I think he’s past the point of that.
Sadar has the most heart for me. I’d say Rahaan edges him on technique-though with both I always hear something new and inspiring
Technically speaking Ge-ology is my favourite of the US disco selectors however
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that whole ‘disco beatdown’ style feels so authentic
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Darryn Jones & Mark Grusane are my 2 favorites from the current Chicago scene, along with Rahaan and Tone B Nimble. They’ve been getting their due following the “discovery” of Sadar by european festivals, but they still keep it real in a way that is different from Moodymann’s (and Omar S, while I’m at it) performatic antics. I’ve been disappointed enough with Moodymann sets that I don’t bother anymore. I haven’t seen Theo play live, only on recorded sets, and I really like hearing to his stuff because I never get the sense he’s trying to fuck with the audience like I do with KDJ.
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I saw Mark a few weeks ago and he was good but he definitely doesn’t take as many risks as Theo does or play some midbending gospel/vocal thing that Sadar does. I agree that Rahaan is probably the pick of the lot but the two best I have heard when, on the rare occasion, they just go disco and disco-adjacent are Marcellus Pittman and Derrick Carter. Heard the latter on home turf in Chicago and for the 90 minutes of the 2 hours he just played disco, new wave and belgian beat and it was superb. When he went oompty boompty or whatever you call it for the last 30 and it just sounded awful next to the excellent preceding brilliance.
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That’s a big what don’t you get for me - DFA
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They’ve introduced me to some superb records through their compilations and remixes alone. Very talented it seems to me
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I have to admit that I wrongly identified Optimo as a night for students and the type of Penny Farthing riding hipsters I wanted nothing to do with.
When I was finally dragged along, I realised that I’d totally missed out. It was fantastic, and I have to credit them with being one of the main catalysts for me becoming more eclectic in my music tastes. Im sure on that night, I remember hearing Black Betty and it somehow worked perfectly.
I’ve seen them loads now, and you just expect these curveballs. California Dreamin is a weird one though. I could see that sucking the energy out of the room.
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Ok, we may not agree on this, but I do think the music scene early 2000s needed a shot in the arm, and all these people mixing up house and punk added something fresh and raw, with these different scenes in London, NY and in Europe feeding off each other.
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I agree
I don’t disagree in a wider sense - stale scenes need new approaches -but DFA and the electroclash thing at that time did nothing for me at all. Metro Area on the other hand I loved. Trevor Jackson too
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I liked DFA and Environ alike. I guess Tim Sweeney’s radio show bridged it all together? Always interesting to compare NY and London around that time. Often wondered why there was no equivalent of ‘meet me in the bathroom’ written about the London scene?
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Watched that obsessively when it first got released.
Great book.
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Heard Black Betty a few times at Optimo 
. Sean Paul’s Like Glue was another that caused mayhem at certain points.
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Lol yes the same in Cork around this time, curtain came down and he was wearing a white sheet like a ghost… lol mad
I don’t mean to come across as curmudgeonly and tribal, but I thought that stuff was really dull. grime and dubstep were absolutely amazing, bruk was catering for a more sophisticated crowd, people from our walks of life were getting into deep house and ny garage with the advent of funky, etc etc… Even the more arty/student end of that whole nexus was great for a while, early Hessle Audio releases still sound otherworldly, before they got swallowed up by the techno scene.
Didn’t we have shitloads of punk attitude in 90s dance music anyway? if anything that was the last flowering of what could be called the so-called ‘punk’ attitude, and it was time to retire it after that.
I mean, did DFA or Erol make or play anything as Sleazy as this?
or
I thought the unearthing and discovery of Baldelli and the Italian cosmic scene was the best sort of thing that happened to the house continuum (for lack of a better phrase) but it was not related to the trash/DFA thing I don’t think. More the demographic of this forum and old dj history.
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can you hook a brother up with obscure ge-ology sets? he always makes me ashamed of my music collection, which is the best thing ever.
cheers.
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check this out mate
also he passed away yesterday, RIP Terror
This somehow made Weatherall’s plate
As did this, I think
This mix with the volume in the car turned way way up, preferably somewhere abandoned, windows and doors closed is a near cosmic experience
Shy One did two grime specials on nts the past two weeks. check them soup to nuts. Some amazing electronic music which still sounds fresh today. Will post both later if interested. love her radio presenter style.
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Not exactly obscure- but his Mixcloud is here:
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