The Ovations
Peace Of Mind

Essiebons Special, publié par Analog Africa, présente une sélection de travaux obscurs de quelques-uns des plus grands noms du label. Au cours de la numérisation de ses vastes archives de bandes originales, Essilfie-Bondzie a trouvé un certain nombre de chefs-d’œuvre afrobeat et instrumentaux de l’âge d’or du label au milieu des années 70 qui, pour une raison ou une autre, n’avaient jamais été publiés. Ces chansons sont incluses ici pour la première fois.Malheureusement, Essilfie-Bondzie est décédé avant que la compilation ne soit terminée. Mais son héritage survit dans la musique extraordinaire qu’il a offerte au monde de son vivant. Pendant une grande partie des années 1970, les labels Dix et Essiebons de Dick Essilfie-Bondzie ont été à la pointe du highlife moderne, et sa liste d’artiste était composée de légendes locales absolues. C.K. Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Kofi Papa Yankson, Ernest Honny, Rob « Roy » Raindorf et Ebo Taylor ont tous sorti certains de leurs meilleurs titres sous la bannière d’Essiebons.Dick Essilfie-Bondzie was all ready for his 90th birthday party when the Covid pandemic hit. The legendary producer, businessman and founder of Ghana’s mighty Essiebons label had invited all his family and friends to the event and it was the disappointment at having to postpone that prompted Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb to propose a new compilation celebrating his contributions to the world of West African music.For most of the 1970s Essilfie-Bondzie’s Dix and Essiebons labels were synonymous with the best in modern highlife, and his roster was a who’s-who of highlife legends. C.K. Mann, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Kofi Papa Yankson, Ernest Honny, Rob ‘Roy’ Raindorf and Ebo Taylor all released some of their greatest music under the Essiebons banner.Yet Essilfie-Bondzie had been destined for a very different career. Born in Apam and raised in Accra, he was sent to business school in London at the age of 20, and returned to the security of a government job in Ghana. But his passion for music, inspired by the sounds of Accra’s highlife scene, had never left him, and in 1967 he figured out a way of combining music and business by opening West Africa’s first record pressing plant.The venture, a partnership with the Philips label, was a huge success, attracting business from all over the continent. By the early 1970s Essilfie-Bondzie had left his government job to concentrate on his labels, and by the mid-seventies he was on a hot streak injecting album after album of restless highlife into the bloodstream of the Ghanaian music scene.Essiebons Special features a selection of obscure workouts from some of the label’s heaviest hitters. But in the course of digitising his vast archive of master tapes, Essilfie-Bondzie found a number of Afrobeat and Instrumental maszterpieces tracks from the label’s mid-70s golden age that, for one reason or another, had never been released. Those songs are included here for the first time.Sadly Essilfie-Bondzie passed away before the compilation was finished. But his legacy lives on in the extraordinary music that he gave to the world in his lifetime.

First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the "hilly fields of Lewisham" in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.Sarah released her acclaimed debut album 'Of The New World' on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she's toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP 'A Family Affair') and with her brother, Paul White - a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.

If you’re in the middle of a soul searching effort, we’re more than willing to point you in the right direction! ReGrooved has taken it upon itself to rerelease an otherwise lost treasure called Dancin’ in the Flames of Love by Regina James. This record first saw the light of day back in 1978 and was never reissued on vinyl.Not only was this album the only one ever released by the singer, it seems that security has claimed her ever since. Only three singles under her name have come forth, one standalone 7” called ‘Gee Wiz Boy – backed with ‘My Man Is Coming Home’ - followed by ‘Alfie/Dancin’ in the Name of Love’ in support of her album. After the Maxi-Single ‘My Love (Ain't Gonna Never Let You Get Away)’ – again using ‘Dancin’ in the Name of Love’ for the B-side – she has literally vanished from any and all charts.Her legacy lives on, though. Apart from the obscurity that surrounds both the record and its performer, another important detail makes this disc an important collector’s item. For it seems that Regina James was a protégé of none other than legendary songwriter, producer and vocalist Clarence Reid, who actually became (in)famous through his controversial XXX- rated stage persona Blowfly!Many of the songs on Dancin’ in the Name of Love were written by him – including the title track. Catchy soul, funk and disco rhythms are given an extra dimension by various synthetic sound effects and James’ sultry vocals. She often uses narration to introduce a track and ease the listener into the subsequent grooviness.Enjoy this formerly lost treasure!

Donna Summer s'est fait connaître pendant l'ère disco des années 1970, propulsée par sa force créative et incessante à l'origine de la popularité mondiale du genre. Elle a mérité à juste titre le statut de "Queen Of Disco" et est devenue l'une des artistes les plus populaires de toute la décennie, avec plus de 130 millions d'unités vendues dans le monde. 2023 célèbre le 40ème anniversaire de la tournée "Hard For The Money" de Donna Summer. "A Hot Summer Night" a été filmé et enregistré en direct le 6 août 1983, au Pacific Amphitheatre de Costa Mesa, CA, devant un public de 18 000 fans, pendant la deuxième partie de la tournée.

Another killer release by Jazz Is Dead imprint, this time with the legendary compagnon of Gil Scott Heron, the OG Brian Jackson... One happy thing to be grateful for during otherwise trying times is finally getting to hear and enjoy new work by a man whose music is familiar to millions even if his name is less so. Indeed, Gil Scott-Heron continues to cast such a wide shadow that even many of his biggest fans often seem to forget that there's another name next to his on the bulk of his albums, the name of a man teamed up with Gil as a teenager and proceeded to ride out the decade as his writing partner, keyboardist, arranger, and bandleader for their Midnight Band. That man's name is Brian Jackson. His considerable backlog of unheard material reveals a stillenergetic and still-vital icon of the music wing of the Black Liberation movement. Prepare to hear from a musician whose work has contributed to the enhancement of all our lives in some form or another with the latest installment of the Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge's Jazz Is Dead series.