Dark Entries Editions announce the next reissue in their series of hard to find Italo Disco club hits. Blue Russell was the husband/wife duo of Manlio Cangelli and Lorella Ghilardi from Milan. Cangelli was a session musician and composer for many Italian singers, making music for commercial TV and working long days in the studio. He had a strong passion for the analog synthesizers of the time and discovered the latest drum machines.
Andre-Marie Tala is one of the father figures of African music. Born in the western Provence of Bandjoun, Cameroon, his early years were plagued with tragedy. He lost his mother at 4, his father at 12 and then when on to lose his sight 15. Thankfully, the love of music stayed with him throughout his career and with the help of Manu Dibango he made his first recordings in 1972 and had two hits in Cameroon with Sikati and Potaksima. He created a group, the Rock Boys, later the Black Tigers, with Sam Fan Thomas as guitarist. At this time, Africa was immersed in music from overseas and many American acts toured all over Africa. Whilst touring Cameroon, Tala handed James Brown a demo of his song ”Hot Koki”. Seemingly, the Godfather liked it a lot, he actually re-recorded it and released it as his own song, entitled ‘Hustle’. In doing so, he took all credit for composing, which meant Tala had to sue Brown and luckily he won the case! We had so many great LP’s to choose from Tala but we decided to start with ‘Arabica’ where we find Tala in experimental mode. We hit the ground running with the lead track ‘Arabica’, disco drums, phased guitar licks and sweet soulful backing vocals, what’s not to like? ‘Black Gold’ takes the same path as laid out on ‘Arabica’ but we see the introduction of the Moog Synthesizer and the funky Rhodes Piano. ‘Sugar Lump’ is once again up-tempo and has bassline to get your body moving in the right direction. ‘I know what you want’ has a more traditional song approach Tala simply asks his love interest ‘not to let him down’. ‘Soweto’ is a Balearic DJ classic! Beautiful layers of guitar and flute ease you through this one. Soweto was a troubled place and high on the thoughts on African people around this time, this song reflects that. We end with ’20 ans’ a more tradition song with some Hammond organ and super sweet guitar playing from Tala once again. This record demands a high fee for obvious reasons so don’t miss your chance to own this official reissue which has been made with love.
Official remastered reissue of the original 1985 recording from the Sensitive fame (Gigi Vavassori, Salvatore Pileggi, Sergio Bonzanni).
No More are a band from Kiel, Germany, founded in the summer of 1979. Their music is rooted in early Post Punk / No Wave. No More began as a quartet with Andy A. Schwarz (vocals, guitar, bass), Tina Sanudakura (synthesizers), Christian Darc (drums, vocals) and Thomas Welz (bass, vocals). In 1982 No More released the mini-album “A Rose Is A Rose’ on 10′. Songs on this mini-LP convey the desolate and bleak attitude of German youth in the early 1980s. This reissue compiles all 8 tracks from the mini-LP, both tracks from the Suicide Commando’ 7′ plus 3 demos from 1982.
Delsin is focussing on a re-issue project, the return to the spotlight is My Home is Sonic, a standout techno, dub and minimal album by Exos originally released in 2001 by Icelandic producer Arnvidur Snorrason aka Exos. Few have done minimal dub techno better before or since this masterpiece album, so it’s right that 2015 sees it revisited by fans old and new alike.
The re-release of the first ever recordings by Belgian minimal synth masters Twilight Ritual. Released in 1982 in a tiny cassette edition this album has not been heard by many people. ”The Ritual” includes some of their best work, from mysterious dark synthpopsongs like ”Elegy” to club music and the epic 14-minute track ”Up To Now”.
Thomas Leer is an innovative electronic musician who was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland. In 1978, Thomas released his first single, “Private Plane”/“International”, on his own Oblique Records. Both songs were recorded in his small Finsbury Park flat over three days, using a TEAC A3440 4-track recorder and an ALICE mixing board. The only effects used were a Watkins Copicat tape echo unit, Electo Harmonix DrQ filter, an old Roland drum machine, and a Stylophone. So as to not wake his sleeping girlfriend, Leer’s vocals were nearly whispered, which lends them a textural, psychedelic quality. NME named “Private Plane” Single of the Week, and the hand-stamped first edition of 650 promptly sold out. For this expanded reissue, we’ve added 2 bonus tracks. “Kings of Sham”, from the 1981 Cherry Red Records sampler “Business As Usual”, is perfect motorik trance, echoing Conny Plank’s 1970′s productions. “Saving Grace” is the extended instrumental version of Leer’s second single “All About You” from 1982, a slow-burning cosmic work-out chock-full of anthemic synth riffs.
Originally released on 1991, MBG is one of the most talented italian deep-house producers from late 80’s/ early 90’s. This Ep is one of his best releases, showing his warm and deep house style, still very hot. Official reissue licensed from MBG International through Groovin Recordings.
Super hot reissue of the original Portuguese Boom Records release of the Sarr Bands sought after 1979 Double Action LP. The title track, a heavy chugging Cosmic gem, is a bit of a holy grail among disco aficionados, but the rest of the LP is equally as good. Other standouts include dark slo-mo instrumental Soul Machine, a wonderful cover of Vince Montanas classic Nice & Nasty, the dirty drugged up disco groove of Mefisto Boogie and not forgetting the highly in-demand Magic Mandrake, a great slice of off-the-wall dancefloor madness with pumping bass, searing horns and sleazy vocals.
Reissue of Elias Rahbani & His Orchestras super rare Arabic Disco holy grail Liza Liza on the original Lebanese Voix De L’Orient label back in 1978. Recorded pre-Civil War at a time when Beirut was known as the Paris of the Middle East, a luxurious holiday destination and flourishing trade centre. The title track is totally out of this world, perfectly blending Eastern & Western vocals, instruments and musical influences with a driving disco bassline to create an irresistible floor filling cosmic odyssey. The flipside features the even more out-there From The Moon a fantastic tripped out psychedelic disco funk monster, followed by the dreamy accordion-led Summer Love. Also boasting one of the sexiest covers in disco history further illustrating the liberal thinking and western influence in Lebanon at the time.
Two supreme Chicago heavyweights go head to head across 2 slabs of wax… step up Boo Williams & Glen Underground. This double-pack is pure fire & was originally released in 1995 on miniscule Trax offshoot MAAD, fans of that bouncing, stripped back, funked out House music look no further, it’s all right here. This is the first time this record has ever been re-pressed since it’s original release surprisingly with prices on-line often being at the higher end of the scale for used copies.
Moral was the trio of Marco Andreis (Guitars, Bass), Hanne Winterberg (Vocals) and Ingolf Brown (Synthesizers, Rhythm Box, Sequencer) from Aarhus, Denmark formed in 1981. They released their debut mini-album ”Dance of the Dolls” on cassette in 1981 and the album ”Whispering Sons” on cassette in 1982. During the summer of 1983, Moral recorded and produced their debut LP, ‘And Life Is’ at Ingolf Browns home studio. It was the first release on Ingolfs label ARP Gramophone in August 1984. Influenced by early 4AD Records, Joy Division, Brian Eno and Wire, the band crafted their own brand of Nordic melancholic Post Punk. The album develops the bands signature sound of airy, glacial synthesizers with crepuscular guitar and serpentine melodies. The main synthesizers used are the primitive Roland TR-606 Drumatix, the percussion side-kick to the TB-303, plus the BOSS DR-55 Dr. Rhythm drum machine. Hannes hauntingly beautiful vocals walk the line between germanic chill of Nico and Alison Statton of Young Marble Giants. Lyrical themes of cold nights and blossoming relationships paint a detailed picture of youthful life in Scandinavia. This deluxe edition contains three bonus tracks that originally appeared on the ‘Somewhere Outside’ compilation.
Mannequin Records present the 12” reissue of No More – Suicide Commando, one of the most influential singles that ever reach the underground surface in the past 35 years. Originally released in 1981 as a 7” single, and subsequently reprinted in 1984 as a 12” Single with a different tracklist on the B-Side, the single was in the following years spreading internationally regardless of genres and scenes.
An impressive, ahead of the game pre-acid house anthem from 1983. Still relevant almost 30 years later.
One of the most in-demand Italo titles of all time: an elusive Rago & Farina penned disco odyssey from ’82. This is strictly limited and will not hang around for long.
Top quality remastered reissue of one of the holy grails of the Jazz Funk scene, the incredible Gears LP by organ player Johnny Hammond. Originally released in 1975, this masterpiece is considered to be possibly the finest moment from legendary production and arrangement team the Mizell Brothers and its easy to see why as this wonderful LP just oozes timeless perfection with every track. Boundary breakers at the time, they all manage to still sound as fresh as ever. Standouts include the awesome Loft classic Los Conquistadores Chocolates, a psychedelic sweaty floor-filling dancer which hit big at Ron Hardys Chicago Music Box as well as in NYC; Shifting Gears a seriously funky breaks and block party anthem with all the right ingredients which was heavily sampled in hip hop during the 80s and 90s; plus Fantasy a big DJ Rahaan favourite and the sublime jazz funk groove of Tell Me What To Do.
Limited reissue of an amazing old school early 80s hip-hop 12” from the prolific Peter Brown stable. On this super-rare Golden Flamingo 12”, Little Starsky delivers a great jump-up party classic with heavy bumping bass and superb old-school rapping bringing the good-time party vibe every time. On side B, you get the instrumental version from Browns in-house Land Of Hits Orchestra which provided the backing for many of his releases
Van Kaye + Ignit is the Dutch duo of Ed Van Kasteren (Van Kaye) and Ignatine Bekken (Ignit), who joined forces in the city of Arnhem during early 1980. Self-released in 1981, the album pairs conceptual sophistication with disarming naïveté in a way that has been difficult to replicate since the formative years of ‘bedroom’ electronic music. Both members handle vocals (or non-vocals), and songs feature everything from new wave riffs to slowly shifting oscillator buzzes and eerie electronics over mechanical rhythms. This reissue includes the entire 11-track original c-60 cassette A Slight Delay, as well as all 4 tracks from the “Picassos on the Wall 7” spread across two vinyl discs.
Medical Records in collaboration with Crispy Nuggets is proud to present a collection of tracks by Post Industrial Noise. PIN was an “audio artsemble” conceived in 1982 in Columbus, Ohio by the trio Robert Crise Jr, Gerald F. Nelson, and Dana Riashi Ritchey. The output of PIN could be described a more experimental/minimalist offshoot of new wave with pleasant synth sequences blanketed in rich synth tones. The opening track “Sketch” has a definite cold wave vibe with slightly echoed vocals over a subtle drum machine beat and monotonous synth lines. “Prelude” is a deep instrumental cut with synth and sample interplay resulting in a hypnotic slab of brilliance. The tracks on this collection have been restored from the original analog tape reel for this reissue.
The Hipodrome Of Music 