THE MASTERMIX DANCE PARTY
2nd SATURDAY OF THE MONTH 6 – 8PM
It’s the golden chalice of desire.
The final frontier of any musical legacy.
That which is timeless.
There’s four steps to creating musical legacy:
One
Never conform – playing it safe will never yield a masterpiece.
Two
Prolific output – stay ahead of trends and keep one’s aesthetic funky.
Three
Uncompromising vision. Creating magic requires music to transend the ordinary – to be another realm.
Four
Capture the moment. Revive that spirit of new dance music in the UK in the late 1970s, 80s, 90s …and beyond.
You’re at the World’s End. We are all Too Fast to Live, too Young to Die.
Break out of the the box.
BROADCASTING THE UNDERGROUND
MY MOODBOARD: I was inspired by downtown New York of yesteryear. The creativity of the 1980s stemmed from the freedom of radio DJs to play what they wanted. Frankie Crocker helped open up commercial radio to hip hop, broadcasting the sounds of underground DJs throughout the five boroughs. Mixing was also introduced at this time, as radio DJs like Tony Humphries (Kiss FM) and Merlin Bobb, Boyd Jarvis (Saturday Night Dance Party, WBLS) and Mr. Magic turned their airtime into full, seamless soundtracks, where one song effortlessly blended into another. “You’re expressing emotion and you’re receiving it back”, said Merlin Bobb, “even if you’re not in the club and you don’t see it.”
Best Labels: Capitol, Island Records and Warriors Dance
SLEEVE NOTES
Embrace the music
Bathe in the rich history of a pioneering record label
For 75 years, the Capitol Records Tower hasn’t just made music, it’s been music. Looming over Hollywood like a giant stack of vinyl records, no building on earth screams ”music business” louder.
It’s maze of subterranean echo-chamber recording studios–designed by guitar legend Les Paul – has hosted virtually every major recording artist of the past seven-and-a-half decades, from Frank Sinatra to Miles Davis, The Beach Boys to the Beastie boys, The Beatles to Megadeth. More so than almost any other music label, Capitol Records’ story is the story of modern music.
Now, in celebration of its 75th birthday, that story has been squeezed into a coffee table book, all lovely pictures and words – a 492-page ode to music and architecture critics, as well as hundreds of images from Capitols extensive archives. Here’s to the next 75 years. ________________________________________________
Is Island Records boss Chris Blackwell the most interest person in the world?
Lost Bob Marley tapes found in a hotel basement in tattered boxes destined for the refuse dump, with Bob Marley written all over them, recorded between ’74—’77, we talked to the sound technician, Martin Nichols, who helped restore them.
Here’s what happened when he came into our bureau . . .
Thirdly, my own label Warriors Dance, which Prodigy plagiarised (though they were made to pay, the press headline ran “Making a song and Warriors Dance about copyright law”)
Fave quote…
THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS A CRUEL AND SHALLOW MONEY TRENCH, A LONG PLASTIC HALLWAY WHERE THIEVES AND PIMPS RUN FREE AND GOOD MEN DIE LIKE DOGS.THERE’S ALSO A NEGATIVE SIDE
– Hunter S Thompson
Lawrence (Kid) Batchelor has recently spent the past 15 years teaching and coaching young people; both as a school education psychologist/learning mentor and a UEFA Hat-trick Officer. Throughout the 80s and 90s his work as a DJ and broadcaster saw him travel the world and collaborate with artists including Soul 2 Soul and Tony Humphries. Lawrence has also presented several radio programmes for BBC and Mi Soul Radio before joining Solar and was Creative Director at the launch of superclub Fabric in 1999. Lawrence combines his creative experience as a Cultural Historian, Music and Art Critic with his passion for the learning and professional development of young people.
Competencies/Specialties:
• extensive music knowledge stretching back to the 60/70s
• a wealth of presentation and reporting skills
• a multimedia producer – with a good grasp of what makes engaging content that our audience will want to share and talk about
• sound communication skills, and the ability to work constructively with other editorial figures
• a Creative thinker and a team player who works very closely with the production and studio teams
• someone who is happy to listen to – and take on board – editorial direction
