Needle Time

  Swamp Children - Taste What's Rhythm [BEWITH019TWELVE UK 2023 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Factory Benelux Records in 1982,  and now re-released by my current favourite boutique label, Be With Records. I could never decide if the pressing sibilance on the original FBN 1982 pressings of this slice of Mancunian sunshine funky jazz was deliberate or evidence of shoddy workmanship, and we now at last have the answer... Be With Records cut this new release from the original master tape and it sounds fantastic.  Many will know You Got Me Beat from one of the Factory/Ikon video compilations with it's cool groove, most will also recognise the considerable A Certain Ratio link as four fifths of ACR feature on this record. In actual fact, Softly Saying Goodbye echoes much of the brit-funk ACR were doing in the same period with Donald Johnson lending his thumbs on slap bass.  A1 Taste What's Rhythm B1   You've Got Me Beat B2 Softly Saying Goodb...

  Swamp Children - So Hot [FACT 70 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] This evening, we find ourselves back in Manchester where one of the most unlikely of Factory bands, Swamp Children fizzed out urban latin-jazz with a post-punk attitude straight from Manchester's streets. Charming yet naïve at times, this is the sound of kids (they were mostly between 16 & 19 years old) who loved jazz dance, making a jazz dance record whilst learning to play instruments (and a guitarist masquerading as a drummer) borrowed from A Certain Ratio. John Kirkham shows a few classy touches on the guitar, keyboard player Ceri Evans went on to form The Brand New Heavies, original bassist Tony Quigley now plays sax for A Certain Ratio whilst sister Ann Quigley's voice could never stand up to the close scrutiny following Factory's declaration that she was a "torch singer". A1 Samba Zippy (Part One) A2 El Figaro A3 Tender Game A4 Magic A5 Sunny Weather B1 Samba Zippy (Part Two) B2 No S...

Swamp Children - Taste Whats Rhythm [FBN 16 BEL 1982 24-Bit FLAC] A few months back I posted a new 24 bit rip of Swamp Children's excellent debut single, I meant at the time to produce a new rip of the follow up. I've finally gotten around to the task! This single was relegated to the Factory Benelux off-shoot and has become quite a rarity among Factory collectors due to its limited pressing. Many will know You Got Me Beat from one of the Factory/Ikon video compilations with it's cool groove, most will also recognise the considerable A Certain Ratio link as four fifths of ACR feature on this record. In actual fact,  Softly Saying Goodbye echoes much of what ACR were doing in the same period with Donald Johnson lending his thumbs on slap bass. The mastering to vinyl does sound a little toppy and fuzzy, I guess that's the way they wanted to sound, rather than any pressing flaws.  A1 Taste Whats Rhythm B1 You've Got Me Beat B2 Softly Saying Goodby...

Swamp Children - Little Voices [FAC 49 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] Little Voices was one of my Factory singles which I only ever ripped to lossy on my old ESWA blog, here at last is a new 24-bit lossless rip from my original Factory 12". The sleeve is very un-Factory, with band name and song titles carried on the abstract nude cover. The sleeve has also been given a high gloss finish to mimic old records from the fifties and sixties. The inner is a Japanese-style clear and rounded poly bag which does little really to protect the platter as it just scrunches up when placed inside the sleeve. Originally Swamp Children had a much rawer edge with a darker yet jazz-tinged funk sound than the band they eventually became, Kalima. Little Voices was produced by Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder and ACR's Simon Topping at the Cab's Western Works studio in Sheffield. The track itself is quite a gem with its hauntingly dark and industrial feel, highly apt given the choice...