I haven’t updated my blog for many, many months. My mind has been drifting in and out of darkness for so long. I am weary. I uploaded this mix recently. A gentle fusion of ambient jazz which I named kintsukuroi. Something beautiful holding together something very broken.
Music Is Love
“Another incredible collection!” Max Essa
“This series, I really love it! The selections are so great, incredible!” Ken Hidaka Wax Poetics
“Another fantastic and educational selection of songs put together by Paul Hillery” Kev Beadle
“There’s some kind of Magick in here. Where does Paul find these sunny, hazy, lazy tunes of rare beauty?” Chris Coco The Chill Out Tent
“Another magical collection.” Will Sumsuch
“A great compilation for the most discerning ears…“ Michael Stukes (WHCR 90.3 FM / Harlem)
“Very much my thing.” Andrew Male Guardian / Mojo
“A stunningly deep dive into music that has been overlooked by all but the most relentless of diggers.” Balearic Mike 1BTN Radio
“Paul is a national treasure. Thank you for all of this stunning music.” Sam Netil Radio
“Another incredible collection – crazy eclectic within its tight “remit” – I’ve no idea where Paul finds this stuff – surely there aren’t enough hours in the day?” Dr. Rob (banbantonton.com)
“Paul Hillery proves himself again and again to be a trusted selector. This Children Of The Sun series is a definite highlight for BBE and if this is the final volume, then it certainly concludes in style.” Jason Randall Smith
“What an outstanding collection! This is so full of gems one needs to listen. carefully and deeply to inhale its pure warm magic – GREAT WORK” Rolland (Boogie Down, Madrid)
“I love this series so much! Thanks!!!!!” Shinnosuke Chida (ENE Records)
“I just LOVE these compilations. This kind of music is such a blind spot for me. Thanks!” Fred Everything
“Gorgeous” Deb Grant (Jazz FM)
“These are always great quality, thanks!” Mike Gurrieri (Mystic Brews)
“Massive credit goes to Paul for these sublime but rarely heard cuts, absolutely loving this.” Will McGiven (SoulandJazz.com)
“This is Paul Hillery’s third ‘sun child’ inspired compilation and arguably the best as fans and diggers alike will be thinking, where does he find these guys?.” Gerry Hectic
“Very good comp.” Bill Brewster
“This is a wonderful collection of grooves. Aranha & Mystery Man are my stand out moments.” DJ Kemit
“I love these comps, Paul digs deep and comes up with so many gems. I’m loving Christine Schalter and her track Aranha.” Ross Allen
“This is getting ridiculous now!! Unbelievable consistency and quality, again.” Steve KIW (1 Brighton FM)
“Wonderful selection, I love this series !” Jazzcat
Let us gather one more time on another journey through the rhythmic sands of time, traversing continents and genres one track at a time. Taking in joyful places and wide-open spaces while dropping out to the musical pulse that unites us all.
An album to remind us that we are all made of stardust with more to connect than drive us apart, for . . .
We Are The Children of the Setting Sun
Paul Hillery’s third compilation in this series of rare and hard to find grooves is as much a geographical journey as it is a musical one. With acts, artists and tracks linked to London, Florida, Atlanta, the Netherlands, Switzerland, California, India and Germany and more this compilation is very much proof of the global language that is music.
With many of the recordings only previously existing on sold out and obscure private pressings and small runs on indie labels this collection of tracks really is a must have.
Complementing the previous two albums curated by Paul Hillery we really do get to see and hear the history of studio recordings from a plethora of touring and travelling troubadours, jobbing composers and song-writers, session musicians, producers and engineers.
Again, as with the previous two volumes in the ‘Children of the Sun’ series, this is an eclectic gathering of styles and genres that have been curated into an accessible fusion of Jazz, Rock, AOR and Folk tinged grooves that all have soul.
With many tracks getting a first time digital release this 3 LP album sits nicely alongside the previous albums in the series and rates as an essential compilation for any serious lover and collector of music.
‘We Are The Children Of The Setting Sun’compiled by Paul Hillery and released by BBE is available to purchase at this link
The Shadows Dance – Graeme Gash
Our journey begins as we cross the world and traverse oceans following the setting sun to New Zealand, watching the shadows dance. The opening track performed by Graeme Gash, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and former member of 1970s acoustic cult band Waves. ‘The Shadows Dance’ was composed and recorded in 1981 at Auckland’s Harlequin Studio, produced by Gash and Lee Connolly, engineered by Paul Streekstra and mastered at Studios 301 in Sydney. The track was released on vinyl by Siren Records as part of the album, After The Carnival. The song was inspired by an Indian dance performance with origins dating back to 1000 B.C. It features Graeme Gash on vocals and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and percussion, David Marshall on acoustic guitar, Manuel Echevarría on kalimba and percussion, Kevin Wildman on backing vocals and Steve Garden on percussion.
Fields Of Green – Carm Mascarenhas
During the 1960s and 1970s, many people embarked on the so-called Hippy Trail in Asia, where free love, drugs, and an inclusive culture led to the birth of the Goa hippie movement.
But Carm Mascarenhas had dreams of moving West. Born in 1946, Carm’s family originated in Arossim (Cansaulim) in Goa, India. His passion for music began at a young age, and along with many Goan contemporaries, the harmonica was his first instrument. As a youth, his father bought him an electric guitar and a record player with many LPs to satisfy his hunger. Music became a source of deep joy for him as he grew older, even learning to speak English by memorising the lyrics of his favourite songs. He studied in a Portuguese lyceum in Goa and obtained the equivalent to the 2nd year of a Bachelor of Arts.
As an adult, he moved to Mumbai and by the late 1960s, Carm was playing Western pop music in beat groups with friends and writing his own compositions. His music was featured on All India Radio for the Young Musicians Series and the Cadbury Amateur Hour, broadcast over the first radio station in Asia: Radio Ceylon, based out of Sri Lanka. In the early 1970s Carm emigrated to Canada where he obtained a Radio Officer degree in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1975 he recorded his seminal album, Someday Soon, at Roade Recording Studios. Glenn Axford was the engineer and Carm co-produced the album with Dale Russel. The track, ‘Fields Of Green’, features the flute by Mark Rutherford and Jim Hillman on percussion.
It All Comes Around – Parker MacDonell
Originally from Ohio, Parker MacDonell moved to LA in 1977 and remained there ‘til 1985. He is a veteran of the Los Angeles club and college scene. He was named ‘Best New Artist of the Year’ in 1983 by the listeners on New York City radio station WNEW. Parker played bass for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley during his time in California. He went on to release four of his own recordings: Miracle on Broad Street with Matt Munhall (2017), The Present Tense (2012), and Looking For You (1985).
‘It All Comes Around’ is taken from his privately pressed debut album, Home to the Heart, released in 1983 on Fayerweather Records. The album was recorded at Weddington Studios, North Hollywood, CA. and produced by Parker MacDonell and Chris Petersen. ‘It All Comes Around’ was co-written with Steve Libbea. Now semi-retired, MacDonell still performs house concerts for family and friends.
Mojave – Hardin & Russell
Born in Waco, Texas in 1943, Patricia Hardin is one half the Hardin & Russell duo. She grew up in a 1950s American Graffiti town with Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly on the jukebox. A classically-trained pianist, she graduated from Baylor University and continued with advanced studies in music at The University of Texas at Austin. Tom Russell was born in Los Angeles in 1947 and after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, he began his musical career in the early 1970s in Vancouver, British Columbia, playing strip bars along Skid Row.
Fast forward to Austin, Texas 1972. Hardin is playing the piano with Wayne Gustafsen and his newly formed country band, Happy Daze. Tom Russell had just moved to Austin from Vancouver. Seeing the band play at the Broken Spoke one night he introduced himself. Invited to the next rehearsal Tom then joined the band.
Hardin & Russell began working on a repertoire of original songs, winning many folk awards. The duo cut their first album, Ring of Bone in 1976. Between high hopes and a low budget, it was recorded in just three days. The initial privately pressed album sold out quickly with track ‘Mojave’ having been written as the band traversed the desert while touring.
The pair decided to move to San Francisco to put a band together and gain a wider audience. In 1977.
They released their second LP Wax Museum on their own label Demo Records. They continued as a duo until 1979 with both artists having an impressive back catalogue they individually continue to be very productive.
Colorado-Red Sky – MCF
Now imagine walking barefoot into the surf, looking out to sea, where dolphins are riding a wave. Mark Christopher Flett’s privately pressed 1984 debut, Softwave, lives up to its name and the soft pastel tones of the sleeve art even if ‘Colorado-Red Sky’ is a loving sonnet to Flett’s home, in landlocked Colorado, USA.
The album was recorded in 1984 at Mountain Ears Recording, Boulder, Colorado. Mixed by Chris Daniels, engineer was Bob Burnham. All compositions were written by Flett and self-released on Dolphin Record Co.
Wet Dreams – Floyd Hunchback Group
Time travel to Switzerland, 1978, and a visit to Etienne Conod’s Sunrise Studio. Inside we find jazz fusion band Floyd Hunchback Group recording their eponymous debut album.
The band had gone through several line-up changes and entered the studio with Christoph Kunz on bass, Thomas Müller on alto sax and percussion, Thomas Griesser on drums, Pierre Kübler on keyboards, and Armin Surber on guitar. The song ‘Wet Dreams’ was composed by Christoph Kunz and has its own style amongst the other tracks, with a unique bassline sound.
The album was released in a very small pressing on the Sunrise label, proving to be the ensemble’s
only release.
Be With Me – Pat Rahming
Now we sail through a synth-drenched setting sun on towards the Caribbean. Born in Nassau in 1944 Patrick Anthony Rahming is an award-winning Bahamian architect, poet, novelist, singer-songwriter, philosopher, former actor and athlete. Rahming grew up under the care of his grandmother, Ethel Rolle and was educated at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
‘Be With Me’ featured on Rahming’s 1979 album, Poetry, and was composed and arranged by Rahming. It was recorded at ‘King’ Eric Gibson’s Elite Recording Studio, Nassau, Bahamas and privately pressed by
Joe Billy Enterprises.
Playin’ Your Game – Blaine L. Reininger
Over to a new-wave 1980s America and a song originally made famous by Barry White And The Love Unlimited Orchestra. Blaine Leslie Reininger is an American composer born in 1953 in Pueblo, Colorado and having studied violin from age 9, guitar from age 11 and music theory and composition through high school and into college, he left Colorado in 1976 for San Francisco. In 1977, as a consequence of his studies in electronic music at San Francisco City College, he co-founded Tuxedomoon with classmate Steven Brown. In 1981, Tuxedomoon left America and headed for Europe.
‘Playin’ Your Game’ was released in 1983 on the Belgian label Les Disques Du Crépuscule, who were known for collaborations with Factory Records.
Storm in the Sky – Hagan’s Fanshawe Friends
It’s back to college for the next track with Hagan’s Fanshawe Friends; a warmly nostalgic name for the talented musicians that Kurt Hagan assembled to record his 1977 song ‘Storm in the Sky’.
Created at the 8-track studio of Fanshawe College’s Music Industry Arts program in London, Ontario, Canada, veryone involved, from the engineer to the flautist, was a student in the course, founded and headed by Tom Lodge. Supported by teaching staff Terry McManus, Jan Greene, Georgi Natchoff, Al Albutt and Paul Steinhaus. Kurt played the role of session producer, exploring the textures of the vocals and the contrast between the dark lyrics and the hauntingly sweet melody of his composition.
Countless students of the Music Industry Arts program, including players in this session, have gone on to play integral roles in the international music business. Kurt has continued to write music and his more recent songwriting can be found online.
Over & Over – Andy Davis
1949, in Yatton, a village within North Somerset, a boy is born and by the mid-1960s, Andy Davis was playing guitar in various local bands around Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare. In 1969, Andy became disenchanted with blues and with a new batch of songs he formed a new band, Stackridge Lemon.
A musician and songwriter with a long pedigree, Davis toured with Stackridge, The Korgis, Tears For Fears, Julian Cope and Goldfrapp amongst others. He also played the guitar on John Lennon’s Imagine album.
‘Over and Over’ was recorded in 1989 at Bath’s Crescent Studios and originally released on, Clevedon Pier, for the MMC label. Based around a simple love song the track features some inspired touches from producer/engineer David Lord and the late Stuart Gordon on violin. David’s Yamaha TX816 – a rack of
8 DX7s (an iconic synth of the 1980s) was responsible for many of the sounds along with the ubiquitous Akai samplers of the period.
In recent years Davis has focused on work with his acoustic trio DLM (Davis Lindley Mullan).
Mystery Man – Trisha Watts
A trip back down under to Alberts Studio 4 & 3, Sydney, Australia, the year 1981, and ‘Mystery Man’ is being recorded. Watts wrote the track with co-writer Monica O’Brien, nee McInerney. Both Christian Youth Ministers who wanted to express something of the mystic nature of God and to invite young people to experience the awe & wonder of their faith. It featured on Watts’ first album, A Touch of Mystery, and was produced by Tony Ansell & Trisha Watts and was released on a small private pressing on Watts’ own label Willow Music.
Watts released two more albums on Willow, Deep Waters (1992) and Invokation (1995). A 45 single, Let Our Choice Be Peace (1986) was released on EMI Records Australia.
Autumn – Simon Anholt
The inspiration for this track is the melancholy atmosphere of a foggy Hampstead evening in the 1980s. Born to British parents the family was based in the Netherlands until he was five when they moved to Surrey in south-east England.
‘Autumn’ was recorded while Simon attended school and living with his parents in Hampstead. Working as a bus-boy at The Venue, a long-gone music club owned by Virgin Records, allowed him to witness an amazing selection of musicians. In the mid-80s Anholt was living in the South of Italy where he collaborated with some brilliant Neapolitan musicians from the circle of Pino Daniele and recorded some of his songs with members of Daniele’s band.
Von Aspen Shaden – Emerald Web and Barry Cleveland
Off to the Sunshine State where Kat Epple and the late Bob Stohl first crossed paths with Barry Cleveland at the University of South Florida in Tampa in the 1970s where they became friends and began performing and composing music together. After graduation Kat and Bob moved to the New York City area and lost touch with Barry. While in NY they recorded the first two Emerald Web albums.
Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area about five years later in 1980 where Barry had also moved to the Bay Area and after seeing a poster advertising an Emerald Web concert turned up unannounced. The three friends picked up right where they had left off with their friendship and love of playing music together. ‘Von Aspen Shaden’ appeared on the 1982 album Aqua Regia. Emerald Web was renowned for its unique blend of woodwinds, especially tandem flute, mixed with a variety of electronic instruments. The track was recorded in Kat and Bob’s 4-track studio located in the hills of Berkeley, California, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. It originated as a pedal-tone guitar figure by Cleveland, over which Stohl played the Lyricon 1 woodwind synthesizer and Epple played flute, bass recorder, and Arp 2600 synthesizer. It was recorded in a single performance with no overdubs.
In-Passing – Kimberle
We find ourselves in a two-room,
48-track recording and mixing studio in New York City where young singer Kimberle Ames is recording her debut 45. The A-side ‘Elegant’ is penned by Ames, and the flip, ‘In-Passing’ was composed by Wayne Lopes.Lopes plays a delicate acoustic guitar to accompany Ames’ soothing vocal. The 45 was engineered by Al Firestein and Greg Curry, produced by Wayne Lopes and recorded at Alan Fierstein’s Sorcerer Sound Studios. Guitarist and composer Lopes has been on the New York music scene for decades. He has created the music for many art performances, dance pieces and plays. He is a founding member of the Gift of Eagle Orchestra with Van Manakas and Sylvie Degiez.
He is a member of Degiez’s improvisational collective, Cosmic Legends.
She Misses You (Children of the Sun Version) – SONLIFE
From the depths of Southeast London comes SONLIFE. A Turkish producer born and raised in Peckham. ‘She Misses You’ is an epic ambient number with deep reverberating piano chords and swelling cellos (played by SONLIFE friend and collaborator Emma Barnaby). The track was originally released on Chris Coco’s Disappear label with a new edit commissioned as an exclusive for this release.
‘She Misses You’ recalls the work of Tim Hecker and William Basinski but with live elements, giving us the impression that we are in the room with a band playing. The vocal samples are from the film Echoes and provoke a multitude of possible scenarios, they could mean anything and are intended to be interpreted as such.
Don’t Ever Say Never (Instrumental) – Ya Ya
Now it’s off to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, de facto capital of the south, and the centre of culture and commerce since railroads converged there two hundred years ago. It’s where Afro-American musician Robert Fitzpatrick (aka Bobby Dread) was born and raised.
One day while practising the bass guitar, he came upon a bass line that felt real good. He added a drum pattern and then a melody and recorded it all on a Tascam 4-channel audio recorder. After listening back to the mix an old phrase, from his days singing bass in a vocal harmony soul group, ‘Don’t Ever Say Never’ popped into his head. With this new title, he added lyrics to the instrumental for it to become Fitzpatrick’s first solo production. In 1988 the track was privately pressed on Fitz-Lee Records and featured the vocal version with this instrumental, on the flip.
The Light – Reggio
The wind now blows us through 1980s Chicago where Reginald ‘Reggio’ McLaughlin was born in 1953 on the city’s South Side. With dreams and aspirations and a fondness for music, the bass guitar and tap dancing Reggio was always searching. His imagination and passion kept him going while he played the many blues clubs on the Chicago music scene.
In 1985, two tracks, ‘The Light’ and ‘I Want To Sing’, were recorded on a 24-track home studio.They featured Reggio singing lead vocal and overdubbing two bass guitar tracks. The single was released as a private press in 7” and 12” formats.
Reggio ‘The Hoofer’ McLaughlin is one of Windy City’s most revered masters of tap dance and for more than 50 years, he has inspired and brought joy to many.
Surfer Girl – Persona La Ave
A shed in South Carolina, USA is our next destination. It is Spring 2006 and Dylan Dawkins is making music under the moniker, Persona La Ave in the backyard of his childhood home.
‘Surfer Girl’ was written during the late hours of an exceptionally warm summer’s evening. The rhythm tracks of the song were all arranged and recorded on the same day with the later addition of the lead Guitar line. Dawkins took it upon himself to try and record the entire guitar part in one pass and any time he messed up he would start the whole thing over. Eventually the guitar part revealed itself, resulting in the warm syrupy sound that glues the whole track together. Evoking a feeling of loneliness and slight melancholia the track carries us to a new beginning and places us right back to the warmth of that late summer’s night.
Nur Gitarre – Bescay + Jochen Schrumpf
Over to Woodhouse-Studio, Dortmund, Germany and the Spring of 1986. Jazz guitarist Jochen Schrumpf, born in 1952 and a resident of Dortmund, has just finished recording an album with the German-based Jazz Fusion band Beşçay. The album titled, Beşçay + Jochen Schrumpf , and features 8 tracks, including ‘Nur Gitarre’.
Featuring Jochen Schrumpf on guitar, with Beşçay band members Benny Mokross on percussion, Django Kroll on bass and Wim Wollner on Saxophone. With the addition of Andy Schlottmann and Ali Çetinkaya on percussion, Jürgen Czisch on keyboards, Andreas Koeper on keyboard, drum programming and guitar synthesizer and Martina Wille on vocals the album is recorded at Woodhouse Studio and mixed by studio owner Siggi Bemm.
Jochen Schrumpf went on to play with his own band Ceddo, he has also played with Cape Coast Syndicate, Human Steps, Kollektiv, Missus Beastly, and many others and features on over 50 releases. Beşçay released a second album, Orientology, in 1991.
Aranha – Christine Schaller
Switzerland, the early 1980s and Christine Schaller is in the studio recording the track ‘Aranha’ for the album, Peter zee Cat, which would be privately pressed and released in 1984. It features Christine Schaller on vocals and piano, Paolo Radoni on guitar, Steve Houben on alto sax, Didier Hatt on euphonium, Richard Rousselet on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pierre-Alexandre Chevrolet on double bass and Philippe Staehli on percussion.
Schaller was a member of the Paolo Radoni Quartet a Swiss Jazz quartet from Geneva, active in the late 70s and the Mega Wave Orchestra in the 80s. She lived in many cities around Europe before settling down in Paris to become active in a variety of artistic projects in the field of jazz, musical shows, theatre and contemporary music. As a composer and arranger, she writes vocal and instrumental music and has composed for various Jazz bands. As a singer and actress Schaller has taken part in many electro-acoustic productions.
For Cassady Bean and Cosmo Kesey
Records handpicked by Paul Hillery; a heathen, conceivably, but not I hope, an unenlightened one. Father, friend, vinyl hunter, curator at BBE and Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. He has gained a reputation for his continued deep digging and archival of lost and unreleased sounds, on a mission to give those artists and their music the exposure they deserve.
Special thanks to; brother Bob ‘The Jazz’ Fletcher who has been my rock. My mentor Tony Higgins without whom this voyage would not have set sail. Pete Adarkwah, Julia, Jeff and all of the BBE family. And you, for your support and for buying this album.Hugs to; Micky & Ali at Warm, Hampus Gunnarsson, Rhys Jones, Alan McKinnon, Laura Coxeter-Forge, Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Balearic Mike, Kev Beadle, Patrick Forge, Danny McLewin, Andy Pye, Matthew Hamilton, Barnaby Harsent, Hugh Dellar, Chris Coco, Gilles Peterson, Chris Maude & Fritz,
Sie Norfolk, James Clark, Simon John Roberts,Richard Melay, Tony Mead, Asa Bricknell, Santi Oviedo. And if I forgot you, I’m sorry x
Praise be; David Crosby, Terry Callier, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John, Ian Curtis, Matt Deighton, Ken Kesey and Albert Hofmann.
Big thanks to the artists and families who agreed to be part of this wonderful project and help me with background information and sleeve notes.
Music Is Love
All artwork on this page are owned by the artist who created them © No copyright infringement is intended – this post is for eductional uses only
Camaro in the canyons is a new set of mixes for AOR Disco. Close your eyes, and imagine you are in a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro taking a wild trip through the canyons. Turn up that 8-Track and with the music blasting and your cares in the wind journey through a selection of Canyon Rock, Fireside Funk, Shoreside Synth & Hot Tub Soul that soundtracks another breezy day.
| # | Artist name | Track name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Willia | Summertime |
| 2 | Stylus | We All Need One Another |
| 3 | Graeme Gash | Freeflight |
| 4 | Bob Mahaney | Sweet On You |
| 5 | Sango | Bon Voyage |
| 6 | Robert Maciag | You Make Me Feel So Good |
| 7 | Robert John | Am I Ever Gonna Hold You Again |
| 8 | Silver Morning | Middle Ground |
| 9 | Denis Farley | Pony Express |
| 10 | Barbara Bailey Hutchison | You Give Me Life |
| 11 | Karen Goldberg | Shoot The Moon |
| 12 | Randall Bramblett | That Other Mile |
| 13 | Daniel Bechet | Woodcutters’ Lullaby |
| 14 | Arthur Adams | Stay With Me Tonight |
| 15 | Welcome | Make Me Fly Away |
| 16 | George Shaw | 6295 Sw Fisher |
| 17 | Bugs Beddow | Lake Superior |
| 18 | Q | Never Felt This Way Before |
| 19 | Mia Martini | Stai Con Me |
| 20 | Monty Bishop | Stop This Haulin’ Water |
| 21 | Peter Brown | Without Love |
| 22 | Craig T. Cooper Project | I’ll Help You Get There |
| 23 | Chris Latul | New Morning |
| 24 | Steve Shelto | Don’t You Give Your Love Away (Short Version – U.S. Intro) |
| 25 | Robert Starling | Fantasyland |
| 26 | Dino & Sembello | Feels So Good |
| 27 | Rick Mosca | I Wanna Believe In You |
| 28 | Charmer | It’s Never Too Late |
| 29 | Busker | Mexico |
| 30 | Bennett Higgins & Crisis | Change |
| 31 | City Lites | Now You’ve Gone Away |
| 32 | Kip Hanrahan | Make Love 2 |
| # | Artist name | Track name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hotspur | Wings Of A Dove |
| 2 | Gregg Wright & Light Years | Searching For The Love |
| 3 | Prime Time | Fall In Love In Outer Space |
| 4 | Guy Maxwell | Watch Out Sally |
| 5 | Hirth Martinez | Altogether Alone |
| 6 | Stylus | Musical Man |
| 7 | David Wingo | New Morning |
| 8 | Passport | Loco-Motive |
| 9 | Rhead Brothers | Black Shaheen |
| 10 | Faith | We’re All Headed The Same Way |
| 11 | Coste Apetrea | Angels |
| 12 | Mike Pinera | Alone With You |
| 13 | Henson | Don’t Wait Too Long |
| 14 | David Diggs | Gentle Thoughts |
| 15 | Jeff Todd | Car-Tune |
| 16 | Gabor Kristof | Slow Age |
| 17 | Hiroshima | Another Place |
| 18 | Wilton Felder | Ride On |
| 19 | Torsten Wallin | Vintermänniskan |
| 20 | Frank Stallone | Take You Back |
| 21 | Crystal Grass Featuring Steve Leach | Dream On |
| 22 | Brick | Seaside Vibes |
| 23 | Maxine Nightingale | I’m Givin’ It All To You |
| 24 | Watchpocket | Back Porch Of My Mind |
| 25 | Phil Keaggy | Follow Me Up |
| 26 | Michael Chapman | Lescudjack |
| 27 | Silver Morning | Halfway To Somewhere |
| 28 | Forest | Crazy Days |
| 29 | Fruitcake | My Feet Won’t Move |
| 30 | The Michael Rowe Band | The Way Of The Girl |
| 31 | Experience Unlimited | Peace Gone Away |
| 32 | Mikki | Look Before You Leap |
| 33 | Pheeroan Aklaff | “Intuit” |
| 34 | Sunbear | I Heard The Voice Of Music Say |
| # | Artist name | Track name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seals & Crofts | High On A Mountain |
| 2 | Gregg Wright | Highway Traveler |
| 3 | Moonrider | Danger In The Night |
| 4 | Frank Pyne | Love In Space |
| 5 | Gary Epps | Forever |
| 6 | John Klemmer | Touch |
| 7 | Glen Tizzard | Can We Get Back To It |
| 8 | Bobby Caldwell | Sunny Hills |
| 9 | Faze-O | Riding High |
| 10 | Together Band | Calif. Curl, Calif. Girl |
| 11 | Andy Nelson | Bionic Eyes |
| 12 | Brian Auger | Happiness Is Just Around The Bend (Early Monitor Mix) |
| 13 | Monika Linges Quartett | Running |
| 14 | Marlon Hunter | Cut Up Mr. Kool |
| 15 | Twennynine With Lenny White & Kleeer | Fancy Dancer |
| 16 | Haze | Waiting For The Moment |
| 17 | Seawind | Make Up Your Mind |
| 18 | Paris Holley | Lady Of The Night |
| 19 | Cash Money | Seeking |
| 20 | Cloud | Rico Rico |
| 21 | Steve Leach With The Crystal Grass Orchestra | I Meditate Each Day |
| 22 | Siren | Take It If You Try |
| 23 | Stroke | Just Let Me Luv You |
| 24 | Maru & Mikael | Hold Your Banners High |
| 25 | René & Angela | I Love You More |
| 26 | Celine Lomez | Joking |
| 27 | The Longo Brothers Featuring Jill Vogel | In The Middle Of The Night |
| 28 | Cotton Club | Den Blinda Kärleken (My Everchanging Moods) |
| 29 | Gary Boyle | Out Of Mind |
| 30 | Morrison Kincannon | Sonshine |
Original photos taken by Tyler Clemmensen – free to use under the Unsplash License
Photo manipulation done my myself
You have probably worked out that I’m not that into heavy dance music. I loved Acid House but not what House music became. And any how, these days I suffer from anxiety and anything with a heavy BPM sets off a panic attack. So I’m all about setting the right vibe and chilling out. Going through my vinyl collection I started putting together a collection of soul tracks which I’m calling a soulful chill.
There are 10 of them so far, most of the tracklists are listed below but the others can be found by subscribing to my Mixcloud stream for a small fee, your reward will be the tracklists for over 500 mixes !!! For as little as £2.99 a month, it’s like saying thank you by buying me a coffee x
Go straight to the A Soulful Chill Mixcloud playlist by clicking here
| # | ARTIST NAME | TRACK NAME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jéan-Claude T. | The Resume |
| 2 | Cyndee Peters | House Of The Rising Sun |
| 3 | Eden Ahbez And John Harris | Overcomers Of The World |
| 4 | The Rascals | Little Dove |
| 5 | Wendel Stuart | If |
| 6 | Al Johnson | Peaceful |
| 7 | John Lehman | Rosy |
| 8 | The People’s Workshop | Let’s Get High |
| 9 | Light Of The World | I’m So Happy |
| 10 | Stylus | I Just Don’t Wanna Fall In Love Right Now |
| 11 | Craig T. Cooper Project | I’ll Help You Get There |
| 12 | Essence | Girl Without A Dream |
| 13 | Toast | It’s Just An Illusion (Coming To Ya) (Instrumental) |
| 14 | Stroke | Just Let Me Luv You [PITCH -3] |
| 15 | Vic Asher | What Am I Gonna Do |
| 16 | Overholt, Tate and Phillips | Baby Come Back |
| 17 | Holly Maxwell | Never Love Again |
| 18 | Cleo Sol | Gold |
| 19 | Leah Weller | Dive In |
| # | Artist name | Track name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cyndee Peters | Wayfaring Stranger |
| 2 | Billy Bailey | Holy Crown |
| 3 | Don Crawford | Fire Island Saturday |
| 4 | Holly Maxwell | Winter Go Away |
| 5 | Esther Phillips | That’s All Right With Me |
| 6 | Shira Small | Here I Stand |
| 7 | Kelly Finnigan | Catch Me I’m Falling |
| 8 | Experience Unlimited | People |
| 9 | The Bees | I Love You (Instrumental) |
| 10 | Toast | It’s Just An Illusion (Coming To Ya) |
| 11 | Romeo | Ooh Baby Baby |
| 12 | Darrel Pelton | Moments Like This |
| 13 | Craig T. Cooper Project | Love Dues |
| 14 | Magnetic Force | Ole Sweet Music (Instrumental) |
| 15 | Kenya Collins And Mac Simmons | I Don’t Want To Be Right |
| 16 | Keisa Brown & Underground Euphoria | Let’s Go Back (To Our Little World) |
| 17 | Jeff And Penny | Give Me A Piece Of Your Mind |
| 18 | Elijah Sterling | The Girl I Fell In Love With |
| # | Artist name | Track name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wee | Aeroplane (Reprise) |
| 2 | Jéan-Claude T. | Nude And Next To Nature Theme |
| 3 | J. Blackfoot featuring Ann Hines | Tear Jerker |
| 4 | Joshie Jo Armstead & Alfonzo Ratliff | By A Twist Of Fate In The Right Place |
| 5 | Electra Fyd Revue | Emptiness |
| 6 | Sade | Maureen |
| 7 | Yussef Dayes feat. Jamilah Barry | Woman’s Touch |
| 8 | Eddie Chacon | Sundown |
| 9 | Michael Kiwanuka | Solid Ground |
| 10 | Terry Callier | Sunset Boulevard |
| 11 | Kevin Moore | Rainmaker |
| 12 | Satisfaction | Gregory Shan’t |
| 13 | Brenda Russell | In The Thick Of It |
| 14 | Smokey Robinson | Quiet Storm |
| 15 | Brook Benton | Glow Love |
| 16 | Garrett Scott | Now That I Love You |
| 17 | Kellee Patterson | Maiden Voyage |
| 18 | Daniel Bechet | Saturday Night Flavour |
Available to purchase at this link
“One of the year’s finest compilations…Paul Hillery, has delivered a labour of love that leaps from the turntable and provokes a potentially expensive Discogs browse” CLASH
“An endlessly rewarding compendium of outsiders.” Uncut
“This is a universe of sound you’ll be glad you washed up in.” Shindig!
“The seventeen tracks take the listener from the bucolic hedgerows of Albion to the winding dusty valleys of California and plenty from the spaces in between. They span the lost halcyon days of Laurel Canyon and beyond with all the light and dark of that high time. Then at the same time each piece joins the folk dots to the more rustic vibrations emanating from closer to rural England. The music is resistant, evocative of times of contemporary and historical change, often charged with revolutionary fervour, but also tinged with an organic connection to the land..” Test Pressing
(full review here)
RE:WARM Records is delighted to announce ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume Two’ compiled by Paul Hillery, renowned record collector, archivist and dj. The record is set for release on the 6th October, available on double gatefold black vinyl, cd and digital (order here).
Paul Hillery is a relentless seeker of musical treasures that span generation and genre, uncovering some brilliantly psychedelic and ever so funky gems along the way. These nuggets were initially documented on the Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours blog, then released on ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume One‘ in 2021. Volume One received praise from all the right places, including BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne making it her compilation of the week, Gilles Peterson giving the record plenty of airtime and rave reviews in Uncut, Shindig! and CLASH.
For ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume Two‘, Paul dives back into the vaults for more seriously good, rare cuts for all to enjoy. Spanning seventeen tracks, the new compilation represents his continued journey with the Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours sound. Think of heady sounds to soundtrack balmy English summers and Balearic poolside drops, the compilation includes a huge slab of privately pressed obscurities with some previously unreleased material. Standout tracks include the folk funk masterpiece ‘Morning Brings The Light’ by Grand Union, pressed to vinyl for the first time here. The previously unreleased groove of ‘Undone by Tasha Lee McCluney co-written with Joey Stec of Curt Boettcher’s California supergroup The Millennium. Another vinyl debut ‘Teardrops Lost In The Rain (Stallions Remix)’ by Findlay Brown, where the original folky Midnight Cowboy soundtrack vibe is elevated by a hypnotic space disco twist, all while still keeping the melodic root of the original version. Another outstanding cut is flute-driven jazz masterpiece ‘Weepin’ by Cascada featuring Jaime Roos, Ronald Langestraat and Ben van Bergen on percussion. And the anthemic ‘Let Me Ride’ by Australian singer/songwriter Peter Campbell will leave you yearning for more.
‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume Two’compiled by Paul Hillery and released by RE:WARM is available to purchase at this link
Grand Union ~ Morning Brings The Light
Grand Union came from Brentford, UK, where the Grand Union Canal meets the Thames. They were active from 2003 to 2017. Musically they were influenced by 1960s ‘folk baroque’ artists such as Pentangle and Davy Graham, as well as modal jazz musicians such as Pharoah Saunders and Alice Coltrane.
The seed of ‘Morning Brings The Light’ came from a bass line from Caspar Sewell. The overall groove took shape one afternoon with a 4/4 guitar played over a 6/8 bass line, a combination that suited the drummer Gerry Wood. Kate Vahl on vocals, Simon O’Grady on flute, guitar and backing vocals, with Leigh Rose on violin and guitar. The original lyrics listed the lost rivers of London but were changed to rebirth and liberation from a busy modern life as the new dawning brings the light.
The track was recorded at Twickenham Sound Studios in 2005 with Tom Addis and Adrian Bradley at the mixing desk. Its energy came from being recorded live, with Vahl’s vocals and the harmonies being overdubbed. Originally featuring on the album Through The Green Fuse released on People Tree Records, it is the first time this Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadour favourite has been pressed to vinyl.
Tasha Lee McCluney ~ Undone
‘Undone’ was written by Tasha Lee McCluney and Joey Stec, from The Dependables and Curt Boettcher’s California supergroup The Millennium. McCluney had sung backing vocals for Beth Orton on the critically acclaimed album Trailer Park and also with Heavenly band The Rockingbirds. She supported Primal Scream at Brixton Academy and worked at Heavenly recordings. She DJed frequently as ‘The Heavenly Birds’ and with Tim Tooher who put together the infamous early 1990s ‘Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham’ gig in Camden. McCluney also released the single ‘Stomped On And Wasted’ as Tasha Lee in 1998.
In 2001 Alan McGee (Creation, Poptones) flew McCluney over to LA to meet Joey Stec, the pair hit it off and started writing together. An album of 10 tracks were recorded six months later in a three-week studio session recorded at The Lodge, in Northampton (incidentally the home town of Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours). It features McCluney on vocals with Todd Wills on guitar and Bill Denton on bass. It was produced by Joey Stec and Joe Foster and held together by Ed Ball.
The album, Pictures And Postcards, was planned to be released on McGee’s Poptones label but was unfortunately shelved, luckily the recordings were sold back to McCluney for a pound and ‘Undone’ features here in its first official outing.
Len Udow ~ Beauty Raise The Tree
Appellation Music, to find a home for his genre-bending music. With the help of many musical friends, the album, Through Curved Glass, was created and released in 1976. The songs were written on both piano and guitar and collected in the early 1970s. ‘Beauty Raise the Tree’ was initially a poem written by Len’s roommate Stephen Gislason during a tumultuous time of relationships gone awry. With hindsight, the song may have been an attempt to heal what was perceived to be broken. It was devised from D-modal tuning on an old Martin D18 to give the guitar a spatial sound. There was a conscious attempt to capture a sense of spontaneity off the studio floor by recording live, with no overdubs, at Captain Audio Studios, Toronto, Canada, between March 30 and May 11, 1976.
‘Beauty Raise the Tree’ features Len Udow on acoustic guitar and vocals, Patrick Godfrey on piano, Jack McFadden on double bass, Harvey Saltzman on bassoon, with Jim Morgan as engineer, and Eugene Martynec on acoustic guitar, and also made the whole project and its disparate parts come together.
Dan Donahue ~ Wild Canada
The song ‘Wild Canada’ was written in 1976 and recorded in a little studio in the basement of a music shop known as Guitarland, a mecca for the independent folk and rock scene of Winnipeg, Canada. Dan Donahue was very much a part of the vibrant Canadian Folk music community.
Donahue played all the instruments on ‘Wild Canada’ while Randy Joyce added percussion in the form of a distant woodpecker (somewhere deep in the northern forest). The track is taken from Donahue’s first album, Long Distance Runner, and was privately pressed on Dan’s own Freckles Music imprint in 1978. He followed with a second self-released album, Motion, in 1980, working with Canadian producer, engineer and music artist Daniel Lanois.
Michael Glick ~ The Ballad Of Ho Chi Minh
This song was recorded towards the end of 1976 at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York. The studio was located near Woodstock and the engineer was Mike Mantler (a great jazz musician and husband at the time to Carla Bley).
‘The Ballad Of Ho Chi Minh’ was inspired by Glick’s involvement in the Vietnam antiwar movement. After reading about his life, Glick wrote the song as a tribute to Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people. It features a flute solo from Ricardo Strobert, Tony Mondesire and Carlos Gomez on assorted percussion, Kenyatte Abdur-Rahman on marimba, drums and bells, and Mike Mantler on bass. Most of the musicians were fellow students of Glick at the College at Old Westbury, Long Island. Some went on to play with pretty well-known musicians. The album, City Dreams, was privately pressed in 1977 on Glick’s own New Morning Records label and dedicated to the memory and ideals of Paul Robeson.
Chris Rawlings ~ Song of Creation
In 1968, Paul Lauzon and Chris Rawlings quit their respective bands. They had an idea to put The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to music and so to complete their task they spontaneously drove to New Orleans to visit Lauzon’s sister. However, she had joined the Externalized Ashrama of Kumi Maitreya and her spiritual followers and the two friends had to find somewhere else to stay. A jazz drummer, Tony ‘Oulaboula’ Bazley, directed them to a club, Andy’s on Bourbon, where they found shelter. Lauzon was loaned a copy of ‘The Book of the Hopi’ by his sister and he wrote a translation of the original lyric. Rawlings fashioned chords on the acoustic guitar and they developed the melody together.
‘The Song of Creation’ was recorded at Montreal’s Studio Six. With Chris Rawlings on vocal and guitar, Tony Bazley (KARMA!) on drums, Jim Hochanadel on the recorder, Gilles Losier on bass; Wayne Rose on slide dulcimer. It featured on the album, Pearl River Turnaround, privately pressed on Rawlings’ own label Cooking Fat Music in 1975.
Chris Rawlings is a Quebec-born singer-songwriter and folk musician.
Gary Lapow ~ Bamboo In The Wind
Lapow first began performing as part of the Washington Square folk music scene of the early 1960s. His first recording was on Folkways Records at the tender age of 16. During the Civil Rights era, Lapow toured with the SNCC Freedom Singers and recorded with the Red Star Singers in the 1970s.
Recorded in San Francisco ‘Bamboo In The Wind’ was written as a comforting gift to his father after the death of Gary’s mother. The song features Steve Erquiaga on acoustic and electric guitar, Rich Girard on bass, and Gary Lapow on vocals. It appears on Lapow’s debut album, Tell It From The Heart, which was released on his own Springhill Records label in 1982.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area Gary Lapow has been writing and performing for more than 50 years.
Summer Rain ~ Turn On Your Lovelight
Summer Rain formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK in 1973. The five musicians were from the local area and had known each other since the early 1960s. Carol White on lead vocals, Alan White on lead guitar and vocals, John Parslow on bass, keys and backing vocals, Tony Procter on rhythm guitar, bass and backing vocals, with Pete Mayhew on percussion.
‘Turn on your Lovelight’ was recorded at Acorn Studios Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, UK in the Summer of 1975. It was one of the tracks from the band’s first studio album, First Summer Rain, which was privately pressed and released the same year. The album featured three original tracks written by Alan White, ‘Turn On Your Lovelight’ was written for Alan’s wife Jennie.
Jennie Rylatt ~ Rainfall
‘Rainfall’ was recorded at Great American Music Machine (GRAMM), a studio in Denver, Colorado, situated across the street from a strip club. Jennie Rylatt made the 2-hour round trip at night from college to record. She had previously performed on several commercials recorded at the studio and got a deal to record during the studio’s slow time.
The song was written by a fellow student, Jo Kadlecek (now a famous author) is about the love and forgiveness of Jesus. Rylatt asked if she could record the song and her friend excitedly said yes. They were just kids. It was 1979 but for Rylatt the memory is as fresh as if it happened yesterday. She sat in the dimly lit studio alone with her guitar and got the song down in one take!
It features on Rylatt’s ten-track privately pressed debut album, A Dream And A Little Magic.
Lucy Kitchen ~ Olivia
Lucy Kitchen is a singer-songwriter from Hampshire, UK. ‘Olivia’ was recorded in August 2021 in the middle of a heatwave in a single day with Luke Oldfield engineering using vintage mics and the beautiful live space at Tilehouse Studios, the unique vintage recording studio originally built for Mike Oldfield in 1981. Lead vocal and electric guitar were recorded as a live performance with backing vocals overdubbed.
The song was written like a letter to a friend whose relationship was falling apart but one they did not want to leave. With analogue warmth and haunting vocal tone, it is released here on Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume Two for the first time.
Henry Parker ~ Prospect Of Wealth
Henry Parker is a British folk musician from Keighley, West Yorkshire. His song ‘Prospect Of Wealth’ is taken from his very hard-to-find eco-conscious debut album, Silent Spring, which was privately pressed in a run of just 239 copies and released in 2019.
‘Prospect Of Wealth’ was written in early 2017 and recorded in a basement studio at the house of producer David Crickmore. The name is borrowed from one of Parker’s key musical influences, Steve Tilston, who had a track titled ‘Prospect Of Love’ on his 1971 debut album, An Acoustic Confusion. The song is written from the point of view of wealth or money, addressing those who seek more than they need. The song features Theo Travis of Soft Machine / Porcupine Tree on flute, they met when Parker supported Soft Machine at The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge. With Henry Parker on vocals and acoustic guitar, Augustin Bousfield on double bass, Brendan Bache on percussion, and David Crickmore on Fender Rhodes. It was produced and engineered by David Crickmore and mastered by Neil Ferguson.
A devoted guitarist since childhood, Parker’s musical path led him to rock and heavy metal until at the age of 20 he found himself captivated by the ethereal beauty of Bert Jansch and Nick Drake. Soon finger-picking and open tunings became the essence of his sound. As a result of drawing deep from the well of the sixties and seventies revival, Parker creates a new sound for modern folk with a clear link between the past and the present. Parker spent the past 5 years playing headline concerts and supporting many of his musical heroes, including Michael Chapman, Wizz Jones and Bridget St John.
Henry Parker’s 2nd album, Lammas Fair, was released at the end of 2021 to much praise across the music press.
Findlay Brown ~ Teardrops Lost In The Rain(Stallions Remix)
Findlay Brown is a singer-songwriter and producer born in 1976 in York, England. His debut album, Separated By the Sea, was released in 2007 on Peacefrog Records and was produced by former Simian member Simon Lord. MOJO said the album “Set’s the benchmark for gorgeous troubadour folk”. His second solo album, Love Will Find You, was released in 2010 on Verve Forecast and produced by ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. ‘Teardrops Lost In The Rain’ originally appeared on this second solo album. Brown wanted to write a song that could fit on the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack (no coincidence that this is one of Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours’ favourite films).
Brown was a fan of Andrew ‘Lovefingers’ Hogge, a DJ/producer and the man behind ESP Institute. So when Brown’s manager told him there was a chance of Lovefingers remixing one of his songs, he was eager for it to happen. Andrew Hogge, working with Lee Douglas under the name ‘The Stallions’ was given ‘Teardrops Lost In The Rain’ to work their magic on. They ran with the soundtrack vibe taking it to another level adding their hypnotic space disco twist while still keeping the song’s melodic root.
‘Teardrops Lost In The Rain (Stallions Remix)’ made an appearance online, but inclusion here is the first official release and its debut on vinyl.
Harris & Crane Band ~ Change Is Me, Change Is You
The Harris and Crane Band was formed in early 1975 by Randy Harris and Dave Crane and consisted of Randy Harris on piano, Dave Crane on rhythm guitar, Al Simonsen on lead guitar, Woody Reppert on bass and Dennis Liszcz on drums. The band enjoyed regional success around Philadelphia, PA, USA.
‘Change is Me, Change is You’ was written about a young man reviewing his life and deciding that change was needed. It was recorded in 1976 at A & R Recording Studios, New York, NY. The studio of legendary producer Phil Ramone, who founded A & R Recording Inc. in 1958 with Jack Arnold. The single was released on the regional label FFO Records.
It was to be their only release, The Harris and Crane Band disbanded in early 1977 due to creative differences. music.
Frank Pyne and Loon Saloon ~ Waco
Frank Pyne was born in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. After leaving there in 1979 he moved to the U.S.A. and then Holland. Arriving in Heidelberg in 1981 on his way to somewhere he never left.
He began writing songs at the tender age of 12. Along with a school friend, they would compose instrumental pieces played on two acoustic guitars in church between meditative breaks in Mass, making the most of the atmospheric acoustics.
Pyne released his solo album, Sombrero Fallout, on the German label Casino Records in 1988. It was recorded at the Galgenberg Studios, Schwabbach, Germany.
In the late 1980s, the picturesque German town of Heidelberg was home to a burgeoning live music scene centred around a handful of live venues. One was ‘Gringos’, a Tex-Mex restaurant and music venue owned by Pyne. It was a favourite hangout for American soldiers, many of whom were musicians. It also played home to a host of exceptional local and international talent from all genres of music. Musicians would meet up, share songs and form bands. One formed was Loon Saloon, a momentary collaboration with Pyne and his nephews.
Loon Saloon went on to release two CDs on Pyne’s own label, The Campfire. Cosmic Campfire was released in 1996, and Field Trip, with a version of ‘Waco’ included, was released a year later in 1997.
Although not religious, Pyne was intrigued by cults whose charismatic leaders were followed unquestioningly. He wrote ‘Waco’ after watching the disastrous intervention by government forces who laid siege at a Branch Davidian compound in the Texas town. The song is written from the point of view of the cult leader David Koresh. It uses few words, repetition, and some menacing riffs. The version recorded with Loon Saloon features an unusual combination of instruments and includes a chilling middle section contributed by David Moufang (Move-D). It features Frank Pyne on guitar and vocals, Alan Pyne on keyboards and vocals, Morgan Pyne on pedal steel guitar, Geoff Brown on bass, Kiaus Pelzer on percussion, with David Moufang FX on chorus. It was recorded in 1995 by Rio Mario in the children’s bedroom of the Pyne family apartment situated above Gringos.
In 2005 Frank Pyne released a 50-track retrospective of songs titled, The Song Is King. He continues to write and perform music.
The B.B. Jackson Band ~ Theme IV “A Detective”
The B.B. Jackson Band were active in the 1970s and early 1980s in the Tri-State Area of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. They performed a unique mixture of satirical and improvisational blues, rock and jazz, setting themselves apart from the mainstream acts that dominated that period. The band consisted of Mike Burke on keyboard and organ, Jack Jeckot on guitar and synth, Christine Jeckot on percussion, Tom Boris on drums, with Frank Barbera on bass.
BBJ recorded one album, Midnight Writer, released on a short-run private pressing on their own Moon Pub label. Theme IV “A Detective” was recorded in January of 1978 in a small loft studio. Written by Jack Jeckot, it was one of the band’s many instrumentals and started life as an impromptu jam in the studio late one night after a long day of recording. The song title came from an audience member who noted the track sounded like the music from a 1960s detective show.
Cascada ~ Weepin’
One of the few ballads from the Latin band Cascada, ‘Weepin’ was recorded in the Spring of 1980 during an overnight session at Big Jo’s Studio in the North of Amsterdam with production by Alonso Cárdenas and Glenn Heyer. Cascada was a percussive band made up of musicians from various nations, from Uruguay to Morocco, the Antilles and The Netherlands. This track saw Ben van Bergen on conga, bongo, percussion, and vocals, Jaime Roos on bass, vocals, bombo, and Legüero, M. ‘Ayko’ Ahkrif on bongo, conga, and percussion, Alvaro Pasquet on guitar, Jose P. Carrasco on flute, vocals, percussion, and charango, Ronald Langestraat on keyboards, vocals, and soprano saxophone.
The track is taken from the band’s self-titled debut album released as a private pressing on their own Chambacú label. Unfortunately, it was to be their only release, the band disbanded after the departure of two of its members. It was a shame, Cascada was just reaching some prominence on the festival circuit and looked to be headed for success.
A few band members continued within the industry. Jaime Roos still continues his acclaim in the Latin music industry. Ronald Langestraat enjoys a lengthy career as a musician, releasing albums on the Amsterdam-based South of North label including; Searching (2018), Apollo (2019), and Light Years Away (2022).
Peter Campbell ~ Let Me Ride
Australian singer/songwriter Peter Campbell has been in the music business for over 50 years. His track ‘Let Me Ride’ came about in 1974 at the end of a fraught three months hurtling through Europe with a couple of guitars and the thrilling, if unsettling, sensation of being completely untethered for the first time. He wrote the song on his last night alone in Paris.
Recorded in Brisbane, Australia later that same year the track features Campbell on 12-string guitar, Gary Crees on electric guitar, Des Du Ploy on drums, Roger Hanlon on bass, with Peter, Gary, Lawrie Huxley and Doug Campbell providing harmonies. It was released on Campbell’s debut album, Of Time And Its Distance, in 1975 on the Australian label Trinity.
Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours
Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours – Volume One was released on RE:WARM records September 2022.
“An endlessly rewarding compendium of outsiders” 8/10
Terry Staunton / Uncut Magazine
“This is a universe of sound you’ll be glad you washed up in” 4 Stars
Hugh Dellar / Shindig! Magazine
Also crowned compilation of the week on Lauren Lavernes BBC 6 Music show. Tracks from the compilation have also featured on Gilles Peterson BBC 6 Music show.
Featured at No.5 in the Piccadilly Records END OF YEAR REVIEW 2022 / TOP 20 COMPILATIONS chart
Also features in Mr Bongo’s Best Of The Year 2022 chart
We Are The Children Of The Sun
Another of my compilations ‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’ was released April 2022 on BBE records. A lovingly handpicked musical excursion that takes in strummed soft rock, blissful beach beats, the soft fizz of electronica, all carried to your ears by a gentle summer breeze. It ranges from hazy, long-forgotten early 70s tapes, right through to digital compositions recorded during lockdown in 2020. Tune in and ruminate while consciousness is awoken with transmissions dropping out from the fringes of psyche tranquillity, holding hands with folk-funk that runs deep and hazy, as the bejewelled turquoise waters lap gently at the ocean’s shore
“One of the most emotionally uplifting and hazily beautiful compilations of recent years.” 8/10
Andrew Male MOJO Magazine
“INCREDIBLE! Every single song. It was sublime.”
Colleen Murphy Balearic Breakfast / Classic Album Sundays
“An exquisite selection of obscure private press folk funk and AOR lovingly hand picked and compiled by one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the field.”
Kev Beadle Mind Fluid / Focal Points
“Paul really is a trailblazer when it comes to this genre. With his never-ending and stupefying mixes over the years, I think it’s safe to say he’s the go-to guy for all things folk-funk. This compilation is a culmination of years of seriously deep digging and is something to be proud of. Congrats on a perfect selection. 10/10”
Danny McLewin Psychemagik
Featured at No.15 in the Piccadilly Records END OF YEAR REVIEW 2022 / TOP 20 COMPILATIONS chart.
Once Again We Are The Children Of the Sun
‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun’ was released n BBE records. in April 2023
https://orcd.co/onceagainchildren
Read more about the album here
For Cassady Bean and Cosmo Kesey, I love you with all my heart
Paul Hillery has had quite a golden run of critically acclaimed compilation releases over the past couple of years, including ‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’ and ‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun’. The former was hailed by MOJO as “one of the most emotionally uplifting and hazily beautiful compilations of recent years”. Paul also curated the full album re-issue projects of Will and James Ragar, Forest and Monica Rypma all for the much-beloved label BBE.
In addition to his crate digging and credible curatorial reputation, Paul is also renowned for providing information for sleeve notes and magazine articles. He has built long-standing relationships with overlooked and underrated musicians of the 60s, 70s and 80s, which deftly inspires his mission to give these troubadours the exposure they deserve. Paul has carried his record boxes to many a venue and festival playing alongside The Polyphonic Spree, Arthur Lee and Love, Bonnie Dobson, Spiritualized, 4 Hero, Happy Mondays, Simian, The Bees, Julian Cope, Courtney Pine and many, many more. He has also graced the turntables at Jazz Café, Spiritland, Refuge, Shepherds Bush Empire, Astoria, KoKo, Village Underground, Electric Ballroom, Forum, Festival No.6, Lunar Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Psychemagik’s Magik Forest and countless others. All the while continuing to supply guest mixes and commissions for the likes of Apple Music and radio stations here and far. There will also be another release in Paul’s other series, ‘We Are The Children Of The Setting Sun’, to look out for.
This compilation is the second in a planned series of releases that the curators hope you will come to treasure. Lovingly handpicked and released with the full support of all featured artists. Lost gems found on privately pressed obscurities, forgotten studio tapes, and hidden deep in digital folders waiting to be heard again. So tune in, turn on, drop the stylus and join RE:WARM and Paul Hillery on a ride through the vast and wonderful musical world of Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours.
Beatitudes and thank yous to: brother Bob Fletcher; Micky & Ali at Warm; Dave Philpot at Republic Of Music; all the artists and their families who helped with sleeve notes. Hugs to: Tony Higgins; Peter Adarkwah at BBE; Danny McLewin; Patrick Forge & Laura; AOR Disco’s Matthew Hamilton; Rhys Jones; Peter Beaver; Chris Maude & Fritz; James Clark; Les Fisher; Sie Norfolk; Richard Melay; Penny Carey; Nigel Pickford; ‘Geoff’ Cave; Christopher Todd Penn; Tim DeLaughter; Barnaby ‘Jah Shabby’ Harsent; Simon John Roberts & Juvenile 2000; Spinadisc Records; Asa Bricknell; Andy Pye; Alan McKinnon; Santi Oviedo; Mark GV Taylor; and friends on verygoodplus.co.uk
Blessings and virtual hugs to all the online supporters of my music. If I forgot to mention you, sorry.
Praise be; David Crosby, Terry Callier, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John, Ian Curtis, Matt Deighton, Ken Kesey and Albert Hofmann.
Paul Hillery, 2023
Music Is Love
All artwork on this page are owned by the artist who created them © No copyright infringement is intended – this post is for eductional uses only
“We Are The Children Of The Sun was brilliant and Once Again maintains the pace and quality.” Bill Brewster Mixmag
“Another incredible collection!” Max Essa Lone Star/Warp/Is It Balearic?
“This series, I really love it! The selections are so great, incredible!” Ken Hidaka Wax Poetics
“There’s some kind of Magick in here. Where does Paul find these sunny, hazy, lazy tunes of rare beauty?” Chris Coco The Chill Out Tent
“An exquisite selection compiled by one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the field.” Kev Beadle Mind Fluid / Focal Point
“A stunningly deep dive into music that has been overlooked by all but the most relentless of diggers.” Balearic Mike 1BTN Radio
Let us gather one more time on another journey through the rhythmic sands of time, traversing continents and genres one track at a time.
Taking in joyful places and wide-open spaces while dropping out to the musical pulse that unites us all.
An album to remind us that we are all made of stardust with more to connect than drive us apart, for . . .
Once Again We Are the Children of the Sun
‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun’compiled by Paul Hillery and released by BBE is available to purchase at this link
Will & James Ragar ~ As The Day Grows Tired
Once again we are on our musical journey and our first stop is the Crawfish Circuit that stretched from the Cajun country of Southern Louisiana to New Orleans.
With an acoustic guitar sound becoming very popular the brothers began adding more of their own compositions to their sets and a fondness for two part harmony evolved. The clean, rich tone of their handmade acoustic guitars allowed for dominating vocals to soar. The duo gained popularity and began supporting headline artists including Leon Russell, Stephen Stills and Taj Mahal. ‘As the Day Grows Tired’ was a favourite part of their constant flow of live shows during the mid ‘70s. The duo loved to stretch out guitar solos and improvise during their live sets trying new harmonic variations on their audiences. They recorded their self-titled album in 1980 at No Mountain Studios in Midland, Texas.
Forest ~ Crazy Days
New England is our next destination. The year 1971. From their inception there was no genre the band would not embrace. One of the main keys to their local popularity was the diversity of their sound, they were certainly not afraid to try new things.
‘Crazy Days’ appeared as the last song on Forest’s debut self-titled LP. Keyboardist Wes Talbot’s synthesizer and Fender Rhodes piano perfectly punctuates the melody along with the richness of Jim Lacaprucia’s counter phrasing on B-3 throughout. Anchoring and driving the song is the primo rhythm section of drummer, Bob (Rox) Girouard, drummer/percussionist Gary Stevens and bassist, Ward Allen who launched the groove to new heights. Augmented by Michael Hills’ lead guitar, the track provides a maximum backdrop for Gary Stevens’ silky, smooth and ultra-soulful vocal.
Cunningham Corner ~ Free And Easy
SWe are still in 1971, but Fort Collins, Colorado. Five guys were attending Colorado State University – Kevin Donnelly, songwriter/ lead vocalist/ guitarist, who is from Wilmette, Illinois. Scott Galbraith, songwriter/lead vocalist/ guitarist, who is from Montclair, New Jersey. Richard Lee, flute player/singer/music arranger, who is from Sacramento, California. Grant Morgan, 8-string bass guitarist, who is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and Gary Brittingham, conga drum player, who is from Kenilworth, Illinois.
They took their name from a farm built in 1880 which was located on the south side of Fort Collins, Colorado. Kevin Donnelly lived there in 1971. The band rehearsed in the barn at Cunningham Corner.
Their first live performance was on January 29, 1971, in Fort Collins, more gigs followed and that summer he band booked themselves into Paragon Studio, Chicago, Illinois. It was here four of their original compositions were recorded: ‘Brand New Day’, ‘Only Yesterday’, ‘Long Dirt Road”’ and ‘Free and Easy’. The original recording of ‘Free and Easy’ was released as a 45 rpm vinyl record by Crystal Records, Chicago. Due the length of the recording Crystal Records split the song into two parts We have joined those two parts and released it here on vinyl for the first time.
Cunningham Corner went on to play Doug Weston’s legendary Troubadour, West Hollywood twice and received a standing ovation on both occasions.
Wendy Grace ~ More Than Hope
Wendy was born in Sydney, Australia. She started playing guitar and writing songs in her teens. After leaving school she worked as a receptionist in a busy Sydney recording studio. Soon her musical talent was noticed and she began working as an in-house singer and musician. In 1975 she was offered a recording deal with Albert Music and recorded her first album ‘Backyard of Blue’. The album was full of original songs and featured many of Sydney’s top musicians, including members of the jazz/rock fusion band Crossfire.
‘More Than Hope’ was written in collaboration with her then partner, musician Don Reid (the original sax player in the band Crossfire). They worked on the song with Don at the piano in their rented cabin in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches. The song themes being the interconnectedness of all things and the need for personal development and for creating a more peaceful and sustainable world.
Wendy continues to make music from her home in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia.
Bengt Liedman ~ Tight Tonight
Over to a small, in fact, very small village in Sweden during the winter of 1963. It is here where Bengt Liedman was born. Growing up his love for music blossomed, he picked up a guitar and in his early teens he started to compose music.
In the early ‘80s and deep in the forest of south Sweden, Bengt and a friend, Hans Johansson, converted an old chicken house into a rehearsal/recording studio. When the work was finished Bengt started to compile some of his self composed songs into an album and the recording sessions began. Hans and Gunnar Muller were the sound technicians and Anders Rydholm was a multi-tasking musician and produced the album. The album was recorded in 1987 and the LP was released as the first production on the local independent label ‘Chicken Records’. ‘Tight Tonight’ is the opening track of the album.
Bengt has continued to write songs and doing performances in many different genres and in different bands ever since.
Corill ~ Soul Shadow
It was the mid to late 1980s in Cologne, Germany when long time school friends Khalid Hammoudi (bass), Matthias Kuntz (guitar) and brothers Thomas (guitar) and Detlev Schwabe (keyboards) decided to combine their individual talents and start writing and recording some original songs under the band name Corill. The favoured mostly instrumental songs which were characterized by a strong emphasis of harmony and rhythm, taking in various stylistic influences, such as funk, jazz, new age and rock, which the band combined into a pop-oriented sound.
A cultural relations department of a bank in Cologne decided to produce a rock album featuring ten songs by local amateur bands and issued a call for demo tapes. The name of the project was ‘Rock de Cologne’ and the demo’s chosen would be recorded in a professional studio and then compiled and released on vinyl. ‘Soul Shadow’ was selected as the only instrumental for the album. Now in a professional studio, the band was completed by drummer and percussionist Michael ‘Testa’ Maikowski, a friend and member of local band ‘The Innocent’. A series of concerts around Cologne was set up to promote the album and give the bands a chance to introduce themselves to the public.
Varela ~ Come And Take Me By The Hand
Now a stop over in 1980s New York, with a slight re-wind to 1977. ‘Come And Take Me By The Hand’ – a moody love/life song filled with bittersweet sentiments was written by Allen Varela in 1977 and made its recording debut on the first self-titled Varela LP, released in 1978. In 1980 the track would be re-recorded and added to Varela’s second LP – ‘A New Plateau’ – that is the version appearing on this compilation. Varela featured Allan Varela on acoustic guitar, bass and vocals, Kate Rotolo also on acoustic guitar, and vocals, Paul (Broke) Brokaw on keyboards with an array of session musicians added to the studio recording.
Just Us ~ Just A Thought
In 1977 Jeff Miller and some children of the sun formed a band, they called themselves Just Us. They soon moved out of Green Bay, Wisconsin to Los Angeles, California to seek their fame and fortune.
In their first year they managed to write and release an album, recorded in Hoyt Axton’s Garage Studio in Hollywood, California. ‘Just A Thought’ was the name of the LP and the title song which you’ll also find rehomed within this compilation.
Their entire album centered around the power of positive thought and energy from the sun. With the song itself a combination of human history and the promise of what could come from positive thought, purity of heart and a careful assessment of where we had come from and where we all could be heading in the future. The band had in mind solar energy and a positive concentration of the mind, where ideas could begin to blossom into our cosmos and the power of the sun could save the day. The bands cosmic paths have aligned once more and their new project ‘Now & Then’ is beginning to rise..
Mike Baumann & Thom Huntington ~ Time
We meet up with Mike and Thom for a return trip. ‘Time’ is re-discovered 40 years after its original release. It is the 4th tune from their album ‘Get a Grip’. Only a few hundred copies of the record were made, and many were lost to floodwaters while in storage.
Thom and Mike met as classmates in 1980 at Frostburg University in the Appalachian foothills of Western Maryland. They spent the summer living at the beach in Ocean City where they crafted much of the material for the album. Upon their return to Frostburg for the Fall semester, they began recording tracks at a studio owned by Mike Hounshell. Many local friends who were part of the Western Maryland music scene contributed their talents to the project.
‘Time’ was layered together piece-by-piece, using old-school tape overdubbing. Mike recorded the first track with a simple piano and vocal arrangement, that was accompanied by the expert drumming of Lloyd Yavener. Thom added bass and lead guitar. Kate and Anne McDonnell provided lush background vocals. Finally, a series of horn tracks were written and recorded, with Charlie Propper and Ron Grey on trombones, Mark Corbliss on trumpet, Vanessa Von Ault on tenor sax and Teressa Owens on the baritone sax. Perhaps the highlight of the song comes during the extended jam at the end, where Ron Grey, alias Mr. Bop, renders a soulful and epic trombone solo.
Darrell John ~ Write Your Lucky Number
Born and raised on a corn farm in Northern Illinois, Darrell John started playing guitar at age 5 after begging his Mom & Dad for one. There it appeared under the Christmas tree, a Sears catalogue 6 string, too big for young Darrell to wrap his arms around.
Taking lessons from small town guitar teacher called Frank Janson, who taught from his wheelchair, Darrell went down to a local music store and ordered a 3/4 size Harmony, a guitar he still owns to this day.
He started writing songs while in high school, and in the fall of his senior year he jumped on a Greyhound bus and headed down to Memphis to record a single, A & B side, at Style Wooten Productions, a studio owned by a giant of a man, standing six-foot-six and with a full, furry beard and a wax-tipped handle bar moustache.
Darrell moved on to Houston in 1977 where he was spotted by a local record producer from Ram Records and signed to record an album. The LP ‘It’s Taken Such a Long Time’ was pressed on a small run and it is beleived only a few copies have survived..
The Freeze Band ~ Going Back in Time
Formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1976.Tom Luxem, Lon Miller and Kim Dimmer had recently left the band Mongo and decided to form a new band. They added synth player Paul Christophanelli and Lon brought along his brother Dave to play lead guitar. Paul left soon as he had graduated from Arizona State University, so an ad was put out for a new keyboard player. Marty Schlemeier answered and The Freeze Band was formed.
The band played all over the Southwest and became very popular in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The song ‘Going Back in Time’ was composed to reflect the myriad of feelings a person goes through as they navigate their emotions entering into a sexual relationship.
Godspeed ~ Ice Cold
In 1968 the genesis of the band was formed at Bettendorf High School, Iowa. Starting out as a trio which featured Jim Scherer and Steve Couch they called themselves ‘Frank Allen’. In 1970 they joined up with Ted Schick and became Godspeed. ‘Ice Cold’ was part of a Godspeed album recorded in 1970 at Fredlo Recording Studio in Davenport, Iowa. Throughout its existence, the label and studio was owned and operated by husband and wife team Fredrick & Lois Mauck, who lived above the studio. The name Fredlo is a contraction of names Fred and Lois.
Unfortunately the whereabouts of the recorded album are unknown. One single exists which featured two of the album tracks ‘Ice Cold” and ‘Dedication – Goodbye’. ‘Ice Cold’ was written by Steve Couch who also played keyboards, lead vocal by ‘Doc’ Angazi, Ted Schick on guitar, Jim Scherer on drums and congas, and on bass was Minuh Nuo. The 45 got some play on the local radio station KSTT.
Fredlo Recording Studios ceased operation in 1976, with Fred returning to work as a film projectionist.
Steve Couch remains active in music from his home in Davenport, Iowa.
Orion ~ Moonshine
It’s the UK in 1987 for this one. The folk duo had just finished recording their debut LP ‘Jack Orion’ in Bristol’s Gypsy Studios. Dee mainly played guitar and sung, with Martin accompanying on violin, bass guitar and melodeon. They then drove the stereo master tape to the pressing-plant themselves.
Orion was first born in 1982. Dee Jarlett was an experienced singer on the UK folk scene and Martin Hanstead (now known as Martin Solomon) had just returned to Bristol after travelling with his fiddle through Europe, the Middle East and East Africa.
Orion remained together for about 14 years working hard touring folk clubs, UK folk festivals and the pub circuit. Martin and Dee still play together in several musical collaborations, including the band Swithin.
William Eaton Ensemble ~ Kayenta Crossing
The album ‘Tracks We Leave’ was conceived and created during several visits to the ‘Four Corners’ area that joins Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The immense beauty of this geography, its remote spaciousness,and dramatic landscapes inspired the album’s tunings and chordal harmonies. ‘Kayenta Crossing’ begins with a contemplative introduction, featuring William Eaton on 26 string guitar and accompanied by Rich Rodgers on Shakuhachi flute, that captures the austere presence of Monument Valley near Kayenta at sunset.
Kayenta is near the Arizona – Utah state borderline, but the more significant ephemeral border beyond the ‘more-than-human world’, is the ‘crossing’ into seen and unseen realities presented by the iconic spires and tower rock formations of Monument Valley. The rhythmic pulse of this piece, provided by Udi Arouh on Tablas, mirrors the ascending spiral flights of local crows riding the thermal wind currents, up into the evening sky, or a dimly lit café bar in Kayenta that is like a singular outpost rest stop, giving shelter before travelling north to remote and uncommon territories beyond the Arizona Utah border. The gourd shaker, played by Rich Rodgers, expresses the hope for rain as nightfall descends.
William Eaton continues to make music and is the director of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
The Greg Foat Group feat. Kat Barnard ~ Milk And Honey
Touching down in the present day for ‘Milk and Honey’. Although originally recorded by Jackson C Frank in 1965 this version features the vocal talents of Kat Barnard, who is a folk singer from Niton on the Isle of Wight. Greg Foat is one of the UK’s leading jazz pianists, composers and music producers. A versatile mainstay of the UK jazz scene he moves seemlessly from soul-jazz workouts, to cinematic haunting compositions, on to library music and pastoral acid folk.
Aria Rostami ~ Golden Hour
We are off to Brooklyn, USA. Planning to get married on June 12th 2020 everything was turned upside down as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With wedding cancelled Aria and his fiancé took a small road trip instead. Taking the time to listen to a lot of acoustic guitar based music in the car. The trip included a stop in Acra, New York, where they stayed by the forest.
It had been a few years since Aria owned a guitar and he had the itch to play one again. On returning to Brooklyn a new guitar and a handful of different flutes were purchased. The result of lockdown is his album ‘Acra’, it echoes the sounds and feelings of their faux Honeymoon road trip. It was recorded at home while quarantining and if you listen carefully you can hear their home life quietly in the background as cupboards open and close.
Originally released in a limited run of 100 cassettes it appears here on vinyl for the first time.
Bugatti & Musker ~ Fate (Demo)
Dominic Bugatti and Frank Musker are British songwriters with a long list of credits.
In 1981 April Music released a limited pressing promo album of their songs. The album was a well kept industry secret for many years and included the original demo of ‘Fate’, with Dominic and Frank playing all the instruments and self-producing.
‘Fate’ was later developed on their 5-star jazz/R&B album ‘The Dukes’, produced by Arif Mardin, (Bee Gees, George Benson, Norah Jones) with musicians from Toto and other top session players providing support. Their song ‘Mystery Girl’ from that album was a top 40 hit in the UK, and remains a rare groove DJ favourite. ‘Fate’ went on to be covered by Chaka Khan and then sampled by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk to become ‘Music Sounds Better With You’. We have included the rare and original collectors’ demo version of ‘Fate’ for your pleasure on this compilation.
Garth Fletcher ~ Peace Train
In 1979 the album ‘Songs… It’s Serious’ was released. The album contained 8 tracks by Garth Fletcher including the album’s climax ‘Peace Train’. It was recorded at Music Designers recording studios, Boston, USA.
Mark Capanni ~ If Life Was A Ferris Wheel
Born in Seattle to a Japanese father and an Italian mother, his parents separating when he was 8. Mark moved to Los Angeles, California with his Mom and brother. He relished in the LA music scene, living just a few blocks from Laurel Canyon.
In his early twenties, with guitar in hand, he backpacked throughout Europe. In Rome he met a young lady from England, they spent a week together and fell in love. She went back to England, and Mark wrote ‘If Life Was A Ferris Wheel’ reminiscing about their short time together. Returning from his European road trip he started playing in small local clubs and an A&R guy recommended he meet with Al Coury, the vice president and A&R executive head of Capitol Records. The meeting went so well that Coury signed Mark on the spot. Recording started and two promo singles were produced for Capitol. But after being bypassed for the presidency Coury left Capitol to join Robert Stigwood and establish RSO Records. The new interim president at Capitol didn’t want anything to do with Coury’s signings and Mark was lost in the shuffle and his singles were never commercially released. The Jackson Sister had some success with the Capanni penned ‘I Believe In Miracles’. He now runs Marco’s, a small trattoria in West Hollywood.
See the artwork for the compilation by following this link
Gather together beneath the sun as we journey through the rhythmic sands of time, Paul Hillery, an esteemed collector and vinyl hunter, presents his follow-up to the highly acclaimed ‘We Are The Children Of The Sun‘. Andrew Male of MOJO Magazine calls the album “One of the most emotionally uplifting and hazily beautiful compilations of recent years.”
“Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun” is a shimmering collection of rare finds, reminding us that we have more to connect us than to divide us. The music encompasses a broad range of sounds, starting in Cajun country with Will & James Ragar, their handmade acoustic guitars allowing for soaring vocals. Along with many of the tracks featured on this compilation, “As the Day Grows Tired” is reissued on vinyl for the first time.
Experience the previously unreleased cover of “Milk and Honey” featuring Kat Barnard and Greg Foat, a versatile mainstay of the UK jazz scene. Discover the first-ever vinyl release of “Kayenta Crossing” by William Eaton Ensemble, capturing the austere presence of Monument Valley. Immerse yourself in Wendy Grace’s jazz-folk masterpiece “More Than Hope” and the acoustic ambience of “Golden Hour” by Aria Rostami.
Paul Hillery and BBE present a compilation of styles and genres, fusing together to make private press wants accessible as a springboard for further listening pleasures. “Once Again We Are the Children of the Sun” is an eclectic selection mixing styles, year and tempo, painstakingly gathered and presented with a great deal of love.
Another of my curated compilation series ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours – Volume One’ will be released on RE:WARM records September 2022
For Cassady Bean and Cosmo Kesey
Records handpicked by Paul Hillery; a heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope, an unenlightened one. Father, friend, vinyl hunter and curator at Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours.
Special thanks to; my mentor Tony Higgins without whom this journey would not have set sail, brother Bob Fletcher who has been my rock. Hugs to; Pete Adarkwah, Julia & Jeff at BBE. Frank Merritt & Angela at The Carvery Studio. Jodie Cox at KPL. Andrew Male, Barnaby Harsent, Matthew Hamilton, Alan McKinnon, Peter Beaver, Micky & Ali at Warm, Patrick Forge & Laura Coxeter-Forge, Chris Maude & Fritz, Christian McBride, Kevin Beadle, Balearic Mike, Sie Norfolk, Rhys Jones, James Clark, Simon John Roberts, Richard Melay, Nigel Pickford, ‘Geoff’ Cave, Asa Bricknell, Santi Oviedo, Danny McLewin, Brandon at Séance Centre, Basso at Growing Bin, Cyril at Holywax, Bruno at Perfect Lives, Martin at WIWWG
If I forgot you I’m sorry, I’ll add you next time.
Praise be; David Crosby, Terry Callier, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John, Ian Curtis, Matt Deighton, Ken Kesey and Albert Hofmann.
Big hugs to the artists who agreed to be part of this wonderful release. Music is love….
Music Is Love
All artwork on this page are owned by the artist who created them © No copyright infringement is intended – this post is for eductional uses only
So… I started doing these all female folk funk complations sometime back and rather than do separate posts for each one I thought I would make it easy and stick them all on the same page.
Over the last 10 years or so I have uploaded 113 Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours mixes. I have tried hard not to repeat any of the tracks, so that’s over 1500 songs! I have picked out a few of my favourites that have a little bit of soul. It is what I call the Soul Of Folk Funk.
They are up on Mixcloud but I thought I’d group them all here just for you x
Soul Of Folk Funk track list
Marsha | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 1
Marvin | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 2
Minnie | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 3
Terry | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 4
Pena | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 5
Bobbi | Soul Of Folk Funk Vol 6
RE:WARM Records are more than delighted to announce a collaborative release between the label and Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours’ main man Paul Hillery.
… claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, and in Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week…
Known in collectors’ circles for his deep digging antics & his immersive mix series on his blog, Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. Paul has gained a reputation as the go-to man for many compilers and labels for information pretty much unavailable anywhere on the net. He’s built long-standing relationships with many lost and forgotten artists and is on a mission to give these guys the exposure he believes they deserve. Paul is a very well-respected collector of private press obscurities, lost loner folk, strange musical fauna and intricately played floral powered wonders.
For Volume One in the series, Paul has compiled 19 tracks that represent the journey he’s been on with the Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours sound to date. There’s music here that has never seen the light of day, demo versions that never made the cut, new exclusive material and beloved classics from the FFTT Vaults. The compilation is a sonic landscape of Canyon Rock, Hot Tub Soul, Frisco Folk, Balearic Breeze & Trippy Troubadourial Treasures all lovingly handpicked for the series.
So what is this ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours’ thing anyway? It’s tricky to put a finger on. Folk-funk has been around for a while, it’s a groove that sounds like it has one leg shorter than the other, let’s call it a funky limp. ‘Feel The Spirit’ by Heaven & Earth, ‘Taking So Long’ by Kathy Smith, ‘Mountain Song’ by Penny Nichols, and ‘Woodenships’ by Christine Harwood are all great places to start. ‘& Trippy Troubadours’ was added to give a little wiggle room from the genre police and incorporates things as disparate as private lost loner folk to modern singer-songwriters that ooze with just the right feeling.
All tracks handpicked by Paul Hillery; a heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope an unenlightened one. Father, friend, vinyl hunter and curator at Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. pH has carried his record boxes to many a venue and played alongside The Polyphonic Spree, Arthur Lee & Love, Bonnie Dobson, Spiritualized, 4 Hero, Happy Mondays, Simian, The Bees, Julian Cope, Courtney Pine and many, many, more. He has also graced the turning tables at Spiritland, Refuge, Festival No.6, Lunar Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Psychemagik’s Magik Forest and supplied guest mixes broadcast on stations all over the globe.
‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume One’compiled by Paul Hillery and released by RE:WARM is available to purchase at this link
Duncan Pryce Kirk ~ Space Out
Duncan Pryce Kirk was a much-loved musician from Richland, Washington. He was well known and respected throughout the Tri-Cities music scene. ‘Space Out’ is taken from his only album ‘Journey To Beyond’ released in 1982. A multi-instrumentalist, Duncan Pryce Kirk was on vocal duties, acoustic, electric and twelve-string guitar, synthesizer, string machine, and keyboard. Backed with John Plows on percussion, the engineer was Dave Carpenter and the album mixed by Tom Fortier. It was recorded at Music Machine Studio, Kennewick, Washington State.
Duncan is survived by his daughter, Phoebe.
Eik ~ Mr Sadness
‘Mr Sadness’ is the flip of ‘Hotel Garbage Can’ a 1975 Icelandic single released on Demant. Eik featured Lárus Grímsson on flute, Sigurður K. Sigurðsson on vocals, Þorsteinn Magnússon on guitar, Haraldur Þorsteinsson on bass, Ólafur Sigurðsson on drums, Sigurður Long on Saxophone and Berglind Bjarnadóttir, Helga Steinson, Janis Carol on backing vocals. An Icelandic funk fusion band with a definite progressive-leaning.
Releasing two albums; the privately pressed ‘Speglun’ (1976) and a follow-up ‘Hríslan Og Straumurinn’ (1977) on the Icelandic label Steinar.
Joe Hall & Eyeball Wine Company ~ Moveable Feast
Joe Hall was born Hans Joachim Boenke; May 15, 1947, in Wuppertal, Germany. His family moved to America to flee post-war Germany settling in Ontario, Canada. A gifted musician, Joe began performing at coffee shops and with local bands. By the early ‘70s, Joe had begun performing and touring as Joe Hall and The Eyeball Wine Company. A fixture on the Toronto music scene for over 40 years, Hall called Peterborough, Ontario his home. A highly regarded and inspirational musician, a true original, whose sharp wit, insightful social commentary, and wildly entertaining stage presence made him one of Canada’s legendary folk-rockers.
‘Moveable Feast’ was originally featured on the 1972 private press compilation produced in association with the ACME Sausage Company radio show on CKUA. Joe Hall & The Eyeball Wine Company featured Joe, along with Roger Brant on bass and vocals, George Dobo on lead guitar, and session musician Richard Hart on saxophone.
Christian Besa Wright ~ Cherry Blossom Oak
Christian is a DIY producer/songwriter from Hawaii. ‘Cherry Blossom Oak’ was written and recorded in 2017 as an assignment for an Asian-American History course and released independently in March 2018. Initially inspired by an article concerning the experience of mixed-race contestants in Japanese ‘Cherry Blossom’ beauty pageants the song explores a complicated dynamic of cultural assimilation experienced by second-generation immigrants. Written and tracked in a single night, the song features slide guitar, fingerpicked nylon string guitar, bass, baby grand piano, programmed drums and double-tracked vocals. The result is an intimate bedroom recording.
Wendy Grose ~ Blue Sunny Sky Day
Wendy Grose (now Wendy Grace) originally played piano and flute but fell in love with the guitar aged 15 after listening to her brother learning to play. Wendy began guitar lessons, learning to play on a 12 string guitar. She played intricate Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tunes until she had very strong fingers. She performed in folk clubs around Sydney, Australia. Starting work at Clover Recording Studios, where she was originally assigned to reception work, Wendy’s talent was soon recognised, and she began to work as a session/studio singer and guitar player.
She was given a recording contract with Albert Music. ‘Blue Sunny Sky Day’ is a track from her first album Backyard of Blue, recorded at Albert Studios in Sydney, Australia in 1975 when she was just 19.
Wendy continued to release music and now lives in the Tweed Valley, surrounded by the spectacular beaches of New South Wales, Australia. She runs popular singing workshops and weekly singing groups.
Ruth Finlay ~ Deep Calls To Deep
Ruth Finlay was born and raised in Birchcliff Village in Toronto. At the age of six, she began her music studies on piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. Ruth studied flute, music theory, and guitar. She sang in several folk groups as a teenager.
Music eventually introduced her to many opportunities to travel to various countries of the world with Shekinah, a Christian performing arts company. She toured England, Holland, and travelled with the group to North America before joining them for almost a year in Israel. While in Israel she studied flute with the first-chair flautist of the Jerusalem Symphony – Hanoch Tel Oren.
Ruth produced her first album of original songs at age 22. ‘Awake North Wind’ was created at the Master’s Workshop with co-producer Doug J McKenzie. She worked as a singer/dancer/actress in the repertory theatre troupe ‘The Inner Stage’ from the age of 23 to the age of 25 and at 26 joined Merv and Merla in Israel. After returning home she continued to write music and study with voice teachers in her hometown of Toronto while studying music and drama at U of Toronto.
‘Deep Calls To Deep’ is a track taken from Finlay’s album ‘The Borderlands’ originally released on her own record label, Jesse Records in 1999. Ruth co-produced the album with Paul LaChapell at Quest Recording Studio, Oshawa, Ontario. Inspired by inner reflections and hopes for humanity and enhanced by the performances of master flautist Ron Korb, guitarist Ray Hickey Jr., bassist Steve Lucas, drummer Larry Crowe, cellist Daniel Domb, (from the Toronto Symphony) keyboardist John Cleveland Hughes, (Ruth’s brother), and blues guitarist Buzz Upshaw.
Finlay has had a long and consistent music career collaborating with many musicians as well as performing in more than 2,000 concerts. She has completed and released altogether 13 albums. Ruth continues to write
and record her original music as well as teach her music students of all ages to develop their music skills and share their music with others.
Will & James Ragar ~ Clouds Lift
The first time James Ragar remembers hearing his older brother perform was in Lafayette, Louisiana. Will was the singer alongside the American blues musician Sonny Landreth, who was backed by his original trio. Sonny, known for his slide guitar technique, was also from Southwest Louisiana.
Will & James Ragar started playing rock and roll in clubs on the Crawfish Circuit, a string of venues that stretched from the Cajun country of Southern Louisiana to New Orleans. But the tide was turning. The acoustic sound of the ‘70s provided the brothers with even more venues and a songbook of contemporary singer-songwriters. Slowly, they began adding their own songs to their sets. These original songs gained popularity.
They began a series of performances opening for headline artists, including Stephen Stills, Leon Russell, and Taj Mahal. They also began touring throughout Texas, showcasing at the Kerrville Folk Festival.
It was Spring of 1980, and the grasslands of the old houses in the garden district of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were lush and filled with flowers. James Ragar sat amongst the beauty and focused on the sounds he
could hear and began to compose the first draft of ‘Clouds Lift’.
In 2016 James picked up the song again, recording it using acoustic guitars and vintage microphones to create an original old-school sound. It can be heard for the first time here on ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume One’.
Scott Seskind ~ I Wonder
Taken from Scott Seskind’s 1985 self-titled, privately pressed lo-fi folk album filled with melodically haunting, existential woes, political angst, and love. Recorded at home in LA on a Tascam 4-Track Portastudio cassette. The session was captured in the broom closet of childhood friend and fellow songwriter Chris Hickey, who also adds backing vocals and percussion (hear the scissors?).
Scott reports feeling as desperate and divided today as he did when he wrote the song, which he describes as a mix of worried self-reflection, social criticism and sexual innuendo.
Seskind continues to live in Boulder, Colorado with wife Julie, who he
sings of in this song, but she has somehow gone from 17 to 55 and they now have two adult children and three grandchildren.
A recently published bio of Scott in the underground music zine ‘Ugly Things’ can be found at seskind.com
Tim McKenna ~ Where Are You?
’Where Are You?’ is from the single released in 1971 on Eric Wrobbel’s Distortion imprint. Tim plays and sings everything you hear, with the exception of woodblock and triangle.
Tim McKenna met classmate Eric Wrobbel at high school in Pontiac, Michigan. Wrobbel who, in 1969 at the tender age of 15, founded Distortion Records, released several records under his own name and also with the Moonshine Forestry Outfit. McKenna was intrigued with the records Wrobbel was making and wanted to record his own songs.
‘Where Are You?’ was recorded in four tracks on March 30 and 31, 1971. The first track was rhythm guitar and lead vocal, the second was organ. The sound was achieved by recording late at night in a large, empty church. The next day two more tracks were recorded in Wrobbel’s bedroom, grandiosely dubbed Distortion Recording Studio A. On track three Tim played lead guitar and Eric played the aforementioned woodblock & triangle. Track four was a second vocal part by Tim, the result is a remarkable vocal fullness achieved with just two vocal layers.
Wrobbel recalls that at the Distortion session, Tim spent a lot of the time on the studio’s phone, talking plaintively to a certain Rhonda, for whom he apparently ‘had it bad’ but whose father disapproved of Tim. The result was a pretty forlorn-looking Tim, and at that session, he sang as he looked on a wild ride of teenage emotion. ‘Where Are You?’ is taken from the 45 rpm single (Distortion DS45-012-B). Produced by Eric Wrobbel. This recording was digitized from the original master tape in 2015 under the supervision of Mr Wrobbel. Tim McKenna is no longer with us, passing in 2011.
Jeb Loy Nichols ~ Sweet Sweet Stay Awhile
Born in Wyoming and raised in Missouri listening to bluegrass and country music. Later, his nocturnal radio adventures helped him fall in love with southern soul.
At fifteen Jeb Loy Nichols heard his first punk record and he was changed for good. In 1979 at 17 he received a scholarship to art school in New York. Dubbed ‘Fear City’ it was gritty, street-smart and a hotplate of new ideas. Punk was over but hip-hop was starting and Nichols became obsessed with this new musical expression. His first recording, in 1980, was an unreleased rap song called ‘I’m A Country Boy’.
In 1981 he visited friends in London and found himself living in a squat with Ari Up (from the Slits), Neneh Cherry and Adrian Sherwood, who put Jeb to work moving boxes of records across London. Sherwood and his complete disregard for genre purity have been one of Nichols biggest influences.
‘Sweet Sweet Stay Awhile’ was recorded around 2000, Jeb Loy – “I wrote what I thought was a country song and imagined it having steel guitars and fiddles. When we got into the studio everything changed. I was working with the great bass player Wayne Nunes, who played with African Head Charge and Tricky, and he brought a new feel to it. It started to morph into something I hadn’t expected.”
The track also features the backing vocals of the talented Loraine Morley, and was cut in a fast creative session and then, when finished, they had no idea what to do with the hybrid of British folk, American country, Caribbean bass, electronica and hip-hop. It sat around for 20 years before finally being released here.
Nichols is an American living on a remote Welsh smallholding. Dubbed ‘The high priest of country cool’ by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Gary Boyle ~ So Many Times Before
‘So Many Times Before’ is the only vocal track on the ‘Step Out’ album, originally released in 1980, and has Boyle on vocal duties.
Recorded and mixed in Copenhagen during the summer of 1980 with Gary’s English band: Gary Boyle on Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, and Vocals, Gary Culshaw on Bass, Graham Dean on Drums, Paul Birchall on keyboards and the session also included prominent Scandinavian guests, such as Stefan Nilsson performing the Prophet 5 solo and Jakob Andersen on Percussion on So Many Times Before. The album featured Janne Schaffer on Guitar, and the flautist Björn J:son Lind, and Martin Levan on both engineering duties and production.
Gary Boyle joined Brian Auger’s Trinity in 1967 and he continues to play with Brian Auger. He is also a session musician and continues to release his own solo material.
Peter Wale ~ One Quiet Sultry Sunday
Originally on Peter Wale’s privately pressed 1972 album ‘The Memoirs Of Hakeford Wart (Goodbye Cape Town)’. ‘One Quiet Sultry Sunday’ was hatched during an impromptu collaboration with guitarist, Allan Faull, in the shadow of the Rhodes Monument on the lower slopes of Table Mountain.
Formerly the leader of the short-lived South African band Wakeford Hart, who had been active in the local underground rock scene in the early ‘70s. Peter continued to play with other musicians and as a solo artist, gradually growing dissatisfied with his local music scene and decided that he wanted to travel and experience the world.
In late 1971, Peter joined the crew on a yacht voyage planning to sail from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. But before departing on his ocean voyage Peter decided to do one more concert with his friends and the live set was recorded. It was then pressed on a very limited vinyl run of fewer than 200 copies. The original album featured four songs out of the fourteen recorded. Unfortunately, few were actually sold and it’s thought fewer than ten copies survive.
During the 39-day voyage, the yacht was capsized, it was a close call. The original plan was to return to Cape Town after a sojourn in Brazil but, out from under the shadow of Apartheid, the lure of bigger ambitions grew strong for Peter and he continued to travel.
In 2010, now living in Seattle, Peter got word from South Africa. Robert Gush had come across the original master tapes of the whole 1972 concert and he could transfer the masters to digital. Peter was approached by Jason Connoy of Strawberry Rain Music, Toronto. A 3 LP expanded reissue was planned featuring all fourteen. It took five years to come to fruition, finally released in 2019.
Peter is still as engaged in the art of songwriting and lives with Rachel in an abandoned cafe in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon.
Sorahan ~ With His Siller In His Hand
Tom Sorahan formed the band Sorahan in 1974 based in the West Midlands. The band had several line-up changes over the next three years, performing up and down the UK’s pub and college circuit.
Tom borrowed the lyrics to the first verse of ‘With his Siller in his Hand’ from a Northumbrian folk song. Recorded by the band’s original line-up during the session at ZELI A Studios, Birmingham the 45 was produced by Steve Bywaters (of London based punk ensemble Running Sores) and released in 1975 on the bands’ own ‘Sorahan’ label.
In 1978 Tom Sorahan signed a recording contract with Pye and released the album ‘I’ve Seen The View, You Can Take Me Back Now’.
Cindi Titzer ~ All For You
Cindi grew up just north of Houma, Louisiana about 60 miles south of New Orleans. She had dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She began playing Uke at age 7, which led to playing the guitar by age 11, and by 15 she was writing songs. At 18 she moved to New Orleans to pursue ballet and began singing in the local music clubs. Playing several nights a week she travelled from New Orleans to Lafayette and Baton Rouge.
In 1975 she was approached by musician Don Hull, who suggested that they make an album of Cindi’s songs. Don had recently moved to New Orleans from L.A. after working with Jackie Mills (owner of Larrabee Sound) as a songwriter. He had purchased a 3340S 4 track TEAC and his intention was to start his own studio in New Orleans. Cindi was performing regularly travelling to L.A. and San Francisco and the album took 5 years to finish, eventually released in the Spring of 1980.
Cindi moved to Laguna Beach, California in 1983. By then the music scene was shifting toward New Wave and Punk and most clubs were not using solo artists. But she played often at ski resorts and music clubs in the Sierra foothills along hi-way 49.
Over the past 30 years, she continued to play music with some wonderful musicians. Recently retired and now a Grandmother she lives in Mt. Shasta, Ca.
Smokey ~ Topaz
John ‘Smokey’ Condon grew up in Baltimore immersed in the counter-culture of the ‘60s. He lived above a nightclub as a teen and partied in the legendary John Waters scene. He sang in local groups and became involved in activism, protesting the Vietnam War, marching with civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, and fighting for gay rights at the Stonewall riots in New York City.
He hung out with the Doors’ road manager Vince Treanor and accompanied the band to the 1970 Isle of Wight festival, where he was exposed to the Who, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He soon moved into Treanor’s house in the Hollywood Hills and was introduced to record producer EJ Emmons. Emmons was co-producing with sunshine pop mastermind Curt Boettcher. The music Smokey and Emmons would produce would be very different. The first single ‘Leather’ b/w ‘Miss Ray’, was released in 1974. It examined America’s gay underground leather and drag scenes.
Using Emmons’ industry contacts the single was shopped around to labels. But doors were routinely slammed on the duo. As a result, Smokey went on to form his own imprint, S&M Records. Five singles were released. ‘Topaz’ being the third, originally b/w ‘Topanga’, it was released in 1976 and then re-issued in 1978 b/w with a new track ‘Ballad Of Butchie & Claudine’.
In 2015 a retrospective of Smokey’s work, transferred and restored from the original master tapes by Emmons, and titled ‘How Far Will You Go? – The S&M Recordings 1973-81’, was released by the Australian label Chapter Music. The album tracks featured cameos by Stooges guitarist James Williamson and Ozzy Osbourne cohort Randy Rhoads.
Geoff Bartley ~ Don’t Want To Know About Evil
Bartley abandoned the clarinet and began playing acoustic guitar in 1963. His influences are all-over-the-map from Bessie Smith to Dave Van Ronk, John Martyn to Nic Jones, Ray Charles to Mose Allison, Joni Mitchell to Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen to Bruce Cockburn. Primary influences are early Bob Dylan and Texas blues singer, Lightnin’ Sam Hopkins. Bartley won four guitars at the National Fingerpicking Championships in Winfield, Kansas.
Recorded in 1983 this track appears on ‘Blues Beneath the Surface’ self pressed in 1984 on Bartley’s own label ‘Magic Crow Records’. The song is played on acoustic guitar (in drop D tuning) and vocal recorded live, chromatic harmonica was overdubbed by ‘Wildman’ Mike Turk, upright bass was overdubbed by Tim Wells. The cover photo was taken by Kari Estrin, Kari Estrin Management and Consulting in Nashville, TN.
Geoff Bartley has released eleven full-length recordings since ‘Blues Beneath the Surface’ and has composed and recorded instrumental music for the German library label Sonoton. With instrumentals used on the History Channel, Animal Planet, A&E, The Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, NOVA and Nature on PBS, in documentary and commercial films, and in private and commercial advertising in the US and elsewhere.
He continues to play live almost exclusively in southern New England and actively supports his local music scene.
Robin Woodland ~ One Golden Moment
In 1978, aged 23, Robin Woodland was already a musician, a community organiser, a rock climber, an organic farmer, an educator, and a wilderness trip leader. He was now launching a recording studio. Melon Studio was one of the first alternative (cheap!) music recording studios in San Francisco. The first album produced at Melon was a benefit record for a high school environmental education program. Kids did internships as engineers in the studio, did all the cover art and helped raise the money for the pressings, and even sold the albums.
In Robin’s own words – a completely impractical fundraising plan,
but a rich and rewarding learning experience.
‘One Golden Moment’ was the title track of the album released in 1978. It was written in a moment of solitude while witnessing the sunrise in the wild beauty of the High Sierras, California. Robin Woodland – a pure song. I wasn’t trying to create a catchy tune. I was having an experience of my heart being opened by love.
Richard Pass ~ We’ll Find Love
Richard Pahigian (Pass) was born in 1946, in Worcester, Massachusetts. His earliest years were spent living with his mother and brother in his grandmother’s apartment while his father was away in the service.
Always creative, Richard had begun putting lyrics to music at an early age. As he grew older he performed at local venues, including joining several Polka bands and playing at weddings. On a sunny day at the beach in Cape Cod, 1968, Richard casually sings and plays the guitar. He was approached by a musician who was spending the summer working at ‘Your Father’s Mustache’, which was a popular local venue. He told Richard he liked what he heard. His connections resulted in Richard travelling to Chicago to meet with Cherry Records.
Richard Pahigian had written ‘We’ll Find Love’ during a quick burst of creativity. The label suggested a name change to Richard Pass and a 45 was released with ‘A World All Of Our Own’ on the flip. Soon after release the Cherry Records producer Richard had been working moved to the West Coast and their connection faded.
Through 1968 and 1969 Richard was performing more, including venues around Hyannis Port, MA. He got a regular gig at the ‘Improper Bostonian’ a venue already popular on the college music scene. After playing at the vebue for a while, Richard became concerned that he had not been paid. Asking management to look into this they found many cheques mailed to Richard Pass. They had been returned to sender as Richards postman knew him only as Pahigian. As summer was rapidly approaching Richard was hired to perform at ‘Your Father’s Mustache. Here he met John Delorenzo, who approached the young singer and told him that he had more connections. Richard had a new agent and gigs in New York City.
Moving to the Big Apple he started a residency at ‘Adam’s Rib Pub’. A group of jingle writers had started to come regularly to hear his music. They took Richard under their wing and shared his dream of landing a recording contract and finding success. Richard enjoyed the summer of music but headed back home. Richard worked as a teacher but would return to New York City on vacation weeks. Knocking on the doors of music publishers and A&R people to ask if they would give his songs a listen. But the big time was always just out of reach, leaving Richard with a back catalogue of beautiful but unreleased songs.
Richard lives with his wife Catherine, in Charlton, Massachusetts, a small rural town outside of Worcester with their little dog, Peanut.
Kip Carmen ~ That’s Enough For Me
Kip Carmen is an R&B and soul musician out of Long Island, New York. His music career has lasted over thirty years, highlights include recording at Royal Studios in Memphis for Hi Records in the 1970s. Collaborating frequently with the great Cornell Dupree and Jimmy Allen Smith from Stuff. And opening for Albert King, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Cotton, and many more.
After serving in the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, and after being given an honourable discharge from the United States Army, in 1970, Kip put together a local band and started performing. He wrote ‘That’s Enough For Me’ in the early 1970s. It was recorded by Compass for a 45 on True Love Records, and by Kip himself in 1973 for a 45 on Queen Bee records. This record receives big responses from audiences across the country, including in Memphis, Tennessee. As a result, in July 1974, Kip received an offer to record some demos for Hi Records at Royal Recording Studios. The version featured here was recorded during that demo session. With Kip Carmen on vocals and guitar, his rhythm section from Long Island, New York featured; Ben Ninmann on Hammond Organ and Fender Rhodes Key Bass, Mark Ryan on Guitar, and Jim Walker on Drums. In 1974 Hi Records released another 45 from this session – ‘Macon Woman Blues’, on their subsidiary label Mach Records.
See the artwork for the compilation by clicking on the image
Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours – Volume One was released on RE:WARM records September 2022.
“An endlessly rewarding compendium of outsiders” 8/10
Terry Staunton / Uncut Magazine
“This is a universe of sound you’ll be glad you washed up in” 4 Stars
Hugh Dellar / Shindig! Magazine
Also crowned compilation of the week on Lauren Lavernes BBC 6 Music show. Tracks from the compilation have also featured on Gilles Peterson BBC 6 Music show.
Features at No.5 in the Piccadilly Records END OF YEAR REVIEW 2022 / TOP 20 COMPILATIONS chart.
Also features in Mr Bongo’s Best Of The Year 2022 chart.
–
Volume Two will be released in September 2023
See the artwork for the compilation by clicking on the image
Another of my compilations ‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’ was released April 2022 on BBE records. A lovingly handpicked musical excursion that takes in strummed soft rock, blissful beach beats, the soft fizz of electronica, all carried to your ears by a gentle summer breeze. It ranges from hazy, long-forgotten early 70s tapes, right through to digital compositions recorded during lockdown in 2020. Tune in and ruminate while consciousness is awoken with transmissions dropping out from the fringes of psyche tranquillity, holding hands with folk-funk that runs deep and hazy, as the bejewelled turquoise waters lap gently at the ocean’s shore
“One of the most emotionally uplifting and hazily beautiful compilations of recent years.” 8/10
Andrew Male MOJO Magazine
“INCREDIBLE! Every single song. It was sublime.”
Colleen Murphy Balearic Breakfast / Classic Album Sundays
“An exquisite selection of obscure private press folk funk and AOR lovingly hand picked and compiled by one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the field.”
Kev Beadle Mind Fluid / Focal Points
“Paul really is a trailblazer when it comes to this genre. With his never-ending and stupefying mixes over the years, I think it’s safe to say he’s the go-to guy for all things folk-funk. This compilation is a culmination of years of seriously deep digging and is something to be proud of. Congrats on a perfect selection. 10/10”
Danny McLewin Psychemagik
Features at No.15 in the Piccadilly Records END OF YEAR REVIEW 2022 / TOP 20 COMPILATIONS chart.
This will be followed up with the release of ‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun’ also on BBE records.
For Cassady Bean and Cosmo Kesey, I love you with all my heart
So what is this ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours’ thing anyway? Well, it’s tricky to put a finger on. Folk-funk had been around for a while so I added ‘& Trippy Troubadours’ to give me a little wiggle room from the genre police. To me, the folk-funk groove sounds like it has one leg shorter than the other, let’s call it a funky limp. ‘Feel The Spirit’ by Heaven & Earth, ‘Taking So Long’ by Kathy Smith, ‘Mountain Song’ by Penny Nichols, and ‘Woodenships’ by Christine Harwood are all great places to start. And for a trippy troubadour? Well, think lost, private press, DIY and loner folk singer songwriters as seen here on this compilation.
All tracks handpicked by Paul Hillery; a heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope an unenlightened one. Father, friend, vinyl hunter and curator at Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. pH has carried his record boxes to many a venue and played alongside The Polyphonic Spree, Arthur Lee & Love, Bonnie Dobson, Spiritualized, 4 Hero, Happy Mondays, Simian, The Bees, Julian Cope, Courtney Pine and many, many, more. He has also graced the turning tables at Spiritland, Refuge, Festival No.6, Lunar Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Psychemagik’s Magik Forest.
Beatitudes and thank yous to: brother Bob Fletcher; Micky & Ali at Warm; Dave Philpot at Republic Of Music; all the artists and their families who helped with sleeve notes. Hugs to: Tony Higgins; Peter Adarkwah at BBE; Danny McLewin; Patrick Forge & Laura; AOR Disco’s Matthew Hamilton; Rhys Jones; Peter Beaver; Chris Maude & Fritz; James Clark; Les Fisher; Sie Norfolk; Richard Melay; Penny Carey; Nigel Pickford; ‘Geoff’ Cave; Christopher Todd Penn; Tim DeLaughter; Barnaby ‘Jah Shabby’ Harsent; Simon John Roberts & Juvenile 2000; Spinadisc Records; Asa Bricknell; Andy Pye; Alan McKinnon; Santi Oviedo; Mark GV Taylor; Üllar Siir; Matt Bruce; Steven Hickey; and friends on verygoodplus.co.uk
Blessings and virtual hugs to all the online supporters of my music. If I forgot to mention you, sorry.
Praise be; David Crosby, Terry Callier, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John, Ian Curtis, Matt Deighton, Ken Kesey and Albert Hofmann.
Music is love… Paul Hillery, 2022
Music Is Love
All artwork on this page are owned by the artist who created them © No copyright infringement is intended – this post is for eductional uses only
“One of the most emotionally uplifting and hazily beautiful compilations of recent years.” Andrew Male MOJO Magazine
“(We Are The Children Of The Sun) is INCREDIBLE! Every single song. It was sublime.” Colleen Murphy Balearic Breakfast / Classic Album Sundays
“Paul Hillery has done a wicked job on the new ‘We are the Children of the Sun’ compilation. Perfect for those long, hot summer days.” Ashley Beedle Heavy Disco / X-Press 2
“It’s a stunningly deep dive into music that has been overlooked by all but the most relentless of diggers. And it is superb. It looks beautiful too, in a stunning gatefold sleeve. Just go and buy it.” Balearic Mike Fascinating Rhythms / Claremont 56
“An exquisite selection of obscure private press folk funk and AOR lovingly hand-picked and compiled by one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the field.” Kev Beadle Mind Fluid / Focal Point
“Every now and again a compilation comes out that I wished I had compiled. This one falls into that category. Don’t even think about not giving this a listen, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe the pleasure I’m getting listening to this. Beautiful music and the utmost respect.” Zaf LoveVinyl
“Taking you back to halcyon days. Music made by cool people you wish you could be friends with. California, sunsets, lazy, hazy days, roads trips and forest walks on summers’ afternoons… With the perfect combination of groove, folk-flute whimsy and sun-steeped soul. Paul has the finest taste, the rarest ear. He has perfected the craft of gathering the gems that time could have forgotten.” Laura Coxeter – Forge NTS Launette’s hour
“Paul really is a trailblazer when it comes to this genre. With his never-ending and stupefying mixes over the years, I think it’s safe to say he’s the go-to guy for all things folk-funk. This compilation is a culmination of years of seriously deep digging and is something to be proud of. Congrats on a perfect selection. 10/10” Danny McLewin Psychemagik
“A sun-kissed collection of sounds that invites the listener to drift away to a soundtrack of acoustic guitars, soulful languid grooves and a dash of yacht-rock.” Paul Osborne Shindig! Magazine
“It is a blissful listen” arcana.fm
“A nice little collection, all with a timeless vibe that almost creates a new sort of genre unto itself!” Dusty Groove dustygroove.com
“A perfect distraction from everything, with folksome groovin’, electronic-light moods and feelings. The cover alone has chilled me right out.” Ian Wade musicomh.com
“A beautiful listen highlighting perfectly the intrinsic value within music to inspire and to console (We Are The Children Of The Sun) drifts aimlessly through hints of folk to psychedelic impulse while always remaining true to human touch.” Greg Fenton magazinesixty.com
When darkness falls, we need light. When the world’s gone mad, we need a refuge.
Welcome to We Are the Children of the Sun, a collection of soothing songs for tough times, compiled by Paul Hillery.
DJ and vinyl obsessive Paul understands better than most our capacity for musical communion – how the powerful, primeval pulse connects us all in a shamanic shuffle. His ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours’ mix series spawned an online community of people all locked into his irresistible groove.
Now we can all tune in.
Sail together from the fringes of psyche tranquillity to the blurred edges of folk-funk and blissful Balearica. Go deep and hazy, hand-in-hand as you lose yourself to the moment, carried away on a carefully crafted journey buoyed by the gentle fizz of electronica and trippy troubadour tones.
This is an album to be enjoyed in joyful places and wide open spaces. An album to remind us that more connects us than drives us apart. An album to remind us that we’re all made of stardust.
We Are the Children of the Sun
Words by Barnaby Harsent
‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’compiled by Paul Hillery and released by BBE is available to purchase at this link
Jim Lamarche with Theresa Moylan & Music Industry Arts ~ Make Believe
The scene is set and our journey begins with synths and a flute. A track originally found on the 1977 collaborative album produced at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario (a.k.a. Music Industry Arts Studio). Music Industry Arts was, and still is, a community college program. Jim Lamarche attended classes there for 3 years (1974-77), ‘Make Believe’ was 1 of 5 songs recorded during his time there. Growing up in Woodstock and going to school in Ontario, Lamarche graduated and found himself in Toronto working in various large format analogue studios (Captain Audio, Kensington Sound, Eastern Sound, Amber Studio and Grant Avenue Studio) as a full-time engineer.
He continued to develop, exploring the creative sound process and working on original compositions. In 1983 his efforts were finally noticed by A&M/UMG and he was signed to a five-year worldwide deal. Lamarche recorded two albums under that contract while continuing to hone his craft. As a freelance producer/engineer, he worked with Australias ‘Split Enz’, Canada’s ‘Bruce Cockburn’ and ‘Blood Sweat and Tears/David Clayton Thomas’. Jim travelled extensively, living and working in Punjab, India, before returning to Toronto to work as an education consultant, writer/blogger and media composer. As a musical artist, Jim Lamarche recorded seven independent albums in total. Theresa Moylan, who also attended the MIA course, now lives in Vancouver and is no longer in the music business.
Mike Baumann & Tom Huntington ~ Man of Misery
Meanwhile at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, we have ‘Man of Misery’, re-discovered 40 years after its original release. Written and produced by Tom Huntington and Mike Baumann in 1981, it is the opening song from their album ‘Get a Grip’. Only a few hundred copies of the record were made, and many of those were sadly lost to floodwaters while in storage. Tom and Mike met as classmates in 1980 at Frostburg University in the Appalachian foothills of Western Maryland and soon formed a popular cover band, but their real passion was composing original music. They spent that summer living at the beach in Ocean City, which influenced the writing of the album. Tom spent his days making ice-cream at Dumser’s Dairyland, while Mike manned the grills at Ocean Deli. Each night after work, the guys met in the attic of the Ship Shape Motel, crafting the music and lyrics for their songs. When returning to Frostburg for the Fall semester, they began recording tracks at a studio owned by Mike Hounshell. Local friends also contributed their talents to the project. ‘Man of Misery’ was layered piece-by-piece, using old-school tape overdubbing. Mike recorded the first track with a simple piano/vocal arrangement, followed by the solid rhythm track of drummer Bill Schreiber and stellar guitar work by Tom. Mike Hounshell and Mark Descheck added vocal harmonies, while Mark Corbliss, Ron Grey, and Charlie Propper provided horn work. Each song on the album is a testament to the amazing musical talents of these classmates and local friends who were part of the Western Maryland music scene at the time.
David Datunashvili ~ საოცრებები
Sat on the banks of the Kura River in the cobblestoned old town of Tbilisi, the capital and largest city of Georgia, located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, you’ll find David Datunashvili. A musician and producer who has recorded and produced compositions in various genres including electronic, ambient, and experimental. In English, the title of the track translates to ‘Wonders’ and is influenced by past and future relationships. The song is taken from David’s album ‘6 Plus’, which was self-released digitally during lockdown in 2020. The album contains tracks with Georgian lyrics and jazz-influenced harmonies mixed with sun-drenched pool party vibes. Available on vinyl for the first time.
Pixie Lauer ~ Sunday Morning
We find ourselves in Maine on a lazy Sunday morning. The album, ‘Pixie Lauer And Friends’, was recorded at Studio 3 in Portland, September 1983. Lyrics and music were written by Pixie Lauer, an accomplished singer/songwriter and a veteran of the Maine/New England folk scene. Pixie performed on two LPs released from Massachusetts’ Wheaton College; the ‘Wheatones’ albums – ‘Backporch Song’ and ‘In The Nick Of Time’ – both dating from the 70s. She was also a member of ‘On The Other Side Of Sugar And Spice’ who released a self-titled album on Fleetwood Records, and the 1980s folk group ‘Different Shoes’. Pixie continues to perform solo and in the band ‘Well Seasoned’.
Ron Drago ~ Phase Dance
On to the dystopian year of 1984 and South Eastern Connecticut. Ron Drago, a recording engineer and guitarist, originally signed with Laurie Records and then in the 1970s with New Jersey’s 3 C Records, is making an album: ‘Earth’s Last Cry, Man’s Last Stand’. Recorded and mixed at New London County Recorders, Connecticut, it would be released on Drago’s own imprint, Red The Cook Music. Influenced by the West Coast singer-songwriters, the album represented a change in direction as Drago created a combination of styles that represented both his early years, and the new music he was being exposed to. All selections on the album were written by Drago except ‘Union of Spirits’ which was written by Colleen Winkler with Ron Drago and ‘Phase Dance’, which was written by Pat Metheny. Ron is still producing music and is based out of Western Pennsylvania.
Guy Schwartz ~ Ride That Train
Texas, 1977, and singer/songwriter/bandleader Guy Schwartz had just begun a six-decade recording career when a mutual friend brought musician/engineer Roger Tausz to hear Schwartz perform. Tausz immediately invited Schwartz to record at Houston’s Doggett Sound Studios.
The result, a Hamilton Street Records ’45. ‘Ride That Train’ was engineered by Tausz and mixed by David Kealey at Houston’s Sound Masters. The session band were the same guys that Schwartz had with him that first-night Tausz saw him play: John Claude Axberg, Michael Claxton, Merlene, ‘Whopper’ Watson, Rick ‘Zip’ Lyon on backing vocals, Phillip Kelley on bass, Mickey Burton on drums, Jon Bradford on guitar, Dana Smith on organ, Thomas ‘Bubba’ Robin on various saxophones, John ‘Fat Albert’ Cubbison on trumpet and Fred Bright on clavinet. Schwartz produced and sang vocals. It was the beginning of a Schwartz/Tausz partnership that is still blooming in 2021.
Marla Fant ~ Land of Wonder
All aboard, Carnival Cruise Lines proudly presents Marla Fant. As the back of the album states: “for six years Marla has entertained over 300,000 passengers during Caribbean cruises sailing out of Miami”. Souvenir albums were common in the 1970s cruise ship industry, and to be fair, in many cases these albums were long on souvenir and short on quality. Marla, born in Chicago, raised in a small Illinois village called Mokena, and now living in Florida, made the decision that her album would break that mould. She had been singing in a club in Miami Beach when approached by a cruise ship executive and asked to set sail as an entertainer. She said yes, and by 1980 she had decided to record an album at Miami’s Criteria Studios, which had previously hosted the Beach Boys and Fleetwood Mac. The album included many of her favourite performance numbers, as well as original compositions, some co-written with friends and family, one of which was ‘Land Of Wonder’. The music for this particular track was written by her brother in their parent’s garage on a rainy South Florida afternoon in 1976. Marla penned the lyrics, while the background vocals were performed by her sister Pamela and brother Duane, making it a true family affair.
Diana Pequeno ~ Mistérios
Diana Pequeno is a Brazilian singer and songwriter, born in downtown Salvador in 1958. During the late 1970s, while an electrical engineering student, Diana began singing on college stages. She spent that time devoting herself to music and was spotted, and given a contract, by RCA-Victor. After releasing six successful albums for them, Diana decided to pass on renewing her contract and instead returned to the engineering course and finally graduated. In 1989, with help from sister Eliana, an independent album ‘Mistérios’ was released on their own Acquarius label. With a cover version of the Joni Mitchell track, ‘All I Want’, as the opening song, the album set out to blur the boundaries of jazz-folk, infused with a sunlit Brazilian feel. The title track ‘Mistérios’ bathes us in love, its layered harmonies floating off on a summer’s breeze. In 2001 and after an artistic hiatus of more than ten years, Diana released her seventh album, ‘Cantigas’ on the Selo Rádio MEC label.
Airborne ~ Marie
Now it’s Vancouver, 1974. Three friends, Darryl Bohn, Ron Hjorth and David Giddings, decide it’s time to start a folk-rock band. All three could play guitar, sing and write. Bruce Johnston joined them, contributing his falsetto to create a very rich vocal group with tight harmonies. Lorne Fielder came aboard on keyboards, and by early 1977 they had started recording at Ocean Studios in North Vancouver, which just happened to be within walking distance of where they lived. The engineer assigned to them, Donn Tarris, a great bass player, ended up playing an integral part in producing the album and eventually joined the band. The song ‘Marie’, written by Darryl Bohn about a boating experience, is reflective of the songs they wrote in and about the city of Vancouver. The LP was recorded over three weeks with a budget of $2,500. A total of 1,700 were sold out of a pressing of 2,000 in the first year. ‘Marie’ was released as a single and received moderate airplay from MOR stations. Royalties, although small, were enough to cover the cost of production. Airborne’s final concert was in March 1978 as an opening act for Sammy Hagar at the Commodore Ballroom. They continued to play together through to the end of 1979, but by then Darryl and David were the only original members left.
Scott McGregor Moore ~ So Good When It Comes
1981, and a broken fizz, click and hum fills the car as we tune the dial on the FM radio to the right station. The track ‘So Good When It Comes’ originally featured on the second compilation LP released in the ‘Share Chez’ series of local talent by Canadian radio station CHEZ 106FM. The track was originally created with a Korg PS-3100, Minimoog, Fender Strat and a BOSS DR-55 Dr Rhythm drum machine. A few years later, while Scott was working with David Pritchard on the unreleased follow-up to ‘Nocturnal Earthworm Stew’, also on the session was Martin Deller, the extraordinary drummer from Canadian progressive rock group FM. They decided to replace the drum machine for ‘So Good When It Comes’ with Dellar’s acoustic kit and Simmons electronic drums. That version is released here on vinyl for the first time. Scott McGregor Moore (aka Scott M2) put aside pop and rock music in 1995 when he founded the ambient/chill project dreamSTATE. Since then, dreamSTATE has created albums, ambient soundscape installations, trailblazing live ambient music performances and infinite ambient music iPhone app ‘Ephemeral City’.
Checkpoint ~ I Send You All My Love
ow we journey to Aachen, West Germany, mid-1980s and the Berlin Wall still stands. Checkpoint, a musical project founded by guitarist and composer Dirk K, his brother bassist JK Kleutgens and singer and lyricist Susy Wetter, has been active for about 4 years and produced more than thirty songs. ‘I Send You All My Love’ was written by Dirk K and Susy Wetter. It features Chris Hirson on soprano saxophone, Michael Tzoulas on piano and Gerd Breuer on drums. The original recording was part of a compilation album released in Germany, in 1986, called ‘Rock Aus Aachen, Wa’. In 1987 Dirk and his brother JK moved to the United States and continued to release albums. They are still very active in the field of jazz and fusion. Susy stayed in Aachen and still performs occasionally.
Gabriel Gladstar ~ Flow
Oh, man. The year, 1969. The place, Laguna Beach, California. Armed with original songs, two acoustic guitars, and tight vocal harmonies, Mike Gwinn and Phillip Lee Morgan immediately drew attention playing local music venues and festivals. The two friends began recording under the supervision of Ian Bernard (musical director of Rowen and Martin’s Laugh-in). The interest in recording their material eventually led to a long working relationship with Ahmet Ertegun (founder and president of Atlantic Records) who, upon hearing them, offered a recording contract immediately. In the process of recording demos for Atlantic at many of the major studios in LA, the duo expanded to include Jimmy Zeiger on flute and sax. Their audiences grew and enthusiastically supported the additional member, but Ahmet had reservations and remained committed to signing the original duo to his label. But Gabriel Gladstar was now a trio and so amicably turned down the offer. At this point, the band purchased a 1951 Chevy School Bus. They converted it, and like Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, took to the road. They gained grassroots popularity as independent touring artists and in 1973 Gabriel Gladstar stopped off in Seattle, Wa. to record their LP ‘A Garden Song’. Pressing it privately on their own label, Flying Guitar Records, the group cemented a place in posterity as pioneers of the progressive-psych-folk genre.
White Feather ~ Summer Days : Golden Haze
Into the woods, we go, and a visit to Nottinghamshire. Described by some as melancholic/DIY/psych, White Feather released just one single. Cookie and Alan.s.Robinson started writing songs together in 1980 aged 16 and made their first visit to a local studio to record in 1983. Forming ‘White Feather’, which was occasionally augmented by other musicians, these two merry men made numerous recordings during the 1980s, but the self-released single ‘Summer Days/Golden Haze’ was their sole release. Made on a shoestring budget, any hope of a follow up was quashed by poor sales. It would be the better part of 40 years before the single belatedly recuperated its costs. We like a happy ending.
The ’45 features Darren Warner on drums and John Harrison on egg cups (or if you prefer to make it a bit more technical; ‘percussion’). White Feather was only ever a studio band until finally, in 1990, they played a trio of gigs that was almost as successful as their single. While singing on studio demos for White Feather, Cookie was also bass player for the punk band Solvent Abuse.
Philip John Lewin ~ Fear of Flying
For Philip John Lewin, music has always been the best method for expressing emotions. He began trying to write as soon as he could pick up a pencil, began to play piano at age 6, and it wasn’t long before his words were accompanied by music. When his sister received a new guitar, Phil inherited her old one, which is still a treasured instrument.
In fact, he met his wife while waiting in line at a music store to get it repaired! In 1975, when Philip shopped his already-pressed small run first LP to the local music industry, one executive pointed to a turntable and said, “Let’s hear the product.” It occurred to Phil that he was not creating a product. If no-one but Phil was interested in what he was doing, then that would be preferable to creating something specifically for a different audience. He never went back to the music industry again. So a year later Philip found himself in the company with a group of young women who were talking excitedly about a new book; ‘Fear of Flying’. It seemed to capture a desire to be a more liberated woman in our somewhat oppressive society. When Philip read the book, he was puzzled by what passed for eroticism. The song, ‘Fear Of Flying’ was written as a reaction. Soon a second album was finished, ‘Diamond Love And Other Realities’, sold through a small distributor called Records on Wheels. They actually sold 50 copies into the UK before going bankrupt.
Monica Rypma ~ Let Love Flow
By bicycle, tandem if you wish, we ride into Amsterdam. ‘Classifieds’ (sometimes referred to as ‘Moonshine and The Blaze’) was a pioneering crowdfunded project produced by Monica Rypma in 1986. The album cover represents hundreds of advertisements, sold to investors who helped fund the production with their advertising messages. The production is a one-off collaboration between budding singer-songwriter Monica from Amsterdam and talented multi-instrumentalist composer Brian Batie, based in Los Angeles at the time. Five days at a farmhouse studio in Heelsum, Netherlands, were enough to shape a handful of unfinished songs, some lyrics and a few riffs into a Balearic groove album that has happily been recently rediscovered.
Alex Crispin ~ Effert
2020, and although originally hailing from the green pastures of deepest Surrey we land in Norfolk, Norwich to be exact. Here we find Alex Crispin. He has been making music since he was 15, cutting his teeth in funk-influenced instrumental bands and going on to form prog-rock group Diagonal and later the psych outfit Baron. His solo career has been bubbling along since the release of the instrumental/ambient/new age album ‘Idle Worship’ in 2017. ‘Effert’ conjures up the Blue Nile backed by a gamelan troupe on an Indonesian island, and features Joe Hollick (formerly of Wolf People) on guitar, his jazz-inflected phrasing the perfect foil for Crispin’s mournful meditations and booming bass notes.
The song is taken from the ‘Watersending’ EP, originally released digitally on Crispin’s own imprint, Cobblers. If you like what you hear, you’ll be pleased that another full-length album is due any day.
Michael Welch ~ Phone Home
Get your coat, we are off to Disney World. In 1984 Michael Welch was a theme park musician playing at Walt Disney World and EPCOT. This funded his quest to be a producer, label owner and musician. He produced the album, ‘Illegal Radio’, as an independent musician. He did everything from beginning to end, from booking the studio, arranging the music, rehearsing the groups and engineering, to driving with the master tapes to Nashville Record Productions and having them pressed to vinyl.
He acquired a radio station mailing list and sent the LP to every station on the list. Then he waited…
To his surprise, he started receiving playlists with ‘Illegal Radio’ in the Top 10. But there was a problem he didn’t plan for: he just wasn’t prepared for that kind of success. Offers came in and the president from a well-known jazz label called to propose management. Michael declined the offer and went on to record and release his next LP ‘The Neanderthal Yodeler’, which was a complete tangent to ‘Illegal Radio’.
Guy Maxwell ~ You Never Sang This Song
We finish our musical expedition in Holland. For it was here in 1980 that Guy Maxwell, a self-taught musician from France with Irish origins, who was actually based in Switzerland, recorded the album ‘Outside My Window’. Playing alongside Maxwell at the session were Tato Gómez, Serge Maillard and Paco Saval from the Chilean band ‘Santiago’, themselves now based in Germany, plus Sergio Castillo the Cuban percussionist, who himself was now based in Spain. Ruth Failure from the mystery Anglo-French outfit ‘Mag & The Suspects’ played guitar on the session. Guy lived the life of a true troubadour, travelling and playing in folk, blues and jazz clubs all over Europe. He eventually made the move from performance into writing, composing and arranging music and still lives in Switzerland.
My compilation ‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’ is out April 2022 on BBE records. And is a lovingly handpicked musical excursion that takes in strummed soft rock, blissful beach beats, the soft fizz of electronica, all carried to your ears by a gentle summer breeze. It ranges from hazy, long-forgotten early 70s tapes, right through to digital compositions recorded during lockdown in 2020. Tune in and ruminate while consciousness is awoken with transmissions dropping out from the fringes of psyche tranquillity, holding hands with folk-funk that runs deep and hazy, as the bejewelled turquoise waters lap gently at the ocean’s shore
This will be followed up with the release of ‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun’ also on BBE records.
Paul Hillery’s curated compilation ‘Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours – Volume One’ will be released on RE:WARM records September 2022
For Cassady Bean and Cosmo Kesey
Records handpicked by Paul Hillery; a heathen, conceivably, but not, I hope, an unenlightened one. Father, friend, vinyl hunter and curator at Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. pH has carried his record boxes to many a venue and played alongside The Polyphonic Spree, Arthur Lee & Love, Bonnie Dobson, Spiritualized, 4 Hero, Happy Mondays, Simian, The Bees, Julian Cope, Courtney Pine and many, many, more. He has also graced the
turning tables at Spiritland, Refuge, Festival No.6, Lunar Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Psychemagik’s Magik Forest and supplied guest mixes for stations in South America, the USA, Europe and all over the UK.
Special thanks to; brother Bob Fletcher, my mentor Tony Higgins, Pete Adarkwah, Julia & Will at BBE.
Hugs to; Danny McLewin, Patrick Forge & Laura, Matthew Hamilton at AOR Disco, Rhys Jones, Peter Beaver,
Chris Maude & Fritz, Sie Norfolk, James Clark, Nic Blanch, Richard Melay, Dr. Penny Carey, Dixy & Roger, Nigel Pickford, Christopher Todd Penn, Tim DeLaughter, Barnaby Harsent, ‘Geoff’ Cave, Bucky, Simon John Roberts, Paul Harwood, Hayden Andrews, Stephen Westley, Gwennie Lewis, everyone on verygoodplus, Andy Pye, Alan McKinnon, Santi Oviedo, Les Fisher, Mark GV Taylor, Üllar Siir, Matt Bruce at Crates LA, Basso at Growing Bin, Cyril at Holywax, Bruno at Perfect Lives, Martin at WIWWG, Aidy at Vinyl Underground, Ali & Micky at Warm, Paul Noble at Spiritland, John Anthony Fell at Lunar.
If I forgot you I’m sorry, I’ll add you next time.
Praise be; David Crosby, Terry Callier, Arthur Lee, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake, Bridget St. John, Ian Curtis, Matt Deighton, Ken Kesey and Albert Hofmann.
Big hugs to the artists who agreed to be part of this wonderful release.
Music Is Love
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