Laye, Mordy and The Group Modular – “Mystery of Mordy Laye and The Group Modular, The” – [Audio Montage]

incognito   2/20/2013   12-inch, A Library

Markey Funk and Mule Driver, aka The Group Modular produced this album from a collection of tapes given to Funk by a mysterious man in Tzur Hadassah, a small town in Israel outside of Jerusalem. The tapes were simply marked “Mordy Laye” and belonged to a band that had practiced at the man’s neighbor’s house every day for two years in the late 1970s, but never played a single show. At some point, the house was sold, all traces of the band and Mordy disappeared, and only the tapes were left behind. The unidentified man entrusted Markey Funk to produce the music, handed him the files on a flash drive, also never to be seen again.

The final product is a very soulful and funky album. Spacey, jazzy, warm analog sounds with a distinctive flavor of 1970s soul and rare groove with a touch of psychedelia. My favorites were “Lunokhod,” a solid driving groove, “Scooter Chase,” vaguely reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield’s “Junkie Chase” and the deep, mellow jazzy “Parhelion.” I immensely enjoyed this album, as will any fan of funk, soul and rare groove.