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"The original concepts of vocal and instrumental music are utterly different. The instrumental impulse is not melody in a 'melodious' sense but an agile movement of the hands which seem to be under the control of a brain centre totally different from that which inspires vocal melody.

Altogether, instrumental music, with the exception of rudimentary rhythmic percussion, is as a rule a florid, fast and brilliant display of virtuosity... Quick motion is not merely a means to a musical end but almost an end in itself which always connects with the fingers, the wrists and the whole of the body."

The inclusion of the above passage from Curt Sachs' The Wellsprings of Music with this album, the recording of which predates the Music Improvisation Company's only other release, the eponymous ECM outing, indicates a clear intention to stake out territory for European Free Improvisation markedly different from that of the (American) Free Jazz it sprang from.
The African-American heritage that led to jazz was melodious, vocal, field holler / church-inflected, and the Germans and the Dutch never made any secret of their affection for it, but British free improvisers in the late 1960s were looking elsewhere.

Even so, and though the music press made a big deal a while back about the release of a 1965 rehearsal tape by Derek Bailey's earlier Joseph Holbrooke trio (with Gavin Bryars and Tony Oxley), their early efforts were mere tentative steps along a cliff edge wearing a line safely attached to Coltrane, and there's still a faint but distinct aftertaste of jazz in Bailey and Parker's work with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble up to and including 1968's Karyobin.
But with the addition of Jamie Muir - the first great free improvising percussionist who didn't start out as a jazz drummer - and Hugh Davies and his electronics from way out leftfield in the avant garde / experimental world, the MIC leapt right off that cliff.

As Nina Hagen screamed later, "1968 is over! Future is Now!" These six tracks – tight, electric, pointillistic, brilliant, uncompromising and exhilarating – sound like nothing else that came before - In a word, seminal.

Local Talk is back again with a fantastic album from Soulphiction who gets deep, down and dirty with this bumping selection of timeless house tracks across 3 pieces of beautifully packaged vinyl...

Dusty grooves and soulful emotion form the foundation of this release, which also takes influence from Jazz, Hip Hop and Afrobeat.

Soulphiction aka Michel Baumann is one of Germany's most respected artists who is also known under the equally successful and iconic alias Jackmate.
This is the third time Soulphiction has featured on Local Talk including his recent single "Beehive". Other labels to have featured Soulphiction tracks and remixes include Lumberjacks in Hell, Rebirth, Pampa and Philpot Records.

A master of both mood and texture, this release showcases the studio wizardry of a true sound-smith.
Chunky percussion with shuffling rhythms form the backbone of the grooves, which are fleshed out with intricate melodies and funky basslines that move mind, body and soul.

With ebbs and flows, the release builds and drops with tracks like "Jus Listen" moving away from the dance floor vibe to focus on a more soothing sound.
Like the tracklist of a J Dilla mixtape, this album flows with a purposeful care combined with a storytelling blend of emotions rarely heard in a house music long player.

Executed to perfect precision, this album is an instant classic and a must-have for home listening along with a club setting.

special handstitched felt backed 7” sle

Consisting of homemade electronic and mechanical music heard exclusively via British TV speakers as an eerie backdrop for the Polish made stop-motion adaptation of the Finnish comic strip classic. Custom composed for radically reedited daily five-minute episodes (alongside reconstituted storylines and the narrations/impersonations of comedy actor Richard Murdoch), the short cues written and played by two Leeds based post punk avant- theatre composers helped exacerbate the programme’s bizarre spectral storylines and characters earning a firm fixture of fear, intrigue and infatuation in the hearts and memories of a slightly confused electro fed generation. Ticking all the boxes that attract freak folk enthusiasts and synthusiasts alike, the combined efforts of Steve Shill and Graeme Miller deployed thumb pianos, backwards tape effects, wooden pipes and a Wasp synthesiser (the almost affordable post punk synth of choice) to replace the original 70’s German jazz soundtrack, thus dramatically mutating the tonality of the one hundred episode long saga. Miller and Shill’s unique DIY approach follows characters like Moomintroll, Sniff, Snuffkin and the Snork Maiden as they encounter hobgoblins, sand lions and the mysterious Groke complete with their individual detuned electronic voices and thereminesque whimpers. Based on the original sprites invented by Tove Jansson the modified fuzzy felt figurines were designed by animator Lucjan Debinski at the legendary Se Ma For studios in Poland for German syndication resulting in what many regard as the definitive and most enigmatic version of the story succeeding further animated adaptations form Japan and Russia.

Sharing the same nostalgia and oblique exoticism as The Singing Ringing Tree, The Little Mole, The Magic Roundabout and other reconstituted imports seen on programmes like Granada TV’s Picturebox, The Moomins and its synonymous theme tune and sound effects render this limited 7” vinyl release an essential addition to the record shelves of soundtrack collectors, domestic electronic fans and absent bygone tele addicts as well as animation and design enthusiasts on account of its unique imagery and packaging. Housed in a very special custom-made felt backed 7” sleeve depicting original production stills this limited 45 single comprises an extended take of Woodland Band and a never before heard cue from the forthcoming Lost Tapes LP.

Like the running lengths of the original episodes these rare specimens won’t stick around for long so act fast, relax, regress and rejoice for the return of the Moomin trolls.

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of "using the studio as a compositional tool" and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: DOME (July 1980), DOME 2 (October 1980) and DOME 3 (October 1981). A final fourth album, WILL YOU SPEAK THIS WORD: DOME IV was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifully stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

Previously issued in the out of print DOME 1-4+5 box set in 2011. Now available as standalone LP with download card

Epiphany \ i-ˈpi-fə-nē \ (1) a manifestation of the essential nature of something (usually sudden) (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (usually simple and striking) (3) an illuminating discovery or disclosure.

All three definitions apply perfectly to this span of music recorded at London’s ICA in July 1982. It’s a miracle of group interaction, wonderfully paced, moving steadily between moments of mounting intensity and tension. The passage about halfway through — when Derek Bailey’s harmonics ring out above a sheen of inside piano tremolos and shimmering electronics, topped off by Julie Tippetts’ soaring vocalese — is simply sublime. After which it’s fun to try and tell the two pianists apart. Are those runs Ursula Oppens, with her formidable technique honed from years performing some of the twentieth century’s most difficult notated new music, or are those Keith Tippett’s crunchy jazz zigzags? Are those intriguing twangs from one of Akio Suzuki’s invented instruments or could they be Fred Frith’s or Phil Wachsmann’s electronics? Bah, who cares?

There’s plenty of room for the more delicate instruments too, like Anne LeBaron’s harp picking its way gingerly through a pin-cushion of pings and scratches from Bailey and bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa. Of course, some performers are instantly recognisable: Tippetts, as lyrical and flighty on flute as when she sings, Phil Wachsmann, sinuous and sensitive on violin, and trombonist George Lewis, who, as John Zorn once put it, swings his motherfucking ass off.

So many magical moments abound, from the opening dawn chorus of Tippetts’ voice and Frith’s guitar swooping through a rainforest of exquisite piano cascades, to the Zen calm of the closing moments.

Epiphany, indeed.

Funky soul-jazz organist Caesar Frazier crafted superior Hammond funk. 75, his second LP, is a rare gem. It’s comfortably his greatest artistic statement.

The follow-up to Hail Ceasar!, it’s a taut, grooving set that expands his sound and, put simply, it’s got better songs. The key elements of his debut album are all there – production from maestro Bob Porter, accompaniment from hip players (Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Cornell Dupree, John Tropea) and arrangement from Horace Ott - but the overall sound is elevated. The tightly jamming, expressive jazz-funk makes for a richer, fuller, more satisfying experience.

75 is a mixture of hard-driving originals, deeply beautiful slower numbers to vary the tempo and a couple of classy covers. The crazy bombastic “Mighty Mouse” - a riot of horns, organ and in the pocket drums - became an acid jazz classic at Dingwalls and it’s easy to see (hear?) how. A blissed out, lushly instrumental take on Seals and Crofts’s “Summer Breeze” follows, perfect for those sunshine sets.

Side A closes with the heavenly “Sweet Children”. A loping, funky jazz masterpiece famously sampled by Kanye West for Common’s “Real People” from Be. It opens beautifully, with soaring sax and a funky horn section combining with weightless keyboard tones atop snapping drums. Unsurprisingly, the excellence endures right through to the end.

The B side opens with perhaps the album’s most famous track. "Funk It Down” contains the familiar “I can feel the funk” vocal refrain throughout. But it’s the gorgeous, insouciant bridge that you should all know and love, having been used as the hook for Gang Starr’s “Ex-Girl To Next Girl”. A great cover of Stevie Wonder's “Living for the City” comes next, with an unforgettable bass-line which anchors the entire heavy rhythm section workout. Dizzying organ, triumphant horns and sun-dappled guitar grooves combine to create “Walking On The Side”, rounding out a pretty smoking set.

This is one of those rare 70s funk-soul-jazz LPs on which a bad track cannot be found. It’s all essential. So of course finding original copies on vinyl at affordable prices has been tough for years.

Mastered brilliantly by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and with painstakingly reproduced artwork by the Be With team, this fresh Be With reissue ensures this legendary LP now sounds, looks and feels as sensational as it should.

Palto Flats & WRWTFWW Records are ecstatic to announce the highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient / minimal album "Through The Looking Glass", originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan.

Considered a Holy Grail of Japanese music by many, "Through The Looking Glass" is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring contemplative ambient sounds with an admirably precise use of marimba. The result is alternatively ethereal and vibrant, always precise and mesmerizing, and makes for an atmospheric masterpiece and an unparalleled sonic and spiritual experience.

The fully licensed reissue is available as a single 33rpm LP and a limited 45rpm DLP, both cut directly from the original studio reels (AAA), at Emil Berliner (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon) for the 45rpm DLP, and at the equally famous Frankfurter SST Studio for the LP. It is also available in CD format for the first time. All versions come with extensive liner notes.

Firenze Sogna' is literally a journey of musical itineraries from the legendary Tuscany chief town between the mid-70s and the early 80s, curated by Giampiero Bigazzi, Bruno Casini and Ernesto De Pascale. Influential post-punk act and electronic producers all teamed up with local legends depicting almost 20 years of a constant evolution. It is not simply the Italian way to rock’n’roll, hereby three generations of artists facing the banks of Arno river forged a memorable artistic season. Stalwart ok kosmische psychedelia Sensation’s Fix altogether with EBM forerunners Neon, astonishing etno-world travelers Zeit (the Italian answer to late Popol Vuh ?) and electro pioneer Alexander Robotnick , no wave heroes Rinf and rock in opposition alumni Bella Band (Cramps Records). 23 tracks split between two lps, a revelation of sort.

The debut album from The Jazz Defenders is released on Haggis Records, the label started by U.K funk band The Haggis Horns. Jazz has always been a massive part of what The Haggis Horns are about so this marriage was the perfect fit.

The Jazz defenders are a group borne out of a deep love for Blue Note Records - specifically the hard bop recordings of Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan and Art Blakey. Those records were highly regarded for a reason - catchy horn lines and incredible musicianship combined with Rudy Van Gelder's engineering skills mean they will forever be regarded as classics of the genre. The Jazz Defenders are a group that would 'defend' the legacy of those recordings whilst creating its own original identity and distinctive flair. The music they produce together is a modern soul jazz slant on this classic Hard Bop, effortlessy channelling the spirit of the golden Blue Note era of Jazz.

The group is the brainchild of vibrant pianist and composer George Cooper who at only 31 years old has already amassed a comprehensive repertoire of musical credits including Hans Zimmer, Nigel Kennedy, U2, Slum Village, The Haggis Horns and Abstract Orchestra. Featuring some of the UK's finest players the line up is Nick Dover (tenor sax), Nick Malcolm (trumpet), Ian Matthews (drums), Will Harris (bass) and George Cooper (piano). As session musicians in their own right the members of the band have worked with a variety of internationally acclaimed artists such as Andy Sheppard, Clark Tracey, Get The Blessing, Pee Wee Ellis, Massive Attack, Rodriguez and Nostalgia 77 as well as playing at venues including Ronnie Scott's, The Jazz Cafe & The 606 Club.

Radio support from Craig Charles (BBC 6), Jazz FM

Australian Soul Jazz holy grail from 1968! Debut album release on Pacific Theatre Encore, the reissue label started by Melbourne's contemporary funk / soul lynchpin Lance Ferguson (The Bamboos, Menagerie, Lanu, ex Cookin' On 3 Burners). Vinyl includes download card and liner notes insert, CD in digipak and booklet.

Lead by Australia's own rival to Jimmy Smith and Jimmy Witherspoon, the '68 line up of Col Nolan & The Soul Syndicate would prove to be an Australian jazz super-group, consisting of John Sangster on drums / percussion (whose own late '60s Festival albums are highly collectable), John Allan on bass, Col Loughnan on sax and Jimmy Doyle on guitar (the latter two were also in mid Oz '70s jazz-rock giants, Ayers Rock). Early '70s Soul Syndicate recordings have become highly sought by collectors, but this album is their rarest, with collectors paying sizable amounts on the rare occasion a copy appears.

The album was recorded in Sydney while they were the house band at the legendary Kings Cross nightclub, Whiskey A Go Go, during it's swinging sixties heyday. The city's best jazz players would play there and at surrounding clubs seven nights a week into the early hours, entertaining both high society and visiting American G.I.s on R&R, a far cry from the area's current lock out law enduced coma.

Their residency would allow them to break in new material night after night, much of it recorded on this album. The album is lead by some cracking originals written by Nolan, Loughnan and Sangster including the two Mod dancefloor burners, "Shades Of McSoul", the title track and the breakbeat monster "Rivera Mountain". But their versions of popular soings of the time are more like re-inventions, such as the drum heavy, low slung take on Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe" and a superlative rendition of Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", which builds to a frantic, swirling psychedelic crescendo to close the album.

"Pacific Theatre Encore will be reissuing music from across the globe, but it was important to me for the first release to shine a light on the important legacy of our own scene" says Ferguson, who meticulously restored the audio himself, which was then remastered.

Protofuture’s newest release is a reissue of the 3rd installment of Beppe Loda’s “Acid Jazz” tapes. Acid Jazz is a series of 10 mixtapes recorded by Loda between 1994–96 in Brescia, Italy for the Sound Music Room Club. Only a limited amount was dealt among a small circle of clubbers, from Rimini to Vienna. Protofuture has reissued them with the original cassette covers, the original numeric stamp, and even ink from the time, used by Loda since the 80s -
(Protofuture - PF3T).

12" + 7"

In 2009 Mocky made a radical decision: after having become one of the cult figures of the leftfield Berlin electronic music scene of the early 2000s, Mocky retired his sampler and travelled to Paris to embark on an all acoustic journey with the producer Renaud Letang in the vintage Studio Ferber, previously inhabited by the likes of Nina Simone and Serge Gainsbourg.

Named after a song he made up when he was 7, using imaginary words, "Saskamodie" was an instant new future/retro classic: a return to pure musical expression by a cutting edge artist who was no longer bound by the electronic music scene. "Saskamodie" was a brave step into unchartered waters, the sound of a musician exploring where his talent can take him with rare confidence and authority. At different points you could hear a vintage soundtrack suite, a debonair jazz record (minus the solos) or a golden era '60s soul ballad recording ... yet, as if all these charming stylistic sorties weren't loveable enough, cut "Saskamodie" through the middle and you'll find that sweet, inescapably infectious melody is the lifeblood trickling through its core.

Mocky is listed as playing drums, bass, rhodes, piano, guitar, percussion, bells, recorder, vocals, whistle, organ and toys as well as writing string arrangements. Taylor Savvy, Gonzales, Jamie Lidell and Feist contribute additional instrumental and backing vocal performances that make this record sound more like a live performance than a studio creation.

"Saskamodie" has definitely stood the test of time and Mocky still successfully follows the path he started with this recording - be it on his series of digital Moxtapes, his album "Key Change", his recent "recorded-in-one-day" jazz album "A Day At United", his score for the japanese Netflix anime "Carole & Tuesday" or his writing and production work for the likes of Feist or Kelela.

Originally only released as CD/Digital Download, this 10 years anniversary limited vinyl edition brings us "Saskamodie" in it's original form, re-mastered for deluxe 180g vinyl and accompanied by an exclusive bonus 7" with a new single edit of the album's hit "Birds Of A Feather", a solo piano version of "Guiding Light" by Chilly Gonzales, the recent coverversion of "Birds Of A Feather" by LA's underground funk sensation Vulfpeck and a remix featuring a collaboration with noone less than the Wu Tang's GZA.

"An exceptionally musical album – there’s no other word for it – that could fail to seduce only the hardest of hearing, or the hardest of hearts" (Pitchfork, 8.0 review)

"An amazing record…a big hit for me" (Gilles Peterson)

"If Saskamodie was a film, it would undoubtedly be The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry. Please take that as a wholehearted endorsement" (BBC)

japanese legendary jazz guitarist “ryo kawasaki”,some of his famous works are like mellow jazz fusion masterpiece “tarika blue”,dance jazz classic “trinkets&things”,cosmic new wave jazz “lucky lady”….

this album with his band “the golden dragon” is probably the best album for fans of wired jazz,brazilian,barealic music. japanese best digger “chee” picked up this album as his favorite album from japan on RA.

“little tree” is a first album that ryo kawasaki used self made guitar synthesizer.

this album is rich in variety, japanese brazilian jazz fusion classic “looking around you”,experimental guitar ambient “capricho arabe”,cosmic fusion “quasar infection”,barealic jazz masterpiece”you are the sun-light”,club jazz classic “little tree”,folky jazz vocal “jamiko”,a lot of great song on this album.

Jimi Tenor and a group of friends visited twice at Edward Vesala's unique home (Sound and Fury Studio) in Korkeakoski in southwest Finland. It was winter 1998.
Matti Knaapi and Jimi Tenor has been designing and building instruments since early 80s. They brought vanful of apparatus to Sound and Fury which already had a large collection of Vesala's exotic and self built instruments.

During the two rather extreme sessions 13 songs got finished. The first part was released in year 2000. Sadly Edward Vesala passed away before the first part City of Women I was released.
Now after 20 years of calming down we are ready to evoke the second part of the sessions.

City of Woman is
Edward Vesala, drums, vocals, instruments
Jimi Tenor, flute, instruments

Iro Haarla, harp
Jimi Sumen, programming
Matti Knaapi, instrument design and construction

Hailing from one of the world’s most famous harbours, Rotterdam, a true multicultural melting-pot, the music by 6-piece band called the Greyheads mirrors the daily life of this busy city. They approach jazz from a hip-hop point of view, or hip-hop from a jazz point of view, always carefully adding a perfect dose of other influences (all the members are heavily influenced by artists like Miles Davis, J Dilla, Herbie Hancock and Robert Glasper) with an exciting, groovy and vibrant tone.

After having self-released their debut EP "GREYHEADS × KYTOPIA" in 2017, they recently finished recording "HOMES", their first full length album.

Led by drummer Nello Biasini, this truly international band of like minded musicians was formed in 2016 and have since been busy creating their own, fresh and unique sound. Whether an intimate jazz club or the main stage of a big festival, they are all about creating a feel-good groovy vibe using live rlectronics, drum 'n bass, jazz, hip hop and pop fused together.

GreyHeads performed at NN North Sea Jazz 2019 and several other festivals such as So What's Next Festival, Jazz Delft Festival, Cutting Edge, ProJazz, Big Rivers Festival, as well as opening for the bands Moonchild and Knower.

'Homes' is a journey through space and time, travelling in opposite but jointed paths that lead to the places we call home. The concept of the record is to carry the listener to experience what every place and time can in any way, represent home, characterized by different atmospheres, sounds, images and sensations.

Repress

Selva Discos fulfills its duty of giving a new life to Fernando Falcão's long lost LPs with the reissue of his album Barracas Barrocas, originally released through Egberto Gismonti's cult record label Carmo in 1987. Somehow, an original copy of this album is even more elusive than its predecessor Memória das Águas and it is a pity that such a stunning piece of music was kept apart from listeners worldwide for so long.

The follow-up to Memória das Águas was recorded in São Paulo after Fernando Falcão returned from his exile in France in 1984. In order to conceive Barracas Barrocas, the musician had the help of illustrious friends, such as singer-songwriter Alceu Valença and singer Tetê Espíndola, alongside brothers Myriam and Daniel Taubkin. At the time, Falcão was still using the sound sculptures he created for Memória das Águas, as he is credited in the liner notes for playing a "water orchestra" and his berimbau variant called balauê.

Barracas Barrocas is an album that works as a more condensed and coherent artistic statement of Falcão's œuvre. Lush strings, swelling brass, glowing production, and humming atmospheres fill the record, adding a beautiful yet subtly linked counterpoint to his previously explosive debut. It is very cinematic, sounding like the soundtrack of a play that only existed in the musician's mind.

For this release, not only the sound was remastered but the artwork of Barracas Barrocas was completely and faithfully restored. Also, the reissue comes with unprecedented liner notes featuring rare photos of the musician and his sound sculptures plus an article that tells the story of Fernando Falcão after returning to Brazil following his exile – a story that has never been told, until now.

Smooth & groovy cuts from diggin' fanatics Obscure & Obsolete featuring space disco, french boogie, german cheesecake, and calypso steel drum madness. Limited pressing!

Soul Jazz Records are releasing flautist Lloyd McNeill’s album ‘Elegia’ (1980). Originally released on the artists’
own private press Baobab label in New York, the album is a serious collectors’ piece, a heavyweight and fascinating
fusion of deep spiritual jazz with Brazilian rhythms and melodies. The album has been out of print for nearly 40
years.
This groundbreaking album is the culmination of Lloyd McNeill’s many years involved with Brazilian musicians and
features the great percussionist Nana Vasconcelos alongside fellow Brazilians Portinho and Dom Salvador, and US
jazz musicians including bassist Cecil McBee.
In a 50-year musical career, McNeill has worked with many artists including Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy, Mulatu
Asatke and Sabu Martinez.
McNeill grew up during the era of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and his life and work is a reflection of
those ideals. All of his music was only ever released on his own private-press record label, echoing the Civil Rights
and African-American themes of the era – black economic empowerment and self-sufficiency – and there is a
beautiful spirituality in all his music.
In the late 1960s McNeill became a teacher of both jazz and painting at the New Thing Art and Architecture Center
in Washington and in 1969 was the first African-American professor hired to teach African-American Music History,
at Rutgers University.
This is the fifth Lloyd McNeill album that Soul Jazz Records have released and follows on from the recent release
of ‘Treasures’ (1976) and the earlier albums ‘Asha’ (1969), ‘Tanner Suite’ (1969) and ‘Washington Suite’ (1970),
all of which are being re-pressed to coincide with this new release.
This album is fully re-mastered from original source and is re-released for the first time ever on Soul Jazz Records
in a very limited edition of 1000 vinyl (+ download code), 1000 limited edition CD pressing and digital.

Color Vinyl

Mica Levi returns to Slip with six piano pieces played by Eliza McCarthy in 'Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall' - a crepuscular suite riddled with Mica's inquisitive, conversational phrasing and
smartly expanding upon their 7' track, 'Riding Through Drinking Harpo Dine' (Foom, 2017), a new recording of which also appears in this set
The culmination of three years work between Mica and Eliza - winner of the 2013 British Contemporary Piano Competition - 'Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall' follows up their collaboration on the Oscar-nominated score for Pablo Larrain's 'Jackie' score with a finer-shaded, patient space for low-lit, smoky expression that's so intimate and personal it almost feels like eavesdropping a private recording.Ineffably bound by a sense of unreal poise, Eliza's interpretations are subtly, dynamically rendered in-the-mix by Mica to present the pieces as though in flux, like poignant, unresolved statements that occur in the flow of quiet, intent dialogue and linger in the air. It's testament to the pair's well-honed intuition that the results connote this feeling so naturally.
And it's maybe our familiarity with Mica's work, from her earliest chopped 'n screwed orchestrations, to her 'Under The Skin' score and her mutant pop pieces, that we keep expecting
hers or Tirzah's voice to match her melodies with wordless vocals or harmonious limns throughout the six pieces. That's probably simply down to the fact that Mica writes with such a pop-wise appeal and soulful sensitivity that it prompts subvocalisation in every listener, or maybe it's just us, but either way the hook of these instrumentals will be floating your head for days, weeks, or a lifetime after they're imbibed...

Featuring Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley and many more. Soul Jazz Records’ new Studio One DJ Party is the latest installation from the mighty Studio One Records catalogue, a wicked new collection of the finest DJs and toasters ever to inhabit the world of reggae – seminal Jamaican artists including Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Michigan & Smiley, Lone Ranger as well as a host of lesser known artists and rare cuts from Studio One. From the earliest days when Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd ran his Downbeat soundsystem up and down the length of Jamaica, DJs and toasters such as King Stitt and Count Machukie were always a part of the sound of Studio One, introducing new records and exciting audiences with catchphrase lines such as: “No matter what the people say these sounds lead the way It's the order of the day from your boss deejay” King Stitt So when DJ emerged as a distinct reggae style at the start of the 1970s, Studio One was, as always, way ahead of their competitors. Legendary artists of the calibre of Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone and Prince Jazzbo all queued up to record for the equally legendary label. At the end of the 1970s, as dancehall exploded onto the island, Clement Dodd was once again able to maintain Studio One’s position on the throne as the number one sound in the Jamaica, fighting off upstart competitors such as Channel One and Joe Gibbs who tried to replicate Studio One’s unique sound. During this period Clement Dodd released a series of stunning dancehall releases from young DJ/dancehall artists at the label including Lone Ranger and Michigan & Smiley. This selection spans the early 70s up until the mid-1980s, from the earliest days of deejay toasting right up until digital dancehall, ground-breaking tracks over the finest selection of the ultimate Studio One rhythms and tracks. Who could ask for more? Studio One DJ Party includes specially commissioned sleevenotes by Chris Lane, founder of the legendary British reggae label Fashion Records, as well as fantastic original artwork commissioned by the illustrator Ski Williams. The album is released as double heavyweight vinyl (+download code), and distinctive Soul Jazz Records CD with slipcase

First collaboration between french trumpet player Antoine Berjeaut and Chicago-based drummer MVP Makaya McCraven, along with a cast including bassist Junius Paul and saxophonist Julien Lourau. A mix of writing and improvisation based on material previously composed by Antoine Berjeaut and Makaya McCraven, those sessions were then used in his studio by McCraven, who did what he does best: he re-mixed, sampled and re-composed a new and vivid score, blending contemporary jazz, electronic music and post-rock.

Bridging the spaces between the Paris and Chicago scenes, Moving Cities brings together the best of both worlds and is emblematic of a new, utterly modern jazz going through a true aesthetic revolution. Moving Cities started as a live laboratory set up by Berjeaut and McCraven; it echoes the recent evolution of international metropolises constantly torn between individualism and collective endeavors, in a disrupted geography.


In today’s musical landscape, there is a strong push to reassess and redefine musical genres. Incorporating all kinds of influences has become a driving force, and jazz, like other genres, is now experiencing an explosion of its aesthetic boundaries. It has moved away from its ponderous legacy and now fully channels the spirit of the times - as it once used to.

Unarguably Antoine Berjeaut, Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul and Julien Lourau are, each in their own way, a major contribution to the work-in-progress that jazz is today. Gathered for this new project, they have challenged themselves and gone beyond conventional jazz idioms and structures, in the best way possible: instinctively, as members of an energetic and remarkably creative ensemble led by Berjeaut and McCraven.

Sponsored by the French-American program of the Face foundation, the band first came together in Chicago, playing in local clubs Constellation and California Clipper. They were reunited at the Gent festival, in Belgium, at the invitation of DJ/producer Lefto and ended up playing a sold-out show at Musiques au Comptoir, in Fontenay, France, just a few metro stations away from the heart of Paris. At each step, workshops and recording sessions were put together in order to capture the energy and the ideas that were developed on the spot.

Moving Cities conjures up an ever-expanding universe ruled by immediacy and tension, while always allowing for collective inspiration. The album conveys the poetry of transformed and dismembered cities, whose inhabitants are in constant search of meaning. Hyper-connected standardized cities desperately missing horizontality and human scale: a driving influence for artist Yann Bagot’s visual work, who blended together the maps of Chicago and Paris, which are geographically distant but close in spirit.

A trailblazing project, conceived, written and performed as a collage, Moving Cities invites us to reassess the codes that have long presided over jazz. It also echoes the prevailing paradoxes in modern metropolises.

From Paris to Chicago and back again, the musicians endeavor to recreate human connection through an inspired collective statement.

Soul Jazz Records are re-releasing Airto Moreira’s classic album ‘Samba de Flora’, out of
print for 30 years ever since its original release in 1988. The album is very limited to just
1000 copies only, pressed on both vinyl and CD.
The impact of Airto Moreira in both the world of American jazz and in Brazilian music is
unparalleled. At the start of the 1970s Airto was invited to join Miles Davis’
groundbreaking ‘electric’ group, which with albums such as the seminal ‘Bitches Brew’
helping Davis regain his title from John Coltrane as the most important jazz artist of all
time.
Two years later Airto helped establish two of the most important jazz fusion groups of all
time: Weather Report, with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and Miroslav Vituous; and Return
to Forever, with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Flora Purim.
Airto Moreira also began his solo career in the USA in 1970, and alongside his wife, the
singer Flora Purim, and Brazilian artists such as Hermeto Pascoal, Sivuca, Deodato, Raul
de Souza, Azymuth, all played a major part in the Latinised sound of American jazz fusion
throughout the 1970s.
By this time Airto established himself in the USA in the 1970s, he had already had a
formidable career back in Brazil in the 1960s as an important figure in the Bossa Nova
movement, which soon after spread throughout the world. Airto played in a number of
important groups during this time – Quarteto Novo Sambalanco Trio and Sambrassa Trio
(all of with Hermeto Pascoal) – which proved to be three of the most ground-breaking
groups of this era.
The album ‘Samba de Flora’, including the seminal jazz dance title track, is a masterpiece
of jazz and Brazilian fusion and features Airto Moreira alongside Flora Purim, fellow
Brazilian artist Raul de Souza and heavyweight USA jazz musicians Alphonso Johnson,
percussionist Don Alias (from Stone Alliance), Cuban conga player Cachete and
Argentinian pianist Jorge Dalto.
The album was originally released on the small independent Montuno Record label (which
was run out of the unassuming Record Mart record store situated in the Times Square
underground subway station!) and has been unavailable for many, many years.
This album is fully re-mastered and re-released by Soul Jazz Records for the first time
ever, packaged in full original artwork on both vinyl (+ download code) and CD.

The band TORSO is Ken G and Orie. Ken is from Tokyo underground rock band Group, who have previously released on P-Vine Records.
Summoning the vibes of Arthur Russell, and minimal composition, the duo use cello, flute, glockenspiel, piano and soprano sax to hone a warm, organic sound, already getting airplay on Japan Blues' show on NTS radio.

ehind Dosage there is Sayoko, a Japanese woman living in Paris, who works with a rich, organic, yet destabilized musical style, but with a pulsating life that makes her pieces fascinating.

His songs - since they are songs here - on the edge of pop music, are made for re-listening; each passage revealing new secrets hidden in the complex mechanics of his compositions. Evidence is never at the rendezvous, and yet the pleasure of listening, the joy of being carried away by texts that border the surreal without ever complacent, grooves that always seem on the verge of "collapse without ever poking the nose, this pleasure and this joy, unique, do not leave us from one end to the other of this theory of the pink, UFO album, for those who seek this, and to surprise the others too.

Sayoko: voice, piano, bass, electronics;
Buz: battery; Franca Mai: poems;
Dirty_Pink: guitar;
Gaspar Claus: cello;
Vincent Epplay: electronics;
Nicolas Laffererie: guitar;
BN Würtz: electronics, bass, composition;
Simon Takahashi: electronics, composition

First full length album from rising UK jazz/soul/funk pianist. The follow up to his "Easter" EP which was brilliantly received across a broad range of music press, radio and tastemaker retailers. A 15 track album available on a 2LP black vinyl set and single CD. Collaborators include Keyon Harrold, Judi Jackson, Theo Croker, Ben Marc, Makaya McCraven, Luke Flowers and more. The album blends jazz/beats/funk with a hint of hip hop, grime and breaks.

Black Truffle is honoured to announce the first ever vinyl reissue of David Rosenboom’s legendary Brainwave Music, originally released on A.R.C. Records in 1975 and here expanded to a double LP with the addition of over 40 minutes of contemporaneous material. Pioneer of live electronics, innovator in music education, collaborator with artists as diverse as Jon Hassell, Jacqueline Humbert, Terry Riley and Anthony Braxton, Rosenboom is renowned for his ground-breaking experiments with the use of brain biofeedback to control live electronic systems.

Each of the three pieces that make up the original Brainwave Music LP integrates biofeedback with musical technology in different ways. In the side-long opening piece “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones”, four performers have electrodes and monitoring devices attached to their bodies to receive information about brainwaves, temperature, and galvanic skin response. This information is analysed and fed into a complex set of frequency dividers and filters, manned by Rosenboom, but essentially played by each of the performers through their psychophysiological responses to the situation. The result is a slowly unfolding web of filtered electronic tones over a tanpura-esque fundamental, possessing the unhurried, stately grandeur of an electronic raga. In “Chilean Drought”, three different variations of a text about a drought in Chile, each read by a different voice in a different style, are associated with the Beta, Alpha, and Theta brainwave bands. Alongside an insistent piano accompaniment, we hear a constantly shifting combination of the three vocal recordings controlled by the relative preponderance of each of the brainwave bands in the soloist whose brainwaves are being monitored. “Piano Etude I (Alpha)”, the earliest piece included here, is based on research into the link between Alpha brain wave production and the execution of repetitive motor tasks. As Rosenboom plays a very rapid, incessantly repeated pattern in both hands – deliberately designed to be difficult to execute without being in an alert, non-thinking state similar to that associated with strong Alpha brainwave production – two filters controlled by monitoring his brainwaves process the piano sound, moving gradually higher in frequency as the average Alpha amplitude increases, resulting in a hypnotic, constantly shifting blur of repeated notes reflected through the shimmering, watery lights of the filters. For this reissue, the original LP is supplemented with an additional LP containing an unreleased 1977 live recording of Rosenboom’s “On Being Invisible”, in which the composer himself performs on an array of electronics that are fed information from his brainwaves. Stretching out over 40 minutes, the piece begins in similar territory to “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones” but eventually becomes far wilder, building up to pointillistic bleeps and dense layers of electronic fizz that unexpectedly cut to near-silence. As Rosenboom explains, the piece creates a situation in which the ‘performer’s active imaginative listening became one of the ways to play their instrument, as well as an active agent in how self-organizing musical forms might emerge.’ Enriched with archival images and new notes from the composer, this expanded reissue of Brainwave Music is essential listening for anyone interested in the history of live electronic music and alive to the possibilities it might still contain.

Previously unreleased and thought lost Cacophonic present these rare recordings for first time ever! Compiled from a collection of recordings spanning 1969 to 1971 featuring a cast of (unconfirmed) jazz greats including Ronnie Beer, Joseph Déjean, Claude Delcloo, Earl Freeman, Beckie Friend, Eddy Gaumont, Beb Guérin, Noel McGhie, Jouck Minor, Barre Phillips, Aldo Romano, Alan Silva, Kenneth Terroade, Jacques Thollot and Bernard Vitet.

Official remastered, reissue of two of Esther Phillips' breathtaking covers from the early '70s.

Firstly, Esther's cover of Gil Scott-Heron's timeless masterpiece 'Home Is Where The Hatred Is'. A haunting tale of addiction filled with the rawest of emotions, that can only truly be covered by someone who has fought that same battle with dependency. The pain in Esther's voice completely conveys this vulnerability and does Gill Scott Heron's original total justice. Heart-wrenching and completely absorbing in its honesty, it's a sincere portrayal of the demons both artist's faced in their lives.

On the B side, an adaptation of Eddie Floyd's 'I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)'. Phillips' trademark soulful tones suit this sweet serenade so well, with the passion oozing from every word she sings. Sit back, relax and prepare to have your heart melted all over again.

the first remixed release from studio mule/bgm. our portland friend visible cloaks made remix for 2 songs. the original songs of both tracks are his all time fav japanese music. check his amazing compilation “kankyo Mongaku” !! the result is simply beautiful ambient music.

Bathurst is pleased to announce the return of The Motion Orchestra with their new single Sonorous taken from their forthcoming album All One set for release in 2020.

Formed in 2017, this studio project consists of Alexander Bednasch on Double-Bass, Mark Matthes on Violins, Andy Sells on Drums and David Hanke on electronics and production. Though influenced heavily by Neo-Classical and Jazz sensibilities they occupy a musical space that sits in neither sphere, with a compositional style that deftly fuses the orchestral and electronic worlds.

Their debut single – All One was a gorgeous piece inspired by the notion that everything comes from the same source, the same starting point. And it was well received, garnering support from BBC 6Music and Bandcamp Weekly.

Second single Sonorous is just as elegant as their first offering and looks set to continue the upward trajectory the band are currently on. Starting witha repeated electronic motif, it incorporates piano chord harmonics, tasteful bass notes, and swirling jazz drum patterns that interplay wonderfully with beautiful string arrangements, altogether creating a truly captivating character.

The release is comprised of both the original version as well as a the arrangement without the drums. The Motion Orchestra is currently in the process of producing their live show for performances of the debut album.

Any jazz lover will tell you that one of the main considerations in their appreciation of jazz is spontaneity, and the freedom it gives to improvise. In jazz, freedom is everything.

Here we have a record that was recorded simply because some musicians met in the studio one day in 1996. They were not under instruction, they had no plans. What they had was the presence of mind to make music with one another, free to collaborate and spontaneously create new sounds.

Drummer Harbans Srih tells us about 'Short story from Tabla, Drums & Trumpet': "We were tracking some funky jazz with a full band.
All left at the end except for Pandit and myself. As there was a bit of time left I said to Pandit to have some fun tracking tabla and drums. Engineer pressed the record button and off we went without any prior rehearsal. This take is the result. Colin had turned up, took one listen and said he'd like to play trumpet on it. Again without any particular discussion he went in and recorded this take, resulting in this fusion of Indo-Jazz."

... And then in 2003, 'Oye Maia' came about: "We met at the recording studio one afternoon. I had an idea of recording an Indian themed track and had brought along a kalimba. I showed it to Shanti who started to play it. It was suggested that he recorded a 2 bar loop while Pandit and I performed alongside. Shanti then improvised on trumpet utilising Indian phrasing. The track was named after his daughter Maia, and translated it means 'Listen Maia'."

German guitarist, bandleader and producer JJ Whitefield has been spearheading several musical sub-genres over the last two decades. His bands Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield Brothers and Karl Hector & The Malcouns are almost legendary to fans worldwide.

He has been releasing influencial albums on Ninja Tune, Mo'Wax, Daptone, Strut, Stones Throw and Now-Again and is probably one of the most respected German undergound musicians. Now he is reaching new levels of nastiness with his Kraut-Jazz debut for Kryptox music. The new german label that has been created to show what's happening in the growing german Neo-Jazz underground. A label collaboration between Gomma and K7 Records

Hard-hitting Finnish trio Mopo celebrates their 10th anniversary with a special digi EP / 7" single on We Jazz Records featuring three new tracks. "A Night In Zetor" and "Jauzaa" show a new side of the beloved group with extended, slowly building sonic narratives. "Die Mopo" is an upbeat, acid-y slice of the trio's more electronic side. The release sees Mopo reach out for new worlds of sound and as such, it presents a fine culmination of the beloved band's ten years of friendship and music.

The 7" release comes in a picture sleeve with a "cut-out" Mopo 7-inch adapter.

Linking the ancient and the modern across time and space, the Sokratis Votskos Quartet presents Sketching the Unknown – a modern jazz journey into the folk and modal music of ancient Greece.

Playing rich original compositions, the Quartet draw freely on Greek and Balkan folk sources, jazz idioms, and the classical makams of the near East. Returning to ancient Greek modes such as Dorian, Phrygian and Lydian, a fresh perspective is brought to the modal style that was popularised by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. Expertly versed in musical theory, the pioneering jazz players that adapted these modes for the new jazz of the late 1950s and 1960s worked in full knowledge of their ancient Greek historical origins. The musical freedom offered by these ancient scales helped them take their music to a higher level as they laid the groundwork for the spiritual moment in jazz.

On Sketching the Unknown, the Sokratis Votskos Quartet brings that process full circle, linking today's jazz back to the ancient modes and microtonal folk music of Greece and the Near East. Deep modal jazz sounds from an ancient source!

'Esoteric, modal and deep jazz from Prestige Records, 1961-73'
The tenth edition of our Spiritual Jazz series takes a closer look at the music Prestige was recording at the start of the 1960s. This was the period when the modal jazz sound pioneered by Miles and Coltrane was starting to percolate through the jazz underground.

In its heyday, Prestige was the only jazz label that could hold a candle to Blue Note. Prestige was always quick off the mark to record new artists, and in the years after Kind of Blue the label was quick to release some of the most innovative early explorers of the new style.

Founded as New Jazz in 1949 by 20-year old jazz fan and entrepreneur Bob Weinstock, Prestige was the only other imprint besides Blue Note to capture the iconic jazz sounds of the 1950s, and like its rival it grew to be an icon itself.

If Blue Note documented the sound of hard bop in its most carefully crafted and beautifully presented form, the low-key, jam-session approach that Weinstock preferred meant that the music captured by Prestige has a tough, unfiltered energy that was a lot closer to way it was being played live, night after night, by New York's most prominent jazz musicians.

Featuring Afro-Eastern visions from Yusef Lateef and Ahmed Abdul-Malik, deep modal excursions from Mal Waldron and Walt Dickerson, and essential spiritual jazz grooves from Gary Bartz and Idris Muhammed, Spiritual Jazz vol. 10 documents the sound of modal jazz in full flight, unabashed and authentic from the pioneers!

- 2LP gatefold with comprehensive liner notes & pics

Wanubalé - nine guys from Berlin, inspired by the city's fresh Jazz scene and distinct club culture. Wanubalé met at school. Five of the nine in the band went to the same musical high school in Berlin.
Heavy influences from Jazz, Neo Soul and Funk shape their compositions. However, electronic sounds are just as important to Wanubalé. All of the nine are in their early twenties. All of them are into Dub, Bass Music and Broken Beats. And several members are DJs, as well. The Wanubalés are first rate musicians. They tend to take their time writing arrangements, yet they are careful not to overly emphasize their Jazz skills. Songwriting is a collaborative affaire, everything is developed organically.
Just like the band name, which dates back to the days of fooling around in the schoolyard, playing with syllables ("nuba" came first). Sound was crucial. Some say "Wanubalé" means "brother" in Swahili. Wanubalé: four horns, two drummers, guitar, bass, keyboards. Nine musicians with a knack for funky breaks, mighty brass sounds and great melodies. The musicians don't hide their influences: Snarky Puppy, Fat Freddy's Drop, plus younger acts like Hiatus Kaiyote. But Wanubalé do their own thing.
Wanubalé: four horns, two drummers, guitar, bass, keyboards. Nine musicians with a knack for funky breaks, mighty brass sounds and great melodies. All songs are written, produced and arranged by Wanubalé. Recorded at Jazzanova Studio, Berlin.

Underrated jazz musician and composer Gianni Safred is one of the great pioneers of Italian electronic music, and had proven his talent in a couple of ultra-rare and highly sought-after library records released by renowned Italian label Music Scene. FUTURIBILE was the second of the batch, composed and recorded in 1978 in his Trieste-based studio, using Minimoog, Polymoog, Arp Odyssey, Arp Omni, Fender Rhodes, Sequencer Roland, Space Echo Roland, and accompanied by a solid drum section. The whole album is crazy, with spooky and mysterious grooves that sounds both modern and danceable. An incredible electronic disco-jazz album, full of deep breaks and beats, along with dope overlapping synths, resulting in minimalistic proto-house tunes. A record that will take you both back in time and forward into the future. These sounds are suitable for space travels, space exploration, experiments, fantastic adventures, future enterprises, interplanetary stories, important achievements, industrial accomplishments of broad implications, modern scientific discoveries, and new industrial events.

The Helsinki-based Bowman Trio return with their second LP on We Jazz Records on October 18. "Persistence" is a strong effort, showcasing the young trio's knack at creating dynamic, sparse and memorable music which carries well the term "loft jazz" occasionally attached to it. Here, drummer Sami Nummela, trumpeter Tomi Nikku and bassist Joonas Tuuri present 9 strong originals, 8 of which are penned by Nummela and one by Nikku.

On the course of the new album, Bowman Trio moves from the introspective, calm moments of "Badwater", "Mac Elliot" and "Mä en jaksa" to the full swing of "The Chase" and the solid grind of "Persistence". The album closing track "Sista sommardagen" ("The last day of summer" in Swedish) is a hauntingly beautiful, delicately breezy ballad. Two years in the making, the album is a testament to the album title and a fine example of a band taking time in developing their sound to perfection.

Bowman Trio debuted in 2016 with the group's first LP also being the first release on Helsinki's We Jazz Records, and since then their reputation has grown in Finland and beyond. The trio is known for making music which invites the listener in and takes it sweet time in unraveling its secrets. Their sound is somewhat dry, naturally relaxed and there's a lot of room for manoeuvre within it for all of the players. That being said, each of the musicians in the trio know how to play for their team, and the compositions move forward constantly and effortlessly. Bowman Trio makes music which always feels close to you, like you're right there in the room with the band. That's "loft jazz".