Now talking about anything on the internet your not an absolute expert on is a dangerous thing, especially in music trivia terms, and especially when you want to rap about some genre or other of world music form a place with a population in the billions, there are millions of people just dying to correct and school me. So I'm going to save myself any embarrassment and just say that in terms of Indian dance music of the early eighties, there is one producer I know of and enjoy (out of I'm sure many that existed at the time), named Bappi Lahiri. I think he is well known in back packer hip hop circles for producing a lot of indian funk backing tracks to bollywood flicks early in the seventies. Anyway, later in the day he got drum machines and synths and went to work.
The thing about bollywood classics is that these were part of the mainstream not just in india, but all over africa and asia as well. I'm not just posting these to be quirky, they are dusty sounding, abstract and dope. I always especially like the Billy Jean inspired 'Jeena Bhi Kya Hai Jeena'.
To anyone who knows this stuff, I'm not posting I'am A Disco Dancer or Jimmy Jimmy Aja, I think they got well exposed after the M.I.A cover version dropped.
Oh yeah, avoid putting things in the trunk of cabs if you can in anyway bring it with you into the back seat, as you may forget them and be bummed out at yourself all evening. Just thought I would mention.
Right. It's Thursday. We are rapidly approaching the weekend and the time to shrug off responsibility, grab a drink and take a break from the news of demise, recession and global crisis. It's blindingly gorgeous in SF this week and hopefully something of like where ever you may be located. So, with all these things in mind, here is Grey and Hanks "Dancin'". It's not a terribly complex tune or a hard to find record, but it is upbeat and a sweet one to shake it to. I always laugh a little when the male vocal starts, you'll see why. That said, it never ceases to make me tap my foot, sing along and get dancin'.
For those in SF this weekend, come to Paradise for Prince Language, myself and the lads from I Can't Feel My Face. Good times are guaranteed. Grey and Hanks - Dancin'
2009 is shaping up to be a good year for the boogie/modern soul sound Indeed. Fresh off the heels of Dam Funk's Rhythm Tracks LP and forthcoming vocal record we see a killer entry from Manheim, Germany's First Touch. The German duo's eponymous debut is out now and features ten smoothed out, Kashif-era boogie joints. I think (hope) we are starting to see the very niche boogie genre ooze its way ever so slightly into the collective consciousness. Maybe now the mainstream R & B producers will switch it up a bit and take some props from this timeless genre. Actually at this point I would settle for everyone to simply give the autotuned vocals a well deserved rest.
Often it is said that the days of the dollar bin 12" are a distant memory within the confines of San Francisco. A golden era, when Funk's ugly cousin was sought after by only a handful of 90's house scene burnouts and a few collectors in search of gay scene nostalgia, and now of course you have bandwagon riding assholes such as myself and others in the mix, sucking the cities crates dry in between trips to buy organic groceries and $4 espresso drinks. And in many way I a agree with that sentiment, but to the contrary of that line of thinking I pulled this out of an old box at a thrift store a while ago for a dollar USD and although not a grail, it is a coveted and slept on traditional Miami sound disco banger of the sort I hardly ever post.
Everything about the arrangement on this track works:
It's been one of those weeks that just won't quit. So, it seems fitting to offer up some Heavy Vibes courtesy of Montana Sextet. There's so much to love about this track. It's mastered beautifully by Mr. Herb Powers Jr. It's got wicked vibe playing, a unique random vocal, amazing percussion, genius breaks, and to be honest, the general groove is just divine. Be sure to listen through to the end as the track has a nice twist right in the last moments.
This is a big tune from a very big dude. Demis Roussos is an ethnic Greek via Egypt who played in a bunch of bands including the prog rock group Aphrodite's Child. Fellow bandmate, Vangelis (whose full name is Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou for those of you keeping track) arranged this and may other of Demis' tracks. Demis has had a very long career singing in every European language you can imagine, but most of that does not concern us. He came out with a great disco record in 1977 called Magic and a 1978 folow up self titled LP with the brilliant and highly saught after track L.O.V.E. Got Ahold Of Me. This rip comes from the French 7" of Mourir Aupres De Mon Amour (a tender panty dropper) where it is a B side.
I have added Who by Odyssey, which is the original version of the track. Odyssey was a one off project featuring Vangelis.
So Gino Soccio and his hits are standards, vets, diggers and collectors will smirk at the notion that I would post such 101 offerings. And its true, I should be villafied, if it wasn't of course for the case that this is Gino Soccio's own megamix of his greatest work, designed and packaged as a workout routine musical backing for the body concious Canadian ladies of 1982.
Gino spliced this together himself, and the mix on the A side is entitled 'Get It Up' and is made up of the tracks 'Dancer' , 'Try It Out' and 'Its Alright'. The B side is a cool down, stretching, hippy yoga mix entitles 'Detente'.
The best part about this short mix is that not only does it flow so well between tracks that really represented the benchmark of production quality at the time, but it also gives you 13 minutes and 12 seconds in which you can leave the DJ booth and go pee or have a smoke and everyone will go home claiming that was probably the best 13 minutes of your set, none the wiser.
Minnie Riperton had a short but very esteemed career in music. In her teens Riperton was the lead singer of a band The Gems and was affiliated early on with Chess Records. Riperton is likely best remembered for her song "Loving You" where her five and a half octave vocal stylings were highlighted. In this track, "Young, Willing and Able", a more funky side of Minnie is expressed. This song, released in 1977 on Epic, was produced by Freddie Perren who was known for producing two tracks on the Saturday Night Fever album, "I will Survive/Substitute"(produced with Dino Fekaris) and many of the Jackson Five's first hits. Minnie's sultry vocals are perfectly backed with a sprinkling of horns, electric guitar, cascading synths and smooth strings. This song just drips with sensuality. So good.
What do you get when you mix B.T. Express and Brass Construction? This is the only track by Garnett Mims & Truckin' Company; but Garnet Mims (with one t) was a soul singer from Ashland, West Virginia in the mid 60's. It was produced by Jeff Lane from B.T. Express and Randy Muller from Brass Constructionin 1977. The back track sounds very much like any from Brass Construction's self titled LP, but with screaming guitar and funky proto-rave synth work. The guitar can be a bit much, but I am a sucker for tambourine. Garnett Mims & Truckin' Company - What It Is Garnett Mims & Truckin' Company - What It Is (Part II)
Ok, I recorded this entire album twice as I suffered a grand technical failure the first time around, and as such the evening is wasting away so I'm going to keep this short so I can make my rendesvous.
Many of you may be familiar with the popular dark electro classic '112 BPM' . It came from this album, More Jive Rhythm Trax, the follow up to the equally sought after (but not quite as deadly in my opinion) Jive Rhythm Trax. A series of albums produced by Jive records consisting of dark, dubby instrumental covers or 'versions' of popular electro and new wave tracks of the day. I have three albums in this series, one with a blue cover, this one with a red cover, and one with a yellow cover entitled something like Jive Scratch Trax. They were all intended to be used as DJ tools, and might be the first example of a mass produced record purely intended as a utility for DJ'ing. I find them all amazing.
If you can, try and spot the original inspirations for these instrumentals:
This short lived Italo-disco gruppo had a member of Kirlian Camera in it and these tracks were in fact produced with Italo kingpin Koto. Although enmeshed in Italo-ness, their inspiration came from Greek god of synth pads, Vangelis (born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou), the composer responsible for the Chariots of Fire soundtrack. I suppose it is true Italo-disco fashion that Hipnosis produced mainly covers...there also is a cover of Oxygene by J.M. Jarre, the French version of Vangelis. Both of these cuts below will provide some drama to the dancefloor and if you are lucky, Pris will come cartwheeling out out from the corner...
As Safety Scissors and myself sat down several hours ago to rip "What's In It For Me" by Zalmac we came to a very simple consensus. The vocal mix was too "vocal-y" and the instrumental mix (somewhat ironically) was missing the instrumental breakdown we both enjoyed on the A-side. So here it is. Produced in less time (and infinitely less effort) than this "edit" actually runs, this can not be clearly defined as an edit, but rather a cut and paste of the instrumental and the vocal breakdown section resulting in the ideal mix that just now sees the light of day. Neato!
The original 12" was released on the private TSOB imprint in 1982. An image of Zalmac's only full length LP entitled "Whatcha Gonna Do" is pictured above. I really need to add dude's sleeveless leather jacket to my collection stat. Zalmac - What's In It For Me (Cut And Paste)
Here is another Cameron Paul jam under his Layizon moniker. This, like the other, is an odd bird packed with awesome sounds and freestyle flavor. The video inspired me to make a mega-mix of Cameron Paul produced tracks. If anyone can make some monitors like that for the Beat Electricians, please let us know! Layizon - The Ride Inside Cameron Paul - LeBaron's Janky Megamix
Ann-Margaret was born in Sweden and came to America in 1946. In the 1960's Ann-Margaret began a recording career in addition to her already notable film career. While her music ventures didn't prove as successful, she did have a song "I Just Don't Understand" peak on the Billboard Charts at #17 in 1961. Much later, she had this song "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes" released in 1981 on First American Records. The song was popular in clubs and reached #22 on the charts. "Everybody..." features brilliant production and writing by Paul Sabu and highlights the soft and throaty qualities of Ann-Margaret's voice. "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes (Part 2)" is percussive, with just the right amount of horns and synths.
Queen Constance Records was owned and operated by Peter Brown, of P&P records fame, so the sound of University Dances of 1978, a recording by the then house band, should come as no surprise. Gritty, stripped down seventies deep disco. Just look at the cover, those two deeply in love university scholars are doing the New York Freak, possibly to the vocal cut, or maybe even the instrumental version, both of which I'm posting in devotion to the memory of St Valentine and the love the binds us all. Such an image makes you ponder, perhaps the young man on the cover enjoyed the company of his date beyond the hours of dancing academia, and sensitively laid her down to the extended percussive breaks of the Pigeon Hustle.. one can only hope.
I've been waiting for this date to fall upon a Friday...Waiting in the dark cabin and I've cut the power or waiting in the woods and your flashlight is running out of batteries. Yes, you are cute in your ripped up mini shorts and I'm not so hot and smell like lake water. No, I'm not promoting the new movie, just the one from 1982. Er, rather just the soundtrack from this movie...I actually liked the second one more.
We rarely mention modern artists here at BE, but we make an occasional exception when we find something that garners our attention. Our friends in Codebreaker recently constructed a cover of the Jimmy Ross classic "First True Love Affair" for a website called Buffet Libre. Unfortunately the track got a little bit buried amongst the 80 or more other artists that they commissioned to cover a classic track for their Rewind 2 series. Anyways, Codebreaker dug a little bit deeper than the rest and did a fine cover, staying true to the original whilst adding a few modern touches. All in all, they produced a solid version of the 1981 Jimmy Ross/Kano masterpiece. Codebreaker - First True Love Affair
Eumir Deodato is a very accomplished arranger, producer, and keyboard player from Brazil. In the late 60's and early 70's he was mainly known for jazz and jazz funk and pressed records for CTI Records. His records never sold very well and eventually CTI folded. In the Mid 70's he signed to MCA and then pressed records on the Warner Brothers label in the late 70's. In addition to recording tracks under his own name, he produced tracks for Kool and the Gang, Gwen Guthrie, and the Dazz Band; among others. He has recently produced and arranged for Bjork.
This 1982 track shows how well he excelled as a boogie producer. It is super smooth with a funky bass up front, spacy synths in the background, and subtle vocals.
I just put the picture for this post up and realized that the two punk new wavey kids pictured probably wouldn't have been caught dead listening to David Joseph. In fact, its a shitty choice of imagery now I think about it for a boogie instrumental, but I couldn't find any good pictures of second wave eighties skateboard pro's, which is predominantly what I most enjoy looking at, so I used this pic instead. Aren't they sweet?
This is another big UK tune from the king pin of the London scene. I have been seeing the instrumental appearing on big name DJ playlists the past few years, and its a fun track to work into a set at there is a big pay off at the end of the long mixable drum intro that always kicks the energy up a notch.
I feel so hungover and sick I want to die, which I think I may now go and do. Please download this track and play it loud in my memory.
Under the guidance of legendary NYC DJ Walter Gibbons, "Set It Off" by Strafe was a massive underground club hit upon its release in 1984. Gibbons (who mixed the track) was co-founder of the Jus Born imprint which was basically formed as a catalyst for the "Set It Off" single. The track had such a profound impact that they went on to produce a female vocal version in 1985, a 1986 remix 12" as well as "Set It Off II" in '87. With its stark groove, the original version was a masterful blend of early electro, house and techno styles. Still, I quite enjoy the single as it evolved over the next several Jus Born releases.
Strafe aka Steve Standard still performs in NYC to this day. The late great Walter Gibbons (pictured above) died in 1994 and donated his massive record collection to an SF based aids charity where it was auctioned off. Many pieces of his collection are still floating around the Bay Area.
This is one of my favorite italo records. It was released on Vedette Records in 1979 with subsequent releases on Rams Horn and 1981 re-releases on Carrere and CNR. Azoto was first known as "Lucrethia And The Azoto 14,008." Azoto was produced by Celso Valli, who produced and arranged many italo classics such as personal favorites: Self Control by RAF and Walking in the Neon by Peter Richard.
This five cut record has no fewer than four classic italo tracks. All the tracks except Exalt, Exalt share a space disco meets traditional folk music sound that is a magical combination. San Salvador warps Bee Gees-esque falceto, protohouse piano, and gypsy folk into a peak hour disco masterpeice. Exalt, Exalt is just simply brilliant with a dark minimal sound and perfectly placed accents. The tune was way ahead of its time and set the stage for mid 80's italo electro.
Now I know this track has been floating around the internet for a while now, somebody circulated a recording of the vocal version and as if by some dark arcane magic it appeared on a handful of blogs simultaneously. In this case at least I'm putting up the instrumental version of possibly one of the harder hitting peek time boogie tracks in my crate, as the instrumental is all I ever play.
There are elements here that ache of pop cheese, a cylon vocoder chorus, a lyric about getting down and a chanky chank guitar line, but thats how I like it..
"I Need You" is a personal favorite of mine by Sylvester. These previously unreleased mixes were put out in 1989 on a rather hard to find "collectors edition" white vinyl 12" on Megatone Records. According to interviews and credits from the album this track came from, Howard Merritt is responsible for both of these remixes. Enjoy.
After an inspirational MLK eve opening for Boyz II Men followed by an impromptu set at the Sweater Funk party, (Thanks Jon and Guillermo) Le Baron and myself set out to make a new mix at the Joel Vuitton ranch due east of the SF Bay Area. We purposely didn't put very much thought into this in an attempt to give it a live feel. We simply hit record, grabbed some joints from our respective DJ bags, and went one for one on LeBaron's tweaked up Bozak mixer. The end result is "Funkacise", the first Beat Electric mix of 2009.
The Tracklist:
1. Rene & Angela - I'll Be Good (Special Instrumental Mix) 2. Vernon Burch - Do It To Me 3. Serena - Get Your Body Up (Instrumental) 4. Funkacise Gang - Funkacise (Instrumental) 5. Starshine - All I Need Is You (Instrumental) 6. Stone - Time (Instrumental) 7. Unique - What I Got Is What You Need 8. Karen Silver - Nobody Else 9. Wrecking Crew - You Don't Care 10. Patrice Rushen - Get Off 11. Arlana - You Can't Keep Breaking My Heart (Instrumental) 12. Billy Ocean - Night (Feel Like Getting Down) 13. Carol Shinnette with the Concrete Band - Cyanide Love 14. The Bang Gang - Street Music (Instrumental) 15. China Burton - You Don't Care (About Our Love) (Instrumental) 16. Lucy Hawkins - Gonna Get Out Of Here 17. Ahzz - New York's Movin' (Instrumental) 18. John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Love Magic 19. Larry Jon Wilson - Melt My Igloo 20. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Dark Star BT Magnum and LeBaron - Funkacise Mix
Cameron Paul was a freestyle/ electro producer in the SF Bay Area in the 80's to the early 90's. He used to have a radio dance mix show on KSOL (which is now a miserable reggaeton station) and KMEL. He also DJed at City Nights and Studio West. He put out a few records under his own name and he remixed a lot of tracks, including Push It by Salt 'n Peppa for his own Mixx It service. He now lives in Tulsa of all places.
This track from 1989 on Tandem Records is very difficult to classify. Is it electro, is it booty bass, is it hip hop, is it house? Awesome is what it is. With the slam of an 808, the crusty synths, and the vocoded vocals it is a perfect CBS track. Sorry my copy is so jacked.
Sorry I've been so absent in the electric world of beats (well, in terms of this blog) but I thought I'd return with another installment of jack history. Chip E, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of House", released this track to clue people in to exactly what time it was. No, not a numerical indicator of a chronological state, this was more of an instruction for the dance floor (which sounds like it was issued from beneath a pillow). Nearly synchronous with the release of The Jacking Zone and numerous other jack tracks, it certainly was the time to jack in a larger scale as well.
At long last a proper rip of one of the finest disco cuts ever recorded. A year after I first dropped this gem on Beat Electric, I finally present to you the full uncut long version of You Don't Care (About Our Love) by China Burton. Ripped from a near mint pressing on DJ Joel Vuitton's incredible rig, this mp3 is pure gold.
In case you missed this post the first time around:
China Burton was a British songwriter that had success in the 80's penning tracks for Julian Lennon and Taylor Dayne amongst others. His own recording output was sparse but he did manage to release one single "You Don't Care (About Our Love)" in 1979 on the Logo Records label. This ultra rare cut has one of the hottest breakdowns of any disco number period. The soaring strings, flanged out guitar riffs and synth effects blow this track through the roof. No wonder the single fetches for over $300.00 when it very randomly pops up. China Burton - You Don't Care (About Our Love) (Long Version)
This is my first post since coming back from the UK, catching flu, getting tagged by homeland security (woohoo!) and unpacking all the records I bought on my stops along the way. I had some luck at a flea market where a nice French gentleman let me listen to his wares on a fisher price toy turntable with a pencil like needle the weight of a bag of sugar. This came out of that stack.
I have known about this track for a while, its probably one of the most slept on italo tunes I know of, its hip contemporary feel and dancey arrangement should have made it a shoe in for all those Italo 101 re issue and bootleg comps that flooded the shelves a few years ago, but for whatever reason it remains an obscurity. Enjoy:
Our good friend and occasional Beat Electric contributor Disco Tom Noble has been nice enough to produce a couple of exclusive edits for our blog. Pictured above is the "Noble Nagel" created by the infamous Patrick Nagel as a limited print for the Noble Gallery in Milwaukee. The Noble Gallery was owned by Tom's parents and reppedNagel's work until his untimely post aerobic heart attack in 1984. I am looking for original Nagel prints on the cheap. If anyone has a line on one, please hit me up. Goldie Alexander - I Want To Spend My Life With You (Disco Tom Noble Edit)
Nytro was a group that was produced by Norman Whitfield and put out two LPs on his label Whitfield Records. This track come from the 1979 followup to their 1977 self titled LP. Norman Whitfield produced tracks for Motown in the 60's and turned out hits for The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. In the 70's he produced for acts such as Rose Royce, The Undisputed Truth, and Starguard. Nytro had a funky macho lazer soul sound that paved the way for acts like Zapp, D-Train, and Midnight Star.
The Beat Electricians are all big fans of Jacko's ex-girlfriend Stephanie Mills so this post comes as no surprise. James Mtume produced all of Stephanie Mills' best tracks and put out a few records under his own name. My favorite record is one I heard over at my buddy Macchio's house. Juicy Fruit was released in 1983. Greenlight is a goovy lazer soul jam. It is my favorite track on the album. The single from the record is Juicy fruit, which was custom made for the ladies. Most of the album is incredible actually. Sit back and learn a thing or two from my main man Mtume.
"Midnight Express To Love City" by Spaceship Earth is a prime example of mid period private boogie. I know absolutely nothing about the group except they hailed from Los Angeles and this was their only release on the private Spaceship Earth label. This 12" and the post-apocalyptic cult film "The Quiet Earth" were both released in 1985. When I did an image search for the song, some images from the film came up as well as the crappy scan I found of the record sleeve. "The Quiet Earth" scared the hell out of me as a kid. In contrast, this jam is all about going on a space train to a chilled out place called Love City somewhere in the middle of the universe. One can only hope that the Earth's survivors will end up in Love City after the apocalypse goes down.
This funky soul jam was produced by the team of Reginald Brown and the brothers Johnathan and Stafford Floyd. R. Brown and S. Floyd were part of the group New York Transit Authority. They also worked together as the awesome boogie joint Can-Dee. R. Brown also produced tunes as One On One. A One One One track is in a Mix we did recently. This tune blends cosmic disco, boogie, jazz funk, and old school flavor beautifully.
So I managed to catch flu, and without turning this into a medical or self pity blog, I have managed to spend my time in the UK on my back wishing death upon myself rather than record digging and carousing as I had intended. If you got on Virgin Atlantic flight 004 from JFK to Heathrow knowing you had the flu virus and would give it to everyone in the cabin please know that all I wanted for Christmas was the opportunity to cut your head off and play in your blood.
..Anyway, I'am in the south of the UK and in classic Disco terms that can only mean one thing, Jazz Funk. I'm posting three tracks that were big on rotation in this part of the world, where the real jazz funk reigned supreme:
Index were a British studio project produced by Kris Staines in 1980. Kris went on to do the UK remix of Touch Down's "Ease Your Mind" on Streetwise in 1982 amongst a few other things. The Index project yielded only one 12" release. According to Black Shag this song actually got radio play over the years in Great Britain and I suspect Escort were listening closely to this track when they wrote their own "Starlight" a few years back. The A side vocal version has a few too many cheesy bits for my taste, but the B side "Starlight - The Break" hits damn hard with an incredible keyboard hook and souped up horn lines. A shout out to DâM-FunK who dropped this at the Sweater Funk party some months back prompting a few of us to lose our shit and go on the hunt for this rare boogie workout. Index - Starlight (The Break)
I'm on my travels right now. I spent a couple of days in New York on my way to the UK and picked up a few records I'll post later down the road. I got into London this morning and I feel terrible, the red eye flight was full of loud holiday shopping fashionistas, and am now all the more depressed after catching half an episode of 'Eastenders'. Yet tomorrow is a new day, I haven't been record digging in the UK in a couple of years, and its the season of giving so in that spirit I'm going to put up a deep and sought after European soulful disco 45 that you don't come accross often.
I can't tell you much about S.O.S by Mr. Morse And His New Alphaband, this was recorded from the Italian 7", although I heard there is also a Spanish released 7". The instrumental was even reused by EMI Italy for a local male crooners backing track, but not quite to the same effect. I do know it was an early effort of Franco Italian producer Albert Weyman, who has a pretty great myspace page, a look at his photos is a must. Its nice to hear middle aged pros from the deep funk scene are making credible euro trance: http://www.myspace.com/albertweyman
My copy came from a reclaimed jukebox out of a forgotten Americana themed coffee shop in northern Italy and cost me three shillings:
Here it is: One of the best disco tunes ever written, period. You can find this ubiquitous release sandwiched in your dad's record collection between a Barry Manilow and a BarbaraStriesandLP. It wasn't even released as an A Side for chrisakes! Had the world circa late 70's gone mad or was there so much quality music coming out that they could afford to toss this one on the flip side? Correction, it was an A Side in its UK pressing only. Ok Black Shag, you win this round mate.
Recorded and Released as the B side to the single "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin", "Put Your Body In It" is a heavy Disco cut with a proto-boogie feel thanks to the cracking synth bass that drives the track all the way through. Drawing the contrast to later Boogie tracks was the big disco strings that soar throughout and create a perfect juxtaposition with the aforementionedsynth-bassline. I am so feeling 1979 right now!
"Put Your Body In It" was written and produced by the solid team of Reggie Lucas and James Mtume. The duo was responsible for many choice cuts released between the years 1977 - 1982.
This great upbeat boogie track by Charlie Singleton & Stargasm was released by Dakar Records in 1981. It was the act's only release. Singleton sang some vocals for Cameo in the same period and played some fusion guitar in other groups. The mix of a repetitive falsetto vocal line, jangly guitar, funky slap bass, and cheesy synth stabs make this a great tune worthy of rocking a Beat Electric dancefloor.
Beat Electric was asked to create a special mix for the Manchester UK blog Ugly Talented and here it is. It is a collection of tunes that have a synthy disco sound and a post disco, boogie feel. Trademarks of this sound are live drums, analogue synthesizers and funky bass lines. The mix follows a continuum of influence and contrasting styles of the music that gets us excited at Beat Electric.
Demis Roussos - I Dig You (7") 1977 Stargard - Wear It Out (Instrumental) 1979 Alphonse Mouzon - I'm Glad That You're Here (Disconet Remix) 1981 One On One - Body Music (Long Version) 1981 Tempest Trio - Do You Like The Way That It Feels (12") 1979 Stephanie Mills - Put Your Body In It (12") 1979 Yvonne Gage - Garden Of Eve (Long Version) 1981 Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face? (Female Vocal) 1980 Janice Christie - One Love (12") 1985 Funk Deluxe - This Time (Dub Version) 1984 Legacy - Word Up (Instrumental) 1982 Cashmere - Do It Anyway You Wanna (Instrumental) First Love - It's A Mystery To Me (12") 1982
I recently returned to my hometown of Milwaukee, WI on a brief weekender and the only redeeming moment I had in that wasteland of a city was digging for gold at the oasis known as Lotus Land Records. I purchased a couple pieces of local heat from an era in Milwaukee history that I only imagine may have been more livable than the scene out of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome that I saw last month.
From 1984 we bring you saxophonist James Dallas and his self released jazz fusion LP "Here and Now". James Dallas has been performing in Milwaukee for many, many years and still plays out with the Terry Sims band (Terry performs on this LP as well). But the real star of the show is the all but unknown guest, Adam Davis who wrote and performed vocals and synth's on the only boogie oriented cut entitled "Highway Lover".
"Highway Lover" is a stellar Boogie/Funk/Black Rock piece with a crazy fusion solo thrown in at the end to keep the track semi in line with the rest of the record. A crusty keyboard hook, raw as hell drums, dusted production and Prince influenced vocals make this one a total classic.
Totally uninteresting nerd fact: On just about all of the tracks on "Here and Now" they used two of my favorite synthesizers, the Juno 60 and Moog Liberation keytar. Both keyboards were discontinued from production in 1984 the same year the record was released. Is it a coincidence that everything started to go downhill after '84?
If you feel this joint like I do, grab a copy from Lotus Land as they have a very small grip of these left.
This is a private label lazer soul jam from Florida. Larry Davis produced this record in 1986 along with some Miami booty bass hits in the mid to late 80's. It is in the vein of the acts Expose', The Jets, and Starpoint. It is a cute and crusty jam. This is definitely a tune that requires some skills on the dance floor. It is interesting to note that this is probably the loudest 12" I have ever heard and it is also the thinnest. The run out goove says "Hi Larry, I think you + Jaqui made it!" They sure did! Jaqui & The Rumor - Just Don't Break-A-My Heart (Inst.)
Today I’m posting not only perhaps my favorite new wave italo track of all time, but also a couple of exclusive tracks from my current favorite modern disco producers out of San Francisco, BeatElectric’s hometown. By posting new and old I was intending on showing some sort of lineage of influence, that sort of thing, whether I pulled it off I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter as I love everything I’m putting up.
There is some nepotism happening here, as Marbeya are my long time good friends and former studio mates, we have even worked together in the past and when I can get them out of the recording studio sometimes even socialize now and again, which is rare. I think Marbeya fall squarely within the new ‘San Francisco sound’, alongside peers such as Windsurf, Hatchback etc, all great acts and great guys. I would describe the genre as mellow, textured, electronic disco, with strong links to the big name Scandinavian producers (and labels). Marbeya uses long subtle arrangements, but with real melody and great sense of space. I chose my two favorites from their new promo album, my inspiration being that they were the most dance floor friendly and hypnotic, and being low brow these are the two qualities I look for most in music, be it for a wedding reception or funeral:
Ok, now for the classic, B. Blasé’s Shake It Now. This is an abstract, dark groover with what is unusual in my opinion within italo of the time, a killer male vocal. I don’t ever bother with the instrumental on this one and if you are a DJ..please..play this one at +4 or +5 or whatever your method of play considers ‘fast’. I was tempted just to pitch it up myself after I recorded it, but that goes against our ethos:
My main man Black Shag has dropped several of his top ten boogie joints in the last couple of weeks so I feel motivated to throw a few entries into the fire as well. Whilst Mr. Shag has been focusing on his country of origin, the United Kingdom, my next few entries will feature heat from my hometown of Milwaukee, WI as well as my adopted home, the San Francisco Bay Area.
Hailing from across the bay in Oakland, CA Carol Shinnette cut her first 7" in 1984 on the private Zilko label. Backed up by the aptly named Concrete Band, "Cyanide Love" was recorded at Beggars Banquet Recording Studio in Santa Rosa, CA. Co-written with Shinnette and produced by the mysterious W.P. Guidry, "Cyanide Love" is a mammoth cut and an easy contender for my personal boogie top ten list.
Shinnette went on to release a rare modern soul LP (The Expressions of Carol Shinnette) and a handful of 45's on the obscure Optune label out of Oakland in 1985. Optune also went on to repress a very small run of "Cyanide Love" picture sleeve seven inches in 1986.
I tried calling the phone number on this picture sleeve and a serious thug answered the line. Sadly, he didn't seem too interested in discussing Carol Shinnette or Optune Records but he did manage to throw a few idle threats my way.
I don't know much about Lex. This release is one of two that came out on Flip Records, a UK subsidiary of Vanguard Records. This record, along with the other (Endgames) were both produced by New York DJ legend Ray 'Pinky' Velazquez. Ray Velazquez was born in Puerto Rico, but grew up in New York. He was a major force in the mid 70's as a DJ for WCCR, NYC's City College Radio and at the Court Street Discotheque. He later became the head of A&R at Vanguard Records and produced a lot of the label's best tracks. This track has a great leftfield meets italo sound. The dubby drums and minimal instrumentation meet smashing glass for a thought provoking juxtaposition.
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