the
wildstyle - time zone
(A.Bambaataa/Henderson/P.Egan)
1983 Celluloid
Inc
Afrika Bambaataa,
Godfather of Electro and leader of the Bronx Zulu Nation, is represented
here via the Time Zone project, unleashed in July '83 on the US Celluloid
label. "The Wildstyle" inspired by the seminal hip hop docu-drama
of the same name, is exactly that, with its samapling of film soundbites
and its "Good Times" cuts.al-naafiysh (the
soul) - hashim
(G.Calliste Jnr)
1983 Cutting
Records Inc
A track which
never translated its underground success into hit status was the essential
"Al Naafiysh" by Hashim, the last big floor filler of 1983 following
its appearance on the US Cutting label.
hip hop be bop (don't stop) -
man parrish
(M.Parish/R.A.Rodriguez/J.Robie)
1982 Sugarscoop
Records (Unidisc)
An exotic Techno
mantra on New York's Importe/12 label, quickly gained floor filler status
as 1982 drew to a close, but it wasn't until March '83 that it finally
entered the UK chart, climbing to No. 41.
rockit
-
herbie hancock
(M.Parish/R.A.Rodriguez/J.Robie)
1982 Sugarscoop
Records (Unidisc)
Where would we be today if it wasn't
for Herbie Hancock's "Rockit"? July '83 saw the release of another
monster track, courtesy of Jazz Icon Herbie Hancock in collaboration with
Material's Bill Laswell and introducing Grandmaster DST on the cut. "Rockit"
soared to No. 8 in the UK, bringing further credibility to the Electro
sound - a state of the art record if ever there was one.
clear
- cybotron
(3070/Juan Atkins)
1983 Fantasy
Inc
"Clear" is pure Cybernetic,
nightmare soundtrack.....Pure Genius! Widely acknowledged as one of the
Godfathers of Techno, Atkins is finally getting his dues - in the mid 80's,
Juan's Metroplex operation continued releasing pure electron under his
Model 500 and Channel One alter-egos.
white
lines (don't don't do
it) - grandmaster flash & melle mel
(S.Robinson/M.Glover)
1983 Sugarhill
Records Inc
What a single. Based musically on Liquid
Liquid's "Cavern", and with Mel fixing his attention on the cocaine epidemic, "White Lines" is a true classic, almost playful in
its treatment of the subject matter, and once heard never forgotten vibe.
Serious but surreal. Its chart history is fascinating. In Nov '83 it spent
3 weeks in the lower regions and then vanished, only to return with vengeance in Feb '84 for an amazing run of 38 consecutive weeks, peaking at No. 7.
Subsequent re-entries gave "White Lines" a final total of 43
weeks on the chart and a life span of 14 months!
the
smurf - tyrone brunson
(O.Redding 111)
1982 Sony Music (Ent) Inc
Tyrone Brunson drew his inspiration
from the lesser known dance craze called "The Smurf". Arriving
on import in Sept '82, it belatedly entered the UK chart during Christmas
week, peaking at No. 52. It's executive credentials were confirmed by an
early Tony Humphries mix and a tune which was once written by Otis Redding
III!
in the bottle - c.o.d.
(Gil Scott-Heron)
1983 Emergency
Records (Unidisc)
"The Bottle" is an all-time
black music classic, with versions by Gil Scott-Heron (the original), and
Joe Bataan. From the same stable as Man Parish, the C.O.D. cover was massive
in Electroland reaching No.54 in May '83.
magic's
wand - whodini
(T.Dolby/J.Hutchins/J.Rivas/T.Robertson/N.Seligman)
1982 Zomba Productions
Ltd
Recorded by Whodini and co-written
by the mad scientist of British synth-pop, Thomas Dolby, "Magic's Wand"
provides a condensed history of the early days of Rap. Dolby's production
deserves special praise and this became the first of many Rap hits from
US Jive.
the adventures of
grandmaster
flash on the wheels of steel
-
grandmaster flash & the furious five
(Flash/Robinson/Chase/Wright/O'Brien/Cook)
1981 Sugarhill
Records Inc
"Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel"
was released in 1991 and nobody had heard anything like quite like it.
Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five had created a hip hop masterpiece,
cutting up Chic, Blondie, Queen, Sugarhill Gang, Furious Five and Spoonie
Gee. At first it was thought too extreme for the clubs but with the advent
of no-holds-barred Electro, its time eventually arrived. I've still to
hear a record which demonstratesthe art of scratch and cut mixing in such
a devastating way! "Wheels Of Steel" is an epic trip, the
original DJ record, and one of the milestones of Black music.
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