Disco

I just started working on a remix for a friend's band, and I wanted to do it in a disco stylee (cause it just fits the song), so I've been sifting through what little disco I have, and I've kinda been digging it.
I don't usually listen to much disco, but there's something cool about the earlier, funkier, bongo laden disco stuff. Seems like the good stuff is from around 1975. (?)

Can anyone give me recommendations on some cool disco records to look for?
Not like Donna Summer or Village People, please (nothing against them, but we've all heard that stuff already.)

salsoul shit. and i think westside(pretty sure) records is a funky ass disco label

Its funny how in its homeland disco is seen as a bit . And exactly same score with house, its seen as a bit homo from what i hear.. Wheras in Europe its nothing like that, except for the european hard house NONSENSE.. Its the US stuff generally thats quality, but its not popular over there ?
Jus as long as theres hot joints comin outta NYC & Chi Town I dont care if ya clubs are full of village people style hip shakers.. Im lovin & always have loved Disco & houzz music, AND Hip hop, theres room for all

Ps Im sure Featherboy will throw some more lables to look for as far as old disco.. Salsoul and Westend are both legendary too though, Bing knows his ish

The TK label from Miami. Don't forget Philadephia International. Prelude was another of the big NY labels but a lot of stuff came out on the majors too. Atlantic, Polydor, CBS etc. all put out some great stuff. In many ways it is the sound of an era rather than a particular label or artist .... bandwagon most artists jumped on or were pushed on. For example Curtis Mayfield's "Heartbeat" album on RSO ...... not a great Mayfield album but a good little disco album as he was working with a lot of the Philly & Salsoul guys like Norman Harris, Alan Felder, Ron Baker & Earl Young ..... (all names to look out for.)

For a harder, rougher, trippy take on NY disco you need to look for anything produced by Patrick Adams, Peter Brown or Greg Carmichael. They all did things for the bigger disco labels like Salsoul & Prelude but they put out tons on their own labels ....... the thing is they seemed to make up a new label name & logo for every other release: P&P, Heavenly Star, Red Greg, Sound Of New York USA, Golden Flamingo. There are two great recent compilations of this stuff called Disco Juice, from the UK label Counterpoint.

I know what you mean Itchyvinyl. When I tell people I spin house and disco the first thing people think of is Village People and Donna Summer. I hate that commercial disco K-Tel sh*t!
In Chicago we called disco "Deep House" for the deeper obscure disco sounds from groups...
WOOD BRASS AND STEEL, ASMYTH, DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER, BUMBLE BEE UNLIMITED, CAROLYN CRAWFORD, FIRST CHOICE, LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY, THE LOVE COMMITTEE, SOUTH SHORE COMMISION, TEMPEST TRIO, PAMELA TODD AND THE LOVE EXCHANGE... Man I could go on and on!

JUKE 179r wrote:FIRST CHOICE

let no man put asunder!!!!

splinter wrote:Its funny how in its homeland disco is seen as a bit . And exactly same score with house, its seen as a bit homo from what i hear..

Yeah, there's the gay culture aspect of it....which I actually have no problem with. But, there's still kind of a residual resentment against disco because it was seen as the white-izing of black funk music. Once disco caught on, it pushed all the real funk out of the way...and eventually just became corporate product, with every white pop or rock act being forced by labels to put out disco flavored songs - in the process watering down the cultural potency of black dance music.

That's why I'm asking for the earlier shtt, circa '75....in hopes that it might have more soul intact.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep my eye out for some of those artists/labels.
Feel free to keep the names coming, if you guys know any more.

A few years before they did all the dressing-up & got famous, The Village People did a really good album just called Village People. It just has four really long tracks with lots of breaks & breakdowns.

Donna Summer did a great record with John Barry ...... as in John Barry who did all the early James Bond soundtracks ....... The soundtrack to "The Deep".
It is pretty weird with John Barry experimenting with sequenced rythmns behind all the orchestral strings.


Motown .... another label that put out great disco tracks in the '70s like the Ashford & Simpson productions for Diana Ross.
Eddie Kendricks: "Date With The Rain", "Goin Up In Smoke" & "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind".
The Originals: "Down To Love Town"
Carl Bean: "I Was Born This Way"

A little secret. Black Moon (beatminers) on their first album, used alot of disco records. They just slowed them down and filtered the sh!t out of them. Make a beat with that technique I a bet it sounds alot like Enta da Stage/ Da Shinin vibe.

docmartin120 wrote:A little secret. Black Moon (beatminers) on their first album, used alot of disco records. They just slowed them down and filtered the sh!t out of them. Make a beat with that technique I a bet it sounds alot like Enta da Stage/ Da Shinin vibe.

Man, that album is perfect!! (Well except the VERY out of place "Act Like You Want It") I aspire to create that grimey style of music

Cerrone

Bee Gees

def cerrone, the french claim that he defined disco, apparently the first to put a massive and constant four four kick drum that dominates the mix, if this is true modern dance music owes a lot to this man.
french music in general rocks

garth-e-tribe Cerrone ..... apparently the first to put a massive and constant four four kick drum that dominates the mix

Haven't heard him credited for this before. The four-on-the-floor kick was really pioneered by philly drummer Earl Young on one of the early Harold melvin epics like "Don't Leave Me This Way" or "The Love I Lost". He wanted to do something different from the four-on-the-top snare that had dominated '60s soul like Motown, leaving both hands free for more detailed work on the hi-hats. Plus at the same time the newer Motown producers like Norman Whitfield were experimenting with the similar ideas in tracks like "Law Of The Land" for the Temptations.

Certainly Cerrone is a major talent & a pioneer of really long tracks, as in 15 minutes disco excursions. He definately defined what became the European slant on disco.

Most of the early Hip Hop started with them using disco beats.

cerrone was a drummer, producer and engineer
i dont think he pioneered the drumming style, more the recording of the style, recording the kick redicioulsy loud and powerfully.

i read this in a book about French music, it could be a bit biased towards the french but