Groove Up!

-3: Daniel Wang: the space between haptic perception and keyboard

2009-10-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading The Secret History of Disco: Turn the Beat Around (Peter Shapiro). It's an interesting book: thanks to him i've discovered classic bands, relevant DJs and producers. In addition, the book places Disco in its sociopolitic and historic context. At the end, Shapiro speaks about Disco today. For that doing, he mentions what he extracts from his interviews with Daniel Wang.

It was only at the beginning of this year that I found out about him. Ignoring his importance, I bearly managed to grab from him a remix he made from a Milke Track: Love get out of my Way.I only now dedicate more time to understand his place as an activist on behalf of interesting fine and real Disco music. This post is dedicated to this genius in the territory we are committed to explore here: the interphase between old instruments and new software.

-4: Magnus International, Kosmetisk

2009-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

From organic to electronic, from Earth to Space, from NYC to Oslo...the paths of disco are endless. Here's one of my all time favorites single: Magnus International's "Kosmetisk", released (guess what?) on Norwegian label Full Pupp! (reads "Full Pop" in English, but sounds completely different in its original language).

Anyway, this tune reflects the cool attitude of the Full Pupp bunch towards dance music: no need to rush, dance and chill, put a big smile on your face and float into an intergalactic shower of synthesized sounds. Previous Magnus' works (not many, unfortunately) include another bouncy housy track called "Kryss Mitt Hjerte" (cross my heart, I guess). Have a listen here or, easier, come on Saturday at Barrio!

-5: Shack Up !!

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lets continue with a song in praise of free love and liberation from social conventions. Funk and Sould band Banbarra released this sticky song in 1975. Shack Up was later used by A Certain Ratio (Rare Groove, Manchester) in 1981 to make it one of its greatests hits and awesome combination of punk and disco that was working so well in N.Y dancefloors at the beginning of the 80's. And so it goes...some decades later, an electro-pop cover version of this same track was released by BIS and inserted in a DJ Kicks compilation made by the belgians The Glimmers in 2005. Which one of them you want me to play on saturday?

-6: Love is you!

2009-10-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a great classic. Carol William's "Love is you", from Salsoul Records. You'll maybe recognise the drums and the guitars, which have been sampled by Spiller for his massive hit "Groovejet", featuring Sophie Ellis Bextor. I like both tracks (even if after listening to the original, Groovejet may sound a bit cheesey), so they often spin together..... Have a great week. A.

-7: The Sound of Philadelphia!

2009-10-24T01:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 10am...Let's have an organic disco break-fast! Before one-man-and-a-laptop dance music productions, before samplers and sequencers, before drum machines and analog synths, there was only one way to produce groovy disco tracks: locking thirty or more flesh and blood musicians in a studio and let them jam! The result, in this case like in many other productions from Sigma Sound or Salsoul, is a delightful, cinematic disco anthem! People all over the world! Enjoy TSOP and have a groovy Saturday! DJ A.

-8: Hey Eurodancers!

2009-10-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

There's no Euro-party without Eurodans.... Those who have been at one of my recent gigs already know. "Eurodans" is the breakthrough single for Norwegian DJ and producer Terje Olsen (aka Todd Terje, aka Tangoterje) and the Full Pupp label. With a catchy (silly) melody, and a bouncy bass, the track is a sort of a light manifesto for the Nu-Disco/Balearic movement. Disco is musically dense, but at the end of the day, it has to make you shake on the dance-floor on a Saturday night! By the way, have a nice weekend... and stay tuned for more stuff. DJ A.

- 9: Roska starts with a legend: Patrick Adams.

2009-10-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone !

Roska in da house.... For me GROOVE UP has already become a source of exploration, research around the music it was done at the time I was born. This is the beggining of DJ culture that I so much enjoy and dance today: house, space disco, techno....

The first warm up post will be dedicated to the founder of P&P records Patrick Adams. He incarnates the absolute catharsis of disco and bridges to other genres like house and garage disco..... enjoy !!!

- 9: DJ A: old-school disco, to begin!

2009-10-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite tune from a guy called Teddy Pendergrass. It is quintessentially funk-soul, with introspective lyrics, a bust-out-of-the-ghetto voice, the hell of a brass section and a killer bass-line. Yet it is also delightfully disco (listen to those strings!). A very popular remix was made by DJ Sneak (You can't hide from your bud). Yet, nothing beats the orgiginal.I guess I'll play this vinyl until I wear it out....Enjoy! Love, DJ A.