Pop & Rock News

One of the best albums of the late '60s and Tim Buckley's most underrated album, "Happy Sad" was a change-up pitch for the eclectic L.A. singer/songwriter. Sounding like Fred Neil's albums, Buckley and his small, acoustic-based ensemble create beautiful, jazz tinged folk-rock. On red vinyl.

The Coltrane Legacy
Recorded at the Palace of Culture (Congress Hall) 23rd October 1987 Warsaw, Poland (Jazz Jamboree festival).
Courtesy of The Jazz Society of Warsaw.

Numbered edition of 1000 for Record Store Day 2017.

Features a previously unreleased recording of a solo harp improvisation by Alice Coltrane, known also by her sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda.

Right after LA POLIZIA INCRIMINA, LA LEGGE ASSOLVE (HIGH CRIME), the magic duo of Italian poliziotteshi conceive yet another highlight of the genre - the groovy, melancholic score of MILANO TREMA: LA POLIZIA VULE GIUSTIZIA (THE VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS, 1973), which perfectly sets the tone of metropolitan violence presented on the screen. A dramatic sound, which preludes the acidprog and gloomy music created for IL GRANDE RACKET (THE BIG RACKET) just three years later, with lots of flutes, clavinet, frenzied percussions, deep basslines and experimental effects.

The result is a disturbing atmosphere of suspence, always on the verge of exploding in deep piano notes that highlight the most violent moments of the film. With the main theme Blue Song', repeated several times with endless instrumental variations, the De Angelis brothers set a dark-romantic atmosphere which becomes a manifesto of disenchantment and the perfect accompaniment for the detective story.

Four Flies Records, in collaboration with Bloodbuster Edizioni, is proud to present the complete soundtrack for the first time on vinyl (only the two songs of the movie were published before on a 7''-inch by RCA), featuring exclusive liner notes by the film's director,

Sergio Martino.

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- Four Flies Records explores

Piero Umiliani's Sound Work Shop archives to select rare and unreleased tracks - First archive compilation of Piero Umiliani's work for the Rome-based record label and the first one focussing on Piero Umiliani in recent years - Exotica, psychedelic jazz-funk, proto-trip hop: this selection is a cross-cutting portrait of Umiliani's activity during the golden years of his Sound Work Shop, the

studio-laboratory where he has been playing, creating and experimenting with total freedom from 1969 to 1983

- The compilation will be released as a limited edition 2LP, accompanied by Four Flies' Pierpaolo De Sanctis liner notes and archive images. Four Flies Records strikes again, releasing their first archive compilation of Piero Umiliani's work and the first compilation focussing on the Maestro's legacy in years. Studio Umiliani' is a collection of sunken treasures and hidden beauties yet to be

re-released, and of stunning unpublished works surprisingly unknown for quite some time. The project, born from the initial effort of Andrea Fabrizii, who has far and wide been exploring Umiliani's soundtracks before anyone else, led Four Flies research to seek for new unreleased recordings at the Maestro's archive. A challenge that Pierpaolo De Sanctis from Four Flies Records accepted without hesitation - with the help of the Umiliani family. His two daughters Alessandra and Elisabetta Umiliani, true keepers of their father's memory, together with their husbands Francesco Argento and John Linkowski, and of course, Piero's wife Stefania Baffa, have been pivotal in compiling this exciting project.

The result is a cross-cutting portrait of Umiliani's activity during the golden years of his Sound Work Shop, the studio- laboratory where he has been playing, creating and experimenting with total freedom from 1969 to 1983.

One of the most unique albums on the Strata East label - and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the creative energies flowing through that legendary jazz outlet! Descendents Of Mike & Phoebe is a righteous little project put together by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, and his brothers and sisters (Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims, and Consuela Lee Moorhead) - working here in a group named after their slave ancestors, who are paid tribute in a beautifully flowing batch of tunes! Lee's round, warm bass tones are firmly at the head of the group on most numbers - recorded at a similar level to his excellent work with Clifford Jordan on Strata East during the same time - and other instrumentation includes piano from Consuela, flugelhorn from Cliff, and percussion from Sonny Brown and Billy Higgins - all used in a wonderfully evocative style that's even better than some of Lee's later soundtrack work. A few numbers feature vocals from Grace - singing wordlessly and with a really heavenly sort of quality - and together, the whole group have an undeniable sense of power and majesty, yet also one that's touched by a really personal sense of poetry too. Titles include a great version of Lee's "Coltrane", which was more famously recorded with Clifford Jordan.

By Drago Museveni

The Ellington performance is best remembered for Paul Gonsalves' multiple choruses on Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue', which brought the audience's excitement level to its zenith and led to a resurgence in Duke's popularity. He used to say in later years that he had been born' at Newport '56. From that point on he was a regular attraction at the festival (as well as many other similar festivals that began to appear later). Ellington tended to introduce new pieces at these events, and the album Festival Session was a studio recording that primarily featured tunes he had presented at the Newport and Playboy jazz festivals during 1959. Two songs have been added to the original album that complete the session.

In November/ December 1961 Ella and Nelson reunited again in the studio for a series of sessions which produced the album Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson. In fact, the dates produced much more material than necessary for a single LP, so in April of 1962 the singer and arranger got together for a couple of sessions more which would round out a second album, Ella Swings Gentle with Nelson (Verve V6-4055).

Esquivel is widely considered the king of a style of late 1950s early 1960s instrumental pop known today as lounge music. His orchestration tended toward the very lush, employing novel instrumental combinations such as Chinese bells, mariachi bands, whistling, and numerous percussion instruments blended with orchestra, mixed chorus, and his own heavily ornamented piano style.

"The King of Space Age Pop...Esquivel's use of stereo recording is legendary."

The period cover of "Other Worlds, Other Sounds" says it all. Like the woman in red dancing on a moonscape, this 1958 LP was all about fantasy. Esquivel wasn't afraid to fantasize about his instrumentation nor the new audio sound known as "stereophonic or Hi Fi". At the time, Esquivel was using this new technique to its fullest by arranging the music in a unique manner as well as considering right channel-left channel. Voices ring back and forth between speakers, horns explode out of nowhere and piano sounds cascade out of the stereo. This is what hi-fi was all about. It is seamless, quite enjoyable and rather magical.

The sessions that produced this album marked the first of only two studio albums featuring Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan. Basically this is the same instrumentation employed by Mulligan in his classic pianoless quartet with Chet Baker, but with Desmond's alto instead of Baker's trumpet. A highly lyrical player, Desmond's sound fits exactly with the deep sound of Mulligan's baritone sax, and their interplay is very satisfying. Their second album, titled Two of a Mind, would be recorded in 1962, and after that Mulligan and Desmond would be reunited for several concerts, mostly featuring Gerry as a guest of the Dave Brubeck quartet. Their last recorded encounter dates back to a Berlin performance on November 4, 1972.

Bashin' -The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith (Verve V6-8474), presented Smith for the first time in front of a big band, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson. The four big band sides filled Side A of the LP, while Side B contained three trio tracks taped during the same sessions, featuring Smith's regular guitarist and drummer, Quentin Warren and Donald Bailey, respectively.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- GATEFOLD SLEEVE
- FIRST PRESSING OF 1.000 INDIVIDUALLY
NUMBERED COPIES ON TRANSPARENT VINYL

Seven is the seventh studio album by Soft Machine, released in 1973. Roy Babbington, who had previously contributed to Fourth (MOVLP1601) and Fifth (MOVLP1599) on double bass as a session musician, replaced Hugh Hopper on bass guitar, who left to begin a solo career.

Their unique take on jazz rock was groundbreaking. Seven is a highly diverse album combining minimal, spacey elements and some great instrumental jamming. It was also the last of their studio releases to carry a numbered title.

A limited run of 1.000 copies will be available on transparent vinyl.

The Green Line is a new project from Oliver Cherer under the name 'Gilroy Mere'. Trading as Dollboy, Rhododendron, and Australian Testing Labs as well as his own name, Oliver has meandered his way through the backwaters of left of centre English folk, ambient and electronic music, issuing numerous albums of original music to much critical acclaim via highly regarded boutique labels such as Static Caravan, Second Language, Deep Distance, Polytechnic Youth, and Awkward Formats.

The Green Line is an instrumental album inspired by the buses that once linked central London to country towns. Established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1930s, with their striking green livery they were a common sight in the outer London suburbs.

The Green Line is written as a remembrance of childhood trips into the exterior via the green double and single decker buses that took Londoners out to the countryside. It was recorded at his home studio in Sussex using a collection of instruments and obsolete electronics amassed over a lifetime of being unable to resist junk shops, charity shops and car boot sales.

Basil Kirchin was a unique talent. A man brought up as a drummer in the post war big band era, he soon shunned the sounds of London ballrooms for world travel, marijuana and spiritual enlightenment. On his return to London in the mid 1960s he started work on experimental sound picture music', a direction that led him into horror film music, library music and eventually to field recordings. He then developed the idea of slowing down the sounds of bird, insects, animals, autistic children - anything he recorded in fact - to reveal the hidden particles of sound that made them up. Mixing this with free jazz improvisation in 1969 he developed a new, peculiar sound that we now know as ambient'. Here, in this unique Trunk Record's sampler, we offer a fascinating musical glimpse into his world, bringing together work from three decades, PLUS parts of a long conversation between Jonny Trunk and Basil Kirchin recorded a few months before he died. There is unreleased film music, field recordings including autistic children from Schurmatt, music for advertising, the opening of Quantum', brilliant mixes of jazz and birds ( Charcoal Sketches'), the newly discovered digital post punk classic Silicon Chip' plus brilliant and moving homages to his life with Esther, his wife. Together it makes extraordinary listening.

A solar flare of cosmic sounds heralded the rising star Sun Ra when the pianist, composer and band leader first shone over the musical landscape in the 1950s and 1960s. He caused quite a stir with innovative albums that introduced electronics, special effects and unusual arrangements into a jazz world that sometimes slid into comfortable conservatism, despite its radical roots. This comprehensive collection of the best recordings from the formative stages of his career, enables the listener to hear with fresh ears the legendary Mr. Ra's unique contribution.

The Year of the Rooster is upon us... It was a hot winters day in Miami, Scone along guitarist Jason Joshua and drummer, Eddie Garcia built a studio by hand with a mirror on the ceiling. Together they put the current issues in their lives and focused on making the grooving-est, Funkiest & most tragic Hammond Organ music ever. This time around they recruited sax master Ian Hendrickson-Smith from the legendary The Roots &
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Also joining them is the elusive master percussionist Jose El Gavilan' Pena. Take an organ driven soulful ride with The Scone Cash Players.

Scone Cash Players are currently on their US tour return with
Ian Hendrickson-Smith from The Roots for this organ soul
heater Catch Adam Scone on tour in Europe with The Sugarman 3 (Daptone Records)

Los Propios Bateros began as a quest to discover a common Colombian rhythm pattern that could connect music from all over the Americas. Spearheading this experiment is prolific drummer and percussionist Pedro Ojeda (Romperayo, Los Pirañas, Ondatropica), who has spent years researching popular rhythmic styles preserved on the bounty of recorded Colombian treasures dating from the 1950s, '60s and '70s — treasures that have, outside of a burgeoning new generation of collectors, mostly been poorly preserved and ignored by the general public. Ojeda has documented this quest on a feature length film produced in tandem with Estudio Elgozo, shining light on many of the Colombian drum masters (the propios bateros) that are still alive, including Guillermo Navas, Plinio Córdoba, Germán Chavarriaga, Wilson Viveros and Juancho Cuao among many others. The production of the documentary serendipitously led to the most fabulous of recordings, presented on this single by Names You Can Trust, when the great Guillermo Navas and Germán Chavarriaga, as well as Ojeda himself and an all-star cast of younger generation musicians, assembled for a jam session in Bogotá. These two studio recordings are master classes in Colombian descarga and pompo, loose and improvised jams with a seductive, seasoned groove and flavor that is unmistakably Colombian, and inherently timeless.

'Malik' is an unreleased song that was recorded in the early 1980s and features legendary percussionist Bill Summers amongst the players. The sprightly jazz dancer keeps the pressure high with a strong lead which culminates with a series of male and females harmonies to die for at the end. For the first time ever 'A Fool No Longer' is now available on 7" vinyl after originally being included on a German rock compilation in 1981.

This is available for pre-order and is a Love Vinyl DRS Ltd distribution title.

- Numbered limited edition of 500 units

Jazz pioneer Clark Terry aka Mumbles' has been one of the most original trumpet players of his generation. In his long lasting career he has been collaborating with people of the likes of Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Barnet, and Oscar Peterson. As told by the artist himself Serenade to a Bus Seat is a kind of autobiographical album, the bus is indeed the metaphoric image of the life of the jazz orchestra in constant movement. On this LP, Clark Terry comes into his own. It does not seem exaggeration to say that a few more like this will establish him as a truly major jazz figure.'

Freddie Hubbard was one of the most prolific jazz trumpeters in the business. He played a hot and sassy horn! When he was teamed up with George Benson, Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter (just to name a few) on this one of many Creed Taylor-produced collaborations, he most deservedly won the Grammy!

The opening title song "First Light" has an ethereal beginning with a diverse arrangement. An unusual arrangement of Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is most satisfying. Henry Mancini's "Moment To Moment" has a hauntingly sweet sound. "Lonely Town" is darkly complex.

There are many sides and moods to each of the songs within this original work. With stylish jazzy rhythms and rich orchestrations, this is THE Freddie Hubbard album to have!

By Beverly Praiswateron

- Numbered limited edition of 300 units
- Bonus Track included

With a group of musicians assembled for the occasion, pianist/composer/theorist George Russell goes into Riverside's studios in 1960 to record Ezz-Thetics. Nowadays frequently found on greatest jazz albums' lists, this fantastic record is difficult to categorize and that's for the best. Exacerbated be-bop, modal concepts, hardbop and even hints at burgeoning free-jazz give this opus a unique and enchanting sound. Success always has many fathers. On one hand the compositions are remarkable, the four from Russell unfold with a surprising phrasing that avoids well-trodden paths. Miles Davis Nardis' is beautifully rearranged and Dave Baker's Honesty' adds a bluesy touch that doesn't hurt the overall cohesion. On the other hand you've got the soloists. Baker isn't afraid to play fast and precise on his trombone, Don Ellis displays his effects but above all Eric Dolphy who already steals the show with his alto solo on the first track. And if all that wasn't enough the album closes on one of the best version of Monk's classic Round Midnight' where Dolphy just dominates and proves his style also works on ballads (from AllMusic)

PLUS TWO BONUS TRACKS! This is an ancient Blue Note rarity recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary studio in 1956 with legendary bass man Paul Chambers doing the deep notes. First press originals in adequate condition go for about 500 Euro. So what does this sextet featuring trumpeters Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan with tenor saxophone hero Hank Mobley as bandleader and piano madcap Horace Silver backing the rhythm section with his extraordinary chord progressions have to offer The album is widely labeled as hard bop' and it shows a great development from the mid to late 1940s bebop scene where John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and other now mystical protagonists brought the swinging dance music of the even older big bands to a new level of sophistication and still maintained an earthy and highly spirited atmosphere. Same goes for the hard bop and post bop scene of the later half of the 1950s from which finally modal jazz and free jazz emerged within the wink of an eye. All four lengthy compositions on this album are still one step behind the next level and show a playfully jamming band executing comprehensible harmony lines backed by tricky yet enthralling grooves that in the end move straight forward despite the rhythm section playing mostly around the pulse. The duels of both trumpets and the tenor sax heat up one's soul as they are aligned with the racy rhythm patterns. The melodies themselves are quite cheerful and cool. When Paul Chambers takes the bow in one passage of the fourth tune Mobleymania' and scratches some cool lines backed up with an everflowing drum pulse nobody may sit still. All six musicians here are fairly well connected with each other in terms of playing tightly to what the next improvises. Especially Mobley burns with every note he plays and if you bushwhack through to the core that carries the steaming dialogues between trumpets and saxophone you will find some maniacs building rhythmical patterns par excellence. This album certainly demands many spins before you will be aware of every beautiful detail. Indeed a classic of 1950s jazz aside from the greasy mainstream sound. Let's go wild with Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- HIGH QUALITY PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
- GATEFOLD SLEEVE INCLUDING INSIDE LINER
NOTES
- A GREAT SELECTION OF HITS AND TRACKS, FEATURING LOVE GAMES', HOT WATER', RUNNING
IN THE FAMILY', LESSONS IN LOVE' AND MANY MORE
- LIMITED PRESSING OF 750 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON TRANSPARENT GREEN VINYL

In the early eighties Level 42 started out as a jazz-funk fusion band in the United Kingdom, formed by Mark King and the Gould brothers (Phil and Rowland). During
the Brit Funk era, they met up with Mike Lindup and Wally Badarou (who would become a fifth member in all but name) and recorded their first single Love Meeting Love'.

Their follow-up Love Games' cracked the UK Top 40 and had success in Europe. What followed was a string of minor hits with The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up),
Hot Water' but the big breakthrough was with Something About You' in 1985.

The single was Level 42's first American hit, and would do well on both sides of the Ocean. The band carried on delivering hits through their funky, jazzy songs with
finger popping good grooves and infectious rhythms.
During the following years up until today, Level 42 are recording records and continue to tour the world, although in a slightly different line-up.


The Collected double vinyl album contains a selection of their songs from the earlier years of Starchild' up until Tracie' and Take A Look'.


These tracks, specially remastered for vinyl, are exciting, standing the test of time,delivered by a timeless band.

This album is made of six numbers from the famous Town Hall concert of 1947, plus offerings from four others, which if not perhaps quite so famous are nevertheless all more than worthy of your attention. Armstrong's playing in these days was something to marvel at, and his presence a vitalising effect upon any musicians who teamed up with him. Teagarden never played or sung better than he did here (St. James Infirmary to note), but nor for that matter did Bigard. Vic Dickenson, Johnnv Hodges, or any of the other musicians who haunt these tracks. The standard throughout is very high, but no one, however well they play, can approach the brilliance of Louis as he soars into his first chorus on Misbehavin' with the control and majesty of a seagull on the wing. Teagarden plays well enough on this track, but sandwiched between Louis' solo and a fantastic lead-in to his final chorus, he sounds almost dull by comparison. Save It, Pretty Mama is another tour de force, with Louis playing a solo that is supreme for tightness, and relaxation. The two tracks with Duke are full of interest. Hodges blows beautifully. Duke plays some pleasant piano on Journey, and Pops comes on with a blues vocal which is quite inimitable. Snafu, a boppish kind of tune, doesn't suit Louis quite so well, but as usual he can dig his way out of any situation with his horn. Little Girl and Mahogany Hall feature a much more basic beat and Louis plays in a style much nearer New Orleans than was usual in these days. Ory takes a splendid chorus on the second named tune, and the work of both drummers is exceptional.

But everything is good and Armstrong's work so consistently brilliant and vastly entertaining, that it is a set you must not miss on any account.

By Sinclair Traill

Even half a Mal is more greatness than many people out there could take. Mel Waldron was another 1950s master of hard bop jazz and finds himself in illustrious company on his 1957 debut album. John Coltrane and Sahib Shihab are masters of tenor and alto saxophone and jazz freaks break into a sweat of joy when they hear these names. Coltrane alone could be a reason to fall in love with this record. You can always hear his very original kind of playing the tenor. No wonder that first pressings of this gem of an album go for 250 USD and even more in fine conditions. It might be a lesser known participation of the great John Coltrane with another bandleader but as he glows permanently on this album the rest of the musicians do the same. The band goes full throttle when needed but there are also thought provoking slow tunes generating an atmosphere of melancholy when Waldron makes his piano sing a dark ballad while the drummer barely stands out and just backs up the whole composition with a low key beat linked to the equally reluctant bass line. Trumpet and tenor come in play after a while to moan wearily on top of that reduced rhythmical pattern. Dark and smoke filled bars in a nameless American metropolis are exactly, what associate with these haunting melodies. And out of a sudden the band gains pace and the whole atmosphere becomes more and more cheerful. The grooves are swinging and good for a dance or two. The leading instruments alto sax, tenor sax and trumpet chatter frolicsome like a bunch of youngsters on a night out in town. These changes of atmosphere are one of the strong points of this record. Another is the overall tight interplay of all instruments. These cats were hard-nosed veterans of the jazz genre taking the 1940s dance club sounds to another level. Bebop turns into hard bop and this album shows the dignity in such a crystal clear way.

Sarah Vaughan signed for Columbia in 1949 & her chart successes continued with the charting of "Black Coffee" in the summer of 1949. During her tenure at Columbia through 1953, Vaughan was steered almost exclusively to commercial pop ballads, a number of which had chart success.

No matter what she's singing you can't help but notice her amazing control and range. She's able to float effortlessly from the lowest end of the scale to the highest without effort. Her singing is as much second nature as breathing is to most of us.

I don't know if you've ever heard the term phrasing applied to singing, it's not something you hear often anymore. To be honest it's not something I'm sure I can define. The closest I can come to is it refers to a singer's ability to associate the lyrics of a song with the music. However, it means more than just being able to carry a tune. It's how you sing the words and music together. It's the ability to turn your voice into a lead instrument in a band and take one word and extend it over a whole series of notes. However it doesn't just mean the ability to sustain a note, it's continuing to sing the melody but with only one or a few words without them losing meaning or throwing the continuity of the song out of whack.

Listen to Vaughan wrap her voice around a word and you begin to understand what is meant by the term. You also realize why you don't hear the term used very often anymore as very few modern singers have this ability. To be fair the music of today doesn't really lend itself to that style of singing either. However hearing a singer of the quality of Vaughan you begin to regret its passing. I'm sure there are jazz singers around who have the ability, but we don't hear them on a regular basis.

Of course it's this ability which allowed her to be equally comfortable with any style of music she wished to sing. On this LP we hear her sail through a series of smoothly orchestrated pop tunes. Even the version of Gershwin's "Summertime" is given the uptempo treatment. This might have been a collection of rather commercial standards, but she gives them a soulfulness that raises them above the level of just another pop song. She might not be as emotionally raw as Billie Holliday, but that doesn't stop her from being able to imbue even the simplest of songs with the heart necessary to make them soar.

By Richard Marcus

This record has first been released in 1956 as Byrd jazz' with Donald Byrd as declared band leader but there were several versions of it over the years. The last reissue has been about three decades ago and so it is more than time to go for another fresh print of this back row classic of the 1950s jazz scene. On these recordings we get some floating and grooving hard bop with an ever pulsating rhythm section, dueling tenor sax by Lateef and trumpet by Byrd plus solo slots for bass, drums and piano. The leading instruments generate a cheerful atmosphere and make this live album a blissful experience for every lover of the mid 50s hard bop sound. The passion of the musicians grabs the audience immediately and when the melodies pour out of your speakers you will be captured as well by this pure essence of jazz. Far from later modal and even free jazz monoliths these catchy tunes are quite easy to follow. The band is tight and this is a great advantage. Every note, every beat of the drums sits in the right place as if they have always been there and just had to be made audible by the band. It is indeed like the sculptor who already sees the glyph within the block of marble and just sets it free. The music plays itself through the instruments. Haunting and relaxed passages, cool melodies put into memorable structures. A classic among the hipsters and beatniks with their goatbeards, metal-rimmed glasses and berets drinking, tripping and philosophizing to the sound of this and many other albums that were made from jazz aficionados for their kind.

Supreme MPB/bossa-nova vibes here on both tracks from our leading Brazil 45's lady, Claudia.
'Diexa o Morro Cantar' features on Claudia's very first 7', relaeased in 1965 by RGE Brazil.
Claudia's version 'Mas Que Nada' is more of a jazzy, folk-funk take on the Ben classic. A relatively recent discovery made during our last trip to Brazil.

Gritty & raw tight funk breaks, with Hammond organs, electric pianos, exotic instruments, razor sharp guitar lines & nasty thick bass lines. All recorded live to tape with vintage tube studio gear.

This record is a collaborative between MarQ Spekt and experimental, proto-new wave musician Gary Wilson (Stones Throw). It's rare that you get the opportunity to work with the actual artist rather than just sampling his records. Gary opened his vaults and provided sample soundscapes. Some of these instrumentals date back to 1973 and may have been heard before. Others may not. The ending result is a pure creative expression and meshes Hip-Hop, Psychedelic, Jazz and Funk. Soak up the vibrations and enjoy! This is the kind of idea that makes you enjoy the fringes of rap more than what's in the spotlight. With that said, Broken Mazes' sounds

weirder on paper than it does in the headphones. Gary Wilson is an awesomely strange dude with some outré music under his belt, but for this project Spekt wisely sticks with the more accessible sides of Wilson's catalog. It's all breezy jazz-funk with some vague psychedelic touches for extra oomph, a wide-open field for Spekt to run his free-flowing bars. The result is relaxed and enjoyable, if at times a bit unfocused - kinda like a good open-ended improve session by a talented jazz band.

Hiroshima JAPAN based records label "Eurasian Suite" would be released their first 7inch 45 .

Koichi Ozaki who organized Eurasian Suite from 1990s has already released five 12inch records in Europe.

His songs often play in European radio program ( i.e. Gilles Peterson - BBC World Wide) and contained in European compilation CDs.

This 7inch record contains " Wayo Secchu " (means: the way in which Japanese style and Western style are blended together) Jazzy break beats and highly recommended for interlude for midnight.

Ugly Papas were one of the leading acts in the Belgian rock
scene in the early part of the 90s. 23 years after their final release, they are back with their third full-length album.Feisty indie rock, jazzy loops, Zappa-esque episodes and Fela Kuti rhythms. With Luc Dufourmont (Two Russian Cowboys, ID!OTS, Bevergem) on vocals.

After two hip-hop albums (Got To Get Down in 2016 and Impact in 2017), the unpredictable Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra comes back to its fundamentals with a new instrumental album:
MORPHEUS which repositions the band in the spirit of their previous spatial, almost cosmic albums Last Odyssey (2012) and Pulsion (2015), both released on Ubiquity Records and acclaimed by spiritual and fusion jazz lovers, library music fans, as well as rare grooves diggers (ALVO's first 4 vinyl albums now being out of stock).
Each new ALVO new release is a millesimal which evolved and learned from its predecessors.
Masta Conga, who's still leading the herd, has for main purpose to explore the musical space-time, gaining ground on never before revealed tracks, followed by his now faithful team of atypical and
farseeing musicians.
Compared to Miles Davis and his On The Corner by Wax Poetics, the band dives again in this realm of psychedelia and beyond', in particular with the contribution of Indian musicians. Twirling
around violins, superimposed patchy keyboards and effects, just as if their conductor wasn't already sufficiently influenced by Pierre Boulez and others such as Hiroshi Murakami... The result is however more uncluttered and loaded with multiple vibes than its predecessor Pulsion, which already carried the ceremonial characteristics of cult movie soundtracks. Tracks Moksha',
Air' and Morpheus' are the perfect demonstration, and far beyond their names. Simple grooves, lunar, but terribly efficient, emphasized by a mix that puts focus on these fiddly contributions of ethnic instruments, on percussions and horns on a drip of delay, reverbs and other space-echoes.
On the other side, the very rhythmic Descarga Uno', Descarga Dos' and Super Dopamine' show that the Parisian crew hasn't lost its good habit to look around latin, ternary, and syncopated
rhythms, in the ALVO only style! A new millésime, a Grand Cru maybe, but for sure to taste and appreciate in all weathers including space ones.