dance

SOUL FOOD – THE BROAD CHURCH OF NORTHERN SOUL
This podcast accompanies a blog piece ‘Northern Renaissance’, which simultaneously went online. Below is an excerpt; you can read the full piece here: 
https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2013/11/northern-renaissance/

As I hope this piece will illustrate, Northern Soul back in the 70’s was a much broader church than many might imagine. Whilst the stompers were central to the scene, especially when Wigan Casino was at its peak, not everything ran at breakneck pace as is often suggested, the movement encompassed a whole spectrum of styles and tempos. The scene was notoriously very snobbish about its music, dropping a previously loved record like a hot potato because it had subsequently achieved commercial success, although it was this fervent elitism that played a major part in its success and longevity. It’s also the reason why a track many might consider to be as Northern as they come, like Jackie Wilson’s ‘(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher’ (a Detroit artist doing an uptempo dance track with Funk Brothers backing) isn’t Northern Soul according to those at the cutting-edge of the scene, despite the fact it was a big favourite in the Soul clubs following its 1967 release. It’s sin was that it became a UK hit in 1969, just before the Northern scene got into its stride, so, along with a whole heap of Tamla Motown tunes that are Northern in everything bar their success in connecting with the masses, it was banished to the realm of pop. This is why another famous Jackie Wilson track, ‘I Get The Sweetest Feeling’, this time a 1968 recording, which, on the surface, given it’s much mellower vibe, is far less stereotypically Northern than ‘Higher And Higher’, is, in contrast, considered a bone fide Northern classic – the reason being that ‘I Get The Sweetest Feeling’ didn’t become a hit until 1972, having broken out of the Northern scene, then in full swing.

So, with the various aspects considered, I’ve put together an epic 3 hour 20 minute podcast selection of records that I hope will reflect Northern Soul in its wider context, from the nailed on classics to those with more nominal status. What can’t be disputed is that each and every track included has been played, at least somewhere at one point or another, under the Northern Soul banner. There are 70 tracks in all, with just 2 artists with more than 1 inclusion, the aforementioned Jackie Wilson and the great, but tragic songstress Linda Jones (3, if you count Frankie Valli, here both solo and with the Four Seasons). The idea to put this together grew out of a CD compilation I made for myself back in the 00’s to listen to whilst I was driving, which I called ‘Soul Food’, and the intention is for it to act as solid introduction for those wanting to hear what Northern Soul was all about, in all its diverse glory, whilst I’d like to think it will also evoke fond memories for those who were there at the time. The fact I wasn’t a part of the scene has hopefully allowed me to approach this selection in a more objective way than someone embroiled within it, who may not be able to resist the inclination to pack it with tracks nobody else, apart from other ultra-obsessives may know, or who might want to brush a few of the inclusions under the ‘you had to be there at the time’, carpet. Consider this, if you will, a beginners guide, of which I love all of the selections, each in its own way - just wonderful wonderful uplifting music.

Greg Wilson – November 2013

SOUL FOOD - THE BROAD CHURCH OF NORTHERN SOUL (greg wilson selection)

Fortuna is the 5th track of the upcoming 'Slo Mo' cassette by Milan W. (JJ005)

Music by Milan Warmoeskerken
Published by Jj funhouse, 2014
www.jjfunhouse.com/catalogue/jj005
©All rights reserved

Milan W. - Fortuna (JJ005)

MUSIC IS BETTER RE-EDITED HIGHLIGHTS 20.12.03
Related blog post here:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/09/music-is-better-re-edited-highlights 

When I upgraded my SoundCloud account it was with the intention of adding selected mixes from the period 2003-2009, bringing everything under one roof by placing them alongside the ongoing additions that have been continually made available since I uploaded the first of my SoundCloud mixes, recorded at Café Mambo in Ibiza exactly 2 years ago today (27.09.09). So it’s fitting that Music Is Better Re-Edited Highlights, the mix that marked my return to the DJ world, should kick off this process, with further uploads to be added periodically.

The following piece was written in 2004, some months after the Music Is Better mix had been made available as a limited CD via Manchester's Piccadilly Records.

MUSIC IS BETTER RE-EDITED HIGHLIGHTS:
Last December, twenty years on from when I stopped deejaying professionally, I came out of retirement, so to speak, and made what seemed like, as I described it at the time, a ‘second debut’ (my first being way back in 1975). In the two decades that have passed since I decided to call it a day, I’ve made the odd guest appearance here and there, but had no inclination to seriously start up again.

That all changed during 2003, with the launch of the electrofunkroots.co.uk  website, which I’d set up to document the crucial early 80’s period, when dance music (or black music as it was still referred to) was going through some radical changes that would have a huge bearing on the subsequent course of club culture. It was at this point in time that I was fortunate enough to find myself behind the decks in two of the greatest British clubs of the era, Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester, where I’d bring a new flavour of music to the table, along with a fresh (from a UK perspective) approach to the way I worked, as one of just a handful of British DJ’s back then who had made the decision to switch the emphasis of their presentation style from microphone to mixing. 

I had no idea that, all these years on, an ever-increasing amount of clubbers were now beginning to look back to exactly this time and rediscover the great underground music, mainly from New York, that preceded House, and which was originally played here in the UK on the specialist black scene. Having decided to become pro-active in drawing people’s attention to this hugely important, but largely overlooked period, it was a pleasant surprise to realise that this process was already underway. Before I knew it, I began to receive enquiries about possible DJ bookings and it soon became obvious that the logical next step for me to take was back into the clubs, so I could actually play these records to an audience who’ve finally come to appreciate their significance in inspiring the music that inspired them.

Had this been all about playing some tunes for old times sake to the people who were there at the time, there’s no way I’d have been into it as anything more than an occasional one-off. However, the fact that there’s a whole new generation who are looking for a return to underground values, as well as an older audience who (having maybe got into dance stuff at a later stage) missed much of this music first time around, prevents it from becoming a purely nostalgic exercise and, instead, presents a whole new dynamic. For this is something relevant to now, which is rooted in the past, yet forward looking.

To further emphasise this link, the equipment I decided to use was a Revox B77 reel-to-reel (past), vinyl (present) and laptop (future). It was also important that I didn’t just stick to the records that I used to play, but included a few more recent releases, from artists with a clear respect for what’s gone before, like Chicken Lips, Metro Area and Diplomat. The laptop would also allow me to feature my own re-edits and the Revox to add live sounds and effects. Having been regarded as progressive in my approach to deejaying back then, I figured it was only right that I should continue to work by the same principles, trying new ideas alongside the old ones in an effort to highlight the ongoing links between then and now.

The night I chose for my ‘comeback’ appearance was called ‘Music Is Better’. It was held at The Attic in Manchester. It obviously had to be Manchester as this, although not my actual home, is certainly my ‘spiritual home’, the place where I found my ultimate DJ highs – so it was important to make that vital connection with the past immediately. ‘Music Is Better’ was the perfect type of night for me, suitably low-key, whilst attracting the kind of people who understand that four-to-the-floor isn’t the be all and end all.

I’d planned to use the night as a tester, so I could identify what worked and what didn’t, before I started accepting the bookings I’d been offered in other parts of the country. I’d anticipated a gradual acclimatization for myself, estimating that once I’d got 3 or 4 appearances under my belt I’d be able to gauge things better. In no way did I expect this first night to go so well for me, without any of the teething problems I’d envisaged. 

The night wasn’t recorded, but it was decided that, to mark the occasion, I’d re-create it track for track for a limited edition CD (edited down from the two and a quarter hours I played to single disc length). 

So this is how ‘Music Is Better – The Re-Edited Highlights’ came to be. The 500 copies that were made have now all gone, the response to the CD echoing the positive reaction on the night. I’ve since taken bookings (and often re-bookings) in Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Leeds, Limerick, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield and Wrexham, along with further dates in Manchester. 2004 has been a year I’ll never forget and I can’t thank everyone enough for their support, their warmth and their energy. Having been totally detached from the club scene for so many years, it’s all been a bit of a Rip Van Winkle re-awakening for me! 

I never thought I’d say it, but it’s great to be a DJ once again. 

Hope you enjoy this mix,

Greg Wilson
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk
 
WRITTEN FOR SIX MILLION STEPS WEBSITE IN 2004

UPLOADED ONTO SOUNDCLOUD 27.09.11


MUSIC IS BETTER RE-EDITED HIGHLIGHTS 20.12.03 (by greg wilson for ltd cd 2004)

Strands

steve hauschildt 'strands'

The first in a series of mixes celebrating my 20 years as resident at back to basics club in Leeds, UK.

visit www.ralphlawson.co.uk for track listing and sleevenotes for the mix and stories from the club.



back to basics // the>music:factory years part one // 1991-94

7FO - Forest of Old Cloth

Learn more at RVNG: smarturl.it/cmmnd002-rvng
Explore at Commend: www.commendnyc.com/
Add to your collection at Bandcamp: smarturl.it/cmmnd002-bcamp

From Water Falls Into A Blank.

©2016 RVNG Intl. // www.igetrvng.com // www.commendnyc.com

Water Falls Into A Blank (CMMND002 - 320)

7FO - Forest of Old Cloth (CMMND002)

A track from the album 'UV Sea' out 02/13/16 on Constellation Tatsu.

Forest Walker - Desert Lighthouse

Serge 606

"Only Once Away My Son" by Brian Eno with Kevin Shields

Listen to this track and many others at adultswim.com/singles

Adult Swim Singles 2017

Brian Eno with Kevin Shields - Only Once Away My Son

Physical: geographic-north.com/cassette/coyotes/
Digital: geographicnorth.bandcamp.com/album/coyotes
Catalog #: GN49
Cassette, limited to 100

Félicia Atkinson is a composer, sculptor, painter, poet, and publisher from Rennes, France. Atkinson has led a fruitfully fantastic run of eerily blissful, serenely euphoric sounds. Whether under her own name or via her defunct recording pseudonym Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier, Atkinson has released work on Umor Rex, Digitalis Limited, Aguirre, and Shelter Press, an imprint co-run with Bartolomé Sanson.

‘Coyotes’ is an EP inspired by Atkinson’s last voyage to New Mexico in February 2017, when she visited and took in the geographic landscapes from Taos to Ghost Ranch. The same vistas also inspired much of Agnes Martin’s and Georgia O’Keefe’s painting, as well as Jerome Rothenberg’s poetry and translation’s works.

Atkinson describes a ‘Coyotes’ as a “Carnet de Voyage,” a tape you could directly play in your car while traveling somewhere, a kind of imaginary map to a sentimental journey. A spontaneous gesture, close to the notion of gift or offering. Or, simply, a postcard to a friend.” But it’s also a praise to the conservation of national and state parks and its human and non-human souls, menaced as we know now by drilling and violent economic speculations.

Here, coyotes act as a kind of metaphor of ambiguity and doubt, a state of mind that Atkinson find interesting to transcribe musically; the ambiguity furthered by Atkinson as a literal “foreigner” in New Mexico. She conveys a sense of visiting these native sacred lands and wondering what you are doing there.

Musically, ‘Coyotes’ is composed of two long tracks, “Abiqiu” and “Lighter Than Aluminium.” Each track features an effervescent froth of piano, midi sounds evokes marimbas, Fender Rhodes, bells, sub-basses, and spoken word poetry written by the musician to display a melancholic landscape made of transparent but deep layers of pale colors and blurry lines.

Félicia Atkinson - "Lighter Than Aluminium"

from the album 'the deep end' available 10/26

The Deep End

saloli 'barcarolle'

"I'm a very poor archivist of my past and have kept zero recordings of myself DJing in the 1990s. Last year, out of the blue someone sent me a digital transfer of a tape of me DJing in 1991 which i put up on my Soundcloud. As a result of that another recording of me playing all those years ago was recently sent to me. The sender reckons it's a recording of me warming up for Derrick May at Pure in Edinburgh in early 1992, or at least that is what it says on his tape. It sounds more like 1991 to me but whatever, as I'm playing with Mr. May at Dollop's Detroit series in London this weekend it seemed a good fit to make it available. 

"We had Derrick play many, many times at Pure throughout the 1990s and I'd rate some of those performances by him in the top three best ever DJ sets I've ever heard, so I am very much looking forward to hearing where he is at in 2012. In the meantime, here's a side of a C90 cassette of me playing before him 20 years ago. It was a live recording to begin with and has probably been copied from cheap tape to cheap tape many times, so don't expect the fidelity to be particularly high. I'd only been mixing for a year or so at this point so it's a little rough on that front but i think it has a good energy. There are a couple of tracks in the middle of it that I have zero recollection of, but otherwise it contains a few tracks I still love and occasionally still play by Todd Terry, Joey Beltram, MK, and the much maligned Moby who made several seminal club tracks in the early 90s."

JD Twitch: mix recorded live at Pure in 1992

from the album ~~~
https://anaroxanne.bandcamp.com/album/-

Ana Roxanne is an intersex Southeast Asian musician based in Los Angeles. Born & raised in the Bay Area to immigrant parents, Ana's love for music and singing began through her mother's cd collection of 80's/90's R&B divas. Raised in the catholic church, she became a devout choir nerd and found any opportunity to sing, whether for religious mass, the jazz ensemble of her catholic high school, or karaoke at family gatherings. Her commitment to singing led her to a brief stint at a vocational jazz program in the cornfields of the midwest; in a remote town of 7,000 people, she began a formal study of jazz and classical music. During these years she would tour with her jazz and chamber ensembles to beautiful old cathedrals in nearby cities and became enamored with the sacredness of choral music, as well as the enveloping sound of harmony. 

A near death experience, too, served as a connection between music and spirituality, and music as a healing art after facing tragedy. 

In 2013, Ana was also fortunate enough to spend a few months in Uttarkhand, India where she met an incredible voice teacher who introduced her to classical Hindustani singing. Living and studying with this teacher deeply impacted her outlook on the voice as art. It was there that she began to see the singer - the Diva - as a symbol of divinity; that the unique power of one's voice comes from the vulnerability of using the body as an instrument. Be it romance, love, or worship of a deity - in order to access such depths of emotional expression, one must be willing to be intensely vulnerable, lay one's heart in the open air, expose what is kept hidden. This brief study was the catalyst that led her to finish her music study at the experimental Mills College in Oakland, CA, where she began to combine all of these influences into her current self-titled project. This album ~~~ was created during her last years residing in the Bay Area, a tribute to the great musicians who inspired her and the landscape where she spent her formative years. 

In addition to the worship of R&B and pop divas, Ana's current practice explores themes of gender & identity. In October of 2018, she decided to come out publicly as intersex, and is dedicated to being a voice for her community and speaking out about social justice for intersex youth.

Ana Roxanne - Nocturne

from the album 'because of a flower' available 11/13

because of a flower

ana roxanne 'suite pour l'invisible'

Jean Bruce Rave Gener8tor (Altern 8 live remix by Mark Archer) NOCTU 003

The Quietus is an online magazine devoted to music, film and popular culture. We travel the world chasing tinnitus and the ultimate brew. Check our website for music reviews, news, interviews and extraordinary things.

JD Twitch: mix recorded live at Pure in 1992

theQuietus

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