grahmzilla

I have always been a big fan of this math wiz turned psych rock beatmaker geek. He’s got a new album on the way! It’s called Swimand it’s coming out on 4/20, dude. Also, if you have never seen his live show), it’s pretty incroyable with two drummers and whatnot. Someone tell him I want to do a remix!

The first single is titled Odessa and it’s 7 shades of awesome. Disco beat, loose bassline, haunting vocals. Kind of reminds me of Whitest Boy Alive, but on drugs.

Go here to download it!

I didn’t want to turn this place into an obituary but too many talented people are dying and I just need to have some sort of final tribute to them.

Teddy Pendergrass, who grew up in Philly, first rose to fame as the low-register lead singer for Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. He later went on to a fruitful solo career. A car accident in 1982 left him paralyzed from the waist down but he continued on, releasing another 7(!) albums before retiring. Truly a testament to the determination and commitment the man had to his craft. I’ve included a few of my favorite songs from the baritone crooner.

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True philly soul disco. MFSB on the music, Gamble-Huff on the production. What a jam!

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More disco-era Teddy. More Gamble and Huff songwriting magic.

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I discovered this song a while back when I went on a tear looking for anything Reggie Lucas put his magic touch on. (Reggie Lucas being the genius behind most of Madonna’s early hits)

Let’s talk about Jean-Marc Cerrone, a french disco song-writer/producer. The man played a significant role in the rise of italo in the early 80s. I have been obsessed with his song Supernature for more years than I can count, but never actually did any research on it until today. Supernature was released in 1977 on Cerrone III and is a sci-fi thriller about the rebellion of mutant creatures created by human scientists in order to combat starvation. That’s Cerrone playing the Ludwig drum kit in the video!

The vocals are supplied by American song-writer Lene Lovich, best known for her hit single Lucky Number. He later went on to score some film soundtracks including Brigade Mondaine. Another staple in my disco sets is Strip-Tease, a dark little instrumental tune which reminds me of Zongamin’s Bongo Song.

t was re-released in 1988 as Supernature ’88 with a remix by Simon Harris which uses Roland drum sounds to give it a more house-y feel. This is the version I have been playing forever. Erasure covered in 1989 and really went all out when it came to performing it live! (see below)

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Cerrone – Supernature \'88 (Simon Harris mix)
Cerrone – Strip Tease from the Brigade Mondaine Soundtrack

Got a chance to see the man live this past weekend Sydney. Super tight band, vocals spot on. Just a feel good time had by all. It made me want to go home and listen to old Stax/Motown and kiss my girl.