Brief Encounter Human/Total Satisfaction

NEW LTD. FIRST EDITION 300 copies. Only available EXCLUSIVELY to customers at Soul Jazz Records/Sounds of the Universe.

Stone-cold CLASSIC monster soul anthem! Sounds wicked!

THIS 7-inch can ONLY be bought directly here from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe websites and shop.  

See all the EXCLUSIVE 45s titles only available here!

EXCLUSIVE NEW 45rpm - ONLY available direct from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe.

All time-killer New Orleans heavyweight funk bomb on loud 7" single!

Betty Harris's seminal vocals, The Meters’ Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr + the incredible James Black on drums. They don't get much better than this!

THIS 7-inch can ONLY be bought directly here from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe websites and shop. It is a very limited 500-copies pressing and you need to buy it now!

See all the EXCLUSIVE 45s titles only available here!

Insane percussive heavy 60s party Mambo recorded in the Bahamas + Hypnotic 60s calypso recorded in Port-au-Prince. 

Caribbean party vibes on this Soul Jazz Records 45 only available EXCLUSIVELY to customers of Soul Jazz Records/Sounds of the Universe! Very limited 300 copies!

Soul Jazz Records’ new Boombox 3 continues the story of the first rap records to be put onto vinyl. It is a jam-packed collection of original independent ‘old-school’ hip-hop, created with just one thing in mind – to get this party jumping!

After the explosion of hip hop in the parks and clubs of The Bronx in the mid-1970s, it was in Harlem where the first rap records emerged at the end of 1979 - an avalanche of superb rap tracks released on small independent labels all trying to capitalise on the success of ‘Rappers Delight.’

Like hip hop culture itself, these first rap singles are the product of their own unique set of aesthetics – exciting and innovative rap performed with Bronx block party B-Boy funk breaks, disco jams and Jamaican sound system culture.

The extensive sleevenotes discuss hip-hop’s trajectory from the first wave of Bronx creativity – the legendary DJs Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa – through to its arrival in Harlem via the entrepreneurism of old-school African-American rhythm and blues producers and émigré Jamaican producers all living in New York. Along the way the notes discuss everything from the New York power blackout of 1977, the Italian mafia involvement in the music industry, the links between rap and Jamaican dancehall and more besides!

Boombox 3 features a line-up of stunning, near unknown New York rap artists, classic disco breaks (including Chic’s omnipotent Good Times, MFSB’s Love Is the Message, Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust etc.), proto-electro and more. And by the early 1980s the first rap records outside New York began to emerge – Los Angeles, Houston, Milwaukee, Phoenix – and the first of these are also featured here in this new collection.

This Soul Jazz Records album is released on heavyweight triple vinyl (+ download code) with full notes, double CD pack with 44-page outsize booklet and slipcase, and digital album.

Reviews of Boombox series:

‘The vital launch pad between hip-hop’s birth and its worldwide impact’ THE WIRE

‘This compilation of early rap is a legit party in a box, one of the best Soul Jazz Records releases in years.’ FACT

Soul Jazz Records’ new Nigeria Soul Fever is their first release to explore the vast wealth of Nigerian music recorded in the 1970s. The new album comes with introductory sleevenotes by Bill Brewster (author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life).

Packed-full with Afro-Funk, Disco and Boogie all from Nigeria, this triple album/double CD set brings together a stunning collection of diverse West African sounds. Whilst a small handful of the artists featured (Joni Haastrup, Tee Mac, Christy Essien) have seen the light of day outside Africa, this is essentially a collection of killer tracks by an array of artists completely unknown outside of Nigeria. 

Artists such as Don Bruce & The Angels, Akin Richards & The Executives, Angela Starr, Jimmy Sherry & The Music Agents. It’s no surprise that these records are extremely rare and expensive to buy individually so this album will save you going broke trying to find them.

These recordings were made at a time when Nigeria’s trade restrictions banned imported records. Whilst new musical trends (such as American soul, funk, disco etc) entered and influenced the country, the local music scene remained just that – local. Consequently, these recordings remain practically unknown to anyone outside of the country.

Nigeria Soul Fever is released as triple-album vinyl + download, double-CD digi-pack and digital download. This album follows on from Soul Jazz Records’ 1960s collection Nigeria Freedom Sounds, released last month, and will be followed by the reissue of the incredibly rare and groovy Nigerian 1980 disco boogie funk album Tee Mac’s Night Illusion.

"Excellent new soul jazz compilation Nigeria Soul Fever: Afrofunk, Disco And Boogie: West African Disco Mayhem!" THE GUARDIAN

READ Guardian top 10 Nigerian Disco full feature here

NEW £1000+ KILLER LA low-rider electro rap groover.

MASSIVE tune + seriously hip twisted electro instrumental courtesy of the great Rich Cason. BUMPIN!

SUPER-RARE Originally released in Phoenix, Arizona 1982, new edition LOUD 12" on Soul Jazz Records.

Limited edition, one-off pressing, ONLY AVAILABLE DIRECT FOR 2 MONTHS!

This is one of two KILLER Poor Boy Rappers 12" - next one coming soon!

 NEW LTD. 300 copies (2nd Press, blue label)

Only available EXCLUSIVELY to customers at Soul Jazz Records/Sounds of the Universe.

All time party classic KILLER New Orleans Funk 45 - Professor Longhair's massive Big Chief.

Exact-replica bespoke New Orleans funk 45 BOMB.

THIS 7-inch can ONLY be bought directly here from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe websites and shop. 

NEW LTD. 300 copies (2nd Press, black label)

Only available EXCLUSIVELY to customers at Soul Jazz Records/Sounds of the Universe.

Hold tight for the first on Soul Jazz Records' set of KILLER New Orleans Funk 45s! 

FANTASTIC UNBELIEVEABLY SUPER-RARE £150+ FUNK BOMB 

Seminal New Orleans Eddie Bo production from the near legendary Explosions (who made the party classic Hip Drop).

This single is nearly impossible to find and features the previously unreleased deep soul ballad Teach Me on the B-side.

It is the first in a set of exact-replica bespoke New Orleans funk 45s to go alongside our New Orleans Funk (and forthcoming New Orleans Funk) set of album releases.

THIS 7-inch can ONLY be bought directly here from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe websites and shop.

EXCLUSIVE NEW 45rpm - ONLY available direct from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe.

KILLER rare groove funk bomb! This is a monster HEAVY FUNK double-sider!

THIS 7-inch can ONLY be bought directly here from Soul Jazz Records or Sounds of the Universe websites and shop. It is a very limited 500-copies pressing and you need to buy it now!

See all the EXCLUSIVE Funk and Soul 45s titles only available here

See all the EXCLUSIVE Reggae 45s titles only available here