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.)

Bjørn Torske, DJ Sotofett & Skatebård plays 7" only, recorded live at Kennel, Bergen, July 19th, 2023.

Bjørn Torske, DJ Sotofett & Skatebård - Live @ Kennel Bergen (2023-07-19)

deep/soulful cuts for my first time on HÖR radio
watch the stream on Youtube : 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlfhqSPXWKw&t=1795s

Suze Ijó @ HÖR - September 8th 2023

Josh Caffé steps in for Moxie this week. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/moxie/episodes/moxie-29th-november-2023

JOSH CAFFÉ 291123

Recording of Charlie Bones' set at Dekmantel Festival 2023.

Dekmantel Festival 2023

Charlie Bones at Dekmantel Festival 2023

For years now, an old recording of Jeffrey Sfire at Cocktail D'Amore's one and only cosmic hole was one of the highest references for us in terms of downtempo Italo sleaze - an almost 6 hours recording serving more like a PhD aural dissertation specialized in some of the most remarkable dancefloor digs (mainly Europe) had to offer in the 80s at under 115BPM. To be able to share it publicly on the HAND Mix Series as we reach number 50 is a huge honor and we're greatly thankful to Giacomo and Giovanni, the two cuties behind Discodromo that made this possible. We hope you can appreciate it as much as we have over these past years. Here it is HAND #50 featuring the unique sleazy wizardry of Jeffrey Sfire captured in a special moment in time during the moist and lubricated atmospheres of Cocktail, now online - listen carefully! Big thanks to Jeffrey for all the amazing research and excellence in cosmic Jockeymanship ❤️❤️❤️

H.A.N.D. MIX 050 Jeffrey Sfire

Christmas With Palms Trax on Refuge Worldwide

Part of the NTS family since day dot, Moxie has held her Wednesday show since the stations first broadcasts. Inviting esteemed guests for interviews & mixes and breaking new, unreleased music, she’s got your Wednesday afternoons covered... Tune in to hear anything from Soulful House, Garage, Afro beats and all the way through to rolling techno. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/moxie/episodes/moxie-20th-december-2023

Moxie - PART TWO: BEST OF CLUB TRACKS 2023 201223

All original. All unreleased. All written and composed by DMNSNX XNKNWNX

JUNO 60 THROUGH SONY HR-MP5 - I LIVE TWICE 

 - TIL THE END OF TIME
 - SO MANY TIMES
 - THE HU HUH TRACK
 - NEVER LOOKING BACK
 - REINFORCING MY FAITH
- TOUGH ON THE OUTSIDE
- SIDE TO SIDE
 - TANNER SCARED OF THEM FISH AND GAME BOYS
- I'LL KEEP CRUISIN
 - I JUST WANNA BE FREE FROM MY MIND
- UNIVERSE

NTS Radio _ DMNSNS XKNWNX

After starting the mini Dekmantel Selectors podcast series two years ago, it feels like a tradition to bring this back to life again in anticipation of the third edition in August. In the next couple of months, we will release 6 podcasts by some of the exciting artists from the line-up. This year’s podcasts challenges the artists to work around a theme or idea they picked theirselves. First up: French/Belgian selector Raphaël Top-Secret.

Raphaël Top-Secret is known for his notorious digging skills, which he prefers to put in practice at the best Parisian record stores or unknown flee markets. In his earlier days, he used to dj frequently with Antinote label boss Zaltan, touching on everything in between balearic, boogie, reggae, world music, disco and house. As a producer, Raphaël’s work is remarkable too — his ‘Love So High’ EP dropped in 2016 on the same label and three dance floor gems we still can’t get enough of. It should come as no surprise that we’re more than happy to have Raphaël joining us not only for Dekmantel Selectors, but also for Lente Kabinet later in May.

For us, he put together a special mix that covers and touches on many genres. Raphaël on is own podcast for us: "This mix going from 90s hip-hop and R&B to downtempo, house and tropical dance. Overall, it's stuff that I recently found out about and that I really wanted to incorporate in a mix. Beside that, it includes long time favorites as well. I only had two days to do the mix, so the approach was more spontaneous - it was quite fun to do as I was less prepared and just went with the flow. Hope you'll like the vibe and see you in Tisno!".

Selectors Podcast

Selectors Podcast 017 - Raphaël Top-Secret

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)

NTS Radio _ DMNSNS XKNWNX

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