VOLUME 4 · PROGRAM 3
Mike Lewis remixes "Top Shot" by Tantra. Boy, this is hot music.
Mike has appeared previously on Disconet with the "Party Boys" remix last year, and "Can You Feel It" earlier this year. He plays at Trocadero Transfer in San Francisco as well as Studio One in Hollywood. This is what commuting is, California-style.
Mike took the 24 tracks to Tantra's "Top Shot", and with some additional percussion by Randy "Clap-o-matic" Sills as well as additional guitar tracks, he has given a whole new slant to the song. John Van Neste engineered at Allen Zentz Recording in Los Angeles, assisted by Ed Sanders. Gilbert Garcia came in and kept everyone awake during the 11 hour session. After all, great sounds take a while. Importe/12 should put this out sometime.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Side A runs 6:50 at 132 BPM.
John Matarazzo and Mike Arato present your 1980 Disconet Top Tune Medley.
John Matarazzo and Mike Arato mixed the classic "No More Medlies/Enough Is Enough" 1979 Disconet Top Tune Medley, and we asked them back to put your favorite songs of 1980 together.
John plays at Charlie's West in East Orange, New Jersey and Mike plays at Uncle Sam's in Levittown, Long Island. We counted over 800 votes from the feedback card on Program 1 of Volume 4, and gave John and Mike the votes on your top 100 favorites.
In the space of just under 19 minutes, they take you on a trip through 21 of the biggest vote getters. The 1980 medley starts out on the high end of the BPM scale, and works your audience down gently from 132 BPM to 112 BPM. The high-energy beginning seems to stay there all along, as the slower songs seem to have the punch and muscle to keep the flow going. (Previous Disconet Top Tune Medleys in 1977, 1978 and 1979 have all gone from slow to fast. This year, we felt that the reverse structure might prove more useful to you.)
The 1980 medley begins with a special re-remix of "Fear", and ends with "Another One Bites The Dust." Listed below, in order of play, are the 21 songs on the 1980 Disconet Top Tune Medley:
| SONG | ARTIST | LABEL/COMPOSER(S) |
|---|---|---|
| "Fear" | Easy Going | 1980 Importe/12 (Meo-Simonetti) |
| "Underwater" | Harry Thumann | 1979 Baby (Thumann-Weindorf) |
| "Fame" | Irene Cara | 1980 MGM, Inc./RSO (Gore-Pitchford) |
| "Que Sera Mi Vida" | Gibson Brothers | 1980 Zagora/Mango (Vangarde-KlugerByl-Vangarde) |
| "I'm OK, You're OK" | American Gypsy | 1980 Importe/12 (Janchen-Janchens) |
| "It's A War" | Kano | 1980 Emergency (Pulga-Ninzatti-Addams-Mamared) |
| "Party Boys" | Foxy | 1980 TK (Ledesma) |
| "Funkytown" | Lipps, Inc. | 1979 Casablanca (Greenberg) |
| "Twilight Zone" | Manhattan Transfer | 1979 Atlantic (Hermann) |
| "Vertigo/Relight My Fire" | Dan Hartman (and Loleatta Holloway) | 1979 CBS/Blue Sky (Hartman) |
| "If You Could Read My Mind" | Viola Wills | 1980 Ariola (Lightfoot) |
| "Buenos Aires/Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" | Festival | 1979 RSO (Webber-Rice) |
| "Celebration" | Kool & The Gang | 1980 De-Lite (Bell-Kool & The Gang) |
| "A Lover's Holiday" | Change | 1980 Warner Bros/RFC (Romanl-Willoughby) |
| "Love Sensation" | Loleatta Holloway (and Dan Hartman) | 1980 Gold Mind (Hartman) |
| "Can't Fake The Feeling" | Gerladine Hunt | 1980 Prism (Hunt-Dyson) |
| "Rapture" | Blondie | 1980 Chrysalis (Stein-Harry) |
| "Upside Down" | Diana Ross | 1980 Motown (Rogers-Edwards) |
| "Another One Bites The Dust" | Queen | 1980 Elektra (Deacon) |
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Side B runs 18:35, from 132 BPM (beats per minute) to 112.
Raul & Carlos Ramos pull up to Grace's "Bumper" with an extended remix. Cotton Candy is "Having Fun" for the summer.
Pull Up To The Bumper / Grace Jones. Miss Jones already has a smash. Now you'll have an extended version to enjoy the many fine sounds on "Bumper" which now runs almost eight minutes. Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin produced for Island. Raul, who's last appearance was the Abba "Lay All Your Love" remix, worked with Carlos Ramos, who plays at New York, New York. Together they've given the song a more even energy flow for dancing, and created a few very interesting percussion breaks from some pleasing sounds which go by all too quickly on the original version.
Having Fun / Cotton Candy. Here's a street record for the summer with a touch as soft and sweet as cotton candy. Donna Trollinger does the lead vocals, and Pow Wow, Mr. Biggs and G.l.o.b.e. (otherwise known as The Soulsonic Force) do the surprise rap about two-thirds of the way in. Afrika Bambaata did the mix. Give it a few plays and Cotton Candy will start getting under your dance floor's skin. Coming soon from Tommy Boy records.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Bonus Side 1 runs 13:53, from 112 BPM to 116 BPM.
John Hedges and Barry Blum produce a lot of Corruption with "Show Me Yours." Terry Chapman makes Sunbelt "Spin It."
As far as we can see, the leading area for electronic music in the U.S. is San Francisco. They are years ahead, with a growing following of electronic devotees. So it was no surprise that John Hedges' first production with new wave/synthesizer wizz Barry Blum has its roots in electronics, while paying great heed to generating energy to keep the dance floor interested.
The group is called Corruption, and the song is simply "Show Me Yours." There is a sub-sonic rhythmn generator pumping away with the force of the loudest circa-1978 clunk, and the reserve of a symphonic sythensizer. Feel this one out for yourself under your boom boxes.
"Spin It" by Sunbelt is in the same electronic groove, with a more pop-oriented vocal and structure. Doug Groover, from Houston, Texas, wrote, produced, and played the synthesizers. Rodney Eubanks did the lead vocals.
The original tracks impressed Terry Chapman so much that he started working on a remix, and sent it to Disconet for review. Terry has played at various clubs in Houston and New Orleans, and now has a pretty fancy mobile DJ operation as well. Terry came to New York a few weeks ago, tapes in hand, and this completed version of "Spin It" was born. Both cuts will be on a compilation double dance album from Importe/12 entitled "Prime Cuts" in a few weeks.
SPECIAL NOTE TO DJs: Bonus Side 2 runs 14:31, from 136 BPM to 128 BPM.
Bob Anderson wins the LCD chronograph. Bob plays at The Limelight in Atlanta, and his pressing serial number on Program 1 (#197) matched the lucky winning number for that program. Bob's favorites on Program 1 were Raul's "Lay All Your Love On Me" remix, "Rectangle", "You Are The One" and "Blue Light." Congratulations, Bob… we've sent you the watch the does everything. Be sure to return the feedback card from this Disconet and enter the pressing serial number of your Side A/Side B pressing (shown in the upper right hand corner of the jacket.)