Marcos Valle
Nova Bossa Nova

Slowaxx is the solo project and live band created by Riccardo Chiarucci, a music producer, arranger and composer based in Tuscany (Italy). His first album ‘‘Shapes Interfusion’’ features a unique blend of jazz, electronic music and hip-hop, recorded with a collective of musicians and the rapper Young A.M.A.The creative process of the album involves a mix of home-studio production and live recorded sessions. Starting from ideas and demos from Riccardo, all tracks are the result of collaborative jams with musicians bringing their own styles and perception to the table. These sessions created a dialogue of personal vibrations, blending together to emerge as a collective sound.Opening the album, the track « Emoyeni » (a Zulu word for wind, soul and spirit) is a handful of thoughts fluttering in the air, expressed through a Rhodes jam played by Luca Sguera and conversing with sharp electronic drums. The following title « Y.B.A » is an electronic jazz session featuring rapper Young A.M.A. The provocative and ego-driven lyrics add a layer of complexity to this atmospheric production beside beautiful improvisations on the second part. Both tracks start as relaxed flights but step up to drive more excitement throughout the journey.Another highlight of the album is the track « Femmes », a tribute to women and an appeal against gender inequality. It features a speech from Emma Watson, drawing a line on a carpet of lounge, soul sounds and 90s sampled drums. A touching, soft electronic jazz ballad offering the perfect opening for B side.Tracks « Pantere Rosee » and « Stazione Funk » complete both sides with their own aesthetics. The first offers a pure Rhodes, bass and synth jam built on programmed acoustic drums. It’s a cartoon-esque, never-ending chase into very colourful sounds. The latter goes in the opposite way with a deconstructed sampled 90s drums, acid sounds and grooves. It is the most experimental track of the album, bringing a harsh balance to an overall chill and warm sound.Young A.M.A. returns on the ending track « No Secret » to openly express his approach and views on hip-hop while the instrumental part is built as an astral travel with multi layered keyboards echoing to a heavy bassline played by Jury Maccianti.« Shapes Interfusion » delivers a unique and thought-provoking listening experience. Not only it invites listeners on a sonic journey at the crossroads of music styles, but it is also the result of a unique creative process. By mixing live recorded sessions of improvised jams, written music and pre-recorded home-production, Riccardo Chiarucci confronted his ideas to the personalities, knowledge and feelings of seven musicians, one rapper, and their creative shapes, fused into one musical experience: Shapes Interfusion

Following the success of the 'Tokyo Glow' compilation, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Japanese Tokyo-based DJ Notoya to dig the rich Electric Bird catalogue and come with a versatile selection of sunny Jazz-Funk gems recorded between 1978 and 1987 for the label. A tasty selection featuring Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshiyuki Honda and Mikio Masuda, together with a few American musicians such as Ronnie Foster and Bobby Lyle. Most tracks make their vinyl debut outside of Japan and the album has been designed by Optigram/Manuel Sepulveda and is annotated by DJ Notoya. Audio newly remastered in Tokyo by King Records. Japanese Funk expert DJ Notoya is back with a superb selection of Nippon Jazz-Funk picked from the cult label Electric Bird. A sub-label from the venerable Japanese label King Records, Electric Bird was set up in 1977 to cater for the booming Nippon Jazz Funk audience that King - as the Japanese licensee for such US jazz labels at Blue Note or CTI - had grown for years. ​Taking advantage of their experience and the many contacts King had garnered through their American partners, Electric Bird, headed by in-house producer Shigeyuki Kawashima, decided to apply the same formula to their new label. As Notoya writes in the liner notes "The US labels' blend of “crossover jazz” - led by such big selling artists like Bob James and Earl Klugh - began to gain a huge following domestically and internationally, King felt the need to get into the arena themselves and start producing fusion jazz recorded by Japanese artists."Kawashima began signing a new wave of jazz musicians from Japan, putting them in state-of-the-art Tokyo or New York studios and backing them with the best American and Japanese players in order to shape the slick, sun-drenched jazz funk sound that would be Electric Bird's signature sound. With "Funk Tide," DJ Notoya aimed at showcasing the diversity of the label's output, from the funky opener "In The Sky" by Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno (who plays keyboards here) to the sunshine mid-tempo groove of sax player Toshiyuki Honda's "Living in a City" featuring Paulinho Da Costa on perc via Mikio Masuda's Fender Rhodes-infected "Let's Get Together."​Electric Bird also signed a young sax player, Yasuaki Shimizu found here with the soulful "Summer Time" from his album "Far East Express" recorded at Electric Lady Studio in New York in July 1979. For good measure, the label also signed a few well-known American musicians including Ronnie Foster whose "Night Life" has a distinctive 80s funk feel and David Matthews with the Crusaders-esque "Special Delivery" featuring David Sanborn. ​One of "Funk Tide's" highlights is certainly Katsutoshi Morizono's "Space Traveller" from 1978, a remake of James Vincent's eponymous cult classic recorded two years before with some of Earth Wind And Fire's musicians and which has since become a favourite on the groove scene. Faithful to Vincent's beautiful laid-back, breezy original, Morizono's rendition add its own spice to it, and ending Notoya's skilled selection of the cutting-edge Electric Bird label on a perfect note.Funk Tide - Tokyo Jazz-Funk From Electric Bird 1978-87 de Various

A new album by legendary Estonian pianist Tõnu Naissoo, accompanied by his new group Tõnu Naissoo Electric Trio !Accompanied by his synthesizers and two of the best Estonian jazz musicians, bassist Mihkel Mälgand and drummer Ahto Abner, Tõnu Naissoo began recording his album “Different Directions” in the autumn of 2019 at the legendary Linnahall studio that he had booked for that purpose several years in advance. The new tracks he composed for the album flow from jazz-rock to smooth jazz, lingering briefly on the frequency of free jazz.The popular Estonian jazz pianist Tõnu Naissoo was born in Tallinn, Estonia in 1951. His father Uno Naissoo was a renowned composer and an organizer of jazz festivals, who encouraged Tõnu to take an interest in jazz and improvisation. By the age of 15 he had already begun participating in local jazz orchestra. He performed first time with his trio and presented his jazz music compositions at the international Tallinn Jazz Festival of 1967 in Tallinn. The next year he was given an opportunity to record his own album. Since then he has dedicated himself to jazz music and recorded around 30 albums that have been released in Estonia, Japan and Russia. Most of his earliest recordings have been reissued in recent years.“Different Directions” feels like Tõnu Naissoo’s ’missing piece’ album from the 1980s. It will be a worthy addition to Tõnu Naissoo’s and Frotee’s discography.

"Go Ahead" by Tatsuro Yamashita is a true gem of Japanese pop music, and now it's available on black vinyl for the ultimate listening experience.Originally released in 1987, "Go Ahead" is a showcase of Yamashita's versatility as a musician, with a blend of genres including pop, funk, and even rock. The album includes hits like "Big Wave," "Windy Lady," and "Daydream," which have become staples of Yamashita's repertoire.This limited edition black vinyl release features a high-quality remaster of the original album, complete with a full-color inner sleeve and exclusive liner notes. The sleek design captures the essence of Yamashita's music, with its catchy melodies and guitar riffs.Experience the magic of Tatsuro Yamashita's "Go Ahead" like never before with this essential LP release. Order now and add this masterpiece to your collection of Japanese pop music.✺ Originally released in 1978✺ Limited edition✺ Pressed on 180g black vinyl