Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage

With the popularity of traditional deep house sounds seemingly the latest trend in the ever-changing kaleidoscope of electronic music, we went back in time to Paradise Garage

Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage, the DJ and club that changed everything and shaped the next 20 years of dance music culture.

Levan was born Lawrence Philpot in Brooklyn 1954 and was influenced by contemporaries like Nicky Siano and particularly David Mancuso, one time partner and host of the seminal parties at 'The Loft'. Then at the Paradise Garage from 1976 to 1987, Larry was resident DJ, a tag that in the modern sense does no justice to Levan's immense contribution to the club.

Not only did he help design and assemble what is regarded as the most legendary club sound system to have existed, but he spent immeasurable time testing it, fine tuning it and improving it, even if the changes seemed trivial or minute. That was Larry Levan. The music and the Garage were his life; an addiction.

Sadly, it was the other addiction in his life, heroin, which would eventually indirectly lead to his death in November 1992 at just 38. Enjoying somewhat of a revival in his fortunes since the low of the Garage's closure in 1987, and death of owner Michael Brody shortly after, it was a devastating loss. This compilation of words from Levan's friends, contemporaries and devotees form our tribute to a legend.

Larry the Music man:

Mel Cheren
"Everyone has certain talents, natural abilities, some people are born with the talent to paint; some people are born with the talent to write. Larry had the talent for music and he could take 2,000 people and make them feel like they were at a house party. He yearned for more than technical perfection, he wanted inspiration. Ecstasy. He wanted to spin the way he lived – in inspired anarchy."

David Piccioni
"He was THE reason I devoted my life and work to dance music. I was DJing in the UK before I moved to New York, but I had not really taken it seriously till I heard him play. Once I heard him I realized that DJing was not just a question of playing records but was a real creative art form in itself."

François K
"Larry was able to use songs - songs with lyrics - and he used those lyrics to talk to people, it was very common for people on the dancefloor to feel like he was talking to him directly through the record. He built sets that were built on stories that went into each other."

"Larry would spend all these hours after the club was closed moving speakers around, changing amplifier levels and trying out different cartridges and other different things. It's not just about building it, it's about maintaining it, improving it, tweaking it and taking care of it. No one does that now."

Marshall Jefferson (Legendary Chicago DJ and producer)
"Larry Levan was one of the best two DJs I've ever seen breaking new records, the other was Ron Hardy. Both of these men had extremely similar styles: go with the feeling. Both had every DJ in a 500-mile radius and beyond asking what they played while simultaneously blasting their mixing technique. I think American DJs as a whole can learn a lot from these two, because with all the hot mixing going on now, it takes ten or more jocks to do the job of one Larry Levan."

Joe Claussell
"Larry himself was a wizard when it came to DJing, but I don't think many DJs today understand his philosophy. Everyone is still with the pretty mixes, making sure that it's all on-beat but they don't have a clue what it takes to present their music to a crowd. It was his combination of different music and the fact that he knew how to read a crowd, he knew what record to play at what time; he knew the crowd intimately and what record would move what part of the dancefloor. It was magical to watch."

Paradise Garage Neon LightDanny Tenaglia
"No club is ever going to come close to the Paradise Garage because, for everybody involved, that room was their passion. From Larry to the person that owned it to security. And the sound system was so professionally maintained. On a weekly basis he would check every speaker with audio gear, alter speakers that were wobbling or move them an inch if it was necessary. I have so many great memories of that place. It's been a major influence on me and my career."

DJ Harvey (who brought Levan to play his night 'Moist' at the Gardening Club in London in 1991)
"He kind of lived up to being Larry Levan, you know what I mean? He lived up to the legend. Whether it was to do with drugs, music, DJ-ing, or whatever. He was quite full-on in a lot of ways and passionate about stuff. The actual control of the sound was a great thing for him because it wasn't like he was a great mixer particularly but the records came on in the right order. And the way that he would just use the volume knob, for instance, to accentuate certain parts of the song or lyrics or whatever was incredible. Working the record using the volume, bass, mild and treble. He was a master at that for sure."

David Morales
"He could be shit for seven hours and he could take 15 minutes and kick the shit out of you, and that made your night! That's what it was about. There was nobody that was able to do that."

David Depino
"He was wild. There was no holding him back. There was no norm for Larry at the Garage. It was his home and he didn't follow no book. The freedom he had and the nonchalance he had up there sometimes made 2,000 people come together as one. He made them feel like they were at a house party. And I never saw to this day a DJ do that. Ever."

Frankie Knuckles (New Yorker and friend of Levan, who became resident after him at The Continental Baths. It represents the starting point of both their DJ careers.)
"He showed us how to work the equipment and taught us an appreciation of the music, how to put it together and what a song is supposed to do. Nicky [Siano] was the first DJ at that particular time that came remotely close to making beats match, and what happened was that Larry pretty much perfected it after that."

Larry the Music man
Robert Owens (Chicago producer and vocalist)
"The first time I walked into the Paradise Garage back in 1980, I knew that this was unlike any club I'd seen before. For that matter, any club since. The spirit and energy in the room, which seemed to pour out of the DJ, was overwhelming. From that Saturday, and almost every Saturday till it closed, Larry Levan would make records that I had heard hundreds of times before sound brand-new and expose me to so much new music. He changed the way I felt about DJs and the way I played records, because it wasn't just about playing records, it was about communication. When he played tapes of mixes he was working on or had finished, I would be amazed to hear what he had done. He inspired me to get into the studio and create. He had a vision and took his music to the limit. Like his DJing, Larry was truly unique. When the Garage closed its doors, Saturday nights were never the same. The Garage was like a family and I feel grateful to have been able to experience it."

Levan explained his technique in Collusion magazine:
"Out of all the records you have, maybe five or six of them make sense together. There is actually a message in the dance, the way you feel, the muscles you use, but only certain records have that. Say I was playing songs about music - 'I Love Music' by The O'Jays, 'Music' by Al Hudson and the next record is Phreek's 'Weekend', that's about getting laid, a whole other thing. If I was dancing and truly into the words and the feeling and it came on, it might be a good record, but it makes no sense because it doesn't have anything to do with the others. So a slight pause, a sound effect, something else to let you know it's a new paragraph rather than one continuous sentence."

The Ministry of Sound connection (Justin Berkmann - Ministry of Sound Founder)

"I invited Larry Levan to come to London to DJ at the club in October 1991. Larry arrived 8 days late and without any music. He had come over to play along with Victor Rosado, (who did arrive on time), and was supposed to stay for just a week, instead he stayed 3 months. I brought him over because Ministry of Sound had been more or less conceptualized by me at Paradise Garage in New York, and being a core member and devotee of the club and Larry, I wanted to have the 'Levan Stamp of Authority' on my creation in London."

"Larry had no input into the initial sound system design or installation; Austen Derek, the system creator, designed, installed and tuned it. But once Larry had arrived, he wanted to 'fine tune' it and set to work with me making it as close to perfection as possible. Changing the angle of the speaker stacks 1 or 2 degrees left/right, moving them minute distances around, they slowly got the speakers into their best position to eliminate any cancellation and after a month or so, by Xmas/NYE 1991, had got it pretty close to perfection. Larry was a natural teacher, keen to pass on his experience to whoever wanted to learn, and made many friends in the process. Larry played at MoS 4 times, I also introduced him to Paul Oakenfold do some studio work for Perfecto, and sent him to do a couple of gigs in Munich, Germany. Larry was very happy during his stay in London."

The Paradise Garage:

Mel Cheren (Financial backer of Paradise Garage and former partner of owner, Michael Brody and whom Levan used to call his stepfather.)
"There was no attitude here, no cliques defined by their muscles, no fashion victims, no A-list. These people were dancers.’ And this is what made the atmosphere at the Garage so electrifying – it was driven by the energetic input of its clubbers. ‘The intensity of the disco pyrotechnics was unlike anything anywhere. Venturing onto the dance floor was like swimming into an undertow – you were sucked into the vortex, and you surrendered, for hours at a time."

"It was the one place that truly reflected the rainbow that had produced disco’s pot of gold. The potent intersection of rhythm, race and realness that had produced disco in the first place – black as it was gay, gay as it was black – all came together here."

François K (New York resident since the 1975 and one of only a few other DJs to have played at the Paradise Garage)
"It was a place where everyone would mingle together - whether you were a superstar or whether you just happened to have a regular job. No heavy door scene. There is no alcohol for sale. The point of the club is dancing."

"The Paradise Garage was open for so long and it was so obviously and blatantly superior to anything else going on, you had the best sound-system around, the most talented DJ you can imagine, with amazing records that no one else could get: things he'd made himself and things others had made exclusively for him."

David Depino (one of Levan's closest friends and one of the few other DJs to have played at the Garage)
"The Garage was underground. There was no advertising. We were not an off-the-street club - it was a private, 100 per cent membership thing, but so many people would line up at the door, there'd be a line round the corner twice. They could have made a fortune but there was never money greedy. The party was first."

David Piccioni (New York resident in the 1980s and now Azuli Records boss)
"My memories are a general really. Firstly, it was a real 'club' in the true sense of the word, in that the members (you had to be a member to get in) were all likeminded people and there for the love and appreciation of music. There was a real sense of identity and history with the music, the black gay dance music scene was almost like a large family and people came together united by the music. I would often meet people in their day jobs and they would immediately say 'hey you are a member of the Garage right I saw you there?' and you would have an immediate connection. It's rare to feel that vibe in modern clubs, it happens sometimes but rarely."

Danny Tenaglia (native New Yorker and close friend of Levan)
"You felt special, you felt like you were an elite group, with people who were on the same level of understanding about music as you. In a drab district in south west Manhattan, it created a private world based on disco's original ethos of loving equality. In stark contrast to the harsh city lights outside, the Garage offered freedom, compassion and brotherhood."

Joe Claussell (who ran Body & Soul, the New York club based on the Paradise Garage)
"You entered the Garage along a long darkened runway lit by tiny flickering egg-strobes. I don't think I've ever looked forward to going up a ramp [the club's entrance] as much. At the top was 'The Garage' logo in neon. It was like going to church. Once you got up that ramp and paid your money, you were in heaven. Paradise."

Tune of the day........ Roberta Flack - uh uh ooh ooh look out (here it comes)

Classic Roots track...

2nd April

Not long now before our first party of the year, and as always we're busy with the preparations for the big night. Having met some of you recently for tickets, we know you're looking forward to this one as much as we are, so we're well chuffed to have landed Justin Robertson and can't wait to hear him rock the Roots dancefloor.

In the run up to each Roots, this is one of the most enjoyable parts - everyones starting to dig for tunes - something which always throws up a few wee gems in the process - and things are moving rapidly behind the scenes. Countdown is on!

We hope you're enjoying the blog which we'll keep constantly updated, we'd love you to get involved so feel free to join in - our house is your house...

Favourite clubs -The Eclipse, Coventry

As far as i'm concerned, 20 years ago this place was one of the wonders of the world - or rather a wonderfully different world. By cleverly exploiting a loophole in the licensing laws at a time when all the establishment wanted to do was shut us down, Eclipse became the first ever 'legal' all night rave.





Every weekend thrill seekers from all over the country would converge on this unique night held in an ex bingo hall, complete with balcony and a raised DJ box. The laser show even by todays standards was breathtaking, and the 25k turbo sound system was graced by the finest of the time, the most notable probably being Sasha followed by the likes of Stu Allan, Grooverider etc.



Our wee jaunts generally consisted of a transit type van filled with matress, quilts, sounds and other 'creature comforts'....it took forever to get there but the journeys there and back are some of the funniest experiences in my life.....if I had the chance to do it all again I would gladly travel double the distance to get there.......it was just that good......

Andrew Weatherall

From RESIDENT ADVISOR

“There was some music played when I was young, by my parents in my formative years. It was quite... looking back on it, it was quite inspirational, like the first time I ever heard Barry White. That was probably when I was about ten or eleven years old. My parents had this album called ‘Stone Gon’’ which is still one of my favourites. But in general, it was a little bit middle of the road. They had classic early seventies tastes, Neil Diamond, that sort of thing, which never really got me. I think most of my musical discoveries I made entirely myself. The biggest inspiration on me was probably when I was ten or eleven, I saw a trailer on TV for ‘That’ll Be the Day’, the David Essex film about rock ‘n’ roll and working on a fairground. It was the first time I realised there was this mystical world. It wasn’t just about the music, it was the clothes as well. I think that’s the moment I felt a tingle. The first two records I ever bought were T-Rex and Wizzard. And then when punk rock came along, that really scared them, you know, I wasn’t allowed to have punk records in the house, wasn’t allowed to have ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’. That was smuggled in, I hid it under my bed!

So you know, the parents were lovely people but they weren’t…there was no real…I don’t know where my musical…where it came from, I mean apart from just saying when you’re eleven or twelve years old, it’s very formative in all areas of your life and when you see shots of Teddy Boys and rock ‘n’ roll artists at that age, it turns your world upside down.Then the other thing was the David Bowie album ‘Pin Ups’. It had a brilliant picture of him on the back, in a blue suit with an eye patch and, you know, when you’re living in the suburbs… It wasn’t a horrible childhood but it was a little bit boring. And you see stuff like that and it makes you realise there’s a whole other life, it opens up worlds, not just musically, but facts and literature and everything… Teddy Boys, David Bowie, glam rock… I found it all off my own back. I didn’t have a mentor, or anyone that I looked up to or whose musical tastes I admired. I’m always looking and the search is sometimes more interesting than the actual finding of people’s music, or making the discovery.”

You weren’t getting into current things, by going to see a gig or hearing a band on the radio or seeing something on telly.

“No. And it wasn’t just the music either. It was the whole package, the whole pop package. It was the look, you know, it was kind of… I don’t know if you can think about glamour when you’re eleven or twelve years old, but I kind of did. To me, the music and the fashion, the music and the clothes were always together. Lots of bands I didn’t like – whose music I didn’t mind but the way they looked was rubbish - I kind of dismissed them. (laughs) Call me shallow, but it was just that introduction at an early age to the combination of music and clothes being able to shock people, especially with punk rock. In sort of lower-middle class suburbia, it really was like someone had let the devil out of the box, and the whole of civilization was gonna come crashing down. But to me, it was just great, short songs about girls, drugs, and hating everything like you do when you’re twelve, thirteen, fourteen. And that’s always been the package I’ve looked for in any sort of music.”

What were your very first projects? When did music stop being a hobby and start being a career, a full time occupation?

“Well, I never got to that point. It still strikes me as a hobby, I still feel like I’m the luckiest person around. I had knowledge, but I was also…in the early years I always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. And I know you can’t make a career on that, you gotta have something to back it up. But when I started, it’s different than it is now. Since I started buying records I would always kind of… corral people, like ‘come round and listen to this new track’. To me, DJing in a big club always has been just an extension of that, just wanting to play music and seeing that look on someone’s face, and sharing that enjoyment of hearing something for the first time that you had when you first got that record, even if it’s only three people in a bedroom. When I first started DJing it was the classic bag of records ‘round a friend’s house…then when I started playing at Shoom I still had a plastic record case out of Woolworths, which fell apart one evening at one of their outside gigs. It was only over the last five years that I considered myself a DJ, ‘cos when I first started, I just played records. I never saw it as a career, because I dunno… I thought of it as a job, but I never thought of it as a career. When you start thinking career, you start thinking ‘game plans’, and ‘I’ve gotta be at a certain stage’, and ‘oh, why am I still doing this’ if, you know, ‘my career should be here’. I’ve never thought of it as a career.”

So when you were doing clubs, promoting as well, it was more for the social aspect?

“Yeah, yeah, it was just that, it was just for the love of it. It was just that I didn’t want to do anything else. I’d done every rubbish job known to mankind and all of a sudden, people wanted to come and hear me play records or come to my parties. And that’s all it ever was and all it still is. You know what I mean? Call me an underachiever but I never… I think if you start thinking of it as a career, you start thinking you’ve gotta be here at a certain time, then you start taking shortcuts and start making the wrong kind of decisions, really. For a long time I put myself down and said it wasn’t a proper job. But it is, because I do…you know, at the moment, and for the last six years, I do twelve-hour days in the studio and then drive two hours and do a gig. That’s six days a week, sometimes seven. So it’s a job, but I’ve never thought of it as a career. I think there is a big distinction between the two, really…I’ve never been interested in careers, and music, to me, was always something that was about discretion, not about careers.”

Would you like to signpost anything from your production past? A few things that you feel people should have, especially for the newer converts?

“I think I had a stage two years back of really hating everything I did early on, ‘cos it was so naïve and I could see everything that was wrong with it. But then I was listening to some stuff the other night - I listened to some old tape when I used to play music on Kiss - and I was playing a lot of my
productions. I’m actually beginning to like their naivety and roughness. It’s really weird ‘cos all my favourite music is really rough and badly played and usually badly recorded…so why shouldn’t I get the same enjoyment from my own rough, badly recorded, badly played music? You know what I mean? So yeah, I really like the My Bloody Valentine ‘Glider’ EP that I did, that’s quite a good early one. Any of the work with Primal Scream, obviously, has gotta be up there. And ‘Dexter’, the Villalobos remix on the CD, is one of my favourite things I’ve done in the last few years, ‘cos its not actually a remix. We couldn’t get the parts from him, so it’s us doing a cover version, taking a slightly different angle on things. We did it as a band, just kept playing the riffs over and over. I thought the bassline was pure Joy Division. So yeah, I’d say My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and then the Villalobos cover are three things people should hear to get a grip on what I do.”

Labels and Production is the next one. Of course there’s Warp…

“Yeah, we’re on Warp, and most of our output up until the last album has been pretty electronic based. But for the last album we decided to change it. We didn’t get rid of the electronics, it’s all written electronically then recreated live in the studio. It was just…I think what we do now it’s not…a step back but everyone has said that it sounds like Sabres [of Paradise, Andrew’s previous band]. It does, but I just think…I mean, it’s still rough and ready, and still sloppy, but I just think the production and the music quality and the skill behind it… In fifteen years I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned how to make things rough and how to make things sloppy and how to make things immediate. I’m making music now that I was trying to make fifteen years ago, and I’ve actually reached a place where I’m probably the happiest I’ve been making music since I started. But that’s not to say that I’m satisfied, I’m never satisfied. Even the stuff I really like, I can still go back and pick holes in it. But I think that’s what drives people on. If you’re satisfied and slightly happy with what you’ve done, you’d - well I know I would - get up and do something else. But the fact remains that there’s still more music to be made and there’s still so much more work to be done. It’s the same with DJing, I’m never totally happy. I can have a thousand people screaming but I can always get back home and go, ‘well that mix was a bit shit’, you know what I mean? I think the fact that I pick holes and the fact that I’m a bit of a curmudgeon, works mainly to my disadvantage (laughs), but sometimes to my advantage, you know what I mean? It was funny: for years I did have a reputation for being rather unpleasant. And I probably was. But it was just a defence mechanism. I think if you go on the attack, you’re always slightly unhappy with yourself and what you’re doing…I use my curmudgeonliness for artistic reasons now, rather than just to upset people and make girls cry.”

You never want to stop DJing?

“Yeah, I do actually, usually at about six on Saturday when I’ve just got up, six in the evening, and I’ve got to get a really banging techno set together (laughs) although all I want to listen to is dub or something, or something a little more laid back. But even then it doesn’t…once I’ve passed that sort of barrier…I mean, it is hard work, but I never lose interest because if you have a good weekend DJing, you go into the studio on Monday full of really good ideas, rhythmic ideas. And you have a good week in the studio, which means you have a good week in general. It’s kind of like a train that keeps rolling, I couldn’t do one without the other. To be honest with you, the last couple of years I have thought, in the back of my mind, ‘what would happen if I gave up DJing or cut it right down?’ And then I thought ‘no, I can’t do it!’ As hard work as it is sometimes, it’s so helpful to the studio side of things to hear other people’s music, play it, kind of deconstruct it, and be blown away. You’ve gotta have that - people constantly raising the bar – and that’s what I like about playing other people’s music. When you get back to the studio in the week, you know you’ve got to exercise really high standards and high quality control. All the time, when I first started, I kind of…the quality control wasn’t all it should be. You know, I was a little bit arrogant. I was thrown into it, a young kid in the suburbs, and in a matter of months there’s these people telling you you’re the best thing since sliced bread. It can go to your head a little bit, so the quality control suffered. But as I got older and a little bit wiser, I realised I had to be on my game and not slack, and not be self-centred. I got to sit there and think ‘is what I’m doing (whether it’s playing records or making them), is it as good as what other people are doing?’ It’s a constant process of looking at yourself, whether you’re DJing or making music.”

What do you think of Fabric?

“To be honest, without sounding too cheesy, it’s one of my favourite places to play in Europe because it’s run well, everyone’s really helpful, and everyone’s got a love of music. Judy [Griffith]’s love of music is what makes the club so good. I don’t want to use the word ‘commercial’…but it is quite a commercial club, ‘cos it’s big, it has to have the commercial sensibility in the way it is run. But that never overshadows the artistic input that everyone puts into it, I mean it’s the perfect combination really, it’s good business and good artistic taste.

Are we the third way?

“Yeah, basically! And it’s a good blend of people that go down there, y’ know, everyone from like, sort of extreme trainspotting techno heads through to people that may have passed by and gone in on the off chance. And what you put on is just of such high quality. I mean, we get in e-mails all the time from people going ‘I just passed into Fabric to see whatever’, ‘cos they were tech house fans or something… ‘We wandered into your room… and what the fuck is that music?’ It’s a really good, open-minded crowd, listening to good music on a good system. You know, you can’t be more perfect than that, really.”

The last topic is ‘The Future’. Which, imminently, means you singing!

“Yeah, can you spot the weak link in the Two Lone Swordsmen setup? (laughs) I’ve always wanted to do live stuff, but live electronic music is usually really tedious. If I see another man hunched over a laptop, there’s going to be ultra-violence, I’m telling ya! You know, there’s very little physicality in live dance music, and obviously with our last album being very live, there was no danger of it being two blokes hunched over a laptop. So we decided to get a band together, and thankfully we’ve all known each other ten or fifteen years, it’s not like I’ve booked in session musicians and played the record to them. I think what can happen if people go down the live route with live musicians, is lose the band dynamic. All they’re doing is recreating. I won’t name names, but I’ve seen certain acts and they’re good, they’re all right, but you just know exactly where...there’s no dynamic. The best groups, the best live groups…like Primal Scream, when you watch them, you think the whole thing is gonna fall apart around your ears any minute, but it never does, it always keeps you on the edge. So hopefully that’s what we’ll achieve when we play live, it’s that kind of tension that you don’t get with preset, laptop, live music. But it’s always nerve-wracking singing. I’ve not sung for twenty years. I was in bands when I was a kid but…look forward to seeing me being pushed on stage, with a big pole or something, to get me up there. Then again, that kind of nervousness and that kind of tension will hopefully contribute to the music. I get nervous and I get scared every time I’m about to play records, but I think that edge is what… I dunno, it’s what being alive is about, is it not? Once things start getting easy, I always get a little bit bored and want to do something, anything else. So hopefully, I’ll remain petrified for the entire tour, with people thinking ‘Fuck, this is gonna collapse at any minute’, and it never will. I think that’s what we’re going for.”

Anything else to mention? Any projects?

“No, not really, like I say, again, it’s back to not treating it like a career. I’m quite happy, you know, if in ten years people like you still want to take me into a bar and ask me dumb-ass questions (laughs). I’d be quite happy if people are still that interested. I find it quite flattering that people are interested. I did go through a stage of being a bit, again, a bit arrogant and I didn’t want to talk. And then I thought ‘I’m not really ashamed of my past’ and I just want to keep on doing this. Yeah, I just want to be sat around somewhere talking about myself (laughs). Enough about me, let’s talk about me! Did I say my arrogance has subsided? Oh, I’m sorry!”

Tune of the Day......Sil-Windows

Olav Basoski

Born and raised in Haarlem, The Netherlands, and a descendant of a Polish soldier, Olav Basoski (b. 14/10/1968) is one of the biggest names in dance music. He started his career as a DJ when he was just at the age of 15. In 1987 he bought his first recording equipment and he started to produce his own music. Olav made more than 100 records but not always as 'Olav Basoski'. He used a lot of pseudonyms like Sil, Bruce Webber, 6 Bells All, Mellow-Dee Project, The, and World Series Of Life. In the past Olav Basoski worked together with other producers, like Erick Eerdhuizen AKA DJ Erick E and René ter Horst AKA DJ Zki.

The Rhumba Club

How do you describe a truly unique club that has been around for 20 years changing like a chameleon through the years as new and old enjoy the entertainment that is called The Rhumba Club. The unique blend of music through the years kept this clubs reputation as one of the best club nights in Scotland and at some points in it's life the best in the UK.

The start...

The Rhumba Club first appeared on the dance club scene on a Friday night in February 1991 at Roxannes nightclub in Perth Scotland. Wayne Dunbar and Zammo, under the banner of Floatation Perceptions, were the promoters and founders with Zammo taking up the part of resident DJ. At this moment in time Tayside had no real Club night where you could go and hear house music for an entire night, properly presented as a club night. Many things attracted house music lovers to the Rhumba for some it was the music, others the scene and others the ambience. One thing which shone from the start was how this was a distinctly different club night. Word spread fast and every night began to sell out.

Time for the DJs...

Around July 1991 for reasons unknown the club moved to Fat Sams in Dundee where it began to introduce the most up and coming DJs to the Rhumba faithful. Names to grace the club at this point were Justin Robertson, Andrew Weatherall, Paul Wain, Slam, Steve Bicknell, Nipper, Jacqui Morrison, Harri, Parks & Wilson, Jon Da Silva to name but a few. Zammo held residency pumping out the best in Balearic beats while the guests each week brought their house music blend to the club creating a truly Balearic club. The club also developed a huge loyal following who came for the music, vibe and to see a guy called Higgins who became a clubbing legend with his Rhumba antics. Incredibly within 3 short months DJMag had named the Rhumba Club No1 in the UK in it's monthly charts. MixMag would follow that up with awarding The Rhumba the title Best Balearic Club 1991. The last night played at Fat Sams in Dundee was the First Birthday party in February 1992.

Moving direction towards super club...

Again upheaval hit The Rhumba and it wasn't until April 1992 that a venue was secured for the future of the club. The move to the Citrus Club in Edinburgh raised a few eyebrows not least as the Rhumba fan base now had a 60 mile round trip to visit their club. Dance music was changing and the demand for quality clubs, music and a safe atmosphere was in demand. The Rhumba moved away from being a weekly promotion to a monthly promotion. The Rhumba began it's stint at The Citrus Club with the line up of Gaerth Somerville, Steve Bicknell, Zammo and Paul Wain on Friday 03/04/1992. With such a growing reputation the Rhumba was able to capture the cream of club DJs to its monthly nights. With the emergence of Cream, Ministry of Sound and Back to Basics down south the dance scene was reaching new heights. Most of the top club DJs of there time managed to squeeze an appearance in at the Rhumba from Alistair Cooke, Craig Walsh, Kelvin Andrews, Rad Rice, David Holmes to Dave Seaman and the guest DJs from the early days at Fat Sams flocked back as well. The Rhumba lasted for 3 years at the Citrus Club finishing in 1993 with the Christmas Festivity starring John Digweed, Rad Rice, Paul Wain, Zammo and Gareth Sommerville.

Super Club...

What started as a one off in 1993 with the Rhumbasaruas Rex began a 3 year stint at the Arbroath sea front Ballys nightclub which could hold 1000+. The Rhumba had now ascended to superclub status. It commanded the biggest crowd in Scotland and the biggest DJs made there way there every 2 or 3 months as the club night went from monthly to quarterly. DJs that came were the biggest in the business with Jeremy Healy coming at his Ibiza peak, the master himself Sasha with his Northern Exposure night and Paul Oakenfold just after his acclaimed Radio 1 Goa essential mix. Being a super club opened up avenues to attract the superstar DJs like Sasha, a DJ who was long overdue to play at the Club and really should have been there in the early days. In 1994 after 4 years at the top the Grand Finale night was announced and Rhumbateers young and old descended on the Flicks nightclub in Brechin. It seemed like the end, and for some it was, for others it had been a long time ago and for others it was only beginning. It was announced as the end but just like a phoenix from the flames the club night moved back to where it all began. In 1995 the Rhumba used the state of the art Ice Factory nightclub in Perth to hold it's 4th Birthday party. In 1995 Club Metro would once again open it's doors to the Rhumba crew who would keep coming up until the start of 1996 where a change in direction would see it permantly move back to it's roots.

Back to its roots...

The Rhumba took no time at all in 1996 to be convinced that the brand new Ice Factory nightclub in Perth with it's state of the art design was the place where The Rhumba club could flourish again with new and old. It had already held a few club nights under The Rhumba banner but had always kept it's ties with The Metro. With around a capacity of nearly 1000 the club was reintroduced to the Perth landscape and the club night changed to add a host of DJs at each club night. The nights were fresher more artistic feel to them. The club had maybe lost it's cosy feeling of the Roxannes/Fat Sams era but it had grown into one of the strongest commercial nights out in Scotland. The Rhumba held many a club night throughout 1996 to 2009 until the Ice Factory shut it doors in 2009. This was unfortunate for The Rhumba as in 2008 and 2009 it began to move from "best of" nights with Zammo and Michael Kilkie to once again attract the top name DJs in the business like John Digweed, Dave Seaman and the likes. It may have been the end of the Rhumba at the Ice Factory but a familiar friend was witing just round the corner to allow the club a new lease of light.

Back to its roots part 2...

The Rhumba came full cirlce when in October 2009 it reurned to a very different Fat Sams in Dundee to take up a qaurterly residency. It had been 16 years since The Rhumba had been on overnight sucess at the original Fat Sams and it picked up where it left off all those years ago with Orbital opening up to a rejuvenated nightclub which was now twice the size. With the always popular Christmas Festivity planned for the end of December another era beckons for rrrrRhumba.

The Music...

One thing that has always been strong has been the music. Back in 1991 the only place you could here the tunes Zammo laid down was in his club. The guest DJs back then simply didn't come to Scotland very often and it was an honour for them to grace Dundee with their talent. Aberdeen had the Pelican club and Glasgow had the Tunnel or Slam nights but the Rhumba was different in that it didn't stick to a music code like the others mentioned. You could go to the Rhumba where one DJ would play American Garage and then the next hit you with Techno and then Zammo would hit you with what ever was in his William Lows plastic bag. Early days it really was a ground breaking club. It's move to Edinburgh seen it establish a more house music scene but it still was never afraid to ask the Techno master Steve Bicknell to do a turn. In Arbroath it tended to be a younger crowd who filled the place, or maybe it just seemed like that as there was double the amount of tickets available now to the club night. The music was probably at it's most consistent here with Sasha and Oakenfold laying down tunes. Some will say that the original cosy, "every knows your name" atmosphere had been lost by then and that it simply became just like every other club night. This is maybe true but it still kept the crowds coming back. When it reappeared in Perth it just hit the big time. The Ice Factory club was superb and the DJs attracted really did make this night one that no clubber of any age could miss. The Rhumba now has found its city roots again and big things beckon for the music as in Fat Sams it can still attract the big name DJs as well as paying homage to the classics. Fat Sams, Dundee is where you can still enjoy this unique and enduring club.

Tune of the day......Sub Sub-Space Face

My god.........its full of stars......

Todd Terry

Born 18th April 1967 in Brooklyn, New York, pioneering American house producer & DJ, Todd Terry is one of the producers who helped to define New York's house music during the 1980s. Terry's productions can be described as a varied collection of samples blending the sounds of classic disco, the more introspective Chicago sound pioneered earlier in the decade, plus plenty of hip-hop attitude and sampling piracy.
Much of Todd Terry's early work in the late 1980s is considered a milestone in the development of both progressive and modern deep house. Todd Terry has been responsible for releasing two of the most respected crossover remixes of the house era: "I'll House You" by the Jungle Brothers and "Missing" by Everything But The Girl by the mid 1990s.
Among his fans, Todd Terry is known as 'Todd the God', 'God Terry', 'Todd Godrry', 'Godd Gerry' (or, occasionally, simply 'God', because he might be a Five Percenter, but this is unconfirmed).
Todd's tracks "Something Goin' On" and "Keep on Jumpin'" were both UK Top 10 hits as well as US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1s, with the vocals provided by Jocelyn Brown and Martha Wash. Freestyle diva Shannon was the featured vocalist on the Top 20 hit "It's Over Love" in 1997.
In 1999, Todd Terry released "Resolutions", successfully embracing the then-still avant-garde drum 'n' bass aesthetics.
Terry has used several aliases such as Swan Lake, Orange Lemon, Royal House, Black Riot, CLS, Masters At Work (2) (although he later gave this moniker to Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez & Louie Vega in 1990), Dred Stock, House Of Gypsies, Lime Life, Hardhouse and the Gypsymen.
Todd Terry became one of the best-paid DJs in both Europe and the United States. He normally performs on four turntables, mostly playing his own tracks.

Todd's Discogs page

Dj Pierre

Back in the day when acid was just a tab, DJ Pierre was holed up in his bedroom inventing a sound which would impact on the music scene forever. In 1986, ’acid house’ was in its infancy when DJ Pierre picked up a 303 and the infamous “Acid Tracks” was born.

Not many artists in the history of dance music can list Carl Cox, Diesel (X-Press 2), Junior Vasquez, Danny Tenaglia, Michael Mayer (Kompakt Records), and Tom Stephan as fans. Not many can claim responsibility for helping kick start the careers of Felix Da Housecat and Roy Davis Jr. Not many can lay claim to giving birth to a genre and pioneering a sound that had the whole world dancing and imitating for over fifteen years. DJ/Producer/Remixer, Nathaniel Pierre Jones AKA DJ ‘Wildpitch’ Pierre is a rare breed. An artist who’s considered a mentor to many of the ‘A’ list DJ fraternity, old and new, and one man who continues to stand strong in an industry that’s had its ups ‘n’ downs.

From the days of ‘Phuture’, Pierre’s highly successful guise with fellow squelchers Spanky and Herb J – and their epic release‘Acid Trax’, to his biggest hit ‘The Horn Song’, featuring Barbara Tucker, his solo projects with David Morales, Felix Da Housecat and his stint as Head of A&R at Strictly Rhythm, DJ Pierre is a force to be reckoned with. After a bit of a break to get prepped for the ‘Afro Acid Project’, his very first artist album due for release in January 2006, DJ Pierre is back and ready to show the world just why house music was worth shouting about in the first place.
DJ PIERRE “BOX ENERGY” TRACK

With a new management team behind him, Zoo Management, the company responsible for housing talent such as Masters at Work and Jazzy Jeff, a new deal with stateside distribution ‘King Street Records’ for his very own DJP Records – look out for the next release due out October 24th 2005, ‘Paris Collection feat. Hanna Hais (Feel Sexy)’ – and gig requests from every corner of the globe, including the infamous Mysteryland Tour in Holland, DJ Pierre is firmly back on the map.

“I feel a renewed sense of direction in my career. I’ve never had so many positive things in place at one time like I do now. With Zoo management as my managers, and King Street behind me as the distributor of DJP Records, I can be hands off enough to create and make the music I love. I am very excited about being head of my own label (DJP) and the opportunity to make my first full album due out in January. I am humbled by what’s happening.” – DJ Pierre

DJ Pierre’s ‘Afro Acid Project’ will explore all sorts of styles and sounds, playing homage to his acid roots, whilst showing his innovative perspective on music today. The first track off the album will be a remix of ‘I Followed You’, a classic wild pitch filled track that only Pierre could pull off, containing a sexy hypnotic acid b-line, flashing hats, sultry female vocal whispers and strings so good they’ll have the attention of the hairs on your neck. The original mix of ‘I Followed You’ is out now onResopal.

DJ PIERRE’S TOP 10 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Getting the 303 and making “Acid Tracks’ with Phuture. (1985)

• The night Ron Hardy played “Acid Tracks”. It was the first time we (Phuture) realized we had made something people loved. (1985)

• DJing at Diamond Corps (Lil Louis’s company’s) event at the Bismarck Pavillion in Chicago. I knew at that moment I had arrived as a DJ because of the energy the crowd was giving me. (1986)

• Moving to NY from Chicago. It was a good decision. My career continued because of it. Before I moved, the scene in Chicago was dying, so I took a leap of faith and kept things moving. (1990)

• Having my first hit solo record as DJ Pierre, while creating another signature sound. The creation of the Wild Pitch sound came about with a track called “Generate Power”. It was also my first Strictly Rhythm release. (1990)

• Going to England. It was the first time I had DJ’ed outside of the US. It was the first time I saw just how huge acid and house music was. (1990)

• My A&R debut for Strictly Rhythm Records, signing their biggest vinyl selling hit” Follow Me” by Alyus. It was a project I discovered. (1992)

• Discovering a new trick with the equalizer on a mixing board using it to work the sounds of sampled drum loops. People referred to this later as filtering. As far as I know this technique was first used on a song I did called “Master Blaster”. No one had heard of it before then. People were always asking how I did it. (1994)

• My biggest hit, ”The Horn Song”, featuring Barbara Tucker. Louie Vega (NY) was very instrumental with this song. With this project I discovered how to fit in live musicians with the Wild Pitch sound. (1998)

• My second biggest anthem “Switch 2001″. This song is special because everywhere I went everyone told me how much they loved it. It had a countdown and each time I played, despite location, folks always counted down with the track. Never failed. Dave Morales impacted this song also. I later worked with him on ”Make It Hot”. (2001)

Here's Pierre's Website

Tune of the day......Evolution-Metropolis-Sasha's Piano Dub.....

Nuff said.......

Tune of the day - Night Writers - Let the Music (Use You)

just beautiful...the sounds of a new age....

The spark....

Heres a link to Craigs Rhumbalicious mix that led to us hooking up again after a good few years. The conversation (of sorts) on the page is the first we had had for longer than I care to remember - the fact that we didn't have a clue who each other was still makes me chuckle.....Andy Smith figured it out, and well......you know the rest....

This mix stirred something that had been bubbling under for a long time within a lot of people, and is the spark which lit the Going Back To Our Roots flame.........download and enjoy at your leisure..... in your leisure wear... (",)

click the link below - once on the page to download, right click and 'save target as'

BPS - Sowing The Seeds.....

Another offering from the Land of Baxter… a lot of the tunes that i managed to get my sticky mits on that rocked the Rhumba… ahh memories… Zammo, Wayne, Jimmy Mac, Fila Trainers, John Richmond, Michiko Koshino Aihorns, Scorecards, Weatherall, Justin Robertson, Xmas Fancy Dress party, Steve Bicknell, Paul Wain, Michael Kilkie, Graeme Park, Jacqui Morrison, Bus from Chevvies, Raffling tablets on the bus, Ricky and Scott Preston, Dennis the Menace, Police raiding Fat Sams, Pogoin till you dropped, Ice poles and Vicks inhalers….. The Stuff of Legend.....

1.SLD-Getting Out-Justin Roberstson’s mix
2.TC1991-Berry
3.React 2 Rhythm-Intoxication
4.Robbi Magno-Vocalizado
5.Sonic Solution-Music
6.Movement 16-Um Owe Ey Ah
7.Blow-The Cutter
8.Spectrum-Brazil
9.De Melero-De Melero’s Groove
10.Members of the House-These are my People
11.Underground Resistance-Riot
12.Tronikhouse-Uptempo
13.E Dancer-Velocity Funk
14.Soundclash Republic-Hyptnotic Eastern Mystery
15.Trancemission-Trancemission (Rok da House)
16.Loleatta Holloway-Do that to me-Future Sound of London remix
17.Band in a Box-Get Dynamite
18.Westbam-Hold me Back
19.Doi-oing-Nasty Feeling
20.The Visions of Shiva-Perfect Day
21.SIL-Windows
22.Gat Decor-Passion
23.49er’s-Move your feet-acapella
24.Phantasia-Inner Flight

Paul Wain @ Kinky Rhythm Mar 93

Here's a mixtape from GBTOR guest and all round top bloke PAUL WAIN when he played @ KINKY RHYTHM in Aberdeen on 27th March 1993...think it was @ Simpson's....

side 1
side 2

enjoy........

Tune of the day - Lionrock - Packet Of Peace

Go Robbo go!!!

Tune of the day......Blow-The Cutter

Here we go......seen the roof get ripped off a few clubs when this monster of a tune gets dropped ......

Tune of the day - Primal Scream - Don't Fight It, Feel It (Scat Mix)

A Roots classic!.....

Tune of the day.....Phuture-We Are Phuture

Phuture (now called Phuture 303) is a Chicago-based acid house group founded in 1985 by Spanky, DJ Pierre and Herb J. The group's 12-minute track "Acid Tracks" (1987) is one of several recordings that lay claim to being the first-ever acid house record.
Acid Tracks featured characteristic bass lines from the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer—which was actually abused to produce sounds uncharacteristic for a bass guitar it was designed to emulate. The track raised to popularity at DJ Ron Hardy's Music Box club in Chicago and has since been re-pressed many times.
Phuture released a great number of acid tracks now considered classics, usually as 12-inch vinyl maxi singles. Its only albums, however, have been Alpha & Omega (1997)—the first release since the group renamed itself Phuture 303—and Survival's Our Mission (2003), the title referencing the opening lyrics of the 1988 single "We are Phuture."

Tune of the day....4 For Money-Its a moment in time

Monster of a tune..........

Billy Nasty-Journeys By Dj's vol 1

Stumbled across this on Youtube.....the first ever legally sold mixtape that spawned many a classic mix...Billy nasty's seminal mix for JOURNEYS BY DJ.....get yir lugs round this one.....