Leisure Dub is a new collaboration from Alex Storrer (Lexx) and Paul Byrne (Apiento) and features a floating roster of friends and collaborators. The first release from the project is 'Weekend Waiting' featuring Armanious consisting of Kat on vocals and Simo on guitar. Armanious are forward thinking r&b heads based in London. The track pulls on a modern r&b side on the a side and references 90s jeep beat on the flip. Wind the windows down and play it loud.

Bandcamp

Weekend Waiting [New Fling Mix]

Kalita are proud to unveil the first ever compilation focussing on the phenomenon of ‘Burger Highlife’, a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980’s and beyond. Highlighting key recordings from genre-defining artists including Thomas Frempong and George Darko, as well as more obscure sought-after tracks by elusive bands such as Aban and Uncle Joe’s Afri-Beat, Kalita come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs and music-lovers alike with ‘Borga Revolution!’ Spread over a double-LP housed in a gatefold sleeve. Accompanied by a 16-page booklet featuring extensive interview-based liner notes on each artist and never-before-seen archival photos.

The 1970s had witnessed an increased Western airtime and physical presence in Ghana introducing funk, soul and disco sounds to the region. By the turn of the decade the country was also enduring economic turmoil, with rising poverty, military dictatorships and long periods of enforced curfews (amongst other factors) making it impossible for artists to survive.

As a result, many Ghanaian artists with a broader outlook began to pursue their careers in the West, moving to both Europe and America in search of stardom. It was here that Ghanaian musicians developed a digitised version of highlife music which fully embraced Western contemporary music styles and newly introduced technology such as the DX7 synthesizer and various drum machines.

It is in this context in which the evolution of Ghanaian dance music and the emergence of ‘burger highlife’ was born. With ‘Borga Revolution!’ Kalita endeavour to tell this story, with prominent and lesser-known musicians’ accounts and documentary evidence providing a comprehensive understanding of this shift to the digital age.

Borga Revolution! Ghanaian Dance Music In The Digital Age, 1983 - 1992 (Volume 1)

Mada Meho So

Buy Here!

A2. Thomas Frempong - Mada Meho So

Medo Menuanom (12" Version)

B1. George Darko - Medo Menuanom (12" Version)

Orkes Kelana Ria - Semoga

É Soul Cultura Vol.1 seemed to land at exactly the right moment. Post-lockdown, optimism was back on the rise and the dance floors swelled again. For many listeners, Manchester based DJ Luke Una’s intriguingly woven pattern of new, old, rare and under-discovered music from around the world became the soundtrack to rejuvenated positivity. Piccadilly Records made the release their top compilation of the year, with Rough Trade placing it as their number two. The enthusiasm from the industry was mirrored by record buyers and demonstrated that in the right hands, moving through genres, tempos and decades can make perfect musical sense. 

It was clear from the get-go that the concept warranted a series, there are many sides to É Soul Cultura and many musical stories to tell. This second volume gives another opportunity for Luke to share his journey of the past four decades of staying up late and getting transcendental whilst listening to holy grail music as the city slept. It follows on from where Vol.1 left off, at times venturing into the deeper, spiritual, soulful, downtempo, experimental aspects of his tastes. From the conscious, street soul fusion gospel of Veronica Mickie's 'Lost Children', to an excursion into Swiss, psych, progressive rock in the form of Pyranha, then onto the classic Indian music-inspired electronic workout of Andi Otto's 'Bangalore Whispers'. Luke hints at his softer side in Avis; a sweet, obscure cover version of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Baby, This Love I Have’, as well as championing local heroes in the shape of Manchester’s Yargo and their driving, obscure, proto-house belter, ‘Marimba’. There’s also Japanese, electronic, slo-mo heaviness from 1979, courtesy of Bach Revolution. House music is integral to the É Soul sound and is represented by Nav Aktah’s deep remix of Mr Scruff, and then there’s Isis ‘In Essense’; a track of such majestic brilliance that it has never left Luke’s record bag. 

The selection is eclectic, global, and plucked from different times and spaces. In theory, perhaps they shouldn't work together, but there is a mysterious link that makes them gel as a whole. That’s what Luke does best. He creates a sort of musical alchemy, unifying the diverse. This isn’t a compilation focussed purely on the rare, even though many tracks featured do fall into that camp. It is best described by Luke himself, “It’s not about showing off, collector rarity, or ego-strutting, it’s all about telling stories, sharing the music, and making life’s journey mean something. In the end, of course, it’s just a compilation of other people’s music, but hopefully it’s more than that, adding something back to the pot.”

Yargo - Marimba

Star Warz Rapso from Brother Resistance's - Rapso Take Over LP(1986).  Brother Resistance is synonymous with "Rapso", a style of music that Resistance describes as "The poetry of calypso, the power and riddum of the word". This rare LP that blends calypso, reggae, disco, funk and poetry is now reissued on vinyl for the first time by Left Ear Records

Brother Resistance - Star Warz Rapso

Mbaganga Groove

A Danish rarity combining folk-inspired synth pop with futuristic new wave, that's become an outsider DJ's favourite over the years. Taken from her first and last album in 1981, reissued and remastered by @frederiksbergrecords.

Read more & buy: http://www.stampthewax.com/2018/03/01/premiere-suzanne-mendel-i-feel-it-starts-again/

Suzanne Menzel - I Feel It Starts Again (Remastered) (STW Premiere)

For its third release, Parisian label Chuwanaga goes back to the past with the reissue of “(Where Is The) Sunshine” by Kalima, a really rare 7” originally released in 1981 and produced in Baltimore (Maryland) by African-American pianist and producer Derrick Amin. Part I on the A side and part II on the B side form a real journey, a beauty in its own style fusing jazz, soul and spirituality as well as political values. 

Back in the mid seventies Derrick Amin brought together young and talented musicians from his African-American Muslim community in Baltimore. He tells us: “all black music in America is a response to racism and slavery” and “(Where Is The) Sunshine” was their own answer, “a plaintiff query of one immerse in darkness. The darkness of lies, lies that deny the humanity, justice, and equality of people. It’s the impetus of this song”. He adds: “Kalima means « Word » or « Langage » in Arabic. The name was inspired by a quote from Imam W.D. Mohammad (the late Muslim American leader and erstwhile successor to Nation of Islam founder, Elijah Muhammad) who once said: “Words make people””.

With its splendid vocal parts - thanks to lead vocalist Sabreen Shareef, a unique major-to-minor chord progression, subtil synthetiser melodies in the chorus and amazing electric piano and sax solos, it really is a very special release. It’s been discovered in a Motor City Drum Ensemble jazz set with Gilles Peterson at the J.A.W. Family Reunion in Berlin back in 2016 where he played it as the closing track of a wonderful musical journey through black music – which was the right occasion for a classic Gilles rewind and the occasion of a shared epiphany. Still, one must not forget its yet poetic still political message now shared once again with the world. The question asked by Kalima sadly still remains as relevant in 2018: Where is the sunshine ?

› https://www.facebook.com/chuwanaga/
› https://soundcloud.com/chuwanaga 
› https://chuwanaga.bandcamp.com
Label founded in 2017 by @saint-james (Maxence Robinet)

[PREMIERE] Kalima - (Where Is The) Sunshine

* Read more: https://boltingbits.com/ruben-vaun-smith-soundway-records/
* Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ATmpe_yjRoA
* Pre-order: https://reubenvaunsmith.bandcamp.com/releases

The latest signee on famed London-based label, Soundway Records, Reuben Vaun Smith arrives on the scene with a sound that is fully-formed and poised, which is impressive considering he never originally intended on becoming a musician. Reuben’s dreams of becoming a professional soccer player were quashed by a severe knee injury at age 18, but he soon found a new career path after his grandfather gifted him a MIDI keyboard. Reuben taught himself music production while cooped up in the backyard shed of his Yorkshire home, and the fruits of his endeavours can be heard on this lush, nostalgic debut EP arriving August 21st, Warm Nights.Reuben’s unselfconscious, freeform approach to music-making, which is marked by live-recording improvisational 1-2 hour jam sessions, is the defining feature of the EP. That, and the tropical, Balearic-house inspired grooves which ensconce the listener in a perpetual state of sunset-tinged bliss. The third track on the EP, “Trip on New Shores”, embodies the EP at its most effortlessly cool and tranquil. As the beat slowly fades in, with steady retro drums, squelchy bass, and spacey synth arpeggios, it quickly picks up steam, evolving into a loose, playful, 80’s-nodding tropical house number that evokes going for an evening stroll on a tropical island. As the languorous vocal sample briefly repeats the title refrain while maracas emerge in the background, the song takes on an even more hypnotic, enticing flavour.Despite maintaining such a languid, carefree vibe, the track never grows stale, constantly evolving and finding new, intricate rhythms and eclectic instrumental arrangements. This speaks to Reuben’s restless and expansive energy as a musician. What Reuben maybe lacks in fancy recording equipment or extensive musical training, he more than makes up for in his creativity, and the generous, warm, inviting soundscapes he so naturally and beautifully conjures.

Warm Nights

PREMIERE: Ruben Vaun Smith - Trip On New Shores

Italian library music touched with disco funk from @LorenzoMorresi & @Tenderlonious. Out tomorrow via @22amusic. Read more @ https://wp.me/p471L0-btX

Lorenzo Morresi & Tenderlonious - Cosmica Italiana (TS Premiere)

Music to make you dance. We unearth forgotten musical gems for music lovers to enjoy once again.

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A2. Thomas Frempong - Mada Meho So

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