Manzel

An instrumental funk ensemble active in the mid-1970s under the name Manzel stayed virtually unknown until decades later, when numerous hip-hop producers lifted the drum introduction of “Midnight Theme” and thereby sent breakbeat collectors in search of the scarce original pressings. Throughout their brief career the group issued only two 45 rpm singles on the independent Fraternity Records. Wider recognition emerged only in the 1990s once the drum section from “Midnight Theme”—the A-side of the second single—appeared on several notable tracks, most prominently through Prince Paul’s contribution to De La Soul’s “Plug Tunin’” from the trio’s landmark album 3 Feet High and Rising, followed by DJ Muggs on Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and RZA on Ghostface Killah’s “Winter Warz.” Additional appearances occur on recordings by Eric B & Rakim and Ultramagnetic MC’s as well as on a number of less celebrated productions. Such widespread and high-profile usage elevated Manzel’s profile among beat enthusiasts, prompting Kenny Dope of Masters at Work and the Undercover Brother, born Victor Piagneri, to recover the original recordings, subject them to remastering and remixing, and reissue the material on Dopebrother Records in 2004. The Midnight Theme compact-disc edition presented an extensive set that included abundant previously unreleased material along with detailed liner commentary written by Shad O'Shea, president of Fraternity Records, the label that had originally released the Manzel singles destined to rank among the most sought-after breakbeat records. The group’s history began without fanfare. In 1976 O'Shea established Counterpart Creative Studios, Cincinnati, OH’s first state-of-the-art recording facility, and captured sessions by Manzel. The Lexington, KY instrumental funk unit consisted of Manzel Bush on keyboards, John L. Van Dyke on guitar, and Steve Garner on drums. Before the sessions reached completion, Lieutenant Bush was called to military duty in Germany, after which O'Shea recruited players from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to finish the work. The first recordings to appear were “Space Funk” b/w “Jump Street,” released on Fraternity in 1977. Two years later, following further adjustments by Bush, the “Midnight Theme” b/w “Sugar Dreams” single was issued, after which Manzel disbanded. Bush remained in the military, raised a family, and stepped away from music. Twenty-five years afterward, in 2004, Kenny Dope and the Undercover Brother restored the Manzel catalog to circulation. Seeking to re-present the original, extremely rare, and frequently bootlegged recordings, the Dopebrother team retrieved the multitrack tapes from the Counterpart Creative sessions, applied fresh mixes and mastering, and issued the results on a comprehensively annotated compact disc titled Midnight Theme. They also released a 7-inch single pairing “Midnight Theme” with “Space Funk,” complete with a picture sleeve reproducing artwork from a 1970s flyer for a Manzel performance.