Ruff house and disco direct from NYC.

There are two distinct chapters in the story of Milo Johnson, the first of which begins in Bristol back in 1983 with the formation of The Wild Bunch. The now mythical hip-hop and reggae collective, which ran until 1986, included one DJ Milo. Having formed an interest in the emergent house music of the mid-'80s, Johnson moved on to New York in '89 and began working on a roughed-up interpretation of the genre. The first Nature Boy 12-inches hit shelves in '91, the release titles—The Ruff Disco EP, Necessary Ruffness—serving notice of his MO. Then in '93 production was halted. The birth of his children largely explains the abrupt end to his output—which came just as he was beginning to gain a real foothold in the scene—but Johnson remained in the industry until '96, exporting some of that time period's key releases to Japan.

Despite odd DJ gigs down the years, Johnson's reintroduction (or introduction in many cases) to recorded music in 2010 was a bolt from the blue. Phil South's Golf Channel became home to his lo-fi, sample-heavy dance jams. ("Everyone" is a great example from his "comeback" period.) This harmonious relationship has continued to the present day, with Johnson just issuing Return of the Savage, a tasty double 12-inch's worth of DJ Nature material.

Johnson goes at it for a full 105 minutes on his mix for us, with house and disco forming the bedrock for what is distinctly the style of DJ Nature. 

oxosakoxo

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