Cortex
Stand & Move / High On The Funk

Comet Records is so thrilled to present Psyco on Da Bus 20th Anniversary, for the occasion it will be reissued as a Double Vinyl LP and newly remastered.Recorded in just few weeks in the US during Tony Allen's Black Voices album tour in Spring 2000, on Doctor L’s G3 in different places as hotels rooms, local studios (Nyc, Toronto) and the tour bus.Doctor L and the members of Tony Allen & Afrobeat 2000 band get the idea of making a collective album alltogether, co-writing both songs and music and creating a new spectrum that reflects their different musical backgrounds. Doctor L, Tony Allen, Jean-Phi Dary, Cesar Anot, Jeff Kellner are the “psyco bus” members.Completed later in Paris with guests artists like Smadj, Dom Farkas and Eric Guathier, Psyco On Da Bus project fill the gap between the 70's and the new millenium, blending afrobeat rhythms, gospel & soul vocals, jazz & funk licks with wicked electronics and astonishing production.From the futuristic funk of “Afropusherman” to the eastern sounds of “Many Questions” or the killer floor filler “Push your mind Breakbeat” , from the underrated spiritual suite “Time To Take A Rest”, hybrid fusion of free jazz, poetry, rare groove and nu-beats, to the outstanding “Never Satisfied”. Last but not least the artwork was created and produced by the talented french graphist designer, filmmaker Edouard Salier. Tony told about his collaboration with Doctor L on this project in 2001: “Younger people are coming into Afrobeat right now. And I personally don't want to be past, I want to be future. Young people like hip-hop, and techno, which is what I must think about. It's the direction I want to take. It's an experiment I've wanted to try. That's why I wanted Doctor L to produce the album.”

One of the greatest enigmas of the music scene in mid to late 1970s Harare was The New Tutenkhamen, a band which played an eclectic brand of Zimbabwean township music combining traditional rhythms and western influences. The band included some luminaries of Zimbabwean township music. Elisha Josamu was an alumnus of the fabulously-named Hallelujah Chicken Run Band (alongside Thomas Mapfumo), and Green Jangano’s long-running Harare Mambos, and would later form Two Plus Two with bassist Christopher “Chex” Tavengwa. Jethro Shasha played the drums, and would arguably become the New Tutenkhamen’s most famous export, making continental waves working with likes of Salif Keita. Paul Sekerani played the rhythm guitar, with Amos Chatyoka on the organ, while the enigmatic Maggie Mbuli provided vocals and F. Manda played the sax. The New Tutenkhamen recorded I Wish You Were Mine at Teal Records, produced by Crispen Matema, a talented jazz drummer in his own right who had played drums on the all-time classic Skokiaan, and had backed Louis Armstrong on his 1960 Rhodesia visit. Combining the heavyweight producing talents of Matema and the writing chops of Josamu, The New Tutenkhamen band created an album showcasing various musical styles popular at the time. From the afro-jazz jam session aesthetics of “Tutenkhamen Theme”, “Big Brother Malcom” and “Forever Together”, to the almost Van Morrison-sounding “Sunday Morning”; from the upbeat rock ballad “True Love”, to the funk-infused dance song “Togetherness”; from the bouncy jazz exhortations to work hard in “Ane Nungo”, to the brassy, raunchy foot-stomper “Me & Dolly”. The title track “I Wish You Were Mine” is a ska-infused ballad that wouldn’t be out of place in post-war Birmingham, while the star of the show is “Joburg Bound”, itself a fast-paced rock piece with Motown undertones and funky guitar lines. As a collective effort, I Wish You Were Mine provides a fascinating insight into a fraught time in Zimbabwe’s history, and the bands plying their trade through the turmoil, making music for young people, by young people.

It’s been now 25 years that Olivier Portal has been Playin’ 4 the City.Very versatile in the beginning, he has nurtured his productions while doing club residencies in Paris and Chicago, making his music all the more dancing and developing a very original touch drawing near to the sounds of Chi -Town and New Jersey. By the end of the 90’s, he collaborated with many DJ’s and producers such as DJ Deep, Julien Jabre and Franck Roger among others, thus gaining a real credibility and much respect from the underground Parisian house scene and the world at large.The Music & The Rhythm 1997-2003 brings back to the forefront some of the most anthemic tracks reflecting a very creative period in which Olivier Portal hooked up with great vocalists and players to produce his own style of deep house rich in soulful vocals, jazzy harmonies, funky bass lines and his trademark keyboard layers. This triple LP brings back to light some of the most emblematic tracks reflecting a very creative period during which Olivier Portal teamed up with excellent vocalists and instrumentalists to produce This compilation, besides offering the best of the Straight Up era with some great classics like the smooth "Music and the Rhythm", the seminal "More Than Ever" and crucial tracks like "The Shore" and "Deep Inside", also entitles us to retrieve very in demand gems like "Atmosfear’s Vibe", "Spirits" and "My City Life" that now fetch hefty prices in the 12” market.Limited edition of 500 copies. More good news: P4TC will put out a new album early next year. Enjoy the Music and the Rhythm!

For this first volume of Musax Background Music Library, Farfalla Records continues exploring the maze of the french library music through one of its most discreet and prolific representatives: Jacky Giordano and one of his many projects, the Musax label. Farfalla Records carefully selected this tracklisting among LPs recorded between 1978 and 1979 of which the originals became particularly sought after by the collectors. Jacky Giordano who appears under his aliases Joachim Sherylee and José Pharos, is surrounded by qualified and renowned musicians such as Jean-Pierre Decerf, Jean-Claude Pierric, Serge Planchon, Patrick Petitbon, Gérard Gesina, Jean-Charles Capon, Daniel Humair and also a band composed of members from the legendary Crazy Horse cabaret, namely Pedro Perea, Claude Brisset, Bruno Bompard, Jean-Claude Guselli, Claude Thirifays, Vincent Momplet and Joseph Gatineau. This selection mixing explosive jazz-funk, lascivious jazz and electronic music more spacey or experimental, which could also be the soundtrack for a TV show, a porn movie or a car chase between cops and gangsters in the bad neighbourhoods of Paris. A fascinating slice of the French music scene of the late 70 is brought to life before our very eyes. (Erwann Pacaud)