New Radio Segment: "Feeling Home Again" and unreleased demo of "My Only Love"
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Radio Segment: "Feeling Home Again" and unreleased demo of "My Only Love"

On January 30, 2022, Coni-OnAir, an internet radio station based in Greece, featured a song from Izipho Soul’s latest reissue of Kip’s music, as well as a previously unreleased demo of “My Only Love,” recorded in Memphis, Tennessee as part of Kip’s audition for Hi Records in 1974. Thanks to the host, our friend, Dionisis Dimos. Dionsis (aka “SoulDennis”) owns and authors the RarePhillySax blog, and is an esteemed vinyl collector and soul and jazz music enthusiast.

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New CD Release: Live at the Flying Machine 1974
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New CD Release: Live at the Flying Machine 1974

Kip recently made available a new limited edition CD of a live recording from 1974 at the Flying Machine Restaurant and Lounge in the Holiday Inn at 1441 E. Brooks Road in Memphis, Tennessee. This recording features Kip's live band at the time, called "Little Big Horn," the core of which would go on to record the single "Macon Woman Blues" for Hi Records that same year.

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New Release: “Feeling Home Again” and “The Smile on My Face”
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Release: “Feeling Home Again” and “The Smile on My Face”

UK label Izipho Soul has once once again collaborated with Kip on the reissue of two songs on a new limited 45rpm vinyl 7”. In 1980, Kip released a self published LP; we have hand picked two of the standout tracks for a ‘first time on a 45’. “Feeling Home Again” is an up-tempo opus fueled by electric keyboard riffs, wah-wah effects, alto and tenor saxes. "The Smile On My Face” is a delicious mid-tempo groove which features the legendary Cornell Dupree (RIP) on guitar.

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New Compilation Featuring Kip’s song “Stampede”
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Compilation Featuring Kip’s song “Stampede”

Kip’s song “Stampede” (originally released on Kip’s self-released LP “Just For Tonight” in 1980) was chosen to be included on Volume 3 on the “Can You Feel It” compilation series by Tramp Records, a German label specializing in funk, soul, jazz, folk and afro beat. This volume is the result of one and a half years of extensive research, and features a selection of various musical styles including modern soul, disco, and boogie from 1976-1985, with artists from countries as diverse as Barbados, Guyana, Germany, and the United States.

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Extensive Bio of Kip’s Career by Dionisis Dimos (aka “SoulDennis”)
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

Extensive Bio of Kip’s Career by Dionisis Dimos (aka “SoulDennis”)

Dionisis Dimos (aka “SoulDennis”) recently wrote an extensive musical biography of Kip in a post on his blog titled Kip Carmen’s Musical Journey. We are not aware of any more comprehensive bio of Kip’s career than this, and this took an extraordinary amount of care and effort by Dionisis. If you are looking for more details about Kip’s recordings and path as a musician and band leader, this is an excellent resource!

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New Release: “This Island is Our Home” and “Might as Well (Give it Up)”
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Release: “This Island is Our Home” and “Might as Well (Give it Up)”

German label Music Take Me Up reissued the long out of print single “This Island is Our Home” on deluxe 12” 45rpm vinyl in the Fall of 2020. These songs are also from Kip’s late 70s / early 80s collaboration with Danny Horton, which (much to Kip’s surprise) gained popularity among DJs in Europe and elsewhere around the world (and became highly sought-after by collectors) decades after its initial release. This reissue marks the the first time these songs have been made commercially available since 1980.

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New Radio Segment featuring “(You Are) The Spring of My Life”
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Radio Segment featuring “(You Are) The Spring of My Life”

On January 31, 2021, Dionisis Dimo (aka “SoulDennis”) featured Kip in another segment of his SoulDennis’ Time show on Coni-OnAir. This segment featured an unreleased version of Kip’s song “You Are the Spring of My Life,” as well as a version recorded by the band Compass in the 70s. The Compass version was released on a rare 45 that also features a cover of Kip’s song “That’s Enough For Me.”

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Radio Tribute by Dionisis Dimos (aka “SoulDennis”)
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

Radio Tribute by Dionisis Dimos (aka “SoulDennis”)

On April 21, 2019, Coni-OnAir, an internet radio station based in Greece, did a 36+ minute profile of Kip’s music on its SoulDennis’ Time show, courtesy of host Dionisis Dimos. Dionisis (aka “SoulDennis”) owns and authors the RarePhillySax blog, and is an esteemed vinyl collector and soul and jazz music enthusiast.

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New Release: “Tecihila” / “Thoughts of Loving You”
Benjamin Takis Benjamin Takis

New Release: “Tecihila” / “Thoughts of Loving You”

UK label Izipho Soul released two previously unreleased songs from Kip’s 1982 collaboration with Danny Horton on limited release 7” vinyl. In August 1982 at Normandy Sound Studios, Rhode Island, the cream of New York and Boston session musicians assembled to record songs for an album release. Due to a prolonged recession in the music business and the onset of CDs, the recordings were shelved. Most of these songs have never been released until now (aside from a handful of songs including “This Island Is Our Home,” a reggae-inspired track that has captured the imagination of crate-digging DJs across the world and become a collector’s item).

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