Terrific, grooving Black History from the Roy Ayers camp.
‘Remember to remember, to never forget. How long… how long… how long will it take?’

Top-notch, neglected southern soul, plenty deep, produced by Willie Mitchell at Hi in 1970.

Two exclusives: Erykah Badu’s irresistible do-over of the euphoric album instrumental There, with Malian synth-freak Tidiane Seck; and a dub by Mark Ernestus. Lovely silk-screened sleeve.

Three deep funk instrumentals — HBE on the opener. Sound-wise, doubly lethal, as alive as vinyl gets. Silvered, silk-screened sleeve.

Dazzling, smash-hit, fully-fledged blend of flamenco, reggaeton and post-Timbaland r&b, with a Middle Eastern flavour to the singing. It’s the re-telling of a medieval story about a woman locked in a tower by her husband, and her escape. There’s even an Arthur Russell sample.
Lost in the Christmas rush here, but so nice we’re serving it twice.

‘Barely disco and hardly jazz, Rupa Biswas’ 1982 LP is the halfway point between Bollywood and Balearic. Tracked in Calgary’s Living Room Studios with a crack team of Indian and Canadian studio rats alike, Disco Jazz is a perfect fusion of East and West; sarod and synthesizer intricately weaving around one another for thirty-seven transcendent minutes, culminating in the viral hit Aaj Shanibar.’

‘The compilation that started the renaissance… twelve tracks of Buddhist Bubblegum Alt Disco Pop recorded during Arthur’s prime years 1985-90.’

The sequel to Calling Out Of Context; another precious extraction from Arthur’s original, completed 1/4” tape masters.
Russell himself compiled this material thirty years ago, on three separate test pressings, labelled El Dinosaur, Indian Ocean and Untitled: five brilliant alternate versions of key works — including This Is How We Walk On The Moon — and four offerings new to the world, triumphantly culminating in the rapt, restless Ocean Movie. Terrific.

The first volume is a mid-seventies masterpiece, Americana touching on Copeland, Ives, and Brian Wilson, with AR ‘re-awakened to the bright-sound and magical qualities of the bubblegum and easy-listening currents in American popular music.’ Volume 2 is a moving, pastoral orchestral work, conducted here by Julius Eastman. Also included are two of Arthur’s most elusive compositions, recorded live in 1975: Reach One is a minimal, hypnotic ambient soundscape for two Fender Rhodes pianos; Sketch For Face Of Helen commemorates his colloborations with Arnold Dreyblatt, recorded with a keyboard, tone generator and — with echoes of Moondog — recordings of a tugboat rumbling across the waters of the Hudson River.

The Richard Evans jazz funk terror.

Cleveland funk from 1971, featuring a popping version of Express Yourself, a do-over of The Temps’ Message From A Black Man, and — crucially — the b-boy jazz anthem, Burning Spear.

Classic Latin soul, following up Watermelon Man, co-written by Pat Patrick from the Arkestra. (Subsequently a massive UK hit for Georgie Fame, using Jon Hendricks’ lyrics, arranged by Tubby Hayes.) Both sides, failsafe boogaloo destroyers.