MUSIC

Jazz-fusion, disco-funk, Latin jazz and batucada rhythms get the Filipino treatment onAfter Midnight, the sublime second album from keyboardist Boy Katindig. Originally released in 1980, After Midnight draws heavy influence from soul and funk contemporaries in the US as well as Latin America, in particular the famed Brazilian percussionist Paulinho da Costa. It’s a testament to his musical prowess that Katindig weaves effortlessly between styles and tempos. His reverence for Paulinho da Costa extends far, with covers of several songs from the latter’s 1979 Happy People album. This includes slow-burner ‘Déjà Vu’ written by Isaac Hayes originally for Dionne Warwick; on the Filipino instrumental version, local legends Jun Regalado and Roger Herrera (from Regalado’s ‘Pinoy Funk’ single) are reunited on drums and bass respectively. But Katindig’s original compositions hold just as much weight and unique personality: title track ‘After Midnight’ opens with a sultry funk serenade reminiscent of The Isley Brothers, and quickly transforms into a catchy, blistering, saxophone chorus that brims with swagger. Hidden B-side gem ‘Got The Need’ is an uptempo tribute to batucada that would not be out of place in a jazzy house set, and boasts increasingly elaborate and psychedelic solos from Katindig on keys and Ben Concepcion on soprano sax. Meanwhile, ‘Love Till the End of Time’ is a masterclass in instrumental disco funk, penned by the prolific Greg Phillanganes who at that same time was writing for many of the greats including Chaka Khan, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, The Jacksons and Cheryl Lynn. This album is lovingly reissued by Sama Sama Records, a boutique label from DJ and collector Norsicaa, who ran the esteemed Soundway Records for 8 years and released the compilation Ayo Ke Disco in late 2024.

One of the greatest, heaviest, and most sought-after guitar records from 1970s West Africa, available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade!!! Bamako, Mali, 1973: Rail Band, the official orchestra of the Malian state railway, drops their self-titled LP. It’s a relentlessly soulful and hypnotic blend of American funk, jazz horns, and Afro-Cuban music, reflected through centuries-old Mandé tradition and blasted at top volume by some of the continent’s greatest artists. Led by legendary trumpet and saxman Tidiani Koné and held aloft by the intricate web of Djelimady Tounkara’s rumbling, reverb-soaked guitar, Rail Band’s sprawling compositions embody West African storytelling traditions while exulting in the technology and modernity of a newly independent Mali. Vocalists Salif Keita and Mory Kanté, two heroes of African music who would achieve global fame as soloists, are endlessly emotive, oscillating between silky ballads and funk screams. The band’s sound is filled out by layers of percussion, rolling guitars, and melodic horns filtered through the Caribbean. Starting in 1970, Rail Band played five nights a week, from 2 pm til the early hours, at the Buffet Hotel de la Gare. Their audience was an international array of businessmen, young partiers, and people of the Bamako night. The band was incredibly versatile, switching genres, rhythms, and styles to meet their crowd. It was a volatile mix, one that would fall apart soon after these recordings were made, with Salif Keita’s departure to start the rival Les Ambassadeurs. Though Rail Band continued in many distinguished forms, the eight songs on this album reveal one of the greatest bands to ever exist, at the height of their creative powers. On “Duga,” a composition dating back to the 13th century and passed on through oral tradition by the jelis (griots), the Rail Band replaces balafon with the interplay of Cheick Tidiane’s speaker-rattling bass and Alfred Coulibaly’s tasteful organ. “Marabayasa,” with its iconic sax intro and Mory Kanté channeling James Brown, is a deep-cut favorite of DJs around the world. Part of a long and regal lineage of Malian guitar orchestras initially tasked with translating the region’s traditional music to modern instrumentation, Rail Band morphed and reenvisioned those traditions with a style and energy that has never been matched. High-quality black or translucent blue vinyl (limited to first pressing), old school jacket faithfully reproducing the iconic “mermaid” design from the 1973 release. Licensed from Syllart Records and Djelimady Tounkara.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the remastered vinyl reissue of the cult classic “Sounding Out The City” by El Michels Affair. Over 10 years ago, Leon Michels released his first full length record, Sounding Out The City. It was Michels’ first full length record under the moniker El Michels Affair. At the time, the budding retro soul scene consisted of mostly organ quartets a la The Meters and of course, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings were in the early days of their ascent to world domination. Leon Michels, who was 18 when recording Sounding Out The City began, had just released Thunder Chicken, the first record by his high school band The Mighty Imperials. At the time of SOTC, Michels was just discovering early rocksteady, afrobeat, and 60’s garage rock, which inevitably crept its way into the songwriting. He purchased a Tascam 388, an 80’s 1/4″ reel to reel 8 track intended for home recordings, and began recording music in a 10×10 box with no windows that also doubled as his childhood bedroom. Along with fellow Mighty Imperials Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, and Sean Solomon, and Michael Leonhart, Thomas Brenneck, and some of the musicians from The Dap Kings, Michels recorded the LP over a two year period. Upon it’s release, it received some rave reviews and the small deep funk community ate it up, but due to the lack luster promotion and distribution the rest of the world was slow to catch on to the instrumental gems featured on SOTC, which Michels appropriately labeled as “cinematic soul”. However, in 2005 it found it’s way into the hands of the people who were organizing a series of concerts for Scion that paired bands with MC’s. El Michels Affair was contacted about playing one show with Raekwon The Chef of Wu Tang Clan fame. The show was such a success it led to a tour, and then to another set of concerts that featured multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan. This eventually led to the release of El Michels Affair’s second record, “Enter the 37th Chamber” which introduced them to a much larger audience and has been their most successful release to date. Michels has since gone on to produce and co-produce numerous records for powerhouse soul artists like Lee Fields. He shares songwriting credits with Adele, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Aloe Blacc, and has played on records by Ray LaMontagne, Lana Del Rey, The Black Keys and Dr. John.

Hardly anyone outside Ethiopia seems to know Hailu Mergia & The Walias Band “Tezeta” exists. Within Ethiopia this tape has been impossible to find for decades. That’s about to change with this release, which makes available this epochal recording on LP, CD and Digital formats for the first time. From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others. Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV. This Tezeta album is the band’s second recording, released in 1975. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu’s melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible. Profoundly engaging; it’s an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears. (text by Tessema Tadele)

Hailu Mergia is a one-man band. In 1985, master accordionist and veteran bandleader, arranger and keyboardist released the Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument cassette. In a nostalgic effort to bring back the vintage accordion sound of his youth, Hailu gave Ethiopian music a sonic makeover. He was already celebrated for his work with the groundbreaking Addis Ababa ethio-jazz and funk outfit Walias Band. With imagination and a visionary sense of the self-contained possibilities of modern music, he captured the popular sounds of the past using the modern tools of the day. Hailu Mergia weaves Moog and DX7 synthesizers, Rhodes electric piano and rhythm machine into the rich harmonic layering of his accordion, creating hauntingly psychedelic, elegantly arranged instrumentals. These tunes draw from famous traditional and modern Ethiopian songs, as Hailu brilliantly matches lush Amhara, Tigrinya and Oromo melodies with otherworldly flavors soaked in jazz and blues, synthesizing a futuristic landscape. He balances Ethiopian music's signature melodic shape with beautiful analog synth touches, floating upon clouds of hypnotically minimal rhythm tracks. Hailu Mergia was born in Debre Birhan, Showa Province, Ethiopia in 1938 (1946 in the European calendar) to parents Tewabech Ezineh and Mergia Lulessa, who were of Amhara and Oromo ancestry, respectively. His mother took him to Aynemisa, close to Addis, where he grew up from age 3 until he was 10 when they moved to the capital Addis Ababa. Hailu went to Shimelis Habte high school but dropped out before graduating. In 1952 (1960 in European calendar), he joined the army music department as a boy scout to support his mother. Mergia stayed in the army almost two years, learning how to read and write music. After Hailu left the army, he started singing in small bars as a freelance musician. He joined various pick-up bands, touring across the Ethiopian provinces as a singer and accordion player for almost a year. After the group broke up, he started performing in nightclubs like Addis Ababa, Patrice Lumumba, Asegedech Alamrew, Sombrero, Zula Club and others. At Zula Club he and his mates formed Walias Band and did something no other band in Ethiopian nightclub history had done: they started buying their own musical instruments. Until then the club owners were supplying the instruments and had the power to fire musicians at will. For the first time ever Walias Band signed a contract with the owner of Venus Club as a group thereby protecting themselves from club owners. Mergia and Walias Band went on to do gigs at hotels like Wabi Shebele and the Hilton. After playing almost eight years at the Hilton Hotel, Mergia and Walias Band came to the United States and toured widely in 1982-1983. Afterwards, some of of the band stayed in America while others went back to Addis. That was a heartbreaking time for the band. They considered themselves a family, and they knew they had broken new ground in the history of Addis nightclub musicians. They had helped make the Ashantis Band from Kenya famous in Addis. They were the first private band who played for state dinners at the palace for the Derg government (twice). And, they were the first private band to tour the USA. After the break-up of Walias Band, Mergia settled in the States and formed Zula Band with Moges Habte and Tamiru Ayele, playing in different restaurants and touring in the States and Europe. At that time, Mergia made a one-man band recording with accordion for the first time, mixing in Rhodes electric piano, Moog synthesizer and a rhythm machine. That was 1985. This recording was inspired by the early memories of his first instrument, the accordion. After the break-up of Zula Band in 1992, he quit performing and ran Soukous Club for seven years with his partners Moges and Tamiru. Nowadays he's making his living as a self-employed taxi driver at Dulles International Airport while continuing to record his music and practice as often as possible. The reissue of this recording brings back a moment when Ethiopian music was shifting from acoustic-based performances to recordings using more and more synthesized elements. While the results of that shift have their critics Hailu Mergia's initial experiments with solo instrumental music based on Ethiopian folk and popular music captures a singular feeling dripping in ambiance and very human emotional energy.

On May 28, 1969, four American musicians -- reed/wind players Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, bassist Malachi Favors, and (accompanied by his wife, singer Fontella Bass) trumpeter Lester Bowie -- boarded the ocean liner S.S. United States, bound for Le Havre, France. After landing five days later, they moved on to Paris, where they got to work. On August 22, 1970, in the waning days of their stay overseas, the group, with Bass on vocals, would record their second release for EMI's Pathé Marconi: the movie soundtrack Les Stances à Sophie. The record, an exciting, eminently listenable combination of soul, classical, and jazz strains that survives as the Art Ensemble of Chicago's most stylistically diverse album, has long been admired by a devoted cult. Its durability is largely due to the popularity of its "hit": Over the years, "Theme de Yoyo" has been covered repeatedly, essayed by acts as varied as German funk band the Boogoos (and the offshoot Deep Jazz, both featuring singer Julia Fehenbeger), British nu-jazz combo the Cinematic Orchestra, Polish jazz man Wojtek Mazolewski, Norwegian rockers Motorpsycho, French dance music artist Étienne Jaumet, and London-based remixer, Shall I Bruk It. More than half a century later, "Theme de Yoyo" and Les Stances à Sophie still bring it. Limited-edition LP reissue from play loud! Productions, supplemented with new notes by U.S. music journalist Chris Morris.

On October 15th and 16th, 2020, drummer Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they’d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from these sessions made it onto Villarreal’s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, but most of the music remained unreleased. Lados B is a deep dive into the high-level spontaneous music made by Villarreal, Parker, and Butterss across those two days in 2020. Villarreal is heard leading the group through various rhythmic modes and structures for improvisation – flow as informed by the Latin funk of Fania Records as it is by the otherworldly humanity trance of Brain Records – while Parker and Butterss draw on their extensive experience playing free together (as heard on Parker's recently-released Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, and the LA side of Makaya McCraven's 2018 LP Universal Beings) to build harmonic buoys for their spontaneous melodicism. The result is a beautifully vivid illustration of context, creativity, and collective composition from a particularly rich moment in history.

The eminently watchable Accidental Meetings introduce extended family member, Lovely Dave, with a real guess-again mixtape (the first in a series) refracting myriad strains of blissed synths, outernational jazz, new wave pop, post punk scuzz, screwed club and dub Six years into Accidental Meetings’ serendipitous plot, we know to expect anything and everything from the Bristol label, so long as it's got a unique soul and does not bore. Lovely Dave ideally plays true to that brief on his 99 minute mixtape, effortlessly glyding from outernational synth folk to a killer Curtis Mayfield cover via everything from thumb piano meditations, jazz-funked sidewinders, and a proto-new beat bomb on the A-side, before swerving from gothic new wave to smudged minimal wave audities, a pitch-slapped batacuda house ace, and meter-messing skronk on the backside. Brilliantly strange but true!

Going Up, originally released in 1983, is one of the most curious and enduring records from British studio mavericks The RAH Band. Long out of print, it now sees its first ever vinyl reissue courtesy of Shocking Music and Rush Hour.

Led by super-producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Anthony Hewson, The RAH Band has always existed just outside the mainstream. Blending jazz-funk, sci-fi synth pop, and cosmic lounge, their sound never quite fit the mould. That might explain the cult status they’ve held ever since. Beloved by Balearic heads, rare groove collectors, and adventurous synth diggers, Going Up is perhaps their most influential record.

At the centre of it all is the intro track “Messages From The Stars”, the band’s runaway cosmic hit. A spacey, retro-futurist groove that has become a viral favourite in recent years, it now boasts hundreds of millions of streams, with a new generation discovering it through TikTok and YouTube. But it was originally just one track on this understated 1983 album.

The rest of Going Up is just as compelling, filled with dusty drum machines, off-kilter instrumentals, woozy vocals, and that unmistakable early '80s charm. It is a snapshot of a band in transition, blurring the lines between leftfield pop, sci-fi funk, and home-brewed synth experiments.

Out of print for over 40 years, Going Up finally gets the reissue treatment it deserves. Restored and remastered, and still sounding like nothing else.

Classic jazz-funk album produced by the Mizell brothers. Great! Includes 'Black & Blues', 'Harlem River Drive', 'Chicago, damn' and others.

Since its formation in 1969, Soul Media has championed the fusion of jazz and rock. This album, “In the Groove,” recorded in 1973, marks the next step in that direction. It emphasizes the sharpness of jazz, blends in rock to create an edgy sound, and injects funk to give it power and elasticity. This album produced a robust yet refined, uncompromisingly “cool” sound that defies categorization into existing genres like jazz-rock, jazz-funk, or fusion. It has been described as Soul Media's response to The Crusaders, whom Inagaki Jiro was paying attention to at the time. The aim was spot-on. With this album, Soul Media achieved a “refined black feeling” and set its sights on the ultimate destination: 'Funky Stuff.' Text by Yūsuke Ogawa (UNIVERSOUND/DEEP JAZZ REALITY)

A jazz-rock masterpiece by master musician Jiro Inagaki! Beyond Jazz Rock. Soul Media, led by Jiro Inagaki, has arrived at the ultimate tight and cool groove. As Inagaki himself says, "I did black funk." By combining the burst of jazz rock he had cultivated up to that point with the tenacity and elasticity of black music, his musicality took a leap to another dimension. The groove is polished, shiny, and bewitching, coupled with the masterful arrangements of virtuoso Hiromasa Suzuki. The lively and fast "Painted Paradise," the funkiness and mellowness of "Breeze," the low center of gravity and sharpness of "Kool & the Gang," "Funky Stuff," and "Painted Paradise," the melodic "Breeze," and "Funky Stuff," the melodic "Funky Stuff," are all well-known. The entire album is worth listening to, including a cover of "Funky Stuff" by Kool & the Gang. This is a definitive masterpiece that continues to be a worldwide favorite.

This Record Store Day 2026, Strut proudly presents Nuclear War, a powerful collaboration between UK collective The Heliocentrics, Sun Ra Arkestra legends Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott, and vocalist Bilal - issued on limited-edition “hazardous” orange and yellow vinyl.

The Nuclear War recordings stem from a rare session at Malcolm Catto’s Quatermass Sound Lab in January 2015. The group had assembled in London to rehearse for their performance at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards, where Allen received the Lifetime Achievement Award and Catto the John Peel Award. With The Heliocentrics’ trademark raw, psychedelic energy as the backbone, the ensemble captured a series of reimagined Sun Ra classics in a spontaneous, one-off studio moment, and these tapes that have remained unheard in Catto’s archive until now.

The 4-track EP features a sinuous take on Ronnie Boykins’ ‘Angels And Demons At Play’ , originally recorded in 1960, a strident version of ‘Where Pathways Meet’ which was originally created for the much- loved Sun Ra Lanquidity album in 1978, and a dense and deep re- work of 1972’s ‘Astro Black’ featuring Bilal’s incredible otherworldly vocals. The title track ‘Nuclear War’ is re-worked into a cavernous groove featuring Heliocentrics vocalist Barbora Patkova.

Strut Records proudly presents a new reissue of the original Afrobeat classic Low Profile (Not For The Blacks), recorded and composed by Afrika 70 saxophonist and bandleader Lekan Animashaun and produced by Fela Kuti. After years touring the world as Fela’s baritone saxophonist, Animashaun stepped forward to lead the legendary Egypt 80 band following Tony Allen’s departure, remaining the group’s musical director until Fela’s death in 1997. He continued on subsequent tours with Seun Kuti until 2016. Lekan began recording his only solo project, Low Profile, in 1977. The album was composed and recorded across sessions at home in Nigeria and on tour with Fela, who both produced the recordings and added keyboards to the album’s title track. ‘Low Profile (Not For The Blacks)’ referenced a government campaign during the country’s 1970s oil boom: “It was inspired by a speech by Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s military Head of State, when he urged black people to keep a low profile about their wealth and not to behave in a vulgar, arrogant way,” explains Lekan. “I argued that low profile is not just for the blacks, as everyone is human, regardless of race.” On the flip side, the simmering Afrobeat anthem ‘Se Rere’ (which translates as ‘Do Right’) delivers Animashaun’s message of living with integrity: do right, and you will reap what you sow. The song later became the band’s opening number during Fela’s live performances both in Nigeria and internationally throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Despite recording beginning almost two decades earlier, Low Profile did not receive an official release until 1995, when it finally surfaced on Fela’s Kalakuta label. One of only a handful of albums led by core members of Kuti’s band, Low Profile captures a pivotal moment in Afrobeat history. Over time, the original has become a rare and highly sought-after record, and this new reissue places the spotlight back on a modest but influential Nigerian legend. Strut’s reissue features the complete original artwork, is fully remastered by The Carvery, and includes brand new liner notes by Lekan Animashaun himself.

Strut proudly presents the first official remastered reissue of Lafayette Afro Rock Band's elusive funk/Afro original album, 'Malik,' originally released in 1974.

Limited color vinyl edition, recorded in New York in 1978. The spiritual tenor, delayed cosmic guitars, infinitely spacey moog, ethereal vocals, and wavering rhythms make this the most hallucinatory of the bunch, and a favorite of DJs.

Strut present the first official reissue of a landmark album in the field of African music, Mulatu Astatke’s ‘Mulatu Of Ethiopia’ from 1972. Recorded in New York, the album arrived at a time when Astatke had begun to master the delicate fusion of styles needed to create Ethio jazz. “I left the UK for America and studied at Berklee College in Boston. I learnt the technical aspects of jazz and gained a beautiful understanding of many different types of music. That’s where I got my tools. Berklee really shook me up.” Journeying regularly to the Big Apple to play and watch live shows at the Cheetah, the Palladium and the Village Gate, Astatke met producer Gil Snapper on the circuit. “Gil was a nice and very interesting guy. He produced music and worked with all kinds of musicians.” The meeting would lead to a series of albums on Snapper’s Worthy label. The first, ‘Afro Latin Soul’, documented Astatke’s new-found directions. “Mulatu has created a new sound,” enthused Snapper on the album jacket. “He has taken the ancient five-tone scales of Asia and Africa and woven them into something unique and exciting; a mixture of three cultures, Ethiopian, Puerto Rican and American.” A second volume of ‘Afro Latin Soul’ followed before Astatke began to hone his sound further, infusing funk and Azmari “chik-chikka” rhythms into the mix. Returning to a downtown Manhattan studio with Snapper and working with some of the city’s top young jazz and latin session players, ‘Mulatu Of Ethiopia’ began to take shape. “We rehearsed for 3-4 weeks,” remembers Astatke. “it took them a while to get the right feeling in the music.” The resultant album represented the first fully formed document of Astatke’s trademark Ethio jazz sound. It features ‘Kulunmanqueleshi’, ‘Dewel’, and ‘Kasalefku-Hulu’, tracks that Mulatu would return to regularly on singles and in live shows, the Ethio-Latin workout ‘Chifara’ and the self-titled groover ‘Mulatu’ (“I wanted to make a track for…. myself!”).

Hardly anyone outside Ethiopia seems to know Hailu Mergia & The Walias Band “Tezeta” exists. Within Ethiopia this tape has been impossible to find for decades. That’s about to change with this release, which makes available this epochal recording on LP, CD and Digital formats for the first time. From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others. Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV. This Tezeta album is the band’s second recording, released in 1975. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu’s melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible. Profoundly engaging; it’s an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears. (text by Tessema Tadele)

By 1978, Addis Ababa’s nightlife was facing challenges. The ruling Derg regime imposed curfews, banning citizens from the streets after midnight until 6am. But that didn’t stop some people from dancing and partying thorough the night. Bands would play from evening until daybreak and people would stay at the clubs until curfew was lifted in the morning.
One key denizen of Addis’ musical golden age, Hailu Mergia, was preparing a follow up to his seminal Tche Belew LP with the famed Walias Band. It was the band’s only full-length record and it had been a success. But his Hilton house band colleagues were a bit tied up recording cassettes with different vocalists. Still Mergia, amidst recording and gigs with the Walias, was also eager to make another recording of his instrumental-focused arrangements. So he went to the nearby Ghion Hotel, another upmarket outpost with a popular nightclub. Dahlak Band was the house band at Ghion at the time. Together they made this tape Wede Harer Guzo right there in the club during the band’s afternoon rehearsal meetings, with sessions lasting three days.
“My instrumental music was very in-demand and I could have waited,” Mergia recalls. “But I wanted to have a different kind of sound. I had done several recordings with Walias so this time I needed a different sound.”
Dahlak Band catered to a slightly more youthful, local audiences, while Mergia’s main gig with the Walias at Addis swankiest hotel had a mixed audience that included foreign diplomats and older folks from abroad. Therefore their sets varied included lighter fare during dinnertime and a less rollicking selection of jazz and r&b. Meanwhile Dahlak was known more for the mainly soul and Amharic jams they served up for hours two nights a week to a younger crowd.
When Mergia entered the Ghion hotel nightclub to record this tape he was teaming up with a seasoned band who were particularly suited to his instrumental sound. Ethiopian popular music at the time combined elements of music from abroad and Dahlak balanced Mergia’s traditional song selection with the modern approach of a seasoned soul band.
Crucial to the resulting collaboration were Mergia’s arrangements which replaced distinctively use vocals for melodies normally played by instruments. His arrangements conjured memorable new flavors out of existing songs already popular with listeners.
Before Walias Band’s successful gig as house band at the Hilton, Mergia was a young musician hustling from one place to another around Addis. After finishing gigs at the Hilton or on nights off, he would go to good bar where azmari—roving musicians who play traditional songs for tips—and he’d pick up ideas and inspiration. Late night azmari performances revealed for Mergia which songs were moving people in the city. He regularly attended clubs, bars and special private after-hours venues called zigubgn where azmari perform. For Mergia, it was crucial to feature songs he knew people would recognize.
Amharic music has a large repertoire of standard songs everyone knows, the original composers and lyricists of which are often unknown or forgotten. Many of the songs Dahlak, Walias and other bands of that era (including Ibex and Shebele) were playing came from the treasury of shared music, which helped ensure a good vibe in the air.
Mergia released Wede Harer Guzo (“Travel to Harer,”with Sheba Music Shop, which was located in the Piazza district but has long since shut down. Recalling the audience’s positive reaction to Wede Harer Guzo’s novel arrangements, he says it sold well and found many fans. However, as no trace of the tape can be found online, there’s no indication as to why the cassette appears largely forgotten until now. 

The legends of the golden era of Italian soundtracks and library music go by many names, but the backbone of that era’s definitive sonic identity is most often identified as I Marc 4 (also known as Marc 4 or I Marc Quattro). While the moniker might be less familiar to the uninitiated, it is a simple acronym derived from its founding members: Maurizio Majorana (bass), Antonello Vannucchi (organ), Roberto Podio (drums and percussion), and Carlo Pes (guitar). The number "4" serves to highlight the core synergy of these four master musicians. Their journey began in Rome’s vibrant jazz scene of the 1950s and early 1960s, where they honed their craft as members of the RAI national orchestra and collaborated with the most prominent jazz and pop icons of the day. However, it was their pivotal role in defining the Italian cinematic sound of the 1960s and 1970s that secured their legacy. Their unmistakable style was an eclectic fusion of beat, jazz, classical, and Latin influences—textured with early synthesizers, experimental sound effects, and a blend of electronic and baroque instrumentation. Consequently, their initials are etched into the credits of countless landmark recordings by legendary composers such as Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio, Alessandro Alessandroni, Piero Umiliani, and Ennio Morricone. Beyond their work as session luminaries, they produced a vast body of library music under their own name at the legendary Telecinesound Studios in Rome. These recordings were released through prestigious library labels like Sermi, Ricordi, and Fonit Cetra, as well as through their own imprints: Nelson Records, Silver Men, and Silver Music, spanning a definitive series of sixteen albums. Ten of these volumes were issued on Nelson Records during the 1970s, featuring the now-iconic military stencil design. Each release was color-coded: red (G.L.P. 1001), dark blue (G.L.P. 1002), gold (G.L.P. 1003), light green (G.L.P. 1004), brown (G.L.P. 1005), black (G.L.P.1006), light blue (G.L.P. 1007), yellow (G.L.P. 1008), orange (G.L.P.1009), and cool green (G.L.P. 1010). The series was completed by two elusive companion releases: S.M. 2001 on Silver Music and S.M. 2002 on Silver Men, both presented in the same distinctive brown sleeve. Rediscovered in the 1990s and 2000s, these Nelson releases have since achieved cult status among collectors, producers, and DJs worldwide. The final two installments, S.M. 2001 and S.M. 2002, remain the rarest and most enigmatic of the set. Often overlooked, they contain some of the most profound "hidden gems" in the group’s catalog. The tracklist traverses a wide stylistic spectrum: from the rare groove and proto-hip hop energy of "Trama Nella Metropoli", "Beat Morbido", and "Candy", to the lush cinematic atmospheres featuring the ethereal vocals of Edda Dell'Orso on "Summer In Love", "On The Rain", and "Arcobaleno". The collection is rounded out by sophisticated jazz pieces like "Flauti Ensemble", "Passeggiata", and "Atmosfere Dolci”. Sonor Music Editions has meticulously curated the finest moments from these two rare albums for this first-ever dedicated reissue. Bringing together the best of Silver Music (S.M. 2001) and Silver Men (S.M. 2002), this release retains the iconic stencil artwork but introduces a striking silver finish. This design choice honors the original ten-album sequence while shedding new light on these outstanding recordings—works that remain, in every sense, golden.

In the early 1970s, Roy Ayers formed his own band: Roy Ayers Ubiquity. Its lineup included artists well known to funk and soul fans such as Bernard Purdie, James Mason, and Edwin Birdsong. This 1973 album presents Roy Ayers in the midst of a creative evolution toward a sound increasingly influenced by soul and funk, moving beyond the early phase of his musical career, which was more rooted in orthodox jazz. On “Red Black & Green”, he teams up with highly accomplished collaborators such as keyboardist Harry Whitaker, arranger and producer William S. Fischer, and Strata-East musicians Charles Tolliver and Sonny Fortune. Here, however, the latter two do not venture into the spiritual jazz sounds so characteristic of their own recordings; instead, together they embrace a sophisticated funk groove where Ayers showcases his extraordinary vibraphone talent. The album includes outstanding versions of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and ‘Day Dreaming,’ as well as original compositions such as ‘Cocoa Butter,’ ‘Rhythms of Your Mind,’ and the superb title track, ‘Red Black & Green.’ After years out of print, we are pleased to present this much-needed vinyl reissue of an essential album in Roy Ayers’ career. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

Gorgeous DIY, private press, lounge jazz and Latin boogie stardust from 1984, framing keyboard maestro Ronald Langestraat in his living room, laying down pure vibes to 4-track - huge tip FFO Lewis, Gil Scott Heron, James Mason, Starship Commander Woooo Wooooo. "Searching was self-recorded in Ronald’s living room on a 4-Track Tape Recorder in 1984. The recordings symbolise his engagement to cross-over everything that was known to him musically at that time. Most importantly, all recordings reflect his personal way of searching; searching for his own characteristic sound. Rhythmical patterns meet well balanced distortion, shaping the music into a mirror of his character. He was part of several Dutch Latin and Jazz bands, including Cascada and Ritmo Natural. With the latter he performed at Holland’s North Sea Jazz Festival. At this point Ronald is 78 years old, playing music every day. Instruments: Acoustic Piano, Fender Rhodes Piano, Farfisa Organ, String Ensemble, Tenor Sax, Alt Sax, Soprano Sax, Clarinet, Alt Clarinet, Organ Bass, Micro Moog, Drums, Longa & Voices.”

What exactly is Spiritual Soul anyway? At the confluence of congas and Fender Rhodes, the Civil Rights Movement and vegetarianism, jazz-funk and gospel-soul, a Black-to-the-land movement in song sprung forth in the 1970s. Where Rotary Connection, Alice Coltrane, and Roy Ayers dared to fly, others flapped their free love wings, transcending the trappings of Top 40, sexuality, and capitalism at once.

On Eccentric Spiritual Soul, Numero digs deep into the private annals of the Black music diaspora, unearthing ten heavenly grooves for the tranquility bound listener. From Kalima's existential boogie banger "Where Is The Sunshine" to Fathers Children's proto-dub workout "Linda Movement," Lenny White's Bitches Brew comedown "Sweet Dreamer" to Spunk's Balaeric rainstick R&B "La Bimini," Eccentric Spiritual Soul has everything you need for your next incorporeal awakening. Flute not included, but encouraged.

Following on from their seminal Light As A Feather LP, Outubro (October) was originally released in 1980 and began Azymuth’s run of prolific output for Milestone Records throughout the decade. Typifying the consummate craftsmanship of the three members’ performances - each with such distinct personality and together so perfectly balanced - their perfectionist attitude to sound is maintained across the production on the album, beautifully colouring the expressionist fusion of samba rhythm, jazz progression, funk attitude and psychedelic electronics. The album hosts a wonderful mix of tempos and styles, from Alex Malheiros’ earth-shaking slap-bass on ‘Dear Limmertz’, which was to become a hit on London’s underground disco and jazz-dance club scenes alike, to the late maestro Jose Roberto Bertrami’s genial melodic Rhodes excursions on the vocoder laden, samba-jazz masterpiece ‘Un Amigo’, while Ivan ‘Mamao’ Conti’s signature swing on ‘Maracana’ exemplifies the root of Azymuth’s ‘samba doido’ (crazy samba) philosophy. The two cover versions on the album are the title track which was originally penned by Milton Nascimento, and Chick Corea’s, ‘500 Miles High’, both of which magically reimagine the originals and further demonstrate the immense virtuosity of this cult recording.