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We are very happy to announce a new release on Mr. Bongo scheduled to be released on the 9th of June 2023. This is a repress of Rio de Janeiro's very own Bala Desejo's debut album "Sim Sim Sim". The album was previously only available on very limited runs in Japan and Brazil and it is now presented and available for worldwide distribution for the very first time.

Bala Desejo could be described as a supergroup, uniting some of the most talented musicians taking part in the current renaissance of the Rio de Janeiro sound. As solo musicians they have worked and collaborated with legends such as Gal Costa or Milton Nascimento. Together they decided to explore new routes and ways, channeling influences from the best of MPB into a fresh and innovative recipe.

Sim Sim Sim went on to win a Latin Grammy in 2022 for the Best Contemporary Pop album in Portuguese language and is the first testimony from one of the most fascinating outlets to come out of Brazil in recent years.

Kalita are proud to unveil the second volume in their "Borga Revolution!" compilation series, focussing on the phenomenon of "Burger Highlife", a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980"s and beyond. Featuring both highly sought-after recordings by artists including Atta Frimpong and D.J. Lawyer Okyere, as well as seminal performances by greats such as Pat Thomas, A.B. Crentsil and Alan Cosmos, Kalita once again come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs and music-lovers alike with "Borga Revolution! - Volume 2". Spread over a double-LP housed in a gatefold sleeve. Accompanied by a 12-page booklet featuring extensive interview-based liner notes on each artist and never-before-seen archival photos.

Rubinho E Mauro Assumpção's 'Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei' has to be up there as one of the finest Brazilian-psych-folk-MPB records we know. Unfortunately, it's very hard to find in the wild; even on digging trips to Brazil, an original copy rarely shows up, and when it does, it comes with a hefty price tag.

This highly sought-after rarity was released on the Brazilian label Tapecar Records in 1972 and is the one and only album by the sensational pairing of Rubinho and Mauro Assumpção. Effortlessly blending folk, MPB, funky-psych, rock, and relaxed, swaggering samba, this record ought to be heralded as a true Brazilian classic. However, maybe due to its scarcity and the previous reissue predominantly being only available to the Brazilian market, it has not had a chance to fully shine and find the wider audience it deserves. Through our reissue we hope to put things right. Fans of records by Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges are sure to enjoy the same magic and allure in 'Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei'.

In addition to being the album’s songwriters, Mauro Assumpção took on the role of producer and Rubinho was co-producer as well as playing piano, organ, acoustic guitar and performing vocals. The record features the drummer Gegê who worked with Milton Nascimento, Edu Lobo, Nana Caymmi, Dom Um Romão and more. It also features guitarist Rick Ferreira, who played with Erasmo Carlos, Gal Costa and other greats. Rounding off the players on the album are Darcy Da Cruz and Formiga who have graced many a fine recording on horns.

'Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei' is a truly stunning work that washes over you with beauty. Delve in and savour.

After more than 45 years forgotten in the personal archives of Jean Schwarz, Transversales Disques is very happy to release this previously unpublished recording which brings together the great Don Cherry and his friend, composer Jean Schwarz, pioneer in electro-acoustic music and member of G.R.M.
This concert was recorded in 1977 at the Paris MIX festival (Théatre Récamier) organised by G.R.M and hosted by director François Bayle. An elegant mix of spiritual jazz and electronic sounds around this astounding quintet made up of JF Jenny Clark, Nana Vasconcelos and Michel Portal.
Remastered from the original master tapes. Exclusive pictures and liner notes

There’s a line on Honey, the latest album from Nashville-via-NYC songwriter Samia, about Aspen Grove, a collection of 40,000 trees in the plains of North America, all connected by a single expansive root system. There’s no stronger metaphor for the audience the 25-year-old empathy engine has been generating since she began releasing music seven years ago. Her songs, her fans, her friends: one enormous, interconnected ecosystem. Honey, comprised of eleven new moments of catharsis, is by and for that organism. Set for release on January 23rd 2023 via Grand Jury Music, the album was recorded at North Carolina studio Betty’s –- owned and operated by Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sandborn and Amelia Meath, frequent touring partners of Samia’s. It was produced by Caleb Wright, part of the team that helmed Samia’s breakthrough 2020 debut The Baby, and a founding member of one of Samia’s favorite bands, The Happy Children. It features some of her nearest and dearest friends: Christian Lee Hutson, Briston Maroney, Jake Luppen, Raffaella. Its songs were surreptitiously road tested for her devotees while opening for Lucy Dacus, Courtney Barnett, and more. The end result is what Samia calls simply “a real community record.”

There’s a line on Honey, the latest album from Nashville-via-NYC songwriter Samia, about Aspen Grove, a collection of 40,000 trees in the plains of North America, all connected by a single expansive root system. There’s no stronger metaphor for the audience the 25-year-old empathy engine has been generating since she began releasing music seven years ago. Her songs, her fans, her friends: one enormous, interconnected ecosystem. Honey, comprised of eleven new moments of catharsis, is by and for that organism. Set for release on January 23rd 2023 via Grand Jury Music, the album was recorded at North Carolina studio Betty’s –- owned and operated by Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sandborn and Amelia Meath, frequent touring partners of Samia’s. It was produced by Caleb Wright, part of the team that helmed Samia’s breakthrough 2020 debut The Baby, and a founding member of one of Samia’s favorite bands, The Happy Children. It features some of her nearest and dearest friends: Christian Lee Hutson, Briston Maroney, Jake Luppen, Raffaella. Its songs were surreptitiously road tested for her devotees while opening for Lucy Dacus, Courtney Barnett, and more. The end result is what Samia calls simply “a real community record.”

One of the original bands out of Athens, GA indie rock scene, Squalls
played their first show at the world-famous 40 Watt Club on Dec 3, 1981
and reached a wider audience thanks to the 1986 movie Athens, GA:
Inside/Out
The band's self- titled debut has been out of print for over 36 years. Newly
remastered and expanded with unreleased demos, this set features their most
well-known songs Elephant Radio, Na Nanana and Crickets.

One of the original bands out of Athens, GA indie rock scene, Squalls
played their first show at the world-famous 40 Watt Club on Dec 3, 1981
and reached a wider audience thanks to the 1986 movie Athens, GA:
Inside/Out
The band's self- titled debut has been out of print for over 36 years. Newly
remastered and expanded with unreleased demos, this set features their most
well-known songs Elephant Radio, Na Nanana and Crickets.

Rui Fradinho has been DJing and record collecting since the age of 15, having played drums and keyboards on several different projects and starting his electronic music production journey in 2001, when he made his first ever original track – A Bright Future (release number 1 on the label).

Lover of music of all sorts, Rui’s musical base stems across different genres, including House, Drum N Bass, Hip Hop, Footwork, Bass Music, having more recently nurtured a deeper devoted passion for all things Jazz, Fusion and Broken Beat / Nu Jazz.
There are undeniable major influences from Jazz, Soul, Funk, Latin, African, Brazilian and Global music on his productions and Rui has released remixes for several artists on several labels such as Str4ta for Colin Curtis Presents, Nimbus Sextet for Acid Jazz, Luiz Gabriel Lopes for Da Lata Music, Momenta for Lazy Robot Records, Various artists for MJDC – Modern Jazz Dance Classics, David Borsu for Broadcite, Makala for Orrua Diskak and Ray Lugo for Ammonite Records.

Highlights of his DJ career include a 6 year residency at Sociedade Anonima club in Portugal, then Bicaense Café and Lux Club in Lisboa. Earlier in 2017, he did a stint on London’s Back2BackFM, playing at Dalston’s Club Makossa, the BBE Store in East London, closing the Chill Out Gardens stage in Portugal’s Boom Festival 2018, DJ’ed at Gilles Paterson’s first edition of We Out Here festival, currently guests at Birmingham’s Bruk Up Broken Beat night and opened the Portuguese festival LisbOn - Jardim Sonoro in 2022.

An ode to Nature or the nostalgia of a fantasized city, it’s the character of Zaka, the Voodoo Loa (spirit), who gives its protection to this collection inspired by the wonderfully free world of Library Music.

This second volume shows Blundetto’s passion for nature and the mystic of the eco-systems. You’ll hear the realm of a studio placed in the center of a French forest, the chicken ballroom, the daily walks at the rhythm of seasonal transformations of oaks and chestnut trees, the summer wind in the jungle of the vegetable garden responding to vintage keyboards, folk guitars and the silky sound of Mellotron.

Desumanos' fresh mixture of guitar driven melodies is as evocative as it is playful. This instrumental project is made up of a dream-team of Brazilian producers and musicians. Kassin, on bass, was member of The +2's band and co-produced Gilles Peterson's Brazilian project Sonzeira, featuring legendary artists such as Elza Soares, Naná Vasconcelos, Wilson Das Neves_ While Liminha, on guitar, is a former member of Os Mutantes. His signature sound is heavily influenced by classic instrumental surf music, but tropical rhythms are also dropped in the mix. The band is completed with Felipe and Manoel Cordeiro (on guitar), one of the lambada originators, and Stephane San Juan (drums), currently playing with David Byrne. Across the tracklist of this Desumanos debut album we can find a unique combination of musical styles that are all filtered through the sieve of instrumental surf music without losing their roots anchored in tropical sounds such as cumbia, African rhythms and, of course, popular genres from Brazil such as forró or lambada. Ten original songs in which the guitar is the undisputed protagonist and the tropical atmosphere emanates through each note.

The third volume of our "Cumbia Beat" series includes again tracks by the some of the most important bands of the golden age of Peruvian cumbia: Los Diablos Rojos, Los Beta 5, Los Girasoles, Los Ecos, Los Demonios del Mantaro, Los Sander's de Ñaña…
Peruvian cumbia brings together tropical music styles from Colombia and Cuba, Western influences such as 60s beat and psychedelic rock, and mixes them with indigenous melodies from the Amazonian jungle and traditional Andean songs. The result is a unique and vibrant style of music which reverberates with life.

REISSUE

Following on from the runaway success of Soundway"s Kiki Gyan 24 Hours In A Disco, another Ghanaian legend looks to have his time to shine. One of the most well-known disco and burger highlife artists of the time, Charles Amoah originally began his career as a drummer. Playing with Alex Kunadu"s band, as well as the Precious Jewels and even Nana Tuffour, he then moved to Germany in the early 80s. His first album Sweet Vibration spawned several hits which went on to be released as separate singles, namely "Scratch My Back" and "Shake Your Body To The Beat". From the irresistible funk hooks of these singles, to the Lionel Richie-esque instrumentation of "Life"s Like Being In A Boxing Ring", or the kraut-rock stylings of "Jungle Rock" - there is little doubt that the blend of disco, funk and highlife that was unique to the Ghanaian-German scene can be experienced in its full splendour on Sweet Vibration.

Note price increase and cat number change from last time around. In the late 1960s, the American trumpet player and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry (1936-1995) and the Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943-2009) began a collaboration that imagined an alternative space for creative music, most succinctly expressed in Moki's aphorism "the stage is home and home is a stage." By 1972, they had given name to a concept that united Don's music, Moki's art, and their family life in rural Tagårp, Sweden into one holistic entity: Organic Music Theatre. Captured here is the historic first Organic Music Theatre performance from the 1972 Festival de jazz de Chateauvallon in the South of France, mastered from tapes recorded during its original live broadcast on public TV. A life-affirming, multicultural patchwork of borrowed tunes suffused with the hallowed aura of Don's extensive global travels, the performance documents the moment he publicly jettisoned his identity as a jazz musician, and represents the start of his communal "mystical" period, later crystallized in recordings such as Organic Music Society, Relativity Suite, Brown Rice, and the soundtrack for Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain. The musicians in Don Cherry's New Researches, hailing from Brazil, Sweden, France, and the US, converged on Chateauvallon from all over Europe. The five-person band Don and Moki Cherry, Christer Bothén, Gérard "Doudou" Gouirand, and Naná Vasconcelos performed in an outdoor amphitheater and were joined onstage by a dozen adults and children, including Swedish friends who tagged along for the trip and Det Lilla Circus (The Little Circus), a Danish puppet troupe based in Christiania, Copenhagen. The platform was lined with Moki's carpets and her handmade, brightly colored tapestries, depicting Indian scales and bearing the words Organic Music Theatre, dressed the stage. As the musicians played, members of Det Lilla, led by Annie Hedvard, danced, sang, and mounted an improvised puppet show on poles high up in the air. The music in the Chateauvallon concert aspired to a universal language that would bring people together through song. In a fairly unprecedented move, Don abandoned his signature pocket trumpet for the piano and harmonium, thereby liberating his voice as an instrument for shamanic guidance. The show opens with him beckoning the audience to clap their hands and sing the Indian theta "Dha Dhin Na, Dha Tin Na," and the set cycles through uplifting and sacred tunes of Malian, South African, Brazilian, and Native American provenance including pieces that would later appear on Don's albums Organic Music Society and Home Boy (Sister Out) all punctuated by outbursts of possessed glossolalia from the puppeteers. "Relativity Suite, Part 1" notably spotlights Bothén on donso ngoni, a Malian hunter's guitar, prior to Vasconcelos taking an extended solo on berimbau. A vortex of wah-like microtonal rattling, Vasconcelos's masterful demonstration of this single-stringed Brazilian instrument is a harbinger of his work to come as a member, with Don, of the acclaimed group Codona. The sounds of children playing on the ensemble's achingly tender rendition of Jim Pepper's oft-covered beacon of spiritual optimism, "Witchi Tai To," lends the proceedings an especially intimate, domestic glow. Given the context of the star-studded international jazz festival, the concert's laid back, communal vibe feels like an attempt by the Cherrys to show Don's jazz audience that he was moving on. At the same time, however, Don was extending a warmhearted invitation for them to come along for the ride. With liner notes by Magnus Nygren. Track list: 1. Intro: Dha Dhin Na, Dha Tin Na 2. Butterfly Friend 3. Elixir 4. Amazwe 5. Interlude with Puppets 6. Ganesh 7. Elixir Reprise / Witchi Tai To 8. Resa 9. Relativity Suite, Part 1 10. Berimbau Solo 11. Interlude / North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn 12. Elixir Reprise / Ganesh 13. Ntsikana's Bell / Traditional Melody

UK-based producer Yak is one of the strongest talents in percussive, bass-heavy club music. His debut record Mido, which appeared on Version in 2017, remains an ultimate DJ weapon (Hard Wax) up until this day and is still tearing up clubs and festivals everywhere. After releases on Martyn's 3024 and the es-teemed R&S label, Yak delivers his third record (vinyl & digital) on Version, Balmora Blue/Swex.
This is a proper double A-sider that will surely get your dance bubbling. Swex and Balmora Blue are future rave anthems coming with earth-shattering sub, warm, elevating synths - and the trademark Yak drums to resurrect a dead soundboy's nana. Both tracks range around 120 bpm, but will sound as crisp at high-er/slower pitch or rpm too, making them versatile tools in every DJ's chest. Another essential bit from Yak and Version. Played by Vladimir Ivkovic, Moxy, Madam X, Or:la & Breaka.

"Diré a mi gente" is a 1969 Colombian pop classic with one foot in protest song and the other in acid rock, harsh sounding but also current and sincere. The rawness of the lyrics, the simple and dynamic electrified instrumentation and the contrast with the sweetness and innocence of the adolescent vocals make it reminiscent of Nadaism via Pablus Gallinazo, the bittersweet tenderness of Elia y Elizabeth and the post Los Yetis duet of Norman y Darío. First time vinyl reissue. Liner notes by Mexican DJ and collector Carlos Icaza aka Tropicaza (Dublab / Worldwide FM). "Diré a mi gente" is an essential Colombian album that connects the new generations that grew up after the fall of the socialist block. It's a classic with one foot in protest song and the other in acid rock, harsh sounding but also current, raw and sincere. It's reminiscent of Nadaism via Pablus Gallinazo, the bittersweet tenderness of Elia y Elizabeth and the post Yetis duet of Norman y Darío. It was recorded by the brothers Ana y Jaime Valencia and originally released in 1969 on the local label Discos 15. The messages it conveys are still fresh and the blend of superb songs, arrangements and the candor of the duo's performance proves the relevance and importance of re-listening to this album in an increasingly nihilistic and depoliticized world. The teenage voices enhance the truthfulness and power of conviction of the classic songs of Alí Primera and Daniel Viglietti. The endearing song 'Cuántos momentos', originally recorded by Iván Darío López from Los Yetis-Norman y Darío, stands out on the album. 'Es largo el camino', with more stark lyrics by Nelson Osorio backed by Astudillo's screeching guitar, sends shivers down your spine. "Diré a mi gente" reaffirms that the transformative power of music is still there, latent, waiting to be unleashed. Even though the road traveled to get there is sometimes long.

Now onto its fourth volume, NuNorthern Soul’s annual Summer Selections EP is fast becoming a must-check for fans of slow-motion sunshine sounds, contemporary Balearic beats and sumptuous downtempo grooves.

Summer Selections Four showcases six hand-picked tracks from EPs and albums to be released by NuNorthern Soul in 2022. A genuine ‘cream of the crop’ or ‘best in class’ feel, with NNS label boss and curator Phil Cooper putting together a varied EP piled high with evocative melodies, atmospheric chords, tactile grooves and ear-catching instrumentation.

First to step up to the plate is experienced producer James Bright, whose cut ‘Amber’ offers a bubbly, colourful and analogue-rich stroll through mid-tempo Balearic house territory. The track is one of the highlights of Bright’s forthcoming Totem EP. It’s quickly followed by ‘Nana a Leon’ from Be.Ianuit’s Entre Dos Islas EP, a gorgeous mixture of deep bass, twinkling pianos, sultry synth-strings, sparkling synthesiser arpeggios, echoing machine drums and spoken word vocals from guest performer Marcos de la Fuente.

San Francisco’s Cole Odin offers a snapshot of his forthcoming Songs For Suns EP via ‘Growing’, a slow-motion sunset soundscape built around ethereal chords, chiming melodies and head-nodding drums, while Gold Suite’s ‘The Cowboy’ – taken from the On My Horizon EP – brilliantly joins the dots between jangling Americana, mid-‘80s Balearic reggae and sun-soaked instrumental synth-pop. While brand-new, it could easily be mistaken for the kind of obscure, hard-to-find gem that gets Balearic record collectors so hot under the collar.

Next up is another new signing to NuNorthern Soul, North of the Island, whose debut EP Feeling Free is undoubtedly a highlight of the label’s 2022 release schedule. ‘I Feel’, the track showcased here, adds attractive, sunset-ready musical flourishes to a chugging, delay-laden rhythm track and the kind if squelchy bass-line most often found in proto-house and early ‘80s electro-funk cuts. It’s a spaced-out, mind-altering delight.

Rounding off another sizzling Summer Selections excursion is ‘Smoke & Fly’ from fast-rising twosome Residentes Balearicos, an Ibiza-based Italian duo who impressed many with their 2021 EPs on Balearic Ensemble. Dusty, bass-heavy, drowsy and picturesque, the track is a simply gorgeous chunk of Balearic dub piled high with organic percussion, undulating acid lines and mazy solos. It provides a fittingly triumphant conclusion to another essential sampler EP from NuNorthern Soul.

Repress incoming...

Far Out Recordings proudly presents Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Raw, atmospheric and emotionally charged, Maria Maria reveals one of Brazil's greatest ever songwriters at his creative peak. Featuring an all-star cast of fellow Brazilian legends including Nana Vasconcelos, Joao Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginario, Maria Maria holds what Milton considers to be the definitive versions of some of his classic songs, including 'Os Escravos De Jó' and 'Maria Maria'.

Originally released in 2003 as a double CD package, with Milton Nascimento's 1984 follow up ballet soundtrack Ultimo Trem, Maria Maria will be available on vinyl for the very first time from December 2019, with Ultimo Trem set for vinyl release early 2020.

Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognizable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. It was this voice that the legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina fell in love with back in 1964, having heard Milton perform his song 'Canção do Sal (Sultry Song)' at a private party in Sao Paulo. Ellis went on to record the song in 1967 -giving Milton his first hit in Brazil and beginning a career that has spanned over 50 years.

Born in Rio on the 26th October 1942, Milton moved with his adoptive parents at the age of 18 months to Tres Pontas, a rural town in the state of Minas Gerais, 500 miles north of Rio. He began his musical career as a young teenager, singing in a crooner style he learnt from listening to Brazilian singers and US groups such as The Platters on the radio. Hungry for more opportunities to perform, Milton moved to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, at the age of twenty. By the beginning of the 60s Milton had made a name for himself both as an accomplished singer and guitarist.

Milton became part of a local network of musicians, film makers, dancers, theatre directors and writers that included the journalist and song writer Fernando Brant as well as lyricist Marcio Borges and his younger brother Lo Borges. Together these four wrote and produced what would become Milton's milestone album, 'Clube da Esquina (Club on the Corner)'. The originality of 'Club da Esquina' shaped the local scene, and it reflects the essence of 'the Nascimento Sound'. Milton's religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. His love of this genre of music is apparent in both his celestial falsetto and vocal choral arrangements. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz and rock.

In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant's lyrics and "Maria Maria" was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. "Fernando wrote the lyrics for the ballet, but there were originally no lyrics for the theme song, "Maria Maria'". Milton and Fernando worked on the lyrics together, basing them on folk stories about black women of the countryside. Adds Milton "These memories are mostly things that we witnessed – Fernando and I – rather than what we experienced ourselves.

Milton's music is impressionistic, emotional and romantic. Relying on songs without lyrics as well as evocative vocalizing and choruses, Milton experimented heavily with Afro-Brazilian percussion and taped jungle sounds. His composing method for these recordings was highly unconventional: "I wrote the music for 'Maria Maria' in a tiny Rio apartment with friends and their kids running around and having fun! I love to be in noisy places, surrounded by people", he says.
The music on 'Maria Maria' was performed by an impressive group of young musicians who are today household names in Brazilian music, including Naná Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars) and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalist including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs.

Milton says his compositions follow his visions "like a movie", and he believes that reflects his long love affair with cinema. "I only began composing because of enjoying the movies so much," he says. "I wrote my first song "Peace for the Coming Love" after seeing 'Jules et Jim' (the cult 60s French film directed by François Truffaut), with my friend Marcio Borges. We went early in the morning and watched it four or five times in a row, then went to Márcio's home and wrote the song."

The songs also include solo spoken passages set to music, clearly influenced by this style of French art cinema. On the title track, Maria's story is narrated and translated to music through the use of African Percussion, drums and metal signifying the field slave tools of the day. 'Trabalhos (Works)' runs to work rhythms and whipcracks: no words, just pain. 'Lília' documents the beating of the slave woman. After 'A Chamada (The call)' and the triumphant 'Era Rei e Sou Escravo (I was a king now I am a slave' things begin to turn and Milton employs tropical jungle cries to symbolize freedom. 'Santos Catholicos x Candomble (Catholic Saints vs Candomble)' represents the battle between African and European religions through the music of both sides. Milton's heavenly falsetto pours into 'Francisco' and 'Pai Grande (Great Father)' and the outstanding 'Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada no Sol (I'm an old black lady, sitting under the sun)' conjures images of an old woman sitting deep in the forest, her memories painted in drums, piano and voices.

"This fabled 11 minute+ version of Brazilian icon Joyce's groundbreaking "Feminina" was recorded at Columbia Studios, New York in 1977, for the as yet unreleased Natureza album. Produced, arranged and conducted by the great Claus Ogerman (Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Billie Holiday... the list goes on), Natureza would have ostensibly been Joyce's big break to international stardom, but mysteriously it was never released. With Joyce came fellow Brazilian icons Mauricio Maestro, Nana Vasconcelos and Tutty Moreno, and Ogerman employed North American jazz legends Joe Farrell, Michael Brecker, Buster Williams and Mike Manieri. In anticipation of the monumental forthcoming Natureza album release via Far Out Recordings, this astonishing version of a true classic gets it's first proper 12" release for Record Store Day 2022. In the spirit of making the release special for RSD, rather than make it a single sided 12", Far Out boss called up Joyce to talk about the recording, recorded the conversation, and pressed it to vinyl on the B side."

After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time. It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway.

Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with Lasse Marhaug. An esteemed avant-noise artist, Marhaug envisioned making music that would fall loosely in line with Throbbing Gristle. Kelly, on the other hand, had planned to create something inspired by Enya, an artist who has had an enduring impact on her creative being. They met each other halfway, pairing tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, and creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release.

One month later, Kelly called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her ‘eighth album’.

Soul Jazz Records follows up one its most popular Studio One releases with a brand new selection of rare and classic releases by women in reggae. Featuring legendary artists such as Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Hortense Ellis (with a guest appearance by her brother Alton), alongside a host of rarities from lesser known names such as Nina Soul, Nana Mclean, Denise Darlington, Myrna Hague and also Doreen Schaeffer, a vocalist who was a founding member of The Skatalites.

There are notable covers (from Tyrone Davis’ soul classic Can I Change My Mind to the Band’s 60s psychedelic classic Turn Turn Turn in a rub-a-dub style!). Doreen Schaeffer reversions Alton Ellis’s seminal I’m Still in Love with You, Nina Soul reversions the slack rocksteady anthem Barb Wire. A number of these tracks are almost impossible to find and many have never been issued ever since their initial release.

The music on the album is of course 100% killer and features backing from all of the seminal groups at 13 Brentford Road including The Skatalites, Sound Dimension, Soul Brothers and the Brentford All Stars, and ranges from ska, rocksteady, roots, lovers and more from the 60s, 70s and 80s. All produced by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd at Studio One Records, the number one sound in reggae music.
The album is released on Soul Jazz Records as a double-vinyl with gatefold sleeve, download code, the CD comes in slipcase and both come with extensive sleevenotes.

After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time. It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway. Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with Lasse Marhaug. An esteemed avant-noise artist, Marhaug envisioned making music that would fall loosely in line with Throbbing Gristle. Kelly, on the other hand, had planned to create something inspired by Enya, an artist who has had an enduring impact on her creative being. They met each other halfway, pairing tough, industrial sounds with ethereal celtic mysticism, and creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release. One month later, Kelly called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her `eighth album'.

"This fabled 11 minute+ version of Brazilian icon Joyce's groundbreaking "Feminina" was recorded at Columbia Studios, New York in 1977, for the as yet unreleased Natureza album. Produced, arranged and conducted by the great Claus Ogerman (Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Billie Holiday... the list goes on), Natureza would have ostensibly been Joyce's big break to international stardom, but mysteriously it was never released. With Joyce came fellow Brazilian icons Mauricio Maestro, Nana Vasconcelos and Tutty Moreno, and Ogerman employed North American jazz legends Joe Farrell, Michael Brecker, Buster Williams and Mike Manieri. In anticipation of the monumental forthcoming Natureza album release via Far Out Recordings, this astonishing version of a true classic gets it's first proper 12" release for Record Store Day 2022. In the spirit of making the release special for RSD, rather than make it a single sided 12", Far Out boss called up Joyce to talk about the recording, recorded the conversation, and pressed it to vinyl on the B side."

REPRESS

Rolf Zuckowski wurde 1947 in Hamburg geboren - am 12. Mai 2022 feiert er seinen 75. Geburtstag. Seine musikalische Laufbahn begann er 1966 mit der Schülerband „the beAthovens“, später wurde er
Co-Produzent und Textdichter des Schweizer Trios „Peter, Sue & Marc“, schrieb Lieder u. a. für Nana Mouskouri, Paola und die Finkwarder Speeldeel. Sein erstes und bis heute noch erfolgreiches Album für Kinder, „Rolfs Vogelhochzeit“, produzierte er 1977. Der große Durchbruch in der Öffentlichkeit vollzog sich aber mit den Liedern „Du da im Radio“ (1981) und dem Auftritt als „Rolf und seine Freunde“ in „Wetten dass...?“ mit dem Titel „…und ganz doll mich“ (1982), das auch Nr. 1 der ZDF-Hitparade war. Diese erfolgreiche Phase repräsentieren die beiden Alben ”Rolfs Radio Lollipop” und ”Lieder, die wir Brücken sind (Neues von Radio Lollipop)”, die zusammen über 1 Mio. Alben verkauften und jetzt zusammen auf
einem Doppelalbum und damit endlich wieder auf Vinyl erhältlich sind. Das Gatefold und die Innenhüllen greifen die Original-Artworks der Ursprungsalben samt aller Liedtexte auf. Trotz der Zeitlosigkeit weiterer hier enthaltener Klassiker wie ”Wie schön, dass du geboren bist” und ”Stups, der kleine Osterhase” bietet diese Doppel-LP eine herrlich nostalgische Reise 40 Jahre zurück, als wichtige Grundsteine für die deutschsprachige Kindermusik und Familienunterhaltung an sich gelegt wurden.

Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album "Juniper" on We Jazz Records, 29 Oct 2021. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, plus featuring the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano.

At heart, "Juniper" is a "singer-songwriter album", performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it "quiet and introspective". The first single from the album is "Neon Light and the sky was trans", "a song from the shining streets – the beginning of something new", featuring field recordings of rain falling down behind the window of Linda's Helsinki working space.

It's a fitting introduction to an album full on wonders and carefully crafted secrets ready to be discovered. "Juniper" is a world unto itself, and Fredriksson describes the process as one of isolation and of learning slowly to do new things. After the demo stage, the songs were taken to the full band, but what's on the record often stays true to the minimal nature of the early demos. Linda credits their co-producer Minna Koivisto as a key ally in the process of maintaining the demo sessions' fragile beauty on the actual finished record.

With regards to instrumentation, those who have heard Linda Fredriksson in Mopo and Superposition are likely to be surprised by their credit listing including not only alto and baritone saxophones, plus bass clarinet, but also guitar, Rhythmic8 synths, ambience recordings and drum programming. Linda describes the way of finding new sounds through their beloved old guitar as follows: "It's an old acoustic guitar that has been hit by a car and is literally full of holes, but that makes the sound just perfect for this album and you can hear the instrument on 'Pinetree song' and 'Lempilauluni' (Finnish for 'My Loved Song')."

In fact, Linda began their music-making with guitar and vocals, and the debut of the hole-filled vintage acoustic guitar makes perfect sense here, while also describing the album's immediate sound perhaps better than any other individual instrument used. The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was "Carrie and Lowell", the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Different as the albums are in terms of instrumentation and general scope, it's fascinating to draw parallels between them by listening to the quietness and immediacy of the music. "Nana – Tepalle" also relates to the world of "Carrie and Lowell" in being a dedication to a lost family member, Linda's grandmother (she is featured in the digital single artwork).

Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. Linda thinks as a composer, utilising their instrument where and how necessary, not presenting "chops". "It's sometimes hard to play simple," they say, "but I tried to follow my instinct about what the songs need. The mood rules here, any solos or improvisations happen around that at all times."

"Juniper" can still be heard as a jazz album, but perhaps one reminding that the word doesn't need to mean any one thing in particular. At its best, jazz music is highly personal and "of the moment", both true on "Juniper". The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, "Juniper" stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020's.

Extra Soul Perception is a collaboration and community music platform which started life between the UK, Kenya and Uganda, and continues to grow and connect independent musicians worldwide. In November 2019, eight artists from Kenya, Uganda and the UK spent a week in Nairobi together exploring new tangents in soul music, the result was their 2020 debut EP 'New Tangents In Kampala, London & Nairobi Vol. 1'.

The growing collective is made up of Faizal Mostrixx (UG), Hibotep (UG), K15 (UK), Karun (KE), Labdi (KE), Lex Amor (UK), Lynda Dawn (UK) and Maxwell Owen (UK). Now with the with the addition of Itsmdnyt (UG), XL Middleton (US), Xenia Menasseh (KE), Sola (UK) and Azu Tiwaline (TUN), the collective are preparing to release their album 'New Tangents in Kampala, London and Nairobi', released 25th March.

Three years in the making, work started on the album at a writing camp in Nairobi, and was completed remotely over the course of the worldwide lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. The album celebrates the potential of collaboration, both in a physical and digital sense.

Innovators in their own fields, each artist brings unique knowledge and musical culture to the project, collectively they represent a broad spectrum of sound. The album reflects this via an inspiring mixture of beautiful soul, glitchy beats, spoken word and bumping instrumentals. Embracing the same values of the writing camp but through virtual collaborations, seeing 'soul' as much in the spiritual sense as the musical one, expanding the sound into new territories.

The idiosyncratic musical style and production practices by Sheldon, Sidney Thompson (aka Sid Le Rock) are shaped by the DIY electronic-music movement that has encouraged his creativity to develop and thrive since the late ’90s. This is a contributing factor to his impressive discography that currently stands at twelve albums under his various aliases, including Sid’s collaborations with artists from various fields and musical genres such as Depeche Mode, DJ Koze, Placebo, and persistent impressions of the journeys he has made throughout the world as a result of his live music performances.

These invaluable experiences are the supplements for his next important leap forward as follows: As a tribal member of the Algonquin First Nations, Sid seeks to explore his ancestral heritage to uncover the traditional, ceremonial soundscapes of the Native American indigenous peoples as an integral component for his new solo album project – Invisible Nation. It is his respectful endeavour to bind this seamlessly together through his knowledge of music theory and his own distinctive production sound. Sid Le Rock’s current album concept is a fusion of traditional music and organic elements utilised by the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, combined with the modernisation of electronic-based music. Mixing of both sound styles achieve balance with a shared importance to rhythm as a source of impulse and functionality. It is his equitable attempt to produce and deliver a complementary synthesis of sonic peculiarities, modern electronic methods and the repurposed use of ceremonial music, to showcase a profound pride and pay homage to his forebears.

The Algonquin First Nations otherwise referred to as Anishinaabe, are a group of indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada. They consider music and dance to be sacred and an integral part of their lives. It is a culture in which it heavily relies on rich oral traditions to pass on its stories, teachings, history, and cultivates their verbal language. Membranophone, idiophone, aerophone, and chanting are traditionally essential components to our sacred sound, "Drumming is the heartbeat of Mother Earth, chanting is the heart”. This musical connection produces a narrative depth that can transport an effective atmosphere to dance-floors, bridged by the unconventional virtues, to which electronic music permits limitless possibilities. Sid Le Rock’s latest release, marks his eighth studio album – Invisible Nation, is an exploration into his cultural roots, combining myth and musical expression to bring forth a prideful nation.

In 1981, Brenda Ray / Naffi Sandwich released the sweetly yearning “D’ Ya Hear Me!” The song is now considered a post-punk classic, and here we have a warm digi-reggae version sung by Kyoto composer/producer/vocalist NTsKI (“Natsuki”), with backing tracks performed, recorded and mixed by Osaka-based producer/guitarist 7FO ( “nana f o” ). Also on this release are a karaoke version, plus two remixes, the first a dancehall-flavoured version by Bim One Production, a Tokyo electro-reggae production duo. The second mix is from Nagoya-based electronic producer CVN, who provides a harder version. This revisioning of a much-loved classic is available on 10" and CD.

Mainly known to DJs for the funk groover "Te Queria", Rota-Mar is the first solo album by the charismatic Zéca do Trombone. During a vertiginous career which started in the late 60s, Zéca was a permanent member of Wilson Simonal's band, toured with Luiz Eça's Sagrada Família (alongside Joyce, Naná Vasconcelos, Nelson Angelo and others), recorded the seminal Brazilian funk "Coluna do Meio" for his joint effort with Roberto Sax, and played and recorded for some of the big names of Brazilian music such as Tim Maia or Martinho da Vila. Particularly for samba artists such as Alcione, Leci Brandão or Moreira da Silva, Zéca do Trombone was the trombonist of choice.

Rota-Mar displays the work of an established musician who has nothing to prove. Impregnated with Zéca's characteristic voice, the songs draw inspiration from the sea, love and bohemian life, and let us all dream of what life in Rio the Janeiro was during that time. "Te Queria", penned by Zéca's childhood friend Elízio de Búzios (known for his highly collectable funk/boogie single "Tamanqueiro") is the obvious highlight, although we believe the real beauty of the album lies in the relaxed sea-side groove and MPB in the rest of the songs, including Zéca's superb take on Martinho da Vila's "Manteiga de Garrafa".

After a trilogy of spectacular explorations of relentlessly driving rhythms – Sagittarian Domain (2012), Quixotism (2014) and Hubris (2016) – Simian Angel finds Oren Ambarchi renewing his focus on his singular approach to the electric guitar, returning in part to the spacious canvases of classic releases like Grapes from the Estate while also following his muse down previously unexplored byways. Reflecting Ambarchi's profound love of Brazilian music – an aspect of his omnivorous musical appetite not immediately apparent in his own work until now – Simian Angel features the remarkable percussive talents of the legendary Cyro Baptista, a key part of the Downtown scene who has collaborated with everyone from John Zorn and Derek Bailey to Robert Palmer and Herbie Hancock. Like the music of Nana Vasconcelos and Airto Moreira, Simian Angel places Baptista's dexterous and rhythmically nuanced handling of traditional Brazilian percussion instruments into an unexpected musical context. On the first side, 'Palm Sugar Candy', Baptista's spare and halting rhythms wind their way through a landscape of gliding electronic tones, gently rising up and momentarily subsiding until the piece's final minutes leave Ambarchi's guitar unaccompanied. While the rich, swirling harmonics of Ambarchi's guitar performance are familiar to listeners from his previous recordings, the subtly wavering, synthetic guitar tone we hear is quite new, coming across at times like an abstracted, splayed-out take on the 80s guitar-synth work of Pat Metheny or Bill Frisell. Equally new is the harmonic complexity of Ambarchi's playing, which leaves behind the minimalist simplicity of much of his previous work for a constantly-shifting play between lush consonance and uneasy dissonance. Beginning with a beautiful passage of unaccompanied percussion dominated by the berimbau, the side-long title piece carries on the first side's exploration of subtle, non-linear dynamic arcs, taking the form of a gently episodic suite, in which distinctive moments, like a lyrical passage of guitar-triggered piano, unexpectedly arise from intervals of drifting tones like dream images suddenly cohering. In the piece's second half, the piano tones becomes increasingly more clipped and synthetic, scattering themselves into aleatoric melodies that call to mind an imaginary collaboration between Albert Marcoeur and David Behrman, grounded all the while by the pulse of Baptista's percussion. Subtle yet complex, fleeting yet emotionally affecting, Simian Angel is an essential chapter in Ambarchi's restlessly exploratory oeuvre. --- Oren Ambarchi - guitars & whatnot Cyro Baptista - percussion & voice Recorded by Randall Dunn, Joerg Hiller, Iuri Oriente and Oren Ambarchi. Edited by Joerg Hiller and Oren Ambarchi at Choose Studios, Berlin. Mixed by Joe Talia and Oren Ambarchi at Good Mixture, Tokyo. Cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin. Executive Producers: Konrad Sprenger & Dick Wolf. Photography by Traianos Pakioufakis. Design by Lasse Marhaug.

Soul Jazz Records’ CD / LP (plus digital download code)
reissue of this very rare album, first released as a private-press
LP in 1978 on flautist Lloyd McNeill’s own Baobab Record label
in Washington, DC. The album has been out-of-print for 43
years and is lovingly remastered by Soul Jazz Records.
‘Tori’ is a stunning album that blends Brazilian and Latin flavours
with deep Spiritual Jazz. The album features a strong line up
which includes legendary Brazilian figures like Dom Um Romao,
Nana Vasconcelos and Dom Salvador alongside jazz
heavyweights such as Buster Williams, Howard Johnson, John
La Barbera and more. These A-team musicians were all
regulars in McNeill’s long-running and highly successful resident
live group in New York, all set up to blend deep jazz, Brazilian
and Latin music together.
Lloyd McNeill is an African-American flautist, painter, poet, and
photographer born in Washington, D.C. in 1935. His multidisciplinary creative life led to encounters and friendships with
Nina Simone, Picasso, Eric Dolphy, Nana Vasconceles and
other legendary cultural figures.
Lloyd McNeill’s hypnotic ‘Washington Suite’ was originally
commissioned as a piece of music for the Capital Ballet
Company, in Washington DC.
McNeill grew up through the era of the Civil Rights Movement in
the 1960s and his life and work is a reflection of those ideals. In
the mid-1960s he moved to France where he became friends
with Picasso, working with a number of émigré-jazz musicians
whilst living in Paris. In the late 1960s he taught jazz and
painting workshops at the New Thing Art and Architecture
Center in Washington. In the 1970s he travelled throughout
Brazil and West Africa studying music and taught music
anthropology in the US.

Soul Jazz Records’ new oxblood red coloured vinyl
LP (plus download code) issue of this very rare
deep spiritual jazz album, first released as a
private-press album in 1970 on flautist Lloyd
McNeill’s own Asha Record label in Washington
DC.
Lloyd McNeill is an African-American flautist,
painter, poet and photographer born in Washington
D.C., in 1935. His multi-disciplinary creative life led
to encounters and friendships with Nina Simone,
Picasso, Eric Dolphy, Nana Vasconceles and other
legendary cultural figures. Lloyd McNeill’s hypnotic
‘Washington Suite’ was originally commissioned as
a piece of music for the Capital Ballet Company, in
Washington.
McNeill grew up through the era of the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1960s and his life and work is a
reflection of those ideals. In the mid-1960s he
moved to France where he became friends with
Picasso, working with a number of émigré-jazz
musicians whilst living in Paris. In the late 1960s
he taught jazz and painting workshops at the New
Thing Art and Architecture Center in Washington.
In the 1970s he travelled throughout Brazil and
West Africa studying music and taught music
anthropology in the US.

Blissful ambient scapes alternated with dark tones and spacious IDM trips: Nous'klaer proudly present the third album by the Rotterdam via Sydney producer Nadia Struiwigh. After her Oooso EP earlier this year, Nadia returns with nine healing tracks to dream to. Artwork courtesy of Yan Cook.

Everaldo Marcial aka Évé, born in 1951 and raised in Sao Paulo, fled the Brasilian dictatorship in 1974 to settle in France. Canto Aberto, originally released on the Free Lance label in 1979, is his one and only sought-after recording, made before he moved to the US in the early 80s and decided to quit music.
Recorded with Parisian musicians, noteworthy fellow expatriate Manduka on one song and the AfricanAmerican saxophonist Bruce Tobe Grant as musical director, the music of Évé will please fans of Egberto Gismonti, Nana Vasconselos, Milton Nascimento, Edu Lobo...
This first vinyl reissue is remastered from the original master tapes by Frank Merritt at The Carvery.

One of the most significant collections in Trojan’s immense catalogue, the ‘The Trojan Story’ album dramatically changed the perception of Jamaican music among the general British public outside of the country’s Afro-Caribbean population.

Prior to its release in 1971 there had never been an attempt to present a comprehensive anthology of the island’s musical development, with vintage ska, rock steady and reggae widely regarded as obsolete and of precious little merit.

The treble disc set, which became an instant best-seller, had been the brainchild of Trojan’s label manager and Black Music fan, Rob Bell, who, assisted by Trojan stalwarts, Dandy, Webster Shrowder and Joe Sinclair, produced arguably the most significant Jamaican music retrospectives of all time.

Now, 50 years following its original release, this hugely influential album has been revisited by Bell, along with reggae musician, Rusty Zinn, who have succeeded in improving what was already an almost perfect collection.

Presented in the original eye-catching artwork, the set is further enhanced by a highly illustrated 50-page booklet in which Bell relates the stories behind the release and the 50 tracks featured on the compilation.

Ahemaa Nwomkro, which means queens of Nwomkro, are Victoria Osei and Theresa Owusuaa. Nwomkro is an old Ashanti musical style, which played an influential role in the origin of the typical more roots-like Highlife style of Kumasi, the cultural capital of Ghana in the middle of the jungle.

On this release the two singers have teamed up with the young generation of Highlife muicians of Kumasi. On guitar is Akule Pepe, who served for years in the group of Highlife legend Alex Konadu, the most on demand band in its time. The two songs are a rare example of how good pure Nwomkro gets together with typical Highlife.