Ring The Alarm playlist, September 30

Bobby Hughes Combination - Kerma elastica
Maxwell Implosion - Tic tac (Nicola Conte remix)
Dizzy Gillespie - Manteca (Funky Lowlives remix)
Oscar Brown Jr - Brother where are you (Matthew Herbert remix)
Cinematic Orchestra feat Fontella Bass - All that you give
Neneh Cherry and The THing - Dream baby dream (Four Tet remix)
El Michels Affair feat The Shacks, Lee Fields - Tearz
El Michels Affair - Walk on by
Charles Bradley - The world is going up in flames
Charles Bradley - Aint it a sin
Charles Bradley - Why is it so hard?
Charles Bradley - Strictly reserved for you
Chubby Checker  -You better believe it baby
Barbara Acklin - Just aint no love
The Dynamics - The love that I need
Gene Chandler - Such a pretty thing
Otis Redding - Papa's got a brand new bag
Eddie Warner -Brutus drums
James Brown - Bring it up
Lunar Funk - Mr Penguin Pt 1
War - Me and baby brother
Prince Charles and the City Beat Band - Don't fake the funk
Digital Underground - Way we swing (remix)
A Tribe Called Quest - Find a way (inst)
Jurassic 5  - Monkey bars (inst)
DLT - Thoth 1.1
Sound Foundation - Ram dancehall
Dawn Penn - No no no
Laurel Atkin - Rise and fall of Laurel Atkin

Sunny and the Sunliners collection coming on Big Crown

"When it comes to living legends in the Texas and Latin Music pantheon, few have been at it longer and are more revered by their fans and peers than soul vocalist and Mexican-American songwriter and bandleader Sunny Ozuna. Born and raised in San Antonio, where he still resides, Sunny became a star right out of high school in the late ‘50s and hasn’t looked back in the six decades since.

Among countless other honors and notable achievements, Sunny was the first Latino artist to appear on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” (in 1963). Songs like “Put Me In Jail,” “Talk To Me,” “Should I Take You Home,” “My Dream” and “Smile Now, Cry Later” still bring crowds to their feet throughout the Southwest and California and around the world at “oldies” and “lowrider soul” events. And after releasing dozens of albums since the mid-1960s (in Spanish and English), Sunny still keeps a busy schedule and loves performing as much as he did as a teenager. His classic 45s regularly change hands for hundreds of dollars among collectors around the world, affirming his timeless appeal.

This new compilation on Brooklyn’s acclaimed Big Crown label – home to Lee Fields, Lady Wray, The El Michels Affair and many more – is a lovingly curated selection of songs from the years 1966 to 1972. All compositions were originally released on Sunny’s Key-Loc label, formed after his national star had been established, so he could have control of his own musical destiny.

“For me the reason why Sunny is important is very simple,” says Big Crown’s Danny Akalepse. “He contributed all this great music to the world, but that is just scratching the surface. He’s a huge part of the Tejano music scene and one of its creators. And he started his own label in the ‘60s, they did everything inhouse. As an indie label ourselves, this hits home for us for obvious reasons.”

As Akalepse explains about the Ozuna-approved tracklist, “We chose our own Sunny favorites and laid everything out so the LP would be a great listen, first and foremost. There are several cuts on here that I have played out and loved – as a DJ and record fanatic – for many, many years. ‘Mr. Brown Eyed Soul’ is not necessarily a ‘Greatest Hits’ compilation, although it obviously has a bunch of them on here. In the end, this is our take on the crème-de-la-creme of Sunny’s English language soul tunes.”

With Sunny hits – a mix of originals and some great covers thrown in – ranging from ballads like “My Dream,” “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “Outside Looking In”; to mid-tempo soul groovers “Should I Take You Home,” “Put Me In Jail” and “The One Who’s Hurting Is You”; and the ultra funky “Get Down”; Mr. Brown Eyed Soul is an excellent celebration of Ozuna’s amazing body of work, and a perfect introduction to Sunny for newcomers.

Lovingly chosen by the owners of Big Crown and in full collaboration and cooperation with Ozuna himself, the CD and LP packaging includes liner notes by Texas Music scholar and archivist Ramon Hernandez, and features dozens of rare photos provided by Sunny himself."

Out Friday  22 Sept, get it from Big Crown Records

READ: Great backgrounder that talks with Sunny and Danny about how the collection came together, from The Village Voice

RIP Charles Bradley

Sad news from Daptone Records:

Charles Edward Bradley
November 5th, 1948 - September 23rd, 2017

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Charles Bradley.

Charles was truly grateful for all the love he’s received from his fans and we hope his message of love is remembered and carried on. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations:
- All-Stars Project: https://allstars.org
- Music Unites: http://www.musicunites.org 


Bradley made two visits to NZ, I was lucky enough to catch him on the 2nd one, at The Powerstation. He was a wonderful performer, soulful, earthy, and so happy to be on stage, singing for the people.




From Rolling Stone: "Bradley notably began his career as a James Brown impersonator in 1967 and would perform periodically over the next several decades while he drifted across the United States, battling illiteracy, poverty and chronic unemployment.

His luck turned, however, after Daptone Records co-founder Gabriel Roth saw his James Brown act and linked him with Tom Brenneck, who would go on to produce Bradley's three albums. After recording numerous singles during the 2000s, Bradley released his debut album, No Time For Dreaming, in 2011 at the age of 62."

Bradley was diagnosed with stomach cancer in October 2016 and he took a break from performing. He successfully completed treatment and returned to live shows, promoting his third album Changes that came out that year. At the start of this month news broke that Bradley's cancer had spread to his liver and he stopped touring to get further treatment.

Daptone says Bradley passed away on Saturday in Brooklyn, "surrounded by family and friends including members of the bands he worked closely with: Menahan Street Band, His Extraordinaires, Budos Band and the Jimmy Hill Allstarz."

from NYT: '... Concerts often ended with Mr. Bradley in the crowd, embracing people one by one, with the singer near tears.

“I think he wanted to hug each person on this planet individually,” Gabe Roth of Daptone said. “I mean that literally, and anyone that ever saw him knows that he honestly tried.”

Ring The Alarm playlist, September 23

3 Generations Walking  - Midnight bustling (Midnight rockers mix by Francois K)
St Germain - Sure thing
Nightmares on Wax - Damn
Orange Juice - Rip it dub (Dicky Trisco edit)
Bonobo feat Erykah Badu - Heaven for the sinner
Andreya Triana - Far closer (Mr Scruff remix)
Lord Echo feat Lisa Tomlins - Creator has a master plan
Junkyard Band - The Word
KRS One - Jack of spades
Katalyst feat Stephanie Mackay - Say what you feel
Bunny Sigler - Let the good times roll
Otis and Carla - Knock on wood
Etta James - Seven day fool
Darondo - Luscious lady
Sonny Knight and the Lakers - Sugarman
The Triads - Now I can hold my head up high
Jimmy Castor - E Man Boogie 82
A Different Bag - Let's put it together
Ardijah - That's the way
Uncle Louie - Full tilt boogie
Kenny Dope & Mad Racket - Supa
Black Samurai feat Daddy Freddy, Ragga Twins - Information critic
Collen and Webb - Golden (Jamaican jerk off)
Kion and Murda feat Junior Murvin  -No 1 sound
Skatalites - Coconut rock
Sound Dimension - Heavy rock
Cedric Im Brooks - Mun dun go

New Zealand Hip Hop Summit is back

The New Zealand Hip Hop Summit is back and will be held at the Toia Recreation Centre & Ōtāhuhu Pātaka Kōrero Library in South Auckland on the 25th November 2017.

"This will be our 3rd event since 2012! Another fantastic opportunity to come along with your whanau and experience a dazzling day with live music, colourful aerosol art, live breaking and Deejay scratch jams, song writing and beat making workshops and showcase of Aoteraoa's best of the best in Beatboxing, Emceeing, Deejaying, Breaking and Popping, ending the day with our very own Hip Hop awards.

"Our aim is to bring communities together to celebrate NZ Hip Hop success with the focus on engaging with our young people in a positive fashion and developing their skills and talents thru the 9 elements of Hip Hop culture. Our Kaupapa is peace, love and unity and safely having fun. It will be a day the whole family enjoy and remember" - Queen Shirl'e.

Nicole Willis and UMO Jazz Orchestra album coming

"Nicole Willis, known for her collaborations with The Soul Investigators & Jimi Tenor, presents "My Name Is Nicole Willis", an album that includes some of the tracks she composed with the former as well as originals composed specifically for a fresh collaboration with UMO Jazz Orchestra.

Multi-faceted artist and musician Jimi Tenor has penned all arrangements for the big band and their talented rhythm section. Pete Toikkanen who is a mega-talented guitarist from The Soul Investigators, along with both Jimi and Ms Willis, composed those original tracks that highlight their alternative influences.

Indie god & personal hero of Ms Willis, Ian Svenonius introduces her on the first track and wraps up the LP on the closer. Ms Willis delves into her Northern Soul anthems with "One In A Million", "Together We Climb" and "Break Free (Shake A Tailfeather)" and with the never released "(Everybody) Do The Watusi".

For their part UMO Jazz Orchestra add extra horn dynamic and Tenor's arrangements shine throughout, as they have on The Soul Investigators' records. Pete Toikkanen, whose unique style has been a defining asset of the group, gives the UMO Jazz Orchestra a rawness in treatment that they have never quite exhibited before. The mixes flatter all involved and are full-bodied and rich."

Out Sept 29 on Persephone Records , LP/CD/Digital. Audio preview over at Kudos  Recs

Ring The Alarm playlist, September 16

Booker T and the MGs - Day tripper
Sugarman 3 - Turtle walk
Charles Bradley - The world is going up in flames
Ann Sexton  -You're gonna miss me
Laura Lee - Crumbs off the table
Barbara Trent - Heartbreak hotel
Big Mama Thornton - Hound dog
Zilla Mayes - Calypso woman
Four Blazes - All night long
Allen Toussaint - Tequila
Benny Spellman - Fortune teller
Nadine Brown  -Leave me alone
Rufus and Chaka Khan - Tell me something good
Bernie Worrall - Insurance man for the funk
Zapp - More bounce to the ounce
Dexter Story  -Eastern prayer
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Slippin' into darkness
Jimmy McGriff - Bug out
Lee Field - Ladies
King Floyd - My girl
Judy Clay and William Bill - Loveitis
The Emotions - Boss love maker
Freddie Scott - Run Joe
Manzel - Evil wicked mean and nasty (Dopebrother mix)
Radio city feat Bajka - The hop
Marc Mac presents Visioneers - The world is yours
Grace Jones - She's lost control (long version)
Ruts DC - Whatever we do  (RSD remix)
Specials - Ghost town (DJG bootleg)
Poets of rhythm  -Serengeti stroke
Fela Kuti  -Water no enemy

Frightnrs - versions galore, out Oct 20

The Frightnrs dropped a glorious reggae/rocksteady album back in 2016, now here comes the version excursions...... looking forward to this one...

"It's rare for a debut album, especially one in such a polarizing genre like Reggae, to garner the kind of universal fanfare The Frightnrs' 2016 long player Nothing More To Say received.

Mainly because it's a record that transcends genre specific qualifiers and rhetoric that pigeonhole many albums. It is in the truest sense of the phrase, a great record.

Shortly after its release a single for Dispute (a featured track) was pressed, and like many classic reggae singles, it included a Dub (version) on the B-Side courtesy of famed reggae producer Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod. The single was a smash success which in return inspired Axelrod to produce Dub versions for all the songs on Nothing More To Say."

The result is More To Say Versions. Out October 30 on Daptone Records

Victor Axelrod has worked with the band for a while, you can cop their earliest recordings from 2012 on their Bandcamp page as Name your price downloads, like their single Never Answer, with a tasty dub from Mr Axelrod on the flip. Quality vibes. 

Clean out of their minds

The Clean, 1981

Dunedin band The Clean will be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame as part of the APRA Silver Scroll Awards at the Dunedin Town Hall on September 28.

The Clean have rejected the Hall of Fame accolade twice in the past five years.

Last month the band were in the news regarding the supposed snub of Salmonella Dub for induction into the NZ Music Hall of Fame, with The Clean's Robert Scott saying "I think when we were asked it just didn't feel right for us. We feel we are outside the industry, and in the past we were shunned and dismissed and it seems like by saying yes we would be forgiving the industry for that. Of course, with time they are proved wrong as our music has stood the test of time. It's a strange thing dealing with other people's perception of your music and what you stand for as a band."

However, The Clean's David Kilgour explained the change of mind to the ODT this week: "I think the last time we were offered to be inducted, we joked ‘only if you did it in Dunedin’. So this time around ... it is in Dunedin."

ADDED: More background from Hussein Moses at The Spinoff:
The Clean have finally agreed to be inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame. Here’s why they changed their mind.

Robert Scott tells Moses "I guess the planets aligned and they got us on the right day. Also, with Peter Gutteridge’s passing, it seemed like a good opportunity because he’ll be inducted with us as well. So it’s recognition for him as well."

Ring The Alarm playlist, September 9

Bassomatic - Fascinating rhythm (Henry's lost dub)
Massive Attack - Spying glass
Manu Chao - Merry blues
Cookin on three burners - Cars
Sam & Dave - Can't you find another way
King Floyd - Do your feeling
Len Barry  - Like a baby
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - I tried
James Dockery - My faith in you is all gone
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - Treat her like a lady
Prince - Controversy
Extra T's - ET boogie
George Kranz - Din daa daa
The Bose  - James Brown (Geisha Boys edit)
Jackson 5 - Get it together (4Hero remix)
Shirley Horn - Return to paradise (Mark de Clive Lowe remix)
Beanfield feat Bajka - Tides (Carl Craig remix)
Salmonella dub - Problems (Sonsine remix)
Rhythm and Sound feat Willi Williams - See me yah/version
Randy's Allstars - Mission impossible
Augustus Pablo - Aquarius rock
Music Doctors - Bush doctor
Henry and Louis - Love and understanding
Wayne McGhie - Fire (she need water)
Jo-Jo and the Fugitives - Chips chicken banana split
Booker T and the MGs - Can't be still
Lonnie Mack - Memphis
Jimmy Castor - Ham hocks espanol
Henry Mancini - Baretta's theme

Ring The Alarm playlist, September 2

DJ Shinya - Nigerian reggae edit
Chief Ebenezer Obey & his International Brothers - Ajoyio
Ikebe Shakedown - Tujunga
Mulatu and the Heliocentrics - Cha Cha
Issa Bagayogo - Fimani
Sahara Allstars of Jos - Take your soul
The Fantastic Johnny C - Boogaloo down Broadway
Otis Brown and the Delights - Southside Chicago
Eddie Billups - I need someone
Ron Moody and the Centaurs - The new breed
Undisputed truth - You got the love I need
Syl Johnson - Back for a taste of your love
Temptations - Papa was a rolling stone
Ray White Revival - Superstition
Johnny Rocco band - Funky Max
Bootsy Collins - Body slam!
Carl Grubbs - Scorchers (inst)
Womack and Womack  -Teardrops
Gwen Guthrie - Seventh heaven
Cutty Ranks - The Stopper (Richard Dorfmeister meets Markus Kienzl vocal remix)
Ballistic bros - Peckings
The Ethiopians - I'm gonna take over now
Bill Deal and the Rhondels - May I
Bacao rhythm and steel band - Pimp version
Human League - Being boiled
Mantronix - Scream
New Order - Confusion
Gary Clail - Human nature