The RAH Band is the brainchild of studio musician and producer Richard A. Hewson who had previously worked with such acts as The Beatles, Diana Ross, and Supertramp. This track needs no introduction, especially since it has been gaining traction after being played on a Stones Throw podcast via none other than Dam Funk a while back. This is one of those songs that immediately grabs your attention and never lets go, and I totally lose my shit once the synth solo starts. This is classic 1983 greatness, enjoy this track while spaced out!

RAH Band-Messages From The Stars (Long Wave Mix)



I also have a special treat for all you boogie monsters out there! Snacking is one of my favorite past times, especially when those snacks come in the form of rare boogie tracks. This is a special mix put together by my man Eddy Funkster from L.A's Funkmosphere crew. From start to finish, this mix runs the gamut of hard to find songs and rarities. Per usual, this mix is all 45's and pure aural goodness! Track list will be up in the comments soon unless one of you is cavalier enough to provide it before I can.

Eddy Funkster-Boogie 45 Snacks Mix

Master Funk Records was an '80s UK dance label founded by electro producer Tony Williams (not to be confused with the American jazz drummer who worked with Miles Davis). This 12" was one of the label's later releases from 1984. Both sides are great, I might actually prefer the B-side which sounds starts off sounding like a Sade instrumental until the deep bass line comes in. For more on Tony Williams check out this interview by Greg Wilson on the excellent Electro Funk Roots website.


Scratch - Keep On Searching For Love
Scratch - Eastern Lady

I'm not from San Francisco, I'm from Sheringham in North Norfolk, England. Several cultural centres are located near the Victorian era seaside town of Sheringham, these include Norwich (the epicentre of the region), Kings Lynn and North Walsham.

A common preconception that I hear when talking to other dance music historians and urban culture historians that I encounter on my travels throughout the world is that no disco, rare groove, electro soul or boogie of any note whatsoever ever came out Norwich and its surrounding areas. Sadly, after much time and study of the subject it would appear they were right. Norwich was more of a post punk art school town in those days, a genre in which it punched slightly above it's weight (lightweight), but I still ask around and look through the local record bins when I'am back, in hopes that I will find something by Norfolk's one forgotten underground electro disco act that disbanded unheralded in 1983, leaving it's members disolusioned and heading back to the pig farms or mustard factory never to speak of their failed efforts again.
(a singing farmer from where I grew up)

Yet, where Norwich was lagging other parts of the United Kingdom had plenty to offer.

Britain has always done a lot with black American music, boogie was no exception and the 12" electronic soul and disco singles that came out of early eighties London fetch fair whack now, probably due to the low number of pressings as compared to their US counterparts and subsequent relative rarity, plus they are mostly good.

Ease Your Mind by Touch Down was produced by a guy called Nigel Wright who went on to become world famous for his sound and scoring work for west end and broad way musicals, I think he did sound production for phantom of the opera with Sir Andrew Loyd Webber, and the song was written by another guy from Bedforshire (not far from Norfolk but almost as rural if that counts), called Steve Vincent, who went on to have hits well into the ninties as a sort of hip house act called 'The Adventures Of Stevie V.' . This can be a pricey record on the used market, and like most Brit Funk records as popular with the acid jazz set as the electro collectors:

Touchdown - Ease My Mind