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Name: Ulrich Troyer - Transit Tribe
Brand: 4Bit Productions
SKU: 1126364v1
Price: 23.99 EUR
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Ulrich Troyer

Transit Tribe

LP | 2024 | UK | Original (4Bit Productions)

23,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2024 / UK – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins

Preorder shipping from 2024-11-22

*** LP with CD in cardboard sleeve & 8 page CD booklet incl. liner notes by Steve Barker & DL Code ***

Ulrich Troyer has been producing music now solidly for over twenty years within a largely genre free framework, but whilst navigating forms such as avant-garde, techno, leftfield, field recording, electronica, glitch and ambient it is the aesthetics of dub that guide his creative direction. Not really recognisable in an orthodox form as remixed versions of roots reggae songs but in the way sonics are manipulated with space, the application and layering of delay, reverb and echo that fixes his output well within the scope of what might be called futurist dub.

The nearest comparisons to his new album Transit Tribe can only be established by a synthesis of some of the more adventurous explorations in modern music such as African Head Charge, Jon Hassell, Pole (Stefan Betke), Bill Laswell or even Miles Davis; featuring a diverse selection of artists and friends not only from Vienna and environs but also from around the world, sounds are not so much fused but allowed to float along the continuous flowing tide of warm waves of bass.

Rather than to allow the names of Ulrich Troyer's collaborators be merely listed in the album credits, what they bring to this joyful affair needs to be outlined, albeit briefly: Co-producer credits go to Osman Murat Ertel from Istanbul, who employed a variation on the old foolproof Nick Lowe method for checking out the impact quality of his own sound productions by playing tracks through his car sound system speakers!
Murat is a member of the electro-psych-folk group Baba Zula where he plays electric saz, oscillators and theremin and played a key part in the creative development of the album. Mamadou Diabate, the balafon master originally from Burkina Faso and now resident in Vienna, has developed his own unique technique of playing solos that replicate the sound of three instruments playing in unison; however the multi-talented Mamadou is engaged here on singing and playing the talking drum. From South Tyrol Reinhilde Gamper is a member of the experimental trio Greifer who are bringing the sound of the zither into the twenty-first century using new playing techniques and electronic gadgets. Susanna Gartmayer is an Austrian composer and bass clarinetist specialising in improv and multimedia sound research. Diggory Kenrick has been engaged with creating new dub fusions and also re-energising classic rocksteady and roots reggae classics, renowned for his interventions on flute. Didi Kern is an electronic dance musician and drummer from Vienna with a focus on free improvised music. Hamidou Koita, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, is from a traditional Griot family in Burkina Faso but now resident in Vienna and a regular musical partner of Mamadou Diabate playing drums and calabash. Austrian Lukas Lauermann is both a studio and live musician playing cello, also working on electronic sound design and writing string arrangements. He has recorded extensively and appeared on stage with both Mark Lanegan and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Martin Mallaun is a Tyrol-born specialist in both the development of the zither in modern music and also as a researcher in the effects of climate change on the vegetation of Alpine ecosystems. After studying classical percussion Flip Philipp is now a jazz vibraphone player and member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Wolfgang Pfistermüller is a member of the Vienna Trombone Quartet and the developer of the incredible bass-trombone Aurora with its uniquely warm and resonant sound. Roger Robinson is a renowned British poet, winner of many contemporary poetry prizes and member of the experimental music group King Midas Sound. Kwame Yeboah is a Ghanaian born UK based keyboard wizard who tours regularly with Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Ms. Dynamite and Pat Thomas.
So contained on the album is an astonishing mix of musicians and instruments: sounds of cowbells recorded in the South Tyrolean alps processed by modular synthesizers and heavy analogue bass synths combined with instruments such as zither, bass-zither, electro saz, flute, talking drum, trombone, cello, marimba, djembe, contra-alto clarinet, Farfisa - all bound together by organic live-drums and dub effects.
Liner notes by Steve Barker
(DJ, Radio Presenter - On the Wire, BBC 1984 – 2023, now Slack City Radio & reggae/dub columnist and contributor to The Wire)

Credits:

Mamadou Diabate: vocals (3) & talking drum (3)
Osman Murat Ertel: electric saz (6, 7) & guitar (7)
Reinhilde Gamper: zither & bass-zither (9)
Susanna Gartmayer: contra-alto clarinet (8)
Diggory Kenrick: flute (2)
Didi Kern: drums (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8), percussion (3, 6)
Hamidou Koita: vocals (3), djembe (3)
Lukas Lauermann: cello (1)
Martin Mallaun: zither (9)
Wolfgang Pfistermüller: trombone (1)
Flip Philipp: c-marimba (1, 9), percussion (6)
Roger Robinson: vocals (4)
Ulrich Troyer: analog synthesizers (1-9), analog drum-machines (1-9), e-bass (1, 5, 7), sampler (1-9), prepared zither (1), field recordings (3, 6, 8), dub effects (1-9)
Kwame Yeboah: rhodes (5), vox (5), farfisa (5)

Written & arranged by Ulrich Troyer except 2 written by Diggory Kenrick & Ulrich Troyer / 3 written by Mamadou Diabate, Hamidou Koita & Ulrich Troyer / 4 written by Roger Robinson & Ulrich Troyer / 5 written by Kwame Yeboah & Ulrich Troyer / 6 & 7 written by Osman Murat Ertel & Ulrich Troyer

Recorded by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna - except: electro saz on track 6, 7 & guitar on track 7 recorded by Osman Murat Ertel at Saniki Studio, Istanbul / flute on track 2 recorded by Diggory Kenrick at Holloway Studio, London / vocals on track 4 recorded by Roger Robinson at Dog Heart City Studios / c-marimba recorded by Ulrich Troyer at Konzerthaus, Vienna / rhodes, vox & farfisa on track 5 recorded by Kwame Yeboah at Kwashibu Music Studio, Accra

Mixed by Ulrich Troyer at 4Bit Studio & 4Bit Bungalow, Vienna
Produced by Ulrich Troyer & Osman Murat Ertel / kindly supervised by Diggory Kenrick
Cover Artwork: Ink drawings & design by Ulrich Troyer / kindly supervised by Eva Kelety
Mastering & Laquer-Cut: Kassian Troyer at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin

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Orbital

Optical Delusion White Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2023 | EU | Original (London)

38,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest [of humanity] – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”

But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.

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Orbital

Optical Delusion Black Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2023 | EU | Original (London)

35,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Orbital

Optical Delusion

CD | 2023 | EU | Original (London)

18,99 €*

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Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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The Roots

The Tipping Point

CD | 2004 | EU | Original (Geffen)

10,79 €* 11,99 € -10%

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Release: 2004 / EU – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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The Tipping Point is the seventh studio album by The Roots, released on July 13, 2004. Named after Malcolm Gladwell's 2000 book "The Tipping Point", which explores how small events can create a significant change in society, the album reflects on similar themes, particularly focusing on pivotal moments in personal and social contexts. The album stands out in The Roots' discography for blending their signature live instrumentation with a more mainstream sound, while still retaining their thought-provoking lyrics and genre-blending approach.

The Tipping Point represents a more commercially oriented sound for The Roots, with a balance of socially conscious lyrics and tracks that experiment with more accessible, radio-friendly production.
The album was a response to pressures from their record label, which wanted more hits, yet it still maintained the group's focus on lyrical depth and musicality.
The album’s production incorporates a mix of live instruments, samples, and digital production, with a stronger emphasis on funk, soul, and rock influences compared to their earlier, more jazz-heavy works.

The album contains a wide range of musical styles, combining live instrumentation with soul, funk, and R&B elements, but also introduces more polished and radio-friendly production than previous albums like Phrenology or Things Fall Apart.
Despite its more polished sound, Questlove's signature drumming and The Roots' musicianship are still prominent, especially in the live instrumentation, which is a hallmark of their music.
Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) remains the lyrical centerpiece, delivering complex, socially aware verses that delve into issues like racial identity, inequality, the commercialization of hip-hop, and personal reflections on fame and success.

Key Tracks and Highlights:
"Star/Pointro" – The album opens with a meditative introduction, blending Marvin Gaye's classic "Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime" with Black Thought’s reflective lyrics. The song transitions into a brassy, upbeat rhythm, setting the tone for the album’s experimental approach.
"I Don't Care" – A funky, groovy track where Black Thought tackles the pressures of staying relevant and true to his roots in an industry that often prioritizes commercial success over artistry.
"Don't Say Nuthin'" – One of the album's lead singles, driven by a minimalist beat and a dark, hypnotic atmosphere. Black Thought delivers a smooth, almost detached flow, commenting on the challenges of staying silent in a world full of noise and pressure.
"Guns Are Drawn" – A politically charged track with a heavy bassline and a haunting, reflective hook. Black Thought and guest MCs explore themes of social injustice, gun violence, and the struggles faced by Black communities in America.
"Stay Cool" – Built around a playful and funky beat, this track features smooth production with a retro feel, reflecting on maintaining composure and self-awareness in the face of societal pressures and distractions.
"Web" – A standout track, with Black Thought delivering a rapid-fire, no-hook lyrical performance. It's one of the most lyrically dense songs on the album, showcasing Black Thought’s verbal agility and intricate wordplay.
"Boom!" (featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff) – A tribute to classic hip-hop, with Questlove and Black Thought taking listeners back to the days of boom-bap, reminiscent of earlier hip-hop production styles, but with a modern twist. DJ Jazzy Jeff’s scratches add an old-school flavor.

Commercialization of Hip-Hop: Many tracks, such as “Don’t Say Nuthin'” and “I Don’t Care,” reflect The Roots' critique of the way mainstream hip-hop has evolved, focusing more on materialism and less on the artistry that originally defined the genre.
Socio-Political Commentary: The album delves into various social issues, such as gun violence (“Guns Are Drawn”) and racial inequality, exploring the frustrations of systemic problems that plague society.
Personal Reflection and Artistic Integrity: Black Thought explores his role as an artist in the modern music industry, balancing the need to create commercially viable music while staying true to his roots and values. This tension is a recurring theme throughout the album.

Questlove and Richard Nichols handled the bulk of the production, while Scott Storch and Damon Bryson (aka Tuba Gooding Jr.) contributed to various tracks.
DJ Jazzy Jeff made an appearance on “Boom!”, providing turntablism that adds an old-school hip-hop feel to the track.
The production on The Tipping Point is a blend of organic and digital sounds, with live instruments meshing with sampled beats, reflecting The Roots' ability to navigate both the hip-hop underground and the mainstream.

The Tipping Point received generally positive reviews from critics, though it was sometimes viewed as less groundbreaking compared to previous works like Things Fall Apart or Phrenology.
While some critics praised the album’s production and the lyrical depth of Black Thought, others felt that the more commercial sound detracted from the experimental, genre-pushing elements that had characterized The Roots’ earlier work.
The single “Don’t Say Nuthin'” became one of the group’s more successful radio hits, though it was seen as a departure from the soulfulness and live instrumentation of their previous albums.
Commercial Performance:
The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, making it one of The Roots' highest-charting albums at the time, driven by the popularity of singles like “Don’t Say Nuthin'” and “Stay Cool.”
The Tipping Point did not reach the same commercial success as some later albums, but it represented a pivotal moment where The Roots began to bridge their underground sound with broader mainstream appeal.
Legacy and Impact:
The Tipping Point marked an important transition in The Roots’ career, showcasing their ability to adapt to the changing landscape of hip-hop while still maintaining their identity as a live band.
Though not as critically acclaimed as some of their other albums, it remains an important work in The Roots' discography, as it captures a moment where the group was negotiating their place within an increasingly commercialized industry.
Following The Tipping Point, The Roots would take their music in even more experimental and socially conscious directions with albums like Game Theory (2006) and Rising Down (2008), reinforcing their reputation as hip-hop innovators with a distinct voice.
In summary, The Tipping Point is a pivotal album in The Roots' evolution, blending commercial ambition with their trademark musicality and lyricism, and showcasing their ability to balance mainstream appeal with artistic depth.

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Groupe RTD

The Dancing Devils Of Djibouti

LP | 2020 | US | Original (Ostinato)

29,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The first ever international album from Djibouti and Ostinato's first studio recorded album. This ain't a compilation or reissue!

A stunning collision of Indian Bollywood, Jamaican dub and reggae, sleek horns inspired by Harlem’s jazz era, Somali funk, and the haunting and joyous synthesizer melodies of the Red Sea by Groupe RTD, one of East Africa’s best kept secrets.

Recorded in three days -- as per the strict limit set by Djibouti's national radio authorities -- with a state-of-the-art mobile recording studio replete with the very best audio interfaces and carefully positioned microphones around a less than soundproof room to achieve a vibrant, professional sound while maintaining the analog warmth of decades prior.

A portion of Bandcamp sales will be donated in equal parts to:

• The Djiboutian Embassy in Germany to purchase masks and other essential supplies for Djibouti.

• Amref Health Africa Covid-19 Fund (amref.org/donations/covid19/)

-------------

More than one news report refers to Djibouti as “a place where nothing ever happened” that “would not register significantly in the global consciousness except for its strategic location in East Africa."

These deeply ill-informed observations could not be further from the truth.

While the music of Somalia is widely celebrated, its neighbor, the Republic of Djibouti, formerly known as French Somaliland, is home to an equally deep reservoir of its own unique Somali music.

The small but culturally grand country on the mouth of Red Sea remains one of the few places in the world where music is still entirely the domain of the state. Since independence in 1977, one-party rule brought most music under its wing, with almost every band a national enterprise.

No foreign entities have been permitted to work with Djibouti’s rich roster of music — until now.

In 2016, Ostinato Records met with senior officials of Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti (rtd), a.k.a. the national radio, to discuss a vision for lifting the shroud on Djiboutian music as the young country of less than a million people increasingly opens up to the world. Three years later, in 2019, Ostinato became the first label granted full authorization to access the national radio’s archives, one of the largest and best preserved in Africa, home to thousands of reels of Somali and Afar music.

But just next door, in RTD’s recording studio, a world class band entirely unknown outside the country, whose songs are a living embodiment of the archives, lay in waiting. Composed of sensational new, young talent backed by old masters, the band — Groupe RTD — is the national ceremony outfit. By day, they perform for presidential and national events and welcome foreign dignitaries.

By night, when no longer on official duty, Groupe RTD is clearly one of East Africa’s best kept secrets.

Helmed by Mohamed Abdi Alto, possibly the most unheralded saxophone virtuoso in all of Africa, a Djiboutian national treasure, and the horn maestro on track 8 of our Grammy-nominated Sweet As Broken Dates compilation, and mentored by Abdirazak Hagi Sufi, originally from Mogadishu and composer of track 9 on the same compilation, Groupe RTD is the finest expression of Djibouti’s cosmopolitan music style.

Situated on the Bab El Mandeb (Gate of Tears) strait, a historic corridor of global trade connecting the Suez Canal and the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, Djibouti is blessed with influences from East Asia, the Arabian peninsula, India, and even more distant sounds.

Djiboutian music, particularly the addictive brand wielded by Groupe RTD, is, by their own admission, the juncture where Indian Bollywood vocal styles, offbeat licks of Jamaican dub and reggae, sleek horns inspired by Harlem’s jazz era, Somali funk and the haunting and joyous synthesizer melodies of the Red Sea collide.

Sax player Mohamed Abdi Alto — so talented that they added “Alto” to his legal name — honed his trade from a steady diet of John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. Abdirazak’s guitar style draws heavily from his love affair with Jamaican music. Young singers Asma Omar, who won a youth talent contest to join the band, and Hassan Omar Houssein are fluent in the classic hits of Bollywood and Indian music. Synth player Moussa Aden Ainan brings a distinctly dexterous Somali touch, reminiscent of the exceptional keys work of Somalia’s Iftin and Waaberi Band. Their sound is kept afloat by measured Tadjouran rhythms, courtesy of drummer Omar Farah Houssein and dumbek player Salem Mohamed Ahmed’s perfect interplay.

But recording this album was Ostinato’s biggest challenge yet. A web of bureaucracy and strict rules had to be navigated. Djibouti’s authorities gave us only three days to record the entire set, with no extension. Up for the task and eager to deliver, the musicians promptly tore down the “no smoking or chewing khat” sign in RTD’s recording studio and began a heated, three-day, khat-fueled devilish feast of music amid a smokey haze, unleashing the very reason the band was founded: to strut Djibouti’s majestic music on the world stage when the opportunity arrived.

The recording equipment in the radio had not been upgraded in decades and technical neglect meant we had to devise a novel approach to ensure the highest quality recording possible. With the help of Djibouti’s head of customs, we flew in a state-of-the-art mobile recording studio replete with the very best audio interfaces and carefully positioned microphones around a less than soundproof room to achieve a vibrant, professional sound while maintaining the analog warmth of decades prior.

This game-changing setup, a far cry from the old days of field recordings, is Ostinato’s vision for the future: to capture the contemporary sounds of Africa and the world flawlessly, in any environment or circumstance.

We proudly present Ostinato’s premier studio recorded album and the first ever international album to emerge from Djibouti — Groupe RTD: The Dancing Devils of Djibouti.

This album, if listened to at an inappropriate volume, should firmly register Djibouti in the global consciousness, shifting its image from a strategic outpost of geopolitical games to cultural powerhouse.

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Reloop

Turn 7 (Ortofon 2M Red)

849,00 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

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PREMIUM BELT DRIVE USB TURNTABLE SYSTEM

HIGHLIGHTS:
Belt-driven HiFi turntable with Ortofon 2M Red
20 mm acrylic platter with LED lighting
Decentralised drive motor with external belt guide

SOUND MEETS DESIGN
The Turn 7 bridges the gap between high-end HiFi turntables and uncompromising design. The belt-driven turntable meets the exacting demands of audiophile music fans thanks to precisely manufactured components. The acrylic platter with LED lighting and the external drive belt make the Turn 7 an absolute eye-catcher.

POWERFUL AND STEADY DRIVE
A decentralised, low-vibration DC motor drives the Turn 7. The integral flat belt runs gracefully along the turntable exterior, ensuring smooth operation and a sophisticated appearance. The start/stop rotary switch allows you to select between the turntable's two speeds (33 and 45 RPM).

HEART OF ACRYLIC: THE TURNTABLE PLATTER
The acrylic platter is 20 mm thick, weighs 1.7 kg, and has outstanding evenness thanks to precision manufacturing. It also has excellent antistatic characteristics. As a result, crystal-clear audio is possible without using a platter mat. The satin finish of the material creates a focal point and contrasts with the otherwise plain design of the belt-driven turntable.

LET THERE BE LIGHT – LEDS INSIDE
One of the unique features of the Turn 7 is the optional, blue platter illumination. Inconspicuously placed beneath the platter, multiple LEDs with a diffuser cover sets the mood and creates a warm and inviting ambience.

TOP-CLASS TONE ARM
The high-quality carbon tone arm has exceptional acoustic properties. The turntable's authentic sound is brought out to its full potential by effectively cancelling out vibrations. The ability to adjust the height (vertical tracking angle – VTA) and an anti-skating adjustment ensure maximum precision.

ORTOFON 2M RED PRE-INSTALLED
The turntable comes with the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge system pre-installed. The Ortofon 2M Red has an elliptical stylus tip and excellent sonic characteristics, including first-rate sound accuracy and reproduction. The Ortofon 2M Red is a highly versatile cartridge system with an open, dynamic sound and warm tones. The universal headshell connection (SME) adds more options for cartridge systems.

METICULOUSLY PERFECTED
In addition to its high-quality preamplifier, the Turn 7 also features versatile switching between line and phono signals. The gold-plated corrosion-resistant RCA connectors ensure the best possible signal transmission. The built-in USB output allows you to digitise vinyl records.

SIMPLE DESIGN & PURE FUNCTIONALITY
The sturdy MDF wooden plinth and height-adjustable isolator feet with aluminium surround provide effective decoupling for the turntable. The high-gloss piano lacquer is a classy contrast to the timeless minimalism while emphasising the Turn 7's superior quality.

FEATURES:
• Premium belt-driven HiFi turntable
• Decentralised DC motor with external drive belt on the acrylic platter
• Fully manual operation with motor control switch for switching between speeds (33/45 RPM)
• Precision-machined, 20 mm thick solid acrylic platter (1.7 kg) with outstanding levelling and electrostatic properties for a crystal-clear sound
• Indirect blue LED lighting on the acrylic platter (can be switched on/off)
• Audiophile carbon tonearm with height adjustment (VTA) and anti-skating adjustment
• Pre-installed Ortofon 2M Red cartridge for optimised sound reproduction and fidelity
• Universal headshell connection (SME) for additional flexibility
• USB recording function: Recording and digitisation of vinyl via the simply USB connection for PC/Mac
• High-quality integrated preamp (switchable phono/line output)
• Gold-plated, corrosion-resistant audio connections (removable power and RCA cable)
• Height-adjustable, shockproof aluminium feet for effective decoupling
• Solid MDF plinth with piano finish and a timeless design
• Incl.: dust cover, 2x hinges, felt mat, international power supply (UK/EU/US), RCA cable, headshell with Ortofon 2M Red (pre-installed), 7" aluminium adapter, acrylic turntable platter, allen key, USB-cable, instruction manual & counterweight

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Turntable Section:
• Type of turntable: Belt-Driven manual Turntable System with USB Interface
• Drive: Belt drive
• Motor: DC Motor
• Rotation speeds: 33 1/3, 45
• Starting Torque: //
• Start-up time / rpm change: //
• Wow and Flutter: 0,2% WRMS
• S/N Ratio: >45dB or higher
• Breaking System: Manually
Turntable Platter:
• Turntable Platter: Acrylic glass
• Diameter: 300 mm
• Weight: 1.7 kg
Tonearm Section:
• Type: Straight Tonearm
• Effective Length: 223.6 mm
• Overhang: 18.61 mm
• Tracking Error Angle: ±1.5°
• VTA Adjustment Range: - 2 ~ 4 mm
• Applicable Cartridge Weight: 7.2 ~ 11.2 g (incl. Headshell)
• Anti-Skating Range: 0 - 4 mm
• Terminals: 1x PHONO/LINE Out
Cartridge:
• Ortofon 2M Red
• Output voltage at 1000 Hz, 5cm/sec.: 5.5 mV
• Channel balance at 1 kHz: 1.5 dB
• Channel separation at 1 kHz: 22 dB
• Channel separation at 15 kHz: 15 dB
• Frequency response: 20-20.000 Hz + 3 / - 1 dB
• Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force: 70 µ Mm
• Compliance, dynamic, lateral: 20 µ Mm
• Stylus type: Elliptical
• Stylus tip radius: r/R 8/18 µm
• Tracking force range: 1.6-2.0 g (16-20 mN)
• Tracking force, recommended: 1.8 g (18 mN)
• Tracking angle: 24.7°
• Internal impedance, DC resistance: 1.3 kOhm
• Internal inductance: 700 mH
• Recommended load resistance: 47 kOhm
• Recommended load capacitance: 150-300 pF
• Cartridge colour, body/stylus: Black/Red
• Cartridge weight: 7.2 g
General:
• Power Supply: 12V, 1A DC
• Power consumption: 12W
• Dimensions: 420(W) x 356(D) x 148(H) mm
• Weight: 8.2 kg

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Madvillain (MF DOOM & Madlib)

Madvillainy Black Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2004 | US | Reissue (Stones Throw)

34,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2004 / US – Reissue

Genre: Hip Hop

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Madvillainy is the debut and only studio album by Madvillain, a collaboration between legendary rapper MF DOOM (Daniel Dumile) and acclaimed producer Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.), released on March 23, 2004 by Stones Throw Records. The album is often hailed as a masterpiece of underground hip-hop, characterized by its unconventional structure, eclectic production, and MF DOOM’s intricate, surreal lyrics.

Madvillainy was a highly anticipated project in the underground hip-hop scene, bringing together two of its most respected figures. MF DOOM, known for his complex wordplay and villainous persona, and Madlib, celebrated for his experimental and sample-heavy production, combined to create a dense, atmospheric album.
The project was recorded over several years, with Madlib working on beats while traveling and MF DOOM crafting his lyrics with a stream-of-consciousness style.
The album has a lo-fi aesthetic, featuring short, fragmented tracks, many of which do not follow traditional song structures like verses and hooks. Instead, Madvillainy is more of a collage, with some tracks acting as interludes or musical sketches.

Madlib’s production is eclectic and layered, drawing from jazz, soul, Brazilian music, obscure soundtracks, and 1970s psychedelia, creating a moody and experimental backdrop for MF DOOM’s vocals.
The album’s beats are sample-heavy, often gritty, and feature unorthodox tempos and time signatures. Madlib also uses interludes and vocal samples from obscure sources, giving the album a cinematic, almost comic book-like feel.
MF DOOM delivers his signature abstract and multi-syllabic rhymes, filled with internal rhyme schemes, pop culture references, and complex wordplay. His delivery is intentionally offbeat, which complements the nontraditional structure of the production.

Lyrically, Madvillainy is a blend of surrealism, humor, and complex storytelling. MF DOOM’s persona as the masked supervillain is ever-present, with much of the album reflecting his mischievous, sardonic view of the world.
His lyrics often appear cryptic, with layers of meaning that reward close listening. He plays with words in ways that defy conventional hip-hop norms, eschewing clear narratives in favor of dense, puzzle-like rhymes.
Themes in the album include betrayal, paranoia, and the villain’s perspective, often narrated from a detached, almost nihilistic point of view. However, DOOM’s approach is often playful, filled with irony and wit.

Key Tracks and Highlights:
"Accordion" – A minimalist, standout track where MF DOOM delivers one of his most well-known verses over a sparse accordion loop. The track captures DOOM’s style perfectly, with cryptic, tightly-packed bars and Madlib’s minimalist approach.
"Meat Grinder" – A haunting, jazz-infused beat serves as the backdrop for MF DOOM’s dense wordplay, as he raps with a stream-of-consciousness flow, dropping surreal imagery and twisted humor.
"America’s Most Blunted" (featuring Quasimoto) – A playful, weed-themed track featuring Madlib’s alter ego, Quasimoto. The track is both funky and chaotic, with vocal samples interspersed between DOOM and Quasimoto’s verses.
"Curls" – One of the shorter tracks, with a smooth, almost nostalgic beat. DOOM’s verses are filled with detailed, vivid descriptions, encapsulating his ability to turn everyday observations into poetic rhymes.
"All Caps" – Perhaps the most iconic track on the album, known for its booming beat and DOOM’s punchy, comic book-inspired verses. The title refers to MF DOOM’s alias, urging fans to spell it in all capital letters, reinforcing his larger-than-life persona.
"Rhinestone Cowboy" – The album’s closer, featuring a soulful, downtempo beat and some of DOOM’s most introspective and reflective lyrics. It’s a contemplative end to an otherwise chaotic and fragmented album.

Madvillainy is a nonlinear album, with many of the tracks flowing directly into each other without clear transitions. It’s constructed more like a sonic collage, making the album feel like a continuous, abstract narrative rather than a collection of separate songs.
The album contains numerous interludes and brief tracks, some less than a minute long, but all contributing to the overall mood and atmosphere. Tracks like "Sickfit" and "Do Not Fire!" are instrumental breaks that give Madlib’s production room to shine.

Upon release, Madvillainy was met with widespread critical acclaim. It was praised for its innovation, lyrical complexity, and cohesive production, with critics noting its departure from conventional hip-hop formulas.
It quickly became regarded as one of the most important and influential underground hip-hop albums of all time, with its influence extending beyond just hip-hop into broader experimental music.
MF DOOM’s and Madlib’s artistic approach on Madvillainy helped solidify their reputations as avant-garde artists, unafraid to push the boundaries of the genre.
The album is frequently included in lists of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time and is particularly beloved by fans of alternative and underground hip-hop. It has been noted for its lasting influence on the sound and style of future hip-hop artists, especially in the abstract, lo-fi, and experimental spaces.
Impact on MF DOOM and Madlib's Careers:
MF DOOM further cemented his legacy as one of hip-hop’s most enigmatic and talented lyricists. His use of the supervillain persona, combined with his intricate rhyming style, made him a cult figure in the genre.
Madlib also gained widespread recognition for his unique production style, which merged elements of hip-hop, jazz, and experimental music. His ability to create deeply layered and textured beats without sacrificing their lo-fi charm became a hallmark of his production style.
Madvillainy’s success paved the way for other projects in the underground scene and inspired a new wave of artists who saw hip-hop as a medium for abstract, avant-garde expression.

Madvillainy continues to be revered as a benchmark in underground hip-hop. Its influence can be heard in the work of countless artists, from Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator to more experimental producers and MCs who were inspired by Madlib's and MF DOOM’s fearless approach to crafting an album.
The mystique surrounding MF DOOM, especially after his untimely death in 2020, only added to the album’s legendary status, with Madvillainy often considered his definitive work.
The album’s blend of complex lyricism, unorthodox production, and nontraditional structure helped redefine what could be done in the hip-hop genre, making it a timeless work of art.
In summary, Madvillainy is a landmark album in hip-hop, pushing the boundaries of both lyricism and production. Its influence is far-reaching, and its status as one of the greatest underground albums remains unchallenged. The partnership between MF DOOM and Madlib resulted in a project that is as dense, surreal, and captivating as it is groundbreaking.

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Madvillain (MF DOOM & Madlib)

Madvillainy

Tape | 2014 | US | Original (Stones Throw)

12,99 €*

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Release: 2014 / US – Original

Genre: Hip Hop

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Lokkhi Terra

Cubangla

LP | 2020 | EU | Original (Funkiwala)

22,99 €*

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Release: 2020 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Funkiwala Records presents Cubangla - the sixth album by London fusionistas LoKkhi TeRra. Following on from their hugely successful collaboration with UK afro-beat ambassador Dele Sosimi on 2018's "Cubafrobeat"(mixing afrobeat and Cuban Rumba/Timba), this album sees them return to their Bangla-Afro- Latin-Jazz-Roots. 8 tracks of 21st century London groove â€“ from Sufi Samba to Baul Blues to Bengali folk-Son to Bangla Roots Reggae to London Descargas - recorded in between tours, sessions and collaborations â€“ a true celebration of traditions taking on new forms as they travel and co-exist. In these divided times, their collective musical journey has never been so relevant.
Background Kishon Khan's Lokkhi Terra have been blending the musical traditions that surround them in London, for many years now. "Stunning Headliners... A majestic multi-cultural blend of sounds... effortlessly builds bridges between rolling Indian raga rhythms, Afro-Cuban grooves, Acid Jazz/funk and free flowing improvisation" (Timeout London).

The band is composed of musicians who take seriously the different languages of the different genres they mix. Each in their own right play with calibre purist outfits. Members have collaborated with the likes of Hugh Masekela, Tony Allen, Ibrahim Ferrer, Johnny Clarke, Orlando Poleo, Africa Express, Jazz Jamaica, Ska Cubano, Giles Peterson's Havana Cultura, Kyle Eastwood, Bellowhead, Akram Khan to name a very few. The tracks on this album were gigged for a number of years before being recorded, with the exception of the last 2 tracks which were recorded in 2015 just before performing at Womad and Songlines Encounters. With Cubangla the band has come round full circle â€“ a journey that started a decade ago with their debut No Visa Required (2010). An urban London view on the musical world.
Songlines Review
"Acclaimed groovesters Lokkhi Terra continue their creative roll, returning to their Bangla-Afro-Latin-Jazz roots after a wildly successful colaboration with Afrobeat keyboardist Dele Sosimi. Featuring a who's who of London based players from, variously, Bangladesh, Brasil, Cuba, Spain and Nepal, Cubangla offers more sparkling genre crossing. Its eight tracks veer from fresh takes on traditional Bengali folk tunes to unlikely but sophisticated pairing including Baul blues, Sufi Samba and Cubangla funk. Keys player and main man Kishon Khan â€“ here on piano, Fender Rhodes, microKORG and (on root-reggae remake "Bhandari Revisited") wah-wah harmonium â€“ has written and/or arranged a clutch of tunes that respect tradition while forging new pathways. "Badaam"jumps off the Cuban standard "El Manisero" into a suhg conversatio between Cuban sonero Javier Camilo and Bangladeshi songbirds Sohini Alam and Aanon Siddiqua.
The albums title-track is a glorious descarga jam riffing on themes Cuban and Bengali, stoked by piano, percussion, trumpet and Jalal Ahmed's snaking Bansuri (flute). An upbeat variation on a legendary Sufi song, "Lal Mere" finds Alam and Siddiqua in powerful form and Khan deploying a fiery Rhodes solo. Originally performed at a Songlines Encounters festival, "Kon Kole Revisited" features the rough-hewn voice of the late Baul musician Rob Fakir, his lyrics celebrating Bengali philosopher Lalon and his attitude of religious tolerance. Deep, laced with joy and a masterly lightness of touch, Cubangla rewards repeated listening"
John Armstrong review
Despite Latin and Afro-Cuban music's longstanding popularity in the UK, there have been relatively few UK based artists who have pushed the limits of convention, adding novel elements whilst remaining (more or less) 'en clave' . Alex Wilson is one, and another is the formidably talented pianist, keyboardist, arranger and producer Kishon Khan with his band Lokkhi Terra. Kishon can play straight afrobeat, timba and Afro-Cuban descarga with the best, but his musical curiosity leads him in other directions, too- most specifically, to Bangladeshi music. To these ears, Lokkhi Terra's third (fourth?) outing, Cubangla, is their crowning glory to date. Lazy reviewers will call this a 'fusion' album: i don't know about you, but I find the term 'fusion' as meaningless as the term 'world music': all modern music is a fusion of something or other. This is Afro-Cubano-Bangladeshi music, please don't call it 'fusion'.
Khan's real arranging achievements here can be heard immediately in one of the shortest tracks, 'Bhromor' - described as a 'son cubangla'. The melancholy traditional Bangla song is subjected to the strict conventions of the Eastern Cuban son format, but nevertheless finds space and time for the strong improvisational elements in Bangla singing, a space that the singer Aneira Khan fills to perfection. The rest of the album is equally arresting, with a couple of instrumental descargas and more of that beautiful Bangla melody and vocal impro rising above the Afro-Cuban bedrock. Almost thirty musicians and singers...studios in London, Dhaka, Brooklyn..this must have been a helluva logistical feat (well done Kishon!), as well as being one of the outstanding albums of the year so far for me."
Jazzwise Review
London-based collective Lokkhi Terra have been blending sounds from around the globe since 2010. They describe their music as Bangla-Afro-Latin-Jazz, but even that doesn't do justice to the range of traditions that find their way onto Cubangla, which weaves in everything from funk grooves and Afrobeat hornlines to bluesy guitar and the music of the Bauls, a group of musician-mystics from Bengal. Lots of bands mix African and Latin sounds with jazz and it's these Indian influences that really set Lokkhi Terra apart. Among the highlights is 'Bhromor', a traditional Bengali song about the love between Radha and Krishna that drifts over lilting Cuban guitar, fluttering tabla and delicate flutes. 'Lal Mere' sets a traditional Sufi song to breezy samba percussion and 'Badaam' has an easy-going reggae feel with both Spanish and Bengali vocals. Remarkably, the blend of styles always sounds natural, never forced or cluttered, which is testament to the ingenuity of the arrangements and the standard of the playing. Flautist Finn Peters and trumpeter Graeme Flowers are on particularly good form.
John Warr Review (AfroBase)
"Tracks like Como with its Cachao phrasing, hats off to Graeme Flowers and Justin Thurgur for some stunning solos, the Spanish/Bangla tinges, not forgetting your inspiring piano work and arrangements. Love the percussion throughout and especially on Cubangla, the beautiful Banzuri flute solos from Jalal Ahmed, the joyous vocals on Kalare, and not forgetting the very radio friendly Bandari although I really want to play Como!
This album is a true high point in the work of Lokkhi Terra and its worldly mix of influences. I hope I get to see the band play this live whenever that is."

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Empty Country

Empty Country II Pink Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2023 | UK | Original (Tough Love)

31,99 €*

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Release: 2023 / UK – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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As the front person of celebrated indie band Cymbals Eat Guitars, guitarist and singer Joseph D’Agostino spent over a decade setting autobiographical, emotionally vivid lyrics against a backdrop of soaring and compositionally ambitious rock. After four critically acclaimed LPs that solidified D’Agostino’s reputation as a gifted songwriter, he chose to break from his long-term band and debut a new project: Empty Country. On 2020’s self-titled debut, D’Agostino’s storytelling lens shifted away from personal narrative and toward fiction; psychopaths, apparitions and deplorables populated a bleak and uncanny parallel version of American dystopia. Empty Country’s sprawling and sonically adventurous arrangements—filled out by collaborating musicians including Rachel and Zoë Browne (Field Mouse), Kyle Gillbride (Swearin’), Zena Kay (Angel Olsen), and former CEG drummer Charlotte Anne Dole—ranged from luminous jangle-pop to scorching emo-punk to narcotized Americana. Though the pandemic curtailed planned touring, a seven-piece iteration of the band played one packed Brooklyn show in May 2022, supported by Charles Bissell (The Wrens) and Field Mouse; Empty Country also backed Bissell on several classics from The Meadowlands. “It was a wonderful return to live music for all of us,” says D’Agostino. “So many folks reached out to me and told me how Empty Country offered them comfort during those first several months of being stuck inside. I’m happy that it came out and connected with some people and that I was able to establish this universe I could continue to build on.”

Empty Country II, the project’s second full-length, is a thrilling expansion of that world. D’Agostino pushed himself to new places as a songwriter, crafting a collection of short stories set to music that grapple with the biggest questions now hanging over America—gun violence, the addiction epidemic, and generational hopelessness among them. In 2020, he’d moved from Philadelphia to small-town New England to be closer to family, and his new locale, coupled with the dread of lockdown, inspired him to return to the haunted world from the first LP. “It’s pretty jarring to leave a city—where you can safely assume you’re aligned with your neighbors on many political and social issues—for somewhere more rural and conservative,” says D’Agostino, noting the Trump flags and Blue Lives Matter hood wraps that dot his new dirt road residence. Across the new album’s nine tracks, D’Agostino introduces us to a bevy of characters: three generations of West Virginia clairvoyants, crushed by the weight of their secret knowledge; a group of drag queens and misfits in early ‘80s New York City; a pill mill doctor’s daughter who dabbles in necromancy; a convicted killer; a bullied kid injured and alone in the forest as night falls. Through the stories of these characters, Empty Country II delivers an engaging and deeply moving rumination on time, family, and the disintegration of America.

Despite the stoicism of its storytelling, Empty Country II cuts the darkness with beauty, humor, and an earnest belief in the transcendent power of rock music. It was recorded over two weeks at Fidelitorium, the renowned studio in Kernersville, NC, belonging to R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter. Legendary recording engineer John Agnello, whose previous collaborations with Cymbals Eat Guitars resulted in their 2014 high-water mark, Lose, brought his trademark clarity and nuance to the process, helping Empty Country II crackle with a vital energy that imbues these stories with genuine lifeforce. Dole returned on drums for the record, her virtuosic performances lending raw power and immediacy; her twin brother Patrick joined on bass, his decades of experience uplifting the songs with subtle melodicism and formidable technicality. The group's chemistry and deep personal history are palpable, allowing them to approach the record’s complex story with subtlety and dynamism. “Mitch has collected an astounding array of weird mics, amplifiers, and oddball orchestral instruments: organs, Buddhist temple bells, bar chimes, tubular bells,” enthuses D’Agostino about the studio. “FLA,” a gripping portrait of a queer tour boat pilot in the Florida Keys pining for their absent lover, was arranged from the ground so the group could incorporate Easter’s timpani. D’Agostino considers it a high point of his lengthy discography and lauds that song’s harmonica solo as “my favorite 30 seconds of music that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Empty Country II also features some of D’Agostino’s most danceable songs—like “David,” a tribute to D’Agostino’s late friend David Berman. Featuring a lyrical tapestry of Silver Jews references and surreally beautiful images, head-nodding Philly soul grooves collapse into cosmic freeform jazz-inspired sections, ornamented with inventive hand percussion, marimba flourishes, and toe-tapping piano chords. “Recite a poem as the day vibrates,” D’Agostino sings. “I finally wrote this song for you / But I don’t know who I’d show it to.” It’s a paraphrase of W.S. Merwin’s famed short poem “Elegy”, written after the passing of his own mentor, John Berryman. On “Bootsie,” a runaway girl from West Virginia explores the crumbling, glorious 1980s New York City of Paris is Burning, finding community in a scene of drag queens who offer her a new way of thinking about what makes America—and rock music—great. Based on his own mother’s experiences at the height of the Aids epidemic, the song has deep personal meaning to D’Agostino. “The men you thought were brave / are arrogant and depraved,” he sings against the damaged disco beats of the Dole siblings’ rhythm section. Inverting the chorus of the Talking Heads’ “Heaven,” the lyrics of “Bootsie” celebrate the underdogs and misfits: “Hell is the place where everything happens / The band’s playing all the songs ever written at once / Shape the chaos, make your little story / Baby, this life’s perfect purgatory.”

Though Empty Country II is a record about the forces that drive Americans apart, it’s also imbued with empathic love and an understanding of what binds people to family and country—in spite of the darknesses we encounter. The concept of a Great American Rock Album might scan as outdated in 2023, but with this sprawling and uncompromising epic, D’Agostino and Empty Country shatter ambivalence and confront the horrors with a community-minded sense of cautious optimism. “We may be staring into an abyss,” says D’Agostino. “But we’re all staring together.”

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Noah Howard

Space Dimension

LP | 1970 | EU | Reissue (Amercia)

41,99 €*

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Release: 1970 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Noah Howard was born in 1943 in New Orleans and, like many of his contemporaries, first played music in church as a child. In his 2010 book, 'Music in My Soul', Howard reflected upon his childhood in New Orleans and the influence the city had on him: “Growing up in New Orleans was like receiving a steady diet of music, and my taste in music became increasingly more sophisticated. In the neighborhood where I grew up kids around me were listening to Rhythm and Blues and Jazz; Rock came only much later. One of the great moments of my life was when I was around 13 years old and heard Duke Ellington with Paul Gonsalves playing a twenty-some minutes chorus solo on tenor sax at Newport. We had never heard anything like this before; a saxophone player doing so many choruses, this was years before Coltrane opened up. That experience meant there was no turning back; my ears were open and my desire was burning for music.”
He first learned to play the trumpet before moving on to alto, tenor and soprano saxophone. And his musical journey initially took him to Los Angeles where he worked with Dewey Johnson and then later moved to New York to join the Sun Ra Arkestra. Like most forward thinking saxophonists of the time, Howard was influenced by the evolving expressionism of John Coltrane and Albert Ayler and it wasn't long before he became a key member of the mid-60s free jazz movement, a stepping stone to his elevation into one of the world’s most notable saxophonists.
Howard's debut LP as leader, 'Noah Howard Quartet' was recorded in 1965, and the follow up, 'Noah Howard at Judson Hall', in 1966 but not issued until 1968, both for the groundbreaking ESP Records label (incidentally, both albums featured British trumpeter Ric Colbeck). However, Howard's view of ESP was not positive, calling it “ a monster of deception... I am aware of ESP's adventures...they continue to make money off the artists and they refuse to pay any royalties.”

Like many of the black jazz musicians of the 60s, Howard left the USA and settled in Europe (making the permanent move to Paris in 1972). In an interview in 2005, Howard explained his move: “When I first came to Europe it was 1969 and I came to play in a big festival and after that we had a lot of concerts, recalls Howard. "Then we left and we came back to the States, I was based in New York at that time. About six months later, we had some more concerts, we came back and this went on for years, going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth... I decided that instead of going back and forth all the time, it was more advantageous for me to stay over here and live and work.”
It was in Paris that Howard took part in sessions for the Frank Wright albums 'One For John', cut for the leading French free jazz label BYG Actuel and another Wight session, 'Uhuru Na Umoja', for the America label. Another album on America that featured Howard was Archie Shepp's 'Black Gipsy'. This session also featured , among others, Sunny Murray on drums and Clifford Thornton on trumpet.
America Records was to be home to Howard's third album, 'Space Dimension'. On this album, Frank Wright was reunited with Howard once more, and Wright also composed one track, 'Church Number Nine' (Wright would also do his own version as the title track on his 1970 album, initially only released in Japan. That album would also feature Howard.) 'Space Dimension' also features bop drummer Art Taylor on three tracks, with Muhammed Ali (brother of Rashid), on one. They're joined by alongside pianist Bobby Few, longtime member of Frank Wright's group and an alumnus of Archie Shepp's band.
'Space Dimension' has never seen an official reissue since its original release in 1970 and remains, among a few aficionados, one of the most in demand - and little known - albums in Howard's discography. The blend of free improvisation with a tough rhythmic foundation make for an edifying listening experience. The spectral disjointed afro-blues of the title track, with Howard's soaring, searing horn, introduces an exceptional album of weight and significance, a real statement piece. 'Viva Black' starts as a lush groove, rich with texture and tone. Bobby Few's piano is sparse and disciplined, allowing space for the interweaving angles of the horns and drums to cross and jostle and build in intensity, with Muhammad Ali's drum solo acting as a cathartic release.
'Song for Poets' is blistering in its attack, an intense assault from the whole group – urgent and imperative, a call to action that seemed to resonate with the tumult of the late 60s and early 70s and, perhaps, still resonates now. The album closes with the extended piece 'Blues for Thelma'. It starts like a sort of angular, shattered New Orleans first line march band; Howard visceral horn and Few's piano joust and punch like fighters in a ring; Ali's drums hammer a solid undertow of power and energy, relentless in its fire.
All in all, 'Space Dimension' announced Howard's arrival into a new decade, a decade that was to see not just jazz but music and wider society undergo profound change.
Howard's third record was the widely acclaimed 'Black Ark', which featured Arthur Doyle on his first recording. 'Black Ark' soon became a landmark free jazz recording and elevated Howard into the first division of globally renowned free jazz players.

He spent much of the next decade or so exploring new ideas and places to work, including Europe and Africa, moving to Nairobi in 1982 and finally Brussels, where he had a studio and ran a jazz club.
In his autobiography, Howard described going to Africa: “It was a Sunday morning with bright blue skies and I reached down and grabbed a handful of earth, holding it in my hands. It was red earth. As the first of my family to make this voyage back to my community, I was filled with emotion and started to cry – thinking about all those before me who didn’t survive the middle passage and slave trade. I thanked the few strong survivors of which I’m a descendant and was grateful to be a live and to make it back to Africa in my lifetime. The feeling of coming back home, after generations had gone through abuse and suffering, was upon me. I would put some of this into music later on when recording with James Emmanuel, the poet on 'Middle Passage'”
He recorded steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, mostly with his own label AltSax and continued to expand his repertoire, exploring a range of sounds from ethno-funk to world music in his latter decade. He returned to his free jazz roots in the 90s, mixing the myriad of influences and styles he had encountered throughout his journey.
Noah Howard recorded 35 albums, and their styles reflect the ceaseless musical searcher he was: blues, free jazz, world music. He covered it all.
Noah Howard died on September 3rd, 2010 while on holiday in the South of France. He died a day before finishing the first draft of his autobiography.

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Tahiti 80

Here With You

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Human Sounds)

20,99 €*

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Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Pop

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In March 2020, Tahiti 80 had a plan to start recording their new album in the studio. That plan, of course, along with everything else in the world, got derailed. But the five-piece group was resilient and resourceful. They quickly shifted to a socially distanced plan B that included file swapping and virtual sessions, all refereed by producer Julien Vignon. The result, due for release in March 2022, is the buoyant Here With You, a collection of eleven upbeat songs that unfold like a prescription for a post-pandemic panacea.

“When lockdown in France happened, we said, 'We're not going to stay at home not doing anything,'” says singer-guitarist Xavier Boyer. “And our new plan became a hopeful thing, waking up every morning and seeing what the other guys had worked on. It wasn't always easy, but this new method allowed a freer approach where we could really go all the way with an idea without being influenced by each other’s suggestions. It must've been overwhelming for Julien, who ended up selecting all our arrangements. But he stayed positive all the way through.”

To help stay inspired and focused during their time in isolation, the band created a mood board, with the centerpiece a photo of an early '90s rave in the UK.

Boyer says, “Whenever you see pictures from this era, people seem very innocent. There are no cell phones and everybody is in to what they are experiencing. We kept that picture in mind as a kind of mantra that would help everyone feel connected to this idea of people celebrating, gathering and just having fun. We were missing the connection with people, and thought it would be great if we could create music that would inspire that kind of emotion.”

Indeed, the songs on Here With You are brimming the feeling of communion that we've all been missing over the past two years. It's there in the catchy opener Lost in the Sound, which walks the walk with Chic guitar flicks, urban nightfall sparkles and an inviting chorus (“Your heart grooves like a thousand 808s on the right time”). It's there in the Jackson 5-style syncopated bounce of “Vintage Creem,” the lush, dreamy “Breakfast in L.A.” and the panoramic sweep of “UFO.” And it's there in the first single “Hot,” which matches an irresistible groove with a neon-lit, percolating arrangement that evokes the disco clubs of 1979.

What's remarkable is that though Tahiti 80 displays a clear affection for sounds of the past, from bubble gum to '70s soul, they never trade in mere pastiche. Their take is more a slightly warped and playful carnival mirror mash-up of classic pop styles, given depth through Boyer's hang-gliding, coolly emotive vocals and lyrics that often rub against the euphoric grain of the music.

“I like to think of songs as a three-minute drama,” says Boyer. “This concept of drama definitely adds different levels to our music. There's the melody, the lyrics, then the production that can maybe emphasize or counterbalance the interaction between the yin and yang in a song.

“There's a difference between the very upbeat, sunshine-y soft rock and the lyrics, even on our past albums,” he continues. “Not dark, but a little more melancholy, and also looking for some kind of motivation, talking to yourself. Like with a lot of Motown songs, you get that feeling where you body’s dancing while your mind’s reflecting, reminiscing.”

That alluring blend of happy-sad has been a signature part of the Tahiti 80 sound from the time Boyer and bassist Pedro Resende formed the group in 1993, as students at the University of Rouen. Taking their name from a souvenir t-shirt given to Boyer's father in 1980, the duo recruited guitarist Mederic Gontier in 1994, and with the addition of drummer Sylvain Marchand a year later, the lineup was complete. The foursome released a self-produced and self-financed EP, 20 Minutes, in 1996, which resulted a record deal with French label Atmospheriques in 1998. Their full-length debut Puzzle, produced with Ivy's Andy Chase and mixed by Tore Johansson, went gold and featured the international hit “Heartbeat” that established the band throughout Europe and Asia.

In the years since, Tahiti 80 – with the additions of Raphaël Léger on drums and Hadrien Grange on keys - has released eight acclaimed albums. The band has fused what Mojo called a “glorious entente of old and new technology” (including singles like “Yellow Butterfly,” “1000 Times,” “Sound Museum,” “Crush!” and “Big Day,” which was featured on a Fifa video game soundtrack), while collaborating with such producers and arrangers as Richard Swift, Tony Lash and Richard Anthony Hewson, who famously arranged The Beatles' “Long and Winding Road.” Boyer has also put out two solo albums, the first under the anagram Axe Riverboy and the second under his name. In 2019, the band released Fear of an Acoustic Planet, a stripped-down reimagining of some of their best-loved tracks from the previous twenty years. It served not only as a look back but a reminder of their formidable songwriting skills.

Boyer is definitely a student of the timeless three-minute pop song format pioneered by '60s artists like The Beatles and The Beach Boys. He says, “I see it as kind of a frame for a painting. Most of the songs on this album, I wrote a verse, pre-chorus and chorus. There aren't many middle eights. I wanted it to be very concise. I feel like people have less attention. There's so much music. It's too easy to switch off or skip to another track, so I want to hook the listener. The three-minute song is kind of an easy code to crack, but at the same time you have to figure out a new way to tell the stories that we've heard before.”

And the stories on Here With You are very much about the longing for connection. Of the album title, Boyer says, “In the world right now, that can mean a lot of different things. Like missing our fans, missing going to concerts. In a way, it can be a statement of what happened last year, and a wish of 'I want to be here with you again.' It's our ninth album. We've had some had some very open, conceptual titles like Puzzle, Activity Center. Sometimes they were more specific like Fosbury orWallpaper for the Soul. Here with You, seems more personal, more engaging in terms of relationships. When I suggested that title, everyone in the band said, 'Yeah, that's it.'”

Until Tahiti 80 can resume a full tour schedule, Boyer says he hopes the new record will make that personal connection. “If I see from the point of view as a music fan, sometimes I see albums I like as companions throughout my life. So if we can be a part of people's existence, even if it's a song that reminds them of the time they were driving with the windows open and it was sunny. Or a sad song that resonates with them after a breakup. That's what we're all looking for when we're making music. You do this very personal thing and you want it to touch as many people as possible.”

A1. Tahiti 80 - Lost In The Sound A2. Tahiti 80 - Vintage Creem A3. Tahiti 80 - Telling Myself A4. Tahiti 80 - Hot A5. Tahiti 80 - Breakfast In LA

B1. Tahiti 80 - Cameo B2. Tahiti 80 - UFO B3. Tahiti 80 - Riddles & Rhymes B4. Tahiti 80 - Zoo B5. Tahiti 80 - Wicked Wicked B6. Tahiti 80 - Let's Get Started

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V.A.

Voulez Vous Cha-Cha? French Cha-Cha 1960-1964

LP | 2019 | EU | Original

22,99 €*

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Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Careful, “Let’s not get angry” suggests Spartaco Sax, the famed song accompanying French daily paper FRANCE-SOIR’s campaign against road violence: music isn’t that serious, often times really not. In any case, it is with this not so serious ear that one should listen to this selection of chachacha, mambo and other genres to twist and madison to, as music-lovers pinch their noses and block their ears. And yet, these breezy and light songs under their false airs of effortlessness draw out an astonishing analysis of late 1950s France with its partying baby boomers. Put on your dancing shoes, everyone on the dancefloor, let’s go baby.
The record starts out with an esoteric organ, a guitar straight out of a western, a vibey rhythm section, a speeding saxophone, a glamorous voice, a curious keyboard, a slightly panicky tempo… “Please Mr Hitchock!” calls out a voice from the unknown, on an arrangement that’s about to lose control.
The tone is set. Eins Zwei Drei, cries out Spartaco Andreoli, creator of the Chachacha for tunas, lyrics that are absurd accompanying music that isn’t so much so. And this is just the beginning. I can already see those making fun of it, and yes, I admit it does sound a bit comically-tragic, but more often than not, a persistent riff or melody will get stuck in your head, a chorus that you’ll start unintentionally humming, your foot that starts beating unbeknownst to you. “C’est bon ça dis donc !” (This is pretty good), suggest the Los Goragueros, at the start of their Mambo Miam Miam (Yum Yum). A smooth sax, a double bass that sways and shattering percussions, this song anonymously written by Alain Goraguer (there is often an “os” (bone), added to the band name for a little authenticity, i.e Los Chiquitos and Los Albinos) is actually quite tasty. This arranger and pianist who went on to write the indispensable Planète Sauvage (Wild Planet) is not the only one to have advanced half-masked in these tropical times. Just as Michel Legrand devoted himself to rock music, for better or worst.
Tropical music and France go way back. Indeed, this tropism for exotic music, not without the mannerisms that go with it, has been around. Just think of the period between both world wars, when the Paris of the roaring twenties fluttered to the sound of Latin-American orchestras. The influential Brazilian musician Pixinguinha came through in 1922, the charismatic Cuban singer Rita Montaner triumphed a few years later at the famed Palace and the brilliant clarinettist Stellio from Martinique had everyone dancing through the night to the beguine (a dance style from Martinique)… Seedy cabarets and fishy clubs mixing up different peoples and music until the early hours. From Montparnasse to Montmartre, dancing clubs bloomed throughout the capital while the World Exhibition sold a rather uncertain idea of the other tropics: a discounted and fantasized exotic dream of island life. It’s in bars like Jimmy’s, by La Coupole, or the Melody’s nestled in the heights of Pigalle, where Don Marino Barreto’s (Cuban pianist and singer who emigrated to Paris in the 1920s) orchestra made the heyday of a surreal and carefree Paris. Parisian Ray Ventura and his band Les Collégiens, quite the breeding ground for funny songs, at times almost delirious, were always a big part of the party.
And after the Second World War, it started all over again. Rico’s Creole Band was one of the great Creole orchestras to sway all of Paris, the Blomet Ball brought together the Afro-Caribbean communities, L’Escale became an essential dancing ground for lovers of Latin music, the pianist Eddie Warner was one of these pillars, accompanied by his “rhythms”, a “witty orchestra with 85% of French musicians, only the percussionists were South American”. Another jazzman, Henri Rossotti, also navigated in the warm waters of these gentle tropical shores. They covered sambas and mambos, adapting Benny Moré and Pérez Prado. Hot, like the hard-hitting Benny Bennett and his orchestra of Latin American music, which ended up being the training grounds of many apprentice improvisers. On the menu: calypso, merengue… and of course chachacha. Shortly after, the Los Machucambos, a South American band created in the Latin Quarter performed music between guajira and flamenco and its song Pepito marked the start of the trio’s success.
At the time, Latin-style combos were all the rage in France such as the chachacha which was officially invented in the early 1950s by Enrique Jorrin, soon followed by the pachanga, becoming a staple of black-and-white films. In the long run, this music has become a sort of French standard, adapted by many: Boris Vian oftentimes, Bourvil, Bob Azzam, Gainsbourg, Carlos (jokingly), Louis Chedid, Vanessa Paradis… Taking it a little far, you could even detect the beginnings of the french touch. This Chachacha affair is emblematic of the atypical history of popular music, that of back-alleys, far from the paths and furrows of glory. Music, raised from the grave and dusted off by the Born Bad record label. In terms of latin music, these records that were patiently found in flea markets are becoming a rarity, even if most are worth three euros and six cents: this low cost hobby is underestimated by licensed collectors, who run like lunatics towards triple-zero rarities.
Chachacha Transistor, predicted the unlikely Jacky Ary, known for his less digestible Mange des tomates (Eat tomatoes). With the approach of the 1960s, typical music styles were found all over the country, from the northern plains to the southern sea. Never failing to cheer up dances, nor to whet the appetite of a burgeoning industry, which often seized it by opportunism, not without a tinge of cynicism. After all, one must sell records to the desolate youth, at all costs and any price. These 7-inch vinyl records were therefore recorded at Barclay, Vogue and co. Low-consumption products intended to supply the shelves of budding suburban supermarkets. The idea was to convert a North-American trend in the studio, by summoning old geezers (Paul Mauriat under the pseudonym of Eduardo Ruo, at the top of the list…) who would play young and interpret these rhythms with a distorted vision. All for just one season and all this before summer hits were a thing. It was already the same idea though, but in more of a D.I.Y fashion. A quick fix, just enough time for the producers to get some juicy revenue, the same ones who recruited teams to perform these “inferior” works. Most were flops, but a few made it big such as Jean Yanne answering to Henri Salvador for Allo Brigitte, a classic of the “comic-musical” genre. It’s author Norma Maine went on to write quite a few of these quirky songs.
Most had improbable dialogue, as well as senseless adaptations such as the Marchand de melons (The Melon Merchant) distorting Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, a result of automatic writing in order to come up with ridiculous lyrics. What can be said about Tarte à la nana (Girl Pie), and how about Ça c’est du poulet ? (This is Chicken?) Or the terrible Soukou Soukou, on the limit of bad taste, words of a colonist… When it comes to reappropriating foreign know-how, the results can turn out strange like a surreal shock of cultures. Improbable mixes, like chacha bebop, latino tempo and scat jazz… It all definitely swings and is sometimes even quite impressive. Because magical loose moments are to be found in these records made to order, records that were just trying to recreate a successful pre-existing North American formula. They recorded them on the line, in the original spirit, or inconspicuously modified them, not only for fun, but also for the pleasure of adding on a chorus which would take the song a little further, or a well adjusted rhyme that would denote a touch of derision, a French tradition that was to be repeated in rock as in punk, and even bossa nova. The key often being explosive arrangements, occasionally beautiful choruses, radiant mishaps, confusing mistakes, not necessarily off-topic, all in all some sweet musical trips that always have an effect on the dancefloor when it’s time to boogie. Try it out, you’ll see, it works every time, if you don’t abuse of it. Moderation is recommended for this music that should be served either at cocktail hour or after midnight…

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Wild Bill Davison And His Commodores / George Brunies And His Jazz Band Featuring Pee Wee Russell, Edmond Hall, Eddie Condon, Bob Casey, George Wettling, Gene Schroeder, Albert Nicholas, Dave Tough

Jazz A-Plenty

LP | 1989 | US | Original (Commodore)

7,99 €*

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Release: 1989 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Used Vinyl

Medium: VG+, Cover: VG+

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Kapote Presents

Italomania Volume 2

2LP | 2024 | Original (Toy Tonics)

23,99 €*

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Release: 2024 / Original

Genre: Electronic & Dance

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Toy Tonics ITALOMANIA Vol. 2 is a compilation dedicated to NEW ITALIAN DISCO. (Not Italo Disco.)
13 young contemporary Italian producers made new organic disco, indie dance, avant pop and house tracks with Italian vocals.

Everything on this compilation has been produced in 2023. Fresh dance music by Italian indie electronic star Myss Keta together with DJ Severino (of Horse Meat Disco) and newcomers Sam Ruffillo, Fimiani, Magou, Tommiboy, Daniel Monaco, Giovanni Damico. And new music by artists Stump Valley (from Dekmantel), Munk (Gomma records), Rodion (Slow Motion Records) and DJ legend Lele Sacchi,

The ITALOMANIA compilation was initiated by Toy Tonics boss Kapote. The idea is to show the status of Italian Disco of today. It’s like a „manifesto“!
Kapote invited the most relevant Italian producers to make new tracks with Italian vocals and show different styles of modern Italian disco, dance and house music.
with Italian vocals. All tracks compiled by Kapote aka Mathias Modica aka Munk. Italo-German producer, DJ, keyboarder and head of Toy Tonics and Gomma records.

Italian Disco is not Italo Disco.
While the last years the slightly trashy pop music of the 1980’s called Italo Disco (with English lyrics) had a big revival. But now also the attention for more quality and organic dance music with Italian language is rising. This compilation is about this Italian Disco,
It’s a fact that not just in Italy but also in France and Germany there are now artists singing in Italian or using Italian words and names - even if they are not Italian.

Let’s not forget: The world’s culture of party, dancing, showbizness and pop music would be unimaginable without the heritage and creativity that Italians contributed.
Italy is not just the country of good food, beautiful beaches and high fashion, but it’s also the original country of dance music. Since almost 3000 years, since the ancient roman times the Italians have been making (dance) music culture, creating popular culture and being the maestros in organizing parties.
Also the disco wave of the 1970ies and the Pop music of the 1980ies has been co-created by Italians (and Italo-americans in New York).

The ITALOMANIA artists & tracklist:

M¥SS KETA
The most famous artist on the compilation is singer M¥SS KETA. The Italian press calls her "the Italian Lady Gaga“. M¥SS KETA is an edgy performer that reached the top of the charts with indie pop songs, but is also well rooted in the Milan art, fashion and LGTB scene.
To create a song for Italomania she teamed up with DJ Severino. The Italian part of London’s Horse Meat Disco DJ collective. Probably the world leading queer DJ team. (M¥SS KETA recently was invited to perform Berghain in Berlin).

Sam Ruffillo
Sam Ruffilo has contributed a new (party) version of his song Mediterranea. A organic disco track with lyrics in Neapolitan dialect. Sam Ruffillo is an upcoming Italian DJ and producer and one of the lead artists of Toy Tonics (along with Coeo, Kapote and Cody Currie). He had a few underground hits combining leftfield disco and Lofi House with Italian vocals creating a new genre that is finding lot of fans right now. One of his songs (Chiamami Subito) made it into the rotation of big Italian radio station M20. On Instrgam you can see his DJ sets where hundreds of Italians sing his songs at Toy Tonics parties.

Munk
Toy Tonics head honcho Kapote reworked the Munk song ‚La Musica‘ for this compilation. Munk is the former producer name of Mathias Modica aka Kapote. The creative mind behind Toy Tonics and Gomma records. ‚La Musica‘ is an Italo house song that he originally released 2010 when he was doing his former label Gomma records. Now there is this new version of this catchy dance song with the Italian hookline that became almost iconic when first released.
It made sense to include a new version of this track on ITALOMANIA because its a blueprint of italian disco and sounds so fresh again now.

Giovanni Damico
The south Italian DJ, producer made „Tropica“. The song is a tribute to the music of the Italian discos of south Italy of the 1980ies. A Balearic session that can be great at a beach in the afternoon, but also for dancing in the early morning. Damico is part of the new Italian disco scene releasing his dance tracks on international labels like Lumberjacks in hell and White Rabbit records since 2013.

Kapote
His new song „Sono tropical“ is an ironic Latin pop song based on a classic salsa piano riff and a strong Latin soul bassline. It reminds the big tunes from the 1970ies New York Salsa Scene (Tito Puente, Willie Colon, Fania All Stars). The vocals performed by Kapote are a mix of Italian and Spanish. The girl’s voice is also performed by Kapote. But transferred into a female voice by an AI. All instruments played by Kapote who before starting to get into the DJ and label business used to to study jazz piano. Before starting Toy Tonics Kapote he released 3 albums under his former name Munk and produced records with big names from the electronic music scene like James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, Peaches, The Rammellzee and three albums of Danish band WhoMadeWho. Mathias/ Kapote also worked with artists like Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture and Asia Argento.

Lele Sacchi
Lele Sacchi is an Italian DJ legend and host of Italy's most important DJ radio show on RAI national radio. He has been djing all around the world playing from Circoloco Ibiza to Avalon LA. He has Besides being on Italian national radio he has been doing shows on NTS Radio or guest on BBC Six. He produced for labels like Soul Clap, !K7, Internasjonal, Nervous, Snatch, Crosstown Rebels, Poker Flat and his own Stolen Goods imprint.
Sacchi teamed up with young vocalist Elasi, a new talent from Milano that is making waves in Italy for a few songs she released in a indie disco style. Their song is an interpretation of late 70’s cult slow disco pop classic ‘Malamore’ by the underdog Enzo Carella. A mix of slow house and playful pop with a slight touch of acid!

Tommiboy
Tommiboy made a nasty, disco rock song called Sfinge. Only 26 years old he is one of the most hyped up Italian disco diggers and collectors. Originally from Rimini, the capital of discos, he is the son of a father who was a regular dancer in Rimini’s clubs of the 1980is and fed his son with all things disco.
Tommiboy started to do parties and compilations under the name Disco Stupenda three years ago. By now he and his parties are a big thing in Italy and has fans all around the country. He also is DJ for fashion brands like Gucci and he is the guy who re-introduced 1980s stars like Pino D’Angio.

Fimiani aka BPlan
The DJ und producer from Napoli is part of the new, vibrant disco scene from Napoli. (NuGenea, Mystik Jungle, Manny Whodamanny )
His collabo with italian 1980ies crooner Angeleri called SessoSpaghetti is a remake of a song originally released in 1983, but never became famous when it came out. The drums on the song are played by Napoli legend Tullio De Piscopo and the guitar by Lucio Battisti guitar player Massimo Luca.
The new version is a ironic summer disco with sexy vocals and Italian fun rapping about beach life, beautiful girls and sex on the beach. Fimiani also does edits of rare italo disco under the name of BPlan

Daniel Monaco
Daniel Monaco is a multi-talented artist, producer, and bass player DJ, bandleader and producer from Napoli - but has been living for many years in Amsterdam where he hosted show on Red Light Radio released on Labels of the likes of Rush Hour and Bordello a Parigi. Is one of the key figures of the scene due to unique fusion of Italo Disco, Proto House, Obscure Disco, and a captivating tropical touch. His latest EPs came out on Slow Rush Hour records and Periodica Records contributed the song ‚Milly‘ for Italomania. Played with a 5 person band.

Stump Valley
The two DJs, producers and vinyl collector are experts in all things Italo Disco and Balearic music. Before joining Toy Tonics they released an album on Dekmantel records. One of the guys (Brain de Palma) is the favorite DJ of Peggy Gou. He is regularly opening the shows of Peggy as a warm up DJ and releases his solo records on Peggy's label Gudu records. For this compilation they made Non dire di no. An old school piano house track with catchy vocals in the finest tradition of the piano house style that Italians invented in the early 1990ies.

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Paul Weller

Fat Pop Standard Black Vinyl Edition

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Polydor)

28,99 €*

Incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Rock & Indie

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We may be cursed to be in the midst a global pandemic, buffeted by all of its stresses and pain. But everyone knows that art provides succour, that music is the most reliable balm. And for many there is further significant comfort to be drawn from the knowledge that Paul Weller is in the midst of an unbelievably prolific purple patch. Paul Weller will not let us down when we need him most.

On May 14th, Paul Weller releases his 16th solo album since his self-titled debut in 1992, his fourth in as many years and his second in just under twelve months following June 2020’s magnificent, chart-topping On Sunset. It’s not hyperbole to state that this new album, titled Fat Pop (Volume 1), is among his most compelling collections, bar none, including all of his era-defining work in the 1970s and ‘80s with The Jam and The Style Council. It’s an absolute scorcher.

When lockdown was declared in March 2020, Paul Weller decided immediately that he wanted something to focus on, since it seemed unlikely he’d be able to tour On Sunset as planned that summer.

“I had lots of ideas stored up on my phone,” he explains down that same handset, speaking from outside his London home, “and at least this gave me an opportunity to develop them.” So he started to record songs on his own, doing just vocals, piano and guitar, then sending those sound files to his core band members such as drummer Ben Gordelier, Steve Cradock on guitar and various other instruments, and bassist Andy Crofts for them to add their parts. “It was a bit weird not being together, but at least it kept the wheels rolling. I’d have gone potty otherwise.”

The band reconvened at Weller’s Black Barn studio in Surrey during the summer when restrictions were lifted to finish the work, with several of the songs being cut live. By this stage, the shape of the album was clear to all. Weller wanted to deliver an album of singles, twelve short, distinct blasts, each strong enough that they could stand alone if so desired.

“That was a conscious decision,” he confirms. “I even thought about putting every song out as a single first then gathering them all on an album, but that wasn’t practical at the moment. They all have that strength and immediacy, I think, and they’re all short, three minutes or so maximum.”

Producer Jan ‘Stan’ Kybert was so taken with the concept that he half-jokingly suggested that the album be called Greatest Hits. “I quite liked the idea and every song does stand up as a single, I think,” chuckles Weller, “but no, we couldn’t do that really.”

Instead, he plumped for Fat Pop (Volume 1). “I thought we’d add Volume 1 to it just to keep my options open in the future for a second volume!” The title track, a tight, heavy blast of ultra-modern funk, is itself the conceptual key to the whole album. “It’s a celebration of music and what it’s given us all. No matter what situation you are in, and we’re in one now, music doesn’t let you down, does it?”

As ever, Weller’s sonic masterplan was to avoid whatever had recently preceded it. “After [2018’s] True Meanings I thought I wouldn’t have any acoustic guitars for a little while, so I’ve largely avoided those with On Sunset and with Fat Pop,” he says. “But more than anything I wanted something vibey, something we could play live.” He laughs ruefully at the irony of that. “God knows when that will be, bearing in mind where we are with the virus. But in the imaginary gig in my mind I can see us playing all of the songs on Fat Pop live, along with the songs from On Sunset, blending them with some of the old favourites too. What a great set that would be.”

Live is where he imagines On Sunset and Fat Pop (Volume 1) working in tandem, because they don’t act as companion piece albums otherwise. “On Sunset was quite lavish in places, whereas with this one I wanted to limit it in some ways, make the production less expansive.”

Beyond that desire to keep it frill-free and tight, sonically Fat Pop (Volume 1) is a diverse selection of sounds. No one style dominates. There’s the synth-heavy, future-wave strut of Cosmic Fringes, the stately balladeering of Still Glides The Stream, Testify’s moving-on-up soul, and the kind of dramatic three minute pop symphonies on Failed, True and Shades of Blue with which Paul Weller has hooked in generation after generation of devotee.

More than sonic plans, though, Weller set himself the same task as he does before any recording. “Whenever I make an album I’m always just trying to at least match what’s gone before because each time I think the bar’s been raised. If all goes to plan, sometimes I manage to go over that bar too.”

Sometimes he does, sometimes he really does.

Fat Pop (Volume 1), the story behind each song:

Cosmic Fringes

A dramatic entrance to Fat Pop (Volume 1). Cosmic Fringes pairs a minimal, pumping electro swing with a deadpan vocal that detonates an unspecified poseur and blowhard. “I’m a sleeping giant, waiting to awake/I stumble to the fridge/then back to bed”.

“It’s not about anyone in particular,” suggests Weller, “but I suppose it could be about a keyboard warrior, someone who is constantly brainstorming ideas but never gets around to doing them. Someone talking the talk, but never doing anything.”

“When I first did the demo it was quite punky, a bit like The Stooges. It doesn’t sound anything like that now because then I had the idea of stripping it all back to just the drums and bass, putting those synths on it. It’s got a bit of motoric feel to it and a little bit glam rock too, I think.”

True

A song with all the attributes of the greatest Paul Weller numbers: fire in its belly, questing lyrics, boss horns, flashes of guitar fury and a yearning melody you awake humming daily. It’s also a tremendous vocal, shared between Paul and Lia Metcalfe, the young Liverpudlian singer with The Mysterines.

“I really like her band and I really like her singing,” he says. “It makes a massive difference that we sang it live, in the same room. She’s got a really powerful voice and I wanted to write something for us to sing together, so I did. Then I just sent the phone demo to Lia and two weeks later we cut it. That was one of the last things we did for the album, in around September”.

Fat Pop

That brilliant, heavy bassline? “I did that. When we recorded it I was actually thinking about Cypress Hill, doing something that sounds like a DJ Muggs production. It’s got a bit of that. It’s my favourite song on the album, I think, about all the times music’s been there for me.”

Shades of Blue

A classic three-minute English pop kitchen sink drama, written by Paul Weller and his daughter Leah, who joins him on vocals. “Leah wrote the chorus for it and helped me finish it up. I wrote the verses. Reminds me of a suburban drama, a play.”

Glad Times

Sweeping, wistful, sparkling in shades of blue, Glad Times’ winning melancholia has been in the back of Weller’s mind for a while. “I wrote this with Tom (Doyle) and Ant (Brown). They usually send me a backing track and we work on it from there. It’s been around for a while, nearly made it onto On Sunset but didn’t quite fit. I really liked it, though, so I’m really glad it made it on to this album instead.”

Cobweb / Connections

Pastoral introspections, featuring a lovely acoustic solo by PW and a string score by Hannah Peel. “I think the song is saying that the more you can be yourself and be happy with yourself, the more you change into something better. It’s not just good for you, it’s good for everyone else as well. ‘Save yourself and save everyone around you too.’ It’s from observation but I suppose it’s about me too.”

Testify

Superfly strutting, cut live in the studio with Andy Fairweather Low adding distinctive vocals and Jacko Peake on fine flute and saxophone. When allowed out of the house, it’ll be a future live favourite.

“We had actually done it live two or three years ago,” says Weller, “but while I loved the groove I never really got a grip on the song. Then I did this charity gig in Guildford, one of the last things I’ve done probably, some Stax songs with Andy Fairweather Low. Our voices sound so good together and he’s such a lovely fellow, so I sent him the backing track. As soon as lockdown was lifted he came down to the studio for the afternoon. We cut it live and that was it.”

That Pleasure

In amongst those soulful strings there is some barely contained rage in Weller’s voice as he sings ‘Lose your hypocrisy.’ “I suppose it’s my reaction to the whole Black Lives Matter movement,” he explains. “You’re always on tender ground writing about that, but, regardless of my colour, any human being should be disturbed. You should be appalled and disgusted and shocked by those images of George Floyd being killed in the street. It has to stop. It’s a question for everyone.”

Failed

‘All the things I never get/and all the things I never meant/and all the things that make no fucking sense…I’ve failed.’

“Yes, I’m asking myself the question,” admits Weller, a man who has never been afraid of self-reflection in his songwriting. “It’s an angry song because I wrote it right after a massive row with my wife. But I like it. It’s honest. It’s not how I feel all the time, but it is how I feel some of the time. I’m just talking about me as a man. We all measure success in different ways.”

It’s also one of his favourite songs on the album, a stand-out.

Moving Canvas

A chunky, percussive groove, with the feel of Traffic but updated for the here-and-now.

“It’s going to be great live that one. I wrote it about Iggy Pop. I hope he likes it if he ever gets to hear it. It’s my tribute to him, even though it doesn’t sound anything like him. Aside from all the great records he’s made, as a performer he’s high art. It’s all about the Igster.”

In Better Times

A plaintive plea with some beautiful sax and guitar breaks. “Cold in your eyes, don’t you know you break my heart in two”.

“It’s me talking to a young person who is going through something, addiction or mental health pressure, or whatever, and just saying it’ll be alright. Just get through this bit and there’ll be better times to come, you’ll look back and you’ll see it differently.”

Still Glides The Stream

A stately collaboration between Weller and long-time guitar foil Steve Cradock.

“I had the chords and possibly the melody, which I sent to Cradock. And he sent me back a poem and I edited that, then we sent it back and forth by phone. Lockdown songwriting. I just liked the poem. In my mind, I was thinking about our road sweeper who’s a lovely fellow. I started thinking that there’s so many people in this country who form the infrastructure of it and without whom we’d be fucked. But they’re looked down upon, not really noticed. So I was imagining their story. I did find out that there’s a book of the same name (by Flora Thompson) and Cradock said he had seen it in a shop, so that’s where the title comes from. I just liked the poetry of it. Steve’s a very soulful fella.”

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