SEALED

Kalita are excited to announce the first ever reissue of student medical group the IgG Band’s highly sought-after 1980 soul, funk and disco grail ‘Ultra/Sound’.Originally privately released in a small run on bandmember Clifford Becker’s Infusion Records imprint, the album has since become a treasured prize of but a handful of diehard collectors and DJs as a result of both its scarcity and quality. Now, in partnership with the band, Kalita shine a light on the album for the first time in over forty years, accompanied by never-before-seen archival photos and extensive interview-based liner notes. Formed in March 1979 out of a young group of musically talented students at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, the IgG Band was, as leader Clifford Becker recalls, first created ‘to play music to please ourselves and friends, and as an outlet to the ever pending and growing pressure of our medical education’. However, by 1980 the IgG Band had developed enough original material that they were ready to put their music to wax, and ‘Ultra/Sound’ was recorded at Hilltop Recording Studios in Nashville, with each band member contributing their part separately when their busy medical schedules allowed. Each song on the record was notably written mostly by only one band member – ‘IgG Theme’, ‘I Still Want You’ and ‘Daydreaming’ by Kendal Foster, ‘Another Love Gone’ and ‘When I Think of You’ by Solomon Pollard, ‘Funky Music’ by Murray Riggins and ‘Infusion’ by Kermit White. As Murray explains, ‘initially every band member had the opportunity to contribute original songs and from there we collaborated to make each song better’. The record was released at the close of 1980, manufactured and distributed by the band themselves. The album was a local success, and the band sold out within a short space of time, with most copies sold to family, friends and Meharry College students. However, at the end of their studies at Meharry the band went their separate ways. Their educational qualifications required that they partake in internships, and these were at different hospitals in different states. As Murray divulges, ‘each of us chose our own path and to live our own separate lives. We have stayed in contact periodically over the years, but we have never been able to get together and play music because of our medical practice time constraints’. We hope therefore that this much-needed re-release of ‘Ultra/Sound’ helps to keep the IgG Band’s musical legacy alive and showcases their musical quality to the world once again.Key Points:- First ever reissue of the IgG Band’s 1980 privately released soul, funk and disco album ‘Ultra/Sound’- Original copies currently sell online for $500+ on the rare occasion they come up for sale- Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen archival photos

New album by pioneering German beatmaker FloFilz. On Close Distance, the lofiturned-hifi producer blends hip-hop inspired beats with contemporary jazz, alt r&b and a little rap. Featuring Alfa Mist, Blue Lab Beats, Jerome Thomas, KeepVibesNear, Summers Sons & C.Tappin, Dal & Hunter Rose. Close Distance is his fourth album for Melting Pot Music. Since 2013, the self-taught bedroom producer and classically trained violinist has sold more than 10k LPs and gained 200 million streams.Close Distance literally means “near in space or time” (or “nah dran”, as we say in German). The 16 songs on Close Distance came to life over the past two years. Many sketches were birthed at FloFilz's old home studio in Aachen. Some songs were made from scratch in London, where Flo did sessions with UK jazz supremos Alfa Mist and Blue Lab Beats at their studios. One was recorded in a kitchen in Streatham, where rap duo Summers Sons and pianist C.Tappin reside.More sessions were already in planning when lockdown kicked in and travelling was no longer an option. Around the same time, Flo was about to move from Aachen to Berlin which he eventually did in November 2020. Once installed, he started sharing beats and files out of his makeshift studio in Moabit. Beat folders were sent to London where two of our favourite new alt R&B vocalists – Jerome Thomas and KeepVibesNear – live. Another one went to Dartmoor where the jazz/hip-hop trio Dal added their magic touch while Hunter Rose processed her sultry vocals in Cape Town - 12 flying hours away from Berlin. The album artwork has been created by Indonesian illustrator Fatchurofi, who caught FloFilz's attention through his work for everybody’s favourite band Khruangbin. Taking influences from Japanese Ukiyo-e art, Fatchurofi is adding a zen-like clarity (and tranquility) that resonates very well with the album. It is no exaggeration to say that FloFilz has not only created another inspiring album with Close Distance but one that demonstrates how music can close the distance which we all have experienced (and still do) in a beautiful way.

BACK IN STOCK The original Rio beach boy returns with a new record of feel-good Brazilian music! Featuring Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros (responsible for some of Brazil's all-time funkiest low-end licks), a horn section including Valle's go-to high-trumpeter Jesse Sadoc, and percussion master Armando Marcal, Sempre has all the masterful composition, exceptional musicality, and forward-thinking ideas you'd expect from the Brazilian titan.

An anthology born out of isolation and deep introspection, Sky Dust Drifter is a cosmic medley of sun-soaked AOR, psychedelic folk, and soft rock. This soundtrack was driven by the lonesome cowboy, a lockdown savior leaving me adrift in desert winds and dimly lit country bars.Long-distance trades and masked meetups yielded a collection of private press LPs and 45s from ten different artists spanning 1973 to 1980. This seemingly random stack of records revealed songs living entangled in themes of hard luck, heartache, and the inevitable loneliness of existence. Adorned in cracked leather and chrome, this album is an aimless wander from the soil to the stars.Featuring an unreleased English version of the compilation’s title track “Sky Dust Drifter” (originally released only in Hebrew), the record shifts from laconic afterthoughts to bold proclamations. From Michael Andrews’ blue-eyed soul assertion “Something Bad’s Better Than Nothin’,” to the searing electric guitars and bold synths of Sunburst’s “Special Lady,” Sky Dust Drifter thrives on solitude in a universe of unconditional self-rule where loneliness is not darkness but rather a blazing light of autonomy.