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A Wide ranging, eclectic and progressive musical outlook has always been the Lack of Afro approach. His latest material follows suit as he harnesses disparate musical styles ranging from funk, soul and hip-hop to create a contemporary yet vintage musical escapade of superb songs.


On his 4th studio album for Freestyle Records, the influences, sounds and musical textures are more eclectic than ever. Below, Adam talks us through some of the his favourite moments on 'Music For Adverts'.


First out of the box is the steaming funk killer Freedom: This time around I knew I didn't want an intro or a skit to start the album - I needed a strong, heavy opener - I had the melody for the chorus floating around in my head. It was then just a case of working with Jack Tyson - Charles on the rest of it and getting the vibe that the song required.


Long time Lack Of Afro collaborator Herbal T features on Brown Sugar: I had an idea of doing a disco track with an emcee on it, which you don't really hear often. This is actually the first time I've sung on a Lack of Afro track, adding my backing vocal warblings on the choruses! Special shout to George Cooper for the howlin' Hammond solo at the end too.


Of the gritty instrumental No Guts, No Glory Adam explains: I wanted to include 3 instrumentals as I always have a soft spot for them & it's what people know me for. The 'choir' was recorded by layering up my own voice in different octaves, nothing is auto-tuned, its all real. The studio allows me to do stuff like that but I could never sing live - I'll leave that to the proper vocalists.


'Proper vocalist' Jack Tyson - Charles again features on The Gypsy, which as Adam explains uses the classic song format to great effect: One of my favourite LOA tunes to date, Its in keeping with the album mission statement of wanting to write 'proper songs' instead of just grooves.

The Altered Hours have just announced details of their second full length album ‘Convertible’. The Irish group have just signed with Pizza Pizza Records and the 8 track album is set for release in May 2021. Following on from some successful headline tours across Europe supporting their debut album & some blistering EP’s along the way, the group found themselves looking for the next step in their ever- evolving journey. Having previously recorded in Anton Newcombe’s Berlin studio for their debut singles & ending up in the infamous Funkhaus studios to lay down what would become their debut album ‘In Heat Not Sorry ’, the band decided once again to



change the approach & take their new songs back to the privacy of their own studio space on the outskirts of Cork City. The new LP ‘Convertible’ is the result of countless late night/early morning sessions that took place over the past 2 years. Choosing to self produce and engineer this record was a conscious choice as the band felt an urge to take what they had learned on the road & in various studios previously, and condense all of this energy back into the boiling pot of their own rehearsal space.

The group have been a part of some exciting movements since the beginning and their path has been an organic one. They quickly became known in their hometown for taking over an ex-government building in the heart of Cork city, turning into a studio and creating a hub for the scene that surrounded them. The years that follow shine a light on the relentless energy of this group and unwavering love for playing shows anywhere & everywhere. Having been invited to perform at Liverpool Psych Fest numerous times, supporting the Brian Jonestown Massacre, selling out venues, churches & clubs, playing rip-roaring DIY shows in friends’ basements, getting joined by members of Spacemen 3 on stage and more recently, being invited by fellow Irish rockers Fontaines D.C to join them on their 2019 European tour playing sold out shows in venues like The Bataclan, Paris & Paradiso, Amsterdam. It’s been a wild ride for The Altered Hours so far & their music keeps evolving & growing as the experiences build. This is a group with the spirit of music deeply ingrained in them and a passion for making rock music something that you can believe in.

Their second full length album ‘Convertible’ is a window into the band’s idiosyncratic tendencies, a closer look into how their writing & sound continuously moves forwards while somehow remaining rooted in their own unique world all at once. The Altered Hours seem born to be an underground affair, something that they wear with pride and this album is a wonderful culmination of their DIY upbringing, their unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll spirit along with a confident stride into personal songwriting.

Blind, Chicago soul singer Willie Williams was first discovered performing in clubs in and around the Windy City. He was signed to ABC records by their A&R Director for the Midwest Johnny Pate a former Jazz bassist, independent producer, arranger and songwriter in his own right. Pate was a friend and colleague of fellow musician, songwriter and founding member of one of ABC’s prolific vocal groups The Trends, Tom Dorsey. Pate and Dorsey would contribute heavily as writers and producer throughout Willie’s recording career, beginning with his first ABC 45 release in 1966 “Have You Ever Been Played For A Fool/With All My Soul”. The release’s b-side became a popular radio play at the time with Willie becoming known as Willie “Soul” Williams for a while. Two further ABC releases were to follow “It Doesn’t Pay/Just Because” (1967) and “I’m Through With You/Strung Out” (1968).

Willie’s next 45 release although recorded in Chicago under Johnny Pate’s supervision found it’s way to another major label, RCA, although credited as a GWP Production (Gerrard W. Purcell). The 45 in question being the excellent Tom Dorsey penned songs “Just To Be Loved By You/Name It” released during 1969.

Two Willie Williams 45 releases did appear on the Gamma label but I’m unsure if one or both of these are by the same Willie Williams in question.

Throughout his recording career Willie continued to work the clubs with his own band which was led by his bass guitarist and confidant Bradley (Brad) Bobo a man who featured as a session musician on many recording sessions including the creation of The Notation’s album of the same name for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom subsidiary label Gemigo.

On the 22nd of December 1970 a recording session was held in RCA’s Studio B, on North Wacker Drive, Chicago with sound engineer Russ Vestuto. The session was financed by Tom Dorsey who amongst other song writing gratuities had been paid handsomely for the 3 songs “Love Machine”, “My Baby’s Love” and “How Are You Fixed For Love” which he had wrote and contributed to the blue-eyed hit group, The O’Kaysion’s “Girl Watcher” ABC album. The result of this session yielded four Willie Williams tracks. Brad Bobo played bass guitar on the session, the composer of the four songs Tom Dorsey supplied the arrangements and Tom’s wife Carolyn (also a former group members of The Trends) joined both he and Brad on backing vocals.

The four songs were then offered to Eddie Thomas who chose two of them to release on a 45 single. The two songs being “Must Mean Love” which was later renamed “The Baa Baa Song “and “Psyched Out” which Eddie then released on his own Lakeside label, thus leaving the two other songs to remain unissued in the can.

Willie has now sadly passed away but in his later life once the opportunity’s for performing artists began to dwindle he chose a different path in his life, gaining a Doctors degree, he went on to become a College Lecturer. Tom Dorsey too turned his back on the music industry apart from his publishing company to concentrate on his family life as well as founding a very successful business involving one of his other great life passions, photography. Luckily for us he never lost the master tape of Willie’s sessions and after several years of tentative enquiries he graciously relented to my request to put them out. So now before you we have the two excellent previously unissued Willie Williams songs that Eddie Thomas passed on, the delightfully soulful “Give It All I Got” backed with the funky, social conscience themed “Do You Understand”, lost early 1970’s Chicago Soul at its finest.

Mission Escape: signal incoming...Escaping Earth - file loaded...press enter --> program launched! When things become too much, escaping might help. Take a seat and join the ride with CYRK's first full length musical player on CHILDHOOD. After having released outstanding records on labels such as Running Back, Rawax, Burial Soil, Vakant, Avoidant, Dred, Science Cult, Lone Romantic and their own Time Zero imprint, the seminal Berlin machine funk duo launched their analog spaceship studio once again to tell their most advanced and versatile intergalactic tale to date. Escaping Earth is a story that comes in 8 episodes and showcases Sam and Pascals mastered skills in detailed sound design and arrangement, while always keeping a focus on powerful dancefloor oriented electro grooves. Ranging from Detroit influenced bassline bouncers to slower acid variations, this album will let you dive deeply into CYRK's beautiful musical language and range: a soulful journey from the light to the darkness and back. Above all, this album is at all times pure analog electronic funk and won't let you go from beginning to end. Sometimes escaping helps. This musical story will make you travel the stars with ease. The album is pressed DJ friendly on 2 x 12" vinyl and includes a download copy. A limited edition of 100 numbered copies comes in double colored (red/green) records and will be exclusively sold via CHILDHOOD's bandcamp page as well as the CLONE store. Vinyl to be released on September 13th 2021, followed by the digital release on September 24th 2021.

Heidi Fial's Trio Kontrapunk spielt spröden, cineastischen Instrumentaljazz in Tiefen-schürfender Besetzung. Zwei Kontrabässe tanzen mit- und gegeneinander, unverschämte E-Gitarrenklänge setzen den Kontrapunkt, eigenwilliges Schlagzeug trägt und tanzt gleichermaßen mit. Nach ihrer jahrelangen Tätigkeit als Live Stummfilm Musikerin formierte Heidi Fial im Winter 2020 in Folge einer Kooperation bei der Viennale mit Tobias Pöcksteiner und Chris Pruckner das Trio Kontrapunk. Unzählige bei Filmvertonungen gesammelte Soundskizzen, aus Improvisation entstandene Instrumentalstücke und auskomponierte (Film)musik werden in einem Projekt vereint und laufend - quasi bei jeder musikalischen Zusammenkunft - erweitert. Das musikalische Spektrum bewegt sich zwischen Jazz, Desert Rock und barockem Kontrapunkt. Die aus diesen ungleichen Elementen resultierende Harmonie öffnet dem individuellen Kopfkino alle erdenklichen Türen. Ihr im Sommer 2021 erscheinendes Debut Album A MOTION PICTURE (Konkord Records) ist der Soundtrack zu einem imaginären Film über die (allzu aktuelle, aber keineswegs neue) Angst vor Ungewissheit und Vergänglichkeit und den Mut, sowohl kreative Lösungen zu finden als auch unaufdringliche, schlichte Schönheit zu umarmen. Das Album wurde live auf einer 16-Spur Bandmaschine von Chris Janka auf dem original Mischpult aus dem historischen Saal des österreichischen Funkhauses in Wien aufgenommen, analog gemischt & gemastert. Es ist eine Liebeserklärung an den Zauber des unverfälschten Moments.

We are extremely proud to announce our 32nd compilation from the Analog Africa regular serie, "Cameroon Garage Funk", highlighting Yaounde's 1970's underground music scene. The quest to assemble the puzzle-pieces of what seemed to be a long lost underground scene took us to Camroon, Benin and further on to Togo and it was in the cities of Cotonou, Lome? and Sotouboua that we managed to lay our hands on most of the songs presented in this compilation. Since there were no local labels, no producers, and almost nothing in way of infrastructure in Cameroon at that time, the artists had to be everything: musician, producer, executive producer, arranger, financier, promoter and sometimes even distributor. The sixteen tracks on Cameroon Garage Funk pulse with raw inspiration and sweat DYI mood uniting the featured diverse musicians around their willingness to do everything themselves in order to take a chance in the music scene.

Assemble Music returns in 2021 with its 25th release: a 5-track heavyweight compilation featuring a handful of the finest electronic acts in Portugal and two well sought after internationals.
Population One a.k.a. Terrence Dixon, having released in iconic labels such as Metroplex, Tresor, Rush Hour and Jeff Mills’ imprint Axis in the last decades, kicks off this record with ‘Unfolding’ some Detroit Techno cargo (A1), followed by a hypnotizing, spiraling acidic Techno bomb - ‘Acid Grind’ (A2) - courtesy of the Algarve duo Roundhouse Kick. Prolific Portuguese DJ and producer, formerly based in The Netherlands, Lake Haze finishes off this first side with the Electro infused, twisted ‘Acid Warfare’ (A3).
Over to the B side, Roma Zuckerman, originally from Siberia and also releasing a double LP on Nina Kraviz’s трип this year, pulls off a classic fast-paced Acid groove on ‘We Call Its Acidomine’ (B1), while the Lisbon duo 2Jack4U takes us to a dream party land with the anthem ‘Acid 00010’ (B2)
Surely a must-have tool for an upcoming post-pandemic rave!

Originally from Philadelphia, invited to New York by Miles Davis, playing at Antibes in 1960 with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, here is trumpeter Ted Curson in 1971... in Paris. With him, a legendary trio: Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass) and Charles Saudrais (drums). A new transatlantic alliance in the service of jazz of all kinds: classic, modal, fusion and even free... Pop Wine is – between Coltrane and Miles with a nod to roots in the club the Caveau de la Huchette – an explosive cocktail but which leaves no stains!

In 1960, trumpeter Ted Curson played with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy on stage at the Antibes jazz festival. Eleven years later he was in Paris to record one of the gems of his discography, with a hard-hitting French trio: Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass) and Charles Saudrais (drums).

Arvanitas was also someone who had travelled widely. Originally from Marseille, he had accompanied visiting American musicians in Paris before moving to the States. It was when he came back that the charismatic trio was created with Samson and Saudrais and who recorded, in 1970 on Futura, the unforgettable In Concert and then, the following year, Pop Wine with Ted Curson.

Pop Wine: don’t be fooled into thinking you are going to hear jazz musicians trying to play pop after uncorking too many bottles. For, although the album occasionally tends toward fusion, it is first and foremost a wonderful jazz recording; and a recording with enough fizz to make your head spin!

There are five tracks in total: Quartier Latin reminds us a little of Olé Coltrane (Curson, like the saxophonist, is originally from Philadelphia), Flip Top where the trumpet and piano play out a chase scene through the streets of Paris, Pop Wine where funk and cool jazz meet on the barricades of black and white, L.S.D. Takes A Holiday which breaks out in a style close to free jazz, and finally Lonely One, with the impression that ends this unclassifiable album. Unclassifiable, unless we decide to elevate Pop Wine to the rank of a great vintage.

LONE - ABRAXAS EP IS A THREE TRACK EXCURSION INTO ETHEREAL ACID

Lone reveals the first physical release on his new imprint, Ancient Astronauts, which has been set up to release new material whilst working on his next studio album.

The three track EP, Abraxas, sees the producer carry out his first experiments with 303 acid packaged up in a breakbeat club tool focused sound – an idea which was sparked from hearing friends playing ‘90s drum and bass at slower speeds than usual.

The result is a rip-roaring trio of tracks, with the heavy bass rumbles and searing squelch of Abraxas undoubtedly cementing the title track as the chosen club destroyer. Young Star Cluster follows up with a marriage of the rolling funky drummer break with bursts of 303 acid and Lone’s trademark empyrean breakdowns before How Can You Tell takes us deeper still, with choral pads opening the door to another chapter in the multifaceted producer’s sound.

A compelling slice of Canadian funk from the late 70s - a group and album who were inspired by the righteous power of James Brown's famous Payback album - but who come across here with a warmer, clubbier feel overall! There's a nice degree of boogie in the mix, but the overall approach is definitely funk - with bumping basslines underneath tight horns, including plenty of sweet Fred Wesley-styled trombone. Yet other club elements come into the mix too - keyboards and a bit of strings at times, which warm things up nicely alongside the tighter bottom rhythms - but always in a way that's still relatively funky overall. Most cuts have an instrumental focus - but there's also female chorus vocals on a number of tracks too - and titles include "Le Payback", "Struttin", "Feelin Good", "Funky Feelin", "The Forge", and "The Mad Mechanic".

Based in the Havana Nightclub, in the central plateau town of Jos, the Sahara All Stars of Jos weren't part of the Lagos scene or the one in the east. Their leader, Dan Satch Ayo, had played with Dr Sir Warrior in the Orientals. He'd jammed with Mohammed Ahidjo and Sonny Akpan from The Funkees. Together with the All Stars he took the best of both scenes and created his own tight, hypnotic groove. First released in 1978, Sahara All Stars of Jos is a musical journey through all of those influences. 'Freedom For Africa' is a potent rallying cry sugarcoated with a sweet reggae vibe. 'World People' is an Afrobeat gem that condenses a night out at The Shrine into 10 min 43 secs. You can almost feel the steam coming out of New York manholes on 'Take Your Soul.' And the Highlife-tinged 'Alikali Adajo' brings it back, full-circle, to the Jos Hotel, just off the roundabout, where it all began. Engineered by Fela Kuti's regular knob twiddler, Emmanuel A. Odunesu, Sahara All Stars of Jos is a tight, funky sonic gem and a timely reminder that, in 70's, the groove was strong all over Nigeria.

When his mother brought Stanley Turrentine’s Salt Song LP back from a trip to Canada, Julien Lourau, then a teenager, was impressed by the scope of the sound and the groove of the saxophone. He was also charmed by the lush arrangements and funky sound of the record, typical of releases on the CTI label. Created by producer Creed Taylor, CTI left an imprint in the minds of 70s jazz fans much like Blue Note did in the 60s, and it even ended up releasing work by artists who started out on this mythical label such as Stanley Turrentine and Freddie Hubbard. The two even shared the same sound engineer, the great Rudy van Gelder.
Yet CTI, though highly prolific during its 15 years of activity, has not benefitted from the same aura as its predecessor. “To breathe life into this album, I listened to a wealth of CTI releases and discovered some I had never heard before. I noticed, oddly, that many of today’s musicians know very little about CTI - a label unfairly considered as minor.”

The choice of tracks was determined by Julien’s personal tastes, always keeping in mind a desire to help people discover them yet focusing on the joy of actually playing them too.

"The album is made up of 9 pieces. Mathieu Débordes got everything down to the nearest note before we even attempted to play them. CTI didn’t hold back in fuelling their compositions with brass and violins, but I erased this aspect and pared things down to a bass, drums and two keyboards."
English drummer Jim Hart, someone Julien worked with during his London years, propels the group - from hard-bop polyrhythms with “drum & bass” inflections to a reworking of classic Red Clay.

Sylvain Daniel on the bass and Arnaud Roulin on the analogue keys are two musicians close to the saxophonist, and that he met when they were students in 1999 while organising a master class at the Conservatoire de Nantes. Since then, they have become his esteemed companions.

The collaboration with young pianist Léo Jassef began on this recording, where he also plays the Prophet 5. The dynamic and overlap of the many keyboards played by Arnaud and Léo bring the record a richness of timbre and harmony that the strings and brass provided on the CTI recordings.
For the final track on the record, Julien called upon his friend of 30 years, guitarist Bojan Z, for a fresh, Gospel take on Love and Peace, a track recorded by Quincy Jones in 1969, which here, is dedicated to Bojan’s recently departed brother.

“When it comes down to it, this album really is as I had imagined it, with, luckily, a few unexpected turns. I created a playlist I then claimed as my own. But in the end, I must admit that I would have loved to have composed some of these tracks.”

The latest release in the series exploring the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson is the most extensive yet. Space: 1999 ran for two series from 1976 to 1977 and depicted the occupants of Moonbase Alpha and their struggle for survival when, after the explosion of a nuclear waste dump, the Moon is hurtled into space.
The series was the most expensive produced for British television at that time and the most musically diverse of all the shows made by Anderson for ITC. Gerry Anderson’s long-time musical partner in all the previous adventures was Barry Gray and Space: 1999 Series 1 proved to be the last of their collaborations. For Series 2, composer Derek Wadsworth took over the reins to provide a more contemporary sound.
The Year 2 album contains Wadsworth’s score, specially selected cues to provide a driving and exciting narrative to convey the new adventures. Record Collector perfectly describes it as “classic 1976 period stuff: fast, furious and occasionally over the top in a dramatic way; nicely atmospheric for Sci-Fi and a touch funky every now and again.”
Derek Wadsworth enjoyed a long and successful career as a composer, trombonist and session musician. For over half-a-century he played, arranged, and conducted for some of the biggest names in music including Dusty Springfield, George Harrison, Judy Garland, Dionne Warwick and many more.

Club Paradiso re-work the 1982’s SIDI Italo-Disco gem full of Drum Machine, Claps and Synth. Also available the original vocal version of the era.

On the other side two new original tracks as always with their 80’s cosmic flavor.

‘Crociera’ is a funk disco tool that takes you directly to the poolside of a cruise.

‘Black cat’ is a pure Italo-Disco tribute with a vocal that never leaves you anymore.

Southern Avenue Announces New Album, ‘Be The Love You Want’. Out August 27 via Renew Records/BMG, produced by Multi-Grammy Winner Steve Berlin

(Memphis, TN) – Memphis soul powerhouse Southern Avenue has announced the release of their third full-length album. BE THE LOVE YOU WANT was produced by multi-GRAMMY® winner, Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Deer Tick, Susan Tedeschi, Jackie Greene), and co-produced by Ori Naftaly. The album, arriving via Renew Records/BMG on August 27, 2021, is preceded by today’s release of the sultry first single, “Push Now,” available at all DSPs and streaming services.
BE THE LOVE YOU WANT is Southern Avenue’s most ingenious and personal effort thus far. Since their inception, the band has produced a wide-ranging collection of original music – predominantly co-written by Israeli-born guitarist Ori Naftaly and powerhouse lead vocalist Tierinii Jackson – that links them to their home city’s glorious past while at the same time, demonstrates their ambitious intent to evolve Memphis music to contemporary effect.

BE THE LOVE YOU WANT sees Southern Avenue teaming up with artists like multi-GRAMMY® award-winning pop superstar Jason Mraz and certified Platinum producer Michael Goldwasser from Easy Star All-Stars on “Move Into The Light” for a churning, funk-blasted burner. Besides writing with him on the first single, the band also collaborated with Cody Dickinson from North Mississippi Allstars for the song “Heathen Hearts.” The songwriting core grew within the band as well, as drummer Tikyra Jackson and bassist Evan Sarver collaborated to co-write “Let’s Get It Together” and “Pressure.”

The band brilliantly bridges the power of Memphis soul with jamband liberation, gospel blues, and R&B to craft their own timeless brand of American music. The ambitious sonic approach expertly complements BE THE LOVE YOU WANT’s rich themes of self-love, self-empowerment, personal accountability and the desire to push through towards something greater in life.

Black vinyl w/ standard sleeve. Juju is the brainchild of Sicilian multi-instrumentalist Gioele Valenti (Lay Llamas, Herself) and this Fuzz Club Session LP finds Valenti and band (Vincenzo Schillaci, Simone Sfameli) storming through four tracks at I Candelai in Palermo, Italy. The resulting session is released as a series of videos and pressed on vinyl. Due for release August 13th on London-based label Fuzz Club, the session comprises two tracks from their 2017 second album 'Our Mother Was A Plant' ('In A Ghetto' and 'And Play A Game') and two from 2019's 'Maps and Territory' LP ('Master and Servants' and 'Motherfucker Core'). Juju's worldly, genre-bending experimentalism fuses psychedelia, new wave and krautrock with touches of afrobeat, funk and zamrock and it's in a live setting, such as that captured here, where that captivating blending of sounds is at its most spellbinding and hypnotic. Juju's Fuzz Club Session (the latest in a series which has previously included the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Night Beats, Holy Wave, The Entrance Band and more) makes all too clear why the band have been praised as one that "resets the coordinates and makes the past seem startling new again" (The Quietus).

Glenn Astro returns to Tartelet Records with Purple, a four-tracker of minimal slow burners and futuristic dance music, marking the label’s 50th 12-inch release.

Since releasing his second album Homespun in late 2020, Glenn Astro has been quietly channeling his funky instincts towards new production approaches. Purple, a four-piece compilation of mutant future-boogie daubed in Rogers-Nelson hues, comes through with emotional heft. It also marks the 50th 12" release for Tartelet Records.

“Following up on Homespun, I wanted to try out some more dancefloor- oriented tracks again,” says Glenn Astro. “Keeping it simple and practical, while not being too predictable. I incorporated a lot of modular synth bits and experiments, with ‘Flux’ being an almost exclusively modular-based jam.”

Incorporating tricky sound design and fluid structures, Astro’s new lines of enquiry never come at the expense of the groove. From the opening thump of ‘Penduloop’ onwards it’s apparent that his rugged rhythmic kinks are present and correct to hook in the dancers, while the melodic drops later in the track edge in a little melancholic flavour to take the mind somewhere else entirely. On this opening track, the artist explores new territory with his version of early naughties minimal house – a welcome
slow burner.

The EP title track ‘Purple’ slaps with purpose, not least in the Linn-esque drums and melodic bassline, but it’s a positively dreamy piece which skips on crooked beat formations and floats upwards via a multi-timbral tapestry of yearning synth shapes and robotic vocals. On ‘Out Of Office’ Glenn Astro provides a generous dose of electro nostalgia when he amps up the heavy-hearted feeling with aching string pads and electro-informed machine logic. The track becomes alive with its deep un-synced rhythms and dark bass notes, pushing further into the abyss. ‘Flux’, with its tooly
feel, takes the electronic mantra further and sheds light on the source of much of Astro’s new sound palette.

Crucially, even in its techiest moments, an irrepressible humanity shines through across Purple. Glenn Astro’s soul is the binding agent which links his early, sample-heavy house to his more explorative new angles, and it comes through in abundance on this fully-formed release.

The original Rio beach boy returns in style, with a new record of unabashedly feel-good Brazilian party music. Featuring Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros (responsible for some of Brazil’s all-time funkiest low-end licks), a horn section including Valle’s go-to high-trumpeter Jesse Sadoc, and percussion master Armando Marcal, Sempre has all the masterful composition, exceptional musicality, and forward-thinking ideas you’d expect from the Brazilian titan, and it’s fresher than a fruity caipirinha in the Copacabana sunshine.

Updating Marcos Valle’s seminal boogie-era sound, Sempre spans ecstatic disco, cosmic samba, and late-night jazz-funk, drawing obvious comparisons to some of Valle’s late-seventies and early-eighties output. ‘Estrelar’ (1983), for example, an ode to the joy of exercise, has become one of the biggest Brazilian disco hits of all time. But lyrically the new album is more closely reminiscent of Valle’s progressive early seventies’ releases. Heralding love, tolerance and living in the present, while satirising political corruption, the new release recalls a time in which Valle, together with his brother Paulo Sergio, was writing subtly subversive lyrics in order to bypass the censorship imposed by the military dictatorship, which ruled over Brazil between 1964 and 1985.
The album marries compositional genius with pure pop perfection. From the blistering brass arrangements on up-tempo disco hit ‘Olha Quem ta Chegando’ and the infinitely classy ‘Vou Amanhã Saber’, to the nine-minute synth heavy instrumental funk stepper ‘Odisséia’, which gradually morphs into an interplanetary samba jam, the songs are tightened and given an extra coat of gloss, by London based producer Daniel Maunick (son of Incognito frontman Bluey). More moments of boogie delight come in the form of ‘Minha Roma’ (a musical nod to the famed ‘Estrelar’), and the sunshine anthem title-track ‘Sempre’.

Translating as ‘Ever’, Sempre is a testament to the continual drive for development and reinvention that has defined Marcos Valle’s astounding six-decade career. Ever changing, ever moving forward, he began as one of the second-wave of early bossa nova composers in the sixties, writing the world famous bossa standard ‘Summer Samba (So Nice)’ for his sophomore album ‘Samba 68’. After a brief stint in the States, Valle returned to Brazil, and the early ’70s saw the release of four ground-breaking Valle albums which incorporated progressive rock, psychedelic influences, pop, jazz, soul and cinematic arrangements. These albums would see Valle work alongside a number of hugely influential Brazilian bands, including Milton Nascimento’s backing band Som Imaginaro, the prog-rock band O Terco and jazz funk legends Azymuth. Returning back to the US in ‘75, Valle resided in LA, writing music for the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, before returning to Brazil once more, where after releasing a handful of hit pop records, he took a hiatus from recording.

Since the mid-nineties, Marcos Valle has been experiencing a renaissance with London based label Far Out Recordings, where his approach to music has remained, as always; decidedly open to new influences, possibilities and technologies. Sempre is Marcos Valle’s fifth album for the label, following 2010’s critically acclaimed Estatica.

Just in time for summer, Sempre is out on Vinyl LP/ CD on 28th June 2019 on Far Out Recordings, and Marcos Valle and band will be touring Europe in May /June (see below for dates).

After the release of the charts hitter “Don’t Need Your Love” earlier this year it’s now time to follow up with the last two songs out of the reel to reel tape
recorded by The Words at Talun & Trc Studios in Indianapolis in 1982. I feel I really need to explain what went on with the original recordings though. Please be
patient and ber with me. A magnetic tape recorder is made basically by two parts, one electronic and one mechanical. I’ll leave the electronics out of this as it
has no relevance here, to talk about what occurred with the mechanical, specifically with the “heads”, which are the most important part of the recording
action. They are components to be treated with great care, especially when they need to be cleaned; their good condition strictly depends on the functioning
of the entire recorder and - in part - also on the life of the tape. In this case the tape was found god knows where and played again exactly 40 years after the
recording session, on a reeltape player which had good part the “heads” very damaged. The artists themselves transferred it on digital doing it with what they
had on hand, that is basically nothing. It resulted in a stereo soundfile which had the right channel completely flat. Basically the music could be heard on the
left ear only, full of that noise only a cheap and malfunctioning Akai could provide. It took a hell of a restoration to make this second release possible and we
hope you will appreciate the undertaking well beyond the music, that is awesome on its own. Thanks to the first release we think you already know a lot about
Herman Slaughter and The Words of Wisdom. For those who are new to these artists, this awesome band started earning some good popularity at the
crossing of the seventies and eighties. Stable artists at the legendary Lamp - the so called “Naptown’s Motown” - these guys were part of the sparkling funk
soul scene of Indianapolis alongside the likes of The Vanguards and The Fabulous Souls. Support The Words of Wisdom and bring home one of the last slices
of original soul from Napptown’s legacy

Adam Gibbons, the artist & producer behind Lack of Afro and The Damn Straights, is set to release The Last Bastion OST, a cinematic, funk & soul soundtrack to a film that has yet, and may never, be made. Encompassing lush string and horn arrangements, the project will be released in three parts, with the full soundtrack coming out on limited edition, red vinyl this summer. Having originally got into music with the idea of scoring for films, The Last Bastion sees Adam fulfilling something of a long-held ambition.

"Long before all the Lack of Afro stuff took over, being a film composer was all I wanted to do. All my heroes were composers - guys like John Barry, John Williams & Thomas Newman and more recently David Holmes, Daniel Pemberton and Ludwig Goransson. There is something magical about a great film score - it adds so much to the cinematic experience in every way imaginable. I was always drawn to what the music was doing and I was fascinated by the guys who were the composers of the magic.”