It is hard to believe we are now up to Volume 6 of our renowned Record Club series. Curating these compilations, where we share our latest musical discoveries and old favourites from the global stage, is always a labour of love. 

When one of our most revered artists offered us the chance to include a digital exclusive track we of course jumped at the chance. As expected, what we received blew us away and we knew it had to be the lead single from the compilation. 

Hearing the Swedish outfit Sven Wunder for the first time is as refreshing as an ice-cold Limoncello after an Italian meal. One of those artists that feel instantly familiar like an old friend, yet simultaneously fresh and new. Having released three stunning albums adored by a rapidly growing fanbase, and a host of critical acclaim from the likes of the New York Times, Pitchfork and the Quietus to name just a few, the expectation of what is to come next from this wonderfully unique artist is palpable. 

‘Easy Going’ is a digital exclusive for our Mr Bongo Record Club Vol.6 compilation. The track was previously pressed to a limited edition 7” on Piano Piano Records that sold out within 24hrs, so the demand for a digital version is high. ’Easy Going' sounds like it would be at home on a lost Brazilian Trilha Sonora Original Da Novela (original TV Soundtrack From The Novel). Sven has assembled beautifully orchestrated strings that swirl over bubbling keys, snappy drums, and calls on a harmonica to take the role as the lead instrument.

Sven Wunder - Easy Going

03 Sol Monk - Catch Your Tears Feat. Jarvis

Marshall Allen presents Sun Ra And His Arkestra: 'In The Orbit Of Ra'
Mastered from the original tapes, out Sept. 22 on Strut

Pre-order and receive "Plutonian Nights" right away: http://geni.us/SunRa
Pre-orders for the 2CD and 2LP editions are also available: http://bit.ly/OrbitOfRaLP

'In The Orbit Of Ra' celebrates one of the most legendary creative minds in jazz music, Sun Ra. Compiled by the current leader of Ra's band the Arkestra, Marshall Allen,  and mastered from the original reel to reel tapes,  the music of Sun Ra has never sounded better. 

"Plutonian Nights" was originally released on the El Saturn Records LP 'The Nubians Of Plutonia.' Written and Arranged by Sun Ra. Recorded in Chicago, 1958-1959. 

Sun Ra: Piano, Wurlitzer Electric Piano
Lucious Randolph: Trumpet
Marshall Allen: Alto Saxophone, Percussion
John Gilmore: Tenor Saxophone, Percussion
Pat Patrick: Baritone Saxophone
Ronnie Boykins: Bass
Robert Barry: Drums, Percussion

More from Strut Records:
http://www.strut-records.com
https://www.facebook.com/StrutRecords
https://www.youtube.com/user/strutrecords

More from Sun Ra:
http://www.sunraarkestra.com
https://www.facebook.com/SunRaMusic

Pre-Order

Sun Ra & His Arkestra - "Plutonian Nights" (Original Tape Master)

Emanative Feat' The Pyramids
"Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah" 
(Written by Pharoah Sanders)

Taken from the forthcoming album 
"The Light Years Of The Darkness"
Available here: https://stevereidfoundation.bandcamp.com/
Steve Reid Foundation/Brownswood Recordings

Idris Ackamoor: Chant, Alto Saxophone  & Percussion
Kenneth Nash: Chant & Percussion
Suman Joshi: Upright Bass
Nick Haward: Upright Bass
Phillip Harper: Percussion
Mally Harpaz: Percussion
Tamar Osborn: Bass Clarinet & Flute
Ben Hadwen: Tenor Saxophone
Liz Elensky: Backing Vocals
Andre Espeut: Backing Vocals
Jessica Lauren: Piano
Nick Woodmansey: Drums & Percussion

Vocals/Chant Written and Arranged by Kenneth Nash
Kenneth Nash - Kenade Music, BMI
Idris Ackamoor - Aomawa Music, BMI
Recorded by Mamiko Motto w/ Etienne Railu 
All proceeds to The Steve Reid Foundation

Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah

Mark Almond - Return To The City

United Future Organization /Loud Minority (1992)

As a label guided by the mission of sharing the lesser heard sounds of Brazil with the world, Far Out Recordings are delighted to present the first official vinyl reissue of Edu Passeto & Gui Tavares’ Noite Que Brincou De Lua: a super rare and largely unheard masterwork of MPB, originally released in 1981. Disciples of the Clube Da Esquina movement, pioneered by Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges, Edu & Gui mixed psychedelic folk, jazz, bossa, and rock for an album of soulful, dreamy Brazilian pop, with stunning arrangements and lush vocal harmonies.

Having first met performing on the music festival circuits of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, it wasn’t long before Edu and Gui struck up a thriving song writing partnership and close friendship, united not only by the love of music, but by shared ideals of liberation and greater equality for humankind. The duo’s motivation stemmed from a desire for social and political change, during what turned out to be the final years of the Brazilian military dictatorship.

Prior to recording, Edu and Gui had to tread carefully with their lyrics, which had to be submitted to the federal censorship authorities before release. Their first application was rejected after the lyrics were deemed to contain too much direct social criticism. ‘Profome’ (translated “Pro-hunger”), a song characteristically bittersweet in tone, was initially a matter of fact portrayal of the desperately poor social conditions many people in Brazil faced at the time. Back to the drawing board, Edu and Gui, like many persecuted artists from this era had to refine their lyrics to convey their message more subtly.

It took the best part of a year to complete the album, with Edu and Gui saving every scent they could spare from gigging and hitchhiking the 100km to each session from their home in Campinas, so that they’d have enough money to pay for studio time in Abertura Studios, São Paulo.

Although the album gained a respectable amount of radio play in the years that followed, it’s remained in relative obscurity, despite its spellbinding qualities, evident on tracks like ‘Sabiá na Palmeira’, a sweet Brazilian rare-groove with shades of Leroy Hutson, and the psych-folk tinged ‘Seguir’, which harks to the dreamiest moments of Milton Nascimento and Marcos Valle.

Edu and Gui called time on their musical partnership in 1986 when Gui moved to Rio De Janeiro, but they remained close friends until Edu sadly passed away in 2008 after a series of health complications. There is a street named after him in his home city of Campinas, São Paulo. Today, Gui Tavares lives in London, still making music and working within a plethora of Brazilian music projects which include the direction of his own choirs Cantar Vocal Ensemble and Nossa Voz, as well as working with Creative Brazil, who conduct Brazilian music workshops in schools

This limited-edition official reissue has been remastered from the original ½ inch tapes and pressed to heavyweight 180g vinyl.

Noite Que Brincou De Lua

Buy Vinyl

Sabia Na Palmeira

Leopold

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents two albums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.
But before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil.

Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.
When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).

Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Vinyl / CD / Digi

Azymuth - Castelo (Version 1)

Listeners

Theme for Us (feat. Chip Wickham)

There is something simultaneously both brand-new and retro about 'All News Is Good News’ - the debut album from Melbourne's instrumental soul group Surprise Chef. It sounds like something dreamt up by lo-fi cousins of David Axelrod and Janko Nilovic, with dramatic Library-music-esque cinematic arrangements echoing both light and dark, delving into moments of dissonance and positivity. There is a meticulous education of 1970’s soul on display that touches on the legacies of the great composer / producers, yet at the same time, this is a truly contemporary record that could have only been made now. 

The first limited pressing of 'All News Is Good News’ was released on the band's own 'College Of Knowledge' imprint in November 2019. It slipped rapidly into the collective consciousness of underground music lovers around the world, with all copies selling out within a week and becoming a firm favourite at Mr Bongo HQ in the process. We felt Surprise Chef had made something very special, a future-classic, and that needed to be heard well beyond those lucky enough to have bagged those limited first copies.

Formed at the end of 2017, Surprise Chef have grown within the fertile, creative, and supportive Melbourne music scene. Whilst the band is comprised of four core members, the album features friends and family as guest instrumentalists on flute, saxophone, vibraphone, congas, and assorted percussion; all adeptly recorded by engineer Henry Jenkins from the band Karate Boogaloo. The warm-raw-authenticity of the album was captured in the recordings live to tape over a handful of sessions in the band’s home studio in Melbourne’s inner-northern suburb of Coburg. As band member Lachlan Stuckey explains “All of the music we record is tracked live to tape, simply because so many of the records we love most were made that way".

The results are a captivating journey of instrumental cinematic-soul that will connect with the hardened Axelrod, Truth & Soul, El Michels Affair, and Daptone's fans, as well as the open-minded first-time listener. We are very excited to share this first slice of Surprise Chef’s world, with plenty more magic from these guys coming around the corner very soon.

Mark Almond - Return To The City

mastermike68

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