In true end-of-the-year fashion, we've compiled a playlist featuring some of our favourite vinyl releases of 2023. Another incredible year for new music, exploration, genre-defying and pioneering despite some incredibly difficult times for artists and independent labels alike. We're not ones for chart lists, so feel free to dig deep, spin out and strut along as you like.
We want to extend a big thank you to those that have supported us this year. We've taken some risks, worked with old friends and new, and it's truly been a pleasure to share these discoveries with music lovers across the globe. This year, we lost one of South Africa's finest musicians, and leader of Malombo Jazz Band, Julian Bahula, who was sadly taken from us too soon back in Autumn. It was genuinely a privilege for us to work with Julian in recent years, reissuing his seminal music recordings. His legacy continues through the music he brought to the world, and through the kindness of his wife, Pinky. Rest in power, Julian.
In 2023, the Strut output spanned from the spoken word odyssey of Black Fire's Mary Greer Mudiku, the absolutely essential Ofege with 'Try & Love', the avant-garde excellence of Lori Vambe, celebration of the underground with Mehmet Aslan's 'Senza Decoro', and the ambient electronica of Greg Foat & Gigi Masin's 'Dolphin' to name a few. We've wrapped things up with a fresh digital single from UK jazz powerhouses Nubiyan Twist with 'So Mi Stay', and can't wait to share some exciting news for 2024. So, as always, stay tuned, and thanks for sharing this journey with us.
Strut