Description
Release Date Friday 7th March 2025
All pre-orders will be dispatched/made ready for collection on that day.
Source of an all-time 'Breaks and Beats' classic, Mr Bongo reissue Herman
Kelly's timeless 1978 album Percussion Explosion!
Immortalised in hip-hop folklore, when the anthemic 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat'
was featured on the infuential Ultimate Breaks & Beats compilation series in 1986.
Percussion Explosion! was the brainchild of drummer, percussionist, producer and
arranger, Herman Kelly and his percussive disco-funk group from Miami, 'Life', that
featured Aaron McCarthy, Oliver Well, John DeMonica, Michal Cordoza and Travis
Biggs. The album houses a collection of disco, funk and Latin-inspired cuts that were
destined for greatness. Nestled within the grooves is the B-Boy and B-Girl's anthem,
'Dance To The Drummer's Beat', which contains a now legendary break. A cursory
glance at Whosampled will show that it has been sampled in over 125+ songs. These
include Double Dee & Steinski on their groundbreaking 1985 production 'Lesson 3
(History Of Hip Hop Mix)', as well as by DJ Shadow, N.W.A, Masters At Work, Run
D.M.C. and a whole host of heavyweights across hip-hop, dance and pop music.
When the album was released in 1978 it came out on two different labels, Alston
Records and Electric Cat. Each label pressed different versions of 'Dance To The
Drummer's Beat', with the former featuring a 4:12 version and the latter a longer 5:09
version that has a different structure, crowd noise at the start and overdubbed
percussion.
For this Mr Bongo reissue, we have chosen the classic 4:12 version from the Alston
Records release, which would later fnd its way on to the illustrious Ultimate Breaks &
Beats compilation. To make matters even more confusing the Alston version art on
the back cover also states the track length as 5:09, whilst the centre label lists it
correctly as 4:12.
Aside from the much celebrated 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat', the album includes a
range of other fantastic overlooked cuts. From the percussive soul stepper 'Share
Your Love', to the beautiful Latin-favoured 'A Refreshing Love' or the party disco-funk
groover 'Who's The Funky D.J.?'.
This wonderful and inspirational record features an important piece of hip- hop
heritage and deserves a place in every collection
Tracks: Dance To The Drummer's Beat / Time After Time / A Refreshing Love /
Who's The Funky D.J.? / Share Your Love / Do The Handbone
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