Organic Grooves Vinyl 627 Items

Record Store Day 2021 Drop 2 release

Limited edition of 200 copies for the 2023 Summer of Jazz campaign, focused on South-African jazz. Only available at HHV.

The Mankunku Quartet's 1968 album 'Yakhal' Inkomo’ clocks in at just over 30 minutes of jazz perfection. This compact, and to-the-point, album would sit comfortably in amongst some of the best works in the catalogues of any of the quintessential jazz labels such as Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse. 'Yakhal' Inkomo’, however, was originally released on the South African record label World Record Co., which resulted in it becoming an elusive and sought-after piece for jazz collectors. First press copies sometimes fetch as much as £1,000 on the collectors' market. It has been long regarded as one of the finest South African jazz albums and DJ / broadcaster Gilles Peterson cemented this when he included it in his "best of genre" focussed radio show, 'The 20 - South African Jazz'. Tenor saxophonist Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi recorded the session on 23rd July 1968 at the Manley van Niekerk Studios, in Johannesburg. It was recorded by Dave Challen and produced by Ray Nkwe. The session is built up of two original works by Mankunku on the A-side, 'Yakhal' Inkomo' & 'Dedication (To Daddy Trane and Brother Shorter)', and on the B-side, the Horace Silver composition 'Doodlin', and a John Coltrane number 'Bessie's Blues'. What is striking is how the Mankunku-penned compositions not only hold their own next to Silver and Coltrane but they are, arguably, the better tracks on the record - a testament to the beautiful writing and playing of Mankunku. 'Yakhal' Inkomo' features the great musicians; Agrippa Magwaza on bass, drummer Early Mabuza, and pianist Lionel Pillay. Pillay was of Indian descent, making this a mixed-race group, thus the very recording of the album was an act of resistance as it broke the apartheid restrictions of the time. The title of 'Yakhal’ Inkomo' means “the bellow of the bull”, the Black audience would have understood this as coded community symbolism and an act of protest but it escaped the attention of the white government. For this edition, we have enlisted the services of Abbey Road Studios mastering, and lacquer-cutting engineer Miles Showell to cut a special half-speed master from the audio taken off the original master tapes. Miles has previously worked on our Arthur Verocai, Marcos Valle and Ian Carr re-issues, and once again we are blown away by the richness and clarity of Miles' work. We have also presented it as a replica copy using the cover artwork and labels from the primary World Record Co. original version. On the sleeve notes, Ray Nkwe the producer and the President of the Jazz Appreciation Society of South Africa writes "This is the LP that every jazz fan has been waiting for" and Ray was not wrong, it's a stone-cold timeless jazz classic.

To call Marcos Valle 'a legend' of Brazilian music is much more than just easy press-release hype. As singer, writer, musician and record producer, Marcos has played an integral role shaping the sound of the country’s music from the 'golden era' of the 60s and 70s, through to the modern day. Alongside his brother, Paulo Sergio Valle, they have penned a huge catalogue of classic songs, not just for themselves but for other greats such as Elza Soares, Astrud Gilberto, Claudia to name a few.
‘Braziliance!’ takes things back to the early heady days of Marcos’ career with the bright and optimistic sound of Rio's Bossa Nova scene. It includes an instrumental version of ’Crickets Sing For Anamaria’ or 'Os Grilos’ in Portuguese, which would also be re-recorded with
vocals. Though only in his early twenties at the time, ‘Braziliance!’ depicts very sophisticated production for a musician so young. Recorded in 1966, produced by Louis Oliveira and Ray Gilberts with arrangements by the very talented Emir Deodato, the album was released on Warner Bros. Records. The artwork presents a very clean-cut, wholesome looking Marcos but darker things were around the corner for Brazil. The ‘Tropicalica’ movement was on its way and about to shake thighs up both musically and politically. Unlike some of his Bossa Nova contemporaries, Marcos continued to stay relevant, surfing the changes and adapting to the musical developments that culture and society projected and needed, without comprising his art.
Under exclusive license to Light In The Attic Records & Distribution, LLC | Mr Bongo Records.

The Polydor label released a few singles in the late 1960s that became very obscure and unknown, even to researchers. Most of these 7 inches are super psychedelic and very creative, but totally anti commercial. Own compositions, recordings and good productions, always with a top team. These works were not promoted or publicized by the label and very few copies circulated at the time. The impression is that the intention was to freeze or disappear with the artist in question. Vermelho is one of them, a work that is little talked about or known but that always attracts the attention of those who have access to these two tracks. Arrangement by Rogério Duprat, who was proud to have participated in these recordings, with Rafael Moreno on bass, Alberto Niccoli Junior on drums, Bolão on Sax and Marcos Ficarelli, the “Vermelho” on guitar and vocals.

Marcos already knew well the ways of recording and producing an album, having participated in historical groups of Brazilian rock in the 60's such as Top Sounds, Código 90 and Loupha, to name a few. At this stage, he had already acquired good knowledge of recording and studio management. Excerpts such as “And in the hole of the corners, to look for, is what I try in vain” presents the listener with the mood of the dark times of that time, and today seems a premonition about the difficulty of finding this single, even in private collections.

“Parabéns Meu Bem” and “Gira-Gira” are tracks with an advanced rhythm for the time. Drums very well marked, with an original take and very close to North American funk. The bass is consistent and strong and the guitar full of effects and very reminiscent of the sound and energy of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Blood Sweat & Tears. There is yet another musical layer created by Duprat, who managed to insert a mini orchestra along with the sound mass created by “Banda do Vermelho”.

The Polydor label released a few singles in the late 1960s that became very obscure and unknown, even to researchers. Most of these 7 inches are super psychedelic and very creative, but totally anti commercial. Own compositions, recordings and good productions, always with a top team. These works were not promoted or publicized by the label and very few copies circulated at the time. The impression is that the intention was to freeze or disappear with the artist in question. Vermelho is one of them, a work that is little talked about or known but that always attracts the attention of those who have access to these two tracks. Arrangement by Rogério Duprat, who was proud to have participated in these recordings, with Rafael Moreno on bass, Alberto Niccoli Junior on drums, Bolão on Sax and Marcos Ficarelli, the “Vermelho” on guitar and vocals.

Marcos already knew well the ways of recording and producing an album, having participated in historical groups of Brazilian rock in the 60's such as Top Sounds, Código 90 and Loupha, to name a few. At this stage, he had already acquired good knowledge of recording and studio management. Excerpts such as “And in the hole of the corners, to look for, is what I try in vain” presents the listener with the mood of the dark times of that time, and today seems a premonition about the difficulty of finding this single, even in private collections.

“Parabéns Meu Bem” and “Gira-Gira” are tracks with an advanced rhythm for the time. Drums very well marked, with an original take and very close to North American funk. The bass is consistent and strong and the guitar full of effects and very reminiscent of the sound and energy of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Blood Sweat & Tears. There is yet another musical layer created by Duprat, who managed to insert a mini orchestra along with the sound mass created by “Banda do Vermelho”.

ark Wirtz' most famous output was recorded during the mid/late '60s when he was working as an in-house producer for EMI at Abbey Road. His 'Mood Mosaic' LP and the unfinished concept album 'A Teenage Opera' (a single off this LP, 'Grocer Jack', was actually released in 1967) provided Wirtz with an iconic status. However, his lesser known 1966 album 'Latin A Go-Go' is the one to have if you aim to hit the dancefloor. To get an idea of the music, think of wild cocktail parties in sunny California in the mid-'60s, cosmopolitan hotel lounges in Copacabana or the hippest clubs in Swinging London.
The LP co-features the likes of Barbara Moore (from the legendary library music album 'Vocal Shades And Tones') and Jim Sullivan (Lord Sitar).

Markley, A Group is the sixth and final album by the American psychedelic rock group, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and was released in 1970 on Forward Records, owned by Mike Curb. The album was released under another group name, Markley A Group, as decided by the group owner, Bob Markley. It features compositions by Danny Harris, Michael Lloyd and Shaun Harris with lyrics by Bob himself. The content is simple and soft, reminiscent of the band's earlier work. A gently pop-psych stroke of genius.