Golden Shadow b/w Preaching To The Choir
In 2019, The Mighty Mocambos returned in fine form with their new album “2066”, played a storming European tour and celebrated a colourful year delivering their own true style of funk, Afro, hip hop with cinematic compositions and storytelling.The mean streets groove and furious drums versus car chase workout of “Golden Shadow” and the joyous instrumental stomper “Preaching To The Choir” were soon identified as DJ favourites. So here they are on glorious golden 7inch vinyl to jumpstart in 2020 with.
MLP 1010 :: THE MIGHTY MOCAMBOS
2066
In a world awash with negativity and fear, you are invited to climb aboard the Mocambo mothership where all colours and creeds are celebrated. The Mighty Mocambos have returned – stronger, tighter and hungrier than ever. Carrying blistering funk lines in their fingers and worldly influences in their hearts, the unique and distinctive Mocambo sound is not one to be confused with retro bands trying to recapture an era.
Eschewing traditional recording methods, this DIY crew are committed to driving forwards, and 2066 sees them at the height of their powers, broadcasting a call for unity.
After reaching new audiences worldwide and earning critical praise for their two long players on Brooklyn’s Big Crown Records in their tropical guise as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the band have reassembled and refocused in their original form, the workhorses behind dozens of 45s on the Mocambo label and beyond. Crossing generations, this album introduces some of the world’s youngest funk talent to step up and rub shoulders with soul and rap legends, soul sisters, an elder statesman composer/arranger and a brand new emerging artist out of New York.
As with all Mocambo releases, the two sides of the record have been meticulously sequenced by the band. Side A welcomes us aboard with joyous instrumental stomper Preaching To The Choir, and a call to build bridges from Mocambo chanteuse and percussionist Nichola Richards, duetting with emerging rap talent, NewYork MC JSwiss.
B-girls and b-boys are called to the dancefloor as Superstrada and Concrete Stardust commence, all buzzing synth lines and relentless drums. New Jersey legend and Big Crown associate Mr Lee Fields is guest of honour for Where Do We Go From Here before a horn workout brings us to a close with Macumba. It’s time for a breather.
The B side kicks off with the grand return of the Golden Girl of Funk, Gizelle Smith, a sister who’s been busy taking on the world. Composer and presenter Peter Thomas narrates a Return To Space to mark the centenary of the debut of his score to sci-fi show Space Patrol, which first broadcast in 1966. We’re back down to Earth and the mean streets for the furious drums and car chase workout of Golden Shadow.
Today slows down the pace for a reflective ballad with Nichola front and centre – and here’s the next generation: the Mocambo Kidz sing along to their parents’ instrumentation for Here We Go, a new kids’ block party anthem… with no sleep ‘til bedtime. The album closer makes it clear that the Mocambos are nowhere near powering down as Ice T and Charlie Funk bring their A-game for an old school attack which, since you’re up bouncing anyway, gives you no excuse not to flip the LP and drop the needle right back on to Side A. Onwards!
A summation of their journey so far and a celebration in anticipation of what’s to come, the album is set
to take its place in a legacy of open minded, organically recorded music, showering listeners with the crew’s maze of tantalising sounds pulled from funk, afro, hip hop with cinematic composition and storytelling.
45-1051 :: SUN ATLAS
The Mystic Parade b/w Grand Theft
Little is known about the ensemble that is Sun Atlas. It’s not certain whether you’d find them in Los Angeles, New York, Addis Ababa, Marrakesh or in outer space. Maybe non, maybe all of the above. Their only proof of existence is banned on this 45. Their razor-sharp mixture of afrobeat, ethiojazz, surf, cinematic soul, crime jazz & funk/hiphop breaks speaks for itself. Only on vinyl.
45-1050 :: ELEVEN76
Solar Flame / Ulysses 3000 b/w Star Equalizer / Cosmogony
Original library synth funk sci-fi soundtracks. This promo EP from the vaults of Warner Chappell’s production music archive offers four more tracks from Eleven76’s mystique Space Voyage recordings. Originally intended for film synchronisation usage as part of Warner’s music library, their unique mélange of analog synthesizers, breakheavy drumming, trippy fx and euphoric-melancholic instrumental fantasies has gained them a cult following among witty beatmakers, DJs, cratediggers, tape recording freaks and space age afficionados.
Produced by Paul Elliott, director of The Library Music Film, this promotional vinyl 45 was made to support the library album SPACE VOYAGE and to make the music available outside of film usage. Limited quantities available as most of the pressing is used as giveaway for clients in film, TV and advertising.
Big Crown Records (USA) :: BC058 :: BACAO RHYTHM RHYTHM & STEEL BAND
Great To Be Here b/w All 4 Tha Ca$h
By popular demand, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is back with another must have of a two sider. Two tracks finding their way to vinyl for the first time that were cut during The Serpents Mouth sessions but only made it to the cd and digital release. A lot of people wrote us asking for it, and here it is, a 7 inch release that lives at the intersection of Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop.
The A side is Bacao’s crushing cover of the Jackson 5’s B-Boy classic “Great To Be Here”. A tune that a lot of people proba- bly thought had steel pans on the original version, a miscon- ception that lead to BRSB choosing it for their inimitable treatment. They open the tune with a chunky open drum break that gives way to the steel pan work banging out the infec- tious and instantly recognizable guitar lines from the J5’s version.
The B side finds Bacao diggin deeper into the hip hop crates again and coming up with a monster of a Gang Starr track to cover. Taking on their underground street anthem they cut for their Full Clip compilation, “All 4 Tha Ca$h”. BRSB tease the tune in with the two top notes of the riff for the first 8 bars catching listeners ears and giving the DJs a record to work with. When the whole riff drops and they give away what the tune is they are covering awww shits & ooooooohs are sure to be heard out in the crowd.
MLP 1009 :: ERIC BOSS
A Modern Love
DJ, producer, singer-songwriter, one-half of world-touring soul duo Myron & E (Stones Throw), founder of boogie outfit The Pendletons (Bastard Jazz), part of electro-funk duo Lucid Paradise, and an endless string of collabos. Over 2 decades in the game means multi-faceted artist Eric Boss knows his way around music. Having been there, done that, gotten the t-shirt and watched the fat lady sing, it’s finally time for E to take center stage and deliver his finest effort yet with solo record “A Modern Love”, an effervescent collection of raw funk, sweet soul, west coast vibes and classic hip hop, produced by Björn Wagner and Steffen Wagner (The Mighty Mocambos / Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band).
“A Modern Love” has all the ingredients of a future classic. High-profile guests? Check: with Gift Of Gab (Blackalicious) rapping on “I Wanna Ride”, a track with more bounce than a lowrider chevy on Santa Monica boulevard, and soul siren Gizelle Smith featuring on “Spiders”, a spooky number that will get you jumping out of your seat like you’ve been attacked by giant 8-legged arachnids.
Need some dancefloor action? “Get Next To You” gets down to serious bizniz with crisp drums and a catchy hook guaranteed to get the partystarted.
Something for lovers? We’ve got it covered with “Is It Love”, where Eric waxes lyrical about his sweetheart over a honey-drenched soul beat.
From reggae-flavored vibes being served in inspirational number “Your Life Is Up to You” to the slow-burning grooves of “Merry Jane” which features singer Ishtar, the 10 tunes on “A Modern Love” all attest to Eric Boss’ talent and versatility.
Judging by how quickly the limited edition 45 of album opener “Closer To The Spirit” sold out when it was released, it seems safe to say Eric Boss is a king Midas with the golden touch when it comes to providing fresh grooves for contemporary ears, and “A Modern Love” is set to prove so once again.
45-1049 :: ELEVEN76
The Dark Side Of Pluto b/w Rocket Arp
Spaced-out library funk from the vaults of Warner/Chappell Production Music. Eleven76 create a time-travelling soundtrack to orbital adventures with heavy drumbreaks and analog synthesizers, perfect for intergalatic breakdance battles and cosmic dancefloors alike.
Exclusive promotional vinyl 45 to support the library album SPACE VOYAGE. Limited quantities available as most of the pressing is used as a giveaway for clients in film, TV and advertising.
45-1048 :: ICE-T & CHARLIE FUNK vs. MIGHTY MOCAMBOS
Bounce That Ass (RMX) b/w Instrumental
A collabo you couldn’t make up. Ice-T & Charlie Funk team up with Hamburg’s Mighty Mocambos for a funked up version of their single “Bounce That Ass”, blending old school west coast vibes with raw funk recorded live to tape, guaranteed to get every dancefloor busy.
Ice-T & Afrika Islam aka Charlie Funk wrote history together. They made countless platinum LPs, won grammys and oscars and shaped rap music as we know it today with albums like “Rhyme Pays” and “Power”. Here they reunite for the fun(k) of it, celebrating the motion of hips like only they could and the Mighty Mocambos once again leave no doubt about their status as absolute funk heavyweights and 45 champions.
Exclusive release on vinyl.
Big Crown Records (USA) :: BC063 :: BACAO RHYTHM RHYTHM & STEEL BAND
1 Thing b/w Hoola Hoop
2nd single off the album The Serpent’s Mouth.
“Following up on the massive success of their sophomore full length “The Serpent’s Mouth”, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is back with another dance floor classic.
Side A is their already infamous cover of Amerie’s smash hit “1 Thing”. Done up in what is now their signature fashion, they take on the break originally lifted from The Meters, and believe it or not….step it up a notch. Steel pans play her infectious vocal melody lines over the raucous and crushing drum track. This will have the dance floor turning to the booth in amazement and wonder as soon as the pans come in. An absolute essential for DJs across the globe.
The B Side, “Hoola Hoop” is a BRSB original tune, the stuff that B Boys dream about…Setting it off with a killer breakbeat intro that drops into pan hits and flute flourishes, never losing the groove and full of energy. They trade off leads from flute to steel pans while running through turnarounds and drum fills building more energy the whole time like a snowball rolling down a mountain headed right for the speakers.”
Big Crown Records (USA) :: BC055 :: BACAO RHYTHM RHYTHM & STEEL BAND
The Serpent’s Mouth
Following up on the massive worldwide success of their debut album 55, Bacao Rhythm & Steel band is back with another heavy duty offering. Picking up where they left off and incorporating a ton of new recording techniques they take a huge step forward with The Serpent’s Mouth. Named after the eight-mile strait between the island of Trinidad and the coast of Venezuela, The Serpent’s Mouth is a journey through both originals and covers, combining classic elements that wide-eared music fans already know, and mashing them up in new and unique ways.
Take “1 Thing” – on it, the group attacks the galloping, chopped Amerie smash hit, with singing pans that follow the R & B vocal. The sound is crisp and up-front, arguably more muscular than the 2005 original. On “Great To Be Here,” they take on the Jackson 5 B-Boy favorite (which stretches back to the Zulu Nation / Bronx block party days) – uncoincidentally, the original version featured a guitar lick that emulated a steel pan run. Here, it gets an even more pulsating groove, adding open-drums breaks throughout, to get DJs salivating. The group veers through more inventively-constructed covers as the album’s sequence continues, including Gang Starr’s “All For The Cash”; Mary J. Blige’s “I Love You”; and the recently unleashed first single, “XXplosive” and “Burn,” paying tribute to both Dr. Dre and Mobb Deep for a bi-coastal funk party. And, as band leader Bjorn Wagner states, “My favorite cover on the album is probably ‘Crockett Theme,’ which is the theme to ‘Miami Vice.’ I always loved the melody, and the cosmic vibe of the song, and I was honestly surprised that it worked without synthesizers.”
This time around the group’s originals are even stronger, as evidenced by cuts like the flute-fueled break-fest of “Hoola Hoop”; the slow and spacey “Touchdown”; and the album’s title track, the future-epic-adventure-movie-soundtrack cut “The Serpent’s Mouth.” Wagner explains, “I wrote the song with Bernhard Hummer as an instrumental fantasy story – think of pirates, smugglers and a dangerously beautiful sea passage towards the island. It became an allegory for our mind travels into the world of the steel pan.”
The Serpent’s Mouth is sure to please past fans and newly-minted ones alike. It seems like a new era for Steel Drum music is upon us, and Bacao is firmly leading the way into the hearts of music fans around the world. Another Big Crown Records Sureshot…