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By Larry, December 17, 2017 12:37 pm

Stretch

Margaret Singana

Listen/Download – Stretch – Why Did You Do It MP3

Listen/Download – Margaret Singana – Why Did You Do It MP3

Greetings all.

As has been said here many a time before, one must keep their ears peeled and open at all times if the flow of interesting music is to continue into one’s crates. The reords you see before you today at a testament to that very thing.

A while back I was immersed in a viewing of ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ when a funky song popped up on the soundtrack that got my ears perked right up.

A dash of Googling and IMDB-ing led me to the track ‘Why Did You Do It’ by Stretch.

I had never heard of the band or the song, but dug it a lot, so I started looking around and discovered the the tune was a UK Top 20 and dance floor hit in 1975.

The group was led by Elmer Gantry (aka Dave Terry) former lead singer of UK psych group Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera and former Curved Air member Graham ‘Kirby’ Gregory.

They released the 45 on the UK Anchor label also home to Ace, and (for some odd reason) all of the UK versions of Alice Cooper’s albums.

The original Stretch version of ‘Why Did You Do It’ is a very groovy piece of funky rock with a solid backbeat and bass combo that butts right up against disco without trading too heavily on that territory, and a fantastic vocal by Gantry.

The other version I bring you today was recorded a few years later by South African vocalist Margaret Singana.

Her take on the song, from her ‘Tribal Fence’ album was released here in the US on the Casablanca label.

Singana’s album is a mix of traditional African sounds, soul and disco, and featured production and guitar work from future Yes member Trevor Rabin (also a native South African).

The production on Singana’s version is a little slicker (with a very nice guitar solo by Rabin) , but her excellent voice features heavily. Her album also contains a nice version of James Brown’s ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s World’.

I hope you dig both versions of the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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Comments (1)

By Larry, June 9, 2014 10:59 am

DJ Prestige – Afro Rhythms of Today
Soul Jazz Orchestra – Celestial Blues
Bama and the Family – Don’t Think…Do
Hard Proof – Tere
Madlib – Jungle Shoundz
Peter King – Afro Funk
Polyrhythmics – Mr. Wasabi Rides Again
The Poets of Rhythm – Serengeti Stroke
Jungle Fire – Chalupa
The Lions – Jungle Struttin’
The Malcouns – Watou
Grace Jackson – Gonna Get U
Kelenkye – Mother Africa

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: DJ Prestige – Afro Rhythms of Today

NOTE: Today’s mix is a new, killer mix by oneof my oldest and dearest friends in the record game, the mighty DJ Prestige. The man behind the Fleamarket Funk blog, and the founder of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions, Prestige has deep crates and knowledge for days.
The mix he has assembled for this year’s Allnighter/Pledge Drive focuses on the sounds of (and inspired by) Africa, with some very heavy stuff.
Prestige always comes correct, and I think you’ll dig this one (a lot).
See you tomorrow.
Larry

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Contest!

Anyone that donates today to the Allnighter/Pledge Drive will (in addition to getting the badge and stickers) be entered into a random drawing for a copy of the great Cultures of Soul comp ‘DJ Andy Smith’s Jam Up Twist – USA’. This CD features selections by legendary UK selector Andy Smith as well as Deano, with tracks by Big Mama Thornton, Gene Woodbury, Ray Sharpe and many more!

There will be more drawings over the next few weeks for CDs by Cultures of Soul, Light In the Attic and Secret Stash, and 45s from Lugnutbrand and Cultures of Soul!

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Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, many of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a couple of great new contributors.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge, as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, April 13, 2014 3:41 pm

The Mothership,now boarding…

Parliament/Intro
Afro-Samurai
Dick Hyman – Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Capt Sisko
Jimi Hendrix – 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)
Morpheus/1
Scientist – The Dark Secret of the Box
Morpheus/2
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations
Gene Harris – Don’t Call Me Ni**er Whitey
The Brother From Another Planet
Phil Upchurch – Elektrik
Lando Calrissian
Electrostats – 21st Century Kenya
Mace Windu
Isaac Redd Holt Unlimited – Listen to the Drums
Darth Vader
Roots Radics Band – Son of Darth Vader
Mr Spock/Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Brother Jack McDuff – Moon Rappin’ (Edit)
Lt Uhura
Rotary Connection – Tales of Brave Ulysses
Danger Mouse/Murs/Free Design – To a Black Boy
Shuggie Otis – Pling!
EddieHarris feat Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Were the Silver Cycles (F16C Mash)
Sun Ra

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: The Mothership Mix

Greetings all

Welcome to the new week.

I have something very groovy for you today.

A while back, one of my favorite Facebook-made acquaintances, the author Bill Campbell told me that he was assembling an anthology of afrofuturistic stories, and was thinking about using a mix as part of the Indiegogo campaign.

That anthology, ‘Mothership: Tales From Afrofuturism and Beyond’ is very, very cool, and I would suggest you avail yourself of a copy either in paper, or digital form. Make sure to check out the Rosarium Publishing web site as well.

Always looking for an interesting challenge, I offered my services in furtherance of that goal, and Bill said yes.

The mix you see before you is one of those that I had rolling around the back alleys of my mind for a long time before I actually stated pulling out records, digging for drops etc.

The concept of afrofuturism is especially intriguing, and the thought of finding its application in musical form really got me thinking.

There are musicians included in this mix that worked the conceptual side of things rather directly, like Jimi Hendrix and George Clinton, and some that worked their way into the groove stylistically (Eddie Harris, Shuggie Otis) and others that just created a specific piece of music that seemed destined for inclusion in the mix (Dick Hyman’s epic reworking of JB for instance).

I was trying to create a vibe – which is what you ought to be doing with a mix, anyway – but in this instance, it was far removed from the dance floor and drilled deep inside the head (via the ears, naturally).

This is definitely one for the headphones, trippy, often deep, sometimes weird and in several spots traveling outside the known boundaries of the Funky16Corners universe.

I’m proud to have been given the opportunity to work with Bill, and very happy with the mix.

I hope you dig it too.

I’ll be back later in the week with another brand new mix.

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, October 2, 2012 2:08 pm

Hugh Masekela (top) and Hedzoleh Soundz (bottom)

Listen/Download Hugh Masekela/Hedzoleh Soundz – Languta

Greetings all

I hope all is well on your end of the intertubes connection.

It wasn’t all that long ago, during one of my lucky summer digs that I turned up the 45 that you see before you today.

I’ve been a big fan of Hugh Masekela since I was a kid (Grazing In the Grass is one of my all time favorite records).

His story – and the many others that make up the South African musical diaspora of the 1960s – is fascinating, as is the music he made.

I had long heard about his collaboration with the African group Hedzoleh Soundz, but was never lucky enough to turn up a copy of the LP.

That said, I was very happy to find this 45.

Masekela – already a popular artist – returned to Africa in the early 70s with his (then) wife Miriam Makeba. It was there that he met the mighty Fela Kuti, as well as the Ghanian band Hedzoleh Soundz.

Hedzoleh mixed the traditional sounds of Ghana with western jazz and rock.

Masekela recorded the LP “Hugh Masekela Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz’ in 1973 in Lagos, Nigeria.

There’s something poetic about the process of Masekela leaving his homeland and mixing its sounds with those of western jazz and pop, only to return to Africa and re-mix his own fusion with that of Hedzoleh Soundz.

‘Languta’ the opening track of the LP (though the 45 edit is about a minute shorter than the album track) is a perfect example of Masekala’s jazz/Afrobeat fusion, with his echoplexed trumpet wailing over the Hedzoleh Soundz propulsive rhythms.

Masekela would continue to tour and record with members of Hedzoleh Soundz on several albums through the late 70s.

It’s a fantastic piece of music, and I hope you dig it.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, June 24, 2012 2:10 pm

Babatunde Olatunji (bottom center) and friends

Listen/Download Olatunji – Soul Makossa (LP Edit)

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the blog-o-riffic polygon with the sixteen funky corners.

I must first and foremost offer my hearty and sincere thanks to all of you that made the 2012 Pledge Drive/Allnighter a big success.

Props to all the selectors who dipped into their crates to whip up some new, tasty mixes for you all, and then double super props to all of you that dipped into your wallets and dropped some cash into the virtual tip cup.

As has been the case over the past six Pledge Drives, all were generous, and some of you exceptionally so.

I am always humbled when my yearly request for funding yields such an enthusiastic response from those of you that read/participate in the discussion at Funky16Corners.

Many of you sent along notes of praise and encouragement and I am here to say that those mean a great deal to me.

Funky16Corners has always been a labor of love, and when some of that comes back my way, it provides the fuel that keeps things going.

So, once again, major, MAJOR thanks to you all!

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The tune I bring to you this fine day, is yet another iteration in what might be termed the great Soul Makossa wars of 1973.

As has been mentioned in this space before, when imported records of Manu Dibango’s mighty ‘Soul Makossa’ began to set fires to the dance floors of America (first in NYC where David Mancuso first spun it at Loft parties after finding a copy in a Jamaican record shop in Brooklyn), the OG by the Lion of Cameroon was only available on a French pressing on Fiesta.

The song was so popular, that a wave of imitation Soul Makossas began to build, with countless versions recorded and pressed for the US market to take advantage of the consumer demand that Dibango and Atlantic records had yet to address.

There were recordings by Afrique (released at the same time as Dibango’s and chasing it on the R&B and Pop charts), Simon Kenyatta Troupe, Mighty Tom Cats, Grupo Guerra 78, Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Johnny Zamot and many others. Even Doc Severinson recorded a version!

The song was a huge worldwide hit with more than half a dozen versions charting simultaneously through 1973.

One of the many ‘copycat’ recordings – in my opinion the best by far – was by the mighty Babatunde Olatunji.

Recorded for his 1973 Paramount LP of the same name, Olatunji’s ‘Soul Makossa’ clocks in at a dance-floor-friendly 6:51. Loaded – as might be expected – with lots of African percussion as well as his own vocalizations, the Olatunji version is a killer.

While I’d go as far to say that none of the cover versions have the sharp kick of Manu Dibango’s OG, Olatunji acquits himself very nicely indeed.

Where many of the other versions were relatively quick, single-length rip-offs of the OG, Olatunji takes the time to dig deep and stretch out, accenting the percussion (natch…) and meeting Manu Dibango toe to toe.

The rest of the album is quite good as well (the track is also available as a two-part 45).

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all later in the week.

Keep the faith

Larry

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived!

The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock.

They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US).

Click here to go to the ordering page.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 6, 2012 2:29 pm

Osibisa

Listen/Download – Osibisa – Ayiko Bia

Greetings all.

Welcome to another spectacular week in the world of vinyl.

The middle of the week is here, and like Simtec and Wylie, I’m just trying to get over the hump.

The tune I bring you today is something I featured a while back on the Funky16Corners Radio Show.

Osibisa is a band that I knew of (mainly via their albums covers, illustrated by Roger Dean*) long before I ever heard a note of their music.

When I finally came across their first album (the self-titled ‘Osibisa’ from 1971) I was already well into my funky years, so I grabbed it and took it home.

While I wouldn’t describe Osibisa as a purely funk band, they were undeniably funky.

Formed by Ghanian sax player Teddy Osei (who with several other members of the band had roots in the highlife band the Star Gazers, going back to the 1950s) in London in the later 60s, Osibisa featured members from Ghana, Nigeria, Antigua, Grenada and Trinidad.

They were a great example of the wide variety of sounds being blended by musicians who came to the UK from British colonies all around the world (see also, Cymande and countless reggae artists).

Osibisa blended African highlife, rock, jazz, soul and funk together to create a sound all their own.

The tune I bring you today, ‘Ayiko Bia’ brings together the native sounds of all the band’s members, sounding at times like Carribbean carnival transported to the streets of Africa (with a little US funk thrown into the stew for flavor).

Bassist Spartacus R deserves special mention.

‘Ayiko Bia’ was later sampled by the Jungle Brothers for their track ‘Good Newz Comin’.

It is a very groovy tune indeed, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace

Larry

*If you were a stoner, or an art student in the 70s (I got to be both!) Roger Dean was a god.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, September 27, 2011 10:10 am

The Originator: Babatunde Olatunji

Carlos Santana, wailing at Woodstock

Candido Camero on the congas…

Listen/Download – Michael Olatunji – Gin-Go-Lo-Ba

Listen/Download – Santana – Jin-Go-Lo-Bah (Jingo)

Listen/Download – Candido – Jingo

Greetings all.

I have something very special indeed for your ears this fine day.

Early last year I ran a series of posts under the ‘Disco/Not Disco’ banner celebrating the sounds played by pioneering DJ David Mancuso at his legendary Loft parties in NYC in the early 70s.

Mancuso had become something of an idol/guiding force for me, in so far as I have tried to emulate his DJing ethos as it were during my own sets.

He was a trailblazing record wrangler because he always kept one specific thing in mind, that being the dance and played anything that kept things moving. His Loft sets were filled with unusual sounds, including in his sets music from the worlds of rock, soul, funk, world music and anywhere else he could find the groove.

The Loft predated and strongly influenced the ‘disco’ scene and Mancuso’s eclecticism was carried out into the clubs by the other DJs that attended and had their minds blown at his parties.

One of the records that was a cornerstone of his sets, and has on its own a very interesting history, was a cut by the name of ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Ba’ by Michael ‘Babatunde’ Olatunji.

Olatunji was a Nigerian drummer and educator who emigrated to the United States as a student to attend Morehouse College.

He eventually moved to New York City to attend NYU where he put together his own percussion group and drew the attention of two especially influential figures, the mighty John Coltrane and record impresario John Hammond.

Olatunji recorded the LP ‘Drums of Passion’ in 1960, which included the track ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Bah’*, as well as the less influential (but also important) ‘Akiwawa’.

I first heard of Olatunji back in 1990 when I read Mickey Hart’s remarkable book ‘Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion’** which led me to Olatunji’s 1988 recording ‘Drums of Passion: The Invocation’. It was many years later when I first read about David Mancuso that I made the Loft connection.

Mancuso would make the Olatunji version of the song a cornerstone of his Loft sets for obvious reasons. It has a driving rhythmic force and the accompanying chanting that would no doubt grab and shake any mass of dancers, and would also mix well with any number of more ‘conventional’ dance records.

It was at the end of the 1960s that Carlos Santana and his band would adapt and record the tune under the title ‘Jingo’ (which is the version that most people have heard). I’m including that version (the 45 edit at least) here for reference, and because it kicks all kinds of ass. Interestingly, the Santana 45 uses an approximation of the Olatunji title, though the album (and subsequent 45 releases) truncates it to ‘Jingo’. It’s amazing to listen to how a pack of electrified (in all senses), racially integrated hippies get deep inside the rhythm and blow it up.

A full decade after the Santana recording, the song would be resurrected yet again by another fixture of Mancuso’s Loft sets, Cuban conguero Candido (born Candido Camero), also under the title ‘Jingo’.

Candido’s version of the song takes the African percussion and chant of the original and recasts it inside an electric/disco setting and despite the fact that the edges may have been smoothed a little, the cut loses none of its propulsive power. Even after almost two decades, the song was still dance floor gold.

The mix here is the 45 edit, which clocks in at only 3:17. I wish I had a copy of the 12”, which goes for almost six more minutes.

‘Jingo’ was later redone for the dancefloors yet again in 1987 by Jellybean.

Babatunde Olatunji passed away in 2003 after a lifetime of teaching, social activism, and above all, drumming.

I hope you dig the tune (and maybe dance a little) , and the drums and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

*Oddly, the catalog number of the Olatunji 45 suggests that it was released sometime in 1967, long after the LP released but before the Santana cover

** If you have any interest at all in the power of drums and rhythm and the way they can propel human consciousness through the dance ritual I recommend Hart’s book highly.

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.