UK

Australian vocalist extraordinaire Kylie Auldist will be no stranger to soul & funk fans, her searing soul singing having featured on her own albums 'Made Of Stone' ,'Still Life' (Tru Thoughts) also in The Bamboos, as well as Freestyle Records own Cookin' On 3 Burners.Her unmistakable voice is currently topping the pop charts across Europe, as the Kungs remix of Cookin' On 3 Burners 'This Girl' has proven a sure fire hit with club audiences as well as pop fans. It has been playlisted on BBC Radio 1 and Capital FM, and is now a Top 10 hit in the Official UK Chart.For her first solo album on Freestyle, Kylie, assisted by long time friends & collaborators Lance Ferguson (The Bamboos/Lanu/CO3B/Black Feeling) and Graeme Pogson (of Aussie electronic duo GL) have honed and perfected a collection of amazing new boogie, disco & electro-funk inspired tracks that evoke the feel and sound of late 70's & early 80's club classics. Think of classic acts like D Train, Sinnamon, and singers like Chaka Khan, Maxine Singelton, Sharon Redd and you will already start to understand where this new project is rooted.Kicking off this authentically disco style 5 track, 12 inch single and download single is Waste Of Time, a shimmering, soulful and devilishly catchy mid tempo groover. Graeme Pogsons' synthesizer bass lines are so evocative of that era , they act like a musical time machine! This is perfect summer time soul.Sensational (which has a sensational video to accompany it) hits a little harder, the beats, bass line and Kylie's vocals will drive you onto the dance-floor and stay there until the very last note and begging for more. Good Time Girl doesn't let the pressure drop for a second and also features a fantastic proto-rap contribution from King Merc - whilst Family Tree (the title track from the forthcoming album) is pure Saturday night, feel good disco aimed at the ears and dancing feet.The last track Rewards is yet another supremely insistent and catchy song that provides a tantalising hint of the goodies to come when Family Tree finally sees release later this year...can you wait?

Mind blowing Minneapolis boogie, there is so much to this story but lets start with their original 1982 press releaseHot Group, NOBODY, Definitely Going Somewhere!During the 1960s the American popular music scene was overtaken and dominated throughout most of the decade by a creative surge emanating fromDetroit. "The Sound Of Young America," as it was called, was Motown. As Motown declined another inspired voice took up the slack. Under the direction of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Philadelphia International, i.e., "The Sound Of Philadelphia" (T.S.O.P.), became the new voice under the early and mid-'70s.As is becoming quite apparent, the 1980s belong to the Twin Cities. Most people thought it would stop with Prince. It hasn't. A new band called Nobody is making sure that it doesn't. And although the group has been wrapped in mystery ever since they started just four months ago, their recently released demo tape (which will shortly be pressed on vinyl) is a monster that has music insiders buzzing with enthusiasm, "Right now nobody knows who we are. Once we become established, however, we will be casting a highly creative shadow that will be profound, and that other people will have to live up to," says the group.The band has seven members: two vocalists-one male and two keyboard players, one guitar, bass and drums. All but one of the members are from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, providing how fertile our sometimes mild little town can be. They've all had a diverse amount of experience-from jazz to funk-but their music doesn't fit any particular category. Some of Nobody's members even started out in the church, which gave their music a genuinely soulful feeling that can't be denied.Nobody was primarily put together by the female lead vocalist, a lady who's sung with manyTwinCityjazz and gospel greats. But beyond anything else the band is a team. A team with a mission. A mission to bring quality music to the community. Many of you will soon get to judge the sounds of their debut songs for yourself. KMOJFM is getting ready to add the single "I Saw You" to its playlist, and WLOL's music director said he "loved it." Along with the airplay will be an appearance on Scott Thompson's "Showcase" on KWTNMeanwhile the group's manager, Jordanna Gold is keeping busy on both coasts attempting to hook up a deal with one of the major labels for this dynamic, multi-talented group that many people say will be busting out by grammy time.

LIMITED EDITION RELEASE FOR RECORD STORE DAY 2015Sought after instrumentals for critically acclaimed album Sour Soul, by Toronto jazz/hip-hop band BADBADNOTGOOD and Staten Island rap champ Ghostface Killah. Inspired by 1960s and 70s music and taking inspiration from the recording techniques and production of that era , they embrace live instrumentation and zero sampling. BBNG with producer Frank Dukes created a dramatic, cinematic musical staging for Ghostface's vivid storytelling and this is the first and only time the instrumentals will be available as a standalone album.

Two odd Island bangers previously only avaible on the VERY rare Stephen LP you almost certianly don't own. Athens of the North is happy to drop these Funky Modern Pieces on our preffered format for the first time. Recorded in Freeport Bahamas and produced by the mighty Frank Penn. Catchy, on the Edge and full of personality. Records like this is why we do what we do.

It is late 1972. Six emigres from Congo, Benin and Cameroon find themselves in Pavia, near Milan in Italy. Sharing a passion for music and dance rooted in African culture they form a band called M'Bamina ("Lightning") they and stage their dance and music show in Le Rotonde di Garlasco. Two years of hard work and gigging follow before they make their first album "African Roll", released in 1975.Following a European tour in 1976 then find themselves performing in Cameroon for a landmark concert at the Stade de Yaounde with Claude Francois (French Pop star and the writer of the original version of Sinatras My Way) and African music legend Manu Dibango. As it often happened in the 70s when talented ambitious bands met Manu Dibango, a move to France and a record deal with Fiesta Records (Decca) soon followed.In Paris 1977 the band find themselves opening for a James Brown's concert Au Pavillon de Paris. By now the band is a well-oiled machine they have honed their live shows and sound by distilling a pure and fresh blend of R.& B, Rumba, Afro-Cuban, Funk and traditional African. M'Bamina then hook up with French producer Philippe Brejean to record their second album "Experimental" in Sysmo studios (a hot bed of album activity and French production music at the time). The results capture the band at the peak of their powers.The core of M'Bamina was made up of Samba Ngo (guitar and vocals), Antoine Nkouka Batenda (guitar and vocals), Bernard Bifuanibo (bass), Jean-Marie Bolangassa (percussion), Anselme Tambakassa (congas) et Ligali Ali Amidou (percussion and vocals). The band would go on to make 2 further albums before disbanding in 1985.

Ghanaian Afro funk and Boogie from Sidiku Buari is the focus of the next Soundway 12".On the A side a classic Ghana style afro funk cut recorded at Ghana Film Studios has a characteristic Lo-Fi sound led by George Amissah's (Ebo Taylor, K. Frimpong, Uhuru Dance Band) trademark sax over a squelchy synth and drum groove.This is backed on the flip by a boogie funk cut (Music) recoded in NYC in the early 80s with Fanti chants and soulful vocals from the big man himself. 'Alhaji' Sidiku Buari gained fame in the 70s in Ghana and the USA after moving to New York and recording an album (which featured the soul-jazz legend Bernard Purdie) for RCA that was one of the first mainstream afro-funk LPs ever to hit the market in the USA.After two subsequent albums that produced some afro disco classics including the seminal "I'm Ready" he eventually returned to Ghana where he became the chairman of the Ghanaian Copyright Society (COSGA).The two tracks are taken from an obscure 12" release from 1983 that unfortunately had a pressing defect on "Anokwar", so with some twiddling and editing Hide & Smile have restored it ready for some overdue dance-floor use once again.

The Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra is Far Out's in house Brazilian disco super group. It features the arrangements of Azymuth's late Maestro José Roberto Bertrami and the legendary Arthur Verocai alongside a host of other Brazilian musical icons. FOMDO013 is the latest in a series of vinyl only 12" remixes and edits on Far Out. Previous producers providing their re-works to the series include Theo Parrish, Marcellus Pittman, Mark Pritchard, 4hero, Isoul8, LTJ Xperience and more.Having graced the most recent FOMDO 12" release with his signature touch, Detroit veteran Andres returns on the imprint with an alternate take on the same track. Taking the classy disco cut 'Where Do We Go From Here?' into moodier, deeper territories, with freshly chopped vocals and a hazy hip-house bounce, it's a warm late-night stepper, laced with classic OG Detroit funk.With a world renowned disco collection and over thirty years' in the DJ and production game, Italy's Luca Trevisi, A.K.A. LTJ Xperience, proves yet again just what a dab hand he is with an edit. Bringing out yet more colours and textures from the FOMDO original, his rework is pure sunshine-hedonism inducing disco magic, with just the touch of dubby hypnotics that might well cast some minds out to the Balearic Islands ...

Jake Sollo was one of the most prolific innovative musicians from Nigeria in the 70s and 80s. His talents as a rhythm guitar player saw him through much of his career where he played with several Nigerian bands of varying styles. After a stint in the beat group the Hykkers (which he formed whilst studying at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka) then went on to wider recognition as a member of the Funkees. Sollo then went on to play with famed Afro-rock group Osibisa. His stint working alongside group leader Teddy Osei. The Funkees had become very popular, not just in Nigeria where a rough demo of the track "Akula Owu Onyeara" was on constant rotation at the East-Central State Broadcasting Service, but the track was went on to be picked up by the BBC DJ John Peel.After successes in bands, Sollo went solo and found a steady stream of work in London as a session musician and a producer. He returned to Nigeria in 1981 where he produced "bouncy, high gloss boogie" which was incredibly in demand. He had a distinctive playing and producing style and was incredibly popular. He utilized synthesizers which were uncommon in Nigeria at the time.The 1979 "Jake Sollo" self titled album was produced for Pye / Disques Esperance in London. Touches of pop, plenty of African groove, moments of psychedelica... all bound together with Jakes distinctive guitar playing and sleek production. These are sounds that are reminiscent of African music lovers contemporary of Sollo such as David Byrne and Talking Heads, and Paul Simon in Graceland, but with a glittering grooviness that is all Jake Sollo.Sadly Jakes career was cut short when he tragically died in a car accident in 1985. Depriving the world of no doubt what would have been decades of more innovative and creative music.