A brilliant new cut from Raffy Bushman, the London-based pianist and composer, whose debut EP last year, 'Look Up', certainly caught our attention and found a home on many respectable playlists too.

Raffy's spirited and melodic piano playing is a joy to hear on "Abraham". Supported by Nubiyan Twist's Finn Booth on drums and Mikele Montolli, hailing from Verona via Graz, on bass. 

Raffy gained praise and recognition far afield for his direction of Unit 31,  a music and visual arts collective of serious impact in London. He also founded the NuShape Orchestra, collaborating with Nubiya Brandon on 'All Kinds of Limbo' a transportative musical VR experience at The National Theatre.

After an impressive debut last year, Raffy looks set to go from strength to strength, from all indications.

Exclusive Premiere: Raffy Bushman "Abraham" (Forthcoming on Bridge The Gap)

Far Out Recordings presents a double bill of two monumental Brit funk classics. Keep In Touch and Stay were the first two 12” singles by the iconic Freeez, both self-funded passion projects of its founding member John Rocca, for his own Pink Rhythm imprint. 

It all started over the counter at Derek’s Records on Petticoat Lane, London in the mid-70s. Rocca - at the time a budding teenage percussionist - met the prolific guitarist, composer, producer and all round brit funk fixer Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick (also the father of Far Out producer Daniel Maunick). Best known as the founding member of Light of the World, Incognito, and more recently Str4ta, Bluey’s involvement in the origins of Freeez are lesser known, but no less crucial. Bluey invited Rocca to a weekly jam session in an East London basement, where they would develop their craft, form their first band Freeez and develop the idea for ‘Keep In Touch’: “Back in the basement there was this one particular track we were playing that I really loved. It had a groove that I thought I could sell” Rocca reminisces.

Going against the advice of all the musicians involved, who thought he was mad and set to lose all his money, John decided to go full DIY, hire out a high end studio in the West End to record ‘Keep In Touch’ and release it as a private press, birthing his now famed Pink Rhythm label. Featuring Bluey on guitar, Peter Maas on bass, Paul Morgan on drums, Jason Wright on keyboards, and John Rocca on percussion, Keep In Touch was a surprise underground hit selling over 5000 copies and reaching #49 in the UK, leading Freeez into a record deal with Pye / Calibre. 

Still giddy from the experience of having produced and pressed his first record at the age of just 19, John set out to do it all again with ‘Stay’ and ‘Hot Footing’, enlisting Bluey & co once again. This time Rocca attempted to take things to the next level by adding vocals into the mix. Though this new arrangement initially backfired and cost John the deal with Pye / Calibre who weren’t feeling the slight change of vibe, original copies of the Stay 12” have become one of the most in demand from the brit funk canon.

These foundational DIY 12” singles paved the way for Freeez to become a household name in the history of British funk who went on to record hits like ‘Southern Freeze’ and ‘IOU’ as well as underground cult classics like ‘Melodies of Love’ and ‘India’ as Pink Rhythm, John Rocca’s later formation of Freeez named after his imprint. 

Far Out will be releasing a very limited run of exclusive Pink Rhythm T-shirts, alongside the two 12”s, both redesigned in the style of the original private presses.

Stay

Downtempo beats and sampling from UK based DJ & Producer Darran P, on  "About A Boy" . A taste of his forthcoming 'Into The Light' EP on Minor Notes.

"About A Boy" has a heavy and exotic but familiar beat-laden sound but the forthcoming EP displays a wider pallet, from the low slung "Jazzmatazz" to the hypnotic grooves of "Skyline Blvd" with its wandering baseline.

Exclusive Premiere: Darran P "About A Boy" (Minor Notes Recordings)

Stings

City Of God

Compiling the follow-up to a very successful first album is always a tricky task, but just 12 months since the release of volume one in the 'With Love' series, miche has excelled himself once again with another glorious, deep dive into the world of rare soul. 15 tracks of independently released music, created by magnificent artists with stories to tell and primed for rediscovery.

The ambition to celebrate under-the-radar artists has remained, but instead of a facsimile of volume one, what we have here is a selection shaped by life changes. Volume two is for the dancers; still soulful, still ultra-rare and slept-on records from the USA, Chile, Brazil and beyond, but the dynamics of the collection have shifted slightly. It represents a move from being immersed in a week in week out environment of beautiful, soulful music in a cosy, dimly lit hi-fi bar to playing livelier, more energetic, dancefloor-focused music in nightclubs. This volume will get you on your feet, make you move and unleash whatever it is that makes you get down.

One of the jewels in the crown of this compilation is a joyous, anthemic gospel version of Stevie Wonder's 'As' by The Family Tree (a project produced by the fantastic Julius Brockington). We are also treated to a rare and sought-after Pennsylvanian funk / AOR bomb by Maxwell, a stunning modern soul tune 'High On You' by Freedom, and self-released Brazilian 45s by Banda 22 and Zé Da Lata. P.J. City's 'Straight Forward (Non-Stop)' is gospel-disco perfection, and we also have 'Dame Solamente Amor’, a sublime, soul beauty from Chile by Rogers Mitchell. Many of these artists featured in this compilation aren't household names, but they deserve their moment to shine, to be heard, loved and appreciated for their artistry.

As miche says it, “I hope this compilation helps in some way to keep this glorious music alive and play a part in connecting generations of music lovers from the worldwide soul family. As always, it has been made ‘With Love’.”

‘With Love Volume 2’ is available on limited edition 2 x Pink Vinyl LP, 2 x Black Vinyl LP, cassette and CD.

11. The Eleventh Commandment - Then I Reach Satisfaction

Dexter Story
Wondem Remixed
Release date: 11.11.16
Wondem Remixed is a humble compilation of reworkings by some of my colleagues in Los Angeles and the UK. I asked musicians who were already interested or involved in my musical explorations or who lived in a parallel universe. In other words, I didn't force it on a who's who of "remixers" and as a result this body of work has a more organic and personal sense about it. The collection starts with a masterful reimagining by Brainfeeder beat maestro Ras G who has played a couple of shows with us. He took elements from the entire Wondem record and created an Afrikan Space Program classic. Producer and drummer Te'Amir Sweeney plays with the Wondem band and brought his sonic expertise with a crazy ambient remix of Saba. Emerging production collective Stomach Club, whom I met through my good friend and co-producer Carlos Niño one night in Venice, went all-in and vibey on the Somalian-inspired tune Xamar. Carlos himself provided a spirited soundscape featuring tracks from the entire record. International DJ and KCRW.com favorite Jeremy Sole took Lalibela to a new place with his awesome musicality and sensitivity. Prolific trumpeter, Ethio Cali bandleader and arranger Todd Simon did a sublime dub version of one of the more popular tunes on the record Sidet Eskemeche. The compilation is also blessed by an Al Dobson Jr. appearance. He completely flipped Mowa and I am grateful to him. Last but not least are two exceptional perspectives on Merkato Star and Eastern Prayer by our London-based homie Kutmah. 

I am very proud of this Wondem Remixed offering and hope you find some new inspiration for yourself in here. 

Enjoy!

08 Mowa Remix by Al Dobson Jr.

Talented London based producer @footshooter weaves dulcet emcee and Rhodes tones with a meditative jungle groove.

Read more & buy: http://www.stampthewax.com/2018/10/19/premiere-footshooter-mars/
Listen on Youtube: http://bit.ly/footshooter-mars

Listen on Youtube

Footshooter feat. And Is Phi - Mars(STW Premiere)

From an artist in their seventies, you probably wouldn’t expect to hear an album like this. But Brazilian drumming legend Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti has been experimenting and innovating for the last half a century. As one third of cult Rio jazz-funk trio Azymuth, Mamão was at the root of the group’s ‘samba doido’ (crazy samba) philosophy, which warped the traditional samba compass with jazz influences and space age electronics. Even with his lesser known jovem guardua group The Youngsters, Mamão was experimenting with tapes and delays to create unique, ahead-of-its-time sounds, way back in the sixties. More recently Mamão recorded an album with hip-hop royalty Madlib under the shared moniker ‘Jackson Conti’.

With his first album in over twenty years, and the first to be released on vinyl since his 1984 classic The Human Factor, Mamão shares his zany carioca character across eleven tracks of rootsy electronic samba and tripped out jazz, beats and dance music. Featuring Alex Malheiros and Kiko Continentino on a number of tracks, the Azymuth lifeblood runs deep, but venturing into the modern discotheque (as Mamão would call it), Poison Fruit also experiments with sounds more commonly associated with house and techno, with the help of London based producer Daniel Maunick (aka Dokta Venom).

Take a bite of Mamão’s psychoactive Papaya and join the maestro on a weird and wonderful stroll through the Brazilian jungle.

United by a love for the music of Mamão and Azymuth, the CD and digital edition also feature remixes and dubs from some of today’s most forward-thinking producers with a penchant for percussion, including IG Culture, the 22a crew, Max Graef and Glenn Astro.

Vinyl / CD / Digi

Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti - Ilha Da Luz

it def. needs a video: #contest #2KbBeatsTheSearch?

wanderlust again

Buy / Stream: https://orcd.co/jjazz3

BBE Music presents J Jazz volume 3, the latest in its definitive compilation series exploring the finest modern jazz from Japan.

Since the first volume in February 2018, the J Jazz compilation series has showcased some of the most creative, inspired, and sought-after jazz recorded in Japan during a golden period spanning the 1960s to the 1980s. Illustrating the richness and versatility of the composers and musicians on this collection, the music spans a wide yet coherent range of styles: samba, funk fusion, modal, spiritual, post-bop, and bossa all combine to present an aural portrait of a jazz scene that was constantly moving and shifting its multiple musical centres of gravity.

Mastered at the Grammy-nominated Carvery studio in London, many of the tracks featured are reissued for the first time, including mega-rare private press cuts from the Yasuhiro Kohno Trio, Masaru Imada Trio, and Hideyasu Terakawa Quartet. There’s heavy post modal bop by J Jazz legends Kohsuke Mine and Koichi Matsukaze; samba heat from Tatsuya Nakamura, Hideo Shiraki and Seiichi Nakamura; and funky dance floor energy by Hiroshi Murakami, Ryojiro Furusawa Quartet and Shigeharu Mukai.

Selected albums from which the tracks are drawn will be reissued in full as part of the acclaimed BBE Music J Jazz Masterclass Series. Released as a deluxe, heavyweight x3 vinyl set in a gatefold sleeve with obi strip and insert, the collection comes with extensive artist biographies and track information. J Jazz volume 3 is also available in a x2 CD set with three bonus tracks, and selected tracks are available across digital platforms for download and streaming. J Jazz is conceived, compiled, and annotated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden for BBE Music.

J Jazz Volume 3: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan (Album Sampler)

Join the BBE Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/yfBFX

Founded in 1996 by Peter Adarkwah, Barely Breaking Even (BBE Music) started life as a London club night, taking its name from the eponymous Disco record by the Universal Robot Band.

The label grew from the vibrant early 90's club scene with its first release, Stop & Listen compiled by Dr Bob Jones in 1996, opening the door to iconic series' such as All Back To Mine & Late Nite Tales.

A tonne of releases followed, ranging from Disco to Funk, Jazz to House. In the year 2000, the label celebrated Masters at Work's 10th Anniversary with a mighty box set that featured near 80 tracks.

A year later BBE Music spawned the Beat Generation Series of artist albums, notably introducing J Dilla (Welcome 2 Detroit) & a young Will.I.Am's first solo outing, alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff, Madlib & DJ Spinna, all of whom contributed to this seminal set of long players.

A quarter of a century and well over 500 titles later, having worked with Mark Ronson, Roy Ayers, Questlove, Hugh Masekela, DJ Premier, Dimitri from Paris, Joey Negro, Kon, RZA, Laurent Garnier, Black Coffee, DJ Shadow, David Rodigan and John Morales among many others, BBE Music looks to the future, celebrating its rich heritage while continuing to release a bounty of fresh titles.

The label’s most recent projects include an expansive reissue series from pioneering Nigerian label Tabansi, new imprint ‘Batakari’ in association with Boddhi Satva and the critically acclaimed ‘J Jazz’ Japanese Jazz multi-album project, not to mention the recent landmark 500th label release: a brand new version of 'Barely Breaking Even', featuring Leroy Burgess, Patrick Adams and Louie Vega.

In 2021 BBE Music is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To mark this milestone, the label is offering up some special projects, from the 20th Anniversary edition of J Dilla’s ‘Welcome 2 Detroit’, through David Bowie tribute album ‘Modern Love’, to a special new ‘Worldwide’ compilation from old friend Gilles Peterson. BBE Music will also be looking to the future with more exciting original artist projects, plus merch collaborations events and more...

J Jazz Volume 3: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan (Album Sampler)

BBE Music

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