8track: The Oxbow Lake Band

Picture the scene: you've just stepped out of the Hercules Moments DeLorean and you find yourself in the 90s. MC Hammer pants and Walkmen are all the rage. Deciding to ignore the fashion of the day, you pick up a Walkman and head home to 2012...

Over the past few months, we've been getting in touch with bands, celebrities and more to ask them to create eight-song-long mixtapes for YOU. So crack out your Walkman and enjoy...

The Oxbow Lake Band blend funk and folk to create a sound unlike any other. Sometimes found playing stripped back acoustic sets, and other times all-out assaulting the audience with their talents, The Oxbow Lake Band are a diverse and talented set of musicians. This week we asked frontman Andy to choose some tracks for you to listen to, and he dug through his DJ repertoire to uncover some gems just for you.


The Beatles – Taxman
This is from Revolver, which must have been The Beatles’ peak. As George Harrison’s songwriting develops, he throws out this simple bit of RnB with a cracking bass line by McCartney and a political narrative. This is the first tune I usually DJ with, and it sets “the agenda”!

Eddie Jefferson – Psychedelic Sally
A Horace Silver track funked up by this (now rare) soul man, adding his words and that voice! Horace was a jazz man with an eye on the funky, and I’d recommend his Song for my Father album as an entry point.

The Epsilons – Mad at the World
The first (sad) part of a two-part Northern Soul cracker, more in a vocal harmony group style. Not a floor filler, but what a tune! It’s a very rare 45, so if anyone knows of a cheap reissue copy…?!
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Los Yaki – What’d I Say
It’s a toss-up here between the Graham Bond version (which features Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce) of this Ray Charles classic or this, an all-teenage Mexican pop band from the 60s. Thank Paul in Cavern Records for introducing me to this 10”!

Marlena Shaw – Let's Wade in the Water
Sassy Northern Soul stomp and floor filler. A well-known gospel idea brought to the dance floor.

Rico and the Rudies – Niyah Man
I play a lot of Jamaican ska, which led me to follow Rico from his time with The Specials to this album track. Following Jamaican music through its development is worth a few nights’ listening!
Joe Bataan – Subway Joe
I’d recommend anyone to follow Joe’s career, avoiding the 80s of course! Still on the go, and here morphing into this slab of New York Latin, this is one of my all-time favourite tunes for the humour, production and groove.

Pappys Haunted House – Dude
I had to pick one from Le Beat Bespoke Compilation No. 2. They’re the new untouchables: 21st modernists dipping into the rare past and making compilations for lazy record hunters like me. Nothing makes a tune like a Hammond organ with a rotary speaker blasting through the mix.


Find out more about The Oxbow Lake Band on their websiteor on Facebook.
Photo by David Lovie.

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