Published
Wed, May 26, 2010, 18:02
- A new two-disc package collects some of the disco innovator's finest edits.
!K7 sublabel Strut is set to release a collection of edits by New York remix innovator Walter Gibbons, entitled Jungle Music.
Throughout the 1970s, Gibbons developed a DJ'ing and production style that had an immeasurable influence on dance music culture. In nightclubs like Galaxy 21 and at Kool Herc's block parties in the Bronx, he would remix tracks live by cutting between two copies of the same record. In the studio, he would make his own edits with a reel-to-reel tape player, extending breaks and adding percussive flourishes to turn three-minute pop tunes into sprawling club tracks. The visceral, sometimes tribal sound of his remixes eventually came to be called "jungle music," hence the title of Strut's new compilation.
Jungle Music collects some of Gibbons' strongest edits from the disco era, including reworks of Sandy Mercer's "You Are My Love" and Arts & Craft's "I've Been Searching." Post-disco and proto-house cuts from '80s are included as well, such as Gibbons' 12-inch version of Harlequin Four's "Set It Off." The compilation also boasts his previously unreleased mix of Arthur Russell's classic "See Through."
Tracklist
CD 1
01. Jakki - Sun... Sun... Sun... (Walter Gibbons Original 12-inch Edit)
02. Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
03. TC James & the Fist O'Funk Orchestra - Get Up On Your Feet (Keep On Dancin')(Walter Gibbons Mix)
04. Gladys Knight - It's a Better Than Good Time (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
05. Salsoul Orchestra - Magic Bird of Fire (Fire Bird Suite)
06. Sandy Mercer - Your Are My Love (12-inch Version)
07. Bettye Lavette - Doin' the Best That I Can (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
CD 2
01. Arthur Russell - See Through (Walter Gibbons Mix)
02. Dinosaur L - Go Bang (Walter Gibbons Unreleased Mix)
03. Strafe - Set It Off (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
04. Arts & Craft - I've Been Searching (Walter Gibbons 12-inch Mix)
05. Luv You Madly Orchestra - Moon Maiden (12-inch Mix)
06. Stetsasonic - 4 Ever My Beat (Beat Bongo Mix)
07. Harlequin Fours - Set It Off (US 12-inch Version)
Strut will release Jungle Music on July 20th, 2010.