It is 1983 and you’ve just stepped into your Ford Capri with your girlfriend Julie. You live in Harlow, but in your head you’re really somewhere near Salou in Spain, next to your yacht. But the thing you really love is soul and they play nothing but at Sups in Loughton. OK, so It’s not 1983 at all. It’s 2014, but listening to this electrofied soul, will put you back in the zone. Tom Findlay, one half of Grammy-nominated Groove Armada, has put this collection together: a stamp of authenticity in itself. Tom has also put a few of these through the edit wringer, reworking many of the tunes for maximum towelling sockability. You’ll probably recognise a few tunes. There’s Mtume’s incredible ‘Juicy Fruit’, still sounding advanced and modern, while ‘I Specialize In Love, mixed by disco legend Tee Scott, is even older yet sounds equally perky. The 1980s was a period that was pretty much owned by Minneapolis thanks to Prince and former cohorts Jam & Lewis and the latter weigh in with a pair of killer productions, Thelma Houston’s ‘You Used To Hold Me So Tight’ and Alexander O’Neal’s ‘What’s Missing’. And since this is Late Night Tales, there is always our exclusive cover version, this time done by Findlay and Tim Hutton’s Sugardaddy, who’ve delivered an ace version of ‘Don’t Look Any Further’.Grab yourself a bar stool, order a cocktail, take a sip and make believe you’re lying on a shagpile carpet with the soul star of your dreams.
"Automatic Soul, like my previously compiled Late Night Tales Music For Pleasure, is based very much on a sound. It's a sound that I feel has been overlooked: 80s R&B-infused music, with drum machines, synths and invariably brilliant vocals. It’s formed the bedrock of my rare groove sets for all the years I’ve played. It’s not the most fashionable, but to me it’s the perfect marriage of technology and soul, hence the title for this album, Automatic Soul. There are plenty of songs I could have included, and no doubt some that I shouldn’t, but I’ve tried to represent what’s best to me from this era. It’s not a classic Late Night Tales. It’s a pretty personal journey, which I hope some of you might be willing to share…"
Tom Findlay, Groove Armada - September 2014
Tracklist:
A SIDE
1. Rene & Angela - I’ll Be Good
2. Zapp - Heartbreaker (p1 + 2)
3. Timex Social Club - Rumors
B SIDE
4. Mtume - Juicy Fruit
5. Sugardaddy feat. Ronika - Don't Look Any Further
6. Meli'sa Morgan - Fool's Paradise
C SIDE
7. George Franklin Smallwood & Marshmellow Band - You Know I Love You
8. Royalle Delite - I’ll Be A Freak For You
9. Bits & Pieces - Don't Stop the Music
D SIDE
10. Donna Allen - Serious
11. Change - Change Of Heart
12. The Gap Band - I Owe It To Myself
E SIDE
13. 52nd Street - You're My Last Chance
14. Thelma Houston - You Used To Hold Me So Tight
15. Alexander O'Neal - What's Missing
F SIDE
16. Aurra - You And Me Tonight
17. Samson & Delilah - I Can Feel Your Love Slippin’ Away
18. Sharon Brown - I Specialize In Love
