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They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and going by 'Jazz Rock', nor a record by its title. Though entering into jazz territory and featuring some distorted guitar, 'Jazz Rock' is more a beautiful marriage of funky breakbeat drumming and spiritual jazz instrumentation, combined with traditional Min'y music performed on the koto and shakuhachi.

Originally released in 1973, the record sounds simultaneously vintage and contemporary. It is akin to something Madlib might dream up whilst lost in Japan collaborating with Min'y players at a recording session. The record features some amazing shakuhachi (bamboo flute) playing by Hozan Yamamoto, which gives the music a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere. You can almost visualise the long grass blowing in the wind, and ear the bamboo rustling in the distance on a long hot summer's day. Takeshi Inomata, Tadao Sawai and Kazue Sawai anchor the session. Takeshi's exceptionally funky-drum work will almost certainly get some producers dusting off and firing up their MPC's. Whilst Kazue and Tadao work their magic on the koto (a traditional string instrument). Though certainly not an ambient record, 'Jazz-Rock' has the same meditative, other-worldly quality that invites you to sit back, listen and be transported somewhere else. Unfortunately, until now the 'Jazz Rock' album is a scarcity that commanded a high price-tag only for the most hardened of record collectors. So it is pleasure to make it accessible to all, and we hope you dig this lost, obscure future classic as much as we do.

3LP + MP3

Soul Jazz Records' new album 'Kaleidoscope - New Spirits Known and Unknown' brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release. As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists' approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices - and most of these artists' recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists up until now has been Londonbased, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond). 'Kaleidoscope - New Spirits Known and Unknown' shows that while there is commonality in these artists' approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles - from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.

Legendary labels Decca Records and Blue Note have joined forces for Blue Note Re:imagined; a brand new collection of classic Blue Note tracks brought together for the first time, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the jazz scene’s most exciting young talents today. Representing a bridge between the ground-breaking label’s past and future, the project will feature contributions from a rollcall of internationally acclaimed jazz, soul and R&B acts-Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith.

This is the next 7’’ singles installments with Steam Down’s version of Wayne Shorter’s Etcetera (ft. Afronaut Zu) and Yazmin Lacey’s version of Dodo Greene’s - I’ll Never Stop Loving You.

Emma-Jean Thackray, an outstanding figure in the UK jazz scene, releases Um Yang, her long-dreamed project dedicated to the Taoist philosophy of duality and harmony. Ahighly ambitious and personal record that sees Thackray leading a septet featuring
Soweto Kinch and Steam Down’s Wonky Logic, recorded straight to vinyl. An accomplished trumpeter, beat-maker, singer, composer and DJ, Thackray draws on far wider influences than jazz. Her sound is distinctive; in the words of The Guardian like “Bitches Brewera Miles entering the dub chamber with a New Orleans marching band – in a good way”. Since debuting in 2016, Thackray has directed the London Symphony Orchestra, performed at the NY Winter Jazz Fest, played Glastonbury five times in 2019 alone, and launched her own record
label, Movementt (in association with Warp). Championed by Gilles Peterson, Theo Parrish and Jamie Cullum, Thackray has firmly cemented her place among a new wave of exciting young
musicians, collaborating with Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul and Angel Bat Dawid, and still finds time to host her monthly radio show on Worldwide FM. Raised in Yorkshire, Thackray inherited a grounding in Taoism from her father, and approaches her music with the same pursuit of harmony between Um & Yang (the Korean Ying & Yang), balancing melody and rhythm, groove and free improvisation, cerebral and physical. For this one-off recording, Thackray has applied this ideology in every sense, even down to the ensemble itself featuring not one but two percussionists. Um commences with ethereal interplay between keys, percussion, and Thackray’s trumpet, recalling the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane’s classic records. As the piece builds, an earthy groove emerges. On both trumpet and vocals,
Thackray leads the ensemble further out until the piece peaks with an epic breakdown. On the flip, Yang starts on the same cacophonous note but progresses to a joyful groove before returning to a peaceful state again, balance restored.

Minyo Crusaders rework historic Japanese folk songs (min'yo) with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian rhythms for their debut album 'Echoes of Japan'.

Releases from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Midori Takada have re-ignited global interest in Japanese music and 'Echoes of Japan' marks the arrival of a big band like no other.

'For Japanese people, min'yo is both the closest, and most distant, folk music' explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka: 'We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA'. Initially indifferent to min'yo, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: 'Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify
with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was
captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yo with Latin and jazz.'

Originally sung by fishermen (Kushimoto Bushi; Mamurogawa Ondo), coal miners (Tanko Bushi) and sumo wrestlers (Sumo Jinku), these songs deal with topics such as the returning spirits of ancestors (Hohai Bushi), Japan's smallest bird (Toichin Bushi) and a bride's love for her husband's pockmarked face (Otemoyan).

Minyo Crusaders are one of the most hyped acts on the Tokyo music scene that went national in 2018 through festivals such as Fuji Rock. The band features veterans of the Tokyo roots music scene such as bassist DADDY U (Ska Flames), keyboardist Moe (Kidlat), sax player Koichiro Osawa (Matt Sounds/ J.J. Session), Yamauchi Stephan (J.J. Session), percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi (Banda de la Mumbia), conga player Irochi (Cubatumb) and vocalist Meg (DJ collective Tokyo Sabroso).

- Wild blend of Japanese folk music with cumbia, boogaloo, Ethio jazz, Afro funk + more
- Ry Cooder, Mario Galeano (Ondatropica/Frente Cumbiero), Clap! Clap! are all fans
- European touring plans for autumn/fall 2019
- Includes Japanese lyrics + English translations

- Lacquers cut @ The Carvery

The Kenyan music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in Africa. However, ask any Kenyan which pop music style truly represents Kenya as a nation and there is only one possible answer: benga.

Benga is a pop style with its roots in traditional rhythms, instruments, and melodies. Luo musicians from western Kenya brought the style to prominence in the late 60s but other cultural/linguistic groups in other parts of Kenya quickly developed their own localized variants. With its pulsing beat, interlocking guitars, extended solos, and rapid-fire bass, benga music has dominated the Kenyan music scene over most of the post-colonial period.

Kakai Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development, and more.

The songs on this compilation are taken from across Kakai's recording career, spanning from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, shortly before his illness and untimely death in early 1987, aged only 33. No Wahala Sounds are proud to present this selection of hard-to-find 45s from Les Kilimambogo Brothers, which are being released on vinyl here, for the first time outside Kenya.

The vinyl version includes a free CD copy of the album.

Due for release on 31 July 2020. Interest for airplay from Tom Ravenscroft and Gideon Coe from BBC 6 Music, DJ Ritu from Resonance FM/SOAS Radio, Roger Hill from BBC Merseyside and Steve Barker from BBC Lancashire.

A creative partnership between Tom Laroye and Yam Who, Qwestlife is a trans-continental boogie trip between the two producers' respective homelands of Paris and London. Fulfilling the Glitterbox philosophy by crafting great songs the old school way with analogue and weird electronic gadgetry, Qwestlife's 'Give Me A Minute' appeared first on Glitterbox's Disco Revenge compilation and now graces vinyl for disco connoisseurs everywhere. Featuring the vocals of a frequent Yam Who collaborator, soul diva Jacqui George, 'Give Me A Minute' is an instant party anthem. Disco-fuelled synths and strings plus live sax, trumpet, guitars and bass give a glorious saturated dancefloor vibe rolled into one by sticky hooks and a timeless catchy chorus. Accompanied by the Dubbed Out Version, plus an Accapella and Bonus Beats, this sweet vinyl release provides all the good stuff that Qwestlife have to offer.

Brussels-based trio schroothoop (Dutch for ‘junk yard’) is formed by Rik Staelens (wind & string instruments), Timo Vantyghem (bass & clarinet) and Margo Maex (percussion). Their tribal oriented debut mini-album features homemade instruments built from lost and found objects like wood, scrap metal or anything that would end up in a landfill. The band’s music is infused with sounds from around the world orchestrated by PVC flute melodies, jerry can beats and washtub bass lines. The trio effortlessly incorporates jazz with North African chaabi, cumbia, reggaeton, Eastern oriental melodies and Afro-Cuban rhythms, resulting in a danceable and hypnotic trip in 7 compositions through the Brussels melting pot. The musical members are part of groups such as La Clinik du Dr Poembak, Raksinaksi, Sea (Peoples), Borokov and Sea Shark Minor.

The globetrotting beat maestro is back, with a truckload of tropical vibes and the irresistibly danceable soundtrack to your Summer! 3 years after releasing his groundbreaking collaborative album with singer Chico Mann (which landed him live sets on Boiler Room & KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic as well as a feature on NYTimes "Best Songs Of The Week") DJ/producer Captain Planet returns with NO VISA, set to drop June 26th on Bastard Jazz Recordings. In his trademark "Gumbo Funk" sound, the album mixes rhythms and musical styles from the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, over highly danceable electronic beats, all firmly rooted in the hip hop, dancehall and house music that the Captain grew up playing as a DJ. Seamlessly bouncing from Brazilian Baile Funk, to Afrobeat, to Roots Reggae and Latin House, the entire record delivers the uplifting feel of one of the Captain's legendary boundary-crossing DJ sets. Building on these traditions he draws from, the Captain has created something fully original and unique.

NO VISA, the 5th full-length album from producer Charlie Wilder (aka Captain Planet), is both a return to form and a launchpad into the future. With 13 songs that feature vocalists from around the world, long-time fans will recognize several previous collaborators as well as the global influences that have always been central to Captain Planet's music. New friends, like prolific Zimbabwean-American singer Shungudzo (who has recent hits with Oliver Heldens & Rudimental), and Jamaican reggae star Jesse Royal, bring powerful subversive messages to the music as well. Showcasing the Captain's production chops and songwriting talents equally, the album unveils a unique musical landscape, a place where our political boundaries and cultural hierarchies begin to dissolve, where foreign languages mingle together and deep rooted traditions dance with the future.

With NO VISA, Captain Planet unveils a fully matured and truly unique form of electronic music- one that bridges gaps between worldwide cultural diasporas as well as contemporary dance music sub-genres (house, hip hop, dancehall & global bass). Throughout every Captain Planet song, it's clear to hear his inspired appreciation for breaking the boundaries between genres and bridging continents through rhythm.

O YAMA O explores a certain domestic and democratic quality of everyday life, born through associations to folk music of Japan and a folding of myth, tradition, and routine; the non-spectacular and the sublime.

Formed of musician and artist Rie Nakajima and Cafe OTO co-founder Keiko Yamamoto, the group has performed since 2014 at venues and festivals such as noshowspace, Ikon Gallery, Wysing Arts Centre, Supernormal, Borealis Festival, Mayhem, and allEars Festival.

Nakajima’s performance often focuses on the use of found and kinetic objects, using modest items such as rice bowls, toys, clockwork, balloons and small motors as instruments to create a “micro orchestra”. Elements are layered into impressive and immersive atmospheres. Yamamoto alternatively floats and charges through this with body and voice; chanting, incanting, thundering, whispering, stamping on the floor.

Their debut album consolidates their musical conversations into keenly paced studio music, the duo working with additional instrumentation and a resolved focus on melody to provide vivid portraits of folkloric Japan in song.

They move between pop and the philosophical, defined by the overall space afforded to texture and movement. In small, delicate sound an intimate musical climate is established that reflects on life, telling stories of improvised clockwork, whispered dreams, small movements of the hand and the rhythm to be found in the shuffle of a deck of cards.
Grandly theatric and dramatic flourishes add solidity to these illustrations, operas driven by the swooping energy and power of Yamamoto’s voice can be playful or emotionally charged, particularly when the duo arrange themselves in ensemble with violinist Billy Steiger and percussionist Marie Roux. Production by David Cunningham creates the shadowy presence of a leftfield Flying Lizards dubwise depth that adds subtle strangeness to the atmosphere. The result is something raw, full-bodied; full of energy, grace and mystery.

• Busi Mhlongo’s chart-topping, award-winning 1999 album
• Heavyweight 180g vinyl with remastered audio, inner sleeve with photographs and new notes by Kwanele Sosibo

Urban Zulu changed South Africa’s music forever, rewiring Zulu migrant roots music for the 21st Century. Busi Mhlongo’s powerful voice and challenging lyrics soar over driving bass lines and glittering guitars of an all-star South African maskanda line-up, backed by a multi-national cast including Lokua Kanza, Brice Wassy, Jacques Djeyim and Will Mowatt.

With this album Busi Mhlongo subverted and then claimed Maskanda music’s previously patriarchal space, voicing a new social blues narrative. Her songs cut to the essence of simple joys, unrequited love, abuse in the name of love, and month-end money blues.

Topping charts in Europe and South Africa, Urban Zulu struck critical and commercial success.

Yehlisan'umoya Ma-Afrika “creates a sensation of being inevitable because the riffs are so organic, it feels like it would be a crime against nature if they fell together any other way” (AllMusic).

'We Baba Omncane' became the sound track for a global Adidas campaign, while a later re-mix became a smash hit for Black Coffee.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce a new solo album by Eiko Ishibashi, her first for the label, following on from the duo recording Ichida alongside bassist Darin Gray. Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) was produced for the ‘Japan Supernatural’ exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney focusing on ghost stories and folklore from the Edo period onwards. As with The Dream My Bones Dream (Drag City, 2018), the album is a response to troubling questions about Japanese history, and the influence of the past upon the present, but finds Ishibashi shifting further away from her earlier piano-led songwriting and showing a deepening interest in electronics and audio collaging.

The two sidelong parts of Hyakki Yagyō feature layered synthesisers, acoustic instrumentation, recited verse and field recordings, at times densely mixed but always with a subtle interplay of changing elements. The influence of European and American forerunners as diverse as Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Strafe Für Rebellion can be traced, yet at the same time Ishibashi evokes the flute and string sounds associated with Japanese storytelling, and draws directly on the subversive literary tradition of Kyoka (‘mad poetry’) with a verse by the 15th-century poet Ikkyū Sōjun repeated throughout the album. Revisiting what has gone before, re-thinking what is possible musically, as a way of articulating what else might be possible in the future.

As Ishibashi’s liner notes make clear, the album reflects an attention to persistent dangers, myths and evasions in Japanese culture – as well as the lurking uncertainties that might threaten positive change. This would seem to be manifested in the emerging melodies soon met by dissonance, erratic collisions and near silence, as well as the eerie manipulation of the double-tracked vocals. Ishibashi’s underlying concerns ring true more widely of course. Hyakki Yagyō is a work of multiplicities, and mystery, a landscape where nothing is as it seems at first, and everything is vulnerable to sudden violent interruptions.

The album was produced with regular collaborators Jim O’Rourke (double bass) and Joe Talia (percussion), and features dancer and choreographer Ryuichi Fujimura performing Ikkyū’s satirical tanka. O’Rourke’s immersive mix creates a three-dimensional effect, with Ishibashi’s various sound sources enmeshing and interacting in captivating ways.

Pressed on coloured vinyl and presented in a deluxe package with an inner sleeve featuring and artist portrait and liner notes from Eiko Ishibashi. Cover and label design by Shuhei Abe.
Back cover design by Lasse Marhaug. Mixed and mastered by Jim O’Rourke.

key selling points:

- Black Truffle is pleased to announce a new solo album by Eiko Ishibashi, her first since her acclaimed 2018 Drag City release The Dream My Bones Dream.

- This album finds Ishibashi shifting further away from her earlier piano-led songwriting and showing a deepening interest in electronics and audio collaging.

- Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) was produced for the ‘Japan Supernatural’ exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney focusing on ghost stories and folklore from the Edo period onwards and is a response to troubling questions about Japanese history, and the influence of the past upon the present.

- Produced with regular collaborators Jim O’Rourke (double bass) and Joe Talia (percussion), O’Rourke’s immersive mix creates a three-dimensional effect, with Ishibashi’s various sound sources enmeshing and interacting in captivating ways.

- The two sidelong parts of Hyakki Yagyō feature layered synthesisers, acoustic instrumentation, recited verse and field recordings, at times densely mixed but always with a subtle interplay of changing elements, hinting at an influence of European and American forerunners as diverse as Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Strafe Für Rebellion.

- Pressed on coloured vinyl and presented in a deluxe package with an inner sleeve featuring an artist portrait and liner notes from Eiko Ishibashi. Mixed and mastered by Jim O’Rourke.

vinyl only / 180 grams

Finishing off the initial "series" of Krab's vinyl-only records in style, KRB003 centres around 3 signature cuts from German duo Cedric Dekowski & Felix Reifenberg and a stellar remix from Yamen & Eda. The EP divulges into the multi-genre capabilities and eclectic nature of the HardWorkSoftDrink label owners, as there are seamless transition between genres, modular synths and all things in between are highlighted throughout the label's latest record.

Starting off with a slow burner, Act 1 is a hypnotic listen, formed around strung out sounds, glitchy breakdowns and a captivating overlaying melody. Laus highlights the pairs unique ability to shift genres seamlessly as they deliver a cut full of heavy hitting acid and emotion heavy synths suitable for any dance floor.

Internet dial up appears the theme throughout the B-side, as Feelsliker delivers a fast paced minimal roller that is stacked to the brim with bleeps, bloops and modular madness. Finishing off the record is a remix from French Duo Yamen & Eda, a pair of artists that boast a distinguished taste for electronic music. Dance floor ready, B2 is constructed around a heavy hitting bass line and an assembly of inimitable modular synths.

Mr Bongo presents a new and exciting collaborative project with Swedish label Piano Piano Records.

Hearing the Swedish outfit Sven Wunder for the first time is as refreshing as an ice-cold Limoncello after an Italian meal. One of those bands that feel instantly familiar like an old friend, yet simultaneously fresh and new. Straight away we fell in love with their sound and knew we had to work with them.

The Sven Wunder 'Wabi Sabi' 7" is the second collaborative release between Mr Bongo and Piano Piano Records. 'Wabi Sabi' is Sven Wunder’s follow up to the already contemporary cult-classic album 'Doğu Çiçekleri (Eastern Flowers) from 2019. Not one to be complacent and recreate a carbon copy of their previous works, Sven Wunder switched from the psychedelic-Turkish-funk sounds of 'Doğu Çiçekleri' to the Japanese inspired ethereal funk of 'Wabi Sabi'. We have selected the tracks ‘Hanami’ and ‘Shinrinyoko’ for this collector’s edition 7’. Japanese artists such as Hozan Yamamoto, Tadao Sawai, Kazue Sawai, spring to mind, but also David Axelrod and Dorothy Ashby on the beautiful string-led 'Hanami' with it's laid-back funk breaks. 'Shinrinyoku' has a slightly more raw cinematic-funk sound, yet is cushioned with warm strings and tripped-out keys - pure, rare-library music vibes.

We are delighted to be able to release these amazing tracks, cut at the Timmion Records Cutting Lab in Finland.

ANNA HOMLER & ALESSIO CAPOVILLA - VASI COMUNICANTI

Vasi Comunicanti is the oneiric record born from the collaboration between L.A. performer and avant-garde artist Anna Homler and Alessio Capovilla, co-founder of Gang of Ducks.

Alessio Capovilla (1985, Turin, Italy ) is an Italian composer interested in sound modelling.
Imperfect sounds, unpunctual distortion and unsuitable atmospheres are constantly researched by Alessio.
A dialogue between ancient tools and new technologies through synthesis, computer music and field recording, crossing beats and genres towards something not easily definable.
Co-founder of the collective Gang Of Ducks, on which he's published two releases ("NO" and "Eocity") under the moniker of XIII, alter-ego through which he mainly examines the most tactile and digital part of his sound.


Anna Homler is a multy-disciplinary artist working on a blurred line between music, performance, spiritual and visual arts and giving birth to several different projects.
In 1985 she released, in collaboration with composer Steve Moshier, the seminal album "Breadwoman & Other Tales", shamanic and meditative songs brought to life with astonishing live performances.
The record was then re-released in 2016 by NYC label RVNG Intl, bridging the gap with a new generation of listeners, discovering the universal and unique world of Homler.
Capovilla, who was born in the same year of the original release, is one of them. His work focuses on imaginary landscapes and oneiric feelings. He has released two records on Gang of Ducks with his XIII moniker, dedicated to his digital and more computer-oriented sound.
The two of them met for the first time for an improvised live performance in Torino in 2017, after which they decided to spend studio time together exploring where this connection could lead.

The record flows along 5 tracks, with Capovilla taking care of synths, drums programming and audio engineering, and Homler singing in her melodic phonetic language, mixing unique voice and sound effects .

"De'la cocce" moves around on a slow quasi-dub rhythm accompanied by whistle and vocal interventions. In "Ricordo" Anna's voice is more prominent, travelling through a digital dimension made of flutes, Buchla Music Easel sequences and rainsticks.
The B side starts with "Bread Dance", where different layers of vocals and drums repeat themselves in an obsessive and haunting atmosphere.
"Be'ya Sa'di" is an ambient and cinematic piece, which quietly introduces "Mem", the most emotionally and intense song of the collection, transporting the listener into a different dimension.

The whole record creates a world with no geographical coordinates, where humans meet their primary feelings in a suspended time, escaping the present and the intelligible world.

Fredfades and Jawn Rice call on the extended family for a remix package. Featuring material from their sizzling 2019 LP Jacuzzi Boys, a track from their upcoming swelter Luv Neva Fades, and some previously unreleased pieces, the Norwegian House duo gets the remix treatment from Chmmr, Deep88, and Hugo LX while Fredfades & Jawn Rice goes OG on a demo version from their highly anticipated LP.
Basking in the warmth of the duo’s analogue sounds, Chmmr transports Show me How to the farthest recesses of the galaxy with some spacy synths and cool reverbs blowing through Dreamcast’s sensual vocal before Fredfades & Jawn Rice tempers Travels through Air with an OG lean on the A side.
Meanwhile on the B-side; Deep 88 carve a yawning a trench for Stimulator Jones’ airy vocal before Hugo LX puts a bounce in the step of Mutual Love to close out the exciting remix package.
The sound of Fred and Jawn peek through consistently, with each artist putting their own distinctive stamp on the originals. Elements of Jazz, Soul and Hip Hop create a heady fusion of sounds breaking loose from the House foundations for this series of heavy steppers.

Back in February Risk Assessment hit the headlines via a high-profile outing on Glitterbox Recordings that proved the fast-rising artist's ability to create fresh and funky revivalist disco-boogie jams. This four-track missive on Midnight Riot showcases the producer's re-edit skills.

No messing around, "Bad Times" is an '80s wonder dripping with sleazed up synthwork. Yam Who? straps it to a rocket and fires it into the stratosphere with those punchy basslines and beefed up percussive hits that knock you straight for six.

On the B side "You Must Be The Girl" powers through, with Risk Assessment turning a colourful early '80s synth-disco jam into an attractive, tooled-up disco-house romp. "Bionic Lover" closes out proceedings with a house style revision of another low-slung, guitar-laden chunk of disco-rock funkiness.

Siti of Unguja tells the story of pioneering women, of the ‘golden
voice’ of Siti Muharam, heiress to the singular legacy of her great
grandmother, the mother of taarab, Siti Binti Saad.

On the Corner teases this first taste of a landmark recording that the
label embarked upon two years ago on Zanzibar. Siti of Unguja has a
transformative atmosphere, brimming with romance, passion and
protest.

Zanzibar is an Island archipelago that lies 6 degrees South of the
equator and 30 miles off the East African coast out in the Indian
Ocean. Known for its spices, traditional Dhow sailing boats and being
a mercantile trading capital of Swahili culture.

The modern history of Zanzibar can be animated through the life and
legacy of one artist, Siti binti Saad. Born in 1890 in the small fishing
village of Fumba, on Unguja (Zanzibar’s largest island), she became
the first Zanzibari recording artist and her recordings sold in tens of
thousands across the swahili world.

The tracks recorded for Siti of Unguja demonstrate Siti Binti Saad’s
eclectic influence on Zanzibari taarab and her great granddaughter,
Siti Muharam imbues the compositions with feeling. Siti Muharam’s
golden voice carries the poetry and invects a timeless passion. It is
Muharam’s deep humility and love that brings the spirit of these two
women together.

With Sam Jones at the controls, taarab’s conservative layers were
opened up and given more than a little wiggle room. Under the
direction of Matona, the recording of this album paid homage to Siti
Binti Saad’s innovations by bringing back the percussive Kidumbak
style of music that originated on the streets of Zanzibar. By strippping
back the typically dense string section of taarab a space was created
for Muharam’s beguiling timbre that is gilded with emotion.

Porridge Radio grew out of Dana Margolin's bedroom, where she started making music in private. Living in the seaside town of Brighton, she recorded songs and slowly started playing them at open mic nights to rooms of old men who stared at her quietly as she screamed in their faces. Though she eventually grew out of them, for Margolin these open mic nights unlocked a love of performing and songwriting, as well as a new way to express herself. She decided to form a band through which to channel it all, and be noisier while she was at it - so Porridge Radio was born. Inspired by interpersonal relationships, her environment - in particular the sea - and her growing friendships with her new bandmates (bassist Maddie Ryall, keyboardist Georgie Stott, and drummer Sam Yardley) Margolin's distinctive, indie-pop-butmake-it-existentialist style soon started to crystallise. Quickly, the band self-released a load of demos and a garden-shed-recorded collection on Memorials of Distinction, while tireless touring cemented their firm reputation as one of UK DIY's most beloved and compelling live bands. The band's sound - bright pop-rock instrumentation blended with Margolin's tender, open-ended lyrics - has developed and refined. Now, they are taking that development a step further, as they put out their label debut, Every Bad.

Interstellar digital dancehall with stunning synth, superb vocal by Robert Ffrench in extended mix & mad style by obscure DJ Shortie Ranks. Recorded at Creative Sound Studio (Kingston, JA) in 1985.
"On “I Am Wondering” – a lovers of sorts – Ffrench is Dennis Brown in the high notes, and Gregory Isaacs in the song`s playboy sentiments. A guitar gently wah-wahs, while the synths do a giddy glissando. Midway through this discomix the bass becomes boss – throwing everything else – chopped piano chords and all – into echo. Then it`s rewind for the DJ cut – a brag and boast toast from Shortie Ranks – recounting his triumphs at legendary Kingston reggae venue, Skateland”. (Ban Ban Ton Ton - April, 21 of 2020) Robert French grew up in central Kingston and attended Kingston College. He recorded his first singles in 1979, at the age of 17. He achieved success in 1984 with his performances at the Festival Song Contest and the Reggae Sunsplash festival. He had a combination hit with deejay Clement Irie with "Bun & Cheese", and his first two albums were released in 1985. He had another hit in 1989 with "Modern Girl", a collaboration with
Courtney Melody. In the mid-1990s he relocated to New York City, where he teamed up with rapper Heavy D, with whom he had a hit with "More Love", with an album following on Ras Records, featuring collaboration with several artists including Lady G and General Degree. He has since returned to Jamaica, where he runs the
Ffrench record label and distribution company. He released the album Yesterday and Today in 2001, collecting many of his earlier singles. After a period of inactivity as a recording artist, he returned in 2009 with the single "I Do". As a producer he has worked with artists such as Dennis Brown, Buju Banton (he produced Buju's first single
"Ruler" on Stamina riddim), Beres Hammond, George Nooks, Luciano, Jah Cure, Yami Bolo and Sizzla to name a few. Robert French was the cosin of the late great Pat Kelly. As a french label, big fan from Ffrench productions, i'm very proud and happy to start a collaboration with Robert Ffrench, the most french jamaican. Stay tuned for many many more.

Sano ha vuelto! Todos lo conocen por su ya famosa serie de Latino Body Music. Esta vez trajo a Siwo de Mozambique en la voz. Juntos presentan 6 éxitos garantizados para mover los pies. Hi nkensa a misava ni matiku ya Colombia na Mozambique. Khanimambo ni lirhandzu hi nkensa: M&V at PP. Phran & DJ Phidias at Vimana Studios, Barcelona. Mixmaster Leo Li at Mockba. Palma. Bailar es una terapia!

2x12" Transparent Red & Blue Coloured Vinyl in a double Gatefold.
Limited Pressing of 3000 Editions WORLDWIDE! Please ensure to reserve your requests in advance ... In order to secure stock as this
is ltd. pressing!

Four peak time, dancefloor remixes of tracks housed on SIRS outstanding debut LP ‘Banana Hard & Disco Kisses’ from the likes of Austin Ato, Yam Who?, Danilo Braca and SIRS himself.

First up on remix duties, Scottish goldenboy Austin Ato takes the sunset funk stylings of ‘Nightwind’ and flips it into a club ready house bumper, fitting perfectly with Hava Izmailova’s dreamy vocals. Rework don and Midnight Riot head honcho Yam Who?, then gives the Stee Downes vocal number ‘Forever’ a first pumping disco makeover that’s got future anthem written all over it.

On the flip side SIRS offers up a new tribal interpretation of ‘Turkish Disco Folk’, doubling down on the Middle Eastern influences yet with a tougher rhythmic side that will spice up any set its slipped into. Finally, NYC-based Danilo Braca inserts an acid injection into ‘If I Can´t Have You’ alongside a dose of sultry strings, ready made to warp any dancefloors out there.

Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw and new talent Bas Grossfeldt present ‘Klavier’ – an album of haunted elegance, graceful poise and cerebral depth, which is centred around the Yamaha Disklavier.

Combining the prepared piano minimalism of Hauschka with Basic Channel style dub techno, the pairing is mirrored in the duo, where Shaw’s formidable dance music experience synergises with Grossfeldt’s arts-based appreciation of contemporary composition.

Embarking on a journey from Italy to Anatolia and from Africa to the Americas, Nelson of the East soars over imagined landscapes in his debut, motion picture- inspired album, Kybele. Plug in your headphones, drown out the world, and set
out on a mystic voyage of Earth through the lens of Kybele, the Anatolian goddess of wild nature.

With the world in flux and isolation taking its toll, musical escapism has become a much needed pastime for today’s armchair adventurers. Treating recorded sound as a vehicle of time travel, Milanese artist Nelson of the East (N.O.T.E) takes listeners on a journey through kaleidoscopic soundscapes with his debut album Kybele released on Tartelet Records.

Skillfully weaving the sounds of East and West, the nine-track LP fuses Turkish and cosmic influences with a strong electronic backbone into an otherworldly soundtrack of our time.

“The feeling that passes through the record isn’t straight. It changes, it turns, it is never predictable. Never being able to predict which landscape you arrive at next or where the music is taking you is key to enjoying the sound journey,” says Nelson. “

Named Kybele after the Anatolian goddess of nature, fertility, mountains, and wild animals, the record is a continuous saga that takes from the Berlin-based artist’s own adventurous spirit. Following his previous EP releases Night Frames and Phase Alternating Lines, Nelson explores new territories on Kybele.

The album opener, “Explorer,” is an exhilarating build up to what could be a 80s sci-fi movie, showcasing Nelson’s knack for cinematic moods. “Draw Me,” speaks to the artist’s intention of making a “snare album,” with an irregular, dominating beat untethering it from time or boundaries. “What I realize while I was writing the rhythm part is that the more you keep a beat simple the more difficult it becomes to make it interesting. So I just put down some rules to follow. For example, using swing as smoothly as possible, or using lot of syncopated sequence over the straight 2-4 groove,” says Nicolas.

Another thing Nelson achieves in this album is ambience, or the “motion picture touch” as he calls it. Tracks like the wild and obscure Culto, with its Anatolian nuances and middle eastern-sounding scales are made by layering synths to achieve an orchestral effect.

Other tracks capture the musician’s penchant for African and Brazilian grooves, like the Saudade mix of Burning Palm. On the B side, the Italo-flavored Phase Lines comes through with shimmering synth and electronic drums complete with hazy vocals delivered by DJ Rayne and Nelson himself. Yahuda dives into dark, melancholic electro with a Detroit feel not far from the sounds of the great Drexciya.

The album closes with ZETA, a track that could easily double as an obscure cinematic composition. The nine-track LP is strictly limited to 300 copies, pressed on 180g vinyl with artwork by The Emperor of Antarctica. No repress.

It was time for us to make a move into the world of ambient new age music. Released only on cassette and CD in 1986, Paul & Mark made Quiet Water from a single guitar and a Yamaha DX synth.

Quiet Water consists of the amazing 'Summer Daydream' and 'Restful Sleep' that clocks in over 20 minutes. Cover is recreated from the original cassette and extended by hand painting by the original artist, Danny Flynn.

We recommend you put this on the turntable and just relax. Prepare for a musical journey. A journey that you probably never have been on before. We cannot recommend this release enough.

Officially licensed, remastered for vinyl, only 500 pressed.

WRWTFWW Records is excited to announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase’s remarkable ambient/environmental/minimalism project #Notes of Forestry, available for the first time since 1988. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl and CD with liner notes from the artist. This marks the third release from the ESPLANADE SERIES which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase and Satsuki Shibano. One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo’s Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by Jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process’ Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase’s quest for musical freedom, he explains: “Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album". Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Satoshi Ashikawa’s Still Way, and Yutaka Hiros’s Nova. #Notes of Forestry is reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase’s Technodrome and Anecdote albums,

Repress!

Just when you think that the well of obscure music from around the world has run dry, Analog Africa returns to put the record straight. Pop-Makossa shines a light on a glorious but largely overlooked period in the story of Cameroonian makossa, when local musicians began to replace funk and highlife influences with the rubbery bass of classic disco and the sparkling synth flourishes and drum machines of electrofunk. The resultant compilation, which apparently took eight years to produce, is packed full of brilliant cuts, from the heavily-electronic jauntiness of Pasteur Lappe's "Sanaga Calypso" and horn-totin' Highlife-disco of Emmaniel Kahe and Jeanette Kemogne's "Ye Medjuie", to the dense, organ-laden wig out that is Clement Djimogne's "Africa".

Disco divas, Funky queens and Glam ladies in 70's and early 80's Taiwan!

Due to it's extremely complex history, Taiwan in the 70´s saw the creation of some incredibly special music in which the sounds coming at the moment from the west collided with the special sensitivity of Taiwanese musicians, creating a delicious mixture you´ll need to hear to believe.

"Taiwan Disco" shines a light on the music created by Taiwanese women during those years (70´s & early 80´s) to present a mind-blowing collection of songs with sounds ranging from wild Funk to Space Glam, exotic Disco or fuzzed out Soul. Here´s the ticket to some crazy Taiwan nights, get those dancing shoes ready, it´s time to shake it!

Some of LUXXURY’s most popular floor fillers on wax for the first time in this new limited series.

“Uh Huh” hearkens back to a Beautiful Time, ripping off and improving upon a Silver Convention-esque bassline. “Da Ya” is a deep cut Eastern European cover of a sleazy pop disco classic. “Petula” is LUXXURY’s most popular rework to date after DJ Harvey gave it an auspicious premiere in his Milan Boiler Room set.

Nicola Altieri aka The Mechanical Man delivers here a 2 tracks mini EP on, where Casio sounds, Yamaha FM synths and Akai samplers are the main ingredients to give birth to his own compositions. Sounding like a constipated and forced music between slow deep house and minimalistic electro-funk created in a small bedroom environment, warm, dirty and slowed down like from an old tape cassette but full bodied. Mechanical soul for you ears.

Presented by Mitsuko & Svetlana Records, distributed by WRWTFWW Records.

A golden era gem from the master himself.

Archival reissue of long lost treasure from genius pianist and composer Masahiko Satoh whose resume includes hundreds of legendary albums and collaborations with Midori Takada (Lunar Cruise and Ton•Klami) among many others.

Very rare soundtrack of a 9-episode suspense drama that aired on TV in 1969 and 1970. Filled with exquisite jazz, soul-jazz, folk-jazz, and mystery-jazz, plus groovy affairs, classical moods, and 70s flair.

Highly recommended to Japanese jazz collectors, soundtrack collectors, Masahiko Sato collectors, lovers of rare gems and wearers of vintage trench coats.

All compositions and arrangements by Masahiko Sato
Masahiko Sato: piano, keyboard
Yoshiko Goto: vocal
Kiyoshi Sugimoto: guitar
Kunimitsu Inaba: bass
Yasuo Arakawa: bass
Akira Ishikawa: drums

Originally released in November 1970 as an LP on Toho Records (BL-1001)

MS054, the 2nd part of Moonshine Recordings vocal series is ready. This time including Parly B on the mic and Bukkha, Dubbing Sun & Mystic Pulse on the production duties.

DJ Die Soon is a local legend and ongoing inspiration in the Berlin underground electronic music scene. Remaining largely unknown outside the city, with only a handful of releases and appearances to date, the man behind the mask delivers truly freakish beats built from chaos driven crushed drums and eerie horror style basslines.

KAPPA SLAP wrenches the Morphine catalog by the neck, takes it off it’s feet and slams it back unsteadily in front of the fans who loved the Container, Metasplice and Hieroglyphic Being output of the label. DJ Die Soon delivers extreme work here. The album is a mixture of instrumental pieces and vocal tracks featuring the talents of five contrasting MC's. Three Ugandan lyricists feature: there’s MC Yallah, with whom he worked during a residency for the Nyege Nyege Festival , Lord Spikeheart from the Duma hardcore pressure band, and the mighty ECKO BAZZ. Long time friend and collaborator Infinite Livez (Ninja Tunes) appears on the cosmic & eccentric Ranthworth, and finally there’s Japan’s MA, who recently dropped the incredible AMA album on the label. Incidentally, the pair (both Japanese) decided to collaborate after acclaimed performance at the Morphine Showcase Berlin’s Berghain in 2019.

KAPPA SLAP contains a lot of our favorite sounds all in one album. Stunningly, DJ Die Soon manages to paint the Morphine picture in one hard stroke.

Artwork courtesy of Lorenzo Mason Studio

DJ Cash Money was one of the most skilled DJ’s to come out of Philadelphia in the 1980s (two time World DJ mixing champion). He teamed up with MC Marvelous in the late 80s to release their only album ‘Where’s The Party At?’, on Sleeping Bag Records. Highlights include; ’The Mighty Hard Rocker’, ‘Play It Kool’, ‘Ugly People Be Quiet’ (which samples Tears For Fears) 1988 album from the golden age of Hip hop, reissued with original artwork, printed inner sleeve and pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl

Afro futurist sensations Onipa unleash their debut album, combining Afro grooves, electronics and fierce energy for an effervescent celebration of cultural and musical encounters.ONIPA means ‘human’ in Akan, the ancient language of the Ashanti people of Ghana. It’s a message of connection through collaboration: from Ghana to London, our ancestors to our children, Onipa brings energy, groove, electronics, Afro-futurism, dance and fire! Born out of deep collaboration between long-time friends K.O.G (Kweku of Ghana of KOG and the Zongo Brigade) and Tom Excell (MD, guitarist and writer of acclaimed jazz/ soul afrobeat pioneers Nubiyan Twist), the group features KOG on vocals, balafon and percussion, Tom Excell on guitar, percussion and electronics, Dwayne Kilvington (Wonky Logic) on synths and MPC and Finn Booth (Nubiyan Twist) on drums.

The group have worked closely with Ghanaian star Wiyaala who features on three tracks, singing in the Sisaala language from the North of Ghana. The album also features collaborations with South African rapper Spoek Mathambo, Lesotho star Morena Leraba, Ghanaian percussion master Afla Sackey and Tanzanian sisters Pendo & Leah Zawose, each adding their own flavour to the project. “Through the musical prisms of London and Ghana our influences join together to create, a fundamental thread of traditional African rhythms, instrumentation and storytelling, interwoven with electronics, urban soundscapes and synth bass. We use technology, but it should never use us, our music is live and about deep human connection.” (Onipa)

Following a successful EP in 2019, featuring remixes from Osunla
& Pocz, Olindo Records are proud to present “Wono”, the debut collaborative album from Koichi Sak& Afla Sackey.

The album is a deep exploration of Koichi's love of both electronic and West African music, in close collaboration with Ghana-born master percussionist, singer, band leader, teacher and songwriter, Afla Sackey.

Featuring 7 tracks ranging from the meditative “Yamb”, which features master kora player Kadialy Kouyate, to the acid infused, slow house workout of “Niege”. Passing through a contemporary highlife take on advance single “Suolo” and an album version of the previously released “Jingo”.

Koichi Sakai is a London-based producer and DJ, a well-known head in London music circles thanks to his role in co-founding the legendary Afrobeat Vibration nights alongside Dele Sosimi. He has previously recorded and released music with Kay Suzuki as Afrobuddha, and they recorded a set together for Boiler Room.

Afla Sackey is leader of 10-piece afro funk and highlife orchestra, Afrik Bawantu, and the man who the likes of Kokoroko call when they need some extra power on the percussion or a singer to lead their Church of Sound tribute to Ebo Taylor.

Koichi Sakai & Afla Sackey’s first collaborative project on Olindo Records, the “Wono” EP released late last year, received widespread support, particular from Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music, Defected Radio, Mafalda, Hector Plimmer & Zakia (NTS), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Tim Garcia (Música Macondo/Jazz FM), Music is my Sanctuary, TwistedSoul, Mari* & Papaoul (Worldwide FM), Alan McKinnon and DJ Harv.

We still have copies of Koichi Sakai’s Wono ep OR004 and Betsayda Machado LP ORLP003 should you like more.