The Groove
Saturday February 25th, 2023 with Elorious Cain
A Black History Month Celebration of MANDRILL

To fully understand why the award winning MANDRILL is so unique and special it is important to look at the early lives of it's three founding members - the brothers: Carlos Wilson, Ric Wilson, and the late Lou Wilson. They were initially raised in Panama before their parents immigrated to Brooklyn, New York. Since the building of the Panama Canal which hired thousands of good workers from various parts of the Caribbean and Latin America; many of whom ended up settling there, Panama became a multicultural melting pot. The WILSON brothers experienced that as young boys. They were moved to the New York City area which many considered to be "the great multicultural melting pot of America". They started a FUNK band in 1968 mixed with JAZZ, PSYCHODELIC ROCK, and a variety of LATIN and CARIBBEAN musical influences. It is very much felt in their DISCO tracks. Their music never stopped reflecting that blend. When MANDRILL has done FUNK, the results were spectacular. Songs like "Git It All", "Fencewalk" and "Can You Get It (Suzy Caesar)" are legendary. Their fourth album 'Just Outside Of Town' (not featured on this show) has been frequently listed by various sources as "one of the most important PSYCHODELIC FUNK albums of 1973". "Git It All" from 1972 was a demanding and alluring PSYCHODELIC FUNK screamer delivering an infectious groove. When Polydor Records released it as a 7" single in Nigeria dj's started mixing it with records from groups like THE HYGRADES and BLO. The song "Fencewalk" was even more popular and influential. It was even sampled by HIPHOP pioneers PUBLIC ENEMY 40 years later. Interest in the song persists. MANDRILL songs have been sampled by dozens of other HIPHOP artists including JOHNNY D, ICE CUBE, EPMD, SHAWTY LO, BIG L, KANYE WEST, EMINEN, and 9TH WONDER. Also the artist BECK along with a variety of TURNTABLISTS and TRIPHOP artists like THE AVALANCHES from Australia and DJ SHADOW have sampled MANDRILL tracks.