MINT

Three timeless gems composed by Mr. Lester J. Batchelor - founder of the band Atmosfear; classy British jazz funk !

Imagine if you could put together a dream line-up of MCs and producers from all four corners of the rap world? That’s what artist and illustrator Gangster Doodles set out to do when he put together a stellar collection of tracks by the rappers and talent that inspire his work.The all-star line-up features everyone from hotly-tipped emerging producers like Eets, Caleb Stone, Maze Mountain and LoVibe next to underground perennials like Onra, Mndsgn and Jon Wayne all the way up to top flight producer Kaytranada and established rap vets like Madlib, Oh No, Blu and Defari.This second collaboration between All City Records and Gangster Doodles is a jam-packed sonic adventure featuring 27 killer tracks from some of the finest creators out there. Doodles had the idea for a comp two years ago. Hyped after partnering with All City for Knxwledge’s "Wraptaypes" project back in 2015, they initially set out to put together an EP but as the tracks kept coming in it exploded into the sprawling double LP of low-slung grooves and bangers from the best in the business.With everyone on the record being a friend or friend of a friend, the comp just kept growing as GD went to work with the hustle he has learned from penning his post-it sketches day in day out for the last decade.Word spread fast and soon he was being sent beats from all over, even reaching behind the prison walls of Bergen County Jail, New Jersey and securing a track from former Dipset affiliate Max B.The last few years have been busy for Marlon "Gangster Doodles" Sassy. He released his acclaimed Gangster Doodles (The Book) alongside an ever-expanding array of prints, original works, apparel and exhibitions across the globe. Topping that off with animation projects, a graphic novel in the works and now, with this LP titled " Gang$ter Music Vol 1", he is about to debut his first ever music compilation.He says himself: “Every time a new track came in it was like running down the stairs on Christmas morning to open a present. What started as a slow trickle of work coming in soon turned into a tsunami with some of my heroes like Onra, House Shoes, Blu, Jeremiah Jae joining up with young guns Kojaque, Kean Kavanagh, Dream Panther and others to beef up the record”“When an email pinged through with a track from brothers Oh No and Madlib it felt like the final gift and Gang$ter Music Vol. 1 was complete.”

Invisible City Editions is proud to officially re-release the sublime extended 12” version of “Praise Jah” with soaring vocals and wild electronics.Oluko Imo was a Trinidadian born multi-instrumentalist, founder of the legendary spiritual afro jazz groups Mansa Musa and the Black Truth Rhythm Band. He moved to New York City in the 80s and divided his time between teaching music there and touring Africa with Fela Kuti as both his manager and part of the band.Praise Jah is Imo’s crowning achievement. An elevated electronic mantra that perfectly fuses synthy soca disco with his spiritual afro-Trinidadian leanings. It’s a timeless piece of music that sounds as visionary today as it did when it emerged from the aether back in 1979.Limited pressing with embossed sleeve, designed by Zeitype.

While it may have been Sea Bee’s release, key to the album’s success was the magic touch of Spokes H, who composed, produced and arranged all the tracks. Sea Bee would soon disappear off the radar, while Spokes remained an influential and popular figure in SA until his untimely death in 2013.The latest release on DJ Okapi’s Afrosynth Records removes two tracks from the original six-track album, keeping four of the choicest downtempo dancefloor bombs – ‘Home Boy’, ‘I Wanda Why’, ‘Thiba’ and ‘Stoppa - all heavy on the bass, with uplifting vocals and unique lyrics guaranteed to not let any discerning (or aspiring) DJ down – ever!

Ted Scotto began his musical life as a trumpet player, but got his foot in the door of production soundtracks when he composed the theme for the 1968 French animated series “Les Shadoks”. Soon taking on the pseudonym Yan Tregger (chosen for its nonspecific, English-sounding connotations), Scotto wrote and recorded more than thirty library records, ranging from funk and R&B tunes to deep dives into the then-prevalent Italo-Disco sound. He also continued to record commercial music (including two albums with his disco act M.B.T. Soul and the under- water trumpet novelty hit “Bubble Bubble”), and work on film scores.In 2018, Mark Grusane adapted the track “Riff On” from Catchy LP for BBE Records, which later decided to reissue Catchy and Duck & Drakes on vinyl. For this new 12inch release, Yan Tregger has done us the honor of reworking two unpublished tracks from the M.B.T project. You will have a bliss listening to two originals tracks, slightly transformed, and two reworks that will make you travel through Balearic and Dub atmospheres, preserving to the maximum the soul of the original grooves.This release announces a turning point in the production. Parisian Soul converges on an exclusive and unique dimension with a live sampler concept on stage to remix their Maxi-vinyl in real time. Surrounded by pianist Alexandre Destrez (St Germain, Dimitri from Paris and Dj Yass), and percussionist Edmundo Carneiro (St. Germain, Bob Sinclar, De La Soul).