Wah Wah 45s x Record Store Day

"Wah Wah 45s are proud to present their debut Record Store Day special release!

In 2014 the label celebrates not only its 15th anniversary, but, with this record, its 50th seven-inch release, and it's something very unique indeed.

Two of the imprints best loved artists, East End brass juggernaut Hackney Colliery Band, and funky Canadian piano maestro Henri-Pierre Noel come together on seven inches of wax for the first time, remixed by label boss Scrimshire and superstar disco re-edit king The Reflex.

Scrimshire's re-working of HCB's version of Kanye West's All Of The Lights is a horn fuelled left-of-centre club bomb, whilst The Reflex's 'revision' of Henri's classic Diskette is a disco fuelled take that's sure to cause plenty of dance floor devastation too."

Wah Friends Electric 2

This is a very cool comp drawing on WahWah45s dancefloor-orientated malarkey, have a listen...

"For 15 years Wah Wah 45s have been releasing music with a soulful feel, regardless of sub-genre, many of which have no doubt ended up as staples of your local underground party on a Saturday night.

That's right, Wah Wah don't just do acoustic soul, brass band funk, dub reggae and foot friendly jazz, we've been dipping our toes in the world of dance floor electronica for sometime and following on from the success of last year's compilation, we thought it was about time we brought you the second instalment of "Wah Friends Electric".

Volume 2 continues where it predecessor left off, covering the club friendly end of the Wah Wah back catalogue, from early deep house offerings from Aaron Jerome (the man behind the Sbtrkt mask) and blue eyed disco from Talc's night club dwelling alter egos Man / Boy featuring Girl, to more recent outings from Lea Lea, Paper Tiger and Scrimshire.

Add to that previously unreleased, and exclusive to this compilation, remixes from The Reflex and Noisses, as well as other homegrown greats such as Stubborn Heart and Debian Blak, not to mention Japanese dons Goth-Trad and Anchorsong, and you've got one serious second volume of dance music from the Wah Wah vaults." Out now. Check the Henri-Pierre Noël - A Fifth Of Beethoven - The Reflex Re-Vision.

Resonators: Sudan

UK reggae outfit have been having some choice adventures... "We're buzzing having just returned from a weeks trip to Sudan as part of a project organised by the British Council. We had the pleasure of working, collaborating and gigging with local Khartoum based musicians including reggae group Sudan Roots Band, as well as two gigs in Port Sudan. It was truly inspiring and uplifting, serious vibes! 

We're going to continue working with some of the musicians we met out there so watch this space for further collaborations! Check out our facebook for previews, videos, photos and recordings!A massive thank you to the British Council for making the whole thing happen and all the musicians and Sudanese folk we met for their heart warming hospitality, enthusiasm and inspiration! Big Love!

A special edition of our album 'The Constant' will be released in March on WahWah 45s. Expect previously unreleased dubs and remixes together with the original album tracks in one neat package! Available for digital download from wahwah45s.com soon.

Gene Dudley Group - new single

Via WahWah45s: "The Gene Dudley Group represents an outpouring of deep soul and funk music from obscenely talented 27 year-old multi-instrumentalist residing in North London, Gene Dudley.

The debut album, "Saturday Shifting", released earlier this year, caused quite a stir and quickly gained this deeply soulful producer a new army of fans, with Kenny Dope, Huey Morgan and Daz-I-Kue all singing its praises!

One of the most popular tracks from the album is the up-tempo, tropical flavoured cut, and brand new single, "The Hilo Bay Halfway". It comes complete with a pair of exclusive remixes – a "Disco Dub Remix" from Gene himself, who uses hand claps, synths and some seriously squelchy bass to take this club monster in another, equally foot friendly direction; and one from label mate Scrimshire, whose afro-flavoured guitar licks and quirky keyboard sounds guarantee similar dance floor destruction.

Add to that a brand new song from Gene Dudley, entitled "The Mall Walk", and the added bonus of Gene's never before released remix of the Scrimshire classic "Alignment", featuring the sultry vocals of Stac, and you've got a package filled to the brim with serious Wah Wah 45s talent! Single out November 11.

Look out for The Gene Dudley Group live, when they support Stones Throw artists Myron & E at London's Jazz Café in December.

Laptop suntan

"Since their humble beginnings in a Wolverhampton suburban bedroom, Leeds-based hip hop, space jazz and bass-loving outfit Paper Tiger have carved their own niche in the electronic music scene, both as a heavyweight production outfit and as a damned fine live band (sharing stages with the likes of Jaga Jazzist, Rustie, Gaslamp Killer, Daedelus, Alice Russell, Amon Tobin and many more).

Following on from their first of three releases on Wah Wah 45s, the six-piece found themselves highly sought-after, and consequently working with a wealth of talent that included Benin City's Joshua Idehen, British rap superstars Foreign Beggars, leftfield US trio Archie Pelago and, most recently, Stones Throw recording artist (and possibly the greatest MC out there right now) Homeboy Sandman.

The latter's collaboration with the band's resident wordsmith, Raphael Attar, is just one highlight of Paper Tiger's debut long-player, appropriately titled (for a crew who work as hard as these guys do) 'Laptop Suntan', released October 28.

The album is, as you might expect from artists with such broad tastes, a wonderfully diverse yet cohesive package.

From the dextrous lyricism of Attar, as well as guests that include highly-rated UK MCs King Kaiow, Infinite Livez and Bang On! (Big Dada), to the sultry, soulful sounds of Sabira Jade (DJ Vadim, Frameworks), this album covers a myriad of palettes within electronic music.

There's a sonorous, mature quality in cuts like 'Gundam Bling' and 'Drift', as well as a keen sense of humour on tracks such as 'David Starkey' and 'The Sting'. Paper Tiger make music that's one moment subtle, sensitive and delicate, and then another witty, sharp and supremely funky - it all comes together beautifully on 'Laptop Suntan', an album that will appeal to lovers of hip hop, soul and dance music in equal measure.

"Really dope." Alexander Nut (Eglo/Rinse FM)
"Amazing." Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music)
"Isn't it lovely? Wonderful, lovely stuff." - Lauren Laverne (BBC 6Music)

Brass band gets own beer

From UK Label Wahwah45s, the Hackney Colliery Band recently played a gig last Friday to launch their own beer! That is pretty cool...

"The world's greatest brass outfit, Hackney Colliery Band, are taking to the stage to launch their very own beer! That's right, not content with cornering the market on jazz flavoured sausages with the Hackney Colliery Banger, they've gone one step further and hooked up with The Truman Brewery to launch their Bold As Brass beer at The Hoxton Hall Theatre, Oct 20.

Entry includes a free pint, and the choice of either a copy of the new HCB album, "Common Decency" or an exclusive HCB t-shirt." 

Richie Phoe: Thrillah!

"Just in time for Halloween, Wah Wah 45s unleash a splendidly spooky seven incher from Brighton's very own answer to Lee "Scratch" Perry, the one and only Richie Phoe. Released October 14th 2013 (7"vinyl/digital).

His take on the Jacko classic is a brutally bass worrying dance floor dub delight, complete with sinister sound effects and cackles galore!

On the flip, Richie gives Leon Haywood's much sampled classic, "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You" the deathly dub treatment too – look out for those pertifying piano licks.

Richie Phoe's trademark reggae productions have garnered attention from tastemakers and DJs alike. In 2008 Richie released the critically lauded "Eye on the Prize EP", featuring UK reggae legend Tippa Irie. The following year he dropped a 7"covering Isaac Hayes'tune Bumpy's Lament, and his debut album Echo Outernational dropped in 2012.

Richie's first forays into the world of music production began on his Amiga 500, back in the early '90s; by 1999 he'd progressed to an MPC 2000 and began making his own beats, inspired by the likes of De La Soul and D.I.T.C. As his style progressed he started collecting reggae vinyl and began DJing at reggae and hip-hop nights weekly in clubs and bars in Portsmouth."

Allo Love vol 3

ALLO LOVE VOLUME THREE - COMPILED BY STAC
featuring The London Bulgarian Choir, Natural Self, Matthew Halsall, Hejira and more.. out now.

"Amidst the fervent anticipation of the release of Stac's long awaited second album (due in the spring of 2014) our favourite soulful songstress has found the time to gather together ten of her favourite pieces of contemporary music for your delictation, in the shape of the third instalment of the "Allo Love" series.

Stac is a real music lover (not a fighter) and her selection exemplifies the breadth of her knowledge, and her perfectly pitched taste.

A sonorous collection, it kicks off in grandiose style with music from The London Bulgarian Choir, no less, and remains in deep musical waters with the Matthew Herbert produced Hejira, trumpeter and friend Matthew Halsall and close contemporaries, Natural Self and Blue Daisy.

You'll also find a quartet of cherry picked Wah Wah 45s nuggets, with music from The Gene Dudley Group, Henri-Pierre Noel, Lea Lea and Scrimshire fitting perfectly into Stac's personal soundtrack, and the latter's cut also featuring the lady herself on fine vocal form.

Finally, Stac duets on the stunning downtempo "Delight" from the mysterious William Sommers. We think you'll find "Delight" sums this compilation up perfectly. Enjoy."

LeaLea + Horace Andy > DJ Vadim remix, free!

Gene Dudley debut out July 15

"The Gene Dudley Group represents an outpouring of deep soul and funk music from obscenely talented 27 year-old multi-instrumentalist, Gene Dudley.

The debut album, Saturday Shifting (out July 15 on WahWah45s), was recorded in a cupboard in Muswell Hill, North London, and features the man himself on trumpet, saxophone, drums, bass, guitar and piano.

Fans of labels like Truth & Soul and Daptone will relish these sonorous soulful offerings, but the influences on this album are wide ranging.

Tracks like "When The Gorilla Get Grip' and "The New Lots Of Cooperstown" conjure up 60's spy soundtracks, but elsewhere there are afro-beat influences on "The Hilo Bay Halfway" and more easy, introspective moments on "Minnie" and "Do The Stanley Weinberger".

In the live arena, rather than trying to play all the instruments himself, Gene deploys a quartet of top notch young musicians to help him out (whilst Gene mixes it up between bass and keys throughout the set) as witnessed at the recent Hot 8 Brass Band gig in London, The Gene Dudley Group's debut live show.

Since that first outing, the group have played to much acclaim at venues such as London's XOYO, and will be celebrating the release of "Saturday Shifting" with a live album launch, in support of label mate Henri-Pierre Noel, at The Jazz Café on July 13th. A night, and an album, not to be missed."