Armando presents Robert Armani - Armani Trax

Armando presents Robert Armani, "Circus Bells (Armando's mix)" (YSI link)

Armando presents Robert Armani, "Circus Bells (full length original mix)" (YSI link)

Okay, I lied about getting back into the swing of things. Seriously though, I'm getting back into the swing of things, starting....NOW! It's been a minute since we dropped any house music here, time to remedy that grave error. What better way to remedy it than with a stone cold Chicago acid house classic, Robert Armani's "Circus Bells"?

This one's the B side of the Armani Trax EP, a classic Dance Mania record, released in 1990. Longtime readers know that that label has guided so much of my listening, taking me from acid to ghetto in the span of an insanely productive decade. "Circus Bells" is one of the label's most famous and from the first peals of the bell on Armando's mix, you know you are in for something serious. It's like a call to arms or something for the dancefloor. After the last bell sound fades away, you get a devastating, 10 minute long acid tinged monster. Deep bass drums, hi-hats and clapping snares lay the foundation for a siren-like synth melody that worms its way into your head and will make you freak out. The original full-length mix is a few minutes shorter and lacks the bells-opening. You win with either one.

DJ Milton - Scream

DJ Milton, "Scream" (YSI link)

DJ Milton, "House Clap" (YSI link)

DJ Milton, "Saturn" (YSI link)

I kinda like this first week of resumed posts being a overall look at what we do here and the music you can expect, i.e. Pound for Pound music. Long-time readers will know that there might be no important stuff than the Dance Mania label for me here. Dance Mania is one of the labels that helped shape house music since the mid 1980s, started right in the genre's birthplace, Chicago, Illinois by Jesse Saunders. It is responsible for lots of seminal tracks, including Housemaster Boyz and the Rude Boyz of House's "House Nation" and Lil Louis' "Video Clash."

These tracks are not on that level, but they are nice examples of that mid90s DM sound. Here's some standard DM stuff from the mid-90s, as the acid washed away and the ghetto sound emerged. DJ Milton fits the anonymous dance music producer profile to a tee, releasing more than 25 records in a 4 year period and then disappearing (as far as I am aware). Most of them were on Dance Mania, this Scream EP was the first, in 1994. It's what you expect: raw, dirty and jacked." These three tracks are the A-side, the lesser of the two imo. "Scream" is furious as fuck, a raging drum machine track complete with porno screams that give it that nastiness one associates with ghettohouse. The other two are strictly instrumentals, drums galore that might work great with an acapella over them. Just sayin'. Check "House Clap" for a nice acid moment around the 2 minute mark.

Yeah! Dance Mania! House music! Yeah!

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House - House Nation

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation" (YSI link)

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation (The International Remix)" (YSI link)

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation (Track'n The House)" (YSI link)

Oh lordy, we're getting right back to full speed here at Pound for Pound. I contemplated starting off slow, maybe throwing up some new stuff that the kids are going nuts for now. But, fuckit, I know that my readers are the best in the world and they don't need to take it slow, we can jump right back into the thick of things.

Let's head right to the deep end, back to Chicago, mid-80s, one of Pound for Pound's favorite times and places for a classic track from The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation." For the record, the Rude Boy House is the one and only, Farley "JackMaster" Funk, a.k.a. Farley Keith. This one dropped on our favorite label, Dance Mania, in 1986 and would soon become an anthem in the UK rave scene of the late 80s. This one's like a template for the sound we like here - sharp, primitive drums, a sick, kinda eerie bassline and a sample repeated over and over, a man's voice imploring the "House nation". It's all stripped down, consisting of few parts, but yet it sounds so damn perfect to my ears it's hard to believe how they can make it work. It has these peaks and valleys throughout, perfectly using the tempos

The remixes aren't quite at the level of the original, but are damn good in their own right. The International Remix is a shorter trip with some random new samples thrown into the mix. It doesn't have the peaks and valleys of the first one, it pretty much goes hard and fast (that's what she said) for the beginning, then slows down to a crawl towards the end with a final race to the finish line. The Track'n the House version is very similar to the original, the drums are switch up a bit, sounding a little less bassy and little more metronomic. For the most part, the original should do, sounds a little darker and filthier, but your mileage may vary.

Thanks to James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, who played this at PS1 on Saturday and reminded me how amazing this song is and how it kills the dancefloor. Messrs. Murphy and Maloney killed it, hope you didn't miss it. Okay, that's our first post in the return. Like riding a bike, people, like riding a bike.

Traxmen - Give The People What They Want

Above is a great shot of some graffiti scrawlings on a wall in Quito, Ecuador, taken by Pound for Pound correspondant JH-B. Note the Jessica Te Amo, proof that she already has fans in South America.

Gant-Man, "Still Bangin" (YSI link)

Gant-Man, "Umn" (YSI link)

Gant-Man, "Untitled" (YSI link)

I saw hell this weekend and it was the L train running on one track. Ugh, body to body, 5 deep on the platform, my worst nightmare right now, ahead of breast reductions and a McCain presidency. When I'm feeling down and shook like this, I turn to one of Pound for Pound's spiritual homelands, Chicago, specifically the Chicago of the 80s, when the house sound took shape.

Let's go to our favorite source, Dance Mania Records, for today's dose. These tracks come from Dance Mania 257, released in 1998, the final record the Traxmen would put out under that name, one of the final releases documenting the second wave on the label, i.e. the ghetto/booty house period, led by DJ Funk and Robert Armani. This followed the acid house one of the 80s, which the Traxmen had a say in as well.

Give The People What They Want features one side of tracks by Eric Martin, the other by Gant-Man. The Gant-Man ones are my favorites, classic minimal jack trax with male and female call and responses, filthy lyrics. G-d, the drums on all three are so sick. Love the slow build-up on my favorite "Still Bangin'," with hi-hats, claps and rare keys. It's when that huge bass drum comes in that things get real serious real fast. This one is relentless, a runaway train, the vocals only add to it amazingly, as they fly out at a furious pace. "Umn" continues the nice use of a synth, which a nice melodic line lying on top of the banging below. Finally, there's the weed anthem "Untitled," which has a little extra bounce on the drums, a great combo with the male-female back and forth about getting free weed. All in all, a pretty essential B side, a must have for those who love the booty sound. Yeah!

Traxmen & DJ Lil' Tal - Flava In Ya Ear

Traxmen & DJ Lil' Tal, "Trax 4 Da Women" (YSI link)

Traxmen & DJ Lil' Tal, "Don't Bite It" (YSI link)

I wasn't sure if this was the right choice to start the week. On the one hand, I can't think of a better way to kick off the weekdays than with a Dance Mania ghetto house classic. On the other hand, I don't want you to peak on Monday afternoon, unable to regain the euphoria and joy that you will soon feel when you download the above tracks. I decided to go with this Traxmen/DJ Lil' Tal post with the acknowledgment that I will need to step my game and provide a few more peaks this week.

These two tracks come from the Traxmen & DJ Lil' Tal Flava In Ya Ear EP, Dance Mania 083 for those who care about those things. It's another essential release from the Chicago label, a good example of the early 90s sound that they developed, which moved away from the earlier acid stuff. One listen to "Trax 4 Da Women" and your life is better. It's that simple. This is minimal house at its finest, a 909, vocals and attitude are more than enough to make me (and hopefully you) lose my shit. Traxmen and DJ Lil' Tal employ a sort of verse and chorus thing, where a few words find themselves being repeated at the end of a verse, like ride, shake and whip. Wait for the 2+ minute mark when the kick comes in, oh boy, so massive and orgasmic I don't want else to say. "Don't Bite It" is much busier, with more percussion, some keys and two different sampled vocals coming in to up the ante. I feel like this one would work better in the club setting, a little less experimental and more in line with the booty music we all know and love.

I'm going to be in transit today, heading back to Philadelphia to hang out with MR. That means no party post tonight, but lots more coming tomorrow before I head back home.

More Surkin Remixes

Paul Johnson, "Hot (Surkin remix)" (YSI link)

Justine Electra, "Killalady (Surkin remix)" (YSI link)

I wanted to put up one last post for Surkin as the year comes to an end, as he's had a huge 2007. I had to put up this remix of a Paul Johnson track, as it perfectly encapsulates some of Pound for Pound's main interests: Paris electro remixing a Chicago house legend. Johnson is a stone-cold legend, from his early releases on Dance Mania to his classic albums on Peacefrog to his remixes of people like Green Velvet and Joey Beltram, dude has had a hand in the development of house music for more than a decade. Anyway, really rad to see Surkin given a chance to remix "Hot," since he has always seemed like one of the Paris wave most in tune to the booty past. The remix is good, not his best by any means. This one took a few listens for me to get into, it has sort of a twisted jackin' sound that isn't immediate.

I actually much more prefer his remix of Justine Electra's "Killalady" from her 2006 album, Soft Rock. This may be one of the best I've heard from the boy wonder, a raging-yet melodic electrotech track that works from the first laser synth sounds. Surkin sounds much more forceful on this one, with the sharp drums, claps and bass. Love the breakdown about a minute and 45 seconds in, where the song sounds like it battery quickly dies, then bang! Sonic assault. As I've said, you need to cop the guy's entire catalogue, Turntable Lab seems to be a great source for it. Or check the Arcade Mode store for the non-US people. I really can't wait to see what 2008 holds for the young man.