Strut Records are to release a compilation celebrating the work of legendary New York producer Bob Blank. It’s called Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985, and it’s out on February 2.

It’s the first ever retrospective of Blank’s work, and collects the most important output of his independent studio, Blank Tapes.

Blank produced one of the first 12″ disco records, Jimmy Sabater’s 1975 cut ‘To Be With You’, and opened Blank Tapes a year later. Over the following decade he helped artists as diverse as Lydia Lunch, August Darnell Salsoul Orchestra, Patrick Adams and Arthur Russell realize their sonic ambitions. Russell recorded much of his disco-oriented Dinosaur L, Indian Ocean and Felix material at Blank Tapes, and his immortal ‘Wax The Van’ was a collaboration with Blank’s wife, Lola.

Strut have hooked up with DJHistory‘s Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton for the preparation of this comp. The package features an in-depth interview with Bob Blank by Brewster, alongside rare photos from his personal archive. Music-wise, the comp includes the first ever track recorded at Blank Tapes, Milton Hamilton’s ‘Crystalized’, along with big-hitting anthems like Fonda Rae’s ‘Over LIke A Fat Rat’ and a bunch of more obscure cuts that we’re delighted to be introduced to. You can download one such track, Debby Blackwell’s ‘Once You Got Me Going’, here and now:

Download:  Debby Blackwell – Once You Got Me Going

Tracklist:
1. Debby Blackwell – Once You Got Me Going
2. Charanga 76 – Music Trance
3. Milton Hamilton – Crystalized
4. Sun Ra – Where Pathways Meet
5. The Necessaries – State of Art
6. Lydia Lunch – A Cruise To The Moon
7. James Blood Ulmer – Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher
8. Bumblebee Unlimited – I Got A Big Bee
9. Mikki – Itching For Love (M+M Mix)
10. Fonda Rae – Over Like A Fat Rat
11. Gladys Knight – It’s A Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons Mix)
12. Lola – Wax The Van (Jon’s Dub)
13. Aural Exciters – Emile (Night Rate)