I always loved ghetto house, cut-up disco house, UK breakbeat music and hip hop. So when I was working at Berlin‘s Hard Wax store and the first footwork releases from Chicago hit the shelves I fell in love with it instantly. So many styles and samples and sounds I thought I was familiar with were in there, but the way they were used was crazy and fresh, particularly in connection with the rhythms that seemed to be all over the place, yet completely locked you in.
Over the years I gathered a digital collection of footwork and juke, but as I am still playing vinyl in clubs, most of it was only for my ears. But then I decided to get creative with it and do some digital mixes. The result is this, my favourite tunes spread out over twelve sets. The selection is really subjective and quite determined by my fascination with how especially disco and soul was sampled in this field, but there are other styles in there as well.
Heavee x H.E.R. – Could’ve Been
DJ Diamond – Ready Motherfucker
Traxman – See Things My Way
Elmoe – Lost And Found
DJ Rashad – Well Well Well
DJ Earl – Y U Do Dat
Taso Teklife – Spell On You VIP
Traxman – Elements Of Style
Traxman – Know Da Truth
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – Come Into Knowledge
DJ Earl – Souf Side Daydream
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – Don’t Look Away
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – Unforgettable
EQ Why – Just 2 Good
DJ Earl & King Agee – Scared 2 Come Outside
DJ Wicked – Thoughts (Flame 2022)
EQ Why & Cuenique – P.O.M.
DJ Earl & King Agee – New Pack Landed
EQ Why – When It’s This Good
Traxman – Setbacks
DJ Earl & King Agee – F**ck Da Haterz
DJ Manny – Hard Drive
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – Metropolis
DJ Tre – My Cry
DJ Clent – Let Me Hit And Freak
DJ Earl – Woke Up
EQ Why – 17 Inside
Cuenique – Some Problemz
EQ Why – Chilling
DJ Oreo – Rocket Man Stevie Intro
Comfort Noise – Don’t Hold Back
Heavee – Show’s Over
DJ Earl & King Agee – Turn My Musik Up
Traxman – Too High (Over Da Edge Funk Rework)
DJ Rashad, Tripletrain & DJ Spinn – Pass That
Traxman – Lady In My Life (Mics Supa Rework)
DJ Oreo – Call Your Name (Imma Call You)
DJ Oreo – Rocket Man Stevie (I Still Love You)
DJ Rome – Show Me
Traxman – U Taken Me
EQ Why – Count Me Out
DJ Manny – Where Are You
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – See You In The Morning
DJ Phil – Get Over
Traxman – Zang Ga Zoo
EQ Why & DJ MC – We Got Grandz (Street Mix)
DJ Rashad – Walk For Me
EQ Why – Juke Signs
EQ Why – Don’t Come Back Hot
Traxman – We Can Go Anywhere
EQ Why – How Do You
Jana Rush – Old Skool
Cuenique – It’s A Revolution
DJ Acey – Blue Light (Fallin’)
DJ Earl – Freak Da Beat
DJ Clent – Saturday Luv
DJ Clent – Strings Of My Life
Traxman – Goddest!!!
EQ Why – I Keep Wild Wild (No Wild Wild)
Sirr TMO THANKYOUGOD9999 – What’s Yo Phone Numba
Traxman – With Each Beat
Traxman – Toast To Da Foolz
Dj.Mc – Payback Is A Dog
DJ Clent – Piece Of My Mind
Curren$y – Don’t Miss This Jet (DJ Earl Remix)
DJ Rashad x DJ Spinn x Taso – Nothin’s Gonna Stop Me
Although acid house exports provided the sound blueprints for Second
Summer of Love in the late 80s, the rawness of the US originals often
did not really match the ecstasy fuelled day-glo hedonism that was
sweeping UK clubland. Of course the pioneering tracks from Chicago,
Detroit and New York had the same huge impact in English clubs as
they had in Continental Europe, and the American originators brought
music that was informed by no less aspiring ambitions, but it was
also often produced on the equipment that you could afford in
problematic social environments, and its initial target group was
more local, and on another street level than the almost proverbial
MDMA hugs between football hooligans or other thugs and the dancers
they were previously beating up. But UK pop and club culture had
interpreted outside influences into something more pop before and
sent it back, as it had happened with the British Invasion in the 60s
and lovers rock in the 70s, and house, and particularly acid house,
was no exception. In the UK, some clever people not only heard a
difference, they also understood that it had potential far beyond
that. Just a new, small and dedicated scene at first, but maybe more.
Or even much more.
Baby
Ford seemed to have a very clear vision of what was missing for the
music to really cross over and reach such potential, and with his
first promising releases from 1988 up to his first album „Fordtrax“
he brilliantly merged inspirations from Larry Heard, Derrick May or
Todd Terry with a knowledgeable pop sensibility. But in contrast to
other successful London cohorts of the Rhythm King label like Bomb
The Bass, S‘Express, The Beatmasters, and Coldcut on their label
Ahead Of Our Time, he did not succumb almost entirely to the charms
of the wild days of sampling, instead aiming more for his own
musicianship than a wild collage of references with a beat. And in
contrast to Manchester artists like 808 State and A Guy Called
Gerald, who achieved a similarly distinctive sound, he was ready,
willing and able to sing as well, and he implied his sense of humour.
Be it „Ooochy Koochy“ or „Chikki Chikki Aah Aah“, his music
was catchy and smart, but instrumental gems like „Fordtrax“
already proved that he knew how to arrange and set a mood. He seemed
to make fine use of his influences as much as he made them his own,
and he established a mini-canon of his own work in which his ideas
naturally referred to each other.
Already a year later his second album „’Ooo’ The World Of Baby
Ford“ aimed considerably higher. There are variations of „Fordtrax“
material but in a different, more mellow mood („Milky Tres / Chikki
Chikki Aah Aah“). Which is perfectly ok if your source material is
good enough to be reinterpreted in such a short time. Other tracks
like „Let‘s Talk It Over“ or „The World Is In Love“ have a
similar mood, somehow as urban as pastoral, sublime and full of hope.
„Beach Bump“ or „A Place Of Dreams & Magic“ are more over
the top, reviving the camp fun of „Oochy Koochy“ and other
livelier tracks he made before. And then there are tracks that hint
at the idea of this album as a continuation of gone but yet still
lasting UK youth cultures. In terms of music „Poem For Wigan“ and
„Wigan“ have not much in common with the 70s northern soul haven
Wigan Casino (or the Jazz Funk and later Electro played at Wigan Pier
club by its resident DJ Greg Wilson), but Baby Ford grew up near
Wigan and experienced what happened there, and both tracks have a
sentiment true to the inspiration. You may now flock to other clubs
and dance to other sounds, but the spirit is the same. Else the cover
version of T.Rex‘s „Children Of The Revolution“ is more
obvious, putting the 70s glam rock anthem into the context of the
acid house movement, whose children won‘t be fooled either. It is
time again for the UK youth to rise up against it, and this is how it
sounds. And then the according modern grooves also meet the
modernized version of the hippie era aesthetics that the tabloids and
authorities directly diverted to blame and prosecution. Where there
are loved up messages and melodies, psychedelic colours and a quest
for an alternative way of living, there must be something for society
to fight back, regardless of what you are afraid of in the 60s, 70s,
80s, or the decades to come. Us against them, forever irreconcilable.
This
album captured the revolutionary spirit and joy of that time
perfectly, and it indirectly predicted why it could not last. It was
not widely perceived as a defining statement and Baby Ford did not
become the defining pop star, and he seemed to abandon his bright
ideas soon after. First with the subsequent 1992 album „BFORD9“,
which still had some traces of his prior optimism left, but which
also confrontationally displayed disillusionment, darker topics and
harder sounds, until he reduced his persona and sound more and more,
albeit still with consistently great creative results. Either way,
Baby Ford‘s world may have not been big enough, but you still think
‚Ooo‘ when you think of it.
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