Hawa
My Little Green Box

It’s now pretty obvious that Disco influence has not only been powerful in western clubs. It has also influenced musicians all around the world, from France to Brasil, as Favorite Recordings proved it with the previous volumes of the "Disco Boogie Sounds" compilations. West-Indies islands are no exception to the rule. Indeed, at that time in the Caribbean territories, local musicians and producers seized the sound of their US counterparts, and make it their own, melting-up disco, funk, and boogie (even early rap) elements with some more traditional or local styles. Besides, the important size of the Caribbean diaspora in the US, Canada, or in the UK, has certainly played a huge role in making those two musical worlds meet. At the end, West-Indies Islands have not only tried to reproduce US dance hits locally, they also bred their own version of Disco. Apart from some obvious titles which made it to the charts ("Trinidad" by John Gibbs to name one), very few was known on these productions until recently. Most of it has remained obscure, being only played by a handful of record collectors & DJs. Having grown up for most of my childhood and teenager years in a small island from the Indian Ocean, I was immersed in the “sun & sand” vibes at an early age, which helped molding my musical tastes. If the sound of the Caribbean Islands is very different from the Indian Ocean's one, it’s anyway no surprise that I have been attracted quickly by the West-Indies’ 70s music productions, as a DJ and record collector. From an initial pre-selection of 40 tracks, Favorite Recordings and I teamed up to narrow down the actual tracklist. With no pretention to be exhaustive, this selection represents a tiny sample of a broader ocean of quality Caribbean Disco/Boogie tunes. It will take you to various places like Virgin Islands, Jamaica, or Trinidad, as well as a couple of Western major cities, where West-Indies diaspora is strong (New York, London). The soundtrack of this journey goes from Disco/Rap sounds, with the obscure "Macho Man" by Eddie & The Movement, to weird Afro-Disco/Funk influenced songs, such as “My African Religion” by Jamaican singer Paul Hurlock. Also featured here are a couple of personal secret weapons such as instrumental "Bermuda Triangle" by Musicism, or "Going to the Party" by Barry Bryson.Favorite Recordings & Waxist are very happy and proud to bring back lights on some of these rare tunes.

2 years after the release of his first solo album, Favorite Recordings proudly presents SOLAR, second album by acclaimed Brazilian composer Lucas Arruda, and hundredth releases of the label!!Lucas Arruda’s born in 1983 near Rio de Janeiro. After studying electric guitar, his passion quickly turned into Rhodes and keyboards, expanding his musical range of skills. At the same time he started his own home-studio and a real musical career in Brazil, gaining great local support from people like Ed Motta, William Magalhães (Banda Black Rio), Robert Lamm (Chicago) or Hyldon. In 2012, Fabricio Di Monaco (from Modo Solar) introduced Lucas’ music to Favorite Recordings’ head honcho, Pascal Rioux, and one year after, Lucas Arruda presented his first solo album titled Sambadi, receiving great supports from many international DJs and media, who all acclaimed his natural skills for composition and arrangement.Following this successful first effort, here comes SOLAR, new and second solo album by Lucas Arruda, filled with his fusion style, mixing influences and elements from his Latin musical background, with his genuine admiration for Jazz, Soul and Funk music ;On “Melt the Night” for example, Lucas asked legendary producer Leon Ware for his help, reminding his collaborations in the 80s with Marcos Valle, when they perfectly merged together the sophisticated Boogie and AOR touch from California, with the blazing sense of rhythm from Brazil. For the occasion, they also recorded a blowing version of Marvin & Diana’s classic ballad “Stop! Look, Listen (To Your Heart)“ with the help of Guida de Palma’s (Jazzinho) beautiful voice.For “Uma Onda”, he invites Alex Malheiros, bassist of the famous Jazz band Azymuth, for a splendid tribute to their specific fusion sound and influence on the Brazilian music scene. Finally the song “Agua”, co-written with his longtime friend Fabricio Di Monaco, is a beautiful ballad which illustrates perfectly Lucas’ passion for Soul music stars such as Stevie Wonder or Curtis Mayfield.On top of these great collaborations and a few more surprises, SOLAR also differs from its predecessor by a lot more elaborated production process, offering an authentic and warm sound. Mostly recorded at Sala A Studio in Brazil, many drums parts were also taken at the fully analog Ambience Studios in Finland. The mix was also done in Finland on a Neve 8108 console from 1978, using only analogic technology and a Studer master tape to record the final pre-master.The result is a timeless album, which should definitely established Lucas Arruda as one of the finest and most talented Brazilian musicians these days.

Busta & LL both feature on each side over some cherry-picked Moar beats that fit so snug that we wonder what life would be like had Moar grown up in New York City in the 90's. Dancefloors were made for this, quality stuff. Hand stamped records & limited press.

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **Cult South Asian New Wave! Naya Beat is proud to announce its second release, Tere Liye, the highly sought after and impossible to find New Wave album by the unsung pioneers of the British Asian music scene, Pinky Ann Rihal. Remastered for vinyl by multi Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at The Carvery and available for the first time since its limited 1985 release, the album is as fresh and relevant today as it was 37 years ago. South Asian New Wave. Four words that you will rarely see together. Pinky Ann Rihal were the brainchild of two London-based Punjabi immigrants and progressive rock musicians – Harry Rihal and Jati Sodhi – at a time in the U.K. when progressive rock musicians were almost exclusively white and Punjabi musicians were almost exclusively making Bhangra. Encouraged by their friend and disco pioneer Biddu (yes, that Biddu!), they cut ‘Tere Liye’ – a one-off Hindi-language New Wave album with producer John Hamilton and vocalists Pinky Rihal (married to Harry) and Anne Barrett (married to John). It is an album that exemplifies the cultural collaboration and musical synthesis of the time. Complementing the rich, cosmic and layered synths and drum programming of Hamilton and the distorted guitars of Rihal and Sodhi are the Hindi lyrics of vocalists Pinky and Anne. The result is an amazing one-of-a-kind South Asian New Wave album. Nothing like it has come out before or since. Stymied on its original release by bungled distribution, poor marketing and plenty of bad luck, this incredible album seemed destined to be lost to history. With Asian electronic music in the U.K. seeing a rebirth and capturing imaginations around the world,‘Tere Liye’ can finally take its rightful place as one of the pioneering albums of the Asian underground.This is Naya Beat’s second release in a series of reissues, reworks and remixes, and compilations dedicated to uncovering electronic and dance music from the overlooked ‘80s and ‘90s South Asian music scene. Their first release Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983-1992 was named by the Vinyl Factory as the Number 1 reissue of 2021.

A 12inch single from the incredible French Afro Funk band including remixes by the one and only Osunlade under the collective name of Yoruba Soul!Since their first acclaimed album Apiafo and its irresistible single “Pas contente”, these Lyon (France) natives never turned down the heat over 160 stages across Europe, Africa, Canada, Japan... Peter Solo has displayed his amulets, voodoo chants and charisma around the globe. When it came time for them to harness their Afro Soul sound for the second time, they turned their attention once again to their analog strengths. On the road Peter Solo and Osunlade met and could share their musical visions. It was obvious that this two will share their spiritual music experiences.Kidayu is the name of the second opus which means “sharing”: it’s exactly what those versions of “On se pousse” are about: a true futuristic Hi-life, a great meeting of two ardent defenders of the Afro Soul sounds ! Limited press, mastered by Carvery.