Easily my favourite tune of 2012, Todd Terje's masterful interpretation of the ARP 2600, Inspector Norse - was part of the outstanding It's the Arps EP on Smalltown Supersound. So what was the inspiration behind the title of track? WHATEVEREST is an award winning short documentary that shows us inside Todd Terje's studio - what a treat - and takes a look at the real Inspector Norse, the internet alias of Norwegian oddball Marius Solem Johanson.
Director Kristoffer Borgli won the Special Jury Award at AFI Fest 2012, and it his treatment of the quirky subject matter that helps the film rise above simple comedic relief. Inspector Norse makes dance videos and homemade drug recipes which he uploads to You Tube, where Todd Terje first witnessed his magic. He is a deliberately strange character, taken to sequined jumpers, and massive amounts of his homebrewed product. The small town setting adds to the David Lynch-like strangeness of the whole thing, but at the end of the day, it's remarkably astute film about personal identity, inspiration, and expression.
Decidedly hard to pigeonhole and full of as many great riffs as any current rock record, Pachanga Boys debut album sounds like a cross between Hot Chip and Psychemagik, and in some places borders on pure experimentation. That said, it eventually functions as a rewarding listening experience, and veers a long way from the path of their previous disco-house orientated releases. We Are Really Sorry is an odd title. Exactly what are they sorry for? Maybe the fact they've attempted an album that is low on bangers, and demands an actual listen through, in itself a brave thing, given the instant and disposable nature of modern music consumption.
Standout cuts include Vampiros Hermanos, which begins with a laidback stoner rock groove before layers of quirky analog sounds push the track into psychedelic territory. Drunken Dancer is amazing as well, built upon looped voices yet punctuated by a sharp groove, and finally the sort of pads you'd find on a giallo horror soundtrack. It is a theme that is filtered through the entire album, and the manipulation of odd sounds into something that has experimental leanings, while retaining catchy harmonies throughout.
Consisting of Aksel Schauffer, who also produces as Superpitcher, and Mexican Mauricio Rebolledo, whose DJ sets of edgy, odd, rhythm based music initially inspired the duo to start producing. Released on their own imprint, Hippie Dance, which is a subsidiary of legendary German label Kompakt, We Are Really Sorry is an outstanding example of forward thinking electronic that is still fun to listen to, and showcases a duo that offer a huge amount of potential in the future.
Any time Derrick Carter is in your city, he is a must see. One of those legendary DJs that just does what he always has, avoiding trends, yet somehow through skill and sheer enthusiasm remaining as essential now as he has been for the last 20 years. Carter is known for marathon sets that take in various styles of house music, and occasionally veer off into obscure disco classics, or a 80s pop hit in epic 12-inch dub form, in essence he just plays what suits the vibe.
Schooled from a young age at the peak of the Chicago house scene, Carter's first recording came out in 1987, yet it's as a DJ that rose to near celebrity status in the late 90s. Basically Carter takes you on a journey that can be, jackin', jumpin', or deep, but is always of absolute quality.
It's almost impossible not to get up and dance when Carter is on the decks, and thankfully those wise heads at Sandwiches have managed to secure his services on Friday, February 1. I'm sure this means a few Wellington peeps will be dusting off their dancing shoes for a good ol' house boogie, but Derrick Carter is DJ for anyone who loves music in general, and dancing, so make sure you leave this date free, it's not to be missed. Trust me.
Judging by this new cut, which showcases some of SAE's best production yet; blending the classic sounds of house with some subtle future garage leanings, updating the 90s sound for a more modern set of ears. Imagine Disclosure remixed by Ron Trent, and you're just about there.
One to watch over the next twelve months, Sixth Avenue Express also have an EP out on Pole Position early next month.
Born in Harlem, before rising to fame in Detroit while employed by Berry Gordy's Motown Records, Norman Whitfield did epic soul like nobody else. Infusing touches of the psychedelic and political, Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Strong helped move Motown away from sugary soul hits, towards a more topical point of view, and a musical blend suited to the social changes of the late sixties. Although Whitfield had been producing The Temptations since 1966, his big break came when the previous songwriting team at Motown, the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio, left the label over profit-sharing disputes. This gave the Whitfield-Strong partnership the break they were looking for, and a hit with references to the abundant drug culture of the times, Cloud Nine by The Temptations, began a series of standout songs for Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr, and Gladys Knight & the Pips.
His most recognizable songs, Papa Was a Rolling Stone and Heard it Through the Grapevine remain potent to this day, and stand as near perfect examples of what Whitfield achieved at Motown. Flamboyant arrangements, social commentary, and extended track lengths were suddenly the norm at the label, and through his own personal enterprises, The Undisputed Truth and Rare Earth, Whitfield took soul to places never heard before. Originally influenced by Sly Stone's innovation, he cleverly married Stone's raw sound to the slick dynamics of Motown's vocalists, and changed the sound of soul in the mainstream forever.
Whitfield is described by Berry Gordy in his memoir To Be Loved as a tall, shy man who earned a living in his teens as a hotshot pool player. He did his time, like many others, as an junior assistant at the Hitsville studio, and even when established as a producer struggled to get many of his projects off the ground, due to Gordy's tight quality control and often cut throat business mind. Perhaps this rubbed off on Whitfield, and by the mid-seventies his ego had risen to the point where his own picture was bigger than that of the Temptations on his last production for the group, 1973's compelling Masterpiece.
The following year he set up his own label, Whitfield Records, leaving Motown, and found further success with Rose Royce, recording their infamous Car Wash soundtrack in 1977, before slowly falling into obscurity. He returned to work at Motown in the mid eighties, but the music and ideas were a pale comparison to his earlier work, and few notable songs came out of the period.
Notoriously shy and unwilling to be interviewed, much of the motivation behind Whitfield's music remains hard to identify clearly. Was Whitfield a politically minded activist using soul music as a conduit for change, or simply a business savvy producer who spotted a hole in a saturated marketplace? Whatever the reality, Whitfield opened up soul music to new horizons, and laid the path for Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On, The Ohio Players, and Isaac Hayes to push the boundaries even further out.
His often grandiose, orchestrated soul classics include War, Smiling Faces Sometimes, Ball of Confusion, Wishing on a Star, and Ain't Too Proud to Beg, a body of work that is as impressive as it is distinctive. Whitfield passed away in 2008, aged 69, after battling diabetes, and being convicted of tax evasion. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2004, alongside lyricist Strong, in respect to their work on Motown. NormanWhitfield remains a mysterious figure whose consistency and creativity make his music a pleasure worth indulging in.
