TURNTABLE LAB

Heavy Metal In Baghdad DVD

Loaded DVD release of Vice's acclaimed documentary on Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda. (And I'm not just saying "acclaimed" either - Rolling Stone and Huffington Post wrote about this shit!) The bonus features here include the 45-minute follow-up featurette "Heavy Metal In Istanbul," 30 minutes of additional and deleted footage, 3 live performances from the band, and an 8-page booklet which includes Vice's original article on the band, "No War For Heavy Metal." In all, there's nearly 3 hours of material here. The skinny on the film itself: "In the late summer of 2006, as the insurgency escalated and gripped every corner of the city, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to the Red Zone in Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. Heavy Metal In Baghdad is the story of that band and its members, following them from their beginnings under the dying days of Saddam's rule to the present day. The filmmakers have collected glimpses into the struggles of Acrassicauda as they try to stay together and stay alive. Their story is the untold story of the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young Iraqis, young lives that have been distorted and displaced by years of continual warfare in their homeland."
reviewed by el generico

file under:
dvds - art + comedy + other

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Ahzz
New York's Moving Digi-12

pure deep disco candy

Pure deep disco candy here. Straight from the weird and wonderful world of Peter Brown, this 1981 stomper is a wild ride. The vocal take is goofy and great, filled with "uptown"/"downtown" references and a civic pride that Bloomberg would be proud of (note to mayor: bring back the good discos!). With a drummer that sounds coked out of his mind and non-stop hand claps, you know things are going to be good from the first downbeat. The guitar busts out a crazy echo on the dubbed midsong breakdown and if you're not in heaven, I've got a mint DefJux promo pack for ya. For the less NYC-centric of you out there (eh, everybody's NYC-centric!), the flip side is a twisted instrumental dub that starts with that flanged out drumbreak and doesn't look back. Pure heat. Speaking of, Kenny do-do-do-Dope rocked this cut on his very necessary Disco Heat CD. Now you don't have to empty a bank account to get one of these bad boys, disco vampires (you know who you are) get up on this.
reviewed by monk

file under:
funk+soul+disco / top albums chart / funk soul disco - lab recommended

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Cosmic Metal Mother / Professor Genius
I Think / Pegaso (Nick Chacona Remix) Digi-12

retro italo and cosmic vibes

I first heard Professor Genius' "Pegaso" on the Italians Do It Better "After Dark" comp and was wondering why this track didn't appear on the his IDIB 12", but alas, the track is finally here on wax via the very excellent Disques Sintomme label. Jorge Velez (aka The Professor) does the retro-italo vibe right, with airy synths, dirty arpeggiated bass and proper lo-fi drum machine action and apparently the dude has been at it for years and is just now starting to release stuff. Silver & Kane turn in the remix which definitely has a more modern new disco sound - fans of Metro Area and the like will surely dig. Flipside features the super spaced out sounds of Cosmic Metal Mother's "I Think" which reminds me of "E2-E4" on K. Real cosmic shit that is in no hurry to progress, it kind of just takes it's time and rides out those hypnotic synth patterns. Look up "E8" on wiki while listening to this and zone the funk out. Nick Chacona's remix beefs up the drums and ups the energy to something you might actually play out on the dancefloor.
reviewed by minimal man

file under:
top albums chart

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Rainbow Brown
Rainbow Brown Digi-LP

rare disco with vocals from Fonda Rae

Disco rare! With the ever growing and well deserved appreciation of disco mastermind Patrick Adams comes the inevitable reissue of Rainbow Brown's self titled album. Featuring Fonda Rae on all lead vocals, Rainbow Brown was a one shot studio project with Adams overseeing nearly every aspect of the production for his label PAP. "Till You Surrender (I Won't Give Up)" was the big single here and was later covered by Chaka Khan's sister Taka Boom in the late 90's as simply "Surrender." "I'm The One" is my personal favorite; driving, sparse and immediately infectious with a sound that falls somewhere in between two decades. And you know it's a wrap when Fonda suggests - "my petals are open and waiting, wet with the dew of elation for you.” A sultry version of Donna McGhee's "It Aint No Big Thing" was apparently the other noise maker off the album and it's the lone mid tempo cut here, with just a little Love Unlimited influence in the mix. Picking up the pace again, "Let's Go Another Round" continues the innocent (by today's standards) innuendo prevalent throughout Adams’ lyrics. More than anything though, I'm all about Fonda Rae. I’d always wondered why she hadn't been more prolific in her career, and with Rainbow Brown, the mystery only deepens. What the hell was she doing in those 4-5 years between this and "Over Like a Fat Rat"?
reviewed by Paul Nice

file under:
funk+soul+disco / top albums chart / funk soul disco - lab recommended

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