Yep – a week on Saturday (18th May) we’re starting what we hope will be a series of regular shindigs at our favourite boozer, the excellent Plough Inn in Easton. It’s owned by some good friends of ours, and we couldn’t think of anywhere better to have a party.

It ticks all the boxes – great crowd of locals, nice soundsystem, decent back yard, and a love of a good party. What more could you want? It also marks our debut “eastside”, far away from our Bedminster roots. How times have changed, eh?

We’ll post more about this one next week, but the basics are on the poster. Come down – entry is free, booze is relatively cheap and the sounds will, of course, be righteous. Oh, and Deli G will be joining us again, playing on his “home patch” for the first time in ages. Bring it on!

PS – Check the dates page for updated news of forthcoming parties and appearances!

It’s not often we get to host genuine New York disco/boogie royalty. You can imagine our excitement, then, about our party at the Big Chill Bristol this Friday (26^th April), which features none other than NYC remix/edit king JOHN MORALES of ‘M+M Mix’ fame. Yes, really!

To say we’re excited about it is an understatement. Disco/boogie heads have long held John in high esteem for his many great mixes throughout the late 1970s and ‘80s. Recently, his career has been reignited by a series of deserved retrospective compilations on BBE (The M+M Mixes, volume 3 of which is due out anytime now). These are, we reckon, nigh on essential, not least because they feature many of John’s previously unreleased “session mixes” (those completed for his DJ sets after the official mix had been finished) and unheard demos of classic tracks such as the Universal Robot Band’s “Barely Breaking Even”. Volume one (released a couple of weeks back) also includes John’s brilliant, 17-minute version of Inner Life’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – the epitome of shirts-off disco, and a delightfully uplifting epic.

It’s a bit of a coup to get John (pictured above in his early 1980s heyday) down to our fair city, as his trips over the UK are relatively infrequent. On this trip, he’s doing just two other UK dates, and one’s at Horse MEeat Disco on Sunday. We’re certainly have secured his services.

Even those who aren’t disco and boogie crate-diggers are likely to own some of his productions or remixes. Basically, if you own any disco, boogie, electrofunk or pop records from the late ‘70s and 1980s, it’s likely you’ll have come across John Morales’ work. Alongside longtime studio partner Sergio Munzibai (who sadly passed away in 1991), Morales was responsible for hundreds of remixes of acts as diverse as Inner Life, Odyssey, Jocelyn Brown, The Rolling Stones, Axel F, Miami Sound Machine, The Thompson Twins, Candi Staton and Hall & Oates. Check the labels of those dusty old 12” singles you have tucked away at the back of your collection; chances are, many will feature M+M Mixes.

Born into a hard-working Puerto Rican household in the Bronx in the 1950s, Morales first made his name as a teenage DJ in New York. By the mid 1970s he’d made his first tentative steps into the studio, creating his own medleys and remixes to play in his disco sets. He taught himself to edit on a reel-to-reel machine and never looked back. His now infamous ‘Deadly Medleys’ and ‘Sunshine Acetate Medleys’ brought him to the attention of New York disco producers Greg Carmichael and Patrick Adams who were impressed by the hunger and desire of the self-taught engineer. “My first credited mix was Inner Life’s ‘Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair)’, though I had worked on a few other records before that, but I hadn’t been credited, for acts like the Universal Robot Band and Musique’s ‘In The Bush’,” he recently told BBE.

Morales continued to work as a session engineer, first for Adams and Carmichael and later Bob Blank (at the renowned Blank Tapes studio) until he had a chance meeting with Cuban-born ‘musical director’ Sergio Munzibai at local radio station WBLS in 1982. They hit it off immediately, and decided to do a remix of Mikki’s ‘Itching For Love’. It was the first of over 650 M+M Mixes during the 1980s and early 90s. Such was their prolific work rate that throughout the decade they would often remix 10 different records a month, often offering up both vocal and dub versions.

Morales’ own remixes, and those produced with his studio partner Muznabi, are once again being reappraised thanks to the popular ‘M+M Mixes’ series on BBE. Two volumes of the series, which features both released and previously unreleased reworks, have already been released, with a third – “The M+M Mixes Volume 3” – hitting stores very soon.

If you’d like to get a taste of his DJ skills, he contributed a fantastic guest mix to Deli G’s show, The Touch, on BCFM last weekend. You can have a listen by clicking here and selecting the second part of the two-hour show.

Speaking of Deli, he’ll be joining is behind the decks at the Big Chill on Friday night, playing in the last hour after John has done his stuff. Deli isn’t just a big fan of John’s productions, but has also been friends with him for a few years.

As for the rest of the night, it’s Bedmo Disco in control in both rooms. Awon and Five-Stylez will be bringing a flavour of the former’s fast-rising hip-hop night, Watch Out! (monthly at The Plough in Easton) to The Study (that’s the smaller room upstairs) from 11pm-2am, while warm-up duties downstairs will be handled by Sell By Dave (with, we suspect, some input from messers Awon and Five-Stylez).

All of this, for free. Yes, free. Not bad, eh? Seriously, though, we’re expecting John to play a fantastic set, the kind of which we rarely get to hear in Bristol. Join us – it should be a wicked party.

Bedmo Disco presents John Morales
Friday 26th April at The Big Chill Bristol
DJs: JOHN MORALES (M+M MIX NYC/BBE), BEDMO DISCO
In The Study: INNOFader presents WATCH OUT’s HIP-HOP JAM with AWON, FIVE-STYLEZ and guests
9pm-3am. FREE ENTRY

Phew, what a scorcher! Apologies for coming across all tabloid, but that single, silly phrase pretty much sums up our feelings about Saturday’s night’s GIRAFFE BOOGIE party at Start The Bus.

We were hoping for a good ‘un, but nothing could have prepared us for what was one of our most memorable parties for a while. The dancefloor began to fill up at 10.30, and it just got better and better from there. What was most memorable – apart from the ace sets from the Kelly Twins (pictured above) and Legendary Tone – was the all-round good-natured vibe of the crowd, their appreciation for the music and the amount of positivity on display. It was also nice to meet a few new faces (a party from the well-loved Boogie Cartel night in London, some chap who asked us to platy some krautrock, a woman who claimed we were ‘bringing back the spirit of Fruity Antics’ – that’s a near legendary Bristol house night for those from outside of our fair city) and welcome back some old ones (Al Dare, Jimmy The Twin etc). So all in all, a great night – thanks to all those who came down and made it special.

With Easter fast approaching, it’s a busy time here at North Street Sound (that’s Bedmo Disco HQ to newcomers). Because of that. we have a load of things to tell you about. We’ll try and keep it brief, and have used handy subheadings for ease of browsing/because it looks nicer.

MELODICA RADIO SHOW BRISTOL SPECIAL

A couple of weeks back legendary DJ, producer, journalist and musician Chris Coco headed down to Bristol to play at Big Chill Bristol. While there, he recorded a special edition of his popular Melodica Radio Show. The show features interviews with a bunch of Bristol bods – including our pals Suisse Tony, Ben Dubisson (A Hundred Strong) and Chris Farrell from Idle Hands – with accompanying music. It begins with Chris having a chat with our own bearded disco grinch, Sell By Dave, about Bedmo Disco Records.

It’s a very entertaining show, which you can listen to on Chris Coco’s Mixcloud profile

BEDMO DISCO EASTER SPECIAL AT BIG CHILL BRISTOL

Yes, we’re back at Big Chill Bristol for another smashing Bedmo Disco bash on Good Friday (29th March). We begin at 9pm and go on until 3am. Entry is free, the whole crew will be representing, and hot Bristol house producer (and all round top man) GramRCY will be playing upstairs In The Study. Poster below.

GOOD VIBRATIONS AT THE WHITE BEAR

Yep, there’s a second dose of Bedmo Disco DJ action this Easter weekend, as we head to The White Bear on St Michael’s Hill to host the Boogie Bar at Sean McCabe and Ben Daley’s Good Vibrations party. We’re stoked to have been asked along, especially as it’s an old-fashioned all-dayer (starting at 3pm, no less) in one of Bristol’s best boozers. Flyer below – more to come later in the week. Tickets are £10 in advance (a bargain since it’s an all-dayer and the main room guests come from Local Talk Records and Southport Weekender), and have been selling well. If you want to come along, don’t sleep!

Phew! That’s all for now – we’re off for a lie down. Remember, you can read our news first on Twitter and Facebook, so follow or like us. We don’t bite!

Ahead of the next instalment of GIRAFFE BOOGIE at Start The Bus on Saturday, we’ve got a bit of a treat for you – a classic old skool electro/boogie/space-funk mix up from headliners THE KELLY TWINS.

The mix was recorded way back in 2008 for the sadly departed BYTE blog and party, where Sean and Dan were briefly residents. It caused a bit of a stir at the time, though it’s long been unavailable/lost thanks to the MP3 download link seemingly vanishing from the Internet. It’s such a good mix that we thought it deserving of a five-year anniversary re-post. At this point we should thank fellow Bristol DJ and longtime Kellys/Bedmo Disco friend Andy Clarkson (aka Andy Payback Hifi), who still had a rare CD copy and converted it to MP3 for us.

These days, Sean and Dan are widely considered (and rightly, we think) to be rising stars, not just in Bristol but beyond. In our opinion they’re probably the most versatile and consistent DJs in Bristol. While their mixing is technically brilliant, what’s more impressive is their ability to take sets in many different directions and take the crowd with them. Put them in almost any situation – warm-up, peaktime, late, big club, small club, boozer, radio show – and they’ll get it right. They’re slowly moving into production, too, and recently dropped a collaboration with fellow Bristol DJ/producer Kowton for Red Bull’s Soft Rockets project.

We first met them sometime around 2005/2006 (we think), in which days they were taking their first steps as student DJs in Bristol. They weren’t new to the DJing game, though – back in their native Plymouth, they first started DJing when they were 14, and by 16 were playing all over the city. They were quickly installed as residents at Sell By Dave’s best before: night. They then launched their own party, UFO (which Sell By was also a resident at), and since have held residencies at all sorts of regular parties, including Crazylegs and So Bones. They’re currently the in-house party-starters for our old pal Chris Farrell (another best before: resident back in the day) at his growing Idle Hands empire. We should also point out that they’re rightly the most in-demand DJs in Bristol.

So, back to Galactic Jams. It was recorded at a time when they were indulging their electro/P-funk side and is a near flawless live mix-up of classic electro, electrofunk, P-funk and boogie jams. It’s this side of things they’ll be mining for their set at Giraffe Boogie (though we also hope that they drop in some freestyle, Italo, disco and house, since mixing it up is their forte). If you’ve not heard the mix before, you’re in for a treat. If you have, it’s worth giving it another listen – it really is a beauty! As for the party, scroll down below the tracklist for poster/details.

You can listen to the mix here (download by right clicking and doing something – check your browser’s help file for details):

The Kelly Twins – Galactic Jams

BYTE MIX: THE KELLY TWINS – GALACTIC JAMS (2008)

1. D.St – Crazy Cuts [Long Version](Island)

2. Whodini – Haunted House Of Rock [Vocoder Version] (Jive)

3. Man Parrish – Hey There Homeboy (unknown)

4. Donna Allen – ‘Serious [Dub Version]‘ (21 Records)

5. George Clinton – ‘Scratch Medley: Do Fries Go With That Shake?/Pleasures Of Exhaustion (Do It Till I Drop)’ (Capitol Records)

6. Newcleus – Space Is The Place (Sunnyview Records)

7. Royal Cash – Radio Activity [Vocal Long Version]‘ (Royal Disc)

8. Tramaine – ‘Fall Down (Spirit Of Love) [Dub Version]‘ (A&M)

9. Midnight Star – ‘Operator [Vocal/LP Version]‘ (Solar System)

10. Two Sisters – ‘High Noon’ (I.R.S Records)

11. L.A Dream Team – ‘Rockberry Jam’ (Dream Team Records)

12. The World Class Wreckin’ Cru – ‘World Class [Remix]‘ (Kru-Cut Records)

13. Jamie Jupitor – ‘Computer Power’ (Egyptian Empire Records)

14. Rodney O – ‘These Are My Beats’ (Egyptian Empire Records)

15. Hashim – ‘We’re Rocking The Planet’ (Cutting Records)

16. Chris ‘The Glove” Taylor – ‘Tibetean Jam’ (Ploydor)

17. JJ Fadd – ‘Supersonic’ (DMC)

18. Dynamix II – ‘Just Give The DJ A Break [Club Version]‘ (Cooltempo)

19. Omega II – ‘Sonic Boom [Vocal]‘ (Showroom Records)

20. The League Unlimited Orchestra – ‘Things That Dreams Are Made Of’ (Virgin Records)

21. The Cure – ‘The Walk’ (Fiction Records)

22. Kissing The Pink – ‘Big Man Restless’ (Atlantic)

As a self-proclaimed “disco Grinch”, it would be fair to say that I like a good moan. I also mutter to myself on a weekly basis when I’m sent a new batch of releases to review and realize that every single deep house, tech-house or nu-disco record sounds the same. In private, I spend far too much time whining about things that bug me about certain strands of electronic music and club culture. On the whole, though, I like to remain positive; after all, there is still much thrilling new music to discover, events to attend and inspiring musicians or producers to talk to (for the uninitiated, I’m a music journalist by trade).

I will, however, never lose my disdain for those who either base their musical opinions on fashion trends or, worse, use a platform in the national media to put forward fatuous arguments about the current state of electronic music.

I was driven to jump onto my laptop earlier today by an article on The Guardian website by a journalist called Joanna Fuertes-Knight. In it, she argues that small club nights have had their day, and that smaller parties are no longer where it’s at. I’m paraphrasing, but the gist of her argument seems to be that in the age of the Internet – and, in particular, Boiler Room – we don’t need to go to small nights to hear new music, hence the re-emergence of “megaraves” in 1,500+ capacity venues. She believes that we appreciate the shared experience more at such big events. As an aside, she also mentions that famous  “small” London parties such as YoYo and FFWD>>, which helped foster new styles of bass-heavy music, were great because it was nearly impossible to get in unless you were a regular or “on the inside”. There are many reasons to celebrate parties at small venues, but the fact that you’re “in” and others aren’t smacks of smug elitism. It was probably this part that riled me most.

That said, what really drove me to start penning this diatribe was the idea that small nights are no longer relevant and that clubbers/music heads do not need to attend them to hear “new music”. Strictly speaking, the latter is correct; you could, if you so wished, spend most of your days trawling through endless blogs, Soundcloud pages and so on to hear new music. Some people do just that. Most don’t have the time, though, and prefer to attend events where they can hear “new music” – ideally mixed in with some older records to put them in context – in the right environment.

Personally, I have always preferred smaller parties and events to gigantic raves. Sure, I’ve had some good nights losing myself (and my friends) in dance tents at music festivals, or in dingy warehouses. But given the choice, I would still much prefer to be in a sweaty little basement, back room, bar or art space, immersing myself in the music in the company of people drawn to the event either through a shared passion for a particular artist, or simply because it is where their mates and similarly-minded people are hanging out.

Take Bristol as an example. The city suffers a little, in my opinion, from a lack of decent club spaces that suit the needs of those wishing to put on small to mid-size events. The club scene is also dominated by events at Motion, a former indoor skating and BMX park that can accommodate up to 2,500 people. For the uninitiated, it is akin to Bristol’s answer to the Warehouse Project. It is hear that you will find huge line-ups of A-list talent, and crowds to match – despite the usual £20-plus ticket price. Some of the line-ups are astonishing, and certainly the promoters have the financial clout to be able to bring ‘names’ to the city that others can’t afford. It has been a rip-roaring success and has, predictably, proved popular with the city’s students.

Yet the atmosphere at times can be a little, well, odd. While a percentage of the crowd is there to appreciate the music and dance to sounds played by their heroes, most are just there for a “big night out”. There is nothing wrong with this, but it does lead to cavernous rooms full of excitable people jostling for position, or wasting valuable dancefloor space gurning to their mates, leaving the most enthusiastic at the periphery. The main room at Motion is serviced by an enormous Funktion 1 rig, but it barely sounds good unless you are in the 20 feet of space, 30 metres back, that functions (no pun intended) as the “sweet spot”. It is clubbing for those who judge their night by the experience, rather than the music itself. Again, there’s nothing wrong with this per se, but it’s not where I’m coming from – or others like me.

Although Motion looms large over the Bristol scene, it has not killed it (as some promoters would argue in private). In fact, it has allowed those who cherish smaller parties and alternative events, those with more of a “special” feel, to thrive. Over the last 12 months, Stokes Croft, in particular, has become a hub for interesting events of every musical hue. Using unusual spaces such as Take 5 Café – a small, slightly odd curry café with a tiny basement space – and The Motorcycle Showrooms – a former motorcycle shop converted into a community art space, enthusiasts have been able to put on some thoroughly memorable events with guests deemed too small, insignificant or left-of-centre to appear on the Motion line-ups (or at other mid-sized local venues, for that matter).

Many of the promoters that use these venues do so because they prefer the intimacy, atmosphere and laidback vibe that generally comes with using them. They can book guests that excite them, whether international producers of note in more underground styles, or local DJs with deep record collections. They can put effort into décor, hire in small but wonderful-sounding soundsystems, and share their passion with less than 200 like-minded people.

A quick look at some of the regular parties, and their guests, should give you a clue as to what I’m on about. There’s the dubwise goodness of Peng Sound, the unfussy but cultured house of Housewerk, the out-there cosmic exotica and grimy release of Dirtytalk, the sound science of Tape Echo and the left-of-centre house, techno and disco of local record shop/label Idle Hands. I sadly can’t recall all the guests who have appeared in intimate spaces around Stokes Croft, but have personally attended nights featuring Young Marco, the 100% Silk crew, Mark Seven, West Norwood Cassette Library, Mudd, World Unknown (OK, I missed that one as I was at a christening, but I would have been there otherwise) and Leif. Soon, I’ll be attending a 100-capacity L.I.E.S label showcase at Take 5. I’ve also seen Ben UFO, one of the most inspiring DJs out there right now, in a pub.

Really, I’ve barely scratched the surface. There are many more attractions – a big shout-out to EFA and his regular events at the Bank of Stokes Croft – and a constant flow of new promoters putting on parties with fresh ideas, or different takes on familiar sounds. To me, this is the essence of club culture; not the idea that music is only of worth if it is new, left-of-centre and fashionable (God forbid), but rather intimate events, run by enthusiasts for the love, attended by people who genuinely want to hear great music, on a good soundsystem, in an intimate space. Ask yourself this: would you rather be in a 100-capacity cellar, surrounded by smiling faces, or in an enormous warehouse, trying not to loose your footing as another young, fresh-faced thing falls into you after a few too many sherberts?

Small nights and intimate parties have always been the lifeblood of the club scene. It is where new DJs and up-and-coming acts get their break, it is where local DJs perfect the art of working a dancefloor, and where local producers meet and exchange ideas. A lot has been written about the vibrancy of Bristol’s electronic music scene right now, and almost all of it is true. All those collaborations between Bristol producers and deals to release new tracks, have largely come about through the friendliness of the scene and open-minded attitude found at the city’s intimate parties. And, to a lesser extent, the hours spent in the back yard of The Bell on Jamaica Street, where producers, label bosses and DJs can often be found drinking real ale and sharing a spliff, enthusiastically discussing their next project or up-coming party.

When I got my first staff job on IDJ Magazine back in 2000, the club scene at large was thriving because of the much-derided “superclub” scene. By the time I left in 2008, it had long gone. Dance music didn’t die, though; in fact, in that time thrilling new sounds and scenes emerged, from tiny parties and small groups of people dotted around the World (whether in West London, East London, Cologne or Oslo). The current trend for massive “megaraves” is just a rehashing of the superclub thing, it’s just that this time round it seems a little less overblown. These, too, will die a death at some point as a new generation of students and young hedonistics are attracted to other pursuits. When that does happen, it will be the small parties that re-invigorate the scene, just like they’ve always done.

Sell By Dave is the DJ alter-ego of experienced music journalist Matt Anniss, former Editor of IDJ Magazine. He currently writes for Juno Plus and provides sleeve notes and press releases to a number of underground electronic music labels

It was close to 3pm on a sweltering Friday afternoon, last July, when Awon and Bedmo Disco slipped into the DJ booth on the waterside ‘Beach Bar’ stage at The Garden Tisno, scene of the always-excellent Soundwave Croatia festival.

As Awon dropped the first tune, his brilliantly sunny remake of Maze’s “Joy & Pain” (see Soundcloud link above), the scene in front of us summed up what’s so great about the Tisno experience. Hundreds of people were having fun in the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic, bobbing around in the festival site’s own private bay and beach area. Clustered round the edges of the water were groups of people sunbathing, supping on vividly coloured coctails and nodding their heads in time with the music. Some people in the water started dancing; others raised themselves from an afternoon nap on the terracing-come-dancefloor in front of the stage, and began to throw a few lazy shapes.

As a DJ, there are few more glorious sights out of a DJ booth than that at the Beach Bar Stage at the Garden, Tisno. Whether you’re DJing in the afternoon, evening or into the wee small hours, the view and atmosphere are always inspiring.

There are numerous festivals held at the Garden, including Electric Elephant, Dimensions and of course the Garden Festival itself. Yet the one closest to our heart is undoubtedly Soundwave, a lovingly crafted and now long-running event that’s almost perfectly pitched for those open-minded, beat-centric heads who want a mix of the obscure and the well known. It’s generally well programmed, with heady downtempo delights and hazy, laidback sounds during the day, and more bass-centric and upbeat flavours during the night. You can swim and lounge around on site during the day, and get your rave on during the night. Both are equally pleasurable.

In the two installments we’ve played at – 2010 and 2012 – we’ve enjoyed the best of both worlds. In 2010, at the festival’s previous site at the Garden Petrecane – a smaller space with less room to stretch your legs, but an equally enchanting vibe – we played the Beach Bar stage on the Sunday night. It was one of the most thrilling gigs we’ve had. Accompanied by our sometime mic man Coherent, we played a proper mixed-up party selection to a crowd that was as up-for-it as you’d expect. By the end, they were hanging off the lighting rigs. Those who’ve danced under the stars at the Beach Bar stage in Petrecane or Tisno will tell you this isn’t that unusual; when people go for it, smiley carnage ensues.

Back in 2010, we also had the pleasure of playing at the afterparty, at Barbarella’s Discotheque, a curous, circular club with authentic 1980s Italo-disco fittings. Many of these fittings were taken, piece-by-piece, to Barbarella’s new venue outside Tisno at the tail end of 2011. The new space is wonderful – an open-air club that allows for dancing all night and watching the sun come up. For those of a certain age, or with a misty-eyed belief in the Balearic ideal, it should be a must-visit.

The team behind Soundwave – the promoters of the Soundcrash and New Bohemia events – are smart enough to know that reaching out to like-minded people around the UK is the way forward. So, each year you will see the same faces; some from Manchester, a crew from Brighton, a big contingent from Leeds, the usual Londoners and, of course, a smattering from Bristol. There’s something genuinely great about bumping into familiar faces from your local scene, dancing together to one of the headliners (last year’s ‘moment’ was De La Soul, though probably for different reasons than you’d maybe expect) or downing a few shots of odd Croatian shots served by a man handing out stick-on moustaches. Last year we spent a happy evening drinking with Inkie – the man behind Bristol’s brilliant See No Evil street art/music event – while dancing to Cheeba and the Detectives of Perspectives crew. We didn’t make it onto a boat party – something we must put right this year – but by all accounts they’re a riot.

Outside of the festival location itself, there are many other delights to sample in Tisno, and in the wider region at large. Last year we rented a boat and spent a happy day slowly going round Tisno Island, stopping occasionally to drop anchor in a quiet cove and jump in for a cooling swim. We also stopped on route at various bars, quenching our thirst in the company of locals and holidaymakers. At one, we sat next to a man wearing with a cockatoo on his shoulder. Really.

Croatia is still relatively unspoiled by tourism standards. Food, drink and accommodation is inexpensive, and the locals are generally very friendly. We made friends with Dom, the local “rent a boat” guy and gave him a ticket to the festival. We spent a great night with him at Soundwave (and Barbarella’s), and ever since have kept in touch on Facebook. We’re looking forward to hooking up with him again this summer.

The video below will give an idea of what Soundwave was like last year. This year, we’re sure it will be even better. Certainly, we’re thrilled to have been asked to go back and play another Bedmo Disco set. We’re hoping to bring an even bigger crew out this time, so more of our friends can experience the wonders of Croatian hospitality, warm seas and musical goodness. This year’s festival takes place between July 18 and 22, and we’d heartily recommend buying a ticket and planning a holiday.

Soundwave are also putting on a number of launch parties in the UK. We’ve been booked to play the Bristol leg of the tour, alongside headliners Young’un & Mr Thing, Cheeba, Detectives of Perspectives and Ewan Hoozami. It’s set to take place on April 20, with a boat party around Bristol harbour followed by a session at Start The Bus. It should be a lot of fun. Poster below.

If you’re interested in heading to Soundwave, check out their website at www.soundwavecroatia.com

We’ve also included, as you’ll see above, a bit of a Soundwave-related musical treat – Awon’s superb version of “Joy and Pain”, as used to open our Soundwave set in 2012. Enjoy!

Tonight (Friday 8th February) we’re back at the Big Chill Bristol for another six-hour session from 9pm. You should know the drill by now – Awon, Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave mixing up ’80s boogie, electrofunk, freestyle, Italo-disco, proto-house, synth dubs, underground disco, Balearica and proper house.

Entrance is free, so there’s no excuse not to join us for a few beverages and a bit of a dance. If you’re lucky – and ask nicely – Awon might even give you a copy of his hot new mix CD, which is packed full of dope boogie jams and unreleased productions!

For the latest instalment of our ongoing BedmoCast mix series, we’ve got something a little different from our very own Sell By Dave – a percussive, tape delay-heavy journey through synth dubs featuring a mixture of boogie, proto-house, proto-garage, freestyle and Italo treats.

Below, he’s been kind enough to go through the mix track by track, highlighting a few lesser-known gems and generally getting enthusiastic.

You can listen to the mix here:  BedmoCast 10_ DUB IT!

You can also download a ZIP file containing the mix (192 MP3) and a PDF of Sell By Dave’s liner notes  here>>

It’s also on MixCloud here >>

BedmoCast 10: DUB IT! – SELL BY DAVE’S VIRTUAL LINER NOTES

I’ve always had a soft spot for the dub versions of both popular and lesser-known records from the 1980s. When digging through records in second-hand shops, I’ll instinctively reach for those that feature a Dub or instrumental rather than a B-side. Of course, more often than not these dubs will be terrible, featuring some rather dubious ‘80s production techniques and fads – chopped-up vocal stabs played on a Fairlight, a bit too much cheesy vocal, percussion that sounds cheap – but occasionally they still sound fantastically fresh.

The 1980s was a great time for dance music. The development of affordable drum machines, digital samplers and powerful synthesizers gave producers and musicians the means to try brand new things. This of course led to many musical developments – house, techno, garage, electro, freestyle, Jam & Lewis style “contemporary R&B” – that either still dominate dancefloors, or influence producers. There was also a “golden period” in New York during the early-to-mid 1980s, where disco became boogie, and later spawned ‘garage house’. Even the city’s post-punk and punk-funk musicians got in on the act (check the work of Bob Blank for proof). In between, producers such as Paul Simpson and Winston Jones bridged the gap with records that would later be considered “proto house” and “proto garage” classics.

In New York in particular, there were a number of editors and remixers who understood the power of the dub, and often went to great lengths to produce drum-machine heavy versions, laden with delay, that would work in the city’s leading clubs. Shep Pettibone, Francois Kevorkian, John “Jellybean” Benitez and Larry Levan – certainly during his golden period around 1982 and ’83, before his well documented substance abuse problems finally got the better of him – in particular were at the top of their game, turning freestyle, boogie, electro and proto-garage jams into sparse, sweaty dancefloor gold.

Of course, it wasn’t just New York leading the way. There are good European examples too, in particular in the Italo scene. I’ve not touched on that much in this mix, but may explore it at a later date. I’ve also included a few contemporary examples of records inspired by that early to mid ‘80s sound. As ever, it was mixed in one take, with just a collection of tunes and only one clear objective: to try and accurately capture the sweaty, basement-centric feel of the clubs these records were initially designed for. Hopefully I’ve done it justice.

1. AURRA – SUCH A FEELING [PARTS 2 & 3] (Salsoul Records, 1982)

This is almost the ultimate early ‘80s boogie dub. Mixed by Shep Pettibone, it begins with a reverb-laden vocal and then bobs and weaves, dub style, for an epic 14 minutes. I’ve only used a relatively small snatch, but hopefully there’s enough to get a flavour of the vibe.

2. REAL EYES – YOU GOT ME GOING [DUB] (Vanguard, 1984)

Vanguard was a constant source of interesting material in the early 1980s, releasing tracks that largely sat somewhere between boogie and freestyle. The vocal version of this tough, synth-heavy groover is nice, but typically I prefer the dub. Unusually, there was no big name mix, with producer Lance Smith taking mixing duties.

3. DAVID BOWIE – UNDERGROUND [DUB] (EMI America, 1986)

The original version of this mid-‘80s Bowie number was featured on the Jim Henson-produced film Labrynth. It’s hardly one of his best, a fairly shoddy synth-pop number. The Extended Dance Mix is rubbish, too. The dub, though, is ace – basically six minutes of heavy drums, tape edits and sound effects. For the record, it was mixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, who seemed to be the go-to men for EMI America when pop records needed remixing; they also provided ‘dance mixes’ for Tears for Fears and Simply Red, amongst others.

4. RHYTHM ODYSSEY & DR DUNKS – LA CHIAVE [DUB BEATS] (Golf Channel Recordings, 2012)

Eric Duncan and Chicken Lips’ Dean Meredith have long been disciples of both obscure old drum machines, and the potential of 1980s, New York style dubs. Their two recent EPs for NYC’s own Golf Channel featured a couple of alternate dub versions that swing to the dirty groove of tape edits and early drum machines. This version of the unusual “La Chiave” is probably my favourite, though the 808 Tape Edit of “Glow” is also excellent. 

5. ORLANDO JOHNSON & TRANCE – TURN THE MUSIC ON [INSTRUMENTAL] (Easy Street, 1983)

This debut single from Orlando Johnson’s boogie crew is near perfect. The vocal version is ace and the ‘Instrumental’ – mixed by Jellybean and featuring enough delay-laden vocal snatches to qualify as a proper dub – almost better. It’s one of my favourite instrumentals from the period. I’m not alone, either – Awon and Five-Stylez also own copies. You could say it was a true “Bedmo Disco” fave, then.

6. JEFFREY OSBORNE – PLANE LOVE [DUB] (A&M, 1983)

Around ’82-’83, Larry Levan was on fire, laying down a string of brilliant remixes – Gwen Guthrie’s “Hopscotch” and “Padlock”, Frontline Orchestra’s “Don’t Turn Your Back On Me”, Imagination’s “Changes” etc – and this tweak of Jeffrey Osborne for A&M is one of his best dubs. It features all his stapes – the delay-laden drums, the obligatory bassline drop, drum breaks aplenty – and is utterly ace.

7. THE FLIRTS – YOU & ME [DUB] (CBS, 1985)

This was actually a big club hit on both sides of the Atlantic when it came out in 1985, but it arguably hasn’t stood the test of time. The same could be said for many Bobby ‘O’ records, in truth, but it’s still a great example of his work. Influenced by both Italo and Hi-NRG, Shep Pettibone’s Dub is formidably percussive and includes some typical vocal cut-ups.

8. FREEKWENCY – OUTRUN [DUB] (Voyeurhythm, 2012)

Melbourne-based producer Benny Badge has been producing some great, synth-heavy ‘80s boogie revivalism for a few years now. This Dub – tucked away on the B-side of the excellent “Flip The Coin” single on Voyeurhythm – is brilliantly observed, sounding authentically 1980s in its sound and execution.

9. ALISHA – BABY TALK [BEDMO DISCO DUB] (Unreleased)

A few years back I spent a lot of time editing up ‘80s releases in the original tape edit style for a project codenamed ‘The Bedmo Disco Dubs’. A couple of the tracks eventually saw the light of day on our digital-only EP, “It’s A Synth”. There were loads more, though, that never made the cut and didn’t even appear on Soundcloud. This extended, drum-heavy, dub style edit of Alisha’s curious 1985 freestyle cut “Baby Talk” is one of those. From memory, the edit features bits from all three mixes on the 12” – all of which were done by Shep Pettibone.

10.KOTO – JAPANESE WARGAME [DUB] (Memory Records, 1983)

From the camper end of the spectrum, Koto’s “Japanese Wargame” is fairly well known as Italo tunes go, and for good reason. Its bassline, in particular, is ludicrously heavy. The Dub wanders around a fair bit, beginning – bizarrely – with the sound of somebody tuning a radio. For this mix, I was determined to feature the amazing bass drop, as well as some of the excellent percussive cut-ups that litter the mix.

11. COLONEL ABRAMS – TRAPPED [DUB] (MCA, 1985)

I could have included the fantastic dub of “Music Is The Answer” on here, but I’m a bit of a fan of the sparseness of Timmy Regisford’s Dub of “Trapped”. Bizarrely, on the original UK 12” Regisford’s Dub is edited down to less than 4 minutes, with the full seven-minute version being included on a separate 12”. For the record, I used the shorter dub here.

12. THE PAUL SIMPSON CONNECTION – TREAT HER SWEETER (Easy Street, 1985)

No exploration of the 1980s synth dub sound would be complete without something from Paul Simpson, the undisputed master of proto-garage dubs. What’s included here is actually the second half of the vocal version, which taken in isolation sounds like a genuine Dub. While not Simpson’s best, it’s still utterly fantastic.

13. AWON – KEEP IT HOT (unreleased)

I could have used any number of Awon tracks in this mix, but opted for an unreleased, electro-influenced gem we’ve been keeping on the back burner. Hopefully it will see the light of day at some point, ‘cos it’s a bit of a belter – tough drum machine beats, thick synth bassline and some great use of delay-laden vocal samples. He’s got some talent, our Gareth.

14. SCHERRIE PAYNE & PHLIP INGRAM – INCREDIBLE [SUPERSTAR DUB] (Superstar International Records, 1987)

This is one of those records that you don’t see in second hand shops very often. It’s not worth a great deal, and the full vocal version is dreadfiul. That said, it’s worth picking up for the 10-minute dub, which is brilliantly sparse. Really, it’s little more than beats, effects, bassline and snatches of Payne and Ingram junior’s vocals.

15. MAJOR HARRIS – ALL MY LIFE [DUB] (Pop Art Records, 1983)

I have a soft spot for Major Harris, and have rather too many of his early ‘80s records (and not just the superb “Gotta Make Up Your Mind”). The dub of “All My Life”, mixed by Nick Martinelli and David Todd, is suitably odd, stripping back the original and making great use of odd editing techniques (reversing certain sections of the vocal etc). Crucially, the beats are properly tough.

16. CITISPEAK FEAT JEANNE HARRIS – I DON’T NEED YOUR HANDOUTS (Partytime, 1983)

New York four-piece Citispeak only made two records, both in 1983. Both could definitely be described as curiosities. The vocal version of “I Don’t Need Your Handouts” is a bit of a mess, but the more out-there dub is excellent – in parts, at least, For the record, it was recorded at Bob Blank’s Blank Tape Studio, though he appears not to have produced or mixed it.

17. KONK – YOUR LIFE [DUB] (Sleeping Bag, 1984)

There’s not much more to say about Konk’s best-known tune, a perfect example of the crossover between arty experimentation and dance music in New York during the early 1980s. The lesser-played dub features some almighty Latin percussion, and it’s that – alongside the dirty synths – that make it an unbelievably hefty dancefloor jam.

18. PUSHE – DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE AWAY [INSTRUMENTAL] (Partytime, 1983)

Another Winston Jones/Paul Simpson dub, taken from a lesser-known – but superb – Partytime release. I’ve written more about this for Juno Plus, if you fancy a gander. Click here to read it.

19. GARY’S GANG – MAKING MUSIC [DUB] (Radar Records, 1983)

I’ve never been a massive fan of Gary’s Gang, and the full vocal version of this is a bit dubious. The 10-minute dub, though, is majestic – arguably one of the best of the period. Impressively, it was written, produced and mixed by Gary’s Gang lead vocalist Joe Tucci. It was definitely ahead of its time.

20. SHIRLEY LITES – HEAT YOU UP (MELT YOU DOWN) [MELT DOWN MIX] (West End Records, 1983)

I just had to include this, as it’s arguably my favourite West End record of the period. The vocal version is peerless, but this alternate take – an instrumental with a few dub touches – is almost as good. When the bassline drops, it always gets me going.

21. WILL POWERS – SMILE [DUB] (Island Records, 1983)

The whole Will Powers project was a big joke by photographer Lynn Goldsmith, who wanted to poke fun at self-help entrepreneurs. Strangely, there was some excellent musicians and producers involved – most notably Robert Palmer, Sting and Sly and Robbie. “Smile” was mixed by Lindstrom fave Todd Rundgren. His dub features good use of the original’s gospel vocals and copious amounts of delay. It seemed an upbeat enough place to finish.

New Year, new music. Over the festive period we’ve been busy bunnies, putting together a brand new mix and uploading a fresh new track from Awon. Both are below. Both are downloadable. We hope you enjoy both.

The mix is a long promised mix-up by Bedmo Disco (Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave) for Paraplan Radio in St Petersburg, Russia. Those guys have been very supportive of us and the label over the years, so it’s nice to finally give them a mix (it was promised for about eight months… ooops). The mix dashes between original boogie, disco and re-edits. It’s a typical funtime selection. If you’ve got the January blues, give it a whirl!

The other freebie is a brand new slo-mo jam from our man AWON. It’s called “White Hot Love” and it’s been getting some love on Soundcloud. Check it out below.

Look out for more news about releases, merchandise and DJ dates very soon…

‘Tis the season for giving, so we’ve decided to award all those who follow us on Soundcloud with a brand new, previously unreleased cut from Awon. It’s called “White Hot Love” and it’s a delicious disco-funk slow jam – a 103 BPM MDMA chugger, if you will. Very loosely based on a forgotten soul fave from a disco/boogie singer, it’s a massive bundle of seductive charm.

We’ll be giving it away as a “private track” on Soundcloud, but only once we reach 1500 followers. We’re nearly there now, so if you want it, head over to our Soundcloud page, log in to your account (if you have one, if not, you’ll need to sign up) and click on “follow”. That Bedmo Disco Soundcloud page again: https://soundcloud.com/bedmo-disco

In other news, Bedmo Disco Radio returns today (Monday December 10) on http://www.passionradiobristol.co.uk, starting at 5pm GMT. Tune in and tweet us your shout outs/requests/what you’re doing/where you are etc via Twitter on @bedmodisco, or by text on 07794 655 178. Sell By Dave will be in the chair, dropping a good mix of warming tunes and talking rubbish on the mic. With a bit of luck, one of the other crew members might join him.

Finally, thanks to all those who headed down to our Christmas party at Big Chill Bristol on Saturday. It was, as usual, an excellent party – great atmosphere, great response, and huge numbers of people in dodgy Christmas jumpers. Good work crew!