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Linda, you already know her, without really knowing her. Because in 2002, she piloted The beat goes on, DJ Bob Sinclar's house hit. because she directed Gospel pour 100 voix, an XXL choir that filled Bercy several times. It's a big difference, in keeping with the way she embraces music: a matter of emotions and feeling, not labels. A deep love that goes back to the childhood of this American native of North Carolina. When her father's amateur gospel group rehearsed at home, when the microphone was a hairbrush in front of a mirror reflecting a little girl imitating Aretha, Otis and Michael. As a young adult, winning a singing contest in a Pennsylvania club gave her confidence. Linda is gifted at embodying songs and drawing audiences along with her. Word of mouth opened doors for her. Under her spell, several bands recruited her in the seventies, until she set up her own band in 1980. And then she was hired by a musical that ran for several years in Atlantic City. A few years on the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin followed, before a guardian angel extricated her from a nightlife that was beginning to burn her wings. Off to Paris. In June 1991, Linda settled in for good. A godsend for France, its studios and touring artists. Nino Ferrer, Bernard Lavilliers, Gloria Gaynor, Percy Sledge, Ray Charles and many others called on Linda's expertise. As did Ben l'Oncle Soul in 2013 for Hallelujah!!! (J'ai tant besoin de toi), the lead single from his second album "À Coup de Rêves". Ben knew that this treasure of a voice deserved a new light. He introduced her to his great guitarist & accomplice Christophe Lardeau. The collaboration is immediately crystal-clear, naturally fruitful, and the compositions are deep and meaningful. For the first time, Linda has her own album. Drawing on the rich roots of Afro-American music and her own personal experience, "Spirit & Soul" encapsulates all the vitality of a hidden gem that we are at last truly discovering. With a repertoire like this, upcoming concerts promise to be particularly intense moments.

Guitarist Earl Slick never had a Plan B. Still doesn't. In fact, he doesn't believe in backup plans. "If you have a backup plan," said the guitarist who for decades worked alongside rock royalty including David Bowie and John Lennon among others, "then eventually you become the backup plan." Which explains -- and fuels -- Slick's new album, "Fistful of Devils." Harnessing his musical roots as a child of the 60s when blue-based rock pushed its way to the front of the line and incorporating his decades as one of the most sought-after touring musicians in the business, Fistful is Slick as he's been from the start: an artist who fully mines the depths of the blues and guitar by drawing on a toolkit assembled from blues to glam to punk to rockabilly. The 11-track album is no retread retrospective of Slick's run of 40 years as a professional guitarist; it's an audible demonstration of a virtuoso still pushing deep into rock and roll's blues roots. The instrumental album, Slick says, is acrobatics without a net. Some of the tracks on Fistful were ideas that had been rattling around in his hear for decades. Some were wholly new. The sinister "Black," for example, seemed to flow up from the ground when they entered studio, he said. It was written, "in maybe 10 minutes," he said. "It's dark." Contrast that with the soaring, diving number "Vanishing Point." That was born in a lick he'd saved nearly 30 years ago and only recently rediscovered in a sound file. He didn't know what do with it when he wrote it, so he tucked it away. But now, "all of these years later I came at it with a different head than I had then." And this is what people are going hear in "Fist Full Of Devils" he said: That lifelong journey from Brooklyn didn't leave him empty handed; he brought back the prizes, the tricks, the scars, the influences and the tools from a road that never presented a detour. Or an end. He's a man, after all, who knows a thing or two about persevering, about longshots and locked-in trajectories. Perseverance also had no backup plan when it was launched. It had to get there. "I am," Slick said. "Exactly where I should be."

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.

In 1970, famous Spanish duo Manolo y Ramón, known as El Dúo Dinámico since the early 60s, changed musical direction and name and recorded a full album in London in a cool pop-psych style. Using a dream team of session musicians (Jimmy Page, Ian Anderson, Billy Preston…) and arrangers connected to George Martin, the duo laid down 13 tracks of which “Lágrimas Sonrisas” backed with “Adiós, Adiós, Goodbye” were selected for a 45 release. It went unnoticed at the time but now “Lágrimas, Sonrisas” is mod psych anthem, full of powerful vocals, Hammond splashes, female chorus…highly sought after by DJs and collectors, here’s a deluxe legit reissue limited to 500 copies (not to be repressed). Includes postcard and insert with liner notes in Spanish by Vicente Fabuel.

Legendary international DJ, Keb Darge, fell under the spell of this music when his Japanese girlfriend forced him to go down to a ‘Rockabilly’ night back in 1989. As soon as the DJ dropped the needle on Johnny Burnette’s ‘Rockabilly Boogie’ Keb was mesmerized. He was soon hunting down the hideously rare top tunes and slipping thousands of pounds into specialist collectors like Boz Boorer’s back pocket, when the legendary guitarist was not recording or touring with Morrissey. Of course, Keb was then taking these records and introducing them to new audiences in his DJ sets worldwide.

Although it has taken an age to persuade him, Keb has now applied his perfectionist compiling skills to pick 14 killers to grace this fantastic collection. Ranging from the bopping Glen Glenn’s ‘Blue Jeans and A Boy’s Shirt’ to the almost hillbilly Jimmy Johnson’s ‘All Dressed Up’. This is a must-have compilation not only for those who have been oiling their quiffs for decades, but also those wondering what this “rockabilly” is all about. Keb drops you in at the deep end with no easy-going fillers, and you’ll be glad he did.

Keb has written the sleeve notes and with cover art by the legendary Robin Banks – this album looks as good as it sounds.

If one thing seems certain in the realm of downtempo and instrumental hip-hop sounds, it's the arrival of another high quality Bust Free compilation chock full of amazing producers, both known and new. Cold Busted is now issuing Bust Free 22 — yes, the 22nd in the acclaimed series — and it might be the best one yet. These 14 beat-lab concoctions bring out the best in Cold Busted, with previously unheard delights from a global gathering of top notch artists. From Es-K to Sim Nagai, Leo Low Pass & Emapea to DJ Taek — there's much to discover, whether on boomin' systems or cozy earbuds. Highlights include Bay Area beatsmith Nu Vintage and his frequent collaborator, the multi-instrumentalist Pat Van Dyke, exploring the futuristic edges of a beachside hip-hop lounge with the flute-laden feel-good tune "Daylight." Gentle piano, a serene saxophone, and breezy vibes float over tough downtempo beats on "On The Way Home," a delightfully laid back cut from Polish freestyle-footballer turned beat-maker MichRyc. There's "In A Good Mood," sonically shuffling its way out of the '70s and into today's head-nodding beat-zone. Produced by Cologne's Midan, this cut glides by with smooth guitar licks and keyboard melodies, delivering on the promise of its title. Maria Whoat brings some deep heat to bear with the subdued bop of "Between You And Me." Lowdown bass moves, swirling tones and textures, and a tough-as-nails slo-mo drum track recall the trippiest moments of the trip hop canon. Listeners will also uncover "Overpass," a lively and upbeat track from sus9th that proves the old adage that the early bird catches the earworm. An instantly memorable melody guides a percussive rhythm, filtered chords, and percolating synths. Japanese crate digger and turntable maestro Pigeondust ventures to exotic locales with "Nova," a cut that aims to dazzle with bewitching vocal motifs, chiming electric piano chords, and a killer drum beat that's more than ready for prime time. These cuts and more will fulfill any discerning listener's craving for high protein Bust Free beats.

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Ben Vaughn's unstylized singing and guitar is filtered through his quirky sense of humor, resulting a collection of clever lyrics and catchy tunes scented with vintage aroma.It sounds just as fresh today as it did back then and sees now its first reissue in 35 years!The Ben Vaughn Combo blazed the trail for American music that was way off kilter compared to the competition. Their tri-state type Tex-Mex sound really shook things up. Their reputation as a live act grew exponentially with every show they played. Theirs was a twist on the roots rock scare with a reach something like The Fleshtones, outside of the standard 80s ranch stash. The sort of thing that has a tendency to get written out of history despite being timeless, it doesn't easily fit into any premeditated narrative.When "The Many Moods Of Ben Vaughn Combo" appeared in 1986, the Combo literally had the world at its feet. Many of the hits you hear when you see him (and the Quintet) today are on this platter. Long out of print and somewhat sought after, this was the first time that Ben's Rambler car was heard on a record. And not the last.The Andy (then Adny) Shernoff inspired 'I Dig Your Wig' is like The Cramps with a Doug Sahm infusion. The accordion is the secret weapon here. Little used in rock 'n roll and often scoffed at, it allows these songs a setting that your conventional instrumentation would just flatten. Reading the sleeve info you'll see the legend "DEDICATED TO THE GEATOR", a nod to the legendary Philly DJ that inspired Ben to come up with his sound. It sounds just as fresh now as it did back then.Perhaps you're too young to have been around when this record album was first available? Maybe you wore your three copies out? Whatever your story is, these "Many moods_" will lift yours in these perilous times. Don't end up sorry (like Brenda Lee).The man himself (and the aforementioned players) will be revving up their engines for an appearance at Surforama 2022 in Valencia and appearing at other locations a...