Paralel Disko Afacan
Disco Hamam - 2

Regan began writing 100 Acres of Sycamore whilst living on the island of Majorca. Regarding the album's composition Regan stated: “I think if you could bottle a bit of the atmosphere and put it into the record, it's there. In saying that, I think it's spliced with walking in the woods in Ireland.”The album was recorded to tape using analogue methods, with Regan noting, “I just love the sound of it, I love the process. I love the idea that there's a master tape. It's a very potent thing.” Regan and co-producer Sean Read recorded using the same console that The White Stripes used to record their fourth studio album, “Elephant”.Regarding the stylistic differences between 100 Acres of Sycamore and his previous album, The Shadow Of An Empire, Regan noted, “The last album was kind of like a chrysalis and this is the butterfly. I think sometimes that everyone has to remember that you don't get 'this' without 'that'. This album wouldn't have happened without the last record. The second one wouldn't have happened without the first one. I think sometimes after the first record there might have been a feeling that, because I was on to a good thing, to just repeat it but I wasn't interested in that. It's very important for me to do what feels right at the time.” Regan also noted, "My previous record, The Shadow Of An Empire was me looking out of a window at the world. With this one, it’s a clear look in.”Fionn Regan is a unique poetic voice in music and has been consistently critically acclaimed. Over the course of six sublime albums Regan has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize as well as the Choice, Meteor and Shortlist awards. His song “Abacus” was sampled by Bon Iver on his GRAMMY® Nominated album, 22, A million. Regan was recently made an ‘Honorary Member’ of the Trinity College Dublin Literary Society, its chairman saying, “In his music, Mr. Regan has done more than many artists to erode the boundaries between music and literature, with his lyrics always possessing the most beautiful poetry." regan also appeared beside celebrated actor Cillian Murphy in the music video for his song “The Meetings of the Waters” which has now had over 50 million streams worldwide.

Favorite Recordings presents this new official album reissue of State of Emmergency by French band The Fizz: A real underrated, complete and intriguing album, originally released in 1986 as a private-press LP and quite hard to find in good conditions nowadays.The Fizz is mostly the result of Patrick Jouanneau, a French musician, composer and producer who's still active today. He remembers: In the early 80's I had a recording studio allowing me to easily fulfil my desire to create songs. It was then that I began to compose and write songs, in French or in English in this case. State Of Emergency (spelling on the LP is a mistake), is born from a fierce will on my part, and the other four have followed, but it was not easy, the musicians, you have to get them out of bed! I have to say that Richard Larozé, the pianist, was a very strong guy with harmonies, and has somewhat changed my first version, much more oriented in Soul and R&B.'And when asked about his main influences, Patrick says: It's always difficult for me to speak about influences, out of respect, and humility especially, but they nourished us and nourished this project, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Earth, Wind & Fire, and so on, were and still are important to me and this was the case for the entire FIZZ group.'At the end, State of Emmergency by The Fizz is a very interesting and brilliant album with great inspiration in melodies and compositions. And who knows, listening to the title "A So Called Being", it could even have inspired a certain King of Pop'...

First ever reissue of highly sought after french jazz funk fusion nugget from Alain Bellaïche featuring, Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra), John Hicks (Strata-East) & Fabiano (Fabiano Orchestra).A Frenchman who is returning (but who we seem to discover!) from the USA is something unusual. Everything seemed to start out well for Alain Bellaïche: Born in Tunis, childhood in Cannes, studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, his first folk concerts folk in youngsters’ houses and clubs where everyone was well behaved …Then, in 1973, he left for the States. Bellaïche would settled for around ten years, with, as a soundtrack, the two albums that he would record there. Metropolitain, which was the fruit of his collaboration with the Heldon guitarist Alain Renaud, and Sea Fluorescent. In the catalogue of Asylum, David Geffen’s first label, Bellaïche’s music was listed alongside that of the Byrds, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan.In a Rock & Folk, interview Bellaïche expressed his regrets as to the prudence of French musicians: “I never had a group… perhaps the guys here are not motivated to play this kind of music”. We should note that the influences of our expatriate were, for example, Led Zeppelin, John McLaughlin, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, The Spencer Davis Group…Bellaïche, a multi-faceted and iconoclastic musician, composed Sea Fluorescent just following his desires: from a cosmic ballad (St Andrea), to West Coast funk (California), dreamlike Spanish influences (Spanish Roots), optimistic blues (Foolin’ Myself), a solar track (I’m Angry, Sun Blues) … And the Frenchman was in good company: Jean-François Fabiano (from Fabiano Orchestra) on drums and percussions, Jerry Mahavishnu Goodman on violin on Got My Place In That Country, Wornell Jones on bass or John Hicks whose cascades of notes bring Reggae & Western closer to the ‘reassembled’ jazz that the pianist was playing at the time…When, finally, after the fabulous declinations of the title track of the album, we hear a bonus on which Bellaïche sings in French, it is time for a Chacha émotionnel on which offers this horrible confession: “I’m not from around here, I come from a backward country”. Thanks to Souffle Continu, France is finally catching up.Remastered from the master tapes.Restored artwork + 12 page booklet.Licensed from Alain Bellaïche.

International Anthem Recording Company are on a roll with this powerful, spiritual vocal jazz on the most amazing rhythm! Backed with a stripped back drums version. Massive recommendation from us!