Back To Mine with Roland Leesker

Thanks for letting me contribute to this great series. I did it the the way I would play some records for us if  you were at our home with my family, some good pasta and fun. Bon Appetit!

 

Larry Heard – Love´s Arrival (Full Album)

My wife Lilly and I are both deeply into music, though she & I have quite different musical tastes. This album fully satisfies us both and by now we must have played it a couple of thousand times during the last 20 years of our mutual way through life. It is a perfect album and combines everything adorable there is in House music.

 

Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)

“Trigger happy policing. Panic is spreading…“. This song was created in 1971. Did anything ever change since then in the U.S.A.? Such a powerful song and message!

Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

 

Curtis Mayfield – Pusherman

This song was released in 1972, the same year I was born. Curtis Mayfield was an extremely smart and intelligent artist. His criticism expressed in these lyrics is as current as ever. Aren´t we all very well masked Pushermen?

Curtis Mayfield ~ Pusherman (1972)

 

The Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1972 Single Version)

Another song from the same year. I think I heard it for the very first time at the legendary “Cookies“ club in 1989 in Frankfurt, played by the resident DJ, an Austrian bon vivant named Heinz Felber. Heinz was one of those “educating & entertaining“ DJs, combing through different styles and genres within the same night and always with a joker in his back pocket.

The Temptations Papa Was A Rolling Stone 1972 Single Version

 

David Bowie – Let’s Dance

As you can hear from my selection so far: Yes we dance at home before, during and after dinner too J I do really love the cultural and social message in this video and with our COCADA project at Get Physical in Latin America we are trying to create more awareness for the Indigenous culture too! David Bowie = Hero!

David Bowie - Let's Dance (Official Video)

 

Laid Back – White Horse/Sunshine Reggae

I love Laid Back! “White Horse“ actually was the B-side of their most famous record “Sunshine Reggae“. They had such an incredibly funky sound, and many of us back then thought they were black musicians; even Prince who follows up with Erotic City later, sounded a lot like this. With Lars van Trier´s “Baker Man“ parachuting one shot movie they also do own the very best music video of all time. A beautiful example that music knows no race nor borders!

Laid Back - White Horse [Official Music Video]

 

Prince – Erotic City

Laid Back laid the basis of the groove and Prince added his balls to make this maybe the funkiest record of all time. If you don´t groove to this, you are dead. I was told that the original “Fuck Until The Dawn“ version was played on the radio in 1984 in the USA without getting censored for almost a year before they got to it: until then the censors thought Prince was singing “We Can FUNK Until The Dawn“. What a SMF!

 

Grace Jones – Pull Up To The Bumper

When our son was about six years old we took him to a festival in London with Grace Jones and Massive Attack headlining. I had him on my shoulders going totally bonkers with the crowd the moment Grace Jones pulled the bumper up. His musical taste has developed a lot since then – right now he is abusing my soundsystem to play some tunes from Aminé – but he still has some Grace in his playlists. I am a very happy daddy!

Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper

 

 

Massive Attack – Tear Drop

Maybe the most beautiful song I have ever heard.

Massive Attack - Teardrop (Official Video)

 

William de Vaughn – Be Thankful For What You Got

Shantideva once observed that while we do not have enough leather to cover the whole earth so that we never prick our feet on a thorn, actually we do not need to. As he went on to say, enough to cover the soles of our feet will suffice. If I would be forced to give away all my records but one, this is it!

https://m.YouTube.com/watch?v=KDTXljIqxRE

 

Roland Leesker – Believe (Get Physical Music)

Long time house stalwart Roland Leesker is next up on Get Physical with a fantastic new single entitled ‘Believe.’ Get Physical co-owner Leesker has been active since the late eighties, soon emerging on the Frankfurt scene and going on to work in record shops in New York, producing with Ricardo Villalobos, spinning at the Wild Pitch Club and turning out vital and hardhitting house tunes of his own. 2017 was the last time he appeared on the label with his stellar ‘Thunderstorm’ and this new offering is another fine statement of his skills. The excellent ‘Believe’ is a classically informed but forward thinking house track with warm dub chords propping up the groovy house drums. Big spoken word snippets fill the airwaves with tension and the synths build to the sort of rapturous peak that always makes the dance floor explode.

Roland Leesker - Believe

Out Now.. Roland Leesker – Believe (Get Physical Music) Cat No: GPM509