Featured

Released in the same year as Synthesis over on KPM, 1974’s Synthesizer and Percussion is its essential companion piece. “This record features the many distinctive sounds of the ARP Synthesizer plus percussion in various moods and tempos” is the even more underwhelming than usual library record sales pitch for Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett’s second collection of what is basically minimal G-funk, with overtones of primitive acid house. This is ridiculously good.

This is one of Hawkshaw and Bennett’s wilder joints and aeons ahead of its time. Bennett’s tough drums provide the underpinnings for the prominent bass, keys and bubbling synths high up in the mix, alongside Hawkshaw’s deranged clavinet-funk-rock. There are heavenly break loops galore.

As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Synthesizer and Percussion comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We’ve taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity. – Be With Records

This album, released quietly in 1979, is Noriyo Ikeda’s first and only album. The title track, “Dream in the Streets,” was written and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita; he also plays guitar and sings on the chorus. A great CITY POP record with a strong following! – Light in The Attic

An overseas New York recording work following the LA recording of the previous work “Tasogare”. David Sanborn is performing a saxophone solo, and New York musicians will give you an urban sound. Originally released in 1983. – Light In The Attic

The ultimate collector's board pursued by soul-funk-rare groove freaks all over the world is the world's first official LP reissue with an original jacket!

One of the best in the collection of Sadar Bahar, known as one of the world's leading collectors / DJs, and also includes the blockbuster funk "Open Soul" that is essential for heavy play!

Released in 1976 by Chicago's local label Stage Productions, this is the only album by a six-member soul band led by the four Burton brothers, and most of the original albums are on the market. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the ultimate collector's album that everyone wants once, such as always exceeding US $ 1000 even when it is traded without any trouble! A spectacular and groovy funk "OPEN SOUL" (B1) that uses all the B-sides of the record for more than 20 minutes, the finest funky tune "Let's Get With The Beat" (A5) and the killer instrument "Hurt Perversion" Even if you go through the whole album such as (A3), it is one that is full of things to listen to! – P-Vine

We are proud to present the first full international release for another lost classic from the Black Fire Records archives, ‘Southern Energy’, the only album recorded by R’n’B and jazz collective Southern Energy Ensemble in 1977.

“As Southern Energy, we played the chitlin circuit and ended up gigging most weekends at clubs, universities and military bases in Virginia and North and South Carolina,” remembers leader Marvin Daniels. After meeting Plunky Branch and Jimmy Gray, they recorded some high energy sessions during 1977. “Southern Energy was tight,” continues Daniels.

“The album was all about positive messages and celebrating real people." The band would break up soon after the members left college. Canned following the original recording, the album eventually surfaced on a limited CD and LP on Black Fire in 1993. ‘Southern Energy’ has been remastered from the original tapes by The Carvery, and features unseen photos and brand-new sleeve notes by co-bandleader Marvin Daniels. - Strut

The definitive edition of Patrice Rushen’s landmark album from 1982, ‘Straight From The Heart’.

Recorded during Elektra’s drive for ‘sophisticated dance music’ as many jazz artists created their own arrangements of disco and boogie, the sessions marked a progression for Patrice as she began exploring sonics as much as songwriting. “I was looking at different ways to experiment with the sounds on my records. Synths widened the palette available to us.”

Singles from the album included ‘Breakout!’, ‘Number One’ and the global hit ‘Forget Me Nots’. “Bassist Freddie Washington played the bassline during a jam at my family’s house. I caught it, we kept messing around with the groove, then I developed the lyrics and chorus. It was just about recognising that moment when it came up.”

Strut’s new reissue of ‘Straight From The Heart’ is released on 9th April 2021. LP and CD are presented in their full original artwork and feature bonus 12” versions of the album’s singles including a previously unreleased extended mix of ‘Tired Of Being Alone’. Package includes rare photos by Bobby Holland and a new interview with Patrice Rushen. All tracks remastered from the original tapes by Technology Works. – Strut 

Is It Electro? Hip Hop? Techno? House? Funk? Disco? Balearic? Obscure?

It’s all up to you. Ottagono Design Of Music is back introducing from its Italian headquarter the Japanese crossover Hoodoo Fushimi‘s Oto (sound) Imprint. Fushimi Sensei from his private studio in Yokosuka (the city where he is born ) during 1979 -1993 used to work on many projects, producing different music albums, working as a painter and illustrator, working also for a few Japanese magazines as a music writer and English translator. Nowadays for many people, he is considered one of the Electro Disco Tech Funk Japanese pioneers/ innovators. Tamaran released during 1989 was available only on CD format on Syntax ( ’89 was the boom of CD Japanese Market ) for the Japanese Local Market becoming a true hard to find during the years, finally thanks to Ottagono after 30 years it takes the first official vinyl release. The Japanese Fushimi sound trademark looks still beautiful, fresh, and powerful ( from the Japanese word utsukushii) with influences that remind early Afrika Bambata, Cybotron, Egyptian Lover, De La Soul. Tamaran is featured by the club Hit “ Kaette Ne ” where Fushimi joining with singer Harka made a love song where still today it seems a true manifesto to Chicago Warehouse, New York Paradise Garage, it is something like a true mix of early Joe Claussell Instant House/Jungle Sounds, Chicago Trax Records with some reminiscence of Nami Shimada and Soichi Terada. We are sure that Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles would have liked to play at that time if only had a chance to have this pearl in their hands at that time. Claudio Mate from his musical vision after introducing Zen Oikawa Studio Ghibli director with the first Ottagono release remarks the Otaku Sound concept, where Artists, Producers, Musicians from the land of Rising Sun are responsible for Soundtracks for Anime, Video Games, Drama Live Action, Movies as at same time fathers also of a few pieces such as of Underground Music, indeed more recently Hoodoo Fushimi Ongaku (Music) got featuring over a few episodes of Giri/ Haji the cult Netflix Uk/ Japanese Drama series. Claudio and Fushimi Sensei together introduce one more time another Italian /Japanese connection impossible to lose !!  – Bandcamp

Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present the 5th edition of the AOR Global Sounds compilations series: 8 rare and hidden tracks, produced between 1977 and 1984 in various parts of the world. Started in 2015, the AOR Global Sounds series was born from the will of Charles Maurice (aka Pascal Rioux) to share his longtime love for the AOR and WestCoast movement and highlight its influence for many artists in the late 70s and early 80s. In this 5th volume, he selected again highly forgotten productions, deeply infused with Disco and Soul flavors.

Half of the compilation’s tracklist is naturally coming from the US, homeland of this music style, while the other half is made of productions from all over the globe, from France or United Kingdom to Venezuela. And for most of these beautiful songs, it came from artists and bands rather unknown and often released as private press. – Favourite Recordings

Paul Woolford sets the bar high. Like Babe Ruth calling his home run shot, in 2019 he took to Twitter to let fans know he'd put out four Special Request albums in one year. And then he did it, ending with the appropriately titled Zero Fucks. Naturally, he's applied this psycho dog ethic to his DJ-Kicks mix. His stated goal was to deliver a set that slots in alongside legendary entries like Claude Young's landmark 1996 entry.

From his vocal house team-ups with Diplo to the blistering jungle tracks he makes as Special Request—the retro hardcore alias that's taken over his life—Woolford comes up with a concept, then tailors his work to suit. (For Offworld, he wondered what would happen if Jam & Lewis signed to Metroplex.) As such, we'd be wise to keep his own description of his DJ-Kicks mix in mind: "I always saw the series as a benchmark of quality and a time-stamped gateway into an artist's state of mind," he writes in the press release. "For this volume, I wanted to focus on lush melodics. I kept that as a constant thread throughout, choosing only records I cherish... it's not a 'current snapshot' by any means, more of a chronicle of some of my all-time favourites."

Simon Reynolds' hardcore continuum essays for The Wire, the seminal theory of UK dance music developments from acid house to jungle and garage, contained exactly one reference to disco. But Special Request's DJ-Kicks moves from disco to house and melodic techno to hardcore and jungle, revealing the roots of his current sound. In the first segment, he revels in lush strings, Patrick Adams-style synths and lithe, soul-style musicianship. The admiration for these dance music building blocks is both explicit—the mix launches into motion with John Morales' timeless M+M remix of Alicia Myers—and implicit. Listen to the clear parallel between Morgan Geist's "Lullaby" and Special Request's own "Vellichor" a few tracks later.

In his DJ-Kicks, Woolford plays some of his favourite tracks of all time, in the process revealing the DNA buried deep within his own productions. Following Symbols & Instruments' spacey '90s house cut "Mood (Tropical Dream Revisited)," Woolford drops LS1 Housing Authority's "Life Moves Fast," presumably a new alias of his own. The ethereal pads on both tracks bear a striking resemblance to each other. Similarly, the ahead-of-its-time bassline on Virgo's "R U Hot Enough," from 1985, could have easily served as a building block for a track off Belief System.

However, marveling over previously obscured influences feels like a somewhat pedantic way to enjoy this mix. That Morales Alicia Myers mix? It's the best opening track in recent memory. A fair share of listeners will be checking this mix for jungle and hardcore exclusives, and Woolford comes correct with a bag full of VIP versions, including a hoover-laden remix of FC Kahuna's 2002 trip-hop track, "Hayling," and two Tim Reaper VIPs of tracks off Zero Fucks. (The "Pull Up" VIP nearly improves on the fantastic original.) Sandwiched between these neo-breakbeat anthems is a Sonar's Ghost VIP of another extremely valuable track: 4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse's "Drowning In Her." From Kirk Degiorgio to AceMo, this mix is anachronistic, mixing the past and the present until they blur together.

There's an obvious emotional component to boshing on your favourite records. Woolford, a Loiner who takes a workman's approach to his prolific output, would almost certainly wince at the following comparison. But as a whole, his DJ-Kicks—prismatic and somewhat subdued—is enjoyable as dance music history, a peek into a prolific artist's hidden influences and, of course, a dance mix with impeccable flow that's also suitable for headphones. In the way that the Mona Lisa meets your eye from every angle, Special Request's DJ-Kicks works on nearly every conceivable level. – Resident Advisor

Brownswood bring you an exclusive pressing of the debut LP from STR4TA entitled “Aspects” on VINYL ONLY (for now).

A project that grew out of a jam session, STR4TA captures the raw energy of the Brit-Funk scene of the early 80s over eight tracks.

Following the limited white-label 12” release of their debut single (also entitled Aspects) that featured a deadly Demus Dub on the b-side, STR4TA now present another exclusive vinyl that reflects the DIY spirit of that scene.

Each vinyl comes with 2 sheets of stickers designed by Robert Gallagher giving you the chance to design your own sleeve. - Brownswood Recordings

Tracklist:

A1. Aspects

A2. Rhythm In Your Mind

A3. Dance Desire

A4. We Like It

B1. Steppers Crusade

B2. After The Rain

B3. Kinshasa FC

B4. Vision 9

The stars and their reflection on the sea still inspire Pellegrino and his live band Zodyaco. Their second LP 'Morphè' released on Early Sounds Recordings, is an ode to Naples as seen from Vesuvius. The ensemble that follows him through this musical journey has been enriched with new members for the continuous development of the label's distinctive Mediterranean sound; this marks a further step into the evolution of their Neapolitan melodic disco from the slopes of Vesuvius.
The sound and aesthetic metamorphosis of this second release, which gives the title to the LP [ the greek word "Morphé" ] is inspired by the conflicting scenarios of the Neapolitan metropolis; always caught up between the never ending and frenetic flow of its narrow alleys and the soothing relief of the sea, with the night as the backdrop that is not able to light it up its inner depths. – On Bandcamp

“Full of soft big city eroticism, ultra-slick synth lines and real funkateer explosions.”

Nadja wrote all lyrics, vocals and choruses on the album herself, with arrangements coming from Sly & Robbie, Japanese producers and composers Yasuaki Shimizu and Akira Inoue, Japanese musician Hiroaki Goto, and French composer Areski Belkacem. - The Vinyl Factory

Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939 – July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accomplishments were playing with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is considered a classic in the funk music genre. He has been inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. – BBC

Washington collective, The 3 Pieces, privately-pressed Iwishcan William on their own DL Records in 1982. The 12 has Discogs, for one, confused. Is it soul, rap, jazz, go-go, funk, electro, or educational? By nature of its birthplace and date of birth, it`s all of those. 

Synths shimmer in harp-like glissando. The bass grumbles, rumbles, machine-made. The beat pops and locks. The whole thing grooving and exuding positivity. One part the cosmic funk of say Cloud One`s Patty Duke. Another, the balearic chug of Will Powers` Adventures In Success. Like Brother D it looks to “agitate, educate, and organize”, and stirs in the sentiments of Razzy`s I Hate Hate. Imagine if the Last Poets jammed with sister Sarah Webster Fabio. Keys parp like car horns, a real trumpet blows a Don Cherry solo, but the track really revolves around its sweet Sesame Street call-and-response chorus:

“I wish love. I can love. I will love. I am love.” – Deejay.de

Jake Sollo (Born in Nigeria as Nkem Okonkwo) started his career in the 1960s as a member of The Hykkers, a popular band that drew large audiences across the country (even during the turmoil of the Biafra civil war). After The Hykkers disbanded, Jake joined the Aba-based super-group The Funkees…a musical outfit turned into instant superstars due to the State Broadcasting Service’s heavy rotation of their demo tracks. The Funkees became a phenomenon that spread across the country fast (and eventually to England where they were championed by the legendary John Peel). By 1976, due to creative and personal tensions, The Funkees slowly started disintegrating. Jake Sollo was soon offered the golden opportunity to join the ‘crème de la crème’ of Afro-rock groups: Osibisa. Jake’s distinctive rhythm guitar graced their hits, but his tenure with them was short-lived…in 1977, Sollo and two other members left the band because of financial disagreements.

Jake Sollo quickly moved on and did just fine after his experiences with said bands…he got steady work as a session musician and became a hot producer in the London scene. Eventually, that chapter came to a close as well (with budgets and visas to record in the UK becoming increasingly scarce at this point). Jake returned to Nigeria where he started recording and producing albums, during this period he became the MOST in-demand producer in Nigeria. – Light In The Attic

DJ, record label impresario and former Swedish champion b-boy, Mad Mats knows a thing or two about finding good music. As well as iconic underground imprints Raw Fusion and GAMM, Mad Mats is a partner in the highly regarded Local Talk label, making it highly probable that most of the world’s influential DJs have at least one of his discoveries in their record bags.

For his first compilation on BBE, Mats has put together a diverse selection of cuts; from reggae, hip hop and soul to boogie, electronica and house, reflecting his open-minded approach to DJing. “The compilation is very mixed, just like how I like to DJ...all freestyle. Yes, I play a lot of house clubs nowadays because of Local Talk, but at heart I've always been a so called "eclectic" selector. Most of these tracks are tunes I’ve played all over the years, sprinkled with some brand new discoveries.”

Coming from a strictly vinyl background, when Mats embraced Serato around 2005, he carried his crate digger’s mentality with him. Believing firmly that digging should always about the discovery of great music regardless of the format, the concept of ‘Digging Beyond The Crates’ was born.

Ranging far and wide in terms of genre and tempo, the album is tied together by one common factor; this is feel-good music made for dancing. “I'm just as hungry (probably even more so) to find my personal gems as I was back in the day, I just look for them with more variation. This album is dedicated to those select few individuals, just like myself: highly driven music lovers, collectors and DJs that truly are DIGGING BEYOND THE CRATES!” – BBE on Bandcamp

Beatbox is the earth-shattering classic from a band that changed the game, emerging from the underground with a template that would redefine pop culture in the decade since its release. From Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson (“Digital Versicolor”) to HBO’s Westworld (“Candy Castle”) & more, Beatbox has spray-painted culture with its vivacious shades of pink & blue. Ida No’s transcendent vocals & Johnny Jewel’s beautiful musical objects rebooted the system. Across Beatbox, Ida No & Johnny Jewel conjure up unabashedly uplifting dance cuts, drenched in versicolor sweat that shimmers glamorously in the reflection of the aura of divine disco energy. - Glass Candy

Barely disco and hardly jazz, Rupa Biswas’ 1982 LP is the halfway point between Bollywood and Balearic. Tracked in Calgary’s Living Room Studios with a crack team of Indian and Canadian studio rats alike, Disco Jazz is a perfect fusion of East and West. Sarod and synthesizer intricately weaving around one another for 37 transcendent minutes, culminating in the viral hit “Aaj Shanibar.” Remastered from original analogue source material and with the permission and blessing of the producers and performers. – Numero Group

 Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new official album reissue of An Eye For An Eye by Byrne & Barnes: A true WestCoast/AOR masterpiece, produced in legendary music city Muscle Shoals (Alabama) and originally only released on Japanese label Climax.

In 1981, Robert Byrne followed up to his 1979 album, Blame It On The Night, by teaming-up with multi-instrumentalist Brendan Barnes to record this rare WestCoast classic. If they never recorded any other music together, both display incredible music career and went on to produce for many famous artists such as Pointer Sisters, Patti Austin, Earth Wind & Fire, Phil Collins, Brian McKnight, or Boyz II Men to name just a few.

An Eye For An Eye features amazing and sophisticated songs, and parades all the elements of the AOR style: a jazzy sometimes fusion approach, with modern soul and groove flavors. If it’s almost unknown in Byrne & Barnes’ country of origins and in most part of the world, it’s become hugely popular and sought-after in Japan and for all WestCoast music lovers.

After Charles Maurice recently selected the song “Love You Out Of Your Mind” in the AOR Global Sounds Vol.2 compilation, it quickly felt obvious for Favorite Recordings to arrange a proper reissue of the full album, including for the first time the vinyl format. – Favorite Recordings

Obscure 1980s Brazilian lo-fi synth LP re-issued and remastered for the first time. Soundway Records delivers a beautifully remastered reissue of Brazilian duo Grupo Controle Digital’s only album, “A Festa É Nossa”. First released in 1988, the album is now housed in a tip-on heavyweight sleeve with restored artwork.

With the title track “A Festa É Nossa” having circulated the last few years in the DJ sets of influential tastemakers, the album has become highly sought after by electronic fans and collectors alike. Lo-fi synths and cruising bass lines permeate the record, influenced by the group’s Brazilian contemporaries at the time such as Tim Maia, Cláudio Zoli, Secos E Molhados, and rock outfit Made In Brazil.

Band members Billy Jaguar and Gel Valiery regularly performed in various groups in São Paulo throughout the 80s and 90s, but after Gel passed away, Grupo Controle Digital was no more - the band and the album faded into obscurity and Billy became a priest, working with gospel music. It remained that way until Brazilian DJ Millos Kaiser (from label Selva Discos, and one half of Brazilian street party organisers Selvagem) tracked down the remaining member of the group to be able to include one of their tracks on the highly anticipated Soundway compilation “Onda De Amor: Synthesized Brazilian Hits That Never Were (1984-94)”, which was released in July 2018. - Bandcamp

“Calender was a mid 70s New Jersey Funk band, best known for their proto-disco hit ‘Hypertension’ which came out in 1975. Calender was the brainchild of songwriter, producer and arranger Paul Kyser. Calender’s first (and only) album was originally released in 1976 on Pi Kappa Records & if you’re into mid 70s funk then this amazing album will be on constant rotation on your turntable. Now finally back available as a limited deluxe vinyl edition (500 copies) featuring the original 1976b album art.” – Extract from the sleeve notes of this album

Item description:        

Early 80's obscure release reissued - The whole album is a great listen, overall a lo-fi diy feel with groovy drum machines and lushed out synths over the top. LP Includes the dancefloor cut ''Wake Up''. All songs produced, arranged and composed by Steve Elliot.

Item description: