News: Joy Unlimited's Instrumental Impressions now on CD!

Thanks to a tip from our friend Lev, we learned today that the very obscure music library album by Joy Unlimited has been reissued (in fact, it was released yesterday!). I haven't personally heard this album, and given that it's all instrumental, it's presumably quite a bit different from the band's proper albums (which have been dutifully reissued - mostly by the excellent Garden of Delights label). According to Lev it's a typical film music album with sketches of songs at varying tempos and beats. Therefore, the album has been highly collectable amongst the DJ crowd who treasure rare vintage recordings such as this. The reissuing label is Sonorama Records, a label that caters to this particular genre.

The website Underground Hiphop (See? I told you we're pretty far off course here!) says this about "Instrumental Impressions": "Lost classic for the collectors of Italian Library Funk: One of the most sought after cult LPs on the tiny Devega label from Milan, produced in 1972 for license purposes only. The German progressive band "Joy Unlimited" plays a terrific mixture of funk 'n'soul , jazz, psych rock and Latin moods, with clever arrangements and perfect grooves. 12 excellently produced soundtracks for an imaginary film of the counterculture, including many cool DJ spins like "Parabolica", "Soul Gravy", "Jamara" or "Blue Box", spiced with killer breaks & electronic effects. First LP & CD release of their famous "unofficial" album, carefully remastered and with the original cover design.

Many original records with Italian Library Music are among the most sought-after collector's items of the jazz, funk and soundtrack fans today. They were produced by minor labels during the 1960s and 70s in small editions for license purposes only. One of these worldwide hunted cult albums from Italy is called "Instrumental Impressions" and appeared on the obscure Devega label from Milan in 1972. The rare LP was recorded by the legendary German progressive band "Joy Unlimited" from Mannheim, which caused quite a sensation with their mix of psychedelic rock, funk, soul and pop.

"Instrumental Impressions" features twelve excellent tracks of jazz-funk, psych rock and Latin music, with clever arrangements and perfect grooves. Frantic horns and flute lines, wah-wah guitars, psychedelic organ, Latin rhythms and jazzy saxophone or vibes develop a true kaleidoscope of varied retro sounds. The band plays music for an imaginary film of the counterculture, spiced with "killer breaks" and electronic effects."