Hi everyone,

Just a quickie to let you know that I’ve added another couple of classic shirts to my Teemill store, Albee Square Mall (available in two colour options) and Japanese Beat Street.

Also, any orders placed this Friday to Sunday qualify for free shipping within the UK!

This offer applies to EVERYTHING in my Teemill store.

Click here to grab something in time for that late heatwave they reckon we’re gonna get.

Cheers

M / LG x

Does anyone remember the UK hip hop magazine The Downlow?

Fans of design by David Carson and Neville Brody will see the clear influence.

I first became aware of it when it won a Design Week award around 1995, and I got in touch with the agency that designed it (Lippa Pearce) and scored a couple of issues from them. I lost those many, many years ago, but did manage to score a bunch of others a few years back direct from some of the designers that worked on it back in the day… I’m unsure how many issues were published in total, I think I have six or so issues… the earliest of which is issue 6, a limited edition bullet hole version.

I thought it would be cool to film a flick through video without commentary… so here it is!

If you like it, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel, as I plan on doing a lot more of these types of videos.

And if you have any info on this mag, please get in touch. I know that Mat Carter (editor) went on to launch Fat Boss mag, and then becoming Jaguar Skills.

Cheers

M / LG x

Hi everyone,

Now that I have my Teemill site up and running (and thanks to you who have grabbed a Mango Street shirt already!), I thought I would start adding some classics from my archive… starting with either personal faves or best sellers.

Right now, you can grab a new Turbo De France t-shirt that I originally did in 2019. This new version features the Breakdance logo, whereas the original had the word ‘breakdance’ in Japanese. The other classic shirt also available is… well, you can see what it is… but I’m avoiding referencing the original design to avoid bots finding it and shutting it down! I can’t guarantee it will stay up for long. This design was featured in the free sticker that came with issue 6 of Dig Mag.

Both shirts are available to buy right now, in sizes XS to 5XL, with immediate shipping from here.

Cheers.

M / LG X

Grab a Mango while you Cango

Hey everyone… warm enough for ya?!

After quite a break from doing any shirts, and even longer from anything UK hip hop related, I thought I’d dip my toes back in with a new T-Shirt featuring the ‘Mango Street’ record label logo.

There are two options to choose from… a Yellowy-Orange version on a White shirt (similar to how it appeared on some of the outer sleeves) or a Black one on a Burgundy shirt (close to how it appeared on the vinyl labels).

They are £25 each, available in XS - XXL with immediate dispatch.

You can grab one here until the end of July.

Cheers

M / LG x

Recently, I was listening to Fab 5 Freddy’s biography ‘Everybody’s Fly’ (which is really good BTW), and he mentioned how Futura 2000 adopted a punk look once he’d returned from his time on tour with The Clash.

There aren’t any photos to back this up, so I took it upon myself to draw it!

It would have been around 1981 when Futura had a mop of curly hair, but Fred described him as having slicked-back hair… a few years later, Futura did have a mowhawk of sorts, so I used artistic licence and went for it.

The main pose used was taken from a photo of a Japanese Rockabilly, but he had pointy shoes on, so I changed those to a pair of DM’s, then added the “DOWN BY LAW” slogan on the reverse of the jacket.

The colour scheme is taken from The Clash’s album cover for ‘London Calling’, and I used a minimal palette with halftone shading to give it that extra punk zine feel.

Now, here’s something I’ve never done before… I’m making this piece available to purchase as a high-resolution, digital download (A4, 300dpi), for just £5.

If this tickles your fancy, you can see the full image and purchase a download… HERE

Cheers

M / LG

Hi all,

Sorry to land in your inbox with a favour rather than something more interesting, but here we are.

As some of you might know, last year I made the big decision to leave the agency I’d been at for nearly twenty years and join a new firm in Nottingham called TMG (The Media Group). It’s been going really well and the last year has absolutely flown by!

TMG had been planning for some time to rebrand the production department (which I’m a part of), and a couple of weeks back gave birth to Moving Folk (or MoFo for short)… we make film, motion and campaigns for brands in sport and community spaces. Good people, good work.

The reason I’m bothering you is that Moving Folk is a brand new name, which means the social following is starting pretty much from scratch. Sometimes just having a few hundred followers can make a real difference in getting things moving (pun very much intended).

So if you’ve got a spare thirty seconds and wouldn’t mind giving them a follow on Instagram and/or LinkedIn, that would be genuinely appreciated:

instagram.com/movingfolk

linkedin.com/moving-folk

Also, here’s a couple of recent charcoal drawings of peeps from work.

That’s it for now, toodle-pip!

M / LG x

Ron Dante & Peter Link – Mighty Gents

Label: The Mighty Gents Record Co. – none
Format: Vinyl, 7”
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Funk / Soul

This piece was written by DJ Brian Not Brian and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Easily one of my most played 45’s, The Mighty Gents is a pretty much a flawless record to these ears. It’s a one-off record, privately pressed and borne out of a Broadway musical (starring a young Morgan Freeman!) based around a group of former old-school gang members who had all now reached adulthood and were struggling with life’s responsibilities.

It’s got a hell of a lot of attitude and swagger, I mean, it is, after all, the gangs theme tune. It’s dramatic, epic, beautifully arranged and composed and the whole thing just slams (Those strings! Those drums!).

The composers Ron Dante and Peter Link were behind a lot of ‘showy’ music throughout their careers working with artists like Barry Manilow, but The Mighty Gents manages to pull of being all NYC gritty and majestic at the same time and is definite catnip for beat-heads, plus the centre label is top notch too.

A 10/10 45 for me!

DJ Brian not Brian is a Belfast born, London dwelling DJ and label owner.

instagram.com/brian__not__brian

Sources Of Specialment – Free From Expectations

Label: Nico’s Records – NRV 40377, DNS Records – none
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1996
Genre: Hip Hop

This piece was written by Danny Veekens and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

The best digs come unexpectedly. But then again, is it a ‘dig’ when you expect to find it? Anyway, let’s not get philosophical here. I’m talking about discovering music even when you’re nowhere near dusty crates or a record store register. “Extracurricular crate-digging,” so to speak: talking to people and sharing music.

That’s how I found out about the existence of Sources of Specialment,
a short-lived hip-hop crew from Groningen, all the way up north in the Netherlands. I visited emcee N and DJ/producer Syah for an interview on their leftfield hip-hop duo called InDepth, active since about 1993.

Halfway during the interview we got talking about Sources of Specialment. A duo Syah formed together with an emcee called Psychic Summit. For what a biased co-sign is worth: “One of the best freestyle emcees from the Netherlands – ever,” N said. Followed by Syah telling how 90-95% of Psychic’s studio sessions for 1996’s Free From Expectations was freestyled. The gritty album is filled with intricate metaphors and then-experimental flows. All in English, by the way, so it’s non-Dutchie-friendly. The record even includes a few features by Murs, Luckyiam, The Grouch, and Vision of Living Legends, recorded during a European tour way back when.

Sources of Specialment only released one more album in 1998: The Culture We Live, on cassette and CD-R. As enigmatic as his freestyles, Psychic Summit mysteriously disappeared shortly after that release. But Syah told he recently got back in touch with him, and that he’s doing well: proud father of three – and still freestyling.

N was kind enough to give me the second to last copy of Free From Expectations he owned. There are still three records available in the discogsphere, so this one is not super sought-after. But it’s definitely worth copping for 90s hip-hop aficionados. A hidden gem buried in the lowlands.

Danny Veekens is a freelance music journalist (based in Amsterdam), the founder of The Find Magazine, and the creator of a soon-to-launch label called Rucksack Records.

Instagram.com/dannyveekens

Ken Nunomura – Sky Walkin’

Label: Baybridge Records – BB-52032
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Oct 1980
Genre: Jazz
Style: Fusion, Jazz-Funk

This piece was written by DJ Notoya and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

When I found this LP, I had no clue about the artist or the label (The label logo looks totally different from Baybridge Records, which is a sub label of TEICHIKU Records). So I did some research on internet and found some article about him on newsletter of Asahikawa Medical University from 80s.

Ken Nunomura was a son of Jazz pianist Etsuko Nunomura, who used to play for one of the most successful swing bands, Munehiro Okuda & Blue
Sky Dance Orchestra. It seemed that she inspired him in some way, Kenichi joined Jazz society club in the university and started rising as a young fusion keyboardist. This album was supposedly recorded after he graduated with help from Dalton Francis on guitar, Renard Johnson on bass and Henry Randle on drums according to the credit. All the song are composed and arranged by Nunomura himself.

It’s hard to pick up one track, but my favorite is Ten Elephants Stomping. On this song, Nunomura is playing all the instruments including drums. If you are a fan of Lonnie Liston Smith, Jorge Dalto or Ramsey Lewis, you won’t be disappointed.

DJ Notoya is a Tokyo-based DJ / music curator who has released multiple mixes online including the Tokyo 1980s series which are strictly focused on 80s Funk / Boogie / Fusion from Japan.

instagram.com/notoyeah

Slave – Visions Of The Lite

Label: Cotillion – 90024-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Specialty Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco

This piece was written by DāM-FunK and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Released in 1982, 1 year after their most notable lead singer; Steve Arrington completed his tenure with the band for a successful solo career, the Visions Of The Lite album came at a time when Funk was still heavy in the game. Yet, many more were churning the sound out & those many were starting to venture off into following more new found heroes such as Prince, in terms of style & sound.

With lead vocals now mainly done by rhythm guitarist & original member: Danny Webster; this album was solid yet, was overlooked in the heap of Funk being released by so many labels (& artists) at the time. This album gave us songs lead by Danny Webster’s vocals & the still intact bass rumblings of Mark L. Adams such as: I’ll Be Gone, Intro (Come To Blow Your Mind), Friday Nites and the song I’ve picked to give a nod to here: Stay In My Life.

Another often overlooked song in SLAVE’s catalog which finds Danny singing lead backed up by great group harmonies & a slow jam atmosphere attached. Delivered as the sole ‘Funk-Ballad’ on the album (as many bands of this period would include on side 2 of their albums), it goes... and... is an overall smooth aural experience from start to finish.

DāM-FunK is an American funk musician, vocalist, producer and DJ from Pasadena, California.

instagram.com/damfunk

Cash Crew & Auza Tribe – My In Sense Is Burning / The Provider

Label: Vinyl Solution – STORM 42
Format: Vinyl, 12”, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1992
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Hip Hop

This piece was written by Da Terror Bundy and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

I had a friend older than me who had been into hip hop for a long time. One day in ‘92 he gave me a cassette, the classic cassette without any information on, however it didn’t take long to work out who two of the three groups were.

On side A was the first NTM album Autentik, on the other side the secondalbum of KingSun Righteous But Ruthless, but a third group were on the cassette with just 2 songs, it was impossible to discover who they were.

It was one of those cassettes that I kept listening to day and night and those 2 songs exploded my head. For years I was asking many people in my area but there was no way... I gathered that it was an English group from the accent, but I could not find out anything beyond that. Over the years I discovered all the groups I was looking for, but those two tracks from the cassette eluded me.

I do not usually listen to music on digital, and if I put on YouTube it is basically for the video clips, but one day after watching a video I let YouTube continue playing and while I was in the room ordering some records, THAT song came on! I was crazy, I couldn’t believe it, I ran to the computer and there they were... they were the English Cash Crew!!! But when did those songs come out? I discovered that they had released two 12”s in ‘92 that did not go anywhere.

I had to wait 15 years to discover who they were, but that day I discovered them I was one of the happiest people in the world.

My in sense is burning and The Provider were those songs and I think they have aged very well with the passage of time, I still have that cassette, and I’m still listening to those songs but this time on vinyl :)

Da Terror Bundy is a digger from Barcelona who works in a record store and runs the Back in the Days record label

backinthedaysrecords.com

Keith Kanga – Hit Film Themes

Label: Multi-Sound – 2392 576
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: India
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Rock & Roll, Funk

This piece was written by Dan Greenpeace and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

I moved to Dubai in 2014 and I’ve been lucky enough to travel and dig
in some amazing places from Beirut to Bombay on a regular basis. I have a particular fondness of India as it’s provided some of the most raw digging experiences of my life. Whether it’s the Chor Bazaar, Mumbai or Meena Bazar in Delhi, you really have to go deep into largely uncharted tourist territory to find the best spots.

Navigating Bombay’s back streets is not for the faint hearted but the warmth of the people and the few remaining characters still running music stores in the most unlikely of places draws me in time after time. I found this particular album at the wonderful Shah Music Centre in Delhi when the owner, Zafar, put me onto it. Unbelievably, he sold me the only copy he’d ever seen and him and his father had run the business for close to 50 years. The music is by the almost mythical Keith Kanga. Formerly the bassist for Atomic Forest, the group behind the phenomenal Atomic 77 LP, an original copy still commands hefty prices. Kanga went on to release a solo album shortly after, covering film theme tracks such as 2001 Space Odyssey on the similarly sought after and pricey Disco Roar LP. Hit Film Themes was released a year later in 1982 and solely covers film themes such as a killer rendition of The Godfather.

Drug and alcohol abuse was rife in Bombay in the 70’s and 80’s and unfortunately many hugely talented musicians and artists fell victim but left behind a really interesting legacies and an expansive catalogue of gems which are still being discovered. Hopefully Keith Kanga’s whole repertoire will one day all see the light of day but until then these psychedelic, funk and drum infused gems remain a true anomaly in the history of modern Indian music.

Dan is a Hip-Hop veteran with some thirty odd years of rap expertise under his belt, still digs like a fiend and lives every day like it’s 1988. He now resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with his wife and three ex-pat brats. Hopefully they’ll grow to appreciate his expansive collection otherwise in around 10 years there’s going to be one hell of a mega-listing on Discogs.

instagram.com/dangreenpeace

Tom Kap – Lovin’ Givin’

Label: Zork – ZK-14
Format: Vinyl, 7”, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock

This piece was written by April Del Castillo and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

About two years ago I was at my local record store digging for some funk and soul 45s, when I came across this oddly marked one. There isn’t a listening station set up at this shop, so most of the time I would find myself trying to search YouTube for a piece of the tracks – but this one had nothing come up at all. So I took the risk of buying it since it was only a $1.

When I got it home and took it for a spin, I was pleasantly surprised.

It wasn’t anything in the funk or soul genre that I usually search for (but I DO look for all sorts of genres when I go digging). It was more of a folk- rock sound and I liked it. Trouble was, I wanted to know more about it and I couldn’t find anything online.

It wasn’t until March of 2019 when I was sorting through my records and getting ready for a DJ gig, that I got that “oh yah” moment when seeing this in my stash. I decided to try once more to find some info on the mysterious ‘doughnut’. Discogs had no info... it wasn’t even listed.

I even tried looking on Popsike but no luck. I was, however, able to find two people on eBay selling it – they had no information either and were both selling it for about $140 to $150 at the time.

In my further research, I was brought to a garage rock website called Garage Hangover. There, I was able to find some clues but nothing too concrete. Because the 45 says on it T. Kaup in one spot and Tom Kap in another, it really made it hard to discern which name this person was under. I took a chance off of what I found and was able to actually find a contact e-mail to the possible person who put this 45 out.

Well, my detective work paid off.

Within a couple of days, I received an e-mail back from the guy who cut the tracks!!

What follows is an edited version of Tom’s email to April:

I was born with the last name Ballister. My parents were both singers in NYC in the 40’s. One, if not both, sang in the chorus for The Mitch Miller Orchestra. My father was a tenor and my mother, Edith Campbell, was a soprano. They divorced when I was about 3, I’m guessing, and childhood was tumultuous. My brother Bruce and I were left for periods of time with various people we didn’t know, throughout childhood. But at some point she remarried to a guy whose last name was Kaup, and who could give a damn about kids.

The teen years were particularly combative and rebellious. In the spring 1965 I’d become a full time disc jockey at WZOO radio in Spartanburg, SC, I was playing bass in a band, and had a new girlfriend. School meant nothing to me, and I was flunking out of English when my step-father announced a plan to move to Florida. He issued the ultimatum that if I didn’t pass he was going to drag me down to the Navy Recruiter’s office and sign me up. He had the legal right to do that, in those days.

That is indeed what came to pass. Looking back, as traumatic as it was, he probably saved my life.

It was the middle of the Vietnam War. If I hadn’t gone into the Navy, I probably would have hung around Spartanburg pumping gas to survive, and wound up drafted into the Army and slushing through the rice paddies with a rifle over my shoulders.

But I survived the Navy and when my parents had all passed, I pulled out my original birth certificate and went down to the courthouse and got my name legally changed from Kaup back to Ballister.

About 6 or 7 years ago I took a drive back through Spartanburg with my wife and met up with Randy Foster, who was the guitar player in the band we’d had back in ’65. At one point I asked him who took over playing bass in the band when I left. He said “Tommy did. I thought you know that!” If I did once know, I’d forgotten. He was talking about Tommy Caldwell. Tommy and his brother Toy Caldwell were guys in our high school fraternity, the “Trojans”, and had been playing in various bands around town, sometimes together, sometimes with others since they could hold a guitar. They went on to form the Marshall Tucker Band. Sigh. I often wonder that if I’d stayed there I’d have been part of that.

Regardless, one year into the Navy, I was shipped to Asmara, Ethiopia, assigned to a naval communications station. It was a joint Army, Navy, Air Force Base. The trip took over 30 hours to get there, and more time to get checked in before I could finally find a place to crash. But no sooner had I fallen asleep than some guy starts shaking me awake and says “No matter what anybody else tells you, you’re in MY band!” (I had carried a guitar with me, and I guess the news spread that there was a new player around). When I finally woke up and started asking around I learned that guy was in jail for civil disobedience or something like that. But another guitar player jumped in within hours, took me to meet a piano player he knew, and we wound up forming a band called The Mauroks. I am sworn to secrecy to ever reveal what that stands for.

We played there on the base and at local places downtown for a little over a year, and then guys began getting shipped out to other assignments. But we swore we’d stay in touch and re-form in New York when we all got out of the service. Vid D’Amore, the drummer, was from Massapequa or something like that, on Long Island, and that indeed became the point where we re-formed The Mauroks.

We played for a number of years on Long Island, in the city, up around Nyack, along the South Shore, out around The Hamptons, and so on. Around 1971 we entered a contract with De-Lite Records, the label Kool & The Gang were on. We had a record out called Susan which bubbled under the Top 40 for a while. We went on the road, promoting the record, and did a county fair once with Kool & The Gang. We also once got booked into a high school prom for some high falootin’ school that rented the big flat building that was part of the World Fair, and had hired two bands. One was us, the other was the James Gang. It was when they were also out promoting their first album. Joe Walsh was just as crazy then as he remains. (I saw him with The Eagles in Houston last summer. Still blows me away).

But we had only a 6 month contract with De-Lite, and they had renewal rights. We’d gone into the studio (Ultrasonic, in Hempstead, NY, where Billy Joel also recorded), to record two more tracks for a 2nd single. But the record company, largely an R&B label didn’t like it. “You gotta be more like Kool & The Gang, you know? Gotta get a more funky groove on, Man! Like ooo, koo, koo, batcha, batcha... ooo, koo, koo, batcha batcha!”.

De-Lite sent us the contract to renew, but we all agreed we weren’t going to do it. I got elected to go into the city & tell them. Sitting in Ted Eddie’s office (an A&R guy & I’m not sure I remember that name correctly), with Fred Vigorito leaning on a window sill, I shared the news. Fred launched off the window, grabbed a letter opener off Ted Eddie’s desk, grabbed me by the back of the neck, slammed me up against the wall, poked the letter opener into my neck and screamed at me “YOU don’t tell ME what you gonna do! **I** tell **YOU** what you gonna do!!!”. I was about a 140 pound kid, and Fred was this huge greasy slug of about 250 pounds. Anyway Ted Eddie jumped up from his desk and grabbed Vigorito’s arm and pulled him off me. There was a lot of heated discussion, but I ended up getting out of there with my life and without signing anything.

You can google Mauroks and find out more on them.

Anyway we shortly thereafter disbanded. I went on to play with another band on Long Island for some time, but the friggin’ disco scene began eating into the live music market. But I’d always worn two hats, one the singer & bass player, and the other as the techy that made all the equipment work. So I took a job repairing radios, tuners, & TVs at a repair shop and began building a recording studio. I operated that for several years, and it was during this time that I formed the Zork Records label and released the single you’ve found.

I had some modest success at getting some airplay on WLIR, Long Island, but it was a little too folk-rocky for the mid-70’s genres that were beginning to win the market.

Regardless, in the process of designing that studio, and primarily its audio console from the ground up, transistor by transistor, I began realizing how much I didn’t know, while a friend began encouraging me to go back to school. Eventually I did, and this time I loved it. I just ate it up, studying endlessly and acing every test I took. Eventually this led to an opportunity to interview at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, and this led to becoming an engineer, designing and testing a lot of the equipment that remains part of the worldwide telecommunications network today.

But I still write/play/produce music, and still very much enjoy making things work. You can find some of my music at broadjam.com/ballister.

I was quite tickled that somehow that record surfaced. I did send out a bunch of promotional copies to various radio stations and such. But, as interesting as it might be, there’s probably no way to learn the trail that disc travelled to your hands. On that note, however, I would be very interested in learning the trail you navigated that led to my email address! If I ever need a detective, I’ll get in touch!

Avid vinyl record collector for more than 10 years. Digging for treasures and DJing are my passions. Just a secret squirrel doin’ secret squirrel things.

instagram.com/Aprilrenee76

Yumi Matsutoya – 昨晩お会いしましょう (See You Last Night)

Label: Express – ETP-90120
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Japan
Released: Nov 1, 1981
Genre: Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, City Pop, Kayōkyoku

This piece was written by Jordan Commandeur and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

This story is less about one particular find and more about discovering a bountiful new spot to dig.

Now, although I’m a freelance journalist, I tend to only work for a few sites at a time. For the last two years I have regularly contributed to AmbrosiaForHeads.com. My work for the site attracted the attention of Vancouver producer Ray Mosaic. If the name doesn’t ring any bells, just know
he has worked with Illa J, Declaime, Frank Nitt, and many more. Being that I also reside in Vancity, Ray suggested we link for a chat. We did so and the conversation covered everything from the resurgence of Boom Bap, to TDE’s newest signing, to the importance of YouTube channellers in today’s music industry. Before we departed, Ray invited me to check out an event called Loop Sessions.

This monthly night is based on Loop Sessions Montreal, which itself was inspired by a weekly event in Sao Paulo called BeatBrasilis. In all three cases producers bring their own equipment and make a beat from a record picked by a guest curator. The Vancouver version is run by Nick Wisdom (of The Potatohead People) and Mikey J. Blige, and it attracts a wide array of talented sample-choppers.

It took me a month or two before I finally made it out. And since I wasn’t going to be participating, I brought out my homie China White, who is equally nice on the turntables and the MPC. We attended LSV7 in November of last year and it was curated by Apāto Rekōdo. The name is the romanization of a pair of Japanese loan words that mean Apartment Records, and that is exactly what it is – an unsanctioned record store in a condo. This hush hush operation specializes in Japanese vinyl and is run out of the Vancouver home of Ai Hashimoto and Jeremy Price-Jones.

Ai was born and raised in Japan and is an authority on digging in the Land of the Rising Sun. So, the couple make bi-annual trips to the island country to stock up on rare groove for their unlicensed shop. For LSV7, they brought Yumi Matsutoya’s 1981 record Sakuban Oaishimashou. Yumi was one of Japan’s most popular singers for decades, and while she may be considered a pop star, her music regularly tended towards funk and soul.

Now, Loop Sessions participants are free to sample any song from the curator’s pick, but the majority of beatmakers at LSV7 looped or chopped up the mellow synths from a song titled Te No Hira No Tokyo Tawa (Tokyo Tower In My Palm). After hearing about a dozen fresh beats made from this cut, I was hooked and had to have it. Luckily, the LP wasn’t snapped up before I could make it to Apāto Rekōdo for a visit. I also snagged a couple platters by Japan’s trumpet god Hino Terumasa and the 1982 pressing of Hiroshi Sato’s highly sought-after Awakening album. Thank-you, crate gods above.

Jordan is a journalist with 25 years experience in the music business, cutting his teeth as the founder and editor of Thick Magazine, until the publication closed after 15 years, then writing for Mass Appeal, Ambrosia For Heads, Bandcamp Daily, and COLOR (RIP). He also handles publicity and executive production duties for a handful of recording artists, as well as producing LTD ED, an ultra limited run print magazine.

lorettarecordsusa.bandcamp.com

C.K. Mann & His Carousel 7 – Funky Highlife

Label: Dix – EBLS 6131, Essiebons – EBLS 6131
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Ghana
Released: 1975
Genre: Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Highlife, Funk

Organization – Creative Sounds Of The Organization

Label: WIRL – W058, WIRL – W 058
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Green Labels
Country: Barbados
Released: 1974
Genre: Reggae, Funk / Soul
Style: Calypso, Afrobeat, Funk

This piece was written by Sie Vulture and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Step back two decades and I’m working in the industrial North East of England. Close to the large chemical plant complex where I earned my crust was a small town of 1950’s construct with a wholly depressing grey concrete town centre, made to look even worse by the awful heavy chemical-laden clouds and rainy weather that constantly shrouded it. The rows of dilapidated, failing shops resembled a meth-head’s grin.

I used to trawl through the many charity shops on a lunch hour, at least once per week hunting for gems. I would find the occasional British oddity but nothing amazing; this part of the country isn’t known for its cultural diversity. One lunch-hour I spot a large plastic crate of albums in one of the stores that is usually just filled with old furniture – it was unusual for them to have records. As I flick through the crate a couple of albums caught my eye and I will be honest and say that, in 1999, I didn’t know either of them but my inner ‘beat detective’ told me that the inclusion of the word ‘funk’ in the titles meant that they had to be worthy. The albums were £1 each, I was amazed when I got them home for a listen and they remain in my collection to this day. Superb.

Sie Vulture has been collecting records as long as he can remember.

His fanatical obsession with vinyl was first realised online in 2001 with the creation of the legendary Vinyl Vulture website, that later evolved into the VeryGoodPlus chat forum and the Licorice Soul record label.

His latest incarnation is on Instagram, where as @verygoodplus he posts photographs of record stores from around the world.

verygoodplus.co.uk

CRAC – All For You

Label: CRAC Records – CR2003
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Boogie, Disco

This piece was written by Dan Englander and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Sometime ago I hit upon the idea of reissuing an old, unknown soul/funk LP on my label, KingUnderground, but the question was what. It had to be something that was originally on a private press and really quite under the radar. I wanted to breathe new life into an existing work, and hopefully help share some old music with new people. This one dropped into my lap.

I had a WhatsApp from my friend, Beatnick Dee, out in LA, saying he’d come across this album by a band called CRAC. With no copies to be found on Discogs and the last one having sold for £240, this seemed like a very viable option, if we could reach out to the band.

Oddly, this was easy enough. Nick reached out to artiste Rick Cua from the band, and so the email trail got going. A few Skype calls later, and a lot of going back and forth with the bands lawyer, we then eventually got the license agreement signed off.

The music consists of a crossover mix of mellow jazzy soul, AOR, and hints of yacht rock, R&B, and up-tempo funk. With its lush, forward thinking arrangements, All For You sounds like an album recorded during the peak of the late 70’s “California Sound” at a forgotten studio off the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Throw in a unique blend of East Coast flair and first class songwriting – it’s a real treat for fans of this style and beyond.

The band C.R.A.C. was formed in 1974 by bassist/ vocalist Rick Cua, drummer Tommy Rozzano, keyboardist Larry Arlotta, and lead singer/ percussionist Ricky Chisholm. Their name is an acronym for the founding members’ last names. Playing mostly popular covers, the band’s main gig was four nights a week at a Syracuse, NY club called Big Daddy’s. It didn’t take long before Big Daddy’s was packed whenever C.R.A.C. was there.

As they gained popularity, a variety of opportunities presented themselves. Soon, they had enough new gigs to leave Big Daddy’s and focus on their budding career.

With the success of their first radio single, Of The Lites, they continued to add to their repertoire of songs written by members of the band. Fresh off the high of their radio debut, they added two new members: guitarist Ronnie DeRollo and singer/ percussionist Duane “Spoon” Walker. C.R.A.C., or as they became known at this time, CRAC, continued on their upward trajectory as one of New York’s premier funk and R&B bands.

The band continued to expand throughout the late 70’s as their territory moved throughout New York and New England.

The busier the band got, the more their talent grew, and this afforded some members the honour of playing with such well-known artists as Maynard Ferguson, Melba Moore, Sea Level, Duke Jupiter, and The Outlaws.

Seven of the eleven members represented on the All For You record are still actively involved in music, and the four that are no longer with us have a front- row seat to watch their music recapture the hearts of a new generation.

Now, 45 years after the band’s inception, KingUnderground is presenting a re-release of the bands only LP, All For You, on vinyl. The LP has a spot UV varnish printed cover along with a printed inner sleeve and unseen band photos. We also pressed a limited edition 45, including two previously unreleased songs.

I’m a DJ, record collector, producer, label owner at KingUnderground oh and I play tennis all the time!

kingunderground.com

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality

Label: Vertigo – 6360 050

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Embossed Box Sleeve & Poster
Country: UK
Released: Aug 6, 1971
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

This piece was written by Jenn D’Eugenio and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Ozzy-era Black Sabbath, and the album Master of Reality is my favorite album by my favorite band; there’s such a perfect variety from riff-heavy songs like Sweet Leaf, to the anthemic Children of the Grave, then the beautiful instrumental Orchid. I think you can tell they felt more comfortable in the studio for this recording and it’s said by Ward to have been “an exploratory album” since they had more time to record it.

This was also the first time Iommi down-tuned his guitar to feature that perfectly heavy sound they’re now known for.

Like most collectors in the US I started with a 1971 Warner Bros. version of the release but one day Ray, my partner, texted to tell me he had a Vertigo first press with the poster come through the shop he worked for. I had to have it. Once the needle hit the first notes of Orchid (yes, I started on side B) I could immediately hear the difference from the version I had. The sound was warmer and I felt like I was there, it had that classic 70’s sound... in a good way... plus that Vertigo swirl, I was in love.

This lead me to looking into other pressings and next I bought a NEMS version where the name on the cover was pink and the sound was again different from the other two, and thus my obsession began. I started to purchase all the versions I could find and I haven’t looked back since. I currently have 30+ variants, including the NEMS Brazilian rainbow cover, the Japanese Vertigo white text cover, the South Korean chalk- board cover and the Taiwanese laminated white cover unofficial release. This last one was my holy grail. It was so hard to find as it was a cheap press made for US GI’s stationed in South East Asia during the Vietnam war, and few copies made their way back to the states. Working in vinyl manufacturing and seeing how represses come through, I wondered why there were so many changes to this record. I still don’t have the answers, but I’m working on researching until I’ve ‘mastered’ Master of Reality, then perhaps I’ll move on to either self titled or Paranoid, I haven’t decided yet.

It goes without saying my first stop at every shop is the Black Sabbath tab, and I’m always trying to find a variant or comp I don’t already have.

Jenn works as the Chief of Sales at Furnace Record Pressing and is the founder and curator of Women in Vinyl, a website and eventual nonprofit aimed at empowering women working to create, preserve and improve the art of music on vinyl.

instagram.com/jennn_erator // womeninvinyl

Peter Thomson – Golf

Label: Columbia – 33SX 1068
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: UK
Released: 1957
Genre: Non-Music
Style: Education

This piece was written by Murray Mackay and originally featured in issue seven of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Living in Fife, Scotland doesn’t afford us the largest choice of digging locations however we do have the usual selection of charity shops.

Long gone are the days of finding a hidden gem at a bargain price, everything has been checked online and priced accordingly.

The main reason to look is to find something strange that you wouldn’t normally seek out.

I’ve never been a fan of golf but I have recently taken it up as a way of spending time with my dad who has played his whole life.

It’s not an easy sport to learn. So you can imagine my delight when, whilst perusing the used record crate at the Sue Ryder Charity shop I spotted Golf by Peter Thomson.

Recorded in 1957 and released by EMI this 12” vinyl could teach me all I needed to know about the game of golf.

Not only that but I also have a portable record deck so I can bring the record on to the course with me and listen to it there.

Price paid - £1

Murray Mackay is one half of Jazz Spastiks, underground hip hop beat makers, DJs and producers based in Scotland.

jazzspastiks.bandcamp.com

Isao Suzuki Trio – Black Orpheus

Label: Three Blind Mice – TBM-63
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Japan
Released: May 20, 1976
Genre: Jazz
Style: Modal, Soul-Jazz

This piece was written by Ill Treats and originally featured in issue six of DIG – copies of DIG Mag can be purchased here.

Some digs bring joy because of their monetary value or rarity, others have a sentimental value because of the sample you find that turns your drum pattern into a masterpiece (subjectively of course).

One cold evening in snowy Stockholm, myself and AM (Champions Of Nature) went for a nightly dig (as you do in Sweden) in a record shop that had a basement like something from the Scratch documentary (remember DJ Shadow and the mummified bat?). Nothing was particularly organised... just a load of random records AM and I could loot to our heart’s content. This was 2007 and although I’d been collecting for years my knowledge wasn’t as deep back then... but you know the deal, look at the musicians, look at the cover, label and in this case look at the obi!

Naturally, I was excited, as well as curious how this sounded on this label Three blind mice. I had no data-roaming on my phone, so I had to take a chance.

Off I went and got a pile of these Japanese, direct-to-vinyl pressings with little to no idea if I would be in ecstasy or misery! However, spotting Iso Suzuki on bass, I knew that this particular record I got was gonna bring the heat, Black Orpheus by the Isao Suzuki Trio. A three piece with drums, double bass and Rhodes all in a simple, beautiful cover.

When I finally got an opportunity to play the record back home in drizzly Brighton, I saved this one until last. I wasn’t disappointed.

An eargasm of Rhodes and funky double bass oh yeah! Searching through the record I immediately heard a loop, I kept searching for another to fit, but after not finding gold, I thought “what happens if I put this on 45” and there it was... the perfect tincture for the cocktail.

The track ended up forming Growing up (remix) that was on the Hello album. So that masterpiece for the drums has been concocted and this record with it’s narrative will always hold that special place deep in my electrical pulses of the brain like an Eidetic memory.

Mark Canning (Ill Treats) is a British hiphop producer, DJ, musician, engineer and record collector currently living and digging in the US.

instagram.com/illtreats

This LP was the final vinyl release for Style Warrior Records back in 2016 (nearly ten years ago!!!) and was such a pleasure to work on and put out… I honestly feel this stands up against the classic early-90s UK albums and is proper slept on… we only pressed 300 copies and I can’t believe I still have some hanging around… now is your last chance to grab one, especially at this price!

You can grab a copy here