MINT

Music From Memory continue their 12” series with the release of an EP. This 4 track comp holds 3 tracks from the LP and one unreleased.Music From Memory’s latest release in their 12” series focuses on the little known UK band The System. A project masterminded by Bob Lamb, a somewhat cult figure in Birmingham's music history; the short lived group released only one album ‘Logic' and a single in 1983 on the somewhat obscure French label ‘Romantic Records’. This distinctively forward thinking new wave/synth pop album met with poor distribution and with almost no promotion to speak of at the time and quickly dwindled into obscurity. The albums sense of technological exploration, outstanding production value coupled with the band’s gift of writing deeply emotive, yearning pop tunes, make it sound though perhaps more relevant today than many other far more successful albums of it's time.Whilst the band and the album might have sunk into obscurity, the band were no novices to the music business. In fact the highly regarded producer Bob Lamb had played as a drummer throughout the late sixties and into the late seventies for a number of progressive rock bands. The last of which, The Steve Gibbons Band, found moderate success both at home and in US, even opening up for The Who on their world tours. Having travelled the world as a musician, in 1979 Lamb would set up a 4-track recording and mixing studio in his basement flat to focus on production. In this state of the art Birmingham studio he would work with Duran Duran on their earliest work as well as producing UB40's very first album. With this highly developed sense of production, it was here in Bob Lamb’s studio that the four members of The System set out to make a pop record very much driven by the new possibilities of technology and developments within studio recording.With instrumental tracks ‘Vampirella’, sounding almost prophetic of Detroit techno tracks that would not be made until some 10 years later and ‘Pendy! You’re In Some Awful Danger’ a vaporous synth excursion and anthemic drum-heavy vocal track ‘Almost Grown’, this 12" also features the unreleased end of the night jam ‘Find It In Your Eyes’, a track which somehow never made it on to the original LP release.

Huge samba funk classic from Brazil! Mega hard to find nowadays...This album holds loads of bangers and is true classic! Welcome reissue. Banda Black Rio’s ‘Maria Fumaca’ is one of the strongest Brazilian samba-disco-funk-soul-fusion albums of all time.Banda Black Rio were formed in 1976 by the late Oberdan Magalhães in Rio de Janeiro. They revolutionised ‘black instrumental music’ at the time with their Brazilian re-interpretation of soul, jazz, funk and disco grooves, inspired by the likes of Tim Maia and reminiscent of Kool & The Gang and Earth Wind & Fire during their most on-point period of the 1970’s. ‘Maria Fumaca’ is the groups first album, originally released by Atlantic in 1977; a record that bought the group worldwide fame.The title track is a real stand-out for us and a long term firm favourite. ‘Miss Cheryll’, more of a disco/ AOR jam, was released by RCA UK in 1980 as the track become popular within several London scenes. ‘Maria Fumaca’ features in a list of the 100 greatest Brazilian albums of all time published by Rolling Stone Brazil, coming in at number 38.

Gospel is not something we often delve into at AOTN, I like the odd track but to make the grade it has to be really good. I used to play 'He's Alright' (the B-Side of this 45) from the LP back in the day when you could pick it up for $10. At that point nobody cared or was looking for Gospel Disco (especially on LP) but Times and tastes catch up with us out there on the front line ,) so when I heard Floating Points play 'The Power of Your Love' at the Plastic People closing party I was surprised as I had all but forgotten about the LP (credit where credit is due). I jumped into action, hit up Calvin Bridges who wrote and recorded the LP (and is still recording gospel to this day) and he was happy to help out, so here we have it, A now historic track flipped with my preferred B side and old secret weapon, this will fly.