| 10 BEST DOWNTOWN NEW YORK CLASSICS
Richard Sen takes a look back at ten of his favourite records from the Big Apple's heyday...
I’ve been buying and collecting records since the late-'80s. The sound of early-'80s New York has always been a massive influence and inspiration for me, and for the music I made as Bronx Dogs, and more recently as Padded Cell. I was too young to have been to New York when this scene was actually happening; my first trip there was in 1985, which inspired me to become a graffiti artist, but that’s a whole other story. I’m not saying that I’m an authority on this scene, but I've chosen 10 of my favourite tracks from that period. I’ve left out the well known tracks, as anything by Arthur Russell, ESG and Liquid Liquid would be in my top 10.
01.RAMMELLZEE Vs K - ROB 'Beat Bop' (TARTOWN/PROFILE 1983)
I first heard this on the Streetsounds 'Electro' compilation and really didn’t like it as it was too slow to breakdance to! It grew on me more and more to become one of my favourite rap records. Rammellzee talks absolute nonsense (as usual), but makes it sound funky as fuck while K-Rob’s consructive lyrics are a perfect compliment. The whole sound of the music - violins, percussion - makes this almost avante garde, and the original pressing, with the original sleeve painted by Jean Michel-Basquiat, is worth a fortune.
02. FUTURA 2000 AND THE CLASH 'The Escapades of Futura 2000' (CELLULOID 1983)
The Clash went to New York and hooked up with Futura, the infamous graffiti artist who they asked to go on tour with them. Whilst he was in London he painted a piece under the Westway, Ladbroke Grove, which is widely known to be the first (New York graffiti) piece in England. From then on, the Westway became a mecca and meeting place for UK graffiti writers (myself included) through the '80s. On this track, he raps while The Clash play the music.
03. IRT 'Watch the Closing Doors' (RCA 1983)
Another funky unorthodox rap over an electro beat - about the New York subway system. The video to this track was made up of pictures from the graffiti artists’ bible ‘Subway Art’. Myself and Kris Needs attempted to do a cover version of this but it didn’t have the same buzz so we gave up!
04. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT 'I Need a Freak' (HEAT RECS 1983)
Filthy newave funk! Every track on this EP is about sex. The really famous track is ‘I Need A Freak’, which became an underground hit, and has been covered by Egyptian Lover and Snoop Dog among others. David Payton who wrote the song has recently published a book called I Dreamed I Killed Osama Bin Laden.
05. KONK 'Konk Party' (CELLULOID 1983)
A percussive electro jam from Dana Vlcek who is still making music now on Francois Kevorkian’s label Wave as Abstract Truth. ‘Konk Party’ is one of the first records from this era that I bought, it reflects the Latin influence in New York club music at the time. It has recently been reissued on Soul Jazz records as part of a Konk compilation.
06. BUSH TETRAS 'Can’t Be Funky' (FETISH 1981)
I first heard Weatherall playing this. Then he lent me his copy as we (Bronx Dogs) decided to do a cover version of it. Produced by Clash drummer Topper Headon, this is the punks getting funky! The single features a cool Neville Brody sleeve. Our version featured vocals by Sam Lynham of Gramme, a UK band whose sound pre-figured the punk-funk trend.
07. WIDE BOY AWAKE 'Slang Teacher' (RCA 1982)
A big tune in the New York clubs at the time, produced by Kevin Mooney, former bass player with Adam and The Ants. I first heard Afrika Islam cutting it up on his legendary Zulu Beats radio show, an inspirational hip-hop show introducing the electro sound. I still play this now in my sets and always get asked what it is.
08. TALKING HEADS 'Crosseyed and Painless' (SIRE 1980)
Taken from the classic album ‘Remain In Light’, which was a big influence on the early B-boy sound, this record made even more sense to me when I saw Popping Pete dancing to it on the Toni Basil show! Of course, Talking Heads are a pivotal band for the post-punk, new wave sound and this is not an obscure track, but it’s one of my favourites.
09. DEEKAY JONES 'New York New York' (GLASS 1983)
I used to hear Colin Favor play this on his Kiss radio show in the early-'90s, and it stood out from all the techno he was playing at the time. I only managed to get a copy of it a couple of weeks ago - it’s taken me over ten years to find this record, but it was worth the wait! Every time I play it now, it provokes interest. It’s a great record. Deekay Jones himself is still making experimental music.
10. DAEVID ALLEN 'Alien In New York' (CHARLY 1983)
This track is by Daevid Allen from prog-rock bands Soft Machine and Gong, backed by Bill Laswell and others who later went on to form Material. It’s a real obscurity that embodies the '80s New York sound. It’s an English guy half-singing, half-rapping over a dub-disco groove. Another recent find that gets reactions - it sounds like it could be on DFA now!
Richard Sen's recent twelve-inch, 'Signal Failure' is available now under his Padded Cell moniker on DC Recordings. His 'Tribute To Jazzy Jay' under the Bronx Dogs alias should be bought on site - it's sure fire party dynamite.
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