Charlie & Inez Foxx
Mockingbird (The Best Of Charlie & Inez Foxx)

A.B. Crentsil is a heavyweight of Highlife music and the main vocalist of Sweet Talks, one of the most popular Ghanaian bands of the 1970’s. In 1992, musician Charles Amoah and producer Richie Osei Kuffour offered him the opportunity to explore a new popular sound: Bürger Highlife. Little did he know these studio sessions would give birth to the biggest song of his career.Charles Amoah, who had released his Sweet Vibrations LP in 1984 to great acclaim, extensively toured in Europe with bands such as Black Earth and Saraba, was eager to bring a new sound to Crentsil, an artist he had admired for years. Throughout the 1980’s, Highlife had been changing pretty radically, following the same evolution as Congolese Soukous, Caribbean Zouk and most popular black musicgenres of that era: Heavy use of drum machines, synths and digital technology was conveniently replacing big bands and expensiveanalog studios and equipments. Mostly recorded, produced or mixed in Germany, this new breed of electric Highlife dubbed ‘Bürger Highlife’ could be defined as a fusion of Disco, Jazz, Funk and Pop with the popular Highlife beats, rhythms and lyrics.According to A.B. Crentsil, the name was a reference to the ever present American cultural influence on Ghanaian musicians. CharlesAmoah has his own take: “I initially called this particular kind of Highlife ‘Ethno Pop’. Bürger is the German word for citizen, and that’s how Ghanaian musicians living and working in Germany were calling each other”.The music for both “Obi Baa Wiase'' and “Sika Be Ba” was entirely composed and played by Charles Amoah, using minimal equipment: aDX7 synth, a Korg M1, a Yamaha RX5 drum machine, and an Akai 1000 sampler. A.B. Crentsil provided the lyrics for both tunes on the spot. Obi Ba Wiase’s message is one of gratitude and faith: it says we should appreciate our life way more and follow the example of people who have a lot less but still praise God all day.Charles remembers fondly Crentsil’s larger than life personality: "A.B. slept a lot, he really loved sleeping. His lack of punctuality was easily dismissed by his wonderful sense of humour and it wasn't uncommon to find musicians rolling with laughter on the studio floor."Charles also remembers vividly the "Obi Baa Wiase" session: he could feel the magic in the air while working on the soon to be hit, andknew something special was happening. A.B. asked for a break in the middle of the session, which Charles adamantly refused until the song was finished and the magic fully captured.Success was not immediate, and Charles was first a little concerned by the lack of buzz following the immediate release of the Gyae MeLife Ma Me album. But a few months down the line, the situation took a new turn. "Obi Baa Wiase" was making its way into radio playlists,weddings and festive celebrations. It was covered by local bands, and soon most of Ghana and its European and American diasporas were hooked. It became A.B. Crentsil’s most requested song at live events for the following decades.As producer Richie Moore wrote on the album back cover : "A perfect integration of two musical geniuses, the result of which are thescintillating tracks of music on this record… so all you party fans go onto the floor and dance the body music"

A Ghanaian funk LP from the afrofunk master. one of Ebo Taylor's rarest and most sought-after!Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans is being reissued on vinyl by Comet Records, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release.Originally released by Ghanian Abookyi label in 1976, Ebo Taylor and The Pelikans is one of Taylor’s most elusive releases, and marked the first time he sang on the seminal Ghana Funk anthem “Come Along”.The album saw the legendary musician, producer, composer and arranger joining forces with 12-piece Cape Coast Ghanian band ‘The Pelikans’ led by Bessa Simmona with rhythm guitarist Fifi Orleans Lindsay.Put simply, there has never been a musician and artist quite like Ebo Taylor. As an artist, arranger, musician and producer he’s a combination of James Brown, Nile Rodgers and Quincy Jones: He not only created some of the greatest funk songs ever recorded but as much if not more than that, his genius as an arranger gave the signature sound to high life and afrobeat that was made famous by his one-time London roommate (from when they were both music students, in The early 1960s) Fela. And his funky guitar brought a percussive sound to the rhythm section that didn't exist before.

The Album SOUL JAZZ BEAT is a tribute paid to the Soul Jazz and Hammond Funk golden years of the Prestige and Blue Note labels and also to the most typical musical band ensemble : The TRIO.SOUL JAZZ BEAT are 3 talented musicians able to electrify their audience with an intense groove and terrific compositions among them are some covers from the masters of the genre like Jack Mc Duff, Richard « Groove » Holmes or even Roy Brooks.••▪ Telmo Fernández on guitar is a master at playing solid, hypnotising and funky grooves. Composer with a lot of inspiration, He is behind this project and teamed up with 2 of his fellow travellers. No doubt that Boogaloo Joe Jones haunts his nights.••▪ Phil Wilkinson on organ pushes the limits even further with fluid sounds coming straight out of the burning Leslie Cabin. Thanks to his uncommon skill on the double keyboard organ, he gained fame as an accomplished musician and played with many from Fast 3 to the great Brian Jackson.••▪ Caspar Saint Charles on drums is the backbone and knows how to sublime and transcend the trio with his irreprochable touch that never fails.Obviously, you realize that SOUL JAZZ BEAT is the condensed version of a musical heritage perfectly represented here by the Soul Jazz and Hammond Funk Trio ready to set you on fire !Recorded in Madrid at Funkmeba studios, home of Santí Martin ― bass player of The Sweet Vandals, all the tracks are recorded live in one take on analog equipment, best way to capture the essence and original soul of this music !The Soul Jazz Beat album released on the Atomic Soul Records label is the first in a collection of albums dedicated to the Soul Jazz and Hammond Funk TRIO entitled 333.You said 333...The first 3 meaning TRIO, the second for « TROIS-CHÂTEAUX ― 3 CASTLES » home of Atomic Soul Records and Saint-Paul Soul Jazz festival and the last 3 for « 333 LIMITED NUMBERED COPIES » !3 + 3 + 3 = 333 hand limited numbered copies.

Les Disques Bongo Joe return to the scorching Kabyle rock of Abranis, the pioneering Algerian band that blended traditional Berber music with western rock, folk, disco, and funk, all the while proudly celebrating their Kabyle heritage and taking the Maghrebi music scene by storm, from Algeria to France, the latter becoming a new creative center for the Kabyle diaspora.Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 which follows the 2018 release of Chenar le Blues / Avehri as part of our 45s series, is a comprehensive look into their discography, from the garage-rock experimentations of their early days to their lushly orchestrated North African fusion masterpieces of the 1980s.The Abranis story begins in the mid sixties, when two young Algerians crossed paths in one of Paris' bohemian neighborhoods. Both were Kabyle, the Berber people from Algeria’s northern regions, and both had escaped the repression that began with Algeria's 1962 independence and the establishment of its new, conservative constitution. The two young men, Shamy El Baz and Karim Abdenour, shared more than a common background: they both loved rock music, and both were passionate about fostering a modern Algerian sound, as inspired by Kabyle rhythms and melodies as it was by western rock. Living in cosmopolitan Paris meant that they came into contact with the wider North African community, whose sounds would increasingly influence the Abranis style, together with the musical trends of the time, from prog to disco.The two musicians founded Les Abranis in 1967, joining forces with bass player Madi Mehdi and drummer Samir Chabane. Together they experimented by mixing Kabyle vocals and melodies with garage and psych-rock. The next few years saw the release of a handful of singles on several France-based North African labels, a raucous Algerian tour, and several lineup changes. Shamy and Karim honed their fiery Kabyle/rock blend on tracks but as the '70s progressed they increasingly moved away from the garage and psychedelia of their early days and began to interpret their Kabyle repertoire in more open and creative ways melting prog rock, jazz and some early electronic influences.Over 11 electrifying tracks, Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 highlights their legacy as the underground kings of Kabyle rock.

In 2015, Texas & London-based trio Khruangbin's debut album 'The Universe Smiles Upon You' garnered wide critical acclaim and captured attention for its seamless genre-blending and internationally shaped sound - one that evidently has deep roots in Thai-funk cassette culture. Similarly to their debut, sophomore record 'Con Todo El Mundo' is a cocktail of largely instrumental surf-rock, afro-funk, middle-eastern and far-eastern influences, mixed with warmth and soul. As if their pallette wasn't diverse enough, the additions of the pared back boogie on 'Evan Finds The Third Room', the widescreen dream-pop of 'A Hymn' and deeply intricate writing of closer 'Friday Morning', are illustrative of a band who have worked hard to broaden their horizons while keeping their roots in mind and, despite transatlantic bases, clearly remain a stunningly cohesive and well-matched outfit.KHRUANGBINCon Todo El MundoNight Time Stories

Newly formed archival imprint Fresh Hold presents one of Australia’s most mysterious jazz long players - Singing Dust, in collaboration with Efficient Space. Almost bound for obscurity from its inception, the eponymous creation of Queensland-based jazz pianist Robert Welsh was originally issued in 1986 on Melbourne independent label Cleopatra Records. Rich in compositional sophistication and expressive performance, Singing Dust resembles a unique fusion of Indian devotional song, the jazz piano styles of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, and Debussey’s tonal impressions.Representing a culmination of Welsh’s influences in and outside of music, the dynamic collection of seven compositions accompany the Ghazal devotional poems written by Australian poet Francis Brabazon. While Singing Dust sits loosely within the spheres of exploration that many jazz players took into world fusion in the '80s, it stands alone in its bright searing light of truth, love and austerity.A true work of dedication and posterity that will appeal to many serious music lovers, the album has finally been transferred and remastered from original tapes by Dan Elleson and Mikey Young, superseding the imperfect 1986 pressing and fully realising Welsh’s expansive vision.