Every so often, I get my hands on a recording that is so BAD I play it without rest, refusing to take it off the turntable for weeks on end. The Invaders' 1970 LP "Spacing Out" is such a record. This band had it all: stripped down gut bucket funk arrangements featuring tight horns, tripped out flute solos, and some of the heaviest drum sounds ever to come out of my speakers. Combine the stellar grooves with lush sheets of psychedelic reverb and tape delay and you've got a completely unique record of legendary status. If The Meters had recorded with the JB horns at Lee Perry's Black Arc studio in Kingston, Jamaica, it would not sound unlike the Invaders.
Surprisingly, the band was formed in Bermuda, not the first place you'd think capable of producing authentic psychedelic funk records. After much success on the hotel circuit in the late '60s, the Invaders were approached by a local producer, Eddy Demello, to cut 10 songs in the studio. The session went well and the LP, along with a couple 45s, were released in Bermuda and the US. Despite initial sales being positive, interest in the record dwindled quickly. Demello ended up selling most of the stock off for nearly nothing, often giving the records away for free. The "Spacing Out" LP is now considered a holy grail of funk vinyl and regularly changes hands for upwards of $1000. Fortunately, the record was recently reissued and now enjoys a large and appreciative audience of beat diggers and soul fanatics worldwide.
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