SEALED

The Souljazz Orchestra return with a brand new studio album for our troubled times, ‘Chaos Theories’, released on Strut on 13th September.Always known for their uncompromising social and political messages, the Canadian collective hit harder than ever on 9 new tracks, outing the hypocrisy of modern day politics, police brutality and the everyday struggle of the working man. Led by chief songwriter and arranger Pierre Chrètien, the band continue to evolve their sound, drawing on a broad palette from their trademark Latin, Afro and Caribbean styles to some of the UK’s political sounds of the early ‘80s, the era of The Clash, The Police, 2-Tone and frontline reggae. “We were basically messing around with the idea of creating our own brand of ‘Afro-punk’”, remembers Chrétien, “something with the aggressive, in-your-face energy of punk rock or free jazz, but still backed by the hypnotic, pulsating grooves of tropical music.”The album takes the listener from carefully targeted sonic missiles to more reflective thought-provoking moments. ‘Police The Police’ starts the offensive: “I wrote this after my neighbour was beaten to death by Ottawa police during an arrest,” explains Chrétien. “The authorities downplayed the incident and the officers were working the next day like nothing had happened.” ‘House Of Cards’ takes a thinly veiled swipe at the current US administration on an infectious disco groove: “lies within lies within lies… like so many Russian dolls”; ‘Boat Rockers’ challenges us all to look beyond accepted norms and ‘General Strike’ documents the frustrations of the working class as the pay gap gets increasingly wider; ‘Slumlord’ shines the spotlight on dodgy landlords while the brilliant closer ‘Well Runs Dry’ laments modern day living, with its confused pace and mundane obsessions, remembering simpler days gone by.Leading their field for 17 years, The Souljazz Orchestra have constantly moved forward and remain an in-demand live band worldwide. ‘Chaos Theories’ is their 9th album, is released on LP, CD, cassette and digital / streaming and is mastered by The Carvery. LP format comes as a special dark blue vinyl edition. The band tour Europe and Canada during September, October and November 2019.-Heavyweight music with a message from Canada’s leading soul / jazz / tropical collective-Includes the singles ‘House Of Cards’ and ‘Well Runs Dry’-Mastered and cut by The Carvery-Full European tour supporting album September – November 2019-1LP IN SINGLE SLEEVE, BLUE VINYL

Strut is proud to announce Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’s sophomore release ‘Obiaa!’, released on 4th October 2019. The album, produced again by Kwame Yeboah and Ben Abarbanel-Wolff at Lovelite Studio’s analogue HQ in Berlin, is a deep and soulful journey into the heart of Ghana’s indigenous highlife music celebrating the timeless and iconic voice of Pat Thomas, the 72 year-old “Golden Voice of Africa”.After producing Ebo Taylor’s seminal albums ‘Love and Death’ and ‘Appia Kwa Bridge’ for Strut Records, in 2014 Ben Abarbanel-Wolff approached Kwame Yeboah, Ghana’s top contemporary instrumentalist and bandleader, to work on a new project: “We initially wanted to invite Pat back into the studio with Ebo Taylor and Tony Allen to recreate and expand on some of the vibes they had recorded together during a lost session in 1977,” Ben explains. Recorded in Accra, the result was the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album ‘Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’ in 2015. Pat and the Kwashibu Area Band (named after Kwame’s neighbourhood in Accra) hit the road in October 2015.After a memorable performance at WOMEX in Budapest, they never looked back. The next two years took them around the world to play at major venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Roskilde, WOMAD, Sakifo, WOMADelaide, Sines and many more. “We could see there was something for everyone in our music. People of all ages, colours and trends were dancing together!’ explains Kwame, the mastermind behind the band’s unbelievable precision and killer live show.The new album is called ‘Obiaa!’ which means ‘Everybody!’. Tracks include the modern parables ‘Onfa Nkosi Hwee’ warning against arrogance and ‘Odo Ankasa’ about the value of real love and trust as well as a great new cover of Thomas’ Afro-disco favourite ‘Yamona’. “Playing highlife around the world taught us what we had to do to move our sound forward,” continues Ben. While simultaneously looking back towards the classic days of highlife and forward to a fresh revival of the guitar band sound, this album cements Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band’s position at the pinnacle of modern African music.‘Obiaa!’ is released on all formats on 4th October The album features exclusive cover artwork by Lewis Heriz with photos by Marie Weikopf and Michelle Chiu and is mastered by Édouard Bonan at Ed-Room Studio in Paris.-Brand new album from Ghana’s original highlife master-Produced by Kwame Yeboah and Ben Abarbanel-Wolff and recorded at Jochen Stroeh’s Lovelite Studios-Mastered and cut by The Carvery with illustrated design by Lewis Heriz-Full worldwide PR campaign + European tour during Oct / Nov 2019-2LP IN SINGLE SLEEVE, 12” SHEET INSERT

In the vast world of Library Music, Philopsis with its enigmatic cover artwork stands as an exception.Philopsis was released in 1978 on Freesound – a sub-division label dedicated to French composers of the UK based publisher Ambient Music.At the source of the project - which has gained cult status in recent years - there is Jacky Giordano, a mysterious musician whose name rhymes with excitement to any of those who have heard his productions on mythical labels such as Montparnasse 2000, l’Illustration Musicale, Musax, Sonimage, Timing.Very little is known about this French musician and producer, who remained mostly in the shadow: once an accountant and later a label boss, Jacky Giordano produced and co-signed many titles under many pseudonyms. For a period of time he was the conductor for the Crazy Horse revue. He also composed for maverick film director Jean-Pierre Mocky. He is even co-credited on Bernard Fèvre’s masterpiece: Black Devil Disco Club.Later on, his setbacks with the justice in the late 2000s revealed a darker side of the persona, yet Jacky Giordano remains one of the most fascinating creators of the golden age of Library music. Among all of his confidential discography, Philopsis is undoubtedly his masterpiece.Library Music has its detractors: some will say it is uninspired music for documentaries, radio jingles or erotic productions but it is unlikely that Giordano had in mind to illustrate this kind of productions while recording Philopsis, an album of an astonishing coherence.Accompanied by Yan dY's - probably Yan Tregger (an alias for Edouard Scotto Di Suoccio, another forgotten hero of Library Music) and by Francis Personne - an obscure musician who later worked as a sound engineer on many zouk productions of the 80s - Jacky Giordano experimented a lot: the result is an airy and rough jazz-funk with clear inspirations from the musics by Lalo Schiffrin, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Ennio Morricone, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Nino-Nardini and even Brian Eno.Confidentially distributed at the time of its release, original copies are now almost invisible, and market price have reached crazy amounts in recent years. Making Philopsis available again sounded like an evidence.Digger's Digest and Listen! Record Store team up to offer you a strictly limited reissue of one of the cornerstone of Library Music, rehabilitating at the same time the work of one of the most intriguing desperados of the French music industry.Liner Notes from Digger's Digest / Listen! Websites.Limited to 500 copies / High Quality Tip-On Sleeve / Remastered.Reissue supervised by Frédéric Ménétrier at Audio Gecko, France.Original record digitized by Karen Beun and restored by Emiliano Flores.

Limited to 1000 copies 180 Gram Vinyl with Obi. Comes in Japanese Paste On Sleeve

"Originally released in 1989, this maxi 7" had a local success on FM radio and in clubs, in France. Despite its quality, the tune didn't breakthrough at the time, and became a highly-sought after EP. After a long quest, and for the first time ever, Royer Records re-releases it for a special 30th anniversary edition. 400 Copies Only. Fully remastered, on 12" (yellow-colored vinyl).

Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers is the first release of new French Label ICI BIENTÔT (Here Soon ...), launched by Paris Fleamarket’s Record Shop, Geminicricket. On the Menu... Suspended Time, Unsung Heroes, Hidden Records and Next Door Marvels.In 1983, NEF released their first and only album, Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers. At that point, the band already had a long history, interwoven with that of various musical trends and alternative movements from the late sixties to the early eighties. That’s certainly what makes this record so special and able to conciliate such different worlds as Electronic Prog, Film Score, New Wave … while also being able to talk to DJ’s (Daniele Baldelli often quoted it as one of his favorite record).The band’s destiny was most certainly tied to their native region, the South of France, an idyllic environment that attracted a number of musicians during the 1970s, allowing the group to attend many concerts or share the bill with several groups that have gone on to become well known: Can, Ash Ra Tempel, Magma, Catherine Ribeiro, Zao, Chêne Noir, Art Zoyd …Founded in 1975 by Richard Lorenzi, NEF started as a kind of Free Rock band with multiple influences, going from Prog to Musique Concrete, in which any method of making sound, any way of bringing out sounds was good … 2 musicians and a photographer, full member of the band who was projecting slides over the music and influenced their dreamlike universe. In 1978, Vincent Tronc came on board with his keyboards and synths. While the group had been influenced by electroacoustic techniques until then, Vincent broadened NEF’s horizons, bringing in a host of new influences: Ash Ra Tempel, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze … the beginnings of electronic music.When the album is recorded in 1983, new directions were taken and changed NEF’s usual sound. First, the idea of playing the accordion, clearly not a common thing and a new Drum Machine, the Roland CJ-5000. Pressed the day a figure of French Chanson died, NEF’s pressing is botched up, a good part of the records were unusable since the records came out totally warped. Then, at the end of the eighties the small stock of remaining records is lost in the sadly famous flood of Nîmes. 2000 records had been pressed, but very few survived!All the more reason to reissue Mais Alors !!?... c’est à l’envers, an unsung record, free and multifaceted, a quirky and daring musical ovni, transcending eras and genres, between synthetic Krautrock and Film Score, reminiscent of NEU! (with a red nose), François de Roubaix and Pascal Comelade.

1977, Paris France. Two brothers freshly arrived from Casamance, the Senegalese ‘Florida’, are living the tough immigrant experience.Their plan: becoming pop stars. A challenge so ambitious it sounds like science fiction at the time: Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and a handful of others artists have started making waves in the Western World , but the rise of the Pan-African sound is still at an early stage. The Touré brothers have formed a band, written some songs, and start frequently playing their music live, to great effect, at an underground theatre called the Dunois in the 13th Parisian district. The hype starts spreading.Overcoming the odds, their parents' ban on playing music ("a satanic activity"), the death of their brother and mentor Amadou and a stint in a Mauritanian prison, they will ultimately reach stardom a few years later under the name Touré Kunda (The Elephant Family). A legendary 40-year career will follow: 16 albums released, millions of records sold, numerous world tours, awards and collabs with the likes of Manu Dibango, Talking Heads, Carlos Santana, Bill Laswell, Alpha Blondy, Bernie Worrel …Released in 1979, self-financed by loans from friends and allies, Mandinka Dong is the genesis of Touré Kunda, the cornerstone of the band’s unique sound, at the crossroads of Disco, Funk, Pop, Reggae, Portuguese, Guinean, Cuban, Zairean, Mandinke and Soninke music. Limited to 700 copies and very difficult to find in decent condition, the original pressing faded into oblivion for decades. A low-resolution digital version of the album started circulating in recent years, not doing justice to the rich analog sound of the recording.It is an honour for Secousse and Hot Mule Records to present a complete reissue of Mandinka Dong. Faithfully restored and remastered, it will be available in both digital and physical formats (in gatefold vinyl illustrated with photos from the artists’ archives and liner notes by Frank Tenaille, the band’s official biographer).