US

The rediscovery of the music of David Axelrod in the 1990s was a revelation to the scores of hip-hop and breakbeat DJs that sampled him, but his composition genius was on display as early as the 1960s. After producing and arranging major critical and commercial hits for Lou Rawls, The Electric Prunes, David McCallum, and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, he was encouraged by Capitol Records to record and produce solo material. Coming right on the heels of The Beatles' revolutionary 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Axelrod would produce a slew of instrumental baroque pop records, which were intricately orchestrated, fused elements of jazz, psychedelic rock, chamber music, and neo-classical, and tackled issues of mental enlightenment, environmental impact, and would be hailed by critics as highly ambitious pieces of conceptual art. The albums Song Of Innocence (1968), Songs Of Experience (1969), and Earth Rot (1970) are most often hailed as David Axelrod's finest moments, but little is mentioned of the producer's 1970s material. Among these records is Seriously Deep, his lone album recorded for Polydor, and an unheralded gem of jazz-rock fusion. On Seriously Deep, Axelrod dispenses with the heavily orchestrated measures of previous works to conduct a powerhouse crew of session musicians, including Leon Ndugu Chancler of Santana on drums, Mailto Correa on percussion, Jim Hughart on bass, Joe Sample on electric keys, and many others, with production from frequent Axelrod collaborators Cannonball Adderley and Jimmy Bowen. Seriously Deep is an obscure release, but also one of David Axlerod's tightest, and most exploratory ones. Across six tracks, Axelrod and his collective of players dip in and out of bounding jazz-funk, Afro-Latin grooves, cinematic flourishes, psychedelic synth washes, and blaring big band horns. It's a singularly insular curiosity of musical impressionism that's equal parts brooding and joyous, a definitive part of Axelrod's discography, and a well of sample material for tracks by Mobb Deep, Large Professor, The Black Eyed Peas, and Beanie Siegel, among others.

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 features choral vocals and marks a departure for Axelrod’s signature sound, which would take on a jazzier feel in the 1970s. This definitive version of Earth Rot, overseen by Now-Again’s Eothen Alapatt in conjunction with Axelrod’s estate is an audiophile reissue, with the vocal version lacquered directly from Axelrod’s original master tapes at Capitol Records by Ron McMaster. 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. “There are very few people who see the Grand Picture of the Universe and understand the Nothingness that it all comes from. There are even fewer who can express these ideas through music - David could do it all.” – T-RayCOMES PACKAGED IN A GATEFOLD JACKET WITH A 28-PAGE BOOKLET!

Delroy Edwards & Benedek team up on this fire 12" !

Limited LPMoon B takes a step out of his comfort zone with ‘Udaya’, giving a lesson on how it isn’t the tools at your disposal, but rather how you use them. A stalwart of vintage analogue gear under normal circumstances, he’s harnessed the full power of his iPad to conjure up 8 cuts of slick, lo-fi boogie that emanate with a smoky warmth. Gone are the genre-hopping sensibilities of earlier releases, replaced with a renewed focus on what really counts: the funk.Gliding on thick, queasy basslines, woozy synths, sampled instruments and iOS-powered FX, it’s a “navigational soundtrack through life's mysteries,” velvety and fuggy in equal measure right to the final beat. Roughly translating to ‘ascension’ in Sanskrit, ‘Udaya’ is a deeply affecting record at times: a sample of Jordan Peterson reciting philosophy on the ‘individual’ provokes reflection on behalf of the listener, while ethereal pads hint at the idea of heightened experience through music.There’s something outward looking and contemplative about the album too, in a wistful, heavy-hearted sort of way - the sort of feeling evoked when man considers the vastness of the universe and his place within it. It isn’t often you find a record simultaneously offering transcendent moments and evoking imagined memories of late night cruises through dimly lit suburban streets and while contemplating humanity’s cosmic insignificance.

Atlanta-based rapper/DJ/chef, Dillon is perhaps best known for his collaborations with acclaimed beatmakers, Diamond D (Black Tie Affair), Supa Dave West (Studies in Hunger), Paten Locke (Food Chain) & Batsauce (On Their Way), but that might change when Lobsterdamus washes up.'The Tails of Lobsterdamus' is Dillon's self-produced solo debut, a deep dive into the origin of his bottom-dwelling evil alter-ego, Lobby Dom. Half man, half lobster and 100% jerk, Lobsterdamus was sent to Earth (unwillingly) from his home planet of Lobtropolis on a quest to save humanity from itself. More importantly, he's looking for Lobby Dame!