Smith & The Honey Badgers want to press 300 copies of their first single on 7" vinyl. Hard funk and sweet soul belong on a 45!
Smith & The Honey Badgers formed in 2013 and are an 8 piece funk and soul band based in East London. Brought together in the summer of 2013, we live by the mantra that soul music belongs to the beloved format of vinyl.
In January this year with help from friends new and old spanning the length of the country, we decided to record our first EP. The sessions took place in a large bedroom in Hackney and we recorded live, straight to half inch tape. We put the finishing touches to the tracks at Goldtop Studios in Tooting Bec and had them mastered in Cardiff, Wales.
After much deliberation we've decided that our next move will be to press two of our tunes onto vinyl. 45's are the preferred listening format for funk and soul fans and collectors (we include ourselves in those ranks) so we've chosen the 7" single as the home for our debut release. Each vinyl, once pressed, will be lovingly stamped by our band logo (see above) by our very own hands.
We've had lot of positive feedback on the tunes so far and are hoping to use the vinyl for promo purposes as well as to sell to fans who make the effort to come to our live shows. This initial investment will allow the us to continue to release 45's, which we plan to turn out at a rate of 1 every 6-9 months so we can continue to fill your boots :)
With most of the hard bits out the way, we are now turning to you, you wonderful people, to help us make this happen! If you have any questions then please get in touch, but thank you in advance for your pledges!
After April's fantastic opening night Shake! resident DJs Alena, Anna, Jay & Ben are back at The Buffalo Bar in Islington!
We'll be dropping another 7 hours of blistering Party Funk, Soul, Northern, Ska, Disco, Boogie 45s and anything else we can get our hands on to keep your feet moving on the dancefloor.
Kick off is 9pm, free before 10pm and £5 after.
Be sure to spread the word and we'll see you on the floor for what's sure to be another great party night!
They say that music is an international language that brings people together, and Harrisburg, PA guitarist Joe Olnick is proving it once again!
His classic CD Up All Night has been remastered and expanded. Working with a local drummer, Joe wrote, recorded, and produced the CD, playing all other instruments. The singles “Beach House” and “Dire” have been streamed and loved all over the world, with particularly strong sales at iTunes Europe.
“I've always loved instrumental music, and having lived overseas when I was younger, I had a hunch that my original material would do well,” Joe said recently. “Not only have I been getting fan e-mails from across the USA, but I have been getting a steady stream of support from all over the world: UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Mexico, Russia, Israel and even Kenya. I just got an e-mail today from a new fan in Romania.”
Having worked full-time at radio stations and as an audio engineer at a professional recording studio, Joe set high standards for himself. He knew that standing out from everybody else would require not only audiophile production but also something to say that anybody could relate to.
Joe has always been inspired all of his life by musicians that crossed musical as well as geographic boundaries such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jerry Garcia, Brian Eno, Nels Cline and Medeski, Martin & Wood.
“My very first memories are of sitting around a turntable and listening to albums by The Ventures that my family would stack up and play for me,” according to Joe. “They were a band that was big here as well as overseas, and now I'm starting to see similar success. It's a great feeling to be able to communicate moods & emotions in a creatively satisfying, personal manner like this and have people around the country and the globe be moved enough by it to want to contact me.”
Joe's creativity extends to working with friends on musical projects, as a lead guitarist and in other ways, too. His audio engineering skills have helped bands to get signed to major labels, but he is also well known for his stage lighting design that he has donated to help out other bands that he supports. One of the first lighting designers in the US to utilize LED lighting, he has worked to scale down arena-style lighting to smaller clubs.
“At one point I was getting calls from all over the Northeast US for lighting work, and I had to decline so that I could concentrate on my real passion, which is writing and recording my original material,” Joe says. His creative success continues!
He is currently working on more material, due out later this year.
The Muscle Shoals music scene, and its pioneer Rick Hall, have received a lot of attention recently. The Muscle Shoals documentary film devoted a great deal of coverage to Hall’s work and in January 2014 the Grammy committee presented him with a Special Merit award. Only a man with such great talent could have made a one-track country town in Alabamaan important centre of the American recording industry. As a tribute to his outstanding legacy, we are releasing the first volume in our “The Complete Fame Singles” series.
Hall opened Fame Recording Studios in 1961. Arthur Alexander’s timeless single, ‘You Better Move On’ b/w ‘A Shot Of Rhythm and Blues’ – a big hit on Dot and a monumental influence on a generation of UK musicians, was the first of many hits recorded at Fame.
At first Hall hired out the studio to producers such as Ray Stevens and Bill Lowery who wanted to take advantage of his crack studio band and his engineering skills. He also issued a few records by local acts on the R and H or Fame labels and leased out other masters to larger imprints for national distribution. When he found Jimmy Hughes, who he hoped would follow Arthur Alexander as his star act, he licensed ‘I’m Qualified’ to Jamie-Guyden in Philadelphia. Only when he failed to place Hughes’ follow-up with a national company was he forced to start Fame as a serious label, helped by Dan Penn, his main songwriter and right-hand man in the studio. This is the point where our collection begins.
The single was the southern soul masterpiece ‘Steal Away’. Following Hall and Penn’s early attempts at promotion, the record was picked up by Vee-Jay for national distribution. On the back of a Top 20 Pop hit and a #2 position on Cash Box’s R&B chart, Vee-Jay demanded more material from Hughes and signed a distribution deal for the Fame label. Fame attempted to repeat Jimmy Hughes’ success and issued a selection of records from musicians who formed the team around Rick Hall.
On this first of three volumes, we follow the development of the great songwriting team of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham and hear the records made during the years 1964 to 1967. Many failed to make a mark, as much of the label’s early period was devoted to finding out what route would lead to success. By the end of the second disc, Clarence Carter is established as the label’s main star, distribution has switched to Atlantic and the Fame label’s path is set. The 52 tracks here tell this fascinating story.
By Dean Rudland
Disc: 1
1. Steal Away- Jimmy Hughes
2. Lollypops, Lace And Lipstick - Jimmy Hughes
3. Close To Me - Dan Penn
4. Let Them Talk - Dan Penn
5. Try Me - Jimmy Hughes
6. Lovely Ladies - Jimmy Hughes
7. I'm Getting Better - Jimmy Hughes
8. I Want Justice - Jimmy Hughes
9. Hey, Do You Wanna Marry - Spooner And The Spoons
10. Wish You Didn't Have To Go - Spooner And The Spoons
11. Almost Persuaded - June Conquest
12. Party Talk - June Conquest
13. Goodbye My Lover Goodbye - Jimmy Hughes
14. It Was Nice - Jimmy Hughes
15. Take Me (Just As I Am) - Dan Penn
16. Diamonds - Dan Penn
17. You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy - Jimmy Hughes
18. The Loving Physician - Jimmy Hughes
19. Midnight Affair - Jimmy Hughes
20. When It Comes To Dancing - Jimmy Hughes
21. Keep On Talking - James Barnett
22. Take A Good Look - James Barnett
23. Gonna Make You Say Yeah - Terry Woodford
24. Hit The Ground - Terry Woodford
25. Neighbor, Neighbor - Jimmy Hughes
26. It's A Good Thing - Jimmy Hughes
Disc: 2
1. His Town - Terry Woodford
2. She Wants What She Can't Have - Terry Woodford
3. Laugh It Off - The Villagers
4. You're Gonna Lose That Girl - The Villagers
5. I Worship The Ground You Walk On - Jimmy Hughes
The single ‘Hands’ is taken from Azu’s debut EP ‘The Fall’, which is set for digital release on June 2nd 2014 and you can listen to the track below.
Azu, who was born in West Africa, moved to the UK in his early teens. Absorbing both cultures, he reflects this in his music that combines classic pop and soul with hints of his African origins. His distinctive sound has already received radio support from Gary Crowley on BBC Introducing and Simon Lederman on BBC London.
Azu, who has also supported Gabrielle and Lemar on tour, takes inspiration from artists such as Seal, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Corinne Bailey Rae and Michael Kiwanuka.
