A track about an African king recorded in the back of a car wash commands $1,600. At the makeshift Man-Ray Studios in Akron, Ohio, where barrels of soap were rolled away to make room for recording, guitarist Wilbur Niles and his then-girlfriend — keyboardist Machelle McNeal — recorded “Ja Ja.” It was titled after King Jaja of Opobo in Nigeria, who lived during the 19th century, rising from slavery to become a wildly successful broker of palm oil. Niles learned about Jaja as an undergrad majoring in history; humid and dreamy, it would lead off the pair’s first and only album together, 1979’s rawly-produced Thrust. It begins with an elliptical little electric-piano hook by McNeal, an accomplished musician without much jazz experience, accompanied by wind sounds. The effect is of sparkles of sunlight through an otherwise dense sheet of fog. Thrust exists in that blurry, liminal space between jazz, funk, soul, and R&B; ‘70s-era CTI comes to mind, but the unpolished vibe sloughs off that comparison, too. Even when “Summer Fun” goes for a four-on-the-floor feeling, the mid-fidelity production renders it diaphanous. The more strident “Punk Funk” is a nod to Devo, whose road crew ran Man-Ray. (“They’re punk; I’m the funk!” Niles explained with a laugh, on the Sounds Visual Radio podcast.) You’ll swear you’ve heard Thrust sampled somewhere in the hip-hop sphere; pull up “Ja Ja” on YouTube, and you’ll see a comment to that end: “Pete Rock sent me here.” (Google comes up short on that one, but WhoSampled cites the following track, “Summer Fun,” as appearing in Canadian house/electronica producer Daphni’s “Hey Drum” and British techno/house DJ and producer Trus’me’s “At the Disco.”
Release date:
March 31, 2023
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Phono Preamps - Top Picks
A selection of the best phono preamps for your turntable setup
-
HumminGuru: Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner
Advanced ultrasonic technology with customizable cleaning cycles and a large tank capacity to thoroughly remove dust, dirt, and contaminants
-
Audioengine A2 Plus
Precision-engineered 2.75-inch woofers and a 0.75-inch silk dome tweeter, featuring built-in DAC and Bluetooth connectivity for seamless integration.
-
Ortofon 2M Blue Premounted
Mounted on the SH-4 Black Headshell, this setup delivers exceptional clarity, dynamic range, and accurate sound reproduction.
-
Vinyl Care - Top Picks
A selection of accesories to keep your turntable equipment & vinyl records in the best shape
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Fuerza Regida 111XPANTIA
Sony U.s. Latin
August 22, 2025 -
Florence + The Machine How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Blue Marble) [2xLP]
Republic Records
August 29, 2025 -
Bostich + Fussible Tijuana Sound Machine Nortec Collective Presents
Nacional Records
August 15, 2025 -
Jack Garratt Pillars (Marbled Grass)
Cooking Vinyl
August 15, 2025 -
Tom Odell A Wonderful Life
Urok
September 5, 2025 -
Jessica Winter My First Album (Transparent Black)
Lucky Number
July 11, 2025 -
Trapper Schoepp Osborne
Blue Elan
September 19, 2025 -
Jay Wheeler Girasoles (Yellow) [2xLP]
Linked Music
July 25, 2025 -
Ethel Cain Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You [2xLP]
Amigo Records, LLC - AWAL
August 8, 2025 -
Field Medic Surrender Instead (Bone/Red Splatter)
Alternate Side
August 8, 2025 -
The Lowdown Alpha Omega (Grey)
Code 7 UK
July 11, 2025 -
Miles Kane Sunlight In The Shadows (Blue Skies)
Easy Eye Sound
October 17, 2025 -
Margarita Witch Cult Strung Out In Hell
Heavy Psych Sounds
July 11, 2025 -
Wet Leg moisturizer
Domino Record Co
July 11, 2025