Welcome back!

I hope you enjoyed the double offering from both Hoppin’ John and myself last week?

Before we get into today’s slice of goodness, I’d like to hip you towards a band that I accidentally stumbled across last weekend. Sunday morning found me wandering the various street markets in London’s East End, trying miserably to kick the monstrous hangover I had (un)cleverly acquired whilst guest DJing at Bump & Hustle the previous evening. As I headed up towards Spitalfields Market, I passed the Vibe Bar, where they were hosting The Brick Lane Music Festival in the grounds outside. I’m a sucker for some good sounding horns, so I dropped in to see what the score was.

The Hackney Colliery Band, a local 9 piece brass band (with two drummers to boot!) were tearing up the stage with some tight punchy playing. Dropping in a mix of Hip Hop, funk, soul and some off the wall Jazz styled solos. They were an incredibly refreshing change to some of the run of the mill, pork pie hat and skinny jeans wearing Indie blah-ness (yes that is a proper descriptive term, look it up!) that you hear a lot these days.

You can catch them playing the following gigs below:

Check out the videos below (especially their cover of ‘War’ by The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and drop by the bands website HERE to check out some more goodness.

So onto business and today’s 45 is one that that has taken me some time to finally acquire!

Al Trahan’s ‘Can I Feel It’ comes out of the funk strong hold that is Beaumont, Texas. This appears to be the final release on The Spindletop Label. Although it was released in 1976, the cut has a much earlier feel due to its bare bones make up. It’s 100% wha-wah guitar, bass and drums, with Al Trahan’s powerful vocals and screams making it a definite must have 45.

I dropped this at our last Hook & Sling monthly night and it was the musical equivalent of throwing petrol on a fire, with the dance floor exploding into a frenzy!! Tricky to pick up but not entirely impossible if you’re swift off the mark! This generally goes for three figures, but I’m sure after a quick listen you’ll agree it’s worth every single penny!

Download Al Trahan – Can I Feel It – Spindletop Records HERE