mp3: Thurston Harris - Be Baba LebaIn a couple of Friday's time, I'll be helping out behind the decks at a new night with
DJ Andy Smith. It's called
Jam Up Twist and is to be held in a brand new venue in Stoke Newington, the
La Sera Club. I'm extremely thrilled about this as Andy Smith, through his seminal The Document mix CD, was a massive early influence on me as a Deejay.
I was introduced to him through the guy who did the show before me when I was doing a blues slot on student radio in Melbourne. This guy, let's call him Johann, traveled frequently to Hong Kong and often came back with dodgy street copies of the latest cool music on CD. He was so enamored by The Document that he burnt it for me and a few others to share the love. It blew our little minds away. I was particularly taken by the way it radically crossed genres and eras and made it work. I loved that it made me question where musical gems could be found. It had never occurred to me, before hearing The Document, to consider Tom Jones musically and it probably wouldn't have otherwise. When I first started being asked to DJ at friends' parties, I would play large chunks of The Document and either sit back and soak in the glory or join them on the dancefloor.
Naturally, when DJ Andy Smith would tour Australia, me and my pals would go. I recall a three-hour festival set he did with Dynamo Productions where it felt like every single one of the best songs ever recorded was included in the mix. The crowd started as about twenty people, mainly my mates -- Jamiroquai, very popular at the time, was on at the same time -- and steadily built into a huge crowd of maybe a thousand boogieing revellers.
Of course, the years have passed and Andy Smith's musical journey has included Northern Soul, Reggae, and New Orleans R&B. At this night we'll be playing a hot selection of Rockabilly, Northern Soul, 50’s R&B, Surf & Tittyshakers, Rock Steady & Ska. I recently acquired Thurston Harris's boppin' Be Baba Leba, so you can pretty much guarantee that, unless Andy drops it first, I'll be giving it a spin.
So, if you're in the London area on February 3rd, or the first Friday of any month, venture over to Stoke Newington and join us on the tiles for a night of top tunes and world class fun -- and be sure to say hi.
Labels: rhythm and blues, rock'n'roll