Various

Buy on beatport

Mano Le Tough - Primative People (Tale Of Us Remix)

CHROMATICS / KILL FOR LOVE (Complete Album)

To tie-in with my 200th blog post, this was the last mix I ever tape edited, putting it together on my original Revox B77 reel-to-reel, which I’d bought 14 years earlier, back in 1982. See the post with accompanying images at the blog:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/11/the-monastic-mix/ 

THE MONASTIC MIX:
‘The Monastic Mix’ was very much a labour of love, gradually assembled in stages, as I bounced between reel-to-reel and DAT in order to add further textures. I did it in collaboration with a young DJ from Liverpool, Matt Shannon, who was into the Trip Hop / D’n’B vibes of the time, which I really liked myself, but didn’t have any of the records (I was, as you might say, on the bones of my arse brassic back then, so I wasn’t in the position to be buying anything other than the bare essentials). We fused Matt’s tunes with mainly older stuff from my own collection for the mix, which appeared on one side of a free cassette that was given away to everyone who attended the launch of 'The Monastery', an experimental monthly club night on Merseyside (plus a couple of Wednesday specials at London's 'Mars Bar' in conjunction with Microdot, the design company ran by Brian Cannon). We made things particularly difficult for ourselves, holding the night on a Sunday, and choosing an off the beaten track venue, Stairways, a Birkenhead Rock club, to which we bussed people through the Mersey Tunnel from Liverpool, as well as attracting others from The Wirral. However, despite all the drawbacks, we somehow managed to keep things afloat for the best part of a year, enjoying some great memories and much musical mayhem along the way.

‘The Monastery’ brought together a collective of DJ’s and musicians who were largely disillusioned with the local dance scene - Derek Kaye, Bernie Connor, DJ Trix, Phil Jones, Desa, Girls On Top, Phil Melia, Kerry Harrison, Ciaron Bell, Matt and myself all played our parts, doing it for the love rather than money, with Martin O’Shea (who, as it would work out, went on to manage the successful girl group, Atomic Kitten) promoting the nights. The basic premise was that we didn't go down the four-on-the-floor path, as this was being played pretty much everywhere else at the time, concentrating instead on groove-based music from the 60's to the 90's.  

Featuring Soul, Funk, Electro-Funk, Hip Hop, Indie-Dance, Trip Hop, Drum & Bass and more, ‘The Monastic Mix’ became cult listening for many of the people who got hold of the cassette, although I’m sure that others found it a bit too eclectic for the time and never gave it a second hearing. I’ve been told that it’s quite a demanding mix to listen to, dark in places and somewhat ‘druggy’ (‘one for the heads’ being a comment made about it back then). 

It’s close to my heart because it reflects my state of mind at the time it was made, which was pretty turbulent. Since my production work had ground to a halt a few years earlier, I was very much in no man’s land, completely detached from the music scene and with no means of expressing myself. I was still totally illiterate as far as computers were concerned and I remember feeling old and out of touch. There were moments when I wanted nothing more to do with the music industry, being punch drunk from the knocks I’d taken during recent years, but, having never had a ‘proper job’ in my life, I was pretty much in a catch 22 situation. I had no money and no prospects, life was passing me by and I was more or less washed out creatively. Suffice to say it was a very bleak period for me.

It was during this time that my friends, seeing how much I was struggling, were urging me to get back into deejaying, telling me that I could make good money by trading on my reputation of old. However, there was a big catch, which was that I’d have to decide what area of dance music to specialise in, which was an alien concept for me, having made my name playing the best of a whole range of styles, rather than just one narrow area. Thankfully (and I can only say this with hindsight) I resisted the temptation to take this option, which would have amounted to selling my DJ soul for a quick cash-in.

The idea behind The Monastery was planted in my mind by my friend, Kermit, who, following on from the Rap Assassins, had hooked-up with former Happy Mondays mainman Shaun Ryder to form the band Black Grape.  Just before they were about to do the final mixes on their debut album, ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah’ (which would subsequently top the British charts), Kermit came to see me in Liverpool with a cassette of all their tracks. I was blown away with what they’d come up with, but it also served to highlight my own shortfallings. I commented that he’d done so much while I’d been wasting away at home doing nothing, but he told me that the time I was spending, in relative seclusion, with my music, books and videos, would prove to be time well spent. He likened my existence to being in a monastery – a comment that very much resonated within me and somehow gave me renewed hope for the future.

The following year, when the idea of a putting together a club night was put to me, I suggested it should be called The Monastery, with the music policy and presentation completely unlike anything else that was happening, combining DJ’s with live musicians. When it came to putting the mix together, I wanted to reference as many of my musical influences as I could, even if it only be a tiny snippet. I managed to cram a lot of them in and I can guarantee that, even after numerous plays, you’ll still recognise new elements hidden away in there. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the detail and, listening back to it later down the line, I became aware of a definite autobiographical slant that didn’t seem so obvious then, reflecting the struggle and soul searching that summed up my life at the point it was made. A mix will, obviously, always have something of yourself within it, but this is undoubtedly more personally revealing than anything else I’ve done – there’s some kind of twisted narrative in there, and I can hear me talking to myself via some of the samples I chose (for example, when you hear the words ‘does anyone remember who I am?’, I really meant it, trapped in obscurity as I was). Even the discordant parts, the bits that jar with me now, show me exactly where my head was at.

It was an important personal step for me, and I thank Matt Shannon for what he brought to the table – I didn’t have all the ingredients myself, and he was also pretty handy on the decks, so Matt was, of course, key to this. He no doubt reads it in a different way to me, but I know it has its own special symbolism for him, especially given he never followed the DJ route, and instead carved out a rewarding career working in the computer, rather than in club realm. 

‘The Monastic Mix’ very much informed what I did later, especially the Teenage DJ project, which built on that autobiographical slant I’d stumbled across. It’s echoes can also be heard via my use of samples in a live context - people who know my mixes from more recent times will, no doubt, recognise many of the samples I’ve subsequently used, which are spun from the same tape, but in a different context – from another time and place.

I think it’s a mix that’s most conducive to a chilled-out environment (and state of mind). I might have given the impression that it’s pretty heavy-going, but you’ll find lots of familiar stuff throughout (it makes for a great game of spot the sample) and I’m sure it’ll raise a smile, and perhaps even the spirit, here and there. 

Greg Wilson - November 2012

THE MONASTIC MIX (by greg wilson and matt shannon for the monastery 1996)

Release info: http://ghostly.com/releases/fighting-is-futile-remixes

Matthew Dear - Fighting is Futile (Benoit & Sergio Remix)

Maceo Plex live from Coco Maya at BPM festival 7-1-2013.  Circo Loco party.

Maceo Plex at BPM Festival (Mexico) (2013-01-07)

Boiler Room Berlin #20 / catz n dogz, Hunee, Arttu LIVE & Barnt

[Broadcasted on Wednesday 6th February 2013]

Tracklist & video at http://boilerroom.tv

Catz N Dogz Boiler Room Berlin 70 Min Mix

Gwen Stefani ‘Rich Girl’ (greg wilson edit)

98 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2012.

‘Rich Girl’, Gwen Stefani’s worldwide hit from 2004, was originally recorded just over a decade earlier by London duo Louchie Lou & Michie One. Stefani’s version is underpinned by Dr Dre’s inimitable production, which is what attracted me to the track. Apart from a small section of vocal about two thirds of the way in, I concentrate purely on the instrumental aspects, stretching things out to maximise the tracks powerful groove appeal, whilst peppering in some additional sound textures along the way.

Having played it out to a big response ever since I put it together last summer, it was issued on limited vinyl in December 2012 on the KAT imprint, under the title ‘All The Riches’ – further info here: http://soundcloud.com/kat-records/kat016-gw-edits-low-bite-rate. 

Greg Wilson – February 2013

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

Gwen Stefani 'Rich Girl' (greg wilson edit)

Taken from the digital release of the new EP from Tristesse Contemporaine, "Woodwork EP"

"Waiting" : obsessive, haunted, elegiac – the art of making dead people dance.

Tristesse Contemporaine - Waiting (Acid Washed Remix)

Part 2 of Scuba's After Hours mix series....

01. John Beltran - For Vangelis
02. Redshape - It's In Rain
03. Midland - Real Time
04. Fideles - Revenge
05. Coat Of Arms - What You Need (Coat Of Arms remix)
06. George FitzGerald - Nighttide Lover
07. Ceasre vs Disorder - Chacha Malaga
08. Moodtrap - House Trippin
09. youANDTHEMACHINES - Uncover
10. Figueroa & Obando - Riesling (Dubfire remix)
11. Martyn - Memoryhole
12. Dusky - Vanishing Point
13. Dan Ghenacia - Acid walk
14. Ceasre vs Disorder - Vercelli By Night
15. FCL - It's You (MK remix)
16. Will Azada - Panty Creamer
17. Detroit Swindle - The Wrap Around
18. Appleblim - Darkest Red

Scuba After Hours Mix Part 2

Rhythm. Sound. Space. Soul. Love. 
Hometown: Midwest/Chicago. Now in Miami.

Home Scenes: Chicago/Detroit. 
Crew Affiliations: Meiotic Chicago, Secret Cinema Los Angeles.

Professional Affiliations: Audio Raiders, Native Instruments, Beatport, and Shure Audio. (Worked full-time for all listed in past/present)

Past Residencies in Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver.

Summary: Andrew has played world-class venues such as Chicago's Smartbar and Sonotheque, Hollywood's Avalon, Denver's BETA, Detroit's DEMF parties, Minneapolis' First Avenue, Miami's Electric Pickle, and has opened for artists such as Ellen Allien, Modeselektor, Michael Mayer, Matthew Dear, Jeff Samuel, Solvent and Skoozbot, as well as playing a DJ set at Juan Atkin's landmark Metroplex 25-year anniversary party at the 2010 Detroit Electronic Music Festival.

Friends: Droid Behavior (Los Angeles), Paxahau (Detroit), AA and Punchis (Denver), As You Like It (San Francisco), Black Market (NYC), A Club Called Rhonda (Los Angeles), Voodoo (Los Angeles), Mutek (Montreal), SAFE (Miami), PLOT (Miami)

Started DJing in 1997, being heavily influenced at the time by New York Hip-Hop, Chicago House and Detroit Techno. 

Heavily influenced by (past): Basic Channel, Carl Craig, Cajmere, Moodymann, Matthew Herbert, Frankie Knuckles, Lil Louis, Ron Hardy, Dan Bell, Thomas Brinkmann, Wighnomy Brothers, Richie Hawtin, Michael Mayer, Speedy J, Kevin Saunderson, Nightmares On Wax, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Q-Bert, Gang Starr, RZA,  and many more.

Heavily influenced by (present): Robag Wruhme, Tim Sweeney, Nicolas Jaar, Flying Lotus, Dixon, Scuba, Alex Smoke, Ricardo Villalobos, Monolake, DJ Koze, Marcell Dettmann, Mano Le Tough, DJ Harvey, Four Tet, Jon Hopkins, Angelo Badalamenti, Radio Slave, Cassy, and many more.

Current DJ set-up: 2 Technics 1200’s, Allen&Heath Mixer (Xone 92 preferred), Macbook, Traktor Scratch Pro, Kontrol X1, Shure Needles, Vinyl. 


2015 (US) gigs:

Miami: 1/10 (Electric Pickle, Wynwood)
Miami: 2/7 (Mansion Party, Venetian Island)
Denver: 3/5  (DWS Festival, Milk Bar)
Miami: TBC (Miami Music Week/WMC) 

more spring/summer dates to be added soon...

Various

Andrew Kevins