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Reissue of this (italo)disco classic from 1983

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After the great success of the 9 volumes, FullTime Production returns with a new vinyl in the "FullTime Factory" series!

Four gems from our catalogue by Rainbow Team, Michael Baker, Say When! and MA.GI.C. remixed by our artists Da Lukas, Massimo Berardi, Souls Groove and Black Truffle, who revolutionise big hits through their musical experience with current sounds disco, nu-disco and funk! This vinyl can't miss into the collection!

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After the last vinyl “Put Your Dancin’ Shoes On” “Tony Black” returns on FullTime Production with a new single “Sexy Lady”!

The track is a multi-genre of sounds between disco, funk and house music, you only need to listen to it once to remember the beat!

The participation of the great singer and our friend “Nadyne Rush” with “Jacob A” give the final touch to a great production. The remixes of this track was taken care of by a talented Italian producer “Da Lukas” who gave us two powerful remix versions, a particular groove of great quality for a club and our friend “Souls Groove” which marked the most funk and soul part of the song with his musical experience.

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Straight from the immense shelves of the Full Time Production warehouse, here’s a new must-have gem for the Italo disco lovers. Eponymous album ”Kano ” is remastered for vinyl for the first time since 1980 and is given an incredible new life through this remastered version pressed on limited edition hand-numbered vinyl that is deep in grooves and inspiration. The first successful pioneer and ambassadors of the newly-minted ”italo disco”, Stefano Pulga and Luciano Ninzatti formed the core of Kano forging a consistent and memorable sound maintened throughout. This is the sound of an army of buzzing, mini-computers and thickly-slapped bass guitars igniting neon squares across dancefloors worldwide. As such, it sort of straddles the line between italo disco and synth funk. Each of the six songs provides 6 to 7 minutes of danceable delights with lengthy instrumental stretches perfect for nightclubs. With vocals that are a mix of natural, falsetto and robotic, this is an album for boys, girls and androids alike.

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USA mixes of these classic disco cuts!

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If at the end of the Seventies you were at Piazza Barberini in Rome at night, you would have come across a small but crowded club half-hidden in the ascent of Via della Purificazione, a trendy gay club with elegant Fassbinderian furniture, but also a night crossroads for many prominent characters of the cultural and artistic life of the eternal city and a regular stop for the most popular national DJs at the time. Easy Going creature was founded by Claudio Simonetti (Goblin), as a homage to the place mentioned above. For the first time ever repressed on Full Time.

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Incredible “Walking In The Neon”‘s arpeggio, considered one of the best in Italo Disco, lands on wax, with the Dub and the Club versions, on this new repress on limited edition vinyl! Peter Richard at his best, with the B-Side highlighting his other 1981 classic “Strange Desires”!

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Classic italo track including a Frankie Knuckles remix!

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Remastered reissue of this italo electro classic!

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FullTime Production is honored to presents Kano “I’m Ready” featuring remixes by Mousse T. and FrescoEdits!

“I’m Ready” published in 1980 on FullTime Production, among the first success, also peaked at #21 on the R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and at 8# on the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the United States.

Kano combining elements of 1970s disco, funk and R&B while extensively using synthesizers and percussive handclaps as well as raw-processed and vocoderized vocals inspired by United States and European disco, from Chic and Giorgio Moroder.

The great producer Mousse T. gave us his great musical experience, he wanted to make the song a real hit in the house music and disco music genres.The piano, the voice and harmony were transformed into something softer and less computerized and metallic.Mousse T. made us glimpse the immensity behind a remix and the most diverse musical facets that only an excellent producer can astound and leave the listener speechless. The musical break of the “extended club remix” at minute 03:24 makes us
raise our arms to the sky and clap our hands!

FrescoEdits introduced his more afro side to the remix by expertly marking the percussion and resulting in a funk and tribal remix. FrescoEdits is an artistic project that has based its success from the love and art of sampling big hits as well as a label and a community, is among the most highly regarded artists in the disco edits

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Tom Hooker is one of the world’s leading artists of the Italo Disco genre that marked the 1980s.

A talented singer and songwriter, he has performed on television programs and music festivals around the world, and his many productions have topped the charts in the United States and England.

FullTime Production is honored to present the remastered 1986 debut album “Only One” and in addition to the original tracks “Talk With Your Body”, “Come Back Home”, “Love Attack”, “Only One”, “Indian Girl” and it will also contain remixe of “Falling Into Love” by artist Jago already featured other releases on FullTime Production.

Track “Talk With Your Body” is among the most special and important productions of 1982.

The title is the best explanation of the track.

Talking with your body, listening to the vibrations of every muscle that can feel these slow and romantic but with a disco rhythm sounds that we can imagine in a hot summer of 1982 among those lights, colors and fashions.

The song still continues to communicate with the body to all generations today and to make us dance.

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FullTime Production is honored to present the new vinyl of "Kano - Turn It Up/Unconditional Lover" featuring remixes by Danny Krivit, Les Inferno, FrescoEdits and Dr Packer!

Pages and pages of music culture and clubbing packed into one vinyl!

Danny Krivit the living history of a world that no longer exists and thanks to him we listen to its vibes and imagine dancefloors on the edge of the underground.

Dr Packer Australian artist who boasts major collaborations, has released singles and albums for international labels and is also already featured in FullTime Production's catalog.

Les Inferno established Italian DJ and producer, mine of knowledge of Italian clubbing and vinyl connoisseur of the afrobeat, funk and disco genres.

FrescoEdits is an artistic project that has based its success from the love and art of sampling big hits as well as a label and a community.

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Italo classic with new remixes!

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Reissue of this disco classic from 1981. Remastered in 2022 and pressed on green vinyl.

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Official reissue of this disco classic from 1981. Remastered in 2022 and pressed on yellow vinyl.

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Official reissue of this italo disco classic from 1983. Remastered in 2022.

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"Jéroboam are back with their 4th release on Space Grapes. Night Away is a boogie jam with sharp synths and compelling melodies, while Dive into Darkness turns out to be a beautiful contemplative piece of music."

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Official replica re-issue of the album that features the disco-funk classic ‘Space Talk’, an anthem at David Mancuso’s LOFT, and sampled by hip-hop heavyweights such as The Notorious B.I.G / P Diddy, and The Pharcyde.

We can’t think of many artists that have had as diverse a career and who have been involved in as many different genres of music as Asha Puthli. A musical pioneer who forged a path through 60's psych, free-jazz, pop, rock, disco, and more.

Asha's 1976 album 'The Devil Is Loose' is maybe her most well-known record. Featuring the beautiful disco-funk-classic 'Space Talk’, Asha's ethereal soaring vocals take us on a journey that almost mirrors Asha's eclectic career. The track was championed by a wide-range of musical scenes and movements, and over space and time it has been commandeered as their own. You would hear it played by David Mancuso at the now ‘mythical’ underground New York party 'The Loft’, in the most discerning disco nightclubs across the globe, in the Rare Groove scene, and also being sampled by hip-hop heavyweights such as The Notorious B.I.G / P Diddy, and The Pharcyde. The appeal and lifespan of ’Space Talk’ keeps on extending and morphing as new audiences gleefully discover it for the first time - it still sounds as relevant and fresh on the dancefloor today - a sign of a true classic.

Here at Mr Bongo we are thrilled to be releasing records by such an iconic musical maverick as Asha, from her roots in India to becoming a globe-trotting artist with a celebrated career in music and acting, whilst always staying true to her art. She has blazed a trail so that others could follow. Whether you are buying this album as a replacement for your worn-out original copy or it's the first time you've heard of Asha Puthli and you're just intrigued and drawn in by the cover, we hope you enjoy this quintessential slice of Asha's world.

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Brazil is a treasure trove of inspirational music from the past, present, and future. Here we head back to 1976 for a one-of-a-kind kaleidoscopic journey, melding Brazilian regional rhythms with funk, rock, soul, and psychedelia by the married couple Eduardo Araújo and Silvinha. A cult classic and beloved record for some of the scene’s biggest DJs including Floating Points, it was further immortalised when Madlib sampled ‘Opanigê’ for his track ‘São Paulo’.

Singers Eduardo Araújo and Silvinha Araújo had successful careers in Brazil beginning in the 1960s. Eduardo broke through with the rock-infused Jovem Guarda hit ‘O Bom’. Stepping into more soulful territory, Eduardo released ‘A Onda É Boogaloo’ in 1969, produced by a young Tim Maia and followed it up with a number of other notable releases. Also part of the Jovem Guarda movement, Silvinha recorded a string of excellent albums and numerous 7” compactos for Odeon and RCA.

In 1976, the duo set forth the landmark underground album Sou Filho Dêsse Chão, complete with its eye-catching psychedelic cover art by Gustavo Matula and Jan Matula. The album featured a heavyweight line up of musicians, including accordionist supreme Dominguinhos, the drummer Dirceu Medeiros, who played on the first Os Mutantes album, and members of the esteemed bands Banda Black Rio and Som Nosso.

Sou Filho Dêsse Chão was inspired by the pair's travels to Salvador, Bahia. Eduardo was influenced by the Brazilian culture of the region and wanted to incorporate and capture the sounds of capoeira, Forró, and candomblé into the album. Here we have the traditional African-Brazilian culture of Northern Brazil fusing with the contemporary commercial music of Rio and São Paulo’s Tropicalia, MPB, psych-rock, and Black Rio movements. Uniting the cultures, Eduardo and Silvinha managed to combine these genres seamlessly.

It's an album full of highlights, with the Tim Maia-esque funk of ‘O Tempo Que Esse Tempo Tem’ laced with its rock tones, sitting side by side with the accordion-driven ‘Sou Filho Desse Chão’ and rolling groove of ‘Manda Embora A Tristeza’. Elsewhere the elegant trippy psych-funk of ‘Capoeira’ sees Eduardo and Silvinha effortlessly trading vocal duties. The record would also reach a new audience outside of Brazil when one of the standout tracks, the highly original spacey ‘Opanigê’, was sampled by Madlib for his track ‘São Paulo’.

Even though on release it was not a commercial success, Sou Filho Dêsse Chão has since found its place as an iconic and treasured LP.

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Swan Song

The vinyl LP at the heart of this éthiopiques 31 [tracks 2 to 11] was one of the very last vinyl records ever released in Ethiopia. But above all it represents, we felt, the absolute masterpiece of the Ethiopian Groove – the Swan Song of Swinging Addis. The album leaves a clear idea for posterity of the level of sophistication and mastery that modern Ethiopian music had achieved, before being crushed under the Stalino-military heel of the Derg – as the bloody revolution that was unfolding came to be called.

Ethiopia1976.

The Revolution that broke out in February 1974 rolled on in a ruthless march. The whole of Ethiopian society was utterly stunned. The bouquets of flowers handed joyfully to the first tanks of the coup d'état were to wilt very rapidly. From September 1976 to February 1978, 18 months of Red Terror (the name given by the junta itself) spilled blood throughout the country. This fratricidal conflict took its heaviest toll among students and youth. The shift from feudalism to a cruel and primitive Stalinism left the country's citizens deeply traumatised, and snuffed out any pretence of activism, whatever the sector of society. This ice age was to last for seventeen long years.

Mulukèn Mellèssè Muluqän Mälläsä

It was three tracks by Muluken that served as the opener for éthiopiques-1 more than 25 years ago. Seven more tracks appeared on éthiopiques-3 and 13, all accompanied by The Equators, which was soon to become the Dahlak Band.

The first track, Hédètch alu, also the very first piece that Muluken ever recorded, left audiences both unsettled and amazed. Reflecting the singer's extremely young age (he was just 17 at the time), this angelic voice mystified many, who thought they were in fact listening to a feminine voice. He was not yet 22 when he released his last vinyl record in 1976 with Kaifa Records (KF 39LP), one of the very last to be issued in Ethiopia, before the cassette tape became the dominant medium for music distribution – and before the new revolutionary regime put a stop to all independent musical life, via an unspeakable barrage of prohibitions and other persecutions.

Mulu qèn, literally, “A well filled day”. This tender maternal intention wasn't enough to ward off the cruelty of fate. His mother's premature death drove Muluken to leave his native Godjam, in northeast Ethiopia, to live with an uncle in Addis Ababa. Born Muluken Tamer, he took his uncle's last name – Mèllèssè.

The spelling Muluken appeared in his administrative records. Transcription of Amharic to the Latin alphabet, both in Ethiopia and for scholars, gives rise to controversies and quibbles that can never be neatly settled. French allows for a closer approximation of the original pronunciation, thanks to its battery of accent marks, confusing as they may be to anglophones.

Between rather accommodating administrative record-keepers and the various versions that pop up in interviews given by the artist, Muluken's year of birth oscillates between 1953 and 1955…

1954? One thing is certain: the artist's talent made itself known very early indeed, because he got his start in 1966-67, at the age of 13 or 14. Photos from the period attest to his extreme youth. It's a strange sort of initiation for a very young teenager to become a sensation in the heart of Addis's nightlife at the time, Woubé Bèrèha – the Wilds of Woubé. And what's more, in the club of the Queen of the Night, the Godjamé Assègèdètch Alamrèw herself, the very same that was portrayed by Sebhat Guèbrè-Egziabhér in his novel-memoir Les Nuits d’Addis Abeba2… The legendary female club owner who is remembered to this day by the capital's ageing boomers.

Muluken first tried his hand at the drums, before he grabbed the microphone. He emigrated briefly to the Zula Club, across the street from the old Addis Post Office, one of the ground-breaking bars of the burgeoning musical scene, before joining the Second Police Band in 1968, for around three years. He spent a few months with the short-lived Blue Nile Band founded by saxophonist Besrat Tammènè. As the musical scene grew increasingly successful, and pulled slowly but decisively away from its institutional ties, Muluken released his first 45rpm single in February 1972 (Amha Records AE 440). It was included in two LP Ethiopian Hit Parade compilation albums in September of the same year. All in all, Muluken released eight two-track 45s and the same number of original cassette tapes between February 1972 and 1984, the year that he departed for permanent exile in the USA. After converting to Pentecostalism in 1980, Muluken gradually abandoned all secular musical activity. In 1985, at the end of a concert in Philadelphia, he decided to quit concerts and recording for good. Mèlakè Gèbré, the historic bass player from the Walias band who was playing with him that night, recalls that everything appeared so irredeemably diabolical in Muluken's eyes, that it was to be the end of his contribution to Ethiopian Groove.

The end of the story, the beginning of a legend.

Dahlak Band, forgotten by History

Aside from his personal history and vocal talents, it must be remembered that Muluken Mèllèssè was one of the biggest names in the musical innovations that marked the end of the imperial period. These éthiopiques aim to convince those who are just discovering this hidden gem... As for Ethiopians themselves, they are to this day captivated by this singular and atypical figure in the Abyssinian pop landscape – even though he withdrew from public life some 40 years ago. Incorrigible devotees of poetic twists, of more or less hidden meanings, Ethiopians appreciate above all the care Muluken took in choosing his lyrics and the writers who penned them, such as Feqerte Haylou, Alemtsehay Wodajo and, here, Shewalul Mengistu (1944-1977). Love songs, written by women, a far cry from the conventional drivel that pleases sappy sentimentalists.

Muluken is equally acclaimed for his perfectionism when it came to music, the opposite of the overly casual approach that is all too common. He remained a faithful partner of musicians who came from a lineage that borrowed from several inventive and pioneering bands (Venus, Equators, Dahlak). Amongst them were certain artists who began their musical lives with Nersès Nalbandian at the Haile Sellassie Theatre and who come of age in around 1973 – at just the wrong time, you might say. Among them were the pillars Shimèlis Bèyènè (trumpet), Dawit Yifru (keyboards) and Tilayé Gèbrè (sax & flute). Most notably Tilayé Gèbrè, certainly one of the most important musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation, of the end of the imperial era, and of the early years of the Derg.

It was only in 1981 that a miraculous opportunity arose for Tilayé to escape the Stalinist paradise of the dictator Menguistou Haylè-Maryam. Once again it was Amha Eshèté (1946-2021) who provided a solution. The spirited and courageous producer, who had been in exile in Washington since 1975, succeeded, thanks to his incredible perseverence, in bringing the Walias Band to the USA. It was, in fact an extended Walias Band comprising ten musicians3, six of whom chose to slip away after a few concerts and the recording of an LP (The Best of Walias, WRS 100). Tilayé Gèbrè was one of these. He has been living in the USA ever since. There he joined the then-nascent Ethiopian diaspora, which lived largely unto itself, and was making only very modest headway in the American musical market. It seems unfair that Tilayé Gèbrè and the Dahlak Band were not able to benefit earlier from the public recognition that they do deserve.

A similar draining away of the top-rate talents would lead to the reorganization of the major groups of the “Derg Time”. The remaining artists spread themselves around between Ibex Band (renamed Roha Band), Ethio Star Band and a remodeled Walias Band. That spelled the end of the Dahlak Band.

With this record, produced by the essential Ali Abdella Kaifa a.k.a. Ali Tango, we can appreciate everything that the Derg not only destroyed, but also prevented from flourishing. This gem of Ethiopian-style afrobeat came out in 1976 (and, by way of a parenthesis, before the FESTAC 1977 in Lagos, which was attended by an impressive delegation of Ethiopian musicians — although Fela was already personna non grata in his own country). Despite everything that might distinguish this ethio-groove from Fela’s music – no colonial axe to grind, no question of political confrontation with the authorities, no claims to negritude or Africanism for the Ethiopian musicians, and less extrovertion! –, this LP fits beautifully into the saga of intense and electrified soul of the new “African” groove that Fela and Manu Dibango embodied so well from that point onwards.

In restoring this record to its place in the afrobeat epic, it can be seen that, if nothing else, the timeline bestows a legitimate pedigree and a historical primacy to works that had no international impact when they were originally released.

Warning! Masterpiece!

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Next up in Mr Bongo's Groove Merchant Records reissue series, we present the only solo album saxophonist Ramon Morris recorded as a bandleader. Having cut his teeth playing with the iconic band Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and working with other jazz greats, including Reuben Wilson, Shirley Scott, Rashied Ali Quintet, and Woody Shaw, 1973 saw Ramon take the step into solo territory. The resulting album Sweet Sister Funk became a certified classic and a landmark showcase of the cherished ‘70s jazz-funk sound, later sampled by the likes of DJ Premier, The Alchemist and DJ Shadow.

Originally released on Sonny Lester's iconic Groove Merchant record label and produced by Lester himself, Sweet Sister Funk is a jazz-funk masterclass. It features a slick line-up including Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Mickey Roker on drums, and Albert Dailey on electric piano. Rich and beautiful, the seven songs ebb and flow in energy, fusing jazz funk and soul jazz with style and swagger. There are bags of groove with Ramon and Cecil trading off on sax and trumpet in an effortless conversation throughout the LP, supplemented by brilliant solos from the rest of the players.

A gold mine of sampling material, the album includes a sublime cover version of The Stylistics' much-loved 'People Make The World Go Round', which was sampled by DJ Shadow on Blackalicious's 'Swan Lake' in 1994. Elsewhere, the percussion and bass intro of the opening track 'First Come, First Serve' is a sampler's delight - a deep, heavy groove with a fine saxophone workout by Ramon. Head to 'Don't Ask Me' and you’ll find the swinging horn intro that formed the basis of 'You Came Up' by Big Pun featuring Noreaga from 1998, whilst 'Wijinia' has echoes of ‘70s indie jazz by labels such as Strata East & Black Jazz.

Here at Mr Bongo, we are proud to be delving into the vaults of Groove Merchant Records once again, reissuing this iconic LP from Ramon Morris.

Housed in a tip-on sleeve.

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180 Gram, 2025 REPRESS

This album was recorded in 1978 in Paris and released only in France in 1981.

That was the first meeting between Don Cherry and Indian percussionist Latif Khan and the result is an incredible mixture of jazz and Indian music. This unsung album is only known by hardcore fans of Don cherry who considered it as one of his best efforts.

Don Cherry, armed with a voracious musical appetite and boundless imagination, first made a name for himself — though not always fully understood — alongside Ornette Coleman, playing trumpet or cornet. In Los Angeles and then New York, he stood at the heart of a revolutionary approach to improvisation based on melody rather than harmony, later baptized "Free Jazz," the final structural development of American jazz. Over time, he became a champion of improbable fusions — gradually integrating into his style a whole array of “exotic” instruments, and more importantly, the cultures from which they originated. Among them: India, Brazil, Africa, Indonesia, and even China.

The time had come for the emergence of “world music”: in hindsight, a patchwork rich in imagination and seduction, but once the novelty wore off, often lacking in substance. In Don Cherry’s case, however, the commitment ran deep — tied to his personal engagement with a global vision of art and the human condition. Nothing anecdotal. One might speculate on how his family background shaped this extraordinary openness of spirit. But the talent? That was entirely his own.

Ustad Ahmed Latif Khan, from the Delhi gharana (a musical lineage), was part of a new generation of accompanists — percussionists, sarangi players, flutists, etc. — who had extended both the technical and conceptual possibilities of their predecessors to gain recognition as soloists and soon to venture onto the international scene. Among them, Latif stood out for his taste for irregular, highly syncopate d rhythmic patterns — rich in variety and originality.

Don and Latif had never met before the recording session, but the two quickly recognized one another as kindred spirits — calm, focused… and full of laughter. Don clearly knew what he wanted to create, and nothing seemed to pose a challenge for Latif, who grasped the American’s intentions immediately, warmed up his fingers at astonishing speed, and with his perfect pitch, naturally took on the role of tuning Don’s diverse instrument collection to match whatever was found in the studio — from concert piano and Hammond B3 organ to chromatic orchestral timpani.

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Over the course of 2025 IARC will be celebrating their eleventh year of existence by revisiting some of the most celebrated (and hard to find) entries in their decade of releases. These LP packages will be presented with new liner notes, new insert booklets, and the fresh 2025 redesign of their iconic obi and dome logo. They will also be at a price point intended to help make it easier for stores to stock and sell these essential pieces of their catalog.

TRACKLIST
Side A
1. Visit Croatia
2. What’s Missing
3. Song of the Foundling
4. Whisky Story Time
5. Not Now Jesus
6. If You’re Sure You Want To
Side B
7. The Lucky Ones (feat. Danalogue)
8. Why, Buzzardman Why
9. Not My Ask
10. Turpentine
11. I Hope


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