The 20 greatest psychedelic soul records

What’s your favourite musical genre? For me there are a number of contenders – I love the sheer excitement of a dirty drum n bass bassline. I find a good disco breakdown and build up again completely irresistible and just sometimes (especially on a Sunday morning) only a melancholy folk song will do...

Having said all of that, I’ve no hesitation when asked this question. Psychedelic soul (for that is my answer)evolved out of both the Motown artists quest for greater musical freedom and the psychedelia scene of the late 1960’s spearheaded by the Byrds and Dylan. The first protagonists were arguably Hendrix and then Sly and the Family Stone with the release of their landmark Dance to the Music in 1968. They somehow managed to capture the energy of guitar bands but maintain a soulful groove and this translated into massive sales as well as critical acclaim. Others soon followed – most notably Charles Stepney’s Rotary Connection from Chicago, Memphis’ Issac Hayes and the Norman Whitfield produced era Temptations and Undisputed Truth. The key years were probably 1969-75 by which time the psychedelic soul sound had evolved into the more fully realised and smoother produced disco movement. For some of us though it is those earlier records that capture something just a little more organic than disco but with the same infectious energy. Here’s 20 to seek out – a few classics, a few DJ favourites and just one or two oddities...if you don't agree with my selection (What, no Shuggie Otis?) then leave a comment below to let us know what you think...

20. Get ready – Rare Earth

A Temptations hit covered by a number of artists of the time, Get Ready carries the uplifting beat beloved of much psychedelic soul. Rare Earth were a white act signed to Motown and still play today. This track was a big favourite of Francis Grasso who many claim invented DJ mixing as it is recognised today. Another of their tracks Happy song was later remixed by Walter Gibbons and Francois Kevorkian.

19. Reflections - Diana Ross and the Supremes.

The trippy sounds of the time even reached Motown! This 1967 track started with the sound of a disorientated theremin and it is interspersed with various other sound effects. Even the lyrics were a departure from the likes of My Cherie Amour or Tracks of my Tears 'Through the mirror of my mind, time after time I see reflections of you and me' Diana sings. A great 60's pop single.

18. Dove – Cymande

Had to get some UK in there! Cymande really were/are a fantastic act perhaps most famous for their track BRA. This was one of their more gentle moments and like many of the tracks here has been sampled since (in this case by the Fugees). This has bongos and slide guitar to great emotional effect before a mellow climax of flute and soulful vocal – niiice.

17. A change is going to come – Baby Huey

There was a revival in Baby Huey a few years ago when his Living Legend album was reissued after various tracks were sampled by Ghostface Killah, Ice Cube and most notably Tribe Called Quest on Can I Kick it? This cover of the Sam Cooke classic takes the listener into the heart of the drugs experience with Huey talking about his own personal drug journey during the breakdown. Cooke’s original version of this song of course showed its continued relevance when selected by Barack Obama as his campaign theme song (although i'm not sure the president elect was actively endorsing the intensive use of hallucinogenics!).

16. Time has come today – Chambers brothers

Another one from the dawn of the psychedelic/soul fusion. Coming out in 1966 this 11 minute sprawling epic almost hit the American top 10 which says much about the experimental nature of the times. The Chambers Brothers were a folk band from Mississippi and split in 1972.

15. Red Moon – Fugi

There is some ambiguity as to whether Ellington ‘ Fugi’ Johnson and Black Merda (see number 9) were actually the same act but is actually more likely that they recorded together. Either way, this track is a wonderful fusion of soul and the emerging rock sounds of the day.

14. He’s a superstar – Roy Ayers

Ayer’s homage to Jesus is one of the very best tracks from his catalogue. The female backing vocals lift this onto a spiritual plain. I saw Roy Ayers play the jazz cafe a few years ago and at one point he jumped into the crowd right next to me...play He’s a Superstar I urged...it didn’t happen of course but I felt better for letting him know that he should revisit it one day!

13. Tomcat – Muddy Waters

A number of established acts dabbled with psychedelia including Muddy Waters. This featured on the Electric Mud album which came about at the suggestion of Marshall Chess who wanted to re-invigorate the bluesman’s faltering career. The album dived in the states but was better regarded in the UK (Waters himself later disowned the recording). This particular track was re-discovered by DJ David Holmes on one of his many funk compilations.

12. Everyday people - Sly and the Family Stone

Sly's plea for racial tolerance was the band's first number one single in 1968 and did much to secure them a spot at the rock dominated Woodstock. The Stand album from which Everyday People was taken was a landmark release of the genre and included Don't call me nigger whitey as well as the title track. Different strokes for different folks indeed...

11. Superstar – Society of Seven

This one is an unlikely winner and has been championed by Mr Thing amongst others. Recorded by a Hawaiian hotel band (who still record til this day)this is a departure from their usual covers of standards of the day and is a fantastic example of the uptempo energy of soul music from this era. Expect to pay about £30 for the album its on (Simply Ourselves).

10. Chicago, Damn – Bobbi Humphry

One of the more mellow tracks on the list. This shows how the template of soul was taken into more extended forms via jazz. Humphry was the first female instrumentalist to record for Blue Note and as fine a flautist as you are likely to hear. The whole of her debut Blacks and Blues album that this comes from is superb.

9. For You – Black Merda

For you I could do anything...I do my best to make you feel like a queen – a simple message of unrequited love. This track has a real gospel feel and comes from the Detroit band’s album Long Burn the Fire on Janus, a subsidiary of Chess records. Black Merda considered themselves the first black rock band and enjoyed a short lived career but reformed in 2005 after diggers picked up on their records.

8. If there’s a hell below – Curtis Mayfield

With Chess and Cadet in town, Chicago was a major contributor to the psychedelic soul scene. As well as the acts listed here (Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton) there were the Chi-lites and the Independents to name but two. Undoubtedly one of the most important artists though was Curtis Mayfield (formerly of the Impressions). There’s a hell below touches on another key theme of the era – racial harmony – these days its unlikely a song could reference Niggers, Jews, Whiteys and then go on to talk about how they’re all going to end up in hell anyway but then the 1970s were a very different time!

7. Undisputed truth – Smiling faces sometimes

An act put together by Norman Whitfield to enable him to master the sound that would become psychedelic soul. The band had a lengthy recording career from which there are many highlights but this was their only hit. Lyrically the song reflected the drug induced paranioa of the times (Smiling faces sometimes..they don't tell the truth). The song was also recorded by other psych soul acts the Temptations and Rare Earth.

6. Black Gold of the Sun – Rotary Connection

A Stepney production and another stone cold classic. Notably covered by NuYorcan Soul who introduced it to a whole new generation. Stepney’s orchestration, Sidney Barnes’ wonderful deep voice and Minnie Riperton’s unbelievable high octave range combine to devastating effect.

5. Morning Glory/Life and Death Pt 1/White Rose – Chairmen of the Board

Like the Parliament track below, was originally released on Lamont Dozier’s post Motown Inviticus label. A movement rather than a song it builds round a heavy bass groove and is largely instrumental. Heavy but melodic.

4. Come in out of the rain – Parliament

People don’t really think of George Clinton as psychedelic soul – rather the architect of P funk. This 1972 track however clearly toys with psych soul themes of civil rights and Vietnam and features a great vocal performance. A big favourite of Norman Jay amongst others.

3. Ike’s Mood – Issac Hayes

Heavily sampled – most notably by Massive Attack on Blue Lines, Issac Hayes arguably gave birth to orchesteral Soul with his landmark Hot Buttered Soul album. This came later on To Be Continued and is perhaps the ultimate realisation of the Hayes vision. The piano break is unbelievably tender and the strings combine to send real shivers up the spine – the sense of space in the whole track clearly had an influence on the Bristol artists some two decades later. Magnificent.

2. Law of the Land – The Temptations

Another stone cold classic and played by everyone from Nicky Siano at the Gallery(who used to mix it with James Brown’s Give it Up) to David Mancuso at the Loft. This has an unbelievably funky groove underpinned by a driving beat. Motown writer Norman Whitfield (himself the writer of I Heard it Through the Grapevine) brought the modern sound to the already established Temptations and produced what is arguably their best work – Cloud Nine, Papa Was a Rolling Stone and this personal favourite

1. Les Fleurs – Minnie Ripperton

Like heaven on ecstasy – the juxtaposition of Minnie’s voice with Charles Stepney’s orchestration makes for an irresistible end of nighter and is one of the all time classic club records. Recorded on Minnie’s debut LP Come Into My Garden the track is an ode to the physical joy of love. Stepney gives Minnie free reign in the chorus before letting rip on the instrumentation in the style of the rush from the Beatle’s Day in the Life – a perfect melding of human and instrument. The song I walked down the Aisle to...

Interview with Spencer Hickman - UK coordinator of International Record Store Day

Why bother going to a record shop? The internet is faster, has a better selection of music and is, in many cases, cheaper. If we were wholly rational beings there would be no physical record shops.

Thankfully we are far from rational. The emotional engagement with where we purchase our music is one that is hard to explain and yet even the casual music buyer can gain immense pleasure from browsing through the CD racks in a supermarket or HMV rather than logging onto Amazon.

For those that cherish music buying, there are a number of other reasons for choosing the physical purchase; the thrill of the chase - scanning the shop for that illusive recording; the pleasure gained from not knowing what you are going to come home with until you do – often having been tipped off about something by the knowledgeable assistant and the joy of looking at real record or CD sleeves to get a sense of the artists creative vision.

Despite the obvious attractions, fewer of us are doing it. I’m as guilty as anyone of downloading (although I do still spend significant amounts of cash on records). Between 2004 and 2006 alone a quarter of the UK's record shops went out of business.

Why does this matter I hear you ask. There are a number of reasons. Firstly, the purchasing of music is increasingly in the hands of massive online conglomerates – Amazon, Play, Tesco et al – this will inevitably lead to a blanding out of music as these larger operations base their stocking decisions on who will sell most – these organisations care little for breaking innovative, good music. Second, the loss of the local record shop, like so many other independent shops is a blow to the high street itself and thirdly, and for me at least, most importantly, it is another blow against human interaction in an age where relationships are increasingly virtual.

Thankfully help is at hand. Saturday 17th April is International Record Store Day. This is a date where thousands of shops across the globe open up and interact with you the public. Live gigs are held in store, special vinyl only releases are made available for one day only (participating artists this year include Hot Chip, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Metallica) and people are invited to come and celebrate the sheer joy of sharing music with each other. Having visited Rough Trade Records in London last year I can assure you that the event is both well supported and unique. I caught up with Spencer Hickman, the manager of Rough Trade East and the UK co-ordinator of International Record Store Day to find out what all the fuss is about.

How did international record store day come about?

It came from a store in the US called Bull Moose music who thought it was crazy that we don't celebrate what we do

How has the organisation in the UK linked up with the US effort?

We piggy backed on the US event in 2007 very late in the day I only had six stores involved. This year we have over 140 !

What’s going to be going on on the day?

There will be lots of vinyl exclusives including an unreleased Rolling Stones 7 inch from the Exile on Main Street sessions, Crystal Castles and Foals are starting their new album campaigns with exclusive vinyl for the day All told we have 116 releases that are ONLY available in your local store plus lots of in-stores, cakes, face painting , gigs you name it , it's happening

Which particular vinyl exclusives are you particularly looking forward to?

The Flaming Lips (version of Dark Side of the Moon) is a hot one, the factory records sampler with cover artwork of the fac 1 poster as well as the Jesus and Mary Chain reissues - as my originals are worn out !

Has it been difficult to get artists on board?

Not this year. People are aware and up for it

Ultimately, what do you think the day will achieve?

Apart from bumper sales on the day !? Goodwill toward the high street. If stores do their job right on the day first time visitors will realise how vital their local shop is to the local music community and will continue to support it on a regular basis. I grew up around record shops and want other people to be able to do the same.

If you’ve not been to an independent record store for a while, why not seek out your local one on 17th April? You only need to spend a tenner and you might have something in your hand you will cherish for life. Here are 5 I would particularly recommend...

1. Ameoba records - San Francisco - huge warehouse chock a block with vinyl

2. Butter beats - Brisbane - a big personal favourite because of its well stocked Aussie funk section but loads of other good stuff too

3. A1 - New York - great for disco, funk and hip hop

4. Sounds of the Universe - London - great for new stuff and a second hand section downstairs. Can pick up the various Soul Jazz compilations for cheap

5. King Bee - Manchester - well priced and wide range of stock

Let me and others know your favourites below

For your local store – click here...

http://www.recordstoreday.com/unitedkingdom

Album review: Swim – Caribou (City Slang)

The name change for a musician seeking to signify a change in their sound is so common that its become a cliché in itself. Think Eminem becoming Marshall Mathers, David Bowie adopting Ziggy Stardust or most infamously Prince changing his name to symbol in a vain attempt to reinvent himself.

In the case of Canadian Dan Snaith the change (actually brought about by a legal challenge from another musician) has been more incremental. True, there has been a shift in his sound since changing his moniker from Manitoba to Caribou but fundamentally he’s still making music that, while laptop cased, has at its heart both melody and human empathy.

His latest album Swim is certainly his most fully realised (and perhaps accessible)release to date. Like Animal Collective’s recent Merriwater Post Pavillion, he takes a vocal and incorporates it deep into a heady mix. The listener has to actively search out the melody but once located can’t help but feel a sense of smug satisfaction on ‘getting it’. This is music for those who need to persevere up to a point but not for those who want something resolutely underground.

Opening track Odessa is, by the rest of the albums standards, a fairly straightforward vocal number and not entirely representative. It wouldn’t be too great a leap to imagine this sung on Top of the Tops circa 1982 were it not for the nagging housy bassline and wierd sound effects, for the vocal is reminiscent of the Human League, early Dépêche Mode or even the Pet Shop Boys. None of these are bands I particularly like but this track is a wonderful combination of all sorts of sounds and utterly infectious.

Momentum is sustained with second track Sun which again has a housy feel. Where it differs from most house music though is that it doesn’t get trapped in repetitive drum 4/4 beats so common of the genre. The bass is allowed to breathe much more than in much electronic music while the vocal is used as a sound effect in itself to help drive the song along. About 4 minutes in trippy synths kick in and you can’t help but think that you want to hear it in a 10,000 strong dance tent at a festival.

Kaili builds and builds without the need for the sort of breakdowns so beloved of Daft Punk or Bassment Jaxx and is again built almost entirely around a vocal sample. To describe this as dance music as such would be misleading for it has more in common with the aforementioned Animal Collective or even Aphex Twin than it does the Chemical Brothers or typical Ibiza fare. What it does share with dance music though is tempo and energy which is so often lacking in much electronic music.

Found Out and Hannibal both picks up on themes that focus on the female mindset. In the case of Hannibal the vocal doesn’t actually come in for four and a half minutes - 'the thing that she says she can fall for she knows she’ll be there on her own' he sings. The dreamy, spaced out vocal adding to the sense of loneliness that the lyrics evoke.

Bowls meanwhile is an opportunity to introduce Tibetan instruments into the mix (not something you could imagine Calvin Harris doing any time soon). Snaith again uses the basic sound to create an infectious groove. Similar in pace to Hot Chip’s Over and Over this climaxes with eastern harps over piano riffs and various sound effects brought into the mix. It should sound cluttered but it never does. Like Four tet and Madlib, Caribou understands the importance of what is not there as what is.

Final tracks Lalibela and Jamelia are perhaps the most avant garde of all – backward masking, snatches of string instruments, steel drums and whispered vocals are weaved into the mix to create something both disorientating and homely.

This is a fantastic album. It manages to be both electronic but organic, is rooted in classic song writing but very original, speaking from both a male and female perspective and ideal for dancing too or for home listening. Contradictory perhaps, but aren’t we all? I urge you to seek it out.

Album review: A sufi and a killer - Gonja Sufi (Warp)

I was originally going to review this album upon its release about a month ago – I didn’t simply because I couldn’t get my head around it. It’s taken that time to fathom out exactly what is going on here. San Diego born Gonjasufi’s influences, to my ears, include the Stooges, Issac Hayes, the Beta band, the Muslim call to prayer, Frank Zappa and middle eastern funk and yet it doesn’t really sound like any of them. Snaps of beats and guitars are sung over in a voice that is at best earthy and to some ears at least, shambolic. Easy listening this ain’t.

Despite being on Warp records, Gonjasufi is a close associate of Flying Lotus and his Brainfeeder collective. Both Lotus himself and labelmate Gaslamp Killer have provided production on the album. If you’ve heard work by either of the two A Sufi and a killer is closer in sound to Gaslamp’s earthy beats than the cleaner digital sound of Flying Lotus. This isn’t really comparable to say Lotus’ LA LP or Hudsun Mohawke and other exponents of the ‘wonky’ sound as it’s become known instead drawing on the history of rock n roll to create something new.

The album starts with a real middle eastern vibe reminding this listener of the many Turkish psych reissues of recent years. The early highlight is the sitar driven Ancestors which, of all the tracks on the album, is the one that sounds most like Flying Lotus. Directly following it is Sheep which sees Gonja singing rather bafflingly about being a sheep rather than a lion, one of a number of tracks touching on religious themes lyrically. Somehow it still manages to be a quite lovely foray into folk music of a sort. He then moves onto a number of pieces (many tracks are less than two minutes long which makes the term song somewhat redundant) which evoke the spirit of garage rock n roll and acid rock – my personal favourite is Cowboys and Indians which starts off as a Sabbath stoner riff before being overlaid with African harmonies. Following track Suzie Q meanwhile summons the spirit of Iggy Pop. The third quarter is my favourite part of the album, drawing on orchestral soul and even disco. The beat on Change sounds like it could have been lifted directly from Hot Buttered Soul while Dust and Candylane provide different variations on p funk style grooves. This isn't simply a retro trip however as the cut up beats and Gonja's unique singing style create a frazzled but innovative approach which recalls both the strung out blues of the Mojave desert (where he resides) and the sounds of the current LA abstract hip hop scene. The final part of the album again has a real acid rock vibe at its heart (although both the Chemical Brothers and hip hop are in there somewhere) with Gonja’s melancholy vocals providing an emotional pull. ‘This rogue path I’m on I know is the only way’ he mumbles on Holidays and one can’t help but feel this is his approach to not only his music making but also his life.

Final song Made is a lovely coda which gives way to a bizarre reinterpretation of Status Quo’s Pictures of Matchstick Men. Somehow this feels entirely appropriate – as if the spirit of psychedelic music of 60's London has been passed to the crazed fuzzy beatmakers of the West coast.

Despite the range of sources and the crazy vocals it never quite falls apart. Admitedly on occassion it feels like a little too many ideas are crammed in - a greater sense of space would be nice, but Gonja’s magpie like tendencies bring to mind some wildly eclectic mixtape made by your cooler younger brother. This is indeed a wonderful mess. Gonja Sufi’s achievement is that he’s managed to create something clearly influenced by what has come before and yet something completely new. What that something is I’m not exactly sure – this is a form of music which is truly unclassifiable and for that reason alone this could be an important album. I suspect it will appeal to music critics and musicians in particular – people who take their music really seriously (I note that this week Jim Goodwin of the Doves was raving about it) and as such its influence may take some time to be felt or perhaps it is destined to be merely a cult classic. Either way, if you are serious about hearing where music is heading (as well as where it has been) you should seek this out.

Studio report and interview: Dark Captain Light Captain

The oft repeated cliché is that bands have 20 years to write a debut album and 12 months to write the second. Some bands however do buck the trend and take a little longer on their follow up. One such example is London’s folky Dark Captain, Light Captain who released the critically acclaimed Miracle Kicker in 2008. This album really captured my imagination when I heard it as it seemed to take the ‘nu folk’ sound of recent years onto a more sonic plain with clear krautrock and beta band influences. The meloncholy lyrics also touched a nerve as they somehow seemed to be both heartfelt and uplifting at the same time.

Stand out track Jealous Enemies was a single of the week on Itunes and the album was listed in the Guardian critics choice of the year. The success since of bands such as Grizzly Bear and Noah and the Whale suggests the band have clear commercial crossover potential. I was intrigued to know what they are going to do next so got in touch with vocalist/guitarist Dan Carney to find out what’s going on and when we can expect to hear some new material.

So, how’s the new album coming along?

Slowly but surely. We've got about 8 or 9 tracks coming together, and about 4 or 5 which we've demoed and are mostly ready to go. We're funding it ourselves this time round, which is another reason why we're chipping away gradually! But whether we're in the studio or not, there's a lot of creativity when we get together, so all is generally highly satisfactory.

Who’s written the songs this time – it was a collaborate effort between you and Neil last time right?

The last album was myself, Neil, Giles and Chin (drummer) mainly - since then, we've become a six-piece, so it's more collaborative. I still write most of the words and a few clumsily executed guitar lines, Giles writes countless killer cascading riffs like some sort of unstoppable, gentlemanly machine, Neil takes care of the psychedelia in the style of a frisky electronic wizard, and everybody else adds little bits of magic once the structures and general themes are in place. Mike (bass player) has been loads more involved this time as well, with demoing, songwriting etc... Chin and Laura (brass) pretty much take care of their own parts as well, and superb they are too.

Where are you recording and who is producing?

As with the last album, we're recording mainly at Golden Hum in Stoke Newington with a marvellous chap called Daniel Lea. He released a great album a couple of years back under the name By The Fireside - check it out if you haven't already - and now does more soundtrack-type stuff as Land. We're also doing some bits and pieces at home.

How does it sound compared to Miracle Kicker?

Not ultimately sure yet - it's still developing. I've still not quite mastered the art of writing a happy song, so if you liked the melancholy feel of the last album I've a feeling you won't be disappointed. Musically it's bigger and better. We've spent a bit more time this album fine-tuning structures, words and stuff, so I think the songs are more coherent and are better at saying what they need to say. There's better choruses too. And it's probably a bit more varied in terms of different moods. That last sentence was taken from page one, chapter one of 'Things Absolutely Everyone Says About Their Second Album', available from all good bookshops.

What would you say are your main influences right now?

Musically I seem to have developed an aversion to any music recorded in my lifetime. Elvis, Neil Young, Velvet Underground, Fela Kuti, The Saints, old r&b and garage/acid rock, Fleetwood Mac, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, things like that right at present. In more up-to-date terms, Robert Wyatt, Jonathan Richman (big recent discovery for me), Alex Tucker, Caribou are all pretty constant. And I remain dangerously obsessed with Elliott Smith in all his forms. I'm also really enjoying Hatfield & The North as well, a reasonably bonkers (by my standards anyway) experimental prog/jazz/rock band from the Canterbury scene, active in the early '70s which featured members of Gong, Caravan etc... I seem pathologically unable to dislike anything with even the most indirect connection to Robert Wyatt! As I hurtle towards all-too irreversible old age I'm getting satisfyingly 'proggy'. But it's changeable as ever. Some days I just listen to hip-hop. When we're right in the middle of a few songwriting/recording sessions I find it helps if I listen to absolutely nothing though! We don't really sound like any of the people I've mentioned though, to be fair. Maybe a couple. So I guess this is more "stuff I like".

Non-musically, my lovely little girl, bad weather, tobacco, disappointment, endless reading, Walthamstow, drinking unhealthy amounts of proper coffee, hoping beyond hope that Tottenham Hotspur sign the Brazilian defensive midfielder Sandro even though I've never really seen him play, guilt, good and bad dreams, looking forward to this year's World Snooker Championship a lot more than I should be, getting distracted from working by great photography and art blogs, films, wanting to move far, far away and general trepidation about ever doing so.

Any new instrumentation?

Not strictly, but Neil's making a few new strange and unfamiliar noises with his laptop, plus we're getting pretty clarinet-happy at the moment, courtesy of Mike and Neil. Laura's lovely warm, comforting flugelhorn sound is much more of a feature this time around as well. It was only on a couple of the songs last time around, which was a shame because everything she does sounds bloody marvellous. We still use the same guitar tuning, but if I revealed what that was I'd have to kill you, before devoting my life to travelling around and picking off your readers, one by one.

Any plans for live dates?

Not at the moment - still in the last throes of songwriting/demoing, then we're hopefully back into the studio April-June to put the bloody thing to bed.

Got a name yet?

There are two names that I like, but in a fit of misplaced self-importance tinged with slight superstition, I'm not giving anything away I'm afraid.

When are we going to see it?

Not sure yet. Maybe by the year's end, but no-one's as yet agreed to put it out. The time felt right to get on with it though, so we'll have to wait and see. Couple of things cooking away - I'm sure we'll launch ourselves at the music industry when the time comes.

Describe the new album in 3 words

I don't know. "Some new songs"? No, too boring. "Quite new songs" will have to do for now.

If you’ve not heard anything by Dark Captain Light Captain I urge you to do so – here’s a taster and you can find their previous releases on Spotify and at your local record shop...

Super Furry Animals - An appreciation

Much is written about perfect pop music but what is it? Girls Aloud? Arctic Monkeys? Destiny’s Child?

For me perfect pop music is music that is laden with melody but it also has to be ever so slightly subversive – acts that spring to mind are the Small Faces, ELO, the Clash, the Beatles and the Byrds. In recent years music has, in my opinion, become increasingly split between those who strive for chart success and those that couldn’t care less preferring to stay underground and plough their own furrow with few managing to bridge the gap between the two.

There are exceptions – Radiohead spring to mind as do Massive Attack, Supergrass, Goldfrapp and Beck but the masters of the art are surely Super Furry Animals. This is a band that take tanks to gigs but has top 10 hits, a band who record welsh language albums but headline festivals and a band whose lead singer gets nominated for the Mercury music prize for a concept album about John Delorean.

The Super Furries emerged out of post Oasis era Creation records in the late 1990's. They couldn’t be more different – while Oasis took the established template of male rock n roll (Beatles, Slade and Smiths) to create a safe but roof raising stadium sound, SFA were influenced more by the 1970’s era Beach Boys, Sparks, ELO and 1970s welsh folk to create their stunning debut Fuzzy Logic. It referenced Howard Marks, Shellsuits and Unicorns suggesting that real psychadelia was alive and well in Wales. The hooks of the guitar driven tracks God, show me magic and If you don’t want me to destroy you were infectious while the slower tracks most notably Gathering Moss were heartfelt. The lyrics were weird but intriguing enough to draw the listener in.

Momentum was maintained with Radiator and Guerilla – albums that covered all bases including synth pop, techno, ballads, electronica, indie, folk and rock . By this time their cover art was evolving into a distinct brand via the excellent visual art of Pete Fowler and their videos were becoming notable for their use of abstract humour and attention to detail.

Rings around the world is considered by many to be their classic album. It’s certainly the most fully realised – an album that perfectly captured the millennial themes of Bill Clinton’s adultery, Global Warming and Christian fundamentalism and yet was never heavy going and always melodic. If you want an entry point I suggest this or Gruff Rhys’ excellent solo album Candylion which provides a folkier take on the SFA sound.

Phantom Power followed before the release of Lovekraft in 2005. This is undoubtedly my favourite SFA album – it is much more pastoral and less guitar oriented than their other work and brings to mind the mellow guitar work of 1970’s Pink Floyd. The first track alone is over 8 minutes long, starts with one of the band jumping into a swimming pool and ends with a Catalonian choir. The album as a whole brings to mind the Beatles White album which can’t be a bad thing (Its shorter too).

Since Lovekraft one senses that the band have tried to go back to basics with shorter songs and more guitar driven melodies. Hey Venus and Dark Days/Light Years contain some fantastic moments – including the frankly bizarre krautpop of Inaugural trams – a song about integrated transport systems that features a rap from one of Franz Ferdinand. Each of the band has also involved themselves in solo projects – most notably Gruff Rhys whose Neon Neon project with Boom Bip moved into synthesized pop territory and was critically acclaimed.

It is unlikely that Super Furry Animals are going to have a huge hit at this stage of their career (they are the wrong side of 40) but one senses that they just might and in a just world they would dominate the top 10 for months to come. Their hooks are fantastic and yet they are as experimental as any band around. They are also a fantastic live band with their gigs feeling like five in one (an indie bit, a psychedelic bit, a techno freakout bit etc etc) If you haven’t given them a listen do so – I suspect you’re gonna like it! You’ll find them on Youtube, Spotify, Itunes and lovely black vinyl. To paraphrase Dr Johnson a man who is tired of Super Furry Animals is a man who is tired of life...here's one for starters...

Hidden Gem: Hype the Funk - EPS and 2-Vibe (1996)

I was brought up in the valleys of Monmouthshire. If you’ve seen the film Twin Town you can picture the scene – bonged up bored teenagers whipping round country roads in souped up fiestas with alloy wheels. The soundtrack for such shenanigans in the early 90’s was of course drum n bass. Being a good middle class boy I veered towards the ‘intelligent’ end of the spectrum personified by PFM and LTJ Bukem, dipping into Goldie and his Metalheadz and later of course Roni Size, Die and Suv and the Bristol crew...

My younger brother and his mates had what I considered less sophisticated taste – preferring the happy hardcore sound and the drum n bass records that evolved out of that scene. These records had harder edges and I would spend many a stoned day sat starry eyed in a mate’s caravan listening to spotty young lads ripping the cross fader across a cheap mixer and belt drive decks.

There was however, one record they played which really caught my attention. It had a spooky Tubular Bells type sample and a massive farty bassline which I just couldn’t get enough of. I soon discovered that the song was Hype the Funk by EPS and 2-vybe released on Urban Takeover Records. I knew the label already. Urban Takeover was run my Mickey Finn and Aphrodite and was defined by its heavy basslines and catchy grooves. The b-side of the 12 inch white label featured a hip hop tempo tune called Bigtime which was also great – I had to know more about this mysterious duo...

The song increasingly became a favourite and has been a staple in my record box ever since – despite being 15 years old. whenever I play Hype the Funk the room goes off – increasingly I’ve wanted to know more about it and how it came about and have scoured the web trying to track EPS and 2 Vybe down. I’ve emailed the label – no reply. I’ve emailed a man who claims to be the son of EPS who I tracked down via Youtube but as yet I’m yet to make direct contact. I know Mark and Tim are from Basingstoke and they like a bit of garage and RnB (although I suspect this might have been written a few years ago given that no-one nowadays admits to liking garage and RnB!). My quest goes on – and one day I will find you gents – until then I will simply share the record you made that had such an impact on me with others, some of whom won’t get it, some of whom will think it a bloody racket and just one or two of whom will think it a boss tune!

The embedding is disabled on youtube but simply type 'Hype the Funk' and you can have a listen...