Fred Thomas

Genre-busting South African cellist brings unique sounds with improvisation, singing, body percussion and charm.

' Over the decades, James Brown collaborated with, and encouraged, some of funk's leading ladies. During the '60s and early '70s in particular, every Brown show featured a 15 or 20-minute break when he would leave the stage, turning it over to a young female singer who'd perform her own mini set - an event that became a tradition and an important part of the revue. It is these women who are collected across this marvelous and historically potent two-disc set. This is a crucial collection of the original women who rock: the soul and funk divas who paved the way.' AMG

Smalltown Supersound, the Norwegian label run by Oslo-based Joakim Haugland, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the label is releasing The Movement Of The Free Spirit, an epic new mix album of the Smalltown Supersound catalogue by Prins Thomas, out November 30th. As Thomas’s follow up to Paradise Goulash, The Movement Of The Free Spirit is a 3-disc mix comprised of 80 tracks and 3 hours and 40 minutes of music featuring artists including Sonic Youth, DJ Harvey, Studio, Yoshimi (Boredoms), Kim Gordon, Oneohtrix Point Never, Todd Rundgren, Stereolab, High Llamas, Neneh Cherry, Ricardo Villalobos, Four Tet, Bjørn Torske, Dungen, The Orb, Kelly Lee Owens, Lindstrøm, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Biosphere, Peter Brötzmann, and many more (full track list is below). The mix will be released as a CD box set, digitally (mix and unmixed) and disc 1 will be available as a double LP.