2015

Two steaming Afro Funk rollers from Togo .. TIP!Hailing from the capital city, the Togo All Stars display a vigorous rhythm section and three sturdy voices deeply rooted within the afropop traditions stemming from the independence era, be it high-life, afrobeat, funk, reggae or even gospel music.A passionate man with a cause, Serge Amiano has been living in Lomé for a few years now. Thanks to his musical vision, he’s the mastermind behind Togo All Stars’ meeting of two generations. He confronts younger musicians playing in the shadows with older voices long thought to be tarnished under elusive limelight. Tireless talent scout and energy catalyst, Amiano paved the way for the Togo All Stars to happen; in the same manner he did it for Fanga, a celebrated French afrobeat collective in the last decade. Korbo, Fanga’s singer is featured on the Togo All Stars’ first album to be released this spring, under Kindred spirits record label. Nested behind its sea front lined with tentative palm trees, Lomé is an unsung Atlantic Africa city. The city mixes the energy of a restless youth with displays of genuine emotions that were once the soundtrack of the country’s independence, from April 27th 1960 to this day.Set in a country where cultural preservation is almost pointless, Serge Amiano had the idea to bring together rough voices from the past with the supreme rhythms of young lions dedicated to any kind of repertoire they lay their hands on. A true electric shock between generations, the Togo All Stars combine dignified and vintage singers with youthful musicians, exuberant rhythm section, liquid guitars and devastating horns.Genuine Togolese afro funk pioneer, charming Napo de mi Amor brings his solid vocal experience to the front of the orchestra. Aguey Cudjoe is Amiano’s true discovery. He stumbled upon this veteran singer doing high-life numbers in one of Lomé’s rare clubs. He became effortlessly one of the All Stars main voices, also adding sweet percussive touches in the distance.Experienced and mature, Dama Damawuzan learnt his trade within As du Bénin, the great and main Togolese orchestra from the 1970’s. He confronts his vocal prowesses to his own percussions but also to young drummer Gbetoglo Efoevi’s fierce groove. On this album, each of the All Stars’ eight musicians joins in for vocal harmonies. Legendary Otodi Studio was reopened for the sole recording of this first Togo All Stars album, giving exquisite analog warmth to the songs.Unappreciated for the time being, these gathered stars from Togo set bridges between the past, the present and the future of an always moving afro music. Fresh and raw energy combined with vintage singers, the Togo All Stars’s music embodies a true international musical elegance, looming large over the Atlantic and giving Togo its first big band since the 1970’s.

Gatefold Blue Vinyl 2xLP With Obi Strip + Poster + MP3 Download Code, Lizzy Mercier Descloux may have come of age in Paris, but it’s in New York’s Lower East Side that she really came alive. Great overvieuw of her work here - check!!The French punk pioneer, a friend of Patti Smith and Richard Hell, moved to New York in 1977 and soon immersed herself in avant-garde poetry, performance art, and punk music.Closely associated with the founders of ZE Records (home to Was (Not Was) and Kid Creole & The Coconuts), Descloux released her debut album, Press Color, in 1979, revealing a punk-funk sound that positioned her as the French answer to the UK group The Slits or New York’s own ESG. Just as The Slits gave "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" a makeover fit for warehouse parties on their celebrated Cut LP, Descloux’s album revealed a penchant for the unexpected cover version too. It kicks off with a brilliantly rhythmic take on The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown’s Fire–a hit, like Marvin Gaye’s in 1968. There’s also a version of Lalo Schifrin's theme from Mission Impossible that appears to predate the breakbeat scene by a good twenty years. Elsewhere, we hear echoes of Serge Gainsbourg’s Afrobeat-influenced work, Blondie’s disco-inflected punk, and Talking Heads’ world music-inspired art pop.Βacked by guitarists/bassists D.J. Barnes and Erik Elliasson plus drummer Jimmy Young, Descloux creates a naïve musical world in which rhythm is everything—not a byproduct of the song but the reason for its existence. It’s neither played nor sung with any great skill, but it has feel and character in spades and a looseness that’s all too rarely achieved.Of course, an artist with song titles including “Tumor" (a cover of “Fever" with amended lyrics) and "Herpes Simplex" is never a shoo-in for mainstream acceptance, and like many a No Wave classic, the album sold little. Now regarded as a cult classic, this Light In The Attic reissue is presented in an extended 18-track edition, collecting much of Descloux’s work, including "Morning High," recorded with Patti Smith.Descloux returned to Paris upon scoring a contract with CBS and soon found herself travelling to Africa to research the Afrobeat sound experimented with–from afar–on Press Color. The hit single "Mais où Sont Passées les Gazelles?" and album Zulu Rock followed. By the 1990s, Descloux had turned her back on music in favor of painting and writing, which she continued until her death in 2004. Her playful spirit lives on in this album.

"Endeavors", the 4th compilation from Voltaire Records, explores the vibes of boogie, disco, modern funk, and whatever the hell type of music is also on there that doesn't fit into those aforementioned genres.It's the music that a bunch of nasty psychotic animals would be jamming in a festering urban back alley, as shown on the compilation cover, illustrated by Oakland- based artist, Jessie CaliforniaHarvey Sutherland, hailing from Melbourne, kicks off the compilation with “That’s The Fact, Jack” a drifting G-Funky/Rhodes composition that glides smoothly along like a cutlass supreme in the slow lane. K-Maxx, of the Sweater Funk crew, next takes on production and MC duty on “Wake Up”, and churns out a heavy boogie-soul testament to the female persuasion. XL Middleton closes out the A side with “One and Only” an uptempo boogie-slapper accompanied by his signature shredding keyboard lead. On the B Side, Social Lovers start it off with the deep disco cut “Can’t Let It Go”, which dubs along as vocalist Megan D weaves her sultry vocals between polyrhythmic percussion. Moon B next challenges the dancefloor to pinpoint his sound to a specific era, location, or vibe...and comes up with the atmospheric groove of "Back On". Timothy Fairplay closes out the comp with the sinister rolling sci-fi cut “Rooftop Meeting”; an altruistic anthem of computer hardware mayhem, that defies time and space

Long standing soul man Willie (or Hill as he usually operates on PPU) returns with three more timeless soul joints. "Eternal Love" is a soul monolith of Vandross proportions as Willie belts his guts up over a slippery synth boogie groove, classic 80s falsetto harmonies and brick-melting synth-toms. "Talking On A Funky Note" takes us to the early 90s with a Bobby Brown-style new-jack sound while "Over The Hump" brings us to an inspiring climax with lyrics of intestinal fortitude so heavy they'd make a world champion life coach blush. Perfect for all training/chips down montages.

Just in time for summer! Some serious heat from the darkest corners of the TK Disco vaults, dug up, re-mastered and brought back to life for your listening and dancing pleasure!To say Trama's sole LP is a rarity is an understatement! Released on TK offshoot CAT Records in 1977 it's swaggering street-funk attitude, tight ass rhythm section, blistering arrangements and stellar vocal performances from a young Donna Allen has left beat digging, Soul, Boogie and Disco freaks hot under the collar for over 3 decades!Often selling on-line for tidy sums (£250 +) this LP is a true gem, now is your chance to own a %100 legit, TK Disco sanctioned, vinyl copy of this killer Soul LP. Re-issued just the way it originally came out in 1977, no tricks. Essential!

Japanese hip-hop LP dedicated to J Dilla !“I can’t remember the first track I listened to, but I started to become aware of his presence with “Slum village / Fantastic Vol. 2”.He’s been producing classics even before this album, and I’ve listened to numerous tracks including the unreleased ones. But for me, Jay Dee/ J Dilla’s presence is packed into “Slum village / Fantastic Vol.2” and “Welcome 2 Detroit”. I have never been influenced so much by music in my life, and probably never will be. Until then, I strived to create music without being influenced by anyone, but by recognizing him and becoming a captive of his worldview, there was no way to escape his influence. His extremely tight drums were made without relying on quantization, and his use of sine waves for bass and layering filtered samples was incredible. He had a distinctive utilization of space, and seemingly rough but delicate style. There’s no doubt that he laid the foundations for my current style. I have created tracks for people in the past, but I have never dedicated a whole album for anyone. Even after his passing I greatly respect him as a mentor, and I have longed to dedicate an album for him in order to reflect on my present self. The intension of this album is not to imitate, but to present myself while reflecting on how his influence has helped me to find my own style. This is a dedication of my style to him, which would not have been possible without his influence. I will continue to respect him.