Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band return with another set covers bound to get you out of your seat and on your feet. The mysterious German steel pan outfit is working on their fourth studio album now and treat us to another must have two-sider to hold us over while they finish it. This one is sure to become another favorite among DJs worldwide.
The A side finds BRSB taking on a
huge hit with an eerie cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling”. The intro
melodica hints at the melody and when the beat drops and the top line
plays on the pans all bets are off.
The B side is something of a Big Crown family affair as Bacao covers “Murkit Gem” from El Michels Affair’s Yeti Season
album. The tune lends itself to the pans with its infectious melodies
and the way BRSB plays it, it takes on a James Bond spy chase energy
that works perfectly.
Heroes Of Limbo strike again with two stunning interpretations of hiphop and R&B staples on one 45. The mystery funk collective took the scene by storm last summer with their flips on Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Don’t Sweat The Technique’ and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s ‘T.R.O.Y.’, moving all copies on release day. Here the reimagine the Beatnuts unmistakable ‘Watch Out Now’ and Aaliyah’s smash hit ‘Try Again’ in a their hypnotic, polyrhythmic afrobeat-inspired style. A sure shot double sided slice of musical pineapples.
Two killer breakdance bangers by Germany’s funk champions on one 45. The brand new exclusive studio cut ‘Breaker’ is a fierce b-boy battle anthem – imagine an electro track performed on organic instruments, like only the Mocambos would do it. Cracking drums, a relentless bassline, a Hohner Clavinet through a stereo phaser and tuned cowbells are topped with a horn section featuring gralla, a Catalan double reed horn with a siren-type sound, ready to ring the alarm. Featured on the flip side is their stunning cover version of Shannon’s ‘Let The Music Play’, standout track from their much celebrated live album ‘Scénarios’, now available on 45 to the great delight of all DJs.
Scénarios A unique longplayer by Germany’s Funk champions The Mighty Mocambos: ‘Scénarios’ is a wild journey through iconic performances captured on 8-track tape, including celebrated versions of breakdance favourites like ‘Axel F.’ And ‘Let The Music Play’ as well as brand new original material composed especially for recordings in unusual settings.
Hamburg’s deep funk chefs are known for their intuitive recordings that capture the energy of a live performance, and with this record they go all the way.
Just before the pandemic, the group recorded an in-store live session at legendary Hamburg record shop Groove City and taped an impromptu performance at JAM PDM! breakdance battle in Potsdam. Both were released on vinyl 45s, quickly sold out and became secret weapons for DJs.
While most bands shifted their stage to the studio in 2020, producing an abundance of isolated lockdown-inspired material, the Mighty Mocambos – never shy of an antidote – took the mobile version of their recording studio on the road.
With no audience allowed at the Pitt Hopkins Music Session charity concert, the group used the occasion to compose meditative folk-soul instrumentals to be performed exclusively on stringed instruments. Sweaty funk does not work via video stream, but the format provided a welcome opportunity to create something entirely different. Even without electricity and drums, the cinematic “Four Two Three” and “Silent Heroes” are unmistakably recognizable as Mocambo themes.
When you follow Nina Simone’s credo that an “artist’s duty is to reflect the times”, it became evident that once the world slowly started opening up again, further concerts would be captured on the group’s portable Fostex R-8 tape machine. Luckily, restrictions fell on the very evening that the band hit the open air stage at the Import Export in Munich on September 11th 2021. The extended afrobeat-inspired jam on J.J. Cale’s “Carry On” witnesses people celebrating and dancing together again for the first time after a year and the manic “Munich Psycholympics” unleashes all bottled-up energies that had being lying dormant.
The slightly kafka-esque “Ghost Walk” was taped during a soundcheck for a concert that was eventually called off for safety reasons, reflecting once more the uncertainty of the time. The last scénario sees the Mighty Mocambos returning to a packed indoor venue, playing “Let The Music Play” to a audience of b-boys and -girls – a testament to the sheer power of music. Featured as an encore here, an acoustic version of “Where Do We Go From Here?” (originally recorded with Lee Fields) closes the record and its restless voyage through unusual recording situations.
“Scénarios” differs drastically from other live albums as it does not seek to replicate existing material from studio albums. All songs were written or arranged especially for the live recordings in order to combine the group’s DJ-friendly trademark sound with added vibes and momentum from the audience. Most of them were recorded while they were performed in public for the first time ever.
Comes in gatefold sleeve & includes download voucher.
Heroes Of Limbo rework two hip-hop staples with stunning afrobeat arrangements. Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Don’t Sweat The Technique’ and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s ‘They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)’ are stripped to their instrumental essence with polyrhythmic drums and percussions, powered up by a massive big band brass section and going bonkers altogether. A sure shot double-sided winner for all DJs that want to leave their crowd guessing whether they’re taken to the streets of New York or to the Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria.
Donut chiefs The Mighty Mocambos return with triumphant funk workout “The Take Off” out on limited edition 45.
On the instrumental A-side, crunchy drums and percussion set off into a 7-minute breakbeat extravaganza where dramatic horns and psychedelic, fuzzed-out guitars build up to an epic finale.
On the flip, Nichola Richards chants soulfully before passing the baton to Brooklyn MC JSwiss, whose spoken word poetry takes the listener to another level, ready for take-off!
Another sure-shotwinner from the Mocambo camp, for all funk DJs and aficionados.
The Vicious Seeds from St. Petersburg have been putting out 45s with their blend of raw cinematic grooves and deep funk instrumentals for a while, here they introduce us to vibraphonist Pavel Chizhik, who adds his midas touch to the group’s well seasoned rhythm section. Reminiscent of early CTI recordings and – of course – Roy Ayers, the band delivers their own version of summer jazz dope beats, with sample-friendly drumbreaks, funky basslines, psych guitars and lush vibes. With communication to the group largely cut off or heavily censored, we leave it to the music to do the talking and spread the band’s message. “Make records, not war”.
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band follow up their 2021 Expansions album with another solid 7” offering.
The A side, “Represent,” is one of the stand out tracks from Expansions. BRSB covers the DJ Premier-produced Nas classic, taking the original and expanding the arrangement with guitar and brass riffs. Tuba chugs along the drum break while the steel pans hammer out the famously infectious melody of the original sample making this an easy winner in hip hop circles and beyond.
The B side is a non-album cut available on this 45 for the first time ever. Bacao covers the Mtume classic “Juicy Fruit,” made popular again when The Notorious B.I.G. sampled it for his smash hit “Juicy.” A sure head-turner when people realize they’re dancing along to a new version of the classic melody.
Favorite Recordings proudly presents the new 12″ of Magic Source. The all-star group around producer Björn Wagner (known also for his cosmic and tropical-flavoured disco music as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band and The Mighty Mocambos) creates here a hypnotic four-on-the-floor sound that is both earthy and spaced out and all their own.
Recorded on 16 track analogue tape with inexpensive vintage gear, the crew explores the more unusual facets of disco music off the beaten track in favour of more otherwordly and international stylings. In their music, one could hear echoes from lost tropical disco records, cinematic flavors from library soundtracks and a healthy dose of DIY garage funk rawness.
On A side, “Riviera Drive” is an extended Mediterranean disco groove based on hypnotic percussions and soulful horn themes that alternate with trippy keyboard excursions. The tune is equally at ease on the dancefloor as in a chill-out zone, but of course, prefers to be in its natural habitat in a classic car somewhere between Nice and Monaco.
On the flip, Tom Tom Club’s “Genius Of Love” is reimagined as a jazzy yacht soul instrumental with an echoed flute taking the lead. You’ll also find a shorter Radio Edit of “Riviera Drive”.
Mocambo Records is proud to present an official reissue of this uberrare piece of German psychedelic soul! Susan Avilés’ epic ‘Eine schöne Welt’ from 1970 is one of the toughest 45s to get hold of. With its dope wah-drumbreak-intro, lush orchestration and powerful vocal performance, the tune has deservedly turned from an obscure sleeper into one of the most wanted European rare grooves. On the flip side is the orchestral folk soul ‘Versuche zu versteh’n’ – an uptempo number with breakbeat drumming hidden behind a wall of sound that has become an obscure b-boy favourite.
Originally recorded for Abi Ofarim’s PROM Production and released by Philips with high hopes to establish Susan as a new star of an upcoming scene of young singers, ‘Eine Schöne Welt’ and the two follow up singles failed to chart – despite (or maybe due to) the extravagant production, socioconscious lyrics and the unique mix of psychedelic soul, bigband funk, chanson, folk & schlager.
Little is known about Susan Avilés. Born to a German mother, schlager lyricist Utta de Avilés, and a Spanish father in 1945, she started performing at an early age and released a few singles in the 1960s under the name Suzie Marcus. She had been romantically involved with Abi Ofarim at the time of the recordings in the early 1970s. After they parted ways, she had a brief stint with Donna Summer and Tony Gregory in the group Family Child, spent the rest of the 1970s in relative obscurity, returned with two chanson albums in the early 1980s and then vanished from the scene completely. Susan Avilés passed away in 2016, but we could get in touch with her husband Oliver Avilés-Lehnert, who encouraged us to do a re-release of these songs to ensure her legacy and bring these lost treasures back to the light of the day.
The record comes in a picture sleeve with original photos from the era – a picture showing Susan holding a copy of her own single and a shot for an autograph card to support the original release. Artwork & label design: Lasse Singlemann. The original recordings have been carefully remastered for this limited vinyl run by Michael Schütz. All audio and photography licensed from the family estate of Susan Avilés.
