Various
Motown Collected

Marijata was a group made up of three members – Kofi 'Electric' Addison on drums, Bob Fischlan on organ and Nat Osmanu on guitar, hailing from Ghana. ‘This Is Marijata’ is the groups first LP; released originally on the Gapophone label – it is pure, rootsy, raw, driving African funk music of the highest order, now highly sought-after in both its original and previously reissued forms.Personnel: Drums – Kofi 'Electric' Addison / Guitar – Nat Osmanu / Organ – Bob Fischlan / Recording Engineer – F. KwaakyeProduced in 1976 at Gapophone Records, Accra, Ghana. Recorded At Ghana Film Industry Corp. Studios. Licensed from George Prah, founder of Gapophone Records. Official Mr Bongo reissue. On the original pressing the sides were incorrectly labelled. On this version they are correctly labelled. The artwork apart from this point, is replica.

Following a limited 7” vinyl release of SunPalace edits in 2020, BBE Music finally delivers the full-length versions of Moodymann and Kenny Dope’s ‘Rude Movements’ remixes, alongside brand new interpretations by François K, Frankie Feliciano and OPOLOPO, plus a special edit by Phil Asher.François Kevorkian needs no introduction to fans of House and electronic music. Featuring keys by Eric Kupper, his ‘SATS Dub’ and ‘TradMix’ versions of ‘Rude Movements’ are simply classic works, summoning House music’s golden era forward in time, to the here and now. Bonus spaced-out ‘Flerken Space Bubbles’ and beat-less ‘Atmosphere’ revisions are also included in the digital version: both invaluable tools for DJs. Ricanstruction label founder and long-time champion of the good groove, Frankie Feliciano delivers a slick and faithful update of ‘Rude Movements’, with a slight Latin soul twist. Swedish mix-king OPOLOPO turns in a typically live-sounding, funky and dancefloor-ready jam (ready whenever the dancefloor is, anyway) The full, extended version of Moodymann’s remix retains the original ‘jammed’ feel of Rude Movements, adding stellar flute, sax and piano solos to that hypnotic vibe. Kenny Dope’s Afro-Latin inspired ‘Dancefloor Powder’ version is joined this time by a rough’n’ready, street tough ‘O’Gutta’ mix; calling all b-boys and b-girls! For the expanded digital package, we are also including a special edit by our sorely missed brother Phil Asher, created for his own DJ sets and now available to all.Made famous by David Mancuso at his New York Loft Parties, ‘Rude Movements’ was an obscure Brit-funk b-side recorded in the home studio of Mike Collins. The track’s unique sound, coupled with pristine sonics and production values caught the audiophile ears of Mancuso, and the rest is history. Soon the track found its way into the hands of Loft Party denizens Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Frankie Knuckles and Danny Krivit and continues to influence House and electronic producers through to this day.

Zretro are a Naarm (Melbourne) based duo made up of vocalist Zima and producer 2nd Thought. Their self-titled debut LP blends 90s R&B vocals with golden era hiphop production and elements of Kwaito and Afrobeats. Zima’s voice is honey sweet, 2nd Thought beats sound fresh out of an MPC and their album is tied together by the elastic bass guitar contributions of jazzy house don Horatio Luna. Raw, simple production lets the beats and vocals dominate with only minimal instrumental accompaniment.Zima aka Mzimazizi Mpofu was born in Buluwayo, Zimbabwe and raised in Melbourne and Canberra. He grew up on TLC, Tupac, MJ and Oliver Mtukudzi and has been singing for at least 20 of his 26 years graduating from church and family events to clubs and studios around Australia. 2nd Thought aka William Stephanus was born in Australia but grew up in Namibia and returned to Melbourne in his late teens where he started making beats and rapping in Melbourne’s underground hiphop scene with crews like Pang Productions and his own outfit JXN. Zima and Willy met on a construction site and then put their heads together in the studio with immediate results but the record was put on ice due to Covid 19. Pandemic delays done with, the duo is ready to take on the world.Unsurprisingly, given Retro is right there in the name, there’s a huge 1990s influence throughout Zretro’s music. There’s slick RnB and West Coast flavour of equal parts SWV, Boyz 2 Men and Death Row in a lot of the vocal delivery, tempos and melodies. There’s also a decidedly grimy East Coast boom bap tinge to the boxy MPC drums and that brings to mind Hi-Tek, Alchemist and Pete Rock productions. The other thread, less obvious but woven throughout the album is the influence of early 2000s Southern African music. There’s musical and lyrical nods to Afrobeats, Kwaito and SA House and inspiration from pop stars like Brenda Fassie, to underground icons like Mzekezeke.