- 7inch
- Recommended
- New Release
Aura
Freex / Sunshine Love
Backatcha Records - Cat No: BK102
- updated:2025-11-09
From London's Backatcha Records — a label known for its deep-digging reissues of rare disco, lovers rock and more — comes an excavation series devoted to Starbase Sounds, the independent label that released groups like Aura and The Freex Machine. These were semi-professional musicians from the heavily Hispanic immigrant neighborhood of Corona, Queens, New York, with ties to Sigma Sound, the Salsoul Orchestra and Harlem River Drive.
Track List
Underground break-beat fuelled disco funk from 1978, by New York-based alliance Aura, a studio group that emerged from teenage live band, Hooker, who hailed from Corona, Queens. This is the first time 'Freex' gets an official 45 reissue backed up with the the original B-Side 'Sunshine Love'. At the helm of Starbase Sounds was multi-instrumentalist Steven Young and the Cadle Brothers trio: guitarist, lead vocalist and producer Ray Cadle, bassist Jules Cadle, and an older brother Karim as executive producer. They released a total of four singles, including the rare as hen’s teeth 45, ‘Dancin People’ by Stars, and 12” singles from The Freex Machine and Aura, each of which has long since become prized for the music and scarcity in equal measure. The following Q&A with Steven Young offers a comprehensive insight into the makings
Originally released as a single in 1978. A promo-only 12-inch long version apparently exists, but this is a reissue of the original 7-inch version. You can hear the influence of the Paradise Garage here: Afro-Latin percussion, disco-funk psychedelia and DIY charm that speaks the same language as the underground disco typified by P&P — powerful, hot sounds and grooves with an unmatched brilliance. (Original Japanese text by Saito)