Peoples Potential Unlimited 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Electro Wayne's mid 80s-focused Circuitry project get busy on Peoples Potential Unlimited with two starlit synth boogie originals; "She's Just That Type Of Girl" is a playful east coast funk flex with a slight freestyle touch to it. Harmonies, light touches on the keys and exceptional drum production, it's a sassy slice that will warm-up any floor. "Under Pressure" lowers the tempo but thrusts up the sensual urgency with great percussion and come-to-bed spoken word. Authentically done.

Review: As always, Washington DC' Peoples Potential Unlimited have resurfaced another rare-as-hens-teeth boogie number and, while we are madly in love with this label, we need to appreciate more just how important they've been to the survival of funk music in recent years. This time, it's Donald Walker's only EP to grace their catalogue, an artist who went by the name of Dohnnie on his solo projects. "Dancin Is Your Love" exudes funk from every corner, backed by a badman bassline, some freaky guitar strings, and Walker's own seductive disco tone. It's a one-track EP precisely because this tune deserves to grace a whole side of a 12". Utterly unmissable, and heavily recommended.

Review: More quality grooves from Washington DC label specializing in reissuing obscure and unknown 70s and 80s dance music. This time around is Dreamcast who are Davon Bryant in conjunction with Swedish guy Sasac aka King Al. "Liquid Deep" is sexy late night deep funk the way it was always intended and Bryant's smooth as silk vocals are just like... Wow! So with Dreamcast on the vocals and Sasac on the beat, we are hoping there's more things on the way from this trans coastal duo in 2017.

Review: This week on Peoples Potential Unlimited we have '1 2 3 Stella' which is the debut release by Alex Fernet - an artist from Bassano del Grappa, near Venice, Italy. A breezy and neon-lit boogie down affair from the late night that gives a brazen nod to the '80s, it is complemented on the B side by the romantic late '70s easy rock vibe of 'Tornerai' which is an Italian cover version of 'In your Eyes' by Badbadnotgood featuring Charlotte Day Wilson. Fernet impressively walks the fine line between undeniably kitsch and impressively cool.

Review: A decade ago, People's Potential Unlited (PPU) delivered a much-needed reissue of an insanely obscure, private press single from Bob Fickling's little-known FLICKK project. 10 years on, the label has returned to his catalogue and picked out two more gems, both of which were originally released in 1987 on Fickling's own private press imprint West Coast. A-side 'Prime Suspect' is lo-fi, P-funk influenced, post-boogie dancefloor soul at its finest - all thudding and snapping drum machine percussion, spacey synths, killer bass and Fickling's own slick, soulful vocals. Over on the flip, 'Body Shop' is a more laidback, slow-motion affair featuring some suitably lo-fi synth sounds and a more loved-up vibe.

Review: The PPU label of out DC is one of our favourites. It's lo-fi sound draws on disco, funk and soul and results in always magical 7"s of delightful dancefloor heat that not only serves up killer grooves, but also plenty of memorable and heart aching hooks. This new one from Glass Pyramid has it all. 'Stop It' is a lo-slung and dusty disco gem with lung busting diva vocals and hip swinging drums that will bring tears of joy to the eyes if dropped at the exact right moment in a set. On the flip, 'Better By The Minute' is another banger with hints of UK street soul in the drums and vocals.

Review: DC archival masters Peoples Potential Unlimited first shone the light on Dwight Sykes and his Jahari project on the must grip Situations cassette late last year, revealing the work of a key player in Michigan's underground boogie scene. Those selectors out there without the means to play tapes in a club setting will no doubt be very thankful to PPU for this 12" that brings together some unreleased demo cuts from Jahari along with a newly remastered version of the superb title track from that cassette. So up top you get two alternate takes on "Fire & Desire" with the studio version a real funk gem, whilst "Situations" sounds all the more sweet and soulful in newly remastered form.

Review: It's well known that People's Potential Unlimited boss Andrew Morgan has some serious crate digging skills. Even so, he continues to amaze with the obscurity and quality of the releases he chooses to reissue. Serious collectors have long sought out "Let's Ride" by guitarist Willie Lee Jnr under his occasional Junei alias. Originally released on 7" back in 1987, it's a killer chunk of synthesizer-heavy electrofunk blessed with some serious eyes-closed guitar solo action. Flipside "You Must Go On" - originally the A-side of the '87 release - is fantastic, too, offering a near perfect blend of sun-kissed Balearic attitude and smooth '80s soul grooves.

Review: If you've ever got a few hours to spare, check out Legowelt's discography - the Dutch analogue fetishist is astonishingly productive (and, of course Legowelt is simply one of Danny Wolfers' many pseudonyms). Here, he adds another label to the growing list with a surprise appearance on Andrew Morgan's Washington D.C-based Peoples Potential Unlimited imprint. Unsurprisingly, Wolfers explores many of his favourite themes on Puzzles in Life, merrily skipping between melodic, bubbling deep house (the excellent title track), slo-mo Detroit futurism ("Video Phone To Space"), super-slo stargazing boogie (the superb "Cruise Till The Sun Shines") and woozy, intergalactic ambience ("Los Alamos Motel"). In many ways, this is an unusual turn from PPU, but it's a calculated gamble that's more than paid off.

Review: Having come to the fore with a pair of boogie slammers on the Cosmic Chronic label, Mickey De Grand IV's Psychic Mirrors outfit ascend to parent operation People's Potential Unlimited with the excellent Charlene. Allegedly recorded with the help of a ten piece live band, both the title track and "Midnight Mirrors" are evocative of the sort of modern lo-fi funk that PPU corners the market in these days. Bringing the Miami heat, "Charlene" is a veritable dancefloor bomb, with a rugged boogie bassline the sort of flirtatious element that hips can't say no to. B Side cut "Midnight Mirrors" is more of a late night number with some exquisite synth work. Props to PPU!

Review: PPU may have expanded its remit to issue contemporary acts like Pender Street Steppers and, soon, Beautiful Swimmers but the label is still digging through the soul and boogie archives of forgotten US acts. The work of George Franklin Smallwood has provided a source of much inspiration for Peoples Potential Unlimited over the years with the archivally minded label issuing several singles, a DVD and a Christmas album from the local Washington DC artist. Here PPU grant Smallwood's soul gem "You Know I Love" it's first 12" release having first surfaced at some unspecified time in the early '80s and is worth investigating for the drum machine heavy dub version on the flip!

Review: Sultry street soul/R&B from two otherworldly underground names, intro'ing Vol. 1 of their 'Grown and Sexy Music' series. Sudi 'Space Ghost' Wachspress handles the production on these three swaying, sex-soul tidbits, while Teddy Bryant aka. Urbyne tops things off, adding melismatic croons to the affair. A-sider 'Heaven Sent' is a glistening, ecstatic exercise in digi-R&B moods, as Bryant sings of excited imaginations and loving fantasies. 'Little Bit Of Love' spices things up to a boom-bap flavour, with thoughts of neediness prevailing - of course, they just "need a little bit of your drug". 'Relax Your Mind', finally, ushers in a safe space / comedown after the high.

Review: Vancouver Dj/producer Yu Su has previously impressed via occasional contributions to the Mood Hut-affiliated Libra Mix series. This is the DJ/producer's debut solo release and boasts two high-grade cuts on one single-sided People's Potential Unlimited 12". Opener "Infi Love" is typical of the hazy, dusty and spacey Vancouver deep house sound - all soft focus intergalactic chords, vintage drum machine percussion, cut-up female vocal samples and undulating analogue bass. The jazziness continues on "Soon (MOA Mix)", where wonderfully hazy trumpet samples and horizontal chords trickle down over a bossa-inspired beat. As you might expect, it's seriously evocative and atmospheric.