SWING FAMILY Music Force / LP NEW VINYL / Be With 2023

2023 reissue, originally released in 1985. Swing Family's Music Force is dramatic mid-80s synth-funk. From the maverick mind of Sauveur Mallia, it's thrilling and uniquely brilliant. It's undoubtedly known and revered for its unbelievable standout track, "Mission Africa". That track is the reason this record has been hugely sought-after for the best part of two decades. Originally released on Tele Music in France. Swing Family is basically a supergroup of French funk royalty. Led by French disco lord and Arpadys maestro Sauveur Mallia, they were augmented by trombonist Alex Perdigon from legendary French funk rock collective Godchild, trumpeter Kako Bessot from funky fusion group Synthesis and saxophonist Pierre Holassian, a member of Giant, Janko Nilovic's French jazz orchestra. So, about as heavyweight as it gets for funky French goodness. Mallia handles, of course, bass duties throughout, as well as utilizing his arsenal of synths including his E-mu, Yamaha Dx7, Roland MSQ 700, Mini Moog, and Oberheimm. The maximalist disco fusion of "Exorcistor" is perhaps a bit too '80s French cheese for most tastes, so either linger on its singular style or head straight to the soundtracky typo-funk of "Greewich Boulevard". A deep, swaggering powerhouse, it comes on like mid-80s Chic jamming on the set of Beverly Hills Cop with Kashif. It's followed by the vital "Music Force", a synthy, sleazy instrumental full of sax and flute and those '80s drum fills. "Mission Africa" is a rumbling, strutting, Afro-cosmic low-profile banger. The slick drums hit hard, the synth strings warm things up, overlapping horns add swagger whilst electric guitar flourishes and a chanted refrain sit in the mix quite perfectly. Cosmo-galactic. The B-side opens with "Musical Stars", an oh-so-80s funk-lite track which, at times, sounds like something Daft Punk may have left on the cutting room floor during their Discovery sessions. The druggy brilliance of "Gentleman & Musician" is made up of soaring, acidy synths, slick, heavy beats, and the irresistible interplay of the primo horn players create a real sleazy wonder. "Film Action" follows, a galloping horn-heavy synth romp with moments of extreme bass breakdown brilliance before the drama-synths of "Episode Double" take things up another notch as it oscillates between gorgeous funky horns and urgent bleepy magic. Super tense, super funky and super stylish. The electro-tinged horn workout "Fatal Lady" closes things out majestically. Remastered by Simon Francis. Cut by Pete Norman. Original and iconic sleeve restored by Be With Records.