The Robin Jones Seven
El Maja

CCR003 - UK - 2021 - Livre + Vinyl.Clap City Records, an East London based label specialising in giving new life to rare records, have reissued David Durrah’s ‘Venus Fly Trap’ single for the first time since 1975. ‘Kai’, a sultry Rhodes laced track, will feature on the B-side.A 44-page zine accompanies this 7″ – an exploration into the life and musical development of revered composer and musician, David Durrah. Ranging from Durrah’s early life in Cleveland and meeting with Doug Hammond, to the events that led to the duo’s Reflections In The Sea Of Nurnen sessions, later issued on Tribe, this zine features information that has never before been published, built from hours of interviews with the man himself, displaying photographs taken from Durrah’s personal family photo albums. In addition, a ​short film​ has been created illustrating the events that led to the creation of Reflections In The Sea Of Nurnen.The track has been re-mastered and cut by Grammy nominated audio experts at The Carvery, London

2021 re-issue, 180g vinyl, remastered audio from the original tapes.They Say: “Exploring the wide range of moods and sounds produced by percussion”. We say: MPCs at the ready because this does exactly what it says on the tin, to devastating effect. Oh, and the sleeve is stunning. Originally released in 1979, Percussion Spectrum was produced by the legendary percussionists Barry Morgan and Ray Cooper. With dope beats taking in diverse styles, from funk and soul and jazz through to Latin, Brazilian, samba and Afro-Cuban, this is an amazing sample source filled with killer drum-breaks and percussion flares. Unsurprisingly it’s one of the most sought-after records from the Themes catalogue. This library LP is a library in itself, with its mix of short themes of single beats & short breaks.

Completely unknown album by Salah Ragab's Cairo Jazz Band vocalist Maha, recorded in Cairo in 1979. Features productions by Hany Shenoda of Al Massrieen. Maha’s “Orkos,” originally released on cassette, is one of these standout musical diamonds that combines Jazz and Egyptian vocal traditions with Funk, Latin and Soul.

Following on the Star Creature 12", these tracks are now available in 7" format Maxx Traxx's 'Don't Touch It!' has become a certified grail in recent years with its synth-heavy jazz-funk/boogie crossover sound. Rotterdam's Another Taste has been pounding the scene with a slew of similarly-styled, contemporarily-grailed releases under various aliases across the Space Grapes label. The Another Taste cover version is featured on the A-side while the flipside features the original.

Shrimp Boats by Lionel Pillay feat. Basil Mannenberg CoetzeeAssembling unreleased recordings from 1979 and 1980, Shrimp Boats is a South African jazz archival compilation from 1987 built around its epic side-long title track featuring saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. The recording was made during pianist Lionel Pillay's November 1979 session with Coetzee for the As-Shams/The Sun album Plum and Cherry. Side Two is composed of material recorded in September 1980 from the session for Lionel Pillay's Deeper in Black album. The 1951 pop standard "Shrimp Boats" was first given its unlikely jazz arrangement by Abdullah Ibrahim (recording as Dollar Brand) in 1971. Pillay and Coetzee take this seed of an arrangement to its furthest reaches with their mesmerising performance. Although the title track casts a big shadow, Pillay's "Slow Blues for Orial" is a welcome original composition on the flip side that stands proudly next to a rare 1970s cover of Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi's "Yakhal 'Inkomo" (Pillay was the pianist on Mankunku's original 1968 recording) featuring saxophonists Barney Rachabane and Duke Makasi. The set closes with a nod to the contemporaneous jazz fusion scene with a take on Weather Report's "Birdland" from 1977.