Monday Mix

A mix for Monday, my seventh for Tak Tent Radio who broadcast out of central Scotland with a range of contributors and guests. This one, has music from a lot of artists who have graced the pages of this blog this year- Mark Peters with Dot Allison remixed by Richard Norris, Pete Wylie and Wah! The Mongrel from 1991, Pye Corner Audio remixed by Sonic Boom, Andy Bell remixed by David Holmes, Gabe Gurnsey, Jazxing, Jezebell's recent edit of Laurie Anderson, Carly Simon, Dirt Bogarde and Boxheater Jackson. In short- starts ambient, goes Balaeric and ends up dancey. Listen here or here.

• Mark Peters and Dot Allison: Sundowning (Richard Norris Ambient Remix)
• Pete Wylie and Wah! The Mongrel: Don’t Lose Your Drums
• Pye Corner Audio: Warmth Of The Sun (Sonic Boom Remix)
• Andy Bell: The Sky Without You (David Holmes Radical Mycology remix)
• Gabe Gurnsey: To The Room
• Jazxing: Fala
• Jezebell: Re- birth (Edit)
• Carly Simon: Why (Extended 12” Mix)
• Dirt Bogarde: So Far Away
• Boxheater Jackson: Don’t Complicate

Monday's Long Song

Wasting time scrolling through social media, a blur of posts sliding down the screen, is not necessarily a productive use of time but it works as a distraction. Endless distractions is the way of the modern world isn't it, something to occupy your time. Occasionally something jumps out. This song did last week- I pressed play and wallowed in it. 

Why (Extended 12" Mix)

The elements to make a perfect song are all there- cavernous early 80s drums, the slick sound of a top end studio, a beautiful bittersweet, downbeat reggae tinged pop song, with enough funk to dance to, a bumping bassline, a rolling groove and, the icing on the cake, Carly Simon's plaintive vocal, 'Why/ Does your love hurt so much?.... Don't know why'. In a song not short of hooks, the 'la di da di dah' part stands out, Carly and her unnamed lover unable to hear each other, seeing each other's mouths open and close but nothing but 'la di da di dah' coming out. If this was all any of the parties involved had done, it would be more than enough. Eight minutes of absolute bliss. 

Why came out in August 1982, recorded for a film called Soup For One. It was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, out to prove that they could survive and thrive after the (racist and homophobic) Disco Sucks movement killed Chic, at least temporarily. It's no surprise that this post- disco/ pop/ reggae fusion would reappear at the end of the 80s, an end of night tune in many DJ's record boxes from Manchester to Ibiza and back and various points in between.