No.1 x 2013

Mindless Boogie was a true trendsetter in the early years of the disco edit-boom. With a concept that set aside traditional genres and re-edits as simply DJ tools, they went looking for the right vibe no matter what the BPM counter said.
The label was run between 2006 and 2010 by Dirk De Ruyck (who also worked with Eskimo Recordings) & Tonic out of the small city of Ghent, Belgium. Size doesn't matter though, since Ghent has been a source of great dance music dating back to the New Beat-movement of the 1980's. Besides hosting some now classic edits by big names such as Prins Thomas, Lexx, In Flagranti & Todd Terje (under the pseudonym Wade Nichols, which was the real name of gay porn-actor turned disco singer Dennis Parker), the label made their name with some great edits by Tonic himself. Under three different names (Tonic, Skinny Joey & Rubber Room) and altogether six 12"-releases he stirred up an interest for both the leftfield as well as the mainstream (especially the discovery of everything Hot Chocolate made EXCEPT "You Sexy Thing"). The choice of original tracks was always the genius of Mindless Boogie.
Tonic recently put up an archive of his works on Soundcloud:

No. 11 x 2012

Check it out! Premiere tonight will feature a 4 Hr DJ-Set with your truly. Coming up the following dates we have some very special guests that I will hopefully be able to announce soon. Right now, I can reveal that next week, 6 of July, we have Johnny TooBad (Jonas Dahlström) of Hermanos & Heathen (and another kind of club out in the woods that also starts with an H). 

No.4 x 2011

Tim Koh is our guest blogger this past week over at Prejka. Apart from being in Ariel Pink's band Haunted Graffiti he's also played in Harvey & Bullocks Food Of The Gods project and is currently working on some music with Lovefingers.
I recently stumbled upon this amazing edit of the Haunted Graffitis Round And Round from last years album Before Today done by a guy from Norway who calls himself Bogstad Diskoensemble. A balearic dub, as he calls it. Amazing stuff, I say.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round And Round (Bogstad Diskoensemble Dub)

No.42 x 2010

Behind the name of Rutger Hofbahn is a guy from Stockholm called Sebastian, an up-and-coming dude producing some very slick neo-balearic disco in the same field as the Eskimo Recordings stable.
His first single is called Rhea and is still only available digitally, but in time I believe that will surely change.
With an affection for the sweeping synthesizer sounds of early cosmic disco and the blissed out groove of the balearic beat, Hofbahn delivers this mix of old and new treasures.

SUCH A FEELING (MIX) by Rutger Hofbahn

No.30 x 2010 / Philippe Renaux Special No.6

Definitely the most exciting and mysterious record I have found from the early career of Philippe Renaux.

Released in 1982 on Clever, Renaux own french sublabel to italo dominators Carrere. This however, is the amazing sleeve for a release on the Mexican label Peerless, which is the only release of this song where Renaux is credited under his own name. For the Clever release he has resumed his old alias Phil Honeyman.

Here we find him alongside Claude Mainguy on writing credits (a long-time collaborator who also worked with Rockets and as recording engineer on the Paris Casablanca record, as well as co-writing a B-side with Renaux for Massieras Venus Gang single Space Woman in 1981, just prior to this record).

The Clever release states Derek Arden on production credits, which is most likely another alias of Renaux since the Peerless sleeve credits both Renaux and Mainguy.

Too bad then that they never worked again under such circumstances, since this is a profoundly confusing and creative mix of early electro, classic disco and balearic guitars. Kicking of in a Timmy Thomas mode on the keyboards backed by stiff drum machines, this trip gets more funky by every second - adding vocoders and Funkytown-styled breaks before turning into a fullfledged anthem when Gil Slavin (a former back-up singer to Grace Jones) takes to the microphone.

Not your average disco record, and a worthy conclusion to our Philippe Renaux Special here at the Disco Academy.

BRAIN - D.I.X.O.

BEATS OF BUCHAREST

From Bucharest of Romania comes Bogdan Anghel to bless us with the most balearic of beats.
Like many other cities, the club scene devoted to the sounds of disco and balearica is quite small in Bucharest. Thanks to the ever expanding online networks in the age of the long tail, these scenes are increasingly merging together into a global village of balearic micro-organisms.
Bogdan is currently sitting on original material for two full lenght albums and shopping around for labels as we speak. We might however see the birth of regional record label at the hands of this ambitious Romanian, so keep your eyes squinting towards the inner parts of Europe.

SADE - HANG ON TO YOUR LOVE (BOGDAN EDIT)

SLOW WAVE

It seems that slow motion disco is not as new of a notion as you might think, going back to 1983 when new wave pop group Duran Duran had the wits to remix this chillingly spacey gem into a quite dancefloor-unfriendly version.
The original, which is an instrumental as well, was the B-side to the single Is There Something I Should Know?, while the dubbed out balearic cut was first heard on the compilation The Singles released 2003.

DURAN DURAN - FAITH IN THIS COLOUR

DURAN DURAN - FAITH IN THIS COLOUR (ALTERNATE SLOW MIX)

DOUBLE KALIMBA

The African percussion instrument Kalimba is the theme of the day here. It seems somehow appropriate within the recent vein of balearica that this blog has steered towards to focuse on the most balearic of instruments. 

But aside from the obvious anthem by Toni Esposito (Kalimba De Luna), I dug up some other classic/unclassic cuts for your sunbathing pleasure. 

Dig the robotic bass echoes over Earth, Wind & Fires smooth afro epic Kalimba Tree, not surprisingly picked by Norwegian afroholic Todd Terje for his latest re-editing. 

EARTH, WIND & FIRE - KALIMBA TREE (TODD TERJE RE EDIT) 

Next is a cut by a producer legendary in house circuits but in general fairly overlooked for his eclectic style and ventures into analogue and live instrumentation, 

What's surprising is that he's not a household name by now, since Frankie Valentine has been around since the early 80s and sounds better and better for every year. I was first blown away by his 12" Moog Rock from 2001, which back then served as a preview of the recent direction of heavy disco that dance music has since taken. 

But here he chills out with the Kalimba on this version of his single Zumbi from 2006. 

FRANKIE VALENTINE - ZUMBI (KALIMBA VERSION)

BALEARIC SESSION No.2

Another mix from yours truly. In the vein of what some have called Nu-Balearica. And with all right, since I was able to squeeze in some fresh stuff from the Permanent Vacation stable as well as the title track of Rune Lindbaek & Idjut Boys new project Meanderthals, soon available for purchase. And from our Swedish coast lines: re-edits from favourites Lugnet and Apiento (who's stuff you can download over here), and the amazingly "so cheesy it's cool"-sampling of Macarena by Stockholms Nhessingtons, one of the outfits on the promising label Force Majeure. Enjoy!

U. Srinivas & Michael Brook - Dance
Ronny & Renzo - Uniqorns (Quiet Village Remix)
Low Motion Disco - Love Love Love
Sade - Paradise (Apiento Edit)
Nhessingtons - You're The Summer
Woolfy - Nevee (Permanent Vacation Tropical Heat Remix)
Tiaz - Sommarstorm
Thompson Twins - Leopard Ray
Troublemakers - Afghan
Regina - Näinä Mustina Iltoina (Schmamix Instrumental)
Edgar Winter - Above And Beyond (Instrumental)
Meanderthals - Desire Lines

SERGIO RIZZOLO - BALEARIC SESSION No.2

LESS IS MORE, ZERO IS ALL.

If you were in Stockholm last night, you might have overheard this tune while sipping on a glass of white wine or folding up your acid washed jeans to expose your sockless ankles in a pair of tennis shoes, since the hippest discoteque in perhaps all of Sweden (know as Slow Blow) had imported the man resposible for it to entertain the spoiled children of our capital for another night of top quality balearic disco. 

Leo Elstrob has under the name Leo Zero set out to reinvent every major pop star to his liking in this the age of the disco re-edit, but along the way finds time to gaze over the hill with his band A Mountain Of One, and occasionally lend his hands to the work of other artists crossing paths in the sand. Such as this; the newborn project of Zarrylade.

ZARRYLADE - EYE'S ABOVE YOUR HEAD PART II (LEO ZERO VERSION)

THE BALEARIC SESSIONS

I have put together this informational mix for a clubnight the Academy is hosting on random tuesdays at a newly opened place in the bohemian centre of Malmö called Balthazar, whose owners are sporting the amazingly ambitious idea of offering dj:s every night from tuesday to sunday. I believe they are old school techno fanatics of the Swedish rave-generation, which certainly shows on the more prestigious weekend schedule of clubs.
But hey, to get the full experience of dance musics canon, the legacy of the club scene, you need to go full circle from the highs to the lows. Hence the birth of Balearica, the hippie love child of a never ending british vacation.
So this is my, Sergio Rizzolos, take on the balearic sound anno 2009. A geographic survey of the new addition to the island group that is Malmö.

Tri Atma & Klaus Netzle - Micro Cosmos
Eloy - Horizons
Enigma - Sadeness (Schmamix 2.0)
Coyote - Going Out (Max Essa Remix)
Lunar Jam - Ewoks Endor Forrest Jam
Smith & Mudd - Schulme (Lexx Remix)
Rubber Room - Cockroach
Free Disco - Odd Summer
CFCF - Invitation To Love
Helen - Zanzibar (Instrumental)

BALEARIC SESSION No.1

IS IT BALEARIC?

Three years ago everyone was asking what kraut was, now our collective popcultural mind is swamped by the question: what is balearic?
Alfredo, the DJ responsible for the genre, defines it here. But as with many myhologized club scenes, the myth might be better than the real thing. As all our experiences in the information age are of second hand nature, we might as well invent our own definitions.
In the guise of the Disco Academy, I could tell you that all of this is just disco. I could also tell you that the tracks below are balearic classics. All of this would of course be true, and yet the question would still go unanswered.

CLANNAD - I SEE RED

MELLINO - YA ME VOY

THE SCANDINAVIAN STUFF

When it comes to disco it seems that us Scandinavians have been spearheading the frontiers into unknown territory for the last few years. I hope Spanish guitars, bongos and sunset beaches are the things that foreign countrys associate us with now, at least that would make up for all the crap music that at least Sweden has been putting out.
Thank the stars then that disco-mogul Rune Lindbaek has decided to strengthen the Scandinavian connections with an upcoming 12" release of re-edits by one of Helsinkis finest producers and dj:s, Schmami.
If you haven't heard it yet, his Eurolax mix is one of the deepest crate-dives of the year. Together with fellow countryman Fummer, they have built the cosmic fortress Low Phantasy, which every month materializes as a club night to drag the local finns out of their saunas to enjoy world-class music. For instance, Schmamis reworking of the campy "nu-gregorian" classic Sadeness by Michael Cretu's Enigma.

ENIGMA - SADENESS (SCHMAMIX 2.0)

DISKO AKADEMIN EDIT #1

The Long Run is one of the greatest albums ever, and of course a classic at the Disco Academy.

You may have picked up on this track, as I did, as featured in an excellent mix by Västkustska Ryggdunkarsällskapet a couple of years ago. Either way, if you're a a disco freak addicted to blogs (which I'm hoping you are) you've surely come across King Of Hollywood, another great track from this album.

I thought I would take a break from my usual disguise as the moustache-clad, poncho-wrapped hitchhiker of the cosmic highways, and serve up some re-edits with all cards on the table.

So, this is basically an extended version of the albums meager 2:46 in length. With an extended intro and outro to squeeze all the Californian sand out of this balearic chugger, bringing the playing time to 4:13.

...

EAGLES - DISCO STRANGLER (DISKO AKADEMIN EDIT)

...

And for all fellow Malmöites (and passing-by tourists): there are plenty of copies of the original vinyl at the Rundgång records store, filed under Disko of course.

MED EN SMAK AV VIDDERNA

The Swedish band Vidderna is one of the few new musical outfits who have allowed themselves a wider perspective of the frames in which music is being categorized and produced. 

The concept of the popband sticking to its genre and at the most allowing themselves to be remixed by an outside party seems dated in these days, as the artists step into new characters and roles, often as an interpreter of a vision found locked whitin the song arrangements of the vast popcultural well of the past. 

Behind the name Vidderna is the duo of Clemmedson & Tjäder (not to be confused with the similar duo of Adolphsson & Falk), who have kindly graced our plot of land here on the web with an exclusive peek into their minds as they listen to this classic soft rocking anthem by the most well-dressed man in the business. 

BRIAN FERRY - SLAVE TO LOVE (VIDDERNA EDIT)

NEVER MIND THE CHEESE...

I came across this awesome balearic track one late night watching a made for TV-movie about American athlete Steve Prefontaine, a long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics in Munich (the one with all the terrorists and hostage situations). 

He's portrayed with extra handsomeness by a blonde moustache-clad Jared Leto, and as he's out on the tracks prepairing for the race against his Finnish arch enemy Lasse Virén, this weird mash-up of heavy rock and Ibiza chill out, which by all logic should be an offense to all good taste, comes soaring in on the soundtrack.  

When something is just so wrong, it can only feel right.