Far Out Vinyl & CDs

Review: Before they found fame with their 1975 debut album, Azymuth divided their time between working as backing musicians (attending recording sessions with some of Brazil's top talent) and recording experimental home demos. Recently rediscovered, these demos are finally being given a release thanks to the efforts of Far Out chief Joe Davis. There's much to admire on this first batch (a second volume is also available) of previously unheard early recordings, from the high-octane Brazilian funk insanity of "Prefacio" and Jimmy Smith-esque "Melo De Cuica", to the spacey samba/jazz-funk fusion of "Xingo (Version One)" and the relaxed, slow-burn brilliance of seven minute B-side opener "Laranjeiras".

Review: Together under the starry skies of the 70s, Arnaud Rodrigues and Chico Anysio made some of the most incredible music of that decade, under the name of Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos. Their legendary debut LP from 1974, under their own name, has become a Brazilian funk addict's must-have, not to mention a Holy Grail for contemporary sampling. Until now, it's been difficult to get a hold of it on viny format, so we're super psyched that the irresistibly reliable Far Out label has decided to reissue it. With 11 tracks to marvel at, there is a slice of funk for all walks of life and, of course, there is so much grooving to done! Quite simply, this is feel-good music for feel-good people, and this duo's vibes are just about the best thing we could ask on this June morning. Cop it before it's too late - we wouldn't want you to suffer at the hands of the online sharks, now!

Review: Brazilian heavyweights Seu Jorge, Marcio Local, Elza Soares and Cesar Camargo Mariano all make up the legendary Banda Black Rio band. This was their much anticipate comeback album originally put out in 2001. Far Out have now secured reissue rights and serve up a special edition with two tracks that have never previously been on vinyl. They are 'Irere (feat. Gilberto Gil)' and 'Aos Pes Do Redentor (feat. Caetano Veloso)' and they sit with silky jazz-soul gems like 'Louis Lane' and contemporary samba jams like 'Samba Nova' with some exquisite guitar playing.

Review: The evergreen Far Out Recordings here serve up, for the first time ever on vinyl, Mora! II, alongside the previously released Mora! Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett recorded the first of these albums as private presses in 1987. The follow up was with an expanded Detroit jazz brass section but was shelved for many years. Both are pan-American melting pots that stir up afro-cuban rhythms, fiery sambas, frenetic batucadas and much more which is why they have become such gold standard Latin jazz classics.

Review: Francisco Mora Catlett is a Mexican drummer, composer and educator. He began his musical career in Mexico City where he worked as a session musician for Capitol Records between 1968-1970. He left with Sun Ra in 1973 and worked with him until 1980. While in Detroit in 1987, he released his first album as a leader, the Pan-Afro project "Mora!". Mora II continues the concept of the first album, with wife Teresa Mora on vocals and trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, This follow up album has finally been given a high quality vinyl reissue by London's Far Out Recordings.

Review: The well-regarded Far Out label starts a new catalogue number series for this first reissue from Brit-funk band Freeze. They are of course best known for lighting up the charts and dance floors of the 1908s with their super hit 'Southern Freeez' but also penned plenty of other gems. 'Keep In Touch' is right up there amongst them and now comes as an original and edited version on heavyweight vinyl. It is a joyful track packed with busy jazz-funk keys that cannot fail to amp up the party, especially in unison with a busy and tight bass riff and hip-swinging claps and drums. The edit shortness things up t make for an even more potent gem.

Review: Before tearing up dancefloors - and the pop charts - with 1981 single 'Southern Freeez', Brit-funk outfit Freeez self-released a couple of singles on main man John Rocca's Pink Rhythm label. These are now sought-after items, particularly debut double A-side 'Stay'/'Hot Footing It', hence this handy reissue. 'Stay', an early composition from UK jazz-funk legend Jean-Paul Maunick, is a deliciously expansive affair, with Spanish guitar solos, dazzling electric piano motifs, rubbery bass, shuffling drums and sweet female lead vocals all vying for attention in the mix. 'Hot Footing It' is a more straight-up UK jazz-funk floor-filler full of fluid jazz-bass, bustling drums and warming Rhodes riffs. Both tracks have naturally stood the test of time very well.

Review: Far Out Recordings have long been masters at unearthing and reissuing long-lost Brazilian masterpieces. Jose Mauro's 1970 debut album, Obnoxious, undoubtedly falls into that category. It's long been a favourite with committed diggers such as Gilles Peterson, Madlib and Floating Points, all of whom appreciate Mauro's distinctively melancholic take on the samba sound. Drenched in atmospheric strings and with the singer's bittersweet vocals to the fore, the album sounds like it was informed as much by the Walker Brothers ad Rotary Connection as the sun-kissed sounds Mauro would have grown up listening to. It's not exactly psychedelic per se, but it's certainly impressively atmospheric and occasionally refreshingly dark. File under: "essential listening".

Review: We owe a lot to Toni Mazzotti, the son of Ana Mazzotti, for this one as it is apparently he who unearthed his mother's 'O Filho Do Homem' single. It is thought to have been recorded by the late Brazilian composer and keyboardist in Brazil in 1983 and is the only thing she recorded in the eighties. It is one of many unreleased tunes the great musician played on TV Cultura and Programa MPB during the 80s. Each show proved her skills as she moved into the more hard edge and experimental sounds while always staying true to her roots in jazz, samba and funk.

Review: 52 years after it was first released in 1970, Hermeto Pascoal's self-titled debut long player remains a remarkable one. It was born in the A&R studios in New York and features a heavyweight cast of collabs including Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Joe Farrel and Googie Coppola. There are even some stars of the Brazilian jazz scene of the time making appearances such as Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, who also took care of production. From elevator jazz tunes like 'Hermeto' to laid back and sunny bliss-outs like 'Flor Do Amor' the sis another jewel in the crown of Far Out.

Review: Hermeto Pascoal is more than a musical maverick, he is a cultural icon. The composer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger with a wizard-like appearance was described once by the great Miles Davis as 'the most impressive musician in the world'. The Brazilian fusion great was known for his fiery live sets and is just as thrilling on record as this one proves. All the tracks are originals with a loud flurry of piano and 60s big band horn chants, cool electric keys and mind-blowing fusion sounds all making for exciting music that is thrilling to listen to and utterly unconventional.

Review: Ricardo Bomba was not only a studio owner, engineer, pianist and composer, but so too was he an accomplished amateur skateboarder. He lay down these previously unreleased, sun soaked Brazilian tunes in 1978 after years as bandleader with the one and only Jorge Ben's live show. The master tapes were said to have been binned during a heavy studio clear out but the man himself kept a tape copy that has been remastered for this special 7". Mariana Couto provides the angelic vocals while the music all trills with joy and happiness.

Review: From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, Brazil's population suffered at the hands of the brutal dictatorship of the Fifth Republic, arising from a coup at the hands of the country's armed forces with support from the US administration of the time. Human rights abuses, institutionalised torture and extrajudicial killings were par for the course of a regime, supported by religious and anti-Communist sections of society. At the same time, the domestic avant garde music scene was merging with the mainstream birth the Tropicalia arts movement, but this wasn't the only sound that was pushing back against the corridors of power. Forged from rock, folk, psychedelia and traditional Brazilian rhythms, while Som Imaginario aren't always considered part of that scene, they shared values and, in many ways, an approach to pushing sonic boundaries. This 1976 live album speaks volumes about the creative freedoms expressed as a form of protest against militarised conformity.