Most Excellent Unlimited HHV Records 5 Items

Mr. K’s series of edits on Most Excellent Unlimited is nothing if not eclectic, and utilitarian — as befits a veteran DJ of Danny Krivit’s stature. For our latest, Krivit pulls two disparate gems out of his bag of tricks and fits them neatly on a single 7-inch piece of vinyl.

In 1972 Ralph Bakshi’s landmark underground animated film Fritz the Cat was released, featuring a soundtrack performed by an all-star cast of San Francisco area musicians associated with the Berkeley-based Fantasy label. Perhaps Fantasy’s biggest artist was the vibes player Cal Tjader, who debuted in 1955 and was still going strong when songs were gathered for the movie’s soundtrack nearly twenty years later. Rather than simply using one of his older, already-recorded tunes, Tjader laid down a completely new version of his earlier hit record “Mamblues.” This time however, he swapped his standard latin percussion accompaniment for a can’t-miss rhythm section of Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, and Arthur Adams. The result was a searing funk workout that took the latin jazz classic to new heights. Mr. K subtly warms this one up by adding a hint of reverb and bringing the tempo down a notch, pushing things from frenetic to funky, and firmly into friendly mixing territory for the DJs.

For our flip side, we turn to an unsung jewel amongst Philadelphia’s many contributions to disco music. Executive Suite released a series of singles in ’74 and ’75 that were recorded at the famed Sigma Sound Studios and had ties to a number of better known disco luminaries, among them the holy trinity of Baker-Harris-Young and, on “You Believed In Me,” the mighty Patrick Adams. Along with his longtime associate Stan Lucas, Adams garnished the vocal quartet’s composition with a driving arrangement and epic, soaring strings. The combined effect produced a vibrant, uplifting club cut that echoes the positive spirit of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up” while being altogether its own thing. For our latest release Mr. K focuses solely on Adams’s instrumental section, returning repeatedly to that addictive string riff and creating a propulsive rhythm track that just doesn’t quit. And we don’t want it to!

As always, these connoisseur’s choice cuts have been remastered and pressed to Most Excellent Unlimited’s standards, and are primed and ready on 7-inch for DJs and home listeners alike.

Wonderful edit king Mr K is back with more of his superb scalpel work on his own Most Excellent Unltd label. This latest 7" tackles some mighty original material in the form of Steve Wonder's gloriously uplifting 'If You Really Love Me.' It is just as life-affirming and joyous in Mr K's hands with some extra drum weight and drawn-out grooves that will energise any dancefloor. On the flip is 'Time Of The Season' which taps into some golden funk and soul with soaring vocals and big horns over a killer, infectious bassline.

Most Excellent Unlimited returns with a deluxe edition of AK’s soulful house classic “Say That You Love Me,” with exclusive 7-inch edits by Danny Krivit on a limited edition collectors clear pink vinyl featuring a new picture sleeve.

Through her renowned & illustrious career, AK Akemi Kakihara has released fifteen albums and notched many hits in her native Japan, both for herself and with other artists she’s written for. Beginning in the early 2000s, she also crossed over to the house world with several resounding tracks, making perhaps the biggest impact with “Say That You Love Me.” The song was first released in a downtempo R&B mix in 2001, the year that Akemi Kakihara, now recording under the artist name AK, relocated to New York City. That same year, “Say That You Love Me” was licensed by King Street Records, who commissioned François Kevorkian and Eric Kupper to give the original a deep house treatment. The resulting remix was a runaway success, transforming the song into a sultry dance floor groover that perfectly embodied the sound of the day (and included a standout solo by Defunkt trumpeter John Mulkerin). It was quickly picked up by tastemakers like the Body & Soul DJs, Louie Vega, BBC Radio, and various radio stations across Europe as well as back in Japan, and in the twenty years since then, the song has only grown in stature, becoming a must-play anthem in Japan and with house heads across the globe.

For this special 20th Anniversary reissue timed for Black Friday Record Store Day, Most Excellent Unlimited has pressed Danny Krivit’s 7-inch edits of the Fk-ek remix and AK’s own remix to a clear pink 7-inch, which also features a special picture sleeve by Junko Hino. Danny Krivit, who made the team official when he and AK were married in 2008, has done his usual expert job coming up with edits that go far beyond a typical lopped off 7-inch version and give the best of the long mixes while staying within the sonic confines of the more portable format.

With the long awaited availability of AK’s entire early catalog now on streaming services, plus the arrival of an all-new full length album, the time is right to rediscover one of the great soulful voices of R&B and house, and nowhere better to start than this 20th Anniversary single.

Mr. K is back again with a double-sider that tackles the ups and downs of love and does it in fabulous style with two solid soul classics.

Yvonne Fair was a veteran of the soul music world when she finally got the chance to record her first full length album in 1975. She had recorded multiple singles under the guidance of James Brown (her “I Found You” was reworked by Brown into the chart-topper “I Got You (I Feel Good)”) and, after leaving the JB camp for the auspices of Motown, a clutch of 7-inches with Norman Whitfield. These were gathered together to form her first (and only) full-length, but before the album was completed a final song was added to fill things out. This last minute touch would turn out to be the crowning achievement of her career. “It Should’ve Been Me” didn’t seem to be a notable addition at first. The song was originally done by Kim Weston a decade earlier and then by Gladys Knight. But Fair’s version had something special. In addition to the novel addition of a percolating drum machine pulse, Fair imbued the lyrics with a heartfelt sincerity and gruff emotion that touched listeners in a way that other versions had missed. Released as a single in the UK in late ’75, the song rose to the top ten of the British charts by February of the following year, inspiring Motown to release it as a US single. The song never replicated its UK success in the States, but went on to have a long life as a staple of drag performances and gay club life. Gay club life being the heart of all great club life, it’s only natural that the impact of the song has continued to spread, from Adeva’s hit house version in 1991 to Miley Cyrus’s recent revival of the song. Danny Krivit pays tribute to this storied history with his own version, a simple yet effective edit that stays true to the original but gives DJs a little more room (and fans a little more time to sing along!) than the all-too-brief original.

Continuing on our theme of lovelorn loss and redemption, Mr. K turns his attention to the New Birth’s “Brand New Lover” for our B-side. While the original slowly moves from the tentative, immediate aftermath of breakup to the eventual positive path forward, Krivit’s edit jumps straight to the joyous resolution to find new love, riding a delicious call and response chorus punctuated by signature breakdowns from master producer Harvey Fuqua. Danny’s edit provides a natural uplifting opportunity that never stops building over the course of its extended five minutes. Until now, the track has only been available on the group’s debut 1970 full-length, and never on a 7-inch single.

As always, this release has been mastered to the highest standards and is certain to find a spot in the bags of discerning listeners and DJs alike.

Conclave is a gathering.
Conclave is a coming together.
Conclave is con clave, a unifying rhythm that is the key to unlock dances ancient and contemporary.
Conclave is Cesar Toribio and Scott Scribner, multi-instrumentalists whose alchemy is evident in the ebb and flow of their compositions, paradoxes of the delicate and powerful inextricably woven around the rhythm.
After a dozen live shows over the past couple years, the Brooklyn-based group take their first steps on vinyl with an impassioned cover of the soul standard “Sunny,” a song whose Latin Disco pedigree makes it the perfect canvas for the Dominican+New Yorker collaborators. An ethereal gospel choir lifts Toribio’s heartfelt vocals over twining guitar and keys that gradually build and eventually bubble over to ride a churning bass line into the heavens — Paradise, in this case, being a funked-up extended instrumental jam on the groove.
Seven Davis Jr. joins the circle for a flip side remix that is nothing short of stunning. Languidly paced, the sparse mix gradually grows in intensity with an unforced charm that lends a startling drama to the entrance of the rippling bassline a full three minutes in. When the keys finally arrive like a burst of light thru the clouds, the door to the dance has been fully thrown open and the listener’s transformation from bystander to part of the conclave is complete.
The release of “Sunny” is rounded out with an acapella, available on vinyl and digital, an enticement for future collaborators, perhaps. Conclave’s debut album will touch down summer 2020, but this Most Excellent 12-inch is certain to hold you over till then, and beyond.
Written by Bobby Hebb. Performed, recorded by Cesar Toribio and Scott Scribner as Conclave in Brooklyn, NY. Remixed by Seven Davis Jr. Mixed by Phil Moffa at Butcha Sound Studios. Conclave’s debut album out Summer 2020.