Pop & Rock News

From the archives of the legendary BELTER and DISCOPHON labels, essential to understand the birth of the Catalan Rumba and Flamenco-Pop genre in Spain, we've selected 14 dance-friendly tracks taken from overlooked LPs and 45s.

This is the real gipsy-funk sound, full of screaming flamenco vocals, funk drums, electric guitars, wah-wah, organ, electric bass, exotic percussions, soulish horns, latin and even oriental touches...

Featuring folkloric ye-yé singers, gipsy princes, teen rumba stars and groovy rumba-pop bands: DOLORES VARGAS La Terremoto', CHANGO, ROSA MORENA, RUMBA 3, EL PRÍNCIPE GITANO, EL NOI...

*Master tape sound

*Insert with photos and liner notes by Txarly Brown (Achilifunk)

In May 1976 a record was released that would have an unforeseen and lasting impact on the music industry Ten Percent' by Double Exposure was an early release on the New York independent label Salsoul Records. America was in the grip of a disco explosion with new clubs opening on a weekly basis, Salsoul saw what was happening and swiftly created a sound for their label, heavily influenced by the music then coming out of Philadelphia, aimed directly at New York's dance-floors. Records like Salsoul Hustle,' Tangerine' and You're Just The Right Size' by The Salsoul Orchestra borrowed heavily from the beautifully orchestrated Philadelphia International records but added a more percussive, bass heavy depth that New York's DJs loved. So what was so special about this particular single then Double Exposure was, after all, just another band, Ten Percent' just another song, one of many disco' records released that week. First of all Salsoul became the first record label to make a twelve inch single available to Joe Public - the exotic format was previously only available to DJs as promotional items or bought under the counter at certain record stores. Not only that though, the extended version was created by Walter Gibbons, a DJ at New York's Galaxy 21 who'd built his reputation making exclusive versions of tracks to play in his sets. In 1976 it was unheard of for a DJ to set foot in a recording studio, being seen as little more than living jukeboxes by the serious music industry. Recording studios were strictly the domain of recording artists and producers so Walter found himself in a unique position, gaining access to a world no DJ had been granted before. Or so we thought...
The Men In The Glass Booth tells the full story. Featuring ground breaking re-edits and remixes by some of the Disco era's most influential DJs including Walter Gibbons, Bobby DJ Guttadaro, Tom Savarese, Jellybean Benitez, Tee Scott and John Luongo, this opulent release also includes a 40 page book which features exclusive photos and insights from some of the story's key figures.

Casino Times continue on their crusade into the speakers of Earth's hottest dancing spots with the fourth edition of the Casino Edits series.

For the A-Side, the duo encapsulate the energy that has made the previous records in the series so memorable, this time by taking the cosmic sounds of a Space Disco favourite and reconstructing it into a punchy, euphoric, electronic symphony.

The B-Side sees the BPM's drop and the concepts become more left-of-centre.
The B1, a cut-up UK Grunge head nodder, features gritty guitars, a sludgy bassline and a pulsating synth lead.
Whilst on the B2, a well-loved Italo essential is reincarnated as a dramatic piece of sequenced bliss..

Before the release of their self-titled debut, the six-man collective of Crash Crew had already released several singles around New York City. Stories go that one of their first, "High Powered Rap" would later be copied by Sugar Hill Records' own Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and form the basis for their first national hit "Freedom", almost certainly leading to animus between the two groups. Regardless, Crash Crew also ended up on Sugar Hill Records, and released their full-length debut through the label in 1984. Crash Crew, along with Treacherous Three, T La Rock, and the aforementioned Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, would become vanguards of the first true generation of early hip-hop music, with Crash Crew in particular being exceptionally good at party anthem raps. Their debut meanwhile would find new life as a crate digger's dream, and prime sample material for De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Black Eyed Peas, and Cut Chemist.

The apparition of Spanish female duo Las Grecas with their Gipsy-Rock sound in the 70s created quite a boom in the Spanish market at the time and paved the way for other similar gipsy-rock duos.

Morena y Clara were one of them. Launched by bizarre flamenco producer Lauren Postigo, they released a string of 45s and three LPs (highly sought after now) for the Discophon label. They mixed Rumba, Flamenco, Psychedelic Rock, Funk and Disco Music featuring an amazing production (heavy drums, fuzz-wah-phaser electric guitars, Moog, Hammond) over the wild flamenco female vocals of the duo.

Here's a compilation spanning 1974-1978, featuring their psychotronic hits like No llores más', Dejé de quererte', Buscando alegría' and more.

Insert with liner notes by Txarly Brown (Achilifunk) and photos.

Die Begegnung zwischen den Produzenten, Musikern und langjährigen Freunden Nicola Conte und Gianluca Petrella bringt uns eine 12" EP mit Einflüssen aus Detroit, Afro Spiritual Jazz und zeitgenössischer Disco-Atmosphäre. Der A-Side Track "African Spirit" ist ein spirituelles Mantra, ein einfacher Dancefloor-Groove, der ein ekstatisches Gefühl erzeugen kann. Der "New World Shuffle" auf der anderen Seite ist auf dem gleichen Element aufgebaut und wird durch die Vocals von Bridgette Amofah ergänzt, was eine tolle Tribal-Stimmung erzeugt.

First ever vinyl reissue of this sought-after synth-pop /cosmic disco / funk / boogie album from 1983! Lots of Vocoder, analogue synths & keyboards, heavy drum machines, spacey vocals, bossa / Brazilian touches, cosmic effects...

The RAH Band was the brainchild of legendary English producer & arranger Richard Hewson. They debuted in 1977 with the cosmic glam hit The Crunch', on which Richard, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, played all the instruments himself. In 1983, he released Going Up' the second RAH Band album, where he also played most of the instruments himself, helped by several drummers, a brass section and the sweet vocals of his wife Liz Hewson. Including massive club classics like Messages From The Stars', Perfumed Garden' and more.

A 1980's classic which has influenced everyone in the dance scene from Daft Punk and Goldfrapp to Richard X, Dam Funk or Cornelius.

Featuring newly remastered sound.

Having been endorsed by Andrew Weatherall on his June 2017 NTS radio show, the band were inspired to release this four-track vinyl EP on their own label Big Shanty Records.

A heady mix of influences colour The Spellbinder Project sound, with elements of jazz, post punk, psych and funk in the blend. These tracks were produced by Malcom Catto, head instigator of the Heliocentrics and collaborator with DJ Shadow, together with Mike Burnham, who has worked extensively with Little Barrie.

The core band of Sean Pereira Summers (guitar), Michael Levison (bass) and Michael Rathbone (drums) are joined live by Lascelle Gordon from Vibration Black Finger on percussion and Chris Williams from Led Bib on saxophone.

The Vivien Vee project, an Italian singer discovered and produced by young duo Claudio Simonetti - Giancarlo Meo, has certainly been one of the first and best attempts to impose a clear European-style disco music. The first tracks, as well as the sequels, will be released from the banana records and the real big international success comes in 1983 with this album "with vivien vee", thanks in particular to the 2 strong singles "Higher" and "Blue Disease". This album, produced entirely by Giancarlo Meo, contains, in this rare special edition, 6 tracks in extended original versions, very rare to be found individually. Featuring a sound that is still up to date, it also meets the most demanding palates for the finest style of the best disc, all in one single vinyl: From the powerful and robust funky electronic to "Destiny" and "Wanna Feel" reminding of the best production of Change and Peter Jacques Band, still transmitted by milano international classic, "Gotta Go" in pure Imagination style, to the absolute pearls in "Higher" (cult of disco-disco) and "Blue Disease" explosive electro break synth-pop. Particularly important is that the texts are signed by the great Rossana Casale. Basically a vinyl that is unmissable for any collector or fan of the best Italian productions in the 80's.

Originally released in 1981. 12 track single black vinyl, including "Mary's Boy Child".

Strut present a new reissue of Walter Gibbons' 'Jungle Music' compilation LP, the definitive collection of Gibbons' groundbreaking remixes during the heyday of New York's disco era.Starting out as a DJ and known for his skilful manipulation of percussive disco breaks at his Galaxy 21 residency in Manhattan, Gibbons brought this ethic to his remixes from the start with his first outing for Salsoul, a re-work of Double Exposure's 'Ten Percent' which completely disassembled the track for the dancefloor. He developed a knack for drawing the rhythmic essence out of both the brilliant and the mediocre as tracks like Jakki's 'Sun... Sun... Sun' were transformed into unique abstract dancefloor beat edits.The tracks spawned a series of groundbreaking remixes, with many versions only appearing on acetate for his own personal use as a DJ including Gladys Knight's 'It's A Better Than Good Time'. He continued to work with Salsoul (Loleatta Holloway) and West End Records (Bettye Lavette) before branching out to include more leftfield material in his work - collaborations with Loose Joints' Steve D'Acquisto (Sandy Mercer), Steve Standard (Strafe) and Arthur Russell would all follow, a natural fit for Gibbons' uncompromising remix style.

After a short time based in Seattle during the late '70s, where he played at the Sanctuary nightclub, he returned to New York and, in his later years, he discovered God and refused to play records with a negative message. Tragically, he died of an AIDS related illness during the '90s, a largely forgotten figure.

Now revered as a true pioneer of the art of the remix, Gibbons' key releases are brought together on this essential celebration. Package includes sleeve notes by Tim Lawrence, author of the acclaimed 'Love Saves The Day', along with rare photos from across Gibbons' career as a DJ and producer.






[F] C2 | Arts & Craft I've Been Searching (Walter Gibbons 12" Mix)

In his late teens Rev. Gary Hairston wasn't only serving the Lord, he was also a member of funk outfit OPUS 7, that recorded the great album "Thoughts" in 1979. Although it was distributed nationwide, the group album was not very successful. In 1983 the Winston-Salem, NC native Gary Hairston delivered the now mega rare album "Chilling Out", his debut solo-album under the moniker GARY. It was recorded under the auspices of legendary musician/producer Harry Deal at his Galaxie III studios. Now the album is a well sought after electro, funk and boogie classic, and EVERLAND is proud to present the very first and official reissue of this previously almost unobtainable private press nugget.

The label focus on a specific musical need and want to offer a contemporary garage house,
raw and essential interpretation of some rare groove hits and other disco classics.

Master at: Reel Mastering
Pressed by: MPO
Artwork by: Riccardo Banfi and Mirko Pisanelli

Filip Nikolic and Jeffrey Paradise are good friends who are inspired by California, mezcal, dancing, good food, and friends. Filip is a Danish producer now living in LA who plays bass in Ima Robot, Jeffrey throws the infamous Blow Up party in San Francisco and used to be in the hardwave band the Calculators with Luke and Vito from the Rapture. Poolside's debut single Do You Believe' was charted by Todd Terje, Dimitri From Paris, and The Magician, and Dazed & Confused praised the song for its pop-tinged disco, brimming with optimistic vocals and retro acid synths,' while NME lauded its supremely casual decadence.' Take Me Home,' Poolside's second song to be released, was the first song on Aeroplane's In Flight Entertainmentcompilation.

ITALO-DISCO !!!VINYL 12"!!!REPRESS!!!

ITALO-DISCO !!!VINYL 12"!!!!REPRESS!!!

Cultures of Soul is back! This time it's with a new set of 12"s - the Carib Boogie Synth series. Featuring the iciest synths, the slickest basslines, and other '80s-sounding vibes from the Caribbean islands, all of the tracks are fully licensed. First up in the series is the killer Junior Byron track "Trying To Hold On," written and produced by Wild Fire's Oliver Chapman and originally released on the Wild Fire label back in 1985. The A-side includes the original mix as well as the Version. On the B-side we've got the epic "Megamix." The track was reworked by Gerd Janson, who created the mix old-school style with two copies of the record, a mixer, and an EFX box. Adding the final touches to this track is mixing and mastering engineer LOPAZZ, who mastered many of the best techno tracks in the Get Physical catalog and released the seminal dance-classic "I Need Ya" on Output.

repress!

La Bestiole is a tiny little creature that love old and unusual dance music. Digging, cutting, gluing, and loving.

Repress!

Even if Hamilton Bohannon had never started his own solo musical project, he would have a long and rich background to his name. Before the 60s had ended he'd played in local bands with Jimi Hendrix, toured as a drummer with Stevie Wonder, and served as the bandleader and arranger at Motown, providing backing for top-like acts like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, and many more. Gradually he made his way to Los Angeles to sign with Dakar Records in 1972, recording and releasing his debut album the next year, after recruiting a backing band which included session giants like Ray Parker Jr, Wah Wah Watson, Eddie Watkins, and Leroy Emmanuel, to name but a few. Stop & Go was released in 1973, and featured a tried and true formula of hard-hitting, bass-heavy, accented disco-funk. Although the album was only a muted success on the Hot 100 charts, it excelled on the club charts, making dancefloor hits out of tracks like "The Pimp Walk", "It's Time For Peace", and "The Stop & Go." It also featured Bohannon's most well-known tracks, in the club banger "Save Their Souls", which over time became a frequently-used well of sampling material, notably on tracks by Jay-Z, Large Professor, Kool G Rap, Public Enemy, and DJ Vadim, among many others.

There were several groups within the Detroit music scene that shared the name of 'The Holidays'. From the 1950's through to the late 1960's our version of The Holidays who took their name from a group members car, a 1954 Oldsmobile 'Holiday', would record for the Star-x, Markie, Master and Holiday record Labels. Founding member James Holiday would also briefly pursue a solo career with releases on the Markie, Syco and Blue Rock labels respectively.
In 1969 James joined by his brother Jack, a baritone saxophonist and the former leader of the band within influential Detroit DJ 'Frantic' Ernie Durham's legendary Gold Room at the 20 Grand Theatre. The brothers together, with Maurice White and former Contours member Joe Billingslea formed 'The New Holidays' who recorded the 'Popcorn' Wylie produced song Maybe So, Maybe No' (Soul Hawk 1008). This current in demand 45 featured If I Only Knew' on the flipside, an excellent cover version of a previous Jimmy (Soul) Clark recording If I Only Knew Then (What I Know Now)' This was recorded at a later session to Maybe So, Maybe No' and featured a slightly different line up with Joe Billingslea making way for a youthful Elliot Smith.
By 1972 The Holidays found themselves without a label, so they formed their own, Marathon Records. Their initial release was the excellent double sider I'm So Glad (That I Met You)/Too Many Times' (Marathon 257). Both songs were written by James Holland and Sylvester Potts another former member of the Motown group 'The Contours' and were recorded under the artist name of 'The Fabulous Holidays.
Into 1973 and their next release was the soulful ballad Getting Kind Of Serious' (Marathon 18475) a Fritz Hale and Fredrick Charles Hawkins composition backed with an instrumental version. Followed by Ego Tripping' (Marathon 18475) an upbeat funky little mover backed with the ballad Lazy Day' written by James Holland, Anthony Hawkins and Fritz Hale.'
During 1975 The Holidays resumed their acquaintance with former record store owner Ronald Holmes a collaboration which led to the release of another excellent double sider This Is Love b/w The Love We Share' on the Rob-Ron (RR-75) label. The Love We Share' was recorded twice. Firstly as the issued 45 version under the shortened title of The Love We Share' and as an unissued longer version under the title of (Been Together Too Long) The Love We Share' with slightly different lyrics. During 1976 a further Holland/Holmes collaboration saw the release of the message song Procrastinate (Why Do We)' (Ron-Hol 76). After this release Ronald Holmes and the Holidays parted company.
During late 1976 into 1977 the Holland brothers wrote and produced two further songs which they recorded with Charles Hawkins (a founding member of the Psychedelic Rock and Funk Band, 'Black Merda') The up tempo dance track You Make Me Weak' and the less frenetic Lost Love' although never issued at the time both songs can be found on the recently released Soul Junction cd album Getting Kind Of Soulful' (SJCD5012). A later discovery of a alternative take of You Make Me Weak' (Take 2) is now available on vinyl for the first time backed with their uptempo dancer I'm So Glad (That I Met You)' The Motorcity continues to yield its long lost legacy.