Tune #117: Latitude - Es La Rosa

At the start of the 90's UK club scene was already experiencing the explosion of acid house, which was emerged at the Second Summer of Love in '88. Meanwhile, the first generation of progressive house tracks has begun to surface with the support of legendary labels such as Guerilla & Limbo Records, championed by producers William Orbit & Leftfield and played in clubs by Sasha & John Digweed, prior to their stardom. Tunes of the genre that have been also presented in the blog are the following:

• Leftfield - Space Shanty
• Quivver - Saxy Lady
• Evolution - Jaywalkin'

Early progressive house tracks had the mixture of elements for a chugging dancefloor filler; dubby / groovy basslines accompanied by spacey & atmospheric synths & long chords. Back to 1991, a hidden artifact of that era can be found:

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (PIANO MIX)

LATITUDE - ES LA ROSA (GUITAR MIX)

Latitude was a short-lived project of art students David Hill and Ellen McAuslan, based in London. The duo was one of the first signings for Nude Records, mostly known for releasing the first works of English alternative rock band Suede.

Their first release was a white label for the discographic company, possibly influenced by the rising popularity of progressive house. Es La Rosa is a balearic prog tune, presented in two different editions; A-side contains more vocals with a leading piano melody, while the B-side is dubbier combined with a lead guitar! Both versions contain the classic stabs which are easily recognizable in the music style.

A nice trivia for the track is that it was the first vinyl release for Sean Johnston (performing mixing duties), curator of the ALFOS events along with the late Andrew Weatherall. IMO, it shares similarities with the remix of the latter for Sly And Lovechild – The World According To Sly & Lovechild (1990).

Little information can be found on the Internet regarding the group and its members. Only available information at the moment is that Ellen McAuslan continues to work in the art business as an animator and art director. I wonder if the group members are aware of their contribution to the early progressive music; the way it should be!

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tune #116: Kano - Another Life

I always thought that italo-disco was a bit cheesy for my ears. On the other hand, italo tracks with space disco & electro elements... that's what I am talking about! Many examples fit in this category and one of them is certainly Kano - Another Life!

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (INSTRUMENTAL VERSION)

Kano was an ensemble of Italian musicians and producers Luciano Ninzatti (guitars), Stefano Pulga (keyboards) and Mateo Bonsanto (production), established in Milan during late 70's. The production trio released 3 studio albums during the first half of the 80's, accompanied by vocalist Glen White in the last one. 

Kano's music can be characterized as a fusion of disco, funk and R&B elements, but the group were not always stuck on the commercial italo disco formula (cheesy music & vocals). During their initial steps, they made heavy use of repetitive loops & arpeggios by utilizing electronic drum machines, vocoders and overdubs. The first works were pivotal to the evolution of electronic dance music, whether it was hip hop, electro or house music.

Their debut song was the international hit "I'm Ready" (1980) with various releases worldwide, while its distinctive bassline was been sampled by various electronic music tracks throughout the years. The track was included in their first self-titled studio album, along with other compositions such as "It's A War", "Now Baby Now" and "Cosmic Voyager".

Three years later, the project released "Another Life", which was another successful single worldwide. The heavy use of synths (Prophet 5 for bassline, Yamaha DX7 for bells/chords and Minimoog for the lead melody) along with the soulful vocals of Glen White made the track a huge success! Just like their first single, it was sampled in various tracks; notable examples are Lifelike & Kris Menace - Discopolis and Junior Jack - Life.

Kano disbanded as a production team in the middle of the 80's. However, vocalist Glen White used the project name in some of his first solo releases, in which the original members did not participate. After a very long time (2021), Kano regrouped for the production of a new studio album, titled "No Cents... Go Funky!", mostly oriented in funky compositions (as the album name implies).

Last but not least, you may enjoy the official promo video of the track, as feature in German TV show "Formel Eins":

KANO - ANOTHER LIFE (OFFICIAL PROMO VIDEO)

Tune #115: A Mountain Of Rimowa - No More

Two weeks ago I witnessed the ALFOS experience at a mini club located in the basement of Crust, a local pizzeria in Athens. The event was hosted by Deaf Ears Disco Cult, a local project by Greek DJs Christos Aggelopoulos and Thanasis Besinis, and featured the acid house veteran Sean Johnston, founder of A Love From Outer Space (ALFOS) collective, alongside the late Andrew Weatherall. Whoa, what a night to remember!

Sean Johnston was born in Bridlington and grew up in a rural area of East Riding. While in his late teens, he moved to Hull for studies. This is the city where he started his DJ career, promoting and hosting local night shows. In the spring of 1988 he travelled to London in order to follow a career in the music business. Working as booking agent, he attended various nights at London clubs and experienced the blow-up of the acid house scene.

One of the defining moments in his journey is undoubtedly the acquaintance with Andrew Weatherall through Jeff Barrett, the label manager of Heavenly Records, in the early 90's. In 1994 he released a single alongside sound engineers Jake Davies, Matt Nelmes & Rich Johnstone for Sabre of Paradise, a label established by Lord Sabre himself.

The origin of the ALFOS parties can be found in 2007, when Johnston gave Weatherall a car lift to Brighton. The latter listened to a CD mix made by the former, focused on slow-paced, nu-disco psychedelic sound. What had been initially created for personal entertainment purposes was materialized to commercially available compilation Watch The Ride (2008), which was well received by the audience. Following the compilation's success, fellow DJ Nathan Gregory Wilkins invited the duo to play music at The Drop, a new club in London, and consequently the first event was realized.

The musical manifesto of the ALFOS experience incorporates dance tracks laid out in many different guises, but never exceeding 122 bpm; a refined distillation of music genres, from progressive house & techno of the 90's to cosmic disco, krautrock and psychedelic electronic music.

Apart from his DJing duties, Sean Johnston has graced electronic dance music with his own productions & remixes, most notably under the Hardway Bros moniker. The project was initially created in co-operation with Jake Davies and Rich Johnstone and is currently run by Johnston solely.

Last but not least, one of his latest aliases can be found in the below YT video; A Mountain Of Rimowa with track No More (in original version and remix by Max Pask)

A MOUNTAIN OF RIMOWA - NO MORE (ORIGINAL MIX)

A MOUNTAIN OF RIMOWA - NO MORE (EACH OTHER REMIX)

Closing his DJ set at Crust, I shook hands with Sean Johnston and thanked him for bringing the ALFOS experience. It reminded me of the same vibes with Andrew Weatherall at SNFCC in 2019...