Alex Gloor mix

Any reader of this blog will know that I was a very early writer about Smylonylon tapes.  Way back in June 2006 I wrote about  an incredible tape I had bought at the Center for the Dull on Lafayette in the 90s.  You can read all about it on that post.  Over the years I got to know Alex Gloor who made the 30 tapes  in the 90s and who is also of band In Flagranti and Codek record label impresario who made the tapes,

You can now buy all the Smylonylon mixes on his Bandcamp.  And take a look at this amazing boxset of Smylonylon tapes that Alex made in 1998.

I was very excited then when he offered to post some tracks from a mix that is, in his own words, a continuation of the Smylonylon spirit made in 2024.   Alex describes the mix as a homage to "all these great cheesy disgooey-moog soundtracks i've heard in the mid-70's in Basel, Switzerland.  As a kid, i checked the local newspaper for new movies every week and went to see the lobby cards and posters in the cinema display windows, including a porn movies theatre called Maxim across the street from my house that had lobby cards with black tape covering any nipples and asses! Going to the movies was my favourite pastime as a kid, starting in 1972 with a Kurt Russel movie called "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" (a real stinker!) at cinema Royal, i was nine years old. I even played hooky from school to go see Soylent Green at cinema Odeon." Alex offered to tell me a bit more about some of his experiences after Smylonylon in the following interview.

First of all, how did you get involved with Center for the Dull because I actually bought my first Smylonylon tapes there?

 

In May of 1994 I was walking around Soho enjoying a lovely warm and sunny spring day in Manhattan when out of the corner of my eye I spotted what appeared to be a Pucci dress hanging in a dark alley called Crosby St. I went up the block to investigate and met Chris Brick, the owner of this boutique called Smylonylon. Chris and I instantly bonded and became friends. I suggested to him that Smylonylon would be the perfect location to sell my mixed tapes. The first batch of 10 tapes sold out within 3 days and Chris kept asking me for more and over the next 6 years we sold over 6000 tapes.

 

Why did you move to NY from Switzerland?

 

In 1984, when I was 20 years old, New York City was the epicentre of everything cool & hip and I wanted to be part of it! There is a great book about that period in NYC history called - Yo! The Early Days of Hip Hop 1982–84 with amazing photographs by Sophie Bramly. The book incapsulates the exact moment when I arrived in the Big Apple with all it's glory; it was a unique moment in history, things were not clearly defined yet; it was the post-disco, pre-hiphop era. Back then, you could still go see & hear all the great Oldschool DJs every week like David Mancuso, Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons or Afrika Baambaata: All of them had a big impact on me.

 

And what were you doing first when you came here?

 

I was lucky and my instinct drove me in the right direction to a local video rental store called Time Shift Video on Broadway & Bond St in Manhattan. Time Shift Video was my first connection into the booming downtown cultural arts scene in 1984. The shop was buzzing every night around 6pm, you just had to hang out there to meet and talk to people like Madonna's stylist Maripol (She gave me my first job), actor Vincent Gallo, photographer Mike Rock and even Randy from the Village People and countless others; they all went there to rent & return VHS video tapes every evening including Keith Haring who famously redesigned a new logo on a brochure I did for the store in 1987.  

 

I remember I was lucky to meet you and Sasa as In Flagranti for the first time when I was djing at Fabric in London in 2008 and you were playing live.  How did In Flagranti get started ?

 

In 1990, I was visiting Basel from New York and went looking for the Cosmic Music I had heard on mix tapes from Italy. The guy who owned a local record shop told me about Sasa and his collection of Cosmic Music and by chance Sasa walked into the shop and we met and became fast friends.

 

What was the inspiration behind Codek records and how did it start? 

 

In 1996, Sasa and I wanted to grasp without anybody's interference what we had in mind musically and visually so we founded Codek Records in the East Village 29 years ago while selling records at a fleamarket….amazing how time flies!

 

What has been your biggest hit and what do you think is the biggest overlooked release you did?

 

Our biggest hit was appropriately named "Business Acumen" (spotify) and I just talked to Sasa about this; our 30 year label anniversary is coming up and we intend to pick 30 favourite tracks from our back catalog for an anniversary release.

 

Oooo, I can't wait for that.  I love Business Acumen - very much my driving disco sound.  Were you at all involved with the Organic Grooves parties?  I remember they were held in the belly of the Frying Pan which was a boat anchored off of a pier in Chelsea.  The boat is still there, but no more club of course.

 

Organic Grooves was Sasa (my partner in In Flagranti) weekly party and music production: I just did the graphics for that project like CD covers, party flyers and some wonderful bold silkscreen posters.

Thanks Alex for the awesome interview.  And below is a link to buy the mix, listen to a snippet from the mix and a few tracks.  My fav track has to be the sped up Cumbia track - Cumbia De Sal from 1979.  But Alex in good ole Smylonylon style doesn't play it at original speed :)

El Toston de Chucha - DJ Gloor mix 8/2024 (bandcamp)

Clip from Mix

CUMBIA EN MOOG - Cumbia De Sal (special Alex Gloor version)   (discogs)

JAGUAR - Disco Libero 1978

Smylonylon 30 (the last one ever) + In Flagranti + Fabric

So here it is. The last Smylonylon mixtape ever made. This doesn't mean I won't post any more earlier ones, but this is a very special one. As I've said before, Smylonylon tapes were a series of special tapes made of rare 60s-80s pop, moog music, italo, disco, etc. They are a real special experience and a great place to discover lots of rare old stuff. I've posted previous cassettes here, as well as explained the link between Alex (half of In Flagranti) and the tapes.

When Alex gave me Smylonylon 1 he was surprised to find that I had a copy of Smylonylon 30, the last one. Then he told me the story - apparently about 6000 Smylonylon tapes were made and sold through the Centre for the Dull store in NYC in the 90s. Then in the fall of '99 he was in a restaurant in NY and someone was playing what sounded like a Smylonyon tape. But when he asked about it, the tape was labelled with someone else's name. With copycats in the wings, he decided it was time to get out of the Smylonylon business and start a band, which became In Flagranti. But he made one last tape, limited to 20 copies only, without a tracklisting so people couldn't copy. What makes this tape special even more than usual is that Alex speeds up a lot of the tracks considerably, or slows them down, and fiddles around lots with filters/eqs. So it becomes a very different mix than if you just listened to the original tracks.

I've managed to figure out and hunt down a few of the tracks on the tape. The first side is virtually impossible for me to identify cause it's mostly instrumentals. But the Android Sisters track is loopy (as in weird) and amazing. I had more luck with Side B and discovered a lot of tracks I'd never heard of. I never knew, for example, that there was a female french version of an early Fab Five Freddie (who Blondie raps about) track. And weirdly enough, I'd never heard of The Mood. Munich Machine is also an amazing track of theirs. I want to particularly thank the always amazing Saltyka blog where I found a bunch of these tracks.

I'm also posting this now cause In Flagranti are playing as part of a Durrr party at Fabric this Friday. So you can see the man who made these tapes play live on a fab sound system. And coincidentally I will be djing earlier in the night playing a lot of similar tracks. So come down and say hi - give me your nerdy tips for similar tracks you've discovered.

Also, check out youtube of the latest of In Flagranti's project Sounds Superb 5.

Side A (direct download)

Tracklisting
?
?
Visage - Visa-Age
The Android Sisters - Robots are Coming
?
?

Side B (direct download)

Tracklisting
The Mood - Don't Stop
Anne Clark - Our Darkness (12 inch version) (or Razormaid mix)
Kim Larsen & Jungledreams - Time Bomb
Buggles - On TV
John Cooper Clarke - Teenage Werewolf
? (instrumental)
Fab 5 Freddy (B-Side) - Change the Beat (female french version)
? (instrumental)
Rational Youth - Le Mailleur Des Mondes
Charles De Goal - Radio On
Altered Images - I Could Be Happy
Tone Band - Tokyo Twist
The Flirts - Surf's Up
? (something german)

Smylonylon 18 - Diskolos mixtape

I don't want this blog to become a Smylonylon posting spot so I will put up a new cassette in the next few days. But this Smylonylon tape is too amazing to leave to my friends only. This IS the definition of spaced out disco. Lots of people are chasing this sound but this cassette gets it so right. I've posted previous Smylonylon stuff here, but this is probably the most amazing for being equally obscure and yet very enjoyable. I think Magnifique on the first side is a standout track (you can sample it on my other blog here) and the end of side B covers that amazing Black Devil album that has been floating around the web, with some tracks to sample on the Yermam blog here.

Smylonylon 18 - Side A

Smylonylon 18 - Side B

Edit:

I had to post the Depeche Mode - Big Muff track after I listened again to Side B last night. It's such a good mix. If anyone has the Steve Bender - Good Lovin' send it to me. I can't find it.

Depeche Mode - Big Muff

SMYLONYLON No. 1!!

I feel so lucky. Friday a week ago I was djing for the first time at Fabric and Alex Gloor and Sasha Crnobrnja of In Flagranti came by and hung out for a while behind the dj booth and had a nice chat. Alex Gloor did the Smylonylon tapes which I've posted here before and he gave me this very first tape of them all! In Flagranti were playing live on the same night and are a hot item right now, which has a lot to do with their fantastic music knowledge, as evidenced by the Smylonylon tapes. You can listen and buy their new release Grand Central Shuttle here.

The early Smylonylon were more exotica/easy listening, so don't expect the dancey/droney mid 80s rare german disco that you can find on some of the later tapes. Still the stuff on here is in a league of its own and very hard to find. I discovered some of the tracks on this amazing Weils.nl blog which has rare 80's stuff, soundtracks, live shows of Siouxsie and the Banshees and more. It's truly an amazing blog.

Also - check my new blog for new music every day. Derfreshcreamy
Smylonylon No. 1 - Side A

1. Piu forte ragazze! - Samba
2. Bimbo Jet - Buffalo's Band
3. Anonymous Venetian - Main Theme
4. Enoch Light - Scarborough Fair
5. Ward Swindle - Windmills of our Mind
6. Heino - Bergvagabunden
7. Klaus Wunderlich - Lotto Zahlen
8. Silvetti - Steps in the snow
9. Esquivel - Sun Valley Ski Run
10. Martin Denny - Flamenco
11. Fabio Paramo - Playa Corola
12. Switched on Bacharach - Do You Know the way to San Jose
13. Enoch Light - Marrakesh Express
14. 10th Victim - Main Theme
15. Ernst Mosch - Dompfaff
16. Esquivel - Bye Bye Blues
17. Switched on Bacharach - Wives and Lovers
18. Enamuelle - Eternal Anguish
19. Enoch Light - past and I Call You
20. Lady nelson and the Lords - Call Me
21. Chuck Davis Orchestra - Spirit of the Sun

Here's one stand alone track:

Switched on Bacharach - Wives and Lovers


Smylonylon No. 1 - Side B

22. Mason Williams – Baroque a Nova
23. Bent Fabric – The Dipsy Doodle
24. Flutes and Percussion – Mountain Greenery
25. Martin Denny – Bacao
26. Harmonicats – Mambo Jambo
27. Latin Love Machine – Hare Krishna
28. Paul Bley – Parks
29. Claudine – My Guy
30. Vision of Eight – Olympic Village
31. Jerry Allen – Fly me to the Moon
32. Crown Heights Affair – Dreaming a Dream
33. Dexter Wansel – Life on Mars
34. Latin Love Machine – Peanut Vendor
35. Brain Tickets – Black Sand
36. Sadistic Mika Band – Suki Suki Suki
37. Incredible Bongo Band – Let There Be Drums
38. Sandy Nelson – Drums a Go Go
39. Titanic – Sante Fee

Below are some tracks from this mix. I couldn't find Suki Suki Suki from the Sadistic Mika Band, but I found this great track Picnic Boogie. And the Incredible Bongo Band track Let There Be Drums is from the same band that did Apache, which is well known as one of the most sampled of early hip hop songs and very heavily used in drum and bass (you'd recognize it). Of course the Dexter Wansel and Crown Heights Affairs tracks are famous and you should get them if you don't know them.

Incredible Bongo Band - Let There Be Drums

Sadistic Mika Band - Picnic Boogie

NEW ARTIST SECTION:

Bishi is someone who I have know for a while as she has been on the London scene doing some of the hippest parties (I first met her at Kashpoint, which coincidentally will always have a special place in my heart as I met my girlfriend there). Now she's flying on her own, has learned to play the Sitar very well and is in general a very sweet person. So I think she needs a little props up as she is doing something niche - writing and performing pop songs with a Sitar, so she certainly has a hook to her appeal. The song she sent me here is quite catchy and she wrote it with Matthew Glamorre, another very sweet and very creative person (responsible for the above mentioned Kashpoint). I think she really has some potential though I have told her I think the tracks need to be remixed or have more of an edgy dance sound to them (where are the odd 90s beats and other dance sounds from Kashpoint?). Any way - still a great track.

Bishi - On My Own Again

early Smylonylon - No. 4!!

Some of you will recall the amazing Smylonylon cassettes put together by Alex Gloor of the current band In Flagranti back in the 90's that I have previously featured on this blog here. A man with very amazing (and broad) taste in music. Well someone in New York finally sent me some more of his cassettes and the earliest one I received is No. 4. It's more of a 60's compilation than the other ones I've heard and Alex was kind enough to e-mail me the tracklisting. It's still amazing.

In Flagranti is playing their first live show this Friday, 28 September at Our Disco at The Hub in east london with Rory and Nadia. Details here.

Smylonylon 4 - side A

Smylonylon 4 - side B

You can check out an amazing tune I ripped from side B which is Stu Phillips - Mahabalipuram

Ripped tune - Smylonylon 4 side b

Mike Melvoin - The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog - Medicine Man

Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce


side a
1. george harrison - fantasy sequins
2. lord sitar - i can see for miles
3. ray davis - green grow the rushes
4. francis lai - party music
5. stu phillips - mahabalipuram
6. pink floyd - see emily play
7. jean jacques perrey - porcupine rock
8. black soul - moog melody
9. shirley bassey - spinning wheel
10. d. frontiere - popi
11. the amazing adventure of the
liverpool scene - batpoem
13. moog indigo - e.v.a.
14. dave daffodil - pepperbox
15. harry beits - theme from the
fantastic plastic machine
17. jack hanson - the name game
18. dick hyman - chain of fools
19. noel harrison - a young girl

side b
20. vangelis - hypothesis
21. stan butcher - dow de dow dow dow dow
22. ananda shankar - jumpin' jack flash
23. gabor szabo - white rabbit
24. ramsey lewis - lady madonna
25. the dynatones - the fife piper
26. keith mansfield - soul thing
27. cal tjader - soul sauce
28. the plastic cow goes
moooooooog - medicine man
30. frankie vallie - the night
31. herb larson - dizzy
32. fausto papetti - groovin' with mr. bloe
33. connie francis - rock dem bells
34. roy harper - in the time of water
35. leroy holmes - what do you say
36. ferrante & teicher - lay lady lay

Also, this is one of the catchiest tunes I have heard lately. We keept playing it over and over from some crazy young kids in France. Kid Bombardos.

Kid Bombardos - Lovesong for High Kids




I am also djing at midnight at a new party this Friday night, 28 September, at the Dogstar in Brixton with the guys from 20jazzfunkgreats, Slutty Fringe and Nicole from Popscene. You can see a hilarious picture of me on the timeout article for the party.

SMYLONYLON 28 Tape mix!

I found a ton of amazing tapes from the Dalston Oxfam Shop this weekend which I will post soon. But as I am just back in London I have decided to post another cassette which I probably should have posted already, my Smylonylon 28 compilation tape.

Back in the late 1990's in NYC, in the search for another good used piece of clothing, I wandered into the Center for the Dull on Lafayette street. The place was like a cave inside with used jeans piled everywhere and clothes hanging from the ceiling. What really struck me, though, was an amazing mix of songs playing in the background. I asked and they were selling mixtapes done by the owner called Smylonylon. The only ones I could buy at the time were numbers 27 and 28. Some of the songs sounded like they'd been slowed down almost beyond recognition to match the beat, but it worked like very little I've heard since. Somehow, I've lost number 27 and I've asked many people and never found any other tapes.

Here's a little info on the shop and Chris Brick who did the tapes with Alex Gloor of current group In Flagranti/Codek. Check out his new cd and videos here. He was also involved in the amazing Organic Grooves parties which used to take place in NYC. I think it's a shame that such great interesting mixes are not available somehow. And I've offered to anyone I've spoken to record any Smylonylon tapes into digital. Let me know if you have any more info on these guys or the tapes. NEW INFO!! The Downrightuptight blog is going to post a bunch more of the smylonylon tapes. Yeah!

- some new info: I've been told (though I can't independantly confirm) the following about X14 and Parfum from Spain - they were "a regular dance club staple . . . in Texas in the late 80's. . . . I certainly do remember hearing [them] when i'd go out in around 1987-89 while I was a student at university in Austin. My wife just reminded me that "parfume from spain" was part of the film soundtrack for John Hughes' "She's Having a Baby." it is not on the official released soundtrack, but is part of the theatrical release of the film, specifically the scene when Kevin Bacon's character is in the photo studio trying to wrangle a baby." This excellent info from this lovely sojourner on the web.

Side A

Side B

Here is the track listing:

Side A

1. Forces - Cinnabar
2. Klaus Prunster (Klaus Prünster)- Kommunikation Hip-Ipp (would love to get this album it's on)
3. Telex - L'Amour Toujour
4. Sharpe & Numan - Change Your Mind
5. Johnny Warman - Will You Dance With Me
6. Gino Soccio - Dream On
7. Tony Cook - On The Floor (Rock-It)
8. Rockets - Video-Addict
9. Pete Shelly - I Generate A Feeling
10. Yello - Pinball Cha-Cha
11. Space Art - Love Machine
12. X14 - Parfume From Spain
13. Helen - Tunis Tunis
14. Stefano Breda - Electric Fling
15. Ray Lema - Dancometer

Side B

16. Gino Soccio - The Runaway
17. Frankie Goes to Brooklyn - Two Tribes
18. Jah Wobble - Blueberry Hill
19. Talking Heads - Crosseyed & Painless
20. Metro - Flame
21. Rockets - Back To Your Planet
22. Gino Soccio - Running in Circles
23. Sparks - Beat The Clock
24. Rita Mitsouko - Andy
25. Kid Creole - I'm a Wonderful Thing Baby
26. Belle Epoque - Miss Broadway
27. Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
28. Polyphonic Size - Saison

Here are some tracks from the mix:

Dr. Calculus - Perfume from Spain (which I think is the correct name for the track listed as X14 - Parfume from Spain on the tracklisting)

Rockets - Video Addict

And something else:

Smylonylon 9

I am excited to present another Smylonylon tape on this blog.  This is one of the ones that I did not have.  A lovely man named Alan Miller contacted me on the e-mail on this blog and sent it to me out of the blue.

This tape is earlier in the series of Smylonylon tapes when the music was more moog and 60s dance.  Starting with the tapes in the teens up to number 30 (the last one) the music was a lot more disco influenced.  

There are a lot of amazing tunes on here.  I have given you the option of buying many of the tunes on Itunes.  I particularly like the tracks Hey Hey by Gershon Kingsley and the track Silver Fingertips by Paul Mauriat, which I have included as a download.  I particularly am struck by how musical the tracks are in the sense that the musicians are clearly very good at playing instruments. It seems that music these days is all computer automated.

If want to particularly thank Alan for his generosity in sending the tape through.  And also happy to know that he's inolved with Optimo, where he is PR manager.  Check out his djing as DJ Hushpuppy here:

http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/beats/

Or his personal links here.

www.mixcloud.com/hushpuppy/
www.subcity.org/shows/musicplease/

Side 1 (click to listen - direct download)

1 - John Keating - I Feel the Earth Move (itunes)

2 - Ray Davis - Fist of Fury

3 - Paddy Kingsland - The Earthmen (itunes)

4 - Mike Curb - Gas Hassle (itunes)

5 - Alen Tew - The Detectives (itunes)

6 - Paul Mauriat - Silver Fingertips (download direct)

7 - George Martin - Winchester Cathedral

8 - Lord Sitar - If I Were a Rich Man (itunes)

9 - George Martin - Hole in My Shoe

10 - Pierre Henry - Offering (itunes)

11 - Les Baxter - Shelly In Camp

12 - Candido - Jump Back (itunes)

13 - Dr. Bohme - Sudamerikanisches Medley

14 - Eduardo Zurita - Rico Mambo

15 - Don Tracy - African Waltz


side 2 (click to listen - direct download)

16 - Peter Thomas - Popular Myth (itunes)

17 - Theo Schuman Combo - Korallenriff (itunes)

18 - Peter Thomas - Stars & Rockets (itunes)

19 - Horst Kruger Sextet - Leopard

20 - Brigitte Bardot - Saint Tropez

21 - Ray Davis - Kojak

22 - Galactic Light Orchestra - Galactic Swan (itunes)

23 - Alan Hawkshaw - Fuel Injection

24 - Gershon Kingsley - Hey, Hey (itunes)

25 - Andre Brasseur - Saturnus

26 - Popcorn - Tap Moi-La

27 - Peter Moesser - Happy Time

28 - Perrey & Kingsley - The Savers (itunes)

29 - Fred Berlipp - Beating Street

30 - Dan Hill - Medley

31 - The Mohawks - Beat Me Till I'm Blue

32 - The Young Ones - The Black Queen's Beads

Smylonylon 22

It's been a while since I uploaded a Smylonylon comp but I have a number of them that have still not been posted.  This is one that I picked primarily because I think side 2 has a number of good and yet obscure tracks.  In particular, I think the way that Alex (from In Flagranti) would speed tracks up sometimes when he made these comps produces a really interesting effect.  The track Going Home by Annie Haslam is really not nearly as catchy at regular speed.

There is also a new Smylonylon page on Facebook that has lots of related stuff on it.

The track I've included for separate download is the Soukous/calypso-ish African track that has a great synth bit in it at the end of side B.  I also highly recommend that you download the Telex track Lakelele.  I'm not sure what the Purilator - Minimal Tape track is - no record of it on the Internet.

Honorable mention goes to Sven Vath's Electric Salsa and Flash and the Pan - Walking in the Rain.  Also, check out the other track on that Ramsey Lewis album Sun Goddess.

Side A (direct download)

1. Man 2 Man/Man Parrish - Male Stripper
2. Sven Vath - Electric Salsa
3. Hot Chocolate - Put Your Love in Me
4. Visage - Fade to Grey
5. OMD - Enola Gay
6. B.R.E.R.
7. Disconnection - Dead On The Case
8. Style Council - Mick's Company
9. Gina X - No G.D.M.
10. Flash and the Pan - Walking in the Rain.
11. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
12. Fad Gadget - Coitus Interruptus
13. Liaisons Dangereuses - Los Ninos Del Parque
14. Vanity 6 - Drive Me Wild
15. Prince - Controversy


Side B (direct download)

16. Jerry Goodmann - No Fear
17. Purilator - Minimal Tape
19. Vangelis - La Fete Savage
19. Elo - The Whale
20. Annie Haslam - Going Home
21 Trio - W.W.W.
22. Alan Parsons - A Dream with a Dream
23. Ramsey Lewis - Jungle Strut
24. Malcom McLaren - Legra
25. Strech - Why Did You Do It
26. Macho - Hear Me Calling
27. D. Dundas - Jeans on
28. Slade - Coz I Luv You
29. Telex Lakelele
30. Baricentro - Tittle Tattle
31. Les Aiglons - Le Petit Chaperon Noir (download)

Smylonylon 13 + Shoreditch Radio

I recently had the pleasure of an e-mail from a guy called Ron Kutulas who offered to send me some Smylonylon tapes I didn't have.  I still have a bunch that I've not posted (because I'm too lazy) but what I'm mostly missing are the early ones, such as this one.

As you can see the tracks are largely early disco with lots of synths and weird foreign stuff. 

I'm particularly crazy about the Ibrahim Tatlises track but if you search for this track as titled, another lame ballad comes up.  So either this is an earlier version of the track or else it's a different one.  Would love any info from someone who knows.

Also, Ron Kutulas wanted me to particularly point out the Bappi Lahiri track which is an Indian cover of Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star.

I was also recently invited to be on Shoreditch Radio's  show Dance Dance Dance to the Radio.  You can hear the show and the track I picked to recommend (Luther by Matthias Zimmerman) at minute 38:10 here.

Smylonylon 13 tracklisting

Side A (download)

Mike Post - The Rockford File
Fantastic Experience - Get It Right

Juggy Murry Jones - Inside America Pt. 2
Willie & Mighty Magnificent - Funky (8) Corners Pt. 1
Magnetic Sounds - Super Erotica
McLane Explosion - Love In Space
Space Factory - Radio Activity
Super Erotica - Performance
Rod McKuen - Easy In
Tchou Tchou Combo - Hooray For Love
Fusun onal - Insanciklar
Ibrahim Tatlises - Yalnizim (download rip)
Fusun onal - Ah Nerede
Bappi Lahiri - Auva Auva . . .(download)
Irwin Goodman - Poing Poing Poing


Side B (download)

McLane Explosion - Space Police
Performance - Dynamite Dragster
Gas - Odessa
Harpers Bizarre 4 - I Love You, Alice B. Toklas
The Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense & Peppermints
Noel Harrison - Museum
I. Ledesma - Faster Than A Speeding Bullet
Raymond Lefevre - Rockytrain
Lee Jackson - Satisfaction
Freedom Machine - Free Love
Average Disco Band - Eleanor Rigby
Muzak - Cherokee
Neely Blumb - My Funky Valentine
Rahul Dev Burman - Dil Diya Hai

Smylonylon 29

I figured it was time for another Smylonylon. On this one I think I generally prefer side B which has a bunch of fantastic tracks though some of them sound best for being sped up. Previous Smylonylon cassettes on this blog can be found here.

The Silicon Teens track (side B, track 2) is a band by the founder of Mute Records, Daniel Miller, and I have included a few of the tracks which I think are more interesting yet still rare. The Papathanassiou track which is actually Vangelis is actually correctly titled Needles & Bones from the Heaven & Hell lp. And I'm not sure what the Strangles - Paradise track is but it sounds fantastic. Also I managed to find a track called Richard Termini Project - Oh It's a Pop Song but can't find any more info about the band or the song. Also, would love to hear the original of the Sly Dunbar - East of the River Thames track - it's off of this LP Sly Dunbar Meets the Fire House Crew - The Other Side of Dub.

Side A - Download

1 - M - Transmission
2 - Francois Breant - Talmouse Ritual Dance
3 - Weather Report - River People
4 - Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Fire
5 - Nola - Stranger in a Strange Land
6 - Young Marble Giants - The Taxi
7 - DAF - Der Rauber & Der Prinz
8 - Shriekback - My Spine
9 - Tangerine Dream - Speed
10 - Fad Gadget - Coitus Interruptus
11 - Chilly - Have Some Fun Tonight
12 - Dillinger - Supercock
13 - Peter Jacques Band - Walking on Music
14 - Bohannon - But What is a Dream
15 - Fine Young Cannibals - Johnny
16 - Cars - A Dream Away
17 - Jah Wobble - Invaders of the Heart

Side B - Download

18 - Richard Termini - Oh It's a Pop Song
19 - Silicon Teens - State of Shock
20 - Yello - No More Roger
21 - Tangerine Dream - Midnight in Tula
22 - Gary Numan - Down In The Park
23 - Omega - Invitation
24 - Jane - Love Your Live
25 - Disco Kid - Roller Coaster
26 - Tremeloes - Good Time Band
27 - Devo - Satisfaction
28 - Lightblick - Intensivstation
29 - Mythos - mayday
30 - Ramases - Journey to the Inside
31 - Sandokan - Arrivo
32 - Beatles - Baby You're A Rich Man
33 - Papathanassiou (Vangelis) - Needles & Bones (this is only a segment of a longer song)
34 - Richard Harvey - Exchange
35 - Paul McCartney - Momma Miss America
36 - Sly Dunbar - East of the River Thames
37 - Can - All Gates Are Open
38 - D.R.U.M. - Lalabye
39 - Telex - Cliche
40 - Strangles - Paradise
41 - Jarre - Equinoxe 5
42 - Kraftwerk - Dentaku

On a separate note, let me just say that I saw Black Devil Disco Club and Metronomy last weekend at the Offset Festival and both are really deserving all the hype they get. Black Devil had a great sound like nothing you hear today. And Metronomy really are band of the year - every track just sucks you in with its quality and fantastic songwriting. I've said it before.

tynynyny volume two sixties spage age bachelor pad pop

This is 60s pop, or as it is often described "spage age bachelor pad music". This came out around 95-96 done by the same guys that did Smylonylon (also now part of In Flagranti) and you can see a similar style in the early Smylonylon tape posted on the blog here. Around that time there was a big upswing in interest in 60s hipster parties, especially in NY and Hollywood, which also coincided with the release of the early Vince Vaughn movie Swingers. I moved to NY in 1996 and just caught the tale of this party scene where I met some of my best friends. Tynynyny was one of the parties and another was the 999999's which used to go on at Flamingo East in which Penelope Tuesdae, my very favorite friend Lasia, and DJ Fancy were involved (Dj Fancy later appeared as the genius behind fantastic girl group Fannypack). I also met Chris McClary there who since moved to Cali and is behind the great website See Spot Ride featuring dogs riding in cars.  There is even mention of this party in the mid 90s in the New York Times. This was originally unhip spage age according to this New York Times article and the music was often put together to demonstrate the technical capacities of new equipment that had just been released.

First track on side A is the intro to the german version of Sesame Street called Der, Die, Das, and I believe it originally came out on this album called "Sesamstraße - Der, Die, Das - Und Andere Lustige Lieder Und Lernspiele", in case anyone wants to send it to me.

But the most amazing 2 tracks appear in the middle of side A and I haven't been able to Shazam the names of the first one so any help would be appreciated. I've ripped them to listen to as individual tracks below. The second one is very well known Popcorn track by Hot Butter.

The first track on side B is the great Sunshower track linked below by the same band that did Cherchez Le Femme.I want to thank the very lovely fashion god Mel Ottenberg for sending me these and other cassettes. I will be featuring a rave cassette he sent me later in the week.

download Side A 

download Side B

Side A track rip 1 (name?)

Side A track rip 2 (Popcorn by Hot Butter) Listen to 79 (yes 79) versions of the same song on WFMU here, including version by Prodigy, Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin. I like the Klaus Wunderlich version best.

from Side B - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Sunshower

Smylonylon 2

I haven't posted any Smylonylons for a while.  This is one of the earlier tapes that features more 60s pop and lounge exotica.  Some might immediately think of elevators.  But I was actually really enjoying listening to this, especially side 2.  I think maybe it's a nice contrast from all the darkness that I'm listening to right now, all the heavy acid house and 80s Belgian synth pop.  No one wants to eat the same food all the time.

I don't have much to comment about the artists as most of them are well known but these tracks are less commonly played, at least not in my circles.  Enjoy.

Side 1

Not sure about most of the tracklisting on side 1 but it does feature  near the beginning the track Journey to the East by Bill Plummer/The Cosmic Brotherhood.

Side 2


Track listing that I could identify on side 2 - some individual download links.

Bridget Bardot - Contact

Harangozó Teréz - Sose fájjon a fejed

Michel Legrand - Brule Pas Tes Doigts

Bo Didley - Bo's Bounce

Tom Jones - If I Promise

Esquivel and his orchestra - Frenesi

Anonymous amusing German tracks at end of Side 2

First ever blog Minimix

I have done a number of podcasts that were recorded live at Durrr (also here) or other parties. And I've done radio shows live for Diesel you can find on the blog previously here. But it's a very different thing to make a podcast where you carefully mix the tracks and pick each track to fit together within a theme, not considering the live element. I finally learned enough Ableton to do this mix and even though the mixing has got a hitch or two here or there, I'm really happy with this first mix (podcast if you wanna call it that).

At first glance this may just seem like another high energy or disco mix and you may think that's a bit tired as disco is all over the place since last summer. I chose these tracks however because I think each of them is unique from the average disco track, even from most high nrg, and because they have all stuck in my head and those of my friends over the last few months. Each track is also quite rare and hard to find. For me this is the essence of a great mix, hearing a sound that stands out for the quality of each of the tracks, while also being unknown and new to the listener. This is also pretty much the mix I played last Friday at the Catch bar 10th birthday party where I opened for Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve (Erol Alkan's other project).

Track Listing

Tone Band - Tokyo Twist (12" version) - I discovered this track on the Smylonylon 30 tape posted on this blog. I had to order it from Germany as it was nowhere to be found for download. It's surprisingly fast but somehow has a hypnotic driving pattern as well as the hilarious Japanese discussion. An ideal for this sound, sort of like Telex.

Nena - Nur Geträumt - everyone plays 99 Luftballons, but this is the best one, especially if you listen to it on vinyl, for the driving disco bit on the break. Also the vid is hilarious and hot. Yet another chick who prefers guys who look like Richard Marx to me.

Lori & The Chamelons — Touch (Casey Jones Eurodance Disconet mix) - I ripped this out of the Casey Jones mix done for Disconet available on No Guts No Glory here. This is significantly better than the original, which is a bit too 80s and dry. This one has got fantastic little synth punches throughout. But still the best thing is the amazing sexy vocal and how she loves Japanese boy Kato.

International Music System - Bonus Single "Joke" - International Music System is one of those bands that everyone talks about in the New Beat/Italo vein as being SOOOO amazing. Most people love the An English track from the same LP, but I was listening to the vinyl recently and suddenly heard this track and thought WHOA!

Secret Service - Flash in the Night (Casey Jones Eurodance Disconet mix) - OK, a bit unfair to rip out two Casey Jones remixes, but they are both just soo good. When the heavy wave of synth strings come in at the beginning of this track . . .

Nick Straker Band - A Walk in the Park - I have loved Nick Straker's A Little Bit of Jazz and Up Jumped the Devil for years now, but only recently did I hear this one on a comp. Somehow more eurodance than the others.

Golem Edits - La Toubana - this is an edit (though I can't quite tell the difference from the original) of Kassav's Lagué Moin. A good way to end the mix as I am also known for having a big heart for African influenced beats. This really sounds like NY early 80s disco, but it's actually by an african band and has a bit of a soca structure to it. Perhaps a bit odd for the rest of the mix, but I really love the track if you listen to it for a while the synth guitar gets under the skin.

Dalston Oxfam Shop blog first Minimix - October 2009

Debut Magazine Issue 5

Demob clothing store - Beak Street

Here we have another Debut magazine which I picked up on ebay at the request of a comment searching for the Olympic Smiles track. I previously posted Debut Issue 1 here.

I will try to put up more pages from the mag later but this issue had a nice fashion spread on the original Demob store which I have posted. Interesting coincidence (I just discovered this) is that the guy who did the Demob store was Chris Brick who is also the guy who opened the Smylonyon and later Centre for the Dull stores in New York in the mid-90s where the Smylonylon cassettes were sold (which I have featured heavily in this blog). I just discovered via Wikipedia that he opened those stores with his wife who performed as Linda Lamb who some of you may remember as an excellent electroclash era artist who did work with Vitalic and was in the group The Silures who had the fantastic 2003 track 21 Ghosts with The Silures.

A1 The Armoury Show           Is It A Wonder
A2 Hugh Masekela           Getting Fat In Africa
A3 King           Cherry
A4 The Church           The Unguarded Moment
A5 Fiction Factory           Panic

B1 Visage           Beat Boy (Special live Mix)
B2 Matt Bianco           Big Rosie
B3 Olympic Smiles           Something's Pushing Me
B4 A Flock Of Seagulls           Over My Head
B5 Sid Presley Experience           Hup Two Three Four
B6 Howard Jones           Change The Man

Check out the new disco mix I did at the Durrr party with Matthew Stone. It's not a rundown of the most rare or obscure italo and probably not the hottest sound in London, but it does represent the best quality of the more New York disco sound that was at the heart of what became hip hop, RnB and House, with the likes of Chaka Khan, The Trammps, Odyssey, Celi Bee, El Coco, Chic, etc. Plus there is an edit of rare Chi-Chi Favelas And The Black And White Band track that I did myself.

END OF SUMMER PARTIES!!

Below are listed upcoming parties at which I'm djing - lots of good stuff coming up in September also.

Friday - 29 August - People on Horses host a new party at 333 with Hannah Hanra (The PIX) and I am djing in a room with my fellow Come (the new smash hit secret Dalston Disco party) djs, Matthew Stone, Yasmin (Pandora's Jukebox) and Theo.

Click on flyer below:

Sunday - 31 August - Offset Festival!! Schedule

Unlike most festivals, this is the festival of the achingly edgy cool bands/djs/etc and it's in a forest at the end of the Central line tube! Virtually every hot new band that has played at Durrr, White Heat, the Old Blue Last, Hoxton Bar, Catch, etc., or has come up through the indie press, or new dj who has been doing a new party in London is playing at this festival. Most of all, the best band of the year Metronomy is playing on Sunday along with super rare italo band Black Devil Disco Club (more info here), Ipso Facto, Hatcham Social, the Wire, Gang of Four, XX Teens, No Bra. Girlcore are doing a tent and have asked me to dj in Drag along with all my dj friends, Radioclit, Matthew Stone, Jonjo, Theo, ISA GT - basically it's the gathering of the year. I will be there on Sunday and you can buy day tickets only. Get them here.

Click on flyer below:

Wednesday - 3 September - Pearl Flash

Moustache Bar is the new bar hosting a lot of fun parties in Dalston. I did a late 90s house music night there a few weeks ago and coming up on the 3rd I've roped in the new disco kids to do a party. I first saw Ben laying down an incredible set of italo type synth arpeggios at a warehouse party a year ago and since then he's been building his party portfolio doing parties in Dalston and Shoreditch. And since this will be disco-tinged, should be a fun party. For once the sound system in this bar is decent.


Click on flyer below: