Suche:the friend

SC016 sees the re-issue of four tracks taken from a little known cassette only release ‘Diet Of Germs’ by British artist and friend Adam Oko. Originally released in 2015 on the now defunct Astro:Dynamics label the four tracks were recorded in Adam’s bedroom studio overlooking Clissold Park in Stoke Newington, London.

Now based in Tokyo but having spent most of his life living between London & Canterbury, as well as producing music and running a regular radio show on NTS radio, Adam also makes mixed media artwork and designs installations & interiors.

All instruments on ‘Diet Of Germs’ were performed by Adam himself except the solo on Suketo which was played by Raven Bush - Kate Bush’s nephew & was actually recorded in Kate’s old studio in South London.

2 more floor-friendly 45's from the Deptford Northern Soul Club’s Record Box. Featuring Fifty quid’s worth of excellent brass-powered psyche soul that originally turned up on Buddah Records in 1969.
An absolutely huge Blackpool Mecca 45 with a backflip moment at around 40 seconds moment that repeats for all stomping excessives.

Backed with the legendary Lee Dorsey’s mighty ‘Give It Up’ from the same year. A swampy soul stew with a funky feel by the hugely under rated singer. An Allen Toussaint production with The Meters providing the chops.

Thembisa’s Hot Soul Singers were formed in 1975 by promoter and producer Sam “Jiza Jiza” Mthembu. In the early years the trio was called the Thembisa Happy Queens and consisted of sisters Ntombifuthi and Nombuso Mabaso and Lindiwe Ndlovu. The trio would start out playing Jive, Zulu Disco and other popular sounds of the 70s . In 1979 they became the Hot Soul Singers and would begin a career in the emerging Disco scene which their group name was now more fitting for.

Their first single under the new name was a tribute to their producer Sam, and their first album “Together” would come 2 years later in 1981. It contained their Lamont Dozier rip off from a year earlier, and biggest hit to date “ Give Me My Love Back” which was playing in jukeboxes across the country. At this time the Hot Soul Singers were also gaining popularity due to their demand as an opening act for American groups. Sam’s ongoing pursuit to be a successful promoter also helped to ensure they were always in the headlines and playing shows. It would be in 1983 that the group would temporarily step away from a major label and go onto record their first Maxi single with the independent Raintree Records new Lyncell Imprint.

Like most places in the world the early 80s was a fast changing time in music for South Africa. Although the Maxi had a disco standard for years in other parts of the world it had only recently been popularized in South Africa. Thanks to the Brenda and the Big Dudes smash, Weekend Special, the maxi took over as the preferred format for pop music, replacing the cheaper but time restricting 7” single. Singles were being pushed to the limits in the early 80’s with running times of 4+ minutes a sides by some labels. The Maxi allowed for groups to extend their grooves onto a full side and later album art containing smiling musicians infant of cheesy backdrops became the norm. Synthesizers had been used in pop music for years already but the DX7 wouldn’t land in the country for another year. Drum machines were being used but had yet to fully replace live drummers like would happen in the years to come. The recording of this new single would require a full band resulting in it being one of the gems of the crossover period before the complete midi takeover. Durban’s Graham Handley was recording some of the best upcoming Disco sounds for labels like Heads Music and groups like Kabasa and Masike Mohapi and was tasked as engineer. Other known musicians in the session would be Jimmy Mgwandi from the group Image, who’s signature bass playing can be heard on both songs. A young Daniel Phakoe aka “sox” was also present and took care of the male parts of the vocal line. Both musicians have writing credits along with lead singer Nombuso. Other possibilities of musicians would be Thami Mduli aka Professor Rhythm who had been with the group since their early days as well as a young Chicco who was best friends with Jimmy at the time.

The single, which was packaged in a customized but simple company disco sleeve, went on to do quite well. Less than a year later they would feature on a track with Sunset which would lead to them singing with Sounds of Soweto records label. The group would enjoy the growing fame when tragedy struck in 1984. On their way to a show in Mpumalanga they were involved in a car accident which took the life of Nombuso and left her husband Sam with a leg injury he limps with to this day. Upon recovering Sam would organize a tribute concert at Soweto’s Jabulani Amphitheatre. Even though the tragedy left the group broken and without a member the band went back to work to record their second full length album. They worked with Mac Mathunjwa who had written Nombuso’s favourite song “Going Crazy”. This album would be released with two different names and covers. One took the former singer’s favourite song as the album name and used a photo consisting of all three girls where the other released under the name “ A Tribute” and would only have the remaining members on the cover.

Although the tragedy never halted the group, moving forward the trio of singers would see a few members change. Lindiwe would leave to join Freeway and then become Linda “Babe” Majika so by the time they were ready to record in1986, now with Teal records, the only original member was Ntombifuthi. She would also shortly leave the group and provide backing vocals to other artists including her old band mate Linda. The Hot Soul Singers would be kept alive by Jiza Jiza and go on to record 5 more albums before calling it quits in 1990 after a successful 15 year career. Today the only core member left is Sam Mthembu who still lives in Thembisa and is occasionally promoting live events. Even though he did produce a handful of artists back in the 70s, his most significant additions to the music industry were the Hot Soul Singers and his event promotions, which is what he is best known for and will most likely be the legacy of his career.

The fourth release from Irish vocalist Eva Keyes, following on from the 7” singles `Tired of the City’ (PRTL7057), `Light Shining’ (PRTL7063) and the 10” `Meditation’ / Let It Fall’ (PRTL10017). Produced by Dublin-based Dan Taliras out of his Echobus studios. On the A-side, Eva comments on the homeless issue, backed with a dub version from Taliras, `In a Crisis’ is as much as sound system friendly tune as it is radio friendly, with Eva’s accessible and bright vocals

DJ Die Soon is a local legend and ongoing inspiration in the Berlin underground electronic music scene. Remaining largely unknown outside the city, with only a handful of releases and appearances to date, the man behind the mask delivers truly freakish beats built from chaos driven crushed drums and eerie horror style basslines.

KAPPA SLAP wrenches the Morphine catalog by the neck, takes it off it’s feet and slams it back unsteadily in front of the fans who loved the Container, Metasplice and Hieroglyphic Being output of the label. DJ Die Soon delivers extreme work here. The album is a mixture of instrumental pieces and vocal tracks featuring the talents of five contrasting MC's. Three Ugandan lyricists feature: there’s MC Yallah, with whom he worked during a residency for the Nyege Nyege Festival , Lord Spikeheart from the Duma hardcore pressure band, and the mighty ECKO BAZZ. Long time friend and collaborator Infinite Livez (Ninja Tunes) appears on the cosmic & eccentric Ranthworth, and finally there’s Japan’s MA, who recently dropped the incredible AMA album on the label. Incidentally, the pair (both Japanese) decided to collaborate after acclaimed performance at the Morphine Showcase Berlin’s Berghain in 2019.

KAPPA SLAP contains a lot of our favorite sounds all in one album. Stunningly, DJ Die Soon manages to paint the Morphine picture in one hard stroke.

Artwork courtesy of Lorenzo Mason Studio

Dom (and his Roland s760 sampler) was once described by seminal magazine NME as the “Ridley Scott” of drum and bass. His epic early records helped form the blueprint of the scene today.

Originally releasing on No-U-Turn in 1994 and credited as one of architects of “Tech-step”. Dom was signed by the legendary Moving Shadow label in 1996 where he released 3 solo albums and a plethora of singles becoming their most prolific and influential artist in the history of the label.

Well known for his early alliances with school friends “Optical” and “Matrix”, Dom started his own label DRP (Dom & Roland Productions) in 2006 to collaborate with like-minded artists. Now 15 years in with an enviable roster from “Noisia” to “Amon Tobin” it is now the main home of Dom’s work.

Lost in the Moment is Doms 7th Album. In his own words “I wanted to make an album that gets back to the core of the elements I love about drum and bass. The timelessness of simple tracks! A sense of being lost in the subtlety of evolving soundscapes, rhythms and loops which hint at more complex detail and emotions. These are the things I find harder to find in this era of instant gratification and easily consumable music.”

Dom’s previous album Last refuge of a Scoundrel was signed to Metalheadz in 2016. It sold out on its first day. Mixmag gave it 10/10 and named it album of the year. It was runner up in DJ Magazines “Best of British” category across all genres.

Limited to 800 copies Red Vinyl
Includes postcard and poster
The Die Young EP was released on the group’s own Cafeteria label, released early 1987. Michael Fury was inspired by James Joyce’s short story The Dead. Only previously available on a 4 track12” .This 7” version comprises 3 of those 4 tracks
Metro Trinity were a short lived Manchester based indie band that included Jon Male, later of Soul Family Sensation and Republica fame. Drummer Colin Rocks, bass player Tim Whiteley and Doves guitarist Jez Williams.
Metro Trinity only other release came on a split with the Inspiral Carpets on Dave Haslam’s Debris fanzine. Which featured the track “Stupid Friends”.
Andy Williams of Doves joined the band later on, but does not feature on this EP. The band split up shortly after.

Moscow's leading deep and underground house label Deepology presents a series of releases, Four Seasons. Four releases, vinyl only, each corresponding to a specific season of the year.

The first record, EP 1, includes four tracks by residents and friends of the label - an international team of the artists from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and Finland.

Limited edition of 300 copies. Spread the analogue love!


DJ Feedback:

Mark Farina, Sascha Dive, Luna City Express, Martin Landsky, Jimpster, DJ Linus, Charles Spencer, Nick Holder, Terry Francis, Jay West, Igor Marijuan (Ibiza Sonica FM), Glenn Underground, Jesus Gonsev, Robert Owens, Patrick Lindsey, Lars Behrenroth, Carlo Gambino, Mucho Soul, Finest Wear, Fer Ferrari, Sumsuch and more.

MELANGE returns with it's fifth outing. This time Label head Earl Jeffers teams up with friend and all round don K15. A 3 tracker, all with different influences and feels, from Bruk to library tinged hip hop and then some!!

Alex Figueira, the man behind Music With Soul, Fumaça Preta & Conjunto Papa Upa, has teamed up with Maxado, Brazil's leading rocksteady vocalist, to create another impossible crossover, connecting the dots of the vast tropical music map that have remained appart for far too long.

What if the now-legendary producer Lee Perry had recorded & produced the nascent Wailers trio of Neville Livingston, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, not in Kingston, the scorching hot Jamaican capital, but instead in Belém, an even hotter city, at the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.

Whilst Kingston's airwaves and street parties were dominated by the locally produced rocksteady, ska and reggae, Belém was dancing to it's own beat of carimbó and siriá.

Alex Figueira and Maxado, two avid fans of both musical traditions, entered the Barracão Sound Studio, Amsterdam's famed vintage recording studio, determined to find an answer to that hypothetical question. The result is not only tangible and unprecedented, but incredibly emotive & hypnotic too.

The chorus of "Quando Será" is unnervingly apt for our times tool, "Quando será que eu vou te ver?", or "When will I see you?" the song asks. Well until we see each other, Music With Soul offers some musical relief in the form of this collaborative song.

The B side offers a beautiful touching instrumental version, led by the impeccable flute rendition of Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Milliet, a prominent member of the Brazilian music scene in Amsterdam and Alex's long time collaborator having shared the stage countless times in the past 3 years. His delicate phrasing will give you goosebumps.

Alex Figueira is well known as the man behind experimental tropical rock-outfit, Fumaça Preta, and more recently the psychedelic tropical dance band, Conjunto Papa Upa. Meanwhile, he has become a staple of the Amsterdam scene, having either played with, recorded or produced everyone from Mauskovic Dance Band to Altin Gün. São Paulo-based musician & singer composer Maxado made his mark fronting Firebug, Brazil's leading, if not only, rocksteady band, also featuring influential musician, producer and mix engineer Victor Rice. The two musicians met during Alex's first trip to Brazil, when he was already a massive Firebug fan, and quickly formed a firm friendship. Finally over the course of Maxado's first visit to Amsterdam, the pair had a crack at writing & recording together, quickly discovering that their chemistry extended to the studio. Now you can hear the first fruits of their blossoming musical relationship.

Impromptu muscovite supergroup Lilipulu turn the needle neon with a quartet of unexpected killers for club cosmonauts, rainforest ravers, anxious insomniacs and giddy punks.

Unplanned, inspired and all the way live – the pin is glowing! Ever wondered why the Growing Bin releases sound so damn good? Well, it has more than a little to do with mastering magician Sergey Luginin, whose eagle-ears and technical know how have been a part of the process since GBR002. For the latest Glowing Pin powerplay, our man in Moscow joins some close friends on the other side of the console, letting the creative juices flow for ‘Four Amazing Tracks’. Luring Simple Symmetry brothers Sasha & Sergey and DJ & photographer Ivan Pustovalov into his studio with the promise of an afternoon stroll through the nearby Elk Forest, Sergey set the circuitry in motion and the quartet got lost in music. What begin with a plan for some simple edits and a woodland walk quickly became a full scale studio throw down, reimagining forgotten favourites amid a multi-instrumental stew of propulsive polyrhythms, low slung bass, cosmic synths and frazzled guitars. There’s techno-tribal hypnosis on the mind bending, brain blending A1, poetic post punk on the angular, janglier A2, outrageous Afro-cosmic on the freaky Floyd-in-Lagos B1 and languid ambience on the lysergic lullaby which closes the set. Recorded as they worked and presented in chronological order, this EP is a triumph of inspiration over perspiration - a snapshot of a moment which will last forever.
Patrick Ryder

We’ve worked with Ian Willson to reissue his insanely good, self-released West Coast classic “Straight From The Heart”. Privately pressed and originally released in 1985, this is the only album Ian ever put out. A magical blend of AOR/sophisticated funk/synth-boogie/spiritual jazz and modern soul, it’s a spellbinding record of many colours.

You might already know “Straight From The Heart” for the dubby-disco paranoid-balearic anthem “Four In The Morning”, and it’s easy to assume this is probably just another one of those one-track LPs. But trust us when we say it’s definitely not. This is an impressively slick record from start to finish, just ask those modern soul DJs and AOR collectors who’ve managed to find a rare copy in the last 35 years. It could’ve (should’ve?) been number 1 all over the world back in 1985.

Album opener “Think About It” is all sorts of right. It’s emotional. It’s tops-off. It’s funk in its purest form. And take the proto-modern-funk of the title track (half Dâm-Funk / half Dâd-Funk).

The shimmering, spiritual Bossa-Jazz of “If I Were You” serves as the album’s soaring centrepiece. A gorgeous suite of Cosmic vibes to get Gilles frothing, it sounds like nothing else on the record which makes sense given that it was recorded a couple of years earlier, and is the only track on the LP that wasn’t recorded in Ian’s own studio.

Side B opens with the propulsive ode to love that is “Two Is Better Than One”. Wonderfully sparse when it needs to be, it’s also richly percussive and that special kind of California-warm. Frenetic, speaker smashing synth and horn workout “Funk Invasion” dares you not to dance and “A Game Called Love” is heavily indebted to Prince with its lush, deep funk stylings. The sweeping sax-drenched instrumental “Song For Katelyn” is head-nod, beat-heavy AOR for that melancholic magic hour we spend our days longing for. It all adds up to the ultimate BBQ record.

Almost all of “Straight From The Heart” was recorded over a few months between 1983 and 1984 on Ian’s brand new Otari 8 track in the Oakland, California studio he built just the year before. Only “If I Were You” was recorded elsewhere, at Bay Sound in 1982.

A “full time poor musician” at the time (and he says he still is), Ian produced the album himself and played all of the instruments, except for guitar. That’s Peter Fujii you can hear, his good friend from growing up together.

Tower Of Power, Average White Band, Earth Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder was the list of influences Ian gave us when we asked. No wonder the record’s just so easy on the ears.

And why did he put the record out himself? Simple, he had no idea how to go about getting a record deal.

When we first got in touch with Ian he had no idea that “Straight From The Heart” had become something of a cult record, let alone that there were those of us out there that thought the album deserved to be pressed again. The original tapes have long since been lost so this re-issue was only made possible by remastering Ian’s one and only pristine copy of the finished LP.

The end results have been worth the work, including reproducing the original’s unmistakeable sleeve. Ian Willson’s “Straight From The Heart” is yet another Be With release that will find an easy home on the shelves of those of you who up to now have only dreamt of finding a copy and also those of you who who never knew it even existed.

The Inhale/Exhale posse returns. For our 3 years anniversary and our 10th release we have prepared a super hot double 12 inch pack with shitloads of serious house cutz for your club, bar, living room and ears. With a bunch of love we like to present some common but also fresh faces to the Inhale/Exhale family and this compilation. Be prepared for endless nights full of dance pleasure. Including a wide range of House music from soulful to funky to bigroomesque.

In 2017 Brooklyn's Bryce Hackford spent a week at the PRAH Foundation in Margate (UK) recording rhythmic foundations and the environment around him. After his residency, eleven musician friends contributed their performances to what would become Safe (Exits). All of these contributions, however, were made in isolation and the task of mixing them together became the crux of the production.

Bryce's records largely explore improvisation with electronics, using recording as the compositional medium, and feature the occasional contributing musician. Eleven make Safe (Exits) more of a chance ensemble record, with players in unlikely combinations, from disparate backgrounds both personal and musical, pushing a collage aesthetic beyond sampling. The poetics of these sounds is the focus of this album.

Safe (Exits) attempts to create a rare space where rhythms get propulsive enough to make one dance yet become subtle enough to make them nod into the serene vistas of distant, contemplative waves.

Safe (Exits) is Bryce's first album since 2015 and second release with Spring Theory.

Featuring: Gabi AsFOUR, Brian Close, Matt Evans, Adrian Knight, Kiki Kudo, David Lackner, Frank Lyon, Camilla Padgitt-Coles, Bernardo Risquez, Viktor Timofeev and Justin Tripp

F.S.Blumm enters Andi Otto's studio with a whole palette of strings and a mission to create quirky, peaceful soundscapes. The artists intertwine acoustic and electric guitars, harps, electric bass, psaltery and cello in eleven electronica compositions ranging from neo-classical gravity ("Entangleland") to spaced-out dub jams ("Active Fault Map"). "Yukiyama" evolves in multilayered patterns braided over warm tape-noise. "Kilani" reminds of Rabih Abou Khalil's ECM recordings, with its oriental scale and a beat that counts to seven. The tunes shine most when silence takes over, when the sounds find space to unfold and decay. Far from being trivial ambient lullabies, these compositions burst with detail: Bells rattle, a kalimba resonates, and vintage synths induce their voltage into the acoustic framework. Andi Otto and F.S.Blumm have been musical collaborators in the studio as well as on stages between Berlin and Tokyo for more than a decade now, the heyday being their previous duo album "The Bird And White Noise" in 2014. On "Entangleland", Andi Otto contributes the cello, harp and synth recordings and takes care of the mixing. Compared to his recent releases on Multi Culti or Shika Shika, these tracks are less dancefloor oriented. The calm of this album is a flourishing environment for Otto to pluck the acoustic cello which we usually hear in a more processed way in his solo works. F.S.Blumm contributes guitar and bass recordings as well as saturated percussion echoes from his self-made spiral box. Blumm is famous for his acoustic solo productions since his early outings on Morr Music or Tomlab. He has also appeared on Pingipung a few times, for example with his album "Up Up And Astray" or as a Lee 'Scratch' Perry collaborator with the "Quasi Dub Development" project. He recorded three duo albums together with Nils Frahm and is a member of the mighty "Jeff Özdemir & Friends" collective in Berlin. "Entangleland" sees the two artists weave together a mass of acoustic motifs, synthetic melodies, riddims and improv jams where the magic emerges from the sum of the parts. "It's not about accompanying a cello theme with the guitar or vice versa," Andi Otto says. "Entangling sound means letting go of hierarchies, that no one is first. Our studio is not a control room, it's a place of imagination where we take things apart and make things whole."

1970’s best-kept Bossa Nova secret. Surrounded by mystery for nearly 50 years due to its obscurity, this is one of the most honest, personal and unpretentious albums of it's genre.

A selection of 12 exquisitely crafted songs supported by measured, subtle arrangements. The list of musicians born or raised in the Tijuca district of Rio de Janeiro is long and illustrious and includes names that have shaped Brazilian music: Tom Jobim, Roberto Carlos, Tim Maia, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben or Erasmo Carlos – to mention but a few.

We can now add to that list another name: Werther. In 1970, a man by that name recorded an album unique in its personality, its honesty, and its lack of pretense. In a time when Bossa Nova had become a global phenomenon and its main characters were already household names in Brazil, Werther assembled a collection of songs that uncannily – almost naively – remind us of the time when Bossa Nova was just a group of youngsters making music. His songs are about simple things: bohemian life, the sea, love.

Despite Werther and his friends being only in their teens, without any previous experience recording music, those working behind the scenes were not equally amateur. Producer Peter Keller had already worked with Aloysio De Oliveira in the quintessential Bossa Nova label Elenco, and was also an initial partner in Roberto Quartin’s cult label Forma.

Studio owner Bill Horne was a very loved character in the Rio jazz scene who had regularly taken part in the legendary meetings in Nara Leão’s apartment and befriended some of Brazil’s most respected musicians. Some of these musicians were, for example, Naná Vasconcelos and Edison Machado, who provided small contributions to Werther’s album.

Entitled ‘My Heart Is Hungry And The Days Go By So Quickly’ Danish singer and songwriter Jacob Bellens presents his fifth solo album. Thanks to his unique voice and his talent for heartfelt melodies, over the years Jacob, also known as frontman of I Got You On Tape and Murder, has become one of the most distinctive figures on the Scandinavian music scene. Slightly darker in tone than its predecessors ‘Trail Of Intuition’ (2018) or ‘Polyester Skin’ (2016), the new album lets us see the world through Jacob’s eyes.
Somewhere between left-field pop and a classical singer/songwriter approach, the songs were recorded in two sessions with producer Mads Brinch, drummer Tobias Laust, bass player Jonas Westergaard, keyboardist Malthe Rostrup and guitarist Tobias Fuglsang. “So many good friends and amazing instrumentalists have contributed to the sound“, explained Jacob. “And mostly, people were playing what they felt the song needed, which was an incredibly inspiring way of just letting the process develop naturally, and take on a life of its own.” As such, the recordings give off a distinct light-footed and organic feel. Rich in metaphors, the lyrics deal with personal perceptions based on everyday life occurrences that at the same time hint at the meaning of life in general - or at least suggest a higher perspective. The sonical expression is timeless but also modernistic and the lyrical point of view is refreshingly diverse, never just black or white. The sad songs have uplifting, often surreal qualities, and the lighter, uptempo songs also invite to a certain darkness. A flower basket full of difficult emotions, sprinkled with magical fairy dust that somehow makes everything worthwhile.

In October 2018 DJ Rocca and Almunia member Leo Ceccanti joined forces to deliver “Rhythm Collision”, a three-track EP of jangling, sun-kissed grooves, psychedelic dub disco and Afro-Cosmic flavours on Really Swing. 18 months on, one of that set’s standout cuts has been given a new lease of life courtesy of fellow Italian producer Alessandro Pasini AKA Deep 88. Since making his debut a decade ago, Pasini has earned a reputation as one of house music’s understated heroes – an artist whose hardware driven, retro-futurist take on deep house tends towards the timeless, melodic and atmospheric. With a deep love of turn-of-the-90s dream house, Larry Heard productions and sun-baked chords, his dancefloor-focused productions have often been called Balearic.

It’s perhaps fitting then that his reworks of Rocca and Cecanti’s “Ever Changing Bubbles” are as Balearic as they come. His “Balearic Mix” sets the tone, with Pasini layering trippy, dubbed-out and ear-catching elements – Ceccanti’s eyes-closed electric guitar solos, jangling acoustic guitar chords, warm dub disco bass, echoing spoken word samples, fluttering flute solos, drowsy organ motifs and the pair’s delay-heavy vocals – atop a crunchy, head-nodding, live style beat. While it deviates from the duo’s original version, it inhabits a similar sonic space – albeit in a more dancefloor-friendly way. Pasini excels himself on the accompanying “Balearic Dub”, stripping the cut back to its raw essentials – drums, metronomic bass –while toughening up the percussion and adding delay-laden instrumental snippets. It’s warm, woozy and otherworldly, with echoing voices, tactile musical motifs and restless delay trails combining to create a suitably hazy and intoxicating mood. By the time the touchy-feely flute and acoustic guitars begin to dance across the sound space, you’ll be lost in the groove and too happy to notice.

Maxx Mann were the gay New Wave duo of Frank Oldham Jr (vocals, lyrics) and Paul Hamman (music) from New York City formed in 1981. Frank studied voice and acting at the Herbert Bergdorf School idolizing Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis and Shirley Bassey. Paul was playing piano for a cabaret singer at a bar in Greenwich Village where Frank met him and their friendship began. Paul and Frank worked together 3 to 4 times a week recording their debut self-titled album released in 1982, limited to 500 copies.
Songs provide interesting insights into the homosexual experience before the AIDS crisis: cruising backroom bars, BDSM and one-night stands. The music is "Neo-realistic rock" heavily influenced by punk, titillating, synthesized body and soul with Frank’s dramatized vocal stylings. The original press release sent to radio stations stated, "Because this is a completely innovative sound, we hope you will give it several listenings. It is adventurous, daring, and certain to cause reactions from your listeners.” For this first time vinyl/CD reissue we’ve added two bonus instrumental tracks, so the album now contains all four original vocal cuts and their corresponding instrumental versions. Paul sadly passed away in 1986 aged 33 from AIDS-related illness and we dedicate this reissue to him. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in an exact replica of the 1982 jacket and includes a fold-post poster with photos, lyrics and notes by Frank Oldham Jr.

The Allergies are back with a new single A-side, 'Felony' – A storming soul-sensation, dripping with bittersweet emotion and driving, late-night grooves. It marks a return to that classic Allergies sound, full of dusty sampled beats, toughened up with punchy drums and re-worked lyrical loops. A dancefloor sure shot.

On the flip is Rile 'Em Up', a Latin funk bomb that showcases something of a new chapter for The Allergies. As the new album will testify, the duo have swelled their ranks to take in a full touring band, bringing in rapper Andy Cooper, soul diva Marietta Smith, and sax don Mr. Woodnote.

'Rile 'Em Up' represents some of that new live intensity, with its infectious boogaloo samples, party-starting chorus, and club-friendly breakdowns. It's sunshine in a single. And if it's a clue at the new direction The Allergies are taking us in, we like it.

On the flip is Rile 'Em Up', a Latin funk bomb that showcases something of a new chapter for The Allergies. As the new album will testify, the duo have swelled their ranks to take in a full touring band, bringing in rapper Andy Cooper, soul diva Marietta Smith, and sax don Mr. Woodnote.

'Rile 'Em Up' represents some of that new live intensity, with its infectious boogaloo samples, party-starting chorus, and club-friendly breakdowns. It's sunshine in a single. And if it's a clue at the new direction The Allergies are taking us in, we like it!