Kay Robinson “We Need Time” (1970, King Records)
(Dedicated to the Charleston Nine, Sandra Bland, and Mary Elizabeth Guthrie) Jesus is a popular dude… and he didn’t play the drums. Growing up in the Black American church in the 1980s, I was exposed to a more modern form of Gospel music, and coming from a family of singers, …
Woods Empire “Universal Love” (1981, Tabu Records)
I found this record at People’s Records in Detroit in 2012, not knowing what it was, but just loving the awesome, spaced out cover. I later realized luck had struck me, and I came home with a beautiful modern soul, rare groove gem. Woods Empire, based out of the serene …
Chris Simmonds Project “Work It (Mike Huckaby Remix)” (1993)
A UK producer, a Detroit remixer, and a Canadian label. How did that happen? Before founding his label Cross Sections Records in 1994, Chris Simmonds was producing and operating Baby Blue Records. This label was specializing in Hardcore / Ragga / Rave / early Jungle. A trip to Detroit in 1993 …
Various Artists “As 10 Mais Boogie Vol. 1” (Somatoria do Barulho)
via SdB: A fantastic compilation of 10 Brazilian Boogie hits extracted from very rare 7″ singles only, mostly found on digging missions through old radio station vaults. What exactly is Boogie? Is it a genre, an era, a style? Colours, clothes, textures are all part of its make up. Boogie …
Benita “Time For A Change” (Athens Of The North)
via AOTN: You probably don’t know this disco banger. There is about four or five known copies on 7″, and everyone who has a copy has been keeping it quiet. I first heard it from David Haffner about 4 years ago and had been after it since then. Time For …
Seaquence “Mix Faze” (1980, High Jazz)
via Juno: Seaquence was a short-lived Disco-Funk and Soul outfit from San Diego who only ever released one album via private press. That album, “Mix Faze”, has long been considered something of a slept-on classic amongst record collectors, so it’s little surprise to see it finally get the reissue treatment. …
Mankunku Quartet “Yakhal’ Inkomo” (1968, Jazzman)
via Various Sources: Recorded on 23 July, 1968 in the Johannesburg Studios of Manley Van Niekerk. This is the LP that every Jazz fan has been waiting for. Listen to it from side one to the last note on side two then you’ll agree that this is Jazz, dished out …
Dadawah “Peace & Love: Wadadasow” (1974, Dug Out)
A true Jamaican gem of a record. “Peace and Love” was Dadawah’s debut and remains his only album released under this artist name. It is a dark but deeply spiritual reggae LP (originally released in 1974 on Wild Flower) that shares hymns of Rastafarian love, nationality, and hope. Constructed with …