Artwork and Typography by Stefan Marx

Joe Davies aka DJ Assam makes a welcome return to Smallville following his ‘Shields In Full Sunlight’ LP with the ‘Pardon My Late Response’ EP.

The past decade has seen DJ Assam releasing material for the likes of (his own imprint) Lehult, that he runs with a few friends, KANN Records, Super Tuff and Smallville Records sub-label Down by the Lake, as well as Djing regularly at hotspots across Europe and beyond.

Last year he made his debut on Smallville appearing under his own name- Joe Davies with a long player project. Here he returns with more of his distinctive deep and hypnotic style on a new EP for Smallville.

Up first on the package is ‘Errol Dub’, a six minute journey traversing through bouncy bass tones, airy chords, crisp shuffled percussion and modulating synth lines before ‘Unknown’ dives deeper via a reduced rhythm section, acid synth bleeps, soft bell tones and subtly naunced atmospherics. Opening the flip-side ‘1234 Love’ captures a more raw aesthetic with saturated drums at its core while an amalgamation of modulating synth licks and ethereal pads ebb and flow throughout. The Frankfurt Mix of ‘Hi Life’, known from Joe's mesmerizing Smallville album, rounds out the release, journeying into dub territory courtesy of spiralling echoes and slowly unfurling chords underpinned by a bumpy off-kilter drum groove.

Tracklist:

A1 Errol Dub
A2 Unknown
B1 1234 Love
B2 Hi Life (Frankfurt Mix)


All tracks written, produced and mixed by Joe Davies, additional production on B2 by Ossia, Vocals on B2 by Ocker
Mastering by Helmut Erler, Vinyl Cut by Lathesville

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

2024 Repress

Tracklist:

01. Looking Up To You (05:18)
02. Diamond Real (Tee Scott Instrumental Mix) (07:05)

Two seminal 12" mixes of a pair of Michael Wycoff heavy hitters from 1982. One a two-step favourite and one a Loft classic, these sought-after versions have never been paired on the same record.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Special remarks: handstamped vinyl, cover sticker

Tracklist 12":

A1. Dirty Bananas - No Lie
A2. Dirty Bananas - Melody
A3. Dirty Bananas - Draft
B1. Dirty Bananas - Gentle Breeze
B2. Dirty Bananas - I'm U
B3. Dirty Bananas - Fairmax


Short Info:

What is a Dirty Banana? It’s a tasty cocktail that blends ingredients like rum, Kahlúa and banana liqueur. But who the hell are the Dirty Bananas?

The name masks a Viennese duo consisting of DJ Cut Ex (Urbs & Cutex) and Addy-F (3MinutenEi). The two producers dug deep in the crates to create a delicious recipe, incorporating the finest Disco flavors from the 70s & 80s. In a lucky turn of events, six of their cuts made their way to Luv Shack Records a couple of months ago; thus, the Cocktails EP was born.

The EP opens with “No Lie”, a low slung, cheerful synth-funk jam that feels a bit like a lost B-Side from a certain furry Italian edit duo.

“Melody” takes notes from a beloved oddball jazz funk classic, while maintaining the boogie flavor with plenty of machine drums, synth bass and a perfectly quirky lead solo to boot.

On “Draft”, the Bananas ramp up the tempo to unleash a short but tasty disco stomper with extra crispy drums.

The laid back, percussion heavy disco chugger “Gentle Breeze” comes packed with an extra portion of familiar samples and chopped up drums, while “I’m U” takes a leftfield disco classic, and, in a no-nonsense approach, loops the hell out of it while blending it with a more moody sample.

Lastly, “Fairmax” circles around a jazzy organ melody on top of a super-dry, yet punchy drum-machine loop. What a shockingly delicious journey!




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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Tracklist:

A1. Phonk D – Cheek
B1. Phonk D – Cheek (Soundstream Remix)


Shortinfo:

With Cheek, Phonk D serves up another good vibe sample work. A catchy disco loop meets funky percussions, a few filter tweeks and off you go...
For the 10th anniversary of the label, a long-awaited wish has come true:
House and Disco icon Soundstream from Berlin has a take on the tracks and left his magic on one of his ultra-rare remixes.





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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

Format Notes: 2020 re-issue, 140g vinyl, 45 RPM, audio from the original tapes, plain sleeve

Track List:

A1 : Much Too Much (5:52)
B1 : Much Too Much - Instrumental (6:15)

Release Notes:

Be With hereby presents aural perfection.

Don’t let the title mislead you, “Much Too Much” by Sass has just the right amount of everything, whether you’re talking about the vocal or the instrumental. And that’s as true now as it was when it was originally released back in 1982.

In 1981 The Jack Sass Band, as they were known, were still working the NYC club circuit. Along with the likes of Change, The BB & Q Band and High Fashion, they were part of the Little Macho Music phenomenon and that’s how they ended up in an 8 track studio on 7th Avenue near 20th Street, where Little Macho recorded demos.

Produced by the band’s vocalist Mic Murphy, who also wrote the track along with fellow band member LaForrest Cope, the band needed just one session to capture “Much Too Much”. The recording studio just so happened to be run by Silvio Tancredi and when the tracks were finished he offered to put them out on his 25 West record label. The vocal version and an instrumental mix were released as a 12" the following year. Mic tells us this meant Sass “were one of the few bands to have a record release while still playing on the club circuit. So the reaction exceeded our expectations at the time”.

According to Mic “Much Too Much” was something a little different from the band’s live sound at the time, “it was more R&B smoothed out than the more funk rock we usually leaned into”. Indeed, the track glides with grace, poise and patience. The elegant, easy tempo, combined with the magnificent melody and Mic’s signature sublime vocal conjures magic. The blend of deep boogie-funk power and heavenly sweetness is both infectious and goosebump-inducing.

Over on the flip-side, the instrumental slaps harder. Without Mic’s vocal it’s just pure groove, with nothing to stop you vibing all night - the bassline, the drums and the melody still connect. Hard. Pick your side, you won’t lose.

Working directly with Mic Murphy means that the audio for this re-issue of the classic 12" comes from the original tapes. Cut at 45 RPM and released in a plain sleeve, we’ve made sure this record is well up to the job of having a permanent place in every DJ’s bag. As far as we’re concerned, this is essential stuff.

Mic told us just how much it means to him to have “Much To Much” re-issued: “It’s an amazing feeling to have something you created almost 40 years ago still have relevance and even more amazing to be considered among the Northern Soul boogie anthems. And it’s especially important to me that we’re available again on vinyl”.


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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

LP
Special remarks:
Record sleeve with transparent patch pocket holding one out of 16 postcards creating an individual cover
20-page booklet featuring contributions by 16 visual artists

Tracklist:

A1) Schweben 03:46 min
A2) First Visit (Skit) 00:10 min
A3) Fliegender Teppich 03:34 min
A4) Spuren 04:52 min
A5) The Father (Skit) 00:15 min
A6) Welk 03:51 min
A7) Zwischenzeit 01:35 min
A8) I Like This Picture (Skit) 00:06 min
A9) Repeater RPTR Theme 04:34 min
A10) Dead (Skit) 00:13 min
B1) Wanderlust 05:10 min
B2) Weichen 04:18 min
B3) Two Fathers (Skit) 00:11 min
B4) Interlude #1 (for Robert) 02:41 min
B5) Zugvögel (for Pascal) 04:50 min
B6) Tell Me Something (Skit) 00:11 min
B7) Karavanserai 05:18 min

Info:
Simon Lovermann's debut album "Handwerke - Songs for my fathers" is focused around the piano, both as a harmonic and a percussive instrument. It is influenced by Jazz, Electronica, Hip Hop and Minimal Music. The beats are created with the piano and are enriched with body-percussion and beatbox to create an idiosyncratic atmosphere and distinctive sound.

The album deals with the personal story of the artist. Simon's biological father, Robert, was a Jazz musician and died before his birth. Simon was raised by his father Christian. This album is therefore a vividly emotional way for him to explore topics like death, fatherhood, family, identity and belonging.

"Handwerke" comes with a special artwork and cover design, featuring contributions by 16 artists printed on individual postcards and assembled in a 20-page booklet.

The release is a collaboration of Der Greif and Squama Recordings.


Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More