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Rhythm Cult's unstoppable momentum continues after achieving consecutive number-one positions across online and physical platforms. RCM019, their most recent release, welcomes the incredibly gifted Chilian producer Dinky into the fold.

Dinky's hypnotic blend of deep house, strong techno, and precise minimalism has earned her a residency at the famed Panorama Bar, in Berlin confirming her position as a unique voice in the electronic industry.



The EP kicks off with the soulful and uplifting "Come Hold Me," a futuristic house anthem that effortlessly fuses tribal rhythms with intricate stuttering synth patterns.
Dinky provides the unmistakable and irresistible vocal hook that suggest this will be a summer anthem in the making. "She's Got Nowhere To Go" follows, riding on an insistent one-note bass line and yet more addictive vocal snips, complemented by disco stabs that complete the party vibe. Dinky's skilful use of stuttering glitches and inventive sample manipulation showcases her love for minimal detail and angular funk.


Finally, dOP turn in not one but two remixes of their unique and unconventional take on house and techno. First, their reinterpretation of "Come Hold Me" takes us on a journey to the deeper realms of house, riding on a low-slung acidic bass groove while enveloping the listener in waves of lush synths, perfect material for warming up dancefloors or setting the mood for the early hours. Then they wrap “She’s Got Nowhere To Go’ around an elastic bass and dosed with warped synth lines to create an irresistibly explosive dancefloor weapon.

The EP exudes sophistication, weaving intricate futuristic house sounds that are imprinted with the influences of Balearic, acid, and deep house. These heaters are undoubtedly set to light up dancefloors throughout the summer season. With this exciting collaboration, Rhythm Cult further cements its position as one of the industry's most cutting-edge labels, and Dinky's addition adds a distinctive dimension to their roster.

Prepare to find yourself absorbed by this exceptional release from two forces shaping the future of electronic music.

Considered one of the most innovative groups on the Colombian musical circuit in 1973, Columna de Fuego forged its sound by creatively and organically mixing elements of heavy rock with rhythms rooted in the music of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of the country. Columna de Fuego, the first Colombian rock band to tour outside South America, was the supporting act for Leonor González —La Negra Grande de Colombia— for months and featured members of Los Young Beats, Los Speakers and Siglo Cero. Their only LP, recorded in Spain and released in Colombia only in 1974, was a turning point in the history of Colombian rock, an album full of funk, soul, cumbia and currulao that maintains a fast pace from start to finish. After unsuccessful attempts to establish themselves in Europe, the group parted ways; some members returned to Colombia and others stayed in Europe as part of La Banda Salsa, a vibrant and little mentioned chapter in the history of Latin rock. Roberto Fiorilli, the stand-out drummer of Colombian rock, returned to his native Italy. Over the following five decades, the myth of Columna de Fuego, that wonderful Bogota rock band that dared to experiment with the music of the Colombian coastline, grew. The curiosity of musicians interested in the traditional music and folklore of the coasts since the late 80's, the consequent mixture of different musical genres (modern and roots) at the end of the 20th century and the almost impossible desire of collectors to find a copy of the album or one of the band’s singles, gave it the status it should always have had as a pioneer, milestone and beacon. After remaining unavailable for five decades, we are proud to now present the first-time reissue of this obscure gem with its original artwork, including an insert with notes and rare photos. Sleeve

Born in Roma in 1959, Guiseppe “Peps” Cotumaccio arrived in South Africa when he was two years old. He was the mastermind behind the band “Sweet Reaction”, singing and playing keyboards.

In the early 80’s, the group used to back various artists including one of the South African top singer “Neville Nash”. Both artists were on the same record label: Music Team. Throughout his lengthy career, Peps has collaborated with Johnny Clegg, Ronnie Joyce, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, P.J. Powers, Mark Alex, Neville Nash, and Mara Louw just to name a few.

The lead singer of the band, Dion Williamson, started performing in Johannesburg’s nightclubs and got quickly very successful, always in demand! People loved his gravel and sensual voice as he used to sing some of Joe Cocker’s popular songs. Unfortunately, during the Apartheid, the South African Government were not allowing black and white audiences, and the band split.

On this BIG5 Boogie#2, Enoch Ndlela produced 2 Modern Soul killer tracks.
Recorded in 1981, "Take it easy", where the music is evidently influenced by Willie Hutch (Easy does it - 1978) offers Dion a way to fully explain himself doing his own version of the tune. And what an explosive result!

On the same side of this 12”, our 2 Frenchies in Cape Town aka Simbad & Fred Spider enjoyed delivering us a fat broken beat version of the track, while the very “En Vogue” Aroop Roy from London turned it into a funky house summer hit.
Side B starts with a superb composition from the band: “African Sunrise” where Dion Williamson is on top, this tune is a bomb!
To finish this E.P, the well-known Kid Fonque from Johannesburg, who freshly moved to London working for the glorious house record label Defected, couldn’t wait to produce a super groove deep house refix. The result is a second essential dancefloor release from Voom Voom Records!

180-gram 45 RPM double LP
Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analogue master tape
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
Gatefold old-style "tip-on" jacket by Stoughton Printing

In The Right Place is the sixth, and biggest-selling album of the late iconic music legend, six-time Grammy-winner, and Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. John. Dr. John, the stage name of Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr., was one of the most original, distinctive and influential voices to ever come out of New Orleans. His career spanned six decades as a songwriter, composer, producer and performer. His unique blend of music carried his hometown of New Orleans at its heart.

His colorful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City, including recordings by Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Joe Tex, Frankie Ford and Allen Toussaint. Dr. John headed west in the 1960s, where he continued to be in demand as a session musician, playing keyboards on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin and The Rolling Stones' Exile On Main St. During that time he launched his solo career, developing the charismatic persona of Dr. John The Nite Tripper. A legend was born with his breakthrough 1968 album Gris-Gris, which introduced to the world his unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm & blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots.

1973's In The Right Place contained the chart hits "Right Place Wrong Time" and "Such A Night." In addition to his six Grammy wins (1989, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2013), he has received six other Grammy nominations over the years. In 2007 he was nominated for "Sippiana Hericane," his Hurricane Katrina benefit disc.

AllMusic says that with In The Right Place, Dr. John struck mainstream paydirt, especially with his hit single "Right Place Wrong Time" bounding up the charts and initiating listeners into New Orleans-style rock (the song hit No. 9 in 1973 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart).

Also including Allen Toussaint's "Life," and a funky little number entitled "Traveling Mood," which shows off the good doctor's fine piano styling, and with able help from the Meters as backup group, In the Right Place is still a fine collection to own.

With mastering by Sterling Sound's Ryan K. Smith direct from the original tape, and two sides of premium 180-gram vinyl (pressed by the best — Quality Record Pressings and RTI), our 45 RPM edition of In The Right Place emphasizes Dr. John's gravelly bayou drawl and sonically creates the hoodoo-infused stage persona he brought to his performances.

After Hurricane Katrina Dr. John immediately stepped up to the plate with generous relief fund-raising concerts and recordings. In 2007 he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and Blues Hall of Fame. In 2008 he released City That Care Forgot, winning him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

His numerous other awards included the Louie Award from the Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Jazz Foundation of America's Hank Jones Award, presented in October 2016 at "A Great Night in Harlem" which pleged $1 million to help musicians recovering from the 2016 Louisiana flood.

We are so pleased to bring you this deluxe 180-gram 45 RPM 2LP Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) reissue of the timeless Dr. John classic In The Right Place. Cue it up and prepare to be transported.

When Black Pumas made their self-titled debut in 2019, the Austin-bred duo set off a reaction almost as combustible and rapturous as their music itself. Along with earning a career total of seven Grammy Award nominations (including Album Of The Year) and winning praise from leading outlets like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada achieved massive success as a live act, touring large theatres all over Europe and North and South America and delivering a transcendent show Burton aptly refers to as “electric church.” As they set to work on their highly awaited sophomore album, the band broadened their palette to include a dazzling expanse of musical forms: heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind-bending excursions into jazz-funk and psychedelia, starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped down from the cosmos. Wilder and weirder and more extravagantly composed than its predecessor, Chronicles of a Diamond arrives as the fullest expression yet of Black Pumas’ frenetic creativity and limitless vision.

Blackfoxy is a jazz-funk group originating from Villeneuve La Garenne in the Parisian region. The group was formed in 2011 at the initiative of Kalid Bazi and Klaus Blasquiz (the singer of the legendary group Magma with Christian Vander, Jannick Top, etc.). They are notably known for the hits "Talk About Peace" (featuring Nina Attal, MB14, and Princess Erika), dedicated to the victims of the Bataclan attacks in 2015, as well as their performance on France 4 with 50 drummers on the Michael Jackson song "Don"t Stop" & "Til You Get Enough" One of their most notable features is their ability to innovate by skillfully and uniquely incorporating elements from "Blaxploitation" film music and African, Cuban, and Caribbean musical traditions into their funk, characterized by a high-quality brass section and arrangements borrowed from both 70s and 80s Funk. Blackfoxy"s music also stands out due to the complementarity of its two singers, Klaus Blasquiz (baritone and tenor, he sings over 5 octaves!) and Sista Wyndyz. Lastly, since the attacks of 2015, Blackfoxy has been involved in the movement (sponsored, among others, by Manu Katché) to promote the values of peace through music in popular neighborhoods and rural areas in France and elsewhere.

Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue, in collaboration with Corbett vs. Dempsey, one of the great albums out of the BAG galaxy recorded by Luther Thomas and a cohort of musicians including Joe Bowie, Charles Bobo Shaw, Floyd LeFlore and Lester Bowie. Recorded live in 1973 at The Berea Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, the album consists of two tracks, the formidable, aptly titled "Funky Donkey" and the spiritual "Una New York." Released as a private press on Thomas" own Creative Consciousness Records, it"s reissued here for the first time since the 70s, marking the recording"s 50th anniversary, and features original artwork, remastered audio and new liner notes by Howard Mandel.

Spirit of Sundaze Ensemble (SOSE) is the latest evolution from London based DJ / producer, label and party series Secretsundaze. Sitting at the intersection of live music and electronic music innovation, leading contemporary musicians reimagine, record and perform a selection of tracks which have been foundational across Secretsundaze’s 20+ year history, embracing a myriad of influences from Balearic to synth pop to Brit funk.

EP 1 opens with their first single, a re-imagination of Photek’s seminal ‘Mine to Give’. Featuring Wayne Snow on vocals and garnering wide support from the likes of BBC 6 Music heads Gilles Peterson and Nabihah Iqbal, through to NTS and Worldwide FM tastemakers including Zakia, Moxie and Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, the tempo is slowed and explored in a more synthy 80s production style.

Next is their take on Joyce Sims’ (RIP) ‘Come into My Life’, moving the original Mantronix production into a more contemporary UK / Street Soul / Balearic territory.

The B-side sees them take on beloved Phil Asher (RIP) production, Nathan Haines’ stunning ‘Earth is the Place’, a classic Secretsundaze record if ever there was one. Featuring the vocals of Cherise, the SOSE version is a dance floor ready update which will appeal to all lovers of proper deep, soulful-leaning house music, one for the heads.

Closing the record is a flip of Wbeeza’s ‘Coast Spotting’. Featuring synths from the excellent Hinako Omori, this one goes in with an extended late night transcendental electronic / jazz rework with the original’s looped lead line modulating throughout the piece.

Leading musicians feature on the record including Myele Manzanza (Theo Parrish, Sound Signature), Lewis Moody (Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange), Nikos Ziarkas (Theon Cross, Chelsea Carmichael), Oli Savill (Basement Jaxx), and Johnny Brierley (Fofoulah).

Following their debut sold out show at Southbank’s Centre Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Ensemble next take to the London stage at the iconic EartH Theatre, Dalston on September 21st for an EP launch party as well as a headline open-air concert at Las Dalias, Ibiza as part of Beat Hotel on September 30th.

All in all, an impressive debut showcasing the breadth and scope of this exciting new live project from Secretsundaze founder James Priestley, one to watch.

Drivetrain
Music Got Me - The quintessential blend of retro sophistication with ultramodern late night chic. A rolling bass transports a melodious string accompaniment through an arresting vocal hook.
Afterhours Mix - Following the same path with a slightly different spin, incorporating an electronic touch on the retro syncopation.

Melodymann
Keep It Movin - Intelligently enriched with uplifting vocal drops complementing spicy horn fills, funk bass and electrifying beat oscillation.
Up & Down - Maintaining the energy but substituting the horn fills with jazzy keyboard riffs while the vocal slices continue to drop over bouncing subfrequencies.

Get Ready for Another Mind-Blowing Journey with Two Tales From The Mind!
After a first volume featuring Janko Nilovic & The Soul Surfers, Broc Recordz is back with a new banger. This time, we've
got none other than the legendary JJ Whitefield (known for The Poets of Rhythm, Karl Hector, Embryo, W.I.T.C.H...) and
the incomparable Igor Zhukovsky from The Soul Surfers.
Our concept remains unchanged – two sides, two unique vibes:
Side A: Groove to the funky beats of "One Hand Clap" – it's pure funkadelic ecstasy!
Side B: Take a trippy ride with this psychedelic tune, "Munich Bells" – it's a sonic journey like no other.
Two Tales for the mind, is meticulously crafted to blow your mind. Get ready to immerse yourself in the experience. Enjoy
the ride!

Introducing the 2nd Volume of Super Biton of Segou’s Afro.Jazz.Folk collection, led by Malian conductor Amadou Bah, also known as “The Armstrong Malian”.

Deviation Records is thrilled to present this collaboration with The Mieruba Label Team, showcasing the diverse musical roots of 1970s Mali, combining Afro-Latin percussion, Mandingo songs, jazzy brass, and funky guitar. The album also features the captivating ArtCollage of Emma Margo incorporating visuals of Segou, Mieruba Art Center, and Françoise Huguier.

The graphic design is conceived by Les Mouches Graphic Design, with a selective varnish made from traditional Bogolan fabric of the Segou area. The audio was remastered by Raphael Jonin and cut by MB Mastering Studio in Aubervilliers.

Get ready for a full sensory experience!

Established in 2016, Little Giant Records is the Brooklyn-born label founded by Anna Cavazos that specializes in the kind of deep house sounds that belong in the dark and sweaty basements of underground clubs. Anna is a DJ, producer, and vocalist who has played out across the globe for over 15 years mixing and blending the deep house sounds of Chicago, New York, and Berlin. . Her discography includes original compositions, remixes, and collaborations with the likes of Satoshi Tomiie and Eli Escobar.

The EP kicks off with the original of ‘Love Interlude’ - melancholic and piano-heavy with an ultra-deep baseline embellished with warm pads and soulful drums. Anna’s soulful vocal floats above the melody creating an emotional and moving interlude. Next up Matthias Vogt delivers a deep-house masterpiece adding extra keys, drum accents, and a well-placed baseline that is weaved neatly into the vocal hook while Vogt delivers the warm, jazz-flecked vibrations he is well known for.

Up next Rick Wade weighs in with some ever so classy house laced with flashes from the Motor City of Detroit. Warm electro piano, glowing synths, and vocal parts contrast with the deep sub baseline. Closing out this EP Rissa Garcia draws heavily on her New York house inspirations. Organ riffs and a funk-inspired bass line lead the charge dropping in and out between vocal harmonies and subtle synth work. Percussive accents bring it all home making this closing cut one dancefloor destroying, peak-time bomb.

First Word Records in collaboration with Heavenly Sweetness proudly bring you a 'Beautiful' new album from the formidably funky French duo, Souleance.

So the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or perhaps in this case, the ear!). How we define beauty varies from person to person. Be it a meal, a landscape, a picture, a record… Appreciating and admiring beauty could be considered an art in itself, and one that Souleance have made a rule of life. This ethic is transposed into their own craft, used as fuel to turn beautiful moments into music.

This 15-track album seeks to convey this through an assortment of sun-saturated grooves of different shapes and sizes. While remaining true to their style of creating cut & paste sound collages and incorporating dusty samples, this album seeks to expand upon their own sonic path. Fulgeance lays down masterful work on keys, beats and bass, with Soulist the driving force behind song composition and percussive scratching. Comb...

The funk fans have been waiting for this one. Finally available on vinyl, Grant Green’s near perfect slice of jazz funk and soul, Live at Club Mozambique, remastered and rendered back in the Motor City. Grant Green’s band had been playing a series of live dates at Detroit’s Club Mozambique, (before it became a fabled Male dance club) when this session was recorded live on two cold January nights in 1971. Powerhouse drummer Idris Muhammad and soulful tenor star Houston Person were brought in to supplement Green’s current band featuring Ronnie Foster on organ and Clarence Thomas on Soprano and Tenor Sax and Blue Note producer Francis Wolff recorded. This treasure was never released, though, and (conjectures aside) remained in the Blue Notes vaults for 35 years before a 2006 CD release. Sounding incredibly fresh and live, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more real stamping of Grant Green at the top of his game. The lp blends extremely hypnotic and wild funk such as their opening cover of a local funk hit “Jan Jan” by the Fabulous Counts next to laidback renditions of early 70’s soul favorites “Walk on By”, “Patches” and “One More Chance” by the Jackson 5. It perfectly captures the magic of hearing a legendary band effortlessly doing their thing in a small club while the audience unwinds after a long work day. Green pulls it all together with his melodic genius and perfect delivery. Great artists make it seem so easy. No pretensions here, just a great band burning up the stage with unmistakable chemistry on what might be the ultimate jazz funk time capsule. Maybe you can’t go back in time, but if you close your eyes and light a cigarette, you might be convinced you’re sitting in a wood-paneled club on Detroit’s Westside enjoying Grant Green and his band tear it up. Grant Green - Guitar Ronnie Foster - Organ Idris Muhammad - Drums Clarence Thomas - Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax Houston Person - Tenor Sax Recorded live at Club Mozambique - Detroit, MI 1971 by Francis Wolff

The funk fans have been waiting for this one. Finally available on vinyl, Grant Green’s near perfect slice of jazz funk and soul, Live at Club Mozambique, remastered and rendered back in the Motor City. Grant Green’s band had been playing a series of live dates at Detroit’s Club Mozambique, (before it became a fabled Male dance club) when this session was recorded live on two cold January nights in 1971. Powerhouse drummer Idris Muhammad and soulful tenor star Houston Person were brought in to supplement Green’s current band featuring Ronnie Foster on organ and Clarence Thomas on Soprano and Tenor Sax and Blue Note producer Francis Wolff recorded. This treasure was never released, though, and (conjectures aside) remained in the Blue Notes vaults for 35 years before a 2006 CD release. Sounding incredibly fresh and live, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more real stamping of Grant Green at the top of his game. The lp blends extremely hypnotic and wild funk such as their opening cover of a local funk hit “Jan Jan” by the Fabulous Counts next to laidback renditions of early 70’s soul favorites “Walk on By”, “Patches” and “One More Chance” by the Jackson 5. It perfectly captures the magic of hearing a legendary band effortlessly doing their thing in a small club while the audience unwinds after a long work day. Green pulls it all together with his melodic genius and perfect delivery. Great artists make it seem so easy. No pretensions here, just a great band burning up the stage with unmistakable chemistry on what might be the ultimate jazz funk time capsule. Maybe you can’t go back in time, but if you close your eyes and light a cigarette, you might be convinced you’re sitting in a wood-paneled club on Detroit’s Westside enjoying Grant Green and his band tear it up. Grant Green - Guitar Ronnie Foster - Organ Idris Muhammad - Drums Clarence Thomas - Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax Houston Person - Tenor Sax Recorded live at Club Mozambique - Detroit, MI 1971 by Francis Wolff

Foundation Music is proud to present ‘The Flowers EP’ by Foremost Poets aka Johnny Dangerous. Back in the news after being featured on the Grammy winning Alien Superstar from Beyonce’s latest album - but for those that know - he has never gone away as he is always on someone’s dance floor.

Foremost Poets productions and his vocals are simply devastating and label head, Ross Allen, has been a fan since he first heard the Nu Groove classic ‘Reason’s to Be Dismal’ on the reworked Richard Long Edition. It was a record that blew him away then and now, recently played by Pete Tong on Radio One, with Sven Vath including it on his anniversary compilation too. Ross signed this record when he hooked up with Johnny in New York 3 years, but wanted to wait until the time was right. That time is now.

‘Flowers In the Attic’ is no normal dance record, clocking in at thirteen minutes. It’s an epic Johnny D production, falling into that place where funk and house come together in the most magical, danceable way. It’s long but enticing, taking you through different phases and surprises you as it sucks you in, twists you up, and pulls you out.

‘Escape From Dubai’ is almost trance like but with that New York lean that keeps it very much on the right side of the Foundation Music fence. Full of funk, it has a deepness that builds and swells into an epic journey that takes you to another dimension.

The broken beat of ‘Don’t Shut Your Eyes’ closes out and is another piece of New York/ New Jersey up-tempo funk, syncopated and grooving with a repetitive hook, that goes deep via its Hammond organ solo and jazzy vocal.

We're super happy to announce our 13th release by Sharhabil Ahmed, the actual King of Sudanese Jazz (he actually won that title in a competition in the early 1970s). Sonically it sounds very different from what Jazz is understood to sound like outside of Sudan. It’s an incredible unique mix of rock’n’roll, funk, surf, traditional sudanese music and influences from Congolese sounds. Original copies of Sharhabil recordings are often hard to find, so we’re happy they will now be widely available. “Argos Farfish” which was featured on our last comp amassed close to 400.000 plays already.

Sven Torstenson's notorious Drugs is a loopdigga's fever dream, bursting with breaks for days and featuring possibly the most iconic cover of all library music's cult classics. First released in 1980, it's now a hyper-rare and seriously sought-after electronic album full of experimental soundscapes and samples just waiting to be flipped. It's both terrifying and terrifyingly good. So much so, it's been brilliantly sampled by Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper.

The sleeve describes Drugs as containing "the newest dimensions of electronic sounds. Dramatic underscores for all problems of today's life and society, at the border between reality and delusion." That's pretty spot-on. The fast moving "Euphoria" is an incredible, unignorable opener. It's loaded with disorientating effects and really needs to be heard to be believed. It's followed by the gorgeous "Soft Hallucinations", containing quiet, meditative and beautiful sounds - as the title suggests. One listen and you'll want to live in the warm embrace of this beatless, harmonic gem. Sinister squelchy synth stabs don't distract from the sheer beauty of the track's main (gentle) thrust. They only serve to elevate its trippy magic.

Next up, "Sky Move"'s agitated and repetitive rhythm makes it an intense listen but with a broad melody that will appeal to many. "Destroyed Dreams" utilises a muffled church organ and it sounds heavenly to begin with but it gradually invites increasingly distorted elements. Yes, you've had trips like this, we're pretty certain. Mental! Talking of bad trips, never have they sounded so good as "Horror Trip"; this fractured drama-synth just needs some some dusty beats to hold it up - get involved.

"Floating Illusions" almost sounds like a beatless Spiritualized bomb from the early-mid 90s; melodic, synthy, church organ-drenched. The mournful, dramatic "Lost Chance" pulses along on a bed of acidy synths whilst "The Morning After" is the sonic equivalent of the extreme fear and doom experienced in the aftermath of the previous night's carnage. Whilst somewhat uncomfortable listening, again, it's pretty compelling thanks to the myriad effects being expertly utilised. Fascinating. The sprawling, fragmented "Random Thoughts" is described as containing "confused melody phrases" - yeah, pretty much sums this one up.

The B-Side is ushered in by "Heroin" and it's as sketchy as you might think, all mysterious minor chords with a dominating - but not overbearing - bass refrain. Next up, the dream-like synthy fanfare of "Night Trip" climaxes after a few minutes of dramatic, ecclesiastical sounds whilst "Day Trip" layers its melody over a repetitive rhythmic base.

Next up, one of the *REAL* highlights makes itself known. Absolutely not to be missed, "Dealer's Corner" is all shifting tenors from quiet to hectic and back around again. The hectic parts are like a totally synthed-out-the-eyeballs jazz-funk collective wigging out with the latest electronic toys from 1980. This one totally SMOKES.

The dramatic "Sad And Hopeless" is appositely replete with dissonant, minor church-organ chords whilst "Riding Pegasus" uses a creepy ostinato bass melody to create irrational bleepy menace that's ripe for sampling. The penultimate track, "Hopeless Chaos" is another disorientating trip, a bleepy confection of sounds and phrases whilst closer "Goin' Mad" is all electronic percussion with an unpleasant rhthymic feel and irritating melody. Music to annoy your partner with!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the country's new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholz's astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders - a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Drugs has been 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 original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Cher celebrates 25 years of "Believe" : On November 3, the Grammy Award-winning masterpiece will be released in a new, expanded " BELIEVE (Deluxe Edition) " that adds a whopping 13 remastered remixes to the mega-seller's original track listing (11 million worldwide!). The deluxe edition will be released in 3LP/2CD/Download & stream formats via Warner Records. "Believe" was an album full of dancefloor perennials - a fact that the assembled remixes in the new mastering underline once again.

"Tee's Radio One Instrumental? & "Ray Roc's Latin Soul Instrumental" from "Dov'e l'Amore?" are included here in one package for the first time, for example, along with remixes of the empowerment anthem "Strong Enough," "All or Nothing," "Dov'è l'amore" and the title track "Believe," a worldwide smash hit that sold over 10 million copies and reached #1 in 23 countries, including Germany, where it now has 5x gold status.

Cher is one of the most successful artists in history, selling over 100 million records during her unparalleled career. To date, she is the only artist:in to record a #1 single on the Billboard charts in six consecutive decades.

A Dream Team of folclóricas covering the wide spectrum of African-American influenced 1970s dance music spiced with flamenco. The hits of Isaac Hayes, Billy Preston or The Temptations in the charts showed the way to go. An almanac for 20th Century Rosalías headed by Lola Flores, Isabel Pantoja, Rocío Jurado and a bunch of female singers, copleras, cantaoras and rumberas. A black and white lysergic dream amidst post-Franco’s Spain. Stick your ears to the speakers. Here comes an emotional rollercoaster!



Antes de presentarte esta novedad, hay que entender que en la segunda mitad de los años setenta, algo estaba cambiando en la escena musical. Los grupos musicales estaban en su auge hasta que llegó la llamada al servicio militar obligatorio. Entonces, todo el mundo volvía de él sin sus largas melenas y sin dinero. Los baladistas sin personalidad tomaban el control de la música, según lo dictado por las discográficas. Es entonces cuando las copleras, cantaoras y rumberas se convierten en la respuesta necesaria para combatir la insípida melosidad. A pesar de un contexto sociocultural desfavorable, arreglistas y productores invertían horas de sueño para revivir un sonido que estaba al borde de la extinción. A pesar de los cambios que haya podido haber desde entonces, el más significativo es que ahora la inmediatez digital dicta el rumbo.



Es por toda esta importancia que finalmente ha llegado un álbum que reúne a un elenco de folclóricas en una combinación única, fusionando el concepto del groovy funk; con canciones que abarcan todo el espectro afroamericano de la música de baile de los setenta, con toques de gritos y susurros aflamencados que le dan un giro impresionante. Podríamos considerarlo el álbum destacado de las Rosalias del siglo XX, una especie de viaje lisérgico en blanco y negro a la España de la posfranquista. Con su hiperrealismo revolucionario, este disco nos ofrece a una una estirpe de artistas sin igual.

En este encontrarás las joyas ocultas de artistas como Flores, Pantoja, Jurado, Polaca, entre otras. Aunque se mantuvieron fieles a sus estilos, todas ellas fueron famosas por otras facetas de sus extensas discografías, y muchas incluso aparecieron en la portada de Interviú en más del cincuenta por ciento de los casos, como las feministas de los años setenta según Francisco Umbral.

There’s a connection between the musical history of the Mediterranean that can’t be explained through academia alone. It’s an expression of simultaneous grief and celebration that trespasses cultures and generations; and demands to be felt, or even better, danced, to be understood. The same spirit weaves Rebetiko from the ashes of the Ottoman empire to the heavy Hafla soundtracks on the Koliphone label in ‘70s Jaffa, or rebellious Turkish psychedelic music to the first generation of surf guitarist migrants in America. It's an infectious feeling that travelled and evolved wherever it was called, and that passion is embodied in “Back to the Taverna”, the new album by Berlin based bouzouki quintet, Cherry Bandora.

On the milestone of their third release, original members Liad Vanounou (Bouzouki) and Lorena Atrakci (Vocals) have bolstered their sound with longtime friends and collaborators Moshe ‘Moosh’ Lahav on Keyboards and flute, Tamir ‘Hassan’ Chen on Bass and Nimrod Lieberman on Drums to create an album celebrating the ecstasy of being able to drink and perform together again, freed from the anathema of the last years. The band has evolved considerably since their beginnings ten years ago as an Agean-influenced part of the local Balkan Swing scene; the most significant addition being the deployment of “The Hardest Working Man in Tropical Music” Alex Figueira as musical director for this album. His scorched fingerprints are unmissable throughout the extended psychedelic breakdowns and percussive overdubs that make “Back to the Taverna” such a dynamic offering.

Cherry Bandora have always been a very personal band; collecting songs from nearby cultures and history and blending them into their own experience by developing new arrangements or lyrics, just as musicians from those times would have. Lorena delights in expressing herself away from her mother tongue or providing modern lyrics for an updated feeling, as she does to the beloved Turkish standard, “Rampi Rampi”. In this interpretation she uses her native Hebrew in a saucy lockdown-delivery-guy romance... This track also features Baris Öner from local Turkish rock band Kara Delik on his signature flanging Saz.

Singing in Greek, English, Turkish and Hebrew was also a natural choice on the album, representing the “multikulti” area of Berlin that the band lives and records in. These languages would all be heard on the street as they walked to record in the analog Studio Wong in Kreuzberg.

“As descendants of Mizrahi Jews (Jewish migrants from non-European countries), growing up listening both to Beatles and Umm Kulthum, playing in jazz music departments in high school, and now living in Kruezkölln, we basically pay tribute and revive this shared heritage in the context of the global music scene of today” says Lorena.

The opening track, The Sound Of Baglama, is an interpretation of the anthemic Tsitsanis homage to the tavernas and sweethearts of Thessaloniki. It lays the ground for what to expect from Cherry Bandora’s exceptional live performances, featuring effortless switch-ups between surf rock choruses and laid-back verses dipping into Persian disco funk. This song will be accompanied by a tour-collage “found footage” style film clip in production at this
time.

Cherry Bandoras show their dedication to the bit with a rousing English version of the canonical rembetiko tune Dimitroula Mou. This amour song, popular with generations of female singers, is accompanied by real studio plate smashing, a ritual which sealed their final session for the album. 2 bonus tracks are included on the digital release, both a little more raw from the band’s home studio: the reeling dervish Rubi Rubi (which will be released as a second single with a video clip) and the emotionally dense and hypnotic slow burner Esý.

The album will be released digitally and on vinyl as a collaboration between Rebel Up Records (Belgium) and Rumi Sounds (Berlin) on Friday 3 november 2023 and is a prime example of what a raunchy, open minded and tireless bouzouki band can do as they hit their prime.

An extensive highlighted review will appear in Songlines magazine #135 December issue and the track ‘Benimde Canim Var’ will be featured on their free compilation. Also radioplay on Radio Campus France playlist (allover) during November and December.

- Rare and Unreleased New Orleans Funk 1968
Tuff City’s Funky Delicacies imprint has issued the 7th volume in its New Orleans Funk series. This edition has a side of vocal tracks and a side of instrumental ones. These tracks have been hard to find and many were CD only bonus tracks on earlier editions of the series now out of print.
Noted guitarist Little Buck Sinegal opens the record with “Little Boy Blue.” This was first issued in 1969 on the Seven B label. Little Buck (as he was credited on the original record) passed in 2019 after a lengthy career dating back to the late 50’s as a session man for Slim Harpo & Lazy Lester. He also was a touring member of various Zydeco legends like Clifton Chenier, Rockin’ Dopsie and Buckwheat Zydeco. Drummer Chuck Conway leads the next track with the Amars, “Get On Up.” Cover feature Deacon John Moore still lives today. “You Don’t Know (How To Turn Me On)” was a 1970 B-side on the Bell label. Brotherhood issued “Suckey Suckey Feeling” as a 2-sided single in 1974. At some point the track was renamed “Sooky Feeling” and we have Part 2 here. Singer and Pianist Tommy Ridgley’s track “Fly In My Pie” was originally issued on our sister imprint Soul-Tay-Shus on The Best of International City compilation as well as a 7” on that imprint in 1968. Lonnie Jones recorded several singles for Jenmark in the early ‘70’s including the B-side “You Got To Do Better” originally released in 1972. Sam Henry of Sam and the Soul Machine closes out the side with “Loving You.” This track was originally a CD-only bonus track on our Po’k Bones and Rice compilation of that group we issued on Funky Delicacies in 2002.
Kicking off the instrumental second side is a recently located master by Anthony Butler and the Invaders covering the Otis Redding classic “Hard To Handle.” A bit of organ Funk here. Larry Jones jams out the “Funky Jaws.” The exact year is unknown, but the J.B.’s label that issued the original record put their releases out primarily from 1974-1976. Tyrone Chestnut’s B-side of 1969’s “The Bump” is called “Bumping.” Hook and Sling piano legend Eddie Bo has two appearances. The first is the second part of the “Getting To The Middle” single that came out on Bo-Sound in 1970. Louisiana Purchase have “Accept What You Expect” before they moved from New Orleans to Detroit. The Scram Band that backed vocalist Mary Jane Hooper on her “Don’t Change Nothin’” single are here in an instrumental version of that song. The album closes with a 5-minute combined version of Eddie Bo’s “If It’s Good To You (It’s Good For You)” single, issued in 1969 on Scram.
Overall, this album contains 14 previously hard-to-find tracks that would take hundreds if not thousands of dollars to track down the original singles on the used market. These tracks have been recently remastered, including tracks that were issued as CD bonus tracks on earlier volumes.

Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell remains the turning point at which hip-hop crashed through mainstream barriers and never left. Anchored by the crossover smash "Walk This Way," the 1986 blockbuster still sounds like a revolution unfolding in real time. It has everything – hard-rock riffs, turntable scratching, itchy rhythms, hit singles – not the least of which are the trio's invigorating raps and inseparable chemistry. And now it's the first rap record afforded audiophile treatment, courtesy of Mobile Fidelity.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, the reissue label's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP elevates Raising Hell to sonic heights on par with its musical and cultural significance. Ranked the 123rd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, 43rd on Pitchfork's Greatest Albums of the 1980s, one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time by TIME – and included on "Best of" lists by Spin, Paste, XXL, Entertainment Weekly, and basically every other significant media outlet – the triple-platinum effort rocks the house.

Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor and groove definition of SuperVinyl, Raising Hell unleashes a torrent of massive dynamics and tsunami of frequency-plumbing details underlined by Rick Rubin's taut, crisp, albeit raw and streetwise production. Just as the Queens-based group both defined what hip-hop could represent – and displayed just how big it could get – Rubin's work melded ear-worm hooks, savvy drum loops, metal-leaning guitars, and, of course, Run and D.M.C.'s cross-fire lyrical interplay into watertight frameworks bursting with ideas, tones, samples, and beats. Heard anew on Mobile Fidelity vinyl, Raising Hell is in every regard the aural equivalent of a direct-to-console 1970s classic. And it sounds as fresh as hell.

As for the music, it ranks among the most influential, inventive, and invigorating ever released – rap or otherwise. Vanguard artists such as Ice-T, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Public Enemy's Chuck D – who declared it his all-time favorite and "the first record that made me realize this was an album-oriented genre" – have testified on behalf of its brilliance. And never mind the presence of the Top 5 single "Walk This Way," whose power helped make Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry relevant for the first time in nearly a decade – and literally put Run-D.M.C. in bedrooms ranging from the Bronx to Bartlett to Bad Axe.

Look instead to the rest of the entirely filler-free set, be it the corkscrew turns, slippery wordplay, and "My Sharona"-meets-"Mickey" mixology of the boisterous "It's Tricky," the fat-but-minimized bass grooves and warped turntable wobble of the hysterical "You Be Illin'," chimes-accented inertia and boombox-on- shoulder thunder of the now-iconic "Peter Piper," or voice-as-percussion attack of the funky "Is It Live." With Raising Hell, the answer to the question is always affirmative – a sensation bolstered by the fact the group always had something to say.

The definition of Golden Age Hip-Hop in every way, Run-D.M.C. avoids the negativity and misogyny that later plagued the style, spinning assertive tales about identity (the biographical and culture-changing "My Adidas"), work ethics ("Perfection"), and, most notably, pride (the Harriet Tubman- and Malcom X.-referencing "Proud to Be Black"). Pavement-packed inner cities, tree-lined suburbs, and cornfield-rimmed rural areas would never again be the same. And rocking a rhyme that's right on time would become trickier than ever.

"Skum and Villainy Edits Vol 1" by DJ Deviant represents a dynamic fusion of musical genres and tracks, interweaving elements from rock, hip-hop, and funk. “Intergalactic Rocket Fuel” incorporates everybody's favourite beats and pieces resulting in an energetic mashup.

"House Party Rocker" epitomises an electrifying blend of lively party hip-hop style harmonised with the potent funk-rock guitar riffs and it guarantees a thrilling experience on the dance floor.

This release is a superb selection for DJs looking to provide a vibrant and genre-blurring dance music adventure.

Copenhagen's Terry Tester (Brownswood / BBE) merges his love for Midwest house and cosmic funk butter on four-tracker 'Space Million' for Creak Inc., journeying through dream state deep house, gritty MPC workouts and low-end boogie territory for an undeniably original take on four-to-the-floor rhythms.

Within Terry Tester's two-decade long career as a turntablist and beatmaker his eminent take on house, hiphop and soul has been commissioned by Gilles Petterson for his 'Bubblers' compilation series on Brownswood Recordings, Jahi featuring american neo-soul singer Dwele, and Marc Mac (4Hero, Visioneers, Nu Era) on BBE remixing alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff, as well as releasing two full-length solo albums 'Horses and Diamonds' and 'Short Suite'.

Repress! We at Now-Again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our recently launched Soul Cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time. Well, following that line, the music contained on Loving On The Flip Side music is too damn good to be anonymously relaunched, decades after musical visionaries blended the best of heavy funk and sweet soul into a unified whole. And simply telling the stories of these vocalists and bands without allowing their lovelorn pleas to be heard again wasn’t an option. Thus, Loving On The Flip Side again offers the enthused a chance to listen to, read about and reflect on another great burst of black American creativity: the creation of the sublime
genre we like to call “sweet funk.”
It seems laughable to skip past Thomas East’s “Slipping Around” 7” for the cheesy funk of ‘Just A Trip,” or to listen obsessively to Lou Ragland’s instrumental funk on the Hot Chocolate LP and ignore his indolent-yet-stirring “We Had True Love.” Yet we did just that, until we first heard the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s beautiful
two-sider nearly ten years back. This was the record that set Loving On The Flip Side in motion, as the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s two songs precipitated the sweet funk genre: the dichotomy of Funky Heavy’s skull snapping rhythm section and the teenage Dears’ angelic harmonies didn’t sound like anything we’d heard before. That discovery set off a decade long search for the band and culminated in their discovery, the documenting of their stories, the emergence of their master tapes and the inclusion of their songs on Loving On The Flip Side.
The excitement we felt while listening to the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s masterworks forced us back into the field, in search of other sweet funk swooners and beat-heavy ballads to round out this anthology. The opportunity to present anew such wondrous soul music made the exhaustive process that produced Loving On The
Flip Side worthwhile, and allowed us to collect one-offs that escaped prior investigations into the deep funk and sweet soul genres.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of "TOUCH," a selection of sought-after tracks produced by Yuji Ohno, one of the most revered producers and arrangers on the Nippon music scene. His blend of Jazz, Space Funk and Disco have long been highly sought-after by DJs around the world and we've been given unique access to the Nippon Columbia vaults and to Mr. Ohno himself to come with a versatile selection from his 70s body of work, all bearing his uniquely recognisable sound. The set includes works with singers Nanako Sato, Hatsumi Shibata and Ken Tanaka alongside tracks from his cult anime soundtracks for "Lupin III" and "Captain Future." Approved by Yuji Ohno himself, "Touch" was remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia and features liner notes by Nick Luscombe in conversation with the maestro and artwork by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda.

Born in Atami in 1941, Yuji Ohno started learning the piano at a young age and formed his own band during his teenage years, getting into Jazz in the process. After high school, he entered the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo and played in the revered university big band alongside two other pianists, Masahiko Sato and Hirosama Suzuki, who would have an illustrious career in their own right. After University, Ohno became a professional musician and started playing with the new wave of Japanese Jazz musicians forming his own trio and recording with the likes of Hideo Shiraki, Terumasa Hino and Masahiko Togashi from 1967 onwards.

At the turn of the 60s, Ohno started to veer away from the Jazz scene as he realised, as told to Nick Luscombe that "the jazz music being played by the Japanese at the time was only chasing the cutting edge, and was ignoring the roots and origins of jazz." Ohno therefore shifted his efforts to film and TV and also to producing artists for various Japanese labels, becoming one of the most in-demand composers, arrangers and producers in Japan. This is when Ohno developed his unique sound across a wide variety of styles. More than anything else, he got renowned for his anime soundtracks, particularly with the Lupin III series - represented here by the superbly funky "Silhouette" - which made his fame in Japan

Whether it's jazz, funk, disco or Pop, the "Ohno Sound" is unmissable both in terms of melodies and arrangements, on a par with those of such legends as Quincy Jones and Michel Legrand. Ohno's melodies are sophisticated yet accessible and there's a great sense of space in his productions especially when it comes to slow-burning grooves as heard on "Kirameku Inner Space" from the cult anime soundtrack "Captain Future" or "The Soaring Seagull" from the sought-after 1975 album "Electro Keyboard Orchestra." This album was recorded with seven fellow musicians including Kentaro Haneda and Ohno's old friend, Masahiko Sato and using twenty Korg synths to create a unique blend of futuristic jazz funk. "The Soaring Seagull" could be the perfect embodiment of Ohno's signature sound when it comes to instrumentals. The producer was however equally at ease with producing lush disco extravaganzas such as "Subterranean Futari Botchi" by Nanako Sato or "I Wish You Love" by Hatsumi Shibata, a revamp of Charles Trenet classic, both colourful and glitzy.

Ohno's versatility is on display here with a couple of jazz vocal tracks, "Speak Low" by Ann Young accompanied by the Yuji Ohno Trio and Mieko Hirota's fast and furious "I Want to Be Happy" while he also excelled at crafting gorgeous mellow songs such as Ken Tanaka's "Lilac-gai No Aki" and Hatsumi Shibata's "Mouichido Kikasete" closing the selection on a perfect note. "Touch" is just a tiny selection from Yuji Ohno's immense body of work and it will hopefully open the ears of Japanese music lovers to one of the most important musician, producer and arrangers of his generation.

Musical innovators, Red Snapper, have announced that they will release a new album on Lo Recordings on the 20th of October 2023.

‘Live at The Moth Club’, the follow up to 2022’s acclaimed ‘Everybody Is Somebody’ long player, features nine tracks from a vast and impressive back catalogue on Warp Records and Lo Recordings and captures perfectly the energy of their celebrated sold out London show from May 2022 in Hackney.

With an incredible and genre bursting career that spans nearly thirty years, the new album demonstrates the band’s ability to constantly rework classic and new tracks, keeping them impassioned, experimental and relevant. The collection includes a version of ‘Suckerpunch’ which originally appeared on their 1998 album ‘Making Bones’ and will now be released as a single on the 15th of September 2023.

Notorious for casting convention aside, and remaining one of the UK’s most forward thinking and rule breaking live bands, Red Snapper embrace a unique blend of live, euphoric Afro-Jazz, Future Funk, Dub, Dark Hip-Hop and fragile soundscapes.

Formed in 1994, the original line up of Rich Thair (drums), Ali Friend (double bass) and David Ayers (guitar) released three EPs on Rich Thair and Dean Thatcher’s label Flaw Recordings. The first EP ‘Snapper’ featured Beth Orton on vocals.

Over the initial years the band released the sonically pioneering albums; ‘Reeled and Skinned’, ‘Prince Blimey’, ‘Making Bones’ and ‘Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper’ (Warp records), touring globally and supporting the likes of Massive Attack, Bjork, The Prodigy, De La Soul and The Fugees. They also acquired a reputation for innovative and expansive remixing – reworking tunes by Trouble Funk, David Holmes, Sabres of Paradise, Garbage, Lamb, S-Express and Edwyn Collins amongst others.

Since then the band have released the eponymous ‘Red Snapper’ and ‘A Pale Blue Dot’ on Lo Recordings followed by ‘Key’ on V2 Records which featured the track ‘Spikey’ which was on the soundtrack for El Camino, the Netflix Breaking Bad film directed by Vince Gilligan in 2019.

In 2013 Red Snapper composed a new soundtrack to the 1970’s Senegalese, psychedelic road movie Touki Bouki which had been restored by Martin Scorsese. The band toured Europe performing the soundtrack live to the film, culminating in the celebrated sell-out show at The Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank. In 2014 the album ‘Hyena’ was released on Lo Recordings featuring all the music from their original film score.

Paisley Park Enterprises, in Partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Records, announces expanded reissue of Prince & the New Power Generation’s multi-platinum album Diamonds And Pearls. This 12LP+ Blu-ray features 47 previously unreleased tracks and over two hours of live filmed concert footage in high definition.

Following the successful release of the 1999 Super Deluxe Edition (2019), and Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition (2020), the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition represents the third deep dive into Prince’s vault. It includes a total of 75 audio tracks across 7x CDs and 12x 180g vinyl records.

The set offers a newly remastered version of the album, plus 15 of the incredible remixes and B-sides from the era, including the never commercially released “Gett Off (Damn Near 10 Min.)” mix. The Super Deluxe Edition also features 33 previously unheard studio gems from Prince’s Illustrious vault, ranging from alternate versions of album tracks to numbers Prince gave away to other artists, and songs recorded while on the road in 1990.

Prince & The NPG previewed the Diamonds And Pearls Tour at Prince’s Minneapolis club, Glam Slam, on January 11, 1992. The sweaty, sold-out, last-minute show captures the sheer joy and sense of endless possibility that came to define this era. This previously unreleased live concert performance has been mixed from the 24-track master and rounds out the audio content of this 12LP set.
This same previously unreleased concert is also presented in stunning 2K video on the Blu-ray disc that accompanies both Super Deluxe Edition formats, in Stereo, 5.1 Dolby True HD, and Dolby ATMOS audio formats. The Blu-ray also features Prince & The New Power Generation’s performance at The Special Olympics at the Metrodome in Minneapolis in July 1991 (also in Stereo, 5.1, and ATMOS), as well as a previously unseen soundcheck.

The Blu-ray is completed by the long out of print Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection, originally released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1993. The 120-page hardback book which accompanies the SDE set features unseen photos by Randee St. Nicholas, and essays by: author & broadcaster Andrea Swensson; Archivist and Senior Researcher for the Prince Estate Duane Tudahl; British music critic and Prince expert Jason Draper; De Angela L. Duff, an Industry Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn; Social Media Personality KaNisa Williams; and an introduction from Public Enemy founder, Chuck D.

Modernists loved the latest R&B, blues and soul sounds coming from US cities such as Chicago, Memphis and Detroit and when British groups started playing their own interpretations in clubs and dancehalls they gained their own mod followings, their music remaining popular on the mod scene today.

Side 1 of this bespoke collection spotlights the British R&B scene and features a founding father of British blues Alexis Korner with the rare ‘Taboo Man’ alongside ace mod tracks from The Bo Street Runners, The Others, Mickey Finn and The Blue Men (featuring a youthful Jimmy Page on harmonica) and more.

Side 2 starts with British R&B groups developing their own sound by turning up their guitars, employing distortion, feedback and fuzz pedals to take the music in a new direction. Highlights include the Joe Meek produced ‘Crawdaddy Simone’ by The Syndicats (described as proto punk because of its ferocity), The In Crowd’s snarling ‘Things She Says’ and The Artwoods’ fuzz drenched mod favourite ‘I Take What I Want’ featuring future Deep Purple organist Jon Lord on organ.

Denny Laine (later of Wings) sings with The Moody Blues calming things down with some soulful beat.

Side 3 focuses on UK soul music - Rod ‘the mod’ Stewart backed by The Brian Auger Trinity takes on Sam Cooke’s ‘Shake’, the godfather of ska Laurel Aitken proves he’s also a natural soul man with his floor filling version of The Mar-Keys’ ‘Last Night’ and the amazing Barry St. John sings the funky ‘Gotta Brand New Man’. Popular club acts Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound and Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede would regularly bring the house down at mod clubs and also feature.

Side 4 includes mod club dancefloor smashes from The Spencer Davis Group and Rupert’s People (AKA mod group Fleur De Lys) while mod heroes The Action go psychedelic with ‘Look At The View’. A moonlighting Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds plays on John’s Children’s ‘But She’s Mine’ and there are brilliant singles revered by freakbeat and psych collectors such as Double Feature’s ‘Baby Get Your Head Screwed On’ and The Drag Set’s ‘Day And Night’.

Rarities from The Trendbender Band and The Union (featuring Elmer Gantry) appear on vinyl for the first time.

Total Touch was the Dutch duo of Trijntje Oosterhuis and Tjeerd Oosterhuis that infused music with a unique blend of smooth vocals, jazzy harmonies, and funky grooves. After the quintuple Platinum debut album, the follow-up was a guaranteed success. The album is a mix of infectious R&B, pop, and experiments with rap and dance. This Way entered the Dutch album top 100 at number 1 and immediately went Gold. That year the band made their first serious attempt to take their success beyond the Dutch and German borders. The band entered the US Billboard Dance Chart and were nominated for an MTV Award. Eventually, "This Way" became the band's swan song, with another mega hit in the form of "I'll Say Goodbye". In the end, This Way turned out to be the final studio album by the Dutch duo.

2023 marks the 25th anniversary of This Way and is therefore available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl. The vinyl package also includes an insert.

Mr. K’s series of edits on Most Excellent Unlimited is nothing if not eclectic, and utilitarian — as befits a veteran DJ of Danny Krivit’s stature. For our latest, Krivit pulls two disparate gems out of his bag of tricks and fits them neatly on a single 7-inch piece of vinyl.

In 1972 Ralph Bakshi’s landmark underground animated film Fritz the Cat was released, featuring a soundtrack performed by an all-star cast of San Francisco area musicians associated with the Berkeley-based Fantasy label. Perhaps Fantasy’s biggest artist was the vibes player Cal Tjader, who debuted in 1955 and was still going strong when songs were gathered for the movie’s soundtrack nearly twenty years later. Rather than simply using one of his older, already-recorded tunes, Tjader laid down a completely new version of his earlier hit record “Mamblues.” This time however, he swapped his standard latin percussion accompaniment for a can’t-miss rhythm section of Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, and Arthur Adams. The result was a searing funk workout that took the latin jazz classic to new heights. Mr. K subtly warms this one up by adding a hint of reverb and bringing the tempo down a notch, pushing things from frenetic to funky, and firmly into friendly mixing territory for the DJs.

For our flip side, we turn to an unsung jewel amongst Philadelphia’s many contributions to disco music. Executive Suite released a series of singles in ’74 and ’75 that were recorded at the famed Sigma Sound Studios and had ties to a number of better known disco luminaries, among them the holy trinity of Baker-Harris-Young and, on “You Believed In Me,” the mighty Patrick Adams. Along with his longtime associate Stan Lucas, Adams garnished the vocal quartet’s composition with a driving arrangement and epic, soaring strings. The combined effect produced a vibrant, uplifting club cut that echoes the positive spirit of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up” while being altogether its own thing. For our latest release Mr. K focuses solely on Adams’s instrumental section, returning repeatedly to that addictive string riff and creating a propulsive rhythm track that just doesn’t quit. And we don’t want it to!

As always, these connoisseur’s choice cuts have been remastered and pressed to Most Excellent Unlimited’s standards, and are primed and ready on 7-inch for DJs and home listeners alike.

Taken from his standout album 'All Around The World', Serge Funk is back on vinyl with two delectable cuts: 'Move On Up' and 'Runaway'.

Both tracks get that extra magic touch from Groove Culture label bosses Micky More & Andy Tee for this release as they serve up a double header of specially made seven inch edits. Glamorously groovy, club heaters that blend all the best elements from disco, house, funk and boogie. 100% party starters right here.

DJ Support: Dimitri From Paris, Danny Krivit, Dr Packer, Late Nite Tuff Guy, John Morales, Moplen, Craig Charles and many others…

Splash Blue is honoured to present Incognito's latest album, Into You, a 16-track masterpiece of jazz-funk and soul. The album features original compositions, all with the signature sound of Incognito. Led by the production of band leader and multi-instrumentalist Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick, Into You showcases the band's incredible musicianship and lush soundscapes. Along with Bluey, the album features the band's new vocalists Natalie Duncan & Cherri V alongside renowned vocalist Tony Momrelle. Into You is the perfect blend of old and new, and will captivate fans of Incognito and soul music. The album is available on Double Vinyl only currently.

Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express was the phoenix that rose from the ashes of sixties combo The Trinity. Fusing R&B, jazz, soul and funk, keyboard maestro Brian Auger created a new breed of music that took the US and the UK by storm. Auger’s unique experimentation culminated in rhythm-infused jazz funk that united Black and white ’70s audiences. The 6 studio albums that make up Complete Oblivion illustrate the group’s diverse musical influences and progression, from the 1970 self titled debut’s heavy jazz-rock to the jazz fusion, latin and disco tinged Reinforcements from 1975 - this process no doubt powered by the groups’ evolving line up, which included guitarists Jim Mullen and Jack Mills, drummers Robbie McIntosh & Steve Ferrone, bassists Barry Dean and Clive Chaman and vocalist Alex Ligertwood. The musical highlights within Complete Oblivion are many, but particular highlights to mention have to be Total Eclipse (Oblivion Express), Fill Your Head With Laugher (A Better Land), the blistering cover of Eddie Harris’ Freedom Jazz Dance (Second Wind), the Barry Dean composition Whenever You're Ready, the version of Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues (Closer To It), Beginning Again (Straight Ahead) and the mind bending keyboard tour de force Brain Damage (Reinforcements). Given the groups legendary status among fellow musicians such as Zucchero and Herbie Hancock, DJ’s like Kenny Dope and Gilles Peterson and Auger’s legion of fans worldwide - that mission was fully accomplished - or to put it another way, in the words of super fans The Beastie Boys: “Those who remain oblivious to the obvious delights of Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express do so at their own risk!”

'I heard about Seif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions maybe 3-4 years ago. Their album 'Jazz, Jazz Jazz' ended up on my radar because of an eBay auction with the bids eventually rising daily up to a staggering 1000$. The music is a unique combination of incredible horn arrangements powerfully performed, a vigorous drummer contributing a funky backbone and Seif's vocals uniting those elements. The results range from instrumental tracks awaking memories of 1970s crime thriller soundtracks to more Sudanese-rooted tracks, a lot of them modernized versions traditional rhythms of the diverse regions of Sudan and even an excursion into Colgolese Soukouss.
I went for my second trip to Sudan in December 2018 and after doing some research on the first trip my local colleagues Larissa and Yassir had managed to reach Amir, The Scorpions band leader and he was happy to meet. We got together with him in a Cafe right at the Nile in Omdurman. It was a happy occasion for everyone. He told us stories about him meeting Jimmy Cliff and Lewis Armstrong when they visited Sudan and how he and his band mates from The Scorpions played extensively in Kuwait, both in club residencies as well as for television. Amir brought tons of incredible photos illustrating not only the bands history but the vivid cultural live in the many music clubs in Khartoum of the 1970s. During this decade up until 1983 the capital was home to a huge number of clubs, bards and concert halls. This scene started to perish after president Nimeiry's turn away from his socialist policies, that he was widely associated with in the first decade of his rule, towards the implementation of Sharia law in 1983. During the first decade of his rule he had actively supported various artists of the Jazz scene, taking some of them on trips throughout Africa. The 1989 coup of Bashir and his generals then caused the final blow to a once thriving scene. Both of these political events within 6 years lead to significant drawbacks for the Sudanese jazz scene resulting into hardly no gig opportunities left and parties and concerts being critically observed. A number of musicians faced prosecution, most of the time for their political views; some left Sudan for good. Music never completely vanished from public life and even the regime kept selected artists close, but for a majority of those bands affiliated to the jazz scene life and making ends became a lot harder. The Scorpions dissolved as a group around the same time.
The re-release was produced with a clean copy of the vinyl version as a source. The original reel tape of the album stayed with Saif Abu Bakr along with another reel with other recordings that were never released. Unfortunately it was lost when Saif Abu Bakr had to flee to Kuwait temporarily during the second gulf war when Iraq raided Kuwait. Vinyl version comes with extensive booklets with photos, interviews, liner notes. The vinyl version also has a DLL code.

Mo" Horizons enter their seventh album chapter andremarkably, celebrate 25 years of their exultant andglobally enriched, forward-thinking, electronic sound. Featuring a cast of guest singers, including Ghanaianlegend Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Mango, is a fiery andsample-heavy blend of future-funk, balearic, highlife,Brazilian drum "n bass and lo-fi hip hop, set to bereleased on their long-standing label Agogo Records.

Spanning over three decades, German DJ andproduction duo Mo" Horizons, led by Ralf Droesemeyer,& Mark Wetzler have been a relentless force on theglobal groove scene. For 25 years, the pair havecontinued to grow their international audiences,testament to remaining on-point, ignoring the fashionand tribalism of scenes like big beat and broken beat,that thrived but then morphed and went off radar.

Emerging from the heart of Brussels, the captivating five-piece Azmari is set to release "Maëlström" on October 20. For Maelström, the follow up to their acclaimed debut album Sam?'? (with raving reviews in Uncut, Songlines, Uk Vibe and Electronic Sound), the group has delved into uncharted musical territories creating a mesmerizing "azmarian" identity and melding intricate jazz textures with intoxicating oriental influences, otherworldly ethio grooves, enigmatic dark funk, and the pulsating beats of dub music,

For the creation of "Maëlström," Azmari embarked on an intensive one-week recording journey. During this time, they meticulously honed the sound of their instruments, blending the nostalgic notes of old-school clavinet keyboards with cutting-edge synth sounds, resulting in a distinct and alluring atmosphere. Enriching their traditional instruments with balanced pedal effects and special amplification, the band added new flavours to their sound.

Founded in the vibrant musical haven of Brussels in 2015, Azmari have been crafting a truly unique tapestry of musical exploration. Azmari defies conventional labels to weave a narrative of sonic innovation and artistic liberation. Influences range from an eclectic array of artists, including Okay Temiz, Heliocentrics, Whitefield Brothers, Surprise Chef, Antibalas and Sons of Kemet.

From the band: "For the third part of our musical journey, we dug into a deeper creative process. We literally immersed ourselves in deep waters during a unique two-week aquatic residency. The tracks on this album are thus directly imbued with distinctive underwater frequencies, the sounds of abyssal creatures, and the beauty of the seabed. Convinced by this creative experience, and guided by captain (and producer) Frederik Segers, we brought this album back to the surface and reveal a resolutely scaly, sandy, and deep soundscape."

Saxuality is the successful debut album by Dutch alto saxophonist Candy Dulfer and contained two singles, "Heavenly City" and "Saxuality". Following up the huge worldwide hit "Lily Was Here" with Dave Stewart, the album was a guaranteed seller and charted in Germany, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.

The album is not just a collection of songs, but a testament to the artist's undeniable talent and creative vision.

Saxuality is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

This fall „Nice Girl’s“ highly anticipated follow up to „Ipsum“ is finally going to be out. 2 years have passed since „Ipsum" was released, back then the wild 15 track long ride has been paraphrased as „mind boggling, tongue in cheek, spiritual & danceable“ by RA.
Ruby‘s second Album titled „UPP“ is more lighthearted compared to its predecessor as she moves away from the somewhat darker, earthy tones of „Ipsum“ to create a fun, quirky, bleepy and fast universe where pitched vocals meet breakbeats and cosmic melodies.
The Album includes features by "Eden Burns" as well as "Michael Kime“, who as it happens is Ruby’s father ; ) Enjoy!