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New Parisian label, Disques Messager, presents its new and second release. As its name suggests, the label has a simple leitmotiv: to place itself among the best messengers for rarities and sought-after gems of the international rare groove. A mission which began like fire last year with a 7inch reissue release including two Brazilian Disco bangers by Cristina Camargo. For this second efforts, the label doesn’t deviate from the artistic and quality path taken, however also making quite a U-turn, this time presenting 2 underrated kind of musical UFO, both from the French scene. Not many info can be found about Yoanson & Karamie, two young artists from the French African diaspora, who randomly met with Nessim Saroussi and his label Ness Music in the late 80s. Nessim himself doesn’t remind much about the 2 guys, except that he quickly offered to produce them, which resulted in their only EP release, Kalimba (1988). Part of this EP, “African Leaders” is a stunning track melting Afro-Tropical percussions, Disco bass, Early-Electro beats and Leftfield vocals in a way that could remind of Doctor L or Arthur Russel productions. On the contrary, Philippe de Lacroix-Herpin (aka Prof Jah Pinpin) has a long musical career started in the mid-70s and became a renowned saxophonist playing and recording for many famous French acts such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, Alain Chamfort, FFF, or even rap band NTM. In 1994, he moved definitely to the Reunion Island where he quickly launched the Prof Jah Pinpin 4tet, in his own words willing to play “free/funk/jazz/rock/tropical” music… Quite a vast and large musical tag, but which immediately make sense when listening to the surprising “The Final Bird” track. Only released as CD in 1996, this instrumental production has indeed a unique sound and flavor mixing all kinds of elements together (even samples of Weather Report). Well as you can understand, words are not the best way to describe these 2 hidden treasures, so we strongly recommend the spinning to make your own view!

Longtime friends and part time bandmates Woody and Jeremy return with their new album Hold Up, Look Back. Their junior effort turns out to be their most cohesive, tasteful and mature work yet. It’s also goofy, silly, often dryly funny and pretty much always funky. Or in other words it could be considered a classic Woody and Jeremy record.

It’s got that low-key “Hey folks are over, let’s put on some vinyl and rev up the turntable” kind of energy to it. It’s a break up record but it’s also a get together record. It’s a thinking about the past kind of record but it’s also a moving into the future kind of record. It’s a record about learning from your mistakes and moving towards emotional resolution, but it’s also about enjoying life, being horny, stupid and having fun.

The tracks move from yacht rock to full on dance funk vibes. Woody and company are operating at an all time high in the rhythm and grooves department.

A usual cast of characters returns to flesh out the sound, including Joe Dart and Andrew Vogt trading off bass duties, Packy Lundholm handling guitar and percussion and Reuben Garza on drums. A few special guests appear as well, including percussionist Brijean Murphy, saxophonist Ted Taforo, multi-instrumentalist David Celia and vocalists Jess Best and Taylor Harvey.

The album was recorded at Rax Trax and Sound Vault Studios in Chicago and in living rooms and backyard sheds all across Los Angeles. Paul Cherry mixed the record and added a guitar lick or two as well for good measure.

The tracks “Love Letter” and “In My Cessna 206” have become band favorites but there’s also two incredible six minute plus jammers on the B-side that aren’t to be missed - “Just A Little Bit” a Bowie-esque dance number and “End Of The Line” which might be the boys at their most Steely Dan yet. But whatever might be your standout track, hopefully this fun and groovy album finds a place in your heart and on your record shelf.

A double treat for those who love timeless Southern Soul flavoured with some of those good ol’ down home blues. Memphis born, and Minneapolis based, Willie Walker can comfortably be included in the pantheon of grittiest soul singers along with Wilson Pickett, Syl Johnson,

Lou Rawls, James Carr, Eddie Floyd, Tyrone Davis and L.V. Johnson, to name but a few, but there has always been speculation about other Willie Walkers. The recordings on Eutor and Hi in the 70’s are not by the same Willie as those on Goldwax and Checker in the 60’s. He did, however, also record as Wee Willie Walker. He was a member of The Rhythm Harmonizers, The Val-Dons, The Exciters, The Bound Band, Willie & The Bumblebees (although that Willie is actually Willie Murphy of The Val-Dons), and Canoise, spanning a long and varied career before hooking up with the Minneapolis based band The Butanes in 2004, with whom he made the next three albums. The first of these was mainly cover versions, but "Right Where I Belong" (2004) and "Memphisapolis" (2006) are notable for each providing the tracks that make up this latest Jai Alai release, a label that differs from sister label Soul4Real by featuring 21st century tracks previously CD only but now released on 7” vinyl for the first time. It also has to be noted that all the tracks on both these albums were written and produced by Curtis Obeda, who managed to track down Willie after so many years. “I Feel It” will have been missed by most as it was on the CD "Right Where I Belong" which was released in 2004 on the most unlikely of UK imprints, the Wirral based One On One Records run by Colin Dilnot. The album is a lavish display of real instruments from a band that once backed John Lee Hooker and Little Johnny Taylor and the perfect setting for Willie’s powerful vocals. Just tipping five glorious minutes, "Cry, Cry, Cry" is a perfect example of why soul music is inextricably linked to the blues, and when the gospel styled chorus joins in towards the end, you realise that this could, maybe should, have carried on for just a little bit longer. Perhaps a fuller length version exists? Sadly, Willie died peacefully in his sleep in November 2019, but to complete his story check out the two albums on Blue Dot as Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra. To quote the great Quinton Claunch…”Willie was one of the best to come out of Memphis in the 60’s”. Steve Hobbs (Solar Radio, Totally Wired Radio)

For the first time ever, Record Kicks is pleased to announce the release of the long lost soundtrack by Whatitdo Archive Group to the Italian Cinematic Masterpiece "The Black Stone Affair'' on beautiful gatefold vinyl, CD and digital format on April 09 2021. Long thought to be lost alongside the movie itself by the production studio, the soundtrack's master reels were recently recovered and its audio meticulously restored and remastered by J.J. Golden in Ventura, CA.

The movie itself was understood to be unusual for its time: a globetrotting adventure/western-noir written and directed by aspiring visionary, Stefano Paradisi. Unfortunately for Paradisi, the tragic loss of his masterpiece during a fire also meant the end of his short lived career in movies. People who worked on the film have been cited as saying this film was very ambitious, set to be a turning point in Paradisi’s carrier putting him on the map alongside the likes of Sergio Leone and Antonioni.

While the movie never saw the light of day, the soundtrack by obscure band Whatitdo Archive Group has thankfully been recovered. The music itself is staggering to hear, each track evoking all the senses almost all at once. "The Black Stone Affair (Main Theme)" sets the story with its dizzying bassline

underneath a Morricone-esque harpsichord melody eventually all digressing into a psych-freakout of guitars swirling over what is the overarching motif groove of this iconic soundtrack.

We then get taken into the giallo-steeped melody of "Blood Chief". What can only be the theme of the antagonist, this cut offers crunchy drum breaks, reverb-drenched bongos and a sinister baritone guitar line that seems to be indicative of its character. "Ethiopian Airlines" transports the movie into exotic lands with its afro-centric rhythms and mysterious horn melody. The search is on for the elusive Black Stone, an artifact so coveted it had been hidden for decades for its fatal power of seduction. For fans of KPM and De Wolfe Music, "Il Furto Di Africo" definitely delivers a similar 'library' flavor popular at the time. Our ears are treated to an ambiguous sense of center. What were Whatitdo Archive Group thinking? There almost seems to be two key centers at once and a slithering flute line blending between both. We can only imagine that the Black Stone was successfully stolen from the small Italian village of Africo with this track.

What movie really is complete without a lounge-y Bossa number? "Italian Love Triangle" delivers that sun-soaked Mediterranean romance. Our cunning female lead, Lola, decides the only way she can acquire the Black Stone is to pit the trio of characters against each other with an erotic love triangle she carefully crafts to exploit the vulnerability of Blood Chief and Beaumont Jenkins. "Last Train to Budapest" finds our two male leads in a gun-wielding, high-stakes train chase through the dizzying mountains of Bosnia racing to Hungary's capital city. The music brilliantly calls upon the soundtrack's multiple melodic motifs to all collide into a single stressful heart-racing track sure to put a knot in your stomach. Probably the most unusual song appearing in this soundtrack is the French infused "L'amour au Centre de la Terre", an obvious yet tasteful homage to the composers' musical hero, Alain Goraguer. A lilting monologue is recited by who seems to be Lola, the tragic female lead in "The Black Stone Affair". Her passage speaks of the entangled romance she shares with the other two male leads and her plan to acquire the elusive Black Stone for herself. It's every man (and woman) for themselves! Paranoia and deceit has crept into the minds and motives of our conniving trio. No one can be trusted and false alliances are crumbling from within.

"The Black Stone Affair (Reprise)" evokes the characters' gut-wrenching feeling with its ever-rising key center. "Farewell Lola" is the saddening funeral dirge and exit of the aforementioned Lola. Sworn enemies Beaumont and Blood Chief stand silently outside the church and watch as Lola's casket is lowered into her untimely grave. This is merely an armistice between the remaining opponents, only to resume after paying their respects to their former 'lover'. A gory fight leaves Blood Chief standing. Beaumont is nowhere to be seen and only a cloud of dust slowly settles into the landscape as the mournful guitar and harmonica of "Beaumont's Lament" plays quietly in the distance. All is not lost. Triumphantly, Beaumont Jenkins stands tall, throws one last devastating blow to Blood Chief leaving him incapacitated. "The Return of Beaumont Jenkins" plays loudly in the face of Blood Chief desperately reaching for the stone only to realize it's a false! Our new hero, Beaumont Jenkins, sustained by Alessandro Alessandroni Jr.'s cinematic whistle, rides away victoriously into the night sky... the Black Stone hidden cleverly in his hat. End credits.

Steeped in obscurity, a cult following of crate-diggers and musical oddity collectors has been brewing over the mysterious releases of the Whatitdo Archive Group. Surfacing in 2009 from the high deserts of Reno, NV, USA, this recording collective focuses solely on curating, performing and preserving esoteric soundtrack, library and deep-groove collections. The personnel of the group consist of three musicians; each of them avid composers, recording engineers and obsessive record collectors. Alexander Korostinsky, Mark Sexton and Aaron Chiazza met in college and have been working together on producing music for over 10 years. (Both Korostinsky and Sexton also happen to write and perform in

critically-acclaimed soul group “The Sextones”). In 2015 they quietly released a small batch of lo-fi deep-groove demos recorded exclusively to cassette in an old garage. This became their first full length offering, Shit’s Dope, and it began to quickly spread across the internet piquing the interest of record collectors and DJs all over the world—a record Fleamarket Funk describes as “Falling in between some Headhunters and Lunar Funk 45s” and becoming a bestseller on Bandcamp of that year.

During this time, the Whatitdo Archive Group also began what is often hailed as a vital turning point in Reno music history; by hosting their famous “Whatitdo Wednesday” residency at a local venue. These packed performances drew the attention of not only live music-goers, but also the most accomplished jazz musicians in the area, often joining them on stage. Eventually, these shows stumbled into the arena of obscure performance art, where the band would facetiously distribute written and multiple choice tests during their performance for the audience to participate in.

After their residency came to a bittersweet end, the Whatitdo Archive Group refocused their attention on the wonderful world of 1970’s soul-jazz, where they wrote and recorded what would be their follow up 7” release, Crocker Way / Steve’s Romp. This limited edition 45rpm became a hot ticket item for UK record collectors who had been previous fans of WAG’s older lo-fi work. Crocker Way was also a featured track on BBC Radio 6. Shortly after producing Crocker Way / Steve’s Romp, the group again started production on their crown jewel of a record, a concept album that had been tossed around for several years beforehand but never executed. As band member Mark Sexton explains “We wanted to create an album that encompassed everything we love and admire about old Italian soundtrack scores, and bring that energy back into the spotlight”. The group spent 9 months of research, digging through their personal collections of dusty LP’s scrutinizing the work of Piccioni, Torossi, Roubaix, Alessandroni and of course Morricone, recording, mixing and working with over 24 skilled musicians. The Whatitdo Archive Group finally completed what would be their finest work to date, The Black Stone Affair. Recorded entirely in Korostinsky’s home studio, this record is a labor of love, dedication, appreciation and respect for the golden age of Italian Soundtrack and Library music.

Released in 1975, Farewell To The Welfare' is the only Tribe release to actually have “The Tribe” in the artist name! Originally released on 7” vinyl by “Wendell Harrison and The Tribe” without a cover, we’re reissuing the album with original artwork and modern remastering on limited edition 45rpm vinyl!

As you would expect from the sole release with “The Tribe” as part of the artist name, Wendell Harrison (ts. fl.), Phil Ranelin (tbn.), Harold McKinney (pf.), and Lopez Leon (ba.) are all present, with Harrison playing one of the most electrifying solos of his career over a breakneck jazz-funk beat. But that’s not it! The Tribe are here in full force, with Detroit musicians Ron English (gt.), George Davidson (ds.), and Ralph Jones (sax.) also making appearances on the track.

Farewell To The Welfare is jazz-funk of the highest caliber, with wah’d out staccato guitar strumming, unison horn lines, and a groove so tight you couldn’t slide a piece of paper in it. Harrison’s fantastic solo at the beginning of the solo section is followed by Jones on the soprano saxophone, his tone almost bracing as he occasionally pushes the boundaries of harmony with extended lines before making his way back home. The track is rounded out by a solo from English. Compared to the fiery solos from the two saxophonists before him, it seems understated. But his mellow tone and impeccable phrasing fit perfectly with the rhythm section, playing off of McKinney’s piano lines and Leon’s bass.

Reissued for the first time ever with artwork made specifically for this release and modern digital remastering, this is sure to be one of the hottest 7”s of this year!

Tribe co-founder and saxophone legend Wendell Harrison’s 1973 leader debut!

Following the 1972 release of Message From The Tribe, the second release from vaunted spiritual jazz label Tribe, was co-founder Wendell Harrison’s solo debut, An Evening With The Devil. Originally included on the A-side of Message From The Tribe’s first version (the edition featuring a photo of a quay on the cover), the release of An Evening With The Devil in 1973 saw the suite fully realized, with two additional songs and studio knowhow making the album a true spiritual jazz masterpiece. Opener “Mary Had An Abortion” is part-spoken word poetry and part-free jazz freak out, but as Harrison’s gravelly baritone intermingles with atonal piano lines, it transcends the limitations of both. “Consciousness” is in a similar vein, with cymbal crashes and drum fills serving as a backdrop for a poem with references to police brutality and racism that seem as relevant now as they were 50 years ago.

“Angry Young Men”, originally recorded on Message From The Tribe, is now split into two parts and placed at the end of the A-side and opening of the B-side, physically and musically bridging the original suite with the new compositions. A horn line that could only be described as angry descends over an aggressive drum pattern, and as Tribe regulars Marcus Belgrave, Phil Ranelin, Charles Moore, and William Austin take turns soloing, the rhythm section seems to get more aggressive, undulating under these solos that take the song’s message and express it through simple notes. But it’s Harrison’s extended solo on the B-side that truly makes the song. He starts out almost subdued, playing fairly standard hard-bop lines over minimal accompaniment. But he quickly picks up, letting his horn honk and screech, with flurries of notes that almost sound like screams. The rhythm section matches him, building and building until Harrison plays the head once more - finally allowing the band to return to normalcy.

In comparison, album closer “Rebirth” is almost calm, with Marcus Belgrave playing a somber melody over a bed of rumbling percussion. It practically sounds like a requiem, until five major chords are struck by the band, ending the album on a literal joyous note. If Harrison hoped to express death and rebirth with this final song, the juxtaposition of the two completely disparate sections does a perfect job.

The hallmarks of a Tribe album are all over An Evening With The Devil. It’s spiritual and technical, and words simply don’t do it justice (despite my best attempts). Yet it also stands out among the Tribe releases by being one of the first. The DIY aesthetic and iconic design language are all there, but when presented with a sound that could only be described as raw, these early recording techniques are just right. The only way to truly experience the album is to put the needle to the groove, and let the music of Wendell Harrison wash over you. P-vine is proud to be reissuing Wendell Harrison’s An Evening With The Devil with modern remastering and an obi-strip on limited edition black vinyl.

»The compositions we play are reflective of the music of our times whereby we play Jazz, Rock, and African music with its poly or many rhythms. I wrote all the tunes on this particular LP and it is written as a suite in 5 movements which means that the music can be performed along with poetry and dancers. On our last LP called “Message From The Tribe” we featured the compositions of our very talented composer, arranger, and trombonist Phil Ranelin. On one side he wrote all the compositions and on the flip side I wrote all the tunes. This album was produced by us on the Tribe record label. As far as the music on “Evening With The Devil” is concerned it really speaks for itself. In addition to the music it features some relevant poetry by two very talented young poets named Oba and Vajava who are also members of a very excellent theatre group in Detroit called The Black Messengers.«
Extract from the sleeve notes of this album by Wendell Harrison.