No sales to Japan!

LP: 180g vinyl, half speed mastered, heavy sleeve, obi, gold ink
Genre: Jazz, Fusion, Funk

Tracklisting LP
A1. Shrimp Dance
A2. Kuro To Shiro
B1. Walk Tall
B2. Cat
B3. Romance


Info

We Release Jazz is ecstatic (purrrr!) to announce the official reissue of Hiroshi Suzuki's glorious jazz-fusion-funk Holy Grail Cat (originally released in 1976), sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD. Both versions come with liner notes by Teruo Isono.
Cat was recorded in October 1975 at at Nippon Columbia Studio, while Hiroshi Suzuki was visiting his home country of Japan after moving to Las Vegas in 1971 to play with Buddy Rich and perfect his craft. Back on his old stomping grounds, the man known as Neko (Cat) immediately reunited with his dear friends for an epic two day session of groove magic. The chemistry was still intact. The skills and style had grown.
The result, Cat, is a smooth masterpiece, a deep and soulful affair where stunning trombone solos by Hiroshi Suzuki flirt with Takeru Muraoka's heavenly saxophone and the sensual rhythm section of Hiromasa Suzuki (keyboards), Kunimitsu Inaba (bass), and Akira Ishikawa (drums).
Celebrated in jazz collectors circles, in the lofi beat scene, and among music diggers around the world, Cat has become one of the most sought-after Japanese jazz albums of all time and, much like Ryo Fukui's Scenery, has fascinated old and young generations alike.

Points of interests

- For fans of jazz, fusion, funk, trombone, Japanese jazz, smooth rides, cats, allure.

- Official reissue of the glorious jazz-fusion album by Japanese trombonist extraordinaire Hiroshi "Neko" Suzuki.

- 10th release from We Release Jazz, following Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Mellow Dream, A Letter from Slowboat, and Ryo Fukui in New York, the soundtrack of Le Cercle Rouge by Eric Demarsan, Stuff Combe 5 + Percussion, Marc Moulin's Placebo Live 1971 and Boillat Thérace Quintet albums. We Release Jazz is the sister-label of Geneva-based WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass and Lunar Cruise with Masahiko Sato, Pierre Barouh's Le Pollen, Jun Fuka-machi's Nicole, Grauzone's discography, …)
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The Mapendo album of the Mighty Cavaliers, up to today, has been shrouded in mystery. If you look at the original cover of this very rare Kenyan funk-infused album all you will find are the names of the engineer and the producer, as EMI Kenya omitted the names of the musicians and the songwriters. Digging deeper a rather sinister story of deceit develops whereby Mapendo becomes symbolic for all what was wrong about the Kenyan record industry in the 1970s, and the music industry in Africa as a whole. As this maltreatment of artists proved endemic throughout the continent, although little talked about.

One of the three surviving members of the Mighty Cavaliers, bass player Bonnie Wanda - who started his career in 1971 with Gloria Africana - vividly remembers participating in the recording of the two albums the band made in 1976 and 1977 - Fisherman and Mapendo - and how they, especially on the last album, got short-changed by shrewd record label executives. In the 1960s it was mostly Indian and European record bosses that called the shots and usually gave musicians the chance of a one-off payment for their session time and recorded songs or wait for - hopefully - a generous royalty check. In most cases records didn't sell more than a thousand copies with an occasional hit selling in the tens of thousands, so musicians were reluctant to register themselves with the Music Copyright Society of Kenya. Although without doing so one couldn't receive royalties.

'For two years the Mighty Cavaliers performed five nights a week at the Starlight Club for five hour sets.

The re-release of Mapendo, the first of the German Want Some Records label, is another exciting puzzle piece in the tapestry of groovy Kenyan music. It proves that there are still great gems out there to be re-discovered for audiences worldwide.

Text written by Michiel van Oosterhout

This Album is dedicated to the musicians
Bonnie Wanda, Rashid Salim, Vuli Yeni, Juma Waweru Njuguna and Athmani 'guitar boy'."

-------------------------

All songs, Composed, Arranged, Produced or Performed
by The Mighty Cavaliers.

Graphic Design: Benjamin Kühne (Cover restauration/Label Design); Tom Krailing (Sticker Design)
Written By: Michiel van Oosterhout
Text Editing: Nebil

Mastered by: Nick Robbins (Soundmastering)

All tracks are under exclusive license of Want Some Records. Licensed from Daudi Kabaka/Reuben Kabaka."

Tracklist:

A1: Wacha Maneno
A2: Baruwa Ya Soweto
A3: Africa Tuungane
A4: Mama Come Home
A5: Mapendo Mapendo
B1: Mambo Bado
B2: Wacha Tabia Mbaya
B3: Mimi Ni Wako
B4: Bring Your Love
B5: Nifanye Nini
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George Davis drops part 2 of his ‘Ona’ EP: heavenly house featuring a remix by the legendary Roy Davis Jr.
kickin’ up dust drops part 2 of the ‘Ona’ EP by George Davis. A jazzy bassline, snazzy piano keys and a rhythmical vocal send hips swinging and shoulders shaking in ‘Gomera’, a track which Chicagoan legend Roy Davis Jr. then remixes with a ‘Chitown Vibe’. Squelchy synths and organic percussion enter his version with a stylish swagger, maintaining the keys while moving the vocals to the back of the mix. Next up, ‘Bumpa’ is built for the dancefloor, an infectious groove forming the base for whimsical flute-like melodies, before ‘Soul Journey’ closes out the record with a gorgeous slow-burning vision of sunset shores and distant views.
Following on from his first ‘Ona’ EP which dropped on kickin’ up dust in March, and which won the support of artists like Honey Dijon, Nightmares On Wax, DJ Sneak and many more, George Davis now drops part two in the series. The german label, which initially started in 2021 as a party in the techno capital of Berlin, first turned heads hosting artists with a funkier edge to them such as Maurice Fulton, DJ Deep, and Louie Vega.
George Davis ‘Ona EP Part 2’ drops on kickin’ up dust 3rd November 2023


Tracklist:
01 Gomera
02 Gomera (Roy’s Chitown Vibe)
03 Bumpa
04 Soul Journey
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12" / Vinyl made with 100% CO2 Reduced / 100% recycable / ISCC PLUS-certified "BioVinyl" by Optimal Media and Wordandsound

GENRE/S:
House, Deep House, Organic House

TRACKLIST:
A1 James Curd & Osunlade - Chocolate Puddin'
A2 James Curd & Osunlade - Chocolate Puddin' (Kai Alcé Remix)
B1 James Curd & Osunlade - Chocolate Puddin' (Yoruba Soul Mix)
B2 James Curd & Osunlade - Chocolate Puddin' (FNX Omar Remix)

SHORT INFO:

Two accomplished house mainstays come together on Get Physical Music as James Curd joins forces with the legendary Osunlade for superb new single 'Chocolate Puddin'' while FNX Omar and Kai Alcé step up with their own remixes.

Curd came up as a DJ in Chicago and has gone on to become a mainstay of the scene. He is also credited with inventing G-Swing, a house sound infused with swing. He has run various labels over the years while releasing on some of the world's finest imprints and serving up his magical sets everywhere from fabric in London to The Avalon in Los Angeles and The Arches in Glasgow. American Osunlade meanwhile has deep spiritual roots in Yoruba traditions that are also reflected in the name of his record label. He makes music with a rare spirituality as proven once again here.

The superb 'Chocolate Puddin'' is silky smooth deep and Afro-tinged house with gorgeous percussive melodies and soft shakers. It's full of soul and warmth with meaningful leads that bring plenty of uplifting emotions next to a bluesy vocal.

Atlanta's house mainstay and a long-time underground favourite Kai Alcé then remixes. His version is more pacey but no less deep - the jazzy chords are seductively draped over the cuddly deep drums and the vocal has a more soulful edge. Osunlade also offers his own Yoruba Soul mix which is a hi-tek sound with futuristic synth chords and uplifting house drums. Last to remix is Moroccan mainstay and label regular FNX Omar. He flips the track into something that is richly layered with percussion and nimble bass, organic hand claps and hypnotic drum lines that all sink you in deep.

This package is as delicious as its name suggests.

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2020 repress

Tracklist:
A1 Ho Chi Min (feat. Bèo Dat Mây Trôi & HCMC Students)
A2 Hanoi (feat. Cô Ðôi Thu'o'ng Ngàn & Viet Rice Band)
B1 Phu Quok (feat. Minh Duong)
B2 Hue (feat. Music Acadamy Students)

Release Info:
A year after Red Axes’s musical adventures took them through the sounds and scenes of Africa, they return with a second EP in the Trips series that finds them exploring the rich rhythms of Vietnam.

This project is a multi media venture combining music, film and travel in pursuit of extra ordinary collaborations. It finds the esteemed pair made up of Niv Arzi and Dori Sadovnik explore local cultures and traditions, link up with local musicians and record them playing indigenous instruments as well as presenting workshops for youth music schools. It comes after the Garzen Records bosses have established their unique mix of synths, guitars and genres as diverse as house, acid and leftfield experimentalism on vital labels from Phantasy to Dark Entries.

Opener ‘Ho Chi Minh’ is a brisling track with funky bass loops and the hustle and bustle of a market square infusing the organic house grooves. Local percussion, jazz keys and vocal coos all add to the richness of this most uplifting beat. ‘Hanoi’ is even more exotic thanks to the enchanting lead vocal, jungle bird calls and low slung bass, while ‘Phu Quoc’ gets more rave, with phased bass riding up and down there sale, an intoxicating lead line that sounds something like a didgeridoo and a manic synth that darts about the mix with disorienting effects. Closer ‘Hue’ is a blissful and almost Balearic beat with a shimmering lead melody line and layer upon layer of wind instruments, claps and hits that speak directly to your soul.

The accompanying film captures the essence of the trip, shows some of the recording sessions and local life in Vietnam, from beach parties to incense rituals via communal dances in public spaces, all of which inspired and infuse this record. As such it is a fantastically colourful and immersive EP that takes you to the other side of the world with real authenticity.


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