Okonkolo Cantos

Demo version of his hit that Bobby Oroza made at home on an MPC. Raw, contemporary soul music at it's most heartfelt! Backed with demo version of 'Will I Get Off Easy' before Leon Michels worked with the great Lee Fields.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany, are back with 'Expansions', an album covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Check their killer versions of Sylvester, Ike Turner, Minnie Riperton, Grace Jones, Slum Village and more!

Wicked mini-LP from Brainstory on the ever-reliable Big Crown label. Stunning fusion of breezy, soft rock with funk and soul touches - produced by Leon Michels!

Where the group's previous album 'Adult Themes' inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, 'Yeti Season' brings us to a different place in time with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with this stunning album release!

'Seasons' showcase Brainstory’s sunny California soul and mixes in a touch of Roy Ayers east coast energy. The result is an infectious and uplifting tune penned at the beginning of quarantine with the hope of finding a bright-side in the trouble the world is facing. On the flip 'Bye Bye', is another stone cold B side ballad from the group that gave us 'Dead End'. The Darling Dears of Rialto have recorded what is sure to become another staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. But, in true Brainstory fashion this tune is uniquely theirs. Elements of psych, hip hop and jazz distance it from their soul-loving peers.

**Unreleased songs that didn’t make their way onto 'Special Night' and 'It Rains Love' albums.** Big Crown launch their 'Big Crown Vaults' series, the first being the previously unavailable music of Lee Fields & the Expressions.

Second album from LA based band Brainstory on the ever-reliable Big Crown label. Stunning fusion of rock, funk and soul produced by Leon Michels!

In the wake of his album classic 'This Love', Bobby Oroza drops 'Strange Girl / Down On My Knees'. This is something of a Big Crown family affair as they cover The Shacks tune 'Strange Boy' giving it that signature Bobby sound and flipping the title to 'Strange Girl'. Funky, sweet soul killers!

Big Crown Records is proud to present the reissue of one of Brooklyns most sought after holy grails. Youth in Action, Inc. (YIA) was formed in 1963 when the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council received a grant to develop a youth services program in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community. It was originally organised to identify and address the social problems that were leading to the high crime rate in Bed-Stuy. What there is no mention of in either the NMAAHCs collection of YIA materials nor in the Brooklyn Public Library's also extensive collection is this talent show and the record that came to be because of it. Local vocal groups chose tunes to cover from the era (1964 - 1968) ranging from The Rascals to The Intruders, from The O'Jays to Billy Stewart. All of these groups were backed by a local act called The Thrillers Band. The winners of the talent contest were then invited into the studio to record their versions which would be pressed up on this record and given away to local radio and TV stations. The hope of the whole thing was that this would help the young groups get discovered by producers and record labels and start their professional music careers. The intro to the album is Reverend Horace Tyler congratulating the winners

What this album may lack in fidelity and production it more than makes up for in charm. The engineers at the recording sessions pump in pre recorded applause and screaming to give the it the feel of the day of the contest while the young groups sing their hearts out, clearly giving their all.

"It is with great pleasure that we make this available to the public again. This is a truly rare record, and an awesome piece of New York History."

Deep contemporary soul balladry on the excellent Big Crown label from hotly-tipped talent, Bobby Oroza!

Reissue of two rare Sunny & The Sunliners' cover versions! On the a-side is a version of 'Get Down' backed with their take on Billy Stewart's classic 'Cross My Heart'.

A sweet, low rider / brown eyed soul music classic from 1968, reissued via Big Crown!

The Shacks draw on the hedonistic rock’n’roll blueprint of the 1960s and 1970s on their dazed, psychedelic album debut 'Haze'!

Reissue of this classic, low-riding, brown-eyed soul album, 'Smile Now, Cry Later', from 1966 1966.

As with most Sunny LPs, this is a mix of soulful originals - most notably, "Smile Now, Cry Later" and "Put Me In Jail" - and provocative, wide-ranging covers. Cases in point on the tributes side of this great album include the Sam & Dave shouter "Hold On I'm Comin'"; "Forever," made famous by both the Marvelettes and Marvin Gaye, and a song that Sunny performs to this day; and the '60s Louis Prima crooner special "Just A Gigolo."

Debut EP from one of the most interesting young bands coming out of New York City today.

Originally released in 1972, Lord Of Lords was Alice Coltrane’s final album for Impulse! and the last installment in her awe-inspiring trilogy that also included Universal Consciousness and World Galaxy.

While all three records featured strings alongside a jazz ensemble, Lords Of Lords stood apart from its predecessors due to the sheer size of the orchestra (12 violins, 6 violas and 7 cellos, arranged and conducted by Coltrane herself) and its refined, blissful performances - shining a vital light on the devotional path that she would follow for the rest of her career. On the first two pieces, “Andromeda’s Suffering” and “Sri Rama Ohnedaruth” (titled after the spiritual name for her late husband), Alice’s dazzling piano and harp blend perfectly with the blanket of strings, while the haunting rhythm section of Charlie Haden and Ben Riley and a magnificent, droning electric organ emerge immaculately on the title track and closer “Going Home.” Coltrane’s musical vision is bold in its imagination and cosmic in scope, yet remains intensely personal and immediate.

Lord Of Lords points inward as much as to the beyond, recalling her classical roots and recasting Eastern modes to radically invert the American avant-garde and spiritual jazz traditions. This first-time vinyl reissue has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes.

Legendary Brazilian soulful funk album from 1972. A 'Black Rio' masterpiece reissue for the first time on vinyl. Limited to 500 copies!

Back in the nineties, southern states such as Memphis, Tennessee were also hotbeds for the fast evolving sound of hip-hop. Shawty Pimp and was brought to international ears in 2014 when his album 'Comin' Real Wit It' was pressed to vinyl and sold out in the blink of an eye. Gyptology Records now present a vinyl pressing of the 1995 cassette sequel, 'Still Comin' Real'. This will fly - don't sleep!

Limited promo release ahead of Hailu Mergia’s new album! Where the album scales angular heights between modern jazz and Ethiopian harmonies, these two tracks explore the heavier side of Mergia’s trio work with drummer Tony Buck and Bassist Mike Majkowski.

100 copies available worldwide!

Soaring salsa from the mighty Lebron Brothers! The group's shift from boogaloo to salsa is a great example of the way the key acts were helping make the waves that so many other artists would follow. Originally released on Fania affiliate, Cotique in 1970.

Big Crown reissue the contemporary soul classic, 'This Love' by Finland's own Bobby Oroza!

Prince Far I aka the Voice Of Thunder got his start in the burgeoning Jamaican music industry as a sound system DJ (for Sir Mike The Musical Dragon), workingsecurity at Joe Gibbs’ stuido and in a similar roll at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One. As fate would have it, King Stitt, the regular DJ at Studio One, failed to turn up to voice a track and the up and commer convinced Coxsone to give him a try on the mic. The resulting cut launched the career of one of Reggae’s most famous toasters – though he liked to describe his style as a chanter rather than the more popular term toaster. First releasing records using the moniker King Cry Cry, the same name he’d used working Sir Mike’s sound system, he soon changed his name to Prince Far I at the suggestion of producer Enos McLeod.

On Voice Of Thunder, Prince Far I is supported by an extremely sparse yet heavy instrumental backing which perfectly compliments his growling voice. As is often the case with Prince Far I, much of the material is essentially Bible verse, “Ten Commandments” being a perfect example. The Voice Of Thunder full length alsoincludes a tribute to the very recently deceased Bob Marley, and he even takes time to take UK skinheads to task for wearing polyster (forbidden to a real rastafarian).

Long out of print on vinyl, this 1981 masterpiece from Prince Far I is back.

An underground classic in every sense of the term, Slum Village's 1998 production 'Fantastic, Vol. 2' was a breath of fresh air for hip-hop heads when it finally hit shelves in 2000, earning heavy acclaim and artistic clout for the trio of T3, Baatin, and the late production legend J Dilla. 'Fantastic, Vol. 2' featured vibes and lyrics harkening back to the classic sounds of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, smooth and infectious production that would go on to set a blueprint for the 00's arrival of neo soul, and top-shelf guest appearances from Q-Tip, D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes, and more.

Now, upon the 20th anniversary of the album's completion, Ne'Astra Media Group bring a whole new collection of long lost tracks from the Fantastic, Vol. 2 sessions to you. Produced between 1996 and 1999, The Lost Scrolls Vol. 2 (Slum Village Edition) features 11 unreleased demos and remixes featuring the classic Slum Village lineup.