Category archive: Music

fLako‘s fantastic fairytale ride in the form of “Lion’s Mane” is just too ridiculously for words! Together with his alter ego Dirg Gerner, he manages to yet again amaze my eardrums on his brand new “Eclosure” EP out on Five Easy Pieces. Don’t sleep on “Mating Dance” which is available as a free download. The EP will available tomorrow on limited clear vinyl in digital format, so order now if you haven’t already. Damn the vinyl sold out quickly..

Now I’m massively late with the latest “Fly” EP from Seattle-based soul singer Choklate. Had this lying around for a while, but somehow forgot to share this with you all last month. Really lovin’ the smooth vibe of “The Stand” Pt. 1 featuring Musiq Soulchild, but I suggest you give the whole EP a listen on .

Last week Hit + Run released volume 3 of their “Road Kill” compilation series which contains 25 exclusive & unreleased songs from Dexter Story, fLako, Teebs, Salva, Devonwho, Kutmah, Sonnymoon and many others. Enjoy Dexter Story’s “Everything” and don’t forget to support and purchase the CD or digest some digital goodness.

We’d like to congratulate Vincent aka Seravince with the 1st official single of his upcoming “Hear To See” album. Some of you might know Vince under his former Flowriders moniker. Seravince is all about being true to yourself and sticking to your guns. A lot of time and effort was put into this project and we are proud to be able to bring you quality music such as “U Love” featuring Renee Neufville. You might have heard an early version of this before, but the final mixdown sounds so much better. Please note that this ‘name your price’ free download will be available in limited quantities, but in case you’d like to donate a little something you are most welcome to do so. Hear To See will be available on CD in Japan tomorrow so look for the Japan edition with that sexy obi strip in your local Japanese music shop. A worldwide release is slated for December…right on time for Christmas!

We received an email from the First Touch funk duo saying there’s a new song out from them entitled “You Got It Baby”. This bad boy can be found on Yosoy Records’ “The Compilation” which is a collaborative project with street fashion retailer Urban Outfitters and comes in slick packaging. The project also features some serious funk form Soulparlor featuring Stray (still waiting for the audio for that one) and a bunch of other European and US-artists. It’s available on CD and so give this a listen.

We’ve been listening to the new Positive Flow album for a while now and it’s one solid piece of quality music! “Flow Lines” is his debut album and features Omar, Sharlene Hector, Heidi Vogel (Cinematic Orchestra), Stacy Epps, Colonel Red and Vanessa Freeman to name a few. Wonderful fusion of soul, broken beat, jazz and house music. Next week is the official release date on Tokyo Dawn Records, so mosey on to the TDR shop to pre-order the CD or snack on some digital goodness.

This afternoon I had fLako‘s “Lion’s Mane” featuring Dirg Gerner on repeat! Like a good boy I decided to keep the audio to myself, but when I saw XLR8R was giving away “Mating Dance” away as an exclusive free download, I knew I had to post this one. Expect another post next weekend right before his “Eclosure” EP drops on Five Easy Pieces. Should be November 26th. I already ordered me some limited edition clear vinyl…and so should you!

I grew up buying vinyl so for me music was always something special. Something you would go out and search for. The first record store I grew fond of was Dance Tracks (R.I.P.) and after that Fat Beats came to Amsterdam. I spent many hours (and all my allowance) hangin’ out in records shops, soaking up every bit of knowledge I could. Just a few blocks from my house was this dusty old record spot that had a huge basement full of records. Must have spent weeks in there. I still visit this place on the weekend and hang out and talk music with old guys.

In the second half of the nineties I came in contact with Soul, Funk, Jazz, Disco and many other forms of black music. Before that it was all about Hip Hop and R&B music. Now when I first met Nevill, he wasn’t into vinyl as much I was. It wasn’t something of his generation, yet years later we share the same passion. He introduced me to music from FlyLo, AFTA-1 and Sa-Ra. I introduced him to Leon Ware, Pleasure and Leo’s Sunshipp.

We’ve been talking about posting about our love for old records and thought now would be as good as timing as ever to start. These Random Record Rants will shine some light on our personal taste in music and might open a whole new world for some people. For us it’s just a way to share our passion!

Yesterday Front2blaq helped me remember about this Samuel Jonathan Johnson record I hadn’t heard in quite a while. Arranged by Richard Evans (Soulful Strings) and with John H. Hammond as executive producer this album can only be good. It’s no secret I love smooth & sexy songs, so if I have to pick a winner of this album I’d personally go for “Just Us”. After having read the following quote on the back of the sleeve, I soon realized Samuel was one smooth fellow. “Age exists only to disclose the perpetual advancement of time, but love exists mainly to unveil the resolute purpose of man’s existence.”

This Samuel Jonathan Johnson record is going straight into my record bag that I’m bringing this Sunday to the North Sea Jazz club this Sunday. Going to play some mellow rare groove classics for sure!

After some tasty free give aways from UK’s finest, Tatham, Mensah, Lord and Ranks, it’s about that time for their “Tatham, Mensah, Lord & Ranks” album to drop. With a little help from music friends Eric Lau, Bembe Segue, Mark Force, Sarina Leah and Ferraz, TMLR spread some funky fly broken vibes guaranteed to bring a smile on any music lover’s face. Make sure to buy your copy on or wait for the CD to drop via Juno.

Tatham, Mensah, Lord & Ranks – Celebrate

Way under the radar we stumbled upon the “Chips N Chittlins” project from Paul Randolph & Zed Bias. This was released via P-Vine earlier this year and has been available on CD and digitally for a while as well. Head over to Juno if you’d like to buy the CD or try your luck on Japan.

Paul Randolph & Zed Bias – Surrender