We've just been completing the final work on the Disco Files before packing its bags and sending it off on a holiday to a printers somewhere near Nottingham. One of the final jobs I've had to do (in truth Frank's done nearly all the work!) is proofreading all 500 pages of it. It's been highly enjoyable not least because I've been making copious notes of all the records I don't already own or know about and furiously searching on the internet for the good ones before the book comes out. It's an insider's privilege, innit?
Anyhow, there are so many killer records mentioned, many of which have slunk off into the mists of disco history, so over the coming weeks and months and I'm going to start posting MP3 files of some of the greatest (and lesser known) ones so you can decide for yourself whether they are indeed as good as I think they are.
The first one I'm posting is Brown Sugar's Don't Tie Me Down. Brown Sugar was originally a group fronted by Clydie King, the veteran R&B singer. An early incanration of Brown Sugar also included a young Phyllis Nelson, although no-one seems to know for sure who sang on this release. They cut two 45s for Capitol, the other being I'm Going Through Changes Now, which was produced by Vince Montana. Both got plays on the disco scene.
Download Brown Sugar here >
I'm also planning to do two Disco Files special podcasts on the DJhistory podcast series to celebrate the launch, so look out for those in April.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Friday, 20 February 2009
DJ History Podcast #4
Hello there. Just done the latest DJH podcast, so I thought I'd post the tracklisting for those of you that can't understand my gritty Northern accent (actually I've lived down south so long one of my mates from back home described my accent as "Oxbridge Grimsby". The bastard). Anyhow, here's the tracklist and links to the blog and iTunes below that.
1. Afroground - Matata
2. Coyote - Mongolia (Is It Balearic?)
3. John Daly - This Is A Lonely Beat (Drumpoet)
4. Clap Rules - Old Sequencer (Tiny Sticks)
5. Rhythm Doctor - Bones (Umblu)
6. Tensnake - In The End (Running Back)
7. Arthur Baker - Breakers Revenge (Cevin Fisher's Percussion Mix)
8. Boxsaga - Computer Love (Nonstop)
9. 3rd Face - Canto Della Liberta (Prins Thomas Miks) (Classic)
10. Green Sisters - Win, Place Or Show (Setting Son)
Subscribe via iTunes here >
Listen/download here >
1. Afroground - Matata
2. Coyote - Mongolia (Is It Balearic?)
3. John Daly - This Is A Lonely Beat (Drumpoet)
4. Clap Rules - Old Sequencer (Tiny Sticks)
5. Rhythm Doctor - Bones (Umblu)
6. Tensnake - In The End (Running Back)
7. Arthur Baker - Breakers Revenge (Cevin Fisher's Percussion Mix)
8. Boxsaga - Computer Love (Nonstop)
9. 3rd Face - Canto Della Liberta (Prins Thomas Miks) (Classic)
10. Green Sisters - Win, Place Or Show (Setting Son)
Subscribe via iTunes here >
Listen/download here >
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Low Life set ready for download
I don't play exclusively house sets much any more so I had a lot of fun digging through a few old classics and pulling out my favourite new tunes for last Saturday. I had some really beautiful old songs to play but I got carried away with some deep house and some techy gear, but I did manage to punctuate it with some ace vocal tracks. It actually sounds better now listening to it at home than I thought it did when I was playing it. I was a bit disappointed with myself when I finished but listening back it wasn't quite as rubbish as I thought. (Hey, listen, you've got to have some critical awareness about these things in order to survive in the bearpit.)
Download the set here >
Yeah, I know what you're thinking: I'd give him one. Handsome, eh? (Taken last Saturday. Glitter and gaudy shirt model's own.)
Download the set here >
Yeah, I know what you're thinking: I'd give him one. Handsome, eh? (Taken last Saturday. Glitter and gaudy shirt model's own.)
LOW LIFE.... Phew
Well, that was pretty bonkers... from the mental ticket sales, the pleading for spares, for guest list places, for sneaky squeezes etc. But when you're there, on the night, in the middle of a happy smiling floor full of gorgeous girls and smiling boys, you know it's worth it. And it was.
Guest for this one were Prins Thomas, Emma McGuigan (Chibuku Shake Shake) and The Revenge.
(Note how Prins Thomas joined in the themed dress fun for To Hell With Poverty by dressing as.... Jerry Sadowitz!)
Emma McGuigan, having partied hard at many previous Low Lifes, makes her debut behind the decks.
Cute, huh? Check out the rest of the pics here >
Anyhow, we recorded the sets as well and as soon as we've cut them up and uploaded them I'll post them up here so you can have a listen to what a Low Life sounds like.
Next party is on April 11th on a boat on the Thames. Tickets from Ticketweb, PayPal (djhistory@gmail.com), Phonica Records or from me and Frank. Tickets are £20 each.
Guest for this one were Prins Thomas, Emma McGuigan (Chibuku Shake Shake) and The Revenge.
(Note how Prins Thomas joined in the themed dress fun for To Hell With Poverty by dressing as.... Jerry Sadowitz!)
Emma McGuigan, having partied hard at many previous Low Lifes, makes her debut behind the decks.
Cute, huh? Check out the rest of the pics here >
Anyhow, we recorded the sets as well and as soon as we've cut them up and uploaded them I'll post them up here so you can have a listen to what a Low Life sounds like.
Next party is on April 11th on a boat on the Thames. Tickets from Ticketweb, PayPal (djhistory@gmail.com), Phonica Records or from me and Frank. Tickets are £20 each.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Latest podcast is now up
Download it here >
New 'un ready to download. If you subscribe through iTunes it will be live later today, hopefully. If you can't wait use the link above.
If you haven't subscribed through iTunes yet but you want to, go here >
Done under heavy manners. Last night we did our monthly Secret Weapons shindig in The Horse & Groom in Shoreditch with Prins Thomas (over for Low Life on Saturday), Jonny 5, me and a bunch of others. Chivas Regal and Old Speckled Hen ensued. Chatting with loads of fellow DJs who came down to hang out (including Rhythm Dr among the hordes who stopped by on the way back from mastering his old Mama catalogue for a swift pint). Anyhow, after that I got home at 2.45am and was greeted with my son in our bed having woken up an hour before screaming. He then spent the rest of the night keeping both us awake, the little mite. Argh. Sleep deprivation is being held at bay by large doses of disco and strong tea. Proper drugs may be required later in the day...
Tracklisting for show:
London Heavy Disco Revue - Remember
Little Walter Collective - A Conversation We Had A Long time Ago
Patrick Di Stefano - Just For Play (Mazi Dub)
Hakan Lidbo - The Ghetto Blaster
Boxsaga - Zen & The Art of Deadlines
Street Corner Symphony - Memories of Aphrodite (Chicken Lips Mix)
Fug - Ready For Us
Telemusic - Life & Fun (Foolish Felix Mix)
Soiree - Zim Zim Zar Zar
Over and out.
New 'un ready to download. If you subscribe through iTunes it will be live later today, hopefully. If you can't wait use the link above.
If you haven't subscribed through iTunes yet but you want to, go here >
Done under heavy manners. Last night we did our monthly Secret Weapons shindig in The Horse & Groom in Shoreditch with Prins Thomas (over for Low Life on Saturday), Jonny 5, me and a bunch of others. Chivas Regal and Old Speckled Hen ensued. Chatting with loads of fellow DJs who came down to hang out (including Rhythm Dr among the hordes who stopped by on the way back from mastering his old Mama catalogue for a swift pint). Anyhow, after that I got home at 2.45am and was greeted with my son in our bed having woken up an hour before screaming. He then spent the rest of the night keeping both us awake, the little mite. Argh. Sleep deprivation is being held at bay by large doses of disco and strong tea. Proper drugs may be required later in the day...
Tracklisting for show:
London Heavy Disco Revue - Remember
Little Walter Collective - A Conversation We Had A Long time Ago
Patrick Di Stefano - Just For Play (Mazi Dub)
Hakan Lidbo - The Ghetto Blaster
Boxsaga - Zen & The Art of Deadlines
Street Corner Symphony - Memories of Aphrodite (Chicken Lips Mix)
Fug - Ready For Us
Telemusic - Life & Fun (Foolish Felix Mix)
Soiree - Zim Zim Zar Zar
Over and out.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Vince Aletti - The Disco Files PRE-ORDER NOW
Firstly, thanks for the great response to the Vince Aletti download we posted a few days ago. We've had hundreds of downloads for it already. If you still haven't checked it out, feel free to download it here >
The Disco Files is the definitive chronicle of disco. It's the collected writing of Vince Aletti, who partied his way through seventies New York, but somehow managed to sober up each week and write about it all. The book collects Vince's magazine articles for Rolling Stone, Village Voice and After Dark, as well as more than 200 of his weekly columns for Record World. In these he dishes the dirt on the scene, discussing the clubs, the DJs and the emerging disco industry. Not only that but he includes four club charts - from DJs including Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, Nicky Siano and Richie Rivera - and a disco top 20 every week, as well as reviewing every disco record worth knowing about. That makes nearly 900 charts and 2,000 record reviews, gadzooks!
We're nearing completion of The Disco Files book and we're now taking advance orders for it. If you pre-order from our site, you get a £20 discount on the cover price as well as receiving an exclusive, limited-edition, disco mix from Matthew & Jolyon. The mix is their modern take on an album, Steppin' Out, that Vince Aletti put together with Richie Rivera in the late 1970s.
PRE-ORDER DISCO FILES HERE >
The Disco Files is the definitive chronicle of disco. It's the collected writing of Vince Aletti, who partied his way through seventies New York, but somehow managed to sober up each week and write about it all. The book collects Vince's magazine articles for Rolling Stone, Village Voice and After Dark, as well as more than 200 of his weekly columns for Record World. In these he dishes the dirt on the scene, discussing the clubs, the DJs and the emerging disco industry. Not only that but he includes four club charts - from DJs including Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, Nicky Siano and Richie Rivera - and a disco top 20 every week, as well as reviewing every disco record worth knowing about. That makes nearly 900 charts and 2,000 record reviews, gadzooks!
We're nearing completion of The Disco Files book and we're now taking advance orders for it. If you pre-order from our site, you get a £20 discount on the cover price as well as receiving an exclusive, limited-edition, disco mix from Matthew & Jolyon. The mix is their modern take on an album, Steppin' Out, that Vince Aletti put together with Richie Rivera in the late 1970s.
PRE-ORDER DISCO FILES HERE >
Friday, 6 February 2009
The Furtive 50
At the end of every year for the past few years DJHistory.com's had a vote to find the best dance tracks of the year. This has mainly been voted for by members of the DJH forum, but this year I thought I'd widen it out and canvas the opinions of lots of DJs, writers and collectors who we like and respect. Anyhow, we've tallied it all up and it's been broadcast over two parts on our new DJH Podcast, but here's the full rundown. There were several tracks in there that I hadn't heard so it's always nice to be able to go back and grab some of the tunes you missed (and hasten imminent bankruptcy into the bargain). Full credit list of those who contributed is below the chart.
1. Bullock & Ruscha – The Rose (Whatever We Want)
2. Hercules & Love Affair – Blind (Knuckles Mix) (DFA)
3. Mugwump – Boutade (Misericord)
4. Grace Jones – Williams’ Blood (Yam Who? Mixes) (Jones)
5. Simon Baker – Plastik (Todd Terje Mix) (Playhouse)
6. Ghost Note – Holy Jungle (Golf Channel)
7. Dølle Jølle – Balearic Incarnations (Permanent Vacation)
8. Syclops – Where’s Jason’s K? (DFA)
9. Try To Find Me – Make Dance (Golf Channel)
10. Rondenion – The Beautiful Memory (Aesthetic Audio)
11. Larry Heard – 25 Years From Alpha (Alleviated)
12. Omar S – Psychotic Photosynthesis (FXHE)
13. Soundstream – Live Goes On/Dance With Me (Sound Stream)
14. Toby Tobias – The Feeling (Rekids)
15. Reggie Dokes – Black Children of the Ghetto (Philpot)
16. Invisible Conga People – Cable Dazed (Italians Do It Better)
17. Afefe Iku – Mirror Dance (Yoruba Soul)
18. Neville Watson & Kink – Inside Out (Rush Ho ur)
19. Mujava – Township Funk (This Is Music)
20. MGMT – Time To Pretend (Cantora)
21. Icasol – Ongou (Claremont 56)
22. Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #3 (MCDE)
23. Ane Brun – Headphone Silence (Henrik Schwarz Mix) (Objektivity)
24. Mock & Toof – Big Hands For A Lady (Tiny Sticks)
25. Runaway – Brooklyn Club Jam (DFA)
26. Luke Solomon – Demons (Brennan Green Mix) (Crosstown Rebels)
27. Primal Scream – Uptown (Andrew Weatherall Mix) (Columbia)
28. Plastique de Reve – Lost In The City (DFA)
29. Mickey Moonlight – Interplanetery Music (Ed Banger)
30. Mari Boine vs Mungolian Jetset – It Ain’t Necessarily Evil (Lunaflicks)
31. Nick Chacona/Anthony Mansfield – Oh Snap! (Greg Wilson Mix) (Hector Works)
32. Faze Action – Hypnotic (Faze Action)
33. Jose Gonzalez – Killing For Love (Todd Terje Mix) (Peacefrog)
34. It’s a Fine Line - Woman A Makhnovshchina Reposession (History Clock)
35. The Revenge – Night Flight (Jisco)
36. Hedford Vachal – Toys (Tirk)
37. UMD – Fox In The Box (Luke Solomon Mix) (Rebirth)
38. Josh Wink – Stay Out All Night (Ovum)
39. Deetron – Let’s Get Over It (Music Man)
40. Buset – Stay (Sei A Mix) (Fine Art)
41. Lee Jones – Mdmazing (Aus)
42. Mark E – Ray Gun (Jisco)
43. Panthers – Goblin City (Permanent Vacation)
44. Jacques Renault – Bad Skinned (RVNG of the NRDS)
45. Theo Parrish – Love Triumphant (Sound Signature)
46. Rolling Stones – You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Columbia)
47. Juan McLean – Happy House (DFA)
48. Gatto Fritto – Beachy Head (Fritto Morto)
49. Linkwood – RIP (Prime Numbers)
50. Lovelock – Don’t Turn Away From My Love (Eskimo)
Thanks to Mark Moore, Kelvin Brown, Gareth Sommerville, Joe Muggs, DJ Strangefruit, Roual Galloway, Terry Farley, Gavin Herlihy, Gerd Jansen, Stuart Patterson, Paulette Constable, Leo Greenslade, Jon Da Silva, Peter Visti, Matt Johnson, Pete Herbert, Jim Angell, Dan Foat, Simon 'Faze Action' Lee, Luke Solomon, Todd Terje, DJ Pippi, Andre Bumrocks, Bonar Bradberry, Ben Pistor, Daniel Donnachie, Andrea Trout, Alexis Le Tan, Bruce Tantum, Fred Deakin, Dubious, Simon Grigg, Alex K, Miss Bailey, Asar Rivzi, Cosmo, Geert Sermon, Jolyon Green, Salvatore Principato, Rocky, Nikki Lucas, Murray Richardson, Rhythm Dr, Tim Sweeney, DJ Lexx, James Swayzak Taylor, Chris Todd and last, and more importantly, the DJhistory forum.
1. Bullock & Ruscha – The Rose (Whatever We Want)
2. Hercules & Love Affair – Blind (Knuckles Mix) (DFA)
3. Mugwump – Boutade (Misericord)
4. Grace Jones – Williams’ Blood (Yam Who? Mixes) (Jones)
5. Simon Baker – Plastik (Todd Terje Mix) (Playhouse)
6. Ghost Note – Holy Jungle (Golf Channel)
7. Dølle Jølle – Balearic Incarnations (Permanent Vacation)
8. Syclops – Where’s Jason’s K? (DFA)
9. Try To Find Me – Make Dance (Golf Channel)
10. Rondenion – The Beautiful Memory (Aesthetic Audio)
11. Larry Heard – 25 Years From Alpha (Alleviated)
12. Omar S – Psychotic Photosynthesis (FXHE)
13. Soundstream – Live Goes On/Dance With Me (Sound Stream)
14. Toby Tobias – The Feeling (Rekids)
15. Reggie Dokes – Black Children of the Ghetto (Philpot)
16. Invisible Conga People – Cable Dazed (Italians Do It Better)
17. Afefe Iku – Mirror Dance (Yoruba Soul)
18. Neville Watson & Kink – Inside Out (Rush Ho ur)
19. Mujava – Township Funk (This Is Music)
20. MGMT – Time To Pretend (Cantora)
21. Icasol – Ongou (Claremont 56)
22. Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts #3 (MCDE)
23. Ane Brun – Headphone Silence (Henrik Schwarz Mix) (Objektivity)
24. Mock & Toof – Big Hands For A Lady (Tiny Sticks)
25. Runaway – Brooklyn Club Jam (DFA)
26. Luke Solomon – Demons (Brennan Green Mix) (Crosstown Rebels)
27. Primal Scream – Uptown (Andrew Weatherall Mix) (Columbia)
28. Plastique de Reve – Lost In The City (DFA)
29. Mickey Moonlight – Interplanetery Music (Ed Banger)
30. Mari Boine vs Mungolian Jetset – It Ain’t Necessarily Evil (Lunaflicks)
31. Nick Chacona/Anthony Mansfield – Oh Snap! (Greg Wilson Mix) (Hector Works)
32. Faze Action – Hypnotic (Faze Action)
33. Jose Gonzalez – Killing For Love (Todd Terje Mix) (Peacefrog)
34. It’s a Fine Line - Woman A Makhnovshchina Reposession (History Clock)
35. The Revenge – Night Flight (Jisco)
36. Hedford Vachal – Toys (Tirk)
37. UMD – Fox In The Box (Luke Solomon Mix) (Rebirth)
38. Josh Wink – Stay Out All Night (Ovum)
39. Deetron – Let’s Get Over It (Music Man)
40. Buset – Stay (Sei A Mix) (Fine Art)
41. Lee Jones – Mdmazing (Aus)
42. Mark E – Ray Gun (Jisco)
43. Panthers – Goblin City (Permanent Vacation)
44. Jacques Renault – Bad Skinned (RVNG of the NRDS)
45. Theo Parrish – Love Triumphant (Sound Signature)
46. Rolling Stones – You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Columbia)
47. Juan McLean – Happy House (DFA)
48. Gatto Fritto – Beachy Head (Fritto Morto)
49. Linkwood – RIP (Prime Numbers)
50. Lovelock – Don’t Turn Away From My Love (Eskimo)
Thanks to Mark Moore, Kelvin Brown, Gareth Sommerville, Joe Muggs, DJ Strangefruit, Roual Galloway, Terry Farley, Gavin Herlihy, Gerd Jansen, Stuart Patterson, Paulette Constable, Leo Greenslade, Jon Da Silva, Peter Visti, Matt Johnson, Pete Herbert, Jim Angell, Dan Foat, Simon 'Faze Action' Lee, Luke Solomon, Todd Terje, DJ Pippi, Andre Bumrocks, Bonar Bradberry, Ben Pistor, Daniel Donnachie, Andrea Trout, Alexis Le Tan, Bruce Tantum, Fred Deakin, Dubious, Simon Grigg, Alex K, Miss Bailey, Asar Rivzi, Cosmo, Geert Sermon, Jolyon Green, Salvatore Principato, Rocky, Nikki Lucas, Murray Richardson, Rhythm Dr, Tim Sweeney, DJ Lexx, James Swayzak Taylor, Chris Todd and last, and more importantly, the DJhistory forum.
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