Peoples Potential Unlimited Schallplatten & CDs

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: 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: 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: DC based imprint Peoples Potential Unlimited have really cornered the market in highly collectable reissued boogie funk rarities in 2010 and end the year on a high note with the three vocal cuts lifted from Real Love, a mid 80s mini album from Michael Soward that mixes new gospel dynamics and heavy synthesiser funk. Dam Funk fans will delight in the vintage sounds spread across this dinky 45 with the dusted groove of "He's Alive" particularly impressive.

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: Sporty Cat sykes delivers the album he always wanted to in the 80s. Laid down the traditional Tascam way, the talented Michigan multi-instrumentalist digs deep into soul palette with equal measures of organic and electronic instrumentation. Expect heavy waves of atmospheres, rich layers of funk and consistent levels of emotion as we glide and stumbled between each touching moment; the drifting sunset ballad "The Best Of My Love", the weeping keys and fluttering slap bass of "Togetherness", the cloud surfing dream boogie of "Sometimes", the rude synth bass and sultry R&B vocals of "If You Want Me", the list goes on...

Review: Washington DC-based label People's Potential Unlimited is one of those that seems to have an endless supply of magical sounds that all very much fit with its MO and are all pretty unique. Often times that is down to the smart digging of the owners who unearth plenty of treasures for reissuing but this time out it is a new record from a contemporary outfit, TAMTAM. The four piece band formed in Tokyo and started making reggae and dub before moving on to jazz, soul, new age and psych-pop. They bring subtle euphoria to what they do as well as catchy grooves and nostalgic melodies as exemplified here on this mature new work that will be lapped up by fans of Khruangbin.

Review: Another one from the original dirty south in the ATL. Love Juices features nine unreleased tracks from Wilkie And The Wayy, and also includes the recording from Wilkie Hill Jr.'s sole 7" single released in 1983 on the infamous Cold Wave Records, 'It Only Happened Once'. A specially-curated compilation hunted down from various old DAT tapes and reels, this is an unmatched disco-funk heart-stopper, straight from the core of Atlanta, and far ahead of its time at that. Choice cuts include the bass-led opener, 'Laura', a deliciously sensuous ode to its namesake, and 'Caught Up In Stress', a bit-reduced future disco curveball and a miraculous exercise in future-disco soothsaying; its retrofuturistic aesthetic makes it seem as if the track were made now, but no, this is the real future-past deal.