A punky romp with a beast of a chorus, JTQ here kicking up some dust with a tune that hails back to James' time in the Prisoners supporting The Ramones on a UK tour in 1986. James recalls 'The Ramones were one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, I watched their entire show, 3 hrs, every night on the tour and as a 21 yr old it made a huge effect on me. I've waited to being 60 yrs old to find a way to somehow act on that. Although I'd say JTQ have always had a punky Rock n Roll thing going on our live gigs.' This whole thing now feels completely new and fresh. a real discovery. Despite having always being there on some level. More

A punky romp with a beast of a chorus, JTQ here kicking up some dust with a tune that hails back to James' time in the Prisoners supporting The Ramones on a UK tour in 1986. James recalls 'The Ramones were one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, I watched their entire show, 3 hrs, every night on the tour and as a 21 yr old it made a huge effect on me. I've waited to being 60 yrs old to find a way to somehow act on that. Although I'd say JTQ have always had a punky Rock n Roll thing going on our live gigs.' This whole thing now feels completely new and fresh. a real discovery. Despite having always being there on some level. More

Some things are worth waiting for… "Morning Star" is the first all-new album by The Prisoners since 1986. It

features the original line-up of

Allan Crockford – bass, vocals

Graham Day – vocals, guitar

Johnny Symons – drums

James Taylor – Hammond organ, vocals

After a phenomenally successful series of gigs in December 2022 marking the 40 th anniversary of their debut album 'A Taste of Pink', the band decided to make some new music. The recording was completed in two days, one of them in Studio 2 at Abbey Road. Their preference for recording quickly hasn't changed since they recorded that first album as teenagers, also in two days, in 1982. To celebrate, they play The Roundhouse in London on May 24th, their biggest headline gig

Biography

The Prisoners formed when they were still at school in Rochester, Kent. Between 1982 and 1986 the band released four albums plus several singles and EPs. Inspired by the local Medway DIY music ethic, their debut 'A Taste of Pink' and 'The Last Fourfathers' appeared on their own label, Own Up Records whilst "The WiserMiserDemelza" was released on Big Beat (Ace Records) and "In From The Cold" on Countdown (Stiff Records).

They earned a reputation as an incendiary live act as they plied their trade around the UK and Europe, building up a dedicated following and unknowingly inspiring a generation of future musicians. Their unique sound, based on instantly memorable and melodic songs surfing on a seething wave of brutal guitar, attention-grabbing, up-front Hammond and head-pounding rhythms, made for an explosive evening of entertainment. It was a unique combination of the sonic assault and danger of The Who and 60's garage-punk, the soulful vocals and dynamics of the Small Faces plus the groove and danceability of Booker T & the MGs. Throw in the intensity, drive and insolence of punk rock, as well as an unabashed love for instrumental TV themes and you had a wonderfully off-kilter version of where the real cool kids were at in the early '80s…

Despite some brushes with 'success', the pressures of hard living on the road took their toll and they quit in September 1986. They left behind a legacy and a sound that was inspirational to many that followed. Not many under the radar bands of the 80's would merit chapters dedicated to them in biographies of such luminaries as Steve LeMacq and Tim Burgess as well as being name checked as Brit-Pop forefathers. Their original albums make regular appearances in 'Great Lost Albums' lists and continue in print to this day.

James Taylor subsequently went on to gain huge success as the best pure Hammond player of his generation with his jazz and funk quartet (JTQ). His playing and sound undoubtedly played a massive part in restoring the popularity of his chosen instrument.

That work started in The Prisoners.

Graham Day and Allan Crockford, both together and apart, continue to the present playing music that has ploughed a similar furrow to The Prisoners in such combos as The Prime Movers, The Solarflares, The Gaolers, The Galileo 7 and The Senior Service. More

Blood Smoke Vinyl. The Instrumental version of the underground classic El Michels Affair & Black Thought collaborative album Glorious Game When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their rst record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented "cinematic soul" sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later_all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry_Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two rst met in the 2000s when Thought was rst getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective_Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax _are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy." Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people's music but then adding live instrumentation on top. More

It's a pleasure, a labour of love and a yearly highlight to present a new volume of the Mr Bongo Record Club series. In this collection, we have curated new finds alongside old, treasured tracks that hold a special place in our hearts, selecting music inspiring us from the Brazilian, Latin, soul, disco, gospel, cosmic, dancehall and downtempo genres. We have chosen a diverse array of artists, including Os Panteras from Brazil, stomping underground disco by Claude Jay, the Danish soul sounds of Gitte & Inger and the gospel excellence of Truth & Devotion, to name a few.

Most of the selections in this volume are older vintage productions, however, there is one very special contemporary production, recorded exclusively for Mr Bongo Record Club 7. For ‘Spring Has Sprung’, we linked three of our cherished musical family together; the legendary cult artist Asha Puthli, the wonderous band SOYUZ (???3) and Swedish maestro Sven Wunder. The result, as you’d expect, is completely breathtaking.

Reflecting on Volume 7, it now feels like a record comprised of two themes. Firstly, we have gone quite heavy on the Brazilian selections. This saw us searching further afield and digging into other areas of the endlessly rich Brazilian musical tapestry. The reflection of a more folk / Afro-Brazilian sound than presented in previous volumes in the series, can be heard in the songs of As Sublimes, Romeu Fernandes and Conjunto de Percussão Dora Pinto. The second theme is a representation of the tracks that we have been playing in our club DJ sets and are aimed more at the dancefloor. Disco tracks such as 'Come Inside' by The Shades of Love and The Duncans' 'Too Damn Hot' have been firmly tested favourites in recent years.

We hope these songs, by the sensational artists on display, inspire you as much as they do us. Music is the gift that keeps giving and there is so much more to learn, find, and share. More

Ptaki's tunes soar wide-winged like their translation (bird) infers. With a breakout single under their belts on the Very Polish Cut-Outs 'Krystina' and a swirling vapour of mystique surrounding them, the duo present their first full 12" of original material which is both contemplative and transfixing. The Kalina EP on Young Adults Recordings clocks in around 25 minutes, but the ground it covers cannot be clearly conveyed through conventional cartography - a birdseye view of jagged cliffs, coastal haze, rolling bagpipe hillsides, and smoke signals. Opener 'Warsaw' borders on the sublime with a patience and gentle simplicity that can't be taught or bought. Placidly ethereal, this is cinematic Balearia in the tradition of Quiet Village that won't soon be forgotten. Chimes, toms, horns and strums swell and crash like gentle titans. 'Foxy' builds slow on Celtic tropes and emerges from the bell tower with a jump in its step. Vocal swoons keep the pace atop effective strings and a bouncy bassline. 'Kalina' builds on an effortless guitar and displays the duo's songwriting chops with a stable balance of emotion and punch. The closer 'Skala' explores deeper territories with a thumping low end and acid workout, but still manages to drift into dreamlike states with its meandering flute refrains and guided meditation samples. More

Now that's what we call a remix treatment! Soul Supreme enlists a dream line-up for the official remix of "Taking The Stand." The intro line is all there is to say that this 45 is a no-brainer to cop:"Thes Oneis on the beat,Soul Supremecomposed the suite,the Fudgemunkis about to speak."


As a long-time fan of People Under The Stairs and Damu The Fudgemunk, this is a full-circle moment for Soul Supreme. He deejayed alongside Damu in the past, and he has shown his appreciation to both P.U.T.S. and Damu with various tribute mixes. Matter of fact, this release is a full-circle moment for any hip-hop head: this 45 marks the very first time Thes One and Damu can be heard on one record together.

In typical crate-digging fashion, Thes One flips key elements from Soul Supreme's "Taking The Stand" into a neck-snapping beat. The instrumental album version of "Taking The Stand" can be found on the B-side of this 45. The original is a beautifully melodic jazz-funk head-nodder featuring drums by Tamuz Dolev and a spirited guitar solo by Radiohop's Johnny Biner.

"Taking The Stand" originally appeared on Soul Supreme's highly acclaimed instrumental albumPoetic Justice. Released last year, the album channeled his ongoing legal battle with a Norwegian label that stole his music. Fresh off his latest collaborations withRaw Poetic, Damu The Fudgemunk hopped back on the mic for this remix to voice his displeasure about shifty record labels. Damu also laid down cuts for the outro of the track, serving as a tribute to the lateDouble K.


"While you hadMadlib,DOOM, andQuas doing all kinds of esoteric stuff in this beautiful wave of underground hip-hop in the late '90s and early 2000s, these were legends but not people you actually knew.People Under the Stairs were like your friends, kind of, even though you don't know them,"Soul Supreme toldWax Poetics in 2022."They are more like everyday people who make amazing music. (...) Thes OneandDouble K were really honest about who they are. That's something, for me, that I consider one of the most important things in music."The 45 release of "Taking The Stand (Thes One Remix)" shows just that: three like-minded music heads at their most honest and passionate. More

After a 19-year hiatus, Duster came back with their S/T chef-d'oeuvre in 2019. Recorded in band member Clay Parton's garage (aka Low Earth Orbit), the record bears all the hallmarks of the band's early work: gaunt basslines, spindly guitars, and melancholy lyrics that lurk in the background.
Tracklist
1.1COPERNICUS CRATER
1.2I'M LOST
1.3CHOCOLATE AND MINT
1.4SUMMER WAR
1.5LOMO
1.6DAMAGED
1.7LETTING GO
1.8GO BACK
1.9HOYA PARANOIA
1.10GHOULISH
1.11GHOST WORLD
1.12THE THIRTEEN More

Side 1
01 I Saw You 02 Secret 03 Radio 04 Follow 05 Enough 06 Pause
Side 2
01 Safety 02 Cmon 03 Trying 04 Chest 05 Come On Home

Produced by Brian Eno and Fred Gibson
4th April 2020 - 23rd December 2022
Mastered by Kieran Hebden
Lacquer cut by Bernie Grundman
Artwork by loose
Gatefold photograph by Brian Eno
More

Re issued in conjunction with George Morel / Groove On. Re mastered for 2014 from original Mood II Swing dats.

Absolutely killer Mood II Swing from 1996... More