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MIX NOTES

I was honored to finally get down with There_Is_No_Planet_Earth, a dope weekly live broadcast on kpiss.fm. TINPE’s own Insta recently surpassed 10K+ followers – all presumably like-minded music heads who share a dedication to the preservation of House, Disco, Ballroom and the club culture of 80’s-90’s New York, Chicago, and Detroit. I’ve known Ben for years, via underground clubs and disco nerd message boards. Check the Soundcloud archives, where I’m very psyched to be featured alongside a gang of hype DJs from all over NYC that I really respect.

I Can’t Leave Your Love Alone – Our beloved Teddy Bear, Mr Teddy Pendergrass – from the Gamble & Huff produced “It’s Time For Love” LP, released in 1981, less than a year before the near fatal car accident that left him paralyzed. It’s an easy, mid-tempo groover that’s kinda an old school R&B tune. Co-written by Cecil Womack, Bobby’s brother, who also wrote TP’s “Love TKO”.

Main Thing – I really don’t know much of the history behind Shot, other they seem to really be just one guy named Roger “Wolfie” Williams, with Kim Marsh on vocals. They only released two songs: this post disc jam in 1986, and “Feel The Music”, a throw-away deep house thing in 2000. This is one of those post-disco/pre-house R&B songs that kinda defies categorization. Probably because I refrain from using the record nerd term “boogie”.

I’m Giving All My Love – Philly songstress Terri Wells was part of the short-lived group 70s girl group, City Limits, before going on staff at Philadelphia International Records as a session singer, under Dexter Wansel’s wing. She sings on Dexter’s “Life On Mars” and “Sweetest Pain”, to name a few. Later on she toured with Roy Ayers and even sings on a few of his later jams. This was produced by Nick Martinelli, who worked with a ton of people from the mid-80s, onward – including Change, Loose Ends, and Regina Belle. He also co-wrote the Fat Larry’s Band classic “Act Like You Know”.

Keep On Movin’ – Brasilian keyboardist and writer/producer/arranger Eumir Deodato de Almeida moved to NYC from Rio in 1967 at the age of 25, to work with Astrud Gilberto. He soon made a ton of crucial connections with a bunch of happening cats, including Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Creed Taylor hired him to write arrangements for CTI records, and his Jazz Fusion career took off like a rocket. Since then he’s had 16 platinum albums, worked with hundreds of great groups, won himself a grammy, and sold over 250 million records. This is Track 1 Side A of his 1982 “Happy Hour” LP, with Jellybean on the remix, and is it me or does this sound remarkably like Al Hudson‘s “Music” on the bridge.

I’ll be Your Pleasure – You may know Esther Williams as the voice behind the Hip Hop break “Last Night Changed It All” (the drums with the telephone ringing), but this Larry Levan-produced track is a certified Garage classic, and holds its own among any collection of disco anthems you can name.

Disco Lights - Though perhaps unsung in mainstream circles, proud son of Philadelphia Dexter Wansel should get his own damn wing at the museum of Disco, if and when such a thing ever gets built. Dexter came up as an gopher at Philly’s Uptown Theare, running errands and learning the music trade from the inside. After being discharged from the army in 1970, he soon became a keyboard wiz, focusing on the new synthesizer technology that was revolutionizing music at the time. He played in seminal Disco Funk bands like Yellow Sunshine, Instant Funk, and MFSB, did a ton of arranging and producing, and is responsible for one of Hip Hop’s most epic drum breaks, “Theme From The Planets”.

Can’t Help It (Todd Terje edit) – I’ve stayed away from MJ stuff for awhile now, but every now and then, this Todd Terje edit whispers to me from deep in my crates, just begging for another spin. Today, I listened to the voice.

Let’s Go All The Way (Danny Krivit edit) – More Philly magic, from the great Brenda & the Tabulations. This was a sleeper, B-side cut on the 1977 “I Keep Coming Back For More” 45 single, from the album of the same name – released on the Casablanca imprint Chocolate City. I came to now this song from Danny Krivit sets, so its only fitting I play his edit, which extends all the good parts

Never Let Go – No this is not a weird cover of Roy Ayer’s “Running Away’, but it sure sounds like that was their intent. Coincidence? Stranger things have happened. Eastbound Expressway was a studio session band at London’s Trident Studios, produced by British DJ and producer Ian Levine. The singers were uncredited. This was a hit in 1979 with heads in both London and New York. The name was revived in the early 80s when Levine started making tracks for Record Shack Records.

Billy Who – A fabled favorite of Mancuso, Knuckles, and Hardy alike. It doesn’t get much more underground deep disco than this 1980 one-off from Brooklyn NY’s Billy Frazier. This was also one of the first songs released in the Underdog Edit series from Chicago legend Leonard Part Sixx.

Freakin’ Time (J-Ski Edit) – Camden NJ born disco drummer extraordinaire Keith Benson released this in 1979 under the name Asphalt Jungle, -on the indie DC label, TEC. Keith was in both the Philly International house band MFSB, and the Motown Records house band too. So basically he played with everybody. And I do mean EVERYdamnbody. He also went to Harvard and founded an empowerment social initiative in New Jersey called The PEACE Movement, so he’s extra cool.

Turn Me Up – Chicago vocalist Keith Barrow came up in the church under the unwavering guidance of the High Priestess of Protest, his mother, Minister Willie Beatrice Barrow. His mother was a legendary Civil Rights activist who was down with MLK, God Mother to Obama, and co-founder of PUSH with Jesse Jackson (and that’s just scratching the surface). He relocated to LA in the 1976 and signed with CBS. This came out in 1978 on his Physical Attraction LP.

My Love Is Free (Danny Krivit Edit) – Not much more can be said about one of the greatest discos songs of all time. Just thank Danny Krivit for letting the strings do their thing on this edit.

Down The Way – This swinging track is the brainchild of Harold Sargent, drummer and producer from my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Harold got his start playing drums in Bootsy Collins’ first band, The Pacemakers. The Pacemakers famously became the JB’s when James Brown abruptly split up with the Famous Flames over money in 1970. Harold blew off his invitation to join the The JB’s and went on to lead a fascinating career, playing drums in Wood, Brass & Steel, playing drums on Hip Hop cornerstone “Spoonin’ Rap”, and managing the Sugarhill Records studio. This band Sparkle was a group he put together as a writer/producer, with various backup singers he knew from the biz. The result is pretty phenomenal. Came out in 1979 on the short-lived Union, NJ label, Jam Sessions.

Let’s Groove – Texas crooners Archie Bell & The Drells with Philly Disco royalty Leon Huff and McFadden/Whitehead writing and arranging. Magic in a bottle. Disco was young and fresh and just taking off when this was released on the legendary TSOP label in 1975. Where were you?

Turn The Music Up! – New York studio band The Player’s Association were essentially a disco cover band, put together for Vanguard Records by drummer Chris Hills and producer Danny Weiss in 1977. They had a few dance floor hits with the first two records. This tune, however, was more successful in the UK, where it remains a certified classic.

Give Up The Funk – Ohio repping again via Pork Records out of Dayton, who put out this Pleasure Seekers stomper in 1977. Has a bounce and intensity that reminds me a bit of an Earth, Wind & Fire meets the UK funk band ,Pleasure (no relation).

212 North 12th – One of the many, great Salsoul Orchestra instrumentals. A 1979 tribute to Philly’s Frankford/Wayne Recording Labs, where so much of this sound was conjured up.

It’s Music – Otis Robert Harris Jr. AKA Damon Harris is falsetto soul singer from Baltimore. This is Side A Track 1 of his one and only solo LP, simply titled “Damon”, released on Fantasy records in 1978. Patti Labelle did the background vocal arrangements and that makes total sense when you really listen to them.

Welcome To Our World – I often get Norfolk VA’s Mass Production confused with Brass Construction, because their names rhyme and have the same number of syllables and sound almost identical, and because both make these super-funky, driving disco tracks that just make a dance floor pop. This was their very first release in 1977.

I Wanna Be With You – My man Jamie 326 schooled me on this 1980 Coffee track recently, and it’s been in my headphones ever since. The production has that Cerrone-like sonic perfection that is a rare bird, indeed. Great high-energy momentum that was copied extensively in the years that followed, especially in Europe.

Kiss Me Again (Nicky Siano edit) – A one-off studio project called Dinosaur from Arthur Russell, David Byrne and Nicky Siano. Myriam Valle on vocals. Jazz drummer Willie Bascomb, perhaps best known for the guy who absolutely slay’s Jeff beck’s Wired LP, on drums. This is Nicky’s mix, on the B-side, which is much more stripped down and raw– just how I like it. Lucky for us, Nicky is still playing all over the world, and absolutely murdering dancefloors – as he’s been doing since 1972. Put some respek on his name.

Keep On Moving – Another undiscovered gem from UK Label Emotional Rescue’s fascinating vault of lost disco reggae gems. Phillip & Lloyd are Phillip James and Lloyd Campbell, AKA The Blues Busters – one of the all-time classic Bluebeat, Ska and Reggae vocal duos to come out of Jamaica in the 60s. They toured with Sam Cooke and lent their sweet harmonies to Treasure Isle, Trojan and Bluebeat itself.

I Love New York (Reflex edit) – You know it. You love it. Or maybe you hate it. But if your family owned a TV in the 70s, you couldn’t avoid it. Somehow The Reflex managed to breathe new life into it this Metropolis track, and I’m letting the nostalgia flow through me! Enjoy! And thanks for listening!