Cassell, Matthew Larkin
Pieces
Originally from San Francisco, Matthew Larkin Cassell is a talented songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. During the '70s-80s, Cassell fronted a trio in the Bay Area, opening for major acts like The Tubes and Sylvester. Playing a particular fusion of funk, R&B, soul-jazz and '70s pop, he self-financed and released his first album, 'Pieces', in 1977. Distributed only locally at the time, the album remained buried until it was discovered in the '00s by beat makers and crate diggers which led to some of the tracks being sampled and included on mixes by people like Kon & Amir, Madlib and M.F. Doom. Reputed labels like Stones Throw and P-Vine reissued Casell's music at the same time that the original album was sought-after by funk collectors and reached outrageous prices. Here's a straight reissue in original artwork with master tape sound and including a lyrics insert.