Rating: NNNNN
Paris calling
It seemed strange that my phone was ringing non-stop on Sunday until I found out that Paris Hilton ‘s Blackberry had been hacked and someone posted all of the phone numbers and e-mail addresses online. For some reason people are still interested in anything connected with the self-made porn star who put the ho in hotel heiress. Sheffield’s entertaining MU – the studio project of performance artist Mutsumi Kanamori and DJ Maurice “Syclops” Fulton – have capitalized on that with the bouncy electro-sleaze pounder Paris Hilton. But they’re no one-celeb-hit wonders – their new party-starting Out Of Breach (Output) disc also includes the future floor-filler Stop Bothering Michael Jackson, which has Kanamori repeatedly screaming “Leave Michael Jackson alone, you stupid bitch!” over a distorted thump. The track Throwing Up is self-explanatory.
Nuyorican heat
Too many of the reissues of Latin music coming from the New York scene have focused on the boogaloo and funky salsa of the 60s and early 70s, which is why Honest Jon ‘s Son Cubano NYC collection concentrating on the jazzier side of Afro-Cuban music recorded for the SAR, Mericana and Guajiro labels is such a welcome release. Don’t be put off by the recording dates that range from 1972 through 82 – this is the rootsy raw shit cut by such keepers of the flame as Arsenio Rodriguez’s righthand man Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros , long-time Conjunto Casino arranger Rey Roig and Saoco co-founder Henry Fiol . The whole disc smokes.
Third Coast Killers
Now that Cash Money and No Limit have both fallen off, there’s room in New Orleans for some new playas to take over, and the Baton Rouge-based Most Wanted label – based on the soundtrack that Kane & Abel assembled for Da Block Party – is flexing like it’s ready to do some heavy damage. It’s a deep and diverse selection of Dirty South bangers from Houston, Memphis and Atlanta as well as New Orleans, and boasts contributions from Juvenile, B.G., Lil’ Flip and the Yin Yang Twins. But the real surprise is that they’re all upstaged by the Blue Flame Click, who twerk it with a deep bluesy twang on Down Way like David Banner’s country cousins. If they ever find their way out of the corn fields of Plano, Texas, these hombres are going places.
Mighty 45 Midgets
As Keb Darge drifts off on a disco tangent, deep funk fanatics have had to look to other sources for their hard-bumpin’ discoveries. The Brainfreeze-style mix disc The Crunch (Fat City) created by Liverpool’s No Fakin’ hosts Chris McBride and DJ Ilson, aka the 45 Midgets, is a well-programmed selection of soul shakers and floor quakers from a time before disco dementia set in. There’s no track listing included, but Katie Briggs’s Green Power and J.C. & The Soul Angels’ Nightmare Strut should be familar to funk fans, while others like Kent Meade’s He’s A Bad One, which also appeared on Fat City’s Fat ‘N’ Funky Vol. 1, soon will be. Dope.
