Seven years after their last ‘Americana‘ compilation for BBE Music, The Mighty Zaf and Mark GV Taylor present two more rare blue eyed soul cuts from across the pond: ‘So Close To You’ by Arthur, and ‘Reincarnation’ by Future Force.

Taken from his first and only solo album, 1981’s ‘Joy’, ‘So Close To You’ is a sweet, folk- tinged song written by Arthur’s guitarist Dean Devener and voiced by Maye Cavallaro. Hailing from New York, a diamond dealer by day and a bassist by night, Arthur joined his first band in ’66. He was living in the tiny community of Inverness, just North of San Francisco when he recorded ‘So Close To You’, which featured mainly local musicians from the West Marin area. “Between around 1980 and 2010, if someone told me I’d see any interest let alone money from my album, I’d have thought they were hallucinating” says Arthur. In 2010, the DJ son of a friend of Arthur’s saw an original copy of ‘Joy’ hanging on the wall of A-1 records in New York, priced at $50. Soon afterwards, compiler Mark Taylor tracked Arthur down on Facebook and the pair met in London, where by happy coincidence Arthur had a brief flight stopover. “We met Mark in a coffee place just outside security and sold him the box of records. I thought he looked like a cop, not a jazz DJ, although if you think 1950s America, the two could look the same”. Arthur returned to London in May 2019 and attended Mark’s ‘Reference Point’ party at the BBE Store, delighted to sign copies of his original ‘Joy’ LP for the regulars, and ecstatic to hear ‘So Close To You’ played in public for the first time.

‘Reincarnation’ was originally the B-side of NYC pop / funk band Future Force’s only recording, a 7″ single released in 1981. Future Force was formed by brothers David and Howard Bowler, who went on to write and produce dance cuts for A&M with the band’s keyboardist Eric Li, including the hit song ‘Sayin’ Sorry Don’t Make It Right’ by Denise Lopez. Recorded live with only the lead vocals overdubbed, ‘Reincarnation’ captures the raw, soulful sound for which Future Force shows had gained notoriety, both in New York City and beyond. The song was written by guitarist Jehri Riley and performed by lead singer Jackie Stewart, who was born in Brixton to Jamaican parents, moving to NYC at the age of 13.

About the compilers:

The Mighty Zaf began his journey at the famous London store Reckless Records, before becoming a respected private record dealer. These days you can find him behind the counter at Love Vinyl in London, the store he co-owns with BBE’s graphic designer Jake Holloway. Mark GV Taylor began collecting records as a schoolboy, started DJing internationally in 1990 and hasn’t looked back since. He’s also a former contributor for Straight No Chaser and compiler for Blue Note Records.

Arthur - So Close To You

EVM 128 - Bun Dat (Cengiz Ft. Jay Phelps Remix)

**"🔥 The heat is ON – Latin House Papi (PREVIEW) just dropped! 🔥

A mix of Latin rhythm, house power and Papi energy – straight for the clubs, straight for the summer. 🌴💃🏽🍹
This is only the beginning… FULL RELEASE coming soon.

👉 Like, comment & follow for more exclusive DJ Perzy edits, remixes & unreleased tracks.
 👉 Free download – check the buy button !
📩 Bookings & collabs: @djperzybookings@gmail.com

DJ Perzy - Latin House Papi (PREVIEW)

I decided to go for something jazzy, because I love jazzy melodies. I've also been experimenting with composing other types of chord progressions lately, and this is one I'm also happy about.

Track info: https://layreboi.me/release?rid=mind

Mind

found this on an old hard drive. dated back to 2012

"Reviera" (2012) - free download

After meeting at CDR and doing the CDR Process together sponsored by PRS for music, EVM128 and James Rudie started to mess about collaborating with Gonzi who they also met through CDR. 

After coining the concept of INPUT together it needed a home. EVM put it to Tony Thorpe at Studio Rockers and the seed was sewn. The concept is simple, Make a beat, pass it on and let someone else add to it. Its about letting go of self and letting the music go somewhere it wouldn't have gone otherwise ... It was a labour of love and took some time with the sending files back and forth until the track felt right. We brought in a bunch of talented musicians, producers, singers and rappers to fulfil the brief. Its about collaborating together, wether that be involvement in the mixing and arrangement process, performing on the track, adding a keys line, percussion, synth, bass, everything was a joint effort. Everyone got on board and we feel we have created something special and unique where you can hear each persons input in the tracks. We love it and hope you will too.

Pre-Order

Exclusive Premiere: Gonzi & EVM128 "Gut Level" (Forthcoming INPUT VOL 1)

MAGZ FM / 255 / TRKLST / PHILLY

1.DJ Cash Money - Don't U Wanna Dance 
2.The Freedom Affair - Rise Up 
3. Anthony Louis Johnson - We Don't Care
4.Terry Borderline - Breathless (feat. One Be Lo, Cloudyyy, and Meaux Muzak)
5.Will Hammond Jr. - Beautiful 
6.Beatchild & The Slakadeliqs - In My Arms 
7.C-Red - Back To The Program (VStheBest215 RMX)
8.SPAZA - Sizwile 
9. Prefuse 73 - Roma Roma Rema
10.Taylor Narain - Mad World 
11.SheBeKeke - Count 
12.Mourning [A] BLKstar - Debtors 
13.Ramsez - Playhouse Dub VIP
14.Thing - All Night Long
15.Sara Lugo ft. Protoje - Really Like You
16.Karina Nistal - Ska Riot
17.Wubdise - Blessed w Rider Shafique (Wubdise Remix) 
18.Al Charles - Outstanding
19.Michael Gordon - What You Won't Do for Love

#255: ALT SOUL | FUTURE FLAVA | BLAK MUSIK | MAGZ FM

Plug One

Turbojazz Rewind (BrokeOne Remix)

Coach Leo - Give It Up (Groove Chronicles&Dubchild Refix)

One (demo)

We are very excited to premiere “Black Lives Matter”, a blazing hot and extremely timely Afrobeat song by brand new London-based supergroup, Eparapo. Due for release this Friday on the unstoppable Wah Wah 45s.

Eparapo came together during the unprecedented events of this year. Despite being a project born from the privations of lockdown, with their music they sought to create an expression of hope, resilience & resurgence. With a white supremacist still in the White House and far right rhetoric being normalised by governments across the world, Eparapo see Afrobeat, highly political from its inception, as a tool to fight injustice and corruption. 

In the current global political climate and especially under the spectre of lethal police brutality in the U.S., the B.L.M. movement is the most important since the civil rights era and attempts are being made to discredit it in the same way. Rather than standing idly by and hoping for the best, this group of musicians wanted to contribute to a soundtrack which inspires, engages & hopefully motivates listeners from across the spectrum. 

The word “eparapo” means “join forces” in Yoruba, the language of Afrobeat. In troubled times when so many seek to divide us, an expression of unity can be an act of defiance. A call to join forces, come together and fight back. Eparapo is also the title of a track by the late, great Tony Allen - drummer for Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and lifelong friend and mentor of the UK's “Afrobeat Ambassador”, Dele Sosimi. Not only did Tony help to invent Afrobeat, he always looked for ways to push the boundaries, never content with recreating what had gone before but constantly expanding and developing the genre. This project hopes to pay homage to his legacy, and that of Fela Kuti himself. Its aim is to innovate, fuse and diversify while still retaining the essence of the music. 

Eparapo is led by bassist, composer & producer Suman Joshi. He has been a member of Dele Sosimi’s Afrobeat Orchestra for nearly a decade and has performed on stage with the likes of Tony Allen, Seun Kuti, Ginger Baker & Laura Mvula. He is also bassist with UK jazz ensemble Collocutor and fusion project Cubafrobeat.  Featured vocalist on both tracks is the aforementioned Dele Sosimi - keyboard player and musical director for Fela’s Egypt 80 as well as Wah Wah 45s recording artist on both his solo material and the recent collaboration with house music producer, Medlar. 

The rest of the group comprises of Afrik Bawantu bandleader, Ibibio Sound Machine and Keleketla! percussionist, and Koichi Sakai collaborator, Afla Sackey; highly rated UK jazz vocalist Sahra Gure; saxophonist, composer, producer and bandleader of the renowned & forward thinking jazz outfit Collocutor, Tamar Osborn; keyboard player, producer and front man for Lokkhi Terra and Cubafrobeat, Kishon Khan; one of the UK’s finest and most in demand trumpeters, Graeme Flowers, who has played with Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter and many more; trombonist for Bellowhead and mainstay of Dele’s Afrobeat Orchestra, Justin Thurgur; and finally drummer for Steamdown and Sons of Kemet, as well as the man behind the Nache project, Eddie Wakili Hick. 

Half of  the artist's income for this release will be donated to the NAACP - a civil rights organization in the United States, created for the advancement of black people by means of following judicial policies.

Exclusive Premiere: Eparapo ft. Dele Sosimi "Black Lives Matter" (Forthcoming on Wah Wah 45s)

CoOp Presents was launched in 2018 by IG Culture and Alex Phountzi to create a platform for new bruk talent in London and beyond. The label continues in the spirit of the original West London broken beat movement to support forward-thinking music and artists. 
https://www.facebook.com/thecooppresents/
https://coop.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/coop_presents/