Fatima Yamaha & D1 Recordings

Unless you have been living on Pluto for the last few years you can’t have missed the continued rise of a “lost” classic by Fatima Yamaha called “What’s A Girl To Do”, to the point where even perennial dullards such as John Digweed and Dixon are now playing it in their sets and Matrixxman is butchering it with a turgid electro-house version – which doesn’t seem to exist on the internet anymore…hmmmmm. Its a beautiful song and its getting the coverage it deserves, one would never deny this. But many seem to be doing a pretty good job of forgetting about the role D1 Recordings played in this track – y’know, the label that actually released the record?

For those who don’t know, D1 Recordings is a Dublin label that was set up around 1994, not by Jackmaster and Hudson Mohawke, but by Eamonn Doyle with a crew which included Graham O’Sullivan, Rob Rowland and Donnacha Costello. In later years it introduced us to artists such as David Donohoe, Americhord and Lerosa as well as featuring releases by Keith Tucker, Dj Bone and Mark Broom amongst others. Alongside the label that produced some of Ireland’s first techno music (and to this day some of its best) there was a record shop, distribution company, club night and also the excellent Dublin Electronic Arts Festival. Ian Maleney wrote an excellent piece for RBMA last year which you can read for a more in-depth history which, funnily enough,  doesn’t mention this most fabled release by Bas Bron.

I’m not here to discount the Yamaha record’s history in other lands but it was just as beloved here in Ireland. I guess we don’t have hip djs to namecheck for our story, it was just a record adored by many since it first dropped back in 2004 on a local label that was well known for an extremely high standard of music.  Thus, I think it’s only fair that it gets some props at this moment in time. So, I’m just gonna post a bunch of music I love from D1, don’t expect other lilting electro pop songs, but it had a great range of techno, house and electro and, who knows, maybe one day some more music will come through. Until then, if yer digging any of this bizness head over to the label’s bandcamp for the full discography.