Afro Art began some five years ago when Simone Beedle, wife and manager of DJ/producer Ashley, set up the label to release his various projects. Leaping into action with the hit track 'Universal Jones', a collaboration between Beedle and veteran DJ Bob Jones, it quickly became apparent that AA were onto something.
Where raw boogaloo meets vintage funk, where acid jazz goes hand-in-hand with salsa, where groovy organs melt with scorching bongos and more. Most Vampi Soul releases date back to the '60s and '70s.
Founded in early 1995 by Mark Rae of Rae & Christian, Manchester label Grand Central was originally called Gone Clear Records until it was discovered that there was a promotions company trading in London with the same name. Quickly hailed as the future of underground British hip hop, GC has played a key role in the development of the genre over the past eight years.
Robert Luis' Tru Thoughts label is a something of an independent industry, releasing music from artists like Quantic Soul Orchestra, Jon Kennedy, Bonobo, Flevans, Al Stylus and Treva Whateva, as well as overseeing Zebra Traffic, the label's hip hop spin-off, and Unfold, which focuses on compilation albums.
Founded by Jonny Reggae and brothers Khalid and Amr Mallassi (aka Sonorous Star) back in 1996, Brighton independent Catskills grew out of Riddim Records, the reggae record shop Jonny established in his home town in '94.
Cinedelic Records is an Italian independent label devoted to vinyl releases of music never previously available on CD or LP. Established by A&R boss Marco D'Ubaldo and producer Max Serio, the label pays homage to the compositions, atmospheres and unique style of cinematic music from the '60s and '70s.
Irma Records was born in Bologna, Italy in 1988. When the few independent labels of the time were dealing with rock music, Irma's artistic director Umbi Damiani and the general manager Massimo Benini formed a production team together with a small circle of dance DJ's and producers.
Formed in 1997 by Luciano Cantone, Davide Rosa and Nicola Conte, Milan-based independent Schema's roots are firmly fixed in jazz and bossa nova, but the secret of their exquisite releases lies in the fusion of brilliant musicianship and composition with dancefloor sensibilities.
Formed in 1999, Scenario Music came into being to act as a launch pad for the abundance of quality Italian-produced music the label's founders Luigi Lomolino and Salvo Lorusso were hearing. In their own words: "The name Scenario is a Latin word which meaning is the same in several languages and we thinked to join it to the word that we love more : Music". Got that?
A spin-off of the ground-breaking San Francisco-based Luv 'n' Haight label, Ubiquity releases premium quality new music across a span of genres from hip-hop to singer-songwriters to cutting-edge club music.