Last autumn Leng Records welcomed a new name to the roster, Greek DJ/producer Lex, via some warming and colourful tracks on the label’s 10th Anniversary LP and sampler EP. Now the Athenian has returned with his first full release for Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell’s popular imprint.

Real name Alex Andrikopoulos, Lex first rose to prominence in his home city of Athens when he ran the Radical Soundz record shop during the first decade of the millennium. More recently his reputation has spread worldwide thanks to his association with Leng, a recent 12” on B2 Recordings and DJ sets that frequently join the dots between disco, house and techno.

His first full EP for Leng is arguably his most musically expansive collection of tracks to date, with a swathe of guest players – keyboardist Artis Boriss and drummer/percussionist Harold Perez most prominently – swinging by to help bring Lex’s vivid musical visions to life.

For proof, check out lead cut ‘Punta Allen’, an eight-minute chunk of organic dancefloor goodness in which Lex and his musical associates layer steel pan style melodies, spacey synthesizer flourishes, eyes-closed electric piano solos, warming chords and jangling guitars atop a heady bass guitar line, unfussy drums and sweaty pots-and-pans percussion. The track’s effortless evolution, which slowly unfurls before rising towards a gorgeous and joyous conclusion, is testament to the Greek producer’s dancefloor instincts.

You’ll find more low-slung, dub disco-influenced bass on the exotic ‘The Jamail Pass’, where mazy and feverish organ solos and rolling hand percussion provide a platform for Paqua member Alex Searle’s Nile Rodgers style guitar sounds. The track’s inherent funk – emphasized by occasional bass guitar solos and fills, as well as some tumbling synth sounds – is apparent throughout the track, something that only adds to its smile-inducing allure.

Closing out a very impressive first EP on Leng is ‘Angels of Rhythm’, a hazier, faster and more intergalactic excursion that cannily combines the low-slung bass of dub disco with the intoxicating vibes and warming dreaminess of deep house. The track’s intoxicating late-night feel is partly due to an undecidedly cosmic spoken word vocal from sassy singer Harrier Summer, though Artis Boriss’ pitch-bend-sporting synth solos and fizzing electronic noises certainly help. Driving but also deep and groovy, ‘Angels of Rhythm’ offers a memorable conclusion to a very impressive EP.

Punta Allen EP

LENG SHOP

Lex (Athens) - The Jamail Pass

Download/Vinyl/Stream: https://toy-tonics.lnk.to/Lucas

The 14 tracker will land via Berlin’s Toy Tonics label and glides from disco to jazz, house and funk and features key collaborations with the likes of Jitwam, Eliza Rose, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange & his close friends. After having met Mathias Kapote Modica, creative mind behind Germany’s well respected Toy Tonics label three years ago, East London born Cody Currie understood Kapote and his international TT Crew have the perfect understanding for his talents and share the same visions and so Cody joined the TT crew and released three EPs with the German label. Now finally he steps up to present his highly anticipated debut album ‘Lucas’. The 14 track LP is set for release 21 October 2022, with a string of pre-singles to drop until then. The roots of Cody’s artistry runs deep, hailing from Leytonstone in East London by his father a fashion designer and his Spanish mother a music writer, it was inevitable that Cody would follow suit in the world of creativity. Curries keen ear and penchant for retro disco licks, chopped keys, and broken beats have landed him also with 1 off releases on other notable labels like Razor-N-Tape, Dan Shake’s Shake Records. The past few years Cody found himself in the midst of a fresh and unique buzz, taking over Europe, predominantly in Berlin and London, as he bridges the gap between jazz and house music with his energetic DJ sets, talented instrumental skills and effortless swag. Playing the big Toy Tonics Jam happening all over Europe and similar to other artists on the TT label‘connecting the dots’ between live and electronic music has garnered Cody a range of support in the press and radio world with fans including Pete Tong, Rolling Stone, Jamz Supernova, Mixmag and Gilles Peterson, with some journalists describing him as "The Tom Misch of jazzy house". This debut album, like his EPs, represents the new essence of jazz burgeoning out of London’s youth scene of today. Cody doesn't use any samples, only live instruments, vocals and great chord combinations, a nod towards his music school studies in London before moving over to Berlin. Like most of the other artists on Toy Tonics and similar to Kapote himself, Cody comes from playing jazz piano and playing in bands and combines this real musician’s attitude and knowledge with his skills as an electronic producer and extremely talented DJ/selector. This combination of background and skills create that unique sound that Cody (and many Toy Tonics artists) have. On Lucas, Cody defines his work by enjoying the collaborative process with other talented artists such as Eliza Rose and Ziggy(Freedom Zeitgeist Energy Exchange), as well as some of Cody’s close personal friends like Jitwam, Ally McMahon, Andreas Konand more. Currie comments on the album, saying:“Lucas LP is a collection of tracks which I've either done myself around the world recording in different places, or collaborating with my friends. The music reflects my enjoyment of the musical process, and I'd say it’s inspired a lot by George Duke and Frank Zappa, the disco and funkier stuff from the 70s and 80s. Some tracks are quite deep and introspective, whilst other ones are more fun and silly, like ‘That Stick’. Ultimately, the album focuses on artists from
everywhere around the world with different backgrounds and styles, to see what we can create together!”–Cody Currie

released 28.10.2022
www.toytonics.de

Cody Currie - Starwoman

~ Ricky Razu [Belgium] ~

Ricky Razu is one of those fast-rising talents who have been contributing to growing the Belgian house music scene over the last decade. When he’s not busy running his vintage furniture shop, you can very likely find him cook upbeat and sun-soaked house in his studio. At the beginning, he reckoned being more into downtempo and jazzy sounds but always having a huge love for house and club music, which drove him to put his music out there with premieres on well-known house Youtube channels like Slav, Houseum or OOUkfunkyOO. Heavily inspired by soul, jazz, funk and disco music, Ricky’s swing is quite unique with an accurate and tasty fusion between yesterday’s golden era classics and today’s club bangers. In short, expect splendid organs and piano chords enriched with powerful vocals. Besides, being a cornerstone of Singaporean crew Darker Than Wax enabled him to build a solid international presence behind with gigs in Europe, the US and Asia. His releases on Houseum, 13th Hour Records, or Happiness Therapy have quickly garnered early support from the likes of Jeremy Underground, Bellaire or Subjoi.

The mix will undoubtedly take you through and on a true house music journey, with lots of 90's and deeper unknown tunes to dig from Val-Air, Larry Tee or Drums in Progress. Be ready to navigate through deep vibes and club material.

Ricky Razu’s latest crush: Apple Blue - I Wantcha Love [Turn Tool Experience]

Our team’s recommendations: Never Left [Tartine Records], Reaching Out [13th Hour Records], Without U [Houseum Records]

s. // @rickyrazu
i. // www.instagram.com/rickyrazu
f. // www.facebook.com/rickyrazu

054 ~ plastic/vibes x Ricky Razu 🇧🇪

Shaka - Hot Ingredients 
Four Flowers EP
Quintessentials
Quintessentials 86
Release date: 07-April-23
Buy: https://quintessentials.bandcamp.com

It’s about time for the first release of this true master of deep jazzy house, Shaka! Shaka has an
impressive list of releases, ranging back to the mid 90’s with some raw techno up to now with releases
on Local Talk or his own label Vibes and Grooves for some serious deep house. His „Four flowers EP“
has plenty of soul soothing jazz-funk grooves nailed to a deep house beat and you just feel that Shaka
is a real musician. And we agree, these 4 tracks are hot ingredients!

HSM PREMIERE | Shaka - Hot Ingredients [Quintessentials]

Stream 'Gentle Boy' now : https://fanlink.to/gentleboy

Listen to ‘Gentle Boy’ brand new Fellini Félin’s single. Revealed by the inRocKs lab and Nova Sauvagine, the French multi instrumentalist with millions of streams, stays true to himself and continues to explore new paths and venture into the realm of new sounds. ‘Gentle Boy’ marks a new aesthetic direction with an energetic rhythm with both funky and synthwave-influenced themes, this is yet another surprising meeting of influences. Don't wait, add this track to your motivational playlist!

Gentle Boy

Fellini Félin - Gentle Boy

A very special episode is introduced today, one of those you need to grab your comfiest armchair, open a decent bottle of wine and enjoy of a good book's reading. Beautiful living room music out of Zurich, Switzerland by Romeu.

More at https://soundcloud.com/romeu_sg

SOULMEEX

Romeu - SOULMEEX 056

02. Kelton Prima - Des Choses Comme ça feat Laetitia Taschatt & Elite Beats (Sauco RMX)

Takuya Matsumoto with soulful, retro Chicago-style house on Clone Records.

90 - 93

Takuya Matsumoto - 90

Dele Sosimi Meets Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77 'You No Fit Touch Am In Dub' 
Release Date: 29th July 2016 
Label: Wah Wah 45s 
Format: LP // Digital 
Cat No: WAHLP010


"A dub version could be a stone killer", predicted David Hutchison in his 4 star Mojo review of 'You No Fit Touch Am'. And here it is: Afrobeat icon Dele Sosimi's recent album gloriously re-imagined in dub by two production masters, Prince Fatty and Nostalgia 77.

"It was such a rush to have Prince Fatty and Nostalgia 77 work their magic on Dele's album. With Fatty bringing the spirit of 80s On-U Sound, Mikey Dread and Mad Professor, and Ben Nostalgia having mixed Dele's original LP, this was always going to be something very special." Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s)

'You No Fit Touch Am', Dele Sosimi's first full-length album in almost a decade, was released by Wah Wah 45s in May 2015. It represented where Dele is today - something of an untouchable force in the music scene that he has always been such a vital part of. The album provided a musical representation of Dele’s strong socio-political opinions, as well as delivering classic song-writing that could have come straight out of 1970s Lagos.

Born in Hackney, East London, but soon to return to his parents’ native Nigeria at the age of four, Dele Sosimi was schooled and raised in Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s shadow at the height of early 70s Afrobeat. Having been chosen by Fela to join his band at somewhat of a tender age, he was still a young man when sharing
Fela’s Glastonbury stage in 1984, and became both Musical Director for both Fela’s Egypt 80 and FemiKuti’s Positive Force. After Fela’s passing in 1997, Dele went on to concentrate on his own solo career and, with diligent patience, carved out his own Afrobeat crown. In London, where he now resides, his Afrobeat Vibration all-nighters are charged with his passion, labours and his unrelenting spirit.

Tracklisting:

01. You No Fit Touch Am Dub
02. E Go Betta Dub
03. Sanctuary Dub
04. Na My Turn Dub
05. Dance Together Dub
06. I Don’t Care Dub

“So fresh, while staying true to the template” The Quietus
“Blistering Afro-funk from a true legend” Clash
“Afrobeat will never die so long as Dele’s around” Songlines
“A roof raising set laced with Sosimi’s signature splash of funk” Jocks & Nerds
“Clinical in execution and brimming with vitality” London In Stereo


02 E Go Betta (Dub) [feat. Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77]

Follow 
Rick Wade : @rick-wade
Matsa : @djmatsa
Popcorn Records : @popcornrecords

http://snip.ftpromo.net/rickwadeurstrenghttraxsource

02 E Go Betta (Dub) [feat. Prince Fatty & Nostalgia 77]

Wah Wah 45s

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