DILLY

CeCe Rogers is an iconic funk / soul & house music singer / songwriter. He has featured on so many brilliant soulful house tracks over the years, his voice is instantly recognisable. For the Essay Mix of this 1990 classic he delivers a softly spoken sermon style intro, spreading the euphoric gospel of house music according to his good self. The track builds beautifully with this dialogue to then introduce a subtle US style piano and full gospel house / garage style song arrangement. It’s the perfect ending to a marathon set or mix be enjoyed at home. These days however you might struggle to find a dancefloor that would be willing to wait out the two and a half minutes for a track like this to drop. Maybe some of my DJ friends have proved this theory wrong. Please feel free to comment if you’ve played this recently. A house music anthem that in the right circumstances can totally unify a dancefloor.

Todays record is just a beautiful piece of plastic that is very dear to my heart. This was such a big track in the clubs that I played in Dublin throughout the 90’s and beyond. I first heard this track whilst on a weekend club crawl around Dublin. I heard it around 4 times that weekend when I did an entire circuit around clubs like So, Sides DC and then the infamous Asylum, which I then went on to become a resident of during its later stages. I only ever owned the original housier mixes of this record, but when I heard this mix one night in Sides it completely took my head off when I heard the bass kicking in and the place erupting. Needless to say, within 48 hours I had managed to blag a copy from somewhere and it went on to become a huge feature in my box, that I still play regularly to this day.

I was in the recording studio business for 20 years in partnership with my friend and a guy who i have always stated as being THE finest electronic music engineer / producer in the whole of Ireland, Graeme Laverty (Graeme L) Our studios were responsible for thousands of record label released productions over that time for some of the biggest names and record labels on the planet. I am always incredibly proud of what we achieved and rant about it regularly to anyone who will listen. Before we went into partnership, I worked with Graeme in a studio that him and his dad had built at the side of the family home in East Belfast. Graeme had already worked his magic in there for years on his own label and with various other producers. It was in this musical annex that we created “Paranoid Girl” using his Atari St computer as the machine that brought all his outboard gear together into sequencing mode. By 2001 I had owned the Mixmaster record shop for years and had decided that now was a great time to form a record label of the same name. Paranoid Girl was the first release and i remember almost wetting myself when the initial pre sale figures came back saying that there were confirmed orders for 2,000 copies, like straight away. I think it went on to sell over 4,000 copies in total. I had mailed out around 50 promotional white label copies to all the big DJs at the time and got some incredible feedback and plays from the likes of Carl Cox, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold and Danny Tenaglia, these reports gave the distributor great leverage to entice the export buyers from around the world to stock it in each territory. It was then that John Digweed featured the record as his last track from legendary New York club, Twilo just before it closed its doors for the final time. Tracklisting 01. Ogenki Clinic - First Light 02. Sound 5 - The Hacienda Must Be ReBuilt (Tarrentella Remix) 03. Way Out West - The Fall (Bedrock Mix) 04. Kamaya Painters - Wasteland (Chab Remix

One year ago Leftfield came to Belfast.

What an incredible gig from Leftfield at Belfast’s Mandela Hall this time last year!

Here come those slick Italians again, they’re never too far away from my record posts. Giorgio Passera and Mauro Bonasio joined forces in 1991 to form the act, Mr Luthero. As far as I am aware, this was their only single under this name. “Rotation” is the work of well thought out sample usage which was cleverly arranged out into what would go on to become, a European underground club anthem (which in fairness probably leant slightly more to the overground) Featuring the instantly recognisable keys from Kariya’s “Let Me Love You For Tonight” and the main trumpet from Herb Alpert’s “Rotation” this could possibly be classed more as a cover version. Maybe it actually is? Anyhow, add some more vocal samples from Stretch Band, The Jacksons and Derek B, alongside a killer piano hook and the mother of all chugging basslines, and hey presto!! you’ve got yourself a seriously big end of the night club anthem on your hands. I’ve had to scrape a few people off the ceiling with this one over the years. A winner from every angle.

The Grid were formed in 1988 by Richard Norris and David Ball (one half of Soft Cell) They were most well known globally for big worldwide chart hits such as Texas Cowboys, Swamp Thing, Rollercoaster and Crystal Clear (which was also massive for us in The Asylum. These tracks were presented with very slick audio & video packages, backed by the corporate might of Deconstruction Records. The year before they hit the big time saw the release of Figure Of Eight, featuring brilliant remixes from Todd Terry and The Grid Themselves. It was this mix though that I always found very cool and mysterious - I still play regularly to this day. A mixture of a few different styles and way ahead of its time. A proper underground gem.

I have the ultimate respect for the record label Platipus and it’s founder Simon Berry. This chap has put in 30 years of seriously hard work as a touring producer and label boss, having released scores and scores of singles and amazing compilation LPs. The unique sound that he created for the label and still owns to this day, is a fusion of trance, techno, prog house, ambient and world music, which may sound like a strange mish mash of styles, but just really works! So, Simon also produces under the name The Art Of Trance and has had huge success with some of the bigger titles over the years, but it was this particular track that we played to absolute death in clubs like The Asylum and I think is just a stunning piece of music. I brought Simon over to Dublin a few years ago to play at our Asylum gig in Voodoo Lounge and he played a full 2 hour live show of twisty acid techno and the deeper side of beautiful classic trance. It was a joy to witness and listen to. So todays record of choice pays massive respect to this incredible groundbreaking label and this genius producer.

Ege Bam Yasi is the alter ego of Scottish producer James MacDonald. Through the 90’s and (less frequently) through the naughties, he released a string of quirky techno productions with an experimental acid edge. Some of his work almost had that feel of the music from the Platipus label. Lots of twisty bleeps and unusual arrangements, but much more underground and slightly Avant Garde. One of his tracks though cut through the rest, like a hot knife through butter. “Bubble” hit our shores around mid 1992 and I remember the very first weekend of hearing it in clubs, both Dublin and Banbridge on the same night / early morning (yes we sometimes did 4 clubs on one night) Both venues had the same reaction. Smiles. I really adore this record.

The impact that this record had, and still does to this day on a packed underground nightclub, is phenomenal! I first heard either Glen Molloy, Gleave or Jacko play this in Circus Circus (please update me as to who played it first, fact fans) and watched the entire place erupt in a similar fashion to that NJOI Anthem video that’s always shared around here. When the breakbeats drop on this record it’s like being pummelled in the gut by Mike Tyson. To hear it for a very first time, when nothing like this had ever been heard before was a very surreal moment that we sadly may never get to feel again on this level. A heavyweight piece of vinyl!

The record is a top drawer Asylum Dublin anthem! Played by so many of the resident DJs back then. Top Buzz were a hardcore / breakbeat crew based around London and were huge on the festival rave scene. They fused a lot of dark techno elements into their tracks with jungle breakbeat loops, killer hooks and integrate programming. Very edgy for its time. This particular record was played to death for years in Dublin, a proper dark, underground floor destroyer!

This record from the archives of my life as a DJ connects with my soul on a very deep level. Those early years 1991 to 1995, like I have mentioned countless times are still the most enjoyable of my life. The many lifelong friends that i gathered back then all stay in touch and we share a very special common bond. The original mix of Shades Of Rhythm’s emotional, Balearic beauty, Sweet Sensation for me sums up the entire 1991 summer / year of love. Leaving venues at 7am and heading to an illegal all day rave somewhere deep in a forest, a beach, a petrol station (yes) or local beauty spot, to me seems like just yesterday. Music like this brings me right back to those incredible times and the formation of a scene that i would somehow manage to turn into a lifelong career. Even writing this fills me with emotion. Thank you so much to all who have been with me through the highs and many lows. A stunning record from a beautiful time.

Huge track for me for over 30 years! This 1992, heavily phased techno slammer from the Underground Resistance stable crossed the spectrum of many different DJ styles at the time. I had the great fortune to break and road test this record at a lot of one off illegal raves and then progress it to the bigger (slightly more) legal venues that I played. It never left my box for at least 10 years. As we progressed though the 90’s and into the naughties this track was still heavily featured in techno (and trance) venues across the planet, by such a cross section of DJs.

Sven Vath founded the Harthouse label in 1992 with Heinz Roth and Matthias Hoffmann and very quickly became one of the most respected techno and trance labels in the world! Over the first 5 years alone they churned out some of the biggest tracks on the planet, and to balance it up, also some of the most obscure. This production in question is the work of Vath himself alongside label partner Hoffmann (who also went on to record as Brainchild) My personal favourite interpretation of this track is from the genius that was English producer and label boss of Rising High Records, Casper Pound. Casper sadly passed away 20 years ago this month at the age of 33. I can’t even start to imagine what kind of wizardry he would be offering us had he still been around. There are so many emotional, early morning club memories attached to this track for me and I feel so privileged for getting the chance to play music like this for the first time to an audience

The original mix of todays record garnered a lot of fame from being featured in the night club scene of classic 1992 erotic thriller, Basic Instinct. Sharon Stone (whos acting in this movie is brilliant) is on the dancefloor reeling in Michael Douglas like a lamb to the slaughter, and this track is playing in the background as they’re getting it on, right in the middle of the packed club. I personally have always played this particular mix though which is just that bit tougher than the original and just has that little bit more ‘oomph’ Have destroyed quite a few of the more underground venues over the past 30 years with this beauty.

Robert Leiner is a cult figure in the world of techno. The Swedish producer’s catalogue from the 90’s is like the operators manual of how to create spacey, interesting, groove led electronica. He produced under a few different aliases but it was his work as The Source Experience that has gained him the most long lived critical acclaim. This particular track is one of many from that period that cut a path right through everything else in its way. One for the heads. A set starter, a mood changer, a beautifully layered composition of futuristic studio wizardry. A game changer of its time.

Transformer 2 Pacific Symphony

Todays record from the archives of my life is being dedicated to a very special gig that I’m playing at this Saturday night. Fergie Freeman, an old DJ pal of many years, suffered a sudden life changing brain condition a while ago which has completely upturned his life on so many levels. So, his closest friends put this massive event together to raise some funds to help with his many complex needs. The two main guys behind this Garret Ward and James Mcgivern have relentlessly hammered the promotion for this event and rallied this brilliant line up of DJs to all do their little bit to help. It’s looking like being a sell out and currently down to the last few tickets if anyone fancies a night of wall to wall bangers in a very cool venue, for a very worthy cause. So, with that being said, today’s whopper piece of plastic is right on top of the pile in terms of Italian house / rave classicos. I can’t even begin to describe the memories attached within these sounds. This record has everything that I could ever require for any mood in life. An out & out stormer on every possible level. Full track included for your enjoyment .

To me, Robert Leiner is a cult figure in the world of techno. The Swedish producer’s catalogue from the 90’s is like the operators manual of how to create spacey, interesting, groove led electronica. He produced under a few different aliases but it was his work as The Source Experience that has gained him the most long lived critical acclaim. This particular track is one of many from that period that cut a path right through everything else in its way. One for the heads. A set starter, a mood changer, a beautifully layered composition of futuristic studio wizardry. A game changer of its time.

This moody monster that builds like a skyscraper is the handy work of Tim Hegarty and Peter Cunnah. Cunnah who most will know, famously went on to form D:Ream with Al McKenzie a short time after this. There was just always something that I loved about this record. Possibly the dark, mysterious choir harmonies at the start reminding me of a classic western movie, or the way the massive piano break dropped from no-where mid track. It was just different, and I like different. Oh, and it worked a treat for me in the clubs, which was very important.

This track from my DJ sets over the years is a monster from 1992 from one of my favourite producers of that era, Mr Fabio Paras. Fabi was well known for his big tribal drum tracks, mysterious eastern favoured house and the deeper side of life in general. For this track, on the iconic Junior Boys Own label he side stepped slightly into anthem mode and unleashed this whopper out into the world. Played this so many times over the years. When you’ve finished a track in the studio and are stuck for a name, just call it what it is…man ✌️

This record from my personal classics collection has also featured in the DJ sets of a diverse cross section of DJs since its release in 1991 and hasn’t left my short list shelf in 30 years. Most people are shocked to learn that this record is actually The Thompson Twins, renowned for their mainstream synth pop & new wave catalogue in the 80’s. It’s The Feedback Max House mix on this release that uses this emotional piano hook as it’s backbone, along with typical early 90’s rave stabs and a house arrangement that manages to keep it on the underground tip. I’ve heard legends of the scene such as Andrew Weatherall, Sasha, Graeme Park, Carl Cox all playing this, on top of our own local heroes. I remember an old friend, and one of the finest DJs in Ireland, Warren K pulling this out at an after party in Finglas one Sunday afternoon after The Asylum and generating an entire room full of huge euphoric smiles as a result. Just one of those little happy place moments that stick with you throughout life. Just a brilliant record on every level for me.