> Backroom Productions – Definition Of A Track ( New York Underground Records) 1988
A rare tune from 1987. Indeed nothing but a track.
I knew this from the vinyl edition of the DJ-Kicks by Terranova. At that time it fit right in with what they were trying to represent with that compilation. I used to play this track regularly back then, it was very good for warming up.
So you actually know this for quite some time then.
Yeah, of course! I was not into Terranova that much, but the compilation had some brilliant tracks on it. East Flatbush Project and such.
This has some kind of Hip Hop vibe to it, too. But it does not exactly sound like 1988.
No, and I didn’t know that (laughs).
Would you still play it?
Definitely. I don’t know when and for what occasion but it is a class track.
It somehow reminds me of the bonus beats they used to have on the flipside of old House records.
Yeah, but bonus beats have gone out of fashion a bit, apart from Hip Hop. Argy had some for that Sydenham track “Ebian” on Ibadan last year. But I think it is not really relevant anymore for the current generation of House producers.
The percussive elements really distinguish the sound of that era from today’s productions. Lots of handclaps, or here it’s rimshots.
My problem is that I don’t really like all these percussion sounds from drum machines. I prefer sampled real instruments. This is probably some classic Roland drum machine, like a 606. I would take the bassdrum and hi-hats from somewhere else. The toms of these old machines are always cool, but the bongo sounds for example are not for me. I wouldn’t use that for my productions. I couldn’t do these 100 % authentic references. I think it’s supercool to listen to in a Prosumer record for example, but I couldn’t do that.
You got qualms about doing something like that?
No (laughs)! I’m just working on a new track for which I sampled an old Amen-break. I don’t care, if I like it I use it. This kind of break is in 90 % of all Drum and Bass tracks and nobody cares, so I don’t care either.
> Phortune – Unity (Jack Trax) 1988
This is an old track by DJ Pierre, from his Acid House days. But it is different to most tracks he produced back then. It is pretty deep.
It’s great. Awesome vibe for 1988, I could listen to this all day. It doesn’t tranquilize my feet, it’s not boring, it’s perfectly right. And I would grin from ear to ear if I would hear this in a club.
Some of its sounds have aged really well.
I really like this. I think it’s a pity that there are not so many tracks with great basslines at the moment. There are a lot of simple, functional basslines without much of a melody. Of course it’s effective and some current tracks need some of these dominating, functional elements, but a track like this for example needs a bit more, and I miss that. It’s also simple, but it has more and different harmonies. I like that, it gets me hooked. I would love to buy this on Beatport (laughs)!
Welcome to another Druffmix edition. The Druffalo Hit Squad is dedicating this one to the old school chapter of the International Disco Flamboyance Preservation Society. Never Surrender!
Charly Brown – The Twilight Zone DJ Spinna – Ladbroke Groove Deep Sensation – Can’t Give You Up Stan Francisco – Lover 2 Lover Les Claudettes – Alexandrie Alexandra Joey Negro – Universe Of Love Disco Elements – Muzik Takes Me Higher Solar House – Peace Of Mind Ratcliffe – Grape Soda Jasper Street Company – Music Rhythm Section Feat. Donald O – Do You Know Victor Simonelli Presents 21st Century Rockers – Ease Into The Dance Stevie Wonder – All I Do (Remix) Chubby Chunks – Testament One Terrence Parker – The More I Want Stacy Kidd – Lost Angels The Meat Men- All Locked Up Dino + Terry – Moon Dub Armand Van Helden Feat. Duane Harden – You Don’t Know Me Deep Sensation – Togetherness Deep Sensation – Soul Heaven Dazzle – You Dazzle Me (Kenny Dope Edit) Black Science Orchestra – Where Were You Kerri Chandler – Dizko Satisfaction Romanthony – In The Mix Brothers Of Soul – Disco Era
This is a 70’s reggae track by Jackie Mittoo. It’s almost Minimal, very basic.
True. It’s got some Techno appeal, it’s just rhythm. That’s what I like about this Dub stuff, there are so many things you can recognize that were used later on in electronic music like House and Techno. Dub was so important for that.
So these ancient production techniques are still valid? There seems to be a direct line from Jamaica to today’s productions.
Yeah, I listen to Dub. I don’t listen to a lot, but I like some of it. But I like to use the state of mind of Dub in my music. It’s more a musician thing. I like to use the techniques of it. I’m getting more into the music, too. It’s amazing, the way they were mixing the bass and the drums in the 70’s. Really crazy.
They also put some emphasis on just doing tracks, not songs.
It really is the basis of what came afterwards, from Hip Hop to House to Techno. Drum and Bass also, of course. They all took elements from Dub, that’s really interesting.
> Yukihiro Takahashi – Walking To The Beat (Pick Up Records)
The next one is by Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Yukihiro Takahashi. A Synthpop track.
It is interesting. It has this kind of proto-House feeling. What I really liked was this crazy soprano sax solo at the end. It is almost like Free Jazz, for 30 or 40 seconds, and then it stops. That was quite bold.
I think he actually wanted to do some kind of pop hit though. The singer on this record is the one from the 80’s pop group Icehouse for example. But for a pop hit it is probably too weird.
I think the harmonies are built up quite traditionally, but this solo part really surprised me. It is almost like New York ‘s Post Punk era. Trying some new crazy stuff.
Maybe you should use some sax solo in a House track.
Well, I used to play sax in the past.
Really?
Yeah, for a long time. But I kind of really got tired of the sound and I don’t think I’m going to use it. But you never know. I started playing Alto Saxophone when I was 13 years old. I had tried piano a few years ago, but I wasn’t so much into it. I don’t remember why I chose saxophone, but I remember I wanted to do a wind instrument. With the saxophone, I learned to play jazz and I absolutely loved it! I began rehearsing with a few bands, mostly Jazz or Funk groups. When I discovered DJing, I was instantly hooked and I started playing less and less saxophone, until I quit around 2001. DJing, collecting and discovering music became more important for me. I dabbled into production around 1996, but got a home studio setup two years later. I remember that my main reason for producing was that I found that certain records were lacking something or were arranged in a way that I thought was not so effective. I was thinking “Hmm, the producer should have put this part first” or “the chord there doesn’t sound nice although the beat is dope”. After a while I just thought I should make my own tracks.
I remember that a lot of the early Deep House tracks used the same sax sound. Really flat and synthetic. They seldom used a real saxophone, always this cheap sound effect.
Second appearance at Betalounge in Hamburg. At that time I was still celebrating by rekindled love for disco, mostly with Hunee, whom I got to know in a record store, of all places. We were some kind of go-to tag team when a floor required some vintage gems and we had tons of fun. Playing a set of that kind in Hamburg was a bit like carrying owls to Athens, though. After all I learnt most of what I knew about disco in that city and its clubs, and there were really many DJs and collectors there who were hard to impress with this playlist. Anyway, I had to try, and paying dues and so on.
Bis jetzt gab es drei EPs mit Neubearbeitungen des Albums ‚Virgin Ubiquity’, laut Ankündigung sollen auch noch weitere kommen (u.a. mit Beteiligung von Âme, Vikter Duplaix und Sean P). Aus den vorhergegangenen Runden auf das Remix-Album geschafft haben es Kenny Dope, Mr V, Aloe Blacc, Osunlade, DJ Marky & XRS und die Platinum Pied Pipers. Neu hinzugekommen sind Matthew Herbert, Joey Negro, Sir Piers und Basement Jaxx. Es ist also offensichtlich, dass die Zusammenstellung eher den konventionellen Geschmack bedienen soll, diesbezüglich wird besonders Pépé Bradock schmerzlich vermisst, der aus ‚I Am Your Mind Part II’ einen selten schönen, trippigen Slow Motion-House-Track für die Jahrescharts gezaubert hatte. Die Rolle des schrägen Außenseiters übernimmt an seiner statt Herbert, ähnlich in der Idee, wenngleich auch mit weniger beeindruckendem Endergebnis. Auf der anderen Seite liefern alle Beteiligten exakt das ab, was man von ihnen erwartet, was je nach Perspektive schade oder toll ist. Ich hoffe, dass ‚Holiday’ Kenny Dopes vorerst letzter Remix mit diesem perkussivem Nu-yorican Hüpf-Beat plus Gniedel-Bass bleibt, da hängt er jetzt schon seit gefühlten Dekaden fest. Joey Negro und Sir Piers befinden sich immer noch im Rhodes-Disco-House-Dämmerzustand, als hätte es die gegenwärtige Schwemme an innovativen Edits nie gegeben und Basement Jaxx kommen vorerst auch nicht mehr zur Besinnung.
Und wieder einmal legt in der unterhaltsamen Choice-Serie ein Mitglied der internationalen DJ-Haute Volée seine Inspirationsquellen offen. Diesmal der Dopeman, angesichts seiner beträchtlichen Meriten in punkto Mix-CDs vor allem im Rare Groove-Bereich fast logischer als sein schon früher an der Reihe gewesener kleiner Kumpel mit Hut, somit hängt der interne Haussegen wieder gerade. Wie auch andere Vorgänger hält sich Kenny Dope mit allzu viel Studio Mixing-Spielereien und Edits zurück, hier wird funktionell und rapide gecuttet, damit sich das Aroma klassischer Allzweckwaffen aus dem Bereich Disco (mit Betonung auf Boogie), Funk und Philly auch angemessen entfalten kann. Ebenso sinnstiftend ist diese Auswahl an den eigenen Output angeschlossen, der aufmerksame Masters At Work-Anhänger findet hier so manches Sample aus dem hauseigenen Backkatalog in seiner ursprünglichen Form wieder. Für die Experten mögen die vertretenen Stücke von beispielsweise Sylvester, Serious Intention, Level 42, BT Express oder Atmosfear etwas zu gut abgehangen sein, aber sie nehmen den Wind nicht aus den Segeln und es gehört sich eigentlich auch nicht, sofern keine akuten Geschmacksverirrungen vorliegen, jemanden seine perönlichen Favoriten anzukreiden. Der Mix befindet sich jedenfalls durchgehend im Plus (Extra Props für Dazzle, Hokis Pokis, Rainbow Brown und Manhattan Transfer).
Wenn die ganzen flinken Deckchamps sowieso auf Horden von Mixtapes Beats unter die Originale schrauben und die Editierwut längst den Backkatalog erreicht hat, kann man die Aufpolierung ja auch offiziell in Auftrag geben, mit Betonung auf poliert. Wie dann zu erwarten war, haben Talkum-Soul-Traditionalisten hier wenig zu lachen, Barhocker-Soul-Nicker um so mehr. Für letztere wurde auch sichergestellt, dass nicht allzu viele Tracks aus dem gesicherten Chart-Hit-Kanon herausfallen und dass bei einigen Uptempo-Originalen die verschwitzte Energie soweit gedrosselt wird, dass nix überschwappt. Bei dieser wie auch anderen Remix-Retrospektiven liegt der Schwerpunkt auf der funkigen Seite, dass lässt sich so gut ins heutige Soundspektrum rüberholen. Übrig bleibt zumeist ausreichend sich verbeugender Vibe, aber meistens so gut abgehangen, dass man nach dem reichlichen Essen einen Kurzen haben möchte. Tagessieger erwartungsgemäß Kenny Dope gegen Gladys Knight und DJ Spinna gegen Eddie Kendricks, im breiten Mittelfeld Paul Simpson, Jazzy Jeff, ?uestlove, Z-Trip und andere. Für Deutschland überrascht DJ Friction mit einem handlichen Jackson 5-Acapella und die Marketing-Abteilung hat sich für die Weihnachtsfeier mit Turntablerocker gegen Edwin Starr einen Wunsch erfüllt.
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