quête:deep swing

Released only eight months after his exhilarating debut, Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle contains rousing dispatches from the boardwalk, the street, the beach, and the bedroom. It explodes with energy, dares to dream, teases with humour, crackles with tragedy, clings to hope, and overflows with discovery, youthfulness, and personality. It features an unforgettable cast of characters — corner boys, teenage hustlers, doomed lovers, jazz men, junk men, factory girls, fortune tellers, alley cats, pimps, escorts, and more — illuminated by vivid colour, breathtaking detail, and poetic action.

Musically, the heartfelt 1973 record is inhabited by sympathetic vignettes and cinematic arrangements steeped in rock 'n' roll, soul, jazz, and R&B. It finds the New Jersey native looking beyond the parameters of his preceding record and seeking to move on from environments he knows well (and chronicles here) by rushing headlong toward unknown territories, adventures, and people. Underpinned by the singer-guitarist's ambitious poetic enterprise and will to succeed, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the album on which Springsteen becomes the Boss.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's renowned mastering system, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen's sophomore record. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle plays with a clarity, energy, presence, and openness that complement the expressiveness, dynamics, and scope of the seven restless songs that comprise a work Rolling Stone ranked the 345th Greatest Album of All Time.

Beyond the audiophile sonics that practically place you behind the console at 914 Sound Studios — listen to the separation between the instruments, natural decay of the notes, interplay within the widescreen soundstaging, and nothing-to-lose youthfulness of Springsteen’s voice — this reissue takes seriously this record’s influential merit by presenting it in packaging that underlines its status. Tucked in a beautiful slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with the invigorating set that busted Springsteen loose from the club circuit and landed him on the radio

Determined to liberate anyone within earshot and unafraid to come on strong, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle serves as the debut of the E Street Band — not only heard but seen for the first time by most of the public courtesy of the back-cover photograph. This is where saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist-accordionist Danny Federici, and pianist David Sancious step out of the shadows — and drummer Vini Lopez and bassist Garry Tallent again stoke a fiery rhythmic engine that helps drive the untamed, reimagined big-band swing of “Kitty’s Back,” breathless R&B thrust of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and carefree dance steps of the funky “The E Street Shuffle.”

Of course, the main attraction remains a then-24-year-old visionary on the precipice of becoming a sensation and turning a then-bloated rock scene on its head. Recorded over three months while Springsteen and company were busy touring his debut LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle reflects the high-octane approach the vocalist embraced onstage and drifts away from the label-dictated acoustic-based frameworks of his debut. The set also witnesses Springsteen deepening his observational skills, with narratives such as the romantically tinged “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and redemptive epic “Incident on 57th Street” mirroring changes taking place in the singer’s own life, small towns, and America at large.

A thrilling collision of memories, reflections, and composites — Sandy, Rosalita, and the latter’s parents are all based on actual people Springsteen knew, as is the community depicted in the opening track — the aptly titled The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle resonates decades on due to its truths, authenticity, and spirit. Those characteristics — as well as the fact that many of its lengthy songs come on as the equivalent of sweaty, feverish soul revue that won’t stop until you’ve been exhausted — also explain how this now-iconic album triumphed over the reservations of industry “experts” that both demanded Springsteen re-record it and instructed deejays not to play it.



Yet there’d be no stopping a record that saw the past, present, and future, a band whose will would not be denied, and a phenomenon who was born to run. A never-ending invitation to act real cool and stay up all night, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle always feels alright.

Wisdom Teeth co-founder K-Lone is dropping two EPs on Aus Music: the first instalment nods to UKG and house flavours, landing mid-May, while the second offers a deeper, broken techno vibe, arriving in late June. 'Give It Up' opens Part 1 with a bubbly rhythm and bassline that percolates through the woody, organic percussion. Lush pads and neon lines swirl skyward to silky and seductive effect as various other samples and daubs of colour bring the groove to life. The heady 'Wait 4 U' is a textbook K-Lone house cut with low swinging bass, sultry sax stabs and molten R&B samples that get the juices going next to warm, diffused synth lines.

On the flip, 'What I Want' ups the pace but keeps it deep and smooth with rubbery kicks and gooey bass overlaid with soft-edged chord stabs that will pump the floor. Lastly, 'Own Way' closes down with a tumbling bassline that takes you deeper as muted vocal sounds and glowing chords hook you into an infectious groove suited to the most intimate dancefloors.

UK trailblazer K-Lone heads up the label Wisdom Teeth with fellow producer Facta and has released everything from club-primed garage to innovative home listening records. Whether cooking up kinetic beats and bouncy bass or soundtracking a lazy summer's afternoon with synthesised bird calls and lush marimbas, the London-bred artist is a proven studio wizard. Critical acclaim has come for both his ‘Swells’ and ‘Cape Cira’ albums, and now his ‘Catching Wild’ EPs for Aus Music offer yet another portal into the colourful world of his idiosyncratic, signature sound.

As mood changers go, this track is up there with the best. Last year whilst DJing with miche at Shapes festival in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, a breathtaking yet ominous Alpine sky suddenly became a picture postcard moment. The clouds parted and a double rainbow formed, as miche dropped Studio Rio's bossa nova remake of Bill Withers’ all-time classic 'Lovely Day'. From there, the dancefloor shifted gears and morphed into full-swing feel-good vibes, in a beautiful, spontaneous moment nobody could have planned for.

Mr Bongo now proudly presents a reissue of this brilliant, bossa-channelling Bill Withers reinterpretation from Studio Rio’s 2014 release ‘The Brazil Connection’. Masterminded by the German Grammy award-winning Berman Brothers, the project was born out of their deep love of Brazilian music. “Our goal was to bring the Brazilian joie de vivre to iconic performances by well-known artists. What would these classic songs sound like had they been recorded in the studios of Rio de Janeiro in the first place, with the best Brazilian musicians and arrangers?” the brothers reflect.

Capturing the life force of Brazil, the beating heart that is its music, they set out to find the musicians who would fit best with their concept. Landing in Rio in 2013 a series of coincidences led to them being introduced to their idols Marcos Valle and Roberto Menescal, who both agreed to come on board. The Berman Brothers also wanted to find some of the musicians who recorded with one of Brazil’s most influential composers Tom Jobim. “Fifty years after Jobim made the music that really defines bossa nova, we found that many of his sidemen were still active, including Paulo Braga of Jobim’s famed rhythm section. It was magic; everything just fell into place.”

There's no question that the original of ‘Lovely Day’ is up there as one of the most feel-good, spirit-lifting anthems of all time. Here the brothers, with the help of a whole host of Brazil’s finest musicians, rework Bill’s soul-fuelled groove into a bossa nova slice of sunshine. With the blessing of Bill and Sony, they were given access to the original multitracks so they could incorporate Bill’s vocals perfectly into the new arrangement.

Joy-injected horns and bouncing double bass blend with the smile-inducing samba flavour of Pretinho da Serrinha’s cavaquinho playing. Tying it all together Torcuato Marinao who worked with the likes of Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, completes the line-up as arranger of the songs.

The perfect end-of-the-night track, mood lifter or soul warmer, remakes don’t get much better than this.

Warehouse Find! - Test Pressing!

It seems like ages since we last had Roberto Rodriguez on the label with his excellent Be Somebody back in 2008, so we're plenty happy to welcome him back for a long overdue follow up. Roberto clearly hasn't just been sitting on his arse the last 4 years however, having established the Serenades label which released his own LP Dawn last year, as well as putting out the killer Thinking Of You release on Fina plus numerous remixes for rock solid labels such as Let's Play House, On The Prowl, Moodmusic and 2020 Vision. Those familiar with Roberto's productions and credentials will know he has a fine ear for disco and 90's house born out of years collecting records and DJing in the best clubs in his native Helsinki.
Kicking off with Dance Like Nobody's Watching, we see Roberto tread confidently into pure, unadulterated retro house territory with NJ organ stabs, swinging 909 drum groove and choice vocal hits.
Oxymoron keeps things a little deeper with tracky filtering chords and driving drums resulting in a garage-influenced feel with bucket loads of raw attitude.
Finally we have The Black Madonna on board for a remix of the title track. The Chicago producer impressed us recently with her brilliant disco-infused tracks on Stripped & Chewed and Home Taping labels and thought her the perfect choice to contribute to the release. Here she delivers a lesson in stripped back Chicago warehouse vibes keeping everything to a bare minimum for maximum club bump. Kick, claps and piano stabs form the basic groove as she confidently develops the arrangement slowly and surely.

Join Us on a Journey Through Hedonistic Disco Escapades With Our 7th Label Release by HOLDTight. For This Release, HOLDTight Delved Deep Into His Vinyl Treasure Trove, Unearthing Disco Funk, Folk, and Soul Gems, Which He Has Breathed New Life into.
On Side A1, We Present "Disco Ladies," a Mellifluous Disco Track Overflowing With Positive Vibes That will Enrapture Your Very Soul. on A2, Prepare for "Everytime," a Slow-Burning Soul Rework Infused With an Irresistible Swing. on Side B1, We Invite You to "Reach Out" to a Disco Funk Sensation Tailor-Made for Dance Floors and Sheer Pleasure. Lastly, on B2, "Cool Lady" Awaits, a Hypnotic Folk Masterpiece destined to Transport You to Uncharted Musical horizons.
This Release, as Always, Is a True Gem for Collectors and Avid Vinyl Enthusiasts. Dig Deep and Embrace the Allure of HOLDTight's Sonic Treasures....

When great music minds get together, good things happen and this latest Freerange outing is testament to that. Bridging the gap between Toronto and Detroit, the Detoronto EP is the result of Mark Kufner aka Toronto Hustle’s vision of deep, underground house music and Sean Roman’s production prowess. With decades of experience promoting nights, DJing and running his own brilliant vinyl-only label Selections, Mark teamed up with production partner and fellow Toronto DJ, Sean Roman. Sean has worked with a diverse selection of imprints such as Nervous Records, Local Talk, Strictly Rhythm, as well as his own imprint Lately Bass.

On the vocals, Detroit’s ubiquitous Javonntte rounds out the artists for this heavyweight EP. Classic deep, raw, late night house sounds are the order of the day here. Deep In This is just the kind of fat, swinging groove to warm up the dance floor with. Simple yet robust, the square wave bassline brings the right amount of attitude whilst Javonntte’s vocal’s draw you into his world.

Next up, the duo give us their own Light Night Dub of Deep In This which strips out the harmonic elements, putting all the focus on the drums, bass and vocals. This makes for the perfect club tool, sounding massive on a nice system and guaranteed to get the floor locked into its unrelenting groove.

Flip over for a brilliant remix of Fall In Love by another legend of the Toronto house scene - Demuir. This guy is a production powerhouse whose soulful, funky, jacking house sound has seen him releasing on such diverse labels as Yoruba, Classic, Heist, Hot Creations, Robsoul and Desolat. Here he brings his trademark, loose and jazzy drums and funky AF Moog bassline which is accompanied by a beautiful, filtering piano loop.

Closing out this brilliant EP we have Fall In Love, another late night basement jam featuring the vocals of Javonntte. Classic rhodes stabs add a rolling energy to the chunky drum groove making this one of those classic B2 tracks destined to become a secret weapon in your sets.

Keepsakes returns to Perc Trax for his first full EP for the label,following his appearance on the 'Forever 2' various artists release back in 2020.
On 'Rant 4 Cash' James Barrett (aka Keepsakes) turns his attention to the lies and fakery of the current dance music scene, with lead track 'Scene Analysis' refusing to hold back when it comes to calling out the issues facing today's techno scene. A deep Green Velvet style vocal floats over a swinging junkyard percussion groove to drive the original mix forwards.
Label boss man Perc can't resist remixing such a memorable vocal track and swaps the swinging groove of the original with a pounding kick heavy rhythm to add even more intensity to the raw rage of the original mix.
Flip the record over and the B-side serves up another two punchy groove based tracks, pairing Keepsakes' unique brand of swinging percussion with cut up vocal shouts and grinding synth lines. B1 track 'Industry Anthem' repeats and warps the word 'money' as an extension of the cash grab call out of 'Scene Analysis' whist closing track 'Prey For Hype' uses other-worldly robotic vocal shouts over a tough kick led groove to finish the EP on an energetic high.

We Release JAZZ is very happy to announce an exciting new body of work by Joseph Deenmamode aka Mo Kolours. The singular musical spirit’s new 21-track album Original Flow is available as a double LP housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve with original artwork by Mo Kolours himself and the classic WRJ obi strip, as well as in digipack CD and digital formats.

A catalog of critically acclaimed records, including his self-titled debut (2014), ‘Texture Like Like Sun’ (2015), 2018 album ‘Inner Symbols’ and three companion EPs, established Deenmamode as a prodigious musician and vocalist. Pitchfork extolled his “hypnotic, tribal-infused dance grooves”, DJ Mag appreciated the “colourful celebration of soundsystem culture”, and Resident Advisor advocated that “no one sounds quite like Mo Kolours”. Musical analogies were drawn by The Guardian as “The best album Curtis Mayfield never made with A Tribe Called Quest and Lee Perry” and Mojo as “like Marvin Gaye produced by J Dilla”.

Five years ago, Deenmamode moved to the Japanese countryside. Far away from familiarity, he contemplated his place and further questioned his identity. “I had none of my ‘own’ people around. I had time to really find what makes me tick musically. Japan has helped me go back to those subconscious leanings, really go deep, and reflect the aspects that make up my story”.

The tracks on ‘Original Flow’ have been constructed from sessions, improvisations and soundbites captured around the world during this time; collecting contributions from musicians including Deenamode’s brothers Reginald Omas Mamode and Jeen Bassa plus Andrew Ashong, Charles Bullen, Dwaye Kilvington, Eddie Hick, Stefan Asanovic, Myele Manzanza, Ross Hughes, and Tom Dreissler. Deenamode says “I’m proud of this album’s creative process. Coming from a tradition of scouring through hours of records, I wanted to create my own samples, to find that perfect loop that no other producer could put their hands on. I decided to invite a group of friends and acquaintances, who also happen to be incredible musicians, to a studio in Crystal Palace to improvise based on some loose ideas I had. We spent all day, and recorded everything”.

‘Original Flow’ is an album of UK street-soul nouveau, future indigenous jazz fusion, Rasta Segga, Nyahbinghi jazz, Malagasy Hebrew hip hop. While retaining a spirit of exploration and improvisation, it sees Deenmamode grow and flex beyond beat tape brevity, expanding composition and stretching his musical muscle to play live with other musicians. Themes of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and mental liberation coexist with notes from ancient history, futurism, and science, as well as musings on family and togetherness.

‘Magik Momentum’ springs from a discussion that features at the start of the song, an inspiring mentor answering a question from Deenmamode about improvisation and what role it plays in life when planning and manifesting the future. ‘Rockets to Mars’ questions the lack of care for the billions of people with nothing, while governments plan to explore space. “This sparked a comparison in my mind to a Sonny Okuson song that I would reference when performing. Okuson’s song talked of the lack of resources in many communities in the world, while governments go to the moon”.

He says the music behind ‘The News These Days’ is “possibly my favourite on the album”. Looped like he would a late sixty jazz-fusion sample, there was nothing added and the track was complete within a matter of minutes. “It was the first and best moment from the entire Crystal Palace session”, he adds. The album’s contrasting title track with minimal instrumentation played solo by Deenamode. While frustratingly searching for gems in past recordings, he thought in a burst of ego, “I don’t need no-one else to make a dope beat!” picked up his ravanne, (the traditional frame drum of his fathers home-land of Mauritius), pressed record, and started to play. He says, “In my thoughts were the rhythms of the Nubians in Upper-Egypt and Sudan, the swing of the huge drums played by Mauritanian women, of-course the Sega beat of Mauritius, and the ever inspiring beat of James Yancey”.

Driven by UK broken beat, Cuban congas, Nigerian and Mauritian inflections, ‘Love Vibration’ follows the concept that all emotions carry a vibratory frequency and pays homage to the frequency of creation and the power of love. The two part ‘Tatamaka’ tells of the history of Deenmamode’s ancestors, the maroons of Mauritius. “We are people who managed to run from our oppressors and find refuge in a corner of the island called ‘Le Morne’ where they could not reach us. One bloody day they came in numbers to re-capture, to revenge. Many of us chose to jump to our deaths, rather than be taken back into subjugation. The poem by Creole Richard Sedley Assonne says; “there were hundreds of them, but my people, the maroons chose the kiss of death over the chains of slavery”. Tatamaka was the name of a famed maroon leader who was murdered for claiming his, and our people’s freedom. The song is the imagined journey of escape and freedom by an ancestor of the maroons of Le Morne”.

Born in the west midlands and raised on the traditional sega music of his father’s Indian Ocean homeland of Mauritius alongside records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Michael Jackson; his influences expanded with late 90s jungle and drum and bass nights in Bristol, experiments at art college in Camberwell, and the rich culture of Peckham, “at the time we called it the Afro Quarters of London” says Deenmamode, adding hip hop, dub, soul and soundsystem styles to his individual sound.

He explains, “I love drum music, from hand-drums to 808s. I love music from the ancient past, heritage music, indigenous music, traditional music passed down from the beginning of time. Music from the body, hand claps, grunts and foot stomps. Music with audible depth, busy, bustling, highly charged. Music from the soul, the music from beyond. I love music from the islands and the mountains. The music of the streets, hustle music, alleyway beats. Club music”.

He describes the creative process as thinking in images. “The visual world and the world of sound seem to intermingle in my thought process. When I play the drum with my eyes closed, a world of imagery dances and moves with beat. Improvised drumming feels like I am listening to what I want to hear, rather than trying to play what I want to hear. Following the rhythm and finding new pathways to walk within the patterns is what I experience. In this way I often feel I am just a listener, instead of the player”.
Original Flow is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.

Swedish synth-pop phenomenon Kite's second 7 inch since signing with Dais in 2023 finds the duo of Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg swinging for new heights of romantic desolation and baroque grandeur. They describe the A Side, "Losing," as a "six-minute empty call for emotional response." Stately piano and anguished voice reverberate in a vaulted hall, before gradually building into a widescreen anthem of synths, drums, and soaring vocals decrying the steady deadening of life and love: "It's deadly quiet in your old heart / Are you there? / I see dark skies on the rise / And daylight shows no remorse / And I realize it is my life / But It's losing all meaning." Swedish dark music icons Anna von Hausswolff and Henric de la Cour join the chorus as the song cascades towards an ominous horizon. The B Side, "Glassy Eyes," showcases Kite's mastery of somber, sweeping balladry. Hushed church organ elevates and anchors Stenemo's devastated confessional, swaying between resilience and defeat. The band describes the song as a reckoning with "the privileged and existential anxiety of drifting through life dispassionately," contrasted with "the yearning to connect profoundly with others and a desire for experiences that stir the soul before facing one's final moments." Like a hymn, the emotion thickens as it deepens, approaching both darkness and divinity: "Deep as I go, nothing to find / Oh catatonia, I won't cry / Nothing can grow, everything dies / Behind my glassy eyes."

Swedish synth-pop phenomenon Kite's second 7 inch since signing with Dais in 2023 finds the duo of Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg swinging for new heights of romantic desolation and baroque grandeur. They describe the A Side, "Losing," as a "six-minute empty call for emotional response." Stately piano and anguished voice reverberate in a vaulted hall, before gradually building into a widescreen anthem of synths, drums, and soaring vocals decrying the steady deadening of life and love: "It's deadly quiet in your old heart / Are you there? / I see dark skies on the rise / And daylight shows no remorse / And I realize it is my life / But It's losing all meaning." Swedish dark music icons Anna von Hausswolff and Henric de la Cour join the chorus as the song cascades towards an ominous horizon. The B Side, "Glassy Eyes," showcases Kite's mastery of somber, sweeping balladry. Hushed church organ elevates and anchors Stenemo's devastated confessional, swaying between resilience and defeat. The band describes the song as a reckoning with "the privileged and existential anxiety of drifting through life dispassionately," contrasted with "the yearning to connect profoundly with others and a desire for experiences that stir the soul before facing one's final moments." Like a hymn, the emotion thickens as it deepens, approaching both darkness and divinity: "Deep as I go, nothing to find / Oh catatonia, I won't cry / Nothing can grow, everything dies / Behind my glassy eyes."

An accomplished songwriter, Kimbrell's sound has been described as "cosmic American music," that ranges from the swinging front-porch blues to the spaced out Americana/alt-country, painting a diverse and deep musical landscape.

"Easy Truths" by Kyle Kimbrell includes the following tracks: "Holy Bombs", "Poor Donny", "In The Shit (Phil's Song)", "Singin' A Tune" and more.

Mood II Swing are giants of NY metro area club culture. On calibre with heavy-hitters like Masters At Work and Blaze, Lem Springsteen and John Ciafone's output boasts the bejeweled crown of deep house supremacy, spanning from the early 1990's to the latter part of the decade, molding and modeling a sound painstakingly tailored to the vanguard of minority and transgendered club scenes, pre-purge New York. One of their first and most explosive claims to the throne was 1992's "Wall of Sound" EP, a no-prisoners-taken masterpiece with the confidence and cockiness of two producers just out the gate and fully assured of their total domination of the craft. "I Need Your Luv" is, to this day, the indisputable measuring stick of cunty club tracks, opening as the curtain lifts with the outpouring of one fierce ruling diva, quickly picking up force in a storm of wide swinging-drum programs, punching bass drives and sparse, splitting synth stabs, all punctuated with unyielding vocal cut-ups and yearning cries. On the flip, "Penetration" delivers the same expert method, albeit with a more abstract, dreamy air about it, a bumping, endlessly ascending standard of the vocal-sample driven deep house track of the early 1990's, constantly building and morphing in its deceptive complexity. Brilliant, timeless and time-defying, "I Need Your Luv" & "Penetration" have finally been reissued for the first time since their original debut 21 years ago, the latest feature in Slow to Speak's ongoing CORE series, a testament to the formative years of NY house lore.

Repress!

Jurassic 5 flexed serious old-to-the-new muscles in the '90s, beginning with their independently released single Unified Rebelution' in 1994, and book-ending with their stellar debut full-length: 2000's Quality Control. They walked a tightrope between underground and mainstream hip-hop, and toured alongside rap peers as well as punk rockers on the Vans Warped Tour. With double the pleasure of your average hip-hop group - two DJs and producers (Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark), and four MCs (Chali 2na, Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir aka Soup) - they brought the late 1970s unison MC' style of pioneering groups like the Fantastic 5 and the Force MCs to a new generation. Even more surprisingly, they did so out of Los Angeles, whose hip-hop flavors generally leaned towards Gangsta, G-Funk or Electro lines. Musically inventive and lyrically forward-thinking, each song on Quality Control is a new adventure, exploring engaging territory, delivered via one of the best live hip-hop shows fans had seen in years. From singles like the strutting groove of the title track to the throwback doo-wop samples on The Influence' and the catchy, keyboard groove-driven World of Entertainment (WOE Is Me),' to deeper album tracks like the lyrical gymnastics of Jurass Finish First' and the thought-provoking Lausd,' Jurassic 5 consistently stepped to the plate and their fans responded in kind, nearly pushing the album to Gold status. Add the innovative DJ-and-sample workout which closes out the album, Swing Set,' and you have one of the 2000s' most unique and solid full-length platters.

REKORDER is "a kind of retrospective of myself", says M.RUX about his second, long-awaited solo album. For over 10 years, Marten Rux aka M.RUX appears as a DJ, producer, editor, remixer and multi-instrumentalist all over the world and has developed an idiosyncratic sound that opens up subtle fields of tension: M.RUX mixes a sound between experimental sound design and hooklines that stay in your ears forever. Between wild percussion and contemplative harmonies, between ecstasy and meditative calm. In his DJ and live sets, M.RUX usually steps up to the controls with a smile, discreetly bobbing his head, while the audience goes wild. He circumnavigates clichés with trustworthy certainty and develops his very own guiding threads in his selection beyond BPM or genre straitjackets. One constant is his warm, often stoically slow kick drum, which holds all that playfulness together. REKORDER is a manifestation of this typical M.RUX sound. Similar to his concept album "Vermonische Melodien" from 2020 (on the Pingipung label), the artist's curiosity is directed towards the musical visions of the past. When new music technology projected great visions of the future and when new sounds had not yet solidi ed into clichés. REKORDER refers to the recording device, spelled in a German way, because most of the recordings were made in Germany (and in England as well). Phonography is a miracle that has only been around for 150 years: Technology gifts upon us prosthetics for remembering sound. Every recording is a process, and every playback a new performative act. Recordari (Latin) is a beautiful word. It literally means to take something to heart (cor) once again (re-). This doesn't just refer to remembering, but also to a ponderous, loving, sometimes doubtful contemplation. It is a perfect headline for M.RUX’ approach to processing sound. REKORDER draws deeply from its own archive, which has ourished quite splendidly during the pandemic. Multi-instrumentalist M.RUX mixes his own recordings of banjo, guitar, auto-harp, synths, percussion and jews harp with fragments from sessions with friends that have accumulated since 2020. They unfold in the process of re-listening in the mix and transform into a solid musical tapestry. A typical gesture for this album? M.RUX bows deeply to the history of pop music - especially the blues and its melancholy, coolness and shuf ing groove. The harmonic framework of the album is based on blues scales throughout. Instead of conveying blue emotions via lyrics or the tone of the voice, as the original genre does, the synthesizer takes on this role on REKORDER. With his sound design, M.RUX achieves an ecstatic sorrow in his melodies, this gurgling portamento that is reminiscent of R&B (or even the ingenious title melody of the series "Bojack Horseman”). If voices are heard on REKORDER, then as hypnotic fragments that guide us through the groove as conjunctions: "Because...", says the voice in the track of the same name. That's enough. There are no lyrics, no literal weariness, no love-songs or storytelling, REKORDER processes all of this into timbres and groove as vessels for the album’s individual, contemplative melancholy. Never forgetting, with a gentle smile, to swing a leg.

LIMITED RED COLOURED VINYL!
REKORDER is "a kind of retrospective of myself", says M.RUX about his second, long-awaited solo album. For over 10 years, Marten Rux aka M.RUX appears as a DJ, producer, editor, remixer and multi-instrumentalist all over the world and has developed an idiosyncratic sound that opens up subtle fields of tension: M.RUX mixes a sound between experimental sound design and hooklines that stay in your ears forever. Between wild percussion and contemplative harmonies, between ecstasy and meditative calm. In his DJ and live sets, M.RUX usually steps up to the controls with a smile, discreetly bobbing his head, while the audience goes wild. He circumnavigates clichés with trustworthy certainty and develops his very own guiding threads in his selection beyond BPM or genre straitjackets. One constant is his warm, often stoically slow kick drum, which holds all that playfulness together. REKORDER is a manifestation of this typical M.RUX sound. Similar to his concept album "Vermonische Melodien" from 2020 (on the Pingipung label), the artist's curiosity is directed towards the musical visions of the past. When new music technology projected great visions of the future and when new sounds had not yet solidi ed into clichés. REKORDER refers to the recording device, spelled in a German way, because most of the recordings were made in Germany (and in England as well). Phonography is a miracle that has only been around for 150 years: Technology gifts upon us prosthetics for remembering sound. Every recording is a process, and every playback a new performative act. Recordari (Latin) is a beautiful word. It literally means to take something to heart (cor) once again (re-). This doesn't just refer to remembering, but also to a ponderous, loving, sometimes doubtful contemplation. It is a perfect headline for M.RUX’ approach to processing sound. REKORDER draws deeply from its own archive, which has ourished quite splendidly during the pandemic. Multi-instrumentalist M.RUX mixes his own recordings of banjo, guitar, auto-harp, synths, percussion and jews harp with fragments from sessions with friends that have accumulated since 2020. They unfold in the process of re-listening in the mix and transform into a solid musical tapestry. A typical gesture for this album? M.RUX bows deeply to the history of pop music - especially the blues and its melancholy, coolness and shuf ing groove. The harmonic framework of the album is based on blues scales throughout. Instead of conveying blue emotions via lyrics or the tone of the voice, as the original genre does, the synthesizer takes on this role on REKORDER. With his sound design, M.RUX achieves an ecstatic sorrow in his melodies, this gurgling portamento that is reminiscent of R&B (or even the ingenious title melody of the series "Bojack Horseman”). If voices are heard on REKORDER, then as hypnotic fragments that guide us through the groove as conjunctions: "Because...", says the voice in the track of the same name. That's enough. There are no lyrics, no literal weariness, no love-songs or storytelling, REKORDER processes all of this into timbres and groove as vessels for the album’s individual, contemplative melancholy. Never forgetting, with a gentle smile, to swing a leg.

Der Hamburger Maestro Erobique, bekannt für Improvisationsgeist und unwiderstehliche Disco-Hymnen, besuchte Schlagzeuger/Produzent Max Weissenfeldt in dessen Joy Sound Studios in Ghana. Zusammen mit Philophon-Künstlerin Florence Adooni kreierte er dort den swingenden Ohrwurm 'Mam Tola', den sie in ihrer Muttersprache Frafra singt, ein Paradebeispiel für Afro-Soul. Auf 'Bach In Afrika' wandelt Erobique einen deepen Drum'n'Bass-Jam im Kumasi-Stil in eine frenetische Barockzeremonie um, indem er die Hammond 'Extra Voice' meisterhaft J.S. Bach-like bedient.

Paice Ashton Lord hatten einen kurzen, aber dafür spektakulären Moment in der Geschichte des Rock'n'Roll.

Es gab großes Getöse in der Musikpresse als Drummer Ian Paice und Organist Jon Lord nach der unschönen Auflösung von Deep Purple eine neue Band zusammen mit Tony Ashton (Vocals, Keyboards) aufmachte.

Ein Album, einen verpatzten TV Auftritt, eine Tour und ein nie vollendetes zweites Album später endete die Geschichte von PAL im Jahre 1978 auch schon wieder. Eine Geschichte, die es wert ist, noch einmal zelebriert zu werden.

Mit einer Fusion aus Rock mit Big Band Swing, Blues und Funk bietet »Malice In Wonderland« treibenden Feel Good Rock vom Feinsten.

Warehouse Find!

A true studio visionary and son of Incognito's Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick, Daniel Maunick virtually grew up behind the mixing desk and worked his way through the scenes of drum n' bass, acid-jazz, disco, samba, deep house and beyond. As Far Out's in-house producer his work is a key component in the consistency and transience of the label's sound, with key albums include Azymuth's Fênix, Marcos Valle's Estatica, Sabrina Malheiros' Dreaming and Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra. His latest credit on the catalogue is the next chapter of his Dokta Venom alias, Moodswings.Each track brings you a visceral dancefloor experience both sonically and structurally. Opener 'See the Sun' evokes an elevated, cloudy ether, with each kick drum another step up to the sky. Title track 'Mood Swings' deploys components of broken beat, garage, house, IDM and boogie, but shrouds them into a hazy deepness, like a dream through Maunick's musical memories. Whilst keeping the same intensity, 'I Owe u Something' ups the tempo and swings the mood. Propulsive percussion blurs the acoustic with the electric, glowing synths and anguished vocals formulate this eruptive full-floor belter that lodges somewhere in between early Pepe Bradock and Azymuth.With a solo album from Azymuth drummer Ivan 'Mamao' Conti, a collaboration between Sean Khan and Hermeto Pascoal, along with a long awaited new record from Sabrina Malheiros, 2017 is set to be an exceptional year for Maunick and Mood Swings is an inspired prelude of things to come.

Dark Machine Funk is delighted to welcome the first guest producer into the fold, Head Front Panel. A huge source of inspiration to DMF since those highly sought after HFP 12”s hit the record store racks in 2014, Head Front Panel delivers a superb well rounded 4 track EP titled ‘Tactile’ for DMF’s 5th release.

The opening track 'Panama' opens with some otherworldly pads, sweeping resonances tickle the ear before signature HFP drums hit you with pure engaging energy. Broken kick drums and rattling percussion perfectly sit on this hypnotic tribal-esque sonic dream, a depth and area that we've not heard from HFP before. 'Tactile' brings the perfect tool, loopy rhythms that stretch the perception of time whilst getting lost in subtle rides and eerie door creaking atmospheres, deep listening will provide a new journey on every repeat. 'Surdo' open's side B, and we're catapulted into the fire with shaker/hi hat percussions that grab your attention immediately and vocal samples scatter across the stereo field. Shimmering pads take the track into deeper territory but all while keeping in a constant state of forward motion accented by the occasional double kick drum. A huge baseline swings the track to give it it's funk. 'Them' probably the most recognisable HFP track hammers with a thunderous kick drum and a subtle repetitive synth line, groove is king here where percussion elements are pushed and modulated to create enough interest to carry the track through till close.

We are more than honoured to present ‘Head Front Panel - Tactile’ on DMF!

The long lost 1968 debut album by singer-songwriter, Scott Fagan, once tipped to be bigger than Elvis, is set for release on 9th February 2024 via Earth Recordings. 'South Atlantic Blues' will be reissued for the first time in its original artwork, with an iconic portrait of Fagan by famed rock photographer, Joel Brodsky, following a widely celebrated 2015 release. Revisiting his mystical, mythical, and deeply soulful masterpiece, this psych-folk gem doffs a Tropicalia hat direct from downtown New York. "His songs embrace a broad sonic fantasia, swirling in '60s New York R&B and '40s jazz, as well as the Caribbean rhythms of calypso, meringue and Pachanga." New York Times Scott Fagan's story is worthy of a movie in itself. A swinging hipster who landed in 60s Greenwich folk scene, escaping the abject poverty of his U.S. Virgin Islands upbringing, Fagan found himself mentored by the Brill Building's Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, and feted as the next big thing. "Forget Rodriguez, forget Searching for Sugar Man," says Sharyn Felder, daughter of the late Doc Pomus, the legendary songwriter who signed Fagan to management in 1964. "Scott was so much more. He was cut from a different cloth." 'South Atlantic Blues' is the perfect soundtrack to this tale, an epic song cycle wrapped around an impassioned love story, driven by Fagan's dense, allusive lyrics, and production by Elmer Jared Gordon (Pearls Before Swine) and rich arrangements by Horace Ott (Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, The Shirelles). The Earth Recordings reissue coincides with a resurgence in activity for Fagan, with a new album in the works - the never-recorded soundtrack to 'Soon', the 1971 Broadway rock musical he co-wrote and starred in - and a documentary 'Soon: the Story of Scott Fagan' currently filming through Scissor Kick Films, from director Marah Strauch, writer Chris Campion (who rediscovered the singer-songwriter in 2015), and producer Eric Bruggeman. Classic Black Vinyl + DLC

David Nance & Mowed Sound, the first album by Nance to be released on Third Man Records, cuts deep. Memories sprout back, like the sounds of a great rock song blasting from the neighbor’s truck as it revs away into the night. There is a definite connection to the past, but the swinging guitar boogie and snarled blues you might expect from Nance and company sounds leaner and completely hypnotic. What remains are 10 tracks from a well oiled group so rhythmically together that the songs on the album seem as connected as links in a chain.

David Nance & Mowed Sound, the first album by Nance to be released on Third Man Records, cuts deep. Memories sprout back, like the sounds of a great rock song blasting from the neighbor’s truck as it revs away into the night. There is a definite connection to the past, but the swinging guitar boogie and snarled blues you might expect from Nance and company sounds leaner and completely hypnotic. What remains are 10 tracks from a well oiled group so rhythmically together that the songs on the album seem as connected as links in a chain.

The deep and swinging groove is what makes Buddy Guy’s Slippin’ In so wonderful. The album earned Guy the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Slippin’ In was produced and engineered by the great Eddie Kramer, who manned the board for Jimi Hendrix and many others. Guy finds his way back to the blues, with some incredible electric guitar sounds. He was backed by a stellar cast of musicians that included Stevie Ray Vaughan band mates Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans, and Chris Layton. Some absolute blues classics and up-tempo rockers found their way to Buddy’s tracklist. He uses the blues in such a fantastic way that everything turns out to be positive. Just listen and you’ll hear what the master of blues is doing.

Following Far Out’s reissue of Agustin Pereyra Lucena Quartet’s La Rana, the label continues its memorialisation of the late, great Argentinian guitarist’s music, with the first ever direct from tape, audiophile reissue of Pereyra Lucena’s self-titled debut album from 1970.

One of the outstanding South American guitarists, Agustin Pereyra Lucena commanded a unique position in Latin music history. He hailed from Buenos Aires, but was obsessed with the music of Brazil. A disciple of Antônio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell and Vinicius De Moraes, the nature of Agustin’s Argentinian roots combined with the nurture of Brazil and its music to give Agustin a sound entirely his own.

After being scouted in a nightclub, by musician and guitar craftsman Jorge Demonte, Agustin was invited for an audition at Argenitinian label Tonodisc. Before he knew it, aged 22, he was in the studio recording his first album.

Agustin enlisted fellow Argentinian Brazilophiles Mario "Mojarra" Fernandez who played bass and drummer Enrique "Zurdo" Roizner. He had first heard the duo backing Vinicius de Moraes, Toquinho and Maria Creuza on their legendary La Fusa live album, also recorded in Buenos Aires. For vocals, Agustin brought in his old friend, a French teacher called Helena Uriburu, who at the time had (unbelievably) never sung in a studio before.

The atypical bossas and spiritual swinging sambas, composed by many of Agustin’s aforementioned heroes, were elevated to new heights by Agustin’s dazzling arrangements and phenomenal guitar playing. The almost cosmic reaches Agustin achieved with his sound are balanced against the stylish sophistication and breezy nature of the music.

Moments of calm serenity include Agustin’s own composition “Nina No Divagues”, Durval Ferreira and Pedro Camargo’s “Chuva” and the Brazilian bossa classic “Tristeza Nos Dois”, which feels like it draws equally upon exotica and early library records. Accompanied by Roizner’s shuffling samba jazz drums, opener “O Astronauta” is Agustin’s cover of the Brazilian guitar standard composed by Baden Powell. Another Baden Powell classic, “Consolacao” is an extended full-band set, which features Agustin’s crisp guitar dancing around a hypnotic rhythm section. Upright bass is swapped out for a big, round-sounding electric one, which sits loud in the mix for almost seven minutes of deep, groovy, distinctively early-seventies magic.

Agustin passed away in 2019, and it is only in recent years that he is starting to gain his plaudits as one of South America’s greats. On the liner notes of the album Vinicius De Moraes writes: “I think I never saw, with the exception of Baden Powell and Toquinho, anyone more linked to his instrument than Agustín Pereyra Lucena. It would give the impression that if the guitar were taken away from him, he would fade into music as one dies from the amputation of an arm.”

Agustin Pereyra Lucena will be released on audiophile vinyl LP, CD and digitally on the 26th January 2024 via Far Out Recordings.

Repress!

10 years since the consumerist musings of Tesco, Matthew Herbert reanimates his Wishmountain project and heads deep underground to find the source material for Stonework: 1000 metres down.

Like many of Herbert’s projects, Wishmountain releases revolve around specific, material sound palettes, and for this latest album he’s drawn from a sample library created as a commission for the Stone Techno festival, which took place at the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein mine in Essen, Germany. Working with sound recordist Lorenzo Dal Ri, Herbert and Dan Pollard captured a varied and wide variety of hits, tones, textures and one-shots from the frozen-in-time remnants of the Ruhr region’s coal-mining industry and from specific materials in the nearby Ruhr Museum and Mineralien-Museum. A sample library created by Matthew and Dan of the recordings was also used for the Stone Techno series, from which tracks have been commissioned by the likes of Luke Slater, Megan Leber, Ben Sims and KiNK drawing from the same sounds heard on this album.

These stone-cast sounds lend themselves to the Wishmountain framework – skeletal, quasi-industrial techno with an angular impulse and a subtle swing. Much like the breakthrough hit, 1996’s ‘Radio’ (made using samples of a broken radio), the limitations on the source material sharpen the focus of the music. What started out as a practical hardware restriction in the early 90s became a purposeful way of working for Herbert – one which carried through the 1999 album Wishmountainisdead to 2012’s Tesco with its sampling of the British supermarket chain’s 10 most popular products.

Musically, Stonework is consistent terrain for Wishmountain – austere and forbidding in one sense, playful and irreverent in another. But from a club music perspective, which Wishmountain absolutely is, it offers DJs a variety of rhythmic formations within the tool-like minimalism of the arrangements, opening up intriguing possibilities for mixing into, out of, or somewhere in between. For every 4/4 thrust and jerk there is a fractured, snaking meditation pivoting around other time signatures.

Crystal clear in its creative intention and simultaneously successful as surface-level club music, Stonework: 1000 Metres Down is a natural continuation for one of Herbert’s most celebrated, albeit intermittent, aliases.

Producer, DJ, Facilitator & Publisher (Balraj) Samrai (of Swing Ting/SEEN Magazine) steps out for their first full length release "Work & Roti" along with a host of talented collaborators on new label Sangha Industries.

The album title came from a phone conversation with Samrai's mum who features on the opener reflecting on first generation Punjabis heading to the UK only going to work and eating roti, not getting a chance to travel until their senior years. In addition the project explores the complexity of migrant experiences - healing, self-love/care, reciprocity and connections to the earth. A theme throughout is the inclusion of South Asian percussion and rhythms such as Tabla, Dholak, Kanjira, Dhol and Mridangam overtly at times as well as covertly which grounds the record.

Samrai is joined by host of talented collaborators across the 8 tracks - SCAPA, Vindya, Vikaash Sankadecha, Pops Roberts, Shanique Marie, LINTD, Gavsborg, Joey B, Fox, Raheel Khan, Thai Chi Rosè, Chesqua and Deepikaa Sreenivasan who all enrich the project with vocals, additional production and instrumentation. Although at times dealing with difficult subjects (Help Me, Oil Money, Dirty Dirty) there's a sense of joy, playfulness (Fresh) and release across the set (Yellow Crocus, Create Your Own Bless) culminating in closer (Breathe) when you feel the sunlight pushing through despite the clouds above…

Producer, DJ, Facilitator & Publisher (Balraj) Samrai (of Swing Ting/SEEN Magazine) steps out for their first full length release "Work & Roti" along with a host of talented collaborators on new label Sangha Industries.

The album title came from a phone conversation with Samrai's mum who features on the opener reflecting on first generation Punjabis heading to the UK only going to work and eating roti, not getting a chance to travel until their senior years. In addition the project explores the complexity of migrant experiences - healing, self-love/care, reciprocity and connections to the earth. A theme throughout is the inclusion of South Asian percussion and rhythms such as Tabla, Dholak, Kanjira, Dhol and Mridangam overtly at times as well as covertly which grounds the record.

Samrai is joined by host of talented collaborators across the 8 tracks - SCAPA, Vindya, Vikaash Sankadecha, Pops Roberts, Shanique Marie, LINTD, Gavsborg, Joey B, Fox, Raheel Khan, Thai Chi Rosè, Chesqua and Deepikaa Sreenivasan who all enrich the project with vocals, additional production and instrumentation. Although at times dealing with difficult subjects (Help Me, Oil Money, Dirty Dirty) there's a sense of joy, playfulness (Fresh) and release across the set (Yellow Crocus, Create Your Own Bless) culminating in closer (Breathe) when you feel the sunlight pushing through despite the clouds above…

It’s rare to come across new talent that hits the spot with their music at just the right time. But then again you never know when it will happen, when that right one comes along, and for Vega Records that time is now. Mr. X a young new talent from Northern Jersey, USA takes it to the raw underground with driving electronic stabs and a deep pulsating bassline with swinging beats and unique perc sounds that pop in and out abruptly within the arrangement on the track entitled “The Curse” on Side A1.

Early distribution of the track to impacting djs in the dance scene, Honey Dijon, Kenny Dope, Anané, Luke Solomon, Melvo Baptiste, Joseph Capriati, & Louie Vega have all been championing the new hot track entitled “The Curse”. Side A2 “The Underground” has a hooky flip flop keys action happening with vocals saying “Thank You” creating a hypnotizing groove ala Mr. X Style. The B-side of the 12” starts with a steaming revisit to “The Curse” giving it another life on the dance floor along with the sample hits and catchy groove on “B-Side Only” created only in the way Mr. X can to make you jump on the dance floor. All hot club bombs, CATCH THE FIYAAAH

Repress!

Second in the remix series from A Man Called Adam’s acclaimed Farmarama album, this 12" features spacious deep house earworms from wunderkind Aleksandirand jazzy vibes from Columbian rising star Felipe Gordon - The FG mix is exclusive to this vinyl release.
'AMCA' rework their own track Michael into a swing laden dub &
redit Aleksandir’s demo & monitor mixes into sparkling big room Balearic.

Led by musical director Scotty Barnhart, the Count Basie Orchestra keeps Basie’s unmistakable style alive and thriving around the world. In the great traction of the Basie Swings albums comes this explosive album of collaborations with some of the greatest living blues and jazz artists, Basie Swings The Blues. In preparation for these sessions, Barnhart took a pilgrimage to the Mississippi Delta to immerse himself in the land where blues began. The resulting album is joyful mix of downhome blues with the deep swing and sophistication that only The Count Basie Orchestra can provide. As Count Basie famously once said, “our blues will make your blues go away.” Produced by Barnhart along with Grammy-winning producer John Burk (Ray Charles Genius Love Company), and Grammy-winning drummer/producer Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones), the album brings together Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray, Charlie Musselwhite, Betty LaVette, Ledisi, George Benson, and others to bring the blues and swing back together for a set that jumps and jives with an energy not heard since Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker lit up stages in the ’40s and ’50s.

NDATL rounds out the year with a release from South African producer June Jazzin'. The EP starts off with the warm & mellow sound of Funky Monkey ft sparse keys from Oliver Portal. Gogo's Stove Smoke is the signal that things are getting deep!

On the B Side we start off with the gem Valerie shufflin beats laced with a grand piano that will get the dancers swinging. June wraps up the EP with Harming Man a bouncy groove interlaced with synth stabs & rolls from the Rhodes. This EP will definitely be a welcomed addition to any deep house connoisseur's collection.

In the new Mastak Records release “Sauerland”.
Salat offers analog sirens with flashes of cosmic echo on Hypnotic, garage swing, contrasting with a rough and ready bass sound.
Discover these winding and deep trails! The Belarusian producer combines his usual breakbeat style with electro.

George Davis drops part 2 of his ‘Ona’ EP: heavenly house featuring a remix by the legendary Roy Davis Jr.
kickin’ up dust drops part 2 of the ‘Ona’ EP by George Davis. A jazzy bassline, snazzy piano keys and a rhythmical vocal send hips swinging and shoulders shaking in ‘Gomera’, a track which Chicagoan legend Roy Davis Jr. then remixes with a ‘Chitown Vibe’. Squelchy synths and organic percussion enter his version with a stylish swagger, maintaining the keys while moving the vocals to the back of the mix. Next up, ‘Bumpa’ is built for the dancefloor, an infectious groove forming the base for whimsical flute-like melodies, before ‘Soul Journey’ closes out the record with a gorgeous slow-burning vision of sunset shores and distant views.
Following on from his first ‘Ona’ EP which dropped on kickin’ up dust in March, and which won the support of artists like Honey Dijon, Nightmares On Wax, DJ Sneak and many more, George Davis now drops part two in the series. The german label, which initially started in 2021 as a party in the techno capital of Berlin, first turned heads hosting artists with a funkier edge to them such as Maurice Fulton, DJ Deep, and Louie Vega.

Building on the styles showcased on the first “Beatbox Studios” LP, Hi-Tek was clearly developing his own personal style on the studio’s in-house Akai MPC 60II sampler. The drums were swinging more; the grooves were deeper; the bass thumped harder. Even when choosing familiar samples, he was chopping them in fresh and unexpected ways, which would eventually help shape his signature sound.

As his reputation was becoming cemented in the local Cincinnati scene, his relationship with the rap group Mood was helping to catalyze more regular visits to New York City. The beats collected for “Beatbox Studios 2” were the ones that would stick in the auto-reverse tape deck for those road trips, as were the demo tapes he crafted with Mood, which would eventually earn them a record deal with Blunt Records in 1996—the same label and year where he would land his first major placement on Royal Flush’s “Ghetto Millionaire” album. It was also on one of those 1996 journeys to NYC that he would meet a young Brooklyn emcee named Talib Kweli—with whom he would form one of the most iconic duos of the indie-rap boom of the late-nineties.

“Beatbox Studios 2 (1996 MPC 60II)” showcases Hi-Tek as a hungry young talent on the rise, and his continued elevation would lead him to a career as one of the few producers who can claim to have worked with such a broad range of legendary artists; from superstars like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Anderson .Paak, to underground heroes like Mos Def, Common, and J Dilla.

New for 2023! Kitty, Daisy & Lewis' iconic debut album reissued on Half Black and White vinyl. Originally released in 2008 when the band were still only teenagers, their self titled debut catapulted them into rock n' roll favourites and the album has since been regarded as a cult classic. With a sound deep rooted in the past, the sibling trio pay homage to those who inspired them from Charlie Rich to Muddy waters and released an album truly like no other.

Vocal Shades And Tones is a miraculous leftfield library classic from the genius mind of celebrated UK composer/singer/vocal arranger Barbara Moore. It's a heavenly groove-based blend of jazz, Latin, soft-psych, folk-funk and gospel soul. Recorded for the legendary Music De Wolfe in 1972, it's an audacious start-to-finish listen, as dizzying as it is dazzling. It's a perfect snapshot of a musical era, supported by Moore's glorious vocal arrangements. Widely regarded among collectors, DJs, and lounge/easy-listening acolytes as an absolute essential it is viewed as the holy grail by many production music heads, rarely appearing for sale and disappearing in a flash when it does. Indeed, originals now go for over £300 and it's easy to see why. Just one of the reasons why this fresh Be With reissue, part of a wider De Wolfe reissue campaign, is so utterly crucial.

Racing out the gate, the driving "Hot Heels" is a bright, sophisticated scat groove which sounds Brazilian, richly produced as if coming by the hand of Arthur Verocai. Yes, *that* good. It's followed by "It's Gospel" which is, er, a wonderfully slow and deeply soulful gospel treasure. The appropriately monikered "Steam Heat" is a darker, breathy gem, one for salacious crates and one of the record's most infamous tracks. "Fly Away" is pastoral West Coast soft rock, very much in conversation with John Cameron and Keith Mansfield's epochal KPM recording, Voices In Harmony. "His Name Was" is a stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks Beach Boys accapella church-organ stunner, whilst "Swing Over" is another carefree, richly produced sun-dappled smasher. The gentle Bossa and sunshine soul of the aptly-titled "Touch Of Warmth" closes out a virtually perfect A-Side.

The B-Side opens with the easy grace and dramatic build of "Voice Force Nine". The jaunty "Very Fine Fellow" may be the only track to slightly grate so we advise heading to the slower, moody "Shades-Tones", eminently more compelling with sparkling, hypnotic piano throughout, underpinning the gorgeous wordless vocals. Just beautiful. It was sampled by Redman for his Method Man-featuring "Do What Ya Feel" on the great Muddy Waters. We're back in Brazilian territory with the cool, uptempo "I'm Feather" before swooning to the warm, relaxed "Drifting", another total highlight which was famously sampled by Koushik on his legendary remix of Madvillain's "America's Most Blunted (Doom's Verse)". The penultimate track, "Take Off" is a bright, organ lounge groove before this remarkable set is rounded out by the beaty "Fly Paradise". It's so so good, it sounds like Rotary Connection fronted by The Mamas & the Papas. As noted in a recent Guardian article on Moore's life, "there is a plushness and electricity in the tight vocal harmonies that spring out, sung with the precision of cathedral choristers decades before Auto-Tune." Amen.

In the 1960s, Barbara Moore was a member of Top of the Pops’ resident vocal-harmony group, The Ladybirds and sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield’s TV show. Her own outfit, the Barbara Moore Singers, were regulars on TOTP, singing with Jimi Hendrix when he performed "Hey Joe" live in Lime Grove Studios. An important detail for Moore was the shepherd’s pie she bought Hendrix when she found him alone, looking emaciated, near the BBC canteen. By 1970, she was working as a session singer for De Wolfe and, by 1972, was composing her own tracks for De Wolfe and working within their tight creative strictures. Each short track had to evoke an obvious mood and theme, with no significant key or tempo changes. Her response, this very album, managed to stay between the lines while cohering as an overarching artistic masterpiece.

The audio for Vocal Shades And Tones has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

The Roger Webb Sound's Moonshade is one of the coolest records ever. Originally appearing via the legendary De Wolfe library in 1971, it's a sumptuous jazz-soul-funk instrumental set. Full of melodic, melancholic yet sun-drenched songs, rich with colour and contrast, it was composed by self-taught jazz pianist Roger Webb and features vocal performances by Barbara Moore. That's right; *the* powerhouse library music duo! It makes Moonshade the perfect precursor and accompaniment to Barbara Moore's eternal classic Vocal Shades And Tones. It will come as no surprise that original copies, if you can ever find them, will set you back north of 200 notes.

Moonshade is a phenomenal showcase of Brit maestro Webb's own roots in jazz. Those roots are served up here with a plethora of fast-stepping rhythms that truly give flight to the vocals of Barbara Moore, as they soar in wonderful ways. Moore sings wordlessly throughout, allowing her voice to act like another instrument in concert with the horns and keyboards elevating the fine arrangements. This is a deeply beautiful record.

The album opens with the ornate Baroque pop splendour of the sun-dappled melancholia of "Sunshine". Strings, piano and wordless female vocals combine to create this brief beauty of unimaginable grace. The cool "Gentle Eyes" features haunting and beautiful vocals, smooth jazz piano and horns and a general easy vibe without being easy listening, if you know what we mean. You do. Just listen. The pounding "Heavy Lace" is one for the beat-heads, funky open drums (!) with muted organ, bassy piano chords and ace horns. Sampled by Quakers for their great debut album on Stones Throw. The nostalgic "Yesterday" is wistful and beautifully melodic instrumental soul music with gorgeous acoustic guitar and flutes. It's followed by the light, lilting "Petal Soft" which features more Baroque styles, overflowing with flutes and harps. The bright, bouncing "Coaster" is an easy-going piano-led, guitar-driven swinger whilst "Grey Sigh" is another classic. A real highlight, with more fantastic propulsive drums and percussion and plaintive wordless vocals courtesy of Barbara. Speaking of which, the soft, sweet Rhodes jazz of the lilting "Sweet Thing" is another staggering showcase of the brilliance of Barbara. Just astounding.

Head straight past the honky-tonk-by-numbers piano jaunt "Cough Drop" and luxuriate in the soft, delicate beauty of the album's melodic, cyclical title track, "Moon Shade". Fragile flutes and acoustic guitar float across judicious bass notes before giving way to slightly ominous piano and, again, those beguiling wordless vocals. And then round again to the flute refrain of the intro. This time with the vocals to see us out. Majestic drama jazz at its finest. The cello-and-flute adorned "Sapphire" is a fluid orchestral beauty whilst "Interweave" rides with more urgency in its string and bass stabs. When the warm keys enter, it's a bonafide mellifluous wonder. The softer "Musette" begins in beautifully gentle fashion before pivoting for a driving yet elegant piano middle section. It reverts back to the mellow intro, for its outro. Understood? The melodic organ and prominent rhythm section running through "Reminiscence" makes for a delightfully understated folk-funk instrumental whilst the cool, rolling piano feels of "7.30 For 8.00" seem to perfectly suit the phrase "dinner jazz". It's no bad thing, c'mon. This classy, memorable set is rounded out by the half-minute mince of the Barbara-blessed "Sparky". It's just over too soon!

The audio for Moonshade has been brilliantly remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry in Holland. The original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

In 2021, Los Angeles trio Gabriels arrived in a whirlwind with the loose-limbed vintage soul jam of ‘Love & Hate In A Different Time’, a song that could have dropped in almost any era. A stone-cold classic, it introduced a band so much more than just the sum of their supremely talented parts.

For the first time, ‘Love & Hate In A Different Time’ is now getting a special 7 Inch release with a previously unreleased live version of ‘Spanish Harlem’ recorded at BBC Maida Vale studios for a Gilles Peterson 6 Music session.

Just a handful of live shows deep, the spotlight swings and lands squarely on vocalist Jacob Lusk. A man who demands attention with a presence and voice of a gospel choir. That rich vocal swoops and soars through the pitches effortlessly matched by an on-stage persona that’s intensely likeable.

A bonafide star by anybody’s reckoning. Two acclaimed EPs deep and yet barely out of second gear, Gabriels have moved beyond mere promise to become one of 2022’s most essential new acts.

Press / PR:

“One of the most spectacular voices you will hear this year... Set to be 2022’s word-of-mouth hit” - The Guardian

“A sound that’s unlike anything else out there” – The Times

SOLD OUT every headline live show in 2021 and 2022 so far in seconds. Gabriels will also support Celeste on her sold out UK tour in the spring of 2022.

Love And Hate In A Different Time was playlisted at 6Music Arielle Free’s TOTW on Radio 1, other supporters included Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw and Adele Roberts

Syncs with Reebok and Gucci campaigns

Breaking Act - Sunday Times Culture feature

Included in The Guardian’s 2022 Tips

NME Radar feature & NME 100: Essential Emerging Artists For 2022

KCRW’s 2021 Breakthrough Artist

Ones To Watch – The 25 Artists to Watch

Unknown Mortal Orchestra came to life in basements and bedrooms, the musical vision of Portlander-via-New Zealand Ruban Nielson that fused guitar-god riffs, choppy percussion, soul and funk. II, the sophomore album from UMO, emerged in an era rampant hedonism and isolationism and became the blueprint for everything Nielson has become renowned for. It was, and is, the solidification of Unknown Mortal Orchestra as an endlessly intriguing, brave and addictive band. Ten years on, it's back with an expanded edition. Written during a punishing, debauched touring schedule during which Nielson feared for both his sanity and health, II illustrates the emotional turmoil of life on the road, painting surrealist, cartoonish portraits of loneliness, love and despair. These conflicting themes are evident immediately; on the album's sleeve is an unnerving image of Janet Farrar, the famous British witch, Wiccan, author and teacher of witchcraft. The chilling refrain of opener "Into The Sun" sees Nielson deliver the line "Isolation can put a gun in your hand," softly, his words starkly intelligible above a warm, slow-burning melody that quickly brands itself onto your brain. His playful imagery ("I'm so lonely I've gotta eat my popcorn all alone") mirrors the melody, before a solo that borders on psychotropic ends II`s introduction. UMO is unafraid to dig deeper than the rest, their intoxicating, opiate groove bringing rock'n'roll's exaggerated myths to life. And as it unfolds, II does find Nielson reenergized. "One At A Time" and "Faded In The Morning" boast dizzying choruses and instrumentals; these crusty hunks could have been excavated from a lost 1960s treasure trove. "Monki" unravels over seven minutes like the yarn from a stoner's cardigan with an eye-frying pattern. "Dawn" is a minute of disconcerting noise that stands out between the nooks and crannies of the choruses, guitar solos, groove-heavy bass and drums that were recorded live by newly-recruited drummer Greg Rogove and Kody Nielson in a move away from the electronic percussion employed on album one. II closes with "Secret Xtians," a tender observational puzzle that fizzes to a satisfied end. In celebration of the album's 10th anniversary Nielson's complete collection from the II era is finally available in one compilation, and features the five acoustic tracks from the Blue EP as well as two additional B-sides. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was once Nielson's closeted concern. With an album that uses his singular musical imagination and extraordinary talent to parade his emotions with unyielding honesty, it is now a fully realized band operating at the peak of its powers ten years on.

Matt Tolfrey’s Leftroom imprint makes a triumphant return here with a remix package featuring Mathew Jonson, Silverlining, Maher Daniel and Sakro, all reworking cuts from his 2020 ‘All Shapes And Different Sizes’ LP. Across the past two decades the UK’s Matt Tolfrey has been at the forefront of the underground House and Techno scene, releasing material on many seminal labels in the industry such as REKIDS, Cocoon, Music For Freaks, Crosstown Rebels, mix compilations for fabric and Classic, and of course his very own Leftroom which returns here following its last vinyl release back in 2020 from Detroit’s Norm Talley and Ataxia.

Up first on remix duties is Canadian machine maestro Mathew Jonson who remixes ‘How It’s Gonna Be’ featuring Tim Fuller, offering up his signature twitchy synth work, robust analogue drums and cinematic leads running alongside the original’s hooky vocal lines. Maher Daniel steps up next to remix ‘Feel The Same’, opting for an intricate electro tinged drum workout, wavey subs and hypnotic vocal chants.

London’s Silverlining then reworks ‘Fantasy’ featuring Shaun J. Wright next, diving deeper via a skippy, swinging drum groove, airy dubbed out chords, snaking bass groove and soulful, intricately processed vocal licks. Lastly to round things out, Sakro remixes ‘Under The Skin' featuring Lil Mark, the Mexican artist reshapes the original with his unique drum-led, groove driven style, fusing crisp snares and shuffled percussion, alongside an amalgamation of choppy bass hits, bleepy synths and sweeping atmospherics.