Athens Of The North 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


We also heard from Andrew Wasylyk late last year when he offered up his second LP for the esteemed Clay Pipe Music label. Now it is to Edinburgh's Athens of the North for Parallel Light, another collection of sumptuous ambient sounds that are so much more than just background music. The album is actually an alternate mix of his 2020 long player Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation so offers a different perspective with plenty of moving spiritual-jazz and neo-classical sounds that help paint alluring musical landscapes.

Review: Athens of the North is back in business this new year with a couple of singles as well as a new album dropping before the end of January. This time it is Bo'vel's Changes album that gets served up on wax having teased the act by including them on a compilation Just A Touch late last year. Their soul sound is distantly UK-centric but with influxes from dub, funk and more. That is well showcased here across ten tracks that were famously made in the mid-90s in Manchester without a big budget or big press campaign but became cult classics all the same.

Review: Multi-talented artist James Alexander Bright unveils soulful anthem 'Fall For You' and funky track 'Viper Flames' in the superb Athens of the North, all as a tease his forthcoming third solo album on the label in mid-2024. Reflecting on love's power in 'Fall For You', Bright's upcoming release follows his acclaimed debut album 'Headroom' and contributions to Groove Armada's 'Edge Of The Horizon'. His second album, 'Float', garnered praise for its eclectic blend of styles. These new tuns show what he is all about - sunny soul with standout keys and dreamy vocals that melt even the stoniest of hearts.

Review: It's always a buzz to see a new Athens of the North 7" drop onto our shelves. This first drop of the year comes from label regulars Coast to Coast who had their unreleased and self-titled soul album reissued here back in October 2021. It is the opening track from that glorious record that gets its own pressing on 45 rpm here with an instrumental on the flip. The original from core members Mark Beiner and Ben Iverson, 'Love Is The Same' has glorious vocal falsettos and super sweet rhythms that bring feel-good vibes like no other.

Review: Athens of the North 'house band' East Coast Love Affair recently returned to action with 'I'm So Glad', a driving disco-funk outing tailor-made for sweaty club sessions. For this speedy follow-up, they've recruited effortlessly soulful vocalist Theo Suess and musically flipped the script. Built around skittish lo-fi beats, immersive chords and bubbly synth-bass, 'Tonight' sits somewhere between deliciously deep house and lo-fi boogie. It's genuinely brilliant, with Suess providing an immaculately emotive lead vocal on the A-side main mix. The flip-side 'Dub' is superb, too, with snippets of Suess's vocals echoing across an enveloping, loved-up instrumental backing track.

Review: Athens of the North has a famously busy rate of release and so it is no surprise that they keep that up even in the first months of the year. A slew of singles and an album are all dropping at the same time and this is one of them - yet another gold standard reissue, this time of Charles Barnwell's band The Funnybone Express. This 7" is a superb bit of deep funk with hints of modern soul that were huge back in the day and are sure to be so all over again now.

Review: Athens Of The North represent one of Australia's finest soul exponents Renee Geyer. "Be There In The Morning" comes in two forms... The 1977 version will be recognised from her most successful album of the time Moving Along. An upbeat fusion of soul and funk with mild disco nuances, it comes with confident orchestration and an instantly infectious, ultimately emphatic chorus. The real coup here, however, is the softer, dreamier earlier version that's so rare it never left the confines of her native country. It's digging like this that makes the young-but-hugely-potential rare music label Athens Of The North a very exciting prospect for record collectors.

Review: Athens of the North has got some fantastic and previously unreleased lo-fi goodness on their hands here. It comes from Lee Tracy and Isaac Manning's back catalogue and has been boosted subtly by some studio drumming from ECLA which adds a little more heft to it. 'Foxy Lady' is a lithe funk jam with shimmering synths and snappy snares over nice broken beats. It is backed with 'Jesus Going To Clean House' which is a standout cut from the album that has got many heads falling over themselves so good is it. The vamping chords and dusty deep house drums could all be a forgotten Chicago classic while the vocal is a real one packed with emotion.

Review: Ben White - not the same Ben White that plays as a defender for Arsenal - was just 25 when he was brought by Eddy Bongo Brown of the Funk Brothers to the Motor City to play with Marvin Gaye. It was five years after that when he lay down this single - his only one, although it is said there are some lost tapes featuring a full album on them out there somewhere. We hope it is found as this is excellent - 'I Would Have To Be A Fool' is a super smooth soul with nice funky rhythms and a hint of disco energy. 'Just Give Love A Try' is a more slow and lavish groove with choral backing and fancy piano.