Soul-Funk

Originally released in 1987 ‘Pretty Face’ by Stinger J has become highly sought after in recent years,Stinger J was a one time alias used by Detroit Producer Kevin McCord, formerly of legendary American R n B and funk band One Way. As a writer & producer Kevin has had an illustrious musical career working with Alicia Myers (‘I Want To Thank You’), Oliver Cheatham (‘Get Down Saturday Night’) and Mariah Carey (‘Make It Happen’). Featuring the vocals of Jonathan Haywood, ‘Pretty Face’ is a melting pot of Soul, Disco, Garage and Detroit house. B Side ‘Wonder Land’ pairs the vocals of Jonathan Haywood with Kevin himself, a soulful ballad with classic 80’s production and live keys, strings and percussion. ‘Pretty Face’ is a unique example of an intended crossover record from a mainstream producer who soaked up the influences of his home town Detroit around the birth of House & Techno. Self released at the time on Kevin’s own Chance label, it was hard to get momentum without major label backing so the project fell by the wayside. Now officially reissued for the first time in partnership with Kevin McCord with Artwork by Bradley Pinkerton.

Upstairs, a band from Frankfurt, Germany was active from 1977 to 1983. Though considering themselves mainly a rock group, the band incorporated elements of funk, jazz rock and disco into their music. On their rare and privately released debut album “It’s Hard To Get In The Showbiz” from 1980 they created something that could be called Germany’s definite answer to AOR, yet still with an edgy and unique krautrock flavor.The album starts with "Wontcha Try," a track where core songwriter, guitarist and lead singer Helmer Sauer is telling the story about being dismissed from his job: "They tried to tell me in a fucking gentle way, that the time had come to kick me…". Sauer serves more personal, hard-edged lyrics on the album as well. On "Happy Hooker," for example, he tells the story of a working girl in the red light milieu: "The job is as hard that you really can never imagine, she serves for the money, degradin' herself in a way - if you'd know how she's feelin' you wouldn't laugh at all". An empathetic view on the subject of prostitution rarely heard at that time.But aside from the profound lyrics and songwriting, the album has a lot to offer on the groovy side of things. With catchy bass lines, rhythm guitar, Fender Rhodes, Moog synthesizer, Clavinet and swift crisp drumming "It's Hard To Get In The Showbiz" is one of the best examples of late 70s flavored funky rock from Germany. Additional to the aforementioned "Wontcha Try" another DJ delight should be "Make Your Steps On Better Lines" which showcases a superb synth line and disco funk flavors. We also get the slick mellow latinesque AOR grooves of "Get On A Plane" as well as the now-classic "You're Just Yourself", which marks the most soulful track of the LP. As followers of our label are already well aware, "You're Just Yourself" was featured on the compilation, "Boogie On The Mainline – A Collection Of Rare Disco, Funk And Boogie From Germany 1980-1987" from 2018.The band mainly performed locally and never really had ambitions to release their music on a bigger label. Too bad that Upstairs only released this one album. Of course, the highly sought-after original pressing is almost impossible to find nowadays. Therefore, we are proud to finally make this record available again after 40 years for a reasonable, regular LP price. Only 300 copies of the carefully re-mastered repress have been produced, and included is a printed lyrics insert identical to the original.As this is already the 10th release on our label we want to thank you for your support! Stay tuned for more hidden gems unearthed by The Artless Cuckoo.

Rüstəm Quliyev was born in 1969 in the village of Kosalar, Nagorno Karabakh. At the age of seven he had already mastered the tar before moving on to play the saz. He first encountered the guitar whilst doing his military service for the USSR in Russia and quickly made a name for himself as a guitarist after returning to Azerbaijan. During the early 1990s, after years of intense fighting, he had to flee his home due to the conflict in Karabakh and settled in the capital city Baku where his guitar playing took on a new character. Here he played at weddings, made TV appearances and recorded numerous cassettes with small labels in the city.Rüstəm’s guitar playing not only drew on the rich traditional music of Azerbaijan but his thirst and passion for music also meant that he incorporated styles from across the globe into his repertoire- from Bollywood disco tunes and Afghan pop songs to Iranian street melodies and Spanish flamenco. He crafted a unique sound within an already idiosyncratic subculture of Azerbaijani electric guitar music. Sadly his career was brought to a sudden end in 2005 after a short battle with lung cancer. His music, however, lives on remaining popular throughout the country.This cassette of archival recordings, produced in collaboration with Rüstəm Quliyev’s family, marks the first international release of this guitar legend's music.Since the late 1960s the guitar has been adopted and transformed by musicians across the Caucasus. Inspired by traditional genres, such as the courtly mugham and the songs and tunes of ashiq bards, guitarists have developed a unique sound, new techniques and styles of playing. Gitara traces the development of this musical subculture, following the lives of guitarists from the suburbs of Azerbaijan's capital Baku to the rural villages of Borçalı (Kvemo Kartli) in Georgia.

The Soweto Soul Orchestra project boasts a variety of funky tracks, all marked with that jazzy South-African sound.Repress from this early eighties album.