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Taken from Liberation (March, 2005)
Love Kamikaze: The Lost Sex Singles
(and collector re-mixes)
by Liberation
 While moving location of his recording studio, the Sugar Shack, Michael Franti stumbled over a box of jewels with various unreleased versions of songs from past Spearhead sessions for Home, Chocolate Supa Highway and Stay Human.
The result is Love Kamikaze: The Lost Sex Singles (and collector re-mixes.) "The songs on the album are not all about sex and love lyrically," Michael says, "some mixes were chosen because of the sensuality of the rhythm and heaviness of the bass." The result is a lush sounding album that is erotic in it's sound, that takes a brave look at love lost and found.
"This album is a historic reference point for me. Hearing these songs again brings up a lot of emotion for me, because it was a time of great change in my life.
During the spring of 1998 Michael Franti started work on a new album at his studio, the Sugar Shack in San Francisco. It was a pivotal time in his career, a regime change had taken place at Capital Records which had been his label for 1994's album Home and 1997's Chocolate Supa Highway and after much soul searching Franti decided to leave Capital, start his own label Boo Boo Wax and take the independent route of getting his music and message out there.
He had been writing and recording dozens of songs during this time and going out on his own had given him a new passion for music. He approached the next album as if it were the only album he would ever make in his life. What would he say? How would it sound? The result was 2000's Stay Human. A socially inspired record about freedom of speech, the death penalty and holding on to humanity despite the chaos of the world we live in.
The decision of which songs to release on the albums were not based solely on what were favorites, rather with what fit thematically on the albums. As a result many great tracks and versions of songs from the Spearhead sessions were completely left off of the albums including optional mixes from Stay Human such as "Every Single Soul (One-Two Mix)" and "Stay Human (Streets Are Alive Mix.)
So here comes the Lost Sex Singles. Songs about sex and love which Michael recorded during that time and at other times, but were too far outside the feel or sonically were too different then everything else on the albums. The response toward the live performances of these unreleased songs always garnered massive fan response and requests for recorded versions, so when Franti stumbled upon the box of alternate mixes and unreleased material, it was a sure sign to put out some more love and music into the world.
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