CREPUSCULO/NINA HARKER - LA FILLE QUI RIT/PREMIERE CLASSE - ANGEL EYES (12" MIX)/ROXY MUSIC - SECRET FRIEND/PAUL MCCARTNEY - LE FOND DE MES COQUILLAGES/SUTHANY - STILL YOU (ENCORA TU) - JUSTINE AND THE VICTORIAN PUNKS / ???-??? / HISTORY LESSON - JEANETTE ARMSTRONG + HMS DUB / IN MY MIND - LIMP WRIST / ALRIGHT (LONG VERSION) - VIVIEN VEE - SCHLARAFFENLAND - CARMEN                      

BONUS SLOWDANCE : MON ROBOT - LES LOLITAS

Invité spécial • L'espionne

Essentially Free Music episode #906
host/mix: Darr Poran
station: Star & Shadow Radio (Newcastle, UK)
date: 4/10/2022

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ESSENTIALLY FREE MUSIC #906 - 4/10/2022

smoke control2014.aif

@farrfestival incoming! 
There is little left to be said about Maurice Fulton. By this point he is now known as arguably one of the most experienced and talented disc jockeys of a generation and has been essential to the expansion of club music and its culture over the last thirty years. His sound sees him tastefully blend funk, soul and eclectic disco selections alongside modern day house and dance music in a manner which most will never be able to achieve. Championed by leftfield scenes and house music aficionado's alike. Next weekend he will take to the stage at Farr festival who we have been lucky enough to collaborate on to gather this incredibly exclusive mix. 

@farrfestival


Download

Maurice Fulton: The Ransom Note Mix

Question of Faith (Idjut Boys Version)

This Was Belgium 1987-89 - 2 hours of New Beat favourites

New Beat was born and initially exploded in 1987, went supernova (in Belgium) in 1988 and then the formula morphed a bit and was declared dead in 1989. It was slow and initially all about the atmosphere with industrial strength beats - the main form of rhythmic propulsion being the pounding kick and heavy snare. It was often mainly instrumental and when there was lyrical content it often became more about slogans and giving commands - "Move Your Ass And Feel The Beat!", "Let There Be Brightness!", "Shout Out Loud!". While not really New Beat, it's no surprise Technotronic's "Pump Up Jam" was produced by a crew who had produced a ton of New Beat gems.

In 1989 one of New Beat's founders, Marc Grouls said "New Beat is atmosphere, beats, no lyrics, and sure as hell not commercial!!!!!" But, it was already too late. A zillion bandwagon jumpers had diluted the music and flooded the market with too many sub standard 12" singles. New Beat temple, the legendary Boccaccio nightclub, in Destelbergen, near Ghent, had been closed down and it looked like it was all over, but really, it was just the beginning. New Beat morphed into Hard Beat (many of the tracks on this mix are from the Hard Beat era) which quickly morphed into Belgian Rave, which was huge and hugely influential in the UK and is an often overlooked part of the DNA of UK Hardcore, and all that came after. Then from Ghent, R&S Records established itself as thee European Techno label and a huge wave of incredible Techno records emanated from it and many other mighty Belgian labels, but that is another story. 

New Beat arrived just as I first started DJing and I played a lot of it in my DJ sets and built up connections with several of the leading Belgian labels who would send me 12" singles so I had records nobody else here had any idea even existed. I would compile New Beat charts for the music paper The NME which may have given the impression there was a thriving New Beat scene in Scotland. The reality was very different; people here, many of whom would embrace the rave just a little while later never really took to it in a big way.

This mix is comprised of many of my personal favourites that I have loved since they came out (and two I missed at the time and only heard later). I think the tracks have aged like a fine wine, often sounding as good if not better today as they did then. There is definitely a faint whiff of fromage and a big dollop of stoopid in several of these tracks. Of course, it is not all about the cheese and many of these adhere to the "atmosphere, beats, no lyrics, and sure as hell not commercial" rule mentioned above. Some of the best programmed 303 Acid basslines ever made can be heard here along with transcendental hypno synths and those Belgian beats going on and on....! Slow and low, from under 100bpm up to 116, New Beat doesn't chug, it swings in a very distinct way. If you get to see any videos of Belgian clubs of the era, the way people moved to this music is incredible and so different to any dancing we see today.

Many of these tracks are made by the same people under various aliases, which will perhaps be audibly evident. Most of the names have been forgotten, if they were ever even known outside their native Belgium at all, but all are legends to me. 

This mix isn't any kind of attempt to tell the story of New Beat but rather a mix 33 of my favourite 12" singles from that era showing many of the various strains of the New Beat and Hard Beat sound. A lot of love went into this and I hope someone somewhere discovers this music for the first time and falls in love with it as I did way back when. This was Belgium!

This Was Belgium 1987-89 - 2 hours of New Beat favourites

multiple being
host + mixer of "ESSENTIALLY FREE MUSIC" radio, every Sunday 6-8PM GMT on Star & Shadow Radio (Newcastle, UK)

coming soon: 
Soft Japanese Rock for Hard Japanese Times mixtape

darrporan@gmail•com

ESSENTIALLY FREE MUSIC #906 - 4/10/2022

Darr Poran

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