D21

Since starting my Viva Radio program "Dead Disco" (tune in every Friday at noon!), I've been dedicating a large portion of my free time to digging through my massive audio archives, researching what I may have overlooked during the past decade or two, and keeping current with today's dance music―a high order to say the least. The upside is that I feel more engaged with music than I have since the heyday of BBBD. The downside, though, is that I don't know where to begin when it comes to posting new tracks on this blog. My goal is to throw random tracks that really catch my ear your way every once in a while, but I don't know how consistently I'll be able to do that as I'm already loaded with work as is.

For now, though, let's just sit back and listen to some old disco gems courtesy of Patrick Adams, one of the biggest and most influential producers of the 70s. Today I'm giving you some of the choice cuts from his 1978 LP by Phreek (Patrick Adams Presents Phreek). Phreek is one of my favorite Adams projects, but the man also put out some excellent tunes with Bumblebee Unlimited (a group I wrote about earlier this year), Cloud One, Universal Robot Band, and a handful of others.

The Harlem native definitely had a distinct sound: The bulk of his material featured traditional disco characteristics―thick and sultry bass lines, glamorous string arrangements, and so on―but he always made sure to throw in his own embellishments like primitive synth ditties, choir-esque choruses, and vocals by some... uh... very aroused females.

Check out my three favorites cuts from the first Phreek record and wrap your holidays up on a funky note!

Phreek - I'm A Big Phree (R-U-1-2)

Phreek - Much Too Much

Phreek - Weekend