Norman Cook (I Heart Series pt. 4)

(the following is from a correspondence w/ one Sean Donson on 4/08/07)

DONSON: Dude do you have that song Ghetto Girl by Mighty Dub Katz? I need to hear that shit. Been too long. Might it be included in the inevitable I Heart Norman post?

Mike B:


Donson: Dats my boy. Get shit done bra.

(end correspondence)

That convo took me back to 1996, when we were sitting inside bassbin's at a rave while Oscure & Fester were doing their trademark 2x4 set. When the "I Can't Explain" sampled guitars of "Going Out Of My Head" dropped we just kinda looked at each other like "dude, what the fuck is this awesome shit?" Sean busted a fatty trainspot and caught the name on the 12" : FATBOY SLIM. To this day I continue to buy all of this man's work on Vinyl no matter how crappy it can get (see: his most recent album) and it's no small feet. This guy has made so much shit it's rediculous. For those who don't know, Norman Cook is also known as: Cheeky Boy, Chemistry, Fatboy Slim, Feelgood Factor, Son Of A Cheeky Boy, Sunny Side Up, Urban All Stars and Yum Yum Head Food and was in Beats International, Double Trouble, Freak Power, Fried Funk Food, The Housemartins, Mighty Dub Katz, Pizzaman and Rockaway Three. He's also the genius behind Southern Fried Records which continues to put out really cool records.


Stretch And Vern - I'm Alive (Fat Boy Comes Alive) Grandslam – 1996












Da Mighty Dub Katz - Ghetto Girl Southern Fried – 1997












Midfield General - Devil In Sports Casual (Fatboy Slime's Does My Beat Look Big In This Mix) Skint – 1997











Christopher Just - I'm A Disco Dancer (Fatboy Slim Remix) Slut Trax – 1997












Son Of A Cheeky Boy - Comma Vicious Grooves – 1998












Mike & Charlie - I Get Live (fatBOY slim Mix) Regal – 2000












Markus Nikolai - Bushes (Norman Cook Club Mix) Classic/Southern Fried – 2000












Fatboy Space
Southern Fried

Basement Jaxx (2 of 6)

This whole 12" is amazing. Every version is great in a completely different way. Here are my two favorites.

Ronnie Richards - Missing You (Club Vocal)[1997-Atlantic Jaxx]
Ronnie Richards - Missing You (Bumpa Mix)[1997-Atlantic Jaxx]

A Quadruple Dose Of Lil' Louis

It's Friday and I'm feeling housey. Why not rally around some radness from Lil Louis in his various incarnations? Yup... no reason not to. Let's roll.

DL:Lil' Louis & The World - Why'd You Fall (Epic 1989)
(The opening of this track could permanently send you into psychosis if you're drug intake is too high. Handle with care)

DL:K.O.F./A Lil' Louis Painting - Stormy Black (Do Be Do Mix) (Nite Grooves 1997)
(One of my all time favorite joints. It's deepness knows no bounds and it was played to death by pretty much everyone that year.)

DL:Lil' Louis & The Party - Clap Your Hands (Fremur Mix) (ZAC 1997)
(Murderous bassline, soulful 90's style vox and some real pretty vibes. SO DOPE!!!)

DL:Lil' Louis - Conversation (Mike B's, Pause, Just Blow Edit)
(Hey! look whats back from the dead! The old link went down so I figured I'd throw this back up in here.)

5 Incredible Late 90's House Tracks

DL:Rhythm Masters- You [Dis-Funktional - 1999]












DL:CZR - Put My Mind At Ease [IHR - 1997]












DL:DJ Rasoul - Brazilian Funk [83 West -1997]












DL:Purveyors Of Fine Funk - Hot [Peacefrog - 1996]












DL:Crunch Kidz - I'm Going Back [Kongcrete - 1996]

DJ Sneak Redux

Soooooo... Due to a rather fun filled holiday season, things have been a tad bit slow on the unpacking front. I have unpacked roughly 1/3 of my vinyl but have yet to set up a turntable.
Going through my playlist of ripped vinyl, I remembered these two gems that didn't make the final cut of the I Heart DJ Sneak post. Both quite fresh in their own right...

The first was omitted because it's an Ian Pooley remix of a Sneak track. However, Sneak used to play this version quite regularly and it was featured on the amazing Green Bush mixtape or was it Harvest Season? Donson? Anyone? Also, it's a really fucking good track.





DJ Sneak - Keep On Groovin' (Ian's Fierce Mix) [1997]

I left this other one out because frankly... it can be really annoying. However, at the right time, at the right party, a Jamalski loop is just what you need to get your mind right.





Wildchild - Badboy ft Jamalski (Sneak's Ragga Dub) [1997]

They're also both from 97 and I'd already posted a couple others from that year... the most played out year on my blog!

A Double Dose Of Braxton Holmes

I don't know a ton about Mr. Braxton Holmes other than I really like every record I have by him and his remix of Cheek's Sunshine People is timeless.


Braxton Holmes & Mark Grant - Psychotic Pimpin' [Cajual - 1997]
This track from The Revival EP, which is amazing in it's entirety, is funky as funk gets... I'd been looking for it forever and finally found it in the classics bin at Tweekin' when I was in SF last summer.


Cabrini-Greens & Cornbread - Why You Tryin' To Hustle Me?[Cajual - 1997]
This one, co-produced by Dewey B. is from the Cabrini Greens & Cornbread EP. Also great and well worth owning. I can't help but feel groovy every time I hear this shit... I was really excited to find it in a box of records I recently took out of my storage space. It was full of all my mid-90's Chicago tracks so expect lots more of that coming soon.

Trankilou - Champagne

Kif Recordings 1997

From the Escalope De Dingue EP. I first heard this on Eric Davenport's Black Licorice mixtape(1997). It got my attention with it's funky french filter disco sounds and won me over with Gravediggaz* samples. I heard it at many parties to follow and always loved it. My dogg Olde Toby later found the record at a thrift shop in Ventura, where funky records go to die. Although Trankilou is Guillaume Berroyer & Julien Auger... Pépé Bradock is credited on this record as well.


Trankilou - Champagne


*first day on the blog and already 2 Gravediggaz mentions.

Discfunktional - L-O-V-E (Nice Mix)

Moonshine Music - 1997

Doc Martin has been one of my favorite DJ's for as long as I've been into House. He's LA's best offering to the genre and is a super cool dude who to this day throws the best underground House parties in the city with his Sublevel events (for example, last month it was Doc and Andrew Weatherall!) Also, he keeps it so real that he doesn't have a myspace page.
Discfunktional was a project he had with Dave Aude and they put out some pretty cool shit. This particular track was a staple in Doc's sets that year and I'm always a sucker for Take 6 samples.
He happened to be in Beat Non Stop (RIP) on Melrose the day I went to buy it and Mark, the owner offered to have him sign it for me. It seemed random at the time, but 11 years later I was really kinda happy to see this record. You gotta love that he put a heart on it and you gotta love the yin yang in the O... "From The Ground Under."

Discfunktional - L-O-V-E (Nice Mix)
[Moonshine -1997]

DJ Sneak (I Heart series pt. 5)

DJ Sneak can, at the same time, make the deepest funkiest tracks and the hardest house ever made. He co-produced Digital Love, arguably Daft Punk's finest hour and has remixed the Backstreet Boys. Thats what I call both extremes. Since the early 90's, this member of Da Mongoloid crew has been a prominent player in House music and has released records and remixes on basically every label out there. His mixtapes, particularly the Green Bush series, are also excellent. From the very first time I listened to one of his records to the last time I saw him DJ (which was last year) Carlos Sosa has been one of my favorites.


DJ Sneak - Amiz Relief - 1994












DJ Sneak - All Over (My Face) Downtown 161 - 1995












Track Assassin - Jungle Boogie Catalyst - 1996












Killer Loop ft DJ Sneak - Broken (DJ Sneak Mix) End -1997












DJ Sneak - Sneak's A Freak Henry Sreet - 1997











Dope Smugglaz - Married to the Music (DJ Sneak Remix) Perfecto-2000













Pussy 2000 - It's Gonna be Alright (DJ Sneak Vocal Edit) V2-2001













DJ Sneak - I Dropped My Glowstick Magnetic - 2002












Green Velvet - Shake & Pop (DJ Sneak Remix) Relief - 2006












Sneaky Space
Sneak-apedia

THE WEDNESDAY B-SIDE number 19

Metalbox - 1997

I hate it when I have two back to back Weds B-Sides... I just feel all like "it's been a whole week and I haven't even shared my really hard to find music for free." And with oink gone I know you guys need all the free shit I can muster! Hey, guess what? Here's another awesome house record from 1997 aka the most talked about year up in this bitch. It just happens that way. Can't help it. Steve Loria used to play the bejeeziss outta this one. And he was the man. You should really check some of his old mixes which are up at one of the best websites i've ever seen*.



Green Flame & Mr. G - Who Knows

*though this one is right up there.

Trident's Wax Chronicles pt. 2 : The Legend Of Curly's Gold

Here's another trip down memory lane from the king of rave wax... DJ TRIDENT. He really brought his A game to the table here. 3 big time bangerinos fo sho. The Son Of Cheeky Boy is a super rare jem that I'm quite happy to see posted! Enjoy:

1. Leftfield featuring Djum Djum - Afro Ride (1995)

This track is from the Afro-left EP (Hard Hands 23T) and was my first introduction to Leftfield. It was the first song on a DJ Liquid (of Journees not Liquid Todd) mixtape from back in the day (It had clouds on the cover. I think it was called Acidic 2?). Djum Djum kills it on this one whatever the hell he's saying. The changeup at 6:00 is everything I love about House. So simple yet so dope. I had to Gemm this one for a ridiculous (read Dutch) amount, but it was well worth it to hold down the memories. Googlage shows this song is featured on a 1995 video game called Wipeout for Playstation and Sega Saturn. Hmmm.

2. Son of a Cheeky Boy - Ya Don't Stop (1997)

Got this at Beat NonStop back in the day. Dude was playing it up in the store decks and I was blown away and had to have it. I had no idea it was Fatboy Slim until years later. Funky, breaky, and awesome party track. Went really well with "What We're Gonna Do Right Here Is Go Back" off the Bassbin Twins' School Party Traxx record. I'm having flashbacks. I think I see Jeeesus.

3. Basco - Can't Get Enough (I/P Adventure Remix) (1997)

This track was so sick to me back in the day. I got it at Primal Records in Berkeley, CA which had a great music selection. Basco's huge tune that put me onto them was The Beat is Over (Everything's Going to the Beat) on Sm:)e which delivered bass so dope that it made you want to crawl into the cabinet and build a fort. This one's pretty slow so I always jacked it up to +8 for party mixing. Daftian in its galactic essence, yet spooky on the palette. I have no idea who or what I/P Adventure is.

Ferry Ultra feat Roy Ayers- Dangerous Vibes (Dangerous Jazz)

Peppermint Jam - 1997

My homie Rosie called me yesterday and said that he was listening to a house mixtape I made in '97 and there was some song with a dude talkin about vibes on it that was crazy hot. It could only be one song. I first heard this on Boo Williams "Strictly Jazz Unit" mix from the same year. Me and the homies were buggin out on how dope it was. So funky, so jazzy. The "dude" on it is no other than Roy Ayers narrating his way through this Mousse T produced jazzy house number. On it he claims to have not felt so funky since "Runnin' Away"! Wow! Big statement. I will say that his vibe solo on this can stand up there with the one from said classic jam.

Ferry Ultra feat Roy Ayers- Dangerous Vibes (Dangerous Jazz)

The Great N.O.R.E. Post

The very first time I heard CNN's first joint LA,LA was on a Craig G + S&S tape. It was 1996, in my boy Daniel's forest green Eddie Bauer edition Ford Explorer with the beige trim. We were both bugging on how we could love a song so much that was hating on our city... Regardless, they had Mobb Deep and Tragedy co-signing and Nore's flow was instantly one of the illest.
NORE continues to be one of my favorites, regardless of his reggaeton albums, which he makes up for with mixtapes like Hang Hang Sangria or Cocaine On Steroids.
It seems with the current radio hit Rotate we are seeing a return to form. Hopefully the new album will not contain any reggaeton or MSTRKRFT beats. I mean, I appreaciate experimentation but it's clear what he's really good at.
When I first started working for Stretch in 99 I got to meet N.O.R.E. a couple times and dude was hilarious, though clearly out of his mind. He did a freestyle for Stretch's radio show at that time and it was mind blowing. He rapped over Nas Is Like and rhymed "Piss On A Ho" with "Piss On A Ho." (STRETCH!!!! Do you have this around?? Please post it if you do.)
But I digress...

Here are some of my favorite rare and unreleased N.O.R.E. tracks from deep in my crates:

Half Baked [Penalty - 1999]
(A teaser promo for Melvin Flynt Tha Hustler which until today I thought was produced by Swizz... I guess it's produced by Kyze. Still amazing. "Do The Drunkman")
Bitchass Niggas [White Label - 1998]
Blood Money II ft Nas & Nature [Tommy Boy - 1997] (This was a mixtape banger but was kinda farted out on the Sountrack to the movie Ride.)
Married To Marijuana [White Label - 1999]
Magic & Bird ft Nature [White Label - 1998]

Bonus Thugness (not rare and not from vinyl, but oh so ill)
Body In The Trunk ft Nas
Da Hustla
Iced Down Medallions (Royal Flush ft Noreaga) (NORE only does the hook on this one but it's craze... An amazing EZ Elpee beat and Flush murders it.)
LA, LA (25 2 Life(Tragedy, Capone'N'Noreaga & Mobb Deep))

I highly suggest you put all of this in a playlist and listen to it for 48 hours.


NORE Links
NORE Myspace
57thAve (NORE's Blog)
NORE on Twitter
Capone N Noreaga Myspace

THE WEDNESDAY B-SIDE number 12

Heard - 1997

This was the B-Side to Catch The Break, which a huge anthem in 97, at least in the UK & LA breaks scene. The Jedi Knights was Tom Middleton (Global Communication, The Mod Wheel) and Mark Pritchard and this track was featured on several compilations including Derrick Carter's classic Cosmic Disco Mixmag mix.

Jedi Knights - Big Knockers

Rick Garcia - Psychedelic Funk (Can't Find The Beat)(Nothing But The Funk Mix)

International House - 1997

This was the jam in NY house spots in late 97... That is all.








Rick Garcia - Psychedelic Funk (Can't Find The Beat)(Nothing But The Funk Mix)

Trident's Wax Chronicles pt. 1

The better half of the Knish Hit Squad, DJ Trident sent me 3 sick records he ripped today. Since I have yet to get the digitizing back in effect, I suggested he do a guest blog and post the tracks. I'm hopeful that he'll make a habit of this! Enjoy, this shit is gold I tell you.

1.Watermelon - Jungle Shit (Watermelon - 1996)

"I got this at DMC on Melrose in 10th grade when you could grab stacks and listen to shit across from Thomas Michael as he was listening to shit.
The other cuts on the record were club-progressive and are dope. I have no idea who Watermelon is."


2.DJ Self & Puerta-Rock - Dance Like A Freak (DJ Self Mix) (NRG - 1997)

"This record I came up on in college when I was tag teaming my L.A. head banger house collection (big up Aqua Boogie, Abstract, etc...) against my homie's booty stuff. He and his crew brought out Godfather to do a small party in Berkeley around when Assault started getting written up a lot ('99?). The last breakdown is sooo Angelina '96. He shouts out DJ Trajic (of Pants R' Saggin' fame) on the back graphics."

3.Frankie Bones - Ghetto Technics 8, Side B Track 1 (Ghetto Technics - 1998)

"I copped this one at Beat Nonstop in 1998 (RIP and RIP Temple of Boom). It was hard but maintained a dope Hip-Hop sample over the house (a la Armand Van Helden) but with a harder NY Frankie sound. I forget the song it's from* but I remember something like "Bubble large, big shout on the east coast..." Kool Keith maybe? Used to kill in both house and breaks sets. It's also longer than shit!"

*Yeah dude, definitely Kool Keith... or more specifically Ultramagnetic MC's "Poppa Large." - Mike

THE WEDNESDAY B-SIDE number 16

EMI - 1997

The sample basically makes this track feel like Affirmative Action pt 2, minus the stupid Foxy Brown verse with the bad math. I feel like it may have had one and got cut out because the song is only 2 minutes long... Such a dope track though. AZ kills it as he does every 20th song he makes and this beat, brought to you by Track Masters is flaming hot. We used to bump this pretty heavy in my homie Daniel's green Ford Explorer, Eddie Bauer edition of course.


AZ - Sosa

THE WEDNESDAY B-SIDE number 24

Arista UK - 1997

This was a relatively unnoticed Armand Van Helden creation. He did a speed garage remix of the track for the UK 12" and it's probably the worst thing he ever made. Off beat acapella, phoned in bass line and the same drum kit he'd been using for years at that point. This was kind of a dub version of that atrocity that was on the b-side and it's pretty kind bra.




Puff Daddy & The Family - It's All About The Benjamins (Mo Cheddar Mix)

The Well Presents Thee Mike B + Dirty Dave PLUR Anthems Vol. 1

  

Tracks:

Bitin Back – She’s Breaking Up (Fokus, 1991)

Violet vs. Mantronik - Burn The Elastic (Sm:)e, 1996)

Anoesis – Trouble Down Groove (D*Fusion, 1994)

Basco - The Beat Is Over (Everything's Gone To The Beat) (Sm:)e, 1996)

Me & Jack - Viva House (Leopard Skin,1995)

Direckt - Two Fatt Guitars (UFG, 1993)

DJ Tonka – Phun-ky (Force Inc, 1995)

Mighty Dub Katz - It's Just Another Groove (Southern Fried, 1995)

Run-DMC Vs Jason Nevins - It's Like That (Sm:)e, 1997)

Trancesetters - The Search (Touche – 1995)

Electroliners - Loose Caboose (Twitch, 1995)

E-Lustrious - On The Ragga Tip (MOS, 1992)

Grooveyard – Watch Me Now (EC, 1995)

Brother Grim – Radiate (Sm:)e, 1996)

Rebirth – Pure (Bassex, 1994)

Mixed by Dirty Dave & (thee) Mike B for The Well

We love these records.

Black Strobe - Paris Acid City

Source - 1997

If you want me buy your record, put Acid in the title. Seriously. There are so many amazing records incorporating that word. From the OG's like Maurice's This Is Acid, to Thursday Club's A Place Called Acid to recent gems like Les Visiteurs Snoops Acid Drop or Wink's 516 Acid. I could go on and on... and I'd love to but I'll spare you any further acid facts. I'm not trying to go all Tim Leary on y'all. So, to get to this record... I bought it unsolicited at Satellite in 97 because it had Acid in the title, listened to it a few times in my doormroom and have had it in a cardboard box til a few weeks ago, when I went through the box and found some real heaters (more to be posted soon.) It turns out this is the first ever Black Strobe record. I can now say that I was listening to Black Strobe 10 years ago. Take that all you recently converted hipsters.

Black Srobe - Paris Acid City

Buy this sweet new remix compilation thing.

And just for fun, here's what happens when I type acid into my iTunes: