representation of one of the most extraordinary periods in new york citys epic musical history. incl. tracks by edwin birdsong, george kranz, james white & the blacks, john robie, loose joints, material, peech boys, quando quango

the formula was simple: marry bubblegum and soul to the absolute sincerity of an enthusiastic child, cross your fingers and pray for airplay. but while the youthful sums of that formula may have grown up and walked away from their illusions of stardom, their permanent records remain. by 1973, michael, tito, jermaine, marlon and jackie were as hip as kids could get—household names, with lunchboxes, coloring books, a saturday morning cartoon, and an alpha-bits cereal commercial pushing the j5 brand onto any kid with television reception. their impressive run of four consecutive #1 singles playing on both pop and r&b stations cemented their appeal to both whites and blacks, prompting mgm to launch the osmonds as the safer (read: white) alternative. and parents? well michael had that wrapped up with his impossible-not-to-love mini-james brown thing. even their song selection straddled both sides, with “zip a dee do dah” and “abc” for kids, and contemporary standards “standing in the shadows of love” and “my cherie amour” for the older crowd. this extreme marketing and merchandising juggernaut created the kid soul explosion. a decade removed from our acclaimed home schooled compilation comes a fresh batch of talent show titans. with enterprising parents, neighbors, and teachers turning play dates into recording dates, groups like magical connection, little man and the inquires, and five ounces of soul emulated the jacksons, who’d made grade-school stardom appear easy as abc. afterschool special: the 123s of kid soul contains 19 tiny tunes ranging from bilingual d.a.r.e. anthem, to james brown bio, to young love and life beyond the playground.

the strut label returns with a brand new vinyl edition of one of the imprints most in-demand series, disco not disco, exploring original anthems and rarities from the world of reactionary 1970s post-punk and leftfield disco.
with the original two compilations released at the turn of the decade as a new wave of bands like the rapture and lcd soundsystem drew on the musics influence, disco not disco has since been adopted in its own right as a term to describe a whole genre. the compilation is more timely than ever in 2011 as a reference point for a burgeoning mainstream scene.
the new edition moves from new york classics by konk and bill laswells material to early detroit machine music, belgian new beat and a healthy dose of uk originals from shriekback, quando quango and more on seminal labels like y and factory. watch out too for rare gems from unexpected sources including japanese electronic pioneers yellow magic orchestra and 70s prog collective isotope.
disco not disco is packaged in a deluxe 2lp gatefold with featuring sleeve notes by bill brewster, author of >last night a dj saved my life<, extensive track by track notes and rare photos.

incl. tracks by 3 teens kill 4, alan vega, david byrne, dinosaur l, edwin birdsong, george kranz, gray, james white & the blacks, john robie, johnny dynell & new york 88, loose joints, material, peech boys, quando quango, rammellzee vs k-rob, tuxedomoon