Brian Jackson - Mami Wata - Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm and Cosmic Arts Remixes

"Mami Wata" - A Captivating Journey through West African Rhythms.

Experience the mesmerizing fusion of traditional African sounds and modern Latin house in Brian Jackson's latest single package, "Mami Wata." Drawing inspiration from the depths of West African mythology, this track takes you on a captivating sonic adventure that spans vast regions of the continent.

Brian Jackson's rendition of a traditional African song resonates with the richness and abundance symbolized by the mythical figure of Mami Wata. From the sacred lands of the Dogon in Mali to the vibrant rhythms of Ghana, and even reaching into the heart of Central and Southern Africa, this composition pays homage to the diverse tapestry of African cultures.

To further elevate this masterpiece, Brian has collaborated with the masterful Joe Claussell, who lends his expert touch to craft a remix that intertwines a modern Latin house thread with the African fabric of the original composition. The result is the Sacred Arts Mix, a true testament to the power of music as it effortlessly merges genres and weaves an enchanting spell over the dancefloor.

This single package boasts not just one, but six distinct versions of "Mami Wata," each carefully crafted with its own unique tempo and subtle seasoning. Whether you prefer the rhythmic intensity of the Sacred Rhythm version, the deep dub vibes of the Deep Dub edition, or the extended album version that allows you to fully immerse yourself in the magic of the composition, this release offers a diverse range of musical experiences.

The remix package brings to life Brian’s immersive vocals, flute, kalimba, and organ playing. And for those seeking a slower, introspective groove, the Cosmic Arts Future Instrumental Slow version provides a celestial atmosphere that will make you feel as though you're floating among the stars. 

Tracklist:
1. Mami Wata (Joaquin's Sacred Rhythm Version)
2. Mami Wata (Joaquin's Extended Album Version)
3. Mami Wata (Joaquin's House Dance Dub Reprise)
4. Mami Wata (Joaquin's Sacred Arts Story Mix)
5. Mami Wata (Joaquin's Deep Dub)
6. Mami Wata (Joaquin's Cosmic Arts Future Instrumental Slow Dub)
7. Mami Wata

Phez - Supermonk

Phez are a 5 piece instrumental outfit drawing on shades of jazz-funk & cinematic soul, toeing the line between structured arrangements & improvised passages.

Tracklist:
1. Supermonk
2. Contemplation
3. Corduroy
4. Carl
5. Ceramic Panther
6. Inpheztigation

High Pulp - Days In The Desert

"High Pulp THE BAND takes a break from the slapdash road life to explore a more delicate world of flavor and profile. After months of experimentation, High Pulp presents a hot sauce of unprecedented flavor. Whispers in the industry abound, as the band has kept the sauce top secret, working under the cover of night at an undisclosed location. The result is a sauce that runs the gamut from smokey nabisco reed to sweet honey jam overtones. Yes, it is true that High Pulp infuses the sauce with the same mind-bending psychedelic properties as the sweet sweet music they present on stage... but don't worry - the hallucinations will not impede you from your daily functions."

Tracklist:
1. Slaw
2. Dirtmouth
3. Solanin
4. Never In My Short Sweet Life
5. Robert Pollard
6. Unified Dakotas
7. Fast Asleep
8. (If You Don't Leave) The City Will Kill You
9. Fatigue
10. Bad Infinity

Wetter Etc. - Umschwung

Wetter Etc. is a multidisciplinary collective from Vienna. Your goal: You want to soften borders. What that means? Visual, audio and performing arts merge into one another as part of their debut album "Umkehr" and thus convey a change in the weather. The songs begin before the storm, followed by the storm, finally arriving at the clearing of the sky. Vocals are deliberately avoided, the dramaturgy is carried by the music. The sound of the collective can be assigned to contemporary jazz, but enriched with pop culture elements and narrative styles. The music is performed by Miriam Adefris (harp), Marco Kleebauer (drums), Aaron Hader (saxophone) and Maximilian Walch (piano).

Tracklist:
1. Diesig
2. Dichter Schnürlregen
3. Föhn
4. Umschwung
5. Sturmwarnung
6. Grauer Trog
7. Wandkreuz
8. Gebrochen
9. Laub
10. Auf der Hütte
11. Am Abend
12. Der Nebel Lichtet Sich Nicht

*Bonus (Wetter Etc. (Westbahn Studio Live))

Ambiance II Fusion - Come Touch Tomorrow

Freestyle Records are proud to reissue Ambiance II Fusion's mid-80s fusion rarity "Come Touch Tomorrow" - originally recorded in Hollywood CA October/November 1984 and released in 1985.

Following a yearly run of 4 albums self-released between 1979 and 1982, Nigerian-born saxophonist, flutist, and clarinettist Daoud Abubakar Balewa then took a few years off before returning with 1985's "Come Touch Tomorrow", the first of two albums issued under the updated name of Ambiance II Fusion. Combining the afro-spiritual jazz & be-bop inflected fusion of his earlier work as Ambiance, this record took the project into more modern & distinctly cosmic planes with the introduction of spacey pads and drum machines working alongside somewhat tighter arrangements and solid rhythm sections. Of particular note here is the B1 track "Boy What a Joy" on which a sublimely funky synth & drum machine throwdown is presented in prophetically lo-fi fashion - recalling recent stylistic approaches from the likes of Dâm-Funk among others.

Tracklist:
1. I Dream Too Much
2. Come Touch Tomorrow
3. Don't You Ever Take Your Love
4. Samba Para Mi
5. Boy What a Joy
6. The Camouflage
7. Naima

Pedro Ricardo - Un Nuevo Amanecer

Barcelona record label Canela En Surco is proud to present Un Nuevo Amanecer (A New Dawn), the debut collaborative LP by rising star Pedro Ricardo and candombe broken beat maestro Damián Botigue.

Four long years in the making, this album is born out of the friendship between the two artists. After meeting at a Canela En Surco party in Barcelona, they began hanging out, listening to folk and jazz fusion records. They also began experimenting with new forms of expression based on returning to their roots (Pedro is originally from Portugal, Damián an Argentine raised in Galicia). Un Nuevo Amanecer is a journey between two worlds.

Pedro and Damián gathered a group of friends in Damián’s home studio in the Poble Sec neighborhood of Barcelona with the sole desire to have fun, but the end result is a timeless masterpiece. A record that progressively increases in intensity, going from the cosmic, cinematic folk of “Como El Viento” and “Atlantico” to the Latin fusion of “Un Nuevo Amanecer” and “Sem Dizer” on the A-side.

The album reaches its maximum intensity on the B-side of the record with two 140 BPM love letters to the 70’s Latin jazz-funk “Juntos y a Distancia” and “Cerca de Mi” plus the Bossa Nova meets Candombe jam “Mar de Fora”

Pedro Ricardo's recently acclaimed debut LP on Soundway Records (2023) as well as Damián’s solo efforts in broken beat fused with Latin rhythms as Karmasound have both garnered DJ support from Gilles Peterson, John Gómez and Mafalda, among many others. This album marks the first appearance of the two musicians together and, as the title indicates, heralds a new path in the fusion of traditional music with a contemporary vision.

Tracklist:
1. Un Nuevo Amanecer
2. Como El Viento
3. Atlántico
4. Sem Dizer
5. Juntos y a distancia
6. Mar de Fora
7. Cerca de Mi

Tristan Banks - View from Above

Debut Album by drummer/composer/producer Tristan Banks, draws on over 30 years of experience as a sideman for many grammy award winning and platinum selling artists. Mixing influences from the jazz, latin jazz and fusion idioms, the music is a unique combination of high-octane virtuosic performance and sublimely melodic composition. Banks unifies his long standing musical friends Paul Booth, John Crawford and Davide Mantovani to articulate his musical vision. Tristan’s debut album is due to be released on the Ubuntu Music record label on March 31st 2023.

“The idea was to push the acoustic jazz quartet format to the limit, being able to re-image the possibilities that the classic saxophone, piano, bass, drums line-up can manifest, and by being conscious of the sonic traditions that are typically replayed to confirm the listeners tastes while avoiding the genres timbral qliches.”

“I have always had an interest in music that makes you move as well as simulating the mind with musical interplay and deeper compositional concepts, so the idea was to select tunes that I had written over the last 15 years and record them in a live performance setting with no click track or isolation recording techniques. This created a perfect environment to generate and capture the musical energy of the performance.”

“Ubuntu feels like the perfect fit for me, with many of my musical friends releasing their music through the label, and as the UK jazz scene goes from strength to strength I’m really happy to be working with Martin to bring my music into the world.” 

Tracklist:
1. View From Above
2. Ex Machina
3. Flex (for Dexter)
4. Possible Bossa
5. Dust Devil
6. Flutter
7. Capelinhas
8. Polycephaly
9. Cidade Alta
10. Tempesta

Caixa Cubo - Agôra

Global pointing Brazilian jazz trio Caixa Cubo release their brand new album Agôra, sparkling with electric funk and Herbie-esque eclecticism. It features a myriad of guest vocalists and musicians including Brazilians Xênia França and Zé Leônidas, Jembaa Groove's Ghanaian singer Eric Owusu and South African artists Bongani Givethanks & Mpho Nkuzo.

In line with all their creations where flow and energy provide the magic, allowing what the moment provides, the album shines not only for its virtuosity but for its minimalism, the depth of space, and for the first time, the ability to figure in and outside of the jazz fold, as the trio decided, for the first time, to bring in singers and add a new aesthetic to their sound.

“Agôra is a wake-up call to reality, a reminder that the infinite possibilities of technological progress should not disconnect us from the earth, from eye-to-eye relationships, and from moments lived in person” the band are keen to point out. “And that we must not be consumed by greed, for all we truly possess.... is the NOW.”

Tracklist:
1. Asase (feat. Eric Owusu)
2. Kismeti (feat. Matthias Schriefl)
3. Ndiyakhangela (feat. Bongani Givethanks & Mpho Nkuzo)
4. Sábado (feat. Zé Leônidas)
5. Agôra (feat. Matthias Schriefl)
6. Caio & Eric (feat. Eduardo Camargo)
7. Dreams (feat. Xênia França & Zé Leônidas)
8. Carrossel (feat. Zé Leônidas)
9. Oblique Sunshine (feat. Rebekka Ziegler)

Shijin - Playful

This new release takes the opposite approach to the previous album "Theory Of Everything". Following this very produced record, the group had a furious desire to play... In every sense of the word. "PlayFul", recorded during a series of concerts, is designed and produced for listening on vinyl. The aesthetic is similar to the jazz recordings of the 60s both in terms of the length of the pieces and mixing techniques: the instruments have been placed directly in your living room and will give you the impression of being present at the recording sessions. It’s a record that shows our happiness to play togetheragain. It's « PlayFul »:

Tracklist:
1. Toy Train (Radio Edit)
2. Tin Soldiers (Radio Edit)
3. Mystery of a White Dwarf (Live Version)
4. You Are Here (Live Version)
5. Time Travel (Live Version)
6. Separating Circle (Live Version)