Disco | Boogie Vinyl 504 Items

EPS023 is the second Mantis 45rpm on Epsilon Record Co.
This is a sensational previously unissued double sider from 1976.
Do We Have Love is a beautiful sweet soul side with killer vocal from Rocky Whitaker.
Click on play and put on your dancing shoes!

Don Blackman is an iconic, cult artist. A pianist, songwriter, producer, and vocalist from New York he is a mystical figure for record collectors, one of those artists where if you found an old dusty record with Don's name on it, you'd buy it on sight. He is best known for his 1982 magnum-opus, the eponymous album that featured the all-time classics 'Heart's Desire' and 'Holding You, Loving You’. He also collaborated with other greats such as Bernard Wright, Weldon Irvine, Roy Ayers, and Lenny White.

We couldn't believe it when Chicago DJ/digger/producer, Marc Davis, told us there was a vault of unreleased Don Blackman material. Marc had reached out to Don’s children, Irene and Kyle, in 2019, building a relationship with Kyle with whom he shared a musical affinity. To Marc's delight, Kyle confirmed that there was indeed a treasure trove. As Kyle described it, “In 2013, shortly after my dad’s passing, my sister and I collected all of his possessions and put them in a storage unit. I came across forty years’ worth of music history. Hundreds of cassettes, CDs, Disks, reel-to-reels, paperwork, photos and VHS tapes. It took about ten years to organise and digitise everything. All of this magic was almost thrown away in the trash, never to be seen, never to be heard forever.”

Two tracks were selected, 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' and 'Say You'll Be Mine'. 'Your Love Makes Me Crazy' is as funky as it gets, with infectiously catchy vocal hooks, and a serious jam, whereas ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ is a classy, soulful boogie, instrumental number, that shows off Don’s masterful piano playing. Both tracks warrant full attention and capture a master at work. He was also a one-man show when it came to production, playing all of the instruments when recording these tunes in his home studio in South Jamaica, Queens.

On first hearing the tracks, Marc knew he wanted to extend the songs and enlisted fellow Chicago legend, Tone B. Nimble, to work on the project with him. Their extension/edit of the songs was conducted in a way that was respectful and true to how the tracks were originally recorded by Don. They extended and re-sequenced the groovy parts of the songs organically for the DJs and dancers.

The final words on this release are best coming from Kyle, “We are very excited and thrilled to continue to share all of this unreleased magic with the world. We hope that this music will help, heal, and inspire a new generation of artists to never give up, and to strive for what their hearts desire.”

Here's another goodie from The Outer Edge! This time we're presenting a very limited pressing of the cosmic outsider synth pop tune "Der Tanz ihrer Backen" by Wolffen. With a haunting mid-tempo drum machine pattern, a deep bass, and vocals in German, the track is already absolutely unique. But what will blow you away is when the mysterious Middle Eastern synth theme gets topped with a catchy chorus sung in the Arabic language!

Wolffen (or sometimes called Koppelberg's Wolffen) was a project based around actor and singer Thomas Koppelberg. Born in 1957, Koppelberg unfortunately died at the young age of 41. The track originally appears on the album "Wie zwei schöne Tiere" (translates to "Like two beautiful animals") which was completely produced by composer and keyboardist Peter Schnell and released privately in 1988. The LP remained completely forgotten until it was rediscovered by label owner DJ Scientist and was made public via the label's internet shop a few years ago. It didn't take long until this very special tune spread via social media and became an insider tip in record collecting circles.

"Der Tanz ihrer Backen" (translates to "The dance of her cheeks") is now available for the first time as an extended mix on a loud 12" disc. Side B offers a mostly instrumental edit by Cid Hohner (of OTTO) which leaves out the German verses but keeps the haunting Arabic chorus.

Only 200 copies have been made - all are numbered and come with a handmade picture sleeve plus additional Japanese Katta sleeve and sticker. Don't sleep on this rare gem!

The Person is back on the dancefloor and she brought the delicious Australian version of a good old Italian recipe - Italoz Disco. Mouthwatering rhythms spiced with everyday hustle, cosmic boogie and the extra dose of synthesizer! Changing the Meatballs for Oddballs to worship the Magic $ properly. Sull' alto lato (aka on the B-Side) we're changing the Oddballs for the Mothballs as the one and only Hysteric warms up the magic ragout in his unique steam-powered kitchen. Now go to work!

You still need to be convinced? Take these great lines by Patrick: "Magic $" beams into the discotheque direct from deep space; a shimmering body of squelching bass, nebulous pads and snapping percussion which hosts Minna's bewitching vocals. The arch delivery and vintage sequences flirt with kitsch, but that playful genius particular to The Person pushes this into wonderfully wonkier territories. Basslines climb, keys collapse and the whole thing chugs and bubbles through a flawless arrangement. We thought they didn't make them like this anymore, but we were wrong. Stepping in on remix duty, renowned (Moth)baller Hysteric turns out a treatment that's worth a million bucks, boosting the bottom end with an acidic sequence, supercharging the percussion and punching in some strange sampler fun to guarantee utter club chaos. Every superhero needs a theme song, and "The Person" sees Minna step away from the dancefloor to deliver a synthetic ballad for lucid dreamers everywhere. Jamming on top of a malfunctioning Jomox, Minna channels chimes, piano and a gentle chug into the classiest chord progression this side of Mike Francis. Closing cut "Go To Work" gives us neon lights and nighthawks as The Person indulges in a little Antipodean electro, proving once and for all that Australians Do It Better.

The official reissue of the original 1979 most wanted and rarest Neapolitan Disco Funk 7" on Archeo Recordings Produced by Leo Mas and Manu Archeo