Following the success of last years Playgroup ‘Previously Unreleased’ album and its critically-acclaimed run of nine weekly 12′ vinyl EPs, Trevor Jackson has compiled a second volume of 20 tracks (11 unheard and 9 previously vinyl only) released as a Limited Edition Double CD and 6 track vinyl sampler on Nov 3rd via Yes Wave records. The music featured is a collection of reworked demos and unreleased recordings. A hedonistic mix of raw Disco, Dub, Funk, Dancehall. Electro, New Wave & Post Punk that all still sound as relevant today as they did when initially recorded for the debut PLAYGROUP album during 1997 – 2001.
trevor jackson
Playgroup – Previously Unreleased Bonus EP [YW00X]
Featuring 6 bonus tracks not available as part of the initial nine EP’s. ‘Dirt Biter’ is a return to the source raw hip hop instrumental, ‘Don’t Stop Dub’ a wild electro-funk workout complete with a demented electric guitar solo, ‘C’mon C’mon’ a decadent slice of sleeping bag style disco dub, ‘No Lube’ a heavyweight hi-nrg sleazy stormer, ‘Perc up’ a sampledelic hedonistic house bomb and Do It! a weirdo post-punk electro jam.
Trevor Jackson – Feel My Bicep #54
This mix is a portion of a live DJ set Trevor Jackson did at the New Dance Fantasy Festival at Griessmühle in Berlin earlier this year in July.
Playgroup – Previously Unreleased EP 6 [YWR006]
The sixth edition of the Previously Unreleased series of Playgroup 12″s brings more dubbed out disco cuts from from Trevor Jackson’s underground.
Playgroup – Previously Unreleased EP 2 [YWP002]
The Previously Unreleased series of Playgroup 12″s from Trevor Jackson returns with a second edition. Echoing the diverse nature of the classic Playgroup album, there is plenty of stylistic swerves in the three tracks that feature here. Up top, “Doin’ It Right” is a low-slung slab of disco chug with a most devious arpeggio conducting proceedings. On the B-side, “Flyte Mode” is a short proto house piece that would work well as an opening track on a DJ mix whilst “Live At The Funhouse” is a fizzing electro DJ tool.
Playgroup – Previously Unreleased EP 1 [YWP001]
Trevor Jackson tends to do things differently, so the recent announcement of nine EPs of previously unheard Playgroup material, to be released in the space of nine weeks, should have come as little surprise. Opener “Move My Body” is particularly strong, and features sampled Robert Owens vocals rising and falling over a classic, late ’80s Chicago house groove. There’s a similar retro-futurist feel to the more acid-flecked Ed DMX collaboration “I Want To Believe”, while “Play The Music” combines similar influences with a touch of NYC proto-house.
Selectors 2016 @ The Garden (Tisno, Croatia) 1-5.09.2016
Dekmantel launches Selectors, a new intimate festival and a compilation series. The concept of Selectors focuses heavily on Dekmantel’s support for the art of DJ’ing, celebrating the extra-ordinary DJs that turned collecting and playing music into an art form. The festival will take place at the Garden Resort in Tisno and will host just 1500 people with amongst others Aroy Dee, Carlos Souffront, Helena Hauff, I-F, Traxx, Intergalactic Gary, Juju & Jordash and Motor City Drum Ensemble on the bill. The latter is also responsible for the first Selectors compilation.
Continue reading “Selectors 2016 @ The Garden (Tisno, Croatia) 1-5.09.2016”
Trevor Jackson – Format [FV113.16]
Trevor Jackson releases a collected triple LP edition via The Vinyl Factory featuring 13 tracks including an exclusive bonus cut not available on any of the initial releases. Curated from an archive of over 150 tracks Trevor had built up over the past 2 decades, the inspiration for Jackson’s music, has come from “the times and places where genres weren’t quite formed.” While his synth and beatbox workouts might touch on proto-house, on new wave, on Italo and techno, on ambient and psychedelia, they are at the same time none of these things. Musically, Format explores Jackson’s usual obsessions – industrial, new wave, EBM, electro, post-punk disco and techno, in particular – with great gusto.
Trevor Jackson – Format: Lumiline [VF116-1]
Acclaimed creative director and music maker trevor jackson releases format, a collection of unreleased music & his first album in 14 years. F O R M A T is no ordinary album release – instead it charts the legacy of the physical music format, in a characteristically beautiful and uncompromising way, paying homage to physically released formats over the decades and also celebrating the artistry, design, as well as the individual experience of playing music via physical methods. Initially available as a limited edition release, each track is available on : 12″, 10″, 7″ vinyl, cd, mini cd, cassette, usb, mini disc, dat, 8 track and 1/4 reel to reel.
VA – Ten Years Of Phonica LP [PHONICALP001]
Phonica announce the arrival of their celebratory compilation marking ten years of the shop. A triple LP pack, where some of their favourite artists produced a track for an eclectic yet cohesive compilation, which will hopefully go some way towards sonically unfolding the ‘Ten Years of Phonica’. The triple LP features tracks from: I:Cube, Trevor Jackson, Raudive, Discodromo, Joe Claussell, John Morales, Henrik Schwarz, Massimiliano Pagliara, Iori remixed by Steve Moore, Juju & Jordash, Legowelt & In Flagranti.
Hipodrome’s 2013 Review (Part 1 of 3)
This post is about the followers of my blog and the most successful posts, the releases that gathered the most likes and clicks in 2013 from my visitors.
VA – Trevor Jackson presents Metal Dance 2 [STRUT107LP]
Strut present ‘Metal Dance’, a new compilation from one of the UK’s most respected DJ / producers, the man behind Playgroup and original founder of the legendary label Output Recordings, Trevor Jackson. Echoing elements of his renowned DJ Kicks mix from 2003, Jackson draws here on specials that have peppered his DJ sets for almost two decades. ‘Metal Dance’ mines deep and hones in on the more underground and danceable side of industrial, post-punk and EBM (Electronic Body Music), a phrase coined by Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk but honed by later bands like DAF and Front 242 as socialist realist aesthetics were dragged onto the dancefloor during the mid-’80s. Jackson cherry-picks classics and rarities from this era, including a new edit of Nitzer Ebb favourite ‘Control I’m Here’ (sampled on Quartz’ rave classic ‘Meltdown’), the cold dance of Analysis’ ‘Surface Tension’, Neon’s dark ‘Voices’, re-interpreting a Master C&J riff from the early days of Chicago house, and hard-hitting dubs from Pete Shelley, Alien Sex Fiend and more. Herein lie sounds that have heavily influenced today’s crop of artists – from LCD Soundsystem and The Knife to Factory Floor and Hot Chip. Elsewhere on the album, Jackson brings in unexpected gems – a track from cult John Carpenter film ‘Escape From New York’ re-edited by Klein & MBO’s Mario Boncaldo, a lost album track by avant garde Spanish artist Diseno Corbusier and a UK promo-only mix of Yello’s ‘You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess’.
Trevor Jackson – Metal Dance: Industrial/Post Punk/EBM: Classics & Rarities 80-88 [STRUT091LP]
The latest Strut Records release shines more light on the clanking, far-sighted world of the 1980s’ most revolutionary genres – namely industrial, post-punk and EBM. This time Trevor Jackson is at the helm. His two-disc selection touches on many different strands, from bleak synthesizer jams and crunchy punk-funk to twisted industrial disco, mutant electrofunk and almighty percussive workouts.
Crackboy – Back To The Future [CRACKBOY001]
Crackboy sticks two fingers up to the chin-stroking shoe-gazing deep house heads and drags us to the middle of the peak-time dancefloor with this Prince / Sueno Latino-sampling bootie! “Back To The Future”, aka “The Future” by Prince, gets a rocking house revamp on side A, one that will be sure to have everyone in a sweat. “Ebeneezer Knight” might have you worrying that the Shaman would be involved somewhere along the line, but actually this is a fattened up version of late 80s Manuel Gottsching-sampling Italo house classic “Sueno Latino” by Sueno Latino. Simple, effective music – nothing fussy, nothing over-worked, just tailor-made for dancing.
Out Of The Ordinary @ Tape (Berlin) 30.07.2011
if you are in Berlin or around, you cannot afford to miss this!
Some of the recordings from this extraOrdinary celebration of Traxx’ birthday are available here.