tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81949971933843356412024-02-19T01:07:48.845-05:00Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.DJ's Old-Time Granny and Dyn-O-Mite spin old school soul, funk, and disco jams! The show airs on special occasions on WCOM radio, 103.5 FM in Carrboro, NC, and streams online worldwide. <a href="http://www.resoul.org">www.resoul.org</a>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-48335137141112088182021-11-18T11:05:00.108-05:002022-11-21T12:25:23.128-05:00Why you've likely never heard of unsung disco icon Alma Faye Brooks<p>(Editor's note: This post on how the anti-disco backlash cut short the recording careers of Alma Faye Brooks and many other promising Black artists is cross-posted from <a href="https://twitter.com/lostcityforever/status/1461364872944533506">@lostcityforever</a>.)</p>
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<p>Alma Faye Brooks was born in Texas but raised in Montreal. She starred in a touring musical of Hair and in 1977 released the international disco hit <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=ROVe23nHpd8">Stop, I Don't Need No Sympathy</a> which wowed dancefloors with her amazing voice. "It came out and made some noise," Brooks said <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/soul-diva-alma-faye-brooks-rekindles-montreals-disco-inferno">in 2012</a>. "It got some nice numbers. But it's all serendipity. Things just fell into place."</p>
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<p>The following year in 1978, Alma Faye Brooks received the first of her two nominations for Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammy's) for Most Promising Female Vocalist. She was nominated alongside Claudja Barry, but both lost that year to Lisa Dal Bello. Brooks next signed a deal to record her debut LP for Casablanca Records.</p>
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<p>She was also in demand as a backing vocalist. Brooks appeared on Boule Noire's underground disco LP released in 1976, <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1548572-Boule-Noire-Les-Ann%C3%A9es-Passent">Les Années Passent</a>, featuring the legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section. She contributed backing vocals to Geraldine Hunt's 1978 debut LP <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1564053-Geraldine-Hunt-Sweet-Honesty">Sweet Honesty</a> which was arranged by Denis LePage of Lime.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg47TMXWhaPy8rK_sg_oiBhZoMrbbdUgPHplRfyGACvPF0NYM7LceQBTxn8DcbaFb41LO7Md-iryIcpv2y0bl0lAoxSoWZIjKDxJ7Y7lH5ASbv_5C_VfkpgWupOXTIK0EyxgDI9tRBmTnbqnJdGhPjWyk5xa2MH2jTz4szHA8_Kk5fIMqxx5woDrKZk=s690" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg47TMXWhaPy8rK_sg_oiBhZoMrbbdUgPHplRfyGACvPF0NYM7LceQBTxn8DcbaFb41LO7Md-iryIcpv2y0bl0lAoxSoWZIjKDxJ7Y7lH5ASbv_5C_VfkpgWupOXTIK0EyxgDI9tRBmTnbqnJdGhPjWyk5xa2MH2jTz4szHA8_Kk5fIMqxx5woDrKZk=s500"/></a></div></p>
<p>Brooks then began writing her own material. She co-wrote all the songs she recorded for her debut LP. While working on it, she also wrote or co-wrote all songs on another album from her producers, Black Light Orchestra's <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/714897-Black-Light-Orchestra-This-Time">This Time (1979)</a>, like the upbeat, excellent opening cut <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnaw1og1aBY">Show Me</a>.</p>
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<p>Billed simply as Alma Faye, her album Doin' It was released by Casablanca in 1979. The LP's first single <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1wMgWgdGX8">It's Over</a> hit U.S. dance charts that spring. Next came the superb <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=SBEfSDx_XQA">Don't Fall In Love</a> which seemed ready to cross over to a broader R&B audience. But trouble lay ahead.</p>
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<p>Don't Fall In Love by Alma Faye hit Billboard's R&B charts on <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs/1979-07-21/">July 21, 1979</a>. It was barely one week after the infamous Disco Demolition Night at a July 12 Chicago White Sox game that ended in a racist riot as the mostly white male crowd destroyed records by Black artists. That summer, disco was still riding high on radio and the charts. Donna Summer's Bad Girls was the #1 R&B song in America when Don't Fall In Love charted, with Good Times by Chic at #2.</p>
<p>Disco Demolition Night didn't end disco's heyday <a href="https://djrobblog.com/archives/8631">by itself</a>. But it was the most high-profile public event associated with the <a href="https://blkgirlculture.com/blog-2/the-night-disco-died-the-racist-amp-homophobic-end-to-disco">racist, homophobic anti-disco backlash</a> that resulted when bigots finally realized disco threatened white supremacy.</p>
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<p>As the 1970s became the 80s, disco artists felt the backlash. Radio stations dropped disco formats. Major labels scaled back or closed their disco divisions. When labels <a href="https://djrobblog.com/archives/8631">stopped promoting disco records</a> and stations quit playing them, mass audiences stopped buying.</p>
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<p>Countless new artists were buried in the wake of the growing racist hostility to disco. Alma Faye Brooks' crossover moment passed as Don't Fall In Love quickly fell off the charts. Polygram bought out Casablanca Records in 1980 and Brooks was cut from the label.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMdOE-9nW_1iQNnBPftH4tn5swZ2hx7Pj_yYd3s9quMyovlmoKr5hT8KDPifVz2rwja-wYS_DDAKUGflku1lnrz6AfiygOowuSwQ1v1--Nca0W621tfoGec9wH0bRn64RAJcBy0XeWGjELZkGXUosCV4bvXNE1U_J1fwBMGJLdkq_uUMHFQzO-ORRT=s691" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="691" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMdOE-9nW_1iQNnBPftH4tn5swZ2hx7Pj_yYd3s9quMyovlmoKr5hT8KDPifVz2rwja-wYS_DDAKUGflku1lnrz6AfiygOowuSwQ1v1--Nca0W621tfoGec9wH0bRn64RAJcBy0XeWGjELZkGXUosCV4bvXNE1U_J1fwBMGJLdkq_uUMHFQzO-ORRT=s500"/></a></div></p>
<p>Even disco's biggest stars were taken down. “In the summer of '79, Disco Sucks killed my band CHIC,” Nile Rodgers <a href="http://www.nilerodgers.com/blogs/planet-c-in-english/3012-there-is-life-after-death">noted in 2014</a>. Alma Faye Brooks joined other great singers like Sharon Redd, Alton McClain and Chaka Khan's younger sister Taka Boom as artists who never found the widespread success they deserved. partly because they arrived just as the disco backlash was brewing.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlmg9U9xwl46l3kyAGc8FZJ2204vkcGW7uTU1h0Bvqem7UfrAbPXgmO6OmproGGZpfmSI2WhId4lR9IcqBcsauM4scc6mXZymePOheKh33vba3XTt7Z1_p1DwGn3sN4l95dYGRbS1Wn9uBxfYQyyJreZGbzuYv3gQXNyYeB7dn-v2sJPjb9jp8ju7D=s771" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="771" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlmg9U9xwl46l3kyAGc8FZJ2204vkcGW7uTU1h0Bvqem7UfrAbPXgmO6OmproGGZpfmSI2WhId4lR9IcqBcsauM4scc6mXZymePOheKh33vba3XTt7Z1_p1DwGn3sN4l95dYGRbS1Wn9uBxfYQyyJreZGbzuYv3gQXNyYeB7dn-v2sJPjb9jp8ju7D=s500"/></a></div></p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-33127734427394241862021-10-30T16:04:00.263-04:002022-11-21T13:02:01.042-05:00Disco legend Alma Faye Brooks is back with Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye)<p>It's not every day that an unsung disco icon re-emerges and drops a future dancefloor classic. But that's what Montreal's Alma Faye Brooks just did. <b><a href="https://snd.click/hbpw">Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye)</a></b> is a soaring, emotion-packed celebration of life and togetherness that every disco lover should have on their playlists for the holiday season, New Year's Eve, and beyond. She brings a stunning, inspirational vocal performance to this updated, high-energy dance version of what was originally a classical hit for Andrea Bocelli in the 1990s, first solo and later as a duet with Sarah Brightman.</p>
<p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Disco icon Alma Faye Brooks is back with Con Te Partirò (Time to Say Goodbye), a new epic dancefloor journey for 2021. Available Oct. 29 on all platforms worldwide: <a href="https://t.co/iWlZv6Etrq">https://t.co/iWlZv6Etrq</a> Co-prod. by studio legend <a href="https://twitter.com/luongojohn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@luongojohn</a>, remixed by Paul Goodyear. <a href="https://twitter.com/CargoRecords?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CargoRecords</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/soul?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#soul</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/disco?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#disco</a> <a href="https://t.co/RjMEHSgi8Q">pic.twitter.com/RjMEHSgi8Q</a></p>— Soul'ed Out, Un'Ltd. (@resouldotorg) <a href="https://twitter.com/resouldotorg/status/1454539798220316676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>DJ's and dance music fans agree this track is something special. "What a voice!" said DJ Heidi Lawden, the Los Angeles via London <a href="https://www.dublab.com/djs/heidi-lawden">dublab resident</a> who headlines clubs and festivals worldwide. "Will be a classic," <a href="https://twitter.com/RayCaviano/status/1452467294001582081">predicted</a> Ray Caviano, former head of Warner Brothers' disco division and sub-label <a href="https://www.discogs.com/label/17700-RFC-Records">RFC Records</a>. "Very well done," said DJ Josh Cheon, founder of San Francisco’s <a href="https://twitter.com/darkentriesrecs">Dark Entries Records</a>, the label that has kept Patrick Cowley and Sylvester’s legacies alive for a new generation.</p>
<p>Released internationally on October 29, Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) was co-produced by legendary remixer and dance music pioneer <a href="https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2017/11/john-luongo-disco-legend/">John Luongo</a> for his label JLM Recordings. Brooks' longtime collaborator <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/141886-Louis-Toteda">Louis Toteda</a> also co-produced and arranged the track, with accompaniment by the High Steppin' Orchestra. Toteda was the creative force behind the Canadian disco studio group <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/131987-Nightlife-Unlimited">Nightlife Unlimited</a> who released several acclaimed albums.</p>
<p>Alma Faye Brooks is a twice-nominated runner-up for best new artist awards. Yet she remains relatively unknown even to most disco connoisseurs.</p>
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<p>Like so many talented singers of the 70s, <a href="https://souledoutunltd.blogspot.com/2021/12/why-youve-likely-never-heard-of-unsung-disco-icon-alma-faye-brooks.html">her career was just taking off</a> when the racist and homophobic anti-disco backlash began in 1979. As a result, the record-buying public <a href="https://souledoutunltd.blogspot.com/2021/12/why-youve-likely-never-heard-of-unsung-disco-icon-alma-faye-brooks.html">never got to hear her full potential</a>. "I came out doing disco, I was raised on soul and gospel, and it has made me what I am today," said Brooks in a <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/soul-diva-alma-faye-brooks-rekindles-montreals-disco-inferno">2012 interview</a>.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-chhUUo1mvENbBAzI9Nj4jg2Gn4RNFX1fekLwRCjVbT_EfyTpCBYLurdMitXimL2hSOXZsmtamM92dMAq50j0ebYLuQ8Zokt0QTZMy5pRUQ7JvnNJsn5vSal9HaSrVxbWDZfvyhhBXJx3LrS2XJy3HdCk_oWTQDmeteI17Tj7UA1ee0p_k0lciJ0h=s564" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-chhUUo1mvENbBAzI9Nj4jg2Gn4RNFX1fekLwRCjVbT_EfyTpCBYLurdMitXimL2hSOXZsmtamM92dMAq50j0ebYLuQ8Zokt0QTZMy5pRUQ7JvnNJsn5vSal9HaSrVxbWDZfvyhhBXJx3LrS2XJy3HdCk_oWTQDmeteI17Tj7UA1ee0p_k0lciJ0h=s500"/></a></div></p>
<p>She started out as a backing vocalist on Montreal disco records, then scored an international disco hit with <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=ROVe23nHpd8">Stop, I Don't Need No Sympathy (1977)</a>. Her solo LP on Casablanca Records, <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/114678-Alma-Faye-Doin-It">Doin' It</a>, was released in 1979 and is now considered an overlooked disco classic. She toured Europe with disco-funk synthesizer wizard <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/150842-Patrick-Gammon">Patrick Gammon</a> and was featured as a guest vocalist on his 2XLP live set <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1796931-Patrick-Gammon-Band-Spin-The-Jam-Live">Spin The Jam (1983)</a>.</p>
<p>Over the years Brooks has released other recordings in collaboration with Louis Toteda including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1_J52StryQ">I Still Don’t Need Your Sympathy (2013)</a> and the soulful house jam <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50bGwYDV_IA">You Can Count On Me (2017)</a>. The two artists married in the 1980s.</p>
<p>And now, Alma Faye Brooks is back and sounding better than ever in 2021.</p>
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<p>Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) co-producer and JLM Recordings owner John Luongo began his career as a DJ in Boston, where he founded one of the nation’s first record pools. He then became <a href="http://www.disco-disco.com/djs/john-l.shtml">one of the first disco remixers</a>, helping create numerous iconic dancefloor hits for artists including the Jacksons, Patti Labelle, Melba Moore, Dan Hartman, Jackie Moore, and Gladys Knight & the Pips.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzz0HWJPuX2edjDkTB-TZ341Mppst6amCzxu573TdBhHslWSR1ws0Byt_GDwBpP0GohiyXXpkDKoZ2qxja2zAs_Ayu1q8msvcg216fnNK_Efo5mg657vCgKazISCizs729F_Yj_vCiuuA8qTbmPbBTez3QFq57is9w6PP-Kj0wVZw8u9VBhpp-FIN2=s600" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="500" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzz0HWJPuX2edjDkTB-TZ341Mppst6amCzxu573TdBhHslWSR1ws0Byt_GDwBpP0GohiyXXpkDKoZ2qxja2zAs_Ayu1q8msvcg216fnNK_Efo5mg657vCgKazISCizs729F_Yj_vCiuuA8qTbmPbBTez3QFq57is9w6PP-Kj0wVZw8u9VBhpp-FIN2=s500"/></a></div></p>
<p>The second remix Luongo did for the Jacksons, Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) (1979), <a href="https://bricenajar.com/en/john-luongo-en/">helped revive their career</a> at a moment when they were about to be dropped by their post-Motown label Epic Records. Its percussion techniques combined with those on Luongo's previous remix of Blame It On The Boogie (1978) directly influenced the dancefloor-friendly sound that Quincy Jones crafted shortly afterwards for Michael Jackson's breakthrough solo LP Off The Wall.</p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oukXtOD1-hE">extended dance mix</a>, dub and single remixes by renowned San Francisco-based disco DJ/remixer <a href="https://www.sfweekly.com/music/paul-goodyear-on-over-30-years-of-djing-and-his-appreciation-of-disco-icon-sylvester/">Paul Goodyear</a>, Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) is <a href="https://snd.click/hbpw">available on digital platforms worldwide</a>. JLM Recordings is considering a limited signed edition vinyl release in 2022.</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-51769190909808430182019-04-06T15:33:00.001-04:002022-11-17T17:18:35.368-05:00Barbara Roy & Ecstasy, Passion and Pain - If You Want Me (1981)Sometimes, a track comes onto your radar screen and changes everything. This is one of them, so if you haven't heard it before, today is the first day of the rest of your funky life! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Roy" target="_blank">Barbara Roy</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy,_Passion_%26_Pain" target="_blank">Ecstasy, Passion & Pain</a>. I first found out about them from DKB, a cat who ran some killer clubs back in the day and chilled out with legends like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Baker_(musician)" target="_blank">Arthur Baker</a> in NYC. Barbara Roy was the triple threat - a soulful singer and guitarist with gospel roots (born in Kinston, North Carolina) who co-wrote most of Ecstasy, Passion & Pain's songs.<br />
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Her band had some hits in the 70s, but in '81 they dropped this joint right here - <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Barbara-Roy-And-Ecstasy-Passion-And-Pain-If-You-Want-Me/release/183070" target="_blank">If You Want Me</a>. Released on <a href="https://www.discogs.com/label/506651-Roy-B-Records" target="_blank">Roy B. Records</a>, a New York-based disco label owned by Roy Bermingham. Put on your headphones, and get ready for a finger poppin', foot stompin', gospel-flavored, butt thumpin', boogie woogie mind blowin' rollerskate-friendly disco funk anthem!<br />
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<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy Birthday to the magnificent singer/songwriter Barbara Roy (born April 20, 1947). Here's her hypnotic disco funk masterpiece If You Want Me (1981) <a href="https://t.co/SV04KWO4DU">https://t.co/SV04KWO4DU</a> that she co-wrote and took to #3 on dance charts with her group Ecstasy, Passion & Pain. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/disco?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#disco</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/funk?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#funk</a> <a href="https://t.co/KhzwVHtSIR">pic.twitter.com/KhzwVHtSIR</a></p>— DJ Moon Ra (@JointzOfTheDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JointzOfTheDay/status/1384622196400742401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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On the strength of its irresistible groove and timeless lyrics that anyone who's ever felt neglected in a relationship could identify with, this made it to #3 on the dance charts. Barbara Roy went on to hit even bigger, comin' in with a #1 dance smash in '86, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsZhH7oELp0" target="_blank">Gotta See You Tonight</a>. But If You Want Me was probably her masterpiece.<br />
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- Moon Ra</div>
DJ Moon Rahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03626615666126733267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-8467270832035335732016-08-17T23:59:00.001-04:002016-08-18T09:41:03.999-04:00Electronic System - Skylab (1974)<p>On May 14, 1973, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab">Skylab</a> was launched. And apparently, inspired this epic, spaced out Moog joint by <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/185434-Electronic-System">Electronic System</a>, aka <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lacksman">Dan Lacksman</a>, who later formed the Belgian avant garde synthpop group <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telex_(band)">Telex</a>.</p>
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<p>America's first space station orbited the planet until falling back to Earth in 1979. In the pre-internet, pre-cable news era, it was still a global media event.</p>
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<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-6772976674186028712016-08-16T23:55:00.002-04:002016-08-18T00:50:23.292-04:00Jean-Pierre Mirouze - Sexopolis (1968)<p>A long-forgotten original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdlggaf4Fwg">soundtrack</a> from a 1968 French exploitation flick yielded this funky cut. The whole soundtrack would have been lost to the ages if an acetate copy hadn't been <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/review/165982-jean-pierre-mirouze-le-mariage-collectif-original-motion-picture-sou/">rescued from a landfill in Paris</a> a few years back.</p>
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<p>If you can decipher Google's slightly twisted translation, or speak French, you'll dig <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://next.liberation.fr/cinema/2012/12/18/une-bo-d-art-et-dechet_868540&prev=search">this page</a>, which drops some knowledge about the strange career of Jean-Pierre Mirouze, including how he was hired in the late 60s to create the music for a never-completed political film called <a href="http://www.jfk-online.com/farewellturner.html">Farewell America</a>, after a book of the same name. The entire project was supposedly a creation of the French intelligence service, embarked on with the knowledge and/or encouragement of Bobby Kennedy. It was to have featured the full-length Zapruder film (then unseen by the American public), and like the book, explored the possibility that multiple gunmen killed JFK, with backing from a cabal of U.S. oil interests, rogue elements of the CIA, and Kennedy's domestic political enemies.</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-82166537959874231802016-08-15T00:20:00.000-04:002016-08-15T00:23:08.005-04:00Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra - Soul Power (2009)<p>Also known just as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokolo_Afrobeat_Orchestra">Kokolo</a>. Formed in NYC circa 2001, by now these cats have over 50 releases to their credit and apparently are one of the reasons there's been a global Afrobeat revival in recent years.</p>
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<p>From their 2009 LP Heavy Hustling, with a sexy assist from Sheree, doing her original tiger dance! Of course, a reworking of the 1971 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Power">James Brown classic</a>.</p>
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<p>As certain fiends and denizens may recall, the version redone by Maceo and the Macks as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEYgSuIWPTs">Soul Power '74</a> was a <a href="http://www.pinkhouseforever.blogspot.com/">Pink House</a> standard back in the day.</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>
Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-75673609094165953982016-08-14T09:12:00.000-04:002018-09-06T14:12:14.916-04:00The Chakachas - Stories (1972)<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chakachas">The Chakachas</a> were a group of studio musicians from Belgium (including Tito Puente's wife, the singer Kari Kenton) who laid down some seriously funky Latin soul tracks. They were best known for their sex funk hit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Fever_(song)">Jungle Fever</a>, which went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being released in late 1971, and undoubtedly resulted in the birth of many a Gen Xer. It sold over a million copies in the U.S., and was a seminal track of the early disco era, heating up the then-underground dance floor scene.</p>
<p>But this cut right here, Stories, was also a killer.</p>
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<p>Off the follow-up to Jungle Fever, 1972's Los Chakachas, it's a playful groove with lots of giggles and silly background noises, and clearly a song that a lot of folks enjoyed while getting stoned. With <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/29/news/california-marijuana-legalization/">recreational marijuana use on the ballot this November</a> in five more states (California, Nevada, Arizona, Maine, and Massachusetts), it's high time to revisit some classic smoking tracks!</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-55323069037727816222016-08-13T18:30:00.000-04:002016-08-17T09:16:42.497-04:00King Floyd - Groove Me (1970)<p>Went to a wedding today, and this was one of the only decent tracks the DJ threw down.</p>
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<p>Turns out there's a romantic story behind it. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Floyd">King Floyd</a> wrote <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groove_Me">Groove Me</a> as a poem that he planned to give to a coed he was crushing on who worked with him at a box factory in East L.A., since he was too shy to ask her out. But after he wrote it, she never came back to work. "Man, I'd sure like to meet her one day just to thank her," Floyd said in 1999. The track was a #1 hit on the Billboard Soul chart over four non-consecutive weeks in early 1971, and crossed over to the white pop charts, making it to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was working at a New Orleans post office when the song blew up, and Groove Me's success allowed him to quit his job and tour the U.S., pursuing his musical career full time. R.I.P King Floyd (1945-2006).</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-17477987237321116412016-07-02T16:20:00.000-04:002016-08-18T09:43:19.696-04:00Skobie Won - Burn (2015)<P>While hanging out at the new gelato spot today, I ran into a CT-based rapper and producer named <a href="http://www.skobiewon.com/home">Skobie Won</a>. It intrigued me to learn he's out of New London, since I recently relieved the the New London Sal's of all their decent vinyl, and found another large used record stash at a nearby antique mall that yielded some goodies, too. Skobie said he had a big collection, and I bet he does...those producer cats stockpile up all the good crate-dug shit. He just dropped his third album, Drive, and checking out his <a href="http://www.skobiewon.com/">website</a> led me to this very dope electro-flavored track right here, Burn:
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which was the first single off his last album, Bedlam and Squalor. Burn to the ground, baby! Just keep the flames away from the gelato.</P>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-79583776520343027012014-10-29T10:24:00.000-04:002016-08-13T13:12:17.592-04:00Kool & The Gang - I Remember John W. Coltrane (1973)<P>Thinking about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool_%26_the_Gang">Kool & The Gang</a> today, I stumbled onto this rare groove. One of the most beautiful tributes to Coltrane I've ever heard.</P>
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<p>From their 1973 LP <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Kool-The-Gang-Kool-Jazz/release/212886">Kool Jazz</a>, produced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-Lite_Records">De-Lite Records</a> owner Gene Redd. I was aware their jazz lineage ran deep. But I never knew that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk">Thelonious Monk</a> was Robert "Kool" Bell's godfather. They were originally known as the Jazziacs, formed in Jersey City back in 1964. Even though Kool was only thirteen years old at the time, over the next few years they occasionally played with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCoy_Tyner">McCoy Tyner</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharoah_Sanders">Pharoah Sanders</a>.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>
Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-1146185033610568432014-10-15T13:09:00.000-04:002016-08-13T13:42:49.498-04:00Jermaine Jackson - Erucu (1976)<P>One of the records in the small stack I picked up <a href="http://souledoutunltd.blogspot.com/2014/10/thelma-houston-ride-to-rainbow-1979.html">last weekend</a> at the Pitman Street Sal's was the soundtrack to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahogany_(film)">Mahogany</a>.</P>
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<p>Starring Diana Ross and released in 1975, the film sat on the Black Cinema shelf at the <a href="http://lostcityforever.blogspot.com/">Lost City</a> for years, but I haven't seen it yet. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3uatcJqt54">Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)</a> is a Diana classic.</p>
But it was one of the tracks on Side Two that caught my ear. Erucu only clocked in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FqtOIFP_0M">at 1:23</a> on the record, yet it was a funky little Afro-Caribbean flavored breakdown, co-written by Jermaine Jackson and Don Daniels, and arranged by Gil Askey. <a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/225486-Don-Daniels">Don Daniels</a> had an extensive career as a writer/arranger and producer, and is probably best known for co-writing The Originals' biggest hit, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HH08x6Mkg8">Down To Love Town</a>.</p>
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<p>It was properly released the following year as a Jermaine Jackson single, and elevated to legendary status when it became one of Larry Levan's early Paradise Garage re-edits. On <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Larry-Levan-Live-At-The-Paradise-Garage/master/208025">Live At The Paradise Garage</a>, an amazing set from 1979 released by UK label <a href="http://www.discogs.com/label/1213-Strut">Strut</a> in 2000, it was his closing cut.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-55816333831871231132014-10-11T15:00:00.000-04:002016-08-13T13:46:24.053-04:00Thelma Houston - Ride To The Rainbow (1979)<P>We can thank Studio Larry for today's joint.</P>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LI7sh2xErPc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>His car re-materialized, and he was so thrilled, he lost me in traffic before we could go out for lunch to celebrate. I ended up at the Pitman Street Sal's, where I picked through the leftovers from a stash I'd discovered earlier in the week. It was the first chance I'd had in several days to get back over there. After I'd looked through every piece of vinyl in their overflowing stacks, I stumbled onto this, peeking out of a pile of classical box sets. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQA0rPxlFkA">Saturday Night, Sunday Morning</a> is the more celebrated dancefloor number from this record, but the title track blasts off to a rainbow disco in the sky.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-14150117152437702362014-07-25T12:02:00.000-04:002016-08-14T23:02:25.267-04:00B.T. Express - Does It Feel Good (1980)<p>About a year ago, I made a pilgrimage out to the <a href="http://www.bardenfamilyorchard.com/">Barden Family Orchard</a> in northwestern Rhode Island, a spot from my childhood memories. And on the way back, late in the afternoon, found a nearby yard sale in full swing. It was <a href="http://www.scituateartfestival.org/">Scituate Art Festival</a> weekend, so there was a ton of traffic going by their house, and these cats had been slinging stuff all day. When I asked them if they had any records, they took me around the side of the house to reveal boxes and boxes of them. And more in an outside storage shed. I didn't ask any questions right then, just started digging.</p>
<p>Later, after I'd been there for a couple hours, I got the back story. One of the dudes who lived there had recently cleaned out a building in Pawtucket where somebody had been trying to start a resale business, but it hadn't panned out, so they left all the used furniture, books, records, everything just sitting there, destined for the dumpsters. This guy salvaged as much as he could and trucked it back to his house. So who knows where all the vinyl came from originally.</P>
<p>All I knew was that there was a whole bunch of crazy stuff, and I ended up with at least a hundred pieces. Probably more. And there were a ton of 12" promos in great shape, circa '79 and '80. Which I promptly shelved and forgot about for a while. Until this morning, when I pulled this one outta the stacks.</p>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GYXJxiRIduw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<P>Only 500 copies <a href="http://www.discogs.com/BT-Express-Does-It-Feel-Good/release/606537">originally pressed</a>, and immediately blew up in Italy, so the promo was subsequently counterfeited. But this is an original U.S. promo copy. What a great track. Roller disco friendly and very Chic-esque. Produced by <a href="http://www.whosampled.com/Morrie-Brown/producer-sampled/">Morrie Brown</a> for Mighty M Productions, the partnership formed in 1979 by Brown, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Laurence">Paul Lawrence Jones III</a> (aka Paul Laurence) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashif_(musician)">Kashif Saleem</a>, who was previously the keyboardist for B.T. Express. In 1981, Mighty M would helm Evelyn King's classic LP <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_in_Love_(Evelyn_King_album)">I'm In Love</a>. Later in the 80s, Saleem and Laurence would play key roles in creating the so-called <a href="http://hushorpheusproductions.blogspot.com/">HUSH Sound</a> through their work on many HUSH/Orpheus productions released by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus_Music">Orpheus Music</a>. In 1999, "Does It Feel Good" was <a href="http://www.whosampled.com/sample/4854/Phats-%26-Small-Feel-Good-B.T.-Express-Does-It-Feel-Good-(To-You)/">re-worked</a> by British duo Phats and Small as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC6_YU737-8">"Feel Good,"</a> which was a #7 hit for them in the U.K.</p>
<P>Even if <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/artist/randy-muller-mn0000396871/biography">Randy Muller</a> had long since moved on from his involvement with B.T. Express to leading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_Construction">Brass Construction</a> and producing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyy_(band)">Skyy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Cameron">Cameron</a>, this track shows the late-era Express were still funksters to be reckoned with.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-55374002358048595332014-04-30T18:34:00.001-04:002022-11-21T13:23:34.006-05:00Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Don't Take My Coconuts (1983)<P>I think I found this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Creole_and_the_Coconuts">Kid Creole</a> single at the Swansea Sal's.</P>
<center><iframe width="525" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/el3tlHep2Go" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>And then dug up this amazing live version. This performance reminds me of everything I used to dig about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHX7_h4ARPA">BOP (harvey) shows</a> back in the day, and makes me realize I need more Coconuts vinyl in my tree.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-4093968869679478882014-04-14T02:22:00.000-04:002016-08-14T23:18:36.786-04:00Heatwave - Send Out For Sunshine (1978)<p>From Heatwave's second LP, <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Heatwave-Central-Heating/master/120648">Central Heating</a>, comes this upbeat charmer. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bu-S1Tpkg8">The Groove Line</a> may have been the hit single off that record, and sure, it's a classic, but this track shines pretty brightly, too.</p>
<p><center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZBT4JfLKQis" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Another funky track from the same album was Party Poops, and for that one, Heatwave cooked up a particularly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7fo5u42NiQ">funky video</a>. Of course, nothing can top their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9AbllzWQRQ">acrobatic live performance</a> of the title track from their debut record, Too Hot To Handle.</p>
<p>TV One's <a href="http://tvone.tv/category/shows/unsung">Unsung</a> series <a href="http://tvone.tv/5658/heatwave">profiled</a> Heatwave in 2012. It was one of the series' most memorable episodes, because of the shocking tragedies that struck Heatwave at the height of their success.</p>
<p>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-35676694599477785632014-01-17T13:26:00.001-05:002022-11-21T13:27:36.963-05:00Pussyfoot - Dancer Dance (1978)<P>Somehow this joint popped up on my radar.</P>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YzjYKqdqp3o" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>And it's a good thing it did! A driving, proto-hi-NRG track that hit #3 on the British club charts when it was released in '78. With vocals by Donna Jones, who shook her groove thing under the strobelights in a very disco-rific promo video!</p>
<center><iframe width="525" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WzfXV0LLUo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hUW-ar2XbE">The Way That You Do It</a>, an earlier track by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussyfoot">Pussyfoot</a>, was banned by the BBC for its sexually suggestive lyrics when it was released in 1976, and subsequently spent eight weeks as the #1 single in the UK.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-31803472908279816922013-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:002016-08-14T23:47:52.478-04:00Pastor T. L. Barrett & the Youth for Christ Choir - Like A Ship (1971)<P>Last nite I had dinner at the Capital Club in Raleigh with a new friend. Later on, we ran into DJ's Tongue & Groove downstairs at Neptune's, when B. Shaw (aka the longtime employee and <a href="http://www.indyweek.com/music/archives/2013/10/22/nice-price-books-in-raleigh-sold-to-two-employees">new co-owner</a> of Nice Price Books Raleigh) was DJ'ing.</P>
<P>The best thing he played all night was this:</p>
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</center>
<p>An amazing slice of gospel soul from 1971. No telling if it was off an original copy, but I wouldn't be surprised, even tho' it's a <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Pastor-T-L-Barrett-Like-A-Ship-Without-A-Sail/release/3968854">$500 record</a>! I'm jus' sayin', that's the kind of rare grooves you run across when you work in a used record store for several years.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-30420923976581968722013-12-10T15:33:00.000-05:002016-08-14T23:53:14.688-04:00Jurassic 5 - What's Golden (2002)<P>From their double LP <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Jurassic-5-Power-In-Numbers/master/19553">Power In Numbers</a> that dropped in 2002, this track by Jurassic 5 reminds us of everything that was positive and life-affirming about the yes y'allin' days of old school hip hop.</P>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XsZKrctSDaw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>It <a href="http://www.whosampled.com/Jurassic-5/What%27s-Golden/">sampled</a> Prophets of Rage by Public Enemy, and an early 70s track called Look Hear by <a href="http://www.discogs.com/artist/358629-Clive-Hicks">Clive Hicks</a>, who I'd never heard of before digging into the history of this track. But apparently he was a guitarist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22clive+hicks%22">responsible</a> for some seriously funky contributions to the crate-digging universe.</p>
<P>The year after Power In Numbers came out, Jurassic 5 did a show at the Cradle, and while they were in town, three of them <a href="http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-durham-chapel-hill-line/Content?oid=1190374">visited</a> the <a href="http://lostcityforever.blogspot.com/">Lost City</a>. They were all very chill and down to earth, and bought a fat stack of records while they were in the joint.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-27294343468866027322013-12-09T00:56:00.000-05:002016-08-15T00:33:34.935-04:00Yvonne Elliman - I Know (1976)<P><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Elliman">Yvonne Elliman</a> burst onto the scene playing the role of Mary Magdalene in the original Broadway and film productions of Jesus Christ Superstar in the early 70s. She was one of the backup singers on Clapton's version of I Shot The Sheriff. Then she released a couple of albums on RSO records and hit #1 in 1977 with the Bee Gees track she performed on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqaR86L8eH8">If I Can't Have You</a>.</P>
<P>But onto this track right here, which is pretty superb.</p>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/krDf60CGhpI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>And it's the only track on her <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Yvonne-Elliman-Love-Me/master/133319">Love Me</a> LP from 1976 (produced by Freddie Perren) that she wrote herself.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-64049500157105592452013-11-12T19:36:00.000-05:002016-08-15T00:37:24.395-04:00Lady - Get Ready (2013)<P>This afternoon, I was heading back from the Swansea Sal's, where I picked up a copy of Spectacular Space Hits by the Odyssey Orchestra, MC Hammer's 1st album from '88, and a 12" released by Jive Electro in '99 with Bad Boy Bill and Doc Martin doing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7juoUda1M5g">remixes</a> of Tribe and Kool Moe Dee tracks.</p>
<P>Anyway, I turned on the radio and heard a really rockin' jam fading out. The DJ piped up, said we were listening to Cosmik Radio, and next up, we should "get ready for Lady." Then the track kicked in, and I was feeling it big time.</p>
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<p>Lady are a duo featuring former Missy Elliott protege Nicole Wray and UK singer Terri Walker, who <a href="http://noisey.vice.com/blog/nicole-wray-and-terri-walker-unite-to-form-lady">met in New York</a>. Their self-titled, full-length debut <a href="http://truthandsoulrecords.com/albums/lady/">dropped</a> on Brooklyn-based <a href="http://truthandsoulrecords.com/">Truth & Soul Records</a> back in March.</p>
<p>Turns out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cosmik-Radio/180876805266614">Cosmik Radio</a> has been on the airwaves for eight whole years, during which time <a href="https://soundcloud.com/cosmikkrissy">DJ Cosmik</a> has served up heaping helpings of funky goodness for her listeners. A stew of "soulful r&b, hip hop and urban music that is mostly underground or unreleased, as well as incorporating some more popular artists," according to the show's official bio.</p>
<P>DJ Cosmik is also an <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/cosmikkrissy">artist and producer</a> who's apparently toured with Doodlebug from the Digables. And not too long ago she interviewed Devin the Dude!</p>
<P><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/66567248"></iframe></p>
<p>The cosmik consciousness must be spreading, 'cuz now the show's on two other local stations (<a href="http://www.bsrlive.com/shows/cosmik-consciousness">WBSR</a> and <a href="http://www.thebuzz967.com/">The Buzz 96.7 FM</a>) besides broadcasting Tuesdays from 1-3 pm on WRIU! That's positive. Now that we know the score, we'll definitely be tunin' in...</P>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-57141240621064191932013-10-24T11:19:00.000-04:002016-08-15T00:48:57.021-04:00Devin The Dude - Probably Should Have (2013)<p>Devin's back with anotha great track. This one's the newest slice of Devin out there, off his latest album <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/10/17/listen-devin-the-dude-one-for-the-road/">One For The Road</a>, which <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-for-the-road/id712525577">hit the streets</a> on October 8th.</p>
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<p>A laid back tribute to a lady who didn't get the attention she deserved, and how things went down from there. This is a track that will hopefully make you treat the special someone in your life a little better, so you don't end up hangin' round some shithouse all by your lonesome! In <a href="http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2013/10/mixdown-devin-the-dude">this interview</a>, Devin reveals a little bit about what went into One For The Road's creation.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</p>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-79561941802570320772013-10-22T14:46:00.001-04:002022-11-21T13:32:34.778-05:00The Strikers - Body Music (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) (1981)<P>Since <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Various-987-Kiss-FM-Presents-Shep-Pettibones-Mastermixes/release/229611">98.7 Kiss FM Presents Shep Pettibone's Mastermixes</a> finally made it into my rotation the other week, I've heard a bunch of previously undiscovered gems, like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltbiBUVuzTs">Dyin' to Be Dancin'</a> by Empress and France Joli's <a href="http://souledoutunltd.blogspot.com/2013/10/france-joli-gonna-get-over-you-shep.html">Gonna Get Over You</a>. But this one right here might be the prize.</p>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZRgJDzPqt90" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>When Sploo convinced me to buy out Funhouse Records' leftover back stock after they closed down in 1999, which to this day remains the greatest record score I've ever stumbled onto, I ended up with multiple sealed copies of this track's <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Strikers-Body-Music/release/84685">original 1981 release</a> on Prelude, mixed by Francois Kevorkian and Larry Levan. You'd think it wouldn't get any better than that, kids. But it did! Shep Pettibone's mastermix is the definitive word on this track. However, I also have to give props to another Body Music video:</p>
<center><iframe width="525" height="295" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s6jFIooUxds" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></iframe></center>
<p>which features a (modern day) remix of the original Levan/Kevorkian track, synced up with vintage footage of the Strikers performing it at NYC's Peppermint Lounge in the early 80s.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-26270915902578277062013-10-21T15:50:00.000-04:002016-08-15T14:38:07.771-04:00Gossip - Pop Goes The World (2009)<P>Until today, I'd never heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossip_(band)">Gossip</a> before. Now I know what I've been missing. This track is from their 2009 LP <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_Men">Music for Men</a>, produced by Rick Rubin.</p>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IFLWfj_r7kY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>And no, it's not a cover of the Men Without Hats <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zUUtf7gOe8">classic</a>.</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-13480242687827826182013-10-16T10:16:00.000-04:002016-08-15T14:40:21.993-04:00France Joli - Gonna Get Over You (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) (1981)<P>Somewhere along the way, I came across a <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Various-987-Kiss-FM-Presents-Shep-Pettibones-Mastermixes/release/229611">doublepack of Kiss FM classics</a> from 1982, all mixed by Shep Pettibone. Off that comes today's joint of the day, a shout out to the lovelorn out there! In fact, I'll make it long-distance dedication to a woman named <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-garam/">Jennifer Garam</a>, blogger and founder of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writeous-Chicks/28237322605">Writeous Chicks</a>, who last month went on what she thought was a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-garam/i-went-on-a-great-first-date-and-never-heard-from-the-guy-again_b_3944459.html">great first date</a> with a guy she met online, only to never hear back from him.</p>
<center><iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5SlE9n4bd4I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<p>This one's for you, girl!</p>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8194997193384335641.post-28218412909035801732013-10-09T09:00:00.000-04:002016-08-15T14:43:27.535-04:00Mandrill - Ape Is High (1972)<P>This here's a record I had been meaning to listen to for a while before it finally landed on my turntable this morning - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrill_Is">Mandrill Is</a>, the second LP by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrill_%28band%29">Mandrill</a>, which dropped in early 1972. And when the needle hit the groove, the very first track hit me with an eargasmic blast of funk. By the time it was over, I had a mad smile on my face and my day was off to a great start.</p>
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<p>And the rest of the album was dope, too, especially tracks like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4Ip8LGl6qU">I Refuse To Smile</a> and the closer, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ike-PYmESKs">The Sun Must Go Down</a>, which sounds like a missing Strawberry Alarm Clock track off <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9qo8XWz4co">Z-man's party mix</a> from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065466/">Beyond The Valley of the Dolls</a>. I first discovered Mandrill thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/DJBRORABB">DJ Bro Rabb</a>, aka Phil Bell, who gave me a mixtape about 15 years back that I think had their first LP on one side, and a classic Detroit Emeralds album on the other. Originally formed in Brooklyn in 1968, the band's nucleus were the Panama-born Wilson brothers (Carlos, Lou, and Ric). In a <a href="http://artonair.org/show/ape-is-high-brc-gets-deep-with-mandrill">2012 interview</a> given shortly before Lou Wilson's January, 2013 <a href="http://fleamarketfunk.com/2013/01/09/rip-lou-wilson-of-mandrill/">death</a>, he and Ric described the origins of their polyglot funk sound as the "melting pot" of music from all corners of the world that the brothers heard while growing up in Panama. I never knew that Mandrill contributed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yB6I-BbDGI">a track</a> to The Warriors soundtrack, which is a joint for another day, since I just scored that record at a yard sale last month.</p>
<P>A German pressing, this particular copy of Mandrill Is came from a antiques mall in Rhode Island I visited earlier this year. Convinced dude at the counter to sell it to me for two or three bucks, because it was a little scratched. It does skip on one totally out-there track, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph01B-hDmtc">Universal Rhythms</a>, which is too bad, because that particular track showed Mandrill was onto some meaning of life shit as they broke down the rhythms of the universe, all explained by the Enchanting Wizard of Rhythm. But I was still able to decipher the track's central message, a timeless reminder for us all - "Higher levels of consciousness demand rhythms of peacefulness."</P>
<P>- Dyn-O-Mite</P>Soul'ed Out, UnLtd.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15395870054247510300noreply@blogger.com0