Cerca:ac in records

Meghan Parnell (vocals) and Dave Barnes (guitar) are the founding
members of Bywater Call, a powerhouse seven-piece Southern soul,
roots rock band from Toronto, Canada
The band is completed by Bruce McCarthy on drums, Mike Meusel on Bass,
newest member, John Kervin on Keys, Stephen Dyte on Trumpet and Julian Nalli
on Tenor Sax. Bywater Call has received multiple Independent Blues and
Maple Blues Award nominations including Entertainer, Electric Act and Best
Female Vocalist for the 2024 Awards Season. They have toured extensively in
Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with
references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today.
In August 2023, the band participated in Joe Bonamassa's thirdKeeping the Blues
Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise alongside headliners Blackberry Smoke and
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and were invited to perform at the All-Star Jam on
the mainstage with Bonamassa himself. Guitarist Dave Barnes was also asked to
join legendary blues artist Jimmy Vivino (Conan O'Brien's Basic Cable Band) on
stage. On October 24, 2023, Bywater performed a live stream performance for the
famed German TV show and festival Rockpalast. The band's music is an
exploration of life's highs and lows. From intimate ballads that lay bare the
complexities of human emotion to electrifying anthems that demand to be played
at full volume, their catalogue is a journey through the human experience,
incorporating influences from the likes of The Band, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi
Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, among others.
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This led to her immediate recognition as a banjo pioneer and to her win in 1991 of the Banjo Player of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (the first female to win an Instrumentalist of the Year award). For the 2024 reissue, the original 8- track, 1" multitrack tapes were transferred at a resolution of 192kHz/36- bit, and remixed and mastered by Matt Coles at
Compass Sound Studio in Nashville.


The album was produced in 1989 by acoustic music icon and frequent Jerry Garcia cohort David Grisman (architect of "Dawg Music," the jazz- influenced breakout fringe of the bluegrass genre) and recorded with a cast of all- star musicians at Dawg Studio in Marin, CA. Players on the sessions included Alison Krauss (fiddle), David Grisman (mandolin), Mike Marshall (guitar, fiddle, mandolin), Matt Eakle (flute), Joe Craven (percussion) and Jim Kerwin (bass).

The album's 12 tunes were all written by Alison and include the first recorded versions of some of her most well- known compositions, including "Mambo Banjo," "Leaving Cottondale," and "Weetabix."
REMIXED AND REMASTERED from 192kHz/36-bit transfers of the original multitrack tapes. LP – features LIMITED EDITION BLACK & WHITE SWIRL + album download code with 3 never- before- released bonus tracks Includes a 4- COLOR BOOKLET with liner notes from Alison Brown, Dave Dennison, and Mike Marshall, plus ARCHIVAL PHOTOS and SESSION DOCUMENTS

Norway's progressive sludge masters are about to release the sequel to their highly acclaimed debut album "Animist". The upcoming release, "Determinist", will hit fans of The Ocean, Mastodon, and Igorr right in the face. With expanded diversity, heavier and more of the good stuff - Just the right kind of heavy! The new album takes the listener out of the prehistoric world from "Animist" and into the current and future era of determinism: Humanity has left the world of mysteries, wonders, and chance. In a reality where all is calculated, analyzed, and predetermined, humans thrive on scientific progress, but at what cost? If everything is certain, humans have deprived themselves of the illusion of free will and the wonders of life. Octohawk's sophomore album, Determinist, is a synopsis of the deterministic era, from the humble experimental beginnings to the complete coalescence with ever-flowing information. Each of the seven tracks represents the significant stages in this endeavor, from man on the ground to being a part of the eternal stream.

Tokyo Riddim Band continue their journey striding across times and cultures, this time with their colourful keyboardist and frontwoman Mimi Kobayashi breathing new life into a song she originally penned in 1981. ‘Lazy Love’ first featured on Mimi’s highly sought after Coconuts High LP, which she recorded in LA recruiting top session players to play alongside her. It was also included in Time Capsule’s 2024 compilation of Japanese reggae - Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985.

This soulful pop tune turned deep dub cut retains the romantic charm of the original, whilst the tasteful performances of the Tokyo Riddim Band and Ras Tavaris combined with Prince Fatty’s studio magic give the song a newly found depth.

London based Tokyo Riddim Band is a unique fusion of cultures, bringing together the vibrant energy of three generations of Japanese female musicians with the eclectic sounds of London. Their dynamic performances blend reggae drums, funky bass lines, and the smooth City Pop guitar, all magically dubbed-out live on stage. This is not just music; it's a cultural phenomenon, offering a fresh and exciting take on the reggae scene.

Emerald vinyl LP is for Indies only. Cassette is also for indies only. San Francisco Bay Area-based metal desconstructionists’ latest is both inspired by the loss of a bandmate and the legacy of Oakland A’s legend Vida Blue. Time is a slippery fish. Loss has inspired Mamaleek’s latest full-length album, titled Vida Blue. This marks the San Francisco Bay Area metal deconstructionists’ eighth album and their third as a full lineup. Tragedy struck in March of 2023 when the band lost a longtime friend and member, keyboardist Eric Livingston, leaving the group, which began as a duo of two brothers and later expanded to a five-piece, now with only four members. Despite this profound loss, Mamaleek persevered, performing as a quartet at various festivals, including the 2023 edition of Tilburg. The band returned to the studio to create new material that appropriately reflects their journey through loss and honors their fallen comrade. The resulting album draws inspiration from the legacy of Oakland A’s baseball legend Vida Blue, whose former team coincidentally announced its relocation to Las Vegas that same year. The band members themselves describe this poignant chapter in their own words: “Time is a slippery fish. Maybe only someone like Vida could grasp it. Although he’s left time behind, his image and that lefty heat remain in the memories of many. Eventually they’ll be forgotten, and hopefully replaced with even more exultant ones. This musical recording is a reflection on loss and its acceptance. We explore several examples for each song, including the loss of pride, of money, of glory, of country, of sanity, of a favorite sports team, of significant others, and, every day, one’s self. It also explores various associated moods fear, panic, reverence, stoicism, and steadfastness—to arrive at a resolution: Loss is only a test, the glue that holds and erodes each memory, the connection that binds and loosens us all, pitch by pitch, inning by inning. This is your celebration.” Vida Blue is a person, moment, and memory, together the crystallization of apocalypse: “unveiling,” “disclosure.”

Pressed on heavy-weight 3xLP 180g curaçao vinyl GIANTS is an ambitious video game concept album, meticulously crafted over six years by Tokyo-based record label Brave Wave Productions under the direction of Mohammed Taher. The colossal 98-minute album showcases the talents of legendary composers known for their iconic work on series like Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, among others. The album is a rich tapestry of new, gameinspired compositions from these celebrated artists, paired with innovative remixes from their classic catalogue as reimagined by their contemporaries. A highlight of the album is its emphasis on collaboration, exemplified by original tracks like Ultramarine_the first collaborative effort from Mega Man 2's Takashi Tateishi with Mega Man 3's Harumi Fujita and Sonic Mania's Tee Lopes. Another standout track, Ronin, marks a historic reunion for the Ninja Gaiden composer trio_Keiji Yamagishi, Ryuichi Nitta, and Kaori Nakabai_collaborating for the first time since their work on the NES Ninja Gaiden titles. The collaborative spirit extends to the remixes as well, such as Final Fantasy series composer Yoshitaka Suzuki's cinematic reimagining of Mega Man 2's Wily Stage, featuring Bayonetta co-composer Takahiro Izutani on acoustic guitars and producing, as well as Celeste composer Lena Raine's tranquil rendition of Panzer Dragoon Saga's Art Thou the Holy One, crafted in harmony with original composer Saori Kobayashi. GIANTS transcends traditional boundaries, featuring a diverse array of genres and styles brought to life by over two dozen talented musicians, making it a celebratory anthology of game music's rich history and evolution, led by Brave Wave's in-house rock band Super Strikers and a legion of legendary game composers.

Together Again!!!! vereint den Trompeter Howard McGhee und den Saxophonisten Teddy Edwards und wurde ursprünglich 1961 auf Contemporary Records veröffentlicht. Neben Edwards und McGhee sind auf dem Album auch Phineas Newborn Jr. (Klavier), Ray Brown (Bass) und Ed Thigpen (Schlagzeug) zu hören. Diese Neuauflage, die als Teil der Acoustic Sounds Series erscheint, enthält (AAA)-Lackierungen, die von den Original-Masterbändern von Bernie Grundman geschnitten wurden, und wird bei QRP auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl gepresst und in einer Tip-On-Hülle präsentiert.

Award-winning UK based genre-blending roots singer songwriter Elles Bailey returns with her stunning new album "Beneath The Neon Glow". The album, Elles" fourth studio album, comes out on Cooking Vinyl Records. "Beneath The Neon Glow" sees Elles intertwine British roots, Americana and blues across ten powerfully, uplifting tracks. Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari) and recorded with Elles" exceptional and trusted live band, the album is an exploration of love"s myriad forms. Through lyrically vulnerable and brutally honest songwriting, Elles delves into the depths of heartbreak, the resilience of friendship, and the enduring power of love that spans a lifetime. From the fleeting moments to the love that withstands the test of time, she fearlessly navigates through the spectrum of human emotion, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into her journey.

Award-winning UK based genre-blending roots singer songwriter Elles Bailey returns with her stunning new album "Beneath The Neon Glow". The album, Elles" fourth studio album, comes out on Cooking Vinyl Records. "Beneath The Neon Glow" sees Elles intertwine British roots, Americana and blues across ten powerfully, uplifting tracks. Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari) and recorded with Elles" exceptional and trusted live band, the album is an exploration of love"s myriad forms. Through lyrically vulnerable and brutally honest songwriting, Elles delves into the depths of heartbreak, the resilience of friendship, and the enduring power of love that spans a lifetime. From the fleeting moments to the love that withstands the test of time, she fearlessly navigates through the spectrum of human emotion, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into her journey.

Itʼs been five years since the last BELONG long player, as the duo works slowly to organize their sound works. Both the time invested, and the wait, have been well rewarded with this return.

Common Era shows extraordinary progression from that first album of dense, scorched earth instrumentals, hints of a new direction having been revealed on the Colorless Record EP from 2008 which contained covers of four should-have-been classics from the original psychedelic era.

The new material has such common pop elements as “songs”, vocals and drum machines, but the results could hardly be called conventional and are like little else happening on the current “scene”. The songs themselves are akin to radio transmissions received from another time and place, just as likely to be the future as the past, or even from a contemporary alternate universe.

They are both passionate and dispassionate, grey yet technicolor, ghostly and palpable, distant yet immediate, grainy and focused. Upon listening these conceptual contradictions are dismissed with ease, as the recordings reveal that they fit all of these descriptors simultaneously, an extraordinary balancing act.

At the core of the new SPELLS album lies a tension between a band that exudes hunger, inspiration &
pride, while being acutely aware that life is catching up on them. It's a lively and energetic affair that
captures the essence of their live performances

Co-Accused return for their second release of 2024 with a hand picked V/A sharing sounds from some of the label’s favourite electro and techno producers. Underground legends and fearsome up-and-comers come on board to the Glasgow based label with Luke’s Anger, SOD-90, Steve Allman, Mal_Hombre andParand delivering tracks. CR006 VA is selected for the dancefloor, tried and tested in Co- accused's own DJ sets.

Luke’s Anger launches the EP with some up for it wonky business in ‘Choplifter’. From one of the masters of the wonky techno sound Luke’s Anger continues in full form with his tight yet askew playful
beats. SOD-90 comes in next with ‘Saving Up For Botox’ with his fearless punk take on the electro sound - his own brand of high intensity atmospherics mixed with distorted synth lines, vocals and kicking breaks. Cultivated Electronics’ Steve Allman leads the B Side with ‘This Is Not A Dream’ calling on driving hoover bass and haunting synths in classic UK electro style. For the B2 Mal_Hombre takes the EP down a deeper and more spatial path with ‘Triangulation’ with delicately detailed and propulsive techno, a long time friend of the label whose debut album Andromeda Outpost released on Jeff Mill’s iconic Axis Records. Topping the whole thing off Berlin based producer and Avoidant alumni Parand delivers the final hit with Bloc - a powerful, pitch black, driving heads down moment.

"Everybody Funk is the first album from Japigia Records, which launches into 2024 with great ardor. This is the first splendid house music album by Pasquale Fanelli, an industrialist from Bari with boundless passion for music and for the show in general, whose greatest merit is of having created a working group full of ideas and talent: the IAPIGI team. The DJ-arranger Paky Fanelli - so called by his friends - with the help of the multifaceted artist-DJ Fabio Ricciuti has dug extensively into the hinterland of the Puglia region in search of his own roots to find the right synergies and give meaning and value to the context, to the habits, to the organization of a city generous in history and culture like Bari, which crossed the ocean via the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean. Thanks to IAPIGI we have therefore arrived in New York where Danilo Braca captures Paky's work and shapes it with excellent Italian taste, which is exactly that of a DJ resident for several decades in the Big Apple where he generates surprising and always current sounds. Although radically different, "Daytona" and "Everybody Funk" represent some of the most exciting Italian house songs of this season. In addition to the skilful remix of these two songs, it is worth mentioning "The Edge", whose main melody develops slowly. Once again Danilo Braca has raised the bar and changed the rules of the game. Good boy! The experts Qubiko & Fabio Ricciuti bring a worthy close to this first work by Paky Fanelli with a short piece, originally entitled "Disaccord" and then merged into "Accord", with the aim of putting everyone on the same wavelength. on the same level or musical chord. Comes with an amazing embossed cover too."

Shrouded in mystery, hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (BRSB) releases their long awaited debut “55” on Brooklyn’s own Big Crown Records. Long time multi-instrumentalist and band leader Bjorn Wagner spent a few months in Trinidad & Tobago where he became fascinated with Steel Drums. His initial intrigue with local steel pan music culture led him to learning the instrument both through help of local players and on his own. After he became proficient on the pans Bjorn had his own instrument built from a used oil barrel by legendary pan man Louis C. Smith. Upon returning home to Germany, Bjorn set out to blend the Tropical Steel into his already sharply honed Funk, Soul, and Hip-Hop sensibilities. The outcome is an updated take on a classic format, a truly unique sound. Their first two recordings were covers of The Meters “Look A-Py-Py” & “Ease Back” which they self-released on a 45. Looking back on these two sides you can tell they were just getting their chops up for what was to come next. This is evidenced by how all hell broke loose when they went on to cover 50 Cent’s hit PIMP taking the DJ and vinyl collecting communities by storm. Many people thought the recording was the original sample and probably still do to this day when it is played. The original Mocambo pressing sold out quickly and is now a collector’s item fetching heavy prices when it changes hands. It was this tune that made the introduction between Bjorn and Danny Akalepse of Big Crown. They immediately hit it off and started making plans to do a full length project with the band. Keeping in the tradition of Steel Drum records, 55 is a journey through re-interpolations and covers with an updated approach, pushing Steel Pan music to uncharted territory. Flawlessly bringing previously untouched genres into the steel pan cannon ranging from Underground Hip Hop tunes to staple Funk tracks and some of all that falls in between. BRSB’s 55 is reinvigorating tunes both well-known and helping to shed some light on tunes still largely undiscovered. However, some of the strongest tunes on the album are original compositions, from spaced out Disco vibes on “Beetham Highway Ride” and “Port Of Spain Hustle” to the ugly face inspiring drums of “Laventille Road March”. Recorded to analog 8 track tape at The Mocambo Studios in Hamburg, 55 is a gritty, punchy journey in sound drawing on music from around the world, using production aesthetics from across both eras and genres, all coming together seamlessly. If the 45s that have already come out on Mocambo, Plane Jane, and Truth & Soul are an indication, this full length is going to be a staple to both casual listeners and Disc Jockeys alik

2024 repress.


Repress Back in March 2003 Claro Intelecto announced his arrival in the electronic world with his Peace Of Mind EP on Ai Records. Now, a decade later, Delsin, the label on which he released his latest LP, is re-releasing it in all its glory. Across four perfectly formed tracks the EP proved Manchester's Mark Stewart to have a fine grasp on techno, electro and dub, and that he was able to do his own unique things with each.

Arguably the most well known cut from the EP is 'Peace of Mind (Electrosoul)', a busy bit of chattery house-come-electro that is wired up with many zithering melody lines and Claro's trademark lush strings. 'Tone' is then a much more frazzled and aggressive bit of techno with raw, slapping percussion, gurgling synth lines and plenty of dystopian electro vibes. 'Contact' then settles into a deep, dubby, spacious groove with airy hi hats and a delightful bassline and carries you along effortlessly, and final track 'Signifier' closes things out in beautifully serene style with ambient swirling pads, organic synths and a curious bassline that rises and falls like the tide. Seminal stuff that still fetches a high price on Discogs, it was the start of a remarkable career for Claro Intelecto.

-Daniel Zelonky (aka Low Res) has been producing records since 1978. Notable credits span from The Misfits to his own iconic club track "Amuck".
-His 2022 orchestral funk celebration of "Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man" has earned critical acclaim. This record, featuring many outstanding musicians, breaks the mold of history-conscious record making, eschewing the slavish copying of past styles which has become so common, and exemplifying the label’s stated mission of “Reimagining a futuristic past” where “weird vistas of fresh possibilities unfold before us...”
Suite Crude Revue is a rotating cast of outstanding performers committed to an unshackled aesthetic. Produced, composed, and arranged by Daniel Zelonky, this single presents songs for imagined films.
“Cowpoke Detox” might be termed “spaghetti jazz”. It’s a strange hybrid of spaghetti western style baritone guitar lines supporting jazz noir harmonies, creating a surreal backdrop for the tale of an unrepentant murderer, who feels regret only in terms of the consequences he’s facing.
“Blue Ramen #1” is a lover’s lament, set to what might be termed a “Hollywood samba”: One imagines Los Angeles session players emulating samba for a commercial film, not an authentic Brazilian band. The lush aural environment culminates in a dreamy closing vamp with the impassioned vocal set amid a swirl of improvised trumpet, violin, and piano. This haunting, yet ironic song may well have found its way into the popular consciousness ... if the movie had actually existed!

Marking sixty years of Bossa Nova, and twenty years since Marcos Valle’s first release for Far Out Recordings, what better time to bring back this era-defining classic from the Brazilian master composer?

Throughout his astounding six-decade career, infiltrating pop, bossa nova, samba, delicate psychedelia, jazz and funk, Marcos Valle has consistently shown a dogged determination to transcend the traditions and structures of bossa nova, whilst never veering away from the movement’s inherent, fundamental spirit. To some extent, his epithet ‘the original Rio beach boy’ is a handy one: it reflects the origin and character of his often sun-soaked sound, but expounding his importance in the lineage of Brazilian music, he is more discerningly known as ‘the renaissance man of Brazilian pop’. He is indeed one the very greatest and most important composers, arrangers, writers and performers in Brazil.

Up until Nova Bossa Nova, Marcos Valle hadn’t released an album for well over a decade. After 1983, he resented the way the music industry had changed with commercialisation and new demands curtailing his creative freedom. This was until 1994 when Marcos met Far Out boss Joe Davis and they recorded a track for Far Out’s first Friends From Rio album. This new collaborative partnership resulted in a new solo album, which commenced recording in 1996.

Nova Bossa Nova brought Marcos bouncing back into the 90s, slotting nicely in place alongside the acid jazz movement as well as a voracious new demand for Brazilian music on dancefloors from London to Tokyo. It was witnessing the London club scene’s growing appetite for Brazilian music, as well as a lack of new sounds coming out of Brazil at the time, that a young Joe Davis put in a proposal to record a new album with one of his musical idols. Joe wanted to facilitate an album which would combine the latest technologies and production techniques, with live to analogue tape recording: a Marcos Valle album tailor-made for London’s clubs. Always open to modern influences and possibilities, Marcos agreed to the project, and Joe and his production partner Roc Hunter flew to Rio in ‘96. The record wasn’t released until ’98, as the original ½ inch tapes were stolen from Far Out’s London studio, meaning parts of the album had to be re-recorded.

Nova Bossa Nova was unveiled at the peak of the of the Brazilian movement, the record would also prove to be something of a revolution, inspiring a new generation of artists like Bebel Gilberto, Sabrina Malheiros, Da Lata and Bossacucanova, who continued to fuse Brazilian influences with modern electronic sounds.

Performed by some of the most seasoned veterans, including the newest edition to the group, Cuban lyricist, singer and composer Kiko Ruiz – who has toured and recorded with Pancho Amatʼs illustrious Estrellas del Buena Vista Social Club as well as having a long standing history as a singer, composer and arranger with Orquesta Maria Alejandra y Cubanía on the Cuban and Latin jazz scenes – Orquesta Akokán brings a classic rawness to these arrangements that is sure to set off dance floors across the globe.

“YOU DON’T LOVE ME” is one of the truly great, iconic records, that deserves all of it’s accolades and (pardon the pun) “epitomises” the “sound” of Northern Soul. Since it exploded onto the scene circa 1974 it has remained close to our hearts and finds itself, quite rightly, in the top ten of the Northern Soul Hall of Fame.

DimDj is a legendary figure of the Greek electronic music scene. After establishing his reputation as an excellent dj already since the 90’s, he continued to grow his personal myth with the delicate production of a wide variety of singles and EP’s. Following his many releases in various labels worldwide (Mathematics, ALLEY VERSION, June, TH Tar Hallow, Lower Parts, Anopolis Records), he now delivers a mini-LP for To Pikap Records. Chicago house blends with Detroit’s Afrofuturism and 707 grooves meet warm melodies, acid basslines and jazzy leads. Six tracks of pure dancefloor mental wellness by Thessaloniki’s 303 maestro.

Maritime Blue Colored Vinyl. Numero's Hottest Sounds Around trio gathers castaway late-'70s grooves from across the Greater Antilles. Stan Chaman's Trinidadian Semp concern delivered Wilfred Luckie's wobbly "My Thing" and the Hamilton Brothers' calypso-disco smash "Music Makes The World Go `Round" in 1978. Across the sea, Frank Penn's G.B.I studio tracked Stephen Colebrook's Doobies-inspired "Stay Away From Music" for the cruise ship curious. All three are housed in a custom Numero sleeve inspired by Edward Seaga's Caribbean music manufacturing and distribution powerhouse WIRL (West Indies Records Ltd.)

2024 Repress

Finders Keepers invite you to witness the incredible first ever Buchla synthesiser concerts/demonstrations providing a distinctive feminine alternative to The Silver Apples Of The Moon if they had ever been presented in phonographic form. This is history in the remaking.

This spring Finders Keepers Records are proud to release an archival project that not only redefines musical history but boasts genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the evolution of music technology as we've come to understand it. To describe this records as a game-changer is an understatement. This record represents a musical revolution, a scientific benchmark and a trophy in the cabinet of counter culture creativity. This record is a triumphant yardstick in the synthesiser space race and the untold story of the first woman on the proverbial moon. While pondering the early accolades of this record it's daunting to learn that this record was in fact not a record at all... It was a manifesto and a gateway to a new world, that somehow never quite opened. If the unfamiliar, modernistic, melodic, pulses, tones and harmonics found on this 1975 live presentation/grant application/educational demonstration had been placed in a phonographic context alongside the promoted work of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos or Tomita then the name Suzanne Ciani and her influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and gender of our record collections. Hopefully there is still chance.

In short, Suzanne was a self-imposed twenty-year-old employee of the Buchla modular synthesiser company, San Francisco's neck and neck contender to New York's Moog. Buchla was run by a community of festival freaks and academic acid eaters whose roots in new age lifestyles and the reinvention of art and music replaced the business acumen enjoyed by its likeminded East Coasters. In the eyes of the consumer the creative refusal to adopt rudimentary facets like a piano keyboard controller rendered the Buchla synthesiser the more obscure stubborn sister of the synth marathon, steering these incredible units away from the mainstream into the homes and studios of free music aficionados, art house composers and die-hard revolutionaries. Championed and semi-showcased by composer Morton Subotnick on his albums The Bull and Silver Apples Of The Moon, Buchla's versatility began to open the minds of a new generation, but the high-end design features and no-compromise modus operandi was often confused with incompatibility and, in the pulsating shadow of Moog's marketing, the revolution would not be televised nor patronised. Suzanne Ciani, as one of the very few female composers on the frontline (and also providing the back line) did not lose faith.

These concerts' are the epitome of rare music technology historic documents, performed by a real musician whose skills and academic education in classical composition already outweighed her male synthesiser contemporaries of twice her age. At the very start of her fragile career these recordings are nothing short of sacrificial ode to her mentor and machine, sonic pickets of the revolution and love letters to an absolutely genuine vision of and 'alternative' musical future. In denouncing her own precocious polymathmatic past in a bid to persuade the world to sing from a new hymn sheet, Suzanne Ciani created a bi-product of never before heard music that would render the pigeon holes ambient' and futuristic' utterly inadequate. Providing nothing short of an entirely different feminine take on the experimental records' of Morton Subotnick and proving to a small, judgmental audience and jury the true versatility of one of the most radical and idiosyncratic musical instruments of the 20th century. These recordings have not been heard since then.

The importance of these genuinely lost pieces of electronic musics puzzle almost eclipses the glaring detail of Suzanne's gender as a distinct minority in an almost exclusively male dominated, faceless, coldly scientific landscape. Those familiar with Suzanne's work, a vast vault of previously unpublished non-records', will already know how the creative politics in her art of being' simultaneously reshaped the worlds of synth design, advertising and film composition before anyone had even dropped a stylus in her groove. Needless to say this record, finally commanding the archival format of choice, courtesy of the Ciani and Finders Keepers longstanding unison, was not the last first' with which this hugely important composer would gift society, and the future of a wide range of exciting evolving creative disciplines.

You have found a holy grail of electronic music and a female musical pioneer who was too proactive to take the trophies. With the light of Buchla and Ciani's initial flame Finders Keepers continues to take a torch through the vaults of this lesser-celebrated music legacy shining a beam on these non-records' that evaded the limelight for almost half a century. You can't write history when you are too busy making it. With fresh ink in the bottomless well, let's start at the beginning. Again. You, are invited!

Svart Records proudly present Winter’s most classic, gloomy and crust laden doom EP “Eternal Frost” for the first time as a vinyl version on its own ”Eternal Frost” is an EP by New York’s cult death doom band Winter. Never before released on vinyl as its own release and only included in the deluxe edition of ”Into Darkness” released by Svart Records in 2020, ”Eternal Frost” will finally be available on wax in August 2024. Formed in New York circa 1988, Winter played slow, deep and hard nuclear doom with a crust punk rawness, that came across like Hellhammer jamming with Amebix. Their penchant for mammoth sized and funeral-paced, wasteland droning has become a touchstone reference for bands across the whole spectrum of underground metal. Originally released only on CD by Nuclear Blast in 1994, ”Eternal Frost” is a reissue of the 1989 eponymously titled demo tape with an additional track “Manifestation I”. Winter’s pre-internet infamy led to their demos being tape- traded in hallowed adoration by fans and bands alike, gaining notable fans such as Fenriz from Darkthrone. “Eternal Frost” is available on Svart exclusive white/red/gold/orange marble vinyl, limited clear/green marble vinyl, and classic black vinyl. Release date August 2nd.

Svart Records proudly present Winter’s most classic, gloomy and crust laden doom EP “Eternal Frost” for the first time as a vinyl version on its own ”Eternal Frost” is an EP by New York’s cult death doom band Winter. Never before released on vinyl as its own release and only included in the deluxe edition of ”Into Darkness” released by Svart Records in 2020, ”Eternal Frost” will finally be available on wax in August 2024. Formed in New York circa 1988, Winter played slow, deep and hard nuclear doom with a crust punk rawness, that came across like Hellhammer jamming with Amebix. Their penchant for mammoth sized and funeral-paced, wasteland droning has become a touchstone reference for bands across the whole spectrum of underground metal. Originally released only on CD by Nuclear Blast in 1994, ”Eternal Frost” is a reissue of the 1989 eponymously titled demo tape with an additional track “Manifestation I”. Winter’s pre-internet infamy led to their demos being tape- traded in hallowed adoration by fans and bands alike, gaining notable fans such as Fenriz from Darkthrone. “Eternal Frost” is available on Svart exclusive white/red/gold/orange marble vinyl, limited clear/green marble vinyl, and classic black vinyl. Release date August 2nd.

Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is following up their 2022 breakthrough hit, Fortune Favors The Bold with their latest album, Leavin’ This Holler. Since their last release in 2022 the band has mined success across the globe by playing multiple sold out tours in the US as well as a sold out run of arena concerts opening for Luke Combs across Europe. Crowds have celebrated and supported this band across the globe and the band’s hard workin ways continue to help build their devoted following. Leavin’ This Holler is a soulful anthem of liberation and renewal. The album narrates a journey of breaking free from the chains of the past to pursue happiness and freedom. With a resolute spirit and a clean washed heart, 49 Winchester embraces change and sets out on a quest for new heights. Fortune has favored these bold boys and fueled by determination and the promise of a bright future, ‘Leavin’ this holler’ is a powerful ode to resilience and the pursuit of personal fulfillment.

Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is following up their 2022 breakthrough hit, Fortune Favors The Bold with their latest album, Leavin’ This Holler. Since their last release in 2022 the band has mined success across the globe by playing multiple sold out tours in the US as well as a sold out run of arena concerts opening for Luke Combs across Europe. Crowds have celebrated and supported this band across the globe and the band’s hard workin ways continue to help build their devoted following. Leavin’ This Holler is a soulful anthem of liberation and renewal. The album narrates a journey of breaking free from the chains of the past to pursue happiness and freedom. With a resolute spirit and a clean washed heart, 49 Winchester embraces change and sets out on a quest for new heights. Fortune has favored these bold boys and fueled by determination and the promise of a bright future, ‘Leavin’ this holler’ is a powerful ode to resilience and the pursuit of personal fulfillment.

Marking its first decade of activity, Blume returns with the first ever vinyl reissue of the seminal “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media”, from 1977, the third and final instalment in a suite of releases that includes James Tenney’s “Postal Pieces” and Ben Vida’s “Vocal Trio”. Unquestionably among the most important collections of experimental music to emerge during the 20th Century, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” is the original feminist presentation in its context, releasing the work of Johanna M. Beyer, Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Megan Roberts, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson under its collective banner. Includes newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey.

Since its founding back in 2014, Blume has carved a unique place in cultural landscape, issuing free standing works, spanning the historical and contemporary, that represent singular gestures of creativity within the field of experimental sound. Joining their broad efforts in building networks of context and understanding that already includes the efforts of efforts of Werner Durand, Sarah Hennies, Bruce Nauman, John Butcher, Jocy de Oliveira, Mary Jane Leach, Valentina Magaletti, Alvin Curran, Julius Eastman, Alvin Lucier, and others, Blume delivers their third release in their first suite of releases for 2024, the fist ever vinyl reissue of the seminal “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” compilation, originally issued by Thomas Buckner's 1750 Arch Records in 1977. Out of print for decades on vinyl and arguably the most important feminist statement in the history of experimental music, illuminating the work of Johanna M. Beyer, Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Megan Robert, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson - in a number of cases representing their recording debuts - during a crucial moment in the history of experimental music. Blume’s brand new edition - complete with newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey, as well as reproducing Charles Amirkhanian’s original accompanying text - radically shifts perceptions of the past and present day with its truly revolutionary sounds.

Issued by Thomas Buckner's 1750 Arch Records in 1977, and out of print nearly the entire time since, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” can be understood within two simple frameworks. On one hand, it is an astounding document of the landscape of experimental music toward the end of the 1970s. On the other, it is a historically significant feminist statement, being the first collection of experimental music entirely dedicated to female composers, a number of whom were grossly under-celebrated at the time, but have since gone on to be regarded as among the most important composers of their generation.

The eight pieces gathered by “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” - Johanna M. Beyer’s “Music of the Spheres”, Annea Lockwood’s “World Rhythms”, Pauline Oliveros’ “Bye Bye Butterfly”, Laurie Spiegel’s “Appalachian Grove I”, Megan Roberts’ “I Could Sit Here All Day”, Ruth Anderson’s “Points”, and Laurie Anderson’s “New York Social Life” and “Time To Go (For Diego)” - might be regarded as the first cohesive vision of alternate proximity or expression of experimental music to what has always been a frustratingly male dominated environment, and to the tropes, temperaments, and sensibilities that have been historically perceived to define it. It is an expanded vision of truth. While the presence of feminine sensibilities and temperaments in experimental music, however they may present themselves, were anything but new in 1977, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” was the first opportunity, beyond the temporal limitations of live performance, to view them collectively, rather than as individualised expressions within a larger body of similar gestures (as was the case of Oliveros’ inclusion in Odyssey’s 1967 “New Sounds In Electronic Music” and “Extended Voices” compilations) where they might be confused for something else; to regard and celebrate a radical notion of feminine sonority for its unique characteristics and through its interrelations.

While its historical significance and groundbreaking nature can not be debated in its totality, nearly half a century on “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” remains compelling in both its musicality and the palpable sense of its lasting influence. Every composition across the album’s two sides is not only engrossing and deeply compelling - feeling as fresh and relevant as the day it was laid to tape - but clearly tangible in their lasting influence. Viewed in context, the album’s eight works feel like breath of fresh air when compared to much of what came before, and laid the groundwork for much of what was to come, introducing a new, often more holistic temperament and more sensitive and inclusive sensibility into the landscape of experimental music.

Particularly in the case of Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson, it's hard to throw ourselves back in time and imagine a moment when these composers rested in a fairly marginalised corner of the creative landscape. Blume’s brand new edition of “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” - complete with newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey, as well as reproducing Charles Amirkhanian’s original accompanying text - brings us back to this confounding moment and points us toward a crucial moment of change set forth by these incredible composers and their sounds. Absolutely seminal and not to be missed.

Nur wenige Künstler sind so umstritten und einflussreich. New York-Legende R.A. The Rugged Man wird dieser Einordnung durch seine Kombination aus Authentizität, seines unbestreitbar wilden Lebens mit seinen unverkennbar außergewöhnlichen Fähigkeiten am Mikrophon gerecht. Schon in den Neunzigern, als er mit Notorious BIG, Sadat X und Company Flow aufnahm und zwischenzeitlich bei Jive gesigned war, wo sein Album jedoch nie veröffentlicht wurde, glaubte niemand mehr an eine erfolgreiche Karriere. Aufgrund seiner vielen Eskapaden war er aus sämtlichen Studios, Konzerthallen und Plattenfirmenbüros verbannt worden. Doch R.A. The Rugged Man blieb sich treu, veröffentlichte mehrere Underground-Singles und ein Album auf Rawkus, Eastern Conference und Nature Sounds und erhielt sich einen harten Kern an treuen Fans. Nun legt er mit "Legends Never Die" den Nachfolger zu "Die Rugged Man Die" vor. Mit dabei sind MCs wie Tech N9ne, Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, Masta Ace, Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks), Sadat X, Bumpy Knuckles u.v.a. Für die Beats haben unter anderem Marco Polo, Buckwild, Apathy, Ayatollah und Mr. Green gesorgt.

First Word Records is proud to bring you 'Resonance'; a full-length album from Essa & Pitch 92. A lyricist, lawyer and a Londoner, Essa initially released music under the name Yungun in the early noughties, in the midst of UK hip hop's own "golden era". He earned praise from artists such as Nas and Mark Ronson, and performed and recorded with such luminaries as De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch. His classic debut album 'The Essance' originally dropped whilst he was at law school, 20 years ago (which was recently given a full re-issue on First Word). This was followed with a collaborative album with DJ Mr Thing ('Grown Man Business'), then some years later with 'The Misadventures of a Middle Man' in 2014. Essa also released a track on Juneteenth 2020 entitled 'Justice', as a powerful reaction to George Floyd and the BLM movement. It saw support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, and raised money for an assortment of access-to-justice organisations. ...

2024 Repress

Dauw welcomes Berlin based musician Midori Hirano to the label with her new album Soniscope. Award winning composer Robot Koch provided a rework of the track Patterns under his recently announced new ambient project Foam and Sand.

With releases on acclaimed labels such as Longform Editions, Sonic Pieces and Alien Transistor, Midori Hirano is no stranger within the field of electro-acoustic piano music. While she is more known for her studio-work, it is often forgotten that she also has a long tradition of writing for films and theatre productions. This forms an important part in her work and a constant inspiration for her autonomous work. Soniscope is no exception in that regard. While working on the film Mizuko (Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo, 2019), a still of many little Jizo statutes got her attention and came to be the first steps of her new album.

“I was fascinated by the combination of the image and sound which well emphasized the stillness with a slight of emotion.” (Midori Hirano)

With the Jizo statutes on her mind, Midori Hirano wanted to make an album and started envisioning several personal narratives. Soniscope can be considered as the soundtrack of her own personal stories related to these statues of which Mizuko Jizo was the starting point. With Soniscope, Hirano continues in the same vein as her previous albums in which piano and electronic arrangements hold a central place. However, on this record she specifically explored new possibilities in terms of techniques and instruments.

Midori Hirano is a Japanese musician, composer and producer, born in Kyoto and living in Berlin since 2008. She started learning the piano as a child, and this triggered what was to later see her study classical piano at university. Therefore her productions are based on the use of acoustic instruments such as the piano, strings or guitars, but yet experimental and an eclectic mixture of modern digital sounds with subtle electronic processing and field recordings.

Her first two albums were released on noble records, and her second, “klo:yuri”(2008), saw her further develop of her sound, garnering critical acclaim from various media including TIME magazine , BBC radio and FACT Magazine. Over the following years Midori has performed in venues and festivals as diverse as Club Transmediale, Heroines of Sound Festival, Erased Tapes Sound Gallery, L.E.V. Festival, Boiler Room Berlin, and Wonderfruit Festival.

The nine solo albums and numerous single track releases to date include the works of her other moniker MimiCof, in which she explores the realm of experimental music and detailed rhythmic patterns, combined with an idea of drawing melodic shapes and harmonies. Her recent works have been released by labels such as Sonic Pieces, Daisart, Alien Transistor, raster-media, 7k! Music and Longform Editions.

Besides producing her own works, she composes music for films, video installations and dance performances. The films that have commissioned works by Midori have been screened at Berlin International Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and among others.

The music of Brigitte Calls Me Baby is equal parts elegant time warp and up-close exploration of our modern-day neuroses. The Chicago-based five-piece emerged in early 2023 and soon scored a breakout hit with “Impressively Average”—a sublimely shimmering anthem, setting the band on a swift rise that’s recently included embarking on a headline tour with sold-out dates across the US. Having opened for The Strokes, Last Dinner Party and Muse, the band has been featured in the Sunday Times “Breaking Act” and NME’s Radar Spotlight series. Now, with their debut LP The Future Is Our Way Out, Brigitte Calls Me Baby share a body of work that ingeniously spans genres and eras, merging the lavish romanticism of mid-century pop with the frenetic energy and spiky intensity of early-millennium indie-rock. Centered on lead singer Wes Leavins’ hypnotically crooning vocal work, the result is a rare convergence of sophistication and style and unabashed sincerity.

Dust & Disquiet is the band’s fourth full-length album and the follow up to 2012’s stellar Waking Season. Recorded at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts, Caspian once again tapped Matt Bayles (Isis, Cursive, Screaming Females, The Sword) to produce and mix. On Dust & Disquiet, Caspian again refuses to be confined by genre. Listeners will find those familiar intricately textured soundscapes that the band has become known for. Caspian released, Waking Season, in 2012 to critical acclaim, with Spin proclaiming it as the “Best Post Rock Album of 2012.” The band followed with the release of Hymn For the Greatest Generation in the fall of 2013, an EP that was to serve as Caspian’s epilogue to Waking Season. Hymn for the Greatest Generation was also well received, finding praise everywhere from Pitchfork to Nylon to Alternative Press.

Continuing the Mr Bongo Cuban Classics Series, we shine a light on Los Reyes 73 and their sensational debut LP from 1975. The album had multiple different pressings under various titles and artworks, but the music stayed the same and speaks for itself. The group set the bar high with this fiery Afro-Cuban-funk gem, letting loose a vibrant Latin workout combining psych rock trippiness with a heavy dose of deep funk. Elements that fuse to firmly cement this album as a ‘70s Cuban masterpiece and one of our favourites here at Mr Bongo HQ.

Releasing just two albums and a handful of 7-inch singles, the band were a popular and influential group in Cuba at the time. Since then, they have featured on several compilation albums across the 2000s that have helped raise their profile amongst new audiences worldwide.

Produced by the magical Raúl Gómez, the album featured a list of heavyweight Cuban musicians. Directed by Santiago Reyes and Ovidio Guerra, with orchestration from greats including Ricardo Eddy Martinez who also released the much-loved album 'Expreso Ritmico' in 1978 alongside Ignacio Herrera, Mario Valdes and Gilberto García. The album also features the writing prowess of Los Van Van’s Miguel Ángel Rasalps.

Blending traditional Cuban Son aesthetics with funk influences and psychedelic touches, the music housed within showcases a cosmic fusion that stands up on any modern dancefloor. The scintillating opener ‘Grandes Amigos’, the tripped out ‘Adeoey’ and the grooving ‘Un Lamento Hecho Cancion’ are just a handful of examples that exhibit the sheer musical melting pot of this album.

For this reissue, we have chosen to use the artwork from a Mexican version of the album released on Pentagrama Records that features the beautiful bird illustration cover art. The Cuban edition was released on the state-run Areito.

A limited vinyl pressing of the sixth album from the classic L.A. punk ska band! On purple blast vinyl!

Right from the start when you hear Feldmann’s voice sing "Everyday is just the same" before the guitars, bass, and drums kick in on opening track "One More Time," you instantly know that Goldfinger are back as good as ever. The elements of desire, passion, and punk in those 5 words instantly tell you that Hello Destiny is going to be different to Disconnection Notice. The songs on the album go from strength to strength. From the slightly heavier song of "Handjobs For Jesus," to the upbeat Ska of "Get Up," to the sweet heartfelt acoustics of the bonus track "Julian," this is an album that will be up there with the best of the Goldfinger records. Like having sex for the first time, it will be remembered.

Geschmiedet aus demselben Sheffield-Stahl wie Def Leppard, entstiegen auch Crimes Of Passion dieser Stadt mit der Leidenschaft und dem Ziel, unseren Vorbildern auf dem Weg an die Musikspitze folgen. Eine Band, die das Glück hatte, die einflussreiche Ära von Dio, Ratt, Queensryche und Journey miterlebt zu haben, aber keineswegs zu sehr in der Vergangenheit zu stecken, um das Songwriting vom
damaligen Emo/Metalcore-Sound beeinflussen zu lassen.

Es war offensichtlich, dass Crimes Of Passion das gewisse „etwas" hatten, denn innerhalb eines Monats nach der Gründung und dem
Schreiben der Songs für das erste Album ging die Band auf Tour mit Bands wie Tyketto, White Lion, Great White, Gotthard und durfte auch
bereits auf mehreren Festivals auf dem ganzen Kontinent spielen - die Stahlkugel aus Sheffield kam tatsächlich ins Rollen!

Recorded as part of the same daydreaming puzzle as Unwishing Well, Still Clouds at Noon brings out the slowcore/sadcore elements that drift through The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ melancholy catalog. Donaldson names '90s hometown San Francisco acts such as American Music Club and the more obscure Timco as pivotal to his guitar playing and development as a songwriter, both of which shine bright here. The slower tempo ballads on Still Clouds… often culminate in heavy fuzz drenched codas and showcase the more abstract poetic side of Donaldson’s lyricism. There’s an inherent pop-sensibility always at work though, with ear-worm melodies appearing over intoxicating circular riffs. Formerly a Bandcamp only digital release, this white vinyl version is remastered and adds two unreleased tracks, one featuring Mark Monnone from Australian pop-legends The Lucksmiths on bass

Organisation were a band out of Germany who were a kind of prototype for Kraftwerk. The band members actually wanted this album to be under the Kraftwerk banner but were overruled. It would probably be better known if that were the case. Nevertheless the album was played in its entirety on German television despite being a UK only release. Confused? I think everyone was but this is a vital part of the story of the godfathers of electronic music.

Comes with insert and download coupon.

Imagine a Latin remake of Back to the Future. The mad scientist is Arsenio Rodriguez (the godfather of salsa) and the young student who travels through time with him is Eblis Alvarez (Meridian Brothers). This album can only be described as the perfect soundtrack for that movie that never was.

After the massive buzz generated by his first solo album, Mentallogenic, Alex Figueira got back in the studio to work in a more collective fashion this time, carefully assembling the second album of his largest project to date, Conjunto Papa Upa; a team of 6 musicians, spanning 3 generations of some of the best talent in the Latin and avant-garde scenes.

In an era where tropical music is dominated by purely electronic and rhythmically uniform sounds, the ten songs encompassed in “Fruta Madura” (“Ripe Fruit”) wander through the most diverse tempos, rhythms, and motifs effortlessly. A real breath of fresh air that gracefully incorporates soul, funk, jazz, psychedelia, and electronics into a solid tropical, irresistibly polyrhythmic foundation, without ever succumbing to the many genre clichés.

The distinctive production and catchy songwriting of Figueira shine in a very distinctive light on this second full-length. Living up to his reputation (Miles Cleret, founder of Soundway Records, called him “one of the scene's truly authentic and eccentric producers”), he takes the opportunity to show he’s not afraid to keep walking his own path.

Taking the band for a wild ride through the traditions of Africa, America, and the Caribbean; contrasting them with a ridiculously wide plethora of vintage, contemporary, and futuristic sounds, and pivoting on the exuberant musicality displayed by his musicians; the result leaves no doubt: this album is destined to be considered a future classic of the exciting tropical psychedelic music of the 21st century.

Addressing the most diverse themes in this new collection of songs, things take on a much more mature tone, as the title clearly suggests.

The opening track “El segundo es más sabroso” (“The second one is tastier”) sets the tone in the most assertive way imaginable, with the band boldly declaring, through multiple metaphorical references (laid upon a crazy mix of Dominican merengue, Detroit techno, classic and free jazz, dub, and electro), that the bar will be set higher with this second album.

The remaining compositions touch upon the most diverse subjects, with a fair dose of humor, sarcasm, and postmodern “magic realism”. “El Algoritmo” (The Algorithm) is a parranda-cumbia hybrid (for lack of a specific term) about the omnipresence of technology in our lives. The sophisticated Latin soul of the titling track “Fruta Madura” makes a case for the beauty of the maturity process. Some key philosophical teachings of Marcus Aurelius (the role of causality, the impositions of “the logos” and the importance of self-control) get a twisted cumbia treatment on “Reos del Deseo” (Prisoners of Desire). “No le pongas Coca-Cola” (“Don’t put Coca Cola in it”) shows us the most satirical side of the band, accusing those who mix Coca Cola with Rum of committing "sacrilege", on a powerful base of Dem Bow (the grandfather of Reggaeton), intertwined with touches of soul, salsa, and Cuban comparsa.

"Háblame Claro" (“Talk to me clearly”) is a story of heartbreak that evokes in its first part the spirit of the erotic salsa of the 80s (a subgenre deeply despised by purists), and after an unexpected samba interlude, leads to the hardest salsa of the 70s (a subgenre adored by purists), to end up in the surprising form of pure Afro-Cuban ceremonial music.

“Tu mamá tenía razón” ("Your Mom Was Right") is an attempt to exalt the spirit of the Latin American soap opera in the key of “acid bachata”, to recount a real-life case, witnessed by the band on countless occasions: the partying woman who arrives at the show accompanied by her bitter husband, who obviously does not like to dance. A very cheeky song to talk about the very serious and pertinent topic of female empowerment.

“La misma vaina” (“The same thing”) with its indescribable blend of bantú, candomblé, and Mozambique rhythms with abstract synthesizers, is an ode to adventure in favor of the aversion to taking risks and seeking predictability.

“Amigas picadas” (“Salty friends”) is another humorous song recounting another real-life case witnessed by the band on countless occasions: a love encounter sabotaged by the girlfriend's friends, who all happen to fancy the same guy. A jazzy take on the ancient Dominican rhythm of pambiche (grandfather of merengue), with generous psychedelic touches, resembling the classy late 60s releases of Guadeloupe's legendary producer / label owner Henri Debs.

“Vinimos a hablar” (“We came to talk”) takes sarcasm to the highest level, to ridicule the absurdity (also experienced by the band firsthand) seen in live music venues where people pay a ticket to go and have conversations that could be carried out much better on any bar, where no band is playing. The music alternates between a delicate melody with loose, sparse percussion and a full-on, pumping Angolan semba, with a techno kick drum included; bringing things to an apotheotic grooving finale, where the peculiar swing of Venezuelan calypso from the Callao region is thrown on top of all the precedent elements; closing the album in the most uplifting, “end of the carnival parade” feel.

The artwork is a delicate and impactful oil painting by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera, who has collaborated many times with the label before (“Maracas, tambourines and other hellish things” tape and the Lola’s Dice LP).

What the experts are saying:

“Alex (Figueira) dove into this work with a brutal cohesion between lyrics and synths. Timbre poetry, sound poetry (you name it). And that, superimposed on his always impeccable percussive base, confirms the title of “avant-garde visionary of our beautiful Latin music”".
EBLIS ALVAREZ (MERIDIAN BROTHERS)
“Papa Upa's infectious quirkiness is a balm against boredom. A mature album, but without an expiration date”.
GLADYS PALMERA

“Here there is a lot of strength, drum, cadence and psychedelia, lost dance rhythms, united in an intercontinental Latin/African/and Caribbean journey, a unique winning combination that we could consider the new “Ritmo Figueira”.
DISCODELIC

Conjunto Papa Upa are: 



Alex Figueira - Timbales, percussion, vocals. 

Gerardo Rosales - Congas, percussion, vocals. 

Ramón Mendeville - Bongos, percussion, vocals. 

Randy Winterdal - Bass.

Andrew Moreno - Guitar.

Nico Chientarolli - Organ, piano, synths.



All songs written by Alex Figueira. 

Arranged and performed by Conjunto Papa Upa. 

Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam.


180g vinyl + Deluxe hard-cardboard sleeve + OBI + resealable outer sleeve

This isn’t just a seminal album. It is an estuary. All the black rivers that would form Brazilian funk/hip-hop flow through it. Led by Paulista pianist Salvador Silva Filho – Dom Salvador – “Som, Sangue, e Raça” from 1971, one year after the explosion of Tim Maia on the scene, catalyzed the bossa nova and jazz background of its leader with the rhythm and blues of its members like saxophonist Oberdã Magalhães, nephew of samba-enredo master Silas de Oliveira and future leader of Banda Black Rio, who since the group Impacto 8 (which had, among others, Robertinho Silva on drums and Raul de Souza on trombone) had already been trying to reconcile MPB with Stevie Wonder and James Brown. Add to all this a mixture of samba, Nordestino accent, and even the black side of the Jovem Guarda represented by the authorial presence of Getúlio Cortes (older brother of Gerson King Combo, our James Brown “cover”) in ‘Hei! Você’. Alongside these elements and the presence of Rubão Sabino (bass), who still called himself ‘Rubens’, drummer Luis Carlos (another member of Black Rio), the record enlists the trumpet and flugelhorn of symphonic musician Darcy in place of the original Barrosinho (yet one more founder of Black Rio), who was traveling during the recording but would end up being a leading force of the band.



The album ‘Som, Sangue e raça’ paves the way for future generations of musicians and producers of the Carioca scene at the beginning of the 1970s. The lyrics that dealt with the question of race and the explosive fusion of samba, soul, jazz, and funk, elaborated by Dom Salvador and his troupe, Abolição, established the bases for the development of new sounds and tendencies in Brazilian music.

The Acido family in full effect: leftfield, lo-fi Acid, ace Ambient trips, Disco vibes & what not.