African Music Machine - Black Water Gold (1974/2007)

Bassist and session musician Louis Villery founded the eight-piece African Music Machine, a funk instrumental outfit, in the 1970s. The group eventually became a full-time member of the Jewel/Paula label. Their distinctive style, which combined classic deep funk sounds with their own New Orleans Creole influences, was reflected in singles and releases by Fontella Bass, Roscoe Robinson, Bobby Patterson, and many others. Patterson's subsidiary label, Soul Power, released African Music Machine singles from 1972 to 1974. These singles became a source of material for beatmakers and were later compiled into a compilation called Black Water Gold. Highly recommended for fans of 1970s James Brown. An incredible effort from the little-known African Music Machine, a Southern funk outfit led by bassist Louie Villery—a legendary collection of funk singles, finally compiled into one full-length album! The band has a truly unique sound, featuring plenty of swaying, pulsating basslines, cosmic organ grooves, crisp, staccato guitar riffs, and powerful brass sections—almost the African elements promised in the title, but delivered with a deeper funk sound throughout the album! In some ways, the band is a bit like Cymande or other hybrid bands from the '70s—but with far less dub, a much more straightforward funk groove, and plenty of raw Southern elements in the mix! This is the same funk 45 stuff we started our career on back then—and the original singles have become legendary.