Krisyan Jesophe
Brin D'Amour

Transversales Disques presents for the first time on LP, François de Roubaix’s full score for the French TV series Les Secrets de la Mer Rouge, an adaptation of the epic travel, through the Middle East, of the famous writer and explorer Henri de Monfreid. This album is a collection of the original (1967) themes and those recorded later in 1975 when the TV series was continued.In the 1967 soundtrack, de Roubaix uses various flutes, marine conches, and for underwater views, unexpected instruments such as a celesta or a crystal xylophone. By 1975, electronic technology had dramatically developed and this evolution is clearly apparent when one listens to the recordings of the two seasons. For the later 1975 series, de Roubaix composed a new music score, mixing old and new sounds, a great combination of EMS VCS3 synthesizer subtly mixed with acoustic instruments.For François de Roubaix, there was never a border between fiction, life and music, and writing music for Les secrets de la Mer Rouge was an extension of his love of the open sea.

Folksongs and Ballads by Tia Blake & Her Folk Group, is more than just a “lost classic”.As clear and honest as can be, Folksongs and Ballads is a magnetic record, a refuge like onlyNick Drake, Nico, and a few others have been able to create.A graceful, delicately minimalist approach to classic Appalachian and British folk songs.Originally released only in France in 1971, Ici Bientôt is very pleased to present the first ever reissue on vinyl.When she recorded her only album, Tia Blake was nineteen years old and had just arrived in Paris a year and a half beforehand. She spent most of her time at Disco’Thé, a record shop in the Latin Quarter, a free space, peaceful and inspiring, a hub for students as well as the local artistic community.There, Tia Blake would occasionally sing—when she managed to overcome her shyness. Two young guitarists who were passionate fans of folk music and regulars at the shop began to accompany her, forming “Her Folk Group.”One year later, they cut 11 tracks at Pierre Barouh’s Studios Saravah.Folksongs and Ballads is composed of traditional tunes that have been covered many times, but they’re not the best known folk standards.A collection of stories ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1960s, bringing together sublimely doleful ballads, lamentations for a lost lover, and an unexpected, brilliant version of the road anthem “Plastic Jesus.”Tia Blake's haunting, unaffected voice captivates and comforts us, wrapping us in its cool embrace. Meanwhile, the tasteful, stripped-down, mellow acoustic arrangements provided by the guitarists, reminiscent of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, occasionally supported by a kena flute, have created the space Tia Blake needed to reinvent these traditional songs.Folksongs and Ballads is a timeless record, deep and unique, a longtime companion for repeated listening, in the vein of works by Sibylle Baier, Bridget St. John and Vashti Bunyan.In loving memory of Tia Blake (1952-2015)

These days, Hamad Kalkaba is a retired Army colonel and track and field athletics administrator in his native Cameroon. Yet back in the mid 1970s, he was a musician with dreams of potential super-stardom, trying to update traditional Cameroonian "Gandjal" music for the funk generation. To that end, he recorded a small number of singles and EPs alongside his backing band, the Golden Sounds. It's those thoroughly obscure and overlooked releases that make up Hamad Kalkaba & The Golden Sounds, a retrospective of his pioneering work. Sitting somewhere between Afro-beat, Afro-funk and Afro-jazz, with a distinctively Cameroonian rhythmic swing, the music showcased on the album is undeniably special.

Debut album from Okawa & The Rulers!Takeshi Okawa a.k.a. Okawa 78 is a skilled saxophonist also knows as one of a very few DJs specialised in 1920-50's world roots music who only plays out on 78 RPM records. Under his wing a whole bunch of Japanese musicians gathered to form The Rulers, experimenting with the authentic music from Africa, South America and blending into ska and soul funk creating a new groove of their own. Musicians include members from The Netandars, Sly Mongoose, Oi-Skall Mates, Rub-A-Dub Market, The 69 Yobsters, and Soil & Pimp Sessions.