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"I feel like 'Home' is a second part of the same book, that the start was in 'Esja', a musical prelude to a real plot. I feel Home is a story with an ending, so the next book can tell a totally different one. I am constantly looking for new ways of expression. I am curious where 'Home' will lead me and my music". — Hania Rani

Hania Rani is a pianist, composer and musician who, was born in Gdansk and splits her life between Warsaw, where she makes her home, and Berlin where she studied and often works. Her debut album 'Esja', a beguiling collection of solo piano pieces on Gondwana Records was released to international acclaim on April 5th 2019 including nominations in 5 categories in the Polish music industries very own Grammys, the Fryderyki, and winning the Discovery of the Year 2019 in the Empik chain's Bestseller Awards and the prestigious Sanki award for the most interesting new face of Polish music chosen by Polish journalists. Rani also composed the music for her first full length movie "I Never Cry" directed by Piotr Domalewski and for the play "Nora" directed by Michal Zdunik. Her song "Eden" was used as a soundtrack of a short movie by Malgorzata Szumowska for Miu Miu's movie cycle "Women's Tales"

If the compositions on Esja were born out of a fascination with the piano as an instrument, then her follow-up, the expansive, cinematic, 'Home', finds Rani expanding her palate: adding vocals and subtle electronics to her music as well as being joined on some tracks by bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. The album reunites her with recording engineers, Piotr Wieczorek and Ignacy Gruszecki (Monochrom Studio) and the tracks were again mixed again by Gijs van Klooster in his studio in Amsterdam and by Piotr Wieczorek in Warsaw ( Ombelico and Come Back Home). Home was mastered by Zino Mikorey in Berlin (known for his work on albums by artists such as Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds).

For Rani, 'Home', is very much a continuation of the work she started on 'Esja', "the completion of the sentence" as she puts it. The album offers a metaphorical journey: the story of places that become our home sometimes by chance, sometimes by choice. It is the story of leaving a place that is familiar and the journey that follows it. Home opens with the fragment of the short story "Loneliness" by Bruno Schulz, which can be seen as a parable of a journey that does not necessarily mean going beyond the physical door but can signify going beyond the symbolic limits of our knowledge and imagination.

"One can be lost but can find home in his inner part - which can mean many things - soul, imagination, mind, intuition, passion. I strongly believe that when being in uncertain times and living an unstable life we can still reach peace with ourselves and be able to find 'home' anywhere' This is what I would like to express with my music - one can travel the whole world but not see anything. It is not where we are going but how much we are able to see and hear things happening around us". — Hania Rani

Home is also about the inevitability of change. We never find places exactly how we left them. Time flies and life with it. Just like art and music. Once you started the trip, you will never be back really to the place where you started with. It is a sentiment that is at the heart of Home, not just its themes, but at the heart of Rani's music too. Following the success of Esja it would have been easy for her to stick to the same solo piano formula, but while Rani expresses her surprise and gratitude for the success of Esja, "I wasn't sure how this album - based on Piano and silence - will be received by the audience. The reception was a big surprise to me" it has also given her the confidence to express more of herself as an artist. On Home Rani steps into more of a producer's role, adding strings, bass and drums where needed, exploring the sounds of synths and electronica, but also creating textured layered songs made from acoustic samples, mostly from piano recordings. "I try to explore new genres and discover new artists, I don't want to be stuck in things that I know, I want to learn about things that are still new to me". But perhaps most notable is her singing, Rani has a fragile, beautiful voice, both pure and expressive. Long a feature of her live shows she uses it as another instrument, adding extra layers of melody and emotion to her already deeply expressive music.

"I consider voice as another instrument. Maybe if I wasn't so often alone on the stage, I would take another instrument to play the melody that I have in my mind. But while I am alone, singing allows me to have more possibilities at the same time. The human voice has a real magic, nothing carries emotions as easily and powerfully as the voice, and I think being able to bring this atmosphere on stage opens up new possibilities of expression for me". — Hania Rani

Home also features Rani's new band, bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak who appear on some of the albums stand out tracks, the beguiling single 'Leaving', the title track 'Home', atmospheric 'Tennen' and the beautiful 'I'll Never Find Your Soul'. After working and touring alone Rani begin to feel stuck with her own ideas and thoughts, and sounds. It was a prolific period for her compositionally, writing the music on Home, but also a film score and music for the theatre, but she felt that someone else's vision might bring new ideas to things that she already knew. Shortly before she was about to record Home she attended a concert of the young Polish jazz trio, Immortal Onion, in Gdansk, her hometown. She liked what she heard and sked the double bassist and a drummer if they wanted to meet and something clicked. They spent most of the next week improvising and jamming on her music. This gave a whole new insight for some of the songs and brought new ideas for arrangements. And having enjoyed working together on the album Rani is looking forward to touring with the boys.

"Touring with band is a totally different thing, way more challenging technically, but it also brings a new energy and new sound possibilities. I am very curious how we will manage to bring the album to life. I would like to keep the show balanced - mixing the new textures of Home with the atmosphere of minimalistic songs from Esja." — Hania Rani

For Rani, this sense of exploring is a key part of her art. But it isn't only the music, Rani is keenly interested in art and architecture (as anyone who follows her exquisitely curated Instagram feed will know) and how her music works in the wider world.

"I try to keep my eyes and ears wide open. What I want to master in my art is how to build the right atmosphere on stage, in recordings. To do this you need to be aware of many aspects - not only music, but also the full range of gestures, acoustics, visual aspect. I want to learn how to bring particular atmosphere and bring people to a specific space. I observe how music works in different contexts, how the feeling of sound changes in different acoustics, space, light conditions. The same thing happens with artwork that I share. I feel like everything of what I am bringing to the the world and sharing with others has an impact of reception my music. If we are an inseparable part of the ecosystem, then the music should be considered similarly." — Hania Rani

The album's distinctive cover artwork was designed by the architect Lukasz Palczynski, who combined his sketches with the stills from the music video for the song Leaving shot by her regular collaborators Mateusz Miszczynski and Jakub Stoszek in Greece and together with Rani's music and vision it is this sense of collaboration that gives Home it's power as Rani starts to give full expression to her own unique vision and perhaps the most exciting thing is that it is just another step on her journey, one that we are all lucky to be a part of!

-Double black vinyl, printed in reverse board wide spine sleeve with printed insert

Tracklisting
1 Leaving
2 Buka
3 Nest
4 Letter to Glass
5 Home
6 Zero Hour
7 F Major
8 Summer
9 Rurka
10 Tennen
11 I'll Never Find Your Soul
12 Ombelico
13 Come Back Home

ONENESS OF JUJU AFRICAN RHYTHMS 1970-1982
We are very happy to announce that Strut kick off a brand new deal with the seminal independent black jazz and soul label Black Fire Records with ‘African Rhythms 1970-1982’,
a comprehensive 2CD / 3LP compilation of Oneness Of Juju, led by Plunky J. Branch.

3LP
A1 Oneness Of Juju - African Rhythms (Album Version) 7.19
A2 Oneness Of Juju - Follow Me 5.02
A3 Oneness Of Juju – Nooky 4.37
B1 Oneness Of Juju – River Luv Rite 8.06
B2 Roach Om – No Name #3 / Love Is… / My Nigger & Me 4.29
B3 Juju – Nairobi / Chants 6.32
C1 Oneness Of Juju – Chants / Don’T Give Up 6.58
C2 Oneness Of Juju – Be About The Future 5.14
C3 Juju & The Space Rangers – Got To Be Right On It (Original 45 Version) 5.21
D1 Oneness Of Juju – Space Jungle Funk 9.39
D2 Oneness Of Juju – West Wind (Previously Unreleased) 7.40
E1 Juju & The Space Rangers – Plastic (Original 45 Version) 6.10
E2 Plunky & Oneness Of Juju – Every Way But Loose (Original Version) 6.41
E3 Okyerema Asante Feat. Plunky – Sabi (Black Fire Mix) 6.23
F1 Okyerema Asante Feat. Plunky – Asante Sana 6.35
F2 Oneness Of Juju – Bootsie’S Lament (Unreleased Version) 11.09

3LP IN SINGLE SLEEVE WITH 4PP 12”-SIZED BOOKLET
Strut kick off a brand new deal with the seminal independent black jazz and soul label Black Fire in May with ‘African Rhythms 1970-1982’, a comprehensive 2CD / 3LP compilation of Oneness Of Juju, led by Plunky J. Branch. Tracing their career from the band’s earliest work in 1970 with South African exiled jazzman Ndikho Xaba in San Francisco, the compilation covers the band’s journey to New York’s loft jazz scene, forming Juju and releasing two landmark albums of hard-hitting percussive jazz on Strata-East. “I saw myself as a cultural warrior,” explains Plunky. “We studied about Africa and tried to infuse our music with an African spirit.” Moving back to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia during the mid-‘70s, Plunky drew in a superb new group of musicians and vocalists and created the band’s new incarnation, Oneness Of Juju, retaining the African influence but fusing his sound with funk and R’n’B on the classic ‘African Rhythms’ album. “We realised that, if we put a backbeat to the Afro-Cuban rhythms, people in Richmond and Washington D.C. could be drawn into it; it didn’t change anything about our message.” The change would lead to a series of enduring soul-jazz classics on Jimmy Gray’s Black Fire label, including ‘River Luv Rite’, ‘Plastic’ and ‘Don’t Give Up’ and their biggest crossover international hit, ‘Every Way But Loose’ in 1982, later famously remixed by Larry Levan. The band received renewed interest in their music during the mid-‘80s as Washington D.C.’s go-go innovators cited the band as a major influence and rare groove DJs revived their albums for London dancefloors. ‘African Rhythms 1970-1982’ reprises a compilation released on Strut in 2001 and is newly remastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery. Both formats feature a 12” sized 4pp booklet featuring rare photos and a comprehensive interview with Plunky Branch within liner notes by Chris Menist.

KEY POINTS:
• First album in Black Fire catalogue reissue programme by Strut in coming years
• Definitive compilation of influential band’s career, spanning 1970-1982. Reissue of Strut compilation from 2001
• Includes full band biography and interview with bandleader Plunky Branch by Chris Menist + rare photos
• Fully remastered by The Carvery. Vinyl pressed at DADC.

FOR FANS OF:
Roy Ayers, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Weldon Irvine, New Rotary Connection, Okyerema Asante, Norman Connors, Lonnie Liston Smith, Brian Jackson, Gil Scott Heron, Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, Maze, Gary Bartz

WEB LINKS
www.strut-records.com

It is 1971. South Africa is struggling with a myriad of political and cultural problems. Mandela is in jail and the United Nations has declared it supports isolating South Africa for its apartheid policies, requesting that other nations “suspend cultural, educational, sporting and other exchanges with the racist regime and with organisations or institutions in South Africa which practise apartheid”. The state-controlled South African Broadcasting Corporation has an almost complete monopoly on what is being played on the radio, and the advent of television wouldn’t be seen in South Africa for another 5 years as such things are seen as a threat that would undermine the proud Afrikaans tradition and spread communism and immorality. The stain of apartheid also means that most of the music being aired on the radio comes from exclusively white artists and the majority of accessible music comes from the States and the UK, with many people not realising that local exports like Manfred Lubowitz (later known as Manfred Mann) actually come from South Africa. Despite such a tumultuous social and political backdrop, or perhaps because of it, music remains an escape for much of South Africa’s youth and local scenes do spring up, without the dream of international stardom driving them. This is the setting in which a band with the unusual name of Humphrey is born. On a Sunday night in a suburb of Johannesburg, then husband and wife duo, Lisa and Robin Hogarth, find themselves at a friend’s soiree. A multitude of musicians is in attendance, including Lisa’s brother Zane, who is entertaining guests while tinkling away on the ivory keys. But it’s the guitar noodlings of one Robbie Kallenbach that they find themselves drawn to. His chord combination, “just an idea I’m fooling around with,” inspires Lisa (who had previously recorded a successful solo album under her maiden name - Lisa Spencer Look out for Lisa 1965) to pen some lyrics right there on the spot. She writes, Robbie plays, Robin joins them on his guitar, and within literal minutes, the song In The Morning is written and promptly performed to the other party guests. It seems the synergy isn’t a one-time fluke. The three of them get together regularly to jam and find that the music flows and the songs keep coming. Sonically, the three distinct voices of Lisa, Robin and, Robbie; whether solo or in glorious harmony, layered over the duelling chord progressions of the two men create something that sets them apart from what is the norm in their local scene - and so the band is born. The name Humphrey must have been particularly auspicious in the Hogarth household. Already having named a plant and then a cat, Humphrey — it makes sense that their band should also be named thus so. Humphrey plays out at various venues and starts to build a following. Folk is the “in” thing at the time, and Lisa Hogarth later suggests that their particular style being “folk-rock” is what separates them from the norm; but on contemporary listenings, this doesn’t account for the psych elements, hypnotic melodies, and hazy dreamscapes that infuse the band’s only album. Enter Billy Forrest. A forerunner of the South African Pop and Country Music scene, his career now spans almost six decades and includes multiple awards and Top 20 hits, both as a producer and behind the mic - and at the time he offered to produce a Humphrey LP, already included a gold record and BestMale Vocalist SARI (South Africa Record Industry) award. Continuing with the serendipitous synergy of the earlier “jams”, something about the combination of the songwriting, Billy Forrest’s production skills, and the unexpected, secret-weapon of the orchestral-style string and brass arrangements, written by Lisa’s aforementioned brother, Zane Cronje, results in the stunning self-titled masterpiece you now hold in your hands. (Zane would continue to have success as an award-winning composer for both film and TV.) The album was recorded over 2 weeks, and upon its release is met with rave reviews and nominated for a SARI award. Naturally, a single — Down Down b/w In The Morning — is released, but is met with a surprisingly lacklustre response. It may have been the political and social climate of the time, it may have been that the South African music scene suffered due to its isolation, it may have been that the surprise elements that came together to make Humphrey so unique had just enough power to sustain one beautiful album, but whatever it was, Humphrey seemed to fade into obscurity not long after the album came out. Until, that is, our own Stefan Leisering stumbled across the album in Johannesburg, while touring South Africa with the Jazzanova live band. A rare break in the schedule left the band members with a few hours to spare, so Stefan, naturally, skipped the usual tourist attractions and headed straight for a dusty megalith of an antique store, in which they were reputed to have over 300,000 2nd-hand records littering their upper floors. The dreams of stumbling across rare and forgotten South Africa jazz, jive, funk, and disco gems were quickly dashed and he found himself sorting through the stacks of usual suspects one finds in used-record stores across the globe, until, amongst the easy listening, Christmas specials, and late 80s pop, the mystical cover art of the Humphery record catches his eye. Very much judging a book (record) by its cover, the artwork, blurb on the back and band pictures immediately piqued Stefan’s interest, and with no way to listening to the record in the store, he purchased it on the spot and packed it in his luggage — where it stayed until he finally got back home to Germany and was able to have a listen to it. Based on the fact that you are sitting here, reading these notes; we don’t have to guess as to whether his reaction was a positive one or not. Although the Anglo-American folk, pop, rock, and psych influences on Humphrey are undeniable, something about these influences finding a voice at such a particular time and in such a particular place makes this album truly unique. The record seems almost polarised in nature, the saccharine melodies of the harmonized vocals and the band’s pop sensibilities are kept from becoming throwaway bubblegum tunes by the songs unexpected psych lements, chord changes, and arrangements that bring a touch of darkness and mysticism — like a dangerous current running beneath the waters of a gently flowing stream. The people that came together to make Humphrey — the band themselves, Billy Forrest, Zane and his arrangements — all went on to have long careers in music, or are, indeed, still playing to this day. And while Humphrey may have just been a blip on their respective musical radars, on hearing this slice of early Seventies South African Pop Psych, all of us at NOAJ reckon you’ll be delighted it’s getting another chance to shine. Enjoy.

TRACKLISTING:
A1 – Nowhere World
A2 – Season’s Change
A3 – Silence Of Love
A4 – Down Down
A5 – Time To Change
A6 – Make Sure You’re Sure
A7 – In The Morning
B1 – Shine Your Light
B2 – Skies Turn To Grey
B3 – Follow Follow
B4 – Planet 43
B5 – San Michelle
B6 – Southern Bound Line
B7 – Music

SNIPPETS
https://soundcloud.com/notes-on-a-journey/sets/preview-noaj006-humphrey-humphrey/s-aQYtP

FORMAT: LP (180g vinyl + Old School Tip On Cover) + DL Card

All songs published by Zebra Music.
Re-mastered from original vinyl by Oliver Haertel at Upstairs Studio Berlin.
Produced for reissue by Oliver Glage, Stefan Leisering & Jürgen von Knoblauch.
Product management by Oliver Glage.
Reissue artwork by Frohe Zukunft Export.

www.notesonajourney.com

Berlin-based Swedish saxophonist Otis Sandsjö returns with the eagerly-awaited sequel to "Y-OTIS". On "Y-OTIS 2", released by Helsinki's We Jazz Records on July 24, Sandsjö and his close associate, bassist/producer Petter Eldh (of Koma Saxo), deepen their vision of genre-bending, forward-looking "liquid jazz" of tomorrow. The core group also includes Dan Nicholls on keys and Tilo Weber on drums, and also featured on the album are Swedish jazz greats Jonas Kullhammar (of Koma Saxo) and Per "Texas" Johansson, cellist Lucy Railton and trumpeter Ruhi-Deniz Erdogan.

Diving deeper into "Y-OTIS 2", you'll find details and ideas galore. The album is an inviting and inspiring audio mosaic, which links back into the previous Sandsjö/Eldh collaborations, namely "Y-OTIS" and "Koma Saxo". The result is a balanced album which quenches your thirst while making you more thirsty in the process. In other words, the many micro moods and sonic levels herein invite repeated listening, while the underlying rhythmic approach is informed as much by hip hop and electronica as by jazz, making the music approachable in a very natural way.

It seems unnecessary to pull the album apart by name-checking individual tracks but just for the sake of easy introduction, the single cuts "tremendoce", "ity bity" and "abysmal" offer one idea of signposts along which to navigate. "tremendoce" brings in Swedish jazz great Jonas Kullhammar (of Koma Saxo) and Per "Texas" Johansson, introducing an infectious flute loop integrating into the Y-OTIS sound, making it organic to the bone. "ity bity" could be built on a new wave synth sample (but it's not) and "abysmal" brings more serene, even ambient-sounding sonic pathways onto the map. It all belongs together, and makes for a sound that is instantly recognisable and constantly fresh. This is "Mauerpark liquid jazz" for the new decade.

"Y-OTIS 2" will be released by We Jazz Records on vinyl, CD and digitally. The vinyl comes in two versions: standard black edition in a heavy-duty tip-on sleeve and a special "PSYCORE edition" on glow in the dark green vinyl in a heavy-duty tip-on sleeve. The CD comes in a cardboard digisleeve.

Tracklisting
1 Waldo
2 Tremendoce
3 Oisters
4 Abysmal
5 Koppom
6 Ity bity
7 Sapiens
8 Bobby
9 Fruehling
10 Atombahn

I, Ced has been something of a “best kept secret” among creators and aficionados of modern soul music. His wide array of skills ranges from production to vocals, keys, and studio mixing. His talents have found him in the company of many heralded contemporaries, including Jean Grae & Quelle Chris, Coultrane, Jimetta Rose, & Dam Funk. After having lent his talents to so many other luminaries in the underground music scene, Ced is now poised to make an impact with his own material, via his next project on Los Angeles-based MoFunk Records. As a label best known for synth-heavy west coast funk tunes, the partnership with I, Ced marks a daring expansion of the MoFunk sound. After debuting on MoFunk with an XL Middleton remix of his “Percu” single, Ced is now prepared to drop his first full-length with the label, Interpretations.

Ced’s songs are cinematic, expansive, and lush, a world removed from simple loops with vocals on top. Every instrument played, every vocal inflected, every chord change implemented, is treated more like a singular brush stroke on a painting you have to step back and take in as a whole to appreciate. In a musical landscape driven by catchy singles and viral promotion, it’s become exceedingly rare to find an album which plays out as an experience. Interpretations is exactly this. If Ced’s inspirations were colors on a painter’s palette, you might see dabs of Jam & Lewis, or Prince, or maybe Shuggie Otis, or even Sun Ra. But Ced does far more than pay tribute to his influences by intimating their unique styles. Indeed, he pays them the highest tribute of all by working them into his own sound - his Interpretation."

Tracklisting

Reflect (I Thought It Was Me) (feat. Moniquea & Reesha Archibald)
Mind Over Matter (feat. Zackey Force Funk, Jimetta Rose, Quelle Chris, Moniquea, & XL Middleton)
You Look Good To Me (feat. Erik Rico)
Stay (feat. Leon Sylvers IV, Moniquea, & Stopha Vasquez)
Due (feat. Centipede)
Call Me Up
The Other Side
When Tomorrow Comes (feat. Coultrain & Erik Rico)

Has previously worked with a laundry list of notable contemporaries, including Coultrain, Jean Grae & Quelle Chris, Kutmah, Dam Funk, Mndsgn, Om'Mas and more
Limited pressing of 300 copies
Features on the album include Quelle Chris, Coultrain, Zackey Force Funk, XL Middleton, Moniquea, Leon Sylvers IV, Jimetta Rose, & Erik Rico

With his first album dating back to 2001, Poirier is a prolific, creative and eclectic Canadian producer / musician with a 20 year journey of creating music. Constant in his albums and DJ performances is a desire to build bridges between different languages, communities, and cultures. His open, uninhibited musical mind means that his works bend boundaries, resulting in compositions that mix several styles and eras. He now has produced a total of 11 albums and many EPs with labels such as Ninja Tune, Nice Up Records and, more recently, Wonderwheel Recordings. Active in Montreal, his successful monthly dance party Qualité de Luxe is dedicated to African and Caribbean music, attracting crowds for over six years. Poirier is also the man behind Bounce le Gros and Karnival, parties with legendary status in Montreal nightlife history.

As usual with Poirier, it's hard to pin point all the genres and references on his new album. Soft Power has an irresistible warm vibe that will make anyone move and dance. It's warm, it's acoustic, it's electronic. Tracks "Café Com Leite" feat. Flavia Coelho and "Me Leva" feat. Flavia Nascimento transport the listener to Brazil while "Sim Bombei" and "Sowia", both featuring Samito, while the Sounds of West Africa influence "Nidiaye Sam" feat. Daby Touré. Then it's across the Atlantic to Montréal and Mexico with "Contigo" feat. Boogat, while "Pull Up Dat" feat. Red Fox is a Jamaican jam perfect for any dancehall party. "Nou Pare" feat. Coralie Hérard captures the heart of Haiti while "Do Kase" feat. Mélissa Laveaux fuses Canada and France with Haïti in the background. In his instrumental tracks, Poirier throws an afro house party at 4am with "The Junction", travels back in time on an island in the Mediterranean Sea circa 1987 with "Forma", and, finally, relaxes in the sun with "Coconut Beach.

Tracklisting
1 Café Com Leite
2 Contigo
3 Pull Up Dat
4 Sim Bombei
5 Do Kase
6 The Junction
7 Nou Pare
8 Nidiaye Sam
9 Forma
10 Sowia Poirier & Samito
11 Me Leva
12 Coconut Beach

Influential jazz collective Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids return with an epic new opus, ‘Shaman!’, released on 7th August featuring a fresh line-up including original 1970s Pyramids member

Tracklisting
ACT I: FIRE RITES OF PENANCE
SHAMAN!
TANGO OF LOVE
ACT II: A GLIMPSE Of ETERNITY
ETERNITY
WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?
ACT III: UPON WHOSE SHOULDERS WE STAND
SALVATION
THEME FOR CECIL
ACT IV: 400 YEARS: THE CLOTILDA
VIRGIN
THE LAST SLAVE SHIP
DOGON MYSTERIES

PACKAGING: 1CD DIGIPAK WITH POSTER BOOKLET

Influential jazz collective Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids return with an epic new opus, ‘Shaman!’, released on 7th August featuring a fresh line-up including original 1970s Pyramids member Dr. Margaux Simmons on flute, Bobby Cobb on guitar, long- term associate Sandra Poindexter on violin, Ruben Ramos on bass, Gioele Pagliaccia on drums and Jack Yglesias on percussion. The band transitions from the political and social commentaries of 2018’s acclaimed ‘An Angel Fell’ into more introspective themes. “I wanted to use this album to touch on some of the issues that we all face as individuals in the inner space of our souls and our conscience,” explains Ackamoor. “The album unfolds over four Acts with personal musical statements about love and loss, mortality, the afterlife, family and salvation.” Evolving around Ackamoor’s intricate compositions, the album takes us effortlessly across moods and emotions through a series of expansive, extended pieces. Starting with ritual, soul-searching, and masculine vulnerability on the title track, the band explores timeless existence on ‘Eternity’ and mourns the sudden loss of loved ones in the prescient ‘When Will I See You Again?’, a track which gains new relevance amidst the current COVID-19 crisis. Ackamoor pays tribute to his mentor Cecil Taylor on the angular ‘Theme For Cecil’ and renders homage to the ancestors on ‘Salvation’ and ‘The Last Slave Ship’, recalling the last ship to bring slaves to the US from Africa, the Clotilda. The superb ‘Virgin’ is an anthem of forgiveness, new beginnings and self-healing. ‘Shaman!’ marks another significant landmark in The Pyramids’ discography with the band at the peak of their powers. It is produced by Malcolm Catto at his analogue HQ, Quatermass Studio, in London. Cover artwork features an exclusive new painting by Japanese artist Tokio Aoyama.

Personnel:
IDRIS ACKAMOOR: Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Keytar
Dr. MARGAUX SIMMONS: Flutes, Vocals
SANDRA POINDEXTER: Violins, Vocals
BOBBY COBB: Guitar, Effects, Vocals, Mbira
RUBEN RAMON RAMOS: Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
GIOLE PAGLIACCIA: Drums
JACK YGLESIAS: Congas, Percussion

KEY POINTS:
• Best album by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids since band’s early ‘70s recordings
• Explores introspective themes of love and loss, family and the afterlife across four ‘Acts’
• Produced by Malcolm Catto at his analogue Quatermass studio in London
• Featuring original Pyramids member Margaux Simmons and long term band associates Sandra Poindexter and Bobby Cobb
• Original cover artwork created by Tokio Aoyama in Japan

FOR FANS OF:
Sun Ra, Oneness Of Juju, Pharoah Sanders, Tribe, Black Jazz, Gilles Peterson, Gil Scott Heron, Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, International Anthem, Archie Shepp, Fela Kuti, Bobbi
Humphrey, Mtume, Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Der schwer fassbare Edelstein des Harlemer Soul und Funk der 1970er Jahre von der Ray Alexander-Technique wird offiziell zum ersten Mal mit Bonustracks und bisher unveröffentlichten Alternativabmischungen wiederveröffentlicht. Der Gitarrist und Songwriter Raymond Alexander Jenkin wurde in den Uptown-Clubs so verehrt, dass ihm die Möglichkeit geboten wurde, als Hausband des Apollo Theaters aufzutreten. Jenkins zögerte, hoffnungsvoll und zuversichtlich in Bezug auf die Chancen seiner Gruppe, es aus eigener Kraft zu schaffen, und "Let's Talk" ist das großartige Ergebnis ihrer harten Arbeit. Unabhängig veröffentlicht und mit einem ausgeprägten Lo-Fi-Charme aufgenommen, ist es eine Sammlung von unverfrorenen, aufrichtigen Liedern, die das berauschende Milieu des schwarzen Stolzes und des kulturellen Bewusstseins der Ära und das klagende Gefühl des Kampfes, Träume zu verwirklichen, während man durch eine Stadt und ein Viertel im Niedergang navigiert, perfekt verkörpert.

Beatmaker / DJ aus Rennes, J-Zen stach mit seinem ersten Album mit dem Titel Managua hervor, das während einer Reise in Südamerika komponiert und zwischen Rennes, Paris, Berlin, New York und Los Angeles aufgenommen wurde, ist ein Aufruf zum Reisen, seine erste Quelle der Inspiration. Vier Jahre nach diesem ersten Werk und noch mehr Passstempeln präsentiert er Standa Lone. Featuring Mankind & Kid Abstrakt.

Richie Spice ist wieder da und knüpft nahtlos an die ersten Höhepunkte seiner Karriere in den Nullerjahren an, die ihn mit der Anti-Gewalt-Hymne "Earth A Run Red" und vielen weiteren Reggaeparty-Hits wie "Open The Door" (für Bobby Konders' Massive B), "Blood Again" (für Pow Pow/Blaze Riddim), diversen Mixtapebeiträgen wie "Marijuana" (u.a. für Diplo/Santigold) zum unbestrittenen Star der Szene machte. Für "Together We Stand" hat sich der Künstler (gebürtig Richel Bonner) mit Produzentenlegende Clive "Azul" Hunt zusammengetan und einen Longplayer der Spitzenklasse mit drei Stargästen realisiert an dem kein Reggaefan in 2020 vorbeikommt. Die kurze Spoken Word Begrüßung, feinstes Nyahbingi Drumming, die rollenden Bässe, der exzellente Einsatz von Gitarren & Keyboards, fulminante Bläsersätze, die perfekte Dosis an Hall & Delay und Backing Vocals lassen keine Wünsche offen. Als ersten Einstieg seien hier die aktuellen Singles "Valley Of Jehoshaphat", "Beautiful Life" (in Kombination mit der Sängerin Kathryn Aria), das Titelstück - eine Hymne der Solidarität - die für Jamaikas Covid-19 Benefiz Gala "Together We Stand / Telethon" Pate stand, sowie "Unity We Need" und "Murderer" mit Chronixx bzw. Dre Island und "Mother Nature" genannt.

Formate
- CD Digipak mit 12-seitigem Booklet (15 Tracks)
- LP Standard-Stecktasche, schwarzes Vinyl (10 Tracks)