THU., NOVEMBER 30, 2006
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Desco and Daptone: Rebirth of the Groove
by Hua Hsu
Many years ago, Gabriel Roth and Philip Lehman shared a dream. Unfortunately, this dream kind of involved a time machine: the two men were hopelessly obsessed with the "shitty, garage-sounding" funk records of the late '60s and early '70s, a resource that had grown scarce after decades of neglect. So they did the next best thing and founded Desco Records, a modest New York City-based label dedicated to conveying that perfect sound in their heads. They figured out how to produce and engineer records that replicate that gritty, lo-fi feel. As it turned out, it wasn't hard work — in this case, less was more — and Desco's seven-inch vinyl releases suddenly became prized collectibles among fellow record fiends. To some, Desco was just a cool retro thing; but to Roth and Lehman, it was an act of righteousness.
Desco's heyday — if you can call it that — was the late '90s, when they became a hub for soul and funk enthusiasts and hip-hop sample-spotters worldwide. Their records trafficked in alternate histories. The late Joseph Henry was an intense, scorching singer who would have remained pretty much undiscovered had it not been for a want-ad for a frontman that Roth placed in the mid '90s in the Village Voice. Henry's first Desco single, "Who's the King (You Know It's Me)" was one of the label's signature tunes, working its way into the sets of some of the world's finest (and most stubbornly anti-modern) funk DJs. Sharon Jones was another Desco discovery. Jones was an obscure, uncredited session singer in New York in the '60s and '70s; when the digitization of soul in the '80s meant less work for grizzled veterans, she took a job working at Riker's Island. She linked up with Desco shortly after they started, quickly establishing herself as someone with a voice as powerful as any of James Brown's fabulous protégés.
While soul man Lee Fields was fortunate enough to put music out in his youth, in the '90s his legend was doing little more than gathering dust. His album for Desco, Let's Get a Groove On, helped reestablish Fields, whose resemblance to the Godfather of Soul (and Funk and everything else) earned him the nickname "little J.B." Spike's Choice: The Desco 45 Collection is an excellent document of this late-'90s explosion of future-primitive funk that came out of New York. Alongside stellar work by Henry, Jones and Fields, one hears younger revivalists like the boogaloo-obsessed Sugarman 3, the Soul Providers and the Afrobeat-themed Daktaris refining their skills.
Unfortunately for them — or maybe fortunately, given their reputations for having strident personalities — Roth and Lehman parted ways around 2002. It was certainly fortunate for Desco fans, as the funk only multiplied. Roth and a member of the Sugarman 3 founded Daptone, while Lehman founded Soul Fire. Despite their split, the Desco bands continued permuting in odd ways, and all sorts of new bands and sounds emerged from both labels. Roth helped found Antibalas, an excellent Brooklyn-based Afrobeat act featuring members of Desco's old studio bands, and issued records by the Sugarman 3, the Mighty Imperials and the eclectic Budos Band. Most importantly, Daptone released Jones' best records: Dap-Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and the breakthrough hit Naturally — the latter features a brilliantly dark traipse through Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."
While Roth's new enterprise specialized in a cleaner, more soulful sound, Lehman's labels, Soul Fire and later Truth and Soul, pushed the other way with a mix of dirty old funk reissues and even dirtier new funk and Latin recordings. The eponymous Calypso King and the Soul Investigators is an early Meters-and-J.B.'s-inspired record from the brilliant Finnish band, while the Whitefield Brothers' In the Raw is a heavy, psych-tinged funk set from the excellent veteran German band Poets of Rhythm. (As if things weren't confusing enough: the Poets' first record, Practice What You Preach, was recently reissued on Daptone; it's also available under the name What Goes ‘Round, with some bonus material.)
One of Lehman's most exciting acts is the El Michels Affair, a versatile Brooklyn band whose Sounding Out the City was one of last year's better releases. The interesting part of the El Michels sound is that they are essentially making modern music using old idioms — it's as though their music is coming from the perspective of a record collector who appreciates unlikely juxtapositions: They recently interpreted the Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." and Raekwon's "Glaciers of Ice" as punchy soul instrumentals, both off the Fallin' Off the Reel compilation. (Personal note: the collection also includes one of my all-time favorite soul ballads, Lee Fields' "Honey Dove.")
It may be hard to believe, but not every funk and soul revivalist has recorded for a Desco-related label. In the late '90s Mixmaster Wolf from Darkleaf and a sprawling band of Los Angeles musicians — many of whom are also in Rebirth and daKAH Hip-Hop Orchestra — formed Breakestra, the live band equivalent of a hip-hop DJ's fine-tuned breakbeat set. And recently, a talented British producer named Will Holland began putting out records as both Quantic and Quantic Soul Orchestra. Holland possesses an incredible touch, layering styles and eras in such a way that confuses the new and the old, as on classic Quantic moments like "Pushin' On," "Feeling Good" and "Don't Joke With a Hungry Man." In 2006, Holland released two records: An Announcement to Answer — his studio album, featuring the head-scratchy "Bomb in a Trumpet Factory" — and I'm Thankful, a collaboration with underrated '70s soulwoman Spanky Wilson, who had no idea anyone collected her music until Holland knocked on her door two years ago. As Wilson sings over the proud slink of the title track, "Thank you for the rhythm/And the rolling beat/Thank you for the melody/And the harmonies so sweet" — it could just as easily be Holland's internal monologue, smiling at the thought of wrapping a track around one of his heroes.
Desco's heyday — if you can call it that — was the late '90s, when they became a hub for soul and funk enthusiasts and hip-hop sample-spotters worldwide. Their records trafficked in alternate histories. The late Joseph Henry was an intense, scorching singer who would have remained pretty much undiscovered had it not been for a want-ad for a frontman that Roth placed in the mid '90s in the Village Voice. Henry's first Desco single, "Who's the King (You Know It's Me)" was one of the label's signature tunes, working its way into the sets of some of the world's finest (and most stubbornly anti-modern) funk DJs. Sharon Jones was another Desco discovery. Jones was an obscure, uncredited session singer in New York in the '60s and '70s; when the digitization of soul in the '80s meant less work for grizzled veterans, she took a job working at Riker's Island. She linked up with Desco shortly after they started, quickly establishing herself as someone with a voice as powerful as any of James Brown's fabulous protégés.
While soul man Lee Fields was fortunate enough to put music out in his youth, in the '90s his legend was doing little more than gathering dust. His album for Desco, Let's Get a Groove On, helped reestablish Fields, whose resemblance to the Godfather of Soul (and Funk and everything else) earned him the nickname "little J.B." Spike's Choice: The Desco 45 Collection is an excellent document of this late-'90s explosion of future-primitive funk that came out of New York. Alongside stellar work by Henry, Jones and Fields, one hears younger revivalists like the boogaloo-obsessed Sugarman 3, the Soul Providers and the Afrobeat-themed Daktaris refining their skills.
Unfortunately for them — or maybe fortunately, given their reputations for having strident personalities — Roth and Lehman parted ways around 2002. It was certainly fortunate for Desco fans, as the funk only multiplied. Roth and a member of the Sugarman 3 founded Daptone, while Lehman founded Soul Fire. Despite their split, the Desco bands continued permuting in odd ways, and all sorts of new bands and sounds emerged from both labels. Roth helped found Antibalas, an excellent Brooklyn-based Afrobeat act featuring members of Desco's old studio bands, and issued records by the Sugarman 3, the Mighty Imperials and the eclectic Budos Band. Most importantly, Daptone released Jones' best records: Dap-Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and the breakthrough hit Naturally — the latter features a brilliantly dark traipse through Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."
While Roth's new enterprise specialized in a cleaner, more soulful sound, Lehman's labels, Soul Fire and later Truth and Soul, pushed the other way with a mix of dirty old funk reissues and even dirtier new funk and Latin recordings. The eponymous Calypso King and the Soul Investigators is an early Meters-and-J.B.'s-inspired record from the brilliant Finnish band, while the Whitefield Brothers' In the Raw is a heavy, psych-tinged funk set from the excellent veteran German band Poets of Rhythm. (As if things weren't confusing enough: the Poets' first record, Practice What You Preach, was recently reissued on Daptone; it's also available under the name What Goes ‘Round, with some bonus material.)
One of Lehman's most exciting acts is the El Michels Affair, a versatile Brooklyn band whose Sounding Out the City was one of last year's better releases. The interesting part of the El Michels sound is that they are essentially making modern music using old idioms — it's as though their music is coming from the perspective of a record collector who appreciates unlikely juxtapositions: They recently interpreted the Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." and Raekwon's "Glaciers of Ice" as punchy soul instrumentals, both off the Fallin' Off the Reel compilation. (Personal note: the collection also includes one of my all-time favorite soul ballads, Lee Fields' "Honey Dove.")
It may be hard to believe, but not every funk and soul revivalist has recorded for a Desco-related label. In the late '90s Mixmaster Wolf from Darkleaf and a sprawling band of Los Angeles musicians — many of whom are also in Rebirth and daKAH Hip-Hop Orchestra — formed Breakestra, the live band equivalent of a hip-hop DJ's fine-tuned breakbeat set. And recently, a talented British producer named Will Holland began putting out records as both Quantic and Quantic Soul Orchestra. Holland possesses an incredible touch, layering styles and eras in such a way that confuses the new and the old, as on classic Quantic moments like "Pushin' On," "Feeling Good" and "Don't Joke With a Hungry Man." In 2006, Holland released two records: An Announcement to Answer — his studio album, featuring the head-scratchy "Bomb in a Trumpet Factory" — and I'm Thankful, a collaboration with underrated '70s soulwoman Spanky Wilson, who had no idea anyone collected her music until Holland knocked on her door two years ago. As Wilson sings over the proud slink of the title track, "Thank you for the rhythm/And the rolling beat/Thank you for the melody/And the harmonies so sweet" — it could just as easily be Holland's internal monologue, smiling at the thought of wrapping a track around one of his heroes.
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