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From the ethereal to the monster bass… the madrileño DJ and producer Óscar López García put out a trio of house bangers on a Truesoul multiplayer earlier this year. The punchiest one kicks off proceedings; he calls it ‘Monster Tube’. I love that TB-303.
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Even if DJ Pierre’s ‘Acid Trax’ was the first track to christen the genre, the Space Side mix of Sleezy D and pal Marshall Jefferson’s ‘I’ve Lost Control’ was the first acid house track on vinyl. The combination of Roland TB-303 over TR-808 beats was intense.
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From Friday’s ‘Pick Up’ to another, more hypnotic track of the same name. The DJ Koze single is off the German DJ’s album, Knock Knock. The simplicity of a looped disco break, courtesy of Melba Moore, and layers of filter house are held together by a sample of a heartbreaking Gladys Knight vocal. It is from the 1972 Pips song ‘Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)‘. The result has been girating clubland and deserves to be listened to loud. Have a great week.
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Let’s dance. Martin Bresso (aka Tchami) is a house music producer from Paris. In 2013, he carved out a little spot on the dancefloor for himself with the banging tune that is ‘Promesses’. Kaleem Taylor lays down the vocals against the thickest of basslines. Boom! Have a great weekend.
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Dirk Bretträger (aka Phonk D) is a producer/DJ and Darmstadt resident. After a few years of DJing a few klicks north in the clubs of Frankfurt, he founded his own label Footjob in 2014. This freedom has allowed him to develop his own deep disco sound. His single ‘Darlin’ Playa’ is a standout example, particularly so for another classic sample find. This time it’s jazz guitarist Steve Khan and his cover of The O’Jays’ ‘Darlin’Darlin’ Baby (Sweet Tender Love)’. ‘Darlin’ Playa’ features on recent Disco Goodies EP, released by online channel Nu Disco Your Disco (NDYD Records).
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Today, Phoenix are all mainstream; but back in 1999, they were part of a distinct but influential movement of French house music. Phoenix guitarist Laurent Brancowitz had played alongside Bangalter and De Homem-Christo in their pre-Daft Punk band Darlin’. Phoenix also recorded for Source, a label eternally associated to the French touch genre due to releases by Air and Étienne de Crécy. ‘Heatwave’ was the the band’s second single and there’s no mistaking the filter disco in this one. Today, the track’s chicken-scratch guitar, tight bass and drums are best known as the basis for DB Boulevard’s 2002 single ‘Point of View’.
A compilation for the weekend. My favourite songs of 1998 in no particular order:
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Honourable mentions also go to: Air for ‘La Femme D’Argent‘; Elliott Smith for ‘Waltz#2‘; Eels for ‘Last Stop: This Town‘; People Under The Stairs for ‘San Francisco Nights‘: The Beta Band for ‘Dry The Rain‘; and Massive Attack for ‘Teardrop‘.
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Geoff Hibbert had been producing dance music since 1988 under various guises. In 1991, he released this house banger as Rhythm On The Loose. I am tempted to label ‘Break Of Dawn’ as progressive house, but really this was a slice of breakbeat techno that was so prevalent in 1991. What made this track so ubiquitous on dance floors was Hibbert’s sampling of classic Salsoul. The Shep Pettibone mix of First Choice’s ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ is cleverly blended.
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Unlike me, Honey Dijon was a witness to the birth of Chicago house. (Location rather than age.) And so, ‘808 State of Mind’ is a nostalgic journey into early house music. ‘Pacific State’ is the obvious musical reference, but this tribute travels through the ballrooms of New York to the beaches of Ibiza via the warehouses of Chicago.
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The young Australian star Jordon Alexander (also known as Mall Grab) nailed the sampling of Alicia Keys (‘Feeling U, Feeling Me Interlude’) on 2016’s deep house track ‘Can’t’. Released on South London’s Church records, the single had impact. Mall Grab’s release was the number one selling house and techno record amongst the discerning customers of Discogs in 2016.
A compilation for the weekend. My favourite songs of 1999 in no particular order:
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Honourable mentions also go to: Pépé Bradock & The Grand Brûlé’s Choir for ‘Deep Burnt‘; Mos Def for ‘Ms. Fat Booty‘; Shack for ‘Comedy‘; Pete Heller for ‘Big Love‘ and Death in Vegas for ‘Dirge‘.
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A mysterious start to the week. ‘Sorrow & A Cup of Joe’ was one of the last things James Marcel Stinson ever recorded. Nonchalant deep house from one half of the Drexciya crew. “Only moccachino, make me feel alright.” Have a great week.
