It is known that Pack Jam from The Jonzun Crew is an electro boogie classic, dated back in the early 80's. What is not known (at least to me) is that the original version of the track was named Pak Man!
THE JONZUN CREW - PAK MAN (LOOK OUT FOR THE OVC)
The Jonzun Crew was originally started as a brothers duo, consisting of Michael Edwin Johnson (Michael Jonzun) and Larry Curtis Johnson (Maurice Starr). Their first production can be traced back to 1978, the funk track Bout Time I Funk U for Maurice.
The introduction of Roland drum machines in early eighties and the burgeoning hip hop parties influenced the brothers to produce Pak Man (Look Out For The OVC). The OVC acronym stands for Outer space Visual Communicator, a made-up term coined by one of Michael's partners, in order to sound futuristic.
Pak Man was released in 1982 by Boston International Records (a label set up by the bros, originally named Johnson Brother Records). A little after in the same year, a distribution deal secured an additional release with the new name (Pack Jam) by Tom Silverman's Tommy Boy Records (the production home for Afrika Bambaataa, too).
Michael Jonzun, who was the head honcho of the group, has stated that Pak Man was recorded in 1980, preceding Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock. Personally, I do not know if such claim is truthful (maybe ol' Jonz is too bitter about not receiving the same recognition Bam did). However, the Jonzun Crew was the first electro boogie act to release a LP (Lost In Space) on Tommy Boy. During the time of its release, the group was supported by the third Johnson brother (Soni Jonzun), Steve "Stevo" Thorpe and Gordon "Gordo" Worthy.
After the production of the second studio album Down To Earth (1984), Michael froze the group, in order to create his own work (Money Isn't Everything). A final and unsuccessful revival of the group was made in 1990 through the third album Cosmic Love.
Lost In Space is a notable space-funk album, indicative of how hip hop sounded before Run-DMC. Tracks like We Are The Jonzun Crew, Space Cowboy and Ground Control maintain the spacey feel and show the potential of electro funk.
Back to Pak Man: According to Michael Jonzun, the inspiration for the track originated from an old guy with thyroid cancer. The hole in his throat caused him to speak in a creepy manner, which was reconstructed in the track through the Roland SVC 350 vocoder.
P-A-K. M-A-N. Pak Man!
P.S. Happy New Year!
Πέμπτη 28 Δεκεμβρίου 2017
Τετάρτη 6 Δεκεμβρίου 2017
Tune #84: Lambda - Hold On Tight
When in hard times, there is no other option than to hold on tight...
LAMBDA - HOLD ON TIGHT (ORIGINAL MIX)
RED was a short-lived electronic music label (1995 - 1999) based in Netherlands. A funny thing about this label was the formula used for the aliases of the signed artists: the letters of the Greek alphabet!
The Greek letters were distributed among the following producers:
- Letters α, ζ, μ, ξ, π, ρ, τ, υ, φ and ψ were occupied by Vincent Kriek (I can only assume that Vincent is the founder of the label, using the most letters!).
- Letters β, γ, δ, κ, σ, ο and χ were reserved by Dutch versatile artist Alex Dijksterhuis, mostly known for his pseudonym Jamez.
- Georgio Schultz used letter ε.
- René ter Horst (better known through his collaborations with his partner in crime Gaston Steenkist) used letter η.
- Theta (θ) release was actually Sonic Evolution - Electron (it seems that Oliver Wischerath deviated from the strict naming).
- Letter ν is missing in the Discogs database, so no information is currently available.
- The remaining letters ι, λ and ω were given to today's artist Edwin Keur.
Influenced by the electronic dance music of the early eighties (hip hop/electro-boogie/swingbeat), Edwin Keur created with the help of his friends an illegal radio station at the end of the same decade. At the same time, he got acquainted with Olav Basoski and Georgio Schultz. In the early 90's the radio station got busted, so Edwin and his friends performed a new program via a legal radio station, at which he met René ter Horst and Gaston Steenkist. In the meantime, he expressed interest in writing his own compositions, so he bought some equipment in order to produce the first tracks.
Hold On Tight was written in 1995 by Edwin as Lambda (λ) and it is undoubtedly the most successful release of RED (1996). Having more than 30 releases in Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, UK, Belgium, Spain and Australia and featured in many compilations & mixes, it is widely considered a club classic.
The original version has a dark and cold feel, just like it was generated in a factory! Additionally, it samples the vocals of Martha Walsh from her song Give It Back To Me. There are many remixes of the track, but the most prominent reprise belongs to the trance masters of that era, Nalin & Kane (1997)!
LAMBDA - HOLD ON TIGHT (NALIN & KANE REMIX)
The dark atmosphere is still present in this version. The track slowly builds with a intro which underlies the storm to follow. Finally, the energy is released by the outro synth which transforms the record to a club dynamite!
Nowadays, Edwin Keur seems to be inactive in terms of music production, but he occasionally DJs in events held in Netherlands. However, Hold On Tight is still remembered by the club community for its energy!
LAMBDA - HOLD ON TIGHT (ORIGINAL MIX)
RED was a short-lived electronic music label (1995 - 1999) based in Netherlands. A funny thing about this label was the formula used for the aliases of the signed artists: the letters of the Greek alphabet!
The Greek letters were distributed among the following producers:
- Letters α, ζ, μ, ξ, π, ρ, τ, υ, φ and ψ were occupied by Vincent Kriek (I can only assume that Vincent is the founder of the label, using the most letters!).
- Letters β, γ, δ, κ, σ, ο and χ were reserved by Dutch versatile artist Alex Dijksterhuis, mostly known for his pseudonym Jamez.
- Georgio Schultz used letter ε.
- René ter Horst (better known through his collaborations with his partner in crime Gaston Steenkist) used letter η.
- Theta (θ) release was actually Sonic Evolution - Electron (it seems that Oliver Wischerath deviated from the strict naming).
- Letter ν is missing in the Discogs database, so no information is currently available.
- The remaining letters ι, λ and ω were given to today's artist Edwin Keur.
Influenced by the electronic dance music of the early eighties (hip hop/electro-boogie/swingbeat), Edwin Keur created with the help of his friends an illegal radio station at the end of the same decade. At the same time, he got acquainted with Olav Basoski and Georgio Schultz. In the early 90's the radio station got busted, so Edwin and his friends performed a new program via a legal radio station, at which he met René ter Horst and Gaston Steenkist. In the meantime, he expressed interest in writing his own compositions, so he bought some equipment in order to produce the first tracks.
Hold On Tight was written in 1995 by Edwin as Lambda (λ) and it is undoubtedly the most successful release of RED (1996). Having more than 30 releases in Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, UK, Belgium, Spain and Australia and featured in many compilations & mixes, it is widely considered a club classic.
The original version has a dark and cold feel, just like it was generated in a factory! Additionally, it samples the vocals of Martha Walsh from her song Give It Back To Me. There are many remixes of the track, but the most prominent reprise belongs to the trance masters of that era, Nalin & Kane (1997)!
LAMBDA - HOLD ON TIGHT (NALIN & KANE REMIX)
The dark atmosphere is still present in this version. The track slowly builds with a intro which underlies the storm to follow. Finally, the energy is released by the outro synth which transforms the record to a club dynamite!
Nowadays, Edwin Keur seems to be inactive in terms of music production, but he occasionally DJs in events held in Netherlands. However, Hold On Tight is still remembered by the club community for its energy!
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