SEALED

Nigeria’s Kingsley Bucknor’s ‘Just U and Me’ LP gets the long-awaited reissue treatment from Melbourne’s Left Ear Records. After cutting his teeth playing with Fela in the 70’s and releasing two afrobeat LP’s Kingsley travelled the globe before finding himself in London, it’s here that he laid down 6 distinctive electro-funk tunes inspired by African rhythms and music he’d heard through his travels in the States and in Europe. Originally issued on Kinglsley’s own KAB records in ’85 and according to Kingsley the release was well received at the time, but due to constraints of international marketing the record remained mostly unknown outside of his homeland. Fast-forward to 2017 and the stage is set for a new global audience to appreciate the distinct sound of KB.

Music From Memory’s final 12" for 2017 is a reissue of Dub Oven's self released, and sadly one-off, 1983 EP 'Skin N Bones’.Pioneers in the Post Punk Industrial and New Wave scene in 1980’s San Francisco, Gary Miles (Voice Farm) and Blaise Smith (Minimal Man), met at San Francisco’s notorious 181 Club in December of 1982. This straight/same sex/swing-both-ways late night dive bar was tucked away in one of the city's most risky, drug riddled neighbourhoods. Stationed near the SF Museum of modern Art it attracted a wild audience of local patrons, aspiring young artists and music heads. In the thick of all this the duo felt impartial to a lot what was going on musically and set out to produce electronic music that could break through the "somewhat exhausted post disco sound that was then competing in the local San Francisco clubs". Enlisting soul vocalist Celeste Miller, the duo were also inspired by Lee 'Scratch' Perry / Upsetters dub tracks being produced in Jamaica and created a unique breed of avant guard hybrid New Wave/Electronic Funk.With it's influences seemingly as much rooted in the past and the present as it was focused on the future; Dub Oven formed a distinct, mystical approach to music intended for the dance floor. All three tracks on this 12" embody a signature groove and an inventive synthesized abstraction to express a languishing urban unsettledness and spiritual awareness. Recorded at L7 Studios in San Francisco with the assistance of the the studio’s in house producer Marco Perry (who currently now works with Bjork) the record was unfortunately overlooked by A&R at several major and even local labels and was finally self-released in very limited quantities. Utilising analog electronics and instrumentation, the record draws on elements of dub, new wave, soul and funk to create a sound that is uncategorizable and one that was perhaps simply too forward thinking for it’s time.

Exhumé par l'archéologue du groove Betino Errera, ce bijou noir gravé à Paris en 1980 est l'œuvre du chanteur Américain Robert Helms. Celui-ci fit en France une carrière plutôt confidentielle avec quelques sorties tant sous son nom que celui de Bobby Helms ou encore Bobby. L'album " Lay down girl" est resté un secret bien gardé en dépit du fait qu'il contienne deux puissants morceaux de disco funk façonnés par des pointures de studio dont Donny Donable, pilier du Lafayette Afro Rock Band à la batterie, Christophe Zadire de Zulu Gang à la basse and Beckie Bell dans les choeurs. Les séances furent dirigées par le grand Jacob Desvarieux aux guitares, piano et synthés , qui était déjà à l'époque un des fondateurs de Kassav. Ces enregistrements ont été réalisés sous la supervision de Pierre Jaubert, producteur majeur du circuit indépendant à partir de la fin des années soixante, à la tête de son propre studio, lequel était un lieu de rencontre très prisé des musiciens. Il est a l'origine de disques de maitres du blues tels que John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Roosevelt Sykes et de grands du jazz comme Mal Waldron, Archie Shepp and Charlie Mingus. Mais pour les amateurs de funk, Pierre Jaubert est surtout reconnu pour son travail avec le groupe légendaire Lafayette Afro Rock Band dont les breaks et les riffs exceptionnels ont été samplés par les plus célèbres rappeurs dont Public Enemy, De La Soul, Naughty by Nature, Digital Underground, Wu Tang Clan et Ice Cube pour n'en citer que quelques uns.Aujourd'hui, Betino's Records réédite les deux morceaux les plus recherchés de l'album original : "Feet on the ground" coécrit par Desvarieux et Helms et "Sekele I like it" de Desvarieux et Pasteur Lappe, ce dernier, originaire du Cameroun, étant le premier à enregistrer le morceau en 1979.En prime, les deux morceaux sont retravaillés dans la veine actuelle. Baptman et Betino abandonnent les parties chantées de "Sekele I like it" pour le transformer en un dub d'inspiration "Philly" ultra dansant.De son coté, DJ Vas creuse la veine afrobeat pour "Feet on the ground", épaissit la sauce avec des lignes de basse qui claquent et lui donne une touche à la "Earth Wind & Fire" en magnifiant la section de cuivres.Dernier point, le pressage de ce maxi est limité à 700 exemplaires.Unearthed by groove archeologist Betino Errera, this black gem was cut in Paris in 1980 by American vocalist Robert Helms. His French career being rather confidential with releases under his own name as well as Bobby Helms or simply Bobby, the "Lay down girl" album remained a well-kept secret for decades despite the fact that it contained two very strong disco funk tunes. Helms was backed by a seasoned studio band including Donny Donable of Lafayette Afro Rock Band on drums, Christophe Zadire of Zulu Gang fame on bass and Beckie Bell on backing vocals. The session was led by master musician Jacob Desvarieux on guitar, piano and synths , who was already at that time, one of the founders of Kassav. These recordings were made under the supervision of Pierre Jaubert who was a major player on the independent French production scene from the late sixties onward, operating his own studio, famous for also being a much appreciated meeting point for musicians. He is responsible for bringing forth works from legendary bluesmen like John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Roosevelt Sykes and jazz greats including Mal Waldron, Archie Shepp and Charlie Mingus. But to funk lovers, Pierre Jaubert is mostly known for his involvement with the mythical Lafayette Afro Rock Band whose prominent breaks and riffs have been sampled by the most illustrious rappers including Public Enemy, De La Soul, Naughty by Nature, Digital Underground, Wu Tang Clan and Ice Cube to name but a few.Today, Betino's Records reissues two very sought after tracks from the original album : "Feet on the ground" cowritten by Desvarieux and Helms and "Sekele I like it" written by Desvarieux and Pasteur Lappe , the latter hailing from Cameroon, was the first one to record the song in 1979.In addition , both tunes get the contemporary rework treatment. Baptman and Betino editing the vocals out of "Sekele I like it" then turning it into a very danceable Philly- inspired dub.For his part, DJ Vas digs the Afrobeat seam on "Feet on the ground" , thickens the sauce with thumping bass lines and adds an "Earth Wind & Fire " feel by putting the emphasis on the horn section.And last but not least, this 12 inch pressing is limited to 700 copies worldwide.