Capinera
Il Volo / Suonno

1977, Paris France. Two brothers freshly arrived from Casamance, the Senegalese ‘Florida’, are living the tough immigrant experience. Their plan: becoming pop stars. A challenge so ambitious it sounds like science fiction at the time: Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and a handful of others artists have started making waves in the Western World , but the rise of the Pan-African sound is still at an early stage. The Touré brothers have formed a band, written some songs, and start frequently playing their music live, to great effect, at an underground theatre called the Dunois in the 13th Parisian district. The hype starts spreading.Overcoming the odds, their parents' ban on playing music ("a satanic activity"), the death of their brother and mentor Amadou and a stint in a Mauritanian prison, they will ultimately reach stardom a few years later under the name Touré Kunda (The Elephant Family). A legendary 40-year career will follow: 16 albums released, millions of records sold, numerous world tours, awards and collabs with the likes of Manu Dibango, Talking Heads, Carlos Santana, Bill Laswell, Alpha Blondy, Bernie Worrel … Released in 1979, self-financed by loans from friends and allies, Mandinka Dong is the genesis of Touré Kunda, the cornerstone of the band’s unique sound, at the crossroads of Disco, Funk, Pop, Reggae, Portuguese, Guinean, Cuban, Zairean, Mandinke and Soninke music. Limited to 700 copies and very difficult to find in decent condition, the original pressing faded into oblivion for decades. A low-resolution digital version of the album started circulating in recent years, not doing justice to the rich analog sound of the recording. It is an honour for Secousse and Hot Mule Records to present a complete reissue of Mandinka Dong. Faithfully restored and remastered, it will be available in both digital and physical formats (in gatefold vinyl illustrated with photos from the artists’ archives and liner notes by Frank Tenaille, the band’s official biographer).

Parisian label Chuwanaga curated by Clémentine & Saint-James is really proud to announce his next release: the reissue of an almost forgotten 7" by Britfunk band World Series, bringing together jazz-funk, AOR and a really funky vibe. A perfect fit for summertime.Like a good recipe, this little beauty actually got all great ingredients: great Rhodes parts, catchy vocals, solid basslines and lovely Moog-esque synthesizer melodies. "Try It Out" brings together a classy AOR-Funk/Soul vibe with a solide funky groove. On the other side, "Head Over Heels" looks more towards proper british Jazz-Funk territories with its uptempo beat and slapped bass.Back in the days, World Series was a local live band around North London. They used to tour a lot around early 1980’s in and around London in places like the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town, the Production Village in Cricklewood, The Cricketers at the Oval and Dingwalls in Camden. On the same circuit were bands like Cayenne, Gonzalez, Morrissey Mullen and the Breakfast Band to name a few. In 1983, they recorded a session at Woodcray Manor Studios in Berkshirand and released "Try It Out / Head Over Heels" as a 7" single, financing the pressing. They were actually delighted when one reviewer said they were a bit like Level 42 "but with decent vocals". Thanks to the original crew, Mike Frankel (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Keith Mawson (Bass), Richard Newell (Drums & Percussion) and Andy Park (Keyboards), Chuwanaga is proud to present you this single with a great artwork from William James Thurman, including also an insert with lyrics and pictures from the band. One not to miss!

Two years after an acclaimed first album, Al Sunny and Favorite Recordings proudly present Planets, carrying on their collaboration and bringing it to another level.Al Sunny is a young and talented singer/musician/composer emerging from the French soul music scene. During his conservatory studies, he refined his knowledge and confirmed his desire to write and compose. He quickly matured the music that he truly loves, inspired by artists such as Tim Maia, America, Al Green, and Al Jarreau. Giving birth to the majority of his compositions through his guitar, he always seeks to bring his songs’ melody to the forefront. During his studies he kept experiencing live performing on different scenes and confirmed his choice for a musical career, while also meeting many brilliant musicians, including Florian Pellissier, who later introduced him to Pascal Rioux and Favorite Recordings.It resulted in 2017 in Time to Decide release, a dazzling first album establishing Al Sunny’s music and writing style, looking towards the 70s and 80s Westcoast movement, infused with Blue-Eyed-Soul, Pop and Folk flavors. Built on the same influences, Planets is made of 8 new compositions (including a CD and digital bonus), and is clearly a continuation of its cadet, asserting Al Sunny’s talent and singing skills.Fully recorded live and analogic in Paris, this new album also stands out by an impressive level of production, faithful to some classics of the genre. Mixing catchy melodies, soulful vocals, warm and heavy bass, strong beat and beautiful guitars and keyboards harmonies, Planets just perfectly meets the AOR and Modern-Soul golden era standards.

Almost 3 years after the release of his first album Seventy Seven, G's Way returned with his new album entitled Patchwork initially released in 2014. It is with the same ingredients that G's Way comes to light: a powerful rhythm section, served by a heavy brass section and talented soloists from the international scene, like the UK trombone player Trevor Mires (on « Kim Helped Me »), who is playing with the famous acid-jazz british band Incognito since many years. Or Gäel Cadoux (on « Space Invaders »), fantastic keyboard player, member of one of the major band in the french jazz-funk scene, Electro Deluxe.Still leaded, composed, and arranged by Gérald « GG » Bonnegrace, Patchwork is a real musical rainbow, from pure funk (« Gotcha ») to Latin music (« jam-session »), through jazz and afro-beat (« Manikou »). But this time, G's Way has invited 3 rappers to complete this musical revolution, marking a major change compared to Seventy Seven . The famous french artist Kohndo (« One Nation »), one of the best female voice in hip-hop game made in San-Francisco, Melina Jones (« Took So Long »). And last but not least, Bruce Sherfield (« The Percfect Getaway »), versatile us artist, rapper, singer, spoken word specialist, and of the most important activist of the parisian scene. With this touch of Hip-hop, Patchwork finally lives up to its name, and bring G's Way in another dimension ...