This has certainly been a great year for re-edits and remixes. A new remix that recently caught my eye was Henrik Schwarz's reworking of The Jackson Five's 1974 dancefloor soul classic "Dancing Machine". This new remix can be found as the A-Side track on a twelve-inch single that Schwarz released a few months ago off of Universal Records. Schwarz has done a nice job here of providing a fresh new take on a known classic, using a funky synth arpeggio melody as the song's overall foundation while re-working the song's vocal arrangement. I've noticed that this new twelve inch release has been a hot item on the Internet, therefore if you find a copy of this record, I highly recommend snatching it up. Overall, I find that it's always nice to hear a fresh new take on what truly is, an absolute classic. Enjoy!
First off, I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving break. I certainly had a nice one, receiving some much needed time off and rest. Now that I'm feeling a bit more rejuvenated I thought I would share the latest single "Cocaine Blues" by the Brooklyn disco group Escort. This new twelve-inch release marks the first single the group has released in three years. On this new track, the group loosely remakes Dillinger's 1976 reggae cut "Cocaine in My Brain", borrowing some of the original song's melodies while incorporating their own signature disco/boogie sound to the song's overall arrangement. Riff City recently did a really interesting interview with Escort's Dan Balis and Eugene Cho that really dives deeper into the development of "Cocaine Blues" and the thought process behind reworking specific melodies and rhythms into their own original material. Along with that interview, I highly recommend checking out the group's new single. The record continues along the same brilliance that brought us Love In Indigo, Starlight, A Bright New Life, and All Through The Night. I'm just hoping that we won't have to wait another three years before we hear the next classic! Enjoy!
Escort - Cocaine Blues (Sorry! This track is no longer available for download)
NOTE: I plan to be away from the computer enjoying my Thanksgiving vacation this week, therefore there won't be as many blog entries as usual. And while I'm on the subject, I want to wish everyone an early Happy Thanksgiving.
On to the music...
Here is the funky dancefloor gem "Blackjack" from the German disco project Tender Aggression. This track was originally released on the group's only full-length album "Fly Disco Fly" back in 1976. Tender Aggression was a short-lived disco project made up of German studio musicians, many of who helped contribute to the backing music for disco artists like Donna Summer and Silver Convention. Overall, the group put together a solid record full of sample-worthy disco breaks. Enjoy!
In the upcoming new Waxpoetics issue (See a Sneak Peak of Issue 44 Here), one of the many group's that will be featured is the legendary funk band War. With the new issue's release approaching, I thought that this would be a good time to post one of my favorite War songs in "Good, Good Feelin'". This funky gem was released in 1979 off the group's The Music Band album. Overall, the Southern California funk band has written a number of solid tracks throughout the seventies, however their might not be a song more primed for the dancefloor than this late seventies gem. Enjoy!
I'm ending this week much like I ended last week, with a bit of lost and forgotten "feel-good" Softrock. Here is Bill House's 1974 track "You're No Better Than a Common Thief", which is the opening track to Supermarkt/Mellow Mafia's incredible mix NITE-FLYTE: Funky 1978 L.A. Softrock For Your Next Nite-Drive that I posted last Friday (See Late Night Nite-Flyte). This funky track is featured on House's 1974 album "Give Me A Break". I fell in love with this track, which has a bit of a laid-back disco groove, as soon as I heard the NITE-FLYTE mix a few weeks back. Another one of those classic Softrock gems that never even made it to the "one-hit wonder" status. Glad to see the song finally receive a little bit of attention with Supermarkt/Mellow Mafia's new amazing Softrock mix. Enjoy!
The first time I came into contact with CTI Records, was when I picked up Idris Muhammad's 1977 album Turn This Mutha Out which features the disco gem "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This". That record was originally released off of Kudu, a sub-label to CTI. Since then, I have kept my eye out for many of CTI and Kudo's releases as they tend to have an overall funky jazz sound to them.
This fall, Sony is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of CTI Records with a number of reissues that highlight some of the label's most notable releases including Antonio Carlos Jobim's Stone Flower, Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay, and Stanley Turrentine's Sugar among many others. Also to help pay tribute, Wax Poetics Japan has released a three part compilation series highlighting many of the labels standout tracks from artists like Idris Muhammad, Deodato, David Matthews, Johnny Hammond, and others. The tracks featured in the series have been divided up and placed into one of the three compilations: Dance Classics, Breakbeats & Samples, and Soulful Vocals. I find myself, of course, gravitating more towards the Dance Classics, which is the material from this label that I tend to enjoy the most. Each compilation series comes with a well crafted 32-page booklet that discusses the history of CTI and the music featured on the compilations. Overall, Sony and Wax Poetics Japan have both done their part in helping to pay tribute to one of the most groundbreaking and unique jazz labels. Here is a one of the tracks featured on the Dance Classics compilation in Ron Carter's 1976 funky gem "Barreta's Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow)". Enjoy!
As you might imagine, I try to spend a major portion of my day seeking out music either through the internet or at record shops. It seems like lately I've been coming across a lot of great funky jazz records that I had personally never heard before. One of the more interesting records I recently came across is Astro Can Caravan's 2008 funky jazz twelve The Nagual Julian EP. The record features three superbly crafted tracks including "The Nagual Julian", "Athatoolagooloo", and "Cosmo Jones " that all have a consistently funky African and/or Ethio jazz feel to them. After hearing this record, I immediately became intrigued with the group and found that they are based out of Kuopio, Finland and will be actually releasing a new full-length album this month titled Planet Caravan. I must have completely missed them the first time around when they released The Nagual Julian EP. I guess as the saying goes, it's better late than never, especially when it comes to music. That being said, I now can look forward to catching them this time around as they prepare for their upcoming full-length release this month. Until then, I will be fully digesting their The Nagual Julian EP, which is certainly one of the best "newer" jazz twelves I've heard in quite sometime. Enjoy!
Over the past year, the one-time blog now-turned label Kojak Giant Sounds has been releasing some superb re-edit twelves. These releases have featured some solid re-edits from Leftside Wobble, Nicholas, Alphabet City, and many others. One of my favorite re-edits from this growing series comes from Spanish DJ/Producer Rayko, who's re-working of Stevie Nicks 1981 popular hit "Edge Of Seventeen" recently made it's way onto one the Kojak Giant Sounds releases. I was already somewhat a fan of the original version, however the Rayko did a nice job giving the song just enough of a dancefloor friendly feel that you might actually see some brave deejays drop this into their disco sets. I tend to be a sucker for re-edits that take on popular radio hits like "Edge Of Seventeen", therefore this re-edit is right up my alley. If you find yourself enjoying this edit, I highly recommend checking out the rest of the releases from this upcoming label. Enjoy!
You can purchase this 12", as well as other releases from Kojak Giant Sounds by Clicking Here.
Just a quick reminder that my new re-edit twelve-inch is now out in record shops worldwide. There was a nice short write-up on the release over at the One Thirty BPM website I recommend checking out. Piccadilly Records also included the record in their recent "Staff Picks" chart. I would love to hear any feedback from those have purchased the record. Thanks again to those of you who have continued to support me, my music, my re-edits, and releases.
Well, I'm back from my wonderful and much needed vacation in Hawaii. As you might imagine, I got a lot of sun and a lot of relaxation. Another thing that I did while I was in Maui was start reading the new autobiography of Randy Weston titled African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston. I've only finished eight chapters of the nineteen chapter book, however I would already highly recommend this book for anyone that has a fascination for African music, culture, and of course the life of Randy Weston. In this autobiography, Randy does a great job of not only highlighting his music career, but also discussing the social and cultural barriers he had to constantly deal with, being an African-American jazz musician growing up in Brooklyn. Throughout the book, Randy talks about his strong spiritual and music connection to Africa and how it was the foundation for most of his compositions. He also talks about some of the jazz artists that helped influence and shape his music like Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Coleman Hawkins as well as the outspoken novelist and poet Langston Hughes. With each page, I feel like I'm understanding more and more the life, the music, and the person that is the legendary jazz giant Randy Weston. I've been a fan of Randy's compositions for as long as I've enjoyed jazz music. It might be safe to say that his music, along with Dizzy Gillespie's music, is what got me interested into jazz in the first place. Since I've been spending a lot of time reading this fascinating book, I thought I would share another one of my favorite compositions by Randy Weston in "The Memory Of". This composition was featured on Randy's 1973 album Tanjah. Like many of Randy's records, this album has an overall funky African groove with an all-star rhythm section that includes the legendary Cuban percussionist Candido on congas. Overall, it's a great track from an artist that was always seeking the ancient African spirit within. Enjoy!
I usually don't embed music from other blogs (Thanks AOR Disco, Go Visit their site!), however this mix is just too good not to share. Here is a new mix by DJ Supermarkt/Mellow Mafia titled NITE-FLYTE: Funky 1978 L.A. Softrock For Your Next Nite-Drive. As the title suggests, the mix is a collection of forgotten softrock gems that border a bit on laid back disco and funky yachtrock. This might just be the feel-good mix of the century! Enjoy!
You can purchase this mix over at Rough Trade. GO BUY IT! Find the full playlist over at the AOR Disco Blog.
Here is a great re-edit by Pilooski of The Pointer Sisters' 1972 rare soulful track "Send Him Back". I first came across this edit thanks to DJ H.M.A. when he used to often play it back during the days we used to throw the Studio! parties in Seattle. Regardless of the night, the funky re-edit always seemed to fill the dancefloor. I was excited to finally hunt down a copy of this re-edit, which has been recently re-released as the B-side track on the Don't It Make You Crazy twelve reissue. Overall, it's a great edit and one that I think every deejay and/or disco enthusiast should own. Enjoy!
Today I'm off to Hawaii (YEAH!), so as you can imagine, I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Here is a funky Latin gem by Nico Gomez & His Afro Percussion Inc. titled "La Lupita". This track was featured on the group's hard-to-find 1971 album Ritual. Just one of the many great tracks that are feature on this brilliant record. Enjoy!
I apologize for the lack of pure disco lately. I know that the foundation of this blog was pretty much built on that genre, however the music that I have truly been gravitating towards lately has been African, Latin, and jazz music. Disco will always be where my heart is, however I hope to continue to expand this blog's platform as my own music boundaries continue to evolve and mature. As this blog continues to grow and go through more changes, I hope everyone continues to enjoy the music.
Here is an amazing African jazz gem titled "Mercy (Variation No. 1)" from the group Demon Fuzz. This track, which has a bit of an Afro-funk groove, was originally released in 1970 off the group's only album Afreaka. Demon Fuzz was one of those group's that during the time of their actual existence, they received very little support or praise. The group just seemed to be too far ahead of it's time and therefore broke-up 18 months after their only full-length release. However, over time Afreaka has gotten it's proper due and become one of the most sought after albums by deejays, producers, and record collectors. The album was recently reissued, which has also helped make the group's phenomenal music more accessible to new generations of listeners. It's always nice to see a group like Demon Fuzz and all their music brilliance finally receive the credit that they rightfully deserve. Enjoy!
With my upcoming trip to Hawaii approaching this week, it's safe to say that I'm feeling a bit "tropical". To help compliment my current mood, here is the left-field Brazilian gem "Maracatu Atômico" by one of Brazil's most notable artists in Gilberto Gil. This funky track was featured on Gil's 1979 album Nightingale. It may also be worthy to note that a solid re-edit of this track, put together by Lucci Capri, was recently included on the fifth volume of the superb Messalina re-edit series. Overall, just another funky tropical gem from one of Brazil's greatest musicians. Enjoy!
I was excited to receive a press release from Strut Records this week that they have teamed up with tropical dancefloor label Sofrito to release an upcoming compilation titled Sofrito: Tropical Discotheque. This compilation, which was put together by Sofrito deejays Hugo Mendez, Frankie Francis, and The Mighty Crime Minister, bring together fifteen unmixed, dynamite tropical grooves old and new ranging from raw cumbia, heavy Congolese soukous, bassline calypso, and cosmic highlife. Some of the compilation highlights will include an exclusive cumbia jam by Quantic titled "Cumbia Mochilla", a funky re-edit of Victor Uwaifo's disco gem "Ohue", alongside classic cuts like Gnonnas Pedro's "Yiri Yiri Boom", Roaring Lion's "Carnival Long Ago", and Mighty Shadow's "Dat Soca Boat" among many others. If you've been following Sofrito over past half decade, you'll know that everything these guys put out is of the up most quality and definitely worth owning. The highly anticipated compilation release will begin to make it's way into record shops on January 25th. Mark your calendars!
Let's end the week with Ray Munnings' 1979 version of "Funky Nassau". Munnings was one of the founding members of The Beginning of The End, which released the original version of the song back in the early seventies. Munnings eventually went on his own to release a couple of twelve-inch singles, which included his own solo version of the popular classic "Funky Nassau". On this version of the track, Munnings went with a bigger production sound that is very reminscent to many of the "boogie" songs that were starting to show up during this era. Personally, I am a bigger fan of the The Beginning of The End's early seventies version, however I think some people, especially those that have a love for "the boogie", will enjoy this late seventies rendition of the classic track. Enjoy!
I'm very excited to announce that my new re-edit 12", titled Athlete Edits Vol.01 has mad it's way into stores! This new record, which is a slight departure from my other re-edit series Cabana Disco, features three never-before-released edits that I previously featured on this site including reworks of Black Jack's 1979 disco gem "I Am a Disco Machine", Kongas' 1978 tropical disco cut "Jungle", and Ashra's 1979 cosmic track "Bamboo Sands". The Athlete Edits series is also meant in a lot of ways to help pay tribute to this blog that is now in it's fourth year online. I really hope everyone enjoys the new release and picks up a copy. I did a super-limited pressing of only 300 copies, therefore when they are gone, they are gone. ENJOY!
This Wednesday night(TONIGHT!), after you're done attending the Giants World Championship Parade (Congrats to the city and the SF Giants on their first World Series Championship), swing by Madrone (500 Divisadero Street @ Fell) for another monthly installment of Grow Up. Our last party was absoluetly crazy with the dancefloor completely packed throughout the night (See Photos). This Wednesday night will feature another solid line-up with special guests Tres Lingerie alongside Grow Up residents Hotthobo, Fenstar, and myself (Pat Les Stache). It should be another fun night, therefore I hope to see everyone!
Here is a track I plan to include into to my deejay set tomorrow night in Jimmy Ross's disco-boogie gem "Fall Into a Trance". This track is just one of the many amazing cuts off of Ross's 1981 album First True Love Affair, a record I highly recommend keeping an eye out for. Enjoy!
Today is the mid-term elections, therefore I encourage everyone to go out and vote today! The only way this thing called "democracy" can work is if everyone is engaged and participates in the proccess. GO VOTE!
It's safe to say that I'm not a big fan of reissues, however they can at times serve a valuable purpose, especially if the original becomes so rare and expensive that only a few lucky collectors would even have the opportunity at owning and enjoying a record of such degree. For this reason, I was excited to see the recent reissue of Dick Khoza's funky 1976 South Africa jazz gem Chapita. This amazing record features classic Afro-jazz gems like "African Jive", "Zumbwe (Baby Tiger)", as well as the funky slow-groovin' title track "Chapita". The reissue also makes an appeal to those that might actually even own the original by including extensive liner notes and never-before-seen photographs that aren't present on the original release. The reissue was released by the new label Matsuli Music, who actually got ahold of the original master tapes and re-mastered them for this release. Overall, Matsuli Music did an amazing job of putting together a great reissue that upholds the integrity and sound of the original. Hopefully this will now open the door for new generations of listeners to enjoy the brilliance of Dick Khoza's masterpiece. Enjoy!
This has certainly been a great year for re-edits and remixes. A new remix that recently caught my eye was Henrik Schwarz's reworking of The Jackson Five's 1974 dancefloor soul classic "Dancing Machine". This new remix can be found as the A-Side track on a twelve-inch single that Schwarz released a few months ago off of Universal Records. Schwarz has done a nice job here of providing a fresh new take on a known classic, using a funky synth arpeggio melody as the song's overall foundation while re-working the song's vocal arrangement. I've noticed that this new twelve inch release has been a hot item on the Internet, therefore if you find a copy of this record, I highly recommend snatching it up. Overall, I find that it's always nice to hear a fresh new take on what truly is, an absolute classic. Enjoy!
