Various

The term “private” is used quite liberally in the promotion of rare groove compilations these days. The team at Tramp Records tends to be rather defensive when it comes to such terms. Although, and this should not be misunderstood as arrogance, label boss Tobias Kirmayer & his crew have been doing nothing else for 22 years, strictly speaking. Every compilation series from the Upper Bavarian label, be it the “Movements,” “Feeling Nice,” “Praise Poems,” or “Can You Feel It” series, specializes in independently produced music from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s released on small private labels. This means extremely time-consuming work to track down the musicians, write down their stories, and, last but not least, invest a high four-digit amount to release such compilation projects as deluxe (double) LPs and CDs.

The industrious creators of the label have already released seven volumes in the Peace Chant series. Parts 1 to 6 were single LPs with predominantly American tracks. Part 7 was the first to be dedicated to purely German productions. Furthermore, the decision was made to release a double LP with a gatefold cover, not least to accommodate the extremely comprehensive accompanying text and images.

The 8th edition once again focuses on German productions. It includes rare (Fences), unreleased (Music Community), but also the odd €10 record. The mere fact that a record is rare/expensive doesn't make it interesting for Tobias Kirmayer and his team. They are primarily interested in the music. And if a song convinces them, it makes it onto the shortlist. In fact, many established reissue labels too often ignore records or individual songs and don't re-release them simply because they are not sought after by collectors. Kirmayer and his fellow campaigners have made it their mission to combat this injustice. A good example of this would be Sabanone, a title by Büdi Siebert's formation with the wonderful name HerrGottSax.