Kool & The Gang
Rags To Riches

Yes Amigos!The Debut Album "Latin Freaks" by Funkool Orchestra is finally out!Get ready for another dose of Neapolitan Funky Disco Boogie madness with a Latin touch and a glorious featuring by the one and only Latin soul King : JOE BATAAN.The Long Playing is a mixture of Rare Grooves, Napoli Sound, Disco Boogie, Latin Soul and Boogaloo, ideal for a trip to Nueva York and back to Naples just to say hello to your Puertorican uncle Manolito "Gennaro" Marròn.A gozar!

✺ 180gram HQ pressing on Seaside Blue blue colored wax.✺ Old school style tip-on sleeve & insert.✺ Lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.✺ First-time vinyl reissue.Safari was a jazz-fusion unit led by keyboardist Toshiyuki Daitoku, who had recorded with the likes of George Otsuka and Mukai Shigeru, and Gregg Lee, a Californian who had previously played in fusion bands such as Caldera and Native Son.Their eponymous debut album ended up being the band’s sole release. It included the track ‘Safari’, which was used as the signal song for a sports program on Fuji TV at the time. Released in 1984, the album itself is a hidden gem of AOR / jazz-fusion, showcasing mellow grooves and lush vocal harmonies.Standout tunes include the funky ‘The Morning After’, replete with the buoyant poolside vibes of midsummer, the Latin funk number ‘Brass Monkey’, and the mellow funk of ‘All Right in The Night'. Aside from of this album, Safari recorded a number of BGM tracks for the for the same label before disbanding. While this might explain the lack of due recognition for the band, more recently they have attracted a following among DJs and fans of the newly ascendant City Pop / Mellow Groove genres. After a steady stream of requests from them, the long-awaited reissue is finally here!

✺ Originally released in 1978✺ Pressed on light green vinyl.✺ Cut from the original master tapes.Yoichi Takizawa's revered album "Leonids No Kanata Ni," celebrated as a mystical masterpiece, is now hitting the shelves in a fresh vinyl reissue !This album, hailed as a pinnacle of city pop music, showcases the genius of Hiroshi Sato's arrangements and Yoichi Takizawa's melodic prowess. The roster of participating musicians includes luminaries such as Shuichi Murakami, Tatsuo Hayashi, Jun Aoyama on drums, alongside Shigeru Suzuki, Tsunehide Matsuki, Masaki Matsubara, Yuji Toriyama on guitar, Hiroshi Sato on keyboards, Naoya Matsuoka on acoustic piano, Kenji Takamizu, Hiroki Ito on bass, and others.This analog reissue has been meticulously crafted from the original master tapes, utilizing high-spec sound data digitally converted to 96KHz/24bit. Manufactured at the Sony Music factory in Japan, the vinyl is pressed in a striking transparent yellow-green hue.

Not just a super-rare set of dreamy soul jazz but also a neat piece of independent label history: JSR were a Jersey-based imprint with an open source attitude to their business, allowing ambitious young musicians their first break contract-free (albeit with limited pressings) In 1980 Coleman took them up on the offer, played most of the instruments himself and even designed the artwork: Taking Care Of Business is quite a literal title. It's literally brilliant, too; just check the Shuggy style vocal leans on "Due Consideration" or the swooning Roy Ayers style vibraphone magic of "Sweet Bird" and you'll see exactly what we mean. Stunning.