Latest news with #Afrofuturism
Scotsman
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The most expensive vinyl sold on Discogs in July 2025
It's certainly been quite the busy month for vinyl aficionados in July, at least, looking at the sales that have taken place on Discogs. It would appear that jazz has once again become quite the hunt for several collectors, as we once again take a look at the most expensive vinyl to be sold through the online marketplace last month. There's also been some movement with Ozzy Osbourne's back catalogue as the world still comes to terms with the loss of 'the Prince of Darkness', and Taylor Swift's earlier work has once again elicited quite the sales price. But it's one thing to see how much one person would purchase what could be their 'holy grail' on vinyl, but not everyone is willing to pay that same amount. That's why we've decided to take a look at the median sales price for each of the 15 releases on the Discogs list, to give you an idea of how much it is worth, usually, rather than how much someone was willing to part with. But as ever with our look at Discogs, check you have the correct release (we've included catalogue numbers or barcodes where applicable), take a look and see how many are for sale currently and undertake your due diligence before listing anything. Keep it all on Discogs also; a number of you (myself included) will have no doubt received an email from the marketplace insisting not to take trades/orders away from the platform, for fear of phishing scams or even worse – paying for something that never existed in the first place. With those caveats in mind, shall we take a look at the big movers and shakers on Discogs last month? 1 . Sun Ra And His Astro-Infinity Arkestra – Continuation (ESR 520) As with many of Sun Ra's original works, Continuation was released on his self-produced El Saturn Records label in a very small run, often featuring hand-made artwork. This made each copy a unique piece of music history and art. The album's blend of cosmic free jazz and historical significance to the Afrofuturism movement makes it a highly sought-after collectable with a median selling price of £190.63. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 2 . Charlie Parker – Live And Private Recordings In Chronological Order Referred to by collectors as "The Bird Box," this 22-LP set is an unofficial masterpiece for jazz historians. Released in a limited, numbered edition of just 300 copies in 1986, it compiles nearly all of the known live and private recordings of Charlie Parker at the time. This massive collection offers an invaluable look into Parker's career outside of his studio recordings, making it a definitive "holy grail" for serious jazz aficionados, despite its unofficial status. The median value for this release is £226.75. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 3 . Nick Drake – Pink Moon (ILPS 9184) Nick Drake's final album, Pink Moon, is a folk masterpiece whose value has grown exponentially since its tragic release. Originally pressed in minimal numbers in 1972, this record gained legendary status decades after Drake's passing. Early UK represses, identifiable by the distinctive "pink rim" Island Records label, are especially prized by collectors and audiophiles who seek to own an original pressing from the era of the album's initial release. Still, you'll be looking at spending around £350.00 on average for it. | Discogs Photo Sales 4 . Mighty Ryeders – Help Us Spread The Message (SG-456) This 1978 release on the tiny Sun Glo Records label is a legendary "rare groove" and funk classic. Originally overlooked and pressed in very small numbers, the album was later rediscovered by DJs and collectors. Its iconic status was cemented when the track 'Evil Vibrations' was famously sampled by De La Soul. This connection to hip-hop history, combined with the album's extreme scarcity and high-quality grooves, has made it a crucial and highly sought-after item, with a median value for of £366.88. | Discogs Photo Sales Related topics: BoostMusicAlbumsVinylMoney
Scotsman
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The most expensive vinyl sold on Discogs in July 2025
It's certainly been quite the busy month for vinyl aficionados in July, at least, looking at the sales that have taken place on Discogs. It would appear that jazz has once again become quite the hunt for several collectors, as we once again take a look at the most expensive vinyl to be sold through the online marketplace last month. There's also been some movement with Ozzy Osbourne's back catalogue as the world still comes to terms with the loss of 'the Prince of Darkness', and Taylor Swift's earlier work has once again elicited quite the sales price. But it's one thing to see how much one person would purchase what could be their 'holy grail' on vinyl, but not everyone is willing to pay that same amount. That's why we've decided to take a look at the median sales price for each of the 15 releases on the Discogs list, to give you an idea of how much it is worth, usually, rather than how much someone was willing to part with. But as ever with our look at Discogs, check you have the correct release (we've included catalogue numbers or barcodes where applicable), take a look and see how many are for sale currently and undertake your due diligence before listing anything. Keep it all on Discogs also; a number of you (myself included) will have no doubt received an email from the marketplace insisting not to take trades/orders away from the platform, for fear of phishing scams or even worse – paying for something that never existed in the first place. With those caveats in mind, shall we take a look at the big movers and shakers on Discogs last month? 1 . Sun Ra And His Astro-Infinity Arkestra – Continuation (ESR 520) As with many of Sun Ra's original works, Continuation was released on his self-produced El Saturn Records label in a very small run, often featuring hand-made artwork. This made each copy a unique piece of music history and art. The album's blend of cosmic free jazz and historical significance to the Afrofuturism movement makes it a highly sought-after collectable with a median selling price of £190.63. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 2 . Charlie Parker – Live And Private Recordings In Chronological Order Referred to by collectors as "The Bird Box," this 22-LP set is an unofficial masterpiece for jazz historians. Released in a limited, numbered edition of just 300 copies in 1986, it compiles nearly all of the known live and private recordings of Charlie Parker at the time. This massive collection offers an invaluable look into Parker's career outside of his studio recordings, making it a definitive "holy grail" for serious jazz aficionados, despite its unofficial status. The median value for this release is £226.75. | Getty Images/Discogs Photo Sales 3 . Nick Drake – Pink Moon (ILPS 9184) Nick Drake's final album, Pink Moon, is a folk masterpiece whose value has grown exponentially since its tragic release. Originally pressed in minimal numbers in 1972, this record gained legendary status decades after Drake's passing. Early UK represses, identifiable by the distinctive "pink rim" Island Records label, are especially prized by collectors and audiophiles who seek to own an original pressing from the era of the album's initial release. Still, you'll be looking at spending around £350.00 on average for it. | Discogs Photo Sales 4 . Mighty Ryeders – Help Us Spread The Message (SG-456) This 1978 release on the tiny Sun Glo Records label is a legendary "rare groove" and funk classic. Originally overlooked and pressed in very small numbers, the album was later rediscovered by DJs and collectors. Its iconic status was cemented when the track 'Evil Vibrations' was famously sampled by De La Soul. This connection to hip-hop history, combined with the album's extreme scarcity and high-quality grooves, has made it a crucial and highly sought-after item, with a median value for of £366.88. | Discogs Photo Sales Related topics: BoostMusicAlbumsVinylMoney
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' blends horror, Blues and history
After making bank off the back-to-back blockbuster successes of the Black Panther films, writer-director Ryan Coogler remains unfazed and uncompromising in adhering to his tradition of developing projects around Black history and culture. Stepping away from the Afrofuturism of Wakanda, Coogler dips his toes into the warm waters of Mississippi, blending horror and musical elements into a period film set in Jim Crow-era America and proves, once again, why he is the most bankable Black director in Hollywood. Set in 1932, war veterans-turned-gangsters Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) return to Mississippi, seeking to open a new juke joint exclusively for the Black community in the town of Clarksdale. To put a crew for the establishment together, the twins rope in their guitarist cousin Samuel (Miles Caton), pianist and harmonicist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), Chinese shopkeepers Bo (Thomas Pang) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li), Smoke's wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) and bouncer Cornbread (Omar Miller). At the time of their return, Stack's old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) is in town following the funeral of her mother, who took care of the three when they were children. After securing a sawmill as the venue from a Ku Klux Klan member, the first night of Smoke and Stack's music and drink establishment goes seemingly well, with Sammie's guitar skills piercing the veil of time. Apparitions from the past, of African tribesmen playing tribal instruments and dancing, to visions of the future, of Black break dancers and musicians on turntables and electric guitars, begin to overlap with the crowd in the sawmill. Sammie's music not only enchants those within with soothsaying blues tunes and his deep baritone singing, but it also becomes a beacon, a signal that calls out to the mysterious Remmick (Jack O'Connell) outside, prompting him to ask for an invitation to enter the juke joint. Story told in shadows, sound It is almost timely that Coogler's Sinners was released several months after Robert Eggers's Nosferatu. Almost like a band-aid or a garlic-infused mouthwash at the same time, Sinners surpasses what little Nosferatu was good at, while going above and beyond in accomplishing everything Eggers's film failed at, particularly at telling a compelling, original story. Having said that, Sinners' story is not complex and neither are its characters. Coogler deviates from traditional storytelling with the film, opting to instead use environmental and historical storytelling to bring colour and breathe life into the film's myriad of characters. The writing behind them instead makes use of the history of the Black community during the film's time period, bridging the generational trauma, racial turmoil, religious elements and communal politics from the years, decades and centuries prior to 1932. Coogler extends the same treatment for Remmick, who despite being painted as a bloodthirsty, multi-accented, serpentine vampire with zero character development, is revealed to be just as much as a victim of oppressive colonialism and forced religion as the Black characters that he preys on. The 'show, don't tell' rule is often ignored in film – and television – but Coogler finds the perfect balance between both here, showing more than enough, while filling in the blanks with passing dialogue that are easily missed. As big as the Black Panther films were, they had glaring flaws, especially the second film, which felt like a compromise between Coogler's vision and his storytelling, and appeasing the Marvel Studios executives to create the billionth Marvel Cinematic Universe film. On the other hand, surgical in its horror, avant garde with its Southern music and Western revisionism, Sinners is Coogler unshackled, at his best and most creative. Sinners is available via premium video on demand.
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Sinister Southern symphony
After making bank off the back-to-back blockbuster successes of the Black Panther films, writer-director Ryan Coogler remains unfazed and uncompromising in adhering to his tradition of developing projects around Black history and culture. Stepping away from the Afrofuturism of Wakanda, Coogler dips his toes into the warm waters of Mississippi, blending horror and musical elements into a period film set in Jim Crow-era America and proves, once again, why he is the most bankable Black director in Hollywood. Set in 1932, war veterans-turned-gangsters Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) return to Mississippi, seeking to open a new juke joint exclusively for the Black community in the town of Clarksdale. To put a crew for the establishment together, the twins rope in their guitarist cousin Samuel (Miles Caton), pianist and harmonicist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), Chinese shopkeepers Bo (Thomas Pang) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li), Smoke's wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) and bouncer Cornbread (Omar Miller). At the time of their return, Stack's old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) is in town following the funeral of her mother, who took care of the three when they were children. After securing a sawmill as the venue from a Ku Klux Klan member, the first night of Smoke and Stack's music and drink establishment goes seemingly well, with Sammie's guitar skills piercing the veil of time. Apparitions from the past, of African tribesmen playing tribal instruments and dancing, to visions of the future, of Black break dancers and musicians on turntables and electric guitars, begin to overlap with the crowd in the sawmill. Sammie's music not only enchants those within with soothsaying blues tunes and his deep baritone singing, but it also becomes a beacon, a signal that calls out to the mysterious Remmick (Jack O'Connell) outside, prompting him to ask for an invitation to enter the juke joint. Story told in shadows, sound It is almost timely that Coogler's Sinners was released several months after Robert Eggers's Nosferatu. Almost like a band-aid or a garlic-infused mouthwash at the same time, Sinners surpasses what little Nosferatu was good at, while going above and beyond in accomplishing everything Eggers's film failed at, particularly at telling a compelling, original story. Having said that, Sinners' story is not complex and neither are its characters. Coogler deviates from traditional storytelling with the film, opting to instead use environmental and historical storytelling to bring colour and breathe life into the film's myriad of characters. The writing behind them instead makes use of the history of the Black community during the film's time period, bridging the generational trauma, racial turmoil, religious elements and communal politics from the years, decades and centuries prior to 1932. Coogler extends the same treatment for Remmick, who despite being painted as a bloodthirsty, multi-accented, serpentine vampire with zero character development, is revealed to be just as much as a victim of oppressive colonialism and forced religion as the Black characters that he preys on. The 'show, don't tell' rule is often ignored in film – and television – but Coogler finds the perfect balance between both here, showing more than enough, while filling in the blanks with passing dialogue that are easily missed. As big as the Black Panther films were, they had glaring flaws, especially the second film, which felt like a compromise between Coogler's vision and his storytelling, and appeasing the Marvel Studios executives to create the billionth Marvel Cinematic Universe film. On the other hand, surgical in its horror, avant garde with its Southern music and Western revisionism, Sinners is Coogler unshackled, at his best and most creative.
Washington Post
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Janelle Monáe hopes to ‘be a refuge' during her WorldPride show
As a child, Janelle Monáe had nightmares about two people: Grace Jones and Prince. 'I'll never forget it,' the singer says. 'Prince was chasing me in a purple suit, and Grace Jones was just laughing hysterically.' In time Monáe would become both a friend and an artistic heir to the two iconic musicians, each untethered by conventions of genre and gender and each capable of alchemizing androgyny and Afrofuturism into new forms. But it wasn't until adulthood that she understood the nightmare obscured a dream.
