Poor Trent. Following a long and messy night at Sapphic Traffic we made him get out of bed just at the point when he’d probably only just got in it. He brought his fancy camera, his skillz and a bunch of fun ideas to Wharf Chambers, where we were busy drinking espresso and discussing Ash dieback over the Saturday papers.
Wharf Chambers was the obvious choice. Our friends are there, it feels like something of a spiritual home for us, and they gots all those Seabrook’s crisp flavours you just never seem to see in shops these days.
We think Trent did an incredible job and in return we’ll be loading him up with all of the food he likes. Amazingly, this was Trent’s first project documenting a band visually in a non-performance format. But brother racked that muthafucka like he was a pro, don’t you agree?
IT’S 20 YEARS AGO TODAY THAT THE WORLD SAID A FOND FAREWELL TO LARRY LEVAN, but for so many he will always live on! Larry was a one-off, a supreme talent that created some of the most thrilling, unique, organic, sexy mixes we’ve ever heard.
His remixes of Gwen Guthrie tracks in particular are simply jaw-dropping, genre-defining (and genre defying!) classics, full of charm, sexiness, and the kinds of sounds you can’t quite describe in words. We only wish we’d been old enough and bold enough (to fly all the way to NY!) to catch one of his legendary sets at the Paradise Garage way back in the day.
Here’s an interesting piece written about Larry from the Discogs website….
“There’s not much that can be said that hasn’t been said already in dozens of articles, reviews and tribute websites, but I’m compelled to add my two cents. I first heard about the Paradise Garage from an article in NYC’s defunct “SOHO Weekly News”, and I was fascinated. The very well written review was published sometime in 1979 or `80, and my interest was piqued, as my world consisted of clubs, parties and venues that thrived on the anti-disco backlash. My willingness to examine my own irrational prejudice against “Disco” occured one night at The Mudd Club, a cutting-edge post-punk dance club with a sound-system designed by Bryan Eno and a punky-artsy clientele that probably prided itself in never having set foot in a “real” discotheque. I counted myself among that herd until I heard a real Disco DJ upstairs, guesting on the second floor, and my eyes were opened wide and my jaw dropped when I watched and listened to this guy seamlessly blending hot Salsoul, West End and Prelude records. Of course the music was amazing and had nothing in common with my media-inspired, brainwashed aversion to so-called Disco music. I was mesmerized and made it my business to get into the Garage come hell or high-water. I had started DJing in the East Village by then and Bobby Shaw, then the promoter for Warner Brothers records, got me on the guest-list and I finally arrived at Disco Nirvana. But even then, Larry opened my mind and challenged my pre-conceived notions of what he was about. In the course of the night I heard Kraftwerk, The Peach Boys, Yaz, Konk, Mikki, The Temptations, Men At Work, D-Train, and the list of ecclectic twists and turns was mind-blowing to say the least..and that sound system. The best I’d ever heard, albeit too loud for my already sensitive ears. I was a regular there until it closed, and due to Larry’s reputation as a moody and unpredictable soul with a slightly self-destuctive bent (like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, to name a few), I kept my distance from his inner circle and insisted on paying my yearly membership fee as well as the modest admission price. I never regretted my decision, and only after the Garage closed did I become friendly with the now more accessible and down-to-earth Larry Levan. I feel blessed to have had him share his knowledge and stories with me, and not a day passes when I don’t think about the man or listen to one of his totally unique, trippy and dub-inspired remixes. Literally NO DJ can ever achieve his impact on my life or come close to his skills at sonic reconstruction and open-minded, genius programming. He was a genuine 20th century SHAMAN. I Love you and miss you Larry!”
Here at GLX HQ we can’t get enough of Larry’s work and we thought we might share with you a short list of some of our favourite Levan mixes.
We strongly recommend that you hook up with LL and let him cement himself in your subconscious. PLAY LOUD and DANCE!!
JIMMY ROSS – First True Love Affair
TRACY WEBER – Sure Shot
CENTRAL LINE – Don’t Tell Me
GWEN GUTHRIE – Hopscotch (vocal and instrumental)
GWEN GUTHRIE – Seventh Heaven
FIRST CHOICE -Double Cross
LOGG – I Know You Will
AURRA –When I Come Home
SKYY – First Time Around
INSTANT FUNK – I Got My Mind Made Up
NEW YORK CITI PEECH BOYS – Don’t Make Me Wait
CLASS ACTION – Weekend
There’s so many more, but these are some of our biggest faves….hope you dig :)))
STARGAZE RECORDS FIRST RELEASE NAMED SINGLE OF THE WEEK AT NORMAN RECORDS!
Galaxians // Runners Split 12″ – SG 01, released October 25 2012.
Here’s what they said:
“Oh, nice! I don’t know a lot about this Stargaze label but this mysterious and very limited (only 100 in the world!) 12” has some super-fresh cuts from two top new bands with a shared love for live drums and classic synthesizers. Hot dawg! I doubt our copies will last long so I wouldn’t sit on this one.
On the A side we’ve got duo Galaxians dropping ‘Brace Yoself’, with a stomping disco-funk beat alongside some nimble acid squiggles, cosmic arpeggios and slick synth acrobatics that remind our Brian of Daft Punk, and me of ‘Rockit’-era Herbie Hancock with a touch of New York house influence. This track is so classy! The beats are clean and hard-grooving and the vibes are constantly blazing. You’re gonna rip up dancefloors up and down the country with this. I’ve seen these guys live and it’s a total dance party, don’t miss out if you get a chance.
On the other side there’s Runners, whose debut ‘Starting Line’ 12” impressed us all last year. These four chill dudes like to smoke the reefer and play the synthesizers, and the jam on this platter, ‘Tranquility Base II’, may remind you of Inner Tube minus the guitar or perhaps the TV programme ‘Wish You Were Here’. It’s all celestial smooth synths with a soft head-nodding groove for a real driving-into-the-sunset slow groover with silky, insidious melodies. Totally hot offerings on both sides, highly recommended!”
Since early 2012 we have been making music to dance to, primarily through the use of analog synthesizers, acoustic drums and electronic percussion, both pre-programmed, and played live in real time.
We feel that the soul of dance music lies in all of us – what we might refer to as the human waveform – the pulse of the heart.
Between us we have a shared love of music that moves us in some way, but more specifically we share a passion for what we would tentatively call ‘pre-computer age’ dance music, that is to say dance music that could be more accurately described as mostly ‘pre-digital.’
As a band we’re always excited by looking ahead but also by looking back……back to the work of the early musicians, DJs, producers, explorers, pioneers – David Mancuso, Tom Moulton, John Morales, Donna Summer, Walter Gibbons, The Salsoul Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk, Francois Kevorkian, Giorgio Moroder, Arthur Russell, Shep Pettibone, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, Tee Scott, Nicky Siano, Gwen Guthrie, Nile Rodgers, Earl Young, Grace Jones, Brian Eno….the list just goes on and on!
Then there are all the things we take for granted in modern dance music today – the club, the club DJ, the 12″ record, the remix, the sound system, the drum machine, the synthesizer, the sequencer etc – all created during those early, furtive years of dance culture.
It must have been an amazing time to be a part of.
All those clubs and party venues – The Loft, The Gallery, Paradise Garage, Xenon, Area, Danceteria, The Limelight, Studio 54 etc, plus the UK clubs – The Hacienda, The Blitz, Camden Palace, The Orbit (Leeds!) etc.
Then there are all those incredible record labels – Salsoul, Prelude, Trax, Casablanca, Street Sounds, Strictly Rhythm, Sunnyview, SAM, West End, Solar, Excalibur, Vanguard, Sleeping Bag, Emergency, TK, De-Lite etc etc.
And SO many amazing records…..but we won’t get started on that. Yet. Suffice to say it’s a seemingly endless journey of excitement and discovery for us.
So, that’s pretty much where we’re coming from. We love those early explorations and developments, those early partnerships between humans and machines. We hope you dig our music.
We are JED SKINNER and MATT WOODWARD. We use analog synths, programming, and acoustic drums to create dance music. We play, write and program using Roland JX3P and Nord Electro analog synthesizers, Roland TR drum machine sounds and Ludwig and Gretsch acoustic drums.
Our songs are both programmed and played live in real time. We believe dance music should always retain and maintain its human elements, and the physical contact of a human hand.
We have been playing shows in the UK since March 2012 after we met in Leeds and formed Galaxians in late 2011.
Our debut record is out now on STARGAZE: http://stargaze.bandcamp.com. It’s a very limited (100 press) split 12″ 45rpm single with our friends RUNNERS. We also have a 6-track mini album available to buy on our Bandcamp: http://galaxians.bandcamp.com.
In February 2013 we will begin work on our debut album at Ghost Town studio in Leeds.
Poor Trent. Following a long and messy night at Sapphic Traffic we made him get out of bed just at the point when he’d probably only just got in it. He brought his fancy camera, his skillz and a bunch of fun ideas to Wharf Chambers, where we were busy drinking espresso and discussing Ash dieback over the Saturday papers.
