Our final post, as this seventh year draws to a close, highlights a few 45s picked up in the last year, from a variety of places around the world for a bit of Summer soul travelin’!

Azul y Negro – Fantasia De Piratas (45 RPM version)
Azul y Negro – Fantasia De Piratas (33 1/3 RPM version)

Picked this up during my Spring trip to Spain. Most of my knowledge of Spanish music revolves around Flamenco and 1960s garage/soul. During my trip to Discos Bora Bora in Granada I discovered a few selections from what amounts to Spanish new wave of the 1980s. I was drawn to this 45 because of the striking artwork. As best I can gather, Azul y Negro were one of the first techno-op groups in Spain and that sound certainly comes across here. I wasn’t as enamored with the sounds on this 7″ as I was the cover, until I thought to slow down “Fantasia De Piratas.” At 45 the song sounds too fast and a bit comical (though that might be the point), but at 33 1/3 the song takes on a kind of epic John Carpenter 80’s horror film soundtrack feel. What was once laughable becomes sinister, as you can hear above when you compare the two versions.

R.D. Burman – Dil Lena Khel Hai Dildar Ka

I haven’t made nearly enough journeys into India’s rich Bollywood sounds, but when I do, I often find a gem. This one features two of the songs from the 1981 film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, with a soundtrack created by R.D. Burman. The story itself seems to be a fairly regular Rich boy meets poor girl, family doesn’t approve kind of story, but it seems a fair amount of it occurs at a discotheque and that is clearly where “Dil Lena Khel Hai Dildar Ka” comes from. Real solid Morodor-esque sound on this cut, though with those trademark vocal elements that make these Bollywood records so much fun regardless where your dance floor is.

Gerson Combo – Mr. John It’s Pay Day

Our next stop Soul travelin’ is down to Brasil for a disco-fied number from Gerson “King” Combo. This track would have been cool enough if it just stuck with that opening disco groove. But it breaks down into a crazy little chant, “Sing the song, cause it’s my payday” from “King” Combo, a chorus of voices and a soul clap to boot. I can’t entirely tell what the song is about, but I got a feeling “Mr. John” is either his landlord or his boss. Either way, “King” Combo won’t be denied his fun on his payday, thankfully so for our ears.

Los Tios Queridos – Si Me Ves Volar

Los Tios Queridos come to us from Argentina and got up on my radar thanks to post from Sociologist Jooyoung Lee, who recently released a fascinating book, Blowin’ Up: Rap Dreams in South Central. Lee also was a popper back in the day and so he’s well versed with B-boy anthems and songs that are built for the cypher. “Si Me Ves Volar” has all the elements to make it a underground B-boy/B-girl favorite. I’ve gotten a chance to play this for the crowd at Funky Sole on a couple of occasions and I can attest to how dynamite it is for dancers.

Yukio Hashi – Shikaku Dou (Thug Road)

Last track to share comes to us from Japan and from the legendary Lone Wolf & Cub series. I’m not entirely sure if this was used in the TV series, or if it might have been released in conjuction with the original manga. I’m about 90% sure that it wasn’t from any of the Lone Wolf films, but it has been a while since I’ve seen some of the later ones. “刺客道” or “Shikaku Dou” (I originally had this phonetically translated as “Shikaku Michi” but that might not be correct) translates to either “Thug Road” (if you trust Google Translate) or “Assassin’s Road.” I prefer to call it “Thug Road” mostly just because I like the idea of a song being titled “Thug Road.” Of late I’ve been listening to this quite a bit driving around LA, and everytime it gets to “Ooooh oh oooh oh, Daigoro…” I belt it out in my best operatic voice. It’s the kind of thing you think RZA would have sampled liberally for Wu-Tang Clan already, though I don’t think it has been. It’s certainly deserving, especially the parts where the kids are singing.

Cheers,

Michael

The Silhouettes – Lunar Invastion
The Silhouettes – Question: Why?
The Silhouettes – Fonky First

I really don’t have too much to say about this supremely funky endeavor by The Silhouettes. I feel like I either heard this first from Matthew Africa or from one of the rare instances where youtube actually suggested something that I hadn’t heard, but actually wanted to hear. The album was released on Nathan Davis’ Segue record label and is real hard to track down in the original, but it’s definitely worth it. “Lunar Invasion” is one of the funkiest flute tunes I’ve ever heard, especially the way it closes, which almost actually sounds (to these Post Hip-Hop ears) as if a DJ keeps bringing the break back around. “Fonky First” is also heavy on the drums and just as dope. “Question: Why?” is one of the few vocal tracks on the album, and it’s lovely listen, with little pockets of funk, though mostly with a more pensive feel. I wish someone had had some conversations with the Silhouettes to put out more music, cause we definitely could have used more based on what the laid down here.

Cheers,

Michael

Sun Ra – Twin Stars Of Thence
Sun Ra – Lanquidity
Sun Ra – There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)

I’d meant to get this up on May 22nd, which would have been the 102nd birthday of Sun Ra, but in some ways, his leaving this Earthly realm on May 30th, 23 years ago, fits even better. I bought this record towards the tail end of 2015 from a type of dealer I like to call, “Elvis People.”

These are often sellers who don’t really sell many records, except a plethora of minty copies of Elvis records, but every now and again they have something a bit more special. But since they don’t know “this” kind of music or they no longer even own a record player, you (sometimes) can get a steal. In this case, I was doubly lucky, because the record had been auctioned off the previous week, but the person who won decided not to pay and so back up it went. This 1st Press copy of Lanquidity was described as “G,” often the record grading mark of death, but what was also clear from the description is that it wasn’t play tested. As you can hear, while there is some surface noise, I wouldn’t have graded this less than a VG or VG+. That’s the first win here.

The second win, was that not only is this a 1st press of Lanquidity, notable because of the pasted on front and back covers and the lack of labels on the vinyl itself, it’s also an alternate mix of the album. This mix sounds a bit brighter to me, nt as murky as the “regular” version. But the real pleasure is that there are extra bits of music here, including the extra greasy opening to “Twin Stars Of Thence” and a full four extra minutes to the song “That’s How I Feel.” I chatted with Cool Chris of Groove Merchant, and even he’s never had a copy of this record! So all told, I probably got this record for roughly $200 to $400 less than it “should” have sold for…I love “Elvis People.”

Cheers,

Michael

Caetano Veloso – It’s A Long Way
Caetano Veloso – You Don’t Know Me
Caetano Veloso – More Na Filosofia
Caetano Veloso – Nine Out Of Ten

This is also a record that I’d meant to post much earlier, actually before my trip to Spain last month. But 2016 has been a year of delays, and so it is, that I’m posting this while I’m in Cuba, with no way to change over my money. With that extra time, and thankfully still with some hours on my internet card, I figured I’d put them to good use and post a few things.

Transa has been on my radar for a relatively short period of time. I first heard “It’s A Long Way,” through it’s use at a pivotal moment in the recent Tropicalia documentary. The moment where Cae sings, “I hear my voice among others,” and the bass and drum come in with a “boom,” and everything really starts to churn, is one of my favorite musical moments of all-time. The song comes to mind whenever I’m on some type of long trip, especially driving (or as was the case here in Cuba, the long long long long long long long way from Havana to Santiago by bus) and so for about a year I worked hard to track down a solid copy. The difficulty with this record, one of his most popular, is that people wore out the record when they got it originally, so “nice” copies are tough to find and then there’s the tri-fold out cover you see in the picture, which only came with the first press and can also be tough to find with all the proper parts. Late last year, I thought I’d found a great copy, only to discover via correspondence that it wasn’t as good sounding as the collector originally thought. This was the beginning of a two month escapade involving two or three copies, trading sound files to check the sound quality, and finally receiving the album.

“Transa” is Brazilian for “Fuck,” and that might lead you to believe that this record would be all about Sex and such, but it’s actually a lot more philosophical. The grooves are sultry at times, but the themes are connected to nostalgia, rejection, mortality and enjoying life in all it’s mysterious ways. In my opinion, Transa features several of Cae’s best English songs, including, “Long Way,” as well as “You Don’t Know Me,” and “9 out of 10” (Which he recently performed with Gilberto Gil on their 2015-2016 duo concert tour). The songs in portuguese are just as strong, it really is an exceptional record and one I’m very happy share, finally, with you.

Cheers,

Michael

Modulos – Realidad
Modulos – Todo Tiene Su Fin
Modulos – Dulces Palabras

As I’ll mention in more detail, eventually (I promise), when I put together a mix of the music I bought during my recent jaunt overseas, I hadn’t originally planned on spending enough time in Granada to be able to go to any stores, let alone three. But misfortune and misdirection led me to change my original plans and cause me to stay an additional day in a city that I now have quite a lot of affection for. Some of that certainly relates to the fact that they have a first class record store there in Discos Bora Bora.

In fact, after visits to Barcelona, Madrid (back in 2008) and now Granada, of the 8 or 9 stores I’ve been to in two trips to the country, Bora Bora is my second favorite store (next to Wah Wah in Barcelona).

Part of it relates to the selection, which is split between the usual genres we expect in US stores combined with an extensive 45 and LP collection of music produced in Spain. Part of it connects to the vibe of the store, which includes an adorable white boxer, requisite shaggy bearded employee, signed drum heads from musicians, vintage guitars and a mellotron in one corner and an upstairs oddball boutique.

In my first trip to Spain, I didn’t actually buy a whole lot of vinyl, and aside from a Canarios record I shared in Melting Pot’s early days, I didn’t buy much music recorded in Spain. I was keen to rectify that this time around and Bora Bora did not disappoint, particularly in terms of being able to check out some Spanish new wave, electro and post-punk from the early 1980s. But the record that I enjoyed most, perhaps my favorite single record from the entire trip was this one from Modulos.

As has often been the case, picking up this record was a matter of good timing. It wasn’t on the floor when I arrived, but was something that the guy behind the counter began to play maybe 45 minutes into my stay. The very first thing I heard was that kick drum, followed by the bass and then the guitar on the lead track, “Realidad,” which reminded me of Love’s version of “My Little Red Book.” While that piqued my curiosity, as that first minute rolled out I wasn’t really giving the song my full attention. But once it really started with the rolling drums, rolling guitar, rolling organ, I was definitely hooked but still cautious. My days of buying “one-tracker” albums are long behind me, and when I have a chance to hear a record I like to know that the album really is worth adding to my collection. Nothing else on the first side grabbed me the way “Realidad” did, so I was thinking I was going to pass. When Side 2 started with “Todo Tiene Su Fin,” I was back on board and finally asked what was playing and got a chance to see the band.

At first I miss read the back on the LP, thinking that this had been recorded in 1981, though later I was able to figure out that album was released in 1970, the debut for the group, regarded as one of the better “progressive” groups from Spain. By the time “Dulces Palabras” came shimmering through the speakers, there was no way I was going to be leaving without this record. Again, time was on my side, because I got to process the whole album with very few people in the store. The album must have been a favorite of the employee cause he played it three times while I was there, and as the day progressed other people came up to him to ask about it, or chat about the sounds, but thankfully I had reserved it during that first spin, which allows me to share it now with you.

Cheers,

Michael