Monthly Archives: April, 2016

QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT-VINYL EDITION.

QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT-VINYL EDITION. Back in 1969, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster, which would become one of the most important groups in the nascent Krautrock movement. Kluster went on to release two albums between 1969 and 1971, Zwei-Ostere and Klopfzeichen. However, in 1971 Conrad Schnitzler announced that he was leaving Kluster. So Hans-Joachim …

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ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS.

ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS. For some time, Berry Gordy Jr. had ben thinking of heading out on his own. He was fed up working for other people, and decided the time had come to form his own record company. So using the royalties he received from writing songs for Jackie Wilson, and an …

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JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS.

JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS. By 1966, Jack Ashford was a familiar face in Detroit’s music jazz scene. The Philly born musician had been a member of Marvin Gaye’s touring band before he became a Funk Brother.  Through meeting the Motown musicians, Jack decided to base himself in Detroit. Soon, he became part of Motown’s legendary studio band …

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LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970.

LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970. The post-Beatles’ pop boom of the early sixties seemed to catch some record labels unaware. They came to the party late. Some label executives thought that pop music was a passing fad, and were reluctant to commit scarce resources to it. This had disastrous consequences. By the time, these …

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CALIFORNIA SOUL-FUNK AND SOUL FROM THE GOLDEN STATE 1967-1976.

CALIFORNIA SOUL-FUNK AND SOUL FROM THE GOLDEN STATE 1967-1976. Even today, many people still see California as an idyllic paradise. They see the Golden State as a place where the sun shines all summer long on a sparkling blue Ocean. Meanwhile, the beautiful people arrive at the beach in their Little Deuce Coupe, where they …

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KONONO Nº1 MEETS BATIDA.

KONONO Nº1 MEETS BATIDA. In 2008, Konono Nº1 won a Grammy Award for their 2007 album Live At Couleur Café. It was released on Crammed Discs, and was the third album Konono Nº1 had released since producer Vincent Kenis rediscovered the group just a few years earlier. By then, Konono Nº1 were already approaching veteran …

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KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971.

KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971. Between 1964 and 1971, The Kinks were musical trailblazers who took Britain and America by storm. Critical acclaim accompanied many of The Kinks’ albums. Partly, this was because The Kinks never stood still musically. Instead, they were musical chameleons. They realised that to stay relevant, that their music had …

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SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED-VINYL EDITION.

SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED-VINYL EDITION. Nowadays, most musicians are content to release an album every year or two. It’s a far cry from the sixties and seventies when bands would regularly release two albums a year. That most people thought, was a thing of the past. However, it’s not. Dave Schmidt is proof of this. His three …

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DIETER MOEBIUS-BLOTCH.

DIETER MOEBIUS-BLOTCH. Probably, the most overused word in the English language is legend. Recently, it seems, the word has been used to describe overrated musical butterflies, who glibly flit between musical genres. They hang onto the coattails of much more talented musicians, hoping that some of their magic will rub off. When this didn’t result …

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MIKE HARRISON-MIKE HARRISON, SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING AND RAINBOW RIDER.

MIKE HARRISON-MIKE HARRISON, SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING AND RAINBOW RIDER. There aren’t many artists who enjoy the longevity that Mike Harrison has enjoyed. His career has spanned six decades. During that period Mike Harrison has been the lead singer of  The V.I.P.s, Art and the Hamburg Blues Band. However, Mike Harrison is best known as the lead …

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