We Are Busy Bodies Canada 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Japanese jazz quintet (and over the course of their whole career, sextet) Hideo Shiraki Quintet centred on the namesake of the central jazz drummer, whose chops on the drums were matched by few. First released in 1962, 'Plays Horace Silver' hears the band work through several of the late great New York jazz composer's best standards, including 'Senor Blues', 'Preacher' and 'Filthy McNasty', in what could be described as a flamming, flauting, tambourine dream.

Review: iPhupho L'ka Biko, the highly acclaimed Africanist experimental jazz band, shares their debut EP, 'Azania', on vinyl via Canadian record label We Are Busy Bodies. Following the success of their two acclaimed singles, 'Abaphezulu', released through Brownswood Recordings, and 'uThixo uKhona', distributed by Platoo, the band dedicated the year 2022 to recording and producing this eagerly awaited EP, which they self-released earlier this year. Azania delves into the rich tapestry of themes held close to the band members' hearts, such as spirituality, Pan Africanism, freedom, love, ritual, tradition, culture, and displacement. The EP showcases iPhupho L'ka Biko's unique musical fusion, blending jazz with indigenous African music of imvumane in tracks like Qamata, and infusing jazz with gospel influences in songs like Singabakho. This eclectic approach reflects the fluidity and diversity of the band's sound, promising an immersive and captivating musical journey.

Review: Tshona from Pat Matshikiza, Basil Mannenberg Coetzee and Kippie Moeketsi is one of the many celebrated jazz albums to have come from South Africa. Canadian Eric Warner's Wearebusybodies label has the rights to this latest reissue of it after the last one sold out and became nearly as costly as an original. It is a joyous affair with light, airy gores, keys and drums on the title tune, and something of a reggae swagger to 'Stop & Start' with its more conversational wind leads. 'Umgababa' is another blissed out and laidback summer soundtrack and 'Kippie's Prayer' end with a nice upbeat feel.

Review: There's something magical about the world of private press jazz funk, where supremely talented players hedged their bets on laying down the finest grooves purely in service to the music. As rare curios continue to be unearthed from hidden corners here comes a stunning example courtesy of Wilbur Niles, who originally released Thrust in 1982 before a marginally wider release in 1983. The playing on this record is stellar, achieving ultimate smoothness without falling into the pitfall of saccharine banality. It's just exquisite, refined music to take you far away, now faithfully repressed by We Are Busy Bodies.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Superficial scratches/marks on outer sleeve, otherwise in perfect working condition***


Funky Africa is an album that, as the title suggests, totally embodies the sound of Africa. Composer, guitarist, and producer Almon Memela imbues his sounds with everything that makes Afro music great from the wild trumpet lines to the throbbing rhythms and spiritual vibes that run through each tune. It first came in 1975 and has long been one of those cornerstone albums for those in the know. It has been ultra rare since first issue and packs in romantic sounds next to dance floor bait, all with great style and showmanship.

Review: Hot on the heels of their reissue of Thrust, Canadian reissue label We Are Busy Bodies are revisiting the exquisite jazz funk sound of Wilbur Niles and his assembled players for a much-needed re-release of Thrust Too. Don't let the name fool you - this album actually originally came out three years before Thrust in 1980 and there's a rawer edge to the funk on offer here. The likes of 'Hang Ten' have a sharp, in-the-room attack which speaks to the private press world these recordings came from, and it makes the music all the more exciting in the process.

Review: Finnish jazz collective Oiro Pena is fronted by the prolific composer and saxophonist Antti Vauhkonen and this new album was recorded in a studio as well as some bedrooms and less salubrious locations around Helsinki, It was recorded in 2022 and mixes up lo-fi jazz, experimental sounds, spiritual overtones and avant-garde musical forms with four vocal tracks featuring Merikukka Kiviharju. As well as original lines, she sings parts from some classic Finnish folk songs. It makes for a powerful and timeless record that comes in heavily limited quantities.

Review: Last year the We Are Busy Bodies label reissued pianist Lionel Pillay's album Shrimp Boats with saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. Now his solo album Deeper In Black is in the spotlight and it is one that was inspired by a 1969 Blue Note recording of American trumpeter Blue Mitchell. There are a wealth of great arrangements and compositions here with the opener offering lush sax and funky bass that is overlaid with shivering keys. 'Deeper In The Black' is a real dancer with more leading sax lines and drums that take you to the dance floor.

Review: The first official reissue of Playtime by popular and prolific Italian composer, Piero Umiliani. Incorporating styles like jazz, easy listening/lounge, rock, funk, and bossa nova to a genre largely dominated by orchestral scores, he penned some of the most outstanding kosmische music from the '60s and '70s with over 150 titles under his belt. Originally released on Umiliani's own Omicron label in 1968, the album has been remastered from the original recordings by Noah Mintz.

Review: This first-ever reissue of Zodiac has been restored and remastered from Barney Wilen's personal copy of it after no others could be found for the job. It landed originally on Disques Vogue in 1966 and was recorded after Barney had been touring with Art Blakey's Jazz Messenger's and Miles Davis. It's a super exploration of free jazz that is dedicated to the signs of the zodiac. Photographer Jean Lariviere created the photos for the artwork which at the time was intended to create a film and storyline to go with the music, but the concept was never quite properly finished.