Straight From The Froz Box

The man behind the legendary Septunes blog, Joshua Kwedar aka Froz 1, recently contributed to the Straight From The Play Box mix series. Get your weekend started with 10 heavy Philly funk & soul sides. FROZ KNOWS.

Joshua Kwedar - Straight From The Play Box by Kieran Lockyear on Mixcloud

1. Leroy Hawkes – If Your Mule Won't Move (You Got To Kick It) – Bretlan
2. The Final Act – The Feeling Is Right – Match
3. Frankie Beverly's Raw Soul – Color Blind – Gregar
4. The “Raw Soul” With Frankie Beverly – Open Up, Your Heart – Eldorado
5. 1984 – There's A Wrinkle In Our Time – Round
6. Brothers Of The Ghetto – Rockin' Chair – Ghetto
7. Cody Black – Love Like I Never Had – Ram-Brock
8. Bobby Franklin's Insanity – Bring It On Down To Me – Thomas
9. Del Jones' Positive Vibes – Big Feet (Philly Raggae) – Nia
10. Soulistics – Jones 'N - Liberation

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UC001 Out Now!

Around the Bend is soft rock for hard times brought to you by Universal Cave. Bongos high in the mix, a breezy beginning builds towards guitar glistening over a mega kind groove. A tune fit for hang gliders, rock climbers, and summer Sundays. Sunsets and sailboats. Slow grooves for mellow moods. Side B's Riding is flipside meets ripside, no nonsense shredding over a driving drum beat. Long haired beardo disco rock that never quits.

LIMITED 7" AVAILABLE NOW!

Juno • Picadilly • Deejay.de • Technique • Discogs

More retailers soon!

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Take A Chance

Here's a fresh rip of the Italo mega classic, Take A Chance to get your weekend started right! I know vocal version has made the blog rounds over the years, but the rips are always questionable & often from bootleg pressings. Rest assured, these are from an OG (which sounds way better than the Cosmic Explorer bootleg). Plus I don't think the instrumental is so easy to find online, so say thanks and play LOUD!

Mr. Flagio - Take A Chance (Vocal Version)

Mediafire • 1983

Mr. Flagio - Take A Chance (Instrumental Version)

Mediafire • 1983

Also, I had no idea this was a Material cover until last year. Check it out:

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The 8th Day

Recently, I scavenged a copy of the 8th Day's self-titled LP from the trash at a flea market. Here's my favorite cut: the heartfelt closer. 

The 8th Day - I've Come To Save You

Mediafire • YSI • 1971

Hang Up

If your a funk head this hits the spot! Dug this up in Baltimore, Enjoy

Warm Excursions - Hang Up - Part 1

Mediafire • YSI • 1969

Before You

Talk about a sick 45rpm! I bought this record from one of my favorite dealers in PA, this guy even does house calls! The story behind this record is pretty sweet, the group, "Custer's Last Band" is originally from Lancaster, PA, and had a huge local following back in the early 70s. The 10 piece band wrote two of their own tunes that charted on Lancaster's WLAN Radio. Custer's Last Band featured 3 lead singers with horns and a classic Hammond B-3 organ. This 45 is very rare and hellafunky, definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

Custer's Last Band - Before You

 Mediafire • YSI • 197?

Robots In Heat

San Francisco's Robots In Heat just blessed the world with a new mix of deep & funky prog, folk and cosmic jams. As I write this I'm on my third listen and I can only identify "that one thing DJ Shadow sampled that one time". Feel free to leave comments if you can come any closer with track IDs - I'd love to know what half of this stuff is. The sequencing of this mix is top notch too. RIH clearly worked hard to string these grooves together into a cohesive package, complete with smooth, seamless transitions. This ranks with Henrik Schwarz, Âme & Dixon's The Grandfather Paradox as one of the best mixes I've heard this year. Anyone who had RVNG's Purple Brain mix in heavy rotation needs to give this a listen.

Obscured By Crowds comes our way courtesy of Noncollective, who are curating a collection of quality mixes. Be sure to head over to their site for more.

And for those of you not familiar with Robots In Heat's site, he's been ripping and posting mysterious jams for the past couple years. Definitely check it out for a daily dose of WTF?


Robots In Heat - Obscured By Crowds | Direct Link | 60 minutes


UPDATE!

With a little nudge from the Robot himself, look what I Googled...

01 Jade Warrior - A Winter's Tale
02 Stomu Yamashta - Tempest Fantasia
03 Shawn Phillips - Prelude To Leaving
04 Shawn Phillips - All Our Love
05 Bo Hansson - Trial And Adversity
06 Steve Hillage - Four Ever Rainbow
07 Lee Michaels - (Drum Solo)
08 Wasa Express - Son Of A Peach
09 Riot - Just Beyond
10 Roy Buchanan - You're Not Alone
11 John Lucien - Would You Believe In Me
12 Reverberi - Cat Casanova
13 Harumi - Twice Told Tales of the Pomegranate Forest
14 Masami Tsuchiya - Haina-Haila
15 David Van Tieghem - Remote Viewing
16 Orson Welles - The Late Great Planet Earth
17 Kim Fowley - 1988: Searching For A Human In The Tight Blue Jeans
18 Dissidenten - Grand Babylon Hotel
19 Rhythm & Noise - Monomenon
20 Cheb Khaled - La Camel
21 Tangerine Dream - Rare Bird
22 Bermuda Triangle - Nights In White Satin
23 Jade Warrior - Borne on the the Solar Wind

Derek's Daily 45

For anyone who's not familiar with Derek's Daily 45, it's easily one of my favorite mp3 blogs. Derek is a California based musician and record collector who is generous enough to archive his rare 45s and share them with the world. I currently have a playlist of 100 tracks from him, so I'd say the quality of his posts is unparalleled. Below are links to a couple of my recent favorites to get you started. If you enjoy what you hear, get on his email list and all of the 45s will come straight to your inbox.

The Sorrows - Take a Heart | Get it from Derek | 192 kbps

Lou Courtney - Hot Butter N All pt1 | Get it from Derek | 192 kbps

Suntan

Deep disco cut from the Sandpebbles.

The Sandpebbles of Barbados - Suntan | zShare | YSI | 320 kbps

The Kats

No info on this one. This is rare, rare, rare 70's fare that sounds like a good meeting place between dirty funk and the beginnings of disco.

The Kats -The New Bump & Twist | zShare | YSI | 320 kbps

Funky Freshness

"L E O" Part One and Part Two are both ridicules. They're explained on Discogs as New York funk with an Afican percussive bent. Umm, sounds right to me! This joint is pretty rare and let's say it didn't cost a dollar. Try to keep this on the low true Dollar Bin bloggers.

Kolahyah - Leo (Part One) | Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Kolahyah - Leo (Part Two) | Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Ben Manzone's Got The Cure For Your Sunday Blues

Ben Manzone, aka Benguin of New York's acclaimed Foreal People crew put together this funk and soulful mix and it merits mass consumption. Ben is a master selector and a devoted digger of all things soulful; his collection boasts some impressive sounds and when you work with people like 100 Limousines CEO Josh Dunn and NYC's Love On The Run you need to keep your game tight and tidy.

Ben is currently scoping out locations for a mellow Sunday afternoon session ("no mixing, no electronic dance music," says our homie). So if you are in Brooklyn, keep your eyes peeled and follow the groove.

Tracklist

Curtis Mayfield - Give Me Your Love
Solomon Burke - Over and Over
The Lovejoys - Stranger
Bobbi Humphrey - Chicago Damn
Donald Byrd - Wind Parade
George Benson - Down Here On The Ground
Gil-Scot Heron - Legend In His Mind
Stevie Wonder - Too High
Marlena Shaw - I'm Back For More
Prince - In Love
Congo's - Congo Man (Carl Craig edit)
Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find A Love Like Mine

Benguin - Masterfleet Mix | ZShare

Conti Family

This family sounds sick. They are from Detroit and released this record on their own label. This selection is definitely the most useful on the LP the song is called "Little Bongo Boy". Enjoy this funky tune that's sure to make you groove. Come on boy, make those bongos roll!

The Conti Family - Little Bongo Boy | Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Mediafire re-up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Rock Is Gonna Get You

Gordon's War released this record in 1979. It's fun to dance to & definitely a gem. Luckily I found a test press at a record show and only listened to it because it looked cool. When i heard it, I knew what the deal was.  Good luck finding one. Enjoy!

Gordon's War - The Rock Is Gonna Get You
Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

The Friend Zone

Super-collector Al Kent of the great Million Dollar Disco site put this track on one of his Disco Demands compilations and it stands out as one of the best of that series. Hands in the air magic, with epic soulful-as-fuck vocals, swelling strings and all the right stuff. Add the fact that the choral refrain is the last thing every dude in the club wants to hear and you have the biggest end of the night single-ladies anthem you'll ever need.

Silver, Platinum & Gold - Just Friends | DivShare | YSI | 320 kbps

Speaking of dudes in the club, ladies and hands in the air, Philly heads need to roll through this Friday's edition of Robotique and catch up on our recent Dollar Bin (and pricey bin) finds of the disco and boogie variety. Strong songs as usual. Come check it.