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Showing posts from 2010

Soulful Thrill & Funky Chill

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A little bit of this and a little bit of that, but always in a funky, relaxed mood, that’s what funky chill basically is. I’m glad to put a track in from the latest album by Bryan Ferry. Just like soul singer Maxwell, I’m a huge fan of his work, especially of his output from the late seventies to the mid-eighties. His new album ‘Olympia’ refers to his best period and again Nile Rodgers (Chic) plays guitar. Have a listen, if you can. Speaking of good albums, thanks to DJ Dazler for sending me a copy of ‘Lost in time’ from Eric Benét. His tribute to seventies soul is probably the best album of 2010. The fantastic new one from Drop Out Orchestra came out last week. And there are no Christmas records in the tracklist, I guarantee it! :-) So enjoy! The couple on the left are Peaches & Herb. Tracklist: Martin Denny – Jungle Madness (1958) Cal Tjader – Morning (1972) Sylvia – Sweet Stuff (1974) Bobbi Humphrey – Fancy Dancer (1975) The Blackbyrds – Supernatural Feeling (1977)

Saturday Night Christmas Special

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It will be a funky Christmas weekend this year, so enjoy! If the song from Sylvia (Robinson) sounds familiar, it was sampled by Moby on his album ‘18’ in 2002. After her singing career Sylvia (one half of Mickey & Sylvia, known for ‘Love is strange’) became co-founder of Sugar Hill Records, which brought us Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rapper’s’ Delight’ and many more very cool early hip hop tracks! Don’t forget to check (and download) my new (explicit) Euro Disco Mix on Podomatic , in association with For Disco Play Only. It’s available on iTunes as well. Have yourself a merry Christmas! Picture available on FreeFoto.com Tracklist: The Whispers – Funky Christmas (1979) Kurtis Blow – Christmas Rappin’ (1979) Norman Connors - Saturday Night Special (1975) Zoom – Saturday, Saturday Night (1981) T-Connection – Saturday Night (1979) The Stylistics – Funky Weekend (1975) Earth, Wind & Fire – Saturday Nite (1976) David Morris – Saturday Night (1982) Phreek – Weekend (1978) Ch

Funky Chill On A Sunday Afternoon

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Enjoy this freestyle mix! Thanks to Nicolas Drosos for sending me Satin Dream. Next up is my funky Christmas special for this year!  Tracklist:  Roos Jonker – Play The Guitar (2010) Linda Lewis – Reach For The Truth (1973) Goldfrapp – Clowns (2008) Dexter Wansel – What The World Is Coming To (1977) Martha Redbone – God Created Woman (2005) Laura Lee – Crumbs Off The Table (1972) The Isley Brothers – Spill The Wine (1971) Lou Rawls – Trade Winds (1977) Donna McGhee – It Ain't No Big Thing [Danny Krivit Re-Edit] (1978) Destiny’s Child – Dot (2000) T.S. Monk – Can’t Keep My Hands To Myself (1980) Maxwell – Ascension (1996) John Legend & the Roots – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (2010) Holland-Dozier – Don't Leave Me (1972) The Hollies – Draggin’ My Heels [Social Disco Club Re-Edit] (2008) Satin Dream - Stay Away From My Lover [Eddy’s Edit] (1981)

Funky Guys From Germany

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A couple of months ago I put the spotlight on France , now it’s time to hear some very cool German songs. The title of the mix refers to Afrika Bambataa who once called Kraftwerk ‘those funky guys from Germany', but he could have said 'those funny guys from Germany', because I like their humour in their songs. I believe I once read that the last track of the mix, ‘I'm In Love With A German Film Star’ from the Passions, is about the crazy German actor Klaus Kinski. He's shown on the picture above which is from the excellent movie 'Fitzcarraldo', that was directed by Werner Herzog (who also directed 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans', the best movie of 2010). Klaus Kinski is the father of beautiful actress Nastassja Kinski (ex-wife of Quincy Jones). One of the best German songs ever is ‘Theo, Wir Fahr’n Nach Lodz’ from Vicky Leandros. She was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972, taking part with 'Après Toi' for Luxemburg

Can You Feel The GROOVE?

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It’s all about the groove, isn’t it? Tracklist: Today, Tomorrow, Forever – It's A Groove (Keep On Dancin') (1979) Atlantis – Keep On Movin' And Groovin' (1982) C.J. & Co – Get A Groove In Order To Move (1977) Bobby Lyle – Groove (Ain't No Doubt About It) (1978) Heatwave – Gangsters Of The Groove (1980) Bobby Thurston – Check Out The Groove (1980) Billy Larkin & the Delegates – Ain’t That A Groove (1968) Archie Bell & The Drells – Let's Groove (1975) Fern Kinney – Groove Me (1979) Earth, Wind & Fire – Let's Groove (1981) Bohannon – Spread The Groove Around (1976) Dunn Pearson Jr. – Groove On Down (1978) Rodney Franklin – The Groove (1980) e.v.e. – Groove Of Love [Radio Edit] (1994) Richard Groove Holmes – Groovin' For Mr. G. (1971) Florence Miller – The Groove I'm In (1970s) Pat & rHill – Stoned Groove (2008) Love International – Dance On The Groove (And Do The Funk) (1981) Rock Savage – Grover Gr

Groovy, Sexy & Soulful Part 2

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Picture: Sarah Silverman Just like a few months ago a couple of groovy, sexy and soulful songs! One of the best songs of the seventies is ‘Dancing in the city’ by Marshall & Hain. It’s pop, disco, soul and a piece of jazz in one brilliant song! Have a listen and take a look at the marvelous Kit Hain. She looks so cool in this Dutch session for Toppop (and not wearing a bra was very fashionable at the time…) Tom Moulton was one of the first to remix disco tracks. I listened to a lot of his classic remixes from the seventies up till now. He normally starts with a long instrumental intro with a few harmony vocals (sometimes he adds a break), in the middle are the vocal parts and he usually ends with a full orchestra playing (with one solo instrument). Dimitri from Paris does more or less the same on his Philly remixes. I tried to copy this trick on 'Guilty' from First Choice. DJ Dazler played the track on his Dazling Soul Show some time ago. Speaking of the show, I will

Pais Tropical - Latin Spirit

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Paula Anddrade Latin music gives me the same happy feeling as disco. I like the way the musicians don’t seem to take things seriously, although they play their parts more than excellent. The ecstatic percussion players give me the perfect dance floor feeling. And most of all I like the seductive female vocals, for example those of Anakelly (from ‘Stones and bossa’). I don’t like the Rolling Stones that much, but Anakelly turns their compositions into something really nice! Enjoy 'Pais Tropical'! Tracklist: Luisa Maita – Lero-Lero (2010) Nouvelle Vague - A Forest (2004) Robert Drasnin – Orinoco (1959) Anakelly – Under My Thumb (2006) Mongo Santamaria – Ma Cherie Amour (1969) Les Baxter – Pool Of Love (1959) Mandrake Som – Berimbau (1975) Serge Gainsbourg - La Femme Des Uns Sous Le Corps Des Autres (1958) Marco Di Marco & Nathan Haines - Take Off [Nicola Conte Campi's Idea Version] (2004) Isabelle Antena – Omerta Bossa [Nicola

Disco Knockouts!

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Apart from the picture of Sharron Davies, there are two songs that inspired me to make this mix. One of them is a recent track from Duck Sauce. The repetition of the female vocals reminded me of Stars On 45 (I believe they both sampled 'Gotta Go Home' by Boney M). The other one is from Dutch singer Dee Dee. I heard ‘I put a spell on you’ on a recent episode of Tim Sweeney’s ‘Beats in space’. In the accompanying video she looks a little bit like a sex doll, but I love the song! I like the closing track from soul veterans the Drifters, but isn’t it strange to hear guys who were in their thirties at the time sing about schoolgirls? Different times, I guess, when no one had heard of R. Kelly yet... One of my personal favourites is ‘Night time’ from Maggie MacNeal. I bought the 7” which was produced by Michael Lloyd (known for his work for the Osmonds, Lou Rawls and Solomon Burke) way back in 1979. Maggie MacNeal was one half of the successful Dutch duo Mouth & MacNeal. Their

Just Relax With Some Soul And Jazz

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Here's something to relax to after a week of hard labour: a little bit of soul, jazz and good old-fashioned pop. I believe the best album of 2009 was from God Help The Girl, a solo-project and concept from Stuart Murdoch, the singer and founder of Belle & Sebastian . I like the way Murdoch mixes, let’s say, the easy listening of Burt Bacharach with the alternative sound of Morrissey and the Smiths. It’s a very unique sound, something like folky soul or soulful folk. Belle & Sebastian have a great new album out now, called ‘Write about love’. I played their wonderful single ‘I want the world to stop’ in ‘ Be gentle with my ears ’ two weeks ago. The closing track from Ella Fitzgerald is composed by the master himself, Burt Bacharach. Enjoy! Picture from ♪ §hel ♫ Tracklist: Casual T – Hands Off (1982) Donald Byrd – Think Twice (1975) Pam Feather – Cannot Change The Weather (2010) DePhazz – No Lie (2010) Eliza Doolittle – Police Car (2010) Tommy Stewart – Fulton

Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky part 2

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This is the follow-up to the quite successful Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky . Again all the tracks have 'funk' or 'funky' in their titles. I initially thought that 'Holy ghost' from the Bar-Kays was sampled in the Fila Brazillia track that I played on It Takes Two , but it appeared to be 'Shake your rump to the funk'. The latter is featured in this podcast. Tracklist: Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns – We Came To Funk Ya (1978) Paris – Guerrilla Funk (1994) Peter Brown – Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me? [Eddy’s Funky Edit] (1977) Frantique – Strut Your Funky Stuff (1979) Slave – Stellar Funk (1978) Southroad Connection – We Came To Funk You Out (1980) Sparks – Let’s Get Funky (1986) James Brown – Funky President (People It's Bad) (1974) Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On) (1969) Dyke & the Blazers – Funky Broadway [part 1] (1967) Parliament – Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk) (1976) Bar-Kays

Be Gentle With Your Ears

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What’s exotica? Well, it’s some kind of tropical jazz or easy listening with exotic instruments, like flute, vibraphone and bongo’s. One of the key figures of exotica is Les Baxter who created the sound in the 1950s. He also composed ‘Sunset mood’ for Carmen Lesay and ‘Pharaoh’s curse’ for Tony Martinez, two songs that can be heard in this mix. I selected a couple of similar tracks around these exotica songs, like the one from the Avalanches (whatever happened to them?). Some of the tropical ingredients were copied by Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band and more seventies disco acts (that are gathered on ‘Cocktail disco’, a compilation from Dimitri From Paris). And many lounge acts used the typical exotica sounds in the 2000s. Listen to ‘Slip into something comfortable’ from Kinobe or the album ‘Silent movie’ from Quiet Village. Enjoy! Picture by Kristine May Tracklist: John Scofield – Flower Power (1990) Ju-Par Universal Orchestra – Is Anyone Listening (1976) Carmen Lesay

Moon-Boots: A Cosmic Experience

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The only thing I have to say about this mix is that I love big movie themes and that late seventies/early eighties space sound! So consider it a soundtrack to a non-existing sf-movie, or something like that... I'm still waiting for an assignment to compile the music for a movie officially, though! ;-) Probably the best space track ever is Starship 109 from Mistral. It’s such a good song! Mistral is a space disco project from Dutchman Robbie van Leeuwen who wrote ‘Venus’ for Shocking Blue, a number one in the US in 1970 (and for Bananarama in 1986). You can hear him play guitar on this track as well. 'Moon-boots' is also available on Discogs Mixes . So put on your space suits and enjoy this trip to the moon! And if you can’t get enough of the space sound, listen to Beats In Space or the posts from Beat Electric . Next up is ‘Be gentle with my ears’, my first mix with some exotica (or tropical jazz ) in it. Tracklist: Asteroid – Asteroid (1967) Meco – Meco’s Them

Criminal Funk

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About a year ago I put ‘ Players, pimps and pushers ’ online with tracks from black action movies (the so-called ‘Blaxploitation’ soundtracks). It was originally a mix I did for Laid Back radio a few years ago. For a long time I wanted to do something similar, but with a different approach. A combination of modern funk and old school tracks. I started to work on this mix in 2008 and finished it only last week after hearing the ‘ Black Belt Jones ’ OST from Dennis Coffey . Tracklist: Resonance – OK Chicago (1974) Dennis Coffey & Luchi De Jesus – Super Slick (Get Pinky) (1974) Hidden Strength – Hustle On Up (Do The Bump) (1976) All Good Funk Alliance – Sha Sha (2008) Rhibosome – Walkin’ (2005) Karen Bernod – Tell ‘Em Let ‘Em Know (2006) Palov & Mishkin – Theme From ‘Backslam’ (2007) Superphonics – Give A Little Love (2008) Q-Tip (feat. Amanda Diva) – Manwomanboggie (2008) Reel People (feat. Omar) – Outta Love (2007) Alice Russell – Turn And Run (2008) Incog

Do You Like Jazz?

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This is a tribute to my wonderful dad. He died on the 23rd of September, the day I’ll always remember, to quote the Temptations. For some people you wish that they could live forever and my father was certainly one of them. He was always there for me. I’m going to miss him, that’s for sure. Here’s a collection of songs that my father loved to hear. Each time I played this mix for him, he said he enjoyed it. He even wanted to hear it in hospital while he had an MRI scan. The intention of the mix was to create a jazzy, peaceful, relaxing and overall hopeful sound that made my father feel comfortable. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this tribute to my dad as well. If you want to download any of the mixes, contact me. Tracklist: Señor Coconut Y Su Conjunto – The Man Machine (2000) Quincy Jones – Soul Bossa Nova (1962) Sound Directions – Song For My Father (2003) George Michael & Astrud Gilberto – Desafinado (1996) Claude Monnet & Monica Nogueira - La Rua Madureira (2004) Nou

The French Way

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FreeFoto.com The beautiful song ‘Balloon over Paris’ by Elske DeWall that I played in my latest podcast inspired me to make a mix about France. That’s no coincidence, because there runs some French blood in my veins as well. And I was in love with a French girl for quite some time… ;-) One of the best tracks is ‘Made in Paris’ by Trini Lopez (known for ‘If I had a hammer’). It’s a Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition that is a little bit forgotten (everybody knows their work for Dionne Warwick, of course). It has very cheerful lyrics and the melody stays in your mind immediately. The intro sounds a bit like ‘Needles and pins’ from The Searchers. The song is probably an attempt of Bacharach and David to follow the British beat bands of the mid-sixties. Read more about the track and the movie it comes from. A movie star we all know is Sylvia Kristel (‘Emanuelle’). She reads the poem ‘La Beauté’ from Beaudelaire. Another movie star in this mix is the very sensual Brigitte Bardot.

Still A Mellow Fellow

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Here are a handful of intimate songs for intimate moments. When the mix is closing down, you can take a few dance steps with your (imaginary) lover too... In interviews Tom Moulton always sounds a little bit grumpy, but his Philly remixes are superb. So look out for his latest album called ‘ Philly Re-grooved ’on Harmless Records! I tried to copy the Tom Moulton trick and DJ Dazler will play my Guilty [of stealing from Dimitri and Tom] remix of First Choice on his Dazling Soul Show on the 25th of September. Check it out, if you can! More Danny Krivit edits on his new album ‘ Edits by Mr. K Vol 2: Music of the earth ’ on Strut. DJ Dazler was a little disappointed after hearing the album and I agree with him to a certain extent. I like the jazz-funk approach of Mr. K., but the edits sound best in a mix when you go from one track to another. When I listen to them as an album, I start to lose interest after two or three tracks. The edits turn out to be quite alike. If you like this mix

Soul Clouds And Showers

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The end of summer is near and to be honest there are a few dark clouds in my personal life as well these days. When I look outside rain is heavily falling on the streets. People are rushing home with their umbrellas as weapons against nature. Rain and the threat of rain are the main themes of these soul songs. The picture is done by Cuba Gallery . Enjoy! Tracklist: Angie Stone – No More Rain (In This Cloud) (1999) Marvin Gaye – Cloud Nine (1970) Eddie Kendricks – Date With The Rain (1972) Billy Griffin – Hold Me Tighter In The Rain (1982) Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons – Touch The Rainchild (1972) Booty People – After The Rain (1977) The Walker Brothers – Walking In The Rain (1967) Incognito – It May Rain Sometime (2008) Inez Foxx – You’re Saving Me For A Rainy Day (1973) Silvetti – Sun After The Rain (1978) Dee Dee Bridgewater – Sweet Rain (1978) R. Kelly – Raindrops (2003) George Benson – Rainy Night In Georgia (2009) Young-Holt Unlimited – Raindrop

Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky

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It’s time to get funky with the first part of Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky ! Two of the tracks are quite familiar because of the commercials that use the originals. Hugh Jackman dances on John Ozila’s ‘Funky boogie’ in a commercial for Lipton Ice Tea . And Charlize Theron takes off her clothes for Dior with Marvin Gaye’s ‘A funky space reincarnation’ in the background. I'm still working on my Marvin Gaye remix-project. Hopefully Berry Gordy will give me a ring someday... ;-) Doesn’t look the cover art of O'Donel Levy’s title track very similar to the latest album of Scissor Sisters, ‘Night work’? Tracklist: Johnny Hammond – Contact Funk (1978) Bobbi Humphrey – Don’t Knock My Funk (1971) Marvin Gaye – A Funky Space Reincarnation [Eddy’s Extended 2010 Edit] (1978) Parliament – P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up) (1975) LaToya Jackson – If You Feel The Funk (1980) John Ozila – Funky Boogie [Pat Les Stache Re-edit] (1979/2010) O'Donel Levy – Everything I Do Gonna Be

Philly Re:Grooves

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Here are a couple of tunes from the city of brotherly love. I originally recorded ‘Philly grooves’ for Laid Back Radio a few years ago, but it was never broadcasted. I updated the mix with some 2010 remixes. And to be honest, I reworked the Tom Moulton remix of First Choice and the Dimitri From Paris remix a tiny little bit. Look out for the new Tom Moulton album ‘ Philly Re-grooved ’ on Harmless Records that is out now! I listened to a lot of Tom Moulton remixes, old and new. He always starts with a long instrumental intro with a few harmony vocals (sometimes he adds a break), in the middle are the vocal parts and he usually ends with a full orchestra playing (with normally one solo instrument). I tried to copy the trick and DJ Dazler will play my Guilty [of stealing from Dimitri and Tom] remix of First Choice in his Dazling Soul Show on the 25th of September. So keep listening to his shows! Tracklist: Harold Melvin & Blue Notes - The Love I Lost [Dimitri From Paris Super

Boogie cops - the final chapter

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What does boogie mean? I’m still not sure. Is it synonymous for dancing or do they sing about making love? Some people call the electronic disco of the early 80s s ‘boogie’, but there’s only one song in this mix from that period (Lesette Wilson) and that song doesn’t sound very electronic, does it? This is what Wikipedia has to say about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie . In short, boogie comes from ‘boogie woogie’. Brooklyn People was remixed by the legendary Tom Moulton, the inventor of the remix and the 12 inch disco single. Nowadays he'd probably be called a re-editor, because he stretched (in a unique way) original 7 inch radio-edits into longer versions for the clubs. He was the first to do so in the early 1970s, but he didn't add new instruments, which is quite essential for a remix today. He used the original mastertapes only. Look out for his new album ‘ Philly Re-grooved ’ that will be released very soon! Leyo and Uptown Funk Empire can be found on Soul Uns

Groovy, Sexy & Soulful

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When I heard English dj Alan Champ on Starpoint Radio play ‘You don’t have to go’ by the Chi-Lites on a Sunday, I got inspired for this ‘erotic soul’ mix. Some seventies and early eighties disco with sexy female voices and very low singing guys (to seduce the ladies, I guess…). A mix to celebrate the sexual liberation of the 1970s. Turn off the lights and enjoy! Thanks to the the Dazler (Nite School!), Nicolas Drosos and Alena Arpels for the inspiration! By the way, I did a mix in the same mood for the very nice Russian mp3-blog Music Dawn , called Love Grooves (available for download as well). The idea behind that mix was to play uplifting soul tracks that are not only soulful, but also a little bit sexy. I tried to create the vibe of a soundtrack for a non-existing romantic movie. One of the tracks, 'Sea of love’, was sung by Richard Gere in the recent (and very cool) movie Brooklyn’s Finest . The mix can be played on Valentine's Day as well! ;-). This is the tracklist:

Learning How To Bump

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Let's bump into the weekend! Professor Eddy gives you a full hour of instructions to learn how to bump! This dance was particularly popular around 1975. The main thing was to move your behind in the direction of your partner. How simple can a dance be, uh? Perhaps British glamrockers Kenny tell you the best instructions in their hit ‘The bump’ from 1974/1975. Even Barack Obama can learn you some tricks ! But you can have some bad experiences as well, as Joe Tex explains in his 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)', about a certain type of lady. It's a good song, although the lyrics are not very political correct and does he really sing about dancing? And well, you can hear German Schlager singer Frank Farian do his parts on his lip-sync project Boney M. Although they don't sing, they can show you how to bump . And on YouTube you can also hear the radio version of ‘Lady bump’ from Penny Mclean, because I play the 12 inch, without the very nice spo

I Love Music - Samples And Sampled

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Here’s another history lesson in sampling, told by your favourite teacher! ;-) This mix (which I’m quite proud of) starts with most probably the first recorded rap record in history. It’s by a guy named Jocko and the track was released on Philadelphia International Records. He borrowed the beats from McFadden & Whitehead’s classic which came out on the same label (so there were no troubles about infringement of copyright, I think). From there you can hear a lot of similarities between the songs. One of the key tracks is ‘The champ’ by the Mohawks which appears in a couple of songs. The last track is my attempt to remix the new Bryan Ferry single in a Funkadelic house groove (or something like that…) Enjoy! Janelle Monáe is one of my favourite artists of the moment. Check out her new album, called ‘The Archandroid’, which is very, very good! She has quite an original approach to soul music, using rock, new wave and musical elements. The track I use in this 'I love music' m

Jukebox Fun

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This mix is in a way a tribute to the so called ‘beach music’ of the late fifties, sixties and early seventies. This type of uplifting soul ruled the jukeboxes at the beaches of both Carolinas in the US. It’s more or less the same kind of music as ‘northern soul’ in the UK, although beach music goes back to the doo wop of the fifties and has some rock ‘n’ roll traces as well. It vanished in the mid seventies when disco music, played in discotheques, became the most popular kind of dance music and wiped out (to quote the Surfaris) beach music. Enjoy the handclapping, the raw saxophones and the excitement of being young! It’s not typical beach music, but ‘ Summer wine ’ written and sung by Lee Hazlewood (in a duet with Nancy Sinatra) is an outstanding summer song. It describes a summer love as some kind of a drug (‘my head felt twice its size’) in a very poetical way. It seems to be sung by an old villain and an innocent girl. It’s the well-known theme of Little Red Riding Hood (the w

Rapture: Followers And Originators

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When I have a hip hop or R&B record in my hands, I always look at the samples that are used. If the samples are good, the record must be good. That’s more or less my philosophy. I started to play around with this thought and tried to put the original (the sampled track) and the derivative (mostly hip hop) back to back. Some kind of history lesson, so to speak. It starts with the roots, of course. Enjoy! Tracklist: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Fiv e - Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel (1981) Chic – Good Times (1979) Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight (1979) Blondie – Rapture (1980) Love Unlimited – Love’s Theme (1974) O.M.D. – Dream Of Me (Based On Love's Theme) (1993) Montell Jordan - I Like (1996) KC & The Sunshine Band – I Get Lifted (1978) Q-Tip – Won’t Trade (2008) Ruby Andrews - You Made A Believer (Out Of Me) (1969) Average White Band – School Boy Crush [Eddy’s Edit] (1975) Erik B. & Rakim – Microphone Fiend (1988)