Hubie Davison Likes to Add "Exquisitely Tragic" Rare Tunes to His Collection

Whether it's for playing out at a club or listening at home, DJs and producers typically have an encyclopedic hoard of music, new and old. In The Last Record, they tell us about the last three songs or albums they've purchased, and why these were important additions to their music collection.

This week, we spoke to Hubie Davison, whose latest release (featuring the infectious "Someonelove,") dropped in March on Leisure System. For this edition of The Last Record, Davison selected a number of rare, throwback tunes sure to keep you bumping into the summer.

I bought this one because it's rough. The ideas are solid, the songwriting and arrangements are sophisticated, but the performances & mix are waaaaay rough. All four cuts were salvaged from 30-year-old cassette tape, and it's charming that Peyton didn't opt for a more robust noise removal. The hiss is loud. Meanwhile, Joylon Skinner's multi-tracked vocal parts drift in and out of tune, making the tracks a little bit more interesting. It's fairly rare to come across demos that were released in a fairly unpolished, un-precious form, and these come off as delightfully nude. Also the bass lines are sick.

There's something exquisitely tragic about super-rare music that's also amazing. As a musician working on the fringes, it's pretty humbling to look back on recordings of the calibre shown on this two LP compilation and realize that so much amazing work has been virtually forgotten.

I don't believe rarity is a boon in the way a lot of proper collectors seem to, but I love the effort put in by BBE to keep good work alive. I put this one in my 'buy' pile by track A2, but it's pretty much pure heat up until the cathartic closer, Philadelphia Brite's "Never Leave Me and I'll Never Leave You"

This one's on a record called Panama Soul Sampler, but I didn't hear the other side until I got home. I don't know anything at all about Fredrick Clarke, but it sounds like he's having a damn good time here as he tries to figure out why the hell people keep saying 'Soul Chombo' in 1972. I'm still wondering as well, so if anybody figures it out let me know.