Suche:west

On July 13, 2006 the Drive-By Truckers set up
shop at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA. It was
the 25th Anniversary of the store. The band
performed to a packed house and played a
blistering set of fan-favourites, featuring the songs
‘18 Wheels of Love’, ‘Let There Be Rock’,
‘Goddamn Lonely Love’ and ‘Daddy’s Cup’.
The performance was also set up to benefit the
Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial
Endowment. The foundation provides, among
other things, music scholarships in the Richmond
area. Lead vocalist and songwriter Patterson Hood
ended up writing the song ‘Two Daughters and A
Beautiful Wife’ about Bryan Harvey and his family.
The updated packaging includes original artwork
from acclaimed artist and long-time collaborator
Wes Freed.
Originally available as a very limited and long sold
out vinyl-only pressing. Now available on CD for
the very first time.

Los Angeles based band Los Lobos have always
been inspired by their surroundings and the place
they call home. Their music is influenced by rock
and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B,
blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such
as cumbia, boleros and norteños.
With ‘Native Sons’ the band set out to showcase
all of these influences with their own take on the
songs of Los Angeles from some of the cities
greatest songwriters.
‘Native Sons’ features 13-songs from well known
LA artists such as Buffalo Springfield, WAR,
Jackson Browne and The Beach Boys as well as
deep cuts from The Jaguars, The Basters and The
Premiers.
The album title track is the sole original
composition written by the band.
2LP in gatefold sleeve (etching on Side 4).

Wooden Shjips, as it is today, started in 2006. The band self released a 10" and 7" that year and started playing shows shortly thereafter. Prior to 2006, Wooden Shjips was an experiment in primitive and minimalist rock. After it imploded, Ripley Johnson, guitar and vocals, assembled the current lineup of Dusty Jermier on bass, Nash Whalen on organ, and Omar Ahsanuddin on drums. West marks the first time the band recorded in a proper studio, as well as the first time with an engineer (Phil Manley). All previous recordings, either self-released, for Holy Mountain, or Mexican Summer were done more piecemeal in the band's rehearsal studio. West was recorded and mixed in six days at Lucky Cat Studios in San Francisco. It was mastered by Sonic Boom at Blanker Unisinn, Brooklyn, with additional mastering by Heba Kadry at The Lodge in New York.

Rock ‘n’ roll is often hard to define, or even to find, in these
fractured musical times. But to paraphrase an old saying,
you know it when you hear it. And you always hear it with
The Wallflowers. For the past 30 years, the Jakob Dylanled act has stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and
purposeful bands - a unit dedicated to and continually
honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and
storytelling with a hard-hitting and decidedly modern
musical attack.
That signature style has been present through the
decades, baked into the grooves of smash hits like 1996’s
‘Bringing Down the Horse’ as well as more recent and
exploratory fare like 2012’s ‘Glad All Over’.
But while it’s been nine long years since we’ve heard from
the group with whom he first made his mark, The
Wallflowers are silent no more. And Dylan always knew
they’d return. “The Wallflowers is much of my life’s work,”
he says simply. That life’s work continues with ‘Exit
Wounds’, the brand-new Wallflowers studio offering. The
collection marks the first new Wallflowers material since
‘Glad All Over’.
‘Exit Wounds’ is an ode to people - individual and
collective - that have, to put it mildly, been through some
stuff. “I think everybody - no matter what side of the aisle
you’re on - wherever we’re going to next, we’re all taking a
lot of exit wounds with us,” Dylan says. “Nobody is the
same as they were four years ago. That, to me, is what
‘Exit Wounds’ signifies. And it’s not meant to be negative at
all. It just means that wherever you’re headed, even if it’s
to a better place, you leave people and things behind, and
you think about those people and those things and you
carry them with you. Those are your exit wounds. And right
now, we’re all swimming in them.”

RAWAX proudly welcomes Kim Nazel, one of the founders of N.W.A. aka The Arabian Prince to the Family! We are happy to present you in future some classic releases and new productions, including a brand new album on the RAWAX WEST COAST EDITION. Starting with "The Arabian Prince And The Sheiks - Take You Home Girl/ Innovator" from 1985, originally released on RAPSUR Records. Our release contains for the first time the unreleased extended version of "Take You Home, Girl"!!! Another highlight is " Innovative Life" this track was done by Kim Nazel together with another legend who is Dr. Dre!!!
Highly recommended!

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

Morgan was one of the most active artists in the Los Angeles underground jazz scene, and a member of the late great Horace Tapscott‘s artist collective Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). He performed alongside Tapscott, and other Nimbus recording artists like Jesse Sharps, who he introduced to Tapscott. He also performed with Arthur Blythe, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, as well as soul icons Willie Hutch (notably on the Foxy Brown soundtrack) and Rufus & Chaka Khan. Most recently he contributed to Carlos Niño’s 2016 album Flutes, Echoes, It’s All Happening!, and was a part of Niño and vocalist Dwight Trible’s soul-jazz group Build An Ark (which also featured Tribe’s Phil Ranelin).

Journey Into Nigritia was Morgan’s debut as a leader, and the first of three recordings he released for Nimbus West. The album has a strong post-Coltrane spiritual feel, with some modal-based melodies, and some fiery solos from saxophonist Dadisi Komolafe. The record also features a solid rhythm section featuring bassist Jeff Littleton and drummer Fritz Wise.

Review by T J Gorton

At the dawn of the Reagan years, LA jazz pianist Nate Morgan recorded his first album for Nimbus West. Journey Into Nigritia portrays an artist marked by the icons of his day, and striving for reinvention. Although he came from a solid jazz background, coming up through the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra, Morgan found more exciting work with pop bands in the seventies, including glory years with Rufus w/Chaka Khan. On Journey into Nigritia, Morgan re-embraces jazz. Included in the band are Jeff Littleton on bass, Fritz Wise on drums, and Dadisi Komolafe on alto sax.

The collection opens with the Trane-ish Mrafu. Komolafe blasts off in short order, and while the modal chording recalls Tyner, Morgan shows flashes of the nimble loquacious gift that define him. While Alice Coltrane incense perfumes "Morning Prayer, Morgan's devotional sincerity and personnel expression triumph.

Suitably complex with yearning minors, Mother features the trio performing a memorable composition. Littleton's deep-note sustain contrasts Wise's shimmering cymbals, while Morgan tells heart-wrenching truth. With a somewhat solemn theme, He Left Us a Song regularly bursts through into straight-ahead fast break sprints up and down the court. The unexpected "Study in C.T. offers an homage to Cecil Taylor and Morgan's musical roots with free improvisations on a dense and spiky theme. The exhilarating result has Morgan exploring his own way, with a winking slinging of jagged bass chords halfway through.

While a quarter century's experience has nurtured Morgan's prodigious gifts beyond this ambitious debut, Journey Into Nigritia offers enjoyable insights into his artistic evolution, while adding another precious title to the discography of one of the most woefully under-recorded greats of our time.

Nimbus West spirit jazz essential: the Creative Arts Ensemble's classic debut One Step Out. One of the most sought after and highly-regarded titles to have appeared on Tom Albach's celebrated Nimbus West imprint, One Step Out is a timeless work of spiritualized jazz. A true gem from the Los Angeles jazz underground, the album was pianist and composer Kaeef Ruzadun Ali's first recording as leader of the Creative Arts Ensemble, the only large ensemble group that emerged directly from Horace Tapscott's legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra community jazz group. A Los Angeles native, Kaeef was introduced to the Tapscott circle in the late 1970s. His first experience of the Arkestra's ethos was through PAPA tenorist Michael Session, who took him to the famous "Great House" at 2412 South Western Ave., LA -- a large mansion house which members of the Arkestra had taken over as a space for communal living. Life in the Great House was a continuous stream of music, dance and community events. "When I walked in there," recalled Kaeef, "it was like this whole rush came over me, just from going in the front door -- It was like a very, very warm feeling of love. I went and I came out with 'Flashback Of Time', and that was my first arrangement." Kaeef quickly became a significant contributor of compositions to the Arkestra's songbook -- his piece "New Horizon" would be recorded by Horace Tapscott for the latter's Tapscott Sessions series. But "Flashback Of Time" would eventually appear on One Step Out, played by the new group he had put together from stalwart Arkestra members. Inspired by both Tapscott's example and by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Kaeef had wanted to follow their lead by assembling a larger unit. Featuring seasoned Arkestra regulars including reedsman Dadisi Komolafe, drummer Woody "Sonship" Theus and altoist Gary Bias, with veterans Henry "The Skipper" Franklin on bass and George Bohannon on trombone, One Step Out is a key document of the Los Angeles radical jazz underground. Featuring the sanctified vocals of Kaeef's sister, B. J. Crowley, the album is a tour de force of spiritually energized independent jazz music.

Strut presents one of the most in-demand and significant albums from the archives of Jimmy Gray's Black Fire Records, 'Bow To The People' (1976 )by theatre collective Theatre West, based out of Dayton, Ohio. Recorded at Arrest studios in Washington in '76, 'Bow To The People' brought together songs from several of Theatre West's best known plays including Bow To The People, The System and Black Love and unflinchingly explored serious issues around drug addiction, mental health and cultural awareness. "The whole idea of Bow To The People was to honour our black forefathers," explains Dillard. "It was important to do that for the kids that didn't know." Shelved following the original recording, the Bow To The People album eventually surfaced on a limited CD on Black Fire in 1993. Now receivingits first full international release, the album features the previously unreleased tracks 'Man Of Many Means' and 'I Don't Know Much About Love'

Re-mastering by: Kevin Gray



The best of pianist Horace Tapscott's recordings for the tiny Nimbus label is this 1981 LP which features him in a sextet with trumpeter Reggie Bullen, altoist Gary Bias, tenor saxophonist Sabir Matteen, bassist Roberto Miranda and drummer Everett Brown, Jr. The group stretches out on a couple of Tapscott's originals plus a 19½-minute version of Linda Hill's "Dem Folks." Although the music could be called avant-garde, its use of rhythms and repetition keep the results from being forbidding and the performances have a momentum of their own.

Scott Yanow/AMG

A great group recording from pianist Horace Tapscott – recorded in LA in the early 80s, but done with all the righteousness and spirituality of his earlier albums! Tracks are long and exploratory, but also relatively lyrical too – stretching out with a style that's never too "outside", and which has Horace and the group really soaring to the heavens on the best moments! The group here is a sextet – with the great Gary Bias on alto and soprano saxophone, plus Sabir Matteen on tenor, Reggie Bullen on trumpet, Roberto Miguel Miranda on bass, and Everett Brown on drums and percussion – all working with a cohesiveness that reminds us of some of Tapscott's larger group recordings, but with a cleaner, leaner kind of feel. Titles include "Lately's Solo", "Dial B For Barbara", and "Dem Folks".

Repress

Powerful electro tunes on this new The Exaltics / Paris the Black Fu collaboration on the Clone West Coast Series. The 'Dis turb ance int he Tim eline' is a post apocalyptic electronic soundtrack for a world where nuclear mist, cyberatt acks and disinformation camp aigns hav e tran sform edso ciet y. W eex ist , re s istt he th rea t! !!

Born in San Francisco, Rickey Kelly moved to Los Angeles in 1982.

I first heard Rickey on the local Jazz station and that haunting sound on vibes was just too much to resist. He was working at Hughes Aircraft and didn't have time for gigging in the evening. He had to take care of his family which numbered about six children. I began booking his band soon after meeting him. An artist this blessed should not be working a day job I thought. Rickey soon quit his job at Hughes aircraft and began performing full time. Rickey stayed in his apartment for long periods of time just practising. He often mentioned to me that he needed to stay in isolation to keep his music pure. During Rickey's stay in L.A. he had worked with all the great jazz and R @ B bands. Musicians like altoist Bobby Watson, the legendary drummer Billy Higgins, The Jazz Crusaders, pianist Ahmad Jamal, and one of the most popular artists of his generation Marvin Gaye, often called on Rickey to perform with their bands. As great as these artists were, the addition of Rickey Kelly on vibes seemed to make their music better.Because of his isolation Rickey's music has developed a uniqueness and purity of sound that transcends styles. One reviewer described it as a "childlike quality, a profound innocence”. Relax and listen closely. This is music with a purpose

In the midst of a global pandemic John Hiatt
walked into Historic RCA Studio B and opened up
a lifetime full of leftover feelings. A half-century
ago, Hiatt lived in a ratty, $15-a-week room on
Nashville’s 16th Avenue, less than a mile away
from the RCA and Columbia studios that were the
heartbeat of what had come to be known as ‘Music
Row’. In the ensuing 50 years, he went from a
scuffling young buck to a celebrated grand master
of song.
With ‘Leftover Feelings, Hiatt teamed up with multiGrammy winning artist and producer Jerry Douglas
and his band, The Jerry Douglas Band. There’s no
drummer, yet these grooves are deep and true.
And while the up-tempo songs are, as ever, filled
with delightful internal rhyme and sly aggression,
the Jerry Douglas Band’s empathetic musicianship
nudges Hiatt to performances that are startlingly
vulnerable.
In life, leftover feelings can remain unresolved, no
matter how often explored. Explicated in a place of
history, a place of comfort. A sacred place, if you
believe the documentation of human expression to
be a holy thing. Here then, with this album, there is
a meeting of bruised and triumphant American
giants. Here are Hiatt and Douglas, creating the
meant-to-be: Love songs and road songs, sly
songs and hurt songs. Their songs and now our
songs. Leftover feelings that edify and sustain.

ye will be the first Kanye West album to receive an official vinyl release since 2011's Watch The Throne with Jay-Z, with both The Life of Pablo (2016) and 2013's Yeezus heavily bootlegged

Riley Downing (The Deslondes) sat down one day and decided he wanted to record a song or two for a simple 45. The Deslondes had been on a hiatus for a while and Downing had the creative itch to put something down on record. He had been in contact with his bandmate John James Tourville and they decided to work on a split 7” with a friend.
The recording session felt like a breath of fresh air and the communion of talented musicians produced more songs than expected. Downing left the session energized and continued to record and trade demos with Tourville. Downing and Tourville decided that there were enough ideas to make an album. There were not going to be any rules and nothing would be discarded. All notes and lyrics would be considered. ‘Start It Over’ is the result of that creative effort. An album where each song was crafted with a different idea in mind. Some of the songs are more nostalgic than others and some were just written for good oldfashioned fun. There is a romantic quality in each song. One song might help someone get through a hard time while one song might contribute to a good time. One song might bring up memories of a better time or just get you far enough down the road to start over.
LP pressed on Sea Glass & Turquoise coloured vinyl

Die VREID-Platte ist ein Konzeptalbum, das die norwegischen Black'n'Roller zusammen mit einem kompletten Film entwickelten. In acht Kapiteln nehmen sie ihre Hörer mit auf eine Reise durch die Berge, zu einem dunklen Ort, an dem die Grenzen zwischen Realität und Fantasie verschwimmen und wo der Tod nur einen Schritt hinter dir ist: The Wild North West.

LEGENDARY SESSION ! FIRST TIME EVER ON VINYL AND CUT DIRECTLY FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES WITH NO DIGITAL PROCESS WHATSOEVER!!!

TIP ON SLEEVE PRINTED JUST LIKE THE OLD NIMBUS LP’s FROM THE 70’s and 80’s… BRAND NEW ARTWORK FROM ORIGINAL SESSION PHOTOS AND LINER NOTES BY Mark Weber

At long last…On Vinyl…From original tapes. 3/5ths of the Quintet that recorded "‘the Giant is Awakened’ LP in 1969…this album sat unreleased for 20+ years before it saw a small run on cd (with poor mastering the early 2000’s), now, 40 years after it was recorded, finally released in the original format it was intended for….This LP sounds fresh and amazing…if you’ve only heard the cd, you’ve not truly heard this lost gem in its full glory. edition of 500




Born in Mississippi in 1937 and beginning to play the saxophone at 14, Billie Harris relocated to Los Angeles in 1965 after a 4 year stint in the Air Force, becoming one of the great, unsung forces of underground jazz in the city for many years (he later relocated to the Mojave Desert, where, at last record, he still plays in a church band). A Venice Beach street musician and longtime member of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - you can hear him playing on Live at I.U.C.C. and Flight 17, as well as Jesse Sharps Quintet & P.A.P.A.’s Sharps and Flats (reissued in 2018) - he was also director of the AZZ IZZ jazz club in Venice Beach during the 70s.




On April 29 and May 3, 1980, Harris entered the studio, backed by Horace Tapscott on piano, David Bryant on bass, Daa’oud Woods on percussion, and Everett Brown Jr on drums, recording, over those two days what was to be his only outing as a leader. Once heard, the tragic lack of further material can’t be ignored. It is a truly stunning piece of work, even more surprising for the fact that it sat unreleased for over 20 years, only to be released as a small, poorly mastered edition on CD during the early 2000’s. Now, finally appearing very first time on the format and label for which it was intended, 40 years after it was recorded, we can hear this lost gem in all its glory.




Harris was 43 years old at the time of the Nimbus West sessions that resulted in I Want Some Water, and the power and experience of his playing, honed over three decades, shows in full force. The band is equally imbued with power, sensitivity, and experience. Tapscott, Bryant, and Brown’s working partnership goes back to 1969, when they recorded Tapscott’s debut as a leader, The Giant Is Awakened. In quintet’s hands, channeling the heavy modal relationships pioneered by Coltrane, heavy spiritual groove lock and unfurl, threaded by the release via incredibly forward-thinking improvisation.




Like so much of the work that came out of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra scene, I Want Some Water has a giant sound, each track long in length, building slowly over time toward towering heights that leave the listener immersed in one of the greatest treasures of spiritual jazz that almost nobody ever heard. Rhythmic, rollicking, and tonally inspired, the joyous interplay of the band goes deep, locked in, and challenging the predictable path, while making nods to numerous, discreet traditions of music.




As far as reissues go, Nimbus’ first ever vinyl pressing of Harris’ I Want Some Water is about as good as it gets. Not only does it deliver some of the best music we’ve heard all year, but it takes huge steps toward allowing a crucial artist to be celebrated in a way that he’s always deserved.

Cut directly from the original master tapes, featuring brand new artwork from the original sessions and liner notes from Mark Weber, and issued in a limited edition of 500 copies, it’s an absolute must that can’t be missed.

For two decades Sara Watkins has been one of the
most visible artists in roots music, with her
catalogue ranging from solo albums and Watkins
Family Hour, a duo with her brother Sean Watkins,
to her Grammy-winning bands Nickel Creek and
I’m With Her.
With the nostalgic and gentle new album ‘Under
the Pepper Tree’, Sara Watkins offers a comforting
record for those moments as daily rhythms fade
into nightly rituals and when a child’s imagination
comes to life.
Made with families in mind, the personal project
encompasses songs she embraced as a child
herself, as well as the musical friendships she’s
made along the way. Recorded in Los Angeles with
producer Tyler Chester, ‘Under the Pepper Tree’
brings storytelling, solace and encouragement to
the listener, no matter the age.
LP in gatefold sleeve.

On August 20, 2020 the world lost an amazing
light with the passing of Justin Townes Earle.
Justin was a vibrant songwriter who could play the
blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll all in the same
song. In his short career, Justin released eight
albums and one EP that all manage to sound
classic and yet inventive.
Justin’s father, Steve Earle, pays tribute to his son
by recording ‘J.T.’, an album of songs written by
Justin. The album consists of ten Justin Townes
Earle songs as well as one song written by Mr.
Earle shortly after Justin’s passing.
‘J.T.’ features fan favourites such as ‘Harlem River
Blues’, ‘Far Away In Another Town’ and
‘Champagne Corolla’, along with lyrically heavy
songs like ‘The Saint of Lost Causes’ and ‘Turn Out
My Lights’.
‘J.T.’ is a loving tribute to a loved son and beautiful
songsmith who left this Earth too early. But in his
wake, Justin left a wealth of beauty.

Pugh’s Place was a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. They recorded their debut album West One in 1971 and since then it has been a collector’s item for fans of the Dutch progressive-rock sound. The album was produced by legendary Dutch vocalist and composer Boudewijn de Groot and features a wonderful cover of The Beatles classic “Drive My Car”. The album is part of Music On Vinyl’s Behind The Dykes series, which comprises rare and sought-after albums from the Netherlands.

‘PEACEMEAL’ is yet another reinvention for Ron
Gallo - a human being on a lifelong chase of
himself and using music as the main vehicle.
On his third LP, he exits the noisy confines of the
garage and goes outside where there’s no limit to
embracing all aspects of himself.
The result is a colourful hodgepodge of 90’s hiphop, r&b, weirdo pop, jazz and punk. The sounds
change but the sense of humanity, humour and a
truly eccentric worldview is the common thread in
all of Gallo’s music.
Mostly written and recorded during a period of
self-isolation in summer 2019, it’s an uncanny
foreshadowing of the global situation that was to
come and give all the songs a new meaning. This
is feel-good music that attempts to confront and
understand human existence.
Ron Gallo just wants to be himself, destroy
expectations and encourage you to do the same in
a world that does just about everything to try and
box us in - not to mention, this is his best most
fun one yet.

Sealed original copies of the Horace Tapscott's 'The Tapscott Sessions' solo piano series, released on Nimbus West Records ‎from 1982 to 1984. Horace Tapscott has been one of the top "unknown" jazz pianists in the Los Angeles area since the 1960s, recording far too few sessions which has led to him being continually overlooked by jazz fans from outside L.A. During 1982-84 he recorded seven solo piano albums for the tiny Nimbus label, playing unaccompanied solos, his improvisations consist of deeply emotional exploration of his music. Tapscott has always had a strikingly original sound that, despite occasional hints at other pianists, is quite distinctive, falling between advanced hard bop and the avant-garde. Totally Essential.




Jazz, with its many iterations and forms, has always been a music on the move - its own changes and evolutions mirroring a flux in the perception of what is and was. This is all too evident when addressing its avant-garde realisations, particularly those rising across the 1960s and 70s - free and spiritual - musics which were both of their moment and beyond them - of a specific people, culture, social reality, philosophy, and political position, while transcending each. These radical sounds have rarely received the wide understanding, recognition, and appreciation in their own time. Thankfully, we have have hindsight. Historical Avant-garde jazz, springing from African American communities and taking seed in every corner of the globe, is increasingly celebrated for the seminal music is was and remains, but there’s still plenty of work to be done, especially when addressing the long standing rift in the United States which favours the east coast over the west.

All the leaves might be brown and the sky gray, but fortunately Willie West is still a man. This relentless underdog of the New Orleans soul history known for his work with The Meters and Allen Toussaint has been laying low in the northern parts of the US for a while now. Lately he has emerged with new raw sound, which fuses very distinctly personal lyricism with heavy minor key grooves provided by the guys at Timmion Records.

While arriving to Finland for the first time in 2014 to perform on account of his latest album "Lost Soul", Willie couldn't help laying down a few lyrics at Timmion studios in Helsinki's Kaapelitehdas. The session produced a fresh new track "I'm Still A Man", which continues on the same slow, dark and melodic path, which he paved with The High Society Brothers in 2009 with "The Devil Gives Me Everything".

From the first desolate guitar licks on Willie starts to lure the listener into his damp and heavy-aired space, like only the few masters brewed in the southern climate can. There's not many of Willie's breed still around and who knows how long his dark wail will bless us with gems like this. Let this true artistry sink its nails in you.

Coming from the end of time and moving towards the future ... A '93 original gets dusted down from the Cassette Library shelves, backed with remixes from the leading lights of the UK underground - Skin Teeth, Mani Festo and Denham Audio

Every now and then an artist comes along who makes you remember why you started listening to albums in the first place: Aaron Lee Tasjan is that artist. With his wrecked cool, off-centre charm and restless creative dazzle, he makes music with conviction that has its roots in rock’s murky past, armed with an arsenal of songs that spill over with humour, intelligence, irony and, at times, prophecy.
An obsessive creative, Aaron Lee Tasjan writes pop songs with a twist, a little overdriven and far too honest at times. He updates the idea of androgyny but dispels the emotional and social ambiguity with lyrics that reflect his own geographic and artistic wanderings.
Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!’ is 11 songs. The man who began the album is not the same man who completed it, transformed both by the experiences that inspired the songs and by crafting them. This is not anxious music for anxious times but rather music as an antidote for anxious times. It is the sound of the future arriving.
Gatefold vinyl

A never before issued recording of Horace Tapscott leading his legendary Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, 'Live at Century City Playhouse 9/9/79' documents the entirety of a 2 hours performance, sprawling across glorious 3 LPs, that rises as one of the most beautiful, striking, and historically important records of the year. A joyous explosion of sound, seeded by social, political, and community-based action, at the juncture of spiritual and free jazz, this one's a 10 out of 10 and not to be missed.

In the late-1970s Athens, Georgia was buzzing with a raw but sophisticated music scene. Traditional Southern rock had been the Georgia musical export for years before but the turn of the decade began producing new sounds from bands like the B-52’s, REM and Alt Rock luminaires Pylon.
 Before they were a band, Pylon were art-school students at the University of Georgia: four kids invigorated by big ideas about art and creativity and society. However, Pylon were less of a band and more of an art project, which meant they had very specific goals in mind, as well as an expiration date.
 While their time together as a band was short lived (1979-1983), Pylon had a lasting influence on the history of rock and roll. Throughout their brief history, they were able to create influential work that would help foster the post-punk and art-rock scene of the early 80s. Artists like R.E.M., Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Deerhunter and many more claim inspiration from the band.
 Their 1979 single ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ reached legendary status, with Rolling Stone titling it one of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time.
 In 1980 the band released their first record, ‘Gyrate’, and began touring across the country in support of the release. The band would soon develop a following across the country and specifically in the bustling music scene in New York City. One of their earliest gigs was opening for the Gang of Four in the Big Apple.
 Following the critical acclaim of their debut release, Pylon went back into the studio. They gleefully pulled their songs apart and put them back together in new shapes, revealing a band of self proclaimed nonmusicians who had transformed gradually but noticeably into real musicians. The resulting album, ‘Chomp’, was barely off the press when Pylon were booked to open a run of dates for a hot new Irish band called U2 (after previously playing two arena shows with them in the month leading to the album release). Most bands would have jumped at the opportunity but Pylon were sceptical. At a critical point in the life of Pylon, they opted to become a cult band rather than stretch their defining philosophy too far.
 “We fully intended Pylon to be an almost seasonal thing that we were gonna do for a minute and then get on with our lives,” says Curtis Crowe, drummer for the band. “But it just never went away. It still doesn’t go away. There’s a new subterranean class of kids that are coming into this kind of music, and they’re just now discovering Pylon. That blows my mind. We didn’t see that coming.”
 New West Records are proud to partner with Pylon to reissue ‘Chomp’ and ‘Gyrate’ back into the masses. Beautifully remastered from the original audio sources and pressed on vinyl (140g) for the first time in over 30 years.
 New West Records also present ‘Pylon Box’, a comprehensive look at the band that features the remastered studio LPs ‘Gyrate’ and ‘Chomp’, the 11-song collection ‘Extra’ - which includes rarities and previously unreleased studio and live recordings - and ‘Razz Tape’, Pylon’s first ever recording: a 13-song unreleased session that pre-dates the band’s seminal ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ debut.
 ‘Pylon Box’ also includes a hardbound 200-page full colour book featuring pieces written by the members of R.E.M., Gang of Four, Steve Albini, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Interpol, B-52’s, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, Mission of Burma, Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and K Records, Anthony DeCurtis, Chris Stamey of the dB’s, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and many more. Features an extensive essay chronicling the band’s history, with interviews with the surviving members of the band as well as members of R.E.M., B-52’s, Gang of Four, Method Actors and more. It also features never before seen images and artifacts from both the band’s personal archives as well as items now housed at the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Museum of Art, UGA.

In the late-1970s Athens, Georgia was buzzing with a raw but sophisticated music scene. Traditional Southern rock had been the Georgia musical export for years before but the turn of the decade began producing new sounds from bands like the B-52’s, REM and Alt Rock luminaires Pylon.
 Before they were a band, Pylon were art-school students at the University of Georgia: four kids invigorated by big ideas about art and creativity and society. However, Pylon were less of a band and more of an art project, which meant they had very specific goals in mind, as well as an expiration date.
 While their time together as a band was short lived (1979-1983), Pylon had a lasting influence on the history of rock and roll. Throughout their brief history, they were able to create influential work that would help foster the post-punk and art-rock scene of the early 80s. Artists like R.E.M., Gang of Four, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, Interpol, Deerhunter and many more claim inspiration from the band.
 Their 1979 single ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ reached legendary status, with Rolling Stone titling it one of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles Of All Time.
 In 1980 the band released their first record, ‘Gyrate’, and began touring across the country in support of the release. The band would soon develop a following across the country and specifically in the bustling music scene in New York City. One of their earliest gigs was opening for the Gang of Four in the Big Apple.
 Following the critical acclaim of their debut release, Pylon went back into the studio. They gleefully pulled their songs apart and put them back together in new shapes, revealing a band of self proclaimed nonmusicians who had transformed gradually but noticeably into real musicians. The resulting album, ‘Chomp’, was barely off the press when Pylon were booked to open a run of dates for a hot new Irish band called U2 (after previously playing two arena shows with them in the month leading to the album release). Most bands would have jumped at the opportunity but Pylon were sceptical. At a critical point in the life of Pylon, they opted to become a cult band rather than stretch their defining philosophy too far.
 “We fully intended Pylon to be an almost seasonal thing that we were gonna do for a minute and then get on with our lives,” says Curtis Crowe, drummer for the band. “But it just never went away. It still doesn’t go away. There’s a new subterranean class of kids that are coming into this kind of music, and they’re just now discovering Pylon. That blows my mind. We didn’t see that coming.”
 New West Records are proud to partner with Pylon to reissue ‘Chomp’ and ‘Gyrate’ back into the masses. Beautifully remastered from the original audio sources and pressed on vinyl (140g) for the first time in over 30 years.
 New West Records also present ‘Pylon Box’, a comprehensive look at the band that features the remastered studio LPs ‘Gyrate’ and ‘Chomp’, the 11-song collection ‘Extra’ - which includes rarities and previously unreleased studio and live recordings - and ‘Razz Tape’, Pylon’s first ever recording: a 13-song unreleased session that pre-dates the band’s seminal ‘Cool’ / ‘Dub’ debut.
 ‘Pylon Box’ also includes a hardbound 200-page full colour book featuring pieces written by the members of R.E.M., Gang of Four, Steve Albini, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Interpol, B-52’s, Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, Mission of Burma, Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and K Records, Anthony DeCurtis, Chris Stamey of the dB’s, Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and many more. Features an extensive essay chronicling the band’s history, with interviews with the surviving members of the band as well as members of R.E.M., B-52’s, Gang of Four, Method Actors and more. It also features never before seen images and artifacts from both the band’s personal archives as well as items now housed at the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia and the Georgia Museum of Art, UGA.

Originally released 30 years ago in October 1990, and named after a traditional Norwegian fairy-tale, East of The Sun West of The Moon, co-produced by Ian Stanley (Tears for Fears), marked a departure from previous albums released by the Norwegian new-wave band. Acoustic guitars were added into the mix, and the piano replaced the keyboard/ synthesiser of previous albums. This album also features the first non-Morten lead vocals, by Magne on ‘’The Way We Talk.’’

At the end of the 90s, a movement began in West London that birthed a fresh direction in dance music. Though this movement never got mainstream press coverage, never had a crossover chart single, and never really transcended its community roots, there was a unique alchemy at work - a fertile moment of creativity, where a group of friends began to experiment with new cadences, rhythms and distilled influences, crafting a new direction in the attics and bedrooms of their neighbouring postcodes. Their music was a head-on collision between the sounds they had been raised on; the reggae sound system culture of Notting Hill Carnival, the sophistication and sheen of Electro-Funk, Jazz Fusion, Soulful House and Disco, the Afro-Beat sounds of Tony Allen and Fela Kuti, and the raw minimalism of early Hip Hop. Though "Broken Beat" was never a tagline that the producers anticipated, and one that they often publicly resisted, those two words would gradually come to represent the scattered rhythms, rolling basslines and soaring changes that were inherent to this exciting new sound. It's not clear who first coined the term "Broken Beat", but try to imagine how it felt to hear it for the first time; the production was grounded in MPCs and SP1200s, the hand-me-down samplers of the Hip-Hop and Jungle golden eras, and the drums that tumbled out of these machines at the hands of these creators had a jagged, stuttering feel, almost as though the groove was close to collapse.

The original, the inspirational, the bombastic, the never bettered, the one.
'Don't make me wait' is all of the above and so much more. Classic to the core. Huge earth shattering record right here.
OK, so the scoop, for the uninitiated is this - the Peech Boys were Larry Levan's group, we're talking early 80's NYC here, 1982 to be precise, around the height of the Paradise Garage as Larry was making the transition from superstar DJ to producer. He brought a sparse, dubbed out, narcotic late night feel to the overall sound of this record. This was a short-lived project, but the influence is still felt today, the Peech Boys DNA is inside the veins of modern dance music, as is Larry's. There is no underestimating what an impact this record had. 7+ minutes of electronic bliss, trailblazing stuff, and don't get us started on the dub. Do yourself a favour, BUY this classic if you don't own it already, you'll keep coming back to it time and time again. Guaranteed. This essential 12" is repressed here in it's original 1979 glory, an essential classic that has stood the test of time for the last 30+ years & is now available again, remastered & repressed for 2017 in conjunction with West End Records, NYC.

NYC's legendary West End record label has contributed a fair few classics to the disco cannon and continues to influence dance music today with it's forward looking releases. 'When you touch me' is no exception, recorded and released in the golden year of 1979 and featuring the breathy, sensual vocals of a young Tanaa Gardner who had previously worked as a backing vocalist for numerous other projects until the label released her (other) stone cold solo classic 'Work that body' the same year on 12".
Both cuts featured on her self titled debut LP and boasted the combined production and studio talents of Kenton Nix, Bob Blank and of course - Larry Levan. Now, that's a serious line-up to have behind the boards (& in the clubs!) and of course 'When you touch me' was a classic with it's slow, elongated intro that calls to mind a sleazier version of Donna Summer's 'Love hangover' before launching into a full-on disco assault that you won't forget in a hurry! Yes, the record surprises you, Tanaa leads us into a false sense of a 'slow jam' and then - Boom - We're off!
Backed with the incredible instrumental version the 12" is repressed here in it's original 1979 glory, an essential classic that has stood the test of time for the last 30+ years & is now available again, remastered & repressed for 2017 in conjunction with West End Records, NYC.

Italian Duo Souldynamic have been turning the heat up considerably over the last couple of years. Releasing a steady stream of original track, remixes and their well loved disco reworks they have popped up on some of the most respected labels out there from King Street and Tribe to BBE. Consequently their remixes have adorned the releases of some of the most legendary performers from across the electronic scene including Louie Vega and Dennis Ferrer.
Their latest release the ‘West Side of Afrika’ EP see’s them land on the irrepressible Samosa Records. They are having a glorious couple of years with one sell out chart topping release after another so it’s a well made match.

Comprising four tracks of afro centric house music it’s a wonderfully warm and inviting release if you love your percussive African disco.

Lead track Guinée fuses easy going percussion with an effervescent bassline and a wonderfully expressive vocal. It’s a track which is easy to get lost in, one for those communal loved up dancefloor moments.

Faranah is a more laid back affair again leading off with layers of percussion its swirling dual vocals and brass stabs give it tons of feel-good zest

Over on the flip Bamako is the deepest cut on the release. It’s pounding bassline cuts through the speakers, creating immeasurable straight to the dancefloor energy. Wonderfully succinct playing and a ridiculously hooky vocal top matters off perfectly..

Final track Beyla is the perfect way to see the release out. Energetic brass stabs power the track. Couple those with some brilliant looped up percussion and it’s a track which will fit a variety of situations from the more laid back to the peak time. Indeed the percussive break down midway through is worth buying two copies for.

Another powerful release from the Samosa stable!

Another West-End sure-shot! This sublime piece of early electronic Boogie has always worn it's "classic" badge with a relaxed sense of pride since it's release in 1982, perhaps it's the languid synthed out groove supplied by studio maestros Nick martinelli & David Todd or Brenda Taylor's sublime vocals reminding us all that the game of love is always a 2 way street that are to blame

Whatever it is, this is a solid, classic slice of Disco gold, more on the down to mid-tempo tip but still big enough to keep the dance-floors packed from the Garage to the Loft & beyond with ease! The production simply sounds years ahead of it's time (still does!) & it has the FUNK in bucket-loads, this is as essential as it gets, the real deal. Featured here are all the original mixes that were on the 1982 pressing (Yes! There's a dub mix!).

Re-mastered, re-pressed & re-released for 2015 with all original West End Records label artwork intact. Done in conjunction & with the permission of all right holders.

THE definitive collection of one of dance music's most enduring and infamous left-field anthems, across 2 x 12"s and 1 x bonus 33rpm 7"!

The collaborative team of Arthur Russell and Steve D'Acquisto crafted some of the best wonky disco not disco cuts during their short lifespan and 'Is It All Over My Face' is one of their crowning glories. Collected here, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this gloriously weird record, are all the best versions from then, and now. Even a quick dig in the archive yielded some treats with the male and female acapella appearing for the first time EVER, featuring on a specially 33rpm cut 7" alongside Larry Levan's promo 7" mixes. Also, the instrumental version has never been released before, but it is here for this very special limited package in it's full, unedited glory. This is one for the heads, an essential do-not-miss RSD special edition for those who are still 'love dancin' 4 decades later, housed in a classic special West End disco-bag. Don't sleep!

Produced in collaboration with Sony / Above Board distribution, 2020.

The sickest French band, a trio called France, drums, bass and amplified hurdy-gurdy. They only performs live, in the middle of the audience - turned in to face each other - full on smoke machines and strobes. And they play only one ‘song’ for the duration of their hour-long set. And it’s the most transfixing live experience of intense physical and mental focus, and there is something of early rave too, the togetherness, the energy, the euphory. The distorted hurdy gurdy plugs France’s sound into the country’s history of folk music and popular festivities, of communal trance and immersive pleasure. The rhythmic basis is pretty much the same throughout the whole live. One doesn’t need to actually be tripping balls for the auditory illusions to start coming thick and fast. Those who’ve stayed for the whole duration of their performances know they’ve shared something. However disparate the phantom forms each might have discerned in the midst of the howls and groans. Gigs like this you leave feeling you’re not quite the same person who went in, even though you’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint precisely what has changed. Far Out Far West was the band’s first gig outside of their usual comfortable friendly circle and thus was perceived as a somewhat hostile environment. This was where they met the fellows of Les Potagers Nature who will later release France’s debut untitled album. One certainty remains at least, that there is still a France we can believe in. David McKenna (The Quietus). Sales Points: - New album from trio France - All previous releases now sold out and sought after - For fans of drone, rural trance, stoner, psychedelic - 131st release on Mental Groove Music, home of WRWTFWW

First time on vinyl. Recorded for DC's Black Fire Records in 1976, Theatre West's music never made record until now. Selected works taken from the master tapes of James "Plunky" Branch (Oneness of JuJu, Experience Unlimited etc). Hailing from Ohio and resident in DC, Theatre West was made up of musicians from Slave, Gil Scott Heron's Midnight Band, The Fabulous Originals, Malone & Barnes and others. Serious jazz-funk-soul selections via the vaults of Plunky and Black Fire Records.

Soul Jazz Records new release takes us on a serious road trip into the North-West region of the USA, 1986-97, to explore the amazing lost and forgotten sounds of the Grunge era.

This Deluxe massive 28-track Double CD with 44-page outsize booklet features extensive text, band features and interviews, exclusive photos. Also Worldwide digital release + Ltd.Edition Two seperate double-vinyl albums with full notes and free download code.

The underground music scene of the North-west of America arose from the early 1980's, strung out in isolated towns across the vast state of Washington. In its early days bands who showed an allegiance to their roots of punk. Yet, by 1991,Nirvana, the biggest band in the world, had been born from this community of outsiders.

This compilation features some of the many divergent bands who emerged out of the North-west during this era. Intensely researched and documented this album features many bands who have now disappeared from history after releasing maybe just a couple of singles, or an album, or even never making it onto vinyl – alongside some bands that continue to this day.

Perhaps most fascinating is the wide-ranging styles that these grunge bands incorporated - from punk to metal, experimental and more.

All Roads lead to Nirvana: 17 of the bands featured here played alongside Nirvana in the period 1987 to 93. All 23 bands featured feature members who shared a stage with Nirvana. Jack Endino (The Ones) produced 37 Nirvana songs. Dave Foster (Helltrout) was Nirvana's 3rd drummer. Bundle of Hiss became TAD who played more gigs with Nirvana than any other band.

With fantastically in-depth sleevenotes, interviews with most of the bands, exclusive photography and all sonically remastered tracks this is a comprehensive double CD (and 2 volumes of 2x12" vinyl releases) bringing together the hidden, lost and forgotten sounds of the North-west grunge era.

Reviews & Articles: Seattle Times feature here. Irish Times here. Read article by compiler Nick Soulsby in Nirvana Legacy here Read second article by the compiler here. Read article about the artwork here.

Soul Jazz Records continues its journey into the world of Afro-Caribbean roots music with this album of newly recorded music of Gwo Ka music recorded and produced by Soul Jazz Records on the island of Guadeloupe, French West Indies.

Gwo Ka music is a fantastic fusion of African-­derived musical form ( call and response), with vocal styles that draw upon the equally powerful French chanson singers to create a truly unique combination.

Tradition Ka, made up of some of the island’s finest singers and master drummers, is part of a powerful network of politicised Gwo Ka groups on the island – upholding the traditions and cultural importance of Gwo Ka as part of a larger process of defining the identity of Guadeloupe and its culture.

This album is newly studio recorded in Pointe-­A-­Pitre, Guadeloupe by Soul Jazz Records. Like the cult music of Haiti’s Vodou and Cuba’s Santeria or the roots music of Belize’s Garifuna (all of which Soul Jazz have also released), Gwo Ka is the musical and cultural product of the region’s African ancestry, forcibly brought to the Caribbean through slavery.

Gwo Ka exists only in Guadeloupe, a very different island from much of the Caribbean, in that it remains a ‘department’ of its original colonial master, France. Here, the currency is the Euro and the baker sells croissant and café au lait.

This constant ‘European-­ising’ of the island means that Gwo Ka plays a fundamental and important role in the defining of Guadeloupean identity. As an African-­derived music, its position as a counter-­balance to French influence means that the definition of how and what Gwo Ka represents is also in a constant state of flux.

These new recordings show how Gwo Ka is both a modern Caribbean music form and one firmly rooted in ancestral history.

Over the last 20 years Soul Jazz Records have been documenting and presenting the often hidden histories and deep musical worlds of Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad, the Bahamas and more. This documentation encompasses reissuing lost recordings, such as the mighty Studio One catalogue of reggae, producing films/dvds (such as the 3-­hour documentary Mirror To The Soul in conjunction with British Pathé, and Dub Echoes), books (check the forthcoming photography book on the Caribbean 90 Degrees of Shade, with text by Paul Gilroy, and Kanaval) as well as travelling to the region to produce new recordings.

This album is Acid Jazz’s tribute to an eccentric, a charmer, an unsung Sixties hero who still has soul. The character that is Graham Dee has lived one heck of a life, from surviving the blitzing of East London during WW2 to playing with Pink Floyd and Jimmy Page - Graham has done it all and this compilation hopes to look back at the story of his life through music.

Dee was the A&R at Atlantic Records, signing artists and producing their songs plus playing on sessions that included pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. One of his tracks, ‘A Love I Believe In’, narrowly missed being a Number 1 after Tony Blackburn proclaimed the single as his Record Of The Week, only for Blackburn to be playing the flip side, ‘The Bitter With The Sweet’.

Around this period Graham was working with the likes of Georgie Fame, Elkie Brooks and Mike Berry to name just a few and even filled in for the absent Syd Barrett on some Pink Floyd shows.

He eventually parted company with Atlantic after he damaged studio equipment whilst practising pistol fast draws and purchasing a hunting bow and accidentally firing it, flooding the office and terrifying the staff.

A lot of the tracks signal specific moments in Graham’s life that involve a lot of these stories. The stories provide the context for the tracks and this spreads a certain spirit throughout the compilation. Now in his seventies, Graham Dee is still writing, recording, performing and releasing solo records.