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The music world is most fortunate that the past two decades have witnessed the rediscovery of mind-opening music that went under-recognized when originally released, and the wellspring of musical content produced by a generation of brilliant musicians. One such musician was the late great drummer Steve Reid, whose reissued eclectic recordings on his own Mustevic Sound label gave his career a second wind.

Though teased on a well-received compilation, one Mustevic release never saw reissue: New Life Trio’s Visions Of The Third Eye, a tremendous collaborative effort between Reid, guitarist Brandon Ross and bassist David Wertman.

Due to overwhelming demand, Early Future Records and Finders Keepers Records are proud to announce a second limited edition pressing of the classic and final Mustevic recording. The release also includes a 20-page written zine featuring an in-depth testimonial and interview with Brandon Ross, and an explorative essay by Finders Keepers’ Andy Votel, as well as a wealth of archival photos, scores and reviews.

Reid’s long and varied career began in his native New York City, where he was involved early on as a member of the Apollo Theater House Band and the R&B scene of the 1960s, including recordings with Martha Reeves and James Brown. In the late 1960s, Reid spent three years in West Africa absorbing musical traditions and experimenting with artists such as Fela Kuti, Guy Warren and Randy Weston. After a stint in prison for dodging the draft as a conscientious objector, the drummer came out swinging in the 1970s. He worked regularly as a session and Broadway musician even while immersing himself into the jazz world, from the straight-ahead styles of Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver to the otherworldly sounds of Sun Ra and Charles Tyler.

The do-it-yourself ethos of the New York Loft Scene inspired Reid to create his own label, Mustevic Sound, on which he began releasing his own recordings and those of a couple of friends. One of these trusted friends was David Wertman, a young bassist from New York who released his own Kara Suite on Mustevic in 1976.

New Life Trio’s story began when Wertman moved from New York to the more sedate but creatively vibrant town of Northampton, Massachusetts. Here Wertman met Brandon Ross, a young guitarist from New Jersey who had relocated there with his brother to join a coterie of New York expats who had found a comfortable, collaborative environment amidst the liberal college towns in the area, including avant-garde legends Archie Shepp and Marion Brown. Wertman and Ross became friends and began to perform together regularly, both formally and informally.

A string trio of Wertman, Ross and violinist Terry Jenoure was set to record, but Jenoure dropped out just prior to the date. This led Wertman to call his friend Steve Reid to come join the two at the Tin Pan Hollow Studios in Vermont to record what would become Visions Of The Third Eye on December 6, 1978. Originally conceived as an all-acoustic date, the recording would morph slightly when Ross added electric guitar muscle on a number of pieces. Reid would then take the helm and release the recording in 1980, giving a very auspicious birth to what has now become a classic spiritual jazz recording.

Fast forward to 1995…..New Life Trio gets a belated second wind from Stuart Baker’s inclusion of the Ross-voiced “Empty Streets” on his Universal Sounds of America compilation. The brief, haunting lead track just hinted at what the full Visions Of The Third Eye album had to offer. Audience awareness resulted in the pursuit of out-of-print original LPs, thus the rarity of Visions Of The Third Eye led to it becoming a kind of “holy grail” record for collectors of jazz and creative music. The album’s cover image was even incorporated into the cover of Freedom, Rhythm & Sound (SJB, 2009), a wonderful coffee table book presenting album covers from those revolutionary decades in Black creative music. The recording’s legend was cemented.

New Life Trio’s legend continues to grow partly due to the brevity of its existence. The triumvirate of Reid, Ross and Wertman would never work together again. Each member would continue along his own path, finding success in numerous projects. Reid’s career was reinvigorated with the reissue of the bulk of his Mustevic Sound recordings in the early 2000s, which led him to a rewarding partnership with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden until Reid’s untimely passing in 2010. Wertman balanced life between Florida and Massachusetts as a regular in the local jazz scene, recording numerous projects with his wife, Lynne Meryl, before passing away in 2013. The fantastically creative Ross has remained active in the New York creative music scene with a number of projects, most notably with Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson and Harriet Tubman, a wildly eclectic co-led band with underpinnings of rock, dub and free jazz.

Markus Acher (best known as singer of The Notwist) typically produces his own music under the name Rayon – this time, however, is a different story. Using his real name, he sends a signal re: the circumstances he recorded the music in - at home in his old apartment in Munich, in a private setting, in a time when there was hardly anything else available. Accordingly, and rather fittingly, the four songs represent a bridge to the outside world: Acher tore the doors to his balcony wide open, inviting the outside in, capturing its sound on tape: rain falling, engine noise of passing cars. And at the same time the songs pushed outward, into that sphere that remained off-limits to us for some time (“Like a plane they can go everywhere”).

The four tracks - arranged for harmonium, acoustic guitar, banjo, glockenspiel, percussion, a children's harp and vocals - were released digitally in 2021 via the Japanese independent platform Minna Kikeru, run by Saya (member of the duo Tenniscoats and Markus Acher's bandmate in Spirit Fest), among others. For two songs of »Like A Plane«, Saya contributed vocal tracks as well.

»Like A Plane« now sees its vinyl release via Morr Music.

Following on from the success of 2018’s epic triple album The Saving Of Cadan, Cornwall’s space/psych/folk-rock/post-punk cross-pollinators HANTERHIR are back with a new studio album. After more than a decade, …Cadan finally found the band breaking out of their Redruth bolthole, playing a major headline show at London’s Kernow In The City festival in March 2020, just before lockdown. As with many others, this enforced break from gigging encouraged the band to get creative and the new album was soon progressing…Its Cornish title Nyns Eus Denvydth Bys Trest roughly translates as ‘There is no-one to trust’ – “Writing and recording the album was done over the backdrop of Brexit, a falling apart relationship and then Covid lockdowns,” explains singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ben Harris. “With all the wacky things that have come out of people’s mouths over the past few years I think the title pretty much sums everything up.” A massive labour of love for Ben, …Cadan was a sprawling concept based on Cornish legend, which required him to write within a theme. The creation of this album has therefore been a breath of fresh air, a more organic experience allowing him to write from a more personal and immediate perspective. Displaying elements of Hawkwind’s sturm und drang spacerock and Psychedelic Furs’ sax-driven post-punk squall, opener ‘Always On’ finds the septet celebrating themselves: “We play so many gigs with so many other bands and one thing that strikes me about us is that we're always ready, we don't spend hours soundchecking, just point us in the direction of a stage and we'll play there. “‘Honeybees’ is us singing to the people that it's possibly time to stop voting for the same political parties and following the same failed systems,” he continues. “As far as I can see nothing's got better over the past year, or ten years or whatever, things just get slowly worse and people accept it. ”The song ‘Yeah’, which fuses Steeleye Span folk-rock melody and Sonic Youth chaos with spiralling psych guitar, has backing vocals which translate as “I am the same as you”, which Ben thinks is very important: “We're all the same and no-one is more important that anyone else”. Recorded at MHRCC, The Chapel and VIP Lounge by Peasy and Dare Mason; produced by Peasy and mastered by Anders Petersen at Ghost Sounds, Stockholm.

24 Songs. A new project from The Wedding Present. A new 7” single every month throughout 2022. 24 Songs sees David Gedge writing with legendary Sleeper guitarist Jon Stewart for the first time, and a more perfect union could not have been predicted. The notion of a monthly 7” single is not new to The Wedding Present, but 24 Songs shows us that even classic concepts can be reinvented. The series also continues the band’s association with photographer Jessica McMillan, who has created stunning images and films as a visual accompaniment to the recordings. Explaining 24 Songs, David Gedge said: “In 1991, The Wedding Present were rehearsing in a studio in Yorkshire when we hit upon an idea that immediately thrilled us all. Our bass player Keith Gregory had been a member of the ‘Sub Pop Singles Club’ - a service that allowed subscribers to receive 7”s released by that Seattle label on a monthly basis. Keith wondered if we, as a band, could attempt a similar thing. In that instant, The Wedding Present’s Hit Parade series was born and, during 1992, we managed to release a brand new 7” single each and every month. “The Hit Parade went on to become something of a significant milestone in the history of the band and it’s a project about which I’m often asked. As its thirtieth anniversary approached, I began to wonder if we should celebrate it in some way. A ‘Hit Parade Part 2’ didn’t feel quite right, though. Then, someone said to me: “Other bands have released music in similar ways but there has been nothing like the Hit Parade.” And they were right! A 7” single a month seems, somehow, very ‘Wedding Present’. So, inspired by that little idea from three decades ago, we’ve embarked on this new project, 24 Songs. “Even though The Wedding Present have never been known for taking the easy route, the idea of recording 24 tracks and releasing them in this way could seem daunting to any band. However, I’ve been inspired by the music that has been written since Jon and Melanie joined the group. The thought of celebrating this exciting new line-up with an exciting new series has motivated us all… and I suppose we also didn’t want any of these songs to be hidden away in the middle of an album!”

"bit by bit" is the first full-length release from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Evan J Cartwright. This self produced album from the go-to drummer/collaborator (The Weather Station, U.S. Girls, Brodie West) presents a highly singular songwriting vision that combines existential lyrics with masterful musicianship. Steeped in jazz melodicism, Cartwright’s trumpet-like phrasing mixed with contemporary composition presents an eclectic art song performed by an artist that could perhaps be best described as a post-modern Chet Baker. Deep poetic observations on love and time paint an affecting picture of an artist reflecting on life’s universal truths. Visual in nature, "bit by bit" places its audience within a world of musical leitmotifs extracted from field recordings of bells and birdsong. Collected during years of touring, these sounds evoke extant spaces beyond that which the music inhabits. The use of this source material in its unaltered form evokes the feeling of a technicolour European film at one moment and then, as the extrapolated melodies are meticulously translated into electronic tone bank sequences, a modernist setting the next. One carillon melody is used as the basis for a wealth of the album’s musical material before its origin is finally revealed by the chiming of bells in the last seconds of the album. The result is a fragment of space between the constructed world of the musical compositions and the candid world of documentation, inviting the listener to ponder whether those two worlds are distinct or whether the songs and music are not simply “field recordings” themselves. Throughout "bit by bit" Cartwright drops staggering revelations hiding in plain prose that often involve the contemplation of time. In I Don’t Know he states “if I only trusted time / then I would wish it all away” and nearing the album’s end he opens impossibly blue with the phrase “the impossible truth of time”, playfully inserting a pregnant pause before the word time. A drummer’s fixation, to be certain, the album’s recurring theme of time is eclipsed only by Cartwright’s contemplation of human relationships. Here he elaborates on some of the album’s subjects: “Many of the lyrics circle, and try to give a name to the illegible space between human beings. “i DON’t know” celebrates the fact that we will never truly understand what love is. Its message is one of assurance. It says that we can never really touch love, and that is ok. “and you’ve got nobuddy” refers to life’s great tragedy: that we are unable to read each others’ experiences, and in reaction to this, we separate ourselves.” The entirety of "bit by bit" is a continuous work. There is seldom a clear demarcation of where one piece ends and another begins and when this does occur, it is done crudely, as if someone is flipping through a series of broadcasted channels. At times words are sliced right out of their lines and replaced by pure tones. This is both a comical interpretation of censorship and a reminder that there are things in life that will forever remain unseen and illegible. In fact, this statement lies at the centre of the LP and although hidden beauty does reveal itself through repeated listenings, "bit by bit’s" eccentric world remains just out of reach — an imaginary second story room viewed from a crowded city street.

Pokey LaFarge's 7th studio solo album, In the Blossom of Their Shade,
showcases the positivity of coming out of the darkness and into the light
When the 2020 global pandemic hit, LaFarge's rigorous work ethic powered him
through the potentially challenging creative period. As days became a couple
months, songs blossomed from embryonic ideas into full- formed ones and he
was ready to move on, which typified his mindset as a working artist. With this
record LaFarge captures the thematic notion of being the perfect summer
afternoon soundtrack...the type of music you want to listen to while having a
cocktail with your significant other. It makes sense musically as well - LaFarge
intentionally crafted songs that created space and have melodies that can glide
throughout a composition that's a far cry from the swing and blues-infused songs
of his earlier work. LaFarge is an artist who refuses to rest on his laurels and
compromise. He's always motivated and ready to create. With In the Blossom of
Their Shade the album is one of LaFarge's strongest and most mature efforts to
date.

Limited edition 180g blue vinyl pressing of Sun Ra and His Arkestra's
classic 'Jazz In Silhouette', includes bonus track featuring John Gilmore
and a unique sticker
Penguin Guide To Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core
Collection" and awarded it a "crown" accolade.
"Jazz in Silhouette stands as an overlooked masterpiece, a work that shows Ra
not as a mere curiosity or backwater galaxy, but as a major creative force in the
jazz universe, a centre of gravity around which many of jazz's major
developments have orbited. This album simply inspires, no matter what
perspective you adopt: rhythm, melody, ensemble or mood...Jazz in Silhouette
shows Ra doing what he did like few others: looking at the past, present and
future simultaneously while maintaining a unified musical direction...what results
is a captivating set of music that not only firmly establishes Ra in the jazz
tradition, but actually puts him on its leading edge, pointing the direction forward."
- Mathew Wuethrich

Bill Evans' 'Easy To Love' plus bonus track pressed on limited edition
180g orange vinyl, includes a unique sticker
Compiled from early sessions for Riverside during 1956, 1958 and 1962, this
elease presents pianist Bill Evens unaccompanied, apart from one trio
performance with bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Paul Motian. Produced by
Orrin Keepnews, these are among the earliest recordings of Bill Evans under his
own name.

Two albums on 1CD with 28-page booklet, includes specially prepared
liner notes by the Penguin Guide to Jazz writer, Brian Morton
The idea of an LP as a single aesthetic unit, pioneered by Frank Sinatra and a few
others, was still relatively new at the time. Not the least of Coltrane's
achievements was to harness the long player's potential and to give it nearperfect, lastingly satisfying content. This is one of the great modern records." -
Penguin Guide To Jazz
Since its release in 1960, the fascination with Giant Steps has never wavered.
This is a true masterpiece that should be in everyone's collection." - DownBeat

Since his debut with the "Darling Darling Darling"track, immediately spotted by the media as well as by electronic music lovers, Louis Warynski has continued to evolve a world that belongs to him alone, over the last ten years and eight albums.Like Lewis Caroll's universe, Chapelier Fou's music is multiple, simple and complex, serious and light, classic and modern. Louis Warynski's work is woven on a classical basis, but it is constantly disrupted by subtle electronic arrangements and rhythms, thus taking the tracks outside of all convention.We find in Chapelier Fou the facetiousness of French composers such as Erik Satie, François de Roubaix or Robert Cohen Solal, not hesitating to blend pop and concrete music, but also this formidable capacity to make serious what is not serious, and vice versa of course. His music, very much at home on screen as well as on stage, has everything that makes up the trait of genius composers: accessible in appearance and adaptable in all forms. This is how Chapelier Fou has performed on stage as a soloist, juggling between violin, guitar, keyboards and pedals, in trio, quartet and even in orchestral formation with the Orchestre National of Metz. Often described as "electronic chamber music", it was expected that one day Chapelier Fou would offer us a version of his music without a single electronic or electrified part. It is now done with this Ensemb7e who performed on the stage of L'Arsenal de Metz, broadcasted by Arte Concert. Chapelier Fou Ensemb7e has received direct support from a wide audience, but also from venues programmers where the septet has been performing since June 2021. Ensemb7e stands for a mainly wooden septet: violin, viola, cello, piano, clarinet and drums accompany the multi-instrumentalist composer. It's hard to resist such musical enthusiasm! The magic happens immediately because the re-reading of these little jewels in pop format gives a touching and fulfilling dimension to Chapelier Fou's work: even more dreamy versions, sometimes more mischievous, but the richness of the classical instruments and the obvious pleasure of the musicians in interpreting them give a new life to all these titles that have filled us with wonder. It therefore seemed obvious to us after listening to his Ensemb7e concerts that there was more than a concert to be recorded, but a real album to offer. A studio album, but with the energy and vitality of a live one, produced with the care and generosity of Thomas Poli (who has collaborated with Dominique A, Yann Tiersen and many others).

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'.

Bobby Oroza puts his desire for the profound on wax with his sophomore album Get On The Otherside. Musically, he has updated the formula we were introduced to on the first record. But lyrically, songs are bravely rooted in the more complicated, ubiquitous inner tangles of life like self-examination and coming to terms with the vastness of the human experience. With Coronavirus bringing the world to a halt, Bobby-a father and husband-had to do something. No tours to play or studio time to fill, Bobby found himself back in the construction yard, doing blue-collar work to provide for his family. "I was super grateful for the work-a lot of my colleagues didn't have an option like that," Bobby admits. More than a few personal hardships forced him to acknowledge and work through some brutal truths. And what came of it? Well, for one, this new record Get On The Otherside which pretty well describes what Bobby's been through: He had to demolish his ego, his old ways of thinking, and his tried approaches to anchor into a refreshed perspective with new understandings. As Bobby tells it, "I had to do some real self-searching, come to terms with what was wrong, and how much of it I was responsible for." So how does this translate to the new album? Moments of clarity as to where the real value in life lies on "I Got Love," encouraging numbers like the title track "The Otherside", and declarations of self actualization on "My Place, My Time." Even the more straightforward love songs are outside the box lyrically like "Sweet Agony" and "Loving Body." If you have never had the pleasure of catching one of Bobby's live shows you may have no idea that he is a maverick on the guitar. He lets us in on a little of that on "Passing Things" with a solo that possesses the same restrained and space that his lyrics do. As we'd expect, the songwriting still has that raw, direct edge to it. But an evolution has taken place. There are new points of view on familiar territory which in Bobby's words "For me to love, I needed to take a bigger view of love. One with less ego and more empathy" really hold true. The result is a record with Bobby's new found humility on full display and a message of encouragement to anyone who is struggling and can't see a way out. It still may be hard to nail down and define Bobby and his sound. He's no one thing more than the other. But what he's showing us now, on Get On The Otherside, is that we can also label him a soulful, philosophical optimist. Someone who can say a lot with a little, and who wants us all to know that it's us that has to do the hard lifting to truly live a life in love-both with the world and with yourself.

Equipe de Foot is a French duo of singer-songwriters who record pop
songs and play them much louder on stage
Since their formation in 2015, Alex & Mike have played hundreds of gigs, from the
sweaty basements of their hometown of Bordeaux to the stages of nationally
renown festivals and European venues, making a solid name for their band, and
little by little becoming part of the new wave of French rock. Equipe de Foot now
admit that their flaws might be their greatest strength, and bring their love for
English and American indie pop music and production to the forefront in their
songs. For 'Geranium' they have chosen to work with producer and sound
engineer (and fellow Beatles fan) Johannes Buff (Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo,
The Drones, Dalek and other various amazing projects) at Shorebreaker studio in
Tarnos, France. A meaningful choice both in terms of technical and artistic skills,
Johannes was able to assemble Equipe de Foot's good old wall of guitars, as well
as reach the heart of their pop songs to make the whole thing gloriously shine,
without altering the charming homemade vibe emanating from their beloved
demos.
The album is a constant rollercoaster, alternating lo- fi ballads and powerful
anthems, but always with a twist, be it a pitched loop on a chorus or an auto
tuned solo trumpet at the end of a sad piano song.

"The dazzling symphonic album he always threatened to produce" UNCUT 5/5
"A soulful symphonic masterpiece" ROLLING STONE

Originally released in Japan only on CD in 2002, Plush's Fed lives up to the cult-like adulation it has garnered ever since. A stunning symphony of Bacharach-inspired pop, Toussaint-swing andMelody Nelson-era-Gainsbourg, it's an album bound together by Liam Hayes' maverick genius, an uncompromising Brian Wilson-esque quest for sonic perfection. Positively indulgent in every way, this sumptuous record has long deserved to be treated to a deluxe vinyl edition. Lovingly overseen by Hayes and recent collaborator Pat Sansone (Wilco/The Autumn Defense), it will finally be available on the format it should've always been, this Record Store Day 2018. Remastered and presented as a double LP - cut specially at 45rpm - it comes housed in a beautiful gatefold jacket with expanded artwork throughout.

Its expansive, singular vision infamously took years to realise, involving Earth Wind & Fire's horn arranger (the legendary Tom Tom MMLXXXIV) amongst other elite personnel. Recorded with five different engineers (including Steve Albini and John McEntire), Hayes meticulously extracted every ounce of pop from each note. A long list of renowned studio ringers (including soul drummer Morris Jennings) and Chicago regulars (McEntire, Rizzo, Parker) among many others provide playing of demonstrably professional precision. As such, Hayes' complex, meandering melodies are rendered far more coherent and satisfying than they otherwise might have appeared, bringing his epic, anguished pop to a rarely seen level of perfection and depth. This unstinting dedication to the overarching vision was rewarded handsomely - artistically, at least.

However, as might have been expected, his deluxe approach resulted in a bill too steep for any American or European label to ultimately support. It has since seemed unlikely that it would see the light of day on either side of the Atlantic. Yet we were determined not to allow Hayes' lifetime achievement to go unnoticed or let music fans across the world miss out on one of the finest albums of this century.

A wide-eyed opus of stunning intensity, Fed oozes Hayes' impeccable influences without ever becoming overwhelmed by them. Incredibly, it touches upon Blaxploitation soul, Boz Scaggs-soft-rock, hints of jazz and blues, timeless baroque and skewed pop. In one long minute, the stabbing, soulful "So Blind" moves through five different melodic segments, horns shift easily from haunting backdrop to explosive forefront, smoothly giving way to strings as Hayes' voice casts its bewitching spell. The ambitious soul of "Having It All" has been described as the diffident cousin of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children" whilst the breezy "Greyhound Bus Station" is pure 70s AM Gold, evoking the easy warmth of Jimmy Webb's beloved Land's End period. The sublime resignation of "No Education", a beautifully slow number that begins, "Never read a book in my life/ But I feel just fine" is post-rock ballad heaven. Arriving towards the end, the title track arrives as a majestic suite, moving from a horn-and-guitar-led instrumental via shifting melodies to Hayes' compelling vocal bursts.

An album of such brilliance, Fed can comfortably sit alongside such staggering statement pieces as David Bowie's Young Americans, Randy Newman's 12 Songs or Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson. Indeed, for all the sprawling elements that went in - lengthy guitar builds, exploding horn sections, solemn strings, female backup chorus - it is a deeply personal and original record. Employing a distinct "more is more" aesthetic, he demonstrates remarkable restraint in producing an album of such intimacy. "My creation has drowned me," he memorably sings on languid opener "Whose Blues", yet he navigates the shifting styles and ideas with enviable ease.

London-based composer/bassist, Daniel Casimir returns with his solo debut album Boxed In, a dynamic collision of pulsing modern jazz and orchestral instrumentation.

Featuring Casimir's quintet of fellow British jazz luminaries, including Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, Al MacSween and James Copus, the album astutely bridges traditional and contemporary jazz forms enveloping strings, woodwind & brass arrangements.

Boxed In represents Casimir's debut set of compositions written for orchestra. Despite his interest in writing for orchestra while studying jazz and classical music, attending conservatoires and completing a masters degree at Trinity Laban, he was never given the opportunity or choice to fulfil his aspiration. Casimir notes that as only one of two black musicians in his study cohort the normalisation of the situation made it almost easy to miss its inherent injustice.

Coming up through the essential development foundation Tomorrow's Warriors, Casimir has gone on to feature on all of Nubya Garcia's recorded output to date as well as projects by Makaya McCraven and Ashley Henry and has performed with Lonnie Liston Smith and Jason Rebello amongst others.

This album reflects the experiences of navigating prescribed labels traditionally placed on black musicians. As well as being inspired by Wayne Shorter's hybrid orchestral jazz projects, Boxed In was also influenced by a conversation Casimir had in 2018 with legendary composer and producer Quincy Jones who talked a lot about classical music orchestration.

The album is also inspired by Derek Owusu's book Safe which reflects on the Black British male experience and becomes the broad thematic skeleton of Boxed In with the track Safe split into three parts across the album, the first of which opens proceedings in a purposeful up-tempo style with stylistic touches of Roni Size-esque drum & bass (in part courtesy of producer/polymath Moses Boyd). The album's title track follows, with Garcia's soaring tenor taking lead, followed by New Waters and the introduction of vocalist Ria Moran.

Flute, woodwind and brass melodies envelop Casimir's charming string arrangments on Your Side and Safe Part 2, showing off Casimir's command and ease in an orchestral setting. Get Even and Rewind The Time confirm Casimir's penchant for weaving brooding pop vocals with jazz composition while the fanfaric Into The Truth leads literally into The Truth where Copus and MacSween engage throughout to the track's triumphant close.

The closing track Outro is a lively Afrobeat-tipping style with Casimir's deft bass manoeuverings and large ensemble arrangement on full show.

Ethereal, sensual, subtle. Maria de Fátima is that new favourite singer you think you just discovered, but who had actually always been there. This Brazilian muse from Tijuca (Rio de Janeiro) has worked and recorded with artists such as Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Arthur Verocai, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim, Chico Buarque, Lincoln Olivetti or José Roberto Bertrami (Azymuth).

We're immensely proud to bring you a deluxe reissue of her only solo album Bahia com H, one of the finest pieces of Brazilian music released outside of Brazil. The album was recorded in 1981 in Uruguay, where Maria had settled with her then husband synthesizer wizard Hugo Fattoruso (OPA), who also takes on production duties. Bahia com H combines Maria's own compositions with her unique takes on some Brazilian classics by Ary Barroso, Denis Brean and Gilberto Gil amongst others, compositions which gain a new significance with Maria's ethereal interpretation and the blended elements of Candombe, provided by the all-star line-up of Uruguayan musicians who joined in for the recording.

First vinyl reissue, preserving the original artwork in its gatefold sleeve, fully licensed and with sound sourced from the original analogue tapes.

Additionally we include a 12-page booklet with photos from Maria’s private archive and liner notes by the mighty producer, journalist, Grammy voting member and living jazz encyclopedia Arnaldo de Souteiro.

Oh my days, what can we say about this amazing EP that hasn’t been said before? Originally released on Remix Records in the mid 90’s, this EP has been lovingly remastered! No matter what way you look at it Rush Hour is an absolute anthem that has torn up dance floors for over 25 years now, with this new remaster, it will continue to do so for many years to come. Then on the other side is probably one of the most under played flip sides of all time, which is just criminal! Take Me Away is a great track that shows that not all happy hardcore was flying at warp factor cheese!

On textstar+ Jan Jelinek brings together the material from the CMYK series, four EPs he released between 1999 and 2002 under the pseudonym farben (the German word for both colours and paints), on a vinyl double LP for the first time. The selection of tracks has been remastered from the original tapes, joined by two additional pieces that appeared on compilations during the same period.

A Polaroid. Still life with tangled leads and consumer electronics, late twentieth century. Black and various shades of dirty white are the dominant non-colours. The image’s spatial depth remains diffuse, the links between its elements speculative. A note stuck to the wall (a legend, perhaps, or an all-explaining blueprint in text form?) is impossible to decipher. You can’t see what connects the picture’s signs. You have to hear it.

farben says: Every sound is a text. A bearer of meaning in search of a reader. Hoping the ideas inscribed in its autonomous existence will be understood as intended. While its beauty lies precisely in misunderstanding, in reading the coded message a new way every time. A thousand colours of sound, a thousand different ways to hear, to see, to understand.

On textstar+ Jan Jelinek brings together the material from the CMYK series, four EPs he released between 1999 and 2002 under the pseudonym farben (the German word for both colours and paints), on a vinyl double LP for the first time. The selection of tracks has been remastered from the original tapes, joined by two additional pieces that appeared on compilations during the same period. Another new element is the Polaroid, showing the origins of a world: Jelinek’s home studio in Berlin at the time.

farben says: Move your body! The project has its roots in Jelinek’s love of house as a reductionist vision of soul. Of four to the floor as a proposition that can be accessed anywhere. Of electronic dance music as a realm of possibility that can be continually expanded. farben was written as contemporary house music. As a text about excitement and euphoria. The arrangements were made directly while recording to DAT, on a twelve-channel mixing desk. Several track titles suggest a link to live concerts, coupled with the context of machine music and bedroom recording. Others affirm pop music’s most extravagant stock phrases about various states of love.

Jelinek produced the tracks with the aim of making music for dancefloors. An idea that failed very productively. In the locations to which it was originally addressed, the project barely figured. But people did listen, and they listened all the more closely to this music that opened up new acoustic and associative scope for house. farben is the opposite of genre: a music spawning new terms (clicks & cuts, micro-house) that never manage to fully capture it.

farben says: Signifiers. The four CMYK EPs are designed as a network of references that cannot be missed but that can also never be precisely deciphered. The vectors of sound, word and image point to Isaac Hayes and Ornette Coleman, to Detroit and the first generation of the Red Army Faction, to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. So multifarious that they are distorted to the point of recognition. Overall we hear sonic docufictions whose appealing vagueness derives precisely from this oscillation between clarity and ambiguity, which is also the source of their poetry: the lyricism of the pure circulation of signs.

The artwork is based on photographs of former Red Army Faction members, broken down into the four colours of the CMYK model. The motifs dissolve into individual dots of a single colour, so close to the faces that their expressions are only hinted at. Taken together, the individual colours compose a new whole out of fragmentary material, defying definition and thus maintaining their vibrancy. The same occurs on the level of sound. The sampler Jelinek used for these tracks had to be fed with floppy disks, imposing a memory limit of 1.44 megabytes per audio quotation from soul or jazz records. As a necessary consequence of this, the individual references, like the dots of colour, are dissolved into details and abstractions. They appear as splinters that recombine in new ways to create new meanings. The joy of collapsing metaphors.

farben says: New departures. Even two decades after its original release, textstar+ does not come across as an epitaph to the modern era. Instead, it appears as a euphoric affirmation of the utopias of the twentieth century, translated into new sound texts via the aesthetic strategies of abstraction, collage, networking and speculation. 1.44 megabytes of history, one thousand signifiers, one album. From “Live ...” to “... Love”.

Arno Raffeiner, 2021

A product of generations of underground music in L.A. and beyond, The Linda Lindas' debut, Growing Up, channels classic punk, post punk, power pop, new wave, and other surprises into timelessly catchy and cool songs sung by all four members-each with her own style and energy. A handful of cuts have already been previewed at shows and enthusiastically approved by diehard followers in the pit at L.A.'s DIY punk institution The Smell and Head in the Cloud festival goers at The Rose Bowl alike. The Linda Lindas are stoked to unleash Growing Up. The Linda Lindas first played together as members of a pickup new wave cover band of kids assembled by Kristin Kontrol (Dum Dum Girls) for Girlschool LA in 2018 and then formed their own garage punk group just for fun. Sisters Mila de la Garza (drummer, now 11) and Lucia de la Garza (guitar, 14), cousin Eloise Wong (bass, 13), and family friend Bela Salazar (guitar, 17) developed their chops as regulars at all-ages matinees in Chinatown, where they played with original L.A. punks like The Dils, Phranc, and Alley Cats; went on to open for riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill and architect Alice Bag as well as DIY heavyweights Best Coast and Bleached; and were eventually featured in Amy Poehler's movie Moxie. When the pandemic put a pause on shows, The Linda Lindas went on to self-release a four-song EP, make their own videos and grow a following beyond Los Angeles. But they never expected or could have even dreamed that their performance of "Racist, Sexist Boy" for the Los Angeles Public Library in May 2021 would take them from punk shows to TV shows. A month later, when the school year ended and summer began, The Linda Lindas got to work on their first full-length LP. Having written a mountain of new material individually while sheltering in place and attending class virtually, the band was more than ready to enter the studio where Mila and Lucia's dad (and Eloise's uncle and Bela's "uncle") Carlos de la Garza oversaw recording and production. The Grammy-winning producer's work includes Paramore, Bad Religion, Best Coast, and Bleached.

Adrian Quesada announces the release of ‘Boleros Psicodélicos’,
a sprawling and singular tribute to the golden era of balada music.
The brand-new album from the GRAMMY-nominated guitarist,
producer and Black Pumas co-founder serves as a celebration of
the super funky, slightly delirious and deeply soulful sounds that
transcended the cultural boundaries of Latin America throughout
the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Featuring vocals from Puerto Rican icon, GRAMMY-winner and
former Calle 13 member iLe, Colombian-American visionary
Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Mexican R&B star Girl Ultra, as well as
Angelica Garcia, Gaby Moreno, contributions from living legends
such as Marc Ribot and Beastie Boys musician Money Mark, and
many more, ‘Boleros Psicodélicos’ consists primarily of original
Adrian Quesada compositions, as well as covers of La Lupe’s
‘Puedes Decir De Mí’, Jeanette’s ‘El Muchacho De Los Ojos
Tristes’ and other balada classics.

All twelve tracks were produced, engineered, mixed and largely
performed by Adrian Quesada, honouring and extending the
influence of a personal obsession that he has cultivated over the
past 20 years.

Similar to his acclaimed 2018 album ‘Look At My Soul’, which
traced the deep roots and relationship between Latin and Texas
music, Adrian Quesada sees every song on ‘Boleros Psicodelicos’
as both a history lesson and a step towards a newly imagined,
more united future: “I always wanted to pay tribute to that sound
that I was already hearing in my head without realizing that people
had already done it. Balada changed the face of Latin music
forever. If something like that happened today, it would be normal
because everyone’s connected on Instagram. Think how powerful
this sound had to be for everyone to be connected through the
songs. As someone who grew up speaking two languages and
living on both sides of the border, I love how much music can
transcend barriers and boundaries. It really is a universal
language, especially back then.”

Manchester rock band Oceansize built a career and reputation of constructing sonic soundscapes from out of nowhere into the most monolithic, dynamic behemoths heard in aeons.

The band formed in 1998 and released four albums before calling it a day in 2011. They gained favourable comparisons in the press to bands like Mogwai, Tool, Nirvana, Jane’s Addiction, My
Bloody Valentine, Can and Faith No More among
others.

Oceansize challenged themselves and thus by the same token ensured the listener didn’t become comfortable while listening. And let's face it, - comfortable is, after all, boring.

‘Everyone Into Position’ was Oceansize’s second
studio album. Beggars Arkive are reissuing the
album on splattered yellow double vinyl.

Justin Thurgur has been at the heart of the UK's World Music scene for over twenty years; principally in his collaborations with the former Fela and Femi Kuti keyboardist, Dele Sosimi, and with the pianist and composer Kishon Khan, most recently in his groups Lokkhi Terra and Cubafrobeat. He has also worked with the likes of Afrobeat drum legend Tony Allen, and with the Cuban giants Giraldo Piloto, Julito Padron and Changuito. Thurgur is also a member of the seminal English folk group Bellowhead.

'Many Faces' brings together this musical journey, with Afro-infused grooves and nods towards Cuban Jazz and Dub, with Thurgur's early passion for the likes of Miles Davis, Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, et al....

It features both Khan and Sosimi, who have contributed as co-writers as well as bringing their own inimitable sounds on piano, rhodes and hammond organ. Alongside them are some of the leading musicians on the UK's African, Cuban and Jazz scenes, plus collaborations with rising star singers Jade Pybus and Sahra Gure.

Justin Thurgur - trombone (and some additional keys)

Graeme Flowers - trumpet and flugel horn

Simeon May - tenor, baritone and alto sax

James Allsopp - bass clarinet

Jade Pybus - vocals (on 'Woman')

Sahra Gure - vocals (on 'Be A Little Wiser')

Kishon Khan - piano, rhodes and hammond organ (on tracks 1,3,4 and 5)

Dele Sosimi - piano (on tracks 2 and 6) and vocala (on track 6)

Phil Dawson - guitar

Suman Joshi - double bass (except track 5)

Jimmy Martinez - double bass (on track 5)

Tansay Omar - drums (on tracks 1,3 and 4)

Kunle Olofinjana - drums (on tracks 2 and 6)

Yoann Julliard - drums (on track 5)

Afla Sackey - congas and djembe (on tracks 1,2 and 6), shekere and cowbell, and vocals (on track 6)

Oreste 'Sambroso' Noda - congas (on tracks 3 and 5)

Evie Hilyer-Ziegler - violin and viola

Paul Sartin - violin

Track 1 written by J Thurgur and S Gure

Tracks 2 and 6 written by J Thurgur and Dele Sosimi

Track 3 written by J Thurgur

Track 4 written by J Thurgur and J Pybus

Track 5 written by J Thurgur and K Khan

Recorded at Fish Factory by Simone Gallizio and Sean Douglas, at Boneman Studios by Justin Thurgur, at Better Pass Your Own Studios by Phil Dawson, at Thank You Please Studio by Kishon Khan and at 224 Studios by Matteo Musetti.


Mixed at Hi Street Studio by Mauro Caccialanza.

Mastered at Gearbox by Caspar Sutton-Jones.

Artwork by Matthieu Dufour

Photos of by Siobhan Bradshaw, Justin Thurgur, Stephanie Sian Smith,

Chantal Azari, Alex Bonney, Heather Hoyle, Nicole Thurgur, Joanna Mendel, Tansay Omar, Richard Gearey, Faye Hilyer-Ziegler and Svetlana Onye.

"Matt Andersen has drawn from the best roots music has to offer over his decades-long career: down and dirty blues, heart-wrenching soul, life-affirming gospel, and introspective singer-songwriter balladry. These sounds, textures, and influences are laid bare on House to House…” -

French vocalist, beatboxer, songwriter and producer Sly Johnson unveils 55.4, his much- anticipated fourth studio album, released on BBE Music. Hailing from Paris, Sylvère Johnson (Sly Johnson) is a major force on the French Hip-Hop, Soul and Jazz scenes, both as a solo artist and as a member of super-group SAIAN SUPA CREW for over a decade, where he was known by the moniker Sly The Mic Buddah. When the crew broke up in 2007, Johnson began to carve out an impressive career, releasing on Blue Note and Universal Jazz, as well as collaborating with Larry Gold, Roddy Rod, T3 & Elzhi from Slum Village, Georgia Ann Muldrow, Dudley Perkins, FINALE, Erik Truffaz, and legendary French rapper Oxmo Puccino among many others. Written and recorded during the first COVID lockdowns between March and May 2020, Sly Johnson’s fourth album blends Soul and Hip-Hop, twinning vocal arrangements reminiscent of Prince and D’Angelo with loose, supple, beats and jazzy chords. Most of the musical heavy lifting is done by Johnson himself, but the album features bass by Laurent Salzard, guitar by Ralph Lavital and Anthony Jambon, keys by Nicholas Vella & Laurent Coulondre and a spellbinding guest vocal by Jona Oak. Why 55.4? “It took 55 days of creation to make the songs of this 4th solo album” says Sly.

SIDE B
Photoprint

Dutch vocalist Anouk is one of the most popular rock singers of The Netherlands. Her big breakthrough happened back in 1994, but she has been making hits ever since. Due to her versatile repertoire, she’s able to surprise us each time with new work in a different direction.

Her brand new album Trails of Fails describes her desire to keep on growing and discover new musical grounds. Trails of Fails is, in fact, a mini-album, consisting of seven tracks. Anouk recorded the album together with high profile producer Jim Abbiss, who previously worked with Arctic Monkeys, Adele and Kasabian amongst others. The tracks were written during her year-long quarantine due to COVID-19, during which she was separated from both her husband and children. The results are seven very personal and intimate tracks.

Trails of Fails is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on white coloured vinyl. The B-side contains a unique photoprint.

Gliding & Hiding’ presents one of post-punk’s maverick spirits at her finest: Malka Spigel sprang to prominence as bassist and vocalist with the legendary Minimal Compact. She’s also an internationally acclaimed photographer and video artist. Alongside her partner and long term collaborator Colin Newman, she’s also one half of the electro-kosmiche duo Immersion. The pair are also members of the unique art-pop quartet Githead. Yet often, Spigel’s most personal work is to be found on her solo albums.1993 debut ’Rosh Balata’ is a contemporary rock album sung in Hebrew, with 1998’s ‘My Pet Fish’ showcasing an idiosyncratic amalgam of rock and electronics, whilst 2012’s ’Every Day Is Like The First Day’ is a full blown psychedelic pop record, with guests including Johnny Marr, Alexander Balanescu and Julie Campbell (aka Lonelady).Now, ’Gliding & Hiding’ gathers together Spigel’s gorgeous 2014 ‘Gliding’ EP, with reworked tracks from the 1994 mini-album ‘Hide’. The result is a collection that ranges from sunshine pop, to minimal breakbeat techno, all the way to blissed out rock.For the ‘Gliding’ material, Spigel is joined by Newman, on guitar and keyboards, Ronald Lippok of Tarwater/To Rococo Rot on drums, and Gil Luz and Uri Frost of Mambas, on keyboards and guitar respectively, with additional guitars from Julie Campbell, and Matthew Simms of Wire. These songs began life as live recordings from a gig at London’s Lexington, but were then refined in the studio. Yet they retain the sound of a real band, bouncing off each other’s considerable talents‘Gliding & Hiding’ serves as a career overview, whilst the reworked compositions prove how utterly contemporary her sound is. If you are new to the delights of Malka Spigel, this is the perfect place to dive in..

The multi-talented Johnny “Guitar” Watson was known for his guitar skills and was one of the hottest blues artists during the 1950s. His 1977 funk album A Real Mother For Ya produced the same titled international hit song and features “Nothing Left To Be Desired” and “Lover Jones”. Also included is the 2020 Ben Liebrand Oldskool mix as a bonus track, which was not available on the original album. During his career, Johnny “Guitar” Watson influenced Jimi Hendrix amongst others and earned a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album. Sadly Johnny “Guitar” Watson passed away while touring Japan in 1996.

2022 Repress

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is recognised as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema today. His seven feature films, short films and installations have won him widespread international recognition and numerous awards, including the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2010 with Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

This compilation album 'Metaphors' contains 14 soundworks carefully selected from his past cinema and other visual works since 2003, which includes Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Syndromes and a Century, Fever Room and more.

Apichatpong has regularly worked with the same sound designers since 2003 and has always given importance to the personality of on-location sounds giving his films a sense of continuity. In post-production, he's fascinated by the manipulation of these 'live' sounds in order to express 'reality'. This reality doesn't necessary represent the actual sound of the places, but more a representation of the world in layered memories. Similar to the way he treats images, Apichatpong sometimes calls attention to the physicality and the fragility of the audio (and its apparatus) and to the process of audio manipulation itself. In his cinema, Apichatpong prefers natural sound sources over music. Nevertheless, he often boldly incorporates popular songs that were persistent during the shooting. He doesn't shy away from using tunes that relate to his own personal memories. In this sense, Apichatpong values the spirit of authenticity much more than rigid manipulation of audio and weaves a complex and dreamlike soundscape in his cinematic repertoire.

Born in Bangkok, Apichatpong grew up in Khon Kaen in north-eastern Thailand. He began making films and video shorts in 1994 and completed his first feature in 2000. He has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries since 1998 and is now recognised as a major international visual artist. His art prizes include the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2013) and the prestigious Prince Claus Award (2016), the Netherlands. Lyrical and often fascinatingly mysterious, his film works are non-linear, dealing with memory and in subtle ways invoking personal politics and social issues.

First Word Records continues its series of special collaborative releases for it's 15th anniversary with an absolutely firing double-header from 14KT and Tall Black Guy.
On this limited 7" vinyl, the two renowned US beat-makers revisit two of their previous First Word singles, turning out flips of each other's tracks, also featuring a multitude of talent, in the form of Moonchild, Muhsinah, Stro Elliot and James Poyser of The Roots.

Following on from the first volume in 14KT's jazz project 'IAMABEENIE', here he flips TBG and Moonchild's collab, 'I Will Never Know', originally from Tall Black Guy's 2017 sophomore album 'Let's Take A Trip'. The original neo-soul bump is transformed into a deliciously epic latin affair, drenched with deep Brazilian vibes throughout - this is one to draw for at those steamy get-downs; a slinky slab of dancefloor fire.

Tall Black Guy returns to First Word for the first time in a minute, and takes on the Muhsinah-lead joint 'The Power Of Same', the lead single from 14KT's 2019 acclaimed album, 'For My Sanity'.

As to be expected, TBG delivers his unmistakable blend of dope dubbed-out spacey soul and boom bap kicks & snares, complete with guitar licks from Stro Elliot, and keys from James Poyser. Two of the dopest producers in the game, this one is completely 1000% essential.

Third album of this post-punk/avant-rock french project.

RIEN VIRGULE is before everything else musically, the meeting of four people, islands of desires, tentacles that embrace each other. Or “the meeting of a soldering iron and an iceberg, a pigeon asleep in a packet of chips, a smashed path in a debaptized city” (according to J. Burgun).

For 8 years, two albums and numerous concerts, they have been peddling a generous, graceful and cold, intensely vibrating music.

In a radical and deviant approach to Pop music, the classical structures of verse-chorus serve as a playground and experimentation, where rhythmic, melodic and noisy functions merge.

In June 2019, Jean-Marc Reilla passed away. His homemade instrumentarium and laughter continue to resonate for his loved ones, and his memory lives on in the music of RIEN VIRGULE that has become a trio.

UCC Harlo and NY Graffiti team up for the second release on Peace Anthem Records. Alternating between bleary-eyed impressions and tightly articulated expression the artists forge a path laden with plangent sound, muted color, and circular forms. Ketamine-paced grooves, baroque miniatures, hazy-humid sonics, and dub inflections populate this domain. Each delivers one original and a remix of the other’s track.

Savage is the original ‘80s Italodisco pop star, worldwide famous singer and platinium record producer of Europop and house artists such as Zucchero, Alexia, Double You and Ice Mc. Composer and writer of various multimillion worldwide hits. His real name is Roberto Zanetti. Throughout his career he has used two different professional names, "Robyx" as a producer, and "Savage" as an artist.In 1983 he produced a dance single entitled "Don’t cry tonight", chose the stage name “Savage” and started his career as solo artist. The song was a huge hit in Italy for first and all Europe later and was invited to take part in many TV shows such as "Mister fantasy", "Discoring", "Pronto Raffaella", "Azzurro" and "Festivalbar".

Thanks to the catchy melody and timbre of his voice, Savage quickly
became one of the most appreciated singers in Europe, one of the creators of the “Italodisco” movement. From 1983-85 Savage was continuously on tour, performing about 300 shows throughout Europe, in Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Sweden and, of course, Italy. In the meantime other singles, "Only you", "Radio" and "A love again", were released and included in his first album “Tonight". In Eastern Europe Savage is still one of the most popular contemporary artists. After more than 30 years, DWA is proud to announce the re-print of this album on vinyl, a special gift to all collectors of Italodisco’s hits.

repress

4 new tracks from the German electro producer Roadking, otherwise known asÜNN of Mirkolux and Elektrolux fame.

Bernie Worrell was a keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Worrell broke genres, not only within funk, but also hip hop and rock. Critics described him as one of the most widly innovative and technically dazzling musicians in pop music history.

In 1978 he released his solo debut album All The Woo In The World, which was produced by George Clinton, who was another mastermind behind Parliament-Funkadelic. The album features several guest performances by P-Funk alumni, including Junie Morrison, Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins and Eddie Hazel.

All The Woo In The World is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl.

Jackie Mittoo, organ and piano maestro, was not only a founding member of the legendary Jamaican Ska group The Skatalites, but through the course of Jamaican music’s long history has produced a body of work under his own name and of that with his various group incarnations, The Soul Brothers, Soul Vendors and the Sound Dimension. His distinctive organ and piano sound and musical arrangements have all played a major part in Jamaica's musical history.

Jackie Mittoo (born 1948, Kingston, Jamaica) began playing musical instruments at a very early age. Taught piano by his grandmother he was performing live by the age of 10 and recording by the age of 15. Two Kingston bands that he played with the Rivals and the Sheiks brought him to the attention of Studio 1's founder Coxsone Dodd. Who at the time was putting a group of musicians together to be his studio band. Impressed by his skills on both the organ and the piano, Jackie was asked to join in what would become Jamaica's foremost band The Skatalites. The fellow band members were Lloyd Brevett (bass), Lloyd Knibbs (drums), Don Drummond (trombone), Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso and Lester Sterling (Sax), Johnny Moore (trumpet), Jah Jerry(guitar) and Mr Mittoo (piano). This line up ruled the Jamaican scene between 1964 - 1965 as well as inventing the Ska sound, they also performed the backing duties for the other top labels of the time including Duke Reid's Treasure Isle and Justin Yap's Top Deck label.

1965 saw The Skatalites disband, and Jackie Mittoo move on to his next musical project The Soul Brothers. Formed with fellow Skatalite Roland Alphonso,this band would back all the hits coming out of Studio 1 for the next three years with Jackie Mittoo working as band leader and musical arranger. Around this time Jackie also had his own single released, a Ska underground classic called 'Got My Bugaloo'. Rare, as it also features Jackie in the unusual role for him, as lead singer!!!!. 1966 saw the Ska sound evolve into Rocksteady, again with Jackie's band at the helm, and his first hit single the Rocksteady cut 'Ram Jam'. The success of which would lead to a solo career and album releases under his own name such as 'Now', 'Macka Fat', 'Evening Time', 'In London' and 'Keep on Dancing', to name but a few. In 1967 the hits at Studio 1 were still flowing when The Soul Brothers morphed into The Soul Venders and began backing such luminaries as Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, The Heptones, The Cables, The Wailers and many other of the label’s solo artists.

By 1968 Jamaican music was ready for another change and Rocksteady rolled into a slower groove soon to be called Reggae. Jackie Mittoo would be at the forefront with his latest band The Sound Dimension. A line-up that included Leroy Sibbles (bass),Roland Alphonso and Cedric Brooks (saxophone),Eric Frater and Ernest Ranglin (guitar) and Bunny Williams (drums). Being the house band at Studio 1 they backed all the leading names of the time, John Holt, Horace Andy and Alton Ellis, all of Studio 1's output carried his sound. Jackie Mittoo emigrated in the late 60's to Canada but travelled to Jamaica and London to record with many of the big new names, who were trying to redress Studio 1's supremacy and needed his magic touch. Such producers as Bunny Lee used Jackie Mittoo on many of his sessions,Sugar Minott among others were always glad of his services.

For this release we have put together a selection of some of his finest recordings done with legendary reggae producer Bunny Lee. 1970’s cuts that feature Jackie’s numerous talents, showing his ability to embellish tracks with a feel few could better. Musical arranger, band leader and all around studio ace.

We hope you enjoy this great set with Jackie Mittoo in fine style and his organ super powered indeed…

Vega Records is proud to present its newest release “Time To Let Go” with Mike Lindup, singer, keyboard player composer and founder member of the legendary band Level 42. Formed in 1980 with Mark King, Phil and Boon Gould, the band has sold over 30 million albums and still performing worldwide. Mike Lindup has performed onstage with many artists including George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Ringo Star, Sting, and more. Even on theater stages in London’s West End, Mike Lindup has played on shows Thriller Live, Let It Be, and has completed four tours on the Thriller Live tour production, twice as Musical Director. “Time To Let Go” is taken from the new Mike Lindup album “Changes 2” with smokin’ remixes by Two Soul Fusion AKA Louie Vega & Josh Milan. The Remixers deliver two versions, one taking you to the soul house funky grooves of Two Soul Fusion and the other catapulting you into the world of Afro House. It’s all about Mike Lindup’s unique voice and his powerful, brilliant lyrics that make a huge statement well needed in the world today. Grooves to make you dance are no problem for Two Soul Fusion but when you have award winning lyrics its a whole other level here. The man who sang the lead vocal on New York City’s favorite dance club culture classic “Starchild” by Level 42 has now blessed Vega Records with the new gem “Time To Let Go”.

The original Not About To Die was an illegal bootleg, released at some point in the early 80s, by the dubiously named Amnesia Records. The album was made up of selections from demos recorded by the group for their second and third albums: Chairs Missing and 154. These demos had been recorded for EMI, with cassette copies circulated amongst record company employees. However, they were never intended for release. A typically shoddy cash-in, the songs on Not About To Die were taken from a second or possibly third generation cassette, with the album housed in a grainy green and red photo-copied sleeve. Compared with the high standards of production and design Wire have always been known for, it was something of an insult to band and fans alike. Now, in a classic act of Wire perversity, the group have decided to redress the balance and reclaim one of the shadier moments of its history, by giving Not About To Die its first official release on the bands own pinkflag imprint.. All the tracks have been properly remastered, with the relevant recording details in place. As for the sleeve artwork, whilst it strongly references the original, it is decidedly more artful in its execution. Not About To Die emerges as a fascinating snapshot of Wire in transition with embryonic versions of classic songs such as ‘French Film (Blurred)’, ‘Used To’ and ‘Being Sucked In Again’, that the group would develop considerably for their epochal 1978 album Chairs Missing. Later demos such as ‘Once Is Enough’, ‘On Returning’ and ‘Two People In A Room’ would surface in radically altered form on 1979’s 154. Some songs, such as ‘The Other Window’, are virtually unrecognisable from their later iterations but the biggest prizes here may well be the tracks that were omitted from Wire's later studio albums... Highlights include ‘Motive’, which has an undeniable power. Robert Grey’s drumming is crisp and minimal, and Graham Lewis’s bass runs are particularly ear-catching. Despite its distinctly un-Wire title, ‘Love Ain't Polite’ is also something of a gem. Meanwhile, the track which gives the album its title Not About To Die (officially known as ‘Stepping Off Too Quick’) possesses what Colin Newman half jokingly calls “The best intro to any song ever”. The intro is so good in fact, that it takes up a third of the song’s entire time frame. These properly mastered tracks have never been available on vinyl before, and they provide an opportunity to hear Wire at a point in their development when they were bursting with fresh ideas and a will to communicate them. This is post-punk at its very finest.

a A1 Oh No Not So [save The Bullet]



[e] A5 French Film [blurred]




[j] A10 Chairs Missing [used To]

[l] B2 Ignorance No Plea [i Should Have Known Better]


[o] B5 Stepping Off Too Quick [not About To Die]

The glacial distillation of Pan•American aka Mark Nelson’s “romantic minimalism” achieves unique fruition on his latest Kranky collection, The Patience Fader.

A suite of solo guitar instrumentals accented with lap steel, harmonica, and twilit atmospherics, the strings smear and sparkle in elegant, windswept swells, a guitar mode once described by Brian Eno as “Duane Eddy playing Erik Satie.” These are elegies as much as songs, lulling and lilting in private currents of beauty and bereavement. Nelson speaks of the notion of “lighthouse music,” radiance cast from a stable vantage point, sending “a signal to help others through rocks and dangerous currents.”
Composed during the highly isolated summer of 2020, the pieces took shape as meditations on “roots and mourning, trying to connect with those deep hidden rivers that lead to a greater communality.” There’s something ageless, scarred, and American about this music, both displaced and devotional, the ghost of rust belts and dust bowls looming in a horizon of deepening dusk.

From the very beginning in 2011 the concept was simple and crystal clear.

Mad Mats & Tooli's new label Local Talk had two main focus points.
First, the actual music was to be inspired around those magical 4/4 house rhythms...and beyond.

Second, the logo! The idea was that a simple and direct visual point together with a strong dance MUSIC message would make the label stand out among other labels in their northern neck of the woods.
In Scandinavia, the main theme is electronic 4/4 rhythms (techno, tech-house etc) and with Local Talk being more inspired by black dance music this has made them the black sheep in the hometown of Stockholm.

To set the musical direction straight from the very start they released Bassfort's 'Moon Shadow' which got instant attraction from both house heads and the more open-minded clubbing community.
With its warm, melodic chords, infectious piano theme and big strings it's always been the label's fave jam from their now +150(ish) releases.
When they decided to choose a track that would define the label for their 10-year anniversary, the choice was simple.

Mats & Tooli thought long and hard about who they wanted to interpret 'Moon Shadow' and after months of discussing options they decided that the only one they could trust to give the track a quality boost was NYC legend Joe Claussell.
Back in the late 90's, Mats used to book Joe for his legendary Raw Fusion parties in Stockholm so the connection and mutual respect were already in place. The result is a +11 minute long musical house journey that builds and builds until those characteristic piano chords make an entrance and transform the dynamics into a rainbow of sounds. Epic is not a word big enough to explain this grand musical production !

But the goodness does not end there, we're only halfway in on this anniversary release. The blood brothers Javi & Luis aka Kyodai (and 2/3 of Bassfort) made their own mix on the B side track from the original release, Moonlight.
As schooled jazz musicians they diverted from the electronic soundscape and went for a live jazz-funk production.
The final product is a warm and musical version with live drums, bass, piano, strings and even vocals from the brothers themselves.
The track almost comes across as something 4 Hero would put out back in the day.

All we can say, enjoy the dance!

The first volume of Back To Mine was released back in 1999 by Nick Warren, designed to showcase a selection of tracks you’d find and be heard playing at the artist's home. Selectors have come in the form of New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Fatboy Slim, and Faithless who all dug deep to find their essential at-home listening.

The latest compilers in the Back To Mine series are none-other than the renowned four-piece, Horse Meat Disco. The horsemen are known for their incredibly fun, deep-diving selections, and this shines through in their Back To Mine compilation in flamboyant style.

Over the course of 16 years of their nightclub tenure, they have become a global brand as pinnacle players of the queer party scene in London and beyond, holding down residencies in New York, Berlin, and Lisbon. Their flamboyant nature and incredibly fun, deep-diving selections have made them one of Disco’s most beloved acts.

Across 15 eclectically brilliant tracks, Horse Meat Disco, which comprises Jim Stanton, James Hillard, Luke Howard, and Severino Panzetta expertly traverse through classic disco cuts, wonky dancefloor groovers, and silky smooth soul.