Fez

Au right! Here's something for the Jazzheads again. From the former GDR, a quartet of young jazzers called Fez (what might be translated "Fun"). Have fun with them guys.........
Cheers,
Basso

Lobaszewska, the great!

Here you are! Some funky polish Pop. On Side A Lady Lobaszewska is accompanied by singer Piotr Schulz. Didn't like this slow groover at first, but it was growing over the last years... so I can say I'd prefer it to the danceable B Side Za Gora Gor that features the almighty Ergo Band.
The choice is yours!
Cheers,
Basso

Discopus Nr.1

Poszted this one on the deleted "Iron Curtain Classics" blog. A polish 7" that should be not too hard to find, but still is a great gem. Poland's master of the organ goes Discofunk in two parts. Enjoy and Dance!! (new divshare link)

Man Spricht Deutsch!

"Man spricht Deutsch" is the title of Kaarst's private press FOLK! LP from 1979. Translated: One speaks german. And that's what Kaarst do. They actually sing! Unfortunately most of the folks downloading and listening to this wonderful album won't snap the beauty of the lyrics. It's really some of the uprightest stuff I've heard by now. You can easily tell that he's been observing mankind with a pair of open eyes. Call me a wussy, but - man - those "dedicated tracks" like Ingwerfrau (Gingerwoman) and Für Lisa (For Lisa) really wetten my eyes. Kurz vor Ostern is something like a reqiuem for a lady born in 1890, having experienced two world wars, her children dying in the Panzer and 20 years of loneliness in a nursing home.... I hope the way Reinhard Firchow is singing gives you a glimpse of what I mean !?! He might not be the most talented singer in the world but he's really touching me and that's what it's about!  Perfect music to watch the clouds rush by ..... Viel Spass!

PS. This folk tends to be pretty light and jazzy

Anima Latina

I am listening to a lot of italian music at the moment and I think I'm not alone........ I deeply dig most of Lucio Battisti's music and cannot decide which one's my favourite. It's this LP here from 1974 or "La Batteria, Il Contrabbasso, Eccetera " from 1976, which includes the celebrated "Il Veliero". I chose to post this one here......

 (EDIT: almost 3 years later I know THIS IS MY FAVOURITE BATTISTI LP!)

Berlin Fusion

How many of those guy are shaved? Back to the year 1979. Beardos were hip back in those days! It's not really easier to find some shaved faces in Berlin today...... Anyway - four groups, who didn't have the money to record their own LPs gathered to record just one LP together. With a bit of finacial encouragement by the Berlin's "Senator for Cultural Affairs" they had 8 studio days to record what is heard on the here featured LP.
Pretty nice stuff though. I wonder what else might pop up by these guys. I know of a Live-LP by Arakontis and a studio LP by Chameleon. By now there was nothing to be found about Changes and Margò.
Here's some Berlin Fusion

Cheers,
Basso


UPDATE: I FOUND MARGO!!!
Update2: and two LPs by Chameleon

This Placebo works!

Sexy, Sexy, Sexy

Yes, sexy & enterprising Sylvia Robinson (of Sugarhill Fame) has the cure for every man's sickness right in that grail. I'd bet there's a good dose of L.A. Sunshine in there. In here there's lots of slow and sexy jams. Nice one by the fireside. Don't forget to soften the bearskin. I like her first called "Pillow Talk" as well (the cover is even funnier), but this here got synths.
Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,
Basso

Feel Free Friday!

We'll be having fun friday night in a small venue in St.Pauli, Hamburg/Germany. Tako's coming over from Amsterdam! Phuong Dan , Meda and Basso don't have to travel. I just listened to a mix from Meda, who is quite famous for his Italo Disco collection [I once met a well known italian DJ (he is not a Cosmic DJ!) and he proposed: Let's kill the guy right now and then we share his 12"es! Funny thought, huh? Meda?] I'd like to share some of his Space Disco LPs with you - Here

If you're near, come around for a couple of nice tunes.

Cheers,
Basso

Life is....

THANKS A TON TO THE MAGNIFICENT STEREOMONKEY

How I love this world ......

What is the most beautiful thing about Disco-Music written for a ballet?
You (imagine being the performing artist) don't have to care too much about the masses spread across the globe's dancefloors yearning for cheap hooks and stupid refrains (not that I don't fall for them...). Instead you may care about the MUSIC an make it something unique. I'm incredibly happy that Monsieur Petit got that chance to produce this LP along with some well known (at least for all you Discodiggers) musicians such as Andre Ceccarelli, Piere-Alain Dahan and Jean Schultheis in 1980(what a wonderful year!).
Jean Claude Petit is really going wild on various instruments (see Discogs for the LIST of synths, sequencers and keyboards JCP used) and I therefor praise him. I wanted to write a bit about the songs included, but to be honest I don't where to start and how to reduce it to a bit then. So I quit losing words and move to the point. Due to the fact that this quite rare LP unfortunately has not been reissued wether on CD nor LP I don't have any pangs of conscience to post this beautiful piece of music here or here

I hope you like it!
Cheers,
Basso


P.S. A million thanks to T. and V. for bringing this into my world. Rocko's the name!

Aetheral Swimsuit

Bliss is the word. Just imagine it was summer.... I can tell you this lovely LP works pretty nice with some sand under your feet............. Here's Suzanne Ciani's first LP from 1982. A trip and a peaceful one. I would have called her a new age pianist, if I didn't read a tiny bit about her work.... so now I'll call her a classical music composer. Anyway - this one is out on CD, so I won't keep the link up for a long time. There's also a bunch of used LPs to be found in the web! I hope you guys understand that I won't react to reupping requests after a week or two. I just want to promote wonderful stuff like this.

My favourite SNOWBALL

Okay the picture may not fit the music, but I had to ....... I usually don't post single tracks, but in this case (and maybe a few more in the future) I'll make an exception. I do this because I just found another copy of an LP that I almost forgot about. Strange enough, because one of the LP's tracks always accompagnied me (on my mp3 player) for almost 4 years now. Unfortunately I didn't name that mp3 properly. It just said "Tender Storm" and every time I lisened to it I was tenderly blown away. And every time I listened to it I thought "You'll hav to go through your records to find out what this is" and of course forgot about that a minute later. Yesterday I saw a copy of an LP that I already had (at a decent price) and listened to it. You already guessed it: There it was. "Tender Storm" on Snowball's (Kristian Schultze, Curt Cress, ....) Defroster LP from 1977. I love it!!!!!





PS. Four years ago I placed this ca. 150x150x150 cm sized snowball on the local
doggy lawn in the town I studied. It was then coloured by several four-legged artists.

Guest Mix #1 - Strange and cold

I am proud to have my first guest on the growing bin.
My man Cesare, a heavy collector, pulled the huge "cosmic secrets" drawer and picked a bunch of wild tracks for our listening pleasure. You'll find a tracklist for this eclectic mix in the folder. But always remember: listen first, then check the names.

So here we are:
Strange and cold - compiled with love by Cesare Barbetta - Lecce (Italy)

Thanks a lot Cesare!

Anna's Resumee: "Honesty has many faces - so have I"

The title of this post was translated from german and I got it from the info-sheet that came with the LP. It included a very straightforward letter from Mrs. Dobiey, adressed to the listener. I'll translate this another day ............ I hope you can read the text on the back cover, so lazy Basso doesn't have to type all the names like Kolonovits, Daansen & Pfannmüller that might make you curious about this here LP. It was recorded in Frankfurt about 1981 and is pretty interesting ; )
Please leave a comment if you know her personally! Also leave a comment if you don't!
cheers,
Basso

Dreamworld!

I hope the picture of the back cover is good enough to get an idea of the instrumentation of this album. The Fichter brothers recorded it in Bruno Spoerri's studio where they probably found a LOT of electronic equipment to play with. And how lovely they played. Listen to "Dreamworld's Symphony" and fly to DREAMWORLD.........

It's like cycling

The two of my turntables didn't spin at the same time for ages ... ... After finding some lovely LPs on the fleamarket yesterday morning something bit me and I blew of the dust of the left MarkII. In the beginning it wasn't working too well, but after a few more minutes I was in it and it was fun. It's LIKE CYCLING - once you got it ......... so here's something like a Megamix of my favourite Michael Rother jams.
Enjoy!

Dreamlike Land

Richard Schneider Jr.' s "Dreamlike Land" is my favourite LP for quite a while now.
Please excuse that I won't say anything about the style of this goody. Just imagine Jaki Liebezeit on Drums, a guy called Jumpy (Helmut Zerlett) on keys & synths, almighty Wolfgang Maus on Bass and an ironic Mr. Schneider on Glockenspiel, Acoustic 12 String guitar, Synthesizer, Tubelar Bells, Tambourine & Cowbells ........ See you at the beach!

Cheers,
Basso

Make the music with your Maus

What about snakes and mice?
Wolfgang Maus plays bass on my favourite LP.
On top of that he produced this peace of heaven called
"Children of the Universe". Thanks a lot, Mr. Maus.
You're the "Master of the Universe"!

Them files are back

It's a disco world

Damn it! There's cheese on the dancefloor - again!
Ralf Nowy (Lucifer's Dream, Ralf Nowy Group, Methusalem) along with some usual suspects like Kristian Schultze, Curt Cress and Dave King has served some straight & cheesy disco. Quite different from the incredible Methusalem/Empire album, but still worth a listen. If you dig the Roots LP incl. "Sophisticated" and "Son of a son of a sheik" this one's for you........

Cheers,
Basso

Drop it!

I don't like tracks containing the word "Dance" in the title or refrain.
Not at all!! That's why I almost passed on this Montreal Disco LP here.
But there's a "Pistolero" that made me "Shake".............

cheers,
Basso

Heavy breathing

I'm not lazy - I'm blown away.................

A true american gentleman in Hamburg

Quite a few years back this LP opened my ears to the Big Band Sound. That doesn't mean this is a typical Big Band LP. Have a look at the lineup and you know it's not (there are lots of Rhythm Combination & Brass guys involved). It is in fact something inbetween and it features the lovely voice of Mark Murphy.

cheers,
Basso

Piano, Drum & Bass

Here's two in one 1976 albums for lovers of the good old "funky piano trio".

First up another rare german indiejazz gem - Ken Rhodes' "Profile" on Amayana.
Please note that this LP is posted fpr promotional purpose only. If you like it, visit Heinz Ulm's (big chief of Amayana) website here:
http://www.amayana.com/index.html and buy original & unplayed copies of "Profile" at a decent price.

Next up a record that can probably be found in every third bargain bin in the U.S. -
David Baker on Jamey Abersolds playalong label. Some of the tracks sound a little sterile, but I guess that's the thing with play-along-bop. The outstanding track is the funky " Le miroir noir". If anyone is interested in the notesheet.....


cheers,
Basso

Jeepers creepers!

Still active Bruno Spoerri's "Voice of Taurus" has been recorded in 1978 for Gold records. Spoerri, using a whole lot of electronic devices, is accompanied by Walter Keiser and Curt Treier on Drums. Due to Finders Keepers 2006 release of Glückkugel the almighty Mr. Spoerri has received at least a little attention.
"Voice of Taurus" is my favourite Spoerri LP, although I have to admit that the live album "Sound of the Ufos" featuring Reto Weber has some "nice" moments as well. This one here is a pretty nice monster. You'd probably say: all killer no filler!
I say: Something for everyone! Humorous synth workouts alongside cosmic-disco-not-disco tracks.

Link for comments

Cheers, Basso

Ich habe Bock

"Bock haben" - "to be up for something" / "to have appetite"
I am up for Elektronik. People label this kind of electronic music as Berlin School.
Klaus Schulze in fact produced this 1980 album and also had an immense impact on Mr. Bock. Nevertheless Bock's doing his own thing. Epic electronics! The title track builds up slow then smashes wagneriesque into your ears with the help of Brad Howell (drummer of Supermax & Chilly). Herk Hobb (???) plays the drums on the 4 remaining tracks on the flipside. Great job.

cheers,
Basso

Funky Four Corners

I really believed I'd never find the original. But I did and it's yours now.
Indeed a very groovy (maybe even a little spiritual) LP on the small Trend label recorded in 1976. Very listenable all the way through. Heavenly if you're into flutes and synths. There used to be a reissue in the late nineties - I hope it's still available. If so: go out and buy it.

cheers,
Basso

HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP

What is Space Funk? "It's all about the synths" - I guess.
Here's 3 Zips packed with what I call Space Funk. With this selection I'm trying to chracterize a highly subjective definition of something (ehhm). I don't claim this definition to be any kind of "official", it's just a couple of tunes really. Don't expect too much - it's a mix of Jazz, Funk and Disco ; ) But nevertheless please have a listen and then TELL ME WHAT'S MISSIN!!! For real - I know that there must be a whole lot of music that may fit into my definition of Space Funk and I have never heard that, heard about that or forgot about it. So please do me a favour and tell me what I'm missing, folks!

Enjoy Volumes ONE, TWO and THREE without password protection

cheers, Basso


pic: René Magritte - The voice of space, 1931 oil on canvas

Stanko's Purple Sun

One more of those darn Calig LPs.
I recently left a link for this one at Jazz-Nekko's Pit,
but there were no proper cover-photos with it.
Now after a short shooting session here's my favourite
Tomasz Stanko LP just for you.


cheers,
Basso

Schlüssel on Calig

"Schlüssel" is the german word for key. It's the one that unlocks the door.
Another german word for key is "Taste". It's a part of the piano.
There's not much info about Key in the net (my first time using this common phrase), so I'll have to work with whats' given on the backcover. Key consists of 5 very young musicians. My guess is that they all are students at that time. The leading figure seems to be Markus Stockhausen, son of Karl Heinz Stockhausen, and he's 20 years old when recording that particular album. Actually he's the only one of the group I have ever heard about, but as you probably know my knowledge is very limited. The liner notes by Manfred Schoof report about an exciting and interesting young group ..... all compositions were written by members of the group ...... group of great promise....
The only thing I might add is that I like this LP because of the playful variation of styles. Even within the tracks. "Please be good to me" starts off rather powerful switches into funky and slips into a more loveboatish Bob James part.
My favourites are the modal "Birds flying" and the free ballad "Rheda".
It's yours.

Key (1977 Calig)
recorded @ Dierks Sudio Stommeln
Recording Engineer: Justus Liebig

It's the new style

After having released 5 LPs as the "Dave Pike Set" on MPS certain changes in the group led to the "New Dave Pike Set". Eberhard Weber replaces Johann Rettenbacher on Bass and Marc Hellmann takes over Peter Baumeister's job on drums. On their first and last release they are accompagnied by a brazilian rhythm group the "Grupo Baiafro". Due to the pictures in the foldcover the Baiafros are having fun, while Dave and his Teutonic Jazzmen are looking dead serious (especially der olle Kriegel), but that's pictures only.
Listen to what they did....


cheers,
Baiasso

What is science fiction these days?

more music this week.
thanks for being patient.
cheers,
Basso

Droids again - no spaceship this time