The Dramatics
10½

This new Wackie's 12"s combines three of our favorite tracks from two different past Itopia releases into one killer three track EP. Showing the diversity of style in the Wackie's camp, two tracks have a more uptempo dancefloor feel and the third in a more rootsy mode. These tracks have been some of the most requested for reissue in the last couple years, finally back on the road.

FIRST EVER WORLDWIDE VINYL REISSUE OF VERY RARE PRIVATE HAWAII SPIRITUAL JAZZ-FUNK FROM 1979This exclusive Jazz-Fusion album is a work composed by famous Hawaiian composer/musician/educator Gary Washburn. "A Life in a Day" was a project to fulfil a National Endowment of the Arts grant that he was awarded, and he performed it to fulfil a State Foundation grant that was also awarded to him.Gary composed the music in Hilo specifically for the individuals who performed the music (in the same way that Duke Ellington composed for his band). It's a concept album.The Justin Thyme line-up played a series of shows across the island, and they were initially recorded on a 4-channel recorder. The songs was introduced to brother and producer Kent Washburn, and he agreed to release it on his independent label EmKay Records. The album was mixed and pressed, but the distribution company he was with doubled it up and the album never really made it to the public. The musical Styles used by Washburn to present this unique conceptual representation include traditional and contemporary Jazz, Funk, Pop and, in some passages, classical.

“Irene” is the debut album from Izy (pronounced eye-zee), a Melbourne-based trio originally hailing from Cairns in Australia’s tropical North. A deeply mature album from a very young band, Irene is a 10 song collection of raw neo-soul grooves, rich vocal harmony and subtle jazz guitar. A stripped back, simple recording of a band killing it in a room. There’s a deep understanding of the canon of soul music on display here, with echoes of D’Angelo and Curtis Mayfield, but also a uniquely individual sensibility, rarely so clearly articulated on a debut record.Deeply connected to their roots and their families, both the band and the album are named after Irene, Guitarist Ryo Montgomery’s paternal grandmother; an important source of support and comfort in the band’s formative years. Ryo, bassist Warrigo Tyrrell and drummer Maru Nitor Zamatarro each cut their teeth young, playing with their parents in three very different musical families. Ryo grew up shifting between his mother’s home in rural Japan and his father’s blues bar in Cairns where he watched legends of guitar ply their trade and did his first shows. Maru was playing guiro in his parent’s cumbia band Los Caracoles before he turned five. Warrigo grew up jamming on Shadows covers and Aboriginal protest rock with his fathers and brothers, members of the Kalkadoon and Waanyi nations. Heritage is important to Izy and they bring these musical and cultural influences together proudly.So that’s Izy, humble and hard working Gen-Z virtuosos who love their grandmas, representing an optimistic post-colonial version of Australian identity and music. In their own words: “This album is a tangled culmination of interpersonal relationships; love, society and land. “We three are super blessed to share stories and when we connect, we amplify and respond to each other, which makes it easy to create music and get our message across for our family and our community.”