compiled by matthew burgess & jolyon green
matthew burgess Not many DJ partnerships or lifelong friendships are forged via a Mothers Finest 12” sold on ebay, but that’s how I met the disco diva from Devon, Matthew Burgess. When we rendezvoused in a Soho boozer to exchange my copy of ‘Bite Your Granny’ over my few pints and his gentlemanly gin and tonic, we discovered a shared obsession with dusty dance vinyl. Ten years later we’re still obsessing. His selections on this CD show Matthew’s knack of finding the most obscure but fantastic records in often very unlikely places (I won’t reveal the best source of his record collection because you wouldn’t believe me anyway). Other than an unfathomable obsession with the Pet Shop Boys, he has impeccable taste in music. I’ve lost count of the number of times grinning girls previously unaware of his talents have rushed up to ask ‘Who’s that guy? He’s brilliant!’ That’s as well as the boys asking ‘What’s that?’ during his sets. Matthew learned those skills grafting over the years at many of London’s music bars, playing great tunes to people usually more interested in the colour of their next cocktail. But that was only about making a few quid to buy records. Low Life is his real love and a perfect home because most important of all, Matthew is a DJ with the talent to start any party, get people dancing all night AND keeping the disco beards happy. Paul Brookes Steps from Beyond part 2
Sly and Robbie Superthruster
The sleeve of this record has planets, spaceships and what appears to be a mystical stairway to heaven, which are all guarantees of disco quality in my eyes.
breakdance days. We should have used Rubber Soul instead, as the Amaziah LP is now a highly sought-after psych-rock rarity. Slowly reminds me of the sun-dappled mornings of my youth. Fortunately for you lot, it’s also brilliant.
Diggy Tal and the Invaders If it’s love that you want
Escape from New York Fire in my Heart
Hypertension One Night Woman
Just when I thought I’d heard every catchy disco chorus in the world along came Diggy Tal, proving that behind every half decent DJ is a great record dealer. Thanks Mark Seven. Amaziah Slowly When I was growing up, the only rock record in the house apart from the Beatles was a Christian rock record: Straight Talker by Bristol band Amaziah. My brother and I used to practice scratching on it in our
This feels like Sly and Robbie have used their subterranean powers to summon forth a herd of mighty mastodons to roll this monolithic groove ever onwards. Slaves to the rhythm indeed.
Thanks to my Brummie brother Rob J for this, which is so obscure even the band didn’t know it ever came out. Sinuous bassline + catchy-as the-clap chorus = Low Life Anthem.
Rescued from a damp cardboard box in Deptford Market one October morning, this record always resulted in a flurry of inquisitive emails, on the rare occasion that I withdrew it from my secret disco vault to play in public.
Mothmen Temptation
Gordon’s War Got to Fan the Flame
Surely one of the great lost new wave pop records of the Eighties. This is the track that John Hughes should have used to announce the arrival of Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science.
The A side of this, The Rock Is Going To Get You, is a great disco track, but my favourite lies on the B. It sure ain’t disco - but has a strange and indescribable magic...
jolyon green Jolyon and I met in a Soho pub over booze and disco 12s (there will be an Anthony Price pastel blue plaque there one day), but it was an illegal warehouse party shortly afterwards that was to really bring us irrevocably together, like some sort of Balearic Tennant and Lowe. Bill Brewster, moving as ever in mysterious ways, had booked us both to DJ at Low Life and we decided on a whim to play together rather than separately. Not only did this decision free each of us to go to the bar every two records, but it also changed our lives. Jolyon still surprises me. Even after sharing cramped DJ booths with him for so long, I still hadn’t heard of half the records he came up with for this CD. He’s got that thing about him where he just knows what’s good. His hair’s good. His jumpers are good. He’s got this confidence to go against the flow and dig up unusual and amazing music. Crucially, he understands that only half the joy of loving music is actually listening to it. The other half is the knowledge that out there somewhere are records even more beautiful and transcendent than the ones he’s got already. This is what drives him on. “Always searching, never perching”, as one of the prophets once said. In Victorian times Jolyon Green probably would have been a gentleman treasure hunter. In away, he still is. A Guy Called Gerald Rhythm Of Life It’s hard to believe I bought this more than 20 years ago. Way ahead of its time, melodic deep house, only available on the ‘Hot Lemonade’ LP. Massimo Lippoli Call A Wave A promo only DFC version of one of Malcolm McClaren’s finest pop moments. One of my favourite Balearic chuggers. He Said Pump A gorgeous, moody pre-New Beat track - what they used to call a “tatouage” in mid 80s Belgium. (Thanks to King K for the tip off!)
Plastic & Nathalie Stop Ou Encore (’82 New York Remix) Lovely laid back 7” only B-side remix of a Ron Hardy disco favourite by Belgian plastic punk Plastic Bertrand (so punk he’s wearing a natty pink Frank Boughesque golf sweater on the record cover). Red Lion Living Together Another accidental discovery bought in a job lot of Euro twelves from Germany. The A-side is a slightly cheesy long forgotten 80s French synth pop number, but flip over to the B side and you’ve got the perfect Balearic record.
Jump St. Man B Cause (’89 Remix) I’ve been through three or four copies of this over the last 20 years, I love it so much. Marshall Jefferson’s very subtle remix, only available on the LP ‘Garage Trax II’, is better than the original for me. Pedestrians Commuter Fantasy I found this by accident in the mid 90s, buried away on an old Cosmic bootleg LP. There were no track details but it was easy enough to track down an original a few years later...now goes for big money.
Paul Brookes Steps From Beyond Pt 2 Red Lion Living Together Plastic & Nathalie Stop Ou Encore Escape from New York Fire In My Heart Hypertension One night woman Amaziah Slowly Gordon’s War Got To Fan The Flame Sly & Robbie Superthruster Massimo Lippoli Call a wave Pedestrians Commuter Fantasy A Guy Called Gerald Rhythm Of Life Written and produced by A Guy Called Gerald Diggy Tal and the Invaders If it’s love that you want Mothmen Temptation Jump St. Man B Cause (‘89 remix) He Said Pump Mastered by Sean P Sleeve notes Bill Brewster Photography Ian Williams Design Mudd Mudd thanks: Rabbit, Sean P, Ian Williams, Bill Brewster, Matthew and Jolyon, Amaziah. Matthew thanks: Jolyon thanks: Kate and Agatha for all their love, my family for putting up with the thumping bass and the acid house compilation tapes in the car but never complaining, Tom Parker for loaning me the money for my first Technics deck and all the years of friendship, Rob, Gareth, Jay and Beta and N.o.W. for the once in a lifetime, never forgotten Warehouse days of glory ‘89 to ’91, Bill, Frank, Michael, Liz, Imogen and all Lowlife friends, Moonboots, Balearic Mike, Jan and all the lovely people of Manchester, Phil Mison and Spencer, Richie Rundle, Ben and Andy Boilerhouse, Matty and Ben, Rob J, Andrew Roper for going halves on the Chicago House box set in 1987, Paul for believing in us and putting out this CD, Sean P for mastering our knackered old records and lastly Matthew - all those nights on Broadwick St were worth it in the end... P & C Claremont 56 2009. Due to the diverse nature of this release we were unsuccessful in trying to locate some of the repertoire. If you want to contact us, please email muddsworld@inbox.com www.claremont56.com
Claremont
Here’s the story. After writing our number one smash Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, Jolyon emailed us to say how much he liked the book. He may even have been the first person to do so. Shortly after, Matthew did the same, and so began correspondences that were reciprocated mainly because they knew about some records that I didn’t (self-interest is at the heart of all great love affairs). Some people’s fan bases consist of nubile girls throwing panties at their objects of desires. Ours consists of bearded men wanting stroke each other’s record collections. Sometime after, Matthew & Jolyon were invited to play at Low Life. Matthew’s debut was at my wedding party in Fortress Studios in the summer of 2001 (let’s face it, that’s a bit like saying you were there when Spam was invented) and Jolyon shortly after that. They were thrown together by circumstance and disco, possibly in that order. A partnership was formed and sealed by a series of high level (invite only) Disco Summits that were only attended by the great, the good and me. In the subsequent eight years they’ve become as integral to Low Life parties as our cheap decorations and stellar crowds. We’re constantly being badgered by regulars to ditch the guests and just have the residents. It’s a testament to how good a team they’ve become. The main reason they are so good, is firstly (obviously) taste. They have it. But secondly, they never forsake the party for some idle trainspottery moments. So their first duty is always to rock the party, but always with an eye on a doing it differently, with a twist (or, as fellow Low Life resident Michael Cook always says, “One for you, one for me”). They are not particularly interested in big money records, happy to go off into digging tangents looking for strange and interesting music in bargain bins, charity shops, online seeking or sneaking away from the other half on holiday to spend half a day in the one good record shop in Languedoc (if we told you were it was we’d have to kill you). If you’ve ever been to Low Life you will recognise several tunes here as staples in their sets, but there are also some beautiful chillout moments to accompany and contrast with the clubbier end of this compilation. This sounds as good riding a donkey towards Gomorrah (or was it Formentera?) as it does at a rave-up in Dalston. It would probably even sound good in a bed-sitter in Rochdale, though we can’t vouch for certain on that one. On this sunny summer day in southern England, it sounds pretty damn good to me. Bill Brewster, August 2009 DJhistory.com