Our first theme month of 2022 finds the Strange Currencies staff focusing on the peerless work of the Chicago-based Numero Group label. Debuting with the 2004 compilation, Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, Numero quickly separated themselves from the pack in both their commitment to unearthing the best lost gems from bygone eras of pop music, and in presenting their exhaustive work with an attention to detail that set a new standard for reissue labels. Eighteen years later, the label’s passion for discovery still permeates throughout its increasingly vast and varied catalog, with each new release retaining the feel of the passion project of Numero’s co-founders, Rob Sevier and Ken Shipley.
Numero’s work has brought long-overdue – and often posthumous – recognition to a dizzying array of artists whose work never got the attention that it deserved the first time around. Figures like Bill Moss, Jackie Shane, Charlie Megira, and Syl Johnson have gone from long-forgotten to having their creations celebrated by record collectors, repurposed in film and television, and, in some cases, earning belated financial reward for decades-old work – all thanks to the tireless efforts of Numero’s small-but-dedicated staff.
Join Strange Currencies throughout January, as we celebrate the work of the Numero Group and the countless number of remarkable artists that they have helped to pull from the dusty corners of obscurity.
- Welcome to Numero Month
- Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr – “You’re All I Need to Make It”
- The Lord Rhaburn Combo – “Disco Connection”
- Various Artists – Local Customs: Cavern Sounds
- An Introduction to Eccentric Soul
- Gift – “Drugs”
- Carmen – “Isle of Love”
- Antena – “Camino del Sol”
- Tom Sheehan – “God Help The World”
