Grafonola

Florence Adooni - Mam Pe'ela Su'ure ( Philophon ) Florence Adooni shares a long history with Philophon. Being part of Guy One's group she is the voice on his radio hit "Estre". Furthermore, she is a member of Alogte Oho's Sounds of Joy and can be heard on his smasher "Mam Yinne Wa". Last but not least, Jimi Tenor chose her to sing on his instant club classic "Vocalize My Luv". In addition to all these cooperations, Florence has locally released a series of albums under her own name and without a doubt, she can be called the queen of Frafra-Gospel. "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure" is a typical Frafra-Gospel Hymn, sung during Sunday services accompanied only with shakers and hand clapping. Our version here is backed up by Kumasi's finest High Life players, who transform the song into a massive wave of groove. "Naba Aferda" is a homage to the Chief of Zuarungu, Florence's home village, which was also the home village of...

J.H. Guraj - Introspection / Migration ( Maple Death Records ) From an ocean of black, sometimes there is a slim chance you might emerge clean and translucent, with another life chapter under your belt and a renewed story to tell. J.H. Guraj, our favorite wandering bird, is back with his first proper opus on Maple Death: Introspection / Migration. Sometimes records lead off into an unknown path that never considers release schedules or the outside world, inhabiting the abysses of the artists’ mind and dropping a hefty anchor in the murky waters. Dominique Vaccaro, stage name Guraj in homage to an old sage picker from the Albanian rocky landscape, started Introspection / Migration on a two-day recording spree in 2014 using a resophonic guitar, a distinct unifying songbook theme, and his usual freestyle wizardry … then the dust settled. In between releasing Underrated Glances At The Edge Of Town (Maple Death, 2016), Steadfast On Our Sand (Boring Machines, 2018), touring with Be My Delay...

JILALA - Jilala ( Rogue Frequency Recordings ) Until Now, Jilala has been a much sought-after phantom in relation to their better-known musical and spiritual contemporaries, The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Culled from three and a half hours of 1965 recordings by writers/artists/poets Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles, the first batch of Jilala recordings were released on a 1965 LP that was scarce even upon its initial release. The second batch of Recordings, which this LP has drawn from, came in the form of a CD by Baraka Foundation in 1998, which is also now long out of print. In the original liner notes Ira Cohen provides a breakdown of the Jilala ensemble: "The instruments used are the shebaba, a long transversal cane flute, which leads the way; the bendir, a handheld drum resembling a tambourine without cymbals; and the karkabat which is a double castanet made of metal. On this record, there are usually three flutes, six drums, and one pair of castanets." In conjunction with t...

George Mukabi - Furaha Wenye Gita ( Mississippi Records) George Mukabi is a mythic figure across East Africa, known for his incredible fingerstyle guitar and hard living. Mukabi invented a solo technique in which melody, rhythm and bass lines all merged in two hands on one guitar. Combined with his gentle raspy voice, wood and glass percussion, and the harmonies of his companion Jack Malenya, he created a sweet and thriving “omutibo” music that belied his tough reputation and untimely death. An imposing man who was both respected and feared, he sang of the tumults of marriage, morality and life in Kenya on the cusp of independence. He sold hundreds of thousands of records in East and Central Africa before his murder in 1963, leaving behind just a few dozen beautiful songs and a complicated legacy. This is the first comprehensive release of his music outside of East Africa. We traveled to Kenya to meet Mukabi’s surviving son Johnstone, as well as a generation of the artists he inspire...

Heisei No Oto: Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age, 1989-1996 (digital version) by Various Artists VA. - eisei No Oto: Japanese Left​-​field Pop From The CD Age, 1989​-​1996 (Music from memory) Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history. The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave, and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ rec...

MEGA WAVE ORCHESTRA - Mega Wave Orchestra (Libreville) The music on this compilation was, for the most part, originally released privately in Geneva as a box set containing five LPs by The Mega Wave Orchestra and five prints by the artist Richard Reimann. The Mega Wave Orchestra, the brain-child of musician, mathematician, and composer Christian Oestreicher, was conceived as a multi-media electronic music orchestra. Mega Wave Orchestra by Mega Wave Orchestra It was comprised of seven keyboard players Christine Schaller, Vincent Barras, Jacques Demierre, Olivier Rogg, Rainer Boesch, Roger Baudet, and Benoit Corboz, with Oestreicher as arranger and producer. The Mega Wave Orchestra created a piece of new hybrid music. It was music with roots in the jazz and classical traditions, but one which also drew on the sonic freedom of musique concrete and the kind of total experience offered by psychedelia. The diverse backgrounds and specialisms of each of the band leaders/writers r...

PRISCILLA ERMEL - Origens Da Luz ( Music From Memory ) Music From Memory is delighted to announce a retrospective of an artist long-loved by the label, Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Priscilla Ermel. Origens Da Luz brings together a selection of recordings drawn from a body of work that was originally recorded between 1986 and 1994.  Priscilla was raised in a musical family in São Paulo and learned the cello and guitar at an early age. She then embarked on a deeply personal musical journey that would travel from origins rooted in Tom Jobim and Chico Buarque to recording the music of the natural world and the communities around her. A film-maker and anthropologist by training, Priscilla is a lifelong student of universal music. Disillusioned with contemporary European classical music, she spent long periods living with indigenous populations in Brazil, collecting instruments that she would later combine with synthesizers and field recordings. After studying wit...

Brand New series of Exotic/International / Rare grooves mixed & selected by Bruno Lopes (Mundo Urbano). Original Post via mundourbano.blogspot.com Tracklist: 01.Ronald Snijders - Natural Sources (Everland Austria) 02.Doug Hammond - Lopin' - Meno Mosso (Manufactured Recordings) 03.Weldon Irvine - Time Capsule (Nodlew) 04.Transilvanian Galaxi - You Have Always Been The Caretaker (Acido) 05.Andrew Pekler - Approximate Bermeja (Faitiche) 06.Steady Income Band - Side A (Pond Life) 07.Fatima Al Qadiri - Boys In The Mirror (Éditions Milan Music) 08.Doug Hammond - Water Moves (Manufactured Recordings) 09.Yasuaki Shimizu - Kono Yo Ni Yomeri (Better Days) 10.German Army - Groundwater Minning (Crash Symbols) 11. Yvonne Archer - Ain't Nobody (Jura Soundsystem Edit) (Isle Of Jura) 12.Kraftwerk - Heimatklänge (Philips) 13.Priscilla Ermel - Origens da Luz (Music From Memory) 14.Jason Letkiewicz - The Kill Fee (Into The Light Records) 15.Azymuth - Águia Negra x Dragão Negro (WEA) ...

SEASIDE LOVERS - Memories In Beach House ( Ship To Shore PhonoCo ) Originally released in 1983 and never reissued on vinyl, Ship to Shore PhonoCo is proud to present the jazz fusion masterpiece that is Memories in Beach House. With music by legends Akira Inoue, Hiroshi Sato and Masataka Matsutoya (performing under the name Seaside Lovers), the album weaves a tapestry of island beats and rhythms that will transport you to another place and another time. From the lush production of Lovers Paradise to the emotionally stirring strings of Blue Memories, if you close your eyes and listen very closely, we're sure you're bound to hear a wave or two in the background. Highly sought after on the vinyl aftermarket since it was released, we are happy to offer this under-recognized gem to the public again! Newly remastered by Sony Music for this release, after spinning this one you'll agree it's never sounded better! This release is available on blue vinyl and comes with a f...

FABRIZIO FATTORI - Mediterranean Africa (Best Record) Fabrizio Fattori has been a deep cover hero in Italian dance music since the mid 80s, and while he may have shifted his attention to tribal house music in the 90s, this collection zeroes in on his earlier afro disco funk work, which drips with Balearic groove appeal. Collecting sought after records and other archival gems, this lengthy EP is a joyous, synthy excursion through sunny climes, from the MIDI brass and plastic slap bass of "Leg Pulling" to the intricate percussion and live sax of "Bara-Hum-Ba." This is a quintessential Best reissue - beautifully packaged, and putting super rare music back in the hands of the fans. Recommended!

SOSENA GEBRE EYESUS - Sosena Gebre Eyesus ( Little Axe Records ) Ethiopian artist Sosena Gebre Eyesus sings accompanied by her playing of the Begena, or King David’s Harp, one of the world’s oldest and most beguiling instruments. Since ancient times the Harp of David has been used as an aural balm, a soother of evil and disturbed spirits —it’s low, buzzing tones widely noted for their ability to sweetly refresh one’s soul. Said to have been brought to Ethiopia in biblical times by Menelik I, it has long been the central instrument used to accompany Ethiopian Orthodox hymns, which Eyesus plays here in an absolutely entrancing manner while softly singing songs of devotional reflection. Featuring six beautiful hymns that gently unspool at the measured pace of a lullaby, Sosena Gebre Eyesus magically creates a rarefied atmosphere that feels absolutely necessary and vital for these most turbulent of days. Originally released on cassette, Recommended! Sosena Gebre Eyesus by Sosena Gebre...

AKIRA TOYODA - Benkei (Cool Cult) Originally released in 1984 by Sound Design Records Inc.  Credits: Bass – Dean Johnson  Drums – Akira Toyoda Piano – Peter Madsen Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Joe Lovano

Michael O'Shea - Michael O'Shea ( Allchival ) Having sold his instruments to fund a nomadic 1970s lifestyle, eccentric Irish experimentalist Michael O’Shea was forced to create his own handmade answer to the sitars and zelochords he’d become accustomed to playing on his travels around the globe.  Using an old door, 17 strings, chopsticks and combining them with phasers, echo units and amplification, the new device was to become his signature sound, mixing Irish folk influences with Asian and North African sounds in a mesmerising and soulful new way that brought him to the attention of the leading improvisers of his day - Alice Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, Don Cherry and more.  A logical follow up to AllChival’s recent reissue of Stano's debut LP, Michael O’Shea’s self-titled LP was originally released on Wire's Dome Imprint in 1982.  The background to the album is as interesting and inspiring as the artist who created it - born in Northern Ireland but raised in t...

ZENIT - Straight Ahead ( Edition Hawara ) Zenit was a jazz ensemble from Krems in Lower Austria, founded in 1976. The band's third and final album 'Straight Ahead' came out in 1986 on Spray Records, and is today one of the hardest-to-find Austrian jazz / fusion records. Features the hugely-sought after, Grace Jones style, slow-motion disco / jazz funk gem 'Waiting'! 'Straight Ahead' brings together pop, soul, jazz and breezy Balearic vibes - essential and very limited reissue! Highly Recommended!

HAILU MERGIA - Yegojam Marnesh / Yegle Nesh (Awesome Tapes From Africa) Very Limited bonus 7” (100 copies only). Comes in a plain white paper sleeve. 2 Extra tracks from first new album in 15 years. Original compositions. Features diverse facets of Mergia’s performances. This bonus 7” of extra tracks are a sonic complement to Hailu Mergia’s new album. Where the album scales angular heights between modern jazz and Ethiopian harmonies, these two tracks explore the heavier side of Mergia’s trio work with drummer Tony Buck and Bassist Mike Majkowski. The band has toured the world together over the last few years following Mergia’s reissuing some of his classic recordings via Awesome Tapes From Africa.

VARIOUS - Onda De Amor: Synthesized Brazilian Hits That Never Were 1984-94 (Soundway) Some crate-digging compilations are often the result of someone hand-picking their choice favourites from another country’s musical history, perhaps unaware or uninvolved with its cultural lineage in the process. On Soundway’s latest release - a treasure trove of synth jams, pop, samba boogie, Balearic and electro from 1980 & 90s Brazil - the tracks are picked by Millos Kaiser, one half of the Brazilian duo Selvagem, who is at the helm of throwing some of the country's best dance parties. It’s a rare compilation that offers Brazilian music actually picked by a Brazilian.  This collection of sixteen tracks doesn’t comprise tracks scoured from deeply in-demand records, the rare sort that sell for eye-watering sums and that collectors spend years tracking down.  This collection of sixteen tracks doesn’t comprise tracks scoured from deeply in-demand records, the rare sort that sell fo...

SHINA WILLIAMS & HIS AFRICAN PERCUSSIONISTS - African Dances (reissue) (Mr. Bongo) Shina Williams' first album from 1979, African Dances, marked the moment where the Nigerian afrobeat artist would team up with 'His African Percussionists', to form one of the most sought-after sounds of the next decade. Taking inspiration from the Master Of Ceremonies, Fela Kuti, this album is just as loose and evocative as the legend's, and perhaps even a little more oriented towards the disco end of the spectrum. "Cunny Jam Wayo" is a classic afrobeat march, with its rolling drums popping off left, right and centre, while "Agboju Logun" offers a softer funk ride, and "Gboro Mi Ro" lifts the soul at the final moments with a truly memorable string of brass instruments and vocals. Cop this, not the L300+ original..! Highly Recommended! Agb'oju L'ogun by Shina Williams & His African Percussionists

ANTONIO SANCHEZ - Buli Povo ( Analog Africa Germany ) While Analog Africa always outdo themselves with their inconceivable form and approach to reissuing rare tropical music, this Record Store Day sees them providing us with some seriously special moves from the inimitable islands of Cape Verde. It was their Space Echo compilation, released a few years ago, that put the African archipelago back on the map, and we haven't stopped dancing since. Through a seductive blend of synths, drums, and unforgettable chanting, the style of Fukuna is on our hearts wherever we go. Antonio Sanchez, a leading figure in the golden era of the Cape Verde sound (70s-80s), release Buli Povo to limited international acclaim; the original is a rare find, and so it makes total sense to have it pressed up once again. But, act fast, because these WILL fly! Totally killer stuff. Buli Povo ! (Limited Edition) by António Sanches

Shimshon Miel -  Amsterdam To Nueiba (Fortuna Records) Tel-Aviv's Fortuna Records are doing their nation proud by releasing an impressive volume of native music, both old and new, that is sounding perfectly relevant in this day and age. More than anything, it's just great music that most of us haven't heard yet. For instance, their previous effort - a timely reissue of Tsvia Abarbanel's Eastern Soul - was an invaluable snapshot of Israeli femininity across the ages, while this reincarnation of Shimson Miel's acid-rock output from 2007 is a clear nod to the man's visionary style, more than a decade ago. "Amsterdam Experience" is the stand-out track, a bundle of loose, percussive waves that verge on the electronic while still sounding organic and improvisational. Much the same, "Nueiba Nueiba" is a delightful slice of deep-minded exotica, and Kalbata's edit of "Amsterdam Experience" provides a more wholesome slew of beats to t...