This is a very very RARE 12-inch gem indeed ….. New York Street Mix of “Say La La” by Pieces Of A Dream (1986). Good luck in finding this track anywhere on the net!  Not even on YouTube.  You may find the original-extended version of Say La La, but not this New York Street Mix, especially a good quality recording (high-resolution 320/kbs MP3). I just love the minimal approach to this remix which has a bassline to die for. Each bassline note sounds like staccato one-shot bass-stab thats deep. The drums are factory sounds that of an E-Mu SP12 drum-machine/sampler (picture & info further down below). Nice breakdown and build-up towards the middle and end with nice gradual fade-out. I’m gonna let the music do the talking. Have a listen. I hope you’ve got beefy speakers!

Pieces Of  A Dream – “Say La La” (New York Street Mix)…

Artist: Pieces Of A Dream
Title: Say La La (New York Street Mix)
Year: 1986
Label: Manhattan Records (via EM)
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Pieces Of A Dream – “Say La La” (New York Street Mix) (mp3)

Pieces Of  A Dream – “Say La La” (Extended Album Version)…

Artist: Pieces Of A Dream
Title: Say La La (Extended Album Version)
Year: 1986
Label: Manhattan Records (via EM)
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Pieces Of A Dream – “Say La La” (Extended Album Version) (mp3)

About Pieces Of A Dream…

Source of information (click here)

• Formed 1975, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
• Pieces Of A Dream are:
• Cedric Napoleon (bassist)
• Curtis Harmon (drummer)
• and James Lloyd (keyboardist)
• Pieces of a Dream were founded in 1975 in Philadelphia when the principal members were all teenagers.
• Originally somewhat jazz-oriented, Pieces of a Dream has mostly emphasized R & B although they usually include a few jazz numbers in their performances.
• Grover Washington, Jr., produced their first three albums (all for Elektra during 1981-83), they have since recorded for Manhattan.
• The group has also included Lance Webb (lead vocals), Randall Bowland (guitar), Vincent Davis (synths) and Norwood (vocals).
• Saxophonist Ron Kerber became a member in the 1990’s.
• Their albums included ‘Pieces Of A Dream’ (1981), including ‘Warm Weather’ featuring the vocals of Barbara Walker, ‘We Are One’ (1982) and ‘Imagine This’ (1983), including ‘Fo-Fi-Fo’, all were a fusion of R & B, jazz and soul.
• They continued this formula following their switch to Manhattan (via EM]) with ‘Joyride’ (1986), ‘Makes You Wanna’ (1988), including ‘We Belong To Each Other’, and the Gene Griffin, co-produced ‘Bout Dat Time’ (1989).
• Later releases concentrated more along the smooth jazz vein.

“Say La La” Performed by FAMU’s World Famous Marching 100 Band…

E-Mu SP12  Drum Machine/Sampler…

The E-mu SP-12 is the classic drum machine & sampler combo that paved the way for such greats as the E-mu SP-1200 and AKAI MPC series of sampling drum machines. Redesigned from E-mu’s original Drumulator drum machine, the SP-12 is a classic drum machine with built in sampling capability. There is a set of preset drum sounds including kick, snare, hihats, toms, cymbals, handclap and rimshot. These sounds can be mixed and edited using the sliders. Then you can add your own beats and drum sounds using the built-in 12-bit sampler. Sampling time is limited to only a few seconds and the quality is very lo-fi (a sound loved by lo-fi and trip hop). Store your patterns and link them into songs, there’s room for 100 of each! There are mono and individual outputs (no stereo). It’s been used by Madlib, Large Professor, Chicago, and DJ Premiere.

The SP-12 was quickly superceded by the SP-1200 in 1987 which was continuously reissued through 1997. The SP-1200 is undoubtedly the more popular of the two since it has added features and emphasized sampling by eliminating the preset drum sounds.

Source of information (click here)