Glad to know you.

Hey you!



Thanks to everyone who came out last night to see me DJing for Purple Sweat at Common in Manchester's Northern Quarter. 'Twas a good night. Lots of great music played by both me and Alex (aka Oscar Wildstyle, Purple Sweat's main dude). Managed to cram as many tunes into two hours as I could and here's what I remember playing (the first set's pretty much right, but my memory of the second set was made fuzzy by free Staropramen)...

First set:

Glass Candy - Rolling Down The Hills
Holy Ghost! - Hold On
Indeep - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
Soylent Green - Camera Obscura
Chaz Jankel feat. Brenda Jones - You're My Occupation
Alessi Brothers - Savin' The Day (The Revenge Flat Top Mix)
David Joseph - You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)
Carl Davis & The Chi-Sound Orchestra - Windy City Theme (I'll Tell You What It Is Later)
Dinosaur L - Kiss Me Again
Love Committee - Just As Long As I Got You
The Paper Dolls - Get Down Boy
Faze Action - Disco Warrior (Special Disco Mix)
Still Going - Still Going Theme
Cerrone - Supernature
Don Ray - Standing In The Rain
LCD Soundsystem - Shame On You
Metro Area - Miura

Second set:

Ministry - I Wanted To Tell Her
Vastkustska Ryggdunkarsallskapet - Town Out Of Order
Evelyn "Champagne" King - I'm In Love
Don Armando - I'm An Indian Too
Chaz Jankel - Feel Alone
Stevie Wonder - Do Like You
Beatconductor - Sumthin' Betta
Chic - I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)
Escort - All Through The Night
Breakwater - Release The Beast
The Rapture - The Devil
Change - Paradise
Chaz Jankel - Ai No Corrida

There may well have been more than that too, but those are the ones I remember. Massive thanks to Alex for putting me on.



If you were sat there looking at that setlist thinking "Who's this Chaz Jankel fella when he's at home?" then, frankly, shame on you, but you can hardly be blamed for not knowing who he is. The five albums he recorded for A&M in the '80s are pretty hard to get hold of now, but the boys at Tirk have a solution for you. They've just released a career-spanning retrospective of Jankel's solo work on a handy and affordable compact disc, cribbed from said five albums and a couple of newish tunes thrown in for good measure.

Jankel, as a member of The Blockheads, was inarguably instrumental in Ian Dury's embrace of disco, funk and jazz, lifting that band out of the pub-rock mire and into the realms of something special with the albums New Boots And Panties! and Do It Yourself. Jankel left The Blockheads in 1980 to concentrate on his solo career. Unfortunately, Jankel's solo work went largely unnoticed on these shores but the Yanks took to him, which led to his classic, 'Glad To Know You' reaching number one on the US dance chart.

My Occupation: The Music Of Chaz Jankel is a great compilation, top to bottom, revelling in glitzy disco and off-kilter experimentation. The old songs still sound as vital and fresh today as they've always been and the new stuff (the reggafied version of 'Glad To Know You', entitled 'To Woo Lady Kong', released as a 12" on Tirk earlier in the year and 'Get Myself Together', a new composition in collaboration with Blackbeard and Yamwho?) doesn't at all feel like it's been tacked on. This one's a must-have for anyone with even a passing interest in disco music or just great, funky pop music in general.

Chaz Jankel - Feel Alone (mp3)

Back soon with more new mixtapes.

JMx