KTP

Kissing The Pink were a highly underrated synth-pop group that came out of the U.K. in the early 80s, they would later change their name to KTP following a change in line-up. Here are a couple of cosmic favorites off their highly recommended 1983 LP Naked...

Mr. Blunt - Kissing The Pink
Big Man Restless - Kissing The Pink

KRAAN

The other day I picked up this live KRAAN album in a bargain bin up at the markets and pretty much haven't been able to stop listening to it since. KRAAN were a German group around in the 70s, their style of music is quite hard to peg down, taking elements of Krautrock, prog, jazz-fusion and funk with some Middle-Eastern influences, sounding very psychedelic. This double LP was recorded in Berlin in 1974, and captures a band who were extremely talented, diverse and at their peak. The recording was engineered by the legendary Conny Planck and sounds just as good as if not better than the groups studio recordings. Here is the track 'Holiday am Marterhorn Including Gipfelsturm', a 13 minute partly improvised instrumental jam that builds and just keeps giving. The track also features some great guitar solos and provides a showcase of the amazing bass playing of Hellmut Hattler. I can highly recommend picking yourself up a copy of this great album.

Holiday am Marterhorn Including Gipfelsturm (Live) - KRAAN

MA-MO-AH!

In the later half of the 70s, Sicilian born and Brooklyn native Tony Valor teamed up with legendary disco re-mixer Tom Moulton to form T.N.T. productions. For those who haven't heard of Tom Moulton, it could be time to get an education in music, as the man was one of the most significant members in 1970s dance culture. The pair worked on a number of projects together, including the 1976 'Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra' release 'Gotta Get It'. The album not only features some great cover art but also has some classic latin flavored disco cuts including the track 'Ma-mo-ah', which apparently Valor came up with when he was backstage after a Barry White concert and he heard the man referring to his mother as "ma-mo-ah". Listening to the vocal in this track its not hard to imagine a big Barry White walking towards his mum uttering the words. The kind of track I guess I really should have posted a couple of days back when it was mothers day. Ma-mo-ahhhh...

Ma-mo-ah - Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra

And some exciting news, it's been announced that the brand new Arthur Russell documentary 'Wild Combination' will be screening at this years Sydney Film festival. From what I have read it's supposed to be pretty impressive, find out more and purchase tickets here.

GOT ME AND I'LL NEVER LET GO

Apologies for the lack of posting so far this month, things have been busy. The good news is that this afternoon I managed to copy a stack of vinyl to my computer, so stay tuned for some jams over the coming weeks. To kick it off here is a mid-tempo disco groover by Eastbound Expressway. This 12" was released back in 78', and was produced by UK dj and producer Ian Levine before he went all Hi-NRG in the 80's. A pretty funky tune clocking in at just under 10 minutes and featuring some nice percussion breakdowns...

Never Let Go - Eastbound Expressway

On the tropical hot dog side of things, I was recently checking out artist Cody Hudson's blog and I came across a little place called Hot Doug's, The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium. Unfortunately Doug is situated out in Chicago, but I really think Sydney could use a store like his and less of the fancy gourmet burger joints that seem to be popping up all over the place. If you still need convincing, then maybe you should listen to the Hot Doug's theme song, or check out The Game of the Week. Here is a shot of last weeks Quarter-Pound Beef Knockwurst with Horseradish Mustard, Applewood-Smoked Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Lardons...

POST-PUNK POST #7: UNITS

The Units were a changing line-up revolving around key members Scott Ryser (pictured above center) and Rachel Webber, founded in San-Fransisco in 78'. They were one of the first punk groups to make the decision to ditch guitars in favor of synthesizers. Their music, although created with synths, maintained the ideals of punk. It was a raw and angular sound, often dubbed as 'synthpunk' and far cooler than the new wave of synth-rock that was to follow in the early eighties. In 79' the group made their first release in the form of a DIY self-stamped 7", containing the single 'High Pressure Days', an amazing track which would later appear in more polished form on their classic 1980 LP 'Digital Stimulation'. Here is the original 7" version...

High Pressure Days (7" version) - Units


In 1982 the group went on to release the 12" single 'The Right Man'. The druggy baseline and vocoders made it an instant favorite with the Italian afro-cosmic DJs, and it featured on the recent Cosmic 1979-1984 compilation by Daniele Baldelli.

The Right Man - Units

LOVING SOMEBODY

Jo Bisso was a French disco producer who released a string of fine albums in the late 70s. Todays tune comes from his 1977 release 'Love Somebody', a great LP which has been really growing on me of late...

Your Love - Jo Bisso

And tomorrow night I will be playing records in the front room at CONSOLADOR DE DOS CARAS. A Wednesday night fiesta at La Campana, 53-55 Liverpool st. (in the spanish 1/4 of Sydney). There will be sangria, there will be an all star line up of Sydney djs, there will be live bands in the back room, we will be saying adiós to señor Madeley and it promises to be a mucho fun evening that wont leave you short on dineros. For more information go here.

WE DON'T LET UP

Lately I have been getting into UK funk-disco outfit 'Olympic Runners'. Here are a few gems from their 1976 LP 'Don't Let Up'. Some heavy percussion, wah-wah guitars and quirky synths. A nice combination...

Don't Let Up - Olympic Runners
The Kool Gent - Olympic Runners

And to all the fellow Sydney-siders, tonight I recommend heading down to the dance floor of the Civic Hotel and checking out Todd Terje, for what should be a great night out.