Over The Counter: Rush Hour Records #2

 
Music

Once again, the Rush Hour staff have selected their vinyl heaters for July… Naturally, all of the tracks are currently available from the Rush Hour online shop, which you'll find right over here

 

KAMURAN AKKOR – KAMURAN AKKOR – PHARAWAY 

Waka waka funk rhythm guitar, sweet little organs, pumping bass, winging & buzzy synths, electric baglama, syrupy disco strings, and Akkor's little swallowed yodels… It's all here on Istanbul Plak singles released from 1971-75.

Turkey's recent musical history is littered with bottled blondes who put on a lot of eyeliner, made a few singles & then disappeared. And since the mid-1970s, those twin queens Ajda Pekkan and Sezen Aksu have maintained a semi-rivalry while bulldozing their way over pop charts & sales counters. Piles of Turkish psych & folk reissues have hit the west over the past few years, and yet how many have given the luscious ladies of Anatolia their due? So go beyond Selda, and get your gal power on. It's time to steam up your windows with this foxy arabesque singer who's a real-life Stevie Nicks next-door. 

Whether she's covering European hits that have Turkish lyrics retrofitted, or ghost voicing a musical scene in a high-profile movie, Akkor often sings like outbursts of tears or frenzy are just beyond her words. And seeing how she always played second fiddle to her classier, more famous sister Gönül, maybe Kâmuran just felt like a little drama was in order, mmm?

You might have caught a couple of scant cuts on compilations like "Turkish Freakout Vol. 2" or "Istanbul 70", but there's way more to discover, and now you can

 

UNKNOWN – WARGAMES 122

The next instalment in the Wargames series. A variety of recordings by the unknown collective for the daring dj's out there.

 

UNKNOWN – AHIWO AHIWO

"My stepmother why you created me misery when I know that my mother is long dead. Let me live a normal life!"… 

 

HUNEE – HUNCH MUSIC

Hunee presents his debut album "Hunch Music” , a striking assembly of the artist's versatile inspirations and productional talent.It is a rich musical journey that latches onto you and doesn't let go easily. 

Hun Choi, better known as Hunee, is a Korean Berliner who moved to Amsterdam over a year ago. In Berlin he used to work in a record store where he could extend his unquenchable enthusiasm for music. The connection with Rush Hour was a natural continuation of his musical path.

Firstly the DJ emerged, secondly the producer. As a DJ, Hunee manifested himself as a fine connoisseur of classic and contemporary music. Always smiling, he is determined to share every fine record he finds with the world. Over the past few years, Hunee the producer has put out some highly acclaimed EPs, but only a handful. The producer went quiet for a moment, but “Hunch Music” proves Hunee’s unstoppable character. 

“Hunch Music” is rather special: it is a cinematic journey from the beginning to the end, with scenes we haven’t encountered before. It starts with “Woods” as the perfect introduction – a moody, mystic night haze that quickly changes into a warm and soothing whole. Following with “Crossroads”, the mystery transcends into something that moves us to the dance floor, and we're not sure whether we want to keep moving or we just want to listen. “Hunch Music” has a nocturnal aura, an organic groove, and moments of glorious acid. It takes us up and throws us down, gently, while subjecting us to many cinematic and musical elements.

For an artist who is also an avid vinyl collector, it might be difficult to ensure that his numerous inspirations do not distract from his artistic signature. Hunee’s production work is as colorful as his character, displaying a broad spectrum of his inspirations that manifest themselves in a surprising and seductive artistic entity. 

 

JAMES MASON – THE DANCE OF LIFE 

Over three decades after "Rhythm Of Life", James Mason rediscovered tapes with more recordings from the same late seventies period. “The Dance Of Life” (ft. Bernard Purdie on drums and Fonda Rae on backing vocals) and “Up Jump” are the first two tracks taken from the "Recollection Echo" album that Rush Hour are very proud to release on vinyl.

James Mason only made one album, that got acclaim years after its release. “Rhythm Of Life” became a soul-jazz cult classic, recorded in around 1978/79 with musicians such as Narada Michael Walden and Gene Torres, and featuring Clarice Taylor’s beautiful, characteristic vocals. The multi-instrumentalist recorded far more tracks around the release of “Rhythm Of Life”, but his music became out of fashion because musical trends shifted. Another album never arrived, and the recordings ended up in a box. Today the release of James Mason’s second album is finally set, and will be an collection of these forgotten tracks.

"Following a sense of disbelief that I could have ever forgotten about this music, for me the first echo was recollection, a flood of memories. I had poured all of the passion I could muster into this music. I labored tirelessly and thoroughly loved what I was doing. I thought I was creating my future and that this was my big chance. My idealism is evident in the lyrics. The first echo carried with it a recollection of the process of making this music. The nights in the studio. The learning curve. The equipment I borrowed. The effort and the passion. The exhilaration of a young man’s immersion in an act of self actualization is difficult to put into words. I was making the music that I loved and was engaged in an act of ‘proving myself to the world’. As it turned out, the affirmation I was seeking would only arrive as an echo — as recognition and acceptance of “Rhythm of Life” built gradually over the decades”, James Mason states in the "Recollection Echo” album release.

"[…] I am proud of much of this collection, but this is not "Rhythm of Life". Narada Michael Walden does not play on any of these tracks and I definitely would have liked to have had a lot more of Justo Almario. Most of it was created with zero budget and was intended to be redone with an appropriate budget and higher production values supported by a record deal. I wish you could hear these songs with the production treatment they deserve. For those of you that have enjoyed “Rhythm of Life” I sincerely believe that there are moments and motifs in this collection that can take you to those same inner spaces. Otherwise I would not have approved this release.

"[…] When I listen to this music I experience a recollection of the passionate execution of the production process, a young man engaged in an act of self-actualization and the dissolution of my relationships with these musicians who were once my friends. But, I also experience a profound reaffirmation of my belief in myself as an artist. With the benefit of the hindsight of my current sensibilities, even in the midst of its various defects, I hear in this music what I always believed I had in me as an artist. Some of this shit's really good! I hope you think so too…"