For the better part of 15 years, Helsinki’s own Timmion Records has released some of the most exciting soul sides happening today. To help spread the Timmion love, Daptone staffers and brass made a list of their favorite Timmion tracks from the past couple years. Presented here is Bad Education, Vol. I, the culmination of […]

A “miramar” is a place from which you can see the ocean. The bolero group, Miramar, chose this word as their name to evoke a place of peace, reflection and solace for a broken heart. Even the bolero, a romantic music born in Cuba in the 1800’s, might have been conceived by the seaside. In the 50’s and 60’s it became the quintessential musical expression of romance in Latin America. It is this era of the music from which Miramar draws their inspiration. “Urgencia”, or “urgency”, tells of the desperation a heart feels when it is swept away by romance, but risks all for fear of not having another chance at love. The flip, “Salida” means “a way out.” It is a song about the surrender that comes after trying to break free from the darkest of places, of endless frustration and sadness. The lyrics allude, but never tell. Produced by Giancarlo Luiggi & Victor Axelrod.

Cochemea Gastelum is coming home to connect with his roots. After nearly 15 years of touring the world with Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, the saxophonist offers a deeply personal album of jazz and indigenous-influenced rhythms, All My Relations—10 tracks of mesmerizing and spiritually ascendant instrumentation.