Back catalogue: All genres

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


The Avidya label arrives with a bold new concept that sees it push itself to "step out of comfort zones to release a series of EPs of broad, challenging and deep music." The first affair is a fine one from four artists, the first of which is Lyon based procure A Strange Wedding from the Worst label. His slow trance locks you in and then Gothenburg trio Datasal come through with a prog rock and post funk and dance fusion. 84PC's contribution is peak time gold and Barcelona's Iro Aka arrive with another debut to round out this fine offering.

Review: The revered songstress that is AK is back on Most Excellent Unlimited for another hot and soulful single that comes on the heels of a special 7" release of her seminal 'Say That You Love Me.' This one, 'Beautiful You' is making its vinyl debut here and comes with strong messages of empowerment and affirmation. The lyrics and vocals are uplifting as is the music which comes in the form of a 7" edit by Body & Soul legend Danny Krivit' of GRAMMYr award-winner Hex Hector's Lush remix. It's a perfectly paired back sound with the original on the flip, and both tunes really make their mark. This is a great package that's exclusive to wax.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Risquée is going back to the beginning and brings us four powerful cut-up tracks from two talented Russians who chill in New York.

Review: It's good to have this one available again. Dorothy Moore's 1976 soul classic, featuring vocals from Taka Boom, Chaka Khan & Mark Stevens, 'Misty Blue' became an Ibiza chill-out anthem in 2002. As 'Misti Blu' it got high-profile plays by Mary Anne Hobbs, Pete Tong and Mixmaster Morris and even David Mancuso charted in his end-of-year highlights. Now the sundown gem gets reissued here on a tidy 7" as a superb rework from Claude Money. The crooning vocals remain the highlight with sultry trumpets and lavish downtempo rhythms. What's more, we're told that a new live disco and house version are also to come this year.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


For a four track electronic music EP, there's a lot here. Opening with 'Burning Fields' by Aphonia, the uninitiated might expect the whole package to nod to that classic electro sound, highly detailed but lo-fi, packed with dark atmosphere but all about dance floor energy. Skip to track two, though, and Angles of Pompeii present mutant indie-punk-dance in the vein of Detroit Grand Pubahs at their most guitar-y, and minimalistic.

Elsewhere, 'Retreat' is a slow mo maximalist triumph, acid lines flailing over the top of a muffled cacophony of noise that places the emphasis on a lunging, head-nodding bassline. Add 'Athma', Odopt's sinister low end and drum machine tune up that could almost be an accidental piece from the movie They Live and you've got not only a complex release, but one boasting replay value set to last for years after the investment.

Review: Mexico-based duo Apocrifo serve up their debut single 'Indicut' with LA hip-hop and soul virtuoso Georgia Ann Muldrow on the vocal. This outfit is made up of producer Kefren Rivera and percussionist Carlos Huitro and they plenty of jazz, hip hop and electroacoustic elements into a unique sound that is exemplified here. The track is a broody, lo-fi world of sound with hip-hop beats and the yearning jazz vocals of Muldrow adding to the effect next to sombre piano chords. The instrumental strips everything back to the killer beats. This is a great first offering from this outfit who surely have plenty more to come.

Review: Italian DJ and producer Reekee is normally found heading up his Wrong Notes label, but he's also dropped deep house heat on Sistrum, Roots Underground and Uzuri in his time. After inaugurating the Time To Play label last year, he's back on the label with an astounding new single, 'No One'. The track stretches out on the A-side like a song of this quality should, featuring Anna Cavedon delivering a striking, soulful vocal over some truly blissful chords that come on like space-age Rhodes soaked for months in the sweetest chorus. On the flip, Gary Superfly delivers a smoky dub mix of the track which adds some sizzling, raw drums and tripped out, dirty reverb chords that call to mind STL. If you want to zero in on Reekee's production, the instrumental is also on hand. This is real deal deep house with all the personality you could wish for - don't sleep.

Review: Arriving sometime after the passing of legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, and utilising some of the final recordings he made during his lifetime, the latest edition of Adrian Younge's Jazz Is Dead series is naturally tinged with melancholy. Yet Younge refuses to succumb to emotion, and instead uses Allen's impeccable grooves and polyrhythmic patterns as the basis of tracks that blend jazz, Afrobeat, Afro-funk and soul. There's a classic Fela Kuti feel to opener 'Ebun', where sax lines reminiscent of the Nigerian musical icon rise above a typically crunchy Allen groove, pots and pans percussion and ear-catching bass, while the flute-sporting 'Don't Believe The Dancers' adds a little more jazziness into its righteous blend of heavy Afrobeat horns, meandering solos and loose-limbed grooves. In other words, it's a spot-on tribute to a genuine musical legend.

Review: We're not quite sure how to "navigate" an ashtray in and of itself, but this new album by Ashtray Navigations might hint at true executions of the art. A long-running experimental rock project led by Leeds' Phil Todd, Ashtray Navigations have been active since 1991, releasing dozens of albums and EPs on various labels and formats, often in limited editions. Their music is eclectic and unpredictable, spanning psychedelic rock, drone, noise, ambient, folk, and electronica. One From Then Another compactly sums up Todd's diverse and adventurous approach to sound creation in double-sided single form, with 'Drink The Moment/Thin Fox Legs' coming as a dubious space jam for flute, bass and bloop, and 'Return Of The Sun Of DR Artur' bringing up a beatless, Afrofuturist rear.