One night while trawling the internet in search of a particularly illusive heavy psych 7”, Matt Ford, aka boundary-stretching turntablist DJ Format, struck up a conversation with BBE’s in-house designer Jake Holloway. By the end of the conversation, Format had been invited to compile a selection of funky psychedelic grooves from the 60s and early 70s.
His subsequent global quest resulted in this astonishing, weirdly-named collection, unified by fuzzed up guitars, strange vocals and driving grooves. Kicking off with Singapore’s The Quests reimagining Hava Nagila as a mysterioso organ romp, it charges through fuzz-toned delights by Germany’s Christian psych outfit The CT Four, Hungary’s acid-folky Koncz Zsuzsa, Italy’s startling space disco fortune teller Sergio Ferraresi, Czech jazz-proggers Flamengo and France’s Bana Pop Band, whose blaxploitation-invoking Jet Pop oddly promoted a chocolate bar on a 7” flexi-disc.
The US is represented by three sizzling freakbeat rarities in the form of The Tijuana Brats’ Eastern-tinctured Karate Chop, 49th Blue Streak’s incendiary cover of Jimi’s Foxy Lady and the marvellous Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar turning Louie Louie into a transcendental vamp with Hair-like chorale. The UK is solely represented by the Rainbow Family’s weighty take on Travellin’ Lady by the overlooked Manfred Mann Chapter Three.
Highly recommended.
By: Kris Needs