East Coast Love Affair Peter Hunnigale
Date With The Rain

Acid Jazz Records continue their exclusive licensing agreement with Albarika Store, the legendary record label that defined the sound of Benin and influenced the entire region of West Africa and beyond.'Kpede Do Gbe Houenou’ is a burning piece of Afro-funk from Benin’s finest, the all-conquering Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. With a killer horns line, imploring vocals and a driving groove, this has it all and is just waiting to ignite reopened dancefloors. 'Ma Wa Mon Nou Mi O’ is equally strong, if a little less intense, and features wonderful guitar work to the fore. Without question, this is essential Beninese music. Both tracks were transferred, restored and mastered from the original 1/4 inch tape.

Third part in the series from new project Cotonete, made up of members of Ethio Jazz group Akalé Wubé and keyboardist Florian Pellissier. Wicked 70's style jazz-funk featuring remixes by the French producer Hugo LX, the Parisian duo Vox Low & P.Scott Sistrum from Detroit. Recommended!

The first compilation from South African vinyl re-issue specialists Matsuli Music – a journey through jazz, funk, fusion and disco, detailing the incredible story and sounds behind the Soweto nightclub during the height of apartheidA night-time haunt in the backstreets of Soweto run by a well-known bootlegger should have been a prime zone for nefarious underworld activities. Instead, it nurtured an underground of a different kind. Soon after its opening in 1973, Club Pelican became a spot where musicians steeped in the tradition of South African jazz began to cook up experimental sounds inspired by communion, competition and the movements in funk and soul blowing in from the West. Located in an industrial park on the western edge of Orlando East, Soweto, Club Pelican was off the beaten track, among a matrix of railway and industrial infrastructure. In a different time and place, this would have been a prototypical nightclub location, except there was no local precedent to follow. This was Soweto’s first night club.In the intervening years, this location has served to heighten the now-defunct spot’s legendary status as a singular venue, one that ruled the night in the Seventies. Initially called Lucky’s and established in 1973, the Pelican’s impact on the Soweto cultural landscape was immediate. Lorded over by a charismatic figure known as Lucky Michaels, the club became the jewel in a nondescript collection of family businesses. It boasted a diverse pool of talent in its succession of house bands and an A-list of ghetto-fabulous singers asits cabaret stars. Its VIP section was a veritable who’s who of Soweto society and its stage, hosting a mix of the day’s pop culture infused with the creativity and individual histories of the musicians, the Pelican filled a live music vacuum.One Night in Pelican captures the halcyon seventies period with a single nightclub embodying an indomitable spirit of its troubadour players. While schooled and rooted in “standards” and local forms, the music could take any direction, at a moment’s notice. This compilation features all the key groups and players of the time: Abacothozi, Almon Memela’s Soweto, The Black Pages, Dick Khoza and the Afro Pedlars, The Drive, Ensemble of Rhythm and Art , The Headquarters, Makhona Zonke Band, the Shyannes and Spirits Rejoice.’

On their self-titled debut album Etienne Jaumet and Fabrizio Rat, both trained pianists, re-invent their favourite instrument to make us hear it in a totally new way. While the former creates unusual sounds thanks to the rhythmic machines that accompany his piano, the latter uses this classical and romantic instrument par excellence to explore the techno sphere."The basic idea of our duo is to confront the harmonic richness of the piano and the synthesizer through rhythm. To explore our interactions through live music. To develop new atmospheres thanks to the evocative power of unusual sounds. Somewhere between ambient and sound experimentation…'