Author Archive

FLASHBACK FRIDAYS: Giorgio Moroder: The Beginning 1969-1979

Friday, July 29th, 2011

There are no words to describe this genius!  He is one of world’s best known innovators composing dance, film, pop and other musical forms.  Giorgio can take you on a visual and musical expression journey like no other can.

Moroder Promo Video

The Italian born musician recorded under the name “Giorgio” since 1966, but got his first hit with “Looky Looky” in 1969, a bubble gum pop song with a catchy riff that makes you sing “Ah-OOO-Ma-Ma…Pa-Pa-Oooh-Ma-­Ma-Ma”!!!  Around the same time he sang a song called “Son Of My Father”, although it was a hit, the song was in Italian. In 1972, a band named Chicory Tip scored a hit with it sung in English.  The song was one of first early forms of a synth driven music.

Giorgio was a music making machine releasing albums “Giorgio’s Music” (1974), “Einzelganger” (1975) and  1976′s “Knights in White Satin” under Giorgio Moroder, but his career exploded with the birth of Disco.  His synths took him to great heights with the release of “From Here To Eternity” which was a huge success in 1977.  During his time at Casablanca records, his most notable work is with Disco Diva Donna Summer creating such classics as “Love To Love You Baby” and the anthem “I Feel Love.

The following year he composed the soundtrack to the locked up abroad nightmare “Midnight Express”.  If you ever saw this film, the music creates an intensified vision of the eerie trip of Turkey’s notorious prison.  The composition got him an Academy Award for best musical score in 1978.  During his projects he produced a group called the Munich Machine, which gave us the disco club classic “Get On The Funk Train”.  Munich Machine released three albums under the Casablanca label during the 1977-1979.   He also managed to squeeze in another release “Giorgio Moroder’s E=MC²” in 1979.

 

The year is 1980, from here on in; bands came up from nowhere emulating his style!!  A new era, new technology, new music genres emerge, but that’s a different story!!!

Join me next week for Part 2 of Giorgio in the 80’s and beyond.  For now, enjoy the video and the music links for you uploaded by yours truly.

Peace for now and see you next week on the FLLLLLLLLASSSSSHBACCCK!!

ESSENTIAL GIORGIO MORODER ALBUMS:

“From Here To Eternity”

“E=MC2”

 

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Artist Profile, Downloads, News, Videos | Comments Closed

FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!!! Jaco Pastorius: King Of The Electric Bass

Friday, March 25th, 2011

LIVE FROM NYC- I first got introduced to Jaco Pastorius several years ago when a close friend wanted a couple of albums converted to MP3.  He gave me 3 albums to transfer, but for some reason, this one album was just calling me – Jaco Pastorius self titled album on Epic Records released in 1976.  I knew he played for Weather Report, but I never looked into his solo or guest appearance credits.  I was in for a treat once I played the first track “Donna Lee” originally played by Charlie Parker.

 

"I am the greatest bass player in the world"Jaco Pastorius

Before recording with Weather Report he released this album, which had special guest such as Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Narada Michael Walden, David Sanborn, Wayne Shorter, just to name a few.  The list features the best in jazz during a time where everyone’s outlet was music and everything was groundbreaking.

In 1977 Jaco joined jazz fusion band Weather Report and blew the world apart with the album “Heavy Weather” their most successful album ever!  Jaco continued to record with Weather Report until 1982.  During the times with Weather Report, Jaco would dabble in heavy drugs where friends noticed his erratic behavior when in the studio.  Jaco was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  His health started to deteriorate and by 1986 he was living on the streets of New York City.  With the help of his ex wife and friends he was back home in Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1987.  He got into a fight with a bouncer at a club where he received multiple facial fractures and a broken arm.  He fell into coma and the great bass legend passed away on September 21, 1987, aged 35.

Jaco played a fretless bass!!!  Guitar frets are the strips made of stainless steel or nickel alloy embedded along the fretboard (in simple terms the neck) located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. A fretless bass??!!  Do you know what that means?  It means freedom, the freedom to create your own style.  He had such a unique style of playing, a bit avant garde, but with structure.  He’s one of those guys where it’s hard to describe and if you love music like I do, then no matter what background you will appreciate his style.  The tones and intricate fast pace picks changed the bass world forever.

Jaco’s the father of all electric bass players!!

Here’s the link to his album “Jaco Pastorius” uploaded by yours truly:

URL: Jaco Pastorius- “Jaco Pastorius”

Posted in Artist Profile, Downloads, News | Comments Closed

FLASHBACK FRIDAYS: The Scientist…Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires

Friday, March 18th, 2011

LIVE FROM NYC- In 1960, Kingston Jamaica gave birth to one of the most influential dub fathers in Reggae music, Hopeton Brown AKA “The Scientist”.  Being introduced to electronics from his father, Hopeton began building his own amplifiers and buying transformers from King Tubby’s Dromilly Road Studio.  After numerous requests Hopeton begged King Tubby to give him a shot to mix down a record and so the story begins. By 1979 he left King Tubby Studio to be the principal engineer for Joseph Hoo Kim’s Channel One Studio where he met Volcano Records founder Henry “Junjo” Laws.  By 1980 he started to produce albums backed by The Roots Radics.

Dub music strictly emphasizes on the drum and the bass of reggae music with added effects of echoing, reverb and voice dubbing.  There are two albums that made me appreciate Scientist’ style, but since I can only pick one to review, it has to be – “Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampire”.   If you are not a dub listener, this is a great entry-level album for the untrained ear!  From the minute you put on the cd or the record and play the first track “Voodoo Curse” you hear an evil laugh and then all of a sudden out of the sky…..BOOOM!!!  HERE COMES THAT BASSLINE THAT DRAWS YOU IN!!! Every track on this album has a catchy groove and it’s so hypnotizing!! By the time you hit the track “The Mummy’s Shroud”, you will be in a world where it’s just you, the sounds coming out of your speakers, and the next track that makes you wish you were in a room filled with smoke hanging with people lost in the echoing sounds of the drum and bass.

Five songs off the album are also featured on Grand Theft Auto 3 – San Andreas on K-Jah Radio.  Since the birth of dub, it has basically influenced all the genres of music – Hip Hop, Jungle/Drum and Bass, Techno, House, Dubstep, Rock, and even post punk acts such as The Clash have experimented with Dub, check out The Clash “Magnificent Seven” if you don’t believe me!!  Without dub music we wouldn’t have a lot of the music that influences us today.

Thank God for the Scientist, King Tubby, Lee Perry and the rest I forgot to mention because without them we wouldn’t be DJ’s and producers.

Here’s the full album uploaded by yours truly Sir Golden Child:

URL: The Scientist- Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Downloads, Music, News | Comments Closed