SEALED

Space Echo - The mystery behind the "Cosmic Sound" of Cabo Verde finally revealed! In the spring of 1968 a cargo ship was preparing to leave the port of Baltimore with an important shipment of musical instruments. Its final destination was Rio De Janeiro, where the EMSE Exhibition (Exposição Mundial Do Son Eletrônico) was going to be held.It was the first expo of its kind to take place in the Southern Hemisphere and many of the leading companies in the field of electronic music were involved. Rhodes, Moog, Farfisa, Hammond and Korg, just to name a few, were all eager to present their newest synthesisers and other gadgets to a growing and promising South American market, spearheaded by Brazil and Colombia.The ship with the goods set sail on the 20th of March on a calm morning and mysteriously disappeared from the radar on the very same day. One can only imagine the surprise of the villagers of Cachaço, on the Sao Nicolau island of Cabo Verde, when a few months later they woke up and found a ship stranded in their fields, in the middle of nowhere, 8 km from any coastline.After consulting with the village elders, the locals had decided to open the containers to see what was inside - however gossip as scintillating as this travels fast and colonial police had already arrived and secured the area. Portuguese scientists and physicians were ordered to the scene and after weeks of thorough studies and research, it was concluded that the ship had fallen from the sky. One of the less plausible theories was that it might have fallen from a Russian military air carrier. The locals joked that again the government had wasted their tax money on a useless exercise, as a simple look at the crater generated by the impact could explain the phenomena. "No need for Portuguese rocket scientists to explain this!" they laughed.What the villagers didn't know, was that traces of cosmic particles were discovered on the boat. The bow of the ship showed traces of extreme heat, very similar to traces found on meteors, suggesting that the ship had penetrated the hemisphere at high speed. That theory also didn't make sense as such an impact would have reduced the ship to dust. Mystery permeated the event.Finally, a team of welders arrived to open the containers and the whole village waited impatiently. The atmosphere, which had been filled with joy and excitement, quickly gave way to astonishment. Hundreds of boxes conjured, all containing keyboards and other instruments which they had never seen before: and all useless in an area devoid of electricity. Disappointment was palpable. The goods were temporarily stored in the local church and the women of the village had insisted a solution be found before Sunday mass. It is said that charismatic anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral had ordered for the instruments to be distributed equally in places that had access to electricity, which placed them mainly in schools.This distribution was best thing that could have happened - keyboards found fertile grounds in the hands of curious children, born with an innate sense of rhythm who picked up the ready-to-use instruments. This in turn facilitated the modernisation of local rhythms such as Mornas, Coladeras and the highly danceable music style called Funaná, which had been banned by the Portuguese colonial rulers until 1975 due to its sensuality!The observation was made that the children who came into contact with the instruments found on the ship inherited prodigious capabilities to understand music and learn instruments. One of them was the musical genius Paulino Vieira, who by the end of the 70s would become the country´s most important music arranger.8 out of the 15 songs presented in this compilation had been recorded with the backing of the band Voz de Cabo Verde, lead by Paulino Vieira, the mastermind behind the creation and promulgation of what is known today as "The Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde".

A rare original from 1978, Ebo Taylor and Pat Thomas’ ‘Ene Nyame ‘A’ Mensuro’ is a yearning hidden classic of Ghanaian highlife / Afrobeat. Created originally as a DJ tool for his sets, Henrik Schwarz’ remix transforms the track into a late night dancefloor gem, adding a liquid bassline, pulsing 4/4 beats and dub sections to devastating effect. One of Schwarz’ finest remixes of recent years.

7" only available with first pressing!!Five guys jamming together, each throwing in funk-nuggets from a finely honed appreciation & a shared love of the good groove. This studio project was compiled from a free-wheeling desire to just team up and play together, see what happens...The holy trinity of Rhodes, Clav and live bass, all wrapped up in a heavyweight rhythm section has provided the backbone to over 50 years of ground-breaking and floor-shaking Black American music.The Max Graef Band project channels this energy with the tight efficiency of the Headhunters tag-teaming the New Power Generation, oh yeah - anyone expecting elbow patch, 6th form funk can think again, this is 'Mosquito's Tweeter' territory folks.From raw, P-Funkin' jams to Punk-Funk workouts & freestyle Jazz flavours, DOG pays homage and wears its influences proudly, while bringing a fresh take on the foundation Funk that informs this collective's own celebrated Sample-House revival.'If you don't know, now you know'Max Graef (Bass)Kickflip Mike (Drums)Valentin Handrick (El. Piano / Keyboards)Ludwig Labuzinski (Sampler / Effects / Percussion)Alex Seidel (Synthesizer / Percussions)Gerry Franke (Guitar)Available as a limited Edition Vinyl & 7" Package

GATEFOLD 2 LP , INCLUDES A FREE DOWNLOAD CARD WITH EXCLUSIVE A CAPPELLA & INSTRUMENTAL VERSIONS

Here's something of a treat for disco diggers: an essential collection of little-known, hard-to-find and downright essential Brazilian disco and boogie. Put together by Brazilian digger Junior Santos, Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds is full of must-have material, from the familiar bounce and punchy horns of the Teena Marie-ish "Moral Tem Hora" from Cristina Camargo, to the sweet shuffle and carnival-friendly swing of Carlos Dafe's "Escorpiao". With quality material throughout picking highlights is tough, though we're particularly fans of the jazz guitar-laden boogie of Famks' "Labrinto" and Sandra De Sa's thrilling "Negra Flor".

Le jazz et les Antilles, c’est une vieille histoire, dont on trouve traces dès les premiers enregistrements. D’Alexandre Stellio à Jean-Claude Montredon, d’Al Lirvat à Marius Cultier, de Jacques Coursil à Mario Canonge, la liste est longue de ceux qui ont établi une connexion durable entre ces deux univers si proches. Pour qualifier le jazz antillais, on parlera aux premières heures de swing caribéen, de jazz biguine, une vague qui va débarquer en Europe dans l’entre-deux-guerres. « Les Antillais ont apporté beaucoup de musiques dans leurs bagages, mais les Français ne se sont alors pas rendus compte que le chaînon manquant entre les Etats-Unis et La France, c’étaient les Antilles ! », se souvenait en 2002 le poète Roland Brival, dont le cultissime Creole Gypsy était alors tout juste réédité.Situé géographiquement plus proche des Etats-Unis que l’Europe, les Antilles ont été très tôt touché par le jazz et de manière différente. C’est pourquoi de nombreux musiciens ce sont emparés de cette musique pour l’associer aux rythmes traditionnels de leur île : Biguine, Gwo Ka, Tumbélé.Cette nouvelle compilation fait suite à Freedom Jazz France sortie en 2013 et déjà réalisé avec Digger’s diggest. Il s’agit de la Première compilation explorant la foisonnante scène jazz antillaise des années 70 et 80. 12 titres connus uniquement des collectionneurs de vinyles, qui mêlent au jazz les rythmes antillais pour le meilleur du créole jazz.