Greg Wilson Edits

808 State ‘Pacific State’ (greg wilson electric chair edit)

130 bpm

Never previously shared.

Madchester anthem from 1989, which, along with ‘WFL’ by the Happy Mondays, ‘Voodoo Ray’ by A Guy Called Gerald and ‘Fools Gold’ by the Stone Roses, encapsulates the time when the rainy city was at the epicentre of the dance universe.

Twenty years later I included it as the closing track on my Essential Mix (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/essential-mix-greg-wilson-mix-for-bbc-radio-1), and, as with the opening track, the Dimitri From Paris edit of ‘Down To Love Town’ by The Originals, it features Jesse Jackson’s invocation from the 1972 Wattstax festival (which had previously been used to such great effect by Andrew Weatherall in his remix of ‘Come Together’ by Primal Scream).

However, I originally put this together not for the Essential Mix, but to open my appearance at the Electric Chair Last Supper on December 29th 2007. A number of previous guests had been invited to play for half an hour each, as the decision had been made to close this Manchester institution whilst it was still at the height of its popularity. As things worked out, I was the final guest to deejay at this cherished club night - only the residents played after me. I wanted to pay my respects in a proper manner, evoking the spirit of Manchester past, back through the halcyon late 80’s days of The Haçienda to my own time there in ’83, and at Legend beforehand, via a handful of track selections that reflected the spirit of this great music city, for which the Electric Chair, soon to be no more, had written a further chapter. You can stream / download the mix here: http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/electric-chair-last-supper-29

The purpose of this edit was purely to extend the intro of the ‘Pacific 707’ version to suitably build into Jesse Jackson's poignant words before the beats kick in, whilst adding some subtle ambience to add to the overall atmospheric of this wonderful track, which always struck me as a ‘Stranger On The Shore’ for the Rave generation (the evocative 1961 single by clarinettist Acker Bilk, the first British recording to reach #1 in the USA).

Greg Wilson – July 2011

808 State 'Pacific State' (greg wilson electric chair edit)

Imagination & Missy Elliot ‘Gotta Keep Workin’ it’ (greg wilson mash-up)

100 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2006 & 2008.

In March 2004 I appeared at the Time Machine night in Nottingham, which was held at The Social. I was still very much finding my feet, having only started up again a few months beforehand, and this was one of my first handful of bookings following my comeback. It was a night run by Soul Mekanik (Kelvin Andrews and Danny Spencer), who, together with Daniel Donnachie, were the resident DJ’s.

 Daniel put me up that night, and we sat up into the early hours listening to records, a few of which he was kind enough to record to CD for me. One of these was the instrumental of a PM Dawn track called ‘Gotta Be…Movin’ On Up’, which was built around the unmistakeable killer groove of ‘Just An Illusion’ by Imagination.

 I can’t recall if it was a few weeks, or a few months later, but I remember driving to collect my son from Primary School listening to the CD that Daniel had done for me – I can see exactly where I was, approaching the traffic lights, about to turn right onto Queens Drive in Liverpool, where the school was, when in my minds ear I could hear Missy Elliot’s ‘Work It’ rap fitting hand in glove on top of that groove.

 When I got back home I tried it out and, just as I’d envisaged, it was a perfect marriage, so I began to glue it all together. I utilized Jay-Z Feat Mary J. Blige ‘Can’t Knock The Hustle’ during the intro and the break, whilst slipping in Missy Elliot’s rap section from Tweet’s ‘Oops (Oh My)’ between the parts I’d used from ‘Work It’. A sprinkle of Sinnamon, and some suitably sensual sighs and moans further peppered up proceedings, whilst Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ puts in a brief cameo via the line ‘oh baby now let’s get down tonight’ and a few ‘ooohs’.

 The resulting mash-up became something of a signature track for me, especially big with the girls, and was twice pressed on ‘DJ only’ 12” - in 2006, then again in 2008. I still get asked for it now, and played it most recently over in Croatia at the Garden Festival.

 I originally listed the artist name as Dawn Elliot & Co, and it was later pressed on limited vinyl as Young Dog Alien (this is how it appears in the tracklisting of my Radio 1 Essential Mix from 2009), however, here I’ve settled on its most recognisable elements, Imagination & Missy Elliot.

 I later put together a further version that features the vocal of ‘Just An Illusion’ before Missy’s rap kicks in. It was available here for a period last year – I’ll re-upload at some point.

 Greg Wilson - July 2011

Imagination & Missy Elliot 'Gotta Keep Workin' It' (greg wilson mash-up)

Black Satin Featuring Fred Parris ‘Tears, Tears, Tears’ (greg wilson extnd edit)

115 bpm

Never previously shared.

Issued in the US in 1976 on the Buddah label, ‘Tears, Tears, Tears’ is a track I used to play at the Penny Farthing and the Chelsea Reach in New Brighton following its UK release in March 1977. With the Disco era taking shape, ‘Tears, Tears, Tears’ was a bit of a throwback, a funky Soul track with its own unique edge, highlighted by its foot stomping chorus - it was a record I was extremely fond of, and still am. 

Although he wasn’t credited on the label, it’s supposedly a Tom Moulton mix, which sounds about right given that the pioneering remixer was working with other Buddah artists, like The Trammps, Melba Moore and Andrea True Connection, at this time. Buddah was regarded as one of the leading labels during Disco’s early emergence, scoring a number of chart hits here in the UK, but ‘Tears, Tears, Tears’ wasn’t one of them, it was a more obscure Buddah release, which was only available on 7” (although there was a US DJ Only 12”), so it’s a record not many people know these days.

I’m often asked what constitutes a re-edit, and my answer is that there is no single formula – it can be a complex time-consuming process, with beats and / or overdubs added to give it a more contemporary flavour, or it can be a simple extension of the track as it originally appeared. The latter is true here. All I’ve done is extend the intro by looping it around, giving the groove a chance to breathe (and DJ's a mix in), whilst doubling the length of the first chorus, so there’s more of a build before the marvelous lead vocal enters. The rest takes care of itself and any further edits would be superfluous – it’s a case of less is more. All in all I’ve only added around fifty extra seconds. 

It recently appeared in my Soul Casino selection from last month’s Vintage Festival at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/soul-casino-vintage-southbank/

This prompted a number of enquiries as to what it is, and, given the interest, I thought it would be good to share here.

Greg Wilson – August 2011

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

Black Satin Featuring Fred Parris 'Tears, Tears, Tears' (greg wilson extnd edit)

Edit The Edit ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ (greg wilson edit of pta mash-ups)

112 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only in 2007 & 2009.

Of all the tracks I’ve played since my DJ return at the end of ’03, this has been undoubtedly the most requested. It was very much a signature track for a number of years, and still makes an appearance from time to time nowadays.

It all stems from when I picked up a 12” from Piccadilly Records in Manchester during the summer of 2005. It was by The P.T.A (Paul Martin and Tyrrell) on Throw Away Records, and included two mash-ups, both of which used the vocal from Amerie’s ‘1 Thing’, which had been a big R&B hit earlier that year. On one side of the 12” it had been mashed with Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ (this was titled ‘Unfinished Thing’), whilst on the other, ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ by the Rolling Stones (‘One For The Devil’). Not only had each of these combinations melded brilliantly, but both had ‘Sympathy’ in the title. This impressed me no end – some genius juxtaposition going on there.

Listening closer it was clear that there’d been some tampering, but it wasn’t until much later that I realised that, apart from the Amerie acappella, everything had been re-created by Canadian producer / DJ Tyrrell, including Keith Richard’s iconic guitar solo, which sounded better than ever - I’d presumed that the version of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ he’d used had come from some Andrew Loog Oldham type instrumental (as was the case when The Verve famously sampled Oldham’s orchestral arrangement of the Stones’ ‘The Last Time’, on their 90’s classic ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’), so this only added to my awe at what Tyrrell and Paul had somehow managed to magic up.

Brilliance on vinyl is all good and well, but I’d bought the track with the dancefloor in mind, so it was now a case of how it walked the walk. Straight away I had a problem – which side to play? They were both really strong and I couldn’t make my mind up at first, but then I went between the horns of this dilemma and decided to mix one straight into the other, as though it was a single continuous track. I originally did this live (they appear together this way on a recording from Birmingham’s much lamented Jigsaw night, where I played in August ’05), but then I decided to put together an edit so I could take the combined length down by about three minutes and tighten the idea up. I called this version ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ – I utilized the percussion from ‘One For The Devil’ for the intro, before moving into the main body of ‘Unfinished Thing’, which then mixes back into ‘One for The Devil’ during the breakdown, reaching its climax with the guitar solo. To round things off I gave it a customary peppering of samples and spins.

The edit went Big with a capital B for me, and everywhere I went people were asking for it – it was one of those tracks you couldn’t stop playing because you knew that people would be disappointed not to hear it. When I came to put together my Essential Mix for Radio 1 in January ‘09, ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ was probably the first track on my list (the mix focusing on the tunes that had served me best since my comeback five years previous).

A limited 12” on the Edit The Edit inprint was made available in 2007 – as the name suggests, this was for my edits of other peoples edits (or mash-ups, as in this case). The original P.T.A release was fully credited on the label – I’d made contact with Tyrrell via email and he’d given his blessing for the 12” to be pressed. We got to meet for the first time when I was in London appearing at Plastic People in April ’07, where he’d hear me play ‘Two Sides’ over that killer system.

In 2009 it would re-appear on vinyl, this time as the second release in the Reactivate series (following on from ‘I Was A Teenage DJ’ / ‘Gotta Keep Workin’ It’), a new wave of DJ demand resulting from its Essential Mix inclusion.

Given that I can’t list the artists as Amerie, Massive Attack & the Rolling Stones (because two thirds of that trio are Tyrrell in disguise), I’ll stick to Edit The Edit ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy', which is how it’s been listed most often, Essential Mix included.

When I asked Tyrrell if he was happy for me to upload it here he told me to ‘go ahead, spread the love’. So here it is, maintaining the bi-yearly sequence – 2005 original P.T.A 12”, 2007 Edit The Edit 12”, 2009 Reactivate 12”, and now 2011 SoundCloud download.

Greg Wilson – August 2011


Edit The Edit 'Two Sides Of Sympathy' (greg wilson edit of pta mash-ups)

Fujiya &amp; Miyagi &amp; Madonna ‘Fujiya &amp; Madge’ (greg wilson mash-up)

137 bpm

Never previously shared

In 2007 I made my Big Chill debut on the fondly remembered Fat Tuesday stage, which was then a mainstay of the festival. At the time, it was probably the most people I’d played to since my DJ return, the crowd stretching right back in a large field. It was a top gig, and would be the first in a four year run of bookings at the festival, broken only this year when I didn’t appear.

I’d put together a couple of exclusives for the occasion, including this, a mash-up of Fujiya &amp; Miyagi’s ‘Ankle Injuries’, bookended with Madonna’s acappella from ‘Ray Of Light’, which I called ‘Fujiya &amp; Madge’.

Fujiya &amp; Miyagi are a Brighton based band who had been signed by Sav Remzi for his Tirk label. It was Tirk who released my Credit To The Edit compilations in 2005 and 2009, so I was obviously aware of Fujiya &amp; Miyagi via my dealings there, and had picked up a copy of their album ‘Transparent Things’,  issued a few months on from Credit To The Edit Vol 1. The infectiously quirky lead track, which had also been pressed on 10” vinyl, was ‘Ankle Injuries’, and I loved the lyric – with its seemingly random road references it weaved word imagery, and I suppose that the final line, ‘like pixelated scraps of jazz mags in your head lights’, made a tentative connection in my mind to ‘Ray Of Light’. So, having Madonna’s  acappella to hand, I thought I’d see how the two would work together, extending the intro to incorporate the opening verse of ‘Ray Of Light’, which I reprised after the main body of ‘Ankle Injuries’, this time using the second verse, before concluding with the closing ‘quicker than a ray of light’ vocal lines.

Greg Wilson – September 2011

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

Fujiya & Miyagi & Madonna 'Fujiya & Madge' (greg wilson mash-up)

Boz Scaggs ‘Lowdown’ (greg wilson edit)

115 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2008.

This is a straightforward, no added elements extension of ‘Lowdown’ that I knocked together back in 2004, and which would later be shared on limited vinyl in 2008 as ‘Blue Eyed Boz’, issued on the same 12” as ‘Adriano Italiano’ to launch the GW Ruff Edits series. It’s popped up in a few of my live mixes down the years, and features in the East Village London mix on here from last December.

'Lowdown' was released in the UK 35 years ago, in September 1976. Between January 2006 and September 2007 I compiled a series called Time Capsule for Samurai FM, where, month by month, I revisited the tracks I used to play in the clubs exactly 30 years earlier. It was a real labour of love, for not only did I have to research and often re-source the music included (I had a load of records stolen in 1985, so there were big holes in my collection), I also wrote an accompanying piece every month looking at the records featured, and how my fledgling DJ career was shaping up. 'Lowdown' was a single I used to play at the time in my New Brighton residencies, the Chelsea Reach and the Penny Farthing. Time Capsule covered the period I was at the Chelsea and the Penny, leading up to when I took over at the Golden Guinea, where I’d spend 3 memorable years before embarking on my Wigan / Manchester adventure in the early 80’s. 

I’d hoped to take Time Capsule all the way through 1977, but the workload became too much and I found myself unable to meet the monthly deadlines, so I reluctantly had to stop at Sept 77, with the intention of getting back to it in the future if I ever have sufficient time on my hands. Even if this turns out to be all I ever manage to do, Time Capsule, as I left it 4 years ago, still stands as a snapshot archive from a key moment in dance culture, as the Disco era gained full momentum and the 12” gradually began to take over from the 7” in the affections of British DJ’s.

All the programmes, plus ‘First Impressions’, which inspired the series, can be accessed here:
https://www.mixcloud.com/gregwilson/playlists/greg-wilson-time-capsule/

Here’s what I wrote about ‘Lowdown’ for the Sept 76 Time Capsule:
“Regarded as one of the classic Blue-Eyed Soul singles, 'Lowdown' by Boz Scaggs, despite its popularity on the UK club scene, peaked at a somewhat disappointing position of number 28 on the British chart. By contrast, the single had reached number 3 stateside, with the album it was taken from, 'Silk Degrees', becoming an American classic, which sold more than 5 million copies and spent over 2 years on the chart! Picking up a Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues song, 'Lowdown' was recorded with a team of session musicians, who would later form the nucleus of the hit band Toto. In the early 60's, Scaggs, who was Ohio born, had left his Texas home to briefly join London's burgeoning R&B scene, returning to record his debut solo album, 'Boz' in 1965. He'd later appear on the first 2 Steve Miller Band LP's, 'Children Of The Future' (1968) and 'Sailor' (1969), before continuing his solo career with a series of albums for Atlantic Records. However, it wasn't until he signed to Columbia that the commercial acclaim, which had previously eluded him, finally came thanks to 'Silk Degrees'.”

Greg Wilson – September 2011

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

Boz Scaggs 'Lowdown' (greg wilson edit)

D.C. LaRue ‘Cathedrals’ (greg wilson edit)

119 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2007.

Pressed in 2007 as ‘DC La Groove’, just a few months after I'd put it together, this instantly became a big tune for me and was later included on my Essential Mix in 2009 (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/essential-mix-greg-wilson-mix-for-bbc-radio-1) and was most recently featured at the camptastic NYC Downlow in Glastonbury last June (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/glastonbury-nyc-downlow-17-06/).   

I’d always been captivated by the lyrics of ‘Cathedrals’ (I’ve copied below what I wrote about the original version for my Time Capsule series), and used to play it when it first came out in ’76, but I wanted a version that placed the emphasis on the superb rhythm section. I’d initially planned to retain some of the vocal, but eventually decided an instrumental would work best for my purposes. I set about removing the vocal sections and, having thrown in some samples for good measure, I knew I had an edit that would do the business. 

Here’s what I wrote in November 2006 for the Nov ‘76 edition of Time Capsule:
“D.C. LaRue's 'Cathedrals' is an acknowledged classic of the Disco era. Released on Pyramid in the US, like many dance records of the time it broke via the gay scene in New York and would climb to number 6 on the Billboard Disco chart. Connecticut born LaRue (real name David Charles L'Heureux) had started out in the music business as a graphic designer, the capacity in which he first met the people at Pyramid. 'Cathedrals', underpinned by a wonderful groove, is a unique sounding record, the lyrics of which I always found somewhat haunting, especially the core question 'where are they now?' and the line that gives the track its title 'they could fill cathedrals' - there was certainly something about 'Cathedrals' that was slightly disquieting. Years later, following the devastation of the gay community in New York as a result of the AIDS virus, 'Cathedrals', listened to in hindsight, seemed to take on something of a prophetic tone - it was almost as though the words could have been written post, rather than pre-AIDS. In an interview in Blues & Soul following the tracks UK release (it had topped the B&S singles chart - a rare occurrence for a white artist, particularly one releasing his first UK single), LaRue explained the meaning of the lyrics: "It's a story about urban sexuality in America. It deals with the actual consciousness of promiscuity that exists in discos around America today - you know, the situation where a guy picks up a girl or another guy at a disco and they go home and make love even before they know each other's name". He continued: "It's such an empty, fruitless way of living to my mind and that's basically what Cathedrals deals with - the emptiness and waste of humanity that this situation creates'. These final words would prove forebodingly true in a way he could never have imagined when he said them.”

Full text and Nov ’76 programme here:
http://samurai.fm/timecapsule/greg-wilsons-time-capsule-november-1976

Greg Wilson – October 2011

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

D.C. LaRue 'Cathedrals' (greg wilson edit)

Captain Rapp ‘Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It)’ (greg wilson edit)

120 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2009.

With all the talk of recession during late 2008 through 2009, Captain Rapp’s ‘Bad Times’ kept running through my head, prompting the idea to put together this edit, which would be pressed  to limited vinyl as part of the Ruff Edits series, appearing as ‘Ruff Rapp’ on Ruff Edits #3. Now, with the news reporters back to warning us of a rocky road ahead, with all the social problems this might entail, it provides a topical opportunity to share it here.

Taking its lyrical cue from 1982’s seminal recording, ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, ‘Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It)’ was a socially conscious rap that explored the issues of the day, topped off with the raw pleas of singer Kimberley Ball. Just as important though was the killer Electro-Funk groove that set the more discerning of dancefloors alight. A proper underground tune that was huge for me during the latter part of ’83 , topping my floorfillers list not long before I called time on my DJ career:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/lists/no1_floorfillers.html

This was very much a track you’d only hear if you were tuned into what was going on in the black clubs over here. Like the majority of tracks I played, I’d picked it up on import from Spin Inn, the essential shop in the North for Soul, Funk, Disco, Electro-Funk and Jazz (the elements that made up a specialist night circa ‘83). As I've said before, if you didn't buy your records at an import stockist like Spin Inn, you couldn't seriously aspire to be a black music specialist, and Spin Inn was right up there, along with an elite of shops, like Groove and City Sounds in London, shaping the course of UK club culture via the constant stream of dance music, great, good and not so good, they brought into this country.

Whereas New York was the centre of the dance universe at this time, its hybrid groove and technological experimentation pushing the music ever forward, ‘Bad Times’ was a West Coast, not East Coast  track, released on a small label out of Los Angeles called Saturn, with unknowns, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (along with Rich Cason), credited as arranging and performing (Jam & Lewis would, of course, become the most successful dance / R&B producers of the mid-late 80’s). Captain Rapp himself was Larry Earl Glenn, whose 1981 ‘Gigalo Rapp’ (by Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp) has its place in history as the first West Coast Rap 12”. 

‘Bad Times’ would be issued in the UK on the Becket label, but failed to make any real impact beyond the black scene. As such, it’s always retained its underground credentials, and a place in the hearts of black music enthusiasts with a fond ear for the early 80’s. 

Greg Wilson – October 2011

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

Captain Rapp 'Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)' (greg wilson edit)

Raw Silk 'Do It To The Music' (greg wilson edit)

114bpm

Never previously shared

I know there are quite a few edits of ‘Do It To The Music’ knocking about, a couple of which I’ve played out myself (Frico & Kid Color), but here’s the one I put together back in 2006 that’s popped up in a couple of my mixes, just a ruff from the vinyl incorporating both the main vocal mix and the dub, with no added elements. I only ever intended it to be for my own personal use, rather than something I considered pressing up (otherwise I’d have tried to get hold of a slightly cleaner copy to work from). The reason I’d discounted it for inclusion on a limited run 12” was because I’d thought about the track as a potential candidate for the first Credit To The Edit album the previous year, but I’d already used the acappella from the beginning of the dub over DMX Krew’s ‘Who Got The Funk’, the combination becoming Raw DMX ‘Do It To The Funk’ – the first track I played on my DJ comeback at Music Is Better (see: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/09/music-is-better-re-edited-highlights), and subsequently a key C2theE track. I figured an additional Raw Silk edit would be overkill, so the idea was shelved. But now we’re at a different point in time and I’m sharing edits here on SoundCloud, so here it is.

Mixed by Nick Martinelli & David Todd and released in the US on Mel Cheren’s West End label, ‘Do It To The Music’ was picked up on import by specialist DJ's in the UK, but following its release here on KR it’d crossover to the more mainstream clubs, and eventually enter the Top 20 of the charts here. West End was the source for so many classic underground cuts during my time at Legend and Wigan Pier (Peech Boys, Brenda Taylor, Stone, Shirley Lites, Barbara Mason, Forrrce, DJ Divine etc), and it was right up there with the likes of Prelude and Tommy Boy and as one of the most essential labels of the era as far as the black scene here in the UK was concerned.

So, without further adieu; no time for criticising, music's hypnotising, everybody's temperature's rising, so get down.

Greg Wilson – October 2011

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

Raw Silk 'Do It To The Music' (greg wilson edit)

Sugardaddy & DJ Bone ‘Whatever Happened To The Soul?’ (greg wilson mash-up)

118 bpm

Never previously shared.

You can also read about this track at my blog with accompanying images:
https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/10/whatever-happened-to-the-soul/#more-3209

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

Sugardaddy & DJ Bone 'Whatever Happened To The Soul?' (greg wilson mash-up)

Crystal Grass ‘Crystal World’ (greg wilson edit)

122 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2010.

I’ve just blogged about the ‘Time Capsule’ series I did for Samurai FM during 06/07 – where I re-visited the records I was playing exactly 30 years earlier, month by month. This was born of ‘First Impressions’ a selection of 25 singles I played when I first started out as a club DJ back in December 1975. Full lowdown here:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/11/time-capsule/  

‘First Impressions’ includes the enigmatic French Disco Funk nugget, ‘Crystal World’ by Crystal Grass, a track that really blew my mind when I first heard it, and continues to be a big personal favourite from that mid-70’s period. There were many great records around at the time, but this had a different edge about it – right from the get go, with that addictive driving bassline, there was something pretty trippy taking place within these Gallic grooves. 

I suppose it was always primed for an edit from me, just to extend it out a bit. This ended up being pressed on vinyl back to back with an edit of another essential early European club cut, ‘Jungle Fever’ by Chakachas (from 1972). The coupling appeared on GW Ruff Edits #4 as ‘French Crystal’ / ‘Belgian Jungle’.

It’s European origin certainly comes into it, but the unusual, somewhat uncanny atmosphere of ‘Crystal World’ is what will always set it apart as a unique recording (the closest to this vibe during the same era, to my ears, was Strutt’s ‘Time Moves On’, from ‘76, with its distinctively eerie undertones – a track that I’ve also subsequently edited, this time for Cosmic Boogie). When I played at the Soul Casino during the Vintage Festival on London’s Southbank last summer, both the Crystal Grass and Strutt edits featured, alongside other selections from the 7 year period ’69-‘76 . You can check it out here:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/soul-casino-vintage-southbank/ 

Greg Wilson – November 2011

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

Crystal Grass 'Crystal World' (greg wilson edit)

Dubble D & Rakim ‘Soul Squelch’ (greg wilson mash-up)

110 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2006

Having just done a blog post about Ralph Lawson’s Basic Vision, where he celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the seminal UK club night Back To Basics (see: www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/11/back-to-back-to-basics), I thought it might be timely to share this mash-up, where I run Eric B & Rakim 1987 Hip Hop classic ‘I Know You Got Soul’ over Dubble D’s ‘Squelch’, a track that was on the album ‘Reachin’ Out’, issued via Ralph’s 2020Vision label in 2005.

I always associate this mash-up with my first appearance at Manchester’s Electric Chair in February ’05, because I put it together as my opening track specifically for that night – the juxtaposition of Mancunian, Dubble D (aka Danny Ward), a contemporary artist, with Eric B & Rakim, who evoked my 80’s Hip Hop connections with the city, struck the past / present balance I’m always eager to find. However, given Ralph Lawson’s association with Dubble D, there’s also a crucial Back To Basics connectivity.

So it was fitting that ‘Soul Squelch’ was eventually made available on a limited DJ 12”, the first issued on the 2020Vision affiliated Redux imprint, in 2006, alongside another 2020 related mash-up of mine, ‘Chocolate Factor’, this time combining Random Factor’s ‘Circuit Semantics’ (2004) with Chocolate Milk’s ‘Who’s Getting It Now’ (1982) – the release was topped off with an edit of Boogie Corporation’s ‘Dirty Rip’ (alias ‘Hardcore Boogie’). Apart from putting together the edits, I also came up with the label name, which was borrowed from the 2001 ‘Apocalypse Now Redux’, an extended version of the classic 1979 movie, one of my all-time favourites (interestingly ‘Apocalypse Now’ is also referenced by PBR Streetgang, also from Leeds, also part of the re- edits movement – it’s the codename for the boat that takes Willard up the river on his mission to assassinate Kurtz). 

Redux, which continues to thrive today under the stewardship of Andy Whittaker and Tristan da Cunha,  had it on their blog as a free download back in May, and Dubble D also made it available via his SoundCloud (see: http://reduxrecords.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/dubble-d-rakim-soul-squelch-greg-wilsons-mashup-free-download), but it’s completed its download quota now.

You can hear it kicking off the Electric Chair mix here (exclusive content – you must be signed in to access):
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/electric-chair-manchester-26 

Greg Wilson – November 2011

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

Dubble D & Rakim 'Soul Squelch' (greg wilson mash-up)

The Circle City Band 'Magic' (greg wilson edit)

111 bpm

Never previously shared

Just over a year ago I was being driven back to my hotel, having played in Los Angeles for the Heading Home crew. DJ Rick Wren was behind the wheel and he had a CD on, which he'd compiled, featuring some early 80's grooves. A track came on that was instanly familiar, but I couldn't quite place it, I waited for the vocal to come in and, when it did, I instantly knew it was 'Magic', but the group name eluded me, so I asked Rick, 'who is this?', to which he replied 'The Circle City Band'. Of course, how could I have forgotten - it was like bumping into an old friend who hadn't crossed your mind for years, but now they were with you again the good times you once shared came flooding back.

I hadn't heard 'Magic' since I bought an import copy when it was out back in 1983, not long before I stopped deejaying if my memory serves me right. I don't think it was ever released in the UK, so it was pretty obscure in the wider scheme of things, a track you'd only hear on the black scene - I remember it being a big tune in Manchester for Chad Jackson, who took over my Wednesday nights at Legend when I stopped.  It would have been one of the records I had stolen in '85, and it had completely slipped under my radar ever since - for a full quarter of a century! So it was a real buzz for it to re-appear to me as if by magic (excuse the pun), and, recognising this, when we got to the hotel Rick ejected the CD and kindly gave it to me. 

After I got back to the UK I dug out the CD Rick had given me and put this edit together. Nothing fancy, just an extended intro and a mix out, with a touch more tinkering inbetween. The first time I played it out was at East Village in London the week before Christmas, on a memorable night when people braved blizzard conditions to pack the club out - 'Magic' is the 2nd track in:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/east-village-london-18-12-10-greg-wilson-live-mix

It's the fact that a year has almost passed and I'm returning to East Village for that same Saturday before Christmas slot, this time on the 17th, that made me think about sharing this edit here now. 

Greg Wilson - December 2011

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

The Circle City Band 'Magic' (greg wilson edit)

Modern Sound Corporation ‘Safari’ (greg wilson edit)

130 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2008

This edit (peppered with additional spins and samples) first appeared on Ruff Edits #2 as ‘Scandinavian Safari’ - the original, ‘Safari’ by Modern Sound Corporation, being a track I used to play at my hometown club, New Brighton’s Golden Guinea, back in 1979. For my edit, I placed the emphasis on the superior instrumental ‘Pt 2′ version, which found favour in UK Jazz-Funk circles at the time, its unique combination of African and Caribbean flavours setting it apart as a dubbed-up percussion driven Disco hybrid. 

Arriving on import via TK’s Sunshine Sound label, prior to its UK release on Epic, it was assumed that this was hot out of Miami – but there was a strange but true twist to the tale, as it turned out to be of Swedish origin, having first surfaced in this unlikely location the previous year. It was, however, remixed by Florida’s finest, Harry Wayne Casey & Richard Finch, from KC & The Sunshine Band.

In 2000, the Idjut Boys excavated it for their ‘Saturday Night Live’ compilation on Nuphonic, and it subsequently became a much sought after eBay item.

Thinking about it now, the Ruff Edits series has, to date, been equally split between US and European tracks (by accident rather than design), with the European inclusions each from a different country – Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden and the UK. 

The Belgian and French inclusions are already uploaded here:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/chakachas-jungle-fever-greg 
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/crystal-grass-crystal-world 

*just noticed that when you listen directly from the laptop you can hardly hear the bass at all - so bear this in mind, the bass being a key element of the track.

Greg Wilson – December 2011

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

Modern Sound Corporation 'Safari' (greg wilson edit)

2020 Update: Now available on limited 12" vinyl for the first time. Released 17th January on A&R Edits, coupled with Moplen's edit of Tavares' 'It Only Takes A Minute Girl', which you can check out here: https://hearthis.at/ar-edits/123-the-tavares-it-only-takes-a-minute-girl-moplen-edit

Buy the vinyl here: https://a-and-r-edits.bandcamp.com/

David Joseph’s ‘You Can’t Hide (Your Love From Me)' is a track I’ll forever have a strong personal association with, given that it was with 2 copies of this 12" that I made my claim to fame as the 1st UK DJ to mix live on TV – on February 25th 1983 at Newcastle’s Tyne Tees TV studio, on the classic British music show, ‘The Tube’. Full story and YouTube clip here at Electrofunkroots:
 http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/articles/on_the_tube.html 

Last April I was sent a link to an edit by Italian DJ Moplen™ and was, as you can imagine, intrigued when I saw what it was - David Joseph – ‘You Can't Hide (Your DUB From Me)’. Utilizing the Larry Levan mix (I’d used original UK twelves on The Tube, the Levan mix wouldn’t come until later, when the track went big in the NYC clubs), Moplen had done a fine job, but unfortunately I couldn’t play it. 

I replied to his mail, explaining that because of my connection to the track I would need the vocal in there at some point, otherwise the dancefloor might feel short changed. The whole dub vibe teases things up a treat, but the money shot of the song is a must for my own purposes. Moplen was getting a great reaction to the edit as it was, and rightly so – check it out here:
http://soundcloud.com/moplen/david-joseph-you-cant-hide-moplen-edit  

So, for my own personal use, I edited Moplen’s edit to incorporate the full vocal, and the resulting version became one of my big festival tracks of 2011, and something that’s appeared in a number of my live mixes.

This track has come a long way with me since I was first sent a UK promo by Island Records 29 years ago.  

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

David Joseph 'You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)' (greg wilson edit of moplen edit of levan mix)

Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer’ (greg wilson edit)

118 bpm

Previously limited DJ only vinyl / CD 2007.

Pressed in 2007 as ‘Gotta Tape I Wanna Play', I originally put this together for my US debut in October 2005, at APT in NYC – recording here:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/first-time-in-nyc-apt-21-10-05 

I was a big fan of ‘Stop Making Sense’, the Talking Heads concert from 1984, which was released as both a film and an album. It starts with David Byrne on an empty stage with just a ghetto blaster and acoustic guitar, performing one of the band’s best-known tracks, ‘Psycho Killer, which was originally released in 1977. The beats, courtesy of a Roland TR-808 drum machine, re-appear in extended form over the closing credits. The idea of an edit was there from the moment I bought ‘Stop Making Sense’ on VHS back in the 80’s, but the sound quality from the video wouldn’t have been up to scratch. However, when it was released on DVD later down the line, this was no longer a problem, and I was able to let the beats run on their own for a couple of minutes before the guitar enters and the track really kicks in.

The edit took off in a big way for me, and later with DJ’s including Andrew Weatherall and Optimo. It subsequently became a major festival tune for me and featured in my Essential Mix in 2009 (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/essential-mix-greg-wilson-mix-for-bbc-radio-1). More recently it appeared on my Festival Anthems mix (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/greg-wilson-festival-anthems), and given this, I thought it was a good time to share here.

There’s more info about ‘Stop Making Sense’ on the blog, as this was last month’s featured album:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/05/living-to-music-talking-heads-stop-making-sense/ 

Greg Wilson – July 2012

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

Talking Heads 'Psycho Killer' (greg wilson edit)

Double Trouble & Amp Fiddler ‘Amp Trouble’ (greg wilson mash-up)

92 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2006.

Issued on the Young Dog Alien 12” from 2006, which included ‘Gotta Keep Working It’, one of my best-known mash-ups (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/imagination-missy-elliot-gotta) , ‘Amp Trouble’ combined Double Trouble’s ‘Stoop Rap’, from the seminal 1983 Hip Hop movie, ‘Wild Style’, with ‘Intro’ the opening track from Amp Fiddler’s 2004 album, ‘Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly’. Both of these tracks were extremely short, just over a minute a piece in length, but I originally put them together purely as an interlude section for the ‘Do Not Attempt To Adjust Your Radio’ mix I did for the Six Million Steps website in early 2004, not long after my DJ return, so, by nature, it’s the shortest mash-up I’ve ever had pressed up. You can stream / download the 6MS mix here: http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/do-not-attempt-to-adjust-your 

Despite it not being something I’d play out, due to its length, I really liked the vibe of it and, when I was looking for something to put on the flip of the Young Dog Alien 12”, I felt that, in addition to an Electro cut-up I’d done, which I called ‘Electric Eel’, it’d be a nice little bonus track to include.

Whilst I was preparing a Video Blog post this week, about the amphitheatre climax from ‘The Wild Style’, which includes a performance from Double Trouble, ‘Amp Trouble’ obviously came to mind and I thought I’d tie-in by making it available here.

The relevant part of the post reads: “I have a particular soft spot for Double Trouble, who you see earlier in the film practicing acappella, sat on steps outside a Bronx tenement block. Their rap at this point is super-chilled and laid back (http://youtu.be/nLDJZAgWrJA), but at the amphitheatre, using the same lyrics, they really rip it up, resplendent in white gangster suits and hats. However, this was as good as it got for LiL Rodney C and KK Rock Well, and as Hip Hop went global they were left behind. I always regard them as Rap’s ones that got away”. The full blog post is here:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/11/video-blog-wild-style-at-the-amphitheatre/

Greg Wilson – November 2012

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

Double Trouble & Amp Fiddler 'Amp Trouble' (greg wilson mash-up)

The Main Ingredient ‘Happiness Is Just Around The Bend’ (greg wilson edit)

120 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2010.

Originally released way back in 1974, The Main Ingredient’s ‘Happiness Is Just Around The Bend’ is one of those tracks which commands cult status with black music aficionados. It doesn’t sound quite line anything else, Cuba Gooding’s unusual, somewhat esoteric lead vocal setting it apart.

It’s such a positive message, especially at times like this, with the recession beginning bite ever harder. It’s an up track, but not in an obvious way.

This edit first appeared on the Ruff Edits #5 12” under the title ‘Get Up, Get It On’ in 2010. The original version has a really atmospheric intro, running for half a minute before the groove kicks in, and, although I love this purely from a listening perspective, it’s not what, by today’s measure, you’d call DJ friendly, so, the first consideration for the edit was to create a longer intro groove for mixing purposes, before extending the overall track by 3 minutes, squeezing out further goodness. 

Greg Wilson – December 2012

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

The Main Ingredient 'Happiness Is Just Around The Bend' (greg wilson edit)

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)

Marina Van-Rooy ‘Sly One’ (greg wilson edit)

128 bpm

Previously exclusive mp3 only via Mixmag 2013.

Back in 1989-91 I was working extensively out of Amazon Studios in Kirby, Liverpool, producing and mixing the Ruthless Rap Assassins, as well as Mind Body & Soul and Sensuround. Also using the studios during this period were Liverpool dance collective 8 Productions, consisting of Ian Martin Wright, Steve Cummerson, Pete Davies and, of course, Peter Coyle, formely of the Lotus Eaters, who’d scored a UK hit in 1983 with ‘The First Picture Of You’. We became friendly as a result, and would often play each other our works in progress – it was certainly something of a mutual appreciation society.

‘Sly One’ was their jewel in the crown – recorded with singer Marina Van-Rooy, it quickly became a cult classic and was snapped up by Haçienda DJ Mike Pickering, who was then head of A&R at Deconstruction, for a full release on the label, although the chart success we all presumed would follow failed to materialise.

8 would also issue tracks by artists including The Donny And Marie Handbag Revolution and Connie Lush, but their greatest triumph was the club night G-Love, which was the early 90’s forerunner to Cream, promoted in conjunction with the local record store 3 Beat and legendary Liverpool DJ John Kelly.

The edit is true to the original, with no additional elements. It’s something I’ve played out a number of times since I put it together last year, and was most recently featured in the mix from London’s Loft Studios:  http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/the-date-loft-studios-london 

Greg Wilson – May 2013

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

Greg Wilson Edits

Richard Flanagan 2