The latest edition of 'Downtownsounds Classics' arrives from Dublin disco messers Fatty Fatty, just in time for the summer sunshine !
Fully licensed and cut loud on 12 inch vinyl the way God (aka Walter Gibbons) intended, it sees in-house producers Pablo and Shoey take on two choice cuts from the legendary Salsoul label.
Salsoul was the very first label to release a commercially available 12 inch remix - the aforementioned Gibbons and his 9 minute extension of Double Exposure's '10 Per Cent'. They would go on to issue a raft of underground disco classics with mixes by the legendary likes of Larry Levan, Tom Moulton and Shep Pettibone. Having robbed the famous 'Baker-Harris-Young' rhythm section from Philadelphia Records, they defined the disco sound in the second half of the 1970's and kept roaring well into the next decade.
The new mixes pay explicit tribute to two hugely formative influences on the Fatty fellas - The A extends the mysterious and wondrously wonky Big Bear edit of Bunny Sigler's 'By The Way You Dance'. Back in the day, these cosmic under-the-counter 12s helped show the Fatties how to disco real right, and they've stood the test of time wonderfully. This one has been at the front of Pablo's bag for longer than he cares to remember, and now the rest of the world can enjoy it, with some extra Pablo and Shoey disco magic thrown in for good measure...
Speaking of cosmic, the flip sees the lads turn in a stripped-back, ever-building mix of First Choice 'Hold Your Horses'. Having first heard this played by the Cosmic King himself, Danielle Baldelli, they found themselves let down by the commercially available mix. Through the disco haze, and with some subtle stemming, several outer-space whooshes and a string/vocal climax to die for, they've tried to recreate the way they heard Baldelli play it...
With the classic Salsoul artwork also present and correct, this is a love letter to perhaps the most important label in dance music history, with music that still sounds amazing five decades on... Don't sleep!
For their 5th volume of the 'Downtownsounds Classics' series, Fatty Fatty Phonographics are proud to present these gems from the West End Records catalogue, the famed underground disco label that gave us so many of our dancefloor staples.
"Tell You Today" is probably the Downtownsounds anthem, a sweet song of yearning, regret and innocent joy married to Arthur Russell's wonky, wobbly percussive genius, with a perfect pop climax that has led to many moments of collective disco joy on the DTS dancefloor.
We didn't need to do much on this edit beyond adding some elements from Arthur's B-side dub, so the joy goes on for just that little bit longer.
On the flip is 'When The Shit Hits The Fan', a no-nonsense, hit-the-floor and forget your troubles disco-rap stompout from 1980.
A favourite with the likes of Theo Parrish and Dave Lee, this one always get the sneaky shebeen vibes a going...Check those lyrics!
Dublin based disco imprint Fatty Fatty Phonographics return with the 4th instalment of their 'Downtownsounds Classics' series, this time throwing three stone-cold classics onto one 12, all given the re-edit treatment by in house producers Pablo and Shoey.
Voiced by Leroy Burgess, with drums by hip hop legend Marley Marl and production by The Aleem Brothers, 'Release Yourself' was a huge across-the-board anthem in the clubs of NYC on its release in 1984.
The lads have superglued elements of both the vocal and dub sides together for an epic end of night take on this beloved classic.The B side features two under appreciated classics from the pen of one Billy Nichols, a man known for his work with West End Records (the Levan mixed 'Give Your Body Up To The Music') and the funky band of brothers that was BT Express.
On 'Take Me...' Nichols' hooked up with disco master Patrick Adams for an emotional, string drenched disco belter that has found favour with the likes of Dimitri from Paris, Floating Points and Hunee.While 'Dance If Off' is a wonky proto Acid-Disco trip beloved of Rahaan and Eric Duncan of Rub 'n' Tug. With copies going for over 300 euros, you can do your bank account and your dancefloor a favour here...
