I first encountered Kirk Degiorgio‘s music a long time ago, when I was first getting into techno and house. It was obvious from his wildly differing production styles that he was a serious music head! Then more recently I encountered him online on the Little Detroit forum, where we had it out a bit in discussions about the use of computers for deejaying. To put it bluntly, Kirk is one of the few people I’ve witnessed doing GOOD deejay sets with a laptop. His set at DEMF this year was a personal highlight, and despite the serious/angry look many of his publicity photos online have, Kirk is as nice and solid of a cat as I’ve encountered in this music. I was quite geeked when he offered to do up a special mix for us at ISM filled to the brim with rare disco cuts! I decided to take this opportunity to ask him a few questions via email about how this kind of disco has influenced him…
ISM: Does disco like you play in this mix have any influence your techno productions? If so, how?
KD: I think so, in so much as everything I enjoy listening to seeps thru to my creative pool from which I can draw. I believe in subliminal influences via osmosis when it comes to music – as opposed to anything specific.
It’s why I called my earliest artist project ‘As One’, as it was a simple way of describing my music as all of my influences coming together.
ISM: Did you notice a difference in how disco culture mutated into house music in the UK vs in the US?
KD: Most definitely, the link between Disco and House was not acknowledged or recognised as much as it should have been in the UK. The early house tracks went fairly unnoticed outside the soul scene, as it was played alongside artists such as Cameo, Colonel Abrams and other mid-80s dance music. But once the ‘acid house’ phenomena started, the drug connotations attracted a lot of people from outside of the dance scene who were completely unaware of the influence of Disco, Ron Hardy, Larry Levan, etc. For these commentators who felt a need to ‘claim’ this music, it was linked to the DIY ethic of punk and its legacy was linked more to bands such as Kraftwerk, and european industrial bands.
ISM: What deejays influenced you before house/techno music really took off in the UK?
KD: I was too young to go to nightclubs – I have been into dance music since I was eleven – so the most influential DJ’s to me were the radio DJ’s and the few DJ’s who made records when electro became popular.
The radio DJ’s would have been Robbie Vincent, Greg Edwards and Tony ‘Shades’ Valance. These three had very similar tastes – they would play a mixture of high quality, yet commercial disco and boogie around the years 79-81. They also played a fair amount of jazz-funk, particularly Robbie Vincent. DJ Froggy was the biggest influence from a creative point of view. He was a regular guest on Robbie Vincent’s show and he would present a 30 minute mix – beat-matching
disco, jazz-funk, etc. He was the first DJ I heard do that in the UK. The Top 30 Disco show on the pirate station Radio Luxembourg – hosted by DJ Tony Prince – was also a huge influence as it was an upfront representation of what was big in the clubs at the time. The cut-up tracks made a few years later by Grandmaster Flash, Bambaataa, Double Dee & Steinski, DJ Red Alert, Marley Marl, etc were the next DJ influence on me. I began making similar mixes using a double cassette deck and one turntable – by using the pause button to link mixes and make edits.
ISM: What modern deejays do you dig?
KD: It’s a difficult question – because after all the years I’ve spent in clubs, what impresses me most is what a DJ is playing. I know that sounds obvious, but I’m not that impressed by mixing technique or turntablism. If a DJ is playing old music – I want to hear tracks I haven’t heard a million times before. I don’t mind the odd classic at the right time, but if you want to impress me, don’t play Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” – there are plenty of other great electronic disco tracks out there. Likewise, if you’re playing old techno classics – play something other than the usual big-hitters. But most of all, if you’re playing old-school disco, funk, boogie then nothing will make me leave a club quicker than hearing the same old “chestnuts” that I was playing at my school disco’s when I was thirteen.
The best moments are when a DJ with the knowledge and bravery to go deep, drops a track that makes you rush to the DJ booth and ask ‘what the fuck is THIS?’
Thanks very much to Kirk Degiorgio for this mix, which can be downloaded HERE. Kirk requested that the tracklist be left in the dark for a while to allow some good old fashioned trainspotting in the comments. So have at it! Also, you can keep up with Kirk’s productions, deejay gigs, online mixes, and other fun stuff at his Planetary Folklore blog.
EDIT: Kirk has provided a full tracklist to complete what we got in the comments section! I’m really embarrassed by how many of these I have but couldn’t recognize, and now I have a few other joints added to my wants list
Timmy Thomas – Africano (TK Disco)
Disconnection – Dead On The Case (Prelude)
Tempest Trio – Do You Like It, The Way That It Feels? (Marlin)
Brooklyn Dreams – Music, Harmony & Rhythm (Millennium)
Fantastic Four – Got To Have Your love (Atlantic)
NYCC – I’ll Keep A Light In My Window (RCA)
Linda Hopkins – In Your Blood (Columbia)
Black Light Orchestra – Touch Me, Take Me (RCA Canada)
The Choice Four – Come Down To Earth (RCA)
James Wells – My Claim To Fame (AVI)
Wish / La-Rita Gaskins – Nice & Soft (Perspective)
Asha Puthli – I’m Gonna Dance (TK Disco)
Pure Energy – Party On (Prism)
Sine – Keep It Coming (Vanguard)
Debbie Jacobs – Don’t You Want My Love (MCA)
Jesse Gould – Out Of Work (P&P)
Kebekelektrik – War Dance (Salsoul)
Billy Nichols – Give Your Body Up (To The Music) (West End)
Ava Cherry – You Never Loved Me (RSO)
Eastside Connection – You’re So Right For Me (Rampart)
Gregg Diamond – Risky Changes (Polydor)
Bill Brandon – We Fell In Love While Dancing (Prelude)
Lucy Hawkins – Gotta Get Out Of Here (SAM)
Tasha Thomas – Shoot Me (With Yout Love) (Atlantic)
Passion – Don’t Bring Back Memories (Prelude)
Joyce – Papa John Creach (Buddah)
Hydro ft. Lorna – Stop Your Teasing (Prism)
Mighty Fire – Love Fantasy (Elektra)
Dazzle – You Dazzle Me (De-Lite)
The Brothers – Are You Ready For This (RCA)
Damon Harris – It’s Music (WMOT)
The Players Association – Goin’ To The Disco (Vanguard)
Jakki – Sun Sun Sun (Pyramid)
Also, much thanks to my ace Matt Cohen for the great photo of Kirk from his DEMF set this year!
Up until recently we’ve been having a surprisingly nice and sunny summer here in Ireland and it’s brought with it a few good parties, with more to come, so it seemed like a good time to make a post about it all. I’ve been getting out of Dublin a little bit recently which included hitting up a couple of excellent parties both down south and out west.
One of the things that has really been getting me exited recently isn’t the dope records I’ve been buying (they are awesome though, look for a record review post from me later this week!). It’s not any specific deejay sets I’ve heard. What has been getting me pumped is the quality people doing this music. I’ve been involved in a large number of underground music scenes locally and internationally via the web since the mid-90s, and I can’t remember a time when I felt like so many cool people were doing good things.
Having been involved with Drum and Bass from ’96-’00, it was always mystifying to me how some of those cats who were not really much of shit on the grand scale of things could carry around such huge egos. The “mnml” techno thing was obviously rife with douchebags with overpowered egos as well. But right now, it seems like this underground house/techno/whatever is a really fertile area both above ground, and below. Even better is that these people all seem to know each other, and interesting collaborations and working relationships are coming from it.
Unquestionably, the most positive things I have seen are in the US. We have always had a massive disadvantage because of our geography being so spreadout; even when house and techno were really blowing up, they were far more localized. “Rave” probably pushed more serious electronic/dance music in the US back YEARS in terms of evolution, but its effects have been wearing off long enough that house and techno are finally able to stand on their own again. And now we have the internet to help us bridge those physical distances both within the US and to Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world.
I wasn’t sure if it was just me noticing these things, but then I saw this in Out There A Minute’s interview with Martin Landsky (I must admit here that I know nothing about this guy’s music or anything like that!):
Being based in Berlin must have spoiled you a bit when it comes to musical input and underground spots to play. Which country & venue outside of Germany has inspired you the most lately, and why?
There are a lot of hot places around the globe, sometimes it´s just one club in a far out village that can surprise.
But the place that inspired me the most in the last years is definitely the States.
There is this kinda ‘new’ fresh scene, which is amazing. It´s all about small clubs and a well educated crowd, people that really do love the music, no bullshit. A good example that explains what I feel there is that the people scream at the right moments of a track, not in the obvious big break downs of a track but in the small intense parts of the music, the moments when a track makes me shiver too. When you play good music there and you are mixing well they follow you all the way, but if you fuck it up they will simply show it by their reactions. I have the feeling it´s less about hype there at the moment but more about the passion for music and clubbing.
Kinda the same feeling like it was ages ago here in Europe…
It’s funny because I use a very similar method of evaluating crowds, and it seems like people are really just “getting it” now moreso than anytime I can remember. And this is totally independent of any magazine, “scene”, or whatever might usually dictate how things go.
This all means one thing to me: if things are indeed all about WHO YOU KNOW, then right now there are plenty of the right kind of people out there doing good shit. It seems like that network is becoming larger and larger without sacrificing any quality! I know that I meet more people every single week, be it locally, nationally, or internationally, who are doing awesome work of some kind and who have enthusiasm, energy, and good ideas to contribute. I had been thinking that we were in something of a “golden age” for soulful house, techno, and disco, but now I think we are just entering into what could be an unprecedented era if everyone continues to work together and keep it underground with no compromises. There’s lots of work to be done, though, and that’s most definitely where my mind has been these past few months…
With Gav, Kenny, Jitterbug, and Jonny 5 all dropping seriously ill mixes over the last two weeks, I was feeling left out. Summertime is in serious effect here in the Burgh with temperatures in the 80s and 90s for the past few days and the same forecast for the next week. This kind of weather always inspires mixes for me, so I had a go at it the other day while pulling records for my monthly Love Is Wet night that went down this past weekend. Just like always, this was done live in one shot with vinyl only in my extremely hot studio.
Most of these are tunes I’ve been banging out in my club sets recently; the rest are new ones I haven’t had a chance to work in yet but that I have been banging repeatedly at home. Chase Smith kicks things off with a deep housey jam that is on Pittsburgh’s own Technoir Audio label that is just coming out now. I LOVE this tune, and his live set two weekends ago at the release party at Garfield Artworks (check my Twitter feed a couple weeks back for a few pics of the ridiculous analog setup at that party with crazy turntables, records, drum machines, and synths!) was exceptional as well. Another fresh new talent to check out! Also featured is one of my favorite cuts produced by our man Scott Ferguson (Marvin Belton’s “Any Day Now”), as well as one of the sweetest cuts off of the ridiculously limited Theo Parrish album “Sketches” that I picked up in Detroit over DEMF weekend. But all of these jams are nice, and only sound better in the hot sun…
Tracklist:
Chase Smith “Romance Synthetique” Technoir Audio 12″
Fred P. “On This Vibe (Original Raw Mix)” Esperanza 12″
Ricardo Miranda “Urbanism” Rush Hour 12″
Marvin Belton “Any Day Now (Electro Mix)” Ferrispark 12″
Hector Lavoe “Alejate (Joaquin’s Disparate Alejate Dub Version)” Sacred Rhythm/Fania 12″
Manu Dibango “Electric Africa” Celluloid 12″
Elektrik Dred “Butter Up (Gimme Some Bread)[Instrumental]” Sounds of Florida 12″
Jimmy Williams “All Of My Lovin’ (Extended Club Version)” Salsoul 12″
Tevo Howard “Kisses From New York With Love” Rebirth 12″
Nebraska “Time Has Come Pt. 1″ Rush Hour 12″
Theo Parrish & ???? “Sketches Pt. 1 track B1″ Sound Signature 12″
New mix from myself. Deep techno, house and a few other bits and pieces along the way.
Tracklist
E.R.P. – Gallup String
Goldwill – Blush
Maurizio – Domina (Maurizio Mix)
Redshape – Blood Into Dust
Aroy Dee – Life Of Raw
Urban Culture – The Wonders of Wishing (For You)
Hell – My Definition of House Music
Johannes Volk – Geometric Reduction
Bam Bam – Give it to Me
Depeche Mode – Behind The Wheel (Sheb Pettibone Rmx)
Alden Tyrell feat. Nancy Fortune – La Voix
Front 242 – Headhunter
The Posse – The Groove
Mickey Oliver – In-Ten-Si-T (Kenny’s mix)
Mr Pauli – Le Crunch
Camaro’s Gang – Fuerzo Major
The Hasbeens – You & Me
Rick Wilhite – Dreams of Yesterday (Rick’s Never Will Forget Mix)
Chez Damier – Help Myself (Carl Craig Rmx)
Recloose – Soul Clap 2000
Keith Worthy – Shelovesmenot
A new mix from me, kindly hosted on Uzuri’s Soundcloud page… the title pretty much sums it up. My new record is also in the shops now after a slight delay, charted by DJ Bone & Scott Grooves amongst others….
Lil’ Louis – Clap Your Hands (JB’s MPC Loop)
Vincent Floyd – Cactus Juice – Dance Mania
326 – Falling (Mike’s Mix) – Muzique Records
Risque III – Tropic Zone – Stride Records
Vincent Floyd – I Dream You – Dance Mania
Gherkin Jerks – Meltdown – Gherkin Records
Adonis – Lost In Sound – Jack Trax
Lil’ Louis – How I Feel – Dance Mania
Steve Poindexter – Short Circuit – Housetime Records
Armando – Land of Confusion (Dunn 4 Fun Mix) – Warehouse Records
Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir – Get a Feeling – Sublime Records
MD Connection – Magic Feet – Muzique Records
Instinct – Mindsearch – Decisive Records
Phuture Pfantasy Club – Spank Spank – Low Fat Vinyl
Robert Hood – Museum – Axis
Claude Young – Changing Factors – Frictional
Lil’ Louis – the Original Video Clash – Dance Mania
Reel By Real – Surkit – Interface Records
My man Matt Cohen (whose dope photos can be found at the top of this post, as well as in my DEMF reviews from some of the past couple of years) made a slide show of some of his best photos from this year’s DEMF/Movement/Fuse-In/Whatever. To soundtrack the slide show, he enlisted the assistance of Kevin Reynolds whose dope new track “Slán abhaile” provides the audio vibrations. Check out the slide show here!
Here at ISM, we like to stay ahead of the curve. This means sniffing out those cats that you might not have heard of yet but are on the cusp of doing bigger and better things! We’ve been supporters of Tr-One and BrokenAudioMovement since our inception, in fact Dean Feeney did our very first guest mix way back in September 2007! They’ve been holding it down for a minute, but I think things are about to start looking up for them beginning with this new release on POGO Recordings.
“Shit Ain’t Worth It” kicks things off on a chill tip, building slowly into a beautiful and deep epic cut. A simple piano line and thick pads are all that is needed to make what is by far their best track to date. “Bombay” utilizes a similarly melancholic atmosphere, but with a bit more energy, to create a melodic techno cut that runs deeper than most. Finally, they take it just a bit funkier on “Sometime Again” with the most straightforward bassline and drums on the record, but still keep it soulful and deep. Overall, a record for those special times that require dance music with a bit more emotion! Check the YouTube videos for the other cuts here.
And to top it off, they have just finished building a new home for their studio…
Now they’ve just gotta follow this 12″ up!
The mix is a live deejay set as Tr-One at the Bernard Shaw back on May 2, 2010. As usual, they play so many of my jams that it is insane! Quando Quango, Andrés, Omar-S, and way, way more are all represented. No tracklist for it as of yet, but if they give me one I will update this post with it…
