They say you've got to take your ups with your downs, but that's only because 'they' haven't heard 'Ups', the second LP by The Flying Hats, which is all ups and no downs whatsoever. The album arrives little more than a year after debut long player 'The Return of the Flying Hats' and mere months after the release of an instant classic 45 single featuring non-album tracks 'The Blender' and 'Hot Cakes'. So it's fair to say that Ups finds the band riding the crest of an extremely funky Hammond-infused retro-reggae wave. Indeed, it's tempting to say not just 'riding the crest of' but 'increasing said wave's actual mass' - for the new set delivers a second floor-shaking helping of a sound that joins the dots between Aggrovators-style reggae and Meters-style funk.

Opener 'Lightning Bottle' kicks off with an introductory drum-fill that briefly nods to a certain Dawn Penn classic before settling into a heavy, mid-tempo, Hammond-led riddim providing instant appeal for those who lean more towards the Bunny Lee/ 70s side of things. The same can be said of a trio of easy-rolling bubblers consisting of 'Pinball' - a brisk number near the start of the album's second half - along with the wistful beauty of 'So Long' and 'Step Up', which close the album.

Those who prefer reggae that evokes the Kingston 'Sound of '69', however, will salivate over the balance of tracks which deliver no fewer than five such cuts tempered with a fat slice of New Orleans sass, revelling in deliriously joyful Hammond melodies and funky backbeats, while maintaining that offbeat reggae rhythm. 'Kick About', 'Double Up' and 'Market Day' provide uptempo bounce, while the clattery syncopated drums on the stripped-back skank of 'Stout' and the absolutely gorgeous Hammond-funky/ boss-reggae groove of 'Traffic Light' provide something a little more loose-limbed.

If Allen Toussaint and The Meters had upped sticks and relocated to Kingston (or Bunny Lee and Jackie Mittoo had moved to the Big Easy) in the early 70s, it would have sounded like this. The fact that neither of those scenarios occurred is the early 70s loss and our gain!

TRACK LISTING

1. Lightning Bottle
2. Kick About
3. Traffic Light
4. Double Up
5. Market Day
6. Pinball
7. Stout
8. So Long
9. Step Up

Featuring flautist Chip Wickham and recorded live to 2-inch analog tape at All Things Analogue Studios, Leeds, UK, this album is a living, breathing tribute to the golden age of soul-jazz — the electric alchemy of smoky clubs, Sunday afternoons at the record store, and the spiritual communion of groove and grit.

Drawing inspiration from luminaries like Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, and Galt MacDermot, ATA sought to channel the Drawing inspiration from luminaries like Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, and Galt MacDermot, ATA sought to channel the unmistakable energy of soul — the kind of jazz that hits your feet and hips first.

The core of the group is the rhythm section – ATA luminaries Sam Hobbs on drums and label owner Neil Innes on bass, augmented by Sam Bell on congas and John Ellis on piano and Wurlitzer. It would be invidious to pick out any one of these, when the group sound is so unified, so well-educated in every aspect, and so tight (in the best possible way – through an elastic, dynamic thread of sheer groove).

TRACK LISTING

1. Walk On
2. Run Tell That
3. Cold Catch
4. Slice, Diced And Fried Twice
5. The Saint And The Stranger
6. Snick Snack
7. How Long Before You're Gone?

Fresh off the back of the successes of Work Money Death, The Flying Hats and The Library Archives: Volume 4, ATA Records is proud to present 'The Karman Line' by Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble.

When musicians are on tour conversations naturally turn to music. Two years ago, whilst exploring the jazz kissas and record stores of Tokyo, woodwind maestro Chip Whickham and ATA mastermind and bassist Neil Innes discussed their shared influences of Yusef Lateef, David Axelrod and Alice Coltrane. The seeds for a new project were sown and soon seven tracks of deep, spiritual, groove driven jazz were laid down and on tape.

The moods of the album are varied yet share a sense of reverence and exploration. On 'Karmen Cantala' and 'All Is' Chip’s flute floats and soars, propelled by dreamlike harp and waves of impressionistic piano. 'Low Orbit' takes things in a funkier direction, arrangements with Steve Parry’s horn (including the unusual instrumentation of bassoon, French horn and tuba) channelling 1970s Quincy Jones and the loping swagger of Archie Shepp’s 'Mama Too Tight'. The 'Celestial Matari' and 'Molecules' recall the flowing, cosmic sounds of Joe Henderson and Alice Coltrane’s masterpiece 'The Elements', and 'Earthly Elements' gets earthy indeed. Driven by a heavy, dance-floor bass line and an array of percussion, Chips flute gets huskier, dirtier and more insistent, drawing deep from Yusef Lateef’s 'Psychicemotus' and Roland Kirk’s 'Blacknuss'.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A lovely selection of downbeat jazz numbers that sing with the collaborative spirit of two incredibly talented musicians, working together in perfect harmony. Spiritual, but with the spirit of the 60's, and the production capabilities of the modern day. Wonderfully evocative soundtrack jazz.

TRACK LISTING

1. Kármán Cantata
2. Alto Vento
3. Low Orbit
4. All Is
5. Celestial Matari
6. Earthly Elements
7. Molecules

ATA Records are proud to present the new release by Work Money Death, 'A Portal to Here'. This album continues WMD’s exploration of Spiritual Jazz and the sounds and styles that evolved out of the 60s New Thing, particularly the recordings of Alice Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. The first WMD album released since the tragic death of ATA guitarist Chris Earl Dawkins in early 2025, all four tracks reference the journey that band members and the studio have been on – in many ways this record is a testament and tribute to Chris, his musicality and creativity.

Featuring WMD stalwarts Tony Burkill, Neil Innes, Sam Hobbs, and Sam Bell, the album introduces Sorcerers keyboardist Johnny Richards to the WMD sound. Richards brings a fresh new take to the piano role here, drawing on what is clearly a broad knowledge of jazz history and channelling that through his own unique 21st century musical perspective.

The album also features contributions from Alice Roberts on harp, bringing the spirit of Alice Coltrane, Ben Powling on baritone saxophone, Richard Ormrod on woodwind, and Kev Holbrough & Steve Parry on brass. Those Sun Ra-esque horn sections lift the mood whenever they appear. Standout tracks are the second, 'Dance of the Spirits', with a strong core of Baptism and The Blues and some lovely playing by Richards, and the third track, 'Brother Earl', which begins with Tony on flute over rhythms that are directly reminiscent of open-hearted, late-60s spirituality. Tony later moves to tenor and, as on all four tracks here, eventually builds to the peaks of shattering emotional intensity that fans of Work Money Death - and spiritual jazz in general - love.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pain Becomes Prayer And The Prayer Becomes A Song
2. A Dance For The Spirits
3. Brother Earl
4. Sometimes It's Death

The funky, atmospheric, evocative and sometimes downright weird output of companies such as DeWolfe, Cavendish, Burton and the ubiquitous KPM have always been a guiding inspiration for ATA Records, as evidenced in the spooky soundtrack works of The Sorcerers, the big band brass of The Yorkshire Film & Television Orchestra and even in the soul-jazz of The Lewis Express ('Theme From The Watcher).

Everything released on ATA is written and guided by the label heads Neil Innes and Pete Williams, who frequently dip their toes in the Library pond while working on other projects. These occasional one-off tracks have accumulated over the past few years and have now found a home on the first volume of an ongoing series : The Library Archive

Ranging from heavy big band brass (Whack, Slap & Blow, Kaye Okay) to evocative thriller soundtrack (Midnight Heist, Wiretap, The Needlenose) via introspective ethereal soundscapes (Nuclear Wind, Siren's Sea) these 11 tracks faithfully recreate the feel of the Library music catalogues of the 60s and 70s.

TRACK LISTING

1 Slap, Whack And Blow
2 Duck Strut
3 The Needle Nose
4 Wiretap
5 Wigged Out
6 Nuclear Wind I
7 Kaye Okay
8 Siren's Sea
9 Midnight Heist
10 Nuclear Wind II
11 Planet Nine

ATA Records proudly present the latest release from The Flying Hats, 'Blender'. Following the buzz surrounding their debut LP and the soft limited pre-release of 'Blender', anticipation for this single has been huge - and with good reason.

“I've never heard something so perfectly combine funk and reggae and do it in a way that is dancefloor gold”. - Monkeyboxing.

The Flying Hats - the Leeds quartet responsible for one of the standout albums of the year - return in phenomenal form with two previously unreleased cuts of the highest calibre. Both tracks strike hard somewhere between Kingston and New Orleans, as if The Meters were channelling Jackie Mittoo or Sound Dimension were jamming with Jimmy Smith.

Thick, funky-reggae organ leads the charge with killer breakbeats, bass pressure, and rhythm-section fire designed to light up any dancefloor worth its salt. Both sides are built for selectors, collectors and dance DJs alike.

TRACK LISTING

1. Blender
2. Hot Cakes

ATA Records go from strength to strength with their recent issues, Work Money Death’s 'People of the Fast Flowing River' and The Sorcerers’ 'Other Worlds and Habitats'. 2025 sees the release of the fourth volume of their regular soundtrack series, the Library Archives. An honest and forthright homage to the golden age of library recording, this new release is no exception – with nods to David Shire, Roger Webb, 60s/70s Hollywood, early anime and golden era video games.

Hammond & Farfisa organ, soul flute and vibraphone are joined by the Baldwin electric harpsichord, alto flute and trumpet, all colouring the usual high-end rhythm section of drums and bongos, electric bass, piano and guitars. Moods range from the dynamic The Galata Extraction to the whimsical Travers and the romantic Redford in Sheepskin, from the brooding Tatsuya, the Sword to the sensual Dunaway’s Eyes. Walter in Gabardine and Sutherland fly the ATA library flag of 70s-era NYC soundtracks – and both A Dilemma for Holbrook and Roundtree are drenched in soul flute so funky, it should be on the cheese counter.

Now four volumes (and a couple of singles) in, The Library Archive will eventually stand as a testament to the love the ATA producers and artists have for the original composers and performers of the great music libraries of the past.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Galata Extraction
2. Walter In Gabardine
3. Roundtree
4. Travers Popping
5. Kien With The Iron Claw
6. Dunaway’s Eyes
7. A Dilemma For Holbrook
8. Redford In Sheepskin
9. Tatsuya, The Sword
10. Greer’s Long Weekend
11. Sutherland
12. The Two Akiras

The Sorcerers' latest long player lands in perfect time for the summer, offering a further progression into their unique take on Ethio-inspired jazz. 'Other Worlds and Habitats' is, of course, released on ATA Records and is blessed with the analogue recording and painstakingly loving production we have come to expect from this boutique studio. This, The Sorcerers eagerly anticipated fourth LP, follows on from the success of 'I Too Am A Stranger', a record which garnered praise from BBC Radio 2’s Jamie Cullum, “I love this, this is so good!”, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, “I like the grooves, and it is good to see The Sorcerers interpret Ethio jazz in their own unique way”, and Nightmares on Wax, “This sounds great! Love the way it's recorded”.

Never ones to stop moving forward, and ever vigilant to avoid the realm of pastiche, The Sorcerers see the Ethiopique sound as a building block for their natural progression as a group, but a block that sits at the base of a much larger, ever expanding, structure, The addition of keyboardist Johnny Richards, whose use of the Jen 73 piano, Mellotron and Farfisa Compact Duo, alongside the core members of the group, has opened some exciting doors for The Sorcerers, fusing the future looking optimism of the late 60s and 70s (when artists began to experiment with the new electronic technology and synthesisers becoming more readily available) and more traditional sounds. Taking inspiration from Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia and Nigerian musician William Onyeabor, 'Other Worlds and Habitats', as the name suggests, showcases The Sorcerers' shift to a new, and deeply exciting, musical landscape.

A Danish tour, unbelievably the first live outing for The Sorcerers, created another patina to the band. A weary time on the road, shared by the core Sorcerers trio of bassist Neil Innes, drummer Joost Hendrickx (Gotts Street Park, Kefaya, Eddie Chacon) and reed/flute/vibes player Richard Ormrod, alongside new/old member Richards led, to an organic, less cerebral sound than we have heard before.

The Sorcerers’ 'Other Worlds and Habitats' is a natural progression in the world they have created for themselves. Richer for shared experiences, and accepting the rise of the machines, they prove that while their journey is always going forward, there are many different paths to take.

TRACK LISTING

1. Echoes Of Earth
2. Ancestral Machines
3. Abandoned Satelites
4. The Great Bell
5. Beneath The Dunes
6. The Ghosts Of The Black Drift
7. The Infinite
8. The Last Transmission

Every ATA project is marked by collaboration – some over a few weeks and some over decades. When drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes decided to make 'The Reurn Of', by The Flying Hats they were building on twenty yeards of playing together; Innes’s years of nightclub residencies and love of Afro-American dance music, and Hobbs’s intensive exploration of the links between American soul and R&B, Jamaican rocksteady and roots, and the music of the wider Caribbean from Cuba to Trinidad and Brazil. Organist Bob Birch (the original Organ player for New Mastersounds) and Chris Dawkins (Nightmares on Wax, Jimi Tenor, David Holmes, Finlay Quaye) were the other crucial elements – Birch started out as a jazz Hammond player in the bluesy McGriff/McDuff role before discovering the more exotic colours of Art Necille and Jackie Mittoo, and Dawkins has been a session guitarist for the cream of British reggae and rock for a generation.

'The Return of the Flying Hats' occupies a space somewhere between The Aggrovators and The Meters, under the influence of Lynn Taitt & the Jets, and Fatman Riddim Section. Tracks like 'Grafter' and 'Bust Up' conjure up the image of classic New Orleans funk recorded in Kingston, whilst 'Tough Swagger' sounds like half of Bunny Lee’s Aggrovators have dropped in at Ultrasonic to jam with Ziggy Modeliste.

In other places the Jamaican sound predominates: 'An Autumn Sun' is as sweet a dish of Kingston soul as you could wish for, 'Strong Fish' an honest homage to Hot Milk-era Mittoo, whilst the introductory fanfares of opener 'Night Bus' and 'Power Cut' feel like they should be ushering in hot I Roy cuts.

Meanwhile, 'Iron Fist' mixes everything up together in a fresh brew of asymmetric drums, talking bass and free-flowing organ melodies: when Innes and Hobbs started jamming together they roughed out melodies to every groove, but Birch came in and ignored virtually every note, preferring instead to simply channel extempo lines that sound both original and traditional at once.

It would be a mistake to call this group a new band, with all the communal miles they’ve travelled together: what this undoubtedly is though, is a fresh take on a couple of cherished genres (New Orleans R&B, Instrumental Rocksteady) that comes up with something more than the sum of its parts.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Amazing vintage scented collection of Hammond-powered dub-reggae-funk-ska that'll appeal to fans of Al Breadwinner and Jackie Mittoo, as well as the other contemporary crossover dub albums we've had recently from Jimi Tenor & Nat Birchall.

TRACK LISTING

1. Night Bus
2. Grafter
3. An Autumn Sun
4. Power Cut
5. Strong Fish
6. Bust Up
7. Forward
8. Tough Swagger
9. Iron Fist

Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra have been a consistent presence on the U.K. music scene, touring constantly in promotion of their debut LP 'Dilla' and follow up 45 'New Day' feat. IIlla J, steadily building a loyal and supportive fanbase. IInspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel- Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures, breathing new life into familiar material.

The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England’s jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse.

'Madvillain Vol. 1' takes the template of their debut LP 'Dilla' and applies the same approach to the collaboration of MF Doom and Madlib, aka MADVILLAIN and their albums 'MADVILLAINY' and 'MADVILLAIN 2'. Sampling the likes of Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder gave the albums a jazz oriented feel and ethos which in turn lend themselves perfectly to the deconstruction and re-imagining of Abstract Orchestra. As with their debut, all the tracks were recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs.

Abstract Orchestra’s 'MADVIILLAIN Vol 1.' explores the jazz, TV soundtrack and film score aspect of the original work, combining it with classic big band writing and a focus on improvisation. There is a strong influence of Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin and David Shire (Composer of the soundtrack to The Taking of Pelham 123) on the album, and the arranger Rob Mitchell crafts his own sound that inhabits the space between Madlib’s production and Quincy Jones’ writing. Bandleader and arranger Rob Mitchell says of the record: “‘MADVILLAINY’ is a jazz album as much as it is a hip-hop album and I wanted to explore this reciprocal territory there has always been between jazz and hip- hop. 70’s cop show soundtracks have always captured my interest and imagination, and I discovered so much amazing music through TV themes, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin in particular. They explored sounds that were menacing, angular, dissonant, frantic and yet captivating. They were also able to write music that was the flip side of all that dark chaos, and write lush and beautiful music. Arranging and scoring up 'MADVILLAIN Vol 1.' Has allowed me to explore these sounds that II’ve always loved, yet keeping a strong hip-hop identity as the core of its sound.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Accordion
2. Curls
3. All Caps
4. Bistro
5. Fancy Clown
6. Raid
7. Madmix 1
8. Great Day
9. Madmix 2