Baby Charles - Baby Charles (15th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Record Kicks unleashes a "15th anniversary" edition of British outfit Baby Charles' self-titled landmark debut album, out on March 17th on ltd edition LP and digital deluxe version with bonus tracks.

Together with Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators' "Keep Reachin' Up" album, 2008's Baby Charles debut LP is the album that defined the European funk scene of the 2000s. Mojo Magazine described them as "the most likely candidates to lead the Deep funk scene" after hearing the album. Driven by the single "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor", an afro-funk cover of the Arctic Monkey's hit, the LP went rapidly sold out, it was never been repressed and it now changes hands for ludicrous sums on the web. English writer, DJ, and television presenter Mark Lamarr, who wrote on the album's liner notes to "file it amongst your funk classics", invited the band to BBC's Maida Vale Studios, where they recorded a legendary live session for his BBC Radio 2 God's Jukebox show. In France, the album benefited from a massive support from legendary Radio Nova station thanks to its"Nova Aime" campaign, while in 2009 Pitchfork crowned Baby Charles, together with Sharon Jones & The Dapkings, as the reference band of the international funk scene. Unfortunately, the band split up in 2011 when they were about to enter the studio to give birth to the awaited sophomore album and while the debut LP started reaching a cult status among djs and collectors.

The 15thanniversary edition will hit the streets on March 17th, 2023 on limited edition LP and Digital Deluxe Edition featuring two bonus tracks: "Time Wasting", which displays the heavier psychedelic edge of Baby Charles, with an unstoppable chugging groove, a heavy horn-led break, and climatic chorus to finish the track off, and "Jackson Fingers", for which the band created a brand-new groove that could work just as well as a sixties soundtrack or as a dance-floor friendly slab of soul-jazz.

The "Baby Charles" album was published on March 10th, 2008 and followed the release of 3 heavyweight 45s, all of which found heavy rotation in funk spots around the globe. On the album, Soul diva Dionne Charles delivers her unique, self-penned stunning vocal performance, while the band lays down the heavy funk grooves. Throughout the 12 tracks, the combo displays a range of styles, which reflect their diverse influences. There's the Latin-inspired bass groove in "Treading Water", the Meter's style funk of "Invisible", the James Brown influence on "Hard Man" and "No Controlling Me", the afrofunk of "I Bet You Look Good On The Danceflloor", there's even some Egyptian Jazz thrown in the mix on the instrumental track "The Sphinx" and a deep soul version of DJ Shadows' "This Time". The result is a must-have album for diggers, djs and funk and soul fans. 

Tracklist:
1. Treading Water
2. Invisible
3. Comin' from a Higher Place
4. Life's Begun
5. No Controlling Me
6. Hard Man to Please
7. Step On
8. Indecision
9. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
10. Back of My Hand
11. This Time
12. The Sphinx
13. Time Wasting
14. Jackson Fingers

Marijus Aleksa - As They Are

Throughout his remarkable international career, Lithuanian drummer & producer Marijus Aleksa has established himself as a bonafide shaman of rhythm. From making his debut at the Vilnius Jazz Festival at the tender age of thirteen, he has grown into a stage partner of some of the world’s most celebrated stars (such as Keyon Harold, Grammy award winner Bill Laurance, Joe Armon Jones, Ashley Henry, Dennis Rollins, China Moses, Ben Marc, Anthony Joseph, Femi Temowo, Oscar Jerome). An ambitious drummer and percussionist, he relies on his technical prowess and visionary endeavours. Through his work as a heralded band leader, session musician and solo artist, his music is not unlike the works by the abstract expressionist painters: rich in colour, vivid, intuitive and hypnotising, traversing musical maps by blending the worlds of jazz, rock, world and electronic club music.

With the concept of collage forming a central theme of the record, 23 people from different parts of the world (Lithuania / USA / UK / Cuba) each contributed to the creative flow of the musical creation, forming a rich sonic tapestry - formed of 3 years of recording and re-editing jam sessions, creating a spellbind final piece constructed from smaller pieces that in the first instance may have seemed incompatible. This sensibility was also applied to the track titles, which were created by segmenting common phrases and reforming them. The artwork was also created by Japanese collage artist Mt.Chills.

Tracklist:
1. Thing(s)
2. It
3. Push Back (feat. Ka Boukie)
4. Do
5. Is
6. As They Are
7. Always Now
8. See (feat. Yelfris Valdes)
9. Be
10. Guided By Sensations
11. The Right
12. &

VA - Two [Is Greater Than] One

Our sixth VA compilation continues in the collective spirit at the heart of Pressure Dome; here taking its fullest form. The first of its kind in the label catalogue, ‘Two [Is Greater Than] One’ sees a selection of PD regulars and friends of the label put their heads together across eight atmospheric tracks, equally as suited to the club as to solo listening.

Those who have followed the label for a while will be no stranger to the comp’s first collaborator. Human Resources teams up with London dub techno specialist, Keplrr, on ‘Spring’: a mood-led composition where the impact is contained in atmosphere. Fragmented drum breaks are engulfed by airy synth pads and punctuated by a dancehall-indebted rhythm that marches at 90BPM. ‘Yuppel’ welcomes Noods Radio mainstay Sid Quirk aka Keppel into the mix. He is joined by label boss, Yushh, on a ruminative percussive tool, guided by cavernous drums that fabricate a vivid, immersive environment. With the guidance of Brighton’s Caldera, the journey continues with ‘Süss Choc’. The reverb-laden synth plucks on ‘evoke water droplets, and hallucinatory details echo around them to create the illusion of being in a mountainous cove.

Delay Grounds – an audiophile in the truest sense of the word – is next to take the baton. Together, he and Yushh take it up a notch on ‘Telomere’ – a full-bodied club-ready track packed with glitchy chords and giddy drums. A gnarly, Pariah-esque breakdown segues into the track’s second wind where pitched-up vocal chops accelerate it to the compilation’s energetic climax. With the help of London drum specialist, Syz, ‘Fuzbidun’ keeps our feet firmly on the dancefloor. Breakbeats are chopped and rearranged, flitting between double and half time whilst a distorted mid-bass roughens things round the edges, prepping the ground for the compilation’s move to a more inorganic feel.

Bristol don, Forever, joins Yushh next on ‘Passing Notes’ – a groove-driven club track where skittish percussion ricochets from side to side, so palpable it tempts the touch. ‘Crash Bash Party At BUFOs’ is no different. The link-up between Delay Grounds and dance music’s stalwart of musique concrète, Wordcolour, is completely idiosyncratic to both artists: the perfect combination of found-sound percussion and skillfully rehashed vocal samples. It’s up to two PD mainstays – Roy Mills and Human Resources – to close proceedings. A chugging rhythm bubbles under the surface of ‘Sycophantasy’, sending us on a dubbed-out trip before picking the pace back up again. 

Tracklist:
1. Keplrr & Human Resources – Spring
2. Keppel & Yushh – Yuppel
3. Caldera & Yushh – Suss Choc
4. Delay Grounds & Yushh – Telomere
5. Syz & Yushh – Fuzbidun
6. Forever & Yushh – Passing Notes
7. Delay Grounds & Wordcolour – Crash Bash Party At BUFO’s
8. Roy Mills & Human Resources – Sycophantasy

Zero T & Onj - Kilburn Park

Last year Zero T teamed up with pianist Onj (Andre Louis) on what became an acclaimed conceptual album Kilburn. The project showcased a unique blend of bass-heavy music with soulful chord progressions.

Now the duo returns for a follow-up EP which surpasses expectations. Packed with downtempo versions, remixes as well as new music, this project is a worthy successor to last year’s praised album. Remixers include AfroForce (a.k.a. Afronaut & Mark Force of Bugz In The Attic), James Rudie and Kid Fonque and Jonny Miller, who morph Darkness into a super-deep House odyssey.


The EP also consists of three new Drum & Bass tracks: Blow (featuring Nottingham soul duo Melonyx), Love Thing (featuring the soothing voice of Mercy’s Cartel) and the darker sounding Killer Inside.

With this project Zero T & Onj “hope people hear the common thread of real soul throughout the EP, regardless of tempo”. Onj adds: “Kilburn Park seems like the obvious sequel to a story with yet more parts to it. The downtempo feel of Gone but Never Forgotten, which has personal significance to me, could be those thoughtful times we sit down and consider the world around us, and our place in it.”

Tracklist:
1. Gone But Never Forgotten (original mix)
2. Rodeo Drive (feat Mercy's Cartel - Neo Soul mix)
3. Twenty Three (feat Ms Naye/Unitsouled - Neo Soul mix)
4. Everyday Struggles (feat Jordan Max/Mark Force - AfroForce remix)
5. Rain (feat T-Man - James Rudie remix)
6. Darkness (feat Steo - Kid Fonque & Jonny Miller remix)
7. Pending (original mix)
8. Blow (feat MELONYX - original mix)
9. Love Thing (feat Mercy's Cartel - original mix)
10. Killer Inside (original mix) 

Zo! & Tall Black Guy - Abstractions (Deluxe Edition)

Tracklist:
1. Talkin' To Myself (feat. BeMyFiasco)
2. Sightseeing (feat. Pirahnahead & Diviniti)
3. The Ride (feat. Sy Smith, Black Milk & Elzhi)
4. Blackout
5. I Love The Way (feat. Omar)
6. Hold My Hand (feat. Darien Brockington, Muhsinah & Phonte)
7. Northland (feat. DJ Dez)
8. Connected (feat. Josh Milan)
9. Epilogue

Bonus Tracks:
10. Dem Nights (feat. Phonte)
11. In The Wind (feat. Deborah Bond)
12. Blackout (The Scene Remix)
13. Blackout (Daz-I-Kue Re-Edit)
14. Connected (Terry Hunter Club Mix) (feat. Josh Milan)

The Ready-Mades - Tumbling Walls

After declaring l’”Autogestion Sentimentale”, their first record, The Ready-Mades announce “Tumbling Walls”, their brand new album out on Badasonic Records.

The french soul/beat quintet was born in Paris in 2015 and recorded two vinyl singles in a row (the 4 songs soberly titled “EP” and the double A-side “Ouagadougou Blues / Fire”, both of them released in 2016 and now sold out). The Ready-Mades released their first album, “Autogestion Sentimentale”, in 2018 on Soundflat Records.

Recorded on analog tape at the Retromixer studio in Châlons-en-Champagne, France, “Tumbling Walls” blows on the incandescent embers of 60's beat and soul, ignites minds and sets bodies ablaze, brings awareness and a contemporary outlook.

Its twelve tracks are built around feverish melodies, vintage sound and irresistible groove, and talk about sorority, ecology, love, revolt, fatherhood, mistrust of the political class and of the start-up nation.

Tracklist:
1. Diagnostique Ambitieux
2. Shout It Out
3. Homo Economicus
4. Cold Heart of Stone
5. Tendresse Infinie
6. On the Loose
7. Diagonale du Vide
8. In Our Hands
9. Beyond Borders
10. Ciao Pantin
11. Living as Usual
12. Vertige de L’ ÉMeute

DJ Muggs - Notes & Tones

Following the launch of their Holy Ghost wine and record pairing, DJ Muggs and Egon have teamed up with California’s Broc Cellars and its winemaker Chris Brockway for Notes & Tones: Deep natural wine meets deep jazz and rap samples on vinyl.

Natural wine can be the same, obscure type of thing as a natural hot dog. Natural in what way? As in it, in some way, originally came from nature? In this case, we mean an unadulterated wine made without chemical pesticides or fertilizers used in grape cultivation; a wine made without unnecessary intervention by the vintner without fining and filtering; and with little or no sulfites added to extend the wine’s shelf life.

In this case, this wine is a “living” – sensitive, evolving – thing. If you follow the biodynamic calendar, you might find it tastes different if you drink it on a “root” day or a “fruit” day. And you will probably find that it is not sanitized like the commercially produced, neutered and shelf-stabilized wine that is what 90% of wine consumers tend to drink. In other words, Notes & Tones is probably unlike most wines you have ever had.

This is a good thing. This is purposeful. Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars worked with Muggs and Egon to conceive, ferment, taste, blend and then bottle this homage to the skin-contact wines of yore brought into the modern day – those by the likes of Stanko Radikon in Italy and Xavier Caillard in France.

The only name that fit it was that of the landmark book by the great jazz drummer Art Taylor. Muggs complimented the wine with music that he and Egon sourced and cleared from the landmark catalog of the cosmic jazz musician Sun Ra. A Soul Assassins x Now-Again x Broc Cellars collaboration. 

Tracklist:
1. Notes & Tones Intro
2. What Planet
3. Liquid Diamonds
4. Notes & Tones, Skulls & Bones
5. It’s Spring Again
6. Third Planet
7. Space Is The Place
8. There Are other Worlds
9. Who’s Your God?
10. His Story
11. Quiet Ecstasy
12. Nebula
13. Rocket To Venus
14. Time Is An Illusion

Jelée - Soil

‘Soil’ by Amsterdam-based producer and musician Jelee is heavily influenced by video game world-building. Like a beat alchemist, he carefully pours his love for beats into his lifelong passion for video game soundtracks. That far exceeds your typical 8-bits and bobs: Soil unfolds like a challenging adventure game, held together by a sonic palette of hip-hop-minded drum programming, jazz-inspired chords, and synthesized sounds.

The album features tight-knit homegrown collaborations with jazz multi-instrumentalist Guido Hoek, rising deejay Jerrau, producer lofi prototype (“one of Amsterdam’s best-kept secrets when it comes to beatmaking,” says Jelee), deejay, producer, and keyboardist Mo Wrights, and singer Erosi. With influences ranging from Brainfeeder’s roster to Zelda games, Jelee presents a multifaceted take on music.

Jelee’s music has been featured on compilations by Resilienza Records, Stamp The Wax, and Carista’s ‘Modern Intimacy Volume 1.’ Jelee is also known for his expressive live sets, such as the support act for Onra, Samiyam, and Salami Rose Joe Louis.

“I associate the album title Soil to a certain fertility; an opportunity to grow and realize new ideas,” explains Jelee. “But ‘soil’ also refers to the roots to which we owe everything. To me, this album reflects both: on the one hand, it’s a departure from my sample-based sound, while such techniques and influences are still evident. On the other hand, I embrace my roots in video game music. It's one of my first encounters with music outside of ‘pop music.’ Video game music shaped me, and I felt like it truly belonged to me. That’s what 'Soil' means to me.” 

Tracklist;
1. Start
2. Immortalization
3. BANGBANG
4. Devour The Sun (ft. Guido Hoek)
5. Oasis (ft. Mo Wrights)
6. Entrance - In Trance (ft. Erosi)
7. Soil
8. Hourglass (ft. lofi prototype)
9. Aquifer (ft. Mo Wrights)
10. Isle Insomnia
11. Controller (ft. Erosi)
12. The Rift Between
13. Final Destination (ft. Jerrau)

VA - By Hook or By Crook

"Dublin DJ/producer Sputnik One shares the second offering from his recently launched label N-Face - the follow up to 2022’s debut release Supa Natural/Grafters ft. Belfast-based rapper EMBY which was supported by Ben UFO, CCL, DJ Voices and more.

The club-destroying compilation spans 10 tracks, featuring bubbling bass and glitchy breaks through cheeky wafters to fresh and exciting techno and dancefloor mutations from a total of 11 artists and groups from three continents. Rising talents Dual Monitor, Glimmerman, LWS & No Sir join label head Sputnik One & K-Wata, as well as fresh faces St. Amp, Outl1er, DJ Gerard, Puncta and Young Muscle. N-Face 002 V/A showcases the Dublin artist’s strong vision and A&R hand and celebrates some of the most talented underground heads about. Staying in line with the spirit of collaboration set out in N-Face 001, Sputnik One teams up with K-Wata for their contribution to the compilation, with ‘Back Innit’ a chugging drama infused percussive roller.

The artwork, designed by Harvey Wise gathers historical objects from disparate corners of the world, using the ‘Hook / Crook’ monogram to tie everything together thematically. Hot on the heels of the labels’ first release N-Face invites a dynamic group of artists to explore the vast spectrum of percussive electronics in forward facing dance music.

Bringing together artists from different corners of the genre spectrum for one-off releases and unexpected collaborations, N-Face focuses on pairing cutting-edge sonics with equally specific visual direction, working with a new artist for each subsequent release's design." 

Tracklist:
1. Dual Monitor – Fractal Submission
2. K Wata & Sputnik One – Back Innit
3. LWS – Seriously Soda (Sugar Free mix)
4. St. Amp – Onyerfeet
5. No Sir – False Cognate
6. Puncta – Treats
7. Outl1er – Sprints
8. Glimmerman – One Hundred & Sixty Times
9. Young Muscle – Bad Spirits
10. DJ Gerard – Disappointing