Back in February I did an exclusive 7inch-only vinyl mix for the 45/7 Vinyl Club folks in Germany, and it’s online now - click the Soundcloud player above to stream it, or head to Mixcloud if that’s your preferred site for listening! Felix was good enough to send over some promo goodies for me, including the unique artwork used for my mix - see images below.
At some point in the future, when we all figure out our new normal, I can recommend a trip to the Mojo Club in Hamburg to check out the 45/7 Vinyl Club for yourselves!
1) Tell us a bit about yourself and your record collection.
I've been playing drums since the late 80s and started DJing with a friend I met at University in the early 90s. At that point I only had a handful of records - mostly albums, some borrowed from my parents collection, some that I'd been finding in second hand shops, and a few new releases. Musical styles were fairly broad, I'd been really into blues & jazz for some time, and that crossed over into the rare groove sounds that were all around London at that time, which led back to deeper funk sounds. All these styles were being heavily sampled in the contemporary hip hop of the era, so I was soon spending plenty on new hip hop whilst simultaneously trying to catch up on tracks I'd been aware of in the late 80s, and enjoyed, but hadn't been buying. Luckily, 2nd hand vinyl was plentiful and cheap in those days, so the collection was growing pretty rapidly at that time. I guess by now I have a couple of thousand 12" singles, and a similar number of albums, plus around 1000 7"s - so it takes a bit more organising these days, but it's always great to dig back through - especially for mixes like this!
2) 45/7 is all about celebrating the 7". Can you tell us a bit about what you love about the format.
As with a lot of people my age, 7's were some of the first records I bought as a kid, and I had my parent's old record player in my bedroom from the age of about 10. I ended up with a bunch of Beatles and Rolling Stones 45s that I'd find at jumble sales, and remember spending time with a tennis racket in front of the mirror trying to do the Shadows dance steps like Hank Marvin. The first new record I bought was probably something by The Police or The Beat I think - both early 80s school disco favourites! The 7" was still a pop format in the early 90s, so as dance music crossed over into mainstream charts, it was still the cheapest way of getting tunes to DJ with, so I have a bunch of things from that era on 7" but not on 12". Buying Hip Hop 45s for 99p seems like only yesterday! ;)
3) One hour of vinyl goodness... can you talk us through your selection for your 45/7 mix?
I had a bit of rummage through the 45 shelves and pulled a few things that I haven't played out for a while, alongside some new releases, some of my own and a couple of classics that are always in my box. The Jazzman and Now Again re-issues from the early 00s are all great - making available things that hadn't been on 45 before. Jazzman did great work in selecting some super hard-to-find library tracks, and Now Again just keep digging up the most amazing unreleased music from the 60s and 70s. I have a bit of a thing for covers of 'Tramp' and the Julie Driscoll / Brian Auger version is one of my favourites, such a lazy but irresistible groove - always gets people moving. DJ Format is always a surefire hit on the dancefloor, whether it's with his original productions or themed cut n paste megamixes, and 'Saturday Night Theme' is a great party hip hop track. Likewise, Quantic's work has covered so much ground over the last 20 years and he has a great ear for an arrangement. His cover of 'That Thing' showcases his knack in that area once again.
4) Where can people catch you / listen to your music?
Keep an eye on rubberfunk.net for DJ dates, hoping to be out and about later in the year, and you can hear the new album 'My Life At 45' over on my Bandcamp page : drrubberfunk.bandcamp.com
5) Top 5 all time fave records
Impossible to choose an all-time Top 5, but here's 5 of my most played 45s that never leave my record box! 1. Stevie Wonder - 'We Can Work It Out' - Motown 2. Beastie Boys - 'Intergalactic' - Grand Royale 3. This Kid Named Miles - 'Ring Of Fire' - Alatac 4. James Brown - 'Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose' 5. Gladys Knight & The Pips - 'You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You)' - Soul