My original intent for this post was to be the third part of my Mastermix series, this time featuring the Prelude Vol. II Tony Humphries mixes. Well my thrift store copy is fucked and beaten to death, I was only able to salvage the two least essential tracks off the comp. Not to worry, I will track down a new copy and post them up sometime down the road. In an attempt to make up for the lack of killer content here I am throwing in a pretty smooth track from the second Wynd Chymes LP entitled Festival. For more on Wynd Chymes, read the comments by the bands former lead singer on our post from a couple of years back.

Wynd Chymes - Festival
Sharon Redd - Beat The Street (Tony Humphries Mastermix)
D Train - Music (Tony Humphries Mastermix)

After hearing the disturbing news that several mp3 blogs were decimated last night by our friends at Skynet, I am stepping out of my cave this evening to mourn and wallow with some oblivious party toddlers. Therefore I ask forgiveness for the brevity.

So Different is a modern soul stepper on Sound of New York Records from Kevin Bassett aka Kinky Foxx. Complete with a "Sure Shot Mix" by Tony Humphries, this was Foxx's only known release. I suppose if you are going to cut only one single in your career, might as well make it a winner.

Addendum:

Our friend Matt from Montreal shared an email he received about the band from a gentleman that worked at the club where Kinky Foxx kept a residency in the early 80's. Here goes:

I worked at Checkers from '81-'87, and the Kinky Foxx effect took hold maybe in '82. Their big heyday was maybe for the 2/3 years following, though they kept showing up as long as I worked there.

When they first came up, Johnny Kemp was the lead vox but he left 'em when they more or less moved up here, and was replaced by Vincent Lilly (who sings on So Different.) Personally, I liked 'em more with Johnny, as Vincent was a bit of an MJ clone, but they were still a fierce live band (and I mean live: trap drums, percussions, slap bass, Jimmy Nolen-style rhythm guit & Ernie Isley/Eddie Hazel wailing lead, keys...) Rhythm guit Kevin Clarence Basset (who wrote So Diff) sang great lead on a few, which were the highlights for me: Champagne's Try Again, Rick James' Ghetto Life etc.

As a live band they were every bit as good as Cameo, or whoever you might name from that era, but they never got the break to get out of the bars. They worked a fuck of a lot in bars, though.
One night I turned 'em all onto 'shrooms, which (to my surprise) they'd never encountered in NYC: half of them loved it, and the other half wanted to kill me!

It was intense times to be around for sure, but just think: if you'd been there then, you'd be old (or dead) now! I still have some pretty much equally intense times, but obviously everything's that much larger than life when you're 20 than when you're more'n twice that.
I wish I'd taped a few KF shows: I still remember them really vividly, but I can't make you a dub of that!

Kinky Foxx - So Different (Tony Humphries Sure Shot Mix)

This was Fresh Band's only release. It came out on Are N Be Records out of New York in 1984. Are N Be Records only put out three releases between 1982 and 1984 and they are all pretty sought after. This track has a lot of elements that do it for me. It has an early garage house sound with a slammin' bassline, and well executed vocals. This track was mixed by legendary Zanzibar DJ Tony Humphries who was a pioneer in the garage house sound. This tracks was produced by The Strikers' producer and Crown Heights Affair member Darryl Gibbs.

Fresh Band - Come Back Lover (Remix)

As far as my limited research suggests NYC label TNT Unlimited (Brooktown Records) was responsible for only three 12" releases in its very short run. I own two of them. The third release by a group called Fire and Ice is the rarest of the lot but the least essential in my opinion. Alternately, "You Can't Have It" by Stargaze (featuring a mix by Tony Humphries) and "Get Your Body Up" by Serena are pretty heavy tunes from the peak 1982-83 boogie era. TNT folded in '83 shortly after the Serena 12" dropped, leaving several collectible and sought after releases in its wake.

Visual was a project by Boyd Jarvis and Timmy Regisford. This record was mixed by Loft regular Tony Humphries and was released by Prelude Records. Boyd Jarvis, who still makes music, conceived this tune as part of a WBLS New York audition for vocalist Timmy Regisford. The track had such a profound effect (for good reason) that they played it live in a couple of times before bringing it to Prelude.

This mind blowing proto house (or proto garage track) came to us in 1983. The bassline sounds like a TB303, but I don't think that it is. The synth lines are so soothing and sound similar to synth sounds from yacht rock of the era. The track builds and builds till it comes to a head and the vocal break instructs the hard working dancefloor to move their bodies.

mp3: Visual - The Music Got Me (Instrumental)