Category: FEATURED RELEASES
Now in their 31st year, the Brighton-based label Mr Bongo has consistently been at the forefront in releasing some of the deepest and most obscure Brazilian reissues. This year, the label/record shop has re-launched their well-curated series of classic Brazilian 45s, featuring a vibrant new design, and a fresh batch of unearthed Brazilian rarities.
XL Recordings celebrates the 10 year anniversary of the late great Gil Scott-Heron’s final studio recording I’m New Here, prior to his passing in May of 2011, with a re-worked version of the album by visionary Chicago-based composer, producer, and drummer Makaya McCraven, titled We’re New Again.
Ahead of this weekend’s Flamingo Pier festival at the Rangihoua Olive Grove on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island, the native DJ collective, for a second straight year, have teamed up with the London-based Soundway records to release a complimentary EP release, titled Indigo.
Composer, trumpeter, and member of the UK-based jazz quartet Ruby Rushton, Nick Walters has recently released an explosive new jazz album, titled Active Imagination on Tenderlonious label 22a.
The Leeds, UK based group led by multi-instrumentalist Pete Williams, bassist /guitarist Neil Innes and Drummer Joost Hendrickx have released a great new conceptional soundtrack album on ATA Records, titled In Search Of The Lost City Of The Monkey God.
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker follows up his first New Breed recording, released back in 2016 and named best album of the year by London’s Observer, with a great new album on Chicago’s International Anthem, titled Suite for Max Brown.
One of the records that completely missed my radar when it was released back in the summer of 2019 was Los Angeles producer Jason McGuiness brilliant cosmic jazz album Empyrean Tones.
Influenced by the musical traditions of the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, the Taraab sound is rooted out of Zanzibar, and was made popular beginning in the late 20s by Tanzanian vocalist Siti binti Saad. London’s On The Corner label has recently released a brilliant new single featuring Taraab’s next star, which is none other than Siti’s great granddaughter Siti Muharam.
The London-based quartet Ruby Rushton, led by flautist Ed Cawthorne aka Tenderlonious and featuring trumpeter Nick Walters, keyboardist Aidan Shepherd, and drummer Tim Carnegie kick off 2020 with a great new limited-edition 7inch single on 22a.
The German-based Analog Africa label helped shed light in 2018 on the Somalian funk group Dur-Dur Band with an incredible triple LP featuring the band’s first two albums. This past month, the label released a brand new twelve-track compilation that continues to deeply explore the Somalian funk scene of the seventies through the early nineties.
