Saturday, July 29, 2017

Various - Mellow (Wenn ich mir 'was wünschen dürfte) (2017)


01 - intro (theo parrish - levels)
02 - andres - can't shake it
03 - leston paul - everyday life
04 - little kirk - ghetto people broke version
05 - vijay benedict - zindigi miri dance dance (olefonken edit)
06 - sonya spence - let love flow on
07 - milton - mizik nou
08 - jimmy cliff - higher and deeper love
09 - patrice rushen - remind me
10 - the system - almost grown
11 - talking heads - this must be the place (naive melody)
12 - skit (jeff floyd - don't leave me)
13 - chronixx – majesty
14 - barry biggs - no sleep last night
15 - wally badarou - chief inspector (vine street)
16 - ponzu island - super koto
17 - senyaka - don't judge me bad
18 - color me badd - i wanna sex you up
19 - cos mes - slow jam #2
20 - BONUS TRACK & OUTRO - marlene dietrich - wenn ich mir 'was wunschen durfte

I hope everybody out there is good. It's been quite a while. To be precise two years. Unfortunately, that seems to be my fashion. A lot has been going on lately. Not enough to have an excuse of not updating my blog though. ''Mellow (Wenn ich mir 'was wünschen dürfte)'' is a mix I made for my sister. She asked me for a new compilation of music she could play at work, for breakfast or on a lazy Sunday... 

After a little intro Can't Shake It from Andres a.k.a. DJ Dez sets the vibe for this mixtape: Feeling Summer! ''Can't Shake It'' is the perfect sound for a convertible ride, any time and part of the city, preferably summer. Andres, as someone commented on discogs, ''is standing on the boundary of deep house, funk, downtempo boogie and hip hop. He occasionally wanders off from the intersection to any side of the country, only to return to the border lands again.'' On track #3 we have Everyday Life by Leston Paul, a ''Trini Balearic proto-house jam'' - as quoted by Invisible City Editions. I think fell in love with this song when I first heard it a few years ago on a Red Light Radio mix by Tako. ''Everyday Life'' really shows off the full force of Leston Paul's musicianship. Playing all of the instruments himself, he leads us on a journey, starting with a classic 80’s bass, and drum machines that lay the foundation for a particularly spectacular steelpan jam. Originally released on the album Keys To The City, ''Everyday Life'' can also be found on the Light Sounds Dark bootleg (!?) release from 2015, alongside a few more nice rare tracks. On track #4 we have the b-side/version of Little Kirk's Ghetto People Broke, another song which I first got introduced to via Tako's above mentioned Red Light Radio mix (check out Resident Advisor's brilliant feature Playing Favourites: Tako Reyenga for more ''peeks inside the record collection of one of Europe's foremost diggers''). You can find the original of ''Ghetto People Broke Version'' on Little Kirk's '85 album Ghetto People Broke - as well as on a not so recent anymore French repress of this impossible to find digi showcase LP. Killer! Little Kirk, the older Brother of Beenie Man, released a whole heap of amazing digital tunes in the mid- to late 80ies before becoming a soulful almost R&B styled crooner singing Gospel. I am really feeling those 80ies early 90ies b-side and ''instrumental'' cuts - the synths, the minimalism or even ambientness, the insistent pulse of drum and bass, scattered and shuffling percussion, the sparness, a certain rawness and sometimes shards of vocals - and all the time being uncompromisingly electronic. And these riddims have swing & bump. Some Detroit Techno/House & or even Acid House tunes spring to mind. I am STILL working on a compilation of some of my favourite deegeetal (digital) riddim ''versions'' and b-sides. More Reggae on track #6: Sonya Spence's Let Love Flow On. Ace Jamaican soul stepper and Boogie jam with some x-tra feel good vibes. And bass. Mellow bubbling bass. This song has been rocking quite a few dj sets and dancefloors in the last few years. Get it in superb sound quality on Jeremy Underground's BEAUTYful Beauty compilation. On track #8 we have yet another Reggae song: Jimmy Cliff's Higher And Deeper Love. But just like Sonya Spence's ''Let Love Flow On'' - not everything Reggae is Reggae. Higher And Deeper Love is a... R&B tingled Lovers Rock jam. Released on Jimmy Cliff's own Cliff Sounds and Films label. On track #15 we've got Chief Inspector by Wally Badarou. Inspector Norse by Terje. ''Chief Inspector'' by Wally Badarou. Two inspector songs with an undeniable connection. Pure eargasm. Both songs. Or as someone on youtube put it: ''I paused my porn to listen to this, but I didn't stop masturbating''... ''Chief Inspector'' never fails to bring smiles to people's faces. I chose the Vine Street mix to highlight Island Records's Paul 'Groucho' Smykle, who can usually be found engineering/remixing Island Record's 12inch mixes - the tracks with the greatest dancefloor power. CLASSIC Moog bass, Linndrum with extra added percussion. Check out the percussion solo that begins around 2:36. Worth the price of admission alone. Paul 'Groucho' Smykle seems to be something of a mysterious character. I don't think I have ever seen a photo of Groucho. But I remember him for a lot of deeper than deep Island Records 12inch mixes and remixes. Sophisticated mixes that were different, more nuanced imho, than a lot of the others that seem to get much more credit. Check this interesting interview with him on Red Bull Music Academy - as well as this little write-up and mix by Test Pressing's Dr Rob. Great stuff! Beside being a skilled audio engineer, Groucho also designed album covers. Check here, here, here and here for some of his album cover artworks. One last track which deserves some special mention is track #17, Don't Judge Me Bad from Senyaka, which just got released on a nice 12inch on Rush Hour. ''Don't Judge Me Bad" is a 1987 upbeat yet melancholic soulful disco/house groover that draws influence from boogie, AOR rock and jazz-funk. Over a driving 4×4 drum machine beat, the chugging staccato guitar and tender synth chords lay a gentle bed for Senyaka’s heart-felt vocal. Pure Summer vibes! I just got the 12inch in the mail - and I should probably get another copy before I wear this one out. Really love it - and really love what Antal (check out Resident Advisor's The art of DJing: Antal) and the Rush Hour connection from Amsterdam are doing. They have been on fire lately. Also watch out for the fortcoming Rush Hour compilation Various - Pantsula! The rise of electronic dance music in South Africa. What am I supposed to say?! An album ''full of late 80s South African dance floor winners only''... Each song a bomb! ''Selected by DJ Okapi (the man behind the great Afro-Synth blog) and Antal, the compilation holds tracks by Jivaro, The Hard Workers, Ayobayo Band, S.Y.B. & many more. This is the sharp electronic music that fuelled the local Pantsula dances during the 80s and 90s. A must have for fans of Bubblegum and Kwaito music. TOP TIP! Read the rest of review here...

Now hit the DL button before it gets deaded & don't forget to leave a comment if you enjoy this compilation. Hopefully I will be back with another mix in a few weeks.

Enjoy! DubMe

P.S.: ''Wenn ich mir 'was wünschen dürfte'' is German and can roughly be translated as ''If I'm allowed a wish'' in English.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Various - Caribbean Soul (2015)


01 - king stitt - sauvett (dance hall '63)
02 - the mighty sparrow & byron lee - try a little tenderness
03 - esso steel band - killing me softly
04 - lennie hibbert - twilight zone
05 - hopeton lewis - funky kingston
06 - tnt band - musica del alma
07 - the latin blues band feat. luis aviles - lay an oz on me baby
08 - jamaica's groove band - shaft
09 - the comancheros steel orchestra - shaft
10 - jackie mittoo - elenor rigby
11 - byron lee & the dragonaries - east to west
12 - the chosen few - people make the world go round
13 - harold butler - out of bondage
14 - the now generation - it's too late
15 - jimmy london - just my imagination
16 - jo jo bennett - canteloupe rock
17 - inner circle - jah music
18 - tommy mccook - sauvitt (bonus track)

Compilation of mostly mellow & soulful Reggae songs from Jamaica - and a bit of steels drums and Boogaloo thrown in for good measure. I made this compilation after Caribbean Soul, an old mixtape from Lars Vegas (with special guidance by Dagmar ''Dig A Little Deeper'' - who introduced me to a lot of good & new music through her record shop ''Dig A Little Deeper'' - first in Cologne - and later in Berlin). Hopefully this post marks the return to updating this blog more regularly. I'm not making lofty promises, but I would love to be more active on the site! Stay tuned & enjoy this mellow breeze of of Caribbean Soul, Summer & Sunshine!

DubMe

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Various - The World is Troubled (2014)


01 - intro (tony rebel - one love)
02 - dennis brown - the world is troubled
03 - jeb loy nichols - to be rich is a crime
04 - skit (intro - the upsetter riddim)
05 - manu chao - politik kills (prince fatty remix)
06 - pad anthony - dangerous system
07 - skit (bill hicks - it's just a ride)
08 - lee scratch perry - justice to the people
09 - sharon jones - what if we all stopped paying taxes
10 - max romeo - chase the devil (out of earth)
11 - charles bradley & menahan street band - the world (is going up in fames)
12 - skit (gil scott-heron - who'll pay reparations on my soul)
13 - nina simone - revolution
14 - gil scott-heron - the revolution will not be televised
15 - danny williams - rat race
16 - bob marley & the wailers - top ranking
17 - ras michael & the suns of negus - mr wicked men (7inch)
18 - brother & sister w. b. grate - power is in the heart of man
19 - rhetta hughes - crisis (instrumental)
20 - tackhead - for the love of money
21 - skit (i'm mad as hell)
22 - chocolate snow - inflation
23 - icho candy - blood sucker (ujama 7inch)
24 - skit (chronixx - world under siege)
25 - jeb loy nichols - hard times (new clean & straight)
26 - stupid human - mass madness
27 - outro - earl sixteen - victims

BONUS TRACKS:

Barry Reid - The System
King Short Shirt - Press On
Death - Politicians In My Eyes (...For The Whole World To See)
Charlie Clemons - The Devil Has Made This Land His Playground (Tom Noble Edit)

Here is a little selection of tunes dealing unapologetically with the mounting pressures of everyday life around the world. ''The world is troubled & living ain’t easy'' for many of our fellow brothers and sisters out there. Politricks, War, Corruption, Lies, Killings, Warmongering, Banksters, Gangsters, Money, Greed. Tribal War Ina Babylon. 2014 had it all. Or as funk/dub/industrial hip-hoppers Tackhead put it on For The Love Of Money (track #20), their first album in twenty three years:

''Welcome to Liberty City... the busier you are the less you see. Two thieves and a liar... they want to privatise the air. For the love of money''.

I wish I could find the right words to do a nice write-up for this mixtape. But I think it might just be better to let the music speak for itself. If you listen carefully to a lot of songs, old and new - so many of them share a message which is now more true than ever. And more needed than ever! Play it loud and spread the message! Let us do something. Let's make 2015 a better year. I love the lyrics on King Short Shirt's Press On, which I added as a bonus track to this mix. Sweet Caribbean Disco Groover with true words of prophecy:

Sometimes, it seems
Ignorance conquers all
Knowledge and wisdom fall

Press on, Press on

Sometimes, It seems
Like peace gone on holiday
And violence come out to play

Press on, Press on

Happy New Year to all the readers & listeners of my blog. I wish you all the best for 2015! PRESS ON, PRESS ON...! DubMe

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Various - Beatz & Carrots #15 (October 2014)


01 - luiz henrique - a trip to brazil
02 - slow motion replay - tropical forest
03 - johnny 'guitar' watson - i'll remember april
04 - the bas lexter ensample - los hermanos (remix)
05 - players - whats your problem (martin brew mix instrumental)
06 - dena deadly - 1608
07 - captain planet - enter the esperanto
08 - amadou & mariam - ce n'est pas bon (jd twitch edit)
09 - kasso - walkman (extended version)
10 - chico mann - dilo como yo (te estan llamand)
11 - bachman-turner overdrive - easy groove
12 - dedy dread & dj rebel - trip to brasil (remix)
13 - little kirk - ghetto people broke version
14 - fingers inc. - mystery of love (instrumental)
15 - ali love - pussy
16 - captain rapp - bad times (instrumental edit)
17 - anthony red rose - electric chair version
18 - vangelis katsoulis - the eternal return

After 19 Beatz & Carrots compilations on this blog - here finally is #20. And it might as well be the last one (but not the end of this blog. I probably just want to give things a slightly different/new direction). I started compiling these Beatz & Carrots compilations as a way to organize some of my monthly discoveries and favourites. Some of my friends liked them - and so I got the idea to start this blog. Just as I write this I realize it is more or less exactly three years ago that I began writing on this blog - to be precise October 31st 2011. What a coincidence. In the future, beside posting compilations of exciting music, I also hope to blog more about recent producers, djs, musicians and labels who produce, release and re-release amazing and fresh sounding music. Today there are so many talented people out there who deserve to be exposed to a wider public - and the wider public also has the right, once in a while, to be exposed to all the exciting, different and manifold music that exist beneath mainstream boredom & twerking...

On the first track Luiz Henrique is taking us on A Trip To Brazil, a joyous and mellow 'bossa moderna' song from his 1964 debut album A Bossa Moderna de Luiz Henrique. Unfortunately I can't find too much info on Luiz Henrique's first album. Not even a discogs entry. But I do love this song! On track #13 we have Dedy Dred and DJ Rebel subtly and respectfully rebooting Luiz Enriques' original: ''Tweaking the beat enough to elicit a shimmy from the modern latin breaks fan.'' (via Monkey Boxing). On track #3 - still feeling like in sunny and warm Brazil - we have a slammin' fast & bouncing bossa piano version of I'll Remember April by Johnny Guitar Watson. From his 1963 album The Blues Soul of Johnny Guitar Watson. This one needs to be re-released - if not only for the fantastic picture of him on the cover. Nice Johnny "Guitar" Watson album, and one that features him playing no guitar at all! Instead, he plays piano, and with a nice bluesy style that sounds great. He plays mostly standards, but in a fantastic way that twists them inside out, and that gives them all these great soulful edges. Check out my Beatz & Carrots #14 post for some more info on the ''Gangster Of Love''. On track #09 we have an extended version of Kasso's Walkman from 1984. Next to 1986's One More Round it is probably one of the most well known songs by Kasso, a project of prolific Italian producer Claudio Simonetti. Simonetti is known as member of Goblin, a 70s dark disco outfit that scored many George Romero horror movies, and for his involvements with the acts Vivien Vee, Easy Going, Capricorn and Kasso. Be sure to give Frankie Knuckles '86 house mix of ''One More Round'' a listen. Sweet sweet sweet! That's how I like my house! Track #11, Easy Groove, is a ''beautiful and slightly awkward disco tune'' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive from 1977. Thanks to Contain Yr Brain for introducing me to this be beauty. Be sure to check out his blog - full of rare and under-the-radar beauties... On track #13 we have the b-side/version of Little Kirk's Ghetto People Broke. You can find the original on Little Kirk's '85 album Ghetto People Broke - as well as on a not so recent anymore French repress of this impossible to find digi showcase LP. Killer! Little Kirk, the older Brother of Beenie Man, released a whole heap of amazing digital tunes in the mid- to late 80ies before becoming a soulful almost R&B styled crooner singing Gospel. I am feeling those 80ies early 90ies b-side and ''instrumental'' cuts - the synths, the minimalism or even ambientness, the insistent pulse of drum and bass, scattered and shuffling percussion, the sparness, a certain rawness and sometimes shards of vocals - and all the time being uncompromisingly electronic. And these riddims have swing & bump. Some Detroit Techno/House & or even Acid House tunes spring to mind. I am working on a compilation of some of my favourite Riddim ''versions'' and b-sides. More soon! Track #14 gives us the instrumental version of Fingers Inc.'s Mystery Of Love. Let me quote Jon Savage, who wrote an entire article about the ''vocal'' version of this track for The Guardian in 2010: A deep and hypnotic 7:12 minute long ride ''beginning with a syncopated bass figure, before a four-on-the-floor kick drum comes in, fast and clean (...) The rest of the track is an ebb and flow of Heard's melodies, beautiful laminar keys, hi-hat cymbal patterns, and echoed hand-claps over a deep groove. Much like his other work under the Fingers alias, Mystery of Love has a strong ambient vibe and evokes a sense of dreaminess and hypnotism. Way ahead of its time.'' My late night house record! I love my b-sides and instrumentals - more on track #16, where we have an instrumental version of Captain Rapp's Bad Times (''this song didn't need a rap the beat got it all by itself ''). Check out this rare original footage from Detroit's own ''version'' of the Soul Train (like this comment on the Soul Train video: ''How can we move from dancing like this to some girl swinging off a demolition ball naked, and call it progress?'' ). Lots of nice people having fun, dancing and making some crazy moves to Captain Rapp's ''Bad Times''. More rare digital ammunition on track #17: The b-side/version of Anthony Red Rose's Electric Chair. A ruthless digi-stepper. Thanks to Mark Ernestus and Honest Jon's-curated Dug Out label this utterly effective piece of Digi-weaponry is being repressed on 7inch vinyl. ''Jolting stab syncopations and throbbing futurist basslines''! Listen to the vocal version here: Anthony Red Rose, famous for his seminal Tempo vocal on the rhythm of same name, grills soundboys on the electric chair as he delivers his speech in fine style over this chillingly cool and ruthlessly effective digi riddim produced by Dennis Star in 1989. I am fading out this compilation/mix with some breathy flutes and swampy percussion on Vangelis Katsoulis' The Eternal Return. Taken from the official compilation Vangelis Katsoulis - The Sleeping Beauties: A Collection of Early and Unreleased Works, which was released on Into The Light Records this year. Beautiful stuff - and for me definitely on of the Top 10 albums from 2014.

Enjoy! DubMe

This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you burn it - and the CD will be exactly just under 80:00 minutes long...

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Various - Date With The Rain (Solaris Records - 2014)


01 - plattenrauschen
02 - angelo badalamenti - conversation on twin peaks
03 - america - a horse with no name
04 - doug hream blunt - gentle persuasion
05 - girma beyene - ene negn bay manesh
06 - asha bhosle - kya gazab karte ho jee (love story)
07 - van morrison - t.b. sheets
08 - chris montez - the more i see you
09 - pedro santos - agua viva
10 - skit (todd rundgren - intro)
11 - ron basejam - into my life
12 - mark & suzann farmer - dreams
13 - lp - angie
14 - steely dan - pretzel logic
15 - james blake - limit to your love
16 - devendra banhart - shabop shalom
17 - yuki saori - yoake no sukyatto
18 - can - she brings the rain
19 - eddie kendricks - date with the rain
20 - herb alpert - summertime (vocal)

Here is something different. A ''mixtape'' of some favourite songs - suitable for cozy autumn evenings, rain against the windows, a book and maybe even the luxury of an open fire in your living-room. Becoming lost in thought - while the music gently moves on... Music from all four corners of the world. Some old songs, some recent discoveries...

Enjoy! DubMe

''That night was the turning-point in the season. We had gone to bed in summer, and we awoke in autumn; for summer passes into autumn in some imaginable point of time, like the turning of a leaf.'' (Thoreau)

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Oobu Joobu - The Funky & Leftfield Side of Caul McPartney (2014)


01 - intro - caul mcpartney - oobu joobu - part 3
02 - caul mcpartney - let 'em in
03 - mings - letting go
04 - caul mcpartney - check my machine (edit)
05 - the hountry cams - bridge on the river suite
06 - caul mcpartney - blue sway (balearic rarities edit)
07 - caul mcpartney - goodnight tonight (disco single)
08 - cinda mclartney & the upsetters - mister sandman
09 - mings - arrow through me
10 - caul mcpartney - coming up
11 - mings - picassos last words (kmtr dub to me re-edit)
12 - caul mcpartney - oo you
13 - caul mcpartney - 222
14 - caul mcpartney - riding to vanity fair
15 - caul mcpartney & jichael mackson - say say say (instrumental)
16 - skit (intro from 'sunshine sometimes')
17 - caul mcpartney - waterfalls
18 - caul mcpartney - sunshine sometime (unreleased instrumental)

A main inspiration for making this ''mix'' was listening to Bill Brewster presents McCartney’s Left. A mix, by the co-author of the book Last Night A Dj Saved My Life - The History of the Disc Jockey, which focuses on the overlooked funky side of Paul McCartney. (Also be sure to check out Bill Brewster's recent Boiler Room DJ Set on the beach in Croatia. Some nice tunes and lots of sunshine).

Paul McCartney, the laziest musical genius known to man, ''understood the funk better than all of the other Beatles. No surprise given how adept he was on the drums (John Lennon, when asked at the NME awards in the 60s whether Ringo was the best drummer in the world, famously replied: “He’s not even the best in the Beatles.”). (…) What I love about McCartney’s productions is the sense of joy he is having in the studio. You can tell it’s play and not work.'' (via Bill Brewster's Paul McCartney’s LEFT from his blog at djhistory.com). Flash from the great blog Flashstrap continues: ''Paul was, if the jauntiest and catchiest songwriter of the Beatles, simultaneously the most experimental and avant-garde''. Beside some eclectic choices from Paul McCartney's works with his band the Wings - his albums McCartney, Ram and McCartney II ''tower as beautiful, wild, and endlessly enjoyable masterpieces, a testament to and realization of all the promise and talent the 20th Century's most successful composer carried with him into his solo career''.

Music on this ''mix'' ranges from as early as 1970 until the late 00's. I have taken my time during the last 12 months listening to more or less Paul McCartney's whole discography. And I think I can say all Paul McCartney albums - even his more resent one's are worth a listen. Choosing songs for this ''mix'' - the only criteria was: They gotta be beautiful, have that special something. Hidden warm, soulful, groovy funky quirky pop moments from the depths of recorded musical history. There are some well-known songs included in this mix - as well as many lesser-known gems from a syrup of diversity and weirdness, which went unnoticed to the general public. You can feel what must’ve been an enormous sense of freedom pour through some of these songs. The recordings are reckless at times, almost always joyous, and rarely exactly what you’d expect...

After a short intro I am opening this ''mix'' with Let' Em In. Like waves lapping on a beach. On track #5 we got The Country Hams - Bridge On The River Suite. A mellow instrumental cut with some warm bass, sweet guitar playing and a bit of ''orchestral brass''. ''The Wings held sessions in Nashville, Tennessee from early June into July 1974. During the July sessions, the Wings were also joined by music legends Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins. Together they recorded this McCartney-composed instrumental titled ''Bridge On The River Suite''. (via The Beatles Rarity) Next - on track #6 the mysterious Balearic Rarities deliver a nice edit of Paul McCartney's ''Blue Sway''. A moody synth-heavy track that features some bluesy guitar licks from Paul. Also check out the beautifully shot music video by award-winning surf filmmaker Jack McCoy from 2012. Track #7 - The Wing's Goodnight Tonight (Disco Version) combines a disco-groove with flamenco guitars. Taken from the book "Paul McCartney Solo Music Career 1970-2010 (John Cherry)": "Disco and dance music were the rule of the day, so Paul, reluctantly, decided to release "Goodnight Tonight" recognizing that people would hear it as a dance song. Becoming Wings' third best selling single, the pop song "had toes tapping, possessed an infectious chorus, and sounded great on the dance floor." I really like McCartney's bass playing on this one. Paul McCartney had expressed an interest in Reggae back in the 1960's and was said to have been a keen follower of Perry's work. The pair met a number of times in London and although McCartney never visited the Black Ark Studio in Jamaica, he did send some demo tapes to Perry and requested he create some rhythms for his wife Linda's debut solo album. One of the results is track #8, Linda McCartney cover of The Chordettes 1954 Doo Wop classic Mister Sandman with Paul McCartney on guitar. Beautiful stuff... Track #10, Paul McCartney & The Wings's Coming Up is a strange but pop-friendly disco track with massive compression and sped up vocals. Watch the video for a good laugh! How many Pauls can you see? On track #11 we got KMTR's brilliant dubby edit of the Wing's Picassos Last Words. Love this edit. It is just focusing on the best parts of the song - and taking it to new heights. Thanks for 6+ minutes of dubby pleasure! KMTR (aka Konstantin Timoshenko) is a collector, DJ, producer, remixer, musician from Sofia, Bulgaria. Check out his soundcloud page and his blog Flea Music Paradise for more good music. Next, on track #17 we have Waterfalls, a gentle Paul McCartney ballad from his first solo album after Wings, McCartney II. The song has a stripped-down sound, with McCartney only playing a synthesizer and singing. ''As with the McCartney album of 10 years earlier, Paul played all of the instruments, except for Linda's backing vocals on the last song ("One of These Days"). McCartney recorded it without a mixing console, with all microphones plugged directly into the back of a 16 track tape machine. And in almost every case, Paul laid down backing tracks with bass, drums and guitar and added the vocals subsequently'' (via Exquisitely Bored In Nacogdouches). I am tuning out this ''mix'' with ''Sunshine Sometime (Unreleased Instrumental)'', a slow, sun-kissed and somewhat haunting song with an incongruously speedy bass part, blessed with touches of electric guitar. Paul recorded it for the animated film Rupert and the Frog Song

Enjoy! DubMe

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Various - Island Disco (Soca Fusion, Cadence Explosion & Steeldrum Grooves - 2014)


01 - safi allah abdullah - afrika is burning, and black man is doing the freak
02 - kassav - lague moin
03 - lord kitchener - sugar bum bum
04 - original tropicana steel band - spanish hustle
05 - the checkmates - disco groove
06 - calypso rose - have mercy
07 - colleen grant - latin parang (12inch - barbados island disco - 1980)
08 - ed watson - ain't no stopping us now
09 - wagadu gu - easy dancing
10 - original tropicana steel band - el prompompero
11 - merchant - instant funk
12 - bobby raven - soca fusion
13 - les aiglons - es zot tende (skit)
14 - nelson family - gimme love
15 - basso - socaland

Two weeks ago Tippa Irie & his Selecta JB Bakers came all the long way to perform in Chengdu/China. Really good night, great crowd, irie vibes all over… Tippa Irie delievering a stellar perfomance, riding some sweet Reggae & Dancehall riddims - and getting everyone excited. And the crowd returned the vibe… They were only booked for 90 minutes - but after their live show Tippa Irie & his Selector kept spinning 45's till 5:30 in the morning… Playing classic Reggae & Dancehall tunes from the 60ies - 10ies… Sweetness Galore! Don't get that in Chengdu that often. So I initially wanted to take this as a motivation to share a Reggae mix/compilation (which I will definitely do sometime soon!). But I am still flying high on the Disco/Balearic vibe - so here is ''Island Disco'' - some favourite tropical jams from the Caribbean...

I am opening this ''Island Disco'' compilation with the Disco Not Disco song Afrika Is Burning - And The Black Man Is Doing The Freak by Safi Aallah Abdullah. A song which is basically an attack on disco, on disco's hedonism: ''Under screams of a boiling overdose systematically controlled by idiots of the White House with twisted grins and stale peanuts. Africa is burning, and the Black Man is doing the Freak.'' It goes on to point a finger at party-goers and their ''tight jeans and Elton John sunglasses, Pierre Cardin sneakers and a bag of smoke.'' While the sermon is delivered in the finest Gil Scott-Heron tradition, ironically the music which is a glorious mix of reggae, calypso, funk, highlife and much more makes it a pretty unique disco classic itself." (via Your Heart Out). Great song which I got from the Soca compilation Rebel Soca. My father used to play this a lot when I was a kid - and my sister and me would hum along in the back of the car ''Africa is burning - and the black man is doing the freak...'' - not really understanding the lyrics - but definitely enjoying & feeling the groove. This rather ''grim'' opener is followed by Kassav's Lague Moin from their 1980 album of the same name. Sweet & uplifting grooves from the French West Indies with hypnotic keyboard loops & great discoid percussion. Parisian duo Jupiter did a electro-pop edit of this song a while ago: Kass Limon. Not bad - but I prefer the original. On track #7 we have got Colleen Grant - Latin Parang. Massive Barbados Island Disco CHRISTMAS song from 1980 with fat bass, handclaps, spacey female vocals, consistent synths... Dancefloor bomb! Track #8 keeps the heat with a killer Island Disco version of McFadden & Whitehead Ain't No Stopping Us Now: Ed Watson's very own Reggae-tinged Ain't No Stopping Us Now. I love every version of this song. On track #9 we are leaving the Caribbean for a short trip to Africa via London. London 1979 - that's where Wagadu Gu's delightful Easy Dancing was recorded - mixing highlife and soca elements. Feel Merchant's Instant Funk on track #11. Originally to be found on the super-rare LP Merchant’s Pilgrimage (1981) - this song luckily saw a re-release on Guts and Mambo's über-sweet compilation BEACH DIGGIN’. Go and get your own copy. The whole compilation is great! Let me share some info on Merchant and his song ''Instant Funk'' from the liner notes of BEACH DIGGIN: ''Orphaned at a young age and then caught up in drugs, shady affairs, prison and then more drugs. Then AIDS. And RIP. Total chaos. Yet in the midst of all these shocks, Dennis Williams Franklyn, the one-man band behind Merchant, learnt to play the guitar by ear along with the art of transcribing the songs he composed in his head for its six strings. He had no training to write or read music, only feel. And here there are brass, percussion, strings and a free bass, while a guitar revolves like a worm screw around a pulsing beat. In sum, a blazing disco-funk construction with something going on on every floor''. I am ending this compilation with Basso's edit of a secret Island (!?) gem named ''Socaland''. Get it on Blackdisco #8. Powerful edit which gets better every time I play it. Make sure to play it loud! Basso is one of the members of the blog The Growing Bin. Great blog which not only introduced me to a lot of amazing music - but also opened up new musical worlds to me which I didn't even know existed. Make sure to check it out - and you might even able to buy some rarities in his online shop Growing Bin Records - where he sells all kinds of great under the radar music. Prices are super fair. Well - back to ''Socaland'' - is it groovy now...?!

Enjoy! DubMe