Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
Jazz Room Records reissues rare 1983 holy grail ‘Ronnie April’s Positive Energy’
Legendary UK DJ Paul Murphy and his superb Jazz Room Records continue with the onslaught of impressive releases in 2024 with a “must-own” reissue of the holy grail LP, titled Positive Energy, Volume 1, from New York-born saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist Ronnie April.
Aura Safari & Jimi Tenor team up for cosmic LP ‘Sensory Blending’
In an impressive collaborative effort, rising Italian collective Aura Safari and legendary Finnish musician Jimi Tenor have teamed up on a brilliant new cosmic jazz-funk album on the Hell Yeah label, titled Sensory Blending.
Bristol’s Jazz Defenders release superb third album ‘Memory In Motion’
Bristol-based quintet The Jazz Defenders returns following 2022’s acclaimed LP King Phoenix and a number of notable 7inch singles with a superb new full-length on Haggis Records, titled Memory In Motion.
Brazil’s Lucas Arruda releases brilliant new cosmic jazz album ‘Ominira’ on Favorite Recordings
Multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Lucas Arruda, who’s from the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo (near Rio de Janeiro), has returned with his fourth and arguably best album to date for the superb French label Favorite Recordings, titled Ominira.
Ten Lovers Music celebrates 45 releases with the latest in their superb ‘Best Of Various EP’ series
In celebration of their 45th release since 1996 and 25th since reforming the label in 2019, Ten Lovers Music has put out their latest record in their superb Best Of Various EP compilation series featuring a mixture of both rising new musicians and established artists that the label have worked with previously.
NY’s Frederiksberg Records reissues rare album by South African fusion group Spirits Rejoice
New York’s superb Frederiksberg Records has recently reissued the highly obscure 1978 self-titled album from the pioneering South African-based jazz-fusion group, Spirits Rejoice.
BeatCaffeine’s Record Store Day 2024 Recommendations
This Saturday, April 20th is Record Store Day 2024. I believe this international record store celebratory day has reverted back to just one day annually, which to me makes the most sense. Over the last several years, this has become the prime day in which many labels release limited-edition or never-before-released vinyl albums, singles, compilations and reissues. Sometimes it feels more like “record label day” or “new vinyl collectables day”, given how it’s evolved. While the day usually attracts many hardcore collectors, shops also often see a large influx of casual music fans and even a few that might be buying their first record. Regardless, these are all great things.
Portugal’s Mad About Records reissues obscure 1981 jazz-funk album by Quintessence
Mad About Records is back at it, in what has already been a very active year for the Portugal-based label, with a welcomed official reissue release of the extremely obscure 1981 jazz-funk album from a Connecticut-based quintet called Quintessence.
Analog Africa releases a compilation unearthing funky gems from two major cities along the Congo River
The incredible German-based label Analog Africa, who has arguably been the leader when it comes to releasing rare music rooted from major regions in Africa and parts of Central and South America, have recently issued another brilliant compilation, titled Congo Funk!, which unearths a number of funky selections from two influential capital cities along the Congo River.
Jazz Room Records Reissues 1980 dancefloor fusion LP from Danish group Ariel
For the latest release on Paul Murphy’s Jazz Room Records, he revisits the obscure self-titled full-length debut from Danish jazz fusion group Ariel, which includes the massive jazz dance gem, “The Girl With Three Faces”.
