Hibernation Vol.1 on Bear Funk out now!

"We’re not quite sure if Hibernation is the right title for our latest compilation album. We are definitely not sleeping! In fact we are busier than ever. So much amazing music out there… and so little time. Hibernation Volume 1 is the first of a new series of compilations. These unmixed CDs feature a few greatest hits of the previous months, the future smashes and some exclusives unavailable elsewhere.

Things open up with the slick vocal styling and chilled bar grooves of Social Disco Club & Maia and “The Way You Move”, our pal Greg Wilson on the edit. Ronda, Jan Ken Po (a new guise for Max Essa), King DJ and Billy Bogus/Sal deliver us some fine nu-disco gems. Old label favorite and Japanese buddy Altz gives us an exclusive track “Orympia Rocks” and label head-bear gets busy with Lindstrom with their collaboration Daybreak. Talking of Altz and Mr Kotey, there is a digital only exclusive mix of the Lordy track “Off With His Head”.

Things get all George Clinton with newcomers “Free Disco” and their Psychedelic Disco romp “Kelp Man”. Dutchman Roberto Auser gets filmic and leftfield with “Secret Can” while due Filipsson and Ulysees deliver some NYC house flavored disco beats. Florida based Sleazy Mcqueen gets his percussive groove on, while uber-cool French favorites Black Joy remix the Barbarella-esque Diaphonoids classic “Mermaids Of Lunaris”. Things end up on a more downtempo affair with Matt Playfords Weirdo Police project on the haunting closer “Ghost Boat”.

There we have it. A fine Bear-tinted slice of what’s at the cutting edge of today’s Disco spectrum."

HERE'S A NICE REVIEW ON INTHENEWS.CO.UK

In a nutshell...

Disco, disco and yet more lovely disco…

What's it all about?

Collection of nu-disco gems from one of the main players in the capital's basement electronic scene, Steve Kotey. Despite an ill-fitting moniker (Hibernation? In summer? What were they thinking?) it's a fine sift through the best bits of from his Bear Funk label past, present and future. The most notable are the Kotey Extra Band's collaboration with Norwegian disco macdaddy Lindstrom and a Greg Wilson edit of Social Disco Club & Maia’s The Way You Move.

Who's it by?

Bear Funk is the brainchild of sometime Chicken Lips collaborator and tape-op Steve Kotey. Such is the demand for the Lips, they entrusted a chunk of their djing duties to Kotey who jumped on the opportunity with both hands and carved himself a pretty large rep as a party starter in his own right. He's played records with plenty of big names including the likes of Harvey and Francois K and put together the Disco Italia compilation for Strut records. It's obvious that Kotey has this disco business running through his veins.

Likelihood of winning a trip to the Grammys?

If there were awards for services to funk, house and underground disco stylings, then the big bear's mantel piece would be creaking under the weight of accolades. It hasn't happened just yet...

What the others say

"Every song is fantastic and keeps to the Bear Funk disco stylings. I've chosen Greg Wilso'’s version of Social Disco Club & Maia (I also recently posted some Rui Maia originals) and Japan's Altz remix of Lordy, but I could of easily picked any of the songs. No fillers here." - Big Stereo blog

So is it any good?

If you associate the concept of disco with 70s wigs, the Village People and inebriated stag dos lurching around in flares necking alcopops, then you should set your preconceptions right and get your ears round this.

The roots of all good things electronic lie within the disco vibe, something that this Hibernation compilation manages to nail down with a series of strong looks and slap bass pinned down by a fresh backbone of groove. Altz's Orympia Rocks manages to balance a bassline made from utter filth with a suitably ridiculous surf guitar twang while Lindstrom and Kotey's cross breeding doesn't disappoint either, getting an afro-cosmic peacock-esque strut on. If you know your Disco Bloodbath from your Horse Meat Disco, then Hibernation will be right up your dirty alleyway...

TRACKLIST:

Social Disco Club & Maia - "The Way You Move" (Greg Wilson version)

Ronda - "Folana"

The Diaphanoids - "Mermaids Of Lunaris" (A Blackjoy disco mix)

Jan Ken Po - "Rhapsody In Leather"

Billy Bogus & Sal - "Terror Island" (Enzo Ponzio mix)

Altz - "Orympia Rocks"

Filipsson & Ulysses - "Fluffy Amadeus"

Roberto Auser - "Secret Can"

King DJ - "Ex Memory"

Sleazy McQueen - "One Extra Day"

Free Disco - "The Kelp Man"

Kotey Extra Band (Lindstrom & Stevie Kotey) - "Daybreak"

Weirdo Police - "Ghost Boat (Many People Died)"

HERE'S THE GREG WILSON VERSION OF MY TRACK WITH MAIA ;)


Social Disco Club & Maia - The Way You Move (Greg Wilson Version)

GET IT ON:

Juno

Ps.: "The Way You Move" will be out soon on vinyl 12" with the Original and Instrumental, plus the Greg Wilson Version and Diskjokke Retromix.

www.myspace.com/socialdiscoclub

www.myspace.com/ruimaia

www.myspace.com/djgregwilson

www.myspace.com/diskjokke

www.myspace.com/bearfunk

Blogs

Just a quick message for all the people who have disco (or kind of) blogs...

Sadly, at this moment, i don't have to much time to dig across new, (or old), music blogs - and i know there's loads around. 

So, if some of you have or know those i should check and add into my "Music Community" or "Community" list, please drop me a comment with the link.

Many Thanks!

Next 12" On Bear Funk

The wait is over! 29th June is the oficial release date of the Bear Funk Release with my portuguese mate, Maia.

Here's a quick revue:

Portuguese based Social Disco Club (aka Humberto Matias) and Maia, delivers some laid back Mediterranean spiced disco groove. “The Way You Move” sleeks along with sultry keys, Latin groove, lazy percussion and all the flavour of an early-evening island vista. 

Up on the edit is our pal Greg Wilson who rejigs like only he can, creating a more floor based mix. The original is all about the great vocals whilst new Norwegian Disco-don DiskJokke gives us his late 80’s Balearic sounding re-rub.. its Ibiza 88 all over again.. drop the deal friend.

A few feedbacks...:

Hope your well. Very nice release - like it and will play it, very nice midtempo disco burner.

Ace work! 

Simon Lee (Faze Action)

I just got this yesterday, very cool indeed! Like the Diskjokke mix too... 

Jaques Renault (DFA)

I simply love it! can't wait to hear more stuff.

keep up the good work!

Cheers,

Felix Haaksman (Dutch Rhythm Combo)

I love it. A modern classic. Been playing the GW Version for a while now to great response. Top track!

Dicky Trisco (Boogie Corporation/Disco Deviance)

Humberto, thanks for your new production! 

Tony Carrasco (Klein & Mbo/Moonbase)

Love the original and Diskjokke retromix

Always in our sets

worf worf worf

The Barking Dogs (Discosafari)

A strong release, congrat, will play for sure

Hardrock Striker (Skylax/Cosmic Club)

Loving all the mixes, specially the vocal original

Rayko (Rare Wiri Records)

Tracklist:

"The Way You Move" (Original)

"The Way You Move" (Instrumental)

"The Way You Move" (Greg Wilson Version)

"The Way You Move" (Diskjokke Retromix)

Soundclips:

Social Disco Club (Myspace)

Maia (Myspace)

Sweet Lucy

Raul De Souza, a native of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) is considered by international critics (Down Beat, New York Jazz Magazine, Rolling Stones and many other) as one of the greatest trombone players in the world. Multinstrumentalist, composer, he plays alto and tenor sax and percussion besides the trombone. Having recorded nine albums, winning numerous national and international awards he is the inventor of the Souzabone, an eletric trombone set at C, with the implement of a chromatic valve.

His album "Colours" is adopted at the Berklee School of Music (EUA) as a subject matter, due to the rhytmic and melodic variations it presents. He is an honorary ditizen of the city of Atlanta, Georgia (USA) and a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the Associated Musicians and the Associated Musicians of Greater New York.

He participated in many international festivals, and among them the Montreaux Jazz Festival (1978), the Playboy Jazz Festival (1979), the Monterrey Jazz Festival (1980,1981) and as Guilherme Vergueiro's special guest together with Wayne Shorter, Wallace Roney and Mads Vinding at the Heineken Concerts in S.Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 1995.

Raul De Souza created and participated in many musical bands, such as "A turma da Gafieira" (with Altamiro Carrilho, Sivuca, Baden Powell, Edison Machado, among others), Sergio Mendes Bossa Rio, Elefant Blanc (in Paris), Blue Note (in New York), Impacto 6, Sanbrasil and RC7.

At the moment, after living, playing and recording in the US for many years, Raul is back in Rio de Janeiro, his home town, where he has dedicated his time to composing, performing throughout Brazil and recording with Brazilian aces, such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, Leny Andrade among others and with international stars such as Lisa Ono, Selena Jones and Joyce Collins.

Raul De Souza - Sweet Lucy

Mindless017

Ok, seems like my 2nd Mindless Boogie release was blogged... :)

So, for those who didn't have the vinyl release, here's a good chance to get the TUNES.

Ps.: my next releases on Boxmusic, Bear Funk, Eskimo, Disco Deviance, will be out very soon.
More updates in a couple of days..

Ca-The-Drals

From 1976 through 1980, when disco was king, the music of D.C. LaRue ruled the underground and avant garde dance floors of the world. With #1 hits like “Cathedrals,” “Let Them Dance,” “Do You Want The Real Thing” and “Hot Jungle Drums & Voo Doo Rhythm” he was a major creative force behind a movement that evolved into the pop/dance music of the 80s, 90s and this current decade.

Making one’s mark as a spokesman for any genre on the first try is not easy but his premiere dance recording “Cathedrals” was such an influential hit that it prompted Casbox Magazine’s Aaron Fuchs to rave: “Cathedrals” is to discos what “Blue Suede Shoes” is to rock dance halls. By mid-1976 “Cathedrals” had become a top ten dance record throughout the world. D.C. LaRue was the first white male to ever hold the #1 R&B/Soul chart position in England. “Cathedrals” was the first commercially available 12” 45 rpm disco single in the USA and the only 12” single ever to be charted on the Billboard Magazine Top 100 Singles Chart before or since. And this was just the first in a string of D.C. LaRue musical firsts!

About the extended break on the 12” remix of “Indiscreet” (until now commercially unavailable) rapper Grandmaster Flash is quoted as saying: “It was the first Hip Hop break I ever heard…the start of all the Hip Hop and Rap beats to come.” That was 1976!

“Let Them Dance” (released in 1978) was the beginning of D.C.’s successful quest to change album tracks into radically different remixed 12” dance singles. And by 1979 his 12” remix of “So Much For L.A.” (from LaRue’s “Star, Baby” album) saw a remix containing new lyrics, revised arrangements, erased tracks, looping and sampling. It was the fruition of the consummate “cut and paste” recording. Needless to say, it was nothing like the original LP track!

And now, with a genuine world wide re-interest in the disco/dance music of the 70s, it appears that D.C. LaRue’s time has arrived once again. And his music continues to titillate the musical palette of the discriminating dance music lover around the globe via the world wide web. With each reissue and sample of one of his dance classics his enduring legend of fans are now being joined by a whole new group of people who are finding his work not only the perfect reflection of the dazzling disco era gone by but an example of an art that is even more relevant today…over 30 years later.

Back in 1981 the editor’s of GQ Magazine voted D.C. LaRue one of the 6 creative artists who would epitomize “success in the decades ahead.” Little did they know how right they were!!

D.C. LaRue - Ca-The-Drals

Dancing Digits

The original mix of this obscure 80's disco track has been a huge tune for the likes of DJ Harvey / Daniel Wang and has subsequently become a highly prized slab of vinyl.

The Soft Rocks remake which was completely stripped down, (and all parts replayed with musicians including Alice Russell from Quantic Soul Orchestra), and turns out to be a fine piece of deep, disco house. 

Hell yes, you need this in your life!

David Astri - Dancing Digits (Soft Rocks Remake)

Social Disco Club Dj Set at Discosafari (Milan)

Just a quick link to the live mix at Discosafari in Milan.

Crazy Party!


Social Disco Club Dj Set at Discosafari