Bill Brewster provides us with a mix to celebrate the first ever album retrospective of one of New York’s most revered of all producers, Bob Blank.
DJHistory deliver the niceness as ever….Necessity might well be the mother of invention but poverty is the midwife of genius. New York in the 1970s was broke and broken, falling over and burning down, yet gave rise to one of the most creatively fertile periods in popular music.
At the centre of much of the musicmade during this fruitful period was a maverick producer named RobertBlank. His studio, Blank Tapes, was at the centre of the downtownscene throughout much of the 1970s and ’80s, and acted as a busycrossroads for the disco, Latin, jazz and no wave scenes.
This album traces the history of his independent studio, Blank Tapes, one of the city’s most important creative dens during the vibrant arts scene of the mid-‘70s to mid-‘80s.
Blank started out in New York in 1973 as a guitarist before producing one of the first 12″ disco records in ‘75 – Jimmy Sabater’s ‘To Be With You’. He opened his own Blank Tape studios a year later. He quickly became an essential port of call for New York’s diverse artistic community, honing the freeform, anarchic visions of August Darnell, Cristina and Lydia Lunch for ZE Records and, with producers Patrick Adams and Greg Carmichael, helping to shape the sound of many disco classics. Musique, Inner Life, Instant Funk and Salsoul Orchestra all recorded classics at Blank Tapes. Arthur Russell also recorded much of his most celebrated disco-related output at the studios under pseudonyms Dinosaur L, Indian Ocean and Felix, as well as “Wax The Van” with Blank’s wife, Lola. Other regulars at Blank Tapes included Latin producer Tito Rodriguez, whose Charanga 76 and Eddie Palmieri recordings with Blank would receive Grammy nominations.
These days, Blank has forged a very different career, recording sound-alike tracks for library music and karaoke. He has also developed a successful career in ballroom dancing, landing national senior titles with partner Martha Estevez in 2006 and 2007.
Strut, in the label’s first collaboration with Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton’s DJ History, celebrate Blank’s time at Blank Tapes with an exclusive compilation, covering the many facets of his work. The Blank Generation brings a wildly diverse selection together for the first time, including previously unreleased mixes of Mikki’s Itching For Love and Sun Ra’s Where Pathways Meet. Other tracks include Bob’s own Aural Exciters project with Emile (Night Rate), WaxThe Van, his collaboration with wife Lola Blank and Arthur Russell and James Blood Ulmer’s foray into funky harmolodics with Jazz Is TheTeacher, Funk Is The Preacher.
The package features an extensive interview with Bob Blank about his career in music, by Bill Brewster, alongside rare archive photos from Blank’s personal archive.
See Official Blank Tapes website
Released February 2nd on Strut…
If you order direct from DJHistory here you get an Exclusive 60 minute by Bill Brewster
Our favorite featured on the comp is heavy version of Music Trance by Charanga 76 & here is the track-list for all you spotters:
Tracklist:
1. DEBBY BLACKWELL – ONCE YOU GOT ME GOING
2. CHARANGA 76 – MUSIC TRANCE
3. MILTON HAMILTON – CRYSTALIZED
4. SUN RA – WHERE PATHWAYS MEET
5. THE NECESSARIES – STATE OF ART
6. LYDIA LUNCH – A CRUISE TO THE MOON
7. JAMES BLOOD ULMER – JAZZ IS THE TEACHER, FUNK IS THE PREACHER
8. BUMBLEBEE UNLIMITED – I GOT A BIG BEE
9. MIKKI – ITCHING FOR LOVE (Unreleased Segio Munzabai M&M mix)
10. FONDA RAE – OVER LIKE A FAT RAT
11. GLADYS KNIGHT – IT’S A BETTER THAN GOOD TIME (Walter Gibbons mix)
12. LOLA – WAX THE VAN (Jon’s Dub)
13. AURAL EXCITERS – EMILE (NIGHT RATE)
If you order direct from DJHistory here you get an Exclusive 60 minute by Bill Brewster
Our favorite featured on the comp is heavy version of Music Trance by Charanga 76 & here is the track-list of the bonus mix for all you spotters:
ORS – Body To Body BoogieLola – Wax The Van (Jon’s Dub), James Blood Ulmer – Jazz Is The Teacher Funk Is The Preacher, Bumblebee Unlimited – I Got A Big Bee, Archie Bell – Anytime Is Right, Aural Exciters – Spooks In Space, Kid Creole & The Coconuts – Darrio, The Kay-Gees -Tango Hustle, Indian Ocean – Treehouse/School Bells
