FAIR ISLE 964

The Supremes - Come See About Me

William Onyeabor - Love is Blind

Get lost in this

On a more modern tip - a 2010 house banger from Bakey Ustl, a relatively unknown Estonian producer who doesn’t appear to have much else out.

I’m a big fan of leaving chunks of samples to play out in songs, and this one does it perfectly. Just when you think you know whats going on, the whole thing falls apart and then comes back with a ridiculous sex chant.

Some late-night yearnins here from Donny and Joe Emerson, who recorded this track as teenagers in a farmyard studio in Washington State. Apparently they pressed up a few thousand copies themselves and then never got them out to anyone, which was a shame.

WITCH - Lazy Bones

Witch was one of the first Zam Rock bands in Africa, and formed around 1970-1972. Their name stands for 'We Intend To Cause Havoc' Their 1975 album 'Lazy Bones' is a treasure trove of dark, fuzzy afro-funk psych-rock. 

One of my favorite lyrics from this song:

Saturday night I say /  Make me some coffee / Sunday night you say / You don't love me.

"If you're feeling depressed, low, disturbed, irritable, out-of-sorts, sad, frustrated or wildly demented, then folks, we suggest you seek out a quiet place, indulge in some soothing meditation and cut away that headache by listening to this inspirational album" -WITCH

The Clean - Platypus

'Jive Baby on a Saturday Night' was the first and last song produced by The Jellies, who somehow managed to sell only 30 copies and then disappeared forever. Thirty years later, one of these 7"s found its way to Thurston Moore, and he loved it so much that he played it ten times in a row in one of his DJ sets. This sparked a new wave of interest in the track, leading to Trunk Records putting out a 500 copy repress in 2010.

Trainspotting #01: Kazi - A.V.E.R.A.G.E.

This is one of my favourite instrumentals of all time, and one of the biggest misnomers in music history. Kazi's vocals are ok, but the real news here is Madlib's impeccable beat.

The samples come from Jimmy Scott's 1969 jazz number "I wish I knew". 

"Tim was the man. As a teenager he dreamt of making it big in the United States and immigrated to America dead set on never returning home again. However, just a few years later, he got kicked out of the country for smoking pot in a stolen car. After a few years back in Brazil he revolutionized Brazilian popular music and became one of the greatest soul artists of his lifetime. He married five times (or did he?), served multiple prison sentences (that's for sure), and at the height of his fame joined that UFO-obsessed religious cult -- how about that?"

Possibly the best reggae cover song of all time (and theres a lot of good reggae covers).

Here we have Otis Gayle taking on The Spinners' 1972 song "I'll be Around", with Jackie Mittoo on the organ.

Continuing the French animation theme...here's some cuts from the soundtrack of the 1973 film Fantastic Planet.