Dance albums you really should own #2

Following from March's dance albums you really should own post here are two more gems which make for truly great listening. One at the cocktail party end of things and the other a bona fide early rave classic (don't let that put you off - it rocks).

Dimitri From Paris - De-Luxe House of Funk (1997)

Everyone has heard of Dimitri From Paris' Playboy Mansion compilations but THIS is where he hit the big time in his style of house. None of his other mixes really come close to the soul and funk contained here. It's full of gems like his exclusive remixes of Brand New Heavies and Bjork plus early classics from Bob Sinclar before he was a superstar, Ray Mang, Teddy G and Morning Kids (Daniel Wang) - all arranged in a sleazy groove which is still my benchmark for cocktail party house.

Key moment: Dimitri's mix of Bjork 'Isobel' - regarded by some as the best ever remix of a Bjork track. Youtube: Isobel (Dim's Enchanted Forest)

Eon - Void Dweller (1992)

You couldn't get more different to Dimitri than Eon. The brainchild of Ian Loveday & J Saul Kane (aka Depth Charge) this was brilliant early rave with a spacey and often dark twist. A few of the tracks famously sample David Lynch's cult sci-fi film Dune,  'Spice' being the most obvious and 'Fear: The Mindkiller' joining it as two iconic pieces of rave history. The album also had its deeper moments too with the hypnotic 'Infinity' and 'A Kind Of Living'. Eon can be forgiven for the quite cheesy 'Basket Case' here because overall the album is a classic and also one of the first ever to be signed to a major record label - opening a lot of doors for others later on.

Key moments: 'Fear: The Mindkiller' -  a defining moment of the rave era. Youtube Fear: The Mindkiller

Dimitri From Paris gets down with the Philly Sound

As far as music revivals go we're in an interesting era right now. The Nu-Disco style has fast become popular with new artists rising alongside always there maestros like Ray Mang and Daniel Wang - but why now though? Why the massive injection of soulful funky vibes into house music which has been dominated by commercially slanted soulless rubbish in recent years?

Alongside Nu-Disco is a parallel revival of original disco. We've had Salsoul era stuff re-released, Dimitri From Paris' Nightdubbin compilation from last year and a swag of dope disco edits by the likes of Todd Terje etc.

So, surprise surprise to see Dimitri From Paris' latest effort, 'Get Down with the Philly Sound', is hitting the big time with a collection of original Philadelphia International Records releases from the 1970s - a label which accounted for some of the most influential pieces of music which paved the way for house music.

A mate of mine who is much more knowledgeable on this era said "why does Dimitri have to fuck with these classics?" which could be the case to purists; and to be fair the re-release business has got a bit out of hand recently. Interestingly here though is they've done one CD of originals and a separate CD containing five remixes and four re-edits by Dimitri using the source tapes made available for the first time ever by the owners. Dimitri's remixes/edits are generally fantastic updates perfect for playing out again. In all it is a seriously great listen full of moments of great nostalgia, new discoveries and rhythms, vibes and vocals which have been sampled in so many well known records it's hard to overstate the influence this crew had on house music.

'Get Down with the Philly Sound' includes tracks from Teddy Pendergrass, The Jacksons, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Jon Davis, The Trammps, Eddie Kendricks and more.

The sleeve notes contain a brilliant set of photos and stories including Dimitri's early loathing of disco: "...in my teenage years in the late 70s I clearly remember how the disco I could hear in my Paris hometown generally sucked, and big time too....  that byproduct of white boys in sequined suits from the radio? No way."

Yes way. Out now courtesy of the nice people at BBE Records.

George FM Guest Show, 15 Jan 2010

Hosted the 2-4pm show on George FM on 15 January... made for a sunny Friday avo in Auckland.

Heaps of oldies played including a tribute to singer/songwriter Teddy Pendergrass who passed away this week in his hometown of Philadelphia. Probably his most well-known contribution in clubland times was DJ Sneak's 'You Can't Hide From Your Bud' in 1997 which sampled an early song of his.

George FM Tracklist:

Bjork - Isobel (Dimitri From Paris' Enchanted Forest Mix)

Ladina Whitfield - Time Out For Love

Kings Of Tomorrow - Fade II Black (Original)

Naomi Daniel - Feel The Fire (Nature Boy Dubwiezer Dub)

Kaori - Good Life (Good Vocal mix)

Soho - Give It Up (Passion Mix)

+ MAW Pres a Tribute to Fela - MAW Expensive (Acapella Pt 1)

Kenny Dope - The Big Hit

Tribute to Teddy Pendergrass:
Eastwest Connection - The More I Get (Teddy's House Groove)

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Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (Ashley Beedle Re-edit)

Timos - Move On

Thomas Krome - The Real Jazz (Rob W's Re-edited Jazz)

Beat Factory - New World Order (Aki Bergen Remix)

Dualton - Kinshasa

+ MAW Pres a Tribute to Fela - MAW Expensive (Acapella Pt 4)

Hambone - Wow! (The Y & T Mix)

Salt City Orchestra - Storm (Hard Times Club Mix)

Greg Gow - The Bridge

Petersky - Watch My Finger Lona (Rob W's Re-edit)

Orlando Voorn - The Truth/Matador (Rob's Mash-up)

John Ciafone - Junocha

+ Jephté Guillaume - The Prayer (Akapele)

Coral Way Chiefs - Release Myself (Rob W Re-edit)