Klein & MBO - The MBO Theme (Warrior Remix)

Deviant Disco

Money Wonder

Soundway Records present a special summer tribute double a-side 12" with two tracks from African musicians that both passed away within a couple of months of each other at the end of 2013 / start of 2014. Both tracks are perfect summer tropical DJ fodder for the dancefloor.

On the first side South African singer Shaluza Max's massive Mashkandi / house anthem from 2002 gets a first release on vinyl. This track was a huge hit in South Africa and around the world on its release. With a soaring Zulu vocal and big sound it's a fitting reminder of a very talented musician who worked as a very well respected producer, composer and arranger. He died tragically young at the age of 47 in January of 2014.

On the flip we drop a fairly unknown track from the mid 1980s from one of the biggest names in African music, Tabu Ley Rochereau. A kind of almost balearic proto-house congolese pop cut with drum machines and trademark sweet congo horn section, Hafi Deo is a beautiful track that fell into obscurity outside The Congo by perhaps being too smooth for the 'world music' crowd in the mid 80s. Tabu Ley passed away in November 2013 in his late 70s with over 250 albums and 3000 songs to his name. A true pioneer of the congolese soukous sound, he was also one of the most influential African musicians of his generation.

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Tabu Ley Rochereau - Hafi Deo (Extract)

Released in 1989, 'Once Bitten' is the lone single from Kim Yaffa, an LA singer once signed to the Hollywood indie label Macola Record Co. Not long after recording this single, Yaffa shelved her music career and moved on to other aspects of the business, but she has become a cult figure amongst those who knew her work. 'Once Bitten' has only ever been available on 7" before now and is an effortlessly classy pop tune with hints of 80s blue-eyed soul and Sade-inspired sounds that lend it a timeless Balearic feel. Copies of the original 7” have been changing hands for as much as $2,000 online in recent years. Hence, this is a genuine bit of musical treasure. Says Kim about the release, "In the Late 80s Los Angeles had so much going on musically. After singing on a couple of records on Macola Records and backgrounds for other artists, I was searching for my sound, trying to find my footing as a songwriter and performer. I connected with a producer who seemed to get what I was going for and we hired Richard Elliot from Tower of Power at the time for that sexy horn sound, and we recorded Once Bitten and Lights of LA at Larrabee Sound. I think I was really into what Sade and Taylor Dayne were doing at the time, that jazzy vibe! We pressed the songs to a 45 and soon after were kind of forgotten about." Remixer Michael David is a member of the influential Los Angeles-based group Classixx, has released music on Cascine Records and worked with Holy Ghost!, Meyer Hawthorne, and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. His version adds oodles of echo and reverb, slows things down and makes it a more trippy affair with languid lead guitars that bring a seductive and sleazy feel. London-based production duo and Record Mission label founders Nick the Record and Dan Tyler have vast DJ experience between them. Nick runs the Tangent party with John Gomez, and Dan Tyler is one-half of the legendary Idjut Boys. Their remix is perfectly sunny, primed and ready for open-air dancing with its exquisite flutes. The soulful original vocal is left to roll and will ensure this one becomes a real Balearic anthem. 'Lights of LA' is a second original from Yaffa that oozes low-key 80s charm. It has steamy sax and vocals and lush acoustic guitars, all irresistibly tingling the senses. 

New Islands will focus on the forgotten cross-genre and cross-cultural music of the 80s, 90s, and 00s, connecting them with the future. This first project is a superb one to get it underway.

Once Bitten EP

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PREMIERE : Kim Yaffa - Once Bitten (Original 1988 Mix)

The Sounds Of Revolution

Italians In A Line

Buy on Bandcamp

Simon Sim's & David Coroner - U wanna do (Original)

Kenix Feat. Bobby Youngblood - There's Never Been (No One Like You)

Moodymann - Come 2 Me

Larry Heard - Missing You (Jazz Cafe Mix)

Metro Area - Piña

Kalita are proud to announce the first ever official reissue of the holy grail of disco 12” singles, Vance and Suzzanne’s ‘I Can’t Get Along Without You’. A record that deserves its space on the shelf of every collector, DJ and dance music connoisseur, and with original copies now regularly fetching triple figures, it’s time to share this masterpiece with the world once more. In addition, here Kalita accompany the release with a never-before-seen press photo and interview-based liner notes.

Originally privately released in 1980 on Vanton Records, this is the first time that both the record and the label’s story has been told. The product of two members of Crown Heights Affair (Richard Vance Turner and Eleton Johns), the label was established as a way to protect both their musical freedom and copyright that they would have lost had they signed to a major label. With Vanton, they sought to create a sound that combined Eleton’s love for Philadelphia with Richard’s love for New York-based productions.

Vance & Suzzanne consisted of Richard and his childhood friend and fellow band member Suzzanne Slaughter, who was a background singer for many bands in New York including Sister Sledge. The result of a late night writing session between Richard and Eleton and recorded to tape the following day, the record was finished in just twenty-four hours. Yet it’s legacy lives on as one of the most sought-after disco singles in existence.

Two thousand copies of ‘I Can’t Get Along Without You’ were originally pressed to test the market, with the initial plan being to re-record it again at a later date with additional strings. However, the record received such great acclaim by DJs such as Larry Levan that the idea of a re-recording was put on ice. 

Sadly, due to academic and familial commitments of both Richard and Eleton, only one other single was ever released on Vanton Records in 1985. However, we hope that this definitive reissue helps to celebrate one of the best disco records ever put to wax.

I Can't Get Along Without You

Vance & Suzzanne - I Can't Get Along Without You

Moodymann - Come 2 Me

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