This year sees our imprint, Wah Wah 45s, reach a landmark fifteen years in the music business. What began as a 'hobby' label run by Hospital Records boss Chris Goss and his late brother Simon, has grown into a full time job for label directors Dom Servini and Adam Scrimshire, ably assisted by young buck Neil Bopperson.
Wah Wah 45s now has over a dozen artists on its books, and many of them are featured on this exhaustive compilation, charting fifteen years of this fiercely independent soulful record label, and as you would expect, a soulful strand runs through it, from the brassy funk and jazz of Hackney Colliery Band (with their hand-to-find first single Money), Colman Brothers (On a Better Day) and The Gene Dudley Group (the summertime smasher Minnie) to the sonorous dubwise sounds of Resonators (with the classic Sweet Love Affair) via Paper Tiger and Lea Lea's more electronic edge, and Scrimshire, Stac and Bev Lee Harling's lush, organic leanings. And that's without mentioning a little Kompa Funk from our Haitian born Canadian pianist Henri-Pierre Noel demonstrating his vocal prowess, as well as his awesome piano skills on Merci Bon Dieu.
Elsewhere we go way back in time with some blue-eyed soul from Talc, Max Cole, Jamie Finlay, Part-Time Heroes and Ashley Thomas, and a few dollops of deepness from Alison Crockett (the glorious Like Rain), Maze Hill and Unforscene featuring the now world famous Alice Russell. There's a little folky flavour (something we've always had a penchant for) from Speeka, Rosie Brown (remixed here by Quantic) and Sesong, plus some early dance floor offerings from Easylifenatural and Luna & Bazis on the electronic tip, and Kendra Lou & The Miracles, Hardkandy and Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos holding things down in the funk corner.