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Mr Bongo presents a reissue of the 1619 Bad Ass Band’s self-titled album, originally released in 1976 on the ultra-rare tax-scam imprint TSG Records. Formed by Khalid Abdul Shalid, the record was the only album released by the group, and has since become a mythical, highly sought-after prize for collectors and DJs, ranking among the most coveted albums on the 1970s rare soul scene.

This New Jersey soul-funk gem captures the raw energy of mid-‘70s underground funk and soul. Its journey began in relative obscurity having been released on TSG, one of several US “tax-scam” labels operating at the time. These labels exploited loopholes in the tax system by inflating production costs to create write-offs against their tax bills, meaning commercial success was never the objective. Records were often pressed in extremely limited quantities, with little to no promotion or distribution and in many cases, artists were unaware their music had even been released. While this led to the 1619 Bad Ass Band’s album slipping into obscurity upon release, it later cemented its status as a holy grail for diggers and DJs. Unfortunately, like many releases of its kind, it also meant the band never received the recognition they deserved at the time.

Musically, the album is a unique listen with a varied palette that will appeal to fans of a broad range of tastes. From the luscious, dreamy ballad ‘Rain’, which will melt even the stoniest of hearts, to the raw, drum-heavy funk of ‘Love To Love’, it showcases the group’s depth and versatility. Highlights include the string-laden, floaty stepper ‘Just From You’, and ‘Nothing Can Stop My Loving You’, with its spacey synth lines, which will be a joy for modern soul fans. Elsewhere, ‘Step Out’ opens with a heavy drum break (later sampled on Latyrx’s ‘Interlude’ from their 1997 debut) before unfolding into a brilliant male-female vocal exchange.

Every track on here is a winner and it’s criminal that the band never received the publicity or credit they deserved when it was first released. Alongside the TSG Records release in 1976, the album was later released again in 1978 with alternate cover art on another tax-scam label, Graham International. Both versions have since become highly collectable and over time, the album has steadily gained the recognition it always deserved. This reissue by Mr Bongo offers a wider audience the chance to experience a truly special record, one that stands as a testament to the overlooked brilliance of the era’s underground soul and funk scene.

Spirit of 76 Summer Campaign - Blow Your Face Out captures the J. Geils Band at their rowdiest and most electrifying. Recorded live at the height of their ’70s powers, the album is a raw, sweat-soaked blast of blues-rock, R&B, and hard-driving boogie. Peter Wolf’s swaggering vocals and the band’s loose-but-locked-in groove turn every track into a party, with extended jams and call-and-response energy that put you right in the middle of the crowd. It’s not a polished studio showcase—it’s a full-tilt document of a band feeding off the audience and blowing the doors off the room. 2 LP set recorded at Boston Garden and Cobo Hall in November 1975 is remastered from the original analog masters by Bernie Grundman.

Das 1962 erschienene ”Big Band Bossa Nova” ist Teil einer ganzen Reihe brasilianisch geprägter Alben
von Stan Getz (1962 ”Jazz Samba”, 1963 ”Jazz Samba Encore!”, 1964 ”Getz/Gilberto”), wobei er auf
dem von Creed Taylor produzierten und von Gary McFarland arrangierten und dirigierte Album mit der
Einbettung seines Tenorsaxofons in Big-Band-Arrangements überraschte. Für die Session verbanden Stan
Getz und Gitarrist Jim Hall, Trompeter Doc Severinsen, Bassist Tommy Williams und Schlagzeuger Johnny
Rae die Rhythmen von Samba und Bossa Nova mit packenden, kraftvollen orchestralen Arrangements.
Das Repertoire greift auf brasilianische Kompositionen zurück, wie Luiz Bonfás ”Manhã de Carnaval” oder
Antônio Carlos Jobim und Vinícius de Moraes’ ”Chega de Saudade”, sowie auf Material von McFarland
(”Balanço no Samba” oder ”Street Dance”) und mehr

The Natural Yogurt Band presents a new 7-inch record containing twenty short tracks full of calories with chunks of drum breaks, sweet melodies and crunchy effects. These biscuits are scratch and sample friendly, and better enjoyed with a cup of tea.

Das 1977er Erfolgsalbum als Liquid Vinyl!

The CJP Band return to Supa Jams with two more tracks for your listening and dancing pleasure.

First up 'We Must Believe' channels disco (not) disco vibrations on a strings for days sea of spiritual spaceways. Soaring skyward on Boogie driven basslines and roaring sax solos.

This fresh cut nods to the psychedelic soul vocals of Rotary Connection, Idris Muhammad and The 5th Dimension, Carrying a powerful spiritual message of unity and transformation.

On the flip, Charles Earland 1976 jazz funk classic 'Let The Music Play' gets the CJP cover treatment.

A raw, Driving dancefloor burner, Powered by heavyweight drums, Deep Fender precision basslines, Flamboyant Brazilian percussion and crazy guitar and sax solos. Featuring Hannah Williams on guest vocals.

Hand Stamped Sleeve

Limited Pressing

Don't Sleep!

Originally released in 2008 on Ezekiel Honig’s own Anticipate Recordings, Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band finds the artist refining a compositional language rooted in the methodologies of musique concrete, ambient, and beat research. Working from a palette of environmental recordings, instrumental fragments, and soft electronic treatments, Honig pushes the source material into an array of sympathetic forms ranging from pillow-soft, lowercase ambient to diffuse downtempo and minimal house. For its reissue on Keplar, the album has been remastered by Kassian Troyer (D&M), bringing a new clarity to its intricate, low-lit architectures.

Throughout the record, serving almost as audiographic guideposts, are faint but insistent gestures toward propulsion, an abiding and recurrent 4/4 pulse that guides the music laterally and instantiates a slow negotiation between its various elements. This music invites close listening precisely by not revealing itself all at once, allowing small collisions of timbre and subtle shifts in emphasis to carry the weight. The traces of lived environments that remain embedded in the mix - distant crowds, sounds of transit, the indistinct acoustics of interiors in flux - expand the frame without breaking its intimacy, creating a potent dislocation between the nearness of the sound and the scale of its sources.

Rather than foregrounding any single voice, this is music that distributes attention equally across its materials, allowing background details to assert their presence as much as melody or rhythm. Honig presents listeners with an astute practice that’s concerned less with building from the ground up than with uncovering what happens when disparate textures and structures are brought into close contact with one another. (Alex Cobb, 2026)

Random Vinyl

We've got two brand spanking new exclusives for the latest Z Records 7 inch record. First up is 'Reach For It' Afrom The Sunburst Band with it's uplifting Mtume/Lucas feel, glorious vocals from New Jersey singer Tiffany T'zelle (fans will know her from Dave Lee's 'Produced With Love II' album) and all the usual star players of The Sunburst Band. Then making her debut on ZR is Queen B Unlimited with '27 Sided', an ultra smooth dose of modern disco-soul. It's and expertly produced love song about us all being different shapes, trying to find our match, we suggest turning the lights down low for this one.

Despite its tragic breakup, Yugoslavia as a political, social and cultural phenomenon still inspires generations, especially those who were born or lived at the time of this utopian land of South Slavs. Those who didn’t enjoy the privilege are still amazed by its 1970s and ’80s music scene and the number of very modern, high quality acts that were so often ahead of their time. Two such acts were Data and The Master Scratch Band, both founded by Zoran Jevtic and Zoran Vracevic, who introduced synth-pop, breakbeat, and hip-hop music in Yugoslavia in 1984 with their releases: SP Neka Ti Se Dese Prave Stvari/Ne Zovi To Ljubavlju and miniLP Deogut (Jugoton). Our latest release, “It Was Ridiculous, It Was Amazing!” gathers their earliest unreleased material from 1981-1983, showcasing a broader range of genres – alongside synth-pop and breakbeat/hip-hop, they also experimented with industrial, EBM, minimal synth, and electro-funk!

The whole record is divided into two parts: on A side there are 7 previously unpublished songs by group DATA, and on B side there are 4 previously unreleased recordings by The Master Scratch Band.

The Data side opens with two unexpected “shocker” tracks: Ja Nisam Kao Ti” (eng. I am Not Like You) and “Izumi” (eng. “Inventions”) from 1981, where they sound like early Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft with unusual vocal pan sound effects on Serbian lyrics and uncompromising synth-based sound. Equally unpredictable are the next two songs: atmospheric “España” and dusty “Damage In My Head,” where Zoran Jevtić boldly steps into the lead vocal role. But the surprises don’t end there. The next two songs, France and Strahovi (eng. “Fears”), bring a mysterious and nostalgic atmosphere, elevated by the irreplaceable sound of the modular Roland System-100M. At the end comes the greatest surprise of all: Data covers YMO-Ballet in a song called Ne Zelim Da Tako Zive (eng, I Don’t Want Them Living Like That) and puts some extra energy in rhythm without losing the original song’s sensibility. Like in the original, the lyrics are tender and yet mysterious and provocative.

The Master Scratch Band side contains the very first versions of the songs Break War, Jailbreak, and Computer Break, originally recorded in studio Druga Maca in Belgrade in 1983. These versions were not released on their mini-LP album Dégout (Jugoton, 1984), and they are actually the first ever hip-hop/Breakbeat recordings in Yugoslavia. With great enthusiasm, every sound was uniquely crafted from scratch using the finest analog gear available in the early ’80s. The two young artists, aiming for international success, chose to write their lyrics in English. The album’s final track, “Mad Scratch,” showcases their talent for creating impressive sound effects, which would be a delight for contemporary DJs and producers who specialize in sampling and scratching old-school hip-hop.

This release is truly a “100% digger’s gem” – 11 previously unreleased tracks from legendary pioneers of electronic, hip-hop, and breakbeat. A collection to discover, enjoy, play, and treasure forever!

• Jackie Dee’s ‘Who’ was one of many great tape finds from Detroit producer Dave Hamilton’s vault in the 90s and first came out on CD in 1999. In 2015 Ace licensed that version to Colemine Records in the USA who issued it on their First Light subsidiary. That disc is now deleted and fetching a high price.
• In recent years we have found the multi-track tape with an extended version of the recording and an instrumental take on it that features Dave Hamilton’s vibes-playing. The vocal side is a full one minute and forty seconds longer than the original release.

Some grooves don’t rush to the dancefloor — they crawl there, slow and heavy, like smoke wrapping around a bassline. With Fragments of Reality, The Balek Band sculpt an electronic funk that lives between shadow and light — an end-of-the-world fever dream, a Barjavel-style Ravage where chaos turns nihilistic.

No sequencer grid here — just four musicians sharing the same room, shaping air and tension together: drums locked tight with a slap bass, a guitar dripping with echo and heat, and a one-man orchestra behind his machines, weaving acid lines and synth arpeggios while mixing the band live — drenching it in delay, reverb, and saturation, like a dub producer in a Kingston studio, Lee Scratch Perry or King Tubby conjuring ghosts through smoke.

This isn’t fusion — it’s friction. A living ritual where the TB-303 hums, and machines don’t dominate but converse with the human pulse. Each track feels like a night that refuses to end — that humid in-between where trance slips into languor, and the body starts to think for itself.

The record recalls the cosmic jazz of Alain Mion or Eddy Louiss meeting the fiery energy of West African afrobeat musicians freshly arrived in a smoky Belleville basement in the mid-’80s. When The Balek Band summon ghosts, it’s only to reshape them — bending the past into something futuristic, alive, and strangely refreshing. Both disciplined and delirious, Fragments of Reality feels like a promise at dawn: dark funk for the late hours, slow acid for warm blood.

This EP isn’t nostalgic, though it remembers. It’s a transmission from a parallel past — a moment when jazz players met drum machines and decided never to stop playing. Each note sweats, each rhythm breathes. You can almost see the light cutting through the haze, faces half-awake, half-possessed.

The Balek Band aren’t recreating a moment — they’re keeping it alive.
Flesh and cables. Impulse and patience.
A band, not a loop.
A trip, not a format.

2025 European press. Originally pressed in limited copies on a Thai LP (2023) - Comes with download code.

‘Araya Lam’ marks the third album from The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band. Following their releases ‘21st Century Molam’ and ‘Planet Lam’, the band delves even deeper into the roots of Isan music, collaborating with traditional musicians on vocals as well as instruments like the Pong-Lang, Pi, and Sor. Each element adds a fresh dimension to the band’s distinctive reinterpretation of Molam.

The album also sees the band expanding their sonic horizons — nodding to New York post-punk on ‘Zud Rang Ma’, and drawing inspiration from the musical traditions across the Indian Ocean on ‘Psych Lam Kor’.

By looking back to their roots while continuing to push boundaries, ‘Araya Lam’ represents the next chapter in the ever-evolving journey of The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.

Anlässlich des 20-jährigen Jubiläums im Jahr 2025 ist das gleichnamige Debütalbum der besten Band aus Staten Island endlich wieder erhältlich! Mit einem luxuriösen Cover im „old style“ und einer vollständig analogen (AAA) Remastering-Version der Originalbänder – von Ryan Smith (Sterling Sound) – sieht diese legendäre LP besser aus und klingt besser denn je. Mit „Up From the South” und „Ghost Walk” ist dieses Album ein Muss für Fans von Daptone und den Budos!

Anlässlich des 20-jährigen Jubiläums im Jahr 2025 ist das gleichnamige Debütalbum der besten Band aus Staten Island endlich wieder erhältlich! Mit einem luxuriösen Cover im „old style“ und einer vollständig analogen (AAA) Remastering-Version der Originalbänder – von Ryan Smith (Sterling Sound) – sieht diese legendäre LP besser aus und klingt besser denn je. Mit „Up From the South” und „Ghost Walk” ist dieses Album ein Muss für Fans von Daptone und den Budos!

This album was recorded by Isao Suzuki with an international string band lineup featuring Hank Jones, Roy Haynes, and Ron Carter. Widely supported by jazz fans both in Japan and abroad, it remains highly sought after and continues to command strong popularity on the used market.

Bass (Piccolo Bass): Isao Suzuki
Bass: Ron Carter
Piano: Hank Jones
Drums: Roy Haynes

Das Debütalbum von My New Band Believe entstand unter ungewöhnlichen Umständen: Während eines Aufenthalts in einem chinesischen Hotel fühlte sich Cameron Picton plötzlich krank. In seinem delirierenden Zustand entstanden Bilder und Textfragmente, aus denen später Songs wurden - darunter auch der Ausdruck "My New Band Believe", der zum Projekt- und Albumnamen wurde. Picton empfindet den Titel zugleich als kitschig und brillant: eine bewusste Wiedervorstellung, ein Neuanfang, der zwischen Ich-Bezug und kollektivem Anspruch oszilliert. Als Bassist und zweiter Frontmann von black midi war Picton Teil einer Band, die für komplexe Strukturen und kontrolliertes Chaos stand. Nach deren Auflösung 2023 begann er ohne festen Plan mit Studioarbeiten. Aus dieser offenen Phase heraus formierte sich My New Band Believe, unterstützt von Musiker:innen wie Kiran Leonard, Caius Williams, Steve Noble, Andrew Cheetham und Mitgliedern von caroline. Das Album bewegt sich assoziativ durch unterschiedliche emotionale Ebenen. Klanglich setzt es überwiegend auf akustische Arrangements statt auf elektronische Effekte, bleibt dabei jedoch dynamisch. Einflüsse wie Bert Jansch oder Judee Sill sind spürbar. Songs wie "Actress" oder "Opposite Teacher" verbinden Zurückhaltung mit plötzlichen Ausbrüchen. "Target Practice" verwandelt Vigilantismus in eine theatralische Mitsing-Hymne, während "One Night" und "Heart of Darkness" intime, suchende Figuren zeigen. Picton gelingt es, diffuse Ängste in eindringliche, mehrdeutige Popmusik zu übersetzen.

Das Debütalbum von My New Band Believe entstand unter ungewöhnlichen Umständen: Während eines Aufenthalts in einem chinesischen Hotel fühlte sich Cameron Picton plötzlich krank. In seinem delirierenden Zustand entstanden Bilder und Textfragmente, aus denen später Songs wurden - darunter auch der Ausdruck "My New Band Believe", der zum Projekt- und Albumnamen wurde. Picton empfindet den Titel zugleich als kitschig und brillant: eine bewusste Wiedervorstellung, ein Neuanfang, der zwischen Ich-Bezug und kollektivem Anspruch oszilliert. Als Bassist und zweiter Frontmann von black midi war Picton Teil einer Band, die für komplexe Strukturen und kontrolliertes Chaos stand. Nach deren Auflösung 2023 begann er ohne festen Plan mit Studioarbeiten. Aus dieser offenen Phase heraus formierte sich My New Band Believe, unterstützt von Musiker:innen wie Kiran Leonard, Caius Williams, Steve Noble, Andrew Cheetham und Mitgliedern von caroline. Das Album bewegt sich assoziativ durch unterschiedliche emotionale Ebenen. Klanglich setzt es überwiegend auf akustische Arrangements statt auf elektronische Effekte, bleibt dabei jedoch dynamisch. Einflüsse wie Bert Jansch oder Judee Sill sind spürbar. Songs wie "Actress" oder "Opposite Teacher" verbinden Zurückhaltung mit plötzlichen Ausbrüchen. "Target Practice" verwandelt Vigilantismus in eine theatralische Mitsing-Hymne, während "One Night" und "Heart of Darkness" intime, suchende Figuren zeigen. Picton gelingt es, diffuse Ängste in eindringliche, mehrdeutige Popmusik zu übersetzen.

A 2024 remaster of Himalayan, the third studio album from UK rock group Band of Skulls, originally released in 2014 and produced by Nick Launay, highlights tracks like Asleep at the Wheel and Hoochie Coochie, showcasing the band's signature fusion of blues, indie, and hard rock influences. The album originally arrived following a documentary detailing their rise to fame, solidifying Band of Skulls as one of the most compelling modern rock acts.

“I wanted to explore how a big band can cry — not only through sorrow, but through joy, tenderness, and release. Music can hold grief and celebration at the same time, and Paid To Cry lives in that space.”
Nils Berg has been a cornerstone of the Swedish jazz scene since the turn of the millennium. Known internationally as an innovative bandleader and collaborator, this release places the spotlight — for the first time — on Berg’s work as a composer for large ensemble.
Paid To Cry is the result of an intensive collaboration with the Norrbotten Big Band, one of Scandinavia’s most acclaimed jazz orchestras. Drawing melodic clarity and emotional directness from composers such as Burt Bacharach and Kurt Weill, while embracing the raw courage of Björk and Sun Ra, and the pulsating minimalism of Steve Reich, the music forms a sound world that feels both familiar and entirely its own.
This is contemporary big band music without nostalgia: physical, vulnerable, and expansive. Written with deep trust in the individual voices of the ensemble, the compositions allow space for both collective force and intimate expression. And what an ensemble to breathe life — and tears — into this music.
With fifteen musicians moving as one organism, Paid To Cry carries enough air, rhythm, and resonance to lift the listener far beyond genre boundaries. It is music that dares to be emotional without explanation, and powerful without grandstanding — inviting the listener to feel first, and understand later.

A 2024 remaster of Band of Skulls' critically acclaimed debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Ian Davenport, recorded at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire, and mixed at the House of Blues studio in Los Angeles. It features the single "I Know What I Am", which was released as the Single of the Week in Canada. This, along with the band's other two early albums, has been remastered for enhanced sound quality. Russell Marsden has also introduced a new lineup while teasing new music.

A 2024 remaster of the English rock group's second studio album, which debuted at #14 on the UK Albums Chart and features the single 'The Devil Takes Care of His Own'. This, along with the band's other two early albums, has been remastered for enhanced sound quality. Russell Marsden has also introduced a new lineup while teasing new music.

First time on vinyl. This is not a crappy picture disc but new vinyl tech that is a tried and true hi-fidelity record on one side and 9 layers of printing on the other. It's a work of art. Only 1000 of this edition are being made.

With Appearances by
Chandra Sanchez
Frank Iero
Jessey Chandler
Keith Goodwin
Lolly Hopwood
Tim Arnold

More excellent and previously unreleased instrumental 1970s roots from 12 Tribes musical director Pablove Black and cohorts. Side A has an instrumental cut of the sublime rhythm used for Ewan Naptali's classic "Africa Awaiting Its Creator", the flip side has another instru titled "Sons of the Most High", which we think was voiced by Dan Hutson but never released.

Legendary 12 Tribes instrumental tune here, this is the alternate dubplate version with added instrumentation and different arrangement & mix. 12 Tribes musical director Pablove Black was the maestro of so much great music in the 1970s, from Studio 1 to the sessions for various producers operating in the 12 Tribes milieu at the time, such as his great work for Carl Fletcher's Uprising label that we've issued much of. As with the original 45 release of this tune, this is a 2 part instrumental spread over both sides.

Released on Limited Edition Black Vinyl with a replica of the original sleeve and insert (300 Copies only). The beginning of the 1980s wasn't a great time to be young. Between 1979 and 1981 youth unemployment more than doubled to over 900,000. Many approaches were tried to tackle the problem and one of the more innovative was the Arts Opportunity Theatre a charity founded in Bristol by Reynold Duncan and Yvonne Deutschman. Financed by assorted public bodies, it aimed to train young people in a range of performing arts as well as the multiple skills needed to produce, organise and put on shows. Over a seven year period the Arts Opportunity Theatre put on a succession of shows not only locally, but travelling as far as the Continent and trained hundreds of young people in everything from music to book keeping. People who passed through the collective would go on to form the core of many local bands and be involved in a large proportion of Bristol music releases, especially reggae. The first show put on in 1981 and 1982 was "Freedom City" which prominently featured Zion Band. In May 1982 the Zion Band musicians from the show went into Right Track Studio in Bristol and recorded four vocals and two dubs that would be released the following January on a 12" single. Back in 2011 Bristol Archive Records included "Twelve Tribes" on a compilation and would later also compile "Babylon Fire/Babylon Dub", but the other three tracks could only be found on the scarce original 12" which in recent years has rocketed in price fetching in excess of £150. We believe music should be affordable and available so 2026 will see Bristol Archive Records reissue the Zion Band "Freedom City" 12" in it's entirety, complete with its original picture sleeve and insert with a limited pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl. This release is dedicated to the late Reynold Duncan RIP.

Good As True (2026), the 12th studio album from Yonder Mountain String Band, leans into a warm, expressive sound — bluegrass shaped with an indie edge, rock undertones, and a hint of country. Recorded live in the studio, its eight original tracks trace romantic, personal, and societal relationships and the work it takes to stay connected. The lead single “Brand New Heartache” pairs rock-driven verses with a bluegrass-lifted chorus as it follows the fallout of a breakup and the uneasy hope of starting again, while “Blind” opens with a striking instrumental riff that lingers long after the song ends, while its lyrics confront regret, mental health struggles, and the pull to become something better. “Long Ride” delivers a sharp, sarcastic look at life in a touring band; “Nothing New” and “The Lie” confront political rigidity and division; “One to One Another” and “Always Almost” pull toward quieter emotional corners; and “Barroom Feather” drifts into indie-folk terrain with one of the album’s most atmospheric jams. Across Good As True, Yonder moves between high-tempo runs, layered harmonies, and moments that breathe — a reminder that nearly three decades in, they’re still charting new ground.

Black Vinyl

Not long after Strong Persuader became an unexpected crossover hit in 1986 - which was hard to imagine then and seems like a near impossibility now - Cray decided that he would rather pursue the sound of Stax and Hi soul than be a full-fledged bluesman. He punctuated his songs with stinging licks not dissimilar to Albert King, but the sound was closer to O.V. Wright. But what really separated Cray from his forefathers is that instead of getting dirty and gritty, he stayed classy and tasteful. After 25 years and 14 albums, Robert Cray has been mining the same low-key, mellow Memphis soul-blues groove for well over two-thirds of his career. He's found his sound and he's sticking to it. Now for the first time ever available on vinyl Twenty, his 14th album; a thoroughly pleasant listen indeed, it pack's a punch, and has just all the right ingredients. Twenty is available as a limited numbered edition of 750 copies on crystal clear 180 gram vinyl and includes an insert.

20-jähriges Jubiläum: Erweiterte und remasterte Vinyl-Neuauflage des epochalen Debüts von Band of Horses, dem Indie-Rock-Klassiker "Everything All The Time" aus dem Jahr 2006. Diese erweiterte Ausgabe kommt im Klappcover und einer Bonus-LP mit seltenem und unveröffentlichtem Material, alles frisch gemastert von JJ Golden und gepresst auf opakem gelbem Vinyl. Musikalische Transzendenz zu erreichen, ist echt schwierig. Wenn es klappt - ein großes ,wenn" -, dann passiert das ganz natürlich, und vielleicht weiß das niemand besser als Band of Horses, deren bahnbrechendes Debütalbum ,Everything All The Time" auch nach zwanzig Jahren noch genauso lebendig und, wenn man so sagen darf, transzendent wirkt wie bei seiner Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2006. Gitarrist und Sänger Ben Bridwell gründete Band of Horses 2004 in Seattle, nachdem er fast zehn Jahre lang bei Carissa's Wierd, den melancholischen Lieblingen des Nordwestens, gespielt hatte. Carissa's Wierd machten wunderschönen orchestralen Pop, dessen Songs unerschrockene Geschichten von Herzschmerz und Verlust erzählten, gewürzt mit defätistischem Humor. Band of Horses entstand aus den Überresten dieser beliebten Band, getragen von Bridwells warmer, halliger Stimme und seinen holzigen, verträumten Songs, die vor Spannung, Sehnsucht und Hoffnung nur so strotzen. Mit einem neuen Vertrag bei Sub Pop und einer Reihe großartiger Songs im Gepäck nahm die Band ihr Debütalbum "Everything All the Time" mit Produzent Phil Ek in den Avast Studios in Seattle auf. Mal rau und episch (,The Great Salt Lake"), mal zart und nachdenklich (,St. Augustine", ,Monsters") - "Everything All The Time" ist ein Album, das wunderschön von zerbrechlichen Höhen und Tiefen geprägt ist. Das ist Teil des Genies von Band of Horses: Sie schaffen intelligente, klassische Bewegungen innerhalb ihrer Songs und meistern dabei eine perfekte Balance zwischen Verzweiflung und Hoffnung, Ruhe und Manie, Liebe und Angst. Und natürlich gibt es da noch die massive Single ,The Funeral", die zu einem prägenden Song dieser Ära wurde und weiterhin neue Generationen von Fans und Künstlern gleichermaßen inspiriert. Neben unzähligen Film- und TV-Platzierungen wurde der Song von Kid Cudi gesampelt und vom renommierten Produzenten und Multi-Instrumentalisten Gryffin in einen 2025 Dance Edit verwandelt, der allein in kürzester Zeit 2,5 Millionen Streams ergattert hat. Anlässlich des 20-jährigen Jubiläums des Albums präsentieren Sub Pop und Band of Horses nun die definitive Momentaufnahme der Band zur Zeit von "Everything All The Time". Für diese Jubiläumsveröffentlichung wurde das Album komplett remastered, das Artwork überarbeitet und zu einer Gatefold-Hülle mit Liner Notes von Phil Ek erweitert. Begleitet wird das Album von einer zusätzlichen LP mit Bonustracks, darunter die Tour-EP von 2005, eine Fundgrube bisher unveröffentlichter Studio- und Live-Tracks sowie Raritäten wie ,The End's Not Near" (zu hören in The O.C.) und eine Demoversion von ,The Funeral".

Seit nun fast drei Jahrzehnten erfindet die Amsterdam Klezmer Band Klezmer-Musik von Grund auf neu und verbindet Tradition mit frischer und verspielter Energie. Mit ihrem neuesten Album "Diaspora" kehrt die Band zu ihren akustischen Wurzeln zurück, formt diese jedoch subtil um und fängt die Musik in ihrer unmittelbarsten und fröhlichsten Form ein, wobei Schlagzeuger Mischa Porte eine neue herausragende Rolle einnimmt. Das Album wurde fast vollständig in einer einzigen Aufnahme in der Singelkerk in Amsterdam am 26. November 2025 aufgenommen und strahlt die rohe Energie einer authentischen Live-Performance aus. Keine Overdubs, keine Elektronik und keine Tricks: nur die Band, ihre Instrumente und die Spannung des Augenblicks. Das Ergebnis ist warm und lebendig, ein Sound, der die Amsterdam Klezmer Band wieder mit den Roots der Klezmer-Musik verbindet und befreienden Raum für Improvisation und Entdeckungen lässt. Rumänische und türkische Rhythmen verflechten Klezmer-Songs und Originalkompositionen und schaffen eine musikalische Reise, die sich sowohl geerdet als auch expansiv anfühlt. Diaspora markiert auch einen bewegenden Moment in der Geschichte der Band: Es ist die letzte Aufnahme mit dem Trompeter und Mitbegründer Gijs Levelt, dessen Klang und musikalische Vision die Amsterdam Klezmer Band fast 28 Jahre lang geprägt haben. Auf Diaspora fließen traditionelle Melodien und Eigenkompositionen nahtlos ineinander, geprägt von den unterschiedlichen Stimmen innerhalb der Band. Düstere, melancholische Tänze stehen neben treibenden Sirba- und Cocek-Rhythmen, von Motown inspirierten Grooves, türkischen 9/8-Impulsen und jazzigen Improvisationen. Spoken Word und Rap-Momente sind eine Anspielung auf die Badchen Tradition, während unerwartete Instrumentierungen wie Gitarre-Banjo, die eine traditionelle Melodie anführen, für eine frische Textur sorgen. Jedes Originalstück trägt die Handschrift seines Komponisten, doch alle dienen dem gleichen Zweck: Körper in Bewegung zu bringen, Verbindungen zu schaffen und Klezmer als lebendige, atmende Gemeinschaftssprache zu erhalten. Diaspora ist kein nostalgischer Rückblick, sondern eine lebendige Momentaufnahme dessen, wo die Amsterdam Klezmer Band heute steht: verwurzelt, rastlos und unwiderstehlich lebendig!

Mit „Future Soul“ erweitert die Tedeschi Trucks Band ihren Horizont, ohne dabei ihre Wurzeln zu verlieren.
Produziert wurde das Album von dem genreübergreifenden Mike Elizondo (bekannt für seine Arbeit mit
Brothers Osborne, Dr. Dre, Twenty One Pilots und Turnstile). Darauf erkundet das 12-köpfige Ensemble
tiefere Grooves und reichhaltigere Texturen als je zuvor.
Der feurige Titeltrack „Future Soul“ besticht durch ein kraftvolles Riff und explosive Vocals – ein Beweis dafür, dass die Band nach wie vor pure Rockenergie entfesseln kann, wenn sie will. „Crazy Cryin’“
strotzt vor rohen Emotionen und verbindet Gospel-Harmonien und Blues-Grit auf klassische TTB-Art,
während „Who Am I“ einen nachdenklichen Ton anschlägt und Susan Tedeschis gefühlvolle Stimmgewalt
und Derek Trucks’ lyrisches Gitarrenspiel in perfekter Balance präsentiert.
Textlich blickt das Album ebenso nach vorne wie nach innen – es setzt sich mit Identität, Widerstandsfähigkeit und Hoffnung in unsicheren Zeiten auseinander. Elizondos Produktion fügt subtile moderne
Akzente hinzu – warme Bässe, vielschichtige Percussion und Raum für die Bläser und Hintergrundgesänge,
ohne dabei das organische Zusammenspiel zu opfern, das die Live-Magie der Band ausmacht.
Future Soul ist sowohl eine Neuerfindung als auch eine Bestätigung: ein lebhaftes neues Kapitel für eine
der beeindruckendsten Bands Amerikas.

Milwaukee's powerhouse Altered Five Blues Band returns with their eighth studio album, Hammer & Chisel, a simmering set of eleven electrifying original songs that showcase why this award-winning group has remained at the forefront of contemporary blues for over two decades. Belted out with gusto by singer Jeff Taylor, each track crackles with the energy of a band firing on all cylinders—tight musicianship, razor-sharp guitar work, and witty lyrics that cut straight to the bone. From the opening salvo of the funky, horn-driven "I Got It Good" through the cautionary "Who Can You Trust" to the empowering closing statement of "The Will of Man," the album demonstrates the kind of top-notch performance that can only come from five musicians who've spent 24 years honing their collective sound. Produced by multi-GRAMMY winner Tom Hambridge and featuring guest harmonica ace Jason Ricci on three tracks, Hammer & Chisel captures the band at their peak.

Seit über einem Jahrzehnt ist THE NEAL MORSE BAND eines der beständigsten und einheitlichsten Kollektive des Progressive Rock. Mit "L.I.F.T.", ihrem neuesten Studioalbum und dem ersten seit "Innocence & Danger" aus dem Jahr 2021, kehren Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Eric Gillette, Bill Hubauer und Randy George mit einem Werk zurück, das sowohl Reflexion als auch Inspiration verkörpert. "L.I.F.T." wurde unter Zeitdruck während einer Phase großer Veränderungen geschrieben und aufgenommen und fängt die kreative Chemie der Band in ihrer instinktivsten und inspiriertesten Form ein.
Konzeptionell setzt "L.I.F.T." die Tradition von NMB fort, Geschichten mit spirituellen Themen zu erzählen, und kombiniert emotionale Tiefe mit der für die Band typischen progressiven Rock-Größe. "Ich würde sagen, es ist die Reise eines spirituellen Helden", erklärt Morse. Auf "L.I.F.T." klingt NMB sowohl revitalisiert als auch vereint. Das Zusammenspiel zwischen den einzelnen Mitgliedern und die Lebendigkeit der Songs sorgen für ein neues Gefühl von Ausgewogenheit und Spannung. "Wenn alle an einem Strang ziehen und sich dafür begeistern, geht es schnell voran", sagt Morse. "Dank der Arbeit aller, einschließlich Rich, haben wir das meiner Meinung nach wirklich geschafft. Ich glaube, wir haben hier etwas ganz Besonderes geschaffen."
"L.I.F.T." wird als limitiertes 2CD-Digipak (inkl. Bonus-CD mit Instrumentalstücken), Standard-CD-Jewelcase, Gatefold-2LP und als digitales Album erhältlich sein.

No Way Out, released on the Tower label in September of 1967, was the debut album by the American garage rock band The Chocolate Watchband. Blending garage and psychedelic rock, its distorted guitar instrumentals were early examples of protopunk. It was their most heavily Rolling Stone- influenced LP. While No Way Out failed to reach the Billboard 200, it established the group as a popular live act. Largely overlooked at the time of its release, the album had gone out of print by the early 1970s and its reputation has continued to expand over the years.

Originally dropped in 1980 as part of Taking Care of Business, The Ted Coleman Band's only album, this 7" captures that sweet spot where jazz-funk meets rare groove perfection. 'If We Took the Time' is pure sunshine - think Roy Ayers on a slow afternoon, Billy Wooten in full cosmic flow, with shimmering vibraphones, velvet basslines and vocals that radiate soul from the Garden State to the cosmos. On the flip is the liquid and lively smooth and sexy delight 'Can You Feel It ' with buttery vocals and more cosmic bliss. Two glorious sounds.

Tilaye Gebre is one of Ethiopia’s most soulful saxophone giants, with a musical legacy that’s hard to surpass. A founding member of the Equators, later renamed the Dahlak Band, he was a key figure in Ethiopia’s vibrant hotel music scene and a sought-after musician and arranger for artists like Aster Aweke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse, and Muluken Melesse.

Tilaye — still going strong — was at the epicenter of the Ethiopian music scene during one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s history. Tilaye’s musical trajectory, regardless of the forms it has taken over the decades, is simply ceaseless. The road to a musical career spanning six decades started out winding, and the first steps came almost as a fluke.

With the Dahlak Band, Tilaye had managed to secure a musical residency at the legendary Ghion Hotel, where they honed their skills and developed their musical expression to unparalleled levels. From the late sixties onwards, Dahlak Band lit up Addis Ababa with a mixture of James Brown and Wilson Pickett tunes, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, and the sound of the disco era — mixed with modern Ethiopian styles — serving up majestic concoctions with full-range instrumentation, featuring trumpet, keyboard, saxophone, bass, drums, and guitar. Through their hotel sessions, Tilaye developed further as an arranger, arranging fellow band member Muluken Melesse’s first solo album, Muluken Melesse with the Dahlak Band (Kaifa Records – LPKF 39), recorded during the turbulent years of 1975–1976, following the fall of Haile Selassie. Everything was in flux in this transitional period, but a constant was how Tilaye stood in the spotlight. On that record, there’s a loose vibe to the soundscape that lets Tilaye’s skills shine, while all the other musical contributions coalesce into a slowly cooking atmosphere where the groove at times fluctuates into psychedelic territory, making the music stand out from most contemporaries.

Most of their recorded output came from one-take live cassette recordings at the Ghion, or from music shops at that time — one microphone at the front, hit record: no EQ, no reverb, just some delay. Some of the Dahlak Band’s releases featured Tilaye as frontman, such as Tilaye’s Saxophone with the Dahlak Band from the late 1970s — typical of a rare groove on the Ethiopian scene — with excursions into reggae territory, including the band’s characteristic sound featuring Tilaye Gebre (tenor and alto saxophone), Dawit Yifru (organ), David Kassa (electric guitar), Shimelis Beyene (trumpet), Moges Habte (tenor saxophone), Abera Feyissa (bass guitar), Tesfaye Tessema (drums), and Muluken Melesse (cowbell). The Dahlak Band’s output was so prodigious that they simply couldn’t be pigeonholed.

No saxophonist in Ethiopia influenced the sound of popular music more than Tilaye in the 1970s, yet his recordings have been hard to come by for ages, which has meant that newcomers to the scene have gems to uncover in retrospect. Arguably, Tilaye shifted gears when he relocated to the U.S. to such an extent that his musicianship became even more renowned, accompanying the greatest of his contemporaries internationally. Tilaye is one of Ethiopia’s all-time greats, with a musical legacy — both as musician and arranger — that’s hard to surpass. It’s a wonder to be able to enjoy a recording like this half a century later.

RYOZO BAND’s New Single “QUIET FOG / FUGITIVE” Coming to 7-Inch Vinyl!

Following their previous release Pleasure and a remix by French beatmaker Lex (de Kalhex) that drew attention from multiple directions, RYOZO BAND
kicks off 2026 with a two track single available on streaming and 7-inch vinyl.
The lead track, “Quiet Fog,” is a mid tempo piece highlighted by a powerful horn ensemble, with an awe-inspiring saxophone solo that steals the spotlight.
It’s a track that showcases the band’s evolving groove and ensemble maturity.
Released simultaneously with the 7-inch, “Fugitive” is a cover of a hidden gem by Jamaica’s legendary ska band The Skatalites.
While paying homage to the original, RYOZO BAND reimagines it with their signature energy and dynamism, delivering an uptempo arrangement full of drive
and vitality. The result is an energetic yet sophisticated sound that promises to ignite live audiences.

RYOZO BAND is led by Ryozo Obayashi (SANABAGUN.), joined by an all star lineup: drummer Masaaki Nagata (Zainichi Funk), saxophonist Takehide
“KIDS” Hashimoto (Zainichi Funk), guitarist Tetsuta Otachi (SAHAS), keyboardist Yusei Takahashi (Setagaya Trio, Terumasa Hino Quintet), percussionist
Ryotaro Miyasaka (Yuta Orisaka Ensemble), and trumpeter Kyotaro Hori (ACO, TAMTAM). Each member brings a highly acclaimed background, blending
their influences into an ensemble rich in depth and vitality, modernizing ska and jazz elements with a contemporary twist.
A release brimming with passion and love for music—perfect for ushering in 2026. This single is proof that RYOZO BAND is evolving to the next stage.

Audio taken from a live performance by Anar Band (Jorge Lima Barreto and Rui Reininho) with E.M. de Melo e Castro in November of 1978 at Cooperativa Árvore, Porto. The performance was filmed. A segment was included in »Obrigatório Não Ver«, a weekly programme presented by Ana Hatherly on Public Television’s Second Channel. It was not possible to determine the exact date of the event, and no documentation seems to be available in the relevant archives.

»Encontro que Tenho« and »Profissões«: these titles are specific to this release. Having failed to locate the respective poems after a thorough search in E.M. de Melo e Castro’s body of work, it was deduced both texts were created for the occasion.

Even without a full contextualisation, the sound transmits the spirit of cultural agitation proper to these sessions. When this show happened, Anar Band were Jorge Lima Barreto (ARP Odyssey synthesizer) and Rui Reininho (Ibanez double-neck guitar), with the addition of E.M. de Melo e Castro, whom we shall call a poet but whose creative intervention was far reaching. Besides poetry, also continued his efforts in linking up diverse artistic areas (painting, drawing, collage, performance, video) and his official training in textile engineering. He was one of the artists featured in Henri Chopin's »OU Revue« in 1966, establishing his natural connection to the European concrete/visual/sound-poetry avant-garde. Melo e Castro was also proficient in the agitation of minds and political awareness. A good example in »Profissões«, where initially separate professionals (an intellectual, a fisherman, a soldier, a factory worker) are gradually mixed in a show of interdependency. Symbolically, through his words one listens to a transformation of society, although the same conclusion arises twice: surplus always finds its way to the hands of the capitalists.

That was the state of affairs many were looking to change, an economic and social malaise that the 1974 Revolution in Portugal fully uncovered, when dissident voices could finally be heard in public. Each in his own way, all three participants in this recording were non-believers in the structure of society such as it was presented. Through his books and press writings, mainly concerned with Jazz, Jorge Lima Barreto pushed his way into Portuguese artistic and critical circles since the late 1960s. Consciously and unwittingly, he collected enemies and pointed them by name, people he labelled as reactionary, people who delayed progress, social and cultural mixes, the avant-garde; they even delayed the chaos from which new forms and attitudes arise.

Rui Reininho, a non-conformist by heart, experienced incomprehension from an early age. His anarchic ways, a tendency to baffle others, were revealed through the choice of clothes and accessories, public behaviour, and »real life« performances. Just as Lima Barreto, and even together with him, he enjoyed provoking the extremes: Maoists on one side, right-wing conservatives on the other. He translated leftist books and joined Anar Band precisely on the day a duck or swan or goose (one of them) was thrown on stage in Porto, 1976.

This record documents a concrete action, a snapshot of the agitation, something we have no problem calling punk activism, something which allowed two people with little to no musical training to play and record music. By then, Anar Band had managed to release their only LP in 1977. It’s this performance, however, that reveals the naked rawness of the music: improvisation, mutual listening, and choice of intervention between both musicians and Melo e Castro, clearly sensing when the synth has to change tone, the voice has to make pauses, the guitar punctuates both and finds the space to… scream. The sound was captured by the film crew, adding to the rawness: the instruments are palpable, the voice often too close to the mic. Everything was preserved. First time on disc.

The Lower Angel Band are a British folk-rock band formed in Warrington, Cheshire in 2025.

The band blend folk rock and pop, weaving in traditional instruments and warm keyboard textures beneath a rich, blues-inflected female vocal from front-woman, Vicky Williams. Their style is marked by memorable melodies and lyrics that explore everyday life and spiritual growth through stories and reflections. Since forming earlier this year the band have been drawing crowds across Warrington and the surrounding area. Notable performances include 'The Narrowboat Sessions' and Newton Festival 2025. The Lower Angel Band also have support from Radio Warrington - having starred on their Country & Folk Show in October.

'All In' as a whole, is inspired by nature, endurance and reflection. Each song derives from personal experiences and discoveries - following both the physical and spiritual journeys taken along the way. This album celebrates the human experience of both the highs and the lows of life, 'All In' together.

Die Jimi Barbiani Band ist das aktuelle Projekt des italienischen Blues-Rock-Slide-Gitarristen Jimi Barbiani, der zu den besten seines Fachs in Europa zählt. Sein Stil ist geprägt von den Einflüssen Jimi Hendrix", Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck, Free und Gov"t Mule. Die einzigartige Soundmischung der Band entsteht in der Wechselwirkung der unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten ihrer Mitglieder. Eine treibende Rhythmus-Sektion legt den Teppich für das fulminante und beeindruckende Gitarrenspiel des Maestros. Die drei Alben der Band ("Back On The Tracks", "Blue Side" und "Boogie Down The Road - Live!") verkauften sich nicht nur in seiner Heimat sehr gut, sondern fanden auch in den USA ihre Liebhaber. Videos von Jimi Barbiani erreichen mitunter Klickzahlen von über 500.000 Views. Bevor es im Winter/Frühjahr 2026 wieder auf Tournee durch Europa geht - es stehen auch einige Festivals an - erscheint mit "Still In Love" der neue Longplayer auf CD, Vinyl und natürlich digital. Kernstück des Albums ist die fast achtminütige Version von Prince" "Purple Rain". Hier zieht Barbiani alle Register - das Genie aus Minnesota hätte seine Freude daran gehabt. Der JBB beherrscht aber auch durchaus leisere und sanftere Töne, wie der verträumte akustische Instrumentaltrack "Little Martha" zeigt. Das anfänglich leicht schleppende "Spend Me Your Light" hingegen versprüht reichlich Southern-Feeling, während bei "We Must Dream" dem Boogie gehuldigt wird - irgendwo zwischen Canned Heat und ZZ Top. Wer auf bodenständigen, eingängigen Bluesrock steht, ist hier richtig.

Swan Song

The vinyl LP at the heart of this éthiopiques 31 tracks 2 to 11 was one of the very last vinyl records ever released in Ethiopia. But above all it represents, we felt, the absolute masterpiece of the Ethiopian Groove – the Swan Song of Swinging Addis. The album leaves a clear idea for posterity of the level of sophistication and mastery that modern Ethiopian music had achieved, before being crushed under the Stalino-military heel of the Derg – as the bloody revolution that was unfolding came to be called.

Ethiopia1976.

The Revolution that broke out in February 1974 rolled on in a ruthless march. The whole of Ethiopian society was utterly stunned. The bouquets of flowers handed joyfully to the first tanks of the coup d'état were to wilt very rapidly. From September 1976 to February 1978, 18 months of Red Terror (the name given by the junta itself) spilled blood throughout the country. This fratricidal conflict took its heaviest toll among students and youth. The shift from feudalism to a cruel and primitive Stalinism left the country's citizens deeply traumatised, and snuffed out any pretence of activism, whatever the sector of society. This ice age was to last for seventeen long years.

ሙሉቀን፡መለሰ Mulukèn Mellèssè Muluqän Mälläsä

It was three tracks by Muluken that served as the opener for éthiopiques-1 more than 25 years ago. Seven more tracks appeared on éthiopiques-3 and 13, all accompanied by The Equators, which was soon to become the Dahlak Band.

The first track, Hédètch alu, also the very first piece that Muluken ever recorded, left audiences both unsettled and amazed. Reflecting the singer's extremely young age (he was just 17 at the time), this angelic voice mystified many, who thought they were in fact listening to a feminine voice. He was not yet 22 when he released his last vinyl record in 1976 with Kaifa Records (KF 39LP), one of the very last to be issued in Ethiopia, before the cassette tape became the dominant medium for music distribution – and before the new revolutionary regime put a stop to all independent musical life, via an unspeakable barrage of prohibitions and other persecutions.

Mulu qèn, literally, “A well filled day”. This tender maternal intention wasn't enough to ward off the cruelty of fate. His mother's premature death drove Muluken to leave his native Godjam, in northeast Ethiopia, to live with an uncle in Addis Ababa. Born Muluken Tamer, he took his uncle's last name – Mèllèssè.

The spelling Muluken appeared in his administrative records. Transcription of Amharic to the Latin alphabet, both in Ethiopia and for scholars, gives rise to controversies and quibbles that can never be neatly settled. French allows for a closer approximation of the original pronunciation, thanks to its battery of accent marks, confusing as they may be to anglophones.

Between rather accommodating administrative record-keepers and the various versions that pop up in interviews given by the artist, Muluken's year of birth oscillates between 1953 and 1955…

1954? One thing is certain: the artist's talent made itself known very early indeed, because he got his start in 1966-67, at the age of 13 or 14. Photos from the period attest to his extreme youth. It's a strange sort of initiation for a very young teenager to become a sensation in the heart of Addis's nightlife at the time, Woubé Bèrèha – the Wilds of Woubé. And what's more, in the club of the Queen of the Night, the Godjamé Assègèdètch Alamrèw herself, the very same that was portrayed by Sebhat Guèbrè-Egziabhér in his novel-memoir Les Nuits d’Addis Abeba2… The legendary female club owner who is remembered to this day by the capital's ageing boomers.

Muluken first tried his hand at the drums, before he grabbed the microphone. He emigrated briefly to the Zula Club, across the street from the old Addis Post Office, one of the ground-breaking bars of the burgeoning musical scene, before joining the Second Police Band in 1968, for around three years. He spent a few months with the short-lived Blue Nile Band founded by saxophonist Besrat Tammènè. As the musical scene grew increasingly successful, and pulled slowly but decisively away from its institutional ties, Muluken released his first 45rpm single in February 1972 (Amha Records AE 440). It was included in two LP Ethiopian Hit Parade compilation albums in September of the same year. All in all, Muluken released eight two-track 45s and the same number of original cassette tapes between February 1972 and 1984, the year that he departed for permanent exile in the USA. After converting to Pentecostalism in 1980, Muluken gradually abandoned all secular musical activity. In 1985, at the end of a concert in Philadelphia, he decided to quit concerts and recording for good. Mèlakè Gèbré, the historic bass player from the Walias band who was playing with him that night, recalls that everything appeared so irredeemably diabolical in Muluken's eyes, that it was to be the end of his contribution to Ethiopian Groove.

The end of the story, the beginning of a legend.

Dahlak Band, forgotten by History

Aside from his personal history and vocal talents, it must be remembered that Muluken Mèllèssè was one of the biggest names in the musical innovations that marked the end of the imperial period. These éthiopiques aim to convince those who are just discovering this hidden gem... As for Ethiopians themselves, they are to this day captivated by this singular and atypical figure in the Abyssinian pop landscape – even though he withdrew from public life some 40 years ago. Incorrigible devotees of poetic twists, of more or less hidden meanings, Ethiopians appreciate above all the care Muluken took in choosing his lyrics and the writers who penned them, such as Feqerte Haylou, Alemtsehay Wodajo and, here, Shewalul Mengistu (1944-1977). Love songs, written by women, a far cry from the conventional drivel that pleases sappy sentimentalists.

Muluken is equally acclaimed for his perfectionism when it came to music, the opposite of the overly casual approach that is all too common. He remained a faithful partner of musicians who came from a lineage that borrowed from several inventive and pioneering bands (Venus, Equators, Dahlak). Amongst them were certain artists who began their musical lives with Nersès Nalbandian at the Haile Sellassie Theatre and who come of age in around 1973 – at just the wrong time, you might say. Among them were the pillars Shimèlis Bèyènè (trumpet), Dawit Yifru (keyboards) and Tilayé Gèbrè (sax & flute). Most notably Tilayé Gèbrè, certainly one of the most important musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation, of the end of the imperial era, and of the early years of the Derg.

It was only in 1981 that a miraculous opportunity arose for Tilayé to escape the Stalinist paradise of the dictator Menguistou Haylè-Maryam. Once again it was Amha Eshèté (1946-2021) who provided a solution. The spirited and courageous producer, who had been in exile in Washington since 1975, succeeded, thanks to his incredible perseverence, in bringing the Walias Band to the USA. It was, in fact an extended Walias Band comprising ten musicians3, six of whom chose to slip away after a few concerts and the recording of an LP (The Best of Walias, WRS 100). Tilayé Gèbrè was one of these. He has been living in the USA ever since. There he joined the then-nascent Ethiopian diaspora, which lived largely unto itself, and was making only very modest headway in the American musical market. It seems unfair that Tilayé Gèbrè and the Dahlak Band were not able to benefit earlier from the public recognition that they do deserve.

A similar draining away of the top-rate talents would lead to the reorganization of the major groups of the “Derg Time”. The remaining artists spread themselves around between Ibex Band (renamed Roha Band), Ethio Star Band and a remodeled Walias Band. That spelled the end of the Dahlak Band.

With this record, produced by the essential Ali Abdella Kaifa a.k.a. Ali Tango, we can appreciate everything that the Derg not only destroyed, but also prevented from flourishing. This gem of Ethiopian-style afrobeat came out in 1976 (and, by way of a parenthesis, before the FESTAC 1977 in Lagos, which was attended by an impressive delegation of Ethiopian musicians — although Fela was already personna non grata in his own country). Despite everything that might distinguish this ethio-groove from Fela’s music – no colonial axe to grind, no question of political confrontation with the authorities, no claims to negritude or Africanism for the Ethiopian musicians, and less extrovertion! –, this LP fits beautifully into the saga of intense and electrified soul of the new “African” groove that Fela and Manu Dibango embodied so well from that point onwards.

In restoring this record to its place in the afrobeat epic, it can be seen that, if nothing else, the timeline bestows a legitimate pedigree and a historical primacy to works that had no international impact when they were originally released.

Warning! Masterpiece!

Mit Selenites, Selenites! präsentiert Jimi Tenor das erste Album seiner neuen Band - ein Meilenstein in der Karriere des finnischen Multiinstrumentalisten, der 2025 seinen 60. Geburtstag feierte. Tenor, bekannt für seine genreübergreifenden Visionen, vereint hier Afrobeat, Electronica, Spiritual Jazz und experimentelle Klangwelten zu einem kraftvollen, organischen Sound. Seit den 1990er Jahren prägt Tenor die internationale Musikszene mit Veröffentlichungen auf Labels wie Sähko und Warp Records. Seine Zusammenarbeit mit Künstlern wie Tony Allen, dem UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra und Florence Adooni zeigt seine Offenheit für musikalische Kulturen und seine Fähigkeit, scheinbar Gegensätzliches zu verbinden. Die JIMI TENOR BAND entstand in Helsinki und besteht aus fünf virtuosen Musiker:innen, die ihre Stücke live erprobt und verinnerlicht haben. Die Aufnahmen spiegeln diese Energie wider: Direkt, roh und voller Spielfreude. Die Songs wirken wie Live-Mitschnitte - spontan, intensiv und nahbar. Mit Selenites, Selenites! gelingt Tenor ein Album, das nicht nur musikalisch überzeugt, sondern auch seine Rolle als stilprägender Künstler unterstreicht.

Gold/schwarzes Marble-Vinyl. Die PORT SULPHUR BAND, die im Schlamm des Lawson Delta Bayou gegründet wurde, bewegt sich zwischen Fiktion und Realität. Die PORT SULPHUR BAND ist sowohl ein Meta-Element des Videospiels Hunt: Showdown 1896 als auch eine hauseigene Band der Spieleentwickler von Crytek. Sie wurde gegründet, um Geschichten aus der Welt von Hunt zu erzählen, einem übernatürlichen Shooter, der in den Anfängen des Blues und Jazz im Louisiana der 1890er Jahre spielt. Das neue Album ,Shadows Wake" der Band wird mit 20 neuen düsteren Western-Songs aus der Welt von Hunt: Showdown 1896 alle bisherigen Alben übertreffen. Jeder Song erzählt eine Geschichte aus dieser rauen Westernwelt, in der Verrat, Brutalität, Draufgängertum und Verzweiflung das Leben derer prägen, die es wagen, sich der sich ausbreitenden Korruption zu stellen und gegen die von ihr erschaffenen Monster zu kämpfen.In ,Web of the Empress" hört man die Geschichte einer Frau, die lebendig begraben wurde, nur um von Hunderten von verdorbenen Spinnen wieder zum Leben erweckt zu werden. In ,Beneath the Apple Tree" sinniert ein Mann über seine eigene Verzweiflung, während er seine unschuldigen Träume gegen eine Waffe und ein Grab eintauscht. Und in ,Curtain Call" laden verstörte Zirkusclowns den Zuhörer ein, ihnen in die Dunkelheit ihres eigenen Wahnsinns und ihrer Korruption zu folgen.,Shadows Wake" ist das vierte Album und die dritte Vinyl-Veröffentlichung von PORT SULPHUR BAND.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band is an 11-piece ensemble made up of guitarist-vocalist Susan Tedeschi's and guitarist Derek Trucks' band,
known for their unique mix of rock, blues, gospel, soul, and Americana. Their 2011 debut album won them the 2012 Grammy Award
for Best Blues Album and since then have released four more studio albums and three live albums, of which this is their first.

The songs on this album are compiled from recordings made on three tour dates in October 2011 and feature tunes from their debut
album rearranged, expanded, and extended in true jam band fashion. But, they never seem to resort to clichés; guitar prodigy
Derek Trucks introduces the bands’ hit “Midnight in Harlem” by an Indian raga played as a slide guitar solo, just to give an example.

Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight” furthermore showcases their love for soul and jazz. In short, as one reviewer put it succinctly:
“Everybody's Talkin' is what every live album should be: an accurate, exciting reflection of a hot band playing full-throttle.”
Everybody’s Talkin’ is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on red coloured vinyl.

The Best Of The Band zum ersten Mal seit Jahrzehnten auf CD und Vinyl als Remaster erhältlich. Mit
Songs wie „The Weight“, „The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down“, „Up On Cripple Creek“, „Ophelia“
und viele weitere Songs!
Ab dem 12. Dezember erhältlich!

Atmosphärischer Post-Rock aus dem Chicago der Jahrhundertwende. Das Debütalbum von 90 Day Men für Southern Records erkundet die kantigen Küstenlinien des No Wave mit acht hypnotisierenden Tracks. Diese erweiterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe enthält ein unveröffentlichtes Album, das in Steve Albini's Electrical Audio aufgenommen wurde, mit Anmerkungen des Toningenieurs Greg Norman und einem neuen Master von Heba Kadry. Wir treffen uns im Jinx.

Beta Wave Vinyl. Atmosphärischer Post-Rock aus dem Chicago der Jahrhundertwende. Das Debütalbum von 90 Day Men für Southern Records erkundet die kantigen Küstenlinien des No Wave mit acht hypnotisierenden Tracks. Diese erweiterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe enthält ein unveröffentlichtes Album, das in Steve Albini's Electrical Audio aufgenommen wurde, mit Anmerkungen des Toningenieurs Greg Norman und einem neuen Master von Heba Kadry. Wir treffen uns im Jinx.

Two years after releasing the Frontier's Edge EP, the Budos Band are returning with their first full-length since 2020's Long in the Tooth. Titled simply VII, the new album sees them doing what they do best: laying down hypnotic, horn-spiked grooves that menace and mesmerize in equal measure. Produced by Budos guitarist Tom Brenneck with Simon Guzmán engineering, VII features 11 tightly constructed new tracks that draw on the group's wide range of influences, sounding like only the Budos can. It's music for getting down, for nighttime drives, and for alternate headspaces _ a beguiling mix of mystery and rhythm that stands with the formidable work they've released in their two decades of recording. VII was recorded in California and serves as the Budos Band's first full-length album on Diamond West, the independent label founded in 2023 by Tankel and Brenneck. It's also the group's first album to include instrumental contributions from percussionist Rich Tarrana, who previously played in the Frightnrs. All told, it succeeds in opening up some new sonic spaces while staying tethered to the intuitive, unique musicality that made them such a sensation from the jump.