Boncana Maïga
Koyma Hondo

In the 80s, a Nigerian DJ named Hycentto Junior was notorious for making Onitsha people dance on his grooves. Soon, influenced by U.S hip-hop artists, he began rapping on top of the music he played.His eccentric style drew the attention of the biggest name, and the famous Nkono Teles decided to work with him on his next LP, Mama Groove. Their project was released in 1991. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the number of copies available was really low, making it very hard to find.More than 25 years later, working for a motor company, Hycentto met online with French music passionate collective “Lorem Ipsum”, that had randomly found his Mama Groove LP.The result is a reissue auditioning all the 1991 Mama Groove’s tracks and two bonuses selected from his first 1984 album, At A Party Last Night. The unique variety of sounds and genres, covering Electro Hip-Hop, Digi Reggae and Disco-Funk, will carry you from poolside to late night dancefloors!

Psycho 2000 - A dark but funky theme that begins with an occulting Italian echo-oscillator drone that is soon followed by pulsating bass and breakbeat drums, leads to tremolo guitars, an ostinato on electric mandolas, strings climbing eloquent ladders, otherworldly electronics, and a cinematic finale.An evocation of a parade of wooden nutcracker soldiers elaborately dressed in gold-trimmed black uniforms down a wide avenue decorated with mardi gras beads and animal skulls upon golden cobblestones toward a tornado spiralling out purple-hued glissandos and curlicues of elephant smoke.White Spiritual - Head nod action, the twinkling of a late 60’s Vox Continental II with sickly transistors, the noodling matrix of an intergalactic telephone exchange carried on a bed of bouncy bass with a firm backbeat.The Johnny Guitar Watson-esque bite and sting of a ‘67 Teisco guitar preludes slabs of unison dark brown moog and organ giving way to the dance of fingers over the black naturals and white sharps of the Continental II.

Since the release of his 2 first albums on Favorite Recordings, Lucas Arruda has quickly established himself as one of the most talented young artist and composer from Brazil. His music is filled with fusion style, mixing influences and elements from his Latin musical background, with his genuine admiration for Jazz, Soul, Pop and Funk music.In spring 2015, it was also not surprising to find Lucas Arruda back with a new LP called Solar, receiving great supports and feedbacks from international media and tastemakers. One of the highlight of the album was the song “Melt the Night”, on which Lucas teamed up with legendary producer Leon Ware, 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.Today Favorite Recordings proudly present Onda Nova, new and third album by Lucas Arruda. Mostly written, composed and arranged by himself, Lucas however teams up on a few tracks with his old mate Fabricio di Monaco (Modo Solar), his brother and musical partner Thiago Arruda, who recently joined Ed Motta’s live band, or Gaël Benyamin, also known as Geyster, who brings his longtime “savoir-faire” and skills for writing and composing AOR and WestCoast music genre, and who share this deep passion with Lucas.Onda Nova is therefore pursuing the music direction set with Solar, mixing touch of Blue-Eyed-Soul, Pop, Soul and Brazilian styles together, and influenced by the path of legendary Brazilian producer Lincoln Olivetti, who recorded some of the biggest stars of Brazilian music (Marcos Valle, Jorge Ben, Tim Maia…).In Lucas words: “In this record I really wanted to honor Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti. They are the main influence on this record. We recorded the basic tracks for the album in the same studio that Lincoln Olivetti did his last works. So, this was very important to capture the true essence of Brazilian Funk/AOR tradition. Hope you guys enjoy it!”

When producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Diogo Strausz arrived in France for the first time, he already had an impressive CV. First, as part of the duo Balako, his music was released on Razor-N-Tape, Barefoot Beats and Greco-Roman after gaining the attention of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. His tracks also have been played by Gilles Peterson on BBC 6. He also produced Brazilian indie artists such as Castello Branco and Alice Caymmi and remixed a track by Brazilian legend Gal Costa. Arrived in France, it is by signing the co-production of the disc "Les Bruits de la Ville" of Voyou or tracks for Julia Jean-Baptiste that he drew attention. Freshly signed on Goutte d'Or Records, affiliated label of Cracki Records, to whom we can thank for Agar Agar, Saint DX or Alma Elste, Diogo Strausz will present his first EP Flight of Sagittarius in April 2022. Flight of Sagittarius is both retro and current. Between the old school boogie of Marcos Valle and the jazz funk of Azymuth but also the sunny groove of Nu Genea or the electro-funk productions of Guts.

DJ Buzz (1/3 of Austrian DJ-Deckgroup Waxolutionists) & personal rec. mastermind Preddy finally with their Drunken Edit of Hildegard Knef`s "Im 80. Stockwerk" on Vinyl 7inch. Plus a very special Bonus on the flipside. The remix was originaly released on a double 10inch compilation of Drunken Edits on the label, now hard to find.The „Hildegard Knef Edit“ was on heavy rotation worldwide by DJ's and Radio Jocks like Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Bigga Bush (Rockers Hi-Fi), Eddy Ramich. It's now available again on 45RPM!

Blue curaçao, gin, triple sec, ice and a lemon zest. A cocktail with out-of-the-ordinary gradations is a prerogative of the Grand Hotel. Suggestive, Exclusive and luxurious.If your dream is to spend a perfect weekend that offers you more than just sun and relaxation the most suitable solution for you is this fantastic establishment located just a few kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea.Its splendid swimming pool is positioned on a terrace that offers an incredible and beautiful coastal panorama, a permanent agora from June to September where love flourishes and dies. The lapping of the placid waters is hypnotic, a sparkling sound that mingles with the ticking of the empty cups of Angelo Azzurro while easy listening music is played in the background. I Coccodrilli are the main band, they entertain the audience with a mix of positivity in their funky notes during those times when the jukebox’s on pause and it stops marking the passing of the hours. Sabato Italiano is their latest hit and it’s now available on 7”.Bikinis, the dancing and the kisses. The endless season of youth.