Seven Minutes Of Dub Disco Bliss



In 1983 the mighty rhythm section of Sly & Robbie went into the studio with disco diva Gwen Guthrie, keyboardist Wally Badarou and guitarist Darryl Thompson. They created a great mini LP titled Padlock, also the name of "the group". It's six tracks of dubby flavored disco, with super tight bass lines and beats, topped off Gwen's faulous vocals. The tapes were then handed over to legendary Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, who remixed them for maximum dancefloor impact. Here's the title track, Padlock, where Gwen rips on her man - "you blew it, so I'm padlocking my heart - I don't love you no more!" Amen sister.

Something Wicked This Way Comes



It's funky Friday so I offer you a great instrumental tune from Barry Adamson's 1996 LP Oedipus Schmoedipus. Something Wicked This Way Comes rides an old-school soul guitar riff, features some killer organ bits and a nice funky bass line - a low-key spy jazz theme. What makes this tune a hit for me is his use of a Massive Attack sample (the title track from Blue Lines, which of course is itself a sample of some '70s jazz-fusion tune), which he scratches in for the breakdown bits of the song. It gets me every time. Definitely one of the lighter moments from what can be a very dark and spooky album.

Bloc Party Versus Minotaur Shock



Unless you've had your head up your butt for the last few months you've no doubt heard of Bloc Party. The blogosphere loves 'em, and it's a well deserved love. This young four piece from England flat out out-rocks most of their competition in the post-punk scene, with lots of sharp guitars and funky bass and singer Kelly Okereke's distinctive voice. Their debut LP Silent Alarm is getting a US release in February or March and they are doing a US tour in March (including March 30th at Minneapolis' First Avenue - woo-hoo!) to support it. This week saw the release of a great little two track single called Tulips on Dim Mak Records. It's a tune that's not on the album, and you get the original version and a remix, Tulips (Club Version). The remix is done by Minotaur Shock, best known for his very tuneful takes on the indie folk-tronic thing. He reconstructs the tune over a big beat, adds lots of cool swooshy sounds, and keeps the big guitars and vocals and bass intact. It's great of course. Buy the album when it comes and help make these boys stars! Also of note - check Kelly's vocal contribution on the track Believe from the new Chemical Brothers LP Push The Button.

Return Of The Monkey Man



Ian Brown's latest album Solarized is finally getting a US release sometime in February. I was (and still am) a big fan of the Stone Roses, and I have enjoyed all of Ian's solo albums. The latest is nothing shockingly new - it's a further refinement of where he's been. The songs are a nice blend of rock and electonic instrumentation, so you get funky beats and bass lines with rocking guitars. He's still singing about the mysteries of peace and love and astronomy, but then that's never going to change. I have to admit that despite all of the hippy-dippyness of it all I dig it. especially Time Is Everything. It's a fairly groovy little tune, but the key for me are the horns on it - a sweet, Spanish flavored riff that gets stuck in my brain every time I hear it. Good stuff.

Funky Friday - The O'Jays



When I was a lad in the '70s, my folks had a copy of the classic O'Jays album Back Stabbers. I loved it's combination of catchy songs and funky grooves. I recently decided I had to own a copy of it again so I picked up the remastered reissue that came out back in '96. It's as good as I remember. The songs balance love, politics, social commentary and those seriously big Philly soul orchestrations perfectly, all played to perfection by house band MFSB. When The World's At Peace kicks the LP off in great fashion, a strident, funky call for peace in the world, recorded in 1972 as the war in Vietnam continued. It's message still rings true today - it's just a different war. This track has it all - great lyrics, super harmonies, horns, and a big cowbell. Perfect. The rest of the LP is just as smokin' - well worth the investment!

Ladies and gentlemen... Miss Grace Jones



It's Funky Friday so here is one groovin' ass tune. Take one scary, intense disco diva. Add a big helping of fresh (for the time) go-go beats straight off the streets of Washington D.C., and top it all off with dollops of Trevor Horn's trademark epic production and you are left with this enormous 8 minute, 12" remix version of Slave To The Rhythm. From the deep voiced introduction of Ian McShane at the beginning to the blissful fade out at the end, it's every minute is classic. A huge song, filled with great rhythms, funky bass and horns and all manner of production bombast. You must love it...

Slave To The Rhythm (Hot Blooded Version)

A Crusty Synth Action Mix

My mate Tony is a music geek much like myself. One of his musical obsessions is soundtracks - old school, synth-y sci-fi, horror and swanky spy music. Another of his musical obsessions is electronica of the crunk, leftfield variety. He has put together a fun, 38 minute mix that combines the two - from crusty '70s classics to a few more recent tracks from the electronic underground, and even a snippet of Van Halen! It's a nice listen, so I've decided to post it for you all to enjoy. Here's the tracklisting...

1. Van Halen - 1984
2. Jonny Trunk - The Horn
3. Amon Tobin - Deo
4. King of Woolworths - Music For Schools
5. Christian Bruhn - Die Schwarze Nelke
6. Vangelis - Alpha
7. Wendy Carlos - The Light Cycles
8. Goblin - Profundo Rosso (Main Theme)
9. Christian Bruhn - Wetten, Dass...?
10.Hexstatic - Pulse
11.John Carpenter - Escape From New York

Tony's Crusty Synth Action Soundtrack Megamix

Scissor Sisters Remixed!



Without a doubt, one of my favorite albums of the year was the self titled debut from the Scissor Sisters. My European readers will say that it's from last year, but it only came out in the US this summer (although I did "obtain" a copy of it well before it came out here...). Anyway, I really didn't expect it to have much staying power. I have to say that the opposite happened, and I found myself listening to it all year, and the songs continued to get better and better. I am hoping to go and see them at the end of January - I finally caught them live on SNL a few weeks back and was very impressed at how good they were live. The first tune I heard of theirs was the amazing cover of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb - a downer of a song turned into a funky ass disco track, complete with Bee Gees falsettos. It's fantastic, and there are several remixes of it on the EP Remixed!. This version is very close to how the live version sounds - pumped up drums and bass, and a lot more guitar...
Comfortably Numb (ATOC Dub Remix)

David Holmes' Ocean's Twelve



David Holmes seems to be director Steven Soderbergh's favorite soundtrack scorer. After having done Out Of Sight and Ocean's Eleven he's back for that film's sequel. Where the first movie's soundtrack was a very "Vegas" styled set of music, this one takes on a darker, more European sound. Several of the non-Holmes tracks are from the '70s - by Piero Umiliani and Dynastie Crisis, and also Dave Grusin. There is also a track by Holmes' mate and studio partner Hugo Nicholson AKA Yellowhammer. The rest of the tunes are by David Holmes - $165 Million + Interest [into] The Round Up is two tracks - the first half is a very Serge Gainsbourg inspired cinematic rock track, all big twangy guitars and chunky bass. I kept expecting to hear Serge start singing at any moment. The second half is a playful, horn filled romp - a bit of hip hop in the beats, but it's the horns that get me on this - it's a Pink Panther kind of thing. Nice and funky.

Depeche Mode Versus DJ Shadow



This Christmas I gave myself the gift of music and picked up the 3 CD limited edition set of Depeche Mode's Remixes 81...04. I have been a fan of theirs since the track Photographic appeared on the classic Some Bizarre Album in 1981. I stuck with them even though the results weren't always what I wanted - I bought and then sold a few of those '90s albums. This collection is all over the place stylistically, and it's great. There are remixes by Air, Jack Dangers, Ulrich Schnauss (on the 3rd, limited disc), Francois Kevorkian, K+D, and of course several by Daniel Miller. Also on it is this DJ Shadow remix, Painkiller (Kill The Pain Mix). Shadow doesn't do a hell of a lot of remixes so this one got me going - it's pretty typical Shadow, with lots of build ups and break downs and spacy keys over a cool, chugging electro glitch beat. It kind of reminds a bit of Massive Attack too. Very nice, as is the rest of the 3 discs.

Blue Xmas

     

I like Christmas music, but my tastes tend towards the traditional - massed choirs, the orchestral interpretations, the classic songs of the '40s, '50s and '60s. I also really like jazz versions of Xmas music, and one of my fave holiday records is an old Columbia Records album called Jingle Bell Jazz that features mostly recordings from 1961 and 1962. Some of the tracks featured include Duke Ellington's "Jingle Bells," the Chico Hamilton Quintet playing "Winter Wonderland," and the Dave Brubeck Quartet doing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". It also has the classic little Miles Davis and Bob Dorough duet Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern) - a witty romp about the rampant consumerism of the holidays that still rings true today. A delightful little number sure to make you smile.

Two Lone Swordsmen Put Some Bass In Yer Face



2004 was the year that TLS reinvented themselves as a sleazy, grinding post punk rock act. The sleaze has always been there, the rock, not so much. I think the LP they released (From The Double Gone Chapel) annoyed a lot of their fans who liked the electro they did. I dug the album, so last week I picked up the new 6 track EP Big Silver Shining Motor Of Sin. It features two remixed versions of Sex Beat and two versions of two new songs, Showbiz Shotguns andFeast. This track rides a filthy, up-in-yer-face bass riff - I want to swagger around the room when I hear it. It's a sort of funky track with some nice scuzzy guitar noises, and some doom and gloom vocals. Love it.