We are proud to present our Top 10 Compilation Albums from this year.
If you missed them, check them out now!
FLOATING POINTS: LATE NIGHT TALES (LATE NIGHT TALES)
Floating Points’ personal collection of global soul, ambient, jazz and folk treasures form the latest in the warmly revered Late Night Tales series.
“I tried to find music that reflects the stillness of night. And because my musical interests lie all over the place, it’s quite difficult to distil that notion down to just a few songs. I was quite keen to have some electronic music in there but I also really wanted to have some soul music mixed in, so I had to try and find a pathway between all of this different music.”
– Sam Shepherd (Floating Points), 2019
NIGERIA 70: NO WAHALA: HIGHLIFE, AFRO-FUNK & JUJU 1973-1987 (STRUT)
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 the ‘70s and early ‘80s. Compiled by collector and DJ Duncan Brooker, this new selection of tracks is receiving its first international release outside of Nigeria.
The compilation returns to a fertile heyday in Nigerian music when established styles like highlife and juju became infused with elements of Western jazz, soul and funk and musicians brought a proud new message post-independence. Brooker places the spotlight particularly on some of the incredible Ukwuani musicians from the Delta State region as guitarist Rogana Ottah and Steady Arobby’s International Brothers Band forged their own fluid brand of highlife and soulman Don Bruce drew on the US R&B greats for a series of great albums and explosive stage shows at his residency at Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
JUNGLE: BACK TO MINE (BACK TO MINE)
The collection includes an exclusive track from Jungle themselves and takes the listener on an eclectic musical journey. From 90s disco by Merle to more recent house tracks by Manuel Darquart and Drumtalk. Bristol DJ Admin provides the percussion heavy ‘Space Cadet’ and the irrepressible Mocky supplies good vibes on ‘How It Goes’. There’s sophisticated pop from The Marias and Sam Evian and there’s some spotlight for modern jazz with tracks by Kamaal Williams, Mansur Brown and BadBadNotGood featuring Kaytranada. There’s also room for some gospel influenced soul by The Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY, lo-fi dream pop from Paul Cherry before ending with the always impressive HNNY.
“When asked what genre of music we like or create we always answer explaining that we try not to hear music in genre but more in sonic and emotion, and if it feels good then it is good. By that merit, we have conjured a list of far-reaching tracks and brought them together to sit harmoniously on this Back to Mine mix. Put together mostly in the confines of our London based garden studio, where many a late night gathering has taken place, the mix makes its was through psych, Afro-beat, house and soul with some of our favourite tracks of the moment, Have fun and enjoy.” – Jungle
PEGGY GOU: DJ KICKS (!K7)
When Peggy Gou released her debut EP ‘Art of War’ in 2016, she made a list of career goals. One of them was to become the first South Korean DJ to play Berlin’s techno institution Berghain, an objective she achieved only a few months later. Another item on that list was to record an instalment of !K7’s DJ-Kicks series. “It’s the premier class of DJ mixes,” she says. “Some of my favourite selectors have contributed to it.” Now Peggy Gou can tick that off her list too as she proudly presents the 69th edition of the mix series.
The journey through her record shelves kicks off with ‘Fluresence’, the 1993 classic by British ambient stalwart Spacetime Continuum, before Peggy throws in the first of the mix’s three exclusives, ‘Hungboo’. “It’s the first track I ever made,” she says of the mellow tune that features birdsong, muffled koto chords, phrase singing and heavy dub bass. Considering its long gestation – she started working on it in London and finished it in Berlin – the tune is an impressive testament to her growth as an artist and how she has strived to find her own musical voice.
Further down the track list you find tunes by her biggest influences such as Aphex Twin (‘Drukqs’ standout ‘Vordhosbn’) and Andrew Weatherall (his 1990 remix of Sly and Lovechild’s ‘The World According To Sly and Lovechild’), as well as tracks by rising artists such as Deniro or JRMS.
TWIN PEAKS: LIMITED EVENT SERIES SOUNDTRACK (DEATH WALTZ RECORDINGS)
Twin Peaks – Season 3’s Limited Event Series Score featuring tracks by Angelo Badalamenti, Johnny Jewel, David Lynch & Dean Hurley, split across 2 LPs the package compliments our previous Twin Peaks releases featuring a red die cut spot gloss sleeve that reveals a key moment in the show. Mike Bozzi at Bernie Grundman Mastering has mastered the vinyl and Bernie Grundman supervised the cutting master with pressing duties being handled by QRP (Quality Record Pressings in Kansas). The work here is incredible, whether breathing new life into familiar themes or creating brand new ear worms in the form of smokey jazz, Ambient and Industrial stylings. The score is thick with atmosphere and dripping in mood and tension proving once again that Lynch & Badalamenti are both bona fide geniuses who deserve every plaudit given to them.
SUNNY SIDE UP (BROWNSWOOD)
A new generation of young, independent musicians, in share-houses and makeshift home studios, in the garages and backyard sheds of Melbourne’s suburban sprawl, have embraced a brash DIY spirit. Taking cues from soul, jazz and club culture, they’ve stamped an uninhibited style on a sun-bleached spool of influences. A snapshot of a movement that’s ready to boil over, the nine acts on ‘Sunny Side Up’ have grown out of a city free from the weight of overbearing musical traditions, where outside influences are freely re-interpreted and mashed together. A celebratory record, it’s energised by a collaborative spirit as much as by the variety of styles which it collides together.
The record documents a scene poised at saturation point, after steadily expanding since the breakout success Hiatus Kaiyote in 2012, with whom many of the record’s groups share members, friendships or studios. Nurtured by institutions like record shop Northside Records, this is an album which shows splashes of deep house, broken beat, cha-cha, samba, p-funk and soul. Unlike other cities with storied histories in jazz culture, the sound of Melbourne is free of any jazz customs to follow behind, leaving musicians free to incorporate hip hop, house or R&B. Jazz is the mindset, the output is infinitely diverse.
KAMAAL WILLIAMS: DJ-KICKS (!K7)
Game-changing multi-instrumentalist Kamaal Williams has put together the latest DJ-Kicks mix. Due for release on November 8th, it features four of his own brand new and exclusive tracks and hints at the wide world of influences that have made him one of the most prominent artists of the last few years. Williams has taken his long standing love of seventies jazz fusion and mixed it up with the contemporary sound of the London underground to devastating effect. House, broken beat, grime, soul, funk, hip hop and jazz all permeate his work, which has seen him evolve from producer Henry Wu to acclaimed live band Kamaal Williams, backed by talented drummers and bassists. His pioneering work in the studio and live arena has influenced a whole new generation of like-minded musicians that have helped make the capital one of the most musically exciting and quickly evolving cities in the world, with Williams’ own virtuoso drumming and percussion right at the heart of it all.
Z RECORDS 2019 ESSENTIALS (COMPILED BY JOEY NEGRO) (Z RECORDS)
Z Records 2019 Essentials is in many respects a similar proposition to the successful Remixed with Love series, be it slightly more housey in places.
This double CD contains 4 exclusive new JN remixes of disco classics from Double Exposure, The O’Jays, Tamiko Jones and Delia Renee. Along with these are a selection of the best Joey Negro remixes from what has been a great year musically including his reworks of CeCe Peniston, Horse Meat Disco feat Kathy Sledge and Sunkids.
JN also originated some new music in 2019 under the aliases of Mistura, Doug Willis and Lakeshore Commission which are also included. Add to this remixes of ZR classics from Grant Nelson, Crakazat and Dr Packer. Only 1 of the 19 songs has been available on CD before.
MELVO BAPTISTE: GLITTERBOX – HOTTER THAN FIRE (DEFECTED)
Melvo Baptiste steps up to mix the latest Glitterbox compilation, ‘Hotter Than Fire’ featuring the upfront disco heat that has been setting off the dancefloor all summer at Glitterbox parties in New York, London and Ibiza. A strong contender for the hottest party on earth, Melvo has headlined Hï Ibiza for another record-breaking season this summer. ‘Hotter Than Fire’ channels the energy of a Glitterbox event, with this 2 x 12” LP special exploring the best authentic house and disco sounds.
Transitioning through the decades, ‘Hotter Than Fire’ traces all the way from the 1978 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ (A Tom Moulton Mix) through to 90’s groovers like Jamiroquai ‘Space Cowboy’ (David Morales Classic Club Remix) and Joey Negro ‘Can’t Get High Without U’ (Joey Negro Club Mix). Journeying all the way to current club hits like this years’ Slam Dunk’d featuring Chromeo & Al-P ‘No Price’ (Dr Packer Extended Remix) and Yuksek ‘I Don’t Have A Drum Machine’.
Demonstrating what Glitterbox does best, ‘Hotter Than Fire’ re-creates the atmosphere of the party, with an abundance of disco, house and soulful sounds that embody the hands-in-the-air, euphoric, confetti-filled moments that the events are loved for.
PROPER SUNBURN: FORGOTTEN SUNSCREEN APPLIED BY BASSO (MUSIC FOR DREAMS)
“.. a selection of rare cuts, Plattenrille discoveries, organic excursions and electric lullabies, all perfectly at home in the Growing Bin. Whether you’re coping some rays, watering the plants or tackling the tax return, ‘Proper Sunburn’ will ensure you keep your cool and stay smiling. Copenhagen’s Music For Dreams has done it again with this release for the proper connoisseurs! “