Musical Mind Marriage

In all the years that we have been rocking & rolling across the capitals clubbing scene and in more recent times when, as Disco Matt, we have been devoting written attention to D.J.’s & their music, we have been very lucky to have come into contact with so many stars of the scene, both here in London and internationally, the list reaching into treble figures. Yet, given all of the names we could reel off, there are a mere handful that we can claim to have drawn incredible influences from and one that we have married musical minds with to produce what is emerging as a superb series of collaborative compilations, the latest launching today. So, to mark the occasion of the launch of “Summer Scorchers”, a ten track triumph that looks set to soar up the download charts (if we say so ourselves), we thought we would devote a special music feature, looking at the musical mind marriage that has created it, along with the incredible influences, without which none of these “Dance-tactic” compilations would be or have been possible.

Dance-tastic Top 20

So, winding back a year or so, we decided that it would be good to create our own chart chronicling the best tracks & compilations of the year, our annual music review starting life in 2009 as a compliment to our now traditional yearly clubbing review round-up. Yet what started as a minnow of a musical reflection quickly grew into something much bigger, a top ten stretching to a top twenty & last year to a top forty of tracks, such was the extent of great music being pushed our way by all the D.J.’s deserved of our devotions throughout the year. And in creating this top forty, a marriage of musical minds was formed, D.J. Brent Nicholls suggesting it would be a great idea if there was a podcast to accompany our chart, the slimming down of the list down to twenty resulting in the first Disco Matt mix, “Dance-tastic Top 20 Tunes Of 2010”.

However, in creating the compilations Brent explained that “….The story is much longer than just that, and what started as a top 40 turned into a top 30 which is now a top 20. These aren’t his top 20 of the year, but are tracks extracted from his original top 40…some tracks, after all, just don’t go together no matter how hard you scrunch, munch, filter and glue. Matt’s eclectic taste is reflected in this compilation and some of the mixes were challenging but created some interesting but successful moments by the fusing of different genres in order to create segways to another genre was all part of the fun…”. And were we impressed with the result or what, the compilation quickly gaining considerable following & racing up Brent’s download figures to claim top spot, no surprise as Brent also commented, “…It quite obvious that many of Matt’s favourites were also my favourites, which I guess defines the word popularity…”, indeed many if not all of the tracks on the mix were lifted from podcasts of his throughout the year.

I Rock, I Sweat, I Dance

So why the collaboration with Brent? And what made this marriage of musical minds gel like it did? Well, for a number of years Mr Nicholls had very much floated our boat across some of the capitals biggest clubs, Crash probably being the first time we saw him play, a whole raft of bars, clubs & events since have elevated him into that handful list of incredible influences that we have deluded to. Furthermore, his compilations never fail to hit our collections, these in themselves spurning some of our favourite tracks, while his funky, disco, uplifting & vocal infused style of sound has found real resonance with us, making our musical marriage matchmaking fit like a glove. Indeed, his compilations continue to influence us, Brent’s latest release finding us land on the last of the ten tracks on “Summer Scorchers”, a crafty re-work of Abba’s “Lay All Your Love On Me”, while we are pretty convinced that the title track will feature either in an upcoming “Dance-tastic” compilation, or in our track chart of 2011. So, it seems appropriate, given his sterling work with our podcasts, that we give first link mention to “I Rock, I Sweat, I Dance”, certainly Brent’s best this year so far and one it seems that he has also drawn influence off some of our choice picks, but nevertheless a marvellous mix that pays homage to the nu-funk, disco & uplifting house genres that we love, so a worthy addition to your collection by going to direct link http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/07/15/podcast-i-rock-i-sweat-i-dance/ & follow the download instructions.

Spring Bloomers

With the musical mind marriage confirmed, or as it was widely reported as “…the biggest collaboration since when Benny met Bjorn and McCartney teamed up with Lennon…” it was inevitable that a second podcast would follow sooner or later & with “Spring Bloomers” that is exactly what happened and as the headlines screamed “…It was tweeted, it was screamed and now it’s here! Brent Nicholls vs. Disco Matt is back!…”. However, while the formula was pretty ,uch the same as the first release, that being the tracks picked by us & then the mixing completed by Brent, there was a marked shift in the incredible influences on the slections chosen, one particular podcast having dominated the first quarter of the year, very similar to its maker whose live performances at our most favourite afterhours club (well our favourite club of all time actually) very much reflective of his colossal compilation. But, with the selections made, Mr Nicholls applied his funky twist to some of the tracks, while a couple had been lifted from one of his own podcasts, thus making “Spring Bloomers”, a collection very much representative of the sounds that were sending us into a spin, both on the dancefloors & on our travels, although was labelled as a showcase of what we thought would be “…springs next biggest house tracks…”.

Steve's Summer Smash

Having deluded to another incredible influence, to our favourite club & to a dominant podcast, putting all three together could result in only one individual, that being Steve Pitron, his “Afterhours 2011” compilation finding immediate favour, as well as being reflective of the tunes that were sending us onto our now famed emotional rollercoaster rides, not just at beyond, but wherever he played. However, whilst “Afterhours 2011” was looking like a serious contender for our top slot of the year, an even more prolific podcast was to come, “Summer 2011 Vol 1” tipping our scales, tracks “Offshore”, “Waiting For You”, “Starry Eyed” “You Will Remember” & “Pressure” among a packed podcast full of towering tunes that even sent “Afterhours 2011” into the shade. But as if this latest rapturous release could be bettered, Mr Pitron pulled out something truly spectacular with “Summer 2011 Vol 2”, exceeding even his high expectations and without doubt his best compilation to date, not that any of the previous ones were anywhere near tardy and each one an absolute must addition to your collection (if they aren’t in there already), all available at http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com.

Now the third Disco Matt release was very much on the cards, “Summer Scorchers” drawing on the incredible influence that Steve Pitron had exerted over our music machinations throughout the late spring & into the early summer, although with so many tracks ballooning our yearly list close to treble figures, Steve’s two summer volumes would initially make up all ten towering tracks of our latest compilation. So, having secure the tracks, to the mixing press it went, although as Brent mentioned, “…has been the blender for nearly a month with one track or another sabotaging its completion…”, our determination that a particular version of “Lift Me Up” be included, kind of sent the mix off the rails, indeed during a sequence of promotional posts we mentioned that “…,just like Disco Matt’s very existence, the production of the latest podcast in the emerging series of musical collaborations between London’s original party boy and scene favourite D.J. Brent Nicholls, has been something of a rollercoaster ride…”, although to both ours & Brent’s huge relief “…After a reshuffle of tracks, adding and subtracting, re-adding and creating an epic worthy of a Ben Hur movie…”, the track that had caused so much anguish having been discarded from the playlist, plus with “…the most anticipated marriage of musical minds since Benny & Bjorn having successfully cleared a counselling session…” the path was now clear for the compilation to be finalised.

Summer Scorchers

So here it is, the third “Dance-tastic” creation where we have chosen & Brent has mixed, yet is a compilation that oozes the incredible influence of Steve Pitron, every inclusion excepting the final track inspired by his podcasts & his live performances. And whist some of the selections have been given a Mr Nicholls twist, the “Starry Eyed” & “Stupiddisco” versions two notable differences, while amazing artists Pink Fluid take up virtually a third of this, without doubt our best collection yet, no surprise as it reflects Steve’s best too, the Pitron/DM anthem “Stronger”, while a slightly different version here, is a track which simply had to be included, despite so many people having pounced on it after our incredible influence having sourced it at an early(ish) release stage. Therefore, as much as we are immensely grateful for the marriage of musical minds with Brent that has created not just “Summer Scorchers”, but probably & hopefully cementing a recording relationship that will continue, we have to give extra special thanks to Steve Pitron for his musical inspiration of which this podcast is a resplendent reflection.

Now to the download information and “Summer Scorchers” has been released with various options, all of which you can access by going to Brent Nicholls’ website &/or to direct link http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/07/30/podcast-disco-matts-summer-scorchers-2011/, while the previous two podcasts in our short series are also still available to download, “Spring Bloomers” via http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/04/10/podcast-disco-matts-spring-bloomers/, “Dance-tastic Top 20 of 2010” via http://djbrentnicholls.com/web/2011/01/14/disco-matts-dancetastic-top-20-of-2010/. We will also be making both “Spring Bloomers” & Summer Scorchers” available via our Podomatic page, http://discomatt.podomatic.com & our Soundcloud site, http://sounclould.com/discomatt, while further mentions will be flowing via our Facebook pages & in further music newsletter posts via our website.

Incredible Israeli Influence

As for other music mind marriages & incredible influences, there is a new collaboration forthcoming, as we are also joining forces with impressive Israeli Guy Scheiman to produce a one-off compilation where we choose five tracks each & combine them into one podcast, this fusion of genres likely to prove very exciting, our uplifting & disco direction with Guy’s more tech & progressive persuasion sure to produce a compilation to cherish. Having already picked our five tracks, Guy will be gelling them together with his upon return from his vacation, so the result should be out within the next three to four weeks. Looking beyond that, Steve Pitron’s music continues to influence us and we already have some tracks ready for our “Autumn Arousers” podcast which are inspired by him, while with more & more tracks, compilations & mixes being pushed our way, there are a wealth of possibilities at our fingertips, meaning more than ever before “music is the answer”. (DISCO MATT)