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REISSUE OF ULTRA-RARE 1983 HIP-HOP MASTERPIECE CO-PRODUCED & WITH ARTWORK BY THE LATE JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT RAMMELLZEE VS12” ON SPLIT BLACK & WHITE VINYL LIMITED TO 1983 COPIESThe original issue of the 1983 song “Beat Bop” by lyricists Rammellzee and K-Rob has been heard by many, but held by few. Only a reputed 500 of the song’s initial run, on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s one-off Tartown Records label, were made with jacket cover art by the infinitely influential graphic artist (and moonlighting musician and producer). They remain one of hip-hop’s “Holy Grail” items, selling north of $1,500 if you can even find one. The audio, which clocked in at over 10 minutes, was issued – with no picture sleeve – on Profile Records soon after the Tartown pressings, and went on to influence countless MCs, with its minimal, languishing funk beat (produced by Basquiat) and Rammellzee’s and K-Rob’s next-level lyricism.The picture sleeve version of the release has never been officially re-issued, and this edition, curated by hip-hop historian Noah Uman, goes the extra mile. It features officially-licensed original artwork from the Basquiat estate and a four-panel folded insert with deep background on the original single’s creation, compiled by Andrew “Noz” Nosnitsky – including interviews with many of the artists involved with its production: Rammellzee, K-Rob, Glenn O’Brien, percussionist Al Diaz, Profile’s Cory Robbins and more. Rammellzee left this Earth in 2010 and Basquiat passed away in 1988 – with this deluxe reissue, their important contributions to the formative years of hip-hop on wax are remembered and celebrated. A must-own for any hip-hop purist

Contact Field Orchestra is produced by Damon Aaron. In 2008 he came across a box of 7" tapes at an estate sale in Altadena that turned out to be field recordings of a turn-of-the century orchestra of ex-miners; recorded almost entirely with hand-made instruments and contact microphones. This became the source material for this collection of releases with HIT+RUN. This EP is the fourth release (including a tape release ) from Contact Field Orchestra with HIT+RUN. CFO has also appeared on Giles Peterson's seminal compilation series "Brownswood Bubblers" (Volume 10), and contributed to Ninja Tune's popular "Solid Steel" mix."Sounds like Tom Waits and Augustus Pablo smoking opium on the bayou." -- Kutmah"Mapping The Futures Gone By" furthers Contact Field Orchestra's exploration of dubby broken percussion and haunting found sounds. Sirens and lasers accent plaintive woodwind arrangements set against mbiras and bluesy guitars. Fitting in a time and place that's uniquely it's own, MTFGB is a travelogue to a lucid dream, a mining expedition or a trip to space--somehow nostalgic and familiar, yet somehow not at all.

Finally, Gloria Ann Taylor’s musical output on Selector Sound has been compiled and will be presented in a deluxe triple-gatefold double LP package complete with photos and extensive liner notes. TIP! Soul singer Gloria Ann Taylor has no rags to riches tale to tell. Her story is one of personal sacrifice, failed relationships, and missed opportunity. She was leading a hard knock life before being swept-up by the flash and promise of a marriage and business partnership with a successful record producer. She would be nominated for a Grammy, rub shoulders with James Brown and Bootsy Collins, and turn heads from Motown. But in the end she rejected professional singing, the music business, and the lifestyle that came with it. Thankfully for music lovers, before Gloria closed the doors on her singing career, she left us with some amazing soul songs. Deeply shaded by gospel roots, her haunting sound clearly comes from the gut. Gloria did not fake the funk.Gloria was a partial owner of the Selector Sounds label, along with her husband/producer Walter Whisenhunt (previously a right-hand man to James Brown), and her brother Leonard. They released five Gloria Taylor singles between 1971 and 1977. They also released the three-song Deep Inside You EP, under the name Gloria Ann Taylor and Walter Whisenhunt’s Orchestra. In the studio Whisenhunt would work up a unique musical brew that mixed northern soul with exotic percussion and fuzzy psychedelic guitars. He moved Gloria through a range of tempos and stylings from ballads to disco. Her gritty vocal performance was set to orchestral arrangements creating a juxtaposition of grandeur and solace. The pinnacle of their collaborations has to be the jaw-droppingly epic EP version of “Love Is a Hurting Thing”; a chugging, string-laden disco track, that sounds like proto-Theo Parrish. (excerpt from liner notes by Andrew Jervis)