Razor-sharp production of the highest order from two of the masters of the early 80’s Rio de Janeiro boogie sound, Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti.

Both were highly acclaimed music producers of the time, starting around the mid-70’s. Over the course of his career Olivetti worked with artists including Rita Lee, Erasmo Carlos, Don Beto, Marcos Valle, Tim Maia, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Sandra Sa, Painel de Controle and many more.

The album takes in mid-tempo, AOR, boogie and even latin all way through the tempo’s to ultra-quick Prince style disco-funk workouts. Includes several standout tracks – ‘Aleluia’ and ’Ginga’ being our two favourites. Synths, horns, claps, drum machines, guitars, keys and vocal harmonies combine effortlessly.

Originally released in 1982 on Som Livre, Brazil. Replica original reproduction. More

Repress!

Sometimes it’s easy to see why certain albums fail to reach a wider audience and sink without a trace not long after release, but why Fernando Falcão's Brazil-only debut album 'Memória das Águas' wasn't acknowledged as the masterpiece it is straight away at the time will forever remain a mystery. Maybe it's because it came out thirteen years after Falcão had to flee his motherland after actively protesting Brazil's military regime in 1968, not exactly making him the Brazilian household name he should have been. Chances are the fact that it was released more than two years after it was initially recorded in his new home France in 1979 didn't help sales either. So kudos to the good people at Selva Discos for making this rare-as-hens-teeth and criminally underrated album available once again, since it needs to be out there for all to hear.

'Memória das Águas' is a unique and compelling concoction of both traditional and modern Brazilian styles, postmodern classical, ambient, jazz, tape experiments and abstract sounds derived from Falcão's homemade instruments such as the balauê, a horizontal version of the berimbau string instrument that produces the watery, flowing sound the album was named after. The balauê is introduced in the stunning opening track, a miniature symphony that slowly spirals into dizzying depths. Falcão invokes both Afro-Brazilian and Latin-American spirits in a Jon Hassell-like Fourth World setting with 'Amanhecer Tabajara', before moving into Edu Lobo territory with 'Revoada' and capturing the sounds of a bustling bazar with 'Mercado'. The stunning 'Curimão' is the absolute centerpiece of this brilliant album - a fast-paced six minute samba attack with ripping horns, full-on percussion and dervish-like handclapping that will floor any unsuspecting listener. 'Solito' rounds off this wonderfully balanced album, revealing Falcão's painstaking attention to detail before finally pouring the remnants of his soul out with the grand artistic closing statement that is 'Danado Cantador'. 'Memória das Águas' is a beautifully produced masterpiece that is worthy of a new, more prominent place in history. (RO) More

2023 repress in full color sleeve!

Barbatuques, a well-known Brazilian group of body percussionists, adapted "Baianá" back in 2005 (first released on the "O Seguinte É Esse" album) and since then it became a staple of their concerts

The original is a modern folk song from Bahia composed by Maria do Carmo Barbosa, but it was the mouth harp sound and the stomping beat on the Barbatuques' arrangement that imprinted its trademark sound. A couple of years ago, Jan Schulte, the german producer known for his taste for tropical drums (and also for using a few different aliases), heard the song and decided to add an extra punch to it for his DJ sets: more drums, taken from a library record of "drumdrops" (hence the title).

Now for the first time "Baianá" is issued on vinyl. It marks the second volume of the Brasingles eries, a new series on Selva Discos dedicated to releasing loud 12" singles with the original song on the A side and a rework on the B side, to please both the DJ and the listener. More

Selva Discos keeps broadening horizons. Its next release celebrates the start of a new series called Novaterra, this time focused on showcasing the music of contemporary Brazilian artists. First up is Zopelar, known not only for his work with the anarchic-techno-punk act Teto Preto but also for the project My Girlfriend and his solo LP, both on Apron Records. Novaterra vol. 1 by Zopelar is a mini-LP featuring 6 tracks that range from the introversion to the extraversion. In one hand you have an A-side banger like "Be Together", with its addictive looped-sample, and in the other, you get the laidback interlude of "Modo Avião", which sounds like one of those MF Doom's instrumentals – and between both, you will find a whole spectrum of music where you can experience the duel between super crispy beats (a signature in Zopelar's work) and the richness of melodies and harmonies that he's able to knit stitch close to perfection.
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Massive EP released on Splendi Lo-Fi (MP3) now on Vinyl ! Played by DJ Deep, Sebo K, Technasia, Chez Damier, Paco Osuna, D’julz, Didier Allyne, Arnaud Le Texier & more… More

Volume 4 of the Make Up series is another doozy and this one brings together accomplished house heads Camille, Chez Damier, and Nico Lahs in a celebration of underground disco classic "through the lens of 60's and 70's underground comix." Similar to these rebellious reads, the tracks on this release carved their niche with purists seeking distinct and thrilling sounds. Across the double album, Camille's contributions include Mystic Pleasure's 'Back Door (Getting Down)' and Cold Fire's 'Badder Than Bad' which both bring soulful melodies and infectious rhythms, Chez Damier adds Fascination's 'Shine My Love' and Bileo's 'You Can Win' with shimmering vocals and funky basslines and together, they make for an exhilarating mix of disco brilliance. More

Eternal Deep House standard. More

Harlem's legendary Disco label P&P and it's associated labels have long been cult favourites among fans of underground dance music for decades. One of many labels operating under the equally legendary P&P family of imprints Sound Of New York, USA was operated by one Peter Brown, a truly colossal figure in NYC's music scene, it's catalogue still fascinates music lovers to this day. Covering a wide range of styles including Gospel, early Rap and Disco the label's output continually finds it way into the playlists of respected DJ's and selectors across
the globe. This super heavyweight double-header features 2 stone cold rarities from the labels vaults on 1 12" slab of wax for 2019! Johnson Products kick off side-A with their killer, relentless groove 'Johnson Jumpin' which originally came out in 1979 on the label. This was truly an underground hit at the time and in the years to follow with it appearing in the playlists of Frankie Knuckles and many other clued up DJ's of the era. It's a dope keys led dancer with some serious DIY analogue synth going down all over it and the band are literally killing it the groove is so so tight! Essential stuff here. Flip this one over and you're in for another treat, Willie Wood & The Willie Wood Crew's version of the same cut, basically 'Johnson Jumpin' with some serious old-school Disco-Rap leanings, Willie spitting bars of fire all over the same funked out backing track. Both of these records, if you caught them out in the wild, solo, would easily set you back a few nuggets. Fear not, you can grab this legit repress and dig on them both in the comfort of your own home! Fresh! More

It’s been exactly a year since the 6th Borough boys emerged from their hiatus to bring us the Rhythm & Truth EP. This killer three tracker picked up where they left off and showed us that fans of deep, dusty, dubbed-out disco were as hungry as ever for new 6BP material and went on to garner praise from the likes of Jamie 3:26, Luke Solomun, Dam Swindle, Young Pulse and the Faith crew to name a few. Here on their follow up we’re treated to more of the good stuff and sees Craig Smith and Graeme ‘Revenge’ Clark whipping up four new cuts spanning speaker- wobbling sub-aquatic grooves and stripped back deep house. One Way sets the tone with a subtle yet infectious percussive workout which is one of those mood setting tools which looks set to become a lot of DJ’s secret weapons this summer. Filtering strings and tweaked synths add that classic Chicago energy which won’t fail to get you locked into it’s groove. Spare Change treads a similar path but goes heavier on the echoing synth stabs and deep string pads proving that when the rhythm is rolling this nicely just let it roll. Flip over for Backlash which takes us deeper still with lush chords and driving square wave bassline taking centre stage supported by an unrelent ing kick drum which helps to keep an intensity throughout the arrangement. Closing out the EP we have The Other, which sees 6BP dropping the BPM’s to create a low-slung slice of deep, underground house perfection. More

Repress!

What is it about New York City, that concrete jungle that continually inspires the creative spirit? From Warhol’s Factory to Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage to David Mancuso’s Loft, collectives that celebrate and nurture unfettered, organic artistry have been absolutely intrinsic to the story of this sprawling metropolis. Its latest chapter is being written at the hands of ‘The Maestro’, Grammy Award winner Louie Vega and his Expansions NYC parties, the sound documented in his latest album Expansions In The NYC (Nervous Records).

Starting in February 2019 in Manhattan and Brooklyn venues, Vega’s Expansions NYC parties have their origin not in his revered prowess as a DJ but rather his whole-hearted appreciation of the different elements of the dance floor surrounding him: the dancers, the musicians who bring their instruments to join him ad-hoc on the night, the small, dedicated crowd of clubbers whose ears to the ground keep them informed on the underground party information. The events included 6-hour DJ Sets with Louie under his select curation, and would usually end with 3 AM jam sessions involving keyboardists, guitar players and poets all performing in front of a jam packed crowd. In just a few short years the Expansions NYC events have evolved into an NYC-clubland institution, an intimate celebration of house, funk, disco, afro, R&B and more.

As with his parties, so goes his album. The collective vibe that forms the beating heart of Expansions NYC parties is absolutely front and centre in Expansions In The NYC, Vega drawing in one of the most comprehensive lists of collaborators in recent memory. House heavyweights Honey Dijon, Joe Claussell, Moodymann, Kerri Chandler and Anané rub up against legendary vocalists Bernard Fowler, Cindy Mizelle, Lisa Fischer, Audrey Wheeler and Tony Momrelle. Gospel royalty BeBe Winans and Debbie Winans, pop icon Robyn and rising star Karen Harding sit alongside disco-era champions Unlimited Touch, Cuban jazz pianist Axel Tosca, Nico Vega, Two Soul Fusion with Josh Milan and Vega and underground legend DJ Spinna. At the centre of it all, fingerprint on every beat, touch on every groove, sits a master at work, weaving the individual threads into a rich dance music tapestry.

"In the past few years I’ve found new inspiration both from the musicians I’m working with and the audiences coming to see me at my DJ shows,” Vega says. “So for me this album represents new beginnings, bringing together a beautiful mosaic of artistic perspectives to express musically what we call Expansions In The NYC."

At its heart, Expansions In The NYC is a love letter to New York, as much as melting pot as the city it represents, the scope of its line-up possible only because of the influence and reverence of Vega the artist, the DJ, the producer, the curator. In creating this album, Louie Vega has once again utterly enriched the lives and libraries of music lovers the world over, far beyond the hustling streets of NYC that have so indelibly left their mark on his work. More