Track of the week...Now this one is off the hook. Candela's "Love You Madly", an Amir Bayyan joint (Bayyan was formerly Robert 'Kool' Bell of none other than Kool and the Gang, and was quite the prolific producer and arranger in his own right), this one typifies the garage (or boogie) sound of 1982. Approximately 118bpm, bass heavy, funk oriented, and with yet another killer break thats been the trend of my tracks of the week.

"Love You Madly, Oww, Whatcha Thinkin' Now? Gotta know somehow.."

Give it a listen...

Candela - Love You Madly

The motivation to dance. I wanted to take a good look at this concept. I look on a dancefloor and I see many different types- those who nod and appreciate, but seldom make their way to the floor. Others who will dance very low-key and in a small space, taking small steps and pacing themselves in an understated manner. Then there are a few who demand that they only dance to only that which they can only sing along to- the ones seeking an anthem to celebrate- its the only thing that will have them approach the floor. Then there is another DANCER. There are those who relish the sounds, whether classic are unfamiliar, electronic or live, and abandon inhibition and take to the rhythm like a fish to water. I adore those- the near intrinsic disposition to be loyal to a sound that moves them, possessed by the near synesthesia of the disco experience.

Let me be clear, however. ANYONE who dances gets my gratitude when I pay tribute to this music, no matter what dancer you are. No matter how you dance, how you express yourself, you are the judge and the jury of the way you celebrate your life, and if you have the motivation to move at all, whether it be a head nod or an acrobatic move, you liberate yourself, and pay tribute to the spirit of this sound.

Love During Wartime comes Saturday, September 2. I am delighted to be a part of this. Check it out:

Saturday September 2nd 2006
at The Paradise, 969 Commonwealth Ave. Boston MA
V.I.P. 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM / General 8:00 PM - 2:00 AM
18+, $10.00 to raise funds for a local artists' grant
Presented by Ben of Scene Feeder and Ian of Happy Endings
Part of The Boston Phoeinx's "Excuse" event series

14 DJs spin for 30 minutes each. Confirmed DJs:

Bethany (The Plan)
A weekly indie, rock, dance night at Great Scott
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Knife (Marinate)
One of Boston's best hiphop DJs, often over at The Milky Way
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Terrence (The Pill)
From M.I.A. to MOZ, the man loves that which is from Europe
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EMarce (Paper)
DJ for one of the city's most packed college/indie nights
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Sir Loins (Hot Lunch)
Helping to create awesome punk and dance nights for radical queers and their buddies
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David Day (Square Productions)
Forced Exposure, films, DJing, production. David does it all.
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Claude Money (Soul-le-lu-jah)
The soul reason ZuZu pwnz Saturday nights. <3 his 45s.
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Joseph Colbourne (formerly of Dynasty & Number Six)
Every city needs a disco / Italo know-it all. We have the best.
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Lone Wolf (Gold Chain)
Southie's fun-loving artist-teacher-dj gets you crunk
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Matt (of Dead Disco / Ready Steady Yo!)
Non-stop quality selections, from indie-dance to UK grime.
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Ian (of Happy Endings)
Venue seller-outter and co-promoter for L.D.W.T.
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Red Foxxworth (of Hearthrob)
Dude likes Three 6 Mafia and Skinny Puppy. Say no more.
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Video Artists:
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Matt (Dust Bunnies, Blanks)
His love for video is only outdone by his love for nice hoodies.
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Joe Dinkin
One of those smart-arts types. Projects 'films' not video. Duh.
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Robotkid
Old school beat-head and creator of fantastic visuals.
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Sarah (of Memories Forever) and Ben are designing 2 sides to a 4x6 promo card to hit the streets in August.

The Details

We want to raise the bar. Just think: what if a dance night was a platform for community growth? How could we maximize having 500+ people in a room together? So we're throwing "Love During Wartime", a dance party with the end goal of helping the local underground arts, music, and non-profit communities. Here's a quick breakdown of how we plan to do this:

1. Get 14 DJs from some of the best nights across the city
2. Get one of the largest rock venues in Boston on-board
3. Get the largest weekly indie newspaper to back us
4. Get 500+ people at this one-of-a-kind all-out genre-mash
5. Pay every DJ, promoter, artist involved a flat rate of $50.00
6. Put all post-cost profits into a fund
7. All artists involved become part of a voting team
8. Ask the public to submit funding-proposals
9. Our team votes, and awards a member of the community with a grant
9a. If we sell this thing out, we could be looking at a $2,000.00 award!
10. Follow up / check in on the award winner / keep progress blog
11. Put up a 'how to' PDF / explaininghow the entire night came together

This week's featured DJ: Beppe Loda. Courtesy of Jeremy Campbell's Tropical Computer System site.

"Italian DJ Beppe Loda, pioneer of DJ culture and resident at Brescia's Typhoon club from 1980 to 1987, has been searching for sounds off the beaten path since his first gig in 1973. Playing to as many as 7,000 people a night, producing in excess of 200 mix tapes and pioneering the "italo synth" sound with his MC1 project (just reissued on Synthonic), he has just about done it all. His "Afro" style (also called "Cosmic" or "Cosmic Afro") is as disorienting, funky and inspiring now as it was then. Listen to a mix for yourself below, and if you're lucky, catch one of his first US performances."

Elettronica Meccanica 08/85 mix

Track of the Week: Greg Perry "It Takes Heart"

A record coveted by both northern soul and boogie collectors, alike, this fast-tempo (130 bpm) track is a rare crossroads between the two. Recorded in 1982, and released on the small Alfa label, "It Takes Heart" has the telltale expressive, melodic sound and tempo craved by Northern Soul collectors; the break, however, is wildly indicative of the sound that was very contemporary for that time- a tight, pounding drive with an infectious synth riff.

One VERY noteworthy fact about the artist is that Mr. Perry was a Holland-Dozier-Holland collaborator, and had recorded much since the 60s, and many of his records are sought after by Northern Soul collectors.

Give it a listen:

Greg Perry - It Takes Heart

Guilty Pleasures: A Thank You to all those involved and to those who came out last night, to Adam Bouchard (Commodore Vic) for inviting me, Ben Sisto (Scenefeeder), and Michael Potvin (Compound 440r, Cassette), of whom is pictured with me below. The night was jammin', and when the clapping and stomping began as I mixed Take Five's "You Gotta Walk Through It" into Sylvester's "I Need You", I experienced great joy. My utmost gratitute to you all.

This week's mix I feature courtesy of Bring The Heat, and its by Jr Jam. This one is jam-packed with the love of my life, that funky, deep, tender and yet at the same time, tough groove- most tracks from between 1980-1983, that sweet spot. Plus its got one of my all time favorites, Norman Giscombe Jr's "Hot Up and Heated", the B-side to "Get Up and Dance". You may now him better as simply Junior, famed for "Mama Used to Say", a big dance and radio hit in the UK and here in the US. The segue from "Hot Up and Heated" to Daybreak's "Everybody Get Off" is very effective, and is one of the highlights of the mix. So give it a listen and let it take you away...

Disco Grooves

Tee Scott.

He was considered the "repairman"- was able to take a record in desperate need of attention and make it classic. Think First Choice's "Love Thang", Northend's "Tee's Happy" and "Tee's Right", Atlantis' "Keep on Movin' and Groovin".... I just wanted to proclaim my admiration for this man as one of my main inspirations as a DJ and one of my favorite mixers.

A Discography

On His DJing:
"[Tee] picked really good songs," says François K, an acolyte of Scott’s. "He was more focused on the real soulful grooves that would work the dancefloor to an absolute frenzy. He was into playing a very solid; steady no-nonsense set, but also very beautiful. He could really work a record into becoming a hit just because he made it so. It might not a very strong record to begin with but just the way he would work it, cut it, and make his crowd like it and then it would become a hit.
-Francois Kervorkian

Guilty Pleasures...

Track of the Week:

Underground - Behind My Back

Released on the heralded Queens-based label Sam Records in 1981 (best known for hits by Convertion, Rhyze, Glen Adams Affair, Vicky "D", Evasions, and so forth), this appeared to be Underground's sole record, and is actually the b-side of the more smooth and soul-fueled "Doin' It". The record is the funkiest catharsis ever to lay its grooves on black wax, and, as suggested in its title, is a candid declaration of a man's "last straw" with his deceitful, unfaithful lover. The bottom line is that this track is rough, tough, and seriously got too much of serious groove to be overlooked- a sick synth-driven break, vocals that hold their own, and overall a solid track that has been a floor-filler for me in the past. Its surprising that it isn't far more in demand, but such is the case with certain records that may get lost into obscurity on a label that has huger hits that overshadow it. Download the track here.

A Proposal.

I would like to feature/review a mix each week from local, regional, national, or international DJs. If you are interested in referring me to a mix of yours, a friend's, acquaintance's, or simply someone you admire, please inquire within. The best way would be to reply to this post, or email me.

This week I will feature a mix of my choice, by Chicago's DJ Bullit (courtesy of Deep House Page. Bullit's collection of boogie, funk, soul, disco, and rare groove is enviable and as a DJ, he is an enigma. I know very little information on the gentleman, besides mixes that have been featured on DHP and Bring the Heat. Consequently, both DHP and Bring the Heat exhibit the enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty of the deep disco and boogie sound in the Windy City, and there are some dedicated fellas from that town whose collections far surpass my own. Out of respect for Bullit, I will not post a tracklist but if you would like any tracks identified, contact me. So without further ado, here is the mix by Bullit, simply titled "Deep Disco."

Listen to Deep Disco

AUGUST 19th

GUILTY PLEASURES

Funk, Electro, R&B Dancing
Commodore Vic w/ Special Guest Joseph Colbourne (Thee Disco Archiviste.)
Saturday August 19th, 2006

Common Ground Bar & Grill
85 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA
11 PM, 21+
Bring valid ID

Mark Your Calendars.

My friend Ben Sisto has graciously offered to host mixes of mine on a weekly basis on his blog Scenefeeder. One of these mixes featured is Givin' in to the Beat. Check it out...

Givin' in to the Beat

black gold - cmon stop
lefturno - out of sight
amra - special kind of love
wickett - cant get enough of you
splash - when we touch (ju ju)
jammers - an you know that
raven feat, jocelyn brown - so in love
mass production - come get some of this

A real live wire.

You deserve to dance.

This beat is mine.

Knocks me off my feet.

It's got to be love.

Don't you know that I've been looking for you?




Welcome.