I’m rearranging my vinyl collection. Because I lack the space to hold on my current system. And because lately I frequently can’t find pieces I know I own. Something that rarely happened before. While reordering I’m cleaning out the collection too. Putting doubles aside, checking records I can’t remember of how they sound and only keep those that are really good. No more trying to have a complete collection label- or artist-wise. I think when all this is done, in a couple of weeks, I’ll have a couple of hundred records for sale. Mind, most of those are 1 € bin buys. Which I didn’t listen to at the time and turn out to be not as good as the sleeve notes or cover promised.

But sometimes I stumble upon some forgotten gems. Or even complete oeuvres. Like Spacek’s. The group formed by Steve Spacek, Morgan Zarate & Edmund Cavill. From before Steve Spacek’s solo work and features everywhere. Completely forgot how good “Curvatia” and “Hi-Tech Vintage” are. Still sounding very fresh. Maybe even more then when they were released. Ideal soundtrack to my mood and weather. Check it.

Got a spare copy of the “Peace with Every Step” album of Build an Ark on Kindred Spirits. Sealed one. If anyone needs this album say something. 16,50 EUR and it’s yours.

Just got back from some crate diggin’ at my mate Dizze’s place. Got some People Under Stairs, some Real Live, some Pharcyde (good things you got to have in multiple copies). But the main piece I brought back to the BLA HQ is Idris Muhammad’s “Power of Soul” album. Cost me quite some euro’s but it’s worth every cent. The “Loran’s Dance” track alone should be enough to buy it. Friggin’ genius. Sampled as opening to one of the best (Hiphop) albums ever.

Feels like another headphone trip mix is coming up soon.

If you check our playlists you might notice we’re quite fond of all things Patrick Adams. Our sets are rarely without one of his productions. Not on purpose but he always seems to have a hand in Disco tracks we really like.

Over the years I gathered a lot of vinyl with the name Patrick Adams somewhere on it. And although I could easily do an allnighter playing only his tunes we still seem to be nowhere near a complete collection. Because I used to buy everything with his name on it I always am sceptic if I see a new compilation popping up. I don’t like to buy those things just for one track I miss and if there are already tons released, like in Patrick Adams’ case, the rare tracks are the ones everybody forgot about because they are inferior.

Still, I bought a double vinyl (also released on CD) with a title that sets off all alarms that should warn me for what I explained in previous paragraph; “The Master of the Masterpiece 2, more of the best of Patrick Adams 2”. The word and cipher “more” and “2”, twice, triggering those alarms. Still flipped it over to check the tracklist and noticed I didn’t own any of the tracks. Partly because they put “original demo versions” of tracks I posses on it (always a lame trick to get some money out the pockets of an avid collector as me) and partly because they concentrate on the Prelude record label releases of the man. And I have a big void in that area. And I love the electro(nic) sound of these releases a lot.

But I would have bought it even if I had all tracks except one. This being Center Stage’s “Never”. Such a banger. This is hands in the air Disco the way I love it. Always when I hear somebody play a classic Disco set it’s made up out of 90% the same tracks. Or they are going too deep and lose themselves in boring sonic porn for the Disco nerds. Play tracks like these and I’ll be on a high for weeks. Obscure but not sounding like it, uplifting and simply quality music.

Anyway, this might not be the best introduction to Patrick Adams’ music. The are far better compilations that do the trick (the “Disco Juice 1 & 2” on Counterpoint and Kenny Dope one on Traffic being better suited for that). But it’s certainly a must have for any Patrick Adams aficionado. And a must, if you can’t find the original Prelude release, for anyone who wants to please me on a dance floor with the Center Stage gem.

Read more about the legend that is Patrick Adams here.

Sad news. I’m not the one to go all sentimental after one’s death, nor will I follow the hype and go all lyrical about somebody once he’s dead. But this one touched me. I digged up this ace compilation out of my collection not so long ago and even played the song in the video at Go Bang!. Trouble Funk are one of the sickest Funk / Hip Hop bands I know. Tight and heavy aiming for the booty. Read today one of their founding members Robert “Syke Dyke” Reed died of cancer. Always hoped to see them live one day. Not going to happen I guess.

Hopefully some post death attention gives them a bit of the shine they deserve. One of the most underrated bands ever.

Now we have the busy party organising period behind us we got some more time on our hands for different things. Like rearranging the collection and doing some edits. A thing we do as a preparation to making music of our own and to make some songs more playable in our sets. Not aiming for world domination with that one. So not planning on doing much more with them than just playing them in our dj sets. And that’s what most people who are making edits should do. 9 out of 10 I can’t keep but thinking that the edits that are bootlegged are things you could easily do yourself. Making the intro more steady tempo wise so it’s easier to mix, cutting out the boring bits and making the end mixable. Or they just release rare gems as bootlegs to get some cash the easy way. Only few do something really interesting.

Among those few there is the Disco Deviance series for me. All 3 releases were spot on. But they took masters of the re-editing business like Greg Wilson and Ashley Beedle aboard. Can’t do much wrong that way. Another re-edit I dig a lot is Todd Terje’s mix of Chic’s ‘I want your love” that playfully refers to KDJ’s classic “I can’t kick this feeling”. Sets the dance floor on fire each and every time.

Third edit that really blew me away is a rework of Angela Bofill’s “People make the world go round”. Since I heard Snowboy play that tune a couple of years ago, accompanying it with the words “here”s some Broken beat from 1979”, I’ve been a hooked to it. Found it only a couple of months ago on vinyl and tried to mix it in most of my sets since then. But the songs structure in the beginning isn’t aimed at dj’s like me who are not from the quick mix variety. Like to layer it and slowly work it in. Keeping the groove and everything. And because there’s not a decent intro before the song really starts it was hard mixing it properly (mind I’ve only got the album, not the 12 – don’t know how the intro is on that).

But now that problem is fixed thanks to KAT records and some blokes called Basement soul. Their edit gives the song a proper intro and not in the “lets take the first few bars and loop ‘em” way. They do it properly (and in a way that’s beyond my technical abilities for now). Nice and good for you all because now you’ll certainly hear it in near every set of mine. Other edits on the release are strong too. A reshuffle of the Gap Bands “Outstanding” and a song I don’t know but reminds me of the more “acid” Acid Jazz like Pal Joey and D-Influence produced back in the days. Breaksy, danceable stuff. Whoever did this, because the name “Basement Soul” is new to me (and not related to Kid Sublime – I checked), did a good job. Check it out.

You might want to check other releases by this label too. And tell me something if you find a batch of them. Missed most of them. And Disco Dalglish played their first release last Saturday and I need that.

Digged this one up yesterday and boy it still sounds fresh after all this years (released some 10 years ago). Utter genius and relevant as can be. Carl Craig is a god, no doubt. Check the remix he did for "Kilode" by that other genius called Tony Allen. It’s out on Honest Jons. Pure bliss. Did C2 ever go wrong or produced a bad track ? Still haven’t heard it.

"The secret tapes of dr. Eich" by Paperclip People is a classic you all should have in your collection. Like "More songs about food and revolutionary art", the selftitled album by The Detroit Experiment, Innerzone Orchestra’s "Programmed" and so much more cuts by the man. All essential in any collection.

Got the final Straight no Chaser issue last Friday. Makes me a bit sad although they’re not completely gone. Going to miss the most stylish magazine around. Browsing through that last bundle of neatly designed paper makes it clear nothing ever came close. Big up to Paul Bradshaw, Swifty, Mitchybwoy, Ian Wright and all involved.

For those addicted to all things stylishly designed; check Tyler Askew, top designer and man behind one of the parties I want to check most, Rude Movements, his new Blog.

I told a couple of posts beneath that I bought 2 albums of Jon Lucien this weekend. They are both pure genius. "Mind’s Eye" and "Rashida" are must haves for everybody who loves solid spiritual soul jazz.

But now the sad news. The man died this weekend. Far too young. Check his site for more about the man’s site ouevre.

Just one last post before I’m off to France. To get into the retro uptempo dance music mood. It’s going to be quiet on this blog the next few days because I’l be visiting a Soul Jazz festival some 1000km South from here and Disco Dalglish will be in Berlin.

The tune in the vid above this post is a re-edit, done by French master of this trade Pilooski, of an old Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons track. This veteran of dance music with a career beginning in the 50’s and still going strong (he was in the Soprano’s) has sold millions of vinyls all around the world. He is a firm favourite in the northern soul scene but as also added his 2 cents to the “Grease” soundtrack. “Beggin” is one of his lesser known gems although it was a bit of a hit in the northern soul scene. Parisian Pilooski re-edited it in a subtle kind of way and released it as a bootleg. With great success. It has become an underground hit and the 679 label has picked it up and given it an official release with video and everything. Ideal for the summer festivals. Check it out, it got the words “BIG TUNE” written all over it.

This post just because I’ve been pumping the song with the same title as this post all weekend and it still is on constant repeat in my head. Lil’ Louis is for me up there with Larry Heard, Ron Trent, Blaze and other truly giants of House music. Maybe even higher because he fuses like no other the Soul and raw deepness I like so much about the genre. Although he hasn’t produced that much (not like MAW for example) I’ve always got something in my box from this master.

Check his Myspace for the song I mention and others bonafide classics. The man hasn’t made much else than classics.

His father was Bobby Sims who appeared on the Chess label and played with the genius Rotary Connection.

Thanks to Mohan Das for showing me the way to the Myspace and putting the needle back tot the beginning of the records after I played this tune as last song last Friday.

I had heard tunes like “Heart’s Desire”, “Holding you, Loving You” and “You Ain’t Hip” before and liked them very much but I never paid real attention to the artist behind it. Until I bought this absolute masterpiece. All tunes mentioned before are on it. It’s one of those records that blow you away from start to finish and which make you wonder why you didn’t notice it sooner. Funkadelic / Parliament and Lenny White / Twennynine are never far away (he did session work for both of them) but this LP can easily stand next to the best work of those. The record that’s best reference is Bernard Wright’s “‘Nard”. For which Don Blackman wrote and sang “Haboglabotribin’”, a tune most of us will recognise through the sample Snoop used. For the sample spotters, Skee-lo used Bernard Wright’s “Spinnin’” for his “I Wish” hit. Both LP’s are loaded with samples. Another common thing is that both LP’s are produced by Dave Grusin.

For all who loves Rare Groove, early eighties bass heavy Funk or afternoon sessions at Southport this is essential. And it’s a great staring point for trips to the work of Tom Browne, Twennynine, George Duke and others. I love it when 1 piece of vinyl opens the door to an entire world of great music.

Since reading the article about him in Waxpoetics been digging up what I’ve got from him. Beginning with the Soul Jazz compilation. Noticed we put a song from him on our 80’s Soul Mixtape. Lola’s “Wax the Van”. Although it’s on the compilation didn’t make the connection with Arthur Russel until last week. Anyway, getting deep into his work. It’s not something you always dig instantaneous, at least I don’t, but when you put it through your headphones on a more than decent volume and give it the time to infiltrate your soul it’s addictive.

Been humming Dinosaur L’s “Go Bang” for weeks now. Loose Joint’s “All over my face” was the first thing that put me onto Arthut Russell. But really got interested in him when I was exploring Walter Gibbons remixes a little more. “Treehouse/Schoolbell” having become a firm favourite of mine. It’s all stuff for the more discerning dance floor but that’s the one I like the most.

I always think that talking about dance music is a bit foolish. Put the man’s music on your stereo, turn up the volume and absorb it. Dance to it. More people should do that. It would make the world a little better.

"Tawiah - Watch Out". This one’s been a favourite of our favourite BBC DJ’s Gilles Peterson and Benji B. New Soul (not Nusoul) which has more affinity with true Soul than with RNB. Ethereal (if that’s a word) music that touches the Soul. In other words what music should be to be titled with the big S-word. Check it out on her Myspace. It’ll get a proper release on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers 2 compilation.

Still in a big Gil Scott-Heron period. Check his live version of “Home is where the hatred is”. The original is on his masterpiece ‘Pieces of a man”. Absolute classic of the highest order that LP. Superb in its entirety but that song still stands out for me. This one goes deep. The live version on “It’s Your World” is more uptempo, more grooving. Still rules though. As did Masters At Work think when they sampled it to transform it in one of the illest House joints around.

Getting deep into Donny Hathaway too. You have to check “Extensions of a man”. One of the greatest albums I’ve heard. So deep. If you’re searching for his work, please check his “Live” album too. Best live album I know. The version of “The Ghetto” on it always blows my mind. Even the crowd is of the hook on it.

These goodies filled with the illest breaks and samples around are grand-cru headphones classics at work. Check it if you haven’t done yet. But like with all those deep diggin’ nerds, they don’t publish the tracklists. I understand that, with the lazy downloading generation and all but it makes it difficult when I want to know a tune so I can dig for it.

Does anybody know what the sped up track is in the beginning of the 2^nd session of the 2^nd CD of On Track 6. It’s the third song in the 2^nd mix session. Bit complex, my explanation but anyway, if you’ve heard the CD you’ll understand. It’s a track possibly sample by Kanye West are one of his acolytes. Lefto spins it too sometimes, I think.

I’m in a big Gil Scott-Heron mood. Since the lovely peeps at Rushhour are restocking his reissued records I’m filling the gaps in my collection and getting hooked more and more to his music. One of the greatest of all time. Check him out if his oeuvre is still a blank to you. Give it a little time. Let it sink in.

One of the Onda Sonora favourites on the Tom Moulton compilation released by the fantastic Soul Jazz label. It’s kitsch and very catchy without going all ABBA or Baccara . When the 7” crossed our path during a digging session, Disco Dalglish provided some extra info on the group by stating that Andrea True was a former pornstar.

Disco and porn combined. That sparked more than a little interest so we googled a little to know more. And thatonly made things better. The story behind the song is so beautiful it would be a crime not to put it on this blog.

From Wikipedia:
During her heyday as a porn star, True was hired by a local real estate business in the Caribbean island of Jamaica to shoot commercials for the agency. During her stay in Jamaica, a political upheaval ravaged the island and no one was allowed to leave the island with any money. Not wanting to lose her hard-earned money, she called on her friend, record producer Gregg Diamond, to produce a track that she could invest her money in and take it out of the country in the form of a master tape. The result was the 1976 classic disco song “More, More, More” written and produced by Gregg Diamond, and remixed by Tom Moulton. Her breathy singing plus a lyrical reference to “get the cameras rollin’” reflected the notoriety of her film career, during which she used five different stage names.

How cool is this ! A bit of a shame she hasn’t been in similar situations more often during her recording career because her other releases are from far minor quality. But if you release a monster like “More, more, more”, you’ve earned your place in the Onda Sonora hall of fame.

For those loving that raw Chicago house sound (often called “like Red D” at the Onda Sonora HQ), we found some fresh vinyl (and mp3’s) unearthing the original source.

Ron Hardy may not be the most well known dj but he’s certainly one of those notorious “key” figures in dj-history. He represented the harder edge of the Chicago scene out of which “House” music originated. As opposed to Frankie Knuckles, who imported the New York disco sound to the windy city and so planted the seed for this new style of music.

Ron Hardy was the dj who played the more energetic and raw sets appealing to the youth, in contrary of Frankie Knuckles’ more sophisticated style, which led to the (acid) house sound of Chicago. His repetitive and uncompromising vibe can still be experienced when listening to Ron Hardy edits. Remixes he made from disco and early house songs to fit them better into his sets. Those edits where never released properly and until now you could only find them on shady bootlegs or the net without being too sure it weren’t hoaxes.

But now Bill Hardy, Ron’s nephew, is releasing those edits, taken from the original reel-to-reel’s. They are very raw (being made by cutting up tape and pasting them back together) and repetitive (prolonging breakdowns eternally). But used wisely in a set they are devastating.

These edits were a big influence on The Parrish’ “Ugly Edit”-series. As a dj Ron Hardy was (one of) the main influence(s) on Theo Parrish, Moodymann, dj Pierre and most (original) Chicago house cats.

Check ParteHardy records website for more info about the releases. You’ll find where to find the vinyl too. The nice boys from Rushhour have got the second volume still in stock.