Professor Eddy

  C-Heads Magazine The long-awaited return of The Smooth Operators ! 😊 Martijn Soetens and I have tried to catch the vibe of a warm summer’s day, just before a heavy thunderstorm breaks loose… Enjoy! Leon Huff is known as one half of legendary songwriters duo Gamble & Huff, but he’s a brilliant organist as well. You can hear him play on Do It Anyway You Wanna by People’s Choice, for instance. The song was a mess at first and was on the shelves for quite some time, according to the king of disco mixes, Tom Moulton. After he had laid his hands on it, the track became what it is today, a disco classic. Uno Esta by American R&B flautist Bobbi Humphrey is from her 5th studio album Fancy Dancer . It was recorded in 1975, produced by the wonderful Mizell Brothers and released on the legendary Blue Note label. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars, stating: "There isn't anything approaching a middling moment here -- this is all killer, no filler. Jazz

After the implosion of disco in 1979, some subgenres came to the surface, like (electronic) boogie and Hi-NRG. The latter was mainly inspired by the electronic beats of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love . Big names of the genre were American producers Patrick Cowley (Sylvester) and Bobby Orlando (Divine, The Flirts). In the early 1980s the Italian DIY electro, known as italo disco, became popular in the American and European clubs. Later on in the decade the hit factory of Stock, Aitken & Waterman took Hi-NRG to the highest commercial level, starting with Dead Or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) in 1984. The peak was followed by a very rapid decline as house music and Eurodance overtook the club scene by the end of the decade. Hi-NRG ended with Donna Summer’s album Another Place, Another Time in 1989, 10 years after she initiated the genre, but her I Feel Love still remains influential until this day, just think of Beyoncé’s Summer Renaissance from her latest album. Enjoy

We’re grooving until the morning comes, enjoy! While imported disco records dominated playlists during the 1980s in Indonesia, a local music scene had developed in parallel, with artists like Grace Simon, Chaseiro and Rafika Duri (on this cloudcast). They used modern equipment, like synthesizers and drum machines and were influenced by western pop genres, like disco and yacht rock as well as Japanese city pop. Songs from this very interesting Indonesian pop scene (1979-1991) are available on the compilation Tanamur City , out on Cultures Of Soul. Next week The Smooth Operators will return! 😊   Picture: Unsplash Tracklist: Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio – Until The Morning Comes (1980) Bridge – From Darkness To The Light (1981) Brenda Russell – Hello People (1983) Level 42 – Love Meeting Love (1980) Dee Dee Sharp – I Love You Anyway (1980) Rafika Duri – Catatan Kisah (1983) Billy Griffin – Be With Me (1983) Cherrelle – I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On (1984) Alan Gorrie – Up (1985) B

Catalina Island (California) Catalina Island is a rocky island off the coast of Southern California. It inspired some musicians, like The Blue Jean Committee and I tried to pick up the same mood on this cloudcast. Although there are only a few soul artists on it, I believe that the overall vibe is quite soulful. So I hope you will enjoy these soft breezes from Catalina Island! Al Costelloe’s new song California deals with saying goodbye to a problematic relationship and the places that were meaningful to it. According to C-Heads Magazine , a song that is melancholic and sweet at the same time, nostalgic and utterly charming. As I told you last week, Light In The Attic recently released an album of lost demos from label boss Earl McGrath, recorded in the 1970s. Michael McCarty, the stepson of the notorious B-movie director Ed Wood, is represented by Christopher , a fine piece of soft rock. The track by Gary Benson is from the brand new compilation Bubblerock Is Here To Stay Volume Two,

  Kai Dahms If there's one song that sounds like a warm summer breeze, then it's Avant De Nous Dire Adieu by American model, singer, and actor Jeane Manson  After being photographed for Playboy magazine in 1974, she moved to France and appeared in several movies. In the summer of 1976 Avant De Nous Dire Adieu reached #12 in the Dutch Top 40. The song is featured on this cloudcast. Earl McGrath had the honour to discover Daryl Hall and John Oates in the early 1970s. According to Light In The Attic on Bandcamp, McGrath was the ultimate jet setter, an art collector and comic bon vivant who incidentally stumbled in the record business. In 1970 Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun gave him his own label, Clean Records. After his death in 2016, some of the demos he had recorded were literally found in a closet. Mark Rodney’s California, which is on this cloudcast, was one of them. Enjoy this funky chillout soundtrack to sundown!  Tracklist: Thundercat – Fly Like An Eagle (2022) Tonist