The Beginning of the End Funky Nassau: The Definitive Collection

Strut present the definitive reissue of one of the all-time classic Caribbean soul and funk albums, the self-titled album by The Beginning Of The End, originally released in 1976

Strut reissue one of the most in-demand and significant albums from the archives of Jimmy Gray’s Black Fire Records, ‘Bow To The People’ (1976) by theatre collective Theatre West, based out of Dayton, Ohio.

Shelved following the original recording, the Bow To The People album eventually surfaced on a limited CD on Black Fire in 1993. Now receiving its first full international release, the album features the previously unreleased tracks ‘Man Of Many Means’ and ‘I Don’t Knpw Much About Love’.

Strut present the definitive edition of Patrice Rushen’s landmark, boogie album from 1982, ‘Straight From The Heart’. Includes the classics ‘Forget Me Nots’ and 'Number One' and bonus 12” versions of the album’s singles including a previously unreleased extended mix of ‘Tired Of Being Alone’.

Deluxe, definitive issue of the greatest Sun Ra album, recorded in NYC, 1978!

Super-deep, funky odd-ball jazz with spooky whispered vocals! Cult classic deep experimental jazz with an outer-space alien groove! Highly recommended!

Strut continue their reissues from the Black Fire label with a definitive edition of JuJu’s ‘Live At 131 Prince Street’, recorded in 1973 at Ornette Coleman’s gallery in New York and featuring a previously unheard recording of the Pharoah Sanders composition 'Thembi'.

Strut reissue 'My Pure Joy', a 90s album by Philadelphia jazz musician Byard Lancaster. He was known for blending together various styles - which, on this particular album, included a heavy Nigerian jazz influence amongst the spiritual grooves.

Strut release the debut album from Ghana’s Alostmen, led by Stevo Atambire. Produced by Wanlov The Kubolor (Fok’n Bois) and Percy Yip Tong and features Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, Yaa Pono, Medikal and Villy. 'Kologo' is based around kologo music traditions and driven by contemporary arrangement. Superb!

During a tour of Egypt in the early 70s, Sun Ra made a number of live recordings. 'Dark Myth Equation Visitation', also known as 'Live In Egypt Vol. 1' or 'Nature’s God', and was recorded in 1971. Side one of the LP features a recording of a TV performance, including an interview, and side two fronts tracks recorded during a concert in Heliopolis near Cairo.

Sun Ra's 11th studio album 'Horizon' was recorded at the Ballon Theatre in Cairo, Egypt. Contains a wild version of the classic 'Space Is The Place' and 'The Satellites Are Spinning'.

'Nidhamu' is one of a number of albums that Sun Ra recorded during an Egyptian tour in 1971. Features songs from a concert in Cairo with his Astro-Intergalactic-Infinity Arkestra plus a solo keyboard performance, recorded that same year.

Afro futurist sensations Onipa unleash their debut album, combining Afro grooves, electronics and fierce energy. Featuring guest vocals from Ghanaian star Wiyaala, and also collaborations with South African rapper Spoek Mathambo.

The Souljazz Orchestra continue to be an unstoppable force! The Canadian collective are back with a journey into politically-charged tropical, latin, afro, and soul jazz styles!

Strut reissue reissue this stunning (and now very rare) original album from the early career of Nigerian juju star Shina Peters, ‘Sewele’ from 1986!

12 piece, Nubiyan Twist blend elements of jazz, soul, hip hop and African styles on this killer single via Strut!

Strut present this killer compilation compiled by Optimo’s JD Twitch, ‘Kreaturen Der Nacht’, bringing together classics, rarities and oddities from Germany’s original post-punk and DIY scene!

Strut present a brand-new deluxe edition of Oneness of Juju’s Afro-jazz classic ‘African Rhythms’, originally released on Black Fire in 1975 and first reissued on Strut in 2002. Essential album!

Strut present the definitive reissue of one of the all-time classic Caribbean soul and funk albums, the self-titled album by The Beginning Of The End, originally released in 1976

Strut present the first in a series of essential original LP reissues exploring rare and under-rated African, Latin and Caribbean music classics kicking off with the killer ‘Sugar Daddy’, an experimental highlife / disco outing by Nigerian highlife guitarist Joe King Kologbo. Vibes!

Strut focus in on the séga sound of Mauritius, the “blues of the Indian Ocean", with a comprehensive look at this utterly unique dance music sounds of Mauritius.

Peruvian psychedelic folk collective, Kanaku Y El Tigre surface on Strut with long player 'Quema Quema Quema'.

'Quema Quema Quema' (meaning ‘Burn Burn Burn’ in Spanish) is the product of two years honing the Kanaku sound at the band’s Lima studio HQ and the result is a record which is feverish in intensity and which screams with joy and cries for help in the same breath. The album is a testament to the collective's new found approach with its euphoric, unapologetically feel-good hooks littered with electronic jitters, ghostly delays, serene Hawaiian slide guitars and a chorus of other-wordly vocal harmonies.

New studio album by one of Ghana’s all-time great vocalists, “The Golden Voice Of Africa”, Pat Thomas, in conjunction with the Kwashibu Area Band led by multi-instumentalist Kwame Yeboah (Cat Stevens, Patrice) and saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff (Ebo Taylor, Poets of Rhythm).

Strut and Art Yard collude once more for the first release anywhere of a live Sun Ra performance from Amiens, France in 1973, Planets Of Life Or Death. Features rare photos from Sun Ra’s 1973 European tour by photographer Jan Persson. 

This is the brand new album from cult ethio-jazz hero Mulatu Astatke on Strut Records!

His first solo album in over 20 years refines his singular musical vision and builds upon the foundation he has laid in his storied career! A collaboration with musicians of varying ages and nationalities.  The album is soaked in his 60's and 70's Ethopian deep jazz legacy as well asincorporating contemporary western jazz. Deep medative, spiritual, soulful ethio-jazz grooves, that will appeal to listeners of all ages!

An essential compilation showcasing defintive tracks from cult ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke on Strut!!!

Vibraphone and keyboard player, master arranger and bandleader, Mulatu Astatke is one of the all-time greats of Ethiopian music and the creator of his own original music form, Ethio jazz. Through the acclaimed Ethiopiques album series and through featuring on the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers, his music has belatedly reached a global audience and a new, younger generation of fans. Last year, he recorded an inspired new album with London psych jazz band The Heliocentrics for Strut’s ‘Inspiration Information’ studio collaboration series. Now, the good peple at Strut have for the first time anywhere have compiled the definitive Mulatu career retrospective covering his landmark ‘60s and ‘70s recordings

Mulatu is a true pioneer of African music. He was the first Ethiopian musician of his generation to travel extensively and to record abroad – he studied in the UK in Wales and at Trinity College Of Music in London, cutting his teeth on the buoyant London jazz scene of the early ‘60s. He became the first African student to attend Harvard and he lived and recorded in New York, developing a unique sound that fused Western jazz with traditional Ethiopian melodies.

Tracing the progression of his Ethio jazz experiments with full access to all of the labels for whom he recorded, Mulatu Astatke: New York-Addis-London is the essential Mulatu. Covering his first recordings in the UK during 1965, his groundbreaking fusions for the small Worthy label in New York and his key ‘70s recordings back in Addis on Amha,

Includes extensive sleeve notes from Miles Cleret from Soundway Records and photos!

YOU NEED THIS ALBUM!

We were completely blown away by the music of the late Cameroonian master musician, Francis Bebey when a compilation emerged on the Born Bad imprint last year. The label returns with another KILLER compilation of 'universal' music from the Sanza-playing genius! Moving from ambient pieces, to funky cosmic, unusual psychedelics -- all wrapped up in Francis' endearing charm. **12 page booklet / and insert written by Francis Bebey's son**

Strut present the definitive reissue of one of the all-time classic Caribbean soul and funk albums, the self-titled album by The Beginning Of The End, originally released in 1976

12 piece, Nubiyan Twist blend elements of jazz, soul, hip hop and African styles on this killer single via Strut!

Featuring the monster latin-funky hit "Jungle Fever". One of the sexiest, and strangest, ever!

Now one of the leading lights in the UK’s new generation of soulful, 'genre-fluid' artists, the London-based 12-piece collective have created their finest recordings to date, effortlessly weaving together elements of jazz, soul, hip hop, African styles, Latin, dub, hip hop and electronics in a flow of thought-provoking and life-affirming music!

The Chakachas were a Belgian based group of Latin soul studio musicians. Also known as Les Chakachas or Los Chakachas. They started out in the late 50s, recording a playful mixture of Latin music, jazz, and European-style exotica.

We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records’ sister-label) is proud to present its first release, the official reissue of Ryo Fukui’s highly sought-after masterpiece Scenery (1976) - unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded. Sourced from the original masters and available on 140g vinyl, mastered at half speed for audiophile sound.

Rare west coalst latin/bossa jazz. Original USA vinyl

Walyn (Wallen or affectionally known as 'Pacey") hails from Clarendon, Jamaica. Growing up with Everton Blender they founded their his first youth band called "Everton & The Blenders" and for years played and sang on the northcoast circuit of Jamaica in hotels of the tourist strongholds. Back in 1978 a young "Pacey" recorded 'Jah Is My Light' at Channel One Studio on Maxfield Avenue with friend and musical colleague Carl Wolf, and throughout the next couple of decades continued recording as a solo artist and as backing vocalist. He actively toured Europe and USA and has been residing in Germany since 2001 and remains very active on the scene. He still performs to this day at festivals and sound systems and continues recording with several artists and bands. 'Jah Is My Light' has become a hard to find collectors item with 'Pacey' even recently re-voicing this song for the label Ancient Mountain, 41 years since its initial release (also worth checking).

We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records’ sister-label) is thrilled to present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream (1977) by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind, Ryo Fukui. Sourced from the original masters, it is now available mastered at half speed, 140g vinyl, heavy cardboard old Stoughton tip-on sleeve.

A selection of rare funk and soul from America’s West Coast. From the Soul Sensations’ ballad ‘When I Had You, Baby’ – one of the finest examples of harmony singing you will ever hear – to the raw street funk of Little Johnny Hamilton’s two-part ‘The Git Down’ and everything in between, this represents the best music coming out of California at the time. Who could ignore the exceptional ‘Butterfly’ by the Ballads or the Brenton Wood-composed ‘Strike’ by Union featuring the vocals of Gail Anderson.

chicago funked up boogie rare groove (vocal and instrumental)

Mint unplayed original USA 45

50% OFF Fantastic, stunning deluxe large format IMPORT USA HARDBACK BOOK - the bomb! So cool it hurts ...

Yale professor Robert Farris Thompson is a living legend. He started writing about the African heritage in the art and music of the Americas when no one recognized the continuities, when African-American studies did not exist and the Civil Rights Movement still met with violent opposition. This book presents the best of the essays on Afro- Atlantic art and music that Thompson wrote from 1963 to 2006. Edited for this publication, they offer a riveting guide to Afro-Atlantic culture, from the tango to James Hampton's glittering Throne of the Third Heaven. One significant piece on David Hammons, a leading figure in contemporary art, appears here for the first time. Among a staggering array of topics, other essays consider bus painting in Haiti; Jean-Michel Basquiat's love of jazz; hip-hop; Cuban Kongo altars and the art of Jose Bedia; Betye Saar and vodun; Renee Stout, healing, and the nkisi-charm; Keith Haring, the dancer; American yard art and bottle trees; Umbanda altars; and the ethos transmitted in the aesthetic of the 'cool'. Many of the color illustrations reproduce Thompson's photographs of dance, altars, and lost masterpieces of yardart.

An essential primer for those with an interest in Japanese popular music culture and, specifically, the 'Wamono' sound - the cream of the Japanese funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the decades since the end of the 60s in Japan. A exemplary selection by Japanese super diggers and Wamono specialists DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite and Chintam!

Quirky, endearing one-of-a-kind seventies and early eighties Cameroonian electronics from Francis Bebey! Using early drum machines, electronic organs and keyboards, he embraced the technique of 'sound on sound' recording (recording several tracks, sequentially juxtaposed on the same tape). Brilliant, creative electronic explorations. Very highly recommended!

1961 Latin LP

IN STOCK - Get it while u can!

Soul Jazz Records' Brazil Funk Power – Brazilian Funk & Samba Soul features ten superb, rare and classic Brazilian funk and soul cuts across five individual bespoke 7" singles housed in a box set.

This release is the 2nd of Soul Jazz Records 3 Record Store Day 2020 titles and is an exclusive one-off pressing, limited-edition collectors seven-inch box set, which will be deleted on the day of release.

This release features some of the funkiest Brazilian music ever made - music by Jorge Ben, Banda Black Rio, Tim Maia, Toni Tornado, Cassiano performing some of the best tunes ever to come out of Brazil!

Classics from the superb 70s Afro-Brazilian Funk & Soul era of Brazil’s own Black Power Movement (‘Movimento Negro’) sit alongside a dancefloor-heavy selection of Samba Soul and Boogie, Afro-percussive Brazilian funk and more!

All tracks have been digitally re-mastered and the singles come housed in a thick, heavyweight deluxe card box.

This box set is a one-off pressing exclusively for Record Store Day.

First official reissue of the extremely rare, ground-breaking Nigerian disco-boogie LP from 1979 by Lagos-based bandleader, Shina Williams. Features the sought-after 'Agboju Logun' - this album version is a different mix to the two-track 12” that came out under on Earthworks, Rough Trade in 1984.

Original = Original UK Vinyl G ONLY/Sleeve G ONLY

+High-end Audio Desk Systeme Pro Machine Utrasonic cleaned+

100% Guarantee on this and all Original Vinyl at Sounds Of The Universe - 'if you're not happy we're not happy' or your money back!

Classic late 70s roots vocal with King Tubby's killer deep dub on the b-side. White coloured label now not Yellow.

New one on legendary Detriot imprint Sound Signature see's an all-star cast of vocalists and musicians joining Theo Parrish in the studio. Huge, jazzy house work out with a Dego reinterpretation on the flip!

Great roots vocal from Little Roy with tuff U.K. rhythm from the Room In The Sky crew, Instrumental on the flip.

Beautiful, golden-era soul written by Leon Sylvers III, produced by Jerry Butler and Keg Johnson. The Sylvers were a familyfrom Los Angeles who were very successful during the 70’s and into the early 80’s, with chart hits - deep into pop-disco territory by then! - including ‘Boogie Fever’, ‘Hot Line’ and ‘High School Dance’.This is the group’s second album, from 1973, and is one of their strongest. Opening with the awesome mid-tempo ‘We Can Make It If We Try’ the record moves through funk, boogie and deep soul moods, finishing on a hazy, acapellaversion of The Beatles ‘Yesterday’.

A true funk-soul masterpiece. Sampled by Madlib, Homeboy Sandman,
Ghostface Killah, Black Milk, Roc Marciano, 9th Wonder and more!

Soul Jazz Records’ new Studio One DJ Party is the latest instalment from the mighty Studio One Records catalogue, a wicked new collection of the finest DJs and toasters ever to inhabit the world of reggae – seminal Jamaican artists including Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Michigan & Smiley, Lone Ranger as well as a host of lesser known artists and rare cuts from Studio One.

From the earliest days when Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd ran his Downbeat soundsystem up and down the length of Jamaica, DJs and toasters such as King Stitt and Count Machukie were always a part of the sound of Studio One, introducing new records and exciting audiences with catchphrase lines such as:

“No matter what the people say these sounds lead the way

It's the order of the day from your boss deejay” King Stitt

So when DJ emerged as a distinct reggae style at the start of the 1970s, Studio One was, as always, way ahead of their competitors. Legendary artists of the calibre of Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone and Prince Jazzbo all queued up to record for the equally legendary label.

At the end of the 1970s, as dancehall exploded onto the island, Clement Dodd was once again able to maintain Studio One’s position on the throne as the number one sound in the Jamaica, fighting off upstart competitors such as Channel One and Joe Gibbs who tried to replicate Studio One’s unique sound. During this period Clement Dodd released a series of stunning dancehall releases from young DJ/dancehall artists at the label including Lone Ranger and Michigan & Smiley.

This selection spans the early 70s up until the mid-1980s, from the earliest days of deejay toasting right up until digital dancehall, ground-breaking tracks over the finest selection of the ultimate Studio One rhythms and tracks. Who could ask for more?

Studio One DJ Party includes specially commissioned sleevenotes by Chris Lane, founder of the legendary British reggae label Fashion Records, as well as fantastic original artwork commissioned by the illustrator Ski Williams. The album is released as double heavyweight vinyl (+download code), and distinctive Soul Jazz Records CD with slipcase.

This is the first volume of the Hot sauce compilation LPs dedicated to the Trojan related UK labels between 1965 and 1975. It features Rocksteady, Boss Reggae, early Dub and early Reggae, outstanding original Jamaican tracks including rare songs, overlooked gems, hidden treasures and some hits. The record labels showcased on the first volume are Attack, Amalgamated, Black Swan, Blue Cat, Downtown, Doctor Bird, Duke, Grape, High Note, Randy’s and Trojan. The tracks here have been selected according to their musical interest firstly, their rarity, and their complementary feel as pert of this compilation. Particular attention has been paid to the way the songs are sequenced (or “mixed”) so that the album builds up nicely and gradually, generally starting with the Rocksteady songs on the A side and the 70s songs on the B side.

The cover features unique art drawing from a talented French cartoonist Alteau. This release includes a 30x30cm insert poster printed on glossy magazine paper.

Limited press of 1000 Copies