A little while back Mark Mirage handed over his top edit of Blue Feather's 'It's Love' for you to check out, he's back with another freebie. Mmirage, as he's now called, does a neat re-arrangement on Luv You Madly Orchestra's wonky 'Rocket Rock'. Definitely more oddball than your average Salsoul number and Mark's trimmed the rubbish bits from this cowbell loving, Walter Gibbons mixed romp. Goody goody!
Mmirage - Luvrocket
It might not yet be completely apparent, but an underlying theme or intention with a.n.o.e. in 2011 has been to up the diggers content. Thus I have invited a number of dj's who are great at hunting out lesser known gems to contribute mixes for the Press Play series. Some of them are very well known, others less so, but then we've always tried to mix up those who are revered with those we may come to revere later. So as a follow up to that exceptional Basso mix you just got, Press Play goes to Poland for a visit with The Very Polish Cut Outs.
The Very Polish Cut Out's are Zambon and Pnk Discirporation, their thing is bringing a little spotlight onto quality 70's and 80's Polish music. And with some help from friends of theirs (Old Spice, Yacht Rock Disco, Funk Off and others) they've set about recycling and editing a bunch of retro Polish beats to use in mixes and releases. Go and check out their SoundCloud page to get a better idea of what they're up to. Their mix 'Po Drugiej Stronie Świata', which translates as 'The Other Side Of the World', is excellent. I'm not even going to try and describe the music, instead I suggest you succumb to this very cool, eclectic and wizardly journey into deeper Polish grooves. Massive thanks to Zambon and Pnk for hooking up this superb, superb mix!!
Press Play #47 - The Very Polish Cut Outs - Po Drugiej Stronie Świata
Sleazy Beats have a new EP in stores today, it features 4 slo mo Disco bruisers from Milan based artist La Tuerie. Cutting up Disco tracks is pretty much everywhere these days, so you really have to hunt out the tunes that count, that you'll be playing for awhile, maybe even for years (if you get really lucky). But Sleazy Beats have already put out some amazing records, so you know you're in good hands. I think the whole EP is good, but in particular La Tuerie's track 'Zanzibar' makes this slice of vinyl a must have; those deep warm keyboard drops, that rollerskating bump and grind, the block party atmosphere and it's Hip Hop Disco roots all work together to make a heady and very danceable brew. Hot stuff...class action even!!
(SBR007) La Tuerie - Zanzibar (SNIPPET) by SleazyBeats
If, like me, you love the latest 12" from French duo Project Tempo (discussed a few posts below), then you'll want to get on this shiny new mix which they've given us to host. 'Kill the Mids, Boost the Slows' is a manifesto of sweet midtempo boogie and slo mo lovin', looped up House, it also features both sides of their new record. Keep up with the pair over at their fine blog Interesting Blends and soundtrack your next pool party with this...
Project Tempo - Kill the Mids Boost the Slows
Track list:
01: Indeep - Dj's Delight
02: Deadly Sins - You & I
03: 6th Borough Project - Deep C
04: 78 Edits - I'll be True
05: Project Tempo - rue 52
06: Aeroplane - We can Fly (Beat)
07: Mustang - On Mercury
08: Trujillo - Baby your still the Same (original)
09: Project Tempo - Get up and clap your Hands
10: D-Pulse - Velocity of Love (original)
Can Dee's 1984 Boogie gem 'Lucky Day' on Kee Wee Records is a long time favourite. Boogie Times Records put it on their 'Great Collectors Volume 1' CD, but otherwise it's not the easiest of records to find. At 4 minutes and 12 seconds, it's way too short, but what a beauty!! Lucky Sunday Boogie then... (um.. do I need to say that's not Can Dee in the pic?)
Can Dee - Lucky Day
Coyote are on a roll, their last single 'Always' for Need Want has been building fires on beaches across Europe for the last month or so (check those class Neville Watson remixes too if you haven't already), there's a hot new remix of Runaway's classic 'Dead Dog Farm' out soon from On The Prowl, and now there's news of a new album. 'Half Man Half Coyote' will be in stores in the next month, it's a fantastic follow up to their lovely 'Harlyn Bay' LP from 2 years back. Staying true to their love of the island life, Timm Sure and Ampo have produced a beautiful and seductive album of Balaeric, Dub and worldly variants. You get a definite sense that the pair have really settled into their sound; the melodies are bewitching, the warm production is achingly precise and palpable though never glossy, there is a wider palette of instrumentation, and they invoke a vast tradition of Balearic tunes with apparent ease. You still get a bunch of 'enlightenment voice overs' designed to massage your mind, which I have to say I love, it's very Coyote. But these are overlaid onto song structures which mostly go beyond words. There are a couple of vocal tracks too and in particular 'Our Time', a bitter sweet, melancholic, canyon of a beauty is destined for classic status, check the clip below. Max Essa, Huw Costin, IPG and Penuckle are amongst those who drop in to help out, the result is a record with a wider and deeper range of sound than 'Harlyn Bay'. Future classic Balearic opus indeed and guaranteed sunshine in a box!
Don't Be Afraid are launching two new EP's with a top night that includes Photonz, Bullion, Alex Chase, Mr Beatnik, Architeq and Semtek (what a line up!). Check out the invitation here on Facebook for those of you who will be in London on the 27th of this month. It's important to know the first of the two EP's has already been getting support from the likes of Ivan Smagghe, Neville Watson, Mugwump, and Disco Bloodbath, and Gilles Peterson premiered the second 12" on his Worldwide show just before International Record Store Day. Don't Be Afraid is primarily the home of Cambridge born artist Semtek and it's his Bob James sampling bomb 'WestAcydShelter' that's at the center of first of the two Ep's (DBA004). Semtek actually rebuilt the main hook from 'Westchester Lady' from scratch, then repositions it in a field of jacking electronica; check out the track below. Importantly the 12" also comes with a killer Photonz remix which should have any of Andy Blake's 'World Unknown' heads in a total sweat.
The second of the two EP's (DBA004) contains three original tracks from Mr Beatnick and a remix by Tirk's Architeq. Late last year Mr Beatnick's released his 'The Fourth Day' 7" single on Futuristica Music, the flip side 'Fallin Apples' was a personal favourite, it's a superbly rich, deep 'n tweaked downtempo track which deserves multiple listens. The New EP is probably even better; it's full of innovative, sophisticated and diverse moves. Each track explores quiet different ideas with immense detail, pitting modern electronica against superb antique sounds with immensely pleasurable results. The clip of Beatnick's opening track 'Synthetes' (which also gets the remix) is a direct rip from Gilles' show. Future beats then, on both counts...
DBA004 - West Acyd Shelter (Release Date May 9th) by Semtek
Synthetes - ripped off BBC Radio 1 Gilles Peterson show by mrbeatnick
French duo Project Tempo have a second 12" about to hit the stores, and as with their first release on their own Project Tempo label there are a limited number available. I liked the first 12" which had an edit of Carly Simon's big Balearic hit and a Tom Tom Club edit. Thing is it didn't seem absolutely essential, though it did get plays from some lovely folk like Sleazybeats and Dicky Trisco, so I could easily be wrong about that. Their second 12" is a whole other story. The a side is a heavy looped up edit of Gwen Mcrae's 'Funky Sensation' now called 'Get Up & Clap Your Hands', and it's bloody marvelous. The B side edit, apparently of a well known British Soul group (clue is in the name), is destined for serious repeated play here at anoe hq. The duo mention that they've tried to pay homage in the method of the edit, to old school edit heads like Latin Rascals and Shep Petibone, it's superb either way, very dubby... check it... get it... boogie makes the world go round... oh and check their blog here...
Project Tempo - Rue 52 by Project Tempo
Kon & Amir are probably the greatest diggers on the planet, it's just that every time I find a tune I really dig, they've already comped it. I never bought BBE's 'Kings Of Digging' compilation, though I realise now I should have. That said Harmony Cat's 'Harmony Cats Theme' appears on the BBE record as an edit, 'Kon's Drum Edit' in fact. The intro to this killer, sought after Disco Funk beast is a bit special, well the whole track is amazing.. too short, but amazing. It's tracks like this that make the whole game so thrilling, music for life... here's the original...
Harmony Cat - Harmony Cat's Theme
Albion's new Mixtura adventure is freshly up on Soundcloud and it's typically excellent! Albion has been very busy, what with his fantastic album out on Ambassadors Reception, a superb mix for Noncollective and now this 15th edition of his long running diggers Disco series. These things take an enormous amount of work I imagine and Albion seems to have an uncanny talent for unearthing a great many obscure gems. Check out his new mix below and keep an eye out for his upcoming press play mix too.. wohoo!!
Albion - Mixtura 15 (2011) by AlbionVenables
I'm really loving Giulio Dj's version of Luminodisco's new track 'Balerama' on the fantastically named label Danny Was A Drag King. Actually the whole EP is great, but I'm a fan of the Giulio and he's gone all out and rebuild the track into a lush Balearic beauty, he's also added in an entirely new vocal. Izzy, on vocals, does a wonderful sleazy Disco, almost rap for Julian's blissful 'Space and Time' Remix. Apparently she came up with the lyrics on first hearing the instrumental. There is also some lovely guitar work from the clearly talented Simrin Phull. The record hits the stores on the 16th and is bound to be a European summer classic.. check it.
Balerama (Giulio DJ Space & Time Version feat. Izzy) by Julian Horn
If you come across a record by The Terrible Frankie Nieves, grab it. Actually there's a copy of their only LP (I think it's their only album) in at Dusty Grooves, but really what you want to find is their 'True Love' 7". It's a heart tugging Latin Funk tune with incredible vocals and a stomping vibe. I know almost nothing about the Northern Soul scene but I imagine this could have been a real contender. It's a massive tune for me right now, but there's not much hope of getting the required heavyweight dollars to acquire a good copy... true lovin' on a Friday night...
The Terrible Frankie Nieves - True Love
You'll find both Ray Mang & Kelvin Brown's Press Play mixes are back up (excellent mixes both). That should be the lot, though I'll have to double check. Some of the earlier mixes had reached over 3000 plays each, with many catching up, that's before divshare zeroed all my counters... You probably don't know this about me, but I love web stats...
Basso is one of the clever and talented folk behind blog of the decade 'The Growing Bin', a specialist space on the www, dedicated to rare, obscure, unheard, super interesting & quality records from the past. I'm sure i'm not the only one who's gone and hunted down, bought and shipped home an LP or three as a result of records they put up on their site. You may also know the man from his amazing 'Joy Of Cooking' mixes for Deepfrequency.com which go out monthly; Basso mixes up beautiful new and old tracks, he has an impeccable ear for truly special sounds and each episode is a real keeper. Last year in October, label of distinction Blackdisco released 'Basso's EP', a four track vinyl debut of Disco edits by this Hamburg resident. You'll also find more of his quality cut ups on Soundcloud, where he covers a range of diggers sounds. I read somewhere, it could have been facebook or Soundcloud or even The Growing Bin, that Basso 'likes edits that don't sound like edits' and it's a description that fits his own work perfectly.
I am once again delighted, more than you can possibly know, to be able to bring you a very special mix from another of my favourite dj's. 'Another Summer On Earth' is the very essence of the season; it's the perfect soundtrack for drifting on your favourite lilo, for cooking in the open with friends, for strolling in the park with your most loved one, for driving in the countryside with the sunroof down. It's programmed with Basso's usual finesse and is as such another classic mix from this consummate musicologist... I'll see if I can get a play list, but in the meantime get on this at once...
Press Play #46 - Basso - Another Summer On Earth
Track list:
The Essence - Across The Steppes
Luc Ferrari - Presque Rien
Vita Nova - Dream For You
Jochen Schrumpff - Nano Nano
Junior Byron - Sunshine
Cameo - We're going out tonight
Birdland - Feelings
Chromatic Filters - Slow Emotions
Worst Friends - Neve's For None (Eddie C Remix)
Incarnations - Make you mine
Cymande - Brothers On The Slide
9th Creation - He's Coming
Senora - Paul
Maze - Joy & Pain
The Stallions' Fantastic Remix of Canyon's My Rescue
It's ridiculous how many tracks, mixes and albums I'd like to write about, but I never find the time to get to them all. It bothers me a lot. Often people who have contacted me have to remind me about a post that I'd promised to write. Some eventually give up. I'm currently trying to improve on this (have you noticed?)...
So awhile back Benji, a great digger and dj from Berlin got hold of me to say he'd done a mix for a.n.o.e. and that he'd made it available on Soundcloud. It's a great Cosmo Disco set and I've been meaning to mention it to you for sometime. Benji was amongst those who contributed to the superb and much missed CBS Network, he's been dj'ing since he was a kid (in the early 80's) and he has a deep love for obscure dance music. He also used to run a weekly show with digger Marko Koenig which focused on hard to find Disco and Italo on Berlin's Twen-FM. Benji knows his onions and if you've been paying attention you'll have followed the link to some of his older mixes which i've had up on the sidebar for months. He's also Dj'ed alongside people like Loud-E, so you know you're in excellent company. Check out his crazy mixed up set "Die Kleine Disse Am Ende Der Strasse" below, I love it (you can download it too if you like). Also go check out his most recent radio show (only days old) with Marko up on soundcloud... learn, love, laugh... dance!
Die Kleine Disse Am Ende Der Strasse by Benji_DF
Sweet Touch's 'Live It Up', their only track as far as I know, has been given love by both Kon & Amir & Dimitri From Paris on compilations of theirs. It's another of those records that comes with a fairly high price tag if you're after a mint condition, original 12" (on New Yorker Began Cikic's BC Label). I get the feeling that The Brand New Heavies must have known and loved this track, it's practically a blue print for their early sound. so... living it up on a monday night...lovely!
Sweet Touch - Live It Up
