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The 45s Revolution

"They were tellin me like that Manchester's the place to go. And I won't say it's goin' off unless it really is. Tonight was the best night on the tour man!" enthuses DJ Z-Trip.

"Y'know, for real! I'm not sayin' that just to say that shit. There's a lot of people like "Oh man! This is the best ever!". I mean... for real. You saw we were having a good time. Sometimes it's work, sometimes it's fun, and that was fun man, for real!"

DJ Z-trip is an energetic and excited Hiphop dj from Phoenix, Arizona via Los Angeles and San Francisco. He has just warmed up a rapturous Planet K. He REALLY likes manchester. But why are respectable US Hiphop djs and producers leaving behind their beautiful babe-drenched beaches to venture to the comparitively grimmer and grizzlier sands of our shores? To do a spot of record shopping of course, and while they're here it would be impolite for them not to showcase their world renowned expertise!

On Saturday 27th October, Planet K hosted a spectacle that many present had dreamed Of seeing, but never thought the chance would arise. Brainfreeze; "A live mix of strictly 45's and vinyl destruction". A project that DJ Shadow, most venerated Bay Area Hiphop producer/one half of UNKLE/Member of Quannum Projects, and his fellow vinyl enthusiast Cut Chemist, turntablist extraordinaire/DJ for Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, had been working on as a break from their normal production schedules and a little bit of fun. "It's nice to be able to just do different things," says Shadow, "because when I'm working in the studio all the time, it's just me y'know? I mean, it's what I love to do more than anything but something like this is just good to blow off steam". The mix was first performed in February 1999 at San Francisco's Future Primitive Soundsessions and was based around a drum break from an unusual source - a promotional 7" record, pressed by 7-11 convenience stores. It was entitled "Dance the Slurp" as a reference to their flagship product - The Slurpee.

1000 CDs containing the best two mixes were pressed initially, and only available at the different legs of the tour over in the US and at a couple of dates in the UK. An extra 1000 cds were pressed due to its suprising popularity. Added to the quality of the mixes, with their blockbusting radio spots, phat and funky drum breaks and impeccably executed scratching, the prestige of both DJs as artists and the limited supply of copies, left fans scrambling to get hold of the cd. Media attention was drawn to the situation when Cut and Shadow's records were jacked after a gig in Portland. On top of this, a mass bootlegging ensued of both the original cd and the original 45s used in the mix, and eventually the pair were confronted by 7-11 corporation and asked to discontinue the illegal use of their image. The hysteria created by the Brainfreeze phenomenon left DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist no choice but to answer to the yearning massive. As big Star Wars fans, both producers were aware that sequels need not flop and so they set about scratching the fuck out of a new set of helpless funk 45's for Brainfreeze 2: Product Placement.

The Product Placement Tour saw Shadow and Cut, along with some very special guests, bring their hype-fest to the UK. "All the dates have been sold out." muses DJ -Trip, "We did San Francisco, LA we did two shows, New York we did one, one in Glasgow, one tonight. Yeah yeah we're in Tokyo, that's comin up. Scala is Sunday. What's today? Saturday? I don't know what day it is! What we're doin now is a few shows, givin back to the people who were really into it."

DJ Adam lever, resident of Night and Day's funk fuelled Searchin' and a guest DJ at London's infamous Legendary Deep Funk, began the proceedings with the pride of his 7"s collection, firing warning shots of what was to come with some nice bass drum and hi-hat combos at the feet-shuffling onlookers. The ever eccentric but lovable Scotsman and hardcore dealer/collector of black soul music, Keb Darge, was next to man the decks. When this man says he's popping out to get a record its not just a short trip down Oldham Street! More like a flight halfway across the world to a shed out in the sticks, which a small-town record label boss may have once rented and left some unreleased or as yet-unearted gems in. His sets tend to preview some very rare all-out deep funk. Before the main attraction, the Product Placement tour still had one trick up its sleeve, the as-yet unsigned newcomer to the Great British audience, DJ Z-Trip, very nearly stole the show. "I've known Cut for a whilw. The first time I met him was at the B-Boy Summit all the way over in San Diego, and we connected out there. Thats when Jurassic 5 were just startin. And Shadow, I just ended up linking up with him throughout the years, and we all just became friends y'know? We all kind of have a common bond with music and rockin parties!"

And rock the party he did. Z-Trip stepped up to the decks like a man possessed and won the crowd in an instant with his technical brilliance and block rockin' party tunes (all on 7" of course). "(this was the) first time I've been to Manchester, and I wanted to throw down a little set for sure. I didn't know whether it was gonna hit people over the head or what!" After an astounding set, Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow took the place off the hook. 4 decks, 2 mixers, and numerous effects modules were implemented by the tag-team turntablists as they cut, scratched, juggled, and crafted the wildest...the kookiest...the grooviest... the slurpiest... non-stop live 45 mix, only twice as nice! So did they have fun?

Shadow: "Peace to Manchester, it's always dope to play here, the best crowds, the most alive city in the UK. Yeah!"

A treat was to follow as those present got to witness a one-off back-to-back show put on by DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist/Keb Darge/Adam Lever/Z-Trip/Dante Carfagna (Chicago DJ/collector who first made Cut aware of the existance of the Slurpee 7"), some of the most extensive funk collectors of the modern world, spinning tunes frozen in time and resurrected for a new fresh faced generation that just wants to dance!

After the success of the gig, Z-Trip was eager to fill me in on upcoming projects to look out for: "I'm actually about a month away from signing my major label contract. So once I sign I'm doin a mix album and a studio album". Shadow was also about to say a few words about what I predict to be the most eagerly awaited album of next year "The album should be ready in late March, it'll be finished next month, November, so far so good". Shadow's only solo studio offering was his 1996 debut Endtroducing... and it was awarded a place in the Guiness Book of Records for being the first album produced entirely from samples. His latest offering will no doubt be hotly anticipated.

The cult of the 45 is fast becoming a major DJ trend. Old funk collections are a treaure trove of break beats and hammond riffs that may be looped or sampled for a backing track to rhyme over or create an instrumental masterpiece like DJ Shadow's "In/Flux". So why are all these producers coming over to Manchester of all places to find that all important Meter's sample, especially when most of what they're searching for was produced practically on their doorsteps? And how did all these thousands upon thousands of records end up in a place called the Northen Quarter in

Manchester?

It all began with the Northern Soul scene in the late 70's with the Twisted Wheel Club in the centre of Manchester and the Wigan Casino (in Wigan, obviously hosting all-nighters for their hardcore following. Lots of American vinyl was making its way over to the North-West. Amongst those individuals around at the time was a Scottish youngster named Keb Darge, then in his 20's, Tom Smith and Derek Howe of Beatin Rhythm Records, Tibb Street, and Dave and Andy of Voxpop Records, Oldham Street. They were all consumed by the scene and succumbed to a lust for rare vinyl which still burns 25 years on. Whereas Keb Darge travels the world searching for stormers, the rest set up shop in Manchester's Northern Quarter and made names for themselves providing a valuable source of collectable tunes for both the curious student and the world famous producer.

Tom from Beatin Rhythm reels off a long list of celebrity customers: "Kenny Dope (Masters at Work), Freddy Fresh, The Chemicals, Justin Robertson, DJ Cash Money's a regular, Mark Lamarr, Noddy Holder (?!), Frank Wilson (famous Motown producer), Keb Darge, Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Tim Burgess (Charlatans), Mani (Stone Roses/Primal Scream)" Along with Shadow and Cut who make it a point to stop in if they're ever around and have even given the shop props in interviews. Just to give you a rough idea of the scale of things, between them, Cut, Shadow, Keb, and Z-Trip spent £600 in their last visit. The chaps from Beatin Rhythm, along with many other record enthusiasts in the area, also deal directly amongst a network of collectors, shop owners, djs, and producers that covers the globe. It is through this network, and the thriving homegrown recording artists and labels that Manchester boasts, that has put this rainy city in the North on the map and made it a regular stop off point for many international djs. The resurgeance of interest in the funk 45 has been spear-headed by Big Daddy magazine, born Summer '99. It's a bible of funk, hiphop and northern Soul with contributions from lots of people who know far too much about records including Dante Carfagna. "Be on the look out for my man Dante. He's gonna do an article on straight up rap ballads which are based around shit like "I Need Love" by LL Cool J. There's alot of em" Z-Trip insists.Mark Torkington of Fat City, Oldham Street, home to Grand Central Records, is a hiphop and funk dj and a familiar face at numerous funk and hiphop nights across the city:

"The general breaks scene has really exploded with the whole Brainfreeze thing, helped along by compilations and re-issues of rare funk brought out by people like Keb Darge, and of course, the coverage provided by Big Daddy magazine. What people in Manchester have found is that here they can get all these tunes at about half the price than in London or elsewhere. They still can't afford the big money originals that the hardcore collectors are after, but so many more common tunes or re-issues are available to them so readily and cheaply".

Mark runs the popular funk night with DJ Adam Lever at Night and Day Cafe on Oldham Street called Searchin'. The first friday of every month sees them accompanied by Dave and Andy from Voxpop Records and various special guests, including Cut Chemist, all spinning the finest American black music. Dave agrees with Mark, "What has happened, by DJs playing all these really rare funk 45s, they've created a £4 sounds scene where old funk tunes that aren't rare, and may have even been in the charts, are sounding really good 30 years on."

So when your at home over christmas, dig out your parents old 45s and have a listen, you never know, they may not be as out of touch as you think!

Mark T's £4 Sounds Selection

1.Betty Adams - Make it real

2.Abaco Dream - Life and Death in G and A

3.James Brown - Funky President

4.Mickey and the Mice - Crackerjack

5.Laura Lee - Crumbs off the table

6.James Brown - Open up the Door

7.Milly+Silly - Gettin down for xmas

8.Delia Carrol - Fight fire with fire

9.Odell Brown and the Organisers - The Weight

10.Alvin Cash - Keep on Dancin'

Also check out the following nights in Manchester:

Searchin' Night and Day Cafe Fridays Monthly

Good Vibrations Big Hands Tuesdays Monthly

Future Lounging Project Sofa, Fallowfield Sundays Weekly

http://www.thebigdaddy.com http://www.djshadow.com http://www.djztrip.com http://www.voxpoprecords.com

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