Diogo Strausz
Flight Of Sagittarius

Max Holler, a Berlin-based singer and musician founded Echo Romeo in the early 80s and later the Atlantic Popes, which himself considers his main project together with Bernhard Lloyd (from Alphaville). In those years Max's dream was to direct films and create music videos but, according to his statements, the equipment for it was way too expensive. Therefore, after meeting Jürgen Erdmann from Düsseldorf, Echo Romeo and the first and only single "Your Tears" were born. The Wall was still there and Jürgen had insanely adventurous car journeys to reach Berlin, precisely the Tritonus Studio where they recorded the masterpiece. But, despite everything and everyone, the title track "Your Tears" is one of the most seminal examples of robotic synth-wave we've ever heard with a driving bass that blows you away, mixed with a pulsating soul and lyrics that are pure poetry. On the B-side, we find "Dreams" and the same kind of atmosphere but, drastically pitched down and with a splash of jazz that is actually Max's first love. The fully remastered reissue comes courtesy of Max Holler via the new Kings Of Harmony imprint.

After a reinterpretation of Jennifer Lopez and Mylène Farmer themes’ on the piano, Joseph Schiano di Lombo releases his first personal music pieces, designed for Human's best friend, whether they are pet, sheep dog, guide dog or rescue dog. His first record Musique de Niche is composed with malice, mannerism and a particular flair. It is a broad public love song to doggies but also to their bipedal companions, made with a keyboard - no piano this time. Instead, a whole lot of warm-hearted timbres, playful and melancholic, partly fine ambient and partly old-fashioned TV movies soundtracks paying tribute to those masters of tenderness. Different stages of a dog's life are told : puppies dreams, those never-ending hikes in North American forests, long afternoon napping in empty houses, and not to forget (as they are still needed), a short advertising for low price dog food.

After a string of sought-after releases on labels like Barefoot Beats, Cocada Music, Bongo Synth and Too Slow To Disco, Bernardo Pinheiro brings his seasoned production skills to Onda Boa. A man at home working in a myriad of styles, the third release on the label sees Pinheiro assemble The Amazon Orchestra to create a brilliant cover of the Marcos Valle / Azymuth jazz dance classic, “Virabrequim”. Diggers of Brazilian wax and jazz-funk aficionados will know the tune from the O Fabuloso Fittipaldi OST that first united Marcos Valle and Azymuth in 1973. Pinheiro’s updated disco version maintains the original track's swinging piano, propulsive bassline and soaring horn charts while pushing the material into the future, earning high praise from the man like Marcos Valle himself. Live bass, keys, guitar and brass bring an organic sound to Pinheiro’s stylish production, creating a euphoric take that's ready to elevate any house, disco or jazz dance set. Voilaaa’s remix sees the French maestro pull back the reins a bit, stripping things down before reassembling the elements in a way that allows each section to shine in a supremely funky way. With the third release on the label, Onda Boa has cemented their sound, one which honors the iconic Brazilian originators while charting their own unique course to a cosmitropical future.

At the turn of the 90s, Philippe Cohen Solal, then musical director for Virgin, becomes one of the first music supervisor in France and works on film scores by Arnaud Desplechin, Nikita Mikhalkov, Lars von Trier, Bertrand Tavernier or Kieslowski, then later composes for Tonie Marshall, Christian Vincent and Didier Le Pêcheur. He meets the very young composer and arranger Christophe Chassol with whom he will sign early 2000 soundtracks, during these sessions they create together the soundtrack of an imaginary film where music would be our spiritual food. The majority of themes are composed by Philippe with his musical partner at the time Christoph H. Mueller before they formed the Gotan Project. Unveiled here for the first time, this album pays tribute to the art of soundtracks, inspired by the world of sophisticated arrangements by Michel Legrand, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin and so many others. Add a touch of folk jazz with the singers Nivo and Gabriela Arnon and the voice of the brilliant Welshman, leader of Scritti Politti, Green Gartside.

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.

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.