MAIS UM - Forced Exposure

$14.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 5/28/2021

Mais Um present a reissue of Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, originally released on CD only in 2006. On the 15th anniversary of its original release, Mais Um revisit a lost classic from the catalog of one of Brazil's most regarded and influential contemporary songwriters. Featuring Tom Zé and mangue beat pioneer, Gilmar Bola 8, Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse fused psyched-out samba and baile funk with original Black Ark-style studio distortion and spiritual dub dread, laying the foundations for his seminal Sem Nostalgia LP five years later (MAIS 002CD/LP), and in the process, establishing Santtana as an elemental force of Brazil's current new wave. "At the beginning of my career, I was experimenting, trying to figure out my sound. On 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, I discovered what I am and what I wanted to do in music. All the pieces connected. Everything just felt like the right place at the right time." Comprising four originals and four Santtana/Seleçao Natural dubs (plus a CD bonus track), 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse was and is a sound clash unlike any to have come before. Produced by Santtana and Recife's dubsetter himself, Buguinha Dub, each session was approached as an opportunity not to just record each instrument but to create an environment in which the studio becomes the centerpiece. Recorded and mixed entirely live as a group, with no overdubs, 3 Sessions feels uniquely intimate and relaxed (best typified by the band's "chat" in-between recordings). Tropicalia icon Tom Zé features on Santtana's slightly zippier version of Zé's samba dub "Ogodô Ano 2000" and American journalist Phylis Huber's reading of an extract of Virgina Woolf's The Waves on the expansive nine minute-long Balearic/Afrobeat dub "A Natureza Espera", is poignant and trippy. Santtana's take on Naçao Zumbi's "Pela Orla Dos Velhos Tempos", featuring original member and percussionist Gilmar Bola 8 on vocals, takes on techier references of the Detroit type, whilst vinyl closer "Into Shade" is a sumptuous psych rock dub ballad, co-written by Arto Lindsay. Remastered by German dub shaman, Stefan Betke/Pole. RIYL: Dennis Bovell, Tom Zé, Gilberto Gil, Beck, Caetano Veloso.

$23.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 5/28/2021

LP version. Mais Um present a reissue of Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, originally released on CD only in 2006. On the 15th anniversary of its original release, Mais Um revisit a lost classic from the catalog of one of Brazil's most regarded and influential contemporary songwriters. Featuring Tom Zé and mangue beat pioneer, Gilmar Bola 8, Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse fused psyched-out samba and baile funk with original Black Ark-style studio distortion and spiritual dub dread, laying the foundations for his seminal Sem Nostalgia LP five years later (MAIS 002CD/LP), and in the process, establishing Santtana as an elemental force of Brazil's current new wave. "At the beginning of my career, I was experimenting, trying to figure out my sound. On 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, I discovered what I am and what I wanted to do in music. All the pieces connected. Everything just felt like the right place at the right time." Comprising four originals and four Santtana/Seleçao Natural dubs (plus a CD bonus track), 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse was and is a sound clash unlike any to have come before. Produced by Santtana and Recife's dubsetter himself, Buguinha Dub, each session was approached as an opportunity not to just record each instrument but to create an environment in which the studio becomes the centerpiece. Recorded and mixed entirely live as a group, with no overdubs, 3 Sessions feels uniquely intimate and relaxed (best typified by the band's "chat" in-between recordings). Tropicalia icon Tom Zé features on Santtana's slightly zippier version of Zé's samba dub "Ogodô Ano 2000" and American journalist Phylis Huber's reading of an extract of Virgina Woolf's The Waves on the expansive nine minute-long Balearic/Afrobeat dub "A Natureza Espera", is poignant and trippy. Santtana's take on Naçao Zumbi's "Pela Orla Dos Velhos Tempos", featuring original member and percussionist Gilmar Bola 8 on vocals, takes on techier references of the Detroit type, whilst vinyl closer "Into Shade" is a sumptuous psych rock dub ballad, co-written by Arto Lindsay. Remastered by German dub shaman, Stefan Betke/Pole. RIYL: Dennis Bovell, Tom Zé, Gilberto Gil, Beck, Caetano Veloso.

$25.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 5/28/2021

LP version. Red vinyl. Mais Um present a reissue of Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, originally released on CD only in 2006. On the 15th anniversary of its original release, Mais Um revisit a lost classic from the catalog of one of Brazil's most regarded and influential contemporary songwriters. Featuring Tom Zé and mangue beat pioneer, Gilmar Bola 8, Lucas Santtana's 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse fused psyched-out samba and baile funk with original Black Ark-style studio distortion and spiritual dub dread, laying the foundations for his seminal Sem Nostalgia LP five years later (MAIS 002CD/LP), and in the process, establishing Santtana as an elemental force of Brazil's current new wave. "At the beginning of my career, I was experimenting, trying to figure out my sound. On 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse, I discovered what I am and what I wanted to do in music. All the pieces connected. Everything just felt like the right place at the right time." Comprising four originals and four Santtana/Seleçao Natural dubs (plus a CD bonus track), 3 Sessions In A Greenhouse was and is a sound clash unlike any to have come before. Produced by Santtana and Recife's dubsetter himself, Buguinha Dub, each session was approached as an opportunity not to just record each instrument but to create an environment in which the studio becomes the centerpiece. Recorded and mixed entirely live as a group, with no overdubs, 3 Sessions feels uniquely intimate and relaxed (best typified by the band's "chat" in-between recordings). Tropicalia icon Tom Zé features on Santtana's slightly zippier version of Zé's samba dub "Ogodô Ano 2000" and American journalist Phylis Huber's reading of an extract of Virgina Woolf's The Waves on the expansive nine minute-long Balearic/Afrobeat dub "A Natureza Espera", is poignant and trippy. Santtana's take on Naçao Zumbi's "Pela Orla Dos Velhos Tempos", featuring original member and percussionist Gilmar Bola 8 on vocals, takes on techier references of the Detroit type, whilst vinyl closer "Into Shade" is a sumptuous psych rock dub ballad, co-written by Arto Lindsay. Remastered by German dub shaman, Stefan Betke/Pole. RIYL: Dennis Bovell, Tom Zé, Gilberto Gil, Beck, Caetano Veloso.

$15.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 4/30/2021

Swirling layers of OST-style sound design, dreamy choir vocals and traditional Chinese folk combine across eight dynamic and transportive tracks on Birdy Island, the latest album by Beijing-based producer/artist, Howie Lee. Fresh off the back of several high impact, club-centering album releases on Maloca, SVBKVLT, and his influential, Do Hits label, on top of remixes for artists including Lawfawndah, Charlie XCX, and Sophie, Lee presents his most organic and expansive project to date. Written, produced, and recorded entirely by Lee at the back end of 2018 (with the exception of the album's resident four-piece choir made up of rising Beijing artist, Fishdoll, Shanghai singer/producer, Yehaiyahan and West by West, with Lee himself also included), Birdy Island's almost exclusively acoustic yet broad sound palette threads continuities between ceremonial Taoist music, early Buchla synth experiments, and FWD nights at London's Plastic People. "This album just came very natural. It was all recorded little by little. Layer upon layer. The approach was to just record. I had all these instruments around me and I just thought, I'm gonna play and keep playing." Howie's latest offering is as enchanting as it is boundlessly imaginative. "I've always had this concept in my mind about making an album based around an island." Loosely based around Lee's own long-formed concept of a floating Sicilian theme park, co-inhabited by both birds and ancestral spirits, Howie remarks: "Birdy Island to me is a palace in the clouds and the birds reworshipped like Gods. Not like a western God though." Reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa" (in the 1986 film Castle In The Sky), Lee's BirdyIsland has been built by a Chinese investment company seeking to re-syncour relationship with the spiritual and natural world after years of economic collapse and degradation, and who invite Howie to compose the park's soundtrack. Inside Birdy Island's 30-minute gallery of collaged sound, Lee draws on a wide history of traditional pan-Asian music, filtered through his unique lens of contemporary electronic production.

$23.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 4/30/2021

LP version. Swirling layers of OST-style sound design, dreamy choir vocals and traditional Chinese folk combine across eight dynamic and transportive tracks on Birdy Island, the latest album by Beijing-based producer/artist, Howie Lee. Fresh off the back of several high impact, club-centering album releases on Maloca, SVBKVLT, and his influential, Do Hits label, on top of remixes for artists including Lawfawndah, Charlie XCX, and Sophie, Lee presents his most organic and expansive project to date. Written, produced, and recorded entirely by Lee at the back end of 2018 (with the exception of the album's resident four-piece choir made up of rising Beijing artist, Fishdoll, Shanghai singer/producer, Yehaiyahan and West by West, with Lee himself also included), Birdy Island's almost exclusively acoustic yet broad sound palette threads continuities between ceremonial Taoist music, early Buchla synth experiments, and FWD nights at London's Plastic People. "This album just came very natural. It was all recorded little by little. Layer upon layer. The approach was to just record. I had all these instruments around me and I just thought, I'm gonna play and keep playing." Howie's latest offering is as enchanting as it is boundlessly imaginative. "I've always had this concept in my mind about making an album based around an island." Loosely based around Lee's own long-formed concept of a floating Sicilian theme park, co-inhabited by both birds and ancestral spirits, Howie remarks: "Birdy Island to me is a palace in the clouds and the birds reworshipped like Gods. Not like a western God though." Reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's "Laputa" (in the 1986 film Castle In The Sky), Lee's BirdyIsland has been built by a Chinese investment company seeking to re-syncour relationship with the spiritual and natural world after years of economic collapse and degradation, and who invite Howie to compose the park's soundtrack. Inside Birdy Island's 30-minute gallery of collaged sound, Lee draws on a wide history of traditional pan-Asian music, filtered through his unique lens of contemporary electronic production.

$22.00 IN STOCK

First ever vinyl pressing outside of Brazil. Originally released in 2011. A modern electro-acoustic masterpiece of acoustic guitars and voices featuring Arto Lindsay. Equal parts Tom Zé and Thom Yorke, Lucas Santtana is one of Brazil's most interesting, dynamic and experimental singer-songwriter/producers. He is the first artist signing to new UK-based Brazilian record label Mais Um, who's much-acclaimed debut release Oi! A Nova Musica Brasileira charted a sonic snapshot of the most exciting new Brazilian music. With the help of long-term songwriting partner Arto Lindsay, Lucas has breathed new life into the Brazilian music institution that is "voz e violão." To achieve different sonic results, the tracks were co-produced by Lucas and collaborators. Berna Ceppas is responsible for the atmospheric and minimalist mood of "Nature #1 In Mi Maior" and "Hold Me In," where the noise of a missed note echoes through the space, as if on purpose. "Who Can Say Which Way" was produced by Chico Neves, and so was "Ripple Of The Water," recorded late at night, inside the woods of Rio De Janeiro's Botanical Gardens. Gustavo Lenza and Lucas Martins produced the sound collages of "Super Violão Mashup" while "king-of-the-mash-up" DJ João Brasil produced the sounds for the frenetic "Violão De Mario Bros." Buguinha Dub lent his effects to "Amor Em Jacumã" and "Cira, Regina E Nana," as did Rica Amábis in "Recado Pro Pio Lobato." Arto Lindsay, Lucas Santtana's usual partner, co-wrote "Hold Me In," "I Can't Live Far From My Music" and the beautiful, '70s-infused "Night-Time In The Backyard." When the concept overshadows the music, a conceptual record can be in danger of needing an instruction booklet in order to make any sense, yet this is not a threat here. Sem Nostalgia stands on its own, independent from the concept that built it.

$22.00 IN STOCK

First ever vinyl pressing. Originally released in 2014. With her joyous stage persona and intoxicating blend of Amazonian, Afro-Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms, Dona Onete is one of world music's most entertaining recent success stories. Described by her manager as "Grace Jones trapped in the body of Cesaria Evora", Onete's songs talk about the delights of seducing men, herbs that make your body "shake" and her encounters with legends of the Amazon. Onete sings carimbó, an indigenous rhythm and dance from Pará, the state of Belém, influenced by both African and European traditions, and which forms the basis of the more famous lambada and other Caribbean rhythms. She recorded Feitiço Caboclo aged 73, and an international release from Mais Um in 2014 saw critics fall immediately for this sassy, saucy and sexy septuagenarian -- influential French magazine Les Inrocks made the album one of their top 5 "world" releases that year and rapturously received festival performances at Womad UK, Paris's Cabaret Sauvage, Portugal's FMM Sines followed in 2015. Onete was born in Cachoeira do Ararí, nestled in the delta of the Amazon across from Belém. She claims she only started to sing properly at the age of 11. "I used to spend the whole day on the river banks, washing clothes. One day, I saw a dolphin and thought that I should sing for him. The next day I sang again, and another came, and another, and soon a whole family of dolphins came to listen!" By the age of fifteen she was singing samba, quadrilhas, boi bumba, and other Northeastern genres in the bars of her hometown, yet Onete never considered a career in music. She became a Professor of History and Amazonian Studies in Igaparé Miri and ardently researched the rhythms, dances and traditions of the indigenous and black people of the area. This led her to establish several music and dance groups, which regenerated traditional customs, and which eventually saw her elected as the Municipal Secretary of Culture of Igaparé-Miri. Absorbing all these genres and rhythms, Dona Onete also began to compose, creating the hybrid genre for which she would later become famous, the carimbó chamegado.

$23.50 IN STOCK

First ever vinyl pressing outside of Brazil including a 7" with two tracks the band recorded with Tony Allen in Brazil. Originally released in 2013. Metá Metá's sophomore album and debut for Mais Um. MetaL MetaL launches itself from the ancient chants of the orixás into a dirty brew of psychedelic samba, distorted jazz and Afro-punk. The band is formed from a trio of São Paulo's most sought-after musicians -- vocalist Juçara Marçal, saxophonist Thiago França and guitarist Kiko Dinucci -- and features Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Followers of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé, Marçal, França and Dinucci mix these spiritual and rhythmic foundations with influences ranging from Afrobeat to Afrosambas, punk rock to be-bop to create chaotic, effervescent music that explodes with the rage of The Stooges and Sonic Youth, the spirituality of John Coltrane and Sun Ra and the wild, avant-garde instrumentation of contemporary experimental jazz outfits such as Melt Yourself Down and Polar Bear.

$23.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Includes 7". On Rastilho, Kiko Dinucci absorbs the lineage of Brazilian guitarists such as Dorival Caymmi, João Gilberto, Baden Powell, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil -- yet filtered through his uniquely "punk" musical vision. His style is raw -- technically, he seems to attack the guitar strings, lyrically he explores Afro-Brazilian culture, slavery, Brazilian revolutionaries, candomblé, and evangelical Christianity. Dinucci is one the most innovative artists in contemporary Brazilian music -- as well as a member of Metá Metá, who combine elements of Brazilian music, candomblé, punk rock, and free jazz, he has worked with Tom Zé, Criolo, and Elza Soares. Kiko: "I've wanted to make an album dedicated to the guitar for a long time. As a child, I treated it as a toy. In my teens, with my guitar patched with pieces of sellotape, I tried to reproduce heavy rock riffs whilst finding inspiration in the Afro works of Baden Powell and guitars of Dorival Caymmi, João Bosco, Jorge Ben and Gilberto Gil. In the '90s my experience in the São Paulo hardcore scene was mirrored by time spent in candomblé activities -- both shaped the way I play guitar today." Features Juçara Marçal. Featured as one of Pitchfork's "Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2020". Previously only available in Brazil. Includes 7" with three additional tracks, one of which exclusive to the 7".

$25.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Includes 7". Orange vinyl. On Rastilho, Kiko Dinucci absorbs the lineage of Brazilian guitarists such as Dorival Caymmi, João Gilberto, Baden Powell, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil -- yet filtered through his uniquely "punk" musical vision. His style is raw -- technically, he seems to attack the guitar strings, lyrically he explores Afro-Brazilian culture, slavery, Brazilian revolutionaries, candomblé, and evangelical Christianity. Dinucci is one the most innovative artists in contemporary Brazilian music -- as well as a member of Metá Metá, who combine elements of Brazilian music, candomblé, punk rock, and free jazz, he has worked with Tom Zé, Criolo, and Elza Soares. Kiko: "I've wanted to make an album dedicated to the guitar for a long time. As a child, I treated it as a toy. In my teens, with my guitar patched with pieces of sellotape, I tried to reproduce heavy rock riffs whilst finding inspiration in the Afro works of Baden Powell and guitars of Dorival Caymmi, João Bosco, Jorge Ben and Gilberto Gil. In the '90s my experience in the São Paulo hardcore scene was mirrored by time spent in candomblé activities -- both shaped the way I play guitar today." Features Juçara Marçal. Featured as one of Pitchfork's "Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2020". Previously only available in Brazil. Includes 7" with three additional tracks, one of which exclusive to the 7".

$12.50 LOW STOCK LEVEL

On Rastilho, Kiko Dinucci absorbs the lineage of Brazilian guitarists such as Dorival Caymmi, João Gilberto, Baden Powell, Jorge Ben, and Gilberto Gil -- yet filtered through his uniquely "punk" musical vision. His style is raw -- technically, he seems to attack the guitar strings, lyrically he explores Afro-Brazilian culture, slavery, Brazilian revolutionaries, candomblé, and evangelical Christianity. Dinucci is one the most innovative artists in contemporary Brazilian music -- as well as a member of Metá Metá, who combine elements of Brazilian music, candomblé, punk rock, and free jazz, he has worked with Tom Zé, Criolo, and Elza Soares. Kiko: "I've wanted to make an album dedicated to the guitar for a long time. As a child, I treated it as a toy. In my teens, with my guitar patched with pieces of sellotape, I tried to reproduce heavy rock riffs whilst finding inspiration in the Afro works of Baden Powell and guitars of Dorival Caymmi, João Bosco, Jorge Ben and Gilberto Gil. In the '90s my experience in the São Paulo hardcore scene was mirrored by time spent in candomblé activities -- both shaped the way I play guitar today." Featured as one of Pitchfork's "Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2020". Previously only available in Brazil. CD version includes two additional songs.

$14.00 NOT IN STOCK

Tokyo-based ten-piece and wild Japanese folk-song fusionists, Minyo Crusaders join forces with Colombian cumbia radicals Frente Cumbiero on the history-making Minyo Cumbiero, the first ever Japanese-Colombian collaborative release, and one that fuses ancient Japanese folk songs with heavyweight Colombian styles. Recorded across two days in Bogota in August 2019 Minyo Cumbiero includes versions of an ancient Japanese rap tune, modern cumbia standard and 1980s Chinese computer game theme-song and captures a thrilling exchange between two radical and triumphant groups. Japan and Colombia may be cultural opposites on different sides of the world, yet the countries are bursting at the seams musically and on this EP both groups stridently drive their respective music cultures and histories in exciting new directions with powerhouse horn sections, rippling dub basslines, and rampant Afro-Latin polyrhythms creating carnival grooves, released here via London-based label, Mais Um. For an uncompromisingly contemporary and inventive take on traditional Colombian cumbia, look no further than Frente Cumbiero. Headed by Colombian songwriter and producer Mario Galeano Toro (also a founding member of Ondatrópica and Los Pirañas), the Bogota-based crew have spearheaded Colombia's thriving new-look cumbia movement for well over a decade, fusing cumbia rhythms and bass weight electronics with releases featuring collaborations with the legendary London-based dub producer, Mad Professor and US-based Kronos Quartet. Following the release of their acclaimed debut album, Echoes of Japan in 2019 (MAIS 036CD/LP), Minyo Crusaders -- or MinCru as their Japanese fans know them as -- have won-over a global audience with their unique take on Japanese folk music. A debut European tour in 2019 saw main-stage performances at Le Guess Who and Transmusicales and was soon followed by shows at WOMADelaide and WOMAD New Zealand in early 2020 that saw audiences intoxicated by their mix of traditional Japanese folk songs (min'yō) and Afro-funk, Thai pop, Ethio-jazz and reggae. Fronted by singers "Freddy" Tsukamoto (his nickname comes from his hero, Freddie Mercury) and Megu, with guitarist and bandleader Katsumi Tanaka, the members of the ten-piece are drawn from Tokyo's vibrant and diverse jazz and Afro-Latin scenes.

$14.00 IN STOCK

On the eve of her 80th birthday, Dona Onete, the grande dame of Amazonian song, returns with her third album Rebujo, a love letter to her hometown of Belém, situated deep in the Amazon. Rebujo brims with two music styles born in Belém: carimbós, influenced by African grooves, and bangues, a ska-type rhythm. Plus, there's a cumbia, brega ("romantic" music) and samba. Since the release of her 2017 album Banzeiro (MAIS 034CD/LP), Onete has become a superstar in Brazil -- she composed and sung the theme song for one of Brazil's biggest soap operas (A Força do Querer), been awarded the Brazilian Ordem do Mérito Cultural in recognition for her contribution to Brazilian culture, and her video for "No Meio do Pitiu" has an impressive 9.2 million views on YouTube. Outside of Brazil Onete has performed at Roskilde, Womad (UK, New Zealand, and Australia), Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival, and TFF Rudolstadt, and she is a global spokesperson for indigenous cultures. RIYL: Soundway Records, Analog Africa, Calypso Rose, Oumou Sangare. Mastered at the Carvery. CD version comes in a gatefold digipack; includes 16-page booklet with Portuguese lyrics and English translations; includes one bonus track.

$26.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes printed inner sleeve. On the eve of her 80th birthday, Dona Onete, the grande dame of Amazonian song, returns with her third album Rebujo, a love letter to her hometown of Belém, situated deep in the Amazon. Rebujo brims with two music styles born in Belém: carimbós, influenced by African grooves, and bangues, a ska-type rhythm. Plus, there's a cumbia, brega ("romantic" music) and samba. Since the release of her 2017 album Banzeiro (MAIS 034CD/LP), Onete has become a superstar in Brazil -- she composed and sung the theme song for one of Brazil's biggest soap operas (A Força do Querer), been awarded the Brazilian Ordem do Mérito Cultural in recognition for her contribution to Brazilian culture, and her video for "No Meio do Pitiu" has an impressive 9.2 million views on YouTube. Outside of Brazil Onete has performed at Roskilde, Womad (UK, New Zealand, and Australia), Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival, and TFF Rudolstadt, and she is a global spokesperson for indigenous cultures. RIYL: Soundway Records, Analog Africa, Calypso Rose, Oumou Sangare. Mastered at the Carvery.

$28.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Tropical red vinyl; includes printed inner sleeve. On the eve of her 80th birthday, Dona Onete, the grande dame of Amazonian song, returns with her third album Rebujo, a love letter to her hometown of Belém, situated deep in the Amazon. Rebujo brims with two music styles born in Belém: carimbós, influenced by African grooves, and bangues, a ska-type rhythm. Plus, there's a cumbia, brega ("romantic" music) and samba. Since the release of her 2017 album Banzeiro (MAIS 034CD/LP), Onete has become a superstar in Brazil -- she composed and sung the theme song for one of Brazil's biggest soap operas (A Força do Querer), been awarded the Brazilian Ordem do Mérito Cultural in recognition for her contribution to Brazilian culture, and her video for "No Meio do Pitiu" has an impressive 9.2 million views on YouTube. Outside of Brazil Onete has performed at Roskilde, Womad (UK, New Zealand, and Australia), Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival, and TFF Rudolstadt, and she is a global spokesperson for indigenous cultures. RIYL: Soundway Records, Analog Africa, Calypso Rose, Oumou Sangare. Mastered at the Carvery.

$31.00 IN STOCK

2020 repress; double LP version. Glossy gatefold sleeve; Includes insert with Japanese lyrics and English translations. Minyo Crusaders rework historic Japanese folk songs (min'yō) with Latin, African, Caribbean, and Asian rhythms for their debut album Echoes of Japan. Releases from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Midori Takada have re-ignited global interest in Japanese music and Echoes of Japan marks the arrival of a big band like no other. "For Japanese people, min'yō is both the closest, and most distant, folk music," explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka: "We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA." Initially indifferent to min'yō, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: "Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yō with Latin and jazz." Originally sung by fishermen ("Kushimoto Bushi"; "Mamurogawa Ondo"), coal miners ("Tanko Bushi") and sumo wrestlers ("Sumo Jinku"), these songs deal with topics such as the returning spirits of ancestors ("Hohai Bushi"), Japan's smallest bird ("Toichin Bushi"), and a bride's love for her husband's pockmarked face ("Otemoyan"). Minyo Crusaders are one of the most hyped acts on the Tokyo music scene that went national in 2018 through festivals such as Fuji Rock. The band features veterans of the Tokyo roots music scene such as bassist DADDY U (Ska Flames), keyboardist Moe (Kidlat), sax player Koichiro Osawa (Matt Sounds, J.J. Session), Yamauchi Stephan (J.J. Session), percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi (Banda de la Mumbia), conga player Irochi (Cubatumb), and vocalist Meg (DJ collective Tokyo Sabroso). For fans of: Haruomi Hosono, Soundway Records, Analog Africa, Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Minyo Crusaders rework historic Japanese folk songs (min'yō) with Latin, African, Caribbean, and Asian rhythms for their debut album Echoes of Japan. Releases from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, and Midori Takada have re-ignited global interest in Japanese music and Echoes of Japan marks the arrival of a big band like no other. "For Japanese people, min'yō is both the closest, and most distant, folk music," explains band-leader Katsumi Tanaka: "We may not feel it in our daily, urban lives, yet the melodies, the style of singing and the rhythm of the taiko drums are engrained in our DNA." Initially indifferent to min'yō, a tragic event in recent Japanese history set Tanaka on his current path: "Following the Tohoku earthquake of 2011, I reflected on my life, work and identity. A fan of world music, I began searching for Japanese roots music I could identify with. Discovering mid-late 20th century acts Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and the Tokyo Cuban Boys, I was captivated by their eccentric arrangements and how they mixed min'yō with Latin and jazz." Originally sung by fishermen ("Kushimoto Bushi"; "Mamurogawa Ondo"), coal miners ("Tanko Bushi") and sumo wrestlers ("Sumo Jinku"), these songs deal with topics such as the returning spirits of ancestors ("Hohai Bushi"), Japan's smallest bird ("Toichin Bushi"), and a bride's love for her husband's pockmarked face ("Otemoyan"). Minyo Crusaders are one of the most hyped acts on the Tokyo music scene that went national in 2018 through festivals such as Fuji Rock. The band features veterans of the Tokyo roots music scene such as bassist DADDY U (Ska Flames), keyboardist Moe (Kidlat), sax player Koichiro Osawa (Matt Sounds, J.J. Session), Yamauchi Stephan (J.J. Session), percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi (Banda de la Mumbia), conga player Irochi (Cubatumb), and vocalist Meg (DJ collective Tokyo Sabroso). For fans of: Haruomi Hosono, Soundway Records, Analog Africa, Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band. CD version comes in gatefold digipack; includes poster with Japanese lyrics and English translations.

$14.50 IN STOCK

LP version. Elza Soares returns with new remixes of tracks from her acclaimed The Woman At The End Of The World album (MAIS 031CD/LP, 2016). Mixing rock 'n roll, free-jazz, noise, and electronics, The Woman At The End Of The World was ripe for remixing and Mais Um Discos reached out to producers in London, Lisbon, New York, and Elza's hometown of Rio de Janeiro to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers -- and two legends from New York and London -- take Elza's music into new dimensions. From London there was only one man to go to for a remix -- DJ, broadcaster, label owner, and Elza's biggest fan, Gilles Peterson. Teaming up with Simbad they turn "Pra Fuder" into a percussive monster. Gilles on his contribution: "I played the album cut all 2016 and so needed a new version for this summer! An honor to work once again with my queen of grimy samba." Representing the future sound of Lisbon are Principe Discos, DJ Marfox adds his rapid-fire future-Afro-Lisbon polyrhythms to "Maria Da Vila Matilde", and Nidia Minaj turns "Pra Fuder" into a dark and moody warehouse rattler. Soundway Records' iZem gives "O Canal" a trippy Arabic feel, whilst New York ambient guru Laraaji infuses the acapella "Coracao Do Mar" with his trademark celestial vibes. Rio de Janeiro bass-head Omulu sprinkles shards of funk-carioca to "Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo", Marginal Men and BadSista give "Firmeza" low-end wobble, as Caetano Veloso cohort Ricardo Dias Gomes washes "Solto" with synths and effects.

$15.50 IN STOCK

Elza Soares returns with new remixes of tracks from her acclaimed The Woman At The End Of The World album (MAIS 031CD/LP, 2016). Mixing rock 'n roll, free-jazz, noise, and electronics, The Woman At The End Of The World was ripe for remixing and Mais Um Discos reached out to producers in London, Lisbon, New York, and Elza's hometown of Rio de Janeiro to create an album where the new school of cutting edge Lusophone producers -- and two legends from New York and London -- take Elza's music into new dimensions. From London there was only one man to go to for a remix -- DJ, broadcaster, label owner, and Elza's biggest fan, Gilles Peterson. Teaming up with Simbad they turn "Pra Fuder" into a percussive monster. Gilles on his contribution: "I played the album cut all 2016 and so needed a new version for this summer! An honor to work once again with my queen of grimy samba." Representing the future sound of Lisbon are Principe Discos, DJ Marfox adds his rapid-fire future-Afro-Lisbon polyrhythms to "Maria Da Vila Matilde", and Nidia Minaj turns "Pra Fuder" into a dark and moody warehouse rattler. Soundway Records' iZem gives "O Canal" a trippy Arabic feel, whilst New York ambient guru Laraaji infuses the acapella "Coracao Do Mar" with his trademark celestial vibes. Rio de Janeiro bass-head Omulu sprinkles shards of funk-carioca to "Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo", Marginal Men and BadSista give "Firmeza" low-end wobble, as Caetano Veloso cohort Ricardo Dias Gomes washes "Solto" with synths and effects. CD version includes an additional remix from Kiko Dinucci and all 11 tracks of The Woman At The End Of The World.

$20.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Dona Onete, "the grande dame of Amazonian song", returns with further tales from the river Amazon on her sophomore album Banzeiro. Whether she's championing gay rights, singing about the delights of indecent proposals, or praising a former lover for his "crazy ways of making love", Banzeiro is defined by Onete's honest reflections on life, love, sex as well as her delight in the everyday pleasures of life in the Amazon, whether that's spicy seasoning, salty kisses, or fishy-smelling water. Formerly a history teacher, folklore researcher, union representative, culture secretary and children's author, Onete recorded her debut album Feitiço Caboclo (2014) at 73. A cult figure in Brazil and an ambassador for Amazonian culture, the music she sings is a unique mix of rhythms from native Brazilians, African slaves, and the Caribbean - epitomized in the joyous carimbós that are her trademark. Born in the Amazonian region of Pará in 1938, Onete is a mix of native Indian from her mother's side and African from her father. She first started to sing after a chance riverside encounter: "I was washing clothes by the river and one day I saw a dolphin and sung for him. The next day I sang again, and two dolphins came, then a whole family!" A self-proclaimed "teenage-dreamer" who embraced music "because everything was forbidden by my parents", by the age of 15, Onete was singing in bars, yet her musical ambitions were soon crushed: "I was married at 22 and when I tried to sing at home my husband didn't like it so I had to stop." She became an ardent researcher of the rhythms, dances, and traditions of the Amazon's indigenous and black people, which inspired her to begin composing songs herself. Unable to sing at home, she began to incorporate her compositions in her work as a history teacher, using her songs to explain the history of the region to her students: "Nowadays indigenous people can be proud of their heritage but years ago this wasn't the case." In the early eighties, Onete quit teaching to campaign for workers' rights and following retirement in 1990 she became her region's Municipal Secretary of Culture from 1993-1996, a role she embraced: "I helped local musicians and local culture that people didn't value. I brought my culture to the fore". In the early 2000s, Onete's second husband encouraged her musical side and it was whilst singing at a friend's party in 2006 that she was overheard by a local band. Initially rejecting their offer to sing with them, she was eventually persuaded and soon became a local celebrity known for her risque lyrics. A debut album, Feitiço Caboclo, soon followed and her contemporary take on the music of Para was a critical success with Onete touring Brazil playing to crowds of thousands: "Traditional carimbó songs are about nature and tradition - I modernized it by singing about love and sex and taking influence from samba and pagoda." International critics were next to fall for this sassy, saucy, and sexy septuagenarian with Les Inrocks making the album one of their top five "world" releases that year. European festival performances followed in 2015, including a main stage spot at Womad UK, with a US tour taking in Chicago, Cleveland, and New York in September 2016. "Sometimes, when you think you've given all you've got, you realize that, in fact, you have a lot more ahead of you," she opines. "Banzeiro" is the wave that's created as boats pass through the water and with its pulsating saxophone riff, insistent guitar line, thundering percussion and Onete's charged lyrics the album title track, a banguê - raucous high-octane "Amazonian ska" - is a musical tsunami. Onete is at her most potent on "Na Linha Do Arco Iris" ("The Line Of The Rainbow"), a rallying cry of support for her LGBT fans. Inspired by a young gay man she knew who was afraid to come out, the lyrics are a call to "come out of the wardrobe, cross the line of the rainbow and be who you want to be." "Faceira" and "No Meio Do Pitiú" are joyous carimbós with the latter surely the only song to recount the charms of Pitiú - the fishy-smelling water that floods Belém's legendary fish-market Ver-o-Peso as the ice defrosts. "No Sabor Do Beijo" ("The Taste Of A Kiss") delights in recounting the different flavors a kiss can have: "hot, frozen, sweet, salty, bold . . . abusive", whilst "Lua Jaci" ("Jaci Moon") recounts a journey to a local island for a concert: "When I arrived they didn't have a soundsystem - they were very poor people. All they had was this huge, beautiful moon . . . Lua Jaci." The cumbia-influenced "Quiemoso E Tremoso" is about seasoning Onete invented that reflects the mix of people from Pará: "Quiemoso is a spice from the Africans that burns the mouth, jambu is a spice from the indigenous that makes the mouth tremble (tremoso), whilst the olive oil is from the Portuguese and holds it together." The boleros Onete offers provide respite from the heat of the tropical night and a welcome chance to drop the tempo. On "Coracao Brecho Onete" sings of how her heart has become a second-hand store (brecho) full of happy and sad memories whilst "Quando Eu Te Conheci" ("When I Met You") is a song even she was unsure of recording because of its risqué lyric "Eu adorei teu jeito louco, Muito louco, Muito louco, De fazer amor" - "I adore your crazy way, Very crazy, Very crazy, Of making love." Comes with Portuguese lyrics and English translations.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Dona Onete, "the grande dame of Amazonian song", returns with further tales from the river Amazon on her sophomore album Banzeiro. Whether she's championing gay rights, singing about the delights of indecent proposals, or praising a former lover for his "crazy ways of making love", Banzeiro is defined by Onete's honest reflections on life, love, sex as well as her delight in the everyday pleasures of life in the Amazon, whether that's spicy seasoning, salty kisses, or fishy-smelling water. "Banzeiro" is the wave that's created as boats pass through the water and with its pulsating saxophone riff, insistent guitar line, thundering percussion and Onete's charged lyrics the album title track, a banguê - raucous high-octane "Amazonian ska" - is a musical tsunami. Onete is at her most potent on "Na Linha Do Arco Iris" ("The Line Of The Rainbow"), a rallying cry of support for her LGBT fans. "Faceira" and "No Meio Do Pitiú" are joyous carimbós with the latter surely the only song to recount the charms of Pitiú - the fishy-smelling water that floods Belém's legendary fish-market Ver-o-Peso as the ice defrosts. "No Sabor Do Beijo" ("The Taste Of A Kiss") delights in recounting the different flavors a kiss can have: "hot, frozen, sweet, salty, bold . . . abusive", whilst "Lua Jaci" ("Jaci Moon") recounts a journey to a local island for a concert: "When I arrived they didn't have a soundsystem - they were very poor people. All they had was this huge, beautiful moon . . . Lua Jaci." The cumbia-influenced "Quiemoso E Tremoso" is about seasoning Onete invented that reflects the mix of people from Pará. The boleros Onete offers provide respite from the heat of the tropical night and a welcome chance to drop the tempo. On "Coracao Brecho Onete" sings of how her heart has become a second-hand store (brecho) full of happy and sad memories whilst "Quando Eu Te Conheci" ("When I Met You") is a song even she was unsure of recording because of its risqué lyric "Eu adorei teu jeito louco, Muito louco, Muito louco, De fazer amor" - "I adore your crazy way, Very crazy, Very crazy, Of making love." Comes with Portuguese lyrics and English translations.

$18.00 IN STOCK

A compilation of new left-field pop, rock, folk, electronic, baile funk, noise and experimental music from artists born or living in Rio de Janeiro, the "Cidade Maravilhosa (the Marvellous City)". Real Rio is compiled by Chico Dub, the curator of Rio de Janeiro's acclaimed experimental music festival Novas Frequencias. Chico says: "The aim is to showcase the best of the independent music scene from Rio: rock, noise, house, drone, new styles of baile funk, Afro-beat, pop. We want to dispel the myth of a city dominated by easy listening bossa nova and show just how broad Rio's sound palette is". Disc one introduces artists such as Ava Rocha, Ricardo Dias Gomes, Negro Leo and Meia Banda who are creating national awareness of Rio's lo-fi alternative scene, whilst B Negão, Abayomy Afrobeat Orchestra and Andre Sampaio are at the forefront of a local Afro-influenced movement whilst veteran artists Elza Soares and Arto Lindsay are bringing elements of these scenes into the Brazilian music mainstream. On disc two Ceticências, Superficie and Eric Alves represent Rio's evolving downbeat electronic scene whilst Leo Justi, Marginal Men and Woo create twisted new club sounds influenced by baile funk and Cadu Tenorio, Bemônio and Chelpa Ferro push local experimental music into unexpected directions limits. Whilst the tracks included represent the new wave of Rio music, there are links to the older generation - Opala's Maria Luiza Jobim is the youngest daughter of Antonio Carlos Jobim (the Brazilian composer wrote the music for "The Girl from Ipanema"), Ricardo Dias Gomes played bass on Caetano Veloso's last three studio albums and Ava Rocha is the daughter of acclaimed "Cinema Novo" Brazilian film director, actor and writer Glauber Rocha. Real Rio is the fourth compilation from respected UK-based Brazilian label Mais Um Discos. Their compilations have re-defined the international view of Brazilian contemporary music scene with releases such as Oi! A Nova Musica Brasileira! (MAIS 001CD, 2010), Daora: Underground Sounds Of Urban Brazil (MAIS 016, 2013) and Rolê: New Sounds Of Brazil (MAIS 026CD, 2014). Real Rio is the latest chapter in Mais Um Discos quest to uncover Brazil's astonishing contemporary music scene. Comes in gatefold digipack. Edition of 1000 (hand numbered). Also features. Bruno Cosentino, Os Ritmistas, Lila, Seletores de Frequência, Otto, Os Afromandinga, Goma-Laca, Lucas Santtana, Benjão, Supercordas, Marginal Men, Omulu, Erica Alves, Ilustradora Carmen Alves, Carrot Green, Manara, Repetentes 2008, Jucara Marcal, Chinese Cookie Poets.

$14.50 IN STOCK

Graveola's third album Camaleão Borboleta is fired with socially conscious lyrics concerning the power of the internet, native Brazilian-Indian struggles and issues around marijuana legalization. Graveola's unique brand of alt-pop sees tropicalia, samba, "rock Brasileira" and Brazilian folk rhythms cannibalize international genres to create strange hybrids they've labelled "psychedelic maracatu", "shamanic funaná", "weird salsa", "schizo-rock-fake-reggae" and "melancholic internet love ballad" - all examples of Graveola's "carnival cannibalism" approach to making music. Oddball arrangements recall Os Mutantes in their prime with naïve melodies, a hazy sensibility and Brazilian folk rhythms giving their music a distinctly Brazilian take on indie that ranks them as torchbearers of the new alt-tropical movement in South America, alongside acts such as Meridian Brothers and Juana Molina. The band has been heavily involved in recent "occupations" of government buildings against what they consider a coup in Brazil. Album opener "Maquinário" is a "psychedelic maracatu" (a rhythm from the north of Brazil) and a song about personal transformation where airplanes ask butterflies for the wind that makes them fly and vice versa. "Índio Maracanã" is a "shamanic funaná" (a Cape Verdean rhythm) inspired by the native Brazilian Indians who occupied the former native Indian museum in Rio in 2014 to try and prevent it being demolished in the lead-up to the World Cup. The group are joined by Samuel Rosa (Skank) on "Talismã", where the narrator lists various symbols that he encounters on a journey to personal freedom. "Tempero Segredo" is José Luis Braga's "tribute to all the herbs that increase levels of awareness". José also wrote "Sem Sentido" which features a mix of rhythms popular from the north of Brazil such as frevo and bolero and talks about the enabling power the internet offers people. "Aurora", "Costi" and "Back in Bahia" were written by Brina. She describes "Aurora" as "a sexy-Latin arrocha (Bahian rhythm) that's a love letter to the Spanish sea with a chorus in 12/8" and "Costi" as "a tribute to my Spanish cousin's 90 year old socialist and feminist grandmother". With a nod to the Gilberto Gil, "Back in Bahia" is, according to Luiza, a "collapsed bossa" that features polyrhythms from the Argentinian music style chacarera. Recorded in the band's hometown of Belo Horizonte under guidance from legendary Brazilian producer Chico Neves (Céu, Lenine) the six-piece have deliver their most electric, compelling work to date, a decade since their formation.

$20.00 NOT IN STOCK

2020 repress; LP version. Septuagenarian Brazilian music icon Elza Soares teams up with the cream of São Paulo's avant-garde musicians for an album of apocalyptic, experimental samba sujo ("dirty samba") that tackles the burning issues of 21st century Brazil: racism, domestic violence, sex, drug addiction and global warming. The Woman at the end of the World is Elza's 34th studio album and her first to feature previously unrecorded material, exclusively composed for her. Voted "Best Album of 2015" by Rolling Stone Brazil after its domestic release, it will now be released worldwide by UK based label Mais Um Discos. Over a sprawl of distorted guitars, squalling horn, taught strings and electronic shards, samba is savaged by rock 'n' roll, free jazz, noise and other experimental music forms. A true legend of Brazilian music Elza has an incredible musical oeuvre that stretches back over seven decades mixing samba with jazz, soul, funk, hip hop and electronica, whilst her life story is a rags-to-riches-to-rags rollercoaster of triumphs and tragedies that has made her a voice for Brazil's repressed female, black, gay and working class populations. Her music career began in the late 1950s as she sung in clubs and hotels, sometimes being forced to perform off stage because of her skin color. The '60s was a career defining period with a run of classic albums for Odeon. After decades of hardships and artistic exploration, her latest muse is São Paulo's hyped samba sujo scene. Soares presents an album that walks a tightrope between post-rock and post-samba. "I knew this album would be a bold, modern sound" she says. "These songs are tense they do not allow you to relax". The album opens with "Coracão do Mar (Heart of the Sea)" with Elza reciting a poem from celebrated Brazilian modernist poet Oswald de Andrade. Title track "Mulher do fim do Mundo" uses carnival as a metaphor for the apocalypse and according to composer Romulo Froes "translates Elza's strength and indestructability". With The Woman at the End of the World, Elza forces the joy and sadness that personifies samba to confront the dirty truths of modern day São Paulo.

$12.50 IN STOCK

2017 repress. Pitchfork: 8.4 -- Best New Music. Septuagenarian Brazilian music icon Elza Soares teams up with the cream of São Paulo's avant-garde musicians for an album of apocalyptic, experimental samba sujo ("dirty samba") that tackles the burning issues of 21st century Brazil: racism, domestic violence, sex, drug addiction and global warming. The Woman at the end of the World is Elza's 34th studio album and her first to feature previously unrecorded material, exclusively composed for her. Voted "Best Album of 2015" by Rolling Stone Brazil after its domestic release, it will now be released worldwide by UK based label Mais Um Discos. Over a sprawl of distorted guitars, squalling horn, taught strings and electronic shards, samba is savaged by rock 'n' roll, free jazz, noise and other experimental music forms. A true legend of Brazilian music Elza has an incredible musical oeuvre that stretches back over seven decades mixing samba with jazz, soul, funk, hip hop and electronica, whilst her life story is a rags-to-riches-to-rags rollercoaster of triumphs and tragedies that has made her a voice for Brazil's repressed female, black, gay and working class populations. Her music career began in the late 1950s as she sung in clubs and hotels, sometimes being forced to perform off stage because of her skin color. The '60s was a career defining period with a run of classic albums for Odeon. After decades of hardships and artistic exploration, her latest muse is São Paulo's hyped samba sujo scene. Soares presents an album that walks a tightrope between post-rock and post-samba. "I knew this album would be a bold, modern sound" she says. "These songs are tense they do not allow you to relax". The album opens with "Coracão do Mar (Heart of the Sea)" with Elza reciting a poem from celebrated Brazilian modernist poet Oswald de Andrade. Title track "Mulher do fim do Mundo" uses carnival as a metaphor for the apocalypse and according to composer Romulo Froes "translates Elza's strength and indestructability". With The Woman at the End of the World, Elza forces the joy and sadness that personifies samba to confront the dirty truths of modern day São Paulo.