Search "Bacao Rhythm Steel Band" 589 Items

Save The Last Dance For Me

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Put your dancing shoes and be ready to kill the dancefloor, the intoxicating highlife music known as Edo Funk from Benin City, Nigeria is back. Following the planetary success of our „Edo Funk Explosion Vol.1“ project we have now unearthed „No Food Without Taste If By Hunger“ by „The Good Samaritans“, one of the most obscure Nigerian album ever recorded. Originally released in 1982, the bands first album is full of bouncy basslines, raw trance-like grooves and tripped-out psychedelic guitars, a funk experience unlike any other.

„The Good Samaritans“ is Philosopher Okundaye’s own Edo-Funk project, under which name he produced four albums, all recorded at Phonodisk Studio in Ijebu-Igbo east of Lagos with a 24 track. Okundaye who played many instruments, engaged the right musicians for each project and mixed the whole thing himself, is known as the composer of a large part of Benin City’s celebrated hits in the 80s. His name keeps popping up but somehow his role in the scene remains a bit hazy, giving the character an image of something like the gray eminence of Edo funk.

Due to its private pressing in a probably very small edition, „No Food Without Taste If By Hunger“ is very difficult to find. With this reissue limited to 2000 copies - newly mastered by Nick Robbins and approved by Philosopher Okundaye himself - „The Good Samaritans“ make a welcome and long-overdue return to turntables around the world in a beautiful Silk-Screen printed cover and an orange colored vinyl pressed on 180g high quality vinyl. This is funk stripped down to its primal essence, driving rhythms mixed with highlife horns, sweet keyboards and psychedelic guitar riffs, pushing the limits of dance moves towards cosmic dancefloors.

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The Drifters

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Wagram)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Cattrack)

Chicken Grass

LP | 1988 | EU | Reissue (Arabusta)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Finland’s best kept secret Chicken Grass is releasing a long-awaited debut album - Chicken Grass Chicken Grass has been playing together for 25 years and has developed a unique sound (Swamp Soul !) over the years. The band gets inspiration from different styles of afro-american rhythm music: funk, soul, hip hop and jazz. You can hear influences from the roots but also from today’s modern music. The band consists of some of the best musicians in Finland. The members are: Tapio Wiik (voc, keys), Janne Valppu (bass), Mikko Räisänen (guitar), Olli Tuomainen (sax,flute) and Janne Mathlin (drums). Sensational singer Princess Shaw from New Orleans features on two songs. The album was recorded live in Philophon studio in Berlin with grammy awarded producer Max Weissenfeldt (Poets Of The Rhythm, Dr.John) and sound engineer/producer Stibbo Spitzmuller. The recordings were done with vintage gear, which lends the album a retro yet fresh feeling. Chicken Grass wanted to make an album like the old classics in the 60’s and 70’s, which meant recording it live without any loops or samples. Chicken Grass is not ”fakin the funk” as they say! The first 45 single from the album (Snakebites/Trading Bullet) got a lot of positive feedback from music lovers all around the world. It was released by the legendary Tramp Records. Radio shows like the Craig Charles funk soul show on the BBC Radio 6 Music have been playing the single. A Finnish radio DJ even said ”this band is going to be the future of Finnish music”. Each song in the album is unique and stands on its own. You can hear the whole spectrum of funk and soul in the album. There are vibes from James Brown and Jimmy Castro Bunch (Have A Break), Curtis Mayfield style gospel soul (Sister Rosetta’s Train), P-Funk inspired modern funk (Woman), Blue-Eyed Soul (Street Haze), Isaac Hayes and psychedelic soul (Right Face), Dubby Blues (Jailbird) and African disco-funk (Pyroclastic). The band also focused on the quality of the lyrics. All in all, the album is a perfect combination of styles and genres, old and new, hi-fi and lo-fi, but the sound is still unique Chicken Grass. The more you listen to the album, the more it grows on you. You can hear the depth of the songs and the experience of the band with each playthrough.

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Pluto Shervington

Rhythm Of The City

LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Astigmatic)

Release: 1988 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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* First ever official reissue * LP includes insert featuring lyrics and liner notes with artist bio and album story * Pressed on black vinyl

Rhythm Of The City

The time was 1988, and urban life in Miami was at its apex. After having moved from Jamaica to The Magic City in the summer of 1977, Pluto saw the future. Rhythm Of The City fully expresses this forward thrust, where technology, nightlife, love and urban vibes mingle in an exciting vision of a past future. Recorded at Earthman Studio in Miami, and produced by Geoffrey Chung, the album overthrows the normal rules of reggae, mixing it together with funk, soul and disco, and giving birth to what Pluto himself describes as urban reggae folklore.

Pluto Shervington

Leighton “Pluto” Shervington was born in Kingston, Jamaica on August 13th 1950. Determined to be a musician for as long as he remembers, Pluto built his very first guitar with his own hands, and in 1966, at the age of sixteen, joined his first band: The Presidents. After The Presidents came The Hurricanes, and in 1968 he became a member of the showband Tomorrow’s Children.

After releasing hits like I Man Bitter, Ram Goat Liver, Dat, Your Honour and I Man Born Ya, Pluto climbed the charts, both in Jamaica and overseas, and established his solo career, selling tens of thousands of copies with every album release. In 1972 he founded Sound Associates Limited, a recording studio which provided radio, TV and advertising agencies with original jingles produced on a sixteen-track reel to reel recorder and a twenty-four-track mixing board which Pluto had bought from Byron Lee.

In 1977, due to political shifts in Jamaica, Pluto moved to Miami, where he formed Pluto & Co. The band played regularly for eighteen years at Sunday’s On The Bay in Key Biscayne, Florida, and in June 1982 toured throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. In August 1984, Pluto returned to Jamaica on tour, performing at the Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay. Through the years, Pluto continued his musical career between the United States and Jamaica, and is yet to stop experimenting and exploring what he can do with reggae music.

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Tomasz Stanko Quintet

Wooden Music I

LP | 1985 | UK | Reissue (Theresa / Pure Pleasure)

Release: 2023 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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It would appear that Polish jazz is a well-known subject through and through. Dozens of outstanding albums, biographies of the masters, hundreds of journal articles. As it turns out, it is still possible to find music that has been waiting for years to be discovered. On the 80th birthday of Tomasz Stańko, Astigmatic Records presents the first part of Wooden Music, a conceptual project created by the maestro and his legendary quintet, which has been stored in the archives of Radio Bremen for 50 years.

Tomasz Stańko was an exceptional Polish jazz trumpeter. He passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of numerous releases, soundtracks, concert recordings and wild stories involving him. Before rising to the top, he honed his craft alongside Krzysztof Komeda and Andrzej Trzaskowski. In the mid-1960s, he appeared on Astigmatic and Polish Jazz Vol. 4 – the albums that were a creative manifesto for Polish jazz of those years. However, all this time he was constantly thinking about starting his own band.

In 1968 he completed the line-up – Janusz Stefański on drums, Bronisław Suchanek on double bass, Janusz Muniak on tenor saxophone and Zbigniew Seifert on alto saxophone, which he soon replaced with the violin. Stańko classified the quintet's output into three periods. The first, composed, is associated with Music for K, Stańko's publishing debut as a leader, which became a permanent entry in the canon of Polish jazz records. The second period is wooden music – it's the free jazz period, the least known in the quintet's history despite the fact that it spanned more than three years. The third and final period is linked to the release of the band's final album, the cult Purple Sun. However, the entire period between Music for K and Purple Sun is shrouded in mystery, as the band was mainly in Western Europe at the time. In the early 1970s, all the musicians take one-year visas. In between tours they live in Germany: first in a hippie commune in Wurtzburg, then in Darmstadt. They play in clubs on a day by day basis. The quintet is said to be distinguished from other bands by their ability to completely "burn" in the fire of improvisation. They lead their lives as a single organism, touring without wives or girlfriends. The compositions are blurred, the fascination with free music prevails. Short pieces and motives are the starting point for further performance. The ensemble does not plan, they just play. On 28 May 1972 they play at the Iserlohn jazz festival. JG Records would release this performance as Jazzmessage from Poland. The very music recorded there represents what the quintet called Wooden Music.

The foundation of wooden music is the sound of the double bass and the violin, but it soon becomes apparent that all instruments except for Tomasz Stańko's trumpet are wooden. A string orchestra is born, over which the metal trumpet can weave all sorts of hues accompanied by the saxophone. What fascinates the quintet in wooden music is the melody, rhythm and timbre - where these are usually just an element, they fill the entire piece in their case. Bronisław Suchanek, the last living member of the quintet, recalls:

"Wooden music is all about total improvisation. We used to arrive at a gig, start playing without really knowing where we were heading. The only thing that guided us was the common and mental compatibility, understanding, friendship and respect along this musical journey. Music was the first most important element to attribute to – it was free jazz in its purest form. If there are any moments that seem orchestrated it is because we played together for several years, evening after evening, going from club to club. We knew each other better than our parents knew us, we had total trust in each other – that's what made this music exist in the way it did."

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Tomasz Stanko's birthday, Astigmatic Records in cooperation with Tomasz Stańko Foundation and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will be releasing two parts of Wooden Music: the first on 5th December 2022, and the second in the first half of 2023. Both albums released by Astigmatic Records add to the little-known history of the quintet, the most important episode in their lives, as the band's musicians used to refer to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Wooden Music I will be released via Astigmatic Records in digital, CD and LP versions; what's more, a limited red vinyl edition including a B2 poster designed by Natalia Łabędź will also be available. The pre-order of the LP will be launched on 4th November 2022.

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Pharaoh Sanders

Shukuru

36,99 €*

Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop

Release: 1985 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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180g, standard sleeve, re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Air Mastering, London

Pharoah Sanders' "Shukuru" is noteworthy as being the album that reunited Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas, who sang on some of Sanders' most endearing and powerful compositions-- among them the legendary "The Creator Has a Masterplan".

Thomas only joins the band on two tracks-- "Mas in Brooklyn (Highlife)" and "Sun Song". The former gets a full calypso reading complete with steel drum sounds and chanted vocals traded between Sanders and Thomas. It's a lot of fun, but by and large, throwaway. The latter is one of the true gems on the album-- a pretty ballad that serves as both a launching point for Sanders' best balladry and Thomas' vocal, with the latter soaring in his upper register wordlessly between verses intoned in his trademark baritone. It's by and large simply stunning.

The rest of the record has got its issues however, and by and large this comes in the part of Henderson's synthesizer-- while his piano tone is virtually indistinguishable from an acoustic piano, several tracks receive irritating synth vocals or strings (it's really hard to tell which, it's fairly indistinct and obnoxious), mangling otherwise fine performances of traditional tenor feature "Body and Soul", Sanders-penned "Jitu" (although admittedly the leader manages such a powerful solo it gets past it) and an absolutely breathtaking reading of "Too Young to Go Steady". At least opener "Shukuru" and closing funereal piece "For Big George" are spared this as the use of synths of them are far more tasteful (although one questions Sanders' choice to intone his wife's name over the former's smokey lines, but that's another story). by Vine Voice

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Stark Reality

2LP | 1970 | US | Reissue (Now-Again)

36,99 €*

Suonando La Batteria Moderna

Release: 1970 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Definitive reissue of the album Mojo Magazine called “one of the most prized 'funk’ artifacts of all time... a project that allies Hendrix-stoned guitars, heavily-fuzzed vibraphone and Bitches Brew rhythms…” Lacquered by Bernie Grundman in an all-analog transfer directly from the master tapes. Contains an extensive, oversized booklet with rare photos, liner notes and annotation. The story of The Stark Reality’s Discovers The Hoagy Carmichael’s Music Shop begins in Boston the late 1960s, with a wild jazz – as psychedelic as they were modal, as funky as they were swinging - band based in Boston landing a deal with Ahmad Jamal’s nascent AJP imprint after the legendary jazz pianist heard their demo recordings. They had been tasked by the great American songsmith Hoagy Carmichael’s son, Hoagy Bix Carmichael, to create interpretations of the elder Carmichael’s children songs for a Mr. Rogers-themed show that the younger Carmichael was producing for local PBS affiliate Wgbh. The quartet - Monty Stark on vibes, Phil Morrison on bass, Vinnie Johnson on drums and a very young John Abercrombie on fuzz guitar – recorded an album that flopped upon its initial release and went on to become one of – as Mojo Magazine noted - “the most prized 'funk’ artifacts of all time... a project that allies Hendrix-stoned guitars, heavily-fuzzed vibraphone and Bitches Brew rhythms…” Now-Again Records, who has kept the Stark Reality’s music in print since 2002, presents the definitive reissue of The Stark Reality’s Discovers The Hoagy Carmichael’s Music Shop. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman in an all-analog transfer directly from the master tapes maintained by the Stark Reality’s photographer Jim Bourne, it’s presented in a replica gatefold sleeve, and contains an extensive, oversized page booklet with rare photos, liner notes and annotation.

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Tullio De Piscopo

LP | 2023 | EU | Reissue (Dialogo)

LP | 2015 | US | Reissue (Peoples Potential Unlimited)

Release: 2023 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A Brief History OF THE Drums Jazz Drums as we know them today are a complex group of percussive instruments that reveal the inventive genius of the first jazz-band players of New Orleans, on Mississippi show-boats and later, in Chicago. In their actual form (which is substantially the same as that used in the first New Orleans groups ) they are none other than the como ination into one single instrument of all the percussive units used by the Southern blacks. Let us examine the drums in their single parts: the bass drum is a percussion instrument without definite pitch, normally beaten by a stick that has a large, felt-covered knob on one end, while the other end is attached to a pedal played by the right foot. It is the same instrument used in parades with brass bands, when it is worn around the neck and can also be played with regular drumsticks if a drum roll is required. Also a descendant of the traditional New Orleans brass bands are the Charlestons, two superimposed metal plates which are also played by pedal. Drumsticks or brushes are used to play one or two cymbals, large, slightly cupped disks of brass which when struck together loudly, also produce a crashing, dramatic effect. Drumsticks are also used to play the snare drum, of military origin, and the tom tom, of African descent, which can also be played by beating the drum-head with the fingers and the heel of the hand to accompany dancing. Other supplementary instruments such as the castanets, cow-bells, etc., are also played with drumsticks. In early jazz formations and in all New Orleans jazz, drums were used to rhythmically sustain the group, in other words, to furnish the beat, particularly with the bass drum playing the strong beats; the Charlestons would follow on the weak beats and the other parts would more or less ‘fill in’ depending on the player’s ability, by playing syncopation and off-beats. Rarely were the drums used as a solo instrument in New Orleans or traditional jazz bands; at the most, the drums would perform during a break, that is, a brief solo that filled in a pause left by the other melodic instruments between two stanzas or refrains. In jazz history the most important representatives of this ‘archaic’ jazz style are considered to be Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds (brother of the famous clarinet player Johnny Dodds ) and Zutty Singleton; both can be heard on the historical recordings of the Hot Five and the Hot Seven where they played under Louis Armstrong. During the swing era the drums were somewhat modified and perfected (it was during the ’30s that they assumed their standard and present form), thus requiring players to develop a more refined, sophisticated playing technique. In fact, during the swing era the small groups that had made up the backbone of New Orleans and Chicago jazz moved momentarily into the background and attention was focused on the first big, commercial dance bands, then to small, experimental groups that consisted of trios and quartets. But while the New Orleans drummer had been accustomed to playing with musicians he knew personally and with them performed music with which he was completely familiar and could therefore easily provide rhythmic support to, during the ’30s the drummer found himself in the new situation of having to play with a large number of musicians who played written music that had been selected for commercial reasons and part of complicated, orchestral arrangements. In addition, because of continuous changes in orchestral personnel, he seldom had time to familiarize himself with his fellow musicians; he was forced, by necessity, to adapt himself to the needs of the group at a short time notice and it was not unusual for the band leader to expect an exceptionally long break during which the drummer had to demonstrate his particular virtuosity. Naturally the technical superiority of this generation of musicians found supremacy in small groups in which the drums sustained first place together with the melodic instruments. An example of two such outstanding drummers of the swing era were Chick Webb and Gene Krupa. Around and immediately following World War II there took place, gradually and not as suddenly as one is led to believe, a so-called ‘revolution’ that initiated what was the ‘modern jazz’ trend, to which the preceding jazz style was superimposed and defined as ‘traditional’ jazz. While it would be impossible to analyze here all the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and timbric innovations created by modern jazz musicians, two considerations can be made about the drums. The first is that in modern jazz there is no longer any distinction between ‘melodic’ and ‘accompanying’ instruments, thus leveling all instruments of the group to equal importance, all with solo possibilities (just think of what a classic accompanying instrument like the guitar becomes, in the hands of Charlie Christian!). The second is that while in traditional jazz the beat, i.e., the basic rhythmic scansion of a piece, offered the possibility of rhythmic balance, in swing, rhythm became explicitly an element of sound, while in modern jazz the beat is implicit and despite its prominence throughout an entire piece, whether solo or group playing, no instrument has the specific job of sustaining the others. It is clear therefore, that when the drums have been given equal value to the other instruments, they are freed from the obligation they once had to sustain rhythmically an orchestra or group and in modern jazz find enormous expressive possibilities. The musician most responsible in giving the drums their prominence in this era was Kenny Clarke, and among his many followers two of completely different styles but both with supreme technical skills, were Shelley Manne and Max Roach.

THE Drums AND POP Music The introduction of drums in European pop music occurred at the same time as the transformation of dance bands and was conditioned by the popularity of jazz. In the first dance orchestras that offered American dance music in Europe (the fox trot, one-step, and later the Charleston), the drummer often gave his name to the entire group, which was called a ‘jazz band’. The pop music drummer, in general, was not just a pale image of his jazz colleagues. If he performed any virtuoso passages they were certainly not the result of an expressive need, but rather, well-calculated effects created by an arranger for purely commercial reasons. The drums in pop music were also liberated from their secondary role, however, in another change similar to that brought on by the modern jazz revolution: it was with rock ‘n’ roll and the experiments of the new American groups that followed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones that re-evaluated the possibilities of the drums in new forms of instrumental ‘sounds’ and added to the wealth of technical capacity and the actual physical make-up of the instrument, adding other percussive instruments from both Afro-Cuban origin (bongos) and classical music (tympani), as well as oriental instruments like the gong, Chinese bells, Korean blocks, etc. For those who are fascinated by the virtuosity of some jazz or pop musician and have undertaken the study of the drums with the intention of imitating them, it is well to remember that it is no longer possible to do so with just a good sense of rhythm, musical sensitivity and the physical capacity to play. The modern drummer must also have a thorough theoretical background and a good teacher to guide him. Sightreading is of course indispensable particularly for playing the drums and a music school diploma certainly helps. This record, therefore, does not pretend to offer more than a series of modern rhythms that anyone with a good musical background can learn from and have fun with. The rest is up to you!

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George Smallwood

Loser 2022 Repress

The 8th Floor Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2015 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Back IN Print 2022 Edition - Limited Edition of 300 copies Recorded Live in Hyattsville, MD 1975-2015. George really had no interest in releasing this record. "Seeing Is believing, they don’t need records, trust me I did that, today they getting it live". So this record is that, live tapes from the house, recorded on a government issued cassette recorder from National Library Service for the Blind. George calls these his practice tapes for songwriting, and performance warm-up, and never beyond his ears were they intended to travel. "You just got to see me live if you want to really see me.. so when we get there just plug me in, and point me at that crowd". Last time I saw George they had him wired to the club system. He unplugs his Yamaha keyboard, licks the tip of the power cord and taps a beat on it, finally plugging in, synth lights up, tones all at zero, beats at zero. Then he builds from there, counting blind through a preset one hunderd factory tones and rhythm patterns. "I gotta start off at zero, and go from there." After the Marshmellow Band disperesed, he got this Yamaha keyboard, same one he’s been playing since 1990, endless scrolling over the same presets, trying to make them fit, tempo down, tapping while telling the story and asking if that feels right to you. "This always gonna be different live."Some selections on this album are original material from home sessions prior to George’s 1980 self- released LP. The rest, just a sampling from the Smallwood mind’s library of classic song writers. - Andrew Morgan (Peoples Potential Unlimited)

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C.A.M.P.O.S.

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Sounds And Colors)

22,49 €* 29,99 € -25%

The Zenmenn And John Moods

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Further adventures in psychedelic disco cumbia from one-man-band C.A.M.P.O.S. on the much-awaited second studio album

C.A.M.P.O.S. is a one-man tropical electronic psych band consisting of multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Joshua Douglas Camp. Though C.A.M.P.O.S. stands for Cumbias And More Psychedelic Original Sounds, there are no limits to Camp’s musical creativity, with the project taking cues from everything from Americana and pop rock to Cuban son and German electronica. This is no surprise as Camp has been involved with many diverse groups over the years, including Latin-flavored outfits Chicha Libre, Locobeach and Los Crema Paraíso, but also his country band Westwork, the Eastern-European klezmer quintet Litvakus and literary rockers One Ring Zero.

Since releasing his debut double LP as C.A.M.P.O.S., Miracles & Criminals, on Peace & Rhythm in 2016, Camp has developed his repertoire into a live show that has garnered a devoted following, and which has also seen the live band he assembled evolving into its own distinct entity, Locobeach.

When the pandemic forced Camp into exile he used the time to once more focus on C.A.M.P.O.S. and his one-man-band skills. This initially resulted in two albums, Shake Up The World: Live In The Studio Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, both performed live and recorded in one take at his home studio (and both digitally released by Peace & Rhythm, in 2020 and 2021 respectively).

In addition, he continued to work on the long-awaited follow-up studio album to Miracles & Criminals, which had begun years prior and progressed in the fleeting moments when his other projects allowed. With time to once more concentrate on C.A.M.P.O.S., the album soon began to take shape, eventually coalescing into The Eighth Door. Though catalyzed by isolation, it is far from a solo effort, with Camp enlisting collaborators including pianist and arranger Marlysse Simmons (Bio Ritmo, Miramar), who had initially told Peace & Rhythm about Camp’s unreleased backlog of tropical tracks from back in the Chicha Libre days (which became Miracles & Criminals), to other Chicha Libre band mates Neil Ochoa and Karina Colis, as well as Gabo Tomasini (Yotoco), who was a founding member of Bio Ritmo and played in C.A.M.P.O.S.’s first live appearance in 2016.

As with all C.A.M.P.O.S. releases, The Eighth Door takes you on a cosmic trip to a multi-dimensional landscape of the mind where the body also knows the pleasures of dance and sensuality, but this time there is more focus, with fewer songs and a fuller sound. Yes there is a dark side to planet C.A.M.P.O.S., to which the album sometimes ventures, but ultimately the record is a voyage of self-discovery, making connections between sounds and sentiments that, on paper, appear unlikely companions. Yet, once bound together by the intimate circuitry of Joshua Camp’s creativity and serious songwriting skills, all elements gel in a gravity-defying way. Exotic-sounding electronic keyboards, jangly, fuzzy guitars and percolating percussion loops seamlessly carry the listener through two sides of galaxy-spanning mini epics, sometimes with vocals, sometimes instrumental, and often infused with the shuffling beat of Colombia’s cumbia rhythm with a few disco, rock or salsa accents thrown in for good measure.

Camp juxtaposes the raw and the smooth, destructive and redemptive, sweet and ominous, digital and analog, organic and synthetic, intimate and expansive, all of which combine into an apt metaphor for where we find ourselves today. On The Eighth Door C.A.M.P.O.S. pulls the great unknown to a realm just within our grasp.

Album cover art by Selina Josephs and photo of Joshua Camp by Julian Parker Burns. Released in conjunction with Calle de Campos, Hyperopia Records (Canada) and Sounds and Colours (uk). Digital album has five bonus tracks, which also come with download card for vinyl purchase.

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Hidden Gem

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Music From Memory)

LP | 2022 | JP | Original (P-Vine)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Hidden Gem' is the Zenmenn's first full album produced together with songwriter and vocalist John Moods and follows their much-loved debut record, 'Enter The Zenmenn'. Named after a country song that didn't quite make it to the final selection, 'Hidden Gem' is the result of an extended jam session at a friend’s studio, in a field of mystical meadows somewhere south of Hamburg, in which the band would experience a series of inexplicable phenomena.

It was their earlier collaboration on the future classic, 'Homage To A Friend' that kickstarted their idea to team up with John Moods again, and in the late summer of 2021 the band set to work on a full album of material together. Using The Zenmenn's trusted drum kit, good old DX7, an unusual Ukrainian bass and an almost discarded pedal steel guitar, combined with Moods’ uniquely fragile voice, the outcome resulted in six timeless songs. The resulting harmonic sound is, as the band put it, “something like Adult Oriented Rock with a teaspoon of Celtic sentimentalism, a pinch of big city Country wrapped in a late night '70s style jam”.

'Hidden Gem’, much like their previous LP, was recorded without pre-arranged songs or any fixed musical concept. Instead, it captures fleeting moments of creativity and reflects the joint musical sentiments of the band members at the time. “Some artists are amazing at vision and curating, our work-flow is opposite to that. We are pretty messy and all over the place in our creation, as in life. It has its advantages and disadvantages, but hopefully it comes out all right in the end.”

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W.C.Karasu

36,99 €*

Sonido Verde De Moyobamba

Release: 2022 / JP – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The music of instrumental-folk quartet NRQ seems to defy categorization. Drawing their influences from styles as disparate as free jazz, Chinese folk songs, Calypso music, and the music of the Appalachians, every song presents a new twist or turn, and every album succeeds in defying expectations. Their third album, ‘was here’ saw the band welcome trumpeter and steel pan player MC. sirafu (The Natsuyasumi Band, Kataomoi, etc.), keyboard player Emerson Murakami (mmm, Kisel, etc.), and percussionist Okyon to create a sound quite unlike anything else they’ve ever done. The album was recorded exclusively with vintage tape machines, and the result is a warm, analog sound, with just the barest amount of hiss gently enveloping each track. Combined with the oddly mesmerizing artwork, this album has been practically begging for an analog release. P-vine is proud to be giving ‘was here’ the analog treatment it has long deserved!

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Sonido Verde De Moyobamba Colored Vinyl Edition

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Blow Up)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Formed in 1980 by guitar prodigy Leonardo Vela Rodriguez, Sonido Verde de Moyobamba created some of the hardest, craziest Cumbia to emerge from the Peruvian jungle. With distorted, surf-addled guitar facing off against lysergic organ and hyperactive tropical rhythms, Sonido Verde conjured the organic sound of the dense forests surrounding their hometown while riding their dance-party grooves to dizzying psychedelic peaks.

Compiled by Analog Africa, Sonido Verde de Moyobamba presents eight ultra-rare tracks of guitar and organ madness drawn from the band’s five albums recorded for Discos Universal between 1981 and 1987. Pressed on Sun Yellow colored vinyl, housed in a screen-printed jacket and strictly limited to 2000 copies, Sonido Verde is a definitive trip into the heart of the jungle.

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Big Boss Man

Juju Funk

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Blow Up)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Grab while you can. The tracks have already received very strong radio responses from around the world. Both tracks being supported by Gideon Coe and Cerys Mathews at BBC Radio 6 Music, whilst Nasser Bouzida from the band discussed the rhythm influences of Return Of Baron Samedi on the Cerys Mathews show. Specialist funk shows from Australia, Germany, France, Canada and the US have already been supporting these tracks. The tracks are also set to appeal to fans of one of Big Boss Man's biggest tracks 'Sea Groove', which is currently one of the UK's biggest home-grown funk recordings on Spotify currently close to 7 million streams. These are the first new releases from Big Boss Man since their fourth album Last Man on Earth on Blow Up Records.

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Big Boss Man

Double Groovy

Jimmy Salcedo Y Su Onda Tres

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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El Mundo De Jimmy Salcedo Y Su Onda Tres

Tito Chicomba Y Su Orquesta

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Many music fans will remember Jimmy Salcedo due to his wonderful work as arranger and producer with the duo Elia and Elizabeth in the early 70s. Their delicate songwriting acquired, after his treatment, a special Tropical aroma that even included the funk influences received by Salcedo at that time. He released with his band, La Onda Tres, a few LPs and singles that had a limited distribution, mainly in Colombia only. This anthology comprises a selection of songs that celebrate Salcedo's sound signature: a base of coastal funk with vocals and melodic bubblegum-bomb arrangements and hints of light psychedelia. Many of the compiled songs became popular radio hits in Colombia that Jimmy Salcedo and La Onda Tres recorded and arranged at the Zeida studios in Medellín.These recordings include Latin-jazz tracks ('Mira') with stunning percussion solos, songs recorded under a heavy Caribbean-soul influence ('¡Qué linda es Colombia!' and 'Lo mismo de siempre') 'Maranguango', an irresistible mix of Afrolatin percussion and catchy Tropical harmonies spiced up with moog keyboard sounds, fuzz and wah wah guitars and even touches of hammond, in a psychedelic funk style, an exhilarating moog driven instrumental with a heavy Afro-funk rhythm ('Moogambo') and revisited Latin classics ('Moliendo Café').Jimmy Salcedo's big popularity in Colombia is due however to his long career as TV presenter at 'El Show de Jimmy', running for over 20 years, where he would also perform with his band and act as a comedian. His life was tragically cut short and died in 1992, when he was only 48, due to health issues. This compilation celebrates his superb musical legacy and makes most of these songs available again for the first time.

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Cumbias Y Boogaloos

Do You Really Want To Rescue Me

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The musician Roberto Enrique "Tito" Chicoma forged one of the most solid and constant career paths in Peruvian music. Self-taught, he started playing tenor saxophone in his father's orchestra, also playing the trumpet, piano or trombone when the occasion arose.In 1959, at the age of 23, Tito moved to Lima, where he soon joined ensembles such as the Koki Palacios and Armando Boza orchestras, which took him abroad for the first time on tour. A recognized musician in his own right, Tito would later decide to form his own orchestra, which was soon hired by América Televisión, starring on programs such as "El Show de Juan Silva", where he accompanied international artists that visited Lima.In 1966, Tito made his first record under his own name on the MAG label, performing two cumbias by the Colombian group Los Teen Agers. The praise the single received led to the recording of his first LP, "El ritmo de moda", where he continued to compile Colombian songs.At the end of 1967, he dedicated his new LP project to recording two fashionable rhythms at the time: cumbias y boogaloos. The Colombian cumbia became popular in Peru from 1964 onwards, when local orchestras like those of Andrés de Colbert, Mario Cavagnaro, Eulogio Molina and Lucho Macedo recorded cumbia hits, then the genre soared when groups like Los Pacharacos and Los Demonios del Mantaro mixed it with Andean music. Boogaloo in Peru was popularized chiefly by the record label MAG, which kept its listeners up to date with developments in tropical music in New York, releasing and distributing records by Alegre Records and recording versions of hit songs such as 'El pito' and 'Mamblues' with local musicians.The recording sessions for "Cumbias y boogaloos" began in December 1967, when Tito released one of his first compositions: 'Dale U'. He also recorded the instrumental track 'La cigüeña' and 'Plaza de toros', two compositions by the Venezuelan artist Hugo Blanco.At the beginning of 1968, Tito and his band traveled to Buenos Aires, hir...

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Osaka Monaurail

7" | 2022 | US | Original (Ubiquity)

9,99 €*

Whole Lot Of Lovin' Feat. Casey Malone

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For 30 years, Osaka Monaurail has been on a global mission to preach the gospel of the book of soul. And now Japan’s greatest little funk orchestra is back with not just one but two brand new burners that will put a strut in your walk and make you feel the hairs standing up on your neck. More than a decade after their collaboration with James Brown’s Soulsister Number One Marva Whitney, the group has once again teamed up with a singer – L.A.’s alluring and uniquely expressive Casey Malone.

Together, Malone and the tightly-drilled 10-piece band led by singer, keyboardist and producer Ryo Nakata breathe new life into two monster hits of 1960s soul; “Do You Really Want To Rescue Me,” written by James Brown and his saxophonist-collaborator Nat Jones and first recorded by back-up singer Elsie Mae; and Fats Domino’s “Whole Lot of Lovin’.” The Monaurail’s hard-driving interlocking rhythms, their short melodic and rhythmic phrases, and the bluesy harmonic vocabulary help to make these two pieces quintessential funk, complemented by Malone who, much like jazz icon Billie Holiday, uses her voice as an expressive musical instrument, bending and glissing notes like a horn player, commanding attention not with forcefulness, but with reluctance.

These two new singles came about at the behest of Ubiquity’s founder Michael McFadin who had been busy coming up with ideas on who to pair with Malone after the release of her debut single “Hey Amerika.” He reached out to DJ Pari, Marva Whitney’s former manager and producer, who made the connection with the mighty Monaurail – and the rest, as they say, is history. “When I heard about the opportunity to cut some tunes with the legendary Osaka Monaurail I was over the moon,” Malone says. “It was truly an honor to share sound waves with the band.”

Osaka Monaurail and Casey Malone went on a singular mission to come up with the tightest collaboration in recent years between Japan’s top funk export and one the genre’s new protagonists based in the funk’s homeland. Without a doubt, here is indisputable proof of that achievement. Play these jams to any permanent pressed squares in your cribs or dancefloors, and watch them turn into jive dancin’ live wires!

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Osaka Monaurail

7" | 2022 | US | Original (Ubiquity)

9,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Mauskovic Dance Band

Bukaroo Bank

Antibalas Colored Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bukaroo Bank is actually Mauskovic’s second album. There, the band reinvents both their approach and their sound, while maintaining the rhythm-forward euphoria heard on their debut album and surrounding singles. It is one of those albums that sounds brashly live, like you’re in the room while the jams are being kicked out, but in fact uses the studio very shrewdly.

Recorded in 2020, during one of the Netherlands’ intermittent lockdown bouts, for this one the MDB wanted to step up from their previous homebase, Garage Noord – an ad hoc Amsterdam space for recording, practise and after-hours parties. They chose Electric Monkey, operated by engineer Kasper Frenkel. His stacks of what Nicola calls “very strange equipment”, and ability to sprinkle magic dub dust over everything, suited the vibe perfectly. The results glow and shiver with assembled synth sounds, rhythms spliced and echoed in a way that hails late Jamaican dub great Lee Perry – maybe the band’s biggest influence.

Some sections might remind you of Afro-disco or slightly older highlife, others industrial prototypes like early Cabaret Voltaire, or 1980s On-U Sound mainstays like African Head Charge, or NYC groovers such as Liquid Liquid... there are outbreaks of saxophone, congas, echo units, wah-wah disco guitars, beats that sound programmed but aren’t (a nod to MDB’s industrial side). If that sounds fun to you, be assured that Bukaroo Bank is an irrepressibly fun album – but one that contains multitudes.

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Antibalas

LP | 2012 | US | Reissue (Daptone)

Antibalas Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2012 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The unstoppable, irresistible rhythms and melodies of Antibalas have influenced scores of artists across rock, hip hop, afrobeat and beyond. Born in a Brooklyn warehouse in 1997, 12 piece ensemble Antibalas is credited with introducing Afrobeat to a wider global audience, influencing countless musicians and developing a live show that is the stuff of legend. Members of Antibalas served as musical directors and the house band in the Broadway hit Fela! and penned original music for the show. Members have also recently collaborated/performed with Iron and Wine, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Mark Ronson, TV on the Radio and The Roots. On the heels of the hit musical Fela!, Antibalas ended up reuniting with former member and producer Gabriel Roth, who was at the helm for their first three albums. This self-titled album was their first on Daptone Records.

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Antibalas

LP | 2012 | US | Reissue (Daptone)

LP | 2019 | US | Original (Ropeadope)

Release: 2012 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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BT ALC Big Band

The Search For Peace

37,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Jazzline)

Release: 2019 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Since the group's formation in 2011, the BT ALC Big Band, led by trombonist Brian Thomas and trumpeter Alex Lee-Clark, has gained a reputation for hard grooving original compositions featuring the most talented jazz and funk musicians in Boston. The BT ALC Big Band draws from the big band traditions of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Thad Jones and infuses music from funk legends like James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, and The Meters, creating an undeniably unique sound, Big Band Funk. The BT ALC Big Band will be releasing their 4th album, The Search For Peace, on Ropeadope Records in May of 2019. The Search For Peace was recorded live by Alan Evans (Soulive, Iron Wax Studios). Evans research of the recording process, paired with his creativity has yielded an organic, old school sound. Each horn section played into one omnidirectional mic, with the rhythm section in the same room, essentially capturing a live performance. The Search For Peace follows the BT ALC Big Band’s previous 3 albums; Superhero Dance Party (2013), The Herd Sessions Vol. 1 (2016), and The Herd Sessions Vol. 2 (2016). In addition to performances at clubs and festivals, the BT ALC Big Band demonstrates their commitment to education through clinics, workshops and performances with students throughout New England. Their compositions are available for purchase at btalc.com, and have been performed by college and high school jazz ensembles including West Virginia University, UMASS Amherst, Ithaca College, and honor bands in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland. The BT ALC Big Band continues to push the art of the big band forward by utilizing a process that’s been followed by musicians for years: play the music you love, just in your own way.

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WDR Big Band Köln

Birth Of A Bird

13,99 €*

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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CD | 2022 | US | Original (Colemine)

The Winston Brothers

Drift

Raul Monsalve Y Los Forajidos

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Hot on the heels of their debut 45 released on Colemine Records, German funk powerhouse The Winston Brothers re-up with their first-ever full length LP. "drift" is the name of the game, presenting eleven versatile cuts to invite listeners on an all-instrumental trip back to the future of funk. But make no mistake: Though audibly steeped in the deep funk tradition, this retrophile outfit is anything but dusty. The Winston Brothers are a modular studio project by Hamburg-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Sebastian Nagel (The Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band) and drummer / percussionist extraordinaire Lucas Kochbeck (The Kbcs, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Hamburg Spinners). Industry veterans with a penchant for analog music production, the two combine a boom bap state of mind with well-rounded funk acumen and able frequent collaborators to create dynamic arrangements that are both an audible nod to the genre's past as well as a contemporary blend of like-minded organic styles. Lacing heavy drums with juicy breaks, headnodic grooves, scorching riffs and melodic instrumentation, "drift" draws on the raw energy inherent to `60s / `70s funk and takes it from there. Catchy, repetitive motifs gain musical momentum as they evolve into vibrant and autonomous soundscapes with a distinct drive of their own, ranging from incendiary to more laid-back and almost dreamlike. Strutting an irresistible bounce to their step, The Winston Brothers are poised to light up dance floors, river cruises and backyard BBQs alike. Catch our drift?

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Calipso Time / Deo E' Mono

10" | 2022 | EU | Original (Super-Sonic Jazz)

Education & Recreation Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Commissioned for Fela Day in Amsterdam Paradiso Noord, Raul Monsalve y Los Forajidos celebrates the legacy of the father of Afrobeat, Fela Anikolapu Kuti, with this new 10’’ vinyl on Super Sonic Jazz Records, where Nigerians rhythms travel the Atlantic ocean to meet Venezuelan Calipso , sangueos, and more.

First in Venezuela, Monsalve played with a number of bands before forming the first incarnation of his Forajidos band. A move to Paris, via London, led to opportunities to share stages with a vast array of musical giants, not least of all the legendary Nigerian saxophonist Orlando Julius, as well as the Heliocentrics, Venezuelan master percussionist Orlando Poleo and members of Fela Kuti’s legendary bands, Afrika 70 and Egypt 80.

“Calipso Time” is none other than a cover of Fela’s Koola Lobitos’ “Highlife Time. Taking the original track to the region of El Callao in Venezuela, where the population from Trinidad & Tobago and other islands in the Caribbean settled themselves at the end of the 19th century when they started to work in mineral exploitation. As a result, this region of Venezuela has a particular language, mixing English and Spanish elements, and of course the celebration of the Carnival and the birth of Venezuelan calipso . Side B brings the Afrobeat madness of “Deo e’ Mono”, the very first track Monsalve did for the project back in the day. As Raul says “I just took the opportunity to celebrate Fela’s anniversary by recording this track as I dreamed it should sound when I was starting the project, learning Afrobeat only through records” . For this Monsalve called Chief Uduh Essiet, the original percussionist of the Egypt 80 and with the Forajidos’ Mario Orsinet on drums the rhythm section was without doubt cooking immediately. As on their last record, “Bichos” on Olindo Records, these two tracks are full of psychedelia, rough electronics, powerful vocals and tons of traditional Venezuelan percussion.

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Surprise Chef

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Big Crown)

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Surprise Chef's music is based on evoking mood; their vivid arrangements utilize time and space to build soundscapes that invite the listener into their world. The quintet's distinct sound pulls from 70s film scores, the funkier side of jazz, and the samples that form the foundation of hip hop. They push the boundaries of instrumental soul and funk with their own approach honed by countless hours in the studio, studying the masters, and perhaps most importantly, the "tyranny of distance" that dictates a unique perspective to their music. Hailing from just outside of Melbourne, Australia their first two albums, All News Is Good News and Daylight Savings amassed a die-hard fanbase and brought their sound from their home studio to every corner of the globe. The band is now signed to Big Crown Records, joining a lineage of contemporary and classic sounds that have influenced Surprise Chef's music since their formation in 2017. Surprise Chef is Lachlan Stuckey on guitar, Jethro Curtin on keys, Carl Lindeberg on bass, Andrew Congues on drums, and Hudson Whitlock-the latest member who does it all from percussion to composing to producing. Their self proclaimed "moody shades of instrumental jazz-funk" have a bit of everything: punchy drums, infectious keys, rhythm guitar you might hear on a Studio One record, and flute lines that could be from a Blue Note session. But when you step back and take in the entirety of their sound and approach, you'll hear and see a group greater than the sum of its parts. In many ways Surprise Chef embodies the idiom "the benefits of limits." They were limited in that there weren't many people making or talking about instrumental jazz/soul/funk in Southeast Australia, let alone putting out records. This left them to develop their sound and approach in a kind of creative isolation where a small circle of friends and like-minded musicians fed off each other. "Being in Australia, being so far away, we only get glimpses and glances of this music's origins," Stuckey says. "But hearing a label like Big Crown was one of the first times we realized you could make fresh, new soul music that wasn't super retro or just nostalgic." This approach is on full display throughout their new album Education & Recreation. Tracks like "Velodrome" pair chunky drums with an earworm synth line that has all the making of something you would find on an Ultimate Breaks & Beats compilation while numbers like "Iconoclasts" show their knack for tasteful use of space. From the crushing intro of "Suburban Breeze" to the floaty mellow bop of "Spring's Theme" Surprise Chef has weaved together an album that takes you through peaks and valleys of emotion and provides a vivid soundtrack that will pull you deeper into your imagination. There is a beauty in the vast space for interpretation of instrumental music and they are adding a modern classic to the canon with this new album. Turn on the record and enjoy the ride, wherever it may take you.

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Ernesto DJedje

Roi Du Ziglibithy

LP | 2017 | EU | Reissue (Compost)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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If someone would have told me years ago, when I started the label, that one day I would be releasing music by Ernesto Djédjé, the king of Ziglibithy himself, I would have personally driven them to the closest psychiatric institute such is the magnitude of the artist and his iconic tune “Zighlibitiens”.

The star of Ernesto Djédjé started rising in the late 60s, when he became the guitar player and leader of Ivoiro Star, founded by Amédée Pierre, star of Dopé, the leading musical style at the time. Annoyed by the “congolisation” of the Ivorian music that was taking place within the band, Ernesto left the group and emigrated to Paris in 1968 to record his first few singles arranged by Manu Dibango and influenced by Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Jerk. Those recordings reflect the musical mood at that time which was dictated by two musical trends within the Ivoirian scene: Traditional music, embodied amongst others by Amédée Pierre on one hand and imported music from the States, Cameroon and Zaïre on the other. And while the first trend was generally neglected, the youth fully embraced the second and as a result bands such as „Les Black Devils“, „Djinn-Music“, „Bozambo”, “Jimmy Hyacinthe”, shot to stardom overnight by recording mainly funk and disco music. It is within this context that Ernesto would draw the inspiration for a future formula.

Returning to Côte d‘Ivoire in 1974 Ernesto began looking for like minded musicians to form the mighty “Ziglibithiens”. Diabo Steck (drums), Bamba Yang (keyboards & Guitar), Léon Sina (Guitar) and Assalé Best (chef d´orchestre and Saxophon) would become the core of the group and together with Ernesto they began thinking of ways of combining the rhythms and chants of the Bété people and fuse them with Makossa, Funk and Disco and create a musical style that was both Ivorian and International. He called his experiment Ziglibithy and his first two albums, immortalised at the EMI studios in 1977 in Lagos and released on the Badmos label, took West Africa by storm turning Ernesto Djédjé into an icon overnight and one of the legends of African music. Ernesto Djédjé died in mysterious circumstances on June 9th, 1983 - at the age of 35 - shocking the whole Ivorian nation. And although the end came abruptly, it didn’t come soon enough, and Ernesto had time - within 5 albums - to cement his legacy as one of the most innovative artists the Ivory Coast ever produced.

The song Zighlibitiens, brought to Colombia by an aeronautical mechanic in the early 1980, would become a huge hit on the Caribbean Coast. Renamed “El Tigre” by locals soundsystem operators - certainly due to the Badmos logo - that particular song would reach legendary status in Barranquilla and Cartagena. Setting fire to uncountable local parties, it has become one of the most sought-after Album in that part of the world. And so, while Ziglibithy has mostly disappeared from the airwaves of its country of birth, on the other side of the Atlantic, its fire continues to shine bright.

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Web Web

Oracle

Release: 2017 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2022 | CA | Original (Telephone Explosion)

Quilting

Bonita & The Blues Shacks

Release: 2022 / CA – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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The mesmerizing debut LP by Nova Scotia’s Quilting on October 7, 2022. The album is a quietly stunning collection of pastoral ambience dotted with moments of tension that reflects the maritime environment in which it was created, inadvertently paying homage to the light and darkness of rural life.

Co-founded by Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt, the quartet is comprised of a diverse and accomplished collection of musicians who came together when he moved back to his home province in 2019 after a lengthy stay in Toronto.

The shock of settling into a town of 600 people was softened almost immediately by a care package left on Borcherdt’s front porch. It included the curious juxtaposition of homemade preserves and a circuit-bent keyboard. His interest was piqued. As luck would have it, his new neighbour happened to be renowned folk guitarist Kim Barlow.

“Kim was in the process of organizing an improvisation series featuring over a dozen Nova Scotia-based musicians. The series struggled under lockdown restrictions, and on the second attempt only the four of us showed up.” Borcherdt recalls. “We didn't really know each other that well, were a bit shy and played very quietly. However, we really enjoyed how spacious our jam was.”

One week after their initial jam, Borcherdt was invited to perform a solo set at a Halifax-based experimental festival called Open Waters. He instead volunteered the same lineup: himself, Barlow, distinguished Isle Of Skye harpist (and Berklee professor) Mairi Chaimbeul, and Sahara Nasr, a noted songwriter and player of the rare Indian Sarangi. It wasn’t long before they began recording and soon realized a name was necessary to make the project official.

“When we get together to play music, it's our 'poker night'. That led us to think of other community or 'grown-up' gatherings, similar or antiquated... like barnraising bees, quilting bees.” Explains Borcherdt. “We were sort of quilting: four corners of fabric, texture, sewing threads, telling a story, all making one complete piece while drinking a few beers. We could've also called it ‘Therapy’.”

While providing a necessary distraction from early-COVID life, Quilting also offered a chance to improvise within a uniquely ambient soundspace. This was a welcome change for some of the members, including Borcherdt, who was used to creating music with decidedly more volume.

“Space is welcome. Writing in Quilting is a spontaneous and thoughtful process, very synesthetic and, of course, collaborative. I've only really gotten to explore space and silence with solo music.” He reflects. “With my other bands, even when spontaneous and improvised, the result is dense and cathartic, expressive through pulse and rhythm and volume. With Quilting we get to drift, no beats, no safety net. Every note counts. Yet rather than being stressed or scrutinized under a microscope we all have fun and daydream a bit.”

Sonics aside, Quilting has also given all four members the chance to experiment with the boundaries created by headquartering in a remote area not commonly associated with the avant-garde music community.

“Nova Scotia, unlike other provinces, has basically one city, one place where musicians congregate, play shows and hang out. Anything happening outside of Halifax can be considered an experiment, a test to see anything can get off the ground.” Borcherdt explains. “ In Toronto there's already an infrastructure, whether you play the same venues or build your own new thing- there's an audience, there are friends and like-minded individuals. It's healthier. Here we have to take what we get. But the good news is that it's kind of a blank slate.”

The LP, which features hand-calligraphed cover art from Upstate New York-based artist and musician Sarah Le Puerta, features five songs all recorded live off-the-floor in a single live performance. Moods range from reflective to unsettled, and even at its loudest parts a sense of intimacy persists.

“This album feels like a complete picture, a snapshot of one fun night.” He states. “That seems to me to be a perfect introduction. The listener gets to “attend” the concert, which is an amazing way to discover new music.”

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Sweet Thing

LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Rhythm Bomb)

18,99 €*

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Rhythm Bomb)

B.B. & The Blues Shacks

Dirty Thirty

18,99 €*

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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LP | 2019 | EU | Original (Rhythm Bomb)

The Jelly Roll Men

Jelly Roll Shuffle

12,99 €*

Release: 2019 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffaloes

Uganda (Dawn Of Rock)

CD | 2022 | UK | Original (Mr Bongo)

Cumbiamuffin Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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The respected Japanese jazz drummer Akira Ishikawa was not messing around when he recorded the 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' album with his band the Count Buffaloes. For this offering, originally released in 1972 on Toshiba Records, Akira Ishikawa takes us on a deep tripped-out journey. 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' is a fusion of progressive and psych rock with African percussion workouts, dergy-wah wah blues-funk, and jazzy sensibilities; with different genres morphing and uniting as they progress. A long way from his funk and afrobeat album 'Back To Rhythm’, re-issued on Mr Bongo in 2019, this record has a darker, deeper, abstract and experimental stoned tone with the listener being pulled into its vortex for the ride. This record doesn’t pull any punches. For this album, Akira is joined by Hideaki Chihara on bass, guitarist Kimio Mizutani, sounding at times like an early 70s Peter Green, percussionist Larry Sunaga and composer Takeru Muraoka. The album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag. We are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity.

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Cumbiamuffin

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Sounds And Colors)

Cumbiamuffin Splatter Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Infectious, hypnotic tropical grooves with a ragga kick from Australia’s premier

cumbia orchestra. If you like Ondatrópica, Frente Cumbiero, Ska Cubano and

Lucho Bermúdez, you’ll love Cumbiamuffin.

It was only a matter of time before cumbia hit Australia. After humbly coming to life on

Colombia’s Caribbean coast, this rhythm—and everything it represents: its multiethnicity,

its danceable pulse, its resilience—snaked its way up the mountains to reach

Colombia’s urban capitals, Bogotá and Medellín, who transmitted the signal to Mexico,

Peru, Argentina... Cumbia travelled, and wherever it landed it took hold; Charles Mingus

got his fill in the 70s, Mexicans brought it across the US border in the 80s, Joe

Strummer couldn’t get enough of it in the 90s; and wherever it landed, it has shown its

flexibility, its ability to adapt to new environments.

Cumbiamuffin are the perfect example of what happens when cumbia arrives in a

completely different continent. Since forming in 2010, they have become Australia’s

premier large format cumbia orchestra, offering a twist on the genre that no one saw

coming. They take their inspiration from cumbia’s brass band traditions, when the genre

was adopted by orchestras in the 1940s, the start of its golden age, but they do not stop

there. They also look further afield, to the big bands of Mexico and Peru, and even to

the Caribbean, which is how their name came about. Cumbiamuffin represents the

contraction of two musical styles that the group seamlessly bring together in one big,

vibrant, joyous experience: cumbia and raggamuffin reggae. This is a group that can

inject even more life into a bona fide Colombian classic like Lucho Bermudez’s

“Salsipuedes,” take a Greek club version of a Mexican banda track written by an

Argentine accordionist and come up with the cohesively international “Ritmo de

Sinaloa,” and then there’s that unmistakable ragga skank all over “La Promesa,” with

“La Cabezona” being an instrumental descarga that has no right to rumble so low,

designed with dance halls and sound systems in mind.

Armed with the collective energy of two authentic Colombian vocalists, a seriously

massive brass section, heavy bass, funky guitar, salsa piano and equally authentic

percussion, the 15-piece band combines elements of reggae, dancehall and roots from

the Colombian Caribbean in a deft mix that is both retro and futuristic, authentically

traditional and yet also experimental. Put together by a collective of Colombian and

Australian musicians, the project has the common vision of introducing the purest

sounds of the golden era of orchestrated cumbia to Australian audiences, but with a little

something more added to the formula to keep things fresh.

Having triumphantly conquered their home country’s competitive music scene with sold

out shows at numerous festivals and well-known venues all over Down Under,

Cumbiamuffin are poised to break out to a global audience with their debut self-titled LP.

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Cumbiamuffin

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Sounds And Colors)

29,99 €*

7" | 2022 | UK | Original (We Jazz)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Esa Pethman

In Belgium 1967

Willie Walker & The Butanes

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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We Jazz Records kicks off their new series of archival 7" releases with Esa Pethman "In Belgium 1967" released 23 September 2022. The two-tracker is licensed from the Belgian VRT radio archives and both of the pieces are previously unreleased. Finnish jazz legend Pethman, heard here on alto flute and tenor sax, joins forces with European jazz greats such as Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov and Jean Fanis. This is a small but valuable piece of unheard European jazz history from the early heyday of modern jazz. The physical release is a quality "inside-out"-styled EP with 3mm spine and small center hole on the 45rpm vinyl.
An excerpt from the liner notes by Mikko Mattlar:
"Esa Pethman (b. 1938) was one of the key figures of modern Finnish jazz in the 1960s. His album The Modern Sound Of Finland was the first Finnish modern jazz album and his composition "The Flame" a true modern Fenno-jazz evergreen.
Pethman was born in Kuusankoski, 135 kilometres from Helsinki in the Kymenlaakso area. The jazz scene was active even though it was an area of rural landscapes and paper mills. Pethman discovered jazz when he heard a Charlie Parker record being played at a local music shop in the late 1940s. Following Parker, bebop became his favourite style of jazz.
Young Pethman played flute and saxophone in local bands who accompanied schlager singers. They played tangos and waltzes for dancers, but usually started a typical dance event with an hour of jazz. In 1959 Pethman moved to Helsinki to study music at the Sibelius Academy. Back then it was a strictly classical music academy, but Pethman later described the studies as crucial for his development and career. He quickly made his way to studio sessions and into the best orchestras in Helsinki.
As a student of composition, Pethman also began writing his own music. "The Flame" was a melody he just got on his mind one night, and he decided to write it down. The catchy composition was released as a 7" single in 1964, a year before Pethman's debut album. Both records stand as benchmarks for modern Finnish jazz. The album consisted entirely of Pethman's compositions, not versions of jazz standards like a lot of the Finnish jazz released until then.
In the mid 1960s, Finnish jazz was also taking its first international steps. Pethman's quintet took part in the first Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1967. At the Montreux jazz band competition, the quintet came in fourth of the twelve contestants. Despite not winning the competition, the band got an honourable mention, and Pethman was now recognized outside Finland.
In December 1967 Pethman travelled to Brussels. His visit was organised by the national Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio and their jazz program producer Matti Konttinen. Konttinen was supposed to go to Brussels with Pethman, but the musician ended up traveling alone.
In the Decca recording studios Pethman played two songs. He recorded a version of his most famous composition "The Flame", where he played the alto flute and was accompanied by Belgian musicians. On Swiss saxophonist Heinz Bigler's composition "Like Steel", Pethman played the tenor saxophone. The band was now more international, consisting of Bigler, the Italian Francesco Santucci, the Dane Uffe Karskov, a Belgian rhythm section and Pethman. After 55 years, Pethman still remembers Bigler's remarkable skills as a saxophonist.
The two-day visit included the recording session, a dinner and a concert. Pethman and the other non-Belgian musicians came to Brussels mainly to play at a jazz concert organised by the European Broadcasting Union EBU. They played at the studio first, and the concert was held the following day. Pethman and all the other soloists played as members of an international big band. The studio and live session were produced by the Belgian Radio and Television jazz section leader Elias Gistelinck."

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I Feel It / Cry Cry Cry

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Jai Alai)

16,49 €* 21,99 € -25%

The Bogie Band Feat. Joe Russo

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A double treat for those who love timeless Southern Soul flavoured with some of those good ol’ down home blues. Memphis born, and Minneapolis based, Willie Walker can comfortably be included in the pantheon of grittiest soul singers along with Wilson Pickett, Syl Johnson,

Lou Rawls, James Carr, Eddie Floyd, Tyrone Davis and L.V. Johnson, to name but a few, but there has always been speculation about other Willie Walkers. The recordings on Eutor and Hi in the 70’s are not by the same Willie as those on Goldwax and Checker in the 60’s. He did, however, also record as Wee Willie Walker. He was a member of The Rhythm Harmonizers, The Val-Dons, The Exciters, The Bound Band, Willie & The Bumblebees (although that Willie is actually Willie Murphy of The Val-Dons), and Canoise, spanning a long and varied career before hooking up with the Minneapolis based band The Butanes in 2004, with whom he made the next three albums. The first of these was mainly cover versions, but "Right Where I Belong" (2004) and "Memphisapolis" (2006) are notable for each providing the tracks that make up this latest Jai Alai release, a label that differs from sister label Soul4Real by featuring 21st century tracks previously CD only but now released on 7” vinyl for the first time. It also has to be noted that all the tracks on both these albums were written and produced by Curtis Obeda, who managed to track down Willie after so many years. “I Feel It” will have been missed by most as it was on the CD "Right Where I Belong" which was released in 2004 on the most unlikely of UK imprints, the Wirral based One On One Records run by Colin Dilnot. The album is a lavish display of real instruments from a band that once backed John Lee Hooker and Little Johnny Taylor and the perfect setting for Willie’s powerful vocals. Just tipping five glorious minutes, "Cry, Cry, Cry" is a perfect example of why soul music is inextricably linked to the blues, and when the gospel styled chorus joins in towards the end, you realise that this could, maybe should, have carried on for just a little bit longer. Perhaps a fuller length version exists? Sadly, Willie died peacefully in his sleep in November 2019, but to complete his story check out the two albums on Blue Dot as Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra. To quote the great Quinton Claunch…”Willie was one of the best to come out of Memphis in the 60’s”. Steve Hobbs (Solar Radio, Totally Wired Radio)

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The Witnesses / Take Them On

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Mighty Eye)

8,99 €* 14,99 € -40%

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Steve Gadd / Eddie Gomez / Ronnie Cuber / Wdr Big Band

Center Stage

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Leopard)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Get It Right: Afro Dub Funk & Punk Of Recreational Records '81-'82

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Emotional Rescue)

Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffaloes

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie, Reggae & Dancehall

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Emotional Rescue returns to what it does best by unearthing musical gems of the British post punk scene with a double pack compilation of Bristol's short lived Recreational Records. Teaming up with Bristol Archive Records, 10 songs are remastered, reissued and cut loud for DJs and collectors. What is most striking is, although created in the space of just two years, with a disparate collection of artists, musicians and producers coming together, the music holds a considerable cohesive sound. Set up in 1981 by Bristol based shop, Revolver Records, Recreational was formed as an independent label with its own distribution, as part of the co-operative, Cartel. The label was a natural progression from the shop's punk's DIY aesthetic, acting as a hang out and inspiration for local artists from Mark Stewart to later staff member, Daddy G. 'Get It Right' starts with a one-off project in Scream + Dance, who similarly, alongside local bands Glaxo Babies, Maximum Joy and Rip Rig & Panic, explored post-punk with funk and jazz all underpinned with heavy tribal and dub influenced rhythms. 'In Rhythm', with its infectious groove, acts as a call to arms for the compilation, coming in two parts, the latter dropping away to explore the links with dub. Next is possibly the label's biggest band in Talisman, going on to be active up to today, their release 'Run Come Girl / Wicked Dem' are both featured in long 12" mixes that explore the classic 'discomix' of vocal and dub in longform. Animal Magic lead with the pack's title, 'Get It Right' a short-driven punk funk burst that captures the label's sound to perfection. However, much of the compilation is given over to the more experimental side of the bands, with a high percentage the B sides where they headed to the mixing desk for echo chambered dub inspired versions. X-Certs' 'Untogether; Electric Guitars' 'Don't Wake The Baby' and Animal Magic's 'Trash The Blad' are culled from the flips of various 7" singles and all are a fusion of percussive rhythms, studio trickery and dub inspired techniques, played out against the "Do it Yourself" aesthetic of the time. To complete is London based, soukous, kwela and afrobeat inspired collective, Ivory Coasters' 'Mungaka Makossa' and two rhythmic curveballs by Scream + Dance in 'Giocometti Wicked Mix)' and their riotous (and short) closer, 'In Pink & Black'. "Get it right this time, get it right!".

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Uganda (Dawn Of Rock)

Box Set | 1972 | UK | Reissue (Mr Bongo)

40,99 €*

Boy Child Felix Dickinson Mix

Release: 1972 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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The Prolifics

12" | 1984 | UK | Reissue (Emotional Rescue)

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Acid Jazz)

Release: 1984 / UK – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The Emotional Rescue reissue series of Noel Williams aka King Sporty working with other artists and singers on the Konduko label's roster comes to completion with the deep funk disco of The Prolifics' Boy Child.

Formed in 1970 as part of "Senator" Nolan Jones' New Orleans soul and funk label Hep' Me Records, the bands early deep southern soul saw them release a series of 7"s for Hep' Me and Avco, plus an Xmas single for EMI and the minor hit A Place Called Home, recorded at the infamous Musle Shoals studios, backed by the Rhythm Section band who, from the early 60s, turned out hit after hit, from When A Man Loves A Women to Brown Sugar.

Landing on the newly inked Drive label, set up in '72 by Henry Stone as a sub label of his burgeoning T.K Records empire, their developing move in to funk saw them featured alongside Funky Nassau, Jimmy Castor and Peter Brown. It is here the connection with Noel Williams was formed. While putting together the "Konduko Six Pack" showcase album, the band were invited to the Miami Sound Studios for sessions that brought us both title cut Boy Child and the accompanying You Got Me.

All brass and claps, Boy Child is as funky as Williams got, backing the groups soul vocals, a story of first born's energetic path in life and a mothers love. The backing from Deep Rockers band bring the swing, the trippy keys and wide bottom end has made this a secret drop for many. You Got Me on the other hand is true King Sporty, a driving 9-minute disco boogie cut, where the warm harmonies lay down this uplifting, killer dance floor stop.

To close, the flip is again given over for reinterpretation, welcoming back Felix Dickinson to expertly cut, loop and dub. A special personal song for Dickinson, his subtle extension teases the intro for DJ play, before letting things fly - "the little show-off" as the song notes. With a near 30-year DJ and production career in place, his Discomix is a fitting way to complete this cycle of reissues of this benchmark label, for now.

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Fast Eddie

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (De W.E.R.F.)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Acid Jazz Group label Countdown Records is proud to present 'Shake A Tail Feather' - a Vinyl/CD collection from Fast Eddie, one of the early '80s most exhilarating live groups, and a favourite of the Rhythm and Soul powered Mod scene of 1980s. Initially called 'The Investigators', Fast Eddie emerged from Billericay in the wake of Thames Delta Blues pioneers, Dr. Feelgood. Having gained a following playing the raw R&B of the Pub Rock circuit, the band diversified their sound to incorporate classic soul repertoire, alongside their own material, which is documented throughout this collection.

Significantly, the group was also managed and produced by a certain young Eddie Piller - our founder - in his first foray as a music Mogul. In the Spring of 1982, he took the band to Pye studios near Mable Arch, to cut what would be their first record. Copies were sold via fanzines or direct through London record stores, on his own imprint he called 'West Suspect Records', marking the start of Ed's career as a record man. Consequently, this collection marks an important document in the formation of Well Suspect Records, Countdown Records and the wider Acid Jazz Story.

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Gratitude Trio

Birth

20,39 €* 23,99 € -15%

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Albina Music Trust)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Gratitude Trio is a Belgian/French band based in Brussels. The music of this power trio is tinged with spacy sounds, African rhythms, sexy grooves, endless trances, sensitive ballads, crazy free jazz, and a large dose of unpredictability.After 11 years of existence, Gratitude Trio releases on September 2nd, 2022 its 4th album " Birth" on the remarkable Belgian label W.E.R.F. Records in partnership with Mercury and Collectif Koa from Montpellier, France.

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Transport

25,19 €* 27,99 € -10%

Agent 3 / Bt Alc Big Band

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the summer of 1979, a Chicago DJ started a riot that killed disco overnight. Inciting fans to blow up disco records during a nationally televised major league baseball game, the cultural impact of Disco Demolition Night was felt globally. It even made waves in Portland, Oregon.

In the months to follow, clubs in the City of Roses were out to hire anything but disco. For Transport, hot nights as a stage-ready show band would fade to memory. First went the horns, then the vocalists, until all that remained was the rhythm section. The band's days were numbered or so it seemed.

But keyboardists Jimmy and Johnny Sanders were fiercely experimental. Freed from the disco formula, the brothers' exchange over synthesizers and other keyed instruments was electric. With drummer Towner Galaher, the group bore songs in homage to the fusion music ever present in Portland. Inspired by the national success of local groups like the Jeff Lorber Fusion, Tom Grant, and Dan Siegel, the band was reborn.

Months before signing a multi record deal with Geffen, Quarterflash's Marv and Rindy Ross offered Transport a shot at recording in their home studio. The group recorded over two sessions and soon shelved the tapes. Band members were summarily recruited by other acts shortly thereafter. The tapes have continued to sit.

Now over four decades later we hear this music. With tape restoration and mastering by Gus Elg, a calculated spitshine envelops the recording and positions listeners in the shag carpet-lined haze of a 1970s fusion session. With design by Eric W Mast, viewers can check out the aforementioned period upholstery through archival photography in the album's insert, depicting wall-to-wall shag gracing the booths at Mel Brown's Drum Shop.

Out of the gate, "Latin Summer" burns through with an urgency akin to The Gangsters - an album recorded by members of this band a decade prior. On the Funkadelic-fused "Chrome Dome," Jimmy Sanders continues to make use of the synthesizer, through squiggling tones and fried bursts, as well as on “Gospel Bridge,” a track that evokes Heavy Weather in its Pollock-like splashes of melody. Jeff Bruce's fretless bass brings a psych-propelled elasticity to the groove, adding a sinful undercurrent to “Time of My Life” - a languorous tune that could be a Head Hunters outtake - while giving “Song For Valerie” a playful Peaches & Herb-like wiggle.

Transport's output is staggering for a group entirely unreleased and but a drop in the bucket for Portland's cottage industry recording business of yesteryear. This installment in the group's catalog probes a layer deeper.

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The Iguana / Secrets From Below The Embassy

7" | 2020 | US | Original (Vintage League Music)

11,99 €*

Release: 2020 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Thee Sacred Souls Black Vinyl Edition

Thee Sacred Souls

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Daptone)

Acabo Con Lima Huyo Pa Nueva York

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For Thee Sacred Souls, the first time is often the charm. The band’s first club dates led to a record deal with the revered Daptone label; their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Kcrw; and their first fans included the likes of Gary Clark Jr., The Black Pumas, Princess Nokia, and Timbaland. Now, the breakout San Diego trio is ready to deliver yet another landmark first with the release of their self-titled debut on Daptone Records.

“Every step of the way has just been so organic,” says drummer Alex Garcia. “Things just seem to happen naturally when the three of us get together.”

Indeed, there’s something inevitable about the sound of Thee Sacred Souls, as if Garcia and his bandmates—bassist Sal Samano and singer Josh Lane—have been playing together for a lifetime already. Produced by Bosco Mann (aka Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth), Thee Sacred Souls is a warm and textured record, mixing the easygoing grace of sweet ’60s soul with the grit and groove of early ’70s R&B, and the performances are utterly intoxicating, with Lane’s weightless vocals anchored by the rhythm section’s deep pocket and infectious chemistry.

Hints of Chicano, Philly, Chicago, Memphis, and even Panama soul turn up here, and while it’s tempting to toss around labels like “retro” with a deliberately analog collection like this, there’s also something distinctly modern about the band that defies easy categorization, a rawness and a sincerity that transcends time and place.

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Karamanduka Y Melcochita

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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This mega-rare 1969 album pays tribute to the Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods where young Latinos had invented the boogaloo a few years earlier. This record highlights the quality of Peruvian boogaloo and the talent of musicians such as pianist Otto de Rojas and percussionist Coco Lagos.First time reissue.In the mid-sixties, when young Latino musicians in New York fused Afro-Cuban rhythms with rock, soul and jazz, they had no idea that their boogaloo bang bang would reverberate just as strong and loud in a distant South American country.From 1955, La Sonora Macedo, took Cuban music to every corner of Peru, backed the leading musicians of the Peruvian tropical universe, such as Ñiko Estrada, Joe di Roma, the double bass player Pepe Hernández, and the trumpet players Tito Chicoma and Charlie Palomares. All diehard fans of Cuban music, always alert to any new artist arriving from the island.In the early sixties, light rock, doo-wop, ballads, Italian songs and bossa nova paraded across Lima's stages, making performances by Cuban bands, previously so frequent, a thing of the past. Moreover, the unanimous success of the Beatles from 1964 onwards, gave the impression that music from the English-speaking world would dominate the rest of the decade.But this was not the case. In large part because of Manuel Guerrero's good relations with U.S Latino labels, such as Alegre Records, which released the initial recordings by Johnny Pacheco and Charlie Palmieri, allowing listeners in Lima to follow the development of the salsa movement almost from the beginning.MAG was undoubtedly the best representative of these new sounds. In 1969, the LP "Acabo con Lima, huyo pa' Nueva York" was released on this label, a project which brought together three figures from Lima's show business world: Manuel Antonio Guerrero, owner and founder of MAG, who wasn't shy of joining in on the chorus and percussion during recordings, Pablo Villanueva "Melcochita", a multifaceted artist from a talented musical family...

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Los Kintos

Los Corraleros de Majagual

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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1970 album that marked a milestone in the history of Peruvian tropical music comprising an outstanding repertoire of Cuban rhythms as a response to the trends of the moment: boogaloo and Colombian cumbia.Guitarist Pancho Acosta lead the band and Kiko Fuentes delivered the vocals across some juicy descargas and guarachas.In the late sixties, a generation of young Peruvian musicians, who were fans of tropical sounds, chose Cuban rhythms over the onslaught of boogaloo and Colombian cumbia. This musical movement attracted a legion of young followers, mostly from popular districts of Lima.In 1969, percussionist Domingo Guzmán Villanueva was commissioned by the MAG record label to get together a group to revive Cuban musical tradition. To lead the project he recruited, Francisco "Pancho" Acosta, founder and guitarist of the Company Quinto. The new group was baptized Los Kintos, in a nod to their desire to carry on playing in the Compay Quinto style. The link between the two groups appears on this first album, as the group's name is written in two different ways: Los Kintos, on the front cover; and Los Quintos, on the back.Recordings began in 1969 and included the stunning 'Descarga Kinto', Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz's original 'Pancho Cristal' -renamed here 'Pancho Guzmán- and Cuban classics from the repertoire of the historic Trio Matamoros like 'Lágrimas Negras' or 'Mentiras', all with lead vocals by Kiko Fuentes.The success of their concerts would take them on tours across the country, always recognized as outstanding figures of Cuban music in Peru.This reissue brings back an album that marked a milestone in the history of Peruvian tropical music and revives the fame of the group's legendary live performances. First time vinyl reissue.

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Ésta Es Salsa!

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (One World)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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"Ésta sí es salsa!" is one of the most sought-after records in the impressive catalog of the Discos Fuentes tropical all-star group Los Corraleros de Majagual.The record is high on collectors' want lists for many reasons: excellent sound quality, diverse and highly danceable repertoire infusing its grooves, and the inclusion of the Cuban genres of descarga and charanga. The album includes outstanding cover versions of '60s New York salsa but featuring the unusual sound of the accordion and the heavy bass playing of Julio Estrada.First time reissue."Ésta sí es salsa!" is one of the most sought-after records in the impressive catalog of the Discos Fuentes tropical all-star group Los Corraleros de Majagual. It was released in 1970, nine years after the band was first conceived by Alfredo Gutiérrez, Calixto Ochoa and label boss Don Antonio Fuentes as an orchestra to play mostly typical folkloric Colombian genres like porro, cumbia and paseo and the occasional guaracha or pachanga, but with a fully orchestrated big band sound that combined the accordion with a complete rhythm and brass section.The record is high on collectors' want lists for many reasons, not least of which is its excellent sound quality and the diverse repertoire infusing its grooves, ranging from expected coastal tropical Colombian rhythms like paseaíto, paseo and pasebol (all related to cumbia and vallenato), to more exotic modes like sonsonete, casatschok, and the Cuban genres of descarga and charanga.There was never any doubt with the label's intentions of introducing this "new" genre of salsa on this LP, albeit as seen through the lens of Colombian musicians only recently converted to the movement, and indeed, the title unequivocally proclaims: "¡Ésta sí es salsa!" ("This is definitely salsa!"). The proof is in the fascinating (and long) cover versions of Nuyorican artists from the burgeoning Big Apple salsa scene that are the centerpiece of the album. Two massive dance tracks on the record are 'Ocho días' and 'Am...

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Raphael Gimenes

Tongue Full Of Suns

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Countdown)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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In the musical universe of the Brazilian singer-songwriter Raphael Gimenes, wild landscapes are metaphors for unspoken feelings. The Copenhagen-based artist writes hauntingly visual, and poetically surrealistic stories, in which he can be hunted by sun-kissing jaguars, chased by thirstyhorizons, become a kaleidoscope of butterflies, or turn into dream-singing birds. His 2016 debut album, "Raphael Gimenes & As Montanhas de Som", was elected the best Brazilian album of 2016 by the Dutch website Written in Music, received 5 stars on Jazzism, and was hailed as a "conceptual masterpiece" by the Japanese magazine Latina.His sophomore release, "A tongue full of suns", is co-produced by the Faroese singer-songwriter Teitur, who also features on synths. On this new album, Gimenes explores his non-Brazilian influences and his life outside of Brazil. The songs are sung in English, a language that he learned when he lived in the United States as a boy. The lyrics are inspired by the mountainous landscapes of Jotunheimen, Norway, where he goes trekking on a yearly basis. The production and the arrangements draw heavily on sounds he heard on vintage European prog rock bands, particularly Yes and PFM. The music itself does not stray far from the universe of his debut album, but the songs do take more symphonic, progressive forms, while the Brazilian rhythms are substituted by the more meditative, minimalistic tabla played by the German musician Jan Kadereit. "A tongue full of suns" also features two guitar virtuosos from Argentina and the Netherlands: Matias Arriazu and Tim Panman.The fictitious story behind the concept album is presented as a poetic short text written by Gimenes himself: "These are the last songs written by The Painter, a broken-hearted sorcerer who disappeared on a journey of self-discovery in the vast canvas of the great wild. They were found floating above the silence of an ageless rock, in a valley of slumbering glaciers. It is said that on his odyssey, he learned the hypnotic dialects of t...

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Fast Eddie

Shake A Tail Feather!

Ray Draper Quintet Feat. John Coltrane Clear Vinyl Edtion

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Acid Jazz Group Label Countdown Records is proud to present 'Shake A Tail Feather' - a Vinyl/CD collection from Fast Eddie, one of the early '80s most exhilarating live groups, and a favourite of the Rhythm and Soul powered Mod scene of 1980s. Initially called 'The Investigators', Fast Eddie emerged from Billericay in the wake of Thames Delta Blues pioneers, Dr. Feelgood. Having gained a following playing the raw R&B of the Pub Rock circuit, the band diversified their sound to incorporate classic soul repertoire, alongside their own material, which is documented throughout this collection.

Significantly, the group was also managed and produced by a certain young Eddie Piller - our founder - in his first foray as a music Mogul. Consequently, this collection marks an important document in the formation of Well Suspect Records, Countdown Records and the wider Acid Jazz Story. The LP contains a sharp selection of 16 tracks from their recordings, while the CD and digital version extends this with 4 extra tracks. Their storming versions of 'Shake A Tail Feather' and 'Out Of Sight', show their love of classic club soul, while 'Help Me' and 'My Babe' prove that they could play the blues with plenty of rhythm and feeling.

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Ray Draper Quintet

LP | 1958 | EU | Reissue (Sowing)

No Condition Is Permanent

Release: 1958 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Recorded in 1957 by Rudy Van Gelder and released in the same year on the New Jazz label, this was a major statement from Ray Draper, who besides working with the likes of Max Roach, Jackie Mclean and Donald Byrd, he has been one of the few tuba players who have made a name as band leader. In particular this quintet date was a courageous step with Draper sharing the frontline with John Coltrane. In fact the two gave voice to a very unusual combination of tuba and tenor sax. An unprecedented instrumental choice backed here by a tight dynamic rhythm section featuring Gil Coggins – piano, Spanky DeBrest – bass and Larry Ritchie – drums.

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Celestine Ukwu

LP | 2022 | US | Original (Mississippi)

The Movers - Volume 1 1970-1976

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Of the many great talents of the classic Nigerian highlife scene, none contained the existential depth, transcendence and grace of Celestine Ukwu. During his brief time in this world, he pursued education, music, and philosophy; first as a school teacher, then ultimately a singer, lyricist and musician, first as a member of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha's Premier Dance Band, and eventually fronting his own groups, The Music Royals and The Philosophers National. Beginning in the early 1970s, The Philosophers National established a radical shift in the possibilities of Nigerian highlife by moving away from the typical mid-century style and cutting a new path with a distinctly hypnotic and cerebral atmosphere. This sense of depth was apparent in the lilting, multi-layered and pulsing music of The Philosophers National, as well as the concise and clear-eyed lyrics sung so beautifully by Celestine Ukwu. The arrangements establish a living, breathing environment for each song; muted trumpet solos, hypnotic guitar runs, driving percussion; every instrument gracefully following a tide of patience, tranquility, wonder, climax, knowing and unknowing. "Celestine ditched the jaunty dance rhythms and relatively facile lyrics typical of the reigning highlife tunes, and ignoring the soul music tropes most of the highlife bandleaders were appropriating in an effort to inject new life to their ailing format. Instead Celestine concocted a new highlife style that was more contemplative and lumbering; with the layering of Afro-Cuban ostinato basslines and repetitive rhythm patterns that interlocked to create an effect that was hypnotic, virtually transcendental. Meanwhile, Celestine himself sang as he stood coolly onstage in a black turtleneck and a sportscoat, looking like a university professor. The message was clear: this was not necessarily music for dancing_even though the rhythms were compelling enough. This was music for the thinkers." - Uchenna IkonneThis LP compiles some of Celestine Ukwu's deepest and most affecting songs fr...

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The Movers

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Bloomer)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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It’s a special, but also a strange sensation to be releasing an album of one of your early musical heroes. I first discovered The Movers on my very first “record safari” in 1996. My destination was Bulawayo, in southern Zimbabwe, and to get there I had to travel via Jo’burg. While in town I stopped at a store called Kohinoor, in search of Mbaqanga – also known as Township Jive – and found a few tapes which I listened to non-stop on the bus that carried me to the land of Chimurenga Music. One of these cassettes included the songs “Hot Coffee” and “Phukeng Special” which instantly became part of my daily life. Twenty-five years later I’m still grooving to them.

What I didn‘t know at that time was that The Movers were hugely successful during the 1970s; so when it came time to release some of their music, I though it was going to be “a walk in the park” to track down information about them and write their biography. I was in for a rude awakening. Despite their legendary status, there was almost no information available on band or any of its members.

Fortunately Nicky Blumenfeld from Kaya Radio came to the rescue. A few days after I reached out to her, she had managed to get the phone number of Kenneth Siphayi, who is considered to be the founder of the band, as well as vocalist Blondie Makhene and saxophonist Lulu Masilela. Although we left no stone unturned, we were unable to find any of the four original members who seem to have passed away in total anonymity.

The story of The Movers began in 1967 when two unknown musicians – the brothers Norman and Oupa Hlongwane – approached Kenneth Siphayi a stylish and wealthy businessman from the Alexandra township to ask if he could buy them musical instruments. In return he would receive a cut from future life shows and record deals. Kenneth, ended up doing much more, becoming their manager, setting them up in a rehearsal space, and introducing them to an organist who would prove to be the missing link in the band’s skeletal sound. He also gave them their name: The Movers … because, as he said, their music was going to move you, whether you liked it or not.

The band exploded onto the country’s racially-segregated music scene at the dawn of the 1970s with a sound that applied the rolling organ grooves and elastic rhythms of American soul to songs that came straight from the heart of the townships. Rumours of the band started to spread throughout the country and soon the record labels were sending their talent scouts to the Alexandra township to hear it for themselves.

The Movers finally signed to Teal Records in 1969, and their first album, Crying Guitar, went on to sell 500,000 copies within the first three months, launching them into the front rank of South African bands. In their first year they went from local sensations to being the first band of black South Africans to have their music cross over to the country’s white radio stations,

Although the first record was entirely instrumental, The Movers started working with different singers soon after – scoring an early hit with 14 year old vocal prodigy Blondie Makhene – and enriched their sonic palette with horns, extra percussion and various keyboards. Their stylistic range also expanded, incorporating elements of Marabi, Mbaqanga, jazz, funk, and reggae into their soul-steeped sound. But the essence of their music came from the almost telepathic connection of its founding members: the simmering organ of Sankie Chounyane, the laid-back guitar lines of Oupa Hlongwane, the energetic bass grooves of Norman Hlongwane and the simmering rhythms of drummer of Sam Thabo.

The band reached their apex in the mid-1970s, and their hit ‘Soweto Inn’, sung by Sophie Thapedi, became inseparable from the student revolts that signalled a new resistance to the apartheid government. In 1976, however, their manager was forced out, and their producer started to play a more active role in the band’s direction. By the end of the decade there were no original members left. But at their height The Movers were titans of South African soul who left a legacy of over a dozen albums and countless singles of pure groove. On The Movers 1970–76, Analog Africa presents 14 of the finest tracks from the band’s undisputed peak.

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Fast De

Sight Inside

LP | 2022 | US | Reissue (Get On Down)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Fast DE is the new band of Dutch composer and bassist Daniël Eskens. With a musical background in various indie and jazz-facing acts such as Jo Goes Hunting, Opera Alaska, and Karsu, years spent composing and experimenting in his studio gradually led to the creation of Fast DE. A diverse array of influences—Billy Strayhorn to Soulwax, Bela Bartok to Brian Wilson—culminates in a sound that is refreshingly unique, bridging electronic, jazz, psychedelic, and alternative pop. In its live setup, the band configuration consists of Dario Trapani on guitar, Jimmi Hueting on drums, and Daniël Eskens on bass and synthesizer. With its debut album Sight Inside on the horizons, Fast DE invites you into its kaleidoscopic world of complex rhythms, spirited improv, and playful melodies—a colorful choreograph in sound.

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Shuggie Otis

Freedom Flight

Uncovered - The Lost Astroscope Recordings 1973

Release: 2022 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Well before Shuggie Otis cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this,widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career. His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in the 2000s. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also features backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track "Strawberry Letter 23" which became a monster hit for The Brothers Johnson 3 years later. Freedom Flight is a treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition.

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Wood, Brass & Steel

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Soul Brother)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Fusion Global Sounds 1970-1983

CD | 2022 | EU | Original (Favorite)

15,99 €*

One Theme & Subsequent Improvisation

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present a brand new compilation series: Fusion Global Sounds. 9 rare and hidden tracks produced between 1970 and 1983 in various parts of the world. As a fine collector of Jazz-Funk and Fusion for many years, Charles Maurice selected some of his favorite forgotten productions, as he previously did for the AOR Global Sounds, French and Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds compilations series. This time, recordings come from Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand, Uruguay, Spain and France, from artists and bands mostly known in their local scenes. You'll hear here the best elements of the Fusion and Jazz-Funk genre: breezy vocal arrangements reminding Flora Purim in Return To Forever or George Duke's albums, sweet and virtuosic Fender Rhodes (kind of common thread of the comp), melodic spiral-shaped fuzzy synthesizers leads, or irresistible basslines, altogether bringing a unique groove to life. "Buster" is taken from the first and only album of the Swedish band, Sundance. The band from Gothenburg was formed around US trumpet player Stephen Frankevich (notably playing with Mahavishnu Orchestra) after he moved to Sweden. Cosmic, with razor-sharp rhythms, it naturally brings you to the second title, "Hello Mr. Ancuvis" by Renato Anselmi. One of the key players of the Swiss Jazz scene during the sixties and the seventies, Renato also had the chance to play with Harvey Mason or Alphonso Johnson. Funky, jazzy but still a bit breezy, here again sweet vocals nicely blend with uptempo Rhodes part. Also included is another title from Renato Anselmi, "Quiet Fire", a mellow Rhodes-driven ballad with funky accents, wide strings and guitar arrangements. "Tropical Island" by Zane Cronje, a South-African composer and arranger, was initially a track from a music library catalogue: dreamy, soaked in thorough synthesizers, we're only attached to the earth by the Guiro groove. You'll also hear this cosmic vibe in "Astral Dance" by French-American drummer and Jazz musician/composer Daniel Bechet, taken from Songs To My Father LP, dedicated to his father the famous Sax/Clarinet player Sydney Bechet. In this 4 minutes dope jam, keys, guitar and percussion will elevate your mind to another level of consciousness: deep! The 1860 Band was hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, playing mostly in bars, cafes and pubs - their name is taken from a tavern where they had an extended afternoon residency keeping the clients entertained. Their sole LP, now rare and sought-after, was a nice mix of Jazz-Funk and Disco grooves. Their amazing and groovy cover of "Keep That Same Old Feeling" by The Crusaders, brings the best of their playing. Otroshakers was formed around Hugo and Osvaldo Fattoruso, as a tribute project to their former band Los Shakers, some sort of copycat band of The Beatles with great success in Latin America. Listening to "Siempre Tu", you can almost hear The Beatles' psychedelic vocal of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later joining Ringo Thielmann in the US, they formed the band OPA together, after having recorded for Airto's seminal album Fingers. Blending Jazz, South-American musical elements and Funk, their fusion quickly gained the respect of the NY musical scene. "Despertar" by Spanish drummer, singer and actor Pedro Ruy-Blas, is taken from Luna Llena, his great first Jazz-Funk album. The track is a funky piece with wah-wah expressive Rhodes, ending with a beautiful flute solo. "Prologue" by Dutch-French pianist Majoie Hajary (sometimes called the "Hindu pianist"), can be found on La Passion Selon Judas, a very unique religious album blending her own style with Psych, Funk and Jazz elements. Surely we could continue detailing stories of all these gems, but we guess that the best way to learn more about them, is to listen to Fusion Global Sounds, fully remastered from originals and whether your preference is for vinyl or CD formats.

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Sam Wilkes

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Leaving)

29,99 €*

Piknik Kasteel Groeneveld Baarn 1970

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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For his sophomore full-length album, LA-based Bassist/Producer/Composer Sam Wilkes is prompted with ten questions from Leaving Records community mentor & facilitator Carlos Niño.

1. Carlos: Prior to gathering and setting up in the Studio for the Recording Sessions that this record is sculpted from, how much did you talk with any of your collaborators? What did you talk about? What kind of direction, inspiration, example, or association did you give, if any?

Wilkes: i told Christian Euman “I want to make a double drum record with you” The thought had occurred to me after seeing a few shows in New Orleans in 2019. I asked “If you could record it with any other drummer who would it be?”

he responded quite instantly: “Greg Webster” (aka Greg Paul)

together in one 4 hour session we recorded 3 different improvisational pieces … and a chart of mine

this album is entirely the 2nd of those 3 improvisations

I spent a lot of time living with that 40 minute musical block of granite, getting to know it, wondering prodding how to connect the frame-able moments

after 5 to 6 months Jacob Mann and Chris Fishman record over the piece separately. I offered very little instruction to them,

then I read an interview of Gerhard Richter & Hans Ulbrich Obrist “Lives of the Artists, Lives of the Architects” excellent use of Helvetica on the cover. They discuss Richter’s process destroying his own work to find something new in it.

I had an epiphany.

the possibility of improvised sonics(?) with the intent of creating contingency through destroying the audio of specific sections of this 40 minute piece to discover new music(s) in the process.

I contacted Ethan Braun: “What other musicians and artists Besides Stockhausen and Cage, got into a similar kind of process?” He sent me: Pierre Schaefer, Kazuo Shiraga, and Butch Morris. I combined with my past research on Phillip Guston, and Richter. I organized and prepared for my process in collaboration with Chris Sorem to see it through -

2. Carlos: What went into your choice to have 2 Trap Drummers on this record? Had Christian and Greg ever met? Had they ever played together before?

Wilkes: New Orleans April 2019 with Jacob Mann. Small bar Fried chicken wings being sold outside. delicious. Brass band performing “for the love of you” by the Isley brothers what an arrangement I am ecstatic Band had 2 drummers playing marching snare drums One drummer on kick and cymbal. I knew. 2 drummers.

Christian and Greg had not played together formally but had always wanted to… It was special to witness . all of our first time playing with others Since, you know. The situation and concept of the session, To do one tune and spend the rest of the time just playing Was a release.. listening back in the control room Delirious -

3. Carlos: How did you come to choose the Studios that you worked in for this record? The Musicians and Instruments?

Wilkes: i’ve always respected loyalty. It feels like a hug. I frequent Nest Recorders and I frequent Lucy’s Meat Market.

I knew Jacob Mann would know what to do After hearing his take I realized this additional opportunity: Chris Fishman on an Arp-2600 -

4. Carlos: Please tell us how you feel about, Richter: "Surprises always emerge,"

Wilkes: how lucky i am to discover for myself that this is true. -

5. Carlos: In what ways did the Improvisations that you and your group played, (that You Produced & Arranged this record from,) begin? A look, a word, a gesture? Something else?

Wilkes: i hit play on a maestro rhythm king. I got lucky with the tempo. I played a chord progression a cell that I had written a few years ago to say to christian and greg: go

Jacob said yes pressed record reacted

Chris Fishman and I together with Pete Min at Lucy’s meat market Chris playing his heart out.

after, we’d drive around my neighborhood 2-3 o’clock in the morning listening to this music discussing the arrangements where to cut the fat, where to chew. Chris Fishman was so important in this album’s completion.

Chris Sorem and me At nest recorders Playing with tape Recklessly Laughing Fighting exhaustion. So much gear set up Only half of it used. Destroying and discovering No time to waste to hear something new -

6.Carlos: What does "One Theme" mean to You?

Wilkes: 8 bar harmonic and melodic passage that repeats. -

7. Carlos: How does this new record make You feel? Wilkes: i see orange! -

8. Carlos: Was everyone set up in the same room, or in multiple rooms within each Studio?

Wilkes: yes & no

Nest Recorders: SW, CE, GP Jacob Mann’s Apartment in Alhambra: JM Lucy’s Meat Market: CF, SW -

9. Carlos: How has your sound, concept, approach been changing, evolving, metamorphosing, from your perspective?

Wilkes: for me to know And you to find out.

I practice everyday still sometimes, I write just as much Sometimes I don’t Sometimes im sculpting chipping away at music Hoping to find something Sometimes I forget Sometimes im tired. Sometimes im watching or reading the lord of the rings Hopefully I’m improving Hopefully I can be present and Grow. I want to be compassionate and not so hard on myself. -

10. Carlos: Please tell us something special, to You, about the making of this record.

Wilkes: The album title is exactly what the album is.

&

i am unbelievably thankful for the people who made this record with me. lucky to collaborate with them. lucky to know them: Christian Euman Greg Paul Jacob Mann Chris Fishman Chris Sorem Pete Min Mark Chalecki

I love you all, thank you

: )

SW 09/26/21 -

Thank You! Love!!! Carlos Niño 092021 Full Harvest Moon

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Sly & The Family Stone

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Whp)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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This is Sly and the Family Stone caught live in the Netherlands in 1970. A dream set list including big hits such as "Stand!", "Dance to the Music" and "I want to take you Higher", and a marvelous band at the peak of their game featuring Sly Stone - vocals, keyboards, guitar, Freddie Stone - vocals, guitar Rose Stone - vocals, keyboards, Cynthia Robinson - trumpet, vocals, Jerry Martini - sax and the great rhythm tandem of Larry Graham - bass and Gregg Errico - drums.

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Fusion Global Sounds 1970-1983

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Favorite)

LP | 2018 | EU | Reissue (Supraphon)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present a brand new compilation series: Fusion Global Sounds.

9 rare and hidden tracks produced between 1970 and 1983 in various parts of the world. As a fine collector of Jazz-Funk and Fusion for many years, Charles Maurice selected some of his favorite forgotten productions, as he previously did for the AOR Global Sounds, French and Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds compilations series. This time, recordings come from Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand, Uruguay, Spain and France, from artists and bands mostly known in their local scenes. You'll hear here the best elements of the Fusion and Jazz-Funk genre: breezy vocal arrangements reminding Flora Purim in Return To Forever or George Duke's albums, sweet and virtuosic Fender Rhodes (kind of common thread of the comp), melodic spiral-shaped fuzzy synthesizers leads, or irresistible basslines, altogether bringing a unique groove to life. "Buster" is taken from the first and only album of the Swedish band, Sundance. The band from Gothenburg was formed around US trumpet player Stephen Frankevich (notably playing with Mahavishnu Orchestra) after he moved to Sweden. Cosmic, with razor-sharp rhythms, it naturally brings you to the second title, "Hello Mr. Ancuvis" by Renato Anselmi. One of the key players of the Swiss Jazz scene during the sixties and the seventies, Renato also had the chance to play with Harvey Mason or Alphonso Johnson. Funky, jazzy but still a bit breezy, here again sweet vocals nicely blend with uptempo Rhodes part. Also included is another title from Renato Anselmi, "Quiet Fire", a mellow Rhodes-driven ballad with funky accents, wide strings and guitar arrangements. "Tropical Island" by Zane Cronje, a South-African composer and arranger, was initially a track from a music library catalogue: dreamy, soaked in thorough synthesizers, we're only attached to the earth by the Guiro groove. You'll also hear this cosmic vibe in "Astral Dance" by French-American drummer and Jazz musician/composer Daniel Bechet, taken from Songs To My Father LP, dedicated to his father the famous Sax/Clarinet player Sydney Bechet. In this 4 minutes dope jam, keys, guitar and percussion will elevate your mind to another level of consciousness: deep! The 1860 Band was hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, playing mostly in bars, cafes and pubs - their name is taken from a tavern where they had an extended afternoon residency keeping the clients entertained. Their sole LP, now rare and sought-after, was a nice mix of Jazz-Funk and Disco grooves. Their amazing and groovy cover of "Keep That Same Old Feeling" by The Crusaders, brings the best of their playing. Otroshakers was formed around Hugo and Osvaldo Fattoruso, as a tribute project to their former band Los Shakers, some sort of copycat band of The Beatles with great success in Latin America. Listening to "Siempre Tu", you can almost hear The Beatles' psychedelic vocal of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later joining Ringo Thielmann in the US, they formed the band OPA together, after having recorded for Airto's seminal album Fingers. Blending Jazz, South-American musical elements and Funk, their fusion quickly gained the respect of the NY musical scene. "Despertar" by Spanish drummer, singer and actor Pedro Ruy-Blas, is taken from Luna Llena, his great first Jazz-Funk album. The track is a funky piece with wah-wah expressive Rhodes, ending with a beautiful flute solo. "Prologue" by Dutch-French pianist Majoie Hajary (sometimes called the "Hindu pianist"), can be found on La Passion Selon Judas, a very unique religious album blending her own style with Psych, Funk and Jazz elements. Surely we could continue detailing stories of all these gems, but we guess that the best way to learn more about them, is to listen to Fusion Global Sounds, fully remastered from originals and whether your preference is for vinyl or CD formats.

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Marie Rottrova

Lady Soul

16,79 €* 23,99 € -30%

A.B. Crentsil's Ahenfo Band

Release: 2018 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Vinyl congratulations on a great life anniversary

A total of thirteen hits and one brand new song from this year make up the contents of this anniversary LP. It is no coincidence that Ms. Marie is called Lady Soul, as a significant portion of her repertoire has a connection to Native African American soul, blues or rhythm and blues music.

In the beginning, it was often sympathetically expressive singing, so typical for singers originally from Ostrava or sent from Ostrava to the world. The great band Flamingo / Plameňaci was a sovereign support of the adopted versions of overseas, but actually worldwide hits, moreover, for example Richard Kovalcik or Jaroslav Wykrent delivered comparably excellent songs.

The most frequent lyricist, Vladimir cort, was able to write words to them that allowed for precisely phrased singing and the necessary arching ballads. An interesting fact is the triple family authorship: the song “Labute” (Swans) was written by Marie Rottrova herself, the wonderfully melodic “Kdyz hvezda pada” (When the Star Falls) was composed by her then husband Vlastimil Kucaj and this year’s new song by her son Vit Rotter.

The Christmas balladic song completes the collection of rhythmically stirring, danceable and gospel songs. Ray Charles or Aretha Franklin, Don Covay or the duo Ashford + Simpson, plus many others performed by Marie Rottrova – and several times by her excellent duet partner Petr Nemec – represent an essential part of the repertoire of the lady to whom the word soul rightly belongs.

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Obi Baa Wiase

10" | 1992 | EU | Reissue (Hot Mule / Secousse)

19,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Alien Transistor)

Release: 1992 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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A.B. Crentsil is a heavyweight of Highlife music and the main vocalist of Sweet Talks, one of the most popular Ghanaian bands of the 1970’s. In 1992, musician Charles Amoah and producer Richie Osei Kuffour offered him the opportunity to explore a new popular sound: Bürger Highlife. Little did he know these studio sessions would give birth to the biggest song of his career. Charles Amoah, who had released his Sweet Vibrations LP in 1984 to great acclaim, extensively toured in Europe with bands such as Black Earth and Saraba, was eager to bring a new sound to Crentsil, an artist he had admired for years. Throughout the 1980’s, Highlife had been changing pretty radically, following the same evolution as Congolese Soukous, Caribbean Zouk and most popular black music genres of that era: Heavy use of drum machines, synths and digital technology was conveniently replacing big bands and expensive analog studios and equipments. Mostly recorded, produced or mixed in Germany, this new breed of electric Highlife dubbed ‘Bürger Highlife’ could be defined as a fusion of Disco, Jazz, Funk and Pop with the popular Highlife beats, rhythms and lyrics. According to A.B. Crentsil, the name was a reference to the ever present American cultural influence on Ghanaian musicians. Charles Amoah has his own take: “I initially called this particular kind of Highlife ‘Ethno Pop’. Bürger is the German word for citizen, and that’s how Ghanaian musicians living and working in Germany were calling each other”. The music for both “Obi Baa Wiase'' and “Sika Be Ba” was entirely composed and played by Charles Amoah, using minimal equipment: a DX7 synth, a Korg M1, a Yamaha RX5 drum machine, and an Akai 1000 sampler. A.B. Crentsil provided the lyrics for both tunes on the spot. Obi Ba Wiase’s message is one of gratitude and faith: it says we should appreciate our life way more and follow the example of people who have a lot less but still praise God all day. Charles remembers fondly Crentsil’s larger than life personality: "A.B. slept a lot, he really loved sleeping. His lack of punctuality was easily dismissed by his wonderful sense of humour and it wasn't uncommon to find musicians rolling with laughter on the studio floor." Charles also remembers vividly the "Obi Baa Wiase" session: he could feel the magic in the air while working on the soon to be hit, and knew something special was happening. A.B. asked for a break in the middle of the session, which Charles adamantly refused until the song was finished and the magic fully captured. Success was not immediate, and Charles was first a little concerned by the lack of buzz following the immediate release of the Gyae Me Life Ma Me album. But a few months down the line, the situation took a new turn. "Obi Baa Wiase" was making its way into radio playlists, weddings and festive celebrations. It was covered by local bands, and soon most of Ghana and its European and American diasporas were hooked. It became A.B. Crentsil’s most requested song at live events for the following decades. As producer Richie Moore wrote on the album back cover : "A perfect integration of two musical geniuses, the result of which are the scintillating tracks of music on this record… so all you party fans go onto the floor and dance the body music".

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Fuchs

19,99 €*

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Fuchs is a band that never was. It vanished as quickly as it appeared in the picture, much like the animal that can be seen on this album and after whom it was named. In 2005, Kante singer and guitarist Peter Thiessen travelled to Weilheim to visit Markus and Micha Acher in their studio, where they were joined, among others, by Notwist-affiliated musicians like Cico Beck, Robert Klinger, Carl Oesterhelt and Stefan Schreiber. Spirits were high, but schedules were full: after a week of improvised sessions, everyone went their own way. The recordings gathered dust until Markus Acher found them again in 2021 while cleaning out his studio. After carefully re-evaluating the rough mixes, the musicians decided to finally release them. The resulting album comprises six tracks that musically draw on jazz, aesthetically lean on dub techniques and ideologically pick up on krautrock: there’s no solos to be heard on this record, just a few equally skilled and open-minded musicians listening to each other carefully, providing each other with space in which to unfold. »Fuchs« is a document of egos dissolving in a collective spirit. Thiessen and the Acher brothers met in the 1990s and bonded not only over their shared background in hardcore music and the DIY ethos in which it was rooted, but also over their love for jazz. »If you look at those two things combined, you will eventually become convinced that you don’t have to be formally trained to make music that at least resembles jazz«, says Thiessen today. He invited Micha Acher to join his band Kante on flügelhorn in 2004 for a tour that saw the expanded group play unusual encores after the official concert was over. »Micha had taught us some dixie pieces, so night after night we would play a freestyle dixieland ska set in front of the remaining audience!« Naturally, the Acher brothers didn’t have to ask twice when they invited him for a visit in Weilheim to further explore their mutual interests in a studio setting. »I got on my way immediately and took two or three loose ideas, a tape echo and a guitar on whose headplate you could create fantastic sounds with me«, says Thiessen. Between immersing themselves in books by the photographer Leonore Mau, cooking together and drinking the occasional fruit schnapps, the trio went into the studio. Says Thiessen, »Micha brought his flügelhorn and some wonderful ideas with him, Markus an Indian harmonium and a plan, Carl Oesterhelt came with a glockenspiel and a Chinese zither and a bunch of amazing jazz musicians joined in, too.« He considers the resulting recording sessions to be a kind of attempt at musically translating their conversations during those days. They discussed different approaches to jazz, whether sampling and musical miscitations can unlock ecstatic potentials and the possible parallels between syncretistic religions and pop music. »There’s traces of glossolalia, it's like a blurry séance«, adds Thiessen in regard to the sessions. It is especially this spirit that managed to live on even though the recordings themselves were abandoned. »What we all liked most when listening back to the recordings is probably their marginal and fragmentary character, the empty spaces—the moments in which the virtuoso solo never comes, in which the centre remains empty.« The six pieces on »Fuchs« are chock-full of exactly these moments. When at one instant, the players seem to disperse and improvise freely, they always meet again on common ground a short time later, continuing on their way together. There are no conventions or even previous agreements that guide them, just a shared will to explore a vast range of curious sounds and unusual rhythms together as a truly unified constellation of very different musicians. Fuchs is a band that never was. Its ideas still reverberate vividly even 17 years later.

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Color De Tropico Volume 3

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Elpalmas Music)

Ofege As One - I Am Ok Clear Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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El Palmas Music are back with a third instalment of rare Venezuelan sounds from the 60s and 70s, a wild trip through salsa, boogaloo, garage rock, jazz and delinquent pop. Venezuelan music was moving at such a pace through the 60s and 70s that almost as soon as a new craze was born, another was preparing to eclipse it. In barely 10 years, musicians latched on to the sound of the Latin big bands of Cuba, New York and Colombia, turned to the 60s pop and rock ‘n’ roll of England and the US, before heading back to salsa as it took root across Latin American, before forays into jazz, psych rock and Afro-Venezuelan rhythms took hold in the 70s. This fertile musical period, coming at a time when Venezuela was economically abundant and culturally as relevant as any other developed country, has always been the focus of the Color de Trópico series, and continues to be the case on this third instalment, though it should also be noted that the tracks are getting rarer and rarer, indicative of the curatorship of DJ El Palmas and El Drágon Criollo and their constant search for new sounds that reflect Venezuela’s musical treasures at this time. Color de Trópico Vol. 3 starts with Un, Dos, Tres Y ... Fuera’s “Aquella Noche”, a song that’s fully indicative of Venezuela’s coastline with the much-loved Un, Dos, Tres Y ... Fuera giving a llanero rhythm (normally played on a harp and other stringed instruments in its rural incarnation) a fully Afro-Caribbean makeover with pulsating bass and an electric keyboard that teases and energises the groove. It possesses some of that same mid-70s vitality and need to experiment as Grupo Vaquedanus, the band of sax maestro Santiago Baquedano, and their cover of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”, here fashioned as “Toma Cinco”. This version strips away all the niceties of the original, turning it in to a psych-fuzz jazz romp with Baquedano’s raspy sax leading the way. Step back 10 years and the energy remains even if the musical terrain was different. Girl group Los Pájaros hit hard with a boogaloo whose instruction is simple enough: “shake it baby, kiss for you, take the rhythm, and do the boogaloo”. Los Pájaros were one of a number of groups who were taking inspiration from the 60s sounds of the US and Britain but repackaging it for Venezuelan youth. Pop stars Geminis 5 were at it too with a fuzzy ballad “Tus 16 Años”, and Junior Squad even injected a bit of San Francisco hippy charm into affairs with their loose adaptation of The Turtles “She’d Rather Be With Me”, retitled as “Siempre Para Ti” and sounding as rough, ready and full of youthful vim as anything made north of Mexico. On the farthest end of the pop spectrum is The Pets with their cult hit “El Entierro de un hombre rico que murió de hambre” (“The Burial of a Rich Man Who Died of Starvation”), a true countercultural anthem that even dips into “The Funeral March” for a minute, and which is much desired by record collectors. Finally, we must mention the salsa ensembles and their big band predecessors, always an important element of any Color de Trópico compilation. On Volume 3, we find one of the earliest salsa groups in Venezuela, Los Megatones De Lucho, who recorded a pachanga, “Yo Se Que Tu”, long before salsa was even a thing. Influenced by Venezuela’s very own Los Dementes and Joe Cuba’s sextet, Principe Y Su Sexteto were one of Venezuela’s most prominent salsa ensembles. On their 1969 track “San De Manique” we get a different vibe altogether, it’s a creeping son with just vocals, bass and congas for its opening minute, before really kicking into action with a twisted guitar line and wild percussion, while always retaining a raw, Afro-Latin feel. Last, but not least by any means, is one of Venezuela’s most beloved salseros, Johnny Sede, who pipes up with a classic salsa, “Guararé”, showing how the style had developed in just a few short years. You could accuse El Palmas and El Dragón Criollo, the curators of this collection, as getting some sort of a sick thrill at throwing such a weird and unwieldy bunch of tracks together, and that may be true, but there is logic too. These are songs full of life and creativity that signalled an era of boundless optimism. Listen to them now, and you’ll find yourself feeling those emotions once again.

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Melvin Ukachi

LP | 1985 | US | Reissue (Tidal Waves Music)

19,99 €*

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Analog Africa)

Release: 1985 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Melvin Ukachi needs little introduction, the Lagos (Nigeria) based vocalist and bandleader is a living legend. Melvin is known for his fantastic solo albums, his vocals for the afrobeat star-groups M.F.B. and Ozzobia…but his biggest legacy is without a doubt him being the singer and bandleader of Ofege.

Melvin formed Ofege in the early 1970s (when he and the other band members were all still a bunch of teenagers). Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom to follow. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and THE ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band!

Melvin Ukachi recorded four milestone albums with Ofege: ‘Try and Love’ (1973) ‘The Last of The Origins’ (1976), ‘Higher Plane Breeze’ (1977) and ‘How Do You Feel’ (1978). When the Ofege story came to an end, Melvin recorded two astonishing solo albums: ‘Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat’ (1981) and ‘I am Ok’ (1985). Both of his solo recordings have now become much sought-after holy grails for collectors and fans alike.

On the album we are presenting you today (I AM OK from 1985) the listener is treated to Ofege’s trademark sound…but we’re also shown a perfect glimpse of the late 70’s afrobeat works combining soul, jazzy rhythms, William Onyeabor style laid back electro funk synths & fluid boogie-danceability. The female backing vocals and handclaps by Princess Bunmi Olajubu (Femi Kuti) also deserve a special mention because they add so much depth and grooves to this amazing record.

Expect some serious local ‘all-star’ guest musicians on this record as well. Next to him playing the synth, Jake Sollo also produced this gem of an album! To top things off the tracks were recorded and mixed at the legendary RAS Studio in Akwa, Nigeria…all slickly engineered by John Malife (Black Children Sledge Funk Band, T-Fire, Blo).

‘I AM OK’ was released on CRS Nigeria in 1985 and is a total Afro-pop-funk classic that begs for a special place in your record collection. It’s tight, funky and Melvin’s soulful vocals are to die for. This record is a monster!

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first ever reissue (supervised by Melvin Ukachi himself) of this amazing Nigerian Afrobeat-Afropop album. This Rare classic (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork made at Ibukuna (the Lagos based studio that was responsible for designing landmark sleeves for renowned bands & artists such as The Apostles, Tony Allen, The Wailers and Fela Kuti).

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Orchestre Massako

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Dopeness Galore)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The last time I found myself on the phone with Jean-Christian Mboumba Mackaya known as Mack-Joss - founder of the Mighty Orchestra Massako - I could hear gun-shots in the background. Libreville was upside down following the re-election of president Ali Bongo in August 2016. By the time I was ready to go ahead with this project, Mack-Joss’s phone number had been disconnected, and shortly afterwards I found out that the baobab of Gabonese music had fallen.

An adept of folk rhythms, Mack-Joss’s career as a musician began when he was just 17 of age and he quickly established himself as a staple of Libreville’s nightlife scene, singing in various local bands. By 1966 he had released “Le Boucher”, his first hit which swept the African airwaves and earned him the respect of Franco, the legendary master of Congolese Rumba. Franc ´s encouragement helped transform him from a Gabonese singer into an ascendent figure of pan-African culture. Between 1968 and 1970 Mack-Joss and his Negro-Tropical immortalised a good number of singles recorded in a makeshift open-air recording studios and in 1971 Gabon armed forces decided to form their own band. Mack-Joss was recruited to become the band leader and this was the birth of Orchestre Massako which became Gabon’s national orchestra.

At the end of the 1970´s funds were made available to bring recording equipment over from France. Studio Mobile Massako was born and Mack-Joss’s songwriting ability provided hit after hit. The master tapes with the recordings were sent to Paris for mixing and Mack-Joss would personally make the journey to France, carrying the reels in his hand luggage. The vinyl records were then pressed in France and shipped back to Gabon, and to other distributors throughout the continent. About a dozen long play records were recorded between 1978 and 1986 and most were released on Mass Pro, Mack-Joss´s own label. A few of these recordings featured a singer from Guinée Conakry by the name of Amara Touré who had joined Orchestre Massako as a singer in 1980 and had become an important ingredient in the band’s success. His specific voice, impossible not to recognise, left no one unmoved (ask those who listened to the compilation AALP078).

Mack-Joss’s retirement in 1996 marked the end of Orchestre Massako. With a four decades spanned career, his contribution to Gabonese culture cannot be overstated and continues to inspire the respect and devotion of people who knew him.

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Gene Gene

Loud N' Stuff

11,99 €*

LP | 2022 | UK | Original (Total Refreshment Centre)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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The Dutch six piece put their heads together to create two laidback tunes full of atmosphere and organic magic that blend just the right amount of spontaneity and song craft. The band have honed their sound at home and on stage with sold-out shows in and around Amsterdam, including as support act for bands such as Jungle By Night.

The A side track Loud N’ Stuff is one of those special moments when all the elements just fall into place, coming together in a hungover haze of new wave disco jams and dancing at their studio space in Haarlem. On the flip, Pada Pada combines tropical rhythms and percussion with lush chord progressions to perfectly soundtrack those cocktails by the pool on a wavy summer eve. Both tracks were recorded with Nic Mauskovic, with additional passes on the mixer for dubs and delays, to give the tracks an extra spacey sheen.

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Neue Grafik Ensemble

Foulden Road Part Two

12" | 2021 | EU | Original (Next Door)

Release: 2022 / UK – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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South London based producer and multi-instrumentalist Neue Grafik announces his new EP 'Foulden Road Part II' from his Neue Grafik Ensemble band, released 25th March on Total Refreshment Centre. The sequel to their impressive 2019 release 'Foulden Road', Neue Grafik continues to incorporate 100% live takes with the ensemble, as well as solo productions that reflect Neue Grafik's past work with both the Rhythm Section and 22a labels.

Neue Grafik explains, "This EP is a reflection of the social context which surrounds me" – created in a year of much social isolation as well as political unrest, 'Foulden Road II' explores the complex feelings that he found himself battling. He adds "In 2019, we released 'Foulden Road Part I', which was a transitional album, exploring a new culture and navigating between two worlds: Paris and London. 'Part II' is a bit darker, closer to realness with a sprinkle of hope. I couldn't have predicted that I'd finish it encased in my flat, between four walls, in December 2020 after a year of lockdown, Brexit, George Floyd protests, and without London's brilliant culture mesmerising my mind. Everything was sad and closed. Hills were difficult to climb. But it also gave me the time to work hard and deliver this second part of Foulden Road, pushing it forward".

Combining an array of influences — from London, to Paris via New York, Nigeria and Cameroon — with well-measured confidence, ' Foulden Road II' allows you to reflect on the complexities of the last year, whilst braced with energy and hope to move forward positively. Heavy horns and hypnotic poetry form the backbone record, which will ignite any room. 'Foulden Road II' begins with the grounding poetry of MA.MOYO on 'Black Bodies'. The EP is dedicated to Adama Traoré, a black man who died in police custody in Paris. Neue Grafik explains "His name is not well known outside of France. I was shocked, devastated even, to learn that his story didn't cross the Channel". 'Queen Assa' is a heavily percussive dancefloor-hitter which honours French activist Assa Traoré, (Adama's sister) her family, and her struggle to support all families hurt by police brutality. Broken beat elements flow through the horn accompanied 'Officer, Let Me Go To School', while West London rapper Lord Apex offers an unapologetic and poignantly personal perspective on 'Step To It'.

Released on the Total Refreshment Centre label, based out of Stoke Newington's Foulden Road, the EP is a testament to his versatility as an ever-shifting figurehead. Engineered by Capitol K, recorded at Total Refreshment Centre, mixed by Marcus Linon at Greasy Records and mastered by Guy Davie at Electric Mastering – a significant pillar in Neue Grafik's musical career. Having played a DJ set there in 2017, he was convinced by TRC founder Lex Blondin to start a band after he was heard playing some compositions on the communal piano. After spending a couple of sleepless nights on the living room couch, his first gig was booked in the venue space downstairs a week later. The ensemble was established and he has remained in London ever since.

Neue Grafik Ensemble's musicians include; Matt Gedrych, Benjamin 'The Chief' Appiah, Jack Banjo Courtney, Chelsea Carmichael, Dougal Taylor, Yahael Camara-Onono, Xvngo, Rebekah Reid, Dan-Iulian Drutac, Jamie-lee Glinsman and Zara Hudson-Kozdój.

Neue Grafik hosts The Orii Jam Sessions, an energising weekly jam night at Hackney Wick's Colour Factory, which has become a pivotal weekly gathering, inspired by the likes of Unit 31 and Steam Down.

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James Larter

Polarity

Shifting Sands Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Polarity, the first album from percussionist and multi-instrumentalist James Larter is a cross-genre Psychedelic journey with driving rhythms at its core.
Larter has always been obsessed with rhythm; whether it be the roaring sound of Brazilian Samba or the intricate and hypnotic drums from the African diaspora, music that makes people move is a passion. He is an in demand musician that has played with a staggering variety of groups and artists
from Sampha to the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hailing from the UK and studying in London and New York, his soundscape crosses genres and styles all with a psychedelic twist. Marimba and vibraphone feature heavily with echoes of electronic music played out by an all-star accompanying 10 piece band.

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Avishai Cohen Trio

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Naive)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Michelle David & The True-Tones

Truth & Soul

CD | 2022 | EU | Original (Mdtt)

Seal My Heart / I Love You

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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For the past 4 years the band has criss-crossed the Netherlands. Playing sold out shows at clubs, theaters and festivals from north to south, east to west. Capturing the heart and soul of every person there.

All the travelling also has rendered further personal development and awareness of who Michelle David & The True-tones are. We know them as a band that makes every show a soul spectacle with their unique gospel combined with soul, blues, jazz and afrobeat. Now with a new album coming up; 'Truth & Soul’ (29-04-2022) they expanded their musical horizon even more. Dreamy Indie soul with a heavy 70’s vibe mixed with Brazilian flavors and African Rhythms.

Truth & Soul also contains particularly personal duets with Lilian Vieira and Dobet Gnahoré, both well known for their extraordinary musical talent. Knowing who we are enables us to connect even more with those around us.- Michelle. 'You Can Make it' (the first single of the album) features Grammy - Winner Dobet Gnahoré. Hailing from Côte d’Ivoire Dobet Gnahoré is one of Africa’s hottest and most beloved artists.

Michelle: The lyrics are affirmations that should be on Repeat. In times such as these we need to know we CAN AND Will Make IT!

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Sir Wick

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Jai Alai)

17,09 €* 17,99 € -5%

Ofege As One - I Am Ok Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Continuing with the theme of finding and releasing quality 21st century CD-only tracks on to 7” vinyl, Jai Alai now are proud to present their fourth release which showcases the stand-out tracks from the only two albums released under the name Sir Wick. Chad ’Sir Wick’ Hughes is probably best described as a musician (trombone, piano, percussion), composer, teacher, adjudicator and clinician, but somehow that doesn’t seem quite enough to describe such a unique musical talent. Born in Detroit, and graduating from the same High School as Diana Ross, Paul Thompson, & Ron Carter, he went on to study composition and arranging, and holds regular clinics around the north and mid-west US states sharing his expertise. The topside on this limited edition release is the lead track from his debut album “An Interpretation Of A Universal Language” (2007 Sir Wick Entertainment Llc) which features the sublime vocals of Sedalia Marie, a beautiful mid-pacer, whilst the other side “I Love You” features the mellow vocals of Anthony Saunders on a track from Chad’s opus work “A Tale Of Two Fools”, which he began in 1996 but only finally orchestrated and released as his second album in 2017 - a soundtrack featuring a full orchestra comprising eight woodwind parts, full strings, big band brass, and seven-piece rhythm section. Originally intended as an operetta, it was evolving into something bigger; an opera, musical or stage play maybe, but he finally referred to it as a ‘novical’ (a musical novel), which best describes this story of a young musician falling in love for the first time. A biopic, maybe? One could easily take these two fabulous tracks at face value as simply just another great double-sider, but isn’t it nicer to know the full story?

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Melvin Ukachi

LP | 1985 | US | Reissue (Tidal Waves Music)

15,99 €* 19,99 € -20%

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Awesome Soundwave)

Release: 1985 / US – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Digital Afrika

Heart Of Drums

Singles 1970-1973 Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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With obvious intent Nui and Simon set out to create an album that encompasses all of their influences and experiences as musicians and journeymen in the world of African inspired rhythm and sound and have arrived at a work that is at once global, innovative and deeply funky. It’s been an incredible journey that has taken them from the wilds of the northern hinterlands of New South Wales in Australia to the dreamy secret gardens of Marrakesh, from the onsite recordings of Afro-Cuban choirs of Havana, to the Gnawa street sounds of Moroccan medinas. Nui and Simon have traversed the globe to create these recordings and have collected diverse and international group of artists to collaborate with in the making of Heart of Drums. Artists such as Cazeaux Oslo, who is an African-American Mc and vocalist hailing from California. Olugbade Okunade , Nigerian trumpeter and vocalist , was formerly a member of the Femi Kuti Positive Force band. Members of Clave y Guaguanco, One of Cuba’s foremost folkloric groups, who have been around since the 60’s. Lalita Yagnik, Portuguese Speaking Indian, vocalist and martial artist. Radouan Naim, Traditional Moroccan vocalist and instrumentalist. And Close Counters, Australian Up and coming Electronic duo. Digital Afrika is made up of two main protagonists: Zhonu ‘Nui” Moon (Future Roots) An African-Australian producer, percussionist and Dj that has performed and recorded all over the world. With a strong focus on African music,He has worked with the likes of Femi Kuti , Mulatu Astake and Tony Allen. And Simon Durrington (Si Fixion ) who is an Australian based producer, keys player and DJ. With extensive experience of working with Melanesian , Indian and world musicians. Drawing on these influences, Si weaves these styles together seamlessly with his unique high quality electronic production. This album ‘Heart of Drums’ is a synergy of lush analog electronica and fiery African percussion, vocals and instrumentation. With occasional reinvented throwbacks to the Disco and Funk era as well as forward thinking Afro-futuristic Record bag essentials, Heart of Drums really brings the party! These are constructed dance floor motivators for any environment. The artwork for this record deserves special mention as the mask was handcrafted by the interesting and talented artist Ju Mu Monster. Based in Berlin, the studied fashion designer creates colourful, wildly dancing image-worlds, in which beings from diverse cultures are combined with shamanism and spiritual worlds. Her enchanting works of art include murals and canvases as well as magical masks. All tracks produced and arranged by Zhonu (Nui) Moon & Simon Durrington

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Grupo Geyser

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Pharaway Sounds)

LP | 2022 | CA | Original (Telephone Explosion)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Rock & Indie

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One of the hidden treasures from Venezuela, Grupo Geyser were pioneers in fusing psychedelic rock with Latin & Afro Cuban rhythms.

Here's their first ever vinyl retrospective, including their four singles originally released between 1970-73.

Los Geyser aka Grupo Geyser formed in Caracas, Venezuela, in the mid-60s by brothers Publio and Ebenezer García. Initially influenced by the British and American bands of the time, the band experienced different line-ups and they gradually incorporated Latin / Afro-Cuban influences to their music, along with instruments like bongos, tumbadoras or sax, thanks to musicians like Roberto Monasterios.

Led by Publio García, who was the main songwriter, Grupo Geyser always played their own songs, refusing to do covers. They got to release a few self-produced 45s during 1970-1973 and they were pioneers in not only fusing psychedelic rock with Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms but also in home-recording and multi-tracking with their song “La Súper Lombriz Atómica”, recorded by brothers Publio and Ebenezer at their home studio playing all the instruments themselves. The band even caught the attention of famous singer Alfredo Sadel, who took them under his wing and received interest from the US market.

This comp includes all their 45 sides: from heavy Latin-psych-fuzz-groove (“Óyeme Guajira”, “Piénsalo Bien”) to freakbeatish psych with Farfisa (“Tú Me Caes Mal”), bluesy acid psych (“Sodoma y Gomorra”) and more.

*Color insert with detailed liner notes by band member Publio Garcia and photos

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Eucalyptus

Moves

Release: 2022 / CA – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Moves is their sixth release, and somewhat of a milestone. In addition to it being the octet's most psychedelic and arrestingly soulful release thus far, it's also their longest—their first, in fact, to cross into bonafide full-length territory. They're marking the occasion by joining the roster of Toronto favourite Telephone Explosion Records.

Touted as “innately personal” by DownBeat Magazine, Brodie West's unique vision has been nourished by a bafflingly diverse array of sources. Meeting the legendary Dutch drummer Han Bennink in 2000 at age 24 not only sparked an ongoing creative partnership (including two records), but also led him in a number of other fruitful directions. Bennink was the connection to exploratory punks The Ex, who brought West aboard for their collaboration with Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya, which produced recordings and tours worldwide.

Where the Brodie West Quintet (Astral Spirits, Ansible Editions) trades in clever jazz asymmetry and his duo Ways is a stark and focussed exploration of rhythm, Eucalyptus is where this eclecticism is most audible. The band simmers with polyrhythmic percussion, laid-back jazz sweetness, various strains of psychedelic wonk, and subtle tropical aromas from dub on “Rose Manor,” named after the retirement home of his musical grandmother Lorna (ever a source of inspiration for West) to Bossa Nova, as heard on “It's In A Move.” Its streaks of free-form bedlam and pure sonic texture keep listeners poised for perplexity and cheerful volatility.

Moves manages to approximate the playful, intoxicating warmth the band conjures in their beloved local live appearances. Eucalyptus has made a tradition out of mounting month-long residencies at Hirut, a cozy east-end eatery that serves delicious Ethiopian cuisine. Hirut even gets a nod in the credits. Perhaps it's because this record's subtle whimsy and inviting disarray draws so much from the spirit of those evenings.

A large part of this odd concoction's success comes down to West's co-conspirators, a veritable who's who of Toronto's underground music community. Trumpet player Nicole Rampersaud, who has since relocated to Fredericton, New Brunswick, has sculpted her unique tone as composer-in-residence at Halifax's Everyseeker Festival and in collaborations with the likes of Rakalam Bob Moses, Anthony Braxton, Joe Morris and Telephone Explosion's own Joseph Shabason. Ryan Driver (clavinet) has cut a series of gorgeous song records for Tin Angel Records, and collaborated with Eric Chenaux (Constellation) in various projects, while leading a number of his own imaginative outfits. Michael Smith (bass) plays with Toronto psychonauts the Cosmic Range and has toured and recorded with Mv+ee, Sandro Perri plus countless others. Fellow Perri collaborator, percussionist Blake Howard brings the palpable joy of his playing to collaborations with Marker Starling, Little Annie, and the surrealist mischief of GUH. 2021 saw Nick Fraser (drums) leading a disc on Hat-Hut's Ezzthetics imprint. It follows a string of other celebrated recordings with international out-jazz heavyweights like Tony Malaby and Kris Davis for Clean Feed, Astral Spirits and more. In addition to pursuing his delicate solo song work, drummer Evan Cartwright plays in both of West's other projects, and has performed and recorded with Tasseomancy, The Weather Station, US Girls, Badge Époque and Andy Shauf.

Another exciting development unveiled on Moves is the presence of guitarist Kurt Newman, who replaces longtime member Alex Lukashevsky. Newman's whirling treatments and colorful array of tones figure prominently into the ensemble's new and disorienting sound. Newman was the co-founder of premiere Austin improv festival No Idea alongside Chris Cogburn. A ceaseless collaborator who's worked with the likes of Sarah Hennies, Tetuzi Akiyama, Mats Gustafsson, he also leads his own projects such as Country Phasers and the Nashville Minimalism Unit.

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Os Sambeatles

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Melting Pot Music)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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HIGHLIGHTS Rare 1966 Brazilian album with a jazz/bossa nova take on songs by the Beatles, all served up with plenty of great keyboard work from the legendary Manfredo Fest who would later become member of the Sergio Mendes band.The songs are all played with imaginative scents that really take them from their roots as pop songs and open them up as groovers filled with keyboard improvisations.First time vinyl reissue.DESCRIPTIONRare 1966 Brazilian LP with a jazz/bossa nova take on songs by the Beatles performed by the very talented Manfredo Fest and his trio. It was originally released right after their classic 1965 RGE album and has a very similar jazz-based sound. Manfredo Fest was part of the gathering of Brazilian musicians of the late-'50s who were developing the bossa nova movement, and he made a number of trio recordings in that vein from 1961 to 1966. After emigrating to Minneapolis in 1967, Fest moved to Los Angeles where he served as keyboardist and arranger for Bossa Rio and toured with Sergio Mendes.This recording is all instrumental, strongly jazz-based, with piano as the main solo instrument, soaring over the top of some tight, crackling rhythms! The songs are all played with imaginative scents that really take them from their roots as pop songs and open them up as groovers filled with keyboard improvisations.A nice slice of how the bossa nova sound was evolving in its homeland as well as the international impact the Beatles were having on countries outside of the U.S., England, Japan, and Germany.First time vinyl reissue.

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Pachakuti & Young.Vishnu

Dédalo

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Lost)

Dave Brubeck

Live At The Kurhaus 1967

74,99 €*

Simadan Kologa / Mi Ke Libertat

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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At the time of one of their last concerts in 1967, the Dave Brubeck Quartet had already been in existence for 16 years, in more or less the same formation. That's how well the four of them know each other! It was at the Black Hawk night club in San Francisco that Dave and Paul made their debut. Their trademark: to break down racial barriers against which they will fight without restraint, even in the most extreme period of McCarthyism, and to make jazz accessible to the greatest number of people, by revisiting ballads, popular songs or great themes of classical music. But above all, they developed an almost infinite variety of complex rhythms. In Scheveningen, on the evening of 24 October 1967, the Dave Brubeck Quartet was more than just a jazz band. He was the ambassador of American music in Europe.

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Konkie

7" | 2022 | EU | Original (Kelly Ocean)

15,99 €*

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Rune Grammofon)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Russell 'Konkie' Halmeyer was born and raised on the small island of Curaçao, located 60 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela. Konkie is a percussionist who specializes in the steelpan, a percussion instrument originating from Trinidad and Tobago that is made out of an industrial drum. He started playing at the age of 12. Throughout his career, he has explored the boundaries of the steelpan and associated genres. He has become one of the most innovative pannists in the Caribbean, taking the steel pan out of its context of steel bands, carnival and calypsos. In the 1990s Konkie toured through the States, where he performed frequently, merging steel band sounds with jazz.

In Curaçao, where he is considered the most important pannist of the island, Konkie mainly performs in hotels and at tourist sites. He enjoys performing for these crowds but his true passion and joy lie in arranging deep and melancholic compositions. These two tracks are the result of that joy. "Simadan Kologá" means "the hanging harvest". "Simadan" or “Seú” is the local harvest period on the island. "Kologá" means "hanging" because Konkie used a hanging steel pan for the arrangement. "Mi Ke Libertat" means "I want freedom". Instruments used: steelpan, drum, conch (seashell horn), and chapi, the iron part of a hoe that slaves used to work the fields with.

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Action & Tension & Space

Tellus

33,99 €*

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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The band describe themselves as a spaced out, instrumental loungerock outfit, with added vibes of folk music, jazzy surf, psychedelia, free improvised chill-out, jangly post-rock and travelling bass. Not much for us to add here, apart from possibly a pinch of krautrock. "Tellus" is the quartet's fourth album, and their debut on Rune Grammofon. Being something of an allstar team from the fertile psychedelic spacedrone scene in Haugesund on the westcoast of Norway, the members also pay their dues in bands like Electric Eye, Lumen Drones (ECM), Undergrünnen and The Low Frequency in Stereo, whose album "Futuro" we released back in 2009. On "Tellus" they are joined by Sigbjorn Apeland, a much esteemed musician largely operating in a landscape of folk music, church music and improvisation. He is a member of Nils Okland band (ECM and Hubro) and has collaborated with him for 30 years, also appearing on his two albums for Rune Grammofon; Straum (2000) and Bris (2004). Also appearing on "Tellus" is Ståle Liavik Solberg, a central force on Oslo's thriving improvised music scene. He has performed worldwide with numerous Norwegian and international musicians and curates the excellent Blow Out! festival. With "Tellus" ATS heads into the Hardangervidda (the big plains connecting the eastern and western parts of southern Norway) terrain of wide open spaces, spare vegetation and unruly weather conditions, especially during the winter. The album was recorded in a small studio in Haugesund during two days of heavy rain showers and stormy winds rumbling outside the windows. Per Steinar Lie - Lap-steel and electric guitar Oystein Braut - Guitar, organ and Mellotron Julius Lind - Double bass Orjan Haaland

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Represent / Juicy Fruit

7" | 2022 | US | Original (Big Crown)

12,99 €*

Western Reunion London 1965

Release: 2022 / US – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band follow up their 2021 "Expansions" album with another solid 7" offering.The A side, "Represent," is one of the stand out tracks from Expansions. BRSB cover the DJ Premier produced Nas classic taking the original and expanding the arrangement with guitar and brass riffs. Tuba chugs along the drum break while the steel pans hammer out the infamously infectious melody of the original sample making this an easy winner in Hip Hop circles and beyond.The B side is a non-album cut available on this 45 for the first time ever. Bacao covers the Mtume classic "Juicy Fruit" made popular again when The Notorious B.I.G. sampled it for his smash hit "Juicy." This is a sure head turner when people realize they are dancing along to a new version of the classic melody.

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The New Jazz Orchestra

LP | 1965 | EU | Reissue (Mad About)

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Les Disques Bongo Joe)

Release: 1965 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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British Jazz Masterpiece from 1965 featuring Neil Ardley, Ian Carr, Barbara Thompson and John Hiseman

180 gram black vinyl. Reissue for the first time Worldwide In the mid-60’s London scene, the NJO was one of those unavoidable and big-band groups (originally started as Clive Burrows Orchestra), where almost everyone who was anyone on the scene or almost transited through the group, which was normally the vehicle for composer Neil Ardley. You’ll find in the WR album, among others, stellar names like Ian Carr (of RCQ and Nucleus fame), Barb Thompson, Tony Reeves, John Hiseman (all three of future Colosseum fame), Trevor Watts (future Amalgam) plus a bunch more of lesser-known, but no-less gifted musicians like Paul Rutherford, etc. The line-up would fluctuate to include many other household names.

The New Jazz Orchestra was formed in December 1963, its name reflecting both the youth of its members - their average age was only 23 - and their mission to perform the new kind of orchestral jazz that was then developing in America but still to be heard in Britain. The personnel included such (then) non-jazz instruments as flute, horn and tuba in addition to the standard brass, saxes and rhythm line-up of the big band. This is the NJO's first album, recorded in March 1965 before an invited audience to make the young band feel at ease. The NJO was the offspring of a popular weekend jazz club, the "Jazzhouse" based at the Green Man, Blackheath (demolished to make way for Allison Close) where the "house" band was the Ian Bird Quintet (initially comprising Ian Bird, tenor sax; Clive Burrows, baritone sax; Johnny Mealing, piano; Tony Reeves, bass and Trevor Tomkins, drums - Mealing and Tomkins left to join the newly formed Rendell-Carr Quintet and were succeeded by Paul Raymond and Jon Hiseman respectively. The ensemble featured many London-based jazz musicians, such as Harry Beckett, Jack Bruce, Ian Carr, Dave Gelly, Michael Gibbs, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Jon Hiseman, Henry Lowther, Don Rendell, Frank Ricotti, Paul Rutherford, Barbara Thompson, Trevor Tomkins, Michael Phillipson, Les Carter, Tom Harris, Trevor Watts and Lionel Grigson. Ardley, Gibbs, Carter, Rutherford, Michael Garrick, and composer Mike Taylor all contributed pieces and arrangements.

Under exclusive license of Universal Music Portuga

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Africa Negra

Antologia Volume 1

25,99 €*

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Haggis)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Continuing our work on Sao Tomé and Principe with curator DJ Tom B., we are pleased to announce the release of an anthology of the group África Negra.

This first volume includes 12 of their key tracks, remastered for the occasion and selected only from those officially released on different media. The album is accompanied by a booklet with the original covers and interviews with the band members still with us. A second volume containing only unreleased material, digitized from the studio tapes by their tour manager, and filled with period photos, is expected soon.

Formed in the early 1970s by Horacio, a butcher by trade, and his guitarist friend Emidio Pontes, África Negra is the best known of the great São Tomé and Principe bands. The catchy melodies in the local Forro language, provided by lead singer João Seria, and subtly harmonized by the enchanting backing vocals of the rest of the band, quickly ensured their influence outside the archipelago. Their incomparable blend of Puxa and Rumba rhythms and subtle melodies made them the most regular touring band from Sao Tome.

Their first album (Aninha) was released in 1981, followed by three more in 1983. They contain an incredible collection of timeless hits and have achieved high ratings on the second-hand market. Then came the excellent San Lena in 1986, which was unfortunately only released on cassette, but for which we were able to digitize the original tape. In 1990 their last album in vinyl format (Paga me uma cerveja) was released, the rarest. Three CDs and five cassettes followed in the 1990s. Like most São Tomean bands, they recorded their compositions at Radio Nacional STP, the only studio on the island at the time, whose cramped premises forced the big bands to do sessions outside in the courtyard, at night, facing the ocean and in front of their fans.

Reformed around João Seria, the band has recorded three albums since 2012, and has been touring again for a few years, offering, always with the same energy, their frenzied rhythms, their graceful harmonies, their poetry full of social metaphors, and their typical dance steps.

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The Jazz Defenders

King Phoenix

LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Underdog)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bristol's jazz daddies The Jazz Defenders drop their second album for Haggis Records (home of UK funk kings The Haggis Horns), in March 2022 and it's a real departure from their debut release "Scheming" (released in 2020). Whereas that album was a homage to the late 1950s/early 1960s classic jazz style known as hard bop, this release moves into new territory with hip-hop/jazz, cinema soundtrack flavours, Latin rhythms and soul-jazz all upfront in the mix. Three taster singles from the album released in mid/late 2021 and march 2022, "The Big Man/Love's Vestige, "Live Slow" (featuring US rapper Herbal T), and "Perfectly Imperfect" (feat Doc Brown) received great radio support from the likes of Craig Charles (bbc 6 Music), Helen Mayhew (Jazz FM), Jamie Cullum (bbc Radio 2), Ashley Beedle (Worldwide FM), Colin Curtis (Worldwide FM) amongst many others, all loving the Jazz Defenders' musical fusion of retro meets modern.
The classic sound that has inspired the band this time is very much from the mid-late 1960s era and the merging of soul and funk beats with jazz solos/improvisation. Tracks like "Wagger Jaunt" and "Munch" nod to the piano and organ-led soul-jazz of artists like Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Hancock, Reuben Wilson, and Jimmy Smith. Meanwhile "Saudade" and "Love's Vestige" feature Brazilian bossa rhythms but with some added film soundtrack overtones. Speaking of movie soundtracks, "The Oracle'' is a pure homage to the classic cinematic compositions of maestros like John Barry(James Bond, The Ipcress File) or Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible, Bullitt) right down to the very impressive string arrangement, beautifully scored and orchestrated by band leader George Cooper.
A big departure from the previous album comes via the two hip-hop/jazz tracks, both of which feature guest MCs. "Live Slow" has US rapper Herbal T blessing the mic over an uptempo soul-jazz number whilst "Perfectly Imperfect" features London MC/actor Doc Brown rapping on a nice and slow 90's style head-nodding hip-hop groove. Both compositions show George Cooper's love for old-school boom-bap hip-hop (by the way, he also plays keys with renowned UK hip-hop big band Abstract Orchestra). For classic jazz lovers who dug the first album, there are two pure jazz tracks that join the dots between that debut release and this sophomore one - "Twilight" and "From The Ashes" - with plenty of vibrant solos for the discerning listener.
"King Phoenix" is a statement in itself from The Jazz Defenders. After 2 years of music being destroyed by the pandemic and many musicians inactive, the band has risen from the ashes with new vigour, energy and vision to try something new and not just repeat past musical glories. A band that sticks to the same script every release might just end up having a short shelf life but the Jazz Defenders are planning on being around for a long time.

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Dowdelin

Lanmou Lanmou

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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UK only
UK promo by Ballantyne Communications; tour by Earth Agency.
No spot in music is immovable. No music can sit still but it's hardly ever as true as it is for Dowdelin, a band that can't be tied down to a single geography and genealogy. The creole language, Caribbean rhythms, urban energies, dazzling virtuosity, sensual electro: The group evolves in a unique place where genres and colors, heritage and audacity can merge.

Lanmou lanmou, Dowdelin's second album, muddies the waters, blurs the lines, bewilders. It does everything to assuage naysayers such as the conservatives and the lazies, the defenders of an official form of reggae, the right kind of zouk, the trademarked version of jazz or the historically validated biguine. As with the languages, culture and nations of the Caribbean which are never quite European nor completely African, it would be daunting to try and define where exactly Dowdelin is located on the official landscape of music in a Creole afro-futurism, at the crossroads of the black Atlantic...
The Dowdelin experiment finds its roots in a blend of encounters and loyalties: David Kiledjian AKA Dawatile, producer and multi-instrumentalist composer met Lyon-born singer from Martinique, Olivya. Together, they would jam and write songs in English. But, nothing felt right, until she started singing in Creole. Then everything made sense : the language of the French Antilles in the West Indies deployed its revolutionary universality.

David then got back in touch with Raphaël Philibert, a percussionist, saxophonist and singer who has always been involved in developing the field of gwo ka, the heavily percussion-based traditional music of Guadeloupe, of which his relative, Georges Troupé, is a pioneering defender. All this gave birth to Dowdelin and the obvious is striking.
We're reminded that when the poet and theoretician Édouard Glissant speaks of Creoleness as a whirlwind of unpredictability, he speaks of an adventure that couldn't be foretold in the world's istory : From Europeans and Africans forced into a third continent with an insane dream to build a New World, languages, cultures, music in other words mixed heritages, catharsis, diziness, resiliance were born through the mass crimes of slavery and the dispoilment of Native American populations.

Dowdelin released their debut album, Carnival Odyssey, in 2018.Connoisseurs took an appetite for that music with constantly shifting boundaries and countless relatives. This is confirmation that purity activists will always have problems with mixed identities saying things such as "This isn't jazzy enough for my festival", "It's too much for mine" ... But many concerts were performed mostly in Great Britain and France and quite a buzz among those who love unbound music.
The band then expands with the arrival of Greg Boudras, a drummer who has worked with David on other projects such as Vaudou Game, Fowatile, The Bongo Hop to name a few, in order to bring reinforcement to Dowdelin and he70 craft this second album.
What's the blueprint for it ? "We're not trying to pile up experiences or willfully make a collection of experiences," David sums up. It's more about feelings, about combinations that occur subconsciously. So sometimes we come up with things that surprise even us, like a fragment of an English synth pop hit, that only we recognize. The same recipe's never used twice: it can be a song I made at home with my instruments and my daughter's toys or sound designs to which Raphaël and Greg add rhythmic elements that change everything, or even more collective compositions… "

Then the verses emerge, written in Creole, English or French by David and Raphaël, who also happens to be a trained linguist and knowledgeable in the miscellaneous varieties of Creole. Messages of love and struggle, of brotherhood and memory ... And, from one track to the other, the generous burst of creolization is still at work, biguine blending with hip hop, contemporary jazz mixing with reggae, Creole expressing itself through the vast array of musics to which it is related...

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WaJazz: Japanese Jazz Spectacle Vol. I - Deep, Heavy And Beautiful Jazz From Japan 1968-1984 Black Vinyl Edition

2LP | 2022 | EU | Original (180g)

38,99 €*

Double Dinners Black Vinyl Edition

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release: from blazing hard bop to free jazz, to introspective saxophone solos and massive big band sounds, renowned Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa presents an essential 14 track collection of “WaJazz” music taken from the Nippon Columbia vaults. Featuring Jiro Inagaki, Minoru Muraoka, Hiroshi Suzuki, Hozan Yamamoto, Count Buffalo, Takeshi Inomata, and much more!

“Japanese jazz has been recognized and celebrated by music lovers worldwide for decades. The origins of this trend may be traced back to the rare groove movement that flourished in the 1990s, but its current deep and wide popularity seems to be connected to the fact that Japanese people have been reevaluating their own jazz since the mid-2000s, locally referred to as WaJazz ("Wa" meaning Japan but also the Shōwa emperor period, from 1926 to 1989). Since the beginning of the 2000s, there has been a growing trend to move away from the DJ-focused perspective and to appreciate jazz with a deeper understanding. Nowadays, there is more and more interest in the background and roots in which jazz has developed in Japan, with Japanese jazz as a whole now considered as its own distinctive genre.

Of course, even if we speak about "WaJazz" as one genre, there is a truly wide variety of styles within it. However, when Japanese musicians play, there is something uniquely Japanese flowing through that creates a kind of synergy. It may be the melody, the rhythm, or even something deeper, like an inexpressible flicker. I would be happy if some of its charms and secrets emerge from the fourteen tracks included in this collection.” (Yusuke Ogawa)

Yusuke Ogawa has been running the Universounds store in Tokyo since 2001, specializing in jazz and second-hand, rare, and collector records. He is also a reissue supervisor, label manager, DJ, and music writer. Known for his vast musical knowledge, eye for detail, and archival skills, Ogawa has worked on more than 250 reissues and compilations – including the highly praised Deep Jazz Reality and Project Re:Vinyl series. He is the co-author of the Wa-Jazz Disc Guide and the Independent Black Jazz of America books.

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Cousin Kula

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Rhythm Section International)

Double Dinners Yellow Vinyl Edition

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Bristol based band Cousin Kula announce their debut album Double Dinners. With co-signs from the likes of Badbadnotgood and newly signed to Rhythm Section, Cousin Kula have created their own musical universe of otherworldly pop serenity with vastly distinct, but complementary elements: “the possibilities of jazz, the emphatic energy of club culture, and the sonic tapestries of psychedelia” Clash Magazine remark.

Living and recording together, nestled in the sun-drenched hills on the outskirts of Bristol, Cousin Kula are masters of their craft, and also of restraint; widely regarded by their fans for their superior live show. Having performed live in various bands for the past 10 years since their early teens, not being able to hit the stage during lockdown took its toll on these musicians. Ever resourceful, however, Cousin Kula began a series of their own home-made live sessions, which lead in turn to a Boiler Room Session and further a request from XL signees Badbadnotgood to record a live adaptation of their new single.

Now, Cousin Kula flutter into the collective consciousness with a timeless slice of psychedelic soul on debut album Double Dinners. The latest band to emerge out of the buoyant Bristol music scene, they have stripped back all excess baggage for their most accomplished recordings to date. Existing on a similar plane to contemporaries such as Connan Mockasin, Mildlife, Toro Y Moi, Mac DeMarco and Homeshake, the band caught the attention of renowned tastemaker Bradley Zero with their 'Casa Kula Cassette' EP at the end of 2020, with the Rhythm Section founder swiftly taking the 5 piece under his wing, with him commenting:

“The band balance an outsider approach with more hooks than you can shake a stick at... the result being a gently beguiling sound that effortlessly draws you in, revealing more character with each listen.”

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Cousin Kula

LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Rhythm Section International)

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Soundway)

Release: 2021 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Pigeon

Yagana

LP | 1976 | EU | Reissue (P-Vine)

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Born out of an impromptu post-pub jam session in Margate, the 5-piece group Pigeon swoops onto the scene with their blistering debut EP Yagana.

As the tracks cross effortlessly between Afro-disco, grunge, no wave and jazz, the cohesive symbiotic relationship of the band members is obvious from the start. The powerful vocals of Guinean singer Falle Nioke are complemented by a wealth of talent from Graham Godfrey on drums, Steve Pringle on keys, Tom Dream on guitar and Josh Ludlow on bass.

Having moved to the UK from West Africa in 2018, Falle Nioke has recently been in the spotlight with EPs heavily supported by indie radio and BBC 6 Music playlisters. On Yagana, he continues to sing in a multitude of languages, but this time shifts towards a more organic musical direction, showcasing his incredible versatility as a vocalist.

This new path can be attributed to the pedigree of the rest of the group – veteran musicians Steve Pringle and Graham Godfrey are key members of Michael Kiwanuka’s band, the latter also performing with Little Simz, Cleo Sol and Sault, among others.

Furthermore, Tom Dream and Josh Ludlow are electronic artists in their own right – with a number of artistic projects in the works, as well as having performed together as ambient duo Soma World. Both used to play in metal and grunge bands in earlier years, an influence which has made its way into Pigeon’s distinctive sound.

The Yagana EP is an emotionally-charged offering, exploring themes of lust, saudade, homesickness, and hope for peace. The title track ‘Yagana’ translates to “it’s been a while”, and though its up-tempo disco rhythm and wild synth solos lend a cheerful disposition, the lyrics describe a melancholic yearning for Africa. Nioke sings in Susu, Wolof and Malinke – as he describes the struggle of being separated from one’s family, as well as hustling to support them financially from afar.

As a teenager, Nioke would train his voice by the great river Rio Nunez in Boké, among the remnants of the slave trade, pathways and crumbling buildings being swallowed up by the forest. While most Western teenagers grew up with traditional pets, Nioke disclosed to his band members that his closest animal friend in West Africa was the pigeon – and so the name of the group was chosen.

Moving through the record, ‘Nothing Grows’ follows on from the Afro-disco opener, bringing down the tempo and intensity. The heavily swung jazz rhythm is driven by the drums, while soft guitar tremolo picking and synth pads produce a delicate atmosphere over which the singer mournfully longs for a lost love.

But having lured the listener into a meditative and pensive state in ‘Nothing Grows’, feathers are suddenly ruffled by the entrance of “It’s You” - a sultry story of burning desire. Channelling grunge and elements of no wave, the song is defined by a rumbling bass that pulses alongside the kick, while an atonal synth riff and fuzzy guitar licks provide the minimal melody. Piercing through it all is the hypnotic spoken word of Nioke, switching between French and English, as he beckons – and at times even demands - a lover to enter his room.

Finally, ‘War (Jam)’ returns the record to its 4x4 disco pace, featuring rapid-fire hats and high-pitched guitar riffs seemingly nodding to Mugithi, a genre often associated with political commentary. This concept is built upon with lyrics sung in Susu, as Nioke condemns wars around the world and their ongoing futility, pleading for people to unite and create a better place. Running just over 7 minutes, ‘War (Jam)’ is an improvised long take which continuously evolves, allowing each musician an opportunity to shine.

Recorded in a single weekend, Pigeon’s Yagana EP is a clear testament to each member’s skilfulness and varied experiences, creating a fully-fledged being that is greater than the sum of its parts. With an opening hand like this, we await with bated breath to see what more the humble Pigeon can bring to the world.

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Spice

Let There Be Spice

38,99 €*

Release: 1976 / EU – Reissue

Genre: Organic Grooves

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Along with other reissues for The Ultimates, The Topics and Ricardo Marrero, P-vine has been steadily reissuing the hard-to-find funk and soul gems on the short-lived 70s label TSG, and this latest reissue for Spice's 1976 record Let There Be Spice is of no exception and is packed with seasoned heat. It's a record that complements and blurs the lines of soul, funk and disco, and was once so rare that not even the band knew of its existence. Only in recent times have we been able to put together a picture of a group growing up in The Bronx with the burning desire to perform and light up the stage.

Tracks like "Everything Is You", "Don't Fight It" and "Fool In Love" are glorious examples of the heavenly soul sound the group construct with harmonising waves of soothing vocals dancing together with warm string sections. "Happy Music" and the following "Do It Nice" up the tempo and show off another side to their sound as the songs twist and turn through proggy synthesizer solos and funk guitar rhythms. P-vine can't wait to deliver this exciting release and keep the fire burning strong for this exceptional album.

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LP | 2022 | EU | Original (Comet)

Afro Rhythms Volume 2

20,99 €*

Riviera Drive / Genius Of Love

Release: 2022 / EU – Original

Genre: Organic Grooves, Electronic & Dance

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Comet Records presents Afro Rhythms Vol. 2, the first repress of Comet’s singles and Remixes from 2009 – 2017 with floor filler tracks from Tony Allen Afrobeat pioneer 'African Man" remix by Ricardo Villalobos & Max Loderbauer along with the afro deep house reedit of "Cotton’s Field" by French producer Jeff Sharel, the "Awakening" remix from Krazy Baldhead, former artist of Ed Banger and producer of electro malian band Donso and finally Africaine 808 to end this Afro Rhythms comp with their stunning remix of Afrobeat classic tune "Afrodiscobeat". A proper trawl through the vaults of Comet Records.

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Magic Source

12" | 2022 | EU | Original (Favorite)

13,99 €*