An edit pays tribute to the original by trimming and rearranging the song in a way that it works for today's dancefloor or listening habits. 

Delfonic and Mendel are two outspoken specialists in this and understand the edit craft like no one else. For almost twenty years, Delfonic has been running Oye Records, a record store known far beyond the city limits of Berlin, and therefore knows very well which records and tracks go down best with whom and how. 

Always on the look out for that heartfelt connection, Mendel doesn’t cater to the fist pumpers, but rather the loving, open-minded and upbeat. His sets are peppered with diverse influences, from Chicago’s (ware)house pioneers to Amsterdam’s soulful school of DJs. He carefully orchestrates dance floor experiences by selecting tunes based on the emotion they evoke. A steady flow of mixtapes and Mendel’s Melodies, his regular show on Red Light Radio, provide a platform for Mendel to share his mellower side, capturing hearts by interweaving soulful classics with silky rarities from all corners of the musical landscape.

Notes On A Journey has therefore decided to make use of the services of the two DJs and to take two songs from their own, meanwhile extensive catalog under the magnifying glass, respectively the scalpel.

On the one hand there are two new editions of Germannu's «Fale De Mim» and one edit each for «Marcação» and «Pé na Estrada» by Valéria. Four times the very finest in soulful Brazilian pop music as one is now almost used to from Notes On A Journey. 

«Fale De Mim» by Germannu, by the way, originally appeared in 1984 on the EP «Germannu» and was released in September 2020 by NOAJ as a lavish reissue. 

The 4-track 7inch «Pé na Estrada» by Valéria originally came out in 1983 on the Brazilian label PPA (Paladar Produções Artisticas) and was re-released by NOAJ in November 2020.

With «NOAJ Edits 01», a first absolute must-have edits package was put together. And as the title suggests, the series will continue in the following months with more highlights from the NOAJ catalog.

B2 - Valéria - Pé Na Estrada (Mendel Edit)

B1 - Valéria - Marcação (Delfonic Edit)

A2 - Germannu - Fale De Mim (Mendel Edit)

A1 - Germannu - Fale De Mim (Delfonic Edit)

B - Cláudio Bocca - Marsupial

A - Cláudio Bocca - Morada E Poesia

B5 - Brunno - Spleen

B4 - Brunno - Bossa

B3 - Brunno - Três

B2 - Brunno - Vivo Só

B1 - Brunno - Itapoã

A4 - Brunno - Depois Da Praia

a selection of mellow soul tunes (60s to 80s) from Stefan Leisering's vinyl collection..

Summer Soul - Notes On A Journey Selection by Stefan Leisering (Jazzanova)

Format: 180g Vinyl - Tip On Cover with printed inner sleeve (Limited Edition)
Cat#: NOAJ002
Original release: 1983, Berlin (Private Pressing)
Releasedate: 15.07.2016

It's 1981. Everything seems possible in the realms of music. The barriers between genres are being willfully torn down, punk is discovering the synthesizer, the drum machine is replacing the drummer and no idea is too absurd to pursue. The winds of change are blowing from New York to London, Berlin and Tokyo and there's a palpable, uninhibited spirit of optimism in the air turning music industry on it's head. People are experimenting with novel equipment, bands are springing up like mushrooms, line-ups disband and regroup. A whole generation is being inspired by a do-it-yourself mentality, creating an unprecedented knowledge of how to produce music. Every artist seems to be full of ambition, conquering new frontiers whilst often participating in several projects simultaneously. When today, we look back at this time it appears as an unintelligible mess with no economic viability, but 30 years ago it was simply the sheer desire for artistic freedom, self-fulfillment and the urge to have control over one's own creative work that was the driving force.

Amazingly, the record continues to be rediscovered time and again, throughout the years’ time. By a diverse mix of DJs and record collectors from all sorts of different countries, origins and scenes. They all take a personal interest in “Bewegliche Ziele”. From die-hard NDW fans to New Wave analysts and never-tiring sound explorers like the infamous, Dutch record collector Tako Reyenga. It is him who plays one of these rare copies, sometime in 2010, in Düsseldorf of all places, in the Salon d'Amateurs, one of the world's hippest underground clubs, in front of a broad-minded audience. In short “Bewegliche Ziele” (played on 33rpm instead of 45rpm) becomes a signature tune not only at the Salon, but on dance floors of every boutique club operating outside of mainstream territory all around the world. About the same time Jazzanova member and co-founder of NOTES ON A JOURNEY, Stefan Leisering stumbles across the 12” in a crate in Canada. Back in Berlin he plays his discovery to his buddy and Jazzanova co-partner Alex Barck. Falling for the song's magic as Leisering does, Barck rearranges, what was perviously considered complete, the third edition of “Computer Incarnations For World Peace” just to fit this exceptional tune into the already fine selection.

Spelmanns himself, now living in Bremen, working as a video artist and leading the Generic Art Ensemble, definitely didn't expect this to ever happen. Three decades after its initial release “Bewegliche Ziele” is finally finding its listeners and revealing its long hidden spell. It's the same with “Bewegliche Ziele” as with a lot of this time period's music long forgotten or only released in a very limited capacity: Today, with hindsight, it gains new meaning and an extensive resonance. Over the last few years Plaza Hotel's skewness, the graceful peculiarity, the courageous experimentalism is being explored by new and younger groups and can be heard in current music again. Meaning “Bewegliche Ziele” could have easily be released in 2016. NOTES ON A JOURNEY thought the same and decided, that not only freaky record collectors should be able to, for extortionate prices, enjoy this timeless, fascinating piece of music on vinyl. So we have brought Plaza Hotel back to life, in all its glory.


Bewegliche Ziele

A - Plaza Hotel - Bewegliche Ziele SNIPPET

„Sumri hallar“ is an islandic traditional folk song. The title literally means "summer is leaning“ which means the summer will be over soon. Here is an autumn inspired selection of tunes that Jazzanova member and Notes On A Journey co-founder Stefan Leisering picked from his record collection .. a handful of mellow 60s to early 80s Folk, Pop, Prog Rock, Singer Songwriter, AOR tracks for the shorter, colder and rainier days of the year...

Sumri Hallar (Autumn Mix) - Notes On A Journey Selection by Stefan Leisering (Jazzanova)

More Info: http://www.notesonajourney.com/noaj003-candeias-sambaiana/
Format: LP (180g vinyl + Old School Tip On Gatefold Cover  + Download Card + Printed Inner Sleeve)
Cat#: NOAJ003
Original release: 1976
Releasedate: 28.07.2017

Short Info: 

Curiously enough the story of this record begins with a song, which isn't even featured on it. A song named 'Guayabas'. One of Guillermo Reuter's very first free-spirited compositions is one of his two contributions to the fourth album 'Ese Dia Va A Llegar' by friend and musician Agustin Pereyra Lucena, in 1975. 'Guayabas' was the unintended starting signal for Reuter's career and was coincidentally the initial spark for this reissue that you, dear reader and listener, are holding in your hands right now.

But perhaps we'd better take one thing at a time and not jump ahead of ourselves. 'Guayabas' was the Guillermo Reuter song that first caught the attention of the Notes On A Journey founders Jürgen von Knoblauch and Stefan Leisering. It led them to discover his album 'Candeias' shortly thereafter, and a love affair was born. It was a similar story for Jacques Subileau, the producer for the recordings of 'Ese Dia Va A Llegar' (and therefore 'Guayabas'), who was so enamored by this single composition that he proposed Reuter to cut a whole album, made up exclusively of his songs and compositional stylings. The Frenchman with an Argentinian girlfriend, had connections to European record labels like Disco Mediterraneo in Madrid and Disques Espérance in Paris which specialised in World and African music. 'Candeias' would be released on both labels, on the Spanish imprint under the name of 'Sambaiana', in France as the original title 'Candeias', but for inexplicable reasons, with terrible sound quality.

Having now Notes On A Journey, more than forty years after its initial release, introducing 'Candeias' to a whole new audience is also in the interest of its creator. For Guillermo Reuter, this album was and is a lifework, which has never lost momentum and significance. It is a record, which simply stands the test of time by bringing pure joy over its full, entertaining length, and is going under the skin at the same time. That's why for this re-issue the original Spanish pressing has been lovingly restored, preserving the sound quality, letting you listen to it the way it should be heard, in the here and now. With the stunning new quality 'Candeias' will find a much bigger following this time round. Come and join the club.

Sambaiana

Buy Now

NOAJ003 - Candeias - Sambaiana ALBUM SNIPPET

NOAJ003 - Candeias - Sambaiana out now:
https://notesonajourney.lnk.to/Sambaiana

This tribute mix features tracks from the Candeias universe. Guillermo Reuter has played and written for Agustin Pereyra Lucena, the Argentinian folk and cross-culture band "Lagrima" or for Ricardo Benelli's "En Tiempo". Of course this mix also features Agustin Pereyra Lucena's "Guayabas", which was the unintended starting signal for Reuter's career and was coincidentally the initial spark for the band Candeias and their only longplayer "Sambaiana".

Candeias - Sambaiana

Candeias Inspiration - Notes On A Journey Selection by Oliver Glage

Format: 180g Vinyl - Tip On Cover with printed inner sleeve (Limited Edition)
Cat#: NOAJ004
Original release: 1976, US (Private Pressing)
Releasedate: 17.11.2017

Raised in Farmington, Minnesota, the young Senrick came at the decision to throw caution to the wind and become a career musician at an early age. At the tender age of 15, he played his first gig in Minnesota, and after the venue's owner pressed his pay into his hand, he quickly came to the conclusion that making a living by performing music was the path he wanted to pursue. From this on it was surprisingly his life of simplicity and restricted circumstances that gave Senrick the liberty to play music whenever and wherever he felt like – be it as an all-round entertainer in bars and restaurants or as a member of several bands (i.e. touring with the Shuffle Brothers across Minnesota between 1976 and 1978 and later accompanying the Claudio Baltierras Ensemble on occasion). By 1982 Senrick was hired by Joe's Steak House in Bloomington, Illinois (a two-hour drive south of Chicago) where he has earned money ever since, either as a solo pianist or as a band leader at his own evening „At Home At The Piano Bar“. This steadfast engagement was only interrupted once, for a six years period when he moved to Anna Maria Island in sunny Florida. During this time he also only played at a single location, the Cafe Crobar. Since this time he spends the remaining parts of his day following his second love after music, building sand castles.
Building castles in the air, though, was something Chuck Senrick never did during his career. His first and only record “Dreamin” wasn't meant to signal the start of an illustrious career in the music business. The dozen songs he recorded in friend's living rooms during 1976 were for the by then 21-year old, freshly married Minnesotan, just a plain and simple collection of compositions capturing the world around him and recounting humble tales of his life in it. “Drop A Dime” is a simple account of the flat he shared with three friends, while, as the title suggests, “Wedding Trilogy” is dedicated to his wife and is a living reminder of his marriage which happened around the time of these recordings. It was also his first wife who drew the illustration for the cover of “Dreamin”: A portrait of a young Chuck cross-fading between Minneapolis' bustling city life (sung about in “Downtown”) and the comforting mountain scenery of Montana embedded in familiar unity. The songs, starting with the title track “Dreamin”, invoke the calm, humble life and bond with nature, which is still dear to Chuck Senrick's heart to this very day. The songs also address the conflict between harmony and adventure, a facet of his personality which embodies him all the same. These days, Senrick's personal favourite from the collection is, “Don't Be So Nice”, the best example of this discrepancy. Hard to be topped in its reduced purity, the song is scored in a restrained and jazzy manner, as all tracks of the album, with just a Fender Rhodes accompanied by a simple beat coming from the drum machine, the Donca-Matic by Keio/Korg. This minimalism, paired with a preference for bittersweet melodies and his ingenious vocals, bestow Chuck Senrick's music with a brutal honesty that will never go out of fashion, therefore bearing the imprint of timelessness. The soundtrack to eternity one could say.
Just 200 copies of the record were pressed, which Senrick gave away to friends or sells to his audience at his gigs.

Notes On A Journey under license from The Numero Group.

B6 - Chuck Senrick - The Duke Is Gone

B2 - Chuck Senrick - Don't Be So Nice

A2 - Chuck Senrick - Wedding Trilogy

A1 - Chuck Senrick - Dreamin'

NOAJ004 - Chuck Senrick - Dreamin out now:
https://notesonajourney.lnk.to/Dreamin

A little selection around the sound universe of Chuck Senricks LP "Dreamin'" (NOAJ004). Enjoy this journey through various solo entertainers using drum machines & keys to express their inner feelings.

Chuck Senrick LP

Soul-o Entertainer – Notes On A Journey Selection by Jazzanova & Oliver Glage

Format: 7inch
Cat#: NOAJ7-001
Original release: 1982
Releasedate: 15.03.2019

With the fifth release and the first 7inch on the quality imprint, Notes On A Journey turns its attention to Brazil. Finally, one might think, since it’s an open secret that the guys behind the label all have a soft spot for music from the leading coffee exporter in the world. So, when Brazilian DJ, record collector and digger extraordinaire Junior Santos brought this Celso Rubinstein 7-inch EP (called «Compacto» in Brazil) to the Berlin label’s attention he hadn’t to do a lot of persuading to have NOAJ reintroduce this beautiful piece of music to fans around the world some 36 years after its first appearance.

Born in Brazil to a family of Holocaust survivors, Celso Rubinstein’s career as a singer allowed him to take residency in several countries including Spain, Portugal, Israel and Britain. He performed as an artist in numerous clubs and supported other artists as backing vocalist. In 1982 he booked studio time at Chico Batera’s studio in Rio De Janeiro to record two songs for an intentional debut album.

On «Enquanto Houver», written by Paulinho Mendonça and Gerson Conrad, Rubinstein tried to infuse some rap flavour: «I wanted to get away from that style of singing where you sing a bunch of notes without breathing. You can hear that all the words in the song are pronounced properly but the cadence is broken up, so the intention was to do a kind of rap without it seeming to be rap.»

Marina Lima and Antonio Cicero contributed «È A Vida Que Diz», a song as marvelously written as much as performed sophisticatedly by Rubinstein with his star-studded studio crew. Amongst them: Oberdan Magalhães and Claudio Stevenson from Banda Black Rio, Rique Pantoja, keyboard player, arranger and conductor Reinaldo Arias, as well as American session musician Don Harris. Celso Rubinstein wanted to create a unique atmosphere for the recording sessions, inviting numerous people to the control room to amplify the spontaneous live feeling even more (the control room was filled with people like Ney Matogrosso, As Frenéticas, Claudia Telles, Fátima Guedes.) You definitely can hear this vitality on the record originally published in 1982 by Rubinstein himself.

Since there was a massive vinyl shortage at the time in Brazil, no label had any spare material to waste on newcomers. Only the label Tapecar, which had its own pressing plant, helped Rubinstein out and used the left over material from the manufacture of Gal Costa’s latest album («Minha Voz») to have his 7” privately pressed. Needless to say that it missed any recognition back then. But now, 36 years later, thanks to Junior Santos and Notes On A Journey a broad audience has the joy to finally embrace this beautiful music wholeheartedly.

É A Vida Que Diz / Enquanto Houver

B - Celso Rubinstein - Enquanto Houver

A - Celso Rubinstein - É A Vida Que Diz

Format: 12inch
Cat#: NOAJ005
Original release: 1981
Releasedate: 23.08.2019

Even those of you who are already familiar with our label's concept of rediscovering music which has unjustifiably been lost, overlooked or forgotten will be surprised by the reissue of the six-track-record 'Bruchstuecke' LP by Free-Jazz artists Phrydderichs Phaelda. 

This band was a short living school band project of the Gymnasium Voerde Mitte (West-Germany) led by pianist and music teacher Friedrich Schepers joined by other teachers and students (Hans Klimek on bass, Lutz Leonhardt on drums, Wolfgang Kulawik on guitar). In 1975 they went to the studio to record 6 instrumental tracks in a style that could be best described as jazz / fusion with hints of r’n’b and rock, which are brimming with crisp snare drums played in polyrhythmic and ever-changing patterns and tempos. Alongside that the astounded listener gets to enjoy thrilling electric guitar lines and breathtaking electric piano excursions together with ultra-warm and elaborate bass guitar parts. All this is held together by the four musicians great overview and ability to improvise and react spontaneously to their fellows. This creates a kind of magic which is rare to hear in music these days.

Stefan Leisering and Juergen von Knoblauch, the two record digging members of Jazzanova have immediately understood the unique quality of 'Bruchstuecke' and decided to re-release this overlooked masterpiece. In the course of the original release of this album in the early 1980s only a small amount has been pressed. Now with this reissue on Notes On A Journey is the chance to make this gem available to a larger audience – to people who share a great interest in the remarkable development of underground Jazz in Germany during those exciting years.

A1 - Zinky

Notes On A Journey to Brazil.
A Mix to celebrate the Release of Celso Rubinstein on Notes on a Journey. 

Celso Rubinstein 7inch available here: https://notesonajourney.lnk.to/EaVidaQueDiz

Tracklist:

1. Valéria - Pé na Estrada
2. Badameiro - Te Pego de Jeito
3. Eliane Salek - Pra Brincar
4. Celso Rubinstein - Enquanto houver
5. Marcelo Ganem - Ponta de Estrela
6. Gibran - Canção do Violeiro
7. André Luiz Oliveira - Filhos de Odé
8. Carlos Pita - Casa das Flautas
9. Celso Rubinstein - É a vida que diz
10. Grupo Cravo e Canela - Manda o seu Namorado Embora
11. Perinho Santana - O teu Olhar
12. Alexandre Az, Marcelo Dinis, Sergio Misan - 1,2,3….Fui
13. Cátia de França - Estilhaços
14. Fogo Baiano - Fogo do sol
15. Tadeu Mathias - Presa
16. Darcy de Paulo - Ano Novo

Notes On A Journey – To Brazil (Celso Rubinstein Inspiration - mixed by Juergen von Knoblauch)

Format: 180g 12inch with tip on cover & printed inner sleeve
Cat#: NOAJ007
Original release: 1984
Releasedate: 25.09.2019

Manoel Germano Filho (better known as Germannu) was born into a family of cocoa farm owners on January 11th, 1955 in Linhares, Espirito Santo, Brazil. He was the second born of three children, but refusing to buy into the stereotype of the forgotten middle child, it took just a few guitar chords, learnt at the age of 15, to start him on his musical path. (The chords were taught to Manoel by his much-revered older sister, Germana, which she, in turn, had learned playing religious songs at Catholic school).

Manoel started his foray into education by following in his family’s footsteps, earning his agronomy degree at the Federal University of Viçosa in the state of Minas Gerais. Yet it was music rather than soil that held his heart, and after a chance meeting with Milton Nascimento, one of Brazil’s biggest musical icons — both back then and today — he threw himself into the Minas music scene, burgeoned as it was by student movements and local music festivals.

Manoel’s attempts to bring his music to the general public were abruptly derailed by the death of his father. Shortly after graduating, his dreams were put on hold and he found himself back in his hometown of Espirito Santo taking care of the family’s business affairs. It didn’t take long for though for the music to win over, and soon after he invested a considerable sum of his earnings in musical instruments and sound equipment, as well as a mobile trailer which he used as a tour bus, setting out to perform in towns in the region.

In 1984, Manoel, now Germannu, met the composer, arranger, vocalist, and guitarist Jorge “Jóia” Olímpio at a show in Linhares, and a month later threw caution to the wind, moved to Rio and found himself crashing at Jorge’s house while putting down his roots. Over the following days and weeks, the recording of Germannu’s debut LP began in earnest, starting with his songs Lavoura, Fale De Mim, and Hei De Amar.

Jorge’s help was crucial. Although Germannu had certain melodies in mind and chord structures around which he wanted to build the songs, he hadn’t yet developed how the melodies would play out, nor decided how exactly the chord sequences would go.

The pre-production was done at Jorge’s home, before they moved over to the now-defunct Estúdio Rio near the Laranjeiras viaduct to flesh things out. Jorge Jóia called on his contacts and brought in musicians he was sure would work, including a bassist and former bandmate named Borjalo, with whom he had previously played with in a band that was put together by the legendary organ player, Lafayette. Drummer, Paulinho Black (ex-Banda Black Rio), and pianist, Moisés Pedrosa, were also part of the team, as was the fabulous Jorge Cardozo — who transcribed Jorge Jóia’s arrangements.

Sadly, Germannu is no longer with us, but the lasting groove of his music remains eternal and continues to bring a special kind of joy to those that hear it.

So, where does Notes On A Journey fit into all of this? Jürgen von Knoblauch — a longtime member of Jazzanova and Sonar Kollektiv, amongst others, is introduced on our site simply as Record Collector — met Junior Santos, a musician, drummer, and Brazilian music aficionado extraordinaire, when buying records from him. Junior convinced Jürgen to buy a record by one Celso Rubinstein — which led to a NOAJ reissue (which if you haven’t discovered already, you should). The collaboration between knowledge fount and collector was fruitful enough that Junior and Jürgen decided to work on more reissues. This Germannu record is their first complete collaboration, with more on the way.

B2 - Germannu - Hei De Amar (Instrumental)

B1 - Germannu - Hei De Amar

A2 - Germannu - Fale De Mim

A1 - Germannu - Lavoura

Jazzanova member and Notes On A Journey co-founder Stefan Leisering picked records from his collection to let you explore the world of pop psych and folk rock of the late 60s to early 70s. Its a selection of known classics and personal discoveries from the last 30 years of record collecting. We think this is the perfect mixture to introduce to you our new re-release Humphrey (South Africa 1971) and its sound universe between folk, pop, psych and singer songwriter music.

Pre-order NOAJ006 - Humphrey - Humphrey here: 
https://humphreynoaj.bandcamp.com/album/humphrey


1.) Megachile Pluto - I’m A Collector (2020)
2.) Sunshine Company - To Put Up With You (1968)
3.) D.R. Hooker - Forge Your Own Chains (1972)
4.) Bill Wendry & The Boss Tweeds - A Wristwatch Band (1968) (Megachile Pluto Edit)
5.) Humphrey - Silence Of Love (1971)
6.) Traffic - Roamin’ Thru’ The Gloamin’ With 40000 Headmen (1968)
7.) Brothers - The Prophet (1973)
8.) Willow - Lightning (Creepy One) (1974)
9.) Paul Bryan - Like A Rainy Night (1973)
10.) Randy Johnson - Garden Of Love (1970)
11.) Click Horning - Find It For Yourself (1969)
12.) Humphrey - Season’s Change (1971)
13.) The Turtles - Too Young To Be One (1967)
14.) Jamie & The Jury - This Too Shall Pass (1966)
15.) The Sundowners - Always You (1969)
16.) Design - Marguaretta (1970)
17.) Mark Eric - Move With The Dawn (1969)
18.) The Left Banke - Shadows Breaking Over My Head (1967)
19.) Humphrey - Time To Change (1971)
20.) Sagittarius - The Truth Is Not Real (1968) 
21.) Asylum - Sometimes (1973)
22.) Kenny Rankin - Sittin’ On The Dock Of A Bay (1971)
23.) Rodger Rodier - The Key (1972)

Time To Change - Notes On A Journey Selection by Stefan Leisering

B2 - Valéria - Moreno

B1 - Valéria - Marcação

A2 - Valéria - Artimanhas

A1 - Valéria - Pé Na Estrada

„Discovering and rediscovering music“ is NOAJ's slogan and by this credo productions and recordings (records, cassettes, never before released master tapes) from days gone by shall and will find its audience. NOAJ tells the tale of mis-launched careers, failed dreams, gutted hopes, criminally overlooked masterpieces and of music that has been probably way too ahead of its time.

Notes On A Journey

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