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VA – Big Gold Dreams: A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989 (2019)
Following on the heels of the documentary film of the same name that covered the lively post-punk era in Scotland, Big Gold Dreams widens the scope and digs deeper than the film did. The five-disc set...
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VA – Nigeria 70: No Wahala: Highlife, Afro-Funk & Juju 1973-1987 (2019)
As part of their 20 th Anniversary celebrations, Strut present the first new volume in their pioneering ‘Nigeria 70’ series for over 8 years, bringing together rare highlife, Afro-funk and juju from...
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VA – Reggie Young: Session Guitar Star (2019)
Bobby Bland, King Curtis, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Joe Tex, Johnny Cash, Solomon Burke, Merle Haggard, Jackie DeShannon, James Carr… these are just a few of the many musical heavyweights whose...
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VA – Beneath the Tide: A Collection of Concertos (2019)
One of the more satisfying aspects of this collection is its symmetrical design, with a guitar concerto framed by two violin-centered settings and the trio bookended by two three-movement works, one...
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VA – Velvet Desert Music Vol. 1 (2019)
German electronic music label Kompakt is no stranger to annual curated compilations. So far it had Total, curated by Michael Meyer which presents new label talent mostly concentrating on house music,...
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VA – Soul Jazz Records Presents Fashion Records: Style & Fashion (2019)
Soul Jazz Records present this new collection of music from the great Fashion Records, one of the most important and iconic independent reggae labels to come out of the UK, and which ran from 1980 for...
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VA – Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs present Three Day Week: When the Lights Went...
Britain wasn’t on its own in having a thoroughly miserable 1973: O Lucky Man! and Badlands both found a great year to premiere; Watergate brought America to a new low. But America didn’t still have...
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VA – Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs present State of the Union: The American Dream...
Pay attention to the subtitle of Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs Present State of the Union: The American Dream in Crisis 1967-1973. That phrase hints at the turmoil in the United States as the Summer of...
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VA – Cipher (2019)
John Cage spent some of the summer of 1983 tracing the outlines of 15 stones onto paper. He was inspired to do so by the Ryoanji Temple rock garden, set in a rectangular landscape of raked sand, in...
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VA – Tokyo Flashback P.S.F. – Psychedelic Speed Freaks (2019)
Few label founders loom as large in the history of underground music as P.S.F Record’s Hideo Ikeezumi. Over three decades and more than 200 titles, Ikeezumi’s intensely critical ear guided and...
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VA – Mojo Presents: Motor City Soul (15 Nuggets That Made Detroit Move) (2019)
1. The Contours – The Stretch 2. Marv Johnson with the Band of Harold “Beans” Bowles – Once Upon a Time 3. The Miracles – Got a Job 4. The Ohio Untouchables – Love Is Amazing 5. Briant Holland –...
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VA – Gary Crowley’s Lost 80s (2019)
After last year’s excellent Punk and New Wave box set, broadcaster and DJ Gary Crowley has turned his attention to the 1980s, by curating a new four-CD and 3LP package called Gary Crowley’s Lost 80s....
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VA – This Is Trojan Rock Steady: The Sweet Soulful Sounds Of Jamaica (2018)
Prior to the advent of reggae towards the latter half of 1968, rock steady dominated Jamaica’s musical landscape, having superseded ska just two years earlier. Yet despite remaining island’s national...
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VA – This Is Trojan Box (2018)
On July 28th 1967, British-based Jamaican music company, Island Records launched a label to showcase the output of one of the most popular and successful producers of the ska and rock steady eras –...
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VA – Cumbia Beat Volume 3: 21 Peruvian Tropical Gems (2019)
Fifty years after the release of one of the founding records of the genre known as Peruvian cumbia (by guitar players Enrique Delgado Montes and Berardo Hernández ‘Manzanita’), Vampisoul presents this...
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VA – Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age (2019)
This new compilation showcases the breadth of music touched by psychedelia in the late 1960s whether it be pop, folk or rock. This eclectic mix of psychedelic masters is drawn from the Vanguard,...
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VA – Stick in the Wheel present From Here: English Folk Field Recordings...
There is a debate to be had about the slippery notion of belonging and the nature of place in creativity, and Stick in the Wheel are determined to have it. On 2017’s From Here: English Folk Field...
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VA – On the Detroit Beat! Motor City Soul, UK Style 1963-67 (2019)
It may seem unbelievable in 2019 but there was a time when Motown was not a household name in the UK. Around 40 Motown singles were released here between 1959 and 1964, not one making a dent in our...
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VA – Reggae Mandela (2019)
VP Records celebrates the life and legacy of the South African leader, Nelson Mandela, 100 years after his birth and 25 years after his election in April 1994 as President of South Africa. Released for...
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VA – Putumayo Presents: African Café (2018)
For many of us in The West, Rokia Traoré may be the most recognisable name featured on African Café, the latest compilation released by Putumayo World Music. The Malian singer-songwriter was featured...
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