The Budos Band
Frontier's Edge

Drive Blind déboule en 1993 avec un premier mini album 6 titres produit par un tout nouveau label qui va marquer la scène française de nineties : Pandémonium. Condense, Hint, Portobello Bones, Burning Heads la scène Française est alors florissante et Drive Blind sait y trouver une place de choix. Remasterisé au Black Box Studio à partir des bandes originales Stop Thinking Start Fighting est agrémenté d’un inédit, une reprise des MC5 et deux morceaux lives enregistrés au Rockstore à Montpellier en 93. Pour la première fois en vinyle 30 ans après sa sortie. Coup double pour Head Records puisqu' il fête également ses 20 ans cette année 2023.

International Anthem has become one of the contemporary jazz scenes most crucial labels. It deals in the most cutting edge sounds in the genre as well as offering up fantastic fusions with sounds from the world's hip-hop, R&B and broken beat. Here they look to Charles Stepney for an album that he recorded back in the 1960s in his Chicago basement. He played all the instruments himself and across four sides of vinyl he serves up his so-called and signature "baroque soul" sound with widescreen arrangements, innocent melodies and curious rhythms.

After her surprise debut "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure", Ghana's Frafra gospel queen Florence Adooni is back with her second single on Philophon. Born as Frafra in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti, she combines the best of both cultures into a unique fusion. The meandering, mostly pentatonic melodies of the Frafra glide over the high-life rhythm of the Ashanti with incredible ease."Yinne" means The Creator and is one of the songs sung at the culmination of the Sunday service. Its driving rhythm usually guarantees a collective ecstasy in the community."Fo Yelle", on the other hand, has more of a meditative effect on the listener. Its rather solemn rhythm leads you into tranquility and opens your soul to receive the divine spark.The songs were produced by Max Weissenfeldt in Kumasi/Ghana.

Recorded Live in Hyattsville, MD 1975-2015. George really had no interest in releasing this record. “Seeing Is believing, they don’t need records, trust me I did that, today they getting it live.” So this record is that, live tapes from the house, recorded on a government issued cassette recorder from National Library Service for the Blind. George calls these his practice tapes for songwriting, and performance warm-up, and never beyond his ears were they intended to travel. “You just got to see me live if you want to really see me.. so when we get there just plug me in, and point me at that crowd” Last time I saw George they had him wired to the club system. He unplugs his Yamaha keyboard, licks the tip of the power cord and taps a beat on it, finally plugging in, synth lights up, tones all at zero, beats at zero. Then he builds from there, counting blind through a preset one hundred factory tones and rhythm patterns. “I gotta start off at zero, and go from there.” After the Marshmellow Band disperesed, he got this Yamaha keyboard, same one he’s been playing since 1990, endless scrolling over the same presets, trying to make them fit, tempo down, tapping while telling the story and asking if that feels right to you. “This always gonna be different live.” Some selections on this album are original material from home sessions prior to George’s 1980 self- released LP. The rest, just a sampling from the Smallwood mind’s library of classic song writers. -Andrew Morgan- Peoples Potential Unlimited

This is the debut album from the Texan Black Pumas and quite rightly they’ve proudly named it after their very own funky selves. Produced in his home studio by Adrian Quesada. Drum roll please! A funky drummer sets the tone for the pure soul of Black Pumas. Precision steeled guitars add chops and breaks to prettify this smooth treacle soul. Primarily though it’s the vocals that sell it. They could sell radiators to hell. A diamond-toned voice flowers and commands at the front of the band. Grooving, chopping keyboards, soothing, smooth harmonious backing vocals.