Ungodly War is one of the many stand outs from our 2020 reissue of Lamont Butler’s one and only album It’s Time For A Change. Taking inspiration from jazz, soul and funk, Ungodly War is a dynamic track recorded some 50+ years ago in Lousiville, Kentucky. 

“People have always loved that track (Ungodly War), people would always want to talk to me about it and you know it’s more relevant now than ever before…it’s stood the test of time” Lamont Butler

For this release we wanted to try something a little different and so, for the first time on Miles Away, we’ve enlisted the help of a musician to add a little somethin’ somethin’. Someone who has spent a lifetime hoarding, editing and compiling rare soul and disco records. There’s was only really only one person at the top of our list and he goes by the name Al Kent. 

Al’s sound is big and his edit flows from the off, allowing everything we love about the original to shine through perhaps even more brightly than before. With a little beefiness added to the drums and a subtle restructuring in parts, the result is an exemplary 7” bullet ready for the dancefloor. 

On the flip is a deep cut Get Up And Praise The Lord, which features on the album and was a track many a DJ reached for from the album. 

Set for release on the 9th July.

Pre-order here - https://smarturl.it/UngodlyWar_AKEdit

Side A Lamont Butler - Ungodly War (Al Kent's Heavenly Edit)

'Billy and Bob Thiele Jr have been working together for some time, writing songs for amongst others Ray Charles, Joe Cocker and Axwell from the Swedish House Mafia.

During 2020 - lockdown and the protests around George Floyd and on behalf of BLM - the pair started working on an album of politically relevant covers from soul music’s past.

It was something that should have just been a diversion but the results were stunning and an album’s worth of material was recorded featuring amongst others Jeff Parker, Joel Ross, Theo Croker, Pino Paladino, James Gadson and Linda May Oh.

Bob and I had been working on the Flying Dutchman catalogue - Bob working with his father’s legacy for the first time - and he felt that this record could sit proudly and appropriately alongside that catalogue and that it should be the first new release on Flying Dutchman since 1976. Myself and Ed offered to release it on Flying Dutchman via Acid Jazz, a collaboration between two classic labels.

The first fruits were this stunning version of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue’, where Billy is accompanied by The Larry Golding Trio and Blue Note Records recording artist and very special saxophone talent Immanual Wilkins.' 

- Dean Rudland, August 2022

Billy Valentine - 'We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue' (45 Version)

The 3 Faces Of Snowboy

Girl Overboard

Snowboy feat. Anna Ross - Girl Overboard

Hammond Street 4

One Way Street

The James Taylor Quartet - One Way Street

Extended Play

Stepping Into My Life

The James Taylor Quartet - Stepping Into My Life

In The Hand Of The Inevitable

3 Mile Island

The James Taylor Quartet - 3 Mile Island

Acid Jazz is proud to announce that it has entered a long term licensing deal with soul legend Leroy Hutson. 

Hutson, long revered on the soul scene for his production, songwriting and perfromace skills, was Curtis Mayfield’s heir apparent chosen by the great man, to replace him in the Impressions, and then groomed for an extensive solo career on Curtis' own label, Curtom.

The Hutson catalogue has not been available on any format for nearly two decades. The label will be working with Leroy and his team to create the definitive sounding masters, and unearthing lost gems from his extensive archive.

First out of the traps is a double sided limited edition 45 containing two previously unreleased Hutson gems. The A-side is a previously unreleased 1977 recording, which is making its debut on this single. It is coupled with the unreleased full length instrumental of ‘All Because Of You’.

This will be given it debut on Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 6 show tomorrow. This single will be strictly limited and is sure to be the soul scene’s sound of the summer.

Leroy Hutson - Positive Forces

Here's the second single from the Leroy Hutson Anthology 1972-84, it's a delicious slice of early 80s boogie. Pre-order here - http://bit.ly/2xJz5yw

Leroy Hutson - Now That I Found You

A spectacular reimagining of one of the all time greatest Northern Soul tunes, Timi Yuro ‘It’ll Never Be Over For Me’ whilst the original can change hands for upwards on £2000 a group of young Argentinian Mods and rude boys have come up with a reggae version.
 
On paper it shouldn’t work but it does. The most requested song on Eddie Piller’s Eclectic Soul Show on Soho Radio in 2017 following a chance meeting with guitarist Kevin Finigier from Los Aggrotones in the studio.
 
Acid Jazz are proud to release this as a limited edition vinyl single (backed with one of the bands original organ instrumentals) as a taster for the labels release of their European debut LP later in 2018.

Pre-order here - http://bit.ly/2CKypz5

Los Aggrotones - It'll Never Be Over For Me

Taken from the forthcoming compilation album Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller present Jazz On The Corner.

When Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller asked Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock, The Office) to do a jazz radio show they could hardly imagine the response. From around the world emails and tweets inundated the show and they swore to themselves that they couldn’t leave it there. 

Now, two years on this compilation of their favourite jazz has arrived. From the rolling hard bop of Lee Morgan and Art Blakey, via screaming soul organ, jazz funk original acid jazz onwards to the post modern spiritual jazz of Kasami Washington, this is an incredible journey.

Released in March on double CD and Vinyl with deluxe gatefold packaging this is the album that will launch Acid Jazz’s 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Tracklist
Side 1 
Mose Allison - If You're Going To The City
Les McCann - Sad Little Girl
Lee Morgan - Psychedelic
Eddie Harris - Listen Here
Harold McNair - The Hipster
Side 2 
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers - Kozo's Waltz	
Joe Gordon - Terra Firma Irma	
Blossom Dearie - Now At Last 	 
Blue Mitchell - Mi Hermano	
Side 3 
Jimmy Smith - A Walk On The Wild Side 	 
David Axelrod - Get Up Off Your Knees	
The Brand New Heavies - Sphynx	 
Marlena Shaw - Look At Me, Look At You 	 
Charles Williams - Trees and Grass and Things 	
Side 4
Geogrey Stoner - Bend Your Head Down Low	
Blacks & Blues - Chains 	 
Leon Thomas - Just in Time To See The Sun 	
Norman Connors- Mother of The Future 	
Kasami Washington - The Rhythm Changes 	 

Release date - March 23rd 2018
Pre-order LP/CD here - http://smarturl.it/JazzOnTheCorner

The Brand New Heavies - Sphynx

San Fransisco late 1960, two of the biggest groups to emerge from this scene were Santana and Sly and The Family Stone. For a while they were two of the biggest acts in the US and scores of local bands tried to follow in their footsteps. They were hard acts to follow and very few got to the stage of making a 45, never mind a whole LP.

One of the best to do just that were Leon’s Creation, whose debut LP “This Is The Beginning” Acid Jazz are reissuing here. A native of San Francisco Leon Patillo led the group, whose multi racial line-up echoed that of his heroes on the local scene. Self contained and gigging locally they made their debut album at the tiny Studio 10 who also custom pressed the album in extremely limited numbers

Released on Acid Jazz licensed directly from Leon Patillo, the package comes with in depth sleeve notes and is beautifully illustrated in both LP and CD formats. Release 09/03/2018
Pre-order here - http://bit.ly/2Epwxf7

Leon's Creation - This Is The Beginning

Taken from the new album 'Return Of The Fabric Four' by Corduroy that Acid Jazz Records are pleased to be releasing 25th May 2018.

Pre-order: http://smarturl.it/CorduroyROTFF

Corduroy - Magic Mountain

Taken from the forthcoming album Television Themes.

Matt Berry - Are You Being Served?

Emerging from North London, Easy is the remarkable introduction to the musical world of singer Laville. Whilst Influenced via a creative cornucopia as he moved through his teens, more recently has seen this talented vocalist weave his own path with assistance from an array of friends and mutual musical acquaintances.

His teenage years followed a familiar journey through joy and trauma that saw him singing and DJ-ing locally, before a University place beckoned and briefly curtailed his musical ambitions. Employed in a series of jobs, from Michelin starred restaurants, leading front-of-house to help running various musical venues in London Laville has maintained a relentless work ethic, one that has since led back to his first love – Easy is the proof.

The compositional result of his fertile musical mind, lyrically the track has been simmering on the back burner, whilst being honed with the help of friends such as Jorja Smith producer Charlie J Perry, its soulful tones and analogue instrumentation providing an alluring starting point. Contemporary, but rooted in the classic virtues of music making
Easy highlights the impressive talents of Laville and certainly augurs well as he makes his first foray into the broader musical landscape.

Easy follows a recently made live debut (with full band) and Laville has found the ideal home at the small but perfectly formed Acid Jazz Records, for whom he is the first new male solo artist they have signed since Jamiroquai.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LORDLAVILLE/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laville_music/

Laville - Easy

Laville - Thirty One

The Brand New Heavies Ft. N'Dea Davenport - Getaway

Laville - The City (Ashley Beedle Remix)

Acid Jazz are pleased to share The Brand New Heavies version of Kendrick Lamar’s These Walls – produced by Mark Ronson >>  https://smarturl.it/tbnh_thesewalls

These Walls is taken from the forthcoming album 'TBNH' on Acid Jazz Records  out 6th September which you can pre-order here >> https://smarturl.it/tbnh_album

The Brand New Heavies And N'Dea Davenport - These Walls

The Brand New Heavies - The Funk Is Back (Fouk Remix)

Taken from the forthcoming AJX500 compilation which is celebrating the labels 500th release.

Pre-order here > http://hyperurl.co/AJX500

Lightning Orchestra - Theme

Taken from the forthcoming compilation on Acid Jazz which is celebrating the 500th release on the label. 

Pre-order here >> http://hyperurl.co/AJX500

Soul Revivers Ft. Ernest Ranglin - Harder

Soul Revivers Featuring Ernest Ranglin - Dub Harder

Life's Worth Dubbing (Wrongtom Remix)

How Could I Lie To You? (Radio Edit)

Lightning Orchestra - For Those Who Are Yet (Max Graef's Eternal Influence Mix)

Lightning Orchestra - For Those Who Are Yet To Be Born (Doctor Petier's Finger Tip Mix)

Lily White, a track taken from the critically acclaimed debut album by Nimbus Sextet, is remixed by Ghostchant. Ghostchant, a natural instrumentalist who channels the line between hip-hop, RnB and Soul and whose previous collaborations include Four Tet, Submotion Orchestra and Gold Panda. 

His talent is obvious as he wonderfully manipulates Anthony Thomaz’ vocal whilst also managing to capturing a lot of the original versions tone and colour. Slowing the tempo somewhat shreds a new hazy light into the track adding a down-beat texture to the previously episodic arrangement.

Nimbus Sextet - Lily White (Ghostchant Remix)

www.acidjazz.co.uk

Formed back in the heady days of 1987 at the start of the ‘acieed’ explosion, Acid Jazz was the first of the groundbreaking new indie labels and paved the way for the likes of Mo Wax, Wall Of Sound and Talkin' Loud…

Initially a simple bedroom operation established by Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson, within three months of the first 45 release (Galliano’s Frederic Lies Still), the label had grown rapidly, acquired premises in London’s east end and laid out a unique manifesto of alternative club sounds – jazz, street-soul, funk, latin, reggae and jazz poetry all put in an early appearance. Galliano, Chris Bangs, The Night Trains, The Last Poets, A Man Called Adam and Snowboy & The Latin Section were amongst the first wave of label signings and they all appeared live at groundbreaking jazz themed nights at London clubs like the WAG in Soho and Camden’s legendary Dingwalls.





By ’89, Peterson had left the label to establish his own Talking Loud imprint and Piller soon moved the operation to Denmark Street, London’s original Tin Pan Alley, into the former EMI music office. The next wave of signings included D Influence, Jamiroquai and The Brand New Heavies. Chart success quickly followed as the label spread its numerous tentacles around the world. The sound of the label became the name of choice for the scene that had established in its wake and by the early ’90s, Acid Jazz was booming out of a succession of speakers from Sweden to Singapore, Hamburg to Hobart, Shibuya to Sheffield and everywhere in between. International tours followed as the label expanded through the 90′s, gradually increasing their musical influences to include daisy-age hip hop, garage psyche and trip hop.





By the mid-90′s Acid Jazz had revived the careers of legends like Terry Callier, Brian Auger and Gregory Isaacs, established three subsidiaries (Focus, All Seeing Eye and Roots to cater for progressive indie, drum and bass and roots and culture respectively) and signed yet another wave of successful independent artists which included the likes of Corduroy, Mother Earth, The Humble Souls, Goldbug and a dozen more.





In 1994, the label took the plunge and opened the first ‘non-house’ based night club in London. Based on the site of the Bass Clef, a down-at-heel and eventually semi-derelict jazz club in Hoxton – perched precariously amidst the second world war bomb sites, derelict buildings and culture-free zone, the club was credited with paving the way for the whole Hoxton/Shoreditch explosion of the late nineties. Indeed, the club was rarely less than full seven nights a week hosting events from the likes of Goldie’s Metalheads, Talvin Singh, Coldcut, Ab-ashanti, Athletico and the label’s own Magic Bus. The Blue Note closed its doors at the end of the decade and Acid Jazz went back to what they do best: releasing records.

Jumping forward to 2014 and we find the label firmly ensconced in their office at the top of Brick Lane and after celebrating their 25th Anniversary the label is as vibrant and vital as ever. The current roster includes the critically acclaimed, prog folk fusions of Matt Berry, new indie hopefuls Dexters, the soul meet the Streets stylings of New Street Adventure and ex Bluetones lead singer Mark Morriss, whilst the highly acclaimed Rare Mod series has discovered and released previously unknown works by everyone from The Riot Squad featuring David Bowie to the Small Faces Steve Marriott.

In short after over a quarter of a century Acid Jazz remains one of the UK’s most important independent labels.


Acid Jazz Records

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