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LYBES DIMEM is a project by visual artist and musician Lukas Rehm. With a focus on digital sound-de- sign, elaborate beat structures and the use of error, the music plays with cognitive phenomena and abstraction while maintaining an emotional refuge. LYBES DIMEM is presented in formats ranging from spatial sound experiences to sy- nesthetic shows complementing the auditive layers with visualiza- tions of real-time data, computer graphics and moving image. Lukas Rehms installative art, and compo- sitions have been internationally presented and awarded with multi- ple emerging arts prices.

SYNCLEFT CHRONEM is the first album released by LYBES DIMEM in both digital and vinyl format and accompanied by a moving image artwork. The title reflects the pro- jects interest in the potential of difference, cognitive frictions and exertion: sync = variability in the processing of auditive and visual signals, syncleft = the synaptic cleft, which is a crucial empty spa- ce in biological neural networks, chronem = the chroneme as a the- oretical unit to measure the time of

an articulated sound. Mathemati- cally clean sounds juxtapose pat- terns and transitions familiar from the realm of organic acoustics. Multi-layered noise textures ex- plore the simulated space. A tem- porary continuity is provided by percussive and melodic elements, right until the next escalation, eventually awaiting a concluding resolution.

The visual language explores dif- ferent phenomena and techniques of cognition inspired by the rhe- torics of big science (computer graphics, discontinuity of materi- al, pop cultural references). Both the moving image artwork and the graphic design of the release pay tribute to the multi-layered appro- ach of the music. The design of the vinyl cover by studio BNAG.cc uses subtractive colour synthesis to interchange between abstract for- mality and representationalism.

SYNCLEFT CHRONEM is the first release by LYBES DIMEM on SVS Records following a first encounter at the SVS residency at the 4D Spa- tial Sound Institute in Budapest.

Joanne Forman's Cave Vaults of the Moon created in 1987 for an exhibit of sculptures in Taos, New Mexico is a mesmerizing score for voice, Ensoniq Mirage, Juno 106, flute, guitar and effects. The playful extra-terrestrial recording wafted through the exhibit every day for its duration and then lay dormant for nearly 30 years. Unearthed now, Cave Vaults of the Moon sounds prescient and timeless, as if Pep Llopis and Iasos scored a Wicker Man remake set on Mars. Restored, remastered and cut using DMM.
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We humans, the nascent beings that we are, still haven't quite figured out the full potential of music. Dancing, meditating, emoting, protesting, these are all pretty basic. But what if we communicated more complex ideas with music What if we codified all of our activities with music This idea came to composer Joanne Forman
when commissioned in 1987 to create the soundscape for an environmental exhibition of sculpture called Artifacts from an Alien Civilization in Taos, New Mexico. The sculptures, elaborate ruins that had been found on the moon, begged the question: who created them and for what purpose

Joanne Forman imagined that Earth's moon was a vacation spot for advanced beings from another galaxy. In her mind, the sculptures in the exhibit were the remnants of a deserted playground. Cave Vaults of the Moon became a collection of sonic texts describing the recreational activities that went on there, earth-viewing, collecting information, building and playing.

'It is now clear that humans are no longer the most important things in the universe, that their knowledge, creativity and intelligence are ultimately limited.'

The Posthuman realises that the ultimate questions about existence and being do not require answers and accepts that humans have a finite capacity to understand and control nature. Even just to know the ultimate nature of the universe would require knowing everything about the universe, everything that has happened and everything that will happen. If one thing were not known it would imply that all knowledge of the universe is partial, potentially incomplete and, therefore, not ultimate.

Humans privilege to order over disorder on the assumption that the essential laws of nature are gradually being discovered. This is a fundamental error; nature is neither essentially ordered or disordered. What we perceive as regular, patterned information we classify as order; what we perceive as irregular, unpatterned information we classify as disorder. The appearance of order and disorder implies more about the way in which we process information than the intrinsic presence of order or disorder in nature.

The humanist era was characterized by certainty about the operation of the universe and the place of humans within it. The Posthuman era is characterized by uncertainty about the operation of the universe and about what it is to be human.
What is a human Is there such a thing

No finite division can be drawn between the environment, the body and the brain. The human is identifiable, but not definable.
Consciousness, (the interaction body-brain) and the environment (reality) cannot be separated; they are continuous that defines the being.

All technological progress of human society is geared towards the transformation of the human species as we currently know it; the posthumans regard their own being as embodied in an extended technological world. In such 'synthetik' reality power no longer needs to impose physical regulations, as it is able to manipulate and shape up the minds directly, becoming part of it.
There won't be any resistance from the individual, as he will have embodied the needs of the system in his own being, and their ambition will serve the economy.
Currently the output of machines is predictable; the Posthuman era fully starts when the output of machines becomes unpredictable, so that complex machines, apparatus whose workings we do not fully understand or control, become an emerging form of life.

In the Posthuman era, the future never arrives.
..from ´The Posthuman Manifesto´, Robert Pepperel, 1995

Caused Corruption & Spilled Blood is a soundtrack to the tragic drama of humanity's fatal flaws. Inspired by an anecdote shared across the Abrahamic faiths, the release is a meditation on humanity's destructive
potential. It forces us to confront the ugly side of our nature and pose the question, were the angels right to fear our creation would cause corruption and spill blood
Same Script, No Solution provides one answer. The sonification of 'Ordo ab Chao,' the opening track guides the listener through the process of public manipulation, providing a backtrack to the obstruction of the truth for personal gain.
Third Degree Arson touches on humanity's second vice: the affinity for intentional destruction. Is there hope against these demons of our own nature
No Divine Savior suggests not. If we cannot rely on divine intervention for our salvation, that leaves only ourselves to overpower our own vices.
Yet with the discord of the final track, Sects, the listener is reminded of the deep cultural fissures that keep us from doing so.
The Caused Corruption & Spilled Blood EP is a powerfully provocative examination of human nature, a compelling first release from the collaborative efforts of Chafik Chennouf & Katsunori Sawa.

Not Long After Recording Her 10th Album, Ruins, Liz Harris Traveled To Wyoming To Work On Art And Record Music. She Found Herself Drawn Towards The Pairing Of Skeletal Piano Phrasing With Spare, Rich Bursts Of Vocal Harmony.

A Series Of Stark Songs Emerged, Minimal And Vulnerable, Woven With Emotive Silences. Inspired By the Idea That Something Is Missing Or Cold,' The Pieces Float And Fade Like Vignettes, Implying As Much As They Reveal. She Describes Them As small Texts Hanging In Space,' Impressions Of Mortality, Melody, And The Unseen - Fleeting Beauty, Interrupted. Grid Of Points Stands As A Concise And Potently Poetic Addition To The Grouper Catalog.

From Liz Harris: Grid Of Points Is A Set Of Songs For Piano And Voice. I Wrote These Songs Over A Week And A Half, They Stopped Abruptly When I Was Interrupted By A High Fever. Though Brief, It Is Complete. The Intimacy And Abbreviation Of This Music Allude To An Essence That The Songs Lyrics Speak More Directly Of. The Space Left After Matter Has Departed, A Stage After The Characters Have Gone, The Hollow Of Some Central Column, Missing.

Get in the car, we're goin' to the Cirque Du Freque, starring Normal Ones, Deepchord, and Lost Lake. A journey from the murky depths to the boogie caves, from your pals at Make Mistakes.

On the A side, Deepchord crafts a driving, shifting, wall of noise. Melodic stabs and resonant fuzz coat a pulsing beat and

bass. Hypnotic and divine, Deepchord's take on the original is a potent, psychedelic tool for the late night warehouse dance floor.

The original shines bright, a playful groove with an undercurrent of menace. With that sweet, sweet growling bass, and tip-a-tap percs, skittering all about, Cirque Du Freque brings the dirty heat. Cirque du Freque carries an old school vibe, with modern sensibilities; a memorable jam for sweaty frantic, nights.

Every time the label features Lost Lake, he delivers an original, compelling dance floor jam, while retaining a warm, familial vibe. You'll know it when you hear it, as Lost Lake's pure electro funk works its way through your soul. One of those tracks you drop down into to relieve some pressure in the room, a deep sigh of release in preparation for the next round.

As always, Make Mistakes brings high quality and varied content to the table. Cirque du Freque is another versatile, high quality record, that any DJ can stick in their crate knowing it'll find a way to fill a special moment in any night.

Modularz introduces Spanish producer Roll Dann to the growing roster of champion producers from around the world. This is a special release for the Madrid based producer focusing on the strength and power of Techno to his full potential. This release is the perfect model of where things are headed with the fusion of Drum and synth and made for abandoned buildings. The whole release is pure force Highly recommended TIP

Naïf 008 opens a series of five ep´s that will be released around the release of the DJ-Mix-CD also named - naïf which has it´s release in April 2018
The first strike comes with two blinding Techno tracks: Running man is a contribution by the - Gentleman of Techno Steve Bicknell. The other comes from the young swedish Producer that goes by the name of KUF and who is part of the Arsenik Crew.
Besides that we find two compositions by Phillip Sollmann himself that show his abstract and experimental Approach.
While - Aliasing Bells is a texture of sampled tibetan bells - Tag3 by his side-project - Autolyse is a jam on a light-sensor-controlled custom-made synth. Perfect for layering on top of a mix.

After more then three years of silence as a producer, Efdemin a.k.a Phillip Sollmann returns with a striking hybrid concept that merges the album format with the continuous DJ mix' format, presenting completely new material in a seamless manner. The CD-mix, named Naïf, officially reinstates his label of the same name and is a sprawling tour of inner space featuring 19 distinct tracks from fellow producers along with an additional ten that feature Efdemin himself (either as soloist or collaborator). The release condenses his decade-long DJ-ing journey and evolution as a producer into a single potent elixir of contemporary techno.
Naïf consists of completely unreleased material from both himself and valued collaborators, all of which will eventually manifest as EP releases: five on his own Naïf label and two more on Curle.

Curated by Phillip Sollmann, Berlin 2018
Mastering and Cut: Kassian Troyer
& © Naïf Recordings 2018

For over 4 years, David Coccagna aka Chaperone has been a constant part of Great Circles, as musician, art director, and muse. With Snapback Balaclava he once again fully embodies all of those roles, delivering three inspiring tracks, selecting his remixers with specific attention to their musical histories, and designing his cover art.

Across the A-side, Chaperone scrapes away at the grit - personal grit, the grit of anxiety, and Philly grit. These are meditations on loops, and loops on meditations. Each one appears on the surface to be a brief quote, but time dilation takes over, and minutes later we discover that Chaperone has welcomed us into and back out of his own healing moment.

Like Chaperone's P O N D release (GRCR-009), the B-side of Snapback Balaclava is a Great Circles extended family affair with a trio of diverse remixes that expose and exploit fragments of the chaos Chaperone so carefully contained.

Hitoshi Kojima (Thrive) reinterprets Pulse Feels Swells Beating with relentless syncopated rhythms and synth lines that hang like massive string drones. M//R lays down a signature percussion ensemble palette, zeroes in on otherwise peripheral elements of Grit Neglect, and then deftly navigates sea change with both. Matt Korvette and Sean McGuinness of Philly punk band Pissed Jeans open up the pit and finish the story, taking Femur Baseball Bat to its literal and brutal potential with monstrous vocals and kicks.

We welcome the vinyl format after a hiatus to embark into an energy-driven journey, full of potent, cross-genre tracks courtesy of Mr. Ben Cano.

Ben, which previously collaborated on this label as TenienteTuko, builds on the previous album-creating experience and he outdoes himself in multiple ways, keeping the variety of groove encompassing all together with his propelling signature techno ethos.

'Deep Snowmass' starts the EP in a harsh, mental way to induce rapidly to a dark feeling which leaves you in the void with a malleable conscience that allows your body and soul to float, with the help of an ever-building acidic bass and pulsating percussion.

'Rocky Mountain' goes to other heights, using a uplifting Rhodes chord and effective drum programming to deliver a dreamy wave of full potential.

'Between dub', 'hitch' and 'Tube 8' seal the deal with energetic, acid-infused and sometimes-housey takes from his recent live set, which he manages to reorganize in the track format we currently offer as black pressed acetate.

Ltd. edition of 500 numbered copies on clear vinyl New Zealand-born sound artist and composer Annea Lockwood received formal training at various institutions before exploring the sonorous potential of glass in a series of performances in the late 1960s. With plates of wired glass, glass discs, chunks of green cullet glass, glass tubing, sheets of micro-glass, glass jars and other incarnations of the material, Lockwood elicited a staggering array of sounds, some subtly uncanny and others as outlandish and alien as anything emitted from the era's early synthesizers. Lockwood's glass concerts yielded a text-score published in Northern California new-music journal Source: Music of the Avant-Garde and attracted the attention of South African producer Michael Steyn, who encouraged her to record the glass pieces for his label Tangent. They worked for two years in a small, resonant church in London to document a veritable catalogue of the materials' tone and timbre; Lockwood wished to present each sound as if it were a piece of music in and of itself. Glass World originally appeared on Tangent in 1970.

"I wanted to entice people into really listening intensively," Lockwood once reflected. "Into really listening. I wanted a deep immersion in the sounds of themselves, for the audience."

First-time vinyl reissue. Limited edition of 500 numbered copies on clear vinyl.

With its latest reissue, Majik's Back Into Your Heart - Melodies International dug deep into the back catalogue of Hi Records, legendary soul label from Memphis found ed in the 1950s.

Originally signed as a recording artist, Willie Mitchell took the reigns of the label and guided it through its most successful period in the 1970s, notably producing a string of studio recordings for Al Green, Syl Johnson and O.V. right among other eminent soul musicians of the time. Whilst the Hi Records catalogue shifted hands multiple times since the late 1970s, it was mainly exploited as a means to reissue recordings from Al Green and other high profile Hi Records artists (notably by Motown) while the label's more obscure back catalogue remained largely untouched. Years later, a few lesser known one offs from the label's vaults holding the distinctive raw Hi Records production sound and a circling hypnotic quality that makes them potential successful records for modern day dance floors have been getting a second life with record collectors, DJs and on dance floors worldwide. As such, recordings such as Africano's Open Your Hearts have become You're A Melody classics for some years now and Melodies International are glad to bring you one more reissue which in our hearts hold at least the same level of quality and potential as the former. With Back Into Your Heart, Majik pull through with a strong up-tempo disco tune that embodies Mitchell's sound as well as a level of modernity that might explain why it has remained largely unnoticed up until now.

Licensed and re-mastered, MEL010 comes forth in its original 7' format with a folded 14'x14' poster designed by Mafalda.

The early 2000s were a time of upheaval for hip-hop. The underground and mainstream divide that had dened so much of the previous decade was showing the rst signs of irrelevance. Timbaland and The Neptunes made radio rappers sound futuristic while independent artists struggled in a quagmire of backpacks and misguided claims to keep it real. Away from this, in a misunderstood middle ground between hip-hop and electronic music, a new generation of artists were busy imagining a new sound for hip-hop.

One such artist was Scott Prefuse 73' Herren, whose perpendicular MPC chops on his 2001 debut for Warp Records set curious minds racing with possibilities. That same year Tadd Mullinix released his debut as Dabrye on Ghostly International, a sonic wildstyle that appealed to both hip-hop heads and IDM nerds. Sometime that same year Herren and Mullinix met after sharing a bill in Detroit. CD-Rs were exchanged and a year later Eastern Development, Herren's newly launched label, released Dabrye's Instrmntl, a short album with a big impact. On its fteenth anniversary Ghostly International is reissuing Instrmtl on vinyl and making it available digitally for the rst time.

Instrmntl is a continuation of the beat experiments Dabrye began with One/Three and a bridge to the diverse textures that would dene Two/Three four years later. About half of its nine tracks (ten if you lived in Japan) were created at the same time as One/Three while the rest were newer or made specically for the album. Once again Mullinix looked outside of hip-hop to techno, house, and drum & bass for stylistic and technical ideas while embracing the blissful minimalism of a good hip-hop instrumental and the rhythmic nuance of Detroit.

Despite the similarities between Dabrye's debut and this follow up, Mullinix didn't simply replicate what had made One/Three so arresting. He pushed and pulled further between the two cornerstones of his approach to reveal more potentials. Instrmntl takes you deeper into electronic depths — the rugged synth stutter of 'Won', the tumbling, wobbling bass in 'No Child Of God', the electro get down of 'Prospects (Marshall Law)' — while also treading more organic grounds by letting samples breathe and moods unfurl at a gentler pace ('Take Me Home', 'Evelyn', and 'You Know The Formula Right'). And then there are the moments where this push and pull nds balance and the result becomes more, as it does on the mournful march of 'D-Town Tabernacle Choir' and the twinkling daydream of 'This Is Where I Came In'.

At just over 30 minutes, Instrmntl offers a snapshot of a time when potentials seemed innite, when lines could be drawn between jazz, ragga jungle, techno, and hip-hop and the resulting shape divined an exciting future.

- Reissue of the out of print 2002 album, available for the rst time on Ghostly.
- Includes previously Japanese-only bonus track, Gimme Lowlands'
- Standard weight blue vinyl is housed in a matte jacket.
- Dabrye's beats are like Jay Dee getting crunked up with Autechre.' — Prefuse 73

A - 45 rpm - cozy - Get Used to Me'
An emphatic anthem from the mouth of a young woman with something to prove, this track is a bold first statement, both in production and lyrical content. With this track on wax, Im gonna be around for a while, so you better Get Used to Me!

B1 - 33 rpm - cozy - Useful'
A piece created by someone tired of being underestimated, Useful might come from a place of frustration, but overall its a reclamation of power and agency. You havent been utilizing my ability to its greatest potential'

B2 - 33 rpm - cozy - Hip Hopity'
A funky closing piece to this EP, Hip Hopity just wants you to shake your thang around! Encouraging those of all dance ability to move their body and have a good time with their friends.

cozy is a songwriter, rapper, producer, and musician who currently operates out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally hailing from the small village of Cumberland, cozy has small town roots that have heavily influenced her art. With her music, cozy hopes to bring people into her world of experiences and give them as clear a picture of her perspective as she can. Throughout her songs, cozy weaves strong lyrical themes of femininity, sexuality, and reclamation of personal identity within a vulnerable context of self examination.

* From the pumping heart of The Magnetic System comes the 'dirtiest' Da-Da-dancefloor anti-jams with this lost 1979 blueprint of Italian conceptual cosmic disco played by the cream of the Goblin studio band. Ultra-rare and unscrubbed,Finders Keepers finally snip the trip from the cash machine to the trash machine.
* Carving its own grubby niche as an early prototype of cosmic disco cum Italo space funk whilst simultaneously harbouring Dada hat stand satire with a junkshop glam aesthetic, this ecological illogical poplitical crab cabaret clearly broke the mould before way before the jelly had set.
* Fans of 'other' obtuse outernational agit-camp might find a fantasy fusion between France's JP Massiera and Sweden's enviroMENTAL marvel Kaptain Zoom while trying to unravel the Madfilth tangle - but rest assured there were method men behind this madness and a portal to Italian funk royalty still festers
at the bottom of the psych rap scrapheap.
* Originally drip-fed out of Cesare Andrea Bixio's Cinevox stable as one of a tight grip of non-soundtrack LPs, made to test the label's commercial potential, Madfilth would follow the band Goblin (and their non-cinematic Roller) as well as the hens' teeth eponymous long player by the group The Motowns in what was perhaps the last-ditch attempt at custom built popsploitation - combining the skills of overqualified composers with undercooked conceptual mind belches. Naturally, after almost 40 years in the barrel, this micro-brewed oddity finally quenches the acquired taste of a new breed of shambolic psychotropic guzzlers proving that 1979 was obviously good year for fool's gold. The Madfilth medicine has finally come to cure your psychic ills so open wide and don't bite the spoon.
* It is beneath the flamboyant rhythm rants and vari-speed osric slop of alt-comedic sarcy-satirist Alberto Macaro (a genetic beneficiary of a vaudevillian comic bloodline) that we find The Magnetic System maestros Franco Bixio and Vince Tempera as the sonic driving force behind this unmarked treasure trove of
B-musical diamanté discoids. It will also come as little surprise that
Cinevox/Dario Argento favourites Goblin were not too distant from the whiff of this curate's egg with the men who many consider to be the group's greatest assets - bass player Fabio Pignatelli alongside sports rock drummer Agostino Marangolo. It was this unison that remained consistent throughout Goblin's career, weathering the temporary departure of Claudio Simonetti and
maintaining the stylistic heartbeat of the group. Madfilth's inclusion of Goblin synth Maverick Maurizio Guarini and the band's mid-period guitarist Carlo Penessi (founder of the band Etna) pinpoints the jobbing Goblin session group during the time they recorded the soundtracks for the films 'Buio Amiga' and 'Squadra Antigagsters'. This lesser-celebrated late 70s era also witnessed the mutating Goblin rhythm section providing discoid backbeats for records such as Giorgio Farina's 'Discocross' album, Simonetti's own Capricorn alter-ego and the homoerotic nightclub spin-off Easy Going - all of which, alongside Madfilth,
provide a strong mutual stylistic support system for their claim to cosmic disco's deep red bloodline.

Culross Close follow up their 2016 debut album HOME with a potent offering entitled MOMENTS. The
quartet (a moniker of K15) meld fusion and future grooves to create a captivating ride through some of their recordings. From the opening MANIFESTO, the listener is thrust into a world of purpose and understanding. SLOW YOUR STROLL is where the record begins to unfold, as floating synths and
percussion carry the groove. What follows next is the hypnotic INNA TRICE, the rawest of all the
recordings where snares and sincerity collide. The record closes with UNISON (a future groove if there
ever was one), a number that showcases the quartet's ability to truly explore their moments.

Capra Black remains one of the seminal recordings of jazz's black consciousness movement. A profoundly spiritual effort that channels both the intellectual complexity of the avant-garde as well as the emotional potency of gospel, its focus and assurance belie Billy Harper's inexperience as a leader. Backed by an all-star supporting unit including trombonist Julian Priester and drummer Billy Cobham, Harper's tenor summons the brute force and mystical resolve of John Coltrane but transcends its influences to communicate thoughts and feelings both idiosyncratic and universal. This is music of remarkable corporeal substance that somehow expresses the pure language of the soul.

Soundway Records presents the debut EP from Amsterdam based The Mauskovic Dance Band - a potent, modern blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and space disco, destined for bustling dancefloors.
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The Mauskovic Dance Band is the brainchild of the Amsterdam-based producer and musician, Nicola Mauskovic. A seasoned drummer, he finds himself constantly in demand - as part of Turkish psychedelic outfit Altin Gün, a recent tour with the revival of Zambian legends W.I.T.C.H., and a worldwide tour with psych-pop artist Jacco Gardner, with whom he then went on to form the dance-oriented duo Bruxas (released on Dekmantel). Throughout this hectic schedule Nic still found time to begin studio experiments that would eventually lead to several 7' singles, released on Swiss label Bongo Joe Records in 2017 under the name The Mauskovic Dance Band'.

A generation younger than the founders of the Teklife crew, DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn, DJ Taye was originally a rapper and beat maker before hooking up with the collective and jumping into the world of footwork production and DJing.
However, it was Rashad's untimely passing in 2014 that was the unlikely catalyst for developing the sounds and ideas for this album. He says, "When Rashad passed away I felt inspired to continue evolving the music that I loved so much coming up in this world. So, I had to do something...make something brand new."

100% committed to pushing further the potential of the footwork template, Still Trippin' is ambitious in its range and scope. Taking two years to formulate, the record broadens the possibilities of the sound, forcing it to adapt to songwriting, and also revives Taye's talent for MCing and producing beats to which he can rap and sing. Furthermore Taye definitely ups the ante with his complex and precise drum programming, never losing sight of footwork's ability to confound. The album features a range of guests that span contemporary music, the eccentric, instructive rapping of Chuck Inglish of Detroit duo the Cool Kids is featured on 'Get It Jukin', Odile Myrtil, a young vocalist from Montreal, lends her smokey soul to 'Same Sound', Fabi Reyna, the editor of the celebrated women's guitar magazine She Shreds, sings and plays bass and rhythm guitar on 'I Don't Know' and Jersey club queen UNIIQU3 offers production and rapping on 'Gimme Some Mo'.Also, Teklife members DJ PayPal and DJ Manny assist on production, and DJ Lucky is a guest MC on 'Smokeout'. Taye is ambitious in his hopes for the album, "I took this as an opportunity to not have boundaries with footwork. Different approaches to our 'underground' sound to make it broader. It's only underground until it crosses that visible threshold.' This album brings all of this to the forefront.

James Ramey, better known by his self-depreciating stage name Baby Huey, was a potently flamboyant presence in Chicago's soul scene during the 1960s. Though he suffered weight problems throughout his life due to a glandular disorder, he was easily recognizable for his appearance, which featured an enormous afro, and long, flowing African robes. He and his band The Babysitters were a wildly popular and successful local act across Illinois, cutting numerous 45 singles, without releasing a single full-length album. A chance audition with Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield of Curtom Records would change everything for the band. Though the two of them were pleased with the group, they opted only to sign Baby Huey without the Babysitters. Huey would go on to spend much of

1970 recording a studio debut of psychedelic soul and funk music, comprised largely of covers of tracks by Mayfield, Sam Cooke, and others, plus two original compositions. During this time the now 400-pound singer struggled with addiction to alcohol and heroin. Huey would not see the release of his debut album, dying at the age of 26 from a drug-related heart attack. So many years after its 1971 release, Baby Huey's studio album Baby Huey: The Living Legend went on to become a cult phenomenon, a massive influence to hip-hop artists and fans, and is now considered a classic of its era. Tracks from the album have been a treasure trove of sample material for artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Shadow, and The Chemical Brothers to name just a few. Additionally Huey's own vocal style, which dabbled in sing-song melodies and self-referential rhyming, has been said to have influenced the development of rapping itself.