One Day in September
I belong to a club in which members trade mix CDs. I have another website where I put the cover art and track lists for a while but I really, really hate posting them in their original Word docs and I can't be arsed to figure out how to save them as HTML and make them work. So I've decided it's much easier to post them here on my poor abandoned blog instead. Without further ado, my September mix, created for the lovely and talented Nocturne:
01. Earth, Wind & Fire - September
02. Brazilian Girls - Last Call
03. Bugz In The Attic - I'm Gonna Letcha
04. Girl Talk - That's My DJ
05. Girl Talk - Hold Up
06. Girl Talk - Too Deep
07. Jean-Jacques Perrey - Elephant's Wedding March
08. The Puppini Sisters - I Will Survive
09. Motor - Yak
10. Chaka Khan - Hair
11. Girl Talk - Give And Go
12. Girl Talk - Bounce That
13. Girl Talk - Warm It Up
14. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star (Future Star)
15. Brazilian Girls - Tourist Trap
16. Bugz In The Attic - Don't Stop the Music
17. Girl Talk - Overtime
18. Girl Talk - Peak Out
19. Jean-Jacques Perrey - Nasty Groove
20. The Puppini Sisters - Heart Of Glass
21. Motor - MDXT-A
22. Chaka Khan - Love Has Fallen On Me
About the artists:
Earth, Wind & Fire is one of my favorite groups. They were rooted in funk but synthesized their own sound out of myriad influences including rock, blues, gospel, jazz, psychedelia, disco and African folk music. I had to start out with "September" because it put a smile on my face many mornings this month even as I was driving to work, and that's no mean feat. You'll also hear “Shining Star (Future Star)”, a short instrumental funk jam.
Brazilian Girls built a dedicated fanbase by spiking electronic grooves with jazz, bossa nova, reggae and the sultry multilingual vocals of Sabina Sciubba. They got even more eclectic on their second album, Talk To La Bomb. Included here are my favorite tracks, “Tourist Trap” and the Ric Ocasek-produced “Last Call”.
Bugz in the Attic is the UK DJ/producer collective who created the broken beat sound, blending elements of house, techno and drum’n’bass with soulful R&B vocals. I’ve been listening to their amazing album Back in the Doghouse on endless repeat for a while. It was tough to pick just two songs for this mix.
Girl Talk is producer Greg Gillis, who mixes up very familiar samples in ways you probably haven’t heard before. The tracks on this mix are from his album-length mashup Night Ripper, another CD I can’t stop playing this month. It looks like there’s a lot of Girl Talk on the mix, but the tracks are relatively short and make more sense when you hear them back to back.
Jean-Jacques Perrey is a pioneering electronic music composer and one of the originators of space age pop. His name may be unfamiliar but most everyone has heard his work; E.V.A. (links to audio file) is one famous example. At 77, he is currently on tour and still making great music. The tracks on this mix are from his 2001 release Circus of Life.
The Puppini Sisters are a trio of Italian and English singers who were inspired to form a group by the film The Triplets of Belleville. Their album Betcha Bottom Dollar got no love from the critics, but what do they know? I'm a sucker for a good cover and the pop songs they do in the style of the Andrews Sisters are really fun, especially “I Will Survive” and “Heart of Glass”.
Motor is Bryan Black, former programmer and sound designer for Prince's Paisley Park Studios, and Parisian drummer Mr. No. While the duo also record as electroclash band Xlover, their Motor project updates eighties industrial synthpop with a dark, minimalist sheen. “Yak” and “MDXT-A” are from their debut album, Klunk.
After a string of hit records with the band Rufus, Chaka Khan embarked on a successful solo career and achieved chart-topping success in 1984 with her cover of Prince’s “I Feel For You”. Winner of eight Grammy awards, her distinctive vocals have graced a dozen solo albums encompassing rock, funk, disco, R&B, jazz and pop standards. “Hair” is from her 1998 Prince-produced album Come 2 My House. The lyrics to “Love Has Fallen On Me” gave this mix its title. The song appeared on her 1978 solo debut Chaka.
Cover art includes September from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry by The Limbourg brothers.
posted by Sgt Howie @ 8:09 PM
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