Now-Again Records

Zamrock Your Way Into Next Year – Ngozi Family New Year’s Anthem

We used to share a special New Year’s carol from South Korean psych-legends He 5. But now we’re Zamrocking more frequently…so we’re digging a bit deeper and offering you a rather bizarre single by Zambian guitarist, singer and songwriter Paul Ngozi. This song, the b-side to his “Happy Christmas” single, is a departure from the hard-edged garage-psych of the Ngozi Family’s early recordings – but it’s the perfect companion for your New Year’s revelry. If you don’t mind crackle – imagine it’s the bubbles popping in your champagne – download the track below the link….

Download: Paul Ngozi: “Happy New Year”.

And, if you missed it:

Download: “He 5: “Auld Lang Syne”.”

Merry Christmas – Sweet Peace and Psychedelic Sounds

Download: “Sweet Peace.”

By now, regular visitors to this site know that it’s somewhat of a Christmas/New Year’s tradition: we try to dig out some interesting record from the collection to share, in the hopes that you can somehow find a way to slip Paul Ngozi’s ode to the big fella above or the He 5’s stupendous Merry Christmas Psychedelic Sound (pictured above in a photo by Eilon Paz from his Dust and Grooves project) in between Bing Crosby and selections from John Denver and The Muppets’ A Christmas Together at your family’s get together.

So, this year, as we take a few days off to celebrate a year of good music, we’re sharing with you one of the weirdest, genius Christmas-adjacent songs we’ve ever heard. Honestly, we’ve no idea who performed this spiritual get down – it came via the esteemed drummer and producer Karriem Riggins, and has been an endless supply of holiday joy for us over the years.

Happy New Year 2015 – A “Psychedelic Sound” Repost

Listen: “Jingle Bells.”

By now, regular visitors to this site know that it’s somewhat of a Christmas/New Year’s tradition: I try to dig out some interesting record from the collection to share, in the hopes that you can somehow find a way to slip, I don’t know, Paul Ngozi or Thomas East in between Bing Crosby and selections from John Denver and The Muppets’ A Christmas Together at your family’s get together. Well, it’s been four years since I first shared the amazing novelty of South Korean psych-rockers He 5’s Merry Christmas Psychedelic Sound. And, in that post, I mentioned their epic “Jingle Bells” cover – really, a chance for them to stretch out into a ten minute medley of “Inna Gadda Da Vida” and “Paint It Black.”

in 2012, when photographer Eilon Paz came around the house to photograph some of my records for his Dust & Grooves project, he asked about any oddballs that I could share. It doesn’t really get any weirder than this album, so I pulled it out – and managed to snag a photo of my oldest son, who seemed more interested in the pictures of the hepcat looking Hes pictured on the back than in destroying this rarity. Lucky for me!

So, this year, as we take a few days off to celebrate a year of good music, we’re sharing with you one of the top tracks to emanate from South Korea’s psychedelic scene. Merry Christmas – 2015 – Psychedelic Sound!

Egon’s Funk Archaeology at RBMA: Unsung Funk (and Rock!) Hero Robert Rozelle

Linked below: Egon’s newest Funk Archaeology post at Red Bull Music Academy’s website, this time detailing the legacy of a true unsung musical hero, bassist Robert Rozelle. As you’ll read, Rozelle was not only the bassist for our very own Apple and the Three Oranges, but also for psych-rock ensemble Love and – if you believe our investigative work – Dyke and The Blazers, on tracks previously assumed to have been recorded by members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.

The download this time around: Ed. “Apple” Nelson’s “I’ll Give You A Ring (When I Come, If I Come)”, Rozelle’s swan song and one of the most perfect soul songs of all time.

The New Series: Robert Rozelle – A True Unsung Musical Hero – Egon’s Funk Archaeology at Red Bull Music Academy.
The Old Series: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR.
Download: Ed. Nelson “I’ll Give You A Ring (When I Come, If I Come)”