Released in 1983 on a miniscule run of 300-self-financed LP’s, Dennis Taylor’s ‘Dayspring’ remains a lost masterwork of transcendental instrumental guitar. An important missing link between the 60’s folkloric experimentalism of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, and the new age atmospherics mined by William Ackerman and Michael Hedges in the early 80’s. Though Taylor’s guitar playing remains crisply unadorned on these 10 tracks, his technique and his compositions stretch beyond the folk roots of the genre. He crafts a soundworld that is both immersive and familiar. His pastoralism has a spaciousness - a pianistic drift - that feels truly timeless.
Taylor cut his musical teeth through the 60’s and 70’s playing with garage rock bands, and later finding his footing in the world of jazz/folk fusion. Sometime in the early 70’s, Taylor found his most profound inspiration to date when he witnessed a live performance from Takoma Records luminary, Leo Kottke. Enraptured by Kottke’s ability to fill the room so completely, with the sound of just one instrument, Taylor was determined to follow a similar path. Thus, he began composing music for solo guitar. He spent nearly a decade writing and honing his pieces, finally entering a studio in 1982 to commit them to tape. Taylor likened the recording experience to “a living room concert.” He recorded each song in a single take, in the order they appear on the album. Paying out of pocket for the recording sessions, studio time was at a premium, so Taylor had arrived prepared. And the results speak for themselves.
Dennis Taylor’s guitar playing is clean, precise, and masterfully proficient. And yet, ‘Dayspring’ is not merely a document of technical ability. His compositions are deeply
expressive. Taylor’s deft fingerpicking is married to achingly beautiful melodicism. His arpeggios chime and roll with painterly expression. Across the breadth of ‘Dayspring’, Dennis Taylor strikes a perfect balance between wistful nostalgia and bold expansion. Though Taylor initially hoped to release his album with new age progenitors Windham Hill, he ultimately decided to release the album on his own. He self-financed a pressing of 300 LP’s, which were largely distributed locally in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska. And now, Morning Trip is supremely proud to bring this album back to light. An important missing piece in the expansive tapestry of instrumental guitar music, finally restored.
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Hailing from Liege in Belgium, David Body has been put on our radar with releases on the fine Endless Music — but this EP for Exploited’s Black Jukebox series looks set to propel him to a new level.
‘I Bird You’ is a seriously charming affair, led by a colourful, sugary-sweet refrain that twinkles and sparkles in cute fashion. A warm deep house groove crafted through swirling Rhodes chords builds the vibe before the flowery melody explodes into life, pushing the track into an altogether more magical direction.
‘Jack Me Baby’ channels rubbery bass and a galloping house beat, with minor piano chords creating a dramatic feel as a classic vocal sample whoops away in delight. The enormous snare-rolled propelled build-up thrusts the track into overdrive, with a delightful, balmy synth line woven in to provide a mystical counterbalance.
‘The Talking Mouettes’ is a supremely feel-good slab of Balearic-tinged house, with choice piano chords cut up and cascading over a high-energy groove. Big squelchy melodic bass wiggles under the chords and shoulder-popping chime riff, with plenty of power and punch scattered throughout to keep the vibes rolling.
‘Endless Love’ is an absolute monster to close the EP, a soaring, triumphant electro beauty that overflows with euphoric melody and ecstatic, eyes-closed-and-rolling tingles. It just keeps building and building through layer upon layer of synth mastery to an explosive, epic climax.
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"Eternity" - Alice Coltrane (org, hp, el-p; perc, arr, cond); Terry Harrington (ts); Jerome Richardson (ss); George Bohanon (tb); Oscar Brashear (tp); Tommy Johnson (tba); Hubert Laws (fl); Charlie Haden (b); Ben Riley (b, dr); Armando Peraza (cga); a.o.
When the brilliant saxophonist John Coltrane died in 1967, the core values of jazz music had long drawn him into the spiritual world ("A Love Supreme", "Ascension", "Meditations" etc.). His widow and final pianist followed in his footsteps. Alice Coltrane (1937–2007) sought after »cosmic sounds, higher dimensions, astral levels« – she had an important influence on the spiritualised, esoteric music scene of the 1970s. Her first album was only released after John Coltrane’s death, but "Eternity" was already her tenth. (In the same year she founded a Hindu Vedantic Center in California.) The album draws its power from highly contrasted sound worlds. The size of the ensemble ranges from an unaccompanied harp solo ("Wisdom Eye") to a large orchestra with a big band of up to 25 plus a 12-man string section. Alice Coltrane’s main instrument is the electric Wurlitzer organ, whose rasping sound conjures up John Coltrane’s saxophone (especially in the opening number "Spiritual Eternal"). Mostly she improvises modally, sinuously, or with meditative ecstasy – whether in the style of Latin rock ("Los Caballos") or quite without a firm tempo ("Morning Worship" with a tamboura accompaniment). Support comes from such renowned musicians as Charlie Haden (bass), Jerome Richardson (saxophone and flute), Hubert Laws (flute) and Ernie Watts (cor anglais). In the number "Om Supreme" Coltrane switches to a gently swinging Fender Rhodes electric piano, which is joined by a six-voice vocal group. A surprising finale to the album is an orchestral adaptation of an excerpt from Stravinsky’s "Le Sacre du printemps". Here the moments of dissonance and free jazz are far from meditative contemplation.
Dead Head wurde 1989 in der Region Zwolle/Kampen in den Niederlanden gegründet. Von Anfang an zeigte die Band eine harte Arbeitsmoral
und veröffentlichte mehrere Demos und gab eine Menge Live-Shows. Die Band veröffentlichte außerdem drei Alben in voller Länge und eine EP,
bevor sie mit der Arbeit an ihrem vierten Album „Haatland“ begannen. Mit sechs Jahren zwischen „Kill Division“ und „Haatland“ perfektionierte
die Band ihren rohen, aggressiven Thrash Metal-Sound noch mehr. Die Produktion verbesserte sich erneut und die Band zeigte, dass ihr Potenzial
dem vieler etablierter Namen im Thrash Metal-Genre ebenbürtig war. Glücklicherweise wird „Haatland“ 2021 von Petrichor auf 2-CD und LP neu
aufgelegt, damit die Welt dieses Meisterwerk schierer Brutalität und raffinierter, eindringlicher Melodien wiedererkennen kann. Petrichor hat
der CD-Version dieser Neuauflage wieder eine Menge Bonusmaterial hinzugefügt. Dead Head ist keineswegs ein Knaller aus der Vergangenheit,
denn 2022 wird die Band ein neues Album veröffentlichen. Ein rasendes Stück Thrash vom Feinsten. Großartige Produktion, wahnsinnige Riffs
und wahnsinnige Vocals kombiniert, um dir den Schädel zu zerschmettern.
First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.
Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.
For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.
Quiet Dawn says "after the birth of my son, I took the time to get back to making new music.
And when I started to work on new tracks, I wanted to compose something without concept, unlike my previous records, just because time is precious and I wanted to find pleasure again when I composeand not be fixed to a concept, or a story.
These new tracks are instinctive; made with my main instruments, rhodes & piano, synths, percussions, vocals, bass and guitars. They are naturally oriented towards my big musical crush, BRUK, along with different rhythms, vibes and grooves. For me, it's definitely a record for the dancers. For this reason, the new EP is called 'Movements'. Aside from the dancer's element, the title relates to everything that is happening in the world at the moment, working on this record over the pandemic. Affecting people in all countries, friendship, mutual aid, solidarity and movements in many instances are very important to me, my family and my musical family, First Word.'
The influences on this particular EP come largely from the West London music scene; DKD, Bugz, Neon Phusion, 2000Black, Domu, IG Culture, Jazztronik, MdCL, the First Word fam and many many more artists. There are also heavy vibes inspired by 70's jazz, funk, disco, latin & african music."
'Movements' by Quiet Dawn is released on First Word Records on vinyl & digital in late 2021.
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Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, London
Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.
In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison’s recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.
DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin on trombone, Harold McKinney on Keyboards and Roy Brooks on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released. Notes courtesy of Tidal Waves
Soul Genius - Vintage Sound is the collection presenting the greatest artists with their best songs in every musical genre. This new volume is dedicated to Soul Genius. Rediscover 16 masterpieces that made the music history of Soul, including James Brown, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes with Diana Ross…
Luigi Grasso rubbed shoulders, when he was twenty, in New York. He then fed on all those artistic possibilities that thrive in the big apple, and bit into it with full teeth, with fierce greed. Jazz was already flowing in his veins, and he was going to enrich this impetuous river of multiple confluences, which he discovered in the prolix underground of the city universe. Meetings, musicians, friends, artists, approaches, differences, additions, mergers, the Italian had found his America for the best and for the sake of it. In words and music. As in Greenwich Village, where he would find a refuge nest in 2O14. In the heart of Manhattan between Soho, Broadway, Chelsea, Hudson. This once bohemian neighborhood, where trees thrive at the foot of red brick buildings, is more often called "the village". Here the young saxophonist from the south of Italy will pose his audacity and his appetite. He will quickly fraternize with the best, in this refuge for artists where gospel, rock, rap, soul and, above all, reign supreme, reign in gospel, rock, rap, soul.
Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.
In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).
In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison's recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.
It is on WENHA that Harrison released the opus: DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME (1980), which we are presenting you today.
DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin (Freddie Hubbard, Solomon Burke, Mulatu Astakte) on trombone, Harold McKinney (Tribe) on Keyboards and Roy Brooks (Yusef Lateef, Chet Baker, Mingus) on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released.
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of ‘Dreams of A Love Supreme’ since its release in 1980. This official reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) and comes with an unreleased bonus track.
Recommended if you like: Com Truise, Toro Y Moi, Tycho, Tourist. British Columbia producer Jamison Isaak didn’t anticipate an adulthood of globe-trotting songcraft, but teenage exposure to iconic French house music videos cast a spell on him that still holds: “I knew then this is what I wanted to do'’ Catalyzed by synthetic sights and sounds from oceans away, he patiently taught himself primitive software and recording programs, reverse engineering the heady, swooning horizons of the dance music that had permanently bewitched him. A decade later, having amassed an expansive discography of soft-focus synth pop and romantic electronic a crisscrossing the planet many times in the process the subtext of his project’s journey rings clear: “Teen Daze is dream fulfillment'’ Enter Interior. An ode to electric futures glimpsed in ecstatic heights, from bedrooms to big rooms, it’s an album of first loves refracted through prisms of wisdom, wounds, and wonder. Filter house and flashing lights; soft acid and vaporous neon; bumping clubs in spiral towers: “Like what the teenagers in Akira might be listening to'’ Collaborative cameos by multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason (on sublime fantasia opener “Last Time In This Place”) and vocalist Cecile Believe (on the glitch-glamorous anthem “2AM (Real Love)”) evocatively expand the record’s palette but otherwise Interior is Izaak’s love letter to his own artistic awakening, to the paradigm shifts inherent in youthful discovery and remote dreaming — your world exploded, your life forever changed. Years of devotion and divergence have honed his craft radically; tracks like “Nite Rune “Nowhere and“Translation”are among the most supreme bangers in the entire Teen Daze canon, a delirious fusion of textural finesse and emotional transcendence. It’s music of skylines, escape, and sensual energy, forever cresting through nights that never end.
Nervous Records, the iconic label synonymous with the rise of house from the streets of New York City, will mark 30 years in the music industry by releasing the celebratory compilation LP ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ on October 1st (Part 1) and October 15th (Part 2).
Featuring original mixes of the label’s biggest tracks, plus remixes by some of its most celebrated acts, ‘Nervous Records: 30 Years’ is both a celebration of the past and of the future. Featuring a who’s who of electronic dance music, the long player sees names including Louie Vega, David Morales Darius Syrossian, Tensnake, Monki, Franky Rizardo, Danny Howard and more take on iconic Nervous cuts: ‘You Make Me Feel Mighty Real’, ‘Treat Me Right’, ‘Future Groove’, ‘Feel Like Singing’, ‘Get Up Everybody’, ‘Break You’, ‘Hot’, ‘End This Hate’, ‘Unspeakable Joy’, ‘Can Ya Tell Me’, ‘Jerk It’, ‘The Anthem’, ‘It Makes A Difference’, ‘Learn 2 Luv’ and ‘Don’t You Ever Give Up’.
The album marks one of the most enduring, extraordinary legacies to grace America’s illustrious music history, not just in electronica but far beyond. Founded in 1991 by Michael and his father Sam Weiss, and recognizable immediately by its distinctive character logo, the label grew rapidly, in no small part due to Michael Weiss’ practically unmatched passion for discovering new music.
“Louie Vega and Kenny Dope woke me at 4am on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning from their studio telling me they had something really different that I needed to hear,” Michael recollects. “I asked if they could play it over the phone. They said if I wanted to hear it I had to come to the studio. So of course I got myself up, got dressed and went there. That “really different track” ended up being ‘The Nervous Track’, a tune that became our signature release and was also highly instrumental in the emergency of London’s ‘Broken Beat’ movement.”
The label’s willingness to take chances on fresh sounds and innovative concepts rising up from the melting pot sidewalks of NYC ensured a body of work that has become a living musical history of the city. House cuts ‘Unspeakable Joy’ and ‘Nitelife’ (Kim English), ‘Get Up (Everybody)’ (Byron Stingily) and ‘Feel Like Singing’ (Sandy B) bump up against hip-hop anthems like ‘Who Got Da Props’ (Black Moon) and “Bucktown” (Smif-n-Wessun) and reggae cut ‘Take It Easy’ (Mad Lion); soulful flows from Mood II Swing (Kim English ‘Learn 2 Luv’, Loni Clark “Rushing”), Armand Van Helden (‘The Anthem’) and Nuyorican Soul (‘Mind Fluid’) sit alongside seminal techno singles like Winx’ ‘Don’t Laugh’. The young artists and producers who joined the Nervous Records’ family have gone on to become some of the most hallowed and celebrated dance acts of all time: Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, David Morales, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Kerri Chandler, Kim English, Byron Stingily, Josh Wink, to name just a handful.
“We did a release with Josh Wink under his Winx alias entitled ‘Nervous Build-Up’,” Michael said. “It did well and it was obvious how talented Josh was. Subsequent to that release I was pretty persistent in asking him to continue to play me his new demos. During one phone conversation he said, “Mike I’m gonna play you something over the phone but don’t laugh when you hear it.” That demo ended up being ‘Don’t Laugh’, which became one of our biggest international hits and still to this day is one of America’s earliest and most impactful techno hits.”
As much a celebration of the label’s future as it is of their past, Nervous Records: 30 Years is but a marker in the imprints’ history, a clear sign of where they’ve been and also where they’re going. With 30 years behind them, the label’s determination to unearth new raw diamonds in the rough is as unwavering as ever.
“I’ve always been one to look at what others are doing (the industry at large) and think, “ok, are they doing this specific thing for a reason, or doing it because everyone else is doing the same thing” and make my decision based on that,” says Nervous Records’ General Manager Andrew Salsano. “In an age where data metrics and analytics reign supreme, I remain steadfast that they should be complementary to your decision and not the sole indicator to make one. So many songs today are written with 15 second hooks in mind for social media, and while there’s nothing wrong with that business model you will always be chasing the wave instead of carving out your own path and identity.
“My primary focus for the sound of the label has and will continue to revolve around signing good songs and music that has the ability to react at the street level first. The best results come from artists that are firstly given a bit of local love that grows into a global impact. Fresh ideas that express child-like curiosity and artists showing vulnerability in their music are also something I look for, artists and producers that are not making music with certain markets in mind, but rather their own style and signature that is unique but able to straddle the fine line of underground and overground.”
Still as raw, as underground and as finely tuned to the dance floor as they ever have been, perhaps the secret to the success - and the longevity - of Nervous Records has something to do with that hard, dogged, no-holds-barred NYC edge that runs through the veins of the label. With the next generation of producers rising from the clubs of New York, one thing is certain; Nervous Records will be there to find them, nurture them and bring them to the world at large, over the next decade and beyond.
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WALES WALLACE – was riding high in the Billboard Hot 100, as part of the Chicago group The Steelers, when he signed to Brunswick Records in 1969. The group had hit with “Get It From The Bottom” but Wallace fancied a solo career. He recorded three discs for Brunswick subsidiary’s Bashie, Dakar and in 1972 he launched the BRC label with “Somebody I Know”. This fabulous slice of Chicago crossover soul was produced by Eugene Record and has soared in demand in recent years.
WALTER JACKSON – signed to Columbia in 1962 and released a slue of records, initially on the parent label, and then its subsidiaries Okeh and Epic including “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” and the awesome “It’s An Uphill Climb To The Bottom”. After label hops to Cotillion, USA and Wand, Jackson found himself at Brunswick in 1973 where, later that year, he released the amazing “Let Me Come Back”. This rare, crossover-delight, was written by the legendary Jeff Perry and produced by Carl Davis and Sonny Sanders, add to that Walter’s supreme vocals and you have one of the finest Chicago mid-temo recordings of the early Seventies.
Motown Collected brings together the biggest names in the rich history of this legendary label. From very early singles to the artists that made Motown a household name for decades to come and the cross-over pop success of the late 70’s and 80’s. Featuring legendary artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and The Commodores, as well as gems from the likes of Marv Johnson, Barrett Strong, The Marvelettes and Tom Clay and pop superstars Rick James, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and Debarge: just a selection of the 33 incredible tracks featured on Motown Collected.
The documentary Hitsville: The Making Of Motown’, featuring Motown founder Berry Gordy and many of this artists, will premiere in cinemas across Europe this summer as well.
RELEASE: 23-7-2021
MOV proudly presents new Collected compilation albums in collaboration with Universal Music. Motown Collected is the first one, available as a limited edition of 3000 numbered copies on white vinyl. It includes an insert with photos and credits.
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Exclusively on vinyl, The 60s Album brings together some of the biggest and most iconic names of the decade.
A value packed 37 tracks kick off with one of the greatest of all time ‘Good Vibrations’ from The Beach Boys, and continues with solid gold smash hits including ‘House Of The Rising Sun’, ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’, ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’, the timeless ‘In Dreams’ from Roy Orbison, ‘Blue Velvet’ from Bobby Vinton, and the epic ‘River Deep Mountain High’ by Ike & Tina Turner.
Side B begins with a 6-track salute to the soul female stars and groups of the era - The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las and Lesley Gore are all here, alongside some easy listening from Andy Williams and Julie London, and the cool pop jazz of Astrid Gilberto and The Dave Brubeck Quartet.
The second LP begins with 6 of the most iconic U.S. tracks ever: Simon & Gafunkel’s ‘Mrs Robinson’, and Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ lead into the peerless ‘Witchita Lineman’ from Glen Campbell, the immaculate ‘California Dreamin’ from The Mamas & The Papas, Scott McKenzie’s ’San Francisco’, and Linda Ronstadt’s defining vocal as part of The Stone Poney’s on ‘Different Drum’. The side is rounded off with 3 of the most atmospheric pieces of music from the 60s… ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’, ’Nights In White Satin’, and Fleetwood Mac’s stunning ‘Albatross’.
The final side offers up Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Ben E. King and Dusty Springfield as some of the best voices and most soulful performances ever, before some of the greatest pop from Petula Clark, Love Affair and ‘I Got You Babe’ from Sonny & Cher and then it’s left to two of the biggest names in music history to close the album - Bob Dylan, and the incredible ‘In The Ghetto’ from Elvis Presley.
37 of the greatest tracks and artists from an era-defining decade… The 60s Album.
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Anne-Marie’s second studio album, ‘Therapy’, is the official follow-up to her multi-platinum and four million-selling 2018 debut, ‘Speak Your Mind’ the UK’s biggest-selling debut release of that year. An artist whose everywoman candour and knock-you-down vocal range has reverberated across the globe, ‘Therapy’ is a collection of songs that embody Anne-Marie’s characterful artistry, self-effacing attitude and beautiful honesty; attributes that have not only catapulted Essex-born Anne-Marie to platinum status in the UK to the USA and everywhere in-between, but ones that have seen her reign supreme a fearless Gen Z role model.
With the full tracklisting yet to be announced, Mind Charity ambassador Anne-Marie is delighted to confirm that ‘Therapy’ will feature her already-released UK Top 3 and Gold-selling ‘Don’t Play’ with KSI and Digital Farm Animals; recent feel-good Nathan Dawe and MoStack collaboration ‘Way Too Long’; as well as Niall Horan collaboration, ‘Our Song’, which the pair wrote with Phil Plested and TMS (Lewis Capaldi), with the latter also on production.
An album of candour and vivacity in equal measure, Anne-Marie wrote ‘Therapy’ with Max Martin (Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift), Kamille (Little Mix, Headie One), MNEK, Raye, TMS, Blake Slatkin (The Kid Laroi, 24kGoldn), Ed Sheeran, Nathan Dawe and Plested (Lewis Capaldi) – production comes from Mojam (Aitch, Fredo), Fred Ball (Rihanna), TMS and Blake Slatkin.
Anne-Marie has become one of the globe’s most successful pop stars since hear breakthrough in 2016. An artist with over five billion streams to her name, in her home market, she has secured 1 x platinum album alongside five Top 10 singles to date. And 2021 has seen her continue her winning streak, too – her January release ‘Don’t Play’ spent twelve weeks inside the Top 10 in the UK’s Official Singles Chart and has subsequently become the biggest song of 2021 so far by a British female artist (OCC). Not to mention her prime time debut as the new, and winning, judge on talent show, The Voice, earlier this year.
Rewind to 2020 and alongside charitable work and recording, Anne-Marie released her first-ever documentary titled ‘How To Be Anne-Marie’, exclusively with YouTube. Shot in her home county of Essex at a time when her years’ plans were turned upside down due to the pandemic, Anne-Marie took us back to where it all began. In the hour-long film, we saw her recounting her difficult school years, the close bonds she shares with her family, fans and friends, as well as the plights of stardom that she candidly spoke about with her peers, Little Mix.
Jan Hertel, so CHAOZE ONE bürgerlicher Name, ist ein gesellschaftskritischer Rapper, Autor und Theaterschauspieler aus Mannheim. In seiner ersten aktiven Phase von 2000 bis 2009 veröffentlichte er zahlreiche Alben und EPs. Die Musik war immer Vehikel für seine politische Arbeit, die im Vordergrund seines künstlerischen Schaffens steht. 2019 veröffentlichte Hertel das Buch "Spielverderber - Mein Leben zwischen Rap & Antifa", in dem er seine musikalische wie politische Sozialisation beschreibt. "Venti" von CHAOZE ONE erscheint auf dem Hamburger Label Grand Hotel van Cleef. Auf dem Album finden sich 17 Stücke in knapp 70 Minuten. Als Gäste sind u.a. Torsun Burkhardt von Egotronic, Mal Éléve, Shana Supreme sowie Autor Jan Off und zahlreiche mehr zu hören. "Venti ist die erste Hip Hop-Platte auf GHvC, und der Opener Memento Moria / Die Welt brennt der erste echte Rap-Track auf unserem Label. Aber Genres sind egal. Denn beim Hören dieses Songs - auch beim vierhundertsten Mal - fangen und Gehirne und Herzen an zu glühen. Der Song und diese Platte umfasst all das, was wir denken und fühlen, wie wir Dinge sehen und was wir fordern. Und zwar ohne Zeige-, dafür ab und an aber gern mit Mittelfinger", lässt sich das Hamburger Label zitieren.
With voor het verdwijnt, en daarna, the Belgian multi-instrumentalist Abel Ghekiere introduces his unique sound, which stems from merging modern jazz, traditional folk and field recordings.Through classical arrangements and a cinematic approach to composition, Ghekiere tells a story of grief and the search for solace in 8 songs.
The recent ‘Rocka Rolla’ series was masterfully launched by the boss himself. But for this second volume, El Vidocq steps aside for his English pal Keb Darge – who earlier so brilliantly contributed to the Jukebox Music Factory catalogue with his explosive selection ‘The Rockabilly Crown Jewels’. Once again, our ever enthusiastic limey swaggers and sparkles. His newest excellent assortment explores the garage rock and surf songs of his beloved ‘60s. Less sombre than the first, this second volume includes seminal punk rock tunes (She Lied by The Rockin’ Ramrods, Thunder Reef by The Shindings), but also a few veritable titty shakers (Les De Merle and his Bulldozer, or El Scorpion by The Sherwoods). Add a touch of surf (The Road Runners’ Quasimoto and Neb’s Tune by Ahab and The Wailers) and bingo baby! You’ve got ‘Keb Darge's Supreme’. Lots of love, zero poor taste. Play it loud, friends!
The album follows the recent January 2021 release of single 'O.N.E.' and the band's sixteenth studio album K.G (the second volume in the band's previous explorations into microtonal tunings), as well as Live In S.F. '16 (ATO Records), a live album recorded during the band's 2016 U.S. tour stop at San Francisco venue The Independent. As the band enter their second decade – and their frontman still only thirty years old - the creative future of the band, as showcased on L.W., promises to be bolder, madder and more imaginative than ever.
Comet Records presents the Tony Allen & Afrika 70 reissue series with the classic late seventies first four solo albums of Tony Allen remastered and restored: Jealousy, Progress, No Accomodation for Lagos & No Discrimination, all coming in an heavy Deluxe Tip-On Jacket.
1978's No Accommodation for Lagos, Tony Allen's third solo album, is an effortless Afrobeat masterpiece. The Afrika 70 band floats through two of Tony's heaviest and most churning compositions.
With this album, we start to hear Tony Allen's unique style of Afro-Funk that he would explore for decades to come as a solo artist - it is groove-focused, a rolling meditation on rhythm.
The first track, "No Accommodation for Lagos" is one of Tony's most pointed and churning songs, recorded in a chaotic period following the army raid of Fela's compound. There is a seriousness to the funk, a real burning purpose in the performance of every instrument, from the horns to the shekere. Tony's performance is supercharged - he clearly showed up to the studio that day with a fire in his heart. The followup track, "African Message," is an Afrobeat compositional staple. Tony sits back in the cut through most of the supremely funky track until about seven minutes in, when he steps into the spotlight to express himself fully - his emotions, his frustrations, his convictions - in a fiery duet between his drumkit and his voice. The percussionists coalesce around him in support, lifting Tony up as he gives it his all.
Tony Allen was a musical and compositional visionary, and this album finds him beginning to explore that vision outside of Fela's immense gravitational pull. They are the start of a new era in Tony's fruitful career as a solo artist, opening the floodgates for his distinctive Afro-Funk sound and laying the foundation for the next generation of Afrobeat musicians to come.
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On April 30, Mascot Label Group/Provogue will release "How Blue Can You Get", a collection of previously unreleased songs from Gary's substantial body of outstanding work in his back catalogue. The album contains 4 originals, and 4 songs previously recorded and made famous by classic bluesmen like Elmore James, Sonny Thompson, Memphis Slim and BB King.
Venturing deep into the Moore family archives, some previously unheard and unreleased deep cuts and alternative versions surfaced to accentuate the beguiling mastery of one of blues' finest modern exponents. Amongst the songs are unheard and unreleased Moore originals - "In My Dreams," a lusciously glorious slow-moving ballad with every note and bend weeping as Moore pours out his heart along with the stunningly melancholic "Looking At Your Picture".
The album kicks off a rip-roaring take on Freddie King's "I'm Tore Down," a Moore live favourite before he slips into a previously unreleased virtuosic version on Memphis Slim's "Steppin' Out." Elmore James' "Done Somebody Wrong," is another that showcases his blues chops, as does the enormous 7-minute never been released before scorching take on BB King's 1964 hit "How Blue Can You Get." An alternative version of "Love Can Make A Fool Of You," makes itself at home deep into the blues-rock heart of Moore, in a way that his most loved songs do, whilst the finale soars into the stratosphere with the beautifully aching "Living With The Blues."
It's our hope that current and future generations of music fans discover and re-discover Gary Moore, revelling in the artistry of not just a great guitarist, but a supremely talented musician. Back to the future with Gary Moore.
After NEF's album in 2019, Ici Bientôt is happy to present today the reissue of Comme Au Moulin by Nyssa Musique.
Paris 1985... ‘Extra-European’ Traditions meet Jazz and Minimal Music. An unusual array of instruments turn music into a dialogue. For a unique record ... vivid, full of texture, somewhere between Midori Takada, Don Cherry and Jon Hassell.
Beginning of the eighties, 5 musicians rehearse in a contemporary dance class hall, upstairs from the ‘’New Morning", renowned Music venue in Paris. Nyssa Musique is born. Passionate for a long time about traditional music, like those of the Middle East, India and East Asia, but also about African traditions, they throw a bridge between Jazz and ‘Extra-European’ traditions, resulting in what would be called "Spiritual Jazz" today, a little bit in the style of Don Cherry's Organic Music or Pharoah Sanders. With the notable difference, however, that their creations are strongly infused by contemporary classical and repetitive music, notably Steve Reich's work with whom they share a great interest for the traditional cultures of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and its gamelans.
In the original group we have Armand Amar, Ballet Music composer and John Boswell. Both specialists of traditional hand percussion which they had been studying for a long time in India and the Middle East, they are also very fond of synthesizers. Three other talented musicians quickly join them: Jean-François Roger, percussionist, marimba and vibraphone specialist, Henri Tournier, multi-flutist and Renaud Garcia-Fons, double bass player, who has a passion for the Middle East and has developed a virtuosic play of the bow, reminding that of Cecil Mc Bee.
Each of them enriches the ensemble with their personality, originality and musical generosity. The rehearsal hall is rapidly invaded by the phenomenal instrumentarium put together by Armand Amar. A great opportunity for the musicians, for the dancers, to have access to an endless choice of instruments, offering infinite possibilities for mixing different colors and timbres. Their sense for being a group and their great capacity for improvising culminates, in 1986, in the composition of their first and only album Comme au Moulin (« As by the windmill"), testimony of years of creating without hidden agenda.
Authentic, free and vibrant, still today, this album has no real equivalent. Even though it recalls the Fourth World current by its combination of traditional instruments with a subtle use of synthesizers, Comme au moulin gives more space to improvisation. It may also recall those of Midori Takada, less the New Age esthetics. An album that should delight as well lovers of "Love Supreme" by John Coltrane, of "Vernal Equinox" by Jon Hassell, as those of Moondog, an artist who, like them, invented a music based on the use of untypical percussions, at the confluence of 'Extra-European' traditions, Jazz and Classical, all together complex and hypnotic.
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- Rare 1987 Detroit experimental Funk/Soul album - Solo album by Tony Newton (Motown, Funk Brothers) - First ever vinyl reissue - 180g Black Vinyl Edition - Limited to 500 copies // Antonio L. Newton AKA Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European 'Motown Review' tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles' musical director. Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5_and countless others. Earning the nickname "the Baby Funk Brother" he left his trademark of solid, hard-driving and deftly clever grooves on such timeless hits as "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop In The Name Of Love," "Nowhere to Run," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Don't Leave Me This Way," and many others. Next to his impressive body of work for Motown, Newton can be heard on several hit singles from labels like Invictus-Hotwax and Stax. Later, Newton gained recognition as a member of both the acclaimed jazz-rock fusion group: The New Tony Williams Lifetime (headed by Miles Davis' drummer Tony Williams) and the British hard rock group: G-Force (with veteran guitarist Gary Moore). Tony Newton also recorded several solo albums during his impressive career, including the two total classics: 'Mysticism & Romance' (1978) and 'Novaphonia' (1987). On the album, we are presenting you today (Novaphonia from 1987) the listener is treated to something UNIQUE (and this is not an overstatement). Newton really puts the 'multi' into multi-instrumentalist, playing the synthesizers, the electric bass and the drum machine. Experimental is the keyword here, sounds vary from psych/trance (almost like a soundtrack from a space movie), to funk, fusion, rock, R&B, soul and jazz. Novaphonia has both elements of Tony Newton's impressive musical past and his vision for the future. Spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-around cosmic approach make this an 'out of this world' and VERY intriguing album. Resonant, sonically rich, sonorous, colorful, mind-expanding sounds are what one should expect from the 20th century Novaphonic sound developed to its greatest extent. These harmonies are innately pleasing to the human ear, mind and nervous system.
Antonio L. Newton AKA Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European ‘Motown Review’ tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles’ musical director.
Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5…and countless others. Earning the nickname “the Baby Funk Brother” he left his trademark of solid, hard-driving and deftly clever grooves on such timeless hits as “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Stop In The Name Of Love,” “Nowhere to Run,” “ABC,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” and many others. Next to his impressive body of work for Motown, Newton can be heard on several hit singles from labels like Invictus-Hotwax and Stax. Later, Newton gained recognition as a member of both the acclaimed jazz-rock fusion group: The New Tony Williams Lifetime (headed by Miles Davis’ drummer Tony Williams) and the British hard rock group: G-Force (with veteran guitarist Gary Moore).
Tony Newton also recorded several solo albums during his impressive career, including the two total classics: ‘Mysticism & Romance’ (1978) and ‘Novaphonia’ (1987).
On the album, we are presenting you today (Novaphonia from 1987) the listener is treated to something UNIQUE (and this is not an overstatement). Newton really puts the ‘multi’ into multi-instrumentalist, playing the synthesizers, the electric bass and the drum machine. Experimental is the keyword here, sounds vary from psych/trance (almost like a soundtrack from a space movie), to funk, fusion, rock, R&B, soul and jazz. Novaphonia has both elements of Tony Newton’s impressive musical past and his vision for the future.
Spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-around cosmic approach make this an ‘out of this world’ and VERY intriguing album. Resonant, sonically rich, sonorous, colorful, mind-expanding sounds are what one should expect from the 20th century Novaphonic sound developed to its greatest extent. These harmonies are innately pleasing to the human ear, mind and nervous system.
Explore new musical frontiers intended to catapult the listener towards new dimensions…this is an album that just begs for a special place in your record collection!
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first-ever vinyl reissue of ‘Novaphonia’ since its release in 1987. This rare & private-pressed album (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork.
“I wanted to try and showcase as many people as I knew on this mix. My idea of Late Night Tales was to distil a series of relaxing moments; the whole conceptual sonic of relax- ation. So, I was trying to think of all the collaborators and friends that I knew, who’d recorded stuff with this horizontal vibe. Plus, I was also trying to help my friends' stuff get into the world. I know the story of Khruangbin blowing up after appearing on the series (in fact, I think that's how I discovered them). So, the main idea was to create a certain atmosphere, but also to help some of my favourite collaborators and bud- dies to give their songs a little push out into the world. Hope you like it” Jordan Rakei
Due for release on 9th April, Late Night Tales celebrate their 20th anniversary with the release of multi-instru- mentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei’s majestic compilation. The 28-year-old modern soul icon effortlessly stamps his own jazz and hip-hop driven sound all over this gorgeous array of handpicked tracks. A beautifully layered blend that is mirrored in the music he’s made, itcomes as no surprise that such a supremely gifted songwriter should deliver a mix that is all about the song.
Rakei, born in New Zealand, but raised in Australia, moved to the UK in 2015; he released his debut album, Cloak, with Oz label Soul Has No Tempo, but his two subsequentLPs, Wallflower and Origin, came out on Ninja Tune, the former#2 in Album Of The Year for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide poll, while Origin was nominated for Best Album at the AIM Awards. Jordan had this to say on his upcoming mix:
As Jordan says,there’s so much more to the song selection on Late Night Tales’latest outing than a random collection of artists. Many have some sort of personal connection, so just as Bonobo provided a platform for the breakout of Khruangbin on a previous LNT, this may have the same ef- fect for Rakei’s friends. After a soothing opener from Fink, good friend and big influence Alfa Mist (part of the Are We Live collective) delivers ‘Mulago.’ “I want to champion their sound and show the world how good he is, and I thought it’d be fitting to start the mix with family,” says Jordan.
Next up is Charlotte Day Wilson with ‘Mountains,’ followed by ‘Count A Heart’ from Moreton, an exclusive collab- oration with Jordan, who grew up on the same street in Brisbane, Australia. “She was the first artist I ever collabo- rated with, and one of the first artists to be involved in mycareer,” he explains. Elsewhere we hear Scottish producer and multi-instrumentalist C Duncan’s haunting ‘He Came from the Sun,’ Barcelona collective Oso Leone deliver a dreamy ‘Virtual U’ and Bill Lauren’s ‘Singularity,’ which evokes a striking sense of time and place.
Snowpoet’s ethereal ‘Evitenity’ is a “long mediative nar- rative over a beautiful soundscape,” which at times seems chaotic, nicely juxtaposed with undeniable beauty, and Maro’s kooky songwriting shines on ‘Always And Forever.’ Long-time buddy Armon-Jones contributes ‘Idiom,’ and Jordan’s exclusive cover version is a two-for-one, Radio- head’s ‘Codex’ merging with ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Home’ by Jeff Buckley and another exclusive,original com- position by Jordan, ‘Imagination.’ The latter works as a piece with the spoken (Spanish) word voiced by movie director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, and The Reve- nant,) who is a big fan of Jordan’s. “He messaged me when I went to L.A and asked to come to my show. I was in such shock and we hung out after. I thought it would be nice to get him to do this in his native tongue, because I don’t think that’s been done yet on the series.” It certainly is a familyaffair. Not theblood is thicker than water kind, but certainly musical kindred spirits.
Hell Yeah welcomes the Italian musical collective Aura Safari for a debut EP on the label.
The band, who are at the forefront of a new Italian fusion sound that blends jazz-funk, electronic and world sounds, is made up of acclaimed house devotee Nicholas Iammatteo, plus Alessandro Deledda, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni and Andrea Moretti. They contributed a standout track to the Buena Onda - Balearic Beats compilation last year as well as releasing a full length LP on UK label Church to critical acclaim.
Opener 'Dreams of Music' is a lush, new age groove with rich musicality, wind instruments and live drums all glowing warmly as you roll into sundown. 'Oasis' then sinks into a reflective mood, with lazy drums and sensuous late night chords sounding like Roy Ayers all loved up and super stoned. The noodling keys really melt your heart before the excellent 'Slow Divers' pairs more majestic bass riffs with wet claps and splashing cymbals as a wandering lead drifts up to the heavens. It has a dubby swagger to it that is superbly subtle.
Closing out the EP 'Libra', is a heartwarming, slow motion, jazz-funk fusion packed with detail and life affirming synth playing.
These are gloriously heartfelt tracks that showcase this collective's supreme musical ability as well as their unquestionable understanding of jazz, funk and soul, past, present and future.
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2LP Set With 19 Classic Tracks From One Of The Most Beloved Singers Of All Time In One Of The Greatest Soul Acts.
Gladys Knight & the Pips remain, without doubt, one of the greatest acts of the soul era. With powerful lead vocals supported by ultra-smooth harmonies delivering a catalogue of hits, their mark on the charts alone is impressive enough. Add in their remarkable fashions, memorable choreography & collaborations with some of the greatest songwriters of all time, and you have the
definition of iconic artist right there.
Breaking through in the late 50’s on Jackie Wilson’s Brunswick label, first serious chart success came soon after signing to Buddah in 1973 and the release of a Jim Weatherly number, ‘Where Peaceful Waters Flow’. Their second release for Buddah took them into the pop stratosphere. ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ - another Weatherly composition - landed them a US No.1 and UK No.10 hit.
And then classic hit after classic hit flowed. ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ (Weatherly), ‘Baby Don’t change Your Mind’ (Van McCoy), ‘Make Yours a Happy Home’ (Curtis Mayfield), ‘Baby, Baby Don’t Waste My Time’ and ‘Bourgie’ Bourgie’’ (both Ashford & Simpson) all feature here among many others as a slice of the group’s huge repertoire.
After the group amicably disbanded in 1989 Gladys continued to record and
perform, including her joining the select band of superstars to have performed
a James Bond theme, with her unmistakable ‘Licence to Kill’. Still performing
solo to this day, “The Georgia-born ‘Empress of Soul’ reigns supreme,” wrote
The Times of Gladys as recently as 2019. But it will be group’s golden era from
the early-70’s to the mid-80s catalogued here that Gladys Knight & the Pips will
always be most fondly, and recognisably remembered.
For 'Music For Dreams’ collector’s series, we aim to bring you something a little different, something a little out there. After eclectic contributions from Jan Schulte, Moonboots and most recently Basso, we’ve lent the slot to Belgian sonic globetrotter DJ soFa. As always, he’s been granted supreme curatorial sovereignty, and trust us, he held us to our word on that one. For elsewhere Jr I, soFa takes us on a trip to the alluring and magical reality of childhood - and a trip, it is.
This double LP features both new and old compositions from a wide range of countries, all centered around the youngest citizens of planet earth. The compilation has been 2.5 years in the making, with soFa collecting obscure pieces from all over the world and inspiring young collaborators to produce new tracks mostly by means of analogue synthesizers and vintage drum machines. The result is a thematically and sonically homogenous collage of cosmic children’s music.
'soFa' starts us off with Milo Kolarov’s exercise in sonic imagery ‘Analogue Beam’, a story about animal characters, presented to us as distinct motifs of bleeps and blitzes. Next up is the surreal jigsaw puzzle dub ‘Totti und Pippo’ by Jah Limonardi and 'Die Kleine Gräfin Dubski'.
Here, we come bouncing on giant, iridescent mushrooms, lulled deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole by incantations of a child’s voice. Throughout, the record is full of these synaesthetic properties, immersing the listener in creative ways, nudging you down hidden experiential pathways.
All of the tracks, more precisely ... they were pleasantly engaging, often blooming with charming grooves and provided with a whimsical melody.
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Justin Thurgur has been at the heart of the UK's World Music scene for over twenty years, primarily through his collaborations with the Afrobeat maestro Dele Sosimi (former keyboardist for both Fela and Femi Kuti) and with the pianist Kishon Khan. Most recently in Khan's projects Lokkhi Terra and the Afrobeat/Cuban crossover, Cubafrobeat.
Thurgur has worked with Cuban giants Giraldo Piloto, Changuito and Julito Padron, with the Nigerian drum legend Tony Allen and with Damon Albarn's Africa Express project; which included Cheick Tidiane-Seck and Fatoumata Diawara. He's also worked with the likes of Bukky Leo, Francis Fuster, Pandit Dinesh, Baby Akhtar, Inemo, Tony Kofi, Kodjovi Kush, The Soothsayers, The Levellers and The Selecter.
He is perhaps most known as the trombonist from the multi-award winning 'folk' group Bellowhead. Their split in 2016 led to him forming his own band and releasing his debut album as a bandleader, 'No Confusion'.
The album features original compositions written by Thurgur in collaboration with double bassist Max De Wardener, piano/rhodes/Hammond organ player Kishon Khan and guitarist Phil Dawson, with band members including the likes of Graeme Flowers on trumpet, James Allsopp on bass clarinet and Oreste Noda on congas.
Thurgur promoted 'No Confusion' throughout 2016 and 2017, culminating in an enthusiastically received performance at Love Supreme Jazz Festival in 2017. Jazz FM, in particular Chris Philips, gave extensive airplay to the album as well as streaming a live performance from the Jazz FM studios and doing an interview. They subsequently playlisted two of Thurgur's single releases. Lopa Kothari played a track on BBC Radio 3's show 'The World On 3'. The band did a live interview and performance on DJ Ritu's 'A World In London' show on Resonance FM. Beyond this Thurgur has been developing relationships with various other digital radio stations, including Gordon Wedderburn, John Waugh and a number of Global music stations based in Europe.
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IZIPHO SOUL Limited edition picture sleeve 7"
KISS OF FREEDOM: The All Star Indie Soul & Jazz collaboration, fronted by writer/producer J.D's Time Machine, features some of the most currently talked about, new and celebrated artists, including Cleveland P Jones, AgapeSoul, & U-Nam. Within this live arrangement are singers and musicians on loan from amongst the biggest Grammy Award Winners & Nominees today, including Lalah Hathaway, Snarky Puppy, and Ledisi. The song is an inspiring love baptism - the perfect vehicle to free us to enter the hopeful new journeys we dream will begin in 2021.
On the B Side we present the ‘long version’, showcasing Cleveland P. Jone’s supreme vocals and incorporating his incredible jazz scat, exclusive to this 45!
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Columbus, Ohio’s Rudolph Johnson drew comparisons to John Coltrane during his career; like the jazz legend in his later years, Johnson eschewed drugs or alcohol and spent his time every day either meditating and rehearsing on his horn. You can definitely hear
a little bit of Coltrane in Johnson’s playing on this, his 1971 debut release for the Black Jazz label, the first of two he recorded for the
imprint and the first he recorded as a leader after some sideman work (most notably for organist Jimmy McGriff); his ability to explore the upper registers and overtones of his tenor sax while retaining control is quite striking. Of course, this being a Black Jazz release, along with the bebop sounds of “Sylvia Ann” and the mid-‘60s Blue Note stylings of “Sylvia Ann,” there’s the soul jazz of “Diswa” and the groove funk of “Devon Jean,” all played by, as is typical on Black Jazz releases, by top-notch sidemen including drummer Raymond Pounds, who’s layed
with everybody from Stevie Wonder to Pharoah Sanders to Bob Dylan, and pianist John Barnes, whose work is very familiar to Motown fans (Supremes, Temptations, Marvin Gaye). Bassist Reggie Jackson, who appeared on the Walter Bishop, Jr. Coral Keys record we previously released, rounds out the quartet. First vinyl reissue of another stellar Black Jazz release!
The Radio 2 Top 2000 is the largest annual radio event in The Netherlands. The audience of Radio gets to vote for their favorite all-time songs. These literally millions of votes come together in the Top 2000. All these 2000 songs are broadcasted back to back from Christmas until a few minutes before New Years Eve, when they air the No.1 of the chart.
Top 2000 - The 60’s contains the best hits from the century in which the music industry saw its biggest change. It were the years some of the biggest bands in the history of music rose to fame, like The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Who, and Fleetwood Mac. Rock, pop, funk, soul and psychedelia all stand side by side on this release, with artists like James Brown, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Etta James, Elvis Presley, and Dusty Springfield. These artists and many more you’ll find on this wonderful 2LP.
The Top 2000 bridges the gaps between all musical generation from the Sixties to the present, making it the most eclectic chart out there, and keeping more that half of the country glued to their radio day and night for the whole week it’s broadcasted. And with a daily tv spin-off during its broadcast, it has reached an even bigger audience.
Top 2000 - The 60’s is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on yellow vinyl. The package includes an insert.
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Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.
Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.
But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."
While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.
Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.
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Big Crown Records is proud to present Ekundayo, Liam Bailey’s debut record on the label. This album is a long time in the making, and after listening, clearly worth the wait. It didn’t take a long time to record, but it did take years for all the stars to line up.
Bailey, born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and Jamaican father got his early influences from his mom’s record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today.
Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle with hopes of landing a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician / producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes “When Will They Learn” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” which still get spins at reggae spots around the globe. That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.
But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't."
While Liam’s career went through a bunch of record industry twists and turns he and Michels stayed in touch and would regularly connect and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. "This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels. Set to release in November 2020, the album is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. Anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics but they may join the masses who blame the city, while Liam points the finger at himself and sings praises to The Big Apple.
Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered throughout the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight." In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo.
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The second volume brings sublime crossings of gospel with the soul, funk and jazz of the Black Power era. Twenty rapturous cuts dot dazzlingly between Muscle Shoals soul, screwed breakbeat, Mizells-style fusion, disco and proto-house. Triumphant re-workings of Sly Stone, Donny Hathaway and Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters will have listeners throwing their pew cushions into the air.
Full-size booklet; beautifully designed, with stunning, rare photographs and original Savoy artwork.
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Birds are singing, a soft female voice embraces the stars, then the funk hits the fan: the second album of mysterious Japanese singer Nadja haunts immediately and marks one of the most exquisite reissues in the ever-growing catalogue of Studio Mule. Originally released in 1989 as promo only CD on the Japanese label Polystar, the album features some of the finest eighties pop funk fusion arrangements of the era. A deeply enchanting lost gem, that gets listeners instantly into heavy repeat addiction.
All ten songs are arranged by a group of grandmasters of their art. Japanese saxophonist, composer and music producer Yasuaki Shimizu, man behind the electronic ambient fusion classic “Kakashi”, was in charge for tunes like “Wac-Wack”, a neon light funk pop song, full of soft big city eroticism, ultra-slick synth lines and real funkateer explosions. It’s followed by “夢のとりこ”, the most stirring pop tune on the album, that originally was written by French composer, multi-instrumentalist, actor and singer Areski Belkacem, known for his and long-time collaborations with French avantgarde singer Brigitte Fontaine. Shimizu transformed the song into a low hanging funk jewel, with a cool rolling bassline, dub depth and synths that cry for cosmic help. Above all Nadja signs with a sexy chill, that somehow could only emerge in the 1980ees, when the cold war even made pop music real cool. The follow up is named “真珠のように”, features again music by Belkacem, this time transformed by Shimizu into electronic erotic pop - dreamy, witchy and precisely musical composed.
The B-Side opens with “Velvet Rain”, a funky urban boogie composition by Japanese keyboard player, composer and producer Akira Inoue, enlarged with glimmer camp kitsch, that immediately puts a smile on the listeners faces. It gets followed by “Paradise Catcher”, a soft pop tune with longing string and horn sections, arranged by legendary Jamaican rhythm and production duo Sly & Robbie. It somehow marks one of the strangest songs in their longstanding career, as it is largely minimal orchestral but yet super tight when it comes down to the rhythmic magnitudes. The next tune, “Private Tripper”, also stays soulful, funky and horn driven. Always pleasing the super tight, yet feathery voice of Nadja, that is dancing about boogie grooves and illuminating melodies with a seducing tragical coolness. Finally the album ends with a stylistic break in the overall musical atmosphere. It comes from Japanese musician Hiroaki Goto, it’s called “地図をずっと南へ”and features Afro-Brasilian voodoo rhythms, pan flutes, cosmic piano notes and Nadja, singing like a rain forest sorceress from outer space.
Ten arrangements by a bunch of high-grade arrangers, that all left Nadja’s voice enough space to widespread her talent as a supremely seducing singer, who wrote all lyrics, vocals and chorus by herself in order to present her touching vocal class in a vivid, bewitching timeless style. Come in and get ensnared!
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The 80s owed everything to the punk revolution ... and betrayed it time and again.
ln 76-77, the incredible explosion of English-speaking bands focused the energies of a whole generation of Western youth - rebels ready to pick up a guitar and use it like a weapon. Yet more than punk music itself, it was the creative burst it triggered that radically shaped 80s pop and heralded an unending stream of inspired performers.
Although we often speak of the British and American golden age of post-punk from 78 to 84, with artists that included Talking Heads, Joy Division, PIL and Devo, France (together with Switzerland and Belgium) joined the movement too. Today, on a new album, the group Nouvelle Vague have paid tribute to this sumptuous "Frenchy" period clothed in the nihilism of punk, along with bitterness fuelled by the economic crisis and, paradoxically, the bewitching spirit of pop.
lts title, Couleurs sur Paris (Colours on Paris) is based on both a famous postcard collection and Oberkampf's 1981 punk anthem, and reflects the period, which oscillated between elation and despair. Written by artists sometimes known as "the modern young people" and including faux naïf electropop nursery rhymes by Elli & Jacno ("Anne cherchait l'amour", 1979), Lio ("Amoureux solitaires" , 1980)
and Etienne Daho ("Week-end à Rome", 1984), along with Lili Drop ("Sur ma mob", 1979) and Taxi Girl ("Je suis déjà parti", 1986), the songs clearly express the hopes and disappointments of the day.
The sense of melancholy suggested by the disenchanted lyrics of "Déréglée" - performed in 1977 by Marie-France, an icon of Paris nightlife - is even more noticeable on the 1981 hit by The Civils, who cynically sang, "Tonight, they're dying in Chad, but l'm buying my dream Walkman" before taking it to the chorus: "The economic crisis is fantastic, decadence is the right feel".
The punk shockwave con also be felt in the music of bands who radically shaped French culture and song. Like Rouen, with Les Dogs ("Sandy, Sandy", 1982), every provincial town and city in France began to produce bands at the end of the 70s and the start of the 80s. Wunderbach's 1983 punk pamphlet "Oublions l'Amérique" was a foretaste of what is now called alternative punk, a genre that won acclaim in 1988 with Mano Negra's "Mala Vida". Indochine, French pop legends for the last thirty years, also encouraged the trend in the summer of 1983 with "L'aventurier", after a first single brimming with the spirit of rebellion, "Dizzidence Politik".
Rita Mitsouko, the duo that emerged from the underground Parisian punk scene of the late 70s, rocketed to stardom in 1984 with "Marcia Baïla". Equally baroque, TC Matic - the first band fronted by Belgian singer Arno - released an ironic, political underground hit in 1983: "Putain, putain". Other artists fuelled a post-punk movement that explored the romanticism of machines and the darkness of new wave, including the cult, much-neglected duo from Nancy, Kas Product ("So Young but so Cold", 1982) and Switzerland's Stephan Eicher, whose "Two People ln A Room" (1985) followed on from "Eisbaer", a hit in a more underground style written with Grauzone in 1981. However, the genre's most influential practitioners were certainly Noir Désir. From their first single in 1987 ("Où veux-tu qu' je r'garde?"), they won mainstream success with their unique fusion of 80s gloom and power rock. Beyond from the meteoric success of Bordeaux's Gamine ("Voilà les anges", 1988) and the subversive spirit of Jad Wio ("Ophélie", 1989), French post-punk reached its climax with the success of Noir Désir, Rita Mitsouko, Stephan Eicher and Manu Chao, whose albums reigned supreme in the 90s French charts. From the underground scene to gold records: the eternal story of pop.
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In our latest chapter of Spiritual Jazz, we return to the source – the Impulse! label, and the monumental influence of its most prominent artist, John Coltrane.
Since the first release in the series back in 2008, we have mapped out the growth of the spiritual sound in jazz. Spiritually energised and politically conscious, the spiritual sound in jazz music is one of the most important currents in the music. Our series has charted the growth of the style from early experiments at Blue Note and Prestige to European excursions, exiled experimentalists, and sounds from across the globe. But whenever you think of spiritual jazz, it's a fair bet that the double exclamation mark and orange and black spine of Impulse quickly comes to mind. Home to John and Alice Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner and countless other musical pioneers, Impulse! was the most important and forward-thinking jazz label of the 1960s. With the music-first attitude of an independent but the clout of a major, producers Creed Taylor and Bob Thiele made Impulse the defining imprint of a crucial decade. They hand picked the top players of the moment and gave them freedom to record the music they wanted, setting out their stall with a bold slogan – 'The New Wave Of Jazz Is On Impulse!'
Here we dive deep into the Impulse! catalogue, bringing celebrated masterpieces from Alice Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders into the arena, together with lesser known cuts from Phil Woods and John Klemmer as well as straight-up classics such from Yusef Lateef and Elvin Jones. Fifty years on and the new wave of jazz still sounds fresh, vibrant and as relevant as ever.
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FIZZY is a selection of eight tracks by Catastrophe, for the first time gathered on vinyl. Born in 2016, Catastrophe would like not to forbid anything, even if it means the risk of ridicule. Whether in forests, on rooftops, crossing France and summer festivals (Rock en Seine, We Love Green, Francofolies), Catastrophe imagines. On stage, surprise reigns supreme and explodes into a musical kaleidoscope.
In 33T and with printed innersleeves, this vinyl is a beautiful introduction to the world of Catastrophe. Their recent performances on major French and international stages (Eurosonic, Reeperbahn, Munich, Tokyo, Warsaw) show the growing interest for their music and energy. This selection is an ideal gateway to discover them.
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The sublime Time Capsule remains Weldon Irvine's most fully realized and influential recording. A supremely talented multi-instrumentalist and composer, Irvine had a musical vision that was unerringly soulful, spiritual, and funky. Assembled as a kind of musical scrapbook documenting the thought patterns and belief systems of the early '70s, it nevertheless boasts a surprising vitality and timelessness thanks to luminous funk grooves that anticipate the latter-day emergence of acid jazz. Irvine also rhymes over several tracks, further cementing his influence on successive generations of hip-hop. A profoundly righteous spirituality winds through all eight of Time Capsule's performances, assaying both the affection ("Soul Sisters") and anger ("Watergate") vying for control of post-Woodstock America. Irvine's searing keyboard and piano playing further capture the moment in question, deftly balancing between beatitude and bitterness. For fans of funk, soul and jazz, it doesn’t get much better than this 1973 classic.
a A1. Time Capsule - Electric Piano, Narrator Recitation – Weldon Irvine
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