Born in Rio in 1940, Helio won a guitar from his father at age 12. After working in sugar mills or as a sales clerk in record stores, he started performing at Rio nightclubs (like Plaza) and São Paulo. In 1975 he signed to RCA Victor on which he released his first LP, “Matheus Segundo Matheus” With arrangements by Oberdan “Black River” Magalhães, Zé Rodrix and Chiquinho de Moraes with participation of Azymuth as a support band with a total of 128 musicians involved int he recording. Unfortunately this much deserved reissue didn’t make it to press before Helio Passed last year, but we are most humble and proud to do it justice.

2020 release. Andrew Roachford finds himself writing and recording the best songs of his life on his album Twice In a Lifetime. He's come a long way since the giddy chart success of 'Cuddly Toy', with his deep-rooted desire to work at his trade and to make great music ever-present and never stronger.

Nina Simone Sings Ellington is an album by American singer and pianist Nina Simone. The album contains songs that were originally composed and recorded by Duke Ellington. Simone is complemented by the Malcolm Dodds Singers.
The cover photo features just Nina Simone's head in full colour. Nina says about this picture in her autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992) that the picture was originally a full size picture of Simone's body. However, because Nina was pregnant with her daughter Lisa at that time, the photographer tried various positions to hide Nina's stomach. He failed in this most probably, and that is why just Simone's head was used out of the full picture.
A leftover shot of Nina from this session, featuring a pose from her chest up, was later used on her 1966 album, Nina Simone with Strings.

Taken from recently discovered sources in The David Bowie Archive®, I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74) was recorded mostly during David’s performance at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20th October, 1974, with the encores taken from the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30th November, 1974. The only song missing from the full set on the 20th October performance is ‘Diamond Dogs’ which was unfortunately only recorded in part. To make up for that it was decided to include the encores from the 30th November performance which featured ‘Diamond Dogs’ but also enables a fuller representation of the set from The Soul Tour including such numbers as ‘Knock On Wood’ and the ‘Foot Stomping / I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate’ medley.

A Western Circular is Will Archer’s debut under his new nom-de-plume, following early EPs and an album under the now-retired Slime moniker. On A Western Circular, Archer has uncovered new depths and forged an invigorating singular sound – supple and multi-layered, honouring his acoustic heritage and influence, while building a sonic universe that commands contemporary references to everything from Frank Zappa to Yasuaki Shimuzu, Robert Wyatt to Arthur Russell.

In Let Yourself Be Loved, Joy Denalane presents her definitive soul statement. The album is in equal parts an act of self-assertion, genealogical research and homage to the great classics of the genre. A musical masterpiece in which she deftly brings together all the strands of her earlier work.

‘One World’ is the 11th studio album from Billy Ocean, the biggest black recording star Britain has ever produced.

JoJo has announced the deluxe edition of her critically-acclaimed album good to know, due out on August 28 via Clover Music/Warner Records. The 16-track record features highly-anticipated collaborations with Demi Lovato and Tinashe plus five brand new tracks.

Internationally renowned, 3-time Grammy-nominated R&B singer/songwriter KEM returns with his sixth studio album "Love Always Wins". The album features the chart-topping single "Lie To Me."

Blues Hall of Famer and five-time Grammy-nominee Bettye LaVette returns with a new album, `Blackbirds,' produced by Steve Jordan. Features songs primarily popularized by peers-other iconic women in music-who she respected and admired.

Multi-Platinum, GRAMMY-winning megastar Toni Braxton releases her latest album, Spell My Name, via Island Records

After a half-year of recording material with various producers, Ross settled with the production team of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the creative force behind Marvin Gaye's and Tammi Terrell's hit duets and Diana Ross & the Supremes' 'Some Things You Never Get Used To'. Ashford and Simpson helmed most of Ross's first album, Diana Ross, and continued to write and produce for her for the next decade.

„Diana Ross would probably be offended by anyone who called her 1980 smash Diana a comeback, but let's face it – after the flop of The Wiz, and the way that the disco revolution steamrollered so many of her Motown compatriots' careers, that's exactly what it was. Wisely hooking up with Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (both the most traditionally rooted and most fearless of the major disco-era producers), Ross sounds more forceful than she had in years.

Ashford & Simpson, who had produced Diana's eponymous debut nine years earlier, teamed with her again on this 1979 release.

Djesse Vol. 3 is the third record in the Djesse series by English musician Jacob Collier, released on 14 August 2020.