My apologies for the delay in posts, its been a busy few months and sadly WP have changed their default posting backend making it rather troublesome to post on this POS Atom machine I use. That said, this is how you do a triumphant return, with a corker of a track like this.
Ive enjoyed pretty much every Smoove release i’ve heard. He’s got a real knack of kicking out some of the freshest sounding funk this side of 1979 and with his collaborations with Turrell, its just onward and upwards. Broken Toys is their forthcomming album, #3 in total and the standout track for me is this track. Its an absolutely perfect marriange of electro, funk and soul, with fantastic lyrics, a driving bassline from heaven and plenty of soul to keep you nodding. I heard it originally on Zemeralds most recent mix on Blue Racoon radio and must have repeated that part of the mix a dozen times before locating it.
For those interested, the link to the soundcloud copy of Broken Toys from Smoove & Turrell is below. Give it a listen, its amazing. Standout tracks other than the one above are Broken Toys and People Keep Talking but to be honest, the whole album rocks it.
What a jaw dropping track this is. Linda Clifford has a voice that must have obliterated dance floors back in the late 70’s. She collaborated with some huge artists like Curtis Mayfield and had a hugely successful solo career of her own. But for me, this might be THE seminal Linda Clifford tune. Its chocked full of groove, a vocal that is both powerful and reserved, leaving plenty of room for the huge choruses. The Salsoul flavored instrumental takes a backseat throughout the entire tune, like the guys knew they were playing with the some serious talent. The breakdowns are perfectly timed giving Clifford’s voice center stage at all the right moments. The 12″ extension goes on a bit at the end but the girl has to get her breath back right? Tune of the week right here.
As you might imagine, the tributes have been comming in hard and fast since the news was formally announced. The following playlist was put together by the geniuses over at Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) and its a stellar snapshot into those old Philly and gospel sounds that shaped what the Warehouse and in turn Frankie’s reputation. Taken directly from the tracklist Frankie listed in the seminal book “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” , its an awesome collection of tracks. So give the history a listen and have some fun fun. Learn the words, sing along. This is music for dancing!
I found out last night that Frankie Knuckles had died aged 59 and I cannot overstate how gutted I was. Frankie Knuckles wasnt just a DJ or Producer, he was one of a very small cadre of people responsible for creating the sound that has played in my head and heart for as long as I can remember. Sounds a bit spiritual I know but its hard to explain that music to me has always been about the kickdrum, the high hat and piano or soulful vocal hook. Sure my tastes have mellowed over the years but at the very beginning of my own personal musical journey, it was House music and specifically the Soulful House sound synonymous with ChiTown/NYC that I loved. Imagine me. locked onto as a young 8 year old lad, the John Peel radio show on a Sunday night, taping the imports that he played during the show. House music is probably the first thing I would say that defined me as my own person with my own taste. The first thing I found on my own.
Frankie Knuckles was responsible for the music at the Warehouse in Chicago, often credited with the origin of the name “House”, a shortened version of “The Warehouse” music that was in such demand in early 80’s Chicago record stores. The history of House Music is littered with DJ’s and producers held in high almost godlike reverence but almost all agree that Frankie was deserving of his title as the “Godfather of house”. A guy who took the records available to him after the death of commercial disco, rolled in a drum machine in the booth thanks to Derrick May and helped pioneer a sound that has dominated global music for over thirty years. Sure it was going to happen sooner or later but this soon, man I wanted to see Frankie just one more time…
So today the web has been rammed full of tributes to Knuckles, Twitter exploded last night with tributes, Facebook has been busting at the seams with friends all posting their favourite Frankie Knuckles cuts. He has a legacy that transcends his death for as long as there is a Kick Drum, a snare, a highhat played over a soulful vocal and an uplifting piano riff, therein lies some of Frankies DNA, a fingerprint that will outlive all of us left here reflecting upon his body of work.
Since work is easing off, I figured it was time to get a bunch of the track’s ive been caning the past few months into a mix. Its a bit different to my other mixes but ive been really loving some of the beats and sounds coming through my soundcloud feed of late. So, on a far more relaxed, head nodding kind of trip this one.
If you havent purchased Tokyo Dawn’s seminal Electro/Groove/NuDisco/Funk compilation “The Boogie”, get right on that now. Its a huge assortment of the freshest sounding electro work i’ve heard in the past 10 years with Vindahl’s Sometimes being a real standout belter of a tune. This doesnt just rock you slowly, its a moog driven behemoth of electrofunk evoking memories of ’84 Freestyle flavour with a solid and unstoppably crisp modern delivery. Its so slick, its almost unbearable but that bassline just carries your ass along for a cracking ride.
For the record, this compilation has about 12-14 different, practically unknown artists that contribute to it and absolutely every single track sounds better than anything any of the heavy hitters have put out in recent memory. Anyone wanting to hear some seriously progressive Electropop would be doing themselves a serious disservice by not diving into that back catalogue. Start your journey right here.
From TokyoDawn.com
Co-founder of the vanguard soul collective Boom Clap Bachelors, Vindahl has been involved with numerous offspring projects such as Ivory & Gold, Robi, Kris Mars and Non+.
“Vindahl – Serendipity”, the first album project to be released under his real name has been his secret heart project for more than four years now. Musical influences as diverse as Talking Heads, Trevor Horn and Prince shimmer through, complemented by lyrics often based on themes of duality.
I have no idea how I missed this from March 2012. Its no secret that I think “Lost In Music” is one of the greatest tracks ever released with the Nile Rogers re-edit being the creme of the crop. That is, until now because I think Dimitri gives ole Nile a serious run for his money. The intro goes in a completely different and absolutely wonderful direction, going with a string intro that is just INSPIRED. What a way to kick off a track everyone knows, then your back into familiar territory but keeping it entirely intrumental, Dimitri drops in the accapella and its just so fucking GOOD. The track is sped up about 10% which gives it even more punch, its a absolutely brilliant remix, completely and totally awesome. Play this LOUDLY on repeat while I get out of this chair and start dancing round the office.
Saturday Electrofunk time and this is a classic slice of UK Funk with an incredible vocal section. Gone are the overly twangy guitars, instead you have a bloody fantastic synthesizer explosion and synthetic guitars (or could that actually be a keytar?). Who cares, I defy anyone not to be nodding their head with a massive grin on its face. While the track may have dated for 1984, for the time, it was way ahead of the pack.
One of those tracks that clearly demonstrates why its such an unmitigated classic. Despite it being a cover, this track shines like the sun with Brown’s vocal talent clearly center stage, dominating the track. Its tracks like this that put paid to the fallacy that “Disco” is dead. Just go to the comments section on YouTube or run a search online, you will find thousands of people who celebrate this tune and others from the era. Just fucking legendary.
From YouTube
If you weren’t there you will never understand what these songs mean to so many of us. This was our gospel, this how we got through our lives. This is a great song, so many memories. Thank you for posting.
Love it or loathe it you cant deny that Lola’s Theme is a master-stroke of house production. Its literally draws upon 20 years of experience to craft a track so damn slick it will be heard for years to come. It has enough disco-y house to please the bunnies, the bass line is chunky enough to satisfy even the most devoted Prog house fan. The four to the floor is crispy and interesting and the vocal is absolutely perfect for the tune, synthy guitar business keep the tech heads happy and wrapping it up is that cracking build up smack bang in the middle. Guaranteed to lay waste to any dancefloor it comes into contact with. What a release this is.
Its another one of those tracks that have been remixed to all hell, there’s a lot of great ones out there but for me its either the Main Mix (a dub version of the Extended Vocal) or the afforementioned “Extended Vocal Mix”. Both, original and absolute perfection.
From Discogs
The Main Mix is simply a dubbed version of the Extended Vocal Mix. The track simply starts with a progressing introduction, with an all round solid kick and bassline. Soon enough, we are greeted with a more uplifting synth, and the track starts to take a more funky turn with some quality strings, and a superb catchy house melody. As we approach the breakdown, the vocals are heard. The vocals are quite fitting to the vibe that the track gives out, and the cut vocals make this a mix much better than the full vocal mix in my opinion. The breakdown just builds and builds before exploding into a crescending array of synths, instruments and basslines. The melody so funky, and catchy, will no doubt make this one of ‘the’ summer tunes of the year for 2004!
From The Cans 