Yes, it’s true: Bedmo Disco Records has returned to action. The “Product of Bedminster” EP, featuring Awon’s in-demand “No Return” and the ace “Check It Out” by Awon & Bedmo Disco (check out those synths!), is out now, exclusively (for this week, at least) on Junodownload.
Check out the clips below, and head to Junodownload to buy on various digital file formats.
Bedmo Disco Records is back! After what seems like an eternity (18 months, in fact), we’re returning to (virtual) record stores with a digital-only blast of boogie goodness from Awon & Bedmo Disco entitled “Product of Bedminster”. Full of delay-laden drum machine beats, colourful analogue synths and tactile, booming synth basslines, both tracks have been staples of our sets for a couple of years. We’re delighted to finally be able to share them with you.
Listen to lo-res preview clips below. There’s Awon’s rather smashing “No Return”, and Awon & Bedmo Disco’s “Check It Out”. You can pick up both when the EP makes its way onto digital download stores in April.
We’re delighted to announce that Bedmo Disco Radio has a new home – the “best tiny little radio station in the galaxy”, Invader.fm. Our first show will broadcast live from our secret bunker (well, Sell By’s record room) on Tuesday 3rd December 2013, between 8 and 10pm GMT.
We’ve long been fans of Invader.fm, and it has seemed like a natural home for Bedmo Disco Radio for some time. The boys behind the station are old Eat The Beat record shop crew, and the station was founded in Bedminster of all places back in 2008. Since then, it has grown to be an international station, with DJs from across Europe hosting shows that take in hip-hop, soul, funk, disco, D&B, house, techno, bass music and loads more. Our own Sell By Dave played at one of their parties a couple of months back, and we got chatting about the possibility of a new live, monthly Bedmo Disco Radio session. They were keen, and here we are, about to roll live with our first show.
From December onwards, we’ll be rolling live on the first Tuesday of the month, between 8pm and 10pm. You can tune in to the first show, and all future shows, via http://www.invader.fm
For the first show, expect mix banter aplenty between Awon, Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave, good records mixed vaguely competently, and some triple exclusive tracks and edits from the Bedmo Disco Records family. Spread the word!
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!
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!
Sometimes, when you’re promoting a certain sound in “alien territory”, it can be frustrating. However many emails, tweets or Facebook messages you get from people around the world saying nice things, there’s always something better when people in your home city “get it”. Slowly, Bristol seems to be getting electrofunk and boogie – and it’s a great thing for us here at Bedmo Disco HQ.
Exhibit 1: the fantastic new single on Gutterfunk from Sure Thing, a collaboration between a trio of Bristol producers bettter known for their endeavours in other genres. All, though, have deep record collections featuring some some serious boogie and electrofunk jams. Heading it all up is DJ Die, a bass music (and specifically drum and bass) legend who has been playing electrofunk and boogie for years, most recently as part of Laminate Radio, his collaboration with DJ/producer Gus Pirelli. Then there’s Christophe, Futreboogie Recordings regular and one-time resident at our Tricky Disco night and Futureboogie regular known for his digging skills and deep record collection. Chris has always been into boogie; some of his sets at Tricky Disco used to consist almost entirely of old boogie dubs and obscure disco jams. The third member of the Sure Thing trio is Joker, world renowned basshead whose “purple” genre almost single-handed put the synth-funk back into bass music.
“Holding You Tight”, the first Sure Thing single, is superb – a fantastic chunk of dayglo, synth-heavy boogie-funk that sounds like it could have been made in 1983. We like. A lot. The video, too, is excellent. Incidentally, it was made by a good mate of ours.
The Sure Thing record is going to be big, and rightly so. Critically, its cast list should ensure that more Bristolians, those who maybe pay little attention to the homegrown electrofunk/boogie/disco scene, will stand up and pay attention. As for those outside of the City, it will prove that there’s more going on in our fair city than just bass music, shiny deep house and stoned dub techno. Bristol has boogie – and it has done for a while.
There are plenty of boogie and disco heads in Bristol, it’s just that they’re not necessarily that well known. Southport Weekender regulars will know Deli G, something of a local legend who for years presented a shit-hot show dedicated to US garage and soulful house. His first love was boogie, disco and what would now be called “proto house”. Then there’s Mike Shawe, the man behind the “Hot Buttered Soul” nights. Alongside Bedmo Disco Records own Jimmy The Twin, Mike hosts nights dedicated to the best in obscure boogie, soul, disco, funk and rare groove. He used to run a record shop that specialized in tech-house, but that was years ago now. Speaking of record shop staff, Russell Deane of PK Music, a second hand store on Gloucester Road, is also a mine of boogie information and a great selector to boot.
There’s also the Falling Up crew, whose members Jay-L, Andy Mac and Type-Sun join the dots between electrofunk/boogie and hip-hop, soul, deep house, jazz, Detroit techno and various styles of bass music. Their sets always have soul in abundance. The same could be said of The Kelly Twins. Although perhaps best known these days as residents for the bass-inclined Crazylegs, R&B-style So Bones and house/techno stable Idle Hands, Sean and Dan Kelly have always played tons of boogie, ’80s electro, electrofunk and slow jams.
The list goes on. Check out sets by Feel The Real Soundsystem, Andy Clarkson, Vast and Bulbous, Crids (whose Soulworks night is worth a look), Legendary Tone, Futureboogie (perhaps better known for house these days but never shy of dropping disco and boogie bombs at the right time), Magic Gary (promoter and resident at the ace Turbodisco night), the Wise Guise (check out a dope mix here) and the Ghettospheric crew, and you’ll hear plenty of boogie and electrofunk. The latter now reside in London, but for years almost single-handedly kept the boogie and slow jam flame alive in Bristol.
Finally, there’s us: Bedmo Disco. All of our extended family, from Awon and Nu-Balance to founders Five-Stylez and Sell By Dave, are confirmed boogie, electrofunk and disco nerds. It’s why we founded Bedmo Disco Records in the first place – to showcase these sounds, and prove that there’s more to Bristol than house and bass music. We’ll continue to do that, so when you think of Bristol and boogie or disco, don’t forget to check us out. Speaking of which, if you need more Bristol boogie goodness to brighten your day, check Awon’s Startime below, or check out his BedmoCast mix
If we’ve forgotten anybody, many apologies. Hopefully this gives a flavour of what’s happening, and confirms what we’ve always aid: when it comes to disco, electrofunk and boogie, our fair city has its share of heads.There is still, though, only one label purely dedicated to the sound. Maybe in years to come, that will change – it would be nice if that happened.
Boogie down Bristol: there’s more to life than wobble bass. There’s synth bass, after all.
Exciting news for all those DJs who use Serato, Traktor or CDs… lots of Bedmo Disco Records treats have now dropped on digital download.
This week has seen the release of the first EP in our new download-only series, BEDMO DIGITAL VOL 1. This features hot scalpel edits from FLX ONE and BEDMO DISCO. You can get Bedmo Digital 01 at Junodownload.com.
Also available (as of today, fact fans) is AWON and BEDMO DISCO’s B-FUNK, which gained much praise when we dropped it on blue vinyl earlier in the year. That, too, is now available to buy at Junodownload.com.
As ever, we appreciate your support. If you like our releases, let the world know – either via social media, blogs or just by playing them loud in sweaty basements to groups of gurning disco freaks.
Last night Bedmo Disco were guests on BCFM’s “Fourth Floor” show, a weekly two-hour dispatch about underground club culture in Bristol. Presenter Paul Conroy grilled Awon, Five Stylez and Sell By Dave on the label, our music and the true meaning of Bedmo Disco. We also contributed two 20-minute minimixes (one each from Awon and Sell By Dave) packed with unreleased nuggets and forthcoming jams. As if that wasn’t enough, Paul also played tunes that have influenced us and that made us the grinchy, beardy types we are today.
You can listen to the show again, and download it, by heading over to the Fourth Floor page at BCFM
The show is in two parts; the first part features a minimix from Awon and some mic chat, the second a minimix from Sell By Dave and even more mic chat. Oh, and Awon’s thoughts on Girls Aloud.
For the record, the tracklists for the minimixes are below…
Minimix 1 (mixed by AWON)
AWON – JOY AND PAIN
AWON – NO RETURN
AWON & FIVE-STYLEZ – COOKIES
AWON – BRING YOUR SWEET LOVIN’ BACK
FUNK DELUXE – THIS TIME [AWON RE-EDIT]
BEDMO DISCO – ILLUSION
Minimix 2 (mixed by SELL BY DAVE)
FIVE-STYLEZ – FREAK
BEDMO DISCO – I WANT YOUR DUB BACK [BEDMO DISCO DUB]
AWON – STARTIME
ROCCO RAIMUNDO – TURNS ME ON [BEDMO DISCO DUB]
BEDMO DISCO – ANYWAY YOU WANNA [FIVE-STYLEZ EDIT]
COSMIC BOOGIE – CALLING LENNY [BEDMO DISCO DUB]
THE STRIKERS – INCH PERFECT [FLX ONE EDIT – BEDMO DISCO DUB]
Good news for DJs of a CD/Serato/Traktor persuasion – there’s a whole raft of Bedmo Disco releases dropping digitally over the next few weeks. This includes the launch of a whole new series of download-only singles. We’ll get on to that in a moment.
The first digital release to drop is Jimmy The Twin’s excellent drum machine edits EP, “505 Funk (With an 808 Boom)“. It’s out now and you can get it exclusively from Juno Download by clicking here>> If you’re unfamiliar with the tracks themselves, take a look at our release page for 505 Funk here >>
Following that, you can expect to see the much-lauded “B-FUNK” by Awon and Bedmo Disco (BEDM006), probably sometime in the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled. For the record, you can keep track on our new digital releases by bookmarking the Bedmo Disco Records page on Juno Download. Remember, it’s still available on blue vinyl if you prefer wax.
As we mentioned earlier, there’s also the launch of a brand new series of download-only releases, Bedmo Digital, to look forward to. The series will basically showcase goodness from the extended family that we’re not putting out on vinyl. Think of it as a bit of gift to those who still support music, but prefer not to buy vinyl.
The first Bedmo Digital release features scalpel edits from FLX ONE and BEDMO DISCO. Previews of all three of the tracks from “Bedmo Digital 01″ are now up on our Soundcloud profile. You can listen to them below…
In honour of both our recent “B Funk” EP and the imminent party at Start The Bus of the same name, we’ve teamed up with the good people at House of Disco – one of the finest disco/house/deep house imprint’s currently operating, we reckon – to give away a previously unreleased Awon and Bedmo Disco track called “Take A Bow”.
Said track was produced by Awon. It was re-edited by Bedmo Disco, then re-produced (after the original files got lost) by Awon. We’ve been playing it on and off in our sets for about six months and it always goes down well.
You can download it via the House of Disco Update newsletter webpage.
Don’t forget it’s B-Funk at Start The Bus in Bristol on Saturday (11 June), with Awon and Bedmo Disco behind the decks 🙂
BEDMO DISCO 