As you might of noticed, I didn't update this site yesterday. The reason for this is because I received a nasty virus lat in the afternoon which pretty much disabled my computer from getting on the Internet. I believe I've destroyed the virus, however it seems like there was plenty of damage left behind. I am now updating this blog on my wife's (Thanks Stace!) laptop until I can purchase a new one, which I am doing in the next day or two. I had already planned to buy a new computer, however this annoying incident has definitely sped up the process. So for about a week, my updates my be a little more sporadic (I apologize). I'll do my best to continue to update this site the best I can for the next week or so until I'm back at full strength.
That being said, here is the track and post I meant to share with you yesterday. By the way the file is clean so you don't have to worry about me passing along a virus to you. Thanks again for every one's support. It's just another incident in the life of me right now. -----------------
Here is one of my favorite tracks from Honest Jon's recently re-issued record compilation of Cedric "Im" Brooks' finest recordings. This funky cut, titled "Africa", has an overall Afro-beat/ Fela Kuti groove that I think disco enthusiasts can enjoy. I can't say that I can totally get into all of the Jamaican saxophonist's music, as I find that some of his songs are a bit too Reggae sounding for personal taste, however he does have plenty of selections on this compilation that fans of Fela Kuti and Afro-beat can really enjoy. Anyways, have a fun Halloween and be safe!
One of my favorite new edit series is Fat Camp's Anorak Edits. All four twelve-inches that have been released over the last year have been equally solid and have featured plenty of solid disco edits. My personal favorite of the four releases is the third in the series, which features a funky edit of Timmy Thomas's 1977 classic "Africano", which I featured on the site a while back. The track, as you can image, has an overall funky African disco flavored groove that is solid from start to finish. Overall, this is just one of the many great edits from this growing series. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't heard all the records to go check them out.
Here is a late 70's Cerrone produced track, that you don't see very often, entitled "Livin' It Up (Livin' On Love)". This version of the song was one of the three tracks off the 1979 twelve-inch release Don't Give A Damn under the Révelacion name. The Cerrone' disco project also released the funky and more often seen album, The House Of The Rising Sun in 1977. As many know, Cerrone released many solid disco records under both his own name and others (Révelacion, Kongas) during the seventies and early eighties. Révelacion's Don't Give A Damn is one of those more unknown Cerrone records that has, over time, slipped through the cracks. And even though it doesn't compare to many of his other classic releases, it's definately worth checking out.
I must say that I'm going to need almost a week just to recover from this weekend's double dose of great disco nights. First and foremost, was Nicky Siano's final San Francisco appearance which took place this past Friday at the Project One Gallery. I can now admit that I was a bit nervous because I've heard and seen on YouTube that he sometimes goes into a more acid house mix instead of playing many of the classic "Gallery-era" disco gems that made him the legendary deejay that he truly is. However, with that being said, this past Friday, Siano didn't disappoint with about 95 percent of his set made up of early to mid 70's disco classics including Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes's "Bad Luck", Eddie Kendrick's "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind", Lamont Dozier's "Going Back to My Roots", Dinosaur L's "Go Bang", numerous classics from Loleatta Holloway and many many more. Overall the thing that I most enjoyed was watching how much he got into each and every song, waving his hands in the air while singing and dancing along. Deejaying the way you should in my opinion. I danced for about three and a half hours until I basically couldn't even stand up anymore. Almost the entire time I kept thinking to myself, what if this was the early seventies and I spent every weekend at The Gallery listening and dancing to music like this. Those days must have been a lot of fun. If somebody can start working on that "time machine idea" again, I would much appreciate it...
If Friday wasn't enough for one weekend of dancing, I had to somehow turn around and recuperate for Saturday night's Go Bang! as I made my San Francisco deejay debut. I will let others critique how well I did (I of course thought it was one of my best sets ever), however I will say that I had one of the best times ever deejaying. People were dancing and just plain having a great time. I don't really want start comparing this early, however I felt like the crowd was more receptive to my set than any past set I've had in Seattle. I do understand it was just one night and Nicky Siano's set the night before really had inspired me to play a really good set. Thanks to Sergio, Stanley, and everyone who helped put on the Go Bang party, it was a lot of fun. Anyways, it's safe to say that I'm going to need a few days to recover after this weekend. San Francisco, it's good to call you home.
I couldn't be more excited about tonight as disco pioneer and founder of the legendary disco club The Gallery, Nicky Siano, will be deejaying a four hour set here in San Francisco. According to many sources, this will be Siano's final San Francisco appearance and it will take place at the Project One Gallery (251 Rhode Island St). I must admit that I've been waiting to see this legend deejay for quite sometime and it will be interesting to see what era of music he decides to play. I'm definately hoping he takes it back to his early roots with many of the gems like Bonnie Bramlett's "Crazy 'Bout My Baby", Brend & The Tabulations' "A Little Bit of Love", and Exuma's "Exuma, The Obeah Man" (to name a few) that were featured on the amazing Soul Jazz comp that was released a few years back that payed tribute to Siano's legendary Gallery parties. I must admit that it's really great to finally live in a city that hosts legenday deejays like Siano. This will definately be one of those "can't miss" parties that everyone who lives even remotely close should attend. Here is another Gallery-era gem in Zulema's 1973 classic "Giving Up" from her album Ms. Z. to get you excited for tonight.
I'm excited to announce that I will be making my San Francisco deejaying debut at the next Go Bang! disco party, happening this Saturday (October 24). I will be along side special guests Steve Mak (A-List / Gentle Cycle Orchestra), and Go Bang! residents Sergio (KALX/KiNkY BeAtS), Stanley (Chilidog!), Nicky B. (Gemini Disco), Flight (Gotsoul/Galaxy Group), and Eddy Bauer. Plus this will be a Pre-Halloween Scare-Abration, so costumes are strongly encouraged. It should be an amazing night of good music, dancing, and plenty of drinking. I'm looking forward to meeting new faces and learning how SF likes to party!
DECO LOUNGE 510 Larkin / Turk SAT. Oct 24th 9PM - LATE $5/Drink Specials FREE FOR ALL BEFORE 10PM / FREE BEFORE 11PM with RSVP @ going.com/gobang
Also check out the Go Bang! page on facebook, for past party photos, info, and downloadable mixes
Here is something a little more laid back than I usually post in Mombasa's mid-seventies funky cut "African Hustle". This song falls a little bit less along the disco side and a lot more along the Afro-jazz/ funky side of things, however I'm finding myself really into tracks like these lately. The one thing that I love about this blog is that even though it's prominently a "disco blog", it's also a place where I feel comfortable in sharing non-disco or more crossover songs that I enjoy and that I think my readers will like. Mombasa's "African Hustle" is definitely one of those songs. The laid back funky cut was released on the group's 1976 album "Mombasa 2: African Rhythms & Blues". If you like this track you'll love the album. Even though I'm not huge into purchasing re-issues, mainly because they generally feel so much cheaper than the original, this record was recently re-issued and you might want to check out the entire release. Until then, enjoy learning the "African Hustle".
Here is one of the funkiest tracks I've heard in a while in Ice's 1970's Afro-funk classic "Racubah". This is amazing track which was featured on the group's hard-to-find album The Afro-Instrumental LP. This record is pretty solid all the way through with other funky cuts like "Sikiliza", "Afon", and "Oda Mimian". The record was put together by a cast of musicians that also helped make up other funky group's like Lafayette Afro Rock Band, Captain Dax, and others. Regardless, this is one of those tracks that I fell in love with, pretty much after hearing the first few notes.
Here is a solid disco track from 1979 entitled "Sweet Music" by Panaché. This is one of the many great cuts on the group's funky album This is Panache. Many of the tracks on the record fall more on the instrumental side, with simple vocal hooks sprinkled throughout. It's safe to say that if you find yourself enjoying "Sweet Music" then I highly recommend checking out the entire full-length release.
This past week I spent a few days in Seattle for work. While I was there I hit up one of my favorite record stores in Jive Time Records and I came across one of the most amazing records I have ever heard in The Har-You Percussion Group's 1969 self-titled LP. This funky Afro-Latin masterpiece has been re-issued I believe a few times, however this record shop had a mint original going for about $600, therefore it's safe to say I didn't buy it. I would say, however, if it went for anything $100, it would be sitting in my apartment right now as I type this. I guess for now, I will settle for a digital copy which you can find in a number of places on the web. Overall this record is solid from start to finish, capturing a "mostly instrumental" collection of material that blend the best of Afro-Cuban, Latin, jazz, and soul-funk grooves together to create a true masterpiece that will definitely stand the test of time. The group was formed by the guidance of Jamaican-born percussionist Roger "Montego Joe" Sanders, who was basically trying to create a music outreach program in Harlem. He brought together, taught, and directed a large Afro-Cuban ensemble made up of young musicians within the community. A pretty amazing story and foundation to maybe one of the greatest records I've ever heard. Enjoy this!
Well, I'm on my way back to San Francisco. Here is a great disco track entitled "One For You, One For Me" by La Bionda to get your weekend started off right. This funky track was released off the group's 1978 self-titled album. La Bionda is a group consisting of brothers Carmelo and Michelangelo, who also brought us the D.D. Sound. I always find that there productions tend to have a fun care-free feel that you can really get into, especially as your entering the weekend. Anyways, enjoy!
Here is a one of my favorite African disco tracks in Ephraim Uzomechina Nzeka's funky cover of Fela Kuti's "Shakara Oloje-Lady". This track is featured on both the hard-to-find 1980 LP Brother To Brother, under the name Brother Ephraim, and the excellent African disco compilation African Disco: Deep Disco From 1970s Africa. Overall, Ephraim does a nice job here of making the classic Fela Kuti song all of his own by really speeding up the tempo and making the song very accessible to a disco dancefloor. It's safe to say that his 1980 Brother To Brother LP is high on my wish list. Regardless, it's amazing track that I reccommend snatching up in anyway or format possible. Enjoy.
Another long day of traveling, this time up to Seattle for a few days of work. I know, it seems like I just left there. Trust me I feel the same way. I can't wait to have at least a few consecutive weeks in my new city, which I'm really enjoying by the way. Therefore I don't have a lot of time, so here is what I would consider one of the biggest house-disco crossover gems in The Coachouse Rhythm Section's 1977 "Timewarp", which is basically an instrumental version of Eddy Grant's classic "Nobody's Got Time". That being said I personally enjoy the instrumental version of the song. I heard this track the other night at Honey Soundsystem's "Honey Sundays" weekly party inside San Francisco's Paradise Lounge and it definately had the crowd movin'. Now it's your turn. Enjoy!
Just over the past year, I have really gotten into the Trinidad based Soca flavoured disco group Kalyan. They are one of those groups that really blurs the lines between many genres of music including disco, soca, soul, Afrobeat, reggae, etc. I've been fortunate to pick up a couple of the group's records including Trini-Vibes and the 1977 self-titled effort, which are both produced by known cosmic disco producer Tony "Champagne" Silvester. The more I listen to both records, the more I tend to enjoy them. One of the songs that has really started to grow on me is the leading track off their self-titled record, entitled "Disco Reggae. This is one of those tracks that I think really represents the group's overall sound pretty well. Therefore, if you enjoy that "tropical disco" sound, like myself, this a great group to check out.
Another artist that I have meaning to feature on this blog is Celi Bee. I have collected a couple of her records over the years including Blow My Mind, Alternating Currents, and Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch. Many of her best tracks were produced by her husband and disco producer Pepe Luis Soto. You might have seen him mentioned on this site before for his production work on the Rice & Beans Orchestra releases. Even though I own a few of Celi Bee's albums, I do tend to be a bit hit-or-miss with her music. Here is one of my personal favorites, titled "Closer, Closer" from her 1977 album Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch. Enjoy.
Good news (for a change), I am guest deejaying tonight with Sergio(Go BANG!/ Kinky Beats) at Café Flore. We will be spinning disco gems, cosmic baeleric cuts, Afro/Latin rarities, funky and sleazy moustache grooves. From my little experience of hanging out at Café Flore, it's nice laid back martini lounge that is perfect for anybody looking for low-key but very enjoyable Friday evening. Hopefully I will see some of you hanging out there later on tonight.
Café Flore 2298 Market Street & Noe w/Pat Les Stache & Sergio 9pm - 1am
Since I do have a huge collection of music, mp3's, and mainly records, I sometimes like to go through the archives of this blog to see what I have posted and what I haven't. Recently I was going through past posts and I was shocked to find that I had never posted Barrabas' 1972 funky disco classic "Wild Safari". This track, which is a personal favorite of mine, is just one of the many classic cuts off the group's amazing self-titled record which happens to also include the loft classic "Woman" (A top five favorite of mine). The 1972 LP, is by far one of my most prized records from my collection. "Wild Safari" is the type of track that represents everything that I love so much about the group that wrote it. Gritty vocals, funky latin grooves, and a bit of a classic 70's rock feel. A sound that Barrabas definately mastered during the seventies. Overall, an amazing track from an amazing band. What more do you need?!
As some might have noticed, I didn't update this blog yesterday. And if you've been following this blog for any amount of time you would have to agree that I generally have a new post for everyday during the work week. Yesterday I had a very good reason why I didn't get to posting a new track, my Grandmother whom I had recently visited passed away. This was very tough for me as she and my late grandfather are pretty much the two people that had raised me growing up. All I can say is that she was one of the most influential and important people in my life. I will greatly miss her and I will never forget all the great moments that we had and the love that she showed me. Grandma, I love you and miss you very very much.
Thanks to everyone on here who has said many nice things the past week as I've been dealing with this. It's great to know that the people that come to this site are very thoughtful individuals with great character which really continues to motivate me to keep this blog going, especially in tough times like these. So, Thank You.
I know I'm official breaking the "unofficial blog rule" and posting back-to-back songs produced by the people, however I'm going to do my best impression of a dictator and do it anyways because I was really feeling this 1977 disco gem, titled "Step by Step", by the Rinder & Lewis's produced project Discognosis. This is very rare disco cut and even more rare disco album, therefore I was very happy that Todd Terje released an extended edit of the cut a few years back off the Supreme Records label. For quite sometime now, "Step by Step" has been a personal favorite of mine and I can definately bet that I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Now that I'm in San Francisco, and really loving it by the way, I am wondering where all great spots are in this wonderful city. Record stores? Bars? Dance nights? Coffee Shops? Anything that my be fun or interesting to check out. Being a veteran of moving like I have been the last five years I do know that you have to tend to find your own way, however I would love some insider tips and suggestions to the city. So please feel free to write your comments in the suggestion box. I will greatly appreciate it!
Here is one of my favorite cuts from one of my favorite disco tag-teams consisting of Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis, better known as Rinder & Lewis. The track, entitled "Lust", was one of the many standout cuts on arguelbly one of the group's best album's, entitled Seven Deadly Sins. The album, as you can imagine, follows along the "seven deadly sins" theme and is composed of seven songs including "Lust", "Sloth", "Gluttony", "Pride", "Envy (Animal Fire)", "Anger", and "Covetousness". One for every sin as they say. To be honest, there's not a lot of sinning going on here with this album, however a lot of great instrumental disco music. This record also remains to be one of the hardest-to-find of the many Rinder & Lewis produced records. If composing these songs is a sin, than it's safe to say that both Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis will be completely forgiven by almost everyone who hears these gems.
I'm back from a very short trip to the east coast to visit my very sick Grandmother. I first off, want to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone for all the kind words towards my way. It makes me really happy to know that the people that visit this blog showcase great character and understanding when comes to sensitive issues like the one I'm currently dealing with. so, thank you very much.
On to the music...Yesterday, when I was back in San Francisco, I was excited to find Mongo Santamaria's funky 1975 LP "Afro-Indio". I had been looking for this rare and funky latin groove record for quite sometime. The whole album is solid, consisting of numerous funky latin instrumentals including today's featured track "Funk Down", which was the song that first brought my attention to the album. This is the first Santamaria record I've actually owned. I've been meaning to get into more his music, especially his more uptempo groove material, however I haven't quite been able to pull the trigger on a purchase until yesterday. After listening to this record, I must admit that I will definitely be checking out more music from this artist in the weeks and months to come.
That being said, here is the track and post I meant to share with you yesterday. By the way the file is clean so you don't have to worry about me passing along a virus to you. Thanks again for every one's support. It's just another incident in the life of me right now.
