MUSIC

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.

Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to release Poulo’s newest recording of highly virtuosic folk-pop, fresh from the studio, broadcasting her vision of Peulh music beyond the grazing grounds and central markets of her remote home region in southwestern Mali. 

It’s not very common to find a female singer performing publicly among the Peulh. But Poulo’s mother’s co-wife is Inna Baba Coulibaly, who is a celebrated singer most Malian music fans know. Coulibaly herself was brought into music by forces outside her control when a regional music contest required an entry from her village and she was chosen to be a singer. So, set in motion by a surprising series of events, young Poulo’s entree into the music world was auspicious as she gained popularity across the region. After several locally released tapes and CDs, this record is Poulo’s first internationally-distributed record. 

On Poulo Warali, she and her band combine the hallmarks of Peulh music―warm flute floating over cross-rhythmic n’goni (lute) riffs and resonant calabash gourd hand percussion―with broader Malian sounds like lightly-distorted guitar and a heavier, rollicking inertia. Shape-shifting layers of rhythm and woody overtones match Poulo’s commanding voice in a jocular yet deliberate dance. 

This is a relatively rare example of Malian Peulh music played in a modern, cosmopolitan context, reflecting the mixed society of Dilly, where Bambara, Soninke and Peulh-speaking people live among each other. 
Poulo’s conscious lyrics about community concerns speak to the distinctive identity of her broadly-flung people. While Peulh represents less than 10% of Mali’s melting pot of languages, the dynamic music here powerfully resonates well beyond the linguistic borders.

Linear Labs: São Paulo sparks a new golden era of musical genius defined by the maestro Adrian Younge, encapsulating what he’s learned in building the first era of Linear Labs and its successor label Jazz Is Dead. 
Linear Labs: São Paulo marks the evolution of this journey.

Step into an extraordinary psychedelic and soulful experience with Adrian Younge presents Linear Labs: Sao Paulo: a compilation of new songs showcasing the musical brilliance of Adrian Younge with artists from around the world. Essentially, the album features one unreleased song from an array of forthcoming albums Younge has produced for Linear Labs, including Something About April III, the tertiary installment of Younge's masterwork trilogy, and a new blaxploitation adventure from hip hop legend Snoop Dogg, entitled Don’t Cry For the Devil. 

Also included on this preview is Brazilian actress/ singer Samantha Schmütz, Middle-Eastern singer Liraz, London-based jazz vocalist ALA.NI, afro-futuristic soul singer Bilal and a bonus song with Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier. 

“For the last 30 years, I’ve studied rare and obscure records in an attempt to become the most unique producer in the world. A world where I create music with no expiration date…a vortex where the composers of yesterday and today sonically meet to discuss the way that hip hop has informed modern ears…essentially, my music is for the heads. This is São Paulo!” ⁃ Adrian Younge 

It’s a new era for Adrian Younge’s recording outfit, Linear Labs. Since the start of 2020, Adrian Younge has been at the helm of production of 30 albums for his Jazz Is Dead label alongside his partner Ali Shaheed Muhammad. These albums include collaborations with iconic artists such as Roy Ayers, Ebo Taylor, Marcos Valle, Gary Bartz, Doug and Jean Carn, Dom Salvador, Carlos Dafé and countless others, helping reshape and refocus their careers. For the last 12 months, Younge has refocused his energies into his own music and the outcome has been what he describes as "the pinnacle of his career.” In these new offerings, he takes everything he has learned in his illustrious career and reaches new heights to be heard on Linear Labs: São Paulo.

The first single to be released is “Esperando por Você,” a dark and psychedelic glimpse into the world of Something About April III, the third installment to Younge’s fabled and most sampled works. Fans of Younge will immediately recognize his signature Something About April sound, but with a twist: the entire album is in Portuguese!

“Rules of the Game” offers the first glimpse into Snoop Dogg and Adrian Younge’s blaxploitation adventure, Don’t Cry for the Devil. The album features Snoop Dogg’s embodiment of the fictional ‘70s pimp, Silky Slim, rappin’ about life in the game. Younge’s production echoes the tone of Snoop’s debut album, Doggystyle, as if it was produced by Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and Johnny Pate circa ‘76.

“Fire in the Disco” is a standout track from Younge’s upbeat and dance heavy Afrobeat project, Afrodisco Makossa. The six-track album is the follow-up to Younge’s collaborations with Afrobeat pioneers Tony Allen and Ebo Taylor, released on the Jazz Is Dead label. Featuring an ensemble of Ghanian and Black American vocalists, this song embodies the rich heritage of African music with a vibrant mix of Afrobeat-inspired disco tracks.

Hear Younge’s foray into the world of middle eastern psych and funk on “Farrar Konam,” a song created with Middle-Eastern singer, Liraz. Renowned for her outspoken activism through music, Liraz champions women's freedom worldwide. Sung in her family’s native Farsi language, her powerful message resonates universally. Her forthcoming album with Younge is entitled, Azadi, which means “Freedom.”

“Nossa Cor” is a classic love samba composed by Younge and Brazilian actress/singer Samantha Schumütz. This song is a preview into their majestic album, Samantha e Adrian. The partnership between Schmutz and Younge is heavily inspired by the revolutionary Brazilian music created during the MPB and tropicalia era of the ‘60s and ‘70s. While many know Schmütz for as an actress and comedian, few are aware of her singing prowess.
The song “Human Absence” comes from YOUNGE, the eponymously named instrumental album, a first of its kind. Created with a live 30-piece orchestra, the fuzz guitars, cinematic arrangements and funky percussion showcase Younge’s mastery as a conductor from a bygone era.

On Proud, Adrian Younge showcases the Parisian jazz singer ALA.NI. With her unique blend of vocal harmonies and unparalleled emotion, ALA.NI establishes herself as one of the most distinctive and enchanting Black voices emanating from Paris.

In 2015, Bilal and Adrian Younge released In Another Life, an album crafted by Younge to highlight the soul singer’s impressive vocal range and distinctive style, featuring guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T. and more. In Another Life: Redux is a re-release of the acclaimed album, remastered with three unreleased songs as it was always intended by Younge to be released. 
Note to editors:

Adrian Younge is an Emmy Award winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from Los Angeles, CA. Renowned for his analog sound, Younge has been sampled by artists like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Common, DJ Premier and counteless others. He’s also produced for icons including Roy Ayers, Cee Lo, Rakim, Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Marcos Valle, Céu, Dom Salvador, Azymuth, Wu Tang Clan and many more. He’s also known for his work as a film and television composer (Marvel’s Luke Cage, Black Dynamite, etc.) Younge is the owner and brainchild of the record label Linear Labs; he also is the co-owner of the record label and events company Jazz Is Dead. <iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 439px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2991648685/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=333333/artwork=none/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="https://adrianyounge.bandcamp.com/album/adrian-younge-presents-linear-labs-s-o-paulo">Adrian Younge presents Linear Labs: São Paulo by Adrian Younge</a></iframe>

Death Is Not The End together all three LP volumes of the critically acclaimed If I Had a Pair of Wings LP compilation series for a bundled edition.

"...all of the music on this compilation is the result of the forward-thinking artists and producers that realised the worth of local Jamaican artistry during a time when the island's leading political figures had not yet managed to throw off the colonial yolk. These are sounds with a certain innocence and the optimistic promise of better to come, with the influence of American pop ballads and doo-wop looming large, yet already pointing to the innovations of the future. Listen keenly and take in the sounds of the Jamaican music industry at its very beginnings, its singers and players drawing from the popular styles of the island's larger neighbour and already changing those styles into something their own." - David Katz

Shidaiqu literally means “songs of the era”, a term used to describe a hybrid musical genre that first began permeating through the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai in the late 1920s. Blending western pop, jazz, blues and Hollywood-inspired film soundtracks with traditional Chinese elements, the shidaiqu represented a musical and cultural merging that would go on to shape a golden age of Chinese popular song & film in the pre-communism interwar period. Waiting for Your Return brings together a wide collection of recordings for an anthological overview of the style. Taking in it's early beginnings in the work of the pioneering composer Li Jinhui - whose 1927 song "Drizzle", featuring the vocals of his daughter Li Minghui, is often referred to as the first shidaiqu record - through to more polished 1930s & 40s examples, when China's western-influenced popular music & movie industry reached it's golden age with the prevalence of the Seven Great Singing Stars (Bai Hong, Bai Guang, Gong Qiuxia, Li Xianglan, Wu Yingyin, Yao Lee and perhaps most prolific of all, Zhou Xuan). Included in the collection are tracks recorded right up until the music's demise in Shanghai in the early 1950s - during which time the Chinese Communist Party denounced shidaiqu as "yellow music", outlawed nightclubs and pop music production, and destroyed western-style instruments - following which, much of these singers would decamp to Hong Kong where many saw further success throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s.

Sadao China is well known as a Ryukyuan folk singer and producer of many famous bands including the Naneze, and his legendary debut song “Sukikanna” was recorded when he was 13 years old. After 66 years, this is reissued on 7inch vinyl in the original Marutaka Records format, which is hard to find even among Okinawan record collectors. The B-side is a Nu-doh dub mix, a collaboration with HARIKUYAMAKU, which is a crossover of Nu-doh's original and contemporary music without losing the original style. Limited edition release.

With the release of this seminal album, Veloso would become the leading voice of Tropicalia. The songs on this album immediately connected with people. Alegria, Algeria was his breakout hit that gained traction as a hymn for liberty advocates, juxtaposing images of Coca Cola, guerrilla groups, bombs and Brigitte Bardot as part of the everyday experience. The album's first song Tropicalia was an anthem for the whole movement; it's a fragmented allegory, a structure borrowed from friends in the concrete poetry scene, touching on divergent cultural symbols, events, allusions and idioms, nimbly representing and critiquing the many contradictions in the new Brazilian dictatorship. Superbacana (translated as 'Supergroovy') follows a hyperbolic superhero's use of technology to fight a gang of cowboys led by the money-hungry Uncle Scrooge, serving as allusions to American imperialism and greed felt in their country, all in the rapid-fi re structure of a comic book. The subtext in all these songs, which the dictatorship would not immediately catch, were that these repressed but glaring contradictions, not the bountiful sunny paradise that the military regime was pushing, were the true national identity. Unfortunately, these cleverly veiled jabs in Veloso and his contemporaries' bodies of work gained greater and greater exposure as the movement became more and more popular, leading to the arrest, imprisonment and forced exile of Veloso and many of his cohort.

Preview tracks

 

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Begging the Moon is a collection focused upon an early-to-mid 20th century style of Thai popular song, commonly named Phleng Thai sakon (meaning "song which is both Thai and universal"). With recordings taken from the end of WWII until the start of the 1960s, many of these tracks may also be referred to as Luk krung (meaning "child of the city") a more urbanised style of popular song that is in contrast to the Thai country music known as Luk thung ("child of the field"). Following the Thai cultural revolution of the 1930s and the following reign of west-leaning premier Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Thai culture began to adopt more and more western influences - with Thai traditional and classical music starting to incorporate western notation and particularly Jazz-orientated themes. Thai folk melodies were also adapted to create "ramwong" - a merging of popular western dance music styles such as the tango or rumba, spear-headed at the time by the pioneering Suntaraporn band. In the years following the end of WWII, the Phleng Thai sakon began to gradually develop sub-genres such as phleng talad (market songs) or phleng chiwit (life songs) focused on rural topics, and sung with rural accents. A little while later this would lead to a formal demarcation in the music - with the polished and western ballad-orientated music known as Luk krung, and the more traditional/country style now dubbed Luk thung. The gap between the two would then widen, both musically and culturally, right up to the present day. The recordings compiled here can broadly be categorised as being in the former Luk krung style, though some tracks may touch on rural subjects and motifs. However that is not to say they are overpowered by western musical influence - many of these tracks display potent aspects of traditional Thai music within their beguiling and romantic arrangements. Thanks to Peter Doolan/Monrakplengthai.

This 1977 album was created in a new Afro-samba style, influenced by the disco and funk that he was exploring at the time, and is a sensual masterpiece that stands in stark contrast to his other works!

THE HOLY MOTHER – MADHUVANTI PAL PLAYS THE RUDRA VEENA This is the first Vinyl LP ever released featuring a woman playing the Rudra Veena. Madhuvanti Pal is from Kolkata India, teaches the Rudra Veena and builds her own instruments. The name rudra veena derives from two Sanskrit roots: Rudra, which is a name for Shiva, and veena, which means ‘instrument.’ According to Hindu mythology, the Rudra Veena has a unique origin. It is said that Shiva saw his beautiful wife Parvati sleeping, with her arm over her breasts, and decided to build an instrument in her form. It is a stick zither, with two large gourds attached to a hollowed neck. The first historical accounts of the instrument are given in the Vedas, and then the Puranas. Dhrupad is the oldest form of North Indian classical music that is still performed today. During the Mughal period, the rudra veena was a popular Dhrupad instrument, and was often played in courts throughout north India. Dhrupad musicians, including rudra veena artists, enjoyed the patronage of various Kings and Princes. In recent years the rudra veena has gained some popularity, in part thanks to interest from musicians outside of India. Madhuvanti Pal is one of the new generation of rudra veena artists who is teaching students in India and abroad. Early documentation of the rudra veena suggests that women played the instrument. This can be seen in sculptures in Hindu temples—some dating back more than 2000 years—which depict only women playing the rudra veena, and miniature paintings from the 15th - 17th centuries often depict a woman playing the rudra veena. However, in more recent times there has been significant stigma around women playing the instrument. Some earlier texts went as far as to suggest that women could not play the instrument, lest they be subject to a “curse.” Jyoti Hegde, who is perhaps the most famous female rudra veena artist, broke this barrier; her courage enabled younger musicians like Madhuvanti Pal to learn. However, while Jyoti Hegde plays the so-called traditional rudra veena, Madhuvanti plays a modified Dagar-style instrument. Very few recordings of the rudra veena have been released; most current recordings are of Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his son, Bahauddin Dagar. This is for a number of reasons, including that the rudra veena is notoriously difficult to capture in recorded form. Instead of traveling to a studio and availing technicians more accustomed to modern instrument needs, these recordings have been made in Madhuvanti’s apartment. In preparing the album, she has used her own equipment to record, mix, and master each raga. (Limited Edition Double LP spanning over 90 minutes in length, full-color Gatefold with extensive liner notes inside.) ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

2024 repress with a new cover art.

Mustapha Skandrani. Besides having an excellent name, this man, a luminary of Algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of Arabo-Andalusian and European styles.

"Istikhbars and Improvisations", recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as Istikhbars. Playing these istikhbars (which have roots in the Islamic Arabo-Andalusian culture which flourished in Spain) on the piano, that quintessentially European instrument, Skandrani was greeted with derision by some purists. Skandrani's powerful musical vision, however, perceives the European element involved in Arabo-Andalusian musical culture, a world of exchange and co-existence, and his decision to play this music on the piano reminds us of this European influence.

Skandrani's modus operandi on this release is to present each istikhbar, modal in nature, then to play an improvisation based on the istikhbar and its attendant mode. This A/B alternation continues throughout. The pellucid clarity of Skandrani's playing on this album may remind the listener of a modal Goldberg Variations, Bach and Glenn Gould transplanted to Andalucia. Other ears will hear the Arabic/Maghreb elements more strongly. Skandrani's precise touch and clear, symmetrical rhythmic sense links both worlds, assuring us that the Mediterranean is not a barrier, but a unifier, and that the differences between the cultures are not vast. This is an admirable acheivement, resulting in beautiful music of a rare charm.

Mustapha Skandrani was born in Algiers in 1920, and died there in 2005. He mastered a number of instruments at an early age, and his musical prowess led him to work with the great singers and ensembles of his day, in live performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Later in his life, he devoted much energy to education.

TRACKS:
1. Mode: Raml Maya + Improvisations
2. Mode: Moual + Improvisations
3. Mode: Sika + Improvisations
4. Mode: Araq + Improvisations
5. Mode: Mezmoum + Improvisations
6. Mode: Sahli + Improvisations
7. Mode: Ghrib + Improvisations
8. Mode: Zidane + Improvisations (Vinyl edition only)
9. Mode: Kourdi + Improvisations (Vinyl edition only) 

Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff is the sprawling drum collective tearing up Dakar’s nightlife scene. Senegalese poet Djiby Ly (Wau Wau Collectif) is backed by fourteen different percussive instruments plus horns, winds, balafon, and the occasional accordion, combining Count Ossie’s spiritually elevated polyrhythms with Fela Kuti’s orchestra and Tony Allen’s groove. Based in the impoverished neighborhood of Grand Yoff and operating as a mutual aid group for the larger community, the band builds its songs on ancient rhythms passed on from Senegal, Cameroon, and the infamous Gorée Island. In both Wolof and French, Djiby preaches a message of uplift and cooperation rooted in the Sufi teachings of the Mouride Brotherhood, as well as Christianity and animist religions. “Senegal, my life my joy” is the call and response chanted over cascading, infinitely layered drum patterns on opener “La Musique Du Cœur.” “We build our own country” the band proclaims in Wolof on “Xarritt.” For twenty years and across three generations of band members, Assiko have played raucous all-night jams at weddings, secret parties, and political rallies. Grainy cellphone footage of their live shows has spread online. But this is their first album, the result of a collaboration with Swedish musician and archivist Karl-Jonas Winqvist (Sing A Song Fighter), who met the band in Dakar in 2018 and facilitated recording sessions and overdubs via Whatsapp (no small feat with so many musicians). This is vital, exciting, and innovative music, alive with energy and purpose, a band rooted in a very specific community but speaking to the world. 11月上旬入荷予定。セネガルの首都ダカールのナイトライフ・シーンを引き裂く広大なドラム集団Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoffのファースト・アルバム『Magg Tekki』が〈Mississippi Records〉よりアナログで登場！彼らは20年間、実に3世代にも渡り、結婚式、秘密裏のパーティー、政治集会などで徹夜ジャムを演奏。そのライヴ映像は携帯電話を通じてネット上で拡散されていながらも、今回初めての録音！〈Sahel Sounds〉から作品を送り出していたWau Wau Collectifのメンバーでセネガル人の詩人Djiby Lyも参加。14種類のパーカッシヴな楽器にホーン、管楽器、バラフォン、時折アコーディオンが加わり、スピリチュアルかつ高揚したポリリズムとフェラ・クティのオーケストラ、トニー・アレンのグルーヴが融合した画期的な一枚に仕上げられています。

Nasim-e Sahar (The Breath of the Dawn) by Asareh Shekarchi (on tombak and āvāz), and Bahareh Fayazi (on tar) is a reinterpretation of works by master Iranian singer Reza-Qoli Mirza Zelli (1906 - 1946). This recording features a variety of modal divisions of Iranian music with poetry that speaks of both earthly and mystical love stories. Sparse and powerful, Nasim-e Sahar showcases the technical virtuosity and improvisational mastery of these two artists. By reinterpreting the masterpieces of a male singer, Bahareh and Asareh, two young women, promise the dawn of a new age in which women claim their rightful place in the history of Iranian music.

PSYCHEDELIC ROOTS FROM ADDIS ABABA from the sizzling Addis Ababa nightlife scene, this group shines an experimentalism based in the virtuosity of rooted traditions. swirling masinko (one-stringed fiddle), wah-wah violin, bass krar grooves, heavy riffs of goat skin kebero beats, and powerful mellismatic lead African diva vocals, QWANQWA keeps the people rapt in celebratory attention.

Deeply affecting & jewel-like pop songs from the early 1980s by the internationally renowned Ethiopian singer, Kuku Sebsibe. Born in Addis Ababa, she began performing live during high school and was almost immediately a sensation, doing stints in many of the most legendary ensembles of the day, including Roha Band, Wallias Band, & Ibex Band. She cut her first single with the great Alemayehu Eshete (see the two separate Ethiopiques volumes dedicated to him), and recorded her first full-length tape with the Roha Band in 1982, from which the present album is derived. The band’s loping bass lines, singing brass, and ethereal organ tones serve to lift Sebsibe’s golden voice to celestial heights even as her firm roots in Ethiopian traditional music keep the music terrestrially planted. Her supple melodies twist & glide —if a lullaby could be said to have power, or a physicality even, then this is something of what it would sound like. Like much of the greatest music, what you find here is that it’s capable of enacting two ideas or feelings simultaneously; one of unbridled joy, the other a graceful, haunting melancholy. This is such moving, immediate music from a master singer —you can just settle along with the momentum of the groove, or give it your full attention to all the layers it's willing to reveal of itself.

A trio of Moroccan brothers, coming together here with a very groovy sound – rock at the core, with some very trippy elements and harmonies on some of the best cuts – but also tinged with some slight traditional instrumentation as well – used to flavor the tunes and really make them stand out from more Anglo styles of the time! The songs are all original, and nicely different than other Mid-East pop work we know from the time – maybe a bit headier overall, on titles that include "Hey Di Dam Dam", "Leili Twil", "El Harib", "Sebar", and "Galouli Ensaha"

Irrepressible, off-the-wall and utterly unique - the late ‘70s/early ‘80s Latin jazz-funk and leftfield electronic boogie of Japanese composer and pianist Izumi ‘Mimi’ Kobayashi collected for the first time. (🇯🇵👇) A luminous soul with an indefatigable love for music, few artists have had careers as varied and successful as Izumi ‘Mimi’ Kobayashi. One of Japan’s leading jazz-funk pianists, she wrote and recorded cult albums with fusion legends at home and abroad. Obsessed with new electronic instruments, she penned some of the country’s most well-known TV themes and pioneered the use of drum machines in anime soundtracks. 💫 A star in Japan, she moved to Europe to record global hits with Depeche Mode and Swing Out Sister, toured the world with the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra and made beats with Attica Blues’ Tony Nwachukwu. Now based in London, Mimi currently fronts Tokyo Riddim Band - the intergenerational live Japanese Reggae outfit born from Time Capsule’s acclaimed 2023 compilation of the same name - playing live shows and releasing a trio of recordings made at Prince Fatty’s studio. Choice Cuts 1978-1983 collects eight recordings from four of Mimi’s first five albums – Sea Flight (1978) recorded with her group Flying Mimi Band, and Coconuts High (1981), Nuts Nuts Nuts (1982) and Tropicana (1983) under her own name. The compilation opens with a syncopated electro-funk cover of Sergio Mendes’ iconic ‘Mas Que Nada’ (Tropicana) and the crisp and stripped back techno-pop of ‘Coffee Rumba’ (Nuts Nuts Nuts) with a keyboard bass line that would have made Stevie Wonder weep. Alongside the off-beat synth jam ‘Quiet Explosion’ (Nuts Nuts Nuts) and piano samba of ‘Espresso’ (Tropicana), there’s space for two low slung soul-jazz numbers, ‘Naze’ and ‘Angel Sky’, from Sea Flight (1978) that recall the collaborations between Herbie Hancock and Kimiko Kasai. But it is around the two tracks from Mimi’s 1981 album Coconuts High that this compilation revolves (and from whose cover shoot it borrows). Released on legendary guitarist Takanaka’s Kitty Records label, Coconuts High was recorded in LA with a backing band of jazz fusion icons, including Alex Acuña, Abraham Laborial, Harvey Mason and the Tower of Power horns. A riot of playful Latin-tinged jazz, funk and fusion with the off-beat spirit of Kid Creole & and the Coconuts, the album became a cult hit, attracting huge sums on the resale market. Here it’s the sultry, Minnie Riperton-esque ‘Crazy Love’, with its addictive groove and bittersweet melodies that makes the cut, alongside the steel drum-infused carnivalesque bounce of ‘Palm St’. Capturing a highly creative and prolific moment in Mimi’s career, Choice Cuts 1978-1983 will introduce the idiosyncratic energy and playful verve of this under-the-radar pioneer to a wider audience for the first time. Welcome to the world of Izumi ‘Mimi’ Kobayashi. Once you enter, you won’t want to leave.

To dwell within a land that's meant for many men not my tone, I must pay attention to the least-paid-attention-to

There were no deluxe studios for the musicians who recorded the devastating tracks contained herein. Nothing so grand. Most of these tracks were recorded live, with traditional instruments finding a place alongside any keyboards or guitars that could be found. And yet, it was the experiments of Khmer rock musicians which transformed the nightlife of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh—and which many years later continue to seduce listeners around the world with their groovy sound. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating, or sweet and lyrical, but always moving and with that deep soulfulness, regardless of actual musical genre or style, that is the hallmark of the best and most important music. The lyrics often tell stories of angst, death, betrayal and sorrow. But there is a very real, deep, inescapable tragedy in these grooves as well. Alas, in 1975 came an entirely different type of transformation: the rise to power in Cambodia of the fanatical, anti-Western, Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. Within roughly four years, implementing their “concept of Year Zero,” Pot and his regime were responsible for the deaths of an estimated two million Cambodians (roughly 21% of the nation’s population), many in the notorious “killing fields.” Even the most famous and beloved Khmer musicians could not escape. Sinn Sisamouth, the “King of Khmer music”; Ros Sereysothea, the “Golden Voice of the Royal Capital”; and Pan Ron — all featured on this collection of songs written by the majestic Sinn Sisamouth — met their deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: “Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared.” To us, the richness and deep soulfulness of Cambodian music is akin perhaps to what was excavated from Ethiopia and embraced worldwide over the years thanks to the “Ethiopiques” series — this despite the geographical and cultural distance between the two very different nations. It really is one world, not three. It has long been a dearest wish to be able to present on the Lion Productions label individual artist-specific volumes of some of the most important Cambodian music, with the blessing of the families of the artists. Thanks to the family of Sinn Sisamouth, what seemed a dream is now real! Enjoy this first volume of the many to come!

Experimentation in early electronic music in the Sahara from the singular Mamman Sani. Dreamy organs and droning melodies reinterpret ancient folk tradition into sublime fantastical soundscape. Never before released recordings from the very beginning - unreleased tracks from his first album, recordings of a short lived trio, and a cover of an American folk ballad. Limited to 500 copies.

Wilurarrakutu is the brilliant debut from Papunya-based artist Keanu Nelson, an intimate exercise in musical storytelling and reflection. The album's eight tracks, sung in both Papunya Luritja and English, are verses of prose and poetry pulled directly from Nelson's notebooks and set to minimalist, DIY electronic arrangements.The evocative musical backdrops—featuring Casio keyboards, drum machines, and subtle synth flourishes—were created in collaborative sessions between Nelson and Sydney producer Yuta Matsumura. The two met by chance on Matsumura's visit to Papunya last year. Their impromptu jam sessions form the foundation for Wilurarrakutu's low-key sonic palette, influenced in parts by Papunya's strong local gospel music scene as well as the reggae beats often passed around the remote community via USB sticks and mobile phone transfers.Over these soundscapes, Nelson sings of family, friends, heritage, and culture, with a tone that balances joy and melancholy. They're themes and emotions that also echo through his work as a painter at the Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre. In this way, Wilurarrakutu becomes an extension of his art practice - a graceful audio portrait of a place that evokes the resonance of home.

I am facing a dilemma: how does the founder of an independent music label justify creating a project highlighting, even praising piracy, the very plague that has brought many labels to the brink of bankruptcy? I first became aware of “pirata” LPs in 2020 while hunting for records in Mexico City: their weird-looking DIY covers – and the edited, tweaked, EQ-manipulated and pitched-down music they contained – got me hooked. There was no denying it: the more I became immersed in the world of these illicit productions the more I became intrigued; and before long it became crystal clear that I would one day release my own compilation compiled out of pirated compilations. But beyond my own fascination with that parallel world, it was undeniable that the “pirata” movement had played a significant role in shaping the musical scene of Mexico. So how did it all start? During the 1980s, a group of music dealers and record collectors from Mexico City joined forces to create a series of illegally manufactured vinyl records containing rare and highly-sought hits from Perú, Ecuador, Colombia and beyond. At the time, Mexico City’s dance-party scene was ruled by the sonideros, a highly developed network of mobile soundsystem operators. The popularity of the sonideros led to a growing demand for tropical music, as their fan base became increasingly hungry for the “exclusive” hits associated with particular sonidos. Additionally record dealers were getting frustrated with the music industry constantly “feeding” them streams of mediocre records and from this frustration came the idea of compiling and manufacturing LPs on which every song was a hit: “no matter where the needle dropped, it had to be a song capable of igniting the party.” These bootleg compilations – known as “pirata” – were pressed during graveyard shift on recycled vinyl in editions of no more than 500; they were cheaply produced and sold just as cheaply to people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford them. They were played extensively in every corner of Mexico’s heavily-populated barrios where, in addition to educating the ears of the youngsters, they also promoted some of the best tropical music recorded in Latin America. According to various first-hand accounts these “piratas” began to appear mysteriously in the early 1980s at various market stalls in Tepito, Mexico City’s infamous barrio, a place where one can attend daytime Salsa parties, get any drug imaginable, buy any kind of weapon and, of course, purchase pirated music in all formats. It seems that the manufacturers of pirata LPs worked on the principle that “what happens in Tepito stays in Tepito” and getting information about their bootlegging operations was difficult, not to mention dangerous. My partner in crime – Carlos “Tropicaza” Icaza, who had agreed to write the notes to this project – was quick to point out that: “We won’t be able to disclose any names. We’ll have to be careful how we tell the story!” At first the pirata LPs came in a simple generic covers, had made-up company names such as Discos Music-Hall, Carioca, Garden, or Miami, and contained popular street-dance songs in nearly every tropical genre. As these unlikely compilations became successful and new ones started being produced at a rate of one per month, the pirates began designing and printing interesting looking covers which often featured the logos of some of the most popular sonidos such as Rolas, Pancho, La Changa, Arco-Iris, Casablanca. The pioneer of this design style was Jaime Ruelas, who had started out as a DJ for the legendary mobile discoteque Polymarchs before using his illustration skills to design their flyers, posters and logos. Taking direct inspiration from science fiction movies and heavy metal covers, the graphics he created became a key element of sonidero culture. The anonymous manufacturers may not have realised it at the time but, in daring to create pirata LPs, they were helping to consolidate and expand a love for tropical music and dance among the population of Mexico City and beyond. The records themselves are a key element of the sonidero culture that was recently declared as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexico City for the impact that it has had on multiple generations who identified with the communal experience of the street party, and for whom music and dance became an essential part of daily life. This double-LP contains 23 tropical floor-fillers sourced from the finest and strangest pirata LPs produced during the golden age of Mexico City’s mobile soundsystems. It also includes a large booklet containing extensive notes and photos and It is dedicated to all the sonideros for their ground-breaking roles as ambassadors of tropical music within mexican society.

After leading the Flying Mimi Band, Izumi Kobayashi, who gained attention for her keyboard work with the Masayoshi Takanaka Band and music for the anime “Urusei Yatsura,” reissued her funky, tropical solo debut released in 1981 on LP!

WRWTFWW Records is ecstatic to announce the first ever best-of compilation of Soichi Terada’s amazing project OMODAKA. including 14 songs never released on vinyl before. The 18-track ZENTSUU: Collected Works 2001-2019 album is available on double LP in heavy 350gsm sleeve with printed inner sleeves, as well as in CD and digital formats. Initiated in 2001 while trying to create a "boat racing song", the OMODAKA project features sublime music by veteran electronic/house/jungle/video game music producer/DJ Soichi Terada and the vocals of Japanese folk min'yō & enka singer Akiko Kanazawa for a never-heard-before colorful blend of retro game 8bit/chiptune sounds and traditional Japanese music with wet electro rhythms, joyful 90s house grooves, and slick downtempo vibes. Feel-good, sexy, and fun, Terada’s project brings forth one of the most unique sounds in recent memory. The smile-inducing sonic adventure is packed with irresistible hits and a good dose of dancefloor-ready gems: a well deserved delivery of good times for 2022 and beyond! Tokyo born genius Soichi Terada has built an impressive career in different music genres. He co-founded respected label Far East Recording with Shinchiro Yokata, composed the soundtrack for cult video game series Ape Escape, released tons of amazing house music records (some included in the beautiful compilation Sounds from the Far East released by Rush Hour in 2015), and has been a celebrated world-touring DJ.