quête:d monk

Lion Machine 23 is a four piece Rock band fronted by singer / guitarist & songwriter extraordinaire Daland based in North London, a mix between Oasis and Nirvana, who have already packed out venues across the city, as well as a recent tour of Argentina featuring a support for the Arctic Monkeys. This four song EP has been co-produced with West London’s finest, JBJ Studios Stormzy, Skrillex & more is due for release this Spring! UK dates incl festivals tbc.

2023s one to watch with true rock n roll style, prepared to get blown away by Lion Machine 23. `Liar’ kicks off with heavy grinding guitars, over which lead
singer Daland’s vocals laments the tone. Solid-driving strobe-lit bass completes the track with a rejuvenating catchy chorus when Daland belts out Liar you can’t help singing along.

Turning the noise up a notch on `The Mobile Phone’ lead singer Daland charismatically vocalises the good and bad of having technology at your fingertips. Bursting into a perspicuity of unending guitars and drums energise the track.

‘Always’ Summer festival anthem in the making, carries that feel good factor.

‘Fucking Under The Water’ Always a crowd pleaser.

Tapestry is a work born from collaboration, homage and the best sound.

“La Collaboración” is created when Arturo Bambini, a producer, jazz bassist and full-time musician, meets a young Lynx 196.9 on the other side of the world, a poet and rapper from Philadelphia who captivates him with his rhymes. And its deep and melancholic tone.

From this understanding arises this work, “El Homenaje” by Lynx to Carole King's Tapestry album, whose sound accompanied him throughout his childhood.

“Tapestry” lives up to its name and like a good “Tapiz” it was built with scraps in the form of collaborations such as Dirty Winters, Simón Taibi or the masterful Kool Keith (AKA Dr. Octagon / Dr. Dooom!)

All this sewn with the mastery of Arturo Bambini, the Italian musician based in Barcelona, ​​who with his red tracksuit and rat head wraps us through hip hop and jazz with an urban cadence taken from the very heart of the "best sound".

"To think, this all started with Posture, a record done with some minor misunderstandings in play. Primaruly due to the language barrier between Arturo Banbini and I. To now a fully conceived project, unbelievable and simply God's work. To be honest, I wanted to pay homage to one of the greatest album I've ever heard (Tapestry, Carole King). A Rose to you, you've been nothing short of an inspiration to my music."

Since we've known him, Robert Lloyd has made quite clear his enormous affection for the songs and sounds of Freakwater, the duo of Janet Beveridge-Bean and Catherine Irwin who've been wrongly denied their place as rightful and willful progenitors of alt-country's 'movement', which (frankly) is to their credit. Their genius in offering absolute authentic to the sound old-time Appalachian folk music with a modern façade that in no way negates tradition (one of their albums is titled Feels Like The Third Time) is unparalleled within the genre, and Freakwater remain under-appreciated. After the start of Covid, Robert dared approach Janet with the idea of recording together. Over the course of the long pandemic, songs were bandied about for months, and when recording was finally practical, a band was assembled with dates set up for a recording session in Valencia, Spain. Robert and Janet were joined by Robert's long-time ally, Pete Byrchmore, the musical foil for Robert's solo album on Virgin and a former Nightingale, Mark Bedford, the bassist for Madness and Terry Edwards' Near Jazz Experience, and Pablo Roda, Spanish mystery drummer, couldn't have worked out more perfectly. Tracks were selected without regard for collective presentation, just the goal of walking out of the studio with an album of perfect gems. Forget Lee & Nancy or George & Tammy, Rob and Janet have an immediate chemistry that only sounds long-lived - and too uniquely them to merit any comparison. The title track, Black Cat, Dark Horse is the sole Lloyd / Bean / Byrchmore composition and one of the record 's highlights. Jim Elkington, collaborator with Jeff Tweedy and Richard Thompson, contributes Heavy Reckonings and a song written with Janet, The True Lovers' Knot And The Lie, while Robert adds reworkings from past releases - Sweet Georgia Black and Black Country (with Pete) - not to mention the unreleased Eggs And Bacon. Janet brought One Shot and the unheard Freakwater song Arc Of A Smile. Covers of tunes from Dion and The Monkees and a magnificent Jon Langford song, "Tears Like Stars" round out the album. We daresay the album is among the finest you'll hear in 2023. That it doesn't fit perfectly into any preconceived genre is a testament to its quality. "Songcraft" is a word used infrequently today, yet Black Cat, Dark Horse will show that good songs endure. We're proud that Robert and Janet will find some new admirers through this album's release. The Michael Cumming / Stewart Lee film King Rocker made a case for Robert Lloyd-as-losthero; this album furthers that idea and shows a compelling side of Janet's talent and abilities which will be a surprise to her fans and serve as an entry point to exploring her many other compelling projects.

Following on from the Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett’s anarchic Live ’82 (BT095), Black Truffle continues its deep dive into the archives of legendary drummer/accordionist/photographer/composer/conceptual prankster Sven-Åke Johansson with Scheisse ’71. Recorded in November 1971 during the Berliner Jazztage at a heavy-hitting concert that also included the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and groups led by Peter Brötzmann, Manfred Schoof, and Masahiko Sato, Scheisse ’71 is the only document of a wild, otherwise unrecorded quintet featuring Johansson on drums, accordion and oboe d’amore, legendary free jazz vocalist Jeanne Lee, her husband Gunter Hampel on vibes, flute and bass clarinet, live electronics pioneer Michael Waisvisz on modified Putney (VCS 3) synthesizer, and the unknown Freddy Gosseye on electric bass. Part of a festival centred on giants of jazz like Duke Ellignton and Dizzy Gillespie, the radical performance shocked its audience, who can be heard heckling and yelling abuse at points, including the titular exclamation of ‘Scheiße!’ Clocking at just over half an hour and recorded in raw but detailed stereo by Johansson himself, the music burns with intensity while also making room for spacious passages and frequent dynamic movement. Beginning with Lee’s voice, Hampel on flute and Johansson on oboe d’amore in a bird-like game of call and response, the unexpected entry of Waisvisz’s tortured, squelching synth bursts prompts the first of many changes in energy and instrumentation, as Gosseye’s busy, roving bass enters and Johansson moves to the kit, his swinging cymbal work and juddering toms extending the approach of Sunny Murray or early Milford Graves. The presence of synthesizer, electric bass, and Lee’s highly amplified voice moves the quintet away from conventional free jazz textures, at times pushing into zones of abstract free sound reminiscent of what groups like MEV, AMM or Johansson’s MND were exploring in the same years. But the energy and joyful melodicism of the music keep it rooted in the tradition of American fire music and its European inheritors. Capable of changing gears in an instant from ferocious blow outs to fragile tapestries of chiming vibes and fizzing synth, the music finds space for Lee’s post-bop free scat (which integrates shrieks and howls just as a post-Ayler saxophonist might), Gosseye’s virtuosic bass runs (a rare attempt to apply the classic free jazz style of players like Alan Silva or Henry Grimes to the electric instrument), Johansson’s folkish accordion interjections, and even a sustained passage of unison bass clarinet and electric bass riffing in its second half. Special mention should be made of Waisvisz’s Putney performance, one of the earliest documents of this under-recorded instrument inventor and player, here playing a major role in giving the music its wildly exploratory, primordial air, his buzzing glissandi and bubbling filter sweeps at times howling like a distressed monkey. Arriving in an austerely stylish sleeve with beautiful black and white photographs by Johansson, Scheisse ’71 is an essential recording that adds yet another layer to our appreciation of this golden era of radical free music.

Carole King’s The Legendary Demos will be released April 24th, 2012 via Hear Music / Concord Music Group. A previously unreleased collection of 13 history-making Carole King recordings of some of her most celebrated songs, The Legendary Demos traces King's journey from her days as an Aldon staff writer in the 1960's, where she crafted hit after hit for other artists, to the dawn of her own triumphant solo career in the 1970's, and contains her original recordings of future standards like "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "It's Too Late," and "You've Got A Friend." Featuring liner notes by acclaimed author and Rolling Stone contributing editor David Browne, the collection brings to light a heretofore missing link in the chain of King's career. Fittingly, The Legendary Demos serves as a companion to King’s long-awaited memoir, A Natural Woman, which is being released April 10th, 2012 via Grand Central Publishing.

Aldon Music used these demos—short for “demonstration records”—to pitch King's material to other artists, from Gene Pitney and Bobby Vee to Aretha Franklin and the Monkees. While the recordings have long been coveted and collected within the industry, they have never before been released to the public.

Whether it was a potential single for the Monkees or a solo performer like Pitney, King’s demos were remarkable in their completeness. “When she sat down to the piano and played a demo of one of her songs, the whole arrangement appeared right in front of your eyes magically,” recalls Brooks Arthur, who engineered a number of these efficient sessions for King at one of several midtown Manhattan studios. “A lot of the smarter producers would adhere to Carole’s demos. If you stuck to that, you’d come home a winner.”

King and then-husband / songwriting partner Gerry Goffin signed with Aldon Music in 1959, and anyone who listened to the radio during the first half of the ‘60s will recognize the songs of teen passion and devastating heartbreak heard in King’s original recordings. “Take Good Care of My Baby” was a No. 1 hit for Bobby Vee in 1961. Goffin’s gift for tapping into teen anguish—in this case, hiding behind a stoic public face—was never conveyed better than in “Crying in the Rain,” which the Everly Brothers took into the top 10 in early 1962. “Just Once in My Life” was the Righteous Brothers’ follow-up to their still-spine-tingling “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and King’s demo reveals how she and Goffin were instantly able to tap into the duo’s (and producer Phil Spector’s) dramatic, impassioned sound.

Like many of their fellow songwriters at the time, King and Goffin wrote songs for Don Kirshner’s TV show about a fictional, Beatles-derived pop band that debuted in September 1966. The Monkees turned out to be more credible singers (and musicians) than anyone initially expected, as their high-charting 1967 version of King and Goffin's “Pleasant Valley Sunday” revealed. The Monkees also cut “So Goes Love,” a dreamier ballad heard here, but the track didn’t make their first album and wasn’t released until long after they’d disbanded.

The Legendary Demos includes early takes of six tracks that formed the basis for King’s world-wide solo breakthrough Tapestry. King and lyricist Toni Stern’s ever-poignant “It’s Too Late” is here, along with King’s own “Way Over Yonder,” “Beautiful” and “Tapestry,” all three bursting with the artistic and spiritual renewal infusing King’s life during this period.

Among the collection’s numerous gems is the original 1967 demo for Goffin, King, and producer Jerry Wexler’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” a song that would later appear on Tapestry and of course be famously cut by Aretha Franklin later that same year. King’s version offers several different takes from the Franklin and Tapestry versions. Her delivery in the opening lines is looser (check out the way she stretches out “Lord” in “Lord, it made me feel so tired”), and the bridge is even more imbued with palpable romantic and sexual heat.

And finally, there’s King’s initial take on “You’ve Got a Friend,” a classic entry in the Great American Rock Songbook. Milling around in the Troubadour balcony during soundcheck, her friend James Taylor heard King perform the song on a bare stage and was immediately taken with it; his own version, a massive hit, would arrive the following year.

African Singer-songwriter Blick Bassy is back with a fifth album, again sung in the Baasa language of Cameroon. Madíbá brings together twelve songs in the form of fables, dedicated to the theme of water, in which his high and angelic voice dominates, carried by delicate guitar, synthesizer melodies, and sober brass arrangements. The cuts are diaphanous and nevertheless modernist songs, which testify to a contemporary and poetic Africanity at the crossroads of soul, folk, and electro.

Blick Bassy’s albums have a humanist and universal dimension. His fifth and new solo album, titled Madíbá, which means water in the Douala language of Cameroon, comes in the form of songs close to the fable, in which Bassy explores "a theme shared by all” of water, the source of life.

The fables of the album, all born in the imagination of Blick, explore in a more concrete way different themes related to water, its rarity, its necessity, its energy or its vital power. The twelve songs all bring together a series of figures, animals, or various characters, embodied in turn by Blick Bassy. "I have fun stepping into the shoes of a bird, a cat conversing with an elephant, a flower worrying about its declining beauty, a monkey looking for a spring or a storyteller with his grandchildren. In these texts, water can even take on a human appearance.”

Beyond the tale, the texts of the album also refer to our climate crisis, or to the problems of access to water, a way for the artist to approach serious subjects through a poetic form which avoids didactic or moralizing speeches.

Former In the Woods... members deliver epic Norwegian Black Metal to takes you into the night sky!

It’s the moment just after the tree-root thick tangle of guitars come in and the luminous clean vocals light up the sky while the keyboards suddenly shine from below: when the singing enters on ‘Astrologer’, the first track of Nattehimmel’s first album “Mourningstar”, that one might actually hear a continuation from In The Woods...’s legendary “Omnio” album from 1997. None of the 5 members are strangers to one another, having met before in bands such as In The Woods... and Strange New Dawn.
We guarantee that the members regard “Omnio” pretty highly.
Enough to revere it though? The similarity is not likely to be incidental, and anyway proves fleeting in the context of the 8 songs on “Mournigstar”, this new union turning out
very creative in shaping their Black Metal with a variety of elements. Primarily, the vocals set Nattehimmel apart from many other acts of this nature by including a variety of tropes from harsh growls to monkish groans to undead rasps, plus other backing parts that overlay the slightly echoey production with a ton of reson.

James Ellis Ford hat sich während seiner gesamten zwei Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere im Verborgenen gehalten. Der Komponist, Multiinstrumentalist, Produzent und Songwriter hat mit einigen der größten Namen der Musikbranche zusammengearbeitet, von den Arctic Monkeys über Depeche Mode, Foals, Gorillaz und Kylie Minogue bis zur Tourband von Simian Mobile Disco und The Last Shadow Puppets. In diesem Jahr steht er mit seinem ersten Soloalbum 'The Hum' im Mittelpunkt. Das Album ist eine ausufernde, genreübergreifende Ode an die Psychedelia, die sowohl zeitgenössisch als auch nostalgisch ist und komplett von James geschrieben, produziert und aufgeführt wurde. Auf der Bühne wird er von seiner vierköpfigen Band begleitet, um die Originalsongs neu zu interpretieren.

Mikail Tafari aka Congo Natty aka Conquering Lion aka X Project aka Rebel MC is back.
After releasing his acclaimed 31 track album last October on digital platforms, he comes with a 9 track double LP featuring the more uptempo tracks & Mixed Double CD Mixtape.
He created the tracks with his ‘Resistance Band’, featuring a rich talent of the established & new global artists from Brazil, Japan, Jamaica via Deptford & Tottenham. It crosses genres of Drum & Bass, Reggae, Jazz & shows the Rootz of Jungle. The Resistance Band include The cream of reggae: Courtney Melody, Reggie Stepper, Junior Delgado, Daddy Freddie & Carroll Thompson. The new school of uk vocal talent: Maverick Sabre, Eva Lazarus, Akala, Klashnekoff & Logic & the new jazz school : Shabaka Hutchins, Nubya Garcia on sax & Amrit Kaur on sarangi. Plus international artists: from Brazil – Monkey Jhayam, Japan : Junglists Youths, Fikir Amlak & Krar Collective from Ethiopia, but all have their rootz in Jungle.

Set to represent the global diaspora and giving a voice to the people on the upcoming album, Congo tells the most important story jungle music can tell whilst documenting the uprising and reflecting on where mankind, culture and the journey is at in 2023.

With a five decade deep discography spanning seminal and timeless releases like Street Tuff, Tribal Bass & Wickedest Sound (as Rebel MC), Junglist, Get Ready, Code Red, Under Mi Sensei, Get Wild, Kunta Kinte and more, Congo has played a founding and hugely influential role in one of the most phenomenal, boundary breaking music movements the UK has ever known.

Remaining on the front line of the musical rebellion to this day, Mikail understands jungle’s power to unite and break barriers. Weaving positive affirmations of his spiritual life as a Rastafarian into his song writing, he has been an consistent protagonist in the jungle uprising since the early 90s. Forever humble, he seeks to spread more positivity and encourage unity, whilst focusing on the new generation who will carry his torch into the next five decades.

Continuing to spread the Congo Natty message as a performer, musician, label owner, pioneer, revolutionary, humanitarian and father, Ancestorz (Rootz Of Jungle) is set to be his most personal, ambitious, timeless and expert album to date and his finest chapter yet.

Red Vinyl

180 g, Side D etched, matte UV Poster, Trifold Jacket, red foil debossed "D"&"M", Poster

"Memento Mori" stellt Depeche Modes insgesamt 15. Studioalbum dar, während Gahan und Gore nach dem tragischen Tod von Bandmitgründer Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher im Jahr 2022 den ersten Longplayer in zweiköpfiger Besetzung vorlegen. Produziert von James Ford mit Unterstützung von Marta Salogni reifte "Memento Mori" während der Frühphase der weltweiten Covid-Pandemie heran; eine Periode, die auch einen thematischen Einfluss auf die Songs hatte. Die 12 Albumtracks schlagen die Brücke zwischen einer Vielzahl von Stimmungen und musikalischen Texturen - angefangen beim bedrohlichen Opener bis zur Auflösung am Schluss spannt sich das Gefühlsspektrum von Paranoia und Besessenheit bis hin zu psychischer Befreiung und Freude sowie zahllosen emotionalen Zwischentönen. Mit der Single "Ghosts Again" geht der Albumveröffentlichung von "Memento Mori" ein eindrucksvoller Vorbote voraus. Der Song stellt schon jetzt nicht weniger als einen lupenreinen Depeche Mode-Klassiker dar: Dave Gahans bilderstarke Lyrics wie "wasted feelings, broken meanings... a place to hide the tears we cry" verbinden sich über einem erhebenden, optimistischen Groove mit einer hypnotischen Gitarrenfigur von Martin Gore. "Für mich fängt `Ghosts Again` das perfekte Gleichgewicht zwischen Melancholie und Freude ein", so Gahan. "Es kommt nicht allzu oft vor, dass wir einen Song aufnehmen, den ich mir nicht nur immer und immer wieder anhören kann - ich freue mich auch riesig, ihn mit der Welt teilen zu dürfen", ergänzt Gore.

'A Flock of Bleeps' was the debut album from Younger Brother originally released on CD only in 2003. Now remastered. Heavy Weight 180 gram vinyl

In April 2023, Anglo American duo Baba Ali return with their second album Laugh Like A Bomb, set for release via Memphis Industries. With the news, the pair have shared lead single "Burn Me Out", a documentation of their creative ethos and the societal urge to overindulge to the point of exhaustion. Having previously collaborated with Al Doyle (LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip) on their debut album, this time the duo absconded to Doyle"s studio in his own touring absence and took to production duties themselves. Laugh Like A Bomb was recorded in just three weeks before being mixed by Sheffield producer Ross Orton (Working Men"s Club / Arctic Monkeys / MIA).

The Magic Movement is happy to welcome Swedish artist Anton Kling with a full EP on their label.
After his mesmerizing single "You", which he contributed to a Various Artist release last spring, he's finally back in full force with his Phobos EP.

The EP contains atmospheric originals, full of warm and almost jazzy synth work, syncopated rhythms and haunting vocal snippets. There's a beautifully melancholic red line which flows through the EP. His passion for ambient music and lo-fi textures is clearly audible in every track, where spacious soundscapes meet gritty percussion sounds.

On remix duties we find Alex Banks, who made a name for himself on Alex Cooper's Mesh imprint, and who is a perfect fit for the track "Phobos". Praised by the likes of BBC Radio 6 and Mixmag as well as with work released on Monkeytown and Ninja Tune, Alex turns Phobos into a bass heavy broken beat bonanza, featuring hypnotic arpeggios and saturated lead synths.

Clear Vinyl

French composer Lucie Antunes is broadening her sonic horizons with second album “Carnaval”. Following the resounding critical success of 2019’s “Sergei”, the Perpignan-born, classically-trained drummer and percussionist releases an ebullient, electronically-oriented followup that is designed for the dancefloor. Antunes unites the pop world with the avant-garde, with a crossover appeal that traverses genres and borders with ease. “Carnaval” also sees Léonie Pernet come on board as producer, who brings frisson to these eleven tracks whilst helping to augment the grooves. Using and manipulating the human voice for the first time, Antunes was inspired in part by the American composer Meredith Monk, to use her voice as percussive instrument, conveying meaning with nonverbal phrases and phonemes. ‘Carnaval’ is more coquettish, curious and creative than anything she’s yet done, imbuing the listener with the cerebral mischief of Laurie Anderson on ‘It’s Amazing’—an opening track which more than fulfills its titular promise.

Batmobile is founded in 1983 by Jeroen Haamers, Johnny Zuidhof and Eric Haamers. They’re considered the seminal Dutch psychobilly band and celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2023. To mark this milestone, they present their 15th studio album, entitled Brace For Impact, which features 13 killer tracks. Grab yourself a Batmobeer and brace for impact!

The cover artwork is created by the illustrator and designer Pieter
M. Dorrenboom, who has worked with Batmobile before.

BraceForImpact is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl.

Jamaican-born trumpeter Dizzy Reece was a fixture of the London jazz scene before moving to New York City in 1959 where he recorded his excellent album Star Bright, a hidden gem in the Blue Note catalog featuring a first-rate hard bop quintet with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass & Art Taylor on drums.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

7A Records are proud to announce the 50th Anniversary
Edition of Michael Nesmith’s “Pretty Much Your Standard
Ranch Stash” album. The LP version is pressed on 180g
opaque grey vinyl and comes in a gatefold sleeve, includes
extensive liner notes and session details by Andrew
Sandoval and lyrics to all of the songs. Also included is a
bonus track, the 1973 alternate version of “Marie’s Theme”.

The Album:
Nesmith’s time with the Monkees was well and truly in the
rear-view mirror and he needed a new place to live and
work. He caught the ear of Jac Holzman, head of Elektra
Records, and a path forward miraculously appeared.
Realising that most of the record companies at the time
didn’t understand Country Rock, Nesmith convinced
Holzman to start a new label, Countryside. Nesmith would
run the label, put together a ‘house band’ and produce
albums by various up and coming country artists.
Unfortunately, most of the new label’s releases didn’t make much of an impression and Nesmith soon started to
contemplate his own music again. Aided by the power of his Countryside house band, he quickly crafted Pretty Much
Your Standard Ranch Stash, a full and final RCA album. Despite its commercial sheen, Ranch Stash wasn’t a success saleswise and it became the closing remark to a heavy chapter in Nesmith’s life, a final “adios” to Monkee Mike, to the cosmic
cowboy, and to his family, as he moved further on up the trail.

7A Records are proud to announce the 50th Anniversary
Edition of Michael Nesmith’s “Pretty Much Your Standard
Ranch Stash” album. The LP version is pressed on 180g
opaque grey vinyl and comes in a gatefold sleeve, includes
extensive liner notes and session details by Andrew
Sandoval and lyrics to all of the songs. Also included is a
bonus track, the 1973 alternate version of “Marie’s Theme”.

The Album:
Nesmith’s time with the Monkees was well and truly in the
rear-view mirror and he needed a new place to live and
work. He caught the ear of Jac Holzman, head of Elektra
Records, and a path forward miraculously appeared.
Realising that most of the record companies at the time
didn’t understand Country Rock, Nesmith convinced
Holzman to start a new label, Countryside. Nesmith would
run the label, put together a ‘house band’ and produce
albums by various up and coming country artists.
Unfortunately, most of the new label’s releases didn’t make much of an impression and Nesmith soon started to
contemplate his own music again. Aided by the power of his Countryside house band, he quickly crafted Pretty Much
Your Standard Ranch Stash, a full and final RCA album. Despite its commercial sheen, Ranch Stash wasn’t a success saleswise and it became the closing remark to a heavy chapter in Nesmith’s life, a final “adios” to Monkee Mike, to the cosmic
cowboy, and to his family, as he moved further on up the trail.

Billie Marten has announced her fourth record Drop Cherries for release on 7 April via Fiction Records. Recorded entirely on tape in Somerset and Wales late last summer, Drop Cherries marks the very first time that Billie Marten has both written and co-produced (with Dom Monks) one of her records; following critically-lauded 2021 album Flora Fauna, Feeding Seahorses by Hand (2019) and Writing of Blues and Yellows (2016).

Before MF DOOM donned his mask and became one of the most prolific MC-producers of modern Hip-Hop, he was a member of KMD, an early ‘90s rap group whose work still goes criminally under-appreciated to this day.

Following their 1991 debut album, Mr. Hood, the former trio shed one member leaving only two remaining – Subroc and his brother, Zev Love X (better known today as MF DOOM). Originally scheduled for release in 1994, their sophomore album Black Bastards showed clear progression from their debut. It was a truly amazing record, both sonically and lyrically, full of youthful creativity and tinged with the stresses of growing up as Black men in urban America. Songs like the lead single “What A N*gga Know”, the slippery, bass-driven “Get U Now”, and the album’s title track explore Black consciousness viewed through young-but-experienced eyes. Musically alternating between bouncy and raw – many times both, concurrently – the tracks gave the MC’s the springboard they needed to express themselves clearly.

Sadly, Subroc would face a sudden and untimely death in 1993, just as the duo were finishing the album. Grief-stricken, his brother Zev Love X – now the sole remaining member of the group – was determined to carry the legacy of KMD onward, but Elektra Records unceremoniously shelved the project in the eleventh hour, due to controversy surrounding the album’s provocative cover art. Following the fallout with Elektra, Zev tried for years to release the album on other labels, but he was continually met with dead ends. Struggling through the pain of losing his brother, coupled with the inability to release their final project together, a discouraged Zev Love X quietly withdrew from the scene and began quietly plotting his revenge on an industry that had broken him spiritually. Thus, in order to understand the true origin story of the super-villain, MF DOOM, one must recognize and appreciate the evolution of his former group, KMD, and the backstory of their pivotal album, Black Bastards.

A strong, strong showing from Duca Bianco after a period of relative dormancy, teaming up with Manchester's Talking Drums for a musical culture clash with maximum impact. The four tracks see a wide palate of influences being mixed up, from the cheeky Afrobeat shuffle of 'Monkey Key' to the 80s electropop of 'Voice Of Omicron' and the Nico-esque vocal delivery on Balearic groover 'Dolce Julia'. This is an EP with lots of surprises, tons of originality and musical confidence brimming over its edges.

180 g, Side D etched, matte UV Poster, Trifold Jacket, red foil debossed "D"&"M", Poster

"Memento Mori" stellt Depeche Modes insgesamt 15. Studioalbum dar, während Gahan und Gore nach dem tragischen Tod von Bandmitgründer Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher im Jahr 2022 den ersten Longplayer in zweiköpfiger Besetzung vorlegen. Produziert von James Ford mit Unterstützung von Marta Salogni reifte "Memento Mori" während der Frühphase der weltweiten Covid-Pandemie heran; eine Periode, die auch einen thematischen Einfluss auf die Songs hatte. Die 12 Albumtracks schlagen die Brücke zwischen einer Vielzahl von Stimmungen und musikalischen Texturen - angefangen beim bedrohlichen Opener bis zur Auflösung am Schluss spannt sich das Gefühlsspektrum von Paranoia und Besessenheit bis hin zu psychischer Befreiung und Freude sowie zahllosen emotionalen Zwischentönen. Mit der Single "Ghosts Again" geht der Albumveröffentlichung von "Memento Mori" ein eindrucksvoller Vorbote voraus. Der Song stellt schon jetzt nicht weniger als einen lupenreinen Depeche Mode-Klassiker dar: Dave Gahans bilderstarke Lyrics wie "wasted feelings, broken meanings... a place to hide the tears we cry" verbinden sich über einem erhebenden, optimistischen Groove mit einer hypnotischen Gitarrenfigur von Martin Gore. "Für mich fängt `Ghosts Again` das perfekte Gleichgewicht zwischen Melancholie und Freude ein", so Gahan. "Es kommt nicht allzu oft vor, dass wir einen Song aufnehmen, den ich mir nicht nur immer und immer wieder anhören kann - ich freue mich auch riesig, ihn mit der Welt teilen zu dürfen", ergänzt Gore.

Atlanta native Tha God Fahim has emerged as a leading figure in hip-hop’s thriving modern underground, captivating listeners with masterful street soliloquies and timeless production. Uninterested in the flashy trappings of the modern rap game, Fahim has channelled his energy into building a phenomenal catalog, blending soulful aesthetics with hard-edged rhymes. Now, the talented emcee is taking a break from his dizzying mixtape schedule to unveil the new studio album "Iron Bull".

Highlighting the power of relentless determination, the collection finds Tha God Fahim stronger than ever, elevating beyond adversity while remaining true to self. "Iron Bull" includes guest appearances by Mach-Hommy, Your Old Droog, and Jay NiCE, along with hypnotic production by Nicholas Craven, SadhuGold, Camoflauge Monk, and Fahim himself.

Oliver Cherer is back with a new Gilroy Mere record which follows on from his other much lauded Clay Pipe releases (The Green Line, Adlestrop and last year’s D Rothon collaboration, Estuary English).

Over the last two decades Ollie has released numerous collections of music in an ever shifting array of modes, from folktronic, singer-songwriter styles through psychogeographic electronica to jazz-tinged, confessional ghost-pop and most recently, the “guitar tainted machine rock disco” of Aircooled.

Gilden Gate is an album of two halves. Side 1 ‘Rising’ celebrates the sun-drenched beaches, pastures and heaths of rural Suffolk, whereas Side 2 ‘Falling’ explores the underwater world of the lost city of Dunwich and its five church spires.

Oliver says:-

“A few years ago I discovered the lost city of Dunwich. I’d made a trip to Suffolk to shoot a short film about Sizewell Nuclear Power Stations and stayed in the old Coastguard’s Cottage on Dunwich Beach within sight of Minsmere Nature Reserve and the power plants. It’s a wild, sleepy place of pines and heath and North Sea winds and a strangely mysterious air – Sutton Hoo is nearby and Eno’s reference to the very beach that I was staying on made perfect sense. In the small museum at Dunwich I learned that this tiny hamlet had once been a major medieval city of international trade. It seemed unlikely and even now, knowing Dunwich as a small village, I find putting what I know about the place into perspective as a city a certain kind of impossible.

It seems that over a period under the influence of the weather, natural erosion and market rivalry the thriving harbour port was inundated by the North Sea and eventually slipped into and under it. The city of churches was lost and all the spires engulfed and toppled. What remains are the few houses, and the ruin of Greyfriars crumbling inexorably down the cliff and exposing the bones of buried monks as the graveyard follows the building’s stones into the sea.

There are local legends surrounding the site including stories of fishermen hearing the bells of lost churches and seeing the ghostly, lighted city beneath their boats as they return to the shore.
Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”

Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”

CVC (oder Church Village Collective in vollem Wortlaut) stammt aus einem verschlafenen Dorf 10 Meilen nördlich von Cardiff, das auf einem Hügel in den walisischen Tälern liegt. CVC besteht aus Sänger Francesco Orsi, Bassist Ben Thorne, Schlagzeuger Tom Fry, Keyboarder Daniel `Nanial' Jones und den singenden Gitarristen David Bassey und Elliott Bradfield. Es ist erwähnenswert, dass die beiden Letztgenannten, obwohl sie sich nie begegnet sind, mit der walisischen Ikone Dame Shirley Bassey und James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) verwandt sind. Vielleicht liegt es an den Genen, wenn Bassey sagt: "I don't think I'd be able to not do this, I don't actively choose to, I'm just drawn to it". Ihre üppigen dreistimmigen Harmonien spiegeln die Musik wider, mit der sie aufgewachsen sind - die Bausteine des zeitgenössischen Pop: die Beatles, Neil Young und die Beach Boys - reiche, melodische und unverfälschte Musik, die in der Rockgeschichte verwurzelt ist. Get Real, das 11-Track-Debütalbum von CVC, bringt einen Hauch von Laurel Canyon in die Täler. In vier sonnenverwöhnten Wochen (als die Zeit abgelaufen war, mischte Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys) das fertige Produkt) haben sie es in Bradfields Wohnzimmer aufgenommen!

Yellow Vinyl
CVC (oder Church Village Collective in vollem Wortlaut) stammt aus einem verschlafenen Dorf 10 Meilen nördlich von Cardiff, das auf einem Hügel in den walisischen Tälern liegt. CVC besteht aus Sänger Francesco Orsi, Bassist Ben Thorne, Schlagzeuger Tom Fry, Keyboarder Daniel `Nanial' Jones und den singenden Gitarristen David Bassey und Elliott Bradfield. Es ist erwähnenswert, dass die beiden Letztgenannten, obwohl sie sich nie begegnet sind, mit der walisischen Ikone Dame Shirley Bassey und James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) verwandt sind. Vielleicht liegt es an den Genen, wenn Bassey sagt: "I don't think I'd be able to not do this, I don't actively choose to, I'm just drawn to it". Ihre üppigen dreistimmigen Harmonien spiegeln die Musik wider, mit der sie aufgewachsen sind - die Bausteine des zeitgenössischen Pop: die Beatles, Neil Young und die Beach Boys - reiche, melodische und unverfälschte Musik, die in der Rockgeschichte verwurzelt ist. Get Real, das 11-Track-Debütalbum von CVC, bringt einen Hauch von Laurel Canyon in die Täler. In vier sonnenverwöhnten Wochen (als die Zeit abgelaufen war, mischte Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys) das fertige Produkt) haben sie es in Bradfields Wohnzimmer aufgenommen!

CVC (or Church Village Collective in full) hail from a sleepy village 10 miles north of Cardiff, nestling atop a hill in the Welsh valleys.

 CVC is comprised of singer Francesco Orsi, bassist Ben Thorne, drummer Tom Fry, keyboardist Daniel ‘Naniel’ Jones and singing guitarists David Bassey and Elliott Bradfield. (It’s worth noting that the latter two, despite never having met them, are related to Welsh royalty Dame Shirley Bassey and Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield.)

 Maybe owing to genetics, Bassey states “I don’t think I’d be able to not do this, I don’t actively choose to, I’m just drawn to it.”

 Their lush three-part harmonies echo the music they grew up on - contemporary pop’s building blocks: the Beatles, Neil Young and the Beach Boys - rich, melodic and pristine music that’s steeped in rock’s history.

 ‘Get Real’, CVC’s 11-track debut album, brings a touch of Laurel Canyon to the valleys. Made over four sun-baked weeks (once their time was up, Ross Orton Arctic Monkeys mixed the finished product), they kept it local by recording it in Bradfields’ living room.

Miles Davis and Milt Jackson only recorded together on a few occasions, but those collaborations always produced superb music. Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giantsincludes one such collaborative effort - a unique 1954 quintet session that also features the great Thelonious Monk on piano.

These are the only existing studio recordings presenting Miles and Monk together.

Miles Davis, trumpet
Milt Jackson, vibes
Thelonious Monk, piano
Percy Heath, bass
Kenny Clarke, drums

Original session recorded by Rudy Van Gelder & produced by Bob Weinstock.


[b] A2. The Man I Love [take 2]
[c] A3. The Man I Love [take 1]

[e] B2. Bags Groove [take 2]
[f] B3. Bags Groove [take 1]

In the late 1980s, the renowned American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger John Hicks formed one of the most influential ensembles consisting of musicians that had played music at the highest level all their lives and gained their status as both stand-alone artists and important sidemen. Each of them had participated in many of jazz’s great moments and all shared the ability, documented on many albums, to inspire their fellow musicians to even greater heights. The ‘John Hicks Trio’ had several line-up changes over the years that included greats such as Clifford Barbaro (Strata East, Blue Note, Sun Ra Arkestra, Charles Tolliver), Clint Houston (Prestige, Nina Simone, Roy Ayers, Azar Lawrence), Ray Drummond (Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey, Lalo Schifrin), Marcus McLaurine (Muse, Verve, Weldon Irvine, Kool & The Gang) and Victor Lewis (Steve Grossman, Stan Getz, Charles Mingus, Cedar Walton, Chet Baker).

On the album we are presenting you today (I’ll Give You Something To Remember Me By from 1988) the trio consists out of some of the biggest and best players in the jazz, funk and soul scenes:

On piano we have the Atlanta based trio’s bandleader JOHN HICKS (1941-2006). He served as a leader on more than 30 albums and played as a sideman on more than 300 other recordings. After being taught piano by his mother, Hicks went on to study at Lincoln University of Missouri, Berklee College of Music, and the Juilliard School. After playing with a number of different artists during the early ’60s (including Oliver Nelson and being part of Pharoah Sanders’s first band) he joined Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers in 1964. In the early ’70s he taught jazz history and improvisation at Southern Illinois University before resuming his career as a recording artist. Next to his many solo recordings for labels such as Strata East and Concord, Hicks would collaborate with all the big names in the scene, including Archie Shepp, Mingus and Alvin Queen. In 2014 & 2015, J Dilla paid homage to John Hicks by sampling two of his songs.

On drums we have the legendary IDRIS MUHAMMAD (1939-2014) who to this day is still considered as one of the most influential drummers covering a multitude of genre-transcending styles. Born in New Orleans, he showed early talent as a percussionist and began his professional career while still a teenager, playing on Fats Domino’s ‘Blueberry Hill’. He then toured with Sam Cooke and would later go on to work with Curtis Mayfield. Next to his landmark solo recordings for Prestige Records, Idris would collaborate with iconic musicians and acts from the likes of Manu Dibango, Ahmad Jamal, Melvin Sparks, Charles Earland, Walter Bishop, Ceasar Frazier, Roberta Flack, Gato Barbieri, Nathan Davis, Sonny Rollins, Lou Donaldson, Galt MacDermot, Lonnie Smith…and countless others. Idris Muhammad’s work was sampled by renowned performers such as Drake, Beastie Boys and Fatboy Slim.

On bass we have CURTIS LUNDY (born 1955) who originates from Florida. Lundy is a well-respected bass player (and a master of his instrument), choir director, arranger, composer and producer who was part of performances and recordings of renowned acts and artists such as Pharoah Sanders, Frank Morgan, Cole Porter, Chico Freeman, Khan Jamal… and many others!

On I’ll Give You Something To Remember Me By (recorded at the legendary Dutch Studio 44 in March 1987 and released on Limetree Records in 1988) the listener is treated to eight majestic tracks of the highest caliber (including an excellent Thelonious Monk cover-tune) and features a remarkable outing of advanced musicianship by three jazz-giants in their prime, delivering an inspirational gem of an album.

These recordings sound as successful, young and vibrant as ever! Expect supercharged ragtime Post Bop with striking notes, no-holds-barred musicianship, high swinging solos, screaming choruses and plenty of solid virtuosity to spare. The up tempo none stop Latin beat is complimented by the terrific drum solos of Idris Muhammad and the rhythmic bass strokes of Curtis Lundy. This electrifying set of tracks makes this release a bonafide hit and a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector.

Full Dose kick your door in with this prime selection of cuts from a new name on the label: Tuck Chains. Who is Tuck Chains? Who knows! But with a crew known for their futuristic and dub-inflected sound, "Tapes" manages to take the label to new heights.

Serving as a masterclass in the sacred art of sample chopping, Tuck Chains offers up a platter of instrumentals that wouldn't sound out-of-place coming from LA in the late 2000s. True to its name, FD013 feels like a mixtape in its delivery, but has a depth and refinement that's difficult to find. Instrumental hip hop of this quality may well have disappeared from the underground but Tuck Chains has successfully iterated on a style guaranteed to bring blunted energy.

"Lock Down", the opening track, quickly sets the scene with metallic and saturated drums. Interspersed with surgical sample chops, the track oscillates between lively and chill after an almost musique concrète sounding intro. This contrast between straight and faded becomes a theme of the album, with moments of intensification punctuating the mellow.

Tracks like "Chrome and Glass" balance fizzy snares, rumbling low end and stabby piano hits to take you on a slow motion coastal journey, while "Ewan Hughes-Army" has an erratic and head-nodding feel that demands your attention. Warbly, downtempo tape vibes feature throughout the release, a combination ripe for repeated, couch-bound listens. With this in mind, "Spanish" feels like the perfect closer - the type of track that oozes sun and THC. Let this be the soundtrack to your hazy holiday.

Arriving directly from the plant and mastered by the label's own Lvcchesi, this could well be the beat tape you knew you were missing! "

Green Marbled Vinyl


Following up to his maiden transmission for the label, "Cosmic Silence", issued a year ago, Italian producer Alessandro Cozzolino AKA Cioz resurfaces on Stil vor Talent with his longed-for debut album "Supermassive Whole" - a ten-track cosmic odyssey in sound percolating staple elements of Cioz's palette of choice, from otherworldly techno to Latin-inflected house, via the obvious injection of kosmische and electronica soundscaping.

The lead single "Wachaka" - recorded in collaboration with Cape Town producer Ryan Murgatroyd, exemplifies Cozzolino's electrifying approach to a T. An inch-perfectly balanced mix of Afro-infused polyrhythmic bravura and seesawing synth moves, the track swells with a blazing fire at heart that keeps on sprawling infectiously with each and every bar. Trading the linear buildup for most sensuous levels of syncopation, "Me Monkey" serves up a warmer kind of funk, perfect for getting snug and cozy before an avalanche of seesawing chords up the ante towards space-opera-esque amplitude. All in elusive sinuosity and processed machine talk, "Harakat" dwells the confines of wonky house templates and polyamorous EBM, while "I Always Wanted To..." goes the slo-burning, counterclockwise route, primed for languid moments in the alcove.

"B1" is perhaps the most spitting avatar of the Italian whiz's hybrid rolling-and-pounding rhythmic style, nicely embodying both its quirky, hip-swaying and fanfare-like percussive aspects. The ecstatically bouncy "Do It The Way You Feel" showcases Cioz's more rousing, floor-friendly facet with a killer combo of hi-octane electro dynamics, pop-rock motif'd hooks and slashing breaks taking the controls. The mood also happens to be melancholic at times, such as on the beautifully understated "Is This Real", which bridges the gap betwixt piano-house déjà-vu - here tweaked to distinctively soul-wrenching effect, and a prog buildup glossed under a thick sauce of FX, similar to that of "Sudpol Birgit"'s inflating saturation in the post-prod treatment. Somewhat brushed with balearic shades in mind, "Pace e Amore" follows a more classic curve, slowly veering off onto ambient-laced territories, while "Lost in Space" evokes a certain idea of gravity-defying plenitude through that ever intuitive and subtly arranged collage of tender wistfulness and endless attraction towards the groove, which defines Cozzolino's phraseology so fittingly.

2023 REpress
A North American road trip of coming of age garage soul mapped by Ivan Liechti, Ghost Riders is Efficient Space’s latest narrative compilation, hovering in a liminal emotional ravine between moonlight melancholy, teenage heartache and unchecked, unrealised ambition. Across seventeen open hearted ballads recorded 1965-1974, the 2LP collects and connects dots between British Invasion fanatics, child prodigies, the loners and the luckless, in a kind of trans-continental survey of those swept up in rock’n’roll mania and buoyed by local newspaper ads promising fame and gold records.

From the tangerine dreams of 8th grade all-girl combo The Mod 4 to the tri-state jukebox aspiring echoes of The Tempters, The Yardley’s poetic Farfisa vamp and lilting folk pop, and The Landlords’ weepy break up b-side blues, these are mostly one shots by dreamers whose experience was brief before being checked back to the reality of suburban normality and realistic career options. Hailing from the regional backwaters of Illnois, Arkansas, Nevada, Massachussets, Ohio, Idaho, Texas and beyond, the licensed artists were scouted by way of local fire departments, spiritualist fellowships and animal welfare centres, often barely a stones throw from where their contributions were originally laid.

A barely teenage Dennis Harte's ‘Summer’s Over’ perhaps best taps the collection’s essence. A gut-wrenching lament of the passing of the season as if it was the last on earth. Flanked by players from The Left Banke, Harte, a now-piano tuner to the stars, is from the minor segment that found longevity in showbiz. Likewise with Michigan icon Lyn Nowicki who cast her ghostly voice over Beatles cover song chameleons The Common People and Jerry McGee, The Ventures member and conduit of Dr. John’s ‘Twilight Zone’.

Ghost Riders simmers with the scent of youthful summers, the pang of schoolyard romance, and the excitement (and disenchantment) of teenage naïveté, delivered via a deceptively simple and frequently wonky garage band set up. The vision of record collector and graphic designer Ivan Liechti, these eternal psych-folk howlers are further crystallised by Colin Young’s fastidious audio restoration, the original artwork of Elise Ganebin-de Bons and an aptly penned forward from Sonic Boom.

Hervorgegangen aus der Straßburger Szene und dem Omezis-Kollektiv, dem etwa zwanzig Künstler, Musiker, DJs und Videografen angehören, saugt Emile Londonien die englische Jazzszene der letzten fünfzehn Jahre auf. Der Spitzname Emile Londonien, eine doppelte Anspielung auf ihre britischen Einflüsse als auch auf einen berühmten, französischen Saxophonisten, entstand spontan. Als Symbol einer Generation, die in der Clubkultur aufgewachsen ist, wurde eine Band gegründet, die genau diese Kultur mit Jazz-Trio-Tradition verbindet. Ihre ersten Produktionen, die regelmäßig auf der BBC-Playlist aufgeführt werden, fanden ein begeistertes Echo. Bis vor wenigen Monaten unbekannt, spielte die Band beim Worldwide Festival von Sète, beim Montreux Jazz Festival im Sommer 2021 und bei Nancy Jazz Pulsations.
Beeinflusst von Yussef Kamaal, The Comet Is Coming, Atjazz, SunRa, Ornette Coleman oder Thelonious Monk, aber auch von der Broken Beat-, Jazz-, House- und Hip-Hop-Szene, verkörpert Emile Londonien diesen französischen Jazz-Stil der "nächsten Generation" perfekt.
Als CD und LP (Black Vinyl) erhältlich!

Record Kicks celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a limited edition "Rare Box Set" consisting of ten 45 vinyl with the very best of the label's catalogue.

2023 is a special year for Record Kicks: the Milan-based independent label turns 20 years old. In order to celebrate this great achievement, Record Kicks is proud to announce the release of a limited edition "Rare Box Set", coming out on March 3rd and containing 20 tracks on 10 "rare" 45 vinyl that retrace the story of these past 20 years of Record Kicks. The boxset is limited to 500 copies worldwide and it will also be released on digital format on that same day, March 3rd. The artwork by Japanese artist Ruminz is an homage to Afro-American culture. Of the 20 tracks on the "Rare Boxset", 11 tracks are previously unreleased on 45 vinyl, while 9 are reissues of mega in-demand gems.

Among the tracks released for the first time on 45, you'll find label's Funk & Soul heavyweights such as "Easy To Come Home" by Sydney funk maestros Dojo Cuts, "Your Love is Mine" by British funk band The New Mastersounds feat Corinne Bailey Rae and remixed by Nostalgia 77, "50 Foot Woman" by Hannah Williams & The Affirmations, "Soul Connection" by The Diplomats of Solid Sound and "Soul of My Life" by The Tibbs. For the first time on 45 vinyl, there are also two singles from the masters of Cinematic funk Calibro 35: "Stainless Steel" from their legendary album "Traitors" and "Ungwana Bay Launch Complex" from "S.P.A.C.E.", The Diasonics with "Andromeda", taken from their debut album "Origin Of Forms", and Whatitdo Archive Group's "Blood Chief" from the band's album "The Black Stone Affair".

On the reissue's front, among the rare tracks that by popular demand finally see the light again on 45 vinyl we find: the afrofunk cover of The Artic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" by Baby Charles, JB's classic "Soul Power" by Kokolo remixed by Lack Of Afro, The Bluebeaters with "Catch That Teardrop" and "Toxic (One Drop Version)" singles, northern soul floorshaker "I'm a Good Woman" by Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers and deep funk stormer "I'm Not Your Regular Woman" by Marta Ren & The Groovelvets.

The "Rare Box Set" is just the first of many upcoming initiatives that will be revealed during the year to celebrate the Milan's label 20th anniversary. Side by side with similar imprints like Daptone, Big Crown, Colemine or Timmion Records, under its motto "The explosive sound from Today's scene", Milan-based record label and music publishing Record Kicks has been pitching the contemporary funk & soul scene since 2003. With over 250 releases under the belt, the label has released bands from all over the globe and earned support of VIP fans such as rap superstars Jay-Z, Tyler The Creator and Dr. Dre, who took inspiration from the label's catalogue by sampling it.








g g1: The New Mastersounds - Your Love Is Mine (Nostalgia 77 Remix) feat. Corinne Bailey Rae

In the last five years ElCamino has gone from up-n-coming Griselda affiliate to fan-favorite B$F member. He released two volumes of his self-titled album series in that time and left heads eagerly awaiting the third instalment. Then, last summer he served up ElCamino 3 and showed what he was really capable of. The acclaimed album features production by Harry Fraud, Camouflage Monk, CeeGee, and guest spots from 38 Spesh, Jay Worthy, A$AP Ant, and more.