This is an original copy of Roland Ray’s 1985 indie psych-pop LP, “Hot, Cold, & Blue”. Pressed as a micro edition, the majority of the copies have sat safely away in a flight case, untouched for nearly 40 years.
Fritz Bootle, Jr. (F.J.) created a unique blend of reggae and RNB while living on the Grand Bahama island in the early 90’s. Subtly inspired by the Compass Point balearic locus of the nearby island of New Providence, and locally by a flourishing scene of soca, reggae, and disco. He developed this sound to fill a gap he saw in popular music.
He was fortunate to marry into a family that gave him unlimited access to work in the legendary studio on Freeport, G.B.I. Recordings, run by Frank Penn. Always more of a passion project, he would come up with these in the evenings after work, finding a way to blend all his different influences (Bob Marley, George Duke, Teddy Riley, Journey…). Fooling around with Cubase he navigated his way to this magical deep bass sound and new jack style drum programming. “That’s The Way” is the retrospective collection of the best moments from his Bahamas chapter.
Kumasi was a group comprised of Ray Phiri, Jabu Sibumbe, Isaac Mtshali and Lloyd Lelosa. Sometime between their formation as The Cannibals (needing reissues) and the almighty group Stimela, Kumasi released one album and a couple of singles. The artists had contracts under Gallo and couldn’t reveal that they were linked to the music in any way, leading Kumasi to have only a brief mysterious run in the early 80s. But the secrets out! This release presents a collection of five songs from their incredibly rare full length LP, and adds to that their version of the South African classic, ‘Picnic’. Pressed as a 2x12” compilation, sounding incredible! Kumasi brings a unique blend of disco funk with that special South African tinge. Ray Phiri died in 2017 - this album goes out in his dedication. Release has four variations of the Protea flower sticker.
Aset was a collective founded by a group of individuals deeply involved in community improvement initiatives and the struggle for justice and equality. A project that would link motivated adults with talented young people in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
The compilation takes songs from three released projects of Aset, and one semi-unreleased single. Latonya, a spunky 11 year old kid singing about divorce, love, and dancing. The poster child of Aset. Treo, a trio of high school gals in harmony singing about love and relationships. Whax, the high school boys who were a bit stranger; the silly side of Aset. All backed by The Aset Players.
Release comes housed in a newly designed jacket with inner sleeve containing info on the label/artists and an interview with the label director, Mba Mbulu.
For our first release we connect with the Moroccan born, French based rapper, Shams Dinn. What started as an effort to re-release what we believed to be his only recorded song, “Hedi Bled Noum”, evolved into a compilation featuring six unreleased tracks from three distinct eras of his career. The package contains an inner sleeve displaying photos his supreme style + the text of a chat we had with him. Mastered from original tapes and housed in newly imagined jacket.
All tracks written by Ben Bouchta Mohammed. Mastering by Dan Elleson.
Distributed by Rush Hour (EU) and Séance Centre (NA).