Category: FEATURED RELEASES
After making their mark for a number of years hosting notable parties and events, the Bristol-based collective Worm Disco Club have launched a brand new label called Worm Discs, and have recently released a brilliant new compilation highlighting the Bristolian jazz sound, titled New Horizons.
Edinburgh’s Athens of The North puts out the first release from the label’s house band East Coast Love Affair, featuring a brilliant new version of Sky’s The Limit’s highly obscure 1976 soulful funk gem “Don’t Be Afraid”.
Following the publishing of the now out-of-print Wamono A to Z records guide book by the renowned remixer, compiler, and producer DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite and fellow DJ/record collector Chintam, the two have teamed up again to release a series of compilations highlighting “the Wamono sound,” featuring some of the most rare jazz, funk, soul, and disco music to come out of Japan since the sixties.
Just in time to catch the last few warm sunny days of what has to be the most bizarre summer of our lifetimes, the UK-based label WallenBink have released, for the first time officially on 7inch format, A Bossa Elétrica’s brilliant Brazilian fusion rendition of Roy Ayer’s 1976 essential jazz-funk classic “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”.
Record Store Day has typically been an annual event that has took place in mid-April. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s RSD was originally postponed to June 20th, and unfortunately moved again to now three separate Saturday dates, August 29th, September 26th, and October 24th. Even though many record stores have been able to find ways to open up again in a limited capacity, it’s safe to say like everything in 2020, this year’s RSD will be very different than what it has been in the past.
28-year-old saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia has been one the most active and impactful artists among the current London jazz scene. Over the past few years, she has collaborated with some of the region’s most breakthrough artists and collectives, including notable recordings with both ensembles Nérija and Maisha, as well as two highly acclaimed EPs in Nubya’s 5ive (2017) and When We Are (2018). In 2019, she was the recipient of the Jazz FM UK Jazz Act of the Year Award. This week, she releases her much-anticipated full-length debut album on Concord Records, titled Source.
As we maneuver our way through the strangest, and shall I say the most challenging summer of our lifetimes, Soundway Records has provided a timely and much-welcomed bright spot, with the exciting debut release from London producer Reuben Vaun Smith, titled Warm Nights.
Over the past decade, London’s On The Corner records has been one of the most forward-thinking labels, releasing innovative futuristic music that blurs the lines between jazz, electronic music, African, Latin, broken beat and beyond. In the words of Sun Ra, “knock, knock, knocking at the door to the cosmos,” this label is knocking down all sonic barriers on for their celebratory tenth release, which is a limited edition triple vinyl gatefold compilation out on September 18th, appropriately titled Door of the Cosmos.
London-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ Tom Funk has recently released a great new cosmic jazz full-length under The Sultan’s Swing alias, titled Ignite on his Lazy Robot Records.
On the heals of Now-Again’s recent box set featuring five classic albums from the Black Fire record label, including the previously unreleased Live From The East session from Juju, London’s Strut records has just released a great new compilation, titled Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993, celebrating the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label.
