Disco | Boogie Vinyl LP 432 Items

Cover art by famed artist Hiroshi Nagai
• Extensive liner notes and bios
• Compiled by Andy Cabic (Vetiver), Zach Cowie (DJ & music supervisor) and Mark “Frosty” McNeill (dublab)
• 2xLP housed in a deluxe wide spine jacket with over sized fold-out booklet, full color printed inner sleeves, and custom die-cut obi card
• Remastered audio
• Digital mockups are not an exact representation of the colors “Beach Umbrella” wax (Blue, Green)

Pacific Breeze documents Japan’s blast into the stratosphere. By the 1960s, the nation had achieved a postwar miracle, soaring to become the world’s second largest economy. Thriving tech exports sent The Rising Sun over the moon. Its pocket cassette players, bleeping video games, and gleaming cars boomed worldwide, wooing pleasure points and pumping Japanese pockets full of yen.

Japan’s financial buoyancy also permeated its popular culture, birthing an audio analog called City Pop. This new sound arose in the mid ’70s and ruled through the ’80s, channeling the country’s contemporary psyche. It was sophisticated music mirroring Japan’s punch-drunk prosperity. City Pop epitomized the era, providing a soundtrack for emerging urbanites. An optimistic spirit buzzed through the music in neon-bathed, gauzy tableaus coated with groove-heavy strokes.

Pacific Breeze is an expertly compiled collection of choice cuts that range from silky smooth grooves to innovative techno pop bangers and everything in between. Long-revered by crate diggers and adventurous music heads, this music has never been released outside of Japan until now. Including key artists like Taeko Ohnuki and Minako Yoshida, as well as cult favorites Hitomi Tohyama and Hiroshi Sato, the long-awaited release also features newly commissioned cover painting by Tokyo-based artist Hiroshi Nagai, whose iconic images of resort living have graced the covers of many classic City Pop albums of the 1980s.

Many of the key City Pop players evolved from the Japanese New Music scene of the early ’70s, as heard on Light In The Attic’s acclaimed Even a Tree Can Shed Tears: Japanese Folk & Rock 1969-1973, the first release of the ongoing Japan Archival Series. In fact, you could say City Pop set sail with a champagne smash from Happy End, the freakishly talented subversives who included amongst their ranks Haruomi Hosono and Shigeru Suzuki, both featured on this compilation. As Michael K. Bourdaghs noted in his book, Sayonara Amerika, Sayonara Nippon, this music was, “Deconstructing the line between imitation and authenticity.” Some of the best City Pop teeters in this zone—easy listening with mutant exotica, tilted techno-pop, and steamy boogie bubbling beneath the gloss.

Pioneers, that’s what we call them. Not properly a giant team, but a bunch of forward thinking producers. In the heyday of the italo disco there was some forward thinking, a new way to address the club scene. 1985 is the golden year and if you want to get to the core of the synth-pop experience look no further ! This previously unreleased compilation collects a series of unbelievable tracks. An outstanding vision featuring la crème de la crème of the early 80s scene. All the way from electro wizard Alexander Robotnick to the astonishing performance of vocalist Mya Fracassini, through the French connection of Bigazzi brothers of Mon Bijou.

We've got a bit of an obsession with Hozan Yamamoto here at Mr Bongo! A legend of Japanese jazz, he is rightly regarded as a true master and was recognised as a "living national treasure" by the Japanese government in 2002. Over five decades he pushed the genre into new directions, absorbing fusion, funk, spiritual jazz and many other sounds, resulting in a discography studded with gems of rare beauty. Exploring his back catalogue has taken us on an engrossing journey that now sees us reissuing another work from this ground-breaking musician.

Though not translating perfectly into English 'Akuma Ga Kitarite Fue Wo Fuku', (kitarite has not been a modern expression in Japanese) roughly means 'The Devil Comes Playing The Flute' / 'The Devil Is Coming While Blowing The Whistle' or 'Devils Flute’. It is the original soundtrack to Kôsei Saitô’s 1979 mystery and suspense movie, ‘Devil’s Flute’. The film is based on a story by the famous author, Seishi Yokomizo, and is centred around a much-loved fictional Japanese detective, Kosuke Kindaichi. A Japanese Sherlock Holmes that has been popular for generations.

Hozan Yamamoto was invited to compose the soundtrack directly by the producer of the film, Haruki Kadokawa. Mr Kadokawa also hired keyboard player and producer Yu Imai as assistant producer on the project, resulting in a stunning cosmic, breaks and beats-laden, funk, disco soundtrack extravaganza.

When it comes to the soundtrack and the technology of the time, Hozan Yamamoto and Yu Imai got inventive, tripped out, funked up, and experimented, creating a quirky soundtrack masterpiece that needed to be heard more outside of Japan. Differing from the more traditional Japanese music orientation of some of his other albums such as 'Beautiful Bamboo-Flute' (also released on Mr Bongo) the album showcases a number of genres, from lush atmospheric incidental music to disco and funk grooves, experimental nuggets, drum and flute workouts, to neo-classical and more.

A special record that showcases the further depths of this wonderful musician's talents.

Come Away With ESG is the classic genre-busting debut album by the Bronx sisters ESG. The sample-friendly opus that's the inspiration for hip-hop, house and post punk. Music that falls outside of the no wave, new wave and post punk library, it's for the dance floor but it's not funk, there's no horns, no driving organ; it's the opposite of Sly And The Family Stone but no less cool and no less groovy. "A lasting document of their unique brand of minimal funk that would influence subsequent post-punk, hip-hop, and dance music acts. Stripped down to the most basic of drumbeats and rudimentary bass lines, `Come Away' confirms the notion that the real rhythm is what happens between the beats. - AllMusic

180 gram audiophile vinyl
Soul, boogie, funk album produced by Michael Stokes
Includes the big club hit "Give Me Your Love"
Reissue for the first time since 1983, celebrating its 40th anniversary

Back IN Print 2022 Edition - Limited Edition of 300 copies Recorded Live in Hyattsville, MD 1975-2015. George really had no interest in releasing this record. "Seeing Is believing, they don’t need records, trust me I did that, today they getting it live". So this record is that, live tapes from the house, recorded on a government issued cassette recorder from National Library Service for the Blind. George calls these his practice tapes for songwriting, and performance warm-up, and never beyond his ears were they intended to travel. "You just got to see me live if you want to really see me.. so when we get there just plug me in, and point me at that crowd". Last time I saw George they had him wired to the club system. He unplugs his Yamaha keyboard, licks the tip of the power cord and taps a beat on it, finally plugging in, synth lights up, tones all at zero, beats at zero. Then he builds from there, counting blind through a preset one hunderd factory tones and rhythm patterns. "I gotta start off at zero, and go from there." After the Marshmellow Band disperesed, he got this Yamaha keyboard, same one he’s been playing since 1990, endless scrolling over the same presets, trying to make them fit, tempo down, tapping while telling the story and asking if that feels right to you. "This always gonna be different live."Some selections on this album are original material from home sessions prior to George’s 1980 self- released LP. The rest, just a sampling from the Smallwood mind’s library of classic song writers. - Andrew Morgan (Peoples Potential Unlimited)

Libreville Records presents Totāl Cuevas, a seminal compilation album of legendary DJ Guy Cuevas's own music. Guy Cuevas is a French-Cuban writer, musician, and DJ, pioneer of the art of modern DJing. A key figure on the Paris night scene, Guy Cuevas gained a cult status as the resident DJ of the mythical nightclub Le Palace, gathering thousands of people every night under his booth, shepherding them with his music towards euphoria. He also collaborated with a great number of Fashion brands, such as Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Dior, Hermès and many more. In the early 80s, Guy Cuevas released a handful of records, channeling his hedonism and natural grandeur into his sound, creating a unique music of his own. Totāl Cuevas brings together music from his three singles Ebony Game (1981), Obsession (1982), and Gallo Negro (1984), and includes previously unreleased alternate mixes. Guy Cuevas’s most iconic output, "Obsession - The Nassau Mix" (mixed by François K) gets a fresh new reboot with "Obsession - The Paris Version". Remastered from the master tapes.

First time on vinyl, 140g double vinyl, remaster overseen by Steve Moore, new artwork commissioned by Steve Moore. With the cosmic-disco-drenched Burning Feeling, Steve Moore’s high-gloss Lovelock project conjured one of the most slept-on albums of last decade. Chunky, neon-lit synths and crashing, spacey guitars ride chugging Italo basslines and smooth-yet-shuddering drums to thrilling effect. Finally appearing on vinyl for the first time, 10 years after its original release, the album’s been freshly remastered (overseen by Steve, of course), pressed as a double LP and dressed in some stylish new black and gold artwork. This is the sound of “Big Room Smooth”. Be With was well aware of Lovelock by way of the rather ace “Don’t Turn Away (From My Love)” from the 2008 compilation Cosmic Balearic Beats on Eskimo Recordings. Yes, we had the 12″, but as shameless vinyl snobs we totally missed the full CD-only album that followed. Whilst working on the vinyl release of his KPM album Analog Sensitivity, Steve brought up Burning Feeling and how disappointed he was that it never had a vinyl release. We got the hint and didn’t need much persuading after finally hearing the whole album. So where does Lovelock sit on the Steve Moore sonic spectrum? According to Steve “Lovelock is an outlet for me to explore my more pop-oriented ideas, whether it’s disco, lounge, soft rock or whatever I try next. When I started the project in 2006 I was listening to a lot of Italo disco so it felt natural to explore those sounds”. Even the “Lovelock” name itself is a nod to Italian genre film actor Ray Lovelock.

In Gabon, 1983, Frédéric Gassita decided to form the band "Surprise" with his longtime friend Jean-Jean Gateau, having a strong inspiration from the US funk that invaded the radio waves of Gabon: Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, Maze by Frankie Beverly ....
The Guitarist Célestin Assélé Bongo joined the band and provided them the necessary means to record an album. Florence Nang Ekomye, a talented self-taught jazz singer, is immediately recruited, being the voice of Surprise.
Recorded in 1985, benefiting from the unique recording conditions of Studio N'Koussou in Libreville: probably one of the handful studios in the planet to use a Digital 48 Tracks recorder at the time; The result is a sensational production, the use of synthesizers is slamming and the charm of Florence’s voice make the recording quite unique.
Totally unknown until recently, Surprise, primarily an early work from the great composer Frédéric Gassita, still sounds fresh and crisp and we hope it will now get the attention it did not get upon release.

16 relaxed tracks by Hall & Oates, Joe Vitale, Niteflyte, Eric Kaz & more fine people.

This summer, dive with us into the often-overlooked sea of late '70s/early '80s Italian Soul, AOR and Disco. Compiled by journalist, producer and digger extraordinaire David Nerattini (with a little help from our own Pierpaolo De Sanctis), Paisa' GOT Soul is the smooth and near-danceable soundtrack to a decade that is somehow still with us. A time of gentle grooves, summer loves and sweet escapism – one beautifully captured by Claude Nori in his photographs of Italian beaches and summer holidays. Welcome to the mood of an era.

Equally renowned for her song writing as much as her amazingly sultry soul vocals, Barbara Mason was widely known for her early solo ‘60s hits as well as her ‘70s collabs with the likes of Curtis Mayfield before her late ‘70s/early ‘80s disco/boogie dancefloor phase…but the heads at Selector series have unearthed a never released LP of classic cover gems from this evergreen diva of Soul. Limited press.

Sexopolis “The Sequel” is the second release of this successful series. An accurate selection of Lounge, Jazz-Funk, Easy Listening music, still related to the world of old tv movies, not exclusively "sexy" as in the first volume, but still keeping and even intensifying the "cool" musical vibrations that comes to you while listening to these 26 songs. These 70s musical art works are pressed on limited number of copies double yellow vinyl. "Breathing the light that makes passion bloom" perfectly conveys the idea that listening to this collection immediately creates a magical and hypnotic atmosphere, never banal and definitely for true connoisseurs only.

We don’t really know Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart’s secret but we’re always thrilled to get a taste of his proven production skills. After two acclaimed LP’s as Mr President released over the last decade, the Disco ruler is back with some groovy ideas to put the country into clubs again. One Night is indeed a shiny celebration of the genuine spirit of Soul and Disco, always coming with Bruno’s modern touch, fitting all the criteria to become an instant club classic.
From start to end, Mr President’s blend of grooves and subtle jazz harmonies brings a definitive Roy Ayers’ feeling to the compositions. Developing his vision along six titles, Mr President certainly knows how to produce hits for modern dancefloors. Just like on his previous albums, Bruno plays most instruments, when not even singing catchy vocals. One more time, he also brought incredible lead singers in the studio, some you may know from different projects already released on Favorite Recordings, like Jennifer Zonou (Hawa), Cindy Pooch & Celia Kameni (Saving Coco) and Sabba MG (Mr President’s previous releases). Thanks to exciting arrangements, they carry the songs to a certain climax which reminds the great US era of disco and house divas. Along the original compositions, Mr President also tackles the challenge of covering Roy Davis Jr. & Peven Everett’s house anthem “Gabriel”, bringing the track into even deeper jazz territories. Of course you may know Mr President from his previous LPs, Number One (2011) and Hips Shaking
(2014), however you might also know him under many of his other projects, such as Voilaaa, The Dynamics, Uptown Funk Empire, Metropolitan Jazz Affair or Taggy Matcher to name just a few. Patchworks has been a ubiquitous artist since more than 25 years now, from the House years in the nineties to his recent involvement on different Favorite’s releases like Joao Selva, Pat Kalla, or the last EP of Leroy Burgess & Saving Coco. More globally, through all these years and various projects, Bruno “Patchworks” Hovart’s established himself as an unequalled producer, both in term of quantity and quality, fulfilling his wide passion for music and groove. Some could compare his path to famous predecessors such as Patrick Adams, Pierre Jaubert, Patrick Cowley
or Jean-Pierre Massiera, who like him, have all stayed quite underrated and in the shade of the many classics and hits they gave birth to. Who knows where the future will bring him, he’s not finished yet feeding our ears!

Disco divas, Funky queens and Glam ladies in 70's and early 80's Taiwan!Due to its extremely complex history, Taiwan in the 70's saw the creation of some incredibly special music in which the sounds coming at the moment from the west collided with the special sensitivity of Taiwanese musicians, creating a delicious mixture you'll need to hear to believe."Taiwan Disco" shines a light on the music created by Taiwanese women during those years (70's and early 80's) to present a mind-blowing collection of songs with sounds ranging from wild Funk to apace Glam, exotic Disco or fuzzed out Soul. Here's the ticket to some crazy Taiwan nights, get those dancing shoes ready, it's time to shake it!Artists:A1. Wu Xiu Zhu A2. Hua Yi Bao A3. Cui Tai Jing A4. Zou Juan JuanA5. Chen Lan Li A6. Wang Xiang Ling SIDE BB1. Tian Lu Lu B2. Liu Guan Lin B3. Wu Xiu Zhu) B4. Luo Yan Li B5. Yu San Shan B6. Zhang Bei Xin

Much anticipated re-release of South African disco funk outfit Kumasi's catalogue! Incl the known tunes Picnic (Moger) & Anomakoliwa. Strong from start to finish! TIP!
Kumasi was a group comprised of Ray Phiri, Jabu Sibumbe, Isaac Mtshali and Lloyd Lelosa. Sometime between their formation as The Cannibals (*needing reissues*) and the almighty group Stimela, Kumasi released one album and a couple of singles. The artists had contracts under Gallo and couldn't reveal that they were linked to the music in any way, leading Kumasi to have only a brief mysterious run in the early 80s.
But the secrets out! This release presents a collection of five songs from their incredibly rare full length LP, and adds to that their version of the South African classic, ‘Picnic’. Pressed as a 2x12” compilation, sounding incredible! Kumasi brings a unique blend of disco funk with that special South African tinge.
Ray Phiri died in 2017 - this album goes out in dedication.

New label Smiling C starts off with a compilation LP of released and unreleased works by the Arabic rapper, Shams Dinn.
For their first ever reissue, Smiling C connects with the Arabic rapper Shams Dinn to release a compilation his best songs, including the hit "Hedi Bled Noum". The compilation covers his entire career of with songs made between 1985-1990, most of which went unreleased at the time. One of the few Moroccan rappers to ever be recorded on vinyl back in the 80s, Shams Dinn was a pioneer of Arabic flow. Starting his career because he wanted to be a positive light for the Arabic immigrants living in France. He earned his status participating in freestyle competitions, and performing in small clubs around Europe. His career came to a turning point when he was asked by a major label to record a full LP. Unfortunately, the label decided they didn't want to promote Arabic music (largely because of the Gulf War) - and asked Shams to translate the Arabic to French. Shams Dinn wouldn't stand for that, and he was dropped from the label. The following years he worked at a school, teaching kids how to rap and express themselves through words.
The reissue comes with newly imagined art, and an inner sleeve with interview and photos.

Part two of a new Salsoul Re-edits series launches with four classic edits for RSD from seminal edit king Danny Krivit. With over 45 years behind the turntables, if anyone knows what little extra touch a record needs to work on the dancefloor…it's Danny! Taking his editing skills to four classics from the Salsoul vaults , Danny delivers once again. Available on vinyl for the very first time.

Original pioneers of rare groove, Push, make a welcome return with an existing and exciting album. Originally released in 2004, now 20 years later it’s still alive and kicking. “Push People” is a cross pollenation of classic underground rare groove and contemporary feel good funk n' soul in the shape of heartfelt songs and incredible instrumental pieces. Push emerged from the underground London club scene in 1987, where they were at the heart of a community that thrived on JB inspired Funk, Blaxploitation soundtracks and raw soul-jazz. Push toured Europe and Japan and were regulars onstage at Gilles Peterson's legendary Dingwalls’ Talking Loud & Saying Something sessions. They have worked with the likes of Style Council's Paul Weller and Mick Talbot and have long provided the soulful foundation for the regular European tours of US divas like Candi Staton and Marlena Shaw. The triumvirate of key band members Crispin Taylor (drums), Ernie McKone (bass) and Mark Vandergucht (guitar) also doubled up as the rhythm section for the innovative Galliano – a conscious and wayward band that sold in excess of 800, 000 albums. Push are one of the mainstays of the Eighties Rare Groove and Acid Jazz scene alongside Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Soul II Soul. Push is on a mission, bringing a breath of fresh air and a wealth of musical experience into a very popular scene for people that "Feel the Funk!"

Brothers Gerard Mendes (also known as Boy Ge Mendes) and Jean-Claude Mendes display the intriguing combination of Creole Portuguese-African polyrhythms, American boogie, and Brazilian samba; the duo became massive stars among the Cabo Verde diaspora.

This LP includes the killer boogie anthem “Mitamiyo”

Official re-release, retrieved from original cassette tape (1988). First time on vinyl! Includes Turkish musicians like jazz & percussion star Okay Temiz.
Brought to you by the compiler of the Saz Beat series as well as the Bosporus Bridges series.

A Danish-Lebanese Afro-American who has learned Turkish and knows how to play the saz? Who entered the Anatolian Pop scene in Istanbul right in the heyday, the early 1970s? And who got so much musical credit that the renowned Turkish producer Nazmi Şenel released a solo album with him in 1988, recorded in Istanbul and including musicians like Turkish percussion star Okay Temiz? Sounds pretty unlikely. Sometimes miracles happen and highly improbable music gets released. A person with a diverse heritage as Nyofu Tyson can be seen as a ‘melting pot’, as a ‘synthesis’. Yet, he can be also seen as someone who is able to step out for new paths.
This is the case for TÜRK LOKUMU – TURKISH DELITE. Like nobody before, Tyson connects and opens up Anadolu Pop towards a whole range of styles: Synth-Pop, New Wave, Reggae, Hip Hop/Break, Latin, Disco Boogie… He shows us how vital, compatible and versatile one could think Anadolu Pop at the end of the 1980s. The compositions are basically all Türkü-s, traditional Anatolian folk songs, yet updated with a poly-cultural music practice, which involved a lot of the then current musical trends. So, this is Turkish folk music and it has at the same time all what you like about the late 1980s pop music: cold electronic drum sounds, crisp-flashy synths, crunchy bass – all in contrast with warm distorted saz tones, wooden Turkish wind instruments, and a disco-soul proven female choir. This is crazy music. This is a miracle. This is Anatolian-Synth.

produced and arranged by Bootsy Collins & Fred Wesley

3 Hürel is a folk-rock and psychedelic-rock band consisting of 3 brothers from Trabzon, a northern city in Turkiye, who gained fame in the early 1970s with their authentic music and hippie outfits. Thisis their first album compiled from 45 rpm singles. The original release date was 1972. The band's guitarist uses a self-made double-handled guitar and reed instrument, which has become a symbol of the band in concerts. What makes the band special is its groovy guitar tone and excellent bass guitar and percussion technique. They have become one of the most important representatives of psychedelic-rock in Turkiye. "Aşk Davası", "Haram", "Pembelikler" and "Madalyonun Ters Yüzü" are their most popular songs.

Nuovo Testamento is the Los Angeles & Bologna-based trio featuring members of Horror Vacui, Sheer Mag, Tørsö, Terremoto and Crimson Scarlet. With the addition of Chelsey Crowley on vocals, synthesists Andrea Mantione & Giacomo Zatti found that their initial coldwave tracks, originally written for the male voice, took on an undeniable synthpop feel. While still recording these songs for the debut Exposure EP in 2019, the band leaned into this evolution and their shared love of Italo disco, beginning to write what would become the New Earth LP. Recorded in isolation during a global pandemic, New Earth is a dark Italo record dappled with light. For eight new tracks, dancing synths perfectly balance the rich dream of a charmed life with melancholy. Guitars have taken a step back, allowing disco beats to flood the floor and joyful fun to prevail. The record anticipates a return to dance spaces, imagines shared experiences and celebrates personal power. Produced by sound engineer Maurizio Baggio (The Soft Moon, Boy Harsher and many more), with vocal recording by Riki and featuring guest vocals from B. Sven Gustavson (Spectres, Nouveaux), New Earth reflects international influences from the goth club scene to Hi-NRG classics, reminiscent of Italian Baby Records, Mute Records and the spaces in between.