Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy are back with a new single release after their album debut "Mam Yinne Wa", which can be seen as a harbinger of the second album. You can hear another Frafra Gospel masterpiece by the king of this genre.

"Doose Mam" is a soulful piece that goes straight to the limbs with its repetitive rhythm. The jubilant middle section, in which the wind instruments and the choir pass the balls to each other, is to be emphasized. "Gure Yose Me" ties in with the Frafra Gospel tradition of making use of reggae rhythms. Here we hear a stepper played by Josie Coppola, Europe's No.1 reaggae drummer. Both pieces were produced both in Berlin and in Kumasi by Max Weissenfeldt in Philophon's in-house Joy Sound Studios. More

With her new single release "Uh-Ah Song" the Ghanaian Frafra Soul singer Florence Adooni announces her debut album "Fo Yelle" on Philophon.

A lot has happened since the release of her first single "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure" in 2021. While this release was a pure studio project, Florence Adooni is now an eight-member live formation, made up of young talents from the highlife scene of Kumasi. The group has already considerable credentials: In 2023, they toured Europe twice and thrilled their audiences at festivals such as Roskilde, Down The Rabbit Hole and Überjazz. And this year, with the debut "Fo Yelle" under the belt, Florence and her group embarking on a 50+ concert summer tour through Europe, from Sweden to Portugal to UK and at festivals like FMM Sines, Xajazz, Africa Oye, Fusion, End of The Road.

The title track "Uh-Ah Song" is based on a rhythm typical of Kumasi and shines with its playful and cheerful character. Florence remembers the process of creating the piece: "When my producer Max Weissenfeldt came to me to play me on the piano an idea for a new piece, my daughter, who had just been born, began to sing in rhythm ah-ah-ah, with all joy in her face ever imaginable, while Max was playing. Max turned around and answered her with uh-uh-uh, to which she replied again with ah-ah-ah. We laughed so much and decided to make it a piece that would capture that very moment of joy we just had experienced. That's why it's somehow a children's song".

"Otoma Da Naba" (The Creator Has Done Well) has a sequencer bass line from a Roland TB-303 as its foundation. While Florence holds her verse in a kind of Ethiopian pentatonic scale, in the pre-chorus she switches to a sweetly swinging heptatonic motif, with a typical highlife guitar in the background creating the atmosphere. In the chorus, the singing then changes in that unique choir style, which is the trademark of Frafra music.

The international debut album "Fo Yelle" will be released on Philophon this summer. More

Jimi Tenor's new single on Philophon was created at the label's own Joy Sound Studios in Kumasi/Ghana. Here he encountered the lively music scene that the city, once the birthplace of highlife, has to offer.

With the title track My Mind, Jimi brings one of his classics from the 90s to new life. It goes without saying that he takes the highlife beat as his basis here.

With Love Is The Language he has created another hymn to the mystery of love, the exploration of which runs like a common thread through his now extensive work.

On both pieces he is accompanied by the ten-man Rubato Chorus. The result is two epic pieces that are consistent with Jimi's work. More

German artist Erobique, known for his improvisational spirit and irresistible disco anthems, visited drummer and producer Max Weissenfeldt in his Ghana-based Joy Sound Studios. Erobique immediately teamed up with the local musicians to cut some tracks. Together with Philophon artist Florence Adooni, he created the catchy tune "Mam Tola", which Florence sings in her mother tongue Frafra. The swaying and swinging outcome is an example par excellence of Afro Soul. On "Bach in Afrika" you hear Erobique how he converts some deep down Kumasi-style drum and bass jam into a frenetic Baroque ceremony by masterfully operating the Hammond "Extra Voice" with some reminiscence of J.S. Bach. More

Ahemaa Nwomkro, which means queens of Nwomkro, are Victoria Osei and Theresa Owusuaa. Nwomkro is an old Ashanti musical style, which played an influential role in the origin of the typical more roots-like Highlife style of Kumasi, the cultural capital of Ghana in the middle of the jungle. On this release the two singers have teamed up with the young generation of Highlife muicians of Kumasi. On guitar is Akule Pepe, who served for years in the group of Highlife legend Alex Konadu, the most on demand band in its time. The two songs are a rare example of how good pure Nwomkro gets together with typical Highlife. More

Philophon's house band The Polyversal Souls is back with two classic songs from the back catalog. The first one is Sad Nile, taken from the band's debut Invisible Joy (PH33001) from 2015, but in a re-mastered version which added some extra fire to the hypnotic rhythm and the lovely melancholic ethopian melody. The second one is Florence Adooni's catchy highlife twister Mam Pe'ela Su'ure as an instrumental. The melody is passionately played on the flute by Philophon artist Jimi Tenor. More

After her surprise debut "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure", Ghana's Frafra gospel queen Florence Adooni is back with her second single on Philophon. Born as Frafra in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti, she combines the best of both cultures into a unique fusion. The meandering, mostly pentatonic melodies of the Frafra glide over the high-life rhythm of the Ashanti with incredible ease. "Yinne" means The Creator and is one of the songs sung at the culmination of the Sunday service. Its driving rhythm usually guarantees a collective ecstasy in the community. "Fo Yelle", on the other hand, has more of a meditative effect on the listener. Its rather solemn rhythm leads you into tranquility and opens your soul to receive the divine spark. The songs were produced by Max Weissenfeldt in Kumasi/Ghana. More

Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy are back with a new single release after their album debut "Mam Yinne Wa", which can be seen as a harbinger of the second album. You can hear another Frafra Gospel masterpiece by the king of this genre.

"Doose Mam" is a soulful piece that goes straight to the limbs with its repetitive rhythm. The jubilant middle section, in which the wind instruments and the choir pass the balls to each other, is to be emphasized. "Gure Yose Me" ties in with the Frafra Gospel tradition of making use of reggae rhythms. Here we hear a stepper played by Josie Coppola, Europe's No.1 reaggae drummer. Both pieces were produced both in Berlin and in Kumasi by Max Weissenfeldt in Philophon's in-house Joy Sound Studios. More

After his international debut #1 in 2018, the north Ghanaian Kologo (a two stringed proto-banjo) master Guy One is back with his brand new band, consisting of Kumasi's finest young talents, plus Florence Adooni and Tenni Akagam as his choir voices. So La Ma La has a straight forward Highlife rhythm which melts together with some funky articulated afrobeat-a-like bass line. To Kale Na'nabala is instead in the traditional Kete rhythm, a bouncy poly-rhythm in 12/8. But both songs are mostly defined through Guy One's Kologo lines and his soulful interpretation of the typical north-ghanaian vocal style. More

Amazing collectors /dj edition of the Italo Classic by Alexander Robotnick including the KDJ (aka Moodymann) and Carl Craig remixes!! Comes on special yellow vinyl and also has a recording of a live version by Robotnick himself! And as extra bonus, there is an added Disco cover of Strauss's 'Also Sprach Zarathustra', known more famously as the opening theme to the film Space Odyssey 2001, produced by Robotnick and Ludus Pinksy (Italcimenti). Recommended! More

TRACKLIST
1.1 Centuras - Tokyo
1.2 Bandulu - Amaranth - Love Lies Bleeding
1.3 Strontium 90 - Rave On The Congo
1.4 Orr-Some - We Can Make It
2.1 Biff'um Baff'um Boys - Bombing
2.2 Epoch 90 - V.L.S.I. Heaven (Zone Mix)
2.3 Mind Over Rhythm - Kubital Footstorm (Global Beatmix)
2.4 Dream Frequency - Dream The Dream
2.5 As One - Isatai
2.6 Uvx - Elevator (Trancefloor Transporter)


From 1989 onwards, Richard was an obsessive collector of house and techno music, frequenting legendary London record shops such as Fat Cat, Silverfish, Trax and Red Records. He took record buying trips to New York to find second-hand disco, house and techno 12"s, which were lying around in bargain bins. The selection for this compilation are his own personal favourites from that era. Back then, electronic dance music was young, innocent and fun; it hadn"t been analysed, theorised and fragmented into the multi-genre industry it is today. More

Spandau’s Dajusch debuts on Dance Trax with 3 tracks of high octane techno-jak-trax - road tested in clubs worldwide to full effekt! More

New EP by DJ Godfather. Smoke in Da Air. More

Ultra-rare modern/Northern soul/funk crossover, now extremely expensive in its original form. Cut loud & proud. Artwork based on the original promo version. Officially licensed from Phase One Network. More

Tracklisting:
A1 Hidden Spheres - Waiting
A2 Hidden Spheres - Upsn Down
B1 Hidden Spheres - Be A Man
B2 Hidden Spheres - Bill Loves You

Sales Note:
- Repress -

Four luscious, beach-coasting, jet-skiing tracks from the depths of Detroit via Manchester from Hidden Spheres.

Vocal tracks that undulate with 'mmm's and 'uuuh's for the real deal summer feel. Sweeping Rhode lines, organic percussion to make the thumbs raw and those deep, woofing basses that just keep on giving.

Hidden Spheres going for the jugular. Melting the sun like butter on a roasting-hot lobster.

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"Beggin" (Pilooski Re-edit); "Beggin" (Speaker Killer Remix); "Who Loves You" / A euphoric fusion of emotional Northern soul stomper and end-of-the-night, hands-in-the-air rave moment. More

Tracklisting:
A1 Interplanetary Criminal - Who On Da Mic
A2 Interplanetary Criminal - Supreme Level
B1 Interplanetary Criminal - Darkside
B2 Interplanetary Criminal - The Way

Release Note:
Interplanetary Criminal returns to Time Is Now with four killer UKG cuts. More

Tracklisting:
A1 Sweely - Stronger Than Me
A2 Sweely - You Don't Really Want Me
B1 Sweely - Raw Thoughts
B2 Sweely - Acid City
B3 Sweely - You Do

Sales Note
- repress -

Sweely caps off a massive 2017 with a bumper 5-tracker EP of pure heaters.

Pressed on the classic "LT Records" centres, Nice Archive Traxx Vol. 1 is a lesson in raw, hissing house from the Concrete resident and one of France's finest new talents.

Stronger Than Me has been bothering mixes & radio for a good year now and takes pride of place on the A1. Skipped snares, wailing sax and clear vocal hits slot together around an NY house core. You Don't Really Want Me heats up the production just that bit more on the grill and adds in some serious Chi-town acidic flavour. 303's running riot from the midway.

On the B, Raw Thoughts takes a similarly blown-out production sensibility and drives it straight into laid-back electro territory. Elements of boogie spliced with sultry synth soloing and glacial pad ripples. Ice cream parlour chill jams.

Rounding out the EP are Acid City - a soulful deep house number overrun with grumpy, growling acid lines - and hyper beat-snippet You Do - a breaks-y beat track showcasing the other side of Sweely's enormous talent. Proper dredgin' beats from the raw!




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Still sounding as fresh as when first released some 20 years ago, this EP, produced by Ed Bahlman for his label, 99 Records, is a classic. Much sampled by DJ's and record producers all over the world, includes 'You're No Good', 'Moody', and 'UFO', in pic More