William Onyeabor - Fantastic Man

Nancy Holloway - Hurt So Bad

Bullitt (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Aftermath of Love

Mike Lundy, Lemuria, Aura. This trifecta of inimitable Hawaiian acts descended upon Honolulu’s state-of-the art Broad Recording Studio in late 1979 to create what have now become the most coveted Hawaiian funk/soul/jazz albums of the era. 

But whereas Lemuria functioned as a short-lived studio band and Mike Lundy saw little success from his album’s release, Aura — comprised of eight siblings from the Mendoza family — remained a key figure in the nightlife scene of Hawaii of the 1970s and early 1980s. 

Each tune on their 1979 LP showcases the band’s unmatched musical talent that continues to astonish listeners in the 21st century, including Juno Records: 

“Raw funk... honey-coated soul… grooves and big smiles… lavish Hayes-level horns… dynamic and luxurious full spectrum harmonies. Stunning.” 

Available on vinyl and digital for the first time since its initial release, Aura is a rare example of an album that in today’s crowded reissue landscape really does live up to its mystique. 

Bandcamp exclusive: includes bonus track "Can't Waste No Time".

https://alohagotsoul.bandcamp.com/album/aura

Aura

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Aura "Yesterday's Love"

Soul Time!

Inspiration Information

Naturally

How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents two albums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.
But before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil.

Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.
When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).

Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Vinyl / CD / Digi

Azymuth - Castelo (Version 1)

Coming soon on Jazz Room Records. Stranglers classic in the Dave Brubeck floor filler style. Now available at https://takevibeep.bandcamp.com/

TAKE VIBE THE E.P. - GOLDEN BROWN

Aloha Got Soul is a Honolulu-based record label breaking the conventions of what music from Hawai‘i should sound like.

Aura "Yesterday's Love"

Aloha Got Soul

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