Ed Smith
Presents: The Michael Remixes

** Available only at The Pusher **As the mercury gradually nudges up on this side of the world we have the perfect soundtrack for the extended evenings and we have French producer DJ Moar to thank for that. This latest chapter in his 45 Loves series entitled Funky Party is laced with that summer dance-floor syrup to keep the dance-floor cookin'. The J side is the cool side. Moar slips on the Balearic boots for a steppers cut that instantly transports us to the beaches and seaside sunsets. Some clever vocal samples are sprinkled throughout. Feelin' it! On the flip JJ, Moar shifts gears and treats the listener to a Paisley-punched French house tribute that bangs! With a straight-up funk-fueled chorus we'll all be bellowing out this summer and coupled with a tight horn section this Punk-funk feast is a real treat for the listener. Hand-stamped records & limited press.

In the early eighties, Edmond Mondésir, professor of philosophy and Léon Bertide, trade unionist, founded the Bèlènou group. They were actors of the great agricultural strike of 1974, which resulted in the death of two workers (Ilmany and Marie-Louise) and left many wounded. Activists of the patriotic movement Asé Pléré An Nou Lité (Stop crying, Fight), they were part of the identity and the cultural affirmation [la revendication identitaire et culturelle] of the time. Like the Guadeloupean musician Gérard Lockel and his work on the Gwo Ka, they put the Bèlè, in its traditional form, back in the spotlight during Swaré Bèlè (Bèlè nights). Minimalist and spiritual, a true rural ancestral art from Martinique, the Bèlè combines dance and music from responsorial monodies, which is a choir that responds to the lead singer (Respondè / La vwa dèyè), on codified drum rhythms and ti-bwa (2 sticks that hit the back of the drum or a piece of bamboo). It comes in a series of collective choreographies, working up into the trance. The texts are simple, short and tell the story of everyday life and struggle. While preserving the emotion and the drum’s central place, the fundamental contribution of Bèlènou is to keep the traditional form of Bèlè while adding a modern instrumentation: bass, guitar, saxophone, drums... Emosyon Tambou-a (Emotion of the Drum) was released in 1990. This third opus of the band expands the musical spectrum in harmonies, arrangements and influences to create a contemporary music anchored in the Bèlè matrix, while keeping the beat, the energy and ancestral roots of music. Bèlènou adapts some classic rhythms: Bélya, Gran Bèlè, Bèlè Pitjé or Ting-Bang rewritten here for an orchestra. With the appearance of long couplets and a complex harmonization of the choruses, Bèlènou's music brings a form of modernity, it opens notably to jazz territory as well as to other forms of music and grooves. Also, Bèlènou leaves the musicians with space for improvisation: not only on the saxophone or the guitar, but also with the drums (cleverly adaptating traditional rhythms to the drums). The texts sung in Creole are of a social nature, appealing to the solidarity and selfdenial of the people (“Bélya pou péyi-a”, “Tout pèp-la sanblé”), to the struggle for political emancipation towards a new democracy (“Wi ny ké rivé”, “Ni dé jou”, “Démokrasi”); land protection (Sové tè-a); finally, to the vitality of the Bèlè culture ... (“Emosyon Tambou-a”, “Dansé Ting-Bang”)... Culture participates, according to the expression of Aimé Césaire, as "Miraculous Weapons". Bèlènou sings a project of a new and united society.

Two of the world's most seasoned disco editors, Michael The Lion and Jay Airiness have renewed their Franco-American alliance for another split-sided EP.The long-time friends and collaborators were last seen together dropping gems in 2016, and now they've reunited for a double-barreled sure-shot DJ-crate sure - four diverse cuts for all times of night.Philadelphia-based Michael, best known for his work with Soul Clap Records and Razor-NTape, lets loose on the A-side with two secret weapons from his DJ sets - the aggressive, anthemic disco funker "Direction NYC" and the loopy burner "Don't Know”.Jay, one of the hardest working producers in France is fresh from new efforts with his famed Venice Beach and DJ Moar projects. Jay brings a live session of jazz horns and woodwinds to the fore with “Jazzy Mind”. On “Disco Dance”, he rides a tight piano groove right out of the canon of French disco onto the modern dancefloor.

Favorite Recordings presents an exclusive reissue of the first private press eponymous LP by Sacbé, a Mexican Jazz Fusion masterpiece from 1977. Unique and beautifuly recorded, with a breezy feel brought by the synthesizers, Sacbé could be likened to what Azymuth was doing at the same time in Brazil. Available as a vinyl only limited pressing Deluxe Tip-On LP, coming with its original printed innersleeve, remastered by The Carvery.Sacbé was composed of Eugenio (keyboards), Enrique (electric bass) & Fernando Toussaint (drums), three brothers hailing from the huge Mexico city. Growing up in a family of musicians, they quickly became familiar with jazz music. However they were mostly self-taught, most of them choosing at first to work and study outside the music industry, but somehow, Eugenio had the opportunity to start studies at the Berklee Music University. Before leaving, he deeply wanted to play jazz with his brothers. That’s how Sacbé was created on a hot day of October 1976. The band then built step by step a challenging repertoire including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Milton Nascimento, Focus, Passport, and many more… Gradually, Eugenio started to compose more tracks, and through a cooperative work of arrangement, Sacbé ended up playing only their own compositions. That was not an easy choice for the band, resulting in a lot less opportunities to play in bars and clubs at night, while they were cumulating small jobs during daytime. But their dedication, tightness and integrity started to attract a wider audience thanks to their sessions at the Musicafé, and helped Sacbé to assert its imprint within Mexico’s creative artistic circles. A group of artists with similar attitudes was created and they began working almost as a team, holding live shows, exhibitions, and dance performances, all with a very unique and creative proposal. It’s at this period that the band met Luis Gil, a young designer and recording engineer, who had access to one of the best studio of the city called LAGAB. Recording at nights and weekends for free, the Toussaint brothers had therefore the chance to really put their band quite literally under the microscope. With tenacity, they explored all the possibilities of interpretations, structures and improvisations, collaborating with great musicians and finding themselves in the position of being their own producers, despite being only around 20 years old! This album is the result of this perfectionism ethics, shared by everyone involved. “Sacbé” means white road in the Mayan culture, it was the name for the roads connecting the main ceremonial centers with the jungle, made of roughly three feet of coral limestone. They were sacred roads used by high priests and warriors, which echoed the musical path of the three brothers. Putting the pieces together, they managed to create their own label and pressed 1000 copies of their reunited recordings in 1977. The artwork was paint by Enrique, inspired by the work of Le Douanier Rousseau and the Mayan jungle. Hopefully the LP met some success in Mexico and California, opening many radio and TV doors for them. It was the starting point for a whole career of recordings, with a total of seven albums including various guests.

Sauce Combo is a powerful and dynamic jazz trio lead by Marcjean, saxophonist from Bestown (Besançon), sided by the mercenary drummer Tom Moretti and the melodious Victor Pierrel on bass. The trio's music takes place in the modern jazz renewing coming especially from England and the USA. France has now a champion.Inspirated by vintage african and west indies jazz, 70's jazz funk and fusion but also 90's drum & bass, broken beat and hip hop, the repertoire is a rich jazz bomb exploding to the ears. Each second brings its his new colorful burst to admire. The band's brilliant game makes it a living listening experience. The music is rich and versatile but cohesive and united. Why?Crash Test came to light in one day during a single 7 hours recording session at the Honey For Bear laboratories. Arnaud Bataillard, the sound's engineer, wanted to try several new tubes and audio gears added in his studio set up. The trio went to test it in a crash test session. All the recordings could have been compromise somewhere but... What was before planned as a try ended into a fantastic album. The mental disposition, while playing when you know that all can be lost in a minute, gave the musicians the proper dimension to express their feelings in a total freedom. They were playing for pleasure and without any pressure. It was for all, but it could have been also for nothing. And we can literally feel that.This unique record had to be release as soon as possible to transmit the freshness of this beautiful impact to the listeners. Above all, Clément Laurentin's "Equilibre Précaire VI" achieves this album, offering a painting with four figures at the edge of the fall, in a constant imbalance, playing with time and gravity. It's the perfect allegory for the three band's members plus the engineer while making this record.

Are you ready to boogie ? Orly Sad, Italian producer based in Trieste built this solid 6 tracks EP dedicated to the ride. Melting heavy electro funk grooves & vocoder hooks in the pure west coast tradition, it's a must have for the poppers, lolow's drivers, and lowfi boogie lover!