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Welcome to Poland: Another country in the midst of fearful flux; where a huge proportion of the country feel their voice is no longer represented by the government; where raw emotions are being exploited cheaply by media to distract, divert and crudely divide; where there is more of a need than ever for like-minded positive souls to unite without prejudice and work together for a better future. The headlines sound too familiar for many of us in the world. But just as Trump does not represent most people in America and Brexit doesn't define everyone in Britain, Poland's right wing government does not exemplify the majority of Polish people. Like all world citizens, our generation and younger are good-minded, thoughtful people who do want to bring down barriers and work together. Their vision is one of inclusion and one of a proud future and how we can improve the lives of our children and grandchildren... Not become entangled in embittered roots of the past. It's evident in Poland's thriving creative cultures from the provocative art of Katarzyna Kozyra to the literature and poetry and films of Wojciech Kuczok. It's evident in the stark optimist architecture of Daniel Libeskind. It's evident in Krakow's thriving club scene and the country's bubbling pools of electronic music talent. It's everything Catz N Dogz do: their attitude, their music, their labels, their WOODED festival and, perhaps most importantly, their friends. Not just there to carry you home; friends carry you everywhere. And right here on 'Friends Of Pets' Catz N Dogz are carrying their companions' creativity with the same esteem and pride they host their Polish festival. A cultural statement and powerful showcase of their country's great thinkers, creators, collaborators and disrupters in electronic music, across 16 tracks

Ikonika's third album 'Distractions' builds on 2013's 'Aerotropolis', and the title answers the question Why has the album taken so long' In the last few years she's been building up a strong CV of remixes, from Chvurches to Dawn Richard, Austra and Junior Boys, as well as DJing and working on this album. 'Distractions' distils the character of Ikonika's music productions across a wider set of styles than previous albums, and she subtly fuses and switches elements from contrasting genres, giving the whole set a uniqueness and consistency that puts it in its own lane. Furthermore what sits at the centre of 'Distractions' more than ever is her love of R&B and hip hop, in all its forms, which has opened the door to bring in a selection of guests in a way she's not fully explored before. From the full throttle blend of grime and 80s synth soul 'Noblest' with Andrea Galaxy, to the reflective 'Sacrifice' with up and coming MC Jammz, a slowjam that merges dubstep with hip house drums. The final vocal track is the languid 'Hazefield' co-produced with Sweyn J and featuring Jessy Lanza on vocals. Its mix of mechanic clunk and minimalist, lulling funk could only happen in 2017. The LP artwork takes its inspiration from West London's Golden Mile, a stretch of the Great West Road where the A4 meets the M4, and the road takes on the character of the arcade game Poll Position, with art deco factories and illuminated, hi-tech signage selling lifestyle products. It's this kind of mix of futuristic and industrious with a touch of gentle glamour that the album exudes.

Brendon Moeller has essentially spent almost everyday of his life since 1994 in a home recording studio. Through research and practice he has evolved into a prolific producer with 10 full length albums under his belt and dozens of singles and remixes. He has performed live and DJ'ed at Fabric, Berghain and Cielo and then some. His love of a hybrid of hardware and digital resources for production shines through. His music has been championed by the likes of Francois K, Speedy J, Danny Howells, amongst others. An eclectic sensibility stemming from a love of many genres of music is always evident in Brendon's work. - - - SSX represents the Silent Season 10 Year Anniversary Compilation, a series of 12"s celebrating a decade of deeper electronic music. The series features artists whose music continues to inspire the Silent Season journey.

Solune real name Etienne Dauta hails from France, the son of a record store owner father and artist mother. He moved to Berlin 6 years ago and for the last 3 years
co-ran the Bass Cadet record store. Solune has just released one EP in his short career on the Bass Cadet imprint but is also is one half of the Arcarsenal duo who also released on the label.
The EP kicks off with the mighty 'The Vision', a majestic New York inspired atmospheric stomper combining both spiritual and techy vibes that you can imagine hearing
pumping out over the system at The Sound Factory or Shelter.
'Sacred Smoke' is a hazy, languid percussive workout that will
sound perfect early doors to build the tension.
B1 'Rhythm School' does what it says on the tin and is a warm, driving housey cut. We wouldn't make these comparisons lightly but this sounds like a long lost Ron and Chez track to these ears. Last up is the exotic and mystical 'Idiom Of Peace'.
'The Hierophant' EP is a stunning EP of different flavours and a
perfect addition to the Secretsundaze catalogue.

Tropical Odds is the second album by White Sea, the solo alias adopted by gifted American singer, songwriter and producer Morgan Kibby of M83
Born in Alaska, and now a resident of Los Angeles, Morgan fronted The Romanovs before joining acclaimed electronic music group M83 in 2007, co-writing, arranging and playing keyboards on the albums Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, as well as completing several world tours.
As White Sea, her first solo album In Cold Blood arrived in 2014, a dramatic debut praised by Billboard for its 'canyon-sized hooks, knowingly grandiose melodies and succulent vocals' and judged 'pop's newest break-up classic' by Flavourwire.  
Outside of M83 Morgan has also collaborated with artists such as Greg Kurstin, Panic! at the Disco, Mark Ronson and School of Seven Bells, remixed Ellie Goulding and Britney Spears, and composed the award winning soundtrack to Eva Husson's provocative 2016 movie Bang Gang (une histoire d'amour moderne).
New album Tropical Odds stems from an interactive project launched via White Sea's website featuring digital singles and videos released at regular intervals throughout 2015 and 2016. Explains Morgan: 'Generally being able to create and mix and master my solo material within days has given me the direct freedom to share songs I want people to hear. In short, if I write something that I like, I put it out!'
Now gathered together in album form, the musical moods on Tropical Odds range from the sombre reflections of Gangster No. 1 and Yesterday to the hedonistic rush of Stay Young, Get Stoned and Never a Woman, high drama on Bloodline and Arcadia, and heartbreaking balladry on Secret, One Bad Eye and Lessons.

In April Booka Shade will return with their new album GALVANY STREET. A new beginning in many ways. "We're very proud to have reached a lot with instrumental music. With MOVEMENTS 10 we closed a chapter last year. 2017 is the perfect time for a new start and to mix things up." (Walter Merziger) GALVANY STREET marks the return to their pop roots in collaboration with former Archive singer Craig Walker and a few additional guests like Urdur (GusGus), Australian Yates and Daniel Spencer from London. I was aware of the band before we started working together and really liked everything I had heard. I was introduced to the guys by Martin Eyerer one of the Riverside owners. Martin was really enthusiastic about us meeting as he felt we would have a lot in common musically and he was right. We met up in Riverside and we discussed music we liked past and present and we had very similar tastes. I listened to their back catalogue and was really impressed with how great everything was produced and I loved howmelodically driven everything they did was. (Craig Walker)
The second single from the album is - Numb The Pain , a disco inspired feel good pop song. For the single format Booka Shade created 2 special versions of the song. A much shorter, more instant Single Version and a longer, club friendly Extended Mix, inspired by classic 80s 12inch releases.
Every single from the album will also feature an unreleased exclusive song, again inspired by the traditional idea of a B-Side. In this case it´s the instrumental tech house tune - Fade Away , a hint at Booka Shade´s past. Booka Shade will embark on a European Tour in April to support the release of the new album. For the first time in their career, Booka Shade will be joined on stage by singer Craig Walker. GALVANY STREET is the album we wanted to write for a long time. The collaboration with Craig Walker brings in the perfect kind of vocals to complete the music." (Arno Kammermeier).

3xLP+CD Artbook
(en) - Nearly two decades after the last official GAS album release, Wolfgang Voigt returns to his iconic Ambient project with a brandnew full-length.
- NARKOPOP continues the classic GAS aesthetic of symphonic scope and subtle variation, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey to the depths of rapture and reverie.
- Available as luxurious hardcover CD incl. 24 pages booklet.

In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s -, GAS stands out in particular as a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of GAS doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster, as shown by the commanding success of Kompakt's fall 2016 re-release of the essential back catalogue as a 10xLP/4xCD box set.

The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again to the sheer timelessness of GAS. Which is why it will feel like hardly a day has passed since the release of the last official album 'Pop' nearly two decades ago, when Wolfgang Voigt resumes this specific creative path with the upcoming new full-length NARKOPOP.

Even in the here and now, the unmistakable vibe of GAS immediately hits home, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey with the very first sounds, drawing him or her into an impervious sonic thicket, down to the depths of rapture and reverie. From wafts of dense symphonic mist emerges a floating and whirling feeling of weightlessness, before the listener steps into an eerily beautiful forest of fantasy, pulled in by the allure of a narcotic bass drum.

While earlier GAS tracks were often based on the hypnotic effects of looping techniques, the 10 new pieces on NARKOPOP unfold their magic in a more entwined manner, sometimes with the sonic might of an entire philharmonic orchestra, sometimes as subtle and fragile as the most delicate branch of a tree with many. A main characteristic of Voigt's oeuvre, the coalescence of seemingly contradictory stylistic aspects such as harmonious and atonal, concrete and abstract, light and heavy, near and far is also a decisive feature of NARKOPOP.

In accordance with the transgressive spirit of his collective work, Voigt carries the aesthetic conceptions of his music over to the realm of the visual. Based on his abstract forest pictures, the GAS artwork addresses Voigt's artistic affinity to romanticism and the forest as a place of yearning. For the first time, a closer look at the cover of NARKOPOP reveals signs of architectural fragments which hint at another, maybe parallel world behind Voigt's forest. Truth is the prettiest illusion.
(de) - Fast zwei Jahrzehnte nach dem letzten offiziellen GAS-Albumrelease kehrt Wolfgang Voigt mit einem brandneuen Langspieler zu seinem legendären Ambientprojekt zurück.
- NARKOPOP setzt die klassische GAS-Ästhetik zwischen symphonischer Grösse und subtiler Variation fort, eine Reise zu den Untiefen von Rausch und Entrücktheit.
- Erhältlich als luxuriöse Hardcover CD- Erhältlich als luxuriöse Hardcover CD inkl. 24-seitigem Booklet.


Aus dem Gesamtwerk des Kölner Künstlers Wolfgang Voigt, der mit seinen unzähligen unterschiedlichen musikalischen Projekten seit den frühen 1990er Jahren wie kaum ein Zweiter die elektronische Musikwelt geprägt, gestaltet und beinflusst hat, ragt sein Projekt GAS, ein auf stark verdichteten Klassiksequenzen basierendes, düsteres Klangkunstwerk, in ganz besonderem Maße heraus. Dass der Sound von GAS auch nach fast 20 Jahren scheinbar nichts von seinem Zauber und seiner Kraft verloren hat, zeigte eindrucksvoll der große Erfolg des im Herbst 2016 als 10xVinyl/4xCD Box auf Kompakt wieder veröffentlichten Backkatalogs.
Die überwältigende Resonanz, sowohl seitens der treuen internationalen Fangemeinde als auch der weltweiten Presse, bezeugte einmal mehr die schiere Zeitlosigkeit von GAS. Daher fühlt es sich auch an, als sei kaum ein Tag vergangen, wenn Wolfgang Voigt nun mit NARKOPOP genau da den künstlerischen Faden wieder aufnimmt, wo das letzte offizielle Album »Pop« ihn vor fast zwei Jahrzehnten hat fallen lassen.


Auch hier und heute verfängt der unverwechselbare Geist von GAS unmittelbar und nimmt den Hörer bereits mit den ersten Tönen mit in eine andere Welt, zieht ihn hinein in ein undurchdringliches Dickicht aus Klang, hinunter in die Untiefen von Rausch und Entrücktheit.
Aus dichten sinfonischen Nebelschwaden entsteht ein Schweben und Taumeln, ein Gefühl der Schwerelosigkeit, bevor der Zuhörer von der Anziehungskraft einer narkotischen Bassdrum wieder hinunter in den schaurig-schönen Fantasie-Wald gelockt wird.

Während frühere GAS Tracks oft auf der hypnotischen Wirkung des Loops basierten, entfalten die 10 neuen Stücke auf NARKOPOP ihre Magie auf verschlungeneren Pfaden, mal mit der klanglichen Wucht eines ganzen Philharmonieorchesters, dann wieder so zart und zerbrechlich wie der feinste Ast eines weit verzweigten Baumes. Das für Voigts Arbeiten so typische Ineinanderfließen scheinbar widersprüchlicher stilistischer Aspekte wie harmonisch und atonal, konkret und abstrakt, leicht und schwer, nah und fern ist auch auf NARKOPOP essenziell.

Im Sinne seines grenzüberschreitenden Schaffens, überträgt Voigt die ästhetischen Konzeptionen seiner Musik auch auf die Ebene des Visuellen. Das auf seinen abstrakten Waldbildern basierende GAS Artwork thematisiert Voigts künstlerischen Nähe zur Romantik und dem Wald als Sehnsuchtsort. Wer einen genaueren Blick auf das Cover von NARKOPOP wirft, der wird erstmalig Andeutungen architektonischer Fragmente entdecken, die eine andere, vielleicht parallele Welt hinter dem voigt'schen Wald erahnen lassen. Wahrheit ist der schönste Schein.

Schmer-007 "Smoking is Still Bad for You - Volume 1" is here and contains old school and new cool tracks from all the original Schmer culprits plus some loops from our new friends. Dietrich Schoenemann and Prototype 909 dug their tracks out of their vast archives of unreleased originals. DJ RX-5 and BPMF delivered some hot new Schmers to get us moving again.

For the last 20 years we've all been tormented by the great issues facing mankind and most vexing among them of course was "When will the next Schmer record finally come out" I am happy to say that the answer, my record distributing friend, is NOW!

Prototype 909 demands that you ( redacted ) ... "The Volume"! A track recorded in 1997 and finally getting released for the first time here. Prototype 909 was a "group" from "New York" that made "techno" in the "90s". Since then, the three members of this group all went on to do things. #TrueFacts

Dietrich Schoenemann has been so busy being one of the last men cutting all the records in the world that he hasn't had time to organize his catalog of unreleased gems. I distracted him with the old "look over there" trick and stole "8 Feet" from him while he wasn't looking. ( Hopefully he didn't recognize it while he was mastering it )

The last Schmer vinyl was DJ RX-5 "A Taste for Crap EP" from the then Moscow based very underground DJ Compass Vrubell. Nina Kraviz thought it was so crappy she put a track from it on fabric 91: Nina Kraviz; so I asked Alexey to make some more crap. He did it His Shway and this is the result. ( PS He still has all the patterns for the RX-5 from the original release so remaster, remixes and rereleases are in Schmer's future, HUZZAH!)

BPMF - The original Schmer artist had nothing better to do so he kommt back and gave us this track.

We love to torture the engineer so we just had to include some loops:
Rhizome is the alter-ego of Moscow wunderkind Nikita Zabelin.
Philly based Hero/Victim has been victimizing soundsystems up and down the East Coast with his mad live performances.
The Wise Caucasian is a pseudonym for some super famous London based producer and label owner, or at least that's what he claimed when I picked up his bar tab.

For all of his life Berlin based musician Drei Farben House has been thrilled by the artistic concepts of repetition and modifying resemblances. Small but precise and perceptible variations of (musical) themes have been fascinating him throughout his life as a lover of dance-infused Pop. The artistic concept of handwriting has been questioned in the world of fine arts with some justification, but Michael Siegle aka Drei Farben House has remained a strong advocate of this artistic principle which in his view has resulted in so many impressive musical expressions in the history of Soul and Disco --reference points which have been particularly important to Siegle's creative work. The album's sleeve shows the 'Doris and Norman Fisher House' in Hatboro (a suburb of Philadelphia) designed by Louis I. Kahn from 1960-1967. Kahn, based in Philadelphia and one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century, was already in his sixties and progressively getting famous around this time for his sensitive combination of concrete and brick in larger scales. The almost spiritual sensibility of his buildings and his poetry of light created deep, fundamental connections between the spaces and their inhabitants. New Release Information "Every building must have . . . its own soul", this famous quote of Kahn can easily be seen in the modest and wonderfully warm Fisher house which consits of two intersecting cubic volumes created from cedar wood - finished at the same time when only twenty miles away the newly founded Sigma Sound Studio recorded the Delfonics first record, installing the basements of Philadelphia Soul which was later leading to Phillysound, Disco and House.

RELEASE

'The Practice of Pseudoscience', a three track EP by M Parent, is the second vinyl release from the US based label Chem Club Records. Having been inspired by peripheral thoughts about pseudosciences, this EP is washed in steady emotional build ups using airy reverb, scattering percussion, throbbing stabs and solid kicks. The title track (A1) uses these elements to move towards a piercing synth peak while 'Cycle of Intellect' (A2) spaces out these features as it creeps to a dubby impactful end. The B side 'Temazcal Rites' was directly motivated by a scorching summer day when the intensity of the sun sparked an idea for a sizzling percussive experiment. What we're left with is a funky but emotive soundscape that tops off the EP in a unique fashion.


ARTIST

M Parent, the artist behind Chem Club's second vinyl release entitled 'The Practice of Pseudoscience', is a Brooklyn based animator who uses his background in this story-driven medium to further express himself musically. His storyline approach to producing makes for an attentive listening experience full of arcs and plot twists that still maintains it's focus on the dancefloor. Using hardware exclusively, M Parent's aim is to produce emotive tracks that exist somewhere between a continuously evolving song and a fully functional track. M Parent DJs regularly at Bossa Nova Civic Club in Brooklyn and has a monthly residency at Jupiter Disco called Modal Form with fellow Blankstairs artist, Nathaniel Young.

The thrid an final installment of archive material, selected by Antinote. A killer suite if you ask us. TIP!
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You can trail away with it. It is easy to enter, but hard to drop out. Tolouse Low Trax just needs an MPC, a small Synthesizer set up and some effects to create subliminal hypnotic music trips, driven by dark synthlines and drunken shuffled patterns. The primitiveness in my music is linked to something simple, and that don't have to be obligatory minimal. For me it is enough to dance rough around the core. Music you don't shape till the end contains of a moment of beauty. A veil of secrecy. I work very simply. I rather reduce my possibilities in ompass. Limitations offer lots of liberties.' He reveals about his work ethic. Even if his music sounds darker then any ever experienced night, he mostly produces it in the morning in his highly inspirational studio home. During the dark times of the day Tolouse Low Trax mostly performs live around the globe. Or hangs out in his second home: the Salon Des Amateurs club bar in Dusseldorf, which he once founded and where he held until today two weekly DJ residencies. The moments and atmospheres he inhales during these lightless moments are mirrored in his shadowy music, about which he also confesses: My art is more a cinematic, literally idea of a large to explore Megacity. This is one of the pictures I would link to my music.' On ' part one he now offers five sounding visions about that Megacity'. They listen to mysterious names like Hidden Flat' or Studies in Drama'. They are nervous. They have ephemeral pieces of dub, Industrial, wave or Italian library music. And at times strangealienated voice samples dance within his highly addictive arrangements. Words can't express their magic. But one thing is fore sure: his hypnotic dance-not-dance tracks do not only illuminate so-called freaks!

After turning heads with their first three releases, Tape Archive's fourth release is its boldest yet: a thrilling five-track traversal across genre boundaries that finds the label occupying a sound all of its own and further identifying it as one of Berlin's most vital new imprints.

Skudge White returns with Finnish legend Mono Junk who delivers three tracks that together spans 23 years.

Onto 2017, Skudge White returns with Finnish legend Mono Junk, who has been around since the early 90's. Continuing in his own established tradition, he delivers three tracks that together spans 23 years.

First off on A1, a 14 minute journey takes us to the far depths of electronic music. Made in 2016, this beast of a track has all the true, vital ingredients of atmosphere: rolling and thundering beats and perfected synth work - one for the specialists!

Turning the 12" around, we find two pumpers from the archives. Dusted off in perfect harmony with the current musical state of affairs: Mono Junk, in collaboration with Pete Salone, showcases a true spirit and heartfelt blizzard of a tune, where 'Disillusions' resembles the forgotten experimental touches of Techno's early days.

'Melody Boy's Melody' goes into a sing-a-long (in the right way) appeal, with enchanting rhythms and a perfected melody, this is a heady piece with IDM resemblances

The return to the pop roots in collaboration with former Archive singer Craig Walker and a few additional guests. The new longplayer is the start of a new chapter in the Booka Shade artist history and is produced and mixed by Mark Plati.

End of February will see Luciano continue his newly launched Basaec imprint with 'Saved & Slaved', a two-track release featuring collaboration with Argenis Brito. Swiss-Chilean producer and DJ Luciano has been at the forefront of underground electronic music for quite some time now, heading up the infamous Cadenza imprint and releasing material for some of the industry's leading labels such as Perlon, Desolat, Cocoon and Poker Flat amongst many others. Here we see Luciano back on his recently launched Basaec label, delivering some of his signature stripped-back, dynamic and emotive material 'Lost In Lymbo' takes the lead and sees Luciano offer up a typically intricate twelve-minute excursion with subtly modulating and evolving percussion, spiralling synth swells, sporadic vocal chants and a smoothly unfolding aesthetic resulting in an archetypal and intriguing production from this forever forward-thinking artist. The latter half sees Luciano paired with fellow Cadenza artist Argenis for 'Pato's Track', stripping back the vibe to a raw cowbell and rim shot percussive-led state whilst lumpy subs, vocal murmurs and subtly unfolding flute like melodies ebb and flow throughout the composition.

The totality of the many in one: Cologne Tape, an on and off gathering band from all over the world, did not call their second album "Welt" without reason. The collective incorporates the nucleus of the label Magazine and consists of the artists Ada, Barnt, Jens-Uwe Beyer, Jörg Burger, John Harten, Philipp Janzen, Mario Katz, John Stanier and Axel Willner. All members live scattered between Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. They meet rarely and abruptly, but each of them always has the feeling that something relevant needs to be done. The ensemble's name represents a city and the musical recordings that are made in it.
Their "rst release, "Render", marked the start of the label Magazine in 2010 and found the way into DJ sets by famed artists like Dixon with music, which does not necessarily have the dance#oor in mind. Subsequently, little, absolutely sublime pieces of Cologne Tape appeared in the public.
Sometimes in the middle of a Magazine mix for London's online magazine Dummy, or on compilations like "My Heart's In My Hand, And My Hand Is Pierced And My Hand's In The Bag, And My Heart Is Caught" a double-vinyl sampler for an exhibition by British video artist Phil Collins.
And now, after six years of more or less overwhelming silence, "Welt" arrives and brings the world eight musical arrangements, all of which answer to the same name and only differ numerically in their title. They were performed and recorded at the Dumbo Studios in Cologne as part of a happening, during which the nine Cologne Tape members gathered in a room to play a solemn concert for themselves without a given frame.
Un"ltered emotions, which were later, re"ned with drums and synth sounds by John Stanier and Axel Willner and then arranged into a dramatic story arc under the direction of Jens-Uwe Beyer. Furthermore some of the recordings feature friends of the collective such as Mexican artist Rebolledo, the guitarist Burkhard Mönnich and the singer Isis Lace, who all happened to be close by and joined the band spontaneously during in their musical ritual. Now the recordings of their time without time will see the light of the day.
They all tell - together and alone - stories of deeply felt musical
experiences, which quickly become profound experiences too for those who listen to Cologne Tape, when they play the grand piano, synthesizer,vibraphone, organ, drums, guitar and more while celebrating afreewheeling ceremony. Panoramic music that enables the listener to enter a world of sounds and rhythms, which all re#ect in depth what Cologne Tape is as a band and a piece of art.

Limited to 500 Vinyl Only Copies, 2LP Gatefold+ CD included (not available separately)

For the past four decades, a growing cult of soul music collectors have sought two obscure LPs and a handful of extremely rare 45s released on the vanity record label LAD Productions, Inc. between the late seventies and the mid eighties by the mysterious South Side Chicago singer/song writer Larry Dixon.
Larry's raw songs capture the transition from R&B to boogie-down as disco was rapidly becoming extinct.
They also perfectly illustrate Larry's ability to overcome his environment and discrimination, transcended by his determination to write and produce music. With the support of his faithful musicians, Larry's success was only hindered by lack of airplay and promotion, but his talent shines through.
This is the story of Larry Dixon, his label LAD Productions, Inc., and his friends and family throughout four decades of music in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods.
Jerome Derradji is proud to reactivate Past Due Records - the boogie funk division of Still Music to release this fantastic archive - what many consider to be the Holy Grail - of Chicago Funk, Boogie and Soul.