Thursday 30 December 2010

Claremont 56 and the Balearic Axis of Evil



Claremont 56 is a record label that occupies a special place in our hearts here in the Disco Village. Andy had mentioned that he really enjoyed some of the early label spotlights that I included in the fledgling days of this blog and recommended that I should write some more. Of course Claremont 56 immediately sprang to mind due to its releases filling a substantial amount of shelf space in my record collection. Joey Huavon is the real Claremont aficionado and whilst he should really be writing the label spotlight I’ll fill the gap until his selection is ready.

When thinking about the spotlight it dawned on me that there was a much larger story to tell because the world is a funny place. And many different stories seem to converge in the retelling of the Claremont story, from my point of view.

I first met Paul Murphy (also known as Mudd) at the infamous and now sadly defunct “Bam-Bam Club” that ran for a couple of years at the Rainbow pub in Digbeth in Birmingham. We’d heard a lot of good things about the party, primarily through the DJHistory website run by Bill Brewster (http://www.djhistory.com), and Andy suggested popping along for the all day party they were putting on, involving Moonboots, Matthew & Jolyon, Mudd and Lindstrom & Prins Thomas live. Sounded like a good idea, so we booked a travelodge and tootled off down the A14.

When we got there, we announced ourselves, and the Bam Bam hospitality machine rolled into action with Rob J, Oyvind and Chuggie welcoming us into the fold like old friends. Drinks all round and as we’d arrived quite early they took us through to the courtyard to introduce us to their guests. Firstly, the courtyard blew me away – it was perfect, a large open space, graffiti on the walls, a large jet heater blasting warmth into the then semi-covered yard space and a wall, literally a WALL of speakers, floor to (very high) ceiling and the ubiquitous yellow and black Bam Bam decorations adorning the place.

We were sat down next a to a group of rather cheerful looking Balearic types and introduced in particular to Mudd (Paul) and his partner in crime Jess. Shortly after, in swarmed Moonboots and his rather large entourage. Oyvind rather worriedly sidled over to Moon to give him the details of the times that he would be playing, finishing his sentence with a nervous “and so you’ll be playing at x and then y o’clock… is this okay with you?”. Mr Boots replies deadpan and dour “No, no it’s not. This is shit and I want to go home”. Oyvind’s face was a picture and he was stunned into an unusual silence, mouth left open, stuttering “oh, er… er…” And it even took us all a second before we realised that this was a typical Moonboots response and Mudd started chuckling, giving the game away. Of course everything was all right and Moon was perfectly happy, going on to grumble about a lack of drinks and the number of people he was allowed to bring in for free. This was also our first encounter with the Mancunian Balearic behemoth (he’ll like that description, or perhaps I’ll get a slap, you never can tell!).

The day proceeds with Oyvind getting told off for playing something too fast (by Moon, of course) and then flooring everyone by breaking the Mungolian Jet-Set remix of the Kreeps – All I Wanna Do Is Break Some Hearts. By this point, I’m enjoying myself perhaps a little too much, as evidenced by Rob J quietly asking Andy “Is your mate alright? He’s on his 10th pint of Magners and spouting about it tasting like Lucozade…? It’s only 3pm?!!”. Andy later picks me up off the floor in the toilets, kindly advising that, “perhaps we should take a little walk and get you some fresh air?”

After I regain my composure (consciousness), we re-enter the fray; the club is rocking by this point, Matt Burgess kicking off his set with a crazy edit of Ram Jam - Black Betty chopped up to shout “Bam Bam, Birmingham!” in place of original lyrics sending the place into a frenzy. Andy by this point has disappeared. This troubled me slightly as the last time I’d seen him he was well on his way to being off his face himself. I run around for about an hour trying to find him, worried that he needs the “picking up off the floor” favour repaying and just when I’m getting seriously concerned he rocks up declaring that he’d “been out for a pint of milk”, proudly displaying a 6 pint bottle and clutching and handful of Cadbury’s Flake chocolate bars. He storms through the dancefloor over to the decks and proceeds to set up a bar IN one of the speakers and starts mixing up white russian cocktails as only he knows how! Apparently, dismayed at the Pub’s lack of ability to provide him with his favourite tipple he took matters into his own hands.

And so the madness continued. Apparently our antics had endeared us to our hosts and their guests so much that we began a long lasting (kind of stalky) friendship, traipsing round the country to wherever our friends were DJ-ing. Aficionado in Manchester, Bestival on the Isle of Wight (with Strangefruit & PT kicking off what appeared to be the biggest disco beatdown we had ever encountered before being kicked off by security and where Bam Bam basically told their corporate sponsors to “fuck off, we’re playing what we like”, causing a gentle headache for Mudd’s partner Jess who’d arranged it all), the Big Chill, and Muddstock down in Lewes on the south coast (the best little festival I’ve ever been to with Mudd inviting about 100 of his mates to a party in a field, cue Connie Idjut arriving looking suitably dishevelled in a spacemans’ helmet and procceding to play the Carpenters at 2am to a bunch of nutters dancing round a campfire).



It was around this time that Mudd gave us a copy of his first album on CDR called Claremont 56 and it was coming out on Rong music. It was an immediate hit, soundtracking a delightful summer for Andy and I lazing about on Suo-Gan (his houseboat) on the river. I think it was the success of this album, along with some gentle encouragement from Moonboots, Balearic Mike and support from Jess that encouraged Mudd to start a record label and start putting some of his own releases out, along with some guest producers.

Mudd's BeatsInSpace radio mix December 2010:

http://media.beatsinspace.net/audio/bis-12-28-10-part1.mp3


A number of coincidences later came to light along this merry journey. A very good friend and mentor, Niki had been giving me my musical education and steering me towards an exploration of sound that veered away from the conventional. One of the first records that Niki suggested I might to listen to of his choosing, was a white label bootleg which was available under the counter in the now sadly defunct Vinyl Junkies records. That record turned out to be a 12” pressing of Holger Czukay’s “Hollywood Symphony” backed with “Persian Love”. Long before I had ever heard of Holger and the closest I had gotten to anything Kraut was some Bratwurst, so as you’d imagine, these sounds blew my young mind. I didn’t understand any of it, it couldn’t work on a dancefloor and yet I became addicted to it, playing it to anyone who came within 10 ft of the decks, it became one of those special records. Later, Niki filled me in about the LP “Movies” and told me all about Can. We went to see Damo Suzuki play at Anglia Polytechnic University Bar that was another milestone for me in live music. Of course I trod the path we all do and chased all the Krautrock gods from Gottsching to Moebius and beyond. Imagine my disbelief when I find out that our good friend Mudd is releasing new and old material from Holger Czukay as well as laying down some tracks with him as part of a supergroup Bison all to come out on Claremont 56! Talk about full circle…

It also transpired that Oyvind from Bam Bam used to live with one of my girlfriends’ best mates, which goes to show just how small the world is and confirms the existence of the Balearic Axis of Evil!

On the record label, the first big one that I picked up was Vegetable Square with the Idjuts, “Pab’s got a Big One”. It’s a nigh on 20 minute Balearic odyssey taking the title of the ‘ultimate toilet break/go to the bar/neck another one’ record. So I started the mix with it.

Villa Stavros was the first on the label and later became one of the more tricky to find releases. I remember young Joey having a dreadful time trying to source a copy, even Paul had none left himself; although, it was always the B-side, Dub Stavros, that I ended up playing regularly on our radio show.


One of the more recent favorites of the label that deserves a special mention is the Cantoma CD of which I have bought the most copies of any release I have ever sought, as gifts for others who all reply that it has been one of the best pieces of music they’ve heard that year! It turned into the soundtrack of my summer, on repeat for 2 weeks solid in Menorca as well as round many a festival campfire. Also not forgetting the Originals series, highlighting the exquisite taste and  DJ’ing credentials of the unsung heroes of the underground music scene across the globe – seek out these stunning compilations without fail.


The following records comprise a pictorial tracklist for those found in the mix below:





















And here's the Claremont 56 compilation selected by Fred Naked:


Claremont 56 by Village Idiot




Tuesday 21 December 2010

That's what happens...

Well, we both got absoutely twatted at the weekend. This isn't an excuse, it's just a fact. As a result we were both incapable of pushing one little button in the studio. It was quite an important button, the "On Air" button, and when you don't press it, guess what? That's right, you're not "On Air". Thankfully, a big fan of the show who actually works for the station, completely by chance, drops by the studio to sort a few things out and quickly points out our error to us. Thanks unnamed fan dude! So the first few minutes of the archive might be a bit odd, but it soon gets back to normal. You can often tell how heavy the weekend was by how quiet we are on the show. The messier the weekend, the quieter we seem to be. Inverse proportionality or some rubbish...

The Restless Funk Radio Show 20/12/10

Playlist:

Supersempft - The Best Thing Is To Get High
Foolish Felix - Happy Mishap
Ilja Rudman - See (Dropout Orchestra Remix)
NEd Doheny - Get It Up For Love
Tony Cook ft. Tavell - Later For Dancing
Theo Parrish - Mr Bump Man
Teddy Pendergrass - You Can't Hide From Yourself (Dimitri's Super Disco Blend)
Max Essa - Uptown Vibration
KZA - Le Troublant Acid
Sonarphonics - The Superbreaker
Rev TL Bennett & The Youth for Christ Choir - Jingle Bells pt 2
Saint Etienne - Snow

Archive Streaming Link:
http://stream.camfm.co.uk/2010122021.mp3

Restless Funk is a radio show that is broadcast live at www.camfm.co.uk and 97.2FM every monday night from 9-10pm GMT

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Better Late Than Never!

The Restless Funk Radio Show 13/12/10

Playlist:

Arthur's Landing - Is It All Over My Face (Pt. 1)
Bison - Way To LA (Day)
The Slits - Typical Girls (Brink Style)
Gray - Drum Mode
Stone - Hips Rap
Cos/Mes - Heavenly Trax (Jonny Nash Remix)
Konono #1 Vs. Mark Ernestus - Masikulu Rhythm
Omar S - Columns
Uku Kutt - I Don't Have To Cry
Michael Soward - He's Alive
DJ Shepdog - Tightride
St Etienne - Driving Home For Christmas

Archive Streaming Link:
http://stream.camfm.co.uk/2010121321.mp3

Restless Funk is a radio show that is broadcast live at www.camfm.co.uk and 97.2FM every monday night from 9-10pm GMT

Vodka

Disco Village resident, friend and fellow booze connoisseur Mr Applin tipped me off about this lovely vodka a little while ago.



Whilst following my own advice and buying a crate of Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout I picked up a bottle of Snow Queen and it’s good. It’s from Kazakhstan and is distilled 5 times and uses organic wheat. Mr Applin says to keep a bottle in the freezer and enjoy it straight, this is where the 5X distillation comes in handy it’s amazingly smooth and surprisingly easy on the head the next day. Whilst I agree that straight it’s great, regular readers will know that I’m all about the martini’s. Ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce the Cherry Park Martini



This delightful beverage was created by Jonothon Hunter when he was working at Martini Park in Chicago (now closed), it’s simple to create so off you go
50ml Vodka
A handful of cherries, or 25ml cherry puree
25ml champagne.
Firstly chill your martini glass well, then add a rim of sugar and chill some more. Next add the vodka and cherries/puree to a shaker with a few bits of ice and shake hard (if you are using cherries you may want to bash them down with a spoon) until blended. Strain this into your martini glass and float the champagne on top.

Here is an old track by Mr Applin and Mr Mang (proving there’s always been a bit of disco in the village)



Whilst searching for the Quakerman track above, I found stumbled upon this Marvin Gaye edit from Dan Idjut and wondered why i had never heard it before. It was the b side to a Phil Collins edit and I effin hate Phil



x

Saturday 11 December 2010

Mix Central

It's mix central round the disco village this week, with new contributions from Joey Huavon and Andy B

Here's Joey's winter selection:

Slow Groove by Joey Huavon

And here's Andy's ambient trip from a while back:

is there any love vol 3 by andy b

Andy has also given us a special edit he created that became a bit of a favourite here in the village!

Baby I'm Scared of Bumblebee's:

Baby I'm Scared of Bumblebee's by andy b


 

Friday 10 December 2010

3 Titans / Menahan Street Band



This came out early this year on a limited 7”, sadly I missed out. However today the postie brought me a lovely  12” version with Instrumentals, an alternate mix and acappellas. In the shops right now on Daptone US/Dunham.
Besides the very talented school children rapping, the backing is by the incredible Menahan Street Band; here is a track from them



and whilst I’m in the mood more Brooklyn styles





 x

Dancehall

Listeners to this weeks radio show were treated to a couple of dancehall tracks one of which was by Burro Banton.  Here is Burro in action with Tenor Saw, Cutty Ranks, Supercat, Nicodemus and Little John.



Looks like that would have been a good night out, shame I was 12 and several continents away.
Here’s one of my favourite Cutty Ranks records – “A Who Seh Me Done”



And a big UK dancehall winner from 1984 Jah Screechy- “Walk and Skank”



(Matt has the Roots Radics edit of this and I often beg him to play it when I visit Disco Village HQ)
And from Yellowman  we have this winner (also a Cosmic classic when played at the wrong speed)



and this live footage from 1982’s Sunsplash festival.




Thats enough from me, I’m off to polish my Clarks
x

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Booze, blogs and beats.



Whilst Matt was enjoying sunny SF, I was here on the river in the bitter cold. Luckily I had been drinking plenty of Breakfast martini’s and couldn't  feel my face let alone the chill. Truly the Breakfast Martini is one of the greatest things in the world. Bung together Gin, Vodka, Triple sec, a spoon or two of marmalade (I recommend one with ginger for an extra warmth) and lemon juice.
The Breakfast martini sadly isn’t my invention it was invented by my current hero Salvatore Calabrese. Here is a video of him explaining it much better than me
 




Honestly it’s very good, it sounds like a novelty but it works better than Homer Simpsons “Skittle Brau”. If you want to know more his website full of cocktail knowledge and here is the link

Chocolate booze is next. Again it sounds like a horrible novelty but stouts and porters often have chocolate and coffee notes to them so its not such a stretch.
 Brooklyn brewery Chocolate stout
This is lovely - it’s brewed in the style of an Russian Imperial Stout and as such weighs in at 10%. The taste of the chocolate comes through on the finish and lingers. This is one of the Brooklyn Breweries seasonal beers and is only brewed for the winter, and as such it can be a bugger to find (top tip for Cambridge readers Bacchanalia usually have some and should have had their winter delivery this week. Also check their xmas beers, the gulhkriek is ace).

Disco Village Blog Backscratching
Check out the mighty Juice blog spot brought to you by Disco Village residents DJ Crump and Chris Groove

Mixes and links are there and should keep you entertained. Also doing good things in the ‘ village on the hip hop side of things is the Rhyme Pad Radio show 
or catch it live Friday nights 9-11PM on
More beats from the ‘village
  
If you are bored heres a couple of old mixes from me:

Tuesday 7 December 2010

2Things

Harv and the Loft...

New DJ Harvey interview at testpressing, found here:

http://testpressing.org/2010/12/07/interview-dj-harvey/

And we all went to the London Loft Party with David Mancuso on sunday night; Steve, Clare Harriette and Layla danced hard, ate well and found monday difficult. Shout out to Shannon for the "Cake-away" (Mmmm!), good to see Cedric and Tim and much love to Jonny Nash's beenie hat!

A few records we danced to:

Bibi Tanga & the Selenites - Be Africa (Beg To Differ remix)
LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Padded Cell remix)
Jimmy Cliff - Roots Radical
Salvator Santana - Don't Do It
Mission Control - Outer Limits
Yello - Lost Again
One Way ft. Al Hudson - You Can Do It
Pacific Horizons - The Forest Electric
House of House - The Rough Half
Third World - Try Jah Love
Populette - Mommy

Return of the Mack

The Restless Funk Radio Show 06/12/10

Playlist:

Joy Orbison - Ladywell
Storm Queen - Look Right Through
Crazy P - Fascination
Black Cow - Be Mine
Urban Tribe - Unknown (B2)
Bakey Ustl - It's Special
Johnny Osborne - Bad Boy
Burro Banton - Better Den Dem
King Midas Sound ft Pupajim - Frequencies
Slava - Dreaming Tiger
Begin - Velocity
Lee Fields - Honey Dove
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
Sophie Zelmani - If I Could (Version Lindbaek)

Archive Streaming Link:
http://stream.camfm.co.uk/2010120621.mp3

Restless Funk is a radio show that is broadcast live at www.camfm.co.uk and 97.2FM every monday night from 9-10pm GMT

Friday 3 December 2010

Listmania

On the deck this week:

Slava - World of Spirits
Bakey Ustl - A Tender Places
Joy Orbison - Ladywell
House of Jezebel - Love & Happiness
Exit - Detroit Leaning
Mungolian Jet-Set - Moon Jocks and Prog Rocks
Four Hands - Hizou
Maxxi & Zeus - MZ Medeley
Peter's House Music - Jump
Bibi Tanga & The Selenites - Be Africa (Beg to Differ Remix)
Pacific Horizons - Jack Parsons Laboratory

And Ron Muthafuckin' Hardy!

Some old stuff I picked up in SF:

Hamilton Bohannon - Bohannon Disco Symphony
John Rocca - I Want It To Be Real
Adonis - No Way Back
Marshal Jefferson - House Music Anthem
Jamie Principle - Waiting On My Angel
Bob Chance - It's Broken
Roberta Kelly - Zodiacs
Harold MElvin & The Bluenotes - Baby, You've Got My Nose Open
Arthur Russell - Calling Out OF Context

Infinitestatemachine vs The Guardian

Well, not really. There's a debate going on about how much people should pay for records. I've read two articles recently, one from the producers point of view and one from the collectors;

Producer/Record Company:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/dec/02/third-man-records-ebay


Collector:

http://infinitestatemachine.com/2010/12/02/how-much-is-too-much-to-pay-for-a-newrecord/


I'm a collector and music fan, and whilst I really don't want to pay through the nose to own items I covet, I'm well aware that the artists/producers don't actually have an obligation to provide me with my fix at whatever price. I'm arguing that something is worth whatever somebody else will pay for it - this in theory should regualte prices, right? Although I'm sure some Business Studies academic could enlighten me to the errors of this thinking. But what price art? I think the producer/artist should actually think about what they want and who they want their audience to be - those simply interested in making money and put the art secondary to this will charge the high prices and supply only the mental collector with deep pockets who values a trophy rather than art. Those interested in art and experimentation and giving people something to think about and enjoy while just "creating" will surely prefer their work to reach a wider audience and adjust prices accordingly.

Endnote/Afterthought: I've got some rare records I paid money for that I feel are special and would prefer if these were more axclsive because I put either time or money or commitment into procuring them. I'm a hypocrite. The artist Mudd recently asked his fanbase via a social networking site whether or not he should repress a record for those who didn't get the limited edition first time round - would it piss them off, believing in the first instance that they were buying a limited and exclusive product. The fans were overwhelmingly in favour of a repress. Apart from Todd Terje, who immediately dissolved their friendship ;-)

And ACTION...!

Heads up

Moodymann’s hugely popular spoken word anthem “Freeki Mutha F cker” will get a re-release in early 2011, replete with remixes from Juan Atkins and Egyptian Lover.

The original “Freeki Mutha F cker”, first released on the Det.riot ‘67 EP in 2009, sold out many moons ago and now fetches a tidy sum on Discogs.

This new 12″ – set for release of Moodymann’s own KDJ imprint -  features a previously unreleased version of the track, which thankfully leaves Mr Dixon Jnr’s distinctive throaty voice untouched.

This shares the A- Side with new track “California”, which contains more Moodymann musings and was recorded live in Detroit back in May 2007.

Flip over for Atkins’ Model 500 remix, which takes on a distinct analogue hue with gently undulating synth washes, while Egyptian Lover’s vintage electro remake rounds off the release.


(Taken from Junoplus Magazine)

And, can I also recommend Resident Advisor's label of the month, "Sex Tags", here's the link to their article and mix:

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1247

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Archive back online and new show

The "Listen Again" feature on our radio show has been down for some time, however it's just been reinstated, hurrah! Here's the link for the Qbico/Troglosound special (and it was SPECIAL!) from before the holiday:

http://stream.camfm.co.uk/2010110821.mp3

The Restless Funk Radio Show 29/11/10

Playlist:

The Originals - Down To Love Town
Hamilton Bohannon - Andrea
Maxxi & Zeus - MZ Medely
John Rocca - I Want It To Be Real (Inst.)
Marshall Jefferson - Move Your Body
Theo Parrish ft. IG Culture - Traffic
Kings Go Forth - I Don't Love You No More
Michael Soward - B1
Roberta Kelly - Zodiacs
Jamie Principle - Waiting On My Angel

Archive Streaming Link:
http://stream.camfm.co.uk/2010112921.mp3

Restless Funk is a radio show that is broadcast live at www.camfm.co.uk and 97.2FM every monday night from 9-10pm GMT

Friday 12 November 2010

Holiday



Back in a few weeks... x

Recommended this week

Ignore the glut of shit re-edits this week and check out some original music. This CD from Harmonious Thelonius is the nuts, mental african techno.

 New label from Shackleton and a new 12". 'Man on a String' is the single and 'Woe To The Septic Heart' the label - nasty, grooving with a sack of funk in the trunk.


We saw Dieter Moebius in the Disco Village a week or two back, here one of the nordic gods has a crack at some of his work.


New material from Antibalas man Chico - latin styled boogie funk, our man Andrew at earcave (www.earcave.com) has the LP...

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Recommended listening

Just for fun, currently rotating on the technics are:

Uku Kutt - Visions of Estonia
Theo Parrish - Just1Lovebug
Jason Lev - Outerspace Circus
Dark Day - Window
Peter Gordon & The Love Of Life Orchestra - Love Of Life Orchestra
Armando - Don't Take It (Thomos Edit)
Vangelis - Memories of Green
Magnifique - Magnifique pt II
Rocha - Feel The Love (Welcome Stranger's Invention Dub)
Phase II - Mystery
Dennis Brown & Damian Jr Gong ft NAS — Promise Land
The Quick - One Light In A Blackout
The Jack Moves - A Fool For You

Double Rainbow

And the goodies start to flow... Double treat for listeners today, cut from the same cloth and matured slightly differently, here's one treat from the Disco Village and one from that there Manchester. The first session is from yours truly, electronic beats from the street to the club - play very loudly, mind the acid and don't forget to freak your funk. The second is from Joey Huavon, a young hustler who's a danger to himself and those around him, don't let the chilled music fool you!

Jacknotreat by fred_naked

Differential by Joey Huavon

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Qbico and Troglosound Special

Restless Funk Radio Show 08/11/10

Playlist:

Orfando - Oasi [Troglosound]
The Orkustra - The Orkustra [Qbico]
Neokarma Jooklo Octet - Infinity (Unititled 'C') [Qbico]
Neokarma Jooklo Experience - Cosmic Balance [Qbico]
Loosers - Love Has Come Around (Unititled 'A') [Troglosound]
Father Yod - Father Yod & The Spirit Of '76 (Unititled 'B') [Sagittarius 'A' Star]
Direct Current - Olatunji's Kirk Works [Qbico]
Conrad Schnitzler - Silver (Unititled 'A2') [Qbico]

Restless Funk is a radio show that is broadcast live at www.camfm.co.uk and 97.2FM every monday night from 9-10pm GMT

Friday 5 November 2010

Random link of the day

The guys on my music geek forum hipped me to this, it's a very clever idea - a page of embedded youtube's that you can conduct like an orchestra - give it a go!

http://www.inbflat.net/

Tuesday 2 November 2010