Record Store Day 2023 395 Items

Two Velvet Hammer heaters reissued officially for the first time since 1977, 45 years since their original release this time on limited edition red vinyl. An essential slice of Chicago history via Soozi Records, ‘Party Hardy’ is a gorgeous disco groover whilst the B, ‘Happy’, is the ultimate feel-good modern soul classic and about as anthemic as they get. The appeal of this record knows no limits, whether you’ve heard it once or one hundred times. With mint originals being virtually impossible to get your hands on and 2nd hand copies that do come up, clocking in at £250+, this is a reissue which will please many a music lover. Red 7" vinyl in black sleeve.

Reissued for the first time ever on 7 inch, having previously only ever been on the Take A Trip Pussycat LP, Latin Blues Band - (I'll Be A) Happy Man. A dynamic dancefloor jazz and boogaloo belter from 1968, with a legendary piano riff and breakbeats that were most famously sampled by DJ Premier for Christina Aguilera’s classic ‘(Ain´t No Other Man)’. The B side houses another boogaloo bomb in the form of ‘Take A Trip’ that will set you back £80+ for an original copy. Yellow label version with white sleeve.

A first official reissue of this vintage Houston double header from TSU Toronados – the house band for Ovide who recorded the original ‘Tighten Up’ riff. With originals of the 7 inch selling on the second-hand market for £300+, it’s high time a reissue hit the shelves.

Side A sees a crossover, mellow groove classic in the form of ‘Please Heart Don’t Break’ full to the brim with emotion encapsulated in those sweet vocals and harmonies. On the flip you’re treated to the energetic excellence of ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Nowhere’, an up-tempo funk jam with a raucous trading off of voices in the mix. Two super collectable cuts across a multitude of scenes. Red label version original black sleeve.

Limited edition transparent blue vinyl reissue of a slice of 1978 modern soul brilliance from Philly’s Breakwater in the form of ‘No Limit’. Original copies of the Arista promo-only 12 inch trade hands for over £200 on the second-hand market and the mighty Mike Maurro has been given the keys to those cherished stems, providing an exquisite multi-track edit in true Maurro fashion. Extended, teased and tweaked in all the right places for an 8-and-a-half-minute version of this complete classic. The B side houses the much sought after, 12 inch extended version, from the super rare promo-only Arista release. Essential Breakwater business. Arista Disco picture sleeve, transparent blue vinyl.

New York boogie royalty right here, the holy trinity of The Fantastic Aleems, Leroy Burgess and John Morales. ‘Get Down Friday Night’ is a stone-cold classic, the Aleem twins taking care of the music, the legend Leroy behind the mic and mixed by the master Morales. Reissued for the first time since it’s 1982 release, it’s been a perennial underground club hit for 40 years and rightly deserves a home in every collection for that reason alone. Limited edition Green vinyl Green label version

Having spent the majority of his career in the world of jazz fusion backing up the likes of Sun Ra and Ahmad Jamal, Larry Bright climbed out from behind the kit on his sophomore solo album New Dimensions. Self-released in 1987, an original of the eight-song LP will set you back £150 and finds Bright experimenting with spaced out synths, pop song structures, and drum machine-led electro-funk beat, pushing the boundaries of nu-jazz to the absolute edge. Remastered 180g Heavyweight vinyl.

Accompanied by guitarist John Grant, bassists Tony Bunn and Mark Easley, and dueling trumpeters Jimmy Wilson and Ivan Smart, the resulting album reads like a score to an afro-futurist sci-fi film. Float out into deep space and let Larry Bright’s smooth jazz-terpiece greet you like a warm wind hitting a docking bay in a far-off galaxy. Expertly remastered for your audiophile pleasure. LP in original picture sleeve.

Incredibly sought after (and once bootlegged) sweet modern soul track from Georgia's Tony Troutman. Feel-good grooves, delicious harmonies and joyous vocals make for a recipe that will lift any lacklustre mood. Finally released as an official reissue with original label artwork this super rare record, has been known to change hands for over £800 in the past, with only the top diggers able to hunt down this one. Yellow label version, white sleeve.

A match made in heaven as critically acclaimed star and Jazz FM’s Best International Artist Lady Blackbird, joins forces with pioneering producer, Richard Barratt under his Athletes of God moniker to offer up two mesmerising and magnetic cuts that have never before been on vinyl. They now find a welcome home on a limited-edition, Orange Crush colour 7 inch via Foundation Music.

Up first the duo join forces with legendary Sheffield songwriter/musician Michael Somerset Ward aka MSW - the man behind countless chart hits for the likes of Alison Moyet and Take That. ‘Fontella’ is an ode and recounting of the trials and tribulations of being a female singer, in this case the legend that is, Fontella Bass. A soaring funk fuelled party jam that has major radio support already lined up and was previewed last year on 6Music by the man that broke Lady Blackbird as well as so many other acts, Gilles Peterson.

On the flip, a track that has been getting serious attention across the airwaves including 6Music playlisting, the ethereal, Balearic and instantly captivating cover of Randy Crawford’s mid-‘80s number ‘Don’t Wanna Be Normal’. A track that harnesses all of Barratt’s experience behind the production controls letting Lady Blackbird’s incredible voice sing to its full potential, over the top of a chest-rumbling chugger of a backbone. Epic to the Nth degree.

One of Fake Blood’s most seminal hits, the 2009 nu-disco / electro powerhouse ‘I Think I Like It’, gets a much-deserved reissue for RSD 2023. This instantly recognizable, high energy dancefloor destroyer comes backed with Fake Blood’s debut single ‘Mars’, also reissued here for the first time since initial 2008 release. With copies of the original Fix Your Accent EP that ‘I Think I Like It’ was first housed on, having sold for over £100 on Discogs, it will be a welcome sight for many to see this available for the first time on red 7” vinyl nestled in a fresh picture sleeve.

A deep, funk-fuelled Smithstonian double sider, straight outta Memphis. An eerie spiritual soul track ‘Mississippi Mud’ on the A side, paired with an equally low-slung funk number ‘Just Sitting’ on the B. The original changes hands for £250+…so buy or cry! Black label version original black sleeve.

Once dubbed the Magic City, by 1983 Gary, Indiana, had fallen on hard times. Over the previous decade the steel capital of America hemorrhaged half its population, including the Jackson 5, and changed its distinction to America’s murder capital. Lost in this transition was Billy Foster & Audio’s, joyfully beaming, self-titled disco-jazz LP. Recorded under the watchful eye of Bill McQueen, Foster and his band serve up a culmination of his musical experiences, utilizing his jazz training on the piano-forward ‘Sometimes’ and employing his synthesizer pop finesse on ‘I Need Your Love’.

Hoping to plant his flag in Gary’s musical canon, Foster issued the LP via his own Equistar imprint, distributing the release as far as a tank of gas could carry him. Two follow ups appeared in ’86 and ’89, but by that point Gary was in deep decline. Audio disbanded in 1993, the year Gary claimed its murder capital distinction. Original picture sleeve, remastered, LTD Edition 180g vinyl press.

The heaviest of jazz funk grooves from the musical melting pot of New Orleans, The Dome City Rock Orchestra – Quiet Village is a super rare slice of tight-as-you-like talent, that commands prices of over £200 for an original 7 inch, if you can ever find one. Bursting with energy as synthesisers swirl around flutes, bongos dance over drums to create a cosmic whirlwind that enthrals any ear it worms its way into. Orange label version original black sleeve.

A cherished cut from the Cheri Records back catalogue. Crossover creaminess from the relatively under the radar Hyla Parker, with both sides written by Ted Daryll (Theodore Meister) who wrote hits like Melba Moore’s ‘Touch' and Jerry Bulter ‘Good Times’ (famously sampled by Jamie XX).

The A side is a beautiful stepper love song titled ‘Joe’, harnessing a lovely guitar-led groove with a soaring string section in accompaniment. The B side delves even deeper with a gorgeous deep soul number aptly named ‘Quiet Tunes’. It's easy to hear why this record is so sought after. Brown label version original black sleeve.

Incredible synthesized disco nuggets from a real mover and shaker on the disco era local scene, Bill Grace. His first and only solo single hit the shelves in 1979, and now commands cripplingly expensive price tags of close to £600 and that’s if you can actually locate a copy of this US gem.

A name that may not be familiar to most, the recordings from this release led to a contract with West End the following year and saw him rubbing shoulders in the booth with disco legend & Paradise Garage head DJ Larry Levan. Pink label version original black sleeve.

A must have double sider from Harvey Scales & The Seven Seas, containing two of the rarest tracks from their much sought after back catalogue. Originals have sold for eye watering sums of over £1700 in the past, attaining to its rarity but also the sheer quality of the music pressed into its grooves. ‘Trying To Survive’ is one of the great social-consciousness anthems and a slice of pure lyrical genius, whilst ‘Bump Your Thang’ hits with a heavy funk workout, channelling James Brown-esque energy in Chicago shoes. Red label version original black sleeve.

First official reissue of this essential and insanely rare Willie Tee double sider. New Orleans gold from the Nola vaults, the A side ‘Please Don’t Go’ is a certified Northern Soul classic with the flip a fantastic smokey, low slung soulful number that’s become a real collector’s favourite. With original copies having traded hands for £1800 in the past, it’s high time this was made available to a new generation of listeners. Red label version original black sleeve.

This masterful slab of Louisiana loveliness from Willie Tee’s band The Gaturs, gets a much called for reissue. By far the rarest of the Gaturs’ releases, the only copy for sale on Discogs would set you back the princely sum of £2500. A fiery funk workout from the New Orlean’s band, exquisitely tight, unquestionably absorbing – they don’t get much better than this. Green label version original black sleeve.

This incredibly rare 1978 double header from Richard Caiton on JB's Records (New Orleans) gets a much-deserved reissue. A magnificent slice of New Orleans history right here, that has been crying out for a reissue considering the only copy on Discogs is currently listed for a bank-breaking £2500. A soul swooning, love song titled ‘Thank You’ backed with the exquisite modern soul dancer ‘Where Is The Love’ arranged by the mighty ‘Wardell Quezerque’. Yellow label version original white sleeve.

When Long Island emcee Diabolic broke into the rap scene with a hidden verse onImmortal Technique’s 2001 albumRevolutionary Volume 1, it was evident that his explosive, uncut rhyme style would be something underground circles could salivate over. However, despite his obvious prowess on the microphone, empty offers from labels in the beginning stages of his career left him no choice but to steer clear from commitment until the perfect opportunity arose; then came along Viper Records, who gave Diabolic full control of his debut album, Liar & a Thief. With over three years of work put into his inaugural LP, Diabolic rose to the occasion and let the industry know they had a problem on their hands. Produced entirely by the British Columbia-based native, Engineer, Diabolic found the ideal soundscape to complement his enraged, often self-destructive lyricism better than one could expect. Armed with a notable lineup of guest appearances from the likes of ILL Bill, Canibus, Immortal Technique, and Vinnie Paz, combined with Bolic’s razor sharp rhyme schemes that permeate through Engineer’s melodic and articulate production, all lend itself to the perfect storm, and one of the more promising debut efforts that we had hoped would live up to the hype. For the first time ever, Diabolic’s acclaimed debut, Liar & a Thief will be available on vinyl as a 2xlp, in time for RSD 2023. The 17 track LP will be pressed on two black and silver swirled discs in a sturdy 24pt jacket with metallic silver trim.

Harry Whitaker is a piano player, producer and arranger who at the age of 26 recorded Black Renaissance "Body, Mind, and Spirit," a holy grail amongst collectors of soul-jazz and rare groove, and an album so rare it's virtually a myth to many. Made up of two long tracks that periodically build and release for forty minutes over two sides of an LP it's an improvised masterpiece combining Afrocentric spiritual soul, jazz, poetry, amazing solos, a tasty bass line or two and more than a fair share of funky beats. It's also one of the earliest jazz albums to feature rapping. "I called the project Black Renaissance because that is what I wanted to see happen - especially in music. I describe it as Dixieland circa 1976 - by the end of the songs everyone is playing together." Given its rarity, when asked if he was surprised that people knew about the album Whitaker jokes "I've told enough people about it over the years! Now they can actually hear it. It was a record before its time. It's not a commercial release - I think of it as classical. You can call it jazz, but it's free, it's got African roots, it's for people who dig that sound.” Harry Whitaker has enjoyed a successful career as a producer, arranger and composer, cutting his teeth on the best of the Roy Ayers Ubiquity releases and making a living working closely with Roberta Flack - as her musical director, even playing on her big Eugene McDaniels' written hit "I Feel Like Makin' Love." Black Renaissance "Body, Mind, and Spirit," was his first attempt at a project where he wrote and composed the music and played keys on both tracks.

Fat Freddy"s Drop"s legendary performance at London"s Roundhouse from 2008 is finally available on vinyl for the first time ever to celebrate its15th anniversary.

Hear the most wonderful songs beautifully remastered. Double LP in Gatefold sleeve.

Record Store Day 2023 limited release with regional focus limited to 1000 copies.
Soul Jazz Records’ New York Noise: Dance Music from The New York Underground 1978-82.
Gets a new 20th anniversary one-off limited-edition heavyweight yellow vinyl pressing + download code exclusively for Record Store Day 2023.

This new edition features classic New York post-punk, punk funk, synth wave and no wave tracks from Arthur Russell/Dinosaur L, James White and the Contortions, The Theoretical Girls, Mars, Konk, Material, Bush Tetras, and Lizzy Mercier Descloux alongside rare tracks by the likes of Alan Vega (Suicide), Chain Gang and Implog.

New York Noise sums up the point in time and space where dance music and punk rock first met as New York’s No Wave artists such as Glenn Branca, James White alongside dance music’s experimental pioneers including Arthur Russell (Dinosaur l), Bill Laswell (Material), and Konk created new musical art forms out of this union.

“Compilations like this are necessary because they document bygone fragments of time and keep them alive for younger generations. Compilations like this are dangerous because they tend to fall in the hands of young bands who spend more time looking behind than ahead.” --All Music

“New York Noise is a comprehensive look at the post-punk and no wave era, a short period in time whose influence is still immeasurable and sensed today.” --The Guardian

“One of the most satisfying archival collections, Soul Jazz’s compilation New York Noise 1978-1982, gathers far-reaching tracks from such diverse acts as Liquid Liquid, Material, and Glenn Branca.” --Pitchfork

Record Store Day 2023 limited release with regional focus limited to 1000 copies. Soul Jazz Records’ new Holy Church of the Ecstatic Soul: Gospel, Funk and Soul at the Crossroads 1971-83 is a one-off limited-edition heavyweight red vinyl pressing + download code exclusively for Record Store Day 2023.

The album draws upon the extensive links between Black American Gospel music and Soul music, showing how the sensibilities of gospel artists such as Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Norwood, Andraé Crouch and others crossed over into secular soul music during this period.
Many of the most successful soul artists – from Aretha Franklin to Al Green, The Staples Singers to Sam Cooke – all drew upon their upbringing in the church for their musical inspiration. This album discusses how important the links between the Black church and Soul music were in creating Soul, and spotlights some of the many important (and also little-known) Gospel artists who walked this line between sacred music and soul, funk and disco in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Holy Church of the Ecstatic Soul shows how sacred Gospel music was at home with Stevie Wonder and Blaxploitation-style funk and produced music celebrated both in New York’s underground discos (The Paradise Garage, Studio 54, etc) and later sampled by the likes of Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige.

Record Store Day 2023 limited run / regional release limited to 1000 copies.
New one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition yellow vinyl pressing exclusively for Record Store Day 2023 of Soul Jazz Records’ Gipsy Rhumba: The Original Rhythm of Gipsy Rhumba in Spain 1965 – 1974, with a 28-page booklet and download code. The extensive booklet in this release contains definitive sleevenotes by the musicologist Jose Manuel Gómez, record designs and stunning photography from the celebrated photographer Jacques Leonard.

Soul Jazz Records’ Gipsy Rhumba is the first album outside of Spain to focus on one of the most exciting musical culture clashes ever. In the early 1960s, Gypsies from the Catalan region of Spain, primarily known as the creators of Flamenco, came up with a fascinating hybrid style – Gipsy Rhumba – which blended the Latin and Rhumba music of Cuba and the Caribbean together with their own Flamenco, as well as the emerging Rock ‘N’ Roll from America.

“A capsule of supercharged clapping and joyous vocals” -- The Guardian

“Must-have”. “You all know Gipsy Kings’ blend of flamenco and Latin rhythms … but where did this convergence of Latin music styles occur? This compilation demonstrates how mid-1960’s Barcelona hot-housed gypsy musicians who employed the rumba rhythm… Gipsy Rhumba unearths a forgotten corner of Europop.”-- The Sunday Times

“Musicologists aren’t the only ones who will enjoy pulling at the threads that bind this particular sound clash … Messing with the traditional form is daring at any time, but the result was something quite fantastic, potent and intriguing, full of marvelous grooves and compelling rhythms.”-- Irish Times

“A victory for gipsy party music… A collection worthy of conquering the world”--Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

“Punchy, rhythmic and popular …specialist Rhumba research starts here with this compilation released by the London Soul Jazz label. Another genre of pop history.” -- Junge Welt, Germany

Limited double coloured neon vinyl limited to 500 copies . Side A&B on magenta vinyl and Side C&D on orange vinyl. This is an album of melodic beat driven songs recorded in Chris Olley's home stuio. The sonic driven guitars of six by seven now meet the neo-kraut grooves much more than ever before, to create an intense collection of songs which remind you of both of Can and The Cure and have a distinct heartfelt lo-fi Mark E Smith vocal. It's a big, expansive sound wrapped around Olley's trademark melancholic songwriting.

1000 Pressed. Ltd Double Black vinyl, DL card. Out Of True, the shock comeback album by the Nightingales, was originally released more than a decade after Robert Lloyd's strange major label foray. Now getting the recognition the band deserve, following the critical success of The Nightingales documentary King Rocker (Stewart Lee), this 2006 comeback record is available on vinyl for the very first time. Spread across two LPs, with over an hour of banging tunes, this is an essential piece of the band's history and is packaged with liner notes from Robert Lloyd and a bonus download of the "What's Not To Love" EP.

2000 pressed. First time on vinyl for the gorgeous 'Late December', with a second LP featuring rare recordings from her Live Acoustic LA tour in 2006, the package includes new liner notes and a download of the studio album and live show. An album that's broader than Broadway, a panoramic view of life, love and loss filled with drama and theatricality. Plus a live set that's heart-on-sleeve time, bringing together songs from Lone Justice, plus covers of the traditional country anthem 'The World Is Not My Home', Richard Thompson's 'Has He Got A Friend For Me' and three songs that show the bittersweet beauty of her brother Bryan MacLean's song writing. In total, it's Kurt Weill, Springsteen, it's the million-selling global hit 'A Good Heart' delivered by the songwriter herself in all its Phil Spector-like baroque beauty.

1000 pressed. Ltd Double Black Vinyl, DL Card. Double vinyl release of Jazz Butcher favourites, oddities, unheard alternate versions + a live radio session from LA's KCRW - many of which have never been on vinyl. Features extensive liner notes and exclusive artwork. The compilation gathers a raft of indie chart hits, plus a host of truly eclectic Butcher tunes from his early Glass recordings through his time at Creation. This collection compiles an essential alternative world view, tracing pop culture through the kaleidoscope of the '80s and beyond, filled with a unique brand of wit and wisdom.

1000 pressed. Ltd Double Black Vinyl, Gatefold sleeve DL Card. Expanded double LP edition of the early '90s Giant Sand gem, including a second previously unreleased disc featuring live recordings from Sub Pop's Vermonstrous Festival, 1992. With new liner notes and commentary from Howe Gelb. An everyday tale of answering machines, petroglyphs and a Takamine guitar; true stories from Joshua Tree: "Another fascinating set of desert-fried rock 'n' roll, serving up one winner after another." (AllMusic). A masterpiece of psychedelic desert-rock, a spiritual cousin to the Meat Puppets' 'Up On The Sun' and Kyuss's 'Sky Valley'.

1000 pressed. Ltd Double Black Vinyl, DL Card. Available for the first time on vinyl, with updated artwork from band leader Nick Saloman. From the fuzziest West Coast psyche to lilting acoustic work by way of Beatlesy power pop and some gorgeous organ flurries, 'Hit Squad' contains some of the Frond's most realised songs. From the faux-60s spy-film styles of the title track, the all-out rock of 'Dragons' and 'Doing Nothing', the classic psych-rock of 'Through The Hedge', to the epic psychedelic melancholy of 'Fast Falls The Eventide'. 'Hit Squad' has Saloman playing to his strengths, but not resting on his laurels." AllMusic. A magnificent uplifting collection of tales about every man's trials and tribulations mixed with escapist visions and beautiful pop songs.

Previously only available as a download and CD on the band's Bandcamp page, this is it's first appearance on vinyl. metal machine music... moody and alluring. edwin pouncey, the wire beautiful, chaotic and compelling - genres are unimportant, the telescopes pay pigeonholes as much attention as pigeons do immigration officials. the telescopes are truly transcendental, they make the music they feel moved to when they feel moved to do so. This is why they can record a perfect pulse drone backwash like 'another sky' and equally why legions of allegedly cutting edge bands will rip off and run out with a diluted version within the next year. this is why 'household objective#2' is the coolest and scariest piece of electronica to surface since the BBC's radiophonic workshop got dr who off to a flier. the telescopes light a torch under the arse of a depressingly homogenized world, but don't follow theirs, light your own, it's what they'd prefer.

"The Sound of Swell Maps: a live retrospective presented by Jowe Head with guest musicians in December 2021.Over two nights, Jowe Head, a founder-member of Swell Maps, presented two different sets of the band's output live on stage at Cafe Oto, with contributions from an impressive range of musicians and singers and artists, including Luke Haines (Auteurs), David Lance Callahan (Wolfhounds), Jeffrey Bloom (TV Personalities), Gina Birch (Raincoats)' Lee McFadden (TV Personalities/ATV) Ian Wadley: drums, Lucie Rejchrtova: piano Cos Chapman: lead guitar & e-bow, Jasmine Pender: cello Sleeve Notes by Thurston Moore and Jowe Head.

Reissue of the 1981 debut LP by darkwave electrronic pioneers, Schleimer K', based around the duo of Englishman Michael Wolfen and Frenchman Dominique Brethes and its music has two naturally interlaced aspects. On the one hand, there's the eccentric dandyism of British "punk gothique" (if we take Bauhaus as its strongest representative) and the musical intransigence of early industrial bands (like Throbbing Gristle or Cabaret Voltaire). On the other hand, we have the very obvious French touch of "coldwave", varying from cold synth sounds to intense experiments. New artwork, yellow vinyl!

This is the first-ever physical pressing of fan favourite track "7 Seconds" and includes never previously heard demo of track from Top 40 Album - 'Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky'. The release will be hand numbered and limited to 1000. "7 Seconds" has amassed over 3.4 million streams!

1956 album from the "King of Mambo". Red Opaque colour vinyl.