(Not the actual cover ... but it should be)James Murphy & Pat Mahoney, FabricLive 36 (Fabric 2007)Never had the pleasure of seeing James Murphy DJ but from what I had to go on (the all-over-the-map BBC radio mix from 2005, a great listen) I wasn't expecting such a singleminded pursuit of D I S C O. There's some obscure grooves on
FabricLive 36, mixed by Murphy and Pat Mahoney (ex-Les Say Fav drummer, currently with LCD Soundsystem), but it's not a mix that's just out to score cool points, just a super-fun set of mostly '70s and early '80s disco rubbing up against a few more recent tracks -- made by guys who idolize vintage disco. Daniel Wang's
"Like Some Dream (I Can't Stop Dreaming)" from 1991 is the midpoint, a disco nostalgia track that's now old enough to be a classic in its own right (Balihu 001 just got re-pressed on vinyl, btw). Also on the mix is Instant Funk, Donald Byrd, Chic, "Still Going Theme," Mouzon's Electric Band, and my personal favorite bit, when it breaks down into an acappella of Junior Byron's "Dance to the Music." Out next month on
Fabric.
Lenny Williams - "You Got Me Running"Gichy Dan - "Cowboys and Gangsters"
Prins Thomas, Cosmo Galactic Prism (Eskimo 2007)See now this one has that all-over-the-map thing going ... and from the opening track, Joe Meek's "I Hear a New World" with its helium tape-loop aliens, I was hooked. Double-disc set travels through classic rock, Hawkwind, disco, fusion, Kompakt house, Holger Czukay, and when its more than two-hour run is over you feel like Prins Thomas' mix is somewhere out there in the ether going on for days and years and you just plugged into a small part of it ....
Bob James - "Moonbop"The Honeymoon Killers - "Decollage (Prins Thomas Multitrack Edit)"
