00:00:00 1 YMO vs. The Orb – Tong Poo (House Of Bright Colours Mix) 00:10:43 2 Robbie Williams – I Started A Joke (I Started An Orb Mix) 00:14:45 3 Wendy & Lisa – Staring At The Sun (Blinding Mix) 00:23:11 4 Primal Scream – Higher Than the Sun (Higher Than The Kite Mix) 00:31:57 5 The Orb – Towers of Dub 00:46:34 6 Pop Will Eat Itself – Home (Home Sweet Home Orb Remix) 00:55:23 7 The Orb – Montagne d’or (Der gute Berg) 01:04:51 8 Lisa Stansfield – Time To Make You Mine (In My Dreams Mix) 01:14:47 9 The Orb – Plateau 01:27:46 10 The Orb – Supernova At The End Of the Universe 01:38:58 11 The Orb – Backside of the Moon (Under Water Deep Space) 01:44:23 12 Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Music For A Found Harmonium (Pandaharmoniumorb Mix) 01:53:54 13 Can – Halleluwa (Halleluwa Orbus 2) 01:56:58 14 Haruomi Hosono – Laughter Meditation (The Orb) 02:05:25 15 Jam On The Mutha – Hotel California (Orbitally Ambient Mix) 02:14:00 16 Killing Joke – Requiem ( A Floating Leaf Always Reaches The Sea Mix) 02:21:23 17 The Orb – Valley 02:27:25 18 Fortran 5 – Groove (The Herbal Supper Mix) 02:35:02 19 Miranda Sex Garden – Gush Forth My Tears (The First Steppes Mix) 02:39:44 20 The Orb – O.O.B.E. 02:52:08 21 The Art Of Noise – Art Of Love (Youth & Orb Mix) 02:57:02 22 The Orb – Star 6 & 7 8 9 03:04:30 23 The Orb – Outlands 03:11:52 24 Erasure – Ship of Fools (Orbital Southsea Isles of Holy Beats mix) 03:19:20 25 Zoë – Moonsister (Lunar Dub 1) 03:26:04 26 The Orb – Perpetual Dawn (Solar Flare Extended Mix) 03:32:43 27 The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds 03:39:18 28 System 7 – Davy Jones’ Locker (ft. Alex Paterson) 03:47:43 29 The Orb – Earth (Gaia) 03:56:40 30 Dave Stewart – Lily Was Here (Space Centre Medical Hum) 04:04:23 31 Sun Electric – O’Locco (Orbital Therapy, Part 1)
00:00:00 1 The Orb – Pomme Fritz (Meat ‘N Veg) 00:08:56 2 The Orb – Spanish Castles in Space (Castles In Goa Mix) 00:17:09 3 The Orb – Once More (FT Explore Satan Mix) 00:20:45 4 The Orb – Majestic 00:33:15 5 Pato Banton – Beams of Light (Depths Of An Ocean Lovemix) 00:38:23 6 Delkom – Superjack (Orbital Infusion 2000) 00:44:51 7 The Orb – Into The Fourth Dimension: Essenes Beyond Control 00:51:17 8 Paradise X – Too Much (Start & Depart From Paradise Mix) 00:56:53 9 The Orb – Blue Room 01:16:07 10 Time Unlimited – Men Of Wadodem (Orbital Mix) Ultra Records 01:18:35 11 鈴木慶一 – Satellite Serenade (Trans Asian Express mix) 01:30:44 12 Marathon – Movin (Ambientappella Live Mix) 01:40:12 13 The KLF – 3am Eternal (Blue Danube Orbital Mix) 01:46:43 14 Depeche Mode – Happiest Girl (Orbital mix) 01:54:29 15 Zodiac Youth – Fast Forward The Future (Bucket & Bong Mix) 02:01:18 16 West India Company – O Je Suis Seul (Orient Express Mix) 02:08:18 17 Fortran 5 – Love Baby (Electropathy Mix) 02:13:31 18 Tangerine Dream – Towards The Evening Star (Mandarin Cream Mix) 02:22:38 19 System 7 – Sunburst (Orb Remix) 02:30:03 20 Wir – So Slow (The Orb In Atlas Mix) 02:36:16 21 System 7 – Miracle (Orb Remix) 02:41:58 22 The Orb – Close Encounters 02:52:01 23 Meat Beat Manifesto – Radio Babylon (Beach Blanket Bimboland Mix) 03:03:57 24 The Orb – Peace In The Middle East (Sea Of Tranquility Mix) 03:09:59 25 The Orb – Oxbow Lakes 03:18:27 26 The Orb – U.F.Orb 03:22:46 27 The Orb – Assassin (Radio 7″ Edit) 03:26:02 28 The Orb – A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix) 03:34:09 29 System 7 – A Cool Dry Place 03:41:42 30 Gary Numan – Jo The Waiter (Bon Apétit Mix) 03:51:00 31 Maurizio – Ploy (An Island Of Mud Mix) 04:02:46 32 Mystic Knights – Ragga-Nam-Poiser (Waves Of God By The Orb) 04:06:09 33 Readymade – Ambient State 04:07:02 34 The Orb – White River Junction 04:17:00 35 The Grid – Crystal Clear (Crystal Clear Water Revival Mix) 04:23:51 36 Front 242 – Crapage (The Turd Mix By The Orb)
00:00:00 1 Massive Attack – Karmacoma (U.N.K.L.E. Situation) 00:05:28 2 DJ Shadow – What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2) 00:18:51 3 DJ Shadow – Napalm Brain / Scatter Brain 00:27:42 4 UNKLE – Unkle (Main Title Theme) 00:30:30 5 DJ Shadow – Influx 00:42:04 6 Zimbabwe Legit – Doin’ Damage In My Native Language (Shadow’s Legitimate Mix) 00:47:43 7 DJ Shadow – What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1, Blue Sky Revisit, Transmission 3) 00:54:49 8 DJ Shadow – Midnight In a Perfect World (Extended Vision) 01:03:07 9 UNKLE feat. Alice Temple – Bloodstain 01:09:03 10 Dr. Octagon – Waiting List (DJ Shadow & Automator Mix) 01:13:25 11 DJ Shadow – Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt 01:19:49 12 Latyrx – Latyrx 01:25:34 13 DJ Shadow – Red Bus Needs To Leave 01:27:53 14 Latyrx & El-P – Looking Over A City (Extended Instrumental) 01:34:21 15 Lateef The Truth Speaker – The Wreckoning 01:39:00 16 DJ Shadow – Changeling (Transmission 1) 01:46:34 17 DJ Shadow – 89.9 Megamix 01:55:09 18 DJ Shadow – Hardcore (Instrumental) Hip Hop 01:59:20 19 Blackalicious – 40oz. For Breakfast 02:06:58 20 DJ Shadow – Last Stop – Groove Robbers Feat. DJ Shadow 02:08:45 21 UNKLE feat. Richard Ashcroft – Lonely Soul 02:18:15 22 DJ Krush – Duality Mo Wax, FFRR 02:27:38 23 UNKLE feat. Kool G Rap & Latyrx – Guns Blazing (Drums of Death, Part 1) 02:30:10 24 UNKLE feat. Mike D – The Knock (Drums of Death, Part 2) 02:33:58 25 Lateef The Truth Speaker – The Quickening 02:38:08 26 Blackalicious – Rhymes For The Deaf, Dumb And Blind (Instrumental) 02:39:45 27 DJ Shadow – Hindsight 02:46:14 28 DJ Shadow – Lost And Found (S.F.L.) 02:55:23 29 DJ Krush – Meiso (Instrumental Mix – DJ Shadow) 02:59:05 30 Blackalicious – Swan Lake (Instrumental) 03:03:37 31 Depeche Mode – Painkiller (Kill The Pain – DJ Shadow vs. Depeche Mode) 03:09:19 32 DJ Shadow – Mutual Slump 03:12:33 33 Handsome Boy Modeling School – Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II) 03:16:37 34 DJ Shadow – What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 3) 03:21:40 35 DJ Shadow – The Number Song 03:26:23 36 DJ Shadow feat. Divine Styler – Divine Intervention Quannum Projects 03:30:13 37 Lifers Group – Real Deal (Shadow Remix) 03:35:04 38 UNKLE – Unreal 03:39:50 39 UNKLE feat. Ian Brown – Be There 03:44:35 40 DJ Shadow – Stem – Long Stem (Transmission 2) 03:53:47 41 DJ Shadow – Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul) 03:57:44 42 The Folk Implosion – Natural One (Unkle Instrumental)
If Kassel is known in Germany for another cultural contribution besides the art fair Documenta it is the legacy of the techno club Aufschwung Ost, and its renamed successor Stammheim. Both clubs were located in a former textiles factory building called Kulturfabrik Salzmann that served mainly as an art space. When Aufschwung Ost opened in 1994, it quickly established a national and international reputation that exceeded those of clubs in similarly middle-sized cities. The main resident DJs, the late Pierre Blaszczyk aka DJ Pierre and Mark Pecnik aka DJ Marky, built a dedicated local following with their state of the art techno sound, and managed to pull in every main guest DJ important in the techno scene, propelling the club to the level of famous clubs in Berlin or Frankfurt, until its lease ran out in 2002 and it had to close. We asked DJ Marky to recall some of the tunes that ruled the floor in both clubs.
.xtrak – Facc (Peacefrog, 1995)
This bleep track by Todd Sines, who regularly collaborated with Daniel Bell, was played a lot at our club. It is had a minimal sound but a maximum impact on the floor. The hi-hats coming in at the first minute are just a dream.
Jiri.Ceiver – Osiac (Vogel’s Funky Sola Mix) (Harthouse, 1995)
It is very difficult to develop an own signature style. But what Cristian Vogel and other artists such as Neil Landstrumm, Dave Tarrida, Si Begg and Justin Berkovi released in the 90s was definitely new and not existent before. This track stands for the Brighton sound and its wonderful playfulness which was very influential over the years for the resident DJs at Aufschwung Ost and Stammheim.
DJ Hyperactive – Venus (Missile, 1996)
Chicago techno at its best. A peak time banger that never failed to work on the big floor. You still hear it in the sets of well-known DJs.
Daft Punk – Rock ‘n’ Roll (Virgin, 1996)
You just could not pass by Daft Punk in 1996, but you did not want to anyway. Their „Homework“ album included this track and to this day it is still one of the best house and techno albums for me. Either the album or other terrific releases on Thomas Bangalter’s label Roulé were constantly played on both our techno and floors.
Wishmountain – Radio (Evolution), 1996
Sven Väth played this as a white label at our club, in early 1996. It was way ahead of the official release date, so the whole crowd was unfamiliar with it. The energy this track built up on the floor in just a few minutes was just incredible. It was a miracle that the whole place did not just collapse at the last break. What Matthew Herbert created with this track is unique and it is perhaps THE quintessential Aufschwung Ost/Stammheim classic.
Skull vs. ESP – Power Hour (Sounds, 1996)
A beautiful track by DJ Skull and Woody McBride. It came out on Sounds back then, which was a sub label of Communique Records, a very popular label with the resident DJs that had several legendary releases. I liked to play it in the early morning hours.
Green Velvet – Destination Unknown (Relief, 1997)
I could have picked „Flash“, „La La Land“ other Green Velvet classics as well. The Relief and Cajual labels were essential to any of our parties. You can witness its effect at Green Velvet’s legendary gig at our club in 2001 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES0ldBe4kZA).
Coldcut & Hexstatic – Timber (Ninja Tune, 1998)
This is an absolute DJ Pierre classic. There was not only hard techno being played at Aufschwung Ost and Stammheim, and this is a wonderful example. Particularly in the morning the residents had enough time to experiment with different styles and we did just that. Electro, big beat and cuts ‘n’ breaks, everything was tried and tested. That was just as much fun for the dancers as it was for us DJs.
DJ Rolando – Knights Of The Jaguar (Underground Resistance, 1999)
A masterpiece by Rolando and Underground Resistance. This track on the big floor at 10 A.M. meant instant goosebumps for everybody. The light came through the windows, and together with the music created a magical vibe each time the track was played. It will still put a smile on those dancers today.
DJ Rush – One Two Zero (Pro-Jex, 1999)
DJ Rush and Stammheim was love at first sight. The residents loved his mad beat constructions. There was probably was not one set from us big floor DJs without at least two tracks by him. And on the other hand DJ Rush adored Stammheim, it was the best club for him back then.
Aphex Twin – Windowlicker (Warp, 1999)
Aphex Twin was formative for his time, and „Windowlicker“ is just one example. I chose it because Pierre used to end long nights by playing this as his last record. It was always astonishing how much energy it could restore for one last time. So it is a classic forever connected to Pierre.
Stefan Küchenmeister – Soda Stream (Hörspielmusik, 2000)
Stefan Küchenmeister was one of the Stammheim residents and he delivered one of the big Stammheims anthems with this track. Fortunately it was released on „Hörspielmusik“, the label I ran with Pierre, and thus we had a home-made Stammheim hit record.
Labels such as Labels wie Profan, Kompakt and Auftrieb developed the sound of Cologne, that us residents really cherished back then. This remix was also one of the big Stammheim anthems.
Vitalic – La Rock 01 (International Deejay Gigolos, 2001)
What can you still say about this track? Pure energy on the dance floor! And one of my all-time favourites.
Depeche Mode – Dream On (Dave Clarke Remix) (Mute, 2001)
Depeche Mode and Dave Clarke? That is the perfect combination that could only lead to a killer track. Dave Clarke knows how to transform an already great track into his own style, resulting in something even better, without losing any of the source’s original greatness. This is a rare gift. A big peak time number at Stammheim.
In discussion with Flemming Dalum on “Mr. Game” by Klapto (1983).
Of all the options in that field, why did you choose „Mr. Game“ for this interview? Was it the record that had the most impact on you? And is it maybe genre-defining as well?
It was very hard for me to choose one single record for this interview. I have approximately 100 personal Italo top favourites which all did it for me back then, and now over 30 years later they still mean so much to me. I guess I chose „Mr. Game“ because it‘s really so Italo all the way. To me it contains all the classic Italo elements and I really thinks it captures the essence and pure vibe of Italo. At the same time I also think this record defines the genre very well. Personally I love the early sound of Italo the most, particularly the sound around 1983. Another record could have been Koto’s „Chinese Revenge“, which also blew me away back then. Pure synths all the way.
Did your instant love for Italo Disco connect with a taste in music you had before, like electronic Post Punk, Disco and later Synthpop?
Yes. I actually discovered synth music from UK around 1980. Artists like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Human League, Soft Cell etc. I was simply very fascinated by the new sound universe of synths becoming a bigger part of dance music. I even bought some synths and played in a band for some years. Digging deeper into this synth music led me to discovering Italo, which had an even bolder and more spacey attitude. I was instantly totally blown away. It seems to me that they somehow tweaked the synths a bit more, maybe due to shorter production time and maybe less producer experience, I don’t know. But I think they came up with a very unique result. A sound and style never heard before, or even since. Later the Italo became more well produced, MIDI controlled and so on. Italo actually ended up too well produced and became more commercial. By then the magic was gone for me, around 1986.
There were Disco productions in Italy from the late 70’s on, but usually Italo Disco is associated with a sound that surfaced in the early 80’s. Why do you think it could be so unique and popular at the same time? Was it a novelty effect, or just good Pop merits?
I think the Italians where outstanding in capturing the vibe of the music trends in electronic dance music in the early 80s. They where clearly inspired by the UK scene and of course other musical subcultures around. But they added that charming unique Italian twist to it, which made it so very special. Actually I can hear if a track is Italian or not in a split second. Over 30 years of listening experience has had a huge impact on me. I’m sure other lifelong Italo freaks are also able to instantly tell if a track is from Italy or not.
In my youth in Northern Germany, Italo Disco was mostly cherished by people who would else rather listen to Hard Rock and charts music. The clubs it was being played at usually had a program that tried to cater to low and common denominators. It was certainly not hip. Was it the same in Denmark at that time?
Only few Italo records were played in the Danish clubs in the early 80s. US and UK music was clearly dominating, no doubt. But some clubs played the most commercial and popular Italo records like Gazebo’s „I Like Chopin“, Ryan Paris’ „Dolce Vita“, Fun Fun’s „Happy Station“, and Raff’s „Self Control“.
Instead of browsing local record shops for Italo Disco, you went straight to the source on trips to Italy, visiting distributors and labels. Which is quite similar to the efforts European Rare Soul collectors in the 70s made on US soil. Did you purchase the core of your collection that way, at that time?
Yes, it was impossible to get all the Italo records here in Denmark with no internet back then, so Ihadto get them by travelling all the way to Italy. So mainly I got them from the famous distributors and labels like Il Discotto, Disco Magic, Non-Stop, and famous shops like Merak and Disco Service. I took eleven trips in the years from 1983 and 1986, and inbetween the trips I was in close contact with Il Discotto and Disco Magic and also a great record shop in Firenze, called Disco Mastelloni. Basically I managed to find all the records I wanted and got a 100 % complete collection back then. Read the rest of this entry »
Skatt – Walk The Night (Disconet) September – The Lover In Me (Razormaid) Sharon Brown – I Specialize In Love (Disconet) Nathalie – My Love Won’t Let You Down (Razormaid) Hazell Dean – They Say It’s Gonna Rain (Razormaid) Brenda Taylor – My Heart’s Not In It (Disconet) Janet Jackson – When I Think Of You (Disconet) Stephanie Mills – Pilot Error (Hot Tracks) Donna Garraffi – I’ve Got You Covered (Disconet) Regina – Baby Love (Disconet) Skyy – Show Me The Way (Disconet) B. B. Band – All Night Long (Disconet) Chas Jankel – Glad To Know You (Disconet) The Human League – Fascination (Hot Tracks) The B-52’s – Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland (Hot Tracks) Tanz Waffen – Subversion (Razormaid) David Bowie – Let’s Dance (Disconet) Kid Creole – Caroline Was A Drop-Out (Razormaid) Telex – Raised By Snakes (Razormaid) New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (Hot Tracks) Depeche Mode – Strangelove (Razormaid) Vivien Vee – Blue Disease (Razormaid) Section 25 – Looking From A Hilltop (Razormaid) Tantra – A Place Called Tarot (Disconet) The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Welcome Aboard (Hot Tracks)
There are not many DJs who can look back on such a long and successful career as the 54 year old New Yorker Danny Tenaglia. Towards the end of last year he confirmed his extraordinary status once again during a rare visit to Germany where he played at Berlin’s Panorama Bar and Berghain on the same weekend. His enduring popularity can certainly be attributed to his often several hours long sets which still are packed with the most relevant new records of the current day. After all these years, Tenaglia still has his eyes on the future instead of the past. For this interview, though, he made an exception and looks back to the beginnings of his career.
Apparently you got hooked on dance music at a very young age. What led you into it? Were you coming from a musical household, or did you learn by yourself, by listening to the radio for example?
Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, we (mom, dad and four brothers) had always been around all kinds of music especially during big family gatherings, which were quite often. It was mostly my mom’s side as she was one of nine children. My dad only had one sister and his side was very reserved. All of my mom’s siblings were married and they all had children except for one aunt. This brought me 20 cousins, ten boys and ten girls, and when we all gathered together it was like an army! (laughs) We also had many second relatives and we were all born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which is extremely popular these days since it is very close to Manhattan. Back then, Williamsburg was like a big version of Little Italy. When I visit Naples, Italy, it always reminds me so much of my childhood since Naples still looks exactly the same as it did 50 years ago. I can relate so well to the people there and on the island of Ischia as well.
I truly consider that this all started for me when I was only just a tiny fetus inside of what I call: “The Boom Womb Room!“ I guess I was always paying attention to beats, rhythms and melodies long before I knew what they even were. There was always music in my childhood. My mom’s younger sister Nancy was unable to have children of her own. However, she wound up becoming the most influential person in our entire family and had a wonderfully gifted voice. She always had music on. She bought records very often as there was coincidentally a record store right on our block. She even taught herself how to play piano and guitar by ear and this was initially how I learned to play as well.
Our family often had good reason to celebrate events like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, family picnics, local catholic church festivals from the schools we all attended. I grew up listening to a lot of typical music that elderly Italian people would listen and dance to. Besides the obvious traditional music for dancing like the Tarantellas and the big band Benny Goodman swing music, there was plenty of the 50’s Doo Wop music as that’s what was big for them during this era. So I had no choice but too hear it all. Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, The Beatles, Bossanovas and lots of soul music as well, Motown records particularly. Sometimes I think maybe my family were the ones to have invented karaoke? (laughs) There were many relatives who would love to take turns and sing their hearts out. And to end this deep question, it was most definitely my very dear aunt and godmother Nancy who taught me (and many of us) how to fully appreciate God’s gift of music, how to “feel it deep down in your soul“ and how by the changing of one simple chord that could be played with „great emotion“, it could bring upon unexplainable goose-bumps and quite often – even tears!
Were you aware that the music of those years was extraordinarily important, or was it just what was around then?
I definitely knew in my soul that it was meaningful. But I don’t think I realized how important it all was for me until I passed the age of ten and was realizing what type of music I was loving the most and only wanted to hear music I liked, as I was becoming sick and tired of the Frank Sinatra music and I was not a big fan of ballads and slow music until I eventually got heavily into soul music. I knew that I had possessed an incredibly deep passion for music since birth as relatives and friends would always make it obvious to my parents by saying things like: „One way or another this kid is going to be in the music business when he grows up“, because it basically was the only thing I displayed interest in. I had all kinds of little instruments and child record players, even reel to reel tape machines for kids. However, it did not truly hit me until I was about eleven or twelve when I was quickly finished with some music lessons because I was very young and did not like the discipline and how strict they were with me. They first took me for piano and then guitar lessons. I even attempted saxophone in seventh grade.
I had a great ear for music and which melodies worked together and which ones did not. Unfortunately, I did not posses „the gift“ of mastering an instrument, but I guess that ultimately it was a DJ mixer that became my main instrument of choice that I am stilling playing with today nearly 40 years later.
When you were still a kid, you got to know the prolific DJ Paul Casella, who played a part in turning you onto the profession. Can you tell how that shaped your decision to pursue a career in DJing?
Well, this is where I had then realized instantly at the mere age of twelve years old upon hearing an eight-track tape mixed continuously by Paul that I was somewhat mesmerized by because when I expected a song would end, then another would blend in. Sometimes harmonically on key and sometimes so perfectly that I kept asking my cousin who made this tape and how did he do this and how did he do that? Long story short, I called the telephone number on the 8-Track tape and Paul Casella happened to be nearby and came to our families grocery store and he brought us more 8-Track tapes. He wanted to meet me as he was amazed some little “little kid” was so impressed with him and the art of DJ-ing. I guess it was right around then in 1973 that I never showed much interest in anything else, including sports. I was not interested in any subjects in school, I was only interested in music, becoming a DJ, getting professional DJ equipment and getting gigs in big nightclubs and eventually this obviously led to my second career by nature which was producing music of my own, collecting synths, drum machines and various studio gear.
As you loved the music and heard about what was going down in the seminal clubs of that era, I guess you could not wait until you were old enough to go there yourself. Was it like you had imagined it to be? What kind of clubs could you already go to?
I was barely a teenager, so nightclubs were still a long way for me. But I can recall the anxiety and being extremely envious of my two older brothers, because they would go out often. But their interest was mainly to drink with their friends, meet girls and do what most guys from Brooklyn were doing in 1975. It wasn’t much different than what you can see in the movie Saturday Night Fever, including the fighting! However, when I was about 16 or 17 my older brothers would sometimes sneak me in to a few places which I will remember forever, and then they and other mature relatives and friends would basically chaperone me when I got my first job in a corner bar called The Miami Lounge in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was just a few blocks away from our house and the nights were starting at 9 pm, but my parents wanted me home by 1 am. The lounge is still there and it’s walking distance from the new and already famous club Output. The lounge looks exactly the same as it did in the 1970s but it’s now also a restaurant as well. I’m not sure of it’s current name, though.
You then had the privilege to witness some of the most celebrated clubs and DJs in New York like the Loft and the Paradise Garage and numerous others. Are the first impressions of those nights still vivid? Was it every bit as outstanding as it is described up to this day?
Yes, yes and yes! The Paradise Garage, The Loft, Inferno, Better Days, Starship Discovery 1, The Saint, Crisco Disco and many, many more that had come but now are sadly all gone! It’s a shame we don’t have much footage or even great photos of so many of these nostalgic parties and venues. There were so many options back then from all the way in Downtown Manhattan up to 57th Street and from East to West, seven nights a week. We had big venues, small venues, raw underground parties with no decor at all and obvious mega places like Studio 54 and Xenon. Then as the 80s came around we saw lots of changes with all kinds of theme parties at places like The Limelight, Area, Roxy and others. Read the rest of this entry »
In discussion with Hardrock Striker on “I’m A Cult Hero” (1989).
Do you have a past acquainted with this music? Is this the compilation that nailed down musical preferences you already had, or did you have a different background and were you just looking for something in that direction?
This is clearly the music I was listening to as a kid. Back then, my biggest dream was to be in a rock’n’roll band, no way I wanted to become a DJ (“what a joke I could have thought”) as this meant nothing to me, imagine playing guitar and being on stage screaming in front of a crazy crowd or mixing records, even a monkey could do it! Obviously, it’s only when I started DJing that I understood the power of it and realized my immaturity.
I chose this compilation because even if it looks like a pure rock record, many of the bands inside are using electronic, though I had no clue about it while I was listening to them. I discovered house in Los Angeles in the late 90’s, I went there to form a heavy rock band but I ended up going out with some friends who were doing house, especially Peter Black who introduced me to Doc Martin, the Wax connection, DJ Harvey. We started being friends, speaking about art, music and I discovered that he was also into New Order, Front 242, Ministry, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division and that he was doing house too, so I thought this music finally wasn’t that bad! I started digging, to sum it up, New Order leads me to italo, italo to chicago, chicago to techno. We did a record company called Parisonic / Square Roots where I was doing reissues (already in 2003) of obscure stuff such as It Ain’t Chicago’s “Ride The Rhythm”, Mickey Oliver “In-Ten-Si-t”, Ralphi Rosario “In The Night” etc. I educated myself through the records I was putting out.
“I’m A Cult Hero” is a bootleg compilation with 80’s dark synth pop music, originally released in 1989. Why do you think such a record was released at a time when acid house ruled the clubs? Was this a reminder to what was going on a few years before, or even a counter-reaction to what followed? What might have been the motivation of the label to do this record?
I think that even if house and acid were blowing up at that time, dark synth-pop and minimal wave were still huge. Remember in 1989, Depeche Mode was also on the verge of getting the biggest rock stars in the world with the 101 Rose Bowl concert and the release of one of the best trio of singles of the 80’s: “Strangelove”, “Behind The Wheel” (Mmmh, the Shep Pettibone Mix!) and “Personal Jesus” which was a combination of rock guitars and electronic so it makes totally sense.
The motivation of these guys was primarily cash I guess but I honestly think they did an amazing job! There are two categories of bootleggers: the creative ones and the thieves, I guess they belong to the first one. Read the rest of this entry »
Recent Comments