pic via (dez dickerson to prince’s left)

citinite’s new release is something of a lost classic.

Taken from the film Purple Rain, Dez Dickerson’s track ‘Modernaire’ has been an unreleased collectors item for the past 24 years.

“Without a doubt, the most widely known and sought-after of my songs is ‘Modernaire’. The song was immortalized in the film, Purple Rain, during my performance onstage with my band, The Modernaires (then comprised of Paul Cassady on bass, Roland Lozier on keyboards, Ernie LaViolet on drums, and the late, great Joe Hunt on guitar). Whilst all but 18 seconds of our big screen debut wound up on the cutting room floor, the song became somewhat of an underground favourite, with some going as far as taking a snippet of the tune from the film soundtrack and looping it!”

From the dope packaging to the incredible selection of remixers, the degree of care and attention taken over this release puts most labels to shame. It’s even more impressive given the freakish levels of obsessiveness surrounding Prince that citinite are able to bring something so rare and, to most people, brand new to the table.

As much as the original absolutely owns me, the remixes go one step further, with the Hot Persuasion version especially taking that retro edge and repackaging it so it sounds like it was made in some alternative version of the future.

And quite honestly there is little else I want from my funk. (or my life)

There is an overview/interview over at Manni’s blog and you can listen/buy the mp3’s from here.

You really, really need a piece of this.