Old Mixtape: Jason DaGroove Live On Air on 3RRR's Rhythmatic, 1990.

An old tape of Davide Carbone's Rhythmatic show on Melbourne's independent radio station 3RRR, sometime in mid 1990 - I think about September, but who knows.

Davide was an early convert to acid house, in the late 80s he and his good mate Steve Robbins were DJing this new sound on Thursday nights at ZuZu's (in Exhibition Street where Bobby McGees now as - along with Prahran's Checkpoint Charlie's it was the best designed club space in the city - both are sadly long gone now). Apart from DJing, Davide was also one of Melbourne's first techno entrepreneurs - he ran a record shop (Rhythm Records) out of the front room of his house, and put on some of the earliest raves - Lunatik Fringe. Later still he formed Future Sound Of Melbourne with Steve and Josh Abrahams, then moved to the UK to become a jungle don. Now he's back in town, running a recording studio and working with the likes of Carl Cox.

If I remember correctly, Davide's Rhythmatic show was on every Wednesday from 10pm-midnight, and it was just about your only chance to hear underground dance music on the radio (no not the station, I mean the whole of the FM dial) for the whole week. We'd look forward to the shows each week, record them and share tapes with our friends - it was pretty much the only way you could hear fresh music without going to a club. Kids these days will never understand how hard it was to hear underground dance music in Melbourne when it first arrived...

This tape is a bit of a choice one, because the whole show features a guest mix by Jason DaGroove (Jason Rudeboy) who at that time was one of the organisers and DJs at Melbourne's greatest underground club night, Maze (Commerce). He'd later go on to start a record shop, Octave Records, with Terry (H2O) Ho and ran Melbourne's longest and most adventurous techno club night, Filter, from 1992 to 2003. Jason was a UK import, and was about to head back home the next day - he would of course be back.

There's a bit of talking and shoutouts - 'got any disco biscuits?' - which will bring it all back for some. Jason also announces a new DJ at Commerce that week, Brother Willy (none other than Will-E-Tell, later Melbourne's first DJ superstar). It's also the first time I heard Mr. Monday's "Future" and there are heaps of other class tunes in the mix too.  The tape quality is okay - back then I never had money for rent, but somehow managed to get good quality blank tapes. Please excuse bad spelling on cover - don't know what I was doing there.

75 minute cassette recording _192kbs MP3 ...mediafire

Sonic Rave 1992 - Russell's 4 Hours Of Power

This was Jeff Tyler's first event, and around 200-300 punters turned up to find that he had managed to cram in two or three times the required light and sound into the room - a not uncommon newbie mistake - he wasn't the first to make it and wouldn't be the last.
Unfortunately, too much sound would be his undoing...

Jeff was good mates with Russell 'Hardcore' Hancorne, who found later fame as elegant trance artist 'Mystic Force'. Jeff and Russell were both avid collectors of vinyl - and extremely competitive with each other. It's a pretty safe bet that Russell had one of the country's best collection of deep techno, but Jeffy's wasn't too far behind. If either of them found a special release, the other would do their best to prise it off them.
One time Jeffy traded a record off Russell for the following: a Technics SL1200 turntable, a crate of (good) records and a few hundred in cash. That's right folks - Russell got about $1200-1500 worth for one piece of vinyl. Jeff wanted Russell to play at his party, but internal politics put a stop to that; somehow I got my first gig - not sure if I even knew how to mix yet.

Obviously, I was opening the night and played a full 2 hour set; then the other guys (Jeff, Will and Richie) were going to play an hour each on rotation until the party ended - it wasn't licensed to sell booze so theoretically it could go on into the next day if we wanted. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, the masses of bass coming out from Jeffy's superb sound system was travelling out across the adjoining Albert Park Lake and hitting the houses on the other side like some kind of sonic boom. Needless to say, the residents of such houses were not impressed and had notified the police (repeatedly). Well, bass sounds are quite difficult to locate - parties in warehouse complexes can easily go undiscovered even though you can hear them well enough because you just can't get a fix on where the sound is coming from. This wasn't a problem for the police here though; the Powerhouse was one of the only suitable venues in the area, and about the only one on the lake itself. Jeff's lighting extravagance meant the place was flashing like a beacon for the police find.
They shut the party down quick smart; I was the only one who got to play a proper set.

Thing is, everyone came out to party well stocked and we were all on our way to being truly off our faces; this was ably assisted because a certain good fellow had also brought a large bag of magic mushies that most of us had dipped in to (some more than once). When the police arrived to shut the party down, there was a bit of a panic and, fearing it was a bust, many ate their night's stash in one quick go. It could've been a disaster, but everyone made it home or to another venue safely before they completely lost the plot ... just about.

But let's get back to Russell.

As compensation for not getting to DJ, Jeff asked Russell to make a mix to play in the chill out area; the result was a 4 hour long video tape of some of Russell's finest choons from the finest artists and labels of the day: Joey Beltram, Mundo Musique, Leftfield, Nu Groove, Strictly Rhythm....

Russell was never the greatest mixer, but the tracks more than make up for it. Enjoy!

Alas, the tracklisting is woefully incomplete. I've filled in all I can, but anyone who wants to help fill in the blanks can find a .rar of the unknown segments to go through here. So far:

1. Eclips 21 - Nebula (1st Soul Mix) (Indisc)
2. Dance 2 Trance - We Came In Peace (Suck Me Plasma)
3. Ramin - Reality (Dance Ecstacy 2001)
4. Kenny Larkin - Manik Man (Plus8)
5. -
6. Noise Control - Tehniska Musika (Neo Ego)
7. Cosmic Enterprises - Tao Nonstop (White Label)
8. -
9. Logic - Celebrate Life (Soundshaft Mix) (Strictly Rhythm)
10. -
11. -
12. -
13. Audio Clash - Electro Rhythm (Electropitch Mix) (Strictly Rhythm)
14. Urban Rhythm - Luv Will Make It Right (As It Grooves Mix) (Strictly Rhythm)
15. -
16. After Hours - Waterfalls (3 A.M. Mix) (Strictly Rhythm)
17. -
18. Ramin - (Where Is My) Ecstacy (Dance Ecstacy 2001)
19. Revelation - Odyssey (Atmosphere Records)
20. 
    
21. Mundo Muzique - Andromeda (Easy Street Records)
22. Phenix - Revelations Reprise (Atmosphere Records)
23. -
24. -
25. Leftfield - Not Forgotten (Outer Rhythm)
26. D-Shake - Technotranced (Feel The Space) (Go!Bang Records)
27. Westworld - Techno Cop (West)
28. The Hypnotist - Pioneers Of The Warped Groove (Rising High Records)
29. -
30. N-r-gee Posse - The Final Word (D-Zone Records)
31. -
32. Groove Sector - Release The Energy (Hi Bias)
33. -
34. -
35. -
36. -
37. -
38. Code 6 - C.O.D.E.S (Nu Groove)
39. -
40. Lost Entity - 2 Minute Madness (Nu Groove)
41. R.S.H. – Laughing While Intoxicated (Dopewax)
42. Code 6 - Beyond The Bassline (Nu Groove)
43. -
44. Lost Entity - Annihilate (L.E.S Mix) (Nu Groove)
45. Code 6 - Forgotten Moments (Nu Groove)
46. -
47. Code 6 - Quad 1 (Nu Groove)
48. Jam & Spoon - Stella (R&S)
49. -

Thanks to Brewster for making a copy all those years ago, and doing the audio clean up and artwork to let me post it. Very much appreciated mate.

Videotape Transfer _ 192kbps MP3 ... mediafire part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Classic Pure Closers By Steve Robbins

Pure was my home; every Friday I was there - I can't remember how many nights I missed, but it wasn't many. Did miss the final night at Dream nightclub because I thought nobody would go and it'd be too much of a downer, but Will-E rang me as soon as he got home to let me know what a great night I'd just missed. Apparently the floors were shaking because there were so many people rocking till the last track. Oh well.

It started out in the rear room of St. Kilda's Palace nightclub, I think in May 1991 - but it's all a bit hazy. It was Melbourne's first straight up rave techno night, although Maze @ Commerce had previously championed techno alongside underground house. Run by DJ Mark James, this was the club that made Will-E-Tell a star, yet what I remember 20 odd years later are the end of night sets of DJ Steve Robbins (later of techno group FSOM). He was older than the rest of us, and, shall we say, more learned in the art of getting off your head, but he'd been DJing since the first days of electro and had a fantastic record collection that leant heavily towards the 303 acid end of the spectrum. Steve didn't like to mix his records too much, so you got to hear great tracks in their entirety, and he always brought the night gently down towards close (none of this banging to the end and then tell the punters to fuck off nonsense).

Steve in the box at Pure after it moved to Dream Niteclub in late '91.
(Scotty working the lights)

So, with that I present two of his best closing tracks, both house, and both out of New York: Chapter 1's "Unleash The Groove (E-Funk Mix)" on Strictly Rhythm and The Sound Vandals' "On Your Way (Deep Mix)" off Nu Groove. Really fantastic tracks that deserve to be played in their entirety to the munted at 6am.
And they still sound great two decades later.

Discogs

A1 Unleash The Groove (E-Funk Mix)
A2 Unleash The Groove (Love In Sheffield Mix)
A3 Unleash The Groove (Blips In Heat)
B1 Unleash The Groove (125th & Lenox Mix)
B2 Unleash The Groove (Screamin' Pipes)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire




Discogs

A1 Tonight's The Night (Club Mix)
A2 Tonight's The Night (Bonus Beat)
B1 On Your Way (Deep Mix)
B2 On Your Way (Bonus Beat)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire





1990's "Unleash The Groove" is a particularly strong release; "Blips In Heat" is a piece of blissful beatless bleep, and the b-sides are completely insane organ workouts. "Tonight's The Night" on The Sound Vandals' 1991 release is a quite annoying bit of New York sample house, but the bonus beats are good.

Shi-Take - Don't Look Back In Anger (1994)

More goodness from Billy Nasty and Steve Jones, this is their second outing under this moniker (and first released as a promo in '93). I'll also put up their first "(In The Age Of) Perfect Virtue" - an altogether different track, but very classy - when I get around to recording some more tracks.


The Club Mix is proper hard progressive house, peak time music to dance your arse off to - very percussive and bassline driven, with a crazy "ma - ma - ma" chant to boot. Even my mate Will-E-Tell, the techno don of Melbourne (and who positively hated most things progressive house) liked this track - although he'd never play it in a thousand years. The Dub Mix and Touching The Spirits are a bit less energetic, with a bit of added tribal percussion and fx - more for building a set up than rocking it out. Still good tracks though.


You can find "Don't Look Back In Anger" in the mix on my Another Hard House Experience mix here.

Discogs

A1 Touching The Spirits

A2  Don't Look Back In 

      Anger (Road Rash Dub)

B1 Don't Look Back In 

      Anger (Road Rash Club)

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ...mediafire

Skyflyer - Humanoid E.P. (1992)

Here's the first release on Germany's Adam & Eve Records, which also released The Jeyenne's classic, "Deep". Will E Tell hammered "Words Of Ecstacy", a track not dissimilar to Sound To Light's "Breeze" (which is almost the perfect hard rave track and will be posted here shortly).
Personally, I really like "Humanoid" - Skyfler's version of Stakker's Humanoid, it's pretty fock'n hardcore, but in a good way. Definitely one for those peaking out of their heads...

Discogs

A1 Kokaine Speaks

A2 Gale

B1 Words Of Ecstasy

B2 Humanoid

Vinyl Rip _ 320kbps MP3 ... mediafire

One Month And Counting...

Right; so far so good. Appears that a few folks out there have found their way to this blog of mine, so thanks for the interest. Have got a little bit of feedback too which is great - more is always welcome.
It appears the most interest so far has been in Will's old mixtape; I am trying to track down some more, but it appears a lot of silly muppets have thrown away their analogue recordings without converting to a digital file first... pity. If anyone has any they think might be of interest to others, please contact me and I'll take care of the transfer, clean up and uploading. Anyone with early Richie Rich, David Carbone, (etc. etc.) also get in touch. Nothing post 1992 though!!!


As an aside, one of my favourite blogs has called it quits. Order To Dance http://ordertodance.multiply.com/ had a massive collection to share, and for those who missed it - bad luck. You can still view his blog though (without being able to download), and if you like what you see drop him a line and try to get to him to change his mind about ending it.

Very Early Will-E-Tell Mixtape (1991)

Recorded at his mum's house in Camberwell, it's typical early Will party music.

For the uninitiated, Will was one of Melbourne's rave DJ pioneers – and possibly also it's first superstar DJ; and this is the earliest tape I have of his, mid 1991 I think. Programming and mixing is pretty tight, but why he put “Another Sleepless Night” on half way through the "Mind Fuck" side beats the shit out of me.

Full-On Mix (cassette recording, 128kb) mediafire

Collapse - My Love (Ambient Drops). City Beat, UK (1991)

Frank De Wulf - The Tape (Remix). Music Man, Belgium (1990)
Bizarre Inc. - Playing With Knives. Vinyl Solution, UK (1991)
The Prodigy - Android. XL Recordings, UK (1991)
Space Trax - Atomic Playboy. Stealth, Netherlands (1991)
Spectrum - Brazil. R & S, Belgium (1990)
Beltram - My Sound. R & S, Belgium (1991)
D-Shake - My Heart, The Beat. Go Bang! Records, Netherlands (1991)
Capella - Everybody. Media, Italy (1990)
Spectrum - Spectral. R & S, Belgium (1990)

Head Fuck Mix (cassette recording, 128kb) mediafire
Spectrum - Amplification (Lenny Dee & Eric Kupper Remix). R & S, Belgium (1991)
Modular Expansion - Eliminator. Music Man, Belgium (1990)
Second Phase - Mentasm. R & S, Belgium (1991)
Shawn Christopher - Another Sleepless Night. Arista, USA (1990)
The Untouchables - Yeah C'mon
Beltram - Energy Flash. Transmat, USA (1990)
The Untouchables - Trippin'
Juno - Soul Thunder. Basic, UK (1990)