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VARIOUS ARTISTS - Gilles Peterson Digs America / Brownswood USA

This is the first in a series of “Digs” compilations raiding the record racks of some of the most outrageous music collections. Over the years Gilles Peterson has delighted dance floors and listeners to his radio show by joining the dots between musical styles and eras. His record collection is so serious he keeps it in a separate house known as Brownswood. Regular listeners to Peterson’s radio show (Worldwide airs on BBC Radio 1 weekly in the UK and is syndicated around the world) are occasionally treated to a Brownswood Basement selection where all the records are oldies, all on vinyl, and none have been re-issued. By popular demand this compilation features some of the Brownswood Basement rarities from the USA.

Peterson is a DJ’s DJ known for selecting and blending together choice tracks from around the world whether they were previously obscure or well known. He also is the listener’s listener filtering and seeking-out music that might otherwise have remained unheard. And despite his preference for quality over rarity Peterson is also the collector’s collector, able to pull out an eye-brow raising record amidst the company of any vinyl connoisseur we know of. “I just love the sharing of music thing and have always had that collector’s gene from my marble days!” jokes Peterson.

A typical Brownswood Basement mix effortlessly ebbs and flows between moods and grooves. Opening with a string laden low-rider-style soul cut from Dorando the tempo may be low but the quality level and rarity factors are immediately set to high. The identity of Dorando (real name Darondo, but a spelling mistake on this 45 switched the “o” with the “a”) was a long time mystery. In the early 1970s three 45s were released on San Francisco Bay Area labels but little else was known about the man until local musicologist Justin Torres recently tracked him down.

Tracklisting

1. Dorando - Didn’t I
2. Moses Dillard - Tribute To Wes
3. Marva Josie - He Does It Better
4. Lonnie Hewlett And The Little Sisters & Co. - Ya Ya Cha Cha
5. Jon Lucien - Search For The Inner Self
6. Bobby Cole - A Perfect Day
7. Baaska & Scavelli - Get Off The Ground
8. Ellen McIlwaine - Higher Ground
9. Caroline Peyton - Just As We
10. Bob Cunningham - Lover’s Theme
11. Ira Sullivan - The Kingdom Within You
12. JR Bailey - Just Me’N’You
13. The World Experience Orchestra - The Prayer
14. Harold McKinney - Ode To Africa
15. 47 x It's Own Weight -March of the Goober Woobers
16. The Ensemble Al Salaam - Circles

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Gilles Peterson Digs America / Brownswood USA is available through UBIQUITY / Luv N' Haight Records, distributed by Creative Vibes

 

 

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