"He's A Sweet Soul Brother" A Guest Mix By: Chris 'Allwaysdiggin'

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! I've got a very special treat for you today. Out of London comes my man Chris 'Allwaysdiggin' Archbold, a self described vinyl junkie and DJ, who graciously hooked us up with a fantastic guest mix. This one is indeed all-vinyl and filled to the brim with some amazing SOUL & FUNK cuts. Please, PLEASE take the time to give this one a listen. I got it yesterday from Chris and have been spinning it super heavy since then. Big UP to Chris. Nice One Brutha!!! As always, I do hope you enjoy! Catch you on the FLIP!

The Tunes:

01. Esther Marrow - Mama (Flying Dutchman)
02. Barbara Acklin - I Can't Do My Thing (Brunswick)
03. Betty Moorer - My Thing (Wand)
04. The Mighty Elegants - I Don't Know What It Is But It Sho' Is Funky (Jaber)
05. Funky Party Band (Clarence Reid) - Chocolate And Vanilla (Seville)
06. Chosen Few - Wondering (Konduko)
07. Foster Sylvers - I'm Your Puppet (Pride)
08. The Moments - Ride Your Pony (All Platinum)
09. The 9th Creation - Sexy Girl (Pye)
10. Tribe - Think People (ABC)
11. Miami - Kill That Roach (Drive)
12. TNT Band - The Meditation (Cotique)
13. Mark IV - You Black And I'm Black (Mercury)
14. Shleu Shleu - Baby (Mini)

He's A Sweet Soul Brother - A Mix by: Chris 'Allwaysdiggin'

He's A Sweet Soul Brother! by Heavysoulbrutha on Mixcloud

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Betty Davis Lost Album Just Released!

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! Just been doing my weekly reading from other blogs and Soul Sides just hipped me to the fact an another Betty Davis album is being released via Light In The Attic Records. This is a big deal folks!!! If you don't know, she is one of the FUNKIEST ladies on the planet. I did a little feature on her first reissues that you can check out here. Here's the lead and title track off the new release. It's feckin' FUNKTASTIC indeed!

Is It Love Or Desire - Betty Davis

Release Notes: * Entire 1976 album previously UNRELEASED - never bootlegged!

* Mastered from the original tapes

* 32-page full color booklet featuring the Original Artwork, New Notes, Unseen Photos, and Full Lyrics

Betty Davis was a musical maverick with vision. Image, substance, sex, and grit combined with a badass band that could deliver the funk bed backbone to the sultry music between the sheets. After cutting two notorious discs for the Just Sunshine label (Betty Davis and They Say Im Different), and Nasty Gal for Island Records, Davis went to work on her most personal and expressive record yet. After capturing 10 hard-hitting tracks in 1976 at the remote Studio In The Country (Louisiana), a creative difference with her then label caused the platter to be unexpectedly shelved. Davis would cut one final album and soon retreat from the music business, completely disappearing from the public eye.

Is It Love Or Desire is a little-known gem in the Davis catalogue. Mastered from the original tapes, and untouched for over 30 years, this release features detailed liner notes by Oliver Wang (Soul Sides, Betty Davis and They Say Im Different re-issue contributor), the originally intended artwork housed in a lavishly packaged digipak, rare photos, archival material, and recent interviews with Davis and her skin-tight band Funk House.

Never bootlegged, never released, never heard until now, the secret story of this lost album will finally enter the history books and cement this bold soul sisters contributions to music and popular culture. Its time to get down…

Long live Betty Davis!

Get yours NOW!!


Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

A+B=45(Mickey And His Mice)

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! Got a cool record I found just the other day. It's funny, but I've been diggin' heavy for 45's a few years now and I don't really get the chance to venture out of my hometown of Richmond, VA to look for records. So, whatever is hiding around here is pretty much it. And in those few years, I've never seen a record out of Baltimore, MD despite it being fairly close to where I'm at. This one was tucked inside a box at this Salvation Army shop I pop in about once a month. I, of course, had never heard it or knew anything about the group. But, I was intrigued for sure that it came out of my neighboring state and the title of the A side, "Cracker Jack" as well as the group name, Mickey And His Mice certainly made it seem like it would be a cool record. Not to mention the always nice surprise that I was gonna get it for my favourite price of 25 cents.

A bit of quick research and I found that this is one of only three records that came out on the Marti label. 'Cracker Jack' is a really cool Funky tune with Mickey Fields blasting his Tenor Sax throughout. He reminds me of Jr. Walker's playing a bit. And I really dig the bass. Super FAT and super FUNKY! The flip is a cover of the classic 'Abraham, Martin And John' that's got a real nice uplifting vibe to it despite the subject matter.

The record is a little beat up but it's most certainly listenable and I'm very happy to have found it. I hope you enjoy and I'll catch you on the FLIP!

"Hey Baby! What's this Cracker Jack thing?"
"Ain't nothin' but The Popcorn with some sweeeet jive on it."
"Awwwww, shucks!"

Cracker Jack - Mickey And His Mice
(Marti Records M-402A)

Abraham, Martin and John - Mickey And His Mice
(Marti Records M-402B)

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Black Dynamite! "He's Super Cool And He Know Kung-Fu!"

If you grew up loving those old Blaxploitation flicks in the 70's like I did, you'll no doubt get a kick out of this new affectionate spoof of the genre, "Black Dynamite." It hits theaters on October 16 and looks to be hilarious.

One the SUPER COOL things about those movies was the importance of the soundtracks, as quite a few are more legendary than the actual films. Wax Poetics is paying homage to this and really doing it up right and releasing both the original score and motion picture soundtrack for Black Dynamite in a limited run of only 2000 180g vinyl LP's. These are certain to be collector's items for sure!

Black Dynamite (Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Wax Poetics Records WPR008
Release date: October 20, 2009 (pre-orders will ship following the release)

LIMITED PRESSING OF 2,000
HAND-NUMBERED
180 GRAM VINYL

INCLUDES 2 LOBBY CARDS & COLOR LINER NOTES INSERT

Music supervisor David Hollander hand-picked each track and cue from the vast reservoir of 1970s British library music, originally created for film and television. Maestros Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett, and Johnny Pearson lay down exquisite and precise funk, but the bulk of the material comes from Alan Tew’s celebrated Drama Suite series (as heard on The Hanged Man and The People’s Court). Wax Poetics Records presents an authentic package with original artwork by Maceo Leatherwood.

Black Dynamite (Motion Picture Score)
Wax Poetics Records WPR007
Release date: October 20, 2009 (pre-orders will ship following the release)

LIMITED PRESSING OF 2,000
HAND-NUMBERED
180 GRAM VINYL
INCLUDES 2 LOBBY CARDS & COLOR LINER NOTES INSERT

Multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge makes his debut on Wax Poetics Records with his original score to the Michael Jai White comedy, Black Dynamite. Inspired by the great blaxploitation soundtracks of the 1970s, Younge commands the Rhodes electric piano, Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet, harpsichord, synthesizer, vibraphone, guitar, bass, flute, sax, cello, and drums, crafting with a singular vision. Whether it’s the witty vocal of “Jimmy’s Apartment” or the lowdown bass line of “Rafelli Chase,” the entire album is deeply authentic.

Get yours over at the Wax Poetics Store!

Black Dynamite Official Movie Site
Listen To The Albums HERE!

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

DJELI - VOSTA Documentary Teaser!

Got hipped to this courtesy of our good friends over at Wax Poetics.

"New documentary about Mali's regional orchestras,
including the great Rail Band."



Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

The Funkiest Song I Heard Today, Vol. 6!

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! Turkish FUNK! That's right, I said Turkish Funk! I stumbled on this tune today and just knew it had to be part of the series. It's called "Arabam Kaldi Yolda (My Car Broke Down)" by this cat named Edip Akbayram. It's just mad! No other way to say it. I can't say I've ever heard any Turkish music in my life. But, now I have and I'm so glad my introduction was THIS! It's definitely got a bit of a Funk Rock thing going on with a sweet ass Funkadelic style guitar. And the rhythm is so cool leading up to this nutso breakdown in the middle. Have a listen.

Arabam Kaldi Yolda (My Car Broke Down) - Edip Akbayram

Craziness right? It comes courtesy of the fantastic blog from photographer Eilon Paz who recently visited Turkey and has some great pics from a few record stores in Istanbul. Makes me want to do some diggin' Turkish style.

Have a look at his AMAZING Blog called Dust & Grooves HERE!

I hope you get into this one as much as I did. Catch you on the FLIP!

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Bonus: Also found this cool mix of Turkish 45's From
Green Tea Session out of Cologne Germany!
One of the many reasons YOU should be on
MIXCLOUD!

45 Ayran by Green Tea Session on Mixcloud

Hip Hop As A Way Of Life! A Mix By: HeavySoulBrutha

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! I hope you'll allow me to dip my feet into another genre I rarely feature but am no doubt a big follower of, HIP HOP! I put this mix together of some stuff I've been digging on recently. Kinda random, but I think it flows together pretty well. I do quite love groups or individual rappers that have DJ's backing them up as well as cuts that stretch the genre in some interesting way. Lately I've been deconstructing stuff and trying to trace back a few of the samples to put on my VINYL wants list.

If this gets your head nodding a bit, then I'll be most pleased indeed. Enjoy and always remember HIP HOP is not just a musical category, but A WAY OF LIFE!! Dig IT!!

The Tunes
01. HSB Intro
02. Certified - Diverse
03. Quality Control - Jurassic 5
04. The Next Movement - The Roots
05. The Food (Live On The Dave Chappelle Show) - Common w/Kanye West
06. Soon The New Day - Talib Kwele w/Norah Jones
07. Interlude: Hip Hop As A Way Of Life - Guru
08. The Upgrade - J-Live w/PosPlugOne & Oddissee
09. Worst Come To Worst - Dilated Peoples
10. Bang & Boogie - Tanya Morgan
11. Diminshing Returns: Freeze - DJ Shadow
12. Remember That - Rakim
13. Outro - Roc Raida & DJ Honda

Hip Hop As A Way Of Life Mix!

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Hip Hop As A Way Of Life! by Heavysoulbrutha on Mixcloud

"The Funkiest Song I Heard Today" Vol. 5

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! Everything GROOVY? I've been sort of caught up in Beatlemania 2009 lately, so the next coupla posts will be Fab Four related. I wanted to hip you to this really cool cover of "Come Together" from The Ice Man's band. It's the rhythm section that backed up Jerry "The Ice Man" Butler back in the day. They really sort of deconstruct and get inside the tune and make it their own. It's a FUNKY work out by some really strong musicians. This is definitely one of my all-time favourite Beatles covers without a doubt. Give it a whirl, enjoy, and I'll catch you on the FLIP!!

Come Together - The Ice Man's Band

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Also, the SUPER COOL site, Mixcloud has gone live today. You probably noticed I've been using their great widget so you can easily play some of my mixes around the blog. Stop over and sign up. You'll DIG IT!!

Mixcloud

My Mixcloud Profile

"Hey, My Brutha!" A Mix By:HeavySoulBrutha!

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! A good friend of mine from work, his name is Jody, told me his "friend," we'll call her Ms. Jackson, had gotten a box of records from her mom and wanted to know if I might want to have them. Of course, I said yeah. Well, I got the box over the weekend and it had about 30 albums in it. I was hoping for some 60's records, but got a bunch of late 70's early 80's records that I kinda forgot about. My initial disappointment was swept away as I dropped the needle and remembered these are really the records I came up on. I'm just a little too young to have had and listened to a lot of 60's records, which is probably why I'm so obsessed with them now. But, I gotta say the ones in the mix brought back some fond memories of roller skating and Break dancing. We would most certainly break to early Hip-Hop, but these gems would also find their way in our old Maxell mix tapes.

So, check this one out. When you hear the intro and outro, and if you came up the 80's like me, you'll no doubt get what the title of the mix is all about. As always, I do hope you enjoy and I'll catch you on the flip!

The Tunes:

01. Intro - HSB
02. Hey, My Brutha! - Snippet
03. She's A Bad Mama Jama - Carl Carlton (20th Century Fox)
04. The Glow Of Love - Change (Warner Brothers)
05. Shame - Evelyn "Champagne" King (RCA)
06. I Want Your Love - Chic (Atlantic)
07. Thinking Of You - Sister Sledge (Cotillion)
08. Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste Of Honey (Capital)
09. And The Beat Goes On - The Whispers (Solar)
10. "The Vinyl Experience" - PW
11. Sexy - MFSB (Philadelphia International)
12. Every Time I Turn Around - L.T.D. (A&M)
13. Mary Jane - Rick James (Gordy)
14. Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside (Solar)
15. Get Down On It - Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)
16. A Woman Needs Love - Raydio (Arista)
17. Zoom - Commodores (Motown)
18. No, My Brutha! - Outro

"Hey, My Brutha!" A Mix By: HeavySoulBrutha

Peace and SOUL,
Dave...

Truth & Soul Presents Michael Leonhart & The Avramania 7!

SoulSistas And SoulBruthas! Our good friends over at Truth & Soul have hooked us up with a preview of their latest 45rpm! It's another SUPER COOL get down from one of the baddest labels on the planet. The tune's got all kinds of fantastic influences and sounds. I really think you're gonna dig this one for sure. I do think it's pretty damn great. Have a listen!

Scopolamine - Michael Leonhart & The Asvamina 7

Info: Truth & Soul is proud to present the first single from Michael Leonhart & The Avramina 7. Long time trumpet player for many of the T&S releases, Michael Leonhart has masterfully created something that sounds like the musical love child of R.D Burman, Fela Kuti, & Beck. A mix of reverb drenched vocals, afro beat horns, and fluttering tablas all work in perfect harmony on The Avramina 7's first single on Truth & Soul.

A Little bit about Michael Leonhart & The Asvamina 7: " As a solo artist Michael has released six albums -- "Aardvark Poses" (1995), "Glub Glub vol. 11" (1997), and "Slow" (2002) all on the Sunnyside label; "The Suzy Lattimore EP" (2005) & "The Ballad of Minton Quigley "(2006) self released and 2008’s "Hotel Music" on limited edition vinyl with hand painted covers released through St. Ives (an imprint of Secretly Canadian). He has composed and performed music for movies, television, dance, fashion shows and theater, and has appeared on over 100 albums. At age 17, Michael was honored as the youngest Grammy recipient in history, cited as the most outstanding musician in a U.S. high school. That same year ABC World News named him "Person of the Week".

Michael has performed with Steely Dan since 1996, recording two albums with them, including 2000's Grammy winning Album of the Year "Two Against Nature" on which he was a featured soloist, arranger and conductor. He has performed and/or recorded with such diverse artists as A Tribe Called Quest, Arif Mardin, Arto Linsday, Bill Frisell, Bobby McFerrin, Bonnie Raitt, Brian Eno, Busta Rhymes, Caetano Veloso, D.J. Spooky, David Byrne, Henry Mancini, James Brown, John Barry, Joshua Redman, Lenny Kravitz, Mark Ronson, Michael McDonald, Mos Def, Natalie Merchant, Q-Tip, Raekwon (Wutang Clan), Slash (Guns and Roses/ Velvet Revolver), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Todd Rundgren, and Wynton Marsalis. Most recently, Michael recorded with Yoko Ono as a featured member of the Plastic Ono Band for her upcoming album, "Between My Head and the Sky". Michael also appears on upcoming albums by Sharon Jones and the Dapkings, Foreigner, Sean Lennon, and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto).

After 20 plus recordings as the house trumpet player for Truth and Soul records, the Brooklyn based funk and soul label will release Leonhart’s heavy-funk concept album "Seahorse and the Storyteller” late this year."

Support Independent SOUL MUSIC and pick up a copy of this one at the Truth & Soul Shop or your local record store.