So Nicolas Jaar is back with a free Edits EP (although they are actually remixes). Perhaps the most consistent producer working today, he never ceases to impress. Hit the download button next to whatever track you want. Or go to RA and download all of them zipped up and read the controversy and backlash about the Soul Clap Edits.
Cant choose a favourite here; either Feeling Good or Stay in Love. And if you are in Berlin this evening, you should probably head over to Bar25 to see him and Soul Clap throw down. Soul Clap are playing from 6 - 10 pm (Berlin time). Then Nico from 10 on. Still unsure if he will be playing live or dj'ing, but either way, it will be worth the 5 euros. I will put on my journalist hat and try to get some quotes, pics or rumours from the guys or just random people. If you cant make it, tune in to Bar25 radio at the appropriate time and hear whats being played live.
In my last post I meant to include a download of Soul Clap's Conscious. So here it is now.
So this is the first installment of a vinyl-only series; a series that grew (and will continue to grow) simply out of my frustration for not being able to find digital music. I suspect the reason is because most of it is limited edition pressings of mostly bootleg edits, but I havent been able to verify that at this point.
A prime example is this scorching Bowie edit. This is the stuff I am seriously into. They call it anything from slow-house, nu-disco, disco edits and rock edits. The point is that the bpms stay roughly between 102 and 118 and sweet muted or scratchy guitar riffs are looped and layered to create a repetitive, building and then climaxing sonic landscape. Which interestingly is not far off from original 'house' music. A 'slow house' dj recently told me that the average bpm of old school classic house was 112 - 118; which is really amazing because, as he quickly added and as some of us know all to well, if its lower than 124-5 its not (or hardly ever) being played in a Berlin club. I think this generalization can be sadly stretched to fit most club/dance scenes, obviously excluding the hip-hop and R & B 'club/dance' scenes. The point is, I think its time we re-examined our ideas and (likely biologically ingrained) habits surrounding dance tempos, because it seems we can be very comfortable grooving along at say, 104 or 110. Of course there will and should always be a place for high tempo shuffles, but it shouldn't be the appetizer, main course and dessert. Right?! An interesting thesis topic that just came to mind would be to examine the tempo of various ceremonial dances and drums patterns in various native and aboriginal tribes and clans across the world. We could also note the factual, alleged, or even desired subjective experience resulting from or correlating to the tempo and use that as a another variable in our study of modern dance music tempos. Doing this would allow us to get a sense of the historicity of the plus 124/5 bpm standard and possibly (I would say likely) support my argument for the comfort and importance of slower tempo jams.
Anyway, this was supposed to be about hard-to-find vinyl-only releases and it turned into a rant about bpm's. I was actually going to save that rant and formalize it with examples and references in a slow-house post. Oh well. Maybe I will still do it.
Ok back to the Bowie Bootleg - Duff Disco edits Fame.
Soul Clap are really awesome sometimes. They have a few vinyls out of housed-up bootlegged samples of classic tracks. I posted one already back in May, but I have two more for you. In their 'Pop Edits' EP they shake up two stellar classic lamentations: Fleetwood Mac's Dreams and Chris Issac's Wicked Games. Not sure if they are technically 'edits', more remixes I'd say, but either way, nice.
Here's another Soul Clap Edits EP where they turn the 80's classic 'Conscious of my Conscience' by Womack & Womack into a deep and chuggy detroitesque house groover on the A side. The B side is their reworking of 'Love Light in Flight' by Stevie Wonder. Its descent, but not as good as the A side. And actually The Revenge had recently reworked the same Stevie Wonder song calling it 'Night Flight' from the EP of the same name (more on The Revenge later). Notice how the remixed or edited versions have titles that relate to their original source - a sure sign of proprietary violation. We can even map the boldness of the remixer/editor by the similarities of the two track titles in question, that is, if we had lots of time on our hands and felt so inclined.
Soundcloud says you can buy these tracks on beatport, but actually you cant. Julius Morelius, a soundcloud commenter says "im so glad i bought it on beatport now they retired it and you cant buy it no more in digital". But still its curious, right - are mp3 stores in the habit of retiring mp3's? I will do some investigating and let you know.
Check out the Womack and Womack original.. Outstanding!!
So I had this next one on my list of hard-to-finds, after spotting it on Phonica but as I was writing this out I checked again and found it. Amazing what time can do for down(free?)loaders - everything is available eventually.
Two big names in the world of disco-related music are Woolfy and DJ Spun. The A side is Sir Woolfy's pitched-down version of Street Man by Brooklyn Dreams, a 70's disco band. The folks over at Sleazy Beats see eye to eye with me about dropping the tempo and in their review they welcome "the sub 110 tempo of this one, along with the moody vocal and disco strings". They call it "a definite warmup winner". The B side is DJ Spun's on 'Straight To The Bar' a track that Sleazy Beats feels "hits the bullseye in terms of musical elements: fat-ass bassline, snappy woodblocks, cowbell, delightfully reverbed claps topped off with an especially dreamy organ riff and an irresistible monumental slap-bass discobreak".
Woolfy & DJ Spun: Watchawannado Vol.2 (buy) (download)
A-side: Sir Woolfy - Brooklyn Creams
B-Side: DJ Spun - Straight to the Bar
I have a couple more vinyls to put in this post, but I think that might be enough for both me and you at this moment. So i think vol. 2 will be up soon.
Matthew Dear is a prolific and inspiring guy. He operates under 4 pseudonyms - Matthew Dear, Audion, False and Jabberjaw - each with their own distinctive sound, but all unmistakably Dear. As himself (Matthew Dear) he makes avant-guard synth-pop, and it is his music as himself that I am most into. His other aliases produce more edgier techno that are equally praised and respected by the relevant aficionado's.
He first came on my radar in 2007 with the album Asa Breed by Matthew Dear. With catchy riffs, pop hooks, funky bass lines, creative vocal layering and sparkly atmosphere, Asa Breed was immediately revered and solidified Dear as a genius and pioneer. It was an album that at first I didnt know how to approach, as it comes at you from many sides. But with repeated listens it grew on me to the point where it is now one of my favourite contemporary pop albums. Outstanding tracks from Asa Breed are, Pom Pom, Deserter, Don & Sherri
Good to be Alive
Then last week (Aug 17), as Matthew Dear, he released a new album, Black City. This is his press release.
"Matthew Dear’s Black City can’t be found on any map. It’s a composite, an imaginary metropolis peopled by desperate cases, lovelorn souls, and amoral motives. Like most literary Gothams, Black City is a place to love and hate, as seedy as a nightclub’s back room and as seductive as the promise of power. Matthew Dear, the musician, may live in New York City, but the Matthew Dear of Black City inhabits a sound-world unlike any other: a monument to the shadowy side of urban life that bumps and creaks, shudders and wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Black City is Matthew Dear’s third album on Ghostly International, and it’s his darkest and most engrossing work to date."
The title track and lead off single is super catchy and disco-esque.
Little People (Black City)
Soil to Seed is a slower, soulful yet sleezy strut through some hood of his Black City.
And Slowdance, the crowning achievement of Black City.
Accompanying the release of Black City is 100 Black City 'totems' that embody the concept albums' simultaneous political and personal orientations and show off Dear's overarching thoughtfulness.
"Each MDBC [Matthew Dear Black City] Totem is inscribed with a unique four-character suffix that will allow users access a private page on matthewdear.com, where Black City may be streamed in its entirety from any web-accessed computer, or downloaded. Owners of the totem will also receive an exclusive track, not previously available on the standard album release. Unlike current delivery methods, the totem is a physical format for cloud-based listening, an acknowledgment of two seemingly irreconcilable notions: the need for a tangible representation of music and a future in which music utterly ethereal."
Marvin Gaye is easily one of my favourite artists of all time. He was a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist with apparently a 3 octave vocal range. He was born in 1939 and immediately followed the path of music. He worked with several Motown artists and groups in his early years, but it wasn't until he was 24 (in 1963) that he hit it big when he recorded the doo-wop song 'Pride & Joy'. From that point on he basically just kept producing hits (with the exception of some 'dark times' he suffered due to personal loss and drug use) until his tragic death April 1, 1984 when his father shot him after he tried to break up a domestic dispute between his father and mother.
The text below (from wikipedia) outlines the development and changes in Marvin Gaye's 26 year music career; through doo-wop, jazz, blues, funk, gospel, R & B, to psychedelic soul, disco, and contemporary pop. If your not into reading just scroll down and watch some interview and get some downloads.
"Upon his early recordings as member of The Marquees and Harvey & the New Moonglows in the late 1950s, Marvin recorded in a doo-wop vocal style. After signing his first solo recording contract with Motown, Marvin prompted staff members he wanted to record an adult album of standards and jazz covers. His first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, conveyed those genres including several doo-wop and blues songs.
Starting with his first charted hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" through 1967's "Your Unchanging Love", Marvin's music featured a blend of black rhythm and blues and white pop music that came to be later identified as the "Motown Sound". Marvin's 1962-1964 hits reflected a dance-pop/rock 'n' roll approach while his 1965-1969 recordings reflected a pop-soul style. Backed by Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers, pre-1970 Marvin Gaye recordings were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. Marvin's early hits were conceived by Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Marvin's sound started to change slightly in 1967 after he began working with producers Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson and Frank Wilson. Whereas Marvin's early sound reflected a youthful exterior, later songs during that period including "You", "Chained", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is" were all recorded under the psychedelic soul sound of the late sixties and early seventies. "Psychedelic soul" mixed guitar-driven rock with soul-based grooves. Marvin's vocal style also changed during that period where he began singing in a gospel texture that had been only hinted in previous recordings.
In 1971, Marvin issued his landmark album, What's Going On. The album and its tracks were responsible in the changing landscape of rhythm and blues music as the album presented a full view of social ills in America, including war, police brutality, racism, drug addiction, environmentalism, and urban decay. Beforehand, recordings of social unrest had been recorded by the likes of (Curtis Mayfield &) The Impressions, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone and James Brown, but this was the first album fully devoted to those issues. The album was produced under what is called a song cycle and because of its theme of "what's going on" was considered one of the first concept albums to be released in soul music. Marvin's 1972 soundtrack Trouble Man, based on the blaxploitation film of the same name, mainly featured instrumentals with a few vocal runs, including songs with social commentary. Marvin's 1972 recordings outside that album — including "Where Are We Going", "Piece of Clay", "You're the Man" and "The World Is Rated X" -- also raised social issues and was personal in nature. The songs were to be included in the unreleased 1972 album, You're the Man, which was canceled after the modest reception of the title single. Marvin issued his next "concept album" with 1973's Let's Get It On, based on the spiritual and erotic side of love and sex. Marvin released a similarly themed funk album in 1976, I Want You, before switching to personal issues with the albums Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981). The former album focused on Marvin's problems in his first marriage, while the latter focused on his own life struggles. Marvin's albums between 1971 and 1981 reflected a period where, as an Allmusic writer said, his music "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".
Starting in the early-seventies, Marvin's sound began to reflect the emerging sounds of funk and the later disco movement of the late 1970s. Marvin's double-sided 1976 single, "I Want You/After the Dance" and his 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up" were his only successful attempts at recording disco-styled dance music whereas the 1978 single "A Funky Space Reincarnation", 1979's "Ego Tripping Out" and the 1981 singles "Praise" and "Heavy Love Affair" aimed at the funk-based urban audience. By itself, "I Want You", mixed funk with disco, soul and lite rock elements. With the release of 1982's triple-platinum Midnight Love and the massive platinum selling smash hit, "Sexual Healing", Marvin mixed the styles of funk and post disco with Caribbean and European-flavored pop music creating a mix that influenced the modern R&B sound. "Sexual Healing" was the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s - #1 for 10 consecutive weeks. Some of Marvin's posthumous releases have been varied in nature: 1985's Dream of a Lifetime was produced mostly in a electro funk sound mostly in the first half of the album, while his posthumous "featuring" on rapper Erick Sermon's 2001 hit, "Music" brought him to a younger hip-hop audience."
In 1983 he sang an epic version of the Star Spangled Banner at the NBA All-Star Game.
Here is an upfront, and straight interview he gave late in his career.
Here is a kinda strange and awkward interview with his father:
Here is a Soul Train interview from the middle of his career.
If dont already have it, you should probably go and download 'Marvin Gaye, The Master - 4 Disc Greatest Hits (1961 - 1984)' (Discs 1 & 2) (Discs 3 & 4)
So this is the first installation of the (mostly classic rock and disco) edits series. So let me start by explaining the difference between an edit and remix. Actually, djhistory.com forum can do that better;
"A re-edit [or simply an edit] can be done without the master tapes, or any raw bits of the song. You're taking a finished work and cutting it to pieces. And possibly adding simple parts ... a drum loop or rising keyboard sound or maybe some filtering/effects.
To truly do a remix, you need either the "master tapes" (or in this day and age the computer file) with all (or some) of the parts of track divided up. You may use some of the original sounds, not use some, loop different parts, add your own parts. And you may use none (or next to none) of the tracks from the original. Also there is usually some major rearrangement. This is a remix in the current sense of the term.
In a more traditional (and possibly literal) sense, a remix is bringing the multi-track tape back up through mixing board, and readjusting the levels. Usually for dance purposes, this involves boosting the bass and drums, and possibly adding more effects (quite possibly dub style effects). And maybe tape looping some of the parts to extend them (i.e. intros and breakdowns). But less writing of new parts and total rearrangement. This I would say is a more 'traditional' remix."
Wings - Let em it (Jimi Bazouka [aka Joakim] Edit)
Diana Ross - One Love (Onda Sonora Edit)
Sanford & Townsend - Does it have to be you (Dj Supermarkt Edit)
2 others here for download. You can preview the Sade song by clicking on it, then right click to save. No preview for The Doors edit, but if you like the Doors, you should dig it.
I think I seem to vaguely recall, 2002, when Hide You by Kosheen came out. Maybe I danced to it even at some rave-ish outdoor party. Anyway, apparently (according to wikipedia) they have a new album, their fourth, coming out soon. I am not that interested in their stuff however, as trip-hop and drum and bass aren't my thing(s), but how about this laid back (amateur) Wes Montello remix?!
A bit cheesey, I know, but that vocal melody is just unstoppable.
I've actually even played this 2008 Wighnomy Brothers version out a couple times lately... and it seems like its got some shelf life.
If you like the Wighnomy version head over to the Bicep and get your copy.
Download Tracklist: The Art Of Noise - Paranoimia Susan Christie - Paint A Lady Joe Walsh - County Fair Buckingham & Nicks - Frozen Love The Eagles - Those Shoes Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home Black Sabbath - Symptom Of The Universe Seals & Crofts - Sweet Green Fields Eurythmics - I Did It Just The Same Nacht Und Nebel - Beats Of Love Jim Capaldi - I'm Gonna Do It Fleetwood Mac - World Turning Womack & Womack - Love Wars Supermax - It Ain’t Easy
Download Tracklist: Black Sabbath > Planet Caravan Aphrodite Child > 666 Idris Muhammed > Loran’s Dance Saint Tropez > Belle De Jour Crosby, Stills & Nash > Wooden Ships Loggins & Messina > Pathway To Glory Quiet Village > Pillow Talk Flash & The Pan > Whole in the middle The James Gang > The Bomber ZZ Top > El Diablo Toy > Suspicious The Small Faces > Ogdens Nut Gone Flake The Animated Egg > Sock ‘em Chairman Of The Board > Feel’s good
Mindless Boogie is a hot disco-bent vinyl only label out of Belgium. Check out his myspace and website for cuts and releases.
Apparently Thomas Edison was the first guy to invent and record audio (1877). But I bet he had some help.
Anyway, here is a 'trailer for an upcoming 8 part series following the history of recording technology, importance on culture and the future of the music industry. Interviews include: Clint Eastwood, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Flea, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Honeyboy Edwards, Phil Spector, Smokey Robinson, Gloria Estefan, Herbie Hancock and many others.'
This is kind of a correction of my earlier Martin Stimming post wherein I claimed he opened his February Berlin set with a new and unreleased track called 'Fell Forever'. I recently discovered that it is not new or called 'Fell Forever'. Its a remix he did last year of a track called 'Fail Forever' by newish Danish group When Saints go Machine. I am still unsure if it was properly released.
Here's the orginal
Here's the superb Stimming version
There were a number of remixes commissioned around the time When Saints Go Machine released their debut album 'Ten Makes a Face'. I havent listened to the album yet, but with a single like 'Fail Forever' I will definitely check it out. As for the remixes, Dop, Ost & Kjex and a couple other artists also remixed 'Fail Forever'. Datasapiens has 2 up for download and the rest up to stream.
Check back in the next couple days and I will find and put up a link to download the Stimming remix.
So I have been taking some down time. Away from the internet... kinda. Time to re-group anyway.
Also some weddings here. For the wedding tomorrow, which I must dj, the song the couple wants played when they walk down the aisle is an instrumental version of 'Bittersweet Symphony' by The Verve. While looking for the song, I discovered the seemingly well-know story and controversy behind the song. (You can stop reading and accept my apology if you already know it).
A reasonable place to start is in 1955 with The Staple Singers who arranged and recorded the traditional blues/gospel song, 'This May Be the Last Time'
Then in 1965 The Rolling Stones did their own version of the song, 'The Last Time'
The following year, 1966, the original manager and producer of the Rolling Stones Andrew Oldham released an album of outtakeish material played by the Stones and other studio musicians that was commissioned for the actual Stones album, but didnt make the cut for whatever reason. The 1966 album, 'The Rolling Stones Songbook' by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra was one of 4 such outtake albums and featured 'The Last Time'
So fast-forward 30 years to 1997, where Richard Ashcroft, lead singer of The Verve pays for the rights to use a sample of the Andrew Oldham version in his 'Bittersweet Symphony'.
Anyway, the story ends with the guy who owns the rights to all the Rolling Stones Songs from the 1960's, Allen Klein, suing The Verve, claiming they used more than the sample they paid for. Klein won and receives 100% of the income 'Bittersweet Symphony' generates and can put the song in any commercial he wants. Of course, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones (the guys who wrote 'The Last Time') have nothing to do with any of this.
PS. After checking out 'The Last Time' by the Stones, I have spent hours clicking related old Stones videos and I have now become a bit obsessed.
And then I came across their later stuff... Gold.
In their Top 500 Songs of All-Time, Rolling Stone magazine gave 14 to the Stones; making them second to only the Beatles.
So Nicolas Jaar is back with a free Edits EP (although they are actually remixes). Perhaps the most consistent producer working today, he never ceases to impress. Hit the download button next to whatever track you want. Or go to RA and download all of them zipped up and read the controversy and backlash about the Soul Clap Edits. 
