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Thirty years after it was released on CD and cassette, Fuemana’s cult classic New Urban Polynesian album is finally available on vinyl. Born from the blood, sweat and tears of the late great Polynesian renaissance man Phil Fuemana and his family and friends, Fuemana’s music transports the listener back to the autumn and winter days of 1994 in the antipodes, where they turned love, loss, grief and acceptance into the finest R&B/street soul album ever recorded in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Fuemana spent several late nights tracking one-take sessions at The Lab Recording Studio with engineers Simon Taylor, Chris Sinclair and Mark Tierney. From there, New Urban Polynesian came together quickly. Across the album, Phil showed off his prodigious skills as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, playing most of the smooth, sophisticated, and heartfelt music himself. In the studio, he shared the lead with Christina and Matty J, supported by a cast of backing vocalists, musicians and guest vocalists, including a young Carly Binding.

From the lush openings of their soulful Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder covers ‘Closer’ and ‘Rocket Love’ to the misty new jack swing serenade of his original ‘Seasons,’ Phil’s goal was to craft material that would let the music industry know the Fuemanas had arrived while also inspiring the next generation.

In 1995, the Fuemana family’s youngest sibling, Pauly, borrowed the initials from Ōtara Millionaires Club and began performing as OMC. Not long after, he changed everything for New Zealand music by recording the feelgood guitar-laced Polynesian pop global mega-hit ‘How Bizarre’ with producer Alan Jansson.

Consumed by a desire to do more musically, Phil established Urban Pacifika Records, where he launched the careers of a new wave of Pacific hip-hop and R&B talent, including Lost Tribe, Moizna, AKA Brown, and Sani Sagala, aka Dei Hamo.

In 2005, Phil tragically passed away from a heart attack aged 41. Five years later, Pauly, equally tragically, joined him after an extended battle with a rare neurological disorder, leaving Tony and Chirstina to grieve and make sense of their family’s extraordinary story.

When New Urban Polynesian first hit record store shelves in 1994, the Fuemanas dedicated the album to their father, Takiula Fuemana. Three decades later, it has expanded in meaning to become a remembrance of their youngest brother Pauly and a celebration of the life and times of their big-hearted big brother, Mr. Fuemana, Mr. Phil Fuemana.

Words by Martyn Pepperell in conversation with Tony & Christina Fuemana.

Gazebo Records feel honoured for the opportunity to share this important album for our inaugural release, now available for the first time on vinyl with remastering by Mikey Young.

All proceeds from this record flowing to the Fuemana family.

REISSUE of Sun And Sail Club sophomore album. The name might be the Sun and Sail club, but you'll find no yacht rock here. Instead of Michael McDonald, we have Bad Brains. Kenny Loggins? Hall and Oats? More like Matt Pike and Lemmy Fucking Kilmister. "The Great White Dope" is featuring members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and the Adolescents, containing 10 riff-filled tracks of high energy, bullshit-free punk and sleaze. The song writing on 'The Great White Dope' steers away from the experimental direction of their previous release, and it's laser focused on one thing: unapologetically rocking your face off. The vocoder is gone and they've recruited singer Tony Adolescent, who delivers balls to the wall vocals with no added effects or frills. The production, like the music itself, is loud, heavy, and beautifully simple. "This record is a direct result of my wife telling me she was pregnant with our son. As a first time father, panic set in and I wrote the album in two hours. I wasn't sure if I'd have a lot of time once he was born so I crammed as many frantic riffs into one album as possible. Looking back it's funny to listen to now, but at the time I was on a mission. Everyone killed it on this record and we recruited Tony Adolescent on vocals which is unreal to me." - Bob Balch

REISSUE of Sun And Sail Club sophomore album. The name might be the Sun and Sail club, but you'll find no yacht rock here. Instead of Michael McDonald, we have Bad Brains. Kenny Loggins? Hall and Oats? More like Matt Pike and Lemmy Fucking Kilmister. "The Great White Dope" is featuring members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and the Adolescents, containing 10 riff-filled tracks of high energy, bullshit-free punk and sleaze. The song writing on 'The Great White Dope' steers away from the experimental direction of their previous release, and it's laser focused on one thing: unapologetically rocking your face off. The vocoder is gone and they've recruited singer Tony Adolescent, who delivers balls to the wall vocals with no added effects or frills. The production, like the music itself, is loud, heavy, and beautifully simple. "This record is a direct result of my wife telling me she was pregnant with our son. As a first time father, panic set in and I wrote the album in two hours. I wasn't sure if I'd have a lot of time once he was born so I crammed as many frantic riffs into one album as possible. Looking back it's funny to listen to now, but at the time I was on a mission. Everyone killed it on this record and we recruited Tony Adolescent on vocals which is unreal to me." - Bob Balch

A hard rock mash up - Bandleader Paul Ngozi's split album with his drummer and co-vocalist Chrissy Zebby Tembo. The set includes an oversized 8 page booklet detailing Ngozi’s arc, rare photographs, discography and annotations.

"Zambia’s Zamrock movement that exploded in the 1970s...provided young musicians access to European and American music, and created a unique sound. At its root, Zamrock melded fuzz-toned psychedelia, chugging garage rock and roiling funk with a broad mix of African cadences and beats...enlivening a scene that included bands like Musi-O-Tunya, Amanaz and the Ngozi Family” - New York Times

Zamrock was a bona-fide rock scene: on the African continent, only Nigeria can claim one so comprehensive, and Nigeria’s was largely catalyzed and funded by subsidiaries of the European major labels. Zamrock was as independent as the newly-named country, formerly known as Northern Rhodesia. Zamrock is starting in its completeness, especially for a scene that emerged, unfurled and disappeared so quickly. From Musi-O-Tunyaís fusion of Fela’s Afro-beat, Hendrix’s rock, South African jazz and traditional Zambian melodies and rhythms to Salty Dog’s acid folk/rock, Zambia’s rock scene contained all of rock’s subgenres. Zamrock was much more than an imitation of American and European rock music: it quickly became a uniquely Zambian movement, befitting of its name. WITCH, Paul Ngozi and Amanaz sound nothing like other rock music from the African continent - or elsewhere. Zamrock came from a nation's youth carrying forth the momentum of a political and social revolution with a musical revolution that maintained the fiery power of early rock - in the mid-to late-70s. From that era, Zamrockís energy is matched only by the punk and hip hop scenes of England and America.

Latin funk at its finest. A kingpin player of Miami’s Cuban music scene, Ray Fernandez, brought together his ‘court’ for this sensational Afro-Cuban funk triumph. Largely a family affair, the album features his wife, two sons and a range of other talented musicians including Rickey Washington on saxophone, father of the contemporary jazz maestro Kamasi Washington. Originally released in 1973 on Manuel J. Mato’s iconic and collectible Sound Triangle Records, Ray & His Court is a dose of Miami heat fuelled by a Cuban fire, taking in salsa, soul, funk, calypso and Afro-Cuban rhythms.

A kaleidoscopic album that draws influence from a range of different genres and scenes blended together in true Ray Fernandez style. Side A, showcases an array of traditional Latin workouts including the addictive enticing opener 'La Señorita Lola' and the pulsating 'Lo Sabia' with its punchy horns and Ray’s wonderful, quirky bubbling organ groove. The tantalising ‘Venimos Acabando’ and bouncing organ stabs of ‘El Alacran’ are two further tickets to get a dancefloor vibing.

The B-side then steps things up, slipping a hit of heavy-weight Miami funk into the mix. Take the DJ favourite ‘Cookie Crumbs’ with its fiery bassline, tripped-out voiceovers and breakbeat drums. Or the amazing, memorable and truly unique funk instrumental ‘Soul Freedom’ with some mighty fine bass clarinet work courtesy of Gary Gottfried. Also featured is a seductive organ-led Cuban funk rework of Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' (are there any bad versions of this song?), with a sumptuous female vocal that combine to serve up a seductive take us this much-loved classic.

'Ray And His Court' is a brilliant blend of Afro-Cuban gems and Miami funk heat from an influential group on Miami’s Latin music scene. A majestic and magnetic classic where every track is a surefire winner.

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

REPRESS

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

Icelandic indie-pop songwriter Kaktus Einarsson will release his second album ‘Lobster Coda’ via One Little Independent Records on October 25th. Amidst a collection of lush, electronic earworms, Kaktus has penned an honest account of his recovery from a sudden functional neurological disorder (FND) that required him to relearn how to use his motor functions, while also performing his duties as a new father.

‘Lobster Coda’ incorporates dreamy, glistening synth-pop and melancholic ambience, created through layers of atmospheric keys, percussion, and groove-laden funk bass. Kaktus details his journey following a stress-induced nonepileptic seizure that halted his brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of his body, resulting in losing control of his legs, arms and causing involuntary facial tics. Crucially, he spent months on a course of physical therapy while also trying to care for his children and his partner, that by his own admission he then needed to reconnect with. With an occasionally brutal candour, Kaktus’s new album is about taking the time to reflect and recognise changes that need to be made, to listen to your body, and to trust the process no matter how long it might take.

Icelandic indie-pop songwriter Kaktus Einarsson will release his second album ‘Lobster Coda’ via One Little Independent Records on October 25th. Amidst a collection of lush, electronic earworms, Kaktus has penned an honest account of his recovery from a sudden functional neurological disorder (FND) that required him to relearn how to use his motor functions, while also performing his duties as a new father.

‘Lobster Coda’ incorporates dreamy, glistening synth-pop and melancholic ambience, created through layers of atmospheric keys, percussion, and groove-laden funk bass. Kaktus details his journey following a stress-induced nonepileptic seizure that halted his brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of his body, resulting in losing control of his legs, arms and causing involuntary facial tics. Crucially, he spent months on a course of physical therapy while also trying to care for his children and his partner, that by his own admission he then needed to reconnect with. With an occasionally brutal candour, Kaktus’s new album is about taking the time to reflect and recognise changes that need to be made, to listen to your body, and to trust the process no matter how long it might take.

Heartbreak, Misery & Death is the seventh studio album by beloved Alabama-based troubadour Grayson Capps--joined by his long-standing guitarist Corky Hughes-- turning his attention to 16 traditional and folk songs by artists ranging from Doc Watson and Jerry Jeff Walker to Randy Newman and Gordon Lightfoot. Introduced as a child to these timeless touchstones by his father, they'd catalyze Capps' love for music at a young age, while informing the Southern Gothic vernacular that he'd go onto so eloquently explore and reimagine in his own body of work.

San Francisco native Eric Luttrell announces his highly anticipated studio album ‘Life at Full Speed’, released on October 11 on Anjunadeep. First breaking into electronic music as part of the OWSLA-affiliated trio The M Machine, Eric embarked on his solo journey in 2016 with the acclaimed 'Need You' EP. This was followed by Anjunadeep favourites such as the 'Generate' EP and 'Intergalactic Plastic', championed by Annie Mac as the Hottest Record In The World. His musical progression continued with the launch of two studio albums, 'Intro Clouds' and 'Lucky Ones', as well as the captivating trilogy EP series 'Music For My Memories'. Luttrell's body of work has amassed over 100 million streams to date. Written over the past two years, ‘Life at Full Speed’ represents a new chapter for Eric. Becoming a father last year profoundly shifted his perspective on life and its purpose; and the album represents the ethos of embracing life to its fullest and seizing every moment. Featuring thirteen meticulously crafted tracks, "Life at Full Speed" embodies Luttrell's signature blend of indie-laced house music, characterised by uplifting melodies, intricately woven synths, and infectious grooves. A standout feature of the album is Eric’s integration of his own vocals on some of the tracks such as “When I First Met You” and “Go”. Additionally, Canadian artist Molly Moonwater joins forces with Eric on the single 'Something Right', enhancing its euphoric tone. Lead single ‘Make U Happy’ comprises a playful piano, signature Luttrell synths and a catchy top line culminating in an irresistible, feel-good summer anthem. This track sets the tone for the album, offering a glimpse into its uplifting vibe. Among the album's tracks are previously released singles ‘Sunshine’, ‘Space’, and ‘Sunrise Song’, which have collectively amassed over 3.5 million streams and received acclaim from BBC Radio 1 and SiriusXM Chill.

My Life, Americana trailblazer Iris DeMent’s sophomore album, cemented her legacy as one of the nation’s greatest living songwriters. Dedicated to her father, Patrick Shaw DeMent, who died in 1992, the album illustrates DeMent’s razorsharp songwriting on originals like “Sweet Is the Melody,” “No Time to Cry” and the title track. The songs “are jewels of universal longing” (Chicago Tribune) and “it is nearly impossible to exaggerate the beauty of these recordings.” (AllMusic). The album is being officially reissued for the first time for its 30th anniversary, pressed on maroon color vinyl and remastered by Mike Westbrook of MW Audio. The lacquer is cut by renowned mastering engineer Kevin Gray and is pressed at the state-of-the-art audiophile facilities at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, North Carolina. This pressing is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide.

Lenparrot's third studio album, La Conversation, is a reflective exploration of human experiences, performed in French and recorded in a renovated sheepfold in the Corbières region. The album marks a shift from Lenparrot's previous work, embracing the French language more fully after experimenting with it in earlier tracks. Influenced by personal milestones such as becoming a father and coping with loss, the album was born from creative collaboration. In March 2022, Romain Lallement (Lenparrot) joined artists Nina Savary, producer Astrobal, and multi-instrumentalist Vincent Guyot to compose this album, which came together quickly in the inspiring rural setting. The result is a harmonious blend of introspective and uplifting themes, capturing the essence of life’s joys and challenges.

Nach neun veröffentlichten Alben waren die Mitglieder der legendären schwedischen Metal-Band Astral Doors entschlossen, ein 10. Album zu machen, ein Jubiläumsalbum. Das Album wurde "The End Of It All" genannt, als Reflexion darüber, wie die Welt heute aussieht und um irgendwie zu sagen, dass dies das letzte Album von Astral Doors sein könnte.

Los Angeles’ Jarren returns to Apron Records with a 6 track offering of fresh selections for the autumn.
Following his Apron debut LP, Jarren returns with a new EP titled Fresco that continues to explore his love for analog synths & squelching bass lines.

Los Angeles’ Jarren returns to Apron Records with a 6 track offering of fresh selections for the autumn.

Following his Apron debut LP, Jarren returns with a new EP titled Fresco that continues to explore his love for analog synths & squelching bass lines.

The forthcoming release builds on his signature style with fresh ideas, offering listeners another unique experience reflecting his West Coast origins.

Jarren, an LA-based producer and DJ with Panamanian heritage, draws deeply from his rich musical roots. Growing up with a father who played saxophone, his early exposure to gospel and jazz has shaped his sound. Always in the studio, Jarren’s music reflects this blend of influences. He’s played at some of LA’s coolest spots for the last 10 years and toured overseas, sharing his laid-back dynamic energy with audiences everywhere.

Crystal Clear Vinyl. Hamartia is the fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. A narrative tool often determining a character's arc (or fate) underpinning many of our favorite stories in film, literature, and music. Meredith Johnston, the singer-songwriter-producer at the heart of indie project Warm Human, borrowed the term for the title of her latest LP, and her first for Sooper Records. Hamartia finds Johnston probing the depths of her fatal flaw, self-hatred, without skimping on the catchy hooks and bracingly frank lyricism. "This whole album is pop music for deranged people" she says. Johnston wrote and produced the album with Chicago composer and producer Conor Mackey (Lynyn, Monobody, NNAMDI). Together, the pair crafted an album that draws liberally from its diverse influences, incorporating down-tempo electronics, drum n' bass, indie rock, synth pop, and elegant, unstructured soundscapes. Hamartia finds humanity in electronic music, with warm synths, guitars, and shape-shifting vocal stacks frequently creating a one-woman choir. Hamartia is buoyed by the best music of Warm Human's career, from the probing "Father Father" to the insightful "My Moods!!" and the musical dish session "Love 2 Hate." Inspired by Portishead, Sheryl Crow, Frou Frou and others, the LP can be both wryly funny and incisive in the span of a single couplet ("I asked for space and you gave me the moon," she sings on "My Moods!!" adding, "I'm riding shotgun with my shit attitude"). Hamartia is a perfect pop soundtrack for our current moment because its irresistible hooks and quotable lyrics are the opposite of empty escapism-they're an invitation to acknowledge your own struggles and flaws. To get in touch with your hamartia. Recommended if you like: Imogen Heap, Sylvan Esso, Madonna, Portishead, Frou Frou, Sophie, Postal Service, Sheryl Crow.

* After the stunning success of their critically-acclaimed third album Sharpener, which reached number 3 in the jazz charts and number 14 in the independent music charts, London’s brass juggernauts Hackney Colliery Band blaze back onto the scene with their first collaborative album, ushering in a whole new era for the band.

* Featuring collaborations with a host of key names in jazz and world music including amongst others the father of Ethio-jazz Mulatu Astatke, British jazz funk legend James Taylor, trombonist Dennis Rollins, UK saxophonist Pete Wareham and Beninese singer-songwriter and Grammy Award-winner Angélique Kidjo, Hackney Colliery Band have effortlessly transformed their explosive live energy into 11 original recordings that push the groove and form in an accomplished manner.

*On ‘Collaborations: Volume One’, writers Steve Pretty, Olly Blackman and Luke Christie have between them penned the outfit's most dynamic material to date. ‘Mm Mm’ (feat. Angélique Kidjo and Roundhouse Choir) merges Beninese grooves with wah pedal trumpet textures, and the rousing call-and-response between Kidjo’s soaring vocal and the exhilarating choir adds a richness and depth to the composition.

*On ‘Snowfire’, innovative Norwegian pianist Bugge Wesseltoft brings a euro/nu-jazz feel to the album, while Dennis 'Funkybone' Rollins adds his trademark virtuoso trombone to the carnival-flavoured ‘Ricochet’.

*There’s an energy, respect for tradition and the exuberance of London in Hackney Colliery Band’s work, best exemplified in the evocative and downright thrilling James Taylor collaboration ‘Hypothetical’, with Taylor’s Hammond organ recalling the Acid Jazz era in which he made his name.
*New single ‘Netsanet’ (feat. Mulatu Astatke) is a deep exploration of Mulatu's trademark Ethio-jazz, while ‘Crushing Lactic’, composed by Tom Rogerson (fresh from a recent collaboration with Brian Eno) has a frenzied flow, with big horns and driving rhythm section.

*Elsewhere, Pete Wareham (stalwart of the London jazz revival) lends his free-flowing sax to ‘What’s Gone Before’, leading us into a powerful communion of jazz and brass as Mulatu Astatke’s ‘Derashe’ takes the listener down a vibrating rhythmic path while accompanied by blasts of horns and Mulatu’s trademark vibraphone.

*Two spoken word compositions (‘Why Yellow’ and ‘Climbing Up My Own Life Until I Die’) featuring York born writer and comedian Rob Auton lend an introspective voice to ‘Collaborations: Volume One’.

*A band never content to rest on its laurels, Hackney Colliery Band already have a number of collaborations in the works for ‘Volume Two’, and with further live shows planned for 2019, including the album launch at the famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, 2019 looks set to be HCB’s biggest year yet, both live and on record.

* Steve Pretty, the band’s frontman said: “It’s hard to believe that 2019 is our tenth anniversary, but now we’re ten years older it felt like the right time to get back to our jazz roots. It’s been such a privilege to work with so many of our musical inspirations both old and new on this record, and we’re super excited to be ushering in the next ten years with this new collaborative spirit: this is called ‘Volume One’ for a reason…”

ANTON NEWCOMBE and DOT ALLISON just announcedthat they will be releasing an album together under the moniker All Seeing Dolls. ''Parallel' will be out in February 2025. Upfront they share the single 'That's Amazing Grace' (backed with "Siren's Echo iron Lung") and make available this 2-track 10" as a limited teaser. Anton Newcombe is the founder, the sole constant and the creative mastermind at the centre of one of music's most fascinating bands; Brian Jonestown Massacre. He's a frontman, songwriter, composer, studio owner, multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, father and force of nature. There have been 21 BJM albums over the last 30 years, each embarking on their own mind-expanding adventure and exploring the outer realms of rock'n'roll; psychedelic rock, country-blues, snarling rock'n'roll, blissed-out noise-pop and more. Newcombe has established himself as a once-in-a-lifetime talent, a revolutionary force in modern music and an underground hero. Dot Allison released her debut solo album Afterglow in 1999. Over the years she has strived to keep the listener on a journey - and herself too. She revolts against what she has done before, to evolve and not just occupy the same space. That journey has taken her from Afterglow's broad church (trip-hop, Tim Buckley-esque ballads, dance tracks, chilled psychedelia) to the sultry synth-pop of We Are Science (2002), the lush, baroque Exaltation Of Larks (2007) and the eclectic, rootsy drama of Room 7½ (2009). After a hiatus to raise her family she returned with the graceful acoustic folk record Heart-Shaped Scars (2021) and the haunting, barely there beauty of Consciousology (2023). The range of guest stars on Allison's records is equally broad: where else would you find a cast list that includes Kevin Shields, Hal David, Paul Weller, Pete Doherty and Darren Emerson. Likewise, Allison's own guest roles with the likes of Massive Attack, Scott Walker, Slam, Philip Shepard, The Babyshambles & Pete Doherty, underlining the huge respect her peers hold her in.

Produced by Lenny Kravitz (Executive) and Fela Kuti’s original engineer Sodi Marciszewer (Artistic). Worldwide tour in 2024 / 2025 (North America, Europe, Australia). New album from 2018 Grammy nominated album “Black Times”. Seun Kuti set to release highly anticipated album ‘Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head)’ featuring guests Damian Marley and Sampa The Great on October 4th. Afrobeat virtuoso Seun Kuti is gearing up to unleash his latest musical masterpiece upon the world with the upcoming release of his album that will be set to make waves globally via Milan independent label Record Kicks. Coming 6 years after the Grammy nominated album ‘Black times’, this album marks a pivotal moment in Seun Kuti's illustrious career, showcasing his evolution as an artist and activist. Executive produced by legendary musician Lenny Kravitz and Fela Kuti’s original engineer Sodi Marciszewer (artistic producer), ‘Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head)’ promises to deliver a sonic experience like no other. With both Kravitz's and Sodi’s expertise together with Seun Kuti's unmatched talent, the album is poised to redefine the boundaries of contemporary music while staying true to the roots of afrobeat. Featuring a tracklist of six electrifying songs, each track on ‘Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head)’ embodies the spirit of resistance, resilience, and revolution. Each song talks about standing up against challenges and fighting for change. Like the standalone singles ‘Dey’ feat reggae icon Damian Marley, described as “a song about embracing and championing who we are, regardless” and ‘Emi Aluta’, “a song about struggle (Aluta means struggle) that pays homage to all the great revolutionaries”, that features Zambian singer, rapper and songwriter, Sampa The Great, one of best and most innovative lyricists of our time. The song ‘T.O.P.’ is about “how society values money and success more than people”. Seun Kuti wants to change this by promoting empathy and reconnecting with nature. In another song, ‘Love & Revolution,’ he expresses his love for his wife and believes that true love can inspire people to make the world a better place. “This project has been very special to me from the moment I conceived it, speaking to Lenny Kravitz, who has shown me such a brotherly love and respect” Seun says. “He has brought me to his home. I met his daughter Zoe and he has guided us with fierceness. Since we spoke about the album, three years ago, as the executive producer of this project, he has always been by our side and very supportive”. “I want to thank Craig Ross and Sodi, the producer of this project. We had a great time. It was the first time for me in the studio with Sodi and I was really impressed by his work and his fatherly advice and dedication”. Each song on the album is a testament to Seun Kuti's unwavering commitment to using music as a tool for social change and empowerment. Through his powerful lyrics and infectious grooves, he continues to carry on the legacy of his father, the legendary Fela Kuti, while carving out his own path in the world of music. As a musician and pan-African activist, Seun has been involved in a number of campaigns in recent years, including #EndSARS – a social movement against police brutality in Nigeria. Significantly, he’s revived the Movement of the People (M.O.P.), the political party his father set up in 1979, which was quashed by the military government not long after Fela’s failed presidential bid. Fans can expect an album that not only entertains but also inspires and ignites a spirit of activism and liberation. Seun Kuti is a Nigerian musician, singer, and songwriter renowned for his captivating performances and socially conscious music. He is the youngest son of Afro beat pioneer Fela Kuti. Seun has spent most of his life preserving and extending his father's political and musical legacy as the leader of his father's former band Egypt 80. As a developing saxophonist and percussionist, he entered the formal ranks of the band before he was 12. In 1997 when Fela passed, in fulfilment of his father's wishes, Seun assumed the mantle as head of Egypt 80 and he has run it ever since. During his career, Seun Kuti released 4 albums with Egypt 80: ‘Many Things’ (2008), ‘From Africa with Fury: Rise for Knitting Factory Records’ (2011), coproduced by Brian Eno and John Reynolds, ‘A Long Way Beginning’ (2014) and the Grammy nominated ‘Black Times’ (2018) that included a feature from Carlos Santana. They also released numerous EPs. Seun has played for enthusiastically receptive audiences globally and collaborated with many great artists. In 2022, he joined forces with Roots frontman and MC extraordinaire Black Thought in the EP ‘African Dreams’. In 2023, Seun collaborated on Janelle Monae's ‘The Age of Pleasure’ (Grammy nominee for Album Of The Year) with the two singles 'Float' and 'Knows Better', teamed up with Talib Kweli and MadLib for their album ‘Liberation 2’ on the song ‘Nat Turner’ featuring Cassper Nyovest and released a new version of the single ‘Bad Man Lighter’ with Black Thought, featuring Vic Mensa

The highly anticipated album from LAWRENCE is finally here and 15 years after the CD release for the first time available on vinyl!!!

Hamburg based DIAL and SMALLVILLE owner Peter Kersten aka LAWRENCE is one of the most valued and highly regarded artist's in the modern dance music community with a long history of releases on Nova Mute, Kompakt, Ladomat, Spectral, Ghostly, Mule and of course his own imprint DIAL. UNTIL THEN, GOODBYE kicks off with a special 'intro' version of a fan favourite FRIDAY'S CHILD followed by the introspective ambient piece SUNRISE. GREY LIGHT remarks the electronic style of DRUTTI COLUMN while JILL is purely sweet slow house music. The album shifts towards more acoustic driven material with songs such as FATHER UMBRILLO and TODERHAUSEN BLUES…don't fret purists as LAWRENCE hits back with his classic signature sounds with the likes of IN YOUR EYES, SLEEP and SUFFER. LAWRENCE leaves us with a whisper in the most beautiful of ways. The atmospheric ambient tune DON'T FOLLOW ME, the ebb and flow of the piano driven A NEW DAY and the title track leave the listener in a state of bliss. Dare we say, this is one of LAWRENCE's most daring and diverse albums to date…not necessarily a 'concept' album per say but definitely showcases his gift for provoking a remarkably diverse range of musical influences and styles.

Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022's Pigments_icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly_and now it has reunited them for Quiet in a World Full of Noise. By turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, Quiet in a World Full of Noise blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing_driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds Richard at her most raw and exposed. This year, Richard's musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. Richard channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album. Quiet expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R&B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, Richard and Zahn's audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. Richard, a New Orleans-reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R&B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. Zahn is an East Coast-raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes People of the Dawn, Sunday Painter, Pale Horizon, and Statues I & II, as well as the duo's first release, Pigments. "Pigments was one of the best projects I've ever made," Richard says, "and the furthest I've ever been pushed as an artist." The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications. The making of its follow-up, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, Zahn sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. "I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks," he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album. Six months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to Richard who immediately recognized their potential and said, "Oh, this is the next album." Richard went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to Zahn's piano recordings. Zahn brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track "Life in Numbers," Zahn used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both Richard and Zahn.

Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022’s Pigments icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly and now it has reunited them for Quiet in a World Full of Noise. By turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, Quiet in a World Full of Noise blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds Richard at her most raw and exposed. This year, Richard’s musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. Richard channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album. Quiet expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R&B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, Richard and Zahn’s audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. Richard, a New Orleans–reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R&B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. Zahn is an East Coast–raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes People of the Dawn, Sunday Painter, Pale Horizon, and Statues I & II, as well as the duo’s first release, Pigments. “Pigments was one of the best projects I’ve ever made,” Richard says, “and the furthest I’ve ever been pushed as an artist.” The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications. The making of its follow-up, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, Zahn sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. “I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks,” he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album. Six months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to Richard who immediately recognized their potential and said, “Oh, this is the next album.” Richard went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to Zahn’s piano recordings. Zahn brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track “Life in Numbers,” Zahn used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both Richard and Zahn.

long content, you may need to expand row to see all... 10th Anniversary colour reissue of the 2014 album featuring “Just One of the Guys”, “The Voyager”, “She’s Not Me” and more on Translucent Sea Blue 1LP. This is the former Rilo Kiley frontwoman's third solo album & documents her struggle to cope following the death of her estranged father in 2010 and the subsequent break-up of Rilo Kiley. 'The Voyager' finds the always relatable songwriter at her sharp-witted best, singing about her experiences with honesty and incisiveness.

Shangri-LA-DEE-DA shows off Stone Temple Pilots ability to synthesize and celebrate a vast array of musical influences into a wholly original and genre bending album. The 5th studio record from the classic STP lineup, originally released in 2001, was recorded in a Malibu Beach House. Originally slated to be a double album, it was re-imagined as a 1-LP, and features 13 tracks that bring listeners on a genre-defiant anthology of tales of Hollywood excess and more mundane moments of awe in life including new fatherhood.

2024 Repress

The newly remastered edition of the 1985 LP ‘Song of the Motherland’ by Shabaka’s father AnkAnu(formerly Anum Iyapo) will be reissued via Native Rebel Recordings. The album was remastered by Guy Davie at Electric Mastering, and has new cover art and design by Anum. The album will be available May 25th (African Liberation Day)

Info/Bio
Afrika Liberation Day (ALD) is observed on the 25th May. Events have historically been held on the weekend/bank holiday surrounding this date, which makes this coming weekend, ALD weekend.
The Album is a triumphant celebration of Afrikan-Caribbean verbal expression. The songs combine to haunting effect, the Rastafari Nyabinghi' drumming of Jamaican and continental Afrikan and Pan-Afrikan percussion and musical styles (even an Australian Aborigine Didgeridoo) with his folk-roots based Afrikan Jamaican vocal style.

The result is uniquely creative in construction and style, thought- provoking, entertaining and spiritual in content. The power of Anum I word and sound will paint mental imagery of red, gold, green and black.
Prepare yourself…

Mount Athos, known as the «Holy Mountain,» is a monastic peninsula in northeastern Greece, central to Eastern Orthodox monasticism for over a millennium. Its twenty monasteries house around 2,000 monks dedicated to prayer and worship, which songs have echoed across the Aegean Sea for centuries, heard only by visiting pilgrims, isolated from conventional time and global events.

After several years of research, and several visits to the retired community, we are happy to present our new project «Athos : Echoes from the Holy Mountain» dedicated to this liturgic music and repertoire that seems to be evolving outside the usual boundaries of time and space. Rooted in Byzantine chant, this a cappella tradition essential to monastic life featuring intricate yet serene melodies designed to facilitate prayer and contemplation, using a system of modes and scales to create a meditative atmosphere.

Trans-disciplinary, this effort of documentation also comprehends an artistic re-interpretation aspect inviting contemporary Greek and foreign artists to reflect on the subject.

A musical compilation which captures original field recordings from the 1960s and from today capturing the essence of liturgical music on Mount Athos, but also new compositions inspired by them by artists such as Holy Tongue (UK), Jay Glass Dubs (GR), Prins Emanuel & Inre Kresten Grupp (SWE), Jimi Tenor (FI), Gilb’r (FR), Daniel Paleodimos (GR), Esma & Murat Ertel (TUR) and Organza Ray (GR/US).

A trilingual book in English, Greek and French, featuring essays, articles, photographs and artistic comissions reflecting around the theme giving a voice to contributors such as , Stratos Kalafatis, Theodore Psychoyos, Tefra90, Father Damaskinos Ulkinuora, Prof. Thomas Apostolopoulos, Makar Tereshin, Phaedra Douzina-Bakalaki, Michelangelo Paganopoulos and Alberto Cameroni.

The release of the book and the record will be followed by a cycle of exhibitions and conferences, deploying FLEE’s year-long research on Mount Athos, as well as its numerous commissioned artworks.

From Cape Town to Cairo, and now to fans, stages and screens around the world, PJ Morton shares his newest album, fully made in the motherland. Cape Town to Cairo is a collection of songs that he created in 30 days throughout 4 countries in Africa — South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt. Described as the best trip of his life, this transformative journey began as just the seed of an idea last fall, but instantly grew into his most sonically-sprawling and immediately-inspired record to date. With no music, lyrics or preconceptions, he stepped foot onto the continent with two thoughts: a wild dream to write and record his next LP in less than a month, and a mission to immerse himself in as many different cultures, stories and communities as he could.

Surrounded by featured collaborators like Fireboy DML, Mádé Kuti, Asa, Ndabo Zulu, and Soweto Spiritual Singers, as well as additional producers including P.Priime and The Cavemen., his own live band and local musicians, PJ Morton used music as his common language. Always his greatest way of communicating, he expressed his feelings and experiences of Africa through songs he and others were forming together on the spot, side-by-side in different studios, cities and towns for the very first time. None of the tracks were written before he arrived or after he left, and the arrangements showcase both the countries’ native genres as well as the innate, stylistic instincts that have made Morton a 5x GRAMMY-winner and 20x GRAMMY-nominee, whether it be his soul, R&B and gospel roots, or the pop prowess he has further honed as a member of Maroon 5.

“When you’ve been in music as long as I have, you’re constantly looking for inspiration,” says PJ Morton. “And you’re looking for the things that made you want to do it in the first place. I’ve made albums every type of way you can think, so I wanted to try something I hadn’t done before. As a Black American who had never been to South or West Africa, I knew there was something there waiting for me. So I put a little pressure on myself to make a full record in a month, but I also said, ‘If I’m gonna go to Africa, I want to see Africa.’ We made music, but we also formed connections. We made new friends, and this is just the start.”

ESSENCE adds, "This trip is not just a physical move, it's a spiritual return…The soul of Africa pulses through every note he plays and every word he sings,” and VIBE adds that “the multi-faceted artist is fully embracing a new phase in his life.” Cape Town to Cairo marks PJ Morton’s first album since 2022’s Watch The Sun, which featured collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Nas, JoJo, Wale, Jill Scott, Alex Isley and more. Since then, Morton has become the first Black composer to write an original song for a Disney attraction, having just finished making the music for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, opening on June 28th, 2024 at Disney World and Fall 2024 at Disneyland. He also won his latest GRAMMY earlier this year, worked with Samara Joy on “Why I’m Here” for Regina King’s Netflix film Shirley, and landed a cover of his song “Don’t Let Go” as the soundtrack to Apple’s iPhone 15 commercial.

PJ Morton recently returned from headlining his debut shows in Asia, New Zealand and Australia, and announced an extensive Cape Town to Cairo Tour for North America summer and fall 2024. Following iconic performances at New Orleans Jazz Fest, The Kennedy Center, Roots Picnic and Newport Jazz Fest, Morton will embark on a run of more than 25 dates across the country, including New York City’s Beacon Theatre, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, and dozens of others.

On the heels of his headline tour and Maroon 5’s Las Vegas residency, PJ Morton will publish a life-spanning new book titled Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. The memoir sees him recounting and reflecting upon a trailblazing path that continues to defy expectations and straddle the tensions of music and faith, race and culture, expression and identity. As the son of two pastors and gospel artists, Morton grew up grounded by the sound of the Church, but soon found himself drawn to R&B, pop and soul, writing songs that the industry, his family and community struggled to understand. In the face of mounting pressure, rejection and constant miscategorization, he committed himself to a steadfast path of independence: making music on his own terms, launching his own record label, joining one of the biggest bands in the world while staying true to his New Orleans roots. The risks he took paid off, and through his transformation from preacher's kid to the busiest man in showbiz – performing everywhere from his local congregation to the Super Bowl, collaborating with everyone from his father to Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Jon Batiste and Lil Wayne – he hopes to encourage readers and listeners to overcome obstacles as they seek their dreams.

John Mayall is often referred to as the "Father of British Blues." Born on November 29, 1933, he's primarily known for his work as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, particularly as a harmonica player and keyboardist. Mayall gained prominence in the 1960s as the founder and leader of the band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, which served as a launching pad for numerous British blues and rock musicians. Mayall's Bluesbreakers lineup famously included Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor, all of whom went on to achieve great success in their own right. His band became a crucial part of the British blues movement and influenced countless musicians around the world. Over the years, John Mayall has released numerous albums both as a solo artist and with various iterations of the Bluesbreakers. His music spans a wide range of blues styles, from traditional Chicago blues to more experimental and progressive sounds. Mayall's influence on the development of blues and rock music cannot be overstated, and he will always remain a respected figure in the music industry. This John Mayall release from Indigo Records ''Through The Years Live 60's to 80's'' are live recordings presented on Blue vinyl.

'The 12 Moons of Ikutaro', originally slated for release in 1993 tells the story of Shioi, a young girl who embarks on an intergalactic journey to avenge the death of her father. Her journey takes her to the solar system of Ikutaro, where she must visit each moon to defeat the 'Moon Boss', and ultimately destroy the 'System Controller'. Aided by her 'Liquid Sound Device' she undertakes the task journeying between the moons on her 'Model JP8080' and meets various friends and foes on the way.

By the time Chick Corea - the venerated 27-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master - went into Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles to record the third album with his Elektric Band, the lineup had been solidified through constant touring the previous year. Dedicated to his father Armando, a trumpeter who led a Dixieland band in Boston in the 1930s and 1940s, Eye of the Beholder reflected a tightening of the ensemble playing and a greater showcasing of the individual solo prowess of these consummate musicians.

With this fresh sounding five-star recording, it is clear that Corea was more open to showcasing this band’s collective muscle and individual virtuosity. The group rips, in no uncertain terms, on showcases like “Cascade, Part II,” “Trance Dance,” and the staggering “Amnesia.” There are experimental excursions into the kind of atmospheric, ambient music realms that Brian Eno pioneered on “Cascade, Part 1” and may be the most profound musical statement of the collection, on par with past Corea high points, “Beauty.”

Originally released on GRP Records in 1988, the album is a high-water mark for Corea and his Elektric Bandmates.

Alice Taylor was a popular session singer who sang background vocals for several local Philly groups including The Delfonics during the height of the Philly Soul boom of the early to mid-1970’s.

In 1974 Alice under the auspice of producer Emanuel ‘Manny’ Campbell Jr and fellow Philadelphian musician/composer Charles R. Bowen entered the famed Sound Room Studios in Upper Dardy PA, to record a session of her own. This session yielded two songs. The more commercial pop soul orientated “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ‘n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar”. A song which took influences from other popular songs of the time that mentioned one’s love for Rock ‘n’ Roll singers and taking road trips to L.A (Los Angeles) in an attempt to cash in. Although the elongated song title may at first be a tad off-putting the recording showcases Alice’s vocal talents to the full and in itself is a very good record. The second song “Sounds Ridiculous” is based around the theme of a girl falling in love with a guy who spends most of his time daydreaming rather than getting a regular 9-5 job. An excellent record that should find favour with 70’s/crossover soul fans alike.



Manny Campbell Jr used some of Philadelphia’s finest musicians on Alice’s session, notably session drummer Earl Young, reputedly the first exponent of the hi-hat cymbal a style of drumming used extensively throughout the disco period. Young had honed his skills during the 1960’s with his band The Volcanos, recording sessions for the Arctic and Harthon Record Labels. The Volcanos later became The Moods before morphing into The Trammps who Young recorded on his Golden Fleece Label with the group recording several further disco hits for Buddah Records prior to their worldwide hit “Disco Inferno” for Atlantic Records. Young’s strumming can be found on many other Philadelphia International, Sal Soul and MFSB recordings. The string and horn arrangements on the session were provided by another MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother) pool of musician’s member, Don Renaldo.



“I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Superstar/Sounds Ridiculous” came out in November of 1975 as an initial pressing run of 500 copies for promotional use which sadly were not of the best quality with some background noise being present in the introduction on both sides of the single, a possible detrimental factor in the release gaining any significant airplay. It’s was the second and final release on Emandolynn Music’s short lived, Stage-Art label. The first release being another of Manny Campbell’s acts The Nu-Rons & Co “Disco Hustle/Can’t Do Enough Girl” (Stage-Art 1001). Sadly, Alice Taylor passed away sometime during the 1980’s. Soul Junction through its ongoing relationship with Emandolynn Music have taken the opportunity to license these now very sort after Alice Taylor songs, which have been remastered to remove the aforementioned sound problems present on the original release. Which are now presented to you as a 3 track EP which also includes a previously unissued alternative mix of “(I’m In Love With A) Rock ’n’ Roll Singin’ Superstar, a recent master tape discovery.

WE ARE WINTER'S BLUE AND RADIANT CHILDREN (WAWBARC) is the new quartet of Mat Ball (BIG|BRAVE), Efrim Manuel Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion), and Jonathan Downs and Patch (both Ada). On "NO MORE APOCALYPSE FATHER" they present six modal lullabies drenched in seared distortion, slathered across striding electronic pulses. Ball and Menuck began creating music in and for the bleakest moments of Montréal winters: "We're honoring that idea of winter, when you come inside and your house is warm, a place that only exists because of how cold it is outside," says Menuck. They later recruited Downs and Patch to flesh out their initial ideas. Menuck met them in 2015 when recording Ada's final album at Montréal's Hotel2Tango _ where they reconvened to make this record. "NO MORE APOCALYPSE FATHER" is an album about witnessing bleakness from a place of safety. Carrying newfound descriptive depth, thanks to the quartet's open-ended songs freeing him from writing in meter, Menuck likens his lyrics to photorealism. On opener `Rats and Roses' he sings of an unnamed city struck by an unknown cataclysm, but the details are local: specifically, his neighbors inadvertently poisoning birds when tackling a rat infestation. It's backed by blown out synths and guitars reaching a soaring crescendo. "Seeing things from a distance and not being able to intervene happens a lot on the record," Menuck explains. "If you're a feeling and thinking person, that's just part of the human condition. We watch horror unfolding from afar, unable to do anything concrete to change it." A powerless witness, able to describe but not intervene. `Dangling Blanket From A Balcony (White Phosphorous)' references Michael Jackson holding his child over a hotel balcony in 2002_the bizarre media spectacle still lodged in Menuck's psyche. This and the album's closing track also elegize white phosphorous, a technology of war designed to light up battlefields but capable of inflicting horrific burns on those it touches. Illumination and horror in one, here underpinning scenes picturesque and terrifying. "The last song `(Goodnight) White Phosphorous' is deliberately like a lullaby," says Menuck. "Written from the viewpoint of watching white phosphorous falling outside your window." Scorched and tarnished and laden with harrowing imagery, "NO MORE APOCALYPSE FATHER" is also a record bathed in light: the bewilderment of hopeful spirits witnessing despair, watching a blizzard of distress unfold outside from a place of relative shelter and comfort. You could call that emotional ambivalence, maybe numbness. But those words are too passive for the weight of conflicted feeling resonating through the album. "I never know how I feel on an overcast day when the sun is still bright despite the grayness and the light is very flat. The colours become more saturated, and you see a single flower, say a morning glory, whose colour is so vibrant beneath the gray, I don't know if that's a lovely sensation or a terrible sensation. It's both," says Menuck.

Two brand new tracks by The Courettes on PINK coloured vinyl. Both tracks will also feature on the band's next album, The Soul Of... The Fabulous Courettes, in slightly different form! "We worked with Richard Gottehrer, who for us is like a songwriter god!" says Flavia. "He worked at the Brill Building and co-wrote 'I Want Candy'. A mutual friend played him 'Keep Dancing' and he left a message on my phone saying, 'I love your track and I really dig the lyrics'. He ended up mixing 'Keep Dancing' and 'Boom Boom Boom'." "Because I'm the one most responsible for the lyrics, I actually allowed myself to open up to some personal things," admits Flavia. "We lost both of our fathers. My father died of COVID. But my relationship with my father was non-existent. He abandoned me and my sister. It was a very difficult relationship and it's not so easy for me to talk about it. 'Keep Dancing' is about his death and how he still has a power over me and bringing me down and what it's like to break free from that. You know, some parents are cruel." "It's a special subject to sing about and to make pop music out of," says Martin. "It's actually celebrating moving on and I think that's really fantastic. 'Keep Dancing' is absolutely smashing." "Life is so fragile," smiles Flavia. "But what are you supposed to do? I'd rather dance."

Recital presents an artists’ record from the two giants Richard Hamilton and Dieter Roth. Hamilton (1922-2011) is revered as the father of British Pop Art as both theorist and practitioner, in addition to famously designing the artwork for The Beatles’ White Album. Dieter Roth (1930-1998) was a Swiss German artist who blithely ignored all artistic boundaries and aesthetic dictums. His oeuvre includes hundreds of artist books, almost half a thousand prints, sculptures, multiples and records, all balanced between magnetic playfulness and self-deprecating paranoia. Roth also ran his own record/book press Dieter Roth's Verlag and was a major force in the reckless improvisational music group Selten Gehörte Musik (1973-1979).

The two artists most significant collaborations happened between 1976 and 1978, beginning with a series of 74 paintings in which they reworked each other’s art. The paintings were made for an exhibition for dogs (as suggested by the late Marcel Broodthaers, to whom the works were dedicated) in Cadaqués, Spain. Hamilton and Roth then produced the catalogue Collaborations of Ch. Rotham with reproductions of all the paintings alongside four brilliant new collaborative texts. The narrative of the texts sprung from the “fairy story” (Hamilton) quality that emerged from these dog paintings – a hallucinatory tapestry of sausages, gestating giants, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote, and a donkey. Together they gallop, humorous and beautifully absurd, across the wild field of an imaginary seaside backdrop with endless garbled iterations of ever-mutating names riddled with mad typos.

For these recordings the individual texts were read by Roth and Hamilton, actor friend Duncan Smith, and a huge cast of British artists for the final play Die Grosse Bockwurst, performed at the Whitechapel Gallery in London in 1977. The recordings were first released on cassette on the Audio Arts label in 1978, and have now been remastered from the original ¼″ tapes for this double vinyl edition.

Also included are two booklets: one is a new essay written for this edition by artist and co-producer Malcolm Green (Red Sphinx, Atlas Press), alongside full reproductions of the Roth / Hamilton collaborative Ch. Rotham texts. Thanks to Björn Roth, Rita Donagh, Hansjörg Mayer, William Furlong, Tate Modern, and Hauser & Wirth.

Limited edition double-vinyl record of 300 copies in full color gatefold sleeve with over 70 minutes of audio recordings. Including two booklets: a 16-page new essay on Roth & Hamilton by Malcolm Green that includes new Roth translations, and a 20-page complete reproduction of the collaborative Ch. Rotham texts.

Lucila Justina Sarcines Reyes was born on July 19, 1936, in the Rímac district. Lima, which had just mourned the death of the emblematic composer Felipe Pinglo two months earlier, was a city on the verge of modernization that clung to its colonial and racist ways. Having been born black marked a difficult path in her life: after the father's premature death and a fire that left her and her 15 siblings homeless, she takes the streets to financially support her mother, and at 5 years old learns to sing in bars while begging for money in the port of Callao. After being admitted to a Franciscan convent and studying only until the third grade of primary school, now a teenager, she returns home, but suffers an attempt of rape by her new stepfather; she is forced to move to the central neighborhood of Barrios Altos, to live with her uncle, a guitarist from the legendary Guardia Vieja, also known as the founders of the Peruvian criollo waltz. This group of non-professional musicians, made up of bricklayers, merchants, artisans, marble workers and other employees, prolonged the oral traditions of their African slave ancestors in working-class neighborhoods of the capital. While the wealthy reject the music of their peons, which they associate with alcohol and disorder, it is the workers who listen carefully to the European waltzes and Aragonese jotas at the aristocratic halls, and later, back in their famous one-pipe alleys, transform their music under the spell of the night. It is in these sociability spaces that house numerous low-income families, where these criollos cheer up birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other parties until dawn with the trill of their guitars and cajones. It is there that Reyes, at 16 years old, picks up the legacy of the Guardia Vieja and her life changes forever: she is often asked to sing in jaranas (criollo parties), and since her voice stands out immediately, she is encouraged to make her debut on a radio show called "El Sentir de los Barrios", whereshe performs the waltz "Abandonada" by Sixto Carrera.

Lovers of Italo disco music will consider Cyber People as one of the most important acts in its scene. The Space-synth sound Cyber people brought in the mid 80’s, was highlighted by their 1985 ‘Void Vision’ release, which became a hit both in Europe, as well as in South America. On top of that, Cyber People paved the road for acts like Koto, Laserdance and Hipnosis, just to name a few. Cyber People were disbanded though in 1988, but left behind a series of most important Italo Disco records.

Now, build on the ashes of the former and legendary ‘Memory Records label from Parma – Italy, Memix International is pleased to announce its return, and the return of Cyber People. In its original form, headed again by the Maestro Giorgio “Theo” Spagna himself, as leader of the pack, with a tribute to Anfrando Maiola, the founding father of Mamory Records’ most important act, Koto, who left us in 2023.

As a tribute, Anfrando’s “Dragon’s Legend” get’s a complete new overhaul by Cyber People, respecting its original structure, concept and spirit, bringing it however into the 21st century.

Besides the almost 8-and-a-half-minute tribute of Dragon’s legend on the MEM-side, on the MIX-side you will find the DJ friendly ‘DJ DUB’, bringing you the compact essential of ‘Dragon’s Legend’ for any up-to-date Italian Disco set. (And if you want to call it Italo Disco, that’s perfectly fine with us too!)

With this release, Memix International continues where it’s predecessor stopped in 1989. Paves the road into a new era, and pays with this rerelease it’s respect to Anfrando Maiola and his Koto releases , such with full support from his heir.

With this release Memix International also brings a tribute to Alessandro Porta, the great Italian designer and visual artist, whose heirs were as kind to participate also, and made one of Alessandro’s drawings available for the sleeve of this unique release. It was Porta who was, on many occasions, responsible for the characteristic artwork of various Koto releases and, all together it will for sure make this release a well sought item which comes in a strictly limited edition of 500 units, so distributed on a ‘first to come, first to serve’ basis. Expected release and shipment: end of September/begin of October 2024.

Madonna is reissuing LIKE A PRAYER this summer to celebrate the acclaimed album’s 35th anniversary. Pressed on opaque silver vinyl, it will be the second release from the Silver Collection, a series of limited-edition vinyl reissues celebrating 40 years of Madonna’s illustrious career. The Silver Collection debuted last year with True Blue and will continue to spotlight other Madonna albums in the coming months.
Originally released on 21 March 1989, LIKE A PRAYER quickly became an iconic album, acclaimed by critics and cherished by fans. It was Madonna’s fourth studio release and one of the most personal albums of her career. The title track became Madonna’s seventh No. 1 hit in the US. In the UK, the album was a major success as well, topping the UK Albums Chart and solidifying Madonna's status as a global superstar. A massive international success, the album has sold 15 million copies worldwide and remains a favourite among fans.
The repress has been hotly anticipated from fans and we plan to run heavyweight online promotion including new content from the Madonna socials (FB 19m / IG 19m).

"Kal Marks have never made a record as personal as Wasteland Baby. Though Carl Shane, the band’s vocalist-guitarist, has made a career off of exploring blunt, uncomfortable truths through song, with Wasteland Baby, he steered Kal Marks toward something utterly new. Shane looked inward to stare down a fear that had long plagued him: What would it look like to have a child in a world that looks like this? “The album was driven by the fears I’m having about being a father,” says Shane. “The initial spark was this fear, and I thought that maybe if I could express it, I could overcome it.”

What started out with this simple premise slowly grew into a sprawling, borderline-concept record. It’s no surprise, then, that Kal Marks went deeper and darker than ever before when writing Wasteland Baby. Though, in order to reach that final product, it required the band—bassist-vocalist John Russell, drummer Adam Berkowitz, and guitarist-vocalist Christina Puerto, who is also Shane’s partner—to interrogate every decision they made with exacting detail. ”We were really all on the same page in that we wanted to make something really, really special and that was going to require us putting a lot of ego aside and just trying to serve the songs as best as possible.”

“In an ideal world, Kal Marks will go on forever. But it may be the end of a chapter for a while. I don’t want it to be the end, but there was an element running through the album that maybe could be the end,” says Shane. No matter what the future holds, Wasteland Baby is an emphatic reminder to brush off the things that keep you from truly living and venture into the unknown."

RAWAX proudly welcomes Felipe Gordon to the artist family! We are very happy to present you this outstanding artist from Colombia on our CHIWAX imprint. His fantastic debut release for us will be out early September. Higly recommended!