How is it April already? I had intended to wrap up this playlist last week but then I was sidetracked by Cowboy Carter. I have so many thoughts on Beyoncé’s latest masterpiece which I will share later because you know there will 100% be a track on the next playlist.
Last month, I saw UK band Fat Dog’s first US show at an intimate venue in Ridgewood, Queens (Trans-Pecos for those in the area). The crowd was dancing to the band and it was such a great vibe. I was transported back to my college radio days at KJHK and the specialty show that I used host. I went by the moniker DJ Voodoo Rae, an homage to the A Guy Called Gerald track which I used as the show’s theme music. The show was born out of all of the fantastic dance music coming out of the UK at that time, especially the Manchester/Madchester scene centered around the Haçienda nightclub. I started to think about what my radio show might look like today if I mixed together what I used to play with music that has been released since my college radio days and I came up with this latest playlist.
Happy Mondays were one of the more notable bands to come out of the Manchester scene. “W.F.L”, the remix that Vince Clark (Erasure, Yazoo and Depeche Mode) did for their track ‘Wrote For Luck” is a formative classic. English duo Disclosure released their acclaimed debut album Settle in 2013. The album has so many great tracks but thought “When A Fire Starts To Burn” transitioned well from Happy Mondays. “We Are Your Friends” is a remix of a track by producer James Ford’s first band, Simian, by French duo Justice and was released in the mid-aughts. Fischerspooner seemed to be everywhere in NYC at the turn of the century when their single “Emerge” exploded. I loved featuring remixes on my show and Youth’s remix of The Orb’s “Perpetual Dawn” was a perennial favorite. Another banger from the mid-aughts is from Brazil’s CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy), “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.” DJ Andrew Weatherall was crucial in bringing together dance music with British indie bands. His remix of Primal Scream’s “Loaded” is the gold standard of the time.
My radio show was Saturday nights 6pm-8pm and came on right before the industrial music show. The host of that show and I used to have some slightly heated discussions over which show had “rights” to certain artists. There was definitely some overlap. I think I won Renegade Soundwave (or maybe I lost and played “Biting My Nails” anyway). “All The Same” is Fat Dog’s latest single and definitely gives some Wax Trax! vibes. I think I would win radio show “rights” to this one today. Regardless, I can’t wait to hear more from this new band. Deee-Lite and their debut LP World Clique got a lot of play on my show. “What Is Love?” holds up incredibly well. Next up is a completely unlikely pairing that totally works, Hot Chip and singer-songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy. “I Feel Bonnie” is a re-imagination of Hot Chip’s “I Feel Better.” The next song, “Music Sounds Better With You”, was the only single released by French house group Stardust as Thomas Bangalter was busy with his other project, Daft Punk. Built around a Stone Roses sample, MC Tunes Versus 808 State “Tunes Splits the Atom” was in heavy rotation on my show for a hot minute. How many times did I walk around rapping “Manchester, the dance capital of England” in my terrible British accent during those years? It was not as embarrassing as it sounds, really. Closing out the playlist is my DJ namesake and show theme “Voodoo Ray” by British producer and musician, A Guy Called Gerald.
Happy Mondays - W.F.L. (The Vince Clark Remix)
Disclosure - When A Fire Starts To Burn
Justice Vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
Fischerspooner - Emerge
The Orb - Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)
CSS - Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above
Primal Scream - Loaded (Andy Weatherall Mix)
Renegade Soundwave - Biting My Nails
Fat Dog - All the Same
Deee- Lite - What Is Love?
Hot Chip (featuring Bonnie “Prince” Billy) - I Feel Bonnie (House Mix)
Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
MC Tunes Versus 808 State - Tunes Splits the Atom
A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray
With all the terrible news in the world, hopefully this playlist will help lift the mood if even for a moment. It was truly a blast to put together. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.
xo,
Julie
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