Moya Vode b/w instrumental

Stunning outernational funk for the psych breaks dancefloor featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Ukrainian jazz singer Mona. Sung in her mother language, “Moya Vode” is about the “ancient ritual to put a spell on water and remove all negativity through its power”.

Mona and MC Fame, a well-known Ukrainian hiphop producer and activist, both left their hometown Kyiv last year and found a new home in the Hammerbrook district of Hamburg, Germany, where they quickly connected with the lively funk scene of the city. Together with the Mocambo crew they set off to work out some magic by combining universal funk grooves and Ukrainian folklore.
Mona’s mystical soulful vocals are backed by the “Hammerbrook Sound Machine”, a group featuring members of Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band and the Mighty Mocambos, with instruments like the Tsymbaly or Drymba added on top. The “folk-funk” continues more electronically on the instrumental flip side when MC Fame takes over the lead on Moog synthesizer. Dive into this spell!

Watch Out Now b/w Try Again

Heroes Of Limbo strike again with two stunning interpretations of hiphop and R&B staples on one 45. The mystery funk collective took the scene by storm last summer with their flips on Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Don’t Sweat The Technique’ and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s ‘T.R.O.Y.’, moving all copies on release day. Here the reimagine the Beatnuts unmistakable ‘Watch Out Now’ and Aaliyah’s smash hit ‘Try Again’ in a their hypnotic, polyrhythmic afrobeat-inspired style. A sure shot double sided slice of musical pineapples.

Don’t Sweat The Technique b/w T.R.O.Y.

Heroes Of Limbo rework two hip-hop staples with stunning afrobeat arrangements. Eric B. & Rakim’s ‘Don’t Sweat The Technique’ and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s ‘They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)’ are stripped to their instrumental essence with polyrhythmic drums and percussions, powered up by a massive big band brass section and going bonkers altogether. A sure shot double-sided winner for all DJs that want to leave their crowd guessing whether they’re taken to the streets of New York or to the Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria.

Agent Sentimental b/w Postcard From Bangladesh

The Vicious Seeds from St. Petersburg have been putting out 45s with their blend of raw cinematic grooves and deep funk instrumentals for a while, here they introduce us to vibraphonist Pavel Chizhik, who adds his midas touch to the group’s well seasoned rhythm section. Reminiscent of early CTI recordings and – of course – Roy Ayers, the band delivers their own version of summer jazz dope beats, with sample-friendly drumbreaks, funky basslines, psych guitars and lush vibes. With communication to the group largely cut off or heavily censored, we leave it to the music to do the talking and spread the band’s message. “Make records, not war”.

Eine schöne Welt b/w Versuche zu versteh’n

Mocambo Records is proud to present an official reissue of this uberrare piece of German psychedelic soul! Susan Avilés’ epic ‘Eine schöne Welt’ from 1970 is one of the toughest 45s to get hold of. With its dope wah-drumbreak-intro, lush orchestration and powerful vocal performance, the tune has deservedly turned from an obscure sleeper into one of the most wanted European rare grooves. On the flip side is the orchestral folk soul ‘Versuche zu versteh’n’ – an uptempo number with breakbeat drumming hidden behind a wall of sound that has become an obscure b-boy favourite.

Originally recorded for Abi Ofarim’s PROM Production and released by Philips with high hopes to establish Susan as a new star of an upcoming scene of young singers, ‘Eine Schöne Welt’ and the two follow up singles failed to chart – despite (or maybe due to) the extravagant production, socioconscious lyrics and the unique mix of psychedelic soul, bigband funk, chanson, folk & schlager.

Little is known about Susan Avilés. Born to a German mother, schlager lyricist Utta de Avilés, and a Spanish father in 1945, she started performing at an early age and released a few singles in the 1960s under the name Suzie Marcus. She had been romantically involved with Abi Ofarim at the time of the recordings in the early 1970s. After they parted ways, she had a brief stint with Donna Summer and Tony Gregory in the group Family Child, spent the rest of the 1970s in relative obscurity, returned with two chanson albums in the early 1980s and then vanished from the scene completely. Susan Avilés passed away in 2016, but we could get in touch with her husband Oliver Avilés-Lehnert, who encouraged us to do a re-release of these songs to ensure her legacy and bring these lost treasures back to the light of the day.

The record comes in a picture sleeve with original photos from the era – a picture showing Susan holding a copy of her own single and a shot for an autograph card to support the original release.  Artwork & label design: Lasse Singlemann. The original recordings have been carefully remastered for this limited vinyl run by Michael Schütz. All audio and photography licensed from the family estate of Susan Avilés.

The Scarab’s Quest b/w The Hornet’s Nest

Sci-Fi and library funk specialists Eleven76 return with an otherworldly breakdance double-sider. Their debut album ‘Space Voyage’ for Warner’s music library covered extra-terrestrial spheres and found its way into many films, TV programmes and documentaries. The scarce promo vinyl copies on Mocambo Records are already priced collector’s items among DJs. This 45s contains two hot slices of insect-themed outernational grooves with tropical and arabian flavours. Vintage synthesizers and hot tape-recorded drums continue to lead Eleven76’s mystique travels through unknown funk territories, all while frenzied percussion-heavy break beats keep b-girls and b-boys moving on the floor.