sweet suburban disco - billie ray martin

Former S’Express singer Billie Ray Martin is set to storm her way back into the UK charts with her first single since the 2008 international club hit Undisco Me, the ‘queen of electronic soul’ will release the single Sweet Suburban Disco on March 28th.

Already a massive hit on the German club scene Sweet Suburban Disco looks likely to re-establish the singer in the UK with this almost laid back, yet dance floor bound, pop track.

Angst on the Suburban Dancefloor is the theme, as only Billie Ray Martin, ‘the Nico of the rave generation’ as one magazine described her, can deliver it. Featuring mixes by Vince Clarke (Yazoo), Horse Meat Disco, Severino and Luke Solomon, this is one almighty package.

Billie Ray Martin first came to prominence leading the acclaimed deep house act Electribe 101, her unique voice hitting both the house scene and the charts with a strong infusion of soul. Electribe 101 scored a brace of hits including the classic Talking With Myself, before Billie left to explore other musical interests.

After releasing the thoroughly scary “Persuasion” with Spooky and the monumentally beautiful “Four Ambient Tales” with The Grid, Billie found herself with a worldwide number one with Your Loving Arms, now considered one of the all-time classics of dance music. Three more hits and the album “Deadline for My Memories” followed.

Since then Billie has worked with Ann Peebles, Carla Thomas and members of Aretha Franklin’s band on her album “18 Carat Garbage”, and has continued to release cutting edge electronic productions, including hit collaborations with DJ Hell and Slam.

Billie’s epic Crackdown Project released in 2010, featuring her takes on the Cabaret Voltaire classic album “The Crackdown”, reinforced her unique position as an artist who appeals to the both the uber-cool Flux Magazine, Wound and The Wire as well as the pop mainstream achieving ‘Song of the Day’ status at Popjustice.  15,000 downloads in a matter of days, plus overwhelming press and DJ feedback confirmed her vision.

While Billie is currently working on a new solo album, her project The Opiates with musician Robert Solheim (dubbed “the Carpenters of electro” by the press) will release their album “Hollywood Under The Knife” in Spring 2011. Featuring artwork  by Turner-prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans, who has photographed Billie twice before and nominated her as one of the 25 most influential women in i-D Magazine.

She continues to run her record label, Disco Activisto, in Berlin and DJs around the world with growing success.

sugarhill gang

Ultimate Boogie Nights present a triple header Christmas show featuring some of the pioneers of hip hop, disco and funk at the Indigo2 on December 17th.

Topping the bill are The Sugar Hill Gang in their original formation, the trio are credited with being the band that bought rapping into the mainstream with their 1979 single Rappers Delight.

The band were instrumental in making hip hop music accessible to the masses and their reign continued with infectious jams such as Apache (Jump On It) – as made popular through a dance skit in actor Will Smith’s early 80’s comedy ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ – and the classic track‘8^th Wonder’ which rapper Busta Rhymes samples in ‘Woo Ha’.

Discovered as a sixteen year old in the washroom of the Philadelphia International Records HQ, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King burst onto the disco scene with her gold certified single Shame, the single was most recently acknowledged by the singers induction into the official Dance Music Hall of Fame.

Back in the seventies she went on to record more disco hits including I Don’t Know If  It’s Right,  I’m In Love and Love Come Down.

The quintessential 80’s funkmeister Tom Browne came to prominence with the release of the single Funkin’ For Jamaica in 1980, featuring the vocals of Tonni Smith. The song was later re-worked by Mariah Carey for her Glitter album in 2001.

Tom’s other Funk smashes include the South African inspired Fungi Mama and smooth grooved Bye Gones, while boasting 10 albums under his belt spanning from 1979 with Browne Sugar in 1979 through to R ‘N’ Browne in 1999. As a live instrumentalist as well as singer, the great detail and finesse is Tom’s music is absolutely brought to life when heard live.

After the live entertainment the party will continue until 2am with DJs playing disco, funk and club classics to keep you in that old school spirit.

Ultimate Boogie Nights December 17th at the Indigo2 at the O2, tickets from SeeTickets.com

SoulBoy Film - Northern Soul Soundtrack CD

I can’t vouch for the film, and to be frank, I’m sceptical that it’ll be any good, but at the risk of stating the bleedin’ obvious, any film of this ilk has got to get the music right. Well, the good news is that the makers of SoulBoy have done exactly that.

I’m no connoisseur, having only once attended a club that could loosely bill itself as a ‘northern soul nite’. I was already in my thirties, had an absolute ball, and then felt deeply melancholic that I’d spent my twenties drinking in boozers with mates and old geezers rather than seeking out soul brothers & sisters to dance, in similarly sweaty all-nighters, to this sweet, sweet music.

Whether you’ll buy this 49-track selection depends on how many other double-disc northern soul comps you own. Although you end up with Frank Wilson’s Do I Love You, Dobie Gray’s In Crowd, The Tams Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy or Al Wilson’s The Snake for the nth time, good as they are, all but the truly battle-hardened will always discover previously unheard gems.

New gems here, to my ears, include Sweet Darling by Popcorn and the Soul Messengers, Tell Me It’s Just a Rumour Baby by the Isley Brothers, The Dells’ Wear It On Our Face, Luther Ingram’s If It’s All the Same to You Babe and a vocal version of Steve Karmen’s Breakaway.

Of course, one can never tire of hearing Patti and the Emblems I’m Gonna Love You a Long Time, Dean Parrish’s I’m On My Way, Gloria Jones’ original of Tainted Love, the utterly sublime Nothing But a Heartache from The Flirtations or anything by Jackie Wilson (in this case it’s Soul Galore).

I know not if those who have ‘Kept the Faith’ down the years, building libraries of exorbitantly-priced but cherished 7” discs,  approve of the instant soul collection that these comps allow, but this great music  deserves an audience and to expose teenagers to this, as I imagine the film will do, can only be a good thing, baby.

If you’re new to the concept of northern soul this set would be a pretty good place to start, but I warn you, it might just change your life.

Soulboy Original Motion Picture Tracklisting:

Disc 1

1. This Place Will Blow Your Mind – Various Artists
2. The Snake – Al Wilson
3. Aint That A Lot Of Love – Homer Banks
4. Turn To me – Chris Towns
5. The In Crowd – Dobie Gray
6. Breakaway Part 2 – Steve Karmen
7. Tainted Love – Gloria Jones
8. Too Late – Larry Williams, Johnny Watson
9. The Girls Got It – Billy Preston
10. Our Love Is Getting Stronger – Jason Knight
11. Sweet Darling – Popcorn & The Soul Messengers
12. You Didn’t Say A Word – Yvonne Baker
13. Call On Me – Percy Milem
14. The Joker – The Mylestones
15. Trackdown – Harvey Scales & The 7 Sounds
16. Soul Galore – Jackie Wilson
17. Cracked Up Over You – Lee Rodgers
18. I’m Gonna Love You A Long Time – Patti & The Emblems
19. All of My Life – Detroit Soul
20. If It’s All The Same To You Babe – Luther Ingram
21. So Is The Sun – World Column
22. If It’s For Real Baby – Porgy & Monarchs
23. Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy – The Tams
24. I’m On My Way – Dean Parrish
25. When You’re Young And In Love – The Marvelettes
26. On A Magic Carpet Ride – Gabriella Cilmi

Disc 2

1. Nothing But A Heartache – The Flirtations
2. Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) – Frank Wilson
3. I Got A Feeling – Barbara Randolph
4. Wear It On Our Face (a/k/a Wear It On Your Face) – The Dells, Charles Stepney
5. Tell Me It’s Just A Rumor Baby – The Isley Brothers
6. Love, Love, Love – Bobby Hebb
7. I’ll Turn To Stone – Four Tops
8. Just A Little Misunderstanding – The Contours
9. Goodbye (Nothing To Say) – Nosmo King, The Javells
10. Helpless – Kim Weston
11. Gotta Have Your Love – The Sapphires
12. Let’s Wade In The Water – Marlena Shaw
13. If I Could Only Be Sure – Nolan Porter
14. All I Do Is Think About You – Brenda Holloway
15. He Who Picks A Rose – Jimmy Ruffin
16. Happy – William Bell
17. Ordinary Joe – Terry Callier
18. What More Could A Boy Ask For – The Spinners
19. Take My Hand – The Dalton Boys
20. Every Time I See You, I Go Wild! – J.J. Barnes
21. Soul Self Satisfaction – Earl Jackson
22. Long After Tonight Is All Over – Jimmy Radcliffe
23. Thank You – Frankie Valli
24. Heaven Must Have Sent You – The Elgins

SoulBoy Original Motion Picture Film Soundtrack CD is out on Universal Records.

tasha kenny - oh! what you did

Singer songwriter and Essex girl Tasha Kenny is just seventeen and already working with established respected artists and producers such as Juelz Santana and Young Spray, her new single Oh! What You Did will be released on September 19th.

Presented by DJsDen at IBBout Recordings since late 2009, Tasha Kenny has been developed into an artist who’s sound brings together many influences in what is considered to be new age pop.

Oh! What You Did is a punchy electro pop/funk dance track that will light up dance floors across the country while its pop sensibilities will make the track a radio favourite, ensuring the single of a place in the UK charts.

The single comes in a raft of remixed formats, the original radio edit feature Juelz Santana, while the remixes are from Crazy Cousins (Funky Mix), Future Freakz (Dance Mix), Young Spray (UK Hip Hop Mix), Apple (Siegalizer Mix) and Afro Sox (Minimal House Mix).

Tasha Kenny has been developed by the right players, like Chris Gehringer of Sterling Sounds who handled the mastering in the US of Oh! What You Did. This ‘master of his art’ dominated mastering for dance and RnB in the 80s and later defined mastering for hip hop. More recently Chris has continued to expand his discography with projects by Madonna, Rihanna, T.I., Nas, Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado and Wyclef Jean.

Check out the single here, Tasha Kenny – Oh! What You Did

agnes

The Swedish singer Agnes Carlsson is set to launch another attack on the UK charts with her latest single /video On & On, which has already notched up over five million views on YouTube, ahead of it’s official release on May 3rd.

Agnes spent much of 2009 on the road, performing as far afield as Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA, but also found time to release her debut UK single Release Me, which reached number three in the singles charts and became one of the biggest radio hits of the year.

The 21 year old has had a fantastic reaction to the new track, On & On when she has performed it live during her Clubland Arena Tour and the single looks likely to follow the same pattern as her debut Release Me.

Agnes – On & On

On & On is released on 3 Beat Blue Records on May 3rd and  will also feature remixes from: Cahill, Warren Clarke, Benny Benassi, 7th Heaven & Alex K.

mini viva

Frankee & Britt, better known as Mini Viva, release their follow up to the 2009 top ten hit Left My Heart In Tokyo, with the irresistible new single One Touch, which is out on May 3rd through Geffen records.

Another guaranteed dance floor filler, One Touch takes a cheeky nod at the eighties sound of Chicago house and hi-nrg and looks set to become a massive hit.

Described by POPJUSTICE as ’so amazing it will make your head explode’, One Touch is pop gem that is perfect for dancing round the living room getting ready for a Saturday night out with the girls!

Mini Viva are currently applying the finishing touches to their debut album and last week launched an interactive online show called Viva Mini Viva! featuring the girls online every Friday between 4.30pm and 5pm in the UK.

The Mini Viva girls will be live and ready to answer questions from fans (via questions through Mini Viva’s Facebook and Twitter).  There will be cool competitions and exclusive live performances too, so it’s going to be a great way of kicking off the weekend and essential Friday viewing.  The show will be broadcast from their brand new Ustream channel, which will allow the live streaming to take place.

It is all go for Mini Viva right now and they have also announced a UK tour on which they will be accompanied by the dance troupe Diversity. Mini Viva will also play at the Isle of Wight Festival on June 11th.

Mini Viva UK Tour dates:

Tue 23-Mar Margate Winter Gardens

Wed 24-Mar Cambridge Corn Exchange

Thu 25-Mar Rhyl Pavilions

Sat 27-Mar Manchester Apollo

Sun 28-Mar Liverpool Empire

Mon 29-Mar Wolves Civic Hall

Tue 30-Mar Glasgow Cylde Auditorium

Thu 01-Apr Newcastle City Hall

Fri 02-Apr Swindon Oasis

Sat 03-Apr Plymouth Pavilions

Mon 05-Apr Oxford New Theatre

Tue 06-Apr Leicester De Montford

Wed 07-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo

Thu 08-Apr Bristol Colston Hall

Sat 10-Apr Portsmouth Guildhall

Sun 11-Apr Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre

Tue 13-Apr Nottingham Concert Hall

Wed 14-Apr Sheffield City Hall

Thu 15-Apr Brighton Brighton Centre

Sat 17-Apr Cardiff CIA

Sun 18-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo

Mon 19-Apr London Hammersmith Apollo

Wed 21-Apr Brentwood Leisure Centre

Thu 22-Apr Preston Guildhall

Sat 24-Apr Manchester Apollo

Sun 25-Apr Bradford St Georges Hall

Mon 26-Apr Wolverhampton Civic Hall

the dirty disco

Sista! is the latest single from The Dirty Disco, an electro pop band with a glam fetish, who are attracting plenty of attention from their live shows despite being currently unsigned and unpublished.

The single is released through the bands own label Stuck In My Head Records and was mixed by Dylan 3D Dresdow who has worked with Black Eyed Peas/ Will.i.am.

The digital release is already riding high in the iTunes Dance Chart and has peaked at number one on the Juno Records indie rock chart.

The Dirty Disco have attracted the attention of BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson amongst many others and have been described as ‘An unhealthy dose of Glam! Sleazy and above all irresistibly catchy pop.’

The Dirty Disco will be appearing in London at the Death Disco on March 31st, where entry is free.

Here is the video, The Dirty Disco – Sista!

For more information visit The Dirty Disco MySpace site.

I Promised Myself is released on November 30th, the track sees Basshunter, AKA Jonas Altberg, delivering another classic slice of Euro dance. Featuring melodic vocals floating over Basshunter’s trademark techno beats with the chant-along chorus, the track defies anyone not to get up and dance.

While the music is upbeat, the lyrics see Basshunter in a more reflective mood, looking back at how he would do things differently and promising himself that he should wait for that special someone.

The video to accompany I Promised Myself continues the ongoing theme of previous Basshunter video’s. This one picks up where Every Morning left off and climaxes with a shocking twist for followers of the storyline.

Basshunter – I Promised Myself

Defected Presents Classics In The House

Defected Presents Classics In The House
Release Date: 14th September 2009 Label: Defected Records

Defected Records present Classics In The House, a collection of classic House Music, Disco and R&B dancefloor anthems featuring UK chart and club hits from Bob Sinclar, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Jamiroquai, Chic, Armand Van Helden, Moloko, Robin S and many more.

2009 marks the 10 year anniversary of the Defected Records music label, one of the most internationally recognisable dance brands. Another excuse to release a 3 CD compilation classic house sounds mixed by the Defected Records label boss and renowned House Music DJ, Simon Dunmore.

Classic disco tracks are dropped into the mix to create unexpected splashes of dance floor delight plus multiple special edits and ‘accapella’ mash ups.

Classics In The House also throws together current dancefloor hits including the 2009 Ibiza club hit La Mezcla from Michael Cleis.

Defected Presents Classics In The House reads like a who’s who of the dance scene from dance legends Armand Van Helden (You Don’t Know Me), Fish Go Deep (The Cure and The Cause) and Bob Sinclar (Rock The Party – Remix) to disco divas Chaka Khan (I’m Every Woman), Dee-Lite (Groove Is In The Heart), and Aretha Franklin (Respect).

Defected Presents Classics In The House CD1

01. Ultra Nate /Free
02. Blaze ft UDA ft Barbara Tucker/ most precious love
03. Patrice Rushen /haven’t you heard
04. Jon Cutler ‘It’s Yours’
05. Jamiroquai ‘Cosmic Girl’
06. En Vogue ‘Hold On’
07. Chic ‘Good Times’
08. Tweet ‘Boogie Tonight’
09. Shakedown ‘At Night’
Who Da Funk ‘Shiny Disco Balls’ (Accapella)
10. Ministers Da La Funk ‘Believe’
11. Joey Negro ‘Can’t Get High Without You’
12. Quentin Harris ‘Can’t Stop’
13. Aretha Franklin ‘Respect’
14. Daniel Bovie & Roy Rox ‘Love Me’
Chocolate Puma & Bingo Players ‘Touch Me’ (Accapella)
15. Kim Syms ‘Too Blind To See It’
16. Masters At Work ‘To Be In Love’

Defected Presents Classics In The House CD2

01.Bob Sinclar ‘Rock The Party’ (Remix)
02. Paul Johnson ‘Get Get Down’(Original)
03. Chaka Khan ‘I’m Every Woman’
04. DJ Gomi ‘Glad I Found You’(Scott Wozniack Remix)
05. Ruffneck ‘Everybody’
06. Todd Terry ‘Get Down’(Mousse T Remix)
07. Armand Van Helden ‘You Don’t Know Me’
08. New Order ‘Blue Monday’
09. Dee-Lite ‘Groove Is In The Heart’
10. Martin Solveig ‘Rockin Music’
11. Funkerman ‘Speed Up’
12. Chocolate Puma & Bingo Players ‘Disco Electrique’
13. Outwork ‘Electro’(Cube Guys Remix)
14. Pete Heller ‘Big Love’
Mike Dunn ‘Feel The Musik’ (Accapella)
15. Soul Central ‘Strings Of Life’
16. Octave One ‘Black Water’

Defected Presents Classics In The House CD3

01. Moloko ‘The Time Is Now’
02. Everything But The Girl ‘Missing’
03. Yasmeen ‘Ready Or Not’ (Copyright Old Skool Remix)
04. Kings Of Tomorrow ‘Finally’
05. Blaze feat Sybil ‘When I Fall In Love’
06. Praise Cats ‘Shine On Me’
07. Robin S ‘Show Me Love’
08. ATFC ‘Bad Habit’
09. Gwen McCrae ‘Keep The Fire Burnin’
10. De La Soul ‘Say No Go’
11. Jungle Brothers ‘What You Waitin For’
12. Fish Go Deep ‘The Cure and The Cause’
13. Michel Clies ‘La Mezcla’
14. The Heartists ‘Bela Horizonti’

Defected Presents Classics In The House is out now on Defected Records and is available on CD and Digitial Download.

The new single is called Wired OK and will be released on October 25th on Albino Recordings as a limited edition 12″ vinyl and via digital download from iTunes and all major download sites.

Paw paw are a  trio comprising Eve, James and Zoe who are all from London’s Kilburn area and were raised on a diet of Depeche Mode, David Bowie and LCD Soundsystem. They have contributed to records by Boy George, TY, Emma Bunton, So Solid and Sarah Nixey and finally decided to go it alone a couple of years ago.

Wired OK is accompanied by a stop motion animated video produced by Mackenzie Crook who plays Gareth in The Office tv comedy series. The video was allegedly shot in Crook’s garden shed, watch it here.

paw paw – Wired OK