBO MAN is packed with musical contributions from Cuban legends including; Candido Fabre, Maria Ochoa, Alma Latina, David Alvarez, Arturo Jorge, Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, Juan De Marcos Gonzalez and the Afro-Cuban All Stars.

REVIEWS Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards

“There is rather the mature and conscious gaze of two authors who want to represent Cuba, and the story of the protagonist, with truth and love. With this awareness, each shot conveys a charm superior to that of a good staging. This film, made with passion, penetrates the audience to the rhythm of music and tells us about a whole, small, precious universe, absorbing its beauty and misery. “Mambo Man” is a bit like Cuba: beautiful, kind and melancholic.”

J.B. Spins, Joe Bendel

“It’s a dynamic, colourful film, with bustling markets, lively clubs, friendly outdoor cafes, and—best of all—a remarkable soundtrack of classic Cuban music, which is a focal point of the film.”

180g Coloured Vinyl Series. Contains New Specially Prepared Liner Notes By Penguin Guide To Jazz’s Writer Brian Morton And By Paris’ Prestigious Jazz Magazine. “....The mood of their Verve recording together, though, was deliberately gentler, less taxing, more intimate. These tunes, light in their way, almost homespun, are invested with an extraordinary humanity. There isn’t an ounce of sentiment in “Under a Blanket of Blue” or “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?”, but there is deep feeling and a profound sense of human solidarity. They were not singing about civil rights, there is no erotic charge in the encounter; when they sing about breaking hearts, it’s clear that everything is mendable. The challenge of bebop had been met and quietly negotiated. Here was jazz with its original message: the individual matters, but others matter, too. The mutual respect with which Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and the other four exceptional musicians go through a repertoire of unforgettable standards selected by Granz is readily apparent. Songs like “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”, “Tenderly” and “April in Paris” make Ella & Louis a jewel of simplicity and timeless humanity.” Vocals; Louis Armstrong, Trumpet & Ella Fitzgerald Vocals; Oscar Peterson, Piano; Herb Ellis, Guitar; Ray Brown, Bass; Buddy Rich, Drums Hollywood, August 16, 1956. Original Session Produced By Norman Granz. *Bonus track: Ella Fitzgerald (vc), Louis Armstrong (tp, vc) with Bob Haggart & His Orchestra. New York, January 18, 1946. 5 Stars - Down Beat Magazine Ella & Louis is one of the very, very few albums to have been issued in this era of the LP flood that is sure to endure for decades.” (Nat Hentoff)

From Yasmine's rare 2nd album "A Scent Of Flowers", which was released in just Netherland and left behind the one of the masterpieces ofA90s R&B "Wanna Dance" that has been compiled into numerous mixtapes and dance hit compilations, the popular cover songs Roy Ayers "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" and Ray Charles "Let Me Take Over" are finally single-cut with a superb cover that reproduces freshly with R&B manners!

The album features a notable line-up of musician such as: Sami Yaffa (New York Dolls/Joan Jett), Dave Richmond (Serge Gainsbourg/Elton John), Christophe Deschamps (Jean-Michel Jarre), Kath Guifford (Stereolab), Will Crewdson (Adam & The Ants/The Selecters), Danny Ray (Bo Diddley/Brian Setzer)...Mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and cut to vinyl across a 180g LP in a gatefold sleeve with booklet. L'homme de l'ombre immerses you from start to finish in a sonic and lyrical journey that rewards your mind and emotions. Here you will find the glamorous rock attitude of Marc O's musicianship colliding brilliantly with the wise and witty writing of french philosopher Bruno Pons Levy. The result is not so much a double identity, but an intangible and powerful third element, much like the mathematical equation described in the song The triangle squared (Le triangle au carré). This song is emblematic of Marc O's persona: a musician of style and vision, crossing cultures and decades to collaborate with a remarkable team and create this, his most personal album. Press quotes: Ten well realised, vintage aesthetic fantasies ****" MOJO "Singular debut set that lurches from glam-punk to Air-meets-Gainsbourg purr, infectiously Pulp-ish electro-rock and gauche, Bowie-esque panther strut. Formidable! 8/10" UNCUT "Never less than fascinating, this is an important and hugely enjoyable work ****" RECORD COLLECTOR "Propelled by his core rhythm section and lyricist collaborator, they address some weighty subjects with passion ****" SHINDIG! "Blends aggressive and powerful textures and melancholic soundscapes to break down language barriers and deliver a powerful, evocative and stunning album" LOUDER THAN WAR "The music is as strong as Pons Levy's lyrics, mingling melodic rock with chanson in the grand tradition ****" RNR

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

Morgan was one of the most active artists in the Los Angeles underground jazz scene, and a member of the late great Horace Tapscott‘s artist collective Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). He performed alongside Tapscott, and other Nimbus recording artists like Jesse Sharps, who he introduced to Tapscott. He also performed with Arthur Blythe, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, as well as soul icons Willie Hutch (notably on the Foxy Brown soundtrack) and Rufus & Chaka Khan. Most recently he contributed to Carlos Niño’s 2016 album Flutes, Echoes, It’s All Happening!, and was a part of Niño and vocalist Dwight Trible’s soul-jazz group Build An Ark (which also featured Tribe’s Phil Ranelin).

Journey Into Nigritia was Morgan’s debut as a leader, and the first of three recordings he released for Nimbus West. The album has a strong post-Coltrane spiritual feel, with some modal-based melodies, and some fiery solos from saxophonist Dadisi Komolafe. The record also features a solid rhythm section featuring bassist Jeff Littleton and drummer Fritz Wise.

Review by T J Gorton

At the dawn of the Reagan years, LA jazz pianist Nate Morgan recorded his first album for Nimbus West. Journey Into Nigritia portrays an artist marked by the icons of his day, and striving for reinvention. Although he came from a solid jazz background, coming up through the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra, Morgan found more exciting work with pop bands in the seventies, including glory years with Rufus w/Chaka Khan. On Journey into Nigritia, Morgan re-embraces jazz. Included in the band are Jeff Littleton on bass, Fritz Wise on drums, and Dadisi Komolafe on alto sax.

The collection opens with the Trane-ish Mrafu. Komolafe blasts off in short order, and while the modal chording recalls Tyner, Morgan shows flashes of the nimble loquacious gift that define him. While Alice Coltrane incense perfumes "Morning Prayer, Morgan's devotional sincerity and personnel expression triumph.

Suitably complex with yearning minors, Mother features the trio performing a memorable composition. Littleton's deep-note sustain contrasts Wise's shimmering cymbals, while Morgan tells heart-wrenching truth. With a somewhat solemn theme, He Left Us a Song regularly bursts through into straight-ahead fast break sprints up and down the court. The unexpected "Study in C.T. offers an homage to Cecil Taylor and Morgan's musical roots with free improvisations on a dense and spiky theme. The exhilarating result has Morgan exploring his own way, with a winking slinging of jagged bass chords halfway through.

While a quarter century's experience has nurtured Morgan's prodigious gifts beyond this ambitious debut, Journey Into Nigritia offers enjoyable insights into his artistic evolution, while adding another precious title to the discography of one of the most woefully under-recorded greats of our time.

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, London

Electric blues guitarist Melvin Taylor had been sporadically recording solo albums for 20 years when Dirty Pool arrived — and was somehow just beginning to find fame. Already a hit in Europe, it had taken a steady run of performing in Chicago’s famed blues clubs to slowly earn Taylor a well-deserved reputation as an equal talent among the giants before him, such as Otis Rush, Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

While early records like Melvin Taylor Plays the Blues For You show off an equally amazing jazz side, Taylor traded away his Wes Montgomery-inspired runs for more Luther Allison/Jimi Hendrix attacks with the formation of the trio Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band in the mid ’90’s.

The title song of the second album by that outfit, “Dirty Pool,” is actually more the balls-to-the-wall, no-compromise, hard-rockin’ electric Texas blues of Vaughan and Johnny Winter than the sweet Chicago soul of Buddy Guy.

Indeed, three tracks on this 1997 release, including “Dirty Pool,” were SRV tunes. Other standards, like “Kansas City” and “Floodin’ in California” also have more of a Lone Star State approach to them. But the Jackson, Miss.-born Taylor’s guitar is cleaner than his forebears and technically, he even surpasses them, yet the anger and sorrow of the blues is readily evident in his playing.

This rare combination of qualities really comes out in a slow blues tune like his solo in “Dirty Pool,” which after repeated listens, still makes me head shake in disbelief when I hear it.

“Too Sorry” is a good example of how well Taylor fares when he treads in Jimi Hendrix territory, whereas his rhythm work is the best I’ve heard from a lead guitarist since Vaughan; listen to “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “Born Under A Bad Sign” and the funky “Telephone Song” for your proof.

It also helps that Taylor’s drummer James Knowles is well in synch with him, while Ethan Farmer completely owns the low end of the sound. Farmer’s peppering bass lines in and “Floodin’ in California” is the textbook way electric blues bass should be. Overall, a tight little band.

Taylor’s vocals certainly won’t draw any comparisons to the Wide-Brimmed–Hatted One but he holds his own just fine until it’s cuttin’ time. This is right at the top of my list of best blues guitar playing on record over the last couple of decades. If you decide to give this one a listen, prepare to be blown away.

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London




Owning both this disc and Live at Slugs', Volume 1 is essential for hardcore Jazz fans. Part two of the Slugs' date is just as impressive and again feature three originals all penned by the group. Here we get a better example of Tolliver's compositional work with the touching Coltrane tribute Our Second Father. Again Tolliver's trumpet is simply stunning. The rhythm section of Cecil McBee and Jimmy Hopps also deserve mention as these two really drive the quartet along in a similar fashion to Garrison and Jones did with Coltrane. The McBee original Wilpan's also highlights the strength of McBee's writing and is probably the pick of the tunes here.

Psychedelic Percussion definitely sticks to his title. With the help from Paul Beaver of Beaver & Krause (famous keyboard wizard and sound engineer for the likes of Stevie Wonder), vibe master Emil Richards (check is two fantastic album on Impulse! with The Microtonal Blues Band featuring Joe Porcaro, father of the famed Toto brothers) and Gary Coleman (percussionist in the famous Wrecking Crew), Blaine goes wild in the studio with drums, gong, xylophone, organ, bongos, congas and timpani. Unusual textures and tones lead the way to 12 instrumental exotic numbers similar in a way to Raymond Scott most visionary experiments. This is pure madness, a record full of breaks and still unsurpassed in many ways. Blaine was an American drummer and session musician, estimated to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the history of the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one, as well as many film and television soundtracks. He became one of the regular players in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew". Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond and the Byrds.

A stunning collaboration, this is Ray Charles' second "true" studio album for Atlantic, after The Great Ray Charles. While he released R&B singles for the pop market during his time with the label, he used his LPs to explore modern jazz. Here he is heard both on piano and alto sax.
The mono version is available on vinyl for the first time since release date with lacquers cut straight from the original master tapes.

Raymond Charles Robinson was not just a legend, “the genius”, a “force of nature” and “a presence”. He was also pure energy, the source of a radiant glow that dazzled everyone who ever came near him. His passion for music, women, and rhythm, coupled with his love of life and laughter, were ingredients that made his work a monument of 20th century culture. He left essential traces – in jazz, blues, soul and R&B – because music is something inseparable and Ray lived its rhythms from the inside.

Born in poverty, raised in America’s racist South, blind at seven and an orphan at 15, Ray had all it took to be a success… Those attributes, plus a few titles in his case that he’d recorded for Swing Time, made such an impression on Ahmet Ertegun that he signed Ray to Atlantic in 1952. The next ten years forged the legend of Ray Charles. And now, six decades later, the tracks on this album are still hits hummed by all generations.

Known for the soulful jazz-grooves of their self-titled 2020 debut album, Matti Klein’s Soul Trio actually began as an idea rather than a group.
However, in early 2018 three master musicians met in Berlin’s Lovelite Studio with producer/engineer Jochen Str h (Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Jimi Tenor) and recorded a set of well-planned and even better executed live sessions, each finding their desired space live and direct, locking into the immediacy of the groove. ‘Soul Trio Live On Tape’ contains these very first sessions of the Matti Klein Soul Trio and comprises new arrangements of songs that had primarily been composed for Klein’s band Mo’ Blow; favourites already back then, timeless classics now thanks to these exciting ‘deep-fried contemporary soul jazz’ versions.
Their leader, known for his work as musical director for the Brazilian superstar Ed Motta as well as Mo ‘Blow, can be heard on Wurlitzer and Rhodes Bass; Lars Zander (The Ruffcats, El Cartel, Lucasonic, STEREOFYSH) not only proves he is the most soulful tenor saxophonist in Berlin, but also why he has earned kudos for a bass clarinet sound that is enhanced with analog tape delays, Wah-Wah and Harmonizer-sweetenings; and drummer Andr Seidel also shows his chops, incorporating elements of rock, hip-hop, odd meter fusion and the sound of New Orleans into his own unique groove jazz style.
As for the music, ‘Rocket Swing’ is a tenor sax feature in which a hip-hop vibe meets a jazzy fifth fall, while ‘Ray’ (dedicated to Mr. Charles) is a Meters-inspired shuffle in 7/8 time. ‘No Particular Way’ showcases the funky side of the band, with singer Pat Appleton in top form over a wonderfully creaky Rhodes bass. ‘Sunsqueezed’ is created in a wide compositional arc, evoking a ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds during a long and grey 10-month Berlin winter, giving hope for the next two months.
‘Eleven Feels Like Heaven’ is a joyful, uproarious gospel blues with a brilliant odd meter drum solo. ‘Grandpa’s Fairytale’ is a hitherto unreleased piece that is dedicated to the bandleader’s grandfather, a former school headmaster who loved to read him stories and is a Wurlitzer-warmth meets bass clarinet groove in an atypical dynamic arc. Summarising their efforts, Klein states somewhat cryptically that “the band rolls in a warm, soft couch whenever there is a risk of having to sit between the chairs.”
Initially available as a limited fan item only at live shows, this document is now being released officially with the addition of ‘Grandpa’s Fairytale’. It is a journey through time, absolutely contemporary and yet wonderfully back to the future.

‘Sharecropper’s Son’ is a soulful masterpiece and career-defining album
from Robert Finley, “the greatest living soul singer”, written by Finley and
co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach.
With songwriting by Finley, Auerbach, Bobby Wood, and contributions from respected country songwriter Pat McLaughlin, ‘Sharecropper’s Son’ also features
an all-star band, who have worked with everyone from Elvis to Wilson Pickett,
including guitar expertise from Auerbach himself.
Recorded at Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville, Finley’s formidable vocals and
lyrical stylings take centre stage, sharing personal stories inspired by his Louisiana country childhood during the Jim Crow era south. His tales of pain and joy
uplift as Finley reflects on his belief that you are never too young to dream and
never too old to live.
The fire behind the conflagrant performances on ‘Sharecropper’s Son’ is ignited by 67 year old Finley, who has cited a range of vocal influences, including
Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Elvis, James Brown and The Beatles, all
inspiring his genre diverse approach. Finley stated, “I want people to understand that I can’t be kept in a box. I like to do all kinds of music - everything that
means anything to me, from gospel to blues to soul to country to rock ‘n’ roll.”
“A blind carpenter and army vet is revealed, belatedly, to be a herculean soulman.” – UNCUT

Reissue of the debut album on A&M Records by jazz guitarist Wes
Montgomery, released in 1967.
Featuring Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto and Grady Tate. Arranged by Don Sebesky. Limited edition 180gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold sleeve.
It reached #1 on the Billboard Jazz Album chart and #2 on the R&B chart. Considered by far the best of his three albums on A&M (in partnership with Creed Taylor’s CTI Records), A Day in the Life features a plethora of star sidemen, such as Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto and Grady Tate, among others, as well as superb arrangements by Don Sebesky. The LP was masterfully engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.

On April 23, 2021, Degiheugi will present his 8th album entitled "Foreglow". This record with multiple influences, ranging from samba to Afrobeat through soul and French chanson, is a real ray of light that makes you want to escape and takes you far from home. Once again, the unstoppable digger and beatmaker surprises us and shows us how well he masters the art of sampling.

Far Out Recordings is delighted to present Mora!, and for the first time ever on vinyl Mora! II. Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett originally recorded and released his debut solo LP as a private press in 1987, but the sequel he recorded over the course of the next few years with an expanded Detroit jazz brass section was shelved for decades to follow. A pan-American melting pot of hypnotic afro-cuban rhythms, frenetic batucadas and fiery sambas, Mora I & II are holy grails of latin jazz, masterminded by an unsung hero of the genre.

Born in Washington DC, 1947, Francisco Mora Jr is the eldest child of two highly prominent Mexican artists, Francisco Mora Sr and Elizabeth Catlett, to whom this project was dedicated. Being born into a mixed heritage bohemian family provided Mora Jr with what he called a “creative, progressive, and healthy arts environment”, building the foundations for a fascinating career journey ahead. Mora grew up in Mexico City where he began working as a session musician for Capitol Records in 1968, before moving to study at Berklee Music College in Boston, MA in 1970. Once he’d completed his studies in 1973, he very briefly returned to Mexico City with the best intentions of cultivating an avant-garde movement in the city, but when the Sun Ra Arkestra came to perform, Mora ended up leaving with the band to tour the world for the next seven years, a decent innings within a group famous for its constantly evolving line up.

Settling in Detroit after his years with the Arkestra, Francisco set to work on his self-titled debut, gathering an ensemble of musicians that included keyboardist Kenny Cox, founder of the legendary Strata Records, esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker of the Roy Hargrove Quintet and percussionists Jerome Le Duff, Alberto Nacif, and Emile Borde. The album openly embraces and unites the broad spectrum of improvisation, rhythm, and jazz that has thrived throughout the American continents for centuries. In Mora’s own words the album intended to “manifest the African heritage presence in the American continent.” Epitomising this outlook, album opener ‘Afra Jum’ deploys a melody based on Haitian, African and Native American motifs, which is expanded upon by the soulful excellence of the Detroit veterans Cox and Whitaker, amidst a backdrop of afro-cuban inspired percussion.

The sequel Mora II was recorded shortly after with an expanded line up that included trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, famed for his work with Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Eddie Russ and Wendell Harrison. Continuing the concept of the first album, the follow up moves deeper into South America with the samba jazz dance belter ‘Amazona’, led by the rich vocals of Francisco’s wife Teresa Mora. The ‘Afra Jum’ concept is further explored, with the original motifs beefed up by the additional horns, and interspersions of Sun Ra inspired rumbling free improvisations. This follow up album remained shelved until 2005, when Mora put it out as a now obscure CD titled River Drum, but only now has it been given the high quality vinyl treatment it so deserves, presented as the sequel to Mora! as originally intended.

Through the 90s and into the the 21st century Mora would continue his Pan-American explorations, moving toward a more electronic afro-futurist direction as part of Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra. Mora also worked with Carl Craig, moog synth wizard Craig Taborn, and his former Arkestra colleague, the legendary Marshall Allen, to form the Innerzone Orchestra spin-off Outerzone, released in 2007 on Premier Cru Records. Mora I & II will be out as two vinyl LPs, CD and digitally 16th April 2021.

This highly collectible LP from 1974 is a nonstop salsa dura party album from start to finish, comparable with any of New York's finest like Ray Barretto and Willie Colón from the same era, but with its own unique sound and joyful vibe. Includes the anthems 'Mi Nuevo Ritmo' and 'Alma y Sentimiento/ Soul and Feeling' recorded at different sessions in Colombia and Peru. Presented in its original artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl. The highly collectible LP Alfredo Linares Y Su Salsa Star "Mi Nuevo Ritmo" (1974) is a nonstop salsa dura party album from start to finish, comparable with any of New York's finest like Ray Barretto and Willie Colón from the same era, but with its own unique swinging sound and bright, crisp, joyful vibe. There are plenty of straight up Cuban-roots based salsa tunes, plus some Latin jazz and Latin soul and a bolero. Trumpets, hand claps, loud cowbell, and vigorous vocals all make for a great listen and an even better dance experience. As the track 'La Música Brava' proclaims, "Yo no quiero que pare la música brava!" (I don't want the badass music to stop!). The record is actually a patchwork of different recording sessions made in Peru and Colombia, featuring differing studio sound and musician lineups. Linares had just returned to his adopted home of Medellín from a period spent in Peru and was looking for a record deal. He had brought master tapes with four songs recorded in Lima and was shopping them around in the hopes of securing an album contract. Linares also cut some Colombian sessions which feature Roy "Tayrona" Betancourt as well as Henry Castro and Enrique Fabián. Unfortunately, neither Discos Fuentes nor Sonolux or Codiscos were interested. At that time, vinyl for making records was scarce and over-priced due to the petroleum crisis and hence the labels were reluctant to try out a new artist. "There was nothing to be done. The only company that had vinyl stock was INS. So I did the business with them even though they didn't have a known name in Colombia. The strength of that album made them rather famous." The song 'Mambo Rock' (with 'Estricto Guaguancó' on the B side) came out on a 45rpm record in 1974, and, as Linares recounts it, "two months later the sale was at a very high level. So, partly out of gratitude, I started producing for them. It is from there that my other records and the AfroINS albums came." Unfortunately the master tapes to the LP were lost or destroyed, as with all INS releases, so the best possible vinyl sources and audio restoration has been used for this deluxe reissue.

The American guitarist Wes Montgomery was one of the greats of jazz.
For all friends of this style-defining musician and beyond, Jazzline presents the NDR Hamburg Studio Recordings for the first time and thus
never before published.
In addition to Wes Montgomery, the musicians Johnny Griffin, Ronnie Scott,
Ronnie Ross, Martial Solal, Hans Koller, Michel Gaudry and Ronnie Stephenson
took part in this session. A fascinating line-up! There is also a 34 minute Blu-ray
of the band’s rehearsals as a bonus, which includes five of the tracks.
In the spring of 1965 this outstanding guitarist had only three more years
to live, as in 1968 Wes Montgomery passed away after suffering a heart attack. The European concerts, particularly the happy hours spent at the NDRJazzworkshop on April 30, 1965 in Hamburg, were probably among the best
memories Wes Montgomery had of himself and of the great art he mastered
so well. Simply a must have album!

Classic black vinyl, including DLC with estra track. "Here lies our ancient future, Deep England: our hope and compassion in the chokehold of power and glory.Hand in hand, here we cry our rage: summoning a lament into the ether, a divine androgynous force, a transcendental purge of the dizzying chaos of post-truth Britain." - Gazelle Twin & NYX. Gazelle Twin & NYX: electronic drone choir have announced details of their debut release, Deep England, an 8-track album out on vinyl, CD and digitally on 19 March 2021 via NYX Collective Records.Rooted in English pagan and sacred music, Deep England is an electronic-choral expansion of Gazelle Twin's 2018 album Pastoral (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray). Here, tracks from Pastoral, an album whose political themes have only intensified since its original release, are radically reworked and presented alongside original compositions by NYX, Paul Giovanni and William Blake.Gazelle Twin (aka Elizabeth Bernholz) and NYX, the electronic drone choir reshaping the role of the traditional female choir, originally created Deep England for live performance with Movement Director Imogen Knight, Sound Associate Peter Rice and Designer Chloe Lamford. The performance, described by The Times in their 4* review as a "spellbinding febrile techno-pagan pageant", premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in November 2019. Deep England was transferred to the studio soon after, and the resulting album shows a powerful and often dreamlike Jarman-esque depiction of a country divided by its many selves. The performers are Adélaïde Pratoussy, Cecilia Forssberg, Elizabeth Bernholz, Natalie Sharp, Ruth Corey, Shireen Qureshi and Sian O'Gorman. The album was co-produced by Marta Salogni, Sian O'Gorman (NYX) and Elizabeth Bernholz (Gazelle Twin) with mix and additional programming by Marta Salogni, and mastering by Heba Kadry.

They Say: “Exploring the wide range of moods and sounds produced by percussion”.

We say: MPCs at the ready because this does exactly what it says on the tin, to devastating effect. Oh, and the sleeve is stunning.

Originally released in 1979, Percussion Spectrum was produced by the legendary percussionists Barry Morgan and Ray Cooper. With dope beats taking in diverse styles, from funk and soul and jazz through to Latin, Brazilian, samba and Afro-Cuban, this is an amazing sample source filled with killer drum-breaks and percussion flares. Unsurprisingly it’s one of the most sought-after records from the Themes catalogue.

This library LP is a library in itself, with its mix of short themes of single beats, short breaks and some longer, more fully-formed DJ-friendly tracks. Trust us when we say that this is a box full of percussion firework ready to be thrown onto the dancefloor at the just right moment. We don’t have anywhere near enough space to describe all 34 tracks (there isn’t even enough room on the labels to list them all!) so we’ll pick out some favourites.

Favourites like opener “Impulsion”, a percussive masterclass with drum upon drum upon drum making it feel like a neat prototype to the percussive underscores of Peter Lüdemann and Pit Troja’s eternal The Now Generation LP. And the dramatic “Fast Action” is exactly that, racing along on a rapid roll of congas, cymbal crashes and throbbing kicks. “The Chaser” is classic library cop-funk with dilapidated drum figures, and the outrageously funky “Heat On” is the perfect accompaniment to your wild action sequences.

A real highlight is “Runaway”, and not just because it sounds like nothing else on the record. Here are drums and percussion in that tight funk style that just cries out to be sampled. “Percussion Power” is an extended, near-three minute suite of funky drum solo after funky drum solo that just aches to be looped: open drums to die for people! “Shivers” is a tense, apprehensive underscore with shock stabs that builds to a climax whilst “Drums On Parade” is a showcase of head-nod drums and cymbals in march time. Did someone say “funky”?

Side B starts with a stroll down “Samba Street”. With the noise of the crowd in the background, this is riotous, authentically drawn samba that sounds like it’s been beamed straight in from Rio in full flow. Drop this at midnight and watch the cobwebs fly off any dancefloor. Prefer it without the fake crowd? “Samba Street (b)” has you covered.

The simple, innocent “Child’s Themes” (all five of them) provide a nice, sweet respite from all the funk. Nursery sounds tinged with only a touch of melancholy. The gentle marimba solo of “Tropical Peace” only adds to the sense of serenity we get from the relatively calm second side. The album closes out with a veritable toolkit of tom toms, snare drum rolls, timpani, vibraphones and chiming bells.

Percussion Spectrum is a joyous collection of sounds, as bright, beaming and downright funky as the vibrant cover. The Themes series is known for each record having its own particularly striking sleeve, which was unusual for library records at the time, and Percussion Spectrums’s multi-coloured drumsticks make for one of the most eye-catching.

As with all of our other Themes re-issues, the audio for Percussion Spectrum comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. As usual Richard Robinson has taken the same care with restoring the original sleeve from archive scans. This is another one ticked off the list of library records that should be out there for anyone who wants a copy.

Hot on the heels of last year’s drone masterpiece, The Free Territory (FTR 457), comes this hot bowl of noodles from Manchester’s most elegantly wasted quintet. And while there might be apt comparisons to be made to some of the best current psych purveyors, the central thrill provided by these sounds makes me think of naught but prime Bay Area ballroom scene acid spew.

The guitar lines unspool like electrical cables filled with acid punch, and remain crackling in the air for moments longer than you imagine they can remain afloat. The keys have a bit of a German overtone, but it’s the same sort of one that led to the flash of Popol Vuh’s United Artist albums (which are themselves, at heart, paeans to the Bay.) The sound here is the sort of thing true believers recall as the highest moments of Man in live concert flight. Raging, raving guitars to soak your soul once and for all.

Don’t fear the downpour. Revel in it.
-Byron Coley, 2020

As darkness falls, once familiar territory is rendered alien and foreboding; full of weird and terrifying possibilities. These are Night Lands.
Recorded live in the rehearsal room last December, the newly expanded 4 piece Dead Sea Apes lock into spooky nocturnal grooves, augmented by Nik Rayne (The Myrrors) who was over in the UK for the recording of 'Night Lands'

Night Lands is comprised of 3 off-the-cuff improvised pieces, where Dead Sea Apes effortlessly mind meld with Rayne. Taking for a deep knowledge and love which you can hear seep through - At times Amon Duul (both!) at others times Earth with touches of what you imagine the Velvet Underground sounded like in the DOM - all touched with the presence of Bo Anders Persson

Green Man Rising 2020 winner, Nuha Ruby Ra, announces her debut EP ‘How To Move’ out on Brace Yourself Records on 5th March 2021. A visceral and striking debut from the East London avant-punk, Nuha delivers frenzied poetic energy across the seven tracks bearing comparisons to Lydia Lunch and Sonic Youth.

Nuha Ruby Ra has spent the last few months cultivating a dedicated following and racking up an impressive catalogue of collaborators from around the world. Nuha has performed alongside the likes of Bo Ningen, Uncanny Valley, Charlie Boyer and more, and appeared on recordings by Flamingods and Warmduscher. In the short time she’s been playing these tracks she’s amassed support slots with Fat White Family, Surfbort, Amyl and the Sniffers, Bambara, Japanese Television.

The EP 'How To Move' began as bedroom projects, before Nuha developed the tracks in the actual vintage synth cave of the Psychedelic Furs, joined by members of Liars and Insecure Men. It was produced by Tony Visconti protégé Erin Tonkin (David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’) and mastered by Pete Maher (Patti Smith, Lana Del Ray etc.)

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

Handscapes is a double live album by The Piano Choir featuring Stanley Cowell, Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, Danny Mixon, and Sonelius Smith recorded in 1972.

At the time of release Ebony reviewer Phyl Garland said "One needn't be a "piano freak" to appreciate a truly new recording. First of all imagine seven gifted and talented pianists sitting down to seven grand pianos (with electric piano, organ, harpsichord, a few tambourines for spice) and proceeding to tear up these instruments - musically, that is. ...the torrrent of sound springing from their 70 fingers is so powerful and majestic as to be unlike anything one has ever heard."

In his review for AllMusic, Michael G. Nastos simply states "Brilliant"

Originally Released in 2014 on Valentines day as part of the love dub remixes was the Ray Keith remix and for obvious reasons (Ray being a legend) it was a fav of the release & was very well supported by many, so we thought it was time or maybe even overdue (7 years Later) that us at Asbo released the connoisseurs 9 min extended mix from Ray we had stashed away in the Asbo vault all this time.

This is 100% one for our vinyl & audiophile crew, supported on the AA side with Rassterlins 'People' and Muwookies 'You' both bringing unique different flavors from the jungle/dnb spectrum, mastered on 180 gram, strawberry milkshake colored vinyl with full color 'Lock-down' sleeve.

You could think of the collection of tracks here as a library record of sorts, and each track inhabits its own universe. Tropical fits various moods and situations, and it could soundtrack any number of activities at home or on a dancefloor - whether real, imaginary, or hallucinated. Strangely enough, it sounds like it could have been constructed from obscure Italian library breaks, when instead every instrument has been played and panned, several times over, across magnetic tape.

The genesis of many of these tracks began when CV Vision moved to Berlin in 2014. His flat had a small chamber where he could fit a drum set, so he treated the walls with foam, and in true DIY style, dived headfirst into recording these tracks. It was the natural next step on an audio adventure that first began when CV Vision picked up the guitar in his teens, and a couple years later started recording with friends in his home town of Bayreuth. Fast forward ten years and here is his debut - a culmination of practising chops and learning instruments, mastering recording techniques and fine-tuning the CV Vision sound.

It’s a sound that condenses elements of acid rock, psych soul, library funk and new wave oddities into a movie soundtrack for your mind. It’s a journey from ‘60s west coast LSD-drenched excursions to ‘80s synth and post-punk mutations. Tropical is a plunge into another time, another music you can simply swim around in and explore.

Side A opens up with Tropical Tune In, which rides in on a clave and a warm wind, blowing a distinctly herbal aroma and recalling exotica dons like Les Baxter and Martin Denny. Following on with the aural equivalent of a sea breeze through your mind, Spaziergang am Meer blows away the cobwebs and conjures some nice library moments like Stringtronics or F eelings . Next, Ba_c_k(Lava) bounces out of a cold wave post-punk melting pot and crashes through the speakers like a blazed Zebedee, with some sweet eastern synths for added flavour, before the rolling bass licks of Der Böse Schamane take us into another dimension, landing somewhere between a psych rock freak out and a Black Ark dub session. Mr Maze channels the arpeggiators of synth outsiders like Mort Garson and Bruce Haack, creating a glorious interlock of robotic electronics and freakbeat vocals. The side comes to a close with the guitars of Der Strand (außer Rand und Band) letting loose like syrupy springs, and setting a languid mood like the bedroom scene in Bedazzled (1967 version). Side B kicks off with Parallel Universum, which comes through like a woozy krautrock workout, all ducking synths with big chord shifts to create an epic deranged beehive of a soundtrack. Im Land der Ameisen evokes the spirit if not the sound of White Rabbit, when logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, before waking up and wandering through the side alleys of Marrakech with the West Coast Pop Art Ensemble and the Electric Prunes, as Ritual (No. 4) blares out the speakers of passing tuk tuks. Ein Wasserfall plumbs the deep synth depths, like Raymond Scott in scuba gear, modular rack strapped to his back delivering oxygen as he swims between connector cables and seaweed forests through a watery underworld. Banana King sounds like a lost soundtrack to Donkey Kong or Mario Cart, if the cart radio was tuned into a synth

documentary hosted by James Pants, while Das Kloster am Berg takes the baton from Brenda Ray and her Naffi cohorts, all dubbed-out niceness and post punk swagger. The LP closes out with Tropical Drop Out, a dreamscape rather than a wake up call, coaxing you deeper into the trek across the desert of your mind.

And that’s Tropical in its essence: capsules from another time, snapshots of another sound, messages from another mind - all in the service of inducing the visions in your head.

written by Max Cole

The thirteen song album has been remastered at the hallowed Abbey Road Studios in London from the original 1/4’ analog master tapes, and the vinyl processed with a new half speed lacquer cut to ensure the highest quality audio possible.
The bonus LP is a collection of outtakes of nearly every album track, including never before heard pre-production demo recordings, alternate mixes and arrangements, live material, an Archers of Loaf cover, as well as a newly recorded version of the album track ‘Caretaker’ which was recorded in 2019 on the literal last night in the house Stevenson grew up in, ten years after the song was originally written there.
The album features liner note essays written by musicians Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus who drew early inspiration for their own music and songwriting from the album. Also contributing liner notes are Pitchfork, NPR and Stereogum writer Nina Corcoran, as well Packaging: LP Deluxe edition, stoughton tip-on jacket gatefold w/ download card

This reissue of Billie Holiday’s ‘Lady In Satin’ recorded in 1958 with Ray Ellis and His Orchestra also includes eleven bonus tracks recorded a year later with the same personnel.
The 20-page booklet contains complete information with specially prepared liner notes by Penguin Guide to Jazz’s writer Brian Morton and by France’s prestigious Jazz Magazine. “Every track is performed in an inimitable and extraordinary way, and the tragic mood never falls into the pathetic. Even today Billie continues to influence the style of innumerable singers and instrumentalists, both male and female. What’s the secret?
Just the fact that Billie Holiday simply invented a way of singing.” Penguin Guide to Jazz

This reissue of ‘Stan Getz Meets Oscar Peterson’ includes one bonus track from the same session produced by Norman Granz in 1957. With Getz on tenor saxophone and Peterson on piano are guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown.
The specially prepared liner notes are by Penguin Guide to Jazz’s writer Brian Morton and by France’s prestigious Jazz Magazine. “Even though summit meetings don’t always end up with the expected results, this one, on the contrary, marks the blend of one of the most beautiful saxophone sounds in history with the most dazzling bouquets of notes ever imagined on a piano keyboard.” Jazz Magazine