soul

Arlo Parks | My Soft Machine (2023)

R&B
April 12, 2023April 12, 2023

Twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist Arlo Parks is returning with her second album, My Soft Machine, due 26th May on Transgressive Records.
My Soft Machine is a deeply personal body of work; a narration of Parks’ experiences as she navigates her 20’s and the growth intertwined. Explained ever-articulately in her own words below…
“The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience – our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow. This record is life through my lens, through my body – the mid 20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self sabotage and joy, moving… – Arlo Parks

compilation, funk, jazz, soul
April 9, 2023April 9, 2023

This is Flying Dutchman 1969-1975: Bob Thiele is one of the great producers. For his work with John Coltrane alone, where he gave free reign to the saxophone great’s wildest musical visions including ‘A Love Supreme’, ignoring the usual cost consciousness of a major label, he deserves to be lauded. In addition to this his 8 years at Impulse saw him recording seminal works by scores of musicians including late blooming masterpieces by Ellington and Hodges, and a whole wave of ‘new thing’ jazzers such as Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. He didn’t stop there and when he launched his own label Flying Dutchman in 1969, he continued to innovate and record music that reflected its times, but that also resonates down through the ages.

remastered, electronic, pop, R&B
April 8, 2023April 8, 2023

The Upper Cuts (2023 Edition), originally released in 2005, features newly remastered versions of Alan Braxe’s tracks with Fred Falke, his remix of Shakedown’s “At Night,” and two of his most beloved and influential collaborations – The Paradise’s “In Love With You,” the elegant slice of heartbreak house he created with vocalist Romuald Louverjon, and Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You,” the worldwide hit he produced with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter and singer Benjamin Diamond, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Upper Cuts (2023 Edition) also adds seven bonus tracks, including Braxe’s remix of Britney Spears’ “Anticipating,” and two completely new tracks “True Love” and “Never Coming Back,” which features the Norwegian pop artist Annie. Smugglers Way

box-set, pop, R&B, rock, soul
March 25, 2023March 30, 2023

eddie piller presents british mod sounds vol2

Curated by Acid Jazz Records and Modcast founder Eddie Piller, “British Mod Sounds of The 1960s Volume 2: The Freakbeat & Psych Years” is the follow up to the hugely successful “British Mod Sounds of The 1960s”, featuring 95 original tracks across a 4CD set – a deep dive into the post-Mod scene in ’60s Britain. Featuring a selection of classic and rare tracks, tracing the scene from early ’65 to the dawn of a new decade.
Even before Demon’s well received 2022 box set ‘British Mod Sounds of The 1960s’ was released conversations were being had around a follow-up, though rather than just offering a straight if slightly diluted second volume, compiler Eddie Piller decided to put together a collection exploring “What the Mods did next”. Once again, long conversations (and the occasional heated debate) were had to ensure the quality of music and attention to detail were second to none. Anything less just wouldn’t be the Mod way. The British Mod bands that had made the first half of the decade so exciting were still around but inevitably their influences had changed. Demon Music Group

VA | Borga Revolution! Ghanaian Music In The Digital Age, 1983 – 1996: Vol.2 (2023)

soul, world
March 12, 2023March 12, 2023

Kalita are proud to unveil the second volume in their ‘Borga Revolution!’ compilation series, focussing on the phenomenon of ‘Burger Highlife’, a crossover of West African melodies with synthesizers, disco and boogie that took over Ghanaian airwaves during the 1980’s and beyond.
Featuring both highly sought-after recordings by artists including Atta Frimpong and D.J. Lawyer Okyere, as well as seminal performances by greats such as Pat Thomas, A.B. Crentsil and Alan Cosmos, Kalita once again come to the rescue of audiophiles, DJs and music-lovers alike with ‘Borga Revolution! – Volume 2’. Spread over a double-LP housed in… Kalita Records

Marc Broussard | S.O.S.4: Blues For Your Soul

blues, R&B, soul
March 4, 2023March 11, 2023

Philanthropic Lafayette, Louisiana R&B and Soul artist Marc Broussard recorded some hard rocking blues for his 4th S.O.S. (Save Our Soul) album. Each of the S.O.S. releases have been designated for specific charities beginning with the first album. Recipients like a homeless women’s and children’s shelter or funds for a children’s hospital were previous targets. This time a significant portion of the proceeds are for the “Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation” to support youth rehabilitation through music as well as “Guitars Over Guns,” based in Miami. The album will be released on Joe Bonamassa’s “KTBA (Keeping the Blues Alive) Records”… Blues Rock Review
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The Good Samaritans – No Food Without Taste if by Hunger

reissue, funk, world
March 2, 2023March 8, 2023

Analog Africa has reissue The Good Samaritans’ Edo Funk classic No Food Without Taste If By Hunger. The 1982 album from Philosopher Okundaye’s The Good Samaritans was initially recorded with a 24-track at Phonodisk Studio in Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State, east of Lagos. Due to its private pressing, No Food Without Taste If By Hunger has been a rare find until now.
Put your dancing shoes and be ready to kill the dancefloor, the intoxicating highlife music known as Edo Funk from Benin City, Nigeria is back. Following the planetary success of our “Edo Funk Explosion Vol.1” Bandcamp
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Eva Cassidy with The London Symphony Orchestra – I Can Only Be Me

blues, folk, pop, soul
March 2, 2023March 8, 2023

The latest chapter in an unparalleled posthumous career, I Can Only Be Me is a landmark new collaborative album with the London Symphony Orchestra. Eva Cassidy’s original vocal parts have been isolated and accompanied by new arrangements written by Christopher Willis (Schmigadoon!, Veep, Death of Stalin) and William Ross (Star Wars, Harry Potter). Utilising recent advances in machine learning technologies, the existing vocal parts have been painstakingly… evacassidy.tmstor.es
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Various Artist – Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection

box-set, funk, soul
February 23, 2023March 8, 2023

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic WATTSTAX event that took place at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 1972, Stax Records presents the most comprehensive collection of audio recordings from the event ever. This 12-CD set, features 31 previously unreleased tracks, with material from the Summit Club and other additional recordings. The 76-page, full-color book in the set also features, an introduction by Wattstax creator Al Bell, plus new essays by Rob Bowman and A. Scott Galloway. Wattstax was a benefit concert organized by Stax Records in conjunction with the Watt Summer Festival to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles. Attended by more than 100,000 people and lasting 7 hours, the concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20, 1972… Craft Recordings
Read More »Various Artist – Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection