Within the series of great hit albums springing from the hot bed of sixties pop, Original Pop Corn stands out as an unsurpassable model in the genre. An explosive record, fruit of the overactive minds of the maddest of French musicians. In which we find members of cult group Cruciférius, the Franco-Moroccan soul singer Vigon (un-credited), plus the gifted arranger Karl-Heinz-Schafer (author of the famous score ‘Les Gants Blancs du Diable’, also reissued by Vadim.)

However, the roots and true leadership of the project comes from two music lovers: guitarist Sam Choueka (who later in the 80s would become a TV presenter under the Chico d’Agneau alias) and Franz Auffray, nephew of Hughes Auffray and DJ at the famous Club Psychadelic on the Riviera. The latter moved to Paris and joined Barclay, founding and developing the EGG sub-label, void of any sales pressure and entirely dedicated to soul, funk and psychedelic music. Joined by his friend Sam, in 1969 he launched Original Pop Corn with the aim of creating a new dance style to rival the twist and the jerk. Whether serious, or not, their initial venture soon evolved into a liberating and unbridled experiment at the service of a wild and primitive groove.

Using the studio as an instrument in its own right, they gave birth to a mutant jam track rolling out in 7 different versions/variations, and so prefiguring the remixing technique ahead of its time. Stuffed with effects from a whole bunch of genres (delay, back-masking, electro) and doped with magical filters (the phaser on pre-techno tracks Sweet Pop Corn Part 1 & 2) Original Pop Corn takes the form of a brutal funk earthquake, hit with psychedelic currents that defy all forms of classification. Known and actively sought out by Beat diggers, Mod DJs and adventurous music fanatics alike, this gem remains one of the holy grails of rare European groove and pop culture.

An uncontrollable musical UFO produced by the wild, for the wild, and finally wildly hallucinogenic.