Moar
Afro Disco

Favorite Recordings presents this new official album reissue of Sunshine by Junior Byron: A real Modern-Soul/Disco masterpiece, originally released in 1981 by Canadian label Formula Records, and very hard to find today.Based in Canada, Junior Byron had quite a short career as a singer and recorded only a few singles and this stunning album between 1981 and 1985. Produced by André Perry and Joe La Greca, two famous names in the Canadian music scene, Sunshine is not just a one track album, but a complete whole piece of music, including some brilliants highlights such as “Inch by Inch”, “Galaxy” or “Sunshine”, which are today must-haves in many DJ’s lists.As another longtime favorite collectable piece for Charles Maurice, it’s a real honor and proud for Favorite Recordings, to finally officially reissue it for the first time on vinyl. In order to insure the best sound quality, the original tracklist has been dispatched on a double vinyl version, which should please all DJs and music collectors.

We are very proud to presents this official and first ever reissue of The First Coming, by Twylyte ’81, an extremely rare and underrated Soul-Jazz album produced and released in 1981.Twylyte ’81 was a 3 pieces band composed of Frank Jones Jr., Alfred Brown Jr. and John Belzaguy, who, except for John, have never recorded anything else than this incredible album. The First Coming is primarily standing out by a superb composition, mixing touch of Soul, Jazz, and Disco together. It secondly shines thanks to the amazing deep and spiritual voice of the band leader, Frank Jones Jr., whose vocals style can sometime remind of John Lucien. Even more impressive is the fact that these 3 fellas were all less or close to 18 years old when composing and recording this beauty. As did others brilliant hidden projects such as Ted Coleman Band, or Minority Band, it was also useful for Twylyte ’81 to receive the support of JSR Records, a kind of non-profit label dedicated to help young bands and artists in recording and producing their own records.Here are a few words from Al Brown Jr. about this release: “After 38 years, I still have the euphoric feeling while listening to this album. I would say that this was one of my greatest achievements. I want to say "Thank you" Pascal Rioux and associates for sharing the group's vision with the rest of the world. I pray the listeners will feel a portion of what we tried to convey through these songs. When I first began this project, I thought it was just killing time. Being 17 years old at the time, I didn't see the music we worked on being recorded. We (Frank and I) were in a basement practicing each song. Who knew that this music would be recorded let alone picked up 38 years later? I still remember every beat, drum roll, every stop/start; everything. Wow, the nostalgia of it all. I wish this album much successful and I hope in the future I can perform this album live.”

Reissue of an ultra-rare Afro-Funk album by KENI OKULOLO. First and rare album from the famous bass player and band leader of MONOMONO Nigerian band. 3 amazing tracks recorded in 1974 at EMI studio, taken from his ultra-rare and so hard to find Talkin' bass experience masterpiece album plus an extra track that we decided with the artist to include here. His funky gem “Funky People” was produced during the famous “Mixed Grill” sessions in Lagos.Fully Licenced with one of a few living Nigerian musicians with roots in both traditional village music and funky West-African popular genres, five times voted Nigeria's best bassist by the Nigerian Association of Music journalists. The original album is so hard to find and cost more than thousand euros, so don’t hesitate to listen to this remastered Afro-Soul gem.

It’s now pretty obvious that Disco influence has not only been powerful in western clubs. It has also influenced musicians all around the world, from France to Brasil, as Favorite Recordings proved it with the previous volumes of the "Disco Boogie Sounds" compilations. West-Indies islands are no exception to the rule. Indeed, at that time in the Caribbean territories, local musicians and producers seized the sound of their US counterparts, and make it their own, melting-up disco, funk, and boogie (even early rap) elements with some more traditional or local styles. Besides, the important size of the Caribbean diaspora in the US, Canada, or in the UK, has certainly played a huge role in making those two musical worlds meet. At the end, West-Indies Islands have not only tried to reproduce US dance hits locally, they also bred their own version of Disco. Apart from some obvious titles which made it to the charts ("Trinidad" by John Gibbs to name one), very few was known on these productions until recently. Most of it has remained obscure, being only played by a handful of record collectors & DJs. Having grown up for most of my childhood and teenager years in a small island from the Indian Ocean, I was immersed in the “sun & sand” vibes at an early age, which helped molding my musical tastes. If the sound of the Caribbean Islands is very different from the Indian Ocean's one, it’s anyway no surprise that I have been attracted quickly by the West-Indies’ 70s music productions, as a DJ and record collector. From an initial pre-selection of 40 tracks, Favorite Recordings and I teamed up to narrow down the actual tracklist. With no pretention to be exhaustive, this selection represents a tiny sample of a broader ocean of quality Caribbean Disco/Boogie tunes. It will take you to various places like Virgin Islands, Jamaica, or Trinidad, as well as a couple of Western major cities, where West-Indies diaspora is strong (New York, London). The soundtrack of this journey goes from Disco/Rap sounds, with the obscure "Macho Man" by Eddie & The Movement, to weird Afro-Disco/Funk influenced songs, such as “My African Religion” by Jamaican singer Paul Hurlock. Also featured here are a couple of personal secret weapons such as instrumental "Bermuda Triangle" by Musicism, or "Going to the Party" by Barry Bryson.Favorite Recordings & Waxist are very happy and proud to bring back lights on some of these rare tunes.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents Voiciii, the 3rd and new album by Voilaaa, an immersive dip into its Afro-Disco universe spread across 14 tracks. Needless to say you’ll find in this new LP all the ingredients that made him famous: strong dancefloor-friendly festive bangers, irresistible funky arrangements and an undeniable sense of humor and irony. Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart, behind Voilaaa, is as often surrounded by amazing vocal featurings from previous LP’s regulars (Pat Kalla, Lass) but also new voices you may already have heard on its recent EPs (David Walters, Rama Traore, Ayuune Suule), as well as the saxophonist Boris Pokora. The LP is also an occasion to pay tributes to major artists of the African sound, such as Fela Kuti (on “Water No Get Enemy”), or Manu Dibango (“Manu Écoute Ça” and “Tenor Jam For Manu”). Since the release of Voilaaa’s previous LP’s Des Promesses and On Te L’Avait Dit and their massive international support, the Voilaaa Soundsystem did travel through the world to deliver its message of infectious joy and groove, from Equator to Thailand, from Kazakhstan to the infamous French “Fête de l’Huma”. Now you know: Voilaaa is everywhere and Voiciii (“here it is”) their new album.

For its second release, Providenciales Records was able to unearth a previously unreleased album from the Buster Brown Band, featuring Kelly McNulty (from the Tagg/McNulty Band), Roger Burton (from the Bee's Knees), Jim Casey, Gregg Bissonnette (Ringo Starr's drummer), among others ... Inspired by some of the best Soul, AOR and Funk artists, the band recorded these demos in studio in 1982 thanks to their local success in Dallas, TX, at the popular Popsicle Toes venue (the album title).“Baby Don’t Lie” starts the album with a beautiful and mellow Soul / AOR introduction, while the following tracks, “Day Or Night”, “Endless Possibilities”, “Shock Proof” and “Say It” complete the LP with their Soul / Funk touch. There is even the first version of "Baby Don't Lie" as closing track, which was recorded 5 years before, in 1977.Band members have collaborated with artists such as Lee Ritenour, Ringo Starr, Harvey Mason, The Isley Brothers, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Pore, Eric Tagg, and much more…Liner notes (including exclusive pictures) and full story of the band by the one and only Grammy awarded David Ritz (co-author of "Sexual Healing" with Marvin Gaye)!Limited edition of 500 copies, fully remastered!