Records rambling….

Mayday! Mayday! Ok, so it’s not new material but it’s as close as it gets from The Innovator… 4 tracks, previously only available on one of those 12 tracks-a-side LP’s that, while useful historically, are about as much use in a club environment as a Vestax turntable. It’s all here, the soaring strings, the alien basslines, the heavily flanged, swung percussion…. the SOUL. Limited to 1000 copies, and with a very cool die-cut sleeve with the Transmat logo carved in…. you need this! Another name from the past returned recently – none other than Virgo Four. Following on from the Rush Hour reissue of their seminal album, as well as the inclusion of their Ace & The Sandman track on the recent House Of Trax 12″, Rush Hour come up trumps yet again by helping to unearth 2 unreleased efforts by Erick and Merwyn. That’s right, BRAND NEW VIRGO FOUR TRACKS! Issued on clear vinyl, the 2 tracks here are both pretty stellar, but “Look Into Your Eyes” wins for me, a lush hypnotic journey through the streets of Chicago – crisp beats topped with vintage strings and synth lines that always feels like it’s going somewhere. Again, a limited pressing, search it out. More? You want more new shit by the old guard? Well, alright. How does previously unreleased Ron Hardy/Gene Hunt trax suit you? Pretty damn well I’d say: a fierce jack track, a slightly more considered and melodic but still pumped up B1, and a downright insane B2 make for a killer EP. Apparently recorded in the late 80’s when Gene was just a teenager, Rush Hour took the canny step of issuing this with a cover print of an old flyer that both their names featured on. OK, that’s it with the Rush Hour shit for now, until they send us some money or something, but really, they are killing it right now.

Omar S hits again, with the 4-tracker These Complimentary Track’x, with ‘Solely Supported’ riding a gritty acidic synth sequence supplemented by super-stripped raw percussion. Elsewhere he explores semi-industrial noise, carves a long dubby workout on the flip, and teases with a short-but-sweet soul/disco cut-up tucked away near the runout on the B2. The man like Scott Ferguson just dropped a new 12″ on FerrisPark entitled “Death Of The Diggers 2” – the title tells a story, this EP features a bunch of cool samples from the disco mines of history, and across 4 tracks varies the tempo and grooves sufficiently to make this a box-stayer for the forseeable. I’m particularly feeling the 100 bpm loaf of “SF Estilo Disco” …. SOLID! ….I also copped the last Vincent Floyd 12″ I needed, “Cruising”, meaning I now have the two Dance Mania 12″s, plus this one. This was a bit of a holy grail (and it cost me an unholy sum), but at least now I can sleep easily knowing I have the 3 best records this guy did. For those of you unfamiliar, Vincent Floyd makes deep, emotional house music in the time honoured way – he makes the machines sing. Cruising is an epic 12 minute journey that will be featuring on a new DJ mix at some point.

Is it House? Proto? Electro? I don’t know, and nor do I care, but it bangs HARD. Z Factor’s “(I Like To Do It In) Fast Cars” was No.1 on my wants list for months, and here’s why. Wigged out synths, breathy female vocal, rudimentary sequencing, and a 100mph groove complete with all the drops and builds you’ll ever need, make this an essential piece of electronic music history. You may well fuck up the mix, but people will sure as hell remember you played it!

A tasty reissue just appeared of Cloud One’s awesome “Flying High”, put simply this is just one of those boogie tunes that gets you in the heart – the simple vocal refrain and synth work is yet more proof of the genius of Patrick Adams. For those of you who, like me, never turned up an original pressing, this is a godsend just to be able to play it off a 12″ as opposed to a compilation LP. I also coughed up for an original of Mtume’s “So You Wanna Be A Star” recently, which is kinda tricky to find. Another life-affirming boogie tune, this time with a full vocal, I’ve heard one or two dodgy edits of this but they’re completely unecessary, the original’s all you need. Keeping with the disco, I found a nice copy of the South Shore Commission LP, which is particularly notable for “We’re On The Right Track”, a Tom Moulton mixed soulful number with all that classic orchestration that never fails to lift my mood. Maynard Ferguson’s “Primal Scream” LP was a bit of a gamble, but fortunately paid off, if you’re familiar with “The Fly” (as sampled by Trus’me for his “Nard’s” track), then you’re in the right area – this is a storming jazz-funk LP produced by Bob James, and includes Chick Corea amongst the musicians. Not only that, but on the back cover is printed “Maynard Ferguson plays an M.F Horn Trumpet, M.F Superbone & M.F Firebird – instruments of his own design” !!! I also finally got a copy of James Mason’s “Rhythm of Life” LP (just the reissue!), an all-time jazz-funk great, featuring all manner of killer tracks, including “Free”, “Sweet Power Your Embrace” etc. Another one ticked off the sprawling list that never actually seems to get any smaller…

That’s all I’ve got time for for now, but thanks to Tom for nagging me into writing these records up! I hereby do solemnly swear to try and do it a bit more often. Yessum.