Yan Tregger Parisian Soul
Unreleased Tracks

All Nations Records new instalment in 2021 is all about a sweet stepper riddim involving three new artists on the label. First comes the magnificent voice of Amelia Harmony from UK delivering a message of hope when all lessons get learned, followed by a dangerous dub version. Next is legendary underground Rastafari singer Ramon Judah, hailing Jah to come and deliver us from trials and tribulations. Last but not the least is female artist Jah 93 from Japan who reinterpreted the riddim with a mellow but strong line of melodica. The maxi 12” is wrapped up wisely by a straight version of the riddim built, arranged, mixed and mastered by Simon Nyabinghi.

After Janko Nilovic and Harlem Pop Trotters, Underdog Records has now reissued Martial Solal - Locomotion in a colored vinyl edition. This grooviest French jazz-funk and avant-garde album features Henri Texier and Bernard Lubat, and was originally released in 1974 on the PSI label. A masterpiece!

African, funky, sarcastic, bewitching, green, ecstatic: these words collide to describe Vaudou Game and all of them are true.Noussin is the fourth album of the french Afro Funk band. Forced into lockdown, like much of the planet, Peter Solo and his Vaudou Game had no choice but to retreat into the studio. A reunion to once again invoke the spiritual forces of the Voodoo Deities. A reunion that was Initially imagined for an EP…yet these spiritual forces behind that imagination yearned for something more, and as we all know, these forces are impossible to push away once they have decided to stay. Under the strain enforced by the current socioeconomic climate, as much as by the environmental peril that faces us all today - they diverted the course of the groove towards daring new vibrations. Without extinguishing or diminishing its highly communicative power, they released Vaudou Game from its origins of pure Afro-Funk to gradually engage into compositions which crystallized themselves into tones resembling more rock than funk. On this fourth album, with an entirely revisited line-up, Peter Solo separates for the first time in his career from his brassy guard, leaving saxophone, trumpet and trombone outside to invite an arsenal of keyboards to define, with him, this new voodoo sound. A sound, as usual, built on vintage and precise analogical material - grime even on the white side of the tape, a blunt instrument used to blanket anything that strived to shine too much in the mix.Graced with tapered guitars stringing out rhythmic bumps or withdrawing a few beats to indulge in infectious solos, this album is boisterously alive with vintage 70's Funk, infused with a few digressions into other ethers of the funk timeline, nicking different sounds and frequencies to render the black and white keys of an inspired keyboard to reach new euphoric levels of melodic acidity. Tearing off the enigmatic mask to reveal his true face: on a few titles, Peter Solo ventures outside of his sacred voodoo range to reconnect with his London years, these titles feature small nods to the time he spent in “The Smoke” where the incantations of British music culture were written within him.Noussin which means “Stay strong” in Mina, a dialect spoken in the south-west of Togo. Noussin, a message of hope as much as a call to come together to weather the turmoil and to come out better on the other side. Don’t let them grind you down…Noussin!

A spectacular Hi-Life album with funky digital touches from the great Ghanaian producer Frimpong Manso.Recorded in 1987 at Ghana Films Studio in Accra, the album Boafo Ne Nyame, that we can translate as “Helper is god”, is led by the great and sweet voice of K. Adusei.Five long tracks filled with hypnotic hi-life grooves and many funk inflections that go way beyond lots of standard riffing of modern Afro Funk. The track “Asem De Ye So” (There's problem on us) is a dancefloor friendly song, already known from connoisseurs and maybe a future anthem when the clubs will reopen!Manso Frimpong was born Feb 21st at Nkawkaw and sadly died Nov 23rd 2016 in Kumasi.Official licensed by his son Kwaku FrimpongRemastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery. Pressed on Replika format.

Hot Casa Records present Togo Soul 70 (Selected Rare Togolese Recordings from 1971 to 1981). A treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings mostly recorded in Lomé during the 70’s, a fusion of traditional voodoo chants, raw soul and Afro jazz. Finding these tracks and their rights holders hasn’t become any easier even after few trips all over this west African country bordered by Ghana, Benin & Burkina Faso.We, at Hot Casa Records, decided to select 13 tracks, a snapshot of some hundreds of rare and often forgotten tapes from the most prolific, professional and exciting phase of the country’s recording history, including international stars like Bella Bellow (who even performed to Maracana stadium in Brazil), or Roger Damawuzan, compared as the James Brown from Lomé, and forgotten tapes and brilliant songs in Mina, Kabyié and Fon languages. Many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation highlighting how diverse the music scene in Togo was at the time, even if the political context influenced their creation.A must have for all music lovers, also used as the soundtrack of the documentary Togo Soul 70, directed by Liz Gomis & DJ Julien Lebrun!