008 ︎︎︎
Rog’e - Body Fidelity (Percussapella Mix)
Fresh out of the metaphorical CWPT oven - and quite literal oven at Wall To Wall Recordings in Chicago, who baked the original reels to rid them of sticky shed syndrome - is this masterpiece from unsung U.S. house hero Reginald Rodgers. Released on his Jack Street imprint back in 1987, it’s a killer record and the UK funky-esque ‘Percussapella Mix’ had me checking Discogs everyday for two years in the hope one would show up. It eventually did, and I asked Still Music’s Jerome Derradji if he could connect me with Reg who kindly dug out the masters from his basement and agreed to a full reissue!
007 ︎︎︎
Pete Townsend- After The Fire (Live)
Watching Pete Townsend discuss the relative merits of radio interference filters and hitting the office phones is all well and good, but the real gem here is the recording of him playing ‘After The Fire,’ a song originally recorded for The Who to perform at Live Aid but ultimately given to Roger Daltry for his 1985 solo album ‘Under A Raging Moon.’
Now, I don’t want to upset any Arthur Russell die-hards but I can’t help but think of him when listening to this. It’s so superior to any other recorded version it makes me want to break into his home and see if the reels he was frivolously demonstrating with are clearly labelled anywhere.
006 ︎︎︎
Lucky Mereki - You Got Me Dancing
Probably the closest I’ve had to a ‘secret weapon’ these past few years, sadly coinciding with an extended period of not being able to play it to anyone anywhere.
Everything I love about South African music efforletsly compiled into one amazing EP, with some hip-house influence to boot! Thought I’d upload and share as I’ve just seen it’s being reissued, although surprisingly not by Dene at La Casa Tropical who has had an agreement with the artist for years and I’m sure is devastated.
Lucky has subsequently worked with big hitters like Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Vusi Shange, The Big Dudes, Hugh Masekela… this ain’t no fluke!
005 ︎︎︎
Archie Bell & The Drells - Where Will You Go When The Party’s Over
This one seemed like an apt final tune to play back in March of last year. It was 6.30 in the morning, and I remember thinking I probably had a couple weeks off to finally rip the growing pile of records on my living room floor.
Fast forward 16 months, and this weekends gig in Amsterdam has just been cancelled, and with it the realisation of just how much easier everything was to process when the party was definitively over.
004 ︎︎︎
Refuge Worldwide
New mix for Refuge Worldwide who are doing great things out of Berlin (and recently opened a station with adjoining bar on Weserstrasse). It’s completely inappropriate for the weather everyone’s been experiencing in Germany but I was in the UK where it rained for a month and I was reduced to stealing my Mothers waterproof for warmth.
Starts off with some brilliant Folk-influenced ambient from Jim Fyhrie, transitions into an Ethiopian-sounding synth wile out by Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo, and a wicked Soviet-era find from Red Light Records. Included a few Italo pieces for good measure, with ‘Se Tu Vuoi’ and ‘Morning In Tokyo’ being personal highlights. Enjoy!