Buscar:latin all star

After the success of their full-length LP earlier this year, Night Owls are back for more and ready to take the bar even higher! This first 45 from a new string of recording sessions features two heavy hitters in the funk/soul community; N'Dea Davenport from London's famed The Brand New Heavies and SoCal's own Trish Toledo (Now-Again Records, Silent Giant, Mango Hill).
Side A is the classic soul body mover "Cramp Your Style" (All the People) featuring N'Dea Davenport, which Hip-Hop heads will recognize as the foundation for Boogie Down Productions' "Still #1" and Cypress Hill's "Real Estate." Davenport's soulful delivery elevates Night Owls' flip, echoing the famous Studio One riddim "Greedy G" by Brentford Road All Stars and the quirks of the original. Side B follows up with Motown classic "Your Old Standby" by Mary Wells and features Latina Soul phenom Trish Toledo. Adding a little more bounce and groove to the original, Night Owls’ flip sets the backdrop for Toledo to shine brightly and deliver a vocal performance that perfectly echoes Mary Wells in her youth.
Both sides are must-haves, be it spinning at a party or slowing things down slightly while cruising around the neighborhood, just in time for the holiday season. Produced by Dan Ubick and Night Owls. Recorded and Mixed by Dan Ubick for DanUbe Productions at The Lions Den in Topanga, CA.

"Matasuna Records" musical journey takes the listener this time to "Panama" - a country in Central America, which offers a rich and breath-taking variety of musical treasures. In a first reissue, two songs from the legendary "Loyola Records" label were selected, both released in 1969: one by "Camilo Azuquita" and one by the group "Panama Brass". Two super-rare tunes that fetch crazy prices, if you're lucky enough to find a copy at all. Available for the first time as an official remastered reissue on 7inch vinyl - the song by Panama Brass even makes its 7inch premiere. Don't sleep on it!

The A-side features the killer boogaloo tune "Borombon" by "Camilo Azuquita". Its take of the song composed by "Javier Vasquez" is undoubtedly the best version of this song. The striking piano, driving bass and rich horns are fueled by percussive accompaniment and especially by Azuquita's powerful voice. A terrific song that has also recently gained new notoriety in movies and series - such as "Better Call Saul".

The B-side features the instrumental Latin Jazz/Guaracha tune "Con La Mano En La Biblia" by "Panama Brass" - an orchestra led by the excellent organist "Cristobal Munoz Jr." and consisting of Panama's best musicians. A no less energetic and furious song composed by "G. Garcias". The musicians of the orchestra combine a great musicality and diversity in the song, delivering a special delicacy.

"Camilo Luis Argumédez" is a singer and composer born in "Colon (Panama)" on February 18th 1945. He became world famous under his stage name Camilo Azuquita. He began his career at a young age, when he participated in various competitions organized by local radio stations. He left Panama for the first time for an engagement in "Lima (Peru)" - the prelude tocountlesstrips.

After returning to Panama, another engagement in 1966 took him to "Puerto Rico", where he also recorded music. Due to a tour he was involved in, he ended up in "New York City" where he made new & fruitful acquaintances with other artists that resulted in some more recordings.

In 1968 he returned again to Puerto Rico, where he joined a band to record an album. In the following years, tours and concerts followed, as well as an engagement in a club where he musically accompanied many stars of Latin American music.

Between 1972 and 1976 he spent four years in "Los Angeles", where he performed in night clubs, recorded two albums and toured California with his own band "Melao". In LA, through a brother of the "Fania" boss, he got a contract with "Vaya Records", a subsidiary of the Fania label, which brought him back to New York City in 1976. There he joined the band "Tipica'73" and their two following albums brought him much success.

A tour led him to "Paris", where he met the journalist "Pierre Goldman". A proposed project became reality two years later: Azuquita opened the first Parisian Salsa Club. As this became a complete success and the audience filled the club on each of the evenings, a first engagement of one month was extended to several years. In France, he performed at the world-famous "Olympia Theater "or played at the "Old Bourget airport", opening for a live concert by reggae legend "Bob Marley" in front of 75,000 people. From France, he traveled throughout Europe, where the performances in front of European audiences brought him enormous prestige.

From 1985 to 1987, "Azuquita y su Melao" toured extensively in "California", where he signed a 1-year contract at "Club Candilejas" in "Hollywood" in 1988. In the following decades, he recorded many more albums - in NYC, Cali (Colombia), France or Havana (Cuba), among others. In addition, he was still very active on tours, festivals and concerts around the globe. An extremely remarkable artist, whose activity has brought him to the top.

---

"Panama Brass" was an orchestra directed and orchestrated by the excellent organist "Cristobal Munoz Jr." The orchestra consisted of one of the best musicians of Panama at that time. Munoz was an exclusive artist of "Loyola Records" at the time and was considered a promising or up-and-coming conductor. That this album could be realized at all had only been possible thanks to Hubert J. Pretto. Pretto, then Assistant Vice President & General Manager of "Coca Cola Panama" arranged the funds necessary for the realization of this album and supported the campaign to promote music culture in Panama. This album would remain the only one released by this group.

Rui Fradinho has been DJing and record collecting since the age of 15, having played drums and keyboards on several different projects and starting his electronic music production journey in 2001, when he made his first ever original track – A Bright Future (release number 1 on the label).

Lover of music of all sorts, Rui’s musical base stems across different genres, including House, Drum N Bass, Hip Hop, Footwork, Bass Music, having more recently nurtured a deeper devoted passion for all things Jazz, Fusion and Broken Beat / Nu Jazz.
There are undeniable major influences from Jazz, Soul, Funk, Latin, African, Brazilian and Global music on his productions and Rui has released remixes for several artists on several labels such as Str4ta for Colin Curtis Presents, Nimbus Sextet for Acid Jazz, Luiz Gabriel Lopes for Da Lata Music, Momenta for Lazy Robot Records, Various artists for MJDC – Modern Jazz Dance Classics, David Borsu for Broadcite, Makala for Orrua Diskak and Ray Lugo for Ammonite Records.

Highlights of his DJ career include a 6 year residency at Sociedade Anonima club in Portugal, then Bicaense Café and Lux Club in Lisboa. Earlier in 2017, he did a stint on London’s Back2BackFM, playing at Dalston’s Club Makossa, the BBE Store in East London, closing the Chill Out Gardens stage in Portugal’s Boom Festival 2018, DJ’ed at Gilles Paterson’s first edition of We Out Here festival, currently guests at Birmingham’s Bruk Up Broken Beat night and opened the Portuguese festival LisbOn - Jardim Sonoro in 2022.

Dopeness Galore / Records We Release
"A newfound father's attempt to pass wisdom on to his children."

- Spring 2019 -

"As my girlfriend’s pregnancy was steadily treading along, I settled into my home studio in the attic of our new house. In our previous apartment I had a tiny room which could hardly fit my recording gear, let alone my drums which were still sitting at my parents’ house eating dust. Now that we’d moved into a bigger place, I had confiscated a part of the top floor to build my studio. This time I had just enough space to fit my drum set together with other percussion instruments, Fender Rhodes and synths. This sparked a whole new world of creative opportunities.

At the same time I also started to think about what kind of wisdom I would want to pass on to my children. I started writing down my thoughts. Little anecdotes, ponderings and things to think about as a human being.

These two events took place in parallel and once I actually started jotting down my first compositional ideas I saw the concept right there in front of me bright as day.

This LP has been written and recorded as inspiration to think about things and to keep re-thinking again and again to strengthen the knowledge of self.

Fruit Distro Collective is heavily inspired by Jazz composition, Hiphop drum sounds and the percussive elements of Afrobeat and Afro latin styles. "

For Dizzy everything starts and ends with laughter. In the meantime, all paths are possible. That of melancholy, of dance or of political commitment... Dizzy is everywhere at once, always elusive, he is this explorer who, after having been one of the founders of Bebop in the 40's, will never stop experimenting, surprising and pushing back the borders. Proud of his Afro-American heritage, he knew like no other how to confront it with other cultural horizons such as Latin America or Cuba. On 25 August 1973 Dizzy Gillespie came to the Dutch public in Laren. True to form, he introduced his musicians in a mischievous and generous mood and then launched thunderously into a Caribbean tempo that lasted 19 minutes! Then, in a deep voice, Dizzy evokes his friend Martin Luther King. He dedicates "Brother K" to him, a tender ballad punctuated by flashes of storm and anger. As a conclusion Dizzy invokes his roots: "The Blues", where he abandons his trumpet to unleash the full force and warmth of his voice. The musicians withdraw to a surprisingly light theme. We leave as we arrive, on tiptoe. However, we leave with a certainty: "Yes Dizzy, you made it".

Dizzie Gillespie, Trumpet and Vocals
Mike Longo, Piano
Alexander Gafa, Guitar
Earl May, Bass
Mickey Roker, Drums
Guest Artist : Jon Faddis, Trumpet on tracks 9 and 10

Recorded at the Singer Concert Hall

Laren Jazz Festival, 25.VIII.1973

STEREO ℗ 1973 VARA

Remastered by ℗ & © 2017 FONDAMENTA

Made and printed in Germany

Zopelar arrives on Tartelet with Charme - an album of effervescent machine funk harking back to a golden era of Brazilian party music, releasing October 21st.

The era of interest for Sao Paulo’s Pedro Zopelar begins in the 1980s in Rio de Janeiro, when a particular phenomenon caught on at suburban parties which became known as Charme. “Charme was like a mix of slow boogie, RnB and new jack swing,” explains Zopelar. “DJ Corello started calling ‘charme’ the moment of the party when he played slow grooves and felt that the people started dancing differently, with sexier synchronized moves. Some years later, charme evolved from an awaited moment of a night to a whole movement of parties just playing that kind of music. On this record I tried to make something that brings this emotional feeling to my music in a modern way.”

Much like the original genre-not-genre he drew inspiration from, Zopelar’s approach across his latest LP spans different moods and tempos. There’s blissful, sultry mystery lingering around ‘Clara’ and ‘Do You Feel?’ while OSAGIE lends some chops to the exquisite, Rompler-powered synth funk of ‘Chain Net’. The lead singles ‘Shibuya’, ‘Charme’ and ‘Passado’ all tap into varying shades of deep house, from slinky City Pop-tinted loungers to peak-time dance pop and Larry Heard-influenced flavours, with the constant being Zopelar’s immaculate production and the unbridled warmth of his compositions.

Continuing the Latin-rooted theme of the album, the artworkconception of Charme was realized by multidisciplinary artist and curator Ode, showcasing a popular style of street paintings made by anonymous artists throughout Latin America. It’s not about graffiti-culture but a popular solution utilized by small restaurants, bars and other establishments to use their own walls for commercial purposes, hiring artists to paint food and drink menus or other information about their products.

With an emotional sincerity stemming from his move to reconnect with the Brazilian dimension of his creative background, Charme arrives as Zopelar’s heartfelt celebration of life and music, of sentimental moments shared and good times enjoyed.

A rich musical journey comprising eleven songs, Madrid channels the chaotic charms of the Spanish capital where Nev has recently relocated.

"I love the way life works here. It's organised chaos. Walking
the neighbourhoods of Lavapiez and La Latina you begin to see how everything is perfectly balanced...how to eat, how to party and then how to relax! It's perfection. When it all gets too much I run away to
the English countryside"

Side A cut 'The Ring' calls to mind Cowboy In Sweden era Hazlewood while that Mustang bass, scratchy guitars and cool 60's drum fills invoke Serge and Vannier for ' Silver Screen' and title track 'Madrid'. Scott 4 is obviously a touchstone and Nev has never been one to hide his reverence for one of the greatest albums of all time. Seven minute wonder 'Under The Skin' channels Walker's

Brand new Italian label “WeDoThings” is happy to introduce “The Beetools” with the debut album ‘SoulNova: The Magical Tones Revenge’.

“The Beetools” are a four elements crew who love music and mostly enjoy live playing instruments and synths.

Their roots start from Latin and Electronic Music as well as Funk & Jazz, inspired and influenced by Mambo & Samba rhythms too.
Starting from here, they have joined together and created an Italian soup/group as follows:
Original Recipe:
- take four poor guys with different music styles and put them in a mixing bowl
- add few spoons of keys, flutes and some drums
- put inside a pinch of synths
- mix and fry 180 grams of magical sound
- a sprinkle of groove and trumpets on top
Everything seems to work fine and now it’s cooked to perfection, ready to please your ears.

Strictly serve it hot on a “vinyl plate”
It’s a limited pleasure, this one is a keeper !!

Upstairs, a band from Frankfurt, Germany was active from 1977 to 1983. Though considering themselves mainly a rock group, the band incorporated elements of funk, jazz rock and disco into their music. On their rare and privately released debut album "It's Hard To Get In The Showbiz" from 1980 they created something that could be called Germany's definite answer to AOR, yet still with an edgy and unique krautrock flavor.

The album starts with "Wontcha Try," a track where core songwriter, guitarist and lead singer Helmer Sauer is telling the story about being dismissed from his job: "They tried to tell me in a fucking gentle way, that the time had come to kick me…". Sauer serves more personal, hard-edged lyrics on the album as well. On "Happy Hooker," for example, he tells the story of a working girl in the red light milieu: "The job is as hard that you really can never imagine, she serves for the money, degradin' herself in a way - if you'd know how she's feelin' you wouldn't laugh at all". An empathetic view on the subject of prostitution rarely heard at that time.

But aside from the profound lyrics and songwriting, the album has a lot to offer on the groovy side of things. With catchy bass lines, rhythm guitar, Fender Rhodes, Moog synthesizer, Clavinet and swift crisp drumming "It's Hard To Get In The Showbiz" is one of the best examples of late 70s flavored funky rock from Germany. Additional to the aforementioned "Wontcha Try" another DJ delight should be "Make Your Steps On Better Lines" which showcases a superb synth line and disco funk flavors. We also get the slick mellow latinesque AOR grooves of "Get On A Plane" as well as the now-classic "You're Just Yourself", which marks the most soulful track of the LP. As followers of our label are already well aware, "You're Just Yourself" was featured on the compilation, "Boogie On The Mainline - A Collection Of Rare Disco, Funk And Boogie From Germany 1980-1987" from 2018.

The band mainly performed locally and never really had ambitions to release their music on a bigger label. Too bad that Upstairs only released this one album. Of course, the highly sought-after original pressing is almost impossible to find nowadays. Therefore, we are proud to finally make this record available again after 40 years for a reasonable, regular LP price. Only 300 copies of the carefully re-mastered repress have been produced, and included is a printed lyrics insert identical to the original.

B. Bravo (aka Adam Mori) returns to Bastard Jazz with the long-awaited follow-up to his 2017 debut LP, "Paradise," with a fresh full-length offering: "Vizionz." Replete with his signature future funk vibes, infectiously soulful grooves, and talkbox excursions, "Vizionz" sees the multifaceted artist take the classic West Coast into outer space. If B. Bravo's last album sought to get lost in paradise - enjoying the moment here and now - "Vizionz" looks forward, feet placed firmly in an established LA vibe, while the matured eyes of a veteran producer gaze keenly to the future.

"Vizionz" arrives following a slew of diverse singles, which highlight B. Bravo's stunning versatility as a songwriter, producer, and collaborator. Last year's "Lifted (What U Waiting 4)" came first, at the end of May, 2020, pairing g-funk talk-box verses and synth lines with rich vocal harmonies and a dance-floor-ready beat. Frequent collaborator Reva DeVito (Miami Horror, Kaytranada) makes a standout vocal appearance on "Fly Bye," the second single. Here, Adam surrounds Reva's vocals with ambient pads, a Dilla-inspired beat, and an irresistible bassline, while Reva's dreamily sings about getting away from it all. The final single, "Believe," sees Chuck Inglish (of the famed duo The Cool Kids) rhyme in his distinctive baritone over a bass-heavy instrumental meant to rattle some car stereos.

The singles offer a view into the rest of the album: Solo B. Bravo joints include "Moon Bounce," a talk-box boogie jam begging for late-night drives with the top down; the largely-instrumental synth improvisation, "Midnight Rider;" the upbeat "Penelope," which showcases Adam's vocal and harmonic prowess; a bumping g-funk interlude, with "Flip Out;" as well as the laid back album opener, "Da Essence."

Further vocal assists come by way of Sally Green on the flirty "10/10," and Rojai on the slow jam ""No Regrets" . Both singers have worked on B. Bravo projects in the past, with Rojai additionally joining forces with Adam to form the duo Kool Customer, whose self-titled debut album was released on Bastard Jazz in 2018. Two more hip-hop-leaning tracks are aided by Def Sound ("Back Times Two") and Nico Fasho ("Ms. Stardust"); leaning heavy into outerspace G-Funk Hip-Hop vibes.

Taken as a whole, "Vizionz" is a much needed boost of serotonin: Uncompromisingly positive, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes aspirational, but always funky. The range of styles is a testament to Adam's indelible production chops, songwriting skill, and ability to collaborate. While it has been a long 5 years since "Paradise," "Vizionz" proves more than worth the wait.

Born and raised in California, with roots in Japan, B. Bravo's signature style of Cosmic Funk and late night synth grooves have made him a favorite among DJ's, dancers, and music lovers worldwide. A tasteful producer, sought after remixer, party rocking DJ, master of the talkbox, band leader, and alumnus of the Red Bull Music Academy, Mr. Bravo is an accomplished performer both at home and abroad.

Heavily inspired by the synthesizer-enhanced R&B grooves of the late '70s and early '80s, B. Bravo debuted in 2009 with the seven-track "Analog Starship" EP. A deeper impression was made the following year with a shorter extended play, "Computa Love," the title track of which was supported by BBC DJ Benji B months prior to release. Additional strides were made with a batch of singles and EPs that followed throughout the next few years, as Bravo toured and performed at numerous festivals around the world.

His relationship with the Brooklyn tastemaker label, Bastard Jazz Recordings, began in 2016 with the 7" single "I'm For Real / Stay The Night' (which notably featured a Mr. Carmack remix of the latter). Bravo's debut solo LP quickly followed with 2017's critically acclaimed "Paradise" - which shone a light on vocalists and frequent collaborators Reva DeVito, Trailer Limon, Kissey, and Lauren Faith - with a remix album appearing six months later.

Additional solo releases have found a home on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings and Frite Nite, while production credits have appeared on releases from the legendary Blue Note Records, HW&W, All City, Friends of Friends, and Tokyo Dawn. B. Bravo has worked on projects with the likes of Salva, Mr. Carmack, Teeko, DJ Lean Rock, Reva DeVito, Lauren Faith, and Kate Stewart.

Having toured throughout the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia, he's shared the stage with performers like Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, DāM-FunK, Hudson Mohawke, at a world-spanning range of festivals such as Detroit Electronic Music Fest, HARD LA, Northern Nights, Laneway Singapore, Sonar in Barcelona, Snowglobe, SXSW, Basscoast, Do-Over, Low End Theory, Boiler Room, and Soulection.

B. Bravo's "Vizionz" LP is out on Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz Recordings Spring, 2022.

This album marks the debut recording for Venezuela's Velvet label by pianist Ray Pérez and his trombone-led salsa band Los Dementes. Heavy dance numbers and the distinctive vocals of Perucho Torcat make this historic 1967 rarity a sought-after collector's item. Now the LP has been lovingly restored, mastered from the original tapes, with its original artwork intact, preserving the legacy of Los Dementes for today's generation of salsa lovers everywhere. First time reissue. Salsa pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger Ray Pérez, acquired his nickname "Loco" by being a free, independent spirit, an innovator and iconoclast who was initially branded as "crazy" for the freshness and audacity of his sound. Amazingly, he is not that well known in the US, where he spent some time in the late 1960s and salsa was king during the 1970s. Yet he was quite popular in his home country from the beginning, especially amongst the working class of Caracas and Maracaibo, who adopted Cuban music played by New York Puerto Ricans as their own and called it "salsa" years before the term was employed by US labels like Fania as a marketing tool. Pérez is revered in Venezuela, as well as in Mexico and Colombia, and his storied career, which spans seven decades and thousands of concerts, has yielded more than 35 albums recorded by his various bands, including Los Dementes, Los Kenya, and Los Calvos, all of which are collector's items today. At the start of 1967 Pérez debuted Los Dementes, with vocalists Claudio Zerpa and Perucho Torcat backed by an ace band featuring only trombones in the brass section. Titled "¡Alerta mundo! Llegaron los 'The Crazy Men'" the record was released on the small Venezuelan label Prodansa. Soon after, Prodansa folded and Los Dementes were left without representation or much compensation for their efforts, being paid only in records. In the end of February of that year, Pérez returned to Caracas from a stint in Maracaibo in order to finish his first LP with the well-established and larger Velvet label, entitled "Manicomio a locha". In the first quarter of 1967, Velvet unleashed a trilogy of salsa records in order to compete with rival label Palacio and their recent success with Federico y su Combo Latino: "Porfi '67 Salsa & Boogaloo" by Porfi Jiménez y su Orquesta, "Guasancó" by Sexteto Juventud and lastly "Manicomio a locha". The LP begins appropriately with the boisterous title track, written by the band's conguero Carlos "Nené" Quintero, who would become a legend in coming years. Torcat describes a jam session in mental institution and introduces the band, with tasty solos by trombonist Rufo García followed by Ray on piano. Already you can hear something was different about Ray and his "Crazy Men"-a sound as wild and innovative as what was happening in New York with Eddie Palmieri, but with a more unhinged, raw feeling in line with Willie Colón and other younger Nuyorican bands. Next up is an intriguing track sung in a mix of Italian, English, Spanish and Papiamento by Pérez himself, performed in the complicated rhythm of the mozambique, an Afro-Cuban carnival beat developed in the early 1960s. This is followed by the heavy dancer 'Rico guaguancó', penned by Angelito Pérez, which changes from the guaguancó to the mozambique rhythm mid-way through, proving that Los Dementes were "different from the rest" as the lyrics say. 'Puerto Libre', sung by Torcat, is dedicated to the Venezuelan island of Margarita in the Oriente region, and the independent spirit of its working people. The rhythm changes from guaguancó to guajira and back again but remains danceable all the way through. The side closes out with a "3 in 1" medley inspired by the popular formula of the mosaicos of Billo's Caracas Boys, seamlessly knitting together several different tempos, rhythms, moods and compositions. Side two starts strong with the fierce yet satirical 'Corte e' patas', then 'Alma Cumanesa', a typical folk song refashioned as a guaguancó. This is followed by the funky 'Guajira con Boogaloo'. The tune echoes the sound of young Latin New York, pointing out the connection between Cuban and African American soul music. The pace picks up again with 'Fiesta de trombones', a hot descarga and then the album closes with another medley. Though this marks the end of a rather short album, it also signaled the emerging success of Los Dementes and their involvement with the salsa boom in Venezuela, quickly selling out of its initial run of 1000 records and making for a memorable debut on the Velvet label. Now this rare and sought-after LP has been lovingly restored, mastered from the original tapes, with its original artwork intact, preserving the legacy of Los Dementes for today's generation of salsa lovers everywhere.

Luca LTJ Trevisi (LTJ Xperience) began his dj/producer career in the 80s. As resident dj in two of the most famous Italian clubs of the time, Kinky in Bologna and Cap Creus in Imola, he was one of the first Italian jocks to spin House and to re-propose those black music, jazz and latin-bossa classics from the 70s that at the end of the same decade would have given birth to the Acid Jazz and Rare Groove movements. His first single release in 1988, titled First Job, together with Kekkotronics, was also the first release ever on Bologna based Irma Records. It was featured in a lot of compilations of the time and entered several playlists, rapidly reaching cult status for many UK and US djs. During the early 90s LTJ delivered a couple of singles in a kind of pre-breakbeat style: Dont Stop The Sax, released all over Europe, and Funky Superfly. He also produced US singer Tameka Starrs single Going In Circles, always for Irma Records, still a classic in the downtempo/r&b field. In the second half of the nineties Luca began to produce acid jazz bands like Bossa Nostra, still today one of Irma Records main acts. Their first album had Vicky Anderson as special
guest and today is still considered one of the most important European acid jazz albums. In the following years he concentrated on developing his activity as collector and rare vinyl merchant, which gave him the chance to get in touch with djs from all over the World and to discover many forgotten gems from the past years. Thanks to this experience he was able to create two extremely successful rarities series on Irma Records:

Groovy and Suono Libero. In the meanwhile LTJ started to dj outside Italy too, performing in important venues like the Blue Note and Jazz Café in London, Giant Step in New York and Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 1999 saw the release of his first solo album under the LTJ Xperience moniker. The album was produced with the collaboration of fellow Irma artist and producer Ohm Guru and had Taka Boom and Jackson Sloan among the guests. Two of the main tracks on the album are brazil house classic Sombre Guitar and title track Moon Beat, which became a true hit of the Chill Out genre, featured in dozens of important compilations.

After making countless productions for Irma Records, including their second album When The Rain Begins To Fall (with the participation of the historic Spanish-American singer Joe Bataan), and the recents singles as ORGAN MIND / I LOVE YOU (favorite track by Larry Heard ) & ON THE FLOOR / SOUND MACHINE, LTJ is devoted almost exclusively to re-edit and reconstruct tracks from the past with the addition of sounds and rhythms in post production for labels like SUPER VALUE, SMALL WORLD DISCO, HOT GROOVY RECORDS, OH CRISTO! increasing the production of this new musical genre that is currently defined as beatdown/slo-mo, working with international labels such as Far Out Recordings, Sleazy Beats, Future Classics, E.A.R. Music For Dreams, Apersonal Music, Roam Recordings, !K7.

David Lovato’s first outing as LOVA, the superb Gypsophilia EP, was one of NuNorthern Soul’s most lauded and cherished releases of 2021 – a gorgeous collection of emotive, sun-soaked sounds from the mind of a producer who got his chance on the imprint after handing a USB of tracks to Phil Cooper at Hostal La Torre in the summer of 2020.

Now, the EP returns for 2022 in expanded form, with a trio of fresh, mood-enhancing remixes joining the three original tracks featured on last year’s release. It’s those – ‘Cecilia’, Lovato’s glistening, emotionally resonant musical tribute to his baby daughter, mid-tempo nu-disco gem ‘Echoes of Memories’ and the stunning, sunset-inspired ‘Esperanza’ - that form the first half of the EP, with a trio of reworks following in hot pursuit.

Long-time friends of the label Leo Mas and Fabrice, an Italian duo famed for their brilliant Balearic reworks whose individual and collective histories stretch right back to the late 1980s (Mas, for example, was one of the resident DJs at legendary White Isle venue Amnesia at the back end of that decade). Given this shared Balearic history, it’s fitting that they step up first and give their spin on ‘Cecilia’. Making the most of Lovato’s stunning, reverb-drenched guitar licks, dreamy chords and atmospheric pads, the pair delivers a shuffling, club-ready interpretation underpinned by a locked-in dub disco groove. It’s a fine take on a track brimming with positivity and joy.

Hear & Now, an Italian duo best known for delivering a trio of brilliant albums on Claremont 56, give their interpretation of ‘Echoes of Memories’. Beginning with a mixture of quietly colourful chords, enveloping sonic textures and hazy guitar motifs, the mix gently builds as it progresses, with the pair introducing a pitched-down house groove, chiming electronic melodies and alluring elements from Lovato’s original version. Like much of Hear & Now’s work, it sits somewhere be-tween Balearica, slow-motion electronic disco and the Rimini-friendly dream house sound that marked out Italian club cuts at the turn of the ‘90s.

To close out the EP, rising star Danilo Braca – an Italian producer based in New York City who began DJing in his home country way back in 1996 – gently leads ‘Esperanza’ towards the dancefloor. Braca is a member of production duo Synth & Soda, whose 2020 remix of DJ Harvey presents Locussolus track ‘Berghain’ was selected by the man himself as the winner of an online competition. On this solo revision, Braca wraps a punchy, Latin-tinged house beat in cascading melodic motifs, bubbly synthesizer arpeggio lines, rising and falling electronics and pads so sumptuous you might want to marry them. Simultaneously morning fresh and sunset-ready, Braca has delivered a classic-sounding chunk of Balearic nu-disco/deep house fu-sion.

Gypsophilia Remixed is the latest volume in NuNorthern Soul’s Myths of Ibiza series of EPs, which all feature specially commissioned artwork from illustrator Emily McGuinness. This time round, McGuinness’s distinctive artwork depicts Tanit, the ‘protector goddess’ of Ibiza. A warrior deity of dance, fertility, creation and destruction, her spirit is said to watch over the island’s West Coast, particularly the area around Atlantic and the mysterious Es Vedra rock.

INFRACom!, one of the longest operating Independent labels in Germany, celebrate it´s 30yrs anniversary with a vinyl compilation consisting of tracks that have never been released on vinyl before. Label co-founder Jan Hagenkötter handpicked these from various artist in the catalog, true to the spirit of the label and its operator – We couldn´t save the entire planet but we still like to save your soul.

The artwork was once again designed by Rafael Jimenez Heckmann, a well-known graphic designer from Offenbach. He is responsible for most of the artworks and designs on INFRACom!... his covers have already been awarded several times e.g. in Lürzers Archive and others.

The inlay was designed by the long time friend & well known artist Jim Avignon. In the nineties before Jim went to Berlin and New York to get world famous he lived in Frankfurt for a few years and drew and partied a lot with Jan Hagenkötter & Namé Vaughn…the two DJ´s, friends and founders of INFRACom! He even contributed a song to the very first INFRACom! production. Since that time they cultivate a lovely friendship and Jim was happy to contribute an artwork to this anniversary release.

Most of the tracks included on the compilation were released only on CD and then digitally in the so-called 2000s or noughties, as it was very difficult to release any album on vinyl during that time due to the situation in the music market while the transition from physical to digital products and the piracy phenomenon. Fortunately, today the different formats can coexist again.

INFRACom!, once started locally in Frankfurt with artist like Shantel who released his first recordings on the label. He is featured by a collaboration with the Brazilian duo Rosanna & Zélia. Soon INFRACom! expanded to an international platform for artist from all over the world like Jhelisa (USA), Mop Mop & Gabriele Poso..both from Italy, Metropolitan Jazz Affair the brainchild of French producer and musician Patchworks, Taxi from the UK, Rime from Finland or Aromabar from Austria…all with different styles of music.

The vision of the two founders Jan Hagenkötter & Namé Vaughn was and still is artistically oriented and has never favored just only one style of music.
The roots of INFRACom as a label are based in the various form of black music culture - conditiopned to the influences and personal history of the two founders - but also deeply rooted in the club and DJ culture and various forms of electronic music. The compilation can only show a small glimpse into the universe with tunes that stand the test of time.

One of the best examples is Matthias Vogt with whom the label has a long standing collaboration and who just this year released the album PIANISSIMO on INFRACom!. He can be heard with his Matthias Vogt (Jazz) Trio in a cinematic remix from Joash and two pieces by the highly successful re:jazz band which he leads.

With Valique we are happy to feature a Belarus/Russian artist on the release these days….one who already showed ten years ago on his album artworks what he thinks about the politics of his government. As an open minded label and ethnical diverse ppl. we think “Fuck Putin and his disciples and like-minded people, but let's not condemn all Russian-born people. Some prefer to worship Herbie Hancock...like Valique and we want to support that.”

With Nekta, Dublex Inc. feat Stee Downes and Kosma this release features three more artists from various regions in Germany, each with their great moments.….and last but not least the mysterious Woodland Conclave (UK)…a waltz and a story yet to be told and hopefully will be…on INFRACom!…in the near future!




d A4 | re jazz Feat N'dea Davenport - Don't Push Your Luck (Wagon Cookin´ Vocal Remix)

f B2 | re jazz Feat Mediha - Tears




d A4 | [Re:Jazz] feat. N'Dea Davenport - Don'T Push Your Luck (Wagon Cookin' Vocal Remix)

[f] B2 | [Re:Jazz] feat. Mediha - Tears

"Matasuna Records" returns to Mexico for a third time to dig for rare treasures. They got their hands on a special gem - two obscure Latin/Jazzfunk tunes by a band called "Colorado" from "Mexico City". The songs were released in 1976 on the Mexican label Peerless and the super rare original 7inch is virtually unavailable. Fortunately, the release is finally available for the first time as an official reissue in a remastered edition. An unjustly under-the-radar Latin jazzfunk highlight!

The song "Colorado", named after the band, opens the "A-side" of the single. The hypnotic fender rhodes puts the listener in the right mood right from the start, before the drums and percussion set the rhythm. The horns also add depth and melodiousness before the song takes a turn and reveals its funky side with guitars, synths and bass. A nice guitar solo also reveals the affinity for rock music without losing sight of the vibe of the song or tipping it a different direction. Definitely a fabulous song that comes up with a lot of ideas and inspirations, offering an unexpected richness in the under 3-minute running time.

The "B-side" also continues musically energetic in the same way with "Para Ti". Here, too, you can feel and hear the playfulness and experimentation of these extraordinary musicians. Atmospherically dense passages alternate with quieter phases and solo parts, before the tension rises again and literally explodes. As in the song "Colorado", rhodes, brass, guitars & bass offer a great and varied interplay. The secret highlight, however, might be the drum and percussion parts in the middle of the track, which will surely enchant not only the B-Boys and B-Girls.

Artist info:

The internet, a source of almost endless knowledge, offers no information about the band Colorado. All the more fortunate that one of the band's founding members, "Emilio Espinosa Becerra", provides detailed info for the reissue.

In 1968 the three brothers "Luis", "Francisco" and "Emilio Espinosa Becerra" from Mexico City started to rehearse together to play wellknown rock & pop songs at friends or family parties. At first, they played on Japanese guitars and a Teisco bass borrowed from a school friend. They saved up money to then buy guitar & bass amps and a microphone, which they always had to rent until then. However, the budget was only enough for Mexican replicas of the legendary Fender Bassman and the Fender Super Reverb. Original equipment was simply unaffordable.

Shortly thereafter, more members joined the band. Three musicians from the school band "Tepeyac": "Marco Nieto Bermudez" (trumpet), "Raymundo Mier Garza" (tenor saxophone) and "Alfonso Romero" (trombone). Another classmate named "Carlos Mauricio Fernández Ordóñez", who studied piano, also joined the group. His father had a chemical factory in the United States and helped bring equipment (amplifiers and a Farfisa Fast 5 organ) - hidden in the back of a truck - to Mexico. In the time that followed, more instruments were acquired, including bass and guitars (from Gibson, Rickenbacher and Fender) and microphones (from Shure) for vocals and horns.

With a larger band and new equipment, they played many parties in their district of "Lindavista" in "Mexico City" and neighboring areas from 1970 to 1973, as well as gigs at various festivals and school events. The group's band name at the time was "Sound Core Brass". However, more and more often people with turntables and speakers showed up at parties, which were also able to heat up. The so-called "Sonideros", a sound system culture that was emerging in the 1960s, charged less than a multi-piece live band, so the band's performances declined.

During those years, three other "Espinosa Becerra" family members joined the band: "Jorge Rafael" (trombone), "Sergio Alejandro" (tenor saxophone) and "Felipe de Jesus" (drums and percussion).

A brother of the musicians, "Carlos Espinosa Becerra", studied electrical engineering at the University. Together with another fellow student, he designed and built a 10-channel console with a variety of functions and features that far surpassed the devices available at the time. They also went to the US again to buy JBL speakers & tweeters to build their own sound system. On another trip to Los Angeles, they bought Phase Linear amplifiers, which offered enormous power by the standards of the time and had an extremely low distortion factor. With this equipment they could turn up the volume really loud and noise-free.

This was also the time when they stopped playing music from English bands & youth groups and changed their repertoire completely. They played mambos, chachachas, pasodobles and tangos on special occasions in big ballrooms and halls. Also, every now and then they hired a string quartet of well-known Mexican violinists to provide the musical entertainment at dinner events.

During those years, classmate "Pablo Rached Diaz" joined the band, playing tenor saxophone. Pablo was very active and organized many parties. He was also the one who helped the band to record on the Mexican label "Peerless". So in 1975 they were asked by Peerles Records to record their own songs. They had recorded a total of 12 songs - six of these songs were released on three vinyl singles (45rpm). Most of the songs were composed by "Gustavo Ruiz de Chavez Sr.". The band was asked to adopt a more commercial name, and so they had chosen the band name "Colorado". In the course of the releases, the band made some promotional tours and appeared in shows on "Televisa", the most important television station in Mexico in those years.

Later, several members of "Colorado" graduated and began to pursue regular professions. They didn't stop playing at events, but priority was given to more formal duties and the band was no longer as active as it had been in its heyday.

About 8 years ago, the band got back together to play again. The next generation of musicians also joined the band: two sons, a nephew and a brother-in-law of the original band members. Currently, they are back playing at friends' parties and family gatherings in Mexico City.

Presenting a brand new vinyl compilation featuring artists from the electic Funkiwala label – from Brasillian Afrobeat to Bengali Funk to Indo-Cuban-Nigerian Jazz to European Jazz Soul to traditional Baul Myticism - 3 newly released tracks by Phil Dawson, Cubafrobeat and Lokkhi Terra, with other tracks previously released digitally or on CD only - "if further proof were needed that London is a hotbed of cross-culturally inspired expression, it's new record label Funkiwala"Evening Standard

1. QUE BELEZA - Phil Dawson feat Nina Miranda and the +2s (Domenico, Moreno and Kassin)

A funky version of a Tim Maia classic from the legendary 'Racional' period. Guitarist Phil Dawson grooving with Brasillian musicians Moreno Veloso, Domenico Lancelotti and Kassin Alexandre (the +2s), vocalist Nina Miranda and co-producing with Marco Dalle Luche

2. ON A SUMMERS DAY - Archie the Goldfish -

A project co-led by trumpet player Graeme Flowers and guitarist Chris Bestwick. This track is a nod to the great Miles Davis electric albums of 50 years ago, taken from a 5-track EP "Water & Light' incorporating elements of jazz, drum & bass, funk and hip hop (released in 2021)

3. ENI AGEE - Cubafrobeat -

Formed out of the collaboration between London fusionistas LoKkhi TeRra ("probably the worlds best Cuban-Afrobeat-Bangladeshi group"Songlines) and UK's Afrobeat Ambassador Dele Sosimi ("A true legend"Clash), Cubafrobeat was initially the name of their critically acclaimed album from 2018 (" A total Stonking Blinder"All About Jazz). This has evolved naturally into an entirely new musical beast – and this is their first single.

4. HARMONIUZINHO - Lokkhi Terra

Taken from their debut CD album "No Visa Required" (2010), this is one of the tunes that put Lokkhi Terra on the map. Recorded in Kishon Khan's home studio the track captures the beginning of this London band's journey.

5. KANDE REVISITED - Lokkhi Terra

This a reworking of Lokkhi Terra's version of a classic Bangla Folk song written by Hason Raja. Maintaing the spirit of unique sound clashes, the track combines a typical London Afro Funkiness with the sublime Bengali vocals of Aneire Khan, Sohini Alam and Aanon Siddiqua. The original version was released on their 2012 CD album "Che Guava's Rickshaw Diaries".

6. NUORACLE - Justin Thurgur

Originally released as a digital single, this release from Justin Thurgur, composed in collaboration with Kishon Khan, is a Cuban Jazz track that features driving Timba bass lines and Afrobeat inflected horns and is a nod to the Nuyorican Latin Jazz scene of the '50's, '60's and '70's, which has been a big inspiration to them.

7. EU TOPO - Beiju

Beiju is the combined work of two unique practictioners: Firstly, Adma Macedo Newport from Salvador da Bahia, a singer who has integrated the great Afro-brazilian musical traditions of her native city with that of those she's lived in on her travels. Secondly, Phil Dawson, a London-based guitarist and music writer who has collaborated with many stylistic originators internationally, including those from all four corners of Africa. .

8. SHADHO KI RE AMAR - Shikor Bangladesh All Stars

Taken from their debut album "Soul of Bengal" - This Folk super group is made up of legendary session musicians from Bangladesh. This track features the late great Baul Rob Fakir and is written by the great mystic, Baul Lalon Shah, whose songs are still be found throughout the Bengal today.

Labyrinth is dark, brooding, beat-heavy, melancholic mood music courtesy of Ian Carr and the Nucleus crew. A favourite of Madlib, it goes without saying that this is one magnificent record. Originally released on Vertigo in 1973, Labyrinth was never re-pressed and of course those original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a recent review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

At this point Carr had parted ways with guitarist Alan Holdsworth and as a result the Nucleus sound found itself returning to the core elements of groove and melody. Carr had become bolder and more self-confident in his compositions and it shows in the sheer ambition of Labyrinth. Composed by Carr, and with lyrics written by his wife Sandy, Labyrinth was the result of a commission from the Park Lane Group and funded by the Arts Council of Great Britain. Originally a live performance by an augmented Nucleus, some of the expanded cast were brought back for the recording sessions, including vocalist Norma Winstone. So as the front cover of the finished album says, this is literally “Nucleus Plus”.

Labyrinth is presented as a suite, based on the ancient Greek legend of the Minotaur with musical instruments representing the various elements of the mythology. According to the LP’s original sleeve notes, the bass clarinet represents the tragic element, the trumpet represents the heroic element and the voice represents the human element. The rest of the musicians represent the two societies of Athens and Crete and their comments on the story as it unfolds.

The album opens with the experimental, sumptuously dissonant “Origins”. Teasing strands of atmospheric bass clarinet introduce the first theme before swiftly fading out with a startling blast of staccato fanfares and big drums. Heavy. The album soon finds its rhythm as it alights on the spell-binding and groove-friendly “Bull-Dance”, showing off the best Nucleus has to offer: subtle trumpet melodies, compelling rhythms, a psych-rock vibe and tight soloing. And of course there’s Norma Winstone’s stunning wordless vocals, that also take the lead in the next track “Ariadne”, a spacey-jazz song with beautiful piano, flute and clarinet, and the only recognisable lyrics on the album. You might recognise a snatch of it being looped by Madlib on Quasimoto’s “Astro Travellin”. The first part of the improvised “Arena” closes out the first side of the album, a short experimental piece with piano and horns.

Over on the flip-side, the powerful second part of “Arena” introduces a new theme. It swiftly builds, with vocal melodies, piano and horns all pronounced over the thick drums snapping your neck. It comes on like an alternate take on “Bull-Dance”, noisier, with a looser rhythm. The triumphant, shuffling Latin-jam “Exultation” leans on more scintillating vocals from Winstone, and a chunky counter melody from the rhythm section. It’ll get you moving.

The final track, the haunting, twelve minute “Naxos”, is an incredible way to close out this remarkable record. A circling bass guitar loop inspiring the group to a meditative psychedelic jazz rock improvisation in a silent, Miles kind of way, with a great flugelhorn solo from Carr and an ace synth climax.

This Be With edition of Labyrinth has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Pete Norman’s cut to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. Another great Keith Davis sleeve has been restored in all its airbrushed Golden Age of comics, gatefold splendour. Complete with Minotaur of course.

Nine-piece West Africa-via-Melbourne ensemble Ausecuma Beats and improvised collective Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, also known as Z*F*E*X, reveal a new collaborative EP out August 19 via Music in Exile.

Call it a match made somewhere in musical heaven, the minds behind Ausecuma Beats, comprised of members from Senegal, Mali, Cuba and Guinea, found they melded easily with Z*F*E*X following weeks of recording and sharing material remotely together.

Z*F*E*X themselves, an ensemble comprised of drummer Zeke ‘Ziggy’ Zeitgeist, keyboardist and producer Lewis Moody, bassist Matthew Hayes, and a rotating cast of guests, are prolific musicians themselves with weighty credentials spread across their base locations of Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

Thus, from a backyard shed in Dandenong North, Australia, some of West Africa’s finest would record simple percussive tracks, which then surfed the airwaves via studios in Melbourne, Berlin and London, to finally land back on listeners doorsteps as a forthcoming collaborative EP, Deep Heat/Tropical Storm.

Starring two guest vocalists who are some of the most invigorating in their respective scenes - Latin America via Berlin star Gotopo, and Melbourne’s own Rara Zulu - the EP’s beginnings in percussive exploration are transformed into a must-have record of all bangers.

Expect the duelling minds of two highly respected acts to reveal a combined EP of complex compositions that remain wholly accessible thanks to addictive harmonies and melodies. Emotionally thrilling, and easy to love, listen and dance to.

Sunny Ozuna is a living legend and a man worthy of praise on many levels. In the Texas and Latin Music pantheon, few have been at it longer and are more revered by their fans and peers than Sunny is. He became a star right out of high school in the late `50s and hasn't looked back in the seven decades since. Among countless other honors and notable achievements, Sunny was the first Latino artist to appear on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" (in 1963). He penned "Smile Now, Cry Later," a hit for him and The Sunliners, which along with the theater masks that grace the album's cover, became staples in the Chicano Soul and Lowrider Soul cultures. We have been fans of Sunny & The Sunliners' music for a long time. We first got in touch with Sunny to try to reissue some of his records in 2013 but we didn't sign a deal until 2015. It took a trip to San Antonio and then two years of steady phone calls before they decided "if you have been chasing us for this long, you must be serious." With Sunny's blessing we started getting everything mastered, scanned, and planned. First we released 2017's Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 1 compilation that put rare 7" sides next to some of his biggest hits and mixed in some choice album cuts for good measure. In the wake of that, we released three of Sunny's full lengths with their original track lists and art: Smile Now, Cry Later, Little Brown Eyed Soul, and The Missing Link - all of which were Record Store Day releases that raised money for the victims of 2017's Hurricane Harvey. For the 7" collectors, we reissued 45s, making some very hard to come by sides widely available again and pressing some tunes on the format for the first time. In 2020, as an homage to Sunny, we released Dear Sunny... a compilation of Big Crown artists covering Sunny & The Sunliners songs. Through all of this we were able to do what we set out to do: get Sunny's music to a new audience of people and make it all accessible and available again to his existing fanbase. Sunny still keeps a busy schedule and loves performing as much as he did as a teenager. His music and the music that it directly influenced are seeing a resurgence in popularity in the last few years. With any luck at all, our efforts played some small part in that, and on that note, we present Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 2 - another compilation curated by us, where we dig a little deeper into Sunny's catalog and pull some lesser known gems that hold court with his hits. Hats off again to Mr Brown Eyed Soul himself, San Antonio's own, Sunny Ozuna, we are sure you will enjoy the music.

Sunny Ozuna is a living legend and a man worthy of praise on many levels. In the Texas and Latin Music pantheon, few have been at it longer and are more revered by their fans and peers than Sunny is. He became a star right out of high school in the late `50s and hasn't looked back in the seven decades since. Among countless other honors and notable achievements, Sunny was the first Latino artist to appear on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" (in 1963). He penned "Smile Now, Cry Later," a hit for him and The Sunliners, which along with the theater masks that grace the album's cover, became staples in the Chicano Soul and Lowrider Soul cultures. We have been fans of Sunny & The Sunliners' music for a long time. We first got in touch with Sunny to try to reissue some of his records in 2013 but we didn't sign a deal until 2015. It took a trip to San Antonio and then two years of steady phone calls before they decided "if you have been chasing us for this long, you must be serious." With Sunny's blessing we started getting everything mastered, scanned, and planned. First we released 2017's Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 1 compilation that put rare 7" sides next to some of his biggest hits and mixed in some choice album cuts for good measure. In the wake of that, we released three of Sunny's full lengths with their original track lists and art: Smile Now, Cry Later, Little Brown Eyed Soul, and The Missing Link - all of which were Record Store Day releases that raised money for the victims of 2017's Hurricane Harvey. For the 7" collectors, we reissued 45s, making some very hard to come by sides widely available again and pressing some tunes on the format for the first time. In 2020, as an homage to Sunny, we released Dear Sunny... a compilation of Big Crown artists covering Sunny & The Sunliners songs. Through all of this we were able to do what we set out to do: get Sunny's music to a new audience of people and make it all accessible and available again to his existing fanbase. Sunny still keeps a busy schedule and loves performing as much as he did as a teenager. His music and the music that it directly influenced are seeing a resurgence in popularity in the last few years. With any luck at all, our efforts played some small part in that, and on that note, we present Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 2 - another compilation curated by us, where we dig a little deeper into Sunny's catalog and pull some lesser known gems that hold court with his hits. Hats off again to Mr Brown Eyed Soul himself, San Antonio's own, Sunny Ozuna, we are sure you will enjoy the music.

Sunny Ozuna is a living legend and a man worthy of praise on many levels. In the Texas and Latin Music pantheon, few have been at it longer and are more revered by their fans and peers than Sunny is. He became a star right out of high school in the late ‘50s and hasn’t looked back in the seven decades since. Among countless other honors and notable achievements, Sunny was the ­rst Latino artist to appear on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” (in 1963). He penned "Smile Now, Cry Later," a hit for him and The Sunliners, which along with the theater masks that grace the album's cover, became staples in the Chicano Soul and Lowrider Soul cultures. We have been fans of Sunny & The Sunliners' music for a long time. We fi­rst got in touch with Sunny to try to reissue some of his records in 2013 but we didn't sign a deal until 2015. It took a trip to San Antonio and then two years of steady phone calls before they decided "if you have been chasing us for this long, you must be serious." With Sunny's blessing we started getting everything mastered, scanned, and planned. First we released 2017's Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 1 compilation that put rare 7" sides next to some of his biggest hits and mixed in some choice album cuts for good measure. In the wake of that, we released three of Sunny's full lengths with their original track lists and art: Smile Now, Cry Later, Little Brown Eyed Soul, and The Missing Link all of which were Record Store Day releases that raised money for the victims of 2017's Hurricane Harvey. For the 7" collectors, we reissued ­ve 45s, making some very hard to come by sides widely available again and pressing some tunes on the format for the ­rst time. In 2020, as an homage to Sunny, we released Dear Sunny... a compilation of Big Crown artists covering Sunny & The Sunliners songs. Through all of this we were able to do what we set out to do: get Sunny's music to a new audience of people and make it all accessible and available again to his existing fanbase. Sunny still keeps a busy schedule and loves performing as much as he did as a teenager. His music and the music that it directly in‑uenced are seeing a resurgence in popularity in the last few years. With any luck at all, our efforts played some small part in that, and on that note, we present Mr Brown Eyed Soul Vol. 2 – another compilation curated by us, where we dig a little deeper into Sunny's catalog and pull some lesser known gems that hold court with his hits. Hats off again to Mr Brown Eyed Soul himself, San Antonio's own, Sunny Ozuna, we are sure you will enjoy the music. Tracks: Side A 1 I Can Remember 2 Sitting In The Park 3 Give Me Time 4 Should I Take You Home (Keyloc Version) 5 If I Could See You Now 6 Come Back Baby 7 Viva Mi Triestesa Side B 1 Runaway 2 Sharing You 3 I’ve Never Found A Girl 4 Together 5 I’m No Stranger 6 Best Of Both Worlds 7 Baby, I Apologize

"The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“

Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.

Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career. “Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.

Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it, this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.

They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith, or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of jewels, it might be the shining star.

Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love.

Label favourites Balearic Ensemble return to the fore following last summer's spectacular 'Cachonda' EP, this time with a 12" treasury of wonderful, eclectic dancing music of the highest balearic order. They're joined by Das Komplex, notable for recent excursions on DJ Harvey's Mercury Rising, to round out their five-track excursion for the label: this is the Mediterráneo EP.

Opener 'Pitiusas First' sets the tone with dizzy, downbeat percussions as a bass guitar skates and glissades underfoot; soaring, starry-eyed synth work and Latin organ stabs in concerto. This homage to the islands and islets of Ibiza comes with a note of melancholy, or nostalgia: waking up to find that your best years might have evaded you - and celebrating the fact. It's a maturing of the Residentes sound in a way we haven't heard before; a gorgeous moonlight serenade, the last tango on Formentera, and a tip for orange-tinted sunsets all summer long.

Second track 'Almendros y Drones' takes us deeper into the throes of that distinctive Mediterranean sound with dizzying arpeggios and analogue bass over teetering hihats and fizzing synths; it's an eruptive, volcanic beast of a track that will take liberties with your dancefloor. Over-the-top filter action and driving piano perforations, crashing snares and resonant howls, Almendros, Drones.

The third offering is 'Mojada', taking cues from classic deep house with its deep-set bassline and modular squeaks. It's a slow burner, an aquaplane on Eivissa, cueing 303 squelches and 90s drum machine riffing before its eventual, explosive peak.

After Mojada we enter the chugging, gritty realm of Das Komplex's remixes. He refashions the heady throes of 'Mojada' into a driving, churning unit; percussions, distorted into infinity; basslines bent and buckled into submission; slabs of piano lathered with space echo delay. Wonky late-nite dancing music at its very best.

Extra treat: Das Komplex also left us his 'Pineapple Bonus Mix' of Mojada, which is a more sunset-suited affair altogether. This special mix lasers in on that exuberant piano part, then plays with percussions and dynamics to create a full-on dub version of the original track.

Adrian Quesada announces the release of ‘Boleros Psicodélicos’,
a sprawling and singular tribute to the golden era of balada music.
The brand-new album from the GRAMMY-nominated guitarist,
producer and Black Pumas co-founder serves as a celebration of
the super funky, slightly delirious and deeply soulful sounds that
transcended the cultural boundaries of Latin America throughout
the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Featuring vocals from Puerto Rican icon, GRAMMY-winner and
former Calle 13 member iLe, Colombian-American visionary
Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Mexican R&B star Girl Ultra, as well as
Angelica Garcia, Gaby Moreno, contributions from living legends
such as Marc Ribot and Beastie Boys musician Money Mark, and
many more, ‘Boleros Psicodélicos’ consists primarily of original
Adrian Quesada compositions, as well as covers of La Lupe’s
‘Puedes Decir De Mí’, Jeanette’s ‘El Muchacho De Los Ojos
Tristes’ and other balada classics.

All twelve tracks were produced, engineered, mixed and largely
performed by Adrian Quesada, honouring and extending the
influence of a personal obsession that he has cultivated over the
past 20 years.

Similar to his acclaimed 2018 album ‘Look At My Soul’, which
traced the deep roots and relationship between Latin and Texas
music, Adrian Quesada sees every song on ‘Boleros Psicodelicos’
as both a history lesson and a step towards a newly imagined,
more united future: “I always wanted to pay tribute to that sound
that I was already hearing in my head without realizing that people
had already done it. Balada changed the face of Latin music
forever. If something like that happened today, it would be normal
because everyone’s connected on Instagram. Think how powerful
this sound had to be for everyone to be connected through the
songs. As someone who grew up speaking two languages and
living on both sides of the border, I love how much music can
transcend barriers and boundaries. It really is a universal
language, especially back then.”

The first volume of Back To Mine was released back in 1999 by Nick Warren, designed to showcase a selection of tracks you’d find and be heard playing at the artist's home. Selectors have come in the form of New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Fatboy Slim, and Faithless who all dug deep to find their essential at-home listening.

The latest compilers in the Back To Mine series are none-other than the renowned four-piece, Horse Meat Disco. The horsemen are known for their incredibly fun, deep-diving selections, and this shines through in their Back To Mine compilation in flamboyant style.

Over the course of 16 years of their nightclub tenure, they have become a global brand as pinnacle players of the queer party scene in London and beyond, holding down residencies in New York, Berlin, and Lisbon. Their flamboyant nature and incredibly fun, deep-diving selections have made them one of Disco’s most beloved acts.

Across 15 eclectically brilliant tracks, Horse Meat Disco, which comprises Jim Stanton, James Hillard, Luke Howard, and Severino Panzetta expertly traverse through classic disco cuts, wonky dancefloor groovers, and silky smooth soul.

Yellow Vinyl
The first volume of Back To Mine was released back in 1999 by Nick Warren, designed to showcase a selection of tracks you’d find and be heard playing at the artist's home. Selectors have come in the form of New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Fatboy Slim, and Faithless who all dug deep to find their essential at-home listening.

The latest compilers in the Back To Mine series are none-other than the renowned four-piece, Horse Meat Disco. The horsemen are known for their incredibly fun, deep-diving selections, and this shines through in their Back To Mine compilation in flamboyant style.

Over the course of 16 years of their nightclub tenure, they have become a global brand as pinnacle players of the queer party scene in London and beyond, holding down residencies in New York, Berlin, and Lisbon. Their flamboyant nature and incredibly fun, deep-diving selections have made them one of Disco’s most beloved acts.

Across 15 eclectically brilliant tracks, Horse Meat Disco, which comprises Jim Stanton, James Hillard, Luke Howard, and Severino Panzetta expertly traverse through classic disco cuts, wonky dancefloor groovers, and silky smooth soul.

Born out of an underground Buenos Aires party and first launched in 2008, ZZK Records has spent more than a decade at the forefront of Latin American music, carving out space for artists putting a futuristic (and often electronic) spin on classic rhythms and folklore traditions. Along the way, the label spread across the globe and helped launch a few stars-Nicola Cruz, Chancha Vía Circuito, La Yegros and Son Rompe Pera among them-but ZZK's search for new artists, sounds and perspectives is never complete. ZZK Sound Vol. 4 brings together a fresh crop of talent from across Latin America, along with a pair of choice selections from veteran acts Maga Bo (Brazil) and Tremor (Argentina). Compiled by ZZK co-founder DJ Nim-the label's original A&R (and Chancha Vía Circuito's older brother), he'd actually taken a five-year hiatus from the project prior to 2020-the compilation's origins can be traced back to the early days of the pandemic. As the world went into lockdown, he put out a call for submissions, and within three months, he'd received more than 1000 tracks. Nim literally listened to them all, whittling the pile down to his 11 favorites, and after hearing his selections, Grant C. Dull-another ZZK co-founder, who runs the label's day-to-day operations-couldn't believe his ears. Nim had done it again. There were no notes, and no changes to the tracklist. ZZK Sound Vol. 4 was quickly put into production. At this point, few music fans need to be sold on the appeal of Latin music, but ZZK, which has been operating in this sphere long before the genre became the "next big thing," is dedicated to the idea that the potency of these sounds extends well beyond the pop charts. Hopping between continents and recontextualizing rhythmic lineages that date back centuries, ZZK Sound Vol. 4 is both an arresting snapshot of Latin America's electronic avant garde and a thrilling preview of its next wave.

These sides from 1970s band Smith & Gordera are prototypical for the "Sounds Like Santana" genre coined at the Friends of Sound record store in Austin, TX years ago. Heavy Latin Rock fusion on these tracks with just a pinch of Jazz thrown in for good measure.

"Evil Deeds" starts right into it the moment the needle hits the groove on your turntable - heavy organ, percussion, shakers, and guitar all greet your ears. Moving into the track you get the typical shredding guitar solo, organ solo, and a sax solo, for good measure.

"Time and Space" starts with a nod to the classic Dave Brubeck "Take Five" and continues on an adventure into a more psychedelic groove and more of a Rock vibe. Time changes and tempo shifts and big solos round out the side.

The impressive new LP from Cypress Hill, Back In Black, is the group's
10th studio album - They are arguably one of the most successful hiphop groups of all time, celebrating 30 years of non-stop touring
They are the biggest-selling Latin hip-hop group in the world and the first hip-hop
group to have sold multi- platinum albums, having sold over 30 million albums
worldwide.Cypress Hill are considered to be among the main progenitors of West
Coast and 1990s hip-hop, and the group has received critical acclaimed for their
first five albums. As well as this, all of the group members advocate for and are
very vocal about the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis in the United
States. In 2019, Cypress Hill became the first hip-hop group to have a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Cypress Hill will join heavy metal giants Slipknot on the 2022 Knotfest Roadshow
(April 2022 tour).

Analog Africa delves deep into the scene of the Mexican's sonideros (sound-system operators) to present the "Rebajada" movement they've created using locally made pitch controls, speakers and sound effects.

"In 2010, I had asked Eamon Ore-Giron - aka DJ Lengua - if he would be interested in compiling a Latin project for Analog Africa, and if so, if he had a theme in mind. He replied, “Have you ever heard of rebajada?“ The question mark above my head, together with the wall of China, must have been the only other object visible from out of space because Eamon, probably noticing I got paralysed, continued, “Rebajada in Spanish means “to reduce, to lower”. It’s basically Mexican sonideros (soundsystem operators) slowing down the beat of a Cumbia to create a much more tangible music to dance to. I’ll send you a mix I made last year and let me know what you think.“ And so he did.

That mix was called Rebajada Mota Mix and I began listening to it on a loop. Although I was not immediately hooked it was intriguing from the get-go, and so I kept listening until magic began unfolding. Slowed down music allows you enough time to hear right through it, revealing itself in ways I had rarely experienced before. Everything became more transparent and I was noticing sounds normally only perceptible by bats. A near psychedelic experience. That mysterious mix included a few Ecuadorian songs by Junior y su Equipo - aka Polibio Mayorga (a cult figure in the sonidero scene), a couple of Mexican tunes, one Colombian, and various Peruvian songs, undoubtedly the driving force behind this project.

The sonidero who brought Peruvian and Ecuadorian music to Mexico was the legendary Pablo Perea from Sonido Arco-Iris, and although his fingerprints are all over the compilation Saturno 2000, this selection of songs in rebajada is exclusive to DJ Lengua. With the exception of a few classics from Polibio Mayorga and La Sampuesana – the queen of all rebajadas – most of these songs were probably never performed as such before, let alone released.

So how did rebajada come to be? In a nutshell; Rebajada started with two families of brothers – the Pereas and the Ortegas – who travelled all over Latin America and returned to Mexico with heavy loads of records which they would sell to the various sonideros always on the lookout for new tunes. Colombian beats especially seemed to fit almost perfectly with the Mexican dance steps – but they were just a bit too fast. As a result some sonideros began experimenting with equipment, and Marco Antonio Cedillo of Sonido Imperial created a revolutionary pitching system that could slow records down to an extent other players could only dream about. And so rebajada was born . . . or so we thought.

At the same time in north of the country, in Monterrey, sonidero Gabriel Dueñez almost got electrocuted by a short circuit that nearly set his record player on fire. As a result the platter started spinning in slow motion for the rest of the party, turning Cumbia into a different affair altogether. The youngsters went crazy for it and started harassing the sonidero with requests to record cassettes for them. Reluctant at first, Dueñez finally began recording a series of pirated cassettes called “Rebajada” which included mainly Colombian cumbia and porro in slow-mo exclusively. Those tapes took the city by storm and turned rebajada into a celebrated and defiant movement of the youth.

Of course it would not be a Mexican urban legend if it didn’t include dramaturgical elements, and so for nearly 30 years, until this day and probably for ever, both cities have been arguing and claiming ownership the creation of rebajada for themselves. But sonidera Joyce Musicolor, who never has time for such trivial arguments, got straight to the point: “Rebajada, and the equipment to perform it, is from here Mexico City but it was Monterrey that popularised it.“

The start of the new "Live At Fabrik Hamburg" series on Jazzline in
cooperation with the legendary venue and NDR Kultur - is this previously
unreleased concert from jazz greats Freddie Hubbard and McCoy Tyner
from 1986
It will be released as a double CD in a three-part digipak and as a triple LP in a
triple gatefold cover that includes detailed Liner notes by Michael Laages. In the
Altonaer Fabrik in 1986, the master trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was a guest in the
trio of one of the most important pianists of contemporary jazz: McCoy Tyner,
whose extremely powerful attack always added percussive power of the most
energetic kind to his virtuoso playing.
McCoy Tyner died in March 2020, the recording from 1986 (he was 58 years old
at the time) show him at the height of the unmistakable jazz expression that
defined him. His piano and the enormous radiance of the Hubbard trumpet (born
in the same year as Tyner in 1938, but died in 2008) are the outstanding
protagonists. But the recording also features bassist Avery Sharpe, born in 1954
and with excellent acoustic and electrical credentials, as well as Louis Hayes, still
today the most indestructible of all modern drummers at well over 80 years of
age. Together they refine the nine titles of this two- hour concert on this truly
remarkable evening of music!

For fans of - The Meters, War, New Mastersounds, Jungle Fire. Mestizo Beat's first 45 release with All-Town Sound. An upbeat and eclectic blend of early 70s funk and soul. We are very excited to welcome Mestizo Beat to the All-Town family! MB incorporates a diverse mix of sub-genres within the Funk and Soul spectrum. They have released a string of 45s with labels like Colemine, F-Spot, Common Good, and now ATS! We couldn't decide which tunes should be assigned the A and B sides, so we left them unmarked, for you to decide. "Poppin Off" catches your attention right from the start with some Metersesque organ and guitar interplay. It settles into the groove and this is a feel good Southern Funk influenced burner. A 4 piece horn section comprised of members of Sure Fire Soul Ensemble mixed with Jungle Fire's Steve Haney on percussion, round out this recording. On the flip side is "City Of The Body Bag" which would have you believe you were hanging out somewhere in South East Los Angeles in 1973. This tune takes heavy influence from the band "War" and is destined to be another Latin Funk struttin' classic.

For fans of - The Meters, War, New Mastersounds, Jungle Fire. Mestizo Beat's first 45 release with All-Town Sound. An upbeat and eclectic blend of early 70s funk and soul. We are very excited to welcome Mestizo Beat to the All-Town family! MB incorporates a diverse mix of sub-genres within the Funk and Soul spectrum. They have released a string of 45s with labels like Colemine, F-Spot, Common Good, and now ATS! We couldn't decide which tunes should be assigned the A and B sides, so we left them unmarked, for you to decide. "Poppin Off" catches your attention right from the start with some Metersesque organ and guitar interplay. It settles into the groove and this is a feel good Southern Funk influenced burner. A 4 piece horn section comprised of members of Sure Fire Soul Ensemble mixed with Jungle Fire's Steve Haney on percussion, round out this recording. On the flip side is "City Of The Body Bag" which would have you believe you were hanging out somewhere in South East Los Angeles in 1973. This tune takes heavy influence from the band "War" and is destined to be another Latin Funk struttin' classic.

'Agua de Jamaica' is the first collaborative project between producer,
multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Sly5thAve and pianist and composer Roberto Verástegui

Recorded during lockdown in Mexico, the LP is built from a passionate and comprehensive understanding of Jazz, a love of Hip Hop and Mexico City's evervibrant artistic culture, Latin flavours, and the African roots from which these sounds grew. At the heart of 'Agua de Jamaica' is the title track; the moment Sly5thAve and Roberto realised they had something to pursue. The pair originally met whilst
studying Jazz in Texas and began piecing together the release on Sly5thAve's first visit to Mexico, over a drink of Agua de Jamaica. Thought of by both Sly5thAve and Roberto as the fullest collaboration on the release, "Agua de Jamaica" considers the constant artistic and cultural exchange between the US and Mexico, despite the politically differences. It draws the listener in with looping Hip Hop groove intertwined with hypnotic vocals from local artist Silvana Estrada.
Having moved to Mexico City at the beginning of 2020, Sly5thAve stayed with Roberto and his wife Yuki during the first Covid-19 lockdown. This time allowed for the pair to build on their ideas and explorations of different sounds and places centred around Jazz. Continuing in the Jazz traditions, 'Agua de Jamaica' is littered with signature Sly5thAve interludes, weaved together like a symphony
using album outtakes; "it's my favourite thing about making a record – making a complete piece from start to finish".

Live radio broadcast recording of their 1991concert from the legendary Quartier Latin Club during The Berlin Independence Days.
This 300 limited edition vinyl only release with double sided A3 poster captures BOB at the peak of their powers.
Includes tracks from their Indie top 10 album ‘Leave The Straight Life Behind’ , Singles, and the previously unreleased ‘You Can Stop That For A Start’.
When BOB hit the stage at the legendary Quartier Latin club during the Berlin Independence Days on October 21 1991, they were talking loud and saying something.
BOB had been touring relentlessly for five years. All over the UK and Europe. Headlining their own shows and supporting some of the biggest names in indie rock, but this gig was something else. It couldn’t have happened in any other place, or, at any other time.
In Berlin, the wall had come down two years previous.Things were changing. There was a freedom of movement, unknown for many decades. You could grasp the spirit of creativity.
In London, the underground indie scene of the mid to late 80’s was being replaced by the corporate music marketing machine they called Britpop.
On this recording we capture a milestone moment of this time.

"My aim for my new record was to find really unusual combinations,"
explains Rolf Kühn, in cheerful mood after his last day in the studio
The special attraction of these 13 'Spotlights' emanates from the extraordinary
combination of instruments and styles, and above all from the fact that a group
of virtuoso artists from very different musical backgrounds have come together
to participate in a a project very close to their hearts. The theme running through
and joining up the album is of course the unmistakable sound of Rolf Kühn's
clarinet. Hamilton de Holanda, the distinguished Brazilian expert on the bandolim,
a kind of mandolin, immerses Kühn's clarinet in Latin- sounding melancholy.
Albrecht Mayer, international classical star and solo oboist with the Berlin
Philharmonic, provides a fascinating angle with his highly sensitive playing and
the rich facets of his art. Asja Valcic, the outstanding Croatian cellist, contributes
her impressive, classical virtuosity and daring improvisation, as she races
frantically through the notes with Kühn. Christian Lillinger, the exceptional
percussionist with the Rolf Kühn Unit, adds his wild groove to the mix and 0 like
Berlin bassist Oliver Potratz - accentuates the tense dynamic mood. Ed Motta,
heavyweight Brazilian singer and megastar in his homeland, brings out his
baritone to sound like a synthesizer suffering voltage fluctuations, breathing and
scatting resounding word scraps into Kühn's compositions.

First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.

Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.

For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.

Quiet Dawn says "after the birth of my son, I took the time to get back to making new music.

And when I started to work on new tracks, I wanted to compose something without concept, unlike my previous records, just because time is precious and I wanted to find pleasure again when I composeand not be fixed to a concept, or a story.



These new tracks are instinctive; made with my main instruments, rhodes & piano, synths, percussions, vocals, bass and guitars. They are naturally oriented towards my big musical crush, BRUK, along with different rhythms, vibes and grooves. For me, it's definitely a record for the dancers. For this reason, the new EP is called 'Movements'. Aside from the dancer's element, the title relates to everything that is happening in the world at the moment, working on this record over the pandemic. Affecting people in all countries, friendship, mutual aid, solidarity and movements in many instances are very important to me, my family and my musical family, First Word.'



The influences on this particular EP come largely from the West London music scene; DKD, Bugz, Neon Phusion, 2000Black, Domu, IG Culture, Jazztronik, MdCL, the First Word fam and many many more artists. There are also heavy vibes inspired by 70's jazz, funk, disco, latin & african music."

'Movements' by Quiet Dawn is released on First Word Records on vinyl & digital in late 2021.

Kapingbdi came together in Liberia, West Africa, during the late 1970’s and had their own unique style. This six to seven-piece band played original compositions in a vibrant mix of African Rhythms, Soul, Spiritual Jazz, Funk and Rock. Led by Kojo Samuels on sax, flute and vocals “Born in The Night” presents the essential tracks from their rare studio LPs produced between 1978-1981. The work has been carefully edited and remastered in 2019 for vinyl LP and a 6-Page Digipack CD, which includes two additional recordings. Kapingbdi toured through Europe and the U.S. and were the only Afro funk band to ever come out of Liberia.

Kapingbdi hail from Liberia, West Africa and have their own imitable style. They effortlessly combine traditional African music in a modern mix of Jazz, Funk, Soul and Rock. The band is a fusion of the old and the new.

The word "Kapingbdi" is taken from the Sierra Leone language Mende and means "born in the night". Kojo Samuels was given the name by his Latin teacher whilst attending high school in Freetown, They often meet and debate at night in the city and soon after Kojo is called Kapingbdi. The name serves as a description of his origin. Born In Lagos, Nigeria in 1943. The son of slave children. His mother from Nigeria and father from Sierra Leone who moved the family to Liberia, during the 1950’s.

Kojo has played music for as long as he can remember. He starts with the harmonica and later becomes a drummer and percussionist in his first band at school. During his art studies 1965-1972, he tours Germany and works as an art teacher in the USA. His band Kapingbdi is reorganized five times and consists of up to seven musicians. In a VW-Bulli he drives the group from concert to concert and if the drummer fails, he jumps in himself. Between 1978 and 1981 three Kapingbdi LPs are produced for the independent label Trikont, recorded in Hamburg and Munich. During this creative period, the band plays at festivals in Africa and Europe. In 1984, the band tours the United States and shortly after, they came to an end.

At their best, Kapingbdi would rouse the audience with original compositions like "Human Rights", justice for all, especially for South Africans, and "You Go Go You Go Come". The officials and employees in the government departments have no time for the common man, for any questions such as job search, scholarship or similar, he receives the answer "go, come back tomorrow" and the same thing the following day. Or "Now Is The Time For Cry For Love." Now it is time to scream for love and finally, time for humanity and justice. Despite immense difficulties, the musicians consciously live and work in Africa and are at home in Liberia.

On April 12, 1980, ordinary soldiers and non-commissioned officers organize a coup against the government. This is an attempt to put an end to a policy of exploitation of the Liberian people. Whilst efforts to eradicate poverty, lawlessness and illiteracy are obvious throughout the country, Liberia is still Americanized to a high degree. This is evident, as the radio programs of that time almost exclusively played American disco music. Under these conditions, the people seek a reconnection to their folk music, and Kapingbdi were aware of this. Kojo tried many times to come together with traditional Liberian musicians. This passion takes him north of the country. Meeting and playing with the old hornblowers and playing music on traditional instruments, such as the elephant tusk.

Kapingbdi make high quality tape copies of their own vinyl LPs and patiently try to displace all unauthorized tapes from the domestic "market". Nevertheless, it is hard to make a living through music in Liberia. Kapingbdi, is now celebrated. The radio plays are in abundance, but royalties are not forthcoming. Their musical link is the feeling of Afrobeat and Highlife, which is found in each of the many Kapingbdi pieces. They embody Jazz, which is understood to be the most refined example of black music outside of Africa. In Liberia, Jazz is virtually impossible to hear. Bright shining names such as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker or Miles Davis were widely unknown. Thus, the Black Jazz, including its Back-To-Africa movement of the 60’s and 70‘s, passes by without leaving a trace in Africa itself.

Kojo's claim at the time, was to make African music with the depth, sensitivity and the freedom of the technical level of Jazz. This makes Kapingbdi the torchbeares. The underpaid prophets in small Liberia. It is the passion with which the founder of the band continues to work on their music for years. Tirelessly, stimulating and encouraging his fellow musicians. This is ultimately responsible for the success of Kapingbdi in Liberia itself. The local audience seems to listen to the band in fascinated astonishment. One wonders about the ability to develop as demonstrated by Kapingbdi on the basis of their music. It is African and unusually jazzy, danceable and better than the American disco music heard on the radio.

Rather than chase the money and the job opportunities in Europe, Kapingbdi are firmly rooted in Africa. The musicians live in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, at the Kabingbdi workshop, located in the Congotown area on the eastern edge of the sprawling city. Kojo works here as a sculptor, painter, batik artist and musician. The sales revenue that his activities generate, gives him the opportunity to support the development of African Jazz music. The highest percentage of funds are from Germany and Kojo’s work ethic is “to work on your own thing“. The stance taken aims to support the welfare of Liberians and Africans. The other musicians of the group live in a second house that is nearby.

For the sake of consistency, Kapingbdi is a full-time band. However, the revenue, from all of the sources, could not keep them afloat. Equally, as important to the group are Kojos's knowledge of traditional African music and his sculpting skills. His knowledge is shared with others at the afternoon workshops. It is here that they discuss new lyrics, engage in political debate and the self-imposed task of improving conditions in Africa. At times the debate became heated, especially during rehearsals. This was regarded as good and integrative, sowing the seeds of innitiative to keep the band together.

From 1980 to 1985 Kojo also opened and ran the club "Panjebota", located on the grounds of the U.S. Consulate in Monrovia. Almost every evening Kapingbdi perform the song "Wrong Curfew Walk", whose lyrics lament the killing of citizens during the curfew imposed by the Liberian government. When the head of state Samuel Doe hears the song, he behaves agressively and forces Kojo to close the "Panjebota". Kojo had already moved on. Soonafter he meets Fela Kuti at the Africa-Festival and plays concerts in Germany with Cecil Taylor's workshop band.

Kapingbdi is for thinking, dreaming, dancing. What they sing about is what they have experienced. Kojo Samuels is 76 years old today and still follows his vocation as a critical musician, artist and activist.

Ekkehart Fleischhammer / Sonorama 2019 (with the help of original press sheets and the memories of Kojo Samuels)

Union Records is an afro house music label with contamination of latin sounds, founded by Peppe Citarella in 2017.

Since its start, Union Records, has released many hits involving singers and musicians from all over the world and in particular from the Latin American world.

Now Peppe and Union Records presents the first vinyl release with two different tracks feat. the wellknowed India.

"Tacalacateo" and "Mamafrica" have also two addition version: “Citarella Dub Piano Mix” and “Terry Hunter Club World Remix”.