Maazn Records unveils its inaugural release "Lost in Transit” by Guzman & Terraflow. Inspired by the breadth of London's current sounds, this record gives a taste of their vision for the future.
The A-side features label co-founder Terraflow infusing his signature style of old-school drums and intricate synth work. "Atomic" lays down a catchy bass riff that summons an ethereal feeling of the past, whilst "Totaled Larynx" takes a hypnotic turn, embellished with haunted melodies suited to the early hours of a certain pit in Norfolk.
Guzman takes the wheel on the B-side, starting with the punchy, sleazed-out rhythms of “Neo (Trance Mix)”, steering the EP further into the depths of the peak-time dance floor. Finally, “Time Deprivation” details clever vocal sampling atop of an arsenal of dangerous waveforms - a fitting verdict that is guaranteed to send the audience into a bass-laden frenzy.
These are no warmup tracks, play out at your own risk
Search:p o l style
A second appearance of Tammo Hesselink on the Mantis series. Fusing the spatial effects treatments of dub with the metallic clang of industrial percussion and the stark negative space of minimal, Tammo Hesselink's sonic practice continues to create compelling, complex forms. His exacting style toys with atmospheric processing and mechanised motifs in place of traditional melodic elements, unearthing nuanced expression from timbre and rhythm while delivering firm structures for advanced soundsystem immersion.
- A1: Real Psycho Intro
- A2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- A3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- A4: What We Came To Do (Feat. Too Short)
- A5: You Might Know Us
- A6: Put That Work In (Feat. Son Doobie)
- A7: Excuse Me (Feat. Dj Doo Wop)
- B1: Once In A Lifetime
- B2: This Goes Hard (Feat. Big Twins, Demrick)
- B3: Timbos
- B4: Lyrical Hammers (Feat. Stephen Carpenter)
- B5: Stay Calm
- B6: Kitty Kat
- B7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
Double Black Vinyl[28,15 €]
Clear with Black & White Splatter Vinyl[37,82 €]
Single Yellow Vinyl[27,86 €]
Cassette[16,39 €]
B-Real of Cypress Hill and Psycho Les of The Beatnuts have joined forces for REAL PSYCHO,
a 14-track album that merges their iconic styles into a bold bicoastal fusion. B-Real, known for West Coast classics like "Insane in the Brain,"
blends his Latino-influenced rap with Psycho Les’s hard-hitting production, shaped in Queens on tracks like "Watch Out Now."
The album features guest appearances from Bay Area legend Too Short, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter,
Demrick, and Son Doobie. Singles like "You Might Know Us" and "Lyrical Hammers"—
the latter enhanced by Carpenter’s gritty guitar riffs—offer a preview of the album’s genre-defying sound.
For vinyl collectors, REAL PSYCHO is available in four editions, including black and yellow 1LP versions
and two deluxe 2LP editions in black and limited silver marble vinyl, featuring a gatefold cover and instrumental tracks.
This collaboration celebrates hip-hop’s ability to bridge coasts, eras, and styles, delivering an album that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
- A1: Real Psycho Intro
- A2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- A3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- A4: What We Came To Do (Feat. Too Short)
- A5: You Might Know Us
- A6: Put That Work In (Feat. Son Doobie)
- A7: Excuse Me (Feat. Dj Doo Wop)
- B1: Once In A Lifetime
- B2: This Goes Hard (Feat. Big Twins, Demrick)
- B3: Timbos
- B4: Lyrical Hammers (Feat. Stephen Carpenter)
- B5: Stay Calm
- B6: Kitty Kat
- B7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
- C1: Real Psycho Intro
- C2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- C3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- C4: What We Came To Do
- C5: You Might Know Us
- C6: Put That Work In
- C7: Excuse Me
- D1: Once In A Lifetime
- D2: This Goes Hard
- D3: Timbos
- D6: Kitty Kat
- D7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
- D4: Lyrical Hammers
- D5: Stay Calm
Single Black Vinyl[27,86 €]
Clear with Black & White Splatter Vinyl[37,82 €]
Single Yellow Vinyl[27,86 €]
Cassette[16,39 €]
B-Real of Cypress Hill and Psycho Les of The Beatnuts have joined forces for REAL PSYCHO,
a 14-track album that merges their iconic styles into a bold bicoastal fusion. B-Real, known for West Coast classics like "Insane in the Brain,"
blends his Latino-influenced rap with Psycho Les’s hard-hitting production, shaped in Queens on tracks like "Watch Out Now."
The album features guest appearances from Bay Area legend Too Short, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter,
Demrick, and Son Doobie. Singles like "You Might Know Us" and "Lyrical Hammers"—
the latter enhanced by Carpenter’s gritty guitar riffs—offer a preview of the album’s genre-defying sound.
For vinyl collectors, REAL PSYCHO is available in four editions, including black and yellow 1LP versions
and two deluxe 2LP editions in black and limited silver marble vinyl, featuring a gatefold cover and instrumental tracks.
This collaboration celebrates hip-hop’s ability to bridge coasts, eras, and styles, delivering an album that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
- A1: Real Psycho Intro
- A2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- A3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- A4: What We Came To Do (Feat. Too Short)
- A5: You Might Know Us
- A6: Put That Work In (Feat. Son Doobie)
- A7: Excuse Me (Feat. Dj Doo Wop)
- B1: Once In A Lifetime
- B2: This Goes Hard (Feat. Big Twins, Demrick)
- B3: Timbos
- B4: Lyrical Hammers (Feat. Stephen Carpenter)
- B5: Stay Calm
- B6: Kitty Kat
- B7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
- C1: Real Psycho Intro
- C2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- C3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- C4: What We Came To Do
- C5: You Might Know Us
- C6: Put That Work In
- C7: Excuse Me
- D1: Once In A Lifetime
- D2: This Goes Hard
- D3: Timbos
- D6: Kitty Kat
- D7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
- D4: Lyrical Hammers
- D5: Stay Calm
Single Black Vinyl[27,86 €]
Double Black Vinyl[28,15 €]
Single Yellow Vinyl[27,86 €]
Cassette[16,39 €]
B-Real of Cypress Hill and Psycho Les of The Beatnuts have joined forces for REAL PSYCHO,
a 14-track album that merges their iconic styles into a bold bicoastal fusion. B-Real, known for West Coast classics like "Insane in the Brain,"
blends his Latino-influenced rap with Psycho Les’s hard-hitting production, shaped in Queens on tracks like "Watch Out Now."
The album features guest appearances from Bay Area legend Too Short, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter,
Demrick, and Son Doobie. Singles like "You Might Know Us" and "Lyrical Hammers"—
the latter enhanced by Carpenter’s gritty guitar riffs—offer a preview of the album’s genre-defying sound.
For vinyl collectors, REAL PSYCHO is available in four editions, including black and yellow 1LP versions
and two deluxe 2LP editions in black and limited silver marble vinyl, featuring a gatefold cover and instrumental tracks.
This collaboration celebrates hip-hop’s ability to bridge coasts, eras, and styles, delivering an album that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
- A1: Real Psycho Intro
- A2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- A3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- A4: What We Came To Do (Feat. Too Short)
- A5: You Might Know Us
- A6: Put That Work In (Feat. Son Doobie)
- A7: Excuse Me (Feat. Dj Doo Wop)
- B1: Once In A Lifetime
- B2: This Goes Hard (Feat. Big Twins, Demrick)
- B3: Timbos
- B4: Lyrical Hammers (Feat. Stephen Carpenter)
- B5: Stay Calm
- B6: Kitty Kat
- B7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
Single Black Vinyl[27,86 €]
Double Black Vinyl[28,15 €]
Clear with Black & White Splatter Vinyl[37,82 €]
Cassette[16,39 €]
B-Real of Cypress Hill and Psycho Les of The Beatnuts have joined forces for REAL PSYCHO,
a 14-track album that merges their iconic styles into a bold bicoastal fusion. B-Real, known for West Coast classics like "Insane in the Brain,"
blends his Latino-influenced rap with Psycho Les’s hard-hitting production, shaped in Queens on tracks like "Watch Out Now."
The album features guest appearances from Bay Area legend Too Short, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter,
Demrick, and Son Doobie. Singles like "You Might Know Us" and "Lyrical Hammers"—
the latter enhanced by Carpenter’s gritty guitar riffs—offer a preview of the album’s genre-defying sound.
For vinyl collectors, REAL PSYCHO is available in four editions, including black and yellow 1LP versions
and two deluxe 2LP editions in black and limited silver marble vinyl, featuring a gatefold cover and instrumental tracks.
This collaboration celebrates hip-hop’s ability to bridge coasts, eras, and styles, delivering an album that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
- A1: Real Psycho Intro
- A2: Doin‘ What You Never Did
- A3: Laugh 2 Da Bank
- A4: What We Came To Do (Feat. Too Short)
- A5: You Might Know Us
- A6: Put That Work In (Feat. Son Doobie)
- A7: Excuse Me (Feat. Dj Doo Wop)
- B1: Once In A Lifetime
- B2: This Goes Hard (Feat. Big Twins, Demrick)
- B3: Timbos
- B4: Lyrical Hammers (Feat. Stephen Carpenter)
- B5: Stay Calm
- B6: Kitty Kat
- B7: Laugh 2 Da Bank Remix
Single Black Vinyl[27,86 €]
Double Black Vinyl[28,15 €]
Clear with Black & White Splatter Vinyl[37,82 €]
Single Yellow Vinyl[27,86 €]
B-Real of Cypress Hill and Psycho Les of The Beatnuts have joined forces for REAL PSYCHO,
a 14-track album that merges their iconic styles into a bold bicoastal fusion. B-Real, known for West Coast classics like "Insane in the Brain,"
blends his Latino-influenced rap with Psycho Les’s hard-hitting production, shaped in Queens on tracks like "Watch Out Now."
The album features guest appearances from Bay Area legend Too Short, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter,
Demrick, and Son Doobie. Singles like "You Might Know Us" and "Lyrical Hammers"—
the latter enhanced by Carpenter’s gritty guitar riffs—offer a preview of the album’s genre-defying sound.
For vinyl collectors, REAL PSYCHO is available in four editions, including black and yellow 1LP versions
and two deluxe 2LP editions in black and limited silver marble vinyl, featuring a gatefold cover and instrumental tracks.
This collaboration celebrates hip-hop’s ability to bridge coasts, eras, and styles, delivering an album that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
Ugly is the second album released by the New York alternative metal band Life of Agony. Produced by Steve Thompson, the album signalled a considerable shift from the hardcore and groove metal sounds which defined their 1993 debut album. The band ditched the gang vocals and instead let Keith (now Mina) display his newly developed crooning. Keith's new expressive style sounds more emotive and is perhaps more at heart with the era's alternative bands and it suits UGLY perfectly.
Musically, this album is a pretty interesting hybrid. The first half of the album opener "Seasons" shows Keith's vocals glide quietly over the top, only to break into higher notes more frequently as the song progresses into the soaring second half. This opening track is a strong introduction to the bands new sound.
The album also features the band's trademark pulverizing riffs as heard in "I Regret", "Damned If I Do" and "Fears", the gang vocals and double-kick drumming has been completely omitted. Songs like "Lost At 22," and "How It Would Be" all feel profound. "Drained" shows the serious hooks and "Let's Pretend" is a ballad written to Keith's mother who died shortly after his birth. The album ends with a rendition of Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" that arguably kicked off the trend of Roadrunner bands doing novelty covers.
It unquestionably belongs in the collection of anyone who has a love for quality 90s-era alternative rock music. The uglier the better!
- I Got Exactly What I Wanted
- Target Offer
- Dub Vultures
- Pray'r
- Waiting For A Train
- Opportunity
- Cafe Style
- That's Why I Never Became A Dancer
- Rats
- 2022:
- Western Pepsi
- Cola Town
- Vanity Shapes
- Fake That Feeling
On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.
On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.
On their second record as The Convenience, Like Cartoon Vampires, New Orleans multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast embrace a hypnotic physicality and collage-y, spur-of-the-moment approach to composition. The result is an avant-rock soundworld, peppered with spidery, atonal guitar work, pointy rhythms, and strident feedback, which may strike as a total reinvention following the sugary funk-pop of their 2021 debut album Accelerator. With their second LP, following their inspiration meant creating with their hands much more than buttons or switches. Sessions were characterized by gnarly, improvisational jams as they tinkered with everything from cassette loops, found sounds, and 808s. Tracks like "Target Offer" and "Fake the Feeling" quake with ear-splitting guitar feedback, while "Pray'r" and "Rats" eschew their groove worship in favor of haunting minimalism. Song after song, Accelerator's pop influences are traded in for more eccentric frontiers, with the clear common denominators of their first two records being the duo's spellbinding, funky instincts and a mastery of texture. Lyrically, Like Cartoon Vampires collects dispatches from a dying empire-characters are devoured by alienation and vanity, though society doesn't bat an eye. But make no mistake, these songs are not merely disaffected ennui-music-making and collaboration are intensely emotional practices for The Convenience, and they reflect a shrieking lust for life.
Low Fuzz is proudly debuting with Avoiding Traps LOWFUZZ001, an album by Georgian musical auteur Rezo Glonti. Created using only Max/MSP and the Soviet-era LOMO MKE-100 microphone, this work marks a departure from Glonti’s traditional approach to sound. Filled with subtle yet unconventional ambient shifts , each track weaves tranquil textures, flavored with vocoder and vocal-driven sounds.
LOW FUZZ is an independent record label, musical platform and event series est. 2022 in Georgia, Tbilisi curated by ESI (Irakli Shonia).
LOW FUZZ is closely affiliated with Mutant Radio and Left Bank in Tbilisi.
The concept started as a collaborative show with Mutant Radio, and it's grown with Left Bank to host regular event series in the club setting. With the proper sound system to showdown and the ability to extend the playtime, LOW FUZZ lines up all sorts of genres and styles to host locals and artists around the globe from time to time
- There Ain't Enough Roses
- There Ain't Enough Roses (Instrumental)
Black Vinyl[10,04 €]
If there's a group in this age that faithfully carries the torch of real group soul harmony, it must be these three cats from the US west coast by the name of Thee Baby Cuffs. Currently composed of Joe Narvaez and Reality Jonez, the trio prances on the stage with their new song "There Ain't Enough Roses". Produced together with the Timmion house band Cold Diamond & Mink, these gentlemen lay down pure soulful romantics enough to fill a jacuzzi. Even though they seem to be walking out from the candy and flower shop empty handed to meet their lover, they are equipped with lyrics and falsetto flows that can melt any heart. Continuing with their tried and tested downtempo ballad style, Thee Baby Cuffs deliver a soul boulder just as potent as their previous Timmion releases "My My Baby" and "You're My Reason", not to forget the brilliant work that they have put out on the Raza Del Soul label from California. So hop on in the passenger's seat and let Thee Baby Cuffs serenade you all the way to the sunset. In case you're more for the instrumentals, flip the single over to reveal the flute-led version that'll send you to that sweet Steve Parks lowrider territory in no time.
LTD. TRANSPARENT ORANGE VINYL[10,71 €]
If there's a group in this age that faithfully carries the torch of real group soul harmony, it must be these three cats from the US west coast by the name of Thee Baby Cuffs. Currently composed of Joe Narvaez and Reality Jonez, the trio prances on the stage with their new song "There Ain't Enough Roses". Produced together with the Timmion house band Cold Diamond & Mink, these gentlemen lay down pure soulful romantics enough to fill a jacuzzi. Even though they seem to be walking out from the candy and flower shop empty handed to meet their lover, they are equipped with lyrics and falsetto flows that can melt any heart. Continuing with their tried and tested downtempo ballad style, Thee Baby Cuffs deliver a soul boulder just as potent as their previous Timmion releases "My My Baby" and "You're My Reason", not to forget the brilliant work that they have put out on the Raza Del Soul label from California. So hop on in the passenger's seat and let Thee Baby Cuffs serenade you all the way to the sunset. In case you're more for the instrumentals, flip the single over to reveal the flute-led version that'll send you to that sweet Steve Parks lowrider territory in no time.
- 1: Incidental Synth 5
- 2: Neighborhood Dog
- 3: Kiss Her Or Be Her
- 4: The Fiend
- 5: Incidental Synth 4
- 6: Heated Horses
- 7: The Uninvited Guest
- 8: And Again
- 9: The Mythomaniac
- 10: Smoke Ring
- 11: Incidental Synth 7
- 12: I'm Not A Mirror
- 13: Grass
- 14: Cold Pulse
- 15: The Catalogue
Black Vinyl[34,24 €]
CHIME OBLIVION began out of the blue. David Barbarossa reached out to John Dwyer saying he was a fan of OSEES and he was invited to a show in London. The two hung out and hit it off, "then I rabbit holed on Bow wow wow too…," Dwyer recalls. "I reached out to David and suggested that we try and write some songs together... I flew David out, we met at my studio and spent five days writing basin drums ideas." The two got to know each other and had a lot of laughs. Dwyer then brought in Weasel Walter, knowing that he would be perfect "to add all that legitimate old-school weird proto-punk no wave guitar scratch to it, which of course he did masterfully." Next came Tom Dolas to play fuzzy marimba, and the fabulous H.L. Nelly, "as I knew her from a record I’d put out back in the day for a band called Naked Lights from Oakland. I knew that she could pull off the vocal style I had in mind." Together, the group created their debut self-titled album, due for release via Deathgod on April 18th. CHIME OBLIVION will be released as a 45 rpm 12" vinyl, CD & on digital. They're sharing the first taste of the album today, in the form of lead single, "NEIGHBORHOOD DOG." "For fans of Adam & the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Crass, The Slits, and any other wierdo punk we fell in love with as youths." CHIME OBLIVION is due for release on April 18th via Deathgod.
CHIME OBLIVION began out of the blue. David Barbarossa reached out to John Dwyer saying he was a fan of OSEES and he was invited to a show in London. The two hung out and hit it off, "then I rabbit holed on Bow wow wow too…," Dwyer recalls. "I reached out to David and suggested that we try and write some songs together... I flew David out, we met at my studio and spent five days writing basin drums ideas." The two got to know each other and had a lot of laughs. Dwyer then brought in Weasel Walter, knowing that he would be perfect "to add all that legitimate old-school weird proto-punk no wave guitar scratch to it, which of course he did masterfully." Next came Tom Dolas to play fuzzy marimba, and the fabulous H.L. Nelly, "as I knew her from a record I’d put out back in the day for a band called Naked Lights from Oakland. I knew that she could pull off the vocal style I had in mind." Together, the group created their debut self-titled album, due for release via Deathgod on April 18th. CHIME OBLIVION will be released as a 45 rpm 12" vinyl, CD & on digital. They're sharing the first taste of the album today, in the form of lead single, "NEIGHBORHOOD DOG." "For fans of Adam & the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Crass, The Slits, and any other wierdo punk we fell in love with as youths." CHIME OBLIVION is due for release on April 18th via Deathgod.
- A1: Hanadi 02 18
- A2: Dreams Of An Insomniac
- A3: Al Dollarji
- A4: Les Vents Dominants
- A5: Al Bahriye
- A6: Miramar
- A7: The Invisible Cut
- A8: Helia Featuring Sven Wunder
- B1: East Of What
- B2: La Calypso 02 41
- B3: Hawalat
- B4: Sfiha
- B5: La Virgule Suspendue
- B6: Preamble To The Conclusion
- B7: Chou Ostak
- B8: What Happened Next
- B9: Jana
If Hawalat sounds like a world tour that’s because it essentially is. “As much as Marzipan is a picture of Lebanon from the inside, Hawalat kind of picks up from where Marzipan finished but more looking to the outside, the diaspora, to the notion of exile.” Megarbane says he is interested in the connections between the global and the domestic, the mundane and the cosmic, and wanted to create space for non-linear progression.
Hawalat is based on the idea of hawala, informal money transfers that you can make to certain countries impacted by a lack of currency or unstable political and economic contexts. His use of the term on this album is not a financial one, Megarbane explains, but a nod to notions of creative exchange between “places, persons, generations.” It is the first time Megarbane called on other musicians in this way to inform his sound, including a collaboration with Sven Wunder on the song Helia featuring strings by the Stockholm Studio Orchestra.
The album opens with first single Hanadi, a punchy Somali-inspired track with warm non-lexical vocals and saxophone. It immediately pivots to the Dreams of an Insomniac, which balances soft, effortless vocals and keys with urgent violin intrusions. Al Dollarji feels like Megarbane’s bread and butter, that is Mediterranean sounds with intricate strings, while Al Bahriye takes this staple and introduces hip hop inflections. The result is a rich 17 track album that effortlessly blends genres and styles.
Including 8 page, 12" sized booklet with unseen photos and liner notes by Armani Syed.
Eridu's 'Nous Sommes' EP prepares us for the first open-air house sessions of Spring 2025! The A-side starts off with 'Nous Sommes' where a bouncy bassline is countered by a French vocalist, balancing style and punch. The Belgian trio continues with 'Je M'en Fous', ready to get the crowd in a 'carefree' mood with the funky elements we all enjoy. The real French touch comes with the B-side where they start off with a long-lost house gem 'Jean Babbie's Theme', finally seeing the light on a record. 'Mad About' catches you in a warm texture of classic samples that will keep you busy long after the last note has faded.
- She's A Burglar
- Twist My Fate
- Woman Named Trouble
- Good Times
- Shoulda Known Better
- Walk On The Water
- Drive It Home
- I Can Not Feel The Rain
Tony Holiday has been at the center of a Memphis soul blues revival anchored by a contingent of young, savvy, well-schooled musicians who have a "family-like" attitude and a strong belief in one another. Over the past couple of years, Holiday has been touring hard, taking spells in between to write and record with Producer Eric Corne in Memphis and Los Angeles. The result is Keep Your Head Up, an album that demonstrates an impressive command of styles, as Holiday leads his band fluidly through Texas, Chicago and hill country blues with plenty of Memphis soul and even a touch of Afrobeat. It features a nice array of special guests including Eddie 9V, Kevin Burt, Albert Castiglia and Laura Chavez, last year's Blues Music Award winner for 'Guitarist of the Year’ with Holiday shining throughout on vocals and harmonica.
- A1: Our Boys Are Doing It 19:33
- B1: Dennis Groove 10:03
- B2: Orlando 9:52
By the mid-1970s, trumpeter Dennis Mpale was a consummate musician with an auspicious resume that located him at all the key turning points in the evolution of modern South African jazz. In his mid-20s, he led the trumpet section of Chris McGregor’s Castle Lager Big Band and participated in the ensemble’s landmark 1963 album Jazz/The African Sound. 1968 saw him recording I Remember Nick with The Soul Giants, which joined a wave of notable late-1960s releases, including The Mankunku Quartet’s Yakhal' Inkomo and The Chris Schilder Quintet’s Spring, that ignited the ambitions of South African jazz artists and producers in the 1970s. In 1975, Mpale co-founded the “rock jazz” ensemble Roots, inaugurating the era of jazz fusion in South Africa and opening the door for Pacific Express and Spirits Rejoice.
By 1977, Mpale had earned the right to an album of his own and, having participated in the 1975 recording of Abdullah Ibrahim’s African Herbs, turned to producer Rashid Vally of the As-Shams/The Sun label for his solo debut. Vally financed the project and seized an opportunity to license it to the local subsidiary of a major international label. As such, Our Boys Are Doing It was issued in South Africa on the Mercury label in 1977. Featuring saxophone heavyweight Kippie Moketsi, the album was a response to the global direction taken by trumpeter Hugh Masekela on The Boy's Doin' It in 1975. In contrast, seeped in the bump jive style of popular urban township music, Our Boys Are Doing It was a manifesto for an authentic, exuberant, homegrown variety of South African jazz.




















