Tee Mac
Nepa Oh Nepa

Montenegrin born in Istanbul, precocious pianist growing up in an embassy, brilliant musician. Prolific composer speaking eight languages, he arranged music for jazz, pop music, adopting multiple identities.For one label, he is Andy Loore; for another, Emiliano Orti. For others, he is called Alan Blackwell or Johnny Montevideo, but behind all these aliases, there is only one man: Janko Nilovic. Exploring the shelves of musical production, venturing into the less-illuminated corners of library music, Janko Nilovic's name lights up dozens of shelves on which his soundtracks, his records for Editions Neuilly or Sforzando, but above all his twenty albums for Editions Montparnasse, are stored. A considerable and imposing work, rich in orchestrations of keyboards, strings and brass instruments, themes, atmospheres and melodies. A repertoire in which the cinema, television and advertising have come to find their delight ... Subjected to the sharp blades of samplers, reduced to a few effective seconds, joined with rhythmic beats, some of his tracks have infiltrated hip hop for a long time , leading the most curious to go back to the source to get the complete albums from which the precious loops had been taken. Almost unknown to the general public, Janko Nilovic is a master for the initiated, whether they are at his side in the studio or comfortably seated in their armchair savouring the final result on their turntable. His discretion combined with his long years of silence on the record could lead one to believe that he had cleverly arranged his disappearance from the radar to make Janko Nilovic a mystery that has never been completely solved. Until this message from The Soul Surfers.A few miles away, in their studio fired up by analog funk, the Muscovites had been put back on the Nilovic track by multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee. A few passionate discussions later, and the desire for a joint album was already lighting up the amps, making the bass strings shiver and the drum skins tighten. Initiated by the coming and going of scores, the collaboration finally continued in studio for a real exchange, instantly bouncing off proposals, developing ideas in a live group dynamic that distance would have made impossible. To feel the vibrations accumulated for decades at the CBE studio (like Chatelain Bisson Estardy), a mythical place founded in 1966, in which many albums, especially library, were immortalized. A place where consoles, equipment and instruments were kept as they were, accumulating in their wiring, meters and speakers, endless hours of experimentation and recording. A place that Janko knew well and where an old acquaintance was waiting for him. A Hammond organ with a Leslie booth whose keys he had already flattered in the past and behind which an improvisation and a single take were enough to complete the eponymous title. Together, Janko Nilovic and The Soul Surfers have built Maze Of Sounds, a musical labyrinth paved by the master's keyboards where the soul-funk groove of the fiery Russians is the listener's thread, his point of reference in this maze of atmospheres and emotions, at once cinematic, nostalgic, dancing, dreamlike and contemplative.An album where, however, nothing is compartmentalized. Where, blown by the whirlwind strung by a violin quintet, the barriers move preparing the entrance of a Slavic choir, letting a screaming guitar come and go alongside the crystalline liveliness of the Fender Rhodes, organize some rhythmic aerations at the disposal of the samplers.A fusion between the cleverly blackened scores, between the science of precisely written arrangements and the soul-funk feel of The Soul Surfers. An album such as Janko Nilovic has been dreaming of making for years.

Aldorande is back! The French Jazz-Funk quartet returns with a strong new EP “Summer Body / Breakfast in Space” widening its musical universe to join the Favorite Recordings’ 2020 Disco Jazz-Funk series.After their first eponymous LP released in June 2019, our explorers strike again with two club-friendly compositions joining the dots between Jazz-Funk and Disco/Boogie. Recorded with great care, reflecting Favorite Recordings’ journey towards the authentic analogue sound, both tracks coming with a Charles Maurice dub versions. With this new musical space trip, Aldorande confirmed – if needed – their solid position at the heart of the French jazz scene: a great appetizer before their upcoming 2nd album to be released later this year.A-side opens with “Summer Body”, a boogie banger driven by a magnetic bassline, surrounded by lush synthesizers and catchy backing vocals arranged in the tradition of the best Brazilian songs. On the B-side comes “Breakfast in Space”, a sort of cosmic opera. The slap bass and drums set up a P-Funk foundation. On the top, Aldorande put psychedelic vocal lines making the whole journey a definitive trip into funkiness.Behind Aldorande, you will find a team of great musicians including bandleader and founder Virgile Raffaëlli on bass (Setenta, Camarão Orkestra), Florian Pellissier on keys (Iggy Pop, Guts, Setenta, Cotonete,…), Mathieu Edward on drums (Chassol, De La Soul) and Erwan Loeffel on percussion (10LEC6, Camarão Orkestra). For this new EP, always looking for more funk into their groove, they’ve been joined by French guitarist Farid Baha (Cotonete, Camarão Orkestra).

Guadeloupe 1986. The football World Cup has all the Islanders' eyes riveted to their TV sets. At every half time breaks, local TV channel RFO broadcasts a music video on repeat: ‘’Tou’t Jou Pa Min’m". Max Rambhojan, the local singer responsible for this monster tune, has arrived. In the video, he effortlessly sings and kickstarts a joyous street party with his band, Show Man, his dancers, kids, friends, family and what seems like the whole neighbourhood. The song will gain cult status from then on, cementing the power of the 'Zouk Chiré' sound, a high tempo version of Zouk, highly influenced by Guadeloupe's Carnival mass drum bands. Max self-releases his first solo album on vinyl in 1985, enrolling some of the best musicians the scene has to offer: his band leader King Klero, Guy Jacquet of les Vikings de la Guadeloupe fame on production duties, Ramon Pyrmée on synths, Claude Vamur, Meliza… In 1992 a new solo album follows. By then the artists have familiarized themselves with computers and the sound has gone full-on digital. In that album Max records an updated version of his “Tou’t Jou Pa Min’m” anthem to great effect. Reducing Max Rambhojan to a zouk artist would be a mistake. He’s first and foremost a master of Gwo-Ka, a musical practice born during the transatlantic slave trade and performed by all ethnic and religious groups of Guadeloupe. It has never ceased to exist and has become a major part of the Island folk music culture. Max Rambhojan was schooled as a kid by Gwo-Ka pioneer Guy Conquette, and quickly joined the backing band of another legend, Ti-Sélès. That sound is the root of his particular style, especially vibrant on two tracks in his repertoire: “Cecilia” and “On Jou Matin”, both featured on this release's b-side. A touch of Spiritual Jazz is also palpable, allowing a magical vibe to spread, giving birth to some of the deepest music from this era. In 2019, Max still performs Gwo-Ka every week-end in Guadeloupe and also hosts a show on local radio Media Tropical, 88.1FM. Secousse and Hot Mule are proud to present those 4 lost gems on wax and digital, carefully restored and remastered.

Favorite Recordings presents this new single reissue released by SOL Discos, a new sub-label launched as a partnership between Pascal Rioux and DJ Waxist. Following their recent collaboration on projects like Lamar Thomas’ single and Caribbean Disco Boogie Sounds’ compilation reissues, Favorite Recordings offered the French DJ to become the coordinator and A&R of a new imprint aiming to reissue rare and forgotten music with a Tropical and Disco flavor: “Sunshine Music”…Today, SOL Discos is delighted to introduce its very first release, with this official 7" reissue of Hiram & Direct. Initially recorded and released in Detroit (Michigan), it has been a hard to find record since then, with only a little number of known copies floating around and changing hands within the Soul collectors / DJ scene.Musically speaking, the reissue has been switching tracks sides from the original release, putting the focus on “Love Flight” as the A side. Indeed, “Love Flight” has some strong dancefloor potential for any DJ into underground Disco & Modern Soul. Just listen to those synths! On the B side, you will find a different vibe with “Turn It Around”, an excellent ballad with beautiful vocals & harmonies. In the end, both tracks have nothing to envy to some of the best Soul classics.It’s with great pleasure and honors that SOL Discos and Waxist make this little known gem more accessible to today's music’ enthusiasts, through this legit reissue!

The motor hasn’t had time to cool down and the belt drive is feeling the fatigue. But Charles Maurice is the kind of DJ who just can’t let a turntable rest. After steaming up the slipmat with three sexy compilations of French Boogie, Charles Maurice is back with Volume 4.In the late 70s and early 80s, while France was still firmly tuned into variety-show pop, a few enlightened ears and souls picked up the hypnotic beat of funk from across the Atlantic. These first warrior monks spread the good word in discotheques, jumped on newly available frequencies to fill the airwaves and, in some cases, took up instruments themselves to unabashedly build on the U.S. model.In a short decade stretching from the late 70s to the late 80s – just a blip on the scale of music history – they turned out material in abundance. Lush productions with colorful covers, groovy typeface and creative photo shoots…But first and foremost, they made music weaned on, spoon-fed and imbued with funk. Music defined by a groove with a robotic beat (Djeneba) that clearly hears hip-hop banging on the door, where layers of synthesizers, handclaps (Eric Chotteau), horns and African percussion line up and follow the all-powerful lead of the swelling slap bass (Cyrill). Music that tells everyday stories, both humorous and lovelorn (Serge Delisle), and often packed with pheromones just waiting to be released on the dance floor or sofa (Chris O’Hara). Shaped by synthetic textures, these productions are also spiced with Caribbean and Creole arrangements that reflect the West Indies’ critical contribution to French Boogie (Wai Kop, Acayouman).With his immaculate tailoring, slicked back hair and clipped moustache, Charles Maurice has once again transformed himself into a HiFi stylus to explore the groove traced by this specifically French musical style. From 45 to 33 rpm, he has traveled the black spiral to bring us a new selection that proudly features a number of rarely heard pieces and even an unreleased track by Marco Attali. True to form, Monsieur Charles carefully crafted this fourth volume from his personal collection of impeccably restored and mastered vinyl recordings.Charles Maurice, where French elegance meets uncompromising musical taste.