Disco | Boogie Vinyl 397 Items

Curating and ordering the tracks for a Mr Bongo Record Club is always special. You’re reminded of the feelings you had when sitting at home with a cassette player on pause trying to compile the perfect mixtape to impress the latest object of your affection, or that friend with whom you share a musical kinship and spark off each other’s latest discoveries. Hearing old tracks for the first time or diving into the most upfront selections keeps the fires burning and passions alight.

Here, for volume six, we present recent finds and treasured classics from Brazil, Sweden, the USA, South Africa, Portugal, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. We have included selections by the Brazilian rising star Dora Morelenbaum as well as from heritage-Brazilian musicians and vocalists Haréton Salvanini, Copa 7, and Mirna. There’s also the wonderful Brazilian-not-Brazilian take of 'Ye Me Le' by Hazel Scott And The Braza Brasil, plus sublime gospel from the New York Community Choir. We’ve picked disco and soul rarities by General Lee and Ash Soul, Inc., and for the first time on vinyl, an incredible psych-pop song by the illustrious Matthew Tavares. There are cuts from some of our favourite contemporary Swedish musicians, Sven Wunder and Dina Ögon too.

This compilation is packed full of gems that are plucked from differing times and spaces, but somehow all gel together beautifully. We hope you love them too.

Don Blackman is an iconic, cult artist. A pianist, songwriter, producer, and vocalist from New York he is a mystical figure for record collectors, one of those artists where if you found an old dusty record with Don's name on it, you'd buy it on sight. He is best known for his 1982 magnum-opus, the eponymous album that featured the all-time classics 'Heart's Desire' and 'Holding You, Loving You’. He also collaborated with other greats such as Bernard Wright, Weldon Irvine, Roy Ayers, and Lenny White.

We couldn't believe it when Chicago DJ/digger/producer, Marc Davis, told us there was a vault of unreleased Don Blackman material. Marc had reached out to Don’s children, Irene and Kyle, in 2019, building a relationship with Kyle with whom he shared a musical affinity. To Marc's delight, Kyle confirmed that there was indeed a treasure trove. As Kyle described it, “In 2013, shortly after my dad’s passing, my sister and I collected all of his possessions and put them in a storage unit. I came across forty years’ worth of music history. Hundreds of cassettes, CDs, Disks, reel-to-reels, paperwork, photos and VHS tapes. It took about ten years to organise and digitise everything. All of this magic was almost thrown away in the trash, never to be seen, never to be heard forever.”

Two tracks were selected, 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' and 'Say You'll Be Mine'. 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' is as funky as it gets, with infectiously catchy vocal hooks, and a serious jam, whereas ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ is a classy, soulful boogie, instrumental number, that shows off Don’s masterful piano playing. Both tracks warrant full attention and capture a master at work. He was also a one-man show when it came to production, playing all of the instruments when recording these tunes in his home studio in South Jamaica, Queens.

On first hearing the tracks, Marc knew he wanted to extend the songs and enlisted fellow Chicago legend, Tone B. Nimble, to work on the project with him. Their extension/edit of the songs was conducted in a way that was respectful and true to how the tracks were originally recorded by Don. They extended and re-sequenced the groovy parts of the songs organically for the DJs and dancers.

The final words on this release are best coming from Kyle, “We are very excited and thrilled to continue to share all of this unreleased magic with the world. We hope that this music will help, heal, and inspire a new generation of artists to never give up, and to strive for what their hearts desire.”

First single from Alex Fernet's debut 2023 album entitled, Lucidanotte. Produced at Overdrive Recording Studio with Edoardo "Dodi" Pellizzari Drums by Diego Dal Bon Cp80 by Little Albert Artwork by Riccardo Michelazzo

More lost recordings of landyhill (Timex Social Club) Bay area funk featuring Jamie Vallo on vocals, previously unreleased. PPU is slowly making its way through the depths of demos, more coming soon.

A beautiful compilation with some early New York Disco from the archives of Richie Weeks! "By Day, Richie Weeks Sorted Mail. At Night, He Was a Disco Mastermind." Declared the New York Times last year for the release of Richie Weeks first volume of the Love Magician Archive take from the incredible treasure trove of unreleased Disco songs co-produced by the late Patrick Adams and Richie from the late Seventies to the mid-Eighties. Volume 1 received critical acclaim and press worldwide and instantly floored every Disco aficionado. It also sold out instantly. So here's Volume 2. 12 songs straight from the archives, never released and absolutely mind-blowing. It's Disco at its finest with the bests in the game. A timeless compilation made with a lot of dedication and care. Curated by Past Due Records boss Jerome Derradji. Enjoy!

Amsterdam based musician/producer Djosa (long time band member of Arp Frique & The Family) joins the Rush Hour Store Jams imprint with two uplifting songs. The legendary Ronald Snijders is featured on ''Vampiro" with whom he (together with Arp Frique) made the documentary Easy Man and the album The Nelson & Djosa Sessions. TIP!

Owl Records has another 12" that will get your head swiveling and booty shaking. It comes from the BBC 6 Music host, TV legend turned funk and soul tastemaker Craig Charles who has put totters a couple of sizzling edits. First up he layers a classic Hot Chocolate sample over a rolling and rubbery beat and bassline that will pump any dance floor. On the flip is a more slow and seductive sound in 'Rok On' with its funky bass and sleazy vocals over low-slung and slo-mo beats. Add in the playful trumpets and muted string and you have a brilliantly curious and compelling cut.

In 1986 Arthur Russell was diagnosed with HIV, that same year he released his career-defining masterpiece World of Echo, the first and only solo album issued during his lifeltime. Arthur had found his voice and a fresh direction with a set of new, transformative material, unlike anything he or anyone else had previously released. His illness ensured that the artistic growth and sense of exploration encapsulated in World of Echo would be tragically curtailed. Within six short years Arthur was gone. Arthur's final years were filled with a renewed commitment to creativity and unceasing live and recording work. He regularly performed the World of Echo material and incorporated several of its compositions in collaborations with choreographers active in New York's innovative dance community. Arthur worked closely with Diane Madden, Allison Salzinger, Stephanie Woodard, and John Bernd, usually playing his cello and effects boxes off stage as the choreographers’ pieces were performed. In 1993 Arthur posthumously received a prestigious Bessie Composer Award for his work in the dance world. Picture of Bunny Rabbit features nine previously unreleased performances from this era compiled from completed masters culled from two unique test pressings, including one, dated 9/15/85 by Arthur, provided by his mother and sister. A further four tracks were discovered in his tape archive. The track listing includes an exceptional and dramatic solo recording of “In The Light of a Miracle” and the enigmatic title instrumental “Picture of Bunny Rabbit,” written especially for a friend's pet rabbit. The bulk of the material was recorded with engineer Eric Liljestrand at Battery Sound Studios, New York, which was located directly opposite the World Trade Center and at Arthur’s apartment studio in the East Village. “Music is a very personal thing. How you deal with your music is very closely linked with how you deal with your life. If you misuse your capacities as a musician, you’re misusing your capacities as a human being and you’re taking humanity in the wrong direction”—Arthur Russell (03/17/77 Soho Weekly News) “In outer space you can’t take your drums—you take your mind”—Arthur Russell

Dig This Way Records is proud to announce his new MAXI 12" Serie!
Side A Featured Soki Ohale with his I.S.C.A.C. Band project , the track is call Igbo Nwe Egwu and is a mix of Highlife , Boogie and Electronic sound from 1986. It was pressed on a limited and raw LP sponsored by
Imo State Council for Art And Culture , the audio have been restored and remastered by our friend Bassi maestro @Press Rewind Studio
Side B Featured La Bruno - Instant Reaction + Instant Rap , the original LP is litterally impossible to be found , we have been lucky to Locate a clean copy in our 2nd trip to Nigeria and even more lucky to meet La Bruno himself just walking around Owerri in the east side of Nigeria!