Kool Herc/Grandmaster Flowers

 I am currently obsessed with the birth of hip hop, general consensus states that hip hop was born in the Bronx when Kool Dj Herc held parties in the community room of the basement of the building he lived in with his family, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.

Eventually Herc’s parties out grew the basement and moved round the corner to the playgroud on Cedar St.

Here is a short video that gives a brief history
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTkbF6dRdoE

Here is an excerpt from a documentary about hip hop with ace footage of Herc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhisX4mVoDI


Grandmaster Flowers

I can’t mention the birth of hip hop without mentioning Grandmaster Flowers. Flowers was a Brooklyn based Dj who preceded Herc, Bambatta,  Jazzy Jay, and Grand Wizzard Theodore. In fact legend has it that Flowers gave Theodore the grandmaster prefix. Flowers used to play in parks, school halls, and clubs. In 1969 when James Brown played at the Yankee Stadium, Grandmaster Flowers was chosen to be the warm up Dj. It is fair to say Flowers was ace… sadly it was a case of always a bridesmaid and never a bride as the djs he influenced became more popular he was less so. Towards the end of the 70’s Flowers had stopped djing and sold his records to fund his drug addiction. Sadly he died in 1992.


This link has a Grandmaster Flowers mix, and a brief history
 http://grandgood.com/2008/12/02/grandmaster-flowers-brooklyn-park-jam-1979-audio/

This link to a few pages from the deephousepage forum, has a lot more info about Flowers, and a lovely post from Francois K where he shares his love for Flowers ( I love it when a post can combine disco, hip hop and house ).
http://www.deephousepage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=656811

I am currently reading “The Fortress Of Solitude” by Jonathan Lethem, as mentioned in the above link, and enjoying it very much. Lots of period details and Brooklyn trivia, once I’ve finished it I shall be reading more of JL’s work.

An appreciation of the music of Jenny Lewis

Ok then, Matt has asked me to write something for the blog, he suggested a few of my loves - gospel, François Hardy and Saint Etienne. I was honoured to be asked and a little worried about a) making myself look like a twat and b) making myself look like a twat. Matt pretty much has the Disco, Detroit, House, Dub and Soul side of things represented, so I wondered what to write about. I decided to go for some contemporary rock/indie type of business, variety is the spice of life and all that. After much thought I decided to go with “An appreciation of the music of Jenny Lewis”  or as you might prefer to call it a brief history and some you tube clips.
A few years ago my friend Johnny (a man of impeccable taste) kindly sent me a four cd compilation of songs he loved. In amongst the many gems were two tracks by Jenny Lewis and The Watson twins both from the lp “Rabbit Fur Coat”. Here’s one of them “You Are What You Love”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugSzInV3sA

A few months ago in the lovely summer another John came to the boat with a bunch of songs he loved and he played the same Jenny Lewis and Watson Twins lp. John used to work for Record and Tape exchange, and lives a much cleaner life than me, so his head is full of musical knowledge. I asked him if he knew much about Jenny Lewis and he asked if had heard her first band Rilo Kiley, I hadn’t.
It turns out Rilo Kiley had made 4 lps.
Here is the very interesting (and not safe for work) video for “The Moneymaker” taken from the “Under The Blacklight” lp the last one before Jenny went solo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugSzInV3sA
(brilliant my first contribution to the Disco Village and it’s smutty)

Now the solo lps,  2006 gave us the aforementioned “Rabbit Fur Coat”, then in 2008 came “Acid Tongue”. Here is the video for “Rise Up With Fists” from RFC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-DZJo_Xyh8

And here is the title track of second solo lp “Acid Tongue”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z-e7XYW1Qk&feature=related

Last month saw the release of the latest Jenny Lewis lp, this time its recorded with her fella Jonathan Rice hence the groups name Jenny and Johnny, the lp is called “I’m Having Fun Now”. I was lucky enough to see Jenny and Johnny play in NYC last month supporting the mighty Pavement. Here is a little taste of the lp, a song called “My Pet Snakes”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MvWIHuCSMw&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=61M29KOjkVs

If you liked any of that, Jenny and Johnny are touring in the UK from 24th November (Birmingham) until 10th December (London), I have tickets for two dates but suspect I may go all stalky and do the full run. For tour dates and more info check their website
http://jennyandjohnnymusic.com/


And since I mentioned Pavement it would be rude not to post a link or two
Pavement on Jay Leno 1994 performing “Cut Your Hair”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ojx4PfmgoE
And the same song live from Williamsburg Waterfront, Brooklyn NYC 19/9/2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhApz-SwI-w
Thanks for reading, check the Restless Funk radio show with Matt and myself Mondays 9-10 pm on http://www.camfm.co.uk/ or 97.2 FM if you are a simple country bumpkin like me
X

D-V-2

More pictures from the Disco Village... First two are part of the changing spaces art project, turning disused retail space into impromtu viewing spaces. This one is a collage of photo's making up a scene photographed of the street right out the front of the shop space where the work is displayed on Regent Street. Later pictures from Squirrel, reality checkpoint - (wiki), a scene from Suo-Gan (a gentleman's picnic), and the Village's best booze merchant!

 

A Gentleman's Picnic

Bacchus, your friendly vendor...

Recommended this week

Heavy blogging this week, but what's a girl supposed to do. So it had been quiet on the new music release front for a while, then all of a sudden the motherlode drops out of the sky. With no sign of the deluge abating, perhaps we need to breath deep, keep a steady hand on the tiller, and think (and listen) carefully before we hit "add to cart". Phil South (Golf Channel label head honcho) recently previewed the new material from Gala Drop in a mix for resident advisor's "Label of the Month" section, suprise suprise the label was Golf Channel, and deservedly so. A steady stream of incredibly diverse releases since the infamous M.E. - R'n'B Drunkie Golf Channel 001 has produced a superior back catalogue that manages to stay current while keeping it real and pushing the boundaries. Promo's like the one pictured hit the shops now... Check Phil's mix for RA here:

Golf Channel Resident Advisor Label of the Month Mix

Filesize: 173.8 MB
Length: 02:00:41

Tracklist
Spike - The Golden Eye
Gala Drop - Overcoat Heat
Ghost Note - Kapwa
Dominik Von Sender - No Name 2009
DJ Nature - Feeling Like a Woman
DJ Nature - It's Over
DJ Nature - This Side of Heaven
DJ Nature - Everyone
Gala Drop - Izod
Ghost Note - Holy Jungle
Try To Find Me - Get to My Baby - TBD Extension
Try To Find Me - Make Dance
Sexican - Liza Version In C#5
Justin Vandervolgen - Clapping Song
Ghost Note - Albularyo
Try To Find Me - Hey Love
Justin Vandervolgen - Sheebooyah
M.E. - R+B Drunkie
DJ Nature - Destiny Reprise
Spike - E.S. Rever
Spike - Fooling Around
Spike - Goodnight

Recommended next week

Been talkin' bout this release for a minute now, dropping next week on Partehardy

Jamie 3:26 - The Basement Edits Vol 2

Basement Edits Vol. 2 by jamie3too6

Good work J!

It's not fair :-(

Gutted, eh?

***AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT THE DOPE JAMS HALLOWE'EN PARTY ON 10/30***  EXTREMELY LIMITED 12" of two haunting THEO PARRISH mash-ups pressed on impure WHITE vinyl! 100 Copies Pressed.

If you've heard Theo Parrish play records in the last 2 years or so then you've probably been ambushed by a few oddball R&B-turned-DIY-basement-tracks that only he would have the balls to champion.  Monster Mashup - Hallowe'en 2010 features the already legendary "Just1lovebug" & "Avantsdrumface," disparate mash-ups that harken back to the days of those cherished beige label-centers that read some in-name only record company, listed a few track titles without artist information and unassumingly heralded some of the most successful dance anthems never to be heard beyond the insular communities from which they were birthed---epitomes of an audacious underground experimentalism that manipulated major-label hits like so many pawns on the chessboard of a master programmer's mind. With the same playfulness, the Sound Signature head has expropriated some of the most catchy instances of mainstream soul and hastily pasted them onto the sparse bone structures of Chicago's original rhythmical minimalism, concocting a lethal potion of club-oriented wizardry that cannot be denied. This is an act of modern-day musical détournement that doesn't really give a damn how the experiment will read on paper. What's at stake here is rocking the party, and rock with devastating results it does. Released in a ridiculously limited quantity of 100 white-vinyl copies in honor of Dope Jams' 3rd Annual Halloween Costume Ball, these secret weapons straight from the private vaults of Detroit's finest son dare us to play the mischievous role of the puppet master, inducing our most guarded compatriots into forgetting their serious side and moving their bodies to the spell which they cannot for the life of them help from falling under.

African Prince...

The following is one of many e-mail exchanges with some of the jokers who fill your inbox with spam. Read the full article in the Guardian here. Thanks to Neville@DJH for the heads up...


To: Bob Servant
Subject: Delete This At Your Peril
FROM HIS ROYAL HIGHNEST, JACK THOMPSON
Dear sir,
Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business. I am JACK THOMPSON, only son of late King Arawi of tribal land. My father was a very wealthy traditional ruler, poisoned by his rivals. Before his death here in Togo he told me of a trunk containing $75m kept in a security company. I now seek a foreign partner where I will transfer the proceeds for investment as you advise. I am willing to offer 20% of the sum as a compensation for your effort/input and 5% for any expenses. Thanks and God bless,
JACK THOMPSON

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Good morning your Majesty,
I want 30%, and not a penny less,
Your Servant,
Bob Servant

From: Jack Thompson
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
See these percentages was arranged by the bank and not me. If you insist on getting 30% of the money i have to call the bank. Pls send your: FULL NAME. CONTACT PHONE NUMBER. ACCOUNT NUMBER. COUNTRY/STATE. I will be expecting those details. thanks.
JACK THOMPSON

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Hello Jack,
I'm afraid I just cannot take my share in cash, too dangerous. I could take it in diamonds, gold, or livestock (lions). My neighbour, Frank Theplank, has a private zoo. He is willing to pay $80,000 for every lion I can get him,
Bob

From: Jack Thompson
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
I have made arrangement in transporting the 4 lions to you. So give me your phone number for better communication and bank information,
Thanks,
Jack

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Hi Jack,
I just popped my head over the garden wall and had a word with Frank. He has asked me to pass on a few questions – Are they male or female? Are they in good physical condition? Do they talk? Thank you, my friend, and don't worry, I have booked in to see the bank manager tomorrow morning,
Bob

From: Jack Thompson
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
Hope fine. Answer to the questions:
1. The lions are all male lions and are very healthy.
2. I don't think I have ever seen a lion that talks.
I don't know if you are also interested in leopards cause my friend works in the Government Zoo and he could find a leopard for you? Remember to speak to your bank tomorrow.
Thanks,
Jack

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Jack,
Frank just called, he will take the following – 4 lions, 2 leopards, 1 elephant, 1 alligator, 2 parrots, 1 hedgehog. And, of course, the talking lion? Frank has a good few quid. He's worked for me on various bits and bobs, and I've always looked after him, so I think we should put our necks out on this one and make sure the lions talk.
Bob

From: Jack Thompson
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob.
I will only be able to get: 4 lions, 2 leopards, 1 alligator. Bob, please send the £1,700 now. I think one of the lions may talk a little. Thanks,
Jack

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Hello Jack,
Sorry about the delay. Frank wants to know a last couple of things – Can he call the lions "FANCY PANTS" and "BRYAN"? Do the leopards sing, and are they willing to wear clothes?
All the best babes,
Bob

From: Jack Thompson
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
As for the lions, you can call them any name provided you shout when talking to them and always use the same name. And trained leopards like the one I have for you will wear any clothes you buy for them OK. Please send the money today,
Jack

From: Bob Servant
To: Jack Thompson
Jack,
I have some bad news, my friend. I have just been to the bank and the guy there said that I cannot send you any money as I do not have any in my account. In actual fact, it turns out that I owe them over eight grand. I'm really sorry, Jack, I hope I haven't wasted your time, but I'm afraid that the deal is off. Good luck my friend, and good luck with the animals.
Love,
Bob
No reply

Recommended this week

Quiet week on the music front, so here's some light reading. Available from the nrds at rvng http://igetrvng.com/discography/77 it's a lovely hipster artsy fartsy magazine with some great images and disturbing articles - yay! Here's the blurb:

MAGAZINE PARTY was started to bring magazines back to the art form. Similar to Glenn O'Brien's TV Party, MAGAZINE PARTY aims to hold back from that technically slick feel that defines so many modern publications. Instead it encompasses a more DIY approach, which focuses on a more stripped down style; a style where art itself becomes the core of the design and content aesthetic. For this reason the zine has a limited run (only 100 made!) and is printed and bound by hand.

MAGAZINE PARTY serves as a forum for friends and artists to contribute something that is a little left of center and gives them the ability to expand from their usual work. Some of these submissions include:

- barbarian drawings by Fergadelic - comic based off Master of Reality song titles by Jess Rotter - Vena Cava paper doll cut out wardrobe drawings - Kenzo Minami pornographic mosaic collage ....and many more.

In other news I wanted to buy a cushion for a friend's birthday present, however the postage cost more than 3 times the price of the cushion. However, I did think that this one was THE SHIT!

If you have more money than me, you can buy this and other crazy designs at http://jesssluder.com/jess-sluder-store

The (other) Crazy Guy

Well, I would have posted that there's a new interview with DJ Harvey over at Finn Johannsen's website but it's all over the net already so there's no point adding to the hysteria. So, as no means a second best, I've a taster for some forthcoming blogging. Andy B of Suo-Gan recently visited the Big Apple and had a nice time with transvestites and crack-houses. Last night in a haze of green smoke and repetitive beats he dropped his wad into my lap. Photo's. There's some great shots to come, skinny whiteboy breakdancing on the subway, sunset over pinktinis, skyscraper high graffiti, Jenny Lewis' derriere, but here's just a taster...

 

Never give up searching for the perfect beat...

Never too young to start either...

Cool Ruler

The Restless Funk Radio Show 18/10/10

Playlist:

Gregory Isaacs - Dealing
Gregory Isaacs - Going Down Town
Gregory Isaacs - Cool Down In The Place
Gregory Isaacs - Interview
Gregory Isaacs - Stranger
Gregory Isaacs - Interview
Rocha - Feel The Love (Welcome Stranger's Invention Dub)
Magnifique - Magnifique Part II
Lillian Alexander - Lillian's Boogie (Tom Noble Mix)
Visti & Meylnd - Stars
Phase II - Mystery
Lynn Collins - Rock Me Again and Again and Again
Naomi - Sweet Naomi Rap

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

Heads Up

Well, a quick scour of the internet this morning reveal two exciting pieces of news in music terms.

1) - The Theo Parish re-edit of Jackie Beavers 'Mr Bump Man' is set to be released as a forthcoming "Ugly Edit". This (for my part) is exciting not because I'm desperate to grab a copy, but more for the fact that I strongly remember an interview (maybe RBMA?) where Mr Parish preaches the error of his ways in releasing the Ugly Edit series, and that he was 'done' with unlicensed releases. Hypocrite? U(gly)-Turn? Or, are these edits licensed? The B-side is a BT Express edit (Peace-Pipe - done to death already?). Either way, we're set to hear a lot more Theo in the coming weeks with remixes and new material scheduled for before christmas release. Check Rush Hour records (http://www.rushhour.nl/)

2) - One Night at the Gallery movie finally to be released! Premiere in London:
ABOUT THE FILM... LOVE IS THE MESSAGE: a night at the Gallery party 1977….

FINALLY, the movie shot at THE GALLERY more then thirty years ago is about to be released.

In 1977, 12 students from the world famous film school, Tisch University at NYU, were invited to a party, just a short walk from the university at Washington Square Park, to the Gallery on Mercer and Houston. The streets of Soho were empty during the seventies, it was a manufacturing district, and at 5PM you couldn't find a store open for MILES. It was a different time, New York City was just beginning to spread her wings as the world capital she has become. The World Trade Center had opened only a few years earlier.

The twelve from Tisch arrived outside the Gallery just before midnight one Saturday. They joined the line of guests wrapped around the corner, some holding invitations tightly between their fingers. Transient young men and woman walked up and down the line, "can you bring me in as your guest" they begged of the invitation holders on line.

Gary Turzilli, my cousin, was at the door collecting money from entrants, one of his many duties as general manager. During the day, he was a student at the Tisch school, and he had invited his classmates to the party, where he believed, they would find an experience ripe to be documented on film...the absolute insanity of the birth of the seventies dance scene, the very beginnings of disco, where every dancer would scream so loud, the $30,000 sound system was often drowned out by the fanfare.

As they walked up to the first check point, they were asked for their invitation.

"Sorry we don't have a card. We are guests of Gary Turzilli."

"NAMES," Joel the doorman blurted, picking up the pad where staff had scribbled their guest's names. Joel waved them in, and Gary greeted them warmly...as he greeted each and every entrant to the Gallery, because the Gallery was not a club, it was our HOME, and each friend who came to see us was a very special guest.

The 12 walked around the first barrier to see a full table of food and drink, laid out for all to enjoy, without paying. Two grabbed peaches as they walked further into the room. A wall stood before them, and beyond it, they could hear low jazz music. The walked around the wall. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the mellow lighting, but they could clearly see a HUGE mirrored ball hanging in the center of the room, with its spots gleaming on every wall. The ball was not turning, YET, but someone jumped up and pushed it slightly, and the spots swayed over the walls.

They looked up, and were astonished by the height of the ceiling, 30 feet at least, with balloons filing the space above them. Suddenly the music changed, a funkier dance song began, and people started hollering, whistles blew, tambourines began to play, and as if out of thin air, people gathered on the empty dance floor, ready to begin their night.

I turned on the tweeters as the break down of the song unfolded and everyone screamed at once. It was in those few moments that the 12 knew they would spend the next 8 months filming this event...a 16mm film which cost over $50,000 was shot, and never released. It sat in a garage, until NOW!

Tickets to the screening and afterparty here:

http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=416475&interface=

Bugger, wouldn't you know it I'm in bloody San Francisco that day...

Here's Betty!

Betty is a Motobecane "Nomade", a classic Swiss racer from the 70's. I've had her modified to a single speed to make the most of her clean lines and classic look. She has the aesthetic elegance of a (currently) uber trendy "fixy" or fixed axle bike but is a far easier ride without the pitfalls of such things. Not necessarily as comfortable as my everyday workhorse tourer/mountain bike, but by god is she fast. After cycling her home on her virgin voyage I went straight inside and grabbed my cycle helmet - I'd been overtaking cars in a 30mph zone...

 

 Close-up of the single speed modification - normally the bike/wheel would be set up for a gear cassette block (and still can be), but this simple mod introduced two spacers either side of the single cog. With the possibility of one day leaving the extremely flat disco village and moving to Sheffield, one of England's more hill laden areas, I've managed to acquire of the least practical modes of transport possible :-) Thigh's like tree-trunks, me.

Ernie, the fastest milkman in the west...

I've got love for the man I'll call Ernie. Proper, man love. Mark Ernestus (Ernie to me and er, no-one else), was one half of Basic Channel, Main Street, Rhythm & Sound and Burial Mix, along with Moritz Von Oswald. They split up a few years back to work on their own stuff. Moritz has been working on some live projects (Moritz Von Oswald Trio) and turned in a mix for the Tony Allen remix project on Honest Jon's Records. Mark has played a few DJ sets (including a disappointing turn we attended at Plastic People last year - Ernie wasn't disappointing, just the guys who played before - just ask Buster Barlow, mucho enamoured with DJ Pete's dancefloor 'pump' move...). Ernie has however turned out some astounding remixes culminating in the latest release I'll get to in a moment... Recently:

Tony Allen - Moyege (Mark's Disco Mix/Mark's Disco Dub)

Tortoise - Gigantes Version (Mark Ernestus Remix)

Burnt Friednman & Jaki Liebzeit - 5 128-5(Mark Ernestus Remix)

All super heavy, cerebral, psychedelic cavernous 5am dancefloor monsters, stuck in the groove, mashed, evil, twisted, baked - I can't even describe. Now, comes the heaviest yet, I'll let the wordsmith's at Honest Jon's untwist my tongue:

The Basic Channel maestro takes on Konono No. 1 in his hardest, best solo mix yet, including additional percussion by Burnt Friedman. So brawling and bad-minded, dense and intense, and musically expert, it amounts to a ritual humiliation of the genre Dub Techno.

I love the original Congotronics release of Konono #1, from years back - mental home made electronic panel bashing music from darkest African townships. I wouldn't normally think a remix could better or even come close to the mental rawness of the original material, however with Ernie on the case I reckon it's feasible! My copy is in the post, and I'm not sure I've enough pairs of clean underwear to satisfy my weak bladder to withstand the wait...

Sound familiar?

(Cross posting from 500 Miles High blog)

Good timing

Great things actually do happen in the disco village, that you might not otherwise expect. Who'd have 'thunk' it, but we actually have Dieter Moebius performing a live gig in November in the village. The bods at Bad Timing, those purveyors of regular nights of experimental, electronics, noise, lofi, diy, weird pop, randomness in the village have booked him to play on 3rd November 2010 at the Haymakers pub in Chesterton. This is mucho weirdness to have a Harmonia/Cluster german synth pioneer performing a live gig in a boozer down the road more well known for hosting bar brawls with the local traveller community - go figure. I don't check the Bad Timing nights as often as I should do, in fact the last time I ventured out to one of their nights was when they hosted a QBICO night and we saw Jooklo Duo (http://www.troglosound.altervista.org/) perform live at the Portland Arms (I wasn't about to miss that one, being a signed up qbico fanboywannabesadcasegeekonerd).

http://www.dietermoebius.de/

 

http://www.bad-timing.co.uk/index.html

Restless Funk 18/10/10

The Restless Funk Radio Show 18/10/10

Playlist:

Aine El Kahla - Remitti El Relizania
Theo Parrish - Capritarious #7
Kyle Hall -
V.I.V.E.K. - Feel It
Bob Marley & The Wailers - This Train
The Misz - When Preachers Come
Aeroplane - We Can't Fly
Blackjoy - Love
The Imperial Wonders - Love Me To The Music

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

Public Service Announcements

MUSIC GEEK POST, NON MUSO's LOOK AWAY NOW

More to look out for, recommended in the Disco Village:

Tom Noble - 'Liger EP' Liger Vision 12"
Local favourite comes correct with a 6 tracker of newly produced squelchy funk

Mandre - 'Opus 1/M4000' Rush Hour 12"
After the "4" LP, mad rare 12" cut Opus 1 (Solar Flight) gets the reissue, trippy jazz funk stylings.

Theo P & IG Culture - 'Traffic' Kindred Spirits 12" (and Free To Be... Sound Sig 12")
Interesting collaboration, busy tracky percussive gear - heads down. New material from the Sketches CD, and watch out for the Tulio de Piscopo - 'Stop Bajon' remix dropping in the next few weeks.

House Of Jezebel - 'Love & Happiness' Rush Hour 12"
Liked the Ron Hardy mash-up? Heard the Legowelt tribute? Here it is done properly and legit. Simple and effective, a drum beat and a vocal, reminds me of Lexx's Mountain People project...

Debbie Jacobs - 'Don't You Want My Love' (Joe Claussell Remix) Boot/MCA Replica 12"
Even Mr Bongo Joe wants in on the edits scene, although he does it with panache, making it look legit. Sacred Rhythm webstore is up BTW, so you can actually buy some of those weird Jap only Spiritual Life nonsense.

Jamie 326 - 'Basement edits 2' Wicky Wacky/Welcome to the dub Partehardy 12"
Yeah, I just wish Ron's nephew would shut up, just get Ron's work out as clean as possible on a nice format and leave it at that. Jamie's a cool cat, paid his dues and knows the score, operating with a modicum more intelligence than a lot of the many haters and fools in Chi-Town, so I won't moan too much. Added bonus is his work is good - Theo P played the Wicky Wacky edit on Benji B's show and I've a soft spot for Welcome To The Club by Blue Magic although every muppet and his dog has tried to emulate the extension, even Al Kent who I though might know better. Anyway, J's version is a nice housey dub which makes a change.

The Saint

Apologies, more YouTube action: The Saint was a mainly gay Disco club in New York's East Village from the golden age...

Faaaabulous, Darliing - Got A Match?

Featuring Rinder & Lewis, Betty Wright, Peter Brown, "New York, New York", and "Studio 54". For the uninitiated, the clubs shown are mainstream, not underground although the lines are blurry, whilst the music treads a fine line between credible and cheesy. It's interesting as the music snobs, myself included, will lament ABBA, The Bee Gees, Studio 54 for giving disco (the good stuff) a bad name, however it all sat side by side in the music racks and on the dancefloors. We rile against the popular, denegrating it as a watering down of the true form however it can oft be the case that the popular is an example of the best of the best, attracting mass appeal simply as it is so good. It's such a bummer that taste is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder - makes for an interesting world though!

Recommended this week

For the deep house lovers out there, the buzz around this label is pretty nuts. The first release was from Nathanial X Project which although came out this year is already fetching a large wedge of cash on trading sites like discogs and ebay. This is their new release limited to vinyl only and harks back to the glory days of deep house, MAW and Kerri Chandler, early 90's sound. Not all of the cuts are red hot, but the hits outweigh the misses, miss at your (and your wallet's) peril!

Recommended this week

Smooth modern soul disco boogie from the west coast incarnation of this early 80's group, almost like some of the second-generation Philly work of the time. Nice psychedelic edge to the music as it develops the groove, and a very dancable electronic feel, fitting well with the current craze for the obscure 80's boogie sound championed by Dam Funk and the Stones Throw Crew. 1st time on a 45" as far as I'm aware. Brought to my attention by Andrew at Earcave (who's currently stocking them as an exclusive). B-side appeared on the SOUL mix (an earlier blog posting).

Go get 'em at: http://www.earcave.com

Recommended this week

Straight from the 80s Belgian cassette culture scene, here comes THE MISZ.

After the success of the “Eddy Merckz” re-release LP (on OnderStroom earlier in 2010), EE Tapes proudly present this Extended Play  ( 7”, 33 rpm, 4 songs), containing the best of the 1984 “It Ain’t All Garbage” debut cassette.

The Misz was one of those truly authentic 80s DIY bands, dealing with their life and the world through music, self-producing limited editions of tapes which they would send around the globe. With a few guitars, a drumcomputer  and an old synth (or was it just this casio?), they created strange minimal/ synth-/electro wave songs, with catchy melodies, fine male/female harmonics, and sometimes political, sometimes nonsensical lyrics. Some say: “reminiscent of Tuxedomoon, Trisomie 21, Pseudocode and Minimal Compact”.

AVAILABLE NOW in (seriously) limited quantities from:  http://www.eetapes.be/

The Village

In anticipation of possibly leaving the Disco Village one day I've been taking some pictures as I wander about the place. I'm not the best with a camera as you'll see, but, the Village is pretty tough to make look bad...

Bookshop in town closed down, as part of a disused spaces art project this collage was made from cut up old books

Autumn in the Village

Magnificent

Mundane?

Hell yeah!

indeed?

"sigh"

It's the law, you have to take this picture whenever you see it...

One of my favourite Village treats, a real Blue Whale skellyton

The UL, reminds me of a scene from Star Wars where a spaceship lands in the forest...

TBC...

Didn't used to like this kind of thing

SOUL by Disco Village

What the Chez Le Funk party should sound like, rather than descending into the hi-nrg madness that normally prevails. Funk/Soul/Disco

The Return!

Restless Funk Radio Show 11/10/10

Playlist

Macho - Mucho Macho (Mark Grusane & Mike Cole Edit)
Dark Day - Nudes In The Forest
Mikey D & The LA Posse - Comin' In The House (Dub)
New Birth - I Can't Understand It
Jaki Liebzeit & Burnt Friedman - 128-5 (Mark Ernestus Remix)
Saalim - Ayvat
Big Joe - African Princess
Prince Fatty ft. Horseman - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Unknown - Call Us Cool
Son House - Grinnin' In Your Face
DJ Nature - Everyone
MD Pacesetters - Sexual Healing
Jellphonic & Zacky Force ft. St Liquor(ish) - The Only 1

We're still working on the "Listen Again" links, but bear with us - soon come!

Restless Funk is a weekly radio show from the producers of "The Disco Village" blog, broadcst live in Cambridge on 97.2FM and around the world at http://www.camfm.co.uk/ on Monday nights from 9-10pm

The Dub Aquatic

Dub Aquatic by fred_naked

A lovely selection for later night winter listening, house and techno dub movements from the Disco Village.

Right on for the Darkness

A sneaky peak from the recent party I played at. I didn't want to embed the video as it makes the blog slow, and the quality is appalling, it's pitch black, dreadful sound, but... it tells a story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaH2_Q7c594

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeEPNLVBNlM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rBXyEU_pSw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nOb2tIGmSU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOkV_0FKJoY

Thanks to blackwax for the feeds!

Recommended next week

Next week see's the release of the new project from Frank Gossner and Academy Records of New York. It's a reissue of a group of singles from a seemingly nuts group of musicians.

It'll be presented as a limited edition 4x7" boxset, LP or CD  and comes with the patch you see on the left. I vote for the 7"s, but what do I know ;-)



PSYCHEDELIC ALIENS -
Psycho African Beat
TRACK LISTING:
1 – Blofonyobi Wo Atale
2 – Hijacking
3 – We’re Laughing
4 – Extraordinary Woman
5 – Gbe Keke Wo Taoc
6 – Gbomei Adesai
7 – Homowo
8 – Okponmo Ni Tsitsi Emo Le

More details at  http://voodoofunk.blogspot.com/ or http://www.academyannex.com/blog/ 

Banksy x Simpsons

Listmania

So it was our monthly shindig last night, I played some records, these were amongst those on rotation:

Bibi Tanga & The Selenites - Be Africa (Beg To Differ Remix)
Hungry Ghost - Illuminations
Dennis Brown & Damian Jr Gong fet. Nas - Promise Land (Promise Land Riddim Remix)
Populette - Mommy
Tony Allen - Kilode (Carl Craig Remix)
The Loni Gamble Band feat. Lisa Warrington - I Like The Way You Do It
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - The Love I Lost (Theo Parrish Ugly Edit)
Patrice Rushen - Roll With The Punches
China Burton - You Don't Care About Our Love
The Osmonds - I, I, I (Quiet Village No-Edit)
Eddie Kendricks - Thanks For The Memories

Public Service Announcements

Recommended this week:

 The Jack Moves - A Fool For You

Heavily recommended by Doc Delay and co at GoodRecordsNYC, brand new promo's (not in the shops) this slice of psychedelic soul. Fella apparently walks in off the street and dumps a box. Record shop nerds play the "yeah, whateva" game, needle drops followed by jaws...









Coming soon...