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Jazzanova – Creative Musicians (Waajeed & Henrik Schwarz Remixes)

Announcing new album ‘Strata Records – The Sound of Detroit – Reimagined by Jazzanova’, BBE Music, DJ Amir and 180 Proof records present the first single from the project, ‘Creative Musicians, featuring remixes by Waajeed and Henrik Schwarz.

‘Strata Records – The Sound of Detroit – Reimagined by Jazzanova’ is no ‘covers’ album, rather a brand-new celebration of the iconic imprint, as Jazzanova’s take on Lyman Woodard Organization’s musical manifesto ‘Creative Musicians’ makes clear from its Afrobeat-inspired horn arrangements, drum track, and syncopated tempo.

The vocalist for these sessions is Sean Haefeli, who originally hails from Indianapolis, and brings a relaxed urgency to his contributions, sounding like a young Gil Scott-Heron.

Leveraging his 20 plus year friendship with legendary Detroit DJ/Producer extraordinaire, Waajeed, Amir enlists him for a special four-to-the-floor mix that not only keeps that organic vibe but also adds a unique contemporary Detroit flavour!

Henrik Schwarz needs little introduction to fans of eclectic electronic sounds. For over thirty years, his amazing body of work has packed dancefloors worldwide. Henrik takes ‘Creative Musicians’ in a slightly different direction, retaining many of Jazzanova’s original elements while adding his signature sound to the mix, providing another dance floor scorcher!

And just to give you proper context, we have included the cult-classic, much-loved original version of ‘Creative Musicians’ by the Lyman Woodard Organization

Cool – calm – collected: chapter 15 of this superlative series, compiled by Compost’s head honcho Michael Reinboth. 21 tracks, 8 exclusive, previously unreleased tracks. The exciting package comes as 2-CD / 4-LP vinyl. Enjoy!The exclusives by Area (guess you all know his brilliant Innervisions release), Arnau Obiols & KAYYAK (recently featured by Gilles Peterson in his “watch out for 2021” top five list), Ron Deacon (officially belongs to the Workshop-Crew together with other artists like Move D, Even Tuell and Kassem Mosse), Class Compliance my gosh – what a killer tune, Mille & Hirsch (operators of the fine Polish Records), All Is Well (Fred Everything), Ben Sturm (watch out talent of Leipzig’s viral underground scene) and Oliver Kieser (best known as Kieser & Velten with their releases on G-Stone)

This wonderful Esa Williams remix of Bantu Clan Vs Sarabi is also previously unreleased. Several magazines voted the Future Sounds Of Jazz as one of the best compilation series of all time. With this series, starting in 1995, the term Future Jazz became a genre landmark. 

The Bambuseae Rhythm Section The Bambuseae Rhythm Section (pronounced Bam-Boo-See-Ay) combine their musical influences to deliver a robust elemental fusion of original Rhythm & Blues, Funk, Soul, Rock & Roll and Disco vibes. Wild and free one moment, soft and sensual the next. The music is groove based and designed for dancing your worries into oblivion.

The ninth album in BBE Music’s J Jazz Masterclass Series presents ‘At the Room 427’ by Koichi Matsukaze Trio Featuring Ryojiro Furusawa, a rarely heard exemplar of post-modal power bop and free jazz. This deluxe reissue sees a welcome return to the J Jazz Masterclass series for saxophonist Koichi Matsukaze. Originally issued in 1976 on the cult ALM label, At the Room 427 is the debut album from one of the most exciting and forward-thinking instrumentalists to emerge in the mid 1970s. Matsukaze’s distinctively angular, deconstructive style adds an unpredictable quality to the session that is balanced by the muscular bass of Koichi Yamazaki and the kinetic drumming of Ryojiro Furusawa, who provides a sound footing for Matuskaze’s fiery solos and free-form chemistry.The album was recorded live in November 1975 before a small audience in – as the title states – Room 427, a classroom in Chuo University, the alma mater of both Matsukaze and Furusawa. However, despite the rudimentary surroundings, the recording by Yukio Kojima, founder of ALM, manages to give the listener the feeling of being in the room itself, up close to the band, bristling with an intense energy. This reissue of a long-lost rarity of post-bop/free playing maintains the exceptionally high standard set by the previous releases in the BBE Music J Jazz Masterclass Series. As with all releases in the series, At the Room 427 comes with full reproduction artwork and extra sleeve notes, with artist interviews and biographies. The J Jazz Masterclass Series is curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden for BBE Music.

First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the “hilly fields of Lewisham” in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.
Sarah released her acclaimed debut album ‘Of The New World’ on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she’s toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP ‘A Family Affair’) and with her brother, Paul White – a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.
Following a hiatus, Sarah now brings us her sophomore album, ‘Unfathomable’. A project that offers up escapism from the mundane, enticing us to connect with our natural planet in this prevalent time, via the eyes of a new mother.
In her words, Sarah states that the album is “about escape. It’s about deflating the ego by looking up to the endlessness of outer space, connecting with the greatness of mother nature, and loving how unfathomable the universe and life itself is”.
11-tracks in all, including the recent singles ‘Nebula’, ‘Green’ and ‘Monsters’, this opus sees Sarah’s buttery lathing of vocals merged with cutting beats and atypical pop sensibilities across the project, again entirely self-produced from home, defining her as one of the UK’s most irresistible DIY psych-soul talents.
With a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee, tapestried harmony akin to Hiatus Kaiyote, beats fit for Little Dragon, and experimental production evocative of Kate Bush, Sarah Williams White’s signature genre-defying sound invites us into a world uniquely hers.

SMURKE is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. Barking, East London native SMURKE presents to us with his own unique style and versatile flows, bringing a whole new feel to the trap sound in the UK. Releasing his latest single ‘On The Line’ Out Now.

For his first solo release of 2020, REEKADO BANKS offered a suave reminder of the qualities that make REEKADO BANKS a special talent on ‘Ozumba Mbadiwe.’

Produced by P.Priime, ‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’ boasted an ephemeral sheen that made it a perfect fit for a variety of option and released on the one-year anniversary of 20/10/20, the single touched on the sorrowful events of that night, pointedly marking en effort to remind the government and Nigerians of the tragedy suffered on that day. Taken from his long awaited ‘OTR’ VOL.2 EP. Out Now.

About – ‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’

‘Ozumba Mbadiwe’ is also named after a popular expressway on Lagos island that leads to the infamous Lekki toll gate where protesters were shot at. Although packed with conscious references, the P.Priime produced single is a thesis on all the qualities that make REEKADO BANKS a special talent: boasting a wispy opening verse, a killer hook, and an ephemeral sheen that makes the record perfect fit for a variety of occasions.

IQ – releases his brand new hit song ‘Bun Fi Bun’ featuring STEFFLON DON, Out Now on Hot Topic.

IQ – is one of the UK’s most promising artists to come from the Dance-Hall scene in a generation. Hailing from Turnham, South London, IQ grew up in a buzzing musical household following the footsteps and successes of his elder brother, legendary QQ, who would be one of his main catalysts for the 22yo pursuing a career in music.

Introducing PIPER-GRACE; A British-Ghanian talent raised in the quiet reaches of south west England. Having been raised surrounded by music, PIPER-GRACE showed early promise of being a major talent, with her first notes being sung at just age 2. Artists such as Whitney Houston and Rihanna had a significant influence from the off, and studying music in her early life allowed her to develop her smooth and distinctive tone.

Expressing her love for music through sultry, soulful RnB, Piper-Grace explores a fresh outlook on the classic angst of young love. Drawing on her experiences of living in Capetown as a teenager and pursuing a successful modelling career in London, she provides an undiluted perspective of a charismatic young woman striving through modern life.

MARCELLA CHI today releases her second single ‘Needed You’ Out Now. ‘Needed You’ is a very chill R&B track with a slight Electro Vibe.

MARCELLA CHI first release was with French producer Pastel on ‘Closer’ and ‘Floating’ back in 2017 which garnered/ gained over 2 million streams.

MARCELLA CHI – explains that the song is about

“When someone you care about is being cold towards you to protect themselves, even though you need them too. You don’t want to fight about the problems arising, you want to talk about it to make things work. Pushing it away hurts you both in the long run”

Big Crown Records is proud to present “Piece of Me”, the sophomore full length offering from Lady Wray. This is something of a homecoming for Nicole. Where her 2016 solo debut “Queen Alone” leaned more towards Soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop, this record changes the mixture. It’s still R&B with the textures of analog Soul, but there is a heavy Hip Hop influence that brings the sum of Nicole’s career together in a new sound that will define her future. Boom-bap drums and chunky bass lines are front-and-center creating a perfect head-nodding backdrop for Lady Wray to take on the good, the bad, the difficult, and the joyful on her most personal collection of songs to date.

The title track, “Piece of Me,” which has already become a classic since it’s 2019 release is about the people in your life who need more than you are willing to give. This tune and the B side of the 7” “Come On In” were the first songs put to tape for this album and they were recorded with Nicole sitting in a chair 8 months pregnant with her daughter. Her voice is so powerful, so raw, so thorough on these initial songs—it’s wild to think that they were recorded this way. And even wilder to know that she knocked them all out in one take. Long time collaborator and producer Leon Michels keeps the musical backing restrained and expertly executed, setting up Lady Wray for the full spotlight and setting the tone for the rest of the album.

While the upbeat energies of “Under The Sun” and “Through It All” are sure to become hits that reconnect Lady Wray with her 90s R&B fanbase, “Where Were You” offers a behind the scenes look at what those days of stardom in her youth were really like. Nicole takes on the racial tension in America with her poetic and powerful “Beauty In The Fire” and leans heavy into her faith and church upbringing on the showstopper, “Thank You”. She gushes about the profound love she’s come to know for her daughter on “Melody” and celebrates life’s ups and downs on “Joy & Pain”. In 2021 it is rare to hear a varied yet cohesive album with no “skippers”, but that is what you have here in spades. The tried and true chemistry between Lady Wray and Leon Michels has undeniably found a higher level and this album stands as a testament to conviction and dedication for all of us to enjoy and be inspired by.

With this in mind, when talking about this record, for Lady Wray, it’s about a larger purpose. “My goal is always to help and to heal people with singing,” she explains. “Part of that is to try and bring back real music, real singing, so people can feel something again.” Now, she’s not dissing anyone here, to be clear. It’s just that Lady Wray cannot sing without tapping into something deeper, searching for that shared compassion between all of us. Perhaps it comes from her church upbringing, or maybe from her years of trials and tribulations in the music industry. Either way, Lady Wray is looking to bring that “Good Sound” back and the good feelings that come with it. She calls it “those inner hands,” and she always means to stir them up, grabbing your attention from within.

With past albums like the “Lady” project and Queen Alone, it’s hard to not acknowledge that Lady Wray plus Leon Michels production equals magic. But this magic is also coming from the fact that Lady Wray is now squarely herself, calling her shots, and singing to help heal first—everything else is secondary. “It’s a beautiful thing I’ve always wanted in my career, and now I have it,” Lady Wray says. “They encourage me to be me all day long.” This is Lady Wray at her finest, and she’s giving us all a piece of where she’s at these days. 

Announcing new album ‘Strata Records – The Sound of Detroit – Reimagined by Jazzanova’, BBE Music, DJ Amir and 180 Proof records present the first single from the project, ‘Creative Musicians, featuring remixes by Waajeed and Henrik Schwarz.

‘Strata Records – The Sound of Detroit – Reimagined by Jazzanova’ is no ‘covers’ album, rather a brand-new celebration of the iconic imprint, as Jazzanova’s take on Lyman Woodard Organization’s musical manifesto ‘Creative Musicians’ makes clear from its Afrobeat-inspired horn arrangements, drum track, and syncopated tempo.

The vocalist for these sessions is Sean Haefeli, who originally hails from Indianapolis, and brings a relaxed urgency to his contributions, sounding like a young Gil Scott-Heron.

Leveraging his 20 plus year friendship with legendary Detroit DJ/Producer extraordinaire, Waajeed, Amir enlists him for a special four-to-the-floor mix that not only keeps that organic vibe but also adds a unique contemporary Detroit flavour!

Henrik Schwarz needs little introduction to fans of eclectic electronic sounds. For over thirty years, his amazing body of work has packed dancefloors worldwide. Henrik takes ‘Creative Musicians’ in a slightly different direction, retaining many of Jazzanova’s original elements while adding his signature sound to the mix, providing another dance floor scorcher!

Nite Grooves returns to its hit single ‘ICU‘ from Ananda Project with a fresh new remix from label staple and UK soulful house hero Fizzikx. Kicking things off, Fizzikx delivers up his deep and delicious signature soulful house sounds for a deep and mature remix of the original. Next up, we complete the release with the original Ananda Project mix of ‘ICU‘ as this track has stood the test of time and continues to rock international dance floors from NYC to Tokyo!

F*CLR Records are so happy to be finally releasing The Sweet Fantastic’s brilliant ‘Hypnotisin (Get

Down)’ as F*CLR’s first fresh release of 2022 – a beautifully reinterpretated version of Raw Silk’s ‘Do

it to the music’. It’s been an incredibly long and winding road for Mancunian/qualified

architect/DJ/producer/remixer and extremely patient co-founder of ‘The Sweet Fantastic’, Andrew

Sant who now resides in Adelaide, Australia. Undeterred by a two year delay due to an initial

knockback on a sample request from Raw Silk’s record company, the onset of COVID lockdowns and

studio closures, Andrew persevered and after recruiting the fabulous talents of vocalist Lesley

Williams to reimagine the vocals, he revised his original 2019 track from scratch on his dining room

table along with musical colleague, Troy J Bean. They took inspiration from the original track but

added their ‘Sweet Fantastic’ spin to the ‘Do It’ vibes. The North Street West crew lent their production talents to the remix and Ashley Beedle, Darren Morris and Jo Wallace pooled their collective disco chops to add nu-house sensibilities to the already excellent original.

Previous releases from Andrew have included ‘Ya feel’ (3 AM Recordings), Out of Kontrol (Tri-Circle),

Inbetween Dreams (Tarantic), Escapism (Kolour) and The Beat Conductor (Open Bar) with remixes for

Neo on their track ‘Trulybe’ (Tri-Circle) and DJ Meme’s ‘Chanson du Soleil’ (Playmore). His DJ career

has taken him around the globe from Sankeys Soap + the Warehouse Project Warm Up Party,

Manchester, The Bomb, Nottingham, Miss Moneypenny’s @ BoHo, Ibiza and as a guest presenter on

Stamford University Radio, San Francisco, California. Drawing on influences from the likes of Ashley

Beedle, Frankie Knuckles, Jimpster, Masters at Work and Kerri Chandler to name but a few, The Sweet Fantastic are already working on several follow ups to ‘Hypnotisin’.