Summertime in New York City is a bonding experience—it’s so hot that you can’t eat, you’re dehydrated no matter how many ice cold water bottles you scoop for a dollar, and when you hit the pavement, it’s a countdown to see how many blocks you can make it before you have to take refuge by an AC.

This August, we escaped the heat by making a pilgrimage to our friend Devon Turnbull’s 

 at Lisson Gallery, and spent the afternoon playing rare test pressings from the Luaka Bop archive—as well as an even rarer tape from the Pastor Champion sessions. (For those of you who are curious, 

 was recorded on a Nagra two-track reel-to-reel, in the 37th Street Baptist Church in Oakland, California.)

What a way to play hookie. It was, for some of us, a religious experience. (Here’s a glimpse of 

Since then, some of you have reached out to ask us what we played during that afternoon. Here was the set, for those of you who want to keep listening:

The Atomic Bomb Band - Atomic Bomb! (William Onyeabor)

David Byrne & the Atomic Bomb Band on Jimmy Fallon

Waldemar Bastos ‎– Pretaluz

Bremer / McCoy - Aurora

Pastor Champion - I Just Want To Be A Good Man

Pastor Champion - Storm of Life


By the way, Pastor Champion has a new single out called 

Floating Points - Elaenia

Os Mutantes - World Psychedelic Classics 1: Everything Is Possible - The Best of

Os Mutantes - Live at the Barbican Theatre

Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda - World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of

Luaka Bop Presents: Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda

World Spirituality Classics 2: The Time For Peace Is Now - Gospel Music About Us

Annie Brown Caldwell of the Staples Jr. Singers

, on her song “We’ve Got a Race to Run,” which appears on this compilation, and which she wrote and recorded when she was only 14.

Tom Zé - Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Zé

Tom Zé – Um Oh! E Um Ah! (Official Video)


Big thanks to Devon Turnbull for having us. And if you ever find that he’s hosting another listening room, run, don’t walk, no matter how hot it is.


What We Did This Summer: Luaka Bop on the Ojas Sound System