If you know me, you know I love Brasilian music. Brasilian wax is about as tough as Cuban wax to get stateside, except on those rare occasions when Joel of Tropicalia In Furs fame swings back down to LA. This weekend was full of amazing vinyl, including some records that I can only dream about getting (namely that Liverpool record, that I suspect Egon of Now-Again copped, and that Lula Cortes monster raer), as well as good cheer, as is always the case wherever Joel is. It goes without saying that if you missed it, you MISSED IT! But, seeing as this is the third time in the last couple of years he’s come down, I’m sure he’ll be back with more in 2018. Dig It!!!
Joel came back for a second week, so I came back for more records…but you knew that was gonna happen, right?
Though it seems like I haven’t been up to much at all online, I’ve been just as busy as usual on the record front, and now that the semester is winding down, I’ll be sharing much more. This one turned up on a afternoon where I tumbled down a digital rabbit hole, looking for one thing on Ebay, which led to another and another and another, til I was looking at endless private press Latin records. This one had a bit of sound attached to it, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s what “Melting Pot,” sounds like. You can’t fool me with that “South Chicago Mama” title, that’s my theme song, and now the 4th version I’ve tracked down (if you know of any others besides the Underground Vegetables, Boris Gardiner or Booker T & the MGs, give a holler). This one definitely has the most “No-tell Motel Velvet Lounge” vibe of the bunch, but it’s still good for a spin or two.
Back in February I was convinced I’d get caught back up after falling way behind because of a trip to Havana and the start of the semester. I never was able to get it together, until now, with the week off for Spring Break. So, we’re just gonna treat this episode as March’s episode too, and the Cuba special I promised in this show, will be coming in April…I promise. Enjoy the tunes, all of them courtesy of the person I’ve known the longest here in California, even before I moved here in 1999. The one and only Cool Chris of Groove Merchant.
Tracklist:
{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)
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David Axelrod – Holy Are You – Songs Of Experience (Capitol)
I Fholks – Soldier In Your Town – Superlongplaying (Ricordi)
Head West – Czar – Head West (Disques Vogue)
Bartel – You’ve Just Been Bitten – Bartel (Perception)
Bethelehem Asylum – Earth – Commit Yourself (Ampex)
Bappi Lahiri & Chorus – Taddeer Ka Badshah – Taddeer Ka Badshah (EMI)
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Scorpio – Running From Myself – Scorpio (Tower)
Cosmology – Phases Of The Moon – Cosmology (Vanguard)
Xenon – One Love, One Soul, One Heart – Out Of Nowhere (Kiderian)
Krystol – Love Bug – Test Pressing (Epic)
Soft Verdict – Gentleman Of Leisure – Struggle For Pleasure (Crepuscule)
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Ismael Diaz – Capricornio – Mi Graduacion (ID)
Iberia – We Are To Blame – Iberia (Melodiya)
The Wailers – Mashi – Tall Cool One (Imperial)
Sui Generis – La Fuga Del Paralitico – Adios Sui Generis (Microfon)
Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band with St. Monica’s Choir – Prince Of Peace – Give Me That Old Time Religion (Rose)
P. Willsher & T. Kelly – Moon Gliding – Images Vol. 4 (Studio G)
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{closing theme} New Art Jazz Ensemble – Seeking – Seeking (Revelation)
Shortly after returning from Cuba and just ahead of Valentine’s Day, I was called in for guest duty at LA’s best dance party, Funky Sole. This time marked my seventh trip down to share the stage with Miles and Clifton and just like all the other times, it was exceptional. Enjoy the tunes, as well as all the other guest DJ sets, which are now located on mixcloud.
1. Cyril Neville – Gossip – 7″ (Josie)
2. Orchestre Poly-Ryhtmo – Malin Kpnon No – 7″ (Albarika Store)
3. Los Lazos – It’s A New Day – 7″ (RCA)
4. Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady (Quadrophonic Alt. Mix) – Best Of (Atlantic)
5. Ricardo Marrero – Babalonia – 7″ (Yu Vu Tu)
6. Coke Escovedo – Runaway – Comin At ‘Ya (Mercury)
7. Uniao Black – Geracao Black – Uniao Black (Mercury)
8. Ihsan Al-Munzer – Sari Aghtchik – Orientallismo Pt. 2 (Vos)
9. RAMP – The American Promise – Come Into Knowledge (ABC)
10. Freddie McGregor – Get Involved – 7″ (Sol-Fa International)
11. Parliament – Breakdown – 7″ (Invictus)
12. The Duke Of Burlington – Slot Machine –
13. Betty Adams – Make It Real – 7″ (Notes Of Gold)
14. Wilbur Bascomb and the Zodiact – Just A Groove In “G” – 7″ (Carnival)
15. Marva Whitney – Things Have Got To Get Better – It’s My Thing (Famous Flame)
16. Yang Yan – You Are A Secret Person – Throw Hydrangea (Life)
17. Lee Dorsey – Four Corners Pt. 1 – 7″ (Amy)
18. Franciene Thomas – I’ll Be There – 7″ (Tragar)
19. Mauricio Smith – Old Shoes – Bitter Acid (Mainstream)
20. The Lebron Bros. – Dance, Dance, Dance – Brother (Cotique)
21. Calvin Owens’ Show – The Cat – 7″ (Klondike)
22. Mary Jane Hooper – You’ve Got What I Want – Psychedelphia (Funky Delicaces)
23. Kao Ling Feng – The Girl’s Dimples – The Girl’s Dimples (Kolin)
24. Nina Simone – Save Me – 7″ (RCA)
25. Jimmy McGriff – Ain’t It Funky Now – Soul Sugar (Capitol)
Absolutely my favorite find of the past year, heard while perusing the wares at Discos Bora Bora. I knew I wanted the record pretty much as soon as the first song started playing, but by the time it got to the second side and “Dulces Palabras” came out over the speakers, I was completely entranced. I love the sound of the organ on the introduction and closing, like shimmering drops of honey, a sweet as the words promised in the title.
This was another find in Spain, though this one from Discos Wah Wah in Barcelona. Though I spent two days at the store, the Jazz room was only open part of one of them. I’d hoped to find some Catalan Jazz, Rock or Soul, and happened to nail all three with this double album from Orquestra Mirasol. “Freed’s Funk,” is downright slinky and gives me hope that there’s more to uncover from the 1970s of this region.
The record is French-Canadian, but it was also picked up at Discos Wah Wah, while going through their legitimately insane psychedelic LP section. Because Wah Wah reseals all of their records you never know what you get until you get a chance to open them up. Given that I had no access to a turntable while in Spain, there were a lot of LPs that were a mystery waiting to be solved when I got stateside once again. Of all of those mystery records, this one was far and away the best. Something that I’ll definitely be highlighting more in the near (I absolutely promise!) future.
Was surprised to see this hanging out on “The Wall” at Atomic. After spending 20+ years as a DJ and collector, with the majority of my knowledge connected to Jazz, I couldn’t believe there was an Impulse record that I simply didn’t know, but there it was. The super-duper hippie-fied “Journey To The East,” might be the standout track, but the whole album was a welcome surprise.
This record came my way via an instagram post from Andy of Record Jungle. Apparently he’d attempted to see the record on eBay without any takers, due to a chip in the vinyl. So, he played part of this track and mentioned that it would be at the store. This just happened to have happened roughly at the same time I happened to be online and I swiftly asked him to put it on hold and I’d swing by in 30 minutes. He did, I did and now a record that is often $$$ was mine on the cheap. Recently I made the decision to withdraw from social media, for a number of personal reasons. If there’s one thing I’ll miss, it’s checking on Record Jungle’s instagram page. However, since Andy is no longer holding records he posts about, chances are I’d miss anything he posted up anyway and so I’ll be twice as happy to be back to the old-school practice of never knowing what you’ll find at maybe the best store to just drop by with hours of time to explore and dig.
What’s that they say…”better late than never?” Well, here we go, took me a couple of months but my mind is right and I have the time to finally get back on track, so here are my very delinquent Top 45s dug up in 2016.
Tracked down during my second trip to Havana and Discos Seriosha. I’d known about this 45 and another by Los Barba with a blue version of the same cover, but hadn’t heard the music. Aside from just being happy to have tracked it down, I was ecstatic at the sound of it, as (many of you have heard) Cuban vinyl is often not in the most pristine condition. Still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of Cuba in the 1960s, but running into this certainly gives me a major itch to dig for more.
Tracked down at Discos Bora Bora in Granada, during a trip where I wasn’t even supposed to spend much time in the city. When other plans fell through I spent the day in several Granada record stores, though the majority of the time was spent here, one of my fave record store experiences in my life. I didn’t buy nearly enough 45s (at the time, I think I was holding steady on my budget, which got blown to holy hell when I finally made it to Barcelona and Discos Wah Wah), but this Azul y Negro gives me a sense of what the 1980s were like in Spain. I still feel like the track sounds better at 33 than 45 rpm, and that’s why I’m sharing that version here.
Each of the next three 45s were picked up at one of the various Pop-Ups held at Rappcats during last year. From the Summer on, I’d say 75% of the records I bought were at one of the pop-ups, which featured just incredible records from a variety of top-notch dealers/collectors. “I’m A Shadow” was a track that I’d looked out for every since a portion of it ended up on the DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist all 45 mix Product Placement. While I’d only known it for that “Shadow” reference at the start, the whole thing is one of my fave “Soul Boulders,” now that I’ve finally tracked it down.
This 45 isn’t particularly rare, generally the price isn’t especially high, but it’s such a quality track. Just a really really really sweet soul song from 1973 from this DC area group.
On the relatively rare occasions when I get a chance to dig quality 45s, with a portable player in tow, I try to take a listen to everything that I don’t have any knowledge about. This 45 caught my eye solely for that great art, with a mare superimposed with the Mare label name. My first thought was “I have to hear how this sounds, just because of that label.” Couldn’t find a single thing online about this 45, or the group, which sounded very mysterious as just “T.M.L.” or the less mysterious, almost accountant sounding, “T.M.L. Associates.” As you can hear, “Can’t Take It No More” is a really gritty garage-y slow burner. I’m not too fond of how abrupt it ends, but when the sounds are this solid, I’ll forgive that.
{Had planned to get a couple more posts up before I left for a week in Havana, but time was not on my side. I’ll get my best digs of 2017 when I return…Hasta Siempre!}
Cool Chris brought a bit of the “Mecca” down south, for the Groove Merchant X Rappcats Record Pop-Up. These monthly affairs, each with different dealers, were my fave events of 2016, and 2017 is off to a great start. Chris especially focused on obscure, private press records, but there was a broad mix of quality as anyone who has made it to Groove Merchant would expect…now if we can only convince him to open Groove Merchant 2 in LA!!!
Less than 10 minutes after doors open, note the wall now!
Cool Chris + Cut Chemist + Mayer Hawthorne + J. Rocc, hidden, blowing a whistle.
Mysterious man of some note with an envious pile of records.Flip side of this is seriously sweet.ZWOL!
Cool Chris’ self pressed collection of found photos of people and their records.Made the most of my one day!
Over the next couple of days I’m going to highlight some of my favorite records that I tracked down in 2016. Today I just wanted to highlight some of the beautiful, outrageous, outrageously beautiful and beautifully outrageous artwork that was featured on records that I picked up over the year digging throughout Los Angeles, the Bay, Philly, Havana, Cuba and in Spain. Dig on it!
2016 was a crazy year for so many of us, but as far as the records were concerned it was mighty mighty good for me. In the first Melting Pot Radio Hour of 2017, I take a look back at some of the vinyl I dug up last year. Thought this is the longest online show I’ve done, I could seriously record a whole week of shows, and I’m not sure even that would be enough time to get through all the vinyl I got. With a trip to Cuba in a couple of weeks, I think 2017 will be a good year on the vinyl front…Happy New Year!
Tracklist:
{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)
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Modulos – Realidad – Realidad (Hispavox)
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Malin Kpon O – 7″ (Albarika Store)
Los Lazos – It’s A New Day – 7″ (RCA)
Los Barba – Mi Mercy Cha – 7″ (Areito)
Marc Hamilton – Je Nai Jamais Raison – Marc Hamilton (Trans Canada)
Odyssey – No One Else Pt. 1 – 7″ (Hi)
Love – Everlasting First – False Start (Blue Thumb)
The Soul Searchers – Ashley’s Roachclip – Salt Of The Earth (Sussex)
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Joy Unlimited – Rudiments – Butterflies (BASF)
Syrius – Devil’s Masquerade – Devil’s Masquerade (Pepita)
The Forefront – Incantation – Incantation (AFI Records)
Duster Cat – Modern Times – Boys & Girls (Q)
Sylvia Tella – Stars In Your Eyes – Spell (Sarge)
Tim Maia – Tudo Vai Mudar – Tim Maia (1980) (Polydor)
Mirtha y Raul – De Nuevo En El Camino – 7″ (Areito)
Orquesta Mirasol – No Vull Esser Music, Perque Tinc Malats El Cap I El Cor – D’oca A Oca I Tira Que Et Toca (Edigsa)
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Ozzie Da Silva – Zig Zag – Zig Zag With Love
Tarantulos – Melo Do Aplauso (Rap-o, Clap-o) – A Musica Nao Pode Parar (RCA)
Azul y Negro – Fantasia De Piratas – 7″ (Mercury)
Grupo Ismaelillo – Galaxia – Galaxia (Areito)
Snakeshed – Karate Moves – Karate Moves: The Mystical World Of Karate (GNP Crescendo)
Ricardo Marrero – Babalonia – 7″ (Yu Qui Yu)
Kao Ling Feng – The Girl’s Dimples – The Girl’s Dimples (Kolin)
Rhoda Scott – Nova – Molybdenum (Barclay)
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Milton Floyd – I’m A Shadow – 7″ (Rim)
The Three Reasons – Take Me Back – 7″ (Carnival)
The Summits – Let Me Love You Again – 7″ (DC International)
Dwight Houston & the Ghettos – Trippin – 7″ (Equator)
TML Associates – Can’t Take It No More – 7″ (Mare)
Slide Hampton – Newport – And His Horn Of Plenty (Strand)
Chris Spedding – You Can See – Backwood Progression (Harvest)
Well, well, well…this tail end of 2016 didn’t exactly turn out the way I might have liked. I’ve been in a funk pretty much all of November and December that I’ve only recently gotten out of, and thus, there hasn’t been a lot of activity from me of late. But, a new year always brings with it optimism and the possibilities of change and rebirth. So, I’m ready to close out 2016 strongly and carry through into the next year sharing more music than ever before.
As is tradition, I always share the last record that I buy in a year, just before doing some type of mix featuring the best things I dug up over the past 12 months. In 2016’s case, that last record was by French progressive rock group Atoll, swiped from Amoeba for a fraction of what it used to go for on the open market. A major part of the album’s appeal was the fantastic artwork by Yves Uro, who gained a measure of fame designing posters for Ibiza’s first disco club KU. The image at the center of the front cover is what you see here, one of several that I bought this year with a birth/egg motif. Musically, Atoll, connects to many other groups in that “Prog” scene, a solid, if not spectacular, sound, with the added pleasure of all of the lyrics, as they are on “Le Photographe Exorciste,” being sung in French (my preference is for non-English bands to not sing in English). “Cazotte #1” is the only proper instrumental on the album and gives a sense of the band’s strengths, along with a nice, clean, open drum break towards the end. There were periods of time where I felt like I had lost my record mojo, but just over the past month-ish, I felt it was back. Looking forward to sharing much much more in 2017.
I know a whole lot of folks aren’t happy about Donald Trump becoming President of the US. So, I made a mix of music for us, something to help with your election hangover and help you keep your head up and pushing forward, cause for me…I plan to stay a believer, so today…I’ll let the sun shine in and dream about what this world would be like if we had peace today, but I’ll tell myself, “Wake up sweet dreamer, we can make it real,” cause I want to see daylight in my life and I know that there must be something we can do! Instead of just asking, ‘where are we going?’ or just being optimistic about the future, I plan to be optimystical and glow in the light of my life. How do you do that? Meditate…Contemplate…Get closer to the essence of life, but be aware that it takes courage and strife. You can’t strain your brain, when you feel somebody trying to bring you down. I know we are not going to endure 2000 seasons in THIS America. So, don’t give in. Hang On In There! Love is really the answer, this you have to agree. But now, it’s time for all of us to wake up, we are in the presence of our future!
I had hoped that I might be able to go to the Bay Area to celebrate Matthew’s life today, on his 45th birthday, but the timing just didn’t work out (instead I was in the Bay on the 21st, more on that later). Still, it was nice to pay tribute to Matthew on this month’s Melting Pot Radio hour. I’d paid tribute to him after his passing in 2012, but as I mention in the show, I could have easily done 4 more hours then and could have just kept going with this mix. I limited it to 20 songs, from records that were actually from Matthew’s collection, things that he turned me on to, things that I heard him play and things that I had a story to share in connection to them. While I dearly miss my friend, I thankful for the memories of the past and for all of the music. It’s through the music that Matthew Africa lives on…and his legacy continues to grow.
{Opening Theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Bitar (Kemado)
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Gal Costa – De Um Role – A Todo Vapor (Philips)
The Power Of Zeus – Sorceror Of Isis – The Gospel According To Zeus (Rare Earth)
James Brown – Ain’t Enough Room In Storage – Sho Is Funky Down Here (King)
Freddi/Henchi & the Soulsetters – Funky To The Bone – 7″ (Reprise)
Hank Ballard – I’m A Junkie For My Baby’s Love – 7″ (Chess)
The Advancement – Fall Out – The Advancement (Philips)
Toni Tornado – Me Libertei – Toni Tornado (1971) (Odeon)
The 4th Coming – The Dead Don’t Die Alive – 7″ (Alpha)
The Inner Drive – Party Man – 7″ (Zodiac)
Shades Of Black Lightning – Yesterday’s Dream – The Shades Of Black Lightning (Tower)
David Axelrod – Freedom – The Auction (Decca)
The 24-Carat Black – Foodstamps – Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth (Enterprise)
Ohio Players – Ecstasy (Matthew Africa Edit) – 7″ (Personal Dub Plate)
Juan Pablo Torres – Son A Propulsion – Super Son (Arieto)
Tim Maia – Nao Vou Ficar – Tim Maia (1971) (Polydor)
Sass – I Only Wanted To Love You – 7″ (20th Century)
Ponderosa Twins Plus One – Bound – 2+2+1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One
Betty & Angel – Everlasting Love – 7″ (Every Day)
Blackbyrds – Wilfred’s Gone – Jazz Dance Classics Vol. 1 (Luv n’ Haight)
US 69 – I’m On My Way – Yesterday’s Folks (Buddah)
Dennis Olivieri – I Cry In The Morning – Come To The Party (VMC)
Pi-R Square – Fantasy Pt. 2 – 7″ (Wee)
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{Closing Theme} Billy Harper – Sir Galahad – Capra Black (Strata East)
Today would have been Matthew Africa’s 45th Birthday. Every year around this time we pay tribute to Matthew here on Melting Pot. I met Matthew as a DJ at KALX, but his influence stretched back much earlier, through his work in the early 1990s with Luv’n’Haight while working at Groove Merchant. though Matthew’s now been gone for 4 years, it’s nice to hear this music and remember my friend. As this would have been his 45th birthday, I decided to highlight a few 45s, several of which were from Matthew’s own collection.
Matthew was becoming especially adept at creating edits when he was so suddenly taken away from us. This is my favorite, so much so I had a dub plate pressed with it, so that I could play it out at all-vinyl soul/funk nights, such as Funky Sole here in LA. The flipside is “Quit Jivin’,” which is probably THE song that I saw Matthew freak out the most to on the dancefloor. I’ve been able to play this song three or four times, and every time someone comes up to thank me for playing it. Matthew took a song that always felt too short and extended it in all the right places. The “loving you is ecstasy and I’ll never let you go…couldn’t never do without you,” lines are something that several of his friends felt about Matthew after his passing, and four years later, it still seems apt.
One of my favorite memories of Matthew is related to this record. When DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist debuted their Brain Freeze sequel, Product Placement, they asked a few local DJs to share the stage with them, for opening sets. Matthew’s was early in the night, but it was stellar as usual (Cool Chris of Groove Merchant also did a set). At the end of the night, all of the DJs came back to the stage to play one track. This was Matthew’s choice, and while all the other DJs were playing it cool, when Matthew got to play this, he did his “strut” while holding on to other 45s. It’s one of my favorite songs to dance to as well, and while I have my moves to it, sometimes I can’t but help to do “The Matthew Africa,” when on the dancefloor.
I first heard this track on a Luv’n’Haight collection, and it’s a classic bit of rare wax from Oakland. This copy comes from Matthew’s collection, and it was the first time I’d actually gotten a chance to hear Part 2, which I enjoy more than the flipside, mainly because of that insane two-note guitar solo near the beginning. One of many records that have that “Matthew Africa sound,” which is hard to describe, but you just know it when you hear it.
Another from Matthew’s collection. I’d never heard this one before Matthew’s records were auctioned off. Every single thing about this song is gorgeous. The vocals, the lyrics, the music…just perfect. It’s not quite a “soul boulder,” but it is one of the sweetest songs I’ve ever heard.
This song was the final song Matthew chose on his “Matthew Africa Plays 7’s” mix, that ultimately ended up being his last one. The mix was basically a run-through for an upcoming set he was going to do at 45 sessions (that session is online too, and it’s interesting hearing the two and noting the changes Matthew made). When he debuted it, I remarked how annoying it was because there were all of these songs that I didn’t know and I was going to be obsessing about it for years. Matthew saw the humor in it, and I remember him mentioning that part of that set was inspired by the nights we had at Kitty English’s Soulvation night at the Ruby Room in Oakland. In particular, Matthew remembered how often several of us would dance while we were playing records, a feat that was easy enough given how small the space was and how close the dance floor was to the turntables. It was a rare joy spinning there with Matthew, Kitty, Sean Sullivan and (at Matthew’s 30th Birthday party) the legendary Joe Quixx. So much of those good feelings came through in Matthew’s mix. This song closed it out, and it’s a somewhat atypical “closing time” song, atypical solely because it’s not quite upbeat, not quite downbeat. But it’s the sentiment that’s perfect for that time of the night after last call. I wish we could have had it be a tradition, like playing “Foxy Girls In Oakland,” so that I could have memories of singing this at closing time with Matthew and Kitty, though…I am very thankful for the memories I do have, and especially thankful for Matthew’s friendship and all the music he shared…RIP
