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After a few other successful projects, Franck Biyong, French-Cameroonian Afrobeat composer, guitar player and singer is back on Hot Casa with a hot futuristic Afro-Brazilian club anthem. The similarities and filiations between traditional West-African drumming and Afro-Brazilian religious musical rites are many: under colonial rule African people and African slaves outwardly practiced
Christianity but secretly prayed to their own God, Gods, or Ancestor spirits. So we aimed at keeping the gritty urban menacing sound and poetry of Afrobeat with the percussive mass rumble of Batucada and poignant beauty of Carioca. We then got in touch with Cristina Violle, the first lady of “Samba de Roda” in Paris who graced us with a startling inspired and heartfelt melody. The first completed version of the song then briefly went on alternative radio, we also made plans to release a vinyl version, but for one way or another we shelved the project, without thinking we would get back to it again…until a few months ago. We went back to the studio last summer and started ironing the song again from scratch. That same initial spirit and energy caught hold of us again from the day we started and we worked relentlessly to create a balanced but experimental track, showcasing rootsy sound, pop instrumentation, tight world beat drumming, song structure, jazzy horns, spacey synthesizers, choral-like vocal harmonies with call and response figurative vocals.
We now proudly present this brand new record; Like our predecessors years ago, we subconsciously did our best to keep alive a longtime tradition of cultural tradition of African Artistic
Renaissance, pushing further musical themes of contemporary African sound. To be continued…

Soul Jazz Records continues its journey into the world of Afro-Caribbean roots music with this album of newly recorded music of Gwo Ka music recorded and produced by Soul Jazz Records on the island of Guadeloupe, French West Indies.

Gwo Ka music is a fantastic fusion of African-­derived musical form ( call and response), with vocal styles that draw upon the equally powerful French chanson singers to create a truly unique combination.

Tradition Ka, made up of some of the island’s finest singers and master drummers, is part of a powerful network of politicised Gwo Ka groups on the island – upholding the traditions and cultural importance of Gwo Ka as part of a larger process of defining the identity of Guadeloupe and its culture.

This album is newly studio recorded in Pointe-­A-­Pitre, Guadeloupe by Soul Jazz Records. Like the cult music of Haiti’s Vodou and Cuba’s Santeria or the roots music of Belize’s Garifuna (all of which Soul Jazz have also released), Gwo Ka is the musical and cultural product of the region’s African ancestry, forcibly brought to the Caribbean through slavery.

Gwo Ka exists only in Guadeloupe, a very different island from much of the Caribbean, in that it remains a ‘department’ of its original colonial master, France. Here, the currency is the Euro and the baker sells croissant and café au lait.

This constant ‘European-­ising’ of the island means that Gwo Ka plays a fundamental and important role in the defining of Guadeloupean identity. As an African-­derived music, its position as a counter-­balance to French influence means that the definition of how and what Gwo Ka represents is also in a constant state of flux.

These new recordings show how Gwo Ka is both a modern Caribbean music form and one firmly rooted in ancestral history.

Over the last 20 years Soul Jazz Records have been documenting and presenting the often hidden histories and deep musical worlds of Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad, the Bahamas and more. This documentation encompasses reissuing lost recordings, such as the mighty Studio One catalogue of reggae, producing films/dvds (such as the 3-­hour documentary Mirror To The Soul in conjunction with British Pathé, and Dub Echoes), books (check the forthcoming photography book on the Caribbean 90 Degrees of Shade, with text by Paul Gilroy, and Kanaval) as well as travelling to the region to produce new recordings.

In opposite to other Nigerian acts which hardly got known beyond the borders of their homeland, BLO were always very popular in the Western world. Accompanying Ginger Baker of CREAM fame was the first step to break them into the western popular music market of the 70s and what followed could be called an African fairy tale.

Still this, their fifth album from 1979, waited a long time for a proper reissue, especially on hot black wax with originals in good conditions fetching prices of 300 € and more. For fans of 5th Dimension, The Temptations, Hot Chocolate, Earth, Wind & Fire. First ever and long overdue official reissue of this long lost Nigerian disco classic from 1979. Fifth album by one of The most outstanding Nigerian 70's afro beat acts.

The project of Trimolo was setup more or less in 1984. The group won a price at a band contest 1987 where they stepped up from a basement band to a highly asked live band in the upcoming years between 1987 and 1992.

After winning the price they earned their first studio experience and the first two songs published on an LP – the Rock Feierwerk 1987 Sampler. The year after they released their debut LP that is a master piece.

The sound of Trimolo is a melting pot of all 4 musicians that is not divisible from each other. All of them giving a unique sound that blends different styles together to one. Trimolo sometimes sounds like a jazz record but with influences that can sound like a Caribbean or an oriental or a classical record.

The original press of the debut album is nowadays high in demand and a collectors item that has been sold recently for more than 200€. Back in the days it was pressed in a tiny number and was only sold on concerts around the Bavarian capital Munich.

On this Caribbean island that is Cuba, El Tipo is a pioneer of Hip Hop. The founder of Obsesion group with he has committed three albums, traveled Europe, Latin America, United States. He has invested the mythical scene Apollo Theater of Harlem, shared the stage with The Roots, Common or Kanye West, integrated the Gilles Peterson’s band for the Havana Culture Tour. 500 LTD!In the world of beatmaking, Al Quets (originally known as Quetzal) is a figure. An instrumental designer who cut, loop, program, cadence, compose. A name marked by 5 albums and collaborations with Onra, Guts, La Fine Equipe ou Milk Coffee and Sugar. Between the French beat maker and the cuban MC, there’s thousand of kilometers but a desire to connect so strongly that no force could have prevented the meeting. So, rather than exchanging digital files , Al Quetz preferred swallowing on the same frequencies. Together they drew on all the musical currents of the island and around, absorbed Afro- Cuban sounds, added the freedom of jazz, the metronome of hip hop grooves, smoking riddims and heavy bass of the Jamaican neighboor.

“Lugar Alto presents their very first release: the incredibly rare and absolutely stunning “Homenagem”, by Leonardo V. Boccia. This is a forgotten gem from the eighties that examines traditional Brazilian themes such as choro, northeastern folk, and capoeira with touches of eighties electronics and new age.

Leonardo Boccia is a musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, researcher and university professor of Culture and Society at the Federal University of Bahia, whose interests include sound studies, manipulation of sound media, audiosphere and aesthetics, musical theatre, audio culture and neuromusic.

Born in Italy, this respected academic studied music in Berlin, moved to Rio de Janeiro and established himself in Salvador where he was invited to research the northeastern music of Bahia. There he created the experimental group Macchina Naturale, an eclectic combo that performed regularly during his stay. In November 1980, Boccia participated in the first Instrumental Music Festival of Bahia as a soloist where he performed works of his own.

But it was in 1983 that Professor Boccia composed, directed and produced the LP Homenagem. With photos by renowned photographer and artist Mario Cravo Neto for the front and back cover of the booklet, the album presents new and original compositions for instrumental ensembles, such as: Choro Fantasia – for guitar and berimbau -, Canção para Iracema, Homenagem and Lenda do Sertão. The LP was originally released on January 3rd, 1984, with a live performance in the main hall of the Castro Alves Theatre under the title Tribute to Brazilian Music, with the participation of vocalist Sueli Sodré, who contributes to the album, instrumentalists Zeno Millet and Onias Camardelli, accompanied by choreography and visuals.

Much of Homenagem examines the genre of Brazilian music known as Choro, or Chorinho, a genre which appeared in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th century. Choro is regarded as the first typically Brazilian urban music and, over the years, it has come to be considered one of the most prestigious genres of national popular music. Stylistically, it originates from Lundu, a percussion-based rhythm of African inspiration but also influenced by European genres. The instrumental composition of choro was based on the trinca flute, guitar and cavaquinho. Over time, other wind and string instruments were incorporated.

Here, in Homenagem, Professor Boccia deliberately mixes the old and the new, the traditional and the innovative; the album is the environment of Chorinho reconsidered and recontextualized, and its melodies and harmonies still capable of surprises. Just listen to “Terra e Povo” – it has an almost proto-acid-house quality to it, while the synth washes on “Mãe Natureza” with the ethereal vocal stylings of Sueli Sodré ushering in the progressive quality of the album.

Too long out of print, new label Lugar Alto now offers you the chance to reappraise this fascinating reissue of yet another forgotten chapter in Brazilian music.”

Steppas Records is back with another heavyweight single in collaboration with Dubzoic, Alpha & Omega and Fikir Amlak.

The earth-rocker sounds of Italian producer, Dubzoic, alongside A&O's mystical foundation style, blend with Caribbean/American singer Fikir Amlak's ethereal and enchanting lyrical and vocal talents to deliver a stand-out Soundsystem single.

This release features Dubzoic and Fikir's original vocal edit, with a mystical flute cut plus two incredible mixes from UK dub pioneers Alpha & Omega (Greensleeves, Steppas Records).

Until now played as an exclusive dubplate, Steppas Records is excited to unleash this tune to the world, beautifully mastered and pressed to limited edition vinyl.

Oh, Juan! We love thee, we love but thee with a love that shall not die ‘till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old.
Once in a blue moon, there is a star for whom we see limitless possibilities, whose inevitably long and fruitful œuvre all but insists we do everything in our power to nurture and provide support.

We diligently examine that sky, seeking rarefied meaning from an often desperate and banal universe, and over this past decade you have surely proven one of the brightest, most wondrous and tenacious cosmic forces we’ve encountered.
Your kaleidoscopic wealth of personality, your emotionally urgent storytelling, your obsessive-compulsive weaving of voices siphoned from the pop culture æther, your ability to synthesize teachings from the Atlantic Northeast, Caribbean and Fatherland to pen an ever-evolving musical autobiography; these superhuman strengths are not lost on us.

The 'Oxford House' EP is particularly special, as 'Fahrt Im Himmel' was our fateful introduction to your work, and though that meeting in a writhing maniacal pit of half-naked sweaty bodies was nearly five years ago, it still lives romantically close to our hearts. We just know the world will fall in love and 'Let It Go', just as we did.

It’s exciting to see you merge a musical adolescence with the now evolved Juan Ramos of 'Oxford House', recognizing your significant coming-of-age and never shying away from your roots, but rather confronting and embracing them at your every turn.

We will continue to champion your creative process and output, in hopes of fueling your inherent quest to illuminate uncharted regions of your vision.
... With all our love, always and forever, the ESP Institute.

Europe’s leading reggaeton experimenters DJ Clara! And Maoupa Mazzocchetti. exert a tripped-out spin on modern Latin dance and vintage Galician folk styles for Low Jack’s boundary-stepping club division of Editions Gravats. Following the duo’s 2018 debut EP
and Clara!’s ‘Meiga de Acero’ single in 2019 for Les Disques De La Bretagne, ‘Luna Nueva’ binds the duo’s astrological, spiritual and romantic dancefloor cues in a significant new take on Caribbean futurism.

Designed to make you sweat - and maybe check your head -
the album pairs Clara!’s effortlessly nimble vocals with lean and spacious co-production by Maoupa Mazzocchetti in a way that faithfully and daringly plays with reggaeton convention, and, by extension, offers a critique of global electronic dance music currents.

Based in Brussels, Belgium, but originally from northern Spain, Clara! brings a strong knowledge of reggaeton, perreo and trap absorbed from beach parties and clubs back home to a wickedly offset batch of productions by Maoupa, who’s arguably earned a mean reputation in recent years for his killer mixtapes with the PRR! PRR! gang, as well as a slew of 12”s for everyone from Unknown Precept and Mannequin to Arma since 2014.

Together they throw down eight distinctive vocal cuts on disc 1, while disc 2 is loaded with their singular instrumentals. Clara! dispatches ice cool but barbed bars in diverse flows, bewitching Maoupa’s rhythms with on point style in the dramatic ‘Badman’ - a bullet for the male gaze - while layering herself in choral cadence on a spellbinding cover of Faltiquera’s Galician folk song ’Sum Sum’ over unusual tablas and drones...

But while the finer details of Clara!’s pointed but humorous lyrics may be lost on non-Spanish speakers, her co-productions with Mauopa are bound to resonate regardless of tongue, with strong, dare-to-be-different highlights in the hard and psychedelic drive of ‘Gaviléan’ and the bolshy bashment grind of ‘Virgo’, along with straight up freaky gear such as ‘Baja Y Suda’, plus their cold fusion of reggaeton and Mahraganat influences in ‘Secreto Ritual’, and warped hypermodernism in ‘Clarividencia.’ No matter what angle or
language it’s approached from, ‘Luna Nueva’ cycles fresh and luminous with a steadfast yet experimental call to the ‘floor while the world collapses around them.

Redsonja Records brings to light reference number 16, held back until now, as to date 18 of our catalog has already been released. Visionary 01 is an EP by VVAA released on vinyl and digital format which showcase new a graphic identity of Redsonja Records: the warrior. In addition, RS16 also includes a future reference: Visionary 02. The four producers that participate coincide in several aspects related to the concept we believe in as a label. They all possess a kind of "divine touch" when producing their tracks, you can tell they all work from their soul. Jose Rico presents a track title ‘Discotime’, deep rhythmic cadences in the purest Detroit style; clean, bright, and delightfully mischievous sounding. Analogies intentionally created, synths that cross each other with elegance and leave space for all the necessaries. The result is an essential track in any relevant music collection. It takes us to other worlds that are more relaxed, more divinized, more colorful, more leisurely ...

Apzolut & MC Goatzak are two brothers with a pretty damn unique background. These viking brothers measure over 2 meters in height each and most women out there wish they had long hair as good as them. Meeting them for the first time we expected them to come from somewhere near the fjords of Norway, but this turned out to be seriously mistaken...

These metal heads grew up in the Caribbean island of Aruba and lived there till somewhere in their 20's before finally making the move to the Netherlands. With no real metal scene on that tropical island
and definitely no breakcore scene it's still a bit of a mystery to us what drove these guys to start producing and playing such extreme music - but we are happy as f*** that they did.

This brand new 5 track EP is one seriously brutal death/black metal breakcore rave mash up. Definitely not suitable for the top 40 radio listening weaklings out there. But if you're a wo(man) that has a hard spot for extreme out of the box music, then this one just might be something for you.

To keep the nostalgic memories alive and as sort of an ode to those dark times years ago - when for a lot of the youth trading and copying cassette tapes was the only way to even be able to find and enjoy underground music - we've decided to make this release physically available only on cassette tape and those are limited to just 75 copies!!

Guadeloupean pianist Jonathon Jurion explores the legacy of American saxophonist Marion Brown, a cult figure whose time in Paris left an indelible mark on the French Jazz scene. The session blends traditional Ka drums from Guadeloupe and the exceptional double bass of Michel Alibo with Jonathan’s piano to bring a percussive Caribbean reading of Brown’s diverse repertoire.

The modern, avant synth/dance-pop frolics of ‘Moi’ catch Steven Warwick (Heatsick) at his impish but droll best for PAN. Returning to PAN six years after his standout Re-Engineering album,
Warwick returns to similar zones of enquiry as 2016’s ‘Nadir’ - the first release under his birth name. With ‘Moi’ (which we definitely hear enunciated with a playful pucker), Warwick further emphasises the personal, playful nature of his work with 10 melodic, danceable and pop-tart arrangements accompanied by a range of vocal personas; from his naturally droll singing voice to more alien and leaned-out styles, plus a guest platitude by Turner Prize nominee, Jo Pryde.
Bubbling up with the pickled 2-step and Lolina-esque lilt of ‘Open Fire Hydrant’, Warwick clearly draws upon a UK dance music heritage - and its Afro-Caribbean and US inspirations - with the
freshest, exceptional style that percolates throughout the album, strongly informing its biggest dancefloor highlights such as the warped trancehall bumps of ‘Salvation’ and the crooked crankshaft of ‘Kaleidoscope’, along with the the brittle boned shimmy of ‘Rush’ and the hard but elegant drive of ’Silhouette.’
But they’re only half the story, which really comes together with contrasts in the fizzy downstroke of ‘Kind of Blue’, on the Black Zone Myth Chant-like psychedelic daze and blunted vocals in
‘Consolatio’, and the album’s standout ‘Danke’, which revolves around Jo Pryde’s gentle utterance of the title weft into ominous ambient clag, connoting a sort of humility that knowingly becomes
both less and more meaningful with each reiteration

Before an upcoming album in 2020 on Heavenly Sweetness, Mama is the first single. A track in which the balafon’s woody resonance, the meditative flute and the female choruses return to the Creole roots of David, recall the memory of his Caribbean grandfather exiled to New York but, above all, a title dedicated to his grandmother, who after the last soaring electro-disco, she comes to declaim the text on the ultimate measures. David Walters will have thought of it, conceived and realized in close collaboration with Patchworks. Then, in the wake of the single Mama released in the month of each of them took the title, isolated himself in the studio with instruments and machines to come out only with a total reinterpretation, but especially personal, of the title. Hammering bass drum and snare drum bursts, David has entrusted the direction of operations to the rhythmic, and it is one after the other that digital elements were invited to transform the original maternal softness into a boiling soundsystem. Synths their strings on the hum of the bass, the hypnotic power of the riddim remains.
Two remixes, two atmospheres. The Patchworks scene is set in a jazz-funk setting, an heritage from Roy Ayers and Lonnie Liston Smith. Powerful drum, enrobing bass, the Fender Rhodes becomes a soloist, motivated by this irrepressible groove, first become a soloist. And that the meshes leave the hands of the balafon player to pass in those of the vibraphonist.

Body Beat: Soca-Dub and Electronic Calypso (1979-98) comprises 17 obscure Soca B-side versions, dubs, instrumentals and edits as well as vocal tracks influenced by disco, boogie, house-music, soul and the more conscious lyrics of roots reggae. This compilation traces the soca genre from its explosion in the late 1970s right up to the period just before contemporary soca became established around the end of the 1990s. TIP!!

Compiled by Soundway Records label founder Miles Cleret and DJ/collector Jeremy Spellacey, Body Beat, as with many compilations on the label, explores the fringes of this often maligned (by outsiders) genre. Boiled down to the bare bones of the matter though: soca is party music.

Soca was originally a re-invention of Calypso music; a genre that in the 1970s was fast becoming usurped around the Caribbean by Jamaican reggae and American soul, funk and later disco. The originator of soca (or sokah as he called it), the calypsonian Lord Shorty, began experimenting and modernising on the formulation of calypso in the early 1970s. His first album featured a strong emphasis on East African rhythms and a punchier recording style that emphasised the beat, and introduced arrangements that often owed as much to American funk and soul as to calypso.

So here you go - seventeen slabs of soca crossover, rapso, electronic calypso, and Caribbean ‘soca-soul’ for your enjoyment - and bound to fit well into modern, open-minded DJ sets alongside the resurgence of burger-highlife, digi-reggae, soukous and zouk.

With their 2013 debut single "Vintage Voudou," Conjunto Papa Upa cemented themselves as the torchbearers of a rare breed of Afro-Caribbean psychedelic soul, a clear delineation from the wonderful world of Venezuelan poly rhythms. That original song, named after the short lived but heavily influential Amsterdam brick and mortar record shop that band leader Alex Figueira founded, was a perfect clue into the deep exploration that Papa Upa would begin to take on their musical journey. Like the store itself, known for its solid connection to the musical footprints put down in relatively undiscovered places like Suriname, Curacao, Cabo Verde, Portugal and of course Figueira's native Venezuela, Papa Upa has captured a sound that is entirely unique, a new concoction of influences that at once sound strange, yet totally familiar. Perhaps because Venezuela shared such a rich & diverse mix of sounds from the Atlantic, Caribbean & US, a kindred spirit to their neighboring country, Colombia, an equal in terms of their industry output from the 60's & 70's, yet not nearly as publicized and compiled in recent years. Like many places in the greater Afro-Caribbean nexus, they were musically ahead of their time.


This futuristic mélange of sounds is reflective of Papa Upa itself, made up of musicians from Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba & The Netherlands, all living, practicing & recording at Figueira's Amsterdam studio, Barracão Sound. With such a wide range of tropical influences, in a cosmopolitan and diverse city like Amsterdam, it's no wonder that Papa Upa's first extended project would find kinship in a collaboration with New York's Names You Can Trust.


Their lead single for the label, a preview of an upcoming full-length project in 2020, features "El Secreto Del Metalero" & the 45-only bonus B-side, "Chicharrón Pelúo." Metalero, or "The Metalhead's Secret" is a fitting anecdote for Papa Upa, with Figueira's synthesized vocals leading the way. It's an allegorical exorcism of a debauched headbanger on a discreet dance floor of a tropical rave. The shedding of a gruff & gothic exterior for the buckle-to-buckle bliss of the changa. Similarly in the music itself, under the cloak of vintage synths and a woofer exploding bassline, lies a frenetic fusion of afro-latin percussion that is highlighted by the intense rhythms of Angola's giantguacharaca (or scraper), thedikanza. At its heart is a sugary sweetness that is capable of converting the roughest of rockers into a tropicalista on the dance floor.

Special Edition repress of Combo Chimbita's groundbreaking 2016 EP, El Corredor Del Jaguar. Featuring previously unreleased Extended Mix of Pjarao on A-Side.

After a highly-regarded debut single on Names You Can Trust back in 2014, Combo Chimbita returns, expanded and transformed into one of the most original and wild ensembles currently cutting their teeth in the New York City live arena. Their latest 4-track studio effort, EL CORREDOR DEL JAGUAR, co-produced by NYCT's Greenwood Rhythm Coalition and featuring the powerhouse Carolina Oliveros on lead vocals, is an explosive tour de force of unbridled psychedelic energy and futuristic fire with firm roots in the ritmo of the African diaspora. With connections and inspiration drawn from the vast sea of Caribbean music — specifically the band's native Colombia — these transplanted first-generation New Yorkers have carved a unique corridor in the thriving underground jungle of the big bad city.

Secretsundaze return with a second volume of their new mixtape series. After the success of the Joe Claussell tape they turn to Carista for another introspective mix aimed at a relaxed home-listening session.

In May 2018, Carista performed one of her first international gigs at Secretsundaze in London and went on to play 2 other shows for them that year. A year later, she has become a mainstay on the European club & festival circuit, playing to an ever growing, passionate and loyal fanbase week in week out, already playing shows that most DJs would only dream of, including closing a stage at Lowlands festival to an audience of 10000. No wonder a recent Mixmag article crowned her as "A DJ star in the making".

Her residencies on NTS and Red Light Radio showcase her love of house, boogie, broken beat, disco, funk and beyond. Her DJ gigs can also see her explore further into house and techno but this mixtape showcases a different, softer side of Carista blending ambient soundscapes, jazz, dub and soul as well as some poignant words from Nina Simone.

Two dope Island Boogie tracks by Experience, an Afro Reggae group hailing from Germany. - Very nice steeldrumming in these tunes..

Experience’s “Share It With You” and “Happiness” can both be found on the private LP release “Oh! What A Feeling” from 1982. The group consisted of Anthony Flaverney from Trinidad, Curvin Murchant from Jamaica, Daniel Kofi Jefferson from Ghana and John Innies from Trinidad and was founded in Hamburg.

Anythony Flaverney, the lead singer on both songs, was active as songwriter and musician in Germany since the mid-1970s, most notably appearing on the Peter Herbolzheimer arranged “Caribbean Rock“ album by Malcolm's Locks (be sure to check their funk version of Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up”!). Curvin Merchant, a highly respected drummer from Jamaica, settled in Germany around the same time. Before forming Experience, he was a member in several groups, including highly successful pop acts like Boney M. Later he became known as "Germany’s Grandfather of Roots Rock Reggae", among other things buildung up the "Reggae Center" in Hamburg. Flaverney and Merchant are joined by Daniel Jefferson on bass and John Innies on steel pan. The band existed for about 2 years, touring in Germany and Europe, unfortunately recording only one album which features a unique mix of Reggae and Funk.

The first track “Share It With You”, should give any serious music lover goose bumps. It was written by Flaverney and features a deep groove, steel drum solos and fantastic soulful vocals. It’s that type of tune you will play in a DJ set and people will come up to you and ask what it is. The single version is slightly edited.
Side B continues with Happiness, an equally great track with positive vibe and attitude, written by Flaverney and Jefferson. Again, the steel pan sounds give it that special compelling “Island” vibe from Trinidad.

The single is limited to 300 copies and comes in a beautiful picture sleeve showing part of the original artwork from the “Oh! What A Feeling” album.

50 years ago, a young Panamanian singer by the name of Ralph Weeks, who a few years prior had cut his teeth in the US music landscape with the group Johnny & The Expressions, self-produced and independently released a record with an absolute monster of a soul ballad called "Something Deep Inside." It was a song that Weeks had come up with on the spot during one of many gigs in the heart of Brooklyn's Prospect Heights, at the time a cultural hub and community for many Panamanians living in the borough. Along with his group, The Telecasters, Weeks often played at a Panamanian-owned club in the neighborhood called 4 Star's (STA4R's) which would independently sponsor the release of the tune on a 7-inch single.

Fast forward to 2019, where a serendipitous meeting between Ralph Weeks and Names You Can Trust turned into a solid formation of musical synchronicity, bonded over a shared belief in musical fusion, a weaving of musical threads that was similarly the foundation of that earlier era in Panama. It's a fusion that has become a constant theme throughout the Names You Can Trust catalog in the last 10 years, connecting the dots from NY, the Caribbean and Latin America. An immediate plan was put into motion: return Weeks to a studio atmosphere that had eluded him in the preceding decades, a vibe and live musical presence that would be reminiscent of his time recording with The Telecasters and The Exciters in Panama.

In the ultimate tribute to Weeks and that foundation, NYCT label mates Combo Lulo unpacked the 50-year old original tune and refashioned it into a timeless rocksteady ballad. It was an opportunity for Weeks to acquaint himself with a new band and a new generation of musical talent. Ultimately, it was an unexpected chance for Weeks to reconnect to the music he wrote one fateful evening in a Brooklyn club. For Combo Lulo, Names You Can Trust, and now the rest of his musical admirers, it's a chance to hear how gracefully Weeks' voice has aged, still silky smooth with those beloved falsetto runs, sweet and rounded like a barrel-aged añejo rum. It's a testament to the timelessness of Weeks' original music, and certainly another reminder of how far and wide even the smallest of musical blips can spread.

Presented as a double-sided bilingual 45 single, both versions of Weeks' classic tune, "Algo Muy Profundo" and "Something Deep Inside," have been formatted in the traditional Jamaican style, skillfully cut live and mixed under the guidance of NYCT and Combo Lulo's talented musicians. It's a tribute to a brilliant record and an unsung architect of Latin American sweet soul, but also a love letter to a very particular NY-Caribbean fusion that theoretically could have happened 50 years ago, depending on the borough you resided in. After all, there was always something deep inside. Comes with NYCT / STA4R'S Company Sleeve & Liner Notes.

Sonido Gallo Negro has been a mainstay of the current revival of tropical and psychedelic music throughout Central and South America since the first of their three albums was released in 2011. Hailing from Mexico City, a hub of cumbia, chicha, surf and garage music for over five decades, it's no wonder that SGN has such a wonderful and integrated blend of traditional styles that have travelled from the Caribbean, up the Andes, through the Amazon, around the shores of coastal Peru and back through Central America. SGN is part of a long line of artists in Mexico to make these cosmic connections found in the music's terrestrial path, yet are completely unique in their own mystical approach, both visually and sonically. As a hefty 9-piece orchestra, the band is quite capable of summoning a rich tapestry of sounds from an array of instruments of the psychedelic persuasion: farfisa, electric guitar, flute, theremin and, in the case of B-side Niño Perdido, accordion from master Colombian artist and NYCT alumnus, Carmelo Torres. It's the making of a swirling kaleidoscope of sounds and squiggles, all of which ride effortlessly over the fluid percussion and pace of those beloved Afro-Latin rhythms. In anticipation of their next full length release,Unknown Future, Names You Can Trust presents the first 7-inch 45 single to ever be released from SGN, a double-sided dose ofsonido psicodélico, spectacularly swirled into a perfect concoction of old meets new.

In early 2018, Jas Shaw, one half of Simian Mobile Disco was diagnosed with a rare health condition – AL amyloidosis – a disorder of bone marrow cells. Having just completed SMD’s 7th studio album Murmurations and with a special show at the Barbican scheduled for April, things were thrown into confusion. At the time, no one, including Shaw, knew how the prognosis would pan out. Jas had to start chemotherapy almost immediately, which meant cancelling the tour. The duo decided to go ahead with the Barbican show in spite of Shaw’s illness, which was especially poignant as all involved knew it could potentially be SMD’s last ever live performance – in the end it turned out to be a tour-de-force. If this was SMD’s swansong, so be it.

In the year that followed, Jas spent months receiving weekly chemotherapy, learning to live with his condition, and when he felt well enough, spending hours in his studio making music.

The result of this was twofold, firstly a collaborative album with Derwin Dicker (Gold Panda), released as Selling – On Reflection, on City Slang Records Secondly, a growing archive of solo work, which is now ready for release. Entitled “The Exquisite Cops”, this 20+ track growing body of work will see the light of day via SMD’s Delicacies label – with a 2-track single released every fortnight /month and a limited
edition double LP scheduled for 27th September.

At the end of 2018 a difficult year was capped with hopeful news. With his condition in remission, able to stop chemotherapy Jas is able to start DJing and playing live again.

Jas: “The Exquisite Cops tracks seem to have made their own system for creation. Normally I record electronic music like a band would, as a take. So, it’s kind of surprising to me that that this batch of tracks wasn’t made this way. Instead of a single take that gets edited and developed these tracks were all made in bits, usually months apart. Some days I’d make a drum track, often editing it down so that it’s some sort of semblance of a structure; on other days I’d end up just making a synth sound or texture. This wasn’t something that I gave into reluctantly, it’s nice to be able to give a feedback based pad your whole attention rather than just set it up and only attend to it if it gets really out of hand.

The process of matching these misfits together was originally born out of laziness, rather than break open the synths to make something to develop an idea, what if I could just use something that I already had; slack. The interesting thing was that in pulling two takes together that were done months apart, they cast each other in a different light and though sometimes making them fit together was a hatchet job, sometimes they locked up together in an improbable way, making the rough structures that I’d improvised make a different sort of sense; often a more interesting sort of sense.

The more I did this the more it felt like this was not just a slacker’s way to use up offcuts, this resulted in combinations that I’d probably not have chosen if I’d done the tracks in one go. Also, and I know this isn’t something that’s important to everyone, there was a level of fastidious detail that I’d never have got if I’d had the textural and rhythmic elements playing together. It’s a longwinded process but it’s changed how I record and how I think about recordings I’ve made; plus I enjoy all parts of it so why cut it short?”

Secretsundaze welcomes Eliphino to the gala relaunch of their imprint for a thoroughly satisfying mini album of contemplative jacking and dulcet breakbeats.

Eliphino's most recent 'Realistic Sex EP' on the hotly tipped Meda Fury label boasts thunderous breaks, 303s and serious sub-bass pressure which has gained praise from tastemakers such as Jon K, Carista, Josey Rebelle, Moxie and Gilles Peterson.Having flexed with this darker edged EP after a long lay-off from releasing, while sharpening his skills and reconnecting with his musical inspiration, Eliphino is now ready to really cut loose with 'Breaking Up Is Hard' - a statement longplayer that dreamily investigates the dusty spaces between house, breakbeat, ambient, hardcore and acid. Tom This album came about as way of focussing my energy in the wake of a significant break up. I tried to experiment with melody and texture to convey some of the range of emotions that come with such a testing time. That being said, the B-side bangers are more dedicated to abandon and forgetting your worries.

Hailing originally from the Leeds, but with time spent in both London and Berlin, 'Breaking Up Is Hard' lands somewhere between the Hessle Audio crew, Joy O and Selected Ambient Works era Aphex.

Having previously released heaters for Brownswood and Hoya Hoya over the years, Eliphino stepping up for the debut artist LP on the reactivated Secretsundaze label feels like a natural fit as James Priestley explains:

""We've collectively had a connection and friendship with Tom that goes back several years and in fact it was receiving this work as demos that really spurred and inspired us into getting the label rolling again. It feels totally right to be working with him on this and for this mini-LP to herald the relaunch of the label as it moves towards a more artist led as opposed to EP driven approach.

For the first time this massive tune by Esnard Boisdur is pressed on record..One of the standouts in the Gwo-Ka genre.. Comes with a rework on the flip by Africaine 808 (Hans Reuschl & Dirk Leyers) - they used the original stems and added drumcomputer and extra live percussion, synthlines, little dub effects.. Not the ''usual standard threatment'' here!! This is class!

“You don’t need to be a fan of Gwoka or even Antillean music in general to fall in love with the deep, expressive voices of the singers of the genre. Artists like COSACK, ANZALA and ESNARD BOISDUR have fascinated music lovers around the globe for decades. It’s not only the drumming style accompanied by their beautiful melodic intonation, but also the revolutionary spirit of these songs that make them a unique and powerful document of the culture and the history of the Antilles and the Caribbean.

Reaching out to the real roots of the Jamaican sixties musical explosion…

Some of the originators of the genre, including Ernest Ranglin, Lennie Hibbert & Cecil Lloyd, playing in their element and demonstrating just where they're coming from

Basic Rhythm follows up his album 'On The Threshold' with an EP that lays out theexplicit connections between hardcore and footwork. A connection made even clearer by the inclusion of a rare remix by Chicago footwork originator RP Boo.

2 Da Core's punchy rolling drums are levelled up against rough samples and a vocal hook pitched up and down in classic hardcore style. Get Up runs a tubby bass under hazy vocal samples and weird sound effects. RP Boo's remix of 2 Da Core disassembles the track into pieces, building a stalking helicopter-like rhythm which plays hide and seek with the samples, while the closing track Nuh Ramp rounds off the EP with tumbling micro-edited rhythms and a melody built from small colourful sounds that draw on the Caribbean roots of this music.

The Souljazz Orchestra return with a brand new studio album for our troubled times, 'Chaos Theories', released on Strut.
Always known for their uncompromising social and political messages, the Canadian collective hit harder than ever on 9 new tracks, outing the hypocrisy of modern day politics, police brutality and the everyday struggle of the working man. Led by chief songwriter and arranger Pierre Chrètien, the band continue to evolve their sound, drawing on a broad palette from their trademark Latin, Afro and Caribbean styles to some of the UK's political sounds of the early '80s, the era of The Clash, The Police, 2-Tone and frontline reggae.

Fortuna boss Kalbata joins forces with five-piece band Tigris, creating a mesmerizing percussion-led album inspired by African and Caribbean traditions. Repetitive guitars, blissful synthesizers, and roaring voodoo drums set the tone across this extra-trippy, six-track journey. Techno and Balearic undertones remind us of Kalbata's wide musical spectrum, ranging from very dark to luminous tropical sunlight. Essential!

“Stop here!” exclaimed Robert Oumaou as we passed a mango tree on the side of the road just outside of Point-a-Pitre, the balmy capital of Guadeloupe. He filled a plastic bag with ripe fruit, and we set off on our journey across the small Caribbean island in search of musicians he hadn’t seen in years. On the way, we shared stories in broken French and English, stopping at truck stops to eat delicious fried fish. Robert took me to his hometown, and placed a mango and a flower on the grave of his teacher and mentor, a local poet. The seeds of Vwayajé (Traveller) were sewn on this trip, but shortly after returning home, I heard that Robert was ill, and he sadly passed away in 2018. This compilation was originally intended as a way to share Robert’s brazen work with a wider global audience, but it now also serves to immortalize his indomitable spirit.

Gwakasonné is the ecstatic articulation of Robert Oumaou’s artistic and political vision, a unified expression of his interests in American jazz, pre-colonial rhythms, Guadeloupian independence, and Créole poetics. Over the course of three albums, all released in the 80s, Robert piloted a revolving cast of musicians, a venerable who’s-who of Point-a-Pitre avant-jazz pioneers, to deftly intone his creative communal concepts. The songs on Vwayajé are compiled from these three releases, Gwakasonné, Temwen, and Moun, along with an electronic mantra taken from his 2007 solo album Sang Comment Taire. Viewed from our current artistic and cultural landscape, Robert’s work is exceptionally enduring, grounded in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and prescient in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, music from the African diaspora, and spiritual jazz. The long-form hive-mind expression of the group has parallels with similar explorations by The Grateful Dead, electric
Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, and even the Boredoms, but these are only oblique references for a truly peerless sound. Like other conceptual children of Gérard Lockel, the group was part of a progressive movement of like-minded musicians, such as Serge Fabriano, Dao, Erick Cosaque, and Gaoulé Mizik, who embraced Lockel’s modernist ideals, fusing Gwo Ka drumming and tuning systems with contemporary jazz and vanguard recording technologies. Robert’s ecstatic phrasings, embrace of electronic instruments, and daring lyrics set the group apart as the beatific expression of a sagacious soul.

Soundway Records presents the eponymous debut LP from in-demand Amsterdam five piece The Mauskovic Dance Band – fusing no-wave dance punk, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and space disco in a “controlled explosion” (The Quietus).

Entirely self-produced, the band has reiterated their favourite elements of the 70s and 80s legacy of the Afro-Latin psychedelic music of Colombia and Peru, interpreting it through the context of modern day Amsterdam. The output is a lo-fi No Wave groove all its own - rooted in a deep love of champeta, Palenque, psychedelic cumbia, chichi, classic afrobeat and picó soundsystem culture.

Since the release of their “Down In The Basement” EP on Soundway Records in early 2018, the band have found themselves on a hectic European touring schedule – not to mention being involved in other side projects. Following stints with Turkish psychedelic folk rock group Altin Gün, and touring with the re-formed 70s Zamrock outfit W.I.T.C.H., Nic Mauskovic also teamed up with Dutch neo-psychedelic artist Jacco Gardner to form the “cinematic Balearic disco” duo of Bruxas (released by Dutch institution Dekmantel) – and together, they mixed The Mauskovic Dance Band debut album in Lisbon.

Lead single Space Drum Machine encapsulates the band’s prototypical brand of busy rhythmic patterns interwoven with insistent synth stabs and vibrant disco toms, layered with an elastic guitar riff drawing inspiration from Kenyan kikuyu and benga styles. High-pitched vocals describe being on a flight together and inciting each other to press a button of unknown consequence with “push it, push it” - and push it they do, at breakneck pace. And of course, the undeniable influence of Amsterdam’s hotbed of underground dance producers shines through as it does on all tracks - with the vintage psychedelic swirl of synthesiser, lo-fi drum machines and tape recording.

George & Glen Miller’s 1979 hit “Easing” - encapsulating late 70s New York in its blend of disco, soul and Caribbean soca... BIG tune! Version on the flip..

The Miller brothers’ musical journey began in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 70s. During their teenage years they formed The Groovy Millers - a five piece band made up of George, Glen and their three siblings. After a chance meeting with Lord Shorty, they went on to collaborate with one of the Soca stars of the time and firmly plant their feet in the Soca scene of the musically rich Caribbean island.

Of the five siblings it was George and Glen that pursued a career in music, and in the late 70s the two brothers made the move to North America to develop their music style. Disco dominated the airwaves at the time and a studio session with the prolific Frankie McIntosh resulted in the masterpiece that is Easing. Drawing influence from the blossoming disco and soul scene, George and Glen added Caribbean flavour to the New York sound to startling effect. Soft, subtle keys and guitars are punctuated with layered trumpet and violin riffs, complimenting George’s silken, restrained vocal. Frankie McIntosh’s arrangement shines through with what might be his finest work, placing this track on the mantle with other New York classics of the time.

Atangana Records presents its 4th releases, beginning a new collaboration
with Henri Debs & Fils imprint.
This record is a first tribute that Atangana Records and Henri Debs & Fils
wanted to give back to the great Guadeloupean producer Henry Debs.
With this compilation EP, gathering rare and unpublished titles, Déni Shain
and his team aim to dust off the archives of the label and allow as many
people as possible to discover the pearls of the French Caribbean Islands.

Names You Can Trust's long-running Swing-A-Ling party in Brooklyn has become an epic warm weather celebration of all classic styles of Jamaican sound system music on vinyl. The party itself, set in the deepest crevices of BK's Caribbean community, has been known to stretch for 12+ hours each session, serving non-stop musical entertainment and buckets of jerk chicken & curry goat to an adoring crowd of all ages, young and old. The event has also been the occasion of some extremely limited edition record presses that have come to embody both the ethos of the party and the NYCT label. The second in the series of the playfully titled Swing-A-Ling NOW SOUNDS is a new entry in modern reggae production from The Mad Geezers. Like the party's signature sound, the tunes on this double-sided single are timeless, intriguingly left-of-center, and most importantly in deep homage of the vast influences and inspirations that have been carved to vinyl throughout Jamaican recorded history. Elements of rock steady, dub, soul and middle eastern snake charmer sounds all find their way through the hands of the Geezers' skilled musicians and the resulting 45 record is sure to be another sneaky staple in sound systems all over.

Repress

In 1981, Alexei Borisov, a history student at the Moscow State University, formed his first band "Prospekt (Avenue)", drawing inspiration from kitchen table talks and new wave music coming from the West. They broke up in 1984 and a year later Borisov joined forces with Ivan Sokolovsky, an electronic music enthusiast and a connaisseur of rare synthesizers, to introduce the new and "updated" version of the band. By becoming Notchnoi Prospekt (Night Avenue), Borisov and Sokolovsky started moving towards industrial music and viscous, psychedelic synth pop.

In 1986, after a few conceptual, revolutionary albums as Notchnoi Prospekt, various solo projects and collaborations, the duo reunited in the studio to record their only instrumental album "Kurorty Kavkaza" (Resorts of the Caucasus). Built around the hypnotic meshing of afro-caribbean drum machine percussion and vintage Soviet and Italian synthesizers' vivid sonic palette, the resulting record was something that was absolutely different from Borisov and Sokolovsky's dark signature sound and wasn't well received both by the public and underground scene.

Until now, these tracks were never released and Notchnoi Prospekt never performed them live. Shortly after the recording session the duo focused on a return to their industrial roots that resulted in a number of monumental albums including "Kisloty" that became an instant underground classic.

"Kurorty Kavkaza" lay dormant and forgotten decades, and thirty three years after its recording, it gets the deserved official release.

Out of stock for aeons, includes the legendary Four Tet Remix. Limited to 600 units.

Emotional Rescue returns to the Caribbean with the music of Glen Ricks and his infectious Jamaica meets Boogie goldmine that is I've Been Waiting For You.

A performer since the age of 7, Glen Ricks (born Ricketts), established a reputation for his singing range and ability to seamlessly shift from tenor to soprano, going on to sell over a million records around the world.

Having immigrated to Canada as a child, after teaming up with his first band The Fabulous Flames Ricks returned to Jamaica to create his first records. Moving effortlessly from reggae to lovers, and dancehall to soul, R&B, disco and boogie, Ricks established a successful career and he continues to perform to this day.

I've Been Waiting For You is indicative of that cross-pollination of style and sound. Released on 7" in 1983 on the short lived Seraff label, the mix of Ricks' soul voice with laid back boogie groove creates a sound full of lazy JA swing.

Now highly sought after, this special 12" reissue includes the stand out vocal and is backed with an instrumental that builds on the interplay between bass, drums, piano, guitar, keys and finally, backing vocals. To seal the deal - and in true label style - LA's rising star DJ Duckcomb presents the perfect Discomix, seamlessly cutting between both versions with some respectful dubbing in the mix.

A year after Floyd Lavine & David Mayer served up the afro house bomb ‘Sondela’ from the EP of the same name, it now gets remixed by a carefully selected list of names including Jimpster, Auntie Flo, Tunnelvisions and Kususa. First up is deep house master and Freerange label boss Jimpster, who serves up the sort of quality you would expect on his remix. His cool and immersive journey brings new soul and feeling to the original with timeless melodies that have a lasting effect. Dutch duo Tunnelvisions are an act on the rise and always bring plenty of Afro, Latin and Caribbean vibes to their sounds. Here they masterfully flip the track ‘Xi’ from the Sondela EP into a percussive groove with psychedelic warmth and melodic bass that goes deep. Kususa are also rising stars of the South African scene who have Black Coffee supporting their work and have mixed the upcoming Africa Gets Physical vol.2 album. Here they pump up the beats: their percussion, arps and big synths will get hands in the air and as the bassline envelops you in warmth you cannot help but feel it deep inside. Highlife artist and recent album man Auntie Flo brings his authentic understanding of worldly groove to a fantastic remix that oozes beauty and quality. It is understated and stripped back with delicate hand percussion and an otherworldly aura that brings real mystery to the EP. An acapella version is also included as an exclusive addition to the vinyl release.

Back in 2007 Names You Can Trust was launched with an EP from Greenwood Rhythm Coalition. For NYCT's landmark 50th single release, the group returns, drawing on the same long-simmering stew of African, Caribbean and American funk and dancefloor vibes that flavored that first release, but with a sound more deeply infused and farseeing than anything they've done before. The spacey, arcing cut is woven through with guitar that blurs the lines between western twang and soukous popcorn and anchored by cabinet-rattling low end. Spread over two sides of a seven-inch single or available in unedited form digitally, "Jewels" is hypnotic and quite uncategorizable, except to say that sitting still will not be an option when it spins. Adventurous DJs, headphone journeyers, underground dancers, postmodern tropicalistas, and all those whose musical tastes dwell somewhere in the magical twilight of imaginary cities, take note.

LP,180, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART

Hot Wax is an assured KPM masterclass from a dream team line-up of Brian Bennett, Alan Hawkshaw and John Fiddy. Here we're treated to what happens when all three decide to explore the latest trends in production music'. The latest as of 1976, of course.John Fiddy's numbers are sumptuous, string-led and light. Floaty soft-psych underpinned by a solid groove, particularly on Taste For Living' and "Fresh Start". If you're into Koushik and those early Manitoba/Caribou records - and you should be - you'll appreciate these.
For us, the Bennett and Bennett/Hawkshaw stuf is on another level. Capitol City' oscillates between driving funk and downbeat sentiment. Name Of The Game' is tough, smokin' funk, famously sampled in 2007 by Madlib for Percee P's Who With Me'. Bop On The Rocks' knocks hard and Full Throttle' features a guitar solo with some of the nastiest, about-to-explode fuzz you're ever likely to hear.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Hot Wax comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.

'Quasi' is Ariwo's second album, after the release of
their first self-titled album in 2017:
Despite Ariwo's diverse mix of musicians
(Cuba/Iran/Canada/UK) their music doesn't belong to any specific genre. In
''Quasi', Ariwo use the building blocks of deep bass, afro-Cuban polyrhythms,
carnival melody and immersive live electronics as a starting point to engage
with key players on London's jazz scene.

The result is a hypnotic journey for the listener from techno
to avant-garde jazz via West Africa and the Caribbean. 'Quasi' aims to mirror
the evolved direction of Ariwo's live set, which after extensive touring over
the past three years has gradually become more stripped back and club-oriented.
Many of the building blocks for this album started life as improvisations in
live sets and have been developed into full tracks on 'Quasi'.
The album features guest appearances from MOBO winning saxophonist
Binker Golding (Binker & Moses) and acclaimed UK keys player Joe Armon-Jones
(keys). Cuban trumpet players Thommy Lowry Garcia and Yelfris Valdes also
feature on the album, bringing carnival melodies that interweave through the
percussion and electronics.

Ariwo have used songs from 'Quasi' to create the music
for 'Portals' - a tour of Carlos Acosta's new contemporary dance company
'Acosta Danza' in Havana.