quête:jack on black

Repress!

A blistering collection of ska tunes from Clement 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd's legendary Studio One Records, Jamaica's foundation label of reggae music. Featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska - The Skatalites, The Wailers, Lee Perry - alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure Ska Fever !

Soul Jazz Records new Studio One Ska Fever returns back to the early 1960s when Ska was the soundtrack to Jamaica's Independence and Sir Coxsone ruled the land and The Skatalites and Studio One were creating history on a daily basis with an endless stream of blistering, scorching classic tunes.

This album includes an incredible line-up of only the finest artists in reggae music, including Roland Alphonso, The Gaylads, The Ethiopians, Don Drummond, Jackie Opel and many more. An all-star cast from Studio One, as Chris Blackwell famously noted, the 'University of Reggae'.

The accompanying booklet contains extensive sleeve-notes from Studio One historian Rob Chapman (author of Never Grow Old and Downbeat Special), with information on musicians, tracks, label scans and more. Soul Jazz Records' Studio One Ska Fever is released in
CD- jewel case, 24-page booklet with card slipcase, as well as a heavyweight double-vinyl edition in deluxe strong gatefold sleeve (with full sleeve notes).

It was released on February 2, 1993 and is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Lead MC Grand Puba left the group to pursue a solo career in 1991, following the release of their revered debut One for All. DJ Alamo also left to work with Puba, leaving MC's Sadat X and Lord Jamar, who enlisted DJ Sincere to join the group. It was a safe bet that In God We Trust wouldn't have attempted any new jack swing crossovers or tie-dyed imagery. Though the makeover is drastic, it is convincing, with Lord Jamar and Sadat X stepping up with some of the era's fiercest, most intense rhymes and lyrics that were extremely militant reflecting the group's identity adhering to the philosophy of the Nation of Gods and Earths. The album produced two singles, Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down and Love Me or Leave
Me Alone which both charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

• Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” is one of the most important albums in the history of black American music. Although it didn’t set the charts alight, it stands as a masterpiece alongside contemporary works such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Curtis Mayfield’s debut LP, Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain” and Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft”. All were brilliant in their way, but lyrically Scott-Heron was on a different level from almost every other writer.

• It was a landmark album with its bold, poetic lyrical content allied to progressive and melodic music, and it saw producer Bob Thiele help Gil and his musical partner Brian Jackson paint the picture they needed to get their message across. Thiele put Gil and Brian together with Ron Carter, Hubert Laws and Bernard Purdie, giving them the musical heft they wanted.

• For many years the focus was on ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, which was included in the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2014, but this focus sometimes overshadowed the heights which Gil reached throughout the album. Today ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is’ and ‘Lady Day And John Coltrane’ are also considered standards, whilst the album’s title track is a prescient and heart-breaking warning about the way in which big business dehumanises its workers.

• The album reached its landmark 50th year in 2021 and we decided that we would create this special edition to celebrate its incredible sound. The original master tape was taken to Frank Merritt at The Carvery in London, who cut it as a double disc 2 x 45 RPM record, in an all-analogue chain. The original record - especially side two - was long, and serving it up this way allowed the music a greater level of fidelity.

• The release is packaged in the original album’s gatefold sleeve.

Soul Jazz Records' are releasing their long-out-of-print album 'Hustle! Reggae Disco' in a new expanded 2017 edition which now features five extra tracks. This ground-breaking album features non-stop killer reggae versions of original funk and soul classics in a disco style. Reggae disco updates of seminal classics by Anita Ward ('Ring
My Bell'), Chaka Khan ('I'm Every Woman'), Michael Jackson 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough,' Sugarhill Gang ('Rappers Delight' here performed by Derrick Laro and Trinity for producer Joe Gibbs) and more, all showing the hidden but inseparable link between the dance floors of New York, Kingston and London.

New bonus tracks to this collection include Derrick Harriott's funky take on Eddie Drennon's 'Do It Nice and Easy', the classic disco reggae of Risco Connection's take on McFadden and Whitehead's 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and the London rare groove lovers rock take on Barbara Acklin's soul classic 'Am I The Same Girl'.
'Hustle! Reggae Disco' has been one of Soul Jazz Records' best-selling releases since its first release 15 years ago (and subsequently featured heavily in the early Grand Theft Auto games!). This new edition comes complete fully re-mastered and with all original titles plus new tracks. This new expanded edition now comes a triple album (+ download code), CD and digital album.

'The effect of American R&B and soul music on Jamaican reggae is well documented, but the story doesn't stop there, for disco (and more so now for rap and hip-hop) have also been subsumed into the reggae mix, and while one might suspect that the resulting hybrid would die of its own implausibility, the feral mix of disco with reggae rhythms is so darn infectious that it hardly matters. Once you take your brain out of the frame and just let your feet go, this collection is a dancer's delight all done up in full-blown disco style, but with huge dub-style rhythm tracks ... if you're looking for an impossibly infectious dance collection, this is
it.' All Music

We are proud to welcome Fear-E for his Dark Entries debut ‘Grey Skies In A Dear Green Place’ out February 28th. Fear-E is the moniker of Scott McKay a Glasgow based DJ and producer. Scott has already made a name for himself as one of Glasgow’s most technically-gifted and diverse selectors over the past decade. Then a slew of releases on the home-grown Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and Super Rhythm Trax introduced Fear-E, equally skilled studio operator, to the world.

‘Grey Skies In A Dear Green Place’ contains six club-ready tracks to “smash sound systems and illuminate sweaty warehouses.” The title is a reference to a nickname that Glasgow has, coming from Cumbric, means 'green hollow' or (dear) 'green place'. Layering cut-up vocals with warm thumping beats, Scott creates a stripped-back yet deeply jackin’ vibe. Call these tracks what you will, “acid attacks”, “club destroyers”, “pickle ticklers?!” All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. For the cover, Scott commissioned legendary Detroit illustrator Alan Oldham, who’s artwork has graced established an identity for Transmat and DJAX-UP-BEATS, to create a futuristic portrait of Glasgow in black & white and with green kryptonite flourishes by Eloise Leigh.d

Celebrating a Decade of Dark Entries with a compilation titled ‘Tens Across The Board’. We revisit our roster and chose 10 songs from 10 bands from 10 different countries spanning the years 1981-1993. The songs flow in chronological order and have never appeared on vinyl, with 7 of the songs previously unreleased.

The compilation begins in 1981 with Parade Ground from Belgium, the duo of brothers Pierre and Jean-Marc Pauly with help from Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc of Front 242. “The Light’s Gone” was one of their earliest experiments and employs a stark minimalism with modular synthesizers, guitar reverb and tape delay. Next we venture to Granada, Spain in 1982 to meet the trio of Diseño Corbusier. Influenced by Cabaret Voltaire and Dadaism, “La Esperanza está en Antenas” was the band’s take on melancholic pop fueled by a robotic DR-55 bass-line. Sailing the Mediterranean Sea to Athens to meet Greek electronic goddess Lena Platonos who shares a demo from 1983. “Μια Γάτα Σασ Περιμένει Στη Γωνία” translates to “A Cat Is Waiting On The Corner” and is possibly the witchiest sounds we’ve shared yet, ending with a blood curdling scream. Frozen in 1983 we cross Ionian Sea to Messina, Italy and visit Victrola, the duo of Antonino “Eze” Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio. They’ve unearthed a melodic instrumental version of “Luca” fueled by a Korg Polysix and TB-303. Traveling across the Adriatic to Slovenia circa 1984, where Borghesia are working on their album ‘Ljubav Je Hladnija Od Smrti’. “Magla” translates to “Fog” fitting for the thick, somber electronics of Aldo Ivancic providing a dense atmosphere for the baritone vocals of Dario Seraval.

On Side B we go down under to Sydney and excavate a hidden Tom Ellard song recorded in 1984 under the alias Lord Metal, an anagram of his name for copyright reasons. “Ga Duum Blitzfonika” is a slow-motion, unadulterated dance groove originally released on the cassette compilation "Independent World”. Skipping ahead to 1986 in Tours, France we salute X-Ray Pop the minimum new wave duo of Didier "Doc" Pilot and Zouka Dzaza. They contribute the hypnotically fragile “Corto Maltese” that originally appeared on the cassette compilation ‘Plop’. Crossing the German boarder we arrive in Dortmund at the apartment of Andreas Sippel of Second Decay who recorded the instrumental demo “Lübeckerstrasse” in 1988 with partner Christian Purwien. Utilizing an TR-808, SH-101 and Arp Odyssey this cold slice of futurism was named after the street Andreas lived on. Traveling westward to England, specifically Basildon, Essex to the teenage bedroom of From Nursery To Misery, the trio of identical twin sister vocalists Gina and Tina Fear and keyboard player Lee Stevens. “Contentment” is an introspective, ethereal pop song with child-like vocals that originally appeared on the Belgian tape compilation ‘Heartbeat Vol.4’ in 1989. Finally, we return home to San Francisco and close out the compilation with Cyrnai the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Fok. “Digital Grit Box (Demo)” was an outtake from the ‘Transfiguration’ album sessions recorded in 1993, utilizing dark dance drum beats made with MIDI sequencer programs Studio Vision and Sample Cell.

All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl is housed in a custom designed jacket by Eloise Leigh featuring our label’s colors black-white-red with connect-the-dots pattern linking the 10 songs via maps/timeline/location, all relating to the reissue process, plus source images from San Francisco, our hometown. For this landmark release we've also printed a 2-sided fold-out wall poster that includes every artist we've released in our first 10 years 2009-2019 in black, red and silver metallic ink, plus an 8x11 insert with lyrics, notes and photos.

Nina Simone was multi-faceted, both as an artist and on a personal level, and she spent her whole career
drawing from such a wide variety of influences that it was always impossible to pigeon-hole her. She drew
from the classical music world, from folk roots, from blues, from jazz and from the writers of the Great
American Songbook, and delivered all of her material in her own unique style. This collection of songs is
drawn from the early years of her releases and very much reflects her diversity of musical choices. Her work
is amongst the very best and this album is a taster of her immense talent

From playing chaotic house parties in their home city of Oxford to becoming major festival headliners across Europe, Foals' trajectory has been remarkable. They've earned critical acclaim (NME and Q Award wins, plus Mercury Prize, Ivor Novello and BRIT Award nominations) and fan devotion (1.7 million sales of their four Gold-certified albums) in equal measure. And while the majority of contemporaries have fallen by the wayside, Foals continue to hit new peaks.

After more than a decade in the game, Foals again embrace that love for the unconventional with the bravest and most ambitious project of their career: not one, but two astonishing new albums: 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. A pair of releases, separate but related, they share a title, themes and artwork. 'Part 1' will be released on March 8th, with 'Part 2' following later in the year.

'They're two halves of the same locket,' frontman Yannis Philippakis explains. 'They can be listened to and appreciated individually, but fundamentally, they are companion pieces.

Fundamentally tethered but possessing their own personalities, the two bodies capture the most compelling, ambitious and cohesive creations they've ever produced. Eager to break the traditional pop song structure which they felt they were becoming increasingly tapered to, the 20 tracks defy expectation. There are exploratory, progressive-tinged tracks alongside atmospheric segues which make the music an experience rather than a mere collection of songs. Yet the band's renowned ability to wield relentless grooves with striking power and skyscraper hooks also reaches new heights.

The album's lead single 'Exits' is a case in point, featuring Philippakis conjuring the image of a disorienting world via a contagious vocal melody. It's a fresh anthem for Foals' formidable arsenal, but also an ominous forecast.

'There's a definite idea about the world being no longer habitable in the way that it was,' says Yannis. 'A kind of perilousness lack of predictability and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitudes of the problems we face. What's the response And what's the purpose of any response that one individual can have'

'Exits' signposts what to expect thematically from both instalments of 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost'. The title is a warning that anything - from the tiniest fleeting moment of inspiration through to the planet's own biological diversity - can be under threat of being irrevocably erased.

It's a theme that permeates throughout the album's material, as Foal mirror the public neuroses that have been provoked by our current cultural climate. Paranoia of state surveillance Fear of environmental collapse Anxiety over Trump's next potentially cataclysmic move It's all there in these apocalyptic songs.

'Lyrically, there are resonances with what's going on in the world at the moment,' summarises Yannis. 'I just feel like, what's the utility of being a musician these days, if you can't engage with at least some of this stuff These songs are white flags, or they're SOSs, or they're cries for help... each in a different way.'

The new albums' journeys began as the 'What Went Down' era ended. Founding bassist Walter Gervers departed on amicable terms after playing the Festival Paredes de Coura in Portugal in August 2017. Foals felt that he couldn't be replaced - a decision that ushered in a period of recalibration, reorganisation and, ultimately, rejuvenation.

After taking a little time out, Foals - completed by Jimmy Smith (guitar), Jack Bevan (drums) and Edwin Congreave (keys) reconvened - with Yannis on production duties, who, together with Edwin, also covered the bass parts. They began by writing in a rehearsal space before exporting those sketches into the recording phase at 123 Studios, Peckham, with the assistance of engineer Brett Shaw. They'd repeat the cycle between the two spaces, effectively creating an ongoing feedback loop as they sought to push every new idea to the finish line.

1 x 12" black vinyl 180gsm
- label 4/c
- discobag on reverse board with matt varnish
- gatefold on reverse board with matt varnish
- shrinkwrap

Dark Entries is honored to release a 4-track EP by Swiss musician Carlos Perón, founding member of Yello. Carlos was born in 1952 in Zurich and began collecting music at a young age. Inspired after attending a concert of Karlheinz Stockhausen in the 1960s, he began to compose Musique Concrete pieces using a 4-track reel to reel and found sounds. In 1979 Perón founded the trio Yello with musician Boris Blank and vocalist Dieter Meier. Yello released their first album in 1980 and the following year Carlos released his first solo album 'Impersonator'. In 1983 Carlos left Yello in order to pursue a solo career and released the soundtrack to Die Schwarze Spinne" and 1984 his second solo album Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted'. In 1988, Belgian label LD Records released a 4-song EP of instrumental tracks from 1984 that predated, influenced and became staples in the New Beat scene.

Dirty Songs' is a collection of songs from Carlos Perón recorded between 1980 and 1986. The recordings were made with the core set up of an ARP 2600, Roland's Drumatix, TB-303 and TR-808. Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted (Instrumental)' recorded in 1984 is a slow burner with dark, gloomy atmospherics, presented here in an extended version with a bonus intro. The song was inspired by William S. Borroughs' Naked Lunch' and paints a bleak futuristic landscape. Breaking In (Instrumental)', from 1984, is a crossover of electronic body music and pitched down Chicago acid house featuring overplayed snares by hand though an Ovomaltine Box. Originally featured on the soundtrack for Die Schwarze Spinne', the song is about breaking into a large pharmaceutical company to steal drugs. On the B-side is A Dirty Song (Instrumental)', originally recorded in 1986 and released by Play It Again Sam in 1988. The song uses one of the earliest Roland SH synthesizers, the SH-1 A, as a solo instrument and is strikingly aggressive with percussive rhythms. Et' was recorded in 1980 on a 4-track and later and remixed to 8-tracks in 1984 for the Frigorex' EP, which is where this extended version comes from. Featuring eerie, cut up vocals and Dadaist lyrics by Isa Nogara atop a proto-Techno beat.


All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket features a never before seen black and white photo of Carlos taken in 1988. Each album includes an double-­sided postcard featuring the cover art from the Frigorex' EP. Prepare to make your own movie to the Swiss John Carpenter soundtrack vibes of Carlos Perón.

Miss Kittin & The Hacker are the Electro duo of Caroline Hervé and Michel Amato from Grenoble, France. The pair met during the early 90s at a rave and soon after bought turntables and began DJing. In 1996, they started writing music heavily influenced by 1980s synthpop and post-punk bands like Fad Gadget, DAF, Liaisons Dangeuresues, and Yazoo, as well as Italo Disco. Bored by the techno scene at the time, they set out out to lighten the serious tone and bring a campy sexiness to the dour musical landscape. Upon hearing their demos DJ Hell signed them to his Munich-based International DJ Gigolo label and released their first 2 EPs in 1998 and 1999. Their debut album 'First Album" was released in 2001 followed by . in .

Lost Tracks Vol. 2' contains 4 previously unreleased demos recorded between 1997 and 1999. The duo fused 80's European New Wave/Italo Disco with 90's Detroit Electro acts like Le Car and Dopplereffekt. By utilizing verse-chorus structures, they playfully shook up the loop based hard techno and electro that was popular at the time. Their studio set up at the time was a Korg MS-20, Roland SH-101, TR-606, TR-808, Siel DK80, and Boss DR-660 drum machine. The songs are direct, spontaneous, seemingly improvised in places. Miss Kittin sings about falling in love in the new millennium, snuff movies and controlling the unknown trip to death, all in her cheekily derisive French accent.

All songs have been transferred from the original DAT tapes by the band and remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl comes housed in a glossy jacket featuring a black and white photo of the duo taken in 1996. Each LP includes a postcard with liner notes from Miss Kittin and The Hacker designed by Eloise Leigh. As Miss Kittin says of these demos, We were naive, innocent, adventurous and we didn't expect anything in return'

DsorDNE (pronounced Disordine) is a project from Torino, Italy that evolved as group out of the electronic experimental post punk project Novostj in 1987. At the core of DsorDNE is Marco Milanesio, musical engineer and co-founder of the HAX record label, joined by a revolving cast of musicians. Their spectrum ranged from experimental to structured electro-poetry and Soundtrack like instrumental electronic music. In 1987 they released their first track on a split-single with The Legendary Pink Dots. Between 1987 and 1994 they released 6 full length albums, 3 split-EPs and appeared on various cassette compilations. à Un Sole (Itâs a Sun) was the groupâs only vinyl full length originally released in 1990 on HAX. Itâs 8 tracks of electro-beat poetry and experimentation recorded between July 1989 and January 1990 by Marco Milanesio (music) and Roberta Ongaro (vocals) with guests Claudio Burdese (guitar), Danilo Beltrame (guitar) and Cristiana Bauducco (vocals). The album is broken up into two distinct halves. Side A contains four chunks of hard hitting, percussive patterns and rushing bass sequences. Dark, moody female vocals force their monologues through the machinery in their native Italian tongue. The traditional song structure is carefully avoided by giving lyrics equal opportunities be they recited, half-sung, whispered or spoken. Side B displays moodier moments, less savage attacks and subtler sensuality, veering towards the more melodic and existential. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in an exact replica of the original jacket featuring a black and white drawing with silver metallic spot color housed in a clear PVC plastic cover with a three color screen-printed design. Each copy includes a 11x11❠double-sided lyrics sheet with English translations as well an 8x11❠sheet with original press notes from 1990 by Marco Pustianaz.

Cute Heels is the project of Victor Lenis, a contemporary electronic artist living in Berlin, Germany. He grew up in Bogotá, Columbia during the 1990s, surrounded by the radial punk scene. Over the years, Victor's passion and fascination for synthesizers and drum machines to produce and compose resulted in his debut album 'Spiritual" for Dark Entries in 2014 as well as the Third Skin' EP in 2016. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses, Drexciya and Black Devil Disco Club, Cute Heels connects the dots between Detroit techno, early Chicago house and Belgium electronic body music.State of Mind' is a 4-track EP featuring the vocal talents of Berlin artist Aga Wilk, of electro-punk projects Walkman Music and 77TM, on the the title track. On the A-side are two fresh compositions recorded in New York and Bogota between 2016 and 2017. Victor says, 'State of Mind refers to the subconscious as dominated by real facts, natural, unnatural ,metaphysical or virtual and dynamism of the body as physical shield.' The track is a slow building foray into techno, elegantly suited for intangible moments. 'Golden Tears' kicks off with Cute Heels' signature metallic EBM funk played with punchy, percussive analog synths. On the flip we present two banging club remixes. The first is from LA-4A, techno DJ and producer Kevin McHugh aka Ambivalent, who adds a strong kick drum and lacerating hi-hats that build up to a mind melting breakdown with a full on acid squelch attack. The second remix comes from Noncompliant, Midwest US-based producer Lisa Smith aka DJ Shiva, who creates a raw, thumping exercise though off-kilter mechanics and punishing percussion. All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record comes in a custom-made die-cut jacket designed by Eloise Leigh featuring suggestive rope bondage graphic printed spot black matte on black hi-gloss finish. Each copy includes a postcard.

Calendar Crowd was the duo of Alan Heaton and Terence tiernan who met in their hometown of Widnes, Cheshire as schoolboys and played together in various bands in the '70s. In the '80s they formed a 6-piece band called Room For Humans 0and recorded one single'Telephone Telephone / Girlfriend'. When the band split and Alan and Terence continued as Calendar Crowd in a more experimental direction. Their influences were wide reaching: Kraftwerk, Neu, Cabaret Voltaire, Eno, PIL, and Joy Division.In 1982 they released their debut single 'Perfect Hideaway/Perfect Hideaway Dub' on 7'. Guitarist David Knowles joined them as they toured the UK and recorded and released their follow up EP 'Listen in to the Heart' in 1985. A reviewer at the time called Calendar Crowd 'A Moody Merseyside trio with strong atmospheric tunes and haunting lyrics.' For this reissue we've compiled both singles on one EP featuring all four songs. Perfect Hideway is a evocative and dreamy, the music escorts you on a tour of icy landscapes, with Terrance's deep, rich vocals guiding the way accented by bright brass stabs. Meanwhile the Dub has stripped back the vocals, added delayed samples and heavy pounding drums. On the B-side 'Listen in to the Heart' and 'Questions Answers' are darker electronic rhythm tracks with layers of ethereal keyboards and guitar melodies. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in an exact replica of the original Perfect Hideaway jacket featuring black and white October 1982 calendar with the tile hand written in red pen. Each copy includes a double-sided 8x11' insert with lyrics, notes and photos.

Cute Heels is the solo project of Victor Lenis, a contemporary artist living in Barcelona, Spain. He grew up in Bogotá, Columbia during the 1990s, surrounded by the radial punk scene. Over the years, Victor's passion and fascination for synthesizers and drum machines to produce and compose resulted in various digital-only releases as well as his debut album Spiritual" for Dark Entries in 2014. Cute Heels has been called ''the new blood and spirit for the next step in techno music'' by Electro/Techno pioneer Juan Atkins. Third Skin' is a 4-track EP that connects the dots between Detroit techno, early Chicago house and Belgium electronic body music. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses, Drexciya and Black Devil Disco Club. On the A-side are two fresh compositions recorded in 2015. Third Skin' kicks things in a metallic EBM funk with a pounding bottom end. Lipstick Information' takes the listener on a dark, psychedelic and twisted journey through thrillingly intense arpeggiations. On the flip we present two remixes. The first is from Steffi, House and Techno DJ and producer born in The Netherlands and residing in Berlin. She picks up the pace for an uplifting, percussion-driven, DAF-eque dystopian stomper. The second remix comes from Michel Amato aka The Hacker, French born DJ and producer and frequent collaborator with Miss Kittin. His early musical influences of bands such as Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Front 242 shine through on this pumping and sophisticated remix ready for any dance floor.
All songs have been mastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record comes in a custom-made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh featuring a photograph by Corinne Schiavone printed with hi-gloss finish. Each copy includes a postcard with with notes and image for fetish lovers

Dark Entries is proud to release the sophomore EP from BEZIER entitled Telomeres. Bézier is the moniker of local SF musician ROBERT YANG, who also is part of the illustrious HONEY SOUNDSYSTEM crew. Telomeres is the follow up to Bézier's debut EP Ensconced, released in 2013. The title relates to themes of time, science, analytics and procedures. Bézier integrates the refrains of Spanish new wave and Italo disco with the attitude and aggression of underground styles like synth-punk and industrial. These six tracks were written, produced and mixed by Bézier at his home studio in San Francisco between 2014 and 2015, and feature the debut of his own vocals. All songs have been mixed by Mark Pistel (of Meat Beat Manifesto fame) at Room 5, San Francisco and EQed for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The vinyl comes housed in a jacket featuring an illustration by in-house designer Eloise Leigh riffing on early 80s computer graphics. The matted sleeve is meant to resemble the side panels of early computing instruments like Macintoshes or the Commodore 64. Each LP includes a postcard with a photograph of actual telomeres captured by a microscope camera by the Blackburn Lab at UCSF. Telomeres' are life's building blocks, changing the lengths of chromosomes to determine lifespan. This music is an investigation of a future in which time elongates as well as contracts.

Cute Heels is the solo project of Bogota´ born, experimental producer Victor Lenis. Since the early 2000's Lenis has been working on a myriad of electronic projects, including the management of the labels Black Leather Records and Romance Moderne, in his current home of Brussels. Drawing on the influences of the radical punk scene that surrounded him growing up in Columbia while nurturing his passion for synthesizers and drum machines, Lenis developed the broody, gloomy brand of electro-techno that is Cute Heels. Deemed by Juan Atkins as ''the new blood and spirit for the next step in techno music'' Cute Heels has released various digital only releases over the years, as well as his first vinyl release, an EP on Gooiland Elektro. His debut album Spiritual, rides the line between cold electro-techno and left field electronic body music. Inspired by equal parts Liaisons Dangereuses and Drexciya, Spiritual takes the listener on a journey over 8 tracks and 40 minutes of music. Listening to "Spiritual" you can see why. The songs on this full length reveal a sublime influence from Detroit techno, early Chicago house and new wave; advanced electronics for the dance floor, pumping and sophisticated. The album was recorded and mixed by Victor at Sensorium Studio in Zagreb, Croatia in November 2013. Each song has been mastered for vinyl at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley by George Horn. Each LP is packaged in a custom-made jacket by our in-house designer Eloise Leigh and incorporates the geometry of analog synthesizers and celestial rose patterns. 

"Echtes Nu-Metal-Erbe auf Vinyl: eigenständige 1LP auf klassischem 140g Black Vinyl – das wegweisende 2010er Album, mit dem Korn zu ihren rohen Wurzeln zurückkehrten.


Legendäre Kollaboration mit Ross Robinson: Produziert vom Ur-Mastermind des Nu-Metal (u.a. Korn-Debüt, Life Is Peachy), eingefangen in schmutziger, ungeschönter Vintage-Produktionsweise ohne Pro-Tools-Politur.


Sammlerfreundliche Ausstattung: Hochwertiges Single-Pocket-Jacket mit 4/4-farbig bedruckter Innenhülle, Inlay-Design und exklusivem Marketing-Sticker direkt auf der Folie."

Set sail for the next leg of the journey! Diggers Factory is thrilled to present the One Piece: Into the Grand Line (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) Deluxe Vinyl Boxset.

Following the Straw Hat Crew as they finally move Into the Grand Line, the soundtrack captures the epic, high-seas energy of the hit series. Composed by the powerhouse duo Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli, the score blends orchestral scale with pirate folk-rock grit, now pressed on stunning colored wax.
Whether you're dodging Baroque Works or looking for a giant whale, this box set is the ultimate treasure for any Straw Hat at heart.
2LP Black Audiophile Vinyl: Two black vinyl representing the fiery spirit of adventure and the deep mysteries of the Grand Line.
Custom Die-Cut Jackets: Two single jackets featuring a central die-cut hole that reveals the beautiful map-work of the inner labels.
16-Page Booklet: A deep dive into the production with exclusive set stills and behind-the-scenes imagery from Season 2.
Double-Sided Poster (20" x 27"): Choose your vibe with the cinematic group shot of the crew or the iconic "Grand Adventure Awaits" sunset art.
6 Exclusive Postcards: Vintage-style travel postcards from legendary stops like Loguetown, Little Garden, and Drum Island.
Sticker Board: A collection of high-quality stickers including Laboon, the Going Merry, and Luffy's legendary $30,000,000 Wanted Poster.
Collector's Box: All contents are housed in a premium, wooden-textured outer box.
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure, ONE PIECE, returns for Season 2-unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet. Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line-a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world's greatest treasure, they'll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.

Newly launched label Laughing Bee Music unveils vinyl and digital releases of Naked Raygun’s archival live performance from The Aadam Jacobs Collection. Documenting nearly forty years of the Chicago music scene, Associated Press recently said “The growing Aadam Jacobs Collection is an internet treasure trove for music lovers.” Naked Raygun's release This Place Used to Be a Strip Joint (releasing on both colored and black vinyl) features an incredible live performance recorded on November 2, 1985, including two soundcheck recordings and documenting the band at a pivotal moment as they emerged as one of the most influential bands in the Chicago punk scene.

Newly launched label Laughing Bee Music unveils vinyl and digital releases of Naked Raygun’s archival live performance from The Aadam Jacobs Collection. Documenting nearly forty years of the Chicago music scene, Associated Press recently said “The growing Aadam Jacobs Collection is an internet treasure trove for music lovers.” Naked Raygun's release This Place Used to Be a Strip Joint (releasing on both colored and black vinyl) features an incredible live performance recorded on November 2, 1985, including two soundcheck recordings and documenting the band at a pivotal moment as they emerged as one of the most influential bands in the Chicago punk scene.

Bass Persuades - Black Vinyl Bass Persuades, the 10th studio album by Miley, on black vinyl. The gatefold jacket includes a single LP featuring the full 10-track album, along with a 24x36 poster.

Manonmars’ 3rd album sees him at his most amorphous and psychedelic, at points sharper and laser focused, and at others more blurred and impressionistic than his previous records. Many of the core players remain the same, all of the production is once again handled by O$VMV$M (the duo of Neek and Amos Childs of Jabu) while Paulina Korobkiewicz (also of Young Echo) makes a return handling both the album’s cover artwork and contributing a series of diaristic field recordings and voice notes.

‘The project references movies, cartoons, fictional characters and video games, among other things. The album title is open to interpretation but all of these elements are forms of visual entertainment which have their own unique ability to transcend things like language barriers and cultural divides. The visual element is key because those details bridge the gap on a communicative level.’ - Manonmars

The album blends abstract, blurred braggadocio with more immediate personal details such as on ‘Volcanic Shield’ a posse cut of sorts featuring Bristol improv luminary Dali de Saint Paul and Franco Franco (½ of cyborg rap duo Kinlaw & Franco Franco) - where Mars recalls;

‘Memories of brighter days, happy meal hit the spot
Mum was spinning vinyl playing Super Ape or Pressure Drop
I would spend the weekend with the Turkish mandem on the block
single parent household, mum was studying or on the job
money came and went always was an on and off
made it back from school time to see what’s on the box’


The beat fades away to leave one of Korobkiewicz’s recordings of Mars’ mum talking about her life in London in the 80s, spending her money on reggae records as an ambient chord fades in like an echo of a jungle intro – stretching out as a link between generations of UK music.

The production by and large is brighter and more kinetic than earlier Manonmars records – with O$VMV$M drawing on everything from modern underground rap and drill through to jazz and acid ambient passages.

London is also a central character here, bustling and constantly shifting, either when bleeding in through field recordings, or as an ever-present backdrop in the lyrics;

‘I’m a fusion of Tippa Irie and Topper Harley
Hit the target like the black Atari
I dropped a tab now shit’s A Scanner Darkly
Got the munchies, Imma yam a sarnie
Pour the Wray and Ting like man at Carni
Exit Peckham Rye and turn left, walk past Hannah Barry
Get your (w)raps up like its January’

‘I've always considered London my home, despite spending some time in the South West of England too. My mum had been living in London for 25 years (...) That was a pretty big deal in some ways because it removed us from multicultural society during the period which overlapped with my teenage years. (...) I never got used to how quiet it was in the countryside (...) Bristol was the closest city to where we lived and it was through travelling there and making connections that I became involved in making music and playing gigs.’ - Manonmars

Mars’ practice as a painter (under his given name Jack Martyn Richardson) and photographer also loom heavy over the album, he cites Paul Verhoeven, Abdul Mati Klariwein and H.R Giger as influences – as well as Miles Davis, Drakeo the Ruler and DJ Rashad.

As with much of Richardson’s work the raps at times feel blurred to a point of almost inscrutability, creating a distance between the audience and himself. A process that ties into his visual work and the way he experiences the world as mainly abstract colour without his glasses. He explores this further in an ongoing visual collaboration with Korobkiewicz, ‘Fun and Games’ which serves as a visual archive of one of London's largest and oldest travelling fairgrounds.

‘I was diagnosed with very severe short-sightedness at the age of seven. I remember my early formative years as visually blurred. Some of my photography reflects this experience of partial vision and uncertainty, referencing memory and perception rather than fixed representation.’

Manonmars’ first public outing as a rapper was at a Young Echo radio event, broadcast shambolically from a practice room just off Jamaica street, Bristol in 2011, as much as things have moved on both stylistically and in terms of focus - strong links back to the city remain a key foundation throughout the collaborations and guest appearances.

‘I have no problem with being an outsider looking in. One of the things I enjoy about London is the anonymity (...) it's easy to be a stranger here when so much is happening. I feel like thats more valuable than people may realise.’

Underground Hip Hop vets, Dillon & Paten Locke aroused appetites with their 2016 standout release, 'Food Chain', the follow-up to 2009's cult classic, 'Studies in Hunger' and prequel to 2025's 'Rations'. The flagship release of their fledgling label, FULL PLATE, 'Food Chain' opened many doors (and ears) for the Atlanta, GA /Jacksonville, FL based crew, setting the table for their sprawling catalog today.
Produced entirely by Paten Locke (the Boston-bred triple threat who cut his teeth with Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, Edan and his groups: Asamov + The Smile Rays), Food Chain's recipe starts with rugged chops of impossibly rare samples from Paten's world-renowned vinyl collection. Once that's simmering, just add Dillon's razor sharp rhymes; ranging from aggressively self-sure to deeply self-reflective, then finish with their signature seasoning - comedic relief! Food Chain also boasts an impressive list of guest features including Count Bass D, Homeboy Sandman, Supa Dave West, J-Live, Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Phill Most Chill, Boog Brown, Malkovich, Tone Tank and their FULL PLATE FAM, Willie Evans Jr. Too many chefs? We say, 'Let 'em cook!!'
Now 10 years later this critically acclaimed album receives the treatment it deserves: a proper double LP pressing of the album in its entirety - including a lost bonus intro + bespoke poster insert. 2016's pressing was an abridged single LP that was missing songs, interludes & skits in order to fit the time limits of the format. With the 2xLP, you finally get to enjoy the full album, they way it was meant to be heard. What makes this 10th Anniversary reissue even heavier is that Paten Locke passed in 2019 and never got to see the full impact of his work, so this release doubles as a delicious celebration of Paten's lifelong creative pursuits & accomplishments.

Celebrate a decade of a modern masterpiece. Originally released to critical acclaim, DJ Shadow’s The Mountain Will Fall gets a definitive reissue for its 10th Anniversary. Featuring the explosive, Gold-certified hit "Nobody Speak" featuring Run The Jewels, this album remains a towering achievement in instrumental hip-hop and experimental electronic production. This special anniversary edition is pressed on 2 x 140g classic black vinyl, delivering the rich, warm analog sound the album deserves. The release is housed in a stunning gatefold jacket showcasing brand-new artwork by the renowned artist Paul Insect, complete with premium spot gloss hits that make the visual design pop.

No Use For A Name were one of the first bands on Fat Wreck Chords and remain a cornerstone of the label roster. Their unique take on California punk/skate punk emphasized equally innovative and catchy melody, paired with top-flight musicianship. Of course, a lot of what made this possible was the vocal range and imaginative song writing of Tony Sly. Despite his tragic passing in 2012, Tony's presence can still be felt today, as his influence is evident in the work of many other artists. Leche Con Carne is a blistering punk rock record, the band's third studio album, and a blend of Bad Religion-esque riffage and edgy vocals that hit between singing and yelling. The record features some of the bands' biggest hits, the love song "Soulmate", the story-telling cautionary tale "Justified Black Eye", and the popular Bob Marley cover of "Redemption Song." 30 years since its first release, Leche Con Carne feels as omnipotent as ever. An essential Fat Wreck Chords release, and a classic album in the No Use For A Name discography. Produced by Ryan Greene (NOFX) and Fat Mike, Features hit singles "Soulmate," "Justified Black Eye," and "Redemption Song", for fans of Bad Religion, The Offspring, Green Day, Grape coloured 2026 vinyl.

Maverick folk artist and touring veteran Rev Hammer has been writing and releasing music for over 40 years. He regards his music not so much as a passport to fame and fortune but as a ticket to ride and has enjoyed numerous tours, collaborations, and projects over his long and varied career. The Old Crow Folk Club album features 23 of his songs re-imagined by friends and artists including Justin Sullivan (New Model Army), Mark Chadwick (Levellers), Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), Simon Friend (Levellers), Seth Lakeman, John Jones (Oysterband), Dan Donnelly & Jon Sevink (Levellers), Nick Harper, Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Nick Parker,

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

Soul Music legend Candi Staton returns to her down-home Alabama roots on her 32nd album, Back to My Roots. The twelve-track Americana set features an array of Staton-penned originals and some well-chosen covers.

"These songs represent my roots," Staton adds as she reflects on her many trials and triumphs. "Even the new songs on some level represent something I've experienced and that's what real soul music is about." Back to My Roots was produced by Staton with her second eldest son, Marcus Williams, a professional drummer who has toured with the likes of Peabo Bryson, Isaac Hayes, and Tyler Perry. They brought in Mark Nevers of Lambchop fame, who produced three of Staton’s prior Americana albums for Honest Jon’s and Thirty Tigers, to sweeten certain tracks. “Some of the first songs I ever heard were songs like `Peace in the Valley’ and `It’s Gonna Rain,’” says Staton. “The new songs or cover songs are tracks that remind me of that era when I was growing up as a child and evolving as a young woman. That’s why I named the album Back to My Roots because I’m going back to the roots that made me who I am.”

Staton received the Americana Music Association UK’s highest honour, the International Lifetime Achievement Award, at the UK Americana Music Awards ceremony at Hackney Church in London last year for her southern soul work that stretches from her 1969 Muscle Shoals hits to her more recent collaborations with the likes of Americana kings Jason Isbell and John Paul White.
The album opens with a mid-tempo Bonnie Raitt-styled contemporary blues “I Missed the Target Again” that finds Harry Connick Jr.’s longtime guitarist Jonathan DuBose Jr. (aka the Prophesying Guitarist) showing off his skills that set the tone for the song and the album.

Staton’s older sister, Maggie Staton Peebles (who alongside Staton was a member of the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s), joins her for two duets. The first, “It’s Gonna Rain,” features just a drum, steel guitar and vocals. “My mother used to sing that song to us all the time when I was a child,” Staton recalls. “It’s a really soulful kind of song I wanted to revisit.” They then take turns leading Thomas Dorsey 1939 gem “There Will Be Peace in the Valley” that Elvis Presley popularized in the 1950s.

“Hang on in There” is a new, mid-tempo song that has an old school gospel flavour and features vocals from veteran bluesman, Larry McCray.
While in Europe in 2023 for her farewell concert tour that took her to the Glastonbury Festival and Love Supreme, Staton and her British band, PUSH, went into a London studio to record a new version of The Rolling Stones’ 1972 gem, “Shine A Light.” “I love the way that came out,” Staton says. “We put a big choir on it and put our own twist on it.”
From there, Staton revives another Thomas Dorsey classic, “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow,” with a bluesy vibe. When Al Green started recording gospel in the early 1980s, he re-introduced this song into the culture.

“God’s Gonna Use Me Anyway” is a new mid-tempo blues with subtle Caribbean influences.

The mood takes a turn on “1963.” It’s a poignant, spoken-word reflection on September 15, 1963, when four black girls were killed in the Birmingham Church bombing. “I was in the city that day and I remember the chaos and horror after the bombing,” Staton recalls. “Just thinking of how racism and hatred caused those men to kill those girls was so emotional for me that I could only do it in one take.”

It's a perfect segue into "Reach Down and Touch Heaven," a haunting, plea for divine intervention into the affairs of mankind. "That's straight Baptist," she says. "I used to be a church pianist back in the 1960s. I've never played piano on one of my records before so that's a unique song for me because I’m finally playing on one of my records. The message of that song is about the homeless. It came to me when a homeless person on the street asked me for $5. When God touches your heart to help somebody else that’s heaven to God’s hears. So, when we reach into our purse or wallet to help someone, we’re touching heaven."

Staton offers love as an antidote to hate on the bouncy, Motown-styled, “Love Breakthrough.”

Her publicist brought Aaron Frazer & the Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY’s 2017 cut “My God Has a Telephone” to Staton’s attention. She shifts the track from a retro 1960s groove to more of a 1980s Malaco Records arrangement, a subtle but distinct variation. Staton brought in her longtime friend and STAX Records legend, William Bell (“I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and “Trying to Love Two”), to add raspy seasoning to the track.

The album closes with the wistful, “In God’s Hands We Rest Untroubled,” that was originally written and recorded by the late country star, Lari White, who died in 2017 at the age of 52. “Lari sent me that song to consider at least ten years ago and I always loved it,” Staton says. “The record label didn’t want it on the album or something, so I just held it.”
Staton says, “I grew up hearing a lot of these old songs when they were new songs. I toured with the Jewel Gospel Trio in the 1950s and we got to know people like Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and others who sang these types of songs. So, I’m sort of paying tribute to them and the influence they had on me by refreshing these songs and making new songs in the old style.”’

In The Eye Of The Storm was recorded live in New York on September 6th & 7th, 2025 as the soundtrack to a film celebrating Foreigner’s 50th anniversary. The album features an electric performance of the hits executed on Ellis Island, and a stunning acoustic presentation from the rooftop of Dumbo House overlooking Brooklyn Bridge which includes a very special rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water.'

CD: 4-Panel Wallet
LP: Black Vinyl in Single Jacket with Printed Inner Sleeve

This is the fifth album overall and the second release from MOON RECORDS, originally issued in 1983.

The artist had previously shot to fame amidst the global City Pop boom thanks to the track "Machi no Dolphin" (Dolphin in the City), featured on the 1982 album *Midnight Cruisin’*.

Participating musicians include Hiroshi Sato (Key), Hidetoshi Yamada (Key), Makoto Matsushita (G), Yuji Toriyama (G), Mitchie Nagaoka (B), and Koki Ito (B), among others.

LP / Standard Edition (Black Vinyl) / E-style single jacket with wraparound obi strip.

Reissue of the debut album by Laghonia, one of the most important bands of Peruvian rock. Originally released in 1960, "Glue" will be cherished by lovers of Latin American rock, pop and psychedelia as practiced by other similar classic bands such as Traffic Sound, We All Together, Black Sugar and Telegraph Avenue. After four brilliant singles, in 1969 the Peruvian band New Juggler Sound, formed by Saúl Cornejo (guitar), David Levene (lead guitar), Ernesto Samané (bass), Carlos Salom (organ) and Manuel Cornejo (drums), changed their name to Laghonia and released their debut LP "Glue" on the MAG label. The album included those previously released tracks, which were very influenced by the British rock scene of those years, to which they added fiery guitars bursting with fuzz and wah-wah, the ever present and hypnotic Hammond organ sound and Latin American percussion and rhythms. The result was a wonderful mix of mid-60s British beatmelodies, Jimmy Hendrix's intense rock, Cream's heavy blues and Santana's Latin rock. "Glue" is regarded as one of the key albums of Latin American psych and garage rock and is an essential record for any fan of those genres. Deluxe edition: 180g vinyl LP in tip-on jacket and insert with liner notes.

The album comes at a time when connection is needed more than ever. A generative connector and community leader Allison Russell, alongside production team Dim Star, cast a creative circle of collaborators to bring the songs to life, emerging from honest, raw dialogues between friends, lovers, chosen family, humans. The new record features Norah Jones, Joy Oladokun, Kara Jackson, Denitia, Ruby Amanfu, Devon Gilfillian, Kashus Culpepper, Brittney Spencer, Sara Watkins, Kyshona, Julie Williams, Chibueze Ihuoma and Ahya Simone. Available on "sea foam" coloured vinyl and digipak CD editions

Ever since the late 1950s bossa-nova revolution, Brazil’s influence on French music has been undeniable. Pierre Barouh, Georges Moustaki and a vast array of lesser known artists, all made the Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) an axis of promotion at the service of a cool and metaphysical, modern and mixed Brazilian lifestyle. Some were seduced by the poetic languors of the bossa, some were looking for fun, and others just loved the American hybridization of jazz-bossa, jazz-samba.



What is bossa nova? One of its creators, Joao Gilberto said: "Its style, cadence, everything is samba. At the very start, we didn't call it bossa nova, we sang a little samba made up of a single note - Samba de uma nota so .... The discussion around the origins of bossa nova is therefore useless”. It is nevertheless useful to remember that these magnificent Brazilian songs, which the guitarist describes as samba, were shifted and balanced around improbable chords. "I like things that lean, the in-betweens that limp with grace," said Pierre Barrouh, quoting Jean Cocteau.



With emotion, arrangements for violin and supple guitar licks, bossa nova rapidly changed. A transformation that can be heard in the Tchic, tchic, French Bossa Nova 1963-1974 compilation, the result of a cultural reappropriation, which traveled through the United States and supplemented itself in France.

A musical revolution that has remained significant, bossa nova was born in Rio. From 1956 to 1961, Brazil lived through its golden years. In five years, the country had invented its modernist style. Elected president in 1956, Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, an elegant man with a broad forehead, brandished a promising slogan: "Fifty years of progress in five years". He quickly got to work. Not worried about increasing debt, he launched the project for a new federal capital, Brasilia, designed by the communist architect Oscar Niemeyer. Volkswagen opened state-of-the-art factories and created the “fusquinha”, the Beetle. In Rio, the Vespa made its first appearance. The Arpoador Surf Club crew run into the “girl” from Ipanema, Helô Pinheiro - the tanned garota ("chick"), between a flower and mermaid, who at 17 walked by the Veloso bar, where the fiery author and composer, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, were getting drunk on whiskey. From then on, bossa symbolized cool.

In 1958, Joao Gilberto recorded Chega de Saudade, which the directors of Philips denied, calling it "music for fagots". The marketing director, who believed in it, secretly pressed 3000 78-inch vinyls and distributed them at schools around Rio, creating a tidal wave.

American jazzmen then took over. In particular, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and guitarist Charlie Byrd. In November 1962, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded a "Bossa-Nova" concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, inviting the genre’s pioneers. Unprepared, the show soon turned to disaster. But the troupe was invited to the White House by Jackie Kennedy. The first lady loved "the new beat" and in particular Maria Ninguem, a song by Carlos Lyra, later covered by Brigitte Bardot.

In Brazil, the 1964 military coup quickly ended this euphoria. The destructive atmosphere that ensued pushed many Brazilian musicians to leave, if not to exile. Thus, Tom Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Joao Gilberto arrived to the United States. In New York, Joao Gilberto met saxophonist Stan Getz. At the time, he was married to the Bahianese Astrud Weinert Gilberto, who had a German father. She had never sung before, but she knew how to speak English. Getz therefore asked her to replace her husband on The Girl From Ipanema. The Getz/Gilberto record with Tom Jobim on piano, was released in March 1964. Phil Ramone, the "pope of pop" was in charge of sound.

Bossa nova arrived in Paris through the classic “guitar-voice” channel (Pierre Barouh, Baden Powell, Moustaki…) But France loved jazz and Paris had already welcomed its American contributors. All these good people were to pass through Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The cabaret l'Escale became the Mecca of Latin American sound where one could find Pierre Barrouh and his friends, such as the Camara Trio, samba-jazz aces, whose only record was published by the Saravah label. With a band strangely called Les Masques (a band that included Nicole Croisille and Pierre Vassiliu, among others), the Camara Trio recorded an interesting Brazilian Sound, including the track Il faut tenir which is present on this tasty compilation of rarities.

Other enlightened musicians can also be found on the compilation, such as Jean-Pierre Sabar (songwriter for Hardy, Auffray, Leforestier ...) and the French pop rock organist Balthazar. In 1975, Sabar recorded Aurinkoinen Musiikkimatka on a Finnish label, which featured the crazy Vai, Vai, included on this record. We are now following the footsteps of Brazilian electronic musicians such as Sergio Mendes, Eumir Deodato or Marcos Valle who created funk and disco sounds on their keyboards and synthesizers. A style that influenced Véronique Sanson when she wrote Jusqu’à la Tombée de la nuit in 1969 for Isabelle de Funès, the niece of Louis and a great friend of Michel Berger - Sanson did end up singing this track on her 1992 Sans Regret record.


The pinnacle of exoticism and travel, Sylvia Fels’ Corto Maltese includes bongos, sea mist and ocean sounds. The title was taken from Jacky Chalard’s concept album written in 1974, Je suis vivant, mais j’ai peur (I am alive, but I am scared), based on Gilbert Deflez’s science fiction novel.


However, bossa nova extended the scope of popularity. "In the 1970s, I was a fan of Sergio Mendes, Getz / Gilberto. I fell in love with this music that I knew because I had been an orchestral singer, " explained Isabelle Aubret, who in 1971 delivered a composite record of covers by the very funky Jorge Ben, Orfeu Negro, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Morais and Jean Ferrat. "I recorded this album for Meys Records in Paris, far from Brazil, with wonderful musicians, François Raubert, Roland Vincent, Alain Goraguer...". The latter wrote the arrangements for Casa Forte, a very percussive title borrowed from Edu Lobo, one of the initiators of the bossa who spent time in California. "Jazz and bossa came together and produced very rhythmic music. I love singing, it allows me to dream, to have fun, to feel a high on stage, and these songs brought me joy, made me swing, my singing felt like a dance.”


The world tours of French singers and their desire for the tropics, often brought them to Rio with its hills, forests, caipirinhas and tanned bodies. There are surprises though, like this Iemenja (Iemenja is the goddess of the sea in the Afro-Brazilian candomblé religion). Not unlike the composer and musician Jean-Pierre Lang, based in Sao Paulo, Claire Chevalier taught Brazil to Brazil. In 1970, the singer and painter published a 45-inch vinyl, Mon mari et mes amants (My husband and my lovers), under the improbable pseudonym of Clarinha (little Claire). She was then living in Rio, with her husband, Joël Leibovitz, who founded a band called Azimuth, and who owned a record label specialized in "sambas enredos" songs for samba school parades.


For its B side, she asked Pierre Perret to come up with lyrics for a song composed by Carlos Imperial: "Oh goddess of the sea, o goddess Iemenja, I bring a white rose to adorn your long hair ..." . "Perret came to see us, and we had fun, remembers Joël Leibovitz. We wrote Lemenja for fun, we recorded it at the Havaí studio, behind the Central do Brasil the central station. Erlon Chaves, the arranger who worked with Elis Regina, joined us" adding his share of Afro-Brazilian percussions and funky brass to the mix.

There is a common misunderstanding in Franco-Brazilian history: that bossa, admittedly hedonistic, is perceived as funny, even though the poets who wrote the texts are often philosophizing on the human condition. Its French interpreters pull it towards a carnival inspired universe, far removed from its fundamental essence. Thus, Jean Constantin covered the famous Samba da minha terra, an ode to the art of samba written by the classic Bahian composer Dorival Caymmi, renaming it with the enticing title of Pas tant de tchi tchi pompon: "On your pier there is no tchi tchi / when you arch your back, you know everything is alright ”(lyrics by Gérard Calvi). This expedited bossa aims for the absurd, but retains a certain elegance.

Indeed, Jean Constantin was not an idiot, the rather large man had a huge mustache and liked fantasy, (Les pantoufles à papa, Le pacha, inspired by cha-cha-cha-cha, salsa and jazz) but he was also the lyricist of Mon manège à moi interpreted by Edith Piaf, the composer of Mon Truc en plume by Zizi Jeanmaire and the soundtrack of François Truffaut’s 400 Blows. Le Poulpe, published in 1970, from which this bossa is extract, was arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, an accomplice of Serge Gainsbourg’s Melody Nelson. In short: "There is enough of samba / By looking at the parasol / Because my poor cabeza / Is going to die in the sun".

Even the American actress Marpessa Down, who was at the heart of the bossa nova revolution with her role as Euridyce in Marcel Camus’ film Orfeu Negro, winner of the 1959 Cannes Palme d'or, fed the clichée with Je voudrais parler au petit cuica - "Tell me how you manage to always make people want to dance / It's true, I must admit that I cannot resist your magic" - in consequence, once can hear the cuica, a little drum inherited from the Bantu.


But bossa nova had many angles. Societal, of course, pushing actresses who were symbols of women's liberation like Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, or Sophia Loren to engage in the exercise of accelerated bossa. In February of 1963, Sophia Loren made a record in French in Rome, Je ne t'aime plus, featuring the song De jour en jour, a bossa written by two Italians, Armando Trovajoli and Tino Fornai, which was released a little later by Barclay. Bossa accompanied the 1960s, a decade of moral liberation. Ann Sorel, who interpreted La Poupée des favellas, caused a sensation with L’amour à plusieurs, a provocative song written by Frédéric Bottom and Jean-Claude Vannier. As for the actress Andrea Parisy, she displayed her bourgeois cheekiness in Marcel Carné's Les Tricheurs before interpreting Les mains qui font du bien. And Magalie Noël, the friend of Boris Vian, who sung Johnny fais-moi mal, was hired to sing Une énorme Samba, composed by Alain Goraguer (arranger to Gainsbourg, Bobby Lapointe and Jean Ferrat) with lyrics by Frédéric Botton.

But in the end, of what wood is bossa nova made of? The answer is given by Christianne Legrand, daughter of Raymond the conductor, and sister to Michel the composer: "With me, with jà" - jà means "immediately" in Portuguese. In 1972, the singer, an expert in vocal jazz and a member of the Double Six, published Le Brésil de Christianne Legrand. Two songs included on the Tchic Tchic compilation that demonstrate how bossa, jazz, funk, rock, etc. work like a swiss army knife: the music is used to denounce broken systems, or miracles, HLM et ciné roman, Cent mille poissons dans ton filet, two songs from the O Cafona soundtrack, a successful telenovela broadcast, at the time in black and white, on TV Globo. The first was adapted in French by the fighter and friend of the Legrand tribe, Agnès Varda. The second is content with a play on words, jostling them into a summer fun.



Véronique Mortaigne

One of the UK’s best loved and most respected dance music producers, Michael Gray, unveils his exciting third artist album, ‘You & Me’, on his own ever vibrant Sultra Records. Featuring a superb array of both fresh and regular vocal and musical collaborators, Michael delivers another superb helping of lovingly crafted discofied, boogie and soulful dance treats, where meaningful songwriting, passionate vocal performances and impeccable musicianship combine to create one of Michael’s best bodies of studio work to date!

“I’m really excited about this album. I enjoyed making ‘Optimism’ 2 years ago, but I feel like my sound and creativity have developed further during the production of my third album ‘You & Me’. I think there will be a few tracks that people are not expecting from me… and that’s the joy of making an album! You can really get creative”. – Michael Gray

Across the album, Michael brings together an impressive array of world class talent. Rising 29 year old vocalist Bran Mazz features prominently, delivering fresh performances on the standout cover of Maxwell’s ‘Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)’, as well as on ‘I Like The Way’, ‘Medicine’ and ‘Breaking Away’. Chi town house legend Mike Dunn joins Michael on the title track ‘You & Me’, built around a clever sample of Freeez’s ‘Flying High’. Vocal powerhouse Tania Foster turns up the heat on the Latin disco flavoured ‘Shake’. New York singer Kelli Sae lends her unmistakable soul to ‘Give It To Me’ and ‘Detonate’, the latter also featuring singer/songwriter Errol Reid (China Black / Axwell). Jamiroquai’s Derrick McKenzie adds his signature live drums to ‘Detonate’ and ‘I Like The Way’. Sian Lee appears on the current single ‘Gravity’, which is sitting at the top of the Traxsource chart. ‘Universe’ sees Michael deliver an instrumental jackin’ house twist, set for a full single release on Toolroom in June. Adding further depth to the album, superstar diva Phebe Edwards brings her impeccable soulful tone to a cover of Cleo Sol’s ‘Life Will Be’, Brit soul favourite Dyanna Fearon shines on ‘I’m Falling For You’, and Audrey Martells lifts ‘Beautiful’ with her stunning, uplifting vocal.

Los Amantes Oscuros" brings together for the first time on vinyl the recordings made between 1968 and 1969 by pioneers of Bolivian garage rock, Loving Darks, originally released on their three EPs. A selection packed with proto-punk covers of hits by the Stones, Cream, Tony Hatch, and more-often surpassing the originals in attitude and power. Their original records are highly sought after and are virtually impossible to find in any condition_ If we had to choose the Latin American country where the rawest and wildest garage and beat records of the '60s were recorded, Bolivia would be one of the clearest contenders. For some strange reason-surely related to the country's extreme conditions, its high altitude, and the influence of huayno-Bolivian recordings are truly unique and fascinating. A multitude of bands sprang up under the influence of groups-mainly British-that dominated the international charts. From the ashes of two of Bolivia's most important seminal bands, Los Black Byrds and The Turtles, two new groups fundamental to the history of Bolivian rock would be born: the mythical Climax and the legendary Loving Darks. "Los Amantes Oscuros" brings together for the first time on vinyl the recordings this band made between 1968 and 1969, originally released across three EPs on the local Lyra label. Their repertoire is packed with covers such as 'El Adivino,' a sped-up reinterpretation of 'Fortune Teller,' or even 'Algo de títere,' a reworking of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash.' They also adapt the classic 'Call Me' by Tony Hatch and 'Toad' by Cream, from whom they borrow the cover of one of their most iconic albums for the artwork of their EP "Complicado." In fact, 'Complicado'-a proto-punk version of the Rolling Stones' 'Complicated' and their signature track-is a perfect example of how a Bolivian band could outdo the British giants in attitude and power. Their importance lies in having paved the way for new sounds, styles, and aesthetics within a still-emerging scene. This compilation is a joint release with the Peruvian label Rey Record and includes an insert with notes on the band's history. First time vinyl reissue.

Capturing the full scope of the Straw Hat Crew’s journey into the Grand Line, this collection brings together the massive, high energy score by award winning composers Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli. From the shores of Loguetown to the snowy peaks of Drum Island, every moment of the voyage is brought to life through soaring orchestral arrangements and unforgettable pirate anthems.

2LP Audiophile Black Vinyl: Two 12 inch records pressed on high quality black vinyl for a classic look and superior sound fidelity, delivering every orchestral swell with crystal clear precision.

Double CD Set: Two discs featuring the complete original score and songs, presented in a premium compact format.

Premium Packaging: A double gatefold jacket for the vinyl edition and a three fold digipack for the CD, both showcasing vibrant cinematic artwork of Luffy and the Straw Hat Crew.

Complete Soundtrack: Over 40 tracks spanning the entire second season, including character themes, emotional moments and epic battle motifs.

Whether at home or on your own journey, this release is the perfect way to keep the spirit of adventure alive, immersing you fully in the world of One Piece.

Netflix’s epic high seas pirate adventure, ONE PIECE, returns for Season 2, unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet. Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line, a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world’s greatest treasure, they will encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies

Bill Withers was a modest, gentle, and yet towering musical figure responsible for some of the most important, universally known soul hits ever written. It’s no wonder that “Just the Two of Us” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” won him two Grammy awards and undoubtedly played a huge role in getting him inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Live at Carnegie Hall is Withers' only live album, recorded on October 6, 1973 but not released until April 21, 1973. The fact that Bill got to play his heartfelt and honest soul at one of the most prestigious venues for both classical and pop music speaks volumes: his first two records Just As I Am and Still Bill were really that influential.

Bill Withers' Live At Carnegie Hall was recorded more than 50 years ago on a rainy Friday evening, but it is still regarded as one of the best live performances in the history of Soul music. Withers appears on stage with an ensemble of only the best session musicians the 1970s had to offer: Melvin Dunlap, Ray Jackson, James Gadson, Benorce Blackmon, and Bobbye Hall, at the time one of the few female session percussionists. They all had worked together on Still Bill and had the knack for expanding Bill's intimate songs to fit a hall of that size and stature. And as far as the recording goes, no corners were cut; it really feels like you're up there with them.

The set features evergreens such as "Ain't No Sunshine", "Lean On Me", "Grandma's Hands", but also tunes that are only available as part of this live set, such as "World Keeps Going Around" and "I Can't Write Left-Handed".

Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall is available as a limited edition of 5000 individually numbered copies on magenta vinyl, and includes printed inner sleeves and a 4-page booklet featuring liner notes on Bill Withers written by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and reflections by Aloe Blacc.