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Combines Northern Soul, Psychedelia, 90s Indie Rock and an orchestral soundtrack feel into a homogenous, convincing work that looks promising and feels damn good in a not so rosy time.

The fourth album by the Frank Popp Ensemble, will be released on Unique Records. Written. recorded and produced in Spain in 2024. As with the predecessor ,Shifting", various guest singers can be heard on the lI brand new tracks.

Gerry Love, once the lead singer of the legendary Teenage Fanclub, who, according to Popp, wrote and sang almost al of the Glasgow cult band's favorite songs. lends his captivating voice to an orchestral, soulful version of "Save", a rather unknown but brilliant piece that Love wrote for the Scots in 2004. Gerard Love already contributed a cover of Frank Popp's "The World Is Waiting" to the "Under Covers" compilation and has now done another wonderful job on Waves.
Another hero from Popp's record collection is Nicke Andersson. Formerly a drummer with the death &rollers Entombed. then singer of the incomparable Hellacopters and mastermind behind other top bands such as The Solution, Imperial State Electric, Lucifer, etc., can be heard on "Caught In AWeb". A Northern Soul stomper in classic "Magic Touch" mania.
Emma Noble, an up-and-coming soul singer from London sings on the girl-groupish soul anthem "Unstoppable". The second single from the album has what it takes to be the next UK floor filler and was already played and praised on Craig Charles' Soul Show on BBC a t the end of 2024.
An absolutely exceptional artist is J Mahon, who can be heard on 5 tracks on the album and contributed significantly to the album. His sweet voice works on his songs as well as on "Going Going Gone", which is the first single release and is reminiscent of certain young Motown artists in the early 70s with its catchy brass hooks and j's androgynous soul vocals.
Audrey Ollesen from Cologne, an old buddy from the Rhineland mod scene, joined by chance after Popp became aware of her singing skills through private recordings. On "Common Stranger" Audrey can be heard on a recording for the first time.
On "Waves" Frank Popp combines Northern Soul, Psychedelia, 90s Indie Rock and an orchestral soundtrack feel into a homogenous, convincing work that looks promising and feels damn good in a not so rosy time. We are all excited...






f Heartbreak (In A Really Good Way) [feat. J Mahon]






[f] Heartbreak (In A Really Good Way) [feat. J Mahon]

»Carpet Of Fallen Leaves« is an introduction to the folk-pop world of Eddie Marcon. It follows in the footsteps of other collections of Japanese artists on Morr Music, such as yumbo, Andersens, and the »Minna Miteru« compilations. »Carpet Of Fallen Leaves« draws together songs from Eddie Marcon’s twenty-two-year history, including fragile, yet rich in melody material, collected from a prodigious run of limited edition, self-released CD-Rs.

Eddie Marcon is the project of Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon, who met through their involvement in Japan’s underground music scene. Eddie was a member of noise-rock duo Coa, while both Eddie and Marcon were part of psych-rock collective LSD-March. Forming in 2001, Eddie Marcon’s sound is markedly different from these groups, though they do, at times, share a sense of psychedelic dislocation, through the gentle, limpid pace of their songs. But with Eddie Marcon, melody and gentleness is at the music’s core.

They’ve long marked out their own, unique territory within a worldwide community of psych-folk and folk-pop artists; sharing their music through a subterranean network of colleagues and friends, they count groups like The Pastels and The Notwist as their fans, and Eddie has collaborated with the likes of Shintaro Sakamoto, and Aki Tsuyuko (in Tondekebana, and with Marcon and Ippei Matsui in the quartet Wasurerogusa). Eddie Marcon have also recently worked with drummer Ikuro Takahashi, who’s played with groups such as Fushitsusha, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, and Nagisa Ni Te.

Across the songs on »Carpet Of Fallen Leaves«, Eddie Marcon’s songs are performed by Eddie on guitar, organ and vocals, and Marcon on bass; they’re variously joined by Takahashi, Yojiro Tatekawa (drums), Tomoko Kageyama (vibraphone), Yasuhisa Mizutani (flute), Madoka Asakura (vocals), and Ztom Motoyama (pedal steel). The arrangements are pared back to best serve the core of each song, and the playing is gorgeous – fluent but not showy; capable of great intricacy, but aware that simplicity is key to direct communication.

Songs like »Mayonaka No Ongaku« stretch their limbs languidly, the music shivering with beauty as guitar and cymbal drift across Eddie’s poised vocal delivery. »Tora To Lion« began as an improvisation, but it’s become a firm favourite of the group’s fans: as Eddie says, »it has become a very important song for us, to the extent that it can be said to be our representative song.«

Perhaps the most moving thing about »Carpet Of Fallen Leaves«, though, is the way it captures the subtle yet significant moments of everydayness that ask for our attention. »Shoujo«, a song for a beloved cat who passed away, possesses rare emotional resonance. »At the end of the song,« Eddie remembers, »I wanted to have her throat rumbling endlessly.« When the song was cut, a television voice appeared behind the purring, saying ›thank you‹. »For us, it felt like words from Poco-chan, and tears came to our eyes.«

East of Asteroid is the highly anticipated debut album from Norwegian progressive rock band Moonsoon. Helge Nyheim, an accomplished drummer, vocalist, and artist from Bergen, is the driving force behind Moonsoon. With decades of experience, Helge has worked with countless musicians across various genres, and his distinctive drumming and vocals lay the foundation for the band's sound. Daniel Hauge, co-songwriter, producer, and arranger, has also been instrumental in shaping the album's direction. Daniel has produced other artists in the Apollon Records roster, such as Dobbelgjenger. Known for his work as a producer, Daniel has contributed greatly to the overall sonic texture and dynamics of the album. He also mixed and mastered the album. Helge and Daniel, together with the talented guest musicians, have shaped the sonic identity of the album, blending atmospheric textures, dynamic compositions, and captivating storytelling.

Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.

Gold nugget vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Even the name is mysterious-Black Honey Cult evokes a sense of intrigue and the otherworldly, a fitting moniker for a band born out of deep roots in Los Angeles' storied underground music scene. The story begins in the early '90s, when Johnny DeVilla and Jake Cavaliere first crossed paths, performing in various bands at the legendary JabberJaw, a hub for raw talent and boundary-pushing sound. Fast forward to 2003, when Spencer Robinson joined forces with Jake and Johnny in The Lords of Altamont, solidifying a creative bond that has endured for decades. Over the years, this trio found themselves collaborating time and again, refining their chemistry and exploring new sonic landscapes. It wasn't until 2010 that Black Honey Cult began to take shape, though the journey to a definitive lineup was a winding road. After several incarnations, the band finally coalesced into its current form with the addition of Garey Snider on drums, and Travis Petersen on guitar, whose contributions completed the puzzle. Jake and Garey, longtime conspirators with a shared desire to work together, brought their vision to fruition, creating a group that feels both destined and uniquely fresh. Drawing inspiration from pioneers like The Velvet Underground and psychedelic icons, The 13th Floor Elevators, Black Honey Cult infuses their sound with shades of early goth, post-punk, and krautrock. The result? A hypnotic, genre-defying blend of dark, atmospheric psychedelia that transports listeners to another plane - like dropping LSD on Mars. The band's sound was brought to life by the legendary Paul Roessler (of Screamers and 45 Grave fame) at Kitten Robot Studios, a perfect match for their haunting and transportive vision. Black Honey Cult stands as a testament to years of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance, offering an immersive experience for those ready to step into their enigmatic world. Prepare to follow the cult and lose yourself in the spellbinding sounds of Black Honey Cult.

On the heels of MYRKUR's universally praised debut EP, comes M, the Danish black metal phenom's highly anticipated first full-length album. Recorded in various locations of Oslo, Norway (including renowned artist Emanuel Vigeland's mausoleum) with co-producer Garm (the mastermind behind black metal legends Ulver) M finds MYRKUR achieving the grandiose heights that everyone hoped she would climb to. The melodies are lush and the brutality devastating--M is a highly developed metal masterpiece that blends second-wave black metal, Nordic folk music, classical instrumentation and haunting choirs. Rounded out on record by members of Mayhem, Dodheimsgard & Nidingr plus a guest appearance from Christopher Amott of Arch Enemy, MYRKUR has quickly established herself as one of the best and most intriguing acts in metal today.

First limited-edition vinyl EP in a series of EPs to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Chinese Man and Chinese Man Records. The series kicks off with a look back at the various collaborations between Chinese Man and Tha Trickaz over the years. This EP compiles one colaboration and three Tha Trickaz remixes of CM tracks. Yellow Transparent 12" Vinyl!

Sediment is an assemblage of field recordings made in the Swiss canton of Jura on a single day in August 2022. Jura's rock and limestone formations create a complex topology which hosts a diversity of sound spaces; human, more-than-human, geophonic, subterranean and extra-terrestrial. By walking and driving through this landscape curious pockets of activity are revealed to the listener. The layers of strata that make up Jura; earth, rock, forest, cables, pipes, factories, planes and radio towers inform the sound strata. These recordings incorporate and embrace these many layerings; the acoustic, radio, magnetic, vibrational, tectonic, resonant.

Over the course of a day Tim Shaw and Laurent Güdel followed their ears, they visited forests, mountains, rivers, hydroelectric plants, caves, radio broadcast towers, wind turbines, train tracks, sacred wells, man made tunnels and abandoned factories, harvesting sounds from this tangled and ever-changing soundscape. Using various listening devices they attempted to listen into the full spectrum of activity, hydrophonic, geophonic, air-pressure, electromagnetic and radio.

Sounds harvested include pieces of limestone being submerged into water, electromagnetic fall out from cell towers, the resonance of a limestone processing factory, VLF radio, the mechanisms of infrastructure, radio controlled airplanes and acoustic signals. These files are mixed and blended together to create a new stratification.

The final compositions were separately pieced together in each of the artist's studios using the collective corpus of recordings. The result is two different sonic interpretations of this layered, ancient and complex landscape.

Tim Shaw works with sound, light, and communication media to create performances, installations, and site-responsive interventions. His practice spans environmental sound art, digital media, media archaeology and walking. He frequently presents his work at festivals, in forests, caves, warehouses, up mountains, and in museums and art galleries all over the world.

Laurent Güdel explores analogue synthesis, phonography, and sound archives through multi-channel electroacoustic compositions, live performances, installations, and audio publications. His work explores the politics of sound, the means of production of early electronic music, and the archaeology of audio technologies, their infrastructures and institutions. He is also co-curator of Kopfhörer, a series dedicated to live experimental music.

Lee Pearson is back on Neroli after his feature on the 'inside' various artists ep from few months before...and together with Detroit's Javonntte Garrett (of NDATL and Sistrum fame) this time! The Larry Heard collaborator shows again his songwriting talent on 'What do you prefer' and 'Bye bye'. One for the headz!

Blurring the lines between the mundane and the mystical, ESKA’s latest album, ‘The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman’, is a profound exploration of motherhood, artistry, and the delicate dance between daily rhythms and creative transcendence. For ESKA, these aren’t opposing forces—they’re inseparable threads in a richly woven life.

“It’s the sound of a first-generation, middle-aged African British woman living in post-everything Southeast London,” ESKA reflects.

After two decades of trailblazing collaborations with world-renowned artists – Moses Sumney, Grace Jones, Radiohead and Baxter Dury, to name a few - along with various accolades - including a Mercury Prize Nomination, ESKA’s new album stands as her most personal and compelling work yet. A self-directed journey, it sees her embracing her ultimate creative partner: herself.

Rooted in her eclectic musical upbringing, ESKA pulls inspiration from the sounds and influences that have defined her journey, breaking free of conventional boundaries. The result is a body of work that defies easy categorisation—bold, dynamic, and unmistakably hers.

Blurring the lines between the mundane and the mystical, ESKA’s latest album, ‘The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman’, is a profound exploration of motherhood, artistry, and the delicate dance between daily rhythms and creative transcendence. For ESKA, these aren’t opposing forces—they’re inseparable threads in a richly woven life.

“It’s the sound of a first-generation, middle-aged African British woman living in post-everything Southeast London,” ESKA reflects.

After two decades of trailblazing collaborations with world-renowned artists – Moses Sumney, Grace Jones, Radiohead and Baxter Dury, to name a few - along with various accolades - including a Mercury Prize Nomination, ESKA’s new album stands as her most personal and compelling work yet. A self-directed journey, it sees her embracing her ultimate creative partner: herself.

Rooted in her eclectic musical upbringing, ESKA pulls inspiration from the sounds and influences that have defined her journey, breaking free of conventional boundaries. The result is a body of work that defies easy categorisation—bold, dynamic, and unmistakably hers.

"Oh! Gunquit Are a British band known for their energetic blend of rock, surf, and garage music, with a touch of psychobilly and punk influences. Formed in the mid-2010s, the band is recognized for their vibrant, high-octane performances and a distinctive sound that mixes vintage rock 'n' roll with modern edge. Their music typically features catchy melodies, reverb-drenched guitars, and a retro aesthetic that appeals to fans of both classic and contemporary garage rock.

The band's lineup has changed over time, but the central core of the group created by Tina Swasey (Vocals) & Simon Wild (Guitar) have remained a constant & they've maintained a reputation for being a fun and electrifying act on stage. Their tracks often tell stories with a quirky, humorous touch while keeping a raw, rebellious vibe. Their most notable releases include songs like ""Dance like F*ck"" and ""So Long Sucker"", and they’ve earned a solid following for their ability to merge catchy pop hooks with a gritty, lo-fi sound. Oh! Gunquit has performed in various venues, European Tours and major Festivals, building a loyal fan base in the UK, Europe and beyond."

Hailed by Pitchfork for his “ambient, intimate…songs that blossom gently with intricate musical details and enigmatic lyrics,” Conner Youngblood gained early acclaim with a series of self-released singles and EPs before breaking out internationally with his 2018 full-length debut, Cheyenne, which fused electronic and analog elements into a lush mix of bedroom pop and chamber folk. Youngblood toured the record heavily until 2020, when the pandemic forced him off the road and, hungry for fresh inspiration, he began enrolling in Russian, Danish, Spanish, and Japanese language lessons. He didn’t realize it at the time, but those classes weren’t just expanding his vocabulary, they were laying the groundwork for his most ambitious, experimental album yet: Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly.
 
Written and recorded at home in Nashville, the collection is a dreamy series of meditations steeped in desire and yearning, loneliness and loss, exhilaration and escape. The lyrics blur the lines between fact and fiction, toying with magical realism and outright abstraction in various languages, and the arrangements are surreal and cinematic to match, hinting at everything from Cocteau Twins to Atoms For Peace. In addition to producing and engineering, Youngblood played every instrument on the album himself, and the result is a pure, unfiltered journey deep into the subconscious of a relentlessly curious artist, one with a boundless imagination and an insatiable appetite for sonic exploration. 

A1 - Planet Genesis

Chronicle makes his Spatial debut in style with Planet Genesis, opening with a beautifully crisp 2-step break over light atmospheric padwork, quickly accompanied by Hot Pants snares and dancing strings. Graceful hi-hats and insanely subtle vocal usage ebb and flow in the mix while soothing melodies enter and depart at will. The breakdown offers an intense change of tone before the breaks resume and continue the journey to a destination unknown.

A2 - Crystal Clear

Very much living up to its title, Crystal Clear sees Chronicle deliver a finely tuned assortment of beats with a remarkable clarity that truly shines in the "old school brand new" sensibilities of throwback atmospheric drum & bass. Snippets of various classic breaks can be heard in the mix with a superb attention to detail, taking you back with a style quite reminiscent of the golden era of late 90's Logical Progression.

B1 - Libra

Airy pads and a rousing yet subtle melody delicately introduce Libra, as Chronicle gradually builds towards a thrilling yet thoughtful amen workout set to blissful atmospherics. With a plethora of exquisite production techniques on show, the track showcases the versatility of Chronicle, offering something new to enjoy on each listen - the layers of detail are truly impressive.

B2 - Higher Limits

Echoing whirs and clicks dance playfully around light pads in the unique DJ-friendly intro to Higher Limits, a detailed, joyful track which celebrates a bygone era with sharp, expertly edited breaks and a smooth 808 bassline to die for. Micro melodies and long waves of delicious synths add texture and depth to the mix, resulting in the perfect closing track to a superbly varied and elegantly produced debut EP.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

The debut album from CEM, 'FORMA' was developed as a soundtrack to Mauro Ventura’s series of "action painting performances" and uses various bell sounds (cowbells, doorbells, Shinto bells, singing bowls) to pick out anxious giallo sequences and heaving Dadaist formations.

CEM's best known for pneumatic DJ sets that have propped up Berlin's queer underground for a decade at this point, but don't expect to find any vaped darkroom tek on 'FORMA'. Each of the six compositions were commissioned for Ventura’s performative installation at Volksbühne in 2022, and CEM opted to represent the piece's themes of labor and repetition by sampling an arsenal of bells and metal objects that anchor his varying widescreen vignettes. 'The Calling' is a relatively subtle introduction, establishing the space with double bass drones and ratcheting digitally altered chimes - it's 'Bells Corrupt' that cements CEM's concept more righteously, harking back to Goblin's iconic 'Suspiria' score without pastiching any of its Italo-prog themes. Cycling ritualistic bell loops with squashed, industrial-strength thuds and granulised laptop belches, CEM silhouettes the tension and the vivid color of Argento's film, chrome plating the result.

'An Industrial Satire' is even more convincing; this one takes its cues from legendary German sound artist Limpe Fuchs, and the first part integrates scraped, alien resonances with CEM's loping industrial rhythms and squelchy EBM bassline. The real shift occurs in the second part, when CEM's choppy electroacoustic minimalism falls away to unlock his rolling hand drum performance, that he matches with a ghaita sample lifted from the Master Musicians of Joujouka's 1971 album with Brian Jones. With the future-facing deconstructions a memory, 'Statue Garden' beds reedy organ drones in eerie gallery ambiance, and closer 'The New Sincerity Test' finds Lithuanian performance artist Gertrūda Gilytė skewering the wellness industrial complex over nauseous subsonic oscillations and scratchy noise.

Art Longo, multi-instrumentalist and composer, has just released your next favourite album. Dwelling in the self-selected confines of a humble home recording studio for years, cooking up psychotropical pop hits heavily influenced by the late eighties music culture and dub.

The album, Echowah Island, in its entirety manifests a soundscape drenched in orange sunsets and cool breezes. The production, smothered in spring reverbs, space echo delays and wah wah (Echo + Wah), always grounded by the satisfying chugging rhythms of various old drum machines.

It is a creative endeavour and prosperous collaboration alongside Claudia Jonas, whose airy mysterious voice brings to mind the classic french femme fatale singers of the sixties. Her lyrics, almost kaleidoscopic in nature paints a nostalgic, rose-tinted dreamworld but never fails to challenge the listeners imagination and sense of reality.

After many years of digging deep and sharing music with like-minded individuals through various channels, 'The Wapstation' is proud to present its first release as a label.

This record comes from the masterful hand of producer, Roberto Manolio. Born and based in Italy. Following a series of sellout releases, Roberto graces the label with three stellar productions. The EP touches on multiple underground textures, blending shades of Techno, House, Electro, and Miami Bass. To top it off, shooting star of the scene Christopher Ledger delivers a wicked Electro flip of the title track.

Objects is Fandisk’s first EP. The album presents his interpretation of surrounding objects and entities with distinctive sound design and daring rhythmic elements. The core sounds of each track are sonic interpretations, presenting complex sounds and various modulations. Throughout this EP, Fandisk reveals the results of his exploration and subjectivity.

­- About Fandisk
Fandisk is an electronic music artist based in Seoul, who builds on diverse rhythmic structures and unique sounds. Utilizing sharp oscillators and anomalous drum patterns, he delivers an immersive musical experience. Unbound by a specific genre, he blends various styles to express his unique identity.

Rindert Lammers' debut album is a heartfelt exploration of gratitude, blending personal narratives with cinematic imagery in a serene and soulful ambient jazz style. Inspired by Japanese cinema and the raw authenticity of YouTube confessions, the album captures a mood of introspection and appreciation. Central to the album is the track "Thank You, Kirin Kiki," which draws from a powerful scene in the film Shopliers. Lammers explains "It's one of my favorites. The Japanese actress Kirin Kiki plays the grandmother of a ‘chosen family’, all of whom have fled or lost their own families in some way. In this scene, one of her last scenes before her (real) death, Kirin Kiki (the grandmother) looks at her family and says, 'Thank You!' twice towards the children and the sea. Kirin Kiki improvised these words on the spot, and it's such a poignant moment in the film, but also indicative of her impending death. I found the gratitude so moving it fit perfectly with the gratitude I found in the voice clip from "Thank You Hiroshi Yoshimura. "The fourth song, "Thank You Hiroshi Yoshimura," opens with a voice clip that acts almost as the protagonist of a film, reflecting on a turbulent time of sleeping in parks and on the streets. This voiceover was inspired by a comment on a Hiroshi Yoshimura video on YouTube that began, “This album reminds me of...” Lammers noticed the deeply personal responses le on these videos, so he recorded various similar YouTube comments from people around the world, initially intending to set them to music. Though much of this idea evolved, this particular voice clip remained a central influence, ultimately inspiring a cinematic journey within the album. "Summer in Shibuya" sets the scene as a trailer, "Opening Credits" introduces the narrative, and "Closing Credits" gently brings it to a close. While there’s a Japanese and Tokyo theme running through the tracks, Lammers doesn’t view the album as a tribute to Japan or Tokyo specifically—he’s never visited and admits to knowing only fragments of the culture. Yet he's drawn to Japanese environmental music and is an avid Murakami reader, seeing Japan as a powerful, visual inspiration in his mind’s eye. In a way, the album is also his “thank you” to the beautiful art that Japan has shared with the world.

Jess Sah Bi is well-known as half of the legendary duo Jess Sah Bi & Peter One who brought homegrown Country-Americana to the West African masses with their smash debut Our Garden Needs Its Flowers in the mid-1980s. Touring stadiums and reaching listeners worldwide, their music has racked up millions of spins on YouTube and remains imprinted in the hearts of Ivorians of a certain age. ATFA reissued their album in 2018, garnering critical acclaim from publications including Pitchfork and Rolling Stone and reaching a new generation of listeners outside Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire). Sometime in the early 90s, Die Sahbi - or Jesse, as he known to friends-became gravely ill with an unknown ailment and almost died. He visited various doctors and all kinds of religious healers and nothing helped. One day he went down to an Evangelical Christian revival in his neighborhood. They prayed over him and he was delivered. He says, "Their prayers helped chase out whatever demons and unhealthy spirits were inside me. After that my illness went away. When I went to the United States a few months later on an exchange program I wanted to make music to thank God because I was saved." He recorded an album of music praising God in order to honor a promise he made to himself at the depths of his desperation in the hospital. The album Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas Jesus Christ Does Not Let Us Down came out in 1991 and sold around 3000 cassettes in Ivory Coast. The master tape was lost along the way so the recording has never been on digital platforms until now. Jesse didn't have much time to record while visiting South Carolina, hence the relatively short album, 6 songs including two reprises for filler. A local pastor connected him with a studio and some American musicians (Robert Fortner and Gary Davis) to help. They added acoustic guitar, percussion and keyboard accompaniment to Jesse's soaring French and Gouro vocals, harmonica and finger-picked acoustic. The resulting recording is deeply soothing and contemplative music that perfectly compliments the songs already embraced by millions. But he had to find the rest of the studio expenses-$600 total-which he secured drawing cartoons for UNICEF. Jesse is Ivory Coast's first political cartoonist, a vocation for which he was widely celebrated at the time. It also made him a few enemies which lead to him leaving the country permanently a few years later. Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas is Jess Sah Bi's first and only gospel album. Fortunately, fans responded with enthusiasm: widespread radio airplay and concerts followed, along with a growing solo profile in the country. The first big gospel artists in Ivory Coast were the duo Mathieu et Constance, who emerged in 1989. There was a bigger gospel music movement in English-speaking counties like Ghana and Nigeria (Christians make up roughly 40% of the population in Ivory Coast, slightly less than Muslims). Jesse didn't have any intention of working in Christian music but he realized, "You don't make music to make money-you want to send a message." In the years since Jesus-Christ's release, gospel music in Ivory Coast has grown to become a key part of music culture in the country. Spiritual music appears in community actives across the public and private spectrum from religious gatherings and parties to television broadcasts and music festivals. And, as it has evolved and indigenized locally, gospel music has picked up elements of traditional Ivorian music, reggae and soul. The album ultimately precipitated the demise of the duo, who were soon separated geographically as Peter One relocated to Nashville. He went on to become a nurse and release a successful solo album on Verve following the ATFA collaboration. Nowadays Jesse lives in the Bay Area and continues to record and perform music wherever and whenever he has the chance. He is publishing a new book of humorous cartoons in 2025 and his most recent album Never Give Up came out in 2020