2017

The tuffest unit, the TMLR aka Kaidi,Mr Mensah,Matt & dego drop more london boogie, afro funk and goodgood vibes.

Music From Memory hit it just right yet again- this time it's Richenel from the Netherlands who's lost tracks get the dusting off. 6 tracks of funkified lo fi bliss... For their first release of 2017 Music From Memory present the work of a Dutch musician for the first time with an EP of tracks by singer Richenel taken from his debut album 'La Diferencia'. Originally released in 1982 on the cult Amsterdam cassette only label Fetisj the tracks on Music From Memory’s release are alternate takes drawn from Richenel’s personal copy of the album and feature two original compositions which didn’t make it onto the original Fetisj tape.Studying set and costume design whilst making a name for himself as a singer and performer in Amsterdam’s underground clubs, Richenel played with several disco acts and cultivated an extravagant cross-gender stage persona before connecting with members of the local label. Hooking up through their time together at the Rietveld art academy in Amsterdam, Fetisj was an experimental multi media collective which revolved around a loose mix of various young artists and musicians. Having developed a house band with artists going by a number of different pseudonyms the label set up their own small makeshift studio and would produce and sell the cassettes through their distribution network and at events across the city. Recorded amongst the turmoiled punk and squatter scene of Amsterdam against a backdrop of drugs and social unrest, the ‘La Diferencia’ sessions reflect a unique mix of punk aesthetics with a synthesized ‘bedroom’ funkiness.A somewhat illustrious figure in Dutch pop history with his flamboyant appearance as well as having one of the more exceptional male voices to come out of the country, Richenel would go on to record a number of successful albums and hit singles in the Netherlands and beyond. This largely unknown album on Fetisj however, seems to embody the spirit of another time; a particularly unique and richly creative moment in Amsterdam’s musical and cultural history and one that is deserving of a much wider audience. Co-compiled by Orpheu de Jong this six track EP will be followed later with further works from Richenel and the Fetisj label.

Young Dutch producer releases his debut EP with 4 productions featuring the vocals of Ebu Gaye Mada and Ljubiša Arsenović (Paya)

Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa.Awesome Tapes From Africa releases Poulo's newest recording of highly virtuosic folk-pop, fresh from the studio, broadcasting her vision of Peulh music beyond the grazing grounds and central markets of her remote home region in southwestern Mali. It's not very common to find a female singer performing publicly among the Peulh. But Poulo's mother's co-wife is Inna Baba Coulibaly, who is a celebrated singer most Malian music fans know. Coulibaly herself was brought into music by forces outside her control when a regional music contest required an entry from her village and she was chosen to be a singer. So, set in motion by a surprising series of events, young Poulo's entree into the music world was auspic ious as she gained popularity across the region. After several locally released tapes and CDs, this record is Poulo's first internationally-distributed record. On Poulo Warali, she and her band combine the hallmarks of Peulh music—warm flute floating over cross-rhythmic n’goni (lute) riffs and resonant calabash gourd hand percussion—with broader Malian sounds like lightly-distorted guitar and a heavier, rollicking inertia. Shapeshifting layers of rhythm and woody overtones match Poulo’s commanding voice in a jocular yet deliberate dance. This is a relatively rare example of Malian Peulh music played in a modern, cosmopolitan context, reflecting the mixed society of Dilly, where Bambara, Soninke and Peulh-speaking people live among each other. Poulo’s conscious lyrics about community concerns speak to the distinctive identity of her broadly-flung people. While Peulh represents less than 10% of Mali’s melting pot of languages, the dynamic music here powerfully resonates well beyond the linguistic borders

Dope two tracker on Shanti Celeste's newly ripened Peach Discs from the lady herself...Shanti - I started Peach Discs because I feel like the time is right!!! I want to release music that makes me happy and build a little family with all my friends and friends of friends who I know are making great music. I also want this to eventually be my main home for releases. In the future there will be releases by a new Bristol duo called 'Fred' and a 12'' by Samuel as well as many others of course!The first release, by yours truly, has an emotional and energetic breaksy number on the A side and the B side is a more striped down - ish , tough and bass heavy cut with some vocal samples. Both full of twinkly melodies and arpeggios as per usual !

Lovely overlooked funk/soul LP, originally released on Alwest in 1980 - now reissued.

2nd volume of the now highly sought after Paradise Bangkok 45s series, of vintage luk thung and molam that have been released over the past 2 years, collected here for the 1st time - including 3 exclusive tracks that have never been reissued before! Exclusive insert designed and illustrated by Lewis Heriz: ‘Cosmology of Paradise Bangkok’ showing the musical connections between South and South East Asia, The Middle East and East Africa

Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart is one of the top producers of today’s groove music scene. After playing as a bassist and guitarist for various bands, he started producing in the mid-nineties and has kept on mixing today’s technologies with the raw spirits of House, Electronic, Disco, Funk, Soul, Reggae & Jazz music’s golden years since then.Following the trail of success left by his various projects as Patchworks, and under many aliases, he’s proved his musical ubiquity and unexpectedly stroke in various genres. Many House music diggers would indeed remember that before Favorite Recordings was launched in 2006, Patchworks produced many deep-house tracks on various labels.On this new EP, he’s back as Mr President with 2 new banging titles brilliantly mixing House music atmosphere, with Soul and Disco vibes. He’s also teaming up again with Sabba MG on vocals, following to their great “Give My Love” efforts, released on EDR Records 3 years ago. As “Going to a Go Go” is a fully exclusive work reminiscent of the early House music scene from New-Jersey or Chicago, the nice Disco flavors of “Night Time” also come to announce Mr President’s upcoming new album in 2017.