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Arthur Baker Presents: Slam Dunk'd, Dave 1 & Al-P - "No Price" (Unearthed Disco-Funk)




Boston-bred multi-instrumentalist Arthur Baker worked, producer, or wrote music for popular artists like Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan, New Order, and Hall & Oates during the 1980-90's, not to mention producing Afrika Bambaataa's legendary Electro-Hip-Hop fusion track, "Planet Rock" (1982). Baker recently unearthed a long-lost recording that was originally called "Can't Put No Price On Love" and was first recorded to tape about 35 years ago; he then sent the untouched 1979 masters over to MSTRKRFT producer Al-P for additional "looping, cutting, and mixing," who in turn, managed to recruit Chromeo frontman and self-proclaimed "Funk Lord" Dave 1. While "Can't Put No Price On Love" was initially intended for a planned 80's-era collaborative album with Filipino-African American Latin Soul musician Joe Bataan, Baker's then label, London Records USA suddenly shut down and any further recording sessions were ultimately scrapped. Arthur Baker, Dave 1 & Al-P's revitalized Funk-enstein creation, now titled "No Price" and credited to Slam Dunk'd, will see an unspecified release this upcoming September on Baked Recordings/Columbia. Pitchfork further notes that Al-P seemingly did his best to keep the spirit of Baker's rudimentary 1979 recordings intact, which were arranged by Ashford & Simpson affiliate Ray Chew, bassist Francisco Centeno, drummer Alan Schwartzberg, and Andre Carriere on guitar; Tony Carbone was the original lead singer, while Jocelyn (Shaw) Brown and Dennis Collins added additional background vocal effects. "For those who don't know who Arthur Baker is, do your homework! #legend RT @arthurhbaker: back with the disco shit," @Chromeo blissfully Re-Tweeted Thursday night on the eve of "No Price"'s sporadic release.