Suche:the soul of disco

Erstmals auf Platte: Die beiden Alben 'Wood, Brass & Steel' (1976) und 'Hard & Heavy' (1980) und damit die gesamte Diskografie der Disco-Formation Wood, Brass & Steel mit Doug Wimbish (bass) und Skip McDonald (git), die später mit Keith LeBlanc die Sugarhill Records-Houseband bildeten, bevor sie mit Adrian Sherwood Tackhead gründeten. Angereichert mit 5 bislang unveröffentlichten Aufnahmen eines nie erschienenen, dritten Albums. Mit den oft gesampelten Tracks 'Funkanova' (DJ Sneak, The Bucketheads, Black Science Orchestra), 'My Lady' (Pete Rock), 'My Darling Baby' (Erykah Badu), dem Ronnie Laws-Klassiker 'Always There' sowie der Extended Version von 'Welcome To The Party' (bislang 12inch-only). Remastered von den Original-Mastertapes.


Wood Brass and Steel waren die letzte und berühmteste Hausband der von Sylvia und Ehemann Joe Robinson geleiteten Labelgruppen All Platinum und Sugarhill Records, doch dieses Album wurde nie zuvor auf LP-Vinyl veröffentlicht. Die Musiker nahmen die Songs "Hey That's What You Say" und "A Love of My Own" auf, und als das Astroscope-Label von All Platinum sie als 7"-Single veröffentlichte, wurden sie zu Wood Brass and Steel. Die Gruppe vervollständigte dann dieses Album, das 1973 auf Astroscope LP5002 erscheinen sollte, aber nie veröffentlicht wurde.

Die Besetzung der Gruppe zu dieser Zeit ist nicht ganz klar, aber mit Sicherheit gehörten Harold Sargent, Bernard Alexander alias Skip McDonald (er nahm auch unter vielen anderen Kombinationen dieser Namen auf), Herman Tudi White am Bass und Otha Stokes am Saxophon und an der Flöte sowie Randy Bost an der Trompete dazu. Doug Wimbish und Craig Derry stießen zu dieser Zeit zur Band und sind zumindest an einigen, möglicherweise aber nicht an allen Titeln beteiligt.Die Band veröffentlichte zwei weitere hervorragende Alben: "Wood Brass And Steel" auf Turbo von 1976 und "Hard n Heavy" für Sugarhill im Jahr 1980. Wimbush, McDonald und der spätere Schlagzeuger Keith Le Blanc unterstützten die meisten Aufnahmen auf dem Sugar Hill-Label und machten anschließend eine lange und erfolgreiche Karriere im Musikgeschäft als Plattenkünstler und Session-Spieler.

We can't think of many other performers like the singer/songwriter/dancer/actress Asha Puthli who have excelled in such a broad range of genres. From 60s psych, Classical Indian music, Free Jazz, Pop, Soul, Disco, to Rock, the list goes on. A 'best-of' or an 'essential collection' is always going to be a subjective thing, but for what is unbelievably the first official compilation covering the full breadth of Asha's illustrious career, we aimed to provide a snapshot into her ever-evolving musical journey and a tribute to the vast richness of her catalogue.

Some singers want to be famous, others are pop star icons, and some are artists; Asha is the latter. Asha is a true force of nature, regardless of the genre she explores, she fully commits, moves on, and reinvents herself, always progressing. Looking back on Asha's career, it is evident what a trail-blazer she was, opening doors for her contemporaries and those who came later to step through. Whether it was conscious or not, you can recognise Asha’s influence in aspects of Kate Bush's ethereal image and performance, in Donna Summer’s high-smooth vocal sound and disco stylings, and in the gumption and power of Grace Jones.

Kick-starting the compilation is ‘Pain’, the Indian psychedelic garage rock sounds of The Savages featuring Asha. We have to admit, we had to strongarm Asha into letting us include this track at first; also due to its rare nature (and lack of any master tapes) the recording we present here is raw and low-fi. However, we felt its inclusion was important to fully represent the journey of Asha's career, the same consideration was also applied to two of the Asha & The Surfers’ songs that we have included in this collection.

Asha saw a link between jazz and classical Indian music "the improvisation, the minor chords, the free form, the liberalness of the art" we showcase her love of jazz here with seminal works with the legendary Ornette Coleman, taken from the revered 'Science Fiction’ album. Asha's 'CBS years' are represented here, how could we not include 'Space Talk' on this collection, and how these years progressed into her amazing disco offerings such as 'I'm Gonna Dance' & 'Music Machine'. The bizarre 'We're Gonna Bury The Rock With The Roll Tonight' from 1980 has also won us over. A pseudo-50s throw-back song that sounds not un-similar to the post-modern, leftfield, pop of an MIA production to come years later. Rounding off the compilation we have Asha's interpretation of a Michael Jackson classic that sat lost on a cassette-only released in India.

After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly anticipated third album ‘Typhoons’ on April 30th via Warner Records.
When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“We sort of stumbled on this sound, and it was immediately fun to play,” recalls Kerr. “That’s what sparked the creativity on the new album, the chasing of that feeling. It’s weird, though - if you think back to ‘Figure it Out’, it kind of contains the embryo of this album. We realised that we didn’t have to completely destroy what we’d created so far; we just had to shift it, change it. On paper, it’s a small reinvention. But when you hear it, it sounds so fresh.”

Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.



After setting the tone with ‘Trouble’s Coming’, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of ‘Who Needs Friends’ hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on ‘Million & One’ before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with ‘Limbo’. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, ‘Boilermaker’ lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by ‘Mad Visions’, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad ‘All We Have Is Now’, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.

That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced. It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive. The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink, and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.

That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of ‘Typhoons’ themselves. ‘Boilermaker’ was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced ‘Who Needs Friends’ and contributed additional production to ‘Trouble’s Coming’.

Rome’s own disco wizard L.U.C.A. aka Francesco De Bellis is back for his second LP Terra, hot on the heels of his Venus 12” EP earlier this year. In this far-reaching album, the Edizioni Mondo founder explores the deteriorating relationship between Man and Nature, and the dire consequences. The album is split into two themes - part one is Consacrazione (Consecration) and side two is Coscienza (Conscience) - as L.U.C.A. charts a trip through mankind’s psychic universe, and imagines worlds beyond our physical dimension.

The opening composition Cities is an uptempo number that slowly comes into focus, as dreamy drum machines emerge from the urban bustle, before settling into a soulful groove as keyboard, upright bass and guitar figures dance across bright percussion. As it builds up a head of steam, the piece gives way to an ambient, tribal breakdown, which is also echoed in the following song, Drum Talk. This second tune sets up in a fourth world dreamscape of drums, synths, and abstracted echo effects, and is peppered with word fragments from the bush of ghosts. By the time we’ve reached the third track, Congiunzione sounds like travelling at singularity speed, beaming in from a future where human consciousness and gaia can finally dance on a cosmic plain.

Part two of Terra details how revelation of the spirit can guide the mind, as Time Spirals rises out of a drum motif with a nod to classic ragas, as a disembodied voice asks questions on the nature of corporeality. The sound design is just as front and centre as the sitar and fretless bass, and the song gives way to a richly-layered soup that sounds like the vast space between atoms. It’s this shift from composition to ambience that is the dynamic core of Terra, giving L.U.C.A. plenty of space to showcase his next-level audio and arranging skills. Midway through part two, Giallo Assoluto begins with reverb tails and choral voices before expanding in brightness and texture until the audio field is practically levitating your hi-fi speakers, vibrating them with drones, twinkling keys and shards of digital noise. The closing composition Ritorno al Domani is a perfect balance of optimism and mystery. Tension and release collapse in on themselves as waves of ambient pads crescendo and then break over stretched-out sonic turbulence, before reversed synths bring the listener to a closing door, and the end of the journey.

It’s a mind-expanding musical exploration of other worlds and parallel universes which are surely all around us, and in many ways serve to remind us of the marvel that is our own planet.

This OST promises another exciting instalment in The Minions franchise. Produced by legendary Grammy-winning music producer Jack Antonoff and filled to the brim with a star-studded list of artists, the soundtrack celebrates a range of dazzling funk, disco and soul classics with brand-new versions of some of the biggest hits of the 1970s. From St. Vincent’snew take on Lipps Inc’s 1979 hit Funkytownand H.E.R.’s rendition of Sly and The Family Stone’s 1967 smash Dance to the Music, to Bleachers version of John Lennon’s 1970 track Instant Karma! and Phoebe Bridgers’ interpretation of The Carpenters’ 1972 single Goodbye To Love, every track has been reimagined by each artist with ingenious results. Set in the 1970s, Minions: The Rise of Gru tells the origin story of how Gru (Oscar nominee Steve Carell), the world’s greatest supervillain, first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assemble.

Voodoo Nation is the band's third studio album and fourth in total
following West of Flushing, South of Frisco (2016), Californisoul (2017),
live album Road Chronicles: Live (2019).
The album starts with the track "Money", which is about greed
"Greed alone is not the problem, it's greed and the lack of respect for everybody
else", producer Fabrizio Grossi explains. The 8- minute "Devil at the Doorstep"
features Eric Gales – whose own recent album Crown was a #1 Blues Billboard
hit. The song is a studio representation of what happens when they play live with
Gales.
SSBM underline problems faced by musicians on "Coming Thru" and "Get It Done"
- the latter features Los Angeles based virtuoso Josh Smith. "Do It Again" is
another firecracker that rounds off the theme and features Ana Popovic, which is
about "the happiness and blessing of being able to do what you love."
Young Harlem blues- sensation King Solomon Hicks takes on lead vocals and
guitar on the call to arms "You and Me." The bands trademark soulful blues sound
can be heard beautifully on "I Will Let It Go," featuring Kirk Fletcher, and the
sumptuous "Is It All" featuring the legendary Joe Louis Walker, which sees him
and Kris Barras trade vocals on the stunning soul ballad. The title track locks in
the feeling of general discontent in society.
Supersonic Blues Machine reflect how they see the world through their lens and
never far is a message of hope and the album closes with the inspirational
country blues "All Our Love" featuring Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr

LTD edition 300 copies pressed.

Comes in a stunning Picture sleeve

imagine a band that is Sharon Jones meets James Brown while putting a modern twist on 70s soul and funk music.
Whether self composed original tracks or classic covers, Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers capture an era boldly envisioned!

So settle in and get to know us. Check out our music, join our mailing list to stay current on Bella's adventures and get discounts on merchandise, peruse our Social Media sites to gage Bella's current level of "influencer" status, find us on your favorite Streaming Service, and maybe throw some spare change in the Tip Jar to keep new music coming!

All this and more below! Enjoy!

Fronted by the wonderful Carol Hatchett- She is known as one of Bette Midler's backup Singer/Dancers, the infamous "Harlettes" and has appeared in Bette's Emmy Award-winning "Diva Las Vegas" HBO Special, "The Showgirl Must Go On" HBO Special and numerous music tours worldwide . Carol is also the backing singer for Nick Waterhouse and tours with them regularly.

A sound that embraces different styles and different eras, but which has only one basic concept as a common denominator: spreading the “Black Power Sound”.

That’s the spirit of the double vinyl compilation of Soul Fingers, a legendary Black Music traveling party that has now become a cult in Italy, still religiously followed by dancers of all kinds and ages.

At Soul Fingers it is usual to listen and dance to a unique and tasty blend of soul, disco and funk, with rap and latin rhythms. There are no preconceptions other than that of putting songs to feel good and make people feel good.

The real deal is to share with the dancefloor a record that is magical, full of soul and that can elevate us from our state of human beings to become a single beating heart under the speakers of the sound system.

Freestyle continues with their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records with a reissue of a formerly white label-only, rare-as-hens-teeth debut 12" by UK soul icon Rick Clarke from way back in 1981.

Sharing the same line-up of performers as the eponymous group Potion (Rick Clarke, Carlton White on bass & Everton McCalla, formerly of Light of the World and later Freeez, on drums) though credited on the OG press as Rick Clarke alone, this 12" came out originally in the same year as the also sought after Potion 12" "Catch The Feelin' (Showstopper)" - a year before we would see Rick & Everton release the classic british electro funk of "Magic" as Side On (with Peter Mass) on Beggars Banquet.

This is a classic slice of British disco funk, showcasing an early vocal talent that would go on to become a key feature of the late 80s UK soul scene, alongside a tight-as rhythm section. The subtly dubbed-out instrumental mix is a real treat too, bringing those synth flourishes and soaring horns to the fore and letting us hear Carlton's bass work wonders unencumbered.

"The album features the two sides of Mingus' compositional genius: the beautiful balladry that I always feel has a bit of a film-noir feel to it, alongside those joyous upbeat numbers that are filled with an organized chaos that categorizes much of the bassist's best work. ... Throw in the fact that it also features Jaki Byard (who is just phenomenal on this recording and remains criminally underrated), Booker Ervin, Dannie Richmond and Eric Dolphy and you have some of Mingus' finest sidemen driving his compositions to the fantastical places they seemed preordained to go. ... Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus is a record that has more than stood the test of time and is an everlasting testament to the talents of Mingus and the players who had the ability to follow his musical vision." — The Jazz Record

Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus was Charles Mingus' last major studio recording of the 1960s (the solo Mingus Plays Piano would also be released the same year in 1964) and it's a real treasure in the great jazz bassist's discography

Two of the tracks ("Celia" and "I X Love") were recorded at the sessions for The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady, while the rest were laid down eight months later with a group that included Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy and Jaki Byard (Byard also played on the two earlier tracks). Both sessions featured groups of 11 players, all of whom were in top form in performing Mingus' notoriously complex compositions, writes jazzrecord.

All but two tracks on Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus were re-interpretations of songs from the bassist's earlier catalogue, only "Celia" rates as a new original number, and "Mood Indigo" is a cover of the famous tune by Mingus's hero Duke Ellington. If you happen to have lost your Mingus decoder ring, the remaining tracks correlate to their past counterparts as such:


For Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus Mingus collaborated with arranger/orchestrator Bob Hammer to score the music for the large ensemble of brass and saxophones. Recorded January 20 and September 20, 1963 in New York City.

Summertime sunshine, soaked up across two stunning tracks from Things You Say on Palm Recs. Bursting at the seams with festival energy the A side ‘Thank You Baby’ is a disco house belter, with that fist pumping feeling deep down in its soul.

On the B, ‘Play The Drums’ a hypnotic Italo disco flavoured foray into the depths. Space echoed vocals, punchy synth bass and a crisp beat will have the dancefloor in the palm of your hands.

Between the late 70s and the early 80s, pop music was in a transitional phase. After a return to the roots of punk, rock was morphing into new wave, while disco was rapidly declining and the electronic revolution, already on the rise, was ushering in the transition from analog to digital. This period also saw the emergence and relatively brief flowering of a commercially dominant style that mixed soul influences (especially Stevie Wonder and Ear th Wind & Fi re) , folk/pop songwriting and jazz sensibilities in equal measure, creating a hybrid easy on the ears but also emotionally and musically rich. It was the style represented by artists like Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Gino Vannelli and Kenny Loggins, who were all influenced by black music. They belonged to a larger trend that took place in all major music producing countries, including Italy where, like so many other things, the style was not merely imported or copied, but reshaped into a specifically local version based on the nation's tastes and cultural traditions. In Italy, a soulful and sophisticated approach to pop music was embraced not only by established names like Mina, Alan Sorrenti and Loredana Berté, but also, and perhaps most importantly, by an entire generation of writers, arrangers and musicians who had grown up listening to early fusion, to Steely Dan's refined recordings, and to Quincy Jones's productions. So, with this compilation we hope to give new exposure to artists and songs that, despite having moderate or little success when first released, must be regarded as among the creative peaks of Italian pop music. "Paisà Got Soul" features pop veterans Peppino Di Capri, Mario Lavezzi and Alberto Radius alongside atypical singer-songwriters (Enzo Carella, Enzo Cervo, Gino D'Eliso), Italo-disco heroes (Stefano Pulga), international hit composers (Beppe Cantarelli, who has co-written for Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey), Brazilian-born naturalized Italians (Jim Porto) and complete unknowns (Franco Camassa, I Ricci, Massimo Stella).It brings together little gems that in most cases are no longer available on the market, or only available in their original and now very rare vinyl format. We believe they all deserve to be rediscovered today, partly because of the recently renewed interest in "yacht rock", as this music style has been retrospectively named, and partly because they provide further evidence that Italian artists rework international music styles in creative and original ways.

Compiled and conceived by David Nerattini partnered by Pierpaolo De Sanctis

The unique sounds of Ray Phiri's Stimela are showcased on this gem of a 12” EP from 1986. It was originally released only in South Africa on Gallo / CBS Records, although a 12" featuring the track 'I Hate Telling A Lie' was previously released on Plum Records in 1983. It has now become a sought-after item due to its addictive and original-sounding Balearic disco / cosmic boogie-esque nature.

Stimela were a popular and successful Mbaquanga / fusion outfit led by the guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and arranger Ray Phiri; who was previously a member of the legendary band The Cannibals. The musicians would go on to gain global fame after featuring on Paul Simon's iconic 'Graceland' album and the mega tour that followed.

Kicking off the EP is a magical track that floored us from the first moment we heard it and one that has since become a Mr Bongo firm favourite. ‘I Hate Telling A Lie’ is a slow, infectious building groove that sits somewhere between lowdown jazz-funk, soul, reggae and gospel with shades of new wave pop and Balearic. It’s a truly stunning track that is hard to pigeonhole and all the better for it.

Another highlight from the EP is the monster instrumental, synth-boogie sound of 'I Love You'; championed by DJs such as Jeremy Spellacey (Crown Ruler). This hypnotic groove bubbles to perfection and is a slo-mo chugger extraordinaire.

We hope you dig it as much as we do.

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, proudly presents the long awaited reissue of Version Excursions, first album by The Dynamics. Originally released in 2007 and highly hard to find today, it could be considered as a modern reggae classic.

The band composed of Bruno “Patchwork” Hovart (production & programming), Eric “Flab” True (programming) and a vocal trio made of Mr Day, Sandra “Mounam” and Stevie Levi, quickly became famous with a 7inch single series, displaying their unique recipe of covers from classic hits by Madonna, Curtis Mayfield or The White Stripes to name just a few. True to Rocksteady and Reggae’s timeless tradition, everything from Pop, Roots, Disco, Soul & Rock is distilled through their fuzzy hypnotic filters to create amazing cover versions.

Originally hailing from the villages of Cameroon, the halls of Harvard, the palaces of Versailles, the boweries of Bristol, or the squares of Provence, it’s then in Lyon that The Dynamics united and created their timeless music, both vintage and fresh. 15 years after its release, the album’s still a real success, with more than 350k listeners on Spotify every month. An achievement easily explained by the quality of the tracks gathered, which also brought the original release to become quite rare years after years, now selling for crazy prices on the second-hand market.

"Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin), "Fever" (Peggy Lee), "The Creator Has A Master Plan" (Pharoah Sanders), "Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan), these are only a few of the Rock, Pop, Soul and Jazz most famous hits reimagined by The Dynamics. In addition to the original tracklisting, you'll find on our 2022 remastered edition their cover of "Music" by Madonna, previously only available as 7inch.

Boogie Butt Records presents its new release: we are happy to find on this one our friend Will The Funkboss that we had presented on our previous compilation Boogie Slice Vol. 1. He comes back with an incredible dancefloor banger with two slices of Electro Funk coming in 7inch limited vinyl.
Willie The Funkboss is one of the French Rap producers we respect. From his beginning as a DJ in 1991 to his sparks in production at the end of the 90's, everything he touched was good.
He began his career as the resident DJ of the only French club dedicated to Soul and Hip-Hop and started to produce remixes and hip-hop instrumentals before leaving for NYC to perfect his productions and DJ's, before returning to Lyon.
Upon his return, he puts his discoveries to good use by founding Le Gang Du Lyonnais with his friend Raf, a group that specialized in producing French rappers and singers, collaborating with the best of French urban artists. In 2003, they went gold with the single of 113 (Mafia K'1 Fry) "Au Summum".
Today, Will The Funkboss produces Hip-Hop, Soul, Nu-Disco and House on quality labels (Plaizir Musik, Smokin Beats, …), still in the groove!
Just pop it!

Yellow Vinyl

A collective of musicians led by Barcelona-based producer Miguel Ferre Falcon, Kokoro Disco San first appeared on the RNT radar with their 2019 Isla Fantasia release on Rocafort Records.

KDS now brings their uncanny ability to capture the mood and instrumentation of classic disco and soul with the uplifting summer anthem 'Sunshine' and the Candido-esque sonic journey 'Jungle Deep.' Rounding out the EP are two remixes of the title track by label co-head JKriv, who delivers an extended acidic exploration with his Beach Burn Mix, and a bumped up yet loving treatment of the original song with his SPF76 Mix.

John Coltrane's classic 1962 LP 'Coltrane' plus 2 bonus tracks pressed on
180g green vinyl, incudes a unique sticker
Overlooked on its original release, 'Coltrane' has since been regarded by as a
major recording in the saxophonist's discography. Featuring the classic quartet
and produced by Bob Thiele for Impulse, this special edition has two bonus tracks
from the same sessions not included on the original LP: 'Impressions' and 'Up
'Gainst The Wall'.

For the label’s next release, the team at Leng Records has decided to offer-up something a little bit different: a 12” compilation of little-known and hard-to-find Balearic gems selected by friend of the label Paul Beckett.

Plucked from the dusty corners of his collection, the five tracks on show are quietly colourful, tactile and musically rich excursions that effortlessly blur the boundaries between genres and sound terrific blasting from speakers on a humid Mediterranean or Adriatic afternoon.

First up is Ray & John’s languid, subtly disco-tinged ‘Day By Day (Instrumental)’, which originally featured on the flipside of the Italian duo’s sole single from 1984. Rich in rubbery bass guitar, sequenced synth-bass, sharp disco guitar licks, Fairlight stabs, dreamy chords and occasional chanted vocals, it sounds like Please-era Pet Shop Boys reclining at a Rimini pool party after copious amounts of happy pills.

It’s followed by Angel’o’s ‘Angelo’, a turn-of-the-80s gem picked from the band’s long-forgotten album, Dream Machine. Marked out by warming electric piano motifs, squelchy synth-bass and hazy lead vocals, the track successfully mixes krautrock and space rock sounds with the then fresh sound of synth-pop.

Next up is All Trouvee’s ‘Darling’, a thoroughly overlooked 1987 single whose minimalistic sleeve artwork lists each of the now-classic – and then cutting edge – synthesizers used to make the sun-soaked blend of mid-80s synth disco, AOR pop and sunset-ready jazz-funk piano solos.

Equally as impactful is Angel’s ‘Tomorrow Night’, a classic – if little-known – chunk of glossy, laidback synth-pop from 1980 that sounds like something you’d hear on AM radio stations in the early hours of the morning. Its’ sound – all delay-laden Linn drums, synth-horns, Nile Rodgers style guitar licks and echoing lead lines – was actually far sighted for the time but would become more familiar to listeners as synth-pop boomed in the mid 1980s. Those who buy the digital version of the EP will also have access to a longer, club-style mix as well as the short version featured on the 12”.

Rounding off a fine package is ‘Feeling Action’ by Eggs Time, a deliciously warm and woozy chunk of fretless bass-sporting Italian pop/West Coast jazz-rock fusion plucked from a real since of buried treasure: an Italian compilation called – for reasons that aren’t clear – Moby Dick. There’s certainly a tinge of both yacht rock and blue-eyed soul about the track’s gorgeous blend of FM synth sounds, eyes-closed jazz guitar solos, unfussy beats and sweet female lead vocals. It provides a fittingly horizontal finish to a collection packed to the rafters with long-overlooked, sun-baked treats.

More Late 70s/early 80s Westcoast Yachtpop you can almost dance to!
Buoyed by the incredible love felt for TSTD Vol. 1 in summer 2014, Berlin's renowned pop archaeologist, that master musical excavator DJ Super-markt, has leapt straight back into the soft-top and been out digging for the lost gems you'll find here on Volume 2. This is another perfect collection of missing-in-action, late-70s/early-80s smooth, singer/songwriter, AOR-paced, yacht-based pop and blue-eyed soul. Every song brims over with that West Coast sunshine, and for Volume 2 we've dug even deeper into obscure corners of LA, London, even Cologne, to create an even more potent soundtrack to that lost world that's somehow always with us. So join us on another sunset trip as we soundtrack summer 2015 in the company of these lost luminaries. Bask in every detail of that glorious over-production, and recall an era when the music industry had the time, money and sheer musical talent to make everything BIG. Pay no mind to the cynics, the cooler-than-thou-erati, or the buzz kills of the sincerity police. These are big tunes that deserve to be hits, even if it's taken 40 years to get there, driving slowly up that winding California coast road in the wonderful warm summer air.

TEN PERCENT is the debut studio album recorded by Philadelphia-based disco group DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Originally released in 1976 on the Salsoul label, the album reached #40 on the US R&B chart (#129 on the Billboard 200). The album features the title track, which peaked at #2 on the Hot Dance chart, #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #63 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Also featuring the singles “Everyman (Has to Carry His Own Weight)” (#8 US Dance), and “My Love Is Free” (#15 US Dance), as well as the group’s incredible rendition of the Four Tops “Baby I Need Your Loving.” Out of print for over 25 years, this limited-edition reissue contains updated cover sleeve artwork and is pressed on opaque light green vinyl!