Song Of The Day: Crown Heights Affair “Far Out”

Crown Heights Affair made a sweet brew of soul, jazz and disco that reflected the club sounds of mid-’70s New York City. Their catalog makes for a great playground for DJs like me who fiend for tracks that live at the intersection of those three styles.

A brief bio via their Wikipedia page:

Originally known as Ben Iverson and the Nue Dey Express on Britne Records, founded by then-bassist Donnie Linton, the group was renamed for a neighborhood in Brooklyn. The line-up consisted of Phillip Thomas (vocals), William Anderson (guitar/vocals), Howard Young (keyboards), Bert Reid and James Baynard (trumpets), Raymond Reid, Arnold ‘Muki’ Wilson, Julius Dilligard Jr., and Raymond Rock. Under contract to RCA they recorded their self-titled first album in 1974, featuring their first single “(You Can’t Bend My) Super Rod”.

Personnel changes followed, along with a shift in 1975 to De-Lite Records. The record label’s subsequent liaison with Polygram Records saw the group gain worldwide audiences for singles such as “Dreaming a Dream”, “Every Beat of My Heart”, “Foxy Lady” and “Dancin'”.

“Far Out” comes from their 1976 album Do It Your Way. A young DJ Stylus first got hip to this gem when it was flipped on Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s 1994 Main Ingredient album as one of Pete Rock’s mysterious interlude beats. Before the internet, you had to dig hard for records to find sample sources like that.

Driven by punchy horns, grooving keys and a spacy ensemble vocal, “Far Out” is equally at home in a roller rink as it is in a b-boy cipher. File this one right next to The Blackbyrds’ “Rock Creek Park”.

Song Of The Day: Crown Heights Affair “Far Out”