2019

From Paris to Lisbon to London. FloFilz' third album for Melting Pot Music is deeply inspired by the UK jazz and hip-hop scene. “Transit” features collaborations with Alfa Mist, Barney Artist, Biig Piig and K, Le Maestro. FloFilz last album "Cenario" was released in 2016. It sold 3.000 LPs and acummulated 27 million streams so far.“Transit” will be available digital and on LP (limited gatefold edition includes a 20-page photo booklet by Robert Winter).Linernotes “Jazz (We've Got)” was the title of the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's iconic album “The Low End Theory”. It was released in 1991, the same year FloFilz was born. Similar to Tribe FloFilz resurrects jazz for a new generation. He has been doing this for a while now and is pretty good at it, as you might know if you are familiar with his previous works “Metronom” and “Cenário”. In 2019 things have changed. Today jazz is not only about diggin' old records and learning about Bird and Trane. Jazz is very much alive and the city of London has become one of its epicenters. The UK jazz scene is happening because it is deeply connected with hip-hop, soul and club music. A perfect setting for FloFilz. Over the last 18 months, he has collected serious Eurostar miles, heading from Aachen to London - going to gigs, hanging out with musical allies and recording new material. This is why he calls his new album “Transit”. Through 18 tracks FloFilz translates the current London vibe in his very own style and fashion and I dare to say that “Transit” may be the best album he has treated us with so far.Olski, April 2019

For the better part of 15 years Helsinki's own Timmion Records has released some of the most exciting soul sides happening today. To help spread the Timmion love, Daptone staffers and brass made a list of their favorite Timmion tracks from the past couple years. Presented here is Bad Education, Vol. I, the culmination of weeks of deliberation and infighting (mainly due to their unusually high batting average) - 10 tracks that best represent the eclectic wealth of soulful riches Timmion Records has to offer.Side 1 one gets cracking with "This is What Love Looks Like", a mid-tempo, breezy dancer by NYC's own Carlton Jumel Smith whose recent album, 1634 Lexington Ave, is poised to be one of the top Soul releases of 2019. Johnny Benavidez, the Texas-born, California-raised balladeer showcases his heartfelt falsetto with "Tell Me That You Love Me" - a beat ballad of the highest order, and a must for fans of Texas giants The Commands. Pratt & Moody, a vocal duo who have been making waves for sometime in their native Finland, serve up another heart-wrenching, head-bobbing ballad with "Lost, Lost, Lost". Picking up the tempo we have the undisputed queen of Finnish Soul, Miss Nicole Willis! The New York native is already a household name on the UK Northern Soul scene, but now it's time for this expat to make some noise Stateside. Closing out the side we have the leather-clad-fringed flute phenom know as Ernie "Scorpio Man' Hawks. The Scorpio Walk's deep groove laced with murmuring fuzz bass and surf guitar rushes the listener like a maniacal villain in an art house spy movie.Side 2 two packs even more soulful punches, starting with the unreleased track "Until You’re Mine" by Wanda Felicia. Equal parts slick, Big City street harmony and raw, southern soul, the track evokes the ver y best of Fame-era Candi Staton. Next up, we have Bobby Oroza whose featured track "This Love" took the Soul scene by storm upon its release in 2016. His understated, earnest vocal let's the sparse arrangement and heavy beat take you to a place where the sun shines bright and the low-riders shine brighter where the Sunday afternoon sun dances off the gold flecks of custom paint jobs. "Bad Education" the funky, afro-latin soul monster with a message (whose title graces the cover of this album) tips the hat to legends like Joe Bataan and Ray Barreto. The debut single by Bardo Martinez, already known for his work with Chicano Batman, lays down a fier y indictment of the educational system defining it as a mouthpiece for the militar y industrial complex. A heavy tune with a heavier message! From top to bottom Bad Education, Vol. I is a feast for discerning funk & soul freaks alike!- Comes W/ Download Code.-Features the exclusive, unreleased track by Wanda Felicia "Until You're Mine"-Also features tracks by Emilia Sisco, Willie West-Includes Timmion's most sought after 45 singles, Bobby Oroza "This Love", Pratt & Moody "Lost, Lost, Lost", & Carlton Jumel Smith "This Is What Love Looks LIke"

Earth Rot is visionary composer/arranger/producer David Axelrod’s third album, and the last of his Capitol trilogy. Recorded as a concept album about the decrepit state of the environment in 1970 Los Angeles, and scheduled for release on the first Earth Day, it marks a departure for Axelrod’s signature sound, which would take on a jazzier feel in the 1970s. The instrumental version of Earth Rot was first issued by Now-Again , overseen by the label’s Eothen Alapatt in conjunction with Axelrod’s estate as a limited double LP offering. The instrumentals are now available for the first time ever as a stand-alone LP. The master was approved by Axelrod’s son Michael, who adapted ancient lyrics for the album in one of three collaborative projects he did with his father.Contains a 28 page booklet that delves into Axelrod’s incredible life and music, replete with never before published photos and an interview.

Habibi Funk is back with another album from Casablanca. Completely unreleased album which was recorded in Morocco in 1973 by three generation family band. A unique blend of Gnawa, Funk and Rock. Traditional Moroccan music meets electronic guitars and dense layers of percussion by a band that used to run in the same circles as Fadoul (And actually wrote one of his songs).Attarazat Addahabia & Faradjallah's album came to us as quite a mystery. Our friends from Radio Martiko got access to the studio archive of the Boussiphone label and a reel labeled “Faradjallah” was among the items they had found there. After listening to the selection of reels they borrowed, Radio Martiko felt it was not a fit for their label and helped us licensing it from Mr. Boussiphone instead. We knew nothing about the band. We just had the reel with the music but very little information. What we knew was that the music was incredible and very unique. Gnawa sounds were combined with funky electronic guitars, very dense layers of percussions and female backing vocals more reminiscent of musical styles further south than Morocco. We started asking around whether anyone knew the band with no immediate success until we asked Tony Day, a musician from Morocco who helped us during our search for Fadoul’s family. His sharp memory came through once again, remembering all the names of the Attarazat Addahabia band members and even how to contact the bands singer and leader Abdelakabir Faradjallah. After visiting him at his home in Casablanca with our Moroccan colleague Sabrina multiple times, he shared his personal story. His father arrived in Casablanca from Aqqa at the age of six and his mother came from Essaouira. Abdelakabir was born in the neighbourhood of Benjdia in 1942. Abdelakabir Faradjallah studied fine arts in Casablanca, graduating in 1962. He also played soccer in the second team of "Jeunesse Societe One". His brother-in-law Ibrahim Sadr worked for one of the biggest football teams of the time in Morocco called "Moroco Sportive Union", which allowed him to travel to France occasionally. While Ibrahim was never part of the band he brought along a few instruments from trips. Yet the majority of the instruments they could not afford to buy were build by Faradjallah and Abderrazak, Faradjallah's brother who passed away early. For instance they had built a Spanish guitar and a drum made of wood barrel and sheepskin by themselves.During the 1950s Faradjallah was booked as a singer for surprise parties with friends. He started to write his first songs including "L’gnawi" in 1967 and wanted to make people discover Gnawa culture, or maybe rather his take on the culture to be more exact. Faradjallah recalls his first interaction with the genre in the streets of the Dern neighbourhood, where he used to go to elementary school. Gnawa is one of the essential musical genres of Morocco. It combines ritual poetry with traditional dances and music linked with a spiritual foundation. Musically a lot of influences originated from West Africa as well as Sudan. Gnawa is usually played by a selection of specific instruments such as the qaraqab (large iron castanets centrally associated with the music), the hajhouj (a three string lute), guembri loudaâ (a three stringed bass instrument) and the tbel (large drums). People would put shells on their clothes and instruments and use incense at their parties. "Sidi darbo lalla - lala derbo khadem..." came from Gnawa verses Faradjallah used to sing when he was 14. The lyrics tackle a global (im)balance of power and the question of social status in this course. The band Attarazat Addahabia was formed in 1968. The original line-up included 14 members, all from the same family. They played their first small concerts here and there starting in 1969. Later in 1973 they performed bigger shows for instance at the Municipal Theatre followed by the "Al Massira Show" at Velodrome Stadium in downtown Casablanca. Their first album "Al Hadaoui" (the one you are listening to) was recorded at Boussiphone studios in 1972 and was never released before. Nobody seems to remember the exact reason why Boussiphone ended up deciding not to put the album out. The album's title track also served as the basis for Fadoul's "Maktoub Lah", who frequented the same circles as the band for some time. Their shows sometimes could go as long as 12 hours, starting at 5pm in the afternoon, with an occasional break here and there. In the 1980s the band took a brief break. Faradjallah recalled the reason for that break like this: "Zaki, the bands drummer, had fallen in love with a young girl from Mohammedia. Soon after, he fell very ill. The group members were convinced that the girl had given him ‘s'hor’ (a kind of local Moroccan version of "black magic"). For four years, the whole group stopped playing. It was unthinkable to find another drummer to replace Zaki, even temporarily." So they waited four years for Zaki to "get back on his feet" before going back on stage. Apart from very few gigs here and there Faradjallah stopped playing music in the mid 1990s. Some members from the younger generations formed a new band and still play frequently to this day. Faradjallah runs a television repair shop coupled offerings beverages and snacks in the Belevedere /Ains Sbaa district of Casablanca. While Faradjallah was primarily a musician, he would work for the local cinema and paint their posters for new movies by hand and he designed all artworks and cover posters of the band. And this eventually led to him participating actively in our first exhibition dealing with Habibi Funk’s work in Dubai 2018. He helped us by creating calligraphic complementations on large photo prints for that show.

Maybe the best Alessandroni’s album ever. A true holy-grail for any collector and worldwide music lover, which we can consider nowadays as the most sought-after record of the whole legendary RCA SP 10000 series, and as the rarest album from the king of Italian libraries. Jazz, mellow-funk, downtempo breaks, and incredible rock blends, make this record a refined portrait of the 70’s American way of life, viewed through the fully Italian lens of Alessandroni’s sensitivity. The magic around Spontaneous is that this album is not only beautiful and astonishing, but is certainly one of those amazing records to which time gives new life and freshness, making it sounds unbelievably contemporary. After five years of exhausting research, finally Four Flies can give a light to this obscure and fascinating mystery, rescuing it from the darkness. It’s not just another piece of Alessandroni’s legacy that is finally put back in the right place. This should be considered as the definitive act to re-estabilsh Alessandroni's leadership into the library music scene, and beyond. Available again from July 19, coming in 180gr black vinyl,housed in a hard tip-on sleeve cover. Limited Edition 500 copies, don’t sleep!

Super disco dub mix action from Junior Negro! He transforms the cult classic Carver Area High School rap into a nice workable instrumental! Then "Lady Midnight" realizes its dreams as a French disco boogie jam through Junior's masterful touch of isolating the groove. Limited one sider!

Mysterious Sydney songstress Justine recorded one album in ’79, which was never officially released. Left Ear have chosen two tracks for a 45 RPM 12” single, which they feel best highlights Justine’s unique vocal talents and songwriting ability. Here the crafty songstress wields melancholic soul and a funky Jazz inspired number with personal and reflective lyrics, both with an intimate and honest approach.Elusive Sydney songstress Justine (Bradley) almost entirely wrote, produced and arranged her sole LP in ’79, an album that was funded by a radio station as the beneficiary for emerging talent. The music was created specifically for radio play without any intention of being manufactured. Luckily however, a friend with ties to a pressing plant known aptly as ‘Midnite Flite’, managed to sneak into said plant one evening and press up a small number for the enjoyment of family, friends & those involved.Left Ear have decided to release what they consider to be the two most significant tracks from this release onto a 12” single, now for the enjoyment of all. The A-Side will feature the haunting ‘Wordless Songs’, a melancholic soulful number which according to Justine explores the “capacity to comprehend a partner’s internal quest for authenticity and connection”. The B-side ‘Mama Didn’t Tell Ya’ is more uplifting in both tempo and arrangements comprising an extended outro, while the lyrics remain just as personal and reflective.