“other_side”
The Other Side
(Don’t Look Back) Behind the Shack
The Revenge of Mister Mopoji
Original Soundtrack
Desco
Finding this label and the artists within its fold may be one of the year’s highlights for me. Formed by a couple of funk purists with the motivation to share obscure artists and tracks with the masses, Desco Records is the link to bass thumpin’, horn blowin’ FUNK!
Desco is always on the lookout for bands that are down with the James Brown funk-heavy sound. One band that has answered the call is the Other Side. Their first full-length release, (Don’t Look Back) Behind the Shack is such a genuine article, you’d swear it was re-released from the 1972 underground. The Other Side hits it hard with horns-a-plenty, backed by old-school beats and rhythm guitar that never lets up! Like any good funkster will attest, it’s all about the music – The Other Side doesn’t “fluff” their sound with any vocals, studio tweaking, or other bullshit – your ears are treated to thirty minutes of straight up funky goodness.
And speaking of straight up funk, Desco also prides itself on a catalogue of goods from back in the day that never made the mainstream, but definitely had enough groove to outlast those over-produced glitter acts that hit it and quit it. Mike Jackson and The Soul Providers lay down the sonics for Marvin Meyer’s Kung-Fu flick, The Revenge of Mister Mopoji. In all the Kung-Fu films I have seen, the soundtrack is usually as bad as (or worse than) the out-of-synch vocal track or the grainy filmwork. Revenge is not much different in content than many of the martial arts flicks – Man flees China for a better life, opens quiet restaurant in L.A.’s Chinatown, gets hassled by local crime kingpin, resorts back to his martial arts training as taught by an ancient Master, kicks ass, end of film. The Soul Providers set a gritty, deeply funky mood that ranges from laid back groove to the slammin’ “Disco Party.” They got it covered! And thank God Desco uncovered it for the rest of us! Desco Records, 440 West 41 Street, New York, NY 10036
