NEW ARRIVALS

Aquainted through their shared love of music technology, and now a friendship, this is the second-time pairing between two well-known musicians from the ambient and electronic scene since some decades: the German artist Arovane and the American artist Taylor Deupree. After their first release together in November 2022, "Skal_Ghost" on 12K, this new release explore once more an organic journey built around loops and layers or processed and re-processed sounds giving this particular color to a new must-have album.

Aquainted through their shared love of music technology, and now a friendship, this is the second-time pairing between two well-known musicians from the ambient and electronic scene since some decades: the German artist Arovane and the American artist Taylor Deupree. After their first release together in November 2022, "Skal_Ghost" on 12K, this new release explore once more an organic journey built around loops and layers or processed and re-processed sounds giving this particular color to a new must-have album.

A landmark work released in 1995 on the UK label RetroAfric by Sikamo Jazz, a super‑group formed in 1993 when veteran masters reunited to create new music together.

In the history of West African music, Laba Sosseh is remembered as a singer who symbolizes the deep connection between West African and Cuban music.

A collection of field recordings made during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee, featuring hymns, speeches, spirituals, and gospel songs.

Bamboo is the mainstay of Kmhmu music, especially the reedpipes, flutes, blowing-tubes, mouth organs, and percussion instruments heard here along with cymbals and gongs, wooden drums, and exciting vocal styles. Drawn from 15 years of field research that extended from garden apartments in suburban California to mountain villages in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, this CD samples the deep reservoir of musical traditions maintained today in Kmhmu communities. The first of its kind, this recording reveals the enduring beauty and individuality of each community's performances.

This album from 1965 is a survey of traditional music in Vietnam. The first half presents the music of the “pre-Vietnamese” highland Degar (also called Montagnard) and Cham, two ethnic minorities of the region. The second half covers the music of the ethnic Vietnamese, with traditional chamber music, the music of the ancient imperial courts, and folk songs. The selections were recorded by the venerable Vietnamese songwriter and musicologist Phạm Duy, who also wrote and performs three of the tracks. Liner notes include photographs and background information on the songs.

From the Fisk Jubilee Singers' restrained vocal arrangements of spirituals to the jazz-influenced music of the "Happy I Am" Choir, gospel music may have changed its trappings, but the heart of the music remains. This collection includes songs and sermons from 1913 to 1954.

A two‑disc compilation that assembles Afro‑Latin music which blossomed in Cotonou, the largest city in the Republic of Benin, during the 1960s and 1970s.

A two‑disc compilation bringing together Afro‑Latin music that developed in Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea, during the 1960s and 1970s.

Michèle Lamy and Ryoji Ikeda release collaborative record via VF Featuring two new tracks, including a recording from The Listening Room at 180 Studios. Michèle Lamy and Ryoji Ikeda have released a new collaborative record via The Vinyl Factory. Featuring music created and produced by Ikeda, with lyrics and vocals by Lamy, the release brings together two recordings made almost four years apart, in Los Angeles and London. On side A, "Echoes of Rights" was recorded at EQT Recordings in Los Angeles between 15 and 18 May 2022. The flip side features “Echoes of Nights”, recorded on 22 February 2026 at The Listening Room, 180 Studios. The sleeve looks back further into their collaborative relationship, featuring a photograph of a live performance in Basel in 2021. Michèle Lamy x Ryoji Ikeda follows a series of Ryoji Ikeda releases from VF. September saw new Ikeda material on music for strings, alongside reissues of code name: A-Z and the solar system. Coinciding with the new release, Ryoji Ikeda's site-specific audio-visual installation data-cosm [n°1] returns to 180 Studios from October 14 to December 20. Limited to 500 copies, the record is pressed on 180-gram heavyweight red vinyl at The Vinyl Factory’s Hayes pressing plant, using the EMI 1400, and mastered for vinyl by Noel Summerville. Michèle Lamy x Ryoji Ikeda is available now from the VF store. Book tickets for data-cosm [n°1] at 180 Studios here.

Commissioned and produced by 180 Studios, Ryoji Ikeda’s site-specific audio- visual installation data-cosm [n°1] is a unique immersive experience charting the full spectrum of data on nature – from the microscopic scale of particle physics to the macroscopic of astrophysics, as was previously evident in the artist’s data-verse project.Premiered at 180 Studios in October 2025, data-cosm [n°1] functions as a giant microscope, a scientific apparatus, a clinical device, a monitoring system, and a window to an infinitely vast space. Visitors are invited to lie down on the floor and look up at the large LED screen set on the ceiling above them, their bodies surrounded by Ikeda’s soundscapes – a total sensory experience.

CocoRosie is the Casady sisters, Bianca and Sierra. Born in different states, the girls grew up apart until fate brought them together again in 2003: once disconnected, now inseparable. After the mysterious and beautiful La Maison de Mon Reve surfaced in early 2004, CocoRosie lived a nomadic existence, spending months traveling the world with a myriad of acts, including Bright Eyes, TV on the Radio, Antony and the Johnsons, Devendra Banhart, and Blonde Redhead.  Along the way, Noah’s Ark began to breathe. It happened anytime, anywhere, everywhere: in a barn in France, at their home in Brooklyn, in a Parisian studio, in a grungy hotel room after a show. The songs were formed and fashioned in various ways, using anything from prehistoric recording methods to more modern techniques. Heart-offerings of friends, family, loved ones and lost ones surface gracefully throughout Noah’s Ark, contributing depth to the narrative journey. A mother's chant, a nephew's cry. Antony’s angelic falsetto floating across “Beautiful Boyz.” The texture and flow that French MC and beat boxer Spleen adds to "K-hole," "Bisounours" and more. Originally released in 2005, Noah’s Ark is the result of a rootless reality, a drifting consciousness across state lines, date lines, time lines...connected to the past, vague about the future. But the heart of these songs is always issued from a tender present.

The first full-length album of new recordings since 1998 by Sleep. Years after the release of Volume One in 1991, Sleep's Holy Mountain in 1992 and Dopesmoker in 2003, the sonic titans reaffirm their place at the top of the riff pyramid with this brand-new double album, The Sciences.

Coming off the heels of 2022's A New Kind of Love, A Trip To The Moon sees GFO diving even deeper in the worlds of film music, exotica, and psychedelic surf rock. The aim is to create a layered and collaged listening experience with more elements than you could possibly pick out in a single listen. The guitars are fuzzy and flooded with spring reverb, and the horns are arranged in a studio big band fashion. It's full of big compositions with garage rock attitude. Influences range everywhere from Eddie Palmieri and Esquivel to The Lively Ones, Dusty Springfield, and War. The tracks are tied together by real recorded transmissions from the Apollo moon missions. The concept for the album is a story about a woman stranded on earth by her cosmonaut partner, left to ponder his whereabouts and whether or not he'll make it back from the cosmos alive.

The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are definitely on a roll coming off of their third LP, Build Bridges, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart. Their new and fourth LP, Step Down, is a direct reflection of the heavy times they were written and recorded in. Covid-19, two Presidential impeachment trials, the George Floyd murder and resulting social unrest, a seditious attempt to subvert the democratic process at The Capitol… With titles like Step Down, The Other Side, Time To Rebuild, Omnificent, Love Age, and In Common, SFSE uses their music to beautifully paint a picture of societal woes, but also points toward the solution and a better world. Heavy Cinematic Soul, spiritual Jazz-Funk, upbeat Afro-Funk, and deeply introspective rare-groove cuts lace this ten-track transmission vessel. SFSE is deeply defined by the sum of their influences, but always have their eye focused beyond the horizon as well.We think this album will capture your heart immediately, but also provide the depth for discovery upon repeated listens. SFSE have made a true statement here, and we are very proud to present Step Down to the world.

Virginia-born singer/songwriter Nicole Wray has everything you’d want in a singer: an infectious Jackson-5-family-member flare, a range like Aretha’s, and a church upbringing that’s brought a pure, healing texture to her voice. But the struggle she’s been through has made her more than a singer. Nicole Wray is an artist. When talking about Queen Alone, her first solo album in some time, Nicole explains, “It’s a reflection of my soul. It’s who I am today.” And aptly so. Released on Brooklyn’s Big Crown Records, Nicole is writing and singing songs about her life. And yet to even start to know her soul, you have to go back to the beginning. Growing up in Portsmouth was tough at times for Nicole. However, at the age of fifteen, life opened up quickly when Missy Elliot paid a visit to Nicole’s family home to audition her on the spot. Missy was there on the rumored strength and quality of her voice. Instantly blowing her away, she signed and left with Missy that night. Two years later, at age 17, she had a hit gold single off a solid debut album (Make It Hot). Suddenly she was part of a team that included late ‘90s R&B and rap royalty: Missy, Aaliyah, Ginuwine, Playa, Timbaland and Magoo. She made it, and fast. However, as rapidly as she achieved success, Nicole then found herself needing to re-make it. By late 2001, her time with Missy and company had run its course. They amicably parted ways and Nicole, once on top of the R&B world, was unsure of what was next. It was a very low, but important, point in her life. While her passion and talent propelled her forward–friends disappeared and her purpose seemed unclear. While neck-deep in this struggle, Damon Dash and Roc-A-Fella Records called. They signed an album deal and by 2004, in what was starting to be a pattern, just as things were looking up Roc-A-Fella suddenly (famously) split. Once again, industry factors beyond her control took charge. Like a recurring dream, Nicole found herself in a familiar situation. Having just been in the spotlight, and then again back living the “real life.” In 2013, Nicole paired up with London vocalist Terri Walker and released the album Lady. Once again, Nicole was tested. Terri parted ways with the group to pursue her own projects shortly after the album’s release–despite rave reviews and upcoming travel dates. Fast forward to now–the transformation from singer-for-hire to pure artist is evident in this new full-length solo release, Queen Alone. The record was written and recorded in 10 days at the legendary Diamond Mine Studios, in Queens NY with Leon Michels and Tom Brenneck handling production. Nicole says she is “Singing out loud now–singing from the stomach.” Back in 1998 she was coached how to sing, and told to stay in a pocket that never let her show her range, power, and passion. Today, after stutter-stepping in and out of the industry, there is a new soul and substance to her songs–all of it from her life. “They Don't Hang Around", tells the story of her post Roc-a-Fella days, “Guilty", is about her brother’s incarceration, “Make Me Over" tells the relatable story of being broke with expensive taste, and ‘Let It Go”, a perfect way to end the record, is about the simple act of letting go and moving on. Almost echoing her new record, Nicole says, “You have to go through something for it to be real.” She has been living with one foot in fame and the other in real life. The result is clear: she’s feeling something real in her music again. And it’s hard for us as listeners not to follow suit.

Originally released in Japan in the early 1990s, "Make Me Know It" offers a glimpse into a moment when reggae and lovers rock were taking root in unexpected places. The record pairs Chieko Beauty's understated vocal style with Miyazaki Izumi aka Dub Master X's production, resulting in a sound that feels equally informed by Jamaican traditions and Tokyo's rapidly expanding musical landscape. Built around a subtle interpolation of Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 – already immortalised by Sueño Latino – the record brings together musical traditions that, on paper at least, have little reason to meet. Chieko Beauty would go on to become one of the defining voices of Japanese reggae, collaborating with artists including Mad Professor, Yann Tomita and Emerson Kitamura. This 7" revisits an early chapter in that story.

‘I envisioned myself recording for Folkways Records. That was the label I wanted to be on. That was the label that put out all the great records.' Bob Dylan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "At Folkways Records, the art on an album cover was a portal and an invitation, hinting at the audio to be found inside, a tradition we continue today at Smithsonian Folkways. It is a true honor to be treated to Soul Jazz Redords's deep and thoughtful exploration of the iconic album art from one of America's most consequential record labels” Maureen Loughran, Director and Curator Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Smithsonian Institution ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soul Jazz Records new book 'Folkways Records: A Visual History of Folkways Records Cover Art' is out on Oct 19. Deluxe new large-format hardback book featuring 100s of striking and beautiful record sleeve designs from Folkways Records, one of the most important and iconic record labels in the world. Featuring Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, John Cage, Pete Seeger, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Mary Lou Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Ives and many more. 208 Pages, 12"x12", Hardback includes extensive introduction and accompanying text. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Folkways Records and Service Corporation was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch after Albert Einstein first encouraged him to document the ‘sounds of the world’. From 1949-1987, Folkways released over 2,000 recordings of jazz, folk, avant-garde, world, sounds of nature, spoken word, electronic modernism, civil rights speeches and more. Folkways stands head and shoulders above all ‘world music’ record labels in its depth of representation of cultural diversity and its understanding of the nature of sound itself . Asch’s vision of presenting ‘other music’ in all its myriad forms alongside the homegrown indigenous music of the United States of America (jazz, blues, folk and more) showed an unparalleled vision of modern cultural representation. Much of the success in bringing together such diverse subjects into one cohesive unique and visual identity for Folkways Records is down to the 100s of stunning artwork designs of Ronald Clyne, the primary designer at the record label. Through typeface, colour and design Clyne gave Folkways record covers both an incredibly stylish and unique look and an underlying seriousness of intent and vision, the perfect match to that of founder Moses Asch. The book focusses on the numerous stunning and striking record designs that feature across Folkways’ vast and idiosyncratic musical landscape – from The Music of Equatorial New Guinea to The Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, from The Songs and Dances of The Flathead Indians to The Sounds of The Tropical Rain Forest in America. Other diverse music you will find here include: Outer Space Music, Chinese Classical Music, Sea Shanties and Loggers Songs, Drums of the Yoruba of Nigeria, Street Games and Songs of The Children of New York City, Experiments in Computer Music and more. Folkways recorded some of the greatest names in American music across the fields of jazz, folk, poetry, blues and classical music, including Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Nikki Giovanni, Pete Seeger, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Dizzy Gillespie, John Cage, and Charles Ives, all of whom are featured here. As a wholly independent record label with a focus purely on music outside of the mainstream, Asch found unique and innovative solutions to keeping his record company alive for almost 40 years, maintaining the vast catalogue of 2,000 recordings always in print. Smithsonian Folkways when the entire catalogue became part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

First released in 1977, this album marked a new dawn in reggae music, blending lovers rock sweetness with deep roots vibrations. Remastered with 2 bonus tracks.

Vital 1977-’79 dubs by the wee legend, all cooked up long, strong and odd at his fabled Black Ark Studio for DJ play and dancers’ satisfaction. Holding 40 minutes of golden era dub heat, ‘Disco Devil Vol. 1’ spotlights Lee “Scratch” Perry at a crest of his innovative powers. The title cut is a certified all-timer, full of chants, cauldron bubble and ten tonnes of bass that would be sampled in a ‘90s anthem by The Prodigy. Likewise he takes all the time needed to crease your Clarks with a 9 min discomix of Junior Murvin’s sparrow-voiced trotter ‘Roots Train’, and nearly 10 mins of the unreleased Seven Leaves disco mix to ‘Such is Life’, cooling Lord creator’s croon on duskiest sway and FX balm, next to soul-stir fire of Winston Watson’s ‘Dispensation.’

Recorded at Black Ark Studio, Kingston Jamaica and features some of Perry's most cavernous and deep dubs. Far reaching dimensional frequency riding of a spiritual vibration and inspirational quality. Technical virtuosity and experrymentation at the service of beauty and wonder.

Copilot said: A compilation of essential 1970s recordings by pioneering female reggae singer Jennifer Lara, who contributed session vocals and harmonies to numerous classics for the legendary Studio One label. Showcasing the warmth, depth, and unmistakable presence of one of Jamaican music's most underrated voices, this collection highlights a key figure in the evolution of reggae and rocksteady.

The 10-tracks that forms the core of this album, were originally released on the Impact! label in 1975. Less than 200 copies were pressed, even fewer than "Java Java Java Dub". Produced by Clive Chin