Master Plan Inc. - Master Plan Inc. (2026)

All serious record collectors agree that finding rare records can be a difficult, time consuming and often expensive business. Finding previously unknown records takes this challenge to another level; another step further and you're into the realm of lost master tapes, acetates and demos in record company archives - take one step further still and you've just stepped into a black hole: the mysterious, unknown world of private recordings made by individual musicians, never before circulated beyond the four walls of their studio or home.

Such is the case with Master Plan Inc, a band from Chicago led by Fred Shorts. With just one single to their name - an uber-rarity rated at over $2000 - nobody had any idea that within the confines of a studio archive and Shorts' private residence there would be a wealth of other recordings on acetate, reel-to-reel tape and cassette.

Despite our 24/7 commitment to search for such material, such a find is very rare indeed, coming up only once every few years. Yet what marks this as so special is that only when these soulful treasures had been fully excavated did it come to light that the quality of the music would make for a complete album of astonishingly high quality - most albums have one or two gems padded out with filler, but here we have the real deal - gem after gem after gem. And all previously unreleased! If you're into modern soul, 70s funk, smooth mid-tempo crossover dancers or high energy funk blasts - you're in for a treat!