SEALED

Strut present a new reissue of Walter Gibbons’ ‘Jungle Music’ compilation LP, the definitive collection of Gibbons’ groundbreaking remixes during the heyday of New York’s disco era.Walter Gibbons remains one of the most important and unheralded DJ / remixers in New York dance music history, a pioneer of reel to reel edits and the art of the remix and a tangible link between early hip hop and disco through his quickfire turntable skills developed during the mid-70's.At his famed residency at Galaxy 21 (alongside a then young percussionist, Francois Kevorkian), Gibbons perfected his turntable prowess, mixing two copies of records seamlessly at a similar time to Kool Herc's famed block parties across town in the Bronx in 1975. He was among the first to make his own reel to reel edits of tracks, extending breaks and restructuring tracks specifically for the dancefloor. As a direct result, he was the first DJ to be granted access to multi-track tapes as Ken Cayre's Salsoul Records brought him in to re-work Double Exposure's 'Ten Percent' in '76, a mix that would set the blueprint for disco, the 12" format and all future dance music mixes.This compilation focuses on some of the more adventurous and ground-breaking mixes that Gibbons produced during the disco era including a freeform treatment of Dinosaur L's 'Go Bang', Paradise Garage favourite 'You Are My Love' by Sandy Mercer and underground disco rarity, 'I've Been Searching' by Arts & Craft.- Reissue of the definitive compilation of 12” mixes by Walter Gibbons- Features rare and acetate-only mixes released widely for the first time- Includes full Walter Gibbons biography by author Tim Lawrence + rare photos- Original LP release in-demand and now fetching large sums on Discogs

Things are happening. It’s a perpetual truth and something of a mysterious, even ominous, sentiment as it applies to XL Middleton’s follow up to “Tap Water.” Fittingly, the content of “Things Are Happening” strays down darker or more cynical paths than its predecessor, and in doing so takes the modern funk ethos as a whole beyond tried and true formulas such as love songs or spiritual anthems. The grooves remain uptempo, the synth work is still warm and percussive. But, there’s a heavier story to tell, and greater truths to face. The album opens with the uptempo, lowrider-ready “Never Have Too Many Freaks.” Upon frst glance it’s a hedonistic ode to maintaining multitudes of willing women for carnal conquest, but further listens reveal the story of a man in search of love, let down too many times and thus led away from the pursuit of romance. “Look Who’s Talkin’” details the strenous nature of socializing as an introvert, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics seated atop a warbly electro-funk instrumental. This theme is explored again, in a more introspective fashion, on the album’s closer, “They Don’t Wanna Leave.” On “Better Friend” (feat. Moniquea), XL plays witness to those who would invade social circles for personal gain - an all too common sight in the music business, perhaps foreshadowing a future hip hop album by dropping a few bars before the song sizzles to a close. Him and Zackey Force Funk team up on “Paradise Of Pavement,” an anthem for the highs and lows of living in LA, framed by cosmic chords and grinding synth bass tones. “Purple Sheets” resonates with a slow Linn drum bounce as XL’s vocoder fnally offers a moment of unbridled love/lust, adding a dimension to the album more akin to “Tap Water” than anything else on the project. Some might argue that the internalized nature of “Things Are Happening” is badly timed, with the hyper-politicized environment we are now living in almost demanding social commentary in art above all else. However, this album is a reminder that, no matter who the president is or what global woes we are facing, we also exist outside of the collective mind and have our own individual stories to tell.

Dark Entries and Honey Soundsystem Records have teamed up once more to release the final volume of gay porn soundtracks by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. One of the most revolutionary and influential figures in the canon of disco, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, “The San Francisco Sound.” Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco in 1971 to study at the City College of San Francisco. He founded the Electronic Music Lab at the school, where he would make experimental soundtracks by blending various types of music and adapting them to the synthesizer.

Music From Memory's final compilation of 2017 sees the release of the double album “1 by 1”, which brings together the works of American experimental musician Geoffrey Landers. During a period spanning from 1979 to 1987, this Denver, Colorado based multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer and engineer, conceived several solo albums. Only two of these, “The Ever Decimal Pulse” and “Habitual Features” along with the single “Breedlove” were ever released on vinyl.Being heavily involved in the local industrial/punk/new wave scene and wanting to create a recording studio “available to record artists regardless of their financial circumstances” Landers set up “The Packing House Studio” in 1981. This analog 8-track recording facility was located in a former slaughterhouse in the stockyards of Denver and was a place of significant activity for the next three years with the studio releasing recordings from numerous artists most notably Allen Ginsberg.It was here that Geoffrey Landers also started his own aptly named “Cauhaus” label. Indicative of the underground/DIYculture, “Cauhaus” was a subsiduary of a label called Local Anaesthetics which was started as an in-store label by independent Denver record store Wax Trax. Typically Cauhaus releases were only pressed up in small quantities and independently distributed, making Lander's music essentially elusive to a wide audience. After relocating in 1984 to an art district of Denver Landers opened the “Cauhaus Institute of Recording” studio where he continued to produce music for soundtracks, art and multi media projects for the next three years, after which Landers stepped out of the music industry entirely. He currently creates and exhibits mixed-media glass art.Throughout the twenty tracks of "1 by 1", of which six previously appeared on CD only, we are submerged into a wide diversity of musical approaches from Geoffrey Landers. From the proto-house track “Logarhythms” and the heart breaking New-Wave Boogie/Funk of “Say You’ll Say So” to the more contemplative pieces such as the oriental insprired “Nisei” and the drenched in sunshine dub/reggae track “Mack” Landers shies away from musical expectations again and again; searching continually for innovative and new forms of expression.

‘Break at Home’ is the collected recordings of the mysterious group ‘2 Katara’ which was formed in Athens, Greece in 1978 by George Theodorakis (keyboards, percussion, vocals) with his close friend Dimitris Papangelidis (bass, guitars, percussion, vocals).This musical-duo recorded quietly over a decade between Theodorakis’ family idyllic home studio in the Philopappou hill of Athens and the nearby studios Theta and SR. For some part, the tracks seem like adventurous experiments or even unfinished samplers or riffs the band starts to develop, but at the same time there are productions that are clearly meant to be the backbone of an album that never came out.Into the light proudly presents 14 sun-soaked productions from the above-mentioned sterling material from 1981 until 1991 where the band split. This sixth installment is meant to be enjoyed as a journey from proggy pop to TR-909 drum driving compositions to Mediterranean disco-not-disco and further futuristic synth-scapes.The many elements from the Greek traditional folk music - especially in ‘I Can Not’ which is an ambient take on a folk lament song from Epirus area and the reverse play recording of a Greek orthodox priest chant on their last ever recorded epic 17min track ‘Greek lady’ -, the unusual but clever combinations of colorful styles and the intense improvisation put the group in the first line of Athens’ best kept secrets