Meco
Star Wars

The Afro Modern Sounds of Soweto’s First Nightclub. A night-time haunt in the backstreets of Soweto run by a well-known bootlegger should have been a prime zone for nefarious underworld activities. Instead, it nurtured an underground of a different kind. Soon after its opening in 1973, Club Pelican became a spot where musicians steeped in the tradition of South African jazz began to cook up experimental sounds inspired by communion, competition and the movements in funk and soul blowing in from the West. Located in an industrial park on the western edge of Orlando East, Soweto, Club Pelican was off the beaten track, among a matrix of railway and industrial infrastructure. In a different time and place, this would have been a prototypical nightclub location, except there was no local precedent to follow. This was Soweto’s first night club.Ten seminal tracks journeying through jazz, funk, fusion and disco, detailing the incredible story and sounds behind the Soweto nightclub during the height of apartheid. A uniquely South African take on the trans-Atlantic sounds of Philadelphia, Detroit and New York City. Presented in a gatefold double vinyl edition with printed inner sleeves, cover artwork by Zulu Bidi (of Batsumi fame), unseen photographs, and liner notes by Kwanele Sosibo featuring interviews with key musicians, players and a former president of South Africa. Audio mastered and cut for vinyl by Frank Merritt at The Carvery with heavyweight 180g vinyl pressed at Pallas in Germany

"Wigged-out library music from the enigmatic Natural Yogurt Band fuses thick funk with woozy psychedelia."It's been 3 years since enigmatic composer Miles Newbold aka The Natural Yogurt Band's last LP release on BMM, Braille, Slate & Stylus. He is now back with Dance The Devil Away, containing 10 tracks of pagan jazz and spooky library music from the hills and trees of Derbyshire, carried by Tom Dempsey’s heavy drum play. We find again that raw yet distinguished sound with screeching organs, swirling flutes and loud drum breaks that navigate inside the stereo like a ghost haunting this record.

Eclectic sounds ranging across genres and continents make up the 19 gems contained on ‘The Beauty Is Inside’, all deftly linked together by Lefto’s unrivalled taste and deep musical knowledge.As well as showing respect for some somewhat unsung heroes from the past like Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete, South African singer and actress Patience Africa and Spanish composer Pedro Ruy-Blas of seventies fusion band Dolores, Lefto looks to the future, showcasing young soul and electronic artists, including D.C.’s Dreamcastmoe, Pasadena’s Qur’an Shaheed, Regal86 from Monterrey, Antwerp’s abrahamblue and Elisa Bee from Milan, to name just a few. The album also features an appearance from paladin of the current jazz renaissance Makaya McCraven, and even a track from Lefto himself.“‘The Beauty is Inside’ is a compilation of original tracks (I personally really like) and tracks from friends who happen to be great artists as well” says Lefto. “They are all pretty much up-and-coming, and deserve more exposure. It has always been my job as a radio man to shine a light on the talented artists who need it the most. We all know how the music industry works, and how hard it is to find your way in that world, so I hope this collection of tracks will give these artists the shine they deserve.”