Ish - Faster Than A Speeding Bullit

Somewhere along this wonderful musical ride myself and a few other record collectors started surfacing "Hippie Soul" and "Folk Funk" cuts. We only put them into a catagory when we found certain tracks that had that certain something similar. We didn't always coin the phrases, but when they were found or created we reveled in their accuracy. I don't believe in 'catagories' but when you've been diggin up records and they strike a similar theme, you're overjoyed to have discovered a whole new genre. And, to be able to "give it a name' helps communicate it to others. One thing is true about 'theme-ing or 'catagorizing' new ventures, is you realize if you're found a few, there's always many more. Thankfully many records inspired many others, so when you find a new pocket, you're overjoyed. Myself and my man D.C. in NYC ('bout time you had a shout on here!) went back and forth for many years referencing to each other various tunes as we put the puzzle pieces together. Our tastes in "Hippie Soul" and "Folk Funk" morphed into "Space Funk" with the help of cuts "For Your Love", and "Without Love" by Peter Brown. And, tunes like Jan Hammers "Don't You Know" helped evolve "Hippie Soul" into "Future Funk" and then into "Cosmic".
Ish is a solo effort LP from Ish Ledesma, a member of the group "Foxy" and "OXO". Speaking of Harvey in the last post, this is from the same LP with "Don't Stop" which is a classic spin of his. I've included it as well. But, "Faster Thank A Speeding Bullit" is a very 'spaced out' almost Donovan-y sounding tune. It encompasses a lot of tasty elements and combines a lot catagories mentioned here. It's hard to describe, yet quite tasty, as you'll soon find out. I'll have all the other tracks mentioned in this up very soon as well. So, look out for the dope Peter Brown and Jan Hammer cuts soon to come.

Ish - Faster Than A Speeding Bullit
Ish - Don't Stop

Junior Byron - Woman - DJ HARVEY AT OASIS

The First time I saw DJ Harvey, not only did I bear witness to one of the most versatile and creative DJ's I had EVER seen, but Harvey had the misfortune of having to hammer some fools' head in. Harvey's set was all about love, and love for the music. He played a wide array of styles all seemless and smooth. His mixing was immaculate and the use of the reel to reel delay effects was cute enough. He blended Afro, psych, disco, hippie, folk, new wave and funk and all to a head nodding beat. So nice to see someone put it together so well. I saw then what all the hype was about. Somewhere after 2am there was confusion, there was tension, words were said, some shoving went on, some girl bumped the turntables, skipped a song, and Harvey was attacked. Harvey handled himself extremely well. Just as good behind the decks as he did throwing those decks atop this sorry blokes head. Never in my wildest dreams would the commander of such loving jams have to distribute such foolery to those that deserved it. 'Jesus of the good groove' had to bust a cap. But he got back on the decks and continued to rock the house like nothing happened. Back to the disco love and it was all magic again.

Last time I saw Harvey, he played a tune that re-worked a cut by Junior Byron called "Woman". I think the Barrabas did the tune first, but Junior takes it to the cosmic next level. I prefer this original to the remix that Harvey played, but all due respect. This is actually the flip of the very nice "Dance To The Music" both of which, in sound at least, have great similarities to where Eddy Grant was headed. Both cuts have that afro cosmic appeal, a sound that Harvey promotes heavily. Here's Junior Byron's "Woman" in its original zanny form. A true electro cosmic afro freak out indeed.

Junior Byron - Woman

The Mobley Gang - Groove For You

I promised I'd put this up. Fresh from the crates of yours truly. My latest hot boogie shit. Now, here up on our beloved soundboutique! btw, I don't put anything up here I don't personally own on vinyl. Not braggadocio, just an FYI. I occasionally use mp3's from other sources, like this one, so I wanted to be clear on that. Sure, I rip my own stuff, but when there's a more accessible file, I'm on it like white on rice, or like Ike on Tina (ok, both bad references). For me, it's not about anything other than THE MUSIC itself. And, my goal here is all about exposure. Dig on this 12 inches of incredibly dope boogie flavor.

The Mobley Gang - Groove For You

Ricky Clark - Flam

Here's the classic disco rap "Flam" by Ricky Clark. I've ripped both the vocal and Instro versions. I like them both. I think a remix of the two might be nice. The vocal version has a rather goofy approach. But, you know what? I love it. Fuck the bs. It's dope. Original disco rap. For me this typifies the similarity between 80's boogie and 60's soul. It might be far from 'The Madison' or 'The Cool Jerk' but it shows how things come full circle. Full Circle City Records that is.

Ricky Clark - Flam
Ricky Clark - Flam (Instrumental)

Lynsey de Paul - Sugar Me

It sounds to me as though Lynsey de Paul's "Sugar Me" is lifted right out of a Gilbert O'Sullivan songbook. But, she was a prolific song writer in her own right and still is active in the music bizz. She was in fact on the same label MAM. "Sugar Me" has gorgeous sound effects and a haunting pulsating feel. The production is thunderous folk pop and snaps right through the speakers giving todays sound a run for its money. Just listen to this through a heavy system with a good low end and you'll see what I mean.

I discovered it on a compilation of euro-pop and was sold on it immediately. It became a staple of my folk funk and hippie soul sets. Trust me, this is one little known jewel that I've treasured and coveted for a while. It's appreciated across the spectrum. Beat heads, disco hippies, garage rockers, psyke popsters, and bubble gummers all seem to enjoy this treat.

Lynsey de Paul - Sugar Me

A little scouting around yielded this awesome video for "Sugar Me".

Looking very much like she was styled after Brigitte Bardot. I often think that perhaps the airwaves were already too filled with the likes of Bardot and others, and the public didn't have time nor the capacity to process other great artists like Lynsey. This is something that plagues my thoughts, and I think is still true even today.