(very rare) #007 w/ büsbus

Tracklist

After a couple months out of the studio, it was great to be back broadcasting live on Dublab this month. For the first hour of this episode, I decided to round up music I’ve been listening to during a very eventful summer whether that be in transit, with friends or at shows. Per usual, I was overflowing with music so I’ll be putting together a “Summery” (get it?) playlist in the next week or so to share with you.

Perhaps the greatest joy of (very rare) is connecting on a deeper level with creatives and curators I admire. Kevin Wyatt, aka büsbus, has been a colleague of mine for more than 5 years. He’s not only a legend in the work setting, but he’s also a life-long record collector and DJ, who plays regularly around the country. We’ve talked about DJing in passing, and occasionally shared music, but the show gave me a chance to see him in action and hear stories from decades of gigs. I also learned that his dad was a wedding DJ - a pretty dope origin story imo.

Kevin’s mix spans reggae, alternative, funk, disco and a touch of house. It was the perfect companion to one of the hottest days of summer and a treasure trove of music discovery. You can follow his weekly newsletter by emailing vinyl@superbus-llc.com. Enjoy!

I want to thank Ash for inviting me to guest on “(very rare)”, and for getting dublab back into my regular listening rotation. Ash, you’ve got a great thing going, and I am grateful to have had an opportunity to contribute.

My dublab hour featured records that I have played out at least once this year. To highlight two of the more recent additions:

Fania All-Stars - “Que Pasa”

This is a great example of “you never know where you might unearth a gem”. I was helping a close friend with the estate sale for her grandfather. He packed a lot of living into his 102 years, as evidenced by the extraordinary collection of items on offer: furniture, lighting fixtures, books…but, surprisingly, only a handful of records. I thumbed through the meager pile: a klezmer band, a Streisand, a Mario Lanza, another Streisand…wait, what’s this? Never seen this Fania All-Stars record (1978’s Spanish Fever)...

I’m not a huge All-Stars fan - too many string-saturated disco cuts - but it was at least worth a shot. I brought it home, dropped needle on a few tracks, and was introduced to this brassy gem. At 78 BPM, it’s a plodder - so I have been pitching it up to 82 BPM when I play it out. It’s one of those records that prompts listeners to approach the booth, photograph the cover and inquire. My favorite kind.

Brian Jackson - “Moonshine (MAW Live Mix)” feat. Carol Cornwell

Brian Jackson’s historic nine-album run as Gil Scott-Heron collaborator gets a timely refresh on More Now Than Ever, released in May via BBE. Jackson conceived this ambitious project, recruiting a formidable cast that includes Masters At Work, Black Thought and Moodymann to deliver a 19-song collection that rearranges, reinvents, reframes and extends the legacy of a songbook whose scathing social commentary feels especially relevant in this American moment.

There are several standout tracks but for me, “Moonshine” is the one. The original was a 1995 house track from Masters At Work’s Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez & Louie Vega under the alias “Kenlou”. It heavily sampled the live version of Gil’s iconic “Home Is Where the Hatred Is” from 1976’s It’s Your World. This 2026 reimagining is the “MAW Live Mix” and I wish I knew more about its production; I think it’s a newly recorded live cover of the tune that MAW then subsequently remixed? However it came to be, it’s a flat-out banger. Superb production. This was the final song in my dublab set and I had to fade out early; seeking this out and giving it a full listen is highly recommended.

(For completists, “EP One” (Oct-2025) and “EP Two” (Mar-2026) features some of the tracks on “Ever”, plus a few exclusive mixes.)

Thanks for listening, and reading. If you enjoyed these tidbits, I pen a succinct weekly column called “Musings You Can Usings”. Each edition contains four recommendations - new releases, crate digs, YouTube ephemera and the like - and aims to be a 1-minute read. If you are so inclined, email vinyl@superbus-llc.com and I’ll add you to the list. Email for now, Substack soon…

Salami Rose Joe Louis - “Motorway, with trio” (ft. Flanafi & Luke Titus)

I was first introduced to Salami Rose Joe Louis via my friend Sven (aka Still Woozy) on my BFF.fm radio show in 2016 via the beautiful “cyanatope of blue.” On the same episode, Still Woozy premiered his first ever single, “Vacation” - the rest is history I suppose!

Salami has gone on to quite the career herself releasing her last two albums on Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder imprint. Her music falls between jazz, abstract hip-hop production, experimental electronic and pop. Her songs often feel like sketches but open up to whole worlds in the broader context of her albums, which play out like sparkling graphic novels.

I hadn’t engaged with her music in a while but I caught a performance at Rare Candy’s monthly in June and was pretty blown away. This song in particular, which was performed with bassist Flanafi, hit beautifully right as the sun was setting.

The set from drummer (and Rare Candy co-founder) Bobbyy, who has an album on the way, was also incredible. Particularly this song…

Ed O’Brien - “Obrigado”

Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien’s debut under his full name arrived without a ton of fanfare but is one of my albums of the year so far. Blue Morpho has been a great comfort on planes, trains and automobiles the last few months. It resonates on a spiritual level thanks to deeply meditative moments that are balanced with occasional Radiohead grooves and euphoric highs.

The album’s final track “Obrigado” is one of those highs and, presumably, a nod to his time living in Brazil. On the show. I actually skipped the whole second half of the song, which evolves into a beautiful interpolation of Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” one of the greatest songs of all time. Eddie Hazel’s gut-wrenching guitar solo is untouchable source material but Ed has earned the right to pay homage nonetheless.

Ego Ella May - “Footwork”

In a recent interview around her excellent new album (serious AOTY frontrunner!), Kelela calls R&B “probably the most expansive genre in the world.” She notes that, even though there are traditional conventions of R&B production, the genre is more about vocal styling than those rigid boundaries. It’s a very valid point, particularly in how R&B vocals find themselves across the spectrum of dance and,of course, pop music.

On the surface, Ego Ella May, who leans more jazz and soul, occupies a very different corner of R&B than Kelela. But “Footwork” is such a perfect example of Kelela’s characterization. Quite literally calling out Footwork and Detroit Techno music as its inspiration, the song never leaves the territory of soul/R&B but the rapid-fire percussion serves as a perfectly executed nod to dance music. I’d love to hear a proper footwork remix of this one.