Hailing from Venice, Italy, DJ and record collector Zaffa’s journey into dance music was inevitable, thanks to his family’s deep ties to the scene.

Growing up amidst his aunt’s discoteques and influenced by his brother’s musical tastes, Zaffa was immediately captivated by icons like Michael Jackson and Kool & The Gang.


Tracklist: 


01. Enlightment - Agape Love (Instrumental)
02. Rocket - Groove Thing
03. Search - Like The Way (You Funk With Me)
04. Aurra - Such A Feeling (Shep Pettibone Mix)
05. Khemistry - Can You Feel My Love
06. The McCrarys - Love On A Summer Night
07. Maxine Singleton - Don’t You Love It
08. K.I.D. - Hupendi Muziki Wangu? ! (Jonathan Fearing Mix)
09. Stargaze - You Can’t Have It
10. Ozone - Keep On Dancin’
11. Maxx Traxx - Don’t Touch It!
12. Spunk - Expose Yourself

Making his DJ debut at 15 in 2004, Zaffa’s passion for music exploration and crate diggin’ led him to embrace the innovative sounds of the 80s, blending cutting-edge synthesizers with the soulful echoes of the 70s. A perfect fusion of past and present.

Zaffa | 80' Funk Mix

Download/Stream - fanlink.to/FusionMovesKTI
Subscribe - @reelpeoplemusic

Reel People Music breathes new life into its gleaming vault of back catalogue classics with brand new series Fusion Moves. The series will offer talented music-makers the opportunity to remix and reinterpret label releases of their choosing, kicking off with soulful progressive Kaidi Tatham in the hot seat.

Tatham’s modus operandi is clear from the get-go. Opening selection Sebb Junior feat. Paula’s All Of My Life flows dreamily upon that trademark Tatham mix of organic beats, polished horns and immersive keys. As Paula rightly sings, “the beautiful can happen.” And keep happening…. Reel People feat. Mica Paris’ reworked I Want To Thank You gains elegant funk and boogie bounce, a bubblin b-line and those upweighted backing vocals adding new urgency and depth, whilst some extended bass-end manoeuvrings on the collective’s 2020 hit Save a Lil Love provide a hugely effective counterpoint to Eric Roberson’s super-smooth vocals.

Tatham switches things up for his re-take of The Realm x Atjazz x Kelli Sae’s deep afro-house burner On The Road, adding wonderfully carefree jazz-funk flow ‘n’ feeling replete with sweet synth solos and guitar licks. The snappy syncopated rhythms propelling Daz-I-Kue feat. Hadiya George’s Pedigree and Monkey Brothers feat. Sean Escoffery’s stunning Losin’ My Head align to the rich broken beat heritage for which most admirers associate him but, true to form, he continues to glide compellingly between mood and moves….

From the loose bass-guitar groove of Eric Ericksson & Reel People feat. Debra Debs’ Don’t Hold Back On Love and sultry strut and swagger of AAries’ Don’t Give It Up to Sebb Junior feat. Muhsinah’s infectiously jammin’ Special – lovingly framed by nimble jazz-piano play – and the liberatingly upbeat dressing applied to Tony Momrelle’s seminal Fly, Tatham’s sonic upholstery right across Fusion Moves is as skilful as it is impactful. One expert body of work built upon another.

“I know Reel People Music’s discography so well that I had a pretty immediate sense of the tracks I wanted to work with once they gave me the keys to their kingdom,” Tatham explains. “For each song I closed my eyes, imagined playing them live on stage and let the chords and musicality fire from there. My sound incorporates so many different styles, from hip-hop and broken beat to soul and disco. It’s a perfect fit for Fusion Moves. The Reel People team share my mission statement to make people dance, smile and think.”

Based in Belfast, Kaidi Tatham is the multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ who helped to define West London’s iconic broken beat sound during the late Nineties but who has continued to operate beyond genres and pigeonholes – be that via albums including In Search Of Hope, Bandana and Don’t Rush The Process, his dance music-focused pseudonym Agent K and a raft of collaborations including those with Bugz In The Attic, 4Hero, Amp Fiddler, Amy Winehouse and Slum Village.

Reel People Music is a label borne out of the soulful success of acclaimed collective Reel People but representing so much more. Launched in late 2009, the imprint has built a fiercely loyal international fanbase through its passion for artist development, musicianship, song-craft and soulful groove. Label alumni include Tony Momrelle, Portia Monique, The Layabouts, Kelli Sae, Sebb Junior, Opolopo, Angela Johnson, Emmaculate and Mothers Favorite Child.

Expect to hear further Fusion Moves in the coming months. Fresh twists on quality songs and sounds. Always with soulful authenticity at the heart.

Fusion Moves (The Instrumentals)

On The Road (Kaidi Tatham Instrumental Remix)

Stream/Download

The Realm X Atjazz X Kelli Sae – On The Road (Kaidi Tatham Instrumental Remix)

Precious

>soun sista hoaah< instrumental

https://jupitertuningcenter.bandcamp.com/album/something-else

soun sista hoaah

In the late seventies and early eighties, while living in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, Brazilian maestro Marcos Valle formed a close musical partnership with North American soul legend and producer extraordinaire Leon Ware. 

Valle & Ware’s collaborations resulted in some of the most celebrated songs from their respective oeuvres. Among others, they wrote “Rockin’ You Eternally” and “Baby Don't Stop Me” (the latter co-written with Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago), from Ware’s 1981 album, and the disco boogie work-out hit “Estrelar” from Valle’s self-titled 1983 album.

In 1979, together in an LA Studio, Valle and Ware recorded a demo which would remain unfinished for 44 years, as Valle recalls:

“This demo tape Leon and I recorded… I found the tape on a shelf in my house, it must have been there for over forty years! I showed it to Daniel [Maunick]. He really loved it and we decided to develop the song for my new album. The demo had the groove, most of the instrumentation and Leon’s vocal. But the lyrics weren’t finished...” 

In 2024, with the help of Maunick’s studio wizardry, Valle restored and sampled the original demo track, adding Portuguese lyrics alongside Leon’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion. 

Traversing time and space in a way that might not have been possible before the emergence of new technologies, Maunick utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs, which Valle replaced with his new lyrics. 

With the original music treated with the care and reverence it deserves, this stirring soul masterpiece, conceived over four decades prior, retains all the visceral sensuality and authenticity of the golden era from which it emerged.
 
Leon Ware passed away in 2017, leaving behind a phenomenal body of work, including the countless hits he produced for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye. 

Reflecting on his partnership with Leon Ware, Marcos Valle reminisces: 

“To be honest, it was love at first sight… As a partner, as a musician and as a friend. Immediately Leon and I knew that we had to write something together - it was very natural. It was a lovely partnership that I value very, very, very much. I miss him a lot, and I’m so happy that we have this new song together.”

With a new album entitled Túnel Acústico coming this year and tours across Europe and America, the octogenarian epicurean maestro Marcos Valle shows no signs of slowing.

Marcos Valle’s “Feels So Good (Feat. Leon Ware)” will be available as a limited edition (500 units), vinyl-only 7” release, exclusively from Far Out Recordings from the 2nd August 2024.

Credits:
Vocals: Leon Ware
Vocals & Keys: Marcos Valle
Additional Vocals: Patricia Alvi
Percussion: Ian Moreira
Additional Percussion & FX: Daniel Maunick
 
Produced & Arranged By Daniel Maunick
Co-produced & Arranged By Marcos Valle & Leon Ware
Executive Producer: Joe Davis
Mixed by Daniel Maunick @ The Sugar Shack, Carluke, Scotland
Mastered by Caspar Sutton Jones @ Gearbox Records
Artwork and Design: Alessandro Renaldin

Marcos Valle & Leon Ware - Feels So Good (SNIPPET)

Land Air And Sea.......jazzfusion...tempo...change

Some new and old sounds I've been enjoying this summer.

Tracklist
Stairsteps - Theme of Angels
Brainstory - Peach Optimo
Patrice Rushen - Remind Me (The Reflex Revision)
Debora - Lo Que No Haria Por Amor
Rogê - Mis Filos
Khruangbin - Happy Survival
Weldon Irvine - Morning Sunrise (Setwun's Dubrise)
DJ Harrison - IGY
Steely Dan - The Second Arrangement
Gabor Szabo - Keep Smilin'
Jimmy Ponder - Love Me Right
Young Gun Silver Fox - Winners
Stairsteps - Pasado
Percy Mays - Changes
Peter Herbolzheimer RC&B - Time Out
David Diggs - Gentle Thoughts

Keep Smilin'

Guest mix for Star Creature Vibes Radio, a weekly show hosted by Tim Zawada on Lumpen Radio (Chicago, US). This mix features a mixture of lesser known records alongside some personal favourites covering Funk, Soul and City Pop.

Further Info
Star Creature Vibes Radio is a penetrative exploration into the alternative world of Disco. The show begs to answer one of the defining questions of the last 1000 years: “What is Boogie?” Host Tim Zawada alongside notable guests from across the globe, play an assortment of underrepresented and left leaning with a large focus on the later 70s to early 80s Boogie Phenomenon with a healthy dose of contemporary Boogie Styles, House and Spaced Out Modern Funk.

Star Creature Universal Vibes Radio - Guest Mix

Tonight

Tonight (Instrumental Mix)

From the 'Best Of Various' on Ten Lovers Music Records

Vinyl from:

https://www.mothertonguerecords.com/product/best-of-various-tlm034/

Melchior Sultana - The Playground

In the sweltering North-Eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco lies the coastal city of Recife, where Amaro Freitas is pioneering the new sound of Brazilian jazz. For the prodigious young pianist, the spirit of his hometown runs deep. From the Afro-Brazilian maracatu born on the sugar plantations of slavery, to the high intensity carnival rhythms of frevo and baião, Amaro’s heavily percussive approach to jazz is as indebted to these Pernambuco traditions as it is to Coltrane, Parker and Monk.

As with many of the greats before him, Amaro began playing piano in church aged 12, under the instruction of his father, leader of the church band. As his natural talents became obvious, the young prodigy quickly outgrew his father’s instruction. He won a place at the prestigious Conservatório Pernambucano de Música but had to drop out as his family could not spare the money for the bus fare. Undeterred, Amaro gigged in bands at weddings and worked in a call centre to fund his tuition. The transformative moment came at age 15 when Amaro stumbled across a DVD of Chick Corea concert, “he completely blew my mind, I’d never seen anything like it but I knew that’s what I wanted to do with a piano”.

Despite not actually owning a piano, Amaro devoted himself to studying day and night – he would practice on imaginary keys in his bedroom, until eventually striking a deal with a local restaurant to practice before opening hours. By the age of 22 Amaro was one of the most sought-after musicians in Recife and resident pianist at the legendary jazz bar Mingus. It was during this time he met and begun collaborating with bassist Jean Elton and the pair went in search of a drummer. “We kept hearing about this crazy kid who was playing in 7/8 or 6/4, we knew we had to meet him”. Hugo Medeiros joined, and the Amaro Freitas Trio was born.

“I want to show the simplicity of music, to break the stigma that the piano is for a particular social class. Yes, it’s a difficult instrument, which many people do not have access to, but with it you can express everything.” 
 
Following his critically acclaimed debut album Sangue Negro (black blood), the title of his sophomore release Rasif is a colloquial spelling of Amaro’s home town. A love letter to his native northeast, Amaro explores its traditional rhythms through the jazz idiom, employing complex mathematical patterns reminiscent of some of the most challenging works by fellow Brazilian masters Hermeto Pascoal, Egberto Gismonti and Moacir Santos.

Preferring to see the piano as a though it were a drum with 88 unique tones, Amaro’s intelligence and emotion intertwine on every track, from album opener ‘Dona Eni’: a scorching reconstruction of the baião rhythmic structure, played in seven measures instead of two, to the serene homage to the coastal reef and its ecosystems on the title track ‘Rasif’. ‘Aurora’ is a suite of three parts, representing the sun’s journey from the light and soft of the rise, to the aggressive dissonance at its midday zenith and descending chromatic cadences as the sun sets.

Due for an Autumn release on Far Out Recordings, Rasif sees Amaro Freitas take a deserved step onto the world stage. Having already made a name for himself in Brazil, Amaro and his phenomenal band will embark on their first European tour later this year.

Vinyl / CD/ Digi

Amaro Freitas - Mantra

Far Out Recordings was founded in 1994 by London DJ and record producer Joe Davis. His longstanding and insatiable passion for Brazilian music, fuelled by his initial love of the jazz, funk and soul ubiquitous on the Rare Groove scene in 1980s London, took him to Brazil first as a teenager. It was there that his enthusiasm for record-collecting led him to some of his musical heroes and the eventual formation of musical bonds and close friendships. Joe’s early discoveries led to him becoming the UK’s foremost authority on Brazilian music, much of it little-known here before his enthusiastic endorsements began to ring out across the music scene. This led to the inevitable, and the keen young music fan and DJ with an entrepreneurial flair founded Far Out Recordings.

The label’s aim from the start has been to bring the sound of Brazil to the world – to showcase the history and culture of a land bursting with creativity and energy – from the classic to the cutting edge. There have been numerous releases from both new and established Brazilian artists including legends such as Azymuth, Joyce, Marcos Valle, Arthur Verocai, The Ipanemas, Sabrina Malheiros, Clara Moreno and Binario, to name a few. 

Far Out also releases music from musicians and producers around the world who share the label’s appreciation for Brazilian music and culture. Alongside Brazilian music, the label is also well known for its longstanding association with underground dance music, having collaborated with some of the most acclaimed and accomplished electronic producers of our times. This had led to a rich plethora of pioneering and innovative dance and beats music, forging a future for the oft-neglected role of Brazil and its rhythms in the complex dance music diaspora of the UK and US, with 12" remixes and original productions from the likes of Theo Parrish, Mark Pritchard, 4hero, Dego, Andres, Marcellus Pittman, Kirk Degiorgio, Nicola Conte, A.D. Bourke, Henry Wu and Rick Willhite among many others.

Joe's crate-digging mentality has also been the driving force behind another crucial aspect of Far Out's work - unearthing forgotten masterpieces and once impossible to find records. This has led to reissues from the likes of Milton Nascimento and Roberto Quartin’s catalogue of lost gems, resulting in some of the finest Brazilian reissues you’re likely to find. While this remains a relatively small percentage of the label's output, every release is brought to you with the utmost love and care, ensuring painstaking perfection in the realms of sound, aesthetic and physicality.

Many of the artists on the Far Out roster regularly tour worldwide, playing across Europe, the USA and the Far East. Look out for them in your town, spreading the joy, the warmth and the restless creativity of Brazilian music and all that Far Out seeks to represent. “After more than twenty years of Far Out, we are only just beginning to realise our ambitions” surmises Joe. “We are still learning about production, recording and music, always.. and we are fortunate to be surrounded by the most exciting group of musicians and producers who are making consistently brilliant music. We are still intent on finding new stars, but we are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and our formidable artist roster.”

"Brilliant British-Brazilian label" Daily Telegraph
"15 years of the excellent Far Out" Word
"The original and the best, Far Out has never faltered" Gilles Peterson
"Excellent London-based Brazilian label" The Independent
"UK's leading Brazilian label" The Observer
"UK's foremost Brazilian record label" Clash

Amaro Freitas - Mantra

Far Out Recordings

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