quête:mo’ funk

John Devecchis AKA The Owl takes flight once again here on his self titled label's 10th outing. Once again it is a head turning mix of disco and funk that carries on where his superb Concrete Funk album from 20121 left off. These are beefy cuts with authentic grooves, starting with the loose limbed playfulness of 'Shake It'. There is a more heavy, purposeful chug to 'Follow Me' which comes alive with lush strings and perfect soul vocals. 'Always Be There' leans into a house groove with noodling guitar riffs a la Chic and 'The Way' is a nice leggy and elastic pumper with expressive diva wails. Super stuff.

Spirit of Sundaze Ensemble (SOSE) is the latest evolution from London based DJ / producer, label and party series Secretsundaze. Sitting at the intersection of live music and electronic music innovation, leading contemporary musicians reimagine, record and perform a selection of tracks which have been foundational across Secretsundaze’s 20+ year history, embracing a myriad of influences from Balearic to synth pop to Brit funk.

EP 1 opens with their first single, a re-imagination of Photek’s seminal ‘Mine to Give’. Featuring Wayne Snow on vocals and garnering wide support from the likes of BBC 6 Music heads Gilles Peterson and Nabihah Iqbal, through to NTS and Worldwide FM tastemakers including Zakia, Moxie and Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, the tempo is slowed and explored in a more synthy 80s production style.

Next is their take on Joyce Sims’ (RIP) ‘Come into My Life’, moving the original Mantronix production into a more contemporary UK / Street Soul / Balearic territory.

The B-side sees them take on beloved Phil Asher (RIP) production, Nathan Haines’ stunning ‘Earth is the Place’, a classic Secretsundaze record if ever there was one. Featuring the vocals of Cherise, the SOSE version is a dance floor ready update which will appeal to all lovers of proper deep, soulful-leaning house music, one for the heads.

Closing the record is a flip of Wbeeza’s ‘Coast Spotting’. Featuring synths from the excellent Hinako Omori, this one goes in with an extended late night transcendental electronic / jazz rework with the original’s looped lead line modulating throughout the piece.

Leading musicians feature on the record including Myele Manzanza (Theo Parrish, Sound Signature), Lewis Moody (Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange), Nikos Ziarkas (Theon Cross, Chelsea Carmichael), Oli Savill (Basement Jaxx), and Johnny Brierley (Fofoulah).

Following their debut sold out show at Southbank’s Centre Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Ensemble next take to the London stage at the iconic EartH Theatre, Dalston on September 21st for an EP launch party as well as a headline open-air concert at Las Dalias, Ibiza as part of Beat Hotel on September 30th.

All in all, an impressive debut showcasing the breadth and scope of this exciting new live project from Secretsundaze founder James Priestley, one to watch.

In 2022, Fixed Rhythms released Marcela Dias Sindaco’s “Rio de Janeiro 3025 EP”. Now the label is proud to welcome her back for a brand new 10 track sequel entitled “Cidade Fantasma”. Vintage synths borrowed from her father, her icy but inviting spoken Portuguese lyrics, her characteristically straight to the point and funky yet mysterious electro…it’s all woven together in this brilliant exhibit of an artist who hears dance music in a singular way and who masterfully delivers her vision to the listener. All you need are your ears. The moment of understanding is instantaneous when you listen.

South London soul artist Andrew Ashong returns with his first full release since 2014 - an expansive six-track collaboration with Kaidi Tatham, the unrivaled underground virtuoso described as the UK's Herbie Hancock. 'Sankofa Season' takes both artists to new heights as they seamlessly complement each other's musical language, giving voice to productions that criss-cross genre and time to move into their own distinct lane. Expect deep jazz funk, hazy contemporary soul, jazzy broken beat, breezy latin soul, organic deep house and much more.

Broc Recordz is proud to announce the album "Puzzled" by the legendary JJ Whitefield, you'll immerse yourself in the enigmatic universe of this master of funk and psychedelism.

Across 13 tracks, you will discover all facets of this musician hailing from Munich, ranging from raw funk to krautrock. JJ Whitefield is an iconic figure in the music scene, having played an essential role in diverse projects such as the mastermind behind Poets Of Rhythm, Karl Hector, The Whitefield Brothers and his essential role in the recent careers of Ebo Taylor, embryo and witch“. "Puzzled" is the perfect opportunity to delve into his unique musical world.

Drivetrain
Music Got Me - The quintessential blend of retro sophistication with ultramodern late night chic. A rolling bass transports a melodious string accompaniment through an arresting vocal hook.
Afterhours Mix - Following the same path with a slightly different spin, incorporating an electronic touch on the retro syncopation.

Melodymann
Keep It Movin - Intelligently enriched with uplifting vocal drops complementing spicy horn fills, funk bass and electrifying beat oscillation.
Up & Down - Maintaining the energy but substituting the horn fills with jazzy keyboard riffs while the vocal slices continue to drop over bouncing subfrequencies.

Repress!

Having established himself as a talented, Jungle-influenced artist, Sam Binary is to appear on The North Quarter with his first extended project on the label. Collaborating with fellow producer Deviant on three tracks and spanning multiple tempos, the EP stays rooted in a common theme: Sam Binary’s love letter to 90s Intelligent Jungle. 

Using modern techniques and production styles combined with classic hardware such as the E5000 Ultra sampler and the Mackie CR1604-VLZ mixing desk, the Bristol producer has created a unique, 90s-reminiscent sound. The result is bundled in a 7-track EP, equally suited for the dance floor as it is for listening at home.

“This release is really a love letter to 90s Intelligent Jungle and the Liquid Funk that emerged after it in the 2000s, paying homage to the music that inspired me to originally start producing nearly a decade ago”, Sam Binary explains. ‘Reality Slip’ will be released August 19th on The North Quarter.

Introducing the 2nd Volume of Super Biton of Segou’s Afro.Jazz.Folk collection, led by Malian conductor Amadou Bah, also known as “The Armstrong Malian”.

Deviation Records is thrilled to present this collaboration with The Mieruba Label Team, showcasing the diverse musical roots of 1970s Mali, combining Afro-Latin percussion, Mandingo songs, jazzy brass, and funky guitar. The album also features the captivating ArtCollage of Emma Margo incorporating visuals of Segou, Mieruba Art Center, and Françoise Huguier.

The graphic design is conceived by Les Mouches Graphic Design, with a selective varnish made from traditional Bogolan fabric of the Segou area. The audio was remastered by Raphael Jonin and cut by MB Mastering Studio in Aubervilliers.

Get ready for a full sensory experience!

'Tema di Susie' is one of the main themes from the soundtrack composed by Alessandro Alessandroni for the 1976 Italian noir Sangue di sbirro, known in English as Blood and Bullets, as well as Knell, Bloody Avenger (the Susie in the original title refers to the female love interest of the film's hero, who is on a mission to seek revenge for the gangland murder of his policeman father).

At once sweet and sentimental, haunting and melancholic, 'Tema di Susie' stands out from the other tracks in the film, which are more action oriented. Like the rest of the score, however, it exemplifies the way in which, during the '70s, Italian film composers created their own version of the sound of American blaxploitation cinema, with its groovy blend of funk, jazz, and soul. It is no coincidence that the film's director, B-movie specialist Alfonso Brescia, specifically requested music in the style of Shaft, the iconic film that defined that sound in 1971.

Though seemingly simple, 'Tema di Susie' is a perfect example of Alessandroni's style – in particular his unique ability to effortlessly blend groove and melody, funk and feeling, into one musical piece. So, we invited different artists with different backgrounds, influences and approaches to bring their individual take on this elegant and now timeless tune.

Neapolitan duo Fratelli Malibu have taken Alessandroni's melodic theme and woven it into a mesmerizing tapestry of rhythmic beats, world percussion and ethereal atmospheres. Drawing inspiration from funk/Afrobeat, synth-pop and Italo-disco, they've conjured a psychedelic-tinged, afro-cosmic groove that's bound to transport you to another dimension.

As the music unfolds, you'll feel like you've stepped into a vibrant, fantasy world. The breaks, outro, and intro are woven with a psychedelic thread that leaves you yearning to return once the final note fades away. And that's not all – they've injected an irresistible pop sensibility into the track with the use of drum machines and synths. The result? A rework that not only amplifies the dreaminess of the original but also seamlessly marries the past with the future.

We love the track so much that we decided to double the fun with a vocal retouch version, courtesy of the Italian funk/soul collective Banda Maje. Their vocalists, Chiara Della Monica and Cristina Cafiero, elegantly infuse cinematic and Balearic vibes into the mix, paying a wonderful homage to Fratelli Malibu's exquisite arrangement.

First Word Records in collaboration with Heavenly Sweetness proudly bring you a 'Beautiful' new album from the formidably funky French duo, Souleance.

So the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or perhaps in this case, the ear!). How we define beauty varies from person to person. Be it a meal, a landscape, a picture, a record… Appreciating and admiring beauty could be considered an art in itself, and one that Souleance have made a rule of life. This ethic is transposed into their own craft, used as fuel to turn beautiful moments into music.

This 15-track album seeks to convey this through an assortment of sun-saturated grooves of different shapes and sizes. While remaining true to their style of creating cut & paste sound collages and incorporating dusty samples, this album seeks to expand upon their own sonic path. Fulgeance lays down masterful work on keys, beats and bass, with Soulist the driving force behind song composition and percussive scratching. Comb...

The funk fans have been waiting for this one. Finally available on vinyl, Grant Green’s near perfect slice of jazz funk and soul, Live at Club Mozambique, remastered and rendered back in the Motor City. Grant Green’s band had been playing a series of live dates at Detroit’s Club Mozambique, (before it became a fabled Male dance club) when this session was recorded live on two cold January nights in 1971. Powerhouse drummer Idris Muhammad and soulful tenor star Houston Person were brought in to supplement Green’s current band featuring Ronnie Foster on organ and Clarence Thomas on Soprano and Tenor Sax and Blue Note producer Francis Wolff recorded. This treasure was never released, though, and (conjectures aside) remained in the Blue Notes vaults for 35 years before a 2006 CD release. Sounding incredibly fresh and live, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more real stamping of Grant Green at the top of his game. The lp blends extremely hypnotic and wild funk such as their opening cover of a local funk hit “Jan Jan” by the Fabulous Counts next to laidback renditions of early 70’s soul favorites “Walk on By”, “Patches” and “One More Chance” by the Jackson 5. It perfectly captures the magic of hearing a legendary band effortlessly doing their thing in a small club while the audience unwinds after a long work day. Green pulls it all together with his melodic genius and perfect delivery. Great artists make it seem so easy. No pretensions here, just a great band burning up the stage with unmistakable chemistry on what might be the ultimate jazz funk time capsule. Maybe you can’t go back in time, but if you close your eyes and light a cigarette, you might be convinced you’re sitting in a wood-paneled club on Detroit’s Westside enjoying Grant Green and his band tear it up. Grant Green - Guitar Ronnie Foster - Organ Idris Muhammad - Drums Clarence Thomas - Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax Houston Person - Tenor Sax Recorded live at Club Mozambique - Detroit, MI 1971 by Francis Wolff

The funk fans have been waiting for this one. Finally available on vinyl, Grant Green’s near perfect slice of jazz funk and soul, Live at Club Mozambique, remastered and rendered back in the Motor City. Grant Green’s band had been playing a series of live dates at Detroit’s Club Mozambique, (before it became a fabled Male dance club) when this session was recorded live on two cold January nights in 1971. Powerhouse drummer Idris Muhammad and soulful tenor star Houston Person were brought in to supplement Green’s current band featuring Ronnie Foster on organ and Clarence Thomas on Soprano and Tenor Sax and Blue Note producer Francis Wolff recorded. This treasure was never released, though, and (conjectures aside) remained in the Blue Notes vaults for 35 years before a 2006 CD release. Sounding incredibly fresh and live, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more real stamping of Grant Green at the top of his game. The lp blends extremely hypnotic and wild funk such as their opening cover of a local funk hit “Jan Jan” by the Fabulous Counts next to laidback renditions of early 70’s soul favorites “Walk on By”, “Patches” and “One More Chance” by the Jackson 5. It perfectly captures the magic of hearing a legendary band effortlessly doing their thing in a small club while the audience unwinds after a long work day. Green pulls it all together with his melodic genius and perfect delivery. Great artists make it seem so easy. No pretensions here, just a great band burning up the stage with unmistakable chemistry on what might be the ultimate jazz funk time capsule. Maybe you can’t go back in time, but if you close your eyes and light a cigarette, you might be convinced you’re sitting in a wood-paneled club on Detroit’s Westside enjoying Grant Green and his band tear it up. Grant Green - Guitar Ronnie Foster - Organ Idris Muhammad - Drums Clarence Thomas - Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax Houston Person - Tenor Sax Recorded live at Club Mozambique - Detroit, MI 1971 by Francis Wolff

Foundation Music is proud to present ‘The Flowers EP’ by Foremost Poets aka Johnny Dangerous. Back in the news after being featured on the Grammy winning Alien Superstar from Beyonce’s latest album - but for those that know - he has never gone away as he is always on someone’s dance floor.

Foremost Poets productions and his vocals are simply devastating and label head, Ross Allen, has been a fan since he first heard the Nu Groove classic ‘Reason’s to Be Dismal’ on the reworked Richard Long Edition. It was a record that blew him away then and now, recently played by Pete Tong on Radio One, with Sven Vath including it on his anniversary compilation too. Ross signed this record when he hooked up with Johnny in New York 3 years, but wanted to wait until the time was right. That time is now.

‘Flowers In the Attic’ is no normal dance record, clocking in at thirteen minutes. It’s an epic Johnny D production, falling into that place where funk and house come together in the most magical, danceable way. It’s long but enticing, taking you through different phases and surprises you as it sucks you in, twists you up, and pulls you out.

‘Escape From Dubai’ is almost trance like but with that New York lean that keeps it very much on the right side of the Foundation Music fence. Full of funk, it has a deepness that builds and swells into an epic journey that takes you to another dimension.

The broken beat of ‘Don’t Shut Your Eyes’ closes out and is another piece of New York/ New Jersey up-tempo funk, syncopated and grooving with a repetitive hook, that goes deep via its Hammond organ solo and jazzy vocal.

In der Musik einer der einflussreichsten Bands von Lomé kommt eine große Vielfalt von Einflüssen zum Ausdruck: Togo All Stars. Die Gruppe fügt ihrer Musik ein weiteres sehr originelles Element
hinzu: den togolesischen Sound, der in Voodoo-Rhythmen und Afrofunk verwurzelt ist.

Spirits", das neue Album der Togo All Stars, ist dem spirituellen Erwachen der Welt und insbesondere des afrikanischen Kontinents in diesen unruigen Zeiten, die wir derzeit erleben, gewidmet. Jeder
muss aufwachen, seinen Beitrag leisten und seine Rolle spielen, das ist die Botschaft. Dabei kommt dem Künstler eine besondere Rolle zu.
Seit ihrem Debüt im Jahr 2018 hat die Band nie aufgehöt, sich
eiterzuentwickeln und ständig an ihrem Handwerk zu feilen. Der kreative Kopf Energy Federator (Ekue Leopold Messan) hat für das
neue Album Musiker aus dem Ausland rekrutiert, was zu einer erfrischenden Mischung aus Stilen, Techniken und Ansätzen beiträgt.
Der Einfluss der westafrikanischen Religion auf die moderne Musik sollte nicht unterschätzt werden, und doch geschieht dies ständig. Eigentlich ist die Verbindung von Voodoo und Funk eine sehr
logische, wenn man bedenkt, dass Voodoo mit dem Sklavenhandel nach Amerika gebracht wurde.

In der "Neuen Welt" wurde er von den Plantagenbesitzern verboten, die Angst vor der Spiritualität und dem Rhythmus der Trommeln hatten. So kam Voodoo unverdientermaßen zu seinem schlechten Ruf.
Aber er überlebte im Untergrund, in der Musik selbst. Die Gesänge und Beats haben sich in das eingebettet, was wir heute Jazz, Salsa, Blues und Funk nennen. Wenn Sie die ursprünglichen Rhythmen der funkigsten Götter der Welt hören wollen, müssen Sie die Landkarte zücken und nach Togo reisen. Oder Sie gehen hin und sehen und hören den Togo All Stars zu, die diese musikalische Tradition wie keine anderen ehren und am Leben erhalten, auch jetzt - vor allem jetzt.

Ltd Edition! Mit seinem dritten Album Diagnosis dreht der in Chicago lebende Multiinstrumentalist Sen Morimoto das Rad der Zeit zurück. Die 12 Tracks, die in Chicagos Friends Of Friends Studio aufgenommen wurden, wechseln zwischen funkigem, hellem Jazz-Pop ("Bad State"), vertrackten gitarrenbasierten Tracks mit Radiohead-Feeling ("What You Say") und orchestralen Wunderlandschaften wie "Forsythia". Sen Morimoto ist ein wandlungsfähiger Musiker: Er kann ein Saxophon-Solo herausreißen, tief in intimes Singer-Songwriter-Territorium eintauchen und massive, brüllende Alt-Pop-Songs mit gleicher Souveränität anführen.

Zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl. Richie ist einer der meistverehrten Gitarristen der Rockgeschichte, der Rock, Blues, Hardrock, Funk, R&B, Jazz und Soul auf berüchtigte Weise miteinander verschmolzen hat und noch immer auf den renommiertesten Live-Bühnen der Welt unterwegs ist. Richie hat sich sowohl in Bands wie Poison, Mr. Big und The Winery Dogs als auch als Solokünstler einen Namen gemacht.

Sein Songwriting und seine Gitarrenarbeit zeigen oft brillante instrumentale Virtuosität gepaart mit unwiderstehlichem Groove. Die Veröffentlichung seines bahnbrechenden Studioalbums Mother Head’s Family Reunion aus dem Jahr 1994 gilt als herausragender Beweis für Richie Kotzens einzigartigen Ansatz in der Rockmusik.

25 Jahre nach ihrem ersten 12" Release "Night over Manaus" präsentieren Boozoo Bajou ihr 5. Studioalbum. Die Nürnberger Downbeat Funkster haben 12 Tracks parat, die am 3.11.2023 auf ihrem eigenen Label Pilotton unter dem Namen "Finistère" veröffentlicht werden. Das Doppel-Vinyl zeigt neben der digitalen Veröffentlichung die Rückkehr von Boozoo Bajou zu ihren Wurzeln, die sie 2001 mit ihrem zeitlosen Debütalbum "Satta" manifestierten. Als reines Downtempo-Album schafft es "Finistère", all diese Elemente und Einflüsse zu einem warm klingenden Hörerlebnis zu verschmelzen.

Sven Torstenson's notorious Drugs is a loopdigga's fever dream, bursting with breaks for days and featuring possibly the most iconic cover of all library music's cult classics. First released in 1980, it's now a hyper-rare and seriously sought-after electronic album full of experimental soundscapes and samples just waiting to be flipped. It's both terrifying and terrifyingly good. So much so, it's been brilliantly sampled by Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper.

The sleeve describes Drugs as containing "the newest dimensions of electronic sounds. Dramatic underscores for all problems of today's life and society, at the border between reality and delusion." That's pretty spot-on. The fast moving "Euphoria" is an incredible, unignorable opener. It's loaded with disorientating effects and really needs to be heard to be believed. It's followed by the gorgeous "Soft Hallucinations", containing quiet, meditative and beautiful sounds - as the title suggests. One listen and you'll want to live in the warm embrace of this beatless, harmonic gem. Sinister squelchy synth stabs don't distract from the sheer beauty of the track's main (gentle) thrust. They only serve to elevate its trippy magic.

Next up, "Sky Move"'s agitated and repetitive rhythm makes it an intense listen but with a broad melody that will appeal to many. "Destroyed Dreams" utilises a muffled church organ and it sounds heavenly to begin with but it gradually invites increasingly distorted elements. Yes, you've had trips like this, we're pretty certain. Mental! Talking of bad trips, never have they sounded so good as "Horror Trip"; this fractured drama-synth just needs some some dusty beats to hold it up - get involved.

"Floating Illusions" almost sounds like a beatless Spiritualized bomb from the early-mid 90s; melodic, synthy, church organ-drenched. The mournful, dramatic "Lost Chance" pulses along on a bed of acidy synths whilst "The Morning After" is the sonic equivalent of the extreme fear and doom experienced in the aftermath of the previous night's carnage. Whilst somewhat uncomfortable listening, again, it's pretty compelling thanks to the myriad effects being expertly utilised. Fascinating. The sprawling, fragmented "Random Thoughts" is described as containing "confused melody phrases" - yeah, pretty much sums this one up.

The B-Side is ushered in by "Heroin" and it's as sketchy as you might think, all mysterious minor chords with a dominating - but not overbearing - bass refrain. Next up, the dream-like synthy fanfare of "Night Trip" climaxes after a few minutes of dramatic, ecclesiastical sounds whilst "Day Trip" layers its melody over a repetitive rhythmic base.

Next up, one of the *REAL* highlights makes itself known. Absolutely not to be missed, "Dealer's Corner" is all shifting tenors from quiet to hectic and back around again. The hectic parts are like a totally synthed-out-the-eyeballs jazz-funk collective wigging out with the latest electronic toys from 1980. This one totally SMOKES.

The dramatic "Sad And Hopeless" is appositely replete with dissonant, minor church-organ chords whilst "Riding Pegasus" uses a creepy ostinato bass melody to create irrational bleepy menace that's ripe for sampling. The penultimate track, "Hopeless Chaos" is another disorientating trip, a bleepy confection of sounds and phrases whilst closer "Goin' Mad" is all electronic percussion with an unpleasant rhthymic feel and irritating melody. Music to annoy your partner with!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the country's new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholz's astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders - a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Drugs has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

On November 3rd, Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble return to Telephone Explosion Records with their new album Air, Light & Harmony. The release keeps up the jazz-funk group’s torrid pace of
releases for TER; A,L&H being their 6th LP release, and 4th proper album for the label since 2019.

The release completes a trilogy of triptych-titled works, following 2019’s Nature, Man & Woman, and 2021’s Future, Past & Present. All 3 of these releases feature compositions which resample loops and
stems from prior albums. Air, Light & Harmony takes this gambit further with in-house recycling of snippets from dusty LP copies of their own work (ala Portishead’s famed approach) featured throughout to create warped and ambiguous moodscapes. This emphasis on texture is befitting of BÉE’s only entirely instrumental album.

On November 3rd, Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble return to Telephone Explosion Records with their new album Air, Light & Harmony. The release keeps up the jazz-funk group’s torrid pace of
releases for TER; A,L&H being their 6th LP release, and 4th proper album for the label since 2019.

The release completes a trilogy of triptych-titled works, following 2019’s Nature, Man & Woman, and 2021’s Future, Past & Present. All 3 of these releases feature compositions which resample loops and
stems from prior albums. Air, Light & Harmony takes this gambit further with in-house recycling of snippets from dusty LP copies of their own work (ala Portishead’s famed approach) featured throughout to create warped and ambiguous moodscapes. This emphasis on texture is befitting of BÉE’s only entirely instrumental album.

Hailing from Alexandra and nicknamed "Ratau" (meaning "lion"), saxophonist Mike Makhalemele (1938-2000) was a force of nature with a robust yet soulful tone and seemingly endless breath. He embraced the pop music scene as an enthusiastic collaborator and staked his territory at the intersection of township grooves with modern currents in soul, funk and disco. As a solo artist, he delivered a formidable run of albums in the 1970s that that made him the most prolific recording artist in South African jazz during this era. First issued in 1975 by the maverick independent label Jo’Burg Records, his debut The Peacemaker was a tour de force that introduced Makhalemele’s heavyweight sax prowess (deftly accompanied by Jabu Nkosi on keys and Sipho Gumede on bass) while showcasing his innovative approach as a composer and arranger. To mark the arrival of a new
saxophone colossus, the album’s profile portrait cover boldly evoked the iconic Yakhal’ Inkomo by the Mankunku Quartet from 1969. Mike Makhalemele and Winston Mankunku Ngozi would go on to share
the spotlight on a collaborative release entitled The Bull and the Lion in 1976

Cher celebrates 25 years of "Believe" : On November 3, the Grammy Award-winning masterpiece will be released in a new, expanded " BELIEVE (Deluxe Edition) " that adds a whopping 13 remastered remixes to the mega-seller's original track listing (11 million worldwide!). The deluxe edition will be released in 3LP/2CD/Download & stream formats via Warner Records. "Believe" was an album full of dancefloor perennials - a fact that the assembled remixes in the new mastering underline once again.

"Tee's Radio One Instrumental? & "Ray Roc's Latin Soul Instrumental" from "Dov'e l'Amore?" are included here in one package for the first time, for example, along with remixes of the empowerment anthem "Strong Enough," "All or Nothing," "Dov'è l'amore" and the title track "Believe," a worldwide smash hit that sold over 10 million copies and reached #1 in 23 countries, including Germany, where it now has 5x gold status.

Cher is one of the most successful artists in history, selling over 100 million records during her unparalleled career. To date, she is the only artist:in to record a #1 single on the Billboard charts in six consecutive decades.

The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series . Entry #5: Dan Hastie and Terin Ector (Orgone) pick up where Piero Umiliani left off with Exotic Grooves and Lush Funk. This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs – listen, ponder, repeat.

Just what the doctor ordered...

Next up on Q1E2 Recordings - for the label's fifth release so far - is Dr Sud. He's a Rome-born, Berlin-raised producer whose music is a fusion of percussion-centric soundscapes and integrated jazz-leaning harmonies, drawing inspiration from diverse genres like electronica, funk, and house.

On 'Heading South', the broken beat don serves up his specialist percussive sound, folding all manner of drums into synth-smothered house. The EP explores the undulating cycle of morning into night, back into morning, inviting you to dance your way through it all.

'Brina', a word which in Italian refers to morning dew - perhaps found on a tent on the morning of a festival - represents the breaking of dawn with broken beats. The track breaks and squints into the start of the day with spacious kick drums leaving room for warm, almost familiar pads and keys.

Then, 'Life Itself' reflects daytime, revolving around an arpeggiating synth that soon makes way for luscious keys.

An excursion into percussive bliss concludes side A in the form of the magical, grin-inducing 'Evening Breath'. This, as you might have guessed, is where the listener cruises through smoothly into the final stages of the day. It encapsulates that last burst of light as the sun sets and a slight shiver of the evening air slivers up your spine.

Then, before you know it, the mysterious night arrives. Flip to that B side, and 'Tramontana' will greet you, inviting you to dance deep into the late hours.

When you're there, the chugging '3/4AM' will hit the spot like an unforgettable dance floor moment, bursting with low and slow Balearic tendencies.

Finally, 'Mondgesicht' - "Moonface" in German -fittingly concludes proceedings with deep lounge vibes. Mumbles of effortless trumpet manoeuvre through a swaying sea of percussion and delicious, wavering synth solo. The day is here again. The cycle is complete.

This is some seriously high-quality music on show here from Dr Sud. The EP is out on Q1E2 Recordings in October.

There’s a connection between the musical history of the Mediterranean that can’t be explained through academia alone. It’s an expression of simultaneous grief and celebration that trespasses cultures and generations; and demands to be felt, or even better, danced, to be understood. The same spirit weaves Rebetiko from the ashes of the Ottoman empire to the heavy Hafla soundtracks on the Koliphone label in ‘70s Jaffa, or rebellious Turkish psychedelic music to the first generation of surf guitarist migrants in America. It's an infectious feeling that travelled and evolved wherever it was called, and that passion is embodied in “Back to the Taverna”, the new album by Berlin based bouzouki quintet, Cherry Bandora.

On the milestone of their third release, original members Liad Vanounou (Bouzouki) and Lorena Atrakci (Vocals) have bolstered their sound with longtime friends and collaborators Moshe ‘Moosh’ Lahav on Keyboards and flute, Tamir ‘Hassan’ Chen on Bass and Nimrod Lieberman on Drums to create an album celebrating the ecstasy of being able to drink and perform together again, freed from the anathema of the last years. The band has evolved considerably since their beginnings ten years ago as an Agean-influenced part of the local Balkan Swing scene; the most significant addition being the deployment of “The Hardest Working Man in Tropical Music” Alex Figueira as musical director for this album. His scorched fingerprints are unmissable throughout the extended psychedelic breakdowns and percussive overdubs that make “Back to the Taverna” such a dynamic offering.

Cherry Bandora have always been a very personal band; collecting songs from nearby cultures and history and blending them into their own experience by developing new arrangements or lyrics, just as musicians from those times would have. Lorena delights in expressing herself away from her mother tongue or providing modern lyrics for an updated feeling, as she does to the beloved Turkish standard, “Rampi Rampi”. In this interpretation she uses her native Hebrew in a saucy lockdown-delivery-guy romance... This track also features Baris Öner from local Turkish rock band Kara Delik on his signature flanging Saz.

Singing in Greek, English, Turkish and Hebrew was also a natural choice on the album, representing the “multikulti” area of Berlin that the band lives and records in. These languages would all be heard on the street as they walked to record in the analog Studio Wong in Kreuzberg.

“As descendants of Mizrahi Jews (Jewish migrants from non-European countries), growing up listening both to Beatles and Umm Kulthum, playing in jazz music departments in high school, and now living in Kruezkölln, we basically pay tribute and revive this shared heritage in the context of the global music scene of today” says Lorena.

The opening track, The Sound Of Baglama, is an interpretation of the anthemic Tsitsanis homage to the tavernas and sweethearts of Thessaloniki. It lays the ground for what to expect from Cherry Bandora’s exceptional live performances, featuring effortless switch-ups between surf rock choruses and laid-back verses dipping into Persian disco funk. This song will be accompanied by a tour-collage “found footage” style film clip in production at this
time.

Cherry Bandoras show their dedication to the bit with a rousing English version of the canonical rembetiko tune Dimitroula Mou. This amour song, popular with generations of female singers, is accompanied by real studio plate smashing, a ritual which sealed their final session for the album. 2 bonus tracks are included on the digital release, both a little more raw from the band’s home studio: the reeling dervish Rubi Rubi (which will be released as a second single with a video clip) and the emotionally dense and hypnotic slow burner Esý.

The album will be released digitally and on vinyl as a collaboration between Rebel Up Records (Belgium) and Rumi Sounds (Berlin) on Friday 3 november 2023 and is a prime example of what a raunchy, open minded and tireless bouzouki band can do as they hit their prime.

An extensive highlighted review will appear in Songlines magazine #135 December issue and the track ‘Benimde Canim Var’ will be featured on their free compilation. Also radioplay on Radio Campus France playlist (allover) during November and December.

Pianist and composer Ricardo Marrero and The Group's A Taste is as rare as an honest politician. Now the magical Latin sounds are available for all once more as P-Vine serves up a special edition 7" with 'Babalondia' and 'And We'll Make Love' making this a must-cop. They are taken from a debut album that is as good as it gets and originally came on the famed tax scam label TSG. The a-side here brings the funk with floor-filling grooves to spare while on the flip it's more of a mellow outing with vibrant female vocals getting you in the mood and the groove.

Toupaz is a new name on our radar but he'll stay firmly on it after this release on forward-thinking London label, Well Street. The EP kick-starts with a fusion of techno, bass and club rhythms spliced with brilliantly bubbly toms & synths that fall down the face of broken beats. The flip side explores a new take on UK funky with whirring machines and fractured vocals, whilst the closer 'Maudlin Lakitu' features the most experimental and skeletal rhythms of the project.

- Rare and Unreleased New Orleans Funk 1968
Tuff City’s Funky Delicacies imprint has issued the 7th volume in its New Orleans Funk series. This edition has a side of vocal tracks and a side of instrumental ones. These tracks have been hard to find and many were CD only bonus tracks on earlier editions of the series now out of print.
Noted guitarist Little Buck Sinegal opens the record with “Little Boy Blue.” This was first issued in 1969 on the Seven B label. Little Buck (as he was credited on the original record) passed in 2019 after a lengthy career dating back to the late 50’s as a session man for Slim Harpo & Lazy Lester. He also was a touring member of various Zydeco legends like Clifton Chenier, Rockin’ Dopsie and Buckwheat Zydeco. Drummer Chuck Conway leads the next track with the Amars, “Get On Up.” Cover feature Deacon John Moore still lives today. “You Don’t Know (How To Turn Me On)” was a 1970 B-side on the Bell label. Brotherhood issued “Suckey Suckey Feeling” as a 2-sided single in 1974. At some point the track was renamed “Sooky Feeling” and we have Part 2 here. Singer and Pianist Tommy Ridgley’s track “Fly In My Pie” was originally issued on our sister imprint Soul-Tay-Shus on The Best of International City compilation as well as a 7” on that imprint in 1968. Lonnie Jones recorded several singles for Jenmark in the early ‘70’s including the B-side “You Got To Do Better” originally released in 1972. Sam Henry of Sam and the Soul Machine closes out the side with “Loving You.” This track was originally a CD-only bonus track on our Po’k Bones and Rice compilation of that group we issued on Funky Delicacies in 2002.
Kicking off the instrumental second side is a recently located master by Anthony Butler and the Invaders covering the Otis Redding classic “Hard To Handle.” A bit of organ Funk here. Larry Jones jams out the “Funky Jaws.” The exact year is unknown, but the J.B.’s label that issued the original record put their releases out primarily from 1974-1976. Tyrone Chestnut’s B-side of 1969’s “The Bump” is called “Bumping.” Hook and Sling piano legend Eddie Bo has two appearances. The first is the second part of the “Getting To The Middle” single that came out on Bo-Sound in 1970. Louisiana Purchase have “Accept What You Expect” before they moved from New Orleans to Detroit. The Scram Band that backed vocalist Mary Jane Hooper on her “Don’t Change Nothin’” single are here in an instrumental version of that song. The album closes with a 5-minute combined version of Eddie Bo’s “If It’s Good To You (It’s Good For You)” single, issued in 1969 on Scram.
Overall, this album contains 14 previously hard-to-find tracks that would take hundreds if not thousands of dollars to track down the original singles on the used market. These tracks have been recently remastered, including tracks that were issued as CD bonus tracks on earlier volumes.

Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell remains the turning point at which hip-hop crashed through mainstream barriers and never left. Anchored by the crossover smash "Walk This Way," the 1986 blockbuster still sounds like a revolution unfolding in real time. It has everything – hard-rock riffs, turntable scratching, itchy rhythms, hit singles – not the least of which are the trio's invigorating raps and inseparable chemistry. And now it's the first rap record afforded audiophile treatment, courtesy of Mobile Fidelity.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, the reissue label's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP elevates Raising Hell to sonic heights on par with its musical and cultural significance. Ranked the 123rd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, 43rd on Pitchfork's Greatest Albums of the 1980s, one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time by TIME – and included on "Best of" lists by Spin, Paste, XXL, Entertainment Weekly, and basically every other significant media outlet – the triple-platinum effort rocks the house.

Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor and groove definition of SuperVinyl, Raising Hell unleashes a torrent of massive dynamics and tsunami of frequency-plumbing details underlined by Rick Rubin's taut, crisp, albeit raw and streetwise production. Just as the Queens-based group both defined what hip-hop could represent – and displayed just how big it could get – Rubin's work melded ear-worm hooks, savvy drum loops, metal-leaning guitars, and, of course, Run and D.M.C.'s cross-fire lyrical interplay into watertight frameworks bursting with ideas, tones, samples, and beats. Heard anew on Mobile Fidelity vinyl, Raising Hell is in every regard the aural equivalent of a direct-to-console 1970s classic. And it sounds as fresh as hell.

As for the music, it ranks among the most influential, inventive, and invigorating ever released – rap or otherwise. Vanguard artists such as Ice-T, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Public Enemy's Chuck D – who declared it his all-time favorite and "the first record that made me realize this was an album-oriented genre" – have testified on behalf of its brilliance. And never mind the presence of the Top 5 single "Walk This Way," whose power helped make Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry relevant for the first time in nearly a decade – and literally put Run-D.M.C. in bedrooms ranging from the Bronx to Bartlett to Bad Axe.

Look instead to the rest of the entirely filler-free set, be it the corkscrew turns, slippery wordplay, and "My Sharona"-meets-"Mickey" mixology of the boisterous "It's Tricky," the fat-but-minimized bass grooves and warped turntable wobble of the hysterical "You Be Illin'," chimes-accented inertia and boombox-on- shoulder thunder of the now-iconic "Peter Piper," or voice-as-percussion attack of the funky "Is It Live." With Raising Hell, the answer to the question is always affirmative – a sensation bolstered by the fact the group always had something to say.

The definition of Golden Age Hip-Hop in every way, Run-D.M.C. avoids the negativity and misogyny that later plagued the style, spinning assertive tales about identity (the biographical and culture-changing "My Adidas"), work ethics ("Perfection"), and, most notably, pride (the Harriet Tubman- and Malcom X.-referencing "Proud to Be Black"). Pavement-packed inner cities, tree-lined suburbs, and cornfield-rimmed rural areas would never again be the same. And rocking a rhyme that's right on time would become trickier than ever.

Dropped Balls is the debut 12” vinyl release for Galway’s Belacqua. After previous releases on Unscene Music and Wherethetimegoes, Dropped Balls sees the Galweigan channelling his inner Sound Hack and travelling back in time to early 80’s NYC for a riotous collage of off kilter sampling, propellent drums, weeping acid and a general air of barely-controlled chaos.

Gunnish kicks things off with jagged piano riffs before charging full steam ahead into the wall of a dank basement in the Meatpacking District before Davish jumps into life with its supercharged, rolling drums. The A-side then slowly but surely descends into the washes of distorted synths and booming kicks of Youngish

On the flipside Marshall Applewhite (Yo Sucka! Detroit) drowns the stuttering funk of Gunnish in his trademark sludged out techno before the 12” takes a turn to the emotive with the transcending, slo-mo acid of release closer, Tennish.

Unnion takes off with its first EP featuring a compilation of four spanish artists with different styles and a unique common thread, living up to the platform's name.
The album kicks off with Tadeo's offering, titled "The Second Part", where we can immediately hear the artist's personal touch: a lot of funk, solid sounds, and attention-grabbing elements that go straight to the dance floor.
The second track comes from Unkle Fon, titled "Eltzegor." It's a soaring journey towards a climax filled with synthetic sounds and hypnotic developments that create a unique sense of motion.
Moving on to the third track, we have the contribution of Not A Headliner, titled "Cricket Circus." It features an atonal sensation accompanied by a groovy rhythm in which the interplay of sounds transcends the norm.
Closing the album is Irazu's proposal, titled "Quietly," which presents itself as a singular, monolithic, and raw option, overwhelming like a locomotive and ready to crush any obstacle that dares to stand in its way."

Repress! We at Now-Again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our recently launched Soul Cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time. Well, following that line, the music contained on Loving On The Flip Side music is too damn good to be anonymously relaunched, decades after musical visionaries blended the best of heavy funk and sweet soul into a unified whole. And simply telling the stories of these vocalists and bands without allowing their lovelorn pleas to be heard again wasn’t an option. Thus, Loving On The Flip Side again offers the enthused a chance to listen to, read about and reflect on another great burst of black American creativity: the creation of the sublime
genre we like to call “sweet funk.”
It seems laughable to skip past Thomas East’s “Slipping Around” 7” for the cheesy funk of ‘Just A Trip,” or to listen obsessively to Lou Ragland’s instrumental funk on the Hot Chocolate LP and ignore his indolent-yet-stirring “We Had True Love.” Yet we did just that, until we first heard the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s beautiful
two-sider nearly ten years back. This was the record that set Loving On The Flip Side in motion, as the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s two songs precipitated the sweet funk genre: the dichotomy of Funky Heavy’s skull snapping rhythm section and the teenage Dears’ angelic harmonies didn’t sound like anything we’d heard before. That discovery set off a decade long search for the band and culminated in their discovery, the documenting of their stories, the emergence of their master tapes and the inclusion of their songs on Loving On The Flip Side.
The excitement we felt while listening to the Darling Dears and Funky Heavy’s masterworks forced us back into the field, in search of other sweet funk swooners and beat-heavy ballads to round out this anthology. The opportunity to present anew such wondrous soul music made the exhaustive process that produced Loving On The
Flip Side worthwhile, and allowed us to collect one-offs that escaped prior investigations into the deep funk and sweet soul genres.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of "TOUCH," a selection of sought-after tracks produced by Yuji Ohno, one of the most revered producers and arrangers on the Nippon music scene. His blend of Jazz, Space Funk and Disco have long been highly sought-after by DJs around the world and we've been given unique access to the Nippon Columbia vaults and to Mr. Ohno himself to come with a versatile selection from his 70s body of work, all bearing his uniquely recognisable sound. The set includes works with singers Nanako Sato, Hatsumi Shibata and Ken Tanaka alongside tracks from his cult anime soundtracks for "Lupin III" and "Captain Future." Approved by Yuji Ohno himself, "Touch" was remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia and features liner notes by Nick Luscombe in conversation with the maestro and artwork by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda.

Born in Atami in 1941, Yuji Ohno started learning the piano at a young age and formed his own band during his teenage years, getting into Jazz in the process. After high school, he entered the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo and played in the revered university big band alongside two other pianists, Masahiko Sato and Hirosama Suzuki, who would have an illustrious career in their own right. After University, Ohno became a professional musician and started playing with the new wave of Japanese Jazz musicians forming his own trio and recording with the likes of Hideo Shiraki, Terumasa Hino and Masahiko Togashi from 1967 onwards.

At the turn of the 60s, Ohno started to veer away from the Jazz scene as he realised, as told to Nick Luscombe that "the jazz music being played by the Japanese at the time was only chasing the cutting edge, and was ignoring the roots and origins of jazz." Ohno therefore shifted his efforts to film and TV and also to producing artists for various Japanese labels, becoming one of the most in-demand composers, arrangers and producers in Japan. This is when Ohno developed his unique sound across a wide variety of styles. More than anything else, he got renowned for his anime soundtracks, particularly with the Lupin III series - represented here by the superbly funky "Silhouette" - which made his fame in Japan

Whether it's jazz, funk, disco or Pop, the "Ohno Sound" is unmissable both in terms of melodies and arrangements, on a par with those of such legends as Quincy Jones and Michel Legrand. Ohno's melodies are sophisticated yet accessible and there's a great sense of space in his productions especially when it comes to slow-burning grooves as heard on "Kirameku Inner Space" from the cult anime soundtrack "Captain Future" or "The Soaring Seagull" from the sought-after 1975 album "Electro Keyboard Orchestra." This album was recorded with seven fellow musicians including Kentaro Haneda and Ohno's old friend, Masahiko Sato and using twenty Korg synths to create a unique blend of futuristic jazz funk. "The Soaring Seagull" could be the perfect embodiment of Ohno's signature sound when it comes to instrumentals. The producer was however equally at ease with producing lush disco extravaganzas such as "Subterranean Futari Botchi" by Nanako Sato or "I Wish You Love" by Hatsumi Shibata, a revamp of Charles Trenet classic, both colourful and glitzy.

Ohno's versatility is on display here with a couple of jazz vocal tracks, "Speak Low" by Ann Young accompanied by the Yuji Ohno Trio and Mieko Hirota's fast and furious "I Want to Be Happy" while he also excelled at crafting gorgeous mellow songs such as Ken Tanaka's "Lilac-gai No Aki" and Hatsumi Shibata's "Mouichido Kikasete" closing the selection on a perfect note. "Touch" is just a tiny selection from Yuji Ohno's immense body of work and it will hopefully open the ears of Japanese music lovers to one of the most important musician, producer and arrangers of his generation.

Musical innovators, Red Snapper, have announced that they will release a new album on Lo Recordings on the 20th of October 2023.

‘Live at The Moth Club’, the follow up to 2022’s acclaimed ‘Everybody Is Somebody’ long player, features nine tracks from a vast and impressive back catalogue on Warp Records and Lo Recordings and captures perfectly the energy of their celebrated sold out London show from May 2022 in Hackney.

With an incredible and genre bursting career that spans nearly thirty years, the new album demonstrates the band’s ability to constantly rework classic and new tracks, keeping them impassioned, experimental and relevant. The collection includes a version of ‘Suckerpunch’ which originally appeared on their 1998 album ‘Making Bones’ and will now be released as a single on the 15th of September 2023.

Notorious for casting convention aside, and remaining one of the UK’s most forward thinking and rule breaking live bands, Red Snapper embrace a unique blend of live, euphoric Afro-Jazz, Future Funk, Dub, Dark Hip-Hop and fragile soundscapes.

Formed in 1994, the original line up of Rich Thair (drums), Ali Friend (double bass) and David Ayers (guitar) released three EPs on Rich Thair and Dean Thatcher’s label Flaw Recordings. The first EP ‘Snapper’ featured Beth Orton on vocals.

Over the initial years the band released the sonically pioneering albums; ‘Reeled and Skinned’, ‘Prince Blimey’, ‘Making Bones’ and ‘Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper’ (Warp records), touring globally and supporting the likes of Massive Attack, Bjork, The Prodigy, De La Soul and The Fugees. They also acquired a reputation for innovative and expansive remixing – reworking tunes by Trouble Funk, David Holmes, Sabres of Paradise, Garbage, Lamb, S-Express and Edwyn Collins amongst others.

Since then the band have released the eponymous ‘Red Snapper’ and ‘A Pale Blue Dot’ on Lo Recordings followed by ‘Key’ on V2 Records which featured the track ‘Spikey’ which was on the soundtrack for El Camino, the Netflix Breaking Bad film directed by Vince Gilligan in 2019.

In 2013 Red Snapper composed a new soundtrack to the 1970’s Senegalese, psychedelic road movie Touki Bouki which had been restored by Martin Scorsese. The band toured Europe performing the soundtrack live to the film, culminating in the celebrated sell-out show at The Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank. In 2014 the album ‘Hyena’ was released on Lo Recordings featuring all the music from their original film score.

Modernists loved the latest R&B, blues and soul sounds coming from US cities such as Chicago, Memphis and Detroit and when British groups started playing their own interpretations in clubs and dancehalls they gained their own mod followings, their music remaining popular on the mod scene today.

Side 1 of this bespoke collection spotlights the British R&B scene and features a founding father of British blues Alexis Korner with the rare ‘Taboo Man’ alongside ace mod tracks from The Bo Street Runners, The Others, Mickey Finn and The Blue Men (featuring a youthful Jimmy Page on harmonica) and more.

Side 2 starts with British R&B groups developing their own sound by turning up their guitars, employing distortion, feedback and fuzz pedals to take the music in a new direction. Highlights include the Joe Meek produced ‘Crawdaddy Simone’ by The Syndicats (described as proto punk because of its ferocity), The In Crowd’s snarling ‘Things She Says’ and The Artwoods’ fuzz drenched mod favourite ‘I Take What I Want’ featuring future Deep Purple organist Jon Lord on organ.

Denny Laine (later of Wings) sings with The Moody Blues calming things down with some soulful beat.

Side 3 focuses on UK soul music - Rod ‘the mod’ Stewart backed by The Brian Auger Trinity takes on Sam Cooke’s ‘Shake’, the godfather of ska Laurel Aitken proves he’s also a natural soul man with his floor filling version of The Mar-Keys’ ‘Last Night’ and the amazing Barry St. John sings the funky ‘Gotta Brand New Man’. Popular club acts Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound and Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede would regularly bring the house down at mod clubs and also feature.

Side 4 includes mod club dancefloor smashes from The Spencer Davis Group and Rupert’s People (AKA mod group Fleur De Lys) while mod heroes The Action go psychedelic with ‘Look At The View’. A moonlighting Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds plays on John’s Children’s ‘But She’s Mine’ and there are brilliant singles revered by freakbeat and psych collectors such as Double Feature’s ‘Baby Get Your Head Screwed On’ and The Drag Set’s ‘Day And Night’.

Rarities from The Trendbender Band and The Union (featuring Elmer Gantry) appear on vinyl for the first time.

Am 27. Oktober erscheint ihr neues Album "Chronicles of a Diamond" bei ATO Records. Produziert von Quesada und hauptsächlich abgemischt vom sechsfachen Grammy-Preisträger Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War on Drugs), übernimmt Burton auf den zehn Songs die Rolle des Co-Produzenten und lässt seine freigeistige Musikalität in jeden Track einfließen.

“It felt like a metamorphosis in a way that was both beautiful and difficult, but in the end feels more true to who we are as collaborators“, erzählt der Sänger. Die Songs entstanden zwar im Studio, fangen aber definitiv auch die verrückte Energie ein, die während den Live-Shows der beiden entsteht. Das endet in einem besonderem Hybrid aus Soul und symphonischem Pop, der verrückter und extravaganter als sein Vorgänger komponiert wurde. Inklusive unerwartete Ausflüge in Jazz-Funk und psychedelische Gefilde samt hypnotischen Rhythmen, wilden Gitarrenriffs und stimmungsvollen Mellotron-Melodien, die eine tranceartige Euphorie ausstrahlen. „With this album I felt very free in my vocal performance, which has a lot to do with Adrian hearing something in my voice and helping me to explore that”, ergänzt Burton.

Als Black Pumas 2019 ihr selbstbetiteltes Debüt veröffentlichten, löste das Duo aus Austin eine Reaktion aus, die fast so außergewöhnlich und mitreißend war wie ihre Musik selbst. Gefeiert von den Medien, hagelte es insgesamt 6 Grammy Award-Nominierungen (darunter Best New Artist und Album of the Year). Neben Live-Auftritten bei den genannten Grammy Awards, spielten die Black Pumas außerdem bei der Übertragung des NFL Drafts sowie zur Amtseinführung von Joe Biden. Sie tourten durch ganz Europa sowie Nord- und Südamerika und waren bei bekannten Late-Night-Shows wie Jimmy Fallen, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres oder Stephen Colbert zu sehen. Ihr Album verkaufte sich über eine Millionen Mal, alleine ihre Single "Colors" steht inzwischen bei über 450 Millionen Streams. Nun ist es an der Zeit, das zweite Kapitel der Band aufzuschlagen.

Paisley Park Enterprises, in Partnership with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Records, announces expanded reissue of Prince & the New Power Generation’s multi-platinum album Diamonds And Pearls. This 12LP+ Blu-ray features 47 previously unreleased tracks and over two hours of live filmed concert footage in high definition.

Following the successful release of the 1999 Super Deluxe Edition (2019), and Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition (2020), the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition represents the third deep dive into Prince’s vault. It includes a total of 75 audio tracks across 7x CDs and 12x 180g vinyl records.

The set offers a newly remastered version of the album, plus 15 of the incredible remixes and B-sides from the era, including the never commercially released “Gett Off (Damn Near 10 Min.)” mix. The Super Deluxe Edition also features 33 previously unheard studio gems from Prince’s Illustrious vault, ranging from alternate versions of album tracks to numbers Prince gave away to other artists, and songs recorded while on the road in 1990.

Prince & The NPG previewed the Diamonds And Pearls Tour at Prince’s Minneapolis club, Glam Slam, on January 11, 1992. The sweaty, sold-out, last-minute show captures the sheer joy and sense of endless possibility that came to define this era. This previously unreleased live concert performance has been mixed from the 24-track master and rounds out the audio content of this 12LP set.
This same previously unreleased concert is also presented in stunning 2K video on the Blu-ray disc that accompanies both Super Deluxe Edition formats, in Stereo, 5.1 Dolby True HD, and Dolby ATMOS audio formats. The Blu-ray also features Prince & The New Power Generation’s performance at The Special Olympics at the Metrodome in Minneapolis in July 1991 (also in Stereo, 5.1, and ATMOS), as well as a previously unseen soundcheck.

The Blu-ray is completed by the long out of print Diamonds And Pearls Video Collection, originally released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1993. The 120-page hardback book which accompanies the SDE set features unseen photos by Randee St. Nicholas, and essays by: author & broadcaster Andrea Swensson; Archivist and Senior Researcher for the Prince Estate Duane Tudahl; British music critic and Prince expert Jason Draper; De Angela L. Duff, an Industry Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering in Brooklyn; Social Media Personality KaNisa Williams; and an introduction from Public Enemy founder, Chuck D.

Aussie icons The Cat Empire have had an illustrious career, spanning decades, genres, and millions of adoring fans from across the globe.

The Cat Empire veröffentlichen ihr neuntes Studioalbum, gleichzeitig ihre erste Veröffentlichung nach einem großen Personalwechsel in 2022. Das multikulturelle, australische Kollektiv ist für sein stilistisches Amalgam aus diversen Einflüssen von Jazz, Ska und Reggae über Funk, Latin und Hip-Hop bis zu Klezmer und Rock bekannt. 'Where The Angels Fall' wurde in ihrer Heimatstadt Melbourne aufgenommen und ist nach rund 20 Jahren das erste Zusammentreffen mit dem Produzenten Andy Baldwin, der auch für ihr selbstbetiteltes Debüt 2003 verantwortlich war.

Sofia Kourtesis veröffentlicht ihr lang-erwartetes Debütalbum ‘Madres’ ,welches ihrer Mutter gewidmet ist, auf Ninja Tune! Als sie mit der Arbeit an ihrem Debüt begann, war Kourtesis scheinbar unaufhaltsam. Eine Reihe von begeistert aufgenommenen EPs und Singles machten sie zu einem der am schnellsten aufsteigenden Stars in der elektronischen Welt und darüber hinaus. Sie zierte bereits das Cover von Mixmag, veröffentlichte eine brillante, energiegeladene und bewegende RA Session für Resident Advisor, erschien auf den Jahresendlisten der New York Times, Pitchfork, DJMag und Spotify (#6 bester elektronischer Song) und spielte sofort ausverkaufte erste Shows sowie herausragende Auftritte beim Pitchfork Music Festival, Glastonbury und Primavera neben Tourneen als Support von Caribou und Bicep. „Madres“ enthält alles, was Kourtesis bereits so beliebt gemacht hat: der doppelte Klang ihrer peruanischen Heimat und ihrer Wahlheimat Berlin ist präsent („mein Herz ist sehr lateinamerikanisch, aber mein Motor ist deutsch“), ebenso wie der Aktivismus für die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter, den Schutz queerer Menschen und den Zugang zu sicheren Abtreibungen in Peru, der ihr so sehr am Herzen liegt.

Total Touch was the Dutch duo of Trijntje Oosterhuis and Tjeerd Oosterhuis that infused music with a unique blend of smooth vocals, jazzy harmonies, and funky grooves. After the quintuple Platinum debut album, the follow-up was a guaranteed success. The album is a mix of infectious R&B, pop, and experiments with rap and dance. This Way entered the Dutch album top 100 at number 1 and immediately went Gold. That year the band made their first serious attempt to take their success beyond the Dutch and German borders. The band entered the US Billboard Dance Chart and were nominated for an MTV Award. Eventually, "This Way" became the band's swan song, with another mega hit in the form of "I'll Say Goodbye". In the end, This Way turned out to be the final studio album by the Dutch duo.

2023 marks the 25th anniversary of This Way and is therefore available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl. The vinyl package also includes an insert.