Breaks, Beats and Bleeps

Jazz Funk Sikhs

2009-10-07T15:19:00.015+01:00

I recently went to a wedding near Torquay and while i was there for the weekend managed to pop into Exeter at the weekend. I was obviously on the hunt for charity shops and even some record shops. The last time i was in Exeter was when i was 16 or 17 on a Geography field trip and remembered finding a few record shops then (i even bought a jungle record which i still have). But this was 13 years later and after walking around for a bit i couldnt even spot any charity shops. Eventually getting desperate i headed off down one of the alleys either side of the main drag which looked more promising. My spider sense must have been working as at the end of the alley i stumbled on a second hand shop. It was more of a rock shop but i managed to pick up a few pieces including a US 7" of Kraftwerk - Numbers and a original US Atco pressing of Jack Bruce - Songs For A Tailor. As i was leaving i enquired if there were any record shops in the city centre and was given directions to another but was told to hurry as the owner closed early on Friday. I got there in double quick time and emabarked on a bit of speed digging doing all the £1 boxes and then concentrated on the Soul and Funk racks. They mainly held reissues but dotted amongst them were a few original. I purchased a Julius Brockington LP and then the record i want to talk about here: Lonnie Smith - Keep On Lovin'.

I remember vividly that my mum and dad had a copy of this amongst their small stash of LP's and i also remember before i seriously got into records i absolutely trashed it. This was when i was about 12 or 13 and i remember then thinking what a load or rubbish the music was. So when i saw a copy in the shop in Exeter i knew i had to buy it. When i got it home i was mightly impressed and also realised there was a difference between the artist here and Lonnie Liston Smith who i had naively thought were the same person.

Lonnie Smith or Dr Lonnie Smith as he was also known is a jazz organist and pianist who came to prominence with collaborations with George Benson and Lou Donaldson in the 60's before forging a solo career which is still going strong (he was voted Organist Keyboard of the year 5 times in the last 7 years). In the mid 70's his output can be considered Jazz Funk and it was at this time he converted to Sikhism (did you wonder why he was wearing a turban on the sleeve above?). The Keep On Lovin' LP was released on the Groove Merchant label in 1976 and contains 6 superb tracks. I could only find a few on Youtube so here is one for your listening pleasure.

Lonnie Smith - Lean Meat

Black Rascals - So In Love

2009-10-02T14:26:00.008+01:00

I'd never heard this before a few years ago but the pure soul of this piece of soulful vocal garage has elevated it right into my top 10 all time garage records. Released on Polar Records in 1993 the Black Rascals were 2/3 of New Jersey garage pioneers Blaze using vocalist Cassio James Vincent Ware II (yes apparantly this is his real name!) from Backroom Productions. The vocals are superb and heartfelt but it is the deep bassline and piano that really marks this track out as something special.

This the original press is as like most Blaze related releases not cheap and a mint copy will set you back in the region of £30-40. It was remixed (poorly i must add) and released on the italian D:vision Records label including the classic Shelter Mix and this copy shouldnt set you back more than £10 for a minter.

Black Rascals - So In Love (Shelter Mix)

Jungle Jammin' For A Holy Grail

2009-09-30T16:11:00.011+01:00

Holy grail is a term bandied round a bit too often if for example you peruse the pages of eBay on a regular basis but last month i acheived my first mythical status find in over 15 years of record collecting. An unassuming trip to Londons Music & Video Exchanges was going averagely (Notting Hill just isnt what it used to be) but i soldiered on and amongst the 50p section of Camden's bargain dance 12"s i spotted a record that looked out of place. I immediately pulled it out and onto my small pile and racked my brains to where i had seen or heard of it before. A quick check on Discogs via my mobile and i took a sharp intake of breath. Was it possible that one the rarest records of the early 90's was now in my grasp and what was the reception i would get if the guy at the counter had any kind of knowledge and spotted it. I carried on and finished flicking through all of the racks even pulling out a mint copy of Soma 1 and headed to pay. The Soma record was looked at inquisitively but the Jungle Jam record barely got a glance.

I knew i was onto a rare record but on checking at home that night after the irritatingly long journey home i found it had sold previously on eBay (albeit in slighty better condition than my copy which by the way was at least Very Good+) for £440 and 2 copies currently languished on Discogs for just under £300.

I doubt i will ever see this record again which makes keeping it slightly annoying as unfortunately to me the rareness doesnt equal greatness in this case. It is a very adequate warehouse tune sampling Derrick May's Wiggin' bassline but nothing to make me excited musically. Maybe i had to be there in 1990 or had listened to it on an nth generation Grooverider tape. And maybe im being too harsh but for now this beauty is going nowhere.

Robins Wants Revenge - Well (Franklie) My Son

Soul and Jazz (Funk) Heaven

2009-09-30T14:30:00.016+01:00

It's been a while again but im now vowing to get back and do a post a week. I've still been digging like mad and have had some crazy finds in recent months (one of them probably the best find ive ever had but more about that later) but today its time for one of my most recent purchases.

Ive had the great fortune to meet a colleague of my housemate who has a great Soul and Jazz collection which he wants to dispose of. Literally 2 minutes walk from my house around 1000 LP's spanning the late 50's to early 90's. I knew this guy had great knowledge from meeting him a few times before but i was quietly suprised to see it backed up with an impressive record collection. I have been round to see him twice so far and so far bought 21 LP's for a very reasonable price (neither he or i know the exact prices for these records so i made offers and he seemed very happy to accept - hopefully knowing they would be going to a good home). I also have the bonus of taking home a handfull of LP's each week to listen to them which is invaluable as my knowledge on this type of music is some what limited.

So heres the list of what i have garned so far:

Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Lifeline
Grover Washington, Jr. - Soul Box Vol.1
Ramon Morris - Sweet Sister Funk
Lonnie Smith - Gotcha'
Lonnie Smith & George Benson - Europa Jazz
New Birth - Birth Day
Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes - Visions Of A New World
Various - The Great March On Washington
James Brown - Sex Machine Today
James Brown - Everybody's Doin' The Hustle & Dead On The Double Bump
Creative Source - Creative Source
Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band, The* - In The Jungle, Babe
Larry Willis - Inner Crisis
Temptations, The - Cloud Nine
The Impressions - Three The Hard Way (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Lonnie Liston Smith - Live !
John Handy - Hard Work
Herbie Hancock - Flood
Jimmy Owens - Jimmy Owens
Booker T & The MG's - The Booker T. Set
Harold Vick - Don't Look Back

So the track i wanna showcase to you today is from an artist i'd not heard of before - Larry Willis. Full name Lawrence Elliot Willis born in 1940 he played piano and composed on a number of jazz , afro-beat and afro-cuban records in the middle to late 60's and early 70's during which time he was also a member of the blues and jazz rock group Blood, Sweat And Tears. I managed to purchase his first solo LP from 1974 on the classic New York label Groove Merchant. The track i want you to hear is "Out On The Coast" which starts the album off with some funky as hell drums, keyboard flourishes and some grooving horn action.

Larry Willis - Out On The Coast

Its been a while

2009-06-03T14:26:00.006+01:00

Manu Dibango - New Bell

2009-04-01T12:02:00.012+01:00

I scored some really interesting records at the weekend all thanks to South Eastern trains. Circumstances meant i was in the right place at the right time as the train to my initial destination of Herne Bay was replaced by a bus service so i hopped on the train to Canterbury instead. After id gone through the stock that was already in the racks in my local shop including some World music LP's and better than average collection of 60's singles a couple walked in from the street carrying 4 bags of LP's. This "collection" had belonged to a relative from Switzerland and these records had travelled around a bit. They must have been a dance teacher as the majority were ballet records but there was a very healthy smattering of blues, soul, reggae and jazz along with a few disco 12"'s. I didn't recognise too much but took all the interesting records that were in good nick.

One i did recognise was Manu Dibango's - Soul Makossa LP from 1972 from the title track. Credited as being one of the first "disco" tracks after being picked up by David Mancuso for play at his legendary Loft club, this mid tempo jazzy breaks led number has influenced many artists in the preceding years including Michael Jackson and more recently Rihanna. A stone cold classic basically.

The track i want you to hear though is the first track on the B side of the LP - New Bell. Starting off with a wicked funky guitar riff and simple but funky as hell bassline the drummer and congo player let loose after a series of African chants. Its then time for Manu Dibango's saxophone underpinned by some nice jazz keyboards. And that's it. A pure groove from a tight as hell band. This is the definition of Afro-funk.

Manu Dibango - New Bell

Family Of Eve - Please Be Truthful

2009-03-19T16:35:00.010Z

First appearing into collectors wants list after appearing on Keb Darges's first Legendary Deep Funk compilation the Family Of Eve originated from Pittsburgh, USA and released their debut 7" single on Jeree Records circa 1979/80 and a limited 50 copy blue vinyl repress on Full Sail Records shortly after. They also released a follow up single on Full Sail called Having It So Bad/I Don't Want To Pay and that is all the extent of the information i can find online about them.

Incredibly rare and collectable the songs have also the bonus of being superb tight pieces of soul which is realised in the prices the rare copies that have entered the market have sold for. The Jeree 7" has gone for $825 online and the Full Sail $565. Even the 2006 repress on Lotus Land Records regularly goes for $40+ but the cheapest way to pick it up is on the BBE release from 1998 which shouldn't set you back more than £10.

A repress on the Full Sail label (I'm not sure if this is genuine or a bootleg) appeared in 2007 but this contains a different extended version of the track and I haven't been able to track down a sound file to compare.

A final note is that it is a true crime against music that a track this good with a singer and musicians at the top of their game made no indent into the scene at the time when it is clearly obvious that this would have kicked the shit out of 99% of any other chart release. It has taken over 20 years for this to find its market and still 99% of the listening public probably couldn't give a damn.

Family Of Eve - Please Be Truthful

Fast Floor - 7th Heaven

2009-02-11T11:02:00.006Z

I first heard this on an old Top Buzz studio tape i purchased in 1994 and had the fortune to buy the first 3 Smooth Recordings (the ones with blue labels before the later label redesign) from a local DJ who was selling up. I remember thinking that £3.00 a record was expensive but on hearing what was on them i quickly changed my mind. The work of bonafide studio genius Ron Wells (aka Jack Smooth of the Basement Records label) and Paul Frazer Clarke the 6 tunes on the first 3 Smooth Recordings releases carry the torch on for its parent label albeit with a slightly less dark undertone.

This the second release follows the great formula the majority of Ron Wells engineered tracks with opening beats, main melody, bassline, string breakdown, more beats leading to the final string breakdown before the outro beats finish the track. Both sides are great but my pick is 7th Heaven just edging Mind Sweeper out. These were some of the final "Basement" sounding tracks produced before the jungle and d&b sound took over which is a shame in one way but I look on it as a good thing that this sound was never over exposed and still stays fresh to this day.

I wore out the already worn copies of my 3 Smooth Recordings and sold them in a great purge i had a few years back of records that i wanted to get better condition replacement copies of. I have since managed to replace Smooth 001 and 002 but am still waiting for 003 to pop its ugly head out. My initial £3.00 investment has produced dividends as all 3 releases are extremely sought after. This one goes for £30.00 + in mint condition but it is hard to find nice copies because of the thin markable vinyl that was used on this and Basements 12"s from 1993 and onwards.

Fast Floor - 7th Heaven

14 Long Years

2009-01-30T15:03:00.020Z

I had just turned 16 and was starting the 6th Form of my Secondary School. 1994 was the year and i was just starting my love affair with dance music and hardcore/drum and bass in particular. Back in them days money was tight and i couldn't afford to buy records so like many teenager of the time i bought tape packs from the big raves of the day. Id already bought in the summer the Dreamscape 11 pack from July?? and the World Dance pack from the same month so it was in September?? that i travelled to Richard Records in Canterbury and purchased the brand new Helter Skelter tape pack. At this point in my life i was into both the happy hardcore and jungle sounds which this tape pack perfectly catered for. I remember playing each tape one after each other and soaking up the new exclusive tunes that each DJ was playing. For the next few months until the next tape pack came out these tapes got a constant battering. While happy hardcore was starting to evolve into the 4/4 stompy beat sound and jungle was splintering into intelligent and jump up styles i started to make it my mission to track these records i was hearing down. Back then with having no real contacts that were DJ's and barely having stepped into an independent record shop things were tough. I started by Mixmag magazine but its jungle reviews section was poor so moved onto Eternity magazine which really followed the underground sounds. I pieced together information on the main records i wanted and a few months in 1995 i started buying records at a rate of 1 every couple of weeks.

Fast forward 5 years. My knowledge had grown exponentially and i was making regular visits to London snapping up cheap tunes by the bagful. I was in contact with other people with similar love for the classic days of hardcore and jungle and the list of unknown records on the tapes that i knew and loved was diminishing rapidly. However there was one tune on the Dr S Gachet tape from the Helter Skelter tape pack that was eluding me. A simple amen tearer with a lush string break and the classic "I love the way you hold me" sample. Surely someone must know this i thought as i ripped a small clip directly from the tape and uploaded it to some web space a friend had let me use.

Fast forward on another 8 years to the end of January 2009. I was trawling YouTube to look for clips of records that might make me part with my (not so) hard earned. A record on the Strictly Underground label from 1995 caught my eye. This label had been massive in 1991 and 1992 but had lost its way in 1993 and 1994 and its later releases were quite hard to get hold of especially in South East Kent. The clip started and the amen beat reared its head (yawn) for the 2 millionth time for this era of drum and bass. I was about to click onto another record but i moved the track on a bit and straight into the string break id been searching for 14 years for. I literally couldn't believe my ears but i gathered my composure and within 2 minutes had found the record on discogs and ordered a mint copy for £8.50 (leaving 4 other cheaper copies that weren't in as good condition).

Well whats all the fuss about? Its a great solid example of 1994 drum and bass. Nothing truly groundbreaking or amazing but the 14 year gap had built it up to near mythical status with me. Now the initial joy is over and i have the record in my hand i am calm and eagerly awaiting solving the next long standing unknown. I can draw parallels to completing a difficult puzzle like a Rubiks cube for example. When the initial buzz is over you need that next challenge. Bring it on!!

Drum + Bass - FB1 (Sub Kick Mix)

Vile Charity Shop Harridans - Pt 5

2009-01-21T14:19:00.003Z

Here's a quick update on the local digging i've been doing in my local charity spots which have been bountiful if not in quality but in quantity in recent weeks.

Ive been back to both shops where i had the opportunity to look through all their records with a view to getting rid of the crap they will never be able to sell. In Ramsgate i've spent about 4 hours over 2 separate days and approximately 95% of what i saw needed to be chucked. Unfortunately the area manager of the shop got involved and instead of skipping the records they are now going to be taken to other branches. Note to self - avoid these branches at all cost!! I pulled a couple of things out for myself but they were very run of the mill so nothing to get excited about. I'm still waiting to see what he has in storage so i have my fingers crossed.

In Cliftonville i went through the other shop and again 95% are due to be skipped. Unfortunately they don't have anymore records contrary to what i was told in December so that avenue is exhausted for the time being.

Other shops have been kinder and last weekend i bought approximately 40 records back from my days trip. Nothing amazing but 21 mint records of various styles from a shop in Margate for £7.00 and 14 unplayed dance promo double packs from a shop in Broadstairs for a pound each.

I even had a chance to venture to the mean streets of Herne Bay which has a serious amount of charity shops. Unfortunately this time the pickings were very slim but i have it marked for a future journey in a few months time.

Fancy Robots - Robo-Friend

2009-01-21T12:16:00.006Z

Finnish electro i hear you demand! Well ok then since you asked so nicely here is a quite obscure Finnish release from Jori Hulkkonen and Tuomas Salmela on the excellent Keys Of Life label based in Helsinki.

Released in 2001 to date this is their only release under the Fancy Robot alias of the duo's normal Step Time Orchestra partnership. I first heard this when my friend brought back a white label promo from a trip to London and all we had to go by was the Step Time Orchestra name written on one side. Every time he played it i would always ask him what it was but it wasn't until discogs had really started expanding i could use the search function to track down the actual record. I remember (and this is a good trick for all you record diggers out there) finding no copies for sale but there was a website address for the Keys Of Life label so after a bit of searching managed to order an unplayed copy direct from them for a minimal price.

There are a couple of uptempo fast electro tracks on the B side but the track i want you to hear is Robo-Friend, a slow electro synth driven number telling the story of a human and his robot friend in the year 2020 via vocoded and tweeked speech. Its unlike any track i've ever heard to this day and is stunningly simple.

Fancy Robots - Robo-Friend

Davina - Dont' You Want It

2009-01-19T11:37:00.007Z

One of my favourite vocal house records of all time and the vocals don't start until halfway through the track. But the wait is worth it as Davina Bussey sweeps in from behind some piano work with a voice that oozes sexual desire. When she sings "Don't You Want It, Don't You Want It, Don't You Want It" i think any man or woman on the planet would be hard pushed to say no.

Behind the vocals Mad Mike from Underground Resistance builds the backing track up gradually hi-hat by hi-hat using 2 great riffs before easing the piano and strings in to proceedings which lead up to the midway point when Davina can take over. Veering between breathless whispering and the more insistent nature of asking if we want her love she masterfully manages not to overpower the music and become too diva like.

Released in 1992 on Underground Resistance sub label Happy Records i first heard this in 1996/7 when my friend managed to track down a copy of the reissue on Soul City which he had bought after hearing Laurent Garniers classic Mixmag DJ mix from 1994. The reissue now goes for £20.00+ in mint condition and the original £25.00+ but luckily is was repressed in 2002 and even bootlegged in 2007 so it is not hard to track down these days.

Davina - Don't You Want It

Drexciya - Aqua Worm Hole

2009-01-14T14:08:00.007Z

cult [kuhlt]

–noun .

2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers.

Today i'm here to expose you to two things that are considered cult in the world of electronic music:

1) Drexciya - The artist

2) Underground Resistance - The label

Conceived in 1989 but not having a release on vinyl until 1992, Drexciya are revered as one of Detroit techno and electro's shining lights. I was going to say were but changed my mind. Unfortunately due to the death of former member James Stinson in 2002 and Gerald Donald's decision to concentrate on his other pseudonyms Drexciya are defunct. Nonetheless Drexciya's legacy continues on and people still avidly search out their music meaning prices are high for the majority of their releases.

Their first release Deep Sea Dweller appeared on Detroit label Shockwave Records in 1992 and immediately the concept of a personal mythology behind their music began to take shape. The story was that "Drexciya" were a race of underwater dwellers descended from pregnant slave women thrown overboard during trans-Atlantic deportation and the track titles and E.P's names all followed this aquatic based theme. James and Gerald perpetuated this belief by not stepping out into the media for the majority of the groups existence giving Drexciya maximum appeal to the already cult like followers of their main label Underground Resistance. More about UR in a later entry as they have much more to offer with releases from Suburban Knight, Galaxy To Galaxy and DJ Rolando.

The release i want you to hear today is Drexciya's debut on UR - Drexciya 2 - Bubble Metropolis. Released in 1993 this is probably my favourite of their releases containing a varied selection of electro at different tempos. I've plumped for the A1 track which is a mid paced melancholic journey through the ocean depths. I picked it up for a pound a few years back from a collection i have been buying from an guy who worked in a local record shop but it has been out of print for many years and now you'll struggle to get a good condition copy for less than about £25.00. This is the same with the limited edition coloured represses that were released after James Stinson's death which immediately sold out.

Drexciya - Aqua Worm Hole

St. Cal - Losing Ground

2009-01-09T14:19:00.013Z

Marcus Kaye's (aka Marcus Intalex) Soul:r record label has since its inception in 2001 been unleashing classic after classic onto the world of drum and bass. Following on from his classic releases as Da Intalex in the mid 90's with Soul:r and its sister label Revolve:r he in my eyes captured the soul of those early years and updated it to the 170bpm of the current drum and bass scene.

Drum and bass was my first love and it was a sad day that in the late 90's i stopped buying it as i couldn't find anything i really liked anymore. Its was either jump up rubbish or dark 2 step styles which did nothing for me. I thank it now as it allowed me to concentrate on other styles of music and broaden my horizons but at the time i was pissed off. But around 2004 after being played some of the new drum and bass records my friend was currently buying i started to get back into the scene. Labels like Bassbin and Exit Recordings were sidestepping all the cheese and faux darkness and releasing classic beats with soulful music. Id bought a couple of the early Soul:r releases at the time when i saw them cheap on my travels but hadn't been buying new releases. When i started back up it was a joy to go into a record shop and snap up such releases as Marcus Intalex - Zumbar / Temperance, Calibre - Hypnotise / The Water Carrier and D.Bridge - Without Answers / Love's Ugly Child. It made me feel like it was 1995 again and id got my pocket money and was headed to Primal Vinyl in Canterbury (upstairs of Third Eye) to buy the newest Metalheadz release. I was buying regularly from shops and the Internet and each week there was something new that demanded that it be in my collection. It also got me back into mixing after a few years of being slack and i knocked about a good dozen mixes of all my new records as soon as i had enough for a new set.

St. Cal is the collaboration between Lee Davenport (ST Files) and Dominick Martin (Calibre) and has to date produced 2 12" singles and double 12" pack and 2 appearances on Calibres Signature Records label via an E.P and an LP. The track i want you to hear - Losing Ground was the second of the 12" singles and is a classic double A side. The B side Henshaw Dub is a nice dubby roller of a tune but the A side is my pick.

The beats starts softly in the mix before the main riff makes an early appearance and the male vocal begins its mantra throughout the track. The bassline mirrors the main riff before everything drops out leaving just the riff and vocals before the groove starts again. Its a real 4 am kind of tune very deep and the epitome of what is termed liquid drum and bass.

St. Cal - Losing Ground

Mad Professor & Pato Banton - My Opinion

2009-01-02T14:45:00.010Z

One of the classic reggae LP's of the 80's was not produced in its spiritual home of Jamaica but crafted by one of the UK's most prolific dub producers - Neil Frazer aka Mad Professor in the suburb of Peckham in London. Featuring the almighty vocal talents of a young Pato Banton well before he released dross like Baby Come Back with UB40 this 6 track mini LP was released in 1985 on the Ariwa imprint.

There really isn't a duff track and Pato's fast and slow lyrical style coupled with social insights into life in the mid 80's and his vocals often changing between a Jamaican style and a distinctive London accent was a revelation to me when i first discovered this LP in the late 90's in the collection of one of my friends. The Mad Professor tweaks out the second half of most songs with breathtaking electronic trickery but takes nothing away from Pato's delivery.

It took me over 8 years to track down a copy in really nice condition but i believe the album has been repressed recently so isn't that hard to find now. Get hunting!

Mad Professor & Pato Banton - My Opinion

Vile Charity Shop Harridans - Pt 4 (A New Hope)

2008-12-30T15:55:00.012Z

The tide is turning.

Ive had 2 positive encounters in the last week with charity shop workers that has changed my views and made me realize human nature isn't completely fucked in this day and age.

The first was with the man running the YMCA shop in Ramsgate High Street. I popped in there briefly after work a few Fridays ago and picked up some random reggae 12"s that were lying in between some random charity shop fodder. Not in the best condition but still nice to find given the records that were sandwiching them for 50p each.

Dennis Malcolm - So Many Ways
Foxy Brown - Fast Car
Lord Creator / Me-You And The Crew - Creation Medley / Creating Dub
Ray Mondo & Samantha Rose - Book Of Rules / Easy Loving
Pat Kelly / Dean Frazer - Whiter Shade Of Pale / Youth Sax

As i was leaving the shop i asked the man if he had any other records to look through. Immediately he said he had loads out the back and i could come back anytime and ask for him and he'd let me have a look through them. I went back the next day and sure enough he let me out the back and i spent about 30 mins looking through what he had. It wasn't very good but i spent another £6.00. As i was leaving again he said that he had a couple of storage containers full of 1000's of records and i should pop back in the new year and he'd bring some more in for me. Result!

The second encounter was the week after the first as i did my monthly circuit of my areas charity shops. It was a very good day for digging (possibly my best ever) as every shop i went into had a couple of bargains waiting for me.

In the Sense shop at the top of Margate High street these greeted me all in stunning condition for 3 for a £1.00:

Gary Numan – Berserker
Bushido - Among The Ruins
Maxtrack Orchestra - Another Day
Brandy - What About Us
Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl
Newtrament - London Bridge Is Falling Down
Colm III - Take Me High
The Gap Band - Beep A Freak

A bit further down the road i pulled a couple of sealed Motown LP's out of another shop but the real gem i only noticed as i was leaving. A boxful of classical LP's yielded one of the best finds of my year. Now i've had a few of these in the past cheap (a white label copy for 10p and label copy for 50p) but never locally and i definitely wasn't expecting it from the box it was in as it was the only record of its style in the shop. D-Livin - Why is the name of the tune and it seems to have gone up in price since i sold my last copy for £25.00 a year or so back. Ive chucked this one up for £50.00 for starters and its still cheapest copy around!!

So onto Cliftonville and into a shop id only noticed the previous time id gone by. The 2 middle aged women manning the till were very friendly and after i looked through the same pile id gone through the time before and cracked a few jokes i noticed about 5 boxes of records next to the counter which i asked if i have a look at. No problem said the women as they got their coats on to go for a sly fag outside. 4 of the boxes were filled with the same old tat as you see time and time again but the last box had some assorted 12"s in pretty good nick so i pulled out all the ones that looked interesting. From the track titles and artwork i gathered that 3 of them were reggae records (2 of which were on coloured vinyl) so they went straight into the yes pile along with a few more random things. The women came back and we chatted a bit about vinyl and i obviously asked if they had any more out the back. Not out the back they said but 1000's more in storage. I bit the bullet and offered my services to sort the records out for them as they needed records cleared out of the shop that wouldn't sell. Well that's pretty easy for me as i pretty much know if the record is run of the mill pap and 90% of the stuff i looked through would fit into that category. They seemed more than happy for me to do this so numbers were exchanged and hopefully in the new year i can go back and look through the rest of what they have. Result!

Back to the reggae 12"s. When i got home and investigated them it seems that the Creation Rebel one is a seriously rare roots reggae tune from 1979 which routinely goes for £50.00 + on eBay.

Creation Rebel - Beware / Natty Conscience Free
Dennis Pinnock - The Feeling / Saturday Night Feeling
Freddy Clarke / The Internationals - My Star Attraction / Crucial Dub

Vile Charity Shop Harridans - Pt 3 (Justice Is Served)

2008-12-30T15:29:00.005Z

A breaking news update which greatly brightened my day and to a lesser extent made my Christmas.

Walking along the mean streets of Cliftonville this morning i passed the charity shop where i was barred from entering last month by the most foulest of crones. My eyes lit up as i saw the shop completely cleared out of all its stock and lying empty.

Now i can only dream of this Beelzebub being visited by the police or taxman and being carted away screaming to face some hard time for crimes against common decency. I still can hear her clearly saying that she "i make enough money for charity already". Obviously not enough. Beeeeatch!!

Insomnia - Nostalgic

2008-12-12T14:12:00.016Z

The infamous stamped white label.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's bedroom producers churned records out by the 1000's. The arrival of cheap samplers, cheap home computers (Amiga and Atari ST to name two) and the burgeoning rave scene and the enthusiasm that went with it helped catapult countless non-musicians music into the psyche of raving hordes. I say non-musicians as on a parallel to the earlier punk movement which predated the rave moment by roughly 10 years you didn't need to be able to read or play the music to enjoy success. All that was needed was a good ear, a creative mind, a little bit of money to get your record pressed and the ear of a few DJ's to get your tunes played out.

I stumbled on the above white label probably back in 1996 or 1997 when i was first starting to really travel to London to dig in the dusty basements of the famous Music & Video Exchanges spread through the capital. I remember clearly pulling this record out of the Notting Hill basement for either 50p or £1.00 just because it looked old and could be an old breakbeat record. When i got home i got evil looks from my friends as they immediately recognised the tune from their old 1992 rave tapes. Ive since only ever found 1 other copy cheap for about £5.00 with a full release label which i think i swapped at the time for another rare record i was after.

So to Insomnia. Who were they? From the label and the 2 other records (although the Nocturnal Grooves E.P. could potentially be another Insomnia) they released back in 1991-2 we can ascertain their names were C. Rossi and J. Holloway and that their engineer was John Gould. We can also locate them to central London by the 071 telephone code. Now if i had more time it would be worth trying to track them down to see if they had a spare box of this record lying around as it currently goes for £50.00 + in mint condition. But alas like many other producers of this era they are lost to the sands of time leaving only their music as a legacy.

Have a listen to the record below. It ticks off virtually every element required for a classic breakbeat tune. Piano. Check. Huge bassline (you may not get this from the YouTube link but believe me the bass on this record is insane). Check. Strings. Check. Tough breakbeats. Check. Female vocals. Check. Ragga vocals. Check.

Now everyone time to raise your hands in the air and blow that whistle!

Insomnia - Nostalgic

PS The A-side is pretty good as well.

Vile Charity Shop Harridans - Pt 2 (This Time It's War)

2008-12-10T16:32:00.005Z

Following on from the last rant about charity shop Hitler's it was just an hour after the encounter in the previous post that me and my digging partner Matt found our way by the wonders of public transport to a not so delightful town called Cliftonville. Now Cliftonville (often known as Kosoville or Foreign-nation street round our ways) is a not so delightful small town which borders the also quite horrible Margate. Long gone are the glory days (not sure when they were exactly anyway) and the main drag of Cliftonville consists now of regional takeaway shops, furniture removal shops, Happy Shopper style supermarkets and most importantly a shit load of charity shops.

Now I'm not going to name the charity shop this encounter describes mainly as if you ever find yourself in it i want the hag who works there to surprise you with her evilness. I'd had a previous encounter with this harpy 6 months previously where she had accused me of trying to steal some records (please disregard the contents of pt 1 lol) which i obviously had not done. On that instance i think i called her a cunt in front of the whole shop and walked off.

We were on the other side of the road when i spotted the lights of this charity shop on (on previous times me and my digging partners had not been able to go in as the shop was closed). We crossed the road and the signs looked promising. I walked up to the door hoping it would be unlocked. It was. The door opened and a cry came out from inside

"We're shut".

I looked at my phone clock. It was 12.20pm. I peered inside and saw the venomous creature sitting down drinking a cup of tea.

"Oh I'm sorry" i said "Its just that all the lights were on and the door was open".

"We're shut" the reply came back.

I was annoyed.

"Oh .. didn't you want to make any money from us" i sarcastically shot back.

She staggered onto her devil like hooves and strode towards the door and uttered the words that marked her out as a desperately poor human being.

"I make enough money for charity already" she bellowed and went to close the door.

Now on hindsight i should have retorted with something like "Prove it" or "Charity never ends" but with a degree of inevitability all that would come out was

"Well fuck you, you fucking bitch"

Walking down the road it occurred to me that i would have been a hero to diggers worldwide if i would have forced my way into the shop at that point and started perusing as normal. Surely she would have been forced to call the police at that point to evict a potentially paying customer from her charity shop.

Here's to next time. I cant bloody wait!

Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon

2008-12-03T12:28:00.012Z

Released in 1970 a year before her most critical success the introspective and deeply personal Blue, Ladies Of The Canyon perhaps paved the way as its popularity enabled Roberta Joan Anderson - stage name Joni Mitchell to stop touring for a year to spend time writing and painting (the painting you can see above on the record sleeve is one of several Joni did for her LP sleeves).

Back to Ladies Of The Canyon. The canyon in question was Laurel Canyon in California. In the 1960's it housed the cream of counterculture west coast American singers with residents including Frank Zappa, The Byrds, Neil Young and Love. This fertile breeding ground inspired a generation fed up with the mass produced pop of the late 60's and Joni's close association with Crosby (Crosby brought Joni to California after being amazed by her talent after walking into a bar in Florida), Stills, Nash (one of Joni's lovers) and Young greatly influenced her sound slightly away from her earlier folk period and before the more introspective and experimental jazz sound that formed her later output. They also provided background vocals on this record and Graham Nash wrote "Our House" at this time as an ode to Joni.

The album spawned a number of hits most notably "Woodstock" and "Big Yellow Taxi" but the track i want you to hear is the title track "Ladies of the Canyon". If its lush harmonies and beautiful imagery don't make you smile and remind you of glorious summer day then i suppose nothing will. Wrap up warm!

Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon

Vile Charity Shop Harridans - Pt 1

2008-11-28T14:41:00.008Z

There is a crime committed in this story. But under the circumstances totally justified.

Charity shop digging. The art of searching for good shit amongst the general SHIT of a charity shop. My field of expertise is vinyl. Using the golden rule: If you've never seen the label before and it looks interesting - Buy It Anyway (and of course using the wonders of Internet phones as a back up) i have a pretty good success rate with my areas charity shops.

For the last 6 months or so i check my immediately local shops roughly once a week and then once a month on a Saturday do a tour of all the shops in my triumvirate of local towns.

Rewind to last Saturday. Nothing much going on. Phone call made to my friend Matt (a local DJ and producer) and a time is set to meet up and start our tour of duty. The first couple of shops are bereft of vinyl and it is only when we head a bit further out that a few random record are purchased (an old Prelude disco 12" and a Gladys Knight and the Pips LP from 1973 in good nick). Just before we catch the bus to the next town we pop into another shop in town and bingo what do we have here. Next to the old and unmoved stack of vinyl that we have gone through many times before is a large cardboard box of 7" records. On closer inspection it doesn't look good. The records are virtually all without sleeves and the condition is generally not very good. Nonetheless out the records come and are split between us to look through. The quality of the records generally matches the condition but i manage to pull out an old Stax 7" and look over at Matt and he is holding a record with a drawing of a fist on the centre label asking if i know what this as it looks interesting. I immediately recognise the label and the small logo in the bottom left that reads - PAMA (turns out it was this record). I immediately tell him he's a lucky git and he better be taking that as its vintage reggae.

Suddenly our quiet perusal is interrupted by the most foulest of all creatures that reside in a charity shop. The middle aged female manager. Old ladies you can wrap round your finger. Young woman you can flirt with or act dumb. Men are no problem. But theres something about bored semi-retired middle aged women that think they personally own all the shops stock that turns my stomach.

"What are you doing" she nearly crys out.

"Erm just looking through some records" I say (In hindsight maybe a more menacing opening would have been better like "We're from the Charity Shop Siphoning Agency, just checking you're not skimming the profits") but unfortunately my honest answer wasn't the best of choices.

"You shouldn't be looking at them records"

"Oh. Why not?"

"My man has been through them yet" This refers to the so called "expert" some Charity Shops have who go through the donated records to in effect take the best ones for themselves and leave the dross for the general public (am i being too cynical here?).

"Oh. Well sorry but how were we to know this. The records are on the shop floor so we thought they were for sale"

Not wanting to argue anymore she started grabbing the records back and putting them back into the box. I thought it was wise to mention that the records weren't in very good condition anyway (as i said before most were without sleeves).

The reply that came back summed up the sheer witch like evil stored in these odorous crones

"Good!"

So on that note i nodded to Matt. He stashed the 7" he found in his coat and we exited post haste.

Moral of the story? I doubt it!

PS I went back in there this week and spent some money. Im not a complete cunt!

Another successful mission

2008-11-28T14:19:00.015Z

It was a quiet afternoon at work. Nothing much happening. My mobile sat silently in front of me propped up against my second monitor.

Brr ring Brr ring (well not exactly that noise). The caller name pops up on the screen. Dave Shop.

I smile as this is normally good news. It turns out to be very good news. For those of you that don't know Dave is my regular (for the last 12 years) record dealer. Ive spent more than i care to remember in his shop and also am one of the lucky few to on certain occasions to get access to his house to look through record collections before they are brought to the shop.

It turns out that he is picking up some records from a guy i know who used to work in another local record shop. I know immediately that these records will be firstly unplayed and secondly rare as i've had the good fortune to buy 1000's of records from this source in the past. Theres a catch. The records will be in the shop the next morning.

I have work the next day. Shite. A hasty email is sent off requesting holiday and i'm then i'm free. All i have to do is get to the shop before 10.00am to beat off the other regular record buyers before they get their mitts on the tunes.

Luckily i'm there early and even before Dave and help carry the records into the shop. The other record hunters turn up and i've already taken 90% of all the 12" and virtually all the dance LP's leaving them to fight over the indie, rock and 7"s. Job well done. And i'm £223 skinter. And probably 223 pounds heavier as i struggle out the door with 2 record bags, a full record carry case and one plastic bag full of vinyl.

So what did i buy? Well ill post a full list shortly but to cut a moderately long story short it turns out my choices are spot on as usual (special thanks goes out to my Internet phone once again) and a good profit is guaranteed with the addition of some nice gems to my own collection.

02/12/08
Ok heres the list -

Stuff for sale:

Moodymann - Black Mahogani II
Moodymann - Black Mahogani
3 Chairs - Three Chairs 3
Moodymann - Silence In The Secret Garden
Moodymann - Forevernevermore
Moodymann - Mahogany Brown
Moodymann - Silence In The Secret Garden
Rick Wilhite, Kenny Dixon Jr. & Theo Parrish Present Three Chairs* - Three Chairs
Norma Jean Bell - Dreams / Mystery
Moodymann - How Sweed It Is
3 Chairs - Three Chairs 2
Jill Scott - Slowly Surely (Theo Parrish Remix)
Moodymann - In Loving Memory
Moodymann - Long Hot Sex Nights / The Dancer
Moodymann - Don't Be Misled!
Rick Wilhite - What Do You See?
Moodymann - Don't You Want My Love
Moodymann - Amerika
Norma Jean Bell - One Of Those Nights (Late Night Mix)
Norma Jean Bell - I'm The Only Queen
Kenny Dixon Jr. - Don't You Want My Love
Moodymann - Analog:Live
Andrés - Untitled
Moodymann - Shades Of Jae
Moodymann - Nmywagon
Jello - Lungbone EP
Michael Jackson - Is It Scary (Deep Dish Remixes)
Moodymann - U Can Dance If U Want 2
UNKLE - Berry Meditation
Thom Yorke - The Eraser Rmxs
Broadcast - Haha Sound
Niobe - Voodooluba
Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
Antony And The Johnsons - The Lake
Michael Gira - Songs For A Dog
Laurent Garnier - Astral Dreams
UR* - Presents The Return Of Acid Rain "The Storm Continues"
Glenn Underground - Secrets Of C.V.O. EP
Glenn Underground - C.V.O. Elements EP
Boo Williams - 12 Tribes
Dave Clarke - The Wolf
Home Video - Citizen EP
Samim* - Heater
DJ 3000 - Drumë EP
Woody McBride - Comedy:Tragedy
DJ Apollo - Trainwrecker
Various - The Mile High Guy
London Elektricity - The Strangest Secret In The World / The Mustard Song
Jerome Sydenham & Dennis Ferrer - Kòkò / Jehlaz
Romanthony - Hold On
Planetary Assault Systems - Planetary Funk Vol. 4
D-Train / Teddy Pendergrass - Keep On (Dub) / The More I Get, The More I Want
Home Video - That You Might
Shazz + StGermain* Feat. Derek Bays - Muse Q The Music
Congos, The - Congo Man (Carl Craig Edits)
Arc-En-Ciel - The Juice
Yoshinori Sunahara - Journey Beyond The Stars
Native Element - Brazil Minus Six
Cyrus - Enforcement
Dave Clark* - Red 2
Nova Nova - Ex EP
Moodymann - Dem Young Sconies / Bosconi
Recloose - So This Is The Dining Room
Recloose - Spelunking EP
Porter Ricks - Port Of Nuba / Nautical Nuba
Mutts, The - C'mon, Come Up, Come In / Excited
Algoritmo - Indus EP
Nuyorican Soul - It's Alright, I Feel It
Scan 7 vs. Scan X - Final Destiny / Transit
UR* - Actuator
Cybotron - Clear
Martian, The - Cosmic Movement / Star Dancer
Martian, The - Journey To The Martian Polar Cap
Basic Channel - Q 1.1
David Spaans - 3D Bingo

And heres what i kept for myself:

Wamdue Project - Resource Toolbook Volume One
Carl Craig - The Album Formerly Known As...
Aquanauts, The - The Titanic EP
Remote (5) - The Swarm
Chaz Vincent - Dream Zenith
Various - NSC 1-4
DJ Sneak - EP
Theorem - Mantra One
Marl Chingus - 6 Months Earlier
Fusion - Never Forget It
Urban Tribe - Eastward
Jaydee - Plastic Dreams
Leftfield - Song Of Life (Remixes) / Release The Horns
Kurtis Blow - The Breaks
Bad Company - Inside The Machine (Album Sampler)
Elegia - I Am Not Worried Anymore... A Deal With God
Yanu - Volume 1 EP
Aux 88 - Aux Quadrant
UR-043 - Condition Red
Logic - The Warning / The Final Frontier
Various - Acid House For All. 1
Cyrus - Inversion
Mark Taylor (2) - Vintage Future
DJ ESP - I Like To Get Down
Urban Tribe - D-2000
Nuyorican Soul - Mind Fluid
Brian Harden - The Nubirth Project (Vol. 2)
Kid Acid vs. DJ ESP - Shagadelic
Jeff Mills - Metropolis
Various - Post Detroit Techno
Dave Clarke - Red 3
Porter Ricks - Nautical Dub (Tidal Mix) / Port Gentil
Substance - Scent / Relish Sessions
Various - Geology - A Subjective Study Of Planet E - Volume Two
Callisto - The Paradigm EP
Norma Jean Bell - I'm The Baddest Bitch (Remixes)

Plus a red/white coloured 12" by a band called Isis and a one sided 12" by Athlete which arent on discogs yet.

Its been nearly12 months now and so far i've managed to sell 49 of the 12"s and 8 LP's to make back £719.0o so im well in profit now and still have 18 more records to sell.

Don't You Love It When A Plan Comes Together

2008-11-18T14:36:00.020Z

3 unknown records. Unknown 3 in particular.

I'd had the mix for 2 years on mp3. DJ Premier live on W.B.L.S. Radio from sometime in 1994 cutting and scratching up some of the finest mid 90's hip hop records id never had the pleasure of owning (yet). With the help of a few people i'd identified quite a few of the tracks but there were 6 that were still eluding me. I made some sound clips and posted on a few music discussion websites earlier in the year. The replies were few but 3 of the tracks were id'ed and i purchased the ones i could and put the others on my evergrowing wants list. The final 3 would be tough i thought to myself and then other things got in the way and they were briefly forgotten.

Fast forward to yesterday. I had joined a new Hip Hop website recently called DWG (Diggers With Gratitude) and the guys here seemed to know their shit. I dug out the link to the clips and wrote a short post to see if anyone could help me. I was particularly after unknown 3.

10 minutes later i had ordered and purchased the record. You see the main thing about hunting records down is actually knowing what they are. Ive had a few websites over the years dedicated to identifying unknown records that really need a place in my collection from old mix tapes i have. Many times a track is id'ed and i think back to all the record shops i've been in and recall seeing the track more times than i want to remember.

The reply to my post on DWG had been 5 minutes in arriving. Its simply read:

1. The Edge - Do Ya Dirt
2. Brother Arthur - Watcha Gonna Do?
3. Justice System - Dedication To Bambaataa

I instantly jumped on discogs (no time to type my thankyou's yet) and searched for the records to see what was up for sale.

1. The Edge - Do Ya Dirt turned out to be this. 2 copies for sale at $30.00 and $45.00. A good track but one to go on the wants list for the time being

2. Brother Arthur - Watcha Gonna Do? turned out to be this . No copies for sale and looking at the 39 people who had it in their wants list not an easy one to find. Which made the mint copy that sold on discogs on the 29/07 for £10.00 a bit of a bargain. Another one for the wants list.

3. Justice System - Dedication To Bambaataa was my next call and it popped up on a few releases. In chronological order - A double LP from 1994 and more importantly a promo 12" and a regular full release 12" from 1995. 3 copies of the full release 12" were the only ones up for sale. Two near mint copies from England for £6.00 and £6.99 and a sealed copy for $9.99 from a seller id bought from before. Not wanting to trust that the English copies were over graded i plumped for the sealed copy and prepared to cringe at the ridiculous pound to dollar exchange rate.

I could only find a pic of the promo 12" but the tracks are exactly the same on the full release. Boasting production from Diamond D and The Beatnuts on the remixes and containing the original LP version to boot a fan of mid 90's hip hop can't go wrong.

I managed to locate a clip on YouTube of the original LP mix but when i receive the record through the post i will try to upload the mix i wanted id'ing as it is better in all aspects. What you have here is a super jazzy beat with MC's reminiscing about the early days of hip hop in the late 70's and 80's and paying tribute to one of the pioneers of this old school age - Afrika Bambaataa. An age where violence was put on hold and all the mattered was finding that rare breakbeat to spin to the crowds, pulling the best breakdance move or coming up with best rhymes to rock the party. At the height of the gangsta rap movement of the 90's this record not only bucked the trend but harked back to better days. Enjoy.

Justice System - Dedication To Bambaataa

Thanks to the knowledgeable guys at DWG for being so on the ball.

Fingers Inc - Never No More Lonely

2008-11-03T14:23:00.022Z

Fingers Inc were arguably the first house music super group and this their first LP dropped into the UK's (and the Rest Of The Worlds) consciousness in February 1988 by way of a small independent UK label from Luton - Jack Trax. Primarily known for its series of Jack Trax compilation albums which collected together hard to find (and expensive at the time) imported house records mainly from Chicago where the house scene was going stratospheric this LP was in hindsight a major coup for the label being the first and only LP from Fingers Inc - comprised of Larry Heard (Producer) and Robert Owens and Ron Wilson (Vocalists). In reality it was most likely the massively expanding UK house scene and with it the certainty of getting paid that led Fingers Inc to sign the deal. They had badly been burned 2 years before after their first single - Mystery Of Love sold 30,000 copies making the DJ International label rich but apart from a their advance payment the group saw no more money from the deal and even had to record a follow up single to leave their contract.

The album contains many classic moments including the monumental Can You Feel It, Bring Down The Walls (taken from various Mr Fingers 12" on the Trax Record label) and spacey deep house anthems like Distant Planet but the track i have chosen to highlight is Never No More Lonely. Featuring Robert Owens on lead vocals this is a classic love song (aren't all songs in a way about love) about a man finding his one true love and being saved from loneliness. All the right ingredients are here. A tough 808 beat, an elastic sounding bass line, deep synths, beautiful deep strings (check them out at the 2:25 minute mark) and a catchy piano after the halfway mark which leads leads the track out. Put this together with Robert Owens joyous lyrics and there you have it a deep house masterpiece.

Apart from the album which goes for around £25.00-30.00 in mint condition this track was released on a very rare 12" (£50.00+) and the fifth Jack Trax compilation (£10.00) making it fairly accessible but hard to get a loud pressing to play in clubs.

Fingers Inc's association with the Jack Trax sadly went pear shaped after a few more 12" were released when against Larry Heard's wishes they released a follow up LP of instrumental versions of his biggest tunes but thankfully the UK had been already turned onto deep house with this classic release.

Fingers Inc - Never No More Lonely

Curtis Mayfield - Now You're Gone

2008-10-26T20:07:00.022Z

1971 was a good year for music. James Brown and the JB's were refining the essence of funk, Led Zepplin were creating riffs left right and centre and Lee Scratch Perry was tweaking the controls making dub reggae a new viable genre.

Curtis Mayfield was in his second year apart from The Impressions on his newly created independent Curtom label. His eponymous LP was released the year before and when this his new LP - Roots hit the shops he was only a year away from penning his most critical and commercial sucess of his career the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film - Super Fly.

With his trademark falsetto vocals and his hard hitting social commentary lyrics this album is a far fly from the bubblegum pop of the time. None more so than the track Now Your'e Gone - an ode to a lost love. Sit back and enjoy "The Gentle Genius" as he was named. A real master at work.

Curtis Mayfield - Now You're Gone

Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

2008-10-20T12:15:00.016+01:00

Chances are that you would have heard this track before but you just don't know it by name. Surprising because the LP from which the track comes from was in fact the first LP to be ever certified a "Platinum LP" and has sales of over 25 million to date.

Iron Butterfly were a San Diego based band formed in 1966 releasing a debut LP, "Heavy" in early 1968 and then this their second LP "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in July 1968.

The song i want to talk about is the title track which the LP was named after. Clocking in at 17 minutes and 5 seconds long the song is famed for its droning bass and guitar riff and one of the first extended drum solos in recorded rock music. Very different to the jazz drum solo's which pre-date rock music this drum solo is more tribal and very psychedelic. Also another important component is an extended polyphonic organ solo which ties the guitar and drum sections together.

There are actually very few vocals (only at the beginning and near the end of the record) but even these have a story to play. Most common of the stories is that the track was called "In The Garden Of Eden" but singer Doug Ingle was drunk at the time of rehearsing the song and slurred the words which drummer Ron Bushy wrote down phonetically. The next day the band decided they preferred "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" better and stuck with it.

Probably the most important aspect of this song and album is that it is seen (along with various other bands) as the point that psychedelic music evolved into to the "Heavy Metal" sound that began in the late 60's and early 70's

I'm not going to upload a full mp3 of the track due to the length of the track but i found it on YouTube (split in 2 half's) so here are the links for you to have a listen. If you're a film buff you will recognise the song from a very famous mid 80's film. Let me know if you can get it.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Part 1
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida Part 2

To Know Or Not To Know

2008-10-16T13:34:00.004+01:00

Just got off the phone to my main record dealer from Canterbury. I went there on Saturday and had an average digging session. Found some cheap 12" in the local Oxfam and then saw him and bought some nice reggae re-issues and some original late 60's/early 70's rock and folk rock which i knew i would be able to sell on. The phone call went along its normal route of asking if he was ok and then checking to see if he had any new stuff in or was going on any interesting calls. Alas there was no new stuff and goodbyes were just about to be said before he mentioned that in a hall just behind his shop on the very day i was there on Saturday two women had brought a load of records to sell at a jumble sale. Some lucky buyer had stumbled on them and proceeded to buy masses of their stuff (singles for 25p and LP's for £1) and this stuff was a goldmine. One single he mentioned normally sells for £650!!! The buyer clearly didn't clean the women out as they did a boot fair on the Sunday and people were still finding gems.

It got me thinking along the lines of did i actually want to know this news. Or was i happy be oblivious to the fact that someone else had the luck for once. Ive had my fair share of luck where digging in the crates is concerned but it still irks me when someone else beats me to the loot. With certain records becoming rarer and rarer finding them is like winning the lottery. Think 200 copies in the world then take out the copies that are unplayable or smashed. Then take out the copies in private hands that will never be sold. Doesn't leave at lot.

Population of the world = 6.7 billion / 100 surviving copies of a record.

By any calculations they are not good odds.

My conclusion is i would rather know if only for the fact it may spur me on to new levels of digging where no stone is left untouched. Door to door vinyl enquiries anyone?

Here We Go Again With The Funky Intro

2008-10-14T14:15:00.001+01:00

I'm not very good at introductions but i suppose i better try and let you know who i am and what i have in store for this blog.

My name is Ben and im from a small town on the South-East coast of England. I work for a large pharmaceutical company and in my spare time i like to play football, tennis and golf. My main love in life is music of all kinds and i have been collecting vinyl since i was in the 6th form at school way back in 1995 (it did help that there were 2 second hand music shops literally metres from the school). I got into hardcore in late 1993 and that was my first love for many years progressing from the more happy side into drum and bass. I was fortunate to hang around with a few mates who were local DJ's in my formative buying days and they also got me hooked on techno, house, garage and hip hop. From there it was a short step to travelling to London to grab cheap records and start buying up collections of DJ's who were giving up.

Its 2008 now and i have managed to amass a collection of over 10,000 records in virtually every genre going. Its my aim in this blog to educate you with some lesser known gems of all the styles of music i like so expect some classic Breakbeat, UK Hip Hop, Dub Reggae, Acid House, Detroit Techno and even some Funk in the forthcoming posts. Ill also keep you informed with what i have been finding in the crates and maybe air some of my general thoughts on life.

House Music All Night Long

2008-10-14T12:08:00.021+01:00

I've been buying a lot of house music recently. Why? Well for one its easier to find than the remaining bits of hardcore im still looking for (numerous as they are) and for two there are so many decent house tunes that can be picked up for literally nothing it seems rude not to.

I'm looking for real house not any of the myriad of styles that have come into existence since the mid 90's. So no Handbag House, no Scouse House, no Funky House, no Hard House .... the list goes on.

Real house is not about drum rolls, ridiculously un-funky basslines or rave style stabs. Its about a groove. A 4/4 beat, a bassline, some strings and if you're feeling frisky some vocals is all you need. Thats what Larry Heard created his legacy on and if it was good enough for him its good enough for me.

Last month i ventured to London and checked out the Music & Video Exchanges (which i try to do at least a month). In the basement of Greenwich MVE i stumbled across amongst others a stash of early 1990's Italian records. For 25p each i really couldn't say no especially after i tapped a few into my phone (the wonders of Internet phones and discogs) to check if it would worth taking them to sell on.

One caught my eye for 2 reasons. Firstly the picture on the back of 3 Italians draped over some Bose speakers looked particularly retro and secondly one of the artists involved was Leo Anibaldi (if you know your techno then say no more).

Blue Zone - Dreams (Extended Mix) - Blue Village (Italy) - BV 3008 (1991)

Forget the A side as that contains two run of the mill jazzy deep house numbers. The real winner on this E.P is the B side. Starting with a solid bass kick it is quickly joined by a viciously strong bassline slightly reminiscent of Mr Fingers - Can You Feel It and the classic "I'm A Real" male vocal sampled from Satoshi Tomiie's and Roberts Owen's masterpiece - Tears, before some strings are added.

This continues for a while before the Robert Owens vocals fade out and another vocal comes into the mix - one of the all time classic and popular sampled accapellas - C'hantal - The Realm. If you don't know this you would have heard it sampled on at least 2 dozen other records ("Sensations Of The Mind" "The Ultimate Seduction" "Wrong Is Right").

Once this vocal has run its course theres time for yet another accapella of unknown origin (although i do recognize parts of it) and a short breakdown with some delicate breakbeats before the track is dragged back to the incessant bassline and kick drum.

Overall not a very original track for its use of vocal samples but it really does the job and gets you in a groove from the off. Judging by discogs not many people know about this track and i managed to pick up a mint spare copy for under £5.00

Blue Zone - Dreams (Extended Mix)