Kingdom of Kaffa
K'ut'iri

Welcome return for this very sought-after rare electro 12' from tiny Harlem label Express Records. Big with the Cosmic crowd as well as on the early hiphop scene, this is an extremely cool low-slung synth-heavy electro groover with a hypnotically smooth lead vocal, given a sharp percussive edge by the rattling congas and ticky-time chorus. Written at a time in rap music history when the introduction of synthesizer technology created a wild flurry of creativity, this futuristic track by Barry Michael Cooper (who went on to write the screenplays for movies New Jack City and Above The Rim) was Teletron's only ever release. Film's gain was sadly music's loss as this was, and still is, a boundary-pushing, floor-filling monster. Don't sleep!

Here at Cultures of Soul, we haven’t let the doldrums of 2020 slow down our global exploration across space and time to discover the funkiest pockets of music culture the world has to offer! This time we make a pitstop in Jakarta, in the years between 1979 and 1991—the peak of the New Order.No, not the British electronic post-punk band that enjoyed great success during this same period (although synthpop is quite popular here) but the revolutionary government of President Suharto, which could be characterized as a “dictatorship”… along with all the political repressiveness that entails. However, at the same time, Suharto’s full-throated advocacy of foreign trade resulted in a new economic buoyancy, an expansion of tourism and culture industries, and a flourishing of the entertainment sector. Suharto aggressively courted western corporations to do business in Indonesia, which led to the need for more and more entertainment to distract the expatriates after hours. Jakarta became a wonderland of colorful discotheques, nightclubs and restaurants that merged traditional Indonesian ambience with the sexy ultramodern pulse of the disco beat.While imported disco records dominate playlists, a local music scene has developed in parallel, with indigenous artists like Chaseiro, Rafika Duri, The Rollies and Lydia Kandou embracing the use of synthesizers and drum machines, modern studio production and influences from western pop, rock, funk, boogie, disco, jazz, yacht rock as well as Japanese “City Pop.” And from all this they are forging a distinctive Indonesian dance-pop sound that will largely remain hidden from the rest of the world… until now.Compiled by Munir Septiandry of the influential Indonesian DJ collective Midnight Runners, Tanamur City collects some of the high points of the latter part of this era, conjuring up a world of humid nights in packed discos, no-holds-barred genre blending, fun, fashion and funkiness of a kind never before seen in Southeast Asia… and seen rarely since.

✺ One of the most popular TSG Records✺ Japanese OBI-strip✺ Limited pressing"In another highly anticipated reissue from the vaults of the legendary 70s label TSG, P-VINE will be reissuing Reality’s unknown classic Disco Party on its RARE GROOVE imprint. Almost nothing is known about the band apart from their association with TSG, and the label’s divine touch that picked out the best unknown musicians from New York’s bustling funk and soul scene. This reissue is no exception and is packed with funk and disco jams that surely excite RARE GROOVE fans and delight those recently enjoying the reissues of Tomorrow’s People. The rapturous opener “Reality” gets the party underway with an extended groove-ridden jam, rich with domineering organs and slick funk guitars. The high-pace energy of the track bursts through and rushes the next. On tracks like “Movin & Groovin” where they calm the dynamics, they do so at no cost to the onwards movement and progression, a trait the album shares with the motorik drum-beat of krautrock records. From start to finish this is one album that doesn’t let up its commitment to party spirit.