Now-Again Records

Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR: A Lo-Fi Report From Indonesia

Egon’s latest entry to his Funk Archaeology series at NPR sheds some light on his forthcoming anthology Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk 1970-1978. Indonesia’s various 70s scenes were dense, but often times underground; this piece sheds light on not only the process he and fellow record collectors and archivists Jason Connoy and Chandra Drews had to go through in the discovery process, but also on a forthcoming (hopefully?) Madlib/Indonesian collaboration, of sorts, for the discussed, but not-yet-realized, Supreme Team project.

Link: Lo-Fi Indonesia: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR
More: Indonesian Psych on Now-Again/Those Shocking Shaking Days Anthology.

Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR: Psychedelic India

This month on Egon’s NPR column Funk Archaeology: India’s psychedelic 70s. Five tracks from a little-known subset of what was then – and is now – one of the largest producers of music on the planet. This should serve as a good primer for the forthcoming Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga! album, due out later this year on the World Psychedelic Funk Classics label.

Link: Unearthing Five Lost Gems From Psychedelic India: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR

Egon’s Funk Archaeology Series Back On NPR… First Up: Angolan Funk!

After a near year-long hiatus, Egon’s Funk Archaeology column is back at NPR. This time around, he’s covered pre-Civil War recordings from Angola. Have you ever heard of a semba? Does the bassist Carlitos Vieras Dias’ name ring bells the way Bootsy Collins’ does? You need to school yourself by following the link below.

As a bonus, we’re including a download for Luiz Visconde’s essential “Chofer de Praca” which Egon name checks in his NPR piece but isn’t included in the roundup.

Link ( Video): Funk Before War In Angola: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR
Download: Luiz Visconde “Chofer de Praca”

Various: P.C.R.D. 7th Annual Talent Show (Early 70s, New Orleans Police Department)

By this point, examples of fine soul and funk albums released by high school and college/university-level stage bands are commonplace. You have to look no farther than our Kashmere Stage Band anthology – which draws from eight LPs and 3 45s (and countless of master tapes) for proof. Examples of fine soul and funk albums released as keepsakes of regional talent shows are far more scarce. And – all novelty aside – can one really listen to the majority of the 1st Annual Inner-City Talent Expo (March 26, 1972 Columbus Ohio) album?

This album, released in an outreach effort by the New Orleans Police Department, falls somewhere in between novelty and soaring soul. There is even a decent funk number (a cover of Mandrill’s “Fence Walk”) and a decent fuzz track (a cover of Edgar Winters’ “Frankenstein”). Well worthy of our “Picks” section.

Download: An example of the P.C.R.D. 7th Annual Talent Show.

Ojoubeha – Shirley (Moulin Rouge, late 60s)

Listen: “Shirley.”

Ojoubeha: “Shirley.”

A second track by Ojoubeha – “The Prodigies” – released in Tehran on a small imprint, perhaps related to Arang Rooz, circa 1968. “Shirley” is insistent doo-wop inspired garage, with typical lovelorn lyrics and group harmonies. And though it’s a far cry from the psychedelic take they’d offer on Persian folk tunes in later releases, it’s interesting enough to warrant inclusion in our Picks section.