Tapestry, first LP of Namas; a modern jazz band from Rennes BZH, is a self-produced piece mixing the traditional sound of a trio and modern hip-hop grooves.
It is where night falls that Namas finds his universe through dreamlike compositions, influenced both by the London jazz scene and pictorial art.
For their 11th release, djfix makes his long-awaited return. A Soft Place to Land features six driving, techy tracks flexing his familiar djfix steeze with swung, slamming percussion, deep chattering low-end, and a psychedelic sheen.
Credits:
Written by Ethan Donovan in Bedstuy, Brooklyn
Mastered by Mike Grinser, Manmade Mastering
Additional Vocals: namastrange
Duality Trax welcomes the newly formed 9 Hours Ahead to the label with their debut release, complete with a remix from progressive royalty Bliss Inc. Landing in early 2026, Smooth Sailing traces a blissed-out sonic journey from the combined minds of San Francisco’s Namastrange and Amsterdam’s Breeze. Their cross-continental connection threads throughout the EP, with subtle nods to the vast ocean that separates them. The title track opens the release with a gentle drift: airy synths, angelic pads, and tribal percussion guiding listeners steadily out to sea. Meridian Space picks up the momentum, driven by a pulsating, everexpanding bassline. Namastrange’s whispered vocals weave between swelling orchestral pads, before the track mutates into a mind-bending acid line - perfect for a heads-down, eyes-closed dancefloor moment.
The B-side turns up theenergy with Transatlantic Dreams, a dancefloor-minded cut that nods to the golden era of San Francisco progressive and the Hardkiss legacy. Lush piano melodies, breakbeat interludes, rave stabs, and glimmering gated vocals collide in a warm, nostalgic swirl. Closing the EP, Bliss Inc. delivers a psy-tinged reinterpretation of Meridian Space - a dark, brooding acid workout that pulls the original into deeper, murkier waters.
The duo of DJ producers DJ Marrrtin and Deheb reunite after a five-year hiatus, during which they each pursued solo
projects. Deheb released the LP Jazz Mirrors, while Marrrtin put out a Disco Funk EP titled Aktshun, a hip-hop album La
Pie Bavarde in collaboration with Dayton, Ohio rapper Tino, and his third solo project Cyclothymix.
They return with a new 11-track album steeped in Jazz-Funk flavor, blending heavy breakbeats—recalling their earlier
albums that have been featured at major international breakdance events—with nods to their shared influences: Jazz, Latin
Funk, Hip Hop, Psychedelic Groove, Library Music, and Blaxploitation soundtracks. The record plays like an imaginary film
score, a sonic illustration of a relentless chase scene—picture The J.B.'s jamming with Piero Piccioni, accompanied by
Mongo Santamaria.
The album features a lineup of international collaborators, including:
Saucy Lady (USA) on Tambourine,
Felix (Fusik, USA) on Payback Run,
Roma Scotch (True Flavas Band, Russia),
Leo Debroise (Namas Trio, France),
Medline (My Bags, France),
Louise Chavanon, an incredible 18-year-old flutist from France,
and Antoine Laloux (The Selenites Band).
This album further develops the duo’s signature sound—a perfect blend of powerful grooves and deeply soulful musicality.
500 Copies , Covers hand made screenprinted and Hand Numbered
400 white with Black ink
100 with various colours
After a highly acclaimed first volume featuring pioneers of the new Euro-Jazz movement such as ECHT!, Lander & Adriaan, Triorität, Ishkero, La Récré amongst others, we are proud to present the second volume of Groove Dingueries, our compilation series aiming to shine a light on the new hybrid and constantly evolving sound of jazz and groove. This time, we’ve expanded research further into western Europe with new bands and solo acts such as Divorce From New York, Louis Fontaine, Bombataz, Namas, Opek and many others. This selection of outsider grooves infused with rock, soul, electronica, hip-hop, dub, library and world music will please any groove head looking for something fresh and new.
Fresh from the triumphant return of a successful domestic and international tour, Smif-N-Wessun's new album is a cumulative reflection of their life experiences. Executive produced by college professor and world-renowned producer 9th Wonder and the Soul Council, 9th explains the thought process with the album. “I wanted to make sure that it didn't sound dated. It sounds like them (Smif-N-Wessun), but it's also new. They are our generation's version of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Donald Byrd.”
Illustrious MCs featured on the album include Buckshot, Pharoahe Monch, Conway the Machine, legendary artists Sean Price and Prodigy, multi-platinum RnB legend Ralph Tresvant, along with rising stars Sweta and Jalisa. Scheduled for release January 10th, 2025, Infinity cements Smif-N-Wessun's status as creators of nothing but classics. This is their eighth album and the second collaboration with 9th Wonder and the Soul Council. Showcasing buttery beats from Council members, 9th Wonder himself, Khrysis, SND*TRK, Kash, Mu'aath, and Nottz, the album delivers a sonic smash that will satisfy everyone from the rap purist to new school connoisseurs.
Better get ready! Next up on Potency's ever expanding catalog of club
ready tracks, Cromby delivers three more cuts for the floor.
On the A side 'Namaste' goes straight in with an off its head bongo lead on top of an infectious groove and bass line that will get any dance floor moving.
On the flip, 'Voyager' a euphoric trance filled ode to the sounds of Frankfurt in the 90's, if you listen carefully you can almost hear your mate telling you how much he loves you over a sweaty dance floor hug! 'Mythology' wraps up the release, a trademark driving acid tool that dips and dives throughout thunderous leads and soaring pads.
Trumpeter, composer, bandleader & producer, Nick Walters delivers his 2nd studio album within the last year for his D.O.T. Records imprint. Padmāsana is an exquisite mix of jazz fusion and traditional Indian sounds, inspired and constructed from experiences and samples he encountered whilst travelling around the Indian subcontinent. The album was pieced together at his studio in East London, featuring live contributions from Tenderlonious on flute, Kieran McLeod on trombone, Tim Carnegie on drums, and Walters himself on trumpet and synthesisers. Padmāsana was mixed by Sam Interface at More Time Studios.
For Record Store Day 2022 Morcheeba have recruited Orbital, Gui Boratto, Kutiman and Voyou to remix four tracks from their latest album 'Blackest Blue' which was released in May 2021.
This is the second of a series of 12" remixes being released especially for RSD, the first 'Blazed Away - The Remixes' sold out in 2019. This year 'Blackest Blue - The Remixes' includes British giants of electronic music Orbital switching up the signature Morcheeba 'chill' vibe of 'Namaste' to an electronic drum and bass dancefloor stomper whilst producer Gui Boratto's remix of 'Sounds Of Blue' is a progressive Electronica/Chill House masterclass!
Morcheeba’s global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world . Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name with a discography spanning three decades.
With at least 12 gold and platinum discs & over 350M all time streams, Morcheeba continue to create their own unique sound, a laid-back mix of fusion, funk, and blues with the sweet, fluid vocals of Skye Edwards.
KiNK is back with number six on his sometimes experimental, often exemplary, but always exciting Sofia outfit. The driving force of Clap On 2 are the tropes of acid and its numerology (101/202/303/). The opener Disco Spectrum shows why the sound rose from the shards of smashed mirror balls in Chicago – updated and optimized for today. Turbo – nomen best omen – takes it even further, faster and fiercer, while the theme song completes the pogo picture. Finally, Almond Break lulls you into a false sense of security (think yoga camps, namaste cults, kale drinks and Balearic sunsets), before it turns into a pagan ritual to complete this acid test. Remember: wo wants to own the future needs to conquer the past!
SOFIA: Founded by Strahil Velchev and Konstantin Petrov, Sofia is not only the physical location where this music was made, the city where they met and developed as artists, but also a paradox that is reflected in the art and music that comes from the place. Beautiful and ugly at the same time, clean and dirty, brutal as well as romantic, it’s a place where aesthetically seemingly incompatible styles come together in a twisted, yet unifying form. The photographs for the sleeves are made by influential local selector DJ Valentine, effortlessly capturing the local reality.
Originally sold only on Air India flights as an aural souvenir of their homeland, this record deserves a wide recognition. This rare 1983 session credited to Dilip Roy could be easily labeled as a forerunner of the worldbeat fusion mania. Dilip was an arranger and orchestra leader for virtually all of Ananda Shankar's recordings. A dj friendly release, the album features moody and exotic sitar coupled with electric guitars, synthesizers, flute, vibes, organ, a string section and some strange and wonderful percussion. Rare groove the eastern way, it is time to embrace such an exotic masterpiece.
Pioneers of the British music scene, ‘Blackest Blue’ will be the band's 10th studio album in a discography that spans three decades. 2020 saw Morcheeba unable to tour or perform live, which gave Skye Edwards & Ross Godfrey “time to write songs and really get to hone them,” as Godfrey puts it. “There weren’t so many pressures so we could really take our time getting the songs right,” adds Edwards.
The result of this time is a refined 10 track album that fuses previous incarnations and sound of the band - such as downbeat, chill, electro-pop & soul - into one cohesive record that dives deep into the soul of the band’s genre-mashing musical heritage. As usual, the band didn’t approach the album with any pre-conceptions, and instead created an organic journey that represents everything great about Morcheeba.
Edwards’ lyrics are primarily focused on positivity and overcoming personal adversity that lies within. ‘Sounds Of Blue’, is a stunning cut that puts Skye Edward's sultry vocals to the forefront, floating high above an ethereal backdrop.
The album includes features with Duke Garwood (known for his work with Mark Lanegan, amongst others) and Brad Barr (The Slip, The Barr Brothers). “
Morcheeba’s global reach is impressive, taking them to every corner of the world . Their signature chilled electronic/organic sound has been border-hopping ever since the London-based band emerged as a household name. The past year has been one of introspection for the duo, as they take stock of their renewed global fan base and look forward to being able to play the new album live in the not too distant future. “This was the first time since I was a teenager that I’d spent a year off the road and I enjoyed the tranquility, although I missed playing my guitar in far off lands,” says Godfrey.
Multi-instrumentalist and composer David 'Dijf' Sanders combines a broad mix of styles with a boundless approach full of multicultural blends. The Ghent based artist has always been working on various projects, collaborations or productions at the same time - lately he worked with Warhaus, Sylvie Kreusch, Mattias De Craene's MDC III and Wim Vandekeybus (Die Bakchen - Lasst uns tanzen), to name a few - but that did not keep him from releasing successful solo records as well.
Dijf, who was a member of the (synth)pop bands Teddiedrum and The Violent Husbands, already raised excitement with the exotica-oriented 'Moonlit Planetarium' (2016), an album that created an experimental clash between percussive, ethnic sounds and rather Western beats, occasionally topped off with his mysterious vocals.
After the acclaimed eclectic gem Java (2017) for which he recorded in Indonesia, Dijf Sanders sets off on another musical adventure to another part of the world. This time it is a world infused by Nepalese, Tibetan, Chinese and Indian culture. Dijf traveled to Nepal, and used his field recording and impressions to create a new universe together with drummer Simon Segers, Saxophone player Mattias De Craene and sitar player Nicolas Mortelmans.
Expect a sound trance where monk chanting, eclectic beats but also mantra style techno will be fused. Namaste!
The Seeds of Fulfillment by David Drazin (November 2018)
Andrew Venson founded Seeds of Fulfillment (SOF) in early 1978. In the 1960s he had played electric bass with Arthur Conley, and later the original Peaches and Herb. On the same bill with Big Brother and the Holding Company, he hung out backstage with Janis Joplin. Yes! Vince was hoping SOF would get all of us to the top. He composed three tunes for the band, and we always had a ball playing them.
Roger Myers is a marvelous drummer. We co-composed Namaste. Roger would settle on a drum pattern of four measures at a time that he wanted to keep, and I'd put chords and melody right on top of his pattern. When he layered a second drum pattern on top of the first one, we'd get two melodies at the same time. We thought we were going to collaborate on more songs this way, but it didn't happen.
Lee Savory is a very inventive jazz man. He's musically literate, and wrote excellent transpositions. I remember Lee's asking for my input while he was composing Tight Squeeze, but it was clear he had it down. Once when I was visiting a DJ who played the album in a local radio station, the total of checks next to Tight Squeeze for number of plays was by far the highest!
Randy Mather's sax playing always knocked me out. I could hardly wait to hear him solo. When he left SOF to go with Woody Herman's orchestra it was amazing, but true.
Jeanette Williams had recorded 45s for the Duke and Peacock label when she was 17 years old. Her powerful singing was incredible to me. When we needed an original for Jeanette, Vince composed it, and Roger's wife Linda wrote the lyrics.
In 1978 I was in my senior year at Ohio State University when I met Vince. He came into a bar called My Brother's Place where I was playing with a trumpet player named Bobby Alston. When I was a freshman at OSU I'd played in an off campus band called Akadama. Before that I played in my home town of Cleveland, Ohio in the Brush High School Stage Band and a jobbing band called The Midnight Combo.
Everyone in the band contributed something to Egg Cartons in a composition jam session. We rehearsed in Vince's basement, and he had covered the walls with egg cartons to make the room sound more like a recording studio. The Provider was inspired by Country Preacher by Joe Zawinul. In those days I especially admired the way Zawinul would get his soulful feelings across, but also loved Herbie Hancock and to a lesser degree Chick Corea too. It took two years (with a break of several months) for the band to conquer Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. It shows you what consideration and dedication is, that ultimately they felt it was worth learning.
We recorded at Fifth Floor Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio. While we were there I got to shake hands with Bootsy Collins, who was recording in the rooms downstairs at the same time. Years later, Fifth Floor burned down and all the master tapes were destroyed.
