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New London based quartet Qwalia, led by drummer Yusuf Ahmed, offer a plethora of influences whilst remaining resolutely itself. Assembled from musicians who play with David Byrne, Joy Crookes, Nubiyan Twist, Frank Ocean, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Cat Stevens and more; Yusuf is joined by Tal Janes on guitars and vocals, Ben Reed on bass and keyboardist Joseph Costi. Qwalia’s debut album ‘Sound And Reason’ is set for release by Alberts Favourites on 24th March 2023.

The name Qwalia stems from the same sounding word Qualia, a philosophy of mind with the property of being an ineffable experience. Qwalia’s music is an instinctive aural expression of how things seemed in the moment of creation.

In April ‘21, Qwalia spent two days recording completely improvised music at the Fish Factory in North West London. There was no plan or preconceived idea of what the music should sound like or what was going to happen.

“We set up altogether in one room, dimmed the lights, pressed record and just played,” says Yusuf. “We came away with over 13 hours of music, which was consolidated into three albums worth of material. The final record is mainly a result of pulling faders up or down to create space and structure out of what was already there from the live recording. The production process felt akin to a sculptor chipping away excess stone to reveal a statue that was already there, and occasionally putting some makeup on it!”

The band members are Pakistani, Italian, Venezuelan, Jewish and English. A reflection of the fact that cultural categories are infinite; Qwalia’s music unconsciously explores identity, exposing what this can mean. Or perhaps that it doesn’t mean anything at all.

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

On 17th March Beat Machine Records present ‘Drifted Entities (Vol. 2)’ – the second instalment in a pair from the mind of genius abstract sound painter Antonio Marini, AKA Healing Force Project. Whereas ‘Vol. 1’ had a dubwise expanse between the primordial space-grooves, here Marini jettisons the former’s amorphous flow, upping the tempo and intensity in an abstract yet funky style. Bearing the hallmarks of a true musician and a scientist, here he splices and assembles myriad sources, effortlessly blurring the lines between jazz funk, jungle and broken beat, making complex ideas work with formidable fluidity. Spring-heeled basslines meet brass, piano, rhodes, and FX, which bob and weave around the detailed framework of beats; the elements dancing freely and independently, but also interlocking and rotating like cogs. At points the album brings to mind Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin’s strange automaton ‘Monkey Drummer’ video, and at others it recalls the latter’s ‘Drukqs’, only more 70s and wigged out. This is not so much ‘Bug In A Bass Bin’, more a hundred alien critters jumping all over Billy Cobham’s kit. Using ‘Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe’ by Albert Ayler as an inspirational foundation, Marini believes that via study, experimentation, and the breaking down of traditional patterns, a remedy begins to radiate through sound. Delving into his world is to embark on his spiritual and musical mission, opening a door to the cosmos, encountering a fathomless presence that simply exists, continuously, whether anyone is listening or not, like a sonic Schrödinger's cat.

For nearly a decade now, Italian born artist Antonio Marini has been going through a sonic adventure known as Healing Force Project. Drawing inspiration from “Music Is The Healing Force of the Universe” by the sax player Albert Ayler, Antonio uses musical experimentation to break down traditional patterns. The creative process becomes a tool to “dismantle modern life boundaries and find a spiritual remedy in the music itself “. His work is extremely hard to pin down as it embraces a diverse spectrum of genres: dabbling into the electric period of Miles Davis and the avant-garde jazz of Anthony Braxton, adding a dash of groovy 70’s funk and slowed down echoes in the style of Lee Scratch Perry. Most important is also Antonio’s passion for electronics, traceable in the distorted sounds and hypnotic rhythms that reference to artists such as The Black Dog and Autechre

Limited to 200 copies that are - in Germany, Switzerland and Austria - only available to HHV customers.

As the momentum continues to build for old-school blues rock trio Ga-20, the band takes their expanding fanbase by storm with the release its first full-length live LP, Live In Loveland!. Featuring 11 rowdy, blistering performances (including five songs from 2022's Crackdown, three from their 2019 debut Lonely Soul and three previously unrecorded tracks), Live In Loveland! captures Ga-20 feeding off the energy of the wall-to-wall crowd and delivering each song with raw emotion and body-shaking force. Live In Loveland! mixes band originals and vintage covers, from early electric blues and honky-tonk country to proto rock 'n' roll, all performed live with deep feeling and punk energy. The album was recorded direct-to-tape on a vintage Tascam 388 at Plaid Room Records in Loveland, Ohio, home of the famous Colemine record label. Produced by Stubbs and engineered by Colemine owner Terry Cole, the band blasts out of the gate playing Harold Burrages' I Cry For You, before tearing into Little Walter's obscure gem My Baby's Sweeter. The previously unrecorded original Hold It One More Time proves to be an instant classic, sitting seamlessly next to the vintage covers on the album. According to guitarist Matthew Stubbs (whose resume includes playing with blues legends Charlie Musselwhite and James Cotton, among others), "There is a special type of energy that is exchanged when we play in front of a live audience, and we definitely feed off of that and wanted to capture that. I love the power and energy of the best live blues albums. Historically, some of the most iconic blues and jazz records have been live ones. B.B. King's Live At The Regal changed my life. So did Hound Dog Taylor's Beware Of The Dog!, and Albert King's Live Wire/Blues Power. We really wanted to continue that tradition and do one of our own."

As the momentum continues to build for old-school blues rock trio Ga-20, the band takes their expanding fanbase by storm with the release its first full-length live LP, Live In Loveland!. Featuring 11 rowdy, blistering performances (including five songs from 2022's Crackdown, three from their 2019 debut Lonely Soul and three previously unrecorded tracks), Live In Loveland! captures Ga-20 feeding off the energy of the wall-to-wall crowd and delivering each song with raw emotion and body-shaking force. Live In Loveland! mixes band originals and vintage covers, from early electric blues and honky-tonk country to proto rock 'n' roll, all performed live with deep feeling and punk energy. The album was recorded direct-to-tape on a vintage Tascam 388 at Plaid Room Records in Loveland, Ohio, home of the famous Colemine record label. Produced by Stubbs and engineered by Colemine owner Terry Cole, the band blasts out of the gate playing Harold Burrages' I Cry For You, before tearing into Little Walter's obscure gem My Baby's Sweeter. The previously unrecorded original Hold It One More Time proves to be an instant classic, sitting seamlessly next to the vintage covers on the album. According to guitarist Matthew Stubbs (whose resume includes playing with blues legends Charlie Musselwhite and James Cotton, among others), "There is a special type of energy that is exchanged when we play in front of a live audience, and we definitely feed off of that and wanted to capture that. I love the power and energy of the best live blues albums. Historically, some of the most iconic blues and jazz records have been live ones. B.B. King's Live At The Regal changed my life. So did Hound Dog Taylor's Beware Of The Dog!, and Albert King's Live Wire/Blues Power. We really wanted to continue that tradition and do one of our own."

Reissue of this italo disco classic from 1986 by the late Albert One Reissue of this italo disco classic from 1986 by the late Albert One Reissue of this italo disco classic from 1986 by the late Albert One

Energy MC2 began as an energetic bunch of 10 and 11year old neighborhood kids, who initially formed a band under the name of ‘Congressional Funk’ while still attending elementary school. The founding members were Vincent Bonham, Opelton Parker (the brother of Ray Parker Jr), brothers Ufuoma and Eric Wallace, with the later addition of Fred Gordon. Within months of the group’s formation, they began entering and winning local talent shows in between performances at local churches and backyard parties. A little over a year later, they initially became the backing band for local recording artists Mad Dog & The Pups going on to feature on their earliest Magic City releases “Hep Squeeze” (MC-007) (which they provided the horn section on) and the follow up release “Funky Monkey” (MC-009). A change of name to ‘The Soulful Hounds’ followed which they are credited as on the instrumental flipside of Mad Dog & The Pups vocal version of “Why Did You Leave Me Girl” Magic City (MC-012). The age of band members now ranged from 11 to13 year old, and featured the four founding members with the addition of Leslie Bass, (Fred Gordon by then having left the group). Between recording sessions they continued playing their own stage shows mainly covering hit songs of the day. During one particular performance, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield made an approach to Mad Dog & The Pups and The Soulful Hounds with an invitation to join Motown. Unfortunately, the kids were already under contract to Magic City and label owners Ernest and Barbara Burt was not about to let one of their acts go to a rival label.

After leaving Magic City, the band went through a several changes in both name and personnel and became one of the biggest bands on the local Detroit music scene. At this point the band hired a bass player Ben "Rat Bass" Adkins, who brought with him the name of his former band, ‘Energy’. Then by borrowing Albert Einstein’s formula for special relativity (E=MC2) which they added to their inherited name ‘Energy’ in doing so they were able distinguish themselves from Adkins former band. Energy MC2 also from time to time featured three female members Marlene Rice, Gwen Laster and Patricia King who played violin, viola, xylophone and bells. These girls would often provide background vocals when required. They were primarily recruited to add a string section to the band and became affectionately known as the MC3 Orchestra.

Ben Adkins later left the band, going on to play with Creative Source, Lonnie Smith and The Jackson’s (he, being Jermaine Jackson's replacement). ENERGY MC2 soon after began to seriously record original material which included the previously unissued 70’s dance track “If You Break It” which gained a belated 45 release on Soul Junction Records in 2016 to great acclaim. The group line up on “If You Break It” included Vincent Bonham, Ufuoma Akil-Wallace, Arnell Carmichael, Ernestro Wilson, Opelton Parker, Gordon Carlton, Eric Wallace, Leon Lopez, Marvin Carlton and Marlene Rice. While an earlier session had yielded two further unissued tracks firstly “Other Side Of The Mirror” featuring the same line up of musicians as “If You Break It” but with the addition of a second female vocalist Gwen Laster, this too also gained a belated release as the flipside of the SJ536 45 release. While the second song “Juliane” a beautiful mellifluous soulful ballad which featured Arnell Carmichael, Vincent Bonham, Ufuomo Akill- Wallace, Eric Wallace Gordon and Marvin Carlton on it’s recording. (“Juliane” was to also gain a belated release on the now long deleted Soul Junction compilation album “We Got A Sweet Thing Going On” Volume 2 SJCD 5011).

Following a later move to Atlanta GA, Energy MC2 signed on with The Greer Agency who also represented, The Commodores, Brass Construction, Mother's Finest, New Birth, Brick, Little Richard etc. This association led the band to perform it's own brand of Pop, R&B, Funk and Jazz throughout the Southern states, from Arkansas to the Carolinas. Sometime during 1974 several members of Energy MC2 boarded a Greyhound bus and took a road trip to Los Angeles. During their week-long stay in L.A. Vincent Bonham, Ufuoma Akil-Wallace, Arnell Carmichael, Ernestro Wilson, Opelton Parker, Eric Wallace, Gordon and Marvin Carlton joined lead guitarist Ray Parker Jr in a recording session that produced amongst others the following two songs the mellifluous “You And Only You” and “Love To Make Love To You” featuring Arnell Carmichael on lead vocals. A session that was to remain unissued in the can that was until a chance meeting many years later between UK Record Dealer and DJ Dave Thorley. Ufuoma Wallace allowed Dave to hear this unissued session and it was Dave who brought this session to the UK Soul Junction label’s attention. Later on Vince Bonham and Arnell Carmichael parted company with their fellow Energy MC2 members to join Ray Parker Jr and Jerry Knight in forming the band ‘Raydio’, they were also later joined by Arnell’s brother Darren London Carmichael. A teenage Ray Parker had learnt his trade as a member of Hamilton Bohannon’s House Band at Detroit famous 20 Grand Theatre during the late 60’s. Into the 1970’s he featured as a session guitarist on many of Holland, Dozier and Holland’s Invictus and Hotwax sessions with his noticeable “Choppy” guitar style being very prominent on Honey Cone’s number one single “Wants Ad’s”. Ray’s work also featured on Lamont Dozier’s first two ABC albums. Further session work with Stevie Wonder was to follow, an association that was to prompt Ray to permanently relocate to L.A. Once there he also became a part of Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra. In addition to the previously mentioned artists Ray’s work and writing credits can be found on a plethora of other recording artists sessions, for example The Temptations, Michael Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Rufus & Chaka Khan. Ray’s first bona fide song writing hit came in 1974 with a song he co-wrote with Chaka Khan “You Got The Love”. Raydio scored a #8 billboard hit with “Jack & Jill” from the Arista album of the same name during 1978 while a second single from the album “Is This A Love Thing” reached # 20 in the same year. Their 1979 Album ‘Rock On’ spawned the hit single “You Can’t Change That” reaching #9 on billboard. By 1980 Jerry Knight had left to persue a solo career and the group became Ray Parker Jr & Raydio. Three more top 40 hits followed, “Two Places At The Same Time” again from the album of the same name #8 on Billboard (1980) and from the groups final studio album two singles “The old Song” reaching #21 on billboard and their biggest hit and title track from the album “A Woman Needs Love (Just Like I Do)” reaching #4 on Billboard both in 1981 at which point the group broke up with Ray Parker wanting to go solo.

Ray Parkers solo career would see him score six top 40 hits including “The Other Woman” reaching #4 in the pop charts and the song that he will be forever associated with “Ghostbusters” the title track of the box office hit film of the same name a#1 Billboard hit for 3 weeks in 1984. Given only 2 days to write the title song Ray duly obliged but he never actually sings the word “Ghostbusters” following his question “Who you Gonna Call” it’s the crowd on the set that reply “Ghostbusters”! Ray also became involved in small screen and video acting roles.

In 2014 original members Arnell Carmichael and Vincent Bonham joined by James Carmichael and a up and coming young singer Giovanni Rogers revived “Raydio” featuring as a support act on several major tours. As for the other members of Energy MC2, Ufouma Wallace went on to play with artists such as The Four Tops, The Temptations and Michael Henderson. Eric Wallace and Ernestro Andre' Wilson both played with Michael Henderson's touring band. Eric Wallace played and recorded with Stevie Wonder. Ernestro Wilson also played with the Franklyn Sisters Areatha and Carolyn, as well as Cheryl Lynn and Bettye LaVette amongst others. Other group members, Gordon Carlton, twin brothers Jimmy and Jerome Ali, cousin Kenny Colton and Ernestro Wilson again became the band for ‘Parlet’ (part of the P-Funk family) that helped George Clinton land the Mothership!

Energy MC2 first 45 “If You Break It/Other Side Of The Mirror” first saw the light of day during 2016 and a follow up 45 of two further songs was never far from my thoughts but I was always told that those were Ray Parker Jr’s arrangements and that I would need to deal with him. Over the ensuing years of involvement in securing licensing deals I finally got a contact number for Ray, and duly called him up (and yes he does have the Ghostbusters theme tune as his ringtone!). The Energy MC2 lost session was just a vague and distant memory to Ray but after sending him a copy of the tape transfer to listen to the memories soon came flooding back. Ray was only too pleased to agree to my proposal exclaiming let’s do it Dave it sounds like fun! and so the Energy MC2 stories circle is now complete.

Words by: David Welding & Vincent Bonham

One of the most interesting young names within the Bergen and Norwegian jazz scene is saxophonist Aksel Røed. He’s playing with many different bands and constellations, including General Post Office and Dag Arnesen, and he is in high demand as a player. With Other Aspects, Aksel Røed has put together an 8-piece ensemble of his friends from different bands, and he draws on his inspirations from the old saxophone recordings of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders, but also in the composing mind of Django Bates and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra. As he explains himself: Other Aspects allows me to constantly drift into different directions and usually with short notice. The music is composed but not set, meaning it’s perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged to think and play outside the box. Most of the magic within the band lies in the free improvisation. Recorded in Duper Studio in Bergen, “Do You Dream in Colours?” is a massive piece of an album. And as a proper old jazz album, it comes with liner notes from the old Norwegian jazz veteran Knut Kristiansen.

James Brandon Lewis is a New York-based jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His instrumental voice marries the emotional power of gospel and the grit and groove of blues and R&B to the modal and vanguard influences of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins" expressive melodic and tonal discipline. Moments, his 2010 debut, was followed by two outings for Sony Masterworks" revived OKeh imprint: Divine Travels in 2014 and the widely celebrated Days of Freeman the following year. After working American stages and clubs, he toured European and Asian festivals. Radiant Imprints, a duo outing with drummer Chad Taylor, appeared in 2018 and was followed by the quintet offering An UnRuly Manifesto a year later. In 2021, after he was selected as the "Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist" in the Downbeat International Critics Poll, Lewis issued The Jesup Wagon, his debut for Tao Forms.Along the way, Lewis drew the attention of many improvising artists, most notably the saxophonist and jazz deity Sonny Rollins, who doesn"t offer effusive praise very often. Moved by Lewis" deep, spirit-seeking sound, Rollins said "When I listen to you, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius ... I listen to the deeper meaning of life. You are keeping the world in balance."Eye of I opens with 44 seconds of gritty, high-throttling low-down groove, an ear pulverizing opening designed to cleanse all traces of ordinary from the palette. From there, Lewis offers a prayerful cover of Donnie Hathaway"s "Someday We"ll All Be Free" and then the first of his disarmingly addictive originals, "The Blues Still Blossoms" in addition to many others.

Blue Note Records will release the first-ever official release of Donald Byrd Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux on what would have been the legendary trumpeter’s 90th birthday: December 9, 2022. The LP of the dynamic 1973 live set is all-analog cut directly from the original analog master tapes.



In July 1973, Blue Note Records headed to Montreux, Switzerland to showcase several of the label’s stars at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Produced by Blue Note President George Butler, live albums all titled Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux followed from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, organist Ronnie Foster, flutist Bobbi Humphrey, and vocalist Marlena Shaw, but one of the performances by trumpeter Donald Byrd remained unreleased in the Blue Note vaults, until now.

Donald Byrd: trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals - Fonce Mizell: trumpet, vocals - Allan Barnes: tenor saxophone, flute - Nathan Davis: tenor & soprano saxophone - Kevin Toney: electric piano - Larry Mizell: synthesizers - Barney Perry: electric guitar - Henry Franklin: electric bass - Keith Killgo: drums, vocals - Ray Armando: congas, percussion



Original recordings produced by George Butler

Recorded live by Chris Penycote at Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, July 5, 1973

Mixed by Qmillion at EastWest Studios Los Angeles, CA


1-lp, 180g, unprinted polylined paper inner sleeve.

With the "Trios" album project, saxophonist Charles Lloyd is fulfilling himself an unusual dream: three thematically related albums, each with a different trio line-up, a "Trio of Trios". The first album "Chapel" he recorded with guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan, followed by "Ocean" with guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Gerald Clayton. "Sacred Thread" with guitarist Julian Lage and drummer Zakir Hussain is now the crowning glory.



1-lp, 180g, padded inner sleeve.

Sunda Arc are brothers Nick Smart and Jordan Smart, best known as two-thirds of jazz-influenced minimalists Mammal Hands, and on the 18thNovember, they are set to release their sophomore album 'Night Lands' via Gondwana Records, home to such artists as GoGo Penguin, Portico Quartet, Hania Rani and Forgiveness.

Releasing their debut EP 'Flicker' in 2018, Sunda Arc have performed live at AB Brussels, Blue Dot Festival, The Roundhouse, Jazz Café, Reworks Festival, the Royal Albert Hall and Albert Hall, Manchester with GoGo Penguin. Their debut album 'Tides', released in 2020, received high praise from numerous tastemaker media including DJ magazine who described their music as "sounding like John Hopkins' long-lost sibling".

Sunda Arc channels Nick and Jordan's love of electronic and dance music, without losing any of their deep musicality. Drawing on techno, electronica, neo-classical and post-rock influences, Sunda Arc compose and perform using both electronic and acoustic instruments, including analogue synthesisers, home-made software patches, piano, saxophones and bass clarinet – all finessed and channelled through their own unique creative strategies. Integrating electronic elements and experimentation with the expressiveness and energy of acoustic instruments and live performance, Sunda Arc's music is expansive and compelling. "We wanted 'Night Lands' to be an exciting listen, deliberately keeping some elements under control and having other elements of the tracks feeling like they were on the edge of tipping over into being pretty chaotic. There was also the idea of generally keeping the drums and bass pretty heavy sounding when they kick in, imaging how they would sound over a big system and then holding back and focusing on melody and texture when they weren't needed."

From the warm, melodic textures of 'Distant Siren' and 'Beacons' to the ethereal rumblings of 'Endless Fields' and 'Night Lands', Sunda Arc immerse and engulf the listener, expanding simple melodies into bold rhythmic patterns, allowing the acoustic sounds to submerge with the electronic for maximum emotional and dramatic effect. A common theme for 'Night Lands', the duo's enthusiasm to incorporate digital and analogue sounds seamlessly and blur the line between the two, results in a sound world that has both the warmth of analogue sounds and the cold, crispness of digital. "We wanted to manipulate acoustic instruments to make them sound more like samples or older recordings at points, like with the Turkish Ney flute on 'Neon Forest' that we pitch shifted and saturated to sound more like we'd sampled an old 70s recording."

Elsewhere, 'Static Waves' and 'Forgotten Dream' use familiar and foreign sounds with an emphasis on tone and atmosphere to create a soundscape that feels like home and alien at the same time. ""We were trying to make sure the ambient moments felt really alive on this record, like a living, breathing sound world, trying to avoid things sounding too placid. We wanted them to feel just as engaging as the tracks with heavy beats so were always looking at ways to inject as much life and character into them as we could, often recording things to tape and using real tape delays to add a bit of character and fuzzy warmth to things and combining that with more cold, clinical elements."

At times, Sunda Arc create a harsh, brutal world allowing the sound to manipulate the listener's emotional response to each track. "We were talking about dystopian themes a fair bit when we were writing the tunes and I think being in London during the lockdown definitely had an impact on our mindset at the time. The two radio samples on 'Neon Forest' and 'Static Waves' are both just random stations we found on fm radio and recorded some short sections but I both were talking about Covid related stuff. We definitely didn't feel like making a celebratory or joyful record at that point, it was much more of an introspective and moody set of tracks we were focusing on and I guess the feeling of missing being able to go out or see friends and family played a part in this."

- First time reissue, remastered from original master tapes- Gatefold 2LP with period photos and new liner notes byClifford Allen- Download code included with 30 minutes of additionalbonus material- feat. Richard Peck, Robert Prado, Rusty Gilder, Jon Smith, Alan Braufman, David Lee- For Fans of Coltrane, Coleman, Ayler//On February 19, 1972, a crew of mostly Louisiana-raisedmusicians came together at the Leo Castelli Gallery on WestBroadway in Soho to perform a wholly improvised concert. Thisensemble's solos spring from collective improvisations and atumultuous backbeat, loosely inspired by the creations ofColtrane, Coleman, Albert Ayler, and their brethren. The de factoleader was Richard "Dickie" Landry, a saxophonist andkeyboardist who joined composer Philip Glass's group in 1969.Landry had become a fixture in downtown New York's loft and artscenes at the close of the 1960s, after he high-tailed it by carfrom Louisiana to the Lower East Side and auspiciouslyencountered Ornette Coleman at the Village Gate the night of hisarrival.For this concert, fellow Glass reedists Jon Smith and Richard Peckjoined in, alongside Rusty Gilder and Robert Prado, both doublingon bass (upright and electric) and trumpet. The drum chair wasoccupied by New Orleans firecracker David Lee, Jr., who broughtalto saxophonist Alan Braufman along for the session (Braufmanwas the only non-Louisiana player in the band). The ensemblestretched out in the gallery for several hours in a configurationreflecting those that took place at Landry's Chinatown loft,documented in photos by artists Tina Girouard and Suzanne Harristhat adorn the inside of the original gatefold album jacket.Recorded live by Glass' sound engineer Kurt Munkacsi, the albumwas released as a double LP on Chatham Square, the small imprintLandry and Glass co-ran, in a stark greyscale cover and simplytitled Solos. The order of the players' improvisations was laid outon the album inner labels, though unsurprising...

All three albums of saxophonist Charles Lloyd's "Trios" project in one luxurious LP set. Contains „Chapel” (feat. Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan), “Ocean” (feat. Anthony Wilson and Gerald Clayton) and “Sacred Thread” (feat. Julian Lage and Zakir Hussain) in a sturdy slipcase

3 LPs, 3 x 180g, padded inner sleeves, slipcase

Wesseltoft Schwarz return with a new selection of tracks, DUO II, demonstrating that while neither acclaimed jazz composer and keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft nor electronics maestro and producer Henrik Schwarz could be described as predictable, as a duo they are absolutely mercurial. Their natural affinity and symbiotic musical relationship seem to provide both with equal amounts of inquisitive, experimental and creative energy, and all without sacrificing their accessibility.
This second collaboration album (or third, if you also include the equally superb "Trialogue" where the duo was joined by bassist Dan Berglund - of EST, Tonbruket and RYMDEN fame) travels the sonic landscapes of their imaginations, in all directions. Like its predecessor, the album retains that organic quality that allowed the music to breathe and expand, blurring the distinction between electronic and acoustic, and between live and sampled performance. However, that is where the similarities end, as this time their stylistic mutations have followed different paths, and they have augmented their sound with guest musicians and vocalists, conjuring different vibes, sounds, methods and moods - all while remaining distinctly Wesseltoft Schwarz.

"Willie "Junei" Lee spent the first half of the 1970s playing guitar with his older brother Robert Lee in the self-contained band Lost Weekend, recording a handful of singles and a still unreleased LP. The back half of the decade was spent touring with Albert King, Curtis Mayfield, and The Emotions, before returning home to Gary, Indiana, to focus on his own sound. In 1985, Junei's girlfriend brought home a suite of Fostex home studio gear, including a 12 channel board, 8-track tape machine, and a halftrack for mix downs. He added a Yamaha drum machine and a Maestro echoplex and started his solo project. "The only artists I listened to was Hendrix and Santana," Junei said. The emissions coming from his home studio were entirely different, however, as "Let's Ride" channels the Euro sensibilities of Kraftwerk or Italo over virtuosic guitar. "I just didn't want to sound like anyone else," he continued. "Let's Ride" achieved that differentiation, and managed to anticipate Chicago house by a few years. Pressed in minuscule numbers in 1987 on Pharaohs Records, the 45 never connected with the nearby scenes in Chicago and Detroit where it might have found purchase in fertile soils. Decades later "Let's Ride" found new life as the bed for KAYTRANADA's "Scared To Death," and the track has slowly worked its way through the algorithm to a new generation of vapor huffers. "I am all for experimentation, trying new things, etc," Junei said. "Kaytranada is a visionary and a talented producer. He has my respect.""

This HHV Exclusive Edition of the new Mighty Mocambos album ist limited to 200 copies. Mocambo and HHV continue their tradition of cooperation with this new gem.
A unique longplayer by Germany's Funk champions The Mighty Mocambos: 'Scénarios' is a wild journey through iconic performances captured on 8-track tape, including celebrated versions of breakdance favourites like 'Axel F.' And 'Let The Music Play' as well as brand new original material composed especially for recordings in unusual settings.

Hamburg's deep funk chefs are known for their intuitive recordings that capture the energy of a live performance, and with this record they go all the way.

Just before the pandemic, the group recorded an in-store live session at legendary Hamburg record shop Groove City and taped an impromptu performance at JAM PDM! breakdance battle in Potsdam. Both were released on vinyl 45s, quickly sold out and became secret weapons for DJs. While most bands shifted their stage to the studio in 2020, producing an abundance of isolated lockdown-inspired material, the Mighty Mocambos – never shy of an antidote - took the mobile version of their recording studio on the road.

With no audience allowed at the Pitt Hopkins Music Session charity concert, the group used the occasion to compose meditative folk-soul instrumentals to be performed exclusively on stringed instruments. Sweaty funk does not work via video stream, but the format provided a welcome opportunity to create something entirely different. Even without electricity and drums, the cinematic "Four Two Three" and "Silent Heroes" are unmistakably recognizable as Mocambo themes.

When you follow Nina Simone's credo that an "artist's duty is to reflect the times", it became evident that once the world slowly started opening up again, further concerts would be captured on the group's portable Fostex R-8 tape machine. Luckily, restrictions fell on the very evening that the band hit the open air stage at the Import Export in Munich on September 11th 2021. The extended afrobeat-inspired jam on J.J. Cale's "Carry On" witnesses people celebrating and dancing together again for the first time after a year and the manic "Munich Psycholympics" unleashes all bottled-up energies that had being lying dormant.

The slightly kafka-esque "Ghost Walk" was taped during a soundcheck for a concert that was eventually called off for safety reasons, reflecting once more the uncertainty of the time. The last scénario sees the Mighty Mocambos returning to a packed indoor venue, playing "Let The Music Play" to a audience of b-boys and -girls – a testament to the sheer power of music. Featured as an encore here, an acoustic version of "Where Do We Go From Here?" (originally recorded with Lee Fields) closes the record and its restless voyage through unusual recording situations.

"Scénarios" differs drastically from other live albums as it does not seek to replicate existing material from studio albums. All songs were written or arranged especially for the live recordings in order to combine the group's DJ-friendly trademark sound with added vibes and momentum from the audience. Most of them were recorded while they were performed in public for the first time ever.

"Willie "Junei" Lee spent the first half of the 1970s playing guitar with his older brother Robert Lee in the self-contained band Lost Weekend, recording a handful of singles and a still unreleased LP. The back half of the decade was spent touring with Albert King, Curtis Mayfield, and The Emotions, before returning home to Gary, Indiana, to focus on his own sound. In 1985, Junei's girlfriend brought home a suite of Fostex home studio gear, including a 12 channel board, 8-track tape machine, and a halftrack for mix downs. He added a Yamaha drum machine and a Maestro echoplex and started his solo project. "The only artists I listened to was Hendrix and Santana," Junei said. The emissions coming from his home studio were entirely different, however, as "Let's Ride" channels the Euro sensibilities of Kraftwerk or Italo over virtuosic guitar. "I just didn't want to sound like anyone else," he continued. "Let's Ride" achieved that differentiation, and managed to anticipate Chicago house by a few years. Pressed in minuscule numbers in 1987 on Pharaohs Records, the 45 never connected with the nearby scenes in Chicago and Detroit where it might have found purchase in fertile soils. Decades later "Let's Ride" found new life as the bed for KAYTRANADA's "Scared To Death," and the track has slowly worked its way through the algorithm to a new generation of vapor huffers. "I am all for experimentation, trying new things, etc," Junei said. "Kaytranada is a visionary and a talented producer. He has my respect.""

For nearly a decade now, Italian born artist Antonio Marini has been going through a sonic adventure known as Healing Force Project. Drawing inspiration from “Music Is The Healing Force of the Universe” by the sax player Albert Ayler, Antonio uses musical experimentation to break down traditional patterns. The creative process becomes a tool to “dismantle modern life boundaries and find a spiritual remedy in the music itself “. His work is extremely hard to pin down as it embraces a diverse spectrum of genres: dabbling into the electric period of Miles Davis and the avant-garde jazz of Anthony Braxton, adding a dash of groovy 70’s funk and slowed down echoes in the style of Lee Scratch Perry. Most important is also Antonio’s passion for electronics, traceable in the distorted sounds and hypnotic rhythms that reference to artists such as The Black Dog and Autechre. HFP has released with several cutting edge labels among which Firecracker Recording, Lifeforms, Tending The Void, Eclipse Music, Amenthia Recordings and Acido Records. Along his journey he played festivals such as the Italian landmark of experimentalism and sustainability, Terraforma, Berlin Atonal, Modulo Fest and as a supporting act @Argo16 for Sun Ra Arkestra.