Germany

When Midnight Magic popped up on Tim Sweeney's Beats In Space 'Best of 2009' they really should've had a record out. They also should've had something available for download when they appeared on a recent Best of Myspace U.K. And it probably would've been a good idea to have something in the shops when Patrick Adams of Waves at Night told his readers that Midnight Magic was "going to be a very hot prospect for '10." But they didn't. Not the best idea. No: not the best idea at all. The best idea was for them to release their first single, 'Beam Me Up,' on Permanent Vacation Records this summer-And that wasn't even their idea! We have to thank the Germans for finally putting an end to Midnight Magic's madness. But who is Midnight Magic?They appear on stage as Tiffany Roth, Morgan Wiley, Carter Yasutake, W. Andrew Raposo, Max Goldman, Nick Roseboro, Caito Sanchez, Jason Disu and Andrew Frawley. They are servants of a secret fire-a psychedelic-soul army inspired by electro, funk, and disco from all around the world. You may recognize some of these Midnight Magicians from when they played in 'Hercules & Love Affair' or from the myriad of DFA Records releases on which they are featured.Based out of an abandoned Jazz factory in Northern Brooklyn, USA, Midnight Magic would do well to remind you of their forthcoming release on Permanent Vacation featuring remixes by Gavin Russom, Jacques Renault, and the enigmatic Tim Goldsworthy. But Midnight Magic can't do that because they are currently scoring a Dario Argento film on the moon. Apparently, there is very good boogie up there.

Ta-ku might be the modern day renaissance man. Haven risen to prominence as one of Australia’s most in-demand beatmakers, the Perth-based artist has found himself curator of a rapidly expanding, multi-disciplinary creative empire.Borne from a late-night sideline to his day job shilling health insurance, Ta-ku’s music has quickly become a global, full-time concern. From early days uploading chopped hip-hop cuts to Soundcloud, the “genre-killer”’s prodigious credits now include ambitious projects like 50 Days For Dilla, high-profile remixes for Flume, Chet Faker, BANKS, Childish Gambino and Justin Timberlake, as well as a clutch of co-writes, production efforts and countless self-releases.Teaming up with Jakarta Records on the 823 joint label venture, Ta-ku is sharing his now classic ’25 Nights For Nujabes’ project as a digital/vinyl release alongside two completely new Bonus Tracks - both featuring Toronto based producer Matt McWaters. Drawing inspiration from the likes of D’Angelo, James Blake and J Dilla, Matt McWaters fuses modern electronic production with soul and indie undertones. A love for smooth basslines, soulful keys and catchy melodies allows him to carry out his vision with every track.25 Nights For Nujabes. A beat a night for 25 nights in dedication to Seba Jun. His music was so full of emotion and beauty. Rest in peace. - Ta-ku

Born in 1950 near Constantine and raised on a parental diet of traditional Arabic music, Zohra quickly took up singing and playing the guitar and kept doing so after she and her family moved to the North of France. Playing gala events and receptions during her first years in France it took an encounter with multi-talented instrumentalist, composer, arranger and conductor Joël Hannier to take her into the world of recorded music. Joël Hannier’s experience in writing and interpreting music for ballets, television, orchestras and a vast array of French and international musicians made sure their collaboration – sung in a Berber dialect – was destined for success. The title track ‘Badala Zamana’ gets picked up by various radio stations, most notably in Arabic speaking countries. In France the song did not go unnoticed either, but until today - although championed by Habibi Funk among a few others – it remains relatively unearthed.

In 1972, Orchestre Abass released two incredible singles on Polydor. These records - featuring Samarin Banza, Haka Dunia and other afrofunk masterpieces - were powerful enough to knock any music head out, but it wasn’t until the discovery of some unreleased material by the band that the seeds for this project were planted.It all happened in 2008 in Ghana. I was going through some tapes that had previously been the property of PolyGram one of the major record companies based in west Africa. In the late 80s political instability and curfews had paralysed the music industry forcing Polygram to close their Ghanaian subsidiaries leaving all of their recordings behind. These recordings had been packed in boxes and left vegetating in an Accra warehouse for three decades until I came along. To my surprise all of the tapes looked unharmed and I was particularly relieved to hear that the Orchestre Abass tape was in an excellent state of condition. I began fiddling around with the idea of releasing an album of the band and that plan got an additional boost with le “coup de grace” which had landed in the form of an ultra rare tune called Honam discovered in Sotoboua, a small northern Togolese town in the middle of nowhere. That find completed this selection.I had previously discovered some similar music in Northern Benin and in Nigeria and I started picturing an area that spread all the way from Northern Ghana to Northern Cameroon, an area I dubbed ‘The Islamic funk belt’ due to the fact that Super Borgou de Parakou, Napo De Mi Amor, Uppers International and Hamad Kalkaba just to name a few - all from that ‘belt’ - were groups made up of musicians with an Islamic background. This can be felt and heard in the music and particularly in the singing since many of the musicians had attended koranic schools and the languages used in the songs often had Arabic elements fused in - Orchestra Abass was one of them. With their heavy, organ-led sound combining with the deftest of musical touches, these records were the work of a rhythmic powerhouse and we are honoured to be in a position to present the recordings of Togo´s funkiest Band.Unfortunately Malam Issa Abass, the founder, guitarist and organ player of the band, was killed in 1993 by a grenade thrown into his bedroom and to help me reconstruct the biography of the band I tracked down Thon Komla, one of the band´s songwriters and Abderaman Issa, the guitar player of the band.All the music was licensed directly from the various composers of these songs. The vinyl is pressed on 180 High Quality Virgin Vinyl and the gatefold contains previously unseen pictures and a detailed biography of the might band.

Sometimes you produce a track with nothing but a dancefloor and a good sound system in mind. "Twelve Inch Jams" is offering you just that - strictly two A side tunes for the floor cut at 45 revolutions per minute. Jazz & Milk pays tribute to this classy release format with their new 12" vinyl series. Each record comes in a hand silk-screened printed and stamped sleeve!The dreamteam of the highly successful first installment (JAMS001) teamed up again to share their love for raw and sample-based house music tunes produced on the MPC. Label artist Sam Irl and the man behind Jazz & Milk, Dusty never fail when it comes to layering colorful sample fragments and enriching them with raw beats and deep synthesizer chords."Broken Spell" starts off with a super moody atmosphere that slowly opens up until it reaches its energetic peak with bright synth stabs and a smooth bassline before colorful arpeggios are drifting the track into other spheres. "Love Prelude" has a rather dreamy vibe but its deep chord progressions and rough bass drums and claps create a truly unique contrast and a hypnotic atmosphere on top of it, while a later incoming bouncy bassline and dubby sample parts eventually pull you in cosmic dimensions!