Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Take Me To The Bridge  


  We've covered a lot of post-disco electro funk material here at Beat Electric, here's a little throwback with a more traditional straight ahead disco sound. This beautiful Canadian cut was included in a Trocadero Transfer mix we posted a while back. A friend of mine gave me this 12" around December and its haunting infectious sound has found its way back on my turntable many times since. Canadian keyboardist and member of Nightlife Unlimited Louis Toteda handled production duties on this masterpiece. Enjoy the full seven minutes of swirling disco perfection.

Vera - Take Me To The Bridge

Posted by Dogtones | 7 comments

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Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Our Love  


Happy New Year Beat Electricians! This is one of those highly unknown, un-googleable tracks that blows minds on the dance floor. I really did try locating some info on this boogie beast but it is mysterious! All I can say is that it was made in 1986 somewhere in the U.K. Anyway, I really like the lyrics to this track plus I have listened to the song a million times, so I decided to post them since I got nothing else on this gem.


You make me feel so special
You make me feel wonderful
Times we've had
Times we're gonna see

You know when I look at you
I know we're gonna make it through
Cause to my heart
I know you hold the key

Our love, our love will survive
No one could ever stop us
Our love, our love is alive
No way no one could stop us

We were made for each other
We've become inseperable
Together we
Together we are strong

And the fact when we make love
You know I think the starts above
Cause you to me
You are everything

Our love, our love will survive
No one could ever stop us
Our love, our love is alive
No way no one could stop us

We met, knew that it was special
Love had barely started
We met, knew that it was special
No one else can take the place of you

[Cosmic Outro]

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 6 comments

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Friday, December 12, 2014

You've Got My Nose Open  


Nothing to cure the Funkmosphere hangover blues like a new post. Firstly, just want to give one more shout out to Dam Funk and all of the Funkmosphere residents (Billy Goods,Laroj,Matt Respect, Ron aka Randy Watson, and Eddy Funkster) for keeping the funk strong in Los Angeles. I really says something to the quality of the night when they can stay strong for 8 years. If you are ever in Los Angeles on a Thursday night, do yourself a favor and check it out. There are so many tunes that I have been exposed to it's absurd. 

So this little gem was in the 45 box last night and for the longest time I always thought it was about doing blow with your mates based off the title alone. I decided to use my google-fu and get to the root explanation of the term "You've got my nose wide open". Turns out it is a phrase to indicate you are really lusting over someone. I suppose when you want to get high on the pheromones of the opposite sex you have to open those nostrils up! So now you know if anyone tells you that, you're probably going to shag! Anyway, Oscar Perry was a soul singer from Houstan, Texas and this was his only foray in the late 80's boogie sounds. Unfortunately Mr. Perry passed away in 2008 but I am glad he decided to leave us this gem before he went.

Oscar Perry-You've Got My Nose Open

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 1 comments

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Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Very Special Lady  


This "torrential" downpour in Southern California has provided a great setting for trying to dig up some deets on Nathan McKinney and Desert Bone Records. Apparently, the info for this artist is pretty scarce, most of my search results are Youtube videos with "hynas" on cars and comments full of homies proclaiming  how this is a "firme rola" to which I emphatically agree! Both versions of this track are hard to come by, in fact I've only seen two copies of this ever. I have not been able to locate where D Bone Records was headquartered but based on the sound and label name, I am going to guess that this is from somewhere in Texas (don't hold me to that). Enjoy!


Nathan McKinney-Very Special Lady

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 5 comments

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Monday, November 24, 2014

For Ladies Only  


Not much is known about the foxy Merrilyn Fox other than this and the 12" of the same name are her only releases on Shiva Records. My comrade Dogtones, while searching for a copy of this for himself, did find an 80's Belgian porno mag with her in it. Unfortunately he did not purchase it and now who knows who is wanking it to nudes of Merrilyn Fox! This record is my jam , although the lyrics are very hard to understand due to her accent the synth game is strong. After countless listens, I have been able to deduce what this song is about. Basically, she plans on going to a show with her guy friend, they get dinner and some wine and its all good. He makes some moves on her and she isn't having it so she takes him to a club for ladies only and straight up friend zones him. Then the sweet synth kicks in and you're like what the fuck did I just listen to!? I still don't know if this track is about lesbians but if anyone can decipher the exact lyrics that would be awesome. 

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 2 comments

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Friday, November 21, 2014

Givin' It Up  


For me, this is one of those jams that always gets my ass on the floor. I remember first getting exposed to this record by the Sweater Funk in the late 2000's. It immediately became one of those major "wants" and I searched for it incessantly! The time came where I found a copy and I was able to trade some rare "ALF" pogs and an eight ball slammer for it and my 7" collection got a major shot in the arm. I tried finding out more info about the band but info is pretty non existent other than their names. I did find another release by them, a 7" titled "You My Love" but it was terrible! Go ahead, look it up! It's got nothing on "Givin' It Up". It's  not even in the same league. Anyway, I have seen this sought after 7" pop up a few times since I got my hands on  it and if you're diligent I'm sure you can  score a copy. There is another jam on Biram by the Gibson Brothers called "My Hearts Beating Wild" that sounds proper aside from a cheesy chorus that is worth checking out. Oh yeah, and I'm deeply sorry for the lack of content on my part, I am in the process of getting my groove back!

Charms-Givin' It Up

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 2 comments

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Sunday, November 02, 2014

Chocolette  


 I was downtown and stopped by a spot on a whim whilst I was supposed to be doing something else entirely. It turned out to be worthwhile though, as I came up with this Timmy Regisford produced proto house dub that I had heard a couple of times over the years. I'm sorry for the slight crackle, the dub side of the record wasn't in the best of shape and was a little thrashed, but the vocal A side was pristine as though it had never been played, which makes sense as the vocal ain't all that and it was the dub that lit up the clubs.

Chocolette - It's That East Street Beat (Dub) 

Posted by Black Shag | 1 comments

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Carol Williams  


 Carol Williams was the first female solo artist on Salsoul, she had a handful of singles that did pretty well through the 80's and has spent the past twenty years or so on the disco revue circuit, doing throwback parties and oldschool themed events at casinos and the like.

 Her biggest underground hit, Can't Get Away (From Your Love), gets a lot of CD compilation and internet love, and rightly so as its one of the best, but the 12" single is getting a little harder to come by and I haven't seen the instrumental around anywhere so I'm putting that up, and as an added bonus a couple of her heavier unreleased tunes from a series of sessions she did in 1983.

Carol Williams - Can't Get Away (Instrumental)
Carol Williams - 60 Yard
Carol Williams - Have You For My Love
Carol Williams - I'll Do Anything

Posted by Black Shag | 4 comments

Thursday, August 21, 2014

I'm Not Going To Let You Go  


  We've covered Bay-Area-transplant-by-way-of-Ghana Rim Kwaku Obeng before on Beat Electric. His self-released recorded output produced two highly sweated LPs, Rim Arrives and Too Tough. As far as I know there is just one other Rim record other than the mediocre International Funk 12" also mentioned in Black Shag's post, fortunately it's from 1983 and very high quality.
  I first found this 12" in a Santa Cruz thrift store several years ago. I kept putting it in my record bag and never working it into sets due to the higher tempo and slightly odd arrangement of the track. Frustrated, I eventually traded it to another collector. As these things go I heard the track again much later in a mix and began to regret letting it go. As luck would have it I wound up finding another copy last week on the way to a gig and alerted Black Shag who demanded to hear it. When Black Shag asks you for an mp3 you'd better deliver.

  Rim And The Believers - I'm Not Going To Let You Go

Posted by Dogtones | 0 comments

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Mar De La Tranquilidad  


 Word was put out that a big Italo collection had been put out at the Rasputin chain of record stores in the Bay Area, but of course given my busy lifestyle by the time I finally got around to taking a look the vultures had already picked it over, bragging about their scores on my facebook page, whilst I was left with their scraps, fumbling around the Rasputin downtown that all the crack heads wonder in to. That being said, perhaps they missed this one, or simply didn't consider it worthy considering the other prizes on offer, but I was pleased to come home with it as a consolation none the less.

 Azul y Negro were a Spanish electro duo, that I suppose if you grew up in Spain in the 70's and 80's you would have heard of, but are new on me. They are sort of a Spanish equivalent of the Pet Shop Boys perhaps. This balearic sounding instrumental was actually on a Disconet DJ pool LP which came pre-mixed, so I cut it out and faded the song before a Norma Lewis track kicked in.

Azul y Negro - Mar De La Tranquilidad

Posted by Black Shag | 5 comments

Friday, June 20, 2014

Muzak Superior  



Intro was the name of a short lived project fronted by underground(ish) new wavey electro singer Jacqui Brookes. For this post I was going to use a picture of an old boom box with a guy dressed as a robot octopus breakdancing around it, as is standard around here, but I looked Jacqui up on google and found this press shot of her and decided it was way better than a body popping octopus.

This is the dub of their single Lost Without Your Love, I found it in a box over the weekend.


Posted by Black Shag | 3 comments

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Out Of Control  


Meshay’s Out Of Control was released by Dion Entertainment out of Los Angeles CA in the later years of Boogie in 1985. Although her release  ‘Sex Toy’ on Jam -Kru Records will stack your bank account a little higher, I feel like this cut is a little bit more of an accurate representation of the Beat Electric sound, and aesthetic. There’s also a interesting spanish version ‘Fuera De Control that accompanies this instrumental on the B-side with spanish lyrics by Vivian Padilla. Solid!


Posted by casual_touch | 3 comments

Saturday, June 07, 2014

Spend My Life With You  


Goldie Alexander is an Australian author, well known around Melbourne for her murder mysteries, and her ability to fictionalize difficult subjects from her native country's past into stories from children.

According to my internet research, which is detailed and authoritative, at some point in her career she went to Canada to become a black soul singer in the disco scene there and put out a handful of records, including a super tight e.p that includes that has this sought after jam on the B side, before abruptly disappearing from musical history and reentering the literary world of Australian short stories.

Goldie Alexander - Spend My Life With You

Posted by Black Shag | 5 comments

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Tenderloin West Music  


 This is a strange dollar bin score for a couple of weeks ago, or $2 bin at least from the price sticker, I think even the Bay Area dollar bins are more expensive than other places. Trickle down economics coming in to play, as another social media company goes IPO in the city, fucked up 12" records, that nobody other than me wants anything to do with, double in price in order that the record store owner can share in silicon valley's prosperity.

 Anyhow, this is a local private press experimental, new wave'ish electro record out of San Francisco, by a band called Dub Oven. This e.p has an entry on discogs, but no mention anywhere else, so I think this is an internet first. Claiming to be put out on Tenderloin West Music, the Tenderloin being a pleasant neighborhood/skid row resisting gentrification despite proximity to the new Twitter HQ.

 The producers Gary Miles and Blase Smith were synthesizer players on the local punk scene in SF although I don't know much about them beyond that, I'm not sure if the guys on the front cover in tribal outfits carrying a gas oven through the jungle are them or not, still its one of the better covers.

Dub Oven - Millions Of Sensations 

Posted by Black Shag | 1 comments

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Give It All To Me  


Times are changing in San Francisco, but one thing remains the same, as sure as the California skies are blue, the record stores of SF will remain as picked over as ever. Waves of monied chancers, European tourists, ebay salesmen, backpacker DJ's and people such as myself with no real lives ensure that the dollar bins of this city are some of the most sparse in the continental USA. 

 So yesterday I went over the bridge to Oakland, and found this in the space of about 35 minutes. Life's better there.


Posted by Black Shag | 5 comments

Sunday, March 30, 2014

I'm Stepping Out Tonight  


 Even back when we started BeatElectric it was already sort of difficult to post something new to the internet, that is to say something you couldn't already hear on youtube, another blog or maybe some weird file dump aggregator site in France. Not that that was ever our primary objective, it was more about the quality of the rip and ease of download for laptop DJ's, but you know, its a cool feeling when you know something is completely fresh. These days though, its near impossible, I haven't done it in a while, even if the tune is complete garbage its already out there somewhere to listen to, and thats a great thing, as it means so much more weird music now accessible. Yet still, sometimes its nice to be first.

 Anyway, I was walking down 24th St, which is a strip in San Francisco's Mission district that has been a little more resilient to gentrification, there are still some new restaurants and coffee shops opening up along there of course, full of tech workers (such as myself) but there are also still the traditional residents, working class Latino families making a living.

 This older Mexican guy in wife beater had some random stuff for sale on a blanket on the sidewalk. A toaster oven, a sony walkman, a corkscrew and some records. I flipped through the Polka LP's that usually turn up on the streets of this part of Mission, and suddenly I saw some hombre's in jumpsuits and afros, it was definitely an indie Tejano Polka record, produced by a small label in South Texas, but there was a single track listed that had an English title, Stepping Out Tonight, so perhaps a song about partying, and a credit for someone named Pedro Gonzalez who performed synth duty on it. Maybe there was a stand alone disco track on this among all the accordion music.

 I offered homey a dollar, and he spat "No way! where else you gonna find this record right now!? This old school right here!" , to which I bravely responded "who else is gonna buy this record right now? Eh!? Today's your lucky day, I'm going to give you a dollar for it." .. how about that razor sharp wit, I had only just spent twice that amount on a coffee, and here this guy was trying to eek a living selling used toasters off of a blanket .. anyway, I didn't win, he scratched under his armpit, looked at me unwavering like the piece of shit I was and I gave him two bucks.

And it turns out it was a disco track..

Little Joe & La Familia - I'm Stepping Out Tonight 

Posted by Black Shag | 5 comments

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Slip Away  


 Skool Boyz started off with three singles on the Destiny label out of Los Angeles California in the early 1980's. After their short run at Destiny they found themselves working out a deal with Crossroads Entertainment where they released "Before You Go" and, "Breaking Out". The relationship with Crossroads quickly fizzled which might have been a blessing in disguise, because Columbia Records came knocking soon after. 

 'Slip Away' was released in 1984 as the first of four singles on Columbia. 

Test the sound system at your next gig with this one, or just dance to it in your bedroom while you’re getting ready to go out to your favorite weekly funk/boogie club. Either way, it’s a serious jam!

Posted by casual_touch | 2 comments

Dream Girl  


  Detroit has provided an incredible wealth of black dance music to the world. We've posted a number of tracks from Motor City here on Beat Electric, here is yet another to attempt to chip away at the endless musical output of this city. Cookie Do is a one-off artist as far as I know with production from Danny Omar, who also worked with Detroit super group The Spinners and has guitar, songwriting, and special thank you credit on some of their late '70s to '80s LPs. Dream Girl features somewhat cheesy rap style vocals on the A-side, the instrumental is my favorite mix and really delivers the goods with a loose minimal funk groove over a basic shuffling drum machine pattern.

  Cookie Do - Dream Girl (inst)

Posted by Dogtones | 1 comments

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

TEASER  

I always instantly think of 'Reach Up' and 'Love So Deep' when I hear the name Toney Lee. I came across 'Teaser' not too long ago while on my seven day hunting expedition. Written and Produced by Richard Bassoff, and Nick Braddy who brought you 'The Party Side Of Town' performed by Essence III, 'Take A Risk' performed by Empress, and Tracey Weber's 'Sure Shot'.

Not the rarest, or most expensive record, but a solid synth workout, with the perfect touch of cowbell, piano, and the background vocal telling you to "take your time".

Toney Lee - Teaser (Instrumental)


Posted by casual_touch | 1 comments

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Make Life Worth Living  



Mac Thornhill is still in the game, producing records from his home base in Quebec. During the 80's he was probably one of the best r'n'b vocalists to come out of Canada and a couple of his really early records can fetch some coin, including this second or third single, Make Life Worth Living, which has a sweet instrumental side. I only thought of this after somebody offered me an overpriced copy of his track 'Boogie Fire', which I passed on as the dealer was out of his mind. One day I'll get it.

Posted by Black Shag | 4 comments

Thursday, February 20, 2014

So In Love  


 This is one I had to double, then triple check that we hadn't posted before, its that much of a classic and indicative of the sound we wanted to capture on the blog. 'So In Love' came out on maybe my favorite New York based label, Silver Cloud, and has Jocelyn Brown on vocals and future Leroy Burgess producer Stan Lucas on the mixing boards. You can't lose.

Raven Featuring Jocelyn Brown ‎– So In Love


Also, check it out, we have a YouTube channel now that I try and put all the content from the blog on (that I'm allowed to, they let you get away with less on YouTube). Subscribe!


Posted by Black Shag | 2 comments

Friday, February 14, 2014

Blood From My Soul Pt. 2  


 Its that time of year again, and as is customary on Valentine's Day we break from normal programming to bring you a guest mix of deep, crusty, sweet soul 45's. This time, as a follow up to 2009's Blood From My Soul, San Francisco's finest exponent of the genre, Deejay OM, brings us Part 2 of his epic journey through the process of love, inevitable heart break and back again.. this from OM himself..

This mix represents a new point in my love life, a progression…it’s something that, for me, transcends just a “break-up mix”, and is more a philosophy of life…it’s patterned after that thought process and progression….after dealing with love lost and the eminent feelings, thoughts, and moves we make afterwards….and while this is a mix for people who could be alone on this valentine’s day….it also is for those who are with someone they love, or are missing them, or you’re just single and wanna enjoy good music. This mix will serve all of those purposes….but for me, it’s about me no longer wondering or looking for what I want, but actually pursuing that….and if I don’t find it, well then I guess I’ll just keep trying…because it’s true “Time Heals All Wounds”…and in the end, we’re usually better off after a break-up, or at least I often realize I am….but you can’t have the beauty without the pain, like love and loss they go hand in hand…and a hurt heart in the end can always heal, but overcoming that pain is what has made me a better man….now have a happy valentine’s day!!!

I hope this mix brings you as much as living through it has for me…..

click for direct download:


Posted by Black Shag | 2 comments

Monday, January 27, 2014

Killer Moon  


  Here is another indie '80s soul record to file in the M.J. impersonator section along with Alfonzo and Michael Sterling. Timothy Marrow's self released Killer Moon sounds like it was recorded in an afternoon with a borrowed synth and drum machine. Every little mistake and looseness in the meandering bass line is captured in its full glory over a basic drum loop. Timothy's vocals tread dangerously close to copying the flow of Billie Jean. A recipe for a killer track if I've ever heard one.

Timothy Marrow - Killer Moon

Posted by Dogtones | 6 comments

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

You Blew It  


 The Mad Lads were a legendary Memphis sweet soul group that had a string of R&B hits in the sixties, recording on Stax fir a while. After two of the key members got drafted things sort of fell apart and the group's fortunes declined until eventually they broke up in the seventies.

 At some point in the mid eighties, former member John Williams put a version of the group back together again to play shows on the revival circuit, they even put out a couple of records in the run up to the nineties including this single re-mixed by Memphis boogie maestro Willie McClain.

The World Famous Mad Lads And The Crossfire Band - You Blew It

Posted by Black Shag | 1 comments

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

After Midnight  


                                                             HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Andre Forget Me Not-After Midnight (B Side)

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 4 comments

Sunday, December 22, 2013

We Should Get Together  



  I believe our hosting was successfully moved at this point so I'll go ahead and put up a new post. This is a record that has evaded me for a while and I finally tracked down a copy. Released towards the end of peak boogie era in 1985 Shebba's We Should Get Together is still a fine example of the sound and has remained one of my favorite tunes for years. This one off track features production from Young & Company who brought us classics like Joy "I Need Your Love". The classic Young & Co. sound is in full effect here with excellent bass guitar work. I really like the '85 flavor of this one with drum programming that reminds me of Miami freestyle/electro, albeit a more laid back version. The skittering delayed percussion and cowbell sounds really tie together the atmosphere of this masterpiece.


Shebba - We Should Get Together

Posted by Dogtones | 2 comments

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Monday, December 16, 2013

No News Is News  


 I have been struggling with moving beardodisco, B.E's music server, over to a new a hosting provider. The old hosting provider decided to make wild claims that we were using their datacenter services to distribute gigabytes of funk mp3's over the internet, blah blah blah, which went against their terms of service.

 Whatever.

 Anyhow, things are back up, I just need to get around to setting things so the other B.E members can contribute. Until then its just me.

 By way of an apology I'm going to put up an instrumental I'm really into, the UK 1986 remastered instrumental of Kreamcicle's No News Is News..

Kreamcicle - No News Is News (Remix) (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 6 comments

Monday, November 04, 2013

Never Give You Up  


 I assumed that over the years I must have posted every single Sharon Redd instrumental that has ever seen a San Francisco dollar bin, but I was wrong, as I found a promo of In The Name Of  Love in someone's discard pile sitting on the floor that had an instrumental of Never Give You Up on the B side. Live and learn.

Sharon Redd - Never Give You Up (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 6 comments

Monday, October 14, 2013

I Wanna Freak  



 I bought this record off a Frenchmen selling leather jackets at a flea market on the East coast years ago, he had a small box of 45's he had brought with him from overseas along with his stock of vintage coats and the label would seem to indicate this was a French release, although the track itself was certainly recorded in New York. He told me that "this is a good boogie.", and so I gave him a couple of bucks and took it off his hands.

 The only member of The Chance that I recognize is guitar session man Wah Wah Watson, who played on some hits by the Temptations and Marvin Gaye, which makes sense, as the guitar is the standout element of the vocal side of this track, but I'm putting up the instrumental which has all the dubbed out keyboard stabs and synth bass breakdowns.

Posted by Black Shag | 4 comments

Monday, October 07, 2013

D.C. Funk  


 It's been a busy week since I got back from D.C. and I finally had a minute to record a few tracks to share here. I had a great time out there, got a chance to look at records almost every day of my visit, saw the Earcave in person, and got to meet the Beautiful Swimmers. The cherry on top of the trip was a private show from George Smallwood in his home a few hours before my return flight.

 Som Records is the best shop in D.C. I loaded up a healthy stack of twelve inches including many local go-go funk records that are obviously everywhere in their home town but a bit harder to find here on the west coast. Here are two of my favorite local finds. Master Jam released two singles on local D.C. micro label 2nd To None. "Celebrity Funk" is a cool vocoder instrumental on the one-off DOC label.

Master Jam - Freak With You

Chris Thomas - Celebrity Funk (instrumental)

Posted by Dogtones | 0 comments

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Monday, September 23, 2013

Like A Ton Of Bricks  


 Here is a dollar bin sleeper. Private Sector were a New Jersey scene punk'ish new wave act that played under a couple of different names in the clubs, Odin, The Proof etc depending on the style of music and clientele they were playing for.

 Like A Ton Of Bricks was their first of two singles, coming out in 1983 on the not insignificant and one day to be bought by Sony,  Relativity Records. There is a 1986 single and a 1987 album, but nothing else they did was as funky as this instrumental B side.

Private Sector - Bricks Mix (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 2 comments

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Melody  


A few weeks ago during Labor Day weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Miami's Psychic Mirror's twice in Southern California and it was really an amazing thing to experience. For any of you uninitiated, they are an 8-12 piece boogie band that really know how to put some slide in yo glide and some dip in yo hip. They also got some new material coming out of PPU and it sounds pretty awesome from what I have heard. I was fortunate enough to host the entire band along with the Miami Players Club along with the rest of the Cosmic Chronic family. Copious amounts of beer, boogie and buds was a good way to enhance the positive vibe from coast to coast. Major shout out Mickey and Co. for their talented funk agenda! Keep an eye out for these cool cats!

I recently acquired this piece of Italo history in a truth telling contest two towns over. It is very uncommon to come across this Italian masterpiece but it has a pretty good effect on the dance floor from what I have seen. Plustwo was a 4 piece band who on the surface are quite "poppy", but still manage to keep your interests piqued with good drum programming and catchy keys. For some people the chipmunk vocals are a deal breaker but I really think it fits really good with the overall vibe of the song. The 12" version of this track borders on "grail" status for a lot of people because it is highly elusive and gives you an extra two minutes of groove but commonly goes for over $400 bucks. The 7", which I am posting here, is slightly easier to find but still pretty scarce and can be had for like a 1/4 of the price. 

They made a pretty legit music video for this track which I will put in our Mega TITE Facebook page. Check it out sometime if you are interested in watching some lo-fi home made video footage. 



Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 5 comments

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Monday, September 09, 2013

Witness  



  Gospel-boogie is a style overridden with more tepid one tracker LPs than regular non-gospel boogie, which is quite an accomplishment. It is all too often that these records step over the bounds of cheesiness outweighing any small nugget of that certain sound we all look for.  There are still some quality tunes out there waiting to be rescued from a wasteland of Savoy and Light label junk.  Black Shag already posted one of the uncontested heavyweights of the genre.

  I found another cheap copy of Kenny Smith's Witness LP a few days ago, a record I hadn't touched since I made this mix nearly a year ago. At that time I was pulling things out on the fly and the first track sounded good, so in the mix it went. This weekend I spent a little more time with the record and realized its actually pretty solid, there are several strong tracks which in my mind automatically places it in the upper 10% of any boogie type record. The title track "Witness" is possibly the best. If you can hang past the sax solo at the beginning you'll be treated to some shimmering 1986 production and vocals that are mercifully subtle in their Jesus-related subject matter.

Kenny Smith - Witness

Posted by Dogtones | 2 comments

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Friday, August 09, 2013

Your My Last Chance  


 Here is a dollar bin secret weapon dub that in some alternate reality I use to vanquish and smite my enemies, sending fronting nineties revivalists to the mead halls of Valhalla to sing tales of my greatness. But, seeing as that doesn't really happen, you can have it.

 Manchester Brit funk act 52nd Street have some good instrumentals, but this 1986 B side I think is their best. It marks the first UK effort at the still young 'Haunted House' genre, partly inspired by the glut of 80's straight to VHS gore flicks of the time but probably mostly inspired by the heroic amounts of loot Thriller made earlier in the decade. This vocal on this one has some lyrics about have amnesia and being really scared and the dub keeps some of the screams and spooky key stabs here and there, but you can barely tell, it actually gives it some flavor.

52nd Street - You're My Last Chance (Reprieved Dub)

Posted by Black Shag | 8 comments

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Freedom  


 Digging in San Francisco means dredging through a lot of shit Hi NRG records, I have accidentally bought so many in the belief that they were something else that I have actually developed a taste for it. I consider myself a Hi NRG connoisseur, like eating food in prison after at some point during your ten year bid your palette changes as a survival response.

 That being said, San Francisco DJ's in decades past would also pick up more Italo records than most of their contemporaries in other West Coast cities at the time, the boys in the clubs and bath houses liked that sound, and from time to time when I look through collections here in the Castro district where I live, amongst the Barbara Streisand singles, next to 20 copies of Karen Young's Hot Shot, I will come up.

 Yesterday I found a clutch of cheese euro disco, electro and italo records that were all marked on the labels as belonging to 'Levi', I couldn't find a historical documented account of there being a significant DJ named Levi in San Francisco in the very early eighties, but if you know different please leave a comment. From the bunch I liked this instrumental of Freedom by Thanya the most, there are some good bass elements in the vocal version that are missing in the instrumental, but the vocal itself is a little harsh, can't have everything..

Thanya - Freedom (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 2 comments

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Risky  


I have been indulging in the hyper active Los Angeles after hour party scene as of late,which had me neglecting my posting duties for some time. I am now back from an extended hiatus with lots of new tracks to share. Staying up till the day light hours in small warehouses with a bunch of fancy dancers had me in some kind of disco induced haze. So anyway, I have recently acquired a copy of this relatively unknown mid-tempo floor filler from Atlanta a few months ago after waiting for some years to finally get my hands on it. I had heard it played once but couldn't get the name. It haunted my ear drums for years but  I was lucky enough to have Lovetron and Luer from Orange County's Funk Freaks ID the track for me. I have not been able to find too much about Dass Records but I do know that their first release was by The Young Divines also titled "Risky". Not sure if this is a cover or not but either way, it just oozes class! Sorry again about the lack of posts, but I got some surprises coming up soon..... Stay tuned!

Posted by Cosmic Champagne | 5 comments

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Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Grand Master Lover  


    Someone asked me to post the other side of this record from this mix. Obviously I've been slacking on that request and eventually I came to terms with the fact that deep down I feel like keeping that one as a secret weapon. I'll make up by sharing the B-side which is a little more abstract but still equally great. O'mar was a pioneering producer and vocalist from St. Louis who self-released several records during the early '80s. PB Wolf is known to rinse his incredible "Grand Master Lover" tune.  P.M. Affair comes off O'Mar's other great release and features his trademark hypnotic chorus chants and oddball synth sounds. This is indie left field disco at its best. 

Omar - P.M. Affair

Posted by Dogtones | 3 comments

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

I Want To Feel Your Love  


 I didn't find this one at a thrift store or swap meet in San Francisco, I'll be real for a minute, I bought it on ebay.

 There now thats out of the way, we can all move on. As with (nearly) all the afro funk in my collection, which I love, I had to yearn for it over many years before finally succumbing to the fact that I was never going to pull it out of a box in some California backwater, suck it up, save my pocket money, and buy it off a Nigerian dentistry student living in Frankfurt.

 Oby Onyioha was the daughter of a West African spiritual leader, His Holiness Ogbaja Kama Onu Kama Onyioha, prophet of the Godian faith. Which isn't something you hear every day.

 These tracks are taken from her 1981 LP, 'I Want To Feel Your Love'.

Oby Onyioha - Enjoy Your Life

Posted by Black Shag | 7 comments

Sunday, June 02, 2013

Logic System  


 I found this track at the tail end of a weird 1982 new wave compilation out of Japan. It looks to be pressed by Toshiba, as in the people who make the washing machines, so what there connection was to electro dance pop at the time I don't know, but if anyone has any other electronic music compilations put out by home utensil manufacturer please let me know.

 Logic System was the solo project of Hideki Matsutake, a synthesizer technician who worked for Tomita and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Before I was about to post this up I saw that this particular track had already seen a reissue in 2011, but it seems it was all remixes and they never included the original cut, so here it is..

Logic System - Clash

Posted by Black Shag | 8 comments

Monday, May 27, 2013

Work Me  


James Bratton and Joel Washington are probably best known for their garage and New Jersey scene house of the late eighties, but thats sort of outside of my wheelhouse and I haven't really heard much of what they did later in their careers. I know them for their first project, Illusion Of A Band, an electro funk act that put out a couple of records in 1985, which had a definite proto house sound.

'Work Me' is the one Illusion Of A Band cut that I own, and I don't own the 12" with the club mix on, but the 7" I have does have an instrumental, which the 12" doesn't. So I tell myself its better.

Illusion Of A Band - Work Me (Vocal)
Illusion Of A Band - Work Me (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 2 comments

Thursday, May 16, 2013

we're gonna win  

Has anyone made a football-themed boogie mix? I don't have enough songs for a solid mix yet but maybe with help from readers we can put one together. Here is one quality track recorded by five members of the San Diego Chargers in 1981. To me there are two strong tracks on their LP with lyrics that could be about romance or football.  If you are down to participate please drop a comment with your favorite (quality) boogie tracks made by football players or about football. Please no "Superbowl Shuffle".

Hi-Five - We Came To Play.mp3

Posted by Dogtones | 11 comments

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Wednesday, May 01, 2013

The Continental  


 The Earls are a Doo Wop band from The Bronx, New York. They still play, and their blue eyed soul is still popular on the oldies circuit. Sometimes its overlooked that past decades also had their revival movements, and I suppose The Earls rode a wave of Doo Wop nostalgia in the late nineteen seventies, re-forming and putting out a few releases that included this contemporary disco number for the kids.

Lead singer, Larry Chance, currently has an album out entitled 'Larry Chance Sings Country', which I checked out on youtube and will be reviewing in a future post.

The Earls - The Continental 

Posted by Black Shag | 1 comments

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Girl  

Here is an obscure g-funk gem from Little Rock, AR from an unknown year, presumably early eighties.  This track has a classic mellow slower kick-clap groove. Hang on for one of the greatest breakdowns ever with soaring Junie Morrison style synth whine. Big thank you to Eddy Funkster for hooking me up with this rare 45.

Future - Girl

Posted by Dogtones | 5 comments

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Sunday, April 07, 2013

Don't Give Up  


 This was a weird score to make in backwoods Northern California, a rare'ish UK boogie 12" that I would have thought would have been limited to those lucky enough to come across it in an East London charity shop or hanging up on a record store wall in plastic, priced in euros somewhere, but who am I to argue with divine providence, I'll take it.

 Claudia put out a couple of funk singles on the Ilford, Essex based Rhythmic Records, an obscure new wave punk label run by the members of British industrial band Portion Control. I had heard Don't Give Up (Your Love) before on some mixtape and its around on the internet, but hadn't heard the more electro sounding B side, Do You Wanna Dance With Me, before anywhere, so it might be it's first appearance on digital, who knows.

Claudia - Don't Give Up (Your Love)
Claudia - Do You Wanna Dance With Me

Posted by Black Shag | 3 comments

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Bonk Combo  


 I was in the mountains for work over the weekend, there was some time to kill and I went by a record store in a south Lake Tahoe strip mall. Cool story. Anyhow, I dug through a lot of country music and the occasional psych rock piece (the Electric Prunes mono pressings, not bad) before I came across a few twelve inches. It was cold outside and I had already lost my shirt in the casino, so I decided to turn the store upside down whilst one of my co-workers questioned the guy behind the counter about how often he sold VHS tapes.

 This instrumental was on the back of a 1983 dark wavey pop single on Mango records by the German (I believe) Bonk Combo:

Bonk Combo - Car Jam (Electro Jazz Mix)

Posted by Black Shag | 1 comments

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Do What You Will  


San Francisco's Reynolds Records was only around for a few years spanning the 1970s, releasing a catalog of strong Bay Area funk and soul material.  Producer, Songwriter and horn player Steve Marshall's first appearance on the label is on this masterpiece of haunting deep soul.  His subsequent releases on the label head straight into disco territory. After cutting two versions of his hit "Maintain" he released an album length statement Do What You Will in 1978.  The LP is a consistent listen start to finish and leaning toward extended instrumental jamming with clean arrangements.  Disco LPs that are solid beginning to end are a rare breed, combine that fact with the small label pressing of this release and we have a bona fide disco grail on our hands. Here are two of my favorite cuts off the record.

Steve Marhsall - Do What You Will

Steve Marhsall - Maintain (LP version)

Posted by Dogtones | 3 comments

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Sunday, March 10, 2013

Jive Scratch Trax  


 Back in the distant past I posted up both the 1982 released Jive rhythm version albums, 'Jive Rhythm Trax' and 'More Jive Rhythm Trax', but I never put up the third in the series, 1983's Jive Scratch Trax, because my copy is beat to shit and I always said I would hold off on the tedious task of ripping all four sides of this double album of electro instrumental dubs until I came across a decent copy. Well I never came by a decent copy, and I refuse to buy one on the internet, so I'm just going to record and put up the one I have, at least it gives you an idea of what its all about.

The first track on the A Side, BPM 117, is especially noisy, but they get better..

1. BPM 117
2. BPM 111
3. BPM 122
4. BPM 120
5. BPM 115
6. BPM 99
7. BPM 110
8. BPM 107
9. BPM 117
10. BPM 120
11. BPM 112
12. BPM 118

Posted by Black Shag | 6 comments

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Good Love  


 This Greg Henderson production was bootlegged recently, so bare that in mind when you see all the $20 copies floating around on ebay right now. Yes I have a website that gives away other people's music for free, so its hard to criticize but I have been through the licensing process for obscure recordings a couple of times now and know that whomever put this boot out could have gotten it squared away properly if they had just put in a little effort.

I don't know much about vocalist Rome Jefferies, if that was his real name it doesn't seem to come up again after this record was made. Greg Henderson on the other hand had a couple of minor hits that got picked up by SAM and due to said label still having a business entity that deals with copyright his stuff still appears from time to time on European comps etc.

 Good Love never made it off of Greg's own Rain private press imprint, so originals are scarce, but his production is unmistakable and the instrumental on Good Love probably stands out as the best among his work.

Rome Jefferies - Good Love (Instrumental)

Posted by Black Shag | 4 comments

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Be Our Valentine  


 45 minute mini mix of valentine love jams for you.  In typical B.E. fashion these tracks represent the extremes of class and sleaze. Thank you to our friend for providing the lone cassette sourced track on this mix.  Happy valentine's day.

Beat Electric Valentines Mix

JCB Band - Being In Love (86)
Andre Lavonne - I Want Your Love (87)
Roy Ayers - Midnight After Dark (89)
Bobby G - Lollipop Girl (91)
Robbie M - What Is It Girl? (instrumental) (89)
Show And Tell - Sex With Me (9?)
Danté- Freak In Me edit (85)
10dB - I Burn For You (88)
Michael Wycoff - Tell Me Love (83)
Enchantment - Somebody's Loving You (83)
Chas - For Your Love (85)
Sensation! - Lovergirl (instrumental) (8?)
Ingram - Just For You (85)

Posted by Dogtones | 5 comments

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