MANZEL “Midnight Theme”

1. Midnight Theme (Dopebrother 7 Inch Remix) 2. Sugar Dreams (Dopebrother Remix) 3. Evil, Wicked, Mean and Nasty (Dopebrother Remix) 4. Just For You (Dopebrother Remix) 5. Long Way Home (Dopebrother Remix) 6. The Party (Dopebrother Remix) 7. It’s Over Now (Dopebrother Remix) 8. Space Funk (Dopebrother 7 Inch Remix) 9. Vera Cruz (Dopebrother Remix) 10. Jump Street 11. Midnight Theme Dopebrother 12 Inch Remix) 12. Space Funk (Dopebrother 12 Inch Remix) 13. It’s Over Now (MAW Remix)

The term ‘holy grail’ is frequently used in record digging circles when it comes to those elusive slabs of vinyl that have attained legendary status. And at the top of the stack when it comes to these holiest hunks of Funk is Manzel’s "Midnight Theme" (recorded in 1975 and originally released by Fraternity Records in 1979), one of the most collectible funk and breakbeat 45s ever. Though "Midnight Theme’s" infectiously laid back synth lines percolate within a seamlessly smooth groove, the song’s claim to fame is its booming opening drum break—eight bars of crispy snares and hi-hats that have become the stuff of Hip Hop lore. "Midnight Theme’s" beats have not only graced old school compilations like the pre-Ultimate Breaks & Beats "Octopus" series, but they’ve been immortalized in the digital age as the sampled rhythm behind rap classics by De La Soul, Cypress Hill, and many others.

World-class record collectors and purveyors of quality Funk, Soul, Hip Hop and Dance grooves, renowned producer/DJ/remixer Kenny "Dope" Gonzales of Masters at Work & Victor "The Undercover Brother" Piagneri recognized that the power of Manzel’s music still resonates some 25 years after its initial release. Tracking down the group’s bandleader/ keyboardist Manzel Bush, now a Lieutenant-Colonel in the U.S. Army, Kenny & Victor has reissued "Midnight Theme"—along with the group’s other masterpiece, 1978’s disco-break fueled "Space Funk"—on their Dopebrother imprint. During the process of recovering the original masters of Manzel’s holy grail, they discovered the breakbeat equivalent of the Lost Ark of the Covenant—an entire album’s worth of Manzel material that had been languishing in the vaults for years. Thus, we have a gift from the rare groove gods, Manzel’s Midnight Theme.

With Kenny Dope & The Undercover Brother on the mix re-tuning Manzel’s masterworks in the form of additional, exclusive 12 Inch remixes of the title cut and "Space Funk," Midnight Theme is nothing short of an event. As is only appropriate for such an important release, the album is packaged in a striking eight-page fold-out CD booklet that lovingly documents the original recording sessions. In addition, the album comes with a bonus CD that features a 30 minutes Manzel Funk mix by DJ Muro. Brace yourselves, rare groove fanatics. Your Theme music has finally arrived.

FORMAT: 2xCD —— CATALOG NUMBER: DB 7005 —— BARCODE: 6 64419 70052 6 LABEL: Dopebrother Records —— AVAILABLE: August 18th 2009