Soul Makossa / Black River by West Seattle Soul, The Pulsations [Vinyl 7" 45 RPM]

Side A: West Seattle Soul put an afro-soul twist on Manu Dibango’s pioneering afro-disco hit “Soul Makossa.” Their arrangement boasts bubbling clavinet, a tenacious horn section, and energetic vocal chants reminiscent of the original with a modern, underground dance music twist.

Side B: The Pulsations summon the deep pocket in “Black River.” Spurred from a group writing session, the drum and bass groove pave the way for interlocking guitar parts and a topsy-turvy horn line. The group found inspiration in the cataclysmic nature of the Black River that fed Lake Washington in the Seattle area. The river was inadvertently drained when a canal was constructed from the Puget Sound to Lake Washington. The dried-up river caused a catastrophic loss of a resource that affected local farmers, the salmon population, and Native tribes who still lived alongside the river. It beckons the reality of the inevitable briefness in all facets of life and thusly, “you gotta dig it while it’s happening.”