On an all-new episode of Transmissions: Ken Shipley of Numero Group. October has arrived, but the storied Chicago label was still in the midst of its September ‘90s month celebration of reissues from Codeine, Karate, Current, and Unwound when we taped this conversation. Shipley and host Jason P. Woodbury discuss how the label has evolved, aesthetics, the new Blondie boxset, Shipley’s midwest emo roots and pre-Numero days at Rykodisc and Tree Records, and more.
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White Eyes :: S/T (1970 / 2015 – Numero Group)
Chooglin’ through Midwest backwater towns in a 1953 Cadillac Hearse – appropriately named “Black Boris” – Missouri’s White Eyes were almost another lost to time psychedelic band. That was until the Numero […]
Good God! Apocryphal Hymns :: Numero Group 040
The term “apocrypha” comes from the Greek for “hidden things.” Applied the Christian Bible, it covers a wide swath of books deemed “non-canonical” by one denomination or another. The books and stories found […]
Deep Heat :: Do It Again (Steely Dan) / Numero Group 45 Box
Ain’t it funky, now. Chicago’s Numero Group , in celebration of the label’s tenth birthday, is dropping a limited edition Eccentric Soul 45 box set next week entitled Omnibus . Which, naturally, contains 45 […]
Numero Group :: Local Customs: Downriver Revival
Numero Group , a label favorite for their brilliant archival and restoration work, have wowed us again — and in a typically new and delightful way. Local Customs: Downriver Revival is yet another eclectic compilation, spanning […]
Numero Group :: The Asterisk Label
We do our best to keep tabs on the latest Numero Group happenings, as they rarely fail to deliver. The latest news to come out of their Chicago shop is the recently […]
Numero Group 014 :: Grand Bahama Goombay
May 8th will see the release of Numero Group # 14, entitled, Cult Cargo – Grand Bahama Goombay . Like release #6, Belize City Boil Up , this new edition again finds the label exploring the long ignored pan-American funk, soul and […]
Country Spice :: Clouds
The seemingly sole disc from a group called Country Spice emerged in 1975 via the short-lived, Milford, Iowa-based Sonic Records and a recent, low-key, digital reissue from Numero Group has newly illuminated this country-rock / psych-pop gem. The ever-reliable B-side is preciously strange – a female voice takes over for a big sky, Mac-inflected cosmopolitan pop, its rural sound upended by baroque harpsichord passages and lyrical, gothic chimera.
Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights
Given their mastery of the archival compilation record, it should be no surprise that Numero Group would eventually dive into exotica, releasing Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights in 2018. Exotica is a perfect pairing for Numero Group’s statement of intent: a hyper-specific subset of music that quickly came in and out of vogue, reflecting a bygone era’s style and cultural context. More so, due to its short lifespan as a commercially viable genre, much of exotica is largely uncharted, and in these uncharted waters of adrift songs, a label such as Numero Group sets its sails.
Sole Inspiration :: Life
A ripping slice of late 60’s psychedelic Texas soul, Sole Inspiration’s “Life” is a Saturday night jam for Sunday morning sorrows. Recently dug up by Numero Group, the track bursts out the gate with a righteous organ that bellows across the holy blood cries of front man & songwriter Juan Gonzalez’s existential despair.
Transmissions :: Clem Burke of Blondie
This week on our weekly interview podcast, a wide-ranging interview with Clem Burke of Blondie. He joins us to discuss the band’s early years, interactions with luminaries like Robert Fripp and Giorgio Moroder, the fashion forward cultural shift, and Numero Group’s monumental box set collection, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982. A game conversationalist, Burke brings a quick wit and sharp intellect to this chat, which traces the group’s evolution, early days, and his work as a case study documenting the physical condition of drummers.
Jay Robinson feat. Penny & The Quarters :: Will I Ever
Glad tidings — we are soon to receive more archival sounds from the now immortalized Penny & The Quarters, via Numero Group’s forthcoming Penny & The Quarters & Friends—a new compilation of 1970 rehearsals from The Prix label gang. “Will I Ever”—the first taste from the autumn bound collection, is a stunning ballad pairing Penny & The Quarters sorrowful and nostalgic harmonics with Robinson’s eerily saccharine but ever-tortured soul.
Alan Dunham :: The AD Interview
“Hello!” Alan Dunham sings exuberantly at the beginning of his 1980 LP Flying Alone. “It’s nice to meet you!” Not too many people got the chance to connect with the teenaged singer-songwriter back then, though. The homemade album was released in minuscule quantities — a very private press, indeed. But in 2021, the ever-reliable crate diggers at Numero Group are giving Dunham a proper introduction: Flying Alone hits various digital platforms this week.
Female Species :: Till The Moon Don’t Shine
With the release of Tale of My Lost Love, the story of Female Species—sisters Vicki and Ronni Gossett—moves out of Numero Group’s cabinet of curios and into the full retrospective treatment, and, man, do the songs and story ever warrant it. The Gossetts sound shifted through the decades, first from girl group to garage rock, then to psychedelic pop and lounge, and finally to glossy Nashville pop sheen.
An Abstraction of Peculiar Experience :: Tom Lunt On William Eggleston
Tom Lunt on producing music by Memphis photographer William Eggleston and assorted collaborators: Brian Eno, Matana Roberts, Sam Amidon, and others.