00:00:00 1 小泉 今日子 – Kyon Kyonはフツー 00:07:06 2 Yazz – Fine Time 00:11:27 3 Liza Minnelli – So Sorry, I Said 00:14:23 4 A.R.Kane – Sugarwings 00:17:34 5 Dusty Springfield – Nothing Has Been Proved (Dance Mix) 00:23:01 6 Pet Shop Boys & Liza Minnelli – Twist In My Sobriety 00:27:36 7 The Wild Bunch – The Look Of Love 00:31:08 8 Neneh Cherry – Manchild (The Old School Mix) 00:36:16 9 Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians – What I Am (Soul II Soul Remix) 00:41:04 10 Style Council – Long Hot Summer ’89 00:46:11 11 Tears For Fears – Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Full Version) 00:52:31 12 Cocteau Twins – A Kissed Out Red Floatboat 00:56:12 13 Lorraine Chambers – Back To Bass-Ics 01:00:44 14 Lorraine Chambers – You’ve Gone (Alternate Mix) 01:05:32 15 Lorraine Chambers – You’ve Gone (Original Mix) 01:10:25 16 Malcolm McLaren – Call A Wave 01:13:45 17 Fresh 4 – Smoke Filled Thoughts 01:17:19 18 Fresh 4 – Wishing on a Star 01:20:17 19 Bomb The Bass – Say A Little Prayer (7″ Mix) 01:23:59 20 Soul II Soul – Keep On Movin’ (Feat. Caron Wheeler) 01:29:25 21 Adeva – Beautiful Love (Extended Mix) 01:34:00 22 Joyce Sims – Come Into My Life (UK Remix) 01:39:44 23 The Chimes – Stronger Together (Red Zone Mix) 01:46:12 24 Smith & Mighty – Anyone 01:51:55 25 Smith & Mighty – Walk On 01:55:35 26 Beats International – Dub Be Good to Me 02:00:41 27 Sybil – Don’t Make Me Over (Extended Remix) 02:05:31 28 Bardeux – When We Kiss (Sex Mix) 02:09:33 29 Coldcut – Not Paid Enough 02:16:27 30 Malcolm McLaren – Waltz Darling (extended version) 02:22:42 31 Thomas Esterine – Do You Still Really Love Me 02:27:27 32 Sade – Paradise (Extended Mix) 02:31:19 33 Soul II Soul – Get a Life (Club Mix) 02:35:25 34 Soul II Soul feat. Caron Wheeler – Back To Life (Club Mix) 02:41:24 35 Miles Jaye – Heaven (Celestial Club Mix) 02:48:00 36 Happy Mondays – Wrote For Luck (12″ B-Side) 02:53:21 37 Coco, Steel & Lovebomb – T.S.O.E. – Part 1 (The Sound Of Europe) 02:57:48 38 J.T. And The Big Family – Moments In Soul 03:02:40 39 Innocence – Natural Thing (Elevation Mix) 03:11:45 40 Sade – Nothing Can Come Between Us 03:16:02 41 Chaka Khan – Ain’t Nobody (Hallucinogenic Version) 03:22:05 42 Swing Out Sister – Surrender (Disconet Edit) 03:29:17 43 Inner City – Whatcha Gonna do With my Lovin’ (Def Mix) 03:37:05 44 Tafuri – What Am I Gonna Do (About Your Love) (Original Silk on Steel 12″ mix) 03:43:31 45 The Pasadenas – Tribute (Right On) (The Q Street Mix) 03:48:36 46 Coco, Steel & Lovebomb – Miracles (Don’t Make Me Laugh Dub) 03:52:34 47 Coco, Steel & Lovebomb – Miracles (I Don’t Believe In) 03:56:17 48 Paul Johnson – You’re No Good (Deep House Mix) 04:04:07 49 Pet Shop Boys – Domino Dancing (Disco Mix) 04:11:02 50 Fine Young Cannibals – I’m Not The Man I Used To Be
00:00:00 1 Moody Boys – Free 00:05:05 2 Everis – Topic – Summer Time (Street Mix) 00:09:47 3 Kyoko Koizumi – Good Bye My Love (MIX III) 00:12:34 4 Everis – Topic – Better Love (90’s Ragga Mix) 00:16:48 5 The Cure – Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix B-Side Of Close To Me Re-Release Closest Mix) 00:20:12 6 Associates – Where There’s Love 00:24:43 7 Pet Shop Boys – To Face The Truth 00:29:45 8 Kyoko Koizumi – Topic – La La La… (Back Tracks) 00:34:05 9 The Blow Monkeys – Springtime For The World 00:37:01 10 Pet Shop Boys – Only The Wind Parlophone 00:41:09 11 Innocence – Matter Of Fact (Matter Of Dub) 00:47:47 12 Lalah Hathaway – Baby Don’t Cry (Crybaby Club Version) 00:54:10 13 Joanna Law – Love Is Not Enough (Mix D’Ambience) 00:59:10 14 Alyson Williams – I Need Your Lovin’ (Extended Remix) 01:03:37 15 The Cure – Pictures Of You (Extended Remix) 01:11:14 16 Gucci Crew II – Never Seen You Cry (Talkin Mix) 01:16:08 17 George Michael – Waiting for That Day 01:20:40 18 Jesus Loves You – I Specialize In Loneliness 01:26:48 19 Jesus Loves You – One On One (Massive Attack Mix) 01:31:30 20 Cocteau Twins – Pitch The Baby 01:34:21 21 Double Trouble – Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (Back To Bassics Mix) 01:38:37 22 Kyoko Koizumi – No No No (Dub Mix) 01:42:53 23 Oleta Adams – Rhythm Of Life (Full Length Version) 01:49:28 24 Loose Ends – Love Controversy, Part 1 01:52:21 25 Claudia Patrice – Forever 01:58:57 26 Carlton – We Vie 02:02:32 27 Cocteau Twins – Cherry-Coloured Funk 02:05:05 28 Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas 02:09:32 29 Sharon Dee Clarke – Guilty 02:14:30 30 The Times – Confiance 02:18:29 31 Carlton – Come On Back (Mad Professor Remix) 02:20:41 32 Candy Flip – Strawberry Fields Forever 02:24:39 33 Primal Scream – Loaded 02:31:27 34 Ruthless Rap Assassins – Just Mellow 02:34:21 35 Backbeat Convention – Love And Happiness (Quartz Dub All Over Mix) 02:42:00 36 Talk Talk – Life’s What You Make It (The Fluke Remix) 02:47:33 37 The Cure – Close To Me (Closer Mix) 02:52:54 38 Young Disciples – Step Right On (Dub Mix)
00:00:00 1 Movement 98 feat. Carroll Thompson – Joy And Heartbreak (The Raid Mix by Oakenfold & Osborne) 00:06:34 2 Harlem Gem – Missing You (Missing Me) (Wild West Mix) 00:10:40 3 The Project – Don’t Be So Cruel 00:16:25 4 Primal Scream – Come Together (Andy Weatherall Extended Mix) 00:26:05 5 Leta Davis – You’ll Never Get To Heaven (Joey’s Groove) 00:29:26 6 Leta Davis – You’ll Never Get To Heaven (Club Mix) 00:34:10 7 Working Week – Topic – Testify (Blade Mix) 00:39:30 8 Beats International – Dub Be Good To Me (Smith & Mighty Remix) 00:46:19 9 Primal Scream – Come Together (Terry Farley Extended 12″ Mix) 00:54:00 10 Sheila Pate – Feel Like The First Time 00:59:22 11 The Pasadenas – Reeling (Extended Version) 01:06:22 12 Maureen Walsh – Thinking Of You (Rock Steady Mix) 01:12:51 13 Brotherly Love – A Whole Lotta You In Me 01:19:45 14 Carlton – True Colours 01:23:52 15 Massive Attack – Daydreaming (Brixton Bass Mix) 01:28:51 16 Propaganda – Heaven Give Me Words (The Beat) 01:35:43 17 Flowered Up – Phobia (Extended Play) 01:40:06 18 Chellé – Don’t Let It Go To Your Head 01:44:24 19 IJ & The Sound Wave – Adopt A Beat 01:48:30 20 Yunie – I Can See For Miles 01:52:17 21 Loose Ends – Don’t Be A Fool (Twilight Mix) 01:58:22 22 The Clash – Return To Brixton (Extended Mix) 02:04:28 23 Carlton – Cool With Nature (Massive Sounds Remix) 02:08:52 24 Army Of Lovers – My Army Of Lovers 02:11:51 25 Robert Palmer – Mercy Me Me / I Want You (12″ Remix) 02:18:15 26 After 7 – Can’t Stop (One World 12″) 02:24:16 27 C S Lewis – Are You Leaving 02:29:06 28 Kordak – Why Can’t We Live Together (Straight To The Bone Mix) 02:35:03 29 Pleasure – Please (Future Dub) 02:40:59 30 Massivo feat Tracy – Loving You (Summer Breeze Mix) 02:47:46 31 Alisha Warren – Discover me (12 Inch Mix) 02:51:29 32 Carlton – I Will Be 02:54:17 33 Soul Family Sensation – I Don’t Even Know If I Should Call You Baby (Marshall Jefferson Symphony Mix) 03:00:05 34 Flowered Up – It’s On (Feel Pain Mix) 03:04:35 35 Eve Gallagher – Love Come Down (Psychedelic Sanyasin’s Dub)
00:00:00 1 Pet Shop Boys – Jealousy (Extended Mix) 00:07:51 2 Cool Down Zone – Cool Down Zone – Heaven Knows 00:12:03 3 Lil’ Louis – Nyce and Slo (Tony Humphries Wildlife Mix) 00:19:38 4 Paul Rutherford – That Moon (Club Mix) 00:23:48 5 Tara Kemp – Hold You Tight (All Night Instr. Mix) 00:27:26 6 Bass-O-Matic – Fascinating Rhythm 00:31:13 7 The Grid – Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix) 00:37:58 8 Inner City – ‘Till We Meet Again 00:42:10 9 Caron Wheeler – Livin In the Light (The Original Story) 00:47:33 10 Mica Paris – Contribution (The Revolution Remix) 00:54:19 11 Saint Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Version) 00:58:24 12 Saint Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart 01:02:40 13 Carlton – I Know 01:07:33 14 Massive Attack – Any Love (2) 01:11:10 15 Joanna Law – First Time Ever (12” Mellow Groove) 01:16:46 16 Innocence – Silent Voice 01:22:15 17 Neneh Cherry – I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Extended) 01:27:06 18 The Family Stand – Ghetto Heaven (Original Soul II Soul Remix) 01:31:26 19 Cool Down Zone – Waiting For Love (Extended Remix) 01:37:06 20 Saint Etienne – Kiss And Make Up (12″) 01:42:32 21 Kicking Back with Taxman – Devotion (Dangerous Mix Part 2) 01:46:46 22 Loose Ends – Love’s Got Me (Remixed by David Morales) 01:53:13 23 Kiss The Sky – Living For You 02:00:01 24 Kyoko Koizumi – Yoru (Instrumental) 02:05:06 25 Sheer Taft – Cascades (Hypnotone Mix) Ace 02:09:59 26 Happy Mondays – Step On 02:14:43 27 Richard Rogers – Can’t Stop Loving You (Morales Sleaze Mix) 02:22:16 28 Pinky – I Wanna Be The One (Dub Mix) 02:26:49 29 Marisa – Love Is Just A Game 02:31:48 30 Arthur Miles – Helping Hand (Incisive Mix) 02:36:02 31 Paul Haig – I Believe In You 02:39:32 32 Tfm – Out Of Bounds (The Final Mix) 02:44:21 33 Salt N Pepa – Expression (Brixton Bass Mix) 02:49:40 34 Urban Tribe – Covert Action 02:54:45 35 Stereo Mc’s – Two Horse Town 02:59:07 36 Hypnotone – Dream Beam (Hypnotone Original Mix) 03:03:55 37 Lenny Williams – Gotta Lotta Luv (House Mix) 03:11:26 38 Jesus Loves You – Love’s Gonna Let U Down (Popcorn mix) 03:17:18 39 The Sound Of Shoom Feat. Eusebe – I Hate Hate (Dub Mix) 03:25:06 40 It’s Immaterial – Heaven Knows
When the brothers Stefan Mitterer (DJ Sotofett) and Peter Mitterer (DJ Fett Burger) decided to extend activities from their graffiti origins in their small hometown Moss in Norway to music, they founded the label Sex Tags for their own sounds and those of friends and artists they admired, either from their own country or met while travelling. Thus an ever growing and fiercely independent network came into being that by now is so complex and diverse that many find it difficult to decipher. But for the brothers it all makes perfect sense, and there is a coherence based on their own varied musical preferences, humour and attitude, and that of the likeminded collaborators they encountered along the way. There is also a vital dose of determination and conviction that ensures that the whole construct is as antithetic as it is cohesive, and as tight-knit as it is open-minded. We take a look on some choice tunes from the back catalogue of the parent label Sex Tags Mania and its leftfield offshoot Sex Tags Amfibia, plus the imprints the Mitterers run individually (Sotofett’s Wania, and Fett Burger’s Sex Tags UFO, Mongo Fett and Freakout Cult, the latter a joint venture with Jayda G). The other talents that populate the Sex Tags universe are too many to list, but we included some that pop up more frequently.
This joint venture of Norwegian old school don Bjørn Torske and the enigmatic Crystal Bois (or Siob Latsyrc, if you prefer) is a supreme example of how little a good house track needs to achieve magic. A deep and dubbed out chord, some improv percussion, and that is basically it. But it keeps moving floors since it first appeared twelve years ago, and will most likely continue to do so.
Acido – After Club Rectum (Crystal Bois’ 727 MANIA) (Sex Tags Mania, 2007)
An early appearance of the tag Acido (but confusingly not involving Acido label head Dynamo Dreesen himself) and Laton label head Franz Pomassl, who was to become a regular fixture in the Sex Tags universe. Crystal Bois on remix duty, and they transform the source material into a hard jacking rhythm tool track that you can most probably mix into anything and gather all attention. Erlend Hammer provides brilliant liner notes, making a perfectly valid point that every local scene needs a Club Rectum.
Doc L Junior – Baracuda (Sex Tags Mania, 2009)
Kolbjørn Lyslo had already released fine and highly individual tracks on the prolific Music For Freaks UK imprint in the early 00s, but the sound of this track (originally scheduled for Torske’s Footnotes label, but then lost for very obscure reasons) was not to be expected. A latin and jazz tinged summer breeze of a tune that could so easily have ended sounding camp and corny, but sounded absolutely sublime instead. A reproachful echo of the days when uplifing was not yet an insult.
Busen Feat. Paleo – Stream Of Love (Wania, 2010)
The first appearance of Greek vocalist and musician Paleo, the closest the Sex Tag empire has come to an in-house diva. He delivers his trademark meandering voice to a dark hypnotizing jam produced by Busen, an alias of Daniel Pflumm, a prolific graphic designer who also released on Elektro Music Department, General Elektro and Atelier, and Stefan Mitterer. Also well worth noting for a typically tripped out session on the flip, provided by Dreesvn alias Dynamo Dreesen and SUED label head SVN, at their Neues Deutschland studio HQ.
Another mainstay at Sex Tags and affiliated labels, Skatebård, who rides a psychedelic new wave take on new beat, before most even cared to remember what both were. Skatebård always manages to come across as both earnest and gleeful with every reference he works into his music, and is thus a perfect match. At Sex Tags, fun and seriousness go hand in hand.
Danny Tenaglia – World Of Plenty Tafuri – What Am I Gonna Do (About Your Love) (Silk On Steel Mix) Inner City – Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ (Knuckles/Morales Def Mix) Ray Simpson – Crazy Pictures (Classic Club Version) Gladys – Made Up My Mind (Classic Club Version) Detroit Spinners – Ghetto Child (7“ Boilerhouse Remix) Ryuichi Sakamoto – You Do Me (The Justin Strauss Remix) Innocence – Let’s Push It (Push It Mix) Quartz – It’s Too Late (Overnight Mix) Stereo MC’s – Two Horse Town Monie Love – It’s A Shame (My Sister) (Monie Dee Mix) Don-e – Love Makes The World Go Round (Morales Extended Club Mix) Lenny Williams – Gotta Lotta Luv (House Mix) The Pasadenas – Moving In The Right Direction (Classic Deep Mix) Jesus Loves You – Love’s Gonna Get You Down (Popcorn Mix) Paul Johnson – You’re No Good (Deep House Mix) Daryl Hall – Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You (Heart To Heart Vocal Mix) Fine Young Cannibals – I’m Not The Man I Used To Be (Extended Version) The Todd Edwards Project – Get Carried Away (Out On The Town Mix) Eve Gallagher – Love Is A Master Of Disguise (Classic Club Mix) Alison Limerick – Make It On My Own (High Rise Mix) Clive Griffin – I’ll Be Waiting (Dance Mix) Nayobe – I Love The Way You Love Me (Nostalgic Mix) Swing Out Sister – Twilight World (Instrumental Dub) Swing Out Sister – Twilight World (12“ Remix) Jody Watley – I’m The One You Need (Extended Club Version) Motherland – Love Games (Dub) Motherland – Love Games (The Satoshi Tomiie Interpretation) Alexander O’Neal – What Is This Thing Called Love? (Dee Classic 12″ Mix) Chapter & The Verse – Stealth
I am an avid longtime collector of 70s/80s Japanese Synthpop music, and being based in Europe that always proved to be quite some task, particularly in the pre-internet shopping days. You had to start from scratch, mostly starting with Yellow Magic Orchestra and their affiliated labels like Yen, Monad or Alfa, and you studied the credits of every record and learnt about new artists, crosslinks and local scenes. But finding those records in some continental crates was a rare and lucky occasion, and then when internet offered more purchasing options, it appeared to be a rather pricey habit because of shipping costs and Japanese sellers who were perfectly aware that their items were considerably out of reach beyond their own soil. But it also became very apparent that their was way more to discover, and it was well worth trying. Still, the Japanese music scene was frustratingly hermetic. I had gathered a collection over the years, but regularly you came across sellers with pages and pages of offers, complete with listening clips, and you had to admit that you were not scratching the surface, you were not even near it. I could have bought the bulk of it if possible, it all sounded fantastic, but it was not possible, and as I tried to at least learn about the artists I read in the item descriptions via web search engines, information was very scarce. For a nation so obsessed with technological progress and cultural information, there was mysteriously little given away to the outside world, only a few hideously designed websites by American or European enthusiasts who lived in Japan and fell in love with what they heard. I was really glad they made the effort, but their discographies, as thorough as they were, offered not much beyond artists I already knew about, and sooner or later every such site disappeared from sight again, only to be replaced by, well, not much else. I’m perfectly convinced that a well researched book about Japanese music would sell profitable quantities, there must be more people like me, but it can only be written by a Japanese author.
And then it always fascinated me that it was well acknowledged that Japan contributed a lot to electronic music in said period of time, but once House came along in the mid to late 80’s, and Techno shortly after, there were so few notable Nippon producers reacting to it. And as the Chicago pioneers operated mainly on musical equipment built in Japan and later neglected for the international bargain market, it was even more curious that those sounds originated so far away from where they were originally developed. No matter how hard you tried, the Japanese equivalent to the early House music masters was nowhere to be found. But you had this feeling there just had to be someone.
Years later a good friend of mine, a serious Deep House completist collector, pointed out that there were some interesting releases by Japanese artists on Hisa Ishioka’s King Street Sounds, a New York based label established in 1993, which was inspired by the Paradise Garage experience. He investigated further and found Ishioka’s sub-label BPM Records, which from 1991 on showcased a small wealth of Japanese producers taking on the trademark mellow but crisp Big Apple Deep House style established on imprints like Nu Groove, Strictly Rhythm, Nervous and a plethora of smaller labels. The producer with the most credits was Soichi Terada, and he also seemed to have the most distinctive signature sound. It is known that Larry Levan toured Japan at the end of his career, and even shortly before is death, and there must have been some interaction with the local scene, as he remixed Terada’s gorgeous 1989 track „Sunshower“ two years later, as did fellow New York DJ legend Mark Kamins. So there he was at last, the House music master from Japan. He even had his own label, called Far East Recordings, and though it only had a small back catalogue the few sound bits I could track down had me locking target on every single one of them. Terada’s sound admittedly owed a lot to its US prototypes, the whole lush smoothness of it, but it also had a weirdly bouncing funk, and more importantly, it had all this charming humour to its melodies and arrangements, and this all-embracing both respectful and freeform use of Western influences interpreted with Japanese music traditions I so fell in love with the first time I ever heard YMO.
But the other parallel was that it was as hard to find as any other record I had in my Nippon wantslist, or even worse. At least the releases pre-House were pressed in suffcient runs, but these were only done in quantities of a few hundred. Enter this fine compilation, which although interest in Nippon House had increased over the years, appeared a bit out of the blue. It was put together by my friend Hunee, a DJ and music enthusiast with a fine tendency to dig that little deeper, and he managed to secure all the essential tracks by Soichi Terada and his frequent collaborator Shinichiro Yokota. And even when reissues of rare records are quite common these days, this is really something special. Now someone please do that complete collection of Koizumix Production tracks, and make me an even happier man.
Es ist bezeichnend, dass Larry Heard von den zahlreichen Plagiatsvorwürfen ausgespart blieb, mit denen sich die Chicago House-Pioniere nach den ersten Erfolgen gegenseitig überhäuften. Seine Musik war und blieb einzigartig. Es war offensichtlich, dass hier kein DJ mit schnellem Enthusiasmus Tracks zusammensetzte, die möglichst nächstes Wochenende das Warehouse oder die Music Box befeuern sollten. Hier hatte jemand eine Vision, die über die hektische Betriebsamkeit und die Effizienzprioritäten der Gründertage von House weit hinausging. Und es ist ebenso bezeichnend, dass dieses Album nur eine Zusammenstellung von vorher auf Singles veröffentlichten Tracks ist, und trotzdem ein ewiger Meilenstein geblieben ist, der bis heute als endgültige Referenz fortschwingt. Die fragile und reine Schönheit von Deep House-Prototypen wie „Can You Feel It“ und „Beyond The Stars“ ist nie wieder erreicht worden, und die psychedelische Rhythmik von „Washing Machine“oder „The Juice“ war auch schon dort, wo die anstehenden Wellen in Detroit, Chicago und überall sonst auf der Welt noch hinrollen würden. Blaupausen-Alert!
Terrence Dixon war in der Geschichte von Detroit Techno schon immer ein Produzent, auf den man eher zufällig aufmerksam wird. Es ist etwas rätselhaft warum jemand, der seit 1994 unter eigenem Namen und lediglich einem Pseudonym (Population One) stetig und gleichbleibend herausragend veröffentlicht, dennoch mit diesem Außenseiter- und Spezialistenthema-Status geschlagen ist. Wer einmal auf seine Musik gestoßen ist, bleibt meistens überzeugter Fan, aber man muss eben erst darauf stoßen. Und im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Weggefährten aus seiner geschichtsträchtigen Techno-Metropole wird ihm dabei von den Medien erheblich weniger Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Es mag daran liegen, dass er als DJ kaum herumreist um seine Stellung zu sichern bzw. zu erweitern. Es mag auch daran liegen, dass er als Produzent durchaus eine signifikante eigene Handschrift hat, diese aber auf diverse Stilarten elektronischer Musik verteilt. Es mag letztlich auch daran liegen, dass er nicht zur rechten Zeit ein eigenes Label am Start hatte, um die Detroit-Fangemeinde an sich zu binden. Stattdessen verstreute er seinen Output auf diverse Labels und machte einfach weiter. „From The Far Future (Part Two)“ ist nun eine Fortsetzung seines 2000 an gleicher Stelle erschienenen Albums, und im Vergleich zu den diesjährigen Alben der ungleich präsenteren Detroiter Jeff Mills und Robert Hood steht es nicht minder persönlich da, und auch nicht minder großartig. Von beiden hat er offensichtlich seine musikalischen Lehren gezogen, aber es liegt ihm weder an einem Requiem für seine Heimatstadt, noch will er alles Irdische hinter sich lassen, oder seine Tracks einem strengen Konzept unterwerfen. Vielmehr finden klassischer Minimal- und Dub Techno, verschrobener Deep House und auch Jazz in dunkler und psychedelischer Ausprägung zusammen, und bilden, wie so oft bei Dixon, trotzdem ein verblüffend kohärentes Gesamtbild, das gehörig auf den Trip geht. In jedem Track driften die Teile auseinander und wieder zusammen, alles dreht sich, trudelt, und dennoch ist alles verdichtet, packend voran, und immer den entscheidenden Twist vorbei an der Konvention. Nachtfahrt durch Motor City mal wieder, aber andere Route.
Es gab eine Zeit, grob eingeteilt gegen Ende der 80er Jahre, in der man House und Techno noch nicht auseinanderdividieren konnte. Detroit Techno war noch weitestgehend ein Spezialistenthema, und bevor man via England die Massenkompatibilität entdeckte, war unmittelbar nach der Acid-Ära noch alles House, wenn auch in sehr unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen. Doch dann fand eine grundlegende Trennung statt, die bis heute Bestand hat. House ist seitdem die Musik von Traditionsbewusstsein, Disco-Erbe, Deepness, dem großen Gefühl, dem ewigen Groove, der wahren Wahrhaftigkeit. Techno hingegen der vermeintlich futuristische Gegenentwurf, die Suche nach der Alternative, die Lossagung der Clubmusik von der eigenen Geschichte, und natürlich auch der musikalische Hort des Rave. Lange Jahre fanden große Teile der Techno-Gemeinde House spießig und schwul, und große Teile der House-Gemeinde fanden Techno stumpf und oberflächlich. Natürlich konnte der echte Deep House Soldier ebenso wenig mit kommerziellen Handtaschen-House anfangen, wie der echte Detroit Techno- oder IDM-Fan mit den Love Parade- oder Mayday-Horden, und natürlich konnte man auch mit House und Techno gleichzeitig glücklich sein, aber die Schubladen waren offen und man sortierte sich größtenteils aneinander vorbei. Dann kam der Siegeszug von Minimal, erst mit House-, dann mit Technoanbindung, und beide Lager hatten solange Einbußen zu verzeichnen, bis der Dancefloor der ständigen Reduktion auf das Wesentliche wieder überdrüssig wurde, und die Wiederkehr zu deutlicheren Signalen wieder an der Reihe war.
Doch nun ist es der klassische House-Sound, der auf einmal das Lauffeuer entfacht hat, und Techno ist das zeitweilige Annektierungsgebiet, was in den Jahren zuvor eher umgekehrt war. Und wie es dann immer ist wenn ein Sound die Vorherrschaft übernimmt, ist jeder schon immer dabei gewesen, und jeder will nichts anderes mehr produzieren, anderweitige Diskografien oder späte Geburtenjahrgänge hin oder her, egal wie man sich auch wieder um- oder zurückorientieren mag wenn die Hausse wieder schwächelt. Und natürlich hat jede Generation das Recht sich bei neuen Produktionen aus dem Reservoir der vorherigen zu bedienen, das war schon zur Disco-Ära so, zur House-Pionierphase, und bei nahezu allem was danach kam. Das Rad, es lässt sich wohl tatsächlich nicht neu erfinden, wenn der Track vernünftig rollen soll.
Es ist aber trotzdem erstaunlich, wie wenige Produzenten zumindest versuchen, sich vom Referenzspektrum der House-Geschichtsbücher mit einer eigenen Handschrift zu emanzipieren. Es mag daran liegen, dass der Zugang gerade bei der jüngeren Generation zu frisch ist, man muss sich erst einmal abarbeiten, und in Zeiten, in denen jede noch so obskure Kleinstlabel-Veröffentlichung ohne weiteres im Netz zu finden ist, und sich jeder einstmals noch so individualistische Soundentwurf binnen kürzester Zeit im Software-Studio nachbauen lässt, muss man vielleicht noch etwas warten, bis sich aus der reinen historischen Aufarbeitung neue Impulse ergeben. Gerade jetzt findet das offensichtlich kaum statt. Eine erdrückende Vielzahl von aktuellen House-Produktionen möchte zuallererst möglichst genau die Klassiker imitieren, denn womöglich sind sie aus gutem Grund zu Klassikern geworden. So klingt man in der Regel nach Früh-Chicago-Schmutz oder Früh-New York-Eleganz, oder Theo oder Kenny, Moritz und Mark, Larry oder Bobby, oder Rheji und Ronald oder Chez und Trent, aber meist wenig nach sich selbst. Man wildert vielleicht auch bei unbekannteren Inspirationsquellen, aber nicht minder eins zu eins, und somit mit keinem größeren Mehrwert.
Die einzige Anbindung an das Jetzt sind dann oft nur die modernen Preset-Sounds, bei deren Anwendung dann gerade die Qualitäten verlorengehen, die einst die Klassiker gerierten. Dass das einfach nicht gut funktioniert, demonstrieren auch so manche alte Helden, die im hastigen Versuch den Anschluss wiederherzustellen, ebenso glatt, emotionslos und mittelmäßig klingen wie ihre Nachahmer. Die Sache mit House und dem Feeling, sie scheint leichter zu sein als sie ist, und sie lässt sich mit ein paar nach dem Schulbuch gesetzten Flächen, Akkorden und Vocal-Samples nicht automatisieren. Da nützt es auch nichts, wie bei der Midtempo- bis SlowMo-Brigade, die Musik zu verlangsamen. Wenn die Musik an sich schon zu wenig bietet, könnte man sie auch wieder hochpitchen, und sie würde immer noch zu wenig bieten. Und auch wenn die UK-Jungspunde alters- und wissensbedingt erst jetzt genau den Reiz der Disco-Acapellas auf ihren Sample-CDs entdecken, den einst etwa Todd Terry als Signatur von seinen eigenen Wurzeln in seine Gegenwart rekontextualisierte, es ändert nichts an der Tatsache, dass man sich überhaupt noch bei Sample-CDs bedient, anstatt selber etwas samplen, was noch nie benutzt wurde. Wenn sich in DJ-Sets das wahre Alter eines Tracks nur darüber entlarvt, dass es beim Abspielen knackt und knistert und mit den Klangzutaten weniger taktgenau und strukturformatiert umgegangen wird als in den paar Mimikry-Produktionen davor und danach, ist etwas grundlegend faul im Staate Baukasten-Prinzip, und das kann nur mit einer guten Portion Individualismus, Eigeninitiative und Forschergeist behoben werden. Hat schon oft genug vorher geklappt, und wirkt auch langfristiger, sonst müsste man da ja auch überhaupt nicht mehr ständig ansetzen. In diesem Sinne.
In der House- und Technogeschichte gibt es reichlich Auswahl an Signaturklängen, die auch Dekaden nach ihrer Entstehung noch bestens funktionieren und deswegen auch weiter und weiter benutzt werden. Wenn Derrick May jedesmal Geld bekommen würde, wenn jemand die Bassline von “Nude Photo” verwendet, er hätte sich nicht nur die mit den Jahren immer unnachvollziehbareren Erklärungen sparen können, warum er keine Musik mehr produziert, er hätte nichtmal mehr auflegen müssen. Larry Heard hätte sich mit stetigen Tantiemen der Bassline von “Can You Feel It” nie mehr mit dem Musikbusiness rumärgern müssen, dito Kevin Saunderson, sei es mit seinem patentierten Bassgrummeln oder den Euphorieakkorden von “Good Life”. Der Flurschaden-Staubsauger von Joey Beltrams “Mentasm”, und so weiter und so fort. Es gibt diverse solche kanonisierten Großklassiker, welche die fortwährende Verehrung ihrer Urheber rechtfertigen, auch wenn ihnen mit den Jahren die Ideen ausgegangen sind. In Hinblick auf die eine geniale Idee hat die Clubkultur durchaus ein Elefantengedächtnis und man kann lange davon zehren. Und dann gibt es diese Platten, die fast aus Versehen zur Legende werden, ohne große Auswirkungen auf die Karriere des Produzenten. “I Like It” von Landlord ist dafür ein Paradebeispiel. Wer nach mehr Releases von Landlord sucht, wird nichts finden, es gibt nur dieses eine. Bereits 1989 auf dem klassischen kanadischen House-Label Big Shot erschienen, hatte der spätere Hi-Bias Hausproduzent Nick Fiorucci wohl nichts anderes im Sinn als eine amtliche House-Produktion. Er tat sich mit einem Sänger mit dem ziemlich unglaublichen Namen Dex Danclair zusammen (der außer auf “I Like It” nie wieder in Erscheinung trat), und machte das, was er desöfteren machte: Deep House mit Gefühl und leicht angedunkeltem Sanftmut, nicht zu kickend, nicht zu dramatisch, nicht zu tief schürfend. Aber selbst in den konventionelleren Versionen des Tracks schrauben sich an clever gesetzten Punkten diese Stabs hoch, die man, einmal gehört, einfach nie mehr aus dem Kopf bekommt. Fiorucci schien das Potential dieser Akkordfolge durchaus abgesehen zu haben, denn der “Blow Out Dub” besteht dann aus nicht anderem als einer Bassline, eher dezenten New York Freestyle-Breaks, und eben diesem Piano-Riff, immer und immer wieder. Und was sich auf Zimmerlautstärke schon beeindruckend effizient anhörte, richtete im Club ungeahnte Verheerungen an. Ein archetypisches Rave-Signal, aus einer so schönen wie unspektakulären Vocal-House-Platte geboren. Generationen von Produzenten konnten davon nicht mehr die Zitatfinger lassen, bis zum heutigen Tag. Natürlich kommt das nicht von ungefähr, man kann mit diesen wenigen Akkorden aus jedem unscheinbaren Track eine Stimmungsschleuder zusammenmixen, und aus jedem schon guten Track etwas, das wie ein außerordentlich guter Track wirkt. Wer das nicht glauben will, möge das gerne mit der aktuellen Preset-Produktion überprüfen, wo noch das gewisse je ne sais quoi fehlt. Aber bitte vorsichtig.
The first one is by Rinder and Lewis – “Lust”, which is kind of a space disco prototype so to say. For 1977 it was kind of a landmark record I guess.
For 1977, yes. I suppose Rinder and Lewis were a very prolific production team in the 70s and 80s. They made an awful lot of records, a lot of albums. That’s probably one of their most moody tracks. A lot of their stuff has got a 1920s, big band, Charleston influence to it. But I like a lot of their stuff. But some of it is unusual in its arrangement. That one’s got a slightly more mystical vibe to it.
Would you say they tried to explore their field a bit further with this record? You mentioned that a few of the other productions had certain influences, like the latin stuff for example. But this one is really something different, almost science fiction.
Yes, but that’s quite different from the rest of the “Seven Deadly Sins” album. I reckon it wasn’t a track that was made to be a hit. It was probably considered an album track. But with that weird bit in the middle with the glockenspiel, it goes into a sort of devil bit about two thirds of the way through. Which is very out of character with the rest of the record. But what I think is interesting about that is that you don’t get those sort of unexpected bits in records now. I guess when musicians are making records, it’s very different to when DJs are making records. Now, when DJs make records they just tend to have the same stuff going throughout the track, it just loops round and round. Maybe there might be some changes, but there’s nothing drastic coming in really loud. A bad DJ produced record might just be a bit boring, whereas a bad record from the 70s might have a great verse and a really terrible chorus. Or you might have something really cheesy. A lot of records now are just rhythm tracks made by DJs for mixing and whatever, whereas then you might have records that have got loads in them, maybe too much. But the reason that they’re not great is maybe because they’ve got too much in them. They might have some great musical parts, but the vocals are crap. I think I’m digressing a little bit. A lot of Rinder and Lewis stuff – have you got that album “Discognosis”?
No, I know the THP Orchestra stuff which I found really good.
Yeah, and there’s El Coco and Le Pamplemousse. I like that track. It’s always very well orchestrated, they always had a bit of money to make the records. It wasn’t done on a shoestring budget, they must have sold pretty well. I think El Coco’s “Cocomotion” is one of my favourites by them as well. Obviously a lot of the stuff on AVI was produced by them, they were putting out a lot of music. They must have lived in the studio in 76, 77, 78, 79.
This is also a really good example for what you can do if you’re a good arranger – the arrangements they did are really complex and beautiful. Is that something you miss? You talked of modern rhythm tracks and functionality – I think it’s hard to pull off these days because you don’t have budgets for studio work…
Yeah of course. I suppose you have to think, this is now and that was then. Record sales were much higher, I suppose disco was like r’n’b was 5 years ago in terms of its worldwide popularity. So there was a lot more money, obviously there weren’t downloads or people copying CDs. I don’t know what the sales figures were like of something like Rinder and Lewis, but it probably sold half a million or something like that. It’s a completely different time, in terms of being able to get a string section in for your record. I’ve paid for string sections before, but to be honest with you what I’ve found is a string section with 30-40 people is so different to a string section with 7 or 8 people. I’ve only been able to afford 6 or 7 people. It isn’t really a string section! Nowadays, with CD-ROMs and whatever you can make something that sounds pretty good – not the same – but pretty good with just samples. To really make it sound a lot better, you need a 30-40 piece, big room orchestra. People at Salsoul and a lot of them classic disco records had that big proper string arrangement. Also, paying someone to do the arrangement isn’t cheap if you get someone good. Very difficult to do that now. So yeah, I do miss it. But there’s no point missing something, it’s like saying “Oh, I wish they were still making Starsky and Hutch”.
As long as a glimpse of an orchestra won’t do, it doesn’t make sense?
I think the only it could make sense is if George Michael decides to make a disco album, or someone like that. He could afford it. Or Beyonce. Some big star. But your average dance record – I suppose Jamiroquai had some live strings on some of his stuff. But then again, he was selling a lot of records.
Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes (Warner Bros. Inc., 1979)
“What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers, which is a merger of rock and disco.
There’s other tracks, like the Alessi Brothers “Ghostdancer”… I suppose that just shows how popular disco music must have been at the time when people like The Doobie Brothers and Carly Simon were actually making disco records. I suppose it’s the same as nowadays people making a record with a more r’n’b type beat. Or at the beginning of house music, there were lots of pop acts making house records. I was listening to a best of ABBA a few years ago. It started off sort of glam-rock, sort of sweet, like Gary Glitter, that sort of production. And by the late seventies their stuff had got pretty disco-ey. And by 82 it was folky. So I think the disco beat was just featuring on a lot of productions by acts who just wanted to make a contemporary sounding record. That’s probably why a lot of the American rock establishment hated disco so much. It wasn’t just that it was there: their favourite acts were making disco records! They hated the fact the Rolling Stones made disco records, it just wasn’t allowed.
But the thing is, that when the disco boom ended, a lot of the rock acts who made disco records acted like they never did! They deserted it pretty quickly.
Yeah, once it became uncool they pretended they never liked it, it wasn’t their idea and all that. I tried to once do a compilation album of that sort of stuff. But it’s too difficult to license it all. They’re all on major labels, they’re all big acts, and it’s very hard to license that stuff. In fact I’d go as far as to say it’s impossible: just too difficult and expensive.
Was it just because of budget reasons, or because the acts didn’t want to be reminded of what they did in that area?
I think often those big acts have to approve every compilation album license. A lot of the time, for the people who work in the compilation album license department, it’s easier for them to say no than to write to the management of Supertramp or Queen. And often, if they do see a title that has disco in it, they will say no. And a lot of them won’t license the Rolling Stones to a comp that’s got a projected sales figure of less than half a million. There’s so many reasons why it’s problematic. You could do it, but you’d have to leave off so many tracks, there would hardly be any point doing it. I did have a chat with a major label about doing it and that was one that owned quite a lot of them. But it’s just so difficult. They want to see a big marketing budget, they want to see you spend a hundred grand on television adverts. Otherwise they just go, why are we on this compilation album?
I think it’s a shame really, there were so many good disco records done by major artists…
Yeah. I like a lot of those things. I’m doing this compilation for BBE which is maybe a similar thing, just it’s not all well known acts. People like Fleetwood Mac, they did that track “Keep On Going”, those sort of things. I guess it’s blue-eyed rocky soul. Quite danceable… it’s not all disco, but it’s not really rock either. More black music based. I always think, if you look at the back of a rock album and it’s got someone playing bongos on it, it’s worth checking out. Read the rest of this entry »
Das Spaßprojekt der gestandenen Post Punk-Elektroniker Jean-Marc Lederman (u. a. Fad Gadget, Gene Loves Jezebel) und Bruce Geduldig (u. a. Tuxedomoon) bleibt den meisten wohl mit ihrem 1987er-Clubhit „Poison“ in Erinnerung. In Tracks wie diesen orientierte man sich musikalisch an der hartnäckig alle sonstigen Clubmusiktendenzen ignorierenden Benelux-EBM-New Beat-Szene, die zunächst nur widerwillig House, Acid und Techno als neuen Spielkamerad akzeptierte. Die Weathermen vergnügten sich aber meistens in einer Popauslegung all dessen, und zogen der martialischen Universalernsthaftigkeit der zugehörigen Szene den Boden unter den Kampfstiefeln weg. Statt Tarnanzugtanzzwang dachte man sich eben lieber psychotische Frauenrollen aus, und gab sich je nach Bedarf als Patricia Hearst / Jimmyjoe Snark III bzw. Susanna Stammer und Chuck B aus. So weit, so ulkig. 1988 verblüfften sie dann aber mit „Punishment Park“, einem Track, der wie aus einer Zeitmaschine herausgeplumpst schien, die gleichzeitig auf vor und zurück eingestellt war. Einerseits war dies klassisch melodiöser Synthpop, andererseits auch irgendwie gestörter Deep House, und dazu gab es einen rätselhaften Text, der zugleich sexy und hinterhältig wie eingekehrt und traurig klang. The games people play, die zwielichtige Darkroom-Großstadtblues-Variante. Themenverwandtschaft zum gleichnamigen Agitprop-Filmklassiker von Peter Watkins bestand nur in entlegenen Winkeln, aber der Track hallt ebenso lange nach.
The Weathermen – Punishment Park (Play It Again Sam Records, 1988)
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