Organic Grooves 440 Items

“The only time you wear a Tuxedo is when it’s time to party.”

So says legendary West Coast player Snoop Dogg on the opening track of “Tuxedo II”. The blessing of the Doggfather is of special importance to Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, whose second album as a duo finds them at the forefront of a new wave of gangster boogie - one that owes as much to G-funk as P-funk.This is the territory of pre- and post-hydraulic low riders: a mélange of Cali boom-bap, analog synth bass and elegant disco that resonates truth and authenticity in an era where so many are faking the funk.

Bonding over a shared love of Chic, Parliament, and the other signs in the greater funk Zodiac, Mayer Hawthorne (Aquarius) and Jake One (Taurus) were early predictors of the sea changes that American music would undergo in 2016. Their first release of 2015 debuted at #1 on iTunes America’s RnB charts, christened as “Dance Floor Catnip” by the Boston Globe, and “Pure disco-funk hot fire” by Okayplayer. Considering their individual successes (Mayer’s four solo albums, Jake’s production work for the likes of Drake, Future, The Weeknd, and De La Soul) and five Grammy nominations between the two of them, it’s no surprise that their powers combined have yet again yielded a bevy of absolute slappers that are packaged perfectly for dance parties in 2017. The material here, while wholly original, is an exercise in honoring its forebears. “Tuxedo II” recalls the future funk wobble of Zapp, Gap, Jam/ Lewis and Junie Morrison, while nodding lyrically to Mtume, Jodeci and Cameo.The crystallization of the album’s concept comes courtesy of its message of universal love; thanks to the signature combination of soul and pop sensibility that have come to define Mayer’s hooks.

“You gotta do what you love...” says Mayer in a recent interview with Nordstrom’s style blog, one of the many fashion outlets to cover Tuxedo’s rise. After all - the transcendental ritual of the party and the rippling self affirmation of the funk are of one spirit: the spirit of self love...of self expression. “Tuxedo II” is a modern testament to unity and positivity in trying times. It is a reminder that the dance floor will always be there to welcome you, whoever you are.

You probably don't know this disco banger, I think there is about 4 or 5 known copies on 7", everyone who has a copy has been keeping it quiet. I first heard it from David Haffner about 4 years ago and had been after it since then. After a lot of research I came to the conclusion the everyone involved had passed away, but months after giving up after I spotted Benita's full name on another related LP credited as a backing singer. I was then able to track down Benita who was alive, well and surprised and very happy to hear from me. This one is a beast and will fly out (I find myself saying this far to often).

Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet has always been an impossible band to pin down. Sending out echoes of jazz, electronica, ambient music and minimalism, the group created their own singular, cinematic sound over the course of three studio albums, from their 2007 breakthrough 'Knee-Deep in the North Sea', and 2010 John Leckie produced 'Isla', to the self titled record 'Portico Quartet' in 2012. Now rebooted as Portico Quartet after a brief spell as the three-piece Portico, the group are set to release their fourth studio album Art In The Age Of Automation this August on Manchester's forward thinking indy jazz and electronica label Gondwana Records. It's an eagerly anticipated return, with the band teasing both a return to their mesmeric signature sound and fresh new sonic departures in their new music. So much so that their four-night run at Archspace E8 (June 22-25) sold out in less than an hour as fans from around the world scrambled for tickets to hear the return of Portico Quartet. Support from Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum and similar minded DJs around the world. Airplay from TSF France.Features in Jazzism, Jazzthing, Jazzwise and beyond. Reviews in the Guardian, Mojo, Uncutand more. Full servcing to the Gondwana Records international DJ and radio mailing list.

This release of Lightnin' Hopkins "Soul Blues" completes the series of 25 Prestige label stereo reissues from Analogue Productions. Of the 50 titles (25 stereo, 25 mono) in this reissue series, 49 of them were mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog tape. For "Soul Blues" Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound created a 24/192K hi-res file from a needle drop on a clean original LP.
This was done because the tape supplied for mastering proved to be from a needle drop itself, not the original, which has been lost since the early 1970s. Smith took the original LP, did a new needle drop and meticulously worked to eliminate the minimal tics and pops that remained. Then he mastered the album for LP and SACD from the hi-res file.

Fantasy (Shelter DJ Mix) / Can't Hide Love (MAW Album Mix)

This 200-gram Analogue Productions LP reissue is a magnificent-sounding recording of a historic TV event. For a rare and glorious one-hour nationwide broadcast, CBS brought together 32 leading musicians — a Who's Who of the swing era — including Count Basie, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Billie Holiday, Jo Jones and Coleman Hawkins; the Chicago style players of the same era, like Henry 'Red' Allen, Vic Dickenson, and Pee Wee Russell; and younger 'modernist' musicians such as Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and Jimmy Giuffre. These players played separately with their compatriots, but also joined to combine various styles in one group, such as Red Allen's group and the group backing Billie Holiday on "Fine and Mellow".
The one-hour program aired on Sunday, December 8, 1957, live from CBS Studio 58, the Town Theater at 851 Ninth Avenue in New York City.
Columbia Records released this LP in 1958 that is actually a rehearsal that preceded the telecast (recorded on December 4 at Columbia's 30th Street studios), and is not its soundtrack. The recording doesn't include all of the performers on the TV show (Mulligan refused to participate because no additional payment was involved) and includes several who were not on the show.
For this Analogue Productions reissue we started with the original tape and the best mastering available — Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound did a steller job, and naturally, plating at Quality Record Pressings was handled by master plating technician Gary Salstrom. Our 200-gram QRP platters serve up an utterly noiseless background that lets the superior sonics shine through.

Following hot on the heels of ‘Digging Beyond The Crates’, the genre-agnostic double LP from Swedish DJ and Local Talk label boss Mad Mats, BBE are delighted to present this strictly limited 12” EP featuring three exclusive cuts, previously only available on digital and CD versions of the album. Ezel’s lively jam ‘Get Down’ summons up classic Jamiroquai with slick and funky acid jazz stylings. Italian producer Turbojazz re-imagines the club classic 'Strings Of Life' as a tempo-shifting electronic jazz odyssey. London producer Ossie’s ‘I Hurt You’ lays down a simple house groove and in a strange co-incidence chooses to sample the same 70’s acapella that our friend J Dilla famously used on the Slum Village classic ‘Players’.
Finally, Snarky Puppy pianist Bill Laurance shows of pure jazz chops with ‘The Pines’, a timeless and efortless work of art.

Re-issued and remastered. Genre - Funk/Jazz/Soul/Psyche. 'Life & Love' is the third album from Skinshape (with 'Filoxiny' being his fourth). Written, Recorded and Produced by Will Dorey at the Arch Studio, London, and in his bedroom. Great melting pot of styles and tunes, D.I.Y. Funk Soul Jazz. Recommended if you're into Khruangbin. Skinshape is the project of British musician William Dorey. The sound has roots in many genres but in particular 1960s-0s Funk, Soul, Reggae, Psychedelic Rock, Afrobeat and Folk. Skinshape grew out of a love for old music and the way it sounded. Initially Dorey experimented with samples (especially drum breaks) to create instrumental Hip-Hop/Trip-Hop tracks but then later started to play around with tape machines as a means to create his own 'samples'. This process gave birth to Skinshape with all elements being recorded by Dorey since the first self-titled album released in 2014. Aside from the Skinshape project Dorey was bassist for the band Palace from 2014-2017 and runs a reggae label called Horus Records based in North London.

Check out this essential garage Zamrock/Soul/Funk single as the first official reissue of the celebrated band’s one and only album!

The musical style that became known as Zamrock came to embody the economic despair that followed the 1973-1974 oil crisis, which flung Zambia into recession and exacerbated a wide range of social tensions. Much of Zamrock also captured the controversy of wider politics in Africa and the world. Perhaps the finest example of this is Black Power by The Peace. - The Guardian The Boyfriends, from Kitwe’s Chamboli Mine Township, supplied the founding members for Zamrock’s most famous band, Witch, and kick started one of Zamrock’s best bands, Peace. Their sole Zamrock entry, “Black Power”, recorded at Malachite Film Studio circa 1973/4 and issued circa 1975, sounds like nothing else in the Zamrock canon: a lost message drifiting from the flower power era, imbued with a fiery Zambian voice.

Following up on the success of Lady Wray’s solo debut album Queen Alone, we are
proud to give you another 45 offering, this time showing another side of Nicole.
Known worldwide for her early career as a Hip Hop / R&B singer, then more recently
for her more matured Soul inspired writing, the A side of this one “Underneath My
Feet” shows just how hard it is to put Lady Wray in a box. If you haven’t seen her live
show, you may have no idea that she has a healthy bad ass Rock and Roll side to her,
commanding crowds with a raucousness that likens Betty Davis. Underneath My Feet
is a tough blend of glam rock drums and guitar stabs that Nicole takes to like a fish to
water. A self proclaimed voodoo woman, putting a spell on the listener, warning all of
her unbridled power.
The B side is the heart wrenching Guilty, a song Wray wrote to cope with the
incarceration of her brother. One listen and it is impossible to doubt the sincerity,
again showing Cole’s songwriting prowess with imagery of no one to cheers with, and
not wanting to experience the comforts of home knowing her brother was locked up in
a cell. A solid 2 sider showing a different side of Lady Wray than she is typically known
for all wrapped up in a beautiful picture sleeve cover.