I finished this build at the end of September, showcasing it in this post. However, I very quickly ran into a bunch of problems when I started riding it. The Major Taylor handlebars were uncomfortable, so I replaced them with a set of bullhorns I made. Then the vintage Brooks leather saddle literally ripped in half – I guess the leather had not been treated well and had dry rot. I swapped it out with a 1970’s leather Concor Laser saddle. A few weeks later, the 1930’s adjustable stem I was using cracked! I located a more robust 1970’s-era 3TTT adjustable stem (a “Record Regolabile” according to Velobase.org) to replace it. I also added Brooks leather bar tape to the bullhorns and top tube, and changed the gearing to a more mellow 47 / 17.
So here is the updated version of the Alien, which is far more comfortable and safer to ride, while still retaining a nice vintage-inspired look. Check out more pics after the jump…
DJ Sneak is beloved among house heads around the world as one of the most famous and popular DJ’s of the “second wave” of the Chicago scene. Sneak’s deep, yet funky style is exemplified by this mix, one that I feel is the best I’ve ever heard of his. It includes many rare, sought-after house tracks, and has that deep hypnotic groove that Sneak is famous for without being too repetitive or minimal.
This is the sound of Chicago house that was contemporary to Daft Punk’s first album and provided the ground work for the French house and UK disco house genres that followed in the mid-to-late 90’s. Without a doubt, a classic of the genre. Track list after the jump…
As a kid growing up in New Jersey, the music of my childhood, the first music I can remember, was East Coast hiphop. But by 1995, I was a junior in high school and my tastes had drifted to local punk rock. It was this mix tape that brought me back. Kenny Dope blends sixteen of the hottest tracks to ever come from the Nervous Records sub-labels Wreck, Weeded, and Strapped, when Black Moon, Smif n’ Wessun, and Mad Lion were all signed and dropping the most memorable records of their careers.
Along with the classic remixes of “I Gotcha Opin,” “Bucktown,” “How Many Emcees,” and “Who Got Da Props” are some very rare break records by Funkmaster Flex, The Groove Asylum, and Wreck All-Stars. For heads who really know their East Coast history, there’s a rare non-LP appearance by Nine on “Six Million Ways to Die,” produced by Funk Flex. Grab some more Nervous rarities here. Back in the day, I listened to this mix so much that I broke the original tape. Now it’s out of print, but I got it here. Full track list after the jump…
Kenny Dope, one half of New York City’s legendary Masters At Work team, released this mix back in 2004 as part of a series of fantastic disco and 80’s mixes. This mix is required listening for fans of the old-school! Here’s a few excerpts from an excellent review I found by Michael Gill at Stylus Magazine:
As disco went back underground at the beginning of the ‘80s, it went through a bit of a stylistic makeover. Boogie, a slower take on disco with a thicker back beat, became popular in clubs, and disco labels like Salsoul, West End, and Prelude continued to flourish with a mass of underground hits. These labels reduced the diva and the orchestral quotient of disco, and added in an array of synthesizers as well as a stronger soul/R&B vibe to their tracks. The effect was that a lot of post-disco dance music had a breezy, gliding quality to it instead of feeling bombastic and excessive. A gliding quality that is similar to, you guessed it, roller skating.
All of this leads to Roller Boogie ‘80s, the first in a series of limited edition mixes by Kenny Dope, who is one-half of the production team Masters At Work. If you are a fan of underground disco, you’ll probably recognize a lot of the tracks here, as many are still staples for DJs today. Kenny is not digging too deep into his crates here, and the result is almost akin to a greatest hits selection of laid-back disco in the early ‘80s.
The big hits include Taana Gardner’s million-selling single “Heartbeat,” Junior’s throaty R&B smash “Mama Used To Say,” and Slave’s smooth funk jam “Watching You” (which later was appropriated by Snoop Dogg for “Gin & Juice.”) Just about every other track is a perennial underground classic that has been included on numerous disco compilations throughout the years, like the irresistible “I Like What You Are Doing To Me” by Young & Co., the jubilant “Walking Into Sunshine” by Central Line, and the still devastating soul-funk of “Just A Touch of Love” by Slave.
Ore Records was a short-lived UK house label, an off-shoot of XL Recordings. From 1993 to 1996, Ore released classic house music (also known in the UK as “handbag house”) with lots of diva vocals and disco flourishes. Notable artists on Ore included Tommy Musto (under the alias Colourblind), Jay Denes of Blue Six (who later saw much success on the Naked Music label), and legendary NYC producer and DJ, Todd Terry.
This compilation, released in 1995 and mixed by Todd Terry, brings together ten of Ore Records’ top releases from 1993-95 into a fabulous, flawless disco house mix that also happens to be pretty rare. I first heard it in 1997, and often mixed Party Faithful’s “Brass: Let The Be House” anthem into my college-era DJ sets as a peak-time dance track. What a tune! Track list and more album art after the jump.
Martin Verlaan has mixed every single release from the legendary (and long gone) italo disco label Il Discotto Productions into a single awesome megamix! DJ James Stacher describes this mix perfectly:
“25 years of italy’s best dance label, listening to it makes me feel like the last starfighter on vacation in Ibiza.”
(From Dusty Groove) Funky madness! This one’s exactly what is says — a live mix, recorded by this hip funky combo, sort of a mixtape of classic funky tunes, all slammed together in one massive performance! Breakestra run through some of the biggest funky 45s of the 60s and 70s, jamming hard in one live to tape performance that takes us back to the classic days of the JBs grooving in the studio with James Brown. Plenty of choppy guitars, hot bubbly organ, sweet keyboard licks, and hard heavy horns throughout!
