Pellegrino Zodyaco
Malìa

Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market. Early house music in SA was no different.When Ron ‘Robot’ Friedman, former bass player for local rockers Rabbitt, was winding down his label On Records in the early 90s, he reached out for new inspiration as the popularity of ‘bubblegum’ disco waned. For one of the label’s final releases he hired young DJ/producer Quentin Foster, obsessed with the new soulful house sound coming out of the US, to take the reins on a studio project dubbed Citi Express.On Robot’s insistence it included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’ (from 1973’s Innervisions) as the title track. Foster set to work in his home studio, dubbed Tone Def, selecting and re-working other US and UK tracks — ‘It’s Too Late’ (originally released in 1989 by Kelli Sae), ‘Love is the Message’ (influenced by the 70s soul anthem and credited to Gamble & Huff but bearing a closer resemblance to Better Days’ 1990 release written by Steve Proctor), ‘People of The World’ (recorded by Sorell Johnson in the UK in 1990) and ‘Victim of Your Love’ (released in 1990 by Gary Vonqwest as ‘Victim of Love’) — adding some signature South African touches in the process that foreshadow the imminent rise of kwaito. One original composition was added for good measure, ‘Open Invitation’.The result offers a glimpse into those early days of house, a uniquely South African take on a global sound that still resonates today — reissued for the first time on Afrosynth Records.

Modal Forces / Percussive Forces by Kirk DegiorgioLike a long-lost Holy Grail album from the mid-seventies, Kirk Degiorgio’s latest project explores both Modal Jazz and Seventies Jazz Fusion in the Library album format. Side One swings with a vengeance with its tight arrangements built around acoustic bass, electric piano and glorious analogue synth leads and side 2 takes us on a journey of funk fuelled, percussive workouts and heavy breaks. The contribution of renowned session drummer Chris Whitten adds to the authenticity of the album as does the use of vintage, analogsynths.

"Hot recordings from the golden era of the Italian sexy comedy film scene"Early Sounds Recordings, in collaboration with the historical Italian label "Eleven" and A. Dallera, puts together a compilation of some of the rarest and sought after disco and funk records inspired by the Italian sexy comedy era.

Reissue of this 1981 gem from New York's Warren Doris. Remastered from the original 16-track tapes. A veteran of the NYC's nightlife and dance music scenes, Warren worked with names like Mark Kamins & George Benson, and produced the Larry Levan favourite Affinity - Don't Go Away before leaving the music industry and starting life as a high school teacher.Lost In Space by New York City based Warren Doris flew under the radar upon its initial release in 1981. Despite radio play in the Northeastern US, the tune never completely broke out and instead became a closely guarded secret among soul music aficionados. More than four decades after its release, the emotional power of Warren's vocal performance and the lush, swelling arrangement have cemented the record's well deserved status as a holy grail for collectors.Meticulously remixed and remastered from the original 16-track tapes by Warren himself, this new edition of Lost In Space does justice to the original with three all new cuts; The familiar extended mix and new radio edit pair with an instrumental version and a heavy dub of “Let It Show” the flip side on the original pressing.

C-L-A-S-S-I-C library breaks and beats set of super-heavyweight espionage-funk.One of two Be With forays into the archives of revered British library institution Conroy, we present one of our favourites on the label - the super in-demand Background Action from Sammy Burdson, originally released in 1975. Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that rarely turns up on even the deepest dig.