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.”
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
HumminGuru: Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner
Advanced ultrasonic technology with customizable cleaning cycles and a large tank capacity to thoroughly remove dust, dirt, and contaminants
-
Technics SL-1500C Turntable
Features a direct-drive motor, a high-precision tonearm, and a premium MM cartridge, delivering exceptional sound quality
-
Nagaoka MP-110H Cartridge
Features a high-quality elliptical stylus that provides excellent tracking and minimizes distortion, delivering a detailed sound reproduction with an output voltage of 5.0 mV
-
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO
Featuring a one-piece carbon fiber tonearm, precision-tuned motor, and a heavy steel platter with TPE damping, it ensures superior stability and sound quality.
-
Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Pre-Amp
Compact, high-performance phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, delivering a clean, detailed signal with minimal noise.
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Olafur Arnalds/Talos A Dawning
Mercury Kx
July 18, 2025 -
Anamanaguchi Anyway (Black/Red)
Polyvinyl Records
August 8, 2025 -
Somerset Thrower Take Only What You Need to Survive (Half Clear/ Half Neon Pink with Neon Pink Splatter)
Smartpunk Records
August 8, 2025 -
Folk Bitch Trio Now Would Be a Good Time
Jagjaguwar
July 25, 2025 -
Good Charlotte Motel Du Cap (Amazon Exclusive)
Atlantic
August 8, 2025 -
Tom Odell A Wonderful Life
Urok
September 5, 2025 -
Death Rattle The Moral Chokehold
M-Theory Audio
July 11, 2025 -
Ebba Åsman When You Know
Dorado
July 25, 2025 -
Wednesday Bleeds - Eco Mix
Dead Oceans
September 19, 2025 -
Gaupa Fyr
Magnetic Eye
July 4, 2025 -
Cwfen Sorrows (Translucent Red)
New Heavy Sounds
August 8, 2025 -
Various Artists Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical [2xLP]
Universal UK
July 18, 2025 -
Margarita Witch Cult Strung Out In Hell (Gold)
Heavy Psych Sounds
July 11, 2025 -
Cardi B AM I THE DRAMA? (Apple)
Atlantic
September 19, 2025