Hot-on-the-heels of instant sellout BIKE022, Eddie C revs up the RED MOTORBIKE again with another BIG sound on a small format...

This time we're treated to a golden-era style slice 'n splice of an absolute monster cut from '76.
On the flip, we're in tried & tested Eddie territory with a beautifully breezy jam, skilfully stretched into a dynamite dancefloor moment.
Another essential, then. One hand-stamped press. More

Eddie C's permanently on-point RED MOTORBIKE returns with another BIG sound on a small format...

As always, the digging has turned up a duo of blissful jams, skilfully stretched into dynamite dancefloor moments.
Another essential, then. One hand-stamped press. More

Eddie C's always on-point RED MOTORBIKE moves effortlessly into its 20's with another fine double A, dinked 7" !!
A beautiful lost folk-Disco frugger from Tel Aviv's Elado greets us on the A, while Eddie expertly re-jams a Turkish delight with some punchy 606 rhythms.

Pure class !

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Seahawks and their pal Eddie C join forces on Red Motorbike Records to create an EP of dreamy innerspace travel music, lush blissed-out interstellar synth pad dreams for the weary space explorer, washing over your mind and body like a cool solar wind, as you take in the luxuriant beauty of the local galaxies. Gentle, flowing keyboard melodies that disarm and relax, well crafted electronic rhythms, uplifted melodies and plenty of really nice saturated vibraphone. This is music Carl Sagan would smoke weed to, music that swirls and flutters through the rays of light reflected by the sheen on this production. More

This is a Lovers version of an absolute classic! Licensed from the catalogue of the legendary Harry J Studio, in a signature late 80s Digital keyboard & drum-machine style. Originally written by Toto, and made famous by Michael Jackson! As well as being sampled in SWV’s big 90s anthem & by Hip Hop legend NAS. More

In 1975, Joyce Moreno, who had just wrapped up a tour with legendary Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes, found herself in a studio with producer Sergio Bardotti in Rome, Italy. She had been taking a break from writing and she decided to pick up a selection of her favorite compositions from contemporary Brazilian writers who‘s songs were beacons of hope in times of an ongoing intense Military leadership in her home country. Unlike their previous albums, these recordings live from their reductiveness and intimacy. For a long time, Passarinho Urbano was considered a secret masterpiece and was highly sought after by record collectors, now Week–End Records is glad to be making it available internationally on vinyl for the first time ever. More

NYC dance music legend Joey Longo has been a part of the dance music soundscape for those in the know from way back when, his first records surfacing in 1989 under a variety of monikers and on a slew of labels out of NYC. Some (Cabaret, Loop d'Loop, Foot Stompin') were his own, others (Underworld, Maxi, Minimal) not, but the they always came bearing the credit 'produced by Pal Joey'. Joey hit the heights early on, as one of his earliest records, Dance (as Earth People), went big in dance music terms. If you were raving in the early '90s chances are you will be getting flashbacks from 'Dance', as it was played across a number of scenes. A deeper 'beats' mix features on this gem of an album, his first in over 10 years, along with a perfectly selected blend of classic cuts, new versions and remixes and unreleased wonders. Mastered to perfection, but keeping his raw New York style. More

Repress!

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’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th. More

Great music is often about chance meetings and impromptu creative sessions and so it is that Hell Yeah proudly serves up Sensory Blending, a new collaborative album from Italian collective Aura Safari and Finnish musician Jimi Tenor. The nine-track record is a lush and luxurious fusion of jazz-funk styles.

This glorious record came about after Tenor was playing a Hell Yeah party at Tangram in Perugia. Aura Safari were local and, in some free time the day before the gig, everyone jumped in the studio together. They had never met before but soon found plenty of free-flowing common ground and the result of that one-off session is now served up on this vibrant new album that brims with musicality, indelible melodies and subtly uplifting vibrations.

Tenor has toured the world and previously collaborated with the likes of Japanese master Calm. He is a psychedelic space-jazz-funk king, skilled musician, composer and producer who, since the mid-nineties, has released more than 25 albums and 45 EPs. Aura Safari is made up of bass, synth, guitar and keys players Lorenzo Francioli, Ruggero Bonucci, Nicola Pitassio Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni and Nicholas Iammatteo, and they are label regulars who served up their sublime Island Dreams album here last year.

Says Jimi, who enjoyed his time in Perugia and adds that 'the studio session was 100% efficient. I showed up and we started to play. Almost all that was made was material that we could use for the album. I love to work fast. Quick brushstrokes. Finish! I was amazed at how intuitively the Aura Safari guys could come up with new parts for songs. I mentioned some feeling or approach and they seemed to find it just like that.'

'Bodily Synesthesia' is the seductive opener with steamy sax notes and gentle grooves that are topped by aloof vocal whispers. 'Lunar Wind' is another slow and steamy mix of jazzy keys and soulful vocal hooks, 'Bewitched By The Sea' is a more tropical and percussive number with majestic melodies and 'My Bluebell' picks up the pace with jazz-funk grooves and hustling chords. 'Last Waltz In Perugia' has freeform sax lines soaring over meticulous drums that ebb and flow and 'Gimlet' brings a playful, samba-tinged rhythm and sunny flute leads straight from South America. There's a laidback, carefree mood to 'It's Too Easy To Love You' while 'Your Magic Touch' is a dancey number that exudes melodic joy, and 'Indigo' closes in dramatic fashion with a conversational sax that sticks long in the memory.

Sensory Blending is a seamless fusion of collaborative minds from Aura Safari and Jimi Tenor and it could well be performed live at some special select shows later in the year. More

An Italian disco classic produced by one of Italy's top disco pop entrepreneurs – Constantino Paolini – featuring the voice of Vesuvian actress and TV personality Patrizia Pellegrino. “Musica Spaziale” is a fast paced synthy disco number adorned with signorina Pellegrino's silky smooth vocals, featuring lusty cosmic nuanced lyrics that arguably invite the listener to some form of astral bliss in the company of the blond starlet. A classic amongst collectors and specialists of the genre, made available to your record collections once again without having to sell any of your kidneys. In addition, also an extended edit, that patiently slows down the tempo but also extends this cosmic climax on the dancefloor in a manner respectful to the original masterpiece, allowing the dancers to savor every moment of this celestial voyage without all the rush of the 7" version . Flip it and things get propelled in direction to some other acidic orbits with DJ Asshole's tripped out downtempo 8' intervention. Restored, remastered and featuring original “coloring book” style artwork from its original release date. More