London-based keyboardist and composer Greg Foat is back with his new album, 'The Rituals of Infinity'. Greg's first memory with the piano goes all the way back to his Aunt's house at aged 3 - where he fell off the piano stool. Since then, his relationship with the piano has evolved into a fulfilling, and successful career. He began taking an interest in composing at the age of 11, and truly ignited his love for Jazz after attending a workshop with Jeff Clyne, Olaf Vas, Trevor Tomkins and Nick Weldon at the age of 15. He then studied jazz at Middlesex University, followed by 6 months in Sweden on an Erasmus grant which lead to his first professional studio session there at 21. Greg has worked as a professional musician ever since, and has moulded a wonderfully multifaceted career within the Jazz music genre. Greg is planning a debut performance of 'The Rituals of Infinity' at Ronnie Scotts in January.'The Rituals of Infinity' album is inspired by many things. Some titles are named after iconic science fiction books such as The Rituals Of Infinity, A Private Cosmos, The Dark Labyrinth and The World of the Red Sun. Minerva's Owl, on the other hand, is about the Ancient Greek Legend. "The owl of Minerva takes flight only at dusk." so wrote G. W. F. Hegel, the nineteenth century's major philosopher of history. By that, he meant that any given phase of history can be understood only in retrospect — after it's over. A beautifully fitting closing of the album. The album features the legendary Art Themen on Soprano and Tenor Saxophones, and Trevor Walker on Trumpet and Flugel Horn in a fine supportive role harmonising with Katherine Farnden on Cor Anglais. Natcyet Wakili has such a fluid approach to the drums which really makes the album special, alongside Jasper Osbourne on Bass Guitar. Shawn Lee also stopped by the studio with his horror movie classic waterphone - adding some eery atmospheric finishing touches to the album.

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Large group session featuring deep spiritual modal jazz and new age ambient synthesizer pads

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Greg Foat is a London-based keyboardist, composer, bandleader and DJ. He claims his life-long love/hate relationship with the piano began at age 3, when he fell off a piano stool at his aunt's house. He started composing around age 11, and at 15 attended a jazz workshop with Jeff Clyne, Olaf Vas, Trevor Tomkins and Nick Weldon, igniting his obsession with jazz music. He furthered to study jazz at Middlesex University, and then studied for 6 months in Sweden on an Erasmus grant. He played his first professional studio session there at 21, and has been working as a professional musician ever since.

Snake Plant Shuffle and Spider Plant Blues are inspired by the the plants on Gregs bedside tables - which periodically move around the house dependent on his mood. The plants provide a good source of oxygen in the room and create a calm soothing atmosphere for Gregs musical projects. Together the tracks feature live drum kits by Ayo Salawu, Fender Rhodes and a plethora of Vintage Synthesisers.

Snake Plant Shuffle has had radio plays in Gemany, Poland and Canada, as well as being heavily featured in Amazon Music's Jazz playlists, including 'Fresh Jazz', 'Coffee Shop Jazz' and 'Café Jazz'. Both tracks are featured in Apple Music' 'Jazz Scene: UK' and 'New Latitudes' playlists.

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Special Poolside Analogue Synth and drum machine session recorded live in Ibiza. File under: LIVE COSMIC BALEARIC JAZZ SYNTH TRIO

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The prolific Greg Foat returns with a new Synthesiser soundscape double album. Recorded during the 2020 Lockdown. This is the follow up to 'Photosynthesis' this time featuring drummer Morgan Simpson (Black Midi)

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Strut is proud to announce the new album by UK jazz pianist, Greg Foat, ‘Symphonie Pacifique’

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Strut is proud to announce the new album by UK jazz pianist, Greg Foat, ‘Symphonie Pacifique’,

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London-based keyboardist and composer Greg Foat is back with his new album, 'The Rituals of Infinity'. Greg's first memory with the piano goes all the way back to his Aunt's house at aged 3 - where he fell off the piano stool. Since then, his relationship with the piano has evolved into a fulfilling, and successful career. He began taking an interest in composing at the age of 11, and truly ignited his love for Jazz after attending a workshop with Jeff Clyne, Olaf Vas, Trevor Tomkins and Nick Weldon at the age of 15. He then studied jazz at Middlesex University, followed by 6 months in Sweden on an Erasmus grant which lead to his first professional studio session there at 21. Greg has worked as a professional musician ever since, and has moulded a wonderfully multifaceted career within the Jazz music genre. Greg is planning a debut performance of 'The Rituals of Infinity' at Ronnie Scotts in January.'The Rituals of Infinity' album is inspired by many things. Some titles are named after iconic science fiction books such as The Rituals Of Infinity, A Private Cosmos, The Dark Labyrinth and The World of the Red Sun. Minerva's Owl, on the other hand, is about the Ancient Greek Legend. "The owl of Minerva takes flight only at dusk." so wrote G. W. F. Hegel, the nineteenth century's major philosopher of history. By that, he meant that any given phase of history can be understood only in retrospect — after it's over. A beautifully fitting closing of the album. The album features the legendary Art Themen on Soprano and Tenor Saxophones, and Trevor Walker on Trumpet and Flugel Horn in a fine supportive role harmonising with Katherine Farnden on Cor Anglais. Natcyet Wakili has such a fluid approach to the drums which really makes the album special, alongside Jasper Osbourne on Bass Guitar. Shawn Lee also stopped by the studio with his horror movie classic waterphone - adding some eery atmospheric finishing touches to the album.

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

Greg Foat is a London-based keyboardist, composer, bandleader and DJ. He claims his life-long love/hate relationship with the piano began at age 3, when he fell off a piano stool at his aunt's house. He started composing around age 11, and at 15 attended a jazz workshop with Jeff Clyne, Olaf Vas, Trevor Tomkins and Nick Weldon, igniting his obsession with jazz music. He furthered to study jazz at Middlesex University, and then studied for 6 months in Sweden on an Erasmus grant. He played his first professional studio session there at 21, and has been working as a professional musician ever since.

Snake Plant Shuffle and Spider Plant Blues are inspired by the the plants on Gregs bedside tables - which periodically move around the house dependent on his mood. The plants provide a good source of oxygen in the room and create a calm soothing atmosphere for Gregs musical projects. Together the tracks feature live drum kits by Ayo Salawu, Fender Rhodes and a plethora of Vintage Synthesisers.

Snake Plant Shuffle has had radio plays in Gemany, Poland and Canada, as well as being heavily featured in Amazon Music's Jazz playlists, including 'Fresh Jazz', 'Coffee Shop Jazz' and 'Café Jazz'. Both tracks are featured in Apple Music' 'Jazz Scene: UK' and 'New Latitudes' playlists.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
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Germany
Contact: [email protected]More

The newest release by NYC Soul Singer Carlton Jumel Smith, and the first time collaborating with London's own Wax Preachers on this double A-sider single, 'Gotta Go Home' & 'Loud & Clear'. Produced by Fergal McBride, the single showcases the uplifting harmonies conducted by Carlton Jumel Smith, a well-versed showman when it comes to all things soul with a deep discography through Timmion & Colemine Records, backed by The Wax Preachers, a self-coined heavy instrumental funk band, with a string of releases on Funk Night Records.

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This record is a Chicago collaboration between Vick Lavender and a legendary singer and producer, Ron Carroll. Ron is best known as the voice of timeless winners like Back Together, Angel and Lucky Star. Vick Lavender is a high profile producer and remixer and a regular on Cataleya Music. He runs his own Sophisticado Recordings label and has recently released two LPs, Beyond and Time Traveler. All I Got For You (Is Love) is a proper vocal anthem. It features funky guitars, star kissed keys and a committed vocal delivery. This is classic Soulful House from Carroll and Lavender! Paint A Picture is a key driven winner that will put you in a positive mood. Modern House songs that really deliver like the classics are rare, but Vick and Ron are on point with the memorable All I Got For You (Is Love).


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Ajomasé is the groundbreaking debut album by legendary Nigerian percussionist Gasper Lawal. Originally released in 1980 on his own label CAP, Strut are proud to now bring this unique album back to the racks.

Listen: listen.k7.com/63a1f322-4080-4795-8995-5acdf8777083


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Time for some rare late 70s soul royalty out of Memphis, Tennessee, a top rung rarity on the collector scene, Coco & Ben - Good Feelin'. Ben Robinson was recently tracked down by friends of the label Daniel Mathis and Robert Garcia, lucky for the world he was still sitting on the tapes for this slightly longer take (as well as some unreleased tracks) allowing us to cut this disco floater as a nice loud 12" for the first time, now sounding better than it ever has, don't sleep on the flip either. Utterly essential record

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Kutiman joins Batov Records’ Middle Eastern Grooves Series with explosive double-sider

https://listen.k7.com/37a5bb49-14f6-4b36-b589-6dbefb0df606

Track listing:
A - Haraka
B - Khamsin

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'Find a Way' is the new album from Manchester-based pianist, composer, and producer Matt Wilde, released via his own imprint Hello World Records. The album serves as a reminder that creativity should be accessible and the importance of opening yourself to the unexpected as you 'Find a Way' through all endeavours. Digging into improvisation and jazz harmony on the LP, he crafts a sound that bridges jazz, hip hop, and electronic music, adding: "The creative act is not a matter of waiting for the perfect conditions, but of moving gently, insistently, through the imperfect". Focus and title track "Find a Way" encapsulates this journey of process. Humans are known for adaptation and response when they face challenges, seeking solutions towards a better world. "Find a Way" leans into our instinctive reaction to improvise and reshape, taking the listener on an unexpected journey. The opening loop could as easily feel at home as part of an electronic soundscape, developing into a clock-like effect from the drums. This keeps time, allowing a duet between keys and trumpet to unfold, symbolising the individual, imperfect and non-linear paths we all carve out day to day.Matt Wilde discovered jazz through an unconventional journey, and 'Find a Way' is an introspective map of this musical development. Starting out as a self-taught beatmaker, growing up Matt made tracks for friends in the grime scene before falling in love with jazz through the sample-heavy works of Madlib, J Dilla, and Pete Rock. Hints of this influence can be found on "Windup", driven by a deeper bass and a glitchy intensity not commonly associated with jazz. There are also nods to the weekly DJ residencies Matt had in his late teens, establishing a love for club music at iconic Manchester venues like Sankeys. "It's Ok, Feel it" incorporates pitched-up kicks and crisp, papery snares that pay tribute to UK dance culture and the foundation of connection in this world.

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Back in print and just in time for summer relaxation. It's hard to believe this album came out over 10 years ago. Back then we thought it was too rough for consumption, were we wrong! Today, “Songs” can be heard on hundreds of playlists around the world and still attracts listeners with its unique sonic grit. It became a template for LOFI producers and has even been featured in multiple Thrasher skate videos. Its appeal continues to cross genres and remains entirely random, but unmistakably Dwight. If you missed out on this album the first time, it's your chance to get that first PPU restoration of Dwight's solo songs from the 80s. This is the restoration that took over 2 years and included; phones held up to speakers, cassette to 1/4 reel transfers, Tascam manipulations, scotch tape, and a pair of scissors.

Dwight Sykes aka Sporty Cat, was born February 27, 1956 in Nettleton, Mississippi. At the age of two Dwight and family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he would remain for most of his younger years. At the age of nine Dwight started his musical career singing background vocals with a spiritual group, Airs of Harmony, Jr., now known as the Michigan Nightingales. After three years of signing, Dwight started playing guitar. He joined his first r&B band, The Kenyatahs, at age thirteen and then played for five years with the group. Following the break up of the group and the death of his mother, Dwight enlisted in the U.S. Army. During that time he played guitar and drums for the band 100% Pure Poison. They played throughout Germany for 18 months. After being honorably discharged, and back in the states, Dwight started playing in numerous local Michigan bands including Domain, and Chaos. Eager to write his own material, Dwight created the group Jahari. They toured for a couple of years in the Michigan area until another break-up. Still under the Jahari alias, Dwight wrote "Situations" which received respectable air-play on Michigan local radio stations, WKMI, WQXC, WRDR, WKZO and WKDS. Dwight now resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He continues to write and produce songs on his Tascam 464 four track console. Although he uses other avenues to provide for the upkeep of himself and son, his love of music keep the hope alive that he will one day get that big break in the music business. Dwight Sykes - Songs Volume One is a collection of material written, produced and recorded by Dwight Sykes on 4-Track Cassette, in his home studio L.U.S.T. Productions.

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Black Vinyl! Repress!


Orbits, the sophomore LP from The Circling Sun, channels the cosmic energy of '70s spiritual jazz, filtered through synths, layered percussion, and ethereal choirs. The Aotearoa collective expand their sonic universe with nods to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Azymuth, and ambient jazz — offering deep listening for jazz heads and newcomers alike.

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Khruangbin did not know if they were actually making an album. All they knew in the first frigid days of 2025, as they shivered in the Central Texas barn where they’ve recorded almost all of their music, was that the 10th anniversary of their debut, The Universe Smiles Upon You, was steadily approaching. Months earlier, they’d bandied about ways to mark the occasion, debating orchestral arrangements or compendiums of bonus materials and alternate takes. Thing was, back before Khruangbin helped establish a new modern idiom of semi-instrumental and gently psychedelic American music, there had been no bonus material, no unused songs. And how interesting would alternate takes or symphonic extravagance really be for a band whose aesthetic—essential vibes, infinite grooves, riffs that rippled across the horizon—seemed so direct and pure, anyway? What if, they had instead wondered, they went back to the barn where it all began and recut the record that had started it all, on the actual 10th anniversary of those sessions? They decided, at least, to try.

It did not take long for Laura Lee, Mark Speer, and DJ Johnson to know that the idea was indeed a good one, that in holding up a mirror shaped by the past 10 years to their formative set of songs they could feel and hear how they had changed as people and players. The result is The Universe Smiles Upon You ii, 10 entirely new renditions of the songs from Khruangbin’s oldest album, played and sequenced in a way that works for them now without being strictly allegiant to who they were then. Watchful eyes, for instance, will notice that “Bin Bin ii”, a bonus track back in 2015, has moved toward this album’s center. More importantly, attentive ears will hear how liberated Khruangbin sound from any expectations rendered by their own success, how this is once again the sound of three longtime friends deciding how this material might move in real time.

The barn is an essential piece of Khruangbin lore. In 2009, many years before Khruangbin’s early singles started to shape their course or even before they were really a band, they began to head to the barn, bought by Speer’s parents in the ’80s on a modest cattle farm midway between Houston and Austin. They’d been looking for a place to rehearse in Houston when Speer’s parents volunteered the spot and the small house next door—three bedrooms downstairs, dorm-style bunks above, a century-old stove in a small kitchen. The process was so consummately D.I.Y. that, when they convened there in January 2015 to make what would become The Universe Smiles Upon You, Speer and Lee rushed to remove a nest of bees by playing bass and smashing cymbals loudly before Johnson (famously not into bees, mind you) arrived. They made the record for $1,500.

This time around, Khruangbin decided to try a few functional updates. They finally ripped out the plywood dancefloor that had been installed for a wedding nearly two decades earlier but had since become something of a sanctuary for critters that would inevitably destroy any gear left behind. They rented a new floor, then bought silent new space heaters and boxes of hand warmers that they’d stuff into gloves during sessions. The first day was Central Texas paradise—T-shirts in January, the sun shining as they set up their instruments, ran cables, and even recorded the seven-minute version of “Two Fish and an Elephant” that appears here, the rhythm that Lee and Johnson built offering a welcoming group hug for Speer’s flickering lead. But then the cold set in, a cold so gripping that they stuffed bits of construction flotsam into every crack and crevice they could find inside the barn. They moved closer and closer as the four days progressed, as if trying to absorb one another’s radiant heat.

Perhaps, then, that’s why The Universe Smiles Upon You ii feels so warm, as if they were tending a fire simply by playing together. Early into “August Twelve ii,” Johnson watched an eastern meadowlark sing just outside the barn, its song picked up by the microphones. It wasn’t their favorite performance, but they knew it captured the magic of the time and place, the yellow beauty’s melody calling these six gorgeous minutes to order. They are likewise jubilant during this very extended take on “People Everywhere (Still Alive),” applying the lessons about pace, momentum, and dynamics they’ve learned during a decade on the road to start and sustain this dance party. It is an immaculate map of the moment.

Funnily enough, while on tour with this electric trio during the last several years, Speer became fascinated with early European instruments that could sound full without being loud—the viol de gamba, for instance, or the clavichord. He imported that enthusiasm into these sessions, not only often playing acoustic guitar alongside Lee’s hollow-body Höfner bass and Johnson’s brushed drums but also covering instruments in contact mics, so that they sounded close and real. You can hear that pursuit clearly on “White Gloves ii,” a song that has become such a Khruangbin staple they initially struggled with how to remake it here. When Johnson suggested it become “country disco,” though, the track suddenly unlocked. A rural-funk canter buttresses the bittersweet vocals and twilit guitars; the recording makes it feel as if you’re sitting in the center of the barn, head pressed between the bass amp and bass drum as Khruangbin drift away.

In many ways, The Universe Smiles Upon You ii represents the close of Khruangbin’s first chapter, the complete culmination of the music they made when they arrived at the barn in January 2015. During the last decade, they have reached an apotheosis of sorts, their love of Thai pop and heavy dub and American soul and Ethiopian haze perfectly crystallized in a string of splendid records and live shows that have hypnotized massive theaters and festival crowds alike. They’ve repeatedly sold out the United States’ most famous venues, from Red Rocks and Forest Hills to the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City, and they’ve crowned festivals from Glastonbury to Bonnaroo. Paul McCartney plucked them to reimagine one of his songs, while they’ve collaborated with Mali legend and band inspiration Vieux Farka Touré to honor his late father on 2022’s Ali. After more than a decade of relentless touring and recording, their expertly polyglot 2024 album, A LA SALA, helped earn a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Not bad for a band that recorded its debut in a barn of bees and mice for a grand or so.

So, then, what is next? The Universe Smiles Upon You ii provides a point of pause for Khruangbin, a chance to step back from a sound they now know so well and figure out where it may go from here. They talk about woodshedding, about spending a few hours every day with their instruments to see what new shapes they can make. Khruangbin’s splendid next run, then, begins where the first one did, too—in the barn, finding their way into the world through the songs of The Universe Smiles Upon You, second time even more absorbing than the first.

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A native of Shreveport, Louisianan, Fred Moss has been a lifetime professional musician, doing Session work and touring with many large artists, teaching and mentoring other artists. Surprisingly, During Fred's time working it turns out he was recording some rather brilliant unreleased Modern Soul music, the first single of which Athens of the North is very proud to present here.'Stay Away' is a gospel-tinged floater of the highest order, up there with the finest modern spins of the last 40 years, essential. On the flip, a funky 70s syncopated dancer that's going to be a big hit with forward-thinking northern crowds. Two brand-new mixes done in the Athens of the North studio from the original multitracks. This one is a little pricier than usual, but a lot of work went into getting it right, and we all gotta eat. This one is worth every penny, as good as any £1000+ modern rares and a two sider was well.

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After a critically praised debut in 2023 and numerous tours across Europe, Yalla Miku returns with “2”, a new record that further asserts their unique identity. Still based in Geneva, the band moves forward with a reimagined lineup — not as a departure, but as the natural continuation of a project envisioned from the start as a space for encounters, movement, and musical reinvention.

https://soundcloud.com/bongojoerecordshop/sets/yallamiku2/s-8wXtpMdAeo5?si=f9c94fa7be864aa6919d89816d700147&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Tracklist
1.1Al Sayf
1.2Alemuye
1.3Maximum Self-Care
1.4Le Palais de Bachar
1.5Embeyto
1.6Il fait trop cuit
1.7Scarlett Chien
1.8Post-Aventures
1.9Al 3Mal
1.10La Tour Eiffel

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