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Hand-numbered vinyl edition of 500 copies is 180gramLP in window-cut artboard jacket that frames eight different images from Magid's The Barragan Archives project, printed on four 12"x12" art card inserts including an artworked inner sleeve. The original score for the acclaimed feature-length artworld documentary by multi-disciplinary artist Jill Magid: an exploration of the contested legacy of the Mexican architect Luis Barragan and an art intervention in its own right. Griffin wrote, performed and recorded The Proposal soundtrack with an understated but wide-ranging electro-acoustic sensibility that organically compliments the film's enigmatic narrative and the discreet beauty of Barragan's architectural spaces. Various acoustic instruments combine with electronics, sampling and ambient treatments for an ever-shifting suite of musical vignettes across the album's thirteen tracks. Guest musicians include Matana Roberts, Reut Regev, Jim White (Xylouris White, The Dirty Three), Jason Ajemian (Helado Negro), and Sophie Trudeau and Timothy Herzog (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) alongside Griffin's own contributions on multiple instruments, field recordings and production. Griffin weaves an iridescent musical tapestry, threading various genres with sublime thematic and atmospheric coherence, echoing Magid's contemplative, cerebral journey. The music also works enchantingly on its own as a subtly haunted, evocative and meditative album.

The Jamaican reggae group The Wailing Souls was formed in 1965. They released their debut album Wild Suspense through Island Records in 1979, after their singles releases through Channel One became popular. Wild Suspense became a roots reggae stemple, renowned for its staggering musicianship. The album contains a mix of Studio One do-overs (such as “Row Fisherman” and “Feel the Spirit”), a handful of self-productions with added horns (“Bredda Gravalicious”, “Very Well”) and tunes by Rudolph “Garth” Dennis (“Slow Coach”) and George “Buddy” Hayes (“Wild Suspense”). Wild Suspense, overall, contains a reflective and thoughtful body of music, with beautiful harmony singing and majestic instrumentation.

Binding a deep social and political conscious with rigorous musical experimentation, the Brussels based, Italian pianist, performer, composer, Giovanni Di Domenico, delivers Downtown Ethnic Music, the 4th instalment of Die Schachtel’s Decay Music series, focused on inspired contemporary experimental efforts in the ambient, ethereal, and emotively abstract music.

Over the last decade or so, Giovanni Di Domenico has carved a deep path through a diverse number of discrete fields within experimental music, working in various ensembles - Abschattungen, AufHeben, Bonjintan, Cement Shoes, Delivery Health, Going, etc. - as well as producing a discography of critically heralded solo efforts, and intimate collaborations with Jim O'Rourke, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Akira Sakata, Arve Henriksen, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Alexandra Grimal, Nate Wooley, Chris Corsano, and others.

Downtown Ethnic Music encounters Di Domenico reimagining the future of urban music, pluming the mysterious and emotive depths of self, to arrive at vision of sonorous utopia, radically divergent from those of the past. Hybridizing numerous forms of musical practice, while making a conceptual nod to Jon Hassell’s notion of the "fourth world”, as well as the cross-temporal transnationalism of Roberto Musci, Aktuala, Futuro Antico, and the Third Ear Band, Di Domenico’s vision of democracy - rendered through the creative metaphors of sound - is a true to life, bristling conflict, as open-ended as it is ordered, and as dramatic and tense as it is beautiful, playful, and refined.

A colorful tapestry of ideas, experiences, histories, and reference points, woven from a pallet of electronics, synthesis, and various acoustic sources - the intervening rhythms of drummer João Lobo, vocals by Pak Yan Lau and Patshiva CIE women choir, the horns of Ananta Roosens and Jordi Grognard etc. - across the length of Downtown Ethnic Music, the boundaries between idiom, expressive concept, collective, and individual blur, giving way to a visionary, forward-thinking rendering of electroacoustic music, that subtly reminds us of the social and political potential of art.

Seamlessly incorporating bubbling electronic abstraction, sprawling ambience and long tones, throbbing kosmische, acoustic free improvisation, and the human voice, Giovanni Di Domenico’s Downtown Ethnic Music represents a high-water mark in an already astounding career. Issued by Die Schachtel in a one-time edition of 250 copies, pressed to 180g marble vinyl and housed in a pro-printed inner sleeve and jacket, contained in a silk-screen PVC sleeve.

Analog Africa Presents Edo Funk Explosion Vol. 1, available on
2xLP/Gatefold LP with 20-page booklet / CD with 36-page booklet. It was
in Benin City, in the heart of Nigeria, that a new hybrid of intoxicating
highlife music known as Edo Funk was born.
It first emerged in the late 1970s when a group of musicians began to experiment with different ways of integrating elements from their native Edo culture
and fusing them with new sound effects coming from West Africa s night-clubs.
Unlike the rather polished 1980 s Nigerian disco productions coming out of the
international metropolis of Lagos Edo Funk was raw and reduced to its bare
minimum.
Someone was needed to channel this energy into a distinctive sound and Sir
Victor Uwaifo appeared like a mad professor with his Joromi studio. Uwaifo
took the skeletal structure of Edo music and relentless began fusing them with
synthesizers, electric guitars and 80 s effect racks which resulted in some of the
most outstanding Edo recordings ever made. An explosive spiced up brew with
an odd psychedelic note known as Edo Funk.
That’s the sound you’ll be discovering in the first volume of the Edo Funk Explosion series which focusses on the genre’s greatest originators; Osayomore
Joseph, Akaba Man, and Sir Victor Uwaifo: Osayomore Joseph was one of the
first musicians to bring the sound of the flute into the horn-dominated world
of highlife, and his skills as a performer made him a fixture on the Lagos scene.
When he returned to settle in Benin City in the mid 1970s - at the invitation of
the royal family - he devoted himself to the modernisation and electrification
of Edo music, using funk and Afro-beat as the building blocks for songs that
weren’t afraid to call out government corruption or confront the dark legacy of
Nigeria’s colonial past.
Akaba Man was the philosopher king of Edo funk. Less overtly political than Osayomore Joseph and less psychedelic than Victor Uwaifo, he found the perfect
medium for his message in the trance-like grooves of Edo funk. With pulsating
rhythms awash in cosmic synth-fields and lyrics that express a deep personal
vision, he found great success at the dawn of the 1980s as one of Benin City’s
most persuasive ambassadors of funky highlife.
Victor Uwaifo was already a star in Nigeria when he built the legendary Joromi
studios in his hometown of Benin City in 1978. Using his unique guitar style as
the mediating force between West-African highlife and the traditional rhythms
and melodies of Edo music, he had scored several hits in the early seventies,
but once he had his own sixteen-track facility he was able to pursue his obsession with the synesthetic possibilities of pure sound, adding squelchy synths,
swirling organs and studio effects to hypnotic basslines and raw grooves. Between his own records and his production for other musicians, he quickly established himself as the godfather of Edo funk.
What unites these diverse musicians is their ability to strip funk down to its
primal essence and use it as the foundation for their own excursions inward to
the heart of Edo culture and outward to the furthest limits of sonic alchemy.
The twelve tracks on Edo Funk Explosion Volume 1 pulse with raw inspiration,
mixing highlife horns, driving rhythms, day-glo keyboards and tripped-out guitars into a funk experience unlike any other.

A GROOVY SELECTION IN THREE ORIGINAL VINYLS TO DISCOVER THE GOLD NUGGETS OF FUNK, SOUL & HIP-HOP ! Selection by the journalist Olivier Cachin and illustrations by the artist LAZOO.

For his third full-length album, Jacques Renault explores his craft through the format of the classic late-night radio megamix. It's a tour de force that finds him blending his quick-cutting DJ sensibilities with his crate-digging, drum-chopping disco-chemist bonafides into one wham-bam party of pastiche. This is Renault as we know him—but at hyperspeed, tearing through twenty- three tracks in under half an hour. And while it's a head rush of his trademark funky drums, sassy horns, playful synths, it's arranged as an album, with songwriting and structure at the fore. Imagine it as a flip on the script for Renault's most loved club 12-inches of the past, which luxuriate in long-form, stretched-out grooves that burn for hours, fills that ride for days. Instead of on pulling a thread for six, seven minutes, he romps around in a bouncy ball pit, plucking out whatever captures his imagination for a moment, then diving back in to discover another buried
nugget. It's Jacques Renault as we've always known him, but this time through a suite of bite-size vignettes instead of slow-burn grooves.

The track is already on the ‘Filoxiny’ album so Skinshape extended the mix and backed it with a dub version for the flip. Skinshape is the project of British musician William Dorey. The sound has roots in many genres but in particular 1960s Funk, Soul, Reggae, Psychedelic Rock, Afrobeat and Folk. Aside from the Skinshape project Dorey was bassist for the band Palace from 2014-2017 and also runs a reggae label called Horus Records based in North London. About I Didn’t Know from Dorey himself: “This is the most 'pop' song I've possibly ever made, and possibly the most 'modern' sounding. It is about being in a difficult relationship and not knowing how to deal with it and making mistakes as a result. I wrote and recorded most of the song around the drum pattern, and created some (terrible sounding) digital orchestral parts temporarily whilst I created the body of the song. I recorded the strings and horns in the last part of the recording process before doing the final mixes. The horns were recorded separately with the help of my long-time friend (since school) and master arranger Jon Moody (of the group Franc Moody).”

LP black vinyl with Download Code. Ltd. Edition of 500. "Free-spirited rapture" Gareth Thompson RNR Magazine Nov 2020. A statement of intent from The NJE. Spirit of Indo takes up the whole first side of their RSD 2021 mini-album - and it certainly doesn't outstay it's welcome. Improvised over a gently incessant yet soporific loop, bassist Mark Bedford and drummer Simon Charterton fall in and out of grooves while multi-instrumentalist Terry Edwards deftly moves between saxes, trumpet and melodica to invent topline melodies within that comfortable straitjacket. As the track progresses bigger instrumentation is suggested by the tunes - and so the track builds with more horns and percussion, the resulting climax making way for the comforting loop to bring us back down to the start. Side 2 opens with an instrumental version of Bowie's Five Years, even more pared down than Edwards' previous take on the tune for a John Peel session in the nineties. Bedders' acoustic and electric basses weave around each other while Simon's understated cymbal-work buoys up the fragile melodica melody. Tizita raises the tempo slightly and is inspired by Ethiopian jazz-legend Mulatu Astatke who Terry had the pleasure of working with a few years back. Title track Nought to 60 is driven by Teutonic beats on electronic Wave drum, a Motorik bassline and heavily effected saxes which thunder towards the buffers - after which you'll want to flip the album and start all over again.

Weaving its way through the tapestry of influences from Lonnie Liston Smith, Softmachine and Ravi Shankar, the title track takes a more contemporary approach merging U.K. urban / spoken word, with a meandering melancholic melody, driving home the message that it’s a 'Matter of Urgency’.

Opening the recording, 'Jazz Emergency' has a laid back vibe, coasting on a hypnotic bass line, with layered wailing trilled horns, creating a blanket of tenor sax, delayed Rhodes and pianos over and around.

Crooked Urge (Part 1 & 2) (Trk: A2, B1) came about from a first time session with drummer Sergiu Fanica, Ozan and pianist Aziz. Although a jam, the band were keen to share the spirit of this recording!

The track 'Matter of Urgency' is a call to the inner self, to take care of the world around us and to pave a better world for the generations ahead. It is an enchanting fusion of wailing horns with spoken word poetry over the top.

'Sound of Pulsar' is another spaced out journey that came about from a jam night in the studio, bass line looped and off into the musical cosmos...

Once again we thank all the amazing musicians and friends sharing their creativity on this album and to those who inspire us to create!

Ambient instrumental version of Steve Von Till’s previous release No Wilderness Deep Enough.
Limited Violet Colour Vinyl.
For fans of Neurosis, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnalds, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Brian Eno.

“Von Till has delved into prolonged and hypnotic expressions of darkness and decay...achingly slow post-classical hues (glissandro strings, mournful horns, reverb piano) fusing intimacy to grandeur. But the most stentorian, weariest voice imaginable - graver even than Mark Lanegan - and the existential dread of his words equally chills to the bones.” 4/5 MOJO (No Wilderness Deep Enough)
Steve Von Till has made a life’s work out of seeking the elemental. With a solo discography that stretches back more than two decades, he has toiled in a shadow realm, peeling back layers of reality in a never-ending search for true meaning and raw emotion. A Deep Voiceless Wilderness strips back the veil even further. An achingly beautiful ambient work with neo-classical leanings, the album is a hallucinatory and elegant rumination on our disconnect from the natural world, each other, and ultimately ourselves.
For some listeners, the album may recall the work of modern composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson, Brian Eno or Gavin Bryars. For Von Till, it’s about surrendering to the spirit of place—and to the original intent behind his 2020 solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough. That album marked a significant first for Von Till: It was his first solo record without a guitar in hand. Instead, Von Till intoned powerful and thought-provoking lyrics over piano, cello, mellotron and analog synthesizers. A Deep Voiceless Wilderness is that same album without Von Till’s words.
“This is how I originally heard this piece of music,” he says. “Without the voice as an anchor or earthbound narrative, these pieces have a broader wingspan. They become something else entirely and unfold in a more expansive way. The depth of the synths, juxtaposed with the strings and French horn, have space to develop and allow the listener to imagine their own story.”

Exclusive premieres scheduled in Music is My Sanctuary and Les Yeux Orange and heavy dj support including Groove Armada's Tom Findlay, Blessed Madonna, Erol Alkan, Dino Soccio, Tricky Disco, Leo Zero and many more

"In The Dark", is the new release from Casbah 73. A sensual, sinuous disco affair dealing with touch, human contact and yearning. Three different versions, each a completely different dancefloor proposition and ranging from organic and soulful disco, to hands in the air, uplifting funky horns to searing club banger, all crashing pianos, fierce bass, deep Moog and wild, dubby vocals. It is, in a nutshell, what we need now.

Following on from his recent debut release on Defected/Glitterbox Records, Spanish/US DJ and producer Casbah 73 continues from strength to strength with this, his latest offering, out now on his spiritual home Lovemonk Records.

Recorded locally with a group of top flight musicians and featuring a stellar vocal performance from Angela Gooden.

High Pulp returns with a brand new instalment of covers, on Mutual Attraction Vol 2. A spiritual jazz journey, interpreting arrangements by Arthur Verocai, Cortex and Casiopea. The 8-piece fusion band pays homage to tracks and artists that have woven themselves into the DNA of their band.

The Mutual Attraction series is about paying homage and looking back to influences that have paved the way for informing the band’s sound. It was important to the band to find 3 different significant spaces to record each volume. MA Vol. 2 was recorded at a house that the group’s drummer, Bobby Granfelt holds many fond childhood memories. It is the house that his father grew up in, and a house that his grandfather built. A house that would eventually become Granfelt’s current residence and also is the band’s homebase for rehearsing and hanging out. It is a reflection of the past and the present, as are these interpretations of songs. Rich textures and cinematic grooves alongside trippy guitars, lush Rhodes keys, and soulful horns. Covering tunes that may have flown under the radar, but have impacted the group immensely.

High Pulp are an 8-piece band that emerged from the Royal Room, a legendary Seattle Jazz club where they held “Funk Church” jam sessions in 2017. Their signature sound is a Psychedelic fusion of Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, and Soul which come together with complex, well thought out arrangements and progressive style. After successful sessions and premieres with prestigious station KEXP, and being at the forefront of the Seattle music scene, they are now branching out and taking their sound worldwide.

Bedouin’s Human By Default recruits Upercent for the four-track ‘Inconformisme EP’ this May.

Previously recording for Watergate, Kompakt and Adana Twins’ TAU, the Valencia-based DJ/producer arrives on Bedouin’s imprint for his debut appearance on the label, delivering some of his most accomplished productions to date on vinyl.

Across the record, Upercent displays combines his wide range of musical influences into a set of engaging downtempo dancefloor cuts with impeccable attention to detail. Opener ‘Elefants’ twists various acoustic instruments and vocal samples around soft shakers and warm low end, leading into theloose percussion of ‘Fluir’, grounded by a softly thudding kick amongst fluttering and glitched out FX.

On the flip, ‘Caduco’ combines the natural and the synthetic as hand percussion meets sharp synth stabs and glowing pads. ‘Hipocresia’ twists mangled horns over a low slung backbeat.

Recorded in 1973 in Rome - at Piero Umiliani’s "Sound WorkShop" – this one of the stand-out italian libraries to say the least. The whole record oozes a dreamy, mysterious, surrealist atmosphere enhanced by the vivid instrumentation that open a series of mesmerizing pieces which range from the gentle to the hypnotic. Eastern sounds, ritual horns and assorted metal banging and scrapping add to the whole mix for a landmark sound that will eventually evolve in delirious lysergic passages, hypnotic bass riffing, stoned funk beats, dubbed-out passages and Rino De Filippi trade-mark collage and sound manipulation.

Comet Records presents the Tony Allen & Afrika 70 reissue series with the classic late seventies first four solo albums of Tony Allen remastered and restored: Jealousy, Progress, No Accomodation for Lagos & No Discrimination, all coming in an heavy Deluxe Tip-On Jacket.
1978's No Accommodation for Lagos, Tony Allen's third solo album, is an effortless Afrobeat masterpiece. The Afrika 70 band floats through two of Tony's heaviest and most churning compositions.
With this album, we start to hear Tony Allen's unique style of Afro-Funk that he would explore for decades to come as a solo artist - it is groove-focused, a rolling meditation on rhythm.
The first track, "No Accommodation for Lagos" is one of Tony's most pointed and churning songs, recorded in a chaotic period following the army raid of Fela's compound. There is a seriousness to the funk, a real burning purpose in the performance of every instrument, from the horns to the shekere. Tony's performance is supercharged - he clearly showed up to the studio that day with a fire in his heart. The followup track, "African Message," is an Afrobeat compositional staple. Tony sits back in the cut through most of the supremely funky track until about seven minutes in, when he steps into the spotlight to express himself fully - his emotions, his frustrations, his convictions - in a fiery duet between his drumkit and his voice. The percussionists coalesce around him in support, lifting Tony up as he gives it his all.
Tony Allen was a musical and compositional visionary, and this album finds him beginning to explore that vision outside of Fela's immense gravitational pull. They are the start of a new era in Tony's fruitful career as a solo artist, opening the floodgates for his distinctive Afro-Funk sound and laying the foundation for the next generation of Afrobeat musicians to come.

Wetzt die Äxte, Speere und Schwerter – monumentaler Black Metal ist mit STORMRULER auf dem
Vormasch! Schärft die Klingen und macht euch bereit für die Schlacht mit den US-Black-Metal- Senkrechstartern STORMRULER! Das Zwei-Mann-Projekt aus St. Louis, bestehend aus Gitarristen/Sänger Jason
Asberry und Schlagzeuger Jesse Schobel, erzeugt eine eiskalte Black-Metal-Atmosphäre, inspiriert aus
zeitgenössischem Metal und düsteren Erzählungen von Krieg, High-Fantasy und Geschichte. Auf STORMRULERs fulminantem Debütalbum Under The Burning Eclipse, welches 2021 über Napalm Records erscheint, gibt die Band genau das zum Besten: Auf 19 Tracks, erzählt das Album erschütternde Geschichten
von Krieg, Tod, Sieg und Niederlage und liefert ein unvergleichliches, höllisches Hörerlebnis, in welchem
sich bedrohliche Ambient-Parts und lodernde Black Metal-Riffs die Türklinke in die Hand geben. Under
The Burning Eclipse von STORMRULER ist ein musikalisch vollendetes Debütalbum voller fantasiehafter,
düsterer Fabeln, die Fans von extremem Metal nicht verpassen wollen!

While the powerhouses of the loose Native Tongue collective were undoubtedly De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers, the wider family threw up some intriguing groups and unforgettable records.

Black Sheep – the duo of Dres and Mr Lawnge – were a natural fit for the Native Tongue vibe, displaying the same kind of wit and humour as their counterparts, with an off-kilter approach that helped them stand out.

While they only released one truly amazing album – their debut ‘A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ was a standout in 1991, one of hip-hop’s best years for LP’s – it spawned five unique singles, with this the first one that really garnered any attention.

While it wasn’t a smash hit outside of hip-hop circles, it showcased their approach perfectly – sinuous rhymes, clever wordplay and a hint of flirtation. If the drums sound familiar, it’s because it’s the same Joe Farrell break – the intro to 1974’s ‘Upon This Rock’ – that Kanye West later used for ‘Gone’. Add in some horns from Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass and you’ve got a funky little earworm.

They return to the same Joe Farrell well for the flip, ‘Butt… In the Meantime’, because if the break isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Previously unavailable on 7”, this brace of 1991 sureshots is the perfect introduction to the idiosyncrasies of the Native Tongue era.

BLK JKS are a seminal force in the South African underground.
After an extended hiatus the Johannesburg foursome, championed by The Mars
Volta and TV On The Radio (amongst many others), return with a groundbreaking
new album.
Monster grooves meet guitar and brass driven afro-rock. Echoes of spiritual jazz, postapocalyptic funk, renegade dub and kwaito.
Features Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Tour and Beastie Boys accomplice Money Mark
on the track “Maiga.”
”This South African art-rock band traffics in complexity, cross-hatching not only rhythms
and textures but also the signifiers of genre”- The New York Times
“A prequel to 2009’s amazing After Robots … What occurs when you listen to Abantu is
that it is an Old Testament support to After Robots – where that album prophesied Afropunk, this album suggests the roots to that moment, an engrossing journey of Afrobeat,
fuzzy yet hugely suggestive drone and psych textures, and a bristling sense of both pride
and critique that sings through.” The Wire
“A dark and brooding number that simmers and smoulders as it goes, fueled by a driving
rhythm section and mournful horns.” - Brooklyn Vegan about single “Human Hearts”
“BLK JKS, an awe-inspiring exemplar of modern Africa’s indigenous sound, make a victorious return after an extended hiatus … They create something unique on this album.”
***** Morning Star

Mi Conga es de Akokan is built on the Conga de los Hoyos rhythms from Santiago de Cuba. Saxophones and trombones alternate with vocals imploring the listener to dance over intensely syncopated percussion, leading to a melodic flight by the masterful trumpeter Reinaldo "Molote" Melian. The horns re-enter, and the Orquesta takes off to soaring heights of rhythmic intensity and sophistication.

La Guajira is a slow country rhythm told by the tres guitar and percussion onto which horns and strings add slinking, narcotized harmonies. Pepito tells a sensual tale of romance with a girl from the country "la guajira", which slowly builds in intensity over soneos, coros and mambos until all parts interlock in a lugubrious climax.

Be With is delighted to present Jorge López Ruiz’s El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz), eternal Argentinian magic released on CBS in 1967 that must be one of the most sought-after South American jazz LPs.

Living in Buenos Aires in the 60s, driven by creative impulse and rage Jorge López Ruiz used music as his platform to protest the Argentine military dictatorship: “I could never stand dictatorships, to be told how you have to think, what you have to do. Nor did I endure discrimination”.

A young López Ruiz had appeared on a television panel alongside writer, politician and philosopher Arturo Jauretche, criticising the Onganía dictatorship. Jauretche told López Ruiz “Now say it with music”. This was the deep inhale that lead to El Grito, literally “The Scream”. As López Ruiz later explained “Jauretche urged me that my protests should not remain in words and acquire the consistency of a work… but it was not so much what he told me but how he told me, what prompted me to make the work take shape, first in a live concert and then in a recording”.

As the police and military began resorting to kidnapping, torture and summary executions to quiet dissent, with depressing inevitability the artist community and their work were a particular target of the increasingly brutal regime. El Grito was banned not long after it was released and the majority of original copies were unceremoniously destroyed.

The work of a genius artist living under an opressive dictatorship, erased by the government of the time, this is buried treasure in every sense and it’s been a rare record for over 50 years. But it isn’t just being hard to find that has pushed up the prices of those few original copies that survived, this is a foundational record in the development of jazz in South America.

El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz) is a showcase for Jorge López Ruiz’s skills as a composer and arranger as he leads a virtuoso orchestra of the likes of Mario Cosentino (alto sax), Baby López Furst (piano), Pichi Mazzei (drums), Gustavo Bergalli (trumpet), Oscar López Ruiz (guitar), Arturo Schneider (flute) and Jorge López Ruiz himself plays double bass on the fourth and fifth movements.

As the album’s sub-title explains, The album is a Jazz orchestra concept suite. Five movements, to be heard as a whole, that end where they begin.

“When I wrote it there was no history of a cyclical work in jazz. But I didn't notice that, I needed to express something and I did it. At that time they told me I was crazy, that such a thing was very difficult to do. But hey, I like challenges”.

Yet this is not challenging jazz. There are certainly avant garde, free jazz flourishes, but the hard bop characteristics make this a very accessible album: easy to listen to without being easy listening. López Ruiz’s love of film brings a definite cinematic feel.

The title movement opens the album in bombastic style. “El Grito” grabs you by the lapels and refuses to let go. Raw then controlled, it’s by turns stabbing then soothing, with rage weaved in and out of the elegant styles. “M.A.B. = Amor” is our favourite here. With a tense introduction and a patient build, a gentle sax sweeps in to lift everything up to meet the serene piano and soft drums. Elegantly paced, it moves back and forth between deep contemplation and a more urgent call and response between strings and horns. A near-eight-minute, slow motion marvel.

The second side eases in with the beautifully-titled “Hasta El Cielo, Sin Nubes, Con Todas Las Estrellas” (“Up To The Sky, No Clouds, With All The Stars”) a relatively brief mid-tempo piece featuring López Ruiz’s insistent bass notes high in the mix, and again blending the sublime with the emotive with its wild horns and tight rhythm section.

It’s followed by “Tendré El Mundo” (“I Will Have The World”) which also leads with hypnotic bass, but this time swifter, driven by crashing drums, rapid horn conversations and effortlessly cool piano flourishes. Rounding out the suite, “De Nuevo El Grito” (something like “The Next Scream” or “The Scream Renewed”) is a stylish closer. Whilst López Ruiz’s bass shifts the track along, the horns and piano are more restrained, yet no less stunning.

This Be With edition of El Grito sounds sensational, if we do say so ourselves. Working with audio from the original analogue tapes, the vinyl mastering chops of Simon Francis are on full show here in what he considers to be some of his best ever work for Be With. Pete Norman’s cutting skills have made sure nothing is lost. The tortured artwork has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to helping this revered work find a rightful place in every protest art collection.

Originally released in 2008 on Mr C’s and going for over £80 a throw, the band’s excellent funky debut 45, remastered for maximum dancefloor appeal. The stellar stand-out cut from the band’s 2010 album ‘The Outsiders Are Back’ was released on Luaka Bop. Think Curtis Mayfield with Fela’s horns and a percussion backing set to self-destruct; a spine tingling anthem, no less.

Cut with Willie Tee’s Gatur Records’ flipside that goes for £250 minimum. An organ-led, brass-powered groove from the New Orleans’ soul legend, originally released in 1972 A deep, soulful croon with an enveloping rhythm and a euphoric lift, remastered from the original sound files for added soul.

'Safari' is an essential latin soul/boogaloo cut from the master Tito. Heavy on horns and percussion as you would expect. Taken from the 'The King Tito Puente' LP released on Tico in 1969.'Be's The Other Way' is another lovely latin soul/boogaloo jam - mid tempo and jazzier - from percussion master Willie Bobo. Originally released on Tico 45 in 1964.

'Deep', also known as 'Oh Poor Me' is a mid-tempo latin soul/boogaloo from singer Quetchy Alma aka La Lloroncita. Taken from the very rare LP 'El Sol Brilla Para Todos' on Tico.'Identify Yourself' is a stone cold Nu Yorican funk/soul hit. Drum heavy, huge horns and punchy Rhodes lines. Taken from their self-titled LP on Vaya, released in 1974.

Mother Freedom Band’s Cutting The Chord is a funky modern soul classic. It’s both a criminally under-appreciated album and a hard-to-find record so we’re delighted to be giving this sweet disco-funk groover the reissue treatment it deserves.

Produced by the great Al Goodman from The Moments and originally released in 1977, Cutting The Chord seems to be one of the lesser known releases on the curious, and often great “All Platinum” label. Other than a 7" of a couple of these tracks, the only thing that the band seem to have released is this album, and what an album it is. Unbeatable soul-funk of the highest quality.

The album bursts open with “Love Will Stay In Your Corner”. It’s a soulful dancer that reliably slays any funk set you care to drop it in. It’s followed by the lithe disco funk “Flick Of The Wrist” that’s all bubbling baselines and elegant horns. The groovy, horn-enhanced sweet soul of “Gotta Get It Back” is equal parts heartbreaker/hip-shaker and the acidic organs on “Mr Brother” are an experiment in synth soul.

Perhaps the group’s best known track, “Beautiful Summer’s Day” might well be worth the price of an original copy alone. It’s pure piano-driven paradise soul. A tropical birdsong intro sets the scene of a warm, perfect sunshine day and the lead vocal soars over the lush, clean production. The tempo oscillates between contemplative and stomping. Essential.

The brilliantly-named “(Assistants Rag) When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” opens side two. Another huge highlight, its title refrain repeated over this laid-back, power-funk workout. It still sounds incredibly modern, like something off the last D’Angelo record, and if Public Enemy and Diamond D both sampled it you know it knocks hard.

The horn-heavy, clav-stabbing-stomper “We Like To Boogie” keeps things fast and funky before the airy, heavenly harmony soul of “Come On Home” mellows us all out. Things pick up again with “Touch Me”, and you might recognise its addictive elements sampled in Jay-Z’s Kanye West-produced “A Star Was Born”. The magical, reggae-tinged, gospel-influenced “Sweet Love” closes out this assured, classy set.

We dare to say that Cutting The Chord is a rare example of a funk-soul LP which is killer from start-to-finish. Sure, there are the stand-out bombs, but the whole thing is a complete and varied album of feel-good vibes held together by its fluid horns, tight, tight rhythm section and beautiful vocals.

Mastered for vinyl from the original analogue tapes by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and artwork restored at Be With HQ, this new edition should hopefully stop this album slipping any further into obscurity. It’s just too good to be forgotten.

It is with extreme pleasure that we, Basement Boys Records proudly announce our 100th single release and 30th year in the music business as an active recording label!

Holding down our 100th release is the legendary multi-faceted singer/songwriter/producer Byron Stingily. As one third of the Chicago-bred, world renown trio, Ten City and as its primary lead vocalist, Byron’s velvety falsetto graced such House Music staples as “Devotion”, “That’s the Way Love Is”, “My Piece of Heaven” along with scores of other classic House music favourites. As a solo artist, Byron went on to create such memorable House jewels as “Get Up” & “It’s Over” a classic collaboration with the Basement Boys for his project on Nervous Records.

“We Belong Together” contains four mixes. The Monday Night Vocal Dub and Instrumental are up first, with percolating congas and swinging violins that accentuate the well-paced drums and percussion of this delectable mix. The brassy horns sing in tandem with Byron as he tugs on the heartstrings with his romantic, chromatic vocal adlibs and signature riffs. The sugar-laden strings and sparkling pianos brings to mind the 90's Ten City production of Marshall Jefferson.

DJ/songwriter/musician/producer, Maurice Fulton is one of House music’s true originals, back where he started. Maurice had the first release on Basement Boys Records with Sticky People "Kong". A man with a mind-blowing complexity behind all that is deep, dark and funky.

Fulton’s mix takes a more soulful tech approach employing a host of electro sounds. A fervent polyrhythmic vortex of percussive wind chime effects, married with classic snares, tom toms & hi-hats, deep sub bass and a meaty kick all define this masterful alignment of electro and acoustic elements. At the midway point, Maurice turns the suspense-filled symphonic intro from the previous mixes into this electro breakdown groove fest sure to drive dancers into a frenzy complete with Byron’s heartfelt lyric.

Closing it out the Main Mix in all its glory, hi-powered, dense bottoms and percussive elements, sweet R&B “boogie” style chords, neatly placed horn accents with Byron slaying the lyric as he always does in his exquisite, soulful pleading falsetto telling the object of his affection, “We Belong Together”.

Recorded sporadically over five years from 2015 to 2019, Sixty Summers was shaped profoundly by Stone’s key collaborators on the album: Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, and Annie Clark, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer known as St. Vincent. Bartlett and Clark were the symbiotic pair Stone needed to realise her first pop vision. A wizard of production and songwriting, Bartlett helped coax Sixty Summers’ independent, elemental spirit from Stone, writing and recording over 50 demos with her at his studio in New York. Itself a thoroughfare for indie rock luminaries, some of whom, such as The National’s Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner, ended up on the album, Bartlett’s studio was perfect fertile ground for Stone’s growth.
Clark was the incisive yang to Bartlett’s yin, a sharp musical polymath who, when presented with the work Bartlett and Stone had made together, quickly helped fashion Sixty Summers into the album it was destined to be. Contributing vocals and guitar in addition to production, Clark’s revered acidic touch ignited the sparks of Stone’s creations.
The scope of Sixty Summers is dizzyingly vast; miles away from Stone’s past work, it is a world unto itself, a surreal and breathtaking new landscape. Where Stone’s previous solo records, 2010’s The Memory Machine and 2014’s By The Horns, found her grappling with the natural darkness that comes with loving too much, Sixty Summers finds Stone claiming every part of herself: fire, fury, love, lust, longing. Touching on reference points as disparate as the avant-funk of Talking Heads (on ‘Break’) the romantic 2am musings of Serge Gainsbourg (‘Free’, ‘Dance’) and the sleek, ecstatic synth work of Lorde’s Melodrama (‘Substance’), Sixty Summers is an album you can dance to and one you can lose yourself in completely.

Visions EP , an ode to the heroes, creating that certain Joie de Vivre in the new world order. Visions serve like a bouquet of treats firing on all cylinders.

Cabaret Deluxe kicks off with an uplifting celebration of hooks, horns , bells and efx. Delicately placed over a revving arpeggiated disco bass line. Star Gazer reminds us of those long cherished summer days. Those stand out numbers sounding extra lush in the sunshine.

Night Tribe takes the intensity up yet again with a Moroder type Caribbean workout. Organs and Horns heavenly intertwined.

Disco Nomad is as playful as it is sparse. Smoothly crafted vox cuts glide over a seductive bassline with drum hits sprinkled throughout.

The Badasonics mixes soul and funk together with Jamaican riddims and horns with the soulful rock and reggae voice of Caz Gardiner to deliver a pulsating party of soul steady beats. Caz has performed with the BandHouse Gigs, Newmeyer Fyler productions and The Beat Hotel. She was the lead singer for The Ambitions, a 60's influenced soul/rock band which in 2008 was nominated for a Wammie (Washington Area Music Association) in the best new band category; and the rock steady/reggae band Caz and The Day Laborers. In 2010, she was nominated for a Wammie in the best traditional blues/RnB vocalist category for her work with Caz and The Commotions. The Badasonics, consisting of former members of The Moon Invaders & The Caroloregians, were also known as the busiest backing band for Jamaican artists in Europe and have played with Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis, Dave & Ansel Collins, Rico Rodriguez, Doreen Shaffer, Pat Kelly, Derrick Harriott & many more.

Far Out Recordings is delighted to present Mora!, and for the first time ever on vinyl Mora! II. Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett originally recorded and released his debut solo LP as a private press in 1987, but the sequel he recorded over the course of the next few years with an expanded Detroit jazz brass section was shelved for decades to follow. A pan-American melting pot of hypnotic afro-cuban rhythms, frenetic batucadas and fiery sambas, Mora I & II are holy grails of latin jazz, masterminded by an unsung hero of the genre.

Born in Washington DC, 1947, Francisco Mora Jr is the eldest child of two highly prominent Mexican artists, Francisco Mora Sr and Elizabeth Catlett, to whom this project was dedicated. Being born into a mixed heritage bohemian family provided Mora Jr with what he called a “creative, progressive, and healthy arts environment”, building the foundations for a fascinating career journey ahead. Mora grew up in Mexico City where he began working as a session musician for Capitol Records in 1968, before moving to study at Berklee Music College in Boston, MA in 1970. Once he’d completed his studies in 1973, he very briefly returned to Mexico City with the best intentions of cultivating an avant-garde movement in the city, but when the Sun Ra Arkestra came to perform, Mora ended up leaving with the band to tour the world for the next seven years, a decent innings within a group famous for its constantly evolving line up.

Settling in Detroit after his years with the Arkestra, Francisco set to work on his self-titled debut, gathering an ensemble of musicians that included keyboardist Kenny Cox, founder of the legendary Strata Records, esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker of the Roy Hargrove Quintet and percussionists Jerome Le Duff, Alberto Nacif, and Emile Borde. The album openly embraces and unites the broad spectrum of improvisation, rhythm, and jazz that has thrived throughout the American continents for centuries. In Mora’s own words the album intended to “manifest the African heritage presence in the American continent.” Epitomising this outlook, album opener ‘Afra Jum’ deploys a melody based on Haitian, African and Native American motifs, which is expanded upon by the soulful excellence of the Detroit veterans Cox and Whitaker, amidst a backdrop of afro-cuban inspired percussion.

The sequel Mora II was recorded shortly after with an expanded line up that included trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, famed for his work with Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Eddie Russ and Wendell Harrison. Continuing the concept of the first album, the follow up moves deeper into South America with the samba jazz dance belter ‘Amazona’, led by the rich vocals of Francisco’s wife Teresa Mora. The ‘Afra Jum’ concept is further explored, with the original motifs beefed up by the additional horns, and interspersions of Sun Ra inspired rumbling free improvisations. This follow up album remained shelved until 2005, when Mora put it out as a now obscure CD titled River Drum, but only now has it been given the high quality vinyl treatment it so deserves, presented as the sequel to Mora! as originally intended.

Through the 90s and into the the 21st century Mora would continue his Pan-American explorations, moving toward a more electronic afro-futurist direction as part of Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra. Mora also worked with Carl Craig, moog synth wizard Craig Taborn, and his former Arkestra colleague, the legendary Marshall Allen, to form the Innerzone Orchestra spin-off Outerzone, released in 2007 on Premier Cru Records. Mora I & II will be out as two vinyl LPs, CD and digitally 16th April 2021.

Tony Joe White scored big with 1969’s “Polk Salad Annie” from the album Black & White MOVLP989 and he was having success as a songwriter too: “Rainy Night In Georgia” was a huge hit for Brook Benton in 1970.

His self-titled third album (1971) finds the “Swamp Fox” tempering his bluesy rockers with a handful of introspective, soul-dripping ballads and introducing horn and string arrangements for the first time. The addition of the Memphis Horns and other Muscle Shoals session men really worked well for the album. Many of the songs will remind the listener just how turbulent the cultural climate of the late 60’s and early 70’s was in the U.S. Songs like “The Change”, “Black Panther Swamps” and “I Just Walked Away” (the album’s first single) are testament to the era.

Two classic cuts from the Presidentcatalogue.

Doris Willingham ‘You Can’t Do That’ - A big Northern floorfiller from a renowned soul backing singer who cut her own material later as Doris Duke.

Her only release under the Willingham name, originally out on the super cool UK Jay Boy imprint in 1968 (the label’s debut release - BOY1).

Produced by Bernard Purdie (Funky Donkey label) who was at the controls for a number of super rare Northern sides.

An early gem from the artist who ended up working with the legendary Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams) charting with the ballad ‘To the Other Woman (I’m The Other Woman)’.

Pat Hervey With The Tiaras ‘ICan’t Get You Out Of My Mind’ - An anthemic, handclap-friendly gem that goes for anywhere between £50 to £100. Released on the UK President label from 1966.

Blue-eyed Canadian soul backed by black Canadian harmony group The Tiaras (not to be confused with the LA harmony outfit).

A slow burner that ramps up the horns and strings behind some funky guitar chops and Hervey’s euphoric vocal, her one-off stab at the soul charts guaranteeing obscurity and legendary status.

“Walk the dog. Exercise. Make art.’The mind is happy when the body
is.’ Things I can potentially fill my days with if I am stuck at home
for months on end…Then, one day, I hear a frenetic, free drummer
playing in his garage a few blocks from me. And I think ‘interesting’.
I stand outside his garage staring at the wall, like a fool, for a minute,
then decide to leave a note on the car parked there. This is how I ended
up meeting and working with Ted Byrnes. He wasn’t creeped out, and
he ended up sending me a pile of truly spontaneous drums recordings
from the carport to work with. I decided to have every musician
come in one at at time and just take a wild pass at their track over the
drums. None of these people had ever met or played together. I was
the connecting thread. I scratched the surface initially with electric
bass, saxophone, guitars, cuica, synthesizers, flute and effects, but
soon realized I would need heavy hitters to make this place habitable.
“Greg Coates, upright bass expressionist extraordinaire, hacked
through the dense weeds, vines and frayed cabling. He lays the map
out and makes breathing room. Space to swing a cat. Tom Dolas
(keys), my often foil, came in and began tip-toeing through the rubble
and refuse. Dotting the layout with flecks of light, flights of fancy and
potential tangential trajectories. Then the finisher, Brad Caulkins on
horns. As always, Brad came in like grace itself, scanned the floor
for food, and huffed and puffed and blew the house down. He takes a
bruiser situation and lends it some warmth and hospitality, old school.
“After I spent a bit of time mixing and editing this down to a
palatable offering I couldn’t help but think about human consumption.
...Endless Garbage seemed a fitting title. A cacophonous and glorious
sketch of ourselves. For fans of Albert Ayler, ECM records, Gong,
improvisation, sustainability and consumption” —John Dwyer

They Say: “New directions in contemporary scoring”.

We say: Contempo is one of the best full album listens in the KPM 1000 library. Succinct smoking soul, super tight breaks and string-drenched sleaze composed by the library master, Keith Mansfield.

The creator of the romping tunes that became the iconic themes to the BBC’s Grandstand programme and their televised Wimbledon Tennis Championship coverage, Keith Mansfield was perhaps KPM’s most prolific artist from the mid 1960s right the way through the 1980s. As well as the sort of pop orchestral sound that is all over these classic library records, he could also turn his hand to raw, edgy rock and funk. Quentin Tarantino is a big fan, going as far as including some of Keith’s work on the soundtracks to Kill Bill and Grindhouse.

Many library records are a game of two halves and Contempo is certainly one of those. The first side cooks on a high funk breaks flame whilst the flip is something altogether more tranquil, yet no less groovy. It lays back with dreamier, post-coital grooves.

Rugged funk opener “The Fix” confidently displays its low slung languid grooves with heavy drums, horns and bass. Smokin’ in slow motion. The punchy “What’s Cooking” follows and has a lighter, more whimsical touch. But the drums still roll and the clavs wiggle in fascinating opposition to those horns. The dark and moody intro to “Cut To Music” gives way to a more inclusive, relaxed funk that’s all irresistible bass and stabbing horns. The mid-tempo “Man Alive” signals the time to really get down. A percussive monster jam. If you can’t strut to this then we really can’t help you! Closing out the A side, fresh guitar licks drip all over the slick drums of “Funky Footage”, with a New Orleans piano vibe coming on to really light a fire.

Whilst the dramatic crime funk of the A side is enough on its own to have earned this record its place in the great library record canon, it’s undoubtedly the more smoothed out B side for which Contempo is rightfully adored and celebrated. It’s so chilled and mellow, with beautifully arranged, sweeping strings, sax solos aplenty and a real 70s soundtrack feel. Think Love Boat, CTI label, Bob James, Grover Washington Jr.-type jams.

The super sleek and sexy jazz funk of “Breezin’” is as light and magical as you’d hope. An open-air masterpiece, its indulgent sound is just a taster of the sophisticated funk to follow. The elegant, romantic feels of “Good Vibrations” (used brilliantly by Odd Future’s Mike G for “Swiss Army”) is a string-drenched, wah-wah fuelled ode to living your best life. Nonchalantly. Whilst it keeps a very West Coast feel, the blaxploitation strut is certainly more Blackbyrds than Brian Wilson. “Sun Goddess” will blow your mind with the sensuous sound of glorious horns and beautiful keys. The luxurious “Love De Luxe” and its horizontal grooves have been much sampled, but here it proves that it doesn’t need any help to get you in an intimate mood. Closer “Snake Hips” is a cool mid-pace slouch. Just divine.

Originally released in 1976 but, like the very best KPM records, wonderfully timeless, Contempo is also no mere LP-length collection of loosely related tracks. This is a rare example of a library record that is a genuinely great listen from start to finish.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Contempo comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity.
: Contempo (KPM) (LP)

They Say: “Contemporary scores for visual effect”.

We say: Synth-heavy, low-slung space-funk masterpiece.

The creator of the romping tunes that became the iconic themes to the BBC’s Grandstand programme and their televised Wimbledon Tennis Championship coverage, Keith Mansfield was perhaps KPM’s most prolific artist from the mid 1960s right the way through the 1980s. As well as the sort of pop orchestral sound that is all over these classic library records, he could also turn his hand to raw, edgy rock and funk. Quentin Tarantino is a big fan, going as far as including some of Keith’s work on the soundtracks to Kill Bill and Grindhouse.

This is it. This is THE ONE for us: Keith “The Man” Mansfield’s Vivid Underscores from 1977. A sample freak’s wet dream and one of Be With Rob’s favourite ever KPM records. A must for fans of Brian Bennett’s Voyage (yes, THAT good). And no, we’ve no idea either why it took us this long to get round to tackling this monster of a record. But then again some things are worth waiting for.

Attention! Calling all crate diggers, DJs, beat heads, Hip Hop junkies, MF DOOM fans! Behold! Vivid Underscores makes sampling easy. Prepare to be up all night, every night, chopping, looping and splicing these endless grooves and spacey synths. The highlights are too many and too mind-blowing so we’ll pull out a few particular highlights. Trust us, this library LP is just jaw-dropping.

“High Velocity” sets the tone with its aggressive horns, wah-wah guitars, funky baseline and wobbly synth refrain. So good and so hypnotic that Memphis Bleek just had to swipe the ominous, frazzled intro for “What You Think of That” featuring Jay-Z. Also, for real drama, the 1985 Lakers retrospective “Return to Glory” used it to soundtrack the footage from the legendary game five of the NBA finals at the Forum. Heady days. “Crash Course” - Stetsasonic horn refrain? Beautiful - jazzy chase-funk, amazing warm keys, percussion and funky horns - all action.

The more restrained “Matter Of Urgency” is an utterly amazing, brass-heavy underscore. The grandiose, uplifting “Dawn Of Aquarius” still sounds like the future with its tense, thundering drums, killer bassline and swirling synths. Version II loses the drums and percussion but is no less startling. “Staying Power” closes the first side with a relentless, pounding groove which *will* snap your neck. Be warned.

“Trucking Company” is a pacey, synth-and-string masterpiece and its accompanying parts (a–c) mess with the formula to great effect. Part (a) adds echo delay to really dazzle and part (c) plays the breezy, beautiful middle section without the tension. “Hot Cargo” and “Espionage” are both tense spy-funk themes par excellence. “Interplay” is a quiet killer, with flutes over a glistening piano refrain just waiting to be looped. The intro to the menacing “Omen” might’ve been sampled by 7L & Esoteric for their classic “So Glorious” but the entire 5 minute track is a mini-drama masterpiece, one only Mansfield could create.

Even though its a mix of short themes in-and-amongst longer, full-length tracks, Vivid Underscores is still thoroughly listenable from start to finish. That’s not something that can be said of all library records and it still manages to serve as rich resource to keep even the keenest samplers busy for a while.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Vivid Underscores comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand ident

Cool Ghouls - a band fledged in San Francisco on house shows, minimum wage jobs, BBQ's in Golden Gate Park and the romance of a city’s psychedelic history turns 10 this year. What better a decennial celebration than the release of their fourth album, At George's Zoo!

How did San Francisco's fab four arrive at George's Zoo? The teenage friendship of complimentary spirits Pat McDonald (Guitar/Vox) and Pat Thomas (Bass/Vox) serves as square one. The Patricks were munching on Eggo-waffle-sandwiches and downing warm vokda in suburban Benicia (San Francisco bay) years before McDonald would hear George Clinton address his fans as "Cool Ghouls". The boys played their debut gig as Cool Ghouls at San Francisco's legendary The Stud in 2011, but there's no doubt the musical moment cementing the band's trajectory was much earlier at the 18th birthday party for boy-wonder Ryan Wong (Guitar/Vox) - at the Wong household.

You might remember the Ghouls' earliest days... McDonald’s hair hung luxuriously past his waist, Thomas dreamt of no longer having to crash on friends' couches to call SF home and Wong looked forward to turning 21. Cool Ghouls' Pete Best, Cody Voorhees, thrashed wildly – but briefly - on the drums and Alex Fleshman (Drums), who still claims he's not really "a drummer", turned out to be a really good drummer. Thomas would sleep pee on tour. Those were golden days!

Flash forward to today and everything is up in flames. No shows, parties or bars. Cool people are streaming out of SF. It's been 2 years since the last time Cool Ghouls have even played. The STUD is gone, The Eagle Tavern is for sale and The Hemlock has been demolished for condos. Your boss is an app. Fascism is no-knocking down the door. There's a pandemic.

Fortunately for us, the Ghouls got an album in before it all went to shit, and they made it count. At George's Zoo includes 15 of the 27 tunes they managed to eke out while simultaneously working through major life moves. It was a 5-month, all out, final sprint down the homestretch (to Ryan's moving day) with affable engineer Robby Joseph, at his makeshift garage studio in the Outer Sunset (pictured on the cover). Instead of recording the entire album over a few consecutive days - like they'd done with Tim Cohen, Sonny Smith and Kelley Stoltz for the first three LPs - the band took it slow by working through a few songs each weekend after rehearsing them the week before. Robby would cue up the tape, McDonald would throw some steaks on the grill and they'd get to work - much to the neighbor, George's, chagrin.

These guys have a real commitment to elevating as songwriters, musicians and ensemble players. It's always been for the music with Cool Ghouls and this long-awaited self-produced outing is a track by track display of the ground they've covered and heights they can achieve. Their vocals and trademark harmonies are front and center and out-of-control-good. Ryan's guitar solos are incredible. The horns by Danny Brown (sax) and Andrew Stephens (trumpet) hit in all the right places. Maestro, Henry Baker (Pat Thomas Band / Tino Drima), plays keys throughout. There's even a mesmerizing string section ("Land Song") by sonic polyglot, Dylan Edrich.

None of this growth is to the detriment of the fun, natural, feeling that fans have come to expect from the band. This is a fully realized Cool Ghouls album. It paints a remarkable portrait of SF's homegrown heroes and the many corners they've explored over the last decade. The songwriting, harmony and playing are nothing if not solid. The lyrics are keen. Robby's recording and mixing sound great start to finish and even better after mastering by Mikey Young. It's a triumphant addition to their catalogue. Recommended for Stooges and Beach Boys fans alike. Listen and see!

Yes, many things have changed since 2011. Who knows what the 20's will have in store for life on Earth, let alone the Cool Ghouls? We at least know that 2021 has At George's Zoo for us, a beautiful keepsake from the Before Times when we used to stand in living rooms together while bands played.

"‘PACIFIC’ (EP) is Roo Panes’ latest release, following his critically acclaimed albums ‘Little Giant’ (2014), ‘Paperweights’ (2016) and ‘Quiet Man’ (2018).
While the track ‘Pacific’ offers that folk-tinged, guitar led and string embellished sound that Roo Panes fans know and love, ‘Colour In Your Heart’ offers an atmospheric production, minimal electronic beats and lack of guitar, suggesting a potential new musical direction for this new decade.
Elsewhere ‘Listen To The One Who Loves You’ gently swells from a delicate introduction into to an ear-filling delight filled with subtle horns, sweeping strings and gentle drum rhythms, and ‘The Sun Will Rise Over The Year’ builds from quiet beginnings to an explosive crescendo where galloping drums drive the track onwards and upwards. "

Eine neu überarbeitete ”Island Years”-Auflage des klassischen Bob-Marley-Boxsets, zum ersten Mal auch auf Vinyl. Mit Marleys vielen Klassikern von ”Concrete Jungle” über ”Redemption Song” bis hin zu seltenen 12”-Mixen, B-Seiten, jamaikanischen Singles und Alternates. ”Songs Of Freedom: The Island Years” erscheint als 6LP-Set.

Das 6LP-Set auf schwarzem Standard-Vinyl (180 g) enthält ein 20-seitiges Booklet mit seltenen Fotos,
mehreren Essays und Titelinformationen.

Nino Lepore hails from South Italy, and is best known for his self-titled LP from 1986, as well as for his uncredited work on Dancer Record. The 'Chok Musik' 12" from Best Record Italy focuses on two productions from his sole LP, and in the titular track, sexualized funk basslines join a disco drum strut, as guitar riffs shimmer and brass and string orchestrations swirl deliriously between filmic romance and symphonic madness. And after a breakdown into percussive chaos, smooth piano solos alternate with passages of sizzling sax. As for "Bad Time," an introduction of decaying gongs leads to a broken beat groove, with strings evoking atmospheres of exotic noir and horns soloing softly over subdued funk bass motions and distant flashes of guitar. There are jazz rock breakdowns into liquid riffing and flamboyant brass, and during handclap climaxes, horns swell towards the sky.

Conscious early 90s tune by King Shark. Self-produced and released on his own label Green Farm in 1991. Easy-going rhythm, horns and bass and fantastic conscious lyrics.

Mike Lundy, Lemuria, Aura. This trifecta of inimitable Hawaiian acts descended upon Honolulu’s state-of-the-art Broad Recording Studio in late 1979 to create what have now become the most coveted Hawaiian funk/soul/jazz albums of the era.

But whereas Lemuria functioned as a short-lived studio band and Mike Lundy saw little success from his album’s release, Aura — comprised of eight siblings from the Mendoza family — remained a key figure in the nightlife scene of Hawaii of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Each tune on their 1979 LP showcases the band’s unmatched musical talent that continues to astonish listeners in the 21st century, including Juno Records: “Raw funk… honey-coated soul… grooves and big smiles… lavish Hayes-level horns… dynamic and luxurious full-spectrum harmonies. Stunning.” Available on vinyl and digital for the first time since its initial release, Aura is a rare example of an album that in today’s crowded reissue landscape really does live up to its mystique.