Tricky DiscoMix: Christmas At Merkin Manor

As a pre-Christmas treat for the best before: and Tricky Disco faithful, we've decided to give away a brand new, festive-flavoured goodtime disco mix. It was recorded in one take in the record room at best before: HQ, nicknamed 'Merkin Manor' by TAPE's Richard Carnage. It features a selection of discoid faves thrown together by yours truly, including a slew of forthcoming gems to look out for in 2008. These include Prins Thomas's fantastic remix of Wild Rumpus's 'Purple Somersault' (due in late January on Bitches Brew), Hercules & Love Affair's anthemic 'Blind' (out March) and a great new Holy Ghost! rework of Only Fools & Horses' 'Spectacle Wins', which is due in the New Year via Munich's Permanent Vacation. The Beat Broker dub of 'I Feel Electric' by Rubies is an exclusive of sorts - there are currently no plans to release it as far as we know.

Being a best before: mix, I've also included a selection of tracks that have rocked our parties this year, including Blackjoy's ace mix of 'Bonnaire' bu Dutch Rhythm Combo and Todd Terje's vintage 'Dance & Chant' re-edit. Of course, no 2007 round-up mix would be complete without our very own end-of-night anthem, 'Stick Around'.

Thanks to all those who've made 2007 a year to remember for all of us involved in best before:. All our parties have been memorable, we celebrated our fourth birthday in style, we've smashed it at other people's parties and we even have our own re-edit series! I know 2008 is going to be a brilliant year for us - hopefully you'll join us down at the Bank on January 5th for our Chris Duckenfield party.

Download Christmas At Merkin Manor via Yousendit >>

1. Trus'me - Narda (Fat City)
2. Only Fools & Horses - Spectacle Wins [Holy Ghost! Remix] (Permanent Vacation)
3. Dutch Rhythm Combo - Bonnaire [Blackjoy Rough Demo Mix] (High Score)
4. Hercules & Love Affiar - Blind (DFA CD-R)
5. Escort - A Brand New Life (Escort)
6. Rubies - I Feel Electric [Beat Broker NRG Dub] (Telle CD-R)
7. Tangoterje - Dance & Chant (Supreme)
8. SJNRL01 - Unknown (SJNRL)
9. Wild Rumpus - Purple Somersault [Prins Thomas Diskomiks] (Bitches Brew CD-R)
10. Corsican Brothers - Whole Lotta Disco (no label)
11. Thumbs Aloft - Stick Around (Pointless Edits)
12. Hardway Brothers - Voodoo Celebration (Pointless Edits CD-R)

Strong like Hercules

There's no doubt that DFA signings Hercules & Love Affair are going to be big in 2008. The hype about their forthcoming debut album, 'Hercules & Love Affair', has been building for the best part of six months. Much of this has centred around the much-publicised participation of Antony Hegarty (he of Mercury Music Prize-winning Antony & The Johnsons fame), which has already got tongues wagging online. Yet Hegarty has a relatively small part to play in the Hercules & Love Affair story; the real star of the show is producer/songwriter Andrew Butler.

Indeed, it is Butler who is the brains behind the operation. A well known face on the New York art scene, it is his songs and musical vision being showcased on 'Hercules & Love Affair'. Sure, the album was co-produced by Tim Goldsworthy, and the band also includes friends Antony, Nomi and Kim Ann Foxmann (herself another New York scenester DJ), but there's no doubt that Butler wears the trousers.

To some degree, whether or not Butler is in charge is irrelevant; either way, 'Hercules & Love Affair' is a very good album. It continues the DFA label's recent fascination with disco (see Holy Ghost!, Still Going etc) whilst retaining the sort of arty inventiveness Goldsworthy and James Murphy hold so dear. Yet for all the scenester connections, 'Hercules & Love Affair' is basically a pop album at heart. It's understated pop album at that – the sort of disco-centric pop made by Arthur Russell, or Kelley Polar had he hung around with the DFA rather than Morgan Geist. It's loose, soft and easy-going on one hand, eccetric and up-for-it on the other.

Admittedly, there are dancefloor moments, most notably 'Blind' – a Moroder influenced disco stomper featuring a particularly impressive vocal from Hegarty. It's the sound of Escort doing 'Go Bang', or 'Kiss Me Again' given a synth-driven kick up the arse. It will sound brilliant on the radio. Equally impressive is 'You Belong', a kind of stoned version of Inner City with Nomi doing her best Paris Grey impression while Hegarty croons along in the background. The skanking disco of 'Raise Me Up' is a pure blast of feelgood emotion – in the right remixer's hands, it could be huge. Of the other uptempo moments, it's the hooky, horn-heavy 'Hercules Theme' that stands out – all soaring strings, shuffling disco grooves and singalong choruses (you'll want to join in with the "loverboy Hercules" refrain).

Showing he's no one-trick pony, Butler proves himself more than adept at handling downtempo moments. The early-‘80s NY groove of 'Athene' (Kim Ann Foxmann's moment of glory), tingly MDMA-pop of 'Iris' and low-slung closer 'True, False/Fake, Real' (which, incidentally, comes with classic Arthur Russell strings) are testament to this.

It all adds up to an album that more than lives up to the hype. Personally, I'd prefer to hear a bit more of the cosmic disco-meets-classic house outlined in 'Roar', but that's a minor quibble. Butler is still in the early stages of his career, and there's sure to be plenty more to come from him throughout 2008. By the time 'Hercules & Love Affair' lands – and Butler's superb remix of the next Aeroplane single – he'll be proclaimed as New York's next skewed pop genius. Just remember where you heard it first.

'Hercules & Love Affair' by Hercules & Love Affair will be released by DFA/EMI on March 10 2008. The single 'Blind' will be released on March 3.

Hear clips from the album at the Hercules & Love Affair MySpace

Rubies Monday

Those who work for dance music magazines will happily tell you how tedious it can be opening the post every morning. While there's always a certain amount of excitement to be gained from never knowing quite what promo material you'll come across next, that soon vanishes when you realise every other package is a CD of boring electrohouse mixes, nonsensical kiddie-friendly nu-rave rubbish and plodding, middle of the road techno. Despite this, we persevere in the hope that sooner or later we'll open an envelope to find a gem - or at least a potential gem.

This morning's post had the usual array of bog standard CR2 mainroom house and bad rock made by bands with three-style haircuts and unfeasibly tight jeans. There was the odd gem, though, with the new EP from Californian all-girl trio Rubies (pictured) on Norway's Telle top of the pile.

According to their press blurb, the trio have just finished recording their debut album, which will hit stores in March 2008. On the strength of their 'I Feel Electric' EP, it could be a strong set. 'I Feel Electric' itself is quietly impressive – a winsome slice of analogue synth-pop with strangely haunting vocals from lead singer Simeone Rubi. It's very Telle - the sound of Annie if she'd been produced by Californian slackers rather than eccentric Norwegians. Max Essa remixes, adding a glossy nu-disco sheen and making the most of the trippy backing vocals.

The best thing about the EP, though, has to be Studio's remix of 'Room Without A Key'. Stockholm's kings of "scandolearic" have been in fine form this year, providing brilliant reworks of A Mountain Of One and, bizarrely, Kylie (their '2 Hearts' version made a pretty lame pop song sound fantastic). Their version of Rubies is one of their best releases yet, all multi-layered Balearic guitars, lazy beats, disconnected vocals and dubbed-out clarinets. It conjurs up visions of mid-afternoon strolls down icy Swedish beaches under the watchful glare of a weak winter sun. It's wonderful, and certainly brightened up a drab December morning here in Bristol. You can take a listen at the Rubies MySpace to get an idea what we're banging on about.

As for the Rubies, they've obviously got something about them. Apparently their album is a mix of synth-heavy downbeat pop, shiny electronic disco and winsome folk. Sounds like it could be a winner. We'll find out in the new year.

Rubies 'I Feel Electric' is released by Telle on Monday February 4th

The best before: Cosmic Christmas Cracker

Thanks to all those who made it down to the best before: Christmas party, which took place last Friday, December 14th, at our very own "disco boozer", The Bank in Bristol.

It was another typically fun evening, this time with a decidedly festive twist. Legendary Tone and partner Nicola did a great job dressing the pub up and setting up the extra soundsytem, so by the time we started it looked fantastic.

As usual, the vibe was friendly and open-minded, with a good mix of familiar faces and first-timers. Props to the Seen boys for ducking out of Kingpin at Timbuk2 a few times to check out the vibe. Shout outs, too, for Bournemouth Dan, who spent most of the evening launching into increasingly loud versions of his famous appreciative cheer!

The star of the show, though, was undoubtedly guest DJ Daniel Donnachie. Armed with two bags of records, he proceeded to treat us to a wonderful selection of disco, Balearica, Italo and who knows what else. I can't remember many of the records he played, but he had nearly all of us up and dancing to them from the moment he hit the decks at 11.30 (thanks, too, to Zoo's Matt Kennedy, who warmed up for Daniel and pitched it just right. Plus, he played 'Hold On' by Holy Ghost, which rocks). When he finished off with best before: favourite 'Stick Around', the place went nuts. Then Puffin Jack played The Pogues and it all went a bit wrong!

The next instalment of best before: takes place on Saturday January 5th, with old friend Chris Duckenfield joining us for another of his amazing disco/boogie sets. The last party Chris played was insane - easily the best one we've done - and I have a feeling next month's will be brilliant, too. We're all going on to play at Switch at Timbuk2 afterwards, so a big night beckons.

5 best before: December Highlights

1. Holy Ghost - Hold On (as played by Matt Kennedy)
2. Lexx - El Sueno Lucido (as played by Legendary Tone)
3. Laidback - White Horse (as played by Daniel Donnachie)
4. Caribou - She's The One [Kelley Polar Version] (as played by Sell By Dave)
5. Mindless Boogie - The Growler [Woolfy Edit] (as played by Daniel Donnachie)

Tricky Disco interviews… AEROPLANE

Somewhat surprisingly, 2007’s best nu-disco record didn’t come from a bearded Norwegian, but rather two gents from Brussels in Belgium. We are, of course, talking about ‘Caramellas’ by Aeroplane, a rush-inducing midtempo beast that boasts the best piano breakdown we’ve heard for aeons. Even now, some six months after its release, “Caramellas’ still has the capability to send shivers down the spine.

“We were for sure very surprised and happy with the response from DJs like Prins Thomas, Laurent Garnier and Pete Herbert,” says Vito De Luca, one half of the Aeroplane duo with studio partner Stephen Fasano. “We still receive a lot of feedback for this 12”. It feels strange because for us it is a very old track – we made it two years ago.”

‘Caramellas’ was first launched into the public consciousness when Lindstrom & Prins Thomas included it on their brilliant Radio One Essential Mix back in the Spring. That in itself was a something of a fortunate accident, as Stephen explains: “Dirk at Eskimo found out that Hans-Peter and Thomas had been given this mix, so told us to get in touch with them. So I sent them both “Caramellas’ and ‘Aeroplane’, and I had a really quick, positive answer. They played it on the mix, which was really good promotion for a first release I think.”

The ‘Aeroplane’/’Caramellas’ 12” finally dropped late summer, and ever since Stephen and Vito have been hot property. Eskimo have long believed that Aeroplane are pretty special – label boss Dirk will enthuse about their credentials to anyone who’ll listen – but now it seems the rest of us are catching up. Their recent second 12”, ‘Pacific Air Race’, is flying off shelves, testament to the endearing appeal of positive electronic music.

Like ‘Caramellas’ and ‘Aeroplane’, ‘Pacific Air Race’ is a wonderfully upbeat record – all spiralling synths, bubby basslines and hands-aloft rffage. If the Pet Shop Boys teamed up with Reverso 68 to make E’d-up, instrumental synth disco, it would sound like ‘Pacific Air Race’. B-side ‘Above The Clouds’ is similarly luscious – a slo-mo, synth-heavy chunk of MDMA bliss that bares all the Aeroplane trademarks: chugging beats, strong, life-affirming melodies, sweeping strings and pads and more than a hint of late night melodrama.

“I really love the melodies, so the Aeroplane sound is about having a good melody with a disco beat,” Vito says. “We do this style of music not because it’s the disco buzz right now, but because it’s the music we really love.”

Studio partner Stephen agrees. “I’d say it’s about melancholic, vaporous Italian pop and cosmic disco. I collect disco and synth-pop records. Our music is really influenced by this period. But not just this – when I started DJing it was the beginning of the New Beat period in Belgium. I’m also interested in ’70s and ’80s pop, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Giorgio Mororder, Patrick Cowley, the Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Marvin Gaye, Ramsey Lewis, Serge Gainsbourg, Elton John, Vangelis, Arthur Baker, Lucio Battisti… I could.. I could go on about influences all night!”

A typical Aeroplane DJ set at the Make Up Club in Ghent would touch on many of these things, as well as nu-disco, Italo, a dash of Balearica and Cosmic Disco. The duo have recently been given a residency, which will see them become regular fixtures in the club throughout 2008. You can get a taste of their DJ style by downloading the ‘Airpsace1’ mix – link and tracklist at the foot of this piece. As well as a fine selection of recent and forthcoming cosmic, Italo and nu-disco bits, you can check out Stephen and Vito’s remix of ‘Fool For Love’ by Das Pop, one of two forthcoming reworks for Kevin McKay’s Prestel imprint. It takes a haircut-friendly indie-pop track and gives it a typical Aeroplane twist.

“We really love remixing other people’s tracks,” Vito enthuses. “We like to work only with the voice and change the whole harmony of a track. We’ve done two remixes for Prestel – the first for Cobra Dukes and the other for Das Pop. We have quite a few others coming out as well. In February there’s a remix for Low Motion Disco on Eskimo, a remix for Lullabies In The Dark on Permanent Vacation and another one for Lindstrom on Feedelity.”

You get the feeling 2008 is going to be a busy year for our Belgian heroes. In March they release their third single – 'Whispers', a collaboration with Sheffield chanteuse and sometime Maurice Fulton studio pal Kathy Diamond – with their debut album due in the autumn. “We are working on it,” Stephen confirms. “It’s planned to come out at the end of 2008. It will be more personal. Maybe there will be some collaborations with singers. We have been working on some demos since last year. We are taking our time to do it good.”

If ‘Caramellas’ and ‘Pacific Air Race’ are anything to go by, Aeroplane could be one of the soaraway success stories of 2008. Here’s hoping.

Aeroplane: Airspace 1 Mix
Download mix >>

01. Kaoru Inoue - The Secret Field [Todd Terje Remix] (Mule Musiq)
02. Martha 407 [Daniele Baldelli Re-edit] (Cdr)
03. Lovefingers - Zoysia (NRDS)
04. Sugardaddy - Stripped To The Bone (Tirk)
05. Aeroplane Feat Kathy Diamond - Whispers [Hercules and Love Affair Remix] (Cdr)
06. Still Going - Still Going Theme (DFA)
07. El Dukes - Tittle Tattle [Borat Edit] (Cdr)
08. Babytalk - Keep On Move (Sticky Disc)
09. Torch Song – Daniele Baldelli Re-edit (Cdr)
10. Camaro’s Gang - Fuerza Major [Tensnake Remix] (Radius)
11. Das Pop - Fool For Love Love [Aeroplane Remix] (Prestel)
12. Peter Visti - Fighting James (Eskimo)
13. Nemesi - Jurassico [Prins Thomas Mix] (Cdr)

TRICKY DISCO INTERROGATES… SWELL SESSION

We're not known for our love of all things jazzual and goatee-sporting here at Tricky Towers, but we nevertheless have a lot of love for the work of Andreas Saag, AKA Swell Session. The Swede has released a fair few gems over the years, most noatbly the sweet broken beats of 'Falling Into' and deliciously deep 'Bringing Me Down' (the latter of which came with a lovely vintage house rub) – both under the Stateless moniker on Jimpster's Freerange label.

Over the last few years, though, we've heard very little from the man from Gothenberg, other than the odd remix here and there. In our frequent conversations with Jimpster we've been assured that Andreas was doing fine and his new album was almost ready, but we have to admit we had doubts – in fact, we were convinced he'd jacked in the production and was instead working for IKEA designing a lovely range of comfy studio furniture.

It turns out that Andreas was indeed spending his time locked away in the studio – or, to be exact, a whole host of studios around the world. The result is new album 'Swell Communications', a collection of 12 collaborations with producers, singers and musicians around the world. If you like your beats jazzy and broken, bassy and futuristic, or even plain old solid and 4/4, there'll be something in there for you. The forthcoming remixes EP – featuring a life-affirming Charles Webster mix of 'All Of Me' – is, if anything, even better.

We were intrigued by 'Swell Communications' so decided to set up a little phone interview with Andreas. Here's how it went…

Tricky Disco: So, how did the idea for ‘Swell Comminications’ first come about?

Andreas: “I guess the idea first came about because I’d been listening to a lot of music from around the world. Living in Sweden I’m so far away from London and all the other places the music I’m into is made. When I started getting recognition for my music, it gave me the opportunity to finally meet other producers and musicians from Europe and Japan.I found not just that they were good people, but that they were really open and many of them became my friends. So I thought maybe I should get together with them musically. Then it started to grow.”

TD: The album features a real “who’s who” of the more broken, jazz-influenced end of the dance music spectrum – the likes of Domu, Seiji, Mr Scruff, Lyric L, Simbad, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Landslide, Nuspirit Helsinki, Jimpster, Capitol A, Earl Zinger, Elsa Esmerelda, Noah, Paul Mac Innes and your old pal Ernesto. Musically this means it’s quite diverse, but it holds together very well. Is it a different album than you’d have made if you’d sat down in the studio on your own?

Andreas: “Absolutely. From the start I thought I should try to hold it together, but there were so many crazy things happening. For example, when I did the track with Simbad he siad he’d get this MC I really liked to do one of the tracks. It turned out that there were actually two completely different MCs turning up, these two girls from Brixton. It was great, but at that point I understood that I had no control over it and just had to see what came out of it. That was a great turning point for me, because until then I’d been worried it would become kind of too diverse. I had to let go of that, because it wasn’t helping the album come together. As soon as I loosened up and took everything as it came, then it started to become interesting. I did worry about the diversity, but it turned out well.”
TD: It took you a long time to record the album – nearly four years. Was it a difficult process?

Andreas: “More time-consuming than difficult I think. A lot of the collaborations – about 80% of them – I went to somebody’s studio, they came to mine or I recorded a saxophone on the street in Tokyo and made a track out of that. I think it would have been pretty pointless if I was just sending tracks and parts back and forth. So I definitely wanted to go in the studio with people, which is what I did except for two tracks. For example, I went to visit Mr Scruff in Manchester. I stayed there for one day and we did some stuff in the studio. I then went back to Gothenberg and laid down some vocals, sent the track back to him and then it went back and forth.”

TD: On your website there are video clips of some of the studio sessions and recordings, which have been made into a small film for the CD release. Is this film an integral part of the whole ‘Swell Communications’ project?

Andreas: “For me, it’s almost as important as the album. Normally on an album a ‘making of’ film would be a bonus, but since the whole project’s about creating stuff together with people you’ve just recently met, and the tension and funny moments that come with that, then it’s a vital part. I think you should listen to the album first – it holds together as a musical journey, but if you watch the videos afterwards I think you get the whole concept.”
TD: Is the ‘Swell Communications’ collaborative process an excercise you would repeat, or do you think ‘I’ve done that’?

Andreas: “I’d definitely do it again, but I would know this time how to get things moving. I would definitely have a deadline that everybody would have accepted from the beginning. This time, a lot of the people I was working with, they didn’t do this for the money or something, they were kind enough to let me into their studios so I didn’t feel I could call them up and ask them for whatever they were going to send me. This has been a long process because of that, but I’d definitely do it again – especially when I hear the results.”

Andreas’s ‘Swell Communications’ album is out now on Freerange. You can check out footage of the recording sessions at www.swellsession.org

Sell By Dave & Sean Kelly - Redfield Sessions Volume 1

Just a quickie - thought it was about time we posted some aural excitement to ease your eardrums. It comes in the form of an "on the fly" mix myself and comrade Sean Kelly put together over a few bears in the Tricky Kitchen. 80 minutes f mixed-up musical goodness, from dub disco and Scandolearica to acid house, hip-house and old skool electro, with a few surprises thrown in. There's also an unreleased exclusive in the form of the brilliant 'Clairevoyage [A Medley By The 16th Rebels Of Mung]', an epic 12-minute odd remix collaboration between Lindstrom and Mungolian Jetset. Stellar stuff!

Download 'Sell By Dave & Sean Kelly: Redfield Sessions Vol 1'

1. Intro - David Byrne – Rich People Have Lazy Minds (white label)
2. Mudd - Flytoget (Outergaze)
3. Right Direction - Midnight Rhythm [Part Sixx’s Underdog Dub] (Past Due)
4. Renegade Soundwave - Ozone Breakdown (Mute Records)
5. Coco, Steel & Lovebomb - Dub It (Warp Records)
6. Tricky Disco - Tricky Disco [Inner Space Mix] (Warp Records)
7. Shuffle Inc - Remember Chicago [Swag’s Basement Dub] (Vibrant)
8. Jazzanova v Atjazz - Deeper Dub (white label)
9. Clyde feat Capitol A - Serve It Up [Brooks Hiphouse Mix] (Mantis Recordings)
10. Tyree Cooper - Hardcore Hip-house [T’s Revenge Mix] (DJ International)
11. Housemaster Boyz - House Nation (TRAX Records)
12. DMX Krew - The Storm King (Breakin’ Records)
13. Kid Frost - Rough Cut [Dance Mix] (Electrobeat Records)
14. Mental Overdrive - Discodans (LoveOD Communications)
15. Comtron - FTM Anthem 2007 (Rush Hour)
16. Putsch 79 - Galactic Pancake (Klakson)
17. Dominic Leone - Clairevoyage [A Medley By The 16th Rebels Of Mung] (Feedelity CDR)

Enjoy :)

Sell By Dave's summer sizzlers

When we first launched this Tricky Disco blog back in the Spring, we had high hopes. Full of enthusiasm, we vowed to update it regularly with reviews, comments, event info and interviews. It was a simple plan, and one we should have stuck to. Sadly, life took over and we found we didn't have time to post up our inane ramblings and worthless thoughts on all things good and groovy. Slapped wrists all round.

In our defence, it's been a busy few months. Most of our time has been taken up by launching the Thumbs Aloft project and Pointless Edits label. We pressed up and released out first 12" back in June, after getting some brilliant DJ reactions to 'Stick Around' (first posted on this site for your downloading pleasure). Since 'Bedmo Disco Volume 1' first hit stores it's sold remarkably well, with almost all the initial 500 pressing having been snapped up. Our cause was undoubtedly helped by the support of Radio One's Annie Mac, who played 'Stick Around' on her June 29th show. We thank her for her support on that one. We've also been developing a Thumbs Aloft Bedmo Disco Soundsystem live show, which we've been lucky enough to roadtest it at various venues in Bristol, London and beyond. Our biggest show came at the Bloom Festival in Dyrham Park near Bath, where we rocked the Funk Bar on Friday Afternoon. At the same event we also hosted what we hope will be judged a world record-breaking game of musical statues. There'll be more reflections on that at a later date, but if you want to get a taste of what it was like, check out this footage on YouTube >>

Right, update over – it's high time we got to the music. The sun is shining, we're midway through a bank holiday weekend and all is good with the world. So much so, we though we'd share our thoughts on some records that have been lighting up our summer…


Ilija Rudman – Blast From The Past EP (Rong Music, USA)

I think it's fair to say few Eastern Europeans funk quite so hard as rookie producer Ilija Rudman, or have such an appreciation of classic electrofunk. Over the last six months he's started to make a real name for himself thanks to a few choice remixes, a well thought-of forthcoming EP on 1gnition's Love Is War Music, and this 12" for the always reliable Rong Music. Here he offers up four stuttering electro-disco grooves that range from the Man Parrish meets Chicken Lips vibes of the title track to the Freez-isms of 'You Got, a delightfully retro chunk of dubbed-out synth dicso-pop, Rudman's clearly not the real deal just yet, but this is a very good start – if he keeps up this level of quality he'll certainly be a name to watch in the next couple of years.


Ray Mang – Mangled (Eskimo Recordings, Belgium)


It was hearing Norway's DJ Strangefruit playing Mang's brilliant remix of 33 1/3rd Qaueen's 'Disco Four' - also known as 'Not So Fantastic' on his Eskimo album 'Mangled' – at Villa in Oslo that made me turn back to this classic Raj Gupta album. It's one of those albums I'd listened to a few times on it's original release back in 2002 then largely ignored. Big mistake. Since coming back from Norway I've been losing myself in its tight dub disco grooves and feelgood vibes on a regular basis. It's interesting to note Mang managed to put together a coherent album from what are essentially re-edits and reworks, long before the current faze for re-editing even the most awful of disco records. He was a bit of a pioneer in that respect. If you missed out first time around, it's available to download from Juno Download and other legit sites.


M.E – R&B Drunkie (Golf Channel Recordings, USA)


This illicit re-edit of Janet Jackson's 'R&B Junkie' has been causing quite a commotion online ever since Hans-Peter Lindstrom and Prins Thomas included it in their Radio One Essential Mix earlier in the year – and with good cause. It's deliciously simple, rises and falls in the right places, and gets most dancefloors hot under the collar. The Birmingham prducer behind it – no names, though I'm sure you all know the score by now – told the beards on DJHistory.com he did it "just as a bit of a DJ Tool". It's much more than that, a majestic midtempo electrofunk throb that coaxes out the extended dancefloor bomb we all knew was hiding deep within the original's slick synth-heavy grooves. Sadly there are only 100 vinyl copies about - boo, hiss etc - but expect another release at some point soon.


Tricky Disco – Tricky Disco [Remixes] (Warp Records, UK)


In many ways, this summer has all been about bleep and bass. Or, more specifically, bass – and copious amounts of it. Back in July, I hooked up with the Kelly Twins and Rich Carnage (of TAPE fame) for an end-of-night set of bassy badness at Bristol's annual UNITY shindig at Lakota. In our slightly merry post best before: mood, we decided we'd put away the disco and instead jack things right up. The crowd loved it, and so did we – it gave us the perfect excuse to dust off the likes of Fast Eddie's 'Hip-House', Armando's 'Downfall', Nightmares On Wax's 'Aftermath' and these original remixes of Warp bleep anthem 'Tricky Disco'. These - the 'Inner Space Mix' and 'Saxy Mix' – strip down the slightly odd original, boost the bass and jack the whole thing up to the max. The results are sublime – two colossal chunks of heavyweight late night pressure that still sound good nearly two decades after their original release. Bleep is due a comeback, for sure.

Easter clubbing in Bristol -Tricky Disco's picks

With the Easter weekend fast approaching, we here at Tricky Towers are filled with a sense of pant-wetting excitement at the clubbing treats soon to be served up in Bristol. So without further ado, here's our guide to the nights worth checking…

Thursday 5th April
EMPATHY 6th BIRTHDAY @ BLUE MOUNTAIN, STOKES CROFT
For this celebration of six years of Empathy hedonism, James Holden and Hybrid will be joining Stuart, Jim and the rest of the prog/tech house residents. Should be big.

Friday 6th April
PAYBACK HI-FI @ THE BANK, JOHN ST
Starting at 8pm, this reggae/dub session will be the perfect start to your weekend. Paul from Payback and Trciky Disco/best before: pal Andy Clarkson are the men with the deck skills. Worth checking - especially as it's in Brizzle's fastest-rising boozer-come-party venue.

MUTANT POP 1st BIRTHDAY @ ARC BAR, BROAD ST
Another birthday celebration, this time from those pesky techno kids Mutant Pop. Joining ressies Rich Carnage, Puffin Jack, Gareth Watkins and Mike Bull will be Emptyset, who'll be getting hs laptop out and doing a live set. Mutant Pop is usually a good crack, so head down and toast their first birthday. A move to Native is afoot soon.

SOLID STEEL @ TIMBUK2, SMALL ST
The Detectives of Perspective crew present something special - a rare chance to see DJ Food & DK recreate their brilliant '… Now Listen Again' mix album live. Also gracing the ones and twos will be the legendary Steinski. Pretty hip-hop, admittedly, but worth a gander for sure.

FRUITY ANTICS @ THEKLA SOCIAL, MUD DOCK
Easter weekend antics from the Fruity crew. Not sure who the big house guest is this month, but Christophe Stayhigh can always be relied upon to provide some ace discoid action upstairs.

BUMP AFTERHOURS @ THE TUBE, UNITY ST
Ed, Lindsay, Chris and co present another messy session from 3.30am. The Tube is tiny, so this should be good - if a bit scary unless you're, erm, "refreshed" ;)

Saturday 7th April
BARBARELLA @ SECRET LOCATION, BRISTOL
Our old mate Mr Cristian teams up with pal Robbie Jay for the first of a series of goodtime bashes at secret locations around the city. Yours truly - Sell By Dave, in case you'd forgotten! - will be on hand to start and finish proceedings with some discoid belters, with Cris and Rob housing it up in between. Contact us for invites and guest list - it's free and the capacity is 100, so act fast!

Sunday 8th April
DETECTIVES OF PERSPECTIVE @ THE APPLE CIDER BAR, WELSH BACK
If the sun shines on Easter Sunday, this will be special. The Detectives will be slapping down some tuneage from midday on the open air deck of the Apple cider bar's river barge, while they'll be a barbie smoking away on the quayside. Even if you're hungover or feeling the effects of a big night out, this is worth hitting - especially as the cider served up will be lush!

NORMALISE @ HUSH HUSH, CHELTENHAM ROAD
Not had confirmation of this, but pretty sure the Normalise boys will be doing their usual fortnightly Sunday session at the cosy HushHush. If so, hit it hard for pagan disco, crackle haus and bathtime techno - it's not like you have work in the morning!

Bloom Festival party @ Timbuk2, Bristol - Friday 30 March

Just a very quick pre-weekend note to let you know about a very special event happening this Friday - March 30 - at Timbuk2 in Bristol. It's a special one-off club bash from the lovely guys and gals behind the brilliant Bloom Festival, which this year takes place in early August at Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire – just up the road from Tricky Disco HQ.

Friday's Bloom club bash features two rooms of debauchery - a dirty, filthy, electronic house main room with Playtime's ace Mike Monday plus Bloom residents, and a second, party-flavoured room. It's there you'll find myself spinning alongside Cardiff's Larry Nelson - under our iDJs guise - and Funk From The Trunk hip-hop specialist Mr Lingo. We've promised Bloom something special, so you can expect all sorts of past, present and future gems from the Tricky Kitchen. Here's a flavour of what's running through my mind, in a 'random party gems' stylee…

SELL BY DAVE'S BLOOMERS
20 random party favourites past and present…

1. Thumbs Aloft – 'Stick Around'/TK Max' (Pointless Edits CDR)
2. Candido – 'Soul Limbo' (Solid State Records)
3. Elektrons - 'Dirty Basement [SUMO Raw Mix]' (Genuine CDR)
4. Popular People's Front – 'I Don't Know'/'Showtime' (Popular People's Front CDR)
5. T Connection – 'At Midnight' (TK Records)
6. Hard-Fi – 'Hard To Beat [London Elektricity Remix]' (Hospital Records)
7. Speedometer – 'Work It Out' (Freestyle Records)
8. The All Seeing I – 'The Beat Goes On' (FFRR)
9. Clyde feat Capitol A – 'Broken Slang [Brooks Remix]' (Mantis Recordings)
10. Sly & Robbie – 'Boom Bips' (Island Records)
11. Snake Thief – 'G-String Ocrhestra' (white label)
12. Beatconductor – 'Mais Nim Guem' (Spicy)
13. The Knack – 'My Sherona [Devon MIles Re-Edit]' (CDR)
14. Mr V – 'Da Bump' (Defected)
15. Larry Heard pres Mr White - 'The Sun Can't Compare' (white label)
16. Tiga & Zyntherious – 'Blue Sunglasses [Tom Middleton mash-up]' (City Rockers)
17. Chromeo – 'Me & My Man' (V2)
18. The Clash – 'Rock The Casbah' (Epic)
19. Ladycop – 'To Be Real' (FFRR)
20. Archie Bell & The Drells – 'Where Will We Go When The Party's Over?' (Philadelphia International)

Bloom @ Timbuk2, 22 Small St, Bristol. Friday 30 March 2007, 10pm-4am. £6 before 12pm, £8 after. DJs: Mike Monday, Kid Fiesta, Underground Louis, Sell By Dave, Larry Nelson & Mr Lingo.

best before: is back!

Hold on to your hats - Bristol's legendary "anything goes" basement party is back!

This time, though, there's no basement - just an intimate backstreet boozer in the heart of Bristol. 50 people tops, probably less. Real ale and pickled eggs on tap. A bunch of ace DJs with several bags full of great records. One excellent monthly party.

best before: originally hit Bristol back in the autumn of 2003. Run by our own Sell By Dave and a rotating set of helpers, best before: was the night that put the then unknown Timbuk2 venue on the map. It ran for 18 months and steadily built up a reputation as the perfect party for those with a passion for good, soulful, funky music - be it disco, hip-hop, house, US garage, electrofunk, boogie, Detroit techno, broken beat, random old rock records or anything else. Guests included Greg Wilson (his first Bristol appearance), Brooks & Clyde (Mantis Recordings), Jigsaw Music, Chris Low Life, Neon Heights, Jimpster and a selection of top local DJs (Eat The Beat etc). It was fun… a lot of fun, in fact.

During its initial run, Bristol had few parties where DJs could really play "absolutely anything". Since then, everyone's doing it. So Sell By thought he'd bring best before: back and teach these upstarts a thing or two about what makes a proper party… or a "boogie in a boozer" if you will! He apparently also wanted to bring back the infamous fliers and posters, which featured doctored images of supermarket products. Yep, we've no idea either.

This time round the crew is a bit different. Sell By Dave will still be on hand to play ace records and pontificate about beards, but this time he's got company - TAPE boys Rich Carnage and Puffin Jack. Apparently we can expect the other original resident, Five-Stylez, to make regular appearances, too.

The first party is set for Friday April 27th. In the words of Sell By himself: "stick it in your diaries!"

The TD Q&A: Escort

Following a string of superb self-pressed singles, New York’s ESCORT are the disco sensation of the moment. But how much do we actually know about them? In a bid to get the gossip on the ‘Starlight’ sensations, we sent them a load of questions. Luckily, they replied…

OK, so here in the UK we know of Escort through records like 'Starlight' and 'A Bight New Life', but we don't actually know anything about you. So who are Escort, then?

Dan: “There are about seven or eight core people, but the last time we played live there were fifteen musicians on stage. Initially, it was more of a studio project. But after "Starlight" was released we started getting booking requests, because we don't use samples. It sort of took us by surprise and at that point it sort of coalesced into a proper band.”

How did you guys first get together, and what was your inspiration?

Dan: “Eugene and I have been working on production together since college. But it really took off after we started working with Darius, who plays bass. The other important thing is that all three of us DJ and have relatively similar tastes. We started jamming and writing a bit, and naturally, the sort of records we like informed what were playing. Darius introduced us to Zena, our lead singer, as well as Chauncey, one of our two percussionists. Bit by bit, as we started recording more stuff, in particular, our drummer Benny, we realized there was no reason why we couldn't do an entire record that way.”
Eugene: “Dan, Darius and I all knew that there was something hitting today about the records we were spinning. The wave of re-edits that started to come out confirmed it. So the timing of it all has worked out really well.”

Your sound is kind of like classic NY disco with a twist. Is that a fair observation? Are you all massive disco heads?

Dan: “That's pretty close to how we think about it. Although, we're not about simply making something that sounds "old". We definitely strive to make the records relevant rather than do something that's just deliberately retro for the sake of it. But at the end of the day, yes we are huge disco heads, and the sort of stuff we listen to the most is going to inform what we write.”
Eugene: “We want to make tracks that we would play with all our other disco records. Although spinning disco today is pretty different that back when it was all being made. Our taste is different, we'll play different part of the record, and the way we perceive them is different.”

If disco is your thing, what producers and acts – past and present – would you say were your inspirations?

Dan: “A pretty obvious group I guess: Rinder and Lewis, Gino Soccio, Kid Creole, loads of records on Prelude, West End, and Salsoul.”
Eugene: “We also can't ignore the fact that hip-hop and R&B is going to influence most dance artists coming out of New York.”

'Starlight' had a mix from Darshan Jesrani and 'A Bright New Life' came with an edit from Morgan Geist. Are you good friends with the Metro Area/Environ guys?

Dan: “Yeah, they're good friends. Eugene and I met Darshan in college –his family's from the town our college was in. Morgan we met after moving to New York City. Darshan was the first person we knew with a proper studio – I remember being blown away by how many keyboards and synthesizers he had. And of course, we love their records.”

Speaking of 'Starlight', that was a bit of a hit with DJs across the globe. Were you surprised by its success?

Dan: “Yes, and no. Yes, because it's relatively slow – like 112 bpms, and of course, because it's pretty much an unrepentant boogie track. But no, in the sense that we don't put anything out unless we feel very confident that it's a song that we would play ourselves if we were DJing. A lot of material gets thrown away. We're not precious about what we write.”

I'm guessing it was 'Starlight' that led to you getting a chance to remix Tracey Thorn's 'It's All True'… or was that your links with Darshan? Either way, how excited were you by the prospect? How happy are you with the finished mix?

Dan: “I assume it was a combination of both Darshan and "Starlight" that got us the gig. We're really pleased with the result. With all of our remixes so far, we basically strip away everything but the vocals and then write a new instrumental that we think suits the vocal as much as possible. I should mention Mark Tewarson, a superb guitarist we work with often, who played bass and a lot of the guitars and keyboards on the remix.”
Eugene: “With Tracey Thorn's vocals it would have been pretty hard to put something bad together. We're really happy to do it.”

Over here in the UK those of us into disco look at New York with jealous eyes. Is there really as good a contemporary disco scene as we think?

Dan: “A ton of our friends are DJs who play lots of disco and there are lots of parties where you can go out and hear great DJs playing disco records. Certainly more so than when we first moved to New York.”

Perhaps what seems so impressive about Escort from afar is the live aspect to your work. Do you do a lot of live gigs? How do they go down?

Dan: “We play relatively infrequently because it's hard to coordinate a show since there are so many people involved. We can't afford to do smaller gigs because they won't be able to accommodate a band our size, and well, even though it's all friends we still need to pay everyone for their time. Most of the shows have been at more "dance" oriented events like the show we played at PS1/MOMA. We're playing at Barnard in March with Fujiya and Miyagi – that's actually the first show where there's going to be another band on the bill, rather than DJs. So far the response has been great. People seem to respond to a dance party with an enormous live band on stage.”
Eugene: “It’s really a treat to play with so many talented musicians, and to see all of our jams realized on stage. I feel like we will be playing a lot more shows once we get some more songs together.”

Do you plan to do any gigs outside the US any time soon?

Dan: “We'd love to but again, because of the size of the band, it's difficult. I imagine at some point we'll tour.”

Following your three singles so far, what can we expect from Escort in the near future? Any plans for an album?

Dan: “We've got a fourth single coming up shortly. We're really excited about it. The Rapture did a really great remix too, that's very much not at all disco. But after that, no more twelves for a while precisely because we're putting together an album.”

You can find out more about Escort at www.weareescort.com and www.myspace.com/weareescort

Everybody get POINTLESS!

This time last week we sneakily posted a link to the first Tricky Disco-related re-edit, THUMBS ALOFT's rather ace (but silly) 'Stick Around'. At that time, it was fresh from the edit block, and had yet to be road tested by any DJs. Well, last weekend that changed… and the reaction couldn't have been better.

12.10am, Friday 23rd February 2007. Location: Empathy @ Timbuk2 Club, Bristol. Nervously, I cue up 'Stick Around'. John 'Tokes' Potoker's excellent 'Dance Mix' of Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' is playing, to a so-so response. As it begins to fade, the time comes. With a quick flick of the wrist (well, flex of the fingers) I slam in POINTLESS EDITS 01. The reaction at first is good; those on the dancefloor continue to strut their stuff, while a couple of people join the floor. With about a minute gone, more people appear out of the darkness and start dancing. Two minutes in, the vocal drops, and suddenly a whole wave of people get busy. A couple of punters stop on route to the bar and get on the dancefloor. By the time the climatic final minute rears its head, the dancefloor is more or less full. A woman comes up to me and starts enthusing. "I LOVE this record! I used to have it on 7"." I can't resist: "not this version you don't!" I turn to look at Dave, my DJ partner for the night. He just grins: "it sounds even better loud!"

I left Timbuk2 that night convinced we were on to something with 'Stick Around'. I played it again at Normalise on Sunday, and again the reaction was excellent. When I got back in work on Monday, reactions started trickling in from some of the DJs we'd sent it to. "Love the edit!" gushed Jim from Crazy P. "I played it on Saturday to great effect. Well done!" Then there was an email from Justin Unabomber, who asked for a CD (and complained Chris Duckenfield and Moonboots had been sent MP3s before him). Another DJ I barely know - a music PR in London by day - said it was "immense". All week reactions have been coming in like this. In fact, the only bad reaction has come from Bill Brewster, who called it "pointless". Yep, that's the idea.

Whatever happens next - and there's plenty of talk of radio plays and the like - I don't think any of it will match that feeling on Saturday night when it "went off" for the first time. That moment will always stay with me, however many edits, original tracks and remixes we end up doing.

If you fancy checking out 'Stick Around's "awesome dancefloor power" for yourselves, I'm DJing in Bristol on Friday night (March 2nd). Mutant Pop at Arc Bar. It's gonna be the last tune!

POINTLESS EDITS 01: 'STICK AROUND'

Ssssssh! It's a secret! Keep it under your hat, but clicking on the heading of this post will take you to a free download of the first ever Tricky Disco re-edit, or 'Pointless Edit' as we're calling it. It's by Beard Styles (one of our residents and a close associate), it's called 'Stick Around', and it takes an ex Beatle in a whole new Balearic disco direction. It's more dancefloor than a skipload of narcotics and a boot full of handbags combined. Hurry, though, cos when it's been downloaded 100 times that'll be it. Gone. Forever (well, unless you email us and ask nicely).

For those who can't be bothered to click on the link, you can cut and paste this URL: http://download.yousendit.com/74D3E5920A2C6FF9

Peas be with you :)

Tracey Thorn comes 'Out Of The Woods'

When I first heard that Tracey Thorn was working on a solo album with Ewan Pearson, Charles Webster and other left-of-centre electronic producers, I have to admit to getting a bit excited. While I was never really much of an Everything But The Girl fan – though I do have a soft spot for some of the dancefloor remixes of their work – there’s something about her beguiling vocals and bittersweet lyrics that really pushes my musical buttons. She could sing our dirge of a national anthem and still make it sound heartfelt and melancholic; hell, she could probably sing a list of British place names and it’d still sound bloody brilliant.

It goes without saying that ‘Out Of The Woods’, her new solo album, was always going to be a bit of an event for this music fan. Thorn’s last appearance on vinyl was back in 2005, when she memorably guested on ‘Damage’, the stand-out track on Tiefschwarz’s disappointing ‘Eat Books’ LP. Before that, she’d not sung a note since deciding to ditch music for the full-time demands of motherhood. To top it all off, her last solo album was released back in 1982, when she was little more than a punky student with a passion for off-beat acoustic music. For the record, that album's called ‘A Distant Shore’ and now sounds as if it was made not only in another era, but possibly on another planet. Featuring a confrontational Thorn with little more than her acoustic guitar for company, it was widely acclaimed at the time. Listening back now, it not only seems quaintly lo-fi, but also rather flat; the Thorn of 'A Distant Shore' had yet to fully develop as a songwriter or vocalist, giving the whole thing a strangely monotone feel. She's certainly come a long way since then.

Of course, the rarity her solo material and appearances on wax wouldn't mean anything if 'Out Of The Woods' was a total stinker. Luckily, it's a fantastic album. As you’d expect, there are moments of quiet beauty, intense melancholy and heartfelt introdpection, yet noticably these are tempered by a clutch of uplifting pop songs, classic dancefloor cuts and even a memorable cover of Arthur Russell’s wonky disco standard ‘Get Around To It’. It is, all told, an excellent album.

There are a number of reasons for this. The first, of course, is Thorn herself. She is a much underrated songwriter – something which annoys her immensely, you suspect – and here gets a chance to really strut her stuff lyrically. So, we get the life-affirming pop-positivity of single ‘It’s All True’ (that Ewan Pearson/Sasse/Darshan Jesrani-produced number which was memorably remixed by Martin Buttrich), the remarkable reminiscing of ‘Hands Up To The Ceiling’ (where our hero looks back to her early musical inspirations) and the fragile lovelorn musings of ‘Easy’. And that’s just for starters: lyrically, ‘Out Of The Woods’ is fascinating. It is, of course, all delivered with Thorn’s usual mix of heartfelt fragility and supreme confidence.

Then there’s the prouction. Much of the album was produced by Ewan Pearson, who wisely takes the ‘less is more’ approach. While his hand is clearly evident in the album’s mix of the traditional and futuristic, he never smothers Thorn’s songs in thumping beats, camp disco strings or dark, appregiated basslines. Tom ‘Cagedbaby’ Gandley goes for a shinier pop sound on his two contributions (of which 'Raise The Roof', the album closer, stands out), whilst Charles Webster treats ‘Nowhere Near’ like something from his 2001 album ‘Born On The 24th July’. Darkmountaingroup’s Alex Santos provides the album’s most obvious contemporary dancefloor moment, opting for a dark minimal/deep house throb on ‘Grand Canyon’. Vector Lovers man Martin Wheeler is also involved, looping up pianos and punching out electro beats on ‘Easy’. But for all the headline producer involvement, you never get the feeling that this is anything less than the album Tracey Thorn wanted to make; it hangs together that well.

Perhaps the most striking thinh about ‘Out Of The Woods’, though, is its marriage of contemporary electronics and quirky, odd instrumentation. Opener ‘Here It Comes Again’, for example, sees Thorn’s distinctive vocals riding a beatless sea of harmonium, strings and celeste (a kind of dreamier glockenspiel, fact fans). ‘Falling Off A Log’, meanwhile, boasts extensive use of an Omnichord, a little-known Japanese instrument which is operated by pressing chord buttons and “strumming” a touch plate. The aforementioned Arthur Russell cover ‘Get Around To It’ bizarrely features the world’s craziest sax solo – provided by Gabe from the Rapture – while ‘Nowhere Near’ has flute and flugelorn from legendary deep house sessioneer Pete Wraight (Charles Webster, Brooks, Atjazz etc).

It all adds up to an album that’s so easy to love, you’ll find yourself listening to it almost endlessly. Beguiling, bittersweet and brilliant, it’s proof – if any were needed – of Tracey Thorn’s immense talent. Now she’s ‘Out Of The Woods’, here’s hoping we’ll hear a lot more memorable records like this.

• Tracey Thorn's 'Out Of The Woods' album will be released by Virgin Records on March 19. Click on the header of this post to listen to clips of tracks at Tracey's official MySpace page •

Ten for the Weekend

It's Friday afternoon, the big hand is pointing at the 12 and the little hand at the 5, and my thoughts have turned to that frosty bottle of Hoegaarden taking up space in the fridge at home. Before heading back there I just thought I'd thrown down a list of ten tunes that'll no doubt be lighting up my weekend…

1. TRACEY THORN: GET AROUND TO IT (VIRGIN)
Tracey, Ewan Pearson and the bloke from the Rapture cover Arthur Russell. Sweet.

2. WEEKENDER: SUNDAY SESSION (TOKO)
Classic lazy deep house from the turn of the century. I'd not listened to this record for years and dug it out the other day. Pure late night sweetness… check that Balearic guitar solo!

3. BANGANA: FANTASMA (HEYA HI-FI)
S.U.M.O get down and dirty for some pulsating warehouse party bizniz. Big carnival drums, head-cracking bass and some delicate deepness.

4. 2020 SOUNDSYSTEM: HIGH [LLORCA REMIX/DUB] (2020 Vision)
Chunky deep house niceness with a warm electronic edge. Me like.

5. KOTEY EXTRA BAND FEAT CHAZ JANCKEL: SOONER OR LATER [CHICKEN LIPS DUB DELUXE] (BEARFUNK GOLD)
Dubwise dancefloor excursion on the flip to Kotey and Janckel's recent disco outing.

6. CORTNEY TIDWELL: DON'T LET THE STARS KEEP US TANGLED [EWAN PEARSON INSTRUMENTAL] (CDR)
Epic, uplifting space disco/electronic house from Pearson. It builds for 7 minutes, goes a bit wonky, then grooves for a further 5 minutes. Pity the vocal version is so shoddy.

7. GORILLAZ: KIDS WITH GUNS [QUIET VILLAGE REMIX] (white label)
Smacked-out Balearic weirdness from the QV duo. Get on the floor, lie down and stay there.

8. THE TURTLES: HAPPY TOGETHER [WADE NICHOLS RE-EDIT] (Tonic)
Singalong end of night fare that'll get smiles on faces. If you see my DJing drunk I'll no doubt rinse this!

9. PETER VISTI: BALEARIC LOVE (ESKIMO RECORDINGS)
Epic electronic niceness that sits up and demands to be played all the way through. Proper balearic.

10. PAUL McCARTNEY: COMING UP (PARLEPHONE)
"Diddle iddle di di dee dee… coming up!" Repeat to fade!

Have a great weekend :)

Mischief Brew make merry with more edits

These days re-edits are ten-a-penny. It seems everyone and their dog is flexing their editing skills and taking a virtual scalpel to every disco, funk and balearic record under the sun. While some of these edits are top notch, many border on the pointless - slight dancefloor extensions for editing's sake, rather than any real desire to do something interesting and impressive with the original.

Of those edit series on the market, Mischief Brew's occasional 12s are among the best. So far, the mysterious edit crew have turned out re-cuts of Kraftwerk, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (a brilliantly bittersweet extension of 'If You Can Want' released back in 2004), Serge Gainsbourg, JJ Cale (the West Coast swamp funk of 'Ride Me High'), Harry Thurman (the OTT disco delight 'Underwater') and, most famously, Goerge McRae's 'I Get Lifted'. The vast majority of these edits have not only been excellent selections, but also decent edits in their own right - no unecessary reworkings of obvious Salsoul faves or shocking soft-rock monstrosities can be found in the Mischief Brew catalogue. Yet, at least.

This month they return with a new edit 12, a single-sided extension of the Ashantis' 'Everybody Move', a steaming dancefloor groover that sits somewhere between afrobeat, swamp funk (think their edit of JJ Cale) and trippy disco. If that makes sense.
It has a weird kind of psychedelic quality to it, whilst retaining a strong dancefloor sensibility. As if that wasn't enough, the Mischief Brew boys are also slyly releasing a bootleg mix CD featuring 15 more of their edits – ranging from Al Green and the Fatback Band to Liquid Liquid, the Spencer Davis Group and The Clash - all mashed together in a party-rocking fashion. If you come across it, it's definitely worth checking. Not all of the edits are exactly revolutionary, but as a mix it rocks hard and the entertainment levels are up there with the best of 'em.

If you want to find out more about the Mischief Brew boys (or at least what they'll let you know), you can access their website by clicking on the heading of this post.

Mischief Brew - Everybody Move 12" (Mischief Brew) - Released Feb 2007
Mischief Brew - Funk Fusion Re-Edits Vol 2 CD (Mischief Brew) - Released Feb 2007

Download A Taste of Tricky Disco!

As a bit of a welcome to the Tricky Disco blog, we thought you might like to download a taste of Tricky Disco - a mix by our very own "balearic beard" Sell By Dave. This particular mix was recorded live at the "Cosmic Lounge" at Trinity Centre on New Year's Eve. It boasts a selection of balearic, cosmic disco and left-of-centre late night faves, plus the midnight chimes and a couple of slightly random selections. The tracklist is as follows:

1. L. Pierre – Gullsong (Melodic Records)
2. Chris Carter – Moonlight [Tonic Re-Edit] (Mindless Boogie)
3. Anders Weiderwoller – Belladonna [Tangoterje Re-Edit] (Balearic Biscuits)
4. Felix Laband – Whistling In Tongues [Todd Terje Remix] (Compost Records)
5. Earth, Wind & Fire – Drum Song [Edit] (white label)
6. Paul Simon – Can’t Run But (WEA)
7. The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu – Burn The Bastards [Excerpt] (KLF Communications)
8. Orange Juice – Rip It Up [Long Version] (Polydor)
9. Chris Rea – On The Beach [Megamix] (Balearic Biscuits)
10. Mudd – 54B [Original Version] (Rong)
11. LSB – Original Highway Delight (Eskimo Recordings)
12. The Osmonds – I,.I, I [Quiet Village No Edit] (Eskimo Recordings)
13. Weirdo Police – Full Moon & Thunder [Floor Mix] (Redux)
14. Roxy Music – Same Old Scene [Glimmers Remix] (Virgin/EMI)
15. The Turtles – Happy Together [Wade Nichols Edit] (Mindless Boogie)

You can download it by cutting and pasting the following URL into your web browser -- http://mihd.net/0q5hjd -- and following the instructions. Alternatively you can click on the title of this post. Enjoy!