SHARP-FLAT

JOHN PHILLIPS - Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976

Songs of Gentleness is a 4LP box set that casts John Phillips of Rhodesia as the last great outsider folk discovery of the 20th century. The set resurrects Phillips' beguiling debut John for the very first time since its inaugural South African release in 1969 and unveils three new albums of previously unreleased works from the 1970s. Songs of Gentleness presents every surviving recording by this hitherto mysterious Southern African musician.

Born in 1945, John Phillips was the first child of an English couple living in India. The Phillips family went on to settle in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1957. A sensitive and bookish teenager coming of age in the 1960s, Phillips embraced the bohemian world of literature and song and studiously evolved into a proficient guitarist and skilled songwriter. After a brief period working as a journalist in Zambia, he relocated to South Africa to pursue music and recorded John for the independent RPM label in Johannesburg. With no international distribution, the album couldn't reach its niche audience at the time but is a worthy companion to contemporaneous cult folk classics from the Anglosphere like Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left and Linda Perhacs' Parallelograms.

While confronting depression, substance abuse and gender dysphoria in the 1970s, Phillips remained a passionate and prolific songwriter and studio sessions from 1972 and 1976 document the breadth of his talent and the depth of his soul. Songs of Gentleness details his remarkable story with guidance from his brother Gordon Phillips and input from late musical collaborator John Oakley-Smith (creator of the 1976 album Matinees on Saturdays) in a booklet featuring archival photographs and drawings. John Phillips retreated into a life of isolation over the course of the 1980s and died of cancer in England in 1995. These gentle songs are his enduring gift to the world.

• John (1969) Original Album

• John 1972 First Edition LP

• John 1976 First Edition LP

• Demos 1976 First Edition LP

• Stoughton Tip-On Jackets

• Large Format 16-Page Booklet

• Deluxe Enclosure

DIGITAL SAMPLER

OSCILLATIONS - I Can See It Coming (1978)

Sharp-Flat and Strawberry Rain present a masterwork of African psychedelia from the gentle soul of Zambian guitar wizard Victor Kunda Kasoma. Released in the late 1970s, I Can See It Coming blends classic hard rock with traditional African grooves and spellbinding electric guitar riffing. With its mystical album artwork, this rough diamond obscurity roars back to life in the 2020s as a Zamrock cult favourite accompanied by a short making-of documentary shot in Kitwe, Zambia.

• First stand-alone reissue with new remaster

• Deluxe tip-on sleeve with obi and band photo insert

DIGITAL ALBUM

JOHN PHILLIPS - Songs of Gentleness 1972-1976 (Sampler)

A sampler of previously unreleased songs recorded in 1972 and 1976 by singer-songwriter John Phillips of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). This compilation prepares the way for the release of the collected works of John Phillips, in which three previously unreleased albums are presented with the album John (1969) as a 4LP box set with a 16-page booklet entitled Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976.

* 1972-1976 SAMPLER on Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube *

Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976 is a 4LP box set that casts John Phillips of Rhodesia as the last great outsider folk discovery of the 20th century. The set resurrects Phillips' beguiling debut John for the very first time since its inaugural South African release in 1969 and unveils three new albums of previously unreleased works from the 1970s. Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976 presents every surviving recording by this hitherto mysterious Southern African musician.

Born in 1945, John Phillips was the first child of an English couple living in India. The Phillips family went on to settle in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1957. A sensitive and bookish teenager coming of age in the 1960s, Phillips embraced the bohemian world of literature and song and studiously evolved into a proficient guitarist and skilled songwriter. After a brief period working as a journalist in Zambia, he relocated to South Africa to pursue music and recorded John for the independent RPM label in Johannesburg. With no international distribution, the album couldn't reach its niche audience at the time but is a worthy companion to contemporaneous cult folk classics from the Anglosphere like Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left and Linda Perhacs' Parallelograms.

While confronting depression, substance abuse and gender dysphoria in the 1970s, Phillips remained a passionate and prolific songwriter and studio sessions from 1972 and 1976 document the breadth of his talent and the depth of his soul. Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976 details his remarkable story with guidance from his brother Gordon Phillips and input from late musical collaborator John Oakley-Smith (creator of the 1976 album Matinees on Saturdays) in a booklet featuring archival photographs and drawings. John Phillips retreated into a life of isolation over the course of the 1980s and died of cancer in England in 1995. These gentle songs are his enduring gift to the world.

JPS 101 – FIRST EDITION 4LP BOX SET WILL INCLUDE:

JPS 169 // John Phillips – John (1969) • First Reissue LP

JPS 272 // John Phillips – John 1972 • First Edition LP

JPS 376 // John Phillips – John 1976 • First Edition LP

JPS 476 // John Phillips – Demos (1976) • First Edition LP

• Stoughton Tip-On Jackets

• Large Format 16-Page Booklet

• Deluxe Enclosure

COMPANION RELEASE:

SF17 // John Oakley-Smith – Matinees on Saturdays (1976) • First Reissue LP

• Direct-to-Board Sleeve with Double-Sided Lyric Sheet/Photo Insert

RELEASE DATE TBD

SF17 // JOHN OAKLEY-SMITH - Matinees on Saturdays (1976)

Exquisite singer-songwriter outing from 1976 South Africa with private-press sensibilities. A quirky and intelligent yet deeply moving set from a contemporary of Rhodesian folk outsider John Phillips.

John Oakley-Smith was part of a generation of songwriters from the 1970s, spearheaded by the likes of Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, who expanded the creative and confessional boundaries of folk music and altered the course of popular music as we know it. Written and recorded in South Africa from 1973 to 1975 and originally released in 1976, Matinees on Saturdays is an obscure classic that weaves intimate and poetic narratives into a melancholic set with flourishes of wry attitude and sharp wit. The album is notable for its subtle yet ornate production with Oakley-Smith's fragile vocals and graceful piano at it's core.

Born in Zimbabwe in 1949, John Oakley-Smith came of age at a time of political and military escalation during the country's war of independence in the 1960s and 1970s. He migrated to South Africa to avoid conscription and attend university and later evolved into a key figure of the folk music and fringe theatre community that frequented Johannesburg's Troubadour Club and Chelsea Hotel. With support from the independent 3rd Ear Music label, Matinees on Saturdays was a labour of love produced by Oakley-Smith alongside engineer Nino Rivera and issued by a local subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records as a small pressing in South Africa only. The album was his only official release and has been restored and reissued for its 50th anniversary in 2026.

During the 1970s, John-Oakley Smith played music with the likes of Johnny Clegg, Mike Dickman and Thomas Mapfumo. He also collaborated with John Phillips on the 1972 session featured on the Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976 box set. He helped found Johannesburg's Market Theatre in 1976 and worked closely with figures like Richard Haines, John Kani and Janet Suzman. Retiring as a performer in the 1980s, Oakley-Smith returned to Zimbabwe and dedicated himself to composing and arranging music for theatre, including the Royal Shakespeare Company in England. In his later years, he worked as a writer and editor as well as a high-school music teacher and mentor of aspiring young musicians. John Oakley-Smith was the victim of what remains an unsolved murder at his home in Mutare in 2021.

• First vinyl reissue since 1976 release

• Includes double-sided lyric sheet/photo insert

• Black vinyl as well as limited edition colour variants

All Songs Written, Arranged and Performed by John Oakley-Smith

All Instruments and Vocals by John Oakley-Smith

Engineered by Nino Rivera

Cover by Dennis Scouse

Published by 3rd Ear Music

Special Thanks: David Marks and Lucien Oakley-Smith

Cat. No. SF17

DIGITAL ALBUM

SHARP-FLAT x HAMSHACK RADIO

South African Community Radio Week - Wednesday 29 September 2021:

14:00-16:00 // An Alternate History of South African Music

16:00-17:00 // "Stay Dread" - A Lee Perry Mixtape

SF15 // WITCH - Movin' On

Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.

Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready for a new chapter. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite albums from 1980 to 1984.

With crisp beats, funky bass, swirling synths and tight horns, 1980's Movin' On was a sharp departure from the group's Zamrock roots and made no bones about the fact that the WITCH was ready to embrace the sound and spirit of a new decade. Trading lead vocals with founding member Chris Mbewe are newcomers Christine Jackson and Stanford Tembo, making for a well rounded set that combines dance floor burners with mid-tempo boogie grooves. A carefully crafted, great sounding album from a seasoned ensemble, Movin' On is an African pop classic.

Vocals - CHRISTINE JACKSON

Vocals - STANFORD TEMBO

Guitar & Vocal - CHRIS MBEWE

Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU

Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA

Drums - PETER LUNGO

Piano, Strings & Synthesiser - PATRICK MWONDELA

Vocal Harmonies - SHADDICK BWALYA

Horns by Real Sound Horns

Brass Arrangements by Shaddick Bwalya

Produced by Shaddick Bwalya

Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe

Engineered by Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris

Remixed by Shaddick Bwalya, Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris

Special thanks to Eddie Manda (Master Jam)

Dedicated to David Daka

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick

Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton

Reissue Cat. No. SF15

DIGITAL ALBUM

SF16 // WITCH - Kuomboka

Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.

Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready to embrace the exciting dance sounds of a new era. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite recordings during their disco years.

A full-throttle boogie outing, Kuomboka was issued in 1984 and features rising star Patrick Chisembele stepping in on lead vocals. Despite the album's modern vision for African pop, its title refers to a traditional migration ceremony practiced by the Lozi people of the Zambezi floodplains. The album documents a seasoned ensemble with an ambitious vision and is considered the group's sonic masterpiece.

Vocals - PATRICK CHISEMBELE

Guitar & Backing Vocals - CHRIS MBEWE

Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU

Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA

 Drums - PETER LUNGO

Synthesisers & Electric Piano - PATRICK MWONDELA

Backing Vocals & Percussion - SHADDICK BWALYA

GUEST MUSICIANS:

Brass by Real Sound Horns

Vocals - Abi Rusike & Benny Miller

Backing Vocals - Rusike Brothers

Produced by Shaddick Bwalya & Richard Nganga

Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe

Engineered by Steve Roskilly

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick

Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton

Reissue Cat. No. SF16

DIGITAL ALBUM

SF14 // THE BROADWAY QUINTET - Amalume (Lekani Mowa)

Sharp-Flat Records presents the long-awaited restoration of The Broadway Quintet's cult classic Amalume (Lekani Mowa) – a hypnotic concoction of traditional Zambian sounds and jazz-rock grooves with a twist of 1970s African psychedelia.

Emerging to serve the entertainment needs of Zambia's United National Independence Party (UNIP) in the early 1960s, The Broadway Quintet gathered seasoned talent from Lusaka's best hotel bands to fashion its esteemed lineup. Starting as a quartet and later evolving into a quintet, the group's career spanned over twenty years as favourites on the cabaret circuit and boasted a myriad of prestigious collaborations.

The Broadway Quintet's jazz sensibilities set them apart from the rock sound that dominated the music landscape of the 1970s. Yet the formula behind Zamrock, fusing indigenous Zambian sounds with Western pop, shaped their one and only 1976 long-player. Featuring modern arrangements of traditional songs, Amalume blended congas with sax sounds, folk lyrics with electric keyboard shenanigans and show business staples with jazz guitar noodling. With its psychedelic fever dream illustrated cover*, it was an explosive package of "originality and electrifying beauty" as the album's liner notes rightly attested.

Released on the Zambezi label, Amalume joined an exceptional run of mid-1970s offerings alongside WITCH, Ricky Banda and Crossbones. Officially licensed, carefully restored and beautifully reproduced, Zambia's most requested reissue has finally returned for everybody to enjoy.

* Trevor Ford's harrowing artwork references the album's didactic title track with its warning against the perils of drinking alcohol.

Tony Maonde – Keyboards

Zacks Gwaze – Lead Guitar, Vocals

Simanga Tutani – Bass Guitar, Sax, Vocals

Timothy Sikova – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Jonah Marumahoko – Congas, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

Peter Bwalya – Trumpet on "Matteo" and "Nifyo Fine"

Produced and Arranged by The Broadway Quintet for Teal Record Company

Recorded at d.B Studios, Lusaka in 1976

Engineers: Graham Skinner, Nikki Ashley and Peter Musungilo

Cover Design by Trevor Ford and Gibson Tembo

Pictures by B. Nkunika

Audio Restoration and Remastering by Colin Young at See Why Audio

Restoration copy sourced courtesy Sudeep Menon

Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick

Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton

Original Cat. No. ZTZ 4

Reissue Cat. No. SF14

DIGITAL ALBUM

Original Liner Notes:

They hail from such old-time groups as The Rhokana Melodies, The Crooners, De Black Evening Follies and The City Quads. It was the UNIP National Band of 1962 that brought the boys together. And they’re still together 14 years later!

Tony Maonde, Zacks Gwaze, Timothy Sikova, Jonah Marumahoko, Simanga Tutani – individually, musicians of rare talent; together, The Broadway Quintet, polished night-club performers of Lusaka’s Hotel Intercontinental.

But, beneath their public image there runs, like the mighty Zambezi, a creative force that explodes with originality and electrifying beauty.

From vocal compositions like “Mr. Music” and “Change Your Mind” through the more traditional “Jiye Manguwe” and title-track “Amalume”, The Broadway Quintet move into instrumentals of the brilliance and vitality of “Matteo” and “Nifyo Fine”.

To The Broadway Quintet we say, “Thanks for a fantastic LP”.

SF12 // ROCKART - House

Mystical, minimal house offering hailing from South Africa in the mid-2000s courtesy of Cape Town indie labels Sharp-Flat and Roastin' Records.

RockArt was a hybrid-electro performance art project that emerged during a golden age for electronic music in the Cape, the post-Y2K scene spurred by the maverick African Dope record label that marked the rise of cult outsiders Felix Laband and Tudor Watkins Jones. Harnessing the combined powers of seasoned jazz musicians Hilton Schilder and Alex van Heerden, RockArt cooked up a signature futurist formula laced with musical bows and voice samples that was unmistakably indigenous. Intended as a companion to the group's Future Cape album of 2006, House was conceived as a long-form soundscape of tribal electronica that could stand alone on its own merits but also provide a backdrop for live instrumental improvisation. The project was shelved following the untimely death of Alex van Heerden in 2009 but emerges from Hilton Schilder's archive as a reminder of the duo's profound collaborative alchemy.

Running at 28 minutes over two sides of a 12-inch maxi cut at 45RPM, House is available as a boutique vinyl offering with a psychedelic art sleeve pressed in a first edition of 300 copies.

Created by Hilton Schilder and Alex van Heerden

Album Artwork by Hilton Schilder

Layout by Rouleaux van der Merwe

DIGITAL ALBUM

SF11 // MOVEMENT IN THE CITY - S-T

In the wake of a 2020 edition of Movement in the City's second album Black Teardrops (1981), Sharp-Flat Records returns with a prequel by way of a reissue of the band's self-titled debut from 1979.

As the 1970s were drawing to a close, the epic Black Disco studio project with its signature pairing of drum machine and organ had run its course. After delivering a killer trilogy of cosmic lounge outings dating back to 1975, the group yearned for funkier grooves and the core trio of composer Pops Mohamed on organ with Basil Coetzee on tenor sax and Sipho Gumede on bass decided to hire a drummer and rebrand as Movement in the City. In contrast with the New Age detachment of Black Disco, Movement in the City was conceptually grounded in the bleak social realism depicted on its photographic album covers and leaned into the vivid sensibilities of library music from the era. Blending Cape jazz with funk and soul, the group's output evokes a soundtrack for South African city life at the outset of the 1980s while nodding allegorically to the subterranean movements that were in the course of shaking the cage for political change.

With its cast of jazz fusion all-stars, Movement in the City is the manifesto of a band in transition - a bold and slick first offering that delivers a modern South African sound capable of both the funky exuberances of "Mister Lucky" as well as the down-home pathos of "Blue Sunday." Restored from its original tape masters and released in partnership with As-Shams Archive and Pops Mohamed, this rare artefact of South African jazz history is back in print for the very first time since its original 1979 release.

Organ, Electric Piano, Piano – Pops Mohamed

Saxophones – Basil Coetzee

Bass – Sipho Gumede

Drums – Gilbert Matthews

Bass on "Blue Sunday" – Peter Odendaal

Drums on "Blue Sunday" – Monty Weber

All Tracks Composed by Pops Mohamed

Produced by Rashid Vally

Original Release 1979

Sharp-Flat Reissue 2022

DIGITAL SINGLE