Solomon Burke
Cry To Me

It’s one of the best kept secrets of the Indonesian archipelago.Hidden away on a pop album inspired by The Police, lies ‘Licik’, a deep vocoder funk workout lasting over nine minutes. It’s the first recorded Indonesian song to use the vocoder in such a way.‘Licik’ is a hauntingly unique track and a testament to the quality of some of the best music the archipelago has to offer. Friends 82, consisting of Delly Rollies, Norman Rachman and the vocoder wizard Harry Sabar, wrote and recorded the track on the spot back in 1981.The B-side pays tribute to the original song, with a re-contextualisation of the original by Jakarta-born, Bali-based multi-instrumentalist Dea Barandana.Fully licensed from the songwriter and living legend Harry Sabar.The record comes in a custom die cut sleeve with printed inner sleeve and a four page insert with extensive liner notes and photos.

The official Mr Bongo reissue. Krishnanda is an album in the truest sense of the word – a spiritual, psychedelic Brazilian masterpiece from start to finish – celebrated by everyone from Seu Jorge and Kassin to Floating Points, Madlib, Quantic, Gilles Peterson and DJ Nuts. These days, originals change hands for thousands of dollars.Pedro dos Santos, born in Rio in 1919, was a percussionist virtuoso, composer and inventor of instruments that apparently included oddities such as the ‘Tamba’ (electrified bamboo drum) and the mouth berimbau whistle. Nicknamed Perdo ‘Sorongo’ after the rhythm he invented, that features throughout ‘Krishnanda’. A highly spiritual man who was regarded as a philosopher by many.He worked with greats including Baden Powell, Elis Regina, Maria Bethany, Elza Soares, Sebastião Tapajós, Roberto Ribeiro, Milton Nascimento, Clara Nunes, Paul Simon and Arthur Verocai, playing on his legendary self-titled LP. In the same vein as Verocai and his self-titled LP, ‘Krishnanda’ was Pedro’s chance to shine with his own, and only, solo recording.Krishnanda was produced by Hélcio Milito, the drummer of Tamba Trio, and arranged by conductor Joppa Lins, and originally released in 1968 on CBS (Brasil). Musically, the album touches folk, samba, afro-brazilian and psychedelia plus added effects, with a lyrical depth and diversity to match; themes including morality, perception, existence and ego.Despite the genius of the record and the influence that it had on musicians at the time of release, it disappeared into obscurity. We first discovered the record around 2003, through a friend Julio Dui. Around that time Brazilian funk and bossa was the flavour of the day, so didn’t catch our ear immediately, however it continued improve with age and now we consider it to be one of the best albums ever made, regardless of genre or origin.The Mr Bongo reissue is produced as a replica original LP / audio master by Ricardo Garcier at Magic Master (Rio de Janeiro) / artwork restored by Andrew Edwards, from the original copy borrowed from Julio Dui – thank you, sir!

Jungle By Night - Algorhythm After more than a decade of heating up dancefloors at over 600 festivals and stages in 34 countries and 6 released albums, the nine-headed instrumental collective Jungle by Night melted their years of passion, friendship, and influences from krautrock, dance, jazz and techno together into a new analogue compositionJungle by Night: ‘’In a world in which technology and its algorithms have become highly influential in our daily lives, we’d almost rather stare at our screens than look out for each other. With << Algorhythm >>, we pay a tribute to natural, spontaneous HUMAN rhythm as a counterpoint to the sophisticated intoxicating algorithms of the computer.’’The << algorithm >> It determines what we see, what we listen to, whom we meet. The worldwide web seems to be this free world in which everyone has access to everything and everyone. But in reality, it steers us in a certain direction. A direction that often feels natural, reassuring, safe even. It confirms our thoughts and doesn’t confront us with different ways of thinking, with new perspectives. While getting swallowed up in our bubbles, we slowly drift apart.With this new analogue album, nine-headed instrumental collective Jungle By Night bursts our bubble and reminds us to surrender to being human. With styles such as Dance, Funk, Jazz and KrautRock, mixed into a completely unique and inclusive genre of danceable music: Analog Dance Music, the band invites us to live in the moment and welcome serendipity. The oddball ensemble exists within its own cosmos and serves us a danceable and thundering live act, connecting with crowds like no other, with beaming fun and energy along the way.Jungle By Night: ‘’ During the corona crisis, we as a band had a lot of time to reflect on the role and function of (live) music. One of the magical powers of live music is how it can create an atmosphere of freedom, expression, and togetherness. Will we still be able to surrender to this after over a year of staring at our screens or have we drifted away? And is there any silver lining? This album explores the dividing lines between man and machine. The pandemic allowed us to take a new artistic step by implementing more theatrical elements to create a fully cohesive album.’’

First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.

For their first outing, new London-based reissue label Foam On A Wave resurface the remarkable debut album from one of the UK's foremost artists of 'ambient techno', Ultramarine's 'Folk'. Like the surrealist collage of the sleeve designed by Benoît Hennebert, Ultramarine weave together unique instrumentation and sonic influences into rich, ethereal soundscapes, now fully remastered for its 30th anniversary.Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond admitted they weren't totally sure what they were doing when they signed a record deal with the famously bohemian label Les Disques du Crépuscule and found themselves on their way to Brussels. There, over a two week stint, the Essex duo recorded the album - drawing on a kaleidoscopic palette influenced by both the Canterbury scene's jazz-infused psychedelia, as well as the contemporary Benelux scene, with particular nods to the likes of Benjamin Lew, The Durutti Column and Anna Domino. Conceived at a time when technology began reshaping the process of recording and production, the band's interest in fusing the organic and the electronic is apparent, and one that has remained with them throughout their career.'Folk' both sits apart from and serves as a precursor to the 'pastoral techno' sound Ultramarine went on to pioneer. Following US and European tours alongside Orbital and Bjork, a few more albums and collaborations with the likes of Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers, plus remixes for and by Everything But The Girl, Carl Craig, Luke Slater and more, they folded the project for a number of years. Last year the band returned to their inaugural imprint with the ethereal 'Signals Into Space'. Albeit somewhat sparser, more sedate, it is in some ways a coming full-circle to the jazz-laden, analogue sound of their debut, which makes reissuing 'Folk' feel all the more timely.

Absolute funk fire from Gladys and co; "Love Is Always On Your Mind" is arguably one of their most overlooked jams in history. Heavily swung and quite gritty in comparison to their other work, it's an instant floor display lavished with stacks of energy and groove. Flip for the heavily referenced, sampled and edited 1980 classic "Bourgie Bourgie". Silky soul disco at its finest. Another white hot reissue success from Buddah.Gladys KNIGHT & THE PIPSLove Is Always On Your Mind (reissue)Buddah US