music

A volume entirely dedicated to the jazz atmospheres of the Italian movies from the ‘60s, including genres such as noir, melò, giallo, dark comedy and crazy ‘musicarelli’.

The trip continues through the unexplored lands of the Italian cinematic groove, unearthing new pearls buried for too long. While the previous chapters consisted of lost jazz-funk materials, mostly recovered from the mythical Italian RCA archive, this time this new volume concerns more in frightening and amazing tunes, used for horror, thriller, erotic and violent-pop movies.

Strut present a new repress of the influential first volume of ‘Disco Not Disco’ compiled by Joey Negro and Sean P as part of the label’s 20th Anniversary. Released when interest in the myths, history and playlists of original New York clubs like Paradise Garage and The Loft was at its peak, the album drew on the outer limits of leftfield disco championed by Levan and Mancuso, bringing together unlikely dancefloor anthems by rock acts like Yoko Ono and Ian Dury, obscurities from cottage labels like BC and Splash and selected oddities from the unique mind of avant-garde hero, Arthur Russell. It was essentially a celebration of the sonic melting pot in New York during the early ‘80s, an era when punk had burnt itself out and disco had become commercial and saccharine; in its place, the post-punk movement threw up brilliant oddities which tore up the accepted rulebook.

As the rift between academic jazz, new age, and pop narrowed in the 1980s, DI.Y. practitioners of metronome driven riffs found new growth in a burgeoning managerial middle class, a commercial audience held captive in dentist offices and waiting rooms across America. Session players took to midi-banks stocked with every instrument imaginable and delivered on a road rage-induced demand to stay cool, relaxed, and focused all at once. The extra-wide cuts packaged here will be mint for years to come. Go ahead, break the seal on a fresh pack of Nuleafs. There’s only one sensation this smooth.

Following the recent acclaimed first edition of AOR Global Sounds compilation, DJ and producer Charles Maurice’s dug even deeper through international lost productions to create a sequel for this series.

If you were looking for a person to guide you through the wide variety of nightclub scenes of downtown New York in the 1980s, then Keith Haring would have been your man. Capturing the musical milieu in which Haring operated, the compilation features artists such as Fab 5 Freddy, Jonzun Crew, Yoko Ono, Johnny Dynell, Art Zoyd and Class Action. Keith Haring was one of the key members of a group of New York-based artists who redefined the boundaries of modern art in the 1980s. The selection of music on this collection is itself like a mixtape that reflects Haring’s wide-ranging musical influences and connections. And for someone who neither DJ’d nor played in a band he had impeccable musical tastes, with music playing a pivotal part in both his life and work, and functioning as an essential and always present soundtrack to both.

Killer trip into unknown South-East Asian Melayu & Pinoy Funk - Rare Groove - Deep Soul - Disco & AOR!

Alongside the story of Somalia’s music before the civil war, the selection is also focused on the pan-Somali sound. Spread over much of the Horn of Africa, Somali language and culture transcend arbitrary borders. Somali singers from Djibouti were at home in Mogadishu. Female singers, often more prolific than their male counterparts, are inseparable from its evolution. Half the compilation is sung by women, their voices often compared in Somali poetry to the sweetness of broken dates. Poetry, intrinsic to the cultural fabric, forms the foundation of Somali songwriting. This compilation seeks to revive the rightful image, history, and identity of the Somali people, detached from war, violence, piracy, and the specter of a persistent threat. These 15 tracks should serve as a necessary starting point. ★★★★ - The Guardian, "A mega mixtape of Somali classics." - BBC, "Sparkles with superior voices, superb musicians and both familiar & refreshingly new sounds." - Wall Street Journal, "This record is a miracle. A legacy of the past that blurs the trauma of the present." - Le Monde, "Perhaps the most beautiful music in the world, finally rediscovered." - Radio Nova Paris, No. 2 on Europe's World Music Charts (October 2017)