00:00:00 1 Critical Rhythm – I’m In Love With You (Version) 00:05:04 2 How & Little – Mellow Moment 00:08:55 3 The Vision – Laidback & Groovy 00:18:18 4 The Utopia Project – File #4 00:22:11 5 K.A.T.O. – Disco-Tech (3 Piece Suite Mix) 00:27:05 6 Aphrodisiac – Your Love (Dub) 00:33:17 7 Power House – Kenny’s Jazz (Dope Mix) 00:37:27 8 Ize – Turn Around 00:39:34 9 Jazz Documents – Private Code 00:45:02 10 N.Y. House’n Authority – APT. 3B 00:49:13 11 Aphrodisiac – Just Before The Dawn (Remould) 00:55:37 12 A.B.T. – I Need It³ 01:01:05 13 The Utopia Project – File #2 01:03:47 14 Basil Hardhaus – Release 01:07:43 15 The Utopia Project – File #5 01:12:01 16 Basil Hardhaus 2 – For The Underground 01:16:26 17 Dub Poets – Version 01:20:05 18 Roqui – I’ve Just Begun To Love You (Club/Dub) 01:24:28 19 The Utopia Project – File #1 01:28:27 20 The Utopia Project – File #3 01:32:42 21 A.B.T. – La¹² 01:37:04 22 Asylum – Voicez 01:39:46 23 Basil Hardhaus – Breezin’ 01:43:51 24 Emjay – Come N’ Get It (Dub) 01:49:01 25 Keith, Kat & Blondie – Gotta Get Some Money (Eerie Instrumental) 01:52:45 26 Keith, Kat & Blondie – Gotta Get Some Money (Club Ladies & Gents Vocal) 01:59:23 27 Massive Sounds – Ruff & Massive (Version) 02:06:04 28 Joey Negro – Do It, Believe It (Urban Mix) 02:12:18 29 K.A.T.O. – Digital 02:17:26 30 Kenny ‘Dope’ Presents Powerhouse – Makin’ A Living 02:22:12 31 New Grooves – Jerkin Acid 02:24:44 32 Bobby Konders – Nervous Acid 02:29:33 33 Bobby Konders – Dub Massai Style (Mark’s Mix) 02:34:36 34 Bobby Konders – Massai Women 02:42:12 35 N.Y. House’n Authority – Dyckman House 02:46:09 36 N.Y. House’n Authority – High Bridge House 02:48:42 37 The Nick Jones Experience – Wake Up People
00:00:00 1 Roqui – Lover (Dub Mix) 00:04:09 2 Ize – Out The Door 00:08:35 3 Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal (City College Mix) 00:15:29 4 Metro – Angel Of Mercy (Dub) 00:20:01 5 How & Little – Rockhard 00:24:20 6 Devine Masters – Cause I Need You (Babe Mix) 00:29:55 7 The Nick Jones Experience – My Man, My Man 00:34:48 8 Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal (Beyond Sight Version) 00:41:52 9 Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal (Insight Version) 00:45:20 10 The Looney Tunes – Just as Long as I Got You 00:49:12 11 The Sound Vandals – Tonight’s The Night (Club Mix) 00:53:07 12 Transphonic – Goddamn (Trunkadelic Version) 00:58:11 13 The Vision – Sharde 01:07:20 14 Devine Masters – Paradise (Vacuum Mix) 01:11:12 15 Rydims – Rydim #2 (Version) 01:16:19 16 K.A.T.O. – Eye In The Sky 01:20:37 17 Metro – Brownstone Express 01:23:43 18 Kenny Dope & Total Madness – Petey Wheatstraw (Instrumental) 01:31:29 19 Ronald Burrell – Quiet Song 01:37:02 20 The Nick Jones Experience – Shelter Me 01:45:09 21 The Sound Vandals – On Your Way (Deep Mix) 01:51:49 22 Voices – Be Yourself 01:54:16 23 Rydims – Rydim #1 (Mello) 02:00:11 24 Rydims – Rydim #2 (Late Night Horn) 02:08:58 25 Bobby Konders – The Poem 02:14:51 26 DTR featuring Marilyn Sareo – Journey Into A Dream (Perfect Essence Instrumental) 02:20:01 27 Equation – The Answer (X² RB Mix My Time) 02:26:58 28 Ize – Give It Up 02:30:27 29 Jus Friends – As One (Remix Mix) 02:35:37 30 Jus Friends – As One (Remix Dub) 02:41:12 31 N.Y. House’n Authority – Forty House 02:45:14 32 Critical Rhythm – An Illusion 02:49:50 33 Tech Trax Inc. – State Of The Art (Unautomated Mix) 02:53:01 34 Transphonic – You Make Me Feel So Good (Fourplay Mix) 02:58:43 35 Project “86” – Total Recall 03:04:46 36 Tech Trax Inc. – Tech Trax Inc. (Xplanitory Mix) 03:08:09 37 Houz’ Neegroz – How Do U Love A Black Woman? 03:14:01 38 How & Little – Cloud 9 03:18:08 39 Major Problems – Flashbacks (Version) 03:21:09 40 Metro – Rush Hour 03:25:36 41 N.Y. House’n Authority – APT. 3A 03:30:15 42 Massive Sounds – Free South Africa (Version) 03:38:15 43 N.Y. House’n Authority – Fort Green House 03:43:18 44 Open House – Seven Day Weekend (Motor City Mix) 03:47:41 45 R.S.H. – Outcry (Freestyle Mix)
00:00:00 1 Bäs Noir – I’m Glad You Came To Me (Dub Mix) 00:07:32 2 The Sound Vandals – Feel It (Concept Mix) 00:12:11 3 Devine Masters – Rules The Nation (Nation Mix) 00:16:22 4 Code 6 – Forgotten Moments 00:22:24 5 How & Little – Bring It Back 00:25:50 6 Mandatory Bass – Its A Love-A-lee (Mandatory Mix) 00:30:30 7 N.Y. House’n Authority – APT. 2A 00:33:25 8 Major Problems – The Rush (Freakout Mix) 00:37:14 9 33 1/3 Queen – Searchin’ 00:42:43 10 Lost Entity – Annihilate (L.E.S. Mix) 00:48:28 11 Open House – Keep With The Pace (Underground Mix) 00:53:56 12 Basil Hardhaus 2 & Sylvia Simone – Make Me Dance (Hard For The D.J.) (feat. Burrell) 00:57:11 13 R.S.H. – Bumrush The Dream 01:00:27 14 Project “86” – Industrial Bass (Industrial Mix) 01:04:49 15 Voices – Bring Down The Walls 01:10:35 16 DTR – How Many Times? (Unity) (Orbital Mix) 01:15:01 17 Groove Committee – I Want To Know 01:19:23 18 Voices – You And Me 01:24:07 19 Project “86” – Legends (Vocal Mix) 01:28:39 20 Gemini – Jump, A Little Higher 01:33:41 21 Freddy Bastone presents Danny Xtravanganza – Love The Life You Live (Club Mix) 01:39:11 22 Soundstrike – Party Machine 01:43:44 23 Code 6 – C.O.D.E.S. 01:48:11 24 R.S.H. – Got To Have You Now 01:52:02 25 Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal (Foresight Version) 01:58:39 26 Code 6 – Quad I 02:03:00 27 Gemini – Right Baby, Do What You Like 02:07:03 28 Aphrodisiac – Song Of The Siren (Mediterranean Mix) 02:12:12 29 Lost Entity – On The Verge 02:18:12 30 The Street Wise Kids – Here Comes That Sound (Hate Mix) 02:22:23 31 The Street Wise Kids – Here Comes That Sound (The Reel Master Mix) 02:25:38 32 Total Madness – Sounds In Da Air 02:30:35 33 R.S.H. – Laughing While Intoxicated (Dope House Mix) 02:34:43 34 Roqui – You Are On My Mind (Rural Mix) 02:39:20 35 The Street Wise Kids – Don’t Hold Back (Love Mix) 02:43:02 36 Masters At Work – My Mission 02:46:15 37 Lisa Lee – When Can I Call You (Long Distance 12″) 02:51:25 38 Code 6 – Quad II 02:54:19 39 Elbee Bad aka The Prince Of Dance Music – The True Story Of House Music (Body Mechanix Authentic Garage Groove) 02:58:24 40 Lost Entity – Bring That Back (One More Time) 03:02:52 41 New Grooves- Quiet Riot 03:05:16 42 Total Maddness – The Sounds In Da Air (Dope Mix) 03:10:32 43 House Syndicate – Jam The Mace 03:15:23 44 Bobby Konders – Let There Be House 03:20:20 45 The Dope Wax All Stars – Angelo’s Groove 03:24:17 46 Code 6 – Quad III 03:27:18 47 Dee Gorgeous – Better Than Sex (The Dangerous Mix) 03:31:07 48 Transphonic – Incidental Meditation Club Tools 03:36:32 49 Elbee Bad aka The Prince Of Dance Music – The New Age Of Faith 03:40:47 50 Equation – I’ll Say A Prayer 4 U 03:46:33 51 Kenny’s House & Kenny Dope – Just Me and You (Acid Dub) 03:47:57 52 The Sound Vandals – Extasy (What Is It?) (Rough Mix) 03:51:54 53 New Grooves – Set The Alarm 03:55:33 54 Rydims – Rydim #2 (18 & Under (Aah)) 04:01:12 55 Voices – Never Say Never 04:06:41 56 Da Noyz Boyz – Tuch Me 04:10:40 57 Kenny’s House & Kenny Dope – Just Me and You (Five-Oh Mix) 04:15:44 58 Major Problems – Overdose (The Final Trip) 04:20:26 59 Voices – Over Me 04:25:48 60 2 Dope – A Touch of Salsa (Voices in the Dungeon Remix) 04:29:47 61 New Grooves – AM 04:34:44 62 Metro – Straphanger 04:39:58 63 Elbee Bad aka The Prince Of Dance Music – I’m So Alone 04:43:32 64 Foremost Poets – Reasons To Be Dismal (Explanation)
Finn: Mostly spending as much time as possible with my wife and daughter, family and friends. I have been constantly DJing and working on a lot of other things for years and years and I used this unexpected time off to take a break, but I am also catching up with all the books and films I gathered for some occasion, and other interests I had to neglect due to too little time or too many distractions. Else I have not played a club gig since March. As I am a seasoned DJ I sometimes wondered how it would feel to retire at some point, and I guess I know now, and I realized that I am not yet ready for it. I still buy as much music as I can still afford, and I do radio shows and podcasts with it, and I try to be up to date with what is still happening. Generally I try to act as responsible as I can in this situation and make the best of it.
Pete: My girlfriend moved in and we used the unexpected time off to settle down. I am also still working at Hard Wax once a week, and I practice my daily Yoga routines. As far as DJing is concerned, I played a few open air gigs that met the necessary regulations. But only until the beginning of November.
How has lockdown been for you both?
Pete: I could never really develop some kind of lockdown routine. It just felt just too absurd to spend most of your life indoors, in your own space. Like not being able to meet friends where and when you want, to visit a restaurant, cultural activities, and so on. But we try to adapt to it, and make the best of what we can still do.
Finn: A lot of what I have been doing for decades fell apart within a very short time, and that was quite frightening. But Macro, the label I run with Stefan Goldmann, did not stop, and most importantly I did not have much time to brood over the situation as Paloma, the club I have been doing the booking for in the past few years, shut down in March and pretty much instantly went into crisis management mode. We organized a successful crowdfunding campaign, a series of exhibitions, a quarantine podcast, fashion items and set up a label, and we are constantly thinking about other ideas to keep the club going and support our network. So thankfully I was quite busy, and I still am. Hopefully this will keep up until things swing back into action, and I kind of ignore the possibility that they might not.
Which artist and/or labels have caught your eye recently?
Finn: I was quite happy with the way UK Garage came back, there is a lot of interesting fresh new stuff on labels like Instinct, Dr. Banana, Vitamin D, and many others. On a disco tip I think Javi Frias, Snips, Very Polish-Cut Outs and the Sound Metaphors camp are doing mighty fine edits, and in terms of house music I think labels like Must Be On Wax, Blaq Numbers, Random Mind State, or Distant Horizons are well worth checking out. As a quite loyal soul I still cling to artists like Jeff Mills, Nature Boy, Kai Alcé, Dave Lee, Hanna, Boo Williams, Pépé Bradock and friends like Dynamo Dreesen, SVN, SW., Fett Burger, Lowtec and the whole Workshop posse, they all keep on delivering. But, as many others, I spend more time with music at home now, and there I am mostly listening to old soul music and new hip hop, and according mentions would definitely blow up this frame.
Pete: I still dig what old friends are doing, like Sleeparchive, Shed, or Surgeon. I also enjoyed current releases by Ploy, the Zenker Brothers or Leibniz. The recent albums by Autechre and Actress also really blew me away.
With clubs closed, this period has been difficult for DJs. What do you make of the government’s response?
Finn: Well, this period has been difficult for almost anybody. In hindsight a lot of decisions how to handle the pandemic were obviously too late and probably too hesitant. The virus hit hard because practically only few goverments were at least a bit ready and well equipped to handle such a situation, and more often than not they were simply overwhelmed with the quick rise of infections and how it affected the whole system. Some countries were run by incompetent politicians that had no real clue how to answer it, and still have not. The fact that there were so many populists in charge sure did not help either, and that hey had so many supporters that believed them. Rather expectedly the cultural sector was the first to go down, and will probably be the last to come up again. But we are also aware that Germany was not affected as badly as so many other countries. There were fundings and help programs early on, where in a lot of other countries people in creative professions were just left in the cold. But we understand if people in said professions get frustrated with how financial help is distributed, or when they get official advice to work in other fields or to apply for unemployment benefits, because what they have been doing for all their lives is just way down on the priority list. And on top of it there is the threat that many institutions and locations will just vanish, and nobody knows how they ever will be replaced, if at all. It is important to keep all this alive, but it is also important that the ones demanding support step out of their bubble and ask themselves if what they want to keep doing is a potential threat to many others right now. The virus is just very contagious, there is no cure as of yet, and reason and patience are key.
Where and when did you record this mix?
Finn: The mix was recorded live at Paloma on the evening of October 16th this year, using our usual setup of two turntables, a TR-909 drum machine, and a delay unit.
Can you talk about some of the artists that you’ve included?
Pete: A Power House night is a perfect opportunity to play music by artists I have really internalized over the years. With the selection for this set I wanted too express my love for Detroit music, as I often do. But in the process of preparing a Power House set I also often discover certain artists all over again. This time that was the case with Eddie Flashin’ Fowlkes.
Finn: In the past we often dedicated Power House nights to certain topics, but this time I just wanted to play some records that I had not used yet. In my case it turned out to be mostly pumping US 90s house, just because I was in the mood for it. The sound of these records is quite representative for what I play when I opt for that direction, and the overall sound was also more vital than the individual artists. But of course you can hear some people that often pop up in the Power House canon, like Masters at Work, Tony Rodriguez, Eddie Perez, the Melillo brothers, Jason Nevins, Scott Kinchen or Eddie Maduro. Shout out to the La Mona family in France for providing a rather obviously fitting intro track, and Hans Nieswandt, who gave the fledgling Paloma imprint a glorious unreleased track from the 90s that is just working hard. As for the outro, you have to keep in mind that Power House nights at Paloma usually go on for eight hours, and the last bit is often reserved for early morning bliss and odd ones out, and here we condensed it a bit. The Blaze acapella is blowing a kiss to our beloved crowd, we indeed were wishing you were there, and the last record is a kind of relief ending, and I cannot tell more about it than that it is a Japanese record I found in a cheapo bin and I loved it ever since.
What made this mix so memorable?
Finn: Playing music together again, and doing it where it all began, and like we always do. Of course we missed our dancers, but it felt good to realize that our dynamics can be activated in any context.
Pete: I wallowed in the memories quite a bit. Our nights together offered so many, and it all came back. Finn is a friend, and a selector capable contantly coming up with musical surprises. We swing each other up. And it felt great being able to use our setup of the delay unit, and mixing my live 909 beats with Finn’s acapellas. That combined makes it even more fun, and I think you can hear that.
You better acknowledge the fact that house music emerged from gay sub- and club culture. And it is a continuation of disco music, for which the same applies. These are the undeniable roots of what still keeps so many people busy on the floor, and the roots of a whole industry. Yet there are less explicitly homosexual producers and performers that have the same attention and careers as the heterosexual stars of the scene, and there are less records that display explicitly gay content in the canon of club music than heterosexual ones. This guide is a chronological celebration of releases that wear their sexual orientation with pride, from the early days of house music to ballroom culture, drag queens and vogue dancers, from encoded niches to the mainstream. RuPaul‘s first record was released in 1985, a long way before the Drag Race. And a whole lot of names have vanished from sight over the years. And even if the struggle continues, they all paved the way for more acceptance.
The Children – Freedom (Factory Mix) (D.J. International Records, 1987)
A jacking anthem for the Warehouse and Music Box crowds in Chicago, produced by Adonis and The Children. But also very decidedly produced for the children, the dancers on the floor that did not fit in with the majority around them. „I have nothing to prove. I‘m this way because I wanna be. Can‘t you accept me for what I am?“
Steve „Silk“ Hurley – Cold World (Mommy Can Your Hear Me Mix) (Atlantic, 1989)
Jamie Principle riding a bumpy groove, taking a stand against ignorance within family and society. The lyrics have echoes of the Pet Shop Boys‘ „It‘s A Sin“ and Bronski Beat‘s „Smalltown Boy“, but they have no time for pomp and detailed narrative. The kid is not leaving, as the Beatles once sang, it is thrown right out. „The children say: I will not change!“
Danny Xtravaganza – Love The Life You Love (Le Palage Mix) (Nu Groove Records, 1990)
In 1990 the success of Jennie Livingston‘s documentary „Paris Is Burning“ brought the secluded ballroom culture into the limelight, and gave Madonna a hit single (and some spectacular tour dancers). The codes, terminology and vogueing dance moves were expected to fade away again once the usual mainstream attention faded, but they came to stay. Among the houses portrayed in the film was the House of Xtravaganza, whose forming member, the late Danny Xtravaganza managed to introduce both a life-affirming message and a glimpse of success against a merciless ballroom jurisdiction, all over a breezy house groove. „Judges, your scores. Ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten across the board!“
Jackie 60 Presents Jackie MC‘s – The Jackie Hustle (Johnny D’s Duelling MC Mix) (Minimal Records, 1992)
The theme tune of the seminal New York City club Jackie 60, featuring co-founder Johnny Dynell and Arthur Baker as producers, and Danny Tenaglia mixing it up. The track is a sweet mellow house groove with a cheeky reference to Van McCoy‘s „The Hustle“, and Paul Alexander and Richard Move most charmingly act as MCs in the most conférencier sense, greeting the Jackie legends and Jackie hustlers as if they would pass them by in the room, and giving them a bit of attitude, too. „We got a lot of superstars in the house tonight. Hello. I wanna welcome all the Jackie virgins, all the Jackie wannabees.“
Ralphi Rosario – Bardot Fever (D.J. World, 1992)
Ralphi Rosario provides a swinging piano house track for a showcase of Chicago‘s club legend Byrd Bardot. Actually the way she constantly pronounces her name throughout the track was perfect to throw a pose to. „Do you feel it? Fever? Lots of fever? I bet you do. “
Moi Renee – Miss Honey (Project X Records, 1992)
A kicking house track that gives more than a slight nod towards Masters At Work‘s „Ha Dance“ from 1991, the probably most interpreted sound template of ballroom house music. But here we also have the late, legendary Moi Renee, telling that unfaithful bitch some news in her very own style. Her almost mantra-like rant inspired a lot of subsequent vocalists to follow her steps, although they mostly went way more into detail. „Where‘s the bitch, she‘s got some nerve. Here I am, and feeling fierce!“
Baltimore Club was not exactly known for queer artists, and so the repect and praise the late Miss Tony commanded in that scene was already saying a whole lot. A frequent featuring MC and vocalist on according local records and club nights, Anthony Boston also proved to be aware of the real struggle with brilliant releases like „Release Yourself (Tired Of Being Under Pressure) and „Living In The Alley“, but „Tony‘s Bitch Track“ really shows what this legend is all about. The music merges Todd Terry and Eddy De Clercq‘s act House Of Venus as a perfect canvas for Miss Tony‘s inimitable reading. „I‘m a man, I‘m a man, I‘m a man, I‘m a man. But you know what y‘all? Sometimes I feel just like a woman. And if you don‘t believe me, ask your father.“
I.M.T. only released two singles, but both were very remarkable. Their music was an eerie and idiosyncratic take on house and techno, their message was an encouragement of transgender determinedness, referencing quotes from „Paris Is Burning“. „It‘s your turn. And it‘s your time. To free yourself to become yourself.“
The Ride Committee Feat. Roxy – Get Huh! (E-Legal, 1993)
Roxy punished the competition in a lot of seminal ballroom house records, but this wild Louie Balo production is still among her fiercest. Don‘t mess! „She‘s got really dreadful skin. She‘s got Ethel Merman‘s chins. I hate huh! Get huh!“
Candy Jackson aka Sweet Pussy Pauline aka Hateful Head Helen was a true icon of the Chicago house scene, releasing very self-confident and often very explicit tracks since 1986. But this striking Mike Dunn production shows another side of her, telling a very moving and very bitter story of abuse and wrong love to the girlfriend (and us). „Now I‘m in the hospital. I got a black eye, a sprained arm and one broken leg. I can‘t see him the way I used to, I can‘t hold him the way I want to, and I got thoughts that I want to hop back to him when I get out. Am I crazy? Am I still delirious?“
Junior Vasquez – X (Sound Factory Mix) (Tribal America, 1994)
The Sound Factory was the big room playground of the 90s ballroom scene, and its resident DJ Junior Vasquez was its undisputed and imperious ruler. This pounding track is an example of how he merged DJ Pierre‘s wild pitch sound template with the club‘s floor theatrics and drama, and it is also a tribute and a theme tune to the House of Xtravaganza, and its late house mother Angie.
Rageous Projecting Franklin Fuentes – Tyler Moore Mary (Banji Bite Mix) (Strictly Rhythm, 1995)
Jerel Black working a butch, Todd Terry referencing house track, featuring the notorious Franklin Fuentes relentlessly reading a queen who is probably having a go in the realness category. „I‘m the New York Times, baby. And you‘re Street News. You get the picture?“
„Can You Party“ by Todd Terry in his Royal House guise served as reference in many ballroom house tracks (and also yet again there are samples of other staples like Eddy de Clercq‘s aka House of Venus‘ „Dish And Tell“ and MAW‘s „The Ha Dance“), but it arguably seldom hit as hard as in this Robbie Tronco production. One for the true devils on the floor. „Butch Queen vogueing femme. Butch queen voguing like femme queen. Bring it to the runway.“
The Ones – Flawless (Phunk Investigation Vocal Mix) (Groovilicious, 2000)
The Ones was a triumvirate of the scene veterans Paul Alexander, Nashom Wooden and Jo-Jo Americo, whose „Flawless“ was released in 1999 to little attention. Since the early 90s successes of the game changer RuPaul or the camptastic Army of Lovers attempts to conquer the charts had more or less failed, but then Italian remix duo Phunk Investigation were allowed to have a go at the track, and transformed it into an irresistibly catchy big room house anthem that was frowned upon by musical purists, when actually it was indeed pretty much flawless. After all a glitzy fantasy of fame and beauty on the floor appeals to the majority, or so it became evident. „With amazing grace you walk and smile, they answer to your beck and call, you’re flawless. After all, overqualified for the position, your dreams see fruition. Mere class on a higher plane. Everyone wants to know your name .Just like perfection. Needs no correction. Like no other.“
Aaron-Carl – Hateful (Wallshaker Music, 2004)
The late Aaron Carl surely was a unique phenomenon in the legacy of Detroit techno. Respected by fellow artists and fans locally and internationally, yet determinedly outspoken about every point he felt the need to make about himself and those that stood in his way, and also gifted enough to succeed with every artistic statement he wanted to make. However endearing he could be, he was neither ready to compromise, nor would he ever put up with everything, and „Hateful“ was a fine testament to that. „Tearing down the future, living like the past. If you can‘t tolerate my kind, you can kiss my fucking ass. I‘m feeling hateful, because you think I‘m weak. I give it all, and you take it away from me. I fight fire with fire when I‘m in this state, and if I can‘t find love, I guess I‘ll hate.“
We should probably start at the very beginning. What were your baby steps as a DJ, what led you to being a DJ in the first place?
I think in the first place was the love for music. And I can remember when I was really, really young, with a babysitter, and we’re talking about the days of 45s. The first record that I actually remember and I was spinning was „Spinning Wheel“ by Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Good choice.
You know my family was from Puerto Rico and there was no American music in my house.
It was mostly Latin music?
Only Latin music. And we’re talking about Merengue, Salsa. Folk music from Puerto Rico. And I didn’t like it. And it’s funny because today I appreciate Latin music. Since I became a producer, now I appreciate Latin music for the production, the instrumentation, the musicians, because Latin music is not machine-made, not at all. So the first 45 that was in my house was “Jungle Fever” by Chakachas. My parents had this fucking 45 that was this erotic fucking record. And we’re talking about these stereos that were like these big fucking wooden consoles with the big tuner for the radio and the thing with the record where you put some records in the thing and it dropped one at a time and when it ended the thing drops. It must’ve been when I was about six or seven there was an illegal social club. You know I was living in the ghetto. So there were illegal social clubs that were like a black room, with day-glo spray paint, fluorescent lights to make the paint glow and they had a jukebox. And they’d play the music back then. „Mr. Big Stuff, who do you think you are“. It was all about the O’Jays and that kind of music. And I liked that. I used to sneak downstairs and such.
So when was that?
It was like the late sixties. Because I was born in ’62 so by ’70 that makes I was 8 years old. So it was before that because then I moved. Anyway, so fast forward the first 45 that I liked was the O’Jays. The first 45 I actually bought. And I remember playing that record I a hundred times a day. Putting the bullshit speaker we had in the house outside the window, we lived on the first floor. I played the record to death.
So you played it to the whole neighborhood?
The whole neighborhood. The only record I had really. So then when I graduated elementary school, I used to be into dancing, like the Jackson 5 they had “Dancing Machine”, there were The Temptations and Gladys Knight & The Pips and I liked that music. So then when we got into Junior High School – when I was like 13 years old, I had a girlfriend and we went out when the first DJs came on in the neighborhood, which was like the black DJs. I saw the first two Technics set up and a mixer in someone’s house. I was like “Wow! That’s interesting.” I saw somebody doing this non-stop disco mix and I never knew what that was all about. So, I used to hang out with all my friends. I was a dancer, we used to do all this what we now call breakdancing. We would do battles. So, I had one turntable and my friend would say “David, we hangin’ at my place” and I would play some music for us. So I just was a kid that sat by the stereo with the records and put on the tunes, one at a time. Because back then that’s what it was, you’d play one tune at a time. If it ended, the people clapped and you’d play the next tune. And it was all songs.
How did you proceed from there?
I was one of those kids that used to go to the record store even though I had no money. Just to look at the records. To walk by a store that sold turntables and a mixer and be like “one day, one day…” And I’m not working so I can’t afford to buy anything. My first mixer was a Mic mixer. 1977 there was a blackout in New York and there was a lot of stealing so I came across a radio shack little Mic mixer that I set up to make it work with two turntables. You had to turn two knobs at the same time and it was like mixing braille because there was no cueing. My one turntable had pitch control, the other one had none. I was too young to go to clubs, so I never saw a proper DJ mixing. I only saw people outside, we would have block parties and people would be mixing. And I was one of those kids that was just standing there, watching. The first time I went to a club I was 15 years old, it was Starship Discovery One. It was on 42nd street in Times Square, and we got in. We shouldn’t have got in, but you know it was the end of the club, I was 15 and I got in. The DJ had three Technics, the original 1200s, and a Bozak mixer. The booth was a bubble, and I had my nose at the fucking bubble and I was just mesmerized. The first time I actually played on a real mixer I went to a house party at my friend’s brothers apartment. And in those days, most of the DJs who were really playing were gay DJs. “San Francisco” by the Village People was the big record. But I was into The Trammps, I was into James Brown, I was into Eddie Kendricks, Jimmy Castor Bunch, “The Mexican”, Sam Records and of course Donna Summer and all this kind of stuff. So I went to this house party and he was the DJ, the first proper mixer I saw – this was before I went to that club. And it was a black mixer, it had two faders and it had cueing. So I see the DJ there, he’s using headphones to cue. So my friend says “D, you wanna play some music?” and I’m like “Yeah, sure.” I grabbed the headphones, put them on and I hit the cueing, because I was watching the guy, and I’m hearing some music and and I was like “Oh shit…” When I played at that party, I’d still play how I know how to play, which was braille. Intro, outro. And it wasn’t about mixing. All the new bars at that time were advertising nonstop disco mixes.
It was even mentioned on the record sleeves.
Yes. And all that meant was that the music never stopped. Because before the music used to stop before the next record came in. So now it was continuous. That worked, so here came the name nonstop disco mix. And then at that time all these records started coming out. The disco 45 record. At my junior high school prom “Doctor Love” by First Choice was big. And I remember the guy playing it about four times. So my first 12″ of course was “Ten Percent” by Double Exposure, on Salsoul. Another record that I played to death out the window.
You were still doing that?
I was still doing that. I used to live to just play music. I loved it. I would leave in the morning to go to school because my parents would go to work. I would buy a bag of weed, buy a quart of beer and I would go home. And you know in the old days we had all those buildings where you could really play loud music and I had these stupid double 18 boxes in my fucking bedroom. Before I’d take a piss, I turned my system up. My mother used to be like “turn that music down, turn that music down, turn that music down!”
Did you begin to play out around that time?
Yes, and playing at parties in those days meant you carried your records. Because you didn’t play for two hours, you played the whole party. And the thing is, if you owned 5000 records, you took 5000 records to the party. And in those days we carried milk crates. So here I am carrying eight to ten milk crates to a party. Getting in a car, getting a cab, you have all your friends who would help you going there, but when you’re leaving there is nobody to help. And you had to take the stereo system with you. So you carry the sound system and you carried your records. You took everything. It wasn’t like going somewhere and you just bring your records and they have everything. You had to take everything. I did parties for 15 dollars, for 25 dollars and you had to chase people down for your money.
What kind of events were you doing?
I played in clubs, I did Sweet Sixteens, I did weddings, I did corporate events. I did anything. I also did parties in high school. I would advertise a party, we would bring the sound system to some kid’s house, the parents left to go to work, we’d bring the sound system fast, and I would advertise free beer and free joints. Even 50 people is a lot of people in somebody’s apartment. Imagine we’d take over the apartment and it’s like 10 in the morning and we’d be fucking banging it, banging it, banging it — and we’d get out by 3 in the afternoon before the person’s parents come home. God knows the mess, whatever the case, baby. And in those days the sound system was in the living room, the DJ booth in the bedroom. No monitors, it was just bang bang bang. As I started doing parties at an apartment I used to charge a dollar to get in, decorate the apartment, put up balloons, and it just started with friends. Obviously still free beers, free joints, the whole thing. And like I said, I just loved the music, it was just everything for me. I wanted to play every single day. Even when I didn’t have the equipment, I knew friends that bought decks and a mixer and a small sound system for their house and they weren’t DJs and they used to say “David, come to my house and play music for me.” And I would just die to play, it was just everything for me. Read the rest of this entry »
As soon as the House sound left the local underground and went to the international charts, the Major record labels began scouting its most prominent artists for remix duties. The main motivation was to lend some credibility to mainstream and commercial club music, the same as it was in the Disco era that led up to House music’s pioneering days. A lot of the prolific remixers, particularly those already active throughout the early to mid 80s, could extend their career well into the following era. But there were a lot of additions too, DJs that began in the Disco era and did not give up on dance music when the classic Disco era ended at the end of the 70s, and of course new talent that just found their into the business by supplying the platters that mattered on the floor. And as it happened with Disco, House formed the basis for reworks of Pop originals that managed to surpass the original versions, either in truthful versions that just updated the beats and grooves, or more adventurous flipside dubs that stamped the self-confidence of the studio newcomers all over their source material. Here are some outstanding examples for the interaction of overground and underground.
Jimmy Somerville – Comment Te Dire Adieu (Kevin Saunderson Remix) (London, 1989)
Kevin Saunderson was hot property after the chart success of his project Inner City, but the A&R department at London probably did not enlist him to show off his underground signature of granite beats and excavating basslines, turning Somerville’s charming rendition of the Serge Gainsbourg classic into a Detroit Techno banger of the variety of Saunderson’s aliases such as E-Dancer and Reese. It’s a stunning soundclash of both original version and remix though, and both sides remain in character, and both benefit from each other. As it should be.
De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays” (6:00 AM Mix) (Tommy Boy, 1991)
Not long after Frankie Knuckles and David Morales formed Def Productions they became to 90s New York House what Gamble & Huff were to 70s Philadelphia Soul, and turned in remixes in a sleepless studio schedule, week in week out. What distinguished them from most of their peers was that they managed to maintain a supreme quality standard while at it, for years. Here David Morales reworks De La Soul coming back from the Daisy Age with their feelgood hit for the weekend, offering three superior deep jams that are all equally brilliant. Buy double copies and just zip on by (spinnin’ and winnin’).
The Sugarcubes – Hit (Sweet’N Low Mix) (One Little Indian, 1991)
Björk the icon of clubland was not inaugurated with „Debut“, but with the remix compilation „It’s-It“ by her former band The Sugarcubes. The remixes compiled were a diverse set from which the Tony Humphries versions of „Hit“ and „Leash Called Love“ stood out (well wait, Tommy D’s remix of „Birthday“ is mighty fine as well). The record company even called them „those absurd large Tony Humphries mixes“, and deservedly so. While „Leash Called Love“ is pumping and rolling towards David Morales territory, a spectacular anthem in its own right, „Hit“ has the more typical sound associated with the New Jersey don, with all the unashamedly artificial string pads and tinny beats he so loved to use around that time, and everything about it is completely irresistible. „This wasn’t supposed to happen“, she sang. But it was.
Debbie Gibson – One Step Ahead (Masters At Work Mix) (Atlantic, 1991)
Debbie Gibson preceded the all-american stardom of Britney Spears by a decade, but when she surfaced in the late 80s the only thing that she could stick in my mind was the rather remarkable song title „Electric Youth“. I suspect Masters At Work felt similarly, as they kept literally no elements of the original song in what became one of their most beloved remixes (although there are admittedly quite a few other contenders in their vast discography). This is one for the true school Deep House fraternity, keeping you locked with a simple but unmatched hypnotic chord, while all the other sounds and rhythms come and go, creating a perfect trip that seems to last much longer than its 5 minutes plus.
David Bowie – Real Cool World (Cool Dub Overture) (Warner Bros., 1992)
Credible dance remixes for the original Star Man are surprisingly scarce, and this is arguably the finest. Def Mix’s Satoshi Tomiie at the controls, thankfully not repeating the cardinal error of most rock stars trying to connect with nightlife: mounting generic guitars on a limp dance groundwork. Instead he opts for a rather skippy groove, but his trademark keyboards are arranged immersed enough to keep up the tension for sublime 13 minutes. And don’t you dare touch that intro!
Jamie J. Morgan – Why (Extended Club Mix) (Tabu, 1992)
The contributions of the Buffalo collective to late 80s and early 90s club culture are not to be underestimated (associate Neneh Cherry did not reinvent herself with „Buffalo Stance“ for nothing). Photographer and director Morgan was another core member, and also had a few ventures into pop music. Eric Kupper, the studio wizard responsible for countless New York club classics, turns the original into a silky floating groove, with just about the right amount of floor pressure to not disturb the beauty and sentiment. As always when Eric Kupper works with this very mood, it is untouchable. And again, don’t you dare to touch that intro.
Pet Shop Boys – Can You Forgive Her? (MK Remix) (EMI USA, 1993)
There are many great remixes of Pet Shop Boys songs, but if there is one grudge to hold against them it is that it could have been so many more. Few successful remixers employed for pop artists had a contrasting signature sound such as Detroit’s MK, who turned source material into something completely his own with perplexing regularity. And as expected he turns the boisterous original into a mean and dark swinging groover. There are a lot of speculations on how Marc Kinchen chooses the lyrical content for his trademark vocal loops, but lesser minds would probably have gone for the „she made you some kind of laughing stock, because dance to Disco and you don’t like Rock“ bit. Instead he opted to accompany the breakdown with „Pain. She demands my pain. She demands meet your pain. She demands my bicycle“. This cannot be random, this is pure genius.
Daniela Mercury – O Canto Da Cidade (Murk Boys Miami Mix) (Sony Latin, 1993)
I do not know what led the A&R department at Sony to choose the Murk Boys to remix one of the most popular songs in the oeuvre of one of Brazil’s most popular female singers, maybe somebody thought at least it has something to do with Latin music?! However intended, it was a bold move. As per usual, Miami’s finest ignore whatever anthemic qualities they could have used with the original parts they were given (apart from a puzzling vocal loop worthy of MK), and strip everything down to their tried and tested booming grooves and monolithic basslines. Compare the original to this mix to get a glimpse of how radical and nonchalant you could treat your employers and get away with it. The intro? Do not dare to touch it!
Deee-Lite – Try Me On (Plaid Remix) (Elektra, 1996)
Deee-Lite assembled a diverse array of remixers for their compilation „Sampladelic Relics & Dancefloor Oddities“, but it was Plaid’s mix that seemed to kick them off their holographic hoopty just before they actually disbanded. This is not playfully psychedelic, it is REALLY tripping. Try to imagine the three of them throwing their wonderful stage moves to this eerie low riding sub bass adventure, it is just not happening. But times had changed, and times were not day-glo anymore. But Deee-Lite went out with as much style as they entered.
Mama Cass – Make Your Own Kind Of Music (Yum Club Mix) (MCA Soundtracks, 1997)
Hot on the heels of the soundtrack to „Beautiful Thing“, which consisted almost entirely of songs sung by The Mamas & Papas’ Mama Cass, came this 12“. Louie „Balo“ Guzman was more renowned for the harder variety of the New York House sound of the 90s, but then again a lot of his own productions and remixes already displayed the healthy amount of eccentricity required for the task of transforming a 60s Pop standard into a 90s club anthem. The way he molded the song into a working club track structure is beyond virtuoso, and the added instrumentation even adds to the song’s beauty. You may think this is really tacky (and flutey), but think again. If played at the perfect moment, this record can change lives. I have seen it happen.
The now defunct UK magazine The Face used to end each issue with a one-liner, but when I read the words “Vocals Matter” there sometime in the mid 90s, it deeply afflicted me. Was there really a need to point this out? In fact there was. A vocalist and a song were basic elements of House Music since its early days in the Mid 80s. Which was not really surprising, after all House was a direct continuation of what started in the mid 70s with Soul and then Disco, and instrumentals where the exception, and not the rule. Then Garage House already displayed its origins in its name, the combination of the music played in both New York’s Paradise Garage and Chicago’s Warehouse. But after its heyday in the first half of the 90s, Garage House’s popularity was gradually declining. The clubs got bigger, and the sounds followed suit. The songs, however, seemed to get weaker in the process, and eventually a good tune became the exception. It might be a bit simplistic to argue that it is much easier to produce a good track than a good song, but comparatively there are not many artists left even trying. I am publishing an ongoing chronological series of mixes consisting of personal Vocal House favourites from the past until the present, and I picked a few overlooked gems for this guide.
Dance Advisory Commission – Free Your Mind (Yesterday’s Mix) (12th Avenue Records 1991)
The sole release on this imprint operated by Ben “Cozmo D” Cenac. Produced by David Anthony, who revived this track for a release on Emotive the following year. But the original record has the better versions. Eternal self-liberation on the floor imperatives, carried by a subtle Hip House aftermath breakbeat, which is just effortlessly swinging.
Swing Out Sister – Notgonnachange (Mix Of Drama) (Fontana 1992)
The Def Mix productions cannot be overestimated in Garage House history. 1992 was probably the year that saw more Vocal led House releases than any other year, as the Majors employed an increasing number of club DJs and producers to sprinkle some nocturnal stardust and dancefloor credentials on their chart bound artists. And so you have the most consistent remixer of the genre, Frankie Knuckles, turning UK Blue-Eyed Soulsters into a showstopping symphony of baroque proportions. His way of arranging pianos and strings into lush elegance is really distinct. It is also totally timeless.
Darryl D’Bonneau – Say You’re Gonna Stay (New Generation 1992)
The original masterpiece, hidden on a mini-compilation by a label supposedly affiliated with New Generation, the home of most of the weird and wonderful Larry P. Rauson productions. The track had a second life on Jellybean in 1995, albeit in way less intense versions. The interaction of main and background vocals here is pure perfection, the vocal performance is anyway. The song is an eight minute plea for forgiveness that is beyond par. I would not believe anybody telling me that she actually did not forgive him after hearing this.
K. London Posse Featuring Dawn Tallman – Caught In Luv (Rhythm Mix Vocal) (K4B Records 1994)
From 1993 on Garage House was played to increasingly bigger crowds, and the sweet melodies of former years were now often replaced by a Gospel led urgency, and heavier sounds. Producers like Masters At Work, Mood II Swing or Louie “Balo” Guzman showed the way, and many producers followed. Including Kingsley O., who released a string of high quality records on his K4B label that paired Diva plus team delivery with considerably twisted dubs. Buying double copies to combine both to best effect became mandatory.
Loveland – Hope (Never Give Up) (Junior’s Factory Vocal) (Eastern Bloc Records 1994)
NYC’s Sound Factory was the temple of the new booming Garage House sound, and Junior Vasquez was its adamant high priest. His rules and requirements for his floor are exemplified by this remix, one of many he did in those years. On this occasion riding on the ever reliable Robin S template developed by Sweden’s Finest remix team Swemix/Stonebridge, but adding those tribal rhythms, those rave stabbing chords and particularly introducing that rollercoaster structure that was diminished to one or two drops in recent years. The vocals do not serve not much more purpose than barely holding it all together, but they are still needed.
Brothers’ Vibe Featuring Teddy McClennan – Can U Feel It (Vocal) (Jersey Underground 1996)
The Rodriguez brothers paying their dues to Larry Heard’s eternal classic of a very similar name. It may lack its puzzling blissful emotionality, but it manages to catch up as deep, dark and dubbed out companion and it kicks you mesmerizingly, with your eyes closed, into realms you were probably not yet ready to enter. And you do not even care if you ever get out again.
Urban Soul – What Do I Gotta Do (Eric Kupper Club Mix) (King Street Sounds 1997)
Roland Clark was an early voice of the New Jersey sound back to the very early 90s, his shattered falsetto perfectly accompanied by the dramatic melancholia of his productions. Eric Kupper, man of many a thousand beautiful moments in House Music history, expectedly manages to add further bittersweet intensity to the equation, and a direct route to wailing with the best of them. If you think that House most songs are superficial and one-dimensional, you might just listen to the wrong ones.
The Klub Family – When I Fall In Love (Main Vocal Mix) (Funky People 1998)
There cannot be enough praise for the contributions of Blaze to the canon of songs in House music. Few were as committed to the tradition of Soul within the genre, and few could update said tradition with a sound so distinctively their own. Thus they were an exception when House came into being and they remained an exception for the years to come. Sometime inbetween, they helped to pave the way to the more spiritual and conscious sound celebrated at NYC clubs such as The Shelter and Body & Soul, and then they ruled it. Never ever write them off.
After a productive but rather short period on DJ International in the early 90s, Craig S. Loftis reappeared with this stunning record (the Blaze inspired “You Are All I Need” from one year later is also well worth tracking down). At that time Joe Smooth had vanished from my radar as well, but even if they had only done this one tune, I would be forever grateful. The way this track maintains a floating excellence over such a monolithic funked up groove is just incredible. And then comes the dub version, and you better watch out.
Big Moses – Deep Inside (Vocal) (Big Moe Records 2004)
Moise Laporte is best known for his sublime “Brighter Days” from 1996, but I cannot recommend this record enough either. I really despise a lot of “Soulful Garage” for its bland Pseudo-Jazz drenched noodlings but here all wrong musicianship temptations are kept in check for a well-balanced sophisticated groover straight for the Modern Soul floor. May the girls and boys keep on swinging, and may the faith be kept.
In discussion with DJ Fett Burger on “Homework” by Daft Punk (1996).
How did „”Homework”“ found its way to your years? Was it by coincidence, or did you seek it out on some recommendation?
It was totally by a coincidence. I think it was back in the fall or winter of 1996 or something, I can’t really remember. My brother and me were listening to the radio one evening in the kitchen. Back then, we always listened to the radio when we were eating or hanging out, usually making drawings. In Norway around the time it was a channel called NRK P3. It’s still around, and it was one of the main National broadcasting channels. There were three of them. NRK P1 the original, NRK P2 mostly for culture, and NRK P3 for the younger generation. This station was aiming for a younger audience – but in a very different way than today. They used to have a broad selection of different programs. My favorite was the programs in the morning and afternoon because they had a lot of intelligent humor and also sometimes pushed things a bit further in terms of what was socially acceptable, at least back then. In the evenings, six days a week, they had different shows dedicated to music belonging to a certain scene or niche. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it was Roxrevyen, which later became Karlsens Kabin, and Hal 9000. Karlsens Kabin mainly covered indie music, but also electronic music. Hal 9000 with Harald Are Lund was a broad selection of rock, electronic and experimental music with a very open minded approach. A lot of older things got played as well. Friday, it was National Rap Show with Tommy Tee, Hip Hop concentration mostly on early nineties East Coast Hip Hop. And then, Saturday, it was DJ Dust with Funk and Disco, DJ Strangefruit with his eclectic selections, and later in the evening DJ Abstract with mostly House and Techno. On Sunday it was Chill Out with DJ Friendly in the morning and Ambolt on Sunday evening, which was dedicated to Metal and harder Rock. Overall, NPK P3 had a pretty broad selection of music from different scenes. It provided a great musical education for when you are young and from a small Norwegian town. These programs were so dedicated to their scene, they always played a lot of demos or unreleased music. Karlsens Kabin and Hal 9000 played some of our oldest music, even things only made on CD-R, so it was a very supportive scene on the radio back then. You can just imagine how crazy it was for us back then being played on national radio!
OK, now back to the question. First time I heard something from Daft Punk was through Karlsens Kabin or Roxrevyen as it was called then. It was a mid-week evening, and suddenly “Around The World” was on the radio. This was before it was a big hit, and before people knew what Daft Punk was. It was probably a radio promo that was played or something like that.
It just blew my mind at the time. Back then it was so cool, different, even strange. Right after they played the song, they said the name and title of the song. And one second later I forgot it all, except the song. But a few months later, Daft Punk was everywhere with “Da Funk” and “Around The World” on MTV all day long.
Do you like the album as a whole, or are there personal highlights, or even tracks you do not like as much?
I like the album as a whole. Before when it was new, you could hear the hits everywhere, so I was pretty familiar with them. I remember when my brother and I got the album. It was an interesting listening experience, since most of the tracks were actually not hits or mainstream material. For instance, “Rollin’ & Scratchin’, “High Fidelity”, “Rock’n Roll”, “Indo Silver Club”, “Alive” or the intro “Wdpk837 Fm.” But, since everything was on the album, it just became associated with something mainstream.
Now it’s a classic of course, but back then, it was the combination of making something catchy, a bit more demanding, and for a scene. In this case, obviously House and Techno. You can hardly say that something is demanding or edgy on the album anymore, because of its place in music history. I think there still are some tracks that are edgy. Back then, for a 15-year-old kid without any experience, this was a big and new thing. Just imagine what influence this had. I remember even in the beginning, I didn’t like “Rollin’ & Scratchin.’ However, it changed after I gained more of an understanding for where the song and its influences came from.
For me, the whole album is a personal highlight. There are different vibes to the tracks and your mood shifts. Some songs are more uplifting, some more mellow, and some noisy or slow. But everything is a favorite of mine in different ways. They all have different elements of influences for me in terms of musical education. The whole album is a favorite of mine. Everything, from how the sound is mixed, the way Daft Punk samples, the artwork aesthetic, the music videos and Daft Punk’s anonymity at the time. It’s a whole package, and I embraced it all. I loved it all and still do!Read the rest of this entry »
The Slits – In The Beginning There Was Rhythm (1980)
At the age of 15, Neneh Cherry was introduced to seminal feminist Post Punk group The Slits by her stepfather Don Cherry, and joined them for a brief period, providing backing vocals on several tracks, including this one. The Slits were integral to the early days of UK’s Punk scene, but they quickly became musically adventurous beyond that and incredibly funky as well, further aided by producer Dennis Bovell’s dub expertise. Edginess was rarely as charming, but The Slits had loads of attitude to boot. One can assume that Neneh Cherry took her clues from the experience.
Rip, Rig & Panic – Those Eskimo Women Speak Frankly (1981)
The next band Cherry joined was a Bristol collective that included two members of the legendary Pop Group. Their music was a feverish mix of Punk Funk, avantgarde elements and Jazz. As with The Slits, Don Cherry was a collaborator, but his stepdaughter was more to the core, switching to lead vocals and displaying the mixture of charismatic Soul and Rap stylings that would make her famous later on. But before that, Neneh Cherry briefly retired to become a young mother, and the band fell apart. In 1983 the band reformed with Neneh Cherry under the name Float Up CP, and released one album, then fell apart again. But if you find a band in those years with a constant line-up, it might have been dull anyway. Rip Rig & Panic sure were not.
Raw Sex, Pure Energy – Give Sheep A Chance (1982)
After collaborating with On-U Sound’s mighty New Age Steppers, Cherry teamed up with its bass guitarist George Oban and the drummer of 70s Fusion Jazz band Karma, Joe Blocker. They covered Edwin Starr’s Motown standard „Stop The War Now“ in reaction to the Falklands War, and „Give Sheep A Chance“ is its wonderful icy computerized dub version on the flip, sheep noises included. In the years leading up to the next entry, Neneh Cherry also became a pirate radio DJ, danced in a Big Audio Dynamite video, and duetted marvellously on The The’s „Slow Train To Dawn“.
Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance (1988)
Neneh Cherry, the pop star. Seven months pregnant with her second child but rampant with energy, she performed this ever infectious song on Top Of The Pops and stormed the top ten. „Buffalo Stance“ was referencing Malcolm McLaren’s Gals, stylist Ray Petri’s fashionable collective, and was in fact a cover version of a Stock, Aitken & Waterman produced single by her future husband Cameron McVey from two years earlier, where she already rapped about „Looking Good Diving With The Wild Bunch“ on the B-side. And the famed Bristol sound system was indeed involved with the accompanying „Raw Like Sushi“ solo debut album, as were McVey and Tim Simenon of Bomb The Bass fame at the controls. In 1988 Hip Hop and House still looked at each other and the UK club scene was vibrant, as documented by magazines like I-D, The Face and Blitz. Neneh Cherry was styled by Judy Blame and photographed by Jena-Baptiste Mondino rather iconically, but underlying were lyrics that dissed gigolos and moneymen and celebrated female self-esteem. So don’t you get fresh with her!
Neneh Cherry – Manchild (1988)
Neneh Cherry telling the boys some more news (albeit with a bit more sympathy), in a fantastic downtempo song co-written by Cameron McVey and Robert Del Naja AKA 3D of The Wild Bunch, and soon-to-be Massive Attack (fellow member of both Mushroom provided a booming remix). In the rather weird video she proudly sports her now born second child Tyson and a further refined fly girl outfit with a pair of cycle shorts that were de rigeur in 1989. Ok, men mostly wore the matching cycle tops. The „cause I believe in miracles, words in heavy doses“ ending still rules supreme.
Neneh Cherry – I’ve Got You Under My Skin (1990)
This a contribution to „Red, Hot & Blue“, an AIDS charity compilation on which several artists covered Cole Porter songs. AIDS was still spreading fast, and given the topic the title is very well picked, with Neneh Cherry rapping an introduction that makes it very clear that it is not only love creeping through the body, but also very lethal disease. The heavy and brooding downbeat groove already foreshadows Massive Attack’s „Blue Lines“ album, to which she would also contribute. The video by Mondino is appropriately dark, without any misplaced pretensions. „Share the love, don’t share the needle“, it ends.
Neneh Cherry – Buddy X (1992)
Lifted from her second album „Homebrew“, Cherry again adresses men that like to play around, wrapping her criticism of male hypocrisy and infidelity with fetching Hip Hop pressure. The song still features prominently in club playlists due to its Class A Masters At Works remixes. At the height of their powers they apply their raw swing to a groove that most successfully merges Hip Hop and House sophistication, without ever distracting from the message. Deadly dubs, too.
Youssou N’Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds (1994)
Neneh Cherry collaborates with the famous Senegalese singer for a moving celebration of humanity without prejudice. By then the combination of a downbeat and dramatic strings had almost become stereotypical, but the trilingual „7 Seconds“ still proves why it became so efficient in the first place. First, you need a good song. Second, you need good performers. Third, you will see that the tried and tested arrangement will even up the ante. The stylish monochromatic video was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, and it works.
Neneh Cherry & The Thing – Dream Baby Dream (2012)
Neneh Cherry works with a Scandinavian Jazz trio that named itself after her stepfather. She was a longtime Scandinavian resident and Jazz has a healthy tradition there, it should not have come as a surprise. But after a long hiatus from recording music, it was. The resulting album consisted mainly of well chosen cover versions that seem to stand for Cherry’s whole life in music. They are interpreted quite freely, and Cherry still delivers. Take her version of Suicide’s No Wave classic „Dream Baby Dream“ for example. In my ears it rather sounds like her very early days than former pop star croons the standards for Christmas.
Neneh Cherry – Everything (2014)
The overdue comeback as solo performer, with an album of material that mourns the death of her mother in 2009. Four Tet is at the helm, and his sparse production focusses on rhythmic textures and subtle electronic arrangements, performed by Rocketnumbernine. The album decidedly neglects pop obligations and Neneh Cherry is evidently very motivated, and even if her songs here are very personal, they sure are engaging as well. The remixers on duty for „Everything“, Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer, must have agreed, as they already let the song seep into their trademark Micro House jam setup after only two and a half minutes.
RuPaul – Strüdel Model Masters At Work – The Ha Dance (Pumpin’ Dubb) The Ride Committee Feat. Roxy – Love To Do It (Sandy’s Favorite Mix) The Moonwalkers – 10000 Screamin’ Faggots (In The Life Extended Mix) Club 69 – Warm Leatherette (Quick Mix) Rageous Projecting Kevin Aviance – Cunty (Party Mix) G-Bravo Presents Miss Fernando – Serve (Original Dirty Club Mix) Junior Vasquez & The Spastic Babies – Nervaas (Nervaas Dub) Urban Discharge Feat. She – Drop A House (Deep Tribal Mix) Junior Vasquez -X ( Junior’s Dub) Fierce Ruling Diva – Atomix Rageous Projecting Franklin Fuentes – Tyler Moore Mary (Banji Bite Mix) Tronco Traxx – Runway (Grease Monkey Drag Queen Mix) Frank Ski – Tony’s Bitch Track (Original Dirty Version) Tronco Traxx – Walk 4 Me (Wanka Mix) Tronco Traxx – Walk 4 Me Q-Marc – It’s Time 2 Walk The Runway Whatever, Girl – Activator (You Need Some) (Jheri Curl Sucker Wearin’ High Heeled Boots Mix) The Ride Committee Feat. Roxy – Curtains For You Morel’s Grooves – Down To The Waistline (Honey) Boogie Balo – Chocolate & Peanut Butter (DJ Double Dee Hunts Point 7AM Coco Mix) DJ Vibe Feat. Franklin Fuentes – I’ll Take You (The Classic Twisted Mix) Kevin Aviance – Join In The Chant Delicious Inc. – Eau De Chanté (For Men) Uncanny Alliance – I’m Beautiful Dammitt (3rd Vox Floor Mix) A.D.A.M – Children Of The Night (Part 1) The Look Feat. Franklin Fuentes – March (Rave Tip Mix) Moi Rene – Cum 4 Me Bitch (Dub Vocal) Ralphi Rosario Pres. Xaviera Gold – You Used To Hold Me (The Trancesexual Dub) The Look – Glammer Girl (Bochinche Prelude Ballroom Mix Moog Reprise) Hex Hector Presents Pres. Ground Control – Absolutly Fabulous (The Full Runway Mix) Temple Of Vinyl – C’mon Miss Thang (Fierce Mix) Byrd Bardot – Bardot Swing (Ralphi Rosario’s Cha Cha Mix) Roxy & The Effects – The Art Of Sampling (Dub) The Ride Committee Feat. Roxy – Accident (Todd Edwards Dub) The Ride Committee Feat. Roxy – Get Huh RuPaul – A Shade Shady (DJ Pierre Club Mix) Jack And Jill – Go Miss Thing (Club Mix) Jack And Jill – Work It Girlfriend (Morning Mix) RuPaul – Back To Roots (Murk’s Curl Activator Mix) Fierce Men On Wax – Go Girl (Fierce Groove Mix) Uncanny Alliance – I Got My Education (Ken Lou Extended Mix) Karen Finley – Tales Of Taboo (80 Factory Mix) DJ Sneak – Fierce (Queen’s Anthem) Danny Extravaganza – Love The Life You Love (Le Palage Mix) Miss Tony – Release Yourself (Funky Fingers UK Master Mix) I.M.T. – I.M.T. Theme (Miss Girl Hopes 2 Become Mix) The Daou – Surrender Yourself (Factory Reprise) Size Queen Feat. Paul Alexander – Walk (Paul’s Groove) RuPaul – Supermodel (Couture Mix) Bette Midler – I’m Beautiful (Brinsley Evans Back To The Scene Of The Crime Mix)
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