Looking back at the tunes we've rewound over the years I was stunned that we hadn't featured a single Prince track. He has been a such a great influence to us and many of the artist we feature. One of the craziest old Prince tracks to resurface this year was a Morris Day collaboration entitled Cloreen Bacon Skin.
It was first released on the long deleted Crystal Ball compilation. It was a 15 minute (!) jam session that took place during the recording of The Time's Ice Cream Castles (1984) and it only features Morris Day on the drums and Prince on vocals (and bass?).
Prince & Morris Day - Cloreen Bacon Skin (1983)
These last days of reminiscing and diggin' in the crates of old Prince tracks we discovered that there's also a hidden remake of "Cloreen Bacon Skin" on a b-side of the Time singel 7" "Tricky". Tricky was written by Prince, but credited to Morris Day. It was co-produced by Morris Day and Prince under the name The Starr Company. The bass and drum parts were largely taken (possibly re-recorded) from Cloreen Baconskin. Prince Rogers Nelson - rest in power.
Regulars know we already rewound this before. But ComplexTV recently put out this great clip telling the story of how the track came about.
Our rewind text from April 20th 2012:
For our Beathearts rewind this freezing Friday we go back to 1993 and Jeru The Damaja's breakthrough track Come clean. Also known as the "the water drop beat" it's based on the crazy Shelly Manne track Infinity from his experiment jazz album Mannekind (1972). The tune was made in Premier's appartement and the drumbeat was first improvised on an old Branford Marsalis drum set. Originally Premo wanted to add more music to the beat but when he heard Jeru's flow on the track he knew he had to keep it. Raw, minimal and dirty it's still today one of ruffest beats ever to be pressed on vinyl.
As a bonus here an jazzy interpretation of Premo's classic instrumental.
Stumbled over this lil' gem the other day. One of my alltime favourite Latifah tracks re-edited and fused with the originally sampled Curtis Mayfield record "Give me your love" (1972). It 's reminiscent of the classic Warren G/Michael McDonald "Regulate/I Keep forgetting" re-edit.
Back in 1991, Danish producers Soulshock and Cutfather were blowing up and they also produced the two outstanding tracks off the album that still sound dope today (Fly girl & Give me your love). Latifah's geniously combined vocals and rhyming with the classic Mayfield sample and the patented Soulpower productions harmonies. Beautiful!
We thought it was about time to highlight one of our favourite parts of the blog. It's the section where we go back and rewind tunes/releases that meant something special to us. Tunes that some of you might know very well or maybe have missed out on. Well, if so here's a second chance.
We've put together a Spotify playlist with Rewind #1-55. True, some of the tracks (e.g. Dilla Shine, Nodeci or Groovement pt.2) aren't available for stream nor download but hopefully it'll inspire you to go digging yourself.
If you're new this list a good introduction to what Beathearts is about. If you're a regular then you already know what's up. No genres, no boundries - just soulful underground music. Less go!
"I'm in Marty McFly mode, so tell em' that the future's back"
(Capital Steez - Survival Tactics)
Just realized that even though Joey Bada$$ was in our Top Selection for 2012 we never posted any of his mixtapes. Most regulars might already have this but in case you've missed it you're in for a treat.
1999 was the release that put Joey on the map. This collection of smooth rhymes from Joey and the rest of the Pro Era crew over carefully selected beats brings back the feeling we got when we first discovered Biggie back in the summer of 1994. Great storytelling skills and a hypnotic flow that leave you craving for more.
The whole collection is great but our take away tracks are Waves and Survival Tactics featuring the late Capital Steez.
One of the flyest uses of this old James Brown break in ages. UK's breakbeat hall of famer Darren White a.k.a. D-Bridge somehow pulls of some magic drum programming minimal chop-up to make Funky Drummer sound interesting again. Like Doug E. Fresh used to say "The old to the new - the new to the old". Check it!
Detroit legend Carl Craig has been responsible for a whole bunch of our favorite remixes over the years. Incognito -Out of the storm, Cesaria Evora - Angola and so many others. It such a treat everytime you discover one of his reworks because you never know what to expect. Which is quite the opposite of what you can say about most producers putting out remixes. For good and bad.
Anyway, this remix was released in 2007 and is a rework of afrobeat pioneer Tony Allens track Kilode. Even though I'm a huge fan of afrobeat, I love the way Craig reconstructed and minimalized the groove. Wait for the bass drop at 3.47. Amazing.
I just love this time of year with our favourite sources of inspiration are compiling their favourite music from the past year. There's so much great music out there and there are always nuggets that slip away. One of these that went under our radar was Floating Points hypnotic remix of Wings.
I celebration of our 50th rewind we pull up a very special album. 20 years ago today, to me, one of the greatest rap albums of all time was released. The Pharcyde came out of nowhere and absolutely blew my mind.
The group recorded their first demo in 1991, which contained the songs Passin' Me By, Ya Mama and Officer. They then brought the demo to Delicious Vinyl who signed them to the label that same summer. Their first feature was on Brand New Heavies's album Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1, on the song Soul Flower. The group, along with producer J-Swift, then recorded their classic album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, which was released in Nov 24th 1992. And we can't believe it's already 20 years.
Listening through the album again we broke down what made the album such a classic to three elements:
1.The storytelling
I've always been a sucker for storytelling rappers and to me The Pharcyde took it to a new level. Their crazy blend of topics, insults and humour was (and still is!) very refreshing from the dominating often one way gangsta rap.
2.The beats/skits
I don't really feel I need to underline the genius of all the singles from this album. But a couple of years back I was lucky enough to find the instrumental version of this album and it's such a masterpiece. Tracks like Passing me by, Ya mama and 4 better or 4 worse takes the album to another level and tells a whole other story as instrumental versions. For once even the skits actually made the album better and gave it a laid back live session feel. I remember dying for a longer version of the 4 better of 4 worse interlude. Can't help wondering what ever happend to J-Swift?
To sum up some of the groups dopest moments Wax Poetics just put out an amazing mixtape. Get it below:
3.The artwork
One of few things I miss from the good ol' days is the cover art. Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde had such a compelling touch to it and totally set the tone for the album. It looked like it sounded. It stood out. It was crazy. It had attitude. It was original. It had surprises (the fold-out). It had detailed credits (that all crates diggers appreciated). It's just one of those albums that I'm still proud to have laying around.
So FatLip, J-Swift, SlimKid3, Imani, BootieBrown and Fuct (the graphic designer) - we salute you for putting out a certified hall of fame album!
As a 20 year celebration Delicious Vinyl has put out a limited edition version of the album and the singles. It might still be available over at Turntablelabs.
As a bonus, checkout the clips and the artwork below:
Was listening to this old interview with the late Luther Vandross yesterday and found out that he actually produced Aretha Franklin's classic albums Jump to it (1982) and Get it right (1983). Maybe you already knew but Luther's productions skills was at least news to me.
Apparently the story was this:
Luther was discovered by accident during David Bowie's recording session of Young Americans at Sigma Sound studios in Philadelphia. Luther felt the song needed a better hook and started humming along. Bowie overheard it and hired him on the spot.
A few years later, Vandross was established background singer for Roberta Flack and others. He had been saving up money for a studio demo. He convinced producers, background singers and musicians to help him for free. On a Sunday early 1981 he got in the Media Sound Studio and recorded his first demo Never too much/Sugar & spice. The day after he asked Roberta if she wanted a first listen. She was amazed, lovingly fired him (!) and helped him get a record deal.
In a Rolling Stone interview later that year he was asked about his future plans and answered that he "would wrestle [wrestling champion] Bruno Sammartino for a chance to produce Aretha Franklin". During a Saturday Night Live session Vandross and bass player Marcus Miller wrote Jump to it on a piano standing in a hallway. They sent her the demo and the rest is history.
Many thanks to legend Mats Nileskär for the great story.
Been listening through Nas new album the last couple of weeks. Especially Reach out with Mary J. Blige made us reminice about this Rayvon banger from the magic summer of 1994. It uses the same Isaac Hayes sample from Ike's mood but adds a ragga roughness that's up there with Nine or Mad Lion. Defintely a track to bring back to boom in ya jeep on late summer nights.
I'm the first to say "if it ain't broke" when producers take on the classics. And I must admit I was a bit sceptical when I first got the link to German beat smith Figub Brazlevic's version of Mobb Deep Shook one pt 2.
It's apparently been out for about a year now but it's defintely worth bringing back. His dreamy, dubby but still rock hard version take's Shook ones to a whole other place and makes it 2012 relevant. Absolutely ace!
Another hidden gem from back in the day. Many Fazes was a huge underground hit that year and many of us had high expectations for an album that never turned up. We haven't been able to find out why but as far as I know they only released this one 12".
Produced by Derek Jenkins and Dwayne Richardson this lil' gem was based on two crazy and (at least to me) unknown sample sources. The Turtles I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)and Don Ray's Gotta have loving. But what really stands out and keeps it fresh even today are the dubby chords. Man those chords!
Jenkins and Richardson later continued to release more club oriented music under aliases such as Ruffneck and Backroom Productions. Check it!
One of Teddy Riley's earliest productions is this rap classic from The Classical Two. Put together at the legendary Rooftop studios where other historic records like Kool Moe Dee's Go see the doctor was produced. With the funky bassline and crisp snares it could be argued that this was one of the first New Jack Swing records. Or at least a great source of inspiration of what was to come.
For most of us who didn't grow up in the New York area this tune is pretty much unknown in it's original form but all of us recognize the bassline as used in Mary J. Blige's Reminisce geniusly remixed by Puff Daddy. From what we hear Classical Two's version was a huge underground hit on Red Alert's show back in the day. And in our headphones it sure still is. Check it out.
This sunny Sunday we bring you a gem from the islands that was recently reissued. Joe Gibbs was one of the originators of the Jamaican reggae scene. When he started his studio he employed Lee Scratch Perry and engineer and his studio band included among others Sly & Robbie.
Following Jamaican tradition, the summer of 1979 he put out this cover of the tune of the moment from New York - Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers delight.
They stayed true to original groove of the record but added a more organic percussion, handclaps and two female MCs. Side B is the mandatory dub version adds an organ and a electronic jam session which makes us surrender completely. Ace!
C.J. Mackintosh was the don of remixes back in the early nineties. His first production to break through was him teaming up with Dave Dorrell for M/A/R/R/S Pump up the volume (1987) which opened up the world for the duo. Putting out stacks of remixes his best work to us was his interpretations of Sounds of Blackness, Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest.
Today we bring one of his most sought after mixtapes from back in the day. Only released on cassette given away with DJ Magazine #101 in November 1993. Macintosh was on top of his gaming cutting up this epic mixtape with the best tracks off the smokin' Nervous label. It includes the game changing Nervous Track from Nu Yorican Soul. We earlier brought you the story of how Kenny Dope built that track here.
C.J. Mackintosh:
"I will be posting up all my DJ mixes from the past & present. Some you may have already but most you will not. I transfered this mix directly from the original DAT is was recorded on to so the quality will be much better than the cassette." http://cjmackintosh.blogspot.com
Tracklist:
A1Classic Man –Fifth Street Orchestra
A2Classic Man –Keeping On
A3Helona –Can't Give Up On Love
A4Messenger –Guide My Soul
A5DAT Project –O'ww Baby
A6Loni Clark –Rushin'
B1MADA –Good Stuff
B2Sandy B –Feel Like Singing
B3Swing Kids, The –Good Feeling
B4Joe T. Vanelli –Play With The Voice
B5Nu Yorican Soul –Nervous Track
Black Science Orchestra was one of many alter egos for multiskilled DJ/producer Ashley Beedle back in the mid ninties. For the BSO project he teamed up with Rob Mello and John Howard. Taken off the Altered states EP (1994) New Jersey Deep is one of those timeless garage jams that always bring a smile to my face. It's based on the 1976 disco soul banger Funkanova from Wood Brass & Steel who only released one album.
Black Science Orchestra also only released one album, Walter's room in 1996. If you're new to Ashley Beedle music you should also definitely check his classic album under the Ballistic Brother's pseudonym London Hooligan Soul (1995).
When we put together our Beatheart rewinds we usually bring you lesser known tunes that we feel deserve more attention. Today, we chose probably one of the most frequently sampled songs of all times. It's the b-side to The Winston's 1969 release Color him father. The track is an instrumental jam entitled Amen Brother and is probably one of the most recognizable tunes most people never heard in it's original form.
Gregory C. Coleman was the drummer on the track and he could hardly imagine that his ingeniously improvised drum roll would create a whole new genre of music. In 1986 this 7 second break ended up on a collection of breaks called Ultimate breaks and Beats. When later sampled and put at double speed it became one of the founding elements of what used to be called jungle that then turned into drum'n'bass and then influenced the whole UK underground scene to what it is today.
Its importance for break based music in the UK can hardly be overestimated. The Economist (!) even went so far as to dedicate a recent article for it entitled "Seven seconds of fire: How a burst of drumming changed the face of music”. (Source: http://gradvall.com/artiklar.asp?entry_id=851)
One of my all time favourite uses of the Amen break is Rupert 'Photek' Parks remix of Therapy's track Loose. Brilliantly cut up it was one of the tracks that inspired us to create this blog covering beat based underground soulful music.
A more recent example is Scottish soul singer Emili Sandé's recent single Heaven. By using the Amen break she gives her nod of gratitude to the history of the UK scene. In the same vein the video is reminiscent of another UK classic track, Massive Attack's Unfinished sympathy. Check it!
Arranged by Roy Ayers, the 1977 masterpiece Daylight from American soul/jazz crew RAMP (Roy Ayers Music Project) from Cincinatti will always bring a smile to my face. Taken off their only album Come into knowledge the first time I heard Daylight was as sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on one of the greatest hiphop love songs of all time Bonita Appelbum. Following Tribe, the moody vibes from the Daylight track has been used on several tunes including the remix of Common's Come close ft Pharell, Q-tip and Erykah Badu.
Friday night and it has become somewhat of a tradition to pull out tunes from the past to get the weekend started.
As a spin-off to our post on K-Def's brilliant album Night Shift here's the original to one of the tunes off the album: Smilin' Billy Suite 1-4. Brilliantly spotted, sampled and rearranged by Q-Tip on Nas One love.
Taken from Jimmy, Percy and Albert Heath's 1976 Strata album Marchin' on recorded in Oslo, Norway (!). The original vinyl has been deleted for ages and is in high demand by crate diggers around the globe. There was a very limited japanese vinyl/CD reissue in 2003 but since that batch is also deleted this amazing piece of music deserves more recognition. Check it below.
