Egyptian Lover – “Freak-A-Holic” (12 Inch Long Versionl)..

Artist: The Egyptian Lover
Title: Freak-A-Holic (12 Inch Long Version)
Year: 1986
Label: Egyptian Empire Records

Egyptian Lover – “Freak-A-Holic” (12 Inch Long Version) (mp3)

Music Video: The Egyptian Lover – “Freak-A-Holic”…

Since the Egyptian protests are all over the news lately, I’ve figured why not post some of Egytpian Lover’s oldschool electro hip-hop tracks.  The very first time I’ve heard an Egyptian Lover’s track was back in 1984.  A track titled Egypt Egypt on a DJ-mixed electro/hip-hop compilation record, released by StreetSounds, called Electro-5 on side-A — which is also available on this site. The second track I’ve heard by Egyptian Lover was My House On The Nile on StreetSounds Electro-6, side-B, which is also available on this site. And the third track I’ve heard by Egyptian Lover was Girls on StreetSounds Electro-7, side-A — again, also available on this site. After being exposed to those three tracks between 1984 and 1985, that was when I’ve decided to hunt and collect  as many Egyptian Lover 12″ singles as I could find on the market.  I’ve bought several of his 12″ singles on vinyl back then from Toronto, London and New York.

The Egyptian Lover is Greg Broussard — born on August 31, 1963.  He’s an American musician, rapper, vocalist, producer and DJ from Los Angeles.  Greg Broussard was one of the first men to pioneer the hip-hop/electro sound from LA.  One of his main influences was Man Parrish’s track track Hip-Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop) — whom I’ve also blogged about on this site — so click here to read that article.

With just a Roland TR-808 drum machine among other flagship analog synthesizers and digital samplers, Greg Broussard rocked (and still can rock) the house.

Egyptian Lover – “Egypt, Egypt” (12″ Vinyl)..

Artist: The Egyptian Lover
Title: Egypt, Egypt (12″ Vinyl)
Year: 1984
Label: Egyptian Empire Records

Egyptian Lover – “Egypt, Egypt” (12″ Vinyl) (mp3)

I bought this record in December 1985 at an obscure, shoddy used books-and-records store in Toronto. All the used records were inside dusty banker-file boxes. All the genre-labels were written in magic-marker ink on torn pieces of cardboard which were taped onto the front sides of the boxes. Going through the “12 Inch Singles” boxes, I found this gem. Of course I had no idea on who the artist was, but judging from the record’s graphic design, typography and contextual print on the label, it was pretty obvious to me that I had an electro-beat rap record in my hand. At that time, rap records were RARE and EXTREMELY HARD to find in record stores anywhere in Canada. Being only 14 years-old in 1985, the only way for me to get them was by traveling (with my parents of course) to London or New York. So finding this record was really like a gift from God, since I had been eager to get my hands on any rap music, whether on cassette tape, vinyl LP or 12-inch single. Once I got home and played this track, I was very impressed with it. Good drum-machine programming, synth hooks and rolling bassline. Great delivery on the rap vocals. Breakloose leans more towards the lighter side of pop breakdance sound, shies away from getting all too serious, plays it safe within the production methods and keeps its groove tight.

And there’s something abstract and hidden about Breakloose ……. it has some kind of good-spirited ability to connect with on a deep, personal level, which is probably the why I still play this track today.

—– UPDATE – February 17, 2010 —–

I had just received a personal email from Chris Larock who is the writer and performer of Breakloose. It is also an honor to have him post a comment on this very blog/article (read below in the comments section):

Hay dude i am so touch by you for keeping my name alive. yes I am C- waLarock from the younger generation 1984 its been almost 30 something years breakloose was number two on billboard overseas, we didnt made a penny. group broke up and went our own ways. i am back now and ready check out my web site www.c-larockrecords.com keep my name alive lov u man peace

Younger Generation – “Breakloose” (Breakdancin’ Mix)…

Artist: Younger Generation
Title: Breakloose (Breakdancin’ Mix)
Year: 1984
Label: Master Mix Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Younger Generation – “Breakloose” (Breakdancin’ Mix) (mp3)

Younger Generation – “Breakloose” (Dub)…

Artist: Younger Generation
Title: Breakloose (Dub)
Year: 1984
Label: Master Mix Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Younger Generation – “Breakloose” (Dub) (mp3)

I am so glad that I got this 12-inch record back in 1985, because it is a rare and (perhaps) a solo single release of Melle Mel. I have speculated all these years that King Of The Street is the sequel to Beat Street Breakdown track (watch music videos below) by Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five.

• Link to my previous blog/post on Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & Furious Five – “World War III“
• Melle Mel’s MySpace page click here

Grandmaster Melle Mel – “King Of The Streets”…

Artist: Grandmaster Melle Mel
Title: King Of The Streets
Year: 1985
Label: Sugar Hill Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Grandmaster Melle Mel – “King Of The Streets” (mp3)

“Beat Street Breakdown” - Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five…

“Beat Street Breakdown” (live performance) – Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five…

Click here to watch short video of the recording session of this 12-inch single at my home-studio.

Although Hey DJ was released in 1984, but the first time I’ve heard and bought it was in Christmas time 1986 in England. Lots of good tracks with similar sound and feel, like this one, were released at that time. Stellar production on this 12-inch single. As mentioned in the blog/post previous to this one,  Doug Wimbish on the bass and bass-synthesizers; Keith LeBlank on the drums; and synth & drum machine programming by Jack Waldman, Clifton Chase and Craig Peyton. Although Stephen Hague produced this track, Malcolm McLaren was somehow involved heavily in Hey DJ (check out the music video below).

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Hey DJ” (Extended)…

Artist: World’s Famous Supreme Team
Title: Hey DJ (Extended)
Year: 1984
Label: Charisma Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Hey DJ” (Extended) (mp3)

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Hey DJ” (Extended Instrumental)…

Artist: World’s Famous Supreme Team
Title: Hey DJ (Extended Instrumental)
Year: 1984
Label: Charisma Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Hey DJ” (Extended Instrumental) (mp3)

Video: World’s Class Supreme – “Hey DJ” (produced by Malcolm McLaren)…

The production on this LP is stellar. Doug Wimbish on the bass and bass-synthesizers; Keith LeBlank on the drums; synth & drum machine programming by Jack Waldman, Clifton Chase and Craig Peyton; background vocals by Divine; there’s even a five-member horn section; and the list goes on. One of the tracks is even produced by Malcolm McLaren (“Hey DJ“).

I decided to post Misery because of how it sounds. Nice keyboard layers. It’s an emotional track produced by Bradshaw Leigh. Even though the title of this track may seem like a downer, but in fact the track is very powerful, uplifting and inspirational in the positive direction.

I used to walk around Toronto and London a lot back in the day while listening to Misery on my walkman. The track’s powerful note and chord progressions served as the driving soundtrack to the vivid visuals which I’ve imagined/created in my head, going through my own kind of transcendental and meditational real-life montage. If I remember correctly, there were few images of beautiful faces from pretty women going through my mind, like a music video in slow motion. Heh, I was only 15 years old!

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Misery”…

Artist: World’s Famous Supreme Team
Title: Misery
Year: 1986
Label: Charisma Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Misery” (mp3)

Doug Wimbish (featuring Fats Comet)…

Previously blogged about Doug Wimbish on September 18, 2009 (click here to read)

Title: Don’t Forget That Beat
Year: 1985
Genre: Electronic Funk Drumbeat Industrial
Comment: Doug Wimbish is one bad-ass bassist. He collaborated with Fats Comet on this track. Both are from the UK. Their sound is like Art Of Noise meets Africa Bambaattaa meets Ministry (of 1985 sound).

Doug Wimbish [featuring Fats Comet] – Don’t Forget That Beat (mp3)

Spring 1988, Denham Village, Buckinghamshire, UK ….. on the way to Syco Systems (high-end pro audio shop — by appointment only — caters only to high-end clientele and famous artists such as Peter Gabriel) to pick up the gear for my first studio (see pictures below)  ….. I heard this track by Mantornix on the radio.

Notice: If you need to know more about Mantronix and the man himself, Kurt Mantronik, refer to my previous blog Hanson & Davis. Please read that first and then come back here and continue reading this blog/article.

I used to dream about having a Linn-9000 one day, so I could load my own drum samples and program beats with its sequencer; I used to sit for hours and drool over the brochures of the Roland D-50 synth and think about how breathy and paddy (also see video below) my tracks would sound along with the Linn-9000 drums pulsing underneath. The D-50 was revolutionary at its time (1987), because it was the first synth to have built-in effects, such as the the reverb, attack-transient samples and linear synthesis, among many other things. When I went to Syco Systems with my dad to buy the new gear, Kendall Wrightson (see quick shout-out below) informed me that the Linn-9000 was no longer in production, because its parent company went bankrupt; however, its designer Roger Linn had come up with a much better machine through Akai. He pointed his finger towards the Akai MPC60 at the other end of the room. It was GORGEOUS. It looked like a mean machine with a tilting LCD screen! Oh, those 16 square rubber finger pads. I didn’t hesitate to add it on the transaction. Kendall said something along the lines that he had one in stock, boxed and with Tony Banks’ name on it (yes, Tony Banks — the keyboardist of Genesis), but Tony didn’t want it at the time. When I looked at the box, sure enough his name was in fact printed on the shipping label.

After picking up my new studio gear from Syco, I stopped by Our Price record store, bought the 12-inch of Simple Simon and then drove home from London to my parent’s country-home in Denham Village. I love this track through and through. It’s very melodic and street-emotional, especially the bassline. Love the guitars (which are not real but tone-sampled and played from a keyboard sampler). The sound and style is very different from Mantronix’ previous releases which were more freestyle-based. Simple Simon sounded more mature but still had that “Mantronix” feel … perhaps it was the snappy, hard drum samples and programming coming from an E-mu SP-1200. Whatever it was, it certainly had the Mantronix‘ stamp with MC Tee‘s rap vocals. These two guys really stood out with this one.

I used to play both A and B sides of the 12-inch. Check out the amazing editing and fast-gating on You Dubba Regard mix, which were very hard to produce. Around that same time of year, the Latin Rascals were doing clever edits like this, with stutters, splice-edits and gated chops. Check out their sound/edits on Information Society’s – What’s On Your Mind which I’ve blogged about previously.

Quick shout-out to Kendall Wrightson:

Kendall Wrightson who was my personal salesman at Syco Systems. He was very well-known in the pro-audio industry, for representing and selling high-end gear like the Fairlight (watch Kendall’s demonstration), Syclaviers, SSL mixer consoles, etc.. There were times when Kendall used to let me and my best friend Noel Derblich to go inside one of Syco‘s studio rooms and transfer samples from the E-mu Emulator-III (also watch video here) to my Akai MPC60 drum-sampler/sequencer (64 midi channel, 99 tracks). Kendall was also featured in several documentaries about music technology.

Mantronix – “Simple Simon” (You Gotta Rock Hard)…

Artist: Mantronix
Title: Simple Simon (You Gotta Rock Hard)
Year: 1988
Label: 10 Records (UK)
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Simon – “Simple Simon” (You Gotta Rock Hard) (mp3)

Mantronix- “Simple Simon” (You Dubba Regard)…

Artist: Mantornix
Title: Simple Simon (You Dubba Regard)
Year: 1988
Label: 10 Records (UK)
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Mantronix – “Simple Simon” (You Dubba Regard) (mp3)

My first studio with nice gear which I've bought from Syco Systems, London. Kendall Wrightson was my personal salesman. See his videos below.

Kendall Wrightson at Syco Systems, demonstrating the Linn-9000…

Kendall Wrightson at Syco System, demonstrating the Fairlight…

Roland D-50 synthesizer demonstration of its sounds/presets…

E-mu Emulator-II demonstration of its sounds/presets…

Mantronix - “Simple Simon”…

Today, Grandmaster D.ST is now known as DXT. But let’s go back in time. Grandmaster D.ST is the DJ who scratched the famous record sounds on Herbie Hancock’s Rockit (check out videos below). I’m presenting you with three of my favorite D.ST tracks here: Home Of Hip Hop, Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh, and Mean Machine.  I travelled to New York city looking for these records back in Summer 1985 with no luck. Then I went to London in December 1986 (already two years late after their initial release dates) and happened to find all three 12-inch records at HMV megastore on Oxford Street. Top notch tracks of their time; stellar production for electro hip hop; serious stuff.

Grandmaster D.ST – “(The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop”…

Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: (The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Grandsmaster D.ST – “(The Bronx) Home Of Hip Hop” (mp3)

Grandmaster D.ST – “Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh?”…

Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: Megamix II: Why Is It Fresh?
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Grandsmaster D.ST – “Megamix II:  Why Is It Fresh?” (mp3)

Grandmaster D.ST – “Mean Machine”…

Artist: Grandmaster D.ST
Title: Mean Machine
Year: 1984
Label: Celluloid
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Grandsmaster D.ST – “Mean Machine” (mp3)

D.ST & Herbie Hancock – Rockit — two live performances and music video…

The live performance below is the ultimate. Imagine being a turntablelist  scratching on stage with Herbie Hancock performing THE most legendary electronic/electro-beat track of all time Rockit, surrounded by electronic synths, drums and instruments, robotic props and breakdancers! OH MY GOD!! Turntablelism’s first giant leap (from underground to sharing the big stage with the big leagues) started right here, ladies & gentlemen!!!

Summer 1987, I had moved back to England to start grade-11 highschool. I went to Tower Records London which was a huge multi-level building by itself at the heart of Piccadilly Circus, London. Down in the huge basement was nothing else but 12-inch records of all genres — a heavenly section for disc-jockeys and music collectors. And that was where I’d finally found a copy of this limited edition release by The 2 Live Crew. I had been looking for this record since January 1987. As a matter of fact, I’d been looking for any 12-inch release of We Want Some Pussy since 1986. Sometime in early 1987, I  heard a remix of We Want Some Pussy at  the legendary Twilight Zone nightclub (located in the attic/roof above a coffee shop) on Bloor Street,  Toronto, Ontario; and since then I was unsuccessful in finding the 12-inch record …… until ….. of course … when I moved back to England more than six months later where I found the last remaining copy of the limited edition. I took the bus home to Rutland Court, Knightbrigde, opened the door to the flat, rushed to the stereo and put the needle to the record …. anxiously wanting to hear the track’s (Liberty City Long Hard) remix. And it sure did blow me away ………… so much better than the original or Classic Dance versions. Harder drum beats from Roland TR-909 (also more 909 wikipedia info here) drum-machine, killer bassline with nice dance/club melody, sampled rock-guitar stab-hits in various pitches/notes and other sweet elements floating on top.

The 2 Live Crew – “We Want Some Pussy” (Liberty City Long Hard Mix)…

Artist: The 2 Live Crew
Title: We Want Some Pussy (Liberty City Long Hard Mix)
Year: 1987
Label: Luke Skywalker Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

The 2 Live Crew – “We Want Some Pussy” (Liberty City Long Hard Mix) (mp3)

The 2 Live Crew – “We Want Some Pussy” (The Original Classic)…

Artist: The 2 Live Crew
Title: We Want Some Pussy (The Original Classic)
Year: 1987
Label: Luke Skywalker Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

The 2 Live Crew – “We Want Some Pussy” (The Original Classic) (mp3)

Virgin record store, where Tower Records used to be in the same building in Piccadilly Circus, London.