Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
Gondwana Records Celebrates 10 Years with New Spiritual Jazz Series
To help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Manchester-based Gondwana Records, the label is putting out a collection of limited-edition spiritual jazz releases.
Desert Island Selects: TJ Oliver-Gorton
Let’s play the hypothetical game. You are trapped on a deserted island. You have all the essentials to live (food, water, shelter, etc) and a record player (essential in my mind). In this, admittedly ridiculous scenario, you can only bring with you five records. What would they be?
Tropical Balearic Grooves From Australia
Quite possibly one of the best records of the summer comes from “down under,” as innovative Australian producer and deejay known as Sampology (aka Sam Poggioli) has just released a great new EP titled Mt Glorious.
Five Aretha Franklin Records You Need In Your Life
This week (morning of August 16, 2018) we sadly lost one of the greatest vocalists and inspirational figures of our time in Aretha Franklin. The artist who has rightfully been declared the “Queen of Soul” sold over 75 million records, won 18 GRAMMYs, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1987, became the first women to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Makaya McCraven – Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape)
Jazz is not dead, not even close. Not only is it thriving at this moment, the sound is evolving and speaking to a whole new generation of listeners. The evidence couldn’t be more clearer than on Makaya McCraven’s new recording Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape), which brings together two of the most vibrant scenes in jazz today, Chicago and London.
Bargain Bins #01
Are you collecting records on a budget? Is the wallet a little thin this month? Do you still have the itch to do some digging? BeatCaffeine is starting a series called Bargain Bins. This new reoccurring series will highlight three great records on a bi-monthly basis that can often be found for five dollars or less.
BeatCaffeine’s Top Tracks of 2018 (so far)
Eight months into 2018 and this is shaping up to be a very good year for new music. Over the past few months, there has been a number of incredible jazz releases by Kamasi Washington, Sons of Kemet, Kamaal Williams, Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Emma-Jean Thackray, Tenderlonious, Makaya McCraven, and others
Mr. Bongo releases limited edition Cymande 45rpms
The UK based label Mr. Bongo has just released two well-crafted limited edition seven-inch releases by Cymande, featuring four of the legendary British funk bands most notable songs.
BeatCaffeine’s 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs
At times written off by the genre’s purists that the 1970s were a less than remarkable time for jazz, the decade was actually an era of major exploration for many jazz musicians, incorporating elements of funk, soul, rock, and early electronic sounds into their own recordings. This expansion of musical influences and an adaptation of more electric instrumentation helped lead to what some consider as a golden time for what has been coined “jazz-funk.”
Manuel Göttsching’s electronic masterpiece ‘E2-E4’ that changed everything
Declared by Pitchfork as “the most compelling argument that techno came from Germany,” and ranked the fourth best album of the eighties by FACT, Manuel Göttsching’s 1984 E2-E4 is considered by many to be one of the greatest electronic recordings of our time.
Gambler’s Life: Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith And Mizell Brothers’ Often Overlooked Recording
Before Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith and the legendary producer tag-team of Larry & Fonce Mizell recorded the 1974 jazz-funk masterpiece Gears, the two parties first came together one year earlier to record the often overlooked album Gambler’s Life.
Gil Scott-Heron “Rhythms of Revolution” Mix
by TJ Gorton
The iconic songwriter, composer, poet, and activist Gil Scott-Heron was one of the most influential artists of the last century. With the help of multi-instrumentalist and long time music counterpart Brian Jackson, Gil Scott was able to create a unique and revolutionary sound that fused jazz, funk, and soulful grooves with politically driven poetry and vocals that helped produce timeless classics like “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” “Home is Where The Hatred Is,” “The Bottle,” and “Johannesburg.”
From Here to Eternity, Giorgio Moroder’s 1977 Italo Disco Classic
Starting in the mid-1970s, disco flooded nightclubs in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. From its soul and Motown roots, disco expanded dance music with complex arrangements and productions: Percussion, strings, horns, and keyboards were often played by a large team of musicians under the direction of a producer.
