Oakland guitar ace Eugene Blacknell released multiple singles that ranged in style from raw R&B to power house funk. His musical career stretched from the early 1960s when as a talented and sharp dressed kid, he would become the youngest musician from the Bay Area to play the Apollo in New York, to the end of the 1980s when he died too young. He recorded many 7" singles but never got to release an album . . . until now.
We've got two previously unreleased tracks by legendary 1970s soul act RAMP! Both produced by vibes-master Roy Ayers post-release of their 1977 classic Come Into Knowledge album. These are not new recordings, these are vintage RAMP, previously unheard but rescued recently from a demo the band recorded on cassette. Newly mastered, eq'd and now ready to rumble on loud n'proud 12" vinyl.
The second Choices EP includes hard hitting bubbling electric soul from Milez Benjiman, a super DJ friendly extended raucus Afrobeat jam from Ohmega Watts (a version not on the upcoming album), and a mad remix of the Radio Citizen favorite “The Hop" by Hudson Mohawke.
Another second heads your way, this one curated by DJ Gilles Peterson. Included on his Digs Vol. II compilation are tracks like the ultra rare Mary Lou Williams 45' “You Know Baby" (and her previously unreleased “Pussy's In The Well") alongside Detroit's Dee Edwards and little-known Bay Area singer Carrie Cleveland who both mix a little Northern Soul with a touch of Funk while The Diddys get cosmic and Ray Camacho drops a Latin version of a Brass Construction classic.
While the eclecticism of his debut album The Find won him many fans, Watts Happening pushes the envelope to reveal even more about MC/producer Ohmega Watts. The record includes collaborations with lauded MC/producer Jneiro Jarel, up n'coming Brazilian vocalist Tita Lima, Bay Area blues n'funkstress (and one of James Brown's favorite female vocalists) Sugarpie Desanto, and label mate Shawn Lee.
On Hits The Hits, Shawn Lee does tunes by Gwen Stefani, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Blur, Badly Drawn Boy, Justin Timberlake, Outkast and many more in his own unique style. The album opens with a collaborative joint featuring piano-master Mick Talbot (Style Council, Dexy's Midnight Runners, etc) on a version of Outkast's “Hey Ya!" that sounds like vintage Ramsey Lewis.
Orgone first appeared on Ubiquity with their cover of “Funky Nassau" (on Rewind Vol. 4), which became a ubiquitous DJ fave worldwide. Their debut album, The Killion Floor, backs this up by taking the listener on a musical journey from the sound of Los Angeles to horn and percussion driven Lagos, and from a New York club to the raw sounds of New Orleans.
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