week-end records

Arthur Russell first visited The Gallery in 1976 with his then boyfriend Louis, who introduced him to Nicky Siano. Arthur became a regular at the space and one night as Siano was playing "Turn the Beat Around", which had just been released, Arthur waved at him from outside the booth and asked to come in. Nicky opened the door and Arthur suggested they make a record like this together. This ended up being a huge step for Siano as it marked the first ever production by a DJ making a record from scratch. Arthur had written a song and had an arrangement for it so they assembled a band featuring Wilbur Bascomb who was one of Nicky's favorite bassists, as well as, Allan Schwartzberg, David Byrne, Miriam Valle, Peter Gordon and Peter Zummo who were all friends of Arthur's. Russell played the cello and piano – and that was the band. They recorded throughout 1977 and the "Kiss Me Again" 12 inch was finally released in 1978 on Sire Records selling more than 300,000 copies. Week–End Records is proud to release the first ever reissue by this outstanding disco production. Remastered from the original tapes. With liner notes by David Byrne, Nicky Siano, Peter Gordon and Peter Zummo. Quotes: He was a kind of ethereal presence, not always verbally clear what he wanted in a session, but I recall myself and the other musicians just played what seemed right for the track and if Arthur liked it we'd just keep playing - on and on - these were not short songs. – David Byrne, July 2024 On the 24-track recording each track has several instruments on it. Usually, the horns are on one track, the strings are on one track. But Arthur wanted to fill, he had so many ideas that when, say, horns were not playing on a certain track, he would fill it with a keyboard in the sections where they weren't playing. So, you'd have horns and keyboards and often cello all on one track, going in and out at certain parts, which is not really how you should record, but Arthur wanted to try many things. His head was always going and filled with ideas. – Nicky Siano, July 2024 When I went into the studio to record with Arthur, there was usually a music stand with his written parts on it. Sometimes there were a lot of parts, and I asked "where do you want me to start?" and he would say "anywhere." – Peter Zummo, July 2024 I recorded tenor sax, along with the trombone and guitar overdubs, at Sundragon Studio, which had an aquarium Arthur loved. This was the first time I had worked with David Byrne, whose sense of guitar orchestration I always loved. – Peter Gordon, July 2024

For the exhibition “Flowers in 20th and 21st Century Art“, Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O‘Rourke had created the installation ”Lifetime of a Flower“ in which they set parameters but allowed the process itself to grow uncontrollably. Literally: in the garden of their Japanese house, they planted seeds and filmed the plant growing and thriving throughout the duration of the exhibition. Visitors were able to watch the stream in real time - and they heard a composition in which Ishibashi and O‘Rourke reflected the organic process in sound. The eponymous composition now available on LP, is an enigmatic and sophisticated layering of sounds, melodies and rhythms, noises from everyday life, all of which are repositories of associations, memories and expectations.

If there's one musician in the last decade that you may hear in wildly diverse musical contexts it is Belgian electric bassist and sound sculptor Farida Amadou. Not only can you enjoy the unerringly skillful command she has over her instrument but also the transformative power to reinterpret and expand her material in spontaneous and unconventional ways. Amadou is self-taught and radically aware of her idiosyncratic relationship with the bass guitar. She neither emulates the virtuosos of the electric bass, nor does she use the instrument as a pure sound generator that merely emits humming and feedback. She takes a completely independent and unique approach. This freedom enables her to create an overwhelming wall of sound, as well as simple, clear structures that are rhythmically concise yielding a wide associative space that lands somewhere between free jazz and noise. Her work is often concentrated and circular where motifs are established and developed outward. It is an organic sound in the literal sense of the word, constantly in motion, yet resting in itself. The three solo pieces she has recorded for Week-End Records emphasize her impressive ability to ignite ecstasy from tranquility, to fan out a whole range of moods from a few potent ideas. These attributes make her a musician who enriches every group she plays in, because she is present with her assured and crystallized sound but refrains from being domineering. However, her strengths are even more apparent when she plays solo: the contrasts between the dark, heavy clouds of sound and the rhythmic passages, and the transitions between movements which always sound "logical" yet surprising. Her new solo album, "When It Rains It Pours" presents Amadou as an inspired improviser who follows her musical intuition and acumen to create a truly unique soundworld. Rarely has improvised music sounded so succinct and compelling.

Fred Frith is simultaneously a singular musical figure and a collection of musical lifetimes. He‘s the composer who wrote fragile avant-garde music in the tradition of John Cage and Earle Brown, the innovator who created new concepts of underground rock with his colleagues in the band Henry Cow, and the improviser who developed his very own language on the guitar. The many facets of Frith‘s musical oeuvre shimmer in vibrant and unique colors, but stand as one rainbow monolith of musical creation, never disintegrating into esoteric eclecticism. Always musically curious and unbiased, he develops his ideas in the moment, demonstrating in real time how his creative process, while free of old hat conventions and tricks, creates an immediate yet unrandom and committed music. At the core is his unique guitar playing, which is on full display across these two records. His debut, "Guitar Solos" (1974), opened up a space beyond rock and improvised music, and now, 50 years later comes "Fifty" (2024), a new solo guitar album that sounds completely different and yet familiar, that adds to his monolith of musical creation with another new vibrant color.

Jards Macalé’s biography is a testament to the electrifying energy of music and the unwavering spirit of artistic rebellion. Macalé has remained true to his vision, unapologetically embracing the unconventional and challenging the status quo. His music, a conduit of emotion and a mirror to society, continues to weave a sonic tapestry that resonates with the souls of listeners. In 2022, Macalé celebrated the momentous 50th anniversary of his debut solo album, a groundbreaking masterpiece released by Philips in 1972. This iconic record gifted us timeless tracks such as “Vapor Barato”, “Mal Secreto”, “Farinha do Desprezo”, “Revendo Amigos”, and “Hotel das Estrelas”. Its sheer brilliance united the realms of Brazilian music, infusing samba and bossa nova with the fiery essence of rock, classical harmonies, and the improvisational spirit of jazz. As the years passed, a new generation of musicians and fans discovered this gem, fueling its resurgent popularity and inspiring fresh collaborations. Last year, Jards Macalé assembled a formidable new band, igniting stages across Brazil with a tour that now sets its sights on Europe. Together with Gui Held on guitar, the Paulo Emmery on bass, and Thomas Harres on drums, Macalé conjures an exhilarating homage to his illustrious body of work. This live performance embodies the untamed spirit and boundless musical freedom that define this visionary artist, transporting audiences to a realm where the past intertwines with the present in a breathtaking display of artistic prowess.。

In 1975, Joyce Moreno, who had just wrapped up a tour with legendary Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes, found herself in a studio with producer Sergio Bardotti in Rome, Italy. She had been taking a break from writing and she decided to pick up a selection of her favorite compositions from contemporary Brazilian writers who‘s songs were beacons of hope in times of an ongoing intense Military leadership in her home country. Unlike their previous albums, these recordings live from their reductiveness and intimacy. For a long time, Passarinho Urbano was considered a secret masterpiece and was highly sought after by record collectors, now Week–End Records is glad to be making it available internationally on vinyl for the first time ever.

Keith Hudson, who temporarily worked as a dentist in the ghettos of Kingston, emigrated to New York City in 1976 and died there prematurely in 1984. He is best known for his work as a producer for artists such as U-Roy, Big Youth, Ken Boothe and Horace Andy and within short order Hudson brought his all-round talent to full fruition. In 1974, he produced two ground-breaking albums. “Pick A Dub” was one of the first official dub albums ever, and is still considered to be one of the greatest moments of Jamaican music. In addition, the unique “Flesh Of My Skin, Blood Of My Blood” became the first concept album in reggae history. Thematically dedicated entirely to black history, this masterpiece captivates with an atmosphere that is as dark as it is deeply spiritual, charged by Hudson’s eccentric vocals. In 1981, he created the dub masterpiece “Playing It Cool, Playing It Right” which he produced with the help of Wackie’s founder and mastermind Lloyd ‘Bullywackie’ Barnes. It remained the only collaboration between the two producers. Hudson decided to release it on his own label Joint International as he has done on his previous releases. The album continues Hudson’s psycho-acoustic journey into the abyss of existence and has the power to overwhelm the listener with the beauty of artistic self-empowerment. “Too Much Formula” sings Hudson, whose voice occasionally recalls Sly Stone, “Darkest Night” answers an echoing background chorus found elsewhere on the track “California”. Hudson’s production techniques are fascinating on this album. We often hear a kind of flashing-whip sound on the snare, which adds dynamics to the whole album. Rarely has a dub record sounded so electrifying, with radical spatial sound spreading out in all directions and rarely has it been as crystal clear, with warm bass and echophonic treatments as contained within these 30 minutes of music. 43 years after its first release and 20 years after its last re-release on the German-British label Basic Replay (Basic Channel/Honest Jon’s), “Playing It Cool, Playing It Right” is now finally available again via Week-End Records, with a newly revised master and a rare interview with Lloyd ‘Bullywackie’ Barnes, talking on the making of this amazing album.

Two days after his 100th birthday, Marshall Allen started recording New Dawn, his debut solo album. A member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra since 1958, Allen assumed leadership of the band in 1995. Throughout his nearly seventy-year career, Allen has never released a solo album under his own name, and yet, instead of capping such a legendary output, New Dawn seems to herald a new beginning. A love letter to spacetime, it channels a century of musical intelligence into seven tracks, showing Allen at his most protean — freely moving from relaxed, transdimensional palettes to bluesy big band and beyond.

One of music’s vanguard avant-saxophonists, Allen continues to deliver durational feats during the Arkestra’s gigs. Still, the compositional energy contained on New Dawn is striking. Allen was approached with the idea of a solo record by Week-End Records’ Jan Lankisch. The Arkestra’s Knoel Scott — who has lived with Allen at the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra since the 1980s — worked with Allen to pore over the archive of unrecorded material and develop this debut. Scott assembled some of Philadelphia’s brightest jazz stars as well as some Arkestra veterans for the sessions. New Dawn was then recorded over a couple of days in Philadelphia, with additional recordings added in the following weeks and months.

The title track “New Dawn” is the centerpiece of this impressive album and the arranger Knoel Scott wrote the lyrics himself. We are thrilled to have the incomparable Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of legendary jazz musician Don Cherry, lend her unmistakable voice to this song.

Though greatly informed by the philosophy of Sun Ra and his Saturnian teachings — traverse jazz’s traditions, dig deep into spiritual geographies — New Dawn signals Allen as his own singular voice, one that’s swinging and bopping and reflecting into the future, with no sign of stopping. Week-End Records is proud to release this debut solo album by Marshall Allen.

“The one thing that I'm really looking forward to, and I think this is the best thing ever, is the fact that Marshall Allen is about to release, at the age of 100, his debut album under his own name. There is no greater feat of durability, working at your craft, and putting your ego to the back of the room while you're supporting other artists and performers.” – Gilles Peterson

“New Dawn is clearly an extension of Ra’s legacy and sound, but it’s also a masterful endeavour filtered through Allen’s tastes and approach.” – John Morrison, The Wire 

At Week-End Fest 2021, the enthusiastic audience got the best impression: In Suzanne Ciani‘s „Improvisation On Four Sequences“, the whole history of electronic music is present, the awakening of the American musical avant-garde at the end of the 1960s, which eventually led to the clubs of L.A. and New York. We can hear in Ciani‘s improvisations everything that has made up the development of electronic music since 1970, but above all the dialogue between artist and machine, which simply ends when the concert is over. Laconicism, precision, sound sensitivity and the weight of a tradition that Ciani was instrumental in founding come together: spectacular precisely because it is so unexciting.