Netherlands

Late 80s South African dance floor winners only! Selected by DJ Okapi and Antal, the compilation holds tracks by Jivaro, The Hard Workers, Ayobayo Band, S.Y.B. & many more. This is the sharp electronic music that fuelled the local Pantsula dances during the 80s and 90s . A must have for fans of Bubblegum and Kwaito music.The 12 tracks selected for Pantsula! come from a very unique, very different time and place. They represent the birth of electronic dance music in South Africa, through the songs of one particular independent label from the time: Music Team. The sound represents the culmination of the bubblegum era, when South Africa’s disco artists outgrew their American influences and forged an increasingly electronic and ‘local’ pop sound.Evolving over time since long before the 80s, the distinctly South African subculture of Pantsula is more closely associated with an attitude, a style and a signature dance, rather than any specific sound. In the late 1980s and early 90s, Pantsula was also the name given to a new type of dance music taking over the streets of South Africa, influenced by earlier bubblegum and the rise of Shangaan Disco, but with a far broader appeal and a harder, purely electronic sound.

Music From Memory’s final 12" for 2017 is a reissue of Dub Oven's self released, and sadly one-off, 1983 EP 'Skin N Bones’.Pioneers in the Post Punk Industrial and New Wave scene in 1980’s San Francisco, Gary Miles (Voice Farm) and Blaise Smith (Minimal Man), met at San Francisco’s notorious 181 Club in December of 1982. This straight/same sex/swing-both-ways late night dive bar was tucked away in one of the city's most risky, drug riddled neighbourhoods. Stationed near the SF Museum of modern Art it attracted a wild audience of local patrons, aspiring young artists and music heads. In the thick of all this the duo felt impartial to a lot what was going on musically and set out to produce electronic music that could break through the "somewhat exhausted post disco sound that was then competing in the local San Francisco clubs". Enlisting soul vocalist Celeste Miller, the duo were also inspired by Lee 'Scratch' Perry / Upsetters dub tracks being produced in Jamaica and created a unique breed of avant guard hybrid New Wave/Electronic Funk.With it's influences seemingly as much rooted in the past and the present as it was focused on the future; Dub Oven formed a distinct, mystical approach to music intended for the dance floor. All three tracks on this 12" embody a signature groove and an inventive synthesized abstraction to express a languishing urban unsettledness and spiritual awareness. Recorded at L7 Studios in San Francisco with the assistance of the the studio’s in house producer Marco Perry (who currently now works with Bjork) the record was unfortunately overlooked by A&R at several major and even local labels and was finally self-released in very limited quantities. Utilising analog electronics and instrumentation, the record draws on elements of dub, new wave, soul and funk to create a sound that is uncategorizable and one that was perhaps simply too forward thinking for it’s time.

Remastered 2017 version of the 2002 Thump mix with a new version on the flip, played with band and the addition of live instruments.The legendary German House label NEEDS (not wants) returns after a long hiatus with a new release on the exclusive Gold Edition that is set up for revisiting their own classics to upgrade them with brand new versions and re-interpretations. Walkin Thru Circles - originally produced by Lars & Marek Bartkuhn - has always been a favourite for many of their fans. The original Thump Mix is a constantly building mover that is based on a massive beat, hypnotic soundscapes and highly energetic chord hooks, ready for taking off to outer space.For the Full Expansion Lars has gone back to the studio to recompose and re-record the whole thing over again, combining the skills of some excellent session musicians with lots of live instruments, drum & percussion and vocals all played and sung by the producer himself. The result is a complex, epic and fearless Jazzfunk odyssey, both musically expansive and heavily grooving at the same time.

South African house and synth-funk from the kwaito era by the legendary Senyaka Kekana. The unexpected deep house jam "Bayanyonyoba (1993)" and the illustrious soul song "Don't Judge Me Bad (1987)" are big RH favorites. Original copies are absolutely impossible to find, now released on 12inch for the first time. Beautiful sleeve by Stenze Quo! Esa Williams - "I had the pleasure of performing alongside Senyaka at the Alexander Theatre, Johannesburg back in 2012 which would have probably been his last most iconic gig before his passing in 2015. These two tracks really showcase the sounds of South Africa around the early to late 80’s, the influences from American synth pop and House that would then lead later into many of these records being played at the wrong speed which ultimately became the original Kwaito sound from South Africa."Kwaito is not just a form of house music, it’s also about the way South Africans dress, talk and dance. The lifestyle took shape in Soweto and gained popularity throughout the cities and townships of South Africa during the nineties. In the backdrop of a transforming South Africa, this slow, loud and striking form of house music emerged just before Nelson Mandela took office as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Kwaai meaning hot, kicking - kwaito is a style in which the sung, rapped and shouted lyrics played a prominent part to mobilise the youth and push for change.The late Senyaka's 1987 album Fuquza (Dance) was years ahead of its time and gave rise to his reputation as a forerunner of the kwaito sound. The album includes "Don't Judge Me Bad" as well as "African Rap" and "Go Away". Later, in 1993, with South Africa on the cusp of democracy and the kwaito movement about to explode into the mainstream, Senyaka cemented his position with the release of his landmark album Ma-Gents, which included the song “Bayanyonyoba”.Regarded as one of the first African rappers, this pioneering artist was best known for his eccentric, controversial lyrics - delivered with a bold and at times funny approach that endeared him to many fans. Outside music, Senyaka also grew in popularity thanks to his roles as an actor, including in the popular homegrown film Moruti wa Tsotsi and the television comedy Ashifa Shabba.The emblematic artist successfully reinvented himself during his career, which led to divergent works. Senyaka’s versatile character shines through in this release as well. “Bayanyonyoba” is a soulful, loud but dreamy South African house gem, whilst “Don’t Judge Me Bad” is a more introverted electronic soul song.