Golden Dalvanius 12"

Coming for RSD in June now...

"Dalvanius & The Fascinations – Voodoo Lady First up on the A side is Dalvanius & The Fascinations phenomenal track, Voodoo Lady. On first release this track started life as the B-side of the lead track “Checkmate on Love” but later moved to the A side with a slightly longer Disco Version at 5.55. This version is more recently starting to appear in collectors want lists and on auction sites around the world. The vibe is disco, the energy is high and the vocals are soaring from Dalvanius’s backing singers, The Fascinations. Try this one around midnight on any dancefloor. It’s a winner.

AA, Golden Harvest – I Need Your Love On the flip is Golden Harvest with their AOR-Disco anthem, I Need Your Love. Both Ali and Micky agreed that this was an easy inclusion in the series as it’s one of those tracks that once you hear it, you won’t get it out of your head. One of those tracks for premium dancefloor moments of joy and hands in the air excitement. This one started life on the independent NZ label Impact in 1977 and later in 1978 got the Warner Bros treatment for neighbouring Australia and was later to be included on their only album Golden Harvest – Golden Harvest. 

Record Store Day 2020 sees the inaugural release from RE:WARM Records 001. A label concentrating on unearthing and releasing music that curators, Ali Tillett & Micky Browne are passionate about and intend on reintroducing to a whole new generation of music lovers, DJs and collectors.

The guys have worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to put together a schedule of releases that would give a good cross section of their own personal collections and also some long out of print private pressings, rare 7”s and albums that have become more and more difficult to get hold of for collectors and music lovers alike.

All forthcoming music on RE:WARM Records has been officially licenced and released with the artist’s consent and comes lovingly repackaged with new artwork, photographs and information about the artists and the original release. Expect music from dancefloors around the world, from all eras in a Kaleidoscope of cultural fusion and genres.

Music to love and treasure, non disposable. Music you will return to again and again. Music that never loses its emotive power and retains its energy on every play. We hope you love what we have in store for you over the coming months and years."

Thee Sacred Souls - new video

Daptone's Gabe Roth aka Bosco Mann has kicked off a new sub label called Penrose Records, dropping a series of sweet soul singles, here's the video for one of them, spot the lowriders. The vinyl has been delayed but the digital is out now.

"It is our distinct pleasure to present Penrose, a new imprint poised to usher in a whole new era of soulful sounds. Founded by Daptone Records' own Bosco Mann after building a new recording studio in his hometown of Riverside, California,

Penrose will showcase the most exciting acts emerging on the blossoming SoCal souldies scene today. For its inaugural release, the label offers up five singles by five exciting new artists: Thee Sacred Souls from San Diego; Jason Joshua from Miami; East L.A. mainstays Thee Sinseers, and The Altons; and Altadena veterans, Los Yesterdays.

What better way to christen Daptone’s fledgling imprint Penrose Records than with “Can I Call You Rose?,” a sumptuous and serendipitously titled mid-tempo premier by San Diego’s blossoming young soul serenaders, Thee Sacred Souls. Stepping off the stage after their very first club date, Josh, Sal, and Alex were tugged aside by producer Bosco Mann whose seasoned ears had been tickled by their set. Backs were patted, hands were shook, and three days later heads were bobbing in Mann’s Riverside studio, as the Souls laid their first notes to tape.
Penrose Records Volume 1: The release date for the 45s from Thee Sacred Souls, Thee Sinseers, Jason Joshua, The Altons, and Los Yesterdays has been moved to June 19th, but you can listen to all 10 songs via this digital compilation now."

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 21

Gary Bartz and NTU Troop - Celestial blues
Bill Doggett - Pimento
James Bown - Aint it funky now pt1
Honeydrippers - Impeach the President
Betty Everett - Take me
Paul Humphrey and his Cool Aid Chemists - Detroit
Willie Hightower - Walk a mile in my shoes
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels - Jenny takes a ride
The Winstons - Amen, brother
Ray Charles - You're just about to lose your clown
Ollie and the Nightingales - Girl you make my heart sing
Booker T and the MGs - Can't be still
William Bell and Judy Clay - Loveitis
Mar-Keys - Philly dog
Sam and Dave - Wrap it up
Carla Thomas - Something good
Rufus Thomas - 6-3-8
The Newcomers - Pin the tail on the donkey
The Barkays - Copy kat
The Dramatics - Get up and get down
The Emotions - Boss love maker
Eddie Floyd - Under my nose
Jean Knight - Carry on
Otis Redding and Carla Thomas - Lovey dovey
Johnnie Taylor - I am somebody pt1
Booker T and the MGs- Soul limbo
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
El Michels Affair - Tearz
Lady Wray - Come on in
Jerry Butler - I'm a telling you
Bobby Bland - I'm so tired
Jan Bradley - Mama didn't lie
Bobby Moore - Hey Mr DJ
Isley Brothers - Fight the power pt1
Parliament - Up on the down stroke
Prince - Housequake (7 minutes mo quake)

New Speedometer

Official blurb: 'Our Kind of Movement' is Speedometer's 5th album release for Freestyle (excluding two compilations of archive releases) and sees Vanessa Jamie and Najwa Ezzaher join James Junior on vocal duties.

On this album, the band re-explore their own diverse influences combining the heritage of Latin Funk in 'Funky Amigo', Afro Beat on 'Abuja Sunrise', Indian Psychedelic on 'Kashmir', the Northern Soul on 'We gave up too soon'.

There is, of course, a hefty dose of new heavyweight funk and soul tunes, as you would expect.

After 20 years of making funky music, this LP brings their experiences all together on one record whilst keeping the funk groove at its heart.

Over the years, Speedometer have worked with a host of US funk legends including Joe Quarterman, Eddie Bo, Marva Whitney, Martha High, Sharon Jones, James Bell (Highlighters), Lee Fields, Billy Wooten and Robert Moore. All were blown away by Speedometer's authenticity and dedication to faithfully creating that original soul-funk sound."

Out April 3 on Freetsyle Records on LP/CD/digital

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 14

Beats On Canvas - Doki (DJ Vadim remix)
Nextmen vs Joe Dukie - The drop
Jean Jaques Perrey and Luke Vibert  -Ye olde beatbox
Talvin Singh feat Amar - Jaan
Umod - Love divine
Erykah Badu - Love
The O'Jays - For the love of money
Bill Withers - You got the stuff
Roy Ayers - Love will bring us together
Kokolo - The magnificent seven
Dele Sosimi - E go betta (dub)
Ikebe Shakedown - Tame the beats
Lightning head - Afro spot
Issa Bagayogo - Dibi
Chaka Khan - Too much love
Archie Bell and the Drells - Tighten up
Barbara Acklin - Just aint no love
Gene Chandler - No peace, no satisfaction
Shirley Ellis - Soul time
Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure - Don't mess up a good thing
Sharon Cash - Heighty hi
Merry Clayton - Whatever
Aretha Franklin - Won't be long
Len Barry - Bullseye
Gene Faith - Family man

Hannah Williams and the Affirmations new single

Cracking new soul cut off 50 Foot Woman, the latest album from Hannah Williams and the Affirmations, produced by Shawn Lee, out now on vinyl/CD/digital

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 7

Gary Byrd - The crown
T La Rock - It's yours
Dream Warriors - Wash your face in my sink
Chico Hamilton - El Toro (Mark de Clive Lowe remix)
Dee Felice Trio - Nightingale
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Slipping into darkness
The Mike Nock Underground - Space bugaloo
Mark Putney - Don't come around here anymore
Freddi Hench and Soul Setters - Funky to the bone
Joyce Jones - Help me make up my mind
Tami Lynn - Mo Jo Hanna
Society's bag - Let it crawl
Ann Winley - Watchdog
Stovall Sisters  -Hang on in there
Sister Love - Give me your love
Taana Gardner - Heartbeat
Hot, Cold Sweat - Move like that
Madness - Death of a rude boy (Andrew Weatherall remix)
Prince Fari - Clean hands, pure heart
Roots Radics - Babylon wrong
Scientist vs RSD - After all dub
Kode9 - You don't wash (dub)
Katchafire - Sensemilla (Pitch Black's sensi dub)
Lord Echo - Molten lava

Single off Dumama + Kechou's upcoming debut LP 'Buffering Juju'

Second single off this forthcoming album, out now, very cool skittery rhythms and great vocals...

"Intaka is the second single taken from Dumama + Kechou's upcoming debut LP 'Buffering Juju' - a work that relates to the process of “excavating spiritually charged content from within”.

The duo’s textural sound, driven by cyclical song structures and chant making, not only captures the angst of the modern world but mines this state of affairs for regenerative potential. The duo’s approach to music is a coalescence of their respective individual journeys into the self and society, making their sound – described as nomadic future folk music - the sonic result of an organic meditative process.

Dumama (Gugulethu Duma) and Kechou (Kerim Melik Becker) met in Cape Town in 2017. It was a time of intense socio-political upheaval in South Africa, coming off the back of student-led protests for free education and the wider societal striations those protests exposed. This period coincided with individual spiritual breakthroughs for the duo, signified by fruitful study and mentorship projects.

The jam sessions and initial clutch of shows that etched the dumama and kechou sound were marked by their fortuitously-timed meeting. There was an instinctive pulse to the interaction, not to mention the vast sonic and conceptual possibilities it blew open. “I guess we were in similar places with our music processes in trying to push healing music to the edges and be more experimental with it,” says dumama.

The result is that buffering juju plays out as a lush narrative meeting its sonic equivalent; one whose world is self-contained and interwoven. The narrative unravels as a piece of magical realism informed by South African folklore and reality, detailing a woman’s liberation story where the characters shift shape and traverse multiple realms, deploying various iterations of their power or lack thereof. “It has an organic, natural, cyber and modern kind of energy - all rooted in African aesthetics of sound and storytelling,” says kechou.

There is a unity of purpose that, on selected tracks, seamlessly brings together the talents of trombonist Siya Makuzeni, pianist Nobuhle Ashanti, vocalist Odwa Bongo, vibraphonist Dylan Greene, clarinet player Angel Bat Bawid, bassist Shane Cooper and synthesisers by Dion Monti. All of this sits on a bed of the duo’s unique musical language, one that, although applied electronically in the form of looping and soundscaping, is founded on approaches to string, vocal and percussion tones that reflect a merger between Northern and Southern African heritage and a collective study into continental music.

Recorded primarily in Cape Town and Johannesburg over the first quarter of 2019, Buffering Juju is a conduit to a past we were not necessarily present for, and a future where threatened indigenous technologies thrive in an increasingly digitised world."

Album out March 20, digital/vinyl/CD on Mushroom Hour Half Hour label.

Ring The Alarm playlist, February 29

Tracey Thorn feat Corinne Bailey Rae - Sister (Andrew Weatherall dub)
Sabres of Paradise - Ballad of Nicky McGuire
Paul St Hilaire - One after one
Derrick Morgan - Do you love me?
Sound Dimension - Real rock
Althea - Down town thing
African Head Charge - Animal law
Tackhead - Ticking timebomb dub
Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Lady O'Kpele
Will Powers - Adventures in success (dub copy)
Beat Bronco Organ Trio - Easy baby
The Chi-Lites -  We are neighbours
The Fantastic Johnny C - Boogaloo down Broadway
Stevie Wonder - You met your match
The Supremes - Your love is like an itching in my heart
Jr Walker and the Allstars - Hip city pt1
Four Tops - Sad souvenirs
Little Eva - Keep your hands off my baby
Brenton Wood - Some got it, some don't
Bob Wilson and the San Remo Quartet - All turned on
Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters - Cry to me
Johnny Taylor - Jody's got your girl and gone
Curtis Mayfield - (Don't worry) if there's a hell below, we all gonna go
The Temptations - It's your thing
Staple Singers - Respect yourself
Conclave - Sunny (Seven Davis Jr remix)
Primal Scream - Goodbye Johnny (Andrew Weatherall's Nyabingi noir mix)

Ring The Alarm playlist, February 22

St Etienne - Only love can break your heart (Andrew Weatherall remix)
Sabres of Paradise - Bubble and Slide II
Primal Scream - Loaded
Andrew Weatherall - Fail we may, dub we must
Sabres of Paradise - Wilmot
Nightmares on Wax - Finer
Rae and Christian - Ready to roll
Willie Bobo - La descarga del Bobo (MAW remix)
Nicola Conte and Spiritual Galaxy - Universal rhythm
Metrophonics feat Mel Collins - Latin racer
Mike Young! - Si si no no (Bobby Duprea's mix) feat Graciela Perez
Big Daddy Kane - Aint no half steppin'
Rufus Thomas - Itch and scratch (pt1)
Booker T and the MGs - Tic tac toe
Jean Knight - Do me
Dee Dee Warwick - Suspicious minds
Mable John - Shouldn't I love him
Cookin' on Three Burners - Cars
D'Angelo - Really love
George Clinton - Hey good lookin' ('rush this' mix)
VV Brown - Crying blood (Andrew Weatherall remix)
Lightning Head - PPQ dub

Ring The Alarm playlist, February 15

Bo Diddley - Hit or miss
Dramatics - Stand up clap your hands
Gwen McCrae - 90% hanging out (Jim Sharp edit)
Beastie Boys - Hey ladies
Charles Bradley - Aint it a sin
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers - Searching for soul
Betty Wright - Clean up woman
Donny Hathaway - Come little children
Cold Blood - Kissing my love
Fred Wesley and the JBs - Blow your head (undubbed version)
Lynn Collins - Take me just as I am
Sly and the Family Stone - Are you ready
Prince & the Revolution - Raspberry beret (12" version)
Kid Creole and the Coconuts - I'm a wonderful thing bbay
The Waitresses - I know what boys like
James Blood Ulmer - Jazz is teacher, funk is the preacher
Sun Ra - Where pathways meet
Ekadek - Love in your eyes
Phase 5 - Box juice
Dub Asylum - French letter
George Faith - In the midnight hour
Lightning Head - Second line stomp
Cutty Ranks - The cutter
Johnny Osborne - Budy bye (Kenny Dope remix)
Sugarman3 - Pull my cart
Jamie and the Numbers - If this is love (I'd rather be lonely)

Ring The Alarm playlist, February 8

George Benson - The world is a ghetto
Nuyorican Soul - Mawtilus
War - Sing a happy song
Salmonella Dub - Loop 7 (DLT version)
Andreya Triana - A town called obsolete (Mala remix)
Kaidi Tatham - It's about who you know
Grace Jones - Hurricane dub
Love Joys - Roots vibes
Ragga Twins - Shine eye
Nathan Haines - U see that
Biggabush - Yunaa
Patti LaBelle - Most likely...
Ramsey Lewis - Living for the city
Tom Tom Club - As above, so below
Darondo - Didn't I (Trishes edit)
Linda Jones - My heart needs a break
Tami Lynn - I'm gonna run away from you
Mary Wells - Can't you see (you're losing me)
Percy Sledge - Baby help me
Ike and Tina Turner - Somebody somewhere needs you
Three Degrees - Contact
Bobby  & Valerie Capers - West 4th St
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - Rumours
Lee Fields and Sugarman and Co - Stand up
El Michels Affair - Walk on by (Short version)

Leonard Simpson Duo drop album

 First single off this was a mean chop up of a Marlon Williams song as the beat, check it. Out now on LP/digital.

"Legendary Detroit MC Guilty Simpson & New Zealand producer Leonard Charles team up as "The Leonard Simpson Duo" and provide a one of a kind 70’s inspired, psychedelic & acid influenced Album.

The psychedelic sound of this album is heavily drawn from rare acid influenced records from New Zealand’s 60’s and 70’s, carefully selected, picked and sampled by musical multi-talent Charles himself and accompanied by very well placed instrumentals and interludes taking direction from late 60’s jazz/rock fusion, fuzzed out African records and compulsory David Axelrod leanings. All of that combined with the lyrics and the beloved attitude of Motor City’s finest makes this album a beautiful, inspirational and surpassing Trip.

Active since the mid ‘90’s Guilty Simpson (100k monthly listeners on spotify) has become an institution and earned his spot in Detroit’s hip-hop legacy alongside friends, fellows and colleagues such as J Dilla, Slum Village, Eminem, D12, Danny Brown, Big Sean, Phat Kat or Black Milk and receives nothing but love and respect from the hardest street emcees as well as from acclaimed producers wherever he goes. Over the last decade Guilty continued the name he made for himself since his 2008 debut “Ode To The Ghetto” (produced by i.e. Dilla, Madlib and others) and has delivered plenty of features, mixtapes and studio albums ever since.

Leonard Charles has been a music producer since 2001. In his late teens he already played and toured with i.e. Randy Crawford. Charles attended the Red Bull Music Academy in South Africa in 2003 where he performed i.e. with Hugh Masekela and attended lectures with synth pioneer Bob Moog. He has won New Zealand Music Awards for his production and composing work with the Band Opensouls (previously released on Jakarta Records) and singer Hollie Smith. As a session guitarist Jeremy has played on recordings for i.e. Aaradhna, Teeks, David Dallas and many more while as a producer he has worked with i.e. Grandmaster Caz, Kimbra, Mara T.K., Georgia Anne Muldrow, Declaime and others.

The dynamic Duo met for the 1st time when Guilty came through Charles’ hometown Auckland, NZ, on tour in 2016. Charles got in touch with Guilty and the two connected immediately, started working together and what was initially planned as an EP soon turned out to become a full-length album with late 70's inspired psychedelic and acid influenced beats by Leonard and Simpson’s distinctive and uncompromising lyrics."

Mongo, Louie and me

Love this tune! Mongo Santamaria is wicked. This is a little re-edit did a while back, extended this jam from a short two minute snip into a solid jam. Enjoy!

Ring The Alarm playlist, February 1

Prince - I feel for you
Chaka Khan - I know you, I live you
Diana Ross - Give up
Marvin Gaye -You're the man
Leonard Charles - Neil's rainbow
DJ Spinna - Dillagence (one 4 Jay)
Stereo MCs - Connected
Troublefunk - Let's get small
Chuck Brown  -We need some money
Erykah Badu - Turn me away (get munny)
Red Astaire - Love to Angie
Superspirit - We belong to the cosmos (Jugoe remix)
Lefties Soul Connection - 12 inch rims
The 2nd Amendment Band - Backtalk
Young Holt Unlimited - Wah wah man
Tami Lynn - Mo Jo Hanna
Lulu - Feelin' alright
Labelle - Moon shadow
Pointer Sisters - Send my baby back
Wendy Rene - Bar-B-Q
Joanie Sommers - Don't pity me
Esther Phillips - Catch me I'm falling
Alice Clark - You hit me right where it hurt me
People's Choice - I likes to do it
Brenda and the Tabulations - California soul
Eddie Floyd - Under my nose
Barbara and the Browns - Please be honest with me
Mar-keys - Beach bash
Jackie Mittoo - Stereo freeze
Prince - Tambourine