The DJs of the disco era not only struggled with belt-driven turntables, they also had to cope with live drumming and music arrangements that distracted their crowds. So some of them took scissors and tape and did their own edits. And some were so good at it that they earned a reputation and a studio career with it, and their edits or remixes became as popular as the music they were using, or even more. The first remix service label to gather and publish these efforts was Disconet, as early as 1977. Early remix service releases often contained medleys or little sets mixed by club DJs (foreshadowing the megamixes of the years to come), but more and more the remixes and edits became the centre of attention. In just a few years very many different remix service labels came into being, with different in-house remixers and musical agendas. The appeal of the idea began to fade when labels included their own assigned official remixes on their releases, and an increase in copyright issues in the 90s meant that most remix services went out of business. But even if the legal situation in the preceding years was quite unclear, the creative potential was not. From local to widely acclaimed DJs and from established to emerging studio talents a lot of people had their go at popular or obscure music and came up with lasting results, and they paved the way for the more modern and still thriving edit scene.
Abba – Lay All Your Love On Me (Peter Slaghuis Remix) (Buy This Record, 1981)
This
is actually a remix of a Raul Rodriguez remix originally released on
Disconet. Peter Slaghuis extended the weird start-stop-breaks to
highly irritating three minutes before the song kicks in at last,
like a hymn from the heavens descending onto a crash derby. The
breaks continue to disrupt the song throughout the whole record, the
loops are edited quite heavy-handedly, and the sound quality is
really atrocious. Still this is a remarkable example of how radical
an edit can be, and it was even more radical when it came out. And it
still works a treat on the floor.
Steve
Algozino added synth and edited a four minute album track into a
seven minute disco plea for a better tomorrow. For those who like to
compare a good night out to a religious experience, including telling
it from all mountain tops.
Eleven
minutes of drama and a whole lot of thunderous sound effects, of
which the original version inexplicably had none. It is totally
overdone, but it is also quite impressive too. And you might actually
be soaking wet if you dance the whole thing through.
B.B. & Band – All Night Long (Will Crocker & Jack Cardinal Remix) (Disconet, 1982)
An
excellent version of this heavily funked up italo disco sequencer
boogie classic. The changes are mainly in length and structure, but
they sure sound as if they were needed.
Stephanie Mills – Pilot Error (Hot Tracks, 1983)
The
original version on the Casablanca label has a really superior
pressing quality, but the wild flanger action on this more than makes
up for that. It shoots a slightly eerie, but still earthbound boogie
gem into outer space. Flight time also extended.
Lipps Inc. – Funkytown (Bob Viteritti Edit) (Hot Tracks, 1984)
An
anthem at San Francisco‘s Trocadero Transfer club, edited by its
very own resident DJ Bob Viteritti. The spacetastic additional synths
are played by none other than the legendary Patrick Cowley, a regular
at the club, and they open up a whole other universe.
Jimmy Ruffin – Hold On To My Love (Robbie Leslie Remix) (Disconet, 1984)
A
sweet little Robin Gibb co-written soul mover, until New York City‘s
Saint resident DJ Robbie Leslie decided to turn it into an anthem of
epic proportions, particularly by riding the enormous refrain for
five extra minutes. This was actually the last record the crowd ever
danced to at the Saint‘s closing weekend, which really says a lot.
Mari Wilson – Let‘s Make This Last (Razormaid, 1984)
This
track was an unusual release for the Compact Organization label‘s
60‘s beehive pop revivalist diva. But that the Razormaid remix team
completely restructured and improved the original version was very
usual for their standards, resulting in an even smarter take on
Hi-NRG.
Roxy Music – Angel Eyes (Joseph Watt Remix) (Razormaid, 1984)
Needs
more suspense in the first bit and inbetween, thought Razormaid, but
they also added sophistication to the whole song. And bringing one of
the best dressed style icons to the club surely was no mistake
either.
Machine – There But For The Grace Of God (Glenn Cattanach Edit) (Hot Tracks, 1987)
This
just neglects the piano intro, you may think, and instead uses a
looped groove to ease into the song. It also extends the break, and
adds an outro loop at the end. Well, this is not the only blueprint
for the more recent editing of disco tracks for DJ convenience
purposes, but it shows how you achieve better mixability while
leaving all the greatness of the source material untouched. Even
consider it a reminder.
Hard Corps – Lucky Charm (Razormaid, 1987)
A
lot of Razormaid releases are easier to mix than the original
versions, wrecking a lot of intros in the process. Then again
Razormaid were always quite ambitious in terms of restructuring, and
also quite subtle in adding their own trademark sound design without
taking away anything that should not be taken away. And Razormaid
have a cult following for a reason.
Big Ben Tribe – Heroes (Steve Bourasa Edit) (Rhythm Stick, 1990)
I
always felt the dreamy italo disco take on the David Bowie classic
was near perfect, but it should last longer, without risking this
perfection. Thankfully I found this edit by Steve Bourasa, who
apparently thought exactly the same, and he had the skills.
Dead Or Alive – Your Sweetness Is Your Weakness („Silver Bullet“ Mix by Peter Fenton) (Art Of Mix, 1991)
Dead
Or Alive were actually really big in Japan. So big even that they
released some of their music only in Japan, and some of their finest
music too. Buying the original 12“ of this wonderful piano house
romp will not come cheap, but do not worry, as there is this (still)
affordable and fantastic version hidden on a 12“ on the Art Of Mix
remix service, because they are not called remix services for
nothing. The mix merges Dead Or Alive‘s „Son Of A Gun“ from
1986 with their Japanese market stormer, as if they were twins
separated at birth.
P.M. Dawn – Set Adrift On Memory Bliss (Bradley Hinkle & Tim Robertson) (Ultimix, 1991)
P.M.
Dawn did not win many hearts in the hip hop scene when they sampled a
very popular blue-eyed soul ballad, and used the same seriously dope
beat Eric B & Rakim on their seminal „Paid In Full“. Rakim
and Prince Be are really hard to compare, I admit. This remix even
only slightly alters the original. Well until there is a break and
then the second half is Spandau Ballet‘s song in its entirety
riding the very same seriously dope beat. Which is one of the
greatest things ever.
Culture Club – Time (Clock Of The Heart) (Chris Cox Remix) (Hot Tracks, 1994)
I
realized I am now old enough to accept that I will probably never
find the vinyl with this remix for a price I can live with. So I
might as well show it to anybody else. Culture Club‘s arguably
finest moment, and in my humble opion one of the 80s finest pop
moments as well, in a superlative remix that manages to double both
length and listening pleasure. I would not change a second of it.
Love is the message special, in originals, edits and samples
Ellis D – Just Like A Queen (Share The Throne Mix) The House Crew Feat. Bonz – Dance To The House (Smooth Dub) Sax Machine – Love Is The Message (The Love Workout Mix) MFM Orchestra – Love Is The Message (Bass In Ya Face Mix) Nancy Martin – Can’t Believe (Instrumental) Trammps – What Happened To The Music (Dub Mix) Nature Boy – You Want… David Ian Extrvaganza – Elements Of Reprise (Johnny Dynell Mix) Jose & Luis – Queen’s English (Royal Club Mix) Malcolm McLaren And The Bootzilla Orchestra – Deep In Vogue (Banjie Realness) The Salsoul Orchestra – Love Break (Remix) Ellis D – Dub Break (Long Version) FRS – Love Is The Message MFSB – Love Is The Message
These mixes are an admittedly self-indulgent excursion that is a very personal sentimental journey. Going back, way back, back into time etc. A time where I was over twenty years younger, the early 90’s. The music you are about to hear is what we listened to at friends’ places before hitting the club. Every weekend we were dead certain that tonight will be THE night, even better than THE night the weekend before. We were young, handsome, carefree and everything that mattered was imminent. We knew there were hours of dancing to the most wonderful music lying ahead, and we actually could not really wait. In those days the club night began timely, and it had an end. We did not even think of being fashionably late, because there could have been so much we could have missed out on. But still, there was some time left. So beers open, cigs lit, talks, laughter, scheduling phone calls, dressing up and of course, the music. The music had to be perfect. But the music also had to be different to what we would dance to later on. We are not talking about music that should not distract, quite the opposite. It should be involving, fuelling our anticipation, but not exhausting it. Of course sometimes were were out buying the latest records earlier on, and we were playing them to each other. But sooner or later the dominant sound of getting ready was mellow, slick, lush, warm, elegant, fluid, flowing, smooth, soothing, emotional, DEEP.
It was the sound pioneered by in Chicago by artists like Larry Heard and Marshall Jefferson and many others, then developed further in New York by artists like Wayne Gardiner, Bobby Konders, the Burrell Brothers and also many others. Do not mistake their music as being designed for home listening purposes. The DJs would use them, too. As a gentle introduction, or as a moment of regeneration during peak time, or as the best possible way to ease the crowd out again in the early morning, so that not a single glorious moment of what just happened was tainted by something less. A lot of these tracks had enough kicks to have you working at any time, but they also seemed to be created for special moments, closed eyes, embraces, disbelief evoked by sheer beauty.
The musical programming of that era was quite different to today. It was not steadily going up and up, it was going up and down. There were detours, breaks, constant pace shifts, even pauses. Surprises welcome. A single style was not mandatory. Changes were expected, and fulfilled, at best unexpectedly. There was a flow, but it was not built-in, it had to be achieved.
A lot of these tracks have tags like Ambient or Jazz in their titles and credits, but they did not really try to be either. The artists involved liked to display their musicianship, and their ability to establish a mood and an atmosphere. They knew how to write a melody, they knew how to arrange their layers and instruments, they were determined to sound as good as their means would allow.
One reason why I wanted to record these mixes is that I sometimes miss club music artists being musicians. And music oblivious to floor imperatives and mere functionalism. The other reason is that I was interested how these tracks would sound or even hold up if you did not just inject this feeling inbetween something else, but you pull it through, for HOURS. Would it be too much? You decide.
I’d like to dedicate this to the Front Kids, wherever you may roam. You rule.
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.
I really don’t like all these convenience product edits of rare or popular Disco and Synthpop material. With a bit of experience and practice you can learn the skills necessary to handle the original irregularities of drummers or sloppy rhythm programming, and maintain the already well executed aspects of the original arrangement over the DJ service straightness of most edits. I like people who deconstruct the source material and turn it into something else, even if it is only a respectful variation. I just do not see much merit in keeping the original and just streamlining it for better mixing. I am perfectly aware that this criticism may seem pointless, as most of today’s club setups for mixing are designed to have the choice what to play next as the only task left for the DJ, if at all. I have Zager and Evans’ In The Year 2525 in my head, predicting “some machine is doing that for you”.
When DJs began to make their own edits of tracks they liked to play in the late 70s, better mixing purposes admittedly played a role. But mostly the editing process was determined by personal preferences concerning the arrangement of a track, not determined by the aim to reduce every track to the same groove and functionality, regardless of arrangement. So they took out tape and scissors, and made intros end up in a kick drum in time, extended or cut breaks and other parts, dropped instruments or vocals they did not like, and often improved the source with individual versions and interpretations.
Many daring edits of that era were officially released, but the most radical approaches were to be found in the catalogues of the remix services. Disconet led the way in 1977, and soon all over the US and Europe DJs and producers were splicing reel-to-reels to let a certain track shine in the best possible way, and the remix services like hot Tracks, Razormaid, Ultimix, Art Of Mix, C.S., Landspeed and countless others gathered the results and distributed them back to the clubs. The records compiling the edits often contained original tracks and medleys as well, and tracks were segued to make the work for the DJ easier, who often played for hours on end in those days, several nights a week. The selection of the tracks per release was often frustrating. With a few sublime reworks there were also tracks included that were well cheesy to begin with, and did not get better after being worked on. Eurodance cheese, weird rock songs trying to cross over to the dance market, and lots of one hit wonders, with questionable hits. There was no other reason for the tracklisting than songs being pushed regardless of quality, and of course the individual taste of the editor at work. The edits also varied in quality, a lot were even rather crude, or as forgettable as the original material. But there were also a lot of edits that reconstructed what they were given to work with to a whole new level. Take Razormaid’s edit of the Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls for example. The intro is easier to mix in their version, but were the official Shep Pettibone remix arguably sacrifices the song’s special appeal for dancefloor credentials, Razormaid manage to keep the tension by rearranging the elements and still achieve a track that works a treat in a club context.
I’ve been collecting remix service records for quite some time now, and starting with Hot Wax 026, I would like to dedicate an irregular series of shows to my personal favourites in that field.
Martin Rev – Sparks Surgeon – Floorshow Part I A Ghetto Trax – Back 2 Da Beat DB-X – Electric Shock Blake Baxter – IR 020 B2 Random Noise Generation – Hysteria T++ – Space Break Midnight Caller – Callers’ Theme Futurhythm – Want Your Body Millsart – Inner Life (5 To 9) Millsart – Inner-Self Jeff Mills – Zenith Rebel Alliance – A1 LFO – Tied Up Container – Acclimator Ancient Methods – Kings & Pawns DJ Stingray 313 – Remote Viewing Cybersonik – Technarchy Mental Mayhem – Joey’s Riot Norman – Greenroom Robert Hood – A.M. Track Robert Hood – Alpha Suburban Knight – The Art Of Stalking Medusa Edits 1 – The Walk Nitzer Ebb – Join In The Chant Skatebård – Metal Chix Brian Harden – Play Time L’estasi Dell’oro – It Is Nothing What Nothing Is Marchant Etrian – Crystal Cars Suburban Knight – The Warning Philus -Kuvio 3 Aleksi Perälä – UK74R1405036 Sleeparchive – Null Sekunden Heatsick – Time Smudge Omar-S – Blade Runner Surgeon – Floorshow Part II B2 Surgeon – Atol H&M – Sleepchamber Missing Channel – Deadly Spell Octave One – Eniac DJ Bone – Struggle 2 Nina Anderson – Everyday Is Like Sunday Dark Comedy – Without A Sound Aaron-Carl – Tears Maurizio – Eleye
(photo by Tom Lawton, very early morning @ Summer Sound System, Glasgow, 2005)
These days the Discogs Marketplace seems to outweigh the website’s initial purpose of building a research database and there is a lot of talk about the value of certain releases, and less talk about what said releases actually sound like. So I decided to compile this playlist by organizing my collection at Discogs for the highest median prices fetched at the Discogs Marketplace, and then selected items from the first pages that in my opinion justify demand by classic status. If this is what is wanted by so many Discogs users, you can thus have an impression of how the records sound in action, and decide for yourself if they are worth the effort. Items sought after due to recent hype and speculation efforts by producers, labels and sellers of any kind were decidedly neglected.
Dedicated to all the people who created the monster, and to those who do not abuse it. I salute you.
Andthoney & M. Kinchen – The Feeling (Prescription) Dream 2 Science – My Love Turns To Liquid (Deep Water Mix) (Power Move) Vil-N-X- What Cha Gonna Do (Vil-N-X Stra Mental Mix) (Island Noyze) DJ Sprinkles – Bassline.89.1 (Comatonse) Nature Boy – Unda Me (Ruff Disco Records) Unknown Artist – Untitled (Magnet Sounds) Jovonn – Back 2 The House (Goldtone) Shake – 5% Solution (KMS) Unknown Artist – Untitled (Chicago Underground) Kikrokos – Life’s A Jungle (Ron’s Edits) K. Alexi Shelby – My Medusa (Transmat) The Prince And The Wizard – The Music Is Kickin’ (City Limits) Gherkin Jerks – Parameters (Alleviated) Ace & The Sandman – Let Your Body Talk (Saber) Schatrax – Restless Nights (Schatrax) The System – You’re In My System (Atmospheric Dub) (Ibadan) Unknown Artist – Untitled (Other Side) Boo Williams – Make Some Noise (Relief) Circulation – Emotions Unknown (++Force Mix) (Balance) Freaks – 2 Please U (Surreal Visits Dub) (Playhouse) Moodymann – I Feel Joy (KDJ) MD – Cold Cuts (United States Of Mars) Octave One – Nicolette (430 West) Vincent Floyd – I Dream Of You (Dance Mania) Low Key – Lovemagic (Serious Grooves) John Beltran Feat. Open House – Earth & Nightfall (Sinewave) Claude Young – Dream Of Another Time (Utensil) Fingers Inc. – A Love Of My Own (Extended Club Mix) (Alleviated) B.F.C. – Please Stand By (Retroactive)
Another prevalent argument has more to do with artistic merit. When Tom Moulton and his peers made the first edits on reel-to-reel tape, they were, intentionally or not, designing a musical experience that had never existed before. The same could hardly be said for many of today’s edits. “You have this glut of edits which are no longer interested in diving deeper and deeper,” says Finn Johannsen, the DJ, music critic and Hard Wax employee. “Back then, there were no computers, so beatmatching and the convenience aspect was not the point of it. Today, there are a lot of edits floating around where the only purpose is to make DJing easier.” He finds many of the arguments in favor of edits “valid but lazy. You can always say ‘It’s always been this way,’ and of course it was, but to make that your main mission… it’s just a question of what you’re aiming for as an artist.”
Disco-Ausgrabungsgebiete scheinen langsam aber sicher den Weg von Northern Soul zu beschreiten. Von der Ursuppe der klassischen Ära ausgehend wurde von recherchefreudigen DJs und Sammlern mittlerweile jedes Spezialthema ausgeweidet, was nicht bei drei auf den Bäumen war, der Kanon hunderter Stilverzweigungen steigt stetig im Preis, ist aber sowieso keine Herausforderung mehr, da schon erschöpfend in den gängigen Spezialforen durchgewunken. Es ist schon zuweilen etwas sehr überbemüht, wie nun entlegene Nischenphänomene und die dazugehörigen Produzenten für das Checker-Repertoire der Party herhalten sollen, auch wenn sie zur Zeit ihrer aktiven Phase nicht die geringste Aufmerksamkeit erlangt haben, ob rechtmäßig , oder berichtigenswert. Fest steht, vieles von dem was da noch in hintersten Kisten schlummern mag, ist eventuell der heiße Scheiß mit dem man vor der Konkurrenz mächtig Eindruck schinden kann, vieles bringt aber heute auch nur ungefähr drei Gleichgesinnte pro Veranstaltung dazu, Blicke wissender Zustimmung vom Rand der Tanzfläche herüberzunicken. Das ist natürlich nur für sehr egozentrische DJs eine Genugtuung, denen die Abgrenzung wichtiger ist als anderen Menschen im Club Freude zu bereiten, die Mehrheit auf der Party hält es höchstwahrscheinlich schlichtweg für Unvermögen. Für Individualisten mit Sendungsbewusstsein gibt es aber immer noch viel zu entdecken, zum Beispiel britische Musik der 80er mit zurückhaltender Funkyness und überhaupt nicht zurückhaltender Popgeste. Natürlich sind Bands wie Aztec Camera, Orange Juice oder Haircut 100 nicht unbedingt speziell, aber die wunderbaren 12“-Versionen ihrer Songs sind es offenbar schon, denn sie sind kaum im Clubkontext zu hören, sie bleiben von hingeluschten Edits und verknappten Laserprint-Cover-Bootlegs verschont, niemand mag dafür mehr bezahlen als den Bruchteil der Preise, welche die Spezialfunde auf den Kompilationen der Szenepräsis hochjubeln. Dabei ist es oft nicht nur gewollt, wie man die Tanzflächen mit verlängerten und kompakteren Versionen der eigenen Hits erobern wollte, es ist oft sehr gekonnt. Als Beispiel dafür soll hier die 12“-Version von „… From Across The Kitchen Table“ der Pale Fountains dienen, einer dieser Bands, die nur ein paar Singles und noch weniger Alben hinbekamen bevor sie in die Versenkung entlassen wurden, die aber auch eine dieser Bands sind, deren gute Songs man nie mehr aus dem Kopf bekommt. „… From Across The Kitchen Table“ ist in der Albumversion schon eine umwerfende Hymne, aber in der Maxiversion werden die 60er-Einflüsse im Arrangement etwas zurückgepfiffen, es gibt eine überaus kombinationsfreudige Synthiefläche, den Anfang kann man nun auf den Beat mixen, es gibt eine prima Disco-Backgroundsängerin, überhaupt bietet die Dramaturgie nun die Wendungen und Höhepunkte, die auch ein abwegiger Selektionseinfall benötigt um getanzt zu werden. Und das Schöne daran ist, dass es sehr sehr sehr viele andere Maxis aus dieser Zeit gibt, die diesem Kleinod in nichts nachstehen. Wer das als Indiediscoprototypenschrullen abtut hat wirklich nichts begriffen, das wollte alles mindestens in die Charts, und es wirklich nichts Schlimmes daran, ein großzügiges und smartes Pop-Statement einzuwerfen, und das Mitsingen großer Refrains beim Tanzen, das gilt es unbedingt zu erhalten, in jedem Kontext.
The Pale Fountains – … From Across The Kitchen Table (Virgin, 1985)
Im Gespräch mit Stefan Goldmann über “Devotion” von John McLaughlin (1972).
Was ist Deine persönliche Verbindung zu John McLaughlin? Wie und wann bist Du auf ihn gestoßen?
Als ich 14-15 war und meine Ferien wie immer in Sofia verbrachte, war plötzlich Jazz das ganz große Thema bei meinen Freunden dort. Die anderen waren 2-4 Jahre älter als ich und ich ließ mich gerne beeinflussen. Als ich z. B. 9 war, kam ich so zu Iron Maiden, dann zu Led Zeppelin und Pink Floyd, und schließlich kam ich eines Sommers wieder und die waren alle ganz versessen auf das, was sie für Jazz hielten. Also Hauptsache virtuos – da wurde dann John Coltrane genau so gehört wie Al Di Meola oder die Chick Corea Elektric Band. Der Name McLaughlin fiel da auch schnell. Zurück in Berlin ging ich also zum Virgin Megastore und schaute mir die Kassetten an. Das war das Format, das mich interessierte, weil ich keinen eigenen Plattenspieler hatte, dafür aber einen Ghettoblaster und einen Walkman. Im Laden hatten sie die “Devotion” sowie die “Love Devotion Surrender” mit Carlos Santana. Sonst nichts. Als angehender Jazz-Snob hab ich natürlich die „Devotion“ mitgenommen und mich nicht mit irgendwelchen Rockern aufgehalten. Interessanterweise war dieses Tape die Lizenzausgabe von Celluloid, was später eines der wichtigsten Labels für mich werden sollte. Es hatte dieses super Coverdesign von Thi-Linh Le, der die ganzen legendären Celluloid-Cover in den 80ern gemacht hat. Ich kam hier also gleich mit zwei sehr wesentlichen Dingen in Berührung. Als ich damals auf einer Skifahrt in Tschechien war, konnte ich damit ganz gut die Mädchen beeindrucken, weil das selbst für die offenkundig so viel besser war als der Spaß-Punk, den die anderen Jungs dabei hatten.
McLaughlin war ja an sehr vielen bedeutenden Alben beteiligt. Warum hast Du Dir “Devotion” ausgesucht?
Gut, allein die ganzen Miles Davis Platten, auf denen er mitspielt sind eh der Wahnsinn. „Bitches Brew“ ist für mich sicherlich das bedeutendste Album überhaupt. Nur ist “Devotion” für mich einerseits der Einstieg gewesen, anderseits ist es in mehreren anderen Aspekten wirklich bemerkenswert: Es ist ein Album, das jemand in ein bestehendes Genre hineingesetzt hat – und dieses völlig übertroffen hat. Das ist ein wichtiger Beleg, das so etwas möglich ist. Es gibt immer diesen riesigen Vorteil, der Erste zu sein, der etwas Bestimmtes macht. Also ich denke da an Jeff Mills oder Plastikman, die einfach als erste wahrnehmbar ein kompositorisches Niveau erreicht haben in einer Musik, die vorher eher nur raue Energie war. Solche Leute haben auf Jahrzehnte einen Vorteil gegenüber jedem, der erst später dazukommt. Es ist ein zentrales künstlerisches Problem, wenn man innerhalb irgendeiner bestehenden Kunstform arbeiten will: was kann ich eigentlich noch beitragen? Die Möglichkeiten sind halt entweder den Rahmen zu dehnen oder es einfach deutlich besser zu machen als alle Anderen. Und Letzteres hat McLaughlin mit “Devotion” einfach gemacht. Da kommt einer aus England nach New York und nimmt den kompletten Laden auseinander. Die “Devotion” ist der klanggewordene feuchte Traum jedes Hendrix-Fans, nur das Hendrix das nie hingekriegt hat. Auch nicht mit “Band Of Gypsies”. Da kulminiert Etwas, was die ganze Zeit als Erwartung in der Luft lag, nur von Niemandem vorher eingelöst werden konnte. Dieses Energieniveau war einfach damals unbekannt. Und sehr viele spätere Sachen fußen darauf – sowie auf Lifetime, der Tony Williams Band mit McLaughlin und Larry Young.
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