Da Break
Let It Shine

Word of advice to funk lovers; there is not a minute to lose. Get on board of the Big Hustle’s spaceship. Before we take off, let's do a little history. The band was founded in 2014 by bass player and composer Sébastien Levanneur and its aim is to bring together 70's old school funk with the hippest actual sound laced with influences spanning from Steely Dan and Headhunters, to Snarky Puppy and Soulive. With mighty horn players, a rock and funky rhythm section, the Big Hustle's music has a very large variety of soundscapes.The first destination takes us to the Washington, D.C. area with “Turn Up”. The groove is clearly go-go music flavored with the trademark sound of cowbells and of course it reminds us of Zapp by the use of the talk box on lead vocals, performed here by Saad El Garrab. And don't miss out Shaun Martin (Snarky Puppy, Erykah Badu, Kirk Franklin amongst others) as a very special guest performing the talk box solo! Second stop is “A Curse, A Blessing”. It’s an instrumental very much in the Freddie Hubbard vein during his CTI years. The last leg of the A side ends with an instrumental interlude titled “Flying Donut”. Double tribute to Jay Dee and Flying Lotus, the music is a simple hip hop loop based on samples. The B side takes us back into the past with two brilliant covers, involving Rod Temperton the late great British songwriter who scored some of Michael Jackson's biggest hits. Now the idea for this B side is to do the opposite approach from the A side. Taking 70's and 80's original music and make them travel into time to 2018. We first land with a Heatwave song named “The Star Of A Story” from their 1976 Central Heating album. Track 2 is a Herbie Hancock song named “Gettin' To The Good Part” from his 1982 Lite Me Up LP. This Time Traveler EP journey ends with an interlude. Called “Gimme Dat”, the song deals with the need of new music, new sound.Again, this blend of deep rooted funk laced with a contemporary edge is to be consumed without moderation. And do not forget that E.P. also stands for extended pleasure.

Few years before the international hit “Uptown Top Ranking”, made with his friend Donna, Althea Forrest recorded “Hey Mister” for famous producer (and singer) Derrick Harriott.Mid 1970's, Derrick Harriott is the best reggae-soul producer in Jamaica. He's made tons of US soul cover with Jamaican artists. “Hey Mister” was recorded at Federal studios (Tuff Gong nowadays) and didn't get an international audience, not even in Jamaica, probably because it was not a cover!For the first time since 1976, “Hey Mister” is now available on a Maxi vinyl 12'' to offer the best sound quality. Thanks to Derrick Harriott's master tapes and to the original artwork, now you can play this tune in the perfect condition.

No one had been through those doors in years. Unchanged, seemingly untouched, just a Guard watching over it, one wondered whether the place would ever see the light of day again. Built in the 70s by Scotch, there were only twenty such places in the entire world. Twenty studios, all identical. Most had undergone a digital makeover in the 80s, but not this one; situated in Lomé, this studio had stayed true to its original form. Silent and uninhabited but waiting for one thing, and one thing only: for the sacred fire to be lit once again. That of the Togolese Recording Office, is studio OTODI for those in the know. Through thick layers of dust, the console was vibrating still, impatient to be turned on and spurt out the sound so unique to analog. That sound is what Peter Solo and his band Vaudou Game came to seek out. The original vibrations of Lomé’s sound, resonating within the studio space, an undercurrent pulsing within the walls, the floor, and the entire atmosphere. A presence at once electrical and mystical sourced through the amps that had never really gone cold, despite the deep sleep that they had been forced into. In taking over the studio’s 3000 square feet, enough to house a full orchestra, Vaudou Game had the space necessary to conjure the spirits of voodoo, those very spirits who watch over men and nature, and with whom Peter converses every day. For the most authentic of frequencies to fully imbibe this third album, Peter Solo entrusted the rhythmic section to a Togolese bass and drum duo, putting the groove in the expert hands of those versed in feeling and a type of musicianship that you can’t learn in any school. This was also a way to put OTODI on the path of a more heavily hued funk sound, the backbone of which maintains flexibility and agility when moving over to highlife, straightens out when enhanced with frequent guest Roger Damawuzan’s James Brown type screams, and softens when making the way for strings. Snaking and undulating when a chorus of Togolese women takes over, guiding it towards a slow, hypnotic trance. Up until now, Vaudou Game had maintained their connection to Togo from their base in France. This time, recording the entire album in Lomé at OTODI with local musicians, Peter Solo drew the voodoo fluid directly from the source, once again using only Togolese scales to make his guitar sing, his strings acting as channels between listeners and deities…

After a first year of activity with 3 beautiful single reissues, SOL DISCOS presents its first album, with the compilation Message In Our Music, selected by WAXIST. Focusing on Modern-Soul genre, the selection ranges from 1977 to 1983 and gathers a nice selection of independent and private press records, all officially licensed.From the David Nathan's downtempo previously unreleased version of "Ain't Nothing Like The Love", to the beautiful Glen Missick's gospel dancer "Message In Our Music", the album aims at providing to the listener a glimpse of the wide spectrum of productions that exist in this musical genre.Some of these beauties are officially reissued on vinyl for the very first time, including some highly sought after records such as "Deep Inside Of You" by Harden Brothers, "My Dream" by Harvell Guiton, or "Love With Me" by Don Scott.The album has been fully remastered by The Carvery in the UK, and features liner notes for each of the songs, plus exclusive pictures provided by the involved artists & producers.

New 7inch from Beatsqueeze from Kool Keith.

Driven by a vicious and visceral soul, The Buttshakers are known for their fierce and fiery music.Yet after nearly a decade of touring and recording, it was with a different musical vision that they approached Sweet Rewards, their first collaboration with Underdog Records. Accustomed to the raw, primitive sounds of 60s garage rock and the crude sexuality of pre-Motown soul music, A sound they could have continued to dig into again and again. Instead, they decided to take another route: a creative shift, a return to a style of soul music that no longer has to rely on pure energy alone. Exceeding the limitations imposed by their tight yet powerful six person lineup, they opened up this studio session to fully accommodate their ideas and concretize their musical ambitions: a larger horn section creates a richer, scintillating sonority; a touch of slide-guitar opens their creative universe to the open spaces of the far West; the organ vacillates between psychedelic drapery and heartfelt gospel tones; all of this supported by the wicked groove of a percussionist driving the beat on. Their sultry and soulful frontwoman, Ciara Thompson, is here for the first time supported by backing vocalist. An occasion for her to indulge in a few call and- response chorales, a reverence to a gospel background instilled in her from her native St Louis (Missouri), a still vibrant heritage from the city that cradled jazz, blues, country and folk music. Ideal for a sound that never lets down yet remains intuitive to the gradual rise of emotion each song demands. With each new listening, Sweet Rewards reveals something new to the listener: another dimension, a hidden layer.