Dark Entries prepares an album of jazz, gospel and blues on Sylvester's Private Recordings: August 1970 in honor of legendary disco vocalist's 76th birthday. Sylvester is best known for disco, but Sylvester had range. He had range within that range. Private Recordings: August 1970 features the legendary vocalist and icon singing nine songs, mostly standards from jazz, [...]
The comprehensive compilation includes club hits such as ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’ and ‘Dance (Disco Heat)’ A new anthology of music by disco legend Sylvester has been released via Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records. The 26-track compilation, titled 'Disco Heat: The Fantasy Years 1977-1981', is spread over two CDs and features music he released on [...]
By Asiya Ali For this Black History Month US and LGBT History Month, we're celebrating the rich roots of house music and the Black and Queer DJs who helped create it. There's a strong impression that House music has become synonymous with whiteness. This is obviously due to the genre being spearheaded by mostly white, [...]
Interview ‘It gives me peace’: house legends Larry Heard and Robert Owens on winning their Trax legal battle Lauren Martin ‘I know how things can seem insurmountable’ … Larry Heard (left) and Robert Owens. Composite: PYMCA/Universal Images Group/Getty Images; Boaz Arad A successful copyright action against their former label means the celebrated producers can reclaim their back catalogue [...]
Wez Saunders takes over Defected with full acquisition Wez Saunders has acquired dance label and music group Defected, Music Week can reveal. The independent label was launched in 1999 by Simon Dunmore. Following the management buyout by the MD, Saunders has now become CEO of the group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Documents lodged at Companies [...]
When disco music fell out of favour at the dawn of the 1980s, jazz prodigy Patrice Rushen became pivotal in ushering in a new era of post-disco and boogie — offshoots of the cast out genre that James Mtume, Reggie Lucas and Kashif also had a hand in moulding. Under Elektra Records, Patrice would release a string of albums that pushed R&B forward [...]
JAELANI TURNER-WILLIAMS Jaelani Turner-Williams is a contributing news writer for Okayplayer New York underground disco and house music producer and arranger Patrick Adams has died. He was 72-years-old. New York’s music scene has lost an undeniable legend. On Wednesday (June 22), it was announced that Patrick Adams, underground disco, soul and house music producer and arranger died [...]
Exploring the parallels between our world and the one that Kraftwerk proposed in 1981 Kraftwerk’s Computer World Kyle Carney May 10, 2021 | 11:42am ET Memory is subject to corruption, but some of us can still recall a very primitive era for personal computers. In the late seventies, early prototypes included the Apple II, Commodore [...]
https://youtu.be/o3q-cKZX2Og "When I saw Sylvester, my life was altered, my life was changed for the better," Porter attested. "As a Black queer gay man, any glimmer of seeing oneself reflected back at them, through our culture, changes lives." “He crossed over, he was a genderfluid Black man in mainstream music. That hasn’t happened since. There’s been [...]
Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns Sweet Pea Atkinson performing on stage at La Zona Rosa as part of the SXSW Festival. When Chris Blackwell signed Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson to Island Records, he wanted to do more than just make a solo album for the Was (Not Was) singer. "He wanted to make a comic book where Sweet [...]