The first thing I thought of, even before listening to the music, was James Bond; Thunderball underwater fight scenes, harpoons, trails of shark blood..

…diving gear..

As for the music, I bought the vinyl solely for the instrumentals - I’m not so into Lewis Parker’s vocals, they don’t seem to sit alongside the harmonies that well (but that’s just me).

Lewis Parker - Shark (Instrumental)

The stand-out track is the above; the title track: three contrasting elements that somehow stick like glue; the raw, moody bassline, the restless, jumpy snares and that loungy, sensual orchestration, tastefully decorated with watery wok taps (if anyone actually knows the official name for the effect at 0:06, please let me know!) and the ominous trails of discordant strings, fluffy woodwind and vibraphones (there are many more sexy sounds in the mix, but I won’t bore you with a list). 

Above: A pile of EP’s ready to go

Bizarrely, the same night I discovered this release, I also stumbled across the French Connection I & II soundtrack online, which goes perfectly with this style. Don Ellis composed the music, and it’s got that mystique, a jazzy cheekiness to it (moments of his trademark Avant-Garde signature caught up in the frenzy of brass and steamy, addictive percussion). 

Take this opener, for example:

I had literally been looking for the music for YEARS, and since I’m in Asia, here’s a rare poster to commemorate the discovery:

Above: The French Connection (1971)

If your vinyl game is tight, then you would’ve been lucky enough to secure the highly limited blue pressing of 150 copies that came with an LP poster. Something like this:

The exclusive poster:

Back, labels etc:

All in all, a beautiful release from King Underground Records / The World Of Dusty Vinyl!

* I suppose Kanye did do a 007 themed ting back in ‘05.