L.A.-based KING bring their uniquely stirring brand of swirling psychedelic soul to the Amoeba Hollywood stage for a free show Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. They'll also have their debut LP, We Are KING, on sale that day at Amoeba prior to the album's official release on Feb. 5.

KING consist of Anita Bias and sisters Paris Strother and Amber Strother. Paris is the primary producer and instrumentalist of the band, while Amber and Anita's breahty vocals hopscotch over Paris' jazzy concoctions. Together they produce a sound that doesn't skimp on complexity but also exudes warmth, using horns and unabashedly synthy keys for a sound that weaves together classic soul, synth-funk, dream pop and certain something undefinable that gives KING its own essence.

The group has drummed up a vocal fanbase on Twitter even before dropping its first album, one that includes none other than Prince, who asked the group to open for him one night during his 21-night residency at the Forum in Inglewood in 2011. Unfortunately it's also part of their story that as a trio of women writing and producing their own soul music, A&R folks have suggested the group alter their image and essentially dumb down the sound, as they told LA Weekly. I asked them about all of that and more when I caught up with them before their Amoeba show.

Amoeba Music has curated the vintage album exhibit “Salute to ’80s Vinyl We Love,” featuring cover art from across the decade. It will be on display at the Ninth Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair on Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw.

Featured albums includes Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album (1985), Tina Turner’s Break Every Rule (1986), the Do the Right Thing soundtrack (1988), Jungle Brothers’ Straight Out the Jungle (1988), N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton (1988), Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Vol. One (1989), Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation (1989) and more.

Head to the Vinyl Beat website to check out extensive LP label guides and wild cover galleries!

Mitty Collier came from the church, had a soul career for 10 years, and went back to the church to stay in 1972. She had the deepest, sexiest voice in soul music, but she still flew under the radar. Although she had many R&B hits, she was just too gritty for Top 40 radio. Mitty’s early career was with Chess Records in Chicago, but her best work was produced by Stax soul legend William Bell for the Peachtree label in Atlanta.  

Detroit-born/Brooklyn-based DJ Mr. Fine Wine epitomizes that term crate digger. The longtime radio and club DJ - renowned for his vast seven inch record collection of lost soul, funk, gospel, RnB, and doo-wop 45's from the fifties, sixties, and seventies - owns a most unique and enviable record collection. This unparalleled American music record collection of over 15,000 45 records, which has resulted in being invited to curate numerous retro soul label compilations, did not appear overnight for Mr Fine Wine. Rather the DJ has invested near all his spare cash over the past two and a half decades, plus endless hours of tireless crate digging at record stores big and small (and yard sales) all over the country, including Amoeba Berkeley when he visited California a few years back. In fact, even very recently when on his honeymoon to Tampa and St. Petersburg, he couldn't resist doing a lil bit of record shopping. Luckily, his new wife Rebecca is a fellow retro soul music DJ and avid record collector who DJs under the name One Mint Julep. Hence she, unlike most new brides, was more than understanding.

Amoeba is proud to sponsor The Drop: Kenny Lattimore at The GRAMMY Museum April 20. R&B singer Kenny Lattimore will appear at the museum’s Clive Davis Theater for an intimate performance and discussion about his career and new album. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $20.

Lattimore’s soulful vocals and romantic tunes with contemporary touches have won him a wide-ranging audience, as well as the NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist and nominations for the Soul Train and Stellar Awards. He’s hip enough to have had his song “Lately” sampled by Kanye West on Yeezus’ "I'm In It," and he’s worked with artists as diverse as Musiq Soulchild, Rachelle Ferrell, Nancy Wilson and Brian Culbertson. Lattimore will release his new album, Anatomy of a Love Song, April 14, featuring "Love Me Back," which has charted on Billboard's Adult R&B National Airplay chart.