New records that we sell in the <a href="http://www.mrbongo.com">shop and on the website</a>. Updated weekly.

Mr Bongo Weekly Selections

MMXXII

Underground Jazz

my cool playlist cause i’m cool

Written, produced and mixed by Philip Frowein and Aske Lyck Pedersen
Feat. Steen Lyck on Percussion.

Master: Figub Brazlevič
Cover Photo: Romain Mader

Neighbours mp3

01 - J. Park Theatre 1

02 Lost Paraiso

Changing Light / Sommer

Changing Light

Education & Recreation

Iconoclasts

Mendoza

The second single to come from the ‘The Globeflower Masters Vol.2’, and with a title such as 'Moogs Over Jupiter’ it’s not only literal, but also a jumping off point that enables Mark and Glenn's musical imagination to go wild. It takes the listener on a journey covering some distance – all the way to the moon! Not just any moon, but a moon orbiting the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. 

Mark’s Mini Moog and Jupiter 8 synthesiser are the stars of the show here, providing the perfect combination of depth and frequency to soundtrack their space-scape. Add to that some heavily effect-laden guitar from Glenn and the slow-but purposeful drive of the drums and Milo Fell’s percussion and we’re travelling without moving. 

The imagery of space travel echoes throughout this laid-back excursion. If a Moog pioneer such as Jean-Jacques Perrey had jammed with a contemporary, headsy beat-maker, the results may have been similar to this floaty as helium, cinematic, spacefaring jaunt.

Glenn Fallows & Mark Treffel - Moogs Over Jupiter

‘Glance’ is the second single to be taken from SOYUZ (COIO3) forthcoming album, ‘Force of the Wind’. It was the only song written between the sessions for the band’s previous album ‘II’ and ‘Force of the Wind’ that made it to the album in its original form. 

It’s a song inspired by measured life in the low-rise and village-like Minsk, which is the band's composer Aleksey Chumak’s hometown. It references Lo Borges' debut album and the work of Burnier e Cartier. Breezy as a summer east wind, gentle Fender Rhodes swirl, guitars sway whilst Alex's gentle ethereal vocals surf the bassline. Over too soon and akin to waking up and trying to remember a dream, the images of the song tickle away leaving you wanting more.

SOYUZ (СОЮЗ) - Glance (Мгновение)

Sounding simultaneously from the past, the present, and the future, the debut album 'MLDE' by Marxist Love Disco Ensemble seeks to eradicate both the trite from disco and the sobriety from political music. Half poetic, half tongue-in-cheek, this stunning compact eight-track album is influenced by Eastern European and Mediterranean 70s disco records. In the words of band member Paolo, ''it was written in response to hearing 'I love America' by Patrick Juvet. The song prompted the question: why does disco, a genre originally created by oppressed minorities, eventually become synonymous with Western capitalist excess?" MLDE seeks to break this connection.

Merging disco, post-disco 80s pop, and boogie into the fold, 'MLDE' was recorded using only analogue instruments, giving it warmth and space. Recorded on cassette, ½ inch tape, this gives moments of lo-fi abstraction between the beats of an aggressive, tight drum kit. Instruments used for this recording range from saxophone, trumpet, harpsichord, guitar, and rare analogue synthesisers. The bass sound is shaped by early 80s boogie records, whilst the influence of artists such as Hamlet Minassian can be heard in some of MLDE's more driving-disco outings, such as 'Hues of Red'. In the tradition of Soviet vocal group records, which the band has studied, some songs are sung by a vocal quartet in homage to this tradition. 

Tracks such as '1905' and 'Brumaire' have a greater pop aesthetic, with Paolo's vocal style on these more pop-driven songs evoking early 80s bands such as Orange Juice and Chas Jankel. 

The format and message of pop and disco are commonly viewed just to entertain and move bodies around a dancefloor; however, lyrically, the subjects range from dialectical and historical materialism, class struggle, Marxist theory and praxis, as well as the concept of Marxist disco music. 

Adding the icing to the cake, mastering don Joker aka Liam McLean dusted the album with his magic, giving the songs space where the room is needed, as well as the kick and punch demanded by the modern dancefloor.

Marxist Love Disco Ensemble - Manifesto

Lover You Should've Come Over (Jeff buckley) - Cover

The Sound of the Smiths

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (2008 Remaster)

Salad Days

Chamber Of Reflection

Gb City

Velvet Itch

Get Found

Leaves

Atlantis

Straussmania

Hozier - Movement Slowed To Perfection

i be munchin on da nuts shout out ice spice

Here Comes The Cowboy

Heart To Heart

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.

All News Is Good News

Surprise Chef - All News Is Good News

‘New Ferrari’ is the first single to be taken from Surprise Chef’s forthcoming album, ‘Daylight Savings’. The album is released on October 16th and is up for pre-order / pre-save now. Choose from black vinyl, Indie Edition creamy white coloured vinyl, CD, digital, and special vinyl presses courtesy of our friends at HHV Records and DINKED.

Daylight Savings

DOWNLOAD / STREAM

Surprise Chef - New Ferrari

Changing Light

The Ironsides