Last Night A Soul Song Changed My Life: Phill Most Chill, Kimberlee Fuller, Andrew Brearley and Sean Haydon

Last Night A Soul Song Changed My Life

PHILL MOST CHILL
(Legend of Digging, Diggers With Grattitude, Philadelphia / www.therealschitt.com)
Gil Scott Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit
There is no one song that changed my life, I love waaay too many songs to narrow that down to just one. But this is one that I heard as a child in the '70s; it resonated with me back then and it still does to this day. For me there is nothing greater than a song with a sound that feels good, coupled with lyrics that stir your soul. I had no idea who Karen Silkwood was when I first heard this song and wasn't really 100% sure just what Gil was talking about. But I knew he was talking about something. "When it comes to people's safety / money wins out any time". So powerful, so true.

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KIMBERLEE FULLER
(Aka Miss Shingaling, Precious Owl / www.etsy.com/shop/preciousowl)
Blair - Nightlife
It came out on LP, 12" and 45 (Solar Sound and Miracle), It's from my hometown, Buffalo, NY and the whole vibe always gets me in the mood to go out and party. It's the soundtrack I like to have in my head while driving along the Niagara River on the Scajaquada Expressway, heading towards downtown. The cover of the LP features the skyline of Buffalo and it really captures the overall, sleazy, '70s, gritty-vibe of the Queen City.

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ANDREW BREARLEY
(Aka MeatyOgre, Head Honcho at Cherries Records, Chicago / www.cherriesrecords.com)
Gibson Brothers Band - Love Coming At Us
This is the song my wife and I walked into our wedding with. The first day we both heard this, we swooned over it and decided this was "our" song. Beautiful melody, beautiful message, and a song you can listen to over and over and not tire of.

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SEAN HAYDON
(Co-productive genius at the Soul-Funk-Tion All-Nighter event out of Staffordshire, UK)
Willie Dale - Let Your Light Shine
I came across it whilst searching for another fantastic record, Waymond Hall's 'What Will Tomorrow Bring'. Someone had posted a sound file on Soul Source, covered as Waymond Hall 'Children of the World'. It blew my head off straight away on hearing it. I remember calling Karl Heard and saying "What the hell is this tune?" he said he'd heard it before and that it was a very rare record. Turns out that there were only eight ever produced. Typical! Not much chance of one of those then? I spoke to Dave Abbott about it: he'd heard the same file and was on the case. Within a couple of months we both had a copy. Think it was a matter of chasing 'em at the right time and asking the right people. Thanks to Brother Abbott for his hard work, persistence and negotiating skills; forever grateful my friend.


(All taken from issue #3 of the Soultearoa Shakedown fanzine)

Top 5 Lists: Eric Orr, Peter Mac and Murray Cammick

Top 5 Lists

ERIC ORR
(Visual Artist / Creative / DJ / Qualified Builder / www.ericart.org)
Top 5: Favourite Soul Songs
1. Rick James - Glow
2. Curtis Mayfield - Right On For The Darkness
3. Marvin Gaye - I Want You
4. Isley Bros - Groove With You
5. Barry White - It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me

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PETER MAC
(Author / DJ / Hallelujah Picassos / Dub Asylum / www.dubdotdash.blogspot.com)
Top 5: Reggae Got Soul
There's a long tradition of Jamaican artists reworking songs they heard on the radio waves drifting in from Miami, taking R&B, Motown soul, Chi-town grooves and Stax vibes and making them their own. Their ability to invert contemporary tunes into something fresh and unique continues even today - check Busy Signal's clever reworking of 'Royals'...
1. Jimmy London - I'm Your Puppet
Gorgeous rendition of this song from the crooner Mr London. One of my DJ mates back in the Bassteppa Sound System used to tease me whenever I'd play it, saying "Hey Pete, he's singing 'I'm your pub pet!'" Cheeky git.
2. Pat Rhoden - Living For The City
On the Trojan label, there's a killer 3CD boxset of a ton of soulful reggae covers, but this one is tops in my books. Stevie done reggae style is always gonna make you smile.
3. Leroy Sibbles - Express Yourself
LA classic gets transported to JA. Still funky as hell. Respect, Mr Sibbles.
4. The Marvels - Rocksteady
Aretha gets skankified. Comes up trumps.
5. Shark Wilson and the Basement Healers - Make It Reggae
Straight up inversion of the Godfather of Soul, or just some crazy ish from the islands. Who knows? This rocks my soul. Make it reggae!

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MURRAY CAMMICK
(A true doyen of the local scene - listen to him on bFM, 1pm Fridays)
Top 5: My Funkiest Concerts of the 20th Century
1. The Commodores, Auckland Town Hall, May 1977
'Brickhouse' blew our minds and they shot confetti cannons into the crowd, so the bros with afros lit up like Xmas trees.
2. Tina Turner, Auckland Town Hall, Sept 12, 1977
A high energy early solo show with Tina fresh out of the Ike and Tina Turner review.
3. James Brown, The Metro, Melbourne, Feb 8 and 9, 1988
He was okay at the Shoreline, Takapuna in 1978 but this time the James Brown band, with Maceo Parker on sax, played beyond perfection.
4. Barkays and The Trammps, New York, Oct 14, 1994
It was the first time these Stax label pioneers played New York in twenty years and they slam-dunked their big hits using tiny Korg keyboards.
5. Bootsy's Rubber Band, San Francisco, 1994
The sound system was quadrophonic with speaker banks near rear of hall facing back toward the stage. Bernie Worrell was on keys and after five minutes I hit funk overload, I wanted to run outside and tell somebody.


(All taken from issue #3 of the 'Soultearoa Shakedown' fanzine)

The Most Unlikely Place I Acquired Records (Pt. 2)

The Most Unlikely Place I Acquired Records (Pt. 2)

KRIS HOLMES
A couple of years back 'Open Homing' with my then girlfriend in the mean streets of Kohimarama we came across a very cool old mansion, which was ultimately out of our price range when it came up for auction; but on that open home afternoon I was poking around a decrepit shed out the back of the property when I opened up the tool cupboards in a side wing of the shed and BAM! They were filled with LPs and 45s; lots of '60s/'70s rock and pop stuff. No one else around but I had no bag, so I stuffed a couple of interesting 45s in my pockets and my girlfriend's handbag, leaving a few hundred other LPs and 45s just chilling there waiting for the new owner to dispose of. I contemplated returning to the open home the next weekend better equipped but got busy. Unexpected!

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GREG CHURCHILL
Part One: In 1989 a block or so outside of Camden Market and this guy's selling tunes out of his car boot. I'll have those 2x12"s plus the 2x7"s of The Mohawks' 'The Champ'. 24yrs later and I can't find a single copy anywhere!

Part Two: In Christchurch sometime during the late '80s this English guy turned up and set up a record store in an arcade across Cashel Street to High Street, selling pretty much only rare groove 7"s. Me and a few mates went ballistic buying up pretty much everything he had. I'm not sure whether we were the cause of him suddenly disappearing but for a brief period we were shopping in a goldmine.


(Taken from issue #3 of the 'Soultearoa Shakedown' fanzine)

Top 5 Lists: Mark de Clive-Lowe, P-Money and Christopher Tubbs

Top 5 Lists

MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE
(www.markdeclivelowe.net / www.wepresentchurch.com)
Top 5: Favourite Shows I Played In 2013
1. Los Tres Marks with Money Mark and DJ Nu-Mark at Bootleg Theater (LA)
2. SF Jazz with Eric Harland, Chris Daddy Dave, Lil John Roberts (San Francisco)
3. CHURCH LA with Leon Ware and Jody Watley at The Lift (LA)
4. REMIX:LIVE at Amano (Berlin)
5. Harvey Mason with Patrice Rushen at Jazz in the Pines (Idyllwild, CA)

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P-MONEY
(www.pmoneymusic.com / www.soundcloud.com/p_money / www.dirty.co.nz)
Top 5: Stone Cold Grooves
1. Barry White - Strange Games and Things
2. B.T. Express - This House Is Smokin'
3. Leon Haywood - B.M.F. Beautiful
4. Isaac Hayes - Joy
5. Roy Ayers - We Live In Brooklyn, Baby

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CHRISTOPHER TUBBS
(DJ / Writer / Music Consultant and Lover / www.headsdown.org)
Top 5: Soul Songs
A couple of these are veering into soulful disco territory, but that shouldn't be a problem if, like me, you have two feet and aren't afraid to use them (badly).
1. Atlantic Starr - When Love Calls
Thanks to ex-Electric Chair resident Kelvin Andrew for putting me onto this b-side killer. This is one of my all-time favourite end of night records, right up there with Ned Doheny's 'Give It Up For Love'.
2. The Emotions - Rejoice
This album cut (taken from the 1977 album of the same name) came to my attention via witnessing DJ Maurice Fulton play his 10min edit to rapturous reception at a party I booked him for in London. I'm pleased to report the original is even better. Wildly uplifting.
3. Exit - Detroit Leaning
Creating by the one man band consisting of the psychedelic artist George Gullet. Originally from Detroit, George relocated to California in 1980 and soon afterwards began to reminisce about the "D". He decided to take home-studio action and recorded 'Detroit Leaning', a synth string's drive through a dark neighbourhood of Motor City. Deep vibes.
4. Yaw - Where Will You Be
Always makes me feel a little nostalgic and wobbly during my darker hours. This Chi-Town modern classic by male vocalist Yaw completely knocks it out of the park on this Nina Simone-esque outing. Blistering on so many levels.
5. Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (live version)
Hamish Clark from Breaks Co-Op played this to me sometime in the mid-'90s one slightly hazy summer's afternoon. It is 15min of mind-blowing musicianship and consciousness. Real people feeling, questioning, communicating and celebrating real life. I remember thinking 'why am I even attempting music production?' after hearing this record. Life-changing.


All taken from issue #3 of the Soultearoa Shakedown fanzine.

Last Night A Soul Song Changed My Life: David Haffner, Nick Recordkicks and Steve Hoffman

Last Night A Soul Song Changed My Life

DAVID HAFFNER
(El Jefe at Friends of Sound Records, Austin, TX / www.friendsofsound.com)
Vicki Anderson - I Want To Be In The Land Of Milk And Honey
The year was 1997. A friend and I had been doing a radio show called "The Origins Of Hip Hop" on our college radio station for a year. In the process we had interviewed a number of James Brown related people on the phone, as well as Eddie Bo, Lalo Schifrin, and David Axelrod. In the process I got to know Vicki Anderson and Bobby Byrd personally. Turned out they lived not far from Nashville where I went to school. They invited my friend and I over to their house and I brought this record with me. After talking to them a few hours in their own home, looking at old photographs, and hearing old stories, I nervously took my record out and asked Vicki to sign it. 'Live At BBQ' was one of my favourites back then and this was one of the first samples I spotted in a record. She laughed and told me how James Brown had stolen her writing credits so she actually didn't think of the song fondly. She said she'd sign it, but only if she could correct the label. I smiled and said sure. That was the first artist's house I went to. It made a lasting impression in my mind about the context that the music I loved was created in. It, ultimately, led me to do the licensing and reissue work I do today.

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NICK RECORDKICKS
(When your label name is your last name, you know it's good / www.recordkicks.com)
Betty Harris - Mean Man
When I was a teenager I bought by chance a compilation of Betty Harris on a second hand CD. At the time I was into Clash, Ramones, Two Tone Ska - but this CD opened a brand new world for me. Few years after when I started DJing around I bought it on 45 and played it a lot at the Boogaloo Club in the early days. I should look for it and play it again - such a great track!

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STEVE HOFFMAN
(Otis Funkmeyer, NYC / www.facebook.com/otisfunkmeyerband)
Pamoja - Ooh Baby
Devastatingly sweet and funky. I sang this song to my wife the first time we ever spoke on the phone (we met online). She asked if I could song for her and this was the song in my head. Three years later, I had the lyrics "shake and shimmy" engraved on the inside of my wedding ring.
Ultrafunk - Funky Al
I was heading back to Penn State after attending a house party in my hometown, already feeling good, when I first heard this song. The heavy clavinet line grabbed my attention first but the wah guitar slapped me in the face so hard I had a visceral reaction in my body like an intense chill in my spine or like the effect of inhaling whip-its. I made a decision right then that "I will find this record" and that is the moment I became a collector and addict.


All taken from issue #3 of the Soultearoa Shakedown fanzine.

Top 5 Lists: Tru Thoughts HQ, Dom Servini and Pascal Rioux

TOP 5 LISTS
(Taken from issue #3 of the 'Soultearoa Shakedown' fanzine)

TRU THOUGHTS HQ
(Their pick of 2013? 'To Dust' by Alice Russell / www.tru-thoughts.co.uk)
Top 5: Record Shops in South England
1. Resident Music (a popular choice in the Laines, Brighton, with signings, gig tickets, etc.)
2. Juno (London - great selection of electronic records)
3. Phonica (London - superb collection, and supporter of Tru Thoughts!)
4. Rarekind (London - second hand hip hop, funk and soul)
5. Sounds of the Universe (Soho, London - ideal for niche genres)
Special Mentions: Rise (Bristol) and Piccadilly (Manchester)
PS. Watch for forthcoming albums in 2014 from Nostalgia 77 and Quantic...

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DOM SERVINI
(Big Cheese at Wah Wah 45s / www.wahwah45s.com)
Top 5: Current Favourites
1. Zara McFarlane with Leron Thomas - Angie La La (Osunlade remix) (Brownswood)
2. Paper Tiger - Irresistible (Debian Blak remix) (Wah Wah 45s)
3. Ashley Beedle with Zed Bias and Ricardo Da Force - Dett (Shock Tribute) (Girls Music)
4. Cuthead - Minerals (Uncanny Valley)
5. John Wizards - Muizenberg (Planet Mu)

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PASCAL RIOUX
(Grand Fromage at www.pusherdistribution.free.fr and www.favoriteshop.wizishop.com)
Top 5: Soul Songs Which Mean The Most To Me
1. Life Force - Slow Dancer
2. Greg Perry - I'll Be Coming Back
3. Lee McDonald - Gotta Get Home
4. Father's Children - Hollywood Dreaming
5. Leon Ware - Rockin' You Eternally

The Most Unlikely Place I Acquired Records (Pt. 1)

'The Most Unlikely Place I Acquired Records' (Pt. 1)

SIMON GRIGG
'The Hidden Vinyl Goldmine'
Living in Indonesia for close to ive years was bloody frustrating. Despite the hunt - which never stopped - I didn't ever see a decent second-hand (or new for that matter) vinyl stash. Moving to Thailand I assumed it would much the same. How wrong I was. A million GIs in the late 1960s, 25 million tourists a year since then and a sophisticated and worldly local market all demanded music. I trawled the second-hand stores in Chinatown with little luck - a million people had been there bfore and they were increasingly farang unfriendly. I hit the weekend markets and they were sparse too. And then I hit the motherlode - or at least an inkling of what the motherlode would be: I found a small store in Upper Sukhumvit that specialised in old turntables (the first of many such stores I've found since, but we're not talking about the turntable mall today.) It had vinyl too. Tons of it. I walked out with about 30 still sealed Philadelphia International albums for just over $50. The week after, digging around up north of the central city I found a junk store - with a wall of 12" vinyl dating back to the 1970s. Where is it? I'm not telling. I'm also not telling about the store that has thousands of Japanese records, or the old guy with a hidden room of '80s boogie, or...

Soultearoa Shakedown recommends the Audio Culture and Simon Grigg websites.

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JAY JEFFREY
I was lucky enough to be in Bermuda for the 2002 Jazz Festival. The place was buzzing - and it was my birthday. I stumbled across a record store on Queen Street called Music Box, owned and operated by Eddy Demello (owner of Duane Records). We got chatting about the Jazz Festival and all things soul. He then dusted off about six crates of wax, some 300 records. I purchased 250 of those 300 for, well, not a lot, to be honest. After a few hours in the shop drinking rum, Eddy asked if I would be keen to spin a few tunes (the recently purchased ones) at the after party for the Jazz Festival - which was obviously a big fat yes. To cut a very long story short, I ended up playing tunes and dancing with Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers, George Duke and India Arie to the wee hours of the morning. A once in a lifetime event. Eddy was an amazing character and a man who liked hats. He passed away in March this year, so I'll be busting out some of the tunes I picked up in Bermuda. Oh, and one of the LPs I purchased was 'Spacing Out' by the Invaders - currently worth around US$1500.

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SCOTT 'DOUGHBOY' TOWERS
The strangest place I found records was Hamilton. I can't even remember the name of the store, but after returning home from a few years paying too much money for reasonably average records in London I stumbled across what seemed like Aladdin's Cave; in the form of an old pool hall in Ward Lane, next to the old Tavern where we used to jump around to Swamp Goblin, Watershed and other Black Flag/Cure rip offs in the weekends. A lovely old gentleman had filled the hall with crates and crates of wax, and I spent three or four hours a day in there for about two weeks straight - and I was pretty much the only person there. The surprise lay not so much in that there were records in the Tron - this was the home of Knightshade after all - but what I unearthed there. Minty OG copies of pretty much every good late '60s - early '70s funk release were there. I found pristine soul-jazz records full of classic breaks for a few dollars which would have set me back twenty or thirty pounds in London. I'm sure I flicked past dozens of much rarer private press type fodder - the sort of thing I'm much more interested in now. I even found one of my favourite ever 45s there: 'Do You Care' by The Liberation Singers. What the hell was a rare gospel record from Indiana doing there? I'm still curious as to where any of these records came from - was there a hip club scene in Hamilton in the '70s? No, I don't think so either.

(All taken from issue#3 of the 'Soultearoa Shakedown' fanzine.)

Jubt On: The Record That Really Got Me Digging For Records

Every addiction starts with the intial high that you continue to chase. In the case of records, it's still part of the residual rush that keeps dragging me back to Real Groovy, Conch, and Record Fairs to this day (and OK, yep, markets, opshops, junkstores). For me the records and music were always important, but it was a chance find at the Grey Lynn City Mission (now a generic suburban cafe) that really got me hooked on pursuit of the black crack.

The album was a bendy, nabby-cornered NZ pressing, sporting a sticker proclaiming "Property of NZBC". It was Esther Phillips 'Alone Again, Naturally' (Kudu 1972). I had never heard of Esther Phillips, but knew a cover like that housed some quality music.

Inspection of the back cover revealed the band were littered with some of the era's greatest players; not only current favourite drummer Billy Cobham, but also Bernard Purdie, bass from Ron Carter, and (already being a James Brown nut) the names Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis slapped me between the eyes. I didn't know it at the time, but an unfamiliar name accompanied by a scrawled signature above Esther's forehead would become a fetishised brand of quality for many years of record collecting ahead: Creed Taylor.

The songs are a mixture of funky soul and a few ballads, with the material drawn from the songbooks of Bill Withers ('Use Me', 'Let Me In Your Life'), Gilbert O'Sullivan (title track) and others. I'm not going to get myself any cool points naming this record. It's not on anyone's top twenty soul albums, it's considered by many to be recorded after the end of the prime period of soul and Creed Taylor's smoothed out "soul with strings" irritates soul purists. Hell, it's probably not even Esther Phillips's best album, and doesn't contain her funkiest joints. However, one listen to 'Use Me' and I was hooked. There are many worthy cover versions, but Esther sees off the Withers original and the Grace Jones robotic cover. Be warned! There lurk out in the wilderness of the internet covers by Fiona Apple, and Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz.

Over the next few years I played this record until the groove became crackly and indistinct. To this day when I see it cheap on a record shelf I pick it up - because for me this is where it all began.

- Jubt Avery
(Taken from issue #3 of the 'Soultearoa Shakedown' fanzine)