In late 2004 or so (possibly earlier as I don’t have the best memory) the “streets” were absolutely abuzz about Sa-Ra Creative Partners. That demo cd of tracks was getting passed around more than notes in homeroom and everyone was loving it. Just gritty futuristic soul funk. The kind of shit you’d bump riding around in one of those space ships on The Jetsons that you tricked out with an all-white interior and turbo jet propulsion. Good stuff.

The hype was like a slow tide that turned tsunami status fast. I remember being in LA around the time Rosebuds came out on vinyl (all in pink!) and I bought myself 2 copies and bought several other copies to take back to NY with me because folks were that hungry. I recall that show they did at Canal Room sometime in ‘05. I even have the free Sa-Ra t-shirt from that night somewhere in the crib. Folks left that show wanting more. The stage was set and we were ready and waiting.

So what happened? Who knows? I’m not a journalist! These guys apparently didn’t believe too much in carpe diem and we didn’t get an official full-length album until 2-3 years later. They have as much talent as ego so I’m sure a lot of it had to do with label woes (they were signed w/ Ubiquity as well as G.O.O.D which I believe sparked off some lawsuit drama) Then there was talk that they had split. I don’t even know if they are together right now.

Now, there is a new album being released on June 23rd called Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love. It will be released on Ubiquity. I had a chance to listen to a very poor and watermarked advance and this definitely sounds like demo-era Sa-Ra, meaning most of this stuff probably isn’t new and this album may be something to satisfy whatever contract they had with the label. However, it bangs all the same which is just a testament to their talent and the quality of music. Granted 4 years isn’t a huge amount of time but in this day and age when today’s music lasts about as long as it takes for it to no longer be a ‘cool’ ringtone this is a good thing . I do hope this means that there will be another resurgence of the crew and we’ll hear some new stuff soon.

Here’s one track off the album. This is actually my favorite one so far. Guitar driven basslines make me happy.

Bitch Baby (courtesy of Cocky Gold)