Buscar:shaft

Dando Shaft’s self-titled sophomore set continued to build on the reputation established by their excellent debut, and now the arrival of female singer Polly Bolton added another textural dimension, as heard most clearly on the soaring ‘Riverboat,’ the absence of drums throughout allowing us to fully appreciate the players’ excellent musicianship, with Martin Jenkins’ masterful mandolin, flute and fiddle drawing the sound to higher realms. As it was issued on RCA’s prog sub-label Neon, which folded soon after its release, the LP is as rare as it is excellent—another must-have for fans of progressive folk and psychedelic folk rock.

Dando Shaft’s third LP continued their explorations into the progressive and psychedelic strands of folk, now with shifting time signatures evidencing an increasing sophistication, as well as an ongoing commitment to experimentation; more varied in theme than their previous releases, there were shades of blues in places and an array of new instruments in the mix, including harpsichord, accordion, and slide guitar, yet the progressive folk that was always at the core of the group is still intact. With original copies costing in the hundreds, this is another worthy exploration for Dando Shaft fans, and all lovers of progressive folk music.

This classic funky blaxploitation soundtrack rarity is one of the toughest soundtracks to come from the early '70s' Black action cinema movement.

Produced by the legendary Johnny Pate a master of Funky score.

Dynamite Cuts unleashes 4 gems culled from the original album, and now for the first Time on the 45-vinyl format.

Club classic "You Can't Even Walk In The Park", “Shaft in Africa “, “Truck stop” and El Jardia.

This is one of the most blistering jazz funk soundtrack cuts around.! A frenzy of horn stabs, with percussion and wah wah guitar

...all topped off with everlasting classic drum breaks!

In October 1995, as part of the annual Polar Music Festival, Geir Jenssen of Biosphere and Bobby Bird of The Higher Intelligence Agency, were commissioned by Nor Concerts to collaborate together on a musical project to take place in Geir's home town of Tromsø, Norway. The brief was for them to perform three concerts, using sounds sourced from the area as the basis of the music - the machinery of the local mountain cable lift, the snow, the ice etc...

Be sure not to miss this limited vinyl-only release by Barcelona's disco crew Apersonal Music. Three old classics get revisited by the main artists of the label, Robbie Ellington's "Don't Cry" gets the disco treatment by specialist crate-digger Trujillo, the "Shaft" theme song is turned into a dance-floor killer by Portuguese duo Cisco Cisco, and on the flip side KMA takes "Storm" from Rare Silk to a new level by adding live played instruments and 303 acid loops.

Thomas Blanchot, 40 years old percussionist and drummer, started his production structure Mato Production in 2001, where he collaborated and directed for many projects.

Composer, music publisher and producer of music for TV, advertising, films and records, he also began a career as reggae producer since 2006, under the name "MATO". Since then he's released music through various projects concepts, coming out through labels such as Makasound, EDR Records or Big Singles. In the meantime he developed a real trademark: taking over classics French, Hip-Hop, or Pop song, into roots reggae-dub new versions.

Besides since 2010, Mato has built a solid reputation thanks to his hot remixes of Hip-Hop classics on Stix Records. And in 2014, he presented Homework Dub, giving his own vision of the multiplatinum classic album by Daft Punk, quickly acclaimed internationally as a true performance.

Today, Mato is back with another target for his special skills as a tailor of reggae music, this time focusing on classic musical themes from original soundtracks. Imagine if Lalo Schiffrin, Nino Rota, Gorgio Moroder, Ennio Morricone or John Williams had been blunted at Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Black Ark studio... there you go, this is Hollywoo Dub!!

Rhiza Semar presents its fourth chapter with Yildizlara, a four-track odyssey shaped from shadow, rhythm, and elemental texture. Crafted as both visceral tools and introspective journeys, the record navigates between ominous density and luminous release, guided by a deep awareness of space, myth, and matter. As an artist, Hitam paves the way for a new sound emerging from his burrows to build bridges between electronic subgenres while shaping a landscape unmistakably his own. Orb Weaver opens the cycle with jagged IDM rhythms that coil and release like threads of a web pulled taut. Originally composed for the graduation project of fashion designer Tim van der Plas, who's collection was inspired on climbing out of depression, its atmosphere is dark and ceremonial, with textures scraping against silence until catharsis emerges from the tension. A confrontation between inner turmoil and release. On Vanishing of the Anasazi, cavernous reverbs carry traces of lost structures, percussion echoing as if across ruins. A relentless drive holds the ghost of ritual processions, summoning a spectral energy that feels at once monumental and hollowed-out. The track suspends itself between presence and absence, architecture and collapse, leaving the listener in a space where echoes become the only surviving form of memory. Mesh Grip plunges downward into subterranean force. A thundering groove rumbles like minerals being unearthed, goblin-like figures at work in hidden shafts, chiseling away at stone in endless rhythm. From this pressure, a sudden swell of melancholy pads rises, reframing the heaviness with emotional resonance as if the whispers of angelic guardians seep into the caverns, transforming extraction into elegy. What begins as pure drive of endurance evolves into an introspective meditation. Closing the release, Yildizlara unfolds as an epic ascent. Layered rhythms rush forward with urgency, intricate yet propulsive, while chopped vocals bring back a sensual human element, scattering like signals across the night sky. Animalistic atmospheres dart through the mix as spectral cries and furtive movements, adding a primal dimension to the drive. What begins as erratic and untamed slowly converges into warmth and ultimate catharsis: a cosmic tale inscribed in sound, both intimate and monumental, familiar yet born of hidden memory. Yildizlara is both innovative and ancestral; a release where turbulence becomes ritual, and where rhythmic complexity unearths fragments of hidden memory. Beneath its dark and erratic surfaces lies a strange familiarity, like echoes of a primal past resurfacing through sound, reminding us of worlds once known but long concealed. Words by A. Veyra

Analog Africa doesn't do anything other than special releases really, but this one tracing the label's origins back to Zimbabwe over 20 years ago is a real standout. A carefully curated collection of 25 tracks with a fine booklet proving plenty of extra context, it captures the birth of the country's modern music scene and brims with the creative sound explosion of the 70s and 80s. Before genres were fully defined, artists blended rock, rumba, soul and traditional rhythms in bold, experimental ways that still stand up and get diggers and dancers excited in 2025. Included are never-before-released tracks from Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi and more and they all add up to rich and dynamic snapshot of Zimbabwe's peerless musical evolution during what was a transformative era.

Maverick UK producer Kevin Richard Martin (Zonal / Techno Animal / King Midas Sound) joins Relapse for the release of his devastating new double album Machine, his first solo instrumental record as THE BUG.

Machine started life as a series of self-released "floor weapons" (to use Martin’s description), landing in installments between 2023 and 2024 on the Bandcamp page of Martin’s own PRESSURE label. And now - always his intention - Martin has collated a single, powerful, unified statement from those EPs. The album detonates apocalyptic dread-tech mutations of crushing intensity, fusing a unique new strain of futuristic dub with deadly deep electronics and killer bass riffs worthy of the heaviest metal. It is, writes Martin, “ice cold and dystopian.” It celebrates “atmospheric pressure, and the joy of full body assaults, via oversized sound systems in undersized club rooms.” Machine also represents the latest metamorphosis of the "Macro Dub Infection" philosophy Martin germinated with the groundbreaking series of compilations he began curating for Virgin Records as early as the mid 90’s.

'Tema di Susie' is one of the main themes from the soundtrack composed by Alessandro Alessandroni for the 1976 Italian noir Sangue di sbirro, known in English as Blood and Bullets, as well as Knell, Bloody Avenger (the Susie in the original title refers to the female love interest of the film's hero, who is on a mission to seek revenge for the gangland murder of his policeman father).

At once sweet and sentimental, haunting and melancholic, 'Tema di Susie' stands out from the other tracks in the film, which are more action oriented. Like the rest of the score, however, it exemplifies the way in which, during the '70s, Italian film composers created their own version of the sound of American blaxploitation cinema, with its groovy blend of funk, jazz, and soul. It is no coincidence that the film's director, B-movie specialist Alfonso Brescia, specifically requested music in the style of Shaft, the iconic film that defined that sound in 1971.

Though seemingly simple, 'Tema di Susie' is a perfect example of Alessandroni's style – in particular his unique ability to effortlessly blend groove and melody, funk and feeling, into one musical piece. So, we invited different artists with different backgrounds, influences and approaches to bring their individual take on this elegant and now timeless tune.

Neapolitan duo Fratelli Malibu have taken Alessandroni's melodic theme and woven it into a mesmerizing tapestry of rhythmic beats, world percussion and ethereal atmospheres. Drawing inspiration from funk/Afrobeat, synth-pop and Italo-disco, they've conjured a psychedelic-tinged, afro-cosmic groove that's bound to transport you to another dimension.

As the music unfolds, you'll feel like you've stepped into a vibrant, fantasy world. The breaks, outro, and intro are woven with a psychedelic thread that leaves you yearning to return once the final note fades away. And that's not all – they've injected an irresistible pop sensibility into the track with the use of drum machines and synths. The result? A rework that not only amplifies the dreaminess of the original but also seamlessly marries the past with the future.

We love the track so much that we decided to double the fun with a vocal retouch version, courtesy of the Italian funk/soul collective Banda Maje. Their vocalists, Chiara Della Monica and Cristina Cafiero, elegantly infuse cinematic and Balearic vibes into the mix, paying a wonderful homage to Fratelli Malibu's exquisite arrangement.

• Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” is one of the most important albums in the history of black American music. Although it didn’t set the charts alight, it stands as a masterpiece alongside contemporary works such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Curtis Mayfield’s debut LP, Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain” and Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft”. All were brilliant in their way, but lyrically Scott-Heron was on a different level from almost every other writer.

• It was a landmark album with its bold, poetic lyrical content allied to progressive and melodic music, and it saw producer Bob Thiele help Gil and his musical partner Brian Jackson paint the picture they needed to get their message across. Thiele put Gil and Brian together with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws and Bernard Purdie, giving them the musical heft they wanted.

• For many years the focus was on ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which was included in the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014, but this focus sometimes overshadowed the heights which Gil reached throughout the album. Today ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’ are also considered standards, whilst the album’s title track is a prescient and heart-breaking warning about the way in which big business dehumanises its workers.

• The album reached its landmark 50th year in 2021 and we decided that we would create this special edition to celebrate its incredible sound. The original master tape was taken to Frank Merritt at The Carvery in London, who cut it as a double disc 2 x 45 RPM record, in an all-analogue chain. The original record - especially side two - was long, and serving it up this way allowed the music a greater level of fidelity.

• The release is packaged in the original album’s gatefold sleeve.

Soul Jazz Records’ long out of print classic ‘Studio One Funk’ collection is being re-released in three new one-off limited-edition coloured pressing 18th anniversary format editions!
Firstly, a heavyweight special limited edition one-pressing only red 2xLP vinyl + download. Secondly, there is also a new special limited-edition one-off pressing edition red-pressed CD enclosed in jewel case and slipcase. And thirdly there is a very limited unique new one-off pressing red-cased cassette format (200 copies only)! 18 years on from its original release Studio One Funk remains one of our Studio One releases most in-demand titles and like all our earlier special coloured editions is sure to sell out fast!
Studio One Funk is made up of rare and unreleased Reggae Funk from the vaults of Studio One. Ever since the birth of Funk in America, the sound has been an ever-present ingredient in the melting pot of Studio One’s musical output.
The music on this release is a combination of originals, US covers and versions of existing Studio One cuts. Jackie Mittoo shows his appreciation for Booker T and The MGs, the studio group at Memphis’ famous Stax Records with ‘Hang Em High’, itself a cover of a film soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere. Incredibly this version has never before been released. Booker T’s super-funky ‘Melting Pot’ is also covered by the little-known Underground Vegetables.
Other versions include Isaac Hayes’ classic Blaxploitation soundtrack ‘Shaft’ again by Cedric Im Brooks track - another unreleased gem, straight from the tape master. Motown gets a look in with Alton’s stripped-down version of the Spinners classic ‘It’s A Shame’, written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta.
James Brown is apparent in spirit with the JBs-inspired groove on the super rare cut “Now” by Lee Arab. Lloyd Williams similarly does a fine Kingston-style version of the hardest-working man in showbusiness on ‘Reggae Feet’.
Version-wise, we have ‘Idleberg’, Cedric Im Brooks tough instrumental cut on Horace Andy’s seminal ‘Skylarking’. The little-known Prince Moonie gives us a rare DJ cut of another Horace Andy classic, ‘See A Man’s Face’.
Pablove Black’s cut of Sidewalk Doctor (A/K/A Poco Tempo) is one of a handful of Studio One releases featuring Augustus Pablo’s trademark instrument, the melodica, played by Black himself.
Add to these original cuts from Studio One’s heavyweight session players including Leroy Sibbles, Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles, Eric Frater, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace, Richard Ace, Vin Gordon and more and you have one of the finest selections of reggae and funk you will ever hear.







"This collection goes deep into the Brentford Road vaults and unearths a rake of previously unreleased gems alongside hard to find classics. Heavy and inspirational, totally unique and essentially timeless." Straight No Chaser
"An absolute treasure trove for the collector as well as being great for the ears and feet. Jackie Mittoo's 'Hang Em High' is worth the price of the album on its own." Echoes
"A superb collection that shows how much many Jamaican musicians were influenced by the heavy funk belting out of American studios from the early seventies onwards.” Touch
"The most satisfying listening experience so far in the Studio One series." The Wire
"Rare and unreleased grooves from Jamaica's house of excellence." Mojo

When funk music exploded onto the global pop scene in the late sixties, many of Jamaica's leading music-makers were inspired to incorporate elements of the exciting sound into their work. The result was the fascinating and compelling funky reggae style that proved immensely popular with record buyers on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the early ‘70s.

Pioneers of the sound included such celebrated producers as Lee ’Scratch’ Perry and Lloyd Charmers, whose recordings are heavily represented on both the CD and LP versions of this irresistible collection.

Collected here are some of the finest examples of the funky reggae, performed by some of reggae music’s most accomplished artists, from Ken Boothe and Lee Perry’s Upsetters to British-based acts, Greyhound and The Marvels.

Sixteen killer 70s reggae funk and soul cuts from the likes of John Holt, Lee Perry, Cornel Campbell, The Cimarons, The Chosen Few and more featuring superb reggae takes on songs by artists including The Jackson 5, William DeVaughn, Diana Ross and The Supremes, War, The Temptations, Roberta Flack, The Stylistics and others!

Well-documented is the influence of American black music on Jamaican styles of the 1960s – from the birth of ska music, when The Skatalites ska-ified the jump-up southern USA rhythm and blues music of Rosco Gordon, Louis Jordan and Fats Domino, through to the creation of rocksteady when Jamaican artists like The Techniques, The Paragons, Alton Ellis and The Melodians turned to the slower rhythms and soulful harmonies of groups such as The Impressions and The Drifters for inspiration. 

Less-well established is that in the 1970s Jamaicans didn’t (shock!) stop listening to American black music styles, with many 70s reggae artists as invested in soul, funk and the proto-disco sounds of Philadelphia, as was the case with rhythm and blues in the previous decade. In the 1970s, while Jamaica promoted its own roots reggae styles around the world, powerhouse USA soul labels such as Motown, Philadelphia International and Stax Records were at the same time all popular on the island.
This interaction between American and Jamaican music was not limited to Jamaica. In Britain, first-generation Caribbean-émigré children in the 1960s and early 70s grew up with an equal love of both soul and reggae, which manifested itself in the home-grown arrival of lovers rock in the mid-1970s.
Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Reggae Island Soul’ tells this story of how soul and funk-infused reggae in the 1970s united the sounds of Jamaica, USA and the UK into a highly addictive cultural hybrid of styles.

NOW That’s What I Call 70s Soul brings together 50 era-defining tracks from one of the most powerful decades in soul music, featuring classics from Motown legends, Philly Soul pioneers, smooth balladeers and funk innovators – all pressed across 3LPs on beautiful blue vinyl… Out April 24th!

LP1 opens with one of the decade’s most recognisable love songs: Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’, a US #1 and UK Top 10 hit that became his signature recording. It’s followed by Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, the socially conscious masterpiece and title track from his landmark 1971 album, and Diana Ross’ Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, which topped the US chart and became her first solo #1. Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)’ remains one of Motown’s most joyful recordings and comes before Commodores’ ‘Easy’ introducing Lionel Richie’s smooth ballad vocals. The side also includes Bill Withers’ timeless ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, a Grammy-winning classic, and The Stylistics’ lush ballad ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’, a UK Top 3 smash, before closing with Rose Royce’s beautiful ‘Wishing On A Star’, one of the most loved soul ballads of the era.

Flip the LP over and The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ – the group’s explosive debut single opens the side. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ ‘The Tears Of A Clown’ became a UK #1 and is followed by The Supremes’ Nathan Jones’ showcasing the group’s evolving psychedelic-soul sound. Northern Soul classics from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons with ‘The Night’, Chairmen Of The Board’s Top 3 smash ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’ and The Trammps’ ‘Hold Back The Night’. The O’Jays’ joyous ‘Love Train’ leads to The Blackbyrds’ Walking In Rhythm’, before the side closes with the romantic classic ‘Always And Forever’ from Heatwave.

LP2 opens with The Temptations’ epic ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’, a Grammy-winning US #1 remains one of the most stunning recordings from the Motown catalogue, is followed by Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme From “Shaft”’, an Academy Award-winner and a US #1 smash. More funk follows from Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown with one of his key tracks ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine’, Edwin Starr’s powerful anti-Vietnam protest song ‘War’, and Sly & The Family Stone’s hugely influential ‘Family Affair’. The Delfonics’ sublime ‘Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)’ comes ahead of Billy Paul’s timeless ‘Me And Mrs. Jones’ which closes the side…the other side begins with the 1977 #1 from The Floaters with ‘Float On’, before the breathtaking vocals of Minnie Riperton on ‘Lovin’ You’. The Isley Brothers’ Summer Breeze’ and William DeVaughn’s ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’ have become enduring classics and are followed by a run of ‘80s pop-chart crossover hits completing LP2 from Detroit Emeralds, The Moments Raydio and The Tymes’ #1 ‘Ms. Grace’.

LP3 opens with the unmistakable voice of Barry White and his US #1 hit ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe’, before Aretha Franklin’s ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’, delivers one of her smoothest performances. Al Green’s ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ and Gladys Knight & The Pips’ ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ are followed by minimalist soul classic ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ from Timmy Thomas, and the side closes with a trio of defining ballads:- George Benson’s ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ Diana Ross’ ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’ and The Jackson 5’s ‘I’ll Be There’, their biggest hit…while over on the final side…Freda Payne’s #1 ‘Band Of Gold’, opens alongside Ann Peebles’ influential and much covered ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’.Marvin Gaye’s sensual ‘Let’s Get It On’ became another US #1, while Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass deliver the contemporary standard ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’. Three massive UK #1s are next…The Stylistics with ‘Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)’, The Three Degrees’ peerless ‘When Will I See You Again’ and Deniece Williams’ ‘Free’. This amazing collection closes with two timeless ballads: Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘After The Love Has Gone’, a Grammy-winning classic, along with ‘Three Times A Lady’, a huge worldwide #1 for the Commodores.


NOW That’s What I Call 70s Soul, 50 defining tracks from one of music’s greatest decades. Out April 24th.

The Lost Highway of Hank Williams and the Highway To Hell of AC/DC are indeed the same damn road. Featuring 12 classic outlaw country songs done in their own inimitable style, the album was recorded completely live in the studio. The bad are supporting the release of the album as well as their 25th Anniversary with extensive live touring and festival throughout the UK, Ireland, and Western Europe throughout 2026. Full UK Tour starting FEB 11 Nerve Centre Londonderry. 12th Whelan's Dublin. 13th The Empire Music Hall Belfast. 14th Liquid Room Edinburgh. 15th PJ Molloys Dunfermline. 17th The Georgian Theatre Stockton-on-tees. 18th Docks Academy Grimsby. 19th Pocklington Arts Centre. 20th The Hairy Dog Derby, 21st Picturedrome Holmfirth. 22nd The Drill Lincoln. 24th 53 Degrees Preston. 25th Queens Hall Narberth, 26th HAYSEED DIXIE Cardiff. 27th Sin City Swansea. 28th Crickhowell. MAR 1st HAYSEED DIXIE Merthyr Tydfil. 3rd The Fleece Bristol, 4th Roadmender Northampton. 5th The Factory Live Worthing. 6th The Harlington Fleet. 7th MK11 Milton Keynes. 8th Hertford Corn Exchange.

Multi-award winner Jack Garratt makes his very welcomed return with the announcement of third album Pillars - out on Cooking Vinyl. Marking his first full-length project in five years, Pillars is vibrant, emotionally charged and a celebration of love, community, and self-discovery. Pillars is a testament to Jack"s evolution as an artist and individual. Following the release of his 2020 album "Love, Death & Dancing" Jack found himself yearning to reconnect with his fans and his craft. This album is his answer: a bold, unflinching exploration of love in all its forms - romantic, platonic, and self-love - woven into a tapestry of lush melodies, infectious beats, and heartfelt storytelling. Since winning the Brits" Critics" Choice Award and the BBC Sound Of poll in 2016, Jack Garratt has released two critically acclaimed albums, Phase (2016) and Love, Death & Dancing (2020). Known for electrifying live performances and a genre-defying sound, Jack continues to push boundaries with his deeply personal and sonically adventurous music, with Pillars being no exception.

Multi-award winner Jack Garratt makes his very welcomed return with the announcement of third album Pillars - out on Cooking Vinyl. Marking his first full-length project in five years, Pillars is vibrant, emotionally charged and a celebration of love, community, and self-discovery. Pillars is a testament to Jack"s evolution as an artist and individual. Following the release of his 2020 album "Love, Death & Dancing" Jack found himself yearning to reconnect with his fans and his craft. This album is his answer: a bold, unflinching exploration of love in all its forms - romantic, platonic, and self-love - woven into a tapestry of lush melodies, infectious beats, and heartfelt storytelling. Since winning the Brits" Critics" Choice Award and the BBC Sound Of poll in 2016, Jack Garratt has released two critically acclaimed albums, Phase (2016) and Love, Death & Dancing (2020). Known for electrifying live performances and a genre-defying sound, Jack continues to push boundaries with his deeply personal and sonically adventurous music, with Pillars being no exception.

"Lionel Bart’s musical masterpiece, freely adapted from Charles Dickens’ novel, Oliver! tells the story of the orphaned Oliver Twist, who escapes the harsh Victorian workhouse and takes refuge in London’s murky underworld with the wily gang leader Fagin and his team of resourceful pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger. He finds a friend in the kind- hearted Nancy and when he’s wrongly arrested for stealing, Oliver meets an unexpected saviour; but is happiness truly within his grasp?

With a sensational score, including Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You’ve Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two, I’d Do Anything, Oom Pah Pah, As Long As He Needs Me, and many more, the Olivier, Tony and Oscar-winning masterpiece vividly brings to life Dickens’ ever-popular story of the boy who asked for more.

This performance is a co-production with Chichester Festival Theatre, where Oliver!’s run as part of their 2024 Summer Season was the biggest success in the theatre’s history. The production was said to have “genuinely breathed new life into this staple of British musical theatre.” (What's On Stage). It will be running at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, throughout 2025.
"

The Best of Isaac Hayes versammelt 10 gefühlvolle Aufnahmen des unvergleichlichen Künstlers von Stax Records. Als Komponist, Produzent, Sänger und Multiinstrumentalist veränderte Isaac Hayes das Gesicht der Musik in den frühen 1970er Jahren und diese Sammlung ist die perfekte Einführung in seine Musik. Diese Sammlung ist die perfekte Einführung in seine Musik. Sie enthält das Oscar-prämierte „Theme From Shaft“ mit seinem unverwechselbaren Wah-Wah-Gitarren-Intro, „Walk on By“ und „Never Can Say Goodbye“, alle neu gemastert von Paul Blakemore

LIMITED 300 ONLY CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL WITH PURPLE BLOB AND BLACK SPLATTER. HOUSED IN FULL COLOUR MATT SLEEVE WITH POLYLINED INNER BAG AND DOWNLOAD CODE. NON-RETURNABLE.
Following his two sold out releases ‘Vertigo’ & ‘Water Music’ on Riot Season last year, the ever prolific Ivan The Tolerable returns with ‘An Orphan Form’
A beautifully strange and immersive suite that feels both otherworldly and rooted in something organic. Drawing on kosmische drift, loose-limbed jazz, and warped psychedelic textures, the record moves like a half-remembered dream.
Field recordings and nature sounds weave in and out, grounding the swirling synths and off-kilter rhythms in real earth and air. It's a record that doesn’t follow a straight line, but instead wanders, curious, alive, and quietly spellbinding.
Recorded in winter 2024 in Middlesbrough, UK and Utrecht, Netherlands
Oli Heffernan: bass/guitars/synths/drones/field recordings/electric piano
Mees Siderius: drums/percussion/vibraphone
Elsa Van Der Linden: saxophones/flutes

First studio album in 11 years for Normandy-based, English psychedelic folk
musician/painter, Mark Fry
When 19-year-old Mark Fry recorded his debut album 'Dreaming With Alice' for RCA
sublabel, "It" in Italy in 1971, little did he know that it would become a much-soughtafter, much -bootlegged "acid folk" classic three decades later, with millions of Spotify
plays. Fry, an acclaimed painter in the interim, returned to making music in 2008 and
has released three more acclaimed studio albums - this, 'Not On The Radar,' is the
fourth. These days, far less "acid" than in his youth, Fry still knows his way around a
beautiful melody. The new album, recorded with musician friends at his Normandy
home studio and produced by David Sheppard (Ellis Island Sound/ State River
Widening) is resplendent with love songs, the beauty of nature and the passing of
time.
Full press, radio, online PR campaign both in the UK and in the EU, handled by Big
Mouth Publicity. Mark plays a very rare London show, as an album launch, with full
band, on the day of release, at Stone Nest, Shaftsbury Avenue, London. He will also
perform at A Celebration Of The Incredible String Band, Southbank Centre, London on
20th Sept (alongside Sam Amidon, Junior Brother, Daisy Rickman and more.
Reviews in Mojo and Uncut (with interview) confirmed for month of release. News/
features online : Click Roll Boo, KLOF, Maximum Volume Music, Pipilo Pop, The Pop
Corporation, White Light/White Heat (Italy). Playlisted : Rockambula, Foxy Lady

A faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, triggering a harebrained but life-saving surgery that fuses the two of them together,

and Dog Man is born. DreamWorks Animation’s adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon is directed by Emmy winner Peter Hastings

(The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), and stars the voice talents of Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu,

Emmy nominee Stephen Root, Billy Boyd and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais.



Dog Man composer Tom Howe has scored over 100 projects for film and television, including Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Daisy Jones and the Six, and The Great British Bake-Off.

“Because Dog Man doesn’t talk and I wanted to capture his high energy, I incorporated hand-clapping percussion, vocal layering of dog pants and mouth trumpets.

I recorded all of these mad mouth sounds myself in the studio. And as a contrast to Dog Man, the police chief and action cues are accompanied by wah-wah guitars, sax and afro flute.

It’s like Bullet meets Shaft, blending elements of Lalo Schifrin and Isaac Hayes. This thread of classic ̛60s and ̓70s crime thrillers is woven throughout the score.” Tom Howe

The wonderfully favourable response to our first CD and double vinyl volume of the original A and B sides of the singles of the late great Isaac Hayes – as originally released on Stax’ Enterprise subsidiary between 1969 and 1972 – has forced us to bring forward, this month, the release of “Hot Buttered Singles 2” to cater for what Ace is sure will be just as great a level of popular demand.

This volume picks up where “Hot Buttered Singles Vol 1” left off with Hayes’ final 45 of 1972, and carries his seven inch story through to 1976 – by which time Stax was defunct, and Hayes’ was on his own Hot Buttered Soul label via ABC Records. It features eight US R&B chart hits including the much sampled ‘Hung Up On My Baby’ and ‘Chocolate Chip’, Hayes’ biggest hit of this period ‘Joy’ and the ever-popular 1976 instrumental ‘Disco Connection’, which finally gave Hayes’ his second UK Top 20 hit after ‘Shaft’.

All tracks match the original single edits, and wherever possible are taken from digital transfers of the original Enterprise singles masters. Where the original 45s came in two parts, they also do so here. And where original singles masters no longer exist, as was the case for two tracks, Ace’s engineers have re-created them beat for beat from the longer album versions. (Have fun guessing which two they were…)

Crazy streched breakcore hardcore and speedcore ! 2 LP one 7 inch... The absolute collector !! TIP !!!

NOW Music is pleased to announce NOW Presents…Classic Soul, a stunning 5LP boxset of 85 of the greatest 60s & 70s Soul tracks ever... Out September 22nd!



LP1 opens with ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ from the “Queen of Soul”- Aretha Franklin, the peerless ‘Walk On By’ from Dionne Warwick and followed by massive hits from Marvin Gaye with the #1 ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Was Made To Love Her’, plus classic tracks from The Temptations and Otis Redding. Flip to the other side for legendary groups – The Supremes, The Ronettes, The Marvelettes, The Velvelettes and Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.



LP2 begins with the powerhouse vocals of Tina Turner (with Ike) on ‘River Deep, Mountain High’. Top tracks from the Jackson 5 & the Four Tops give way to a run of Northern Soul classics from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons with ‘The Night’, ‘Tainted Love’ from Gloria Jones, Frank Wilson’s legendary ‘Do I Love You’, and ‘Green Onions’ from Booker T. & The M.G.'s. Side 2 begins with the superb vocals of Ben E. King with ‘Stand By Me’ and Percy Sledge with ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’. Another Otis Redding classic alongside the genius of both James Brown and Nina Simone brings this LP to a close.



The A-Side of LP3 kicks off with the signature smash from Aretha Franklin ‘Respect’ before the first UK #1 for the Motown label from The Supremes with ‘Baby Love’, and there’s still room for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Drifters, and another #1 from Freda Payne. Side B begins with one of the most iconic and funky baselines ever on ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’ from The Temptations and the classic grooves ‘Move On Up’ from Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme from “Shaft”’, the emphatic ‘War’ from Edwin Starr and the cool sophistication of ‘California Soul’ from Marlena Shaw lead to the closing track ‘Could It Be I’m Falling In Love’ from The Spinners.



LP4 begins with a run of beloved tracks from iconic artists opening with the politically charged masterpiece ‘What’s Going On’ from Marvin Gaye, followed by Al Green, Bill Withers and Billy Paul, plus The Stylistics and The Delfonics to add to the selection of celebrated groups on this release. The second side begins with the exceptional ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ from Roberta Flack, before the stunning vocals of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Lovin’ You’ and Deniece Williams, The Three Degrees and Gladys Knight. The Jackson 5 bring this disc to a close with their timeless ballad ‘I’ll Be There’.



LP5 contains a run of 1970s favourites beginning with ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ from Diana Ross and ‘You're The First, The Last, My Everything’ from Barry White. ‘Fantasy’ from Earth, Wind & Fire, ‘Summer Breeze, Pt. 1’ from The Isley Brothers and ‘Love Train’ from The O’Jays all feature before the Commodores kick off the final side with ‘Three Times A Lady’. Rose Royce, Peaches & Herb and a second selection from Gladys Knight & The Pips feature along with George Benson, before the “Prince of Soul” Marvin Gaye brings this essential collection home with ‘Let’s Get It On’.



85 tracks across 5 stunning LPs, NOW Presents Classic Soul... Out September 22nd!

Our 2022 reissue of Don Julian and the Larks’ 1974 LP Super Slick made fans of rare ‘70s soul and funk very happy, and this release is gonna do the same. Bandleader Don Julian followed the lead of Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield et al. in scoring the 1973 blaxploitation film Savage!; the reasons Julian’s score didn’t hit like Superfly or Shaft are, one, the film didn’t do as well, as it was a Philippine-based B-movie funded and distributed by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, and, two, the soundtrack came out on the lightly-distributed Money Records label. Dig the fantastic flute work from Jimmy Vinson…and the ten-plus minute title theme is just plain funkin’ filthy. Blood orange pressing limited to just 750 copies!

I first saw Hugh and Jackson play together at Good God’s ‘Soft Future Piano Bar’ at the Sydney Opera House in 2017. That year was a fruitful year for the two as artists and for the Sydney music community in general. I remember that all of us, along with Greville and Brad, hosted a DIY party in a tunnel under a highway somewhere near Sydney Airport. Is that the same tunnel that Tunnel Dancers derived their name from? 7 years after that first meeting at the Sydney Opera House, Hugh and Jackson have released an album. Listening to these songs there is an audible patience and understanding between two musicians. They probably could have released something else a long time ago, but chose to wait - instead enjoying bowls of laksa on their lunch breaks and sharing long, quiet conversations at The Babylon Sauna & Spa. When the next warm bowl of noodle soup arrives on your table, how long will you let it sit before you dive in? Soup first or noodle first? If you learn from these songs, perhaps you will know to first observe the whole bowl. Observing in this way, the moment settles and hovers and remains for much longer than a moment.

Reissued on vinyl for the first time, LP includes Japanese OBI-Strip) Soulful live work from the legendary Kashmere Stage Band – a small-time Texas ensemble from the 70s, but one who managed to record a heck of a lot of great records in a few short years!

Rough Trade Shops präsentiert mit "Behind The Counter with Ian Rankin" den zweiten Teil einer Reihe, in der Künstler eingeladen werden, die Musik zusammenzustellen, die sie am meisten beeinflusst hat. Der schottische Autor und Musikfanatiker Ian Rankin folgt auf den Komponisten Max Richter, der 2017 die erste Ausgabe kuratierte. Als langjähriger Vinylenthusiast gehören in Rankins Auswahl auch Songs, die als Titel seiner Bestsellerromane dienten, wie etwa Jackie Levens "Another Man's Rain" (aus dem "Another Man's Grave" wurde) und "The Hanging Garden" von The Cure. Beide Doppelformate enthalten je 23 Tracks mit Begleittexten.

- "Ich treibe mich immer noch in Plattenläden herum und lege Vinyl auf, und ich erstelle immer noch Playlisten, für den Fall, dass sich die Gelegenheit ergibt, hinter der Ladentheke zu arbeiten", sagt Rankin. "Hier ist ein Teil dessen, was Sie hören würden, wenn Sie die Tür aufstoßen und in mein Kaufhaus kämen, Tracks, die ich mir immer wieder gerne anhöre."

Sechzehn Jahre sind zwar vergangen, seit Isaac Hayes im Alter von nur 65 Jahren viel zu früh verstarb, aber er bleibt einer der beliebtesten und kultigsten Singer/Songwriter/Arrangeure in der Geschichte der Soul-Musik. Die Alben, die Hayes für Stax' Enterprise-Label produzierte, bleiben der Maßstab in Sachen "Symphonic Soul" und klingen auch heute noch genauso atemberaubend brillant wie damals, als sie neu veröffentlicht wurden. Hayes gehörte nicht nur zu einer kleinen Gruppe von Künstlern, die das Wachstum des Soul-Album-Marktes ('Hot Buttered Soul') vorangetrieben haben, sondern war auch ein durchweg erfolgreicher Single-Künstler, der zwischen 1969 und 1976 sechzehn aufeinanderfolgende Singles in den R&B-Charts platzierte - die meisten davon schafften es auch in die Pop-Szene. Die größten Hits wurden bereits früher in Anthologien zusammengestellt, aber 'Hot Buttered Singles' ist die Compilation, die die A- und B-Seiten aller 45er von Hayes aus der "Yellow Stax"-Ära in chronologischer Reihenfolge und in ihren Original-Singleversionen präsentiert. Einige davon sind zuvor noch nie auf CD erschienen. Viele dieser famosen Soul-Tracks gehören zu seinen beliebtesten Aufnahmen, die auch das Soul- und Pop-Radio revolutionierten, darunter das mit Wah-Wah-Intro befeuerte 'Theme From Shaft', 'The Look Of Love', 'Never Can Say Goodbye', 'Walk On By' oder 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix' aus der Feder von Jimmy Webb.
Ausführlich kommentiert und schön illustriert im Booklet und auf CD sowie Doppelvinyl erhältlich!
Die Fortsetzung der Isaac Hayes' Single-Geschichte bis 1977 mit allen frühen Singles auf Ikes eigenem HBS-Label erscheint 2025.

Circling guitar lines; the rise of fall of delicate bass; deep, breathy horns: sonic elements that exist in a state of slow, perpetual motion, like ideas sprouting from some kind of cognitive compost. With wonder and charm, G. S. Schray's new solo album, Whispered Something Good, evokes a realm of new growth while offering a fitting soundtrack for its exploration, as if tailor made for both the daydreamer and silly adventurer.


We start in the darkness of "Unlit Center" with elliptical phrases of jazz guitar. A conversation between double bass, synthesiser, and piano plays out on "In Tears Twice A Page" before we're ushered into the reflective zone of "Another Haunted Mirror." There is synth mist which trumpet cuts through decisively like a shaft of light from the sun: warm and clear. As the album proceeds, firmer rhythms coalesce. On "Prelude for Probably," clattering drums lock into a triumphant groove with horns. And then, to close, the instrumental art-pop of "Gone in Amber," probing not necessarily towards a final destination but another stop-off, one of distant birdsong and the faintest flicker of synth. Intimate and inviting, the act of listening to Whispered Something Good is akin to digging through an imagination. It's a place of subliminal melodies blooming into rhizomatic musical shapes, stray musings coalescing as bolts of inspiration — change fostering yet more change.

‘’The duo’s music has traces of 1980s dream pop and 1990s slowcore, particularly Low, another married-couple band. There’s more to the comparison than ink on a certificate. Marriage’s suffering and devotion breed a particular kind of intimacy. Windy & Carl often resemble an ambient version of Yo La Tengo, another group that centers on a long-wed duo and conveys a secret, profound sense of life beyond the music.’’ PITCHFORK 7.2
For the first time in almost twenty years, Windy & Carl’s second album for kranky, Consciousness, will be available on the vinyl format once again. The fourth album from Michigan’s premier space duo, again delivers their shimmering trademark wall of sound, beautiful vocalization, and delicate songcraft. Six sweet and easy new tracks recorded in their home studio in Dearborn, that drift and dream with layered guitars, keyboards, bass and a love-arsenal of delicious effects and distortion.
“There is an airy shaft of light that extends straight through these six extended pieces, offsetting the density of sound with a breezy loveliness that’s almost impossible to articulate, towering on a floating sea of mesmerising, sub-level sounds.” —Boomkat
“Genre descriptions such as ‘ambient guitar soundscape’, ‘wall of sound’ and ‘drone’ fail miserably to capture the astonishing, magical emotional beauty of their pieces.” —Cyclic Defrost

The bleak and foreboding landscape surrounding Keeley's North Yorkshire home seems to inhabit her third LP, 'The Hollow'. The moors, visible from her studio window, impact upon a music that feels made of these places: windswept, rain-soaked and blinking through the low-lit landscape. The album's title derives from discovering a long-abandoned mining shaft whilst out walking - the past lurking within and haunting the present we now occupy. A connection to time that places us within it, facing what is gone and what may come. But also, perhaps that time has no concern as to whether we're here or not.

Keeley's unique elemental voice again sits centrally within this world-building. Her cathartic reflections are exorcisms in song. We hear an artist making sense of her life, willing to expose vulnerability without ever appearing weak. Working again with producer Ross Downes, the LP features Matthew Bourne and Colin Stetson, Forsyth sought to expand both her voice and music. Taking aspects of sacred music, minimalist post-classical, dark ambient, film and theatre soundtracks, she layers her vocals into chamber choirs, applies pitch shifts and other digital processing, moves from clear articulate intention to mumbled numb utterances.

Composer Mihály Vig's score to Bela Tarr’s film 'The Turin Horse' is reimagined as a pressurised outpouring, recasting the everyday within a mythical light of survival and hope. On ‘A Shift’, Mal Finch's protest song ‘We Are Women, We Are Strong ‘, originally sung by wives and daughters in support of the '80s miner’s strikes, is recontextualised in solidarity for an experience of creative labour.