PUSSYFOOT RECORDS

Another label I used to receive newsletters from in the mid 90's was, Pussyfoot Records.
These sheets served up record information & gig updates in the main, and also came with a large portion of humour!
The top image shows a bundle of their A4 newsletters, mostly from around the 1996/97 period.
I've chosen one at random just to give you a better idea of the content, the example above dated 1997. On one side it has news about forthcoming releases & live gig info, and on the other side it has their discography.
One of the albums that gets a mention is an LP that was to be released in April that year - a compilation of Japanese acts called "Fish Smell Like Cat".
So to accompany the items, I found an ad for the album in an issue of Straight No Chaser magazine dated Spring '97 - and I have also put up my own double vinyl copy of the sleeve for you to see who is on it.

DORADO RECORDS

During the mid 90's period, I used to get regular newsletters from Dorado Records.
They consisted of record info, gig updates, merchandise offers and also included a variety of promotional items.
Above are some examples of their correspondence from the mid 90's I found tucked away in a folder at home.
The top image has a bundle of these A4 sized newsletters and they date from 1994-1997 mainly.
Under that is a sample of one I plucked out at random displaying the kind of information they supplied - and in this typical example dated April 1994, they have the lowdown on new releases by Outside and The Brooklyn Funk Essentials, as well as a mention about Dorado's 3rd compilation album. Then there are live gig dates for Outside and D*Note, plus word about Dorado merchandise and back catalogue.
Next are 2 promo items for the same product, namely, a postcard and sticker advertising a Dorado compilation CD called "Fine Gold" which came out in 1996.
Underneath them is a promo postcard for the 1995 Jhelisa album "Galactica Rush" and on the flip side there is also mention of a performance taking place at Glastonbury.
Following that is a promo postcard for the Outside album called "The Rough & The Smooth", released in July 1995. Again, on the other side of the card, it has word about a gig by Outside at Glastonbury's jazz stage.
Next up is a promo tear-off postcard featuring a new single by D*Note called "Waiting Hopefully" which came out in June 1997, and if you returned the self addressed side of it, the first 10 replies got a free VHS tape recording of D*Note's short film titled "Coming Down".
The big silver promo sticker is for an act called Project 23 who I recall were a kind of experimental jazzy drum & bass crew.
The gold flyer is for a Dorado showcase gig that took place at The Astoria in London in April 1995 and featured the likes of, Jhelisa, D*Note, Outside, Slowly, Cool Breeze and A.P.E.
The Dorado discography overview underneath the flyer is not from the Dorado newsletter supplies, but was actually published in Birmingham's "Vibe" magazine back in 1993. Then a couple of years later in 1995, Mixmag did a brief overview of Dorado, which is where the final item is from.
So to accompany all this Dorado stuff, I thought I'd put up an LP out of my own collection, an album that gets a mention in the above items - their compilation number 3 which was released in 1994, and by the looks of the grubby paw marks on the cover, I must have dipped into it quite a lot back then!

OPAZ PRODUCTIONS

Opaz Productions appeared on the underground dance scene in 1992 when the release of Martine Girault's "Revival" went down a storm in the soul and jazz clubs.
The man behind this fresh sounding street soul production was, Ray Hayden, and it didn't take too long before his production skills became in demand around this early/mid 90's period.
The item at the top is a brief overview of the Opaz/Hayden discography that was published in Soul Vibe magazine in 1994.
Under it is a review of that very first Martine Girault single, "Revival", and this was in a summer issue of Check Dis magazine back in 1992.
Next up is a chart from Touch magazine that was published in December 1992 when they gave their list of the best records of the year, and as you can see, Revival is in amongst them.
Finally, I have accompanied the magazine items with my own 12 inch copy of the record.

EARLY STONES THROW STUFF

A bundle of Stones Throw ads from the early 2000's period...
The first 3 were published in Big Daddy magazine - with the 8 Tracks & Breakestra pair dated 2001 and the one with Quasimoto on TV from 2002.
The next 2 ads - Dudley Perkins & Jaylib, are both from 2003 and were in XLR8R magazine.
Under them is another ad from 2003, this time one that was published in Straight No Chaser magazine.
The last of the batch is a 2004 ad for the Stones Throw DVD & CD pack which appeared in XLR8R magazine.
So I thought I'd raid my own shelves at home and throw up a couple of albums from around the same period - first is Quasimoto's "The Unseen" CD which dates from 2000.
Next up is the CD by Yesterdays New Quintet titled "AnglesWithoutEdges", and that is dated 2001.
Finally, the Stones Throw 101 DVD & CD double disc pack dates from 2004 and features a great selection of promo vids on disc 1 with a fine mix by Peanut Butter Wolf on disc 2.

DECLAIME DEBUT ALBUM

The ad at the top comes from a 2001 issue of Big Daddy magazine and is for 2 albums - El Fudge's "Chronic Irresponsibility" and Declaime's "Andsoitisaid".
I've focused on the Declaime one here and so have put up the small review it got in the same issue of Big Daddy.
The CD cover is from my record collection and you can see that it has a strong Stones Throw connection with Madlib, Kan Kick & Oh No sharing production as well as the appearance of guests such as Lootpack, Quasimoto and so on, cropping up on the tracks.
The LP, however, was released on Groove Attack records.

ON-U SOUND AD

The ad at the top is from a UK fanzine called Collusion and dates from 1982.
Collusion itself covered a wide variety of music and didn't specifically specialise in dancefloor material, but it did dip into it sometimes with features on hip hop, reggae, Latin, soul and African cropping up in the mag.
The ad is an early sighting of the On-U Sound record label, and so at the time of publication they only had a small number of albums to include in the ad, but one of the records on the list is the above LP which I've grabbed from my collection at home - a Singers & Players compilation called "War Of Words" that came out on New York's, 99 Records, via the On-U Sound stable.

HURBY'S MACHINE

The item at the top was published in UK music magazine, Blues & Soul, way back in December 1987.
It is a review of an import album going under the name of Hurby's Machine, but was basically a various artists compilation of hip hop acts produced by Hurby (Luv Bug) Azor & Steevee O.
It's titled "The House That Rap Built", released on Sound Check/Next Plateau records, and that is my copy of the LP to accompany the item.

XLR8R MAGAZINE

XLR8R magazine arrived on the underground dance music scene in 1993, and has managed to keep the good vibes going ever since, albeit in an online format only these days.
XLR8R covers a very broad range of music so you will find plenty of electronica, hip hop, jazz, reggae, dubstep, abstract beats, global grooves, experimental, indie, soul, house, techno, breakbeat, the full scope in fact.
Along with the many music related articles in the mag, like record reviews, interviews, live events and so on, XLR8R also has lifestyle features - fashion, graffiti, computer gaming etc.
The example on display here at the top is the cover of their 50th issue which came out in 2001 - this one containing a feature on the mighty Futura 2000.
From the same issue I have plucked out an ad for the Jigmastas album "Infectious" along with a review of it from the mag.
I have also accompanied the items with the CD cover out of my own collection.