Search:time 2 back

Max Graef and Julius Conrad are Ratgrave. ‘Rock’ is their
second album - ongoing transmissions of Electronic PFusion from Earth. It follows a stellar debut on Funkineven’s imprint Apron. The duo’s sound palette draws inspiration from 80's funk, soul, rock and electronic but through a contemporary lens from two versatile multiinstrumentalists.

 In their own words: “Rock is the essence of energy and
vibration we felt in different styles of music, almost like a
parallel component connecting all things we like. In the
process of recording the new album we kept coming back
to this essence no matter what style the original idea was.
There was the raw and brutal energy of Jazz-Rock, a lot of
video game influences that somehow adhered this essence
just as well as quieter Pop and Psychedelic passages that
we recorded. Among other things we absorbed a lot of
heavy music during the time of the recording like Blue
Cheer, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa or Jimi Hendrix and
realized while writing our own music how much impact
they had even on quieter songs. This is why ‘Rock’ felt like
the perfect title although the music ranges from P-Funk
and Spiritual Jazz to various styles of Pop and beyond.”

 Max Graef has previously collaborated with Glenn Astro on
records for Ninja Tune and both artists have previously
released on Tartelet.

 This marks the fourth official album on Black Focus, a
London label founded by Kamaal Williams.

 4pp digipack. 180g vinyl LP in reverse board printed sleeve
with 3mm spine and digital download card.

The Prisoners are one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, an astounding live act whose records were the opposite of what pop radio demanded in that era. Raw where they were smooth and full of character where those records needed to be blandly conformist. They hardly sold a record and yet they can count the likes of Noel Gallagher and political journalist John Harris as their fans. Steve Lamacq devoted a whole chapter of his book to his love of them whilst Tim Burgess of The Charlatans once said that at that time he only checked for The Prisoners and New Order. At least two UK hits used their arrangement on Joe South’s ‘Hush’ as their basis.  ‘In From The Cold’ was the final shot at success by The Prisoners the only problem was they didn’t want it. Signed by Eddie Piller to his Stiff-backed subsidiary Countdown they were put in the studio with Troy Tate (Teardrop Explodes / The Smiths) and made this astounding album which they then disowned.  By 1986 they were an incredible live band and had released three albums of their distinctive 60s influenced garage rock. A four-piece featuring Johnny Symons on drums, future Acid Jazz hitmaker James Taylor on organ, Allan Crockford on bass and backing vocals and the compellingly soulful Graham Day on vocals. Graham also wrote fantastic songs. Ten years later and they would have been lauded as heroes in Brit Pop land but the mid-80s had no place in the mainstream for a band with their influences.  ‘In From The Cold’ is full of amazing songs from the hard edges of ‘All You Gotta Do Is Say’, ‘Ain’t No Telling’ and ‘The More That I Teach You’, to the mournful ‘Wish The Rain’ and ‘Be On Your Way’. It is no surprise that Mojo journalist Lois Wilson described this as her favourite album by the band.  This reissue on coloured vinyl is the first time the album has been issued in its original form since 1986 when, due to Stiff’s imminent demise, it was deleted very quickly.

Lazy Harts Club man Evan Baggs is not one for keeping up a regular release schedule; in fact, his last single of note appeared way back in 2015. This first appearance on Time Passages has arguably been worth the wait, though. The Neu Rochelle EP offers a quartet of contrasting cuts. For example, compare the rough-and-ready, bass-heavy Drexciyan space electro of "UTL", the rolling, acid-flecked old school tech-house of "Neu Rochelle", and the melodious machine jam that is closer "Still Breezin". Best of all, though, is "All Question All Answers", which comes on like an unlikely collaboration between 'Pure Trance' era KLF, bleep types Sweet Exorcist, and late '90s tech-house jams.

It's been a long, winding road to Hailu Mergia's sixth decade of musical activity. From a young musician in the 60's starting out in Addis Ababa to the 70's golden age of dance bands to the new hope as an emigre in America to the drier period of the 90s and 2000s when he mainly played keyboard in his taxi while waiting in the airport queue or at home with friends. More recently, with reissue of his classic works and a re-assessment of his role in Ethiopian music history, Mergia has played to audiences big and small in some of the most cherished venues around the world. With 2018's critical breakthrough "Lala Belu" Mergia championed himself and consolidated his legacy, producing the album on his own and connecting with listeners through the sheer creative power of his version of modern Ethiopian music. His subsequent performances revealed an artist who is in no way stuck in the nostalgia for the "golden age" sound. The press agreed, including the New York Times, BBC and Pitchfork, calling his music "triumphantly in the present" in its Best 200 Albums of the 2010's list. Mergia's new album "Yene Mircha" ("My Choice" in Amharic) encapsulates many of the things that make the keyboardist, accordionist and composer-arranger remarkable_elements that have persisted to maintain his vitality all these years, through the ebb and flow of his career. The rock solid trio with whom he has toured the world most recently, DC-based Alemseged Kebede (bass) and Ken Joseph (drums), forms the nucleus around which an expanded band makes a potent response to the contemporary jazz future "Lala Belu" promised. "Yene Mircha" calcifies Mergia's prolific stream of creativity and his philosophy that there is a multitude of Ethiopian musical approaches, not just one sound. Enlisting the help of master mesenqo (traditional stringed instrument) player Setegn Atenaw, celebrated vocalist Tsehay Kassa and legendary saxophone player Moges Habte from his 70's outfit Walias Band, Mergia enhances his bright, electric band on this recording with an expanded line up on some songs. Mergia produced the album which features several of his original compositions along with songs by Asnakesh Worku and Teddy Afro. An artist still reinventing his sound every night on stage during his marathon live sets, this 74-year-old icon refuses to make the same album twice. The album feels as urgent and risky as his concerts can be, pushing the band to the outer limits of group improvisation and back with chord extensions during his exploratory solos. "Yene Mircha" captures this live experience and fosters an expansive view of what else could be in store for this tireless practitioner of Ethiopian music.

"Available again for the first time since original release in 1974, Outernational Sounds proudly presents one of the deepest custom press jazz recordings of all – Jaman’s spiritualised and funky Sweet Heritage.

The history of jazz is often told as though it was principally a history of releases and recordings. On those terms, it’s easy to mistake a small recorded footprint for obscurity or silence. But that is to put the cart before the horse, for the true history of the jazz is the story of the music as it was played night after night in the clubs, bars, concert halls and backrooms of cities and towns across America and the world. Only a tiny fraction of this living tradition ever makes it onto a recording. The far greater part is embodied in the musicians and their music as they play it and live it. And even though 1974’s Sweet Heritage is James Edward Manuel’s only release, the pianist and educator better known as Jaman has undoubtedly lived it.

Brought up in Buffalo, New York, Jaman studied classical piano before beginning formal jazz studies under greats including Earl Bostic and Horace Parlan. Quickly becoming a respected regular on the club scene in Buffalo, Jaman held down innumerable residencies and worked with top local musicians – one of his early trios included the renowned bassist John Heard and drummer Clarence Becton, both of whom were poached one night by a visiting Jon Hendricks; sometime Sun Ra Arkestra bassist Juini Booth and regular Ahmad Jamal sideman Sabu Adeyola (also of Kamal & The Brothers) have graced his groups too. At famous night spots all over Buffalo’s East Side and on excursions to Manhattan’s storied jazz clubs, Jaman has shared the stage with some of the most illustrious names in jazz and blues: Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Joe Henderson, Ruth Brown, Frank Morgan, Woody Shaw, Sonny Stitt, and too many others to mention. His eponymous group, Jaman, was formed in 1970; they toured the US and Canada steadily in the years that followed. He became, in short, one of Buffalo’s true jazz stalwarts, and so he remains.

But despite a life lived deep within the music, Jaman only recorded a single LP, 1974’s Sweet Heritage. Pressed in tiny quantities by the Mark Records custom service, and issued with a stock landscape cover, Sweet Heritage featured the regular Jaman group playing a mixture of covers and originals. The whole LP showcases an ensemble in compete control, and with the flying, spiritual sound of ‘Free Will’ and the upful, Latin-tinged ‘In The Fall of The Year’ – both Jaman originals – the album has since become a legendary collector’s classic. Unavailable since its original issue, Outernational Sounds is proud to present Jaman’s Sweet Heritage – the soulful and spiritualised sounds of a master at work."

'Slacking Off'... The sought-after 1973 Bahamas recorded percussion-led gem that landed on the scene thanks to Jared Boxx. Renowned DJ and proprietor of New York's Sound Library, Jared unleashed this elusive monster soul-funk jam onto wantslists worldwide via his 'Thanks For Waiting' mix in 2009 and it's remained unobtainable until now. Recorded at 'King' Eric Gibson's Elite Recording Studio in 1973, the track features Theo Coakley of T-Connection on keys, British engineer Allen Mottershaw aka MOTT on solo guitar and Nassauvians lead vocalist and guitarist Tommy Goodwin, who relocated to the Bahamas at least a decade earlier from the US. Featured b-side 'The Time Is Now' is a previously unreleased dreamy AOR island recording from the vaults of Elite Studios made the following year with his friend Don Lepage, sung together with Tommy on guitar and Don on harmonica. Both cuts now available on limited 7" from Backatcha Records for playback far and wide .

For the 6th release on his label world famous, Alex from Tokyo takes a trip back in time to bring new sounds to our ears. The unreleased original version of Tokyo Black Star’s cult classic track “Blade Dancer” finally sees the light of day!

Kareem Cali & LaRosa link up for a debut EP on Sidney Charles's hard hitting Heavy House Society this March, while groove master Nick Beringer serves up a superb remix.

Kareem Cali & LaRosa have linked many times before on originals and remixes that have helped define the house agenda in recent years. They have a laid back but warm style that is functional but full of subtle detail and studio charm.

Opener B21 is a brilliantly off-kilter tune with warped synths and tripped out details all making it perfect after party fodder. The drums are driving underneath it all, so will be irresistible to the floor. Over Ground is more stripped back but just as punchy, with rubbery kick drums and squelchy synths making for a hugely dynamic groove that is infectious and restless.

Rubisco label owner Nick Beringer then steps up after establishing himself as a real underground talent thanks to cult EPs on the likes of Raum, Berg and Taverna Tracks. His version is perfectly hazy and dazed. The balmy pads swirl around like a warm wind, the hi hats are delicate as they spin above the kinetic kicks, and the whole thing oozes warmth and class.

This is another essential EP from this already standout label.

For the first release of the new decade we are honoured to introduce LA-based Oxóssi who has conjured a captivatingly sinister sonic palette for his debut EP on the label.

Sama
A scorching 8-bar intro catapults us straight into 'Sama', the first track of the release, where abandoned-jungle-ruins atmospheres meet threatening wooden flutes and weighty wobs - Oxóssi is not messing about. The narration proceeds with a melody sung by a penetrating laser-beam-like synth, which adds a space layer to this organic banger, getting more and more detuned throughout the track while kickstarting a call-and-answer march between the flute and synth-wob melodies. Don't expect to uncover the secrets of 'Sama' at a first listen, this intricate creation will keep revealing itself listen after listen.

Saut Dans Le Vide
An alluring pad harmony and a hidden inspirational message from the artist introduce the fascinatingly titled 'Saut Dans Le Vide', a masterful arrangement of unrelenting piano chords, subtle choir stabs, dreamy flute leads and compellingly staggering drums. Elements keep artfully alternating throughout this convoluted composition which arouses a pensive, melancholy-nuanced hopefulness.

Undead
It's time to get glitchy here, as 'Undead' makes its entrance. Shimmering melodies rain down in a glittery shower of eerie purple confetti, surrounded by rattling white noise strikes and playful-yet-mighty bass hits. As the story evolves, an 8-bit synth lead briefly takes us to a post-apocalyptic landscape before we momentarily wake up from this psychedelic daydream, just in time to take a breath and dive back in for round two.

The PPF are now back in full voice it seems...
It's been 15 years since their beautifully packaged series of EP's found their way into the world's best record crates
And after two recent & very well received releases on Hot Peas 'N Butter, we get four more certified floor-fillers from the vaults.
Constructed as club-ready reworks for their own sets, this pin sharp selection appears here as a one-off limited vinyl release.

A 4-way of their most wanted secret weapons for the faithful, these re-tailored & timeless classics are the sonic manifesto for preserving those good ol' Dirty Basements.

After his last release on Dirt Crew in 2017 we are more than delighted to bring back the talented Harry Wolfman.
With impressive records on labels like Phonica, Omena, Outplay and Toy Tonics in the last years he has drawn up a fine new selection of music that spans across many genres and moods. This is also the first release for us in the new year after a lil break and it continues to explore the more eclectic approach we are following for a while now since the outings of artists like Dampé, S3A and Dan Only.

Harry presents an exciting opener for his new EP, together with vocalist Christian Crow he has made the blissful and breaks laden “poppy” good feel tune “A Way You Come Home to Me” that shines a bright light in these darker months. Followed by the deeper club tune “Step by Step”, building around yet another vocal recording. This time it’s Harry sampling his own voice and looping it into a repetitive piece of good feel House music.

We are getting deeper on the B side with “Speaking Raman”, one of these signature Harry tunes, a playful dusty lo-fi piece of music build around a piano theme and embedded in deep bass and driving beats, his sound trademark on all of these more floor orientated tracks on the EP. To close out the record we added two of his cinematic, ambient electronica works that we personally love so much. The haunting “Always 3” is a deep sphere that sucks you in a meditational and soothing womb of sounds. Ending with the electroid cut “Green Trees”, it’s broken and fragile and gives this indie-tronica track a warm and gentle touch.

We hope you enjoy these tunes and that they may be your soundtrack to the upcoming warmer months.

Like an ode to your Walkman and to those 90-minute tapes that you used to rewind with your pen, DA BREAK's first LP was all about Funk & Hip Hop 90's flavors. Like an ode to your Walkman and to those 90-minute tapes that you used to rewind with your pen, DA BREAK's first LP was all about Funk & Hip Hop 90's flavors. This was completely unexpected, a major learning experience, and above all a lot of fun and gave the Lyon-based gang a whole lot of ideas for the next stage in their musical journey, propelling them towards new musical horizons: infectious riddims with grooving keyboard & guitar licks as their bedrock and free association leading them into jazz, broken beat, soul or disco vibes … During the creation of Let It Shine, all doors were wide open and all musical genres potentially welcome. The production still has a « home made » feel to it, like the previous album, but with a modern, sonic twist when needed- a result of three years on the road together and new creative input from group members. Whether it be on a New York summertime roof-top, or settled in a Low-Rider with some G-Funk, or moving to some phat Jamaican style bass-lines or getting sensual on a tight breakbeat, lead singer Hawa knows how to shine her feminine and versatile brilliance on the project. She gives to the songs the final touch and the emotion needed to share with us her stories about human relationships - everyday tales sharing her real life-experience. This ever-expanding musical spectrum, Da Break play with it, explore it and also let it kick
completely free at times ! Song after song, they bring a magic glow to LET IT SHINE.

Ryan Crosson takes care of the fifth EP on tastemaking Detroit label My Baby Records with a fantastically forward-looking four-track vinyl offering. Ryan Crosson is a complex artistic creature who has roamed far and wide in his storied career. His always innovative music has come on groundbreaking labels including Wagon Repair, M_nus, Spectral Sound, and of course his own Visionquest. Each time he explores a new sound world and draws on things as diverse as musique concrète, Downtown New York funk, and East African jazz. Now he cooks up more beguiling brilliance on this fresh new EP. Opener ‘Speaker Dubs’ is a deep, bubbly rhythm track with dub chords rippling out to infinity. It’s a stylish track full of far-sighted reverence and supple groove that locks you in a trance. ‘Ogilvie’ is a piece of absorbing ambient with found sound recordings of muffled voices that sounds like you’re in an underground station. B-side opener ‘FutureTheory’ is another minimal masterpiece with glitchy sound design and eerie chords peeling off a tight, kinetic groove. Ghoulish voices add more late-night atmosphere and the whole track grows ever darker and more consuming as it unfolds. The excellent ‘OortCloud’ takes you back to the heart of a dance-floor with futuristic menace: the smooth drum loops are militant, the voices are dehumanised and the searching synths speak of a desolate landscape. It’s heady, brilliantly bleak stuff that is utterly infectious. This is another hugely inventive EP from one of the underground’s most consistent talents

First time on vinyl. Recorded for DC's Black Fire Records in 1976, Theatre West's music never made record until now. Selected works taken from the master tapes of James "Plunky" Branch (Oneness of JuJu, Experience Unlimited etc). Hailing from Ohio and resident in DC, Theatre West was made up of musicians from Slave, Gil Scott Heron's Midnight Band, The Fabulous Originals, Malone & Barnes and others. Serious jazz-funk-soul selections via the vaults of Plunky and Black Fire Records.

No Bad Days is back with the weird and wonderful sounds of the Korean tropics for Closet Yi’s debut release ‘Tam Tam Land’. Opening with ‘Honeymoon Junction’ we are greeted by the signature floaty yet punchy sound that often comes with a No Bad Days record but then around the halfway mark, an almost abrupt eeriness ambience washes over the track, letting us know: this isn’t going to be quite what you expected. ‘Circle Dance’ is next on the A side which is more of a functional club track in its structure to it’s predecessor. Birds tweet and a female Korean voice creeps in and out of the mix, luring us deeper into the depths of the island.

Hopping over to the B side we arrive at the climax of ‘Tam Tam Land’ with the thumping ‘Basalt (玄武岩)’. Closet Yi flexes her skills in producing a peak time acid-tropische-prog-banger and doesn’t disappoint.

Salsoul opens the vaults once more to today's top editors and remixers. This incredible 12" sees those PBR Streetgang dudes take the reigns to great effect.

Digging in the vaults for those lesser spotted gems, the PBR crew have tweaked up 2 absolute Tom Moulton related killers here for our enjoyment. Side A is a finely tuned, lovingly fondled version of David Christie's LP cut 'Back Fire' from 1978. A sleazy, almost Euro feeling good timer that does the biz. On the flip, is the Destroyers mammoth 'Lectric Love', another lowdown cruiser of a track, nice cosmic FX and leather vibes for the late night prowl! Both edits are brilliantly done, and with a knowing and respectful nod too, one for the heads right here.

Fully licensed, sanctioned and released by Above Board distribution and Salsoul Records, 2020. Accept no imitations!

The Devonns dust off the golden age of Chicago Soul.
Straight from the streets of Chicago, Illinois, The Devonns (pronounced "De vaughns") are the brand new soul outfit and the latest addition of the Record Kicks' family, whose self-titled debut album that drops April 06, is an assortment of influences taking us back to the heyday of soul. "Tell Me" is the 1st single from their anticipated full length and sees the lights on limited edition 45 on March 06 and digital. Drawing influences from bands such as The Dramatics, The Isley Brothers and Leroy Hutson, yet bringing in their own unique modern twist, influenced by artists such as Jamie Lidell and Raphael Saadiq; singer Mat Ajjarapu explains how unintentionally, the rich heritage of Chicago's history with soul music influenced him. "The city was at the epicentre of a lot of good music back in the 50's all the way to the 80's, a lot of the labels specialising in soul were based in the Chicago and we even had our own sound known as "Chicago soul". Through several years of crate digging it surprised me how many songs I loved were recorded in this city, for example one of my favourites is this great little song by The Natural Four, produced by Leroy Hutson 'Can This Be Real', and released via Curtom Records." The band started in 2016 after multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mathew Ajjarapu dropped out of med school and found himself unemployed and drifting. Listening to music constantly at the time, he found inspired to put a band together and create his own music. Pairing up with some of the best musicians Chicago has to offer, he founded The Devonns: the rhythm duty is entrusted to Khalyle Hagood (bass), Ari Lindo (guitar) and Khori Wilson (drums).
Originally he wanted to focus on 50s style doo-wop, similar to The Flamingos; rich in reverb and vocal harmonies, but in the first initial practise they had it was evident the band clicked on their love of soul music from the 70s, so their music took a natural turn towards that sound, with tracks such as the Wilson Pickett-esque single 'Tell Me'.
The release took almost two years to complete as Mat explains "I am a perfectionist, I had a very specific vision in my head about how it should sound and I wasn't going to rest until I achieved it." "This is a definitely a throwback soul record, as well as being drawn to lush and intricate arrangements of Motown, I was also inspired by the more lo-fi works of smaller labels such as Chess and Capsoul, and I wanted to capture the magic they had in those recordings in our record, as everything feels too precise nowadays" clarifies Mat. It was thanks to his engineer Mike Hagler, who introduced him to Paul Von Mertons (Mavis Staples, Paul McCartney, Elton John) who arranges and conducts for Brian Wilson's live touring show and after a 45 minute phone conversation about what Mat wasn't keen on, on the album, he realised Paul totally understood where he was coming from. After a few months wait for Paul to get back from touring they entered the studio with "Paul's players" and as soon as they hit record, Mat explains "I was getting chills up my neck, it was one of the happiest days of my life, and finally we had nailed it!"

Another win for the Glowing Pin as Müller & Wandt drop a fresh new age groover on a killer club dub tip. Elsewhere Phazer Boys, Suzanne Kraft, Philipp Otterbach and River Yarra remix the pscht out of their favourite tracks from ‘Instrumentalmusik..’. Expect Goan hits, cosmic trips, loved up rave and chilled out wave on this flawless five tracker.

Growing Bin becomes Glowing Pin for the most anticipated rematch of the century. Back at the beginning of 2018, Wolf Müller and Niklas Wandt went head to head for a box office smash, throwing a high school percussion tray, wall of hardware and voodoo skull into the ring for the tribal trip of ‘Instrumentalmusik Von Der Mitte Der World’. Now the multi-instrumental duo face off once again, but this time it’s a royal rumble with Phazer Boys, Suzanne Kraft, Phillip Otterbach and River Yarra all bringing the noise to the Glowing Pin.

Müller and Wandt dominate the action on the A1, playing loose with sampler vox, serene pads and future primitive rhythms on the unreleased ‘Fun Dub’ of the also unreleased ‘Dub Dub’. Imagine Ferris Bueller’s trampoline tumble trading Chicago to the Weissenhof and you’ll sense the mood of this New Age groove. Germany’s number one party dudes, those freaky Phazer Boys take a break from dropping killer Candomblé cuts to reach for the lasers on the A2, taking ‘Ahu’ to another dimension. Dripping in neon body paint and armed with fire poi, the Düsseldorf duo power up progressive house sequences, didgeridoo bass and thumping tribal house percussion for a wall-shaking, speaker-breaking remix.

The B1 belongs to synth whiz Suzanne Kraft who revels in glistening, gliding glory on an expansive remix of ‘Auflösung’. Sleek, serene and futuristic, the track shimmers like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, free from inequality and rendered with the 5D(ub?) majesty of a DMT breakthrough.
B2 hears Salon associate and serious talent Philipp Otterbach take over on a stripped back and psychedelic post punk dub of ‘Expedition’. Angular bass by Süne Große and a stuttering rhythm underpin astral flourishes and the hazy vocals of Lucas Croon before the African elements begin to move to the forefront.
Last man standing is Australian outlier River Yarra, who leads us into the Krautback with a chugging dub of ‘Weltraumsandalen’. Lent a lysergic sparkle by a percolating one-note bassline, this slow motion stunner masters perpetual motion amid the eerie echoes of the bush, organic percussion and electronic animal cries fading into the night. Let the pins glow again.

Patrick Ryder