Tony Allen La Boa
La Boa Meets Tony Allen

Saigon Supersound is delighted to present the 3rd and final volume of its pre-1975 Southern Vietnamese music collection. A curated collection of music from Saigon during the 1960s and early 1970s. The music has been restored and remastered in order to present listeners with audio quality on par with its original quality upon release more than half a century ago. The first few songs in this Volume are songs Vietnamese people used to call “Stimulus Music” or “Action Music”. These are songs that borrow vibrant melodies, inspired by the west, performed by the best representatives of this genre. In addition, this volume includes songs, famous in clubs both past and present like “Nếu Anh Về Bên Em” by Mai Hương and “Hình Ảnh Người Em Không Đợi” by Thanh Lan.Many believe that "Southern Golden Music" is just popular music, simply because it "pleases the listener". Volume 3 include melodies most Vietnamese might have considered “unpopular”, but popular with “golden music” lovers. Today, people often call “gold music” bolero music, because this is the most popular style found in this golden era of music. In this volume, Saigon Supersound have selected typical bolero songs like,“Hàn Mặc Tử” sang by Trúc Mai, as well as, “Nắng Chiều” by Lê Trọng Nguyễn. In addition to the variety of melodies, Volume 3 also shows the diversity of genres found in old Southern music by introducing songs that praise the homeland such as “Tình Reo Trên Sóng Lúa Vàng” by Thanh Lan, praising peace in “Xin Cho Tôi Giấc Mộng Bình Yên” by Thanh Tuyền, witty music in “Cậu Cả Lên Thành” by Connie Kim. Volume 3 closes with the song “Xuân Muộn” (Late Spring), performed by Hoàng Oanh. The song talks about the end of a lunar year - a cycle of heaven and earth, the end of sad stories and opens up new hopes for more positive things to come.Finally, the face of the movie star Kiều Chinh is chosen to grace the cover image of Saigon Supersound 3rd Volume. Although she may not have had any direct relations related to music, more than 50 years ago, Kiều Chinh's image appeared many times on the covers of various music sheets. The image of Kiều Chinh was chosen for the mix of Eastern and Western cultures present in her life and career that mirrored the music of that era. These songs, with melodies originating from Europe, the Americas and Africa have been an integral part of Vietnamese music since the 1960s.

Born from a French mother and a father with a Burkina bé/Senegalese dual nationality, Jennifer Zonou aKa Hawa has been rocked in music from an early age. As a DJ addicted to all kind of grooves, her father passed on his genuine love and great vinyls collection of Rap, Soul, Funk, Jazz, Afrobeat, or Reggae music. While her mother, keen on American Folk and Pop, gave her awareness and sensibility for the beautiful melodies and songwriting of artists such as Rickie Lee Jones.Yet it was not until 2000 that Jennifer began her singing career. A native of Macon (near Lyon, France), it was after she met with IPM, a Hip-Hop group from Lyon, that she gained confidence in her skills and decided to start within the best schools possible: Gospel. Thus she joined the choir called “Héritage Soul” (Soul Legacy), where she connected with Raphael Chambouvet, keyboard in the choir and in many projects of the Lyon’s music scene such as CHK, or later Mr Day. At that time, her voice could be spoted on many Hip-Hop projects from Lyon, including Dialect Music, Casus Belli and therefore IPM, but it’s only when she entered a new choir, "Precious Voices," that Jen took another turn in her carreer. She then rised in a Nu-Soul duo act called Ebony Source, whose album will certainly never be released, but which will allow her to tour seriously and to open for top French artists such as Diam's or Wallen, but also for international names such as Lizz McComb. Jennifer then begins to work solo with her old mate Raph, who has since continued to play in bands such as Mr Day and who quickly liaised her with Favorite Recordings label (Dynamics Onra, The Funk League Solomko Andre, ...) and his founder Pascal Rioux. A new Hawa was born, raising the challenge of writing in English with surprising ease. Very soon the first demos come alive, including "Sweet Lucky Day", wich will later be found as the B-side of her first single "DANCE ", released in 2009. In the meantime, she also meets with Bruno "Patchworks" Howart (Metropolitan Jazz Affair, Uptown Funk Empire, Mr Day, Mr President, ...) at a concert in Lyon in 2008. International reknown within the indy Soul/Funk music scene, Patchworks is immediately attracted and offers to produce her some songs. Coming next is a first acclaimed 7inch mentioned above and several appearances alongside Mr Day and Mr President, then naturally followed by the common desire to sail further. The result is called ‘My Little Green Box’, first album by Hawa due for release on June 6th 2011 on Favorite Recordings. Mainly produced by Patchworks, MLGB is naturally imbued with the Soul/Funk touch which made his success and fame. But the album is also deeply led by Jennifer’s eclectic influences, and each of its 11 songs is the result of a true joint effort between her, Bruno, and Raph on some tracks like "Full of Love." Above all, this mysterious “green box" contains 11 great groovy nuggets and reveals a fully uninhibited Hawa. She impresses first thanks to a natural musicality gained through her years of Gospel, but also makes her own imprint with an approach to writing and rhythm very inspired by her long passion for Rap. In the wake of the Queen Sharon Jones and all her Soul daughters such as Nicolle Willis or Giselle Smith, Hawa could well find her place in the circle of the international top Soul Sista, thanks to this first attempt without a fault. Now we hope you’ll feel the same!!

Happy Milf Records are proud to present Tony Cook’s The Lost Tapes Vol. 1, a 4 track EP, consisting of all original Modern Funk/Proto-House previously unreleased songs. The legendary Tony Cook, one of the most influential artists of Funk music, and James Brown’s drummer, has produced many great records since the early 80’s, from Boogie, Electro Funk, and House Music.This EP showcases the versatility of Tony Cook’s creative repertoire and is a testament to his very unique style of production.

** Available exclusively at The Pusher **Comet Records present the new release out of the Comet new reissue series, Noel McGhie’s only full-length LP, released in France in 1975 at cult private label Disques Esperance! A true rare groove classic, a one-of-a-kind spiritual jazz funk record with a fusion touch. Includes ‘Trapeze’, ‘Dancer’ and ‘Mademoiselle Tuloch’.

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 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 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.Today, Lucas Arruda and Favorite Recordings proudly present a brand new single, announcing the release of Lucas’ third efforts later this year, and pursuing the music direction set with SOLAR, mixing influences of Blue-Eyed-Soul, Pop, Soul and Brazilian styles together.In Lucas words: “These two tracks represent the whole spirit of the new album. 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!”