Month: June 1990

BEATS AND PIECES

LAST MONDAY’S Creative Images/DJ Association of Ireland DJ Convention ’90, the first ever held on the Emerald Isle, attracted a huge number of jocks from both Southern and Northern Ireland (all of whom wanted record company mailing list recognition, unsurprisingly, during a long seminar debate that really was much better than most), and can only be considered a success despite many delays which pushed the night’s entertainment — local mixing champ DJ Mek, Cutmaster Swift, E-ZEE Possee, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek, Edwin Starr, Jaki Graham, Darryl Pandy, Hazell Dean, and bill topping Sybil — into such progressively late time slots that the midsummer dawn had broken spectacularly over the sea before it was over! . . . Danny Madden’s ‘Facts Of Life’, contrary to information given out with its seven inch promo, was only remixed by Dancin’ Danny D and in fact was produced by Carl McIntosh — who has alone also totally produced the upcoming new Loose Ends album, due on 10 Records in September with a single first in August . . . Everything But The Girl ‘Take Me (Remix)’, reviewed as a promo last week, is due commercially now (blanco y negro NEG44T), while Innocence ‘Silent Voice’ is not due until mid July . . . ‘Dream Come True’, hottest track on The Brand New Heavies’ album, is being 12-inched . . . Warren Cooper is starting up First Cut Promotions at 30 Florence Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8EL (mobile ‘phone 0860-773227), his DJ mailing list being serviced initially with the new Orange Hill label’s black dance music releases . . . Alix Edwards has set up a DJ mailing list at President Records, Broadmead House, 21 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DR (071-839 4672), where she’s hoping soon to have signed some rather ‘harder’ hip hop and house releases, including a deal with a well known New York label . . . DJs, judging from last week’s Club Chart, seem to agree in preferring the Long Mix of Kicking Back with Taxman’s ‘Everything’ . . . London’s Brain club is organising another trip to Iceland from July 19-22 taking with them Beats International, Orbital, Mr Monday, If and Graeme Park amongst others. As well as the three club nights the Sugarcubes will be playing (071 437 7301 for details) . . . Liverpool goes to Brighton for Club Underground at the Zap on July 2 with DJs Harvey, Rev, Andy Carroll and guest PAs . . . The Shamen present Synergy this Friday June 29 at ULU in Malet St, London with special guests Coldcut.

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Jon Dasilva and James Hamilton

SOUL REBELLION ‘Simple Rhythm’
K-KLASS ‘Into The Night’
DOUBLE DEE Featuring Dany ‘Found Love’
RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM ‘The Beginning’/’Drama’/’Salsa Life’
MASSONIX ‘Just A Little Bit More’
JOY ‘I’m Leaving (Anxious Mix)’
SLOW BONGO FLOYD ‘Open Up Your Heart’
AMOEBA ‘This Island Earth (Axel’s Assault Mix)’

KENNY THOMAS ‘Outstanding’ (101 bpm) (Cooltempo COOLX 215)
Yet another oldie revived in more than one current remake (Rich Nice & Jeff Redd’s having been recently reviewed), this 1983 Gap Band classic was a long enduring Fatback ‘I Found Lovin”-like club ‘sleeper’ which filled floors for years without crossing over into the pop chart, so that now it’s being greeted by today’s generation as a brand new song in this mournful tapping and thumping treatment, still remorselessly rumbling and pushing but to my mind only approaching the power of the original in the flip’s percussively jiggling sparse Macattack Mix (101¼bpm), which builds a really infectious nagging syncopation (Acappella too). Incidentally, the promo’s label introduces a redesigned Cooltempo logo.

LETA DAVIS ‘You’ll Never Get To Heaven (Club Mix)’ (95¼bpm) (Bass Records BSS 12-10, via Champion)
Another revived oldie in more than one current remake, sadly now stomping 54-46’s version into the subsoil, this also Soul II Soul-ishly tempoed though more winsomely cooed gentle rolling Smith & Mighty-type treatment of Dionne Warwick’s 1964 Bacharach & David penned ‘You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)’ is in a birds chirruped more sparsely sweet Jamaican Mix too, and a related stark ‘Joey’s Groove‘.

CLUBLAND feat QUARTZ ‘Let’s Get Busy (Pump It Up)’ (121¾bpm) (Supreme Records SUPET 171)
Produced originally for Swedish release by East London’s ‘Meltdown’ makers Quartz, this “move your body” moaning guy chanted sturdy bass driven Marshall Jefferson penned episodic pounder has been on an only single sided promo here for ages as the import flip’s Art Of Noise adapting ‘Beat’n The Art Summer Of Love’ was, unavailable for UK release, but now it’s out fully at last and selling fast, newly flipped instead by the Liberace quote introed and punctuated jiggly trotting ‘The World Of Music (Liberation Mix)‘ (119¾bpm). Continue reading “June 30, 1990: Kenny Thomas, Leta Davis, Clubland feat Quartz, Keith Sweat, Prince”

BEATS & PIECES

GRAHAM MEACHAM and his best friend, 19 years old Paul Brookman were the DJs on the ill fated Thames riverboat ‘Marchioness’ last August 20, when Paul was among the many who so sadly lost their lives: this year on that date, Graham is holding a memorial show at London’s Hippodrome, all money raised going to the Childline charity, and needs offers of PAs and auction items on 081-669 4633 . . . Digital Underground being currently big in the US, ‘Doowutchyalike’ has been newly remixed by DJ Mark The 45 King — he rather revealingly calls his effort the Just Throw A Breakbeat Up Under There Mix! — although the initially promoed BCM Records white label of this remix is mistakenly credited to Clark Kent, while a CJ Mackintosh remix of ‘Packet Man’ will follow . . . Pianonegro ‘Pianonegro’ has been rushed out here on Epic (656081 6), only the original import being promoed . . . Richard Rogers’ Can’t Stop Loving You’ is being remixed by Frankie Knuckles & David Morales, apparently the first time that Knuckles has been let loose on a Marshall Jefferson production . . . Patti Day’s upcoming ‘No-one‘ has been remixed for US Starway Records Inc by Alan Coulthard, working out of his home studio in Barry, South Glamorgan (0446 736600), where he needs South Wales based talent — singers, rappers, DJs, instrumentalists — for some productions designed to put South Wales on the dance music map now that there is so much regional activity elsewhere (he’s also after local mixing gigs to keep his DJing hand in) . . . Rome’s Max & Frank Minoia and Corrado Rizza — responsible already for producing such as Jam Machine ‘Everyday’, Strings Of Love ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’, Paradise Orchestra ‘Satisfy Your Dream’, and currently the sizzling Coldjam featuring Grace ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ — now call themselves Livexpress Productions and are branching out internationally . . . Pete Haigh hosts Bassix! Tuesdays at Blackpool’s Just Ji’s by the bus depot (sounds romantic!), with half price drinks and upfront noises . . . ‘Snap’ The Event next Monday (June 25) at Poole’s Tower Park features DJs Chad Jackson, Paul Anderson, Jon Jules, Carl Cox, Paul Gotel, Steve Aspey, DJ Warren plus PAs by Massivo featuring Tracy, Olimax & DJ Shapps, TDP, Boneshakers (ticket details on 0860 386473).

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by Norman Cook and James Hamilton

JOCELYN BROWN ‘Freedom’
QUEEN LATIFAH ‘Come Into My House’
LIL LOUIS & THE WORLD ‘Nyce & Slo’ (Lovebug/R-Rated/Blow Horn mixes)
HORSES WITHOUT HEADS ‘What’s Your Name’
INNOCENCE ‘Silent Voice’
TIMMY THOMAS ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ (Remix)
DEPTH CHARGE ‘Goal’
SUGAR BULLET ‘World Peace’

G.T.O. ‘Pure’ (125¼bpm) (Dutch Go Bang! Records BANG 004)
From the label that gave us D-Shake, an actually more Bizz Nizz like bounding simple instrumental galloper with whistle blasts and other enthusiastic weekender-type crowd noises in its Pure Energy main treatment, causing instant excitement, or a gentler Arabic flavoured Journey Mix and shorter slow ambient Beautiful Mix (47/94bpm).

DANNY MADDEN ‘Facts Of Life’ (98¼bpm) (Eternal YZ473T)
Initially promoed only as a seven inch white label but spun regardless by all jocks lucky enough to have a copy, this Dancin’ Danny D produced tenderly anguished soulful jogging roller was in gentle drum and bass jiggled A-side (98¼bpm) or bassier and smoother mellow B-side (98½bpm) mixes, although now it has been 12-inched too (still on promo at this stage) elaborating on just the A-side in Dancin’ Danny D’s Mix With Acappella and confusingly differentiated but actually much longer Dancin’ Danny D’s Mix, plus Instrumental and Acappella versions, 12 inch variations on the seven inch B-side presumably being yet to come.

LFO ‘LFO’ (124½bpm) (W.A.R.P. Records WAP 5)
With initials standing for Low Frequency Oscillation, the latest and possibly hottest act on the Sheffield electro label has exploded thanks to this simple fluttering and bleeping instrumental, something like Guru Josh without the spacey saxophone but interspersed instead by bass bin rattling bursts of very low frequency oscillation indeed, flipped by the unlabelled throbbing ‘Track 4‘ (123¾bpm) and washing machine-type ‘Probe‘ (124bpm), all great if bleeps is what you like! Continue reading “June 23, 1990: G.T.O., Danny Madden, LFO, Darryl Pandy, Boneshakers”

BEATS & PIECES

SHARON REDD’s sister Pennye Ford, remembered for 1984’s ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Change Your Wicked Ways’ on Total Experience Records, is featured guest on Snap’s new ‘Ooops Up’ . . . Rumour Records have snapped up Dream In Goa ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, the remade Pink Floyd tune also recently used by Innocence . . . Ice Cube’s ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’ import album is being rushed out here by 4th + B’way, who have further fuelled the current carefully stoked controversy about N.W.A. by adding ‘**** Tha Police’ to their reissued 12-inch of ‘Express Yourself’ . . . Mark Summers’ better B-side ‘Wicked In Mombassa‘ has been remixed by No Smoke . . . Promised Land’s repetitively “revolution” chanting instrumental flip, nothing to do with ‘Something In The Air’, is called ‘No It U Lover (Mantra For A Revolution)’ (98bpm) . . . Wee Papa Girl Rappers’ Get In The Groove’ is flipped by the Teddy Riley produced, ‘Del’ Geoff Hunt remixed, ‘Faith (Contrabanned Mix)‘ (105bpm), plus the jerky raggamuffin ‘Step Up‘ (79½bpm) . . . Swansea’s Jeff Thomas has finally got onto radio after many attempts, presenting a Saturday morning 9am-noon dance show across the water on Bristol’s For The People 97.2FM, a 170 mile round trip but well worth it, he says . . . Southend-on-Sea’s Robbie Dee, still at the Zero Thurs/Fridays and Hollywood Wed/Saturdays, is even luckier being on his hometown’s Essex Radio 102.6/96.3FM weekdays 4-7pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm — nice work if you can get it . . . Ollie Dowling, resident jock at Dublin’s Pink Elephant, has organised a Dublin Funk Collective of DJs, rappers, dancers and others both interested in and keen to promote specialist black dance music, with all sorts of activities planned and two funky rap/rare groove club nights already running, Transmitting Live From Mars the first Wednesday of every month at Trinity College’s Buttery Bar (free admission), and DefCon every Saturday (plus Friday soon for Philly, northern and rare soul) in the basement of the Pembroke Bar off Baggot Street (£1.50), the DFC also contributing to two radio shows, Elaine Keogh’s on Horizon 94.9FM Saturday 8-10pm and David Hales’s on Radio Dublin 101FM/253AM Sunday 8-11am . . . Irish DJs, don’t forget the previously detailed first ever Irish DJ Convention is next Monday (June 18) at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, County Dublin, with an equipment exhibition and record fair during the day (£2 admission), followed in the evening by the seminar session, presentation of awards voted for by DJs during Simon Young’s weekend dance mix shows on 2FM (which will be broadcasting live), plus scratch mix demonstrations and PAs (£10 admission for whole event) — I’ll see you there, so make mine a Murphy’s, slainte! . . . Futureshock Promotions are following up their previous disco jaunts to Spain with a visit next Friday, June 22, to Barcelona’s 4,000 capacity club Zeleste, starring for the night London DJs Judge Jules and Steve Bicknell plus PAs by Boy George, MC Kinky of the E-ZEE Possee, and local Spanish acts — for full details of a Thursday to Sunday inclusive round trip, call Bud Nijjar on 081-533 3840 . . . DJ Morse and Nikky K start a hardbeat/techno/freestyle Go Bang! Wednesday rave this week (13) at Woodhall Country Club near Woodbridge (off the B 1083) . . . The Pure Organisation kick off a country touring Dance ’90 legal rave this Friday (15) at Tonbridge’s Angel Centre, with megawatts of sound, lighting and effects plus DJs Fabio, Trevor Fung, Colin Faver, Andy Nichols, G-Force, Grant Harper (over 18s only) — Trevor incidentally is now a consultant at Champion, assuming the mantle once worn there by his long time colleague Paul Oakenfold . . . DJs Bri. G, Rocky & Soul Pete’s latest Sweat Box night with “attitude” is at York’s Keatons in Fishergate also this Friday, when details of a Sweat Boat trip will be announced . . . Robbie Collins warns any prospective PAs (welcome on 081-506 1970) that they’d better know how to swim if they gig with him on Sunday nights around the open air swimming pool at Chigwell’s Epping Forest Country Club! . . . Old Gold in their 12 inch Gold label series have reissued back to back the bossa nova classics Astrud Gilberto ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ and Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd ‘Desafinado’ (OG 4177), nice for summer nights . . . Mike Carr has released only as an export a compilation CD of all the more mellow material by his jazz-funk group Cargo, ‘Cargo For Export Only‘ (Cargogold Productions CGCD 190), well worth finding on import for easy listening . . . Mike Stevens, now he’s no longer so closely involved with L.A. Mix, is the multi-instrumentalist behind the Cooltempo Unlimited Orchestra . . .

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and Judge Jules

LL COOL J ‘To Da Break Of Dawn (Remix Version)’ (105bpm) (US Motown MOT-4729)
Remixed by producer Marley Marl and LL from the ‘House Party’ soundtrack album, which explains the temporary change of label, this funkily chugging and scratching sassy rap is rather better than much of his recent Def Jam material, flipped just by a good more sparsely syncopated Bug Out Mix (104¾bpm).

E-ZEE POSSEE ‘The Sun Machine (Master Mix)’ (116¼bpm) (More Protein PROT 412, via Virgin)
Breathily soulful MC Kinky (a girl) cooed and “na na na-na no” guys chanted (apparently borrowing from David Bowie’s ‘Memories Of A Free Festival’) breezily jiggling chugger with plenty of pop appeal, flipped by Tommy D’s more smoothly subdued Charlie Brown In-The-House and jittery Face-The-Bass Mixes.

MASSIVO featuring TRACY ‘Loving You (Summer Breeze Mix)’ (99¾bpm) (Debut DEBTXR 3097)
Not only remixed but also totally re-instrumentated by Steve Anderson, the Minnie Riperton revival now builds from piano and strings to a bassily jiggling new groove that seems pretty hot in its own right, flipped by a sweetly episodic Cascade Dub plus still the jazzily jogging instrumental ‘Half Will Do’ (95bpm). Continue reading “June 16, 1990: LL Cool J, E-ZEE Possee, Massivo featuring Tracy, Janet Jackson, Voice Of Africa”

BEATS & PIECES

IRELAND’S FIRST ever DJ Convention is on June 18 at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, County Dublin (full details from Jim Kenny there on 403635), with a disco equipment exhibition and record fair, a seminar featuring a dozen representatives of major radio stations, record companies, UK and Irish DJs, including our very own James Hamilton – after there’s awards, scratch mix demonstrations by Cutmaster Swift and local champ DJ Mek, and PAs by Sybil, Tongue ‘N’ Cheek, Hazell Dean, Darryl Pandy, Edwin Starr, Odyssey . . . CBS have snapped up the hot Pianonegro ‘Pianonegro’ for the UK . . . MXM ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, on its UK pressing is in a shorter Dove Edit (93bpm) and a chunkier new Remix (96¼bpm) — likewise, Calloway ‘I Wanna Be Rich’ on UK Epic proves to be only in its Dance Mix and Dance Dub, unfortunately not the catchiest of its treatments . . . ‘Child Of Love (Rock The House Mix)’ by New York’s Sweet Sensation, is out as flip to their US Hi-NRG revival of Diana Ross & The Supremes’ ‘Love Child’ (118½bpm) . . Cool Down Zone’s ‘Heaven Knows’ is 100¾bpm flipped by ‘Come Be My Lover‘ (104bpm) and ‘I Always Seem To Cry‘ (84bpm) . . . New Order’s four dance mixes, promoed across two separate 12-inchers, are only ever due commercially in fade shortened form all together on a single EP, no doubt making the full length promos of value for collectors . . . Bristol’s Fresh Connection have a different apparently “harder” remake due on Reachin’ Records of Rose Royce’s ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore‘, to rival the also current Double Trouble treatment . . . £2,000 donated by the Dance Aid Trust has kicked off the Disc Jockeys Kidney Machine Trust Fund to finance purchase of a kidney machine, for use by Barnard Castle’s previously mentioned Mark Watson while needed, and thereafter by South Cleveland Hospital . . . Jim Thompson spins upfront and import soul and house right through the day Monday to Saturday on Manchester’s in-store Radio Top Shop, then joins DJ Fatman Ritson on hardcore acid/indie Fridays at Liverpool’s The Queens, Waterloo, and MC Egghead on Saturdays upstairs at Bootle’s Quadrant Park . . . “Brum is biting back!”, shouts DJ Steve, who with DJ Mark does Dislocation techno/rap/indie/house Thursdays at Edgbaston’s XL’S (no dress restrictions) . . . Steve Hills, hosting ‘It’s Happening’ Fridays at Leytonstone’s The Cube, is pleased to see his old partner in crime Mark Summers doing so well since leaving the gig! . . . Mister ‘M’ (real name Maurice) has hot house/funk/rap/reggae Sunday evenings 8-10.30pm at Melksham’s Bear disco pub, the only venue in West Wiltshire to do so, he claims . . . ‘Big’ John Rodgers has returned to Great Yarmouth’s refurbished Monroes and is apparently packing the place with an upfront dance music policy, four nights a week . . . Swansea’s Plastic Sam is now “takin’ care of biz” at Central Park/Ritzy . . . Paul French, after six years’ residency at Gillingham’s recently sold The Avenue, despite being asked to stay, is looking for a change of upfront venue (on 0634-376834) . . . Bloomsbury brothers Richard & Sean Stewart, just back from a year’s jocking in Tenerife, tip that the hotspots for holidaymakers to check there are the Roxy Bar with DJ Ket Shah, the newly refurbished Paradise Lost with Simon Doward, and Bobbies Bar . . . KICKIN’!

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HOT VINYL
Reviewed by James Hamilton and DJ Streets Ahead

PAUL JACKSON, JR. ‘Out Of The Shadows’ (US Atlantic 82065-1)
Tucked away on this early George Benson-ish jazz guitarist’s pleasant instrumental album and just crying out for a 12 inch remix is the Hank Shocklee & Eric ‘Vietnam’ Sadler co-produced/mixed brilliant jiggly ‘The New Jazz Swing’ (111bpm), fusing swingbeat hip hop rhythms with bursts of lovely gentle jazz guitar to make possibly a ‘Rockit’ for the Nineties — c’mon, Atlantic, do yo’ stuff! — other tracks being the Kirk Whalum saxed jazz-funkily wriggling ‘Encino Shuffle‘ (100bpm), Luther Vandross chorused delicately picked ‘Make It Last Forever‘ (85¼bpm), Tim Owens crooned romantically rolling ‘This Love’s On Me‘ (88bpm), jogging ‘Days Gone By‘ (92bpm), swaying ‘I Want Jesus To Walk With Me‘ (98½bpm), too self consciously “funky” ‘My Thang‘ (112bpm), doodling ‘Road To Everlasting‘ (98/49bpm), slushy ‘All For You’ (69/34½bpm).

DIANA ROSS ‘I’m Still Waiting’ (remixes)
THE GRID ‘Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix)’
FREESTYLE ORCHESTRA featuring D’BORAH ‘Keep On Pumpin’ It Up’
EVERYDAY PEOPLE ‘Inside Your Love’
MARK SUMMERS ‘Party Children’/‘Wicked In Mombassa’
SNAP ‘Ooops Up’
COCO ‘Saturday Night/Sunday Morning’
GARY CLAIL ON-U SOUND SYSTEM ‘Beef’
COOL BREEZE ‘A Cool Breeze’
TOGETHER ‘Hardcore Uproar’
MC HAMMER ‘U Can’t Touch This’
A CERTAIN RATIO ‘Won’t Stop Loving You (Norman Cook Remix)’

CRITICAL RHYTHM featuring Jango Thriller & Vandal ‘It Could Not Happen’ (85bpm) (Network NWKT 9)
Brooklyn Funk Essentials created EP, previously a short lived chart climber on Nugroove import (which suggests fashionability rather than actual substance), with this breathily sinuous reggae tinged slowie in its Essential Trance Hall Mix and Version, plus the not very danceable emptily pulsing Indian flavoured ‘Eastern Breeze (Authentic Mix)‘ (119bpm), flipped by the Angelique featuring perhaps more useable girl and guy muttered jiggly trotting ‘Fall Into A Trance (Brooklyn Funk Essential Mix)‘ (122bpm), and its virtually rhythmless Alternative Ambient Mix (61bpm). Meanwhile, a Q & Review created new more beefily rumbling and reggae boosted ‘It Could Not Happen (Dance Hall Daze Remix)‘ (96bpm) (NWKTR9) is flipped by its Dance Hall Daze Instrumental Mix and the above ‘Fall Into A Trance (Brooklyn Funk Essential Mix)’.

ICE CUBE ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’ (US Priority Records SL57 120)
Largely created with Public Enemy’s Eric Sadler and Keith Shocklee, the relentlessly foul mouthed N.W.A. rapper’s tracks and interludes crammed album has the exciting P’funkily chugging ‘The Nigga Ya Love To Hate’ (109¾bpm), similar more jerkily jolting already 12-inched ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted‘ (107¾bpm), funkily rolling ‘Rollin’ Wit The Lench Mob‘ (103¼bpm), amusing jauntily jiggling ‘A Gangsta’s Fairytale‘ (110¼bpm), Chuck D co-shouted churning ‘Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside)‘ (112bpm), plaintive female Yo-Yo duetted scratching introed (and James Brown cutting) bumpily jogging ‘It’s A Man’s World‘ (95½bpm), race riot report introed word spitting ‘The Bomb‘ (115½bpm), bland radio DJs sandwiched angry ‘Turn Off The Radio‘ (109bpm), JB’s based sombre ‘Who’s The Mack?‘ (91bpm), Stevie Wonder based Flavor Flav duetted rolling slow ‘I’m Only Out For One Thang‘ (92½bpm), stark wordy ‘You Can’t Fade Me‘ (87bpm) and ‘Once Upon A Time In The Projects‘ (77bpm), Average White Band based murky aggressive short ‘What They Hittin’ Foe?‘ (100bpm) and even shorter ‘Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here‘ (94bpm). That about says it all. Continue reading “June 9, 1990: Paul Jackson Jr., Critical Rhythm, Ice Cube, Frazier Chorus, Sharon Dee Clarke”

BEATS & PIECES

SEDA 90, the South Eastern Discotheque Association’s latest annual disco equipment exhibition, is this Sunday (June 3) at Gravesend’s Woodville Halls between noon and 6pm, with the opening ceremony conducted by Stevie V — so don’t be late, if that’s who you want to see! . . . Eternal Records, just to be different, have reverted to the fast disappearing seven inch format for their initially very limited white label promos of the bass and drum jogged extremely soulful Danny Madden ‘Facts Of Life‘ (98bpm), produced and mixed by Dancin’ Danny D, one to look out for . . . Mahesh Bajaj is relaunching the ‘Upfront’ series of dance compilation albums that he started on Serious Records back in 1986, now through his Sarni Lange partnered new label Solid (Sound Of London’s Independent Dance), ‘Upfront One‘ being due on its subsidiary Upfront logo next week with 15 tracks including current UK and Continental releases by such as Don Pablo’s Animals, Pianonegro, Rhythmatic, Musto & Bones, and Critical Rhythm — future singles include a remake of Melba Moore’s ‘This Is It’ by Ruth, and the Italian Jackie Moore’s version of Phil Collins’ ‘I Wish It Would Rain Down’ (club and radio DJ mailing list applications to Solid Records Limited, Unit 30, Sheraton Business Centre, Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middlesex UB6 7JB, telephone 081-566 7117) . . . Paul Gotel is updating the specialist hip hop/rap and alternative/indie dance DJ mailing lists at Power Promotions (081-746 1210), where the brand new press office is run by Cheryl Flynn . . . Logic’s currently hot ‘The Warning’ will soon be out here on Pacific’s new label Planet Pacific, specialising in the more underground type of dance material, while Vandal’s ‘Laws Of Chance’ EP, warm on import back in February/March mainly for ‘Amazing Grace’, has been picked up here by de/Construction Records . . . Fatman & Stella Mae ‘Release Me’ — whose mixes on the now fully labelled Cue Records pressing turn out to be called Gospel, Techno, and Beatstumental (sic) — has in fact been picked up for further release by ffrr . . . ‘K-Jee’ was promoed and reviewed as being by The Unlimited Orchestra, but finished commercial pressings credit the Cooltempo Unlimited Orchestra . . . Calloway ‘I Wanna Be Rich’, reviewed last week as a Solar import, is out here now on Epic (655515 6) . . . Mr Lee’s ‘Get Busy’ hip house album, reviewed on import three weeks ago, is also out here (Jive HIP 98) . . . Dutch remix wizard Ben Liebrand has a debut album released under his own name within the next month, on Epic . . . ‘La Passionara’, the track that’s really selling The Blow Monkeys’ EP, could well be more beefily remixed with added vocals — but not necessarily for release until incorporated into the follow-up . . . Electribe 101’s next single looks like being a revival of Odyssey’s ‘Inside Out’ . . . Digger presents this Wednesday (30), at his weekly specialist swingbeat and rap Bounced night in Mayfair’s Legends, PAs by Johnny Gill, Glen Goldsmith, Emma Haywoode, and the Licensed To Dance (LTD) dance troupe . . . Balearic DJs like Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold, Andy Weatherall, Terry Farley, Rocky & Diesel and Ben & Andy (amongst many) will be jocking on Ibiza at the Ku Club, Summum, Es Paradis, Pacha and Amnesia during the specially organised Ibiza 90 holiday package that runs for your choice of either one or two weeks from this Sunday (June 3), all inclusive (flights/accommodation/club passes) at £226 or £260 (club passes alone at £40 or £50), tickets and full details on 081-845 1695 . . . Rimini’s luxurious El Paradiso club, inspired by Italy’s hosting of the World Cup, is promoting a so-called Euro Club Tour ’90, inviting certain DJs from the competing nations to bring their own club crowds to party (separately, you may be relieved to hear!) on consecutive Thursdays through July, kicking off with Kid Batchelor and cohorts from London’s Confusion, Solaris, Stringfellows (?), and the Café De Paris as the representatives of Great Britain on July 5, followed on subsequent Thursdays by France, Spain and Germany — details of an inclusive £140 four day package for the above named clubs’ members and friends from Musika Inc, 7-8 Gosfield Street, London W I . . . Last week’s bubblers just outside the Club Chart Top 100 included Musto & Bones LP, Rubberman, Fluke, Man Machine featuring Zen, Klymaxx, The Blapps Posse, Frazier Chorus, The Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Tony! Toni! Toné! and Touch Of Soul.

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HOT VINYL

REBEL MC ‘Rebel Music’ (118bpm) (Desire WANTX 31)
Co-produced by the Rebel and Simon Law, this slow starting then cowbell and drums clonked hip house tempo nervily jiggling raggamuffin rap is counterpointed by smoothly moaning Jenni Evans, with jazzy piano and flute doodling through the beats, in Rebel-ism and looser sounding The Article Mixes, sure to be big.

D-SHAKE ‘Yaaaaaaaaaah (Freestyle Club Mix)’ (123bpm) (Cooltempo COOLX 213)
Here in fact abbreviated down to ‘Yaaah’, which isn’t such fun, this instantly kicking more loosely flurrying variation of the shouts prodded frantic Dutch double-sider’s excitingly galloping basic instrumental is now getting increased attention and probably is more ‘commercial’, but just as on import it’s still much less hot than the flip’s fiercer industrially driving ‘Techno Trance’ (123¼bpm), tempolessly starting and pausing in its original Paradise Is Now mix but also here in a useful new Revisited re-edit minus the midway pause.

PIANONEGRO ‘Pianonegro’ (93bpm) (Italian Dance-World Attack DWA 00.13)
In short supply at first although instantly hot for all who have managed to find it, this Robyx created gradually building afro chanted and piano plonked ‘Jingo’/’Going Back To My Roots’-ishly tinged slinkily grooving purposeful jogger (in Long Mix, Radio Edit and piano-less percussive Negro Groove versions) should be huge once it’s more readily available. Incidentally, ‘negro’ in this Italian context is the translation of ‘black’. Continue reading “June 2, 1990: Rebel MC, D-Shake, Pianonegro, Richard Rogers, Milira”