Mix for the fine All City label from Dublin. For no particular reason I decided to contribute a mix with Hip House instrumentals.
Doug Lazy – Let It Roll – (Dub Version) Reg Raw – I’m Housin’ (Pump It Go Dub) Lord KCB – I’m Housin’ It (Dub Version) Royal Party – Can You Party (Instrumental Dub) Long Fellow – This Is Penis (Instr.) Brooklyn Funk Essentials – Change The Track (Brooklyn Bomb Dub) Faheem – Must Be The Music Dub Laurent X – It’s Magic (Funkstrumental) Too Nice – I Git Minze (Extended Dub Mix) Kraze – The Party (Tunnel Mix) Cool House – Rock This Party Right (Tyree’s Beats 4 Now Mix) Mix ‘n’ Tel – Feel The Beat (Instrumental Mix) Fast Eddie – Yo Yo Get Funky (Woo Yea!) Fast Eddie – Yo Yo Get Funky (Use To Hearin’) Rashiid – I Go To Work (Supermix) Mix Masters Feat. MC Action – It’s About Time (Tyree Cooper Mix) Tyree Feat. J.M.D. – Move Your Body (Tyree Lost His Vocals Mix) Tyree – Turn Up The Bass (Instrumental) Tyree – House Music Is My Life (Instrumental Mix) Precious – In Motion (Dub Dub-Rob Hanning Mix) Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – Get On The Dance Floor (The Surgical Sky King Dub) KC Flightt – Jump For Joy (Underground Dub) Doug Lazy – H.O.U.S.E. (Red Zone Mix) 2 In A Room – Do What You Want (Morales Slammin’ Dub Mix) Fast Eddie – Make Some Noise (Joe Smooth’s Club Instrumental Mix) Maurice – This Is Acid (Deep Dub)
I must admit that I did not buy that much Drum and Bass in its mid 90s heyday. I simply loved too much of it, thus it seemed purchasing what I loved would drain my budget for good, as there was enough already going on elsewhere I needed to keep track of. I bought a whole lot of mixtapes though, trying to devour the most and best of it as it was intended to shine. I applied the same pattern with Dubstep as well later on. There were just too many interesting records to add the them to the shopping list I already had week in week out. I went to nights, bought some mixtapes again, kept in touch. But then some day 5 years ago, I was going up the stairs to Hard Wax, and DJ Pete was booming this over the store PA. With every step up I became convinced more and more that this was not like anything I heard in either Drum and Bass and Dubstep so far, yet it sounded like it belonged to both, but it had very determined sound aesthetics more linked in my mind to Techno as well. The half time tempo had me confused at first. Of course you could always mix Drum And Bass or Dubstep with slower paced downtempo tracks, but this particular track seemed to be built for the purpose, only the other way round. Its beats were really heavy, yet agile. It’s atmosphere dark, yet totally engaging. The vocals floating above, adding still to the austerity. I asked what it was, and bought it instantly. There will be a time you will drop this, and it will do serious damage, I thought. I was right. I also fucked up my budget by extending my purchasing schemes to this area, for years to come. Sometimes, you just have to give in.
One thing I really enjoy when DJing is sequencing tracks that use the same samples, or combine them with the material it was sampled from on top. The same goes for tracks with similar sounds, and of course you find the most similar sounds if you takes a closer look at a certain producer’s output. I have a very weak spot for the eccentrics of House music and Chicago’s Curtis Jones is among my favourite from that species. I have a weak spot for spoken vocals in House tracks as well, particularly if they exceed mere dancefloor imperatives or spiritual togetherness stuff, or embarrassing sexual posing. Well, Curtis Jones is well smart and hip enough to perform the latter with tolerable style and humour. So I was flicking through my archives of 90’s Chicago House 12″s for a recent gig at Panoramabar a few days ago, and I remembered that several tracks produced by Jones used the sound template made so famous by the “Underground Trance” version of Cajmere’s “Brighter Days”. The other that instantly came to mind was “Chit Chat”, it took a while longer to come up with “Believe In Me”. All three tracks sound very similar, but have a very different lyrical content. I decided to play “Chit Chat”, “Believe In Me”, and then “Brighter Days” in succession, and together they form a really weird narrative. Of course the majority of the people on the floor have enjoyed the music more than the tracks’ twisted little story, but that is perfectly fine. Not every point you make has to hit home. But it is important to make a few points throughout a set, for me at least. I also played a few early 90’s NYC sample House tracks that sample Yazoo’s “Don’t Go”, but none were too obvious, and I forgot to bring Yazoo’s “Don’t Go”. Next time.
For the majority of releases in club music history, rhythm is a crucial ingredient. Two of the labels included in this mix even proudly carry it in their brand names – Strictly Rhythm & Rhythm Beat. But, in most of the said releases, rhythm is the backbone, the carrier for other sounds that establish the groove – basslines, keyboards, pads, vocals etc. Yet, the rhythm is prominently dictating the pace, taking turns and breaks, sometimes even shifting in tempo. Especially in the late 80’s to early 90’s, House and Techno often had music on a record’s tracklist that was originally destined only for skillful DJs – bonus beats, rhythm tracks, instrumental versions. Some only formed a reprise of the original material, taking up some of its key sounds for mixing double copies into little symphonies. Some were only the rhythmic skeleton of the original, displaying little more than beats, claps, percussion. Most of them were only a small portion of the original track in terms of length as well. Then there were original tracks that were just interested in being rhythm and not much else. Reducing a track to its very basics in the process, and neglecting the musical elements that, in most ears. make a track a TRACK. For some, that might be too little to attract attention, but for others, that might be all that matters. If well programmed and arranged, pure rhythm is just that: something pure. Something engaging, too. Something that can knock you out of your natural habits of listening. Something that urges you to move. Something where the rhythm is just a part of the whole picture.
While I went through my shelves recently to select records for a gig, I stumbled upon several records that had: a) basic rhythm tracks in a DJ tool sense b) tracks that were just made out of rhythmic elements or c) bonus beats and versions of regular dance tracks. Some of these tracks were just astounding, even if they did not much more than show what then young kids could jam together with their Rolands, or showing off that their tracks were still extraordinary with all the juicy bits and arrangements left out. It struck me that such tracks still exist, but way less than before. In some cases, producers may not want to spread out their ideas for tracks that only few people use or listen to, and DJs may not require it any longer anyway, because they can extract every element of a track with software and loop it into infinity if they want to, without even setting their drink aside. This mix, however, is not for showing how you make extended versions with bonus beats, or how you beef up a track with a different rhythm tool underneath. It is a tribute to the bonus beats and rhythm tracks on their own. That beatin’ rhythm Richard Temple once sang about in a revered Northern Soul song, albeit without hearing a drummer get wicked, but a drum machine.
There are enough great tracks around to record several sequels to this mix, and it is well worth digging for your own personal favourites. I might do a sequel with just the acapellas I found in the process. But that’s another story.
The Druffalo Hit Squad boldly went to wild places, persuaded a ridiculously famous high class DJ to contribute, emanated lysergically to the roots of lysergic, came out of the shadows and looked to the light, lived the pop life to a 4/4 beat, had a three hour tempo downer, went holiday reminiscing, went sailing, said yeah forever, kept waiting for it to come in a double feature stylee, were all drama, were humbly militant, made goth balearic, took eclecticism to the sewer, said that vocals matter, kissed the duke goodbye, called for last orders twice, shed a tear for Levi, danced the art school dance forever, cooked up a storm, gentrified the hood, raved Canada, raved UK, proposed a toast, made an urgent call, continued the mission to save hip hop, raved New York, cut some beards, cut some more beards, went down, went up, heard Frankie say “horny”, raved Detroit, raved Continental Europe, hailed BB one time, hailed BB two time, lit the lighter, raved Chicago, went a bridge too far.
Bangles – Eternal Flame Cube – Concert Boy Joe Jackson – Steppin’ Out Robert Palmer – Johnny And Mary Men Without Hats – I Got The Message Devo – That’s Good Toyah – Echo Beach Fehlfarben – Agenten In Raucherkinos Dislocation Dance – With A Reason Martha And The Muffins – Danseparc Shock – Dynamo Beat The Wirtschaftswunder – Junge Leute Lene Lovich – Lucky Number Yello – Pinball Cha Cha It’s Immaterial – Ed’s Funky Diner It’s Immaterial – Ed’s Funky Diner Freur – Doot Doot The Lotus Eaters – The First Picture Of You Matia Bazar – Elettrochoc Ennio Morricone – Metti, Una Sera A Cena Godley & Crème – Under Your Thumb Real Life – Catch Me I’m Falling Kamille – Days Of Pearly Spencer Au Pairs – Headache Electric Chairs – J’attends Les Marines Kim Fowley – Searching For A Human In Tight Blue Jeans Devo – Going Under Heaven 17 – Excerpts From Diary Of A Contender Pat Benatar – Love Is A Battlefield Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft – Als wär’s das letzte Mal The Woodentops – Last Time
In discussion with Ken Vulsion on “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division (1980).
How did you first come across “Love Will Tear Us Apart”? Was it love at first sight the time it was originally released, or did you get to know it later on?
I grew up in a sleepy part of New York State. There was little access to new, alternative music there in the 80’s. Every Tuesday there was a New Wave radio show on the Ithaca College radio station, the DJ was Mike Weidner. He played “Love Will Tear Us Apart” on that show, which I recorded to cassette. This would have been in 1981 or 82. It was love at first listen.
The song is generally considered to be one of the best songs ever written. Did you have the notion that this song is exceptional, or was it just another song you liked very much?
It is exceptional. The newness and truth has never faded.
It seems that a lot of people attach very personal feelings to “Love Will Tear Us Apart”? Is it the same with you? Does the song offer more ties with the listener than others?
I was 18 and in a doomed love affair at the time, so it is full of associations – though I can now enjoy it as a perfect pop object, without feeling heart torn.
Would you say that “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a perfect pop song in terms of composition? Is the music just catchy or does it also have other, maybe even more significant qualitities?
I think at its core there is a perfect piece of pop craft. But it is the execution that it is so unique. Just compare the original to Paul Young’s version (which I also like for my own perverse reasons!).
What place does “Love Will Tear Us Apart” hold in the works of Joy Division? Was it the exception to the rule or a logical consequence?
Certainly a standout, though I certainly have new favourites. When Anton Corbijn’s film “Control” came out I got really into Joy Division again, such a great little film. The same when “24 Hour Party People” came out, there were some songs that really stood out (another great pop music movie!!).
Would you like more music to sound this complex, meaning that a song can be sad, beautiful and wonderful at the same time?
Yes!
Of course it is absolutely not possible to separate the song from Ian Curtis. A lot of the fascination of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” lies within his personality, and the way he sings about these very intimate problems affecting his life. Yet it seems other of his lyrics are hinting more at the trouble he was really going through than these. How much of the song’s power actually stems from listeners relating to this analysis of a dysfunctional relationship, and how much stems from the legend surrounding his early death? Or is it both?
I wasn’t aware of Joy Division until after Ian’s death. Some of the lyrics (i.e. ‘were my failings exposed’) got into my head because of my own confusion in dealing with a first, difficult love and suicidal feelings. Ian’s own suicide amplifies every word.
Do you think that the song’s lyrics contain more hints at other of his problems than the description of his disintegrating marriage? Or are such interpretations just the consequence of his early death?
Some of his biography was unknown to me then (his struggle with epilepsy). Back then I was into the song, but not a “fan”….I didn’t own a Joy Division t-shirt.
A lot of Joy Divison’s legacy seems to based on him being handsome and charismatic, his distinctive voice and of course his actual suicide. Thus he became his generation’s prime example of the tortured artist. Is this unfairly neglecting his true abilities as an artist? And is his status just based on the fact that he died, or is there more to it? Was he as gifted as he was tragic?
I think the work holds up regardless, same with Kurt Cobain or River Phoenix. The ‘twice as bright’ flame club.
I always felt that “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is already part New Order part Joy Division, even if at the time it was written there was of course only Joy Division. Do you think the band could have made a change of direction musically towards a less darker sound if Ian Curtis would have lived on, or was the sound of Joy Divison always dependent on its singer’s condition?
The sound lived on and evolved. “Your Silent Face” by New Order is an interesting bookend to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” Softer vocal, sleeker production, but still that raw sad emotion.
I always found it very impressive how the rest of the band decided to carry on without him. At first they still clinged to the previous band but then they really re-invented themselves. Did you feel they had the potential to achieve this around the time it became clear that they would not stop?
New Order existed by the time I first heard “Love Will Tear Us Apart” so that timeline doesn’t exist for me. I may have bought the Arthur Baker version of “Confusion” before the 7″ of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”.
Tony Wilson, the head of Factory Records, was at first very concerned that Bernard Sumner would take up the part of the singer. But then he managed to develop a performer persona of his own, and the band did so, too. Do you think this was out of defiance, or was it out of trust in their own abilities? Or did it just evolve?
At the time I was singing lead vocals in a few bands (Identity Confusion and XOX were two of them LOL). I had an almost distorted confidence. I was shy, but defiant enough to get up in front of a small town crowd in leather jeans. Defiance can be a great motivator.
Since then, both Joy Division and New Order built up a legendary status in music history. Do you think their legacy can be told apart, or are they one and the same in the pop music’s canon by now, just with different phases?
Since everything happened so fast, the bands will always be connected.
Apparently Joy Division underwent a severe crisis due to Curtis’ condition. Do you think it could have happened that the others would have continued without him anyway?
Hard to say. Crisis is part of the band dynamic usually.
Are their elements of New Order that still owe to Joy Division, apart from being the succeeding band?
Maybe they were able to use the death as an opportunity to shift into a new direction.
On the other hand, would Ian Curtis have done a seminal track like “Blue Monday”?
I wonder if he was much into dance music. He was a very interesting dancer.
If “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is the timeless classic in Joy Division’s back catalogue, what would be New Order’s?
For sure “Blue Monday”. It’s perfection. And the record is a perfect object, just like “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. The sleeve designs by Peter Saville are sublime. He was as much a rock star to me back then as Ian.
Do you think it would be possible that another band would write a song similar to “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, and it would become as lasting, or will this history not repeat itself?
I live for new music that affects me as much. So, yes!
In discussion with Modyfier on “Twin Peaks” by Angelo Badalamenti (1990).
What was your first encounter with Angelo Badalamenti? Did you notice the music when “Twin Peaks” was originally aired?
It was when the first season debuted in the spring of 1990. I was eleven and used to watch the show regularly with my parents. It made quite an impression on me. It was around that time that I started to become aware of abstractions and my mind wandered into the incredible world of intangible things. The show was the perfect guide, pulling me further into this exploration. I’d like to say that I didn’t notice the music apart from the imagery (because together, I think they make up the show), but I can’t. The first season soundtrack (on cassette) was one of the earliest albums I ever bought. I loved the access the music provided. Listening to it, I’d immediately be transported to Twin Peaks.
Did you have the instant impression that your fascination with the soundtrack would outlast the TV experience as a singular work of art? Can it be held apart from the series?
“Twin Peaks” is best when experienced the way it was meant to be: as a moving picture with sound. While it is possible for each to exist without the other, they lack full form. For example, if you listen to the soundtrack on its own, it is constantly evoking imagery from the show. It reaches out for it, plucking it ripe from the memory branches of your mind. Badalamenti is successful in painting Lynch’s vision precisely with his composition.
As far as my ‘fascination’ with the soundtrack, I’d reiterate that I think it is best when listened to in the context of the show. For that reason, I don’t think it has outlasted the experience of the series. The characters and places have a dark beauty and frank oddity that are created as equally by Badalamenti’s music as they are by Lynch’s imagery and narration. For me, the soundtrack is so much more than merely associative. There is a symbiosis that makes me think cymatics are at play. When things are put into motion in “Twin Peaks” (when characters and places interact in different combinations) events begin to happen that are outside of the rational. A door is opened into an unexplainable dimension that is conveyed through the important combination of picture and sound.
In discussion with Justin Strauss on “Computer World” by Kraftwerk (1981).
Can you still remember the first time you ever heard Kraftwerk?
Yes. I think the first time I heard them I was 17 years old, in England, recording an album for Island Records with the band I was in at the time, Milk n Cookies. I heard the song “Autobahn” on the radio there and remember thinking how different and cool it sounded than anything else out there. I bought a copy of the 7″ while I was there.
What made you decide for “Computer World” out of the many legendary albums? Do you agree with many critics and fans that they were at there creative peak with this?
Although I love all their albums, “Computer World” for me was just the best. Perfect in every way. I totally agree that this was their “masterpiece”.
The first one is by Rinder and Lewis – “Lust”, which is kind of a space disco prototype so to say. For 1977 it was kind of a landmark record I guess.
For 1977, yes. I suppose Rinder and Lewis were a very prolific production team in the 70s and 80s. They made an awful lot of records, a lot of albums. That’s probably one of their most moody tracks. A lot of their stuff has got a 1920s, big band, Charleston influence to it. But I like a lot of their stuff. But some of it is unusual in its arrangement. That one’s got a slightly more mystical vibe to it.
Would you say they tried to explore their field a bit further with this record? You mentioned that a few of the other productions had certain influences, like the latin stuff for example. But this one is really something different, almost science fiction.
Yes, but that’s quite different from the rest of the “Seven Deadly Sins” album. I reckon it wasn’t a track that was made to be a hit. It was probably considered an album track. But with that weird bit in the middle with the glockenspiel, it goes into a sort of devil bit about two thirds of the way through. Which is very out of character with the rest of the record. But what I think is interesting about that is that you don’t get those sort of unexpected bits in records now. I guess when musicians are making records, it’s very different to when DJs are making records. Now, when DJs make records they just tend to have the same stuff going throughout the track, it just loops round and round. Maybe there might be some changes, but there’s nothing drastic coming in really loud. A bad DJ produced record might just be a bit boring, whereas a bad record from the 70s might have a great verse and a really terrible chorus. Or you might have something really cheesy. A lot of records now are just rhythm tracks made by DJs for mixing and whatever, whereas then you might have records that have got loads in them, maybe too much. But the reason that they’re not great is maybe because they’ve got too much in them. They might have some great musical parts, but the vocals are crap. I think I’m digressing a little bit. A lot of Rinder and Lewis stuff – have you got that album “Discognosis”?
No, I know the THP Orchestra stuff which I found really good.
Yeah, and there’s El Coco and Le Pamplemousse. I like that track. It’s always very well orchestrated, they always had a bit of money to make the records. It wasn’t done on a shoestring budget, they must have sold pretty well. I think El Coco’s “Cocomotion” is one of my favourites by them as well. Obviously a lot of the stuff on AVI was produced by them, they were putting out a lot of music. They must have lived in the studio in 76, 77, 78, 79.
This is also a really good example for what you can do if you’re a good arranger – the arrangements they did are really complex and beautiful. Is that something you miss? You talked of modern rhythm tracks and functionality – I think it’s hard to pull off these days because you don’t have budgets for studio work…
Yeah of course. I suppose you have to think, this is now and that was then. Record sales were much higher, I suppose disco was like r’n’b was 5 years ago in terms of its worldwide popularity. So there was a lot more money, obviously there weren’t downloads or people copying CDs. I don’t know what the sales figures were like of something like Rinder and Lewis, but it probably sold half a million or something like that. It’s a completely different time, in terms of being able to get a string section in for your record. I’ve paid for string sections before, but to be honest with you what I’ve found is a string section with 30-40 people is so different to a string section with 7 or 8 people. I’ve only been able to afford 6 or 7 people. It isn’t really a string section! Nowadays, with CD-ROMs and whatever you can make something that sounds pretty good – not the same – but pretty good with just samples. To really make it sound a lot better, you need a 30-40 piece, big room orchestra. People at Salsoul and a lot of them classic disco records had that big proper string arrangement. Also, paying someone to do the arrangement isn’t cheap if you get someone good. Very difficult to do that now. So yeah, I do miss it. But there’s no point missing something, it’s like saying “Oh, I wish they were still making Starsky and Hutch”.
As long as a glimpse of an orchestra won’t do, it doesn’t make sense?
I think the only it could make sense is if George Michael decides to make a disco album, or someone like that. He could afford it. Or Beyonce. Some big star. But your average dance record – I suppose Jamiroquai had some live strings on some of his stuff. But then again, he was selling a lot of records.
Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes (Warner Bros. Inc., 1979)
“What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers, which is a merger of rock and disco.
There’s other tracks, like the Alessi Brothers “Ghostdancer”… I suppose that just shows how popular disco music must have been at the time when people like The Doobie Brothers and Carly Simon were actually making disco records. I suppose it’s the same as nowadays people making a record with a more r’n’b type beat. Or at the beginning of house music, there were lots of pop acts making house records. I was listening to a best of ABBA a few years ago. It started off sort of glam-rock, sort of sweet, like Gary Glitter, that sort of production. And by the late seventies their stuff had got pretty disco-ey. And by 82 it was folky. So I think the disco beat was just featuring on a lot of productions by acts who just wanted to make a contemporary sounding record. That’s probably why a lot of the American rock establishment hated disco so much. It wasn’t just that it was there: their favourite acts were making disco records! They hated the fact the Rolling Stones made disco records, it just wasn’t allowed.
But the thing is, that when the disco boom ended, a lot of the rock acts who made disco records acted like they never did! They deserted it pretty quickly.
Yeah, once it became uncool they pretended they never liked it, it wasn’t their idea and all that. I tried to once do a compilation album of that sort of stuff. But it’s too difficult to license it all. They’re all on major labels, they’re all big acts, and it’s very hard to license that stuff. In fact I’d go as far as to say it’s impossible: just too difficult and expensive.
Was it just because of budget reasons, or because the acts didn’t want to be reminded of what they did in that area?
I think often those big acts have to approve every compilation album license. A lot of the time, for the people who work in the compilation album license department, it’s easier for them to say no than to write to the management of Supertramp or Queen. And often, if they do see a title that has disco in it, they will say no. And a lot of them won’t license the Rolling Stones to a comp that’s got a projected sales figure of less than half a million. There’s so many reasons why it’s problematic. You could do it, but you’d have to leave off so many tracks, there would hardly be any point doing it. I did have a chat with a major label about doing it and that was one that owned quite a lot of them. But it’s just so difficult. They want to see a big marketing budget, they want to see you spend a hundred grand on television adverts. Otherwise they just go, why are we on this compilation album?
I think it’s a shame really, there were so many good disco records done by major artists…
Yeah. I like a lot of those things. I’m doing this compilation for BBE which is maybe a similar thing, just it’s not all well known acts. People like Fleetwood Mac, they did that track “Keep On Going”, those sort of things. I guess it’s blue-eyed rocky soul. Quite danceable… it’s not all disco, but it’s not really rock either. More black music based. I always think, if you look at the back of a rock album and it’s got someone playing bongos on it, it’s worth checking out. Read the rest of this entry »
In discussion with Luke Solomon about “Snow Borne Sorrow” by Nine Horses (2005).
How did you come across “Snow Borne Sorrow”? Was it out of a longtime fondness for David Sylvian’s work?
First and foremost, I am a huge fan, probably since the age of 11. “Snow Borne Sorrow” I was actually turned on to by one of my oldest and closest friends. It was only a couple of weeks after release.
Why did you decide to discuss this album, and not another one of his many remarkable records? What makes this so special to you?
There are records and there are records. That’s my philosophy. I’ll elaborate. We all know the classics, there are lists of those everywhere. But I believe in personal classics. This to me, is music that happens along at a poignant time in your life. The stars are aligned, and bang, it’s like a spark, and epiphany. A moment that can be deemed as a marker. “Oh, that was the Snow Borne Sorrow time.” Or something. That was the “Snow Borne Sorrow part” of my life.
How would you describe “Snow Borne Sorrow”, also in comparison to other music Sylvian was involved with?
More than anything, on first listen it was the sound and the maturity of his voice. I listened to it recently on an 8000 pound pair of speakers, and I was blown away by the detail. Incredible. And then there are the songs, the subject matter, the arrangements. I could go on.
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