Pleasurewood
Off The Wall / Boogie Nights

We are very proud to presents this official and first ever reissue of The First Coming, by Twylyte ’81, an extremely rare and underrated Soul-Jazz album produced and released in 1981.Twylyte ’81 was a 3 pieces band composed of Frank Jones Jr., Alfred Brown Jr. and John Belzaguy, who, except for John, have never recorded anything else than this incredible album. The First Coming is primarily standing out by a superb composition, mixing touch of Soul, Jazz, and Disco together. It secondly shines thanks to the amazing deep and spiritual voice of the band leader, Frank Jones Jr., whose vocals style can sometime remind of John Lucien. Even more impressive is the fact that these 3 fellas were all less or close to 18 years old when composing and recording this beauty. As did others brilliant hidden projects such as Ted Coleman Band, or Minority Band, it was also useful for Twylyte ’81 to receive the support of JSR Records, a kind of non-profit label dedicated to help young bands and artists in recording and producing their own records.Here are a few words from Al Brown Jr. about this release: “After 38 years, I still have the euphoric feeling while listening to this album. I would say that this was one of my greatest achievements. I want to say "Thank you" Pascal Rioux and associates for sharing the group's vision with the rest of the world. I pray the listeners will feel a portion of what we tried to convey through these songs. When I first began this project, I thought it was just killing time. Being 17 years old at the time, I didn't see the music we worked on being recorded. We (Frank and I) were in a basement practicing each song. Who knew that this music would be recorded let alone picked up 38 years later? I still remember every beat, drum roll, every stop/start; everything. Wow, the nostalgia of it all. I wish this album much successful and I hope in the future I can perform this album live.”

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **For it’s 10th album, Blundetto drops his first soundtrack on LP, an ode to road trips and 70’s scores. VTC is a Canal + mini series and features Golshifteh Farahani as Nora, the main character. This soundtrack is the most « urban » and « electronic » work from Blundetto to date. 33 mins of funk grooves, hypnotic atmospheres and psychedelic landscapes. This is the first release of Blundetto’s new label: Les Rythmes Ruban.

This Incredible afro-soul album was recorded in Italy in 1974 by the two Nigerians Ezy Hart and Isaac Olashugba. Ezy is known for his vocals while Isaac for playing saxophone. They are ex-members of Fela Kuti’s Hi-Life Jazz band, The Koola Lobitos and The Don Ezekiel Combination. After doing amazing collaborations together, recording a few Christian-Funk albums, and touring all over West Africa, these two finally settled in Italy were, after almost two decades, they not only toured through the all country, but also through Switzerland and Monte-Carlo.The Funky Fella, a group of 12 top Italian musicians such as Maestro Leoni from Rifi records, produced three albums with Ezy and Isaac. The first one is called Soul Rock and is considered as a Soul masterpiece. It contains the bomb track called “Bawagbe” ; This track is very tuff, hypnotic afro-soul groove with ruff Yoruba chants, smacking congas, afro horns, funky breaks and a wicked percussion breakdown of rattling cowbells. It`s a very unique collectors’ item for the afro-funk lovers and more. We’re also including a bonus track called “I’m Ready For you”, coming from the rare funky 7inch released in 1976.Soul Rock is considered gold-dust, it`s the Holy Grail of Afro-Italian funk.

The Balek Band and Abstrack Records's first album, Médecines, is the product of a magma of influences, the emanation of large decade of music infused lives. The emotional tessitura is wide: the dark meadows of “The Balek Bad” reach us through like a mantra from the end of a dark tunnel, while just three track earlier it was a caribbean Zouk euphoria which ruled the world. Inbetween, it’s a wide spectrum of hybrid epiphanies : "Hagen & Again" is a progressive Dub jewel, even Krauty to an extent, where the instruments play the lead role. "Cosmic Barry" is across the Channel : thick and broken club music, sweating with subs, yet always disputing it to the Funk accent of the the keys and the slap bass. This list of geographical and stylistic hybridations simplys goes on, and it’s the 54 minutes of the album that put an end to it. But beyond the never-ending list, this first album is alive: its gets us breathing the therapeutical air which fills the world of its creators.

Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new official single reissue of I Believe! by Calvin B. Rhone: A very rare Gospel/Disco masterpiece, originally released at only 1000 private-press copies, and surprisingly unknown and underrated until today.Calvin Bernard Rhone, a native of Los Angeles, has been ministering in word and song for more than 40 years throughout the US and abroad. He acknowledges that he is passionate about music; yet purposed for ministry. Beginning his professional singing career at age eight, he has shared the stage with possibly every major Gospel artist from the 60’s to present.In 1983, he released the album Intimate Friends on his own label, C.B.R. Records. Recently discovered by DJ and collector Charles Maurice, the LP has never received the attention and fame it deserves. It was anyway obvious for the DJ and Favorite Recordings, that some of the tracks it includes would for sure become real classics for all Disco and Funk music lovers and deejays.Officially licensed to Calvin B. Rhone himself, it’s today reissued for the first time, as a 3 tracks vinyl single.

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present a brand new compilation series: Fusion Global Sounds. 9 rare and hidden tracks produced between 1970 and 1983 in various parts of the world. As a fine collector of Jazz-Funk and Fusion for many years, Charles Maurice selected some of his favorite forgotten productions, as he previously did for the AOR Global Sounds, French and Brazilian Disco Boogie Sounds compilations series.This time, recordings come from Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand, Uruguay, Spain and France, from artists and bands mostly known in their local scenes. You'll hear here the best elements of the Fusion and Jazz-Funk genre: breezy vocal arrangements reminding Flora Purim in Return To Forever or George Duke's albums, sweet and virtuosic Fender Rhodes (kind of common thread of the comp), melodic spiral-shaped fuzzy synthesizers leads, or irresistible basslines, altogether bringing a unique groove to life."Buster" is taken from the first and only album of the Swedish band, Sundance. The band from Gothenburg was formed around US trumpet player Stephen Frankevich (notably playing with Mahavishnu Orchestra) after he moved to Sweden. Cosmic, with razor-sharp rhythms, it naturally brings you to the second title, "Hello Mr. Ancuvis" by Renato Anselmi. One of the key players of the Swiss Jazz scene during the sixties and the seventies, Renato also had the chance to play with Harvey Mason or Alphonso Johnson. Funky, jazzy but still a bit breezy, here again sweet vocals nicely blend with uptempo Rhodes part. Also included is another title from Renato Anselmi, "Quiet Fire", a mellow Rhodes-driven ballad with funky accents, wide strings and guitar arrangements."Tropical Island" by Zane Cronje, a South-African composer and arranger, was initially a track from a music library catalogue: dreamy, soaked in thorough synthesizers, we're only attached to the earth by the Guiro groove. You'll also hear this cosmic vibe in "Astral Dance" by French-American drummer and Jazz musician/composer Daniel Bechet, taken from Songs To My Father LP, dedicated to his father the famous Sax/Clarinet player Sydney Bechet. In this 4 minutes dope jam, keys, guitar and percussion will elevate your mind to another level of consciousness: deep!The 1860 Band was hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, playing mostly in bars, cafes and pubs - their name is taken from a tavern where they had an extended afternoon residency keeping the clients entertained. Their sole LP, now rare and sought-after, was a nice mix of Jazz-Funk and Disco grooves. Their amazing and groovy cover of "Keep That Same Old Feeling" by The Crusaders, brings the best of their playing.Otroshakers was formed around Hugo and Osvaldo Fattoruso, as a tribute project to their former band Los Shakers, some sort of copycat band of The Beatles with great success in Latin America. Listening to "Siempre Tu", you can almost hear The Beatles' psychedelic vocal of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Later joining Ringo Thielmann in the US, they formed the band OPA together, after having recorded for Airto's seminal album Fingers. Blending Jazz, South-American musical elements and Funk, their fusion quickly gained the respect of the NY musical scene. "Despertar" by Spanish drummer, singer and actor Pedro Ruy-Blas, is taken from Luna Llena, his great first Jazz-Funk album. The track is a funky piece with wah-wah expressive Rhodes, ending with a beautiful flute solo. "Prologue" by Dutch-French pianist Majoie Hajary (sometimes called the "Hindu pianist"), can be found on La Passion Selon Judas, a very unique religious album blending her own style with Psych, Funk and Jazz elements.Surely we could continue detailing stories of all these gems, but we guess that the best way to learn more about them, is to listen to Fusion Global Sounds, fully remastered from originals and whether your preference is for vinyl or CD formats.