October 2013 was a HEAVY month on the releases side. We had to make some hard choices, and have picked a selection of 7 compilations, 6 singles and 6 albums to fill your musical needs. Thanks to labels such as BBE, Analog Africa, Tru Thoughts, Music With Soul, Tiger's Milk, Paris DJs of course, Vampisoul, Gee, Timeless Takeover, Naïve, Project Blue Book, Kept, George V or Ubiquity for hitting us with real life records (CDs and vinyl) during the past month!

Paris DJs Playlist October 2013

The October 2013 Paris DJs Playlist :

COMPILATIONS :

01. Americana Rock Your Soul 2 (CD/LP, BBE, 2013-11-13)
info | buy

'More Blue Eyed Soul & A.O.R. Sounds from the Land of the Free, Compiled by Zafsmusic.com & Mark 'Goovibes' Taylor'. Jazz/Funk instrumentals, hyped-up disco, Punk-Funk & Northern Soul, this new volume explores the boundaries of Folk Funk & Blue-Eyed Soul in the US in the late 70s and early 80s, for a Modern Soul fest of many colors! Check the E.J. Stamp track, taken from an obscure small pressing 45 from 1981, killer boogie funk and reason enough to grab this comp….

02. Angola Soundtrack 2 (CD/2LP, Anagog Africa, 2013)
info | buy | Pre-order opening soon on analogafrica.bandcamp.com

'Hypnosis, Distorsions & Other Sonic Innovations 1969-1978'. Analag Africa are writing a new chapter in their history of the lost sound of 70s Angola. This time the vinyl version is a boxset with two sleeves for each platter and a 16-page booklet in LP size-format, really luxurious! Between 1969 and 1978, three labels/recording companies put out roughly 800 records (mostly singles), while the former Portuguese colony only got its independance in 1975. The selection's got the trademark Analog Africa classy feel with some psychedelic afro-rock vibes, a mostly heavily danceable latin flavour with some joyous carnaval spirit, and typically Angolian melancholic undertones. Sure to be the sound of winter 2013/2014!

03. Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Wild Rockers 3 (CD, BBE, 2013)
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'A Collection of Rare Rockabilly & Surf from the 50s & early 60s'. After so many incredible compilations, Keb Darge keeps our heads and feets spinning with a third volume of rare Rockabilly tunes. This one's even our favorite in the series, digging into pure fun stuff, adding a bit more diversity to the styles, focusing on crazyness and crowd-pleasers. 20 tracks to watch the dancefloor go completely nuts. Killer material.

04. Kev Beadle presents Private Collection (CD, BBE, 2013)
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'Independant Jazz Sounds from the Seventies & Eighties'. Famous DJ and record digger Kev Beadle goes way back to the late 80's acid-jazz boom, spinning at London's legendary Wag, then starting the Talkin' Loud afertnoons on sundays at Dingwalls, before compiling some 'Cadet Grooves' 'Blue Note Capitol Rare' selections… Sixteen years after his last one, he's back with a personal musical journey tracing back to those early experiences as both a DJ and collector on the jazz dance scene. Hand-picked gems from classic jazz dance independent and privately pressed records - pure timeless music.

05. Pal Joey presents Hot Music (CD, BBE, 2013)
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'B-boying, Boom Boxes & Beat-Making - Mixes, Splices & Dices… Classic Disco-tinged House Productions from NYC's Pal Joey'. This one's for DJs, disco house with hip hop cut ups, phat and swinging, a real treat fusionning house grooves and B-Boy dopeness. Joseph Longo aka Pal Joey, from Queens, NY, has been producing music since the late 80s and those who know can't praise his work enough. This is deep house but not only, this is timeless music that hasn't aged a bit, this is a collection of pure classic material aiming for the dancefloor with class. The house record of the month at Paris DJs!

06. Paris DJs Soundsystem presents Have You Ever Been To Electric Afroland ? (Digital Album, Paris DJs, 2013)
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'Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International Vol.4'. Paris DJs with some insight from Zakari Frantz (The Souljazz Orchestra) have prepared for this 4th volume a special treat, since they opted from day one to go into an Afro Rock direction. Exclusive tracks are numerous, starting with a surprising Ethio-Twist number from Dereb The Ambassador (Australia), and going on with more unclassifiable stuff from Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality, Hard Proof (both USA), Onom Agemo and the Disco Jumpers (Germany), the Grant Phabao Afrofunk Arkestra or The Afrorockerz (both from France)… Support your favorite music dealer!

07. Peru Maravilloso (CD/2LP, Tiger's Milk, 2013)
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'Vintage Latin, Tropical and Cumbia'. Treasures from the 1960s/1970s Peru! Cumbia, guaracha and electric chicha, mixed with soul-jazz, Latin-jazz or psychedelic rock influences, as expected fro this kind of rare-groovy specialists compilations, but also permeated by traditional Andean music, afro-Cuban, Caribbean or Latin music played in the western south American country at the time - this is one of the not-to-missed compilations of this end of the year. Majestic work, available on double LP!!

SINGLES :

08. Bio Ritmo / Orquesta El Macabeo - ¡Saoco! Now (7", Vampisoul, 2013)
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The Vampisoul label in Spain are launching a new 45 series called 'Saoco Now!', which will offer current covers of classic songs from Puerto Rico's rich history of dance music. And they do in style first the first release, which sees two of today's most exciting salsa bands, Orquesta el Macabeo, from Puerto Rico, and Bio Ritmo, from Richmond, USA. Both combos are reinterpreting tracks originally released by Cortijo y su Combo and update them in their own irresistible style. A great 7 inch of salsa from the 21st century with a nod towards the past!

09. Conjunto Papa Upa - Vintage Voudou (7", Music With Soul, 2013)
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We introduced our readers to the sound of Amsterdam-based label Music With Soul earlier this year in our January Playlist with the first two singles of Fumaça Preta, 'an insane mixture of psycho garage funk with Brazilian 70s psychedelics'. Crazy and raw groovy stuff… 9 months later the label gives birth to a new release, the debut of Conjunto Papa, who play a mixture of latin rhythms, surf music and psychedelic pop from Venezuela - just what Chicha Libre has been doing with Peruvian music. You're gonna get hooked instantly, this is tropical music at its best, irresistible on a dancefloor, and just heavily psychedelic enough to mess the minds up. Play this and watch people go nuts with a big smile on their faces!

10. Nostalgia 77 - An Angel With No Halo (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts, 2013)
info | buy | Pre-order on etchshop.co.uk

A taster of Nostalgia 77's upcoming album 'A Journey Too Far', 'An Angel With No Halo' is an introspective dreamy psychedelic pop/jazz number which reminds how essential the UK producer has been to his country's jazz scene for the last decade. The Prince Fatty remix is even classier, a dub remix with Axelrod-ish strings that's should go big on the United Kingdom's radio channels! The single will be out early december, while the album should follow in February next year…

11. Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada - Vendendo Saúde e Fé feat. Tita Lima (Grant Phabao Remix) (Digital Single, Paris DJs, 2013)
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Chicanos in outer space Ocote Soul Sounds (a.k.a. Martin Perna from Antibalas) and Adrian Quesada (from Grupo Fantasma, Brownout or The Echocentrics have put out 3 fantastic, cornerstone albums of Afro-Latin music. A real blend between African grooves and Mexican/South American music that hasn't been achieved before or since. Extracted from their second album from 2010, 'Vendendo Saúde e Fé' ('Selling Wealth and Faith', a Brazilian folk expression of hope and optimism) featuring Brazilian vocalist Tita Lima is a soul-tripping ballad with fuzzed-out guitar.
Here's Parisian producer Grant Phabao's take on this kaleidoscopic gem, adding some Jamaican grooves to the already unique formula, for a dazzling remix in psychedelic Afro-Brazilian Reggae style!

12. Soul Sugar - East Of The River Nile (7", Gee Recordings, 2013)
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Exceptional musical talents are hard to find in The Hexagon (mainly because there's no musical education here). Thankfully there are people such as Guillaume Méténier, the most soulful keyboard player in Paris, who's regularly playing on Grant Phabao's reggae, afrofunk or soul-jazz productions. With his combo Soul Sugar (Yvo Abadi on drums, Thomas Naim on guitar & Guillaume Metenier on keys - Organ, Piano, Melodica, Bass, Elka Rhapsody, Rythm Ace…), he's regularly putting out some independant productions that rank amongst the rare not-to-be-missed music from Paris. This limited 45 is another one, a heavy Funk cover of Augustus Pablo's legendary tune 'East Of The River Nile', for all the reggae lovers out there. Mastered by Miles Newbold from the Natural Yogurt Band, this 45 sounds raw and takes no prisonners... and the flip side features a heavy dub mix guaranteed to take you higher! Heavily recommended.

13. The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - Layin Low (7", Timeless Takeover, 2013)
info | buy

The deep funk revival was ignited way back in the 90s by The Poets of Rhythm in Germany, the Dap-Kings family in New York.. or, before anyone else, The Greyboy Allstars in San Diego, where a new instrumental soul band is following in the footsteps of its elders: The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble. Their blend of influences from those 3 legendary bands is surely addictive, and their first 45 is announcing some great news for the future!

ALBUMS :

14. Belleruche - Best Of (2CD/3LP, Tru Thoughts, 2013)
info | buy | order on etchshop.co.uk

UK turntable soul trio Belleruche has released four albums on Brigthon's finest Tru Thoughts Recordings since 2006. That's roughly 60 tracks, and this 'Best Of' - which concludes their adventures since the band is calling it quits afer this - gathers nearly half of those. With a label selection on the first CD, including their biggest hits such as 'Minor Swing', 'Northern Girls', or 'Anything You Want', and the band's own picks on the second disc, this anthology is for those who missed the story. Their handmade jazz, hip-hop, blues & soul pastry is gonna be missed but it's been 8 great years and fans of the band should look out for their forthcoming 'Best Of' farewell tour.

15. Burning House - Walking Into a Burning House (CD, Naïve, 2013)
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French producer Hervé Salters separates his time between San Francisco, Berlin and Paris, moving from place to place with a selection of 10 vintage keyboards. You might remember him from his General Elektriks releases, especially the first one from 10 years ago now, 'Cliquety Kliqk', the most intemporal one of his 3 long-players. He's now back with a new project, Burning House, a collaboration with beat-maker Chief Xcel of Blackalicious fame. The heavy electro-psych-funk single opening the album ('Turn Off The Robot') puts the cards on the table right away. When abstract hip hop, raw funk, synth-pop and jazz collide like that, the meal is contagious and addictive. As much 'Atomic Dogs' as 'Talking Headz', this is really something new AND something borrowed!

16. DJ Format & Phill Most Chill - The Foremost (CD/2LP, Project Blue Book, 2013)
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Dj Format is one of our favorite Hip Hop producers in the UK. We've been closely following his work ever since his first album 'Music For The Mature B-Boy' from ten years ago, and even managed to invite him in 2011 for an exclusive psychedelic mix celebrating the release of his The Simonsound project. He's now joined forces with American MC/producer Phill Most Chill for this straight-up dope Hip Hop album, quite funky & explosive as you'd expect from a DJ Format record. No nostalgia of the golden age here, just the real old school thing, and a GREAT hip hop album. As a bonus, he's cooked a 'Strictly Hip Hop' mix for Paris DJs to be found here. How cool is that?

17. Polyrhythmics - Libra Stripes (CD/LP, Kept Records, 2013)
info | buy

Featured in many Paris DJs mixes and playlists, selected in our second Afrofunk compilation 'We Are The Fire Inside Your Mind', Polyrhythmics' blend of Afrobeat and horn-driven funk is always tasty, groovy, soulful and deep. Don't hesitate any second if you stumble upon one of their vinyl releases! Their new album released on friendly label Kept Records is another one of those must-haves, especially on vinyl. We've put up a free download of the title track in collaboration with their label, go over here to download or stream the entire album.

18. Professor Oz - Buddhattitude (CD, George V Records, 2013)
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A new Professor Oz album is always a treat. The French producer, based in Paris, has been gracing us with amazing chillout/electro/dub compositions over the years ever since the 90s and the Pro-Zak Trax label, on which he released in 2001 his first album 'One', co-produced by our in-house engineer Grant Phabao. In 2004 he self-released the superb and organic Professor Oz & Microlive mini-album and in 2012 he produced an album for his electro-manouche band Que Pasa. Earlier this year the Professor launched his own label Miam Records (check the website by Djouls and the logo by Ben Hito!)… and started working on many new projects, starting with this 8th volume of the Buddha-Bar series, a pure relaxation record, full of dubby bass and chilling synths. Run a bath, press play and close your eyes…

19. The Electric Peanut Butter Co. - Trans-Atlantic Psych Classics Vol.2 (CD/2LP, Ubiquity, 2013)
info | buy

Paris DJs collaborators Shawn Lee and Adrian Quesada hit hard on the killer opening track front, with dancefloor-friendly psychedelic Soul such as 'The Rain'. You know instantly that you have a great record in hand. And indeed the rest of the album is as good, with obvious Beatles influences here (Backstreet Wall', 'El Prudence'), a Fleetwood Mac cover there ('Dreams'), and a 1960′s psychedelic folk, rock and soulful vibe everywhere. There's even some a wink towards Quentin Tarantino with the aptly titled 'Christopher Waltz' - pun included… This fall's album, hands down!


Contact us to be featured in this monthly playlist or send us records at :
Julien Lakshmanan / Paris DJs
240 rue de Belleville
(gardien au 55 rue du Telegraphe)
75020 Paris, France

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