Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
On the same day that the group’s groundbreaking UNTITLED (Black Is) album was released on vinyl (released digitally back in June), SAULT has surprised us once again by releasing a brilliant complimentary new full-length record, titled UNTITLED (Rise).
London-based producer and bassist Huw Marc Bennett returns, following his superb Gambian-rooted electronic 2016 Soundway release Keira under the alias Susso, with another brilliant and forward-thinking full-length on the Albert’s Favourites label, titled Tresilian Bay.
This past Saturday, BeatCaffeine’s TJ Gorton was a special guest on Morgan ‘Moman’ Nixon‘s weekly two-hour live video streaming show Zinelab Transmission. Often there is a weekly theme tied to each show, and in memory of one of the greatest jazz collectors from Hawaii, Melvin M. Murakami, Moman and TJ played some of their favorite new, rare, and classic jazz records.
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.
UK label Jazzman Records has recently released a brilliant full-length album highlighting the sixties-era music of long overlooked jazz journeyman and flautist Roscoe Weathers, titled I’ll Remember.
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.
New York based Frederiksberg Records has reissued, for the first time, the highly obscure and adventurously eclectic 1984 instrumental album from Ethiopian-rooted group Admas, titled Sons of Ethiopia.
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.