Various Artists

Amazing collection of Disco Music released in the 80s (1980-84) on the Nigerian label Duomo Music Ltd. and reissued here for the first time.The late 70s, the thrust of mainstream music had changed from the indigenous highlife to a more international funky disco sound. Keyboards and drum machines were the key components of the new sound. The implications on sales was real as names like Bunny Mack, Chris Okotie, Christy Essien, Jide Obi replaced Osita Osadebe and the Oriental Brothers on the charts. It was in this effervescent climate that Duomo Sounds Ltd was established by Mr Humphrey Aniakor, a business man with no prior investment in the industry. It was simply the in-thing for a young monied businessman. The name suggested European sophistication, modernity and a little abstraction. D U O M O Sounds, the kids loved it. The first release was Bassey Black’s “Someone to love” (DSL 001) which sold over a 100,000 copies, a big hit at the time. The success of the album attracted several artists the most influential of which was Mike Umoh. He aimed for the pop market with accessible, funky arrangements. However his affinity for funk and disco has made him a reference for collectors worldwide. His LP entitled, “Honey, Honey” (DSL 002) was the label’s second release and his most successful album. Also produced the labels 19th release, Bindiga’s, “No More Starvation” (DSL 019), an afro-boogie funk masterpiece. The album in its original format is very sought after by collectors and djs and changes hands for huge sums. Its been described by many as cosmic funk at its finest. Christy Ogbah´s disco soul/highlife records on Duomo are also very highly sought after. This new Livingstone Studio release presents the best of Duomo Sounds Ltd. for the first time.

The African beat's always been essential to Brazil's music. But now the new generation of musicians, singers and rappers are tweaking the basics of Fela's funk to fit with samba swing, bossa tempo and nordestino nous.John Armstrong's new compilation Afrobeat Brasil features 14 blazing tracks from 2011 to 2017 that nod towards Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mali and beyond – with feet firmly in Brazil. For the first time outside Brazil, a careful selection of modern Afrobeat- inspired tunes from across several Brazilian genres, taking in cutting-edge players from Rio, São Paulo, Salvador, Porto Alegre –and even Paris. No slavish Fela Kuti copycats these, but rather Afrobeat and other specific African tempos and rhythms used as a blueprint, a buildingblock for new directions in Brazilian music.

Habibi Funk: An eclectic mix of music from the Arab world.Habibi Funk is dedicated to re-releasing a style of music that historically never existed as a musical genre. We use the term to describe a certain sound that we like from the countries of the Arab world. The songs we chose were created in places quite far from another and under very different circumstances. Some were written and recorded during war times, others in exile. Despite the differences we think there is a musical connection between them. Essentially, we are interested in the musical endeavors, in which artists from the Arab world mixed local and regional influences with musical interests that came from outside of the region. Even though the name suggests it’s all about funk music, our focus is more than just that. Often these influences might be inspired from Western popular music such as soul, pop and rock but it’s not limited to that either. Some of our favorite records are best described as Arabic zouk (a genre originating from the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe) like Mallek Mohamed’s music, Algerian coladera (a popular musical style from the Cape Verdean islands) or Lebanese AOR, which means the process of musical influences displayed on this compilation was much more versatile than just taking Western music as a blueprint and translating it with a local accent. The compilation features 15 different artists. Some you might already know thru Habibi Funk’s releases like Fadoul, Ahmed Malek, Dalton or Al Massrieen, while others are meant as an introduction to artists like Kamal Keila, Sharhabeel Ahmed, Attarazat Addahabia & Mallek Mohamed who will all release full length albums on Habibi Funk in 2018.In todays world there are still many stereotypical conceptions to be found when it comes to the Arab world. Contrary to what a lot of Western narratives and media suggest, the Arab world we got to know through extensive traveling in several countries of North Africa and the Middle East, is a very versatile terrain. A place full of different stories, ideas and beliefs. And we hope that the music we release helps as a tiny, tiny piece of a larger puzzle to establish a diverse, more nuanced yet adequate idea of how musically vibrant this very diverse region once has been and also still is. At the same time we do not want anyone to misunderstand this compilation as a selection of songs to represent Arabic musical history of the 1970s and 1980s. This compilation is nothing more than a very personal curation of songs we like and in no way reflects on what has been popular in a general sense.All tracks on this compilation are directly licensed from the artist or, in the case of artists who are sadly no longer alive, from the artist’s family. There are three exceptions: Hamid Al Shaeri’s track was licensed from SLAM! and the tracks from Belbao and Attarazat Addahabia were both licensed from Boussiphone. As a European label dealing with non-western artists we try to be aware of the responsibilities that derive within the making, seen from a post-colonial point of view by demanding ourselves not to reproduce exploitative economic patterns. We split all of the profits from our releases equally with the artists without deducting any costs that are not directly related to the release .Our agreements are license deals with limited terms after which the rights fall back to the artist or the artist’s families. We think it is important in today's reissue market, where too many shady business transactions happen, to be transparent about our licensing policies.

Next up on Joey Negro's Z Records is the vinyl sampler from Under The Influence Vol.6 Compiled By Winston.Featuring four sort after rare Soul, Funk & Boogie tracks from the vaults, Mary Gold - 'Dancing' being a mainstay in Motor City Drum Ensemble DJ sets.Limited stock available no repress!

Part 2 of the TO2C collection featuring FOUK, Frank Booker, Vincenzo de Bull & Soul of Habib.Pressed on Black Vinyl housed in a Manila Sleeve.

This 14 track, 3 x 12 vinyl release is a smooth journey throughout the realms of deep house, mid-tempo grooves, funk/soul, with an edit (or two) for good measure. Spread over 3 EP's with part 3 coming with a Poster.Part 1 features tracks from some big hitters in the shape of Franc Spangler, Admin, Henry Wu & Ugly Drums.Pressed on Black vinyl & housed in a Manilla sleeve.

Byron the Aquarius fires up the MPC for a journey into the stratosphere, bringing the heat for Ele Records 3rdedition with "Planet Rock", a jazz infected keyboard jam with chopped hip hop samples echoing into the cosmos.Cozy Bear follows with "Nudi Riddim" a delectable mix of African percussion, jazz samples and acidic basslines.On the B side we find more hip hop infused methodology, with Glenn Davis digging into Salsoul's back catalogue with his huge summer anthem "Holdin On".Finally, Unknown Artist is back on Ele following on from the huge anthem Ru$h. This time it's back to the MPC with a Daft Punk style 90's disco banger "Fade (Never Know)".