music

The Label says: “Composite themes and incidental cues for dramatic application”. We say: Well, it’s definitely dramatic.

A treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings mostly recorded in Lomé during the 70s, this killer compilation furnishes us with a fusion of traditional voodoo chants, raw soul and Afro jazz.

For 23 straight Saturday nights of 1982, “The Chicago Party” dance show assaulted Chicagoland UHF eyeballs with Spandex, Southside fly guys, tender tenderonies, magicians, contortionists, prismatic video gimmickry, and lip-synched singles by a rising regime of local post-disco casualties.

In Sudan, the political and cultural are inseparable. In 1989, a coup brought a hardline religious government to power. Music was violently condemned. This compilation celebrates the golden sound of the capital, Khartoum. "A stunning journey through the golden age of Sudanese music and song" - Le Monde; "Undeniably, addictively uplifting and jive-inducing” -- Scene Noise; "Drenched with deep rhythmic drum kicks and gorgeous Nubian rhythms" - Stamp the Wax

They Say: “Descriptive scores for scenes of visual impact”.We say: Arguably the single greatest album in KPM history.

A new volume, Wheedle’s Groove Vol. II, documents the period from 1972 to 1987, when funk was superseded by disco and modern soul. Heading into the ‘80s, artists in the Emerald City caught wind of the hip-hop and electro scenes that were growing in bigger cities across America, and gave the music their own distinct spin. 18-track compilation will also introduce you to the long-forgotten blue-eyed soul boy Don Brown (‘Don’t Lose Your Love’) and frustrated talents Push, overlooked for record deals on account of singer “Big Joe” Erickson’s larger-than-life heft (‘You Turn Me On’). There’s Frederick Robinson III and his gospel-funk protest tune ‘Love One Another’, Tony Benton of Teleclere being Seattle’s answer to Prince (‘Steal Your Love’) and Seattle Mariners baseball star Lenny Randle recording a tribute to their infamous stadium.

In the vapid video age, music often overshadowed the accompanying movie. While most of these soundtracks slipped through the cracks and into obscurity or the delete bins, some (Footloose, Flashdance) became blockbusters. White Nights definitely belongs to that elite second group, because unlike most vinyl film collections, the platter actually survived the transition to CD. The successful sales of White Nights are directly linked to the Academy Award-nominated smash single "Separate Lives," wherein movie maestro Stephen Bishop supplies Phil Collins with another ubiquitous '80s number one via a consummate adult contemporary duet.

In the late ‘50s and on through the 1960s, Phoenix, Arizona, was home to a thriving R&B scene. Though no other song catapulted onto the national charts like Dyke and the Blazer’s signature “Funky Broadway,” inspired by the South Phoenix road of the same name, regional soul and funk acts picked up steam in the Valley of the Sun as established artists passed through on the way to the West Coast and performers traveled along the bustling Southern California to Texas black corridor.

Ethiopians’ deep-seated ethiocentrism, the legacy of a thousand years of history, has contributed in no small way to their music’s strong national identity, particularly impervious to any African influences.

Soul Jazz Records new 2018 edition of their long out of print classic first 'Deutsche Elektronische Musik - Experimental German Rock and Electronic Music 1972-83' is 'a near-definitive guide to some of the world's most extraordinary music' (The Guardian).