Fela Kuti Fela's First: The Complete 1959 Melodisc Session

Reissue of Fela's highly sought-after 1971 album, 'Open & Close'! Super-funky Afrobeat featuring the incredible title track!

Afrobeat classic! After helping Fela Anikulapo Kuti with Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense, Wally Badarou then produced Beasts of No Nation. 

Fela Kuti stories Nigeria’s attempt at ‘democracy’ in 1979 after more than a decade of
military rule told through this album, originally released in 1985 on Celluloid records. Features a long version of 'Government Chicken Boy'.

Fela Kuti made some frantic albums in his career--ones that popped with his enthusiastic political disobedience and ones that roared with fury at the Nigerian system and Africa's disadvantaged position in the late-20th century. But Coffin for Head of State is a different tiger. It's a downturned, sad, melancholic 22-minute work that signaled how Fela would make his previously general criticisms of Nigerian politics very specific. He recorded the album in 1981, several years after the Nigerian military's destruction of his self-declared Kalakuta Republic (a residential compound, in truth) and the ensuing, relentlessly violent assault on its residents, including his mother, who later died as a result of her injuries. Coffin finds Fela castigating Muslim and Christian leaders for idling while the government raped and pillaged, and it boasts a visionary quality in the antiphonal "Amens" that gets bounced through the band.

Originally released in 1977, ‘Johnny Just Drop (J.J.D.)’ features Fela lampooning Nigeria’s ‘been-tos’, people who had been to Europe or America to work or study and then returned (dropped) home with European social pretensions and an inferiority complex about African culture.

1972 Fela Kuti anthem! This is afro beat at it's finest...ESSENTIAL!!!    

On the title track Fela and the backup singers ridicule the mindset of men in uniform over an urgent, quick-march accompaniment from Afrika 70. The album was a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. ‘Zombie’ was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic (a commune that Fela had established in Nigeria). Fela was badly beaten, sustaining a fractured skull and several broken bones. His mother, then aged 77, was thrown out of a window, fracturing a leg and suffering deep trauma. The army then set fire to the compound. The blaze gutted the premises, destroying six Afrika 70 vehicles, all Fela’s master tapes and band equipment and a four-track recording studio.

Alagbon Close represents one of the first times anyone had directly taken on the Nigerian authorities in such a brash manner. Why Black Man Dey Suffer: This album, recorded in 1971 with Ginger Baker behind the board, was originally deemed too controversial for release by his label at the time. The title track is a history lesson on the oppression of the African man - detailing the litany of abuses they have suffered from being taken as slaves to having an alien people impose a new culture upon them, take their land, fight them, and set them against one another

Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.

'Let's Start' - Seriously killer tune! and loads more.

It's hard to go wrong with Fela Kuti's work from the 1970s, and LIVE!, which features the Afrobeat innovator backed by his powerhouse band Africa '70 and ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker, is no exception. Like all of Fela's recordings from the era, LIVE! consists of just a few tracks, each of which approximates or exceeds the ten minute mark. Yet the arrangements are so dynamic on these tracks, the criss-crossing polyrhythms so absorbing, and Fela's incantatory vocals so entrancing that the long running times never seem a factor. Every cut crackles from beginning to end with its mixture of funk, jazz, and traditional Nigerian music, underscoring once again Fela's revolutionary, indelible contribution to world music.

"JJD/Unnecessary Begging" is another gem in the Fela two-albums-on-one-CD reissue series on MCA. As original LPs, "JJD (Johnny Just Drop)," recorded live at Fela's home/club/compound, Kalakuta Republic, was released in 1977, while "Unnecessary Begging" and its b-side "No Buredi (No Bread)" were issued a year earlier in 1976. These albums were part of what was arguably Fela's greatest period as he released more than a dozen albums between 1975-77! While "Zombie" and "Opposite People" are clearly the essential recordings from this period, this disc, and all of the Fela reissues, are really indispensabl

The two titles from these 1977 albums are fiercely anti-authoritarian blasts at the Nigerian governmental regime while on 'Don't Worry About My Mouth O', Fela explains his preference for traditional African ways.

Wicked early reissue album from cult african hero Fela Ransome-Kuti with his first band Koola Lobitos from 1965!

In early 1965, just as the West African High-life scene was becoming rather a drag and everybody was bored with it all, the revoluntionary sound of Fela Ransome-Kuti & His Koola Lobitos burst upon us! Fela had recently trained at the Trinity College of Music in London before making this album, and was heavily influenced by jazz greats such as Miles Davis and Thad Jones, as a result of this the album has a very jazz infused sound. The horn section features heavilly in the album with Fela playing trumpet. Funky exotic rhythmic patterns, deep afro jazz grooves, this album is a brilliant eye opener and rare opportunity to experience the lesser known early Fela recordings compared to his 70's afrobeat output.

Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

'Expensive Shit', from 1975, is one of Fela's most notorious albums. The title track recounts being framed by the police and his comical escape from certain conviction while 'Water Get No Enemy' is a veritable Afro-beat anthem. 'He Miss Road', also from '75, was produced by Ginger Baker and is a deep and dark album that is one of Fela's best.

'Shakara', originally released in 1972, shows Fela's sarcastic sensibility: 'Lady' criticizes modern African women as becoming overly westernized while 'Shakara (Oloje)' sticks it to arrogant loud mouths.

'London Scene' was recorded at Abbey Road in 1971 and is a great, early example of the Afrobeat stew that Fela was starting to create. Politics began to show up on Fela's lyrics, specifically on the anti-colonial 'Buy Africa'.

Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.

Yet more essential afro beat classics from the king of Nigerian music, Fela Kuti! Monkey Banana - reflects his social consciousness in deploring the poor conditions of workers' lives in Nigeria. "Sense Wiseness' has a funkier beat and prominent high, glistening electric keyboards, the backdrop for lyrics criticizing the educated segment of Africa's population for absorbing Western ways.

Monkey Banana was combined with another 1975 album, Excuse O.

Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.

Highly Recommended!

Two essential Afro-beat classics from Fela Kuti with 'Upside Down' (1976) and the 'Music Of Many Colours' collaboration with Roy Ayers (1980). Their version of "2000 Black" is a rare groove classic!

Two classic afro beat albums on one bargain price CD! Recommended!

Deluxe digipack, with booklet including Fela’s biography and track-by-track commentary from Afrobeat historian Chris May.

Fela and Afrika 70 at their peak with two seminal albums on one disc. Rowsing, radical stuff as espoused by 'Colonial Mentality'.

Essential afro beat! A dancefloor bomb plus essential previously unreleased tracks! You need this!! This is a CD reissue of Fela Kuti's 1972 album Roforofo Fight, with the addition of two previously unreleased tracks from the same era. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Two classic afro beat albums!

More afro beat classics from the master himself!

Authority Stealing was actually inflammatory enough to initiate another round of beatings to Fela from the hands of government thugs, this time nearly killing him. VIP is a live performance from Berlin in 1979. This stands as the last recording of the Afrika 70 ensemble.

Highly recommended!

Available for the first time since 1979. Remastered and reissued on heavyweight translucent gold vinyl, complete with extended liner notes and limited edition hand-numbering. One of the rarest soul records to collect by The Sweet Inspirations. Originally released on the Koala label out of Tennessee, the label had hardly any distribution and very few of these were originally pressed. Gold vinyl edition.

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.

Limited Edition Clamshell Box which doubles up as a DJ box for your Brazil 45s collection.We've been toying with the idea of collaborating with a guest selector for the Brazil 45 series since its inception in 2014, but up until now the timing has never been quite right.That all changed following a recent digging trip to Brazil, where upon our return DJ Format was first into the office, full of excitement and enthusiasm (portable record player in hand), ready to bust open the boxes and see what treats we had unearthed.Straight away we knew that alongside being one of the UK's premier record collectors, producers and DJs, he had the passion and knowledge that would result in a totally unique take on a Brazil 45 collection. Brazil has such a rich multi-genre musical heritage that sometimes it can be hard for curators to decide on where to focus.DJ Format has a very distinct stamp to his own productions and mixtapes, and that can be clearly seen in the coherent theme he has applied to his selections for this release.He has chosen 10 funk-psyche-break-beat Brazilian nuggets from the '60s and early '70s, and included wonderful artists such as The Modern Tropical Quintet, Manito, Free-son, and Marisa Rossi, to name a few.It is a body of work that fits together perfectly and shines a light on some perhaps forgotten artists that deserve attention and praise.This collection will appeal to fans of DJ Format, those with a knowledge of Brazilian music, and even the first time buyer just wanting to discover something new. This special limited Record Store Day 5 x 45s collection comes in a box designed by Owen Tozer.

KILLER RARITY!! Bargain priced!

Very rare Upsetters & Vin Gordon album 'Musical Bones' was first released in the U.K. in 1975 only on a white-label pressing without a sleeve on Dip records (£400+). Only 300 were made at the time.

Superb Studio One rhythm recuts, deep, deep funk cuts - sparse, raw and edgy - CLASSIC Lee Perry!

The title is a play on word 'Trombone' being the instrument of the lead artist Vin Gordon. Produced by Lee Perry at The Black Ark, Kingston, raw Jamaican roots music 1975. Don't miss..

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!

Two of the finest dub collections from the early 1980s A.1 Dub & Cry Tuff Dub Chapter IV both make their CD debuts Numerous tracks unavailable for decades

Released in the UK by Trojan Records in 1980 and ’81, respectively, the Morwell Unlimited’s “A.1 Dub” and “Cry Tuff Dub Chapter IV” by veteran DJ, Prince Far I & the Arabs are among the finest examples of how those at the cutting edge of the Jamaican record scene were able to successfully apply dub techniques to the powerful new sounds of dancehall.

Surprisingly, despite the popularity of both of these widely revered long players, until this long overdue release, neither had previously been available on CD.

And to make this long overdue collection even more compelling is a bonus disc comprising a further 19 dub classics, all taken from Trojan’s short-lived Attack 12” subsidiary label.

With many of the recordings officially unavailable for decades, this 2CD set is an essential acquisition for any serious fan of deep and heavy dub sounds from the early dancehall era.

Hornin' Sounds latest releases are three KILLER deep dark funk roots tunes from the mid 70s all produced by U.K. producer Clem Bushay with The Cimarons on fire as the backing band. Two vocals from Carl Bert and one from Gene Rondo with dubs mixed by Jeh Jeh. No repress as usual from the French label..Highly recommended!! 1st time on 7"..

One copy for sale £368 on Discogs! Buy it here for £268 less!

29 cds + dvd! The whole kaboodle, the whole nine yards, the big whammy. Complete indeed! Phew!

Soul Jazz Records’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.

As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists’ approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices - and most of these artists’ recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists has up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond).

‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ shows that while there is commonality in these artists approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles – from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.

Soul Jazz Records’ new release comes as a superb one-off pressing special deluxe triple album edition which comes with a bonus limited-edition one-off pressing 7" single, a standard triple album, and a deluxe double CD pack. This album also comes with extensive sleevenotes, artist interviews and exclusive photography.

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Soul Jazz records are also releasing an exclusive one-off pressing double-headed 12” single featuring Theon Cross and Pokus released on the same day as the ‘Kaleidoscope’ album release. These two tracks do not feature on the vinyl edition of the album - this 12" single will will also be deleted on day of release.

Second in a series of 12'' records from Scott Ferguson. House tracks that were recorded in Detroit during the Late 90's / early 2000. Previously Unreleased until now.

Hornin' Sounds latest releases are three KILLER deep dark funk roots tunes from the mid 70s all produced by U.K. producer Clem Bushay with The Cimarons on fire as the backing band. Two vocals from Carl Bert and one from Gene Rondo with dubs mixed by Jeh Jeh. No repress as usual from the French label..Highly recommended!! 1st time on 7"..

Seriously rare, killer and classic Nigerian 70s Afro-Funk, Afro-Disco & Afro-Rock tunes bought together.

Originally released as a now-long-out-of-print collectors’ 7” RSD box, this fully expanded album release now also includes extra tracks from Sonny Okosuns, Wings, Chief Kollington Ayinla and more.

Soul Jazz Records’ Nigeria Soul Power 70 album showcases the influence of funk, rock and disco on Nigerian music during the 1970s

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While for many people the fusion of funk and jazz music with Nigerian rhythms and aesthetics began with Fela Kuti and his afro-beat sound, in fact this can be traced further back to the phenomena of the 1960s Nigerian artists and house bands in nightclubs and hotels who interpreted US soul and pop music with a local flavour and none more so than Geraldo Pino, the ‘African James Brown’ who features heavily in this collection. Other similarly inspired Nigerian funk and soul artists featured here included Tony Grey and his Ozimba Messengers and Don Bruce and The Angels.

Nigeria Soul Power 70 includes a number of tracks from the group Wings originally known as BAF (Biafran Air Force) Wings, an army band formed during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria. The groups’ heavy mixture of funk, rock and African styles was popular among many Nigerian groups at the time.

Beneath the shadow of the few Nigerian artists who signed international recording deals in the 1970s – Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Chief Ebenezer Obey – lies a vast wealth of largely undiscovered musical transmutation and cultural cross-pollination, and included here are heavy afro-funk/rock and disco tracks from artists such as the legendary Sonny Okosuns as well as rare cuts from little-known outside of Nigeria - groups such as Colomach and MFB. Most of these obscure artists signed to major labels in Nigeria in the commercial slipstream that opened up as Philips, Decca and EMI tried to emulate the international success of the big three international Nigerian artists.

Finally featured here is Kollington Ayinla, one of the co-founders of Nigerian Fuji music, who gives us perhaps the heaviest of all tracks on this album. Ayinla is the great moderniser of the Fuji sound and in the late 1970s began adding Bata drums and synthesizers to his authentic music to create a powerful and heavy new fusion of traditional and modernist aesthetics, embracing both new technology and experimentation while rooted firmly in Nigerian historical lineage.

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Nigeria Soul Power 70 is released as a heavyweight gatefold double vinyl LP (+ free download code), deluxe slipcase CD and digital album.

13 tracks new to CD, Includes previously lost “Doctor No Go” Trojan LP, Features numerous boss reggae hits

In 1968, having spent the past few years as a key member of leading Jamaican vocal trio, the Gaylads, Winston Delano Stewart embarked on what proved to be a hugely popular solo career, with the best of his early work gathered on his debut LP, “Stay A Little Bit Longer”, released by Trojan at the start of the Seventies.

The album now receives its long overdue reissue, with the original dozen tracks bolstered by the remainder of the singer’s recordings for Sonia Pottinger’s High Note Records, as well as the recently discovered Trojan LP, “Doctor No Go”, and the very best of the producer’s output from 1969 to 1970.

Featuring numerous significant Jamaican hits, 13 tracks new to CD and many more recordings unavailable for decades, this collection is another must-have purchase for any serious fan of boss reggae sounds.

DJs El Palmas and El Dragón Criollo have chosen eight impossibly hard-to-find jewels, originally released between 1966 and 1978, reissued here for the first time on vinyl.

In this period, Venezuelan musicians assimilated a wide range of influences and styles, both local and global, to generate something new, a “modern” identity for Venezuelan music; artists who set their eyes on the future without giving up the search for their own sabor (flavour). This is how jazz, rock, salsa, funk, psych, prog and disco, sat next to guajira, cumbia, cha-cha-cha and even the hugely-popular Venezuelan style of joropo. It started a long tradition of Venezuelan musical pioneers, many of whom are still to get the recognition they deserve.

Absolutely essential book telling the story of hip-hop from an informed and informative point of view. Historical, cultural and social context gives this book much more depth than most hip-hop histories. Very Recommended!

Wicked mid 70s roots vocal cut from Paul Whiteman, produced by Augustus Pablo with the rare original dub version on the flip.

We have got one extra box of 50 copies! If you want one order now!

THIS IS THE BOMB!

KILLER Late-60s style spy/thriller soundtrack + New York No Wave synth/guitar D-I-Y BOMB white label 45!

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING EXCLUSIVE Trees Speak NEW SINGLE! V.Ltd. edition white label 45. Don't miss out on this beauty!

Shipping NOW!

Another exemplary selection of new-wave/minimal synth music from around the world, sourced by the keen-eared Dark Entries label! Previously unreleased music from Beastie Boys producer, John King of the Dust Brothers, plus minimalism from the Netherlands, a 1990 cover of Tears for Fears’ 'Mad World' from Croatia and more!

Finally, after 53 years, "I Caught You In A Lie" is now rightly regarded as one of the GREAT New Orleans Soul classics. Whilst many people may only know the various cover versions, Robert Parker's original sublime slice of heartfelt Soul has steadily built in reputation, especially recently. That's why original Nola copies are £150+, even for battered ones! So here is the official legitimate, remastered repress on the sacred Nola label. 7 Inch with replica artwork.

Formerly unreleased, super-rare tracks from the original New York scene, art-house band Gray originally fronted by the legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

A slice of the Lower East Side New York grounded in real experiences, real feelings and the joys of urban living, expressed through the tracks ‘Never Gonna Leave New York City’ & ‘Willie Mays, Boom For Real’ from founding Gray member Michael Holman and bandmate Nicholas Taylor.

This RSD release comes in a stunning full colour sleeve complete with liner notes from executive producer, as well as legendary counterculture author and rock biographer (Jagger, Dylan, Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Zappa, etc), Barry Miles.

Anticipated Apron Records debut from the man like Byron The Aquarius! Killer mini-LP/EP of boogie/broken/house vibes delivered in a way that only Byron knows! ESSENTIAL!

Never released before on 7”

This cracking up-tempo track from 1970 has a heavy guitar work, a killer organ and some real gutsy vocals to boot.The sound and rhythm are quite different from Ellis previous songs and, sign of time, have a distinctive Boss Reggae feel and it really rocks! “Pumping In” is an absolute gem that has been badly overlooked up to now. 1972 "Knock on wood", the Eddie Floyd mega hit, has been covered several times by Alton previously, in a brilliant but rather conservative way. This version though was produced by Joe Gibbs and is totally different. It featured on 2 compilations LPs in 1969 and 1973 but was never issued on a 7" vinyl previously. In the same vein as "Pumping In" but slower, this killer track is a rough, tough reggae cover of the Soul anthem featuring unbelievable vocals from Alton, and a distinctly Boss Sound production from Joe Gibbs. A Must Have..

7" £10

For the first time ever this Modern Soul early '80s masterpiece finally gets a 7" release some 38 years later!

Quite simply "A Chance For Hope" is one of the all-time, under-rated gems from this era. How it never made to a single release before now we'll never know. One of the classiest 7 inch releases you're ever likely to see! Officially licensed, remastered and LTD 7 inch RSD release with replica artwork.

UK-based cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble release their 'Telemetric Sounds' album on maverick producer Madlib’s label, Madlib Invazion!

Great deep roots one away tune from Nyah Hunter from the mid 70s produced by Alvin Ranglin.