★We Are Busy Bodies
Synthetic - A Synth Odyssey: Season 1
Rich Aucoin is announcing his next album entitled Synthetic. The record is a rare Quadruple Album with its 4 seasons/LPs being staggered in 6 month intervals over the next 2 years. The album, which began at The National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta in March 2020, houses one of the world’s most extensive collection of rare and historic synthesizers. There, Aucoin was doing the Artist In Residence program and recorded 51 synthesizers to begin the project. The project was paused with the start …
De Repente
In 1970, the Virgilio Armas Trio released De Repente on the tiny Discos A&B label, very likely a one-off, self-financed project. Virgilio Armas recalls: “The nightlife in Caracas of the 1950’s and 1960’s inspired me to record an album in 1970, with songs influenced by the Jazz, Bossa and Latin genres. De Repente was created with my beloved Piano, and my long-time musical partners Rodolfo Buenaño (bass) and Guillermo Tariba (drums).”
The style is very much influenced by the harder post-Bossa Nova…
Espejismo
We Are Busy Bodies announces the reissue of the rare and sought-after 1973 Venezuelan jazz album Espejismo ('Mirage') by Virgilio Armas Y Su Grupo, offering a fascinating snapshot of the thriving music scene in early 1970's Caracas, until now largely undocumented because of the musical dominance of Venezuela’s far larger southern neighbour, Brazil. Pianist and bandleader Virgilio Armas skilfully combined Latin Jazz, post-bossa swing (Balanço), with home-grown variants of Son Cubano, Montuno, Mer…
Like A Child
We Are Busy Bodies reissues Sadayasu Fujii Trio's 1977 album, Like A Child. Led by pianist, Sadayasu Fujii, the album includes jazz standards "A Sleepin' Bee" and "If I Should Lose You", along with original compositions.
Daguri
The music Coltrane, Tyner and others did back in their prime made a sizable ripple in jazz. Many went on to emulate their style well after the originators either died or moved on. For the most part I find these emulator (or keepers of the flame, to be more polite) to be either alright or great. Kohsuke Mine Quintet is one of those greater ones. They're relatively obscure from what I gather, releasing only a few albums back in the 70s and a resurgence album in the 90s but their music is much more…
Music For Listening
*In process of stocking* Music For Listening, the sophomore album by Michael Scott Dawson. The album is comprised of twelve ambient works for guitar. It follows his 2020 debut Nowhere, Middle Of which was built around generative synths. Not wanting to repeat himself, Dawson entirely abandoned the synthesizer, his primary instrument, on Music For Listening. The resulting guitar pieces lean heavily on tape loops and manipulations, and are accompanied by field recordings and spare piano elements. T…
Ubok Aka Inua
*In process of stocking* Originally released in 1976, Ubok Aka Inua is the fifth album by legendary Nigerian saxophonist and band leader, Etubom Rex Williams. The album features Psychedelic Shoes and One Woman Is Enough Trouble, both heard on countless funk and soul compilations. The album was restored from the original tapes by Noah Mintz and artwork restored and recreated by Steve Lewin.
"Etubom Rex Williams occupies the genuine space of legend of Nigerian Highlife. His incredible professional…
Funky Africa
*In process of stocking* We Are Busy Bodies is proud to present a reissue of composer, guitarist, and later producer, Almon Memela’s ultra rare 1975 album, Funky Africa. From the original liner notes: 'Africa has always been many things to many people. To some, Africa is the Dark Continent, a mysterious, romantic and vast expanse of unexplored territory. To others, again, Africa is the ultimate symbol of man's triumph over his environment: a wakening giant destined to play a significant role in …
Deeper Roots
*In process of stocking* Second, and long out of print album by South Africa's Roots. Remastered from original audio tapes. Artwork completely restored by Steve Lewin.
Shrimp Boats
Assembling unreleased recordings from 1979 and 1980, Shrimp Boats is a South African jazz archival compilation from 1987 built around its epic side-long title track featuring saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. The recording was made during pianist Lionel Pillay's November 1979 session with Coetzee for the As-Shams/The Sun album Plum and Cherry. Side Two is composed of material recorded in September 1980 from the session for Lionel Pillay's Deeper in Black album. The 1951 pop standard "Shrim…
Tshona!
*In process of stocking* As a member of the all-star Jazz Epistles in the late 1950s, saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi (also spelled Moketsi during his tenure with the As-Shams record label in the 1970s) was one of the pioneering forces of modern South African jazz. While Jazz Epistles bandmates Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim would go on to build their careers in the United States in the 1970s, it was at home in South Africa that Moeketsi would leave his mark on the domestic jazz discography. Fro…
Zodiac
We Are Busy Bodies announces the officially licensed reissue of the 1966 cosmic, free jazz album Zodiac by French saxophonist and composer Barney Wilen. The album’s astrological theme and Robert Crumb-esque comic-book style cover art, illustrated by the renowned cartoonist Siné, marks it as a European parallel to the burgeoning counter-cultural happenings of the same period in the USA.
The reissue also offers tantalising glimpses of a projected animated tie-in film that never was. Wilen's friend…
Beat Gregoriano
We Are Busy Body presents the remastered reissue of Mario Molino's 1971 album, Beat Gregoriano. Remastered by Noah Mintz from Lacquer Channel Mastering.
Playtime
*Remastered reissue from original tape transfers* Piero Umiliani's 1968 album Playtime was originally issued on the Omicron label. It has been remastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering. Licensed from Liuto Edizioni Musicali.
Drive Live
*Official remastered reissue* We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Live. A live performance by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.
Drive Unlimited
We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Unlimited. A gem by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.
Remastered reissue by We Are Busy Bodies. Art restoration by Steve Lewin.
Alleycat
Definitely one of Nucleus' lesser known albums, Alleycat nonetheless maintains the exceptionally high standards that Ian Carr & Nucleus had set for themselves over the course of numerous albums before this one. It's true that there's little here which is a departure from any of their previous releases, but with a quality of of both songwriting and playing this high, who could blame them? Once again we have fast, intricate, melodic jazz-rock fusion, with moments of high energy interspersed with s…
Under The Sun
Under The Sun is the follow-up to the astonishing Roots and contains yet more absolutely essential Nucleus material. Originally released on Vertigo in 1974, Under The Sun was never re-pressed and of course those original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this re-issue, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press. The bleak, rain-dappled cover matches the melancholic vibe of the record and has been restored as the finishing…
Sikiza Matshikiza
Born in Queenstown in South Africa's Eastern Cape province in 1938, Patrick Vuyo Matshikiza was raised in a musical family. His uncle Todd Matshikiza was a jazz columnist for Drum Magazine in the 1950s and composed the music for King Kong - the all-black musical from 1958 that played in London's West End and launched the career of singer Mariam Makeba. Pat was educated at St. Mathews, an historic mission school in Keiskammahoek, where he played organ and graduated with a teacher's diploma. He mi…
Fantasy In Orbit
Discounted copies, sealed with slightly damaged on corners We Are Busy Bodies announces the official reissue of the seminal 1959 album, The Fascinating World of Electronic Music by the Dutch electronic music pioneers Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan. In combining jazz with experimental electronics, the album significantly predates other early renowned popular electronic music productions such as the ‘Dr Who’ theme, realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1963) or Wendy Carlos’ …