Turk & Fin's Hearty Dance Tales

Published on 2020-12-18 00:00:00 by Loose Lips

gyargh, ok ok ok, what time is it? FUCK its 2pm no wayyyy wow I really went hard at that zoom party last night, I think I might have shown my weed collection to a bunch of my colleagues, ah well twas all in good spirit. Those same good spirits are the type I like to remedy the hangovers I get from naughty spirits, so Im just gonna go ahead and format this picks article from best DJ buds Turk & Fin . These cheeky monkeys (who are central to Berlins Raiders record label and Some Lush Frequencies crew) sent us this hearty playlist of tunes that they have in their physical record collection and also the collection of memories recorded into their pink squidgy brains, the very same memories that give purpose and direction to life. (all spotify-able tracks are gathered here)Omar S needs no introduction but perhaps his accomplice on this track, Simon Black, is not as recognisable. Thats because its actually a tongue-in-cheek alias of Omars and is personified on the artwork by him in a blonde wig striking various sassy poses. The tracks lyrics are a nod to Miss Tony, the Baltimore Club legend and drag queen who sang about “taking your boyfriend” on Frank Skis Tonys Bitch Track. Well Simon Black goes a step further and sharply exclaims that he “f*cked your boyfriend”, and wont hesitate to “do it again”. We played this one at the end of our RAIDERS showcase at Griessmuehle, on the clubs closing weekend and it absolutely blew the roof off the Silo.This is a great Funk & Soul chop and one you may have already heard as it became a bit of a hit, being featured on a few disco house charts and compilations. Danny is a class DJ/Producer and has been a friend of ours ever since he approached us at a gig and gave us an early version of this track on a USB stick. We were skeptical at first but played it anyway and of course it went down a treat! A few years later (after a lengthy legal saga regarding sample rights) the track was finally released on Athens of the North and Danny kindly gifted us each a copy. The record rarely leaves our bag thanks also to the excellent B-side: Frazelle Today Is The Day (Linkwood Chop).This French vocoder-laden disco tune caught our eye when digging thanks to the presence of Afrika Bambaataa on the credits, but it was another name that led us to include it here. It came to our attention when we played a gig in Berlin with Stella Zekri (Shout out Stella, an amazing DJ!) and she told us with a gob-smacked look on her face that she couldnt believe we were playing this obscure record, as her father had written the song. Indeed Patrick Zekri can be seen credited on the label. Small world!The new-wave pioneer of Tangerine Dream fame, Peter Baumann, also had a solo project with which he made a bizarre cheesy anthem, we first came across it in Biceps excellent Beats in Space mix. The track has been a staple in our sets, especially at golden hour (which we define as 10am onwards in Berlin) when everyone is well oiled, so to speak, but fatigued from dancing to heavy stuff all night. At that moment we break out the weird and ridiculous records to restore some joy to the dancefloor. The flipside of the 12-inch has the German version Fremde in der Nacht which is also great.There is a tiny side-street in Dublin, called Leo Street with some terraced houses, a hospital car park and not much else. When we were students we used to session at our friends house there, and when they moved out we took over the lease briefly and turned the small Georgian house into a quasi-nightclub. During these heady days several tunes emerged as classics among our friend group and this old-school House homage by fellow Dubliner Krystal Klear is one of them. Its a beautiful piano track with some soulful, yet restrained, chopped vocals. Perfect for the beginning, middle or end of a set! The flipside From the Start is also a total groover in the same vein.This is just a stone cold classic. Pure hands-in-the-air house enjoyment. Unsurprising really when you look at the label and see Chez Damier with a production credit. Everybody has about two words in the lyrics and thats all that is needed to unify a dancefloor and evoke immediate rave nostalgia. Once again the B-side has a lot to say on this one and we highly recommend Wouldnt Lie (Shouldnt Mix) for a soulful, jackin experience. Fun fact: It came out the same year Turk was born, 1992.Edmondson helped us get started in Berlin and is a regular co-conspirator of ours at our Some Lush Frequencies events. The original version of this is great but Dauwds remix is just a subtle banger which we like to break out for easing a party into dance mode after the warm-up. Were always excited to hear a new Edmondson tune as he has an ear for detail in his productions that few others do. The Geordie genius has also put out a lot of sick stuff on his own imprint “Lissoms” which we highly recommend checking out.This is a proper deep, rolling groove. Quite minimalistic, but it struck a chord with us because its stripped-back beat and mesmerising vocal are a perfect bridge between more complex and musical records. Sometimes simplicity is beauty and that definitely rings true here. We acquired this record from a mysterious seller named Roman whose “shop” is a spare room in a tiny shack within the courtyard of a Kreuzberg apartment building. He cleaned records and chain-smoked cigarettes while we delved through his collection and eventually pulled out this gem. He clued us in to the fact that Robot Man is actually one of the many aliases of Richie Hawtin. The first set we ever played in Berlin was at Humboldthains “Techno Tischtennis”: a combination open decks / ping pong night and we remember testing this out to an energetic response. The J. Acquaviva “Flare for Disco Mix” also deserves a mention as its a quirky, funky interpretation which is in stark contrast to the other mixes.Groove Armada But I Feel Good (Audio Bullys Deeper Down Mix) **[not streamable online]**This remix is nothing like the original and is another “Leo St.” Classic. In fact, we played this so much and to such a raucous response that a friend of ours who doesnt deejay bought a record player and a copy of this promo just to hear the tune again, because it wasnt online. We actually lost our original copy but had to buy another cause we love it so much! If you liked Big Beat in its heyday then Groove Armada will have been a staple of your early 2000s diet, and “But I Feel Good” was also a minor chart hit. Audio Bullys, however, turned it into an unrecognisable, deep Garage-House chugger that goes on and on and even features a weird infectious rap towards the end. The vocal sample (sounds like Roots Manuva) ties the whole thing together and makes it truly memorable. It can be tough to mix but we find that the intro lends itself perfectly to a long, teased transition.The Prodigy are another of the Big Beat / Rave heavyweights whose inclusion might have some people rolling their eyes. Indeed their best tunes have been played / remixed / sampled to death, but at a time when breakbeat is being revisited and revived like never before, we thought wed draw your attention to this flavoursome flute foray from Music For The Jilted Generation. It feels like a soundtrack to a funky bank robbery and juxtaposes breaks and piano chords into something surprisingly danceable. The record is also special to us as it was the first LP we ever bought (the 2007 repress that is) and being broke 16 year-olds at the time, we werent amassing records at the same pace we do now, so this bad boy got rinsed daily. RIP Keith Flint.