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BAY
AREA FUNK 2 7" Sampler
feat. Dawn
And Sunset “Move In The Room” b/w Soft Touch “Plenty
Action”
--Two super rare Bay Area funk tracks on one double-sided
7” single
--DJ friendly and highly collectible tunes on limited edition
7”
For Bay Area Funk II we enlisted the help of Bay Area musicologist
Justin Torres to hone in on an even deeper selection than Volume
I. Setting the tone is this 7” single which features two
super rare tracks previously only available on ridiculously rare
wax.
Side A is sure-fire DJ friendly raw-funk-jam with vocals. Almost
nothing is known about Dawn and Sunset other than the band was
made up of Don Thompson, Tim Jones and Virgil Rucker. They released
this track on their own DT&V label for Jim Moore (Jasman records,
Sugar Pie Desanto etc) who distributed the record. All the tapes,
paperwork and records made in connection with the recording session
were unfortunately lost in the Oakland Hills fire of 1991. Moore
only remembers a tall brown skinned guy and a band who recorded
at least one, possibly two, 7” singles. Otherwise the band
is a mystery to anyone we’ve asked.
Side B is a minimal funk joint powered by a slick vocal, rude
drums, and a nasty bass line. Recorded in 1976 at Freeway Records
in Oakland, Soft Touch had a later sound than Dawn and Sunset
with pre-disco electronic instrumentation. Taken from the only
single released by Soft Touch, “Plenty Action” is,
according to band member Vernon Roberts, “A message to the
man to leave those women alone! If they don’t want it then
don’t bother them.” Soft Touch were an all-vocal group
made up of Vernon Roberts, William Lockett, Larry Beachamp, and
Jim Brown. Early on in their career the members of Soft Touch
played with the Black Panthers prior to the Lumpen becoming the
Panthers main band.
The instrumental backing group was put together especially for
this session by the song writer Philip Hunt. Despite delivering
this killer piece of sly funk Soft Touch disbanded one year later
before any more recordings were made. “Family priorities
and better jobs came our way,” explains Roberts, “but
we all stayed in touch.”
Soft Touch “Plenty Action” was used by a certain Bay
Area producer of note…can you guess who?
To read more about Bay Area Funk 2, click
here.
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