An Interview With Sundazed Music's Jay Millar

discussing the label's recent Howard "Youngblood" Bomar release

The vinyl resurgence has thankfully brought with it many years of necessary and important reissues. However, it has also presented label owners with a challenge: that is, they must continually unearth high-quality music in need of a fresh remaster. They must also have the attention of the eager ears of the modern record-buying public. While some releases are wholly familiar to music lovers - even if they weren’t well-received upon their original release - other releases will feature music that the record-buying public might have missed altogether. One such artist was Howard “Youngblood” Bomar who was a promising soul and R&B singer whose career spanned from the mid-sixties to the nineties. He recorded an impressive body of work, but never hit the big time. However, Sundazed Music is giving his output another chance to be thrust into the limelight.

Jay Millar from Sundazed was gracious enough to spend some time discussing the process of curating their recently released collection of Bomar’s work, I, Who Have Nothing which is now available on CD and vinyl. The new album features excellent liner notes, written by Jim Allen, and gives listeners the comprehensive overview of Bomar’s life which isn’t an easy tale to tell given the dearth of information available about the man, his life and career. Sadly, Bomar passed away in 2001.

Millar and I address how the company sourced the best recordings for this scarce material and he explains the label’s preferred methods of pressing and plating. We also explore how this compilation isn’t merely a reissue project, there is also an element of restoration and archiving here, too. Without this release, Bomar’s legacy would be at risk of being lost in the ether which would be a shame given the immediacy and commanding nature of many of his vocals.