Fingers Inc – Another Side
This album is a huge inspiration. It’s a perfect blend of movement and melody, and still finds relevance in today’s DJ sets. A timeless classic.
Patrice Rushen – Straight From the Heart
Patrice Rushen can do no wrong in my mind. It was hard to choose a favorite record of hers, but this one has several of my favorite tracks, notably: “Remind Me”, and “All We Need.”
Daft Punk – Homework
I assumed I had bought their other album “Discovery” when I ordered this, great mistake. I realized it had a lot of the tracks I recognized and loved already.
Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star
This record introduced me to a lot of hiphop from 90s NYC. It was the first album where I knew all (most) of the lyrics. My best friend and I blasted this driving around our college town, very very cool.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd is the first band that felt all my own in a sense. I heard “Another Brick in the Wall” and was like ‘fuck yea we don’t need no education.’ I immediately went out and bought “The Wall, ” and soon discovered this record.
SlyFox Records – 001
This record was put out by some friends in Detroit, and I bought it before I knew how to mix, or had turntables. Stripped-back dub techno, deep and as raw as it gets. These guys remain humble even though this record was one of their first and rips up the dance floor, me and my label-mates still keep it in rotation.
Henry Wu – Good Morning Peckham
Henry Wu, i.e. Kamaal Williams, a London-based keyboardist and producer. He has a few group side projects like “Black Focus” with Yussef Davis, but his solo skills really shine on this record. Super jazzy chords, haunting melodies, as deep as the pocket goes.
Hiroshi Satoh – This Boy
80’s Japanese DiscoPop record. I became really drawn to this sound a few years ago. A dive headfirst into digital music making, super rich with effects, an intimate embrace of cyberspace. I’ve become slightly obsessed with recreating the feeling of 1980s Japan in my own music. Japan does the melancholy feeling better than anyone, this album especially.
AIR – Moon Safari
There are countless moments in my life where this album plays the soundtrack. “Le Femme D’Argent” is one of the most influential tracks of my life, and one of the best modern songs ever written.
The Brother Johnson – Light Up the Night
My labelmate introduced me to this album after hearing it sampled in a Justice track. Every track is a hit, super funky disco with a cool blend of rock and synth-pop sounds. It started an ember of curiosity, and I went looking for other famous samples, which in turn helped me discover a love of disco/funk music.
Private Guy – Liquid Sun (Kajunga)
As his alias suggests, Minneapolis-based Private Guy likes to keep himself to himself. What is known is that the visual artist, ceramicist, DJ and producer takes musical cues from old school Detroit and Chicago house. He offers a unique take on those familiar sounds using syncopated rhythms and an endless delta of melodies. After contributing to two various artist releases since 2015, this marks Private Guy’s first full solo outing, and the five emotive tracks all add up to one great story. The brilliant title track introduces the EP with a soft twinkle and a classy deep house groove. Lush melodies and an upbeat bassline lead you through rich chords while spacey reverberations zone you out perfectly. ‘Zipperworld’ is a superb psychedelic journey with more elegant chords and melodious sequences rich in cosmic energy. The track builds to a point of subtle euphoria that cannot fail to overwhelm the dance floor. Showing he has plenty of range, ‘Animals At Play’ then crosses over into a dark, hip-hop-influenced universe with sparse 808 drums and lone bell sounds. It is beautifully eerie and captivating. Last of all, ‘Phase 2: Memories’ closes down with late-night basement juke beats and a twist of contemporary percussion.
Out Now… Private Guy – Liquid Sun (Kajunga) Cat No: KAJUNGA008 Format: Digital, vinyl
