Es schien schon bei seinem Debüt „Fordtrax“ so, als hätte Peter Ford etwas anderes für Acid House im Sinn als die räudigen Vorläufer aus Chicago, womit er den Hang der englischen Auslegung zu mehr Pop- und Glamversprechungen im 303-Regime anführte. Sein zweites Album war dennoch ein unerwartetes Erlebnis. Der dünnste Elektroniker aller Zeiten legte sich kühn zwischen Wigan Casino, T-Rex, Shoom, Garage, Disco und Strand- und Wiesenidyll quer und wollte beherzt mit diesem Entwurf in Richtung Top Of The Pops davonpreschen. Ich hätte ihm das Leben des Superstars aus vollem Herzen gegönnt, doch es sollte nicht sein. Stattdessen konvertierte er das Konzept auf seinem dritten Album in einen letzten krachig-düsteren Post-Aids-Trauma-Latex-Konfrontationskurs und verabschiedete sich anschließend bis heute in die Reduktion.
Sammlung älterer Veröffentlichungen von 1997 bis 2003, bewegt sich soverän zwischen gut gealtert und gut weiterentwickelt. Ein schönes Echo der ersten Zündstufe von Minimal/Tech House, das völlig zu recht retrospektiv ausgewertet und zum Klassiker geadelt sein muss. Es gibt auch immer noch viel zu entdecken bei all den perkussiven Verschachtelungen, unerwarteten Melodien und dem Bernard Sumner-Gesang auf “Initiate II”. “Beau Mot Plage” gibt es im epischen Freeform Mix, der seinerzeit ja rund um den Erdball erschallte, soviel Dankbarkeit muss sein. Wer so konsequent voranschreitet wie Isolée, sollte jederzeit mal kurz innehalten dürfen.
Sachte hingetupfte Twilight-Hybriden vom Macher der Labels Cynosure und Revolver, seine Dani heißt Anais und mäandert sich auf vier Tracks angemessen lasziv durch diesen Film, der irgendwie David Lynch anpeilt und doch eher bei Luc Besson landet. Wenn schon verruchte Atmosphäre und Minimal meets Jazzbesen, dann vielleicht lieber so verschroben, dass es von sich aus schon mysteriös wirkt. Bis dahin bleibt das Copyright bei Badalamenti.
Nach den ganzen Remix-Packungen und historisierenden Huldigungen haben sich die belgischen Synthpop-Pioniere nun für ihr eigenes Update tatsächlich wieder an die Geräte gesetzt. Der Humor ist der gleiche geblieben und manifestiert sich wie gewohnt vor allem in merkwürdigen Coverversionen, freundlich dass sie dabei neben Rock-Dekontruktionen (“On The Road Again”/”Jailhouse Rock”/”La Bamba”) auch die soundmäßigen Weggefährten Sparks zu ihrer Moroder-Phase grüßen und die eigenen Landsleute mit dem Grand Prix-Abräumer “J’aime La Vie”. Telex wissen anscheinend genau, was gerade als schick gilt. Dem Sound of Now wird wird nicht hinterhergehinkt, aber dennoch ist das alles noch so plastikpoppig und sympathisch-naiv wie einst. Für Freunde alberner Melodien und abstruser Ideen.
My first appearance at the seminal Betalounge, live at its premises in Hamburg. I was scheduled to play an old school house/disco night in town so I played what I prepared for that. The location was a place were people were usually hanging out in the afternoon before they hit the nightlife, but I had the whole place dancing at some point. I was particularly honoured that many friends and other DJs showed up, including Vienna’s hip hop legend DSL, whom I always really admired.
You really cannot underestimate the impact of the Betalounge. Operating from San Francisco and Hamburg they were the Boiler Room of those days. Just check their vast archive and you will know what I mean.
Telly Savalas – Looking Back At Thirty David Bowie – Changes Bomb The Bass – Winter In July Marden Hill – Bardot Go-Betweens – Bachelor Kisses Cocteau Twins – Cherry Coloured Funk Elvis Presley – Bridge Over Troubled Water Aphrodite’s Child – Break Terry Callier – Love Theme From Spartacus Rance Allen Group – Ain’t No Need Of Crying Barry White – Let The Music Play Ultra Naté – Funny (How Things Change) Roxy Music – A Really Good Time It’s Immaterial – Homecoming Carole King – Home Again Carly Simon – Coming Around Again Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love Madness – One Better Day
Walker Brothers – I Don’t Want To Hear It Anymore Sammy Davis Jr – Love Is Just A Meaningless Word The Fun Boy Three – Alone Soft Cell – Say Hello, Wave Goodbye Issac Hayes – Ike’s Rap II / Help Me Love Everything But The Girl – Fascination Julian Cope – Me Singing Pretty Things – Trust Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon Robert Wyatt – Shipbuilding Chapter & The Verse – Lorraine (Memphis Listen To Her) Was (Not Was) – Zaz Turned Blue Richard Ashcroft – Check The Meaning Glenn Gregory – Wichita Lineman Mr. Fingers – Survivor Style Council – My Ever Changing Moods Beach Boys – Disney Girls The Free Design – Memories
Michael, a music enthusiast I got to know on the Discogs message board, had a now defunct blog called Silence is a Rhythm too and asked me if I could provide a mix with something I did not usually publish. So I came up with the idea to do three mixes that contain sad or melancholic songs. The mixes are structured so that they start out really depressing than get a bit less depressing, and end in something vaguely conciliatory. Jan Rikus Hillmann, the art director of de:bug magazine, told me they were world class, which caught me so off guard that I still remember it.
Tuxedomoon – The Cage Lee Hazlewood – The Night Before The Prisoners – Mourn My Health R. Dean Taylor – Sunday Morning Coming Down Yazoo – Winter Kills Simon And Garfunkel – So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright Pet Shop Boys – Your Funny Uncle Paddy McAloon – Sleeping Rough Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 – Pradizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye) Liza Minnelli – For No One Kissing The Pink – All For You Coldcut – Autumn Leaves Rose Royce – Love Don’t Live Here Anymore Jesus Loves You – I Specialize In Loneliness Dee C. Lee – See The Day Human League – Louise The Colourfield – Sorry Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – I’m Glad Matt Monro – And We Were Lovers The Zombies – I Remember When I Loved Her The Carpenters – Rainy Days And Mondays / Goodbye To Love
Some fine folks in the Ruhr area ran a website called Deep Groove, which indeed was a hub for all kinds of deep grooves, and included a lively message board and a good guest mix section. When they asked me for a mix I decided to give them a disco treat. I remember that the mix was pretty popular then, and I am also still really happy with it. It is a good snapshot of the kind of disco I played around Berlin’s disco circuit at the time, which after years of hibernation was growing stronger and stronger. If I may say so, the intro is really something. Mad skills!
Oh, and if you wonder about the title, I nicked it from a George Michael documentary I saw with my friend Stefan Goldmann that year. I liked some early Wham! stuff but I was never too much into his solo career. The only place showing it was a small gay cinema in Berlin-Schöneberg and Stefan persuaded me to join, because he really liked the song Freeek, which I did not like at all. After the film my opinion on George Michael really changed though, and I still have a lot of respect for him. But my favourite moment in the documentary were two elder female fans who were asked what they liked about him. “He’s the boo in my boogie!”, one replied. I could relate to that.
Sinnamon – I Need You Now (Acapella) René & Angela – I Love You More (Mr. K Edit) Brenda Taylor – You Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat It Too (Greg Wilson Edit) The Staple Singers – Slippery People Dan Hartman – We Are The Young The System – You Are In My System The The – Giant It’s Immaterial – Space (He Called From The Kitchen…) Thelma Houston – You Used To Hold Me So Tight Cameo – Back And Forth (Dub Mix) ABC – The Night You Murdered Love (The Whole Story) Sleeque – One For The Money Surface – Falling In Love (Special Extended Danny Krivit Extended Re-Edit) Evelyn King – I’m In Love Montana Orchestra – Sal Sold My Beats Donny Hathaway – String Segue Arnie’s Love – I’m Out Of Your Love Michael Wycoff – Looking Up To You Tafuri – What Am I Gonna Do About Your Love? (Silk On Steel – Extended Mix) Tony Silvester & The New Ingredient – Verry White The 5th Dimension – Magic In My Life
Recent Comments