Dienstag, 31. Juli 2012

Chris Rainbow - Body Music (1981)

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Arp-Life - Baby-Bump (1977)


The ARP-LIFE group was formed in January 1976 at the suggestion of Mateusz Święcicki and Andrzej Korzyński. A few months later it was joined by Maciej Śniegocki who has been its conductor, composer and arranger.
'Arp-Life' is not a platform group, but a typical studio ensemble attached to the Polish Radio and TV. It makes the fullest use in its recordings of the studio equipment, i.e. multi-tracks, sound deformation, etc.
The group derives its modern sound from an electronic set of percussion Instruments, together with strings, brass and a vocal group.
The numbers the "Arp-Life" has been recording sound like and are in the style of discotheque music as just this idiom its members find most resting and relaxing for them.
The group's repertory consists mostly of pieces by its founder - members, mentioned earlier, as well as of arrangements of popular hits both of today and the recent past.
All its numbers are recorded by Andrzej Malczewski, the sound engineer cooperating with the group.
They owe their name, the "Arp-Life", to Mateusz Święcicki who got the idea from the ARP company's synthetizer, one of the electronic devices in the group's initial instrumental line-up.

[Taken from the Jumbo Jet LP original sleeve]

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Montag, 30. Juli 2012

Henry Moore, with Reclining Figure, 1929


In memory of pioneering sculptor Henry Moore, who would have celebrated his birthday today.
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Nitro Deluxe - Mental Transformation (1986)


First production of Young Manny Skretching Jr. under his Nitro Deluxe moniker. His then new project and signing to Cutting Records turned out to be a golden decision, as he had the biggest hit of his career in the same year with 'Let's Get Brutal', a seminal House tune that's still getting plays around the world. Mental Transformation is an airy Freestyle Electro tune with nice melodies and enough power to move the dancefloor. Young Manny unfortunately deceased this year but his music will live forever!

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FunkinEven plays the 'Phoneline' beat live on MPC



We had him playing last year at bleepgeeks! London based FunkinEven is a very talented producer and a good dj. In this Interview Fact Magazine is having a little chat with the man from Eglo Records, who shows how he made the beat on his MPC for his forthcoming single 'Phoneline'. Nice!
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Sonntag, 29. Juli 2012

Nature Love: Fire Salamander

Yesterday i was in the woods and had luckily my camera with me. I met a Fire Salamander which is quite hard to find! He's vulnerable so it's very important to keep away from him... but that's what i did automatically 'cos i'm a coward. But a cute boy, not?! I tried to get him in a good position but i think he wasn't really interested to get photographed, haha...





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Can-Dee - Lucky Day (Long Version)


Nice boogie-classic that makes feel-good. Here in the longer version, taken from the B-Side.

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Mittwoch, 25. Juli 2012

Maurizio Catellan


More on colectiva.tv!
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Production Analysis - Kerri Chandler 'Bar A Thym'

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L.B. Bad, The Prince Of Dance Music - New Age Bonus Track (1989)


We're huge fans of the New York based Nu Groove imprint as you might know already. Their catalogue is full of little surprises, big jams and irresistable alltime classics of House music. The label got well deserved love recently in the form of a Burrell Brothers reissue series, conducted by Rush Hour Amsterdam. This one here is another great gem, produced by Lamont Booker a.k.a. L.B. Bad, The Prince of Dance Music. One of the harder to find records and a truly golden one. New Age Must Have Tracks!

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Dienstag, 24. Juli 2012

Bunny Sigler - Don't even try (give it up)


Sunshine. Love. Don't hide, don't even try....what a relaxed slowy on Salsoul, 1977..the saxy for sure is inside!

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bleepgeeks w/ Beautiful Swimmers @ Radio free FM


Hangin' out at the free FM studio with the Beautiful Swimmers and Paul. Good times!
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U.S. of A - 2-1 (I Bet Ya)



Elaborated classic disco. Interestingly, this record is a full-british production and was released on Island Records, England. The back cover suggests that the whole band behind is black. Dunno if that one got it's release in the US as well.

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Protect-U 'All Vinyl' Mix for Spinner


Future Times members Protect-U with a great and all vinyl mix for Spinner. Some fantastic tracks in there!

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Freitag, 20. Juli 2012

Sophie live @ The Old Blue Last, London, 12.07.12

A live performance by our beautiful friend:
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Donnerstag, 19. Juli 2012

Sa. 21.07.2012: bleepgeeks w/ Beautiful Swimmers @ Cabaret Eden


Photo by Marc Hoerger, forthcoming fun by D.C.'s very own Beautiful Swimmers! Future Times are good times!
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Mittwoch, 18. Juli 2012

98.7 Kiss FM NYC Tony Humphries June 1989


The man Tony Humphries in the mix! Club Zanzibar feelings all the way! An absolute KILLER!

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Impact - Mr. Ed Raps (198?)


Snappy, swinging and funky Rap from the early days. No parental advisory, no explicit lyrics, just positive grooves! The project is called Impact and the label's called Global, which is an intrinsically funny and smart combination. Let's hear Mr. Ed Rap!

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Dienstag, 17. Juli 2012

Deborah Foster - Whip It On Me


Slick mixture of Soul and Electro. Arranged by chieftain Rich Cason. The same instrumentation can be heard on Tony Davis' - Booty Whip from U-Tone Records, 1983.

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Montag, 16. Juli 2012

Andrew Weatherall Lecture @ Red Bull Music Academy (2012)

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Sonntag, 15. Juli 2012

K.G. Band - Disco Train (1980)

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Jan Schulte (Themes For Great Cities/Düsseldorf) - Hypnagogia Mix


Jantronix Schulte from Düsseldorf in the mix!

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Samstag, 14. Juli 2012

Tin Man - Neo Neo Acid (Absurd Recordings) (2012)


One of our favourite producers does it again. Tin Man on a breathtaking Acid Trip on Neo Neo Acid. Killer!

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Treehotel in Harads, Sweden


Great hotel project in Sweden! More information on their website.
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GOMMA Podcast #76 - Marvin's Paranoia Mix


I really like the mixes of my buddy Marvin from Munich. His selections are always well thought-out and faithfully jointed, convincing and all along backed with moments of surprise for enduring listening pleasures. His Paranoia Mix is another one of his sublime efforts, bringing the club to your home and making your home appear as an exciting club. His so called Paranoia occurs as a pleasant perception! You can catch him regularly at Bar Charlie and other serious spots around Munich. Don't miss this talented guy!



Tracklist:

1. Afrotrance III
2. Torch Song – Ecstasy
3. Early Techno
4. Black Cock – Here And Now
5. L.B. Bad – E3 E6 Roll On
6. Depeche Mode – Shout
7. Outcasts – The Chase
8. Blind Vision – Bestalic Beat
9. Prince – Bob George
10. Propaganda – Frozen Faces
11. Fad Gadget – The Box
12. The Thing – Fixed Wing
13. Dreamworld – On Flight To Light
14. Paranoia
15. Fidalfetti – Experience
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Freitag, 13. Juli 2012

Jason "AJ" Summers - Got To Make It Right (1995)



The House Music history of New Jersey is rich and full of independent record labels. All those little imprints were pushing and shaping the sound of New York and the House Music globe around the glorious nineties. -N-Sync Inc. is one of the more unknown labels from that era with an assessable catalogue, providing many gems, which wait to get explored. One of them is the Floor Control - Project 1: EP, with contributions from different NJ producers. Got To Make It Right is typical mid-nineties floor madness, containing a simple groove with a remarkable and recurring vocal insert that keeps the track going. Moody and loopy discofied house music for the later hours and yeah, the whole record is a pretty solid Ep. Garage, you can't get enough of a good thing!

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Donnerstag, 12. Juli 2012

Von Spar - Hybolt (2009)

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También



Our Munich friends Marvin and Valentino put their first record out and happy us, we got sent 2 copies of those little beauties. They've been in the studio with their buddy Beni Brachtel and También was born. The record supplies 3 deep cuts of edits, ranging between obscure and psychedelic material, carefully selected and sensibly extended. The pressing feels really good and the artwork is damn fine. We're sending big props, wishing all the best and looking forward to more Tambiéns in the future! Please check their terrific blog Marvin and Valentino to find out more and get your hands on the record. Well done mates!
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Untitled (Cader), 2008 by Zander



Form tree, Line. By Zander Olsen.
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Depro Art - Ghetto Life (1982)


Depro Art with a german 'Ghetto Life' statement on the collectable Ohrwurm Records(check their Kraut Lp's!). Heavy synths and big basslines by Hansi Stein & Lothar Steigerwald. Could hit the dancefloors big in the late hours and the whole record feels like a little hidden gem. Try!

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Montag, 9. Juli 2012

We Love Ulm x Donaufest 2012: Official Tshirts



We Love Ulm has new Shirts! This time they've made a collaboration with the Danube office Donaubüro within the context of the internationally renowned Danube festival and the result is so nice and summerish. Design by Christian Jagdhuber and Photography by Marc Hoerger. Available exclusively at the We Love Ulm webshop.
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Beautiful Swimmers (Future Times/Washington D.C.)

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Sonntag, 8. Juli 2012

Dr. Beat and his Animal Show - Voulez-Vouz l'Amour



Fun(!)tastic doggy style in that special german mood music. Also quite italoesque and frenchy. Waouw!

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Mittwoch, 4. Juli 2012

Alfred Hitchcock on Vogue Paris Cover, 1974

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Dienstag, 3. Juli 2012

bleepgeeks 'Coloured Balloons Mix'



This is an old one. Made in 2009 for our christmas gathering, we had coloured balloons in our minds, while we made this mix in a white and snowy winter night. Back then we selected a lot of our personal favourites and classics to make it happen. The tracks still remain favourites and classics and we think the mix did age well, so there's no reason to keep this back, as the mix wasn't posted anywhere for a long long time, resting well in our secret vaults. So, have fun while you listen if you haven't already!

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Montag, 2. Juli 2012

#Interview Talk: Wes Gray aka Moon B [PRIVATE ATLANTA BOOGIE MODERN SOUL CASSETTE PPU PEOPLES POTENTIAL]


In the big world of 80's boogie, neo-disco, re-edits, represses and originals i stumbled across a very interesting output only available on cassette. It's very lo-fi bedroom sounding, filled with killing synths and drums in a catchy arrangement. Very special indeed! And, limited to 100 pieces it gives the perfect feed for the collector. I was wondering who or what is behind „Moon B“. Not too much info is given in the internet at that time so i decided to make a contact and ask a few questions...

1. Hello Moon B! Simply, who are you?

Firstly, I want to say thank you for reaching out. I’m elated at your interest in the cassette project of mine! It’s my first “pressing” of a tangible art product, and I’m very pleased and happy with the steam and interest it is garnering around the world in less than a month that it has been out.
I’m simply a guy from the Southern United States who has composed music on synths, samplers and drum machines for over half my life. I live in Atlanta with my lovely wife and two small dogs in a house that is getting too small for all of my equipment and records!
The name ‘Moon B’ is merely a made-up concept in my mind. In America, a “moonbat” is political slang for a far-left leaning policy/law maker. To me it means a person who creates art full time and earns a decent living from it. I didn’t want it to sound so blatant (and definitely not political), so I shortened the “bat” to merely “b”.

2. That's interesting! So, as i can expect from your words you're nevermore a youngster but an experienced guy! How did you come to makin' music, especially to that kind? It needs skills and knowledge... and furthermore... what is your aim?

Growing up in and around Memphis, Tennessee, I was very much drawn to the exploding Memphis rap scene and those types of productions; soul samples mixed with hyper drum machine programming and some synths thrown in over the top. I didn’t get into dance music until the late 90’s. I started making my own compositions on digital synth workstations as a teenager. I did that privately for a decade. It wasn’t until about three years ago I grew nostalgic and went to old analog synths and drum machines. I’m completely enamoured by it now. I wanted to take chances with my arrangements and lay down an album’s worth of sounds that sounded good to me--this is a tape I would want to buy and listen to on a cheap cassette player while laying in bed on a rainy night.

There are many artists that I respect and BUY music from that are releasing similar output--LX Sweat (from Germany!), Sand Circles, Terrekke (on L.I.E.S. Records), of course Legowelt (Danny Wolfers) plus many others that release those ‘dirty’ sounding (cassette-hissing) projects. You can add Moon B to that list. However, my goal was not only to have that aesthetic (because I love it and grew up listening to tapes), but also incorporate arrangements that I like listening to. Stabs and simple melodies are good but I gravitate towards playing jazz influenced chords, processing them with a few effects, running them through a sampler across a few octaves and then arranging a song over a mid-tempo house or boogie/funk drum palette. As far as the cover art, I’m fascinated by Hinduism and the mystique surrounding idol worship. The statue pictured is actually glued to my car dashboard! I like to think that the music is possibly as mysterious and otherworldly? That was possibly the aim? It turned out more cohesive and conceptual than I thought it would, but that was due to many happy accidents!




3. I understand. Most of the time it's better to let things run and get a result. Anyway, your sound, in the end, appears so elaborated to me! If we go back to the 80's or even 70's... where music has been put to tape often because the musician simply had no money for better equipment. What is the very different from you to musicians in the past?

I’m glad it comes across as complex. I can be a complex person, aka, a stubborn arse! I’m sure my wife would attest to that. However, I think that’s good. I want musicians and those in the know to listen to the tape and ask themselves “where did he get that sound?”, or “what technique did he use there?”. That’s always fun for me as a listener.As far as using tape, I just missed the warmth of it. It’s not a financial issue, though getting tapes pressed is very cheap and quick! Haha..

4. Which equipment do you use and which engineering do you especially apply?

All hardware! I utilized a lot of Ensoniq gear, such as the ESQ-1 and the Mirage sampler. The Mirage sampler (and sound disks from a company called Syntaur) surprisingly has such a treasure trove of fat kicks and snares that you don’t hear a lot in current dance recordings, so I used a lot of those. Most importantly, it was all recorded on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder I purchased on EBay. For good measure, extra compression/tape effect was applied to the recording of the master using an on-board mastering tool from a Roland CD recorder I’ve had for over a decade now. It’s on its last legs nowadays, and you can even hear a few mistakes in the final tape as a result!

5. If music was your hobby, what else are you doing in Atlanta? Is there somewhat like a „scene“ where you can die down...? I'm also talking about djing or even playing live?

I dj’ed in my college days and spin at private parties for friends and family nowadays. And yes, I do plan on playing out live by summer’s end. Nothing big--perhaps a quaint coffee house here in my neighborhood or something like that and if the response is good, I’ll go from there. I’d love to play in Europe one day--I do know that! Especially Germany!

6. Things are changing. Let's assume you're still underground at the moment. What would happen to you if you came overground, by whatever reason? Let's dream about airplays, offers in TV-Liveshows...

Yes! I can dream about that! It would be grand to have a tune pop up in a film somewhere, some day. I scored a very small indie film in college and really enjoyed that. For now though, I just want to continue with releasing music the rest of this year. Fortunately, I’m in talks with Andrew Morgan at PPU (People’s Potential Unlimited) to get ‘Moon B’ released on a new imprint of his, called Limousine Wind--a full 12” LP on wax of course! Just being in the same company as some of the special releases he’s been a part of the past five years or so would be fantastic! So, I’m excited about that. Also, I’m nearly finished with a straight up house EP that I will self release on vinyl; one in which the tempo is increased ever so slightly, and more classic gear will get WERKED OUT! So watch out for that!

7. Crazy, man! You've got loads of plans and to be signed on PPU would be enourmous! So, how should the whole thing happen? Is it like putting the tapesound on vinyl? Or even digital or mp3? Are you open to that? I mean, doing a private press is still underground style....

I’ve been a huge fan of PPU for a while now and communicated to Andrew that I had finished a tape. He listened, liked it and told me to send it to him to sell on his Earcave online store. He’s quite a busy man right now, but around fall it should get cranked out on vinyl--same sound and all! To be honest, I’ve never thought about releasing digitally. I’m that into collecting records and tapes, so I have a one track mind when it comes to my own releases.

8. Imagine all of your experiences never'd happened. Who would you be now?

Probably a boring television weatherman in a small, southern American town, or a struggling, alcoholic writer.

9. Imagine a flood has destroyed your whole equipment, works and records completely. All's gone, you can't repair.

It’s ensured!! They’d better pay up!!

10. As a reader of this text, i'm keen on your stuff (already) right now! And, i want further information! WHERE CAN I GET IT?

Pay a visit to any of the following sites!
Or, just send me a direct mail at wesgray1@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.




Yep, some final words to the readers out there from my side... i hope you enjoyed the conversation and got to know Moon B a bit better! I did! Folks, get your own copy as long it's available! THIS STUFF'S HOT! Mr. Lovebug



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