Walter Gibbons: Jungle Music: Essential & Unreleased Remixes 1976-1986

Strut bringt die nächste Compilation mit Original Disco-Mixen eines absoluten Dj-Pioniers heraus: Walter Gibbons hat mit seinen Remixen die Disco Musik nachhaltig geprägt, denn er liebte perkussive Tracks. Die hat er dann auch aus den Originalen gezaubert, besonders auch als Dj live, auf die die Leute im Galaxy 21 und den anderen New Yorker Clubs der 70er Jahren komplett abfahren konnten. Er war auch der erste, der von Salsoul als Haus-Remixer engagiert wurde und alle Original Bänder bekam.
Gibbons starb leider – wie so viele Protagonisten der Disco-Szene – 1994 an der Immunschwächekrankheit AIDS.

Strut schreibt:

At his famed residency at Galaxy 21 (alongside a then young percussionist, Francois Kevorkian), Gibbons perfected his turntable prowess, mixing two copies of records seamlessly at a similar time to Kool Herc’s famed block parties across town in the Bronx in 1975. He was among the first to make his own reel to reel edits of tracks, extending breaks and restructuring tracks specifically for the dancefloor. As a direct result, he was the first DJ to be granted access to multi-track tapes as Ken Cayre’s Salsoul Records brought him in to re-work Double Exposure’s ‚Ten Percent‘ in ’76, a mix that would set the blueprint for disco, the 12″ format and all future dance music mixes.

Gibbons would become a prolific remixer for Salsoul and developed a style his contemporaries called ‚Jungle Music‘, a raw, uncompromising approach to DJ-ing and mixing which often extended tracks to 10 minutes plus with tribal percussion breaks and off-the-cuff, unexpected production touches. This compilation focuses on some of the more adventurous and ground-breaking mixes that Gibbons produced during the disco era including a freeform treatment of Dinosaur L’s ‚Go Bang‘, Paradise Garage favourite ‚You Are My Love‘ by Sandy Mercer and underground disco rarity, ‚I’ve Been Searching‘ by Arts & Craft.

Eine etwas ausführlichere Biografie von Gibbons bei Dj-History.

Hier noch ein interessantes Video, in dem sich Danny Krivit & Tony Smith an Walter Gibbons erinnern:

CD 1
1.JAKKI – SUN… SUN… SUN… (Walter Gibbons Original 12\“ Edit)
2. DOUBLE EXPOSURE – TEN PERCENT (Walter Gibbons 12\“ mix)
3. TC JAMES & THE FIST O’FUNK ORCHESTRA – GET UP ON YOUR FEET (Keep On Dancin‘) (Walter Gibbons mix)
4. GLADYS KNIGHT – IT\’S A BETTER THAN GOOD TIME (Walter Gibbons 12\“ mix)
5. SALSOUL ORCHESTRA – MAGIC BIRD OF FIRE (Fire Bird Suite)
6. SANDY MERCER – YOU ARE MY LOVE (12\“ version)
7. BETTYE LAVETTE – DOIN‘ THE BEST THAT I CAN (Walter Gibbons 12″ mix)
CD 2
1. ARTHUR RUSSELL – SEE THROUGH (Walter Gibbons mix)*
2. DINOSAUR L – GO BANG (Walter Gibbons unreleased mix)
3. STRAFE – SET IT OFF (Walter Gibbons 12\“ mix)
4. ARTS & CRAFT – I\’VE BEEN SEARCHING (Walter Gibbons 12\“ mix)
5. LUV YOU MADLY ORCHESTRA – MOON MAIDEN (12″ mix)
6. STETSASONIC – 4 EVER MY BEAT (Beat Bongo mix)
7. HARLEQUIN FOURS – SET IT OFF (US 12″ version)

http://www.strut-records.com
http://waltergibbons-junglemusic.com