Suche:mel brown

Die neue VERVE BY REQUEST-LP-Serie präsentiert rare Kultalben, die von den Fans immer wieder
gefordert werden, gepresst in audiophilem 180-Gramm-Vinyl bei Third Man Pressing/Detroit.
JAMES BROWN - ”Soul On Top ”
“Im Herzen bin ich ein Jazz-Mann“ gesteht der der Godfather of Soul in den Linernotes zu diesem groovenden Album von 1969, mit einer Big Band unter der Leitung von Drummer Louis Bellson und arrangiert von
Impulse!-Star Oliver Nelson. Browns Partner in Crime, der Saxophonist Maceo Parker, ist ebenfalls daran
beteiligt, es zu einer swingenden, temperamentvollen Sammlung von Standards und James-Brown-Hits zu
machen.
(audiophiles 180-Gramm-Vinyl, Gatefold-Sleeve)
MEL BROWN - ”Chicken Fat”
Gitarrist Mel Browns Impulse!-Debüt von 1967 ist das möglicherweise funkigste als auch ungewöhnlichste Album, das je auf dem Label veröffentlicht wurde. Browns flüssiger Blues-Picking-Stil - den er sich
zulegte, als er in den Bands von John Lee Hooker und T-Bone Walker spielte - garniert mit der swingenden
Soul-Jazz-Orgel von Gerald Wiggins. Besondere Highlights sind der Titeltrack, „Greasy Spoon“ und das
blues-getränkte „I’m Goin’ to Jackson“.
(remastered von den analogen Originalbändern, audiophiles 180-Gramm-Vinyl)

Imagine the Buzzcocks with Syd Barrett as the singer!" THE BACHELOR PAD : five lysergically-enhanced heads from Strathbungo, Glasgow. Psychedelic punks born into, but delightfully out of step with the UK indie fanzine culture of the time. Flashes of red and purple... Perfect pop buried amidst a nuclear maelstrom of noise and excitement. During their brief existence they burned bright, squeezing out an album, 5 singles and a flexi-disc, with the cream of the crop being served up on this career spanning compilation. Gatefold sleeve, color vinyl. "...amid the sonic bedlam, they write the sweetest melodies, they've got the most agreeable harmonies.

It's all about extremes: "Do It For Fun" is the noise your brain makes when everything you've taken comes on top at once; "Tumble And Fall" is as cute as a squirrel's nut, "The Coroner's Wife" is.... well, answers on a postcard, please." Alexis Petridis

Over the last decade-and-a-half, C Joynes has ploughed a singular furrow through solo guitar, with a body of work incorporating English folk-tunes alongside North & West African music, and lifting proto-minimalist and improvised techniques from the European classical and avant-garde traditions.

His new release, ‘Poor Boy On The Wire’, is his first full album dedicated wholly to the electric guitar. Through a typically wide-ranging set, Joynes exploits the instrument’s potential by placing intricate parlour music alongside overdriven garage blues throw-downs, wiry electric folk and the brittle ringing tones of free improvisation. However, these explorations of the tones and timbres of close-mic’d guitars and amplification retain an overall coherence and unity through the deliberate use of a limited palette of budget instruments and vintage equipment.

With ‘Poor Boy On The Wire’, Joynes has released 9 albums to date, including ‘The Borametz Tree’ (2019), recorded with long-term fellow travellers Dead Rat Orchestra, and ‘The Wild Wild Berry’, a collaboration with singer Stephanie Hladowski (MOJO Top 5 Folk Albums 2012, fROOTS Editors Choice Album Of The Year 2012). He has played extensively across the UK, Europe and the USA, sharing bills with performers including: Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Marc Ribot, Alasdair Roberts, Richard Dawson, Jack Rose, Josephine Foster, Sir Richard Bishop, Six Organs Of Admittance and 75 Dollar Bill.

“As much Conlon Nancarrow and Ali Farka Toure as Blind Lemon Jefferson, the compositional mind at work here can take apparently disparate threads of modernism and ethnic tradition and treat them as though they were all archaic blues styles learnt from dusty 78s.”
BRUCE RUSSELL, THE WIRE

“An inheritor to Davy Graham; a lone operator prone to unexpected collaborations, with a repertoire that crosses continents and timezones with consummate ease, and dashed off with a phenomenal, yet lightly applied technique.”
ROB YOUNG, THE WIRE

“His epigrammatic re-castings and re-readings of widely-travelled folk melodies and rhythms from a variety of traditions suggest shared memories that might be intensely universal while seeming strangely out of reach.”
KEVIN MACNEIL BROWN, DUSTED MAGAZINE

Back in stock is the re-issue of the Augustus Pablo classic album debut from 1973. The LP-Vinyl is re-mastered and expanded with the three additional tracks "Java" and "Guiding Red" from singles released the previous year, plus the unreleased "Marabi", the version to Dennis Brown's "Cheater". "This Is Augustus Pablo" was recorded at Randy's studio, mixed by Errol Thompson and produced & arranged by Clive Chin & Augustus Pablo. A masterpiece of early reggae & instrumental dub introducing the sound of the melodica!

Recorded in St. James Norlands church in London in November 1968 and first released in the following year, this work stands as the first solo bass album in the history of Jazz and improvised music. Born in 1934 in San Francisco, Barre Phillips is one the most influential bassists of his generation. In his long career Phillips has played and recorded with almost everyone in the world of Jazz and beyond, a long list of forward thinking music icons including Don Ellis, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Holland, Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, John Surman, Paul Bley, Evan Parker just to name a few! Originally recorded as part of a 3 hours session this solo tour-de force expresses the true essence of a genius. A multifaceted, kaleidoscopic journey through a myriad of melodic, rhythmic, fretted and bowed lines. In other words: a true master class and a seminal statement from one of the greatest figures in creative music!

"...Not just an improviser of the highest order; but a true sound sculptor capable of drawing from his instrument such a vast array of shapes and colours that his creation is almost a form of visual art for the ears." Jazzwise

Der Londoner Produzent & Multiinstrumentalist Mansur Brown meldet sich mit dem 'NAQI Mixtape' auf seinem Label AMAI Records zurück - einem Vinylrelease, der die beiden digitalen 'NAQI' EPs von Anfang des Jahres vereint. Side A ist für den Sommer gemacht, mit harten Drums und Low-End-Sub, während Side B eher für den Winter gedacht ist: introspektive Songs mit cineastischen und außerweltlichen Sounds.

2022 Repress

Jamaican love songs always came across as heartfelt poetry whether they conveyed a broken heart, unrequited love or even the message ‘it’s all over don’t bother to come back’ anecdotes. But whatever the mood the singers of these songs were so good and versatile that putting such
subject matter over in a few verses was always so moving and believable.
 
Jamaican love songs were a constant in the ever evolving sounds and
journey’s that reggae music took us on, from ska to rocksteady to the early reggae sounds of the late 1960’s early 1970’s. We have complied a great selection of songs that all deal with that timeless subject matter. Max Romeo’s heartfelt ‘Sometimes’ opens our set in fine style, known more for his roots singing this song proves what a great singer he is. The Melodians a great Jamaican vocal group are featured here with ‘Best Girl’. The Sensations provide us with our title track ‘Born To Love You ‘and the theme for this compilation a great rocksteady tune with fantastic harmonies. Alton Ellis gives us the soulful ‘Room Full Of Tears’. Ken Boothe
provides us with his rendition of Dennis Brown’s ‘Money In My Pocket’  the ode that money cannot buy you everything. Cornell Campbell sings one of his most overlooked classic songs with his prideful `She Wears My Ring’. The great singer of love songs  himself  Mr John Holt tells us that we should all `Reconsider’, before giving up on love and a great lost singer Monty Morris gives us two great examples of how to find love in `Do It My Way’ and `Magic Moments’.
A great selection delivered as only Jamaica can do with style and feeling…….

Hope you enjoy the set …greetings from Jamaica… love songs for all…

Joan Reggae Drummer, based in the region of Catalonia in Spain, is a great lover of Jamaican music, at a very young age he began to be so passionate about drums that he created his first musical projects, among them, the band that was a turning point was The Pepper Pots. With 6 albums already released and several tours in Europe, UK, Japan, USA & Czech Republic , Joan has opened for internationally artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Kymani Marley, Laurel Aitken, Derrick Morgan, Ticken Jahfakoli or The Pioneers among others. He performed at major festivals such as Summerjam Reggae Festival (Germany), Rototom Sunsplash (Italy), Primavera Sound (BCN), Rock For People (Czech Republic) or SXSW (Austin, USA).

Joan as a drummer has also worked with a lot of top international soul artists such as Curtis Mayfield's legendary band The Impressions, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Maxine Brown, Binky Griptite from Daptone Records that has been in bands such as Antibalas, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Dap-Kings or The Mellomatics.

In 2020, after a time of musical hiatus due to the Covid, he began his more personal adventure, creating his own channel dedicated solely and exclusively to the world of drums in Reggae and Dub. Currently his Instagram channel has more than 34.000 followers and the content published has so much repercussion.

First this major collaboration last year with Aston Barrett Jr for a special tribute to his uncle , Carlton Barrett (Bob Marley), one of Joan's favorite drummer. And at last all this work led him to record his first debut EP "DUB Explosion" on the label Two Flames Records, a real explosion of DUB, where the common thread of the songs are drums.

JRD "DUB Explosion" is a performance in the form of an EP, consisting of 4 instrumental Dub tracks with a totally different concept than what we are used to, since the songs were created from the drum beats.

Great musicians from different countries have participated in this EP: Guitar - Arturo Landaeta (Venezuela), Bass - Elie El Ossais (Australia), Keyboards - Ireneu Grosset (Spain), Nyahbinghi Drums - Maurici Bongo (Brazil), Trombone and Trumpet - Pablo Martín (Catalonia), Tenor sax - Tomy Muñoz (Catalonia), Bass - Miliu Llorach (Catalonia), Flute - Lluís Doménech (England), Bass - Joshua Jones (Jamaica), Keteh & Triangle - Aurel Cade (France), Trumpet - Glenn Holdaway (United States).

Finally, the production, mixing and dub was done by the musician and producer Ireneu Grosset, in the analogue studio of Dr. Dubwiser. It was quite an experience as the studio has a team very similar to what Jamaican producers had in the golden age of Reggae in the 70's.

Welcome to ‘STR4TASFEAR, Bluey and Gilles’ second STR4TA album released.

A collection of songs, melodies, grooves and sounds that sit perfectly in the brand new music world it’s part of. Gilles and Bluey are both men who emerged into the Brit funk world. They were both part of this truly thrilling chapter in the story of homegrown music; which manifests itself here in a sumptuous mixture of twanging basslines, spacey synth melodies, clicking beats and wispy, ethereal voices.

And for this new set, they’ve got a few like-minded souls along to join the party. Multi-talented Neo-soul Godfather Omar, and celebrated vocalist, Valerie Etienne, both represent Brit funk’s first bounce. Also welcomed in to the fold is musical polymath, Emma-Jean Thackray, Brighton duo Anushka and Floridian trumpeter/vocalist Theo Croker. ‘STR4TASFEAR’ is Gilles and Bluey’s wide-open window into a timeless, wonderful world of Brit funk (Words by Mark Webster, 2022).

STR4TA has received a rapturous reception, with standout tracks ‘We Like It’ achieving over 1 million streams on Spotify and ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ exceeding 12 weeks on Jazz FM’s playlist. They have been heavily supported by BBC 6Music, The Guardian, Wax Poetics, The Vinyl Factory, CLASH, Télérama (FR), Radio Nova (FR), Rolling Stones Italy & Japan. Most recent singles “When You Call Me” & “Night Flight”, taken from the upcoming album, has already received support from Rampage (BBC 1Xtra), Jamz Supernova (BBC 6 Music), Deb Grant (Jazz FM) plus NTS, Mi-Soul, Solar Radio, KCRW (US), KEXP (US), Concrete Islands, CRACK Magazine, and Nu-Funk (Spotify).

Welcome to ‘STR4TASFEAR, Bluey and Gilles’ second STR4TA album released.

A collection of songs, melodies, grooves and sounds that sit perfectly in the brand new music world it’s part of. Gilles and Bluey are both men who emerged into the Brit funk world. They were both part of this truly thrilling chapter in the story of homegrown music; which manifests itself here in a sumptuous mixture of twanging basslines, spacey synth melodies, clicking beats and wispy, ethereal voices.

And for this new set, they’ve got a few like-minded souls along to join the party. Multi-talented Neo-soul Godfather Omar, and celebrated vocalist, Valerie Etienne, both represent Brit funk’s first bounce. Also welcomed in to the fold is musical polymath, Emma-Jean Thackray, Brighton duo Anushka and Floridian trumpeter/vocalist Theo Croker. ‘STR4TASFEAR’ is Gilles and Bluey’s wide-open window into a timeless, wonderful world of Brit funk (Words by Mark Webster, 2022).

STR4TA has received a rapturous reception, with standout tracks ‘We Like It’ achieving over 1 million streams on Spotify and ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ exceeding 12 weeks on Jazz FM’s playlist. They have been heavily supported by BBC 6Music, The Guardian, Wax Poetics, The Vinyl Factory, CLASH, Télérama (FR), Radio Nova (FR), Rolling Stones Italy & Japan. Most recent singles “When You Call Me” & “Night Flight”, taken from the upcoming album, has already received support from Rampage (BBC 1Xtra), Jamz Supernova (BBC 6 Music), Deb Grant (Jazz FM) plus NTS, Mi-Soul, Solar Radio, KCRW (US), KEXP (US), Concrete Islands, CRACK Magazine, and Nu-Funk (Spotify).

Traveling Alone is the 5th studio album from North Carolina based
singer-songwriter, Tift Merritt
This collection of original songs showcases Merritt's songwriting skills and
storytelling through her graceful melodies and lyricism, warm twang, and
atmospheric elements heard throughout the record. Recorded in Brooklyn and
produced by Tucker Martine, the studio album features Marc Ribot on guitar, John
Convertino on percussion, Eric Heywood on pedal steel, and Jay Brown on bass.
This 10th anniversary limited edition 2xLP is pressed on cloudy sage color vinyl in
a gatefold sleeve.

All-star group recording led by Swiss trumpeter/composer Franco
Ambrosetti and featuring John Scofield, Scott Colley, Uri Caine and Peter
Erskine, plus strings arranged by Alan Broadbent
Growing up in Lugano, Switzerland, the son of a pioneering bebop alto
saxophonist on the 1940s European jazz scene, a teenaged Franco Ambrosetti
came under the sway of his father's heroes - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and
Clifford Brown. They became his heroes too as the aspiring trumpeter began
emulating their blistering chops and visceral abandon. Now, at age 80, Franco is
following a different muse. After nearly 40 albums as a leader, he has reached a
point in his career where caressing each note is more important to him than
showcasing chops. "When you're in your 20s, you want to play as fast as you can
and as high as you can, like Clifford," he said. "But somewhere after turning 50,
then you concentrate on more important things and you try to say something with
just a few notes, but the right ones, like Miles Davis did."
Franco plays all the right notes in typically elegant fashion on 'Nora'. Backed by an
all- world group of pianist Uri Caine, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Peter
Erskine, with a guest turn by guitarist John Scofield, plus Grammy- winning
pianist- arranger Alan Broadbent conducting a 22- piece string orchestra,
Ambrosetti plumbs the depth of emotion on this program of romantic ballads,
delivered with rare intimacy and grace. Possessing a golden tone on flugelhorn,
he ruminates and tells stories on each of these melodic gems.

180gm Clear Vinyl housed in a 3mm wide spine sleeve with printed
inners, Remastered by Alchemy Mastering At AIR from the original
production tapes
The Selecters's second album, Celebrate The Bullet was released in February
1981 as the follow up to the successful 2 Tone debut album Too Much Pressure,
along with the hit singles On My Radio, Three Minute Hero and Missing
Words.Switching labels to Chrysalis Records, the band returned to On My Radio
producer Roger Lomas, moving into a more melodic slower pace, whilst keeping
their lyrical commentary on racial and social issues. Original members Desmond
Brown and Charley Anderson departed before the recording began, with Lomas
and Norman Watt- Ray (Ian Dury) helping on bass before new members James
Mackie and Adam Williams joined to complete the recording.
Due to unfortunate timing, upon release the title of this album was
misunderstood due to the recent murder of John Lennon and an assassination
attempt on U.S. President Ronald Regan meant radio stations didn't support the
single or album and the release was largely ignored.
This forgotten classic from the 2 Tone era is a timely reissue and will give time
for a re- evaluation in the same way the 2021's reissue of too Much Pressure
showed the band as relevant.
Pauline Black, who was recently awarded an OBE in 2022, and the band will be
touring in November 2022 and into 2023 performing the album in full along with
selections of their previous album.

Reissue of the oud / viola virtuoso SIMON SHAHEEN's interpretations of pieces by one of the Middle East's most important 20th Century composers, MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB. Produced by BILL LASWELL, remastered for vinyl at D&M Berlin.

MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB (1902-1991) was "a giant in the world of Middle Eastern entertainment" (Al Jadid Magazine) - as singer, actor and composer – and is commonly considered "the father of modern Egyptian song". After a visit to Paris, he revolutionized the film industry by introducing the genre "musical film" to the Arabic world, the movie "The White Rose" in which he starred broke all records and to this day is frequently presented in Cairo's cinemas. But in 1950, WAHAB left the film industry to focus on singing and composing – he wrote over 1800 songs (among others for Umm Kalthoum, an iconic artist in the Arabic music in her own right) that were deeply rooted in classical Arabic music but also laid the foundation for a new era of Egyptian music as WAHAB was open to Western elements such as waltz rhythms or even rock'n'roll in Abdel Halim Hafez's song "Ya Albi Ya Khali". He also composed several national anthems (Tunisia, Oman, Libya, United Arabic Emirates) and re-composed the Egyptian national anthem "Belady Belady Belady", based on the original by Sayed Darwish. WAHAB received several decorations of Arabic states, and at his death in 1991, Egypt honored its famous son with a huge military funeral at the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, the six-horse carriage procession carrying his coffin was actually led by the prime and foreign ministers, followed by the ministers of defense, interior and culture!


SIMON SHAHEEN (born 1955) is the perfect choice for WAHAB's compositions. Born into a family of gifted musicians, he learned playing the oud at the age of 5 and the violin shortly thereafter. He earned degrees in Arabic literature and music performance at the Tel Aviv University, and later pursued further studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and after his emigration to the USA (in 1980) at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University. SHAHEEN lives in New York where he founded the Near Eastern Music Ensemble and Qantara, a formation that blends traditional Arabic Music with elements of Jazz and classical music, and he also has been organizing the Annual Arab Festival of Arts called Mahrajan al-Fan since 1994. The same year he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts at the White House. Solo albums like Saltanah (Water Lily Acoustics), Turath (CMP) or Taqasim (Lyrichord) underline his importance as one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers, and composers of his generation. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arabic music, while it forges ahead to new frontiers, embracing many different styles in the process. SHAHEEN has participated in many cross-cultural musical projects with artists as diverse as Henry Threadgill, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, or the Jewish klezmer ensemble The Klezmatics, contributed to the soundtracks for The Sheltering Sky and Malcolm X and composed the entire score for the United Nations sponsored documentary, For Everyone Everywhere, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Charter. SHAHEENS biggest success was the Qantara album Blue Flame (2001) which has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards.

Besides all his activities as performer, he dedicates a good part of his time to working with schools and universities, including Julliard, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Harvard, Yale, University of California in San Diego, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and many others.
The Music Of Mohamed Abdel Wahab was originally released in 1990 on Axiom, the record label curated by iconic producer and bass player Bill Laswell, and has been carefully remastered for this vinyl reissue at D&M, Berlin.


Press quotes:
"Master oud player and composer Simon Shaheen finds the perfect mix on this collection of Mohammed Abdel Wahab's pieces … seven wonderful interpretations sparkling with oud and strings interplay." Stephen Cook / AllMusic


"Shaheen's violin soars over a slicing string section and a bed of percolating percussion, while accordion, oud, finger cymbals and a chorus of singers weave in and out. Produced with sparkling clarity by Bill Laswell … this record opens a new world of harmonic and melodic possibilities to ears accustomed to Western pop." Greg Kot / Chicago Tribune


Musicians:
Simon Shaheen: Oud, Violin, Viola
Najib Shaheen: Oud
Sheikh Taha: Accordion
Anton Hajjar: Ney
Paula Bing: Flute
Ramzi Bisharat: Tabla
Hanna Mirhige: Mizhar
Michael Baklouk: Daff
Bobby Farah: Sagat
Ibrahim Salman: Quanoun
Artemis Theodos, Gabriel Palka, Nessim Dakwar, Kamil Shajrawi: Violin
Mike Richmond: Double Bass
Michael Finkel, Vladimir Greenberg: Cello
Laura Shaheen, Louise Salman, Maurice Chedid, Nermine Rawi,
Simon Shaheen, Youssef Kassab: Chorus

Freedy Johnston is one of those rare singer-songwriters who counts
critics among his biggest fans — and whose heroes consider him a peer.
Not bad for a self-proclaimed "geek in glasses who never left his room."
Johnston's 9th album, 'Back on the Road to You' is a record steeped in
wit, humor, pathos, love, and friendship drenched with memorable,
infectious melodies
Johnston recorded the album in Los Angeles with producer Eric Corne after
setting up house in nearby Joshua Tree. The new surroundings seem to have
imbued the album's mood and instrumentation with echoes of The Byrds,
Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young. Joining Johnston in the studio
were Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, and longtime collaborator,
Susan Cowsill, along with an all-star roots music band, including Doug Pettibone
(Lucinda Williams), Dusty Wakeman (Jim Lauderdale), Dave Raven (Shelby Lynn)
and Sasha Smith (Priscilla Ahn).In 1994 Rolling Stone named Johnston the
'Songwriter of the Year', describing him as "A master storyteller, (who) sketches
out full- blown tragedies in a few taut poetic lines." Adding, "He joins that elite
cadre of songwriters—Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello—whose brilliant pop
compositions turn magical with the addition of a defiantly idiosyncratic singing
voice."
'Back on the Road to You' is a return to grace for this gifted songwriter. It
embodies the sound of an American original reminding us that he is still
considered one of the best songwriters of his generation.

Freedy Johnston is one of those rare singer-songwriters who counts
critics among his biggest fans — and whose heroes consider him a peer.
Not bad for a self-proclaimed "geek in glasses who never left his room."
Johnston's 9th album, 'Back on the Road to You' is a record steeped in
wit, humor, pathos, love, and friendship drenched with memorable,
infectious melodies
Johnston recorded the album in Los Angeles with producer Eric Corne after
setting up house in nearby Joshua Tree. The new surroundings seem to have
imbued the album's mood and instrumentation with echoes of The Byrds,
Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young. Joining Johnston in the studio
were Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, and longtime collaborator,
Susan Cowsill, along with an all-star roots music band, including Doug Pettibone
(Lucinda Williams), Dusty Wakeman (Jim Lauderdale), Dave Raven (Shelby Lynn)
and Sasha Smith (Priscilla Ahn).In 1994 Rolling Stone named Johnston the
'Songwriter of the Year', describing him as "A master storyteller, (who) sketches
out full- blown tragedies in a few taut poetic lines." Adding, "He joins that elite
cadre of songwriters—Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello—whose brilliant pop
compositions turn magical with the addition of a defiantly idiosyncratic singing
voice."
'Back on the Road to You' is a return to grace for this gifted songwriter. It
embodies the sound of an American original reminding us that he is still
considered one of the best songwriters of his generation.

For Fans Of: Aasha Puthli / Grace Jones / Minnie Ripperton/ The Supremes/ Love Apple / Kendra Morris. Previous debut 45 garnered much acclaim from KCRW, the BBC, Albumism, and countless more. The band consists of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, former 79.5 and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Parker Brown (former 79.5), and Sabrina Cunningham. Housed in a spot-glossed LP with exclusive lyric / photo insert. The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She, the all female discodelic soul band that will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves! The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections. The largely self-produced debut album ‘Prism’ features contributions from Dap Kings Joey Crispiano & Victor Axelrod, Max Shrager (The Shacks) Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) Nikhil Yearwadekar (former Antibalas) Andy Bauer (Twin Shadow) and Matty McDermot (NYPMH). “The funkiest sh*t we’ve heard in a while” (KCRW) // “A glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation”

For Fans Of: Aasha Puthli / Grace Jones / Minnie Ripperton/ The Supremes/ Love Apple / Kendra Morris. Previous debut 45 garnered much acclaim from KCRW, the BBC, Albumism, and countless more. The band consists of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, former 79.5 and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Parker Brown (former 79.5), and Sabrina Cunningham. Housed in a spot-glossed LP with exclusive lyric / photo insert. The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She, the all female discodelic soul band that will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves! The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections. The largely self-produced debut album ‘Prism’ features contributions from Dap Kings Joey Crispiano & Victor Axelrod, Max Shrager (The Shacks) Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) Nikhil Yearwadekar (former Antibalas) Andy Bauer (Twin Shadow) and Matty McDermot (NYPMH). “The funkiest sh*t we’ve heard in a while” (KCRW) // “A glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation”

A collection of powerful songs from across the Trojan catalogue, calling for unity and solidarity.

Trojan Records played a pivotal role in bringing Jamaican music to the UK and Europe; not only did it provide comfort and a sense of home for the Caribbean community living in the UK, but it also became an outlet for many thousands of white, working class youths, drawn to the exciting new sounds of reggae. This in turn created a new youth subculture within the UK.

Trojan became more than a music label, it also brought people together through culture, style and fashion. For the first time, people of all races and creeds would unite in the dancehalls, and friendships blossomed because people shared a common love for one thing - the music.

This collection of songs communicates an intergenerational, international story that, on the one hand, elucidates the black experience; on the other, repeats the call for us all to come together in unity.

Joell Ortiz has a new solo album, "Autograph", coming out on Mello Music Group November 12th. Joell is 1/4 of the supergroup Slaughterhouse along with Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9, and KXNG Crooked. His career started on Dr. Dre's Aftermath and then lead to Eminem's Shady Records, before joining the Mello Music Squad. He appears on Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton soundtrack, as well as Eminem's most recent album "Music To Be Murdered By." Joell's upcoming album "Autograph" features production from 9x Grammy Nominee Salaam Remi, the Grammy Winning Heatmakerz, Hesami, and Detroit legend Apollo Brown, along with features from Sheek Louch, Marc Scibilia, KXNG Crooked, Pastor LBS, and CyHi the Prynce.

Black Is Golden', the first full length LP from Wyn Starks, isn't just the
name of a record, it's his truth as a black man living in modern America
"I decided to call the album 'Black Is Golden' because throughout history black
and brown people have gone through so much injustice in this country and yet
contributed so much to society. I think it's important that we celebrate each other
and all our differences." But the songs aren't all centered on social justice- the
album features upbeat tracksk like "Circles" and "Dancing My Way" which
showcase Stark's vocal range and sunny disposition; juxtoposed with "At The End
Of The River", a deeply emotional track about the tragic loss of Wyn's twin brother.
Starks' feels his journey to self-love is captured in this body of work. He shares,
"I'm learning how to celebrate these accomplishments in my life and to love
myself, flawa and all."
Tracks: Circles / Black Is Golden / Not A Waste (feat. Melanie Pfirrman) / Sunday
Morning / Perfect / Let You Down / Who I Am / Dancing My Way / Sparrow (feat.
Built By Tital) / Tomorrow (feat. Andreas Moss) / At The End Of The River

Zapatilla, better known as Louis Hackett, is a founding member of Brownswood 's Owiny Sigoma Band and key collaborator on Eska's Mercury nominated debut album, but has a neat side hustle making house music with one foot in the gentle melodies of Balearic beat and another in the irresistible energy of Afrobeat. It's a recipe that he continues over onto this fine four tracker, which opens with the smoothly grooving but lively 'Like Dat' before 'Zimzimmer' builds up around a gently frenetic Afro guitar riff. On the flip, 'Disco Facial' is slower and more retro, with a synth line that could be from a lost John Carpenter soundtrack. 'Self Isolated' completes the package in its most esoteric fashion, another synth work rooted in the past, this time perhaps echoing the approachable experimentalism of Jean Jacques Perry.

Right On Time - Trojan Rock Steady is the 2nd part of the exclusive Music On Vinyl’s Trojan compilation series, which celebrates the best works from the legendary reggae label Trojan Records. It was compiled by Laurence Cane-Honeysett, who also wrote the linernotes. Some of Trojan’s finest are featured on this compilation; as there are The Gladiators, The Melodians, The Gladiators, Ken Boothe a.o.

4 LP set is for Indies only until further notice. Unravelled: 1981–2002 shines a loving light on lo-fi pioneers Tall Dwarfs, the prized New Zealand duo of Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate. The collection, available as a 4-LP or 2-CD box set, compiles songs from Tall Dwarfs' two decades of recordings. The vinyl edition includes a 20-page collector's booklet of photos, comics, posters, and other ephemera. The songs on Unravelled: 1981–2002 were curated by Alec Bathgate, who also designed the box set packaging; Chris Knox suffered a debilitating stroke in 2009 just as they had started work on a new album. The collection captures the different sides of the Tall Dwarfs in 55 songs. Though the band was an excuse for two good friends who lived in different cities to get together, drink beer, watch shitty old movies, and do some recording and drawing, Tall Dwarfs created music unlike anyone else. Capturing the initial excitement of creation and taking pride in what they did, Knox and Bathgate showed a whole generation of musicians what could be done at home on a 4-track and what magic could be made if you mixed pop melodies and hooks galore with homemade sounds. After a failed flirtation with success in their previous band Toy Love, Knox and Bathgate formed Tall Dwarfs in 1981, opting to record themselves on a 4-track reel-to-reel. New Zealand’s AudioCulture wrote of the duo’s project: “Early live performances were a ramshackle work in progress. Knox described them in an interview with American magazine Forced Exposure as ‘two minutes of song followed by five minutes of fucking around,’ and they dismayed many Toy Love fans—but the pair had no interest in a career spent in pubs cranking out ‘Pull Down the Shades.’” Tall Dwarfs was meant to be a one-off, but after the founding of their New Zealand label Flying Nun, they continued to record music for the next 21 years, releasing seven EPs and six albums. Their process was spontaneous, with songs being recorded as they were written. Typically, Bathgate would work up something on guitar while Knox provided vocals, lyrics, and tape loops. Then they added any sounds that seemed necessary to finish a song, using whatever was lying around: pans, chairs, baby rattles. Though Tall Dwarfs could be weird, they were never too experimental; Knox and Bathgate both loved melody too much (“Beatlesque” appeared more often than any other adjective in their reviews).

Slyder Smith first swaggered onto the stage as lead guitarist with glam-tinged power popsters, Last Great Dreamers. After releasing four studio albums and one live album on Ray Records & having toured extensively throughout the UK & Europe with LGD, Slyder now takes centre stage leading Slyder Smith & The Oblivion Kids (Tim Emery, Bass and Rik Pratt, Drums) in an honest outpouring of grit, glamour and emotion. Stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight, the self-confessed ‘frustrated lead singer’ has been forced to delve deep into his own psyche, to carefully craft lyrics and melodies that speak from the heart. Slyder’s emotive vocals are powerful, yet melancholic, the perfect balance of light and shade sitting effortlessly within the sonic landscape of his varied rhythm guitar sounds and highly melodic & anthemic lead lines. “This album has been a real labour of love for me, I’ve really put my heart & soul into it. Over the last year or so I’ve been working very hard developing my guitar playing, music & lyric writing pulling myself in all sorts of directions, really stretching myself. I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do, create songs from the heart in no specific genre & perform them to the best of my ability on the record. I guess for years I have been a frustrated lead singer so I have relished the opportunity to showcase what I can do vocally too.” – Slyder Smith - Stage left, Slyder is joined by Tim Emery, a towering enigma, whose stylish bass lines are the only thing to outshine his impeccable apparel and at the back sits the Oblivion Kids’ powerhouse and beat master, Welshman, Rik Pratt. A man of few words but whose presence is palpable in this rock steady rhythm section. But this is no ordinary guitar-based rock album; together with producer Pete Brown (George Harrison, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Marc Almond, The Smiths and Sam Brown), Slyder has allowed the songs to dictate the direction they have gone in; discovering melodies and hook lines along the way. Making use of Hammond organ and piano with the help of Neil Scully (Richard Davies & the Dissidents), a 1950s Phillicord organ, lap steel guitar & even a bit of banjo. A chocolate box of sonic sensations offering up a little something for everyone - from heavy riffage with walloping drums akin to the brothers Young to the anticipated sleaze rock shades of Hanoi Rocks. However, this band is not afraid to step away from their rock roots, instead, with nods to the likes of The Doors, Velvet Underground, The Stranglers and The Kinks from the past and the alternative rock sound of Manic Street Preachers, The Oblivion Kids have reimagined an 80s synth pop classic and mastered singalong pop, gothic, dark Americana, and dare I say it, funk rock?! There are a few firsts for Slyder on here too in the form of an instrumental track with a western feel and to a duet featuring the ethereal vocals of Nina Courson (Healthy Junkies). The result is an idiosyncratic 14 track album of outstanding versatility. A Charming debut, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Our Albarika Stores 7-inch series returns with one of the masterpieces of lo-fi Afro-funk: 'It's A Vanity' by Gabo Brown and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo.

Originally released in the early '70s, it is a fine example of the way that Benin's premier group could perfectly nail a James Brown-style groove and then twist it to make it uniquely their own thing.

'It's A Vanity' is one of the masterpieces of low-fi Afro-Funk, and has been widely sought after (and become extremely valuable) since it was comped in 2008. We've paired it with the first reissue of 'Nougbo Vehou (La Verité Blesse)' - licensed directly from bandleader Clement Melomé's family - for a must-have double-sider!

This previously unreleased album by the Horace Tapscott Quintet was unearthed from master tapes in the Flying Dutchman archives. Recorded in 1969 and was intended to be a follow-up album to the classic 'The Giant Is Awakened' which was released that year.

The iconic pianist and composer Horace Tapscott was one of the most unique and important figures in LA’s jazz world. This lost recording was produced by one of the pivotal figures in jazz, Bob Thiele, a leading behind-the-scenes star who worked with many of the greats in jazz, such as Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Della Reese, Shirley Scott, Gil Scott-Heron, the list goes on. His name can be seen gracing, arguably the best, Impulse! releases and those released on his own Flying Dutchman imprint set up in 1969.

Joining Horace for this three-track, deep, heavy, avant-garde session is the same stellar cast featured on 'The Giant Is Awakened'; Arthur Blythe on Alto Sax, Everett Brown Jr on Drums, with David Bryant and Walter Savage Jr. on Bass. Kicking things off we have 'World Peace’, which starts with an almost baroque-esque melody, leading to an eruption in sound, it then ends in the same manner it began. The beautiful 'Your Child' is the jewel in the crown, skirting modal, deep jazz and introducing elements of free jazz. 'For Fats' with its bow bass and piano intro takes you on a journey, dropping into, at times dark, stormy melodies and developing a driving energy as the composition progresses.

After recording this album, Horace was said to be wary of the music industry, so he retreated and distanced himself from this world, recording only for the independent labels UGMAA, Interplay Records, and Nimbus West Records. He set up The Pan-Afrikan People’s Arkestra and reintroduced the pan-African-roots sound back into the heart of jazz. He also developed and promoted the art form through performances and recordings.

Thankfully, this session from these wonderful musical pioneers was preserved and finally has its time to shine.

Featuring brand-new artwork by the illustrious artist/designer/musician Raimund Wong (Total Refreshment / Floating World Pictures)

Note price increase and cat number change from last time around. In the late 1960s, the American trumpet player and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry (1936-1995) and the Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943-2009) began a collaboration that imagined an alternative space for creative music, most succinctly expressed in Moki's aphorism "the stage is home and home is a stage." By 1972, they had given name to a concept that united Don's music, Moki's art, and their family life in rural Tagårp, Sweden into one holistic entity: Organic Music Theatre. Captured here is the historic first Organic Music Theatre performance from the 1972 Festival de jazz de Chateauvallon in the South of France, mastered from tapes recorded during its original live broadcast on public TV. A life-affirming, multicultural patchwork of borrowed tunes suffused with the hallowed aura of Don's extensive global travels, the performance documents the moment he publicly jettisoned his identity as a jazz musician, and represents the start of his communal "mystical" period, later crystallized in recordings such as Organic Music Society, Relativity Suite, Brown Rice, and the soundtrack for Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain. The musicians in Don Cherry's New Researches, hailing from Brazil, Sweden, France, and the US, converged on Chateauvallon from all over Europe. The five-person band Don and Moki Cherry, Christer Bothén, Gérard "Doudou" Gouirand, and Naná Vasconcelos performed in an outdoor amphitheater and were joined onstage by a dozen adults and children, including Swedish friends who tagged along for the trip and Det Lilla Circus (The Little Circus), a Danish puppet troupe based in Christiania, Copenhagen. The platform was lined with Moki's carpets and her handmade, brightly colored tapestries, depicting Indian scales and bearing the words Organic Music Theatre, dressed the stage. As the musicians played, members of Det Lilla, led by Annie Hedvard, danced, sang, and mounted an improvised puppet show on poles high up in the air. The music in the Chateauvallon concert aspired to a universal language that would bring people together through song. In a fairly unprecedented move, Don abandoned his signature pocket trumpet for the piano and harmonium, thereby liberating his voice as an instrument for shamanic guidance. The show opens with him beckoning the audience to clap their hands and sing the Indian theta "Dha Dhin Na, Dha Tin Na," and the set cycles through uplifting and sacred tunes of Malian, South African, Brazilian, and Native American provenance including pieces that would later appear on Don's albums Organic Music Society and Home Boy (Sister Out) all punctuated by outbursts of possessed glossolalia from the puppeteers. "Relativity Suite, Part 1" notably spotlights Bothén on donso ngoni, a Malian hunter's guitar, prior to Vasconcelos taking an extended solo on berimbau. A vortex of wah-like microtonal rattling, Vasconcelos's masterful demonstration of this single-stringed Brazilian instrument is a harbinger of his work to come as a member, with Don, of the acclaimed group Codona. The sounds of children playing on the ensemble's achingly tender rendition of Jim Pepper's oft-covered beacon of spiritual optimism, "Witchi Tai To," lends the proceedings an especially intimate, domestic glow. Given the context of the star-studded international jazz festival, the concert's laid back, communal vibe feels like an attempt by the Cherrys to show Don's jazz audience that he was moving on. At the same time, however, Don was extending a warmhearted invitation for them to come along for the ride. With liner notes by Magnus Nygren. Track list: 1. Intro: Dha Dhin Na, Dha Tin Na 2. Butterfly Friend 3. Elixir 4. Amazwe 5. Interlude with Puppets 6. Ganesh 7. Elixir Reprise / Witchi Tai To 8. Resa 9. Relativity Suite, Part 1 10. Berimbau Solo 11. Interlude / North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn 12. Elixir Reprise / Ganesh 13. Ntsikana's Bell / Traditional Melody

Standout favorites of RidingEasy Records’ Brown Acid compilation series, White Lightning’s stellar discography of rare and under-appreciated heavy psych, proto-metal rock gets a vital revival for new generations to learn how swinging, swaggering and often blazingly fast rock’n’roll is done.White Lightning was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1968 by guitarist Tom “Zippy” Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich after leaving garage psych band The Litter (themselves popular standouts from the Nuggets and Pebbles series of garage rock rarities.) Originally a power trio, the band later expanded to a 5-piece in 1969 while shortening its name to Lightning. The quintet’s brilliant and rare 1970 self-titled album on Pickwick International’s P.I.P. imprint provides 6 of the 10 tracks on Thunderbolts of Fuzz.The original White Lightning trio only released one 45-rpm single “Of Paupers and Poets” during their existence (on local Hexagon label in 1968, later reissued by major label ATCO Records in 1969.) A long out-of-print posthumous album released in 1995 gathered unreleased recordings, 3 of which are found here. This rounds out this collection of recorded highlights from the band’s rocky history.
Taking their name from a particularly potent type of LSD, White Lightning laid out from the start that it was not cute and cuddly 70s rock. In fact, the band’s aggressive tempos are like punk rock way before punk. However, their dirty blues groove and musical prowess shows the band was more than unrefined ne’er-do-wells, they had true versatility.
Drummer/lead vocalist Mick Stanhope later relinquished his drum throne to take center stage as lead singer of the expanded lineup. Throughout its initial 1968-1974 run, the band had 10 different lineups, with Caplan, Woodrich and Stanhope the most consistent members — though the band points out that no one member has played in all 11 incarnations of the group. For more facts and information visit thelitter-lightning.
Album opener “Prelude to Opus IV” is a wailing rocker with blazing double-kick drum, sizzling melodic riffs and Jim Dandy howls jam packed into an epic 4 minutes that serves enough testament to the band’s greatness, nothing more need be heard or said. However, the would-be hits keep coming as the Led Zeppelin meets Black Oak Arkansas thwack of “Hideaway” and “Born Too Rich” come screaming out of the speakers. “When A Man Could Be Free” shows the band could also reign in the fury, at least a little bit, for a warm Southern rock style ballad. “Borrowed and Blue” echoes the stately poetry of Electric Ladyland-era Hendrix with a dash of The Who’s rollicking psychedelia. “1930” is, quite simply, insane. Searing twin guitars with incredible fuzz-drenched tone, a warm and buzzing bass line bounce atop drummer Bernie Pershey’s unrelenting bass drum triplets while Stanhope ravages his lungs with soulful abandon. The album closes with the aptly titled “Before My Time” a barnstorming boogie rock instrumental the proves the band vanished long before receiving their due.

Jeder Song hat die Kraft, Erinnerungen wachzurufen und das Gefühl von Heimat durch Musik nutzbar zu machen: von der psychedelisch-funklastigen Single 'Something's Going On' bis zur kongregativen Energie des neuen Tracks 'We Give Thanks' verschmilzt 'Could We Be More' die Afro-Londoner Synergie, die so natürlich die Wärme und Identität von Kokoroko untermauert. Die Mehrfach-Preisträger Kokoroko sind auf soulige, bläserlastige Sounds mit westafrikanischen Wurzeln und Londoner Einflüssen spezialisiert. Sie spielten bereits auf vielen europäischen Festivals (von Glastonbury über Meltdown bis Elbjazz und Jazz á la Villette) und freuen sich darauf, ihre Reichweite in 2022 und darüber hinaus weiter auszubauen. Die Band trat in mehreren BBC-Fernsehshows auf, ihre beiden Boiler Room-Sets wurden zusammen fast eine halbe Million Mal angehört.

- 'This female-led, multicultural collective of under 30s is a vital example of not only jazz's new form but the shape of things to come.' - The Guardian
- 'Drawing influence from West African highlife and jazz, wellmarinated in enough polyrhythm seasoning to induce fires on the dance floors they play.' - OkayAfrica
- 'Afrobeat, jazz, soul and ’70s psych-leaning funk - luminescent!' - Cool Hunting

Jeder Song hat die Kraft, Erinnerungen wachzurufen und das Gefühl von Heimat durch Musik nutzbar zu machen: von der psychedelisch-funklastigen Single 'Something's Going On' bis zur kongregativen Energie des neuen Tracks 'We Give Thanks' verschmilzt 'Could We Be More' die Afro-Londoner Synergie, die so natürlich die Wärme und Identität von Kokoroko untermauert. Die Mehrfach-Preisträger Kokoroko sind auf soulige, bläserlastige Sounds mit westafrikanischen Wurzeln und Londoner Einflüssen spezialisiert. Sie spielten bereits auf vielen europäischen Festivals (von Glastonbury über Meltdown bis Elbjazz und Jazz á la Villette) und freuen sich darauf, ihre Reichweite in 2022 und darüber hinaus weiter auszubauen. Die Band trat in mehreren BBC-Fernsehshows auf, ihre beiden Boiler Room-Sets wurden zusammen fast eine halbe Million Mal angehört.

- 'This female-led, multicultural collective of under 30s is a vital example of not only jazz's new form but the shape of things to come.' - The Guardian
- 'Drawing influence from West African highlife and jazz, wellmarinated in enough polyrhythm seasoning to induce fires on the dance floors they play.' - OkayAfrica
- 'Afrobeat, jazz, soul and ’70s psych-leaning funk - luminescent!' - Cool Hunting

Cocoon Recordings presents: Cocoon Compilation T

Limited Vinyl Box Set including 6x blue vinyl & download code

Another year, another expertly curated compilation touches down courtesy of Cocoon Recordings. Somehow, the world keeps turning and with it the Cocoon universe keeps expanding, causing subtle yet persuasive shifts in the sonic soundscape that continue to
capture and captivate the imagination. In time-honored tradition the old guard and the new combine with devastating effect, to define the current state of play…
Veteran Techno producer Stephen Brown makes it clear the compilation series is back with a bang, opening things up in epic fashion with the lucid dreamscape ‘Level Steps’ - a true work of art. Another heavy-weight hitter steps straight up in the form of Claude von Stroke, who adds his own unique swagger to proceedings with those trademark shuffling beats and freaky, hypnotic bleeps scuffling for dominance on ‘Moody Fuse’. Denis Horvat then slows things down on ‘Monomono’, with post-raveNew Release Information
abstractions and disobedient synth-patches causing mayhem before the track finally unfolds in all its terrifying beauty.
Motoring on, the collection wastes no time reaching that familiar tipping point as we enter the techno phase of the journey. A very special appearance from Daniel Avery makes it all the more worthwhile amid a dense forest of chiming melodies and blistering electrical surges on ‘Your Future Looks Different In The Light’, before Jeroen Search’s aptly titled ‘Subversive Elements’ lead us deeper and
deeper, into the matrix.
Marco Bailey then kicks off a triptych of trance with some massive filtered piano action on ‘Kanai’ that’s destined to trigger a serotonin smile with everyone it touches. Revisiting the huge,
ever-growing pulsating brain of planet Orb, Damiano van Erckert continues the loved-up vibe on the gorgeously titled ‘500 People 500 Hearts 1 Love’, expertly complimenting the classic ambience with
some slick 909 snare and cymbal interplay. The melodic pull of ‘Vision99’ then signifies that the party is peaking at just the right moment as YOKTO concocts a glistening, psychedelic groove. The
emotional resonance climbs ever higher with brittle melodies endlessly circling a lush, throbbing bass drone to create the sense of something stirring out of reach.
Just when you think the acid sound is done and dusted, up pops a track like Jonathan Kaspar’s ‘CCC’ that somehow manages to offer an entirely new perspective. Riding in on a wave of expectant
arpeggios, the squelching bass and noise filter go toe to toe before Kaspar gets busy with a freaky tempo excursion that’ll be destroying dance floors all year long. ‘The Art of Electronics’ is, as the title
suggests, another superlative example of pure analogue fire, served up by UK legend, Andrew Meecham aka The Emperor Machine. The funk starts to flow as the bass drops, the machines cut loose and a swarm of cascading bleeps ride the trans-europa express to oblivion.
Electro overlord Carl Finlow, has come to define the UK take on the genre over the last couple of decades. Here, he makes his long overdue label debut, taking us into the closing straight with a
nervous sliver of dystopian futurism, complete with molten basslines and a fuzzy logic that underpins the tight, laser-guided groove on ‘Surface Control’. DeFeKT then draws this great adventure to a close
with the deliciously dark robo-disco overtones of ‘Terraform’ creating a dusky landscape that skillfully seduces the listener before the tension finally breaks in a wash of ecstatic chords.
All in all, it’s a supremely ambitious collection of tracks, generously featuring some of the most inspirational and durable artists of their respective generations. In fact, is this perhaps the best Cocoon
Compilation to date

Tortoise has spent nearly 30 years making music that defies description. While the Chicago-based instrumental quintet has nodded to dub, rock, jazz, electronica, and minimalism throughout its revered and influential discography, the resulting sounds have always been distinctly, even stubbornly, their own. There is a always the pervasive element of group play, or ensemble?mindedness, as opposed to emphasis on a virtuoso soloist or frontman, despite the fact Tortoise is composed of members who could each easily have taken center stage in another group. In their debut, Tortoise is composed of Douglas McCombs, John Herndon, Dan Bitney, John McEntire, and Bundy K. Brown. This self-titled, incorporates many musical styles and influences, but no one style alone is sufficient to fully describe the distinct sound they craft. This unique blending of styles caused them to be recognized as the leaders of a new musical movement. Tortoise utilize the recording studio, not only to put their music to wax, but in a way that their recording process becomes a compostional tool described at times as the "sixth member", thus creating a boundless parameter in which to create and manipulate music. Tortoise's self-titled debut was originally released in 1994. This re-issue is re-mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Mastering, in jacket with art insert, both designed by Sam Prekop as well as a free download card. 2022 version is available on limited edition white with hi-melt black vinyl

After an almost 2 year hiatus, letherette is back with Brown Lounge Volume 6. Since the 2020 release of Mander House Volume 2, BL6 sees Letherette return to it's hip hop routes. The release will be available on Wulf records digitally and limited edition Cassettes.

2022 re-press, 180g vinyl

A monumental force firmly rooted in the soul canon, Willie Hutch is most notable for recording two of the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, The Mack and Foxy Brown. Yet his legacy is much greater. Outside of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, Hutch was arguably Motown's top male solo artist of the 70s. Prior to his association with Gordy et al, Hutch crafted his opening statements for RCA, two vital LPs that Be With Records is honoured to present today.
Often-overlooked, his second album Season For Love (1970) is a must for all deep soul fans and has been sought-after by collectors of different stripes for decades. Whereas his debut featured thundering, gritty numbers, Hutch treats us to a mellower soul here - sumptuous, warm and string-led. He compared his approach to that of Otis Redding and there are definite parallels, from the raspy, rough-hewn vocals that tend to roam between sweet and deeply impassioned to the horn-heavy, emphatic sonic backdrops.
With flawless originals presented alongside a few well-chosen classics (his stunning cover of "Wichita Lineman" arguably bests the original's splendour), it's easy to see why sample-based musicians have been falling over themselves to plunder from this album. Witness the sweeping strings that grace "The Magic Of Love" and the heartbreaking "Walking On My Love", the mellifluous guitar work on the contemplative instrumental "The Shortest Distance" and gorgeous single "When A Boy Falls In Love".
Whilst the arrangements and playing are subtly jaw-dropping throughout, Hutch's uncontrived voice has a certain warmth to match a Nat "King" Cole and a purity of tone that even recalls the great Sam Cooke. Indeed, a few numbers are almost in a jazz vocal territory reminiscent of artists Lou Rawls. That's not to say that others lack the righteous energy and undeniable groove of Willie's later sound.
Remarkably consistent throughout - a rare commodity for many 70s soul albums - the lack of one signature song likely hindered its progress. Regardless, it deserved to make more of an impact and now, paired with the majestic debut, Soul Portrait, these recordings shine a new light on the early work of a soul legend.
Original vinyl copies of this album are extremely rare - and correspondingly expensive - so we're thrilled to present the first ever vinyl reissue of a true lost classic. This release is officially licensed and has been remastered for vinyl by our esteemed engineer Simon Francis. It has been pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl for the first time and features the original, rarely seen artwork.

Grammy-nominated album features some of Albert's most popular tracks
like "I Ain't Drunk," "Lights Are On But Nobody's Home" and "Too Many
Dirty Dishes
" The Master of the Telecaster's last Alligator release, and his favorite, finds him
backed by a hand- picked all- star band featuring organist Jimmy McGriff and
guitarist Mel Brown, plus the Uptown Horns. All tracks remastered.

In a natural departure from their intoxicating signature new-wave-jazz-funk sound, STR4TA present the double side 12” vinyl - “When You Call Me/Night Flight” available 8th July 2022.

‘When You Call Me’ is already available digitally and has received early support from Rampage (BBC 1Xtra) and Deb Grant (Jazz FM) plus NTS, MiSoul, Solar Radio, KCRW (US), KEXP (US), Concrete Islands, CRACK Magazine, Nu-Funk (Spotify) also achieved Jazz FM playlist since release in early April. In this latest offering, STR4TA unveil a refreshing neoteric layer reverberating with the essence of electro-street-soul in the UK.

STR4TA is the new wave jazz-funk project pioneered by Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick. Long-time friends and collaborators, STR4TA sees them mine new musical possibilities inspired by a shared formative era. Their debut album ‘Aspects’ was released in March 2021 to a rapturous reception, in the first material that Maunick and Peterson have released together in over a decade. With standout tracks ‘We Like It’ achieving over 1 million streams on Spotify, ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ exceeding 12 weeks on Jazz FM’s playlist, and a remix EP featuring Melé, Dave Lee, Greg Wilson, Dave Aju& more released at the end of 2021. Heavily supported by BBC 6Music, The Guardian, Wax Poetics, The Vinyl Factory, CLASH, Télérama (FR), Radio Nova (FR), Rolling Stones Italy & Japan.



STR4TA are in the studio working on their latest body of work tipped for release later in 2022, with selected live dates scheduled over the summer.

Joell Ortiz has a new solo album, "Autograph", coming out on Mello Music Group November 12th. Joell is 1/4 of the supergroup Slaughterhouse along with Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9, and KXNG Crooked. His career started on Dr. Dre's Aftermath and then lead to Eminem's Shady Records, before joining the Mello Music Squad. He appears on Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton soundtrack, as well as Eminem's most recent album "Music To Be Murdered By." Joell's upcoming album "Autograph" features production from 9x Grammy Nominee Salaam Remi, the Grammy Winning Heatmakerz, Hesami, and Detroit legend Apollo Brown, along with features from Sheek Louch, Marc Scibilia, KXNG Crooked, Pastor LBS, and CyHi the Prynce.

'Soul Food - Cooking with Maceo' blends raw, old-school funk with the
flavours of the New Orleans school of music
Parker worked with Ivan Neville, Nikki Glaspie and Tony Hall, as well as a host of
local musicians to record the songs. The funky flavour of the city weaves its way
through the album as the funk father and his band take on iconic songs of the
Mississippi masters such as Dr. John's voodoo funk of 'Right Place, Wrong Time',
The Meters 'Just Kissed My Baby,' 'Yes, We Can Can' recorded by Allen Toussaint
as well as takes on Aretha Franklin's 'Rock Steady', Prince's 'The Other Side of the
Pillow' and Maceo's long-time hero and Ray Charles Saxophonist, David "Fathead"
Newman's 'Hard Times'. We also get funky workouts from Parkers own back
catalogue on 'Maceo' and 'Cross The Tracks'. The latter adopted by Giles
Peterson at the staple song of his iconic WAG Club in Soho, London in the 1980s.
The amazing P-funk Parker has been at it with his legendary sound for time that
dates back to the 1960's. That's when Maceo and his drummer brother Melvin
climbed on board the James Brown funky soul funk train. It wasn't long before
James coined the solo summoning signature, "Maceo, I want you to Blow!". To
most musicologists it's the musically fertile group of men from this period of
James Brown's band who are recognized as the early pioneers of the modern
funk and hip-hop whose sounds we still jump to in the present day.