Buscar:stone

After nearly three years, *Can You Feel It Vol. 5* marks the release of a brand-new installment in Tramp Records' Disco/Boogie series. Like all four previous volumes, Vol. 5 offers a colorful mix of songs from the late 1970s and early 1980s. From extremely rare tracks to easily accessible ones and even unreleased material-this release has everything to make a collector's heart race. Once again, these songs will get you on your feet, inspire you to dance, and transport you back to the glittering world of the late 1970s. CAN YOU FEEL IT?

Let's take a closer look at a few of the songs on this album. Kicking things off are Bill Deal & The Rhondels, a band that needs no introduction. The same cannot be said for Tom Balistreri and Ryjel. The latter presents "Heart's On Fire," a seven-minute journey into previously unreleased deep disco. "Old Mother Winter" may not be a typical disco song, but it's undoubtedly a fantastic composition. The Stone Mill Band is relatively unknown even among hardcore collectors. The most recent track on this album is by singer Tory Wynter who already contributed a song for Can You Feel It Vol.4. "Oh Let The Rain Fall Down" was released in 1988.

The second record opens with "Been Thinkin' About You" by Avatar-an amazing song and probably the rarest gem on this album, in stark contrast to Piz-Zazz - a record you can find easily for a few dollars. Saxophonist King Perkoff was born in Santa Monica, California, but now resides in Berlin, and with "When You Live In Marin" he delivers a real disco-funk banger! Glenn "Shake & Bake" Doughty played professional football as a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts from 1972 to 1979. Together with some of his teammates, he founded the Shake & Bake Band in 1975. We probably aren't telling Tramp fans anything new here. Anyway, a little over two years ago, we reissued the first of their two extremely hard to find 45-RPM singles ("Shake & Bake Pt. 1 & 2"). We also included a DJ-friendly edit of the song on "Movements Vol. 12." It is a must for us here at Tramp that we also reissue their second single, "Starflight Disco Pt. 1 & 2," soon!

So there you have it, 13 obscure but brilliant MODERN SOUL, DISCO and BOOGIE tunes of which all have not been compiled anywhere else. We sincerely hope you enjoy our guided tour back into the late 1970s and 80s Disco era.

2026 Repress

Creating music, sharing your sound, and performing — all from a small village on an island — is no easy feat.
Dear artist, do you find yourself in a similar situation? Then this record is dedicated to you.
Never forget your roots — and don’t forget to save your atoll!

Foreign Tongues, das neue Studioalbum der Rolling Stones, umfasst 14 Songs und folgt weniger als drei Jahre nach dem vielfach ausgezeichneten Vorgänger Hackney Diamonds, der weltweit Spitzenpositionen in den Charts erreichte und mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnet wurde. Eingeleitet wird das Album von der beschwingten und eingängigen Lead-Single „In The Stars“. Foreign Tongues entstand innerhalb eines Monats in den Metropolis Studios in West-London, wo Mick Jagger, Keith Richards und Ronnie Wood erneut mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Andrew Watt zusammenarbeiteten. Das Ergebnis ist ein dynamisches, zeitgemäßes Album, das den charakteristischen Sound der Band aufgreift und zugleich neue klangliche und inhaltliche Akzente setzt.

Neben den zentralen Beiträgen von Jagger, Richards und Wood sind auch langjährige musikalische Wegbegleiter wie Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford und Steve Jordan auf dem Album vertreten. Darüber hinaus enthält das Album einen besonderen Beitrag von Charlie Watts, der während einer seiner letzten Aufnahmesessions vor seinem Tod im Jahr 2021 entstand. Ergänzt wird das Projekt durch Gastauftritte unter anderem von Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Robert Smith und Chad Smith.

Foreign Tongues, das neue Studioalbum der Rolling Stones, umfasst 14 Songs und folgt weniger als drei Jahre nach dem vielfach ausgezeichneten Vorgänger Hackney Diamonds, der weltweit Spitzenpositionen in den Charts erreichte und mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnet wurde. Eingeleitet wird das Album von der beschwingten und eingängigen Lead-Single „In The Stars“. Foreign Tongues entstand innerhalb eines Monats in den Metropolis Studios in West-London, wo Mick Jagger, Keith Richards und Ronnie Wood erneut mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Andrew Watt zusammenarbeiteten. Das Ergebnis ist ein dynamisches, zeitgemäßes Album, das den charakteristischen Sound der Band aufgreift und zugleich neue klangliche und inhaltliche Akzente setzt.

Neben den zentralen Beiträgen von Jagger, Richards und Wood sind auch langjährige musikalische Wegbegleiter wie Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford und Steve Jordan auf dem Album vertreten. Darüber hinaus enthält das Album einen besonderen Beitrag von Charlie Watts, der während einer seiner letzten Aufnahmesessions vor seinem Tod im Jahr 2021 entstand. Ergänzt wird das Projekt durch Gastauftritte unter anderem von Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Robert Smith und Chad Smith.

Foreign Tongues, das neue Studioalbum der Rolling Stones, umfasst 14 Songs und folgt weniger als drei Jahre nach dem vielfach ausgezeichneten Vorgänger Hackney Diamonds, der weltweit Spitzenpositionen in den Charts erreichte und mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnet wurde. Eingeleitet wird das Album von der beschwingten und eingängigen Lead-Single „In The Stars“. Foreign Tongues entstand innerhalb eines Monats in den Metropolis Studios in West-London, wo Mick Jagger, Keith Richards und Ronnie Wood erneut mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Andrew Watt zusammenarbeiteten. Das Ergebnis ist ein dynamisches, zeitgemäßes Album, das den charakteristischen Sound der Band aufgreift und zugleich neue klangliche und inhaltliche Akzente setzt.

Neben den zentralen Beiträgen von Jagger, Richards und Wood sind auch langjährige musikalische Wegbegleiter wie Darryl Jones, Matt Clifford und Steve Jordan auf dem Album vertreten. Darüber hinaus enthält das Album einen besonderen Beitrag von Charlie Watts, der während einer seiner letzten Aufnahmesessions vor seinem Tod im Jahr 2021 entstand. Ergänzt wird das Projekt durch Gastauftritte unter anderem von Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, Robert Smith und Chad Smith.

With Sunrise and the Life We Live, John Beltran returns to his ambient techno roots, the sound that garnered him global appeal in the 1990s.

Through ten tracks, the album journeys through lush, aerated textures and beatless expanse. Hypnotic grooves deepen and bloom in a flow of shapes and colors, creating a sound that is both meditative and full of life.

Thirty years after the release of his seminal Ten Days of Blue, Beltran's musicianship, vision and desire to produce remain at a fever pitch. With Sunrise and the Life We Live his gift of extracting emotion from the universe and turning it into
a unique musical experience puts him in a class of his own.

Denver Cuss presents her first 7" single release and her debut with UK independent label LRK Records.

'Crossed My Mind' backed with 'You Don't Get It' is out on streaming services on the 30 January, with the 7" out on the 27th February. It follows her 2024 album 'Leaving Me', which was described as "a nostalgic masterpiece" - Sommer Zeit magazine, earning a feature in Rolling Stone Germany, and a series digital singles, which have been played on the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BB6 Music as well as Noble & Heath's Soho Radio show.

Denver is an Irish, London-based musician and producer, who makes classic R&B and Soul-influenced music, having graduated as the prize-winning jazz vocalist from the London College Of Music. She has since stepped into a world of live and session singing, alongside her solo project, delving deep into girl-group harmony, Northern Soul and classic Rhythm and Blues.

For this release, she captures the essence of '60s record-making, working with collaborator/producer PM Warson and engineer Ed Deegan at the all-analogue Gizzard Recording in East London. Backed by some of London's finest young musicians, she cut her vocal live, bypassing the trend for layered productions and imitation, in favour of a direct, live and soulful approach, direct to tape. The result is two of the most authentic '60s Pop/Soul sides you're likely to hear this year

Shadow Child’s ‘Say It Now’ is an ode to the Portsmouth producer’s rave-heritage and how it has inspired him.

· Featuring a soaring vocal sample, ravey piano stabs and a dangerous bassline, this is a release that tells the story of Shadow Child’s music journey.

· London Records have pressed four mixes onto wax, including a thumping techno cut from Dusky, a floaty progressive house interpretation from Cinthie and asoundsystem-ready, jungle banger from S.P.Y, as well as Shadow Child’s original mix.

· This 12” features artwork from renowned print artist and designer Jimmy Turrell, who has worked with names such as Chanel, Adidas, Apple, Rolling Stones, Dazed and Chemical Brothers, just to name a few

ICONYC's latest anthology of tracks blossoms forth into the light with the second instalment of the "Florilegia" series. Comprised of 10 spellbinding creations, this latest delivery features the sounds of Vomee, Enes Çakır & Yost Koen, Odeon, Gorgin, Baime & Jepe, ETRI, Auggië, Mironas, OLING & Harald Björk, and Nuage. Another quintessential compendium of modern club electronica, "Florilegia II" is a gorgeous bouquet of sounds set to define the modern dance floors and beyond.

Great Day is one of the very best albums on the Music De Wolfe label and certainly one of the most sought after library records, full stop. It's been sampled by such heavyweights as Madlib, LTJ Bukem, El-P and The Alchemist (among many others). You likely already know all this. If you don't, get to know. One listen through and the £350 asking price for a VG copy starts to all make sense...

Originally released in 1972, it's credited to Music De Wolfe legends Simon Haseley (real name Simon Park) and "Peter Reno" (a collaborative alias used by composers Clifford "Cliff" Twemlow and Peter Taylor) Confused? No matter. It's one of the most consistent libraries you'll ever hear, packed with heavy blaxploitation-esque drama-funk break themes.

It opens with the feel-good, breezy piano beat number "Little Big John" before switching up to modern sweeping orchestral with heavy drums on the warm, deeply emotive "Summer Friend". Total highlight "Hammerhead" is as heavy as you'd want, from a track so-titled. It's a driving, imposing, orchestral funk-rock monster, famously used by The High & Mighty for their classic "Dirty Decibels" and, also, it was used as the backing for Beyonce's ace "Woman Like Me".

Up next, "Crimson" is melodic, plaintive and moodily introspective; a soft, oboe-enhanced instrumental of delicate beauty. Again, ace beats and breaks abound. The expansive title track, "Great Day" is melodic and bold; a horn-fuelled, mid-tempo rhythmic workout which builds to rather big end. Rounding out this first side, "Hard Crust" ups the ante with thrilling wah-wah funk-rock, a dramatic, pounding and aggressive thriller. Killer!

Side B opens with the steady, stealthy crime-funk of "Highball" before segueing brilliantly into the Hammond-laced relentless flute-funk of the driving "Bora". The powerful wah-wah wonderful "Hold Back" is haunting orchestral funk-rock, sampled by Madlib, El-P, Rakim, Sean Price and The Alchemist. It's easy to see why. Swaggering and staggering.

The cop show funk of "Silver Thrust" is fast, purposeful and persistent. Is it a cover version of the godlike "Stepping Stones" from Johnny Harris's Movements album? Either way, with up-tempo drums, bongos and flute you're going to be thrusting all night. The dynamic "Convoy" is a brassy, organ-fuelled sports-soundtrack b-boy breaks monster. Super Bowl Soul! Essential. To close out this quite extraordinary set, the insistent "Barracuda" presents dramatic rock feels over a persistent funky flute beat. It was sampled by LTJ Bukem for his classic "Sunrain" from 2000.

The audio for Great Day has been meticulously remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Sleater-Kinney feiern das 30-jährige Jubiläum ihres zweiten Albums ,Call the Doctor" mit einer neuen Vinyl-Ausgabe auf "Northern Light"-farbenem Vinyl. Sleater-Kinney ist eine gefeierte amerikanische Rockband, die 1994 in Olympia, Washington, gegründet wurde. Die Kernbesetzung der Band besteht aus Corin Tucker (Gesang und Gitarre), Carrie Brownstein (Gitarre und Gesang) und Janet Weiss (Schlagzeug). Sleater-Kinney waren bekannt für ihre feministische, linksgerichtete Politik und waren ein fester Bestandteil der Riot-Grrrl- und Indie-Rock-Szene im pazifischen Nordwesten. Call the Doctor ist Sleater-Kinneys zweites Studioalbum. Es wurde von John Goodmanson produziert und ursprünglich am 25. März 1996 bei Chainsaw Records veröffentlicht. Das Album wird oft als Sleater-Kinneys erstes richtiges Album angesehen, da Tucker und die Co-Sängerin und Gitarristin Carrie Brownstein zum Zeitpunkt der Aufnahmen ihre früheren Bands, Heavens to Betsy und Excuse 17, verlassen hatten. Die Besetzung bestand aus Corin Tucker (Gesang, Gitarre), Carrie Brownstein (Gitarre, Gesang) und Lora Macfarlane (Schlagzeug, Gesang). Call the Doctor landete 1996 auf Platz drei der ,Pazz & Jop"-Kritikerumfrage von The Village Voice. 2010 wurde das Album von der Redaktion des Rolling Stone auf Platz 49 der Liste der 100 besten Alben der Neunziger gewählt. ,Sleater-Kinney ist Amerikas beste Rockband" - Greil Marcus, Time (2001). ,Tauscht Sexarbeiterinnen-Rollenspiele, Puppenteile, Gender-Bending und andere gängige Female-Rock-Klischees gegen Geschichten vom alltäglichen Kampf ... Sleater-Kinney beweist, dass Punk immer noch neue Wege bietet, Nein zu sagen" - Johnny Ray Huston, SPIN

Josh da Costa's "New Wave Graveyard" ist ein Solo-Debüt, das die Vielfalt der Underground-Musik feiert und sich dabei eine eigene Nische schafft. Nach anderthalb Jahrzehnten in Bands wie dem Synthpop-Duo CMON (Mexican Summer) und den New Yorker DIY-Legenden Regal Degal (Terrible Records), veröffentlicht Josh da Costa endlich sein Solo-Debüt. Der erfahrene Kollaborations- und Tourmusiker spielte bereits mit Künstlern wie Drugdealer, Jessica Pratt, MGMT, Chris Cohen und vielen anderen. Über fünf Jahre entstand "New Wave Graveyard", das weit mehr als nur das im Titel erwähnte Genre der späten 70er/frühen 80er Jahre umfasst - von Flying-Nun-Compilations über den Glam-Rock von Sparks und Japan, Art-Pop von Prince und Yoko Ono bis hin zu Power-Pop, Electro, Britpop und Shoegaze - allesamt aus da Costas umfangreicher Plattensammlung. "New Wave Graveyard" mag zwar vom Genre der 70er und 80er Jahre inspiriert sein, das dem Album seinen Namen gibt, doch ist die/der New Wave nur eine(r) von vielen musikalischen Einflüssen von Josh da Costa. Das Album ist ein wunderschöner Mix aus Stilen und Ideen, von Glam bis Shoegaze, allesamt geprägt von Joshs vielseitigem Geschmack. Mit geistreichen Texten und einer Fülle eingängiger Songs ist es ein mitreißendes Statement eines vielversprechenden neuen Künstlers, ein komplettes Soloalbum, für das da Costa alle Songs und Texte selbst geschrieben, nahezu alle Instrumente gespielt und das Album selbst gemischt hat. Gemastert wurde es von Heba Kadry (Björk, Panda Bear, Blood Orange), das Albumcover stammt von Robert Beatty (dem legendären Künstler hinter den Plattencovern von Tame Impala, The Weeknd, Mdou Moctar, Oneohtrix Point Never und vielen mehr). Die klassische schwarze Vinyl-LP enthält ein farbiges Booklet mit den Songtexten.

Carlo Troja, aka Don Carlos, from the Italian province of Varese, has been active as a DJ since the late 1970s. He
debuted as a producer in the late 1980s with the single "Alone" on Calypso Records (IRMA), which immediately became a cult hit on the global Deep House scene. His productions have always fused house rhythms with the sounds of
African-American jazz, sometimes bordering on disco, progressive, and electronic soul.
In 1992, his first album, "Mediterraneo," was released in the United States on IRMA USA, followed in 1993 by his
second, "Aqua," and several hit singles with the Montego Bay project with Stefano Tirone (Stone Inc.), all on IRMA
Records.
He reached the UK charts with Byron Stingley's production of the hit "You Make Me Feel," a remake of the classic
Sylvester song. He has performed in various European and American countries, as well as at the Ministry of Sound
and Turnmills in London.
In 2001, he released his third album, "Music in My Mind," featuring Kim Mazelle, Michelle Weeks, Taka Boom, and
Kevin Bryant.
A new album of re-edits of '90s-style songs, titled Livin' a Dream, was released in 2020, along with two compilation
volumes of Paradise House, both on IRMA Records.
With this new single, he continues to showcase his distinctive Soulful Paradise House sound, rooted in the
Mediterranean sound, as specified in the title.

Spider Taylor crawls over to Dark Entries with Surge Studio Music, an album of archival gay pornographic soundtracks. James Allan Taylor was born into a working-class family in Los Angeles in 1951. Nicknamed “Spider” by his father due to his frantic energy, Taylor was a natural-born guitarist, gifted with perfect pitch and a voracious musical appetite.

Throughout the 70s, he expanded his musical repertoire, playing in bands ranging from country to post-punk, like his outfit Red Wedding, while always looking for new sounds and styles to explore. During this period, Taylor also partnered with his soulmate and musical collaborator, Michael Ely. They were part of a wave of bold, young, gay couples living openly together in the years immediately following the Stonewall Riots. In the early 80s, while working at the West Hollywood gay sex club Basic Plumbing, Taylor met Al Parker, the legendary pornographic actor and director, who recruited Taylor to produce the soundtrack for a film he was working on. Parker’s partnership with Steve Scott running Surge Studios produced some of the most popular all-male films of the era. Spider’s music was a natural fit for Surge, and throughout 1985 and 1986, he composed the soundtracks for five films produced by the iconic studio. Assisted by engineer Steve Conrad and armed with a drum machine and some synths, Spider’s compositions for film veer from the expansive, reverb-drenched “Rainforest” to the Miami Vice-esque chugger “Tech.”

While Spider thought of this work as little more than a gig, tangential to his real craft, enthusiasts of VHS-era nostalgia and vintage erotica will be brought to bliss. Surge Studio Music will be available on both LP and CD, the latter of which includes a 20-minute version of “Strange Places…Strange Things!” as a bonus track. The album’s cover art was designed by Gwenael Rattke, and features stylish images from Surge Studios releases. Also included is an insert featuring liner notes by Will Lewis, a longtime friend of Spider. The music is released from Spider’s estate by Michael Ely, Spider’s partner of 43 years. The shadow of AIDS lingered over Surge; Steve Scott passed from AIDS-related illness in 1987, and Al Parker succumbed in 1992. In 2014, when it became legal for same-sex couples to marry in Arizona, Spider and Michael finally became wedded. Spider would pass away from liver cancer six months later.

As the world sinks deeper into screens and algorithms blur the line between creation and imitation, Nubiyan Twist return with Chasing Shadows, a record that reclaims the pulse, warmth and spontaneity of human connection.
The band’s fifth studio album is a rich and restless blend of jazz, afrobeat, hip hop and electronic textures, exploring the space between the organic and the digital. It’s music that moves, sweats, and breathes, made by real people in real rooms with heavyweight features bringing together varied voices from the music community which they inhabit.
Bandleader and producer Tom Excel explains: “We wanted to make something that felt joyous and defiantly human — something that couldn’t exist without that connection between people. You can get an AI to write a fugue in seconds, but it can’t capture the chemistry and chaos that happens when musicians lock in together. Chasing Shadows is our way of holding onto that.”
Folowing 2024’s acclaimed Find Your Flame, praised by Roling Stone, Jazzwise, NPR and more, Chasing Shadows pushes the band’s sound further into new soulful territory under Exce l’s expert guidance, featuring bright new vocalist Eniola and a glowing cast of icons and innovators. Malian star Fatoumata Diawara lights up the title track on a powerful slice of Afrobeat, Joe Armon Jones leads the dub workout ‘Rhythm Of You’ and the band take it back to their hip hop roots on great colabs with The Pharcyde’s Booty Brown, Ghanaian MC M.anifest and London dancehal favourite, Mr Wi liamz.
On Chasing Shadows, Nubiyan Twist continue to look outwards with their music but keep the focus firmly on humanity and positivity. It is an album which crosses continents and which shamelessly celebrates our co lective strength.
Fifth album from UK-based co lective Nubiyan Twist led by bandleader & producer Tom Excel (Africa Express, Onipa)
Featuring Booty Brown, Fatoumata Diawara, M.Anifest, Mr Wi liamz and Joe Armon Jones.
Pressed on Yelow Vinyl LP, or Green & Yelow splatter Vinyl LP (exclusively for UK indies).

Arizona-based producer Kareem Ali returns with Renewal, his second EP on the French label Noire & Blanche, a luminous blend of deep house, jazz, and Afrofuturism that captures both personal and collective transformation. Praised by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Boiler Room for his visionary sound, Ali continues to expand the language of modern electronic music with a project rooted in emotion, movement, and hope.

Across five tracks, Feel Everything All At Once, On My Heart, Procession, Wake Up My People, and Want, Kareem Ali invites listeners to experience the full spectrum of feeling. Opening with the warm, jazz-infused pulse of Feel Everything All At Once, the EP unfolds into the hypnotic rhythms of Procession and the heartfelt refrain of On My Heart. The soaring horns and urgent groove of Wake Up My People capture the project’s spirit of resilience, before closing on Want, a meditative reflection on desire and renewal.

Drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Miles Davis, and Underground Resistance, Kareem Ali continues his pursuit of what he calls Future Black Music — a sound that merges the spiritual depth of jazz with the cosmic potential of electronic music. With Renewal, he offers not just an EP, but a vision: music as liberation, rebirth, and awakening.

Soul Music legend Candi Staton returns to her down-home Alabama roots on her 32nd album, Back to My Roots. The twelve-track Americana set features an array of Staton-penned originals and some well-chosen covers.

"These songs represent my roots," Staton adds as she reflects on her many trials and triumphs. "Even the new songs on some level represent something I've experienced and that's what real soul music is about." Back to My Roots was produced by Staton with her second eldest son, Marcus Williams, a professional drummer who has toured with the likes of Peabo Bryson, Isaac Hayes, and Tyler Perry. They brought in Mark Nevers of Lambchop fame, who produced three of Staton’s prior Americana albums for Honest Jon’s and Thirty Tigers, to sweeten certain tracks. “Some of the first songs I ever heard were songs like `Peace in the Valley’ and `It’s Gonna Rain,’” says Staton. “The new songs or cover songs are tracks that remind me of that era when I was growing up as a child and evolving as a young woman. That’s why I named the album Back to My Roots because I’m going back to the roots that made me who I am.”

Staton received the Americana Music Association UK’s highest honour, the International Lifetime Achievement Award, at the UK Americana Music Awards ceremony at Hackney Church in London last year for her southern soul work that stretches from her 1969 Muscle Shoals hits to her more recent collaborations with the likes of Americana kings Jason Isbell and John Paul White.
The album opens with a mid-tempo Bonnie Raitt-styled contemporary blues “I Missed the Target Again” that finds Harry Connick Jr.’s longtime guitarist Jonathan DuBose Jr. (aka the Prophesying Guitarist) showing off his skills that set the tone for the song and the album.

Staton’s older sister, Maggie Staton Peebles (who alongside Staton was a member of the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s), joins her for two duets. The first, “It’s Gonna Rain,” features just a drum, steel guitar and vocals. “My mother used to sing that song to us all the time when I was a child,” Staton recalls. “It’s a really soulful kind of song I wanted to revisit.” They then take turns leading Thomas Dorsey 1939 gem “There Will Be Peace in the Valley” that Elvis Presley popularized in the 1950s.

“Hang on in There” is a new, mid-tempo song that has an old school gospel flavour and features vocals from veteran bluesman, Larry McCray.
While in Europe in 2023 for her farewell concert tour that took her to the Glastonbury Festival and Love Supreme, Staton and her British band, PUSH, went into a London studio to record a new version of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 gem, “Shine A Light.” “I love the way that came out,” Staton says. “We put a big choir on it and put our own twist on it.”
From there, Staton revives another Thomas Dorsey classic, “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow,” with a bluesy vibe. When Al Green started recording gospel in the early 1980s, he re-introduced this song into the culture.

“God’s Gonna Use Me Anyway” is a new mid-tempo blues with subtle Caribbean influences.

The mood takes a turn on “1963.” It’s a poignant, spoken-word reflection on September 15, 1963, when four black girls were killed in the Birmingham Church bombing. “I was in the city that day and I remember the chaos and horror after the bombing,” Staton recalls. “Just thinking of how racism and hatred caused those men to kill those girls was so emotional for me that I could only do it in one take.”

It's a perfect segue into "Reach Down and Touch Heaven," a haunting, plea for divine intervention into the affairs of mankind. "That's straight Baptist," she says. "I used to be a church pianist back in the 1960s. I've never played piano on one of my records before so that's a unique song for me because I’m finally playing on one of my records. The message of that song is about the homeless. It came to me when a homeless person on the street asked me for $5. When God touches your heart to help somebody else that’s heaven to God’s hears. So, when we reach into our purse or wallet to help someone, we’re touching heaven."

Staton offers love as an antidote to hate on the bouncy, Motown-styled, “Love Breakthrough.”

Her publicist brought Aaron Frazer & the Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY’s 2017 cut “My God Has a Telephone” to Staton’s attention. She shifts the track from a retro 1960s groove to more of a 1980s Malaco Records arrangement, a subtle but distinct variation. Staton brought in her longtime friend and STAX Records legend, William Bell (“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and “Trying to Love Two”), to add raspy seasoning to the track.

The album closes with the wistful, “In God’s Hands We Rest Untroubled,” that was originally written and recorded by the late country star, Lari White, who died in 2017 at the age of 52. “Lari sent me that song to consider at least ten years ago and I always loved it,” Staton says. “The record label didn’t want it on the album or something, so I just held it.”
Staton says, “I grew up hearing a lot of these old songs when they were new songs. I toured with the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s and we got to know people like Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and others who sang these types of songs. So, I’m sort of paying tribute to them and the influence they had on me by refreshing these songs and making new songs in the old style.”’

2026 Repress

If ever an album could transport you to the hazy sunshine and imagined halcyon paradise of Southern California in the mid-1980s, could capture the early evening warmth of hanging at an inclusive boogie jam as it approaches “magic hour” in Santa Ana or Anaheim, then it’s Vaughan Mason and Butch Dayo’s Feel My Love. A brilliantly produced deep slung, low rider funk classic originally released on Salsoul in 1983. It’s a masterpiece of “funk love music”.

Yes, this is indeed a perfectly formed five track “mini LP” of unparalleled heat, but there’s one song here that, above the rest, represents Orange County boogie-funk. A straight killer beloved by all that have had the pleasure of moving to it. A track that can fill up a dance floor within seconds of its starting. That song is the eternal title track, “Feel My Love”.

This is a work of art that made people fall in love with the funk. It transcends the limitations of genre. “Feel My Love”’s deceptive simplicity makes it perfect to drop during a house set, a classic funk party or at a west coast rap jam. It’s sexy, deeply emotional, melancholic, hopeful, passionate and just radiates so, so much raw energy. This is music.

The rest of the record is hardly filler though. Opener “Oh, Love” is a dizzying, emotional slow jam. With heaven-sent vocals riding gorgeous, sweeping keys that alternate between sweet twinkling lines and funk-fuelled stabbing. It’s sensational. A rollerskating jam named “Rollalong Songs” is an ultra-swish piece of dance floor dynamite. Its slick drums, staccato piano and neck snapping claps underscore Dayo’s buoyant vocals. It’s essentially “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll Part II”.

The flip begins with “Party On The Corner”. Smoother than silk vocals, day-glo synths, a bubbling bassline and guitar licks that surely received the Prince seal of approval. It’s another example of how Vaughan Mason and Butch Dayo flirt with perfection so routinely. The most majestic closer, the kaleidoscopic, cow-bell-assisted synth-funk heater “You Can Do It” is a proto-rap groover that truly smokes.

This prized LP is a stone cold jam and finding original copies on vinyl at affordable prices has been tough for years. Mastered brilliantly by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and with lovingly reproduced artwork, this fresh Be With reissue ensures this legendary LP now sounds, looks and feels as sensational as it should.

repressed !

Francois Kevorkian is a name that should need no introduction. With over 40 years in the game FK has occupied numerous roles in his long and storied career - drummer, DJ, A&R man, remixer and producer - his skills know no boundaries. Having DJ-ed during the nascent days of club culture in NYC alongside Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan and more, Kevorkian has been there from day one. Years spent in the seminal clubs of the day sharpened his ears and his prowess behind the mixing desk saw him become the A&R man at the legendary Prelude records in the early 80's, this in turn led to him working with everyone from The Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Erasure, D-Train, Yazoo, The Smiths, Kraftwerk and many many more. A true NYC original and legend, Kevorkian is still active today and the respect he commands amongst his peers has never waned, his adventurous extended DJ sets, seminal mixes and remixes and his open ears and open mind have ensured that he will go down in history as a musical pioneer.

Rewind to 1995. Kevorkian's 'Wave Music' imprint has come into existence with a handful of releases. No-one could imagine that his self-produced 'FK EP' - the next release on the label - would be a stone cold classic. Easily one of the most consistent, exciting and solid EP's to come out of NYC during this golden era of dance music. Across 4 tracks we are taken on a sound journey through a world that is undoubtedly informed by FK's time as an engineer, DJ and most importantly, a music lover.

EP opener 'Hypnodelic' brings us into this world, a deep, driving cut that fuses the dubbed out vocals of Freddie Turner against FK's keyboards and immaculate drum programming, oozing cosmic electronic soul, this track was destined to be a future classic. 'Mindspeak' also boasts some tough drums and with a respectful nod to Chicago is an incredibly mixed and arranged peak-time cut that will drive your dancefloor into deep space again and again. 'Edge Of Time' welcomes us to the flipside of the EP, wild Latin percussions, tablas and old school horn stabs drive this monstrous cut, not to mention cavernous dub FX and that huge bassline that just doesn't let up. Essential. 'Moov' rounds things out on a more subdued, stripped back vibe. Reversed percussions and spaced-out synth chords lace this beautifully understated and warm track, one that builds into a crescendo of melodies and hypnotic rhythms and the perfect way to close what has been a truly special musical journey.

This essential reissue of the 'FK EP' has been fully licensed, sanctioned and remastered in conjunction with FK from the original master sources by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK, repressed onto high quality vinyl and packaged as the 1995 release was. A truly classic record indeed, available again for 2018. Welcome back Wave Music!