Friday, June 18, 2010

NEW ARRIVALS/RESTOCKS FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 17

NEW ARRIVALS AND RESTOCKS THURSDAY, JUNE 17


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thanks for looking.


running late again, but hey, better late than never… sorry for the delay! tons more solid goods for your perusal, all perfect listening material for the summer days ahead… read about em here or for optimal results, come on by the shop and check em out in person. as always, to stay on top of all the recent arrivals (as well as other odds and ends of interest), follow tequila sunrise records on facebook and/or twitter ! gotta run, hope to see you soon!


gracias


anthony vogdes


as always, many of these titles are in very limited quantity, so if you're interested in anything listed below and can’t make it to the shop you can make a purchase via paypal or over the phone with a credit card and pick them up later or have them shipped (see more information below). i will no longer hold records. sorry.


prices are subject to change without notice.


prices do not include shipping and handling. for those of you shipping within the continental united states I offer a 5.00usd flat shipping rate for any amount of records and/or compact discs. shipping cost for international orders are calculated on an order by order basis. payments for orders can be made via paypal or with a credit card by telephone between 12-6pm/est.


i also offer bike messanger service via timecycle couriers. for the low cost of 10.00usd i can deliver any amount of records and/or cds you wish to purchase to your center city philadelphia location (this includes some parts of south, west and north philadelphia) within two hours (and for those of you who need your records even faster, we also offer ‘rush’ service for the low flat rate of 20.00usd for any amount of records/cds delivered to you within one hour). of course, we are still more than happy to ship records via the usps within philadelphia. orders placed before 5pm/est will ship out that evening and should reach their destination by the following day.


ROCK AND PSYCHEDELIC



SABBATH ASSEMBLY- RESTORED TO ONE LP (ajna offensive, usa)
14.98usd/8.97gbp/9.94eur/1311jpy (approx)


*Restored to One is a modern response to the musical activities of a cult known as The Process Church of the Final Judgment, who used music to spread their visions of Gnostic reconciliation in a time of cataclysmic change. Sabbath Assembly has re-charged the original hymns of The Process Church and worked them into moving renditions that unite the trinity of rock, psychedelic and gospel into one triumphant re-awakening. The Process Church was an intensely creative, apocalyptic shadow side to the flower-powered '60s and New Age '70s. The influential group opened Chapters in London, Europe and across the United States. Dressing in black cloaks and walking the streets with German Shepherds, they created their own intricately designed magazines, and promoted a controversial, quasi-Gnostic theology that reconciled Christ and Satan through deeper awareness and love. Funkadelic reproduced Process writings in two of its albums. The Process Church was accused of being part of a Satanic underground conspiracy by true crime pulps, most notably Ed Sanders’ The Family, which linked the Church to the Manson murders. The insider’s perspective of this secretive group and its true leadership recently emerged with Feral House's LOVE SEX FEAR DEATH: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment, written by former members including Timothy Wyllie, and edited by Adam Parfrey.

BILLY GREEN- STONE O.S.T. LP (finders keepers, uk)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Meet Stone. The trailer says it all. A deep Australian drawl narrates the scene over a psychedelic swamp-funk rhythm section doused in electronic percussion and treated keyboards. "Stone Is A Trip... The grave diggers are on the move - a new breed of motorbike gang" The screen fills with images of slo-mo bike accidents, hallucigenic trips and a death defying cliff stunt which could easily mistaken for a doppelganger scene in Psychomania. "Vietnam veterans with their own style of life, their own rules, their own religion." The scene swathes to a satanic ritualistic burial at the hands of a denim-clad crew of outlaw bikers with strangely familiar faces.
To many global record collectors, DJ's, music producers and general retrophiles living outside of Australia "Stone" was primarily known for its electronic sound effects, psychedelic guitars, cosmic sound scapes and funky basslines... In the 80s and 90s, before the global DVD boom, Stone to many people was first and foremost a Soundtrack... The kind of soundtrack that makes you wish you could see the film but it'll probably never happen. The LP artwork alone was beyond enigmatic with its contradicting embroider logo (designed by sandy) alongside its striking futuristic airbrushed chrome insignia (designed by comic artist Peter Ledger and realised by airbrush whizz Errol Black). The huge parade of brand new Kawasaki bikes inside the gatefold looked like something from the future compared to the classic full-dresser Harleys from the American Hells Angels movies. And when the needle drops into the groove and the freakish blend of didgeridoo and Moog (played by Johnny 'Didge' Matthews and synth expert Andy Cohan) blended with unidentified clicks belches and pops fly out the speakers it is literally impossible to put a date, never mind a story line, to this acid fuelled soundscape. The use of confusing and contradicting musical influences alongside bizarre noises is actually the secret sauce in this concoction and when the swampy psychedelic funk-rock rhythm section kicks-in you are left with a 45 minute programme of skewed. Forward-thinking avant-pop that would stylistically fill a very lonely section in the record shop racks. There are not many records quite like Stone.

VERTICAL SLIT- SLIT AND PRE-SLIT LP (smudge, usa)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*Originally released in a vanity pressing of 100 copies, this debut by James Michael Shepard & Vertical Slit has long been a holy grail item on many a collectors list. Legend has it almost 1/4th of the pressing ended up in the hands of luminaries such as Todd Rundgren, John Cale, Robert Fripp & Peter Hamill to name but a few. Musically this stands toe to toe with the cream of Nurse With Wound list prog obscuros AND Acid Archives psych outsiders. Imagine a bridge between Magical Power Makos self titled debut lp & The Decayes Ich Bin Ein Spieglei. Mastered in the furnace of the future so to bask in the luminous glow of the past.


FUNK AND SOUL



TWILIGHT- STILL LOVING YOU LP (luv n haight, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*Still Loving You, by Twilight, was originally released in 1981. Housed in a low-fi generic album cover, this very polished, professionally produced record sounds like it was made by a super talented band. Strains of Earth Wind and Fire, George Duke and Roy Ayers, flow through a collection of tunes that effortlessly blend soul, disco, funk, Latin and Brazilian vibes. But looks, as evident with the LP cover, can be deceptive. Twilight was not a band. In fact, with the exception of a guest horn section and one guest vocal, Twilight was, and still is, Lawrence Ross; one man with a clear vision of what his music should sound like, and how he would make it on his own… He began playing clarinet at age nine. His father loved music and would play an eclectic selection of records loudly all day long; Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles. “I was the first in my family to be bit by his musical bug, the scope of his taste was incredible,” says Ross. “He was creating a monster!” The paternal musical-schooling led Ross to soak-up all the tunes TV and Radio had to offer at the time. “Danny Kaye, Dean Martin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Motown; I would memorize songs after playing them once, and then I would improvise on them at school band rehearsals and drive the teachers nuts,” he recalls. In the early 1970s, while still in High School, Ross played in a Vallejo-based band called The Establishment. They were friendly rivals with another local band called Project Soul (whose only 7” single was re-issued on the Luv N’Haight Bay Area Funk Vol. II compilation). The acts often played on the same bill or play tandem nights to the same crowds at the same clubs. A decade later Project Soul had morphed into Confunkshun, and Ross had started writing and conceptualizing the Twilight album. Working the nightshift at General Mills, Ross was a Head shift packer at a flour mill where, in the twilight hours, there was enough quiet time to create songs. He estimates it took him about a year to write the album, but recording only took a week. Able to get by with only 3 hours sleep he recorded Still Loving You in a seven-day stretch between 10am and 11am every morning, just a few hours after finishing work. Ross showed-up to the studio with a master plan to make a record as he heard it in his head, by playing everything himself. “I laid out a tick track from begin to end on the first day,” he explains. “Then I went in and laid down the bass on the next day, and then drums, and then keyboards etc, with each process taking one hour of studio time each day.” This very methodical process was also economical and the entire album only cost $1200 to make. But making the music sound natural, like a band had played it, was a challenge. “It’s difficult to keep the meter/timing exactly right when you are duplicating yourself 7 or 8 times. But I did it that way because I could, and it was the only way to record the album the way I wanted to hear it,” says Ross. As a well-rounded musician Ross was able to play many instruments but often found his role restricted to saxophone and woodwinds when performing in bands. “I would try to get musicians to play instruments or parts a certain way, but often times I’d just get frustrated. So I’d go buy the instrument and learn how to play it myself!” he explains. “Recording the way was the only way to get what I intended, and there was no stepping on peoples toes because it was all me.” In addition to making the album by himself, Ross also knew he wanted a record that didn’t sound like any others. Bored with what he perceived as a mass music market full of formulaic releases Ross wanted Twilight to shake up the norm. He liked all styles of music, admiring everyone from the Bee Gees to Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Michael McDonald, all whom he considers tune-smiths. He didn’t want to be held back by the restraints major labels seemed to be placing on their prized artists. “If you have a great musician on your label why not let/push them do everything they can do?” says Ross. “Donna Summer did great disco, but why not let her include an opera song on an album?” Rather than produce a tidy record that fit well with a certain crowd, Still Loving You packs many different styles. The track that ended up as close to the sound Ross had hoped for was “Scorpittiarus.” Coincidentally it was the track that gathered most attention. Thanks to the promotional efforts of Paul Mack Jr., a friend of Ross and a PR man for Atlantic (also manager for the Bay Area funk band Perfect Circle), the song aired all over the San Francisco Bay Area on KBLX radio. At the height of its popularity “Scorpittiarus” was in rotation for 9 plays a day. Such support caused Leopolds, the Oakland-based exclusive distributor of Still Loving You, to sell out of the album in one week. Ross received calls and enquiries about the song from around the world. “Many people thought Twilight was some sort of Latin band when they heard that track,” laughs Ross. He was even contacted by CBS who wanted to use the song for The Love Boat, yes The Love Boat. Ross was into the idea but wanted CBS to list his name in the credits because he wanted to get established as a composer. He even turned down a six-figure buy-out in lieu of getting the credit. But CBS refused and ties were cut. “I would take the money now, but at the time I just wanted to get my name out there,” jokes Ross. The album ends with “Love’s High”, a short track with unusual arrangement that lands somewhere between Shuggie Otis and Yesterdays New Quintet. Starting out with a scattershot bossa beat the song quickly changes into a ballad-like piece with synthesizer strings and a catchy vocal hook that is unexpectedly backed with a jazz-heavy soprano sax solo. “I only had enough time for a tiny track at the end – this was a last minute thing, created during the course of the week. It was the most spontaneous of the batch,” he explains. Ross was happy with the album; it sounded like it was made by the group he’d wanted to create. Despite being pleased with conquering the process and the end-product, he says that he would not do it again. “No! Not with what I’ve learned now. And I’m not sure if people would like it if I remade the record anyway.” But he’s thrilled to know that the Twilight albums have become collectible items (reaching prices in excess of $500) and that there is a resurgence of interest. “I am surprised and not sure what to think of it. It was the furthest thing from my mind especially when you think about everything else that is popular. I guess I’m lucky I’m still around to witness it!” While Ross played almost every instrument on the album, there were a handful of guest musicians that Ross handpicked. On trumpet was Marvin McFadden, who Ross met by way of life-long friend and bass player William McCleod. McFadden lived a few blocks from McCleod and said he could always hear him screaming in the high register on his horn. McFadden was being taught, at the time, by Mic Gillette of Tower of Power and now performs with Huey Lewis and the News. Years before Twilight, Ross used to check out Jonathan Pryor in his Soul Institution group and knew he wanted him to be part of the horn section. Ross heard Ken Morasci playing at work. “He was on a swing shift one night when I came in early. I heard a trumpet screaming from the seventh floor. He never recorded before or played in a group, but just loved to play is horn every now and then,” says Ross. Trombone players Edward Rillera and Carl Lovio were both referrals from friends. Soprano and tenor saxes were played by James Ingram (not the "Yah Mo B There" James Ingram) who was trained by John Handy and another life-long friend from Jr. High School. Singing on one track was Tyrone Edger Gooch, “He loved to sing and had an out of this world personality,” says Ross. “He was a Legend around Vallejo.” The liner notes also credit John Duarte on percussion, but in truth he simply assisted with the use of all his equipment if Ross included him on the album credits.

TWILIGHT- PAINS OF LOVE LP (luv n haight, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*In 1986, five years after the release of his first album, Lawrence Ross returned with a new Twilight record called Pains of Love. Taking the experience and proceeds from his debut, Still Loving You, Ross spent a few years building himself a studio, and added engineering to his list of skills as a multi-instrumentalist. He was also mentored by Grover Washington Jr. having met him backstage at the Circle Star Theater. Mouthpiece in-hand Ross played one of Washington Jr.s songs using the stars’ saxophone. “When you’re young you have no fear,” says Ross. “That's because you are insane!” he jokes. “He loved it and gave me his phone number to call and play for him on the phone and he would tell me what I needed to improve upon.” Most importantly, the real reason for the 5 year gap between albums was that Ross had become a father, twice. While his first LP was recorded in a unique way, with Ross single-handedly creating the appearance of a band, he hoped to make his next recordings with the help of musicians. Lightening the burden of putting an entire album together would make the process more enjoyable and rewarding. However, that’s not what happened. Pains of Love began as a demo for Smith and Wesan (not, Smith and Wessun, the rap group that followed a decade or so later.) Their manager was Paul Mack Jr., promotions man for Atlantic, also manager for the Perfect Circle. He had heard “Scorppittiarus”, from Still In Love when it was released, and had helped facilitate some serious airplay on San Francisco station KBLX. He contacted Ross to create tunes that Smith and Wessun could use as demo tracks for Atlantic. Ross recorded “You Look So Good”, “Give All My Love”,” Pains of Love” and the beginnings of “You’re In Love” at Likewise Studio in Oakland as 1983 became 1984. There he was aided by musicians from Bill Summers group Summers Heat. They were under major label exclusive contracts at the time, and their work was strictly “off the record.” Mack took the three finished tracks to Atlantic who liked them and wanted to sign Smith and Wesan to a contract. However, on the day of the signing, a soap opera-style scenario unfolded and an unfortunate love triangle killed the Atlantic deal idea. Liking the way the first three tracks came out he was determined not to let them go to waste. Ross took them back to his own studio in Vallejo and remixed them. He set about finishing the half-done “You’re In Love”, while fleshing out the rest of an album. At the time he admired how Quincy Jones produced (especially on The Dude), and wanted to use some of his techniques. A quick glance at the album credits, and a flick through the synth-heavy tracks, shows that this record was made with even less musicians and instruments than the first. Switching organic live instrumentation for electronics, Ross created a monster soulful boogie album that sounds like an underground counterpart to bands popular bands from the time like Loose Ends, Mtume, or Cameo. Now that he had his own studio, and more time to make a better quality record, it seems like an odd choice to replace the layers of instrumentation heard on his debut, with a handful of synths. But a new model of the Prophet 5 keyboard (a staple of all synthesized music from the 1980s) had just been released and Ross loved the way it sounded. The purchase of the Prophet 5 alone pushed the cost of this album beyond that of his debut, but it allowed Ross to experiment with futuristic sounds. Outside of teaching himself to program the Prophet 5, Ross wanted to polish-up his song writing abilities on Pains of Love. “All the songs are about love because I wanted to get into telling a story. So I focused on writing and singing about relationships, etc, as opposed to concentrating so heavily on the music.” Ross wishes he would have taken more time to bring the other tracks to what he considers the same level as the first three. But he burned out on the learning curve of the keyboards, and producing, songwriting, and engineering the entire album. Instead of working with a group he had once again taken on the process of making an entire album. He was mentally spent and had to take some time off from music for a while. He pressed less copies of Pains of Love (than of Still Loving You,)and the album did not reach as wide an audience as his debut, “through lack of promotion and distribution,” he explains. With a young son and daughter, born in 81 and 82 respectively, Ross would like to have put more into the album but didn’t want to take time from his family. Nowadays Ross still plays, and his studio is packed with the vintage keyboards heard on his first two records. “I still have them all and I think I know my way around the studio better now,” he says. “I think I’m at my peak now on sax and synths. I never stopped, I practice every day and never considered giving up.” He is currently working on new tracks. “There will be a third Twilight album with the energy and wholeness of the first together with the quality and sophistication of the second. I have a large list of originals I have made throughout the years.”

ORGONE- TIME TONIGHT 12” (ubiquity, usa)
9.98usd/5.97gbp/6.62eur/874jpy (approx)


*Orgone are back with a new single, including an exclusive extended funky dub mix, as a taster from their forthcoming Cali Fever album.

BEI BEI AND SHAWN LEE- INTO THE WIND LP (ubiquity, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*Into the Wind marries a unique blend of ancient tradition with studio trickery. Eschewing all notions of superficial "Asian-fusion," this uplifting, genre-bending sound clash, recalls the afro centric harping of Dorothy Ashby and hypnotic spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane. With Lee adding equal doses of hip hop, electric jazz, and soul sensibility to the backing tracks, the captivating sound of Bei Bei’s Guzheng (a 2000 year old Chinese string instrument) comes alive on peaceful mellow joints as much as it does on Kung-Fu flavored funk tunes… Bei Bei is a Gu Zheng performer, composer and educator who was born in Chengdu, China and now resides in Southern California. The guzheng, also spelled gu zheng or gu-zheng or zheng (the Chinese symbol for which translates to "ancient") is a traditional Chinese musical instrument with a truly captivating sound that lends itself as much to peaceful ambient recordings as it does to Kung-Fu funk. It belongs to the zither family of string instruments and is the parent instrument of the Japanese koto, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese ?àn tranh. Shawn Lee met Be Bei while Lee was out in California recording the Lord Newborn album and collaborating with Clutchy Hopkins. Files have been swapped back and forth and the project polished up for release over the past 6 months. Bei Bei and Shawn Lee’s “Beauty and the Beats” album will follow in January 2010. Watch out for accompanying live shows. New music by Gu Zheng performer Bei Bei and Ubiquity producer Shawn Lee marries a unique blend of ancient tradition with studio trickery and spiritual jazz. This uplifting, genre-bending, soundclash recalls the afrocentric harping of Dorothy Ashby, the hypnotic style of Alice Coltrane, and the organic electronics of Four Tet and Quantic.


GLOBAL SOUNDS



MEBUSAS- VOL. 1: BLOOD BROTHERS LP (academy, usa)
23.98usd/14.36gbp/15.92eur/2100jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… A large and multitalented group, the mebusas’ blood brothers album (1973) reflects the diversity of its members. Elements of soul, funk and psychedelic rock as well as Latin, Caribbean and African music come together in a powerfully unique album recorded in Nigeria. This is the first ever reissue of their only lp.

SJOB MOVEMENT- A MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION LP (academy, usa)
23.98usd/14.36gbp/15.92eur/2100jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Deep and spacy Afro-Funk rhythms from heavy weight Nigerian musicians spark, jonnie, ottay and bolla. Veterans of sonny okosun’s ozzidi band, these artists branched out in 1974 in a heavier, more personal direction. First ever reissue of this psychedelic Afro-Funk classic!

V/A- LAGOS DISCO INFERNO 2LP (academy, usa)
29.98usd/17.95gbp/19.90eur/2625jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… A collection of smoking hot groove action from Lagos, Nigeria circa 1976-’82. Compiled by frank gossner (aka dj frank o, soulpusher) of Voodoo Funk fame, you get twelve tracks that sound as fresh today as they day they were cut. Restored with loving care and packaged with liner notes by dean disi (journalist and former executive at Lagos’ tvc records) and a special message from damian iwuagwu.

ANIBAL VELASQUEZ Y SU CONJUNTO- MAMBO LOCO LP (analog africa, germany)
21.98usd/13.16gbp/14.59eur/14.59jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Analog Africa moves its focus to another continent for release number 7: Mambo Loco is a compilation of tracks by Anibal Velasquez, the legendary accordionist from Barranquilla in Colombia. In fact, when not crate-digging in Africa, Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb can often be found in Colombia. Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Rio Magdalena, lies the city of Barranquilla. Hailed by its locals as Colombia's "Puerto de Oro" (Golden Gate), Barranquilla has served as a gateway for "Caribbean Tropical Sounds" for almost a century. Home to the country's biggest cultural celebration, El Carnaval, and the birthplace of Colombia's radio and recording industry, Barranquilla has always been a city deeply rooted in musical traditions, and nobody embodies Barranquilla's rich musical heritage more than Anibal Velasquez. Known affectionately by his fans as "El Mago" (the Magician), Anibal has been one of the most prolific musicians of Colombia's Musica Tropical movement. Anibal was born into a musical family in Barranquilla in 1936. His father was an accomplished musician but his biggest influence was his older brother Juan who first introduced him to the secrets of the accordion. One of the turning points was a chance encounter with Robertico Roman, a musician from Cartagena. "It was with Robertico Roman that I formed my first band called Los Vallenatos de Magdalena. I made my first recording with that band in 1952. Four songs were recorded including a track called 'La Gallina,' which became a huge hit and really spread the costal sound toward the interior of the country." Unfortunately soon after, in 1955, band-mate Robertico died and Los Vallenatos de Magdalena had to disband. Without a band, Anibal was forced to take a job as a session musician for Barranquilla-based label Disco Eva working for a group called El Conjunto Colomboy. He remained with Disco Eva until the end of the 1950s, working closely with the great Costeno master Lucho Campillo. Then in 1960, Anibal formed a new group together with his elder brother Juan, a gifted musician in his own right, and his younger brother Jose who would soon become his right hand man, enabling Anibal to add a new dimension to his playing style. Jose himself began experimenting by incorporating new instruments and re-inventing old rhythms. He would break the rules and replaced the traditional bongos used in Cuban guaracha and rumba with a traditional Colombian drum called "La Caja" which he modified by adding "radiografias medicas" (x-ray film) over the drum. This -- combined with Anibal's powerful accordion -- was to become a sensation, generating a much harder and drier sound than the traditional leather skin drums. Anibal's new Guaracha style was infectious, fast and furious, often leading his crowds into a state of frenzy. The interest for Anibal's new innovative sound started growing and recording offers poured in. Anibal began to have an impressive amount of followers, drawing huge crowds wherever he went. By the mid-1960s, music in La Costa began to change drastically. With the onset of the hippie movement in the United States came a craving for marijuana, and Colombia's Caribbean Coast had become a main trafficking hub. A new economy of drugs had emerged and with it a musical style called Vallenato rose to prominence. Its distinct accordion sound and bluesy appeal made it a favorite among drug lords and mafiosos alike, becoming the soundtrack for their feverish life-styles. By the 1970s the level of violence in the coast had grown to unprecedented heights and Vallenato was everywhere. Fed up with this, Anibal decided to move to Caracas, Venezuela, where he remained for 18 years until finally returning back to his beloved Barranquilla in the late '80s. Anibal's contribution to Colombia's Musica Tropical Movement cannot be forgotten. It is said that Anibal Velasquez recorded 300 LPs throughout his remarkable career. His ability to play music that was joyful and percussive, with lyrics right out of everyday life, while at the same time championing a new sound, has made him into one of the few living legends of Colombia's glorious musical past.

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO- VOLUME ONE THE VODOUN EFFECT: FUNK & SATO FROM BENIN'S OBSCURE LABELS 1972-1975 2LP (analog africa, germany)
27.98usd/16.75gbp/18.57eur/2450jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Double vinyl version, in deluxe gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves. Following the highly-acclaimed African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds from Benin & Togo '70s -- which featured several tracks by Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, including the ground-breaking "Gbeti Madjro" -- this new Analog Africa collection now focuses entirely on Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou is arguably West Africa's best-kept secret. Their output, both in quantity and quality, was astonishing. During several trips to Benin, label-head Samy Ben Redjeb managed to collect roughly 500 songs which Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou had recorded between 1970 and 1983. With so much material to choose from, he decided to split it into Volume 1 and 2. While Volume 2 will be material the band recorded under an exclusive contract with the label Albarika Store, the band also "secretly" recorded with an array of smaller labels based around Cotonou, Benin's largest city, and the capital city of Porto Novo. It is those tracks (all officially licensed) that are presented here on Volume One. The producers of those labels were genuine music enthusiasts, some of them ran these labels as a part-time occupation, with very limited budgets. They couldn't afford high-quality recordings -- all they had to work with was a Nagra (a Swiss made reel-to-reel recorder) and a sound engineer -- courtesy of the national radio station. These sessions were recorded in private homes using just one or two microphones. The cultural and spiritual riches of traditional Beninese music had an immense impact on the sound of Benin's modern music. Benin is the birthplace of Vodun (also Vodoun, or, as it is known in the West, Voodoo), a religion which involves the worship of some 250 sacred divinities. The rituals used to pay tributes to those divinities are always backed by music. The majority of the complex poly-rhythms of the Vodun are still more or less secret and difficult to decipher, even for an accomplished musician. Two Vodun rhythms dominate the music of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo: Sato, an amazing, energetic rhythm performed using an immense vertical drum, and Sakpata, a rhythm dedicated to the divinity who protects people from smallpox. Both rhythms are represented here mixed in with funk, soul, crazy organ sounds and psychedelic guitar riffs.

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO- VOLUME TWO ECHOS HYPNOTIQUES: FROM THE VAULTS OF ALBARIKA STORE 1969-1979 2LP (analog africa, germany)
27.98usd/16.75gbp/18.57eur/2450jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Four years in the making, Analog Africa finally presents the highly-anticipated second volume of music from Africa's funkiest band, the mythical Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. Volume One (The Vodoun Effect: Funk & Sato from Benin's Obscure Labels, 1973-1975), released by Analog Africa at the end of 2008, was a collection of amazing lo-fi recordings produced for various labels around Benin. Volume Two showcases superbly recorded tracks, courtesy of the EMI studios in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the best studios in the region. All tracks here were recorded for the mighty Albarika Store label and its enigmatic producer, Adissa Seidou. The idea for this compilation was born five years ago when Samy Ben Redjeb, Analog Africa's founder and compiler, first heard the addictive funk track "Malin Kpon O" (included here), which was originally released in 1975 on Albarika Store. That discovery triggered the compiler's curiosity and what followed was a long journey through the musical history of Benin and the history of its most important ambassador, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. The result: approximately 100 pictures, 120 master tapes, 20 hours of interviews and a few hundred Orchestre Poly-Rythmo vinyl records -- 500 songs in total -- some of which previously unreleased. Almost half of those tracks were recorded for Benin's number one label -- Albarika Store. During the period presented here -- 1969 to 1979 -- the mighty Orchestre was without any doubt one of Africa's most innovative groups. Capable of playing any style of music, the band moved from traditional Vodoun rhythms to funk, sato, Latin, sakpata, psychedelia and Afro-Beat seamlessly and quickly became the powerhouse of Benin's music scene. Some of the planet's most exciting rhythms are related to the complex Vodoun religion born in Benin. Those rhythms, supported by chants and dances, have been transmitted from generation to generation and are still being performed to this day, a few hundred years after they were created. The composers and arrangers of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo understood that they were surrounded by a gold mine of inspirational sounds which, if modernized and mixed in with whatever was in fashion at that particular moment, could have a strong impact on the urban population. Those astonishing combinations can be heard here, all mixed into a heavy hypnotic sound -- Les Echos Hypnotiques.

V/A- LEGENDS OF BENIN 2LP (analog africa, germany)
27.98usd/16.75gbp/18.57eur/2450jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Analog Africa presents Legends Of Benin, a collection of super-rare and highly danceable masterpieces recorded between 1969-1981 by four legendary composers from Benin: Gnonnas Pedro, Antoine Dougbé, El Rego et Ses Commandos and Honoré Avolonto, each with a sound all their own. What you are about to hear is distinctively Benin -- a thick brew of agbadja, soul, cavacha, funk, Afrobeat, and Afro-Latin sounds all mixed in with heavy traditional rhythms. Gnonnas Pedro is the king of modern agbadja: a rhythm hugely popular in Togo, Benin and Ghana, based around three pieces of percussion, each with a different tone. Traditionally a rhythm used during burial ceremonies, Gnonnas adopted and modernized it in the mid-'60s, calling it "Agbadja Modern." The track "Dadje Von O Von Non" was originally recorded in 1966 and is Gnonna's first modern rendition of agbadja. Also featured here is the crazy, kick-ass funk track "Okpo Videa Bassouo" recorded in 1973, as well as the sublimely contagious track, "La Musica en Verité." Honoré Avolonto was one of Benin's most prolific composers, releasing Benin's most successful LP in the late '70s. That album was recorded with Black Santiago, a band fronted by amazing trumpeter Ignace De Souza, another legend, with whom he recorded the Afrobeat track, "Dou Dagbe We." Avolonto has fronted some of Benin's most powerful bands and some of those "partnerships" with Orchestre Poly-Rythmo and Les Commandos are presented here. Beware -- killer Afrobeat meets frenetic funk. El Rego et Ses Commandos were responsible for Benin's first Afro-soul-funk track with the support of Ghanean singer, Eddy Black Power. The "Jerk" scene in Benin was triggered by the success of "Feeling You Got," and its infectious accordion riff. "E Nan Mian Nuku" is an Afro-Latin tune combined with a kind of bossa nova, and "Vimado Wingnan" is Benin's most sought-after funk track. Out of all the artists here, Antoine Dougbé is the least known even in Benin, but he created his own style which he dubbed Afro cavacha -- a fantastic mixture of Congolese rhumba, Latin sounds and traditional vodoun rhythms. All of his vinyl releases, especially the ones released on his own Editions Dougbé Antoine label, are incredible and have become some of Africa's most sought-after collector's items.

IKENGA SUPERSTARS- IKENGA SUPERSTARS LP (decca, france)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Grey area exact repro of this hypnotic high life band, led by Vincent Okoroego, a member of Steven Osita Osadebe's Nigeria Sound Makers. This lp includes the track “Soffry Soffry Catch Monkey," which appeared on the 2005 Lagos Chop Up compilation released by Honest Jon's… Rare and sought after Afro-funk and Afro-beat album from Nigeria 1977, apparently only released in France.

MOUSSA DOUMBIA- KELEYA LP (emi, france)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Exact repro featuring the 10 minute version of "Keleya" (an abbreviated version appeared on Luaka Bop's Love's A Real Thing compilation), along with "Papa," "Femme Senegal" and "Mariage”… Killer psychedelic Afro-funk from Mali with four long dancefloor bombs. Originally released on EMI-Pathe, France, in 1977.

V/A- THE SOUND OF WONDER: THE FIRST WAVE OF PLUGGED IN POP AT THE PAKISTANI PICTURE HOUSE 2LP (finders keepers, uk)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*The first wave of plugged-in pop at the Pakistani picture house. Rare Electronic Pop from the Lollywood vaults (1973-1980). 15 untraveled currants of Space-Age Cinematic Surf and Urdu Funk. Commonly, ignorantly but understandably lumped in with its wealthy not-too-distant cousin, Bollywood, Lollywood was inspired by, but often overshadowed by its posh and well-traveled relative. Following the simplistic Bombay + Hollywood = Bollywood name game (that would in later years spawn Nollywood in Nigeria), Lollywood's Lahore based film industry was a profitable and vibrant one that found great success in the modest boundaries of its own country but was seldom savoured outside Pakistan. However, the hugely important musical business spawned a bi-product that was viewed as a potential earner for international entertainment industry, EMI, which allowed talented musicians to create ambitious music with world class mediums at there disposal, which throughout the 60s and 70s ranged from fuzz-guitars, space-echo machines and American and European synthesizers, but, due to the composers indigenous roots, rarely a drum-kit. Here you'll find fuzzy, scuzzy, twang-happy, spaced-out and funked up urdu-grooves complete with harmonium melodies and driven by some of the most random factor, freakish, finger-numbing, percussion that the South East Asian mainstream has ever had to offer. Above all, Lollywood soundtracks sound RAW! Re-imagine some of the most action packed Bollywood productions (which Lollywooders actively did) then fire the make-up department, take away the special effects budget and then improvise. The lack of gloss on a dusty Pakistani mini-LP makes for truly experimental Eastern Pop music. So, it's time to meet the culprits. The names on the back of the records that'll keep you gambling on Ghazals and taking punts on Pakistani pulp-balladry. As an introduction, in place of R.D. Burman and Asha Bhole, we have Mr. M. Ashraf and his long-term female collaborator, Nahid Akhtar. This duo would provide Pakistan with it's Gainsbourg / Birkin or it's Morricone / Dell'Orso for over 20 years, recording squillions of cut-and-paste sonic collages and moog-fuelled desperate love / hate / chase / chill / kill / songs mixing onomatopoeic Urdu lyrics with unexpected bursts of user friendly English language (which often elongates the running time passed the 5 minute mark) and throwing in the odd motif from a Barry White or Donna Summer hit. We also have legends like Noor Jehan, a national treasure and household name in Pakistan whose discography of film songs have deprived the vaults of EMI Pakistan of floor space for half a century.

V/A- POMEGRANATES: PERSIAN POP, FUNK, FOLK AND PSYCH OF THE
60S AND 70S 2LP (finders keepers, uk)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… It's no accident that the phoenix is an exalted moral, mythical, and figurative symbol in Iran. Like the phoenix, Iranian culture is in constant flux and, at times, elusive, with its existential wavering and blurred panoramas. Most of contemporary Iran's artistic and creative leanings, its grapples with history and identity, are loosely and mystically conjoined and contested in memory. Iran is marked by the complex interplay of diverse constituencies, philosophies, and influences: ethnic, religious, political, geopolitical and historical. The glorification of pre-Islamic antiquity (in search of authentication) marked the socio-cultural attitude of a bygone era and is witnessing revival in the present day. The discordant reality of eastern traditions complicated by the rampant confusions of modernity has become a norm in Persian dialogue, not to mention revolution, exile, and diaspora. Like many other countries, the sixties and seventies were a time of tumult in Iran, bringing growth (via petrodollars) and freedom (under the banner of socioeconomic development) while exacerbating inequalities within the country. The music and voices that blossomed during those decades exemplify the turbulence and excitement of the age. It is worth recognizing these 'left out' and 'lost' artists individually and as a group in the global happenings of '60s/'70s psych, rock and folk, while exploring their influence and relevance to the present day. Is it possible that there is a genus of delectable sounds and fetching images that almost exclusively reside in the elbowroom of memory and nostalgic 'yesteryear' storytelling? Little consideration has been given to the correlation of these sounds and stories within the universal psychedelic phenomena: parallel to the shared stylistics of British and American players, and the radical politicking of their Turkish and Korean counterparts. This collection endeavors to re-contextualize these songs from the realm of reminiscence, nostalgia, and memory into a specific and accessible narrative to share and relate within the universal musical gamut. It is for aficionados, the curious, and collectors alike. We hope that Iranians around the world will rediscover these songs. This collection is, in some sense, dedicated to a generation in self-imposed mental exile, due to years of war and catastrophe; decades of lies and bombs; a fundamentalist theocracy of reformist shams; addiction; isolation and alienation; unemployment, and inflation. These are voices and stories that may again prove relevant to a psychologically damaged and spiritually corrupt society, a society whose discontents recall the latter years of the Shah's rule. The recordings excavated here are highly sexual musings, voluble love songs, and simple folk tunes.

V/A- TO SCRATCH YOUR HEART: EARLY RECORDINGS FROM ISTANBUL 4LP BOX (honest jon’s, uk) 54.98usd/32.91gbp/36.49eur/4815jpy (approx)

*drawn from recordings made in Istanbul by the Gramophone Company and HMV, during the first three decades of the 20th century. Amidst the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, it crosses and mixes the folk and classical heritage of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Gypsies, Muslims, Christians and Jews, urbanites and country‐people, and the demands of tradition and modernity, musical improvisation, composition and system. Most of the singers are hafız, versed in a musical reading of the Koran, and renowned for mastery of the exalted, improvisatory form of the gazel. There are several magnificent examples here, by legendary artists. Three of these gazelhans beautifully interpret folk songs, and another contributor, the folklorist Ağyazar Efendi, sings a long Armenian air with utter authenticity, but in the style of a gazel. Exemplifying the new political freedoms of the Republic, there are two heart‐melting female vocal performances of a kind of art‐song called sarkı. Also featured is the taksim, a kind of improvisation in which one‐off musical fireworks, designed to ravish the listener's soul, illuminate deep fluency in the makam. A who's-who of the pre‐eminent instrumentalists of this first half-century of Turkish recording, in performances which are simply stunning, breathtaking, exquisite and other‐worldly. The music here is so transfixing, intensely devotional and sublimely beautiful, that some contemporary listeners thought they were levitating. Brilliantly restored at Abbey Road, and housed in an luxuriously packaged, deluxe four lp version, in cardboard slip case with individual sleeves for each lp.

V/A- LIVING IS HARD: WEST AFRICAN MUSIC IN BRITAIN, 1927-1929 2LP
(honest jon’s, uk) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Honest Jon's has prepared a series drawing on some of the earliest recordings in the EMI Hayes Archive -- recovered from more than 150,000 78s -- staggering music from Iraq, Turkey, Caucasia, Lebanon, Iran (including sides made in Old Street, London, in 1909), Egypt and the Belgian Congo. This series opener presents the music of the West African underground of 1920s Britain, recorded at Hayes and released on the Zonophone label (which exported nearly all the records to West Africa). You can hear Caribbean influences here, the promise of highlife there, but Living Is Hard mostly disavows fusion and assimilation. And by contrast with antecedents in the history of black music in Britain -- minstrelsy and spirituals, for example, ragtime and jazz -- these recordings are unhitched from the protocols of a white listenership. These are startling, trenchant, elemental roots -- carrying troubled news home, along with signs of the new African nationalism -- and an enthralling glimpse of other lives, other times. Artists include: Oni Johnson, Isaac Jackson, Ben Simmons, Harry E. Quashie, Douglas Papafio, Prince Zulamkah, The West African Instrumental Quintet, The Ga Quartet, Domingo Justus, James Tucker, John Mugat, Kumasi Trio, James Thomas, Nicholas De Heer, George Williams Aingo and James Brown.

V/A- GIVE ME LOVE: SONGS OF THE BROKENHEARTED: BAGHDAD, 1925-1929 2LP
(honest jon’s, uk) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… This is the second in Honest Jon's series of albums exploring the earliest 78s held in the EMI Hayes Archive. In the mid-1920s, The Gramophone Company -- soon before it became EMI -- employed two or three Europeans to criss-cross Iraq. They logged regional demographics, assessed the German competition, and checked out the scores of record shops and hundreds of musical venues. In Kerbala, its man fearfully disguised himself as an Arab. This was the groundwork for three sessions, conducted in Baghdad in the second half of the decade, which produced nearly 1,000 recordings. Business was good -- the first group of records, though deemed aesthetically unsuccessful by the Company, immediately produced 12,000 sales to just two outlets in the city. Drawing on the full range of these Baghdad recordings, it is a wondrous, deeply poignant glimpse of social living since obliterated, in which ethnicities, faiths and traditions appear woven richly and meltingly together, however precariously. There is dance music featuring Arab folk singers from the countryside, backed by professional Jewish musicians in Iraqi styles popularly termed "Egyptian," and perfected in nightclubs where the first duty of the secular women singers on this album was prostitution. Also including some Arabic word-play, in a nod to the musical form of the Arabic mawwal, a Hebrew hymn is kick-started with a cry of "Allah!," most likely from one of the Jewish performers. There are pieces from Bahrain and Kuwait; sometimes mixed together in one performance -- the different dialects are far-flung. There are beautiful, high and lonesome Kurdish violin improvisations; and some unaccompanied circular breathing on a zourna so unearthly it seems to cross late Coltrane with Sun Ra. All the songs are characterized by searing emotion and crises of feeling, many by erotic urgency. As with the other titles in the series, the recordings have been startlingly restored at Abbey Road; and they are presented with full translations, rare photographs (in this case, several performers), and notes -- including an extensive interview with a citizen of Baghdad throughout this period, who knew many of the musicians here personally.

V/A- SPRIGS OF TIME: 78S FROM THE EMI ARCHIVE 2LP (honest jon’s, uk) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)

*shop favorite restocked… This is the third in Honest Jon's series of albums exploring the earliest 78s held in the EMI Hayes Archive. Honest Jon's has spent the last two years delving through more than 150,000 78 records in the temperature-controlled steel vaults of EMI's Archive in Hayes, Middlesex. Following studious compilations of West African and Iraqi music of the 1920s, the latest release in the Honest Jon's Hayes Archive series is a sparkling late-summer lucky dip, Sprigs Of Time: 78s From The EMI Archive. An eccentric survey of the Hayes shelves, Sprigs Of Time is thirty tracks recorded between 1903 and 1957, everywhere from England (Percy Grainger's recording of the title song, sung by Joseph Taylor in 1908) to Japan (the bewilderingly beautiful "Seigaiha," by the Japanese Imperial Palace Band, five years earlier). Organ rolls from Georgia run alongside Tamils impersonating motorized transport, and rumba from Beirut; '40s fado sits next to the songs of Bengali beggars. As with the other Hayes releases, the tracks have been restored at Abbey Road and are beautifully presented, with extensive contemporary photographs included. There are recognizable names (Joseph Taylor, the incomparable Fairuz, Mighty Sparrow and an uncredited Rubén González, singing lead vocals on "Rumba Negra") and extraordinary oddities (Vengopal Chari's rather unfunny "Laughing" and the peculiarly affecting hand bells of "Gas All Clear"). Taken out of the library and put back on the turntable, every track here is remarkable; every one worth the saving.

V/A- THE WORLD IS SHAKING: CUBANISMO FROM THE CONGO, 1954-55 2LP (honest jon’s, uk) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)

*shop favorite restocked… This is the fifth release in Honest Jon's series of albums exploring vintage recordings held in the EMI Hayes Archive. This album uncovers the dizzy beginnings of the golden age of African music zinging with the social and political ferment of the independence movement and anti-colonialism, after the Second World War and the daredevil origins of Congolese rumba -- the entire continent's most popular music in the '60s and '70s. The new music grew in concert with a burgeoning night life especially in the twin capitals of Leopoldville (today's Kinshasa) on the Belgian side, and Brazzaville on the French, where humming factories lured increasing numbers of rural Congolese with the offer of a steady, relatively well-paying job. The astonishing inventions of Europe and America also played an important role in the music's development. Traditional Congolese musicians began to master imported guitars and horns by mimicking what they heard. The jazz of Louis Armstrong and the ballads of European torch singers like Tino Rossi captured the imagination of the rapidly-expanding working class as well as the familiar-sounding music of Latin America. Local musicians swapped the Spanish of the originals for Congolese languages. In his version of "Peanut Vendor," included here, A.H. Depala replaces the seller's cry of "mani," or "peanut," with a lovelorn lament for a woman named "Moni." Depala went on to land a spot in the house-band of the prestigious Loningisa studio. Others failed to gain equivalent recognition, but their music was no less impressive. Listen to likembe (thumb-piano) player Boniface Koufidilia as he makes the transition from traditional to modern in the first few seconds of "Bino," which hits you with a vamping violin while he muses about death (including that of the popular Brazzaville musician Paul Kamba). Andre Denis and Albert Bongu both echo the sounds of palm-wine brought to the Belgian Congo by the coastmen. The sweet vocal harmonies of Vincent Kuli's track were learned, perhaps, in a mission church. Rene Mbu's nimble, likembe-like guitar plucking shines on "Boma Limbala," and is Laurent Lomande using a banjo as a backdrop to "Elisa?" Aren't those kazoos, buzzing along on Jean Mpia's "Tika?" It's as if the musicians, fired up by the times in their zeal for experimental self-expression, tossed into a bottle some new elements and some old, some near and some far, and then shook it hard, to see what would happen. With rare photographs and notes by Gary Stewart, author of Rumba On The River. Sound restoration done at Abbey Road.

V/A- MARVELLOUS BOY: CALYPSO FROM WEST AFRICA 2LP (honest jon’s, uk) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)

*shop favorite restocked… Marvellous Boy: Calypso From West Africa celebrates the West African counterpart of the 1950s Soho scene uncovered in the Honest Jon's series, London Is The Place For Me. Issuing from centuries of to-ing and fro-ing between England, the West Indies, and West Africa, the same musical styles -- calypso, highlife, jazz -- overlap, proliferate, and adapt, with local traditions freshened up and thrown into the mix. With numerous faces and reference points cropping up in both milieu, this contemporaneous music-making is brimming over with the same passion for life, sparkling topicality, and extravagant, magpie creativity. The inter-war dance bands of British West Africa are often strikingly similar in sound to Trinidadian orchestras like Lovey's String Band (credited with the first calypso recordings in 1912). However, the first West African calypso recordings in the modern style are from Freetown, Sierra Leone in the early 1950s, by Ebenezer Calendar and Famous Scrubbs. In arrangements blending African and European instruments, the brass plays out the legacy of colonial military bands, albeit hair-down and a little ramshackle now; and the beautiful Creole lyrics are as quick and musical as any classic calypsonian's. Decca also organized the first calypso recording session in Ghana, down the coast, where a sound interchangeably designated "calypso" or "highlife" ruled urban dancefloors, courtesy of The Tempos and its spin-offs including The Rhythm Aces. The invasion of King Mensah of Ghana, and The Tempos' money-spinning tour of Nigeria at the start of the 1950s sparked a decade of musical innovation. Bobby Benson's new highlife 11-piece included the great trumpeters Victor Olaiya and Roy Chicago and his calypso "Taxi Driver" was their first, huge, signature hit. (By contrast, little is known about the Nigerian Rolling Stone). The Mayor's Dance Band was run by the celebrated Erekosima "Rex" Lawson, whose trademark blend of Igbo lyrics over a Calabari rhythm reflected his mixed parentage. Steven Amechi was from eastern Nigeria, and the guitar solo on "Nylon Dress" is by the king of Igbo highlife, Stephen Osita Osadebe. Saxophonist Chris Ajilo and his band The Cubanos didn't produce much calpyso-highlife, but rather, cooking Afro-Cuban jazz with traditional roots, exemplifying the open hybridity of all these forms. By the early 1960s, calypso was fading in West Africa, and U.S. soul and rhythm and blues were poised to replace Caribbean influences. Still, the dying embers would produce its most classical exponent, Godwin Omabuwa, Nigeria's own Lord Kitchener. Omabuwa cut only a few records, but his mastery of the genre was a fitting end to the heyday of calypso in British West Africa.

ARTHUR VEROCAI- ARTHUR VEROCAI LP (luv n height, usa) 24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)

*shop favorite restocked… In 1972 a repressive Brazilian military dictatorship frowned on artistic impression that might influence the youth of the country. However, producer, arranger and guitar player Arthur Verocai released a self-titled album on Brazilian based Continental Records that challenged the musical conventions of the day. His subtle protest experimented with new musical directions, and used figurative language to sneak under the censorship radar. Luv N'Haight records is honored to release its first full-length Brazilian album. It's super rare and will appeal to fans of the folksy soul and lo-fi electronic experimentations of American artists like Shuggie Otis or the orchestration of producer Charles Stepney. Closest Brazilian comparisons would be to Tim Maia and Jorge Ben. This unique recording has a touch of folk, more than a hint of funk, jazz style soloing, amazing 20 piece string arrangements, blending of electronics and keyboards with organic sounds, and superb soundtrack style music. "I used to listen to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Stan Kenton, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Web, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Miles Davis, Milton Nascimento, Bossa Nova, among others," explains Arthur Verocai. "In Brazil we had many musical influences, and by that time there wasn't a hegemonic one in the market. In this way my album reflected a search and musical experimentation. I was in an adventurous mood on this album and that led me to explore new melodic, harmonic and rhythmic paths. Verocai arrived at the 1972 album with a number of accomplishments under his belt. He'd produced the Ivan Lins 1971 album "Agora" which was influenced heavily by the sound of North American soul. He had contributed string arrangements to Jorge Ben releases, too. "I also produced two albums by a singer named C?lia for Continental and the president of the company was delighted with the results. He invited me to produce an album using my own compositions and I agreed as long as I was able to choose the musicians to perform with me. All the strings sessions featured 12 violins, 4 violas and 4 cellos, always with one or two percussionists. The idea of mixing strings with contemporary sounds came from my desire of searching for new paths. I think this album was very rich in terms of both quantity and quality of musicians!" Verocai wasn't messing around with his line-up of musicians, which included Brazilian legends like Robertinho Silva, Pascoal Meireles, Luiz Alves, Paulo Moura, Edson Maciel, Oberdan Magalh?es (Banda Black Rio), Nivaldo Ornelas (Milton Nascimento band) and Toninho Horta. Born Arthur Cortes Verocai in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 17/6/1945, he studied music with L?o Soares, Darci Villaverde, Nair Barbosa da Silva, Roberto Menescal and Vilma Gra?a. In 1966 Leny Andrade included his song "Olhando o Mar" ("Looking at the Sea") on her "We Are There" album. Two years later Verocai participated in Musicanossa an event that brought together composers, musicians and singers in presentations to play live in the Santa Rosa Theater in Rio de Janeiro, for which he wrote his first arrangements. The live recording of the event included the songs "Madrugada" and "Nova Manh?", composed in partnership with Paulinho Tapajs. By 1968 his main gig was working in Civil Engineering in Rio de Janeiro. He still managed to perform and participate as a composer at many of Brazils famous Festivals of Music. He was working with artists like Paulinho Tapaj?s, Elis Regina, Creuza Maria, the Golden Boys, and Evinha. In 1969 Arthur Verocai began his professional career as musician and arranger. He scored the music for the theater show "Is The Greater", and wrote his first arrangements for orchestra. He arranged records by the Ter?o, Jorge Benjor, Elizeth Cardoso, Gal Costa, Quarteto em Cy, MPB 4, C?lia, Guilherme Lamounier, N?lson Gon?alves, Marcos Valle, and others. His music also appeared in the musical "The Life of Braguinha", alongside Elizeth Cardoso, Quarteto em Cy, MPB4 and Sidney Magal. By 1970 he was writing for other groups and regularly composing music for multiple TV shows and incidental music for TV series. The 1972 self-titled album allowed Verocai to take his interest in instrumental music even further. "I always wanted to compose soundtracks in great style, as in the cinema, but this wasn't possible with television work," he says. "My opportunity came when I was recording this album. I created a rhythmic cell in the acoustic guitar with the harmonic line. I added bass and the non-conventional drums and the percussion with a very smooth orchestration in blocks (four trumpets and a flute) plus the delicate touch of the strings (12 violins, 4 violas and 4 cellos). At the end of the song, Oberdan Magalh?es played and sang with his flute." The resulting track is "Sylvia". "Presente Grego" is perhaps the funkiest track on the album. "This song was influenced by American soul and funk," says Verocai. "By 1972 many of the musicians of my generation were feeling the same influences. Because of our exposure to all many musical influences, we put a distance between us and the conventional recording styles. "Presente Grego" means "Greek gift." It is an expression that comes from the horse of Troy, a gift from the Greeks that hid the warriors that defeated the Troyans. Likewise, the military dictatorship, under the appearance of a good government, practiced censorship and oppression", he explains. In addition to the funky soul elements the album features many solos from artists obviously well schooled in Jazz. Check the soloing in "Pelas Sombras" or "Karina", where saxes blow hard and true against the backdrop of Brazilian rhythms. "My musical preferences go from J.S. Bach and Villa-Lobos, to jazz musicians like Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery and Bill Evans," explains Verocai. "I remember Edson Maciel, was invited to a studio session at 9 AM and was to perform a solo on "Karina." He asked us to wait for a while because he wanted to be inspired by some "cacha?a" (a Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugar cane juice). While rehearsing, he asked for a little more "cacha?a" to bring on some more inspiration. This happened twice until he found his inspiration and performed a tremendous solo!" remembers Verocai. In the years after the album release Arthur Verocai became a music advertising executive, creating and producing albums for customers like Brahma, Fanta, Petrobra's, South America, Souza Cruz and was even honored with the Colunistas Prize in Advertising. Since 1983 he is the main proprietor of Studio "V" - House of the Sound and in 2002 he released a solo album "Arthur Verocai - "Saudade Demais" featuring a collection of his work as composer, including some unreleased songs. Arthur Verocai's musical peer Ivan Lins has this to say about his great friend, "Arthur is a very dedicated musician. He has always been. Not only dedicated but very talented also. He made this record years ago just for the fun of it without much publicity. And now will strike back. That's great!"


DISCO



BLACK LODGE- A BLACK LODGE EDIT 2X12” (white label, uk)
29.98usd/17.95gbp/19.90eur/2625jpy (approx)


*Featuring 2 rarities re-edited, plus 4 new tracks. Bits of rude boy rocksteady, disco, synth-wave, Arabic pop, rock. 500 only, presented in hand painted sleeves, and numbered.

ACTRESS- SPLAZSH 2LP (honest jon’s, uk)
24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*the eagerly awaited second album by Werk Discs founder and controller Darren Cunningham. Splazsh is an adventurous, ultra-modern, thoroughly British affair, rummaging about in the inner lives of house and techno, and brilliantly elaborating the accomplishments of his debut, Hazyville (WERK 005CD). Determinedly off‐the‐map and resistant to pigeonholing, Cunningham is an enigmatic and playful figure, citing Francis Bacon and Monet as inspirations alongside Theo Parrish, Anthony "Shake" Shakir, Daft Punk, "binary codes and numeral systems," and The Avengers. He's a hard man to pin down -- somehow a key player in the post‐dubstep diaspora and yet not there at all -- but everything comes across in his shape‐shifting, richly-textured music. The South Londoner's acclaimed debut lived up to its name: a series of dream-like sketches and ideas. For Splazsh, the fog has lifted, the sounds are less submerged than before, but still sticky and close -- a signature combination of exuberance and introversion, luminescence and puzzlement. Unconstrained by the formal clichés of the dance music he loves, Actress' melodies and arrangements are enthralled by their own genies. Worlds of disturbance and melancholy revolve giddyingly inside the insidious funk of tracks like "Get Ohn" and "Lost." A range of musical influences is redrawn, from speed-garage to grime, with none crowned king. There is a reflectiveness -- the ambient drift of "Futureproofing," the radiophonic judder of "Supreme Cunnilingus" -- in amongst the industrial, synth‐wave flavors of "Casanova," and the stirring, stately "Maze." Actress has quickly and justly become one of the most respected names in the UK's new dance music underground. His own label, Werk Discs, has proven itself one of the most formidable and taste‐making UK independents of recent times, bringing the world extraordinary albums from Zomby, Lukid, Lone and Actress himself. In love with the mysteries of groove and repetition, Splazsh is both a culmination and a new beginning for Actress -- a substantial and eccentric work from a brave and coolly individual artist.

RISCO CONNECTION- RISCO CONNECTION 2LP (musica paradiso, japan)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Gatefold double LP version… In the late 1970s, Joe Isaacs put together a very unique dub/disco/reggae project called Risco Connection. The group released multiple 12" singles covering classic disco tracks and was able to successfully take the original songs and make them their own. Risco Connection is more popular today than they were 30 years ago and this 12-track unreleased album is a must-have for any fan of good music.

ROBERT HOOD- OMEGA 3LP+CD (m-plant, usa)
34.98usd/20.94gbp/23.22eur/3063jpy (approx)


*3LP version. Includes CD of the entire album. Detroit's legendary Robert Hood returns after 2009's Minimal Nation (MPM 001CD/LP) re-issue with his new artist album Omega. The album is based on the 1971 classic science fiction film, The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston and derived from Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend (which was re-adapted to the big screen). The album is not intended as an exact soundtrack to run alongside the original film, but Hood was heavily influenced by the movie and he has used it as his inspiration. This album's concept is a long-held vision of Hood's and the film's stimulus has presented itself both musically here, and even spiritually for him, since he watched it as a child. Its themes appear even more relevant today and continue to haunt: "It's definitely metaphoric," he says, "and if we don't heed the signs, this is where we'll end up. We live in a society where we just consume. We just take. We don't operate on the concept of giving." The film resonated with him throughout the years, and there are many parallels between the post-apocalyptic world portrayed in the film and parts of Detroit where he grew up. "You can look at downtown Detroit at night after the nine to five have migrated home and it turns into a ghost town," he muses. "You had abandoned buildings during the crack epidemic and this progressive city had these 'zombies' walking the street. Detroit is a prophetic vision of the sign of things to come." While the brooding "Towns That Disappeared Completely" and laser-strafed "War In The Streets" certainly brings these comparisons together, the album still remains a work of science fiction, albeit one rooted in decaying urban realism as opposed to otherworldly fantasy. Tracks such as "Are You God?" delve into the "messiah complex" of Charlton Heston's last-man-on-earth battle to save humankind from the infected inhabitants of earth, while the album's preceding single "Alpha" is dancefloor minimalism at its finest -- yet another lesson in stripped-down machine funk. Floating between the cinematic experimentalism of "The Plague (Cleansing Maneuvers)," the low-key minimal grooves of "The Workers Of Iniquity," and the pure dancefloor adrenalin rush of "Omega (End Times)," Robert Hood gives us another minimal masterpiece. As Hood himself concludes. "This movie is an exercise in faith. Everybody is dead. Through all this adversity, there is still hope, but man has to repent. This is a message of hope and through the adversity, people will begin to look at a higher force.” Housed in an epic die-cut cover with printed innersleeves.

ROBERT HOOD- INTERNAL EMPIRE 2LP (tresor, belgium)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Tresor represses the genre-defining minimalist classic from Robert Hood, Internal Empire. It is clear how much Robert Hood has characterized and impressed the electronic music scene with Internal Empire. The fact that in modern days techno is characterized by Detroit is a credit that is owed to this record in particular. Originally released in 1994 and long unavailable, Internal Empire is a Detroit classic of perfectly looping minimalist repetition. Hood has since released music for Cheap, his own Drama and later M-Plant, and countless other labels, but this is his defining moment and one of the heaviest, most abstract Detroit records -- with near-perfect sound construction. Robert Hood's official contribution to the music scene in Detroit at the end of 1990 was selling records made by other musicians. He was MCing and recording music cassettes until Jeff Mills and Mike Banks discovered the young talent and got Hood to work at their studio, forming the Underground Resistance label. His premier as a songwriter debuted on X-101 with "G-Force" and "Rave New World." He received all kinds of support from the two masterminds Mills and Banks -- Hood calls the two his mentors, who also promoted his idea to found his own label Hardwax, where he developed his very own unique musical signature. After UR split up, he still worked together with Jeff Mills and the two of them founded the Axis label. A little while later, the busy Robert Hood created yet another outlet of his creativity: M-Plant Records. With Internal Empire, he redefined techno, reducing sounds to their essentials, while continuing to develop in new, revolutionary directions.

DREXCIYA- NEPTUNE'S LAIR 2LP (tresor, belgium)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Detroit's Drexciya, with their close ties to Underground Resistance, emerged in 1991. With an encoded agenda and socio-political mission aimed at the world, a new page of Drexciya's grand history was written entitled Neptune's Lair, featuring 21 exclusive tracks released in the fall of 1999. Drexciya is the sound of originality embodying all the musical styles and history that Detroit the city has seen and been part of. Drexciya is music for change that defies categorization; traditionally armed with freestyle electro, techno, funk, and jazz while covering an entire spectrum of moods ranging from the dark, foreboding "Intro" to the shimmering beauty of "Polymono Plexusgel." While words won't do Neptune's Lair proper justice, rootsy Kraftwerkian techno ("Universal Element" and "Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam"), gives way to G-style electro ("Fusion Flats" and "Andreaen Sand Dunes"), while jazzy freestyle funk ("Running Out Of Space" and "Funk Release Valve") evolves alongside classic 4/4 club sound ("Species Of The Pod," "Devil Ray Cove" and "Lost Vessel"). Although the roots run deep, Neptune's Lair heralded an important new chapter in the musical connections between Detroit's finest and Tresor.

JEFF MILLS- WAVEFORM TRANSMISSION VOL.1 2LP (tresor, belgium)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*This is part of a series of re-released titles, formerly licensed away by Tresor Records to other labels. This is the debut album from seminal techno DJ Jeff Mills, recorded in Detroit and released in 1992. Waveform Transmission Vol. 1 is a time-capsule of electronic music at its high point, a musical work that shows the state of electronic music in 1992 while giving important, retrospective hints towards the possible future of this genre. Even today, there has been no production in this music style that has not been influenced by this album -- a classic of brutal, rock-breaking strength that continues to guide ever since its first release.

JEFF MILLS- WAVEFORM TRANSMISSION VOL.3 2LP (tresor, belgium)
26.98usd/16.15gbp/17.91eur/2362jpy (approx)


*Waveform Transmission Vol. 3 by the legendary American techno artist Jeff Mills is part of a series of re-released titles, formerly licensed away by Tresor Records to other labels. This is the last in the legendary Waveform Transmission series, originally released in 1994 and arguably a stylistic swan song. Markedly less ruthless than Waveform Transmission Vol. 1, this volume saw Mills expand his palette of beats and textures into slightly more futuristic territory, while still retaining his hold on hard loops and his signature relentless tempos.

X-102- TITAN EP 12” (tresor, germany)
15.98usd/9.57gbp/10.61eur/1399jpy (approx)


*In 1992 Jeff Mills, Mike Banks and Robert Hood – still known at that time as Underground Resistance – released what was probably the most futuristic album in modern electronic music: “X-102 discovers The Rings Of Saturn” (Tresor.004/UR), as part of their X-10… series. The tracks on X-102 were reduced to minimal levels, looping with a marginal BMP rate, spacey and sometimes entirely without beats. This was revolutionary: listeners had just become accustomed to the uncompromising Detroit techno sound that the three of them had produced so far.


GIFT CERTIFICATES



gift certificates are always available in any denomination and come in a envelope ready to be stocking stuffed, slipped into pockets or dispensed in any way you see fit. they can be paid for in cash, credit card (visa, master card or discover) or paypal in person, phoned in or via email. gift certificates not paid for in person can either be mailed to you, or we can keep it in shop if the recipient plans to use it for mail-order.


ADDRESS



tequila sunrise records

525 w. girard avenue

(btwn 5th and 6th streets)

philadelphia, pa 19123


SUBWAY: blue or orange line to girard ave TROLLY: 15 to 5th street BUS: 57 to girard; 47 to girard


MAP


t/us: 1215 965 9616

t/uk: 0203 004 8357


e: ajv@tequilasunriserecords.com

u: www.tequilasunriserecords.com

b: www. tequilasunriserecordshop.blogspot.com

f: tequila sunrise/facebook

m: www.myspace.com/tequilasunriserecords

t:www. twitter.com/tequilasunriser


HOURS



monday: 12:00-6:00pm/est

tuesday: 12:00-6:00pm/est

Wednesday: 12:00-6:00pm/est

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friday: 12:00-6:00pm/est

saturday: 12:00-6:00pm/est

sunday: 12:00-6:00pm/est



Monday, June 7, 2010

NEW ARRIVALS/RESTOCKS FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 3

NEW ARRIVALS AND RESTOCKS THURSDAY, JUNE 3


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thanks for looking.


better late than never… sorry for the delay, the memorial day holiday and sudden burst of oppressive heat/humidity slowed down the gears around here. either way, yet another list of solid goods for you perusal filled with tons restocked and new essentials, all perfect listening material for the summer days ahead… read about em here or for optimal results, come on by the shop and check em out in person. as always, to stay on top of all the recent arrivals (as well as other odds and ends of interest), follow tequila sunrise records on facebook and/or twitter ! gotta run, hope to see you soon!


gracias


anthony vogdes


as always, many of these titles are in very limited quantity, so if you're interested in anything listed below and can’t make it to the shop you can make a purchase via paypal or over the phone with a credit card and pick them up later or have them shipped (see more information below). i will no longer hold records. sorry.


prices are subject to change without notice.


prices do not include shipping and handling. for those of you shipping within the continental united states I offer a 5.00usd flat shipping rate for any amount of records and/or compact discs. shipping cost for international orders are calculated on an order by order basis. payments for orders can be made via paypal or with a credit card by telephone between 12-6pm/est.


i also offer bike messanger service via timecycle couriers. for the low cost of 10.00usd i can deliver any amount of records and/or cds you wish to purchase to your center city philadelphia location (this includes some parts of south, west and north philadelphia) within two hours (and for those of you who need your records even faster, we also offer ‘rush’ service for the low flat rate of 20.00usd for any amount of records/cds delivered to you within one hour). of course, we are still more than happy to ship records via the usps within philadelphia. orders placed before 5pm/est will ship out that evening and should reach their destination by the following day.


ROCK AND PSYCHEDELIC



THE DEAD C- CLYMA EST MORT/TENTATIVE POWER 2LP (ba da bing, usa)
19.98usd/11.96gbp/13.26eur/1749jpy (approx)


*Relegated to expensive fodder for eBay bidders until now, Clyma Est Mort can be considered The Dead C's "Ed Sullivan moment," except it wasn't performed live on network TV--it was recorded in a practice room in Port Chalmers, NZ, in 1992 with the inestimable Tom Lax of Siltbreeze as the sole member of the audience. Since the goal was to make a "fake bootleg" album for release on the mythical Proletariat Idiots Productions label--and in honor of the 13th Floor Elevators (often overlooked as an influence)--the band dubbed in fake audience noise from a gig by the Renderers. Despite the deliberate incompetence with which this was accomplished, Clyma is often touted as a "live album." This is only true in the sense that the band members were alive when they made it. This double-LP reissue includes Tentative Power, a collection of non-album tracks many consider among the band's best moments.

THE DEAD C- MAX HARRIS LP (ba da bing, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*Max Harris captures the first recordings The Dead C ever made, back in January 1987. Each side displays a different and uniquely raw version of "Max Harris"--reinterpreted both times by a group who can truly say they have never played the same song in any form the same way twice. Anyone who doesn't own one of the original 21 cassette tapes made of these recordings will be hearing them together for the first time. Yes, they've never been on vinyl before, so maybe one can even say this is the tracks' first "real" release. You will be able to feel the slicing tension and drive right through your bones.

THE DEAD C- SECRET EARTH LP (ba da bing, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*dead c/ba da bing back catalog title in stock for the first time… The elegance of howling guitar noise was fully realized when The Dead C appeared. For over twenty years now, the trio has continually redefined what rock music is and can sound like, and have inspired Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Wolf Eyes, and Comets On Fire, not to mention the current fertile underground noise scene. The Dead C is the ultimate blues band. But rather than departing from the heartfelt singing of the African-American South, they express the tenets of alienation in society with unrelenting force--a focused soundtrack to accompany Knut Hamsun novels, Samuel Beckett plays, and Ingmar Bergman films. Michael Morley's monotonic vocal moan anchors the inherent isolation of our modern world--nothing is more earnest, nothing sounds so lost. In its career, The Dead C has oscillated between two poles. Recent albums explore drones, electronic loops, and musique concrete. However, their new album, Secret Earth, proselytizes oceanic feedback, catastrophic drumming, and a return to the cripple rock blasts of their early material.

THE DEAD C- FUTURE ARTISTS 2LP (ba da bing, usa)
21.98usd/13.16gbp/14.59eur/1924jpy (approx)


THE DEAD C- FUTURE ARTISTS CD (ba da bing, usa)
13.98usd/8.37gbp/9.28eur/1224jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked on cd, vinyl in stock for the first time… In their first new album since 2003’s The Damned and last year’s double-CD greatest hits behemoth, Vain, Erudite and Stupid, New Zealand’s The Dead C return with another uncompromising realization of the finest rock improvisation you’ll ever hear. Future Artists contains five tracks of genius drone and barbarous clashing sounds. From the first track, “The AMM of Punk Rock” through to the last, “Garage,” their intensity is unyielding, their inventiveness jaw-dropping. It’s been twenty years, and The Dead C show no sign of losing their ability to express the surreal and undefined. Long may they prosper.

THE DEAD C- TUSK CD (siltbreeze, usa)
13.98usd/8.37gbp/9.28eur/1224jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked on cd… After years of flirting with profound torpor, the finger is removed from the carb and New Zealand’s favorite sluggish trio gets a lung full of bigtime entropy. Slow, quiet, and barely played, this masterpiece sounds like it was recorded by several death row inmates on morphine. The future of rock right here, right now.


SOFT ROCK AND LIGHT PSYCHEDELIC HARMONY



PAUL WATKINS & BROOKS POSTON- YOUNG GIRL 7” (helter skelter, usa)
6.98usd/4.18gbp/4.63eur/611jpy (approx)


*Breathtaking, innocently sinful folk obscurity from Paul Watkins & Brooks Poston of the Manson clan, developed in their wholly insular community of impulse, drugs, violence and marked creativity. 'Young Girl' reveals a softer, affecting beauty, the antithesis of their well-known exploits at the fringes of sadism and hatred: a spontaneous convergence of raw, self-taught instrumentation and the stupefyingly gorgeous voice of these outcastes. Fallen down a rabbit hole beyond their own comprehension, their song elaborates the fable of a similarly embattled youth, assaulted by the harsh landscape of adulthood and her struggle to retain the purity of childhood, free from the insanity of maturity and civilization. A search for key answers of adolescence and a simultaneous refutation of the intellect, 'Young Girl' reminds us that even in the depths of darkness, ignorance and despair, the most beautiful specimens of creation and transcendence can flourish. One-sided release.

CATHERINE HOWE- WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE LP (numero group, usa)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite now available on vinyl… Since arriving on London racks in the summer of 1970, Catherine Howe's debut album has been unavailable in its original format. Less than 20 LP copies survived Reflection Records' demise, and the album sat in the can until Numero's 2007 CD issue. Produced by the legendary jazz pianist Bobby Scott, this orchestral-folk master stroke has once again been set to lacquer, remastered and restored directly from the original master tapes specifically for this deluxe vinyl release. Gatefold package includes replica LP art and complete annotation on the sessions and history of this forgotten Brit-folk treasure." "It's like some missing link between Sandy Denny and Karen Carpenter, or between Ladies of the Canyon and Dusty in Memphis . If you buy no other reissue this year, buy this. - Barney Hoskyns, Guardian UK

BRUNER- SONGS FOR A FRIEND MLP (numerophon, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*For those puzzled by the cryptic jacket, NPH 44002 is the last of Linda Bruner’s known recordings, laid down sometime between her Vincent-issued “Sam” 45 and her brief tenure collaborating with Pisces. We hinted at its existence about a year back when we previewed a dour rendition of “Don’t Let Me Down.” Now we’re finally sharing the entire six track reel with the world. Songs For A Friend was tracked in 1970 in the back of Neilson’s Music Store on 7th Avenue in Rockford, Illinois. The box literally says “Linda’s Tape For Friend,” and we can only surmise that it was an attempt at a home spun mix tape from a time before mix tapes even existed. Her covers of “Wichita Lineman” and “Rainy Night In Georgia” are stirring, her powerful voice accompanied only by Jim Krein’s hushed acoustic guitar and coaxing’s. What we’re saying is, this shit’s not for the faint at heart.

NIELA MILLER- SONGS OF LEAVING LP (numerophon, usa)
19.98usd/11.96gbp/13.26eur/1749jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… First release on a new Numero Group subsidiary label. Culled from a warped acetate cut at Variety Recording Service in 1962, Songs Of Leaving is the complete songbook of New York folkie Niela Miller. Something of a Bleeker & MacDougal scenester, Miller picked up the guitar after an encounter with Eric Weissberg, lent her Martin to Pete Seeger, and even had Dave Van Ronk cover 'Mean World Blues.' Her real claim to fame, however, is writing 'Baby Don't Go To Town,' a song that boyfriend Billy Roberts would steal and 'rewrite' as 'Hey Joe.' You've heard Hendrix, Love, the Byrds, the Creation, Wilson Pickett and hundreds others do it, now hear the original for the first time.


PUNK AND POST PUNK



ZOLA JESUS- STRIDULUM 12” (sacred bones, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Since her debut lp for Sacred Bones last summer, Zola Jesus’s profile has grown exponentially. Her video for “Clay Bodies” debuted on The Fader and her likeness was plastered all over the Internet. The Spoils made dozens of year-end lists including The Wire, Pitchfork, The Fader, and Dusted, and fans and critics alike now seem rabid for new material. So without further ado, we present Stridulum, the new, far less lo-fi 6-song ep from Nika Roza Danilova. Recording her vocals for the first time with professional instruments, Nika’s voice is brought to the powerful forefront of the mix unleashing the full range of emotions that had previously only been hinted at in her previous work. It’s a siren song for the apocalypse, which manages to come across immensely nurturing at the same time.

MOON DUO- KILLING TIME 12” (sacred bones, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… moon duo is the solo alter-ego of wooden shjips guitarist and singer ripley johnson. Under the Moon Duo moniker Johnson creates expansive Krautrock influenced tapestries of warm cascading fuzz and controlled feedback, organ, and accenting keyboard. This four-song EP is the second release and incorporates a much more concise, composed and driving sound than before. Johnson expands on ideas only hinted at on the Sick Thirst 12-inch (which is already long gone) adding a driving drum machine beat behind the thick walls of layered sound.

CHICKENS- CHICKEN SHIT 7” (siltbreeze, usa)
7.98usd/4.78gbp/5.30eur/698jpy (approx)


*Debut vinyl outing from Kyle & Mike (2/3rds FNU Ronnies + drum machine) following a cassette on Fan Death as well as a track contrib on last year's 'Skulls Without Borders' 10" comp. Can't say for certain where Chickens mine the toxic ore to forge their urk, but they uncannily tap into similar staub once snuffed by prime Euro movers such as early Dieter Meier & Geisterfahrer not to mention channeling the nascent vibe of Amphetamine Reptile (think Halo of Flies 'Insecticide Stomp' in particular). 4 tracks, 1 time edition of 400, no repress.

NAKED ON THE VAGUE- HEAPS OF NOTHING LP (siltbreeze, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*For this second full-length effort, Naked on the Vague eschew their tantalizingly sparse duo attack for a quartet line-up, and the results are as sensational as they are sinister. While the rickety, no-wave splat found on previous efforts had its appeal, the heft of a "proper" rhythm section has only helped Naked on the Vague delve deeper into the landscape of post-punk murk. Bleak, unrepentant, withering and droll, Heaps of Nothing is a 21st century codification of the gallows wit and mesmerizing otherworldliness of (Dub Housing-era) Pere Ubu, Primitive Calculators and Lemon Kittens. Shuttling mutant urbanity from past to present, Naked on the Vague is only too eager to confirm that the Earth isn't flat. Because Heaps of Nothing is here to flatten it.

NAKED ON THE VAGUE- BLOOD PRESSURE SESSIONS LP (siltbreeze, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Lucy Phelan and M.P. Hopkins hail from Sydney, Australia. Behind a basic framework of keyboard, bass, and vocals (and all manner of tinkered-with percussion) Naked on the Vague's distinct aggregate of sound calls to mind everything from SPK to Mars and beyond. Or, as they're fond of calling them in Philly, "the Death Star version of Times New Viking." Originally released in 2007 on CD by the fearless Australian Dual Plover label, The Blood Pressure Sessions ventures into a darker realm than their debut 7-inch (also on Dual Plover) had erroneously suggested. Propelled by the sharp, rhythmic snare drum beat and anchored by thunderous, fuzzed bass-lines and stinging, swinging organ and synth fills, Phelan and Hopkins take turns rounding out the vocal duties, giving the whole of their sound a sonorous curtain of ecstatic foreboding. Betraying a gallows wit, the band refers to their music as "apocalyptic pop," which could be construed as both drowning and waving.

PUFFY AREOLAS- IN THE ARMY 1981 LP (siltbreeze, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*For the past few years, Puffy Areolas have been fritzing synapses and scorching the landscape with their corroded psych / hardcore scree. Enlightened by the most unhinged charters of Acid Archives and Killed by Death alumnus, the Puffies' sound might best be described as embodying the Stooges' Raw Power if your pretty face had gone to hell. There, it would have encountered (among others) White Boy and The Average Rat Band, Tampax, Opus and Mag Amplitude for an eternal damnation of scarred depravity, the excesses of which would be legendary even by Hades standards.
In the Army 1981 is its own sadistic brand of plastic surgery, heavy on the anesthetic, short any bedside manner. Rude and ready for action, Puffy Areolas will forever be the bull in the china shop. And if that's China White you're talkin' about--well, friend, meet your new Daddy.

MOON DUO- ESCAPE 12” (woodsist, usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… San Francisco's Moon Duo was formed in 2009 by Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson (Wooden Shjips). Inspired initially by the legendary John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, Moon Duo counts such variant groups as Silver Apples, Royal Trux, Moolah, Suicide, and Cluster as touchstones. Utilizing primarily guitar, keyboards, percussion, and vocals, the pair plays space against form to create a primordial and disorienting sonic stew. They released two acclaimed records in 2009: the Love on the Sea 12-inch single on Sick Thirst and the Killing Time EP on Sacred Bones. Escape, their debut long-player on Woodsist, marks the fullest realization yet of the young group's evolving sound.


FUNK AND SOUL



V/A- ECCENTRIC BREAKS & BEATS LP (numero group usa)
16.98usd/10.17gbp/11.27eur/1487jpy (approx)


*Over the course of seven years and over 70 releases, a fan began to create a mega-mix of his favorite loops, breaks, and vocal snippets, chopping them all up and piecing together an incredible musical narrative–a 40 minute, saw blade-labeled 12” boot that was pressed and seeded to handful of DJs and producers. Naturally, word got back to Numero, but instead of issuing the obvious cease and desist letter, the label decided to go one better. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so in a true nod to all fans out there, the Numero Group, via our Numbero imprint, is issuing Eccentric Breaks & Beats as an homage to the breaks and beats collections of yore, bootlegging our own bootleg, as it were. It took some time and effort, but we were finally able to track down the creator of this essential collection, and delighted to discover that it was the apocryphal label and production team, Shoes, who have previously re-worked Moodyman, Al Green, Miles Davis, and dozens more. Featuring over 50 tracks from some of the best artists associated with Numero, it’s both an essential turntable item and an intriguing musical puzzle.


GLOBAL SOUNDS



CHARANJIT SINGH- TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT 2LP
(bombay connection, netherlands)
29.98usd/17.95gbp/19.90eur/2625jpy (approx)


*Gatefold 2LP version. Until recently it wasn't much more than some rumors on the web: an LP called Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat featuring acid house avant la lettre, that was recorded in 1982 in India, 5 years before the first acid house record, Acid Trax by Phuture. It was even rumored to be a prank spawned by Richard D. James (Aphex Twin). So it turns out, the record was no rumor. Only a few hundred copies of the LP were ever pressed, and only a handful seem to have survived. Moreover, the LP outdoes all expectations. Performed on the synths that would later define acid house, the Roland TB-303 and TR-808, the album sounds light years ahead of its time with its repetitive beats and hypnotic electronic melodies. Its maker, Bollywood session musician Charanjit Singh (featured on Sublime Frequencies' Bollywood Steel Guitar compilation), set out to translate ancient Indian classical ragas to the modern synthesizer and in doing so invented house music along the way. The 10 tracks make a consistent listen from A to Z. Its restrained minimalism and lack of cheesiness makes it incredibly contemporary, sounding animated, fluid and unabashedly alive. Includes extended liner notes on Charanjit Singh and the context in which the album was recorded. "...a haunting, exotic prefiguration of acid's steely futurism, a bit like Kraftwerk live at the Taj Mahal, somehow summoned from the past but envisioning the future at the same time." -- Resident Advisor

TINARIWEN- IMIDIWAN: COMPANIONS LP (independiente, uk)
23.98usd/14.36gbp/15.92eur/2100jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Imidiwan: Companions is Tinariwen's fourth release for World Village and it possesses all the elements that have made them so magnetic to Western ears: raw simplicity, melodic beauty and songs ranging from the epic and universal to the intimate and personal. The album was recorded in the Malian village of Tessalit, home of band members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Hassan Ag Touhami. Already a certified bestseller, Imidiwan: Companions is now being issued as a limited edition, single-pressing lp.

PRINCE NICO MBARGA AND ROCAFIL JAZZ INTERNATIONAL- COOL MONEY LP
(klimt, france) 29.98usd/17.95gbp/19.90eur/2625jpy (approx)


*Prince Nico Mbarga (1950-1997) was a half-Cameroonian Nigerian highlife vocalist and guitarist whose music played a significant role in the evolution of African pop music. His 1976 hit song 'Sweet Mother' (which sold more than 13 million copies) is so popular that is sometimes called 'Africa's anthem', no small feat for a continent with such a rich musical tradition! Like many, Prince Nico began playing with a hotel band in 1970, and by 1973 had his first local hit. Cool Money is a rare 1979 album, originally released on the Nigerian RAS (Roger's All Stars) label, when the artist was at the height of his success. Prince Nico was unfortunately killed in 1997 in a motorcycle accident, which of course, has only added to his legend.

CHIEF BRIGADIER OLU ONI AND HIS MARATHON SYSTEM- JUJU MARATHON SYSTEM VOL. 1 LP (klimt, france)
28.98usd/17.35gbp/19.24eur/2538jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… A traditional form of Nigerian popular music, Juju spreads from the ancient Yoruba percussion style and its first recordings can be dated back to the 1920s. Taking its name from the shamanic rituals of the southwestern regions, Juju evolved into a very popular musical genre in the '60s and '70s when artists of the caliber of King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey (aka Chief Commander) took it to a new apex, blending traditional instruments -- like the talking drum with elements of western music, such as the guitar. Chief Brigadier Olu Oni adds to this extremely popular genre a hint of international elements, and this record has brought Juju beyond West Africa and into the rest of the world.

SIR WARRIOR AND HIS ORIGINAL BROTHERS INTERNATIONAL BAND- ONYE OBULA ZOBA ISI ONWEYA LP (klimt, france)
28.98usd/17.35gbp/19.24eur/2538jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… This 1981 album epitomizes the incredible career of a prodigy, who started at age 11 as a member of an Ese ensemble, a traditional Nigerian form of choral music, and has since excelled in many of the varied forms of African music. The most distinctive genre created by Sir Warrior (born Ezebuiro Obinna) is the one known as Nigerian 'high-life' music, a modernization of Ghanian high-life obtained by combining elements of tradition with a modern musical approach. In Warrior's case incredibly gifted guitar playing combined with lyrics deriving from traditional Igbo proverbs made him a pop icon and superstar, with hundreds of hits and dozens of best selling records all over Africa.

V/A- NIGERIA SPECIAL VOLUME 2: MODERN HIGHLIFE, AFRO-SOUNDS & NIGERIAN BLUES 1970-76 3LP (soundway, uk)
31.98usd/19.15gbp/21.23eur/2800jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… The Soundway label presents a second volume in their Nigeria Special series. This volume features tracks that have been forgotten or out of print for nearly 35 years, but have since been tracked down and documented by Miles Cleret. The fruits of this arduous labor has taken over 10 years of dedication, research and travel to Nigeria, now culminating in the final part of Soundway's extensive survey of Nigeria's forgotten musical history. The range of styles on Nigeria Special Volume 2 vary from highlife to Juju and Nigerian blues in the languages of Yoruba, Igbo, Bini and Ijaw. With a peppering of "Afro" experimentation, the same musical stew pervades volume 2 as its predecessor -- some artists appear again alongside some new artists as the emphasis continues to focus on the laid-back and mid-tempo feel found on volume 1. It includes the bluesy guitar band style of The Otarus and The Peacocks International Guitar Band, sitting opposite the more uptempo sound of highlife legends Stephen Osita Osadebe (here bringing his Igbo version of the Cuban standard "Peanut Vendor") and Paulson Kalu. Progressive outfits Black Zenith's', The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination, Tunji Oyelana, The Nkengas, Opotopo and Joy Nwoso remind us that these were indeed experimental times with their fusions of jazz, highlife and in the case of Nwoso, opera!

V/A- NIGERIA AFROBEAT SPECIAL: THE NEW EXPLOSIVE SOUND IN 1970S NIGERIA 3LP (soundway, uk)
31.98usd/19.15gbp/21.23eur/2800jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… This is the fourth addition to the Nigeria Special series, a project initiated in 2004 by Miles Cleret, owner of the Soundway record label. Focusing on the big-band sound dominated by wailing saxophones, brass solos and relentless poly-rhythmic grooves, Nigeria Afrobeat Special delivers a no-nonsense collection of tracks that (bar one) have NEVER been re-issued outside of Nigeria. It was Fela Kuti and his musical and political ideals that formed the core of Afrobeat's message. Fela's highly sought-after version of "Who're You?" lends this set its lead. Originally released on 7" in 1971, it would later be re-recorded at Abbey Road for his album Fela's London Scene and is re-issued here for the first time ever. The collection features Fela's rival and fellow Afrobeat veteran Orlando Julius, represented by the track "Afro-Blues" -- amazing that this has previously managed to escape re-issue. Also featured are tracks by big names on the Nigerian scene -- Eric Akaeze, Bongos Ikwue and Segun Bucknor as well as a Victor Uwaifo-produced cut by previously unknown artist Andrew "Madman" Jaga. The album also features a cut featuring Pax Nicholas, a singer whose album Na Teef Know De Road Of Teef has recently been made available after 30 years. Cleret's ambition to distinguish the blossoming music scenes of 1970s Nigeria has lent to an indispensable series of CD and LP compilations documenting the influence of western blues, rock and disco amongst artists and musicians versed in the local musical styles of highlife and juju.

V/A- NIGERIA DISCO FUNK SPECIAL: THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND LAGOS DANCEFLOOR 1974-79 2LP (soundway, uk)
24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Lagos, Nigeria, 1974-1979: the funk & disco capital of West Africa. More nightclubs, bars, spots and dancefloors than any place along the coast from Dakar all the way to Kinshasa. Nigeria Disco Funk Special is an amazing collection of heavy dancefloor grooves from urban Lagos in the '70s -- hot and driving slices of funk, disco and boogie that show just how vibrant the music scene was in one of West Africa's most populous and culturally diverse cities. In the '70s, it wasn't just James Brown who influenced the musicians playing in the nightspots of Lagos -- the loose-structured and elongated jams that he was pioneering in America had been a part of Nigerian music much longer than that. This album is the sound of Cuban-heeled and micro-minied Lagos youth soaking up the sound of the American discotheque and putting their own inimitable twist on the proceedings. The CD and double gatefold vinyl include rare tracks from famous musicians like Bongos Ikwue & The Groovies and Mono Mono's Joni Haastrup, as well as selections from cult bands like Asiko Rock Group, SJOB Movement and Jay-U Experience. Other artists include: The Sahara All Stars, T-Fire, Voices Of Darkness and Dr. Adolf Aonotu.

V/A- NIGERIA ROCK SPECIAL: PSYCHEDELIC AFRO-ROCK & FUZZ FUNK IN 1970S NIGERIA 2LP (soundway, uk)
24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Nigeria Rock Special shines a light on the flipside of the well-documented sounds of highlife and Afrobeat coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s -- young bands caught up in the wave of psychedelic and progressive rock that was sweeping Europe and the States in the late '60s and early '70s. As time goes by, the many layers of musical output that formed around the world throughout the 1960s and '70s continues to be peeled back to reveal many welcome surprises. The explosion of rock n' roll that erupted out of the USA in the '50s fanned out around the globe from its epicenter and by the mid-1960s, kids all over the world were picking up guitars and checking themselves in mirrors. Nigeria was no exception. Spurred on by Cream drummer Ginger Baker's visits to Lagos and his band Airforce (featuring many Nigerian musicians), the sound of fuzzed-out rock reverberated around the universities and nightspots of Lagos and Ibadan. The craze that followed hit the youth and student population of Nigeria hard -- mixing fuzz guitar and heavy African rhythms with elements of Led Zeppelin, Traffic and The Chambers Brothers. Fifteen of the best cuts from the scene are available here for the first time in 30 years. Artists include: Ofege, The Action 13, The Hygrades, The Wings, Ofo The Black Company, The Elcados, Mono Mono, Tabukah "X", The Funkees, Colomach, Joe King Kologbo & His Black Sound, Question Mark, Original Wings, Tunji Oyelana and BLO.

V/A- PANAMA!3: CALYPSO PANAMEÑO, GUAJIRA JAZZ AND CUMBIA TÍPICA ON THE ISTHMUS 1960-75 2LP (soundway, uk)
24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… After two very successful and well-received previous volumes of tropical rarities from Panama, co-compilers Roberto Gyemant and Miles Cleret are joined by Will "Quantic" Holland for the final piece of this unique series. Volume 3 showcases more of the unique tropical music created in Panama in the fertile decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Panama is the thin, tropical bridge that connects North and South America, and is home to three million culturally-diverse people; its music is a soulful blend of Latin American, Caribbean, European and indigenous forms. From bilingual calypsos to guajira jazz, from tropical guarachas to cumbia tamboreras, Panamanian musicians fearlessly combined and brilliantly executed styles that reflected their multicultural environment during a turbulent time in the young country's history. This collection presents more of the golden age of Panamanian music and the music of the combos nacionales on rare recordings that have never been released outside the isthmus until now.

V/A- PANAMA!2: LATIN SOUNDS, CUMBIA TROPICAL & CALYPSO FUNK ON THE ISTHMUS, 1967-77 2LP (soundway, uk)
24.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*shop favorite restocked… Soundway presents the second volume in their Panama! series, showcasing the unique tropical music created in Panama during the fertile decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Panama is one of the world's great crossroads -- a bridge between North and South America, and home to the great canal that links the Caribbean and the Pacific. The canal itself was built by a huge workforce from all over the Caribbean and South America, each nationality bringing a taste of their culture and music to make up the hugely diverse nation that exists today. After soaking up the varied influences of Panama's diverse population, the dancefloors and bars spat out a heady mix that took in the raw vallenato of neighboring Colombia, the soul and funk of America, the calypso of Trinidad and the son and rumba of Cuba, all combined and re-styled in a uniquely Panamanian fashion, making Panama a central spoke in the wheel of Caribbean music. Writer and compiler Roberto Ernesto Gyemant travelled throughout the country in search of elusive records and reclusive musicians, tracking down hopeful tips and half-remembered names and addresses. Two years of digging through dusty warehouses and old radio stations in search of crackly records and dusty photos led to an exhaustive look at the musical culture of this fascinating country. If you think salsa is the sum total of Latin American music, then think again -- the hot sound of Panamanian musica tipica and calypso Español throws everything into the mix for a non-stop journey through Afro rhythms, carnival sounds, tipica soul and cumbia madness! Listen to the heavy tamborito rhythm of Los Silvertones and you'll hear where the instantly-recognizable, syncopated beat of modern-day reggaeton was born. Check the countrified re-versioning of Willie Colon's classic "La Murga" -- a perfect riposte to those that think Latin music begins and ends with Shakira. Listen to "La Escoba" by Alfredo y Su Salsa Montañera, and see that the currently in-vogue sound of cumbia owes as much to Panama as it does Colombia.

V/A- THE AFROSOUND OF COLOMBIA VOL. 1 3LP (vampisoul, spain)
39.98usd/14.95gbp/16.58eur/2187jpy (approx)


*Over 2 ½ hours of funky, hot Afro-influenced tracks from the '60s and '70s golden-period of the seminal Discos Fuentes label in Colombia. Forty-three dancefloor hits provide an irresistible mix of genres: salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, tropical funk, and chicha. The story of the Afrosound is a tale of transformation. It tells of the enslaved African peoples who were taken to Colombia, who mixed with Europeans and indigenous inhabitants (by force or choice), and were eventually set free, as well as the escaped cimarrones (maroons) that lived in palenques (fortified settlements) and continued their own traditions. The Afrosound sings of a double diaspora, first the trek in chains during the infamous Middle Passage from the Motherland of Africa to the so-called New World, then much later, the migration from the plantations to the cities. This release deals with the unique sounds produced as a result of the inventive mixing of pop and roots that took place in the urban confines of the Discos Fuentes studios, far from Colombia's coastal regions. The invented term "Afrosound" serves as the title of a thrilling and sometimes odd soundtrack that chronicles the diffusion and evolution of the musical culture from those coastal regions as it was brought inland, where it was translated, simplified, mass marketed, manufactured, modernized, "whitened," globalized, recycled, and then sent back to the world at large, disseminated from the cities of Medellín and Bogotá, where the major bulk of the music production industry resided in the '50s through to the '70s. To tell the story of Afrosound, you not only have to know about the influence of Afro-Antillean music and indigenous Colombian tropical coastal genres, you also have to know something about the history of Discos Fuentes and musician/producer Julio Ernesto "Fruko" Estrada. Suffice it to say that the coastal area of Colombia shares in common with other areas in the Caribbean Antilles a certain tropical mix of sensuality and syncopation that somehow manages to combine joy and pain in a transporting wave of rhythm and melody that is food for the soul. The tracks on this compilation were chosen from the vast archives of Discos Fuentes because they are fun, funky, and unexpected. The title of this compilation comes from one of the Fuentes bands, Afrosound, but here it's taken more as a general term to denote the funkier side of the label's prolific output in the '60s and '70s. The unifying factor for the collection is that the tracks all have something to do with African roots or influences in one way or another, and they mark a period of sonic experimentation, self expression, upheaval, rebellion and rebirth in the industry, nurtured by Discos Fuentes and its stable of musicians, producers, and engineers. Full-color printed inner sleeves include in-depth liner notes with rare photos and original LP artwork.

FELA KUTI & EGYPT 80 BAND- BIG BLIND COUNTRY LP (Yoruba, nigeria)
25.98usd/15.55gbp/17.24eur/2275jpy (approx)


* Totally unreleased album. Lyrics are available on back cover. B.B.C. or Big Blind Country is a real pamphlet against Nigerian's government and army as famous song 'Zombie'. This unreleased track until now was recorded with the Egypt 80 including Femi in the early 1990s with top quality sound. A lost and hypnotic tune from the king of Afro beat. Limited to 1000 copies.


REGGAE AND DANCEHALL



KEITH HUDSON- PLAYING IT COOL & PLAYING IT RIGHT LP (basic replay, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… This is the first release on Basic Channel's reggae reissue imprint, Basic Replay, founded by Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus. Keith Hudson -- as is Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes, his collaborator here -- was a one-off innovator with impeccably classical lineage: his first studio recording involved former Skatalites; his earliest releases provided solid-gold hits for Ken Boothe ("Old Fashioned Way," 1967), John Holt, Delroy Wilson, U-Roy and the rest. Playing It Cool & Playing It Right was released in 1981 on NYC's Joint International label. It was originally intended that one of Hudson's teenage sons would voice the dubs: in the event the Love Joys, Wayne Jarrett, and most inimitably Hudson himself featured at the microphone. Like Wackies, Hudson was a Studio One devotee -- "I used to hold Don Drummond's trombone for him so I can be in the studio," he once recalled -- and the album follows Coxsone Dodd's strategy of overdubbing signature rhythms. The Studio One sides were aimed at the dancefloor; Hudson's reworks of tracks like "Melody Maker" are more psychological. Here deep Barrett Brothers rhythms are remixed deeper with reverb, filters and other distortion, pitched down, everything; and overlaid with new recordings, often heavily treated, of guitar, percussion, keyboard, voice. Playing It Cool & Playing It Right is legendary, strange, utterly compelling music.

KEITH HUDSON- FLESH OF MY SKIN BLOOD OF MY BLOOD LP (basic replay, germany)
19.98usd/11.96gbp/13.26eur/1749jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Originally released in 1974 on Mamba, Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood is the most hallowed of all those reggae albums which remain unavailable, and Keith Hudson's key achievement in a career launched when, as a fourteen-year-old, he recorded members of The Skatalites on his "Shades Of Hudson" rhythm. After a series of solid-gold productions for Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, John Holt, U-Roy and the rest, this album projects Hudson's removal from Jamaica to London and New York studios and transatlantic audiences, and inaugurates a sequence of albums -- classics like Pick A Dub, Brand, Playing It Cool, Playing It Right -- which show his troubled experimentalism better suited to the LP than the cardinal 7" reggae format. Anchored here by Santa Davis and George Fullwood from the Soul Syndicate -- alongside musicians like Augustus Pablo, Count Ossie and Leroy Sibbles -- Hudson's mood is tormented and dazed, as on titles like "Darkest Night," "My Nocturne" and "Testing My Faith," where he struggles for Black senses of commitment --political, existential, religious -- at its breaking point. Magnificently and deadly serious, hauntingly unique, unmissable and unforgettable.

MANKIND- THESE THREE GIRLS/COUNTRY LIFE 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*Double-sided late '80s digital monster, from longtime collaborators Sydney 'Mankind' Francis and Dennis 'Jah D' Fearon! Jah D is one of the unsung heroes of reggae music - uncredited session player and arranger on countless classic sides, including many from Studio One, much of Joe Gibbs' classic roots material, Junior Dan's tunes, as well as piano tuner extraordinaire at just about every legendary studio in Jamaica. Jah D continues to arrange and produce music regularly at his Grant's Pen studio, along with his son, on their own Builder's Music label. Sydney 'Mankind' Francis began as the singer in Jah D's former band Food Clothes & Shelter, while voicing tunes for early '80s labels such as Music Ambassador. By the time of the full-on digital explosion of the late '80s, Mankind was honing his skills as a solo artist, voicing tunes for big labels of the day, such as the wicked 'Hot Number' for Stereo One. It was around this same time that Mankind and Jah D entered Aquarius studio, to work on making some tunes intended for Mankind's debut album, and to be voiced over some wicked new digital riddims freshly built by Jah D on the new digital keyboards and drum-machines which had fast become the standard bearers in dancehall production. Two tunes from this session were given to an upstart UK producer for issue on his new label, and there you have 'These Three Girls' and 'Country Life', originally issued on 12" via the Jah Man label, only in UK. Over twenty-years later, these tunes have been rightfully recognized by astute listeners as classics of their era - the riddims sharp and crisp, the vocals a sweet match, the dubs...heavy! Digikiller humbly re-presents this great music of our friends, these two tunes are one in the world!

AKSUMITES/NIGGER CHARLIE- ARK OF THE COVENANT/COVENANT ROCK 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*From the deepest wellspring of New York City roots, the Bronx, returns one of the most seldom heard and mystical pieces of roots music ever made. The Aksumites were a roots harmony trio unlike any other, and the 'Ark of the Covenant' is their masterpiece. Group leader and songwriter Andrew McCalla came to New York City from Trenchtown in the first half of the 1970s, and quickly took up work as a solo artist and song writer for Bullwackie's and Munchie Jackson, releasing solo tunes on now-legendary labels like Aires. But at the turn of the 1970s into the 1980s, the Aksumites group got to work self-releasing some discomix 12-inches , including this one, a just-shy-of eight minutes long vocal side of singing and chanting, backed by a rhythm heavy enough to match their message. The flip side is the same heavier-than-lead approach, with the rhythm being mixed for vocal delivery in fine deejay style by Nigger Charlie (despite some labels saying 'Dub', the flip has in-fact always been the deejay version!). The incomparable rhythm track was laid in New York by the New Breed Band, now well known for their work on many releases from the Wackie's camp. The rhythm was then taken to Channel One in Kingston, for voicing, overdubbing and mixing. The group released the disco just once, but with two different labels - the Thebes Sounds label was designated for Jamaican distribution, while the Aksum Records label would be for distribution in NY. Over the years this record has quietly attained the reputation it rightfully deserves, among the select few lucky enough to hear it. But it need be quiet no longer, and so Deeper Knowledge Records joyfully presents it again...behold the 'Ark of the Covenant'!

CANE JUICE JOKER BAD BOY/VERSION 7” (digikiller, usa)
9.98usd/5.97gbp/6.62eur/874jpy (approx)


*Digikiller proudly presents the first round of releases in a multi-part program of reissues from producer Trevor 'Leggo' Douglas! As a long-time Orange Street producer, record store owner and then studio owner, Leggo has built a solid catalog of both wicked roots and dancehall, from the 1970s all the way thru the 1990s. For some time we've been huge fans of Leggo's productions, but as collectors we've found many of them inexplicably hard to find. So we're honored to be able to bring back some of our favorite Leggo productions and make them heard by all who will listen! From 1986, 'Joker Bad Boy' by Cane Juice. Amazingly advanced digital riddims, played live and arranged by Leggo's longtime spar Flabba Holt of the Roots Radics. Cane Juice, long one of our favorite singers, sends a message about all false bad boys, with his infamous lyric 'nuff bwoy a love up di gun but dem fraid a di bullet.'

V/A- IT A ROAD BLOCK 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*A1: Kevin "Skie" Warrington - It A Road Block; B1. Mikey Jarrett - Vicey Verse; Satta George - Watch The Woman Them A Fight Fe Man. "The Skie Warrington 12" was only released in NY, and is presented as it was originally issued. Produced at Channel 1 in the mid '80s, then voiced in New York, this Mikey Jarrett production is one of our favorite heavy rhythms of its era.

SCION SUCCESS/MADOO- SETTLE THEM A SETTLE/LOSE RESPECT 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*One tough rhythm, five vocal cuts (one previously unreleased!) and two different dub versions, spread across two twelve-inches. The Scion Success 12" was issued in NY and the UK, originally released with a tune on a different rhythm on the other side. Here instead we present the fantastic and dark *previously unreleased* vocal from Madoo, to complete the version excursion.

KING KONG- HE WAS A FRIEND/TRY NOT I 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*High quality US pressing. One of the baddest double-sided late '80s digital twelve-inches from one of our favorite singers, now back on road! King Kong self-produced and released this disco in the UK, with 'He Was a Friend' also coming out on seven-inch in JA on the Jah All Mighty label. 'He Was a Friend' is an awesome, far-east tinged riddim, the lyrics a tribute to the late great Tenor Saw, a spar and friend of King Kong. 'Try Not I' is pure sound killing style, over a spare but heavy and menacing riddim.

PAD ANTHONY- WE RULE THINGS/ROCK ON 12” (digikiller, usa)
12.98usd/7.77gbp/8.62eur/1136jpy (approx)


*From one of the biggest artists of the digital era, here's two wicked cuts that originally appeared only on CRAT 12" in Brooklyn, New York in 1987. This is one of the most underrated releases in the CRAT discography. Tuff dancehall lyrics both sides.

HORACE ANDY- EXCLUSIVELY LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Appearing originally on the Solid Groove label out of Croydon in South London, Exclusively is sometimes misconstrued as the UK issue of Dance Hall Style. The tracks from both were recorded at the same sessions -- with Bullwackie joined at the controls by Junior Delahaye and Prince Douglas, and issued close together in 1982-83, Croydon first. Half of Exclusively non-exclusively versions four tracks from the Stateside release, and three are re-titled. Also "Eating Mess," which appeared on the first pressing of Dance Hall Style, though unlisted on the sleeve. The mixes are all different (and without dubs). Five further specials include the funky "Musical Episode," a superior Bob Marley tribute, and a version of "Rougher Yet." It's all vintage Wackies, and spun out of Horace's all-time greatest album -- unmissable.

BULLWACKIES ALL STARS- BLACK WORLD LP (wackie’s, germany)
19.98usd/11.96gbp/13.26eur/1749jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Black World originally came out in 1979, on the Wackies' imprint, Hardwax. (The original cover commemorated the first year of Honest Jon's new reggae shop Maroons Tunes, Bullwackies' UK distributor.) It's a tough album, with Leroy Sibbles guiding the selection as well as sharing bass duties -- there are versions of his classic composition "Guiding Star" and stylish Wackies heavyweight, "This World." "Tribute To Studio One" reworks Heptones' "Gonna Fight"/"Hail Don D." as modern steppers, with the kit-drums -- as throughout this album -- supplemented effectively by the latest electronic innovation from Japan. "Skylarking" puts in an appearance; and two full Joe Auxumite vocals from the solo album scheduled for release around this time, but abandoned when most of the tapes were lost. A dub version of Delroy Wilson's "Rain From The Skies" rounds out proceedings.

BULLWACKIES ALL STARS- FREE FOR ALL LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Out originally on the Aires label, in a plain, stencilled sleeve, this is a thrilling early-mid-'70s dub album based around three cuts of the dreader than dread Free For All rhythm. The music is made by Melvin "Munchie" Jackson and Lloyd Barnes, with productions begun in Jamaica and finished at the Sounds Unlimited studio in New York. Several surfaced at different stages as 7"s on Bullwackies' Aires imprint, and on the Tafari label which Munchie ran with his brother Maurice and Little Roy, in the Washington Gardens district of Kingston. The title track was recorded at Randy's, and came originally on The Heptones' Hepic label, featuring "Family Man" Barrett on keyboards, and on the DJ cut here, "Meditation Dub" -- sounds like Charlie Ace. There are dubs of Little Roy's "Tribal War" and "Black Bird"; Stranger Cole's "My Application," later re-voiced by The Heptones, turns up as "Dis-Ya-A-Dub"; and if things weren't smoke-filled enough, roots is the rhythm of K.C. White's "All For Free." Hard to imagine a heavier dub set reissued this year.

JOHN CLARKE- ROOTSY REGGAE LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Visions Of John Clarke was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself "President of the John Clarke Fan Club" -- and the album attracted the interest of Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full license. Released soon afterwards, the new version -- entitled Rootsy Reggae -- duplicated five tracks from the previous version, but with markedly different mixes, fresh edits, and some additional new instrumentation.

JOHN CLARKE- VISIONS OF JOHN CLARKE LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Visions Of John Clarke was a little thrown together for its original release in 1979. Still, its sleeve carried a ringing endorsement from Bullwackies himself "President of the John Clarke Fan Club" -- and the album attracted the interest of Studio 1 boss Coxsone Dodd, whose bid for distribution-rights was thwarted when the Brooklyn label Makossa quickly put in for a full license. The singer -- not to be confused with Johnny Clark -- had been running with the Wackies operation for the past six years, ever since moving from Jamaica to New York. He'd cut memorable sevens with co-founder Munchie Jackson for the Tafari label -- like "In Search of The Human Race and Recession" -- and also worked with Lloyd Barnes for such Bullwackies imprints as Versatile and Wackies.

MILTON HENRY- WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Milton Henry's handful of classic sides -- like his version of "Gypsy Woman," or "Cornbread and Butter" or "This World" and "Follow Fashion" over the Upsetter's fever rhythm (under the artist name King Medious) -- made him a natural Wackies' recruit when he relocated from Jamaica to New York City in the late '70s. Soon after, he was fully involved in the day-to-day business of the operation, supervising sales and promotion, making deliveries, even holding spare keys to the studio for whenever Bullwackies himself was away. He appears in this activist role on the front-sleeve photograph, just up White Plains Road from the Bronx HQ: by its title, though, and first and last songs, this album also hints heavily at the past musical accomplishments of its mystery hero. The record was released first in London, in 1984, during the first months of Wackies Dean Street office, in north Soho. The band is basically Itopia. Sly Dunbar gets a credit -- though neither he nor Robbie Shakespeare ever set foot in the studio: as if in acknowledgment for this rhythm, is "No Dreams." Jackie Mittoo and Bagga are 'pon the corner, from Studio One; Jerry Johnson and Neville Anderson are on brass; also Sugar and Max Romeo; and Sonia from the Love Joys performs a duet. "No Dreams" is the true story of Milton sleeping in the attic above the studio when the rough drum and bass track came onto the desk, waking him, pulling him to the mic; "Them A Devil" is aimed at certain producers passing off the singer's property as their own; "Good Old Days" was written for a poor Junior Byles, remembering times shared.

JAH BATTA- ARGUMENT LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Tony O'Meally aka Jah Batta is the Bullwackies acolyte featured recently with Rhythm & Sound on the Burial Mix single 'Music Hit You'. On this album from 1983 his buoyant deejaying follows Lone Ranger's massive revival of U-Roy's legacy. Upful dancehall vibes address topics such as vegetarianism, skin color, school, good old-fashioned rocking the mic. One toast laments Batta's girlfriend running off with Sugar Minott. And the album is a must even for its rhythms alone: basically top-notch Youth Promotion material from Channel One in JA, overdubbed and remixed at White Plains Road in the Bronx, with contributions from Sly & Robbie, and Bagga and Jackie Mittoo from Brentford Road, alongside Wackies regulars. Version excursions include Sugar originals like Informer and Jezzreel's 'Stop Playing Tricks', Bob Marley's 'Too Much Trouble', and deadly do-overs of Studio One cornerstones like 'Throw Me Corn' and 'Real Rock'. Do it, Jah! Flash it!

JEZZREEL- GREAT JAH JAH LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Taking its name from Jezreel, the Biblical city founded by the tribe of Issachar, where God is said to have cursed Ahab for his greed, this singing duo's debut 1980 Wackies album is steeped in rasta spirituality. Clive Davis and Christopher Harvey step forward from the backing line -- on innumerable Sugar Minott sessions for example -- and into the company of the great JA vocal combos of the late seventies: as at home with Viceroys-style harmonies as with traditional Impressions- and doowop-derived flourishes; as comfortable riding Channel One-style steppers as with more laid-back, lover's grooves. Dug in behind them is drummer Jah Scotty's New Breed Band -- also known as the Reckless Breed -- falling between the Sylvester Brothers and Itopia as Wackies in-house crew. Included in the lineup this time are two of Lloyd Barnes' sons, Bob and Shaan. Appearing as Reggae Jerry, guitarist Jerry Harris is in top form, and as Jerry Hitster he contributes some startling keyboards (alongside Sylvesters' old-boy Roy Robertson), not least in the opening bars. Most of the rhythms are one-offs, though "Roman Soldiers" is the militant first outing of "Nature's Dub", and "Living In The Ghetto" is "Kicking Scott" from the same album. (On top, the sleeve features vintage reggae typesetting by Leslie A. Moore, LAM Graphics Int.) This is a showcase reissue, with all tracks extending into inventive dubs. Arrangements are by Lloyd Barnes and Jah Hamma, aka Prince Douglas, who also work the mixing desk.

LOVE JOYS- REGGAE VIBES LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Reggae Vibes was the Love Joys' first album, initially released in 1981 on the Florida-based Top Ranking label (when it was also entitled Jah Light on the inside labels). It features 10 tunes produced and recorded at Wackies NY, ranging from Lovers Rock Reggae Style and uptempo dance vibes to roots and reality. Tracks include: 'Stranger' and 'All I Can Say' (which also appear on Lovers Rock Reggae Style in different mixes); 'Studio Man', a tribute to Bullwackie himself; 'Jah Light', in Bullwackie's words, 'shining a favorite of mine and very inspirational in all of the crew at Wackies, with Jah Scotty always ready to drum up some steady beats along with Roy Bassie from the Wackies Rhythm Force'; Watch Them, 'a revolutionary cry from Sonia Abel -- a very special writer that can stretch far into her imagination -- just vibing in the studio '; Love Is Not A Game, 'typical lovers rock sharing roots feeling in a dance style, Love Joys Stylee'; How Long, 'another love song, sweet sounding vocals makes life feel real special'. A must for all Wackies fans.

LOVE JOYS- LOVERS ROCK REGGAE STYLE LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Rhythm & Sound/Basic Channel inaugurates its Wackie's reissue series with Lovers Rock by the Love Joys aka cousins Sonia Abel and Claudette Brown, originally from Brixton, England. This women's roots album is a milestone in reggae, a refreshing departure in a tradition dominated by men. With the classic Wackie's sound magnificent behind them -- 'Lovers Rock', showcase style, in extended versions -- the duo beautifully and skilfully meshes social critique and affairs of the heart, from a woman's point of view. Lovers Rock is one of the best and rarest albums on the legendary Wackie's label produced by Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes in 1982. Musicians include: Jah T, Clive Hunt, Rolando Alphonso.

THE MEDITATIONS- I LOVE JAH LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… This is the first ever release of a masterful The Meditations album recorded by Bullwackies in the heady months of 1982. The lineage of The Meditations -- Ansel Cridland, Winston Watson, Danny Clarke -- elaborates Wackie's' classical project perfectly: from their introduction by Stranger Cole (who would himself record for Wackie's) to Dobby Dobson back in 1975, and their hits for him under the supervision of ace Studio One engineer Sylvan Morris through revered Lee Perry productions. This album evokes and deepens the atmosphere of those Black Ark sides -- but cuts the group's militant rasta reputation with ecstatic soulful sensibilities. The tracks comprise six originals -- brand new, prime Bullwackies music -- though the title cut recasts 'I Shall Be Released' via interpretations for Studio One's Coxsone Dodd and Lee 'Scratch' Perry by The Heptones (another all-time-great Jamaican vocal trio with an unreleased Wackie's album recorded during this period). The luxuriant sublimity of the mature Wackie's sound -- dubwise from start to finish, with the drums of Jah Scotty and big-city-blues guitar of Barry Vincent outstanding -- sets off some of the finest trio harmonizing you will hear.

PRINCE DOUGLAS- DUB ROOTS LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Engineer Douglas Levy was part of the original Wackies set up from 1974-75, alongside Lloyd Barnes and Jah Upton. For a while he would have his own label -- Hamma -- within the Bullwackies group; but besides Sugar Minott's International Herb, this 1980 dub album is his finest work. Wackies' fans have been clamouring for its reissue ever since Rhythm & Sound began making the catalogue available again. Many of the rhythms are derived from a tape given to the studio by Sly and Robbie, containing their versions of recent Joe Gibbs hits. And there are brilliant treatments of Tribesman Dub -- the rhythm for Tyrone Evans' 'Black Like Me' -- and Wayne Jarrett's definitive interpretation of 'Every Tongue Shall Tell.' Elsewhere Jah Batta takes deejay duties -- likewise Prince Douglas himself. (And there are lovely skewed graphics by team regular Leslie Moore, self-styled 'LAM International'). But the deadliest cut of all reworks another gift, Steel Pulse's 'Handsworth Revolution,' which arrived in a parcel of records from England the same weekend as the session: 'March Down Babylon Dub,' with Bullwackie himself at the microphone in his Chosen Brothers guise, as steely and apocalyptic as Douglas Levy's fabulous production.

ROOTS UNDERGROUND- TRIBESMAN ASSAULT LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Originally issued around 1977, this dub album collects Wackies recordings made in JA -- studios like Randys, Black Ark, Treasure Isle -- and in NYC before the White Plains Road studio was established, where finally they were overdubbed and mixed. Included are the rhythm tracks of the African Jamaicans' 'Girl Of My Dreams' and Tyrone Evans' 'Dread Like Me'; also versions of 'Ballistic Affair' and The Righteous Flames' 'I Wasn't Born To Be Lonely'. KC White and the Lovejoys contribute the only vocal. The band is basically the Reckless Breed, with the funkdafied drumming of Jah Scotty -- just off the Kingston plane --- especially outstanding. As featured in a rare sleeve photograph, Bullwackies, Jah Upton and Prince Douglas work the mixing desk. Rougher yet, tougher yet.

WACKIES- AFRICAN ROOTS ACT 2 LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Another Rhythm & Sound presentation from Bullwackies' golden year of 1982, this album offers fully-worked dubwise versions of tracks voiced elsewhere by such Wackies' luminaries as Max Romeo, Barrington Spence and Junior Delahaye. Only the treatment of Horace Andy's 'Lonely Woman' -- from the original release of 'Dancehall Showcase' -- contains traces of a song. Alongside producer Lloyd Barnes aka Bullwackies himself of course, Junior Delahaye's contribution is crucial -- on keyboards, drums and drum machine, and at the mixing desk. Likewise Leroy Sibbles, on bass guitar, bringing to the session three classic Heptones Studio One rhythms: 'Fight It To The Top', 'Love Won't Come Easy' and 'Sea Of Love'. Vintage Wackies dub: all killers, no fillers!

V/A- JAH SON INVASION LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Around 1980, London-based Bullwackies fan Ed Brennan circulated amongst his friends a homemade cassette of his own favorite Wackies productions. In turn, Lloyd Barnes made his own selection from this Pirate's Choice -- adding several debut cuts, but retaining Ed's title and much of his artwork (omitting the barcode which he had snipped from a can of drink!). Like the Coxsone re-appropriation, this makes for a superlative compilation. Lloyd Barnes trumps Ed Brennan throughout, kicking off with a killer one-off rhythm from the vaults, featuring Bobby Sarkie of The Immortals, before teaming Joy Card's 'Black Girl' (originally on 12") with a previously unreleased singjay version by Barrington Spence. Other highlights include Clive Hunt's reading of Wayne Jarrett's 'Darling Your Eyes', Joe 'No Equal Rights In A Babylon' Auxumite's interpretation of 'New Sensation' (by Wackies songwriting regular Andrew McCalla), and Sugar Minott singing beautifully over an exclusive horns mix of his 'Sometime Girl' 12". From over 150 singles and 20 albums these 10 extracts are showing you the quality and range of Jah Reggae music', as the cover puts it. Another master-class from Bullwackies country.

V/A- REGGAE GOODIES VOL. 1 LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Both volumes of Reggae Goodies came out around 1977 on Bullwackies' City Line imprint (which celebrated the NY subway track ending at White Plains Road, and Wackies' headquarters). They are based on a compilation of 7" A-sides which had appeared over the previous few years also on labels like Versatile, Rawse and Senrab. The original sleeve-note of Volume 1 reflected that 'today, reggae music is reaching its peak and this album is a perfect example of the roots of its success. This is an exceptionally well put together album with various artists at their best.' No one could argue -- with spectacular contributions like Don Carlos' 'Black Harmony' killer, Wayne Jarrett's 'African Woman' (to Baba Leslie's 'Black Horns' rhythm), Joe Morgan's 'Basement Session,' and the first time out for Stranger Cole's intense 'Capture Land,' later redone by Wackies and also Half Moon affiliates TAMU. Reggae Goodies: it's more than just an album, it's an experience which can only be shared by you. Get your copy now... there'll never be another of its kind.

V/A- REGGAE GOODIES VOL. 2 LP (wackie’s, germany)
18.98usd/11.36gbp/12.60eur/1662jpy (approx)


*shop favorite/essential restocked… Volume 2 derives more from Wackies' Sounds Unlimited Studios in New York, and aims rather for the Lovers in the dance. Ad hoc lineups like Wanachi (with Jah Jah's Call also appearing on Creation Dub) and the Chosen Brothers -- here it may be Lloyd Barnes with Wayne Jarrett on one track, and Leroy Sibbles on another - appear alongside regulars like 'Jah Junior' Delahaye, K.C. White, and those 'three attractive young beauties' The Love Joys -- with a different mix of their version of The Abyssinians' 'Sweet Feelings' than turns up on their debut album. Reggae Goodies: it's more than just an album, it's an experience which can only be shared by you. Get your copy now... there'll never be another of its kind.


GIFT CERTIFICATES



gift certificates are always available in any denomination and come in a envelope ready to be stocking stuffed, slipped into pockets or dispensed in any way you see fit. they can be paid for in cash, credit card (visa, master card or discover) or paypal in person, phoned in or via email. gift certificates not paid for in person can either be mailed to you, or we can keep it in shop if the recipient plans to use it for mail-order.


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