- TWO SIDES OF ULTRA RARE SOULFUL MONSTERS FROM THE '70S Soul, boogie, disco - call it what you will. Whatever you choose to call this style of music, the crowd on the dancefloor doesn't care, so long as it has that unknown quantity that makes them shake their heels. Lemuria is a 16-member group from Hawaii based around 4 vocalists. In 1978 they released a 45 of the song 'Hunk of Heaven' to promote their self-titled LP. 'We named the group and the album after the legendary Pacific continent' says Kirk Thompson, founder and leader of Lemuria. Record diggers exist all over the world, but it's a mystery how an independently-produced, limited-edition LP coming from an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean found its way into the record boxes of the DJs who gave cult status to this song. It must have been a buzz finding a copy in the record bins, putting it on the turntable and discovering a hunk of heaven within its grooves. The LP by Terea is similar in that it's an independent recording on a small label, also with a soulful boogie vibe. Recorded in 1977, the self-titled LP was recorded in Burbank CA as a venture by producer Dennis Dreith to promote the vocal talents of newly-discovered Sharon 'Terea' Robinson. Unfortunately budget restraints meant the album was not promoted at all, and coupled with a small pressing run, obscurity was the sole result. But years later, like with Lemuria, dedicated vinyl hounds sniffed out copies from the bargain bins for the songs to become known on the underground soul scene. Despite the failure of the LP to promote Sharon's vocal abilities, she has since gone on to collaborate with such artists as Leonard Cohen, Diana Ross and Roberta Flack.