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Continuing Mr Bongo’s series exploring the wealth of material released through the record labels of Sonny Lester, 1977’s Funk Reaction finds Hammond B3 organ virtuoso Lonnie Smith at his most dancefloor-friendly. Dripping with groove and swagger, this album skates between jazz-funk, cosmic disco radiance, beat-laden slow-jams and conscious psychedelic soul.

Having played with the likes of George Benson and Lou Donaldson in the ‘60s, alongside releasing a string of albums on Columbia and Blue Note, Funk Reaction sees Smith move into late ‘70s disco-funk-tinged territory.

Originally released on Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant Records successor, Lester Radio Corporation, the album feels more like a collaborative band-orientated project as opposed to a solo artist outing. Featuring some elite session players of the time, including Steve Gadd on drums, guitarist Lance Quinn and bassist Bob Babbitt, the album is tied together expertly by songwriter, arranger and conductor Brad Baker.

It’s worth the price tag alone for the superb disco-funk nugget 'Funk Reaction’. Other highlights include the only Lonnie Smith penned track on the album 'All In My Mind', that shines with a beautiful Stevie Wonder-esque quality and the slick guitar-led floater 'When The Night Is Right’, written by and featuring guitarist Richie Hohenburger. Elsewhere, ‘For The Love Of It’ and the Brad Babbitt written ‘Babbitt's Other Song’ serve up classic jazz funk flavours, both featuring stellar tenor saxophone from Eddie Daniels.

As a whole, the album is a superb example of Lonnie Smith’s ability to merge jazz with elements of funk, soul, disco and beyond, experimenting with ideas whilst broadening the scope of both his audience and appeal. Fans of The Blackbyrds, the CTI / Kudu stable and ‘70s George Benson will dig this!

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jogo Duro, a collaboration between Ilhan Ersahin and some outstanding São Paulo musicians Guizado, Ze Nigro, Samuel Fraga, Chicao & Tony Gordin who also happen to be great friends. These are players who will be familiar to those following the careers of Céu, Otto, Curumin, Tulipa Ruiz and the late, great Gal Costa. This record is the result of the amount of time Ilhan has spent in São Paulo over the last decade due to putting on the Nublu Jazz Fest there every year. With all the contacts, connections and friendships formed over the course of making an annual music festival happen, musical cross-pollination (usually simply referred to as "jams") was inevitable but this time it was decided to do it in a studio with tape rolling rather than on stage, which is certainly a more productive approach than merely talking about it over beers at a local bar! Everything happened fairly spontaneously over three days in the studio, everybody brought songs, ideas and creative energy and before you know it an album was born

: League of Legends Worlds is an esports championship like no other — not only prestigious, but gargantuan in scale and chock full of production grandeur. A culmination of each LoL season, Worlds is the place for the very best League of Legends players to come together and compete at the highest level, battling for the Summoner’s Cup, a multi-million dollar prize, and, of course,
eternal glory.

An eminent event like Worlds demands a legendary theme song to match. Each year, Riot Games taps talented superstar musicians to craft a new Worlds Anthem, performed live at the competition and released later with a music video to match. These themes, from incredible artists like Zedd, Lil Nas X, and now, for 2023, NewJeans, have never been collected together on a single vinyl release — until now.

iam8bit and Riot are proud to present League of Legends Worlds Anthems (Vol 1: 2014-2023). It’s a full decade of Worlds Anthems, collected together on two sides of a 1xLP for the very first time. We knew this illustrious release deserved a very special vinyl treatment. That’s why we pressed the record on a Worlds Blue Vinyl. Plus, it wouldn’t be an iam8bit release without fantastic cover

art to adorn your record shelf, so we tapped our pals at Envar Entertainment to craft amazing illustrations celebrating the past, present, and future of the League of Legends Worlds Championship.

Legends never die. Celebrate a decade of Worlds in style with this one-of-a-kind release.

Certainly one of the most obscure and perhaps one of the most fascinating work of the English jazz revolution. Master of ceremonies is cellist Paul Buckmaster, known for his work with the Third Ear Band and for his (later) collaborations with Miles Davis, David Bowie and Elton John. Chitinous is his the only album as leader and it was recorded between 31 March and 13 April 1970, by an orchestra of no less than 51 players, with violins, violas and cellos. In this enormous line-up we find the cream of English musicians involved, starting with trumpeter Ian Carr and ending with drummer John Marshall. The leader is on cello, his main instrument, but also on keyboards, which he shares with the excellent Pete Robinson. The music is organized in suites, with very broad suggestions that draw from classical and contemporary music and then move back into jazz territory.

The latest release on Jai Alai follows the format of forgotten vinyl tracks never before released on 7” format, or previously CD only album tracks, and will raise some eyebrows in artist selection and pairing.

Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II was one of the most significant jazz artists of all time having joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the mid-50s and establishing himself as one of the best hard bop trumpeter/flugelhorn players. His progression was continuous through the 50s/60s working with John Coltrane, Gigi Gryce, Pepper Adams, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins as sideman, and became one of Blue Note Records leading artists.

By the end of the 60s Byrd decided to move away from that idiom, experimenting with jazz fusion, African music and Rhythm & Blues. He worked hard to make jazz and its history part of the curriculum in US music colleges and he taught at many including Rutgers, Hampton, Howard, and Columbia, the latter from who he received his PhD in music.
Byrd took a great interest in how Miles Davis’ experimentation was resonating with a younger audience, and despite being castigated by his musical peers, his development of jazz fusion changed the jazz scene forever. His work with the Blackbyrds was a cornerstone for the progression of jazz funk in the UK.

The effect of his hook-up with brothers Larry & Fonce Mizell was immediate and his Blue Notes albums “Black Byrd” (1973), “Street Lady”, “Stepping Into Tomorrow” (1974), “Places & Spaces” (1975) and “Caricatures” (1976) became legendary on the newly evolving jazz funk scene with certain tracks such as “Change (Makes You Wanna Hustle)” normalising dance jazz on the disco floors, not to mention being a rich source for many hip-hop samples.
A slightly leaner period followed when he moved to Elektra Records and of the three albums with his new incarnation 125th Street NYC, a group of musicians he taught at North Carolina Central University, two were produced by Isaac Hayes including “Words”, “Sounds, Colors & Shapes” (1982) from which “Everyday”, a fabulous forgotten piece of mellow jazz funk derives.

By the end of the 80s he had returned to his harder straight-ahead jazz roots, but his place in history and the evolving of jazz as a dance culture in our clubs should never be forgotten.

Finally, the stand-out cuts of Rasa’s 1978 LP feature on 45 for the first time - ‘When Will The Day Come’, coupled with ‘Within The Sound’. Back in the summer of ’78, when London McDaniels and his brother Chris frequented a Krishna temple to take advantage of the weekly open feasts, the heads of the temple soon learnt the duo were Berklee College Of Music students and asked them to record an album of contemporary Hare Krishna worship songs. The result was Everything You See Is Me by Rasa, a jazz funk laced classic that’s gained notoriety amongst record collectors across genres, steered by the sons of singer-songwriter Eugene Mcdaniels. Produced and composed by guitarist London McDaniels, with Chris McDaniels on vocals and drums, and lyrics written by Hare Krishna devotee Andrew Marks, the album is coveted by beat heads, rare groove, soul, and balearic heads alike. The songs feature an A-list collective of session players including bassist Anthony Jackson and trumpeter Randy Brecker and have been a sample-source for numerous hip-hop records including Common’s ‘Take It Ez’, Black’ Rob’s Can I Live’ and BDP’s ‘Beef’.

Fire-splattered vinyl is opaque red vinyl with yellow & orange starburst. As C418, composer and producer Daniel Rosenfeld designs sounds to resonate in both physical and pixelated realms. Best known for his original soundtracks to Minecraft, the single best-selling video game of all time, he's developed a discography of instrumental music over the last decade that traverses electronic pop patterns, neo-classical dreamscapes, and sparse ambient motifs. The latter element has broken from the "8-bit" pigeonholing of game music and earned him accolades that reference artists like Erik Satie (The Guardian) and Brian Eno (VICE). In 2015, after quietly self-releasing Minecraft Volume Alpha and Minecraft Volume Beta, Rosenfeld partnered with Ghostly International to reissue Minecraft Volume Alpha on vinyl and CD. The release garnered attention from proper music critics and the gaming community alike, becoming one of the most sought after records in the Ghostly catalog. Now, following several restocks of Alpha to fervent fan response, it is time for the soundtrack's second installment to shine. For the legion of listeners and players to, at long last, have Minecraft Volume Beta in tangible formats. Originally self-released in 2013, Minecraft Volume Beta was C418's longest batch of music to date at nearly 140 minutes. The collection features tracks that were "silently" added to Minecraft during its music updates and a few that never officially entered the game. The run time is now adapted to fit the double LP format, while digital downloads include the full set Rosenfeld's unmistakable abilities are on display; he creates a sweeping variety of musical ideas that mirror the limitless universe of Minecraft. Ghostly International is thrilled to give this unique collaboration its due treatment and hopes to see the creative inspiration which drives Minecraft and Rosenfeld continue to disperse by virtue of this unexpectedly universal music.

Throw the gauntlet: Fast Castle is back with Gent1e $oul’s “Shoals”-EP, our furthest excursion into the unexplored depths of mind-bending bassweight! Having perfected his build order on his recent “Block Printing'' and “Silk Armor”-EPs, Gent1e $oul continues to infuse his productions with sonic bass strategies over five versatile tracks.

“Dark Age” provides an aggressive opening, immediately applying pressure with nasty bass wobbles, dembow echoes and a 4x4 switch that might catch distracted players off guard. Tried and tested in many settings, this is an essential option for the incoming dancefloor rush!

With its heavy neo-stepper energy, ”Bad Neighbor” lays siege to dancefloor resistance with a piercing lead, breathing drums and powerful waves of sub wubs. Just like the AoE2’s legendary trebuchet of the same name, “Bad Neighbor” – paired with the right Soundsystem – will make the walls shake.

“Dusty Acer” is a homage to Gent1e $oul’s dear but aging AoE2 gaming machine, capable of producing similar noises to this dark UKG cuts’ central bassline.

Deep dubstep cut “Illumination” takes us to the for a wholesome mana refill: Mystic ambiences make you pull down your cowl, before diving into a fully blown sub massage.

The standout self-titled cut “Shoals” concludes the release: A deep-yet-powerful half-stepping perc grower at 160bpm, operating on subdued rhythmic shifts and layers.

As a special tribute to the AoE2 community, all tunes are flavored with the game's original sound effects. Thanks for keeping us inspired, Nili_Aoe for NAC5 and T90 for HC5!

The Hammond organ was first manufactured in 1935. In 1954, the now famous Hammond B3 model was introduced with additional harmonic percussion feature. When the company went out of business in 1985, around two million of various models of the Hammond organ have been produced.

The Hammond B3 was originally marketed to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians in organ trios. Jimmy Smith's use of the Hammond B3 inspired a generation of organ players, and its use became more widespread in the 1960s and 1970s in rhythm and blues, rock, reggae, and progressive rock.

This collection is centered on the exciting and dynamic sounds of the Hammond B3 organ!

1981, the leaden years are over, the socialist left is in power in France and the first wave of punk seems a long way off. However, the youth of the day had not said its last word, and bands were springing up all over the place, free radio stations were opening up, fanzines were being published, concerts were being staged on the fly and little by little a scene was forming, a motley crew of kids in revolt, radical activists and just plain old folk passing through.

After having cut their teeth in a variety of more or less confidential bands, in which you'd come across a good number of players from this up-and-coming alternative scene, the members of Guernica moved up a gear, determined to blow on the still-glowing embers of rebel rock. With the shortage of venues the rule at the time, they began by scouring the suburban MJCs, putting on wild concerts and eventually meeting up with the squatters of the Couronnes commune and the members of V.I.S.A., with whom they played an active part in organising concerts in squatted buildings in these relegated areas of the capital.

In February 1983, the V.I.S.A. association and the Abattoir art collective (which included some members of Guernica) organised a concert at the Usine Pali-Kao. That evening, two groups took to the stage in succession: Guernica and a fledgling duo, Bérurier Noir. The evening will go down in the history of alternative rock as one of the key turning points of the period. After the departure of Loran, who played guitar with both bands, Fabrice Benoît joined Guernica on guitar, and the gang continued for a few more months, ending on a high note with a chaotic concert at the Eldorado in Paris.

Until now, it's been impossible to get your hands on any of the band's recordings unless you're lucky enough to own the Paris Mix compilation, the Guernica/Bérurier Noir split or the V.I.S.A. Usine Cascades 1982 cassette. This vinyl, a perfect record of the era, brings together the six tracks recorded by the band at the time.

The collaboration between renowned drummer Jim White and acclaimed guitarist Marisa Anderson is a natural union of two of the most intuitive players and listeners working in music. Jim White is known for his groundbreaking trio, Dirty Three, as well as duo, Xylouris White. His list of collaborations is vast and include artists such as Nick Cave, Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Marnie Stern and Warren Ellis. Jim just released his debut solo album, All Hits: Memories. Marisa Anderson, known primarily for her solo work, in demand collaborator who has worked with Tashi Dorji, Sharon Van Etten, Yasmine Williams and Michael Hurley. She has released records with William Tyler and Tara Jane O"neal. White and Anderson are each highly sought after collaborators in no small part because of their mastery, versatility and highly expressive playing. Their sophomore album, Swallowtail, finds the duo completely attuned to each other, fluidly moving as wind and water. They avoid preconceived movements, instead focusing on their musical conversation. As Anderson puts it: "The ideas aren"t the music, they are the pathway into the musical possibilities." Their skillful interplay creates an effervescence throughout the album. The ebb and flow to the duo"s motions bring a sense of serenity and ease to spontaneous transitions, each swell and retraction sounding as free as it does inevitable. White and Anderson"s preternatural alchemy as a duo allows each fleeting gesture to feel featherlight and stirring while maintaining an inquisitive spirit. Their music is an enchanting and illuminating.

The collaboration between renowned drummer Jim White and acclaimed guitarist Marisa Anderson is a natural union of two of the most intuitive players and listeners working in music. Jim White is known for his groundbreaking trio, Dirty Three, as well as duo, Xylouris White. His list of collaborations is vast and include artists such as Nick Cave, Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Marnie Stern and Warren Ellis. Jim just released his debut solo album, All Hits: Memories. Marisa Anderson, known primarily for her solo work, in demand collaborator who has worked with Tashi Dorji, Sharon Van Etten, Yasmine Williams and Michael Hurley. She has released records with William Tyler and Tara Jane O"neal. White and Anderson are each highly sought after collaborators in no small part because of their mastery, versatility and highly expressive playing. Their sophomore album, Swallowtail, finds the duo completely attuned to each other, fluidly moving as wind and water. They avoid preconceived movements, instead focusing on their musical conversation. As Anderson puts it: "The ideas aren"t the music, they are the pathway into the musical possibilities." Their skillful interplay creates an effervescence throughout the album. The ebb and flow to the duo"s motions bring a sense of serenity and ease to spontaneous transitions, each swell and retraction sounding as free as it does inevitable. White and Anderson"s preternatural alchemy as a duo allows each fleeting gesture to feel featherlight and stirring while maintaining an inquisitive spirit. Their music is an enchanting and illuminating.

Mayday is the third LP by Montreal-based artist, Myriam Gendron. It follows her earlier, critically acclaimed albums, Not So Deep As A Well (2014) and Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found (2021). Myriam began exploring the complex folk traditions of Quebec (and beyond), with Ma délire, which combines traditional and original songs with arrangements that make space for avant-garde musical interludes by such folks as guitarist Bill Nace (Body/Head) and renowned jazz percussionist Chris Corsano. Mayday presents an even more syncretic fusion of the elements Myriam uses to create her sound. Most of the songs are original, sung in both English and French, and they blend traditional and avant elements with abandon. She is often accompanied on this album by the guitarist Marisa Anderson and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White), whose work provides a quietly aggressive sort of free-rock base. Additional players include Montreal bassist Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Bill Nace and saxophonist Zoh Amba. Mayday is a thoroughly thrilling effort that manages to create new vistas of sound while maintaining a feel that is both intimate and familiar. The music here certainly possesses a richly serious tone, but Myriam Gendron (like Leonard Cohen) is able to infuse her darkness with a subtle, powerful light that reminds us that even the most pitch-black night is but a transitional state. Beautiful work.

Roy Davis Jr. was part of Phuture and then moved on to New York to record for Strictly Rhythm and DJ Duke's Power Music label. He was one of the main players in the 1990s House Music biz and is still very active until today.

2024 Repress
Clear Vinyl

This is the second installment of the Warm Up Bandcamp Vinyl series and comes again signed by label boss Oscar Mulero. Limited edition vinyl EP with three cuts of merciless techno designed to shake minds and feet.

"Gradual Blending" starts with the core elements up, distorted kicks, shuffled hats, resonant percussive components, super reverberated claps, density and obscurity aligned in an hypnotic structure.

"Evolutionary Decay" is elastic and physical, a solid subbass / kick / hat groove, phased synthetic layers, atmospheres and liquidness: Intelligent tool.

"Natural Resources" relies again on distorted drums, asymmetrical sinoidal sequences and Fm synths all designed in a wise arrangement.

Timeless, hard and mental for the real players out there.

Jackpot Records is proud to reissue what many call arguably the greatest album of the punk rock era: The Flesh Eaters’ 1981 punk-noir masterpiece, ‘ A Minute To Pray A Second To Die. Once referred to as an all-star roots/voodoo combo, The Flesh Eaters could only have crawled out of the myst of the late L.A. 70s punk scene. Fronted by punk poet/composer Chris D. (Desjardins), the band was a satellite for exquisite collaborators that allowed him to bring the full force of his dark, messed-up lyrical nightmares. Members of X, Wall Of Voodoo, Los Lobos, The Blasters, and The Plugz all hopped into his unmarked car to take a drive with Chris D. Its grabbed-by-the-throat vocals are powerfully buoyed by the tight melodicism emanating from the players on this record (John Doe andDJ Bonebrake from X, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Dave Alvin & Bill Bateman of The Blasters). Hell, we even get the perfectly executed John Doe original, “Cyrano de Berger’s Back,” which was re-recorded by X in 1987. The creators of this record made a pulp novel for your ears with an equal chance to scar your heart. Do not miss out this is punk noir at its greatest.

Bringing together over 50 of Jamaica's greatest session musicians, whose work spans from the birth of reggae in the late 1960s until today, Roots Architects is the largest gathering of Jamaican musical talent on one all-instrumental album. Never before have so many veterans, who helped create the immortal rhythms that made reggae internationally successful, been assembled to play on new material without vocals. This album aims to celebrate and pay tribute to the unsung heroes of reggae music: the rhythm builders or Roots Architects.

The project is the brainchild of Swiss keyboardist and producer Mathias Liengme. In 2013, he travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, to produce The Inspirators project, an all-star album gathering Leroy ”Horse-mouth” Wallace, Lloyd Parks, Earl ”Chinna” Smith and Sangie Davis, the four of them acting both as musicians and vocalists. This first experience in Kingston studio life paved the way to what would become the Roots Architects project. In February and March 2017 Mathias Liengme travelled for the fifth time to Kingston to record as many of reggae’s greatest living veteran musicians as he could. With the help of a few of these Architects like Robbie Lyn, Fil Callender or Dalton Browne, he managed to gather over 50 session musicians aged 60 to 85 on nine instrumental songs.

Roots Architects are legends back together in Kingston studios doing what they do best: creating in-strumental music all together!

One of the finest groups of the late 50s, the Jazz Lab was co-led by the inimitable horn players Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd. Although the group worked extensively from February to September of 1957 it broke up shortly after. However, all of their albums together have become jazz classics, among them the group’s first LP, presented here. 180-gram VIRGIN VINYL LIMITED EDITION. The Complete Album + 1 Bonus Track

Repress.

La Rama is back with a repress of the incredible Bunzinelli release! After only receiving half of our pressing the first time around, we finally tracked down our master plates and pressed up another batch.

Slightly flipped artwork and a full label sleeve for the occasion :-)


La Rama Records is proud to present four fresh feelers from our friend Bunzinelli. These tracks have weathered the storm of no-fun to provide joy and elation for the living to come... psychedelic feelings to help it all fall back in to place.

Bunzinelli has been personally involved in serving sonic treats to the world via his label and mix series Chambre Noire. He was also part of the team behind Cosmic Tones which in 2019 released 'Montreal Pleiades' featuring his first musical outing alongside local major players Priori, Dust-e-1, URA, Temple's M. Salaciak & R. Weng (the wizard behind our first release as Dj Medallion).