Sounds Like A Spooky Sunday

Seventy six minutes of Spooky music to spice up your Sunday.

Spooky is Charlie May and Duncan Forbes and they've been a formidable presence in dance and electronic music for three and a half decades. Spooky should be up there with Underworld, The Orb and The Chemical Brothers and yet often seem criminally overlooked and under appreciated.

Today's selection spotlights a dozen tunes spanning 1992 to 2020 and a breathtakingly diverse range of styles, taking in progressive trance, deep house, dub, ambient, soundtracks and so on. I'm not great with genres and labels, and what fits where, but I know that whatever Charlie and Duncan turn their hands to, the end result will be a treat for the ears and the mind.

For more Spooky magic, head over to their Bandcamp page, where you'll find their three albums, and most of their singles and EPs from the 1990s up to the present, all at ridiculously bargain prices. 

1) Gandharva (Doi-ing vs Spooky Vocal Mix): The Oval Five ft. Natacha Atlas (1992)

2) Umbrella (Spooky Remix): Chymera (2007)

3) Water (Spooky's Hydro-Electric Mix): Jo Bogaert (1994)

4) Area 39 (EP Version): Spooky (1996)

5) It's So Late (Album Version): Spooky ft. Julie Daske (2007)

6) Little Bullet (Part One) (Album Version): Spooky ft. Valerie Harrison (1993)

7) New Light (Dub): Spooky ft. Celestine Walcott-Gordon (2007)

8) Andromeda (Single Version): Spooky (2003)

9) Candy (Original Version): Spooky (2008)

10) Seneschal (Album Version): Spooky (1996)

11) Belong (Echospace Mix): Spooky ft. Julie Daske (2002)

12) Bells Of Fury (Part II): Spooky (2020)

1992: Gandharva / Vertigo EP: 1

1993: Gargantuan: 6

1994: Water EP: 3

1996: Found Sound: 10

1996: Shunt EP: 4

2002: Belong EP: 11

2003: Andromeda (white label 12"): 8

2007: Open (limited edition 2x CD): 5, 7

2007: Umbrella EP: 2

2008: Candy EP: 9

2020: Bells Of Fury EP: 12

Sounds Like A Spooky Sunday (1:16:07) (GD) (M)

The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You

Today's selection shines a spotlight on guest vocalists. All of the nine tracks have electronic leanings, veering from club to dub along the course of under an hour.

There will be some familiar names - Boy George, Texas, Elizabeth Fraser, Guy Garvey - and some less so, but they all add something unique to the song, even when put through the remix rinse.

 

Most of the artists will also be well known, with a couple of surprises tucked away. Cabana was a one-off collaboration between superstar DJ Sasha aka Alexander Coe and long-term producer Tom Frederikse. The former went on to global domination whilst the latter swapped music for law in 1999, specialising in Digital Media.

 

Battle Box was also a one-off project, this time for 3D aka Robert Del Naja, who pops up again with Massive Attack later in the selection.

 

The most unexpected pairing is perhaps Paul Weller and Boy George on One Tear in 2017. I haven't fact checked this at all, but was this their first time in the studio together since Band Aid in 1984? Whatever, it was worth the wait...!

 

1) Red Alert (Jaxx Radio Mix): Basement Jaxx ft. Blue James (1999)

2) Music Matters (Axwell Extended): Faithless ft. Cassandra Fox (2007)

3) Bailando Con Lobos (Goodmen Fresh Dub): Cabana ft. Sheila Schwok (1994)

4) Battle Box (Remix): Battle Box ft. Guy Garvey (2012)

5) The Hush (67% Mix): Rae & Christian ft. Texas (1998)

6) One Tear (Club Cut Alternative Version): Paul Weller ft. Boy George (2017)

7) Empire Ants (Miami Horror Remix): Gorillaz ft. Little Dragon (2010)

8) Group Four (Security Forces Dub) (Remix By Mad Professor): Massive Attack ft. Elizabeth Fraser (1998)

9) Strange Addiction (Bud Addiction) (Remix By Charlie May & Duncan Forbes): Spooky ft. Celestine Walcott-Gordon (2005)

The Sun Has Come Again To Hold You (58:22) (Box) (Mega)

Note: After yesterday's fiasco of accidentally leaving off Touch Me by The Doors from the Whatever Happened To Reg? selection, (running) order has been restored and you can now listen to/download the full playlist as intended. If you didn't notice the omission yesterday, please ignore this note and I may just get away with it...

It Feels So Good To Be Free

After a week of slipshod sequencing from yours truly, here's Spooky to show how it's done. This came as a freebie cover mounted mix CD with DJ magazine way back in June 2007. The title says it all: the set was mixed live at Auto Cinema in Monterrey, Mexico and is heavy with new tunes, including a mix of their own New Light, the original vocal version providing the title of today's post.

 

1) Pass The Suntan Lotion (Nic Fanciulli Mix): James Talk (2007)

2) Praise (Llorca Mix): Art Of Tones (2007)
3) Bhalobash (Original Version): Mike Monday (2006)
4) Blue Glass: Piemont (2007)

5) Umbrella (Spooky Remix): Chymera (2007)
6) Zoom In: Kupon (Matthew Roberts & Matt Thomas) (2006)

7) The Pressure (King Roc Mix): The Breakfastaz (2006)
8) Static (Satoshi Tomiie Mix): Planet Funk (2007)
9) New Light (Spooky's Strobelight Mix): Spooky ft. Celestine Walcott-Gordon (2007)

10) Latinhead (Tarrentella's Re-Edit): Soul Mekanik (Kelvin Andrews & Danny Spencer) (2006)
11) This World (Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme Bukklefipps Remix): Slam ft. Tyrone Power (2004)

Live At Auto Cinema, Monterrey, Mexico, 2007 (1:05:03)