These days it's getting a bit difficult to spot Max Pask of Populette in a crowd now that he's without his trademark unruly mane (R.I.P.). You'll just have to rely on your ability to detect a French accent and have a keen eye for Wasted German Youth apparel. Ultimately what'll really grab your attention are Pask's DJ sets, whether they be here in New York, Paris or Berlin or his remixes of artists like Who Made Who, The Rapture and Cut Copy. Fellow producer and house DJ Andrew "The Wiz" Potter rounds out this duo, one of Throne of Blood's latest signings.
More familiar than you would think, TBD are the 13-year veteran producer/DJ Justin Vandervolgen formerly of !!! and Outhud and Brooklyn's own edit master with releases on Rong, Wurst Edits and DFA Records under his belt, Lee Douglas. Put the two together and you've got a blessed union responsible for their own self-released "What Is This?"/"I Don't Know" 12-inch in addition to a remix of Runaway's "Black Label Honey" single.
For this release, TBD take the slick and polished albeit seductive "Mommy" and turn her into a Latin beat-infused, key-tickling, floor thumper with a little more sex appeal and enough attitude to warrant a name change to "Mami". Populette's debut also includes a remix by Eamon Harkin and Steve Rainey of Mr. Saturday Night and Sunday Best fame.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 | Filed Under | 1 Comments
Manchester native, Greg Wilson, really needs no introduction. For all of his contributions to dance music spanning almost three decades, words like "first", "pioneer" and "originator" come up so frequently in his biography that if you're drawing a blank, then it's time to hit the record shops and get familiar. For our purposes today, there's an excellent interview over at Cosmic Boogie where Wilson discusses what re-editing is, the origins of the edit and his thoughts on its current popularity.
Adriano Celentano is a highly influential Italian entertainer (artist, singer, film actor, director, television personality, expert hula hooper, etc.) known worldwide. Since the late 1950s he's recorded a staggering 40 albums. In 1973 he released the Nostalrock LP which featured the track "Prisencolinensinainciusol".
If you're wondering why the lyrics sound nothing even remotely like the Italian language, well, that's because the entire song is composed of gibberish and non-sensical words. While the title itself, according to Celentano, is supposed to mean "universal love", he explains that the meaning behind the track is based on our inability to communicate in modern times (or at least in the '70s).
Check out the choreography for this song taken from an Italian variety television show:
Wilson's 2008 edit appears on the Ruff Edits #1 12" under the title "Adriano Italiano". Not too far off from the original, it also incorporates a vocal sample from the 1977 funk tune Instant Funk's "I Got My Mind Made Up". The B side has an edit of Boz Scagg's "Lowdown" under "Blue Eyed Boz".
Tony Carrasco and Mario Boncaldo are the men behind Klein & M.B.O., most often described as an Italian post-disco outfit. "Dirty Talk" was originally released in Milan in 1982 but received very little attention until it was picked up by underground figures like the late Ron Hardy, one of the first Chicago house DJs. The track eventually blew up and became such a successful hit that the duo was signed by Atlantic Records for the release of their single "Wonderful" that same year.
Wilson explains his interest in the track and shares some interesting tidbits:
"'Dirty Talk' was a huge track for me on the Electro-Funk scene back in '82. I was the first DJ to start playing this in the black clubs as an import on Zanza and it soon became the biggest track at my nights at Legend in Manchester and Wigan Pier (it was also quite controversial, as the purists on the scene thought that this shouldn't be played). The Hacienda had only just opened and the DJ there, Hewan Clarke, picked up on it - it was as a result of hearing Hewan play it that New Order borrowed the record from him and used it as one of the templates for 'Blue Monday', which they were working on at the time."
You can find this edit via Belgian label, Flexx. The original was put out by Siamese Records who were also responsible for releasing Dance Reaction's "Disco Train", one of my favorite records, the previous year.
Saturday, February 28, 2009 | Filed Under | 4 Comments
During the late 1990s, Detroit electronic producer and DJ, Wilhelm K., was organizing epic raves out in the Midwest, the now infamous Get party, that has some attendees still reminiscing about it to this day. It was in 1991 that he first began DJing but about nine years later he would found his own (now defunct) record label, d-version, which featured releases by the likes of the Frankie Bones, Swedish producer Cari Lekebusch and more.
In 2001, Wilhelm's "Reach", with its short but sweet and classic Detroit house sound, was released on the "Colours - Vol. 2" EP by Soiree Records. While he's shared the bill with big names like Aaron Carl, Green Velvet and Moby, Wilhelm remains relatively obscure, only brought to my attention by Belgian wunderkind producer/DJ, Jona, who sent along a mix with this gem neatly tucked inside.
Friday, February 27, 2009 | Filed Under | 0 Comments
Getting into the overall umbrella of dance music when you don't have the slightest clue where to start and nobody to guide you along the way is difficult enough. In the context of the digital age, it's even worse trying to navigate through a lot of faux music journalism. Sometimes it's just easier to go to the source. In the earliest incarnations of Ewan Pearson's "Enthusiasm" page, there were lists upon lists of recommended tracks that helped wipe the confusion off my face. Straight forward, no pretense, just good music. These were the things that made Pearson such an excellent virtual guide, an even better DJ and one of my all time favorite producers.
When Pearson jokingly ordained himself 2008's Supreme Overlord of Dance and wrote a list of pretty hilarious albeit brilliant decrees, it was evident that he was making an argument for quality and authenticity:
1. All producers will take a vow of chastity for the first half of the year. Have six months off. Learn to paint or to knit. Take up bird watching. Do some voluntary work in an old people’s home. Make yourselves useful.
2. Further to decree 1, all producers will count the number of remixes completed and records released in 2007 and release a third as many in 2008. Work harder than you did last year, but throw away everything you think is not genuinely going to add something to the world.
3. No releases will be allowed that are generated entirely by laptop or plug-in. All records should contain at least one certified example of someone hitting something real with a stick, yelling into a microphone, wrapping strings around an object and strumming them. That kind of thing. Documentary proof, photos etc, will be required.
I first saw 2020 Soundsystem live in New York (coincidentally alongside Pearson) not too long ago and I was pretty taken aback by seeing a stage crowded with artists. I know it sounds silly but when you're accustomed to just watching some semi-masturbatory, solo knob tweaking and laptop button pushing, seeing someone behind a drum kit, a bassist slouched over his instrument and a vocalist on the mic (with the aforementioned knob tweaker) suddenly becomes something mind blowing.
Prior to the set I had no idea Silver City was actually a part of 2020 Soundsystem until I heard that all too familiar, gorgeous but haunting vocal from "Shiver". Fernando Pulichino and Julian Sanza, the native Argentinians behind the Silver City moniker, began their careers in 1999 as Ciudad Feliz before moving to London in 2002 where they landed a deal with 2020 Vision Recordings (Leeds based masters of visual and audial acuity) and released their first 12", "Blah Blah Blah". They were then swept up by the Soundsystem crew alongside 2020 Vision label owners and DJs Ralph Lawson and Dubble D (Danny Ward). Granted "Shiver" and Pearson's remix were a 2005 release, but such a beautiful piece of soul-stirring euphoria that twinkles and dazzles the way that this does doesn't deserve to be shelved.
The last I'd heard of Silver City, they had released the electro-funky Polytechnics EP on UK label Deep Freeze Recordings in July of 2008 which also features "Victoria Jam" and an edit of "Pendulo" by the highly esteemed Pete Herbert. Herbert records under the name LSB and remixed Runaway's "Brooklyn Club Jam" among others and also goes by Reverso 68 on Belgian label Eskimo Recordings. This is Silver City's second release on DF, the first being 2006's "Dubby" EP.
Thursday, February 26, 2009 | Filed Under | 0 Comments
Back in March we saw the release of Chaz Jankel's "Get Yourself Together" single on Tirk Records with remixes by disco house denizens Hercules & Love Affair and Todd Terje. Despite being a native of Croatia, not exactly a stone's throw away from the ground where Paradise Garage once stood, producer Ilija Rudman has been dropping records that hearken back to the original days of disco. His work has caught the ears of everyone from Greg Wilson to the Rong Music crew.
Rudman's remix is taken from the Burning of the Midnight Minds EP which appears on the Electric Minds label. He's got a new single on Bear Funk, "Dance Disorder", that's scheduled for release on the 19th and he'll be DJing alongside Metro Area's Darshan Jesrani on January 23rd in Zagreb.
English artist/producer Chaz Jankel has had an extensive career in music stretching back to 1971. In 1977, prior to embarking on his own solo career, Jankel and Ian Dury formed the band Ian Dury & The Blockheads (often regarded as an art pop group that fused elements of rock, funk, jazz and reggae), with Jankel on keyboard and guitar. That same year, the Blockheads toured alongside soon-to-be big name labelmates Elvis Costello & The Attractions as well as Nick Lowe. Resident Advisor sums up the rest:
"Chaz Jankel had a number of dance smashes hit the charts. But, for some reason, his work was soon forgotten—none of the four albums released on A&M made it to CD. Enter Strut Records. In the middle of this decade, the label stepped in and started the long process of compiling a greatest hits from Jankel’s extensive back catalogue. When Strut went under, Tirk came in and finished the job."
Jankel only recently reappeared after the release of a restrospective of his work, Music is My Occupation.
"The weird thing about all this hype, is that Jankel is as surprised as anyone. Born in 1952, he hasn’t followed the disco re-edit scene and was oblivious to the emergence of cosmic disco. He’s an old-school singer-songwriter, a craftsman that works to excel across all genres."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 | Filed Under | 1 Comments
Populette - Mommy (TBD Remix)
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