1993
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Murphy
cat malogen
1993 was the year this little gem came out. Posted before but better to do a track and period probe to explore why DiY‘s lp Strictly 4 Groovers is still being listened to today
First up, very little distance between Sheffield and here, masses of cross-pollination between o.g football madness (Forest at Hillsborough) to family ties to musical development exchanges as studios bloomed. One sound system even upped sticks and moved entirely from Sheff to Nottingham because the more southerly city was even more committed to house. It seemed like Nottingham’s growing band of free party people were developing a trajectory no-one could see and, with Warp releasing the lp, the label’s reach and reputation gave the work enough exposure and credibility I don’t think could’ve happened through smaller ltd run labels. Not that it needed to when DiY’s crew were out up and down the country at large, with Dales up t’road, constantly hosting weekly - at times week-long - knees ups
Second, despite the sleeve design, look at the roster and what certain members went on to do. The lp starts with Firenze’s ‘Orange is Orange’, complete with new age samples of pure rambling abstraction (just like this review) and a light bubbling almost-acid array impossible to ignore. Charles Webster on Overview, nuff said. The closer, Cassiopeia, might be one of the more accomplished compositions in UK house during said period. It sounds half-Italian style-wise - trippy, dreamy, harmonically adventurous but shows more restraint imho as Italians would’ve snuck a diva in somewhere. Heard as a set-opener, a closer “one more!”, on pickled comedowns and even at a mate’s funeral. Nail hasn’t stopped either. Have a rummage for more recent Goosefair Island releases to hear how much range the bloke has
Thirdly, it could’ve proven impossible outside of a collective’s efforts to galvanise and centralise so many moving parts, when the bulk of graft was Thursday-Tuesday-based. I’m just glad everyone involved pulled their fingers out long enough to get it finished. Probably a distillation of 4-5 years listening to anything/everything of note, seeing which records ‘worked’ live, how, why etc. No-one did house quite like DiY as they could shift across moods with their roster of jocks (rip Peter and Simon). Studio booms lead to studio busts but for a short while, alongside EM:T, T:ME and even Earache, creativity seemed comically abundant for a mid-size provincial M1 pit stop people only referenced through Robin fuckin Hood, the university, maybe B Clough and/or Torville and Dean (get tae fuck if I’m spellchecking Torville)
Hence, picks to keep are distillations themselves of just over 31 and a bit years listening to their many nuances
Vickers Street massive
and the jewel in the crown
Not often a revolution pitches up at your door and this lp consolidated DiY’s musical position in 93, a year which saw so much incredible music arrive nationally and internationally you were spoiled every mission to Eastern Bloc. Anyway, back to the quotidian grind ..
First up, very little distance between Sheffield and here, masses of cross-pollination between o.g football madness (Forest at Hillsborough) to family ties to musical development exchanges as studios bloomed. One sound system even upped sticks and moved entirely from Sheff to Nottingham because the more southerly city was even more committed to house. It seemed like Nottingham’s growing band of free party people were developing a trajectory no-one could see and, with Warp releasing the lp, the label’s reach and reputation gave the work enough exposure and credibility I don’t think could’ve happened through smaller ltd run labels. Not that it needed to when DiY’s crew were out up and down the country at large, with Dales up t’road, constantly hosting weekly - at times week-long - knees ups
Second, despite the sleeve design, look at the roster and what certain members went on to do. The lp starts with Firenze’s ‘Orange is Orange’, complete with new age samples of pure rambling abstraction (just like this review) and a light bubbling almost-acid array impossible to ignore. Charles Webster on Overview, nuff said. The closer, Cassiopeia, might be one of the more accomplished compositions in UK house during said period. It sounds half-Italian style-wise - trippy, dreamy, harmonically adventurous but shows more restraint imho as Italians would’ve snuck a diva in somewhere. Heard as a set-opener, a closer “one more!”, on pickled comedowns and even at a mate’s funeral. Nail hasn’t stopped either. Have a rummage for more recent Goosefair Island releases to hear how much range the bloke has
Thirdly, it could’ve proven impossible outside of a collective’s efforts to galvanise and centralise so many moving parts, when the bulk of graft was Thursday-Tuesday-based. I’m just glad everyone involved pulled their fingers out long enough to get it finished. Probably a distillation of 4-5 years listening to anything/everything of note, seeing which records ‘worked’ live, how, why etc. No-one did house quite like DiY as they could shift across moods with their roster of jocks (rip Peter and Simon). Studio booms lead to studio busts but for a short while, alongside EM:T, T:ME and even Earache, creativity seemed comically abundant for a mid-size provincial M1 pit stop people only referenced through Robin fuckin Hood, the university, maybe B Clough and/or Torville and Dean (get tae fuck if I’m spellchecking Torville)
Hence, picks to keep are distillations themselves of just over 31 and a bit years listening to their many nuances
Vickers Street massive
and the jewel in the crown
Not often a revolution pitches up at your door and this lp consolidated DiY’s musical position in 93, a year which saw so much incredible music arrive nationally and internationally you were spoiled every mission to Eastern Bloc. Anyway, back to the quotidian grind ..
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
🔥🤪
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
Bizzy b's stuff is insane, let's have more of him
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
Benny Bunter
Well-known member
version
Well-known member
william_kent
Well-known member
The Martian - sex in zero gravity - Mad Mike vs Eddie "flashin" Folwkes!
like Hendrix vs Miles on doves
I tried to buy every Red planet release but never quite plugged the holes once they started releasing obscure 7 inches
william_kent
Well-known member
no, I put that one on because I do some 60s vs 90s comparison, lolwould you be mad if I told you i like the other two tracks on there better?