Ray Stephen Oche And His Matumbo
No Discrimination

This is the first release on All Nation Records new label, courtesy of French producer Simon Nyabinghi. With all instruments and mix done in his freshly rebuilt studio, Simon delivers a proper roots and dub riddim that has already done the rounds as dubplate magic around the globe prior to its official release. With the help of young and upcoming talent Youthie on trumpet duties, this uplifting track will rock any sessions as well as your living room, especially when followed by the wild dub mix you’ll find on the flip of this record.

Thomas Blanchot, 40 years old percussionist and drummer, started his production structure Mato Production in 2001, with which he collaborated and directed for many projects.Composer, music publisher and producer of music for TV, advertising, films and records, he also began a career as reggae producer since 2006, under the name "MATO". Since then he’s released music through various projects concepts, coming out through labels such as Makasound, EDR Records or Big Singles. In the meantime he developed a real trademark: taking over classics French, Hip-Hop, or Pop song, into roots Reggae-Dub new versions.Besides since 2010, Mato’s built a solid reputation thanks to his many remixes of Hip-Hop classics on Stix Records. It is therefore natural to find him back with a new attractive concept on the Favorite Recordings’ sub-label: seasoning the notorious "Homework" by Daft Punk, with his special Reggae-Dub sauce.Once again Mato achieves a brilliant rendition with this “Homework Dub”, making almost dreadlocks grow on the French robots’ heads! Using kick-effects, delays and roaring bass, he reinvents one of the most famous albums of electronic music, as if it was straight-out from Scientist, King Tubby or Mad Professor’ studios in Jamaica.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents a reissue of the first and eponymous LP by Esperanto, a Venezuelan Jazz-Fusion masterpiece originally released in 1980. This rare and sought-after album recorded in Caracas by talented musicians could be likened to the best of the South American scene with strong Funk & Latin influences. Following the recent reissue of Sacbé, this one is a little wonder and a must-have for anyone interested in Latin Jazz-Funk & Fusion. Fully remastered and available as Gatefold Tip-On Vinyl LP and CD. Like most bands, the story first started as a series of jam sessions. Multi-instrumentist Jorge Aguilar and his drummer Pablo Matarazzo were playing in a band, covering a various number of Latin genres from Merengue to Salsa and playing at parties, even though they were mostly influenced by Jazz or Funk, but also British Rock or Brazilian music. Still, they were dreaming about a real band. Thus, while some of their friends were on vacations in Venezuela during their studies at Music school in Boston and New York, they immediately organized jam sessions. First impros quickly became songs and Pablo and Jorge were finally joined by Roldan Peña, Gustavo Arranguren, Ezequiel Serrano, Marcus Vinicius and Nenè Quintero. With the help of a friend, they recorded songs and brought those tracks to radio stations. Without realizing it, the group gained a certain notoriety in Caracas and began to give shows that became quite famous. Sometimes, they had to play two times in the same night with people still waiting outside! With the money earned, they kept recording their songs but now in a quite better studio. The album was taking its final shape, with an exciting blend of Funk, Fusion and Jazz-Rock elements, all mixed with Latin music influences. With an extensive use of synthesizers, the tracks sounded like a fresh wind blowing over the city of Caracas. After bringing a few friends to record their parts, the album was then offered to CBS for distribution – some of their executives had just become fans after experiencing one of their amazing gigs! But in exchange, they also had to record two more commercial songs, a cover of "Ticket To Ride" by The Beatles, and “Vereda Tropical", a classic in the Latin market. Jorge reminds: "The rest of the songs were compositions by myself and by other members of the band. The album was recorded in its entirety almost live, that is, all of us playing together and without many overdubs because we did not have many tracks nor money to pay studio time. Certainly, we were one of the bands that started the Fusion jazz movement in Venezuela and the most recognized because we managed to be played a lot on the radios and we filled the largest number of concerts as well as obtained the largest number of sales". The band kept recording other albums, notably with Warner Bros after the label was again really impressed by their opening show for Peter Frampton Comes Alive Tour one night in Caracas. Jorge adds: "Today if you ask people around 60 years old in Venezuela about a Fusion group, they will tell you that Esperanto is the band they remember! I think the most significant thing about the Esperanto band is that it was quite naïve since we were all in our early 20s and we did everything just for the pleasure of playing without thinking about the economic aspects of the industry".

Born from a French mother and a father with a Burkina bé/Senegalese dual nationality, Jennifer Zonou aKa Hawa has been rocked in music from an early age. As a DJ addicted to all kind of grooves, her father passed on his genuine love and great vinyls collection of Rap, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Afrobeat, or Reggae music. While her mother, keen on American Folk and Pop, gave her awareness and sensibility for the beautiful melodies and songwriting of artists such as Rickie Lee Jones.Yet it was not until 2000 that Jennifer began her singing career. A native of Macon (near Lyon, France), it was after she met with IPM, a Hip-Hop group from Lyon, that she gained confidence in her skills and decided to start within the best schools possible: Gospel. Thus she joined the choir called “Héritage Soul” (Soul Legacy), where she connected with Raphael Chambouvet, keyboard in the choir and in many projects of the Lyon’s music scene such as CHK, or later Mr Day. At that time, her voice could be spoted on many Hip-Hop projects from Lyon, including Dialect Music, Casus Belli and therefore IPM, but it’s only when she entered a new choir, "Precious Voices," that Jen took another turn in her carreer. She then rised in a Nu-Soul duo act called Ebony Source, whose album will certainly never be released, but which will allow her to tour seriously and to open for top French artists such as Diam's or Wallen, but also for international names such as Lizz McComb. Jennifer then begins to work solo with her old mate Raph, who has since continued to play in bands such as Mr Day and who quickly liaised her with Favorite Recordings label (Dynamics Onra, The Funk League Solomko Andre, ...) and his founder Pascal Rioux. A new Hawa was born, raising the challenge of writing in English with surprising ease. Very soon the first demos come alive, including "Sweet Lucky Day", wich will later be found as the B-side of her first single "DANCE ", released in 2009. In the meantime, she also meets with Bruno "Patchworks" Howart (Metropolitan Jazz Affair, Uptown Funk Empire, Mr Day, Mr President, ...) at a concert in Lyon in 2008. International reknown within the indy Soul/Funk music scene, Patchworks is immediately attracted and offers to produce her some songs. Coming next is a first acclaimed 7inch mentioned above and several appearances alongside Mr Day and Mr President, then naturally followed by the common desire to sail further. The result is called ‘My Little Green Box’, first album by Hawa due for release on June 6th 2011 on Favorite Recordings. Mainly produced by Patchworks, MLGB is naturally imbued with the Soul/Funk touch which made his success and fame. But the album is also deeply led by Jennifer’s eclectic influences, and each of its 11 songs is the result of a true joint effort between her, Bruno, and Raph on some tracks like "Full of Love." Above all, this mysterious “green box" contains 11 great groovy nuggets and reveals a fully uninhibited Hawa. She impresses first thanks to a natural musicality gained through her years of Gospel, but also makes her own imprint with an approach to writing and rhythm very inspired by her long passion for Rap. In the wake of the Queen Sharon Jones and all her Soul daughters such as Nicolle Willis or Giselle Smith, Hawa could well find her place in the circle of the international top Soul Sista, thanks to this first attempt without a fault. Now we hope you’ll feel the same!!

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **A.B. Crentsil is a heavyweight of Highlife music and the main vocalist of Sweet Talks, one of the most popular Ghanaian bands of the 1970’s. In 1992, musician Charles Amoah and producer Richie Osei Kuffour offered him the opportunity to explore a new popular sound: Bürger Highlife. Little did he know these studio sessions would give birth to the biggest song of his career.Charles Amoah, who had released his Sweet Vibrations LP in 1984 to great acclaim, extensively toured in Europe with bands such as Black Earth and Saraba, was eager to bring a new sound to Crentsil, an artist he had admired for years. Throughout the 1980’s, Highlife had been changing pretty radically, following the same evolution as Congolese Soukous, Caribbean Zouk and most popular black music genres of that era: Heavy use of drum machines, synths and digital technology was conveniently replacing big bands and expensive analog studios and equipments. Mostly recorded, produced or mixed in Germany, this new breed of electric Highlife dubbed ‘Bürger Highlife’ could be defined as a fusion of Disco, Jazz, Funk and Pop with the popular Highlife beats, rhythms and lyrics.According to A.B. Crentsil, the name was a reference to the ever present American cultural influence on Ghanaian musicians. Charles Amoah has his own take: “I initially called this particular kind of Highlife ‘Ethno Pop’. Bürger is the German word for citizen, and that’s how Ghanaian musicians living and working in Germany were calling each other”.The music for both “Obi Baa Wiase'' and “Sika Be Ba” was entirely composed and played by Charles Amoah, using minimal equipment: a DX7 synth, a Korg M1, a Yamaha RX5 drum machine, and an Akai 1000 sampler. A.B. Crentsil provided the lyrics for both tunes on the spot. Obi Ba Wiase’s message is one of gratitude and faith: it says we should appreciate our life way more and follow the example of people who have a lot less but still praise God all day.Charles remembers fondly Crentsil’s larger than life personality: "A.B. slept a lot, he really loved sleeping. His lack of punctuality was easily dismissed by his wonderful sense of humour and it wasn't uncommon to find musicians rolling with laughter on the studio floor."Charles also remembers vividly the "Obi Baa Wiase" session: he could feel the magic in the air while working on the soon to be hit, and knew something special was happening. A.B. asked for a break in the middle of the session, which Charles adamantly refused until the song was finished and the magic fully captured.Success was not immediate, and Charles was first a little concerned by the lack of buzz following the immediate release of the Gyae Me Life Ma Me album. But a few months down the line, the situation took a new turn. "Obi Baa Wiase" was making its way into radio playlists, weddings and festive celebrations. It was covered by local bands, and soon most of Ghana and its European and American diasporas were hooked. It became A.B. Crentsil’s most requested song at live events for the following decades.As producer Richie Moore wrote on the album back cover : "A perfect integration of two musical geniuses, the result of which are the scintillating tracks of music on this record… so all you party fans go onto the floor and dance the body music".