Formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1972, buoyed by the vocal stylings of Dagmar Krause, Slapp Happy’s self-described “naive rock” found its footing in earnest on this, their sophomore self-titled lp (alternately known as Casablanca Moon).

The drums march along at the clip of an I.V. drip
Like sparks from a muffler dragged down the strip

Recorded live in the fall of 2019 in Brooklyn, At Pioneer Works has a calmness and serenity about it. Melodically, there is plenty of room to breathe. Each instrument – vocals, guitar, hand claps, percussion — fills in what it needs to organically. Nothing is overworked, just enhanced.

Beck’s deliciously weird major label debut is sounding right on time; an album described by the artist in 1994 as “a satanic K-tel record that’s been found in a trash dumpster. Someone played poker with it, someone tried to smoke it. Then the record was taken to Morocco and covered with hummus and tabouli.” Sounds about right…

Via the Paris based Born Bad Records, an incredible compilation of early to mid 70s spiritual jazz/funk/etc, emanating from France.

Out-of-print, yet easily found via third party sellers, this three disc set comps the work the Upsetter produced and recorded at his doomed Black Ark studio from 1973-79. An essential listen with a capital E.

Another slab of greasy country funk, courtesy of Light In The Attic Records. This third bootcut offering slides right into the early 80s, where the horse still bucks and the band still funks.

Abdou El Omari: keyboardist, composer, bandleader, record store owner and hairdresser. Since we last wrote about the Moroccan musician back in 2016, his music has been reissued and gone out of print. But now it’s back, courtesy of Belgium’s Radio Martiko Records, compiled on three separate lps. Hypnotic, sinister funk. Snaking organ lines. Polyrhythms. Untethered vocals.