Ring The Alarm playlist, April 20

Redds and the Boys - Put your right hand in the air
Troublefunk - Let's get small
Prince Charles and the City Beat Band - Cash (cash money)
Marvin Gaye - Try it, you'll like it
Universal Robot Band - Dance and shake your tambourine
Freestylers & Navigator - Ruffneck
Top Cat - Request the style
The Delegates - Pygmy pt1
The Delfonics - Down is up, up is down
Tony Alvon and the Belairs - Sexy coffee pot
Solomon Burke - The generation of revelation
Cold Blood - Kissing my love
Inez Andrews - I hear music
Bo Diddley - Road runner
Clifton Chenier - Black gal
Professor Longhair - Big chief
Dixie Cups - Two way poc a way
Wild Magnolias - Soul, soul, soul
Amadou and Mariam - Coulibaly
Manu Chao - Me gustas tu
Tommy McCook - Freedom sounds
Junior Murvin - Cool out son
The Lovejoys - Let me rock you now
Dubwize - Dancehall state of mind (dub version)
Salmonella Dub - Johnny (DLT mix feat Mighty Asterix)

SNARE - 'Leasing Lingos' Featuring Hamokane, Kas Tha Feelstyle, & GFes

Cool South Auckland hiphop, producerd by Anonymouz, he made the video too... spot the mean verse from Tha Feelstyle, and a lyrical snip quoting a track from King Kapisi that featured Feelstyle. Chur!

Forty-Five: The Search For Soul

The twist in this film about digging is amusing... as Fleamarketfunk puts it "What’s really interesting about this documentary, is that it’s updated for modern times, and brings the argument (which goes on everyday in the DJ community in real life and within online communities), if you dig it up on
the internet, does it count as really digging it up?

"Clocking in just over ten minutes, this documentary follows Kansas City, MO DJ Johnny Starke aka Johnny 2Tone, as he goes on a search for forgotten (willfully and not willfully) soul records throughout thrift shops, record store, and the wherever old, dusty vinyl can be found."

From the film makers: "Are record collectors simply purveyors of popular culture or are they its greatest protectors?

The film Forty-Five: The Search for Soul, sets out to answer that question as we follow one DJ on a quest for black gold. For Johnny Starke digging through dusty thrift shop bins to find lost wax and forgotten sounds is not simply a hobby... It’s his chief obsession and his life’s work.

This is a film about record collecting and more importantly, it’s about saving forgotten pieces of popular culture and returning them to the turntable, the dance floor and ultimately back to their historical relevance.

Director Anthony Ladesich brings to life the story of one collector, one 45rpm record, and one song."

Ring The Alarm playlist, April 13

Marlena Shaw - Woman of the ghetto
Grant Green - I don't want nobody to give me nothing (open up the door I'll get it myself)
The Flirtations -Nothing but a heartache
Sister Sledge - Love don't go thru no changes
Esther Phillips - Catch me I'm falling
Nina Simone - Work song
Lee Fields and the Expressions - Ladies
El Michels Affair - Detroit twice
Saxie Russell - Psychedlic soul pt1
Otis Redding - I can't get no satisfaction
Andre Tanker Five -Lena
Versatile - Let it out
Jake One and Mara TK - Look what you've made me
Julien Dyne with Ladi6 - Hours
Cornerstone Roots - Forward the sax
Neyssatou & Likkle Mai  -War
Cedric Im Brooks - Idleberg
Alice Clark - You hit me right where it hurt me
Lulu - Sweep around your own back door
Soul Brothers Six - You better check yourself
Bobby McClure - Doing it rite on time
Dusty Springfield - Spooky
EL Fields Gospel Wonders feat Sharon Jones - Heaven bound
Bill Withers  -You
Tomtom Club  -Wordy rappinghood
Scritti Politti - Wood beez (version)
Gene Dudley Group - Hilo bay halfway (disco dub mix)
Nathan Haines -Lady J

Ring The Alarm playlist, April 6

Guts - Ja nao mais paz
Leston Paul - Caribbean jam (Nomad's re-jam)
The Yoots - Tutira mai
Pitch Black - 1000 mile drift (International Observer remix)
Adi Dick - Jah Jah is coming
Sola Rosa - Promise (Scratch22 remix)
Parlet - No rump to bump
Gene Faith - Family man
Willie Mitchell - Sugar T
Della Reese - Compared to what
Gladys Knight and the Pips - I heard it thru the grapevine
Gene Chandler - No peace, no satisfaction
Oliver Sain - London express
Senor Soul - Some got it, some don't
Five Stairsteps and Cubie - Little young love
Barbara Mason - Keep him
Major Lance - Hey little girl
ZZ Hill - Think people
Billy Paul - Am I black enough for you?
James Brown - Stone to the bone
Idris Muhammad - Express yourself
Laura Lee - Crumbs off the table
The Dap-Kings - Nervous like me
Soul Severes - I got it (Kenny Dope edit)
Kashemere Stage Band - Superstrut
Suns of Arqa - Bali citra
Neyssatou and Likkle Mai - War
Coldcut and Roots Manuva - Beat your chest
Rodney P - The nice up
The Checkmates - Disco groove
Boris Gardiner - Negril

MdCL x Ronin and more

LA-based NZer Mark de Clive Lowe has had a busy year so far on the recording front, dropping albums Heritage, and Heritage II (out April 5), AND a new ep as Ronin Arkestra...

"Formed in Tokyo in 2017, Ronin Arkestra is a collective project I founded along with some of my favorite Japanese jazz musicians. Comprising of members from WONK, Melraw, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Cro Magnon plus Shun Ishiwaka, Sauce81 and more, "First Meeting" is the documentation of our first time all getting together and documenting that in studio..."



"Day turns to night as Mark de Clive-Lowe’s Heritage II takes us from the meditative zen of Heritage into a world of jazz and Japanese roots culture fused with hip hop, drum’n’bass and broken-beat.

‘Heritage is a legacy we receive from our ancestors to pass on to future generations. It’s the thread that holds us together in lineage and cultural identity,’ posits jazz and electronic music pioneer Mark de Clive-Lowe. The half-Japanese half-New Zealander presents his new album Heritage II - the partner and second installment to his critically acclaimed album Heritage, a deeply personal exploration of his Japanese cultural and ancestral roots.

“Heritage is what gives our relatively short lives context and meaning in the bigger picture of generations past and future. We are the new ancestors, and with that in mind, it’s important that we act - and contribute - accordingly. This is my identity search and journey to better understand where I’ve come from, what ancestry means to me and where I’m going to. ”

Heritage II opens with a meditative solo piano introduction, conjuring up the evocative folkloric sounds of the preceding part one album, which soon gives way to a J Dilla inspired interpretation of the traditional folk song “O-Edo Nihonbashi” - de Clive-Lowe programming beats, basslines while playing piano and keyboards live along with his band. 

Although the Heritage albums were recorded over three nights live at LA’s Blue Whale and one subsequent day in a North Hollywood studio, nothing you hear is overdubbed or the result of post-production “studio magic”. De Clive-Lowe’s live workflow often sees him labeled an “alien”, leaving audiences captivated by his seamless juggling of grand piano, synths, drum machines, samplers and more to create layer-upon-layer of musical stories in real time"

Tropical Trips vol1

Wicked compilation from Cree Records.. give it a listen. Rub a dub soka... Caribbean disco, all sorts a goodies. Delroy Wilson cutting Inner city blues in there...

"Join us on a trip through tropical and sunny climes and spice up your drab, gray, everyday life with some hot tunes chosen from Cree Record’s back catalog.

During the last five years Cree Records has released a variety of music from the tropical region. Whether it’s Afro-Boogie from Ghana or Folk-Jazz from Trinidad, this compilation prooves the tropics have much more to offer than is usually assumed.

“Wajang Woman” by Embryo (here served as Frankie Francis Sofrito Edit), Barbara Hernandez’ “All Nite Tonight” and Michael Boothman’s “Tabu” or “Can’t Stop Dancing:” most of the tracks on this album are already established dancefloor fillers.

But there is much more to discover this year like the latin infused track Trinidad by Papa Music, taken from the upcoming compilation  Gotta Nice Buzz - The Funky Side of Sound Studios Trinidad“ or Merchant’s funky soca, Rub-A-Dub Soka taken from a collection of music by Trinidad’s Network Riddum Band. Exclusively for this compilation Berlin’s DJ Nomad put his hands on Leston Paul’s super rare tune Caribbean Jam and gives it an exciting re-edit."

Pay It Al Back vol, 7 out now

Brand new! Good for you! Pay it all back compilations blew my mind on a regular basis back in the day... a most welcome return.

"On-U Sound are proud to present 'Pay It All Back Vol. 7' out now! Available from the following outlets, as well as your local record store.

Check this 18 track showcase of new releases, unique mixes, deep cuts, and unreleased tracks from Roots Manuva, Sherwood & Pinch, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Coldcut, Ghetto Priest, Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band), Mark Stewart, Horace Andy, Little Axe and more.

Both vinyl and CD editions come with a fully illustrated and annotated On-U catalogue, a track exclusive to physical formats and a gorgeous, colour-printed kraft board sleeve."

'Nigeria 70: No Wahala' out now

"For our 20th Anniversary, Strut presents the first new volume in the pioneering ‘Nigeria 70’ series for over 8 years. 'Nigeria 70: No Wahala', compiling rare highlife, Afro-funk and juju from the ‘70s and early ‘80s is out today.


Compiled by collector and DJ Duncan Brooker, this new selection of tracks is receiving its first international release outside of Nigeria.

The compilation returns to a fertile heyday in Nigerian music when established styles like highlife and juju became infused with elements of Western jazz, soul and funk.
Elsewhere, the album explores the close connection between Nigeria and Benin’s music, most famously through Sir Victor Uwaifo, appearing here with a killer mid-‘80s ekassa jam, as well as highlife hitmaker Osayamore Joseph on ‘Obonogbozu’"

‘Nigeria 70: No Wahala’ is released out now on CD, 2LP and digital.

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 30

Isaac Hayes - Walk on by
Booker T and the MGs - Tic tac toe
The Emotions - Boss love maker
Judy Clay & Willaim Bell - Loveitis
Eddie Floyd  -Under my nose
Otis and Carla - Knock on wood
Sam & Dave - Wrap it up
Carla Thomas - Something good
Rufus Thomas - 6-3-8
Staple Singers  -We the people
Ollie and the Nightingales - Girl, you make my heart sing
The March Wind - All the way down
The Bar-kays - Sang and dance
Otis Redding - Amen
The Chimes - I still haven't found what I'm looking for
Art of Noise - Moments in love
The Beat - Ranking full stop (RIP Ranking Roger)
Dub Asylum - French letter
Che Fu - Get up stand up
Suns of Arqa - Acid tabla dub
Lee Scratch Perry - Last train to Doomsville
Kaidi Tatham - It's about who you know
Cave Circles - Azmoni
Theo Parrish - Footwork
Mala - Como como (Theo Parrish remix)
Candi Staton - Do your duty (Pepe Bradock remix)
Visioneers - Apache (battle dub)
Shawn Lee & Misha Panfilov - Miraggio
Durand Jones and the Indications - Too many tears
Dead End Boogie - Dance with a blizzard
Guts - Kenke corner

New album from Nick Waterhouse

Nick Waterhouse dropped his 4th album recently on Innovative Leisure, take a listen below... he's fashioned a ripping r'n'b/soul sound that grooves and grinds... it's the sound of a band playing in a room, cut to analog tape.... digging it

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 23

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Victorious dub
Special AKA - Racist Friend
Freddie McGregor - Get involved
Chosen Few - People make the world go round
Prince Fari - Hello love brother
Fat Freddy's Drop - Hope (Sonsine remix)
Unification - Guru
Lord Echo - Makossa #3
Manu Dibango - Dangwa
Polyversal Souls - Portrait of Alemayehu (night time)
Guts - Kenke corner
David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto - Bamboo houses (2000 remix)
52nd Street - Cool as ice
Rose Royce - Do your dance
Betty Wright - Keep feelin'
Jackson Sisters - I believe in miracles (remix)
Merry Clayton - Whatever
Candi Staton - I'd rather be a poor man's sweetheart
Big Maybelle  -I got a feeling
Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band - Burn
Durand Jones and the Indications  - You and me
Staple Singers - Respect yourself
Curtis Mayfield  -We've got to have peace
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - This land is your land
Shawn Lee & Misha Panfilov - Mic Wallace
New Telepathics - Life on other planets

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 16

Bits and Pieces - Don't stop the music
Brooklyn Funk Essentials - The creator has a master plan
Aim - Just passing thru
Cutty Ranks - The stopper
Jimmy London - I'm your puppet
The Kingites - Polynesian Panthers
The Yoots - E papa waiari
Ballistic Bros - Peckings
Souleance - BBQ and Pimms
Manu Dibango  - Soul makossa
Julien Dyne with Mara TK - Steady
Sola Rosa  - Lady love (Richie Phoe remix)
Eru Dangerspiel - Coq au vin
Pete Rodriguez - I like it like that
Bobby Valentin - Use it before you lose it
Magic Circle Express - Magic fever
Lord Shorty and Vibrations Intl - Vibrations groove
Concept Neuf - The path (Sofrito edit)
Hank Marvin - Sunday for seven days
Eddie Billups - I need someone
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters - Its love baby (24 hours of the day)
Della Reese - Compared to what
Chubby Checker  -You better believe it baby
Gladys Knight and the Pips -Letter full of tears
Bo Diddley - Another sugar daddy
Incredible Bongo Band - Ohkey dokey ot2
Durand Jones and the Indications - Long way home
Bobby Womack - I can understand it
Nina Simone - Seeline woman (MAW remix)

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 9

Raphael Saadiq & Q-Tip - Get involved
Eric B & Rakim - Eric B is president
Tall Black Guy -  Love to the world
Candi Staton - Do your duty (Pepe Bradock remix)
Innerzone Orchestra - Bug in the bass bin
Beanfield with Bajka - Tides (C's movement #1 - Carl Craig remix)
Pharoah Sanders - Astral travelling (Boozoo Bajou remix)
Shirlene King - Super stuff
Helene Smith - You got to be a man
Ella Fitzgerald  -Get ready
Nadine Brown - Leave me alone
Ellen Jackson  - Ghetto boogie
Clarence Reid - I get my kicks
Total Experience - Contradiction
Salmonella Dub - Platetechjonics (Groove corp remix)
Unitone Hifi - Listen or ya dead
Sound Foundation - Ram dancehall
DLT - Liquid skies (Ultra neon remix)
Julien Dyne - Like glue
The Fourth Way - Everymans your brother
Dizzy Gillespie - Soul kiss pt1
Della Reese - Compared to what
Barbara George - I know
Aretha Franklin - Respect
Leonard Charles - Funk case
Aaradhna - Drunken heart, smokey mind
Sly and the Family Stone - I cannot make it

BaseFM launches in Samoa on March 16

Exciting news from my BaseFM peeps: "The launch of Island Base 87.5FM Samoa in happening.  
Our very own new sister station broadcasting nationwide over in Samoa ft. real DJs from New Zealand & Samoa mixing things up!


Going LIVE this March. 
Look out for our first live shows in Samoa this month as we’re taking over a handful of some of our top NZ-based pacific artists. 
Island Base - Connecting the sounds & people of the South Pacific.

BROADCASTING LIVE on Samoa airwaves 87.5FM and via live stream on www.islandbasefm.com from 16 March.

Kicking things off in style, we're bringing some of your favourite NZ artists to SAMOA to play for you on our new station and perform live!

Featuring:
*The King of hip hop from Apia City himself - Poetik
*Representing Team Dynamite, party starter Lucky Lance
*Straight out of the Runtingz Family, Reggae / RnB voice of the decade Lion Rezz as well as award winning Reggae producer and singer/songwriter Israel Starr
*Plus our boy KP from the legendary Sunshine Sound System