Jackie McLean - Destination...Out! (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)

Reissue 180g Vinyl LP £19.99 Add to basket

Dispatch Date: Thursday 20th January 2022

By the time Jackie McLean began recording for Blue Note in 1959, the alto saxophonist had already been a stalwart of the NYC jazz scene for nearly a decade having spent the entirety of the 1950s cutting his teeth alongside bebop legends like Miles Davis and Charles Mingus. As the early 1960s progressed, McLean’s innovative hard bop sound began to take on a harder edge and a more adventurous spirit. Inspired by the likes of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, McLean started to seek a greater freedom of expression in his music and began to introduce elements of the avant-garde, while never fully relinquishing a grounding in his soulful sense of swing and chordal structures. On his 1963 quintet album One Step Beyond, McLean teamed up with the unique trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur III and brought in vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson instead of a pianist, a move that gave the music a freer, more spacious feel. Inspired by this new musical direction and the tonal qualities of the band, McLean brought Moncur and Hutcherson back into the studio later that year with Larry Ridley on bass and Roy Haynes to record what would be his masterpiece of inside-out jazz: Destination… Out! On four original pieces—three by Moncur (“Love and Hate,” “Esoteric,” “Riff Raff”) and one of McLean’s (“Kahlil the Prophet”)—the quintet goes exploring, conjuring different moods and creating exciting new sounds that still sound fresh today.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Tracklist:

A1: Love And Hate A2: Esoteric
B1: Kahlil The Prophet B2: Riff Raff

Don Cherry - Where Is Brooklyn? (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)

Reissue 180g Vinyl LP £19.99 Add to basket

Dispatch Date: Thursday 20th January 2022

Blue Note founders Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff had open ears and open minds, as they proved time and time again through the early-1960s as they documented some of the most adventurous players of the modern jazz scene like Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, and Tony Williams. But it wasn’t until they brought Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry to Blue Note in 1965 that they dove headfirst into the avant-garde. Coleman and Cherry had of course made history together years prior as half of Coleman’s revolutionary quartet that put the NYC jazz world on notice that there was a new thing in town with their 1959 arrival at the Five Spot Café. Though Cherry co-led the album The Avant-Garde with John Coltrane in 1961, his career as a bandleader began with his bold Blue Note debut Complete Communion recorded in December 1965 (Coleman had documented his new trio live at the Golden Circle in Stockholm for his own Blue Note debut just weeks before). Cherry returned to Van Gelder Studio twice in the Fall of 1966, first to record his expansive Symphony for Improvisers and again for the fiery Where Is Brooklyn? The latter was a highly interactive quartet session featuring Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and piccolo, Henry Grimes on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums that presented five Cherry originals including “Awake Nu” and “The Thing.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Track Listing:

A1: Awake Nu A2: Taste Maker A3: The Thing
B1: There Is The Bomb B2: Unite

Big Sean - Finally Famous [10 Year Anniversary Deluxe Edition] (Def Jam)

Double Vinyl LP £24.99 Add to basket

Dispatch Date: Thursday 20th January 2022

After 10 years, Finally Famous is still a cultural phenomenon in the superstar's career. Boasting features from Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, The-Dream, and many others. Big Sean delivers "Instagram caption" worthy bars throughout these 16 tracks. While a decade has passed since it's release, it continues to be relevant, club-certified, and hard hitting.

Track Listing:

1. Intro 2. I Do It 3. My Last (Ft. Chris Brown) 4. Don’t Tell Me You Love Me 5. Wait for Me (Ft. Lupe Fiasco) 6. Marvin & Chardonnay (Ft. Kanye West & Roscoe Dash) 7. Dance (A$$) (Remix) (Ft. Nicki Minaj) 8. Get It (DT) (Ft. Pharrell Williams) 9. Memories (Part II) (Ft. John Legend) 10. High (Ft. Chiddy Bang & Wiz Khalifa) 11. Live This Life (Ft. The-Dream) 12. So Much More 13. What Goes Around 14. Celebrity (Ft. Dwele) 15. 100 Keys (Ft. Pusha T & Rick Ross) 16. Freshman 10 (Freestyle)

EPMD - Strictly Business (Mr Bongo)

Reissue Vinyl 7" £12.99 Add to basket

A. Strictly Business (Radio Mix) | B. Strictly Business (Instrumental Mix)

EPMD arrived as an almost unbelievably well-formed hip hop group in the 1980s. Right from the moment they dropped their 1989 debut - 'Strictly Business' - they soared, immediately backed it up with 'Unfinished Business' in 1989 then came more big hitters like 'The Big Payback.' But 'Strictly Business' remains one of the NYC duo's most significant and best-loved singles and it is pressed up here to its own 7" courtesy of hardcore fans Mr Bongo. It's a track with tons of samples, scratching, smooth bars and churning beats. Flip it over for an instrumental.

EPMD - You Gots To Chill (Mr Bongo)

Reissue Vinyl 7" £12.99 Add to basket

A. You Gots To Chill | B. Let The Funk Flow

Mr Bongo's EPMD reissue series continues with a fresh pressing of one of the NYC duo's most significant and best-loved singles, 1988's 'You Gots To Chill'. Predating much of the West Coast G-funk material that later covered similar sonic ground, it sees the duo delivering some of their rap verses over a beat crafted from samples of Zapp's P-funk classic 'More Bounce To The Ounce' and Kool & The Gang party classic 'Jungle Boogie'. This time round, it comes backed by another EPMD classic from the same period: the mid-tempo, JB's-sampling head-nodder that is 'Let The Funk Flow'. That's never appeared on a single before, making this "45" even more desirable.

EPMD - The Big Payback (Mr Bongo)

Reissue Orange Vinyl 7" £13.99 Add to basket
Reissue Vinyl 7" £12.99 Add to basket

A. The Big Payback | B. So Wat Cha Sayin

A 7" is all about having a perfect nugget of music on the most compact of wax, and here Mr Bongo pick out two of the best cuts from one of the greatest crews to touch the mic. EPMD were on their finest form when they dropped Unfinished Business in 1989, doubling down on the runaway success of their debut Strictly Business, and here we get two of the album's hottest joints for your instant gratification. 'The Big Payback' piles the funk on heavy, keeping it moody in the low end for EPMD to do their thing over the top, while original opening track 'So Wat Cha Sayin' nestles on the B side with one of the wildest rub downs Erick and Parrish ever committed to record. Truly essential hip hop from the golden era.

PRESALE - Kendra Morris - Nine Lives (Karma Chief Records)

Pre-order Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl LP £20.99 Add to basket
Pre-order CD £9.99 Add to basket

Estimated Shipping Date: 18th February 2022

Produced by Leon Michels

Kendra Morris’s Nine Lives, to be released on Karma Chief Records (a division of Colemine Records) in early 2022, marks not only the culmination of the decade since the release of her first LP Banshee, but also a turning point in Kendra’s life. Nine Lives heralds the beginning of a new chapter; label, and an evolution to the next level of adulthood. This collection of her original songs encapsulates moments from what could be nine lifetimes.

Concurrently a visual artist, filmmaker and animator, Kendra harnesses the feline nine lives metaphor repeatedly. In the context of the chapters of her musical trajectory alone, we see at least 9 lives. From discovering multi-tracking on a karaoke machine as a child, to playing in bands in Florida, moving to NYC and creating music alone on an 8 track, releasing her first 2 LPs on Wax Poetics, releasing her 2016 EP Babble and collaborating with DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and David Sitek, to name a few.

Track Listing:

1. Keep Walking 2. This Life 3. Who We Are 4. Nine Lives 5. Penny Pincher 6. Got Me Down 7. Someone Else 8. Dry 9. Circle Eights 10. Drag On

Big Crown Records X El Oms Playing Cards

Playing Cards £9.29 Add to basket
Vinyl 7" £7.99 Add to basket

A. Stack The Deck feat. Bobby Oroza | B. Things Done Changed

Big Crown Records is proud to present this rock solid two-sider from El Michels Affair. This 7” is part of a new Big Crown X El Oms collaboration that includes a custom deck of playing cards and a t shirt series illustrated by El Oms. The labels of this 45 are pulled from some of the King & Queen illustrations contained in the deck.

To go with this project, El Michels teamed up again with Bobby Oroza for the A side tune which plays along with the collab theme called “Stack The Deck”. These two proved their chemistry on 2020’s “Reasons” which became a fast favorite around the globe. This time El Michels comes with a heavier more orchestrated track that Bobby finds the perfect groove on as he plays up the gamble of love.

The B side is a speaker smashing cover of the late, great, Notorious B.I.G.’s “Things Done Changed” from his Ready To Die album. El Michels Affair stays close to the tone of the original Easy Mo Bee production but makes it their own with their signature horns and cinematic grit.

This playing card collaboration is a limited 500 piece run. Standard 52 card poker deck, 2 jokers , and 2 logo cards in a customized box. A collectors item on release and a great gift for fans of the label, El Oms, and card players. The 7” is available if you would like to offer the full collaboration. We hope this is right on time to usher in the days of hanging out with friends listening to music, playing cards, and enjoying one another’s company.

Ikebe Shakedown & The Jive Turkeys - No Answer / No Answer (Colemine Records)

Vinyl 7" £6.99 Add to basket

Proper reissue of Ikebe Shakedown’s 2nd 45 Colemine is finally here! Newly remastered and now being pressed at Gotta Groove, the mid-tempo funky burner No Answer was an absolute standout track from their debut EP Hard Steppin’. The flip features the same song, No Answer, done by labelmates The Jive Turkeys for a battle record special!

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue: Vinyl Story (Diggers Factory)

140g Vinyl LP + 48 Pg Comic Booklet £29.99 Add to basket

Davis is undoubtedly the most revolutionary and intimate jazz musician. He is at the origin of at least three legendary records. In 1949/1950, he recorded The Birth of the Cool, a turning point in the history of jazz as this record established the new jazz of downtown clubs as ballroom jazz then lost its appeal.

In 1959, he recorded Kind of Blue which opened doors for jazz to the modern world. For decades, it was considered the best selling jazz as it sounded then like an avant-garde and still sounds today like contemporary jazz.

In 1969, he recorded Bitches Brew, a blend of rock, funk and jazz music, often taking the name “Fusion”. Davis was the first artist to understand how to blend all music genres in a masterful and essential work that remains one of the 10 masterpieces of the 20th century.

The Vinyl Story album brings together an original biography of Miles Davis, illustrated by Jacques Ferrandez, one of our most famous cartoonists, and the vinyl album Kind of Blue, one of Davis’ essential albums. In other words, a dive into the heart of the character, through sound, artwork and history.

Track Listing

SIDE A:
So What | Freddie freeloader | Blue In Green

SIDE B:
All Blues | Flamenco Sketches

PRESALE - Lady Wray - Piece Of Me (Big Crown Records)

Pre-order Green Vinyl LP £19.99 Add to basket
Pre-order Black Vinyl LP £18.99 Add to basket
Pre-order CD £9.99 Add to basket

Estimated Shipping Date: 28th January 2022

Produced by Leon Michels

16 Million + streams on the singles across Spotify & Apple. ”Come On In” & “Piece Of Me” featured in Google & Reese’s Pieces ads.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Piece of Me, the sophomore full length offering from Lady Wray. This is something of a homecoming for Nicole. Where her 2016 solo debut Queen Alone leaned more towards Soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop, this record changes the mixture. It's still R&B with the textures of analog Soul, but there is a heavy Hip Hop in­uence that brings the sum of Nicole's career together in a new sound that will de-ne her future. Boom-bap drums and chunky bass lines are front-and-center creating a perfect head-nodding backdrop for Lady Wray to take on the good, the bad, the difficult, and the joyful on her most personal collection of songs to date.

Track Listing

SIDE A:
1. I Do 2. Through It All 3. Piece Of Me 4. Come On In 5. Under The Sun 6. Where Were You

SIDE B:
1. Beauty In The Fire 2. Games People Play 3. Melody 4. Thank You 5. Joy & Pain 6. Storms

Your Old Droog x Tha God Fahim - Tha YOD Fahim (Mongoloid Banks)

Double Vinyl LP £34.99 Add to basket
CD £17.99 Add to basket

Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim’s second joint release Tha YOD Fahim is a celebration of the immense talents of its creators. They have an undeniable chemistry that started as guest appearances and has now blossomed into something greater. And while the world got an amazing appetizer in the form of ‘Tha Wolf On Wall St in January, the two like-minded artists are back just weeks later with this full-length release.

The connection of YOD and Fahim is a pairing that simply works. Both have their roots in raw, unpretentious hip-hop that also pushes the music to its boundaries, and you can hear those qualities running throughout all 14 tracks. As unadulterated as the music is, the album represents something even greater from both Droog and Fahim. It’s a testament to their creative synergy and their gifts as artists who never compromise or hold back.

Track Listing:

1. Icee Shop / Entrées 2. Stretch 3. Charles Barkley 4. Mailman 5. Slam Dunk Contest (feat. Pharoahe Monch) 6. Brrt Simpson (feat. Left Lane Didon) 7. Reign Man 8. WNBA 9. The Dunking Dutchman 10. Long Time Coming 11. Disney World 12. Lost Smile 13. Questions 14. 90 From The Line Remix (Šar?nas Mar?iulionis)

Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon III: The Chosen (Republic)

Double Vinyl LP £25.99 Add to basket

Only a year after concluding his ambitious 'Man On The Moon' trilogy, Kid Cudi is already reissuing the third and final instalment in the saga, 'The Chosen', in 2xLP format. Demonstrating the artist's bold sidestep into cloud rap (as opposed to stark classics like 'Day N Nite'), this album contains slow-chugging dreamers like 'Mr. Solo Dolo III' and playful gut-bouncers a-la 'Tequila Shots', spanning collabs with Trippie Redd, Skepta, Pop Smoke and folk pop sensation Phoebe Bridgers. For those invested in Kudi's artistic progression, this is a concept album finding the rapper in an internal struggle against his evil alter-ego, Mr. Rager - whether Cudi prevails is up to the listener's interpretation.

Track Listing:

1. Beautiful Trip 2. Tequila Shots 3. Another Day 4. She Knows This 5. Dive 6. Damaged 7. Heaven On Earth 8. Show Out ft. Skepta, Pop Smoke 9. Mr. Solo Dolo III 10. Sad People 11. Elsie's Baby Boy (flashback) 12. Sept. 16 13. The Void 14. Lovin' Me ft. Phoebe Bridgers 15. The Pale Moonlight 16. Rockstar Knights ft. Trippie Redd 17. 4 Da Kidz 18. Lord I Know

MED, Blu & Madlib - Bad Neighbour (Bang ya Head)

Red & Black Vinyl LP £29.99 Add to basket

Bad Neighbor is a collaborative studio album by rappers MED and Blu and producer Madlib. Originally in 2015, the 13 track LP features guest appearances from the likes of the late MF DOOM, Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne, Jimetta Rose, Dâm-Funk, and Oh No.

The album is undoubtedly an extension of all three artists’ signature sounds, but it simultaneously defies all precedents to reaffirm each individual’s position at the forefront of LA’s legendary hip-hop landscape.

For the first since it’s original release date, the album is set to be re-released on vinyl in a special edition red and black configuration equipped with two new mixes of the focus tracks, “The Strip (feat. Anderson Paak)” and “Knock Knock (feat. MF DOOM).”

Track Listing:

1.Greetings 2.Serving (feat. Hodgy Beats) 3.Peroxide (feat. Dam-Funk, DJ Romes) 4.Get Money (feat. Frank Nitt) 5.Streets (feat. Oh No, DJ Romes) 6.The Stroll (feat. AMG) 7.Knock Knock (feat. MF DOOM) 8.Mad Neighbor 9.The Strip (feat. Anderson .Paak) 10.Finer Things (feat. Likewise, Phonte) 11.Burgundy Whip (feat. Jimetta Rose) 12.Drive In (feat. Aloe Blacc) 13.Belly Full (feat. Black Spade) 14.Birds 15.The Buzz (feat. Mayer Hawthorne)

Blu - The Color Blu(e) (Nature Sounds)

Double Vinyl LP £29.99 Add to basket
CD £13.99 Add to basket

Acclaimed L.A. rapper Blu has left an indelible mark on the hip-hop landscape, crafting an impressive catalog instilled with the essence of the vibrant city he calls home. Now, the gifted lyricist is back with the new album "The Color Blu(e)".

Among Blu’s most conceptual projects to date, "The Color Blu(e)" is an artistic thesis statement, celebrating and reflecting on a remarkable creative journey. The word “Blue” is featured in every song title, and “Blue” is also weaved into each of the album’s soundscapes.

“This album is the ultimate cartoon series about myself,” Blu explains. “The Color Blu(e) is the cool breeze. Another day in the life of being Blu.” While he typically works with a single producer on each project, Blu recruited Sirplus, J57, and longtime collaborator Exile to shape the album’s sonic texture. An unapologetically personal collection with no features, "The Color Blu(e)" is packed with intricate wordplay and dynamic production, reaffirming the unique talent of the artist known as Blu.

Track Listing:

1. I Am Blu(e) 2. Everyday Blu(e)s 3. People Call Me Blu(e) 4. Because The Sky Is Blu(e) 5. You Ain’t Never Been Blu(e) 6. I Was Born To Be Blu(e) 7. Blu(e)r Than Blu(e) 8. We Are Darker Than Blu(e) 9. Mr. Blu(e) Sky 10. Mr. Blu(e) 11. Blu(e) World

Pan Amsterdam - P.A.&JSammich (Def Pressé)

Haze Blue 12" Vinyl EP £14.99 Add to basket

A jazz musician’s vision of hip-hop’ – The Times

NYC-based rap lyricist and jazz trumpeter Pan Amsterdam returns on Def Pressé with a distinctly fresh sonic swagger on single RETAIL, announcing the P.A.&JSammich EP 4-track EP.

RETAIL exemplifies perfectly the mood of the EP (which sees a very limited vinyl release), four tracks of cheerily ominous storytelling set to synth stabs and trumpet flourishes, with a smattering of personality disorder. The release follows up BBC 6Music favourite, the GUTS-produced single Carrot Cake, and its mother album, HA Chu. Carving his own niche of a jazz-rap very different to and darker than its Golden Age cousin, Pan Am’s sophomore LP (“one of the strangest rap works of recent times”, thanks, The Independent) saw him hit the buttons of leftfield hip hop fans and word association enthusiasts.

Ha Chu saw Pan Am reflect on his touring life over the years, from his jazz scene displacement in NYC to becoming a songwriter and bandleader for Iggy Pop under his real life pseudonym, Leron Thomas. HA Chu featured collabs with the aforementioned GUTS, Jason Williams of Sleaford Mods, Malik Crumpler of Madison Washington (and Def Pressé) and Coup Diablo - aka Jimi Goodwin of Doves.

Pan Am’s first album, The Pocket Watch, saw him tour with DJ/producer Mr.Shn and rapper-wrestler/‘What Had Happened Was’ podcast host Open Mike Eagle..

Track Listing:

1. E. Honda 2. Lone Ranger 3. Retail 4. Son of a Gun

Kid Acne & The Spectacular Diagnostics - Null And Void (Lewis Recordings)

Deluxe Neon Pink Vinyl LP w. Silver Hand Printed Sleeve £44.99 Add to basket
Coloured Vinyl LP w. Obi Strip & Cool Grey Hand Printed Sleeve £32.99 Add to basket

The return of the “Zack de la Rocha of Ashby de la Zouch”, back in tandem with Chicago producer Spectacular Diagnostics

World status 2020-21; a write-off, one to be struck from the record, ‘NULL & VOID’ if you will. This hasn’t stopped Kid Acne kicking on and bringing what he calls “the difficult fifth album” to the Lewis Recordings megaplex. Full of Yorkshire say-so, his inimitable strain of hip-hop delivers the mind-bending with everyman knowhow, fearlessly “taking out pop chart sucker rappers with a blow dart”.

Spectacular Diagnostics (Westside Gunn, Vic Spencer, Conway the Machine, Nolan the Ninja) is back on the boards for Kid Acne’s latest magical mystery tour, strengthening regional alliances with UK heavyweights Cappo, Jehst and Vandal Savage as well as introducing one-to-watch Taja. Driven by the wise man’s testament that thou shalt never use the internet again, Acne shakes off screen burn and heads back to the great (socially distanced) outdoors with a fresh batch of wavy, chaos theorising boom-bap.

DELUXE VERSION (NEON PINK VINYL)
• SILVER hand-pulled screen printed sleeves
• Individually hand-embellished with spray paint
• Stamped and numbered on the back
• Printed inner sleeves / inserts
• NEON PINK vinyl
• Limited edition of 75

* Signed By Kid Acne *

OBI VERSION (COLOUR MIX VINYL)
• COOL GREY hand-pulled screen printed sleeves
• Individually hand-embellished with spray paint
• Stamped and numbered on the back
• Printed inner sleeves / inserts
• GREEN / PINK colour mix vinyl
• Limited edition of 100

* Signed By Kid Acne *

Track Listing:

A1: Welcome A2: FLAME WARS (feat. TAJA) A3: LO AND BEHOLD A4: ALGORITHMS A5: MENHIR TRIPTYCH (feat. JUNIOR DISPROL and CAPPO) A6: JUNK DATA
B1: TRANSISTORS (feat. JAZ KAHINA and VANDAL SAVAGE) B2: OUT HERE B3:COPACETIC B4: NEON FOGOU (feat. JEHST) B5: UNSUBSCRIBE B6: INNOVATE