All Categories — All Formats  

Incredible work from the obscure African Music Machine – a southern funk combo led by bassist Louis Villery – a legendary batch of funky singles, finally brought together as a full album! The band has a very unique sound that involves a lot of rolling bubbling basslines, spacey organ grooves, tight choppy guitar riffs, and punchy horn blasts – almost with the African elements promised in the title, but served up with a deeper funk sound all the way through! In a way, the group's a bit like Cymande or some of the other 70s hybrid ensembles – yet they've got a lot less dub, a much more direct funky groove, and plety of raw southern elements in the mix as well! This is the funky 45 material we first cut our teeth on back in the day – and the original singles are legendary! Includes massive cuts like "Black Water Gold (Pearl)", "A Girl In France", "Never Name A Baby (Before It's Born), "Making Nassau Fruit Drink", "Camel Time", "The Dapp", "Tropical", and "Mr. Brown".

A mix of pretty heavy garage psych and airier, trippier pop from Sean Bonniwell and his Bonniwell Music Machine for Warner Bros – moving beyond the rawer, headier material from the earlier music the more simply monikered Music Machine! There's a much broader reach here, from rugged rockers with lilting, weird pop – and sometimes a mix of the two. Tripped out strangeness and strangely catchy grooves! Titles include "Astrologically Imcompatible", "Double Yellow Line", "The Trap", "Soul Love", "Bottom Of The Soul", "Me, Myself, And I" and more.

Rare work from British easy maestro Ron Goodwin – one of England's most important orchestral talents of the 50s and 60s! Disc one of the set features Goodwin's instrumental singles of the 50s – many of which were done in a style that's similar to some of Les Baxter's pre-exotica work for Capitol. Like Baxter, Goodwin came from a more traditional style of mood music, but was also willing to work in farther-reaching modes – and would pick up traces of some of the more ambitious easy styles of his time. The second disc features Goodwin's soundtrack work of later years – much of which was done in highly dramatic styles that often supported historical narratives, war stories, and other films of an epic nature. Together, the 2CD set makes for a great look at Goodwin's oft-neglected work – and is packaged with a great set of notes and a huge amount of tracks! Titles include "Concetta", "Red Cloak", "The Melba Waltz", "Messenger Boy", "Jet Journey", "Tropical Mirage", "Josita", "Wagon Train", "Aces High", "Departure", "Frenzy", "Decline & Fall", "Cafe Royal Waltz", "Return My Love", and "When Eagles Dare". 53 tracks in all!

A rare gem from Maceo Parker – the second album cut with his King's Men group in the short time he was away from James Brown in the early 70s! The set was done for the Excello southern soul label, and it's got a bit of a different groove than his work for House Of Fox with the same group – a style that's got a bit more conventional southern production overall, and grooves that run towards soul a bit more than funk – although the whole record is still pretty darn funky overall! Players in the group include Charles Sherrell, Melvin Parker, and Jimmy Nolen – and titles include "Funky Music Machine", "Dreams", "TSU (Aristocrat of Bands)", "Funky Tale To Tell", and "Born to Wander".

A rare gem from Maceo Parker – the second album cut with his King's Men group in the short time he was away from James Brown in the early 70s! The set was done for the Excello southern soul label, and it's got a bit of a different groove than his work for House Of Fox with the same group – a style that's got a bit more conventional southern production overall, and grooves that run towards soul a bit more than funk – although the whole record is still pretty darn funky overall! Players in the group include Charles Sherrell, Melvin Parker, and Jimmy Nolen – and titles include "Funky Music Machine", "Dreams", "TSU (Aristocrat of Bands)", "Funky Tale To Tell", and "Born to Wander".

Incredible work from the obscure African Music Machine – a southern funk combo led by bassist Louis Villery – a legendary batch of funky singles, finally brought together as a full album! The band has a very unique sound that involves a lot of rolling bubbling basslines, spacey organ grooves, tight choppy guitar riffs, and punchy horn blasts – almost with the African elements promised in the title, but served up with a deeper funk sound all the way through! In a way, the group's a bit like Cymande or some of the other 70s hybrid ensembles – yet they've got a lot less dub, a much more direct funky groove, and plety of raw southern elements in the mix as well! This is the funky 45 material we first cut our teeth on back in the day – and the original singles are legendary! Includes massive cuts like "Black Water Gold (Pearl)", "A Girl In France", "Never Name A Baby (Before It's Born), "Making Nassau Fruit Drink", "Camel Time", "The Dapp", "Tropical", and "Mr. Brown".

Brazilian, atmospheric, psych, Krautrock.

Minimalist drone from Masaki Batoh of Ghost – sparely beautiful and somewhat ominous soundscapes from ever-creative experimenter – and the way he created these sounds is kinda mindblowing! Brain Pulse Music is literally what Masaki Batoh has here. Essentially, he dreamed up a machine that could convert radio-transmitted brainwave/EKG data into a more audible frequency. He then found some people to make that happen! Also in the mix here are both peaceful sounding and kind of clattering bits of more traditional Japanese instrumentation – drums, gongs and bells. Dreamy, haunting stuff from a master experimentalist! Includes "Kunamo Codex 1", "Eye Tracking Test", "Kumano Codex 2", "Kumano Codex 3", "Kumano Codex 4", "Kumano Codex 5" and "Aiki No Okami".

A massive collection of work from Beggars Opera – Vertigo Records giants who work here with a heck of a lot of great work on organ! The set features a fair bit of music from each of the group's four albums – Act One, Waters Of Change, Pathfinder, and Get Your Dog Off Me – plus some single tracks too – all wrapped together as a 2CD set that really shows a great progression in the group's style – from tripped-out and jamming, to tighter and more song-based – yet always with a soaring sort of energy in the end. The keyboards alone have a strength to rival Rick Wakeman's best work for Yes – and titles include "Passacaglia", "Memory", "Raymond's Road", "Festival", "Impromptu", "Fox", "The Witch", "Pathfinder", "Sarabande", "Think", "Time Machine", "Lament", and "Working Man".

One of coolest live documents of folk music adventuror Sandy Bull you could ask for – recorded at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1976 – with Bull playing the oud, on stage with early version of the TASCAM 4-track recorder, utilized here as his backing "band"! He dubs his tape machine The Rhythm Ace – with Bull playing the oud to pre-taped drum machine and bass, and talking to the audience about just what heck they're seeing and hearing. We don't know of the audience was in awe, dumbstruck or what – folk fellows didn't do this kind of thing on stage in '76 – which makes it all the more rewarding to hear 35+ years later! Sandy's musicianship is brilliant, and it's great fun to listen to him talk about his pal The Rhythm Ace, too. Includes "Oud", "Love Is Forever", "Driftin", "Alligator Wrestler" (with an intro) and "New York City" – plus a demo of his Rhythm Ace.

One of the most insanely wonderful soundtracks from the late 60's – filled with weird instrumental touches and sublimely groovy vocals that really match the mad spirit of the film! Although Bob Crewe's best known for his work as a producer for bigger names in the 60s, he really shines here on this set – stepping out with One of the most insanely wonderful soundtracks from the late 60s – filled with weird instrumental touches and sublimely groovy vocals that really match the mad spirit of the film! Although Bob Crewe's best known for his work as a producer for bigger names in the 60s, he really shines here on this set – stepping out with a mad mix of styles that blends 60s adult easy with spacier themes – using primitive electronics and odd studio tricks to capture the cartoony space landscape of Jane Fonda's world in the move. The Glitterhouse sing on a few cuts, in a great mod rock soundtrack mode – and the pacing, timing, and overall presentation of the music here is really great – an audio document that almost feels like a "sonic film" in and of itself! Tracks include "Barbarella", "Ski Ride", "Hungry Dolls", "Entrance Into Sogo", "The Pill", "Smoke (Viper Vapor)", "I Love All The Love In You", "The Labyrinth", "The Sex Machine", "The Chamber Of Dreams" and many more.

A later effort from James D-Train Williams, but still plenty darn great – and proof that his groove was still one of the strongest in 80s soul music! The style of the set follows from Williams' best earlier work – a bit of bounce at the bottom of most of the tracks, but never too much – just enough to make the titles bubble with enough electricity to carry through the catchiest hooks of the lyrics. Instrumentation includes a fair bit of 80s drum machine rhythms, offset by the deeper soul of Williams' vocals – and titles include "Curious", "Runner", "In Your Eyes", "Order In The House", "Smile", "Runner (dub mix)", "With All My Heart", and "Shadow Of Another Love".

A landmark look at the rise of hip hop in the New York scene – filmed in the mid 80s, and featuring loads of vintage footage from the streets! The images here are alone worth the price of admission – but there's also plenty of compelling meat to the feature too – including vintage interviews with Grand Master Flash, Run DMC, Schoolly D, Mr Magic, Biz Markie, Doug E Fresh, Roxanne Shante, and CBS Crew – all done in voices that are as fresh as the music they were making at the time! The film is like finding a time machine back to the old school – and although the feature is only about 45 minutes, it packs plenty of punch.

A really really amazing package – the full story of the early years of Syl Johnson – one of the funkiest soul singers to ever come from Chicago! Syl's music has become the stuff of legend over the years – initially collected in rare funky 45s and two even rarer albums – then sampled heavily, compiled frequently, and spun out to a huge global audience that Johnson never had back in the day. Yet throughout the years, things were never done properly – and certainly with any sense of history or continutiy that would unite the music – until now. The folks at Numero have really outdone themselves this time – not just by including both CD (4 of them) and LP (6 of those) versions of the music in the set – but also by coming up with one of the most attractive, uniquely packaged records we've ever seen! The box and booklet alone are completely beautiful – the latter filled with vintage photos, personal recollections by Syl, and some great Numero writing – not to mention much-needed details on the recordings within. And the LPs each come in their own jackets – two of which mimic the original Twinight albums, the other four of which create Shama, Trip, and Federal label albums of Johnson's music – records that didn't exist back in the 60s, but which look as if they've come from a time machine! The CDs come in a very cool LP-styled jacket – and the whole thing slides together as sweetly as the funky music within. None of the Hi Records material is included – just material from labels that include Twilight/Twinight, King/Federal, Shama, TMP/Ting, Zachron, One-Derful, Cha Cha, Special Agent, and P-Vine – including a number of tracks never issued before. We could write for hours about how great this set is – but honestly, one look, or one listen, and you'll be hooked!

Rare work from the west coast mainstream pop underground of the 60s – that magical musical place where cats who had bigger gigs were able to make some special sounds in between the chart singles – groovy little records that often got lost amidst the shifting sands of time! Two of the biggest talents on that scene of the time were Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and producer Terry Melcher – both of whom worked on much bigger projects, especially in later years, but also cut some cool stuff here together as a duo. The music here is heavy on the harmonies you'd expect from a duo with their experience – but most vocals are duo mode, not quartet or quintet – set amidst some totally sweet hot rod and surf-styled music – produced mostly by Melcher with this cool squished-up studio sound! The set features rare singles, a few unissued numbers, mono cuts, and even some work by the related Rogues – 20 whopping titles that include "Come On Let's Go", "Hawaii", "Summer Means Fun", "Raining In My Heart", "Roger's Reef", "Yeah", "Thank You Baby", "Halfway", "Four Strong Winds", "Look Who's Laughing Now", "Come Love", and "Custom Machine".

A mindblowing moment from the trio of Dieter Moebius, Hans Joachim Rodelius, and Konrad Schnitzler – an incredible studio exploration that initiated a rich generation of German experimentation! The trio are much harder and darker here than on any of their later recordings – especially solo sides – coming up with new sounds, powerful tones, and waves of sonic energy that never fail to amaze us, even after all these years! The original notes call the music the sound of the machine – which is definitely true, but in ways that are even more abstracted – and, dare we say, more powerfully resonant than any later work from the industrial generation. Each song spans a side of a record – and titles include "Kluster 1(Electric Music Und Texte)" and "Kluster 2 (Electric Music)".

Fantastic live stuff from the classic early period of Kool & the Gang! The set swings mightily with a sound that's hardly matched on some of their studio albums, and the band proves that their tightness isn't just a batch of studio tricks as they blow away the crowd at the Sex Machine night club. There's lots of great live jamming here, and some of their best early cuts like "Let The Music Take Your Mind", "Who's Gonna Take The Weight", "Funky Man", and more. This is a very nice reissue pressing, with a cool gatefold wraparound cover, and some very heavy funky wax! Another one that we never thought we'd see again on vinyl – now out for the masses at a nice nice price.

Wonderful sounds from space – put together in a rare album that was initially issued in a small batch, to coincide with the Seattle Worlds Fair in the early 60! For the set, Art Mineo comes up with an amazing batch of spacey sounds that were played at the fair in conjunction with a machine called the "Bubbleator" – a weird transparent elevator – and although Mineo had recorded the music a decade before, it fits surprisingly well for the setting – thanks to quality that's definitely futuristic! There's no electronic instrumentation on the LP, but the sound is off-kilter and mighty weird – with an atonal quality that sounds like it's being made by early computer music instruments, but which is really just a string section and percussion – played in a strange, otherwordly way! The music is spooky, spare, and with an arch-evil sound that's made the record a space age classic since the day it was released.

The second great Donald Byrd soul project of the 70s – a group who hailed from the music department at North Carolina Central College, and who are produced by Donald here with a groove that's similar to his more famous work with The Blackbyrds! Like The Blackbyrds, these guys started as college students with a good sense of jazz – but the overall groove here is more in a soul-based mode, similar to the smoother style that the Blackbyrds used after their first album or two – with almost an equal focus on the vocals and funky instrumentation. There's a nice ensemble feel to the set, and titles include "Super Trick", "Hey Girl", "Bull City Party", "Washing Machine", "You & I", and "Sleepy Time Is Over".

One of the coolest, grooviest cats who ever cut a record – an an artist with a really unique conception at the time of these recordings! Roy Porter got his start as a drummer during the bebop years, and worked hard on the LA scene of the R&B and soul scenes of the 50s and 60s – but to us, his crowning achievement is these amazing funk sides of the early 70s – amazingly complex, but right on the money too – and a whole new kind of music that's impossible to describe in words! Roy mixes funky drums with lots of cool jazzy changes – keyboard lines, horn parts, and bass bits that have the frenzy you might find in fusion, yet come across with the down-to-earth vibe of a funky 45 – a killer blend that goes way past jazz, and even most straight funk too – as you'll hear in this sweet little set. The package brings together all the best tracks from these key Porter years – and titles include "Jessica" and "Panama" in both vocal and instrumental versions, plus "Wow", "Funny Feelin", "Funky Twitch", "Love You", "Hense Forth", "Out On The Town Tonight", "Givin Me The Blues", "Waver-ing", "Party Time", and "Hip City".

Steady B's second major label album, but still in the mid 80s Pop Art style, proving you don't need much more than two turntables, a drum machine and a mic to make good hip hop. Okay, maybe some fly Cazals and Fila track suit. 12 tracks in all, including "The Hilltop", "Don't Disturb This Groove", "Hold It Now", "My Benz", "What's My Name", "Funky Drummer" and "Rockin Music".

A massive groover from Timmy Thomas – really hitting here on all burners, and moving with a groove that's much fuller than the drum machine fills of his early years! The sound is Miami club at its best – wickedly uptempo rhythms that are played with razor-sharp intensity – still mostly funk at the core, with lots of live instrumentation that moves at a precision that's hard to beat! Timmy still adds in some great sweet moments from time to time – reminding us of his skill with a ballad – but the groovers also push him into Bohannon territory – which is quite a compliment from us! King Sporty handled the arrangements and production – and definitely deserves credit for the grooves – and Betty Wright adds in a bit of sweet guest vocals too. Titles include "Touch To Touch", "When A House Got Music", "Game Of Life", "Africano", "Torrid Zone", "Love For The People", and "Sweet Music".

An excellent album of funky electric jazz – and possibly the best one that Phil Woods cut with his European group! The quartet's a very hip group that's way hipper than its clunky name – with Gordon Beck on electric piano and organ, Daniel Humair on percussion and drums, and Henri Texier on bass, flute, and African percussion – all instrumentalists who dip heavily into the deep bag of their mighty talents for the date, helping to push Phil's music into some very cool new territory! The album cooks a lot harder than Woods' previous MGM date with the Rhythm Machine group in Europe – and has a really freewheeling vibe, and a sound that's almost outside at points. All tracks are long, with a modal electric approach that's very nice – and funky in the best parts – and titles include "Chromatic Banana", "Ultimate Choice", "The Last Page", and "The Day When The World".

Chicago house music really takes off – in this massive collection that really documents the most experimental years in the Windy City club scene! By the mid 80s, Chicago house had already had a few years under its belt – stepping strongly forward as a revolutionary new mode of club music – stripped-down from disco, borrowing some electronics from overseas, and giving the world a fresh new vision of dancefloor sounds that would have a huge influence for decades to come! And by the end of the decade, folks were really starting to play with the format – bringing in lots of older analogue electronic sounds, dubbed "acid" for the way they burned and tweaked – and garnering the city even more interest from the UK and European scenes – who thought the name referred to drug usage, and took the cue to ignite their own waves of house-based parties on the other side of the Atlantic. While back home, Chicago artists were spurred on to experiment even more – and things went from warm and clubby to downright sci-fi – an aesthetic that's really captured strongly in this set from Soul Jazz. LP part two features the cuts "Washing Machine" by Mr Fingers, "The Night Calls" by Bizzy B, "Go Wild Rhythm Trax No 3" by Virgo, "World Turns Around" by Cool McCool, "House Nation" by The Housmaster Boyz, "Love Trak" by Acid Wash, "Strength Of Bass" by Devotion, "Abstract Expressionism" by The Unknown, "No Way Back" by Adonis, "Choice Of The Underground" by Rocky Jones, and "The Juice" by Mr Fingers.

Way more than just a beginners guide to French Pop – as the set digs way way deeper than you might expect – thanks to great track selection by Kid Loco! Loco's got a great ear for the kind of older French cuts that are plenty pleasing to modern ears – and as a collector and digger himself, he moves way past the obvious to come up with loads of tracks from the 60s that we've never heard before! All music here is from the EMI/Odeon vaults – and the set features a massive 45 tracks that include "Royal Madison" by Noel Chiboust, "Vienne La Nuit" by Francois Lubiana, "Dis Tu Reviendras" by Tichky, "Ne Pars Pas" by Les Dauphins, "Reveille Toi" by Alice Dona, "Bonjour Bresil" by Jacqueline Taib, "Fleurs De Pavots Blues" by Charlotte Walters, "Wraach" by Jacques Filh, "Une Fille Mais Quest Ce Que" by Les Anges, and "La Machine" by Dani.

Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial music world of Paris – and as a result, they always operated with a culture-crossing style that few other companies of the time managed to hit – merging together sounds in really unlikely ways, and often coming up with fresh new styles in the process! The label's known for crate-diggers for its hip hop releases – and to world music fans for its electric Africa work – but they also were on the forefront of New York No Wave, avant jazz, and post-punk – and somehow found a way to integrate both young new talents, and older experimentalists who still had plenty to offer. This package finally does Celluloid justice – and goes way past the few simplistic comps of the label's work over the years – training the skilled Strut ear to the whole thing, and also serving up the full story of the label in the process. Titles include "I'm The One" by Material, "Day Tripper" by Shockabilly, "Tele Apres La Meteo" by Fredinand, "Disco Rough (long version)" by Mathematiques Modernes, "Electrique Sylvie (full length version)" by Modern Guy, "Mean Machine Chant/Mean Machine" by Last Poets, "Abele Dance ('85 rmx)" by Manu Dibango, "Change The Beat (French & English)" by Fab 5 Freddy, "The Escapades Of Futura 2000" by Futura 2000 with The Clash, and "Downing Street Rock" by Winston Edwards & Blackbeard. 26 tracks in all!

A German disco extravaganza – and a much-needed look at one of the strongest 70s club outlets next to the US! At first glance, the mix of Germany and disco might seem like an unlikely fit – but the German scene gave the world some key disco hits back in the 70s, as well as a huge variety of underground and lesser-known gems! The German approach was often a bit heavier on electronics than the American one – modes that were slightly pulled from prog and fusion that was bubbling around earlier in the decade, then fused into a cleaner, leaner, more rhythmic groove – and often topped with vocals in English, sometimes by American vocalists living overseas. Even the older German instrumentalists got in on the act – and the 70s saw both jazz and easy players hitting a disco groove with a new approach to their music! This great collection – put together by the folks who gave us The In Kraut – showcases all these aspects of the scene, and brings together a few hits with a lot more obscure gems – many of which we've never seen on this side of the Atlantic before. Titles include "Opium" by Peter Thomas, "Philodendron" by Veronika Fischer, "Illegal Toys" by Alfie Khan Sound Orchestra, "Lovemachine" by Supermax, "You've Got The Power (parts 1 & 2)" by Su Kramer, "Fashion Pack" by Amanda Lear, "Weider Zusammen" by Marianne Rosenberg, "Sex World" by Berry Lipman, "Get On The Funk Train (part 1)" by Munich Machine, "I Can't Move No Mountains" by James Last, "Treat Me Like A Woman" by Jackie Carter, "Feedback Brother" by Peter Herbholzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass, "Disco Cisco" by Carsten Bohn's Bandstand, and "Love In A Sleeper" by Silver Convention.

An incredible peek into a near-lost chapter of Chicago soul – the tiny Bandit label, home to The Majestic Arrows, one of the greatest indie harmony groups of the midwest in the 70s – plus a few other excellent soul artists! As with the other Eccentric Soul volume from Numero, this one offers far more than just an assortment of rare singles – and instead really digs deep to tell the true story of this tiny indie soul label. The music alone is totally great – as the set features a wealth of harmony soul tracks by The Majestic Arrows, plus other funk and soul tracks by Johnny Davis, Altyrone Deno Brown, and Linda Balintine – but the package is equally noteworthy – filled with the storied details of the unusual and exotic practices and lifestyles of the Bandit Records posse. The set features 17 full tracks – including "One More Time Around", "Another Day", "Doing It For Us", "Love Is All I Need", "Going To Make A Time Machine", "We Love Together", "The Magic Of Your Love", and "I'll Never Cry For Another Boy" by The Majestic Arrows; "We Have Love" and "Bring Back The One I Love" by The Arrows; "If You Love Me" and "Sweet Pea" by Altyrone Deno Brown; "You're A Habit Hard To Break" and "Glad About That" by Linda Balintine; and "You've Got To Crawl To Me" and "Boogedy Boogedy" by Johnny Davis. Plus, the set also features 3 rehearsal takes of tunes by the Majestic Arrows!

They're not lying about the "impossibly rare" part of the title here – because most of the work on this set is previously unreleased – funky Bay Area gems recorded in the late 60s and early 70s, finally seeing the light of day on this collection! The music represents a much deeper current of soul than you might know from Sly & The Family Stone or some of the bigger bay area groups of the period – a really righteous batch of tracks that freak out nicely with a heady, jamming groove – one that's often heavy on the basslines and drums, but which also has a celebratory, party-hearty quality in the vocals and other instrumentation. A few artists here are familiar, but most are relatively obscure – and the biggest portion of this music has languished for years in the vaults of the Golden State Recorders studios of producer Leo Kulka. CD features 20 tracks in all – including "Super Chicken" by Ramona King, "Rock Steady" by Ruby Delicious, "Devil's Got Your Mind" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hearing Things" by Snooky & The Cosmic Flowers, "I've Gotta Groove" by Julio Zavalla, "Love Machine" by Alonzo Smith, "Poor Sad Child (parts 1 & 2)" by The Windjammers, "Are You Together For The New Day" by The Love Experience, "Can't Get Enough" by 87th Off Broadway, "House Party" by Wally Cox & The Natives, "I'm Glad I Got Over You" by Jeanette Jones, "Sweet Talk" by Marvin Holmes & The Uptights, and "Vida Blue (part 1)" by Jimmy Bee.

Excellent lost funk tracks from the French studio scene of the 70s! We've never seen any of these on the original vinyl – and just about every cut is culled from a rare French jazz, soundtrack, or instrumental LP! There's a whopping 17 tracks in all, and the groove ranges from Blacksploitation funky to breakbeat moog to De Wolfe groovy – with lots of other grooves in between. Cuts include "Slag Machine" by Patrick Abrial, "Happy Smith" by Michel Gonet, "Exciting Mrs. Brown" by April Orchestra, "Coulc Ah!" by Francois Rolland, "Generique" by Philippe Sarde, "Aerospatial" by Janko Nilovic, "Afro-Disiac" by Bernard Estardy, and "Kiss This" by Claude Denjean. Lots more grooviness, and a very nice package that's filled with cuts we've never heard before!

Synth heavy rarities and vintage electronics flavored gems from a pioneering roster of both revered and lesser-remembered experimental heavies – including Peter Thomas, Bruno Spoerri, Klaus Weiss, Jacky Chlard, Ilaiyaraaja and others – complied by Andy Votel! Votel has the utmost love and respect for the material, and the selections are top notch – electronic and experimental pop, funky synth prog, pulsing soundtrack soundscapes and more – no less mind-melting post millenium as it all must have been when originally recorded! Great music from some of the brains behind Can, Hawkwind, Soft Machine, Niagara, Nucleus and more. 16 tracks in all: "Sound Of Wetness" by Suzanne Ciani, "Evarella 2073" by Peter Thomas, "Surf" by Saratoga Space Messengers", "Baustellenmusik" by Bruno Spoerri, "Atari Corporate Tag" by Suzanne Ciani, by "Yaaro Sonnaangalaam" by Ilaiyaraaja, "Gods Of Norse" by Cybotron, "Les Scandales" by Jacky Chalard & Dynastie Crisis, "Splot" by Karl Jenkins & Soft Machine", Rod Hunter's synth take on the funky break classic "Apache" and more.

A smoking selection of seventies funk – a perfect introduction to the genre, and one that's overflowing with the kind of classics that got first got us started loving music like this! The set list is decidedly hip – cuts that didn't always get much play back in the day, but which have gone onto become huge over the decades – thanks to deep digging by serious collectors, or sampling by hip hop acts – or even by the raving reviews of funk fanatics like us! The package features a massive 19 tracks in all – with loads of heavy drums, sharp guitars, and raw soul vocals – on titles that include "Watts Breakaway" by Johnny Otis, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Afro Strut" by Nite-Liters, "The Dapp" by African Music Machine, "It's Alright" by Bobby Rush, "Good Thing (part 2)" by Casey Jones, "Ice Cold Daydream" by Shuggie Otis, "One Monkey" by Kim Melvin, "Get It Where You Find It" by Jesse Gresham Plus 3, "Pull My Coat" by Eddie Jacobs Exchange, "Toe Hold" by Al Kooper, "Soul Train" by Little Royal, "It's Not How Long You Make It" by Shay Holiday, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Soul Drums" by Bernard Purdie, and "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter" by Nina Simone.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier.

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks.

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks.

Otis Johnson may well be the Timmy Thomas of gospel music – as here, he's working with just spare organ lines and rhythm machine – in a way that gives most of these tracks the raw, personal feel of Timmy's classic "Why Can't We Live Together"! The overall sound is a bit more rough – given that Otis was working in a small Michigan studio, and not the TK scene in Miami – but the album's definitely got that slow-stepping feel we love in Timmy's early music – and the vocals echo out with this personal sense of yearning that's mighty great – and quite different than the bolder, confident sound you'd hear in more mainstream gospel recordings. The album's a damn enigma, and a great one too – and titles include "All Thing", "Come Back", "Your Day", "He's The Way", and "Time To Go Home".

A self-titled set from the mighty Music Machine – a studio ensemble who were as important to the sound of European club music in the 70s as Instant Funk and MFSB were to the Philly scene in the US! The Machine features a host of players who'd previously backed Donna Summer and other Giorgio Moroder projects, stepping out here as an act on their own – grooving tightly with the kinds of stretched-out disco modes that Moroder really helped pioneer, graced by some excellent keyboards from Thor Baldursson! Most cuts have some sort of chorus vocals – sung by Madeline Bell, Sue Glover, and Sunny Leslie – and titles include the extended "Get On The Funk Train", a short remake of "Love To Love You Baby", and the cuts "Spring Affair", "Trouble Maker", "Try Me I Know We Can Make It", and "I Wanna Funk With You Tonight".

Some of the best of the best of The Fania All Stars – magical music from that short stint when the combo were recording for Columbia Records in the late 70s! While at Columbia, the group grew even more than the styles of their roots at the Fania label – picking up some hipper touches of soul, club, and fusion – all of which were worked nicely to tighten up their groove. And while you might think that after playing side-long jams, these shorter cuts could represent a more commercial side for the group – to us, this shift is an important one that has the ensemble taking the old energy of the Latind descarga and bringing it nicely into focus for a huge crossover audience. The cuts here sparkle and glisten with the best non-Latin funk and club of the time – and the CD features 13 tracks from the albums Spanish Fever, Rhythm Machine, Cross Over, and Delicate & Jumpy – titles that include "Coro Miayre", "Ella Fue", "Fania All Stars Cha Cha Cha", "Los Bravos", "Peanuts", "Prepara", "Que Pasa", "Sin Tu Carino", "Isadore", and "Foofer Soofer".

Tom Noble and Matt Rex serve up two totally sweet grooves – both numbers that feel like they've been resurrected and reconstructed from someone's collection of rare club and boogie! "Relax Your Mind" has this snapping clave and dipping bassline – often moving with a relatively spare feel, but filled in by keyboards too – enough so that the tune's got this really warm glow that makes the rhythms even more seductive! Tom's alone on "Music Engine" – a tune with a spare Timmy Thomas-like drum machine line – and these mellow keyboards that step along beautifully!

An obscure Motown group from the end of the 70s – 21st Creation had a strident uptempo group sound that reminds us of some of the more successful disco hits of Tavares from the same time. The arrangements are mostly club-oriented – handled by Willie Hutch, Gene Page, and Harold Johnson – and you can hear the group's style to best effect on tracks like their remake of Marvin Gaye's "After The Dance", Willie Hutch's "You Gotta Dance To My Music", or the hard grooving "Thanks For Saving Me". Not totally standout material, but with a few nice moments. Other tracks include "Funk Machine", "Tailgate", and "Baby, I'm For Real".

Chicago house music really takes off – in this massive collection that really documents the most experimental years in the Windy City club scene! By the mid 80s, Chicago house had already had a few years under its belt – stepping strongly forward as a revolutionary new mode of club music – stripped-down from disco, borrowing some electronics from overseas, and giving the world a fresh new vision of dancefloor sounds that would have a huge influence for decades to come! And by the end of the decade, folks were really starting to play with the format – bringing in lots of older analogue electronic sounds, dubbed "acid" for the way they burned and tweaked – and garnering the city even more interest from the UK and European scenes – who thought the name referred to drug usage, and took the cue to ignite their own waves of house-based parties on the other side of the Atlantic. While back home, Chicago artists were spurred on to experiment even more – and things went from warm and clubby to downright sci-fi – an aesthetic that's really captured strongly in this set from Soul Jazz. 2CD set features the cuts "Can You Feel It" from Mr Fingers, "Hallucinate" by Acid Wash, "151" by Armando, "The Jacking Zone" by Risque Rhythm Team, "I Can't Understand" by Pleasure Zone, "Rabbit Trax 1" by James Jack Rabbit Martin, "Freedom (Factory mix)" by The Children, "Ecstasy" by Mr Fingers, "Washing Machine" by Mr Fingers, "The Night Calls" by Bizzy B, "Go Wild Rhythm Trax No 3" by Virgo, "World Turns Around" by Cool McCool, "House Nation" by The Housmaster Boyz, "Love Trak" by Acid Wash, "Strength Of Bass" by Devotion, "Abstract Expressionism" by The Unknown, "No Way Back" by Adonis, "Choice Of The Underground" by Rocky Jones, "The Juice" by Mr Fingers, and "I Believe" by A Black Man, A Black Man, & Another Black Man.

Nigerian funk & boogie numbers from the late 70s & early 80s – post Afrobeat and post disco material from the prosperous, post dictatorship years – funk, soul and disco infused stormers from Mixed Grill, Bayo Damnazio, The Stormmers, Joe Maks, Segun Robert, Martha Ulaeto, Honey Machine, Emma Baloka and more! Joyous, infections grooves with modern production and masterful musicianship – be it tight jazz funk, dancefloor soul, or synth & keys flavored boogie. The set has English vocals throughout, and the titles include "A Brand New Wayo" by Mixed Grill, "Show Me Your Backside" by Kris Okotie, "Boys And Girls" by Joe Moks, "Music Alone" by Martha Ulaeto, "Slow Down" by Amas, "Funky Situation" by Chris Mba, "Pleasure" by Honey Machine, "Love Or Money" by The Stormmers, "Let's Love Each Other" by Emma Baloka and more. 15 tracks on 2LPs.

Hip hop, street soul, and lots lots more – a really revolutionary selection of music from the legendary Celluloid Records – a label that was virtually a genre unto itself! Celluloid was a key force tying together the New York downtown scene at the start of the 80s, and the postcolonial music world of Paris – and as a result, they always operated with a culture-crossing style that few other companies of the time managed to hit – merging together sounds in really unlikely ways, and often coming up with fresh new styles in the process! The label's known for crate-diggers for its hip hop releases – and to world music fans for its electric Africa work – but they also were on the forefront of New York No Wave, avant jazz, and post-punk – and somehow found a way to integrate both young new talents, and older experimentalists who still had plenty to offer. This package finally does Celluloid justice – and goes way past the few simplistic comps of the label's work over the years – training the skilled Strut ear to the whole thing, and also serving up the full story of the label in the process. Titles include "I'm The One" by Material, "Day Tripper" by Shockabilly, "Tele Apres La Meteo" by Fredinand, "Disco Rough (long version)" by Mathematiques Modernes, "Electrique Sylvie (full length version)" by Modern Guy, "Mean Machine Chant/Mean Machine" by Last Poets, "Abele Dance ('85 rmx)" by Manu Dibango, "Change The Beat (French & English)" by Fab 5 Freddy, "The Escapades Of Futura 2000" by Futura 2000 with The Clash, and "Downing Street Rock" by Winston Edwards & Blackbeard.

One of the best funky compilations ever! The folks at Stones Throw Records – home of some of the most funk-inspired hip hop of the past decade – have dug through the crates to come up with this incredible batch of 19 tunes, all well-researched, nicely remastered, and offered up here on a 100% legit basis! But even more than that, the selection of music is incredible – killer funky tunes of the sort that you'd shell out plenty for on 45, moving way past the standard loud funk mode, into a hip realm of jazz-tinged expression, complicated enough for today's beatheads, yet straightforward enough to keep the groove going! Titles include "Fish Head" by Slim & The Soulful Saints, "The Dump" by Soul Vibrations, "What About You" by Co Real Artists, "The Kick" by The Rhythm Machine, "Kashmere" by Kashmere Stage Band, "Tighten Up Tighter" by Billy Ball & The Upsetters, "Beautiful Day" by Spider Harrison, "Southside Funk" by Soul Seven, "In The Rain" by The Wooden Glass with Billy Wooten, and "Go To Work" by Revolution Compared To What.

A massive fourth volume to this totally great series – and quite honestly, maybe the funkiest so far! Compiler Tobias Kirmayer really knows his stuff – after years of recording and reissuing great music on his own Tramp label – and if anything, his time in the funky underground has only given him a sharper ear for rare singles and lost soulful nuggets – as you'll hear in this wonderful compilation! The set's overflowing with killers from the late 60s and early 70s – and most of them are numbers we've never seen reissued before – quite a feat, given how many funk collections have shown up over the years. Snowboy bills the set as a "high-quality collection of obscenely rare" funk and soul 45s – and he's totally right about all of that – although we'll also add that musically, it's pretty darn great too! Titles include "Sticks & Stones" by Dino & The Dell-Tones, "Shakers & Movers (parts 1 & 2)" by Carl Westmoreland, "Talk About Soul" by Rudy Tee & The Reno-Bops, "Discotheque Soul (edit)" by Ricky Williams, "Hey Rugh Nut" by Zodiacs, "Hipster" by C Forture & J Brinson, "I Don't Think We Are Going Back Again" by Soul Brothers Inc, "Machine Gun" by Odyssey Group, "Night Club" by The Dave Harris Trio, "Honky Games" by Iris Bell with the Jive-Ettes, and "Booty Whip (unreleased acetate version)" by Bro Byron.

A massive fourth volume to this totally great series – and quite honestly, maybe the funkiest so far! Compiler Tobias Kirmayer really knows his stuff – after years of recording and reissuing great music on his own Tramp label – and if anything, his time in the funky underground has only given him a sharper ear for rare singles and lost soulful nuggets – as you'll hear in this wonderful compilation! The set's overflowing with killers from the late 60s and early 70s – and most of them are numbers we've never seen reissued before – quite a feat, given how many funk collections have shown up over the years. Snowboy bills the set as a "high-quality collection of obscenely rare" funk and soul 45s – and he's totally right about all of that – although we'll also add that musically, it's pretty darn great too! Titles include "Sticks & Stones" by Dino & The Dell-Tones, "Shakers & Movers (parts 1 & 2)" by Carl Westmoreland, "Talk About Soul" by Rudy Tee & The Reno-Bops, "Discotheque Soul (edit)" by Ricky Williams, "Hey Rugh Nut" by Zodiacs, "Hipster" by C Forture & J Brinson, "I Don't Think We Are Going Back Again" by Soul Brothers Inc, "Machine Gun" by Odyssey Group, "Night Club" by The Dave Harris Trio, "Honky Games" by Iris Bell with the Jive-Ettes, and "Booty Whip (unreleased acetate version)" by Bro Byron.

An amazing tribute to the genius of Curt Boettcher and Millenium – a set that not only features the group's classic Columbia album, but also a host of rarities and solo projects as well! The beautiful package features all albums in paper sleeve LP-styled covers, packaged in a big box with full notes – almost like finding a lost history of music that never existed in the mainstream market – finally brought together by a CD-based time machine! So, in addition to the core classic album Begin, you also get the Pieces collection of Millenium rarities – and the Voices Of Millenium set too. Then, the collection also features the albums Another Time and Chicken Little Was Right by Curt Boettcher, Everything For You and Do Onto Others by Sandy Salisbury, and Many Are The Times by Lee Mallory – all beautifully pressed and delightfully packaged!

A German disco classic from Munich Machine – and maybe the tightest album ever from the always-sharp studio group! Giorgio Moroder's at the head of the record on production, but the sound here is often a bit warmer than some of his own recordings – thanks to an ear for some of the more soulful instrumental sides of the dancefloor spectrum, particularly on the keyboard solos, which never have the coldness of Moroder's music – and thanks also to some well-placed vocals from soul singers Judith Jones and Yolande Howard, both of whom add a bit of personality to the record too! Yet that great Moroder ear for a dancefloor groove is still perfectly intact – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Let Your Body Shine", "Space Warrior", "Bolectro", "Easy", "Reputation", and "Fallen Angel". CD features two bonus tracks – "Space Warriors (blue eyed DJ rmx)", and "Giorgio Moroder Medley (blue eyed DJ rmx)".

One of the greatest studio talents of Europe in the 70s! Janko Nilovic may not be a household name, but he was a seminal force in the Parisian studio scene during the 60s and 70s – cutting jazz, funk, pop, and Latin sides with a nutty genius that we'd be hard pressed to beat on this side of the Atlantic! He had a mad talent for mixing unmixable elements – in the kind of way we might ascribe to some of the better MPS groovy sides, or some of the weirder European funk albums, like the classic work of Duke Of Burlington. This long-overdue 2 volume set takes a rich look at Nilovic's talent - and provides some of his best obscure work in a very handsome package. Titles on this second volume include "Mixed Grill", "Golf Open", "Soul Impressions", "Strange Dream", "Machine Gun", "Samba Dio", and "Funky Tramway". Great titles – and the music's even better!

One of the coolest, grooviest cats who ever cut a record – an an artist with a really unique conception at the time of these recordings! Roy Porter got his start as a drummer during the bebop years, and worked hard on the LA scene of the R&B and soul scenes of the 50s and 60s – but to us, his crowning achievement is these amazing funk sides of the early 70s – amazingly complex, but right on the money too – and a whole new kind of music that's impossible to describe in words! Roy mixes funky drums with lots of cool jazzy changes – keyboard lines, horn parts, and bass bits that have the frenzy you might find in fusion, yet come across with the down-to-earth vibe of a funky 45 – a killer blend that goes way past jazz, and even most straight funk too – as you'll hear in this sweet little set. The package brings together all the best tracks from these key Porter years – and titles include "Jessica" and "Panama" in both vocal and instrumental versions, plus "Wow", "Funny Feelin", "Funky Twitch", "Love You", "Hense Forth", "Out On The Town Tonight", "Givin Me The Blues", "Waver-ing", "Party Time", and "Hip City". CD features the bonus track "Drums For Daryl".

A little more disco than some of Asha Pulthi's earlier releases – but still pretty darn nice stuff, handled in that spacey European mode that made her CBS records sound so compelling. Asha's still got that unique voice – kind of a mix of porno sleaze and Munich soul – and the arrangements have enough of a funky kick in them to keep things interesting. Titles include "Mr Moonlight", "Music Machine", "There Is A Party Tonight", "Legend Of Thais", and "I'll See You Around".

The funky side of the Jewel & Paula labels – surprisingly jazzy work for a company that's best known for its blues recordings! Most of the tracks here come from a creative early 70s stretch for the label – and there's a number of cuts that show a strong connection with the AACM and Chicago undergrounds of the time – mixed with other tracks that show more of the southern roots that you might normally expect from Jewel/Paula. Electric and acoustic sounds mix together wonderfully in the track selection for the package – and titles include "Just A Feelin" by Ronnie Kole, "Chi Congo" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Tropical" by African Music Machine, "L&T" by Tony Valor Orchestra, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Ronnie Kole, "First Thing In The Morning" by James Moody, "I Love Every Little Thing About You" by Odell Brown, "Toussaint Shuffle" by Toussaint McCall, "Got To Get Over" by Sonny Stitt, "One For Bud" by Mal Waldron, and "Great Stone Bottle" by Ronnie Kole.

A great set of old school funky numbers – the kind of indie soul 45s that first helped define the sound of rare groove back in the 80s – still as brilliantly bumping all these many years later! Most tracks here are from small label 45s of the early 70s – tracks that weren't issued on LP, and were often by artists who didn't ever even get to cut full albums – but who hit some great underground fame for their sharp grooves and wicked approach to instrumentation and vocals! The set's got loads of classics we've loved for years, but which haven't been reissued often in recent sets – cuts that include "Mr Brown" by African Music Machine, "It's Your Thing" by Toddlin Town Sounds, "Keep On Dancing" by Alvin Cash, "Somebody Help The Beggar Man" by Jackie Beavers, "Right On Jody" by Bobby Patterson, "Gossip" by Cyril Neville, "Good Book" by The 8th Day, "Close Your Big Mouth" by The Politicians, "Hunk O Funk" by Scott Brothers Orchestra, "Ace In The Hole" by Honey Cone, "Miss Funky Fox" by Exit 9, "Gotta Get Away" by Harolyn Montgomery, and "Know What To Do When You Get It" by The Genies.

DJ Muro takes on the sound of P-Vine Records – serving up a sweet extended mix of music that's heavy on rare soul and funky jazz! Muro's got a really great way with the tracks here – not just choosing the best from the deep series of P-Vine reissues, but also finding ways to push things together in unexpected ways – really letting the music burst forth strongly, sometimes with a few manual touches of his own! Most tracks here are of American 70s origin, but there's a few global bits from other years too – and every cut on the collection is a winner – with titles that include "Humpty Dumpty" by Placebo, "Put Everything Together" by Plus, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "What's Going On" by Penny Goodwin, "Loveland" by Spanky Wilson, "In The Rain" by The Wooden Glass, "Gift To The Sun" by The Sidewinders, "On The Hill" by Oliver Sain, "Ritual" by Nico Gomez, "Lady Day & John Coltrane" by Penny Goodwin, "Money's Funny" by Cecil Lyde, "Heaven" by Matthew Larkin Cassell, "Algo" by Ricardo Marrero, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "LA Will Make You Pay" by Burton Inc.

Way more than just an anthology of drums – as the record's a special document of the rich growth in Japanese jazz at the end of the 60s – and features great work from a whole host of key players on the Tokyo scene – not just drummers, but some amazing reed players too! The package is more of a special LP than a collection of other work – and it offers up a searing array of soul jazz styles from this very fervent period of work – music that easily rivals the most compelling jazz from the US at the time – particularly work on late 60s Blue Note! The set begins with "Gingerbread Boy", the Jimmy Heath tune, played by drummer Motohiko Hino with Takao Uematsu on tenor and Kosuke Mine on alto; next is "350 Trip" from drummer Masahiko Togashi, with Hiroshi Suzuki on trombone, Terumasa Hino on trumpet, and Sadao Watanabe on alto sax; "The Time Machine" and "Free Spirits" feature George Otsuka on drums with Hidehiko Matsumoto on tenor; Takeshi Inomata drums on "Sam Sack", done with vibes from Seiji Hiraoka; "All Blues" features Inomata with his Westliners group; and "Suzu No Uta" and "Passion" feature Togashi on drums with a group co-led by trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki.

Ammnesia? We don't know about you, but we still haven't forgotten these seminal house tracks from Larry Heard – easily some of the most exciting work of the Chicago scene – and music that really marked a bit step forward for the sound of the dancefloor at the time! Larry's working here on some really amazing keyboards – often used in ways that have a direct link back to 70s electronics from Herbie Hancock and others, yet served up in a leaner, stripped-down mode that went onto influence a whole batch of British musicians in the next decade as well. The whole thing's way more interesting than just the usual batch of dance tracks – and although the analogue keys have plenty of "acid" elements – they're also really a cut above that genre too. Titles include "Can You Feel It", "Washing Machine", "Beyond The Clouds", "Stars", "Waterfalls", "For So Long", "Amnesia" and "Mystery Of Love".

Synth heavy rarities and vintage electronics flavored gems from a pioneering roster of both revered and lesser-remembered experimental heavies – including Peter Thomas, Bruno Spoerri, Klaus Weiss, Jacky Chlard, Ilaiyaraaja and others – complied by Andy Votel! Votel has the utmost love and respect for the material, and the selections are top notch – electronic and experimental pop, funky synth prog, pulsing soundtrack soundscapes and more – no less mind-melting post millenium as it all must have been when originally recorded! Great music from some of the brains behind Can, Hawkwind, Soft Machine, Niagara, Nucleus and more. 16 tracks in all: "Sound Of Wetness" by Suzanne Ciani, "Evarella 2073" by Peter Thomas, "Surf" by Saratoga Space Messengers", "Baustellenmusik" by Bruno Spoerri, "Atari Corporate Tag" by Suzanne Ciani, by "Yaaro Sonnaangalaam" by Ilaiyaraaja, "Gods Of Norse" by Cybotron, "Les Scandales" by Jacky Chalard & Dynastie Crisis, "Splot" by Karl Jenkins & Soft Machine", Rod Hunter's synth take on the funky break classic "Apache" and more.

An amazing compilation – a decade in the making, and filled with wonderful grooves – most of which have never appeared on CD or LP reissues! And while the music itself is already wonderful, the package also includes an amazing 80 page book, too – a rich research project that digs deep into the American underground of the 70s – and features a wealth of photos, images, and historical details on music that never got it's due back in the day! The set's based around the groundbreaking series of Soul Cal 12" reissues put together by Stones Throw about a decade ago – wonderful records that unearthed rare grooves that fall beautifully in a space between funk and club – almost all originally issued on tiny little labels from all over the US, but working together to create a rich vibe in the set. Given the book, there's a Numero-like heft to the whole thing – although the range of grooves is even greater than one of their collections – and titles include "Ecology" by Anubis, "You Can Be A Star" by Luther Davis, "Don't Get Discouraged" by UPC All Stars, "Things Cannot Stop Forever" by Stanton Davis, "Free Your Mind" by Record Player, "Get Down" by Freedom Express, "Keep Running Away" by Clifford Nyren, "Love Is" by Leon Mitchison & The Eastex Freeway Band, "What It Takes To Live" by Key & Cleary, "I'm Gonna Miss You Girl" by Ellis & Cephas, "It's A Bad Feeling" by Mixed Sugar, and "Put A Smile On Time" by Rhythm Machine.

A totally cool little record – like taking a TV time machine into the past – and stopping off in 60s London on the way! Barry Gray's a name best known for his famous soundtracks – including the music to Thunderbirds – but he's also scored plenty of commercials over the years too – often with the kind of weird, wild, and wonderful sounds used in his other recordings! The package is a great revelation – a whopping selection of over 80 short little numbers – music and songs for companies as diverse as Shell gasoline, Herald Cinema, Quaker Banana Mellows, Ridgeways Country House, Leeside Cakes, and many others – often with a short introduction from Gray, and some cool sound effects too. The Mike Sammes Singers provide vocals on some cuts – and the package is even groovier than usual for Trunk Records – and that's saying a lot!

Once again, Cannon proves that it's not the song, it's the singer! This set of tunes from the hit musical Fiddler On The Roof should be schmaltzy – but thanks to the quality of the group (a great sextet with Nat Adderley, Charles Lloyd, Joe Zawinul, Sam Jones, and Louis Hayes), and thanks to some hip production from David Axelrod, the album really sparkles! The tones of Cannon and Lloyd are great together – and the make the best songs sound like strange Eastern-tinged jazz numbers. Tunes include "To Life", "Fiddler On The Roof", "Cajvalach", "Sewing Machine", "Matchmaker", and "Now I Have Everything".

One thing you have to remember about The Dells – they always sound great! Even here, in later years, their sound is superb – a rich, deep approach to harmonies that's still head and shoulders above most other groups in the business! The production on the set is by Norman Harris and the Harris Machine – and some tracks get a Philly groove on, while others stick in a mellower ballad mode that's completely dominated by the group. Niceness abounds, and titles include "Private Property", "God Helps Those", "Don't Trick Me, Treat Me", "Wasted Tears", and "How Can One Man Be So Lucky". CD features a bonus track – a US single edit of "Private Property".

An underappreciated soul set from George Duke for Epic – his Rendezvous from '84 – an engagement worth keeping! Given the mid 80s release date, you might be expecting a whole lot of programming and drum machine action – there's a bit of it, but this is a really lively set with some great musicianship across the board – and the songs are pretty strong, too. Duke produced, sings and handles an array of instrumentation from keys to synths and programming, with Stanley Clarke, Paulinho Da Costa, Ernie Watts, Oscar Castro Neves and other great players in the mix. Titles include "Got To Get Back To Love", "Take It On", "She Can Wait Forever", "Stay Awhile", "Thinking Of You" (with some nice extended string arrangements), "Secret Rendezvous", and "Ipanema Lady"

A mindblowing bit of psych from the late 60s – and a record that has way more to offer than just the usual fuzzy guitar, thanks to key use of moog, theremin, and tape tricks! There's a really freaky feel to the record from the start – a quality that's hipper than most of the underground at the time, almost an ironic take on the usual – sometimes through thoughtful lyricism, other times via a more experimental music approach that almost hints at some 70s prog and post-prog styles – yet presented here in much shorter form, without any overindulgence at all! The record's one that really transcends its time – a compelling little set that offers plenty more than just its existence as a rare relic – and which actually features many tunes that would make perfect covers for the contemporary scene today. Titles include "That's Another Story", "Machines", "This Is It", "This May Be Goodbye", "That's Another Story", "Woody Woodpecker", "Paul In Love", and "Sex & Violence". CD also features 3 bonus tracks – "Rose Colored Glasses", "The Music Never Stops", and "Nobody Knows".

Sweet grooves from this hip Italian combo – a group with a name that reminds us of some of our favorite sound library ensembles from years back, and a musical style to match! Magnetic 4 are heavy on 60s bossa and modal styles – jazzy in the instrumentation, but often set to dancefloor rhythms too – a bit in the mode we first came to love during the early years of the Schema Records label – no surprise, really, given that Magnetic 4 also hail from the same Italian scene! The bossa rhythms are especially nice, and really warm things up – and although there's vocals on a few tracks, the main vibe is instrumental – heavy on Fender Rhodes and other keyboards, plus a bit of vibes as well. Titles include "Sushi Run", "Ocean 99", "The King Of Swing", "Boa Vida", "Vertigo Bossa", "Bebogaloo", "Chilly On The Rocks", and "Afro Sex Sound Machine".

An overlooked groover from The Miracles – a late 70s set for Columbia Records, and one that's got a sparkling sound throughout! The album really has the group hitting some great modern soul modes for the set – arrangements by David Foster that push them forward even more, and which work equally well on the uptempo tunes as they do on the few mellower numbers too. The style is lush, but never overdone – just right for the vocal interplay of the group, with a quality that's a bit like late 70s Jacksons – but better. Titles include "Love Doctor", "I Can't Stand It", "Hot Dance", "Mean Machine", "Sad Rain", "Reach For The Sky", and "The Magic Of Your Eyes".

Mr Drum, you're one heck of a funky player – a mysterious Japanese musician from the early 70s, and one who really knows how to kick into a groove! The drums are definitely at the forefront here – breaking hard right at the start of the record, and mixing with raw guitar and freaky big band backings – all in one of the hippest hybrids of styles we've heard from the Japanese scene at the time! Tunes are mostly familiar numbers from American pop – but their reworked in styles that run from funky to trippy to mod – all as instrumentals with a mighty sharp edge. Titles include "The Drum", "Want Ads", "Lowdown", "Brown Sugar", "It Don't Come Easy", "Indian Reservation", and "Never Can Say Goodbye".

An insane compilation of obscure heavy rockers – put together by Julian Cope, but quite different than any of the music recorded under his own name! Cope's had a reputation as a great record collector for years – and here, he really gets to show his stuff – by bringing together not only some mindblowing gems from the 60s underground, but also some even more incredible tracks from recent years – very heavy-duty nuggets that we somehow missed the first time around, but which sound plenty comfortable next to the fuzzy freaky older tracks in the package! The notes are quite detailed – showing that Cope's chosen cuts carefully, just just mashed together a bunch of noise – although we can also say that if you dig noisy guitars, the set's got plenty of them too. Titles include "The Temple" by Haare, "Tio Minueter" by Parson Sound, "Fall" by Cold Sun, "King Of The Streets" by Armand Schaubroeck, "Electro Rock" by Simply Saucer, "Stranded In Ashland" by The New Lou Reeds, "Baptism Bar Blues" by Vibracathedral Orchestra, "Return To Heaven" by Comets On Fire, and Internationalhymne" by AR & Machines.

An amazing collection of electronic music from the German scene of the 70s – easily one of the most exciting, innovative musical worlds of the past century! There was really something special going on in Germany at the time – a confluence of hippie rockers, serious proggers, urban punks, and academic electronicians – all coming together to completely destroy previous (or current) generic conceptions – and make mindblowing music that's still more revolutionary than most sounds from decades to come! This fab second collection of German electronic rock from Soul Jazz digs even deeper than the first – and features a few famous names mixes with some even more important talents from the underground – all packaged together with the rich notes and historical detail that make their compilations so great. Titles include "Le Jardin" by Rodelius, "A Morning Excuse" by Amon Duul II, "Base & Apex" by Eno, Moebius & Rodelius, "In A Sacred Manner"by Gila, "Himmelblau" by Wolfgang Reichmann, "Co Co Pino" by DAF, "Sun & Moon" by Michael Hoenig, "Emphasis" by Harald Grosskopf, "China" by Electric Sandwich, "Zeebrugge" by Asmus Tietchens, "Krautrock" by Faust, "Gibli" by Niagara, "Electric Day" by You, "Die Weisse Aim" by Sergius Golowin, "Danger Cruising" by Pyrolator, "Sundance Chant" by Gila, and "Als Hatt Ich Das Alles Schon Mal Gesehen" by AR & Machines.

An amazing collection of electronic music from the German scene of the 70s – easily one of the most exciting, innovative musical worlds of the past century! There was really something special going on in Germany at the time – a confluence of hippie rockers, serious proggers, urban punks, and academic electronicians – all coming together to completely destroy previous (or current) generic conceptions – and make mindblowing music that's still more revolutionary than most sounds from decades to come! This fab second collection of German electronic rock from Soul Jazz digs even deeper than the first – and features a few famous names mixes with some even more important talents from the underground – all packaged together with the rich notes and historical detail that make their compilations so great. Vinyl version part 2 features tracks that include "China" by Electric Sandwich, "Zeebrugge" by Asmus Tietchens, "Krautrock" by Faust, "Gibli" by Niagara, "Electric Day" by You, "Die Weisse Aim" by Sergius Golowin, "Danger Cruising" by Pyrolator, "Sundance Chant" by Gila, and "Als Hatt Ich Das Alles Schon Mal Gesehen" by AR & Machines.

Soulful sounds from 70s Japan – a host of tracks that offer up fresh versions of American soul tunes – mostly done as instrumental numbers with lots of funky touches! There's a fair bit of Stevie Wonder tunes on the collection – as well as other Motown moments and Atlantic Records numbers too – all played by Japanese jazz musicians who really know how to open up the groove! Arrangements are all mighty nice – usually going for interpretations that are fiercer and more full-on than the original vocal recordings – which allows the soloists to really stretch out and do their thing. Styles run from late 60s soul jazz to tighter fusion – and the set features 19 tracks that include "Bird Of Beauty" by Eri Ohno, "Sunny" by Toshiyuki Miyama, "Living For The City" by Jiro Inagaki, "Sir Duke" by Terry Herman Trio, "Boogie On Reggae Woman" by Akira Ishikawa, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" by Jiro Inagaki & Black Rhythm Machine, "Hold On I'm Coming" by Nobuo Hara, "Never Can Say Goodbye" by Sound Machine Drum, and "Love Child" by Toshiyuki Miyama.

A beautifully illustrated little book devoted to the coolest musical toys of the past half century – from the collection of Eric Schneider – and featuring a forward by DJ Spooky! It's all about the images in this book, photographs of these incredible, colorful musical kitsch relics of their time – classic toy organs of the 50s & 60s, robot voice changers, noise generators, musical kits, toy drums, rhythm machines, kiddie turntables and more. A wonderful look back – we remember many of these from childhood, and boy do we wish we still had our old Mattel Magical Musical Thing! Hardcover, 190 pages.

Pretty incredible work from the team of Stu Martin and John Surman – sounding a lot fuller than you'd expect from a two-musician set of duets like this! Martin's not only playing drums, but also some EMS synthesizers – creating wild effects on the best tracks, matched nicely with Surman's work on sax. And although the set's live, it's got an up-close intensity that's really great – and really feels a bit more like a studio album than you'd think. Titles include "Harry Lovett – Man Without A Country", "Are You Positive You're Negative", "Wrested In Mustard", "Master Of Disaster", and "Professor Goodly's Implosion Machine".

Bold sounds from this German quartet – a group who certainly deliver one of the most striking avant jazz sessions on the legendary Amiga label! The set's got a free frenzy that's right up there with the 70s best from FMP – played by musicians who often made key appearances on that label too – including Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky on saxes and flute, Conrad Bauer on trombone, Ulrich Gumpert on piano, and Gunter Sommer on drums and percussion! The album takes off with a machine gun-like energy at the start – a real blast of sound that shows all the revolutionary power of this generation of German jazz – but then as things progress, the players explore some wonderful tones and textures that reflect a more contemplative mode as well – still very groundbreaking, but in a more subtle way. Titles include "Traumtanzer", "Quartett Diskurs", "Holzland", "Kommit Ihr G'Spielen", and "Post Aus Vogelsang".

The 2 rare early 70s records from Lagger Blues Machine – Tanit and earlier Tanit Live together on CD! The group is a Belgian combo with some hazy, psychedelic blues in the guitars – but they're actually more of a psych-prog machine! There's a heavy atmosphere on par with some of the much more internationally-revered groups of the era – from Soft Machine to King Crimson – but Lagger Blues Machine stands up pretty strongly with the best of them! They deal in both fuzzed-out riffs and nimble guitar solos, some eerily melodic flute, organ and lumbering rhythms – with slow-building grooves and unpredictable changes. Great stuff! Includes "Symphonie 1 Ere Partie", "Darknessly", "Tanit", "Symphonie 2 Eme Partie" and "Born To Be Alone On A White Desert Island". The live album was actually recorded a couple years before the release of their studio album Tanit – and they're all the more raucous in a concert setting! There's a raw intensity and some fast playing here that's invigorating – the frenetic drums and manic guitars are incredible – but it doesn't overshadow the creative spirit or musical dexterity of the later studio album. 4 long-ish songs that show a heavier side of the group in a formative period! "Test About A Rehabilitating Personality", "Ode", "Mistake" and "Firedance".

Funky electronic sound library genius from Bruno Spoerri – a Swiss 70s composer who cut some incredible work for obscure industrial sources! Bruno's music is heavy on analogue electronics – sometimes used sparely and spacily, but other times in a very rhythmic fashion that's strongly in keeping with the machines, products, and processes his tunes were used to promote! And apart from one great reissue 45 years back on Jazzman, most of Bruno's work has never been heard (at least consciously) by a larger audience – and this excellent LP marks the first time that most of these tunes have ever been made available to the public at large! As with other titles on the Finders Keepers label, there's a mania here that runs through the entire set – a "something's different" sort of feel that really makes the record an instant treasure – yet one with enough of a groove to also appeal to those who dug the funk on Bruno's Jazzman 45! Titles include "Lilith Singing In The Dark", "Soft Art Theme", "Lilith The Dance", "Les Electroniciens", "Oederlin", "Gluckskugel Title", "Drillin", "Lilith On The Way" and "Wer Gwunnt".