Latin Percussion Ventures

Let's end the week with a funky Latin jazz gem titled "The Opener" by The Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble. This percussion-heavy track was originally featured on the group's 1979 album Just Like Magic. The record was released by the label Latin Percussion Ventures, Inc., which like the title suggests, released numerous records during the seventies with a heavy focus on Afro-Cuban and Latin percussion. As far as I know, Just Like Magic was the only full-length studio album from the group, whom consisted of an all-star cast of Latin percussion legends like Tito Puente, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, and Steve Berrios. Overall, the record captures a solid session of heavy percussion breaks and funky Latin instrumentation. Simply put, Just Like Magic is truly a nice find for both deejays/producers and Latin music fans. Enjoy your weekend!

The Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble - The Opener

Now Try To Find Me

In case you haven't heard, the label Golf Channel Recordings has been on a tear, releasing some quality mixes and superb twelves as of late. One of those amazing releases comes in the form of a recent mix titled, Try To Find Me Vol.02, which was put together by former !!! and Outhud member Justin Vandervolgen. This brilliant mix brings together an eclectic group of artists and tracks that bridge a wide range of sub-genres including disco, funk, deep house, and techno. One track on the mix that has just about caught every one's attention is the second track "Get To My Baby". An extended version of this funky track, which is actually a re-edit(I haven't been able to pin-point the original as of yet), was put together by the tag-team duo Vandervolgen and nu-disco mastermind Lee Douglas in a group called TBD. This extended version of the edit found it's way onto vinyl as a white label twelve shortly after the full mix of Try To Find Me Vol.02 was released. As you might imagine, this record didn't take long to get snatched up in stores. At this point, the twelve is practically already out-of-print and you might have a little bit of an easier time tracking down Try To Find Me Vol.02, which is in CD format. Overall, Vandervolgen with the help of Lee Douglas, have provided us with both a superb new mix as well a brilliant new disco edit. Enjoy!

TBD - Get To My Baby (TBD extension)

African Music Machine

As I was doing a little "house-keeping" on my blog roll today, I noticed that many of those blogs and sites that I have had listed (for example i.e. Donna Slut, Lovefingers, T.M.L, etc.) have called it quits for one reason or another. I was actually fairly shocked to see that so many sites within the last year have decided to end their run. It was a quick reminder of the many times I have actually considered ending this site, to only however choose to expand and evolve the blog's platform musically instead. I hope that everyone who has been coming back to this site for years continues to enjoy the music I share, even though it certainly has expanded from disco into other sub genres like Afrobeat, Latin Jazz, etc. The reason I continue to keep this site going is for the simple fact that I love sharing music, and as long as their is an audience for that, I will continue to do it. So, thanks to everyone once again who continues to stop by the site daily, weekly, or just once in awhile. It is greatly appreciated.

Now on to the music...

Here is a funky African gem titled "Black Water Gold (Pearl)" by the African Music Machine. This was the title track off the group's early seventies album. Even though the song has a heavy African inspired sound, the group was actually based out of New Orleans. The album that this track is featured on, Black Water Gold, was reissued a few years back and can now be found a lot more easily (even though I'm not a big fan of reissues). Overall, the funky gem is a solid soulful track that features some nice instrumental breaks. Enjoy!

African Music Machine - Black Water Gold (Pearl)

The African Sounds of 'Love and Death'

When it comes to Record labels, there might not be a label having a better year than Strut Records, as they have continued to release quality compilations and albums throughout the year. The label's most recent release titled Love and Death by Ghanaian music legend Ebo Taylor certainly continues along that same stream of quality releases. The album Love and Death, which features a heavy dose of funky Afrobeat grooves, is Taylor's first international studio album release in over 20 years. After a growing interest in Taylor's earlier recordings from the seventies thanks to a series of compilations recently put out by labels like Soundway Records and Analog Africa, Taylor has decided to take this opportunity to as he called it "Advance the cause of Afrobeat music". On his new album Love and Death, Taylor achieves this goal by including new versions of classics like "Victory" and "Love and Death" alongside new compositions like "Kwame" and "Nga Nga". Overall, Love and Death is an amazing album that sounds like a lost masterpiece that has recently been re-discovered from the early seventies, which in my opinion is a good thing. With that being said, I highly recommend picking up this new album, which now can arguably considered the latest chapter in Afrobeat music. Enjoy!

Ebo Taylor - Nga Nga

Livin' In a Small World Disco

Over the last year, a number of great re-edit twelves have been released by the label Small World Disco. This re-edit series has featured some solid edits from some up-and-coming re-edit masterminds including LTJ, Nicholas, Memory Man, and many others. Here is one of my favorite edits from the label in "The Wild Wild", which is a re-working of Barrabas' early seventies Latin Funk classic "Wild Safari". This edit was released back in May on the labels fifth release and was put together by someone who goes under the alias The Ivory Boy. I highly recommend checking out this release as well as all of the label's releases, as they continue to put out quality records. Enjoy!

Barrabas - Wild Safari (The Ivory Boy Re-edit)

Plug Me To Death

Quick reminder that this Saturday night is a very special Grow Up party at Madrone. The night will feature special guest deejay and balearic disco mastermind Sorcecer. It should be a really fun night, so I hope to see everyone! To find out more about the party, check out the Facebook event page.

Now on to the music...

Here is one of my favorite tracks by the Erotic Drum Band in "Plug Me To Death". This funky percussion disco gem is the title track from the group's 1978 album, which was released off of Prism Records. Throughout the entire record, each track features a heavy dose of solid percussion breaks and grooves. The record can also arguably serve as a good source for sampling material. Regardless if you use this record for production or for pleasure, Plug Me To Death is a solid record and one that every disco collector should own. Enjoy!

Erotic Drum Band - Plug Me To Death

Happy Birthday Dizzy!

With Dizzy Gillespie being one of my all-time favorite jazz artists, and today being his birthday(Thanks to Google for the reminder), I thought I would pay tribute to the jazz legend by featuring another one of my favorite tracks by Gillespie in "N'Bani". This funky track was featured on Gillespie's 1970 album The Real Thing. I was excited to find an original copy of this record, which I rarely see, this past weekend. As I've probably mentioned before on this site (see Funky Manteca), Gelespie was one of the first jazz artists I grew to enjoy and really appreciate. His music was the start of me opening up to jazz music in general and it has since played a major influence on me musically. With that being said, he would have been 93 years old today and even though he is not with us physically anymore, his music is still very much alive and breathing in many of us. So here is to you Dizzy, Happy Birthday!

Dizzy Gillespie - N'Bani

West African Shock Waves

The last few years their has been a major resurgence in African funk and Afrobeat releases. Most of the releases have centered around bringing together the more recently re-discovered lost gems from the African region that had previously been forgotten about for several decades. It's hard for me to say because I wasn't around during the original release of this material, however their could be an argument made that a good portion of this music is getting more praise now than it ever did. I suppose that it's more important that the music finally receives it's much overdue appreciation, than never at all.

The new compilation from Analog Africa titled "Afro-Beat Airways: West African Shock Waves Ghana & Togo 1972-79" is the latest release that pays tribute to the lost funky sounds from Africa's past. This record, as the titled suggests, focuses on the Afrobeat sounds that were being generated from the African countries of Ghana and Togo during the seventies. What stands out the most about this particular compilation, besides the amazing music, is the information, the interviews, and the archived photos that Analog Africa founder Samy Ben Redjeb collected while putting together this brilliant compilation. The evidence of these efforts can be found on the CD version of this compilation which comes with a 44 page booklet documenting all of his findings and interviews. The collection of music that makes up the compilation is also incredible, featuring some of the region's greatest artist like Ebo Taylor, Apagya Show Band, African Brothers Band, Marijata, Uppers International, and K.Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas among many others. Not only has Analog Africa put together another must-own compilation, they have put together a well-crafted 73 minute audio history lesson based around some of Africa's most funkiest and lost music. Enjoy!

K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas - Me Yee Owu Den

Special GROW UP This Saturday!

This Saturday (Oct. 24th), Hotthobo, Fenstar, and I (Pat Les Stache) will be hosting a very special Grow Up party inside the Madrone Lounge (500 Divisadero Street @ Fell). Joining us on this very special occasion will be cosmic disco crusader Sorcecer. For those that might not be familiar with the California native, Sorcecer has released a number of superb cosmic disco twelves on a number of great labels including Tirk, International, and Lo Recordings. If you've been following this blog since it's early days, you might recall me posting Prins Thomas' remix of his 2007 balearic gem Surfing At Midnight (See Surfing to New York). On top of producing his own solo work, Sorcecer also serves as half of the cosmic duo Windsurf. We are very excited to have him join us on what should be one of the best Grow Up parties to date. It should be good times as usual, therefore I hope to see everyone this Saturday night!

To find out more about this party or to RSVP, go to the Facebook Event Page

Timeless

On February 1, 2009, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke teamed up with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz scene to put on a rare concert, titled Timeless, at the Luckmann Theatre in Los Angeles. For those that couldn't make it to the sold out show, Mochilla Records has released a live record and DVD to commemorate the very special event. During the performance Astatke performed many of his classic tracks including Yekermo Sew, I Faram Gami, Yegelle Tezeta, and Kasaléfkut Hulu. Each track is backed by some incredible instrumentation from a solid cast of musicians and maintains a high level of energy throughout the entire performance, shedding new light on some of Astatke's most notable compositions. I find that live recordings can often fall short of capturing the same kind of energy that existed during the actual performance, Timeless however feeds off of the performance's energy and gives the listener a true taste of what turned out to be a legendary performance. Enjoy!

Mulatu Astatke - Kasaléfkut Hulu (Live Performance From Timeless)

Draggin' My Heels

My apoligies for not updating the blog yesterday. As I mentioned on Tuesday, this was going to be a very busy week for me personally. Anyways, let's end the week with great "left-field" edit by Social Disco Club of The Hollies' "Draggin' My Heels". This laid-back, yet funky track, was originally released in 1977 and actually became a regular song played at David Mancuso's Loft parties. This re-edit of the track was featured on the fourteenth release of the Mindless Boogie series. Overall, it's a superb edit of an already great track that is perfect for those more laid-back moments on a dancefloor. Enjoy!

The Hollies - Draggin' My Heels (Social Disco Club Re-edit)

Money Is The Root of Evil

The rest of my week is probably going to be pretty hectic, therefore expect the next few posts to be short and sweet. On to the music...

Here is a rare African disco gem titled "Money Is The Root of Evil" by the group Dan Boadi & the African Internationals. This song was originally released as the title track to the group's 1978 album, and more recently released as a twelve-inch in 2002 by Aestuarium Records. Overall, it's a classic African disco gem worth hunting down in anyway that you can find it. Enjoy!

Dan Boadi & the African Internationals - Money Is The Root of Evil

Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

This past Saturday I was fortunate to catch Maurice Fulton deejay at 222 Hyde. He played an incredible set of mostly disco and boogie gems to a small, however packed crowd. One of my favorite tracks that he played was Idris Muhammad's 1977 disco classic "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This". I hadn't heard anyone play this song out for awhile, therefore it inspired me to re-post the funky classic. Fulton dropped this gem near the end of his set, and it's heavy mid-tempo groove was the perfect cool-down song right before he closed out his set with a couple more uptempo disco cuts. Overall, the song was just one of the many great tracks that Maurice Fulton included in his very impressive set. Enjoy!

Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This



Also, as an added bonus, here is a superb re-edit of the track by
Leftside Wobble. Over the past few years, I've really become a fan of this person's re-edits.

Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This (Leftside Wobble Edit)

Malinga Disco

Let's start the week off with a great re-edit from Diesel & Jarvis of Malinga Five's 1977 African disco gem "Malinga". This funky edit was released a few years ago as a part of the continuously growing Moton Records Inc. re-edit series. The twelve-inch record also includes two other solid edits including a funky laid back reworking of Bella Vista's 1982 cosmic gem Mister Wong. Overall, is a great re-edit record that I highly recommend worth purchasing.

Malinga Five - Malinga (Diesel & Jarvis Re-edit)

Soul Soukous

Let's end another busy week with a rare Afro funk gem titled "Soul Soukous" by Auguila Gaston Demaye. I don't know much about this track other than it was released as a seven-inch single sometime during, I believe, the early seventies. The track, which seems to be Demaye's only known official release, has an overall funky sound that is very reminiscent of Manu Dibango's Afro classic "Soul Makossa". Overall, a fine gem to round out the week with. Enjoy!

Auguila Gaston Demaye - Soul Soukous
(Sorry, Per Request the track has been removed)

AUTOBAHN This Sunday Night!

This Sunday night (10/10/10), come check out the monthly party Autobahn at Koko Cocktails (1060 Geary Street). I will be one of the special guest deejays that night, which will also include Philadelphia's DJ Shawn Ryan who writes the Dollar Bin Jams blog. I plan to break out some Cosmic disco alongside some Afro funk and maybe even some italo if I can figure how to bring it all together. Anyways, it should be a fun night. Hope to see everyone there!

Check out the Facebook Event page for more info.

The Original Sound of Funky Africa

I'm slowly, but surely, recovering from last night's Grow Up. Thanks to Jon Blunck for playing an increadible set and to everyone who showed up. The night was a lot of fun as usual. A quick reminder, we will be throwing a very special Grow Up party on Saturday, October 23rd with special guest Sorcerer. Look for more info regarding that night to come.

Here is a funky African gem titled "Handsome Boy (E Wara)" by the group The Rwenzori's. This track is just one of the many great tracks that is featured on the amazing Afro funk compilation titled Africafunk: Return To The Original Sound Of 1970s Funky Africa that was released back in 2000 by the Harmless label. This compilation includes other great hard-to-find gems including Fela Kuti's "Roforofo Fight", Buari's "Ku Ka Maria", and Kongas' "Anikana-O" among many others. Occasionally I come across this record, however like many of the great African compilations, this record is becoming more difficult to find. Therefore, I highly recommend snatching up this compilation if you ever come across it. Overall, a solid Afro funk compilation full of lost numerous funky gems. Enjoy!

The Rwenzori's - Handsome Boy (E Wara) (Parts 1 & 2)

GROW UP TONIGHT!

Yes indeed, TONIGHT it's another monthly rendition of Grow Up inside the Madrone Lounge (500 Divisadero Street @ Fell) with residents Hotthobo, FenStar, and yours truly, Pat Les Stache. If that doesn't "get your panties all wet and up in a bind", maybe our special guest deejay Jon Blunck from the Sweaterfunk Crew will, with his exceptional collection of boogie gems that he will be dropping throughout the night. For those that regularly attend Jon's weekly Sunday night mayhem that is Sweaterfunk, you definitely know that is one Grow Up party not worth missing. I have the early slot this time around, therefore I recommend getting there early and staying late.
See you tonight!

Rhythm and Blues

Recently, I've really been enjoying Melvyn Price's funky Latin album Rhythm and Blues. This hard-to-find record was originally released in 1974, however thanks to the good people over at Wax Poetics, the album has become more easily available due to a recent reissue. Generally I'm not a big fan of reissues, however given the almost impossible-to-find nature of the release, this is certainly one reissue in my mind worth checking out. The record has an overall funky Afro-Cuban feel, with a heavy dose of solid conga based percussion rhythms from Price leading the way. Some of the highlight's include "Voodoo Love Dance", "Behind Kungsträdgarden", and "Toward Brazil" among others. Simply put, Rhythm and Blues is nothing less than an absolute Latin percussion masterpiece. Enjoy!

Melvyn Price - Behind Kungsträdgarden

Apache Talk

I was excited this past weekend to pick-up a used original copy of Luiz Bonfá's 1972 Brazilian psych-funk classic Jacaranda. This funky record features many great tracks including "Apache Talk", "Gentle Rain", "Jacaranda", and "Danse V", that nicely brings together Brazilian grooves blended with seventies psychedelic funk, and jazz. Ontop of featuring the Brazilian guitarist Bonfá, the record also includes some other notable musicians including Ray Barretto, Idris Muhammad, Airto Moreira, Stanley Clarke, and was arranged by Eumir Deodato. Jacaranda was certainly one of those records I had been wanting to hunt down for quite sometime, therefore it's good to see that after this past weekend, I can now cross it off my forever growing wish list. Enjoy!

Luiz Bonfá - Apache Talk

2000 Blacks Got to be Free

As I continue to get myself "musically prepared" for tonight's Roy Ayers show at Yoshi's, I thought I would post another classic track that he collaborated on with Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti called "2000 Blacks Got to be Free". This funky gem was featured on the 1980 album Music of Many Colours, which was a collaborated effort between Kuti and Ayers that also featured the track "Africa - Centre Of The World ". Even though I highly doubt Ayers will perform this eighteen-plus minute track in tonight's set, I couldn't help but share this amazing song that truly brings out the musical brilliance in both artists. Enjoy!

Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers - 2000 Blacks Got to be Free

Everybody Loves The Sunshine

With soul-jazz legend Roy Ayers performing tonight in San Francisco, I thought it would only be fitting to end the week with one of my favorite tracks from the vibraphonist, in "Hey Uh-What You Say Come On". This funky, mostly instrumental gem, was featured on Ayer's breakthrough 1976 album "Everybody Loves The Sunshine". This album starts to represent the time that the notable jazz artist started to slightly move away from his earlier jazz sound and lean more on his soulful side, writing a number of solid dancefloor gems including "Running Away", "Get On Up, Get On Down", "Fever", and "Black Family" among many others. When I first saw Ayer's perform a few years ago, he focused his set around many of his more uptempo classics, maintaining a high level of energy among his band and the crowd. That being said, I'm very much looking forward to seeing his performance tonight and seeing what route he chooses to go and songs he chooses to play. Regardless, it should be a great performance and one that I'm very much looking forward to seeing. Enjoy your weekend!

Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Hey Uh-What You Say Come On

Cabana Disco Vol.03 Now Available Digitally!

With Cabana Disco vol.03 now out-of-print, I have made two of the three tracks available to purchase digitally (Including in .Wav format!) at JunoDownload.com. The two tracks include my edits of John Ozila's "Funky Boogie" and Kabbala's "Ashewo Ara". I decided to only make two of the three tracks available in order to reward those that went out and purchased the vinyl. That being said, I am planning on repressing this record sometime in the next six months, therefore those that slept on it the first time will have the opportunity to purchase a copy. Also, next week I will be announcing my next release, which will be titled Athlete Edits vol.01 (Available this Fall), which will feature some of the previously unreleased edits that I have featured on this site. Therefore, stay tuned for that announcement. Until then, feel free to jump over to the Juno website and download a couple edits from the Cabana Disco series

Cabana Disco vol.03 Now Available on JunoDownload
Click Here to Download