Pioneer Works Swing (Live)

Hailu Mergia — Yegle Nesh (Live)

Interstellar Fantasy

The Lonely Robot

Rare vinyl versions of MPB songs ❤️✌🏾✌🏻
A dream to present our first mixtape recorded in Brazil in the concerte jungle of São Paulo - uhhuuuuu! Find the full set on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGH7b5TijT8

The proud tradition of making killer cover versions in Brazil has fascinating us for years. Ever since we started our SLJ (Sounds Like Jorge Ben) mixtape series, we have been collecting both odd and amazing versions of Brazilian classics. DJ: Ras from @Batukizer

Background of the mixtape:
The idea is to present a collection of 10 relatively unknown versions of Brazilian classics. From Simones epic jazzy version of Clube de Esquinas "Tudo Que.." to Ronald Mesquitas mesmerizing opener - a version of the Elis Regina standard (penned and also recorded by Ivan Lins) "Madalena". This version was never released in Brazil, only Spain, Portugal and Moçambique.

In between you will hear Tim Maia, Bebeto, a 1990s cover of the hauntingly beautiful and ultra rare Samba Groove 2 (My Analog Journal) classic "Grilos da Vida" by Jardes. 

Last song is a bossa nova standard by João Gilberto by the Choir of the historical mining city of Ouro Perto. Which one? We will let you listen and decide, because the jazzy choral arrangements are made o be shared ❤️

Equipment:
A vintage Japanese Urei 1620 rotary DJ mixer
Bryston 4b amplifier
Tannoy DMT 10 speakers
Technics Mk2s
Ortofon Night Club 2 DJ pickups
The upstairs bar at Drosophyla Bar is fitted courtesy of Robert Adair from SP Urban Distillery.

BTKZR MIX: VVMPB - 1 / Vinyl versions of MPB classics • Gin Bar Mixtape • São Paulo

To celebrate 10 years of one of London’s most loved underground club nights, Tangent, Mr Bongo are thrilled to launch a new compilation series with the two residents at its helm. John Gómez and Nick the Record present a collection of prized, rare and dancefloor-ready tracks from around the globe that have soundtracked the past decade of parties. The first single from the compilation is a stunning, joy filled, Kompa disco anthem courtesy of Kajou’s ‘Tet Chajé’.

The early years of the party saw the pair delving deep into the afro-disco and zouk crates. One firm favourite is this sparkling slice of Haitian disco heat from 1985. A track that captures the energy of humid nights in the packed discotheques of the Haitian diaspora. With a hint of Lincoln Olivetti Brazilian boogie vibes weaved within, ‘Tet Chajé’ is dosed up on funk basslines, strutting disco-tinged guitars and glimmering percussion. A foundation that lets the addictive, harmonising, Haitian Creole vocals transport you to sunnier settings.

A super rare, Caribbean cut that gives a glimpse into Tangent’s eclectic taste, finally given the remastered reissue it deserves.

Kajou - Tet Chajé

Aerials live, dials tuned, Transmission Towers broadcasting. On either side of the river Mersey, transcendental communications are traded back and forth. Two late-night revellers, one firing messages filled with music, the other returning them laced with lyrics. The result, a dopamine hit of oddball machine soul, melded with a highlife, Afrofuturist touch. Wonky and murky yet deeply emotional, Transmission One, is a debut album that also marks the first release on Luke Una’s É Soul Cultura label, encompassing expertly the off-kilter atmosphere the label sets to orbit. 

A synthesised landscape with a Northern charm, Transmission Towers marry the musical worlds of two artists that last collaborated over a decade ago. 10 years have passed, lives have been led, but a gravitational pull has placed Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante back in each other’s spheres on opposite sides of the city of Liverpool. Energised with a newfound desire to strip it all back to the sounds that influenced their formative years in the late ‘80s and ‘90s - astral travelling, intoxicated on Motor City techno, Black Dog IDM and mystical Sun Ra. 
 
Mark half Irish, half Greek Cypriot, Eleanor half Nigerian, half Ghanian, the music contained within is an alchemy of those roots and the pivotal acts that buried deep into their minds. A cosmic contrast, part machine-made, part distinctly human. Take the opener ‘UP’, an ESG-channelling, sci-fi punk beatdown or the polychromatic hyperspace anthem ‘Roller Skater 23’. 
 
Transportive throughout, you ride the solar waves, pace and emotion ebbing and flowing. Tracks like ‘Go Slow Heart’ and ‘Cosmic Trigger’ step to a slower beat but hit with a punch. The former, a slo-mo blast of celestial tenderness, the latter an otherworldly, chugged-out lunar excursion, micro-dosing on whacked-out Wah Wah and Eleanor’s ethereal vocals. Beaming love letters to space and back, ‘Sparse’ marries the organic with the artificial, pianos and percussion circling around synth pads and broadcasting bleeps.
 
Elsewhere, vibrations move faster. ‘Mega’ strikes, fusing sonic tribalism with psychedelic swirls, as ‘Everything’ sweeps you up in its extra-terrestrial new wave grip. Synth stabs and basslines fizzing from every angle.  
 
Demos of Transmission Towers music surfaced on Luke Una’s radar, making him stop in his tracks. Something magical was emerging, perfectly aligned with the E Soul guardian’s tastes. Guidance followed, quickly turning into conversations about Transmission One becoming the first release on Luke’s own label. 
 
Escapist and futurist yet grounded and relatable. Transmission One is synthesis meets sentiment with a deep, spine-tingling soul at its core.

Transmission Towers - Up

Mr Bongo

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