A music blog filled with new discoveries, edits, mash-ups and general musical inspirations by DJ Glamjack, an artist and enthusiast of dance, disco, house and left field music based in Brooklyn, NY.
Hope you are having a great weekend. We're having beautiful clear skies today yet still unseasonably cold! Here is a funky soul band with a bit of a clubby groove to warm you up – and one that features some great male harmony vocals behind lead singer Jann Harrison! Harrison's got a very light style of singing – almost soprano at points, which makes the male voices especially welcome – as they help ground the grooves much more deeply down towards the basslines that are such a strong part of the album. The whole feel of Melodies got a really classic De-Lite Records feel from the 70s – a groove that's right up there with the Kay-Gees at their best – with riffing guitar, bumping bass, smooth keyboards, and tight horns over the top. Titles include "Gotta Get A High", "Shake Your Body", "Try To Find A Way", "Never Gonna Let You Go", "Sexy Lady", and both vocal and instrumental versions of "Melodies". The vocal version is featured here. Enjoy!
So sad to hear the news today that legendary Disco vocalist Ms. Loleatta Holloway, best known for her 1980's disco hit "Love Sensation", has died yesterday at the young age of 64. Ms. Holloway was born in Chicago, where she began singing in gospel groups like the Holloway Community Singers and the Caravans before signing with Aware Records. Her first album, "Loleatta", released in 1973 is considered to be a disco classic with dance floor classics such as "Dreamin'", "Hit and Run" and the beautiful "We're Getting Stronger". Later in that decade she recorded more disco hits with "Only You", and the historical Walter Gibbons Mix of "Hit and Run" featured here and "Catch Me on the Rebound". She returned to the top of the Dance charts with "Shout to the Top" and then with a reworked "Dreamin'" in 2000. Another stand out is the underground House anthem "So Sweet". Her contribution to dance music will never be forgotten and will live on forever. R.I.P.
"Beware of the idles of March"...It's hard not to escape that thought as I write this post with all the insanity that has happened this month. Starting on a positive side with the peaceful culmination of the Egyptian uprising then the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear tragedy in Japan and now another war in the Middle East in Libya. All having major global implications impacting humanity on so many deeper levels. With all of that said as the world mourns, I was inclined to make a mix that reflects hope, love, freedom and redemption amidst tragedy and death. The March Mix features a healthy dose of Jazz, soul, gospel, disco, house and a nice emphasis on some great Japanese acts that I felt right for this mix.
The emphasis here is of hope, freedom, rebirth and a bit of escape during this hard times. Enjoy!
What a wonderful Spring weather we had so far in the city today and here is a new discovery from a Dj, producer, performer and label Steffi. Steffi started to make a name for herself in Holland as a Dj/Party promoter. The sound here is are clearly rooted in Disco, Deep House and Detroit Techno. Yours & Mine is her second full release that has fully embraced the early Deep House revival with lush driven recognizable beats that always feel good to listen any time of the year. I'm loving the simplicity and elegance of the songs here. The featured song "Yours feat. Virginia" is a perfect example of some of the amazing kick drums that stay consistent through out the whole album. for some strange reason this LP is bringing me back to the Tunnel club and the Sound Factory. This is the perfect soundtrack for those long Spring walks I'm eagerly anticipating through out the city. She is not re-inventing House Music here however this is pure escapist bliss. Enjoy!
It has been difficult to post here with all the catastrophes in Japan laying heavy on my mind. I'm taking this opportunity in sending my prayers to all my friends, their families and to all the Japanese fans of this blog. My heart goes out to all of you during this difficult time. As far as music concerns, I been thinking on posting something rather somber in here but opted for something rather peculiar and left field. "Oooh Baby (Goin' To Pieces)" is from drummer of British progressive rock band Yes, Mr. Alan White. Ramshackled was the titled of his debut LP and thus far, his only solo recording. The LP was released during the period when all five of the Yes band members released solo albums. White also became a member of the Plastic Ono Band and has appeared on over fifty albums with artists including John Lennon, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, Ginber Baker and The Ventures. I'm loving the overall feel of this song, specially the amazing percussion. "Oooh Baby" was heavily played by DJ Tom Savarese during his residence at the legendary 12 West club in New York City during the '70s. Enjoy!
Here is a brilliant disco gem by The Trammps that has been re-worked by Mr. Dimitri from Paris. "The Night The Lights Went Out" was originally released in 1977 to commemorate the electrical blackout that affected New York City on July 13 of that same year and caused havoc to the city. It is worth noting here that the looting of electronics stores during this blackout allowed a number of looters to steal DJ equipment and as a result of these thefts, the Hip Hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onwards. The instrumentation of this song with its gorgeous strings and heavy bass with its classic elegant Philly sound orchestration could not disappoint any dance floor but it's also the message of "where where you...". It made me think of where were you when meaningful events happen to someone. Events of a personal nature, happy or sad, struggles and milestones or an a historical one that could illicit a strong memory. Is this memory attached with a song? As far as this LP, I am truly enjoying this whole compilation devoted to the Philly sound. A smart collection of songs in their original form and the "re-worked" versions done brilliantly by Mr. Dimitri. This is a beautiful time capsule that captures the feeling, uniqueness and magical time when Disco was done properly and merged beautifully with Soul. Here is to the Philly sound! Where were you?
Here is a brilliant and yet unnoticed song by the amazingly original synth pop legendary duo Erasure called, "Runaround on the Underground". This song is included on their 1989 maxi single release of "Blue Savannah Song" from their LP Wild. It contains three great different treatments of the original "Blue Savannah Song", an insane song called, "No GDM", and an interesting take of Cerrone's classic "Supernature" remixed by William Orbit. "Runaround..." is the stand out here with some amazing hard driving bass with early trance elements and lucious pianos. Overall this Maxi Single LP is a great and treasured time capsule from that era. Thank you Vince Clarke and Andy Bell for giving us great and timeless synth pop. Enjoy!
Happy Saturday! Today the weather has been great so far in the city and that's plenty enough "Reasons To Be Cheerful". This brilliant song is by legendary English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor, the late Ian Dury. Mr. Dury rose to fame during the late 1970's, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music. He is best known as founder, frontman, and lead singer of the British band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. My friend Wiki told me a great story of this song. It was initially released as a single in 1979 and quickly reached number 3 in the UK singles chart. It was the last single to be released by the band in their original line-up. It was recorded in Rome during a break from their long European tour. According to Mr. Dury, the song was inspired by the near fatal accident involving a lighting roady who almost got electrocuted by a microphone stand while leaning over a mixing deck. Another roady saved his life, hence why 'no electric shocks' is included in the song's lyrics. The song was written in the bands hotel during the aftermath of this and a fight that broke out at the venue when the band were forced to cancel the show because of the safety issues. The song is different from other Ian Dury's work owing much to Disco and soft funk with rapped lyrics. It has been described as a 'shopping-list song' since it is a simple list of a number of reasons to be cheerful. The list includes: Rock 'n' Roll singe Buddy Holly, Little Richard's 1956 hit "Good Golly Miss Molly"; Equal voting rights for men and women; Piccadilly Circus, London; Generosity and politeness, carrot juice, wine, Elvis, going to the toilet, sex; the popular song "Volare", Smokey Robinson and self education ("something nice to study"). Mr. Dury's have resonated with the working man. He is also known for dance classics, "Spasticus Autisticus" and "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick". Sadly this musical genius passed away of complications with cancer in 2000, however, his music live on!
Here is a fabulous cure for midweek blues from New York City's '80s seminal band Konk. Emerged during the Post-Punk/New Wave and Disco scenes, they were known to play a hybrid of those musical styles creating a fresh new sound that appealed to both the New Wave crowd and the carefree disco dance crowd. Their musical influences ranged from Afro-beat, Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop. They are known for their highly percussive, yet strong backing bass lines. As part of the Post-Punk dance scene, they regularly played alongside groups such as Liquid Liquid, Bush Tetras, ESG, The NYC Peech Boys and The Lounge Lizards. Konk was formed by avant-garde personality Dana Vlcek and had among its many members: Richard Edson, who also played drum on the first Sonic Youth record. Also Geordie Gillespie, who provided percussion and back-up vocals; Angel Quiñones on congas, Shanhon Dawson (trumpet), who was also an early associate of Jean Michel Basquiat in the band Gray, and the SAMO graffiti, who did some of the band's promo poster art work. He is the uncle of actress Rosario Dawson. All of their 12" have all been brilliant and unique dance floor classics such as "Your Life", "Konk Party" and one of my all time favorite house songs "Love Attack". All songs captured the amazing creative spirit of New York during the '80s. "Master's Cylinder's Jam" is from their 1988 LP titled Jams. Enjoy!
