Sometimes you just need a good kickstart in life. ARAWA has been mine. There's just something about this little place that has really got me going in the past year. I'm not saying I'm there's some great art to what I've been doing here, but it's a channel I've used and that channel has widened and widened, slowly overflowing into other aspects of my life. I feel more open, more creative and am just more productive than I've been in a l
ong time. I really have all of you to thank for that (even the quiet ones). Just knowing that somebody else is having as much fun as I am is enough for me.
So here's a treat to pay back all you little stars that have so brightened my corner of the universe. One of the fantastic folk I've had the privilege to meet through the magic of the interweb is Dream Chimney regular, editmeister extraordinaire, and all around extraterrestrial disco guru,
Jaz. Back in November I asked him if he'd do a birthday mix for ARAWA. He happily agreed and asked if I'd hook up a graphic for him. Done and done. And really folks, he did a better mix than I had ever hoped for, an epic 76 minute ride that leaves no disco-stone unturned. From his incredible as-yet-unreleased Bollywood edit "State of Hindipendence" to Robin Gibb robot songs, it's a truly galactic mix that perfectly bridges the gap between our already closely neighboring planets.
JAZ- Bioluminescently
(ARAWA's1stbdaymix)1. Jaz- State of Hindipendence
2. Love International- Airport of Love
3. Marzio Dance- The Adventure
4. Liquid Mask- Just-A-Moment
5. Sylvia Love- Extraterrestrial Lover (Jaz Edit)
6. Massimo Barsotti- Right or Wrong
7. Five Letters- Crazy Man
8. Karen Young- Detour
9. Toto Coelo- Milk from the Coconut
10. Robin Gibb- Robot
11. Who's Who- Dance Dance
12. Shiver- Never Coming Back
13.Phono- Music Is My Sex
14. Neon- Skydiver
15. Vivien Vee- Alright
16. Scotch- Take Me Up
17. Yukihiro Takahashi- Drip Dry Eyes
Be sure to cop
Jaz's new 12" Show Me On the Doll featuring four tracks of dusty disco pleasures. Available at
Juno,
Phonica and
Piccadilly. Mines in the mail. I can hardly wait!
Alberto Camerini is the man. Equal parts brilliant musician and eccentric weirdo he's made an over thirty year career dabbling in almost any genre imaginable, with results ranging from best song ever to worst song ever. In case you couldn't tell by the strings, vocoded bridge, or general radness of this song, Telex is one of the former.
Spandau Ballet isn't just about slow dances and PM Dawn sample fodder. These guys can throw an all out new romantic herky jerky disco party like nobody. Really nice synth work, funky new wave bass and a minute and a half drumbreak in the middle? Glow!
Weekend at Bernies anyone? Today Wally Badarou brings you the sweet sound of tiny microchips dancing on the beach.
This one deserves an edit. Two minutes?!. Spacey whistles, washing acoustic strums, humming synths, its just so breezy. I can just see myself sprawled out on an inner tube, slowly floating downriver, half awake, half asleep, baking under the sun, my hands drifting slowly across the cool water. The only problem here is that two minutes is hardly long enough for a good downriver trip.
Sometimes you just need a good kickstart in life. ARAWA has been mine. There's just something about this little place that has really got me going in the past year. I'm not saying I'm there's some great art to what I've been doing here, but it's a channel I've used and that channel has widened and widened, slowly overflowing into other aspects of my life. I feel more open, more creative and am just more productive than I've been in a long time. I really have all of you to thank for that (even the quiet ones). Just knowing that somebody else is having as much fun as I am is enough for me.
Tequila. What can I say? I've loved it ever since Pee Wee borrowed the janitor's shoes, got up and that table and did his thing. Eww gross. I meant dancing. Originally performed by The Champs in 1959 and covered in just about every way and style possible, Tequila is a bonafide novelty classic. And more importantly, Tequila was my childhood JAM. Eight year old me rocked out to it. Hard.
We all know Popcorn right? Written by Gershon Kingsley (or a computer program if you believe the rumors) in 1969, popularized by Hot Butter in '72 and then covered by everyone from Aphex Twin to Crazy Frog (check out this list!) its a instrumental standard. The world of Italo was never one to leave a dead horse alone, so the Magic Men popped up in '83 to give the poor thing another beating. Magic Men was a pseudonym of P.L.R.D. which is itself a pseudonym for the brilliant (and alias happy) Nicolosi brothers, Lino and Pino. How cute is that? Maybe they were twins or something. Anyway, they pull it off. Using their trademark sound they'd later popularize on tracks for Valerie Dore, Domina and Mike Rogers, they create a propulsive track that could almost be some new Kris Menace or Lifelike track. That is, until those little Popcorn blips come in.
I've been meaning to post these three songs for awhile. They're all covers of (mostly) instrumental classics and for whatever reason I have them all grouped together mentally. Most of them are pretty "Italo 101" but they're worth another listen regardless of how many times you've heard them...
