2023 Repress

7'' edition of the 1977 produced title track ''Badala Zamana'' by Algerian singer Zohra, with extended version on the flip! Check!

Born in 1950 near Constantine and raised on a parental diet of traditional Arabic music, Zohra quickly took up singing and playing the guitar and kept doing so after she and her family moved to the North of France. Playing gala events and receptions during her first years in France it took an encounter with multi-talented instrumentalist, composer, arranger and conductor Joël Hannierto take her into the world of recorded music. Joël Hannier’s experience in writing and interpreting music for ballets, television, orchestras and a vast array of French and international musicians made sure their collaboration – sung in a Berber dialect – was destined for success. The title track ‘Badala Zamana’ gets picked up by various radio stations, most notably in Arabic speaking countries. In France the song did not go unnoticed either, but until today - although championed by Habibi Funk among a few others – it remains relatively unearthed. More

NYC mainstay Ian Friday shows us once again how he easily transcends the ‘house’ genre by using his latin and jazz influences to transform his productions and arrangements into lush songs.

The A-side brings us a cover of Detroit’s Gospel group The Winans and the flip side a reworking of the Level 42 classic. Much like previous successful collaborations with vocalist Byron J. Moore the songs sound like they were written especially for him, oozing musicianship and groove. These timeless vocal house gems were previously playlisted by Ron Trent and are now finally available on vinyl courtesy of MTMU’s reissue imprint ‘Music Take Me Back’. More