I had prodded and pushed, begged and pleaded, and finally I had given up. But, to my surprise, freshly returned from his trip to South America, here comes… GUEST POST FROM DJ BUSQUELO! Now I’m gonna have to start pushing all over again for another one…

Harold : Busque el Gato
taken from the 7″ single put out by Eveready Batteries (197?)

It feels fitting that my first (and overdue) introduction to the loyal readership of the Captain’s Crate should be a namesake nugget of esoteric fire. Picture this: somewhere between Panama and Venezuela, Union Carbide commissions a guy named Harold to write a little jingle to remind a tropical nation, better known for kidnapping and drug trafficking than for its magnificent birds and friendly people, how to identify their line of Eveready Batteries. Just Look For The Cat (eveready logo has a cat doesn’t it?). 30 or so years later, Harold’s “Gato” makes its way into my trembling paws, and further proves my theorem that the Quest is its own Reward.

Henderson & Whitfield : Dancin’ To The Beat
taken from the 12″ on Park Place (1981)

J.R. Funk and The Love Machine : Feel Good, Party Time
taken from the 12″ on Brass (1980)

Ever heard of Henderson & Whitfield? What about J.R. Funk? Didn’t think so. Not many have. Those who, at one point in time (probably 20 years ago), knew these names (and perhaps even loved them?), have now undoubtedly discarded almost all the remnants of importance once dedicated to these groove aficionados. A brief moment of exuberant hedonistic brilliance, and then once again into the ether of the mundane. Maybe J.R. is turning 50 this year, saving up for a trip to the Bahamas. Wherever you are, lost samurai of the skating rinks, we thank you. Your funk is not forgotten.

I may be exaggerating a bit about the obscurity factor, clearly cats as notable as Joey Negro are still down. But in the grand scheme, a spot on a comp is merely a blip on the pop-life screen. This Henderson & Whitfield 12″ is a catch. Gotta love those flying disco space laser sounds: shooting stars above that sticky liquid slap bass groove. The obligatory claps and whistles pierce just as they should, the horn stabs, bongos and clavinet building the overall sound to something that approaches frenzy, but never loses its cool.

As for J.R. Funk, I guess there was another single and an album to accompany “Feel Good”, but definitely he didn’t leave much of a legacy behind. A man of the SYNTH, his sensibilities have definitely come back in style – what with Sa-Ra, Spacek, Outkast, Pharrel and other cats doing their George Clinton appreciation thang. Perhaps we can help him live on in the future by freaking the fat open drum breaks that were captured during his shortlived glimpse at stardom.

BIG NEWS! Do not sleep on the new mix from regular Crate contributor Murphy’s Law: it’s called “Stone Cold Soul” and it’s up in the Loose Tapes section right now! All that new shiz that we love right now plus some oldies, re-edits and remixes for your DOME!

Victor Rice : Monster Sound and Portu-Bomb
Captain’s Crate EXCLUSIVES! Recorded live a couple of months ago at Studio BPM in Brooklyn

Last night marked the monthly return of DUB NIGHT at Studio BPM, one of the illest underground venues in BK. Dr. Israel alongside the Dub Nomads with my boy DRM spinning 45’s (just back from his first national tour). The custom crates delivered massive bass, and I decided I definitely need one of these for my next live performance.

These songs I’m putting up today come from the live sessions with dub guru Victor Rice that took place during Dub Night a few months back. Victor set up his reel to reel, his mixing board, and proceeded to mix live dubs direct from reels of music that were recorded with reggae bands around the world. “Portu-Bomb” features a Brazilian combo (I believe from Sao Paulo), grooving about as hard as I’ve ever heard from any South American reggae stylists. Victor has done production and engineering for the likes of The Slackers and the Toasters among many others, and definitely knows how to hold an enourmous spliff in his lips while freaking the mixing board. I actually don’t know the names of the songs or the bands who made the sounds, but I figure that’s not really as important in the land of VERSIONS. You can also hear the occaisional vocals from dee jay Treasure Don (I’m pretty sure that’s his name).

Nice it up, and check back here for info on the next DUB NIGHT – night – night -night – night…

Turntable Lab picked up The Gumbo Funk E.P. -JEAH! cop that shiz and help support your everloving Captain.

Also, the mix I made for Futureboogie.com is finally up in our Loose Tapes section. It’s called the Radio Freedom Mix. ill vibes.

Hugh Masekela : Kaa Ye Oya
taken from the album “Introducing Hezoleh Soundz” on Blue Thumb (1973)

Hugh Masekela : Night In Tunisia
taken from the album “I Am Not Afraid” on Blue Thumb (1974)

Somewhat slept on, these two records are pretty easy to find and HIGHLY rewarding. Hugh Masekela, a South African jazz legend, gives special thanks to Fela on the Hedzoleh liner notes and it’s pretty clear why. Recorded in Fela’s EMI studio in Lagos, Nigeria, the whole album is a major break from most of his other work. Masekela put out plenty of other funky and signifigant records, but none that follow in Fela’s footsteps so blatantly. The tracks are all long drawn out grooves, generally sung in African languages (not sure which ones) rather than English, and the rhythm section is derived from the same native 6/8 bounce that made up Juju and Fiji music (even though Hedzoleh is from Ghana, not Nigeria). The mood here is definitely more subdued than most of Fela’s work, but the trouble-making politics and trance-inducing song structures are definitely right in line with the newly formed Afro-beat mode. The songs I’m giving you don’t highlight Masekela’s rebelious side as clearly, but song’s like “When”, “African Secret Society”, & “Stimela” (which was used in the recent Amandla! documentary) show that Hugh was certainly no puppet to the industry.

Hugh met Fela in 1970 when he was on tour with his wife Miriam Makeba in Guinea. It was Fela who introduced him to the Ghanian group Hedzoleh. Some of those same musicians accompanied him for the “I Am Not Afraid” album, and “The Boys Doin It” (1975) which has “Mama” and a couple other good Afro-funk tunes on it. The man is still putting out records too. I haven’t heard the latest, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that it won’t be on the same level as this material. Do we really have to get old?

E.P. update- you can now find the wax at Groove Distribution online (yeah!).

Bobby Montez : African Fantasy and Kon-Tiki
taken from the album “Jungle Fantastique” on Jay-Gee/Jubilee (1958)

Two nights in a row with not much sleep, but I still decided I’d wake up early. Partly it was so that I could be a courteous boyfriend and give my girl a ride to work while the L train was down, but really it was so that I could get fresh picks at some of my favorite Brooklyn junk stores. Due to my current state of disability and brokeness, I hadn’t been record digging for what seemed like ages. I’m a full blown junkie, no secret there. Even a week without thumbing through a crate is difficult. So after almost a full month of deprivation, you’d better believe I was cringing for my fix.

The wait paid off for sure. From the depths of a dusty dollar bin comes this highly sought after latin-jazz gem. Despite the poor quality of this 1958 pressing, collectors fork over loot for this piece of wax whenever it pops up. 99 cents? Had to leave that little orange sticker on the corner to prove it. The MP3s I recorded here come from my Cubop remastered re-issue. I’m debating trying to sell this OG copy (which is in excellent shape!), but I honestly don’t know if I could part with it just yet. Kinda ridiculous given the stack of unpaid bills that are sitting in my desk drawer right now, given that I own a vinyl re-issue, and given that there’s a constant hiss throughout the whole thing. But finds like this are a rare and treasured thing for us junkies – commodity fetishism just a bit. At this point, advice would be appreciated. Any recovered addicts out there know of a 12 step program?

From the liner notes:
“A huge, handsome man strolls accross the open space. A pace behind him is a dark, hairy animal. Our hero stops in front of the tent at the edge of the clearing. He clears his throat… and says: ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane. You Mambo?’ Perhaps, if you haven’t visited the jungles, you believe it sounds fantastic. But you will believe the sounds of ‘JUNGLE FANTASTIQUE’ can make it possible.”

From the perspective of the wildman who lives in the perpetual jungle of my mind, I can vouch for Bobby’s ability to bring this mambo insanity to life. It’s all too real. I’ve been there. I’ve felt it. I can’t come back to civilization now.

Captain Planet : Samba Radiante, Deuxième Gaou, La Reina, and The Don
For a hot minute, tracks from The Gumbo Funk E.P. produced by yours truly-
now (finally) officially on wax.

Not exactly sure all the retail spots that will have it, but a couple that I’ve found so far:
Kudos and Art Music
Still available on CD in the Loose Tapes section too. Let me know if you find it at a little shop near you.

Look at me getting nice on those crutches!