Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
EBO TAYLOR-EBO TAYLOR.
EBO TAYLOR-EBO TAYLOR. In the history of Ghanian music, Ebo Taylor is a pivotal figure. Best described as an innovator, Ebo Taylor’s music would influence the further generations of Ghanian musicians. However, Ebo was much more than a musician. He was also a songwriter, arranger, producer and bandleader. Ebo Taylor has done it all, and …
QUICKBEAM-QUICKBEAM.
QUICKBEAM-QUICKBEAM. Atmospheric, cinematic and ethereal are just some of the words that describe the music on Quickbeam’s debut album Quickbeam. So too does sparse, minimalist and flamboyant. Intriguing and compelling, the twelve soundscapes have been influenced by a myriad of eclectic influences. This includes ambient, Celtic, classical, folk, indie rock, jazz and soul. Comprising twelve soundscapes, …
WOODENBOX-END GAME.
WOODENBOX-END GAME. Fueled by the sound of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Kayne West, Glasgow-based Woodenbox, set about recording their sophomore album End Game at Chem 19 recording studio in Hamilton. Given Woodenbox’s somewhat eclectic soundtrack, it’s no surprise that End Game is a similarly eclectic album. Best described as genre-sprawling, the Glasgow-based folk …
ACID RAIN: DEFINITIVE ORIGINAL ACID AND DEEP HOUSE 1985-1991.
ACID RAIN: DEFINITIVE ORIGINAL ACID AND DEEP HOUSE 1985-1991. For those of us of a certain vintage, the music on Harmless Records’ forthcoming box-set Acid Rain: Definitive Original Acid and Deep House 1985-1991, provided the soundtrack to our lives, over a six year period. These six years were the golden days of house music. Born …
NANCY WILSON-KALEIDOSCOPE AND I KNOW I LOVE HIM.
NANCY WILSON-KALEIDOSCOPE AND I KNOW I LOVE HIM. Not many artists have enjoyed the longevity that Nancy Wilson has. Nancy released over seventy albums over a career that’s spanned six decides. Her career started back in 1956, when she was just nineteen. Three years later, in 1959, Nancy released Like In Love for Capitol Records. …
T-CONNECTION-MAGIC.
T-CONNECTION-MAGIC. T-Connection were an unlikely success story of the disco era. First up, they weren’t American, like most disco artists. Instead, they were from the Bahamas. Founded in 1975, T-Connection’s charismatic lead singer and keyboard player Theophilus T. Oakley was a classically trained musician. Along with bassist Kurt Oakley, drummer Berkeley Van Byrd, guitarist Monty …
GLORIA GAYNOR-LOVE TRACKS.
GLORIA GAYNOR-LOVE TRACKS. It’s almost fitting that the song that the song that rejuvenated Gloria Gaynor’s career was I Will Survive. After all, by December 1978, when Gloria Gaynor released Love Tracks, she was one of music’s survivors. She had to be. The last few years hadn’t been easy. Things had started well for Gloria, …
AURRA-A LITTLE LOVE.
AURRA-A LITTLE LOVE. It was in 1975, that Steve Washington formed his first band with his school friends Mark Hicks and Tim Dozier. Born in Newark, Steve was brought up in East Orange, New Jersey. Steve was from a musical family. His uncle was The Ohio Players’ Ralph “Pee Wee” Midlebrooks. During his holidays, Steve …
LOGG-LOGG.
LOGG-LOGG. In 1979, disco was breathing its last breath. The last rites were being read to a musical genre that provided the soundtrack to the seventies. What had started off as an underground musical scene, had become of the most popular musical genres of the past twenty years. Artists jumped onboard the disco bandwagon, trying …
MUTAZIONE-ITALIAN ELECTRONIC AND NEW WAVE UNDERGROUND 1980-1998-COMPILED BY WALLS.
MUTAZIONE-ITALIAN ELECTRONIC AND NEW WAVE UNDERGROUND 1980-1998-COMPILED BY WALLS. While Walls haven’t released an album since the blissed out, dreamy and ethereal beauty of Coracle, released in 2010, Allessio Natalizi of Walls hasn’t been taking things easy. Not at all. Instead, Alessio has been busy compiling an eclectic and compelling compilation for Strut Records. Entitled …
GLORIA GAYNOR-PARK AVENUE SOUND.
GLORIA GAYNOR-PARK AVENUE SOUND. When Gloria Gaynor released her 1975 debut album Never Can Say Goodbye, it turned out to be a landmark album. Indeed Never Can Say Goodbye is one of the most important albums in the history of disco. Produced by the Disco Corporation Of America, remixer Tom Moulton transformed Side One of …
FIRST CHOICE-HOLD YOUR HORSES.
FIRST CHOICE-HOLD YOUR HORSES. By the time First Choice signed to Gold Mind Records in 1976, they’d already released three albums since forming in Philadelphia 1972. First Choice would go on to release three albums for Gold Mind Records, a subsidiary of Salsoul Records. Their first release was 1977s Delusions, which contained two tracks that …
END OF NEIL-MY GAMES.
END OF NEIL-MY GAMES. Ever since the late-seventies, Scotland has produced some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful bands in British music. Scottish bands have lead the way. Other bands have followed in their path. It’s no exaggeration to say Scottish bands have been trailblazers, producing music that’s innovative and ahead of the musical …
THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-NICE ‘N’ NASTY.
THE SALSOUL ORCHESTRA-NICE ‘N’ NASTY. Regular readers of this blog will have realized that two of my favorite labels are Philadelphia International Records and Salsoul Records. To me, both labels represent everything that’s good about music. This is real music, music played my real musicians, music that’s soulful and timeless. There isn’t a sampler, sequencer …
KON-ON MY WAY.
KON-ON MY WAY. For self-confessed crate-digger Kon, his raison d’etre is the pursuit of music with the perfect beat or break. He’ll leave no stone unearthed in his search for vinyl. He’s searched dusty basements, backstreet record shops, flea markets, charity shops and nowadays, online auctions looking for vinyl. They’re among his favorite haunts in his …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 