House News

Mothball Record presents the first collaboration between Hysteric (Public Possession, Fuego International, Bordello A Parigi) and the prolific Shelter (from Plaisir Partagé and International Feel), who are now working together as H&S. Both known for their edit skills and obscure taste, they now bring us dark balearic versions of two underground Italo killers. With strong new beat influences, and two versions of each track for added flexibility, this record can fit easily in different sets.

Anonymous Edits return with Vol 3 picking 3 tasty cuts and reworking them for 2016. Limited Pressing act fast.

Label boss Ajukaja is back with two mellow organ workouts.
Put this one on & you can skip Sunday school.
You're welcome.

Madly Limited 7-inch.

Mastered by The Bastard.

"Tonight is partytime, it's partytime tonight!"

Fabulous re issue of this disco gem from 1983. Re mastered and re issued for 2014 in conjunction with the rights holders.

Written by James Calloway and Leroy Burgess & produced by Bob & Lola Blank.

Includes the vocal and instrumental plus a Larry Levan Remix and the accapella.

While Lemelle’s ‘You Got Something Special’ may not be a record you know by name, chances are you’ve heard it on the dancefloor.
This obscure 1982 boogie cut has become a favourite of in-the-know DJs, cherished for its bouncy bassline, signature 80’s synths and Cindy Mizelle’s indelible vocals that make it a funk-laden disco number.

Now, two of the genre’s most esteemed editors lend their hand to
this record box essential, updating it for Glitterbox dancefloors
and beyond.

Opening the A-Side Dr Packer brings his trademark sound to the cut, seamlessly blending his disco-tinged stylings. The original also joins Dr Packer’s mix on the A-Side. On the flip, re-work extraordinaire KON delivers his edit, maintaining the 80’s boogie vibe while making it more DJ friendly with dubbed out sections for an extended cut. Rounding off the 12” is the instrumental, providing an essential DJ tool.

Unobenga' a unique song, driven by the vocals of well seasoned South African artists Thebe and Ndu Shezi
along with Professor at the helm. Louie Vega on the remix duties compliments the Professor and company's
incredible vocal performances with just the right groove and infectious beats

Róisín Murphy shares 'The Rumble / World's Crazy', the final pair of tracks in a series of 12' singles which have been released across 2018 to unanimous acclaim from critics and fans alike. Created in collaboration with Baltimore maverick musician/producer/DJ Maurice Fulton and released through The Vinyl Factory, Murphy gone and made some of the most hip-twitching, pleasure-centre-stimulating music of her life. The lyrics are intense, exploratory and probing - all the while working on the immediate, endorphin-stimulating dancefloor level too - and her voice is finer, richer, more expressive than ever.

We pick up where 'Jacuzzi Rollercoaster / Can't Hang On' left off, and 'The Rumble' may well be Murphy's most life affirming track to date, a euphoric declaration which melds and morphs, grows and swells, anchored by Murphy as a maven for our troubled times. In her own words; 'The Rumble was written with Maurice and Mim Suleiman. Mim is amazing with infectious energy. I needed help as it's a mammoth track, like two songs in one the second half is a vamp in which Maurice Instructed me to preach! Preaching was not a natural stance for me but he insisted I try, now I can't stop testifying, the process has changed me a little.'

We're happy to present you in the future some of the best releases from this unique catalog! Starting with Sex Trax 15 - Spank Spank - Da E.P. This outstanding release was produced by L.A. Williams, Roy Davis Jr. and Phuture founder Earl Smith Jr. who died too young in 2016.

The PPF are now back in full voice it seems...
It's been 15 years since their beautifully packaged series of EP's found their way into the world's best record crates
And after two recent & very well received releases on Hot Peas 'N Butter, we get four more certified floor-fillers from the vaults.
Constructed as club-ready reworks for their own sets, this pin sharp selection appears here as a one-off limited vinyl release.

A 4-way of their most wanted secret weapons for the faithful, these re-tailored & timeless classics are the sonic manifesto for preserving those good ol' Dirty Basements.

'Light Touches Records' is devoted to shed a new light to hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics. The new 12” brings some sunny vibes in the middle of the winter with three hot smoking tunes, from the killer clavinet-driven groove of “Hustler”, to the uptempo soulful disco roller of “Just a Little time”. To round up the edges, “Everything” is a smooth jazzy stepper. ...All tracks have been carefully edited without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors!

“One More Mission” is the Italo-disco answer to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, the tale of a lonely space explorer lost forever with no hope to return. Originally released in 1987 and fitting neatly into the Afro, Cosmic ... and Beppe Loda, thanks to it’s heavy downtempo beat, spaced out melody mixed with sound effects, classic rock and even oriental influences. ...

The track is completed by one of the greatest vocals in Italo-disco; the mysterious Quinn Martin’s melancholy, heavily accented voice capturing perfectly the plight and of a space explorer trapped in another dimension. Quinn Martin – “One More Mission” is in many ways a lost and overlooked Italo track, known to hardcore Italo fans and collectors but one with huge crossover potential and one that can fit into a variety of DJ sets.

On “Mars Orange” Vinyl, including both tracks of 1987 vinyl offering different arrangements and completed by an edit from Mothball label boss Hysteric removing the more rock elements and bringing the track closer to new beat territory.

This is a second selection of independent disco records featuring rare and classic tracks originally released in the USA between the halcyon years of 1977 and 1985.

This release features only the finest disco, modern soul and boogie and is compiled by Disco Patrick who last year put together the mighty 'Disco: An
Encyclopedic Guide To The Cover Art Of Disco Records' 400+ page deluxe book for Soul Jazz Records, as well as the first installment of 'Disco: A Fine Selection Of Independent Disco, Modern Soul And Boogie.'

Playground Records launches its first vinyl reference and for this brings a selection of top-level artists. In charge of the 3 originals we will have the Lithuanian Roe Deers who joins the family. Every track will feature a remix, by Sascha Funke, Zombies In Miami and Niv Ast respectively.

‘Lazer in the Jungle’ is the first track of Ep. It starts with slow rhythm, with air, percussive. It opens the way to an infectious groove coming from a sequence that runs around shrewd among the weeds of several warm sounds. A fat and metallic bass contrasts almost to the industrial, bringing the dance to a frantic state.

The second track ‘Tensions’ begins with a rarefied suspenseful atmosphere, where a chorus of bells that come from a far are mixed with textures and rhythms, leading to a percussive psychedelic journey. When the drums say present, the tribal dance begins, haunted melodies give rise to an unbridled percussion with rhythms of boxes in triplets and a flute that takes us along a path of winding rhythmic adventure.

‘Aerobica’ is a unique piece, a journey of different sonority, a song that comes as a message from another galaxy. A communication between satellites, a message encrypted in clipeant synthesis, in crazy sequences that rise and fall, are detuned and returned to the groove. Modulations that seem aliens speaking a language that we do not understand but that seems friendly, a step to a parallel dimension where the landscape is of an unusual astonishment.

Sascha Funke takes control of the first remix, in this case it is ‘Lazer In The Jungle’ which begins with a heart beat, sounds and percussion accompany, charming minimalism until you start the journey through a conversation of synthesizers marked by arrangements that bounce from one side to another, a celestial pad appears, the textures are acidified giving way to the bass that ends up to get us into the trip. Suddenly, everything disappears, empty, air, the percussions return, the groove begins, the hook of the original theme appears for the first time so that your whole body ends up dancing until the end.

The remix of ‘Tensions’ is in charge of Zombies in Miami. It all starts with rainforest groove percussions, the bass appears walking fiercely through the jungle, voices are heard, the weeds get thick, a drum fill appears to get us into a loud fall that leads to an acid and macabre bassline. The ritual has begun. Sacrifices and enchantments, Aztec sorcery in its purest state.

The Ep closes with the remix of Niv Ast to ‘Aerobica’. A dense fog is present at the beginning, a mysterious atmosphere calls us, a bass in the distance invites us to continue entering, hypnotized we fall into a very mental groove, marked by a somewhat gloomy voices that do not stop talking. When the battery enters the light returns to the road, optimistic arrangements give us a halo of hope, the dance catches us and does not let us out. A guitar cuts the air in half and a low voice tells us that it is the end of this trip, coming away … coming away.

Mr Renault's dishes have always been on the plate what they promise on the menu, thoughtful, solid and reliable.
And all of this is delivered to your table with grace and wit, oh what a class act.

Lord Ruffy takes the helm !

All tracks made with a CZ5000

Adam Zarecki delivers two sumptuous disco house jams that makes us feel like we're not quite ready for autumn yet.

'Yesterday's' loops a jazz-inflexion / Nile Rodgers-esque guitar lick over slinky bass and sweet bluesy female vocals, all mushed up with some good filter work and warm trumpet motifs. On the flip, 'Pretending' kicks off with a Blaxploitation soundtrack feel, unfolding into a beautiful string arrangement, jazzy Rhodes and undulating bass wiggles.

Support: Ben UFO, Jimpster, Ian Pooley, Jacques Renault, Oliver Dollar, Voyeur, Horse Meat Disco, Joyce Muniz, Fred Everything, Harri, Astro Buhloone, Vhyce, Speaking Minds, Sasse, Lars Behrenroth, Huxley, Yam Who, Michel De Hey, Robert Owens...

Hazme Soñar- Somnambulism: Two cults of house music remastered and released on colored vinyl. First volume of a selected series of reprints of DFC's classics.

This time we'll treat you with a very special branded practical bag.
A small bag, to put inside small things, important things. Once you'll open it that little vinyl smell contained inside ("Air De Wax") will forever evaporate but you'll know that the bag will be forever useful!

Apparel Wax comes back after a long summer with another EP, the 7th of its catalogue and yet again another display of four different musical approaches brought together as one. The EP is, indeed, a 4 tracks one and starts off with a groovy execution of a classic house track, an archetypical and simple house tune with a defined personality and the perfect start, from square one. With 007A2 we start to shift the perspective to a more funky and tribal vibe with the help of the percussions, piano chords and simple bass and guitar lines to close an A side which is a modern view on something classical.

007B1 breaks in bringing an energetic overload since the first seconds with a heavy rhythmic section and keeps up the same pace throughout the whole track even when slowing down. Its insistent and slightly distorted hi hats, along with decisive piano chords helped by some well crafted vocal samples, take us all round this journey through a packed imaginary dance floor. Let's take the foot off the pedal for 007B2 which is instead the most desirable closing with it's smooth yet impactful sounds which create an ideal sunset mood to plunge into. So the sun sets on APLWAX007 and we hope you dig once more what the masked hero brought us this time around.

Official remastered limited edition of Cellophane project from 1984 produced by Alessandro Novaga, one of THE major influences on Chicago House Music with his trio of releases -Drums-, -Electronic Drums- and -Faces Drums-, all essentially EPs of tough electronic bonus beats, creating the blueprint for many early Windy City productions. He was also behind other such hugely influential cuts as Stopps -Im Hungry- and -Ali Shuffle- by Camaros Gang. Here on his Cellophane album, which came after the huge -Gimme Love- single, we get what I guess you could describe as his magnum opus. The album consists of just two long tracks (or suites perhaps?) that take the listener of on an epic psychedelic italo /space disco trip like no other. Heavy use of synths and drum machines expecially on the part 3 !

'Soul Is My Salvation' is a collection of dance friendly gospel songs. The mission is to simply uplift your spirit through music and word.
Dance floor’s around the world mirror the reactions of Churches from the 70’s and 80’s when experiencing these recordings.” - Tone B. Nimble.

Released as a series of eight limited vinyl-only 45, when assembled together the covers reveal a beautiful design courtesy of designer Charlotte McCrae. - A true collectors item. Chapter 1 includes the brilliant but incredibly tough pull, Rev L. Weaver’s rendition of a Sister Sledge classic. Side two is an Al-Tone extended version of The Pink Family’s Don’t Give Your Life Away.

DJ Support: Tone B. Nimble, Greg Belson, Ge-Ology, Gilles Peterson,
Skymark, Darryn Jones and Floating Points.

Kampana delivers once again with a pair of dance floor gems that will please lovers of funk, disco and gospel alike.On the A-side, Aroop Roy means serious business with 'Reason to Dance'. Driven by an outrageous slap bass, infectious horn stabs and a limb-shaking vocal refrain, it's no surprise that this has been THE secret weapon of his recent sets around the world. On the flip, Detroit native Peter Croce, fresh from the huge success of his Razor-N-Tape EP, comes in equally strong, with the gospel-fuelled disco cut 'Just Like Heaven'. The track builds patiently, lingering on a raw disco groove, honing in on a powerful brass section and spirit-lifting vocals, and eventually climaxing with epic strings and thunderous piano.

Leeds born producer and DJ Carlo Gambino has become a name synonymous with deeper leaning house from the UK over the past decade, releasing his material via the likes of 3am Recordings, Zingiber Audio and his own Midnight Social Recordings
and Amongst Others. Here though we see him joining Cinthie’s we_r house, following releases on the label from Kevin Over, Alessio Viggiano and Toman.

As we boldly enter a new decade, we cap off the pingin' naughties with another four bangers for your intergalactic nappers on this, the tenth instalment of our various artist EP series!

Red Laser Corp. engage tractor beams once again and beam up an elite squadron of galactic firepower for another of their well-lauded V/A EPs. Featuring two new ascending space cadets, ready to prove their worth on the universal playing field, alongside well-decorated star commanders Ste Spandex and Franz Scala; this latest Manctalo mission is destined for undisputed interplanetary acclaim.

First up, it's local interstellar fugitive, RL regular and black listed hardware abuser, Ste Spandex; whose titular tribute to one of dance music's most notorious labels is as fitting and arresting a piece of glistening, space disco-tek as its namesake deserves. Centered on triplet synth shards and a rugged acid line, Spandex-patented perx snap, crackle and pop as the track careers through the asteroid belts protected by a capacious force-field of electrostatic energy.

New signing Baba & Ganoush deploy a sleek, Euro-disco themed energy ball named 'Stockholm'. It's epochal synth array referencing classic Italo disco whilst revealing a precision sign-writing maturity that belies the fact that this is indeed the duo's first release!
Spurting tantalising synth solos and interlocking leads from its holographic sphere, you could easily been sent spiralling into the speaker stacks, eyes-wide-shut upon hearing this piece - note RLC will not be held liable for any injuries sustained!

Next we enter the cockpit of Berlin-residing, Italo-maestro Franz Scala, who on his debut sortie for RLR, directs the mother ship towards an innocuous star cluster where Ka Zan’s 'Give Me Your Heart' is on permanent repeat. Scala utilises advanced time shift and audio defragmentation devices to re-engage its citizens with this hardcore cosmic climax, transforming it into an erupting supernova of Italo that blasts so far it's now detected across our own stratosphere.

Ondata's Martin Lefteri and Szymek Lawik are two new rookies snapped up from London and whose 'Feel The Drive' parties have established an alliance with Red Laser Disco members nationwide. Delving perilously into deep space via some meticulously programmed sequences and a dark, cold synthesis method, the pair show a fearless exploration of the outer cosmos on this initial exercise for the label. .

(M)or Mint was originally a digital release on a small and now defunct label. Being released under a different title its existence has been basically scrubbed from the internet. Caserta felt it was time to bring it back remixed and mastered as a physical release.

The Baby Maker Dub puts this mid 90’s soulful vocal front and center. With a sparse drum arrangement complimenting the smooth piano stylings of Yuki ‘U-Key’ Kanesaka, you have a make out inducing end of the night jam.

For those not ready to go home yet, Caserta added more drums, a lot of 909 and a whole lot more low end. Turning this smoothed out subdued affair into a certified dance floor stomper.

No long story to tell... I wanted to make something I could play
at peaktime and then I went and asked 3 mighty producers whose stuff I adored if they would like to make a version each. Unleash these bea(s)ts.

Rajan James, the Jamaican-born English-raised musician’s ‘Impossible Dreams’ is an inspirational sax-laced single that walks a fine line between North American boogie and British synth-pop influences of the 1980’s, yet manages to sound distinctly her own. Left Ear have salvaged both the unreleased full-length versions, including the instrumental for a 12” single.

In the early 80’s Rajan headed to the States for a 5-week holiday, which turned into a 3 year hiatus. It was here that she was initially looking for inspiration from gospel singers, a natural progression from the choirs she had been singing in back home, even performing solo alongside her drum machine. It was in the States the she saw what she describes as the “future” of music, particularly “dance” music. Rajan returned to England with an open mind and an enriched cultural appreciation for a diverse range of sounds. It’s at this stage that she recorded ‘Impossible Dreams’ and released it on Steve Ayers’ ‘One Giant Leap’ compilation. Unfortunately, due to the release being an album of demos the track was cut short to make way for songs from other artists. Furthermore, it was never picked up for a single release and faded into obscurity. Rajan did release a single the following year called ‘Time’, unfortunately the label went into receivership and the release failed to make ground. After this, Rajan explains that “life got in the way and music had to take a back seat”. Thirty-seven years after the fact and Rajan’s ‘Impossible Dreams’ sounds just as relevant today, with an eternal message of optimism and hope.

“Remember don’t give up on Your dreams it's never too late. If you fall get up and try again” Blessings R T James

Soul Jazz Records set Sounds of the Universe:
Art + Sound 2012-15 features some of the heaviest Afrofuturistic producers out there, PITCHFORK.

Soul Jazz Records new Sounds of the Universe: Art + Sound 2012-15 is a new double album CD (and two separate volumes of double-vinyl) featuring a line-up of some of the most forward-thinking and progressive artists and producers working with electronic music around the world today.

This lovingly compiled collection features a stunning array of contemporary artists: Chicago’s Afro-futurist genius Hieroglyphic Being; Kaseem Mosse (aka Gunnar Wendell/Siege of Troy), one of the most talked-about, respected artists in underground house and techno; out of Detroit’s Moodyman stable comes Andres; also featured is Los Angeles-based Ras G, associated with the Brainfeeder label established by fellow producer Flying Lotus; and many more!

This new collection features a first CD of tracks recorded exclusively for Soul Jazz Record’s bespoke Sounds of the Universe label. These were originally issued under their Art + Sound series between 2012 and 2015 as unique hand-etched and original commissioned art pieces (reproduced here) collectors’ 12” singles - all pressed in micro-editions of 250 copies for each artist’s release that were only ever available exclusively from Soul Jazz Records’ boutique Sounds of the Universe shop in Soho, London.

The second CD features a fantastic set of all brand new exclusive tracks from the likes of Seven Davis Jr, Drexciya collaborator DJ Stingray, deep house virtuoso Mike Huckaby, Glaswegian noise-punk six-piece Golden Teacher, and lots more – all created and commissioned especially for this release. These songs are not available anywhere else in the world.

Together these 2CDs comprise an amazing selection of new progressive electronic music.

This album is released as double CD pack with slipcase and booklet. It is also available as two separate limited edition double vinyl editions in heavyweight vinyl and gatefold sleeves with full artwork + free download codes, and as a worldwide digital release.

Man Power's Me Me Me label proudly presents a very special new compilation, 'We We We', which will see all profits donated to the vital Help Refugees charity. The release boasts 25 new and exclusive tracks from a wide range of artists both new and established including Pional, Juan Maclean, Shit Robot, Medlar, ASOK, Ian Blevins and more. As well as the full album, two limited, vinyl-only samplers will also be released, with each featuring one exclusive track that is not available anywhere digitally.

The recipient of the albums profits, Help Refugees, is the leading UK NGO in a new movement of humanitarian aid, helping to plug the gaps in services not provided to those displaced by war. The man behind the compilation's concept is Man Power aka Geoff Kirkwood, an established producer with credits for his off kilter mix of house, disco, ambient and techno on labels like John Talabot's Hivern Discs, ESP Institute and Jennifer Cardini's Correspondent.

Kirkwood says, I have wanted to do a compilation of this nature for a long time. I'm incredibly lucky, as well as eternally grateful, to know so many talented artists who were willing to donate wonderful music towards this important cause.' The gratitude clearly flows both ways with Help Refugees director Philli Boyle saying We are so grateful to Man Power and to all the incredible artists who have shown solidarity with displaced people across the world'.

The superb compilation kicks off in plaintive fashion with absorbing ambient tracks from Ian Blevins, Dharma and ASOK. Pale Blue's 'Eyes' then brings deep and persuasive drums into the picture with thoughtful, sombre synths lingering up top. There is a real beauty to much of the selection here, as demonstrated by more wistful chords on Forriner's lush deep house day dream 'Sunrise in Bensham', while jacking dance floor tackle comes from Pink Skull and Medlar's pumping 909 drums and the pixelated melodic delights of Christophe's rugged, Chicago-indebted jack track 'Winder'.

Man Power himself pops up with an epic nine minute opus that is broad, sweeping house music at its most dramatic and evocative, and Pional's 'Night Charmer' is a typically inventive cut with icy drones and dehumanised vocals. Big hitters like Shit Robot offer a heavy dose of dub house, while 'Quantume Reach' by Juan Maclean (feat Amy Douglas) is gorgeously off beat house with thoughtful chords and spine-tingling vocals with a poignant message.

This is a compilation jam-packed with a broad array of accomplished and standout sounds, and that it is all for charity only makes it an even more essential and welcome release.
The full album is released exclusively via Bandcamp on 4th May in exchange for a 'no minimum' donation to the charity, with the label asking to please give generously.

New fully remastered re-release of Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World of Arthur Russell’, the seminal collection of Arthur Russell’s essential music is being released on limited-edition heavy deluxe triple vinyl and deluxe CD edition.

This album brings together some of Russell’s best-loved and most accessible works including his wide-ranging music both solo and in groups including Dinosaur L (the essential ‘Go Bang’), Loose Joints (the equally classic ‘Is It All Over My Face’) as well as rarities such as the 7” only ‘Pop Your Funk’, Indian Ocean’s ‘Schoolbell/Treehouse’, Lola’s ‘Wax The Van’ and more.

Arthur Russell’s music effortlessly crossed musical boundaries making it timeless. His dance music credentials are faultless and this collection features mixes from Larry Levan, Françcois Kervorkian and Walter Gibbons. Similarly, his song-writing, musicality and performance skills are equally cherished as composer Philip Glass wrote, ‘this was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on earth has ever done before or will do again.’

When Soul Jazz Records’ The World of Arthur Russell first came out in 2003, Russell’s music had slipped into near obscurity. Nearly 15 years later there are over a dozen releases of his music, reissues of his original albums and more. ‘The World of Arthur Russell’ is the classic first collection of his work available once more.

“Arthur Russell fused the avant-garde with disco and sounds like nothing else on earth.” The GUARDIAN

“Russell is the great enigma of the New York music scene” THE WIRE

“Simply one of the best compilations of this or any year.” RECORD COLLECTOR

20th anniversary 2LP on Ninja Tune - translucent green vinyl housed in green paper inners. Comes in a gatefold sleeve with poster insert, download code included.
Marking the 20th anniversary of Andrew Carthy’s first major release as Mr. Scruff, Ninja Tune re-issues the 1999 cult classic Keep It Unreal, on translucent double green vinyl with a poster insert. With spoken-word samples from environmentalist figures like David Bellamy and Sir David Attenborough, the current era of climate emergency makes this re-issue feel timely, but in truth, Carthy’s downtempo electronica and tasteful beats have meant Keep It Unreal has always felt timeless.

Soul Jazz Records' returns with their most successful series to date, New Orleans Funk. This new instalment subtitled 'Two-Way-Pocky-Way, Gumbo Ya Ya and the Mardi Gras Mambo' features more classic New Orleans funk in all its forms.

The syncopated percussion beat of the second line jazz parade bands, the secret language and dances of the Mardi Gras Indians, the mambo and latin rhythms of Professor Longhair and the city's many piano players help make New Orleans a unique musical melting pot.

New Orleans long musical heritage begins at Congo Square with the creation of jazz, the original creole culture clash of African heritage and European instrumentation.

In the 1960's and into the early 1970's add to this the creative powerhouses of Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Eddie Bo and others alongside the famous musical families of the city - the Nevilles, the Marsalis's, the Lasties - and we find ourselves at the birthplace of the original sound of funk - New Orleans Funk.

A seemingly endless line of amazing singers - Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris, Willie West, Eldridge Holmes - released a constant stream of stunning 45's, backed by the super-funk Meters and produced by Allen Toussaint. The multi-talented Eddie Bo, similarly wrote and produced for an elite set of artists including The Explosions, Chuck Carbo and others.

But limited local record distribution meant that most of these artists remained unknown outside of the city borders and as a consequence many of these records are serious collectors items today.

Add to this the syncopated poly-rhythm funk of Mardi Gras Indians with a rare version of the carnival classic Two-Way-Pock-A-Way, and the parade band jazz of the Rebirth Jazz Band (with their twisted take on the Blackbyrd's rare groove classic Do It Fluid) and you have the latest instalment in Soul Jazz Records' New Orleans Funk series.

This is Soul Jazz Records’ new journey into the heart of New Orleans and a guide to the city’s finest Funk music produced in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Featuring everyone from The Meters to Eddie Bo, Lee Dorsey to Betty Harris, this is a who’s who of the Crescent City’s most famous and most funky!

The city of New Orleans has deep musical roots that stretch back to Africa. New Orleans first gave birth to Jazz music, a Black musical form centred on rhythm, improvisation, freedom and collectivity at the turn of the century. Similarly in the late 1960's New Orleans Funk came to define a unique sound, mixing Caribbean rhythms, New Orleans second-line syncopation and rhythm and blues, all played by the Big Easy’s finest musicians.

Whilst Jazz and Funk music spread throughout the world, many African-American musical traditions remained within the city limits such as Mardi Gras and Carnival, Saturday Night Fish Fries, Funeral Marching bands and much more which partly explains why New Orleans music is so unique.

The album comes with extensive sleeve-notes, exclusive photography and more, and is an essential guide to the musical landscape of New Orleans and - together with Soul Jazz Records’ earlier New Orleans’ releases - presents the definitive story of New Orleans Funk. Although on the mainland coast, New Orleans is also surrounded by lakes giving the city an island feel. Similarly its proximity to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and the other West Indian Isles means that Latin and Caribbean musical influences are in its veins as much as American musical traditions. The upside of this city’s isolation is that New Orleans musical traditions flourished away from those of the rest of America. A thriving city full of artists, musicians, singers, producers, record companies, studios (well one studio actually) led to a 24 hour, 7 day a week musical life, playing in clubs, bars, brothels, carnivals and parades.

The downside of the cities isolation from the rest of the US was that the city never developed a solid music industry to back up the creative over-supply. Whilst New York had Atlantic, Detroit had Motown, Memphis had Stax, Chicago had Chess, Los Angeles had Modern, New Orleans had a multitude of small businesses fighting for space - and often each other. Without the marketing, promotional weight, business nouse and financial clout, New Orleans labels found it hard to get the nationwide distribution necessary to fill the million-odd jukeboxes throughout the country. So whilst every family in America knows the music of Gladys Knight or Smokey Robinson few could tell you about – let alone hum a tune from - Benny Spellman, Inell Young, Warren Lee….

This is far from being a reflection of the artists creativity or musicality - as anyone can tell you New Orleans melodies are the catchiest of all - more it is a reflection of the limitations of the local music industry. Some New Orleans artists became successful throughout the US such as Fats Domino in the 1950's and in the late 1960's The Meters and Lee Dorsey, but many artists remained within the city limits.

This makes for a fascinating goldmine of music released by a complex myriad of small labels run mainly by New Orleans producers, promoters and artists themselves. New Orleans Funk 2 brings together many of these artists along with text, sleeve-notes and photographs that gives social and historical context to the incredibly funky music of New Orleans.

The 36 track 2CD album comes with 50-page book featuring text, biographies and photography. It also comes in a limited run two volume double-vinyl super-loud super-heavy gatefold sleeve editions. Compiled by Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) and sleevenotes biographies by Jonny Trunk (Trunk Records).

TV Sound and Image features British composers who worked in television, film and music libraries the second half of the 20th century.

Aside from John Barry, whose work on the James Bond films made him a household name, or Tony Hatch and Laurie Johnson, the majority of composers featured here - Simon Park, Keith Mansfield, Reg Tilsley, Syd Dale, Keith Papworth – remain relatively unknown. And yet ironically they have created some of the most recognisable songs in British popular culture, their music widely disseminated on television.

A quick role call of these would include Neil Richardson (who composed the theme tune to Mastermind) and Barry Stoller (who wrote Match of the Day). The Simon Park Orchestra’s Eye Level, theme song to the BBC series Van der Valk, reached number one in 1973. CCS’s cover of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love was the theme tune to Top of the Pops. And so on.

This album is not however a stroll through the TV memories of the mind, but an exploration of the serious contribution that these creative musicians have on the landscape of popular music in Britain.

Here then is a guide to the amazing music of many of the composers (both well-known and obscure) responsible for some of the most widely known music ever to come out of Britain in the second-half of the 20th century.

Reviews:

Quietus

Der Spiegel: "spannende Klänge ... die oft funky und immer lässig klingen"

"thrilling sounds.... often funky and always chilled"

New Zealand Herald: ***** "Every track is a killer... This is more than just music to mooch too."

Irish Times: **** "downright funky"

Volkskrant: "Ze leverden spanning op maat, die onbekende makers van fenomenale Britse film en tv-muziek. Door de cd TV Sound and Image opnieuw in de aandacht"

Evening Standard: "deeply funky"

Uncut Magazine "excellent 36 track set ... welcome additions to your collection"

Q Magazine: ****

Willie Williams' roots rock reggae classic Armagideon Time – the rare 12" extended Discomix version split into two sublime heavyweight slices and cut super-loud on a 12" single. Produced by Studio One supremo Coxsone Dodd this is a huge Reggae anthem on the classic 'Real Rock' rhythm, famously covered by The Clash and sampled by KRS One, The Fugees and many more.

Returning for Volume 2 of the sought-after series, Glitterbox Jams is back with another red-hot delivery of dancefloor gems, ready to become a record box essential for all discerning disco DJs.

Delivering two tracks previously unavailable on vinyl and a pair of previews from the imprint, Volume 2 opens with Mike Dunn’s irresistible ‘Natural High’. Featuring Mike’s unmistakable Windy City drawl, this stripped-back disco-house jam sees Mike flex his musical muscles with traditional analogue techniques.

Up next, a silky-smooth disco number and exclusive first listen of enigmatic duo Body Music’s latest output, where pair team up with the ferocious voice of Amy Douglas. On the flip, another forthcoming Glitterbox release powers through, as French production maestro Yuksek turns his hand at remixing Risk Assessment’s ‘Remember Me’, featuring the mystical vocals of Jemeni G.

Recounting tales of Studio 54, self-expression and long nights spent on the dancefloor, this exhilarating cut makes a perfect fit for Glitterbox’s ethos of acceptance and open mindedness. Finally, the unmistakable bounding bassline of Seamus Haji’s ‘Boogie 2nite’ delivers a dose of Saturday night fever, rounding off this sublime release from the Glitterbox camp.

The Chicago-Mexico collaboration hits Volume 10 & this is rumored to be the last between STAR CREATURE/TUGBOATS, TZ and HOTMOODS, hopefully not! The windy city influence is strong on this one including the lead track "ESTA NOCHE" landing somewhere between Italo & soul. Classic HOTMOOD vibe!

Local Talk ends 2019 with something special, a release by Antony Nicholson & Mark de Clive-Lowe.

Anthony Nicholson aka Miquifaye is deeply rooted in the movement of taking music and art forward in the city we call Chi-town, across the globe and around the world.
Anthony has a discography that has been one of the most respected and sought after collections in dance music.

Mark is an artist in constant evolution, reaching for that next level, to call him prolific is something of an understatement.
Together they've created two tracks that got 'classics' written all over them and executed to perfect precision.

A little mystery goes a long way, but it's fair to say the appetite for unearthing those secret tunes and lost classics has rarely been stronger...

A LOVE THAT NEVER DIES give us a peek inside their formidable archive with four wonderful pieces of coveted music, in very short supply in their original form

One super limited, clear vinyl pressing.