Oliver Wang
Oliver Wang is an culture writer, scholar, and DJ based in Los Angeles. He's the author of Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews of the San Francisco Bay Area and a professor of sociology at CSU-Long Beach. He's the creator of the audioblog soul-sides.com and co-host of the album appreciation podcast, Heat Rocks.
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A generation ago, the reclusive soul singer and guitarist released what would become his most acclaimed album, Inspiration Information. A new reissue brings the classic LP together with 25 years' worth of unreleased material. -
New York's Charles Bradley and London's James Hunter Six both mix inspiration and replication. -
R&B singers Nicole Wray and Terri Walker both had promising starts to their careers more than a decade ago, but neither became a household name. Now they've teamed up and traded in slick, hip-hop influenced styles for a decidedly throwback feel. -
The group's one and only album, Power Fuerza, provides a snapshot of a pivotal moment in musical and political history in 1970s New York City. -
In 1979, a pair of teenage brothers recorded an album on their family's farm in rural Washington. This week, Donnie and Joe Emerson's Dreamin' Wild has been reissued. -
A 1970s explosion in affordable music gear, particularly synthesizers and drum machines, yielded fascinating experiments by amateur artists. A new compilation collects electronic soul gems from that era. -
Producer Robert Williams and his studio Red, Black and Green Productions were behind some of Washington's biggest R&B hits in the 1970s. -
Toronto-based philosopher Marshall McLuhan's 1967 musique-concrete LP gets a second look. -
Profile Records never meant to get into the rap game, but the label launched the careers of groups like Run-D.M.C. -
In 1971, Motown founder Berry Gordy created MoWest, a California label that would last only two years before being dismantled. A new anthology documents this odd and little-known chapter in Motown's history.
