Janko Nilovic
Soul Impressions

French avantgarde Jazz-Funk pioneers Cortex released three milestone albums during the seventies including the iconic Troupeau Bleu. Their music has been sampled by Hip Hop artists such as MF Doom, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross and as a consequence is still very much alive today. Trad Vibe Records proudly presents a first time re-issue of their double sider 7inch single from 1976 Les Oiseaux Morts / Back To Life. We are sure that you will enjoy the melancholic beauty of “Les Oiseaux Morts” and the harmonica driven disco funk of “Back To Life”.

As Halloween hits, so does French producer Walter Mecca on Favorite Recordings, with his new 7 inch boogie anthem. "Gaab Squad" is a tribute to early-80s boogie, plugging vintage synths, slick West Coast vocoder and drum machines... the result is heavy! "Disco Rouge" is a spatial Disco track in the pure French disco tradition of the likes of Jean-Pierre Massiéra, Disco & Co…

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.

Following the recent release of their 2nd longplayer, "180.000 Miles & Counting", The Dynamics are back in 2012 with a dope remixes package of their new single "For the Love of Money".We couldn't resist to ask the mysterious bootleg Kings 7 Samurai (GAMM) to do a remix, and he turned the track in a massive Reggae-Disco version.There are lots of Steel Funk recordings by huge orchestras from Trinidad and other Caribbean islands. We were wondering what would become "For The Love of Money" in their hands, the answer is given by the master of Deep Funk, The Mighty Mocambos, with the participation of the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band .

After Sweet Sweet Dreams album, Jamwax is very proud to finally release D'Hardest on its original maxi 12'' format.“D'Hardest” was recorded at K.H. studios in Trinidad in 1980 and another version/mix was released on the Wake Up album. This song is everything, thanks to Winston Bailey aka Shadow and all his team.

Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present the 5th edition of the AOR Global Sounds compilations series: 8 rare and hidden tracks, produced between 1977 and 1984 in various parts of the world. Started in 2015, the AOR Global Sounds series was born from the will of Charles Maurice (aka Pascal Rioux) to share his longtime love for the AOR and WestCoast movement and highlight its influence for many artists in the late 70s and early 80s. In this 5th volume, he selected again highly forgotten productions, deeply infused with Disco and Soul flavors. Half of the compilation’s tracklist is naturally coming from the US, homeland of this music style, while the other half is made of productions from all over the globe, from France or United Kingdom to Venezuela. And for most of these beautiful songs, it came from artists and bands rather unknown and often released as private press. Often, these records will have a special story, sometimes they’re just part of the universal quest of finding true love. Nonetheless, they all carry a wide range of emotions magnified by the music. For example, “Don’t Take It Away” by Westside is as a love song about a new relationship, recorded in Minnesota and mastered on Sunset Bld. (Hollywood) by Bernie Grundman, who worked on Thriller – funny thing, the original LP is a picture-disc, which was still quite rare back in the days because the singer saw one from Mickael Jackson when visiting the studio. “Til’ Mornin’ Comes”, the only release by The Ferry Brothers, is also a love song, recorded in NYC with notably Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry & Patti Austin singing as backup vocalists. On “What Its Meant To Me”, Jonathon Hansen remembers with emotion the good times spent with the members of his band including the vocalist he was in love with. On “J’Irai Squatter Ton Cœur”, Didier Makaga better-known as a French Boogie & Pop singer, arranger & composer, sings a charming declaration of love on a heavy and groovy eighties production. “You Never Know” by Rhapsody, recorded in Connecticut, sounds more like an East coast fusion of Soul and Jazz-Funk à la James Mason. “What You Do To Me” by Sugar Cane was highlighted on a Pittsburgh Rock Radio compilation: listening to this smooth ballad with its amazing Moog synth break will lift your soul. “Kailua” by Venezuelan Jazz-Funk band Esperanto, is a song about Hawaii which evocates bucolic dreamy nights facing the ocean, a typical AOR vibe. Finally, “I Need You” from Mark Williamson is a blue-eyed soul UK groover ending on a four-on-the-floor climax!And we could detail stories but our guessing is the best way to learn more about all these gems is to listen to the compilation, fully remastered from originals, and whether your preference is for vinyl or CD formats.