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.
Showing posts with label Paradise Garage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paradise Garage. Show all posts
Happy Birthday to a very sweet man I never had the pleasure of knowing but feel very connected. You inspire me to be in the moment, give to to community and the love for art! and not to mention dance music! He would have been 60 today! Here is song that makes me think of him. Enjoy and happy weekend!
This weekend I made the rounds to the different great record shops around the neighborhood and found some great interesting gems. This is one called my attention upon a first hear. When Slave emerged in 1977, they were known for their tight bass-heavy funk stylings with the funk classics "Slide" and "Screw Your Wing On Tite". Their unique contribution to soul music should not be taken lightly. Just A Touch Of Love became their forth LP, released in 1979 and it was a turning point since it became clear the these Midwesterners Funk masters were determined to soften their approach. "Funky Lady (Foxy Lady), "Roots", and the hit title song which became a Paradise Garage classic were the product of lead vocalist Steve Arrington. This is was a more sleeker Slave approach but still kept it's funk roots intact. This is an excellent album and enjoyed listening from beginning to end. Indeed it was at the end that I was enraptured upon hearing the closing song "Warning". This song sounded so out of place with some amaizing robotic vocals and unpredictable hooks. This reminded me a little of Nina Haggen's early disco influenced stuff. This left field approach predicted some the most interesting dance music that was to come during the early '80s. This was a 'Warning' from Slave so I'm also featuring "Just A Touch Of Love" for some good measure. Enjoy!
It is Sunday and I'm feeling disco gospel today so this is a tribute posting dedicated to the "Disco Spirituals". Can I get an Amen? First let me start with Free Life's amazing "There Is Something Better". Free Life were proteges of Earth, Wind & Fire's Philip Bailey. Bailey co-produced and co-wrote several of the songs from their self titled full length album in 1978. The follow up releases were 12" singles that bridged the gap between church and disco. "Dance Fantasy" released in 1979 was also seminal, although not necesarily a disco gospel, it shows the transition from disco to "dance" music by using more electronic sounds. "There is Something Better" was the b-side and it is a timeless "disco spiritual" that I personally never get tired of hearing. The next song is from the New York Community Choir's "I'll Keep a Light in My Window" which was actually a song also performed and released by Free Life on their self titled LP. Free Life's version of "I'll Keep a Light in My Window" was more R&B influenced. The Choir's version is full on disco gospel and for what I've heard, it brought the holy ghost to the clubs and it enraptured the dancers whenever they would hear it. Pioneered by Edwon Hawkins and Rance Allen, New York Community Choir made the brilliant move to fuse disco and soul/gospel at the height of the disco craze also with "Express Yourself". Last but not least, the timeless Paradise Garage classic "Stand On The Word" by the Celestial Choir. Originally recorded live at the First Baptist Church in Crown Heights, NYC, in 1982 and pressed only for the congregation, Walter Gibbosn (owner of Jus Born studios and a new born Christian a the time of the recording) acquired a copy and played it out at the 7th Ave. Rock and Soul shop where he worked. This was the place where most discerning DJs and soulful dance music aficionados picked up on this new sound, and it quickly became a Garage, Loft and Zanzibar club classic, championed by Larry Levan, David Mancuso and others. Later, Larry tweaked the original and made it his own and for what I've heard, Levan's version took the dancers on a spiritual journey of pure disco gospel bliss. Enjoy and praise the Lord disco style! Amen
Here is a great vinyl I found while checking some dusty record bins around the neighborhood the other day. Do not be misled by the title of this track because this ain't no funk my darlings! What we have here is a fast paced disco stomper with a vocal that is very similar in style to Sylvester. So "Funk It" is not funk but rather an amazing underground disco classic by singer Eddy Rosemond. Very little is known about this singer other that he was very young when he released this 12" gem in 1979. "Funk It was obviously a Paradise Classic and I heard that Larry would play it during the many peak moments during his legendary sets. Enjoy
Happy Monday and the work week has started. What a rainy and stormy weekend it was! I'm staring this week on sleepy mode. I'm still getting used to the new time change. Today's song inspiration is by David Joseph's 1983 song "You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)". That's right. I couldn't find much information on this guy but I did hear some killer mixes by Souledz. I love the breaks and the overall feel of this song. It is pure 80's disco soul and brings back memories of college partying at a club called Juniors in Hammond, Louisiana. I used to work a similar outfit pictured on album cover. Black and white, big belt buckle and skinny black tie was sort of 80's mod back then. I also heard that Larry Levan used to play this a lot at Paradise Garage. A pure classic.
I spent the day in Chinatown and it was wonderful to reunite with some friends. This is a song that I remixed a while back using various beats and layered them with Manuel Gottsching famous Loft classic "E2 E4". I know this song has been sampled to death but it goes so well with this track and since I am paying homage to First Choice's cover of "Love and Happiness" which was also a Loft classic. I sprinkled the song using some sound effects from a Larry Levan vinyl of some of his wacky voices and acapellas he used at Paradise Garage. Enjoy!
Here is a great vinyl I found while checking some dusty record bins around the neighborhood the other day. Do not be misled by the title of this track because this ain't no funk my darlings! What we have here is a fast paced disco stomper with a vocal that is very similar in style to Sylvester. So "Funk It" is not funk but rather an amazing underground disco classic by singer Eddy Rosemond. Very little is known about this singer other that he was very young when he released this 12" gem in 1979. "Funk It was obviously a Paradise Classic and I heard that Larry would play it during the many peak moments during his legendary sets. Enjoy1983A.jpg)
Happy Monday and the work week has started. What a rainy and stormy weekend it was! I'm staring this week on sleepy mode. I'm still getting used to the new time change. Today's song inspiration is by David Joseph's 1983 song "You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)". That's right. I couldn't find much information on this guy but I did hear some killer mixes by Souledz. I love the breaks and the overall feel of this song. It is pure 80's disco soul and brings back memories of college partying at a club called Juniors in Hammond, Louisiana. I used to work a similar outfit pictured on album cover. Black and white, big belt buckle and skinny black tie was sort of 80's mod back then. I also heard that Larry Levan used to play this a lot at Paradise Garage. A pure classic.
