urban blues project

soulfurics, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

MICHAEL PROCTER
&URBAN BLUES PROJECT
LOVE DON'T LIVE/GONE
soulfuric, 1996
SOULFURIC
as i keep repeating here, vocal house/garage music used to be sooo exciting in the 90's.
there was something very uplifting and almost spiritual in vocal tracks played in good clubs. of course it was just about love, sex, dance, sweat and getting lost in music but at the end of the night, what else are you asking for? as far as house garage go, any serious lyricist soon or later had to endorse the magic soulfuric touch of BRIAN TAPPERT and MARC POMEROY.
these florida guys endlessly produced hits under so many monikers they probably stopped counting but pick anything by JAZZ'N'GROOVE, URBAN BLUES PROJECT, SOULSEARCHER or MOTHER OF PEARL and you'll be fixed with more funky bass, rhodes/clavinet and horns your feet can cope with. among these, some of my faves are MICHAEL PROCTER's tracks.
he sure knows how to carry a tune and the live jam session gives the extra soulful edge.
just listen end learn. very interesting article by the man itself about the downfall of the vocal house garage genre, killed by the club owners' greedHERE
i confess i didn't catch up with michael's or soulfuric productions lately. if any garage fan shows up, current info will be very welcomed. again and again, try your closest vinyl dealer first to grab the classic stuff, they need you more than ever. peace.

going, going, gone

streetscene, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

adios to my former naugahyde life, welcome to A BIGGER SPLASH!
in order to feel free from any further action by nice corporate people, i'll change the blogspot URL too in a few days so you'll have to update your bookmarks.
ciao.

love me or leave me

r&p, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

ROY DAVIS jr.
GABRIELLE/GONE
Large records, 1996
one of the few real genuine deep house music anthems, "gabrielle" had the distinctive flavor of true crossover soul hits, hitting it big on both radio and club circuits.
interesting info about the manHERE and then 19-years-old vocalist PEVEN EVERETT.
this one is a classic so turn it up and jump around, this is summer music!
oh by the way, i got a message warning me that i "was using the Naugahyde Trademark in an unauthorized way", so i should cease and desist asap.
though i think it's a little absurd i won't take any chance on that. so, the naugahyde life will be history very soon...
i asked blogger if there's a way i can change the name but save its contents rather than terminate the whole thing. if any of you out there have some tips or info about that move, thanks to keep me posted.
guess it's ime to move on to new blog adventures, i'll let you know ASAP.
cheerz

a desert road from vegas to nowhere

bagdad, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

A:XUS
CALLIN' U/GONE
guidance, 1999
one for these early stormy summer days/nights, another from my golden house years and another classic from the Guidance recordings stables. austin bascomb a.k.a ABACUS a.k.a A:XUS cut off the cheese from the original version and delivered a fine slice of deep jam featuring naomi n'sembi's sultry vocals. lots of samples from this interesting producer (and many others) on guidance's playground so enjoy the ride.
love and joy to all of you out there.

for you

net men, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

CHARNETT MOFFET
NET MAN
blue note, 1987
FOR YOU/GONE
this track's been a favorite for 18 years now so there's little i can add.
the beautiful piano solo is by the late KENNY KIRKLAND. you'll learn plenty about the main bass man
HERE
try first your local record store to grab a lp or cd copy of NET MAN or shop online.
i'll try to be back here on a more regular basis. luvs.

one from the heart

apple enid, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

enid, marsou's baby-sister, is joining us to thank y'all for the warm support and sweet words you expressed here. much love to everyone...

we loved him madly

marsou, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

marsou R.I.P
june1989
june,15th 2005
8:45 a.m

house of blues

GU, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

GLENN UNDERGROUND
HOUSE OF BLUES/GONE
Secrets of CVO E.P
Guidance,1997
GLENN UNDERGROUND is one of Chi-town best-kept secrets and a sure choice when it comes to deliver the beats. this moody track feat. STEVE ISRAEL's guitar licks isn't a proper floor filler but a mellow jazz-fueled housey jam i used to blend in the mix back in the days. it builds up brick by brick of funk in true oldschool house style. hope it will brighten your sunny side up and turn your disco side on.

honey bring it close to my lips yes

professionalwidow, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

TORI AMOS
PROFESSIONAL WIDOW
ARMAND'S STAR TRUNK FUNKIN' MIX/GONE
Atlantic, 1996
when i arrived in Los Angeles in 1996, california just fell under the spell of the dance music phenomenon via GROOVE RADIO. tori's remix was blastin' everywhere, next to WAY OUT WEST's "THE GIFT". it was the perfect soundtrack of my early cruises in the L.A. area... the STAR TRUNK is the epitomy of remixing: take an obscure or average track, keep very few original elements, add a killa sampla or a monster beat and give it heavy radio rotation. after a while you're DYING for that special intro to kick in, you keep pumping up the volume 'til you damage your auto speakers. more about a baad motherfunker HERE
special shout out to the L.A people out there and much love to lena, rose, eduardo's car, the people at Disney and the very beautiful, gifted and talented nic.

d'amour à volonté

mfcover, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

MYLENE FARMER
SOUVIENS-TOI DU JOUR
ROYAL G'S CLUB MIX/GONE
SWEET GUITAR MIX/GONE
PEPPERMINT JAM PRODUCTIONS REMIXES
universal, 1999

as a friendly wink to our Tofu Hut friends and their recent infamous mylene farmer post: here's a couple of remixes of a late 20th century MF track.
xcept maybe for her first ambiguous and controversial teenage hit (1: maman a tort 2: c'est beau l'amour 3: l'infirmière pleure 3: je l'aime) and despite her gay-friendly cult/icon status, i hardly shared any vibes or crossed musical paths with ms.farmer.
a few years ago, a friend's girlfriend and aspiring singer offered me this MF 12", as she knew i was into house music and remixes stuff. i probably thanked her with a warm, hum, sneer... and hurried up to bury it deep under the crates. then it somehow surfaced later and i gladly realized the remix treatment was signed by peppermint jam's ROYAL GARDEN SOUND team, which could mean quality stuff. on this 12", both club and downtempo remixes make ms. farmer sounds amazingly good, production enhances its cheesy melody and chorus with minor chords with an edge, the kind to mess with both your head and butt.
actually, i know nothing of ms. farmer's taste or policy for remixing choices. it's probably on the crest of MOUSSE T's hits wave that some cubicle A&R at universal dance pool submitted the track to the peppermint guys (along a phat eurocheck of course). no idea if the sales or clubs feedback made a difference between these babies and regular average eurodance poop (of course there's one of a kind on the 12", too). listen here: there's no way i'll ever get caught dancing my ass off in a club on these tracks but i have to admit i quite like them... now you'll make up your own mind.
NEWS FROM THE EDGE: to the bands who sent messages on a regular basis to offer their sounds to be pushed here eventually: i had little time lately to indulge in this kind of explorations but i will. give or take, it's harder to keep up with the blogworld everyday but i'll try. to all naugahyde fans: your comments and feedback are the backbone of our dedication and enthusiasm to share favorite sounds here, so stay cool and leave a message after the tone.

everybody is trying to get down to the aaaaah

disco, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

WHIRLPOOL PRODUCTIONS
Ladomat, 1996
in 1996, german house music was hardly regarded as the leading scene it is today.
sure a few labels were already rockin' das beatz, firmly paving the path of the future: K7! in berlin or peppermint jam studios (feat. mousseT and boris dlugosh ( i'll be back to these guys in a future post). it seemed the whole eastern europe club scene was overshadowed by uberdubbers KRUDER & DORFMEISTER and countless related austrian posses. not a bad thing per se of course... then i heard this funnyfunky track on heavy rotation on the couleur 3 radio station: i peed my flared pants down then repolished my mirrorballs.
first i got a hard time finding the 12" and just cherished it for that. later, the track went huge and granted its classic discohouse anthem status. more on the artists and the ladomat label
HERE and HERE

them that's got shall get

a&b, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

ALEX GOPHER
solid, 2000
long before the intoxicating "french touch" phenomenon, ALEX GOPHER was already famous as mastering wizard at parisian Translab studios since 1985. on top of that, he had legendary formed ORANGE, a versailles pop band starring xavier jamaux, jean-benoît dunckel and nicolas godin, the two dudes who will later mutate into superduo AIR. in many ways, gopher helped moldering the future sound of paris by laying hands on the Translab boards for many french pop singers while elaborating his own style. check his cool biography and original mix of THE CHILD HERE
about billie holiday and her "god bless the child" sample, gopher confessed being quite ignorant of her musical legacy (...) except her rhymes sounded cool. he bought a cheap cd compilation to extract the gem and housed it up to classic status. jérémie mondon a.k.a DEMON was about 20 when he got house virus. his take on gopher's classic has a strong david axelrod flavor, mixing both soothing and devastating dancefloor qualities.

UPDATE: thanks to captain planet from the wonderful CAPTAIN'S CRATE to let us know the above link was still bougie soliterre's... sorry 'bout that ...now' the child is finally fixed

bougie soliterre

bougie, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

BOUGIE SOLITERRE
from simple things lp
Flipside, 2000
sorry for unplugging the beats during vacation time but actually there's life growing outside the blogosphere and in order to get cherries, apricots, salads, tomatoes, etc. the garden is needing full attention these days!
back on the dancefloor with a soulful/old school jam signed by bettina constanzo a.k.a bougie soliterre (now that's some weird mispelled french pseudo...meaning "lonely candle").
less than very few girls been shakin' the house and most of them are dj's (or djettes) but female talented producers come as rare as a tasty eggplant. betty came from montreal, canada and moved to london where she banged the decks with the early brokenbeat scene and UK house heavyweights BUGZ IN THE ATTIC CREW or PHIL ASHER and top notch u.s house wonderboy KERRI CHANDLER. finally, she created her own imprint FLIPSIDE to promote jazz, house, disco & soul music by kerri, victor davies, blak beatniks, fred everything and herself, of course...
BESIDES YOU is a fave track with a classic 70's soul flavor thanks to the vocals talents of former P-funk vocalist STEF FRANK and a killer bassline. originally only available on 12" and 2lps; it made its way to classic status and CD formatwith remix treatments by uberhot german duo TIEFSCHWARTZ. hear samples of these remixes here and add this nice one to your record collection HERE

too much too soon

faze action, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

FAZE ACTION
IN THE TREES
nuphonic,1996
SIMON AND ROBIN LEE are the funky brothers behind the FAZE ACTION concept. as bona fide disco music connoisseurs, their sound was an instant blast: lush strings and heavy bass bringin' the dancefloor back to the best undeground disco years, without the cheese or the rollerskates.
it was luminous and sensitive dance music, the epitomy of deep house that you could actually get lost into in da club and listening at home on a rainy sunday. it was the golden era of UK house music at its best and all early NUPHONIC releases were amazing: FREE CHICAGO MOVEMENT, BLAZE, ESG, YELLO SOX, BLACK JAZZ CHRONICLES... for a year or two, you just had to grab the new nuphonic release to stay on the edge of the best music world/clubwise, as featured on their first comp NUPHONIC VOL.1
but from1999 on, the whole thing grew out of proportion: the label parted from the 12"s only politics and added a lot of artist's full-length albums to the release list: FAZE ACTION's 2nd opus, BLACK JAZZ CHRONICLES, SOUL ASCENDANTS, BLOCK 16, FUG, ADAM GOLDSTONE, and prestigious compilations like David Mancuso's THE LOFT vol.1 &2, NORMAN JAY's GOOD TIMES vol1&2 and XPRESS2, LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE, etc... almost all of these were beautifully designed/packaged albums classics but very costly projects, too. the tough turning point of the new century hit hard both the UK house music/club scene and its derivated record industry and nuphonic got flushed away as a leading label. thank god the music still remains and all dicography is available on cd thru amazon or your favorite record dealer.

do you want to jerk?

jerichojerk, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

PIERRE HENRY/MICHEL COLOMBIER
JERICHO JERK
PHILIPS,1967
ST GERMAIN MIX,1997
when PHILIPS label realized a brand new generation of hipsters held the two avant-garde composers' MESSE POUR LE TEMPS PRESENT (mass for the present time) as the ultimate 70's french cult opus, a remix project was launched: METAMORPHOSE
A-league producers were invited to mess with the1967 original ballet (created by maurice béjart) score. among the likes of COLDCUT, FATBOY SLIM or WILLIAM ORBIT, a solid team of frenchies stood up: DIMITRI FROM PARIS, CHATEAU FLIGHT, THE MIGHTY BOP, KRISS THE FRENCH KISS (aka BOB SINCLAR) and LUDOVIC NAVARRE a.k.a ST GERMAIN. most of the guys concentrated on the 3 funkier cuts of the opus: PSYCHE ROCK, JERICHO JERK and TOO FORTICHE, except Dimitri who took on TEEN TONIC.
frankly, i never really got into all these remixes. the original album is a classic and the last thing i felt i needed was a fatboy "malpaso remix" or an "invisible mix" by william orbit.
but to me, st germain's track was another story. first time i heard it was in a club and i witnessed it building up very slowly from loose jazz jam to dancefloor mayhem. people were really getting down on it: everybody was chillin', drinking like they just don't care... next thing i know girls start shakin' that ass and guys are losin' it brett sinclair style (me included)! a few months later, i'm playing a stylish outdoor warm-up/open bar set where dancing is usually the very last thing trendy people are thinkin' about. for an hour, i'm stayin' alive with bossa nova and cal tjader jams scattered with jazzanova sounds. i feel like i'm in the Antonioni "La Notte" movie which is great, but just to a certain point...then i dropped the jericho jerk and let these keyboard licks spreading over as a dancing virus... it went on and on and grew kinda ibiza free for the rest of the night, thanks to the bombs bag i had packed, too (more of this selection to come)...

you could fly away

sense of danger, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

PRESENCE FEAT.SHARA NELSON
SENSE OF DANGER
ATTABOY REMIX/GONE
1998
the always impeccable london lee at THE NUMBER ONE SONGS IN HEAVEN posted recently the original version of this absolute classic gem of a track, so you'd better go back to his cool writing to grab all info about CHARLES WEBSTER 's PRESENCE album and great featuring by ladysoul diva SHARA NELSON
to my knowledge, at least 4 different sets of 12" remixes were released thru pagan records : one by pepe braddock/furry phreaks (one of many webster's aliases), another one by attaboy/stephane mandrax, a third set feat. dave sears/future shock and a final delivery by le bustafunk/kings of tomorrow... frankly, all are pretty good, thanks to the track's potential but my fave's always been ATTABOY's. it's a quite simple effective mix but there's something about these drums, THAT bass hook, the synths, the way shara's voice sounds in the mix and the chorus girls whisper in my ear... and here i am, lost on the dancefloor again: it's moist, sensually funky and i wish that night never ends.

best things in life are free

janet, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

JANET JACKSON &LUTHER VANDROSS/BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
S-MAN SALSOUL VIBE/GONE
AM:PM 1995
JANET JACKSON/WHEN I THINK OF YOU
DEEP DISH CHOCOLATE CITY MIX/GONE
AM:PM 1995
in the mid-90's janet jackson was runnin' the charts thanks to hitmakers JAM & LEWIS. but to push it to the limits of dancefloor experience, A-list dj/remixers were needed on the boards. traditionally, it was a new york thing: every major player had a NYC club residency and competition ruled between them for saturday night fever supremacy.
for years, FRANKIE KNUCKLES, DAVID MORALES, DANNY TENAGLIA, MASTERS AT WORK, TODD TERRY, ROGER SANCHEZ, JUNIOR VASQUEZ used to share between them the soul/r'n'b/pop divas' megabucks pie.
since the golden days of the paradise garage, clubbing was mainly a gay thing and the sound was clearly on the vocal/garage tip. but clubs started to gather a different crowd and therefore needed new sounds and new faces. drafted by danny tenaglia, newcomers DEEP DISH entered the game and put washington DC on the club map, showing the way for a new generation of remixers with darker, technoid sounds that reached the younger heterosexual/gay-friendly audience.
by the end of the century, the DAFT PUNK revolution 909 and DJ craze phenomenon blew up the whole scene to absurdity.
both tracks here are pure 90's dancefloor classics. they were mixed for clubs so you probably won't get any of it on computer speakers or earplugs...but hey, think about friday night, dress up, put your patrick cox shoes on and rush to your favorite club!
roger sanchez claims its SALSOUL influences on his S-man version of janet and luther's duo but doesn't reach any VINCE MONTANA orchestral standards here... his mix keeps it pretty simple and effective but for a nasty clavinet that brings the house down and of course with such a cast, leaves it to the singers to bring it home...
the chocolate city remix is an early dd trademark reconstruction based on a simple hypnotic hook and a live sax that slowly build up until the drums finally kick in for maximum dancefloor effect.
both were issued on the AM:PM label as promo DJpacks so get lucky at your favorite used record stores.

let's get naked

naked, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

AQUANOTE
ONLY
Naked Music 012, 2000
ORIGINAL VOCAL MIX/GONE
WEEKENDER VOCAL/GONE
NAKED MUSIC is probably one of the few contemporary music labels that succesfully established its identity both musically and visually. but where other house imprints tended to keep it abstract and minimal with faceless software design patterns, label founders BRUNO IBARRA and MIGUEL MIGS brought back the tradition of the great sleeve cover genre, thanks to the talents of uberartmeister STUART PATTERSON.
a cool INTERVIEW with the guys will tell you everything you want to know about the label. i expected to be delivered instantly an exhaustive gallery of all them sexy covers but google just left me in the ropes instead. patterson seemed to have relocated from SF to barcelona where he set up his new studio COLOROLA. a place to check out ASAP.
since then, naked music's releases got the generic photo treatment which is a shame but makes the previous series even more desirable. since the downfall of house music sales globally and before record dealers stock the early naked babes in the vaults, you still have a chance to find these gorgeous releases in some dollar bin. to me, any naked12" is worth the greens, even full-price, not only for the art sleeve but because the quality of the music is very consistant on the deep soulful/jazzy tip.
one may object that the naked style layed the foundations of the lounge/coffeetable house music genre, the sexy good looks adding a wallpaper* quality to the listening experience...
i could agree with that but still will stand for it. if house is meant to be heard very loud on amazing sound systems and in sweaty nightclub atmosphere, naked music sounds great with early morning coffee or at the office, works perfectly for sleazy naps inspiration and eventually makes you dance, if that's what you're after.
one of my favorite releases is AQUANOTE's ONLY 12". both vocal mixes reach my inner feelings and became instant classics. don't expect to turn any dancefloor upside down with this one but let it grow on you. as lady kier said once : groove is in the heart...
GET NAKED

take me to the garden

kd, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

now people i'd like to tell you about the way we used to do it, at the paradise garage... everybody was freakin'... people from all over the world...
early spring reminds me that once i was younger... and that on friday nights, usually around 1 or 2 a.m, i kinda loved to lose myself on a dancefloor. how about that?
for a series of next posts, i'll share a selection of favorite house tracks from the late 90's/early 21st century. some were pretty big in the clubs, some weren't-and guaranteed you'll be kicked out the dj booth if you play them! others were just part of intimate trips but all have a specific echo in my heart, body and soul.
i won't follow any chronological path, so put yer dance boots on and find your way on this journey into sound.

KARDEK
">SECRET GARDEN/GONE
fiat lux, 1998
in 1998, the so-called "french touch" phenomenon was ridiculously hyped out: all the majors that had previously overslept on the club scene now wanted their own house act, with dreams of daft punk grandeur. consequently emerging labels flourished like mushrooms in every parisian backstreet and basement, pushing homestudio dj's beats to feed the beast.
among them FIAT LUX chopped its teeth on numerous acts before hitting it big with SUPERFUNK's discohouse hit "lucky star" in 2000. meanwhile, french duo KARDEK layed this deep melancholic number as Bside of an otherwise club formatted 12" (fiatluxO8) that got lost on the dancefloor but this track remains as a delicate flower in the garden of my record bag

DEEP DISH/ELASTIC REALITY
CASSA DE X/GONE
Yoshitoshi/Tribal america, 1994
DEEP DISH are another duo but based in washington, DC. early on they created their own label (deep dish records) and produced countless tracks under many differents names or monikers. though mostly renowned for their deep dark, tribal and almost technoid beats and dj sets, they sometimes indulged in very soulful compositions. CASSA DE X is one of the kind, building up slowly from amniotic ambient to hypnotic bliss.
since then, the grammy-award duo mutated into a flourishing business in DC, with three record labels and a DJ agency, remixing everybody that counts and your sister. i remember one semi deserted pre-olympics gig in '96 Atlanta, then a more relaxed set in Santa Monica a few months later where they played some drum and bass i hated... instead of my favorite dish.

you and the night and the music

new directions, originally uploaded by thebeathunters.

well, just found this one online and can't resist to share it with you...
amazing band: jack dejohnette, eddie gomez, john abercrombie, lester bowie
beautiful smooth jazz recording on ecm, 1978. enjoy
NEW DIRECTIONS

update: that link's gone now... back soon with new music