Stages / I Wanna Be Myself (inc. Prins Thomas & Gerd Janson edits)

For the latest deep dive on the label's occasional Super Sound Singles offshoot, Running Back takes us back to 1986 and the Bubblegum-era work of South African jazz and jazz-funk great Don Laka. The key cut is 'Stages', the title track from a warm, synth-heavy EP originally released on Giallo Records. We get the superb original mix (the EP's title track), where Laka sings above an infectious groove and colourful, tactile melodies, and Prins Thomas's slightly overlooked 2019 re-edit, a glorious extension that rolls out the groove and synths before introducing Laka's vocals. Also included is Gerd Janson's fresh scalpel re-work of another Stages EP cut, the bubblegum-goes-80s disco-funk joy of 'I Wanna Be Myself'.