This mix is all music from 1984. It is a special live vinyl mix that I recorded on July 19, 2011 as a promotion for the A.D. (After Disco) series of parties here in Chicago.  The mix has been hosted for a few years on the Loves Podcast and I decided to upload it here to my Soundcloud for the first time.  Here’s a few words I wrote to go with the mix:  

1984 is an amazing year in music. At the time, "house" was still a colloquialism for the music played by Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse. House was not yet a music form in its own right. "Fresh," on Vince Vince Lawrence’s fledgling label Precision, is the only house-qua-house track on the mix. The other tunes are properly considered proto-house -- the music which formed the milieu of dance music which we now describe (rather clumsily) as:

*Electro (e.g., Solo – “Girls, Girls” produced by John Robbie; JellyBean – “The Mexican”); 
*Garage (e.g., Circuit - "Release the Tension" a Timmy Regisford production; Colonel Abrams – “Music Is The Answer”); 
*Italo (e.g., Stop – “Wake Up”; Pancho Ballet – “Dancing Shoes”); 
*Synth and industrial dance (e.g., 52nd Street – “Can’t Afford” produced by New Order’s Stephen Morris; Palais Schaumburg – “The Beat Of Two” produced by Gareth Jones who also produced Depeche/Nitzer Ebb); and 
*Post-disco (e.g., Stephanie Mills – “Medicine Song”).

This music from 1984 is ‘proto’ in the sense that it was establishing the necessary elements of house – e.g., use of certain instruments (drum machines, synths, samplers) – but there are some stark differences.

Although much of the music in 1984 was released on small independents and remained quite underground, there were major successes for dance music at the time and investment in dance music by major labels. There was A&R structure at all record labels and radio play. "Trapped" (1985) by Colonel Abrams sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Earon’s “Land of Hunger” hit the top 40 on the soul singles chart. John “JellyBean” Benitez placed nine songs in the Top Ten of the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

The democratizing force that would be house music had not been fully realized. It was still expensive to make dance music. For example, most of the tracks on the mix feature vocalists, session players or a full band. Although the epic ensembles of the disco era had long passed in fashion and economic viability, dance records were still recorded in professional studios and engineered by individuals like Bob Blank and Herb Powers. The E-max Sampler hit the market in 1984, but the studio standard were samplers like the Fairlight and Synclavier (which had more than $100,000 price tags), each of which were prohibitively expensive for use by most musician/producers.

By 1984 the relatively inexpensive Roland gear was just finding its way into the hands of Chicago, Detroit and New York’s new roots musicians. A year before, Larry Sherman acquired Musical Product’s pressing plant, the only one in Chicago. Ron Hardy was playing "Penthouse and Pavement" by Heaven 17 and "DumDum" at the Music Box. Dance music was about to fall off the edge, for better and for worse.

1984 Track List:

1. Citispeak Featuring Jeanne Harris – I Don't Need Your Handouts (Inst.) – Partytime Records 
2. Pancho Ballet – Dancing Shoes (Instrumental) – Best Record 
3. Jellybean – The Mexican (Funhouse Mix) – EMI America 
4. Nuance Featuring Vikki Love - Take A Chance (Dubapella) - 4th & Broadway  
4. Samson & Delilah – I Can Feel Your Love Slippin' Away (Long Mix & Inst) – Saturn Records 
5. Hugh Masekela – Don't Go Lose It, Baby (Stretch Mix) – Jive Afrika 
6. Colonel Abrams – Music Is The Answer (Dub Version) – Streetwise 
7. The Earons – Land Of Hunger (Extended Version) – Island Records 
8. Wet – That's The Game (Instrumental) – Bellaphon 
9. Circuit – Release The Tension (Dub) – 4th & Broadway 
10. Stephanie Mills – The Medicine Song (Dub Version) – Casablanca Records 
11. Anne Clark – Our Darkness (Remix) – Ink Records 
12. Solo – Girls, Girls (Ah-Ah-Hi) - Next Plateau Records Inc. 
13. 52nd Street – Can't Afford – Profile (on license from Factory) 
14. The Bridge – Love Dance (Industrial Mix) - Second Vision 
15. Stop – Wake Up – Damabi International 
16. Fresh – Dum Dum – Precision 
17. Palais Schaumburg – The Beat Of Two (Extended Version) – Mercury


1984 After Disco (A.D.)

This is Part 2 of my Mystery of the Motherbeat series of DJ mixes. I’ve wanted to record this mix for a long time as a follow-up to my 2018 mix by the same name. Both are a fusion of styles used to build a psychedelic hypnotic soundscape for deep listening and personal synchronization with the heart of Motherbeat. No big hands in the air moments to speak of here, just deep mixing and some of the most beautiful records in my collection. My Journal of the Motherbeat Substack explores the selections and intentions behind this 2 hour and 19 minute mix: https://journalofthemotherbeat.substack.com/p/notes-on-a-dj-mix. The track list is below.

1. LaTour - Blue (XX Records, 1992)
2. @geotaguchi - Deep Blue  (Coymix, 2023) 
3. Caldera - 30 Friends (Freude Am Tanzen, 2022)
4. Y.M.C. - Subway (Yoshitoshi Recordings, 1998) 
5. Brian Tanseau - Relativity (Carl Craig Urban Affair Dub, 1993)
6. @satoshi_tomiie - Un Peu (Abstract Architecture, 2023)
7. @edmondsonandon - On & On (Lissoms, 2023) 
8. Cris. P - Lemon (Psy Section, 2021)
9. @dreamcycleuk - All the Things (Idle Hands, 2021) 
10. Yaw Evans - Only Spirit (GD4YA, 2022) 
11. Todd Edwards - Winter Behavior (i Records, 1995)
12. Toka Project - One Day (Filter Flow, 1999)
13. Brian Eno - Fractal Zoom  (Mary’s Birthday Mix) (Opal Records, 1992)
14. Thurlow Joyce - Varial (NAFF, 2023)
15. Hoodwink  - Trip From The Hip (Mute, 1997)
16. The Heavyweight Kru  =  The Drea-mm (Not On Label, 1999)
17. @perkopair - Prang (Numbers, 2023)
18. Way Out West - The Gift (album version) (Deconstruction, 1997)
19. Anunaku @gu_tsvi - Celeste (WHYT, 2023)
20. Head High - Break Away (Power House, 2023)
21. Kenny Dope - Tom Beat (Dopewax, 2005)
22. S.R. - Dosemeter (Ruffset Records, 2022)
23. Knopha - Corundrum (Mood Hut, 2023)
24. Molen - Molecular Machine (Flight Mode, 2023)
25. Satoshi Tomiie - Proody-106 (Phonogramme, 2023)
26. DJ Tonka - Radical Noise (Force Inc., 1995)
27. Ruffneck Revival - My Knight VI (Not on Label, 1999)
28. Ruffneck Revival - My Knight VII (Not on Label, 1999)
29. Transformer 2  - Fruit of Love (Profile, 1992)
30. American Freedom Train - Cab Ride (Soundbird, 1975)
31. Way Out West  - Earth (Deconstruction, 1997)

Eris Drew’s Mystery of the Motherbeat Part 2

Reactiv-8

Day After A Night With U / Stars & Water

Day After A Night With U

fabric presents Octo Octa & Eris Drew

Reactiv-8 (DJ Mix)

I recorded this mix in 2018 for the Her Damit festival and titled it the Mystery of the Motherbeat. I was hungry to tour Europe for the first time and agreed to do a mix and play the festival on a shoestring budget. Her Damit went into bankruptcy later that year, failing to pay artists and others for their work.  They also let their Soundcloud account expire, losing all the mixes they commissioned for the series. 

I am re-releasing this mix under its original name. Its real name. It is one of my deepest mixes. It is filled with the love and hope for the future that I put into it. It was recorded a week before I went to visit Maya and Brooke for the first time in March of 2018, exactly two years ago. That visit would change my life.  

Metronome - Voyage to the Bottom of the Bass (WBR Records 1991) 
Visions of Rhythm - Power of Purchase (Klasse Wrecks 2017)
Christian Tiger School - If You Want To (Original Version) (Lissoms 2018)
DJ Python - Cuál (Incienso 2017) 
Pseudopolis - Tracer (Redstone Press 2017)
Bassbin Twins III - untitled (Bassbin Records 1995)
Nitro Delux feat Silk - Hypno House (Deep Dub) (Cutting Records 1990)
Christian Tiger School - If You Want To (Edmondson Version) (Lissoms 2018)
Friends of Mathew - Out There (Raw mix) (Pulse-8 Records 1991)
DJ bwin - Mit Bonus... (First Second Label 2017)
Glas Rm - Fully Dipped (Wells Street  2017)
Ben Cohen - Entrance (from “Lesser Mysteries”) (Brokntoys 2018)
DJ Psychiatre - Trust Issues (Gasp 2017)
Hawke - 3 Moods in a Gurple Parden (Hardkiss Music 1993)
Dream Cycle - Paradise State (Sneaker Social Club 2017)
Human Movement - I Need (12 inch mix) (Of Leisure 2017)
Waterpark - Data Orb (Deep Blue 2016)
Environments - Ultimate Thunderstorm (Syntonic Research, Inc. 1979)

Eris Drew’s Mystery of the Motherbeat Part 1 (formerly Her Damit)

From my personal collection comes a set of favorite bass tunes and breakbeat jams mixed, cut 'n' scratched with psychedelic love from my studio in New Hampshire, USA. For this mix I pulled records from many genres, like electro, dub step, hardcore, techno, subwoofer test, house, club, UKG, bassline, & acid. I hope you enjoy these ecstatic jeep beets on long rides into the sunset or a on trip with friends into the Mystery! Please check out & directly support the work of the amazing independent artists featured on the tracklist below. xoxo - Eris 

Equipment: Two (2) Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntables, Ortofon Elliptical Styli, Ecler Nuo 4 DJ Mixer, Sennheiser HD-25 Headphones, Apogee Element 48 (A/D), LogicX (editing & mastering), Waves L3 & SSL plug-ins (mastering), Yamaha HS8 tops & sub (studio); Infinity car stereo & sub (A/B).

Mastered from vinyl by Eris for Ultra Bass. Podcast cover design by João Ervedosa. Photo by neris_k of Eris live in the mix with Make Me London at MOT Unit 18. 

Tracklist (not including scratches & drops):

1.	D.J. Essentials Inc. – Grace in Your Face (Acapella Anonymous 1996) [excerpt]
2.	E-Unity – Unknown Graffito (Intramuros 2018)
3.	Basic Rhythm – Get Up (Planet Mu 2019)
4.	Bassbin Twins – B-Boy’s Take Control (2004)
5.	Walton – Rolla (Illian Tape 2019)
6.	D. Tiffany – Feel U (Planet Euphorique 2018)
7.	Tom Joyce – Aquaplaning (Ninja Tools 2017)
8.	Ebb – Surface Tension (Subtle 2019)
9.	Wink – Hypnotizing (Nervous 1996)
10.	Roxy Breaks – The Funk is On (303 1996)
11.	Phone Traxx – No More Mr. Nice Guy (Eris No More Nice Girls Overdub*) (Phone 2019)
12.	The Sounds of Silence – S.O.S. Theme/I Got the Rythm* (Inner City Records, Co. 1993)
13.	Tessela – Hackney Parrot (Poly Kicks 2013)
14.	Edge DJ – FL IT (Edge Records 1992)
15.	Edge DJ – CLR SKY (Edge Records 1992) 
16.	D. Tiffany – Spirit Alien (Word & Sound 2018)
17.	E-Unity – Everlasting Legacy (FTD Records 2018)
18.	Trixx-sentials – South of Acid (ESP-Sun 1996)
19.	Hebbe – Tumble (System Music 2019)
20.	Bassbin Loops – Superstar Loops (1998)

ECSTATIC BASS TRANSMISSION 1

High Priestess of the Motherbeat. Vinyl slinging since 1994. Dissolve boundaries and models. Unlock your body. Find each other.
alex@biota.agency (Alex, Worldwide)
michelle@thebunkerny.com (USA / Canada)
chanel@dawncreative.agency (Press)

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