Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrela
Nigeria / African Spirits - Remixes

Almost 2 years after the success of the album THE TONY ALLEN EXPERIMENTS and a few months after the release of the 7inch AMORE, Nu Guinea return to the scene with a new LP published by their newborn label NG RECORDS.After touring the world looking for sounds suitable for their vibrations, NU GUINEA decided to go back to square one, Napoli, where Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina were born and raised. They watched their city from a distance reconstructing its energy from their studio in Berlin, calibrating the synths on the meridian of Vesuvius, the volcano that has always protected and threatened Napoli.NUOVA NAPOLI is the result of a long musical research that has become a historical investigation on the sound that shaped Napoli during the ‘70s and ‘80s, starting from the contamination of genres (disco, jazz-funk, African rhythms) which ended up in Nu Guinea’s DNA.In this album the synthesizers fill the spaces between the past and the future, tightening in a single body acoustic instruments, electronics and voices in Neapolitan dialect. It is the first time that the duo has worked with such a large group of musicians, some of whom are exponents of the contemporary Neapolitan scene.WARNING: We recommend listening to Nuova Napoli while walking in the alleys of Napoli’s historic center, around wet clothes hanging and street vendors on tiny three-wheelers.

Our Swimmer is pleased to present the first official vinyl reissue of The Hilversum Session in over thirty years.Jazz iconoclast Albert Ayler took the experimental leanings of contemporaries like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman as a starting point and then blasted them to stratospheric extremes, creating some of the most polarizing and brilliant music of the 20th Century. In particular, 1964 was a pivotal – and well documented – year in the free jazz artist’s career. After returning to New York, Ayler assembled a brilliant group with Sunny Murray on drums and Gary Peacock on bass, recording Spiritual Unity, Ayler’s first record for the legendary ESP-Disk’ label, that summer.Soon after that session, Ayler took his trio to Europe where they were joined by cornetist Don Cherry for a tour of The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. The Hilversum Session is a live radio session recorded on November 9th, 1964. At that point the quartet was months into its European tour and the interplay is extraordinary. On classic Ayler compositions like “Spirits” and “Ghosts” the band absolutely rip, with a kind of intuition and connectivity rarely heard, creating some of the most untethered and undeniably powerful music in the history of free jazz.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents Recalling You, a dazzling Disco/Jazz-Funk new single EP by our longtime friend and label mate Andre Solomko.Born in Ukraine and based in Finland for a while, Andre Solomko is a rich and engaging personality, but above all, a talented saxophonist, composer and engineer, with contagious passion. Since they met 7 years ago, Andre and Pascal Rioux’s (founder of Favorite Recordings) collaboration resulted in 3 albums and a couple of singles acclaimed internationally. Primarily known for a sound mixing Jazz-Funk, with European Soundtracks, Pop and Soul influences, Andre Solomko’s skills for composition and production are much wider. Almost 2 years ago, he’s therefore demonstrated his versatility when delivering the hot Disco anthem “Le Premier Disco Sans Toi”.This first attempt definitely seduced many DJs and collectors, and it seems Andre enjoyed the trip too and decided to embark for it again with “Recalling You”. For this new single, Andre’s idea was to revive two of his past compositions, tailoring brand new glamorous Disco suit and arrangements for it. Backed again by a close team of musicians and the beautiful and charming vocals of Charlotta Kerbs, the new session was recorded live and analog as usual, and then brilliantly mixed in France by Jordan Kouby at Question de Son studios. It ended with what might be Andre Solomko’s best level of productions and sound so far.To make it short, “I Recall” and “Teasing You” felt in love and had a baby at the nightclub… here comes Recalling You, packed in a 45rpm 12inch vinyl edition and coming with a hot Dub edit by Charles Maurice on B-side.

If one was to interpret the whole output of EABS in general, an inquisitive listener would notice that each subsequent album stems from the previous one. The overtones are similar and they can be treated as variations on the same theme. The only thing that changes is the background of the story. It is all about life and death, the beginning and the end of the world, and the role of human beings entangled in all this existentially. Following the futurism lessons from Sun Ra, the band travels to the year 2061, continuing their mission in space in the company of a living legend, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski."ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS – EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE." – this was the ominous message from the mythical Monolith of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The quote became a metaphor for the situation the EABS crew found themselves in when the pandemic hit. It was not only Europe that became inaccessible, the whole world shut down. A reflection emerged that only empathy and cooperation could save humanity. We will not be able to face the greater threat that may come from the outside together by fighting wars among ourselves on Earth. A similar analogy can be seen in Arthur C. Clarke's book series, which was made even more famous by Stanley Kubrick with his iconic screen adaptation, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released in 1986, the third part of the series has served as an inspiration for the fourth EABS album titled 2061, a soundtrack to the film that hasn't been made yet.Collaborative work has always been the domain of EABS, which is even more audible with their new album as most of the instrumentalists brought their own compositions to the recording session. As a result, the album oscillates in orbits of many genres such as jazz, electronica and hip hop, in such mutations as Miami bass, trap and drill. It might come as a surprise that the role of the spiritual guide and mentor here is played by Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski who has taken part in all the quests in the history of Polish jazz, just like Dr Heywood Floyd traversing the galaxy aboard the Universe spacecraft.The year 1986 is symbolic for EABS. Poland was then visited by Sun Ra with his Arkestra carrying a prophecy: "We are living in End Time, all right, but in the last daze. It’s after the end of the world. Don’t you know that yet?" – these words of the Saturnian alien were hovering over the group's previous project. That year Halley's Comet flew close to Earth, inspiring Arthur C. Clarke to write the third installment of A Space Odyssey. The next time we will be able to see this celestial body is not until the eponymous year 2061. In his book, the author envisioned the current decade as full of crises, scandals and disasters. Having been in space for years, Dr Heywood Floyd would observe cities in flames, a nuclear war outbreak, and all the other horrific events from his monitor window. With the nightmare unfolding on Earth, the cultural and linguistic differences that had arisen over the millennia began to disappear, and the appearance of a new sun named Lucifer only accelerated the process. The superpowers, destroyed by warfare against each other, achieved reconciliation and reunification, making the outbreak of further wars of this kind impossible. At last, the existing peace machinery began to choose life over death. The disintegration of the enormous parasitic military business resulted in the acceleration of world economic development. The moral equivalent of war has led to the undoing of centuries of damage and neglect caused by it. This latest EABS album stands for the time when Halley's Comet will again fly by very close to Earth. We should hope that in the light of recent events, the utopian vision of the author of A Space Odyssey will come true and peace will come to our planet. Fortunately, there will be no need to wait another 40 years for the album.

Transversales is a French label based in Paris founded by Sebastien Rosat & Jonathan Fitoussi. Transversales is specialised in the reissues of long lost tapes, rare original soundtracks and library.Jonathan Fitoussi is a French composer residing in Paris. He works on minimalist and contemporary musical forms. He's also audio restoration engineer at INA & INA GRM. Sebastien Rosat is a French Music Supervisor working for Films, TV and Advertising. He's also a member of French electronic duo Sommet.First ever LP reissue of this timeless masterpiece by Philippe Sarde, the most versatile and talented French film composer. Les choses de la vie, an outstanding score which offers both the wonderful “Chanson d'Hélène” and most of the musical features which appeared later in Philippe Sarde's musical career : Nostalgia, melancholy, experiment and sound discord.Les choses de la vie is the film which confirms Sautet as a genuine author and Philippe Sarde as a rising composer. This is also the start of a long partnership that spanned twenty-five years and eleven films.Including the previously unreleased versions of “La Chanson d’Hélène” performed by Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in Italian and German. Also Includes Stéphane Belmondo’s version of “La Chanson d’Hélène”.Limited Edition Remastered from the Original Master Tapes / Exclusive liner notes

In the early eighties, Edmond Mondésir, professor of philosophy and Léon Bertide, trade unionist, founded the Bèlènou group. They were actors of the great agricultural strike of 1974, which resulted in the death of two workers (Ilmany and Marie-Louise) and left many wounded. Activists of the patriotic movement Asé Pléré An Nou Lité (Stop crying, Fight), they were part of the identity and the cultural affirmation [la revendication identitaire et culturelle] of the time. Like the Guadeloupean musician Gérard Lockel and his work on the Gwo Ka, they put the Bèlè, in its traditional form, back in the spotlight during Swaré Bèlè (Bèlè nights). Minimalist and spiritual, a true rural ancestral art from Martinique, the Bèlè combines dance and music from responsorial monodies, which is a choir that responds to the lead singer (Respondè / La vwa dèyè), on codified drum rhythms and ti-bwa (2 sticks that hit the back of the drum or a piece of bamboo). It comes in a series of collective choreographies, working up into the trance. The texts are simple, short and tell the story of everyday life and struggle. While preserving the emotion and the drum’s central place, the fundamental contribution of Bèlènou is to keep the traditional form of Bèlè while adding a modern instrumentation: bass, guitar, saxophone, drums... Emosyon Tambou-a (Emotion of the Drum) was released in 1990. This third opus of the band expands the musical spectrum in harmonies, arrangements and influences to create a contemporary music anchored in the Bèlè matrix, while keeping the beat, the energy and ancestral roots of music. Bèlènou adapts some classic rhythms: Bélya, Gran Bèlè, Bèlè Pitjé or Ting-Bang rewritten here for an orchestra. With the appearance of long couplets and a complex harmonization of the choruses, Bèlènou's music brings a form of modernity, it opens notably to jazz territory as well as to other forms of music and grooves. Also, Bèlènou leaves the musicians with space for improvisation: not only on the saxophone or the guitar, but also with the drums (cleverly adaptating traditional rhythms to the drums). The texts sung in Creole are of a social nature, appealing to the solidarity and selfdenial of the people (“Bélya pou péyi-a”, “Tout pèp-la sanblé”), to the struggle for political emancipation towards a new democracy (“Wi ny ké rivé”, “Ni dé jou”, “Démokrasi”); land protection (Sové tè-a); finally, to the vitality of the Bèlè culture ... (“Emosyon Tambou-a”, “Dansé Ting-Bang”)... Culture participates, according to the expression of Aimé Césaire, as "Miraculous Weapons". Bèlènou sings a project of a new and united society.