Pop & Rock News

Metromonk is the third solo album from celebrated Hang player, percussionist, producer and composer, Manu Delago. The LP finds this boundary-testing artist distilling and delicately exploring extremes of dynamics and mood, manipulating the Hang in experimental and inventive ways, the many voices and tones of this rare instrument are given top billing among a minimalistic palette of beats and acoustic sources. Additional touches come from vocalists Douglas Dare (Erased Tapes), Pete Josef (Sonar Kollektiv, Reprazent) and Isa Kurz, and legendary trumpeter Erik Truffaz (Blue Note), while Matt Robertson (Björk, The Streets, Bat For Lashes) reprises his regular role as co-producer.
I wanted to create fresh, electronic soundscapes that are generated through live performance and therefore feel organic and human', Delago explains. Almost all of the effects on the Hang are applied live during one-take performances. It may initially sound like programming or production, but it's all happening there in the moment'.
In its deft treatment of temperaments and dynamics, the album diverges into two sections, which Delago thinks of as the inner world of head, heart and soul versus the lively hips and feet - or, alternatively, mountains versus metropolitan city (the two main geographical backdrops to his life). This meeting of worlds is reflected in the album title, which he hit upon when he saw a Buddhist monk gliding through the busy streets of Bangkok.
The world's leading Hang player, Manu Delago has had over five million YouTube views and featured heavily in BBC Radio documentary on the instrument. While his last album saw him diversifying with multiple layers of synths, electronic production and a wide range of instruments, 'Metromonk' restores his virtuosic Hang playing to centre stage.

In 1974, a brash young designer called Augustus Kerry Taylor had an idea. He'd gather together the hottest musicians in Ghana and record an album of the heaviest and funkiest sounds coming out of America. And this time, he wouldn't just design the cover, like he'd done with Fela Kuti, he'd even release it on his new label, Emporium, as well. Local Accra legends Joe Wellington, Jagger Botchway, Leslie Addy, Officer Toro, Oko Ringo, Soldier and Steve answered the call. They were christened the Kelenkye Band and gelled immediately. Moving World, is a funky, disparate album that exudes a rare warmth, enthusiasm and togetherness. 'Moving World' and 'Brotherhood of Man' are hard, grinding funk. 'Jungle Music' has a more soulful groove. There's also a bit of reggae, 'Dracula Dance', and old-skool highlife, 'Wale Tobite'. Accra's leading DJ, Charlie Sam, declared his mind 'well and truly boggled.' The Kelenkye Band never recorded another album. Augustus Kerry Taylor shut down Emporium and went back to designing album covers. But in Moving World they delivered a perfect moment of funk alchemy that has rightly become the Holy Grail of 70's Ghanian groove.

In 1974, a brash young designer called Augustus Kerry Taylor had an idea. He'd gather together the hottest musicians in Ghana and record an album of the heaviest and funkiest sounds coming out of America. And this time, he wouldn't just design the cover, like he'd done with Fela Kuti, he'd even release it on his new label, Emporium, as well. Local Accra legends Joe Wellington, Jagger Botchway, Leslie Addy, Officer Toro, Oko Ringo, Soldier and Steve answered the call. They were christened the Kelenkye Band and gelled immediately. Moving World, is a funky, disparate album that exudes a rare warmth, enthusiasm and togetherness. 'Moving World' and 'Brotherhood of Man' are hard, grinding funk. 'Jungle Music' has a more soulful groove. There's also a bit of reggae, 'Dracula Dance', and old-skool highlife, 'Wale Tobite'. Accra's leading DJ, Charlie Sam, declared his mind 'well and truly boggled.' The Kelenkye Band never recorded another album. Augustus Kerry Taylor shut down Emporium and went back to designing album covers. But in Moving World they delivered a perfect moment of funk alchemy that has rightly become the Holy Grail of 70's Ghanian groove.

DJ Sotofet has rearranged two Finnish jazz funk classics from mid 70's that came out in original form on Jazzpuu in 2001.

A score as iconic as Jackie O herself by experimental British musician Mica Levi, best known for her ethereal score to 2013's sleeper hit Under the Skin.


Jackie is the upcoming biographical film from Chilean director Pablo Larraín. Starring Natalie Portman (Black Swan) in the title role, the movie follows Jacqueline Kennedy from the days when she was First Lady of the White House to the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Critically lauded since its debut at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Best Screenplay Award, Jackie also received the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival and is a heavy favourite going into awards season.

The score to Jackie was composed by experimental British musician Mica Levi, best known for her ethereal score to 2013's sleeper hit Under the Skin. Mournful and eerie with a touch of the surreal, Levi has delivered an unmistakable musical tapestry every bit as iconic as Jackie O herself.

The legendary Screamin' Jay Hawkins was one of pop's most colourful characters, a one-man circus sideshow with some of the most memorable routines - and props - the music world had ever witnessed. Yet the author of the R&B standard 'I Put A Spell On You' was also an accomplished and serious musician, as his many vintage recordings demonstrate.

While Hawkins recorded prolifically during the 1950s and 1969s, he only released three long-players during that same period. The second of these, The Night And Day Of Screaming Jay Hawkins' is not only the rarest, but was for many years considered the strangest. Recorded in London in 1965 with UK session men and issued the following year on Shel Talmy's Planet label, the record's fascinating blend of louche lounge balladry, frantic R&B workouts and cool club groove is now regarded as a quintessential mod-jazz artefact.

Ace's The Planet Sessions' sees the first official reissue for this overlooked gem, and the original album's running time is doubled with unissued stereo variants, alternate takes and a pair of exciting outtakes, all drawn from the original Abbey Road session tapes. Detailed notes spell out Hawkins' various UK sojourns during the mid-1960s. All in all, The Planet Sessions' is not only a reappraisal, but a reaffirmation of the bizarre genius of Screamin' Jay Hawkins

The latest project from two-thirds of Saint Etienne is a compact disc and deluxe double LP of English music that represented the transition from psychedelia to prog as the 60s moved into the 70s. Most of it is not an easy listen, but it's always interesting, melodic, melancholy, with jazz and folk touches.

While America may have licked its wounds at the turn of the seventies by turning to singer-songwriters, purveyors of homilies like teach your children well', Britain wasn't so ready to give up the trappings of psychedelia. And while the UK counterculture may have shed its faith in something bigger', it wasn't about to chuck out the mellotron.

This is how the day after the sixties felt: damp, fuzzy-headed, neither optimistic nor pessimistic but more than a little lost. British bands would mirror the ennui of the new decade with a new kind of music.

Lavishly put together, with two of Peter Mitchell's iconic photographs of 1970's Leeds.

The double LP is on 180g clear vinyl with a heavy card sleeve.

Though she had been performing professionally since the late 1920s, as a teenager in Harlem, during its Renaissance, the immortal Billie Holiday didn't play a single night on the European continent until 1954. It was in that year that the great journalist and musician Leonard Feather, and a Swedish promoter organized the Jazz Club U.S.A. tour, named after Feather's wildly popular radio program. Featuring Red Norvo, Sonny Clark, and more, the centerpiece of Jazz Club U.S.A. was, undoubtedly, Lady Day. Recorded at various dates across the tour, Lady Love shows Holiday still had it, despite the turmoil, and drug and alcohol abuse, her voice remained strong, a stunning document of one of America's greatest treasures on her first ever tour of Europe. Reissued on 180 gram LP with download code, with 5 bonus tracks.

Repress !

Max Roach's 1960 masterwork, We Insist!, is a suite based on the Civil Rights Movement, and involves variations on the theme of the struggle for African Americans to achieve equality in the United States, a struggle that is still all too relevant still. Roach began composing with lyricst Oscar Brown Jr. in 1959, with the initial intention of having the suite performed in 1963, on the 100th anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation. Featuring the wonderful Abbey Lincoln on vocals, as well as Booker Little, Julian Priester, Coleman Hawkins, Olatunji, and more, We Insist! is a truly stunning album, one that knows no equal from that time or since, reissued on 180 gram LP with download code.

* Independent recording artist, Hasan Robinson has turned in his second album under the banner of Bil Basmala. He sits comfortably in the left field / electronic genre showcasing a more original adult contemporary and smooth jazz mixture.
* 'On The Edge Of Forever' contains all the essential blends of artistic 'strangeness' of style. The production: Dusty, intricate loops and samples. Hard jazz, deep funk sounds, but taken so far and so deep from the source as to be absorbed and transformed... Like some alternate reality where Dolphy and Mingus invented the MPC and jazz never ended, and kept on going' (Elamttic)

* But who is Bil Basmala It's hard to say... Information is scant. But that's what the crate diggers love - scarcity... And records like 'On The Edge Of Forever' don't come along very often. It might as well been made by a ghost whose only tether to our corporeal world is the invention of ambient neo soul. For fans of DJ Shadow, Dilla, Mushroom Jazz, and Steely Dan. You need this.(Outside the heard)

* Will that 'level' be reached in Bil Basmala's 'On The Edge Of Forever', Hasan's release-ready album for 2013 Well, the scope remains open for conjecture. But what we do hope is that this brings him his due acknowledgement. Will his style translate to the stage That is the discussion of another day. As of now, we keep our fingers crossed along with Hasan for Bil Basmala 'On The Edge Of Forever'.

New album of previously unreleased music recorded 1962 at Auditorium Maximum/ Freie Universität in Berlin. Austrian genius Friedrich Gulda on piano and baritone saxophone, leading a 13-piece, top-shelf lineup of players featuring Benny Bailey, Erich Kleinschuster, Georg Riedel, Fatty George, Arne Domnérus and Ack van Rooyen. Sparkling modern jazz in front of an excited audience, including Parker`s Anthropology', Monk`s Round About Midnight' plus original material by Gulda and Riedel, with world premiere of Music For Three Soloists And Band'. It is the rhythmic drive, the risk, the absolute contrast to the pale, academic approach I had been taught'. (F.Gulda in New York Times).

New label digging up rare and previously unavailable on 45 funk & soul bombs. First release explores Brazilian and Latin, serving up the jazz-dance monster "Toque De Cuica" by legendary percussionist Airto Moreira, with the dancefloor shaking "Cosa Nostra" by Erlon Chaves and his band doing damage on the B-side.

Original 1960's style instrumental Jamaican jazz, ska, reggae & rocksteady from Portland, OR. Features ex-members of THE
ISRAELITES & CHECKERED CABS. A must for fans of THE SKATALITES, BROOKLYN ATTRACTORS, WESTERN STANDARD TIME, and more. Ten tracks on heavyweight vinyl full color picture sleeve.

JUMP UP and PORK PIE team up to release German ska/reggae legend's Christmas album in a deluxe edition. 13 track LP with bonus color vinyl 7" single and piano sheet music to the title track. A super fun ska/reggae record for the season, includes MEL TORME's "CHRISTMAS AGAIN" and "I SAW MOMMY KISSING".

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Reverse Tree, the new LP from the acclaimed duo of Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney, two musicians who have established themselves as powerful voices working at a unique intersection of contemporary composition, improvisation, and Asian traditional music forms. Either individually or as a pair, they have worked in contexts ranging from performances of traditional Persian and Javanese music to collaborations with Sunn O))), but their work together as a duo (documented on The face of the earth and Aestuarium, both released on Ideological Organ/Editions Mego) most clearly represents the central concerns of their diverse practices: a music of the inner life of sound, demanding ritualistic focus and promising heightened sensations.
On Reverse Tree, the duo expand their work together into the realm of the chamber ensemble, presenting two side-long works that feature Kenney's voice and Kang's viola alongside a multitude of other instrumentalists. Kang's Thoughts on Being Exiled to the Frontier, for Lord Wei, inspired by a text by the Tang dynasty poet Hsueh T'ao, features an all-star international ensemble: Kang, Kenney, maverick Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov on violin, Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, and guitarists Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O'Malley. The piece is primarily composed of irregular patterns of pizzicato notes and guitar harmonics, gently falling in and out of sync and providing a subtly unstable support for Kenney's voice, which sings long, wavering tones, at times reminiscent of Michiko Hirayama's classic performances of Scelsi. Drawing on 20th century instrumental techniques, alternate tuning systems, non-western music and the experience of nature (the irregular rhythms of the piece calling to mind nothing so much as drops of rain), the piece opens a space both serene and subtly uneasy.
Kenney's 'Elm features Kenney and vocalist Nova Ruth (of Filastine & Twin Sista) alongside an ensemble of strings and Seattle's Gamelan Pacifica, performing on Javanese instruments tuned to the slendro scale. An uncanny timbre created by bowing the keys of the Gamelan's instruments, supported by bowed harmonics from the strings, is heard consistently throughout the piece. After a long introductory section in which this harmonic cloud slowly descends from shimmering high notes to rumbling bass, the vocalists enter, singing a slow and stately setting of a 19th century Surakarta poem (attributed to Mangkunegara the IV). The melody is sung as a rich and wavering heterophony, with the ensemble sometimes rising up to support individual notes. The poem deals with the idea of a form of knowledge achieved through deeds, as a practice and state of the heart. This is music in slow motion, in which, in Kenney's words,

Fonit's "B 85", part of the legendary Serie Usignolo, which bears the signatures of the mysterious Coscia (perhaps a moniker of accordionist Gianni) and Formini, is another cult library music release: an orchestral pop record whose tracks are curiously recommended to accompany 'viewings of vast parks, footage of agriculture, ads, moving crowds and congested traffic jams, American working-class districts' with hilarious titles such as "Dayda", "Schizzo", "Palmas", "Murlak" (which casts an incredible fuzz guitar), "Bronx" and "Ciresa Facaud". In two words: a must!

Occulti Music presents Everything Fades 12-inch record by Ukrainian drum & bass producer Sunny Crimea and German beautiful singer Identified.
On the A-side of the record we can find lounge version of the song. And drum & bass version on the B-side.
Wonderful artwork for this record as usual by incredible Russian artist Anna Tikhomirova.

Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra I ROAM THE COSMOS,

Art Yard LP-2021, 180 gram Vinyl Only Limited Edition Release.

SIDE A: I Roam the Cosmos Astro Black / Discipline 27-¬'II - Running Time: 25.31 SIDE B: I Roam the Cosmos/Discipline 27-¬'II - Running Time: 25.51

PERSONNEL Sun Ra: keyboards, vocal June Tyson: vocal Marshall Allen: alto sax, flute, piccolo Danny Davis: alto sax or clarinet John Gilmore: tenor sax Akh Tal Ebah: trumpet Kwame Hadi: trumpet Eloe Omoe: bass clarinet Danny Ray: Thompson: baritone sax James Jacson: oboe Ronnie Boykins: bass Tommy Hunter, Harry Richards, Robert Underwood, and /or Lex Humphries: drums Atakatune, Alzo Wright, Odun: percussion

All titles composed by Sun Ra © Enterplanetary Koncepts (BMI) Recorded at Slug's Saloon, New York, July 1972.

I Roam the Cosmos. I visit a Planet now and then My visits are so seldom that sometimes The people on the Planet forget who I am Whenever that happens, I have no choice But to make them remember.

And since so many men have roamed this Planet Saying so many things that never proved of worth To the Planet I will have to do what I don't want to do I will have to impress upon Every man, woman, and child upon this Planet Who I am So that they will NEVER forget who I am.

All the people are asleep There is no one to give me the glory I deserve See the splendours of my Universe I made it with my very own hands.

You think because my Universe is so big that you are of no importance to me You thought I had forsaken you If I did, why am I here now

The Sun is your very best friend Greets you every morning, "Hello, my friends" Bids you goodbye every night "Goodbye, my friends, see you in the morning."

The Sun is your very best servant Serving you day and night The Sun never sleeps The Sun never sleeps.

The Universe sent me to converse with you But how can I talk to every man, woman, and child At the same time

I, because of the majesty upon Planet Earth, Must ask the volcanoes of Earth to speak of my glory I must ask the winds of Earth to speak of my glory I must ask the Earth itself to quake and tremble.

At my presence upon the Earth must ask the Earth to change its orbits And its journey among the Stars So that it can change the destiny of every person Upon this Planet.

I must nullify astrology I must nullify all prophecies I must create a different kind of World That is more suitable for me That I might visit this Planet, and feel at home.

Produced for Art Yard by Peter Dennett. Mastered and Transferred by Michael D. Anderson. Digital audio restoration by Michael D Anderson and Irwin Chusid. Mastered for vinyl by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works. Liner notes by Knoel Scott and Irwin Chusid. Front cover illustrations by Veronika Pražanova design by Art Yard. Special Thanks to Sun Ra, John Gilmore, June Tyson, Marshall Allen, Danny Ray Thompson, Pat Patrick, Charles Davis, Michael Ray, Knoel Scott and the Sun Ra Arkestra band members, Thomas Jenkins Jr., Managing Director, Sun Ra LLC, Michael D. Anderson, Sun Ra Music Archives, Irwin Chusid, administrator, Sun Ra LLC, Quinton Scott, John Corbett, Chris Trent, Hartmut Geerken, Val Wilmer, Jill Tipping, Peter Beckmann and Francis Gooding. All Rights reserved Art Yard Ltd © 2016 / Sun Ra LLC © 2016.

Bala Miller was famous for pushing boundaries. His first job was selling beer in the Muslim north. And as a musician he'd always try to sneak in 'local' flourishes while playing trumpet with Bobby Benson and Victor Olaiya. It was with his band, the Pirameeds, however, that he was able to realise his dream of incorporating northern tunes into mainstream highlife. Honed razor sharp from a residency at the Costain Club in Kuduna, the band recorded Pyramids, a breathtaking fusion of Hausa rhythms, jazz and funk. With its haunting trumpet line, tribal drums and imploring Hausa chants, 'Ikon Allah', the power of God, is Bala Miller vision writ large. 'Yo Gboko' is a New York-style street drama, played out on the dusty streets of Northern Nigeria. 'Opportunity Knocks' is a playful burst of ska and 'Stretch Your Nose' is a raucous James Brown fable about the dangers of lying. Bala Miller went on to become one of Nigeria's best-loved personalities. The Costain Club became a renowned meeting place for northern musicians. But his greatest legacy remain Pyramids, an opus that introduced Hausa rhythms and stories to the rest of Nigeria

CD Version

Diwan Of Beauty & Odd is the latest album by Tunisian singer and oud-player Dhafer Youssef. He once said quite spontaneously There is no prototype for beauty'. This delightful statement is in fact adequate to sum up the motivation and sound of his new album Diwan Of Beauty & Odd.

Dhafer Youssef is a composer, singer and oud player from Tunisia. The oud is an Arabic lute, a pear-shaped string instrument that can achieve a beautiful sound from those who know how to master it. Youssef developed an interest for jazz music at an early age and started singing when he was still five years old.

Today he is considered to be the most inventive oud player and a leader of the movement referred to as contemporary music, which fuses Eastern and Western music. His voice is incredibly instrumental and hits you right in the heart, with its spellbinding Eastern melodies mingled with the finest Jazz.' Christian Grimauld, Couleurs Jazz.

The new album truly is a unique combination of Arabic and Western culture, it is for the first time he has recorded with an all-American band in All star formation.

The best lo-fi garage album from South America

Ahead of its time raw & homemade Sixties garage, jangly pop and basement psych sounds from Paraguay!

Originally released in 1971 as a private pressing, Pops de Vanguardia' by JODI contains tracks mostly written and recorded in 1969 (with some dating back to 1966) by brothers Joern and Dirk Wenger at their homemade Jodi Experimental Studio' in Paraguay.

Joern and Dirk, born in Paraguay but of German origin, started playing in beat / psychedelic band The Rabbits, who released a very rare EP in 1969. After the group split, Joern and Dirk travelled to Germany, were they studied arts and received musical lessons from none other than Stockhausen. The two brothers had built their own homemade studio and they spent hours and hours recording songs and experimenting to create their own sound effects (echo, reverb, etc). They called their music Spontaneous Pop'.

Pops De Vanguardia' was recorded at their own rudimentary studio with two tape recorders. Joern plays guitar, organ and he was the lead vocalist, while Dirk plays drums and percussions. From ultra-catchy garage-pop to killer instrumental Farfisa numbers and proto-psychedelic sounds. JODI could be seen as precursors of the indie-pop and lo-fi garage which would appear some decades later.

*Ultra rare and obscure album from Paraguay reissued for the first time

*Insert with detailed liner notes in English / Spanish and rare photos

*CD includes 5 bonus tracks (1969-1970), including 3 fantastic previously unreleased ones plus one track from a super rare private EP and another from The Rabbits EP (the killer beat-fuzz-psych Buscándote')

*LP version includes digital download coupon featuring the album plus the bonus tracks

"Echoes can be distinguished from The Monks, the Velvet Underground of the two first records, The Kinks, T-Rex, the mid-60s American garage and some psychedelic and Kraut rock that might have influenced the Wenger brothers in their land". - Juan Esteban Jorge

Welcome to 'Pops De Vanguardia': prepare your mind to be blown by a work without precedents.' - Eduardo Bubbling Minds'

Born in South-Korea and at the age of two adopted into a Dutch family, Lavinia started to play the harp at the age of nine. Within two years she was admissioned to study at the young talent class of the conservatory of Utrecht (Bachelor) and later at the conservatory of Amsterdam (Master). At both conservatories she graduated with Honours. Her success at the conservatory of Amsterdam has a prelude on Lavinia's career to come. She performed only contemporary compositions at her graduation concert, making a firm statement already: Lavinia is here to add new chapters to the history of music.

Shlohmo fans have been aching for new material from the 'Bad Vibes' era since the seminal album's release and while he has since diversified his approach there's no denying the transcendent magic of the Los Angeles-based artist's early work. 'Bad Vibes - 5th Anniversary Edition' is a celebration of one of our generation's most adored producers, extrapolating on the twisted warmth of his seminal works in remarkable fashion. The 3xLP anniversary package include the original gatefold 'Bad Vibes' 2xLP, plus a bran new 12' comprised of b-sides, demos and outtakes from the album's progenitive sessions, bound together by a custom 'Bad Vibes' O-card.Having collaborated with the likes of Jeremih, Tory Lanez, Lil Yachty, How To Dress Well and Banks in the years since 'Bad Vibes', these unreleased tracks recall a simpler, more intimate time in Shlohmo's career and whether it's the live mix of Seriously' or the temporally defined 11_9_10 Asleep On The 22' that bridges the gap for you, these tracks will surely make waves for fans past, present and future.
Highest-selling record for both Friends of Friends and Shlohmo, Places' being the highest streamed single in the FOF catalog (over 7.5 million plays).Bad Vibes' reviewed positively by Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Spin, Filter, Beats Per Minute, CMJ, XLR8R and more.Since the release of 'Bad Vibes', Shlohmo has produced for Jeremih, Post Malone, Banks, The Weeknd, How To Dress Well, Torey Lanez, and more.Regular international tour schedule including multiple world tours and festivals such as Coachella, Decibel, Osheaga, and Pukkelpop.
Shlohmo was handpicked for Rick Rubin's 'Star Wars Headspace' Compilation.Shlohmo performed live on Last Call with Carson Daly.

For more than a decade now Ryan Teague has walked an unpredictable musical path, treading and blurring the lines between classical, electronic, acoustic and soundtrack influences. His latest album Site Specific is yet another twist and turn on this intriguing journey. Still present are the minimalist polyrhythms, electro-acoustic instrumentation and cinematic ambience that have come to define his style, but this time - incorporating a full band - the themes are framed through a lens which also takes in improvisation and minimal jazz.

Key collaborators include Gareth Davis (Bass Clarinet) and Dan Nicholls (Rhodes Piano), who weave subtle melodies and textures throughout. The resulting soundscapes echo the timeless feel of In a Silent Way era Miles channelled through a contemporary palette. The music is at once expressive, dynamic and exciting whilst demonstrating sensitive restraint appropriate to its minimalist objectives.

Glitchy ambient opener Wide Angle sets the tone perfectly and makes way for the likes of Second Scene with it's brooding bass, dark drums and minimal melodies. Elsewhere Surface Tension takes a fragmented string loop on an epic cinematic journey, whilst title track Site Specific sets agitated drum rhythms and cutting bass against freeform Rhodes and echoing horns in an intense showdown.

Ryan has demonstrated time and again that he is unafraid to try something new and Site Specific is no exception. But there's a newfound sense of focus and energy here and something genuinely fresh and exciting seems to have emerged.

Hot Casa Records present Togo Soul 70 (Selected Rare Togolese Recordings from 1971 to 1981). A treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings mostly recorded in Lomé during the 70's, a fusion of traditional voodoo chants, raw soul and Afro jazz. Finding these tracks and their rights holders hasn't become any easier even after few trips all over this west African country bordered by Ghana, Benin & Burkina Faso.

We, at Hot Casa Records, decided to select 13 tracks, a snapshot of some hundreds of rare and often forgotten tapes from the most prolific, professional and exciting phase of the country's recording history, including international stars like Bella Bellow (who even performed to Maracana stadium in Brazil), or Roger Damawuzan, compared as the James Brown from Lomé, and forgotten tapes and brilliant songs in Mina, Kabyié and Fon languages. Many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation highlighting how diverse the music scene in Togo was at the time, even if the political context influenced their creation.

A must have for all music lovers, also used as the soundtrack of the documentary Togo Soul 70, directed by Liz Gomis & DJ Julien Lebrun!

Translated from Spanish as 'The Shade', Chip Wickham's debut album La Sombra drops after a 25-year career touring, recording and experimenting across three decades of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronica. La Sombra is a monumental record for Chip as it symbolises the moment he stepped out into the light as a director of his creations with freedom to explore his roots, express and tell his version of jazz and pay testament to his heroes Roland Kirk, Yuseef Lateef & Harold McNair.

Now living in Dubai after an intense and productive six years in Madrid, it was Manchester where Chip studied in the late '80s and became enmeshed in the chaotic and thrilling music scenes emanating from one of the world's most culturally prominent cities of the time. Recording and generally 'keeping things real' with Manchester's hip-hop collective Grand Central Records, Rae & Christian, The Pharcyde, Fingathing, Nightmares on Wax, Graham Massey (808 State), Chip was in a city that was undergoing a music revolution with the Haçienda as its temple. Yet it was the headlights of the M62 motorway and not the strobe lights that were lighting Chip's path during his student years ('88-'92). The lure of the jazz and funk clubs of Leeds, where The New Mastersounds were breaking out and building the blocks that would lead them to UK funk royalty status, proved too strong.

In the 1990s Chip continued to refine his craft in the rainy city and the gigs booked were growing in stature. It wasn't long before he was on the road with Roy Ayers and Badly Drawn Boy. Around that time Chip met up with trumpeter Matthew Halsall that was the beginning of a friendship that lasts to this day. Chip was a recording artist on Matthew Halsall's breakout album Sending My Love and continues to work with him, with live dates confirmed in spring 2017. This close connection with Halsall gave rise to other collaborations, such as with Nat Birchall and Go Go Penguin's Rob Turner.

Three decades after his late night excursions to Leeds, Chip found himself recording with Eddie Roberts from The New Mastersounds in Madrid, as part of their new band, The Fire Eaters, which he'd formed soon after he moved to sunny Spain in 2007 - the same year he released the Fried Samba album under his moniker Malena, his electronic Latin band that became a hit at the turn of the century for Freestyle Records. During his time in Spain he connected with the local scene and brought together many of his musicians colleagues from the UK to Spain and it was for a local and well established label, Lovemonk, that he released two 45s blending raw funk and Latin. These new roads and musical leanings led to an invitation to play for the prestigious Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Based on a poll from Craig Charles' top rated BBC6 radio show, Chip was chosen to play alongside the cream of the UK funk & soul scene: James Taylor (JTQ), Snowboy, The Haggis Horns (Mark Ronson), John Turrell (Smooth & Turrell), and Mick Talbot (The Style Council).

La Sombra takes an altogether more rooted direction than Chip's recent collaborative work, with the jazz of the late '60s and early '70s a dominating influence to the recordings. Comprising of seven tracks recorded in Madrid with musicians assembled by Chip from Madrid's jazz scene, it combines contemplative explorations akin to Yusef Lateef's early work on tracks like 'La Sombra' and 'Pushed Too Far'. There's a fiery cover of Camarón de la Isla's classic 'La Leyenda Del Tiempo' and tracks like 'Sling Shot' and 'Red Planet' are locked in a groove harking back to Freddie Hubbard's Blue Note era and Luv N Haight's Nathan Davis.

Translated from Spanish as 'The Shade', Chip Wickham's debut album La Sombra drops after a 25-year career touring, recording and experimenting across three decades of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronica. La Sombra is a monumental record for Chip as it symbolises the moment he stepped out into the light as a director of his creations with freedom to explore his roots, express and tell his version of jazz and pay testament to his heroes Roland Kirk, Yuseef Lateef & Harold McNair.

Now living in Dubai after an intense and productive six years in Madrid, it was Manchester where Chip studied in the late '80s and became enmeshed in the chaotic and thrilling music scenes emanating from one of the world's most culturally prominent cities of the time. Recording and generally 'keeping things real' with Manchester's hip-hop collective Grand Central Records, Rae & Christian, The Pharcyde, Fingathing, Nightmares on Wax, Graham Massey (808 State), Chip was in a city that was undergoing a music revolution with the Haçienda as its temple. Yet it was the headlights of the M62 motorway and not the strobe lights that were lighting Chip's path during his student years ('88-'92). The lure of the jazz and funk clubs of Leeds, where The New Mastersounds were breaking out and building the blocks that would lead them to UK funk royalty status, proved too strong.

In the 1990s Chip continued to refine his craft in the rainy city and the gigs booked were growing in stature. It wasn't long before he was on the road with Roy Ayers and Badly Drawn Boy. Around that time Chip met up with trumpeter Matthew Halsall that was the beginning of a friendship that lasts to this day. Chip was a recording artist on Matthew Halsall's breakout album Sending My Love and continues to work with him, with live dates confirmed in spring 2017. This close connection with Halsall gave rise to other collaborations, such as with Nat Birchall and Go Go Penguin's Rob Turner.

Three decades after his late night excursions to Leeds, Chip found himself recording with Eddie Roberts from The New Mastersounds in Madrid, as part of their new band, The Fire Eaters, which he'd formed soon after he moved to sunny Spain in 2007 - the same year he released the Fried Samba album under his moniker Malena, his electronic Latin band that became a hit at the turn of the century for Freestyle Records. During his time in Spain he connected with the local scene and brought together many of his musicians colleagues from the UK to Spain and it was for a local and well established label, Lovemonk, that he released two 45s blending raw funk and Latin. These new roads and musical leanings led to an invitation to play for the prestigious Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Based on a poll from Craig Charles' top rated BBC6 radio show, Chip was chosen to play alongside the cream of the UK funk & soul scene: James Taylor (JTQ), Snowboy, The Haggis Horns (Mark Ronson), John Turrell (Smooth & Turrell), and Mick Talbot (The Style Council).

La Sombra takes an altogether more rooted direction than Chip's recent collaborative work, with the jazz of the late '60s and early '70s a dominating influence to the recordings. Comprising of seven tracks recorded in Madrid with musicians assembled by Chip from Madrid's jazz scene, it combines contemplative explorations akin to Yusef Lateef's early work on tracks like 'La Sombra' and 'Pushed Too Far'. There's a fiery cover of Camarón de la Isla's classic 'La Leyenda Del Tiempo' and tracks like 'Sling Shot' and 'Red Planet' are locked in a groove harking back to Freddie Hubbard's Blue Note era and Luv N Haight's Nathan Davis.

After releasing the first single Voodoo Jazz end of 2016 the journey of Dem Juju Poets keeps on with Barabara, the first single taken off their forthcoming album Liberated Thoughts out due early 2017 on Matasuna Records.David Hanke aka Renegades Of Jazz, brainchild behind Dem Juju Poets, keeps on with his distinctive Afro sound and delivers a great 45 in various styles. As the Renegades Of Jazz journey will take a step away from Afrofunk music, Dem Juju Poets will be now the main outfit for Hanke to release more Afro driven music in the future.Barabara is a heavy piece of dancefloor Afrojazz goodness, decent horn sections, tough drums and rich percussions combined with vintage vocals. People's Republic is a organ and flute driven Afrosoul tune with a heavy brass riff, thriving percussions and flute solos galore.

Luv N'Haight is proud to re-issue Sweet Maya's self-titled album. A midwest jazz-funk classic with elements of folk, jazz, soul, funk and rock combining to create a heady blend reminiscent of '70s work by French band Cortex and songwriting maestro Terry Callier.

The music of Sweet Maya is an extension of each member. As individuals they bring together diverse backgrounds, as a group they blend it all into a sound that is exciting and full of warmth. The six-piece group of multi-talented instrumentalists has five lead singers, four songwriters and four arrangers. The music that grows from the contact of such persons is evidenced in this album. It is Sweet Maya (the Illusion) that flows through and shapes the many idioms of their music. It is Rob Hayes, Tom Davis, Janice Lakers, John Chamberlin, and Mark Bowen who convey the experience. (excerpt taken from original LP liner notes)

Luv N'Haight is proud to re-issue Sweet Maya's self-titled album. A midwest jazz-funk classic with elements of folk, jazz, soul, funk and rock combining to create a heady blend reminiscent of '70s work by French band Cortex and songwriting maestro Terry Callier.

The music of Sweet Maya is an extension of each member. As individuals they bring together diverse backgrounds, as a group they blend it all into a sound that is exciting and full of warmth. The six-piece group of multi-talented instrumentalists has five lead singers, four songwriters and four arrangers. The music that grows from the contact of such persons is evidenced in this album. It is Sweet Maya (the Illusion) that flows through and shapes the many idioms of their music. It is Rob Hayes, Tom Davis, Janice Lakers, John Chamberlin, and Mark Bowen who convey the experience. (excerpt taken from original LP liner notes)

Günter Christmann - Trombone
Peter Kowald - Tuba, Bass, Alphorn
Peter van der Locht - Alto Saxophone
Paul Lovens - Drums
Paul Rutherford - Trombone


Composed & Produced by Peter Kowald, recorded by Eberhard Sengpiel
Recorded at Akademie der Künste, Berlin, on January 19th in 1972.

Soul Jazz Records' are releasing Tee Mac's 'Night Illusion', a lost classic Nigerian Afro soul meets disco boogie funk album originally released in Nigeria in 1980 as a private-press release of 1000 copies on the enigmatic artists' own label. Impossibly hard to find, the record remains practically unknown outside of Nigeria. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger and features on Soul Jazz Records' recent collection Nigeria Soul Fever - Afro Funk Disco and Boogie alongside Joni Haastrup, Christy Essien and others, as well as on a recent compilation 'Nepa Oh Nepa' (released on Hot Casa earlier this year). The timelessness of this soulful, ground-breaking funk jazz lost masterpiece 'Night Illusion' leads to comparisons with James Mason's legendary lost classic album Rhythm of Life, with his unique individualism and intensity hinting at the boogie funk of groups such as Mass Production and Slave so loved by artists such as Moodyman and Theo Parrish. While Fela Kuti is now a cultural icon of Nigerian music throughout the world, the recent crossover success of William Onyeabor shows just how much undiscovered Nigerian music remains waiting to be explored outside of the country.
Tee Mac was born in Lagos, the son of a Nigerian princess and a Swiss diplomat. He picked up the flute at age 7 and ten years later was studying classical musical in Switzerland under his uncle the composer J.J. Direndirger. Returning to Lagos, Nigeria in 1970 he formed the heavyweight afro rock group Tee Mac and Afro Collection (which included Johnny Haastrup on keyboards and The Lijadu Sisters on vocals). This band was famously joined by the legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker who came to Nigeria to play with them in 1971 (captured in the film Ginger Baker in Africa).
At age 24, Tee Mac moved to Germany where he co-wrote and recorded the European disco group Silver Convention (whose 'Fly Robin Fly' became number one in the USA charts). This enabled him to return to Nigeria where he formed his own label SKJ Records to release his self-financed album Night Illusion, as well as buying two nightclubs and also investing in a number of mineral mining companies!
Tee Mac continues to live in Lagos today and travels the world as a composer - one of whose pieces is The City of Mer Kailash (2009), a two-hour ballet featuring over 60 dancers and a 100+ piece orchestra.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing this lost classic Nigerian album as a strictly limited-edition 1000 copies worldwide exact-replica artwork reproduction LP (+ sleevenotes + free download), CD and digital album.

Of Sudanese heritage, the bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1927-1993) was born Jonathan Timms in Brooklyn. After working with Art Blakey and Thelonious Monk, among others, Abdul-Malik studied music of other cultures. He was among the first to incorporate Middle Eastern and Indian influences into Jazz.

A mindblowing mix of jazz and Middle Eastern influences— and a rare '60s treasure from Thelonious Monk's former bassist! Ahmed Abdul-Malik blends together percussion, bass, and oud with some soulful solo work from Seldon Powell on tenor and flute, and Ray Nance on cornet— stretching out over long tracks with an exotic vibe.

The great Bassist and band leader Charles Mingus cut some of his most exciting and rewarding recordings in 1960. Taped during the apex of Mingus' creativity, this incredible session showcase such stars as Eric Dolphy, Roy Eldridge, and Tommy Flanagan.

Shlohmo fans have been aching for new material from the 'Bad Vibes' era since the seminal album's release and while he has since diversified his approach there's no denying the transcendent magic of the Los Angeles-based artist's early work. Comprised of b-sides, demos and outtakes from the album's progenitive sessions, 'Bad Vibes: Rarities + Extras' is a nine track journey into the mind of one of our generation's most adored producers, extrapolating on the twisted warmth of his seminal works in remarkable fashion. Having collaborated with the likes of Jeremih, Tory Lanez, Lil Yachty, How To Dress Well and Banks in the years since 'Bad Vibes', these tracks recall a simpler, more intimate time in Shlohmo's career and whether it's the live mix of Seriously' or the temporally defined 11_9_10 Asleep On The 22' that bridges the gap for you, these tracks will surely make waves for fans past, present and future.

For Fly By Night Music's next excursion we have entered the realm of 291out, an ensemble dedicated to the unbound exploration of genre, who in partnership with Riccio have produced no less than four new and uniquely cinematic interpretations of their track Ritorno Ad Urania. Thematically inspired by Italian film compositions and 1970s progressive music, 291out are backboned by their experiences with audio visual production, and are fused with Jazz and Funk leanings. Urania, originally an electronic composition scored for the end credits of a short film and named after a legendary Italian Sci-Fi publication, was first heard by Riccio at Terraforma festival in 2015 in an altogether different guise under its radically changed live arrangement. Riccio, exhilarated by this performance, immediately requested to produce the track in this alternative second form.
The "Main" version is developed directly from the live arrangement of the track, highlighting a mysterious progression of soft horns and live drums before surprisingly turning to fusion territories with an upbeat jazz-funk flavoured bridge!The "Reprise" simplifies things somewhat by breaking down Urania's theme into a single element - the Fender Rhodes hauntingly recapitulating Urania's key motifs solo, creating a stark and beautiful contrast from the original arrangement!The "Alternate" cut provides Urania with a clear funk matrix, combining a more melodically upbeat instrumentation with sleazy wah - wah and frantic drums whilst making sure to leave plenty of room for guitar, horns and further Rhodes soloing ! Finally to end the e.p, the "Western" revision draws from the masters of spaghetti-western soundtracking, featuring an arrangement adapted for an echo and tremolo rich guitar lead, taking us on a hypnotic journey deep through the treacherous desert heat...

Paul Bley, synthesizer, electric piano, Annette Peacock electric bass and vocals, Han Bennink, drums, Mario Pavone, bass, and Laurence Cook, also on drums.

Originally released in the same year as her recently reissued solo debut, I'm The One. Peacock's liberated vocal style sits well alongside her husband Paul Bley's early jazz Moog synthesizer experimentation. Dual Unity was recorded in 1971 in Rotterdam and Paris. Professionally re-mastered original sound recording with expansive liners, interviews and rare archival photos.